In the Storm

November 28, 2021 • Brian Brownlow • Matthew 1:23

Immanuel: God With Us…In the Storm
Luke 8:22-25, Mark 5:21-43
Good morning LakeRidge. Today marks the first Sunday in Advent. Historically, Advent is the season of anticipation and preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth. It seems that we now have about three months of Christmas shopping that builds up to the big day, but it did not use to be that way. The four weeks before Christmas that we call Advent were for preparation and reflection. The birthday celebration actually started after December 25. The tradition of the 12 days of Christmas are the days after Christmas Day and they were reserved for celebrating. I do not say that to be one more complainer who grouses about how early Christmas music starts playing in stores. However, those of you who had your Christmas lights up and turned on before Halloween, yeah, I’m judging you!
The birth of Christ is cause for celebration! I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to a great time, sharing holiday traditions with my family. On the other hand, it’s critical that we do not forget that the power of Christmas is not in twinkling lights, pretty bows and bright colored wrapping paper. The power of Christmas is that the God of all creation loved us so much that he sent his Son – a part of himself – to be born as a baby, live as a man, die a horribly painful death that pays the penalty for our sins.
Christmas celebrates the first part: the birth of Jesus, the son of God, as a baby. The season of Advent is the celebration and anticipation of that event. It reminds us people had waited…longed for that moment. They did not have to wait x-number of shopping days. They had waited centuries for God to become flesh in their midst.
Over the next four weeks we are going to be talking about Immanuel, God With Us. Immanuel is not a Christmas concept; it is a current reality that gives hope to our lives.
So, if God With Us is a current reality for you and me, how do we experience this current reality? He is always with us but during this season we are going to look at three specific places where we experience God, literally, being with us: God is with us in the storm, in the wilderness, and in the valley.
Today I am going to attempt to walk with you through the storm. Turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 8.
One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So, they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement, they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Luke 8:22-25
Fear is an emotion that is triggered when we perceive danger. Sometimes perceived danger is not in fact real danger. It is common for people to be afraid of the dark. In the dark we can imagine there are all kinds of dangers because we are unable to see the environment around us. In the dark there may be actual dangers, or it may just be our imagination.
The child who is afraid of the dark can imagine all kinds of monsters lurking under their bed at night. Even though there is, in fact, nothing under the bed but dust bunnies and stray toys. On the other hand, a dark alley at 3 AM could very well contain clear and present threats. The fear that we experience is the same – even if the reality of the danger is not.
In this passage, Luke is describing a situation on the Sea of Galilee that contains very real danger. What some versions translate as a storm, the NIV renders “squall.” Other usages of that word in the New Testament all have the connotation of a violent or fierce wind. One of the other places we see it used is in the description of the house built on the sand versus the house built on solid rock. In that story the wind is so powerful the house built on sand is completely destroyed.
When the disciples wake Jesus by screaming, “We are going to drown!” They are not being dramatic. The danger is very real. On the other hand,
Jesus does not seem very sympathetic. He almost acts like they are children complaining, for the hundredth time, about the monsters under their bed.
There is a difference between real and perceived danger. Often, we worry and fret over things that might happen. We put together all of these terrible scenarios in our minds. You do know that is the devil at work, don’t you? The enemy of our soul always targets our faith. He loves to cripple us with fear of worst case scenarios. I have had conversations with people where I quickly realized they had already written their obituary and they were not even sick yet. But the worst thing is when I have a conversation with someone, and I realize they have already written my obituary – and I am not even sick yet! There is a difference between real and perceived danger.
The disciples were in real danger. This was not a dream. They did not wake up and say, “Whew! What a relief. That dream seemed so real!” This squall, this storm, the disciples were experiencing was absolutely real. Their lives literally were in danger.
