2024 Women's Conference - Session 1

[00:00:00] Okay, it's funny that Bree and Chesley were talking about anticipation because I was just going to tell you guys that, I think I've even said this before at other conferences, but sometimes the start of a conference feels a little bit like Christmas morning to me.

[00:00:15] I mean, it really does, like Christmas morning as a kid. Here's what I mean. Okay, we have been thinking about this specific weekend for a really long time.

[00:00:26] And we have just been like in such anticipation of what God will do, believing, knowing he is going to show up.

[00:00:34] But like, I can't wait. It's like we're like little kids that are like in October, like when is Christmas going to get here? Right?

[00:00:41] We are just, we have just been thinking and anticipating for so long. And now we're here.

[00:00:47] And we have also given God our wish list like a kid at Christmas. You know, you know what I mean?

[00:00:53] Like we have been asking God for some very specific things that he would do in this time.

[00:00:59] And we have been praying honestly for each and every one of you that God would do specific and special and personal and unique things in you.

[00:01:08] That has been on our wish list that we have given to God for the last several months.

[00:01:13] And so here we are. It's Christmas. No. But we're just so full of anticipation of what God will do in our hearts and what he's going to do in yours.

[00:01:25] So I'm excited. Before our wonderful guest speaker, Dina, comes up to teach you, I just wanted to share a little for just like one minute about our theme, Alive to God.

[00:01:36] So here's what I know. Here's where this came from. God is an absolute reality. He is an absolute reality.

[00:01:46] He is present and at work all the time, everywhere, all around us.

[00:01:53] In Jesus, he made himself completely, entirely available to us.

[00:01:59] I know. Here's what else I know. I know that we were created to live in full awareness of him.

[00:02:07] We were created to live alive to his heart, alive to his voice, hearing his voice, alive to his ways.

[00:02:17] We were created to be constantly in this responding relationship with our creator, with our shepherd, with our king.

[00:02:25] And then so often, right, just the reality of regular old everyday life.

[00:02:33] And of course, the reality of hardship and trial.

[00:02:36] They can just leave us distracted, overwhelmed, discouraged, forgetful.

[00:02:44] For me, a lot of times, just kind of numb to the very real presence of God.

[00:02:51] And so my hope for our conference this year is that as Dina teaches us from Acts 17, that we would become more alive to God,

[00:03:02] more tuned in to his presence, more resensitized to him than we were before we came.

[00:03:12] That's my hope. That's been our prayer. Yeah.

[00:03:15] Okay, I'm going to invite Dina up to come and share God's word with you.

[00:03:18] But let me tell you just real quickly about her.

[00:03:21] Got a little slide up there, right?

[00:03:23] Dina is a mom of three little ones.

[00:03:27] She is the director of discipleship at Thrive College.

[00:03:31] And here's what I know best about her.

[00:03:34] She is a wise and dynamic and compelling Bible teacher.

[00:03:40] So we're really privileged that she would come and spend the weekend with us.

[00:03:44] Would you join me in welcoming Dina Davidson?

[00:03:53] Thank you so much for having me.

[00:03:55] I'm excited to be here.

[00:03:57] So first thing you need to know about me is that I love a good conversation, especially in an environment like this.

[00:04:05] And I know you put all your effort into getting into that seat so that you wouldn't have to be the one to talk.

[00:04:11] But that's not like how I like to do things.

[00:04:13] So we're going to start from the very get-go by me asking you a question.

[00:04:19] And some brave soul is going to raise their hand or just popcorn their answer out.

[00:04:23] And that's going to get the conversation going.

[00:04:26] So my question is, in the spirit of everything Christina just said about the everyday realities that sometimes blind us from being able to be alive to God's presence,

[00:04:39] what did it take to get here today?

[00:04:43] My mom's car.

[00:04:45] Thank you.

[00:04:46] Okay, that was honest and good.

[00:04:48] Is it a nice car?

[00:04:49] What kind of car are we talking about?

[00:04:52] A what-a-huh?

[00:04:53] A Haudisse?

[00:04:54] Okay, way to go.

[00:04:56] Very nice.

[00:04:57] I learn something every day.

[00:04:59] Okay, what did it take to get here for you personally?

[00:05:03] Mom's car.

[00:05:04] Very literal.

[00:05:05] Appreciate that.

[00:05:07] Your community.

[00:05:08] Did you not want to come?

[00:05:09] And they were like, oh, you are coming to this.

[00:05:12] You can be honest.

[00:05:13] You didn't say that.

[00:05:15] I know how it is.

