The Unexpected Expected

Summit church all campuses of your main standing with me as we listen to God's word on the day of Jesus's resurrection of Jesus. The disciples were going to a village named Emmaus and they were talking with each other about all these things that happen as they did. Jesus himself near and along with them in the rise line recognizing him many said to them, what are you talking about in the stood still, looking sad. One of them named Clea person answered him, are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that happen. Many said to them what things they said to him concerning Jesus of Nazareth man who was probably mighty in deed and God in all the people in our team reason rulers delivered amount to be condemned to death crucified him. We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yet besides all this is not 30 days. These things happen.

Moreover, someone of our company amazed as they were in the tomb early this morning and when they didn't find his body. The came back saying that they'd seen a vision of angels. Who said that he was alive.

Some of those were with us to the tomb and found women. It said him they did not see any Centerville mole foolish one slow heart believe all the prophets of spoken was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory and beginning with Moses and all the prophets and in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. What an incredible impromptu sermon.

This must've been Jesus. The entire Old Testament showed how every story. Every picture, every promise every regulation, every ritual every command, all pointed.

He was a faithful husband and José refusing to give up on his people and even after they betrayed him again and again the obedient prophet who, unlike Jonah preached salvation willingly to God's enemies, instead of being resentful of God's mercy toward them wept tears of compassion over the voluntarily plunging himself into the sea of God's judgment. The same he was the suffering servant of Isaiah wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. He was the faithful Shepherd being like David did me the giant down all alone what we stood on the sidelines and watch the kinsman redeemer of Ruth ransoming his family is overland resumed by Moses.

The despised mother like Joseph transformed his betrayal in the salvation is treacherous family. The miraculous son of Abraham providing himself on the altar of sacrifice in our place. The was the argument which we believe are shelter from God's judgment, the conquering descendent promise to adamantly who would crush the deceiving servant underneath is the all these things will so beautifully by Jesus. Still, it still may miss the missing was together, but we give you thanks but Jesus came just as promised, God, we recognize that were not better than these disciples were just like they missed them. Just like they were confused by him.

So we also many of us miss him and many of us are very confused by him why he came, as he did so God I pray that the same Jesus who explain these things in their hearts burned within them as they did with me here today speaking so that our hearts would burn with that.

I pray God's spirit would give understanding and wisdom and we thank you for your presence here got all of our campuses since it we believe in ready to hear from you show us God in Christ. Nine Christ name, amen Summit church. You may be seated. You may be seated together bye-bye love you take it out and open it to the gospel of Matthew. The first book of the New Testament, chapter 1. If you do have your Bible bring it with you each week, each weekend here after this you that are just coming back from the summer. Welcome back. I also myself and coming back for the summer was here for a few minutes last weekend, but this is my first week back preaching my family was gone for seven weeks a summer visiting some of our church planters overseas. The trip was basically divided into two sections on one section was we were in South Africa where we spent about half of our time. They are in Johannesburg with some of our church planters who work there and then on the other half would be and what I would just describe as the African bush where we camped out with some of former members of our church. You have an incredible ministry over there.just imagine African bush we had back showers know that is where you water and you and you put in the bag and it drips on you and that's all you clean yourself we would get up in the morning.

More family and just walked literally with the them walk a certain direction until we came to a height, and we would say, through a translator. My name is JD this is my family were from America. Have you heard about Jesus because we would like to tell you about him him and we that afternoon we we invited to a vacation Bible school we were doing them at night to some evangelistic meetings. It was it was an amazing amazing experience that was also where my son got bit by Jaguar which not as bad as it sounds, because it was at a petting zoo, but still applicable to picture him showing off his wound. I said from now on, any time you meet a girl for the rest of your life. That's her opening line high got bit by Jaguar so it was awesome. Then we the second half was in Central Asia where we lived in a large city downtown and were just part of the city life there in Central Asia work with a lot of Syrian refugees throughout that time it was. It was a life-changing experience for us. I'm just to be able to be back on the front lines are probably shared more one on one, Jesus with people that I have in a year here, not counting what I do on the weekends it was. It was amazing, but I'm we have been looking for to be back in how we come back with renewed vision we come back with. I think reignited faith and were excited about what God has in front of the Summit church in the days to come. Matthew chapter 1 is where we are going to begin into the New Testament and how to begin and what you will probably think of as an unusual place to begin there because as we just saw through Luke 24, Jesus came just like you promised he would come all these pictures were so beautifully and perfectly fulfilled in him yet still the disciples missed him because his coming was so unusual, so unexpected that they didn't recognize him even when he fulfilled all the symbols and performed all the miracles which is why I believe the manner in which Matthew opens up the New Testament is so important because Matthew in a sense is going to give you Jesus's resume that you should read Matthew one Jesus's resume to show you why Jesus came.