All three synoptic Gospels record this story. In Mark’s account he says, “Do you not care that we’re about to die?” When we experience real storms in our lives, often our first thought is, “Why did Jesus allow this to happen to me? If he really loved me, if he really cared, he would have stopped this.” You do know that is the devil at work, don’t you? When storm clouds gather in our lives, the enemy of our soul always targets our faith. He wants to convince us that Jesus is asleep and does not care. In our distress one of Satan’s favorite tactics is to raise doubt. “Look around you! The wind is roaring, and the water is about to swamp your boat! You are going to die! If you are in this kind of storm, God can’t possibly love you. He must be asleep because he sure does not care.”
But the Jesus who does care stands up and calms the storm. Reminding ourselves from scripture and our own lives about what Jesus has done gives evidence and testimony to what we can believe in faith; what he will consistently do in the storms of our life. While the timeframe –
and the method – does not always match up with what we would desire, he always comes through.
On the other hand, I do not know if you are like me but, sometimes I do not expect him to come through like I should. I have seen so many acts of God in my life I have no excuse. By this point the disciples really had no excuse. They had seen the power of who Jesus was. They may not have fully grasped him being the son of God in this moment on the boat, but they had seen him perform amazing miracles. So, it is surprising to hear them, in fear and amazement, say to one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.” Jesus expected more from them as well. “Where is your faith?” he asks. Let us hold that for just a moment.
I want to share a couple of things that happen right after Jesus calms the storm. First of all, Jesus heals a man possessed by multiple demons. Now, if that is not dramatic enough, he does it by sending the demons into a herd of pigs and then sending the pigs running off the edge of a cliff. If Jesus had been keeping his activities on the downlow he was sure breaking out of that now. You see, in several cases early in his ministry, Jesus would perform a miracle and then tell the person to keep it a secret. In many cases they did just the opposite. I mean, who could blame them? It is hard to keep that kind of thing under your hat. But Jesus tells the demon possessed man to, “Go and tell everyone what God has done for you.” You can imagine this caused quite a stir.
So much so that when Jesus and the disciples went back across the lake a huge crowd gathered to greet them. Obviously, people had heard what Jesus had done and were coming to see it for themselves. At this point, Luke chooses to tell us about a specific man named Jairus, a leader in the synagogue. This man had a 12-year-old daughter who was dying. I imagine him literally running to Jesus. The story explicitly tells us that he fell to his knees and pleaded with Jesus to come to his house.
Jesus goes immediately to see the girl. The Bible describes the scene on the way to Jairus’ home as being so chaotic that the crowds almost crushed Jesus. That is a serious statement. It does not describe the
moment as being a bustling street or people crowding around him. It says they nearly crushed him. It was absolutely crazy. So, in the midst of this circus, Jesus asks, “Who touched me?” Say what? His disciples had to be wondering what he was talking about. It could have been anyone. It was almost assuredly everyone immediately around him – including his disciples. Peter speaks up and says, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus insists. He knows that not only has someone touched him, but power has gone out from him. In that moment a woman falls at his feet. Remember the posture Jairus took when he came to Jesus? She goes on to testify in front of the whole crowd that she has had an issue of bleeding for 12 years. She had seen all of the doctors, such as they were, and done everything she could but nothing worked. And yet simply touching the edge of Jesus’ robe healed her instantly. After she had given her testimony Jesus looked at her and said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
Remember, all of this happened while Jesus was on his way to the synagogue ruler’s house where his young daughter is so sick, she is not expected to live. It is sometimes referred to as the “miracle on the way to a miracle.” If you are not familiar with the story, I guess I should have given you a spoiler alert. Yes, there is going to be another miracle, but it certainly does not seem like it in the moment. You see just after the woman gives testimony about her healing, a member of Jairus’ household walks up and reports that the young girl has died and there is no need to bother the teacher anymore.
Before the girl’s father even had time to let the news of her death sink in, Jesus spoke up and reassured him. “Do not be afraid,” he said, “just believe, and she will be healed.” When they arrived at the house, all of the other people were wailing and mourning for the dead child. Instead of comforting them, Jesus tells the people in no uncertain terms, “Stop your wailing, this girl’s not dead she is merely asleep.” Kind of a harsh word for people who are grieving the loss of a child don’t you think?
Sometimes we overdo Jesus’ meekness and humility. He certainly modeled both of those things and neither of them imply weakness like our culture would tell us. On the other hand, Jesus knew when to speak directly
into a situation and he never shrank from that when it was necessary. Remember on the boat when he rebuked the disciples saying, “Where is your faith?”
The people’s response was to laugh at him. On the surface that seems a bit odd. People who are mourning and experiencing terrible grief all of a sudden start laughing. This was not a “Ha Ha” kind of laugh. It was a mocking laugh. I think it is why he did not allow them inside the house. Instead, Jesus would only let Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents go in where he took the child’s hand and said, “My child, get up!” and at once her spirit returned, she stood up and took something to eat. Her spirit returned. The people were right. The girl was physically dead. Jesus has power over death – physical and spiritual.
I realize only one of these stories involved weather but they all contained a storm. If you are a parent, can you imagine any greater storm that have your child experiencing a life threatening illness? For the woman who had the issue of bleeding for 12 years not only was this a physical ailment but it also had a tremendous social stigma. Even a woman’s monthly flow of blood which is a natural part of life would make her ceremonially unclean at that time. Now, we do not want to over blow this. It was not like she was a leper. A woman would not be placed in a cage during her menstrual period. However, anything she touched during that time was unclean and women experienced some level of restriction every single month. So, for a woman who was hemorrhaging and had bleeding going on all the time this would have been tremendously stressful physically and emotionally. This was undoubtedly a storm of major proportions in her life.
Every one of us experiences storms in our life that have nothing to do with wind or rain or hail or tornadoes. In each of the examples from Luke’s gospel that we examined this morning the people were experiencing a storm. They had a choice. Some chose to see the storm as bigger than Jesus. That choice led them to panic. That choice led them to question whether Jesus really cared about them. That choice led them to mock him when he said he could calm their storm. Some chose to fall at his feet in faith and say I cannot stop this storm. I need you Jesus…and I believe you can.
Jesus is always looking for our faith. Sometimes he asks, “Where is it?” Sometimes he marvels at the simple faith of a child – especially when it comes from an adult!
God does not need our faith per se. There is no greater miracle than creation. God creating everything out of nothing. The first (and perhaps biggest?) miracle required no faith from human beings. He had just about created everything before he created mankind. But he did create us in his image for a relationship with him. A relationship of love. That love is so powerful that he sent a part of himself – we understand God as Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) – in order to save us from the greatest storm of all. The storm of sin in our life that leads to spiritual death.
As we begin the season of Advent, we celebrate the coming of Jesus born as a flesh and blood baby. The word that described him was Immanuel: God With Us. God with you and me in all of the storms of life. There is nothing that Immanuel cannot overcome. While his power is not dependent on our faith, he does respond to faith. The Bible is full of examples. We just looked at a few today.
Christmas is not just a story about God being with us 2,000 years ago. Right here, right now Immanuel, God With Us is an ever present reality that is greater than any physical or spiritual storm you will ever encounter.