[00:05:16] You're like, a women's conference.

[00:05:18] There's going to be florals everywhere.

[00:05:20] Everyone's going to be talking about chocolate.

[00:05:22] Like, yeah, I get it.

[00:05:24] I get it.

[00:05:25] All right, what else?

[00:05:27] Grace.

[00:05:28] From whom?

[00:05:30] Above.

[00:05:31] From God.

[00:05:31] Okay, why did you need grace?

[00:05:37] That's right.

[00:05:38] Without his grace, you wouldn't even be breathing.

[00:05:41] You wouldn't be walking.

[00:05:42] You wouldn't be, you're not standing.

[00:05:43] You're sitting.

[00:05:43] You wouldn't be sitting.

[00:05:44] You wouldn't be present here today.

[00:05:46] Yes, God played a heavy hand in getting you here today.

[00:05:49] But less spiritual than that.

[00:05:50] What else?

[00:05:53] Childcare?

[00:05:53] Who said child care?

[00:05:55] Okay, yeah, amen.

[00:05:56] All right, anyone with children is like, I'll just be honest.

[00:05:59] There's a lot more math than I wanted there to be in being a mom.

[00:06:03] Okay?

[00:06:04] Like, the amount of math.

[00:06:06] I have a three-month-old.

[00:06:07] We'll get to that in a second.

[00:06:08] The amount of math to calculate, like, my window away and what time he, it's just insane.

[00:06:14] Like, I love to read, not do math.

[00:06:17] I didn't know how much it would follow me.

[00:06:19] Someone said something right here, and I missed it.

[00:06:21] Yes?

[00:06:22] Lots of reminders, like on your phone?

[00:06:24] That event you signed up for is coming.

[00:06:26] Or was it from a person?

[00:06:28] From church.

[00:06:30] Oh, amen.

[00:06:31] You hear that?

[00:06:32] You've been praying, but it was the reminders that got her here.

[00:06:37] Goodness.

[00:06:38] Amen.

[00:06:39] That's like why every time there's daylight savings, like, everyone's church social media is plastered,

[00:06:44] not with anything biblical, but just, please come to church tomorrow.

[00:06:47] It's daylight savings time.

[00:06:48] Yes.

[00:06:50] Commitment.

[00:06:51] Commitment.

[00:06:51] Yes.

[00:06:51] Just the grit of, I paid for my ticket, so I am going to get my butt to church tonight.

[00:06:56] Amen.

[00:06:57] All right.

[00:06:57] Just a couple more.

[00:06:59] Preach.

[00:07:01] Bridge.

[00:07:03] Nice.

[00:07:04] Okay.

[00:07:04] Tell me what the bridge is.

[00:07:05] I don't know what the bridge is.

[00:07:09] I love it.

[00:07:10] Welcome.

[00:07:10] I'm so glad that you're here.

[00:07:12] That's incredible.

[00:07:13] Thank you for being here tonight.

[00:07:15] Yeah.

[00:07:16] Yes.

[00:07:18] Energy.

[00:07:19] Yes.

[00:07:20] Amen.

[00:07:21] How many of you are late coffee drinkers?

[00:07:25] Okay.

[00:07:25] I think you're all crazy.

[00:07:26] Like, I love sleep too much to drink coffee that late at night, but I admire your commitment

[00:07:30] to being awake.

[00:07:31] All right.

[00:07:32] Oh, yes.

[00:07:33] This last one right here.

[00:07:34] I just was admiring your curly hairstyle, by the way, when you were dancing.

[00:07:37] You're like, everyone's like paying attention to your dance moves, but I was like, her hair.

[00:07:40] It's awesome.

[00:07:41] Go ahead.

[00:07:43] Thirst.

[00:07:45] Okay.

[00:07:46] That was taken in a spiritual sense.

[00:07:48] I was like, I'm sure you could have found a beverage elsewhere, ma'am.

[00:07:51] I could have directed you.

[00:07:52] But sure, sure.

[00:07:54] I love it.

[00:07:55] Being hungry and thirsty for what God wants to offer today.

[00:07:59] Here's what it took me to get here today.

[00:08:01] I'm going to put up a picture of my three up on the screen.

[00:08:05] Oh, look at them.

[00:08:06] Aren't they adorable?

[00:08:07] Okay.

[00:08:08] Yeah.

[00:08:08] That's me.

[00:08:09] That's my three-month-old Luke.

[00:08:11] That's my husband.

[00:08:13] He's incredible.

[00:08:14] Not only is he in a doctoral program right now for practical theology.