The way that he did to show you why Jesus is uniquely uniquely qualified to be our Savior and why he came in a way that was so confusing.

Most of us plow right over Matthew's introduction we skim read it without realizing the significance of what he's doing so may actually read it here for us.

Matthew chapter 1 verse one the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham is the father of Isaac and Isaac with the father, Jacob, and Jacob, with father Judah and his brothers and Judah was about of resins are about a more present Valdes rot on the father of RAM. RAM is about a minute admitted I was… Not so with father of salmon swim upstream against God's enemies. Verse five and salmon with the father of Boaz by rehab and Boaz was the father voted by Ruth and a better father. Jesse ingested the father David King was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah Solomon, the father readable and readable in front of Abidjan. I was on the front of a 77 just got just about father Joe Rominger on father Josiah died father, Jotham, Jotham, about of Ahaz and his father Hezekiah Hezekiah father Vanessa Vanessa father Amos Ames loved your side inside about object and I and his brothers at the time the deportation to Babylon and after the deportation of Babylon, and I was father shall bill shall fill the father of Zerubbabel's removal of the mother of Bobby and I'll be out of the father of Eli, like in the father they sorties were the fathers out of his out of the father like even unify the valley, you know, you defy the values are. Values are the father Madonna Madonna father Jacob. Jacob father Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations from David to the deportation to Babylon 14 generations from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ 14 generations. A mad man. I let's close in prayer, not just to be honest, how many of you sold out during that reading of the sacred text. Be totally honest with her hand up and said I got did not call yourself serious Christians committed Christians to know I noticed very unusual and I know that very few of you stay with me and probably would not point to this passage is your favorite and most meaningful passage of Scripture. But I read it because this genealogy is the key to understanding who Jesus really was and why he had to come in the confusing way that he did notice verse one that Matthew was going to call his whole gospel book of the genealogy. In other words, all the rest of the gospel of Matthew is an explanation of what he introduces in the first 17 verses then he points out the BMB organization pattern and that's important to.

He says there are three sets of 14 generations, now 14, is to seventh and seven, is the biblical number of completion or perfection, it's pretty obvious by the way that you left some generations out and how he put these together.

That was a very commonly accepted practice in those days so is not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. But he presents it in this way, according to be three sets of 14 to show that God has superimposed his perfection, he has superimposed his perfect 14 if you will, onto world history shaping it entirely and perfectly around Jesus history. As I've heard it said before is his story, which is number one.

Matthew is trying to show you that know it often does not seem so Jesus is the center of history when Matthew wrote this when the people that he wrote it to first read it.

None of the major actors in world history or paying any attention to Jesus. Jesus was born to an obscure family and a small backwater Middle Eastern country. Nobody in Rome or Athens or when the action really was, was taken any notice of these things. And when Jesus died, very few people outside of Israel had even heard Jesus's name yet. Matthew shows you that despite what it looks like on the surface, God is guiding all of history. According to his perfect plan in perfect 14 squid Jesus Christ right in the center and what that means for Matthew in his day and what it means for us in our day is that despite what it looks like on the surface, the powers of the world.

Those who think they control everything are really an illusion. In those days it seemed like Ron was in charge, but Matthew says no.

This is the center. This is what is happening in fact everything that Rome is doing feeds back into this story. Jesus is the center give you one quick example of that. One of the details of most people know about the birth of Jesus is that Mary and Joseph, Jesus's earthly parents had to travel to Bethlehem when Mary was great with child because Caesar Augustus at the side of the whole world to be taxed and everybody needed to go to their hometown to be counted where they could pay the tax and so Mary and Joseph were from Bethlehem. They travel to Bethlehem but the gospel writer explains that God's purpose in that was because Mike, I have made a prophecy Micah 52 that the Messiah was going to be born in Bethlehem and that needed to be fulfilled. So think about that for just a minute God taxed the whole world to move to people 90 miles so that you and I would have further proof that God was behind the birth of Jesus.

It looks like on the surface that Rome or Washington or New York City or Hollywood is in charge. But that's just an illusion. The book of Proverbs explains the king's hand is like a river in the hand of the Lord. Many turns in whatever way he chooses in the way he chooses to turn it is in pursuit of the great commission Jesus at the center. Y'all stop freaking out about this election.

Yes, I've been gone and I come back. You and Mike who passed all the crazy pills and I realize you we go to terrible candidates to choose from what the podium was a wire and I don't even know which one is which. If the end of the Republic. Yes, elections are important, but God is not dependent on Washington to fulfill his purposes.

He weaves all of this back into his perfect 14 so that the in Jesus reigns and Jesus comes a sign of Christian maturity is when you begin to understand that in everything God does everything.

Whether were talking about major movements in world politics or were talking about the particular details of your life.

This is what he is pursuing. When I was overseas.

One of our missionaries said hypothesis profound. He said the great task for our generation is whether they will recognize God's hand in the refugee crisis as the rearranging of the nations. For the purposes of the great commission. That's the big test many quoted acts 1727 God determines the allotted periods and the boundaries of the dwelling places of the nations on earth. Why would you do with them. He wants them to be able to seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him.

Now let me be clear, this is not a political statement about what our government should do about refugees. I'm not saying although our immigration system and let everybody in our government is charged with keeping things orderly and safe and we need to pray for them have wisdom in doing so. What I am saying is, can we as the people of God recognize the hand of God and what is happening and know what we are supposed to do regardless of the situation got there in the first place. One of the things we did overseas was we worked with on Syrian refugees or the Syrian refugees that are teams work with over there who would come to faith in Christ made the statement and I thought it was so beautiful and moving that I wrote it down word for word. Listen to this is that I think God I thank God for the war in Syria and the many terrible things that happened in my life because God use them to bring me to a saving knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Maybe we couldn't get to him in Syria. Maybe we were unable we wouldn't of been able to serve God brought him out to a place where we could get to him.

Will we recognize in this moment, what we are supposed to do because we recognize that what God does in world history.

He does for the purposes of the great commission.

Again, a sign of spiritual maturity in your life is when you begin to recognize that everything that God does in world politics of the details of your life are in pursuit of the great commission with Jesus at the center. What if you begin to evaluate when God reshapes your allotted times in the boundaries of your dwelling place that he's doing it so that other people can see God made you get assigned to a job you didn't want sure you can be unhappy about it, but you can still look for God wants for you in that job. Or maybe your house didn't sell because God still has purposes for you where you are.

Maybe the pain gives you the ability to relate to others going in that same situation so that you can share Jesus with them in a more meaningful way.

A sign of spiritual maturity is when you begin to say about all things. Why did God give me this. For the purposes of the great commission for the purposes of Jesus, the blessings in your life.

Maybe you're at a place in your life or you can retire early and maybe God gave me the ability retire early. Not so you could travel around the world playing golf in different countries, not just that that's fine, but maybe he freed up that the best chapter of your life which is when you're the most mature and most unfettered so that you could use the gifts that God is giving you strategically on mission for the great commission somewhere. Maybe I made you wealthy. Maybe make fabulously wealthy and maybe the wealth that he gave you was not just so that you could enjoy the blessings that come from wealth, although he doesn't begrudge you that at all. Maybe gave you that is a stewardship because he was putting resources in your hands. Just this time so that you could be a blessing to peoples around the world so that they can begin to seek God. What if you begin to look at everything like Jesus and the great commission were at the center, a sign of spiritual maturity. Also, one more time is when you begin to view everything in your life. Every blessing every teardrop, every heart ache as according… Perfect 14 and how it can be used to help the great commission. The mission of Jesus which brings me to point number two. Matthew shows us that God is working even in the chaos in the junk of your life. This genealogy is unusual because typically genealogies only listed out the father's name. That's the way they Record.

