Where to Turn When Life Falls Apart | Ken McIntyre

Life can feel unstable, but God never changes.  

This week, Pastor Ken unpacks the name “Jehovah Tsuri,” meaning “The Lord is my Rock,” and shows us why this truth gives us confidence, peace, and strength no matter what we face.

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil Kal, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- Uh, good morning. We are in a series where we are exploring who God is by way of exploring his timeless names. And not all names are timeless. My name's Ken. Uh, I was named after my grandpa. Uh, I like my name, but you will not meet a baby named Ken. You won't like, it's so rare. There is a, a US data collection agency that tracks the names of babies. Imagine that was your job. But anyway, tracks name as babies. And in 2021, only 52 children were named Ken in America. Okay? That's one out of every 36,000 kids are named Ken. So I've realized that I'm gonna grow up and I'm gonna be the person who has the old person name, right? Like Bertha, right? Like, like there's no 17-year-old kicking around named Bertha, right? I had to check our, uh, our, our church database to make sure we had no Bertha's . I started with Eugene. I'm like, no, lots of Eugenes, lots of Walters or Norman like Norman, solid name, great names. Don't get me wrong. Let's make Norman great again. Great names, okay? If you are with child and expecting a boy, would you consider Norman just putting it out there? Human names, they, they go in and out of fashion, but God's names stay the same. They're, they're timeless. Especially the one that we're looking at today. It's Jehovah Sury, Jehovah Sury, which is the Lord is my rock. And so I wanna talk about two things regarding this today. Number one, the rock that we build on. And number two, the rock that was broken for us. Now, plenty of songs, plenty of songs are built around this theme of God as foundation, right? We sang a new song to our congregation this morning, right? And Christ is my firm foundation. Come on, it's a good song., she say that again. Now, for all you new Christians, uh, I love that you're a part of our church. You're vital to our church. You're hungry for the things of the Lord. It's contagious. But this one thing I hold against you, you do not know some of the classics . Now, if you are familiar with the song, my hope is built on nothing less the chorus of that. Let's sing that together. Let's educate. All right, let on Christ a solid rock. I stand all other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking. So good. Now, if you're embarrassed for me, don't , my daughter is in here today cringing enough for all of us, okay? . It's fitting to sing about God as our rock. Because the first time we see Jehovah Sury in scripture is in the middle of a song. God gives this song to Moses, and it's a heartbreaking song. God reveals that when Moses passes, that the Israelites, God's people we're going to reject God, turn away from him. And we read that and we're like, okay, yeah, we've read that story, but understand from Moses' point of view, this is soul crushing, right? This is, this is tragic. Imagine it's not the same thing, but it puts us in close proximity to the mindset of what's happening during this song for Moses. Because imagine on your deathbed, God revealed to you as plain as day that your children and your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren are gonna turn away from the Lord. You would do almost anything. You would trade almost anything to stop that from happening. But Moses says he inches towards death. There's nothing he can do about it. And so this is the song that we read in Deuteronomy 32, and it starts off, okay, it starts like this. I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God. He is Jehovah Sury the rock. His works are perfect and all his ways are just, but in verse five is like this hard left turn. It says this, they that being the Israelites are corrupt and not his children. To their shame, they are a warped and crooked generation. Is this the way you pay the Lord? You foolish in unwise people? Is he not your father, your creator who formed you and made you? Then for the next nine verses, it kind of goes on on this, on this, on this thought, this poetic imagery of Israel turning from the Lord and it climaxes in verse 15, and Moses says this, they abandoned the God who made them and rejected the rock their savior, this theme of God as rock. It goes throughout the Old Testament, specifically through the writings of David and the Psalms, but then it continues to traverse into the New Testament, and we find its fulfillment and revelation fully in Jesus Christ. In one Peter two, this is what we read, it says as you come to him, that being Jesus, as you come to Jesus, the living stone, rejected by humans, but chosen by God and precious to him, Jesus has referred to as the living stone. That's the key word, the Christian faith. It revolves and centers around a resurrected Christ, a resurrected Jesus. We don't gather around a tombstone, we gather around a living stone. We don't light candles and mourn for a great teacher who once was, no, we come and we celebrate and we worship, and we pour ourselves