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Wisdom and Wonder, Season 4, Episode 4
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Welcome. I'm so glad to be here at 2819. Before we dive into God's Word, I want to honor our pastor, Phil, and the leadership here. Honor opens doors, and honor is of the Lord. Never get familiar with those God places in your life to bring change. Our pastor's voice is needed in this generation, and because of that, the attacks will come. But Jesus said, "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail." So let us honor the gift. You are spoiled—and I say that with love. I've been on the West Coast, and the famine for people who truly want God and preachers willing to pay a price in private is rare in this generation. There is something happening here at 2819. Be grateful to God, because He orchestrated your life to collide with this place.
I have two boys, Jude and Ezra. When my first son was born, I was gripped with an ungodly kind of fear. That fear paralyzed me. When my son was out of my presence, I would get anxious, wondering what would happen to him. He could be crying in the next room, and I'd be anxious to find out why. He'd go to school, and I'd ride by—if I saw an EMS truck, my heart would start palpitating.
One day, he got severely hurt at school. I got the call: "You might want to get here. We're calling the EMS." I went to his school and watched my son in distress, helpless to do anything. That night, I went into my prayer room, and the Holy Spirit asked me one question: "Are you ready to give it up now?"
"Give up what?" I asked.
"Give up control," He said. "You think your fear controls what happens to him when he's out of your presence. But you're not omnipresent. You can only be in one space at one time."
I said, "You're right."
He said, "So give him to me. Lay him at my feet, and I will ensure his safety. The truth is, he's not yours anyway. I gave him to you to steward his life, but he belongs to me."
It was a humbling moment. I had to surrender my son to Jesus. And that's what today's message is about.
Let's read Matthew 15:29-31. "Jesus went from there and walked beside the Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain and sat down there. And great crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others. And they put them at his feet. And he healed them so that the crowd wondered. When they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, they glorified the God of Israel."
Mark 7:31-37 gives us more detail. "Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the region of the Decapolis and they brought him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. And they begged him to lay his hand on them. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his finger into his ears. And after spitting touched his tongue, and looking up to heaven, he sighed and said 'Ephphatha' that is 'be opened.' And his ears were opened and his tongue was released. And he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, 'He has done well. He has done all things well. Even he makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.'"
Jesus is coming from the region of Tyre and Sidon. It's about a 41-mile journey back to Galilee. The Bible says, "Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee and went up on a mountain to sit down."
Now, some theologians say Jesus is tired. After 41 miles of travel, any of us would be. But some theologians suggest Jesus is not tired at all. If you look at the pattern of Jesus—in Matthew 5:1, on the Sermon on the Mount—Jesus is sitting when He teaches. When Jesus sits down, He's about to teach.
But notice something else: the Bible says He went up on a mountain. He's intentional. He's not trying to hide out. He's sitting up on a mountain so that He can be seen. And the great crowd came to Him.
Here's my question: What is the reputation of Jesus in your heart?
Because if we're not careful, the reputation of Jesus can be siloed to His works and not His person. What I mean is this: We think, "I just need to go to church so I can be healed. I need to go to church because I have a bill that's not adding up—more bills than money—so God can pay my bills. Or I have a family member who's sick, so I'm going to go pray for them."
One comedian told a joke that's actually true. He said, "If I'm in trouble, I've got to go to church and get around some people that pray." How sad is that? We believe in a gospel that only meets the felt needs of people rather than the gospel that meets the real need: that we are sinners in need of a Savior.
The Bible says, "Bringing with them the lame, the blind, the mute, and many others." They bring to Him the diseased.
Now, most of us would check out of this scripture because we think, "I'm not diseased. Nothing is wrong with me. I'm completely healthy." But what about those areas where you're spiritually blind—areas God keeps trying to deal with, and you refuse to bring them to Him?
What about those areas where you're crippled in your heart, and every relationship suffers because you can't move past your last pain? What about the areas that hit you so hard that they paralyzed you from moving forward? Maybe it's molestation. Maybe it's a broken father relationship. Maybe it's an offense with God because you think, "If you love me, you wouldn't have allowed me to go through this." And that offense has muted your prayer life.
We like to get real cute in church and act like everything is okay. But who are you hiding from when God sees everything? Why are you trying to fix yourself up when the Bible says in Hebrews that everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of God?
I want to talk to all of us who sanitize our lives when it comes to God. When we try to make ourselves look better than we are and don't want to admit that addiction keeps paralyzing us. We don't like to talk about it. "I don't want to admit that I keep slipping up. I don't want to admit that when the lights go out and you leave and I get in my car, something is happening internally."
As Paul said, "There's a war going on in my members. When I would do good, evil is present."
But notice: the Bible says they put them at his feet. The diseased weren't in denial about their condition.
Here's my question: What are you in denial about? Are you in denial that addiction really has you? Are you in denial that offense really has your heart? Are you in denial that you struggle to walk in purity?
