Connect With God | Sunday, January 16, 2022

Welcome to Cross Connection Church online! We are so grateful that you're joining us for service today. I'm Pastor Garrett, and we want to let you know that if you want to find out any information about Cross Connection Church and what we're doing, please check out our website at lifeinconnection.com. There, you will find more about us, what we're doing, and how you can be connected.

With the broadcast being online and you being at home, we would like to connect with you. One of the ways we can do that is by encouraging our audience to take a video of yourself and whoever you're watching with. Let us know who you are, where you're watching from, and send that video to our text line at 760-814. We want to know where you're at and how you are enjoying the Cross Connection Church broadcast from home because you are part of our church, and we want to be encouraged by you.

Please stick around to the end of our broadcast today. We will be announcing some of our current events at Cross Connection Church and letting you know how you can be involved. Of course, if you came prepared to give today, you can do so online from home at give.lifeinconnection.com.

Now, let's go ahead and jump into the broadcast. Lord, I come, I confess that without You, I fall apart. You're the one that guides my heart. Lord, I need You. Oh God.

Sin runs deep, but Your grace is more. It is found where You are.

Well, good morning and welcome to Cross Connection Church online. Sometimes, I think I take it for granted that those who tune into this broadcast know who I am. That may not exactly be the case, as we continue to reach well beyond our local church area here in North San Diego County, California. So, if you are joining from somewhere else or if you've never actually joined us here on campus for an in-person service, I want to welcome you to Cross Connection Church online and introduce myself to you. My name is Miles de Benedictus, and I have had the privilege of leading this church as the pastor for the last 14 years.

Currently, we are in a series here at the church that I call "Life in Connection." If Cross Connection Church is your church home, then this is a topic that is familiar to you. However, if you connect with us online from some other part of our nation or somewhere else in the world, our mission here at Cross Connection Church is life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus.

It has been my custom for the last decade or more to begin each year by refocusing us as a church on our mission and our vision. That is why we are currently going through this series, and I am talking about life in connection with God.

Another aspect of life is our connection with God through Jesus. If you weren't with us last week, I really do hope that you will check out last week's message online for a bit further context on what we're going to be talking about today. Everything I shared last week was really kind of a setup for where we're going. This week, we are discussing life in connection with God, and next week, I plan to talk about life in connection with one another. The following week, I will address life in connection with the world.

I'm sure you've noticed that the last couple of years have been, shall we say, a little crazy. In fact, two years ago, at the end of 2019, coming into 2020, I shared with our church here at Cross Connection Church that I perceived 2020 was going to be a chaotic year. I said that because it was a presidential election season, and 2016 was kind of crazy, as was 2012 and 2008. In all of my adult life, going back to the elections in the year 2000, presidential election seasons in the United States have been pretty chaotic, and it just seemed like it was getting more so. I thought it was a pretty sure bet going into 2020, and the year certainly didn't let me down.

Not only was there chaos in the political arena, but everything that happened as a result of the coronavirus and all the things that came after that contributed to the chaos. After nearly two years of upheaval, and really, when you think about it, after more than two decades of rapid, crazy change—what some refer to as hyper-novelty—we have developed as a people. I know I've seen it myself, and in interacting with people in the church and in the community, I have noticed that we've developed a general skepticism and even a distrust around institutions.

You can check this for yourself. Just ask yourself the question: Do I find in myself that I am less trusting and more skeptical of, say, federal institutions? When I mention federal institutions, I'm talking about things like the FBI, the CDC, the FDA, and the IRS. Have you developed more of a distrust toward these organizations?

Skepticism has become a prevalent sentiment in our society. Do you find that you are less trusting of federal institutions, public health professionals, or the medical and pharmaceutical industries? Have you developed a little bit of distrust for corporate interests, corporate media, or the social media platforms we use regularly?