Matthew fills this genealogy with the names of women as well as he includes all these little what seem like superfluous details that are just sort of you that are for example verse three Judah was the father of Faraz and Sarah by Taymor nine genealogy only Perez's name is essential right. The reason that he mentions Sarah and Taymor is because he wants you to think about that story. So here's a question. Do you know the story on that goes with Judah Perez in there about a mark story is found in Genesis 38 is a man named Judah. Judah has three sons, one of his sons, his oldest son is married to a girl named Taymor, but his oldest son Judah's oldest son dies please Taymor's widow come before they can have children.

And so, in those days, but the law was that if your brother died and his wife didn't have children that you were supposed to take his wife into your house and you were supposed to give perch him children through her and that's what you would continue the family line so Onan who is the second brother doesn't want is been really doesn't like him are that what a hassle to get her something we just refuses to have kids with her. So God gets mad and tells it, by the way I'm giving you Scott's tame moderator version of the story.

I feel really really proud of myself right now this is this is what this is not a current chapter you want to read around the table for family devotions. I was to say that a friend who bought when it his like six-year-old Bob's actual kid 20s ought broad dramatized audio Bibles, but you can just quickly turn it on at night for them to listen to the can on the next morning and like dad you not believe the stories we heard last night.

Jim started starts to tell the story and his wife says he says that's it. No more Bible at that time were all iPad games.

From this point house is such a thing to first really so Onan doesn't want to know so God kills him. So now because Missy Taymor's. Most of the third son right but Judah.

The dad is like okay this girl Taymor committed to amounts on the number of dead certain things girls bad luck, so I don't want you to my third son so he stalls and like you and I'll give everybody what Taymor gets really ticked off about this because she figures out and I'm never to get married, and there would have kids and so she take matters in the romance so she goes to the place one night were Judah likes to go to the bar and waits till you know he gets a little tipsy. She's dressed like a prostitute she got on her tight jeans and a clear heels and after he gets tipsy. She gets in Cronk and then seduces him to sleep with her even realize it's his daughter in law because you know you so Cronk so they sleep together and she gets pregnant with Perez and Sarah okay so three months go by. She starts to show that she's pregnant. So Judah says my daughter lost pregnant jobs got pregnant out of wedlock. The north of his babies. Of course she's gotta be stone so they drag this girl out the stoner and right before they stone or she reaches inside of her pocketbooks is weight.

I've got the belt of the man whose babies they are and she pulls out you to spell now. Talk about an awkward movement right as you like, you know. So how do you think did around the Thanksgiving table went for their family. That year, by the way you feel better about your family yet.

This is some messed up stuff I'm talking met yet. Here's what Matthew trying to sell you. God arranges even all of this messed up dysfunctional stuff into his perfect 14 and I shared that because there's a lot you the got some messed up dysfunctional families of your writing and everybody's name is all messed up. What you really dig into it, but but there are some of you back in your history like always owns them home. I came out of let me be clear, I am not saying that God was pleased with the pain that came into your life. He was brokenhearted by that pain is a perfect father and and and and I get angry when somebody hurts one of my kids.

God is angry when someone hurts one of his what you should see is that God has one overriding purpose in your life and God stamps his perfect 14 on even the chaotic mess of your life will often compare life here to a tapestry tapestry is a rod that looks like a beautiful design not one strand is out of place, flip it over in the back.