out for a God who is, and this is what separates Christianity from other world religions. Muhammad is dead and buried in Medina. Buddha's remains are enshrined. Confucius has a tomb in China, the great secular minds of our age are dead and long gone, but the tomb of Jesus is empty. He got outta the tomb and never looked back. We worship a risen Christ who seated at the right hand of the Father. He's ruling and reigning, he's returning. He's healing wounds, he's healing marriages. He's sets people free. He's building his church, the living stone. Not a tombstone rejected though over and over and over and over again, generation after generation, but chosen and precious to God. Echoing this, Jesus says this about himself in Mark 12. He said, the stone himself, the stone, the builders rejected, had become the cornerstone wasn't just ancient Israel that rejected the Lord the rock. And it wasn't just the contemporary people of Jesus either. See, in Jesus' day, they looked at Jesus said, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. A crucified savior. That doesn't make sense. A suffering service. No way a carpenter from Nazareth does anything good come from Nazareth. He was too unlikely to be a candidate for the Messiah. He's too unlikely to be the realiz realization of the hopes of centuries for Israel. And even today, he's still too unlikely. He's still too unlikely. People look at Jesus and they still reject him. He's nothing but a myth. Or if he lived, his life has just been greatly exaggerated or sure he did live, but he's just one of the many options of the pantheons of Gods. He's still too unlikely to be the person that Christians claim he is. He's too unlikely to have the power to release people from addiction or depression or anxiety. He's too unlikely to have authority over death. He's too unlikely to be God in the flesh. But the stone at the world has rejected. God has exalted as the cornerstone, the cornerstone of everything. Now, the cornerstone was the first and the most crucial stone laid in a building. Everything else was measured and everything else was aligned by that stone. If the cornerstone was off, the whole building was crooked. The whole building would be unstable. In other words. In other words, it was the stone that every other stone was defined by . What's the cornerstone of your life? What's the cornerstone of your life? If you have the wrong cornerstone, if you have the wrong foundation, it's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time before it all comes crashing down. And maybe for you, it already has. And that's why you're here today. You built your life on something that couldn't bear the weight of life, or maybe it hasn't crashed down quite yet, but you notice and you see, you don't want to pay attention to it, but you can't but help it. But there's cracks starting to form in your life and you're marked by worry, by panic because you're wondering when is it gonna all come down? Or maybe, maybe everything just seems fine. You haven't really hit a storm yet. And that I'd suggest might be the most dangerous place because when it falls, it's gonna fall hard. Jesus says this in Matthew seven. He says, therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts him into practice's like a wise man who built his house on the rock, the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. Yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. This isn't a delineation or a distinction between believers and non-believers. There are sincere faith-filled Christians who have built their life on sand, whose lives are built on a false foundation, not a firm one. And so an obvious question would be like, well, how do I know what the foundation of my life is?'cause that's difficult. We don't necessarily have the tools to dig that deep. There's, there's complex emotions, there's layered motivations. There's there's, there's history there. There's, it's like, how do I know what the foundation of my life truly is? I wanna give you one diagnostic question that might clear things out for you. And it's simply this. When life gets hard, where do you turn? That's your rock. When life gets hard, where do you run? When the plant falls apart, when the bad news comes, when the pressure's on, where do you run? Because you always run to your rock, right? You always run to your place of comfort, your place of safety. So when things go crazy in your life, where do you go? What do you turn to? Is it the bottle? Is it food? Is it shopping, distractions, pornography? Is it work? Is it your spouse? You'd say, oh, my spouse is my rock. No, that's not good. God never designed your spouse to carry that sort away. That's a false foundation. When the storms come, and you and I both know they will eventually come, all those will be revealed for what they are. Sand, sand. My prayer is that when things get hard, when life caves in, you'll run to Jehovah Sury that you would run to Jesus. You would come to his feet, come to the cross, you'd pour over his words. You'd lose yourself and worship that He would be your foundation, your safety in the storm that he would be your refuge. Do not lean on what does not last. Do not lean on what can be lost and everything. Everything