Many people have expressed that they are less trusting or more skeptical of politicians, the political establishment, big business, universities, law enforcement, and even what is broadly categorized as science. You often hear discussions about science, and there seems to be a growing skepticism depending on where one lands on the political spectrum. This skepticism extends to corporate news media, the tech sector, social media platforms, and various industries, including medicine and pharmaceuticals.

We are more skeptical of these institutions because we have witnessed the breakdown of significant industries and societal mainstays in our culture here in the West. It is hard to believe that in one of the wealthiest and most advanced states, such as California, we are concerned about the mainstays of water and power during certain months of the year. It seems almost absurd that, in this hyper-modern era, we are discussing rationing power and water during the summer months.

Moreover, air travel, something we have become accustomed to in our lifetime, is less reliable than it used to be. When I say less reliable, I am not referring to safety; air travel is very safe. However, you may not know if your bags will arrive on time or if your flight will depart as scheduled.

Delayed flights or cancellations have become increasingly common. There has been a lot of uncertainty regarding whether there will be enough personnel to manage the various operations at airports. Supply chains are less dependable than ever, and the fact that we are concerned about these issues can be destabilizing and stressful. At the very least, it is an aggravation and an irritation when the things we have come to rely upon prove to be far less dependable than we expected.

As a result, trust in institutions is at what we might call a multi-generational low. Over the last several generations, we have come to expect certain standards from industries, institutions, government, and healthcare. However, after everything that has happened in the last two years, and indeed over the last two decades, we find that our trust in these entities is quite low. Skepticism towards these institutions is at an all-time high in our lifetimes. Everything has been shaken, and those things that once seemed to be the steadfast mainstays of Western societies have not withstood the stress of the upheaval we have experienced.

As much as we may not want to acknowledge or accept it, there is likely more shaking to come. The thought of this is unsettling, but it is important to recognize that supply chain issues are probably not over. There are still many questions swirling within our culture about how to manage the ongoing effects of coronavirus and how to reopen society. There is a lack of consensus within our governmental structures and the public health sector regarding how to address these challenges.

While this situation can be frustrating and irritating, I want to suggest that the shaking we have been experiencing in our culture for the better part of the last 20 to 30 years might actually be a good thing. Although we are living in tenuous and potentially dangerous times, I will discuss this further in a few minutes. Why might the shaking we have been going through as a culture be a positive development?

To answer that, I would ask you if you have your Bible to turn to the Old Testament book of Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 19, verse 1, we read from the prophet Isaiah: "The burden against Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and will come into Egypt. The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst."

If you've been a part of Cross Connection Church for any length of time, then you probably know that I like the book of Isaiah. I have been a student of the book of Isaiah for a very long time, and I've also had the privilege of teaching it no less than seven or eight times in a Bible college setting for many years. I love the book of Isaiah, and I find it a fascinating picture for us, or a lens, if you will, to look at our culture in our day through the lens of a book that was written nearly 2,800 years ago.

In Isaiah chapters 13 through 23, the section where that passage came from, Isaiah details the shaking of the major nations of his time. The source of this shaking, as you go through this passage, was God. The reason for the shaking was the collective sinfulness of the peoples of those nations that God was shaking. In this section, the ancient city-states of places like Babylon, Syria, Tyre, Moab, Philistia, Assyria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Edom, Arabia, and even Israel are all shaken by God because of their sin and their rebellion.

Can we all acknowledge that such massive shaking is not fun? When things get shaken around us, it's not enjoyable; it can be very upsetting and seriously destabilizing. One of the most significant memories that I have from childhood happened just seconds after 5:04 PM on October 17, 1989. Game three in the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A's was just about to begin, and as that was about to start, it was nationally televised. The entire stadium shook with a massive 7.2 magnitude earthquake.

The earthquake that hit California's Bay Area was significant. Earlier on that same day, my family had just laid to rest my grandfather, and we were having a family gathering at my grandmother's house in Antioch, California, which is just about 30 miles away from Oakland. We were right in the Bay Area, and I was there for that huge 7.2 magnitude earthquake. It affected me and everyone else in a significant way, a very major way.