It looks like this chaotic mess of worldly bees threads are going home life often feels like were in this chaotic mass for these random things are happening what's gonna happen. Matthew shows you an eternity as God flips it over and all the sudden you see it's a perfect picture would not one molecule not one strand without a place, Charles Spurgeon nonuse to the 19th-century century British pastor used to describe it like this, he would say it's a life for us is like walking into the back of the theater where the there's a three hour stage play going on catching about two minutes of that play and then walking out and say it it make any sense because you know just did nothing to tap to make sense as a course in an accident. It was a three hour stage what you got two minutes and 43 years old.

That means that my adult life is what 2025 years I made it my adult life, and that the nano second in a five hour movie.

Of course there are a lot of things that feel random and chaotic.

What Matthew was showing you if it felt random and chaotic to them until I get were in the middle of the bloodline of the Messiah, but God took all of this he took all this chaotic mass and he arranged it into his perfect 14 not one generation not one strand without a place the third thing you shows you number three is the gospel is for the outsider, the gospel for the outsider is another thing that you notice about the genealogy of how many people are listed who have very embarrassing stories.

The kind of people you don't want others to know were in your family with older people like that right now. You really wouldn't prefer for people to know that the related many of you asked me why my family spells our last name Greer in the creative way that we do if you don't know it's GR EEA arts three vowels, and people always point that out to me like I've never notice that all you think the point that out of never knowing that he would not have any 43, but they were not want to spell it over so I was. It is always said that the extra vowel was a sign of Scottish loyalty.

That's not true at all. But yes I guess I made it up, we had a girl that work for church or worked under church used to work for one of those ancestry, places, and asking me after service one day and she said she said had I had a free hour work I did some research on your family name. I found some really interesting things would you like to do now and I said actually know I wouldn't miss you so I will tell you anyway. She said she said such, I was able to trace your lineage.

It's really clear how she says it goes by the first Greer to come here in your line was Shadrach Greer in 1735 Shadrach Greer was his name but he spell his last name GR EER. The way normal person would and that goes all the way down to about 1840. She said in 1840.

Inexplicably, it changes from EER to EEA are.

She said not talk to some of the people where I work that is always an indication that somebody is trying to run from the law, and so they wanted to keep her last name so they put an after balance of the law couldn't track him. She said the good news is you come from a lot of criminals. So that's not the kind of thing that you typically are excited about people knowing about your family life can't hear what Matthew dies is he shows you that for women, all of whom have a shady past are going to be a part of Jesus's life and just in case you missed the fact that there are these chaotic stores. He put in detail so you'll think about before talk about Taymor, the seductive daughter-in-law. He sounds like a character from a made for HBO drama than she would a great Grammy of Jesus.

Verse five get Rahab another prostitute. The second prostitute in Jesus is line a Gentile that God say from Jericho got Ruth number one of her story, but you get the Moabite homeless girl, verse six, you get David and the wife of Uriah. Why would he say wife of Uriah and not just give her name, her name is Bathsheba who is try to make you think of a story she's not just Bathsheba.

She was David's best friend's wife and David slept with her and had your eye killed to cover it up this morning to make sure you think about that as you read this resume. What is more striking about this is that in those days your genealogy function does your resume to back them like today. Resumes were fudged to make sure you include the best parts and you omit the unflattering details here, they say there's an art to writing a resume where you brag without actually looking like a rag but is you that are younger in college get that right.

You learn to write a resume so that you brag would not look like you brag nobody nobody explain that to me when I wrote my first resume.

My first resume from ministry job. I thought it was supposed to be an essay about how awesome I once it was 17 pages long. I kid you not, is 70 by July listed everyplace that ever spoken all the awesome things anyone had ever said about me, I got the job. Miraculously, and I'm still your pastor today is somewhere else, I got the Jeff cup and the guy the supervisor after been there few months.