[00:08:19] He had to write his professor and be like, hey, my wife's doing this thing.

[00:08:21] Can I please get an extension on this paper?

[00:08:23] So it took that to get here tonight.

[00:08:25] Still haven't heard back.

[00:08:26] So hopefully there's grace.

[00:08:27] Hello.

[00:08:28] Theology.

[00:08:29] Right?

[00:08:29] Okay.

[00:08:30] We'll see.

[00:08:31] But here's the thing.

[00:08:33] He's such a great parent.

[00:08:34] You don't even need to be praying for him right now.

[00:08:37] Like he has all three kids.

[00:08:40] And he's such a great parent.

[00:08:42] It actually causes me like a lot of conversation between me and the Lord about like, why?

[00:08:47] Why did you put me with the world's best father when I have this comparison problem?

[00:08:51] That wasn't kind, God.

[00:08:53] And then there's my six-year-old who graduated kindergarten last year, Riley Davidson.

[00:08:58] She is way too smart.

[00:09:00] And man, anyone got any mom-daughter battles?

[00:09:03] You can be the mom or the daughter in that.

[00:09:05] Don't raise your hand if she's right next to you.

[00:09:07] Don't do that.

[00:09:09] I'll tell you what.

[00:09:10] I am repeating history.

[00:09:12] My mom homeschooled me this year.

[00:09:14] I'm homeschooling Riley.

[00:09:15] And I'm like, oh, nice.

[00:09:18] I love it.

[00:09:19] Some homeschool fans are homeschoolers.

[00:09:20] One of the two.

[00:09:21] Let me tell you, homeschoolers, guess what?

[00:09:23] High-fiving never gets easier.

[00:09:25] Okay?

[00:09:25] Just you'll have other skills.

[00:09:26] High-fiving, here's the tip.

[00:09:28] Look at the elbow.

[00:09:29] Okay?

[00:09:29] That's all I want to say.

[00:09:30] You may have come here to the conference tonight for that.

[00:09:33] But let me tell you, my five-year-old is, or she's six now.

[00:09:36] My six-year-old is so smart.

[00:09:37] It is incredible.

[00:09:38] And I am just reliving and apologizing to my mom like every single week for all the things

[00:09:43] that I put her through.

[00:09:44] And then there's Juju.

[00:09:45] Look at that.

[00:09:46] We call him Juju on that beat.

[00:09:49] He is our chill kid.

[00:09:51] And let me tell you, he is not the chill kid when you skip naps two days in a row, which

[00:09:56] is what we decided to tempt fate and do the last two days because we wanted to go to the aquarium.

[00:10:01] Yeah.

[00:10:02] Like at some point today, he had just given up on life.

[00:10:05] So he just runs out into the sand and throws himself on it.

[00:10:08] And I was just like, dude, okay, we're going to get you home because that's the situation.

[00:10:13] A lot of math went into getting me here tonight.

[00:10:16] A lot of the things that you mentioned got me here tonight.

[00:10:19] And just as Christina was mentioning, if we're not careful, those things can be the things

[00:10:26] that keep us from actually being alive to God.

[00:10:29] And it takes a mature believer to walk in here and to pause and to put all of it to the side

[00:10:36] and to say, maybe there's more of God that I do not yet know.

[00:10:42] It takes a mature believer to admit that and to open themselves to what God may want to do

[00:10:47] in their lives.

[00:10:49] And it also takes a mature skeptic.

[00:10:53] If you're in this room and you're like, I don't want to like spread the rumor, but I'm

[00:10:57] not sure God exists.

[00:10:59] It takes a mature skeptic to be able to say, my intellect is open to the possibility of the

[00:11:07] existence of the divine.

[00:11:08] And wherever you're at from there to here, I hope that God's word reaches you because

[00:11:15] God's word speaks to this problem of the everyday mundane driving out our awareness of the reality

[00:11:23] of God's existence.

[00:11:24] We're going to be in Acts 17 today.

[00:11:26] So let me tee this up.

[00:11:27] Let me frame it for you.

[00:11:28] If you have your Bible, turn to Acts 17.

[00:11:30] But to frame this, I once heard a philosopher, Francis Schaeffer, say that the two most important

[00:11:38] questions man could ever ask is, is there a God?

[00:11:42] God?

[00:11:42] And has he spoken?

[00:11:45] Is there a God?

[00:11:47] And has he spoken?

[00:11:49] If there's a God, then it really matters that the bridge got you here today.

[00:11:53] You're like, that was a terrible moment to take a bite of popcorn.