Then, about five years after that, in January of 1994, we experienced a series of large Sunday morning earthquakes known as the Northridge earthquakes. The first was a 6.7 magnitude quake, followed by several aftershocks. It was incredibly destabilizing and upsetting, putting everybody on edge for a long time. During that period, there was a lot of talk in California about the possibility of "the big one" on the San Andreas Fault, which could cause California to fall off into the ocean.

I can't tell you what it was like as a nine-year-old to experience that huge 7.2 magnitude earthquake and then the Northridge earthquakes. It was unsettling and upsetting, causing a kind of low-level post-traumatic stress for a while. When everything shakes, it's hard not to be internally destabilized.

Nearly 2,800 years ago, God shook the nations of Isaiah's day. In Isaiah chapter 19, verse 1, we read about the shaking of the nation of Egypt. When God shook Egypt, the scriptures say that the idols of Egypt were shaken at His presence. The result of this was that the heart of Egypt melted in its midst. This is what happens when things are shaken.

Our society has been experiencing massive shakings over the last 25 years. I talked about some of those events in my last message. They have been culture-altering and society-shifting shakings, akin to metaphorical earthquakes.

With each successive shaking and each major event, there is a melting of the hearts of the people. In some respects, this is not necessarily a bad thing. The earthquake that hit in 1989 and the other ones that came in 1994 were devastating; they caused immense damage. Between the two of them, there were over a hundred deaths.

An amazing thing to note is that when something like that happens in the United States, you have far less death than you might if the same event occurred in Nepal or Haiti. We have seen some chaotic, massive earthquakes happen in other places where the death toll is much higher. Here in the United States, between those two earthquakes, we had more than 100 deaths, thousands of people injured, and more than 100 billion dollars in losses.

As terrible as those things are, and I do not want to lessen the impact of how bad that is, when shaking like that happens, it also exposes the areas of society that need to be strengthened or built better. You can see which bridges will not be able to withstand such shaking. A lot of new engineering had to come out after those earthquakes so that we could build in a way that can endure that kind of shaking. While it was bad, it exposed some of the ways that things need to improve.

In other words, shaking exposes the deficiencies and weaknesses of our lives and our trusts. In Isaiah chapter 19, God shook Egypt, and the things they trusted in—the idols of Egypt—were shaken. At the most basic level, an idol is anything in which you trust and to which you are devoted.

If you think about the things in people's lives, what are the things they trust in? What are the things they are devoted to? Those ultimately are their idols. We may not have idols like the people in Babylon, Assyria, or even the nation of Israel did 2,800 years ago. We may not have idols with names like Baal or Asherah or the different gods of the nations from the past, but we still have idols today. These are the things that people trust in or to which they entrust their lives and are devoted.

When what you trust in is shaken, it is exposed for being deficient or weak. You will find that your heart will melt. The heart of Egypt melted in the midst of the people of Egypt when the things they trusted in failed. If you read through Isaiah chapter 19, you will find a series of things that they trusted in. They trusted in their wealth, their wisdom, the intelligence of their leaders, the gods of their nation, and the Nile River. They relied on all of their industry that came from the Nile River.

All of those things experienced a massive falling apart. There was a drought, a famine, and various other calamities described in Isaiah chapter 19. These were the things that the people trusted in, and God, in His judgment, caused those things to be shaken and to fall apart. As a result, the heart of the people melted.

So why might that be a good thing? Because idols—those things that you trust in and are devoted to—cannot save. It is better for you to find out now that what you are trusting in or devoted to is weak and deficient than to bank on it until the very end, only to be left wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked when everything falls apart.

I think of Bernie Madoff. At the height of his career, there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of people who entrusted him with tens of billions of dollars. Those who did so lost in a huge way. Why? Because he was exposed for being a fraud. When the final shaking came through, he was shown for what he truly was, and all the trust that people had placed in him, all the devotion they had given by entrusting him with their assets, resulted in them coming up really short.