He said man is young, but alive to your resume made quite an impression is that we pass around. We laughed about it for several weeks and so but in those days they had less shame so you became a little over or when you are campaigning for the job you publish your resume to show how your bloodline qualified you for the position. Bobby and nothing but a string of of awesome, we had a great example. By the way, from the time of Jesus. Herod was the king when Jesus was born publish this genealogy, but it was missing anybody who was at all unimpressive or shady. So Matthew perhaps in response to Herod includes a bunch of people in Jesus's genealogy that would not help his case for being king. And just in case you missed how shady they are a mix report for details and seal. Think about it, it's filled with moral failures and mess ups the broken and the week. Those outside of the circles of power moral outsiders like Judah, David his lineage to Jesus includes an adulterous affair. You got ethnic outsiders like a Gentile Rahab got social outsiders like Ruth and all that is supposed to give you a very clear message Jesus came to include you. No matter what your past is no matter who you are, became to include you in his family. He is the Redeemer is a friend of mine says like this. These names are included in the line that leads to Christ, so that you and I can be assured that our names can be included in the line that leads from Christ. Christ communist King perfect King would have crushed us had Jesus actually come as the fair judge to repay all evil. The way these disciples wanted. That would've left us all without hope, but a Christ that came with the blood of adulterers and murderers and Gentiles flowing in his veins. That's a God who can identify with us and save us. He took our sins and our sorrows we say and he made him his very own.

He took on our sinful flesh. He bore our burden to Calvary and there he suffered and died alone because he was made sinful flesh like mine he can identify with simple flesh like my and he cannot just judge he can redeem and he can save you.

That means two things about us 1. It means that even if your personal history.

The story of your life reads like this genealogy if it's filled with embarrassing mistakes. It means that God can still redeem it all into his perfect 14 you might think your life is over this weekend.

You might've come into this church on the merits. Just dissolve the divorce is final. The kids will no longer speak to you when you lost your job again.

Then you got kicked out of school. You think your life is over. This genealogy shows you that Jesus may just have begun his greatest work in you, he is a Savior who specializes in the broke the broken and the week. That means that he can help you this weekend. Second thing, it shows us on the church is that our message that this church is primarily for the outsider. We have always said that we do not want to be a church that simply puts on a better show than the other churches in the area so that we can attract more Christians from other churches, be a part of our club.

We know that the ministry that God has given us is primarily be focused on those that are outside of the community that you and I would be a part of what we do things like serve are you because we are not trying to do it. We don't do that because it helps the attendance at our church. We do that because we know that people who have been impacted by the gospel become like the gospel. We know that Jesus came for the outsider. That means our focus also was going to be on the outside before things genealogy shows us. Matthew shows us that Jesus is our long-awaited rest, not shows you the beginning that this genealogy is three sets of 14 right. I know it's been a while since you been a math class but 314s is the same as six sets of seven fair or 314 something I documented to report at its 6/7, which would make Jesus the seventh 77 is the most significant biblical number is the number of completion. It signifies rest, God rested on the seventh day, that the Sabbath every seven years in Israel. According to the book of Leviticus. The farmland was supposed to rest the let the soil lie fallow so that the nutrients could replenish.

And then on the year of the seventh seven the 50th year that was called the year of Jubilee. That was a special time in which all debts were forgiven in Israel and all indentured servants were free. When Matthew shows you the Jesus comes as the seventh seven.

He is trying to say that Jesus is the ultimate year of Jubilee is the ultimate Sabbath. The ultimate rest in him, all debts will be forgiven. All slaves will be free. He came not just to redeem what is broken and dysfunctional. He came to set the prisoners free, and I noted every weekend this church. We got people that are under bondage of all kinds we get some better under the bondage of addiction, some that are are under the bondage to relationships that you know they shouldn't be in their lives, but they can't shake some better under the bondage of just a destroyed self image some better under the bondage of being controlled by money or control of the appraiser. People somewhat overwhelmed by the burden of trying to please God are trying to please others. Some feel crushed by the burden of trying to sustain themselves to take care of their family to provide for themselves, to make life work.

Jesus proclaims in Matthew come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest is what I could. I wish I could get some of you to see about the gospel because you think of exactly the opposite. You think that coming to Jesus takes you from a place of rest.

