Matthew 15 (Part 3) :29-39 to Matthew 16 (Part 1) :1-12

Verse 29 it says Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee and then he went up on a mountainside and sat down great crowds came to him your Bible may say great multitudes which I like the word multitude it just sounds bigger you know when you say yeah we had a crowd it's one thing but if somebody goes yeah we had a multitude I didn't I sound like a bigger group of folks so this great multitude and notice what it says bringing the lame the blind the crippled the mute those who couldn't speak obviously and many others and laid them at his feet and he healed them stop there for just a moment I think that is so cool that it describes what is most needed for these people who are suffering in some capacity and what is most needed is they are laid at the feet of Jesus now why do I bring that up well it really shouldn't be any different today when you stop and think about it have you ever noticed have you ever gotten nervous when somebody asked you to like pray for them if they've got a physical infirmity or some kind of thing going on and and they come to you and they go hey I was just kind of wondering would you pray for me and it's kind of lay hands and pray for God to heal me and you're kind of like right away going okay you know bring it on bring it on bring it on where's the oil we gotta anoint this guy and we're gonna here we go you know it's like you got a psych yourself up or something what's all that about you know or it's you know what we ought to do we ought to do just what those people did oh you got a physical thing oh I'm really sorry come on let's go over let's go to Jesus that's all they did you know that's all they did is they brought the people to him and then they laid him down right there in front of his feet which is what we're doing in prayer right we're laying people down right in front of Jesus and saying he's the one that's got to do the work I can't I don't know what to do do you I mean I don't have any ability to to heal or make these people better I don't look to me oh but I you know what I'll take you to Jesus you know we'll just lay you down right there so we we think we got to have it all down we got to have just the right you know sort of a you know throw the water on you Shazam sort of a thing it's not what it's about you know just bringing people to Jesus laying him at his feet I love that it's just anyway and it says that it says in verse 31 that the people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking the cripple made well and the lame walking and the blind seeing and it says they praise the God of Israel they they they lifted up their voices to God I think that's so cool and just would have been so exciting to be there verse 32 Jesus called his disciples to him and he said I have compassion for these people they've already been with me three days and I have and we have nothing to eat I do not want to send them away hungry or they may collapse on the way his disciples answered where in the world could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd now does this ring any kind of a bell in your head didn't this just happen like in the last chapter I mean almost the same thing and yet here's Jesus saying you know to these guys hey you know these people have been with us you know and it's been fun and stuff but they got a long way to go home and there's nothing here to eat so I we need to do something for these people and and these guys how long has it been it hasn't been very long since Jesus just fed that first multitude and now they're going what Fido you kidding me what do you what shouldn't they have said well you did it last time right you did it last time I assume this is probably a no-brainer to come up with another miraculous meal once again for this multitude Jesus do your thing but that's not where they're these guys are at yet so they're all kind of you know freaking out about the whole thing so Jesus simply says in verse 34 you know okay how many loaves do you have so they kind of take a quick inventory seven they said obviously not enough and only a few small fish that's not going to go very far I don't care how talented of a caterer you are and he told the crowd to sit down on the ground and then he took the seven loaves and the fish and when he had given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples and they in turn to the people and they all ate and were satisfied and the Greek means that word for satisfied is just the way it sounds it means they were full they ate until they were full so they are completely satisfied and says afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over the number of those who ate was 4,000 besides men and children we don't know again just like in the first miracle of the feeding of the multitude we don't know in that case it was 5,000 men because they only counted the men so if there was a woman forever and a child for every man then obviously at the first thing there was 15,000 people we don't know we don't know what those numbers are but let's just say there were a lot of people and in this case as well there were a lot of people and it was a miracle and it were told in verse 39 that after Jesus had sent the crowd away he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan now that's where the chapter comes to an end but people that's not where the story comes to an end we got to be really careful about looking at the Word of God according to chapter divisions you know chapter and verse divisions didn't come around until like the 16th century so you know you got to be really careful thinking well that's the end of the chapter and then we'll start the new chapter and a new story begins no the things that Matthew has been telling us in the last couple of chapters are in extremely important that we see and carry with us into what takes place now here in chapter 16 because what we're