Tells Us to Go

December 26, 2021 • Sergio Maul • Matthew 10:1–8, Matthew 28:18

All the Time - Christmas Eve 2021 Service

December 24, 2021 • Lyndol Loyd • Matthew 1:21–23

Immanuel: God with Us - All the Time What if you knew that God was present with you? What if you knew it for sure? What would you think? What would you do? What would you say? What would you attempt? What would you believe? How do you think that would change your life right now in this moment if you knew it? How do you think it might change your life tomorrow? Next year? That may seem like a crazy concept to consider that God is actually present with you, but it’s true. As odd as it might seem, it’s true. Let me explain why some of you are having a difficult time accepting that, believing that, feeling that – that God is with you. Let me use a story to explain. Have you ever paid close attention to the labels on products? Maybe you do and maybe you don’t. If you don’t you might want to start. A few years ago Old Spice High Endurance Deodorant had a very interesting label on the back of their deodorant sticks. It read… “Contains odor fighting atomic robots that shoot lasers at your stench monsters and replaces them with fresh, clean, masculine scent elves.” Now we all know that some elves work for Santa, some elves live on a shelf and that other elves live in trees where they make cookies and crackers, but who knew that there were elves that make it their job to keep your armpits smelling good? Some of you are thinking, “Where on earth is he going with this?” I promise there really is a point to my story. Here it is: We really never know that we have deodorant on or not unless we begin to smell like we don’t have it on. Most of us don’t walk around thinking about our deodorant and how wonderful it is. We only think of our deodorant if it isn’t doing its job or until we begin to smell like we didn’t remember to put any on in the first place. Here’s the deal. God is present everywhere. He’s around always. However, most of the time we don’t really sit around and talk about his presence until our lives begin to smell like he isn’t there. Until our lives begin to reek of things that make us ask “Where’s God? He must be absent.” Assuming that if he were present we wouldn’t be going through what we are going through – the pain you feel, the suffering, the challenges, the hurt you are facing. We hear of horrible news like another school shooting, a natural disaster, something really horrific and we ask, “Where’s God?” because life is beginning to smell like he must not be around. You know what I’m talking about, things like… • When you find out your teenager is involved with the wrong crowd and using substances he has no business being involved with. • When your caller ID on your phone shows up as your doctor’s office calling to let you know that the results of your blood work aren’t what you need for them to be. • When someone you always thought of as a friend betrays your trusts and does something that breaks your heart. Sometimes life just stinks and it causes you to ask, “Where are you God?” Some of you may be here tonight to make someone important in your life happy. You don’t consider yourself to be Christian, but you wanted to be with the rest of the family or told friends that you would come with them. Maybe the reason you have avoided church in the past is because you have looked around and said, “Well if God is with us… then why that? And why this? And why that?” And you know what? I can understand why you might feel that way. I think you’ve got a good point… as far as feelings go. But the truth is, God is with us. He is present with us. As a matter of fact, God went to great lengths; he went to a whole lot of trouble to communicate just how present he is with us. You see, being present with us isn’t just what God does. It is actually who he is. We learn this from the Christmas story. Let me take us to the Bible, to Matthew 1:21-23 where we find this account, “And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” It’s not just what God the Father did in sending Jesus. It is actually who he is. Remember the story of his arrival in Bethlehem. The angels come to the shepherds and tell them that there is a Savior who has been born and he will be the King of the Jews. The angels tell them where he is. The shepherds come. They find Mary and Joseph. They find the baby Jesus lying in the manger. His birth announcement happens so that everyone would know that God has come in flesh and bone, in the person of Jesus Christ, to us. His name alone illustrates it – Immanuel, God with us. It lets us know that God is touchable… is knowable… is close. God is with us. He is present. For 33 years on this earth Jesus lived and the last three of those years he ministered and met needs, loved people, showed grace to people and taught people and prepared the world for the greatest event this world has ever seen – even greater than his birth in Bethlehem was the day he died for our sin and even greater, the day he arose from the grave. He did all of that to illustrate that He is with us, that he is present. God is still present with us. Jesus isn’t physically on the earth. He went back to Heaven, but he left us his Spirit. He’s still very present with us. I know that life can often reek like he’s gone. Sometimes life just stinks and there is no way to live it without getting it on you. There is no way to go through this life and come out squeaky clean on the other side. Some of you showed up here tonight and you carried the mess of your life in the door with you. More than anything you need to know this: God is with you. I don’t know what is going on in your life. I don’t what challenges you are