Moral rest for you to feel guilty all the time and your burdens on you and my job and we can tell you how bad you are doing to make you feel guilty people more burden on that's not the gospel. The gospel is, is that it begins in rest. It begins at rest on me proclaiming to you that that that that that the price for your sin has been paid. Not 1 ounce by you, but all by Jesus that God gives you his favor.

Not in response to how well you do how much you pray how much you read the Bible.

He gives his favor to you as a gift in Jesus Christ.

Yes you work as a Christian, yes you fine Christians are often very busy people. But we do it not in order to earn the favor of God, we do it in joyful response to having been given the favor of God, not a totally different kind of work. One leads you to weariness because it's never enough. The other lead you to overflowing joy work you just say I love doing what I do because it's the overflow of my heart. There are many of you this weekend that that that are overwhelmed by this burden of trying to please people all your life you you tried to earn the acclaim of others. When you have Jesus's faith. When you have Jesus's favor. You find yourself relieved of the burden of always trying to prove yourself to everybody early on in my ministry. I realize I was tired I wouldn't hire because I was working too hard.

I wouldn't hire because the demands of this church were too much. I was tired because I was always living for the approval of different groups of people and it never seemed to be enough.

You'll never realize how tired you are from trying to earn the love and the attention of others until you been freed from it for even just a little bit. We actually got to see a great example that this week. Many of you probably saw this was that on Tuesday night.

I think two Olympic divers from the United States won the silver medal you saw this David, but I think and still Johnson if I got the names right so they get the silver metal and NBC reporters up after them after they win and she asked a couple questions and then she house was David.

She said I'm so she said you know you really nervous for this last dive know when that's this was it like you know like this would determine whether or not you get a metal and sports like his face and he said no.

He said because we know that our identity is in Christ, not how well we do on this platform and that means whether we get a metal or not. Our identity is fixed and we don't depend on this or placing them that we don't depend on that for our identity is in Christ, how much is another interview where where he was explain. He said you know if we bellyflop. We are perfect in we come down the same identity. We were up on the platform with and that identity is in Christ, be the behavior was like terms. The other guy put in his face and in the sky was like well I will say my friend David said it exactly right. Our identities in Christ not in how well we perform. Do you understand the confidence that can give you in life when you are relieved of the burden of trying to prove yourself by how pretty you are when you no longer feel like I gotta be the prettiest girl in school I got away this writer look like that or I got. I make this much money write an address like this in order to earn people's approval into suddenly becomes free because I now have the opinion, the highest opinion of the only one whose opinion really matters and that frees me from tyranny to your opinions. Some of you are under that bondage. And what Jesus says I can give you rest. From that and then what's even more when you know that you're his favorite child when you really realize you're his favorite child.

The worries of the world lift off your shoulders as you start to say things like Paul, what then shall I say to these things of God is for me.

Who could be against me. He who did not spare his own son, but freely gave him up for us all, will he not also with him graciously give us all things.

It won't be one Jesus said who the one who knows how many hairs on your head and there's one sparrow falls on the Scrabble.

He also care for you. Why should I be discouraged, why should the shadows come. Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven home because Jesus is my portion, my constant friend is he, his eyes on the sparrow, I know he watches me. You'll find that there is a rest that goes with being a child of God that is freeing like nothing else. Client Jesus is coming to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you wrath and that is what some of you most need this weekend for shooting wrath from trying to find acceptance wrath from trying to prove yourself all the time. Rest from bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders at rest is in Jesus. Lastly missing from the big point for today to pull him altogether. Number five, Matthew shows us that God's ways are unexpected, God's ways are unexpected but they are wonderful know nobody saw this coming right, they they they thought is, the mighty conqueror. They thought he would come as a judge to end all oppression, but that's how Jesus had come.

If you call like they expected. He could not help us, he would've crushed us so we came in a totally unexpected way that wasn't for our frustration became in a totally unexpected way for our salvation. Here's what I want to ask you listen, if that's what God did back then.

If you save them in an unexpected way.

It became unexpected because he was trying to save them.