[00:11:56] That's all right.

[00:11:56] That's right.

[00:12:00] If there's a God, it really matters that you hunger and you thirst for this God because

[00:12:06] you're actually going to be encountering the divine.

[00:12:09] If there's not a God, then that means your hunger and your thirst, you better go out of

[00:12:14] this room and satiate it in some other way because the divine will not be answering that

[00:12:19] call inside of you.

[00:12:20] If there is a God, it matters how I parent.

[00:12:23] If there is a God, it matters how I spend my day.

[00:12:27] If there is a God, everything matters whether there is a God or if there is not.

[00:12:33] And these two questions, is there a God and has he spoken, are the exact questions that Paul

[00:12:39] sets out to answer when he arrived on the scene in Athens.

[00:12:44] So we're going to pick up in verse 22.

[00:12:47] A little bit of context for this passage.

[00:12:49] In Acts 17, we're following along on Paul's missionary journey.

[00:12:54] He's going around to all of these cities.

[00:12:56] He's proclaiming Christ because he himself has been transformed.

[00:13:00] If you don't know the story of Paul, it's crazy.

[00:13:02] He used to kill people that believed in Christ, had a radical encounter with Jesus himself,

[00:13:09] and then he began going out and preaching and converting people to the very religion that

[00:13:15] he was trying to stomp out.

[00:13:17] Crazy story.

[00:13:18] Read about it earlier in Acts.

[00:13:20] So now we catch up to Paul's story, and he's going around and he's spreading the gospel

[00:13:24] to all of these different cities in the Roman Empire.

[00:13:26] And one of those cities is Athens.

[00:13:30] Now, Athens, for a philosophy major like me, is amazing.

[00:13:36] Like, you're like, oh, philosophy.

[00:13:39] That's that class I hated.

[00:13:40] I'm so sorry you had a bad philosophy teacher.

[00:13:44] Here's what philosophy is.

[00:13:45] It is the greatest questions of all times.

[00:13:49] What is the meaning of reality?

[00:13:51] What is the ultimate basis for what exists?

[00:13:54] How do we know what is true?

[00:13:55] Is there beauty?

[00:13:57] What is justice?

[00:13:59] Is murder wrong?

[00:14:00] And if so, why?

[00:14:01] You're like, did she just say, is murder wrong?

[00:14:02] That's right.

[00:14:03] Is murder wrong?

[00:14:04] And if so, why?

[00:14:06] Philosophy studies the greatest questions of all times.

[00:14:08] In Athens, all they did was just discuss the latest ideas, the latest answers to these

[00:14:14] greatest questions.

[00:14:15] And this had been happening for a long, long time before Paul arrived on the scene.

[00:14:20] And as he arrived on the scene, he walked around and he began to be very greatly distressed

[00:14:26] because the city was not just full of ideas.

[00:14:29] Those ideas had led to idols.

[00:14:32] And so they worshipped all of these different gods.

[00:14:36] And as Paul walked around, his spirit was provoked because he even saw something and it lit a fire in him.

[00:14:44] So he was preaching and someone invited him to come share his ideas at the Areopagus.

[00:14:51] And basically it was these important men who gathered around and they sat and they listened to these important ideas.

[00:14:57] They invited Paul because they wanted to hear what he would say.

[00:15:00] What would you say to a secular society?

[00:15:04] What would you say to a city that was full of idols?

[00:15:08] Let's pick up and read what Paul has to say.

[00:15:11] Verse 22.

[00:15:13] So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said,

[00:15:16] Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.

[00:15:22] For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship,

[00:15:26] I found also an altar with this inscription.

[00:15:30] To the unknown God.

[00:15:32] What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

[00:15:38] I love this.

[00:15:39] Paul doesn't just come out and condemn them for the idolatry.

[00:15:43] He uses it as a lead-in to a conversation with him about the most important question.

[00:15:50] Is there a God?

[00:15:53] Because these Athenians, they had made some space.

[00:15:57] They had made some space even for the unknown God.

[00:16:01] For the possibility that there was more to reality than what they had understood.

[00:16:06] They made space for it.

[00:16:08] And Paul saw that space.

[00:16:10] He saw their question.

[00:16:11] And he decided to come in and deliver the biblical answer.

[00:16:16] This is what he said.

[00:16:18] What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

[00:16:22] The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth,

[00:16:27] does not live in temples made by man.

[00:16:30] Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything,

[00:16:34] since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

[00:16:39] And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the faces of the earth,

[00:16:45] having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling places.