going to see here is the reaction of the Jewish religious leaders and it starts off here in chapter 16 verse 1 by saying the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus now stop there this this ought to blow you away right here when it says in your Bible the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus and here's why they were they were mortal enemies they hated each other they had completely different belief systems they're very very different they had different ways of going about their religious systems they accepted and rejected different parts of the Word of God actually the Pharisees accepted all of what we know of as the Old Testament the Pharisees the Sadducees only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament what we call the Pentateuch there were many other differences the Sadducees rejected any kind of life after death they did not believe in a resurrection they did not believe in angels nor demons the Pharisees believed in all that stuff so they were very very the Sadducees were very politically motivated they worked with the Romans the Pharisees hated the Romans they well they didn't really care they were like leave us alone and we'll be happy if you leave us alone to just do our thing we don't really care who rules over us honestly but the the Sadducees were completely different they walked hand-in-hand with the Romans in fact do you know that only a Sadducee could be the high priest only a Sadducee you had to be and those were chosen by Rome the high priest was chosen in through a political process by the Romans so the Sadducees were were tied into the whole government political thing and the Pharisees didn't want anything about it they were like no we don't want to do that so they they were very very different and they didn't care for each other frankly they worked together on the Sanhedrin but not well in fact you remember in the book of Acts Paul kind of took advantage of it in fact he realized that he was standing in front of a bunch of men that were Sadducees and Pharisees so he yelled out he said I'm a Pharisee who just is believing in the resurrection and he turned them all on each other like a pack of dogs you know it was actually pretty brilliant you know but that's just that was just the way things kind of went but it says here the Pharisees and the Sadducees came together to talk to Jesus these are odd bedfellows to say the least and yet they are coming together they're coming together because why because they have a common goal and that is to do their utmost to try to find something in this person Jesus that they can exploit and use against him and convince the people this guy is a looney tune who doesn't deserve their attention so the Pharisees and the Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a Sign from heaven. Did you notice it says they wanted a sign? from heaven They wanted like fire to fall from the sky or the Sun to stand still in the sky Or something like that and you know what that means That means that all of the miracles Jesus had been performing up to this point were basically just not enough and they were communicating that Essentially to Jesus because the word had gotten around Did you know how we've been reading in the last few chapters? Jesus has been trying to get away with his disciples for quite some time now you guys remember and he keeps wanting to get away with the guys and they go somewhere and what happens a crowd meets them and they have all these needs and of course they Minister to the people and then Jesus takes the guys elsewhere now just last week We saw that Jesus took the guys up to the areas of Tyre and Sidon Which didn't have very many Jews because he probably figured it's a good place to get a little rest and relaxation Well, even there the crowds heard that he was there and they mobbed him, you know He's got people running after him and yelling and all this stuff Why why is that happening because the word has spread far and wide Everybody knows now Jesus has been doing this long enough. Everybody knows Miracles take place in the ministry of Jesus. And so everywhere he goes there's a mob There's a mob and what are they doing? They're bringing their lame. They're crippled. They're you know, infirmed they're bringing those people to Jesus why because they think he can do something about it and He has been doing something about it in each and every instance. He's been healing all of their sick Do you guys get that? That's the general? Consensus, that's that's the way that's the way people are dialed into this whole thing So the Pharisees in the midst of all that with all this word that's buzzing around, you know They didn't even have the internet but it didn't matter because word got around fast. I mean fast About what Jesus is doing and the Pharisees are hearing all this the Sadducees are hearing all this they hear about the miracles They hear about the the lame who are are healed They hear you know about the the mute that can speak and the blind that can see and and on and then the only they're hearing About all of that. So what's their response? Are they happy Are they happy for people? Are they going? Oh, this is wonderful The power of God is at work people are being set free from their infirmities We're seeing incredible amazing things people's hearts are being touched. They're being transformed People are following this godly man. This great teacher. We're excited about this No In all of their pomp and stuffiness they walk up to Jesus and say Prove it buddy That's exactly what they're saying to him this whole idea of asking for a sign from heaven the Greek phraseology actually suggests that they want a validating Sign what that means is it's it's something akin to you and I walking up to someone who appears to be Working for in law enforcement and asking to see their badge It's there's a similarity there They're saying validate yourself They've been