Shaking exposes the deficiencies and weaknesses of our lives and of our trusts. For the better part of the last three-quarters of a century in the West, especially here in the United States, we have trusted in science and technology. We have trusted in medicine, our educational institutions, and our universities. In some respects, we have trusted in government. You may say, "Well, I don't trust in government," but you might trust in the government officials that you voted for or the people that you like.

We, as a people, have trusted in government, our military, corporations, and law enforcement. For the better part of the last seventy-five years, we have relied on these institutions. Society sees these Western institutions and the ideals they are built upon as the savior of society. You may argue that these things are not the savior of society, but believe it or not, that is what we essentially believe. You can tell this is what we, as a people, believe because it is what we have tried to export to other societies and cultures.

It's interesting to note that the very first presidential election in which I was an adult and able to vote was back in 2000. During that time, there was a lot of talk about how we did not want to be involved in nation-building. Much of the rhetoric leading up to the election in 2000 revolved around this idea. However, for pretty much my entire adult life, we have been involved in foreign theaters, trying to export our culture's ideals and institutions. Why? Because we think those things have value; we believe they are good. In many respects, I am not speaking against these things. I love the culture we live in, and I am not looking to leave it in any way.

It is clear that we have tried to export these values to other places because we believe they are important and highly valued. However, after more than two decades, our trust in these institutions is far less than it once was. You are probably more skeptical than ever that the answers to the world's biggest problems will be found in our universities, government, corporations, medicine, science, and technology.

Now, don't get me wrong; I am not saying that these institutions have not produced unprecedented increases in human wealth and well-being. They certainly have. There are fewer people today than at virtually any other time in history living in abject poverty, which is a good thing. More people today are living healthier and wealthier lives than perhaps at any other time in human history when you look at it per capita. Yet, you are probably far more skeptical now than you have ever been.

At any other time in your life, the ultimate answers to the biggest questions are or will be found in science, technology, medicine, education, or corporate and government institutions. That's not a bad thing. Why? Because shaking exposes the deficiencies and weaknesses of our lives and our trust. The ultimate answers are not ultimately found in these things; they will not save us. As I said earlier, idols don't save.

The problem is that, despite having great science, technology, medicine, education, and maybe even comparatively good institutions, we feel lost. We are lost. We, as human beings, are in darkness. This is the height of what postmodernism breeds. After decades of talk about postmodernism and years of philosophical research and writing on the topic, we are now beginning to feel the nihilistic angst that postmodernism brings in a bigger way than at any other time.

I want you to know that this may not actually be a horrible thing because shaking exposes the deficiencies and weaknesses of our lives and our trust. However, we are living in very tenuous and potentially dangerous times. Why is this time we are living in so precarious? It has been observed by many, especially some of the Russian physiologists, psychologists, and neuroscientists of the 19th and 20th centuries, that humans and other organisms, when subjected to hyper-novel conditions—when things change rapidly and in a big way—exhibit a startle reflex.

All of us have a startle reflex. You've experienced that before. You know, you're in a dark room or in a place where it's dark outside, and there's a bright flash and a really loud noise. You startle at that. But not only do we have a startle reflex; we also have what's referred to as an orienting response or an orienting reflex. When things change, when there is hyper-novelty, we are triggered, and when we are triggered, we seek for...

Some sort of equilibrium is something I'm sure you've noticed over the last two years. Maybe you have been seeking it, or perhaps your friends, neighbors, and family members have been seeking it as well. What we often call the "new normal" has become somewhat cliché, and many of us are tired of hearing people talk about it. However, we have been looking for some stability, wanting things to settle down and return to something a little more steady and routine—maybe even mundane. How much would you like to have a little more mundane situations in your life?