[00:16:49] Let's unpack this.

[00:16:51] First of all, because I'm a philosophy major,

[00:16:54] you're going to get the philosophically part of this passage.

[00:16:57] Philosophically, you're like, I am so bored.

[00:16:59] It's okay.

[00:17:00] Just stick with me for like three minutes.

[00:17:02] It's philosophically, basically just means big picture.

[00:17:06] Here's what we know.

[00:17:08] God's existence is reasonable.

[00:17:12] Did you know that?

[00:17:13] Now, I know you might be sitting in here and you're like, um, hello.

[00:17:17] I've read a different story on the news.

[00:17:20] I've been on TikTok and I've seen that it's actually very irrational to believe in God,

[00:17:25] much less the Christian God.

[00:17:27] Well, I'll do reverence to TikTok.

[00:17:29] This idea of the divine is one that has been debated and discussed throughout the ages,

[00:17:36] dating back to Paul's day.

[00:17:38] And let me sum up the conversation for you.

[00:17:40] There are very good rational reasons to believe in the existence of God.

[00:17:48] And in fact, not believing in God creates some very big problems because it really boils down to this question,

[00:17:56] why is there something instead of nothing?

[00:17:59] In response to that question, there's really just three answers.

[00:18:02] The first answer, why is there something instead of nothing?

[00:18:05] The first answer is just that everything has always existed.

[00:18:09] Right?

[00:18:10] Like, we don't have to answer this question because everything is eternal.

[00:18:16] That's one possible answer.

[00:18:18] The problem with this is that the best of science says the exact opposite.

[00:18:22] Any scientists in the room?

[00:18:23] You work in a scientific field?

[00:18:25] You can raise your hand in church.

[00:18:26] I know sometimes it seems like the church and science war.

[00:18:29] Where do you, what field do you work in?

[00:18:33] Okay.

[00:18:34] I love that.

[00:18:35] And there is so much chemistry in being a mom.

[00:18:37] Like, let's not deny the use of your profession.

[00:18:41] I love it.

[00:18:41] Okay.

[00:18:42] Chemistry.

[00:18:43] That's a little bit more friendly to God's existence.

[00:18:46] Do you feel like it was a friendly environment?

[00:18:48] Or was that, no, we keep God out of the science lab?

[00:18:55] Okay, great.

[00:18:56] Okay, perfect.

[00:18:57] All right.

[00:18:58] I love it.

[00:19:00] All right.

[00:19:00] Well, the best of science, despite the aura around the science lab that you were in,

[00:19:06] the best of science says that the universe has a beginning.

[00:19:08] Now, you're like, oh, my gosh, what is she saying here?

[00:19:11] Does she know about the big thing and how that conflicts with young earth?

[00:19:14] We're not getting into that right now.

[00:19:15] I'm just saying a problem with this theory is that the best of science says the exact opposite.

[00:19:23] And so, so many times, rational people like scientists, they're like,

[00:19:26] I would never believe in the existence of God.

[00:19:27] It's so irrational.

[00:19:28] And you say, okay, why is there something instead of nothing?

[00:19:31] Well, the universe has always existed.

[00:19:33] Tell me what scientists would say that.

[00:19:35] But very, very few, and they would be laughed out of their universities.

[00:19:40] So that's a problem with one of them.

[00:19:41] The second idea, or the second possibility of why there is something instead of nothing

[00:19:45] is that everything came from nothing.

[00:19:49] You know, like, just imagine there was a box here, and then out of the box popped everything.

[00:19:56] And you're like, okay, okay, okay, okay.

[00:19:57] Okay, now remove the box.

[00:20:00] And just, boom, everything came from nothing.

[00:20:04] You're like, I'm having a little bit of a hard time imagining that.

[00:20:06] Yes, that's the point.

[00:20:08] It's unthinkable.

[00:20:09] It involves just a leap of faith.

[00:20:12] So, so much so that it's, you know, not just a leap of faith, but it's a leap against everything

[00:20:17] that we've experienced in the natural world.

[00:20:20] Nothing does not come from something.

[00:20:21] Only something comes, something comes from only something.

[00:20:25] So the second answer is irrational as well.

[00:20:27] The third option is that everything came from something.

[00:20:31] And this something was either impersonal or personal.

[00:20:34] You're like, I lost you three minutes ago.

[00:20:36] It's okay.

[00:20:36] Those that are still tracking, track with me one minute longer.

[00:20:41] Everything came from something.

[00:20:43] That something was either impersonal or personal.

