Touré Roberts - The Unfolding

Let’s get into this thing! I love the theme. Have you ever had a plot twist, an unexpected challenge show up? Where did this come from? Kind of like a movie—you watch a film for the first time and don’t see it coming. Everything’s all pretty and sweet; the music is really good or whatever, and then—dun, dun! It works in the opposite way sometimes in your story. Not only are there unexpected challenges, but there are unexpected blessings too. I’m talking about your story, and so we have to be careful not to make assumptions about it, which is easy to do because our perspective of our story is based on our past and present. This means there is a degree of ignorance. Are you tracking with me?

Have you ever been disappointed in life? You know what disappointment is? First of all, it’s normal. Disappointment is normal. But if you understand what disappointment is—watch this—it is evidence that we had an ignorant expectation. Not ignorant in a negative way; I know we think «ignorant» sounds like an insult. No, no, no! Ignorant just means you did not have knowledge. So disappointment is evidence that we sometimes believe a story that isn’t true. So much so that when the truth of the story shows up, we are disappointed because we had an expectation that wasn’t based on the truth about our story. Can I talk to you like this? Please stay with me because we’re going somewhere.

Why is it like that? I think it’s like that because your story predates you. In other words, you were not around when the story of you was decided. You weren’t there; it’s right there in the text: «For we are His workmanship, created for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.» What did He tell Jeremiah? «Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.» What kind of craziness is that? God comes to Jeremiah and says, «Yo, Jeremiah!» He’s talking to him, watch this, and talking about a version of him that He created outside of time. «Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.» That means there are two «yous.» There’s the you that you are, and then there’s the you that you are becoming. We have these moments of alignment—boom! —where the you that you are aligns with the you that you are becoming, and that’s where glory lives. Somebody needs to catch what I just said. That’s where glory lives!

Why? Jesus said, «I only do what I see my Father do.» Can I take my time, Pastor John? When they were questioning Jesus about whether or not what He was doing was right, Jesus comes by. You know the scribes and the Pharisees were always trying to judge Him because they didn’t know what He was doing. How could they know? They were trying to judge His actions because they didn’t understand them, and anything that someone doesn’t understand, he or she has a judgment about. It’s a whole other sermon. Be careful! The Bible says, «Judge not another man’s servant.» You weren’t there when the story of him or her was formed. Don’t be so quick to judge because you don’t know what God is doing with someone. That person is another man’s servant; that woman is another man’s servant—they are God’s servants. You weren’t there when their story was written, and you may write them off when God has written them in. I feel the Spirit of God; you will write them off when God has written them in.

When Jesus is being questioned by the Pharisees about whether or not what He is doing is legitimate, He says something profound. I’m going to make this point and move on. He says, «I only do what I see my Father do.» Now, you’ve got to catch that; don’t let it pass by you. He says, «While they are questioning my movement, I have learned the discipline to only do what I see—the version of me and my Father do.» That’s why I’m powerful! See, this is the moment where you think, «Do I unpack that further?» because I’ve got more to go, but I think that’s an important point. In other words, there is a you up there that is perfected. See, oh God! John, I want to keep it going in a certain vein, but can I just do it? Just do it!

Alright, when you get a chance, I want you to study Colossians 3 because it says something incredible that undergirds what I’m talking about. It says, «Since you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is.» If you keep reading, He says, «For you died—that’s one of you—you died, and your life is now hidden in Christ.» It reads, «So when Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.» So there is a you right now that exists in glory. And when you seek those things that are above, when you worship God—yeah, I want to see Jesus, but I also want to see the version of me in Jesus.