could be lost. Your job, your health, wealth, reputation, a relationship. But you cannot lose the love of God in Christ. That's why the only unshakeable life is one built on him. Jehovah Surry, the rock we can build our life on. And so a question next might be, well, how do I do that? How do I build my life on Christ as a foundation?'cause maybe God has been exposing in your life, just in our short time this morning, some cracks, some false foundations. It's like, well, well what? Now, what do I do with all of that? How do I build a firm foundation in my life with Christ as a rock? The reality is, and this is a hard word, I know that I'm not saying this lightly, but you are going to have to tear some things down. First, you're gonna have to do some excavation in your life, some demolition for some, the thing that needs to be torn down is a relationship that you're in. Maybe you're seeing someone who's, who does not share your faith in Jesus. You're imaginating, right? Imaginating. You're hoping that they'll change. And listen, that's, that's not wisdom. That's not wisdom, okay? That's wishful thinking. Maybe you're living with that person. Maybe you are pretending to be married without the covenant, and that's not a solid foundation. You're building on the wrong foundation. I know you're trying to build something meaningful, but it's on the wrong foundation. Jesus isn't just something you build, you know, you just throw on top of your foundation. He's not a cement patch you put on the side. No, he's the cornerstone. Everything else, everything has to align to that. So maybe for you, it's time to move out. Maybe for you it's time to move on. Or maybe it's time to get married. I know it's like, who is this guy to tell me that? Listen, I'm no one to tell you that, and I don't really know what your next step is, but my guess is you do. You already know. And this is just confirmation, but it's not just relationships. I would say that the main thing that we need to tear down in our life, the false foundation, is the story that we play over and play out over and over again in our life. That the story you've been telling yourself is your stronghold. It's a story that says, you'll only be loved, you'll only be successful. You'll only be accepted if you hit a certain level of success or a certain number on the scale, or you look a certain way, or there's a certain number in the bank account. Listen, that story that you keep telling yourself has become your cornerstone. But that story did not come from Jesus. Listen, work hard, wear deodorant, go to the salon, okay? Say no to chocolate cake. Sometimes, not all the time. Say yes to the treadmill. Sometimes yes, all of that stuff is fine and good, okay? Whatever. But those are not the things that make you you. That's not the right story. That's not God's story for your life. He has a better one.'cause in Christ, you are already loved. You don't have to work for it. You're already valued. You're already chosen. You are worth is not found in what you do, but in what Christ has done for you. And you cannot earn what he freely gives you. That's the story that leads me to the next thing I want to talk about. Yes, Jehovah Sury, the rock we build our life on. But Jehovah Sury, the rock that was broken for us. I wanna take you to a story from Exodus 17 that at first glance, it's bizarre. It's a strange story. There's no doubt about it. It's what theologians call typological, which means it's a story that existed in history and had real meaning in intermediate context. But it also has another layer that is fully revealed later on in scripture in the New Testament. Here's a scene. Israel is weeks out of Egypt and they are dying of thirst. There's no water. And so they're complaining and they're grumbling, and they lash out at Moses and they put him on trial. And they say this to him, why'd you bring us out of Egypt to make us and our children and our livestock die of thirst? And Moses brings us to the Lord. And listen to this interesting strange thing that God says in return, he says, I so I myself, I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock and water will come gushing out. Now, that's unlikely rocks don't, don't do that. But here's what's interesting. God says that he himself will stand before the people on the rock in ancient Israel. If someone was standing trial, they would stand before the judge. And if they were guilty, they would often be immediately struck or flogged or maybe even stoned to death. But in this moment, in Exodus 17, the roles are reversed. And God, the judge, the innocent is standing in front of the assembly and he stands on this rock that receives Moses' blow and, and water comes forth. Paul in the New Testament, he's reflecting on this story and he shows us what else is going on here that we don't first see. He says this, for they drank that being the Israelites from the spiritual rock that followed him and that rock was Christ.