hearing about all this stuff Oh feeding multitudes. Yeah, right healing the sick sure Crippled people now walking blind people now seeing yeah, right Let me see your badge Show us a real sign. We don't care about these people. They're scum. I want to see something amazing I want to see something spectacular How about a little fire from heaven? How about you know rearrange the stars you all this all-powerful, you know, go ahead. Let's see it They wanted a miracle But there's a problem with that There's a problem with miracles and that's why Jesus doesn't accommodate them The problem is guys if someone's heart isn't right miracles don't work Have you ever prayed for somebody that didn't know the Lord that God would do a miracle in their life. Well be careful because if that person's heart is Hard, it doesn't matter whether they see a miracle or not. It doesn't matter the fact of the matter is the Jewish religious leaders saw Miracles take place in front of their eyes You we've talked about this before Remember the the man they planted in the in the front row of the synagogue with the shriveled hand. Do you remember that? He's sitting right there in the front His arm is all curled under and this and that and and they put him there just to see what Jesus would do I wonder if he'll do anything on the Sabbath and And Jesus, you know He gets up to speak and he sees the guy sitting in the front row and that says he sighed deeply Which is a really polite way of saying well, I won't say it And he and he asked he has the man stand up he says stand up He says to everybody in the room, let me ask you a question Is it right to do good on the Sabbath or do harm? What do you think? And they all just kind of went No And so he said to the man stretch out your hand and As he did the Bible says it was healed as he stretched it forth. The the arm was healed and made made made new and What did the Pharisees and religious leaders do They all kind of elbowed each other Let's go and they all made their way to the exit and they got outside the synagogue and they looked at each other and they said This guy has to die This guy deserves death Now, what are we going to do about this guy? That's what they did that's the level of hard-heartedness that's going on here and Jesus knows that when they come to him here and ask them for a sign ask him to give him this sign in the heaven They they they they Well, and then he's gonna show them how they lack discernment. Look what he says in verse 2 Here's Jesus's response. He replied and said, all right. Listen when evening comes you say oh It's gonna be fair weather for the sky is red and in the morning Today. Oh, it's gonna be stormy because the sky is red in the morning here and it's overcast and so yeah And then here's what Jesus says he says, you know, you guys know how to interpret the signs or the appearance of the sky But you can't interpret the signs of the times you can't see what's right in front of you Related to the coming of Messiah It's been going on for a long time The sick are healed the lame are walking the blind can see the good news is being preached You refuse Do you guys remember what was going on back in the time? You know 30 some years ago when when Luke begins his gospel. Do you remember what was going on? People start people were buzzing About the coming of Messiah and then there's this star that appears in the sky. It's really bright Everybody's looking at it What the heck and then suddenly word gets around that these magi these wise men Slash whatever they are From other countries have come to Jerusalem and they've they've petitioned to go in and see Herod and talk to him about it and you know what the Bible says in Luke It says that everybody was buzzing. That's I'm paraphrasing but essentially the the essence of it Is that everybody's wondering what's going on? What's happening? What's this? What's that and everything and Then at the birth of Jesus, you remember there's these shepherds out in their fields hanging out kind of, you know doing the overnight camping thing with the sheep and Suddenly the there's all this, you know, these angels, you know Like totally turn up the light and start singing and freaking them out and these guys go and they find the baby Just like they were told and then it says and then they told everybody Do you think that kind of stuff that kind of information stays quiet Good grief that stuff spreads like wildfire. So everybody's just buzzing buzzing Signs of the times it was the signs of the times for them And Jesus said, you know you guys you can you can you can forecast the weather which is you know, it's pretty impressive Frankly, they can look at the sky They didn't they didn't have the benefit of Idaho's chief meteorologist like we do But they just have to look at the sky and and say okay, it's gonna be this it's gonna be that or whatever But you can't discern the signs of the times And The proof that they were unable to discern the signs of the times is The demand that in coming to Jesus and saying show us a sign You know that Jesus is saying to them. Oh, well that proves it right there You guys can't even see anything in front of your face So here's what he says to them verse 4 look with me in your Bible So here's what he says to them verse 4 look with me in your Bible. This is a wicked and adulterous generation looks for a miraculous sign It literally means in the Greek a wicked and adulterous generation looks for sign upon sign or in other words yet another sign and What he's essentially Saying is signs have been given to you, but you aren't satisfied And so you keep coming back and saying give us a sign and then a sign is giving and you say give us a sign And then more signs are given and you say give us a sign and that's a wicked and adulterous Generation that keeps wanting sign upon sign and so he says now that no more signs are going to be given That's what he says at the end of verse 4 none will be given it except the sign of Jonah And then Jesus left them and went away now. We already went over this back in Matthew chapter 12 wasn't that long ago? Jesus said the same thing I'm not going to give this generation You know this stubborn refusal to believe I'm not going to give you a sign except the sign of Jonah remember the sign of Jonah was a symbol of The death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as Jonah was three days in the belly of the great fish So also the Son of Man will be three days in the heart of the earth And that's the only sign you're gonna be given and you're not gonna believe that one either. So, all right Let's just call the whole thing off verse 5 When they went across the lake the disciples forgot to take bread. Oh, can't you hear this one coming? verse 6 be careful Jesus said to them be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees your Bible may say leaven instead of yeast. It's the same thing. It's that which causes bread to rise And they discussed it among themselves and they said oh, it's because we didn't bring any bread Aware of their discussion Jesus asked you of little faith Why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? don't you remember the five loaves for the 5,000 and how many basketfuls you gathered or the seven loaves for the 4,000 and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don't understand that I was not talking to you about Bread, you know, it's kind of like guys get a clue. We haven't had a problem with bread lately I don't know if you've noticed that There's actually been a relative abundance of the product and you guys are think are I'm I'm I'm irritated because you didn't bring bread along What's the problem These guys had such a short-sighted approach to life Instead of saying, you know, yeah, you know bread doesn't seem to be a problem They're all upset and worried about it and Jesus said no look at the end of verse 11 Here's what I'm talking to you about. He says be on your guard against the yeast or the Leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees were told in verse 12 then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of The Pharisees and the Sadducees Remember even in the Old Testament and that's what these guys should have remembered Yeast or leaven is always a picture of sin It's always a symbolic picture of sin because it's just a perfect picture of sin sin in our lives Gets worked into our lives just like yeast gets worked into the dough and then it begins to permeate The entire batch of dough that's what sin does for you and I it permeates our lives and it touches everything in our lives So in the Jewish understanding of this thing yeast was always a picture of sin So Jesus says to his disciples be on your guard watch out for the Corrupting influence is what he's talking about of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Well that got me thinking What is the corrupting influence of the Sadducees and the Pharisees there are several things written in the word And I wanted to make a list for you if you're taking notes Today then write these down. I'm gonna put basically seven things up on the the the thing here for you now, but Okay. The first thing we're going to show here is number one the Pharisees saw their service to God as Essentially just the keeping of rules that That was their life They had to do good And you got to keep the rules just the way You think the rules have to be kept do you think that influence of the Pharisees is still going on today? Are you kidding? Are you joking? Of course? I'm willing to bet there's somebody in this room. I mean, it's just a fair bet safe bet There's somebody in this room today Who is confused? about what it takes to Please God and to get to heaven if we could if we could question everybody in this room and Get an answer from you an honest answer. I'll bet you there's somebody in this room who would say you just got to be a good person You know, we've been we've been watching the truth project on Wednesday night There's we got three different version not versions with three different showings of the truth project going on during our summer growth workshops But I'm overseeing the one that's happening here in the small sanctuary on Wednesdays And they they like to do these little on the street interviews with people in this video series And they're talking to him about heaven and stuff like that and how you get to heaven And it happens every time they do kind of a street interview with people people say well Yeah, I believe in heaven and you know if you're if you're at the end of your life The good is weighed against the bad and if the good outweighs the bad then you get to go to heaven And you know what? That's the influence of the Pharisees Who believed that walking with God was keeping rules? Following regulations doing what was right and the good outweighing the bad and it still exists today So you see the things that Jesus is telling his disciples to watch out for are things you and I have to watch out for Even today, what's the second thing? The Pharisees by the way, the P means Pharisees. You'll see some s come up here for Sadducees, but they were completely focused on outward Purity, right and you know, we can do the same thing. We can start focusing on the External aspects of our walk with the Lord, you know, I'm carrying my Bible I don't know if you noticed that today. I keep it with me all the time when I was when I was in high school I had a flirtation with God. It wasn't a strong relationship It was just a flirtation and I thought it would be really cool to keep my Bible. I Actually had one. I didn't read it, but I kept it in my car right on my dash Yeah, and People would look at it and they'd kind of go. Hey, you got a Bible on your dash. That's right I do I Don't read it, but it's there There's a dumbest thing in the world. It was all external. It was all on the outside I wasn't caring about what was whether the word was getting into my heart. I just thought it was kind of impressive You know, I have a Bible on my down the dash of my car, you know sort of a thing who cares? And there's so many other things that can just become this External aspect of our walk with the Lord, you know, hey, I don't think I missed a Sunday here in May praise the Lord Doesn't matter. Did anything get into your heart? That's the key number three and this is really kind of the Sadducees. The Sadducees were very Politically motivated. This is one of the things that I see even in modern-day Christians There's nothing wrong with being part of the political process. I don't know nothing wrong with that at all You know in our family, you know, we vote We're involved in in the whole political process, you know, something comes up we vote on it We're you know, we're involved in this in the way that democracy allows you and I to be involved but it's really interesting when The person who we don't want to get elected Gets elected and you hear the response of some Christians. They're like, oh, oh Oh What are we gonna do now We need to take cover take cover It's all coming. Oh You know, it's that it's that just that kind of a I don't God can't do anything now because we got the wrong guy in office. We're doomed You know, that's really the influence of the Sadducees they were totally focused on the political process and as I said Okay, fine Participate in the political process, but don't put your hope in it That's not where our hope is God is in charge and if the wrong person gets elected to whatever office might be going on God I'll guarantee you right now. He is not up in heaven wringing his hands and Wondering how in the world am I gonna have my will brought to pass now? He's just it he's sovereign He is the sovereign eternal God and that means that nobody is above him Number four the Sadducees loved wealth and goods and they did they just they loved their money And that was one of the reasons they were involved as they were in the political process They knew that it was going to bode well for them financially and so forth That's just the kind of thing that really focused their attention number five the Sadducees ignored whole sections of Scripture They did the cut and paste thing to God's Word You know, we're told not to to to do that. We're told not to go beyond what is written We're not to subtract from what is written And I believe, you know, but that's that influence. Have you ever talked to somebody and they'll claim to be a Christian and you're talking to them, whatever, and you get to talking and talking and talking, and then you come up to some subject and they go, Oh, I don't believe that. And you say, What? It's right in the Bible. Yeah, I don't believe that. What do you mean you don't believe that? Well, you know, the Bible's been written and rewritten and rewritten hundreds of times. And there's all kinds of problems and there's errors and you know, we got to be discerning stuff like that. Really? Where'd you come up with that? You know, I think that that's a smoke screen for that's not something I want to believe in. So I'm going to be like the Sadducees and I'm just going to take it out. I'm going to take it out. Number six, the Pharisees were marked by, and we've already made reference to this, a stubborn refusal to believe even when they witnessed the power of God. They, you know, they could literally see the power of God happen right in front of them and go, I don't believe it. And you know what? We can do that. We can stubbornly refuse. And then number seven, the Pharisees and the Sadducees saw nothing wrong with taking matters into their own hands when they felt the need and it was evidenced by the fact that they eventually had Jesus arrested, brought in before this kangaroo court that was completely unbiblical and illegal and then eventually turned him over to the Gentiles. But you know, so I wrote down these things, these seven things that kind of characterize the yeast, the influence of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Jesus said, be careful of their influence and their influence exists today. So I wanted to give you a contrasting seven things. All right, here's things that I believe should actually be the character of our lives and each one of these will directly contrast the thing, the number on the first list. First of all, we should walk with God in such a way that it is not a keeping of rules, but a working of relationship. The Pharisees were all about keeping rules and making sure that everything, you know, was done just so. But you know, when you have a relationship with God and grace and forgiveness and truth flow in that relationship, there's a place for making mistakes and then being restored. There isn't in legalism. You make a mistake, you just get cut off. But in a relationship, a living, vibrant, warm relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you can make all kinds of really dopey mistakes and God just puts his arm around you and says, I love you, you knucklehead. You know, repent. Come back to me. Oh, my arms are open to you. I love you. Let's walk together. Let me speak my word into your heart. It's not about rules and regulations. Come and draw near to me. Get to know me. Fill your heart with who I am. That ought to be the character of our lives. Number two, we must never forget that God is most concerned about what's going on in the heart. We get, you know, we make mistakes. We do things. We stumble and, you know, oh, I didn't get it right. God sort of a thing, you know. God cares about what's going on in here. You know, stop looking at your life from just an external perspective. God cares about your heart. You know, we make mistakes. People will come to me from time to time. It's really, I mean, it's almost funny. I don't want to make it sound like I laugh at