facing. I don’t know what you are staring down right now. Maybe this is the first time you have been to church in a very long time. You’ve been going through so much and you would love to know that God is with you. You need to know that God is present and that we often see God’s presence with us the very most at the point of our need, the point of our pain, in our mess, in our crisis, in our inadequacies, in our challenges, in our difficulties – that’s the time when he seems most absent, but that’s the time when he is actually most present. You see his presence. You sense his presence. As a matter of fact, it is your story. Listen to people talk and you’ve heard stories like this – a lot of you have. If you haven’t had a story like this then you’ve heard people say things like, “I would never want to go back and do that again” as they refer to a painful time in their lives. “I would never want to go back and do that again. But let me tell you something, I learned so much through that experience.” You ever heard someone say something like that? If you’re not a Christian that might sound sort of weird. You might be thinking that sounds strange. But the truth is that it is often in these sorts of circumstances where God show up the most – right smack dab in the middle of the mess – your mess, my mess. I can tell you my own story. The times when I have felt and experienced the presence of God the most has been in the middle of the messes of my life. You might ask, “So where was God on 9/11? Where was God when that drunk driver killed my friend? Where was God when the tornadoes blew through Arkansas, Kentucky and Illinois?” Those are good questions. I mean innocent lives were lost in those situations, and at face value it certainly seems that God must have been absent. He must have been doing something else. He must have checked out. What we have to know is that God’s presence is not determined by the absence of pain or evil. God’s presence is actually seen the most right in the middle of all of this. So where was God? God was there in the first responders who rushed to the scene of each of these tragedies. God was there in the people who ignored their own need in order to help meet the needs of others they didn’t even know. God was there in the people who showed up afterwards to give love and care. God showed up in the prayers of people all across the world. Now, how is God with you? How is he there in your own mess? In your own inadequacies? In your own crisis? How do you see God? In those times you may want to look at your life and say, “Where is he? Where is he? He’s gone.” No, no, no. You see God show up in the life of that person that God has brought into your life to listen to you, to help you, to serve you, to care for you, to encourage you. God shows up in that person that is able to make you laugh when you really do need to laugh. He shows up in that song you hear on the radio at just the right time. He shows up in that Bible verse that you come across or just happen to see at just the right moment and you think, “I needed that.” God shows up in the words, “I’m sorry” from the person who has hurt you. God shows up in the words, “I forgive you” from the person who you hurt. God shows up in the hug, the smile, the togetherness of a family, or friends who encourage you. God shows up in his Spirit that is always with us. You see God is our Emmanuel, which means that he is always with us. He will be with you. He is with me. He will be with us. Even when your life and my life smells like he is gone, he is not. He is with us. In these moments it is when he tends to show up the biggest, the brightest and the best. What if you knew that God was present with you? What if you really, really knew it? How do you think that would change the way you see whatever it is that you are going through? Because it would. It should. The simple truth is that we are not alone. I’m not alone. You’re not alone. You’re never alone, ever. Even when you might want to be, you’re not. He is always around looking for an opportunity to show us just how present he is. The Greatest Display of God’s Presence Do you know what the greatest display of God’s presence was? It wasn’t just in Bethlehem. The greatest display of God’s presence was when he made himself most present at the point of our greatest need. Remember I said that God shows up at the point of our need? His greatest presence happened when he addressed the point of our greatest need – and that is our sin. When Jesus died on a cross for me, for you, for us, for the sins of the world that is when God’s presence was most vividly seen. Now get this, if you were there that day standing with the crowd seeing this man named Jesus, 33 years old, dying on the cross, you are thinking, “This is bad. This is bad. Where’s God? This is a mess. This is a tragedy. God has left. God has gone.” It sure looked like it. It sure felt like it. Actually the opposite is what is true. Jesus dying on a cross for us was the realization of why he came to us at Christmas to begin with. And in that moment although it looked horrible there was nothing more holy than what was going on that day when Jesus died for me and Jesus died for you. God sent Jesus to be born in Bethlehem and then had him make salvation, the forgiveness of our sins possible, by dying for us. Did you hear that? Us. People like me. People like you. When we look to what it was that Jesus did, when we look at how he was present for us and we trust him as our Savior, the forgiver of our sin, and our Lord, the leader of our lives. We put our faith and reliance in him and we are given new and eternal life. We are forgiven. We are given a fresh start. It is why he came to be present with us.