- It's- Like, wait, what You're saying? That rock was not just a rock, but that rock was gonna show us something else. That rock was a preview to come. That rock somehow shows us what Jesus is gonna do in our life. Just like the rock in Exodus was struck to give life giving water to an undeserving people. So Jesus was struck for you, Jesus, the innocent is struck for the guilty and out of his wounds come life giving water. Jesus says this, whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life. It's like, well, what's happening here? We've been talking about false foundations, right? Pick your poison, sex, money, relationships, right? Whatever it is, sand. And we keep on going back to these things and taking a sip, and they help us for a moment, but we have to keep on going back'cause they don't really quench our souls. But Jesus says, listen, anyone who is thirsty, come to me and drink not to those things. They can't say, come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from 'em. That's the invitation. That's the invitation that is giving you and me today. Come to me. Run to me. I am the rock that was struck for you. Drink of the life, giving water so you never have to thirst again. That's the invitation. Jehovah Sury, can you stand with me? The first time we come across Jehovah's, it's in a tragic song about people rejecting the Lord. But in Jesus, there's a new song That both saints and sinners alike can come and drink from the fountain of life. Jesus Christ. The well that never runs dry. That's the invitation. The unfaithful and the faithful can come. Let him who is thirsty, drink of me, Jesus says, and in you will, well upstreams to eternal life. We're gonna sing this song firm foundation that we sang earlier. And I hope, I hope that your spirit is stirred for the things of the Lord. I hope like in Psalm, that that like the dear pants for water, sow your soul thirsts for God. I hope that you're not satisfied with the temporary things that we run to, to try to quench our thirst. I hope that you are longing to drink from the fountain of Christ, the living water, and that your soul, that parched dry soul will find fulfillment, eternal satisfaction. And so let's declare this in worship that God, you are my firm foundation. Nothing else is gonna satisfy. Get hungry for the Lord. Taste and see that the Lord is good.- Christ is when everything I put he won. He won't. He won't. And he's,- You won't come on. See, rain came, rain came when blue, but my house was built on you and I saved you and I'm gonna make it. Rain came. Rain- Came- Built on, on you is my, he won. He won't.- He won.- He won't.- He won.- He won't.- As I was worshiping, I just got this sense of fear. Not, not for myself, but I just was sensed fear in the room. Not the Lord was doing something in your heart, in your life. And there's fear that you just don't want to let go of what you've built. The idea of, I've spent years and years doing this thing and, and I'm realizing that it's sand and I, I don't know what to do and, and there's just fear that's gripping you. And you sing this song and you want it to be true. I, and I can't convince you of anything, but I just would sense the Lord to just say, trust him that he's a good father. You can trust him with your life. He wants you to flourish more than you care. He wants your kids to flourish more than you do. That he is always with you. He'll never fail you. You can build your life on him. He can do immeasurably, immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine. And you don't have to be afraid to excavate some of that old foundation. You don't have to be afraid. But that God would leave you into wisdom, that he would give you courage, that he would give you clarity in this moment for your life that you could replace that sand, that false foundation with the unshakable foundation of the love of God in Christ.- So - Let me pray for you. Jesus, we bless you. We bless you, Lord. You are our rock, Jehovah Surrey that we build our life on. And so God, I pray that your Holy Spirit would bring deep conviction not to leave us in guilt, but to leave us to a place, to lead us to a place of repentance. And in coming to you, the source of our life of living water that we can walk out of here. Lord inspired that we could walk out of here filled with hope and not hope that just built on emotion, but hope that's built on the realest thing. Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, the tomb is empty. You are alive and you are working. Lord, you're also the rock who has broken forth. Lord, we thank you that we can come to you and drink from the well that will never run dry the well, that never leaves us wanting more, the living water, the very presence of Jesus Christ. Lord, would that be the thing that we run to? We pray this in your name, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Thank you so much for being in church today. We bless you. If you need prayer for anything, we're gonna have a team up here in the front left. We would love to pray with you. You know, if you're here and you wanna make Jesus the foundation of your life, you've never done that before. You're welcome to today. And so again, you can come and receive prayer. There's a QR code that you can scan, but come back next week, can come back the week after that. It takes a little while to pour foundation. If you haven't seen the renovations, things take time sometime. Come back. Thank you for being in church. We'll see you next week.