When I was single, it was a struggle. And most people in the pulpit don't want to admit it because they think, "We made it." But I struggled. And I'm telling you—not as a signal to go out and do anything, but—God is a keeper.
The Bible says, "They put them at his feet." Notice: the Bible doesn't say they fought them to lay at His feet. They just laid them there. There was a place of surrender at His feet. There was a posture of surrender.
Let me go to Mark 7:33 because something significant happens there. The Bible says, "Taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers in his ears, and after spitting, he touched his tongue."
Now, we live in the social media generation where we want everything to be public. But Jesus took him away from the crowd and did something privately.
What if God wants to heal you privately? What if the things you're dealing with, He wants to deal with you in private? Don't forsake your privacy with Jesus. Don't forsake the times when He's wooing you to get away so He can calm the noise of everybody around you—your prayer partner, your parents, all these people in your ear about your issue. He just wants to get you away so that He could deal with the area you won't be honest about. The area you keep skirting around, saying, "God, this isn't really me."
Let me be honest with you: the Lord had to deal with me personally and privately about separating what I do from who I am. Because I always equated what I do with who I am.
Here's the question: If God took everything you do away, could you still remain who you are?
I'm talking to the men especially. Everything you do defines who you are. We say, "What do you do? I am [blank]." But if God takes those things away, will it shake your identity? Will it depress you to the point where you check out? "I'm no longer anybody." The devil is a liar.
Don't forsake your encounter with Jesus.
Sometimes, the greatest thing you can do is surrender your all to God at His feet. Because if we're not careful, we'll only surrender to God for salvation, but we won't surrender to God for His lordship. We surrender to God and say, "Lord, I give you my heart. Save me." But we stop there. We never get to the point where God is actually Lord over your life.
What does that mean—Him being Lord? It means He directs your decisions. It means He directs the relationships you're involved in. It means He directs everything about your life. Not just when you like it. Even when you don't agree with what He's doing.
Some of us are convenient Christians. We serve God when it's convenient. But as soon as God tells you to do something you don't want to do, you're like, "Okay, let's back up."
But the Bible doesn't say feelings were involved when it comes to laying at His feet. The Bible doesn't even say how long they were there. They just laid them there and allowed His authority to reign over their condition. Because the Bible says, "He healed them."
They were willing to admit there was an issue. And some of us don't want to admit that there is an issue. Here's why: we're worried about perceived reputation.
Can I talk to you about perceived reputation? If we're not careful in church, we could be so full of pride that we think God is talking to everybody except us. And here's the thing: you could be sitting in church, and your main thought is, "Man, I wish so-and-so was here. God would really get them together." But the whole time, God is saying, "But I'm talking to you. I'm really talking to you, but you're so distracted with what you want Me to do in someone else's life."
Notice the Bible says, "He healed them." If we read this text, we might think Jesus is healing just for healing's sake. But if we look at the totality of Scripture, Jesus is not just healing. He's drawing them to Himself so they would know He's the Messiah.
If we're not careful, we will give into ministries built upon the works of Jesus and not the person of Jesus. He's calling us to Himself for the purpose of salvation. Out of salvation flows healing. Out of salvation flows deliverance. But these are not an end in themselves.
We have to be careful that we're not propping up ministries for all these things. If the foundation is not to lead people back to the One who can save, the One who can deliver, the One who can take you out of darkness and pull you into light—if that's not the foundation—then it's built on sand.
He wasn't just healing as a period. No, He was healing so that there would be a comma—a continuation that leads back to Him.
Does your life lead back to Him? Does your testimony lead back to Him? Does everything you do lead back to Him?
I remember when Pastor Philip asked in a meeting, "Are you worthy enough to follow?" I said, "Well, I don't think so. Not yet. I'm being honest."
And he said, "We have to live lives worthy enough to follow."
Here's my question: Can somebody follow your life? Or do you have those moments where you have to hit pause and explain what's happening? But it's true.
If we make Jesus about the works, we'll have a me-centered gospel—where it's about Jesus meeting your felt needs—instead of a God-centered gospel where He meets the actual need: that you are a sinner in need of a Savior.
Because in Matthew 25, Jesus can say, "Depart from me. I never knew you." And their response was not, "You saved me." Their response was, "Did we heal in your name? Didn't we deliver? Didn't we do your works?"
But He said, "I never knew you."
The greatest gift you could ever have is not the power of Jesus. The greatest gift you could ever have is knowing Jesus. Because when I know Him, then I'll meet Him in eternity.
In Isaiah 35:5-6, it says: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame leap like a deer and the tongue of the mute shall sing for joy."
This sounds familiar with what Jesus tells John the Baptist in prison in Matthew 11. Jesus is literally displaying the fruit of His ministry.
