Grace Chapel Podcast | Leipers Fork, Tn

"And he who was seated on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" (Revelation 21:5 NIV)When we come to God, He doesn’t just redeem from this point forward, He redeems all. He redeems every aspect of our lives that we entrust to Him, and repurposes it for our good and His glory.

On April 6, 32AD a man rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey, and for the first time allowed Himself to be worshiped as the Annointed One. Jesus came down, not as a conquering King but as a suffering servant. He denied Himself, and through the death of Christ, new life springs forth, eternal life springs forth.

Faith is far more about trust in every circumstance than it is about getting the outcome that we’re after.  Faith is about trusting God in all circumstances… not just trusting Him when He fixes our circumstances. God can do all things. He is all powerful, all present, and all knowing! God can do all things… including bringing dead things back to life.  

We desperately need to keep in step with the Spirit in all aspects of our lives. Obedience allows God’s servants to hear and be open to change. Philip’s encounter with the Spirit kept him in step on the way, and Peter’s kept him in step as he prayed. God found Philip and Peter willing to live with the uncomfortable which helped them be open/flexible to the lead of the Spirit. 

Joseph has been changed by life and changed by God, and his brothers are standing right in front of him and they even don’t recognize him. Down in the valley, we can’t see the complexity of life. Only when we view life from the peak can we actually see what it means when Joseph said to his brothers, "What you meant for evil, God means for good.”  It is only when you get off God's throne, and Gain God’s Perspective will we ever be able to come close to moving beyond forgiveness.

God wants to teach us through the life of Joseph, how to respond when we’re walking through the valleys of life. Valleys of life expose what was there all along and if we focus only on the end of a hardship then we may miss what God is doing through those trying times. If you’re just waiting for the current season to be over, you can’t be faithful NOW because you’re only thinking about THEN! God is preparing you and orchestrating the details of your life that will eventually lead you to His promise over your life.

We have been following the story of how God humbled Joseph, then God exalted him, and now all of the Egyptian empire is bowing before him. Joseph was faithful with little, now he’s been trusted with much. God frequently uses seemingly unimportant, uncomfortable and unexpected events and people as catalysts for significant transitions in life. You couldn’t see it at the time, but you’re not the same person today as you once were. God was with you and he’s producing something in you that is going to provide hope and life to those around you.

As humans, we all face the temptations of power, pleasure, and pain. In the story of Joseph’s life, we see all three of these temptations and the character building that God grows in him throughout his life’s complicated circumstances. If you’re struggling with temptation today, don’t give in or fall into despair. God is with you in your situation, and just like he did with Joseph, He will give you a way to succeed.

When we're experiencing unfortunate circumstances or heartache, we want God to just show up and make it all better, but often times, God will use the lowest moments of our lives to bring about the greatest good. In Joseph's story, God could have just rescued him from the pit his brothers threw him in, but instead, we see that God used the pit to save Joseph from his arrogance and to deliver him from the pride that was destroying his life. All throughout the story of Joseph, we see a God that continually takes what the enemy meant for evil and turns it around for good.

This morning, Pastor Rob kicked off the Valleys series, where over the next 8 weeks we will walk through the story of the life of Joseph. The purpose of stories like Joseph’s are not to show us how we need to get our act together, try harder, or be better. Rather, the purpose of a story like Joseph’s is to show us that at every point, even in the darkest moments, in the valleys of life where God is seemingly absent and we’re convinced that there is absolutely no hope of redemption, God’s grace breaks in and He rescues us from the nightmares of our own making.

This morning, Pastor Rob shared stories from his recent trip to Israel, as well as the importance of us paying attention to what’s happening in Israel today and standing with God’s chosen people–the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.

This is the time of the year when we all make plans to transform our lives, like, losing weight, getting more organized, and being more productive, which are all good things! But above all things, in 2024, we hope you decide to root your life in the ways of Jesus more deeply. He is inviting us to walk with Him, learn from Him, and be His students. This morning, Pastor Jimmy gave us some practical disciplines to engage in this year so that we can be more deeply rooted in Christ.

We're instructed in Scripture to encourage one another, but God isn't just telling us to compliment someone's outfit. Biblical encouragement is about seeing and calling out the good in others, building into them God’s perspective of them, pointing out how He has uniquely wired them or gifted them, or how you see God changing them, growing them, or using them to impact other people’s lives. As we head into the new year, let's resolve to be more intentional in encouraging others and to not pass up opportunities to do so.

The Christmas story is good news of great joy for all people because the creator of heaven and earth left His throne, came down as a baby, and set aside all of His rights and privileges in order to save us from a world broken by sin, selfishness, and shame because of His great love for us. Light entered into the darkness, joy entered into our sorrow, grace entered into our shame, and Christ has extended an invitation to all of humanity to enter into an eternal joy that will never fade away. That's good news of great joy!

In the Old Testament, when Moses would speak with the Lord, his face would be shining–he was reflecting the glory of God. When you're freed from your shame, and you're living in the joy of the Lord, you can see the Face of God smiling all over you. God has invited you into His joy, not just for your benefit, but for the benefit of others–the world needs to see what God has put in you. Let the light of His face reflect off of you!

The path away from joy began with shame, and the way back to joy is bringing Jesus into your shame and allowing Him to do the deep soul work that will set you free. Fear of being fully seen and fully known may cause you to want to hide, but Jesus is not ashamed of you–you are His joy, He loves you, and He gladly endured the cross to free you from your shame and bring you into the fullness of Joy He has for you.

During the Christmas season, we don’t just celebrate that God became man, but that Jesus Christ was the only person in human history who wasn’t just born, He was given. God gave us the greatest gift we could ever be given in the person of Jesus. We are made in the image of God, made to live in alignment with God’s ways, and when we’re generous, we’re molded more into His image, and we give the world a picture of who God is, and what He’s like. When we grow in joy, we grow in generosity; and when we grow in generosity, we grow in joy.

Not only has God created us for joy, but He has invited us to cultivate it and live in it. This morning Pastor Rob gave us practical ways to build our joy because joy is not limited– we can cultivate it, exercise it, develop it, grow it, and increase our capacity for joy!

This morning, Pastor Rob kicked off the JOY series that will lead us into the Christmas season. Joy is one of the primary themes, not only in the Christmas story, but throughout the entire Life of Jesus. Everywhere Jesus went, He would heal people and work miracles, and people would erupt in celebration…everywhere Jesus went, Joy would follow. God is a God of joy, and being made in His image, we were created for Joy.

This morning Pastor Rob wrapped up the Enjoying God series of walking through the Lord's Prayer with teaching on The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory. This is a reminder that God is in control, and it is an invitation to rest in God, enjoy Him, and to trust Him completely no matter what the outcome. When you bring your requests to God, put all of your hope in Him and Him alone because His is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever.