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Hey there. And welcome to the city Lights. Podcast City Lights is a church located in the northwestern part of Richmond, Virginia. For more information about city lights you can visit us at we are city lights dot com. Now enjoy today's message online. My name is Jacob. I'm on the team here at City Lights, and I'm so glad it's you have tuned in wherever you are on your couch in your shower. That'll be weird wherever you are. So glad that you have doomed then we are so excited for this week and we just got some good things we don't talk about. Now, before I get into my message, we're kicking off a new series today. But before I get into that, I got a couple of city highlights that I want to highlight in the 1st 1 is Easter Sunday. Come on, man. We are excited for Easter Sunday online. We're gonna do some great things, get ready for some announcements. But one thing I do want to highlight and get you ready for is we're gonna do Easter best contests. Okay, so what does that mean? I know they're gonna be at home. I know you. Even right now, you may be in your pajamas with Ebola of lucky charms eating and watching me preach right now. But on Easter Sunday, I want you to get in your Easter best. If that's a suit and tie for you, do it. If it says you're looking nice and casual, if is you finally brushing your hair and let you do that and then I want you to post on our instagram or Facebook social media accounts and whoever is the Easter best will win. Ah, prize. Okay, so we wanna engage. It is Easter Sunday, man. We gotta look our best. All right, so we want to make sure we do that. And on the second highlight I want is small groups. Okay? Small groups are happening all week long, so make sure you got it. We are city lights dot com and signed up for it for a group. The Super Fun. I have participated in a few of them. Last week. I had a great time, so I'd love to see you in the small groups with this. All right, So, like I said, not today. We're starting a brand new Siri's leading up to Easter card. This looks uncertain. This looks on a certain and I think times right now looks on certain. But even back then, leading up to Easter Sunday, things looked on certain things didn't look like they were going the way they were supposed to go. And right now, in our world, things feel uncertain, right? Things don't feel like they're going the way that we thought they were going to go. Maybe at the beginning, 2020. You said this is gonna be my year. This is what I'm gonna make some changes. This is what I'm goingto reach the goals and the dreams that I have for my life. And right now you're stuck at your house and you don't even know how you gonna move on. This looks uncertain. It feels, I certain when are we gonna get back to the normal routine when we're gonna get back to our normal life? And for those who have students, you're about to embark on the longest summer break in history right now. So even when things get back to the normal things, that won't be normal to you. So the question is, how do we adjust to things when life feels. I'm sorry when life plans aren't going the way that we thought it was going to go. This looks on certain other definition for the word uncertain. Is this not able to be relied on, not known or not definite? That's a good That's a good definition and describes how things feel right now. I can't rely on things. Things are not known. Things aren't certain. This looks and feels on certain now, believe it or not, leading up to the crucifixion, things felt uncertain for Jesus and his followers. Things felt very uncertain for them. Yes, even Jesus Jesus was in a place of uncertainty. Before his death and resurrection, Jesus was certain of his mission that got put him on his mission to restore humanity. T God see, Jesus was filled with doubt with distress and discouragement and check this out. It was not blind faith. It was not old prophecies, some old book or false hopes that led to the response of Jesus and his followers in the moment of their doubt in the moment of their uncertainty. It was in these times of uncertainty that there was really eyewitness accounts of everything Jesus said would happen happen. I mean, this story is on believable to a lot of ways, but But it's so believable because of what we know and it changed the world as we know it. So if you're taking notes, you can title part one of this series. It starts in a garden, it starts in a garden out. Have you ever faced uncertainty are paying in your life? Like Like I think we're all going through a level of it. But have you ever really just face something that you weren't sure how you're gonna make it? But you weren't sure how you're gonna get through it, you know, have you ever talked to somebody and you express those doubts that's going on in your life that you expressed like the kind of fears you got in those dollars and and you share your hurt? You share your pain, you share the things that you're nervous about, like very specific things to you. And after you tell them all the things that you feel doubtful, fearful onshore about they look back at you and they say, Yeah, I feel your pain. See, maybe it's just me because I'm crazy Sometimes, baby, it's just me. But when I share stuff like that with people and they say Oh, yeah I feel your pain I want look right at him and say No, you don't You don't know my pain You don't You don't You can't relate to how I feel right now Don't tell me you know how I feel Like that's what I want to say I don't know that's crazy but he go So a few years ago, a few years that I started my journey to get my bachelors degree. So So you know anything about me? Education is not something that that is easy for me at a hard time. With that, I still have nightmares. Sometimes about high school is weird. Okay, whatever. But But I felt like God wanted me go back to school. I thought he wanted to go back to school and get my bachelor's degree. Wish I giant up doing this this past winter. So it was It was pretty awesome. So you guys. But when I started online college, um, you know, it was difficult education because I wasn't easy for me. It wasn't fun for me. I didn't have the easiest pathway. I got my g e d. When I was 19 I got I graduated from Vineyard Institute a few years after that, but he go, I love God, and I love the Bible. But Bible college was hard. Got barely made it May. I barely made it through it. Okay, so So, going into this new season of started online school, I was I was nervous. I was uncertain. I didn't know if I was gonna make it. I don't know if I was gonna really get through it, but my big help, the thing I gave me confidence to do online school was the fat that I'm married to. A beautiful smart in the pennant. 4.0 g p a from George Mason University. Beautiful redhead girl named Aaron. Like I'm married to that, You know, it's so so. So if I ever needed how I had the perfect person to help me. Okay, so So check this out. The first couple weeks leading into school, I was already struggling, you know, because I just didn't have a lot of good school patterns. I didn't know, You know, I'm struggling. You know. I can't even do a discussion board, you know? So So So So anyway, I get my first paper graded and my professor tag Almost everything I wrote and said it wasn't academic. It was an academic writing, and it sounded preachy. I'm like, why? I'm a preacher as I write, you know, right How I preach. You don't said he was so in my head. I was like, no one ever taught me how to do academic. Write it. So how you gonna tag me on something that no one's ever taught me how to do? I was frustrated. I was mad, you know? And so I'm telling Aaron, my beautiful wife, I'm telling her how discouraged I feel, you know? And I feel dumb and I'm really dramatic. So I was like, I feel dumb And this is this and, you know, you know, all the all the dramatic Mrs going out. And then finally, after I'm done being dramatic, she looks at me and she says, Yeah, I feel your pain. And then I said to her, How do you feel? My pain missed four point. Oh, miss smart saying girl, you how you feel? My pain. I don't know, I I I can't do math. I can barely read. I can write a bite. You know, these are all the things I'm saying. You know, I'm frustrated, you know? And so so now I'm upset. I'm dramatic bad combo for me when that happens. So finally she gets me to stop having a pity party. She says to me, I could relate to your pain. I know how it is to be frustrated. I know how it is to be uncertain about things. And she says she looked right at me and she said, I'm here to help you achieve, But you want what you feel like you can't. And then I recognize you know what? I am a lucky dude, and my wife is She's smart and hot. You knows all these good things. And she's my sugar mama, too, because that's a good thing. Make sure you get one of those. But anyway, she could. She couldn't relate to educational pain, educational uncertainty that I had, but she had our certainty in her life. She had things that she wasn't sure about, and she had to overcome it. See, we all are dealing with uncertainties. We all. I deal with things that are hard that we don't know how we're gonna get through it. Which leads me to my starting point. My starting point today is this my life, your life. My life is currently filled with uncertainty. My life is currently filled with our uncertainty and maybe for you it is because of all the things that are happening with the Corona virus, Maybe you lost your job. You know, maybe you're struggling to make money. You know, maybe you're just going crazy with all with all your family, your kids so close together. You know, this is his level of uncertainty there that you feel, you know, you know, you got all the different things life fills on certain. And maybe though maybe you have my certainty in your life about things before this happened, Maybe you want start, which you're going to do with with with with with with score with decisions that you had to make Your living in this place is kind of like like an unknown. But you don't know where you're gonna You're gonna go. There's anxiety. There's fear, their stress. You would say my life is currently filled with uncertainty. But my destination point today is this. And check this out. This is gonna be no interest in my destination Point. Jesus relates to you and he provides peace. Jesus relates to you and he provides PC. Jesus relates to your uncertainty. Jesus is aware of the insurgency. Jesus is aware of the anxiety and the stress that you feel right now. So not only can he relate to you, but he can also provide peace for you in the uncertainty. So I'm not gonna get it. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that that Jesus is gonna change everything tomorrow with a blink of an eye. But I am going to tell you that he will provide an avenue to peace for you. So in your uncertainty in your struggle, you can have joy. I wanna jump right into our text that we're gonna follow. See, this is what just happened leading up to the here. The last supper just happened. Jesus. Listen, formed his disciples at one of them is going to betray him. Judas sneaks out, you know, beat behind. Everyone's bad. Peter says I'll never deny you Jesus and Jesus looks at Peter and says before the end of the night, you're gonna deny me three times. Tensions are high, Stress is high. Anxiety is high for Jesus and all of his followers. And there's this filling and everyone's got. Their thing is about to change forever, and things may not go the way they thought. Check this out. Matthew, 26 jumping right in on 1st 36 says this. Then Jesus went to a place called Went to the Place to get into the place of Mount of Olives, and he said to them, Sit here while I go over there and pray he took Peter in. Two of the sons is Abati along with them, and he began to be sorrowful in trouble. Noticed the emotions of Jesus here. I really want you to get this because because sometimes we kind of paint this picture of Jesus that that he's not relatable, that we can't. We can't connect with him. But But Bible just tells us that he was sorrowful in troubled. See, how does God relate to our pain? How does God relate to our uncertainty? He's got? He's perfect, isn't he? He's Jesus, right? If Jesus having a bad day. He gonna take a nice long walk on the water. Just think about it, right? Maybe he's having a bad day and he doesn't feel like going to the store because only 10 people at a time and go to Trader Joe's right now. He could take a whole bucket of water and turn that thing into wine. How gay he relate to me. How could he relate to my uncertainty? How does he know my pain? But the truth is this Jesus is fully God and fully human. C C is not 50% of God, plus 50% of of a man equals a 100% Jesus. That is that That's not how the math works here. No, it's Jesus is 100% God and he's 100% human equal in 100%. Jesus. Come on, man. I love the way God doesn't matter. That was the way I do math at school. I've been all right. Okay? The Apostle Paul says it like this in Philippians 26 He says who being a very nature God did not consider equality, Carly with God, something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. I'm being found in the appearance as a man. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross he took on human form. See God through Jesus. Honor stands our humanity. He understands our fears. Friends Jesus. Being 100% human means he knows what you are feeling right now. Jesus understands your pain. He understands your disappointment. Jesus understands your trials in troubles in your heart aches and you're it. And your your your hardship he honor stands what you're going through. It is through Jesus that I, God is not some distant, un relatable, unapproachable deity out there somewhere in the sky. But it is through Jesus that we see that God is personal. That God is relational, that God draws near to us. That God walks with us. That God is four. See friends. You can have pain. You can have disappointment. You can have trials and heartache and you are not alone. God is for you and God is with you. You can talk to you. Got much to get this you can talk to your God in the middle of pain in the middle of uncertainty in the middle of everything that's going on, you can talk to your God and check this out, and he gets it. He gets it, he gets you. He understands you. He understands what you're feeling right now. He understands Jesus is sorrowful in trouble and check out what happens next. Then Jesus said to them, my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. This is some real talk here. This ain't some some fluffy Jesus that, like floats around the beaches or something like that. This is so real. Honest talk here. I'm gonna throw this at you. I don't. So this, actually, if you're living a Christianity, that makes you sound overly positive all the time or overly optimistic about everything that you know is like Oh, yeah, my tire got flat. Gods for me. If you're living a Christianity that you just seem kind of fake in your in your faith, I would dare to say that should not really following Jesus. I would I would dare to say that you're following some brand of Christianity that is not authentic. See you go. I'm not. I'm not saying you need to be a negative person, you know, because negative people, negative people are really poison to the soul, like you don't you don't catch me hanging around negative people because they can't do it. But But you have to be authentic. You have to be authentic. Jesus is authentic here, here, here because he's the leader of the pack and three of his followers, he says, Hey, man, my soul's overwhelmed like my soul is so overwhelmed, like like to the point that I think about dying like that's what he's saying right here to the people that he's leading it. Jesus is my soul's