Not frustrated, is it not also possible that when God does something unexpected in your life today, but it doesn't mean that he's forgotten you. It doesn't mean he's neglected you. It means that he is working on a better grander plan that you just don't see doesn't the coming of Jesus teach you at least that is a versa.

Christians love the quote Isaiah 55, eight and nine. You probably heard it quoted my ways are not your ways, my thoughts are.

You're not your thoughts. First, high heavens are above the earth. That's a much higher my thoughts are that your thought we applied it to a situation where we don't understand. Most people don't know that that verse was written primarily about God's plan of salvation go back and read the context God was saying my phenomena come in a different way and save you differently than you expect. Because my thoughts and your thoughts are not the same. I understand more than you do what I have you is is trying to show you is if God plan of salvation happened in an unexpected way, doesn't it make sense that God will continue to do things in your life that might confuse you but it doesn't mean that he's forgotten you. It just means that he's leaving all of this according to his perfect 14th a better plan than you would've originally bought it for yourself anyway. Their company, just a curiosity.

You are what we would call planners timing like I mean like OCD. I make a plan to have a plan, planner agenda for another review what we call spontaneous).

You like to think of yourselves of adventurous, but you're the ones that is planners will be taken care of when you're old okay just so I am a total planner actually treat as I hate the plan that I hate even more than I hate planning I hate not having a plan and what I most hate is when things don't go according to my plan right but a later single and that you don't have children. Definitely don't take them over six or seven weeks was a slave that I'm in a sense I think all of us.

Whether your reasonable plan are not having all of us are like that. I would like to have their plans change their like other expectations on that right… In the phrase there's been a change of plans and that is making cringe, but nothing good ever comes after that right like we're going out to dinner tonight, but there's been a change of plans. That's always bad. I want you to realize listen, but the greatest things that God did in the Bible always happen when God deviated from the plants you give them but that they always happen when God deviated from the thing about Mary, the birth of Jesus.

Mary was not planning on getting pregnant was when Gable shows up and said hey I know you married maturely pregnant. That was a change of plans. Mary was planning on a wedding, but God was planning to change the world. God's plan was better. There are things that happen in your life that are unexpected and unplanned, and God is not doing it the way that he obviously should do it is as always for your salvation. You see, there is a genealogy that leads to Christ that is filled with randomness and chaos and dysfunction and confusion, but it was a perfect 14 that led to Jesus.

There's also a genealogy that leads from Jesus and it also is filled with randomness and chaos and dysfunction and confusion of the annual seek out for the whatever and it's all done according to the perfect 14's and it's all to be known with Jesus at the center.

You see, if you're not a Christian.

Listen to this. If you never met Jesus. Everything in your life up to this point has been designed to bring you to Jesus it's been God trying to reveal Jesus in you, to bring forth Jesus from if you are a Christian and everything AV after Jesus in your life is designed to reveal Jesus through because God is writing the plan for history. It is according to a perfect 14 and Jesus said this is at the center was at one time. You're not a Christian. Everything in your life up to this point everything every good ever bad part of it is been designed to bring forth Jesus and you and you never received him. If you are a Christian everything in your life. From that point is been designed reveal Jesus through you because he's the center we should buy your heads. If you would offer campuses by your heads mass state that last thing in the form of a question if you're not a Christian you realize maybe this weekend, God brought you here and he is been pursuing this and speaking to you and your blessings making you thankful he's been trying to wake you up for your pain telling you you need them never surrendered to him all the good news.

Salvation is easy, simple, simple because Jesus did all the work he paid it all became as the Savior, the Redeemer, all you have to do is receiving.

You can receive them by saying something to him like this, Lord Jesus.

I believe that you're the Savior believe you came for me to determine your end in your heart. I receive you as my Savior, I surrender to you is Lord. If you've already done that, you know that your follower of Jesus.

Maybe my night to sit him or Jesus, help me to trust you better go to the badger revealing Jesus through me to others to my children through a neighbor's to my parents probably pray.

We pray according to Matthew one. Pray that your perfect 14 would come through in our lives that we would trust you every step of the way reveal Jesus through us to others reveal Jesus and us. We pray in Christ