In the Valley

December 19, 2021 • Lyndol Loyd • Matthew 1:23

Immanuel: God With Us — In the Valley Good morning Church! Today we're moving forward in our Advent message series, Immanuel: God With Us. Our anchor scripture is Matthew 1:23, “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She'll give birth to a son, they will call Him Immanuel, which means God is with us." What we’ve been doing is talking about what it looks like for God to be with us in different seasons of life such as in the midst of a storm or when we find ourselves in the wilderness. It is easy to believe that God is with us when things are good. When you're on the mountaintop it's easy to believe that God is with us. Whenever you get really good news, when you get a raise, when your baby sleeps through the night for the first time, when you get a parking spot at the mall and it's so close, God is so good He gave me this parking spot. It's easy to sense the presence of God when things are going well. However, it can be more difficult to sense His presence when you're in the valley. When things aren't going the way you would want them to, when you get bad news. When you're hurting. Maybe when you feel a little bit alone. When you're worried, or when you're afraid, or battling depression. Today, I want to talk about God in the valleys. And what's interesting to me is so often, much of your life can be going really really well. In other words, you've got all these different pockets where you're kind of on a mountaintop. Then there's this one area that just weighs everything else down. Unfortunately some of you are there right now. Some seasons and pockets of your life are really good. Your marriage is blessed, but you've got a kid making dumb decisions and that hurts so much. You sense God's presence, but at the same time you're afraid you're gonna lose your job. Or you're really excited about the holidays, getting together with family, and yet you just got bad medical news about you or somebody else. And so there's so many good things and yet there may be one or two things that just kinda take you down in the valley. So what I want to talk about today is Where is God in those valleys? When you look at scripture, it's interesting that valleys represent several things. You see in the valleys there are often battles that took place. Some of you right now, you may be in a battle in the middle of a valley. Valleys were seasons of desperation. Valleys were seasons of loneliness. It's interesting that valleys were also a time of growth. That you may enjoy God in some ways on the mountain, but you experience Him in different ways when you're in the valley. In fact, here’s sort of a big thought to ponder today. We may enjoy God on the mountaintops, but we get to know Him intimately in the valleys. I want to look at a text from the Old Testament, Psalm 84. If you've ever read through Psalm 84, chances are you read right past these verses. If you stopped at them you may not have understood them. We're going to see where God is in the valleys. This is what Psalm 84:5-7 says, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” What is the Valley of Baka? The Valley of Baka was most likely related to a tree with a similar spelling. This tree would ooze out sap. People said the tree was called a weeper. It looked like the tree was crying. And that's why the Valley of Baka is translated in different ways in scripture. It's called the Valley of Tears or the Valley of Weeping or the Valley of Loss. Anytime you see a valley in the Bible it is a place that was dangerous. There'd be thorns. There would be people waiting to jump you and rob you. In fact, it was very difficult to get through a valley without something bad happening. This is why the Psalm says this in verse 5, “Blessed are those whose strength is found in you (God).” Now, if you aren’t a Follower of Christ and you don't know God intimately, then chances are there are times when you just say, "I've had enough, I can't do it anymore, I'm overwhelmed, I'm exhausted, I just can’t.” The truth is if you don't know God intimately, then what you have, is all you have. But for those who are Christ followers, we believe that we have a strength that goes beyond just what we have. We believe we have access to a heavenly strength and that's why the Psalm has said, "Blessed are those whose strength is found in you." We believe that when we get to the end of our strength that there is a heavenly strength. There is a divine strength. There is a strength from our God that is available to those who know Him. I’ll give you an example. Several years ago I found myself on the side of the road on my way home from a meeting because of a blowout on my front driver’s side tire. I got out of the car examined the situation and realized that I was going to have to change the tire and put on my spare. I got everything out of the trunk of my car, jacked up the car and then tried to loosen the lug nuts so I could take the old tire off. It wouldn’t budge at all. I’m giving it everything I’ve got and those lug nuts aren’t moving. I’m feeling frustrated. I’m feeling