overwhelmed. My inner being is overwhelmed with sorrow, with pain. That's my honest stuff. And that's Jesus. That's the Jesus that we follow. Hey, first, I want you. I want you to know something. Don't be afraid to be honest with God, don't be afraid to be honest with God. When Dylan, with uncertainty be authentic, the rial be authentic. Be author, tick with safe people seem not. Every single person, especially everyone on Facebook, needs to hear your business find safe people and be authentic. And if you don't have safe people that you can talk to, that's what we're doing on my small groups. So you can meet people that are safe because I know, really life change happens in the context of healthy relationships. Be authentic with safe people, be authentic with God, Talk to God. He's listening and he desires to hear you. But he got Check this one out to you. Be authentic with yourself. Stop playing games. Stop lying to yourself. I think the biggest person we lie to is ourselves. They were not real with our own feelings for their own emotions. Because here's the truth. You can have accountability partners. You have 100 accountability partners. But in accountability partner is on Lee. As good as you allow that person to be, that person is only as good as how honest you're willing to be with yourself and with them seem as city lights. My heart is that people can bring their whole Selves to church, that they could bring their whole Selves to God, not hide, and I feel like they got at all perfect. But I'm I'm dealing with stuff we're dealing with real life problems and we need help. See? See, the story continues. It says this just says Stay here and keep watching me going a little farther he fell with his face to the ground and pray like I mean, he's, he's he's going through it right now. Jesus is going through it. My father, if it is possible, made this cup be taken from me yet. Not as I will, but as you will. Here's something I want you to see. Even Jesus had moments of doubt. Yeah, even Jesus had moments of doubt. This is what we're seeing in this story. In the face of my certainty that I want you to check this out and the face of uncertainty. Jesus did three things Jesus. Position himself before God. Jesus talked to God authentically and Jesus trusted in God, no matter what. See when you're dealing with uncertainty in your life, that is not your time to run away. That's not your time to go on the retreat. That's not your time. That touches. Just hide. That's your time to say God, I'm coming before you. I'm not certain I don't know what tomorrow's gonna bring. I'm uncertain right now. Got him. I'm right here. And that's your time to be authentic Top realtor. Gotta be honest with God. And that's your times they got. I don't trust you. Even in this, even in this season, I'm going to trust you. Even in this pain, I'm going to trust you. Even in this moment, I'm going to trust you. And I feel there's some people who are watching right now and and even in this, you need to trust God. Even in this difficulty in this insecurity of this fear and this stuff, even in this, you need to trust God. See, my life is currently filled with uncertainty. But you got to say this to yourself. But I will position myself before God. Now, I'm gonna give you something real practical, something that I do because sometimes my life is so busy and I got so many things going around. This is what I do in order to position myself before God, I did this thing called the 15 the 15. I take 15 at least 15 minutes of my day in five minutes each. I pray for five minutes, read my Bible for five minutes and I journal for five minutes fit and I tie myself all time it cause I know it's so busy sometimes. But this is a way for me to be attentional about positioning myself before God see our church for doing a churchwide Bible reading plan and that you're gonna be able to see on the website today. Sign up for is a short devotional with some with some with some scriptures, and then you can communicate. You can write on it and being in being community with people. So you got to position yourself before God. Second thing talked to God authentically man, you can yell, you can cuss, you can wrap. I don't know. Whatever you do, just talk to God. And don't think talking to God is saying these and vows and all those weird things like that Just be yourself. Be yourself and talk to God and then trust God. No matter what said God, I'll keep following you and I'm gonna tell you this the biggest setbacks in life. God will use those to set you up for future success, I'm telling you, and I could tell you that I've seen him with my life. I've seen him with my life. And I see in the scripture here is Jesus. He's in this pain. He's dealing with uncertainty. He talks to God and he's kind of like right your will, not mine. This is hard. This is tough. Go back to my boys. I'm gonna get my decide. Don't get the disciples and get my boys. At least I know they got my back. This is going where Jesus is that he's talking to guys like me. At least I know I'm gonna get them. I told him, you know, watch. You know, they don't go back. I'm going to get them and check out what happens to Jesus. Then he returned to his disciples and foul them sleeping man. That's some messed up stuff right there. If I was Jesus, I would be so mad, you know, here I am. I'm literally about to die for you, and you're taking a nap. You know, I'm like, did Halabi's. I'll be so mad and check out. Check out how he plays Peter to like, look at all the disciples he picks on. Peter's checked out what Jesus says. He said, Couldn't you make he watch with me for one hour? He asked Peter. He's a Peter like Come on, man. You always mess it up, you know? So So this is what happens. He goes back to all sleeping. Jesus continues in these as something to them. That's very important. He says something so important. Check this out, he says. Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. I mean, what does he mean here? Like he's, he's praying. He's he's distressed. He has a lot going on. He comes back. The guys that had his back to guys that been following him for a little over three years. Now they're sleeping on them. One of them already ran off to betray him, like the people that was closest to him. This sleeping, that he can't even trust them and an officer. And he says to them, a man just don't fall into temptation like I can't help but read this and see that Jesus is talking to them. But Jesus is also talking to himself in this moment. He's also he watched him pray, watching, praying, don't fall into temptation, See, watch. I want you. I want to break this down. What does it mean? Tow watch, toe watches this. There's gonna be other challenges coming. Like the challenge that you're dealing with right now is not gonna be the last challenge that you ever deal with. And I know that may not be the most encouraging thing, but it's just reality. Like the challenge of the difficulty that you're facing right now. Today, it is not gonna be the last difficulty or challenge that you have in your life. If it is may I want to get to know you, meet you and just get all your good. You Do you want me or something? I don't know. See, we have to be experts. Check this out. We have to be experts at overcoming trials. We're gonna be experts at overcoming difficulties. Say I believe in deliverance. I believe that I will deliver you in a second. I believe in healing prayer. I believe that God can restore I believe all that stuff. But Eve. But even with all of that, there is nothing like meaning someone who has overcame something. There's some. There's some grit to that person. There's some grind to that person. There's some stories that that person has learned and built up when they have overcame. And I'm gonna tell you that she got a watch because there's other things that are gonna happen and you have the opportunity to overcome those things as well. See, it is not in the easy seasons of life that that your character gets developed. It's, um is it no seasons of life when there's uncertainty and there's pain and their child is in those seasons when you want to give up and get out? Was in those seasons that God can develop a part of you that she did not know existed See their strength in you that you don't know that you have this power in you that comes from the Holy Spirit, that she would haven't activated yet. And I want to let you know today they sure trial. That's your pain. The thing you're doing with right now is going to unleash all that God has for you. C c You gotta watch what's happening. And then what you watch. You gotta pray. See, when you're watching, things are gonna come. You gotta pray and what its prey mean prey means I'm going to seek help from God no matter what's going on. Child's air coming. But I'm going to seek God in every single one. And how do I know why I volunteered? Temptation Don't fall into temptation What does this mean? The temptation that Jesus is speaking about this moment is he saying Don't fall into the temptation of saying that God is not for me. Don't fall into the temptation forsaking your faith when life gets uncertain when bad things happen. The biggest temptation we can all cave into is believing that we are not in need of God. And I'm gonna tell you this all sin comes from that place already all sent his linked back to you believe in You are not in need of God of me believe it and I'm not in need of God. The narrative says that Jesus goes away for a second time and he prays. He's praised again, my father. It is not possible for this cup be taken away unless I drink it May your will be done. Then he comes back again to his disciples and he finds them sleeping again. I want to take a moment and pause here. What happens when you're trying your best to do the right thing? But the situation doesn't change, he goes and he prays and he comes back in a sleeping again. I'm going to try my best try my best, goes back one more time. Need praise, and I want to read this last prayer from Luke's account of the story and Luke 22 start in Verse 42. It says, Father, if you are willing to take this cup from me yet, not my will but yours be done and check out this part. An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthen that. Now I want you to get this. I believe at this moment, too powerful things happened. I believe two powerful things happen at this moment. That's emotion. The rest that the next 12 hours before Jesus would die on the cross on Good Friday, I believe two things happen. Some theologians believe the cup that Jesus was talking about that he kept asking God to take was the cup of sin. It was a Sacher. It was the sacrifice of becoming sin. The Apostle Paul gives us insight in second Corinthians and says for God made Christ, who never seen to be the offering for arson so that we could be made right with God through Jesus. I believe it was in this moment in the garden that God had to turn away from Jesus and that Jesus took on this sin of the whole world. See, it starts in a garden. It starts in the garden. We read in the Genesis account that it was in a garden that God foreign man and and breathed life into him. And it was also in a garden that Jesus took on the weight off our sin so that we may have a life in life to the fullest. He was strengthen by an angel. What does that even mean? What does that mean? I want you to get this. I want you to get this because this is for you. Right here. This is for you. In your circumstance. This is for you. I want you to get this. He was strengthened by Angel when Jesus stepped into uncertainty. When when he stepped into this place of becoming sin for us it was his relationship with God that brought him through it. It was his relationship with God. It wasn't that God's presence was there with them at the moment. But it was what he knew about God is what he knew about his purpose. It was what he knew that brought him through this. See, check this out. The next verse says this and being an anger. See, Jesus was angry, had pain. He had frustrating being in anguish. He prayed. Well, it doesn't say being angry, he ran away and denounced God and did things his way. Being in English, he prayed more. He tapped Maur into the presence of God. So I want you to know the more pressure you feel, the more God's presence that you need see. And then it continues, it says in his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. And he rose from prayer when back to his disciples found them sleeping again, exhausted from sorrow. Why are you sleeping? He asked them. Get up in prey. Check this out, get up in pray so that you will not fall. And to temptation, he says. It's home again. This looks uncertain, but I want you to see this. But Jesus relates to us and he provides peace to us. And how about how does he provide peace to us? Jesus says, Get up and pray and don't lose faith yet. Don't give up yet this looks on certain but don't give up yet. Check out what the Hebrew Ryder says. She tells us that it was for the joy set before him. Jesus endured the cross. See the second thing that happened here, The second powerful thing that happened here was this was that Jesus also new because off our freedom, because of us being connected, reconciled to God. It was us. We were the joy that he thought of the cross was not joyful for him, the cross was miserable but him becoming sense so that we can become right with God. That was the joy. And so we see these two powerful things that happened in this moment and friends. I want you to know in this moment, even though he became sin, Jesus pressed on because of the joy that we will have because of his sacrifice on the cross and because his resume at Resurrection, we can have peace in a certain times because Jesus went face to face with his uncertainties and everything that he said he will do. He did it. And there was more eyewitness accounts about that. Anything in human history. See, friends, I want you to know today that you can have peace in this uncertainty. Because Jesus holds the victory. Now you hasn't me. Wherever you are in this print, every year I say, God, I need you. You made you feel right now they got a mint uncertainty. I have fear. I have doubt have all this anxiety even right now to say God, I find security in you. You provide peace. You relate to me. You bring me peace. I am if like her some people who are listening that you're having a hard time. I believe in that. God is really for you. That's like the Holy Spirit saying right now. But he hasn't left you. He hasn't left you. Andi, like my flight. Got a saying he hasn't left you because Jesus never left you. Jesus For you right now. You may be wrestling and struggling with that by flying. The Holy Spirit is saying he's been with you every step of the way. Maybe you heard me talking. You never made a decision to trust Jesus. Which your life. Or maybe you have life kind of got in the way. Maybe you just stumbled upon this video because someone shared it. Are you jumping into someone's watch? Partying You listen to and you feel something you got? That's the Holy Spirit. That's the Holy Spirit. Convicting you, loving you? You're saying that I don't? I don't have everything right with this. Jesus, that is so selfless. This Jesus that is so filled with love. I want that Jesus in my life. You won't make it. This isn't a trusted Jesus. What's your life? By where you are, I want you to pray this prayer with me. You can say it out loud or you can say it to yourself. I want you to say this prayer. When she did say Jesus, forgive me for my son. Make me new help me navigate my uncertainty Today I trusted you in Jesus. Name a man. Thanks for checking out the city lights podcast. If you'd like to partner with us financially, you can go toe. We're city lights dot com slash give or you can text any dollar amount to 84321 Thanks for joining us today.