[00:20:46] If impersonal, you might be thinking, okay, it came from time, space, and matter, and that

[00:20:51] has always existed.

[00:20:52] And from that comes the universe as it evolved over time.

[00:20:55] But the problem with that answer is that if everything came from something and that something

[00:21:01] was impersonal, how we ever got the personal is a giant mystery that involves a leap of faith

[00:21:06] to understand.

[00:21:08] And we can't have meaning.

[00:21:09] We can't have beauty.

[00:21:10] We can't have freedom.

[00:21:11] We can't have values if everything came from something and that something was impersonal.

[00:21:16] And that's a philosophical answer that every person that lands on this side has to answer.

[00:21:23] But then over here is every theist, every Jew, every Muslim, every Christian who says everything

[00:21:32] came from something and that something was personal.

[00:21:37] That something is God.

[00:21:39] God existed because God is a person.

[00:21:43] He created all things.

[00:21:45] And so, too, we have freedom.

[00:21:47] So, too, we have beauty.

[00:21:48] So, too, we have lives that have meaning.

[00:21:50] We're just not just natural things that have evolved through time.

[00:21:53] There is beauty inherent in each one of us.

[00:21:56] And our life is heading in a specific direction.

[00:21:58] And all of the things that we most want and value, such as true relationships with the other person

[00:22:05] looking at us, all of that is made possible with the existence of God

[00:22:10] and is very improbable, if not impossible, with any other answer.

[00:22:15] You're like, oh, that's why people throughout the ages have believed in the existence of God.

[00:22:22] It's not just because they wanted to.

[00:22:24] It's not just because their mama told them to.

[00:22:27] It's because there are really good problems that get solved if God exists.

[00:22:33] That's the philosophically that Paul addresses into that question.

[00:22:38] Why is there something instead of nothing, he says?

[00:22:40] Because there is a God.

[00:22:44] There is a God.

[00:22:47] God is.

[00:22:48] Now, practically, practically, what is Paul saying?

[00:22:52] Like, on Tuesday, how is this going to matter to us?

[00:22:56] It matters because of this.

[00:22:58] This God is knowable.

[00:23:02] This God is knowable.

[00:23:07] And if you've grown up in church your whole life, that idea doesn't sound as bizarre to you as it really should.

[00:23:14] Because if you've grown up outside the church and you thought that your life, you were just, your whole life,

[00:23:22] you were on your own.

[00:23:23] And you had to sort through every problem by yourself.

[00:23:26] And you had to make sense of your life and you had to create meaning out of your life and you were completely on your own.

[00:23:32] The revelation that there is a God changes everything for that person.

[00:23:39] But for the person who grows up in church, you're like, yeah, there's a God.

[00:23:43] But you know, on Tuesday, there's lots of problems.

[00:23:47] On Tuesday, my bank account is going to be overdrafted.

[00:23:52] On Tuesday, my daughter is going to be screaming at me.

[00:23:57] On Tuesday, I'm still going to have that fight with my spouse.

[00:24:01] On Tuesday, I'm not going to want to get out of bed.

[00:24:05] On Tuesday, I'm still going to have that health concern.

[00:24:10] See, if you grew up as a Christian and you've just always known that there is a God,

[00:24:15] sometimes Tuesday's things can overrule this idea that God exists.

[00:24:22] And not just that God exists, but that we can actually know him.

[00:24:27] Here's some of the things that Paul says about who God is.

[00:24:32] And if you've never heard this before, if you're just becoming open to the idea that God exists,

[00:24:39] I hope this sinks in.

[00:24:41] And if you've always known that God exists because you prayed the prayer of salvation when you were three years old,

[00:24:46] I pray you hear it in a fresh way.

[00:24:49] Who is this God?

[00:24:51] He is the creator of the world and everything in it.

[00:24:56] He's the Lord of heaven and earth.

[00:24:59] Lord means the one to whom authority belongs.

[00:25:04] He has authority over the world and over your life and over time and over history.

[00:25:12] He's the Lord, not just of earth, but also of heaven.

[00:25:17] The enemy of your soul that is after you and attacking you, he has authority over.

[00:25:23] He doesn't live in temples made by man.

[00:25:26] And he isn't served by human hands.

[00:25:30] Some of you, especially those who've grown up in the church, your whole relationship with God has been one where you just felt like you were a sacrificial lamb.

[00:25:39] And it was all about what you could give to God and what you could give to God.

[00:25:43] And when you weren't giving to God, he was mad at you.

[00:25:45] And against that idea, Paul says he doesn't need you.