embarrassed because there is an older women from the church who is with me. I’m thinking, “Lord, I know I’m out of shape, but good grief. You would think I could take care of changing a tire.” About that time a Florida Highway Department Roadside Assistance truck pulls up behind me. The guy gets out of the truck and asks if he can be of any assistance. I’m thankful he is there, but now I’m feeling even more embarrassed thinking this grown man is going to laugh at me for not being able to change a tire. He took a quick look at the tire tool I’m using and says, let’s try my tire tool and he pulls out a professional grade tool. He takes a go at it and he can’t get the lug nuts to budge either. All of the sudden I start feeling a little bit better about myself. He’s not playing around. He goes back and gets something called a pneumatic wrench that is hooked up to a compressor on his truck and gets the lug nuts off. He looks at me and says, “You weren’t ever going to get that off by yourself without having a more powerful tool.” The irony of the situation is that the word pneumatic comes from the Greek word pneuma which mean’s “Spirit” as in the Holy Spirit. The good news is for those who are Christ followers, there is a power bigger than you. It is our God who when you hit the end of your strength, His strength is made perfect in your weakness. His strength scripture says, is made absolutely perfect. "Blessed are those whose strength is found in God.” If you're in the middle of a valley right now, you have access to the very real, ever present power of a good God who is available and ready to come and assist you in your time of need. "Blessed are those whose strength is found in God." The text doesn’t say blessed are those who make it on their own. It doesn't say blessed are those who pull themselves up by the bootstraps. It doesn't say blessed are those who are really determined. A big problem in our world today is we almost idolize a Spirit of Independence. I don't want to need anybody. I want to be financially independent. I want to be good on my own. I don't wanna trust people. I don't want people to be there for me. I don't need God, I don't need anybody. We were not created to be independent. We were created by our God to depend on Him and to depend on others. Blessed are you when you realize you are dependent and you have a power greater than yourself. Some of you, you need to lean into it. You need to just admit it. I don't have what it takes. I need His presence. "Blessed are those whose strength is found in God." I want to show you verse 5 in a different translation because I love the way the New Living Translation highlights this verse. It says, "What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who've set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem." I love that. We're on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. What does that mean? We may be in the valley, but we're going to what was known as the City of Refuge. Or we were going to the place that they call the Place of Peace. One commentary said this, "To get to the City of Refuge, you had to travel through the Valley of Tears." I like that imagery. Sometimes to get to where you really appreciate the presence and the power of God, you have to push through a little bit of the pain to get to the presence of the goodness of God. For so many, the valley is the pathway to the place of peace. We've pushed through the valley. We're on a pilgrimage. This is the way the Psalm has said it. Let me show you the first part. The psalmist said, “What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds." Everybody say “My mind is set.” Say it again, “My mind is set.” "Blessed are those who have their "minds set toward God." What you think about matters so much. What you think about matters. Paul talked about this a lot in the New Testament. To the Colossian believers he said, "Set your mind on things above, not on things below." Paul told the Philippians believer this, "If anything is excellent or praise worthy, or admirable, or lovely, think about such things." Where you are is one thing. What you think about is something else. What you think about matters. Listen, somebody needs to hear this. Your current situation may be in the valley. But your mind can still be set upon God. Your heart right now might be racing, but your mind is set. Your soul may be aching, but your mind is set. Your emotions may be racing, but your mind is fixed toward God. There may be too much to do and there may be pressure with the in-laws and you may be wondering how we're gonna pay for Christmas and on and on and on. There may be real tragedies in the valley, but my mind is set on the goodness of God. He is with me. He is for me. Greater is the one who is in me than the one who is in this world. My God is going before me to prepare a way for me. His spirit gives me strength when I am weak. I need Him every moment of every day. His words a lamp unto my feet. It is a light unto my path. When I cannot make it, His power is very very real. I may be in the valley, but my mind is set on the kingdom of God. I'm on a pilgrimage, I'm going to the place of peace. You may be in the valley but your mind is fixed. Verse 6 says, “As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs.” In other words, we may be in the valley right now, but the valley is not our destination. What are we doing? I'm just passing through. I may be in the valley right now, but this is not my home. I'm journeying to the place of peace. I'm just passing through. My God will get me through this. I'm just passing through. David said something similar in Psalm 23:4, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me.” I may be in the valley but I'm just passing through. I may be in a difficult time, but God's gonna get me through. I may be hurting right now but I'm not going to be hurting forever. My God is going to pull me through. I may be in a dark place right now, but we're just passing through the Valley of Baka. Sometimes when you're in the middle of it you just want out. Get me out God. Make it go away. Make it stop God. I don't want this anymore. Just take it away. I just want out. What you have to realize is so often God may show you that the way is through the valley, not out of the valley. I love this next phrase. "As they passed through the Valley of Baka they make it a place of springs." The King James Version says it this way, “They make it a well.” In other words, whenever you're in a dry place, what do you do? You dig a well. You make a well. You take and clear a way, a hole as a container for the provision of rain that God will send. God hasn't sent it yet. It's dry right now. But when you're dry and when you're hurting you make room for the presence of God. You make room for the provision of God. You make a well. But it hasn't rained yet. But I know my God will provide what I need so I make a container preparing for the presence and the provision of God. You make a well. It's almost as if God would say something like this. "You show me your faith, "and I'll show you my faithfulness." If you dig it, I will fill it. If you prepare for me, I will show up. Jesus apparently had this kind of philosophy. • In the New Testament there's a guy with a withered up hand. Instead of Jesus saying "I'm just going to heal you." Jesus said, "No, you stretch out your hand and I will heal it. Show me you believe I can do it and I will do it. • A man who couldn't walk for 38 years, Jesus didn't just say, "You're healed." Instead He said, "You take up your mat. You get up, you show me you believe that I can make you walk. If you show me your faith, I will show you my faithfulness.” I love the “If Promises” of God in scripture. "If you draw near to me. I will draw near to you." You show me that you believe and I will show you my presence. If you seek me, you will find me. If you make room for me, I will reveal myself to you. If you haven't sensed the presence of God in a long time, it’s time to make a well. It's time to dig a ditch. It's time to say God, I'm gonna stop and wait for your presence. I'm going to prepare for your provision and for your presence. Because if you dig it, He will fill it. Think about this. Some of you, really, you need an encounter with God. God rarely reveals Himself to people who are rushed. Imagine Moses, and the burning bush. Moses driving by 75 miles an hour by the burning bush. Taking a picture of it. That's not what God says. God says "Hey, why don't you stay a while? Why don't you take off your sandals because you're standing on holy ground? Why don't you for a moment be still? Be still and know that I am God.’ Why don't you make a well "and then wait on me to fill it. "Because if you dig it, I will fill it. "If you seek me, you will find me. "If you draw near to me, "I will draw near to you. "Be still, and know that I am God." For some of you it's just time to prepare and say God I want to meet with you. That’s what Advent is supposed to be, a time of preparation. I’m gonna wait for you. And I'm going to believe that you're going to reveal yourself to me because I need you right now. We enjoy Him so much on the mountains. But we get to know Him intimately in the valleys. Here's what I hope you'll understand. God never ever promised that you would never go through the valley. He promised you would never have to go through the valley alone. God is with us. "And the virgin will be with child and His name will be Immanuel, which means God with us." I love the way the Psalmist phrases this portion of scripture. He says this. As we journey through the Valley of Baka. We're going to the place of peace. Then he says "They go from strength to strength." I love this phrase. “ Not our strength, but His strength. And this is the very thing that God has done for me in some past valleys. It is the very thing He will do for you. We can sense His strength in a way that we can't otherwise. When we totally and completely need Him and we have nothing else. We know that we're traveling through the valley. We're just here, we're passing through. He is a good God. And we're going to the place of peace. So right now you feel weak. Who is God? He is Immanuel, God with us in the valley.