people. But somebody will come to me like, Pastor Paul, I made a mistake. You know, I took a wrong turn. I took a left one. I should have taken a right. Or I did this, and I just, you know. And the fact that they've come and they're all upset, you know what that shows me? They care. Yeah, shocker, huh? They care. Otherwise, if they didn't care, they'd just be going, yeah, I don't really care. I did it. I don't care. Whatever, you know, sort of a thing. But they care. Their hearts are broken that they might have possibly made a wrong choice, gone a wrong direction. You know, I look at them and I go, hey, listen to me. You care. That's what God wants. He wants that heart that longs to do right. You know, as a dad, if my child comes to me and goes, hey, Dad, I'm really sorry. I think I did something wrong. It's like, okay, let's just, we'll deal with it. I love you, you know. But if they come to me and they say, I think I did it wrong, and I don't care, sort of a thing. Now we got a whole different, you know, environment of, you know, conflict going on in the home. If my child looks at me and says, I don't care, you know. But if they genuinely, I mean, their heart is in it and stuff. It's all about, God cares about your heart, all right. Number three, we must never forget that God's kingdom is advanced through prayer and faith in the power of God. This is the contrast to the Sadducees being completely motivated in the political realm and seeing it as kind of the end all, say all of what's going to get done and so forth. As Christians, you know what? We've just got to really get to the place where we say, it's God's kingdom that we are serving. It's God's kingdom that we care about. And God's kingdom and his plan and his purpose is going to advance and it will advance as we pray and as we lay our hearts before the Lord. But it's not, we're going to look to him. We're not going to look to humans to get it done. We're not going to do that. I'm fine with the political process as far as it goes, but only as far as it goes. And we are going to trust in the Lord to move things along. I think that ought to be the attitude of born-again believers, don't you? Number four, rather than the Sadducees being all about money and material, our treasure obviously should be in heaven. And that's a hard thing to remember. Number five, instead of like the Sadducees doing the cut and paste sort of idea of the word of God, I believe that we must embrace the whole counsel of God's word. And that means from Genesis to Revelation, all of God's word, we take it all. We don't just cut it out because we don't happen to like something. I'm just really kind of, I have a problem with a hell, you know, I just don't believe there is a place called hell. Well, that's fine, but it's in the Bible. Okay, you know what I'm saying? You just, you can't approach, you know, the Bible and just say, well, I don't like that. So we're just going to take that out and just throw that away. That's what the Sadducees did. And you and I can't afford to do that. Number six, we need to be responsive to the Holy Spirit. And that contrasts the Pharisees who, even when they saw God moving in power, they stubbornly refused to believe. And, you know, the Bible tells you and I, don't let your hearts become hardened so that you refuse to believe. Talks about that in the book of Hebrews. Don't become like the children of Israel who saw the power of God over and over again. And still just kind of said, no, I'm not going to believe it. You know, there is this stubborn refusal in the world. You know, I remember years ago, I was sharing, I was witnessing to somebody about what God had done in my life. And I was talking about how before I knew the Lord and walked with the Lord, I was such an idiot. And I ruined my marriage and got it into deep trouble. And how I turned my life over to Jesus and just really gave him my life and gave him my marriage and my home. And how God just supernaturally just came in and began to, you know, reconstruct and redeem and restore and all those. And he stopped me. He stopped me and said, oh, Paul, listen, it had nothing to do with God. You simply decided to grow up and start taking responsibility for your life. See, he wanted to apply a natural explanation where I knew there wasn't one. I knew that there was only a supernatural explanation because I don't have the goods to be able to restore my home and family. But God does. And when I gave it to him, he did an incredible work. And I'm so blown away by that and humbled by that. But you know what? If you don't want to believe, you're not going to believe. But as Christians, we need to be open to believe and responsive to the Holy Spirit. And then lastly, number seven, whereas the Pharisees and the Sadducees took things into their own hands, we must trust that God is going to move in his perfect time. And I know that that is so much easier said than done. But whatever you get, you know, whether you've got a situation coming up, you know, you got a job situation, got a financial issue. Maybe it's a marriage thing or what college you're going to go to. Or whatever is pressing you, you know, whatever thoughts and plans and decisions are in front of you. You know, we're great as Christians about praying about it for a minute and then running after whatever we just think we want to do, you know. But then we can say, well, I prayed about it. Yeah, you did. Big deal. Big deal. I prayed about it and then I went and did it. I did what I wanted to do, but I prayed about it. You know, we need to be the kind of people who don't just talk a good fight. We literally give things to the Lord and trust him with the outcome. It's like, Lord, I want your will more than anything else, and I'm going to wait for you. I'm going to wait. Waiting is hard, amen? Waiting is hard, hardest thing you may ever do, but it's so very important. You're going to wait. You're going to wait.