[00:25:52] And that might be a terrifying thought if you grew up in a religious environment.

[00:25:58] God doesn't need you to come here and serve at the women's conference.

[00:26:02] God doesn't need you to go home and be a good girl.

[00:26:06] God doesn't need you to bring your money and pay for things.

[00:26:10] God asks you to do all of those things.

[00:26:14] But he doesn't need you.

[00:26:16] His relationship with you is not one where he is just needing the accolades of humanity to know how great he is.

[00:26:25] He is the Lord of heaven and earth.

[00:26:29] God knows who he is.

[00:26:32] He doesn't need us to come in and sing praises to him to be aware of it.

[00:26:37] It's not like God has a bad day when we don't do our job.

[00:26:42] God is God, regardless of you, regardless of me.

[00:26:48] He is the Lord of heaven and earth.

[00:26:50] He doesn't live in temples made by man.

[00:26:52] He isn't served by human hands.

[00:26:54] He needs nothing but.

[00:26:56] I mean, that could have been it.

[00:26:58] There could have been no but.

[00:26:59] There could have been just like, that's it.

[00:27:01] There's this God and he's distant and he doesn't need you.

[00:27:04] And yet, the scriptures say, he gives everything, including life and breath.

[00:27:15] You see, this God who needs nothing gives everything.

[00:27:20] And that's a revelation some of us need to receive in this room.

[00:27:24] You see, you don't have to give anything to God to get something from God.

[00:27:28] Because your very breath that you took the first day you were born was a gift that he gave to you before you did anything to deserve it in full knowledge of everything that you would do to not deserve it.

[00:27:41] That's the God that is.

[00:27:44] He gives man life and breath and everything else.

[00:27:47] He made all people.

[00:27:50] And not just that.

[00:27:52] We're going to close with this idea.

[00:27:53] He determines the time and place, the here and the now of every single human being, including you, including here, including tonight.

[00:28:08] You see, what the Bible says, what Paul is saying, he said it to the Athenians and now he's saying it to you and I, is God knew you would be here tonight.

[00:28:19] You see, you see, when God was creating your life and thinking about where he wanted to situate you in human history, he saw right here, he saw right now, he saw this room and he said, I'm going to put the thirsty in it.

[00:28:33] I'm going to get the bridge to bring her.

[00:28:36] I'm going to make sure the Hadesi is working.

[00:28:43] That's wild to me.

[00:28:45] That's wild.

[00:28:46] He knew I would be three months postpartum with a little tiny Luke and that I would be here joining in on this conversation with you.

[00:28:56] That's the God that is.

[00:29:00] What are we supposed to do with that?

[00:29:02] Well, it should change everything.

[00:29:05] Simply put, we shouldn't walk out of those doors unchanged.

[00:29:10] We should walk out of here thinking different and living different in light of the reality of what Paul has shared with us, which God divinely appointed him to say.

[00:29:21] So in a moment, I'm going to call you to respond.

[00:29:25] And I know that there's two types of people in this room.

[00:29:28] There's honestly probably like 60 types of people, but I'm just going to paint two types and you find yourself where you are on the spectrum.

[00:29:37] The first type of person is someone who says, honestly, I'm a little bit new to this idea that God exists.

[00:29:45] And you would brand yourself as more of a skeptic.

[00:29:48] If you are in this room and you are a skeptic, whether you're out of the closet skeptic or you're just like, oh my gosh, I thought everyone here was a Christian, so I was just pretending to believe in God.

[00:29:57] Whatever brand of skeptic you are, you are so welcome.

[00:30:00] I know that this church exists so that you would know God, the God that is.

[00:30:04] If you're in this room and you are not yet fully convinced that God exists, then tonight all I'm going to ask you to do in this space that I create for you of just a gift of time.

[00:30:17] Before you go out there and make connections, before you have to go out and take care of those kids, I'm going to give you the gift of time.

[00:30:24] And I'm simply going to ask you to talk to the God that may be there.

[00:30:31] If God is real, what do you lose by opening yourself up to the possibility of his existence?

[00:30:39] I'm simply going to ask you to sit in your seat and quietly between you and whatever may or may not be there, say,

[00:30:47] God, if you are real, make yourself known to me at this conference.

[00:30:55] Make yourself known to me.

[00:30:58] That's one type of person.

[00:31:00] Another type of person would be like my friend Heidi.

[00:31:05] My friend Heidi is hands down the best Christian I know.

[00:31:09] And I say that a little tongue in cheek, but only because I'm jealous of her.