I'm coming for all the people that claim Christ with no fruit. And I'm not just talking about preachers. I'm talking about the people in the pews. We claim Christ, but we have no fruit. Your spouse can't tell. Your children can't tell. Your boss can't tell. Your parents can't tell.
And it's not because they are indifferent toward you. It's because your life doesn't resemble the person that you say you follow.
The Bible says that a tree should produce fruit after its kind. Are you producing fruit after the One you follow?
Maybe you're in this room and God said something to you in one season, but you don't see it happening right now. Notice: Jesus healed these people, fulfilling Isaiah 35:5-6—prophecy that happened many years earlier.
God will fulfill His word. It doesn't matter how long it takes. If God said it, He will fulfill it.
Look at the time that lapsed. Adam and Eve fell, and it talks about Jesus. Look at how much time it took for Jesus to show up on the scene in Matthew 1. But it doesn't matter because if He said it, God doesn't give a description of something and then fail to deliver.
Whatever He says is, and all time does is catch up to what eternity already established. If you look at the book of Revelation and the things to come, you would think, "Lord, this is a lot." But He has already said it. Time just catches up with what He already said.
Verse 31 says: "The crowd wondered and they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel."
Here is where I'm going to land today: God has set you up for an encounter at His feet. And the result of an encounter with Jesus literally changes everything.
I have had times in my life where being in the presence of Jesus literally changed the trajectory of my life. You can't remain the same if you genuinely encounter Jesus.
And notice I said genuinely. Because there are some of us that encounter Jesus and have what I call an emotional high. What do I mean? You get inspired in the moment, but you have no discipline to carry it out. You come in here, God is working in your heart, and then you go out to the car and roll up. Or you text somebody, "I'm coming over in 10 minutes."
We get inspired. We're on a high in church. But there's no discipline to carry it out.
But when you genuinely encounter Jesus, something about your life has to change and shift. Something about you changes.
And I don't mean perfection. Most of us equate an encounter with Jesus as pixie dust—like everything becomes perfect and nothing ever goes wrong. But if we look at Scripture, even Jesus said, "In this life you will have tribulation." Even Paul said, "There's a war going on in me. I'm wrestling."
But the difference between Christians who are victorious and Christians who yield is that somebody is putting up a fight.
I want to talk to all my Christians who say, "My life isn't perfect, but I'm fighting. Things aren't going right, but I'm fighting. My flesh is acting crazy, but I'm fighting though. Things aren't going well, but I'm fighting because I know He is [worthy]." Like, "I didn't do well on Monday, but I'm back up on Tuesday. It almost got me on Wednesday, but I'm back up on Thursday."
Can I hear from somebody who's fighting?
Somebody said, "I'm fighting, man. I'm giving it everything I've got. I'm single trying to hold it together, but I'm giving it everything I've got. I'm married and there are all these temptations around me, and I'm giving it everything I've got. I know my coworkers want to do one thing, and I'm giving it everything I've got because Jesus deserves that. He deserves that."
Let me land this plane. What is the area in your life that you need to lay at His feet?
If you're an unbeliever, it's your life. But if you're saved, it's your heart. What's that area in your heart that God keeps dealing with and you keep skirting around? What's that offense that just keeps rising up? Every time you see that person, you react.
I know Father's Day is coming up, but some of us are offended with our fathers. And we don't like to be honest because we want to play Superman all the time. But if I come to do anything today, I come to lead you to the feet of Jesus.
The attack has been real. But greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.
There are three things I want you to hold onto:
Relinquish the temptation to make your relationship with Jesus transactional. "I'll do this if you do that." No. Surrender everything.
Relinquish your hold on anything you have placed at His feet. Some of you have hesitation. I want you to literally let go and lay it at His feet.
Continuously evaluate the outcome of your influence. Everything you do should lead to Him, not to you.
When you came in, you should have gotten a piece of paper. I want you to get that out and write down whatever you need God. Whatever you need to place at the feet of Jesus.
In a moment, we're going to worship. Whether you find yourself at this altar, in the aisle, or wherever—there is an encounter about to hit this room. Jesus wants to meet with you at His feet.
Come lay it at His feet. Get in the aisle. Come lay it at His feet. Whether you need to stay and pray, that's fine. But don't come without laying it at His feet.
There are things, people, places, environments that you need to lay at the feet of Jesus. And I don't mean pick it back up. Lay it and leave it. With tears in your eyes. With frustration in your heart. With trauma in your soul. Lay it at His feet.
If you're online, there should be instructions in an email about how to email what you want to place at the feet of Jesus. Maybe you just need to create an altar where you are. If you're driving, pull over. If you're in your living room, get on your knees.
Don't stay in your seat. Come lay it at the feet of Jesus. If you need to stay at the altar and get it all out of your heart, do that.
Some men need to come and be vulnerable right now. Some women, the Lord has been drawing you to commit yourself to Him. Come lay it at His feet.