[00:31:14] I mean, this gal, every time I talk to her, she's led someone to the Lord.

[00:31:19] She's not just led someone to the Lord.

[00:31:21] She is caring for foster kids and making sure that the foster kids have homes.

[00:31:27] And those that are caring for the foster kids are resourced by the church.

[00:31:30] She is literally like Jesus in the flesh.

[00:31:36] Every time I talk to her, I'm just like, I need to try harder in my Christianity to be more like Christ as Heidi is.

[00:31:43] But here's the truth about Heidi.

[00:31:45] As Christ-like as she is, she's realized that there are some gaps between her and her relationship with God.

[00:31:54] And for the past two years, I've received an odd text message from Heidi every single Friday.

[00:32:01] And it's really, it's because she asked me to ask her every single Friday, what are your disappointments?

[00:32:07] Because she realized that because she knew God was good, she had a really hard time actually lamenting anything where it seemed like God wasn't good.

[00:32:18] So she asked me to ask her, hey, Heidi, this week, what are your disappointments?

[00:32:22] So every single Friday, I get a text message from Heidi just saying, here's how God doesn't seem good.

[00:32:28] Here's how I'm tempted to hold myself off from God because of these ways that I feel like he has not come through for me.

[00:32:35] And if Heidi can do that, if Heidi can be that level of honest, I wonder what we in this room can pull off.

[00:32:44] I wonder if you've been a Christian for 60 years, if you might have some hurt between you and God.

[00:32:51] And I wonder if in this space that I create, if you would just be willing to go to the God of the universe and say,

[00:32:58] God, first, is there any idol in my heart?

[00:33:02] Is there any idol that I have, something that I've placed unintentionally above you?

[00:33:07] If so, make that known to me so I can confess that to you and turn it over to you.

[00:33:13] Second, maybe it's not an idol, maybe it's hurt.

[00:33:16] Maybe just there is some hurt that has happened in your life and you just feel like,

[00:33:22] I don't want to get close to a God that would allow this to happen to me.

[00:33:26] And in the honesty of this moment, you're going to confess to God, God, I'm hurt.

[00:33:31] And I think because of that pain in my heart, I haven't wanted to get close to you because you let it happen.

[00:33:38] And you're just going to bring your hurt to him and say, I'm sorry for holding myself distant from you.

[00:33:43] Would you heal this hurt?

[00:33:46] And some of you in this room, it's not an idol and it's not hurt,

[00:33:50] but maybe it's just like, Heidi, it's just a disappointment.

[00:33:53] Your life has not turned out as you hoped and prayed it would.

[00:33:59] The things that you thought that God said are not what you've experienced.

[00:34:03] The God that you read in the Bible is not exactly the God that you experience in the here and now.

[00:34:09] Tuesdays have so completely overwhelmed your story

[00:34:12] that you find yourself a little bit more sensitive to Tuesday

[00:34:16] than you are to the God of the Bible.

[00:34:18] And if that's you, all I want you to do is to bring your disappointment to God

[00:34:23] and say, God, here it is.

[00:34:28] Do what you will with this disappointment.

[00:34:30] I just don't want it to come between me and you.

[00:34:34] Go ahead and take a moment, bow your heads,

[00:34:37] and simply in the quietness of this space that I create,

[00:34:40] I want you to talk to the God of the universe.

[00:34:43] The prompts are up on the screen if you need them.

[00:34:47] Let's be with God.

[00:34:49] All right, we're going to close tonight in a very specific way.

[00:34:53] We're going to close tonight with worship and communion.

[00:34:57] I just love the progression of tonight.

[00:35:00] We have had fun together.

[00:35:01] We have worshiped God together.

[00:35:03] We've received the word.

[00:35:05] We've talked to God.

[00:35:07] We've talked to each other.

[00:35:08] And now once again, we're going to just revisit worship,

[00:35:12] and we're going to receive communion.

[00:35:13] Because as we receive communion,

[00:35:16] we get to actually practice what this passage is preaching to us.

[00:35:21] That the God that is, he actually stepped into human history,

[00:35:26] and he made himself known.

[00:35:28] Because he didn't want you to worry.

[00:35:30] He didn't want you to wonder about that hurt and that disappointment.

[00:35:34] If there's healing, or if there's one day going to be redemption,

[00:35:38] he wants you to know that God exists,

[00:35:42] and that he loves you, that he cares you so much so,

[00:35:45] that he sent his son to die for you.

[00:35:48] So let's welcome up Christina,

[00:35:49] who's going to lead us in a time of communion.

[00:35:52] Thank you.