Have you been looking for that? If the answer is yes, which I'm sure it probably is, it is because we long for things to return to a state of homeostasis. That is normal biologically and psychologically. We want things to go back to some sort of normal status.

So, what is the problem with that? When the things we have trusted in or devoted ourselves to are shaken and turned upside down, our inclination is to try to find something else as fast as possible to latch onto in order to bring stability. This is why so many men who are widowed almost instantly buy a motorcycle or a sports car. Oftentimes, those men find a new wife within months after the death of their spouse. Why is that? There is a compelling sense within us that we want some sort of stability and normalcy, and we think that is where it will come from.

The danger lies in turning to something that will not ultimately address the deficiencies and weaknesses of our lives, or possibly that will make the situation much worse. There are countless cautionary tales of people who have done exactly that. Hopefully, the shaking we go through, or have been going through, exposes the deficiencies and weaknesses in our lives and the things we trust in for a purpose.

You need to recognize that God allows such things in our lives. He allows the things we trust in that are not Him to be shaken. In fact, it is His desire that those things be shaken. Why? Because God shakes those things that can be shaken so that we will trust in that which is unshakable. God allows things in our lives to be shaken—the things that we are trusting.

In our lives, we often devote ourselves to things that are not worthy of our trust or devotion. God allows those things to be shaken so that we will not trust in them any longer. He shakes those things that can be shaken so that we will trust in that which is unshakable.

The author of the Book of Hebrews in the New Testament states that God's voice shakes the earth. In Hebrews chapter 12, verse 25, he writes, "See that you do not refuse Him who speaks," referring to God. He continues, "For if they did not escape who refused God who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven." The voice that shook the earth is now promising, "Yet once more I shake not only the earth but also heaven." This is a quotation from the Old Testament prophets.

Verse 27 indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, so that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. God allows things to be shaken for the removal of those things that can be shaken, so that we will trust in those things that remain, which cannot be shaken. Therefore, in verse 28, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.

In this passage, God shakes those things that can be shaken so that we will trust in that which is unshakable. Stability, surety, and life are not found in the things of this world. I am sure you are seeing that more and more as time goes by. All the events that have happened in our culture and society over the last two years, or even the last couple of decades, have shown us that our devotion and trust in many of the institutions we have often relied on are not as sure and steadfast as we thought.

Distrust and skepticism are at an all-time high regarding these institutions. Better politicians and politics will not bring stability and surety. Our security and hope are ultimately not found in science, technology, medicine, or mathematics. Universities, corporations, and major initiatives of multinational groups will not produce utopia, despite the numerous academic papers written on the subject.

Utopia will not be achieved through the things that Westerners have trusted in and hoped for. These are the things we are trying to export to other cultures, but they have not stood up to the shaking of the last couple of decades. All the talk of deconstruction in this postmodern era is, in reality, just the picking through of the rubble of those things as they fall. We see in the midst of this shaking that those things are not as enduring as we may have hoped or thought they would be.

We are witnessing the removal of those things that are being shaken so that the things which cannot be shaken remain. This process reveals what are the real, sure, and steadfast things that we can anchor ourselves to in this world. It is not all of the institutions we find around us. This shaking isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if the result is that we find, in the rubble of what is shaken and what falls, that which is sure, steadfast, immovable, and unshakable.

The psalmist in Psalm 46 writes these words: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, even though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." Imagine an upheaval like this—the earth is removed, and the mountains are cast into the sea. How destabilizing would that be? Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, we are reminded to pause and reflect on this chaos.

Then the psalmist continues in verse 4: "There is a river whose stream shall make glad the city of God." Here we see that while the earth is in turmoil and shaking, the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High, is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved; God's city, God's kingdom, is not moved. God shall help her just at the break of dawn.

The nations raged, and the kingdoms were moved; God uttered His voice, and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

So, just think about that: God is sure and steadfast. He has not moved as the earth is being shaken and all the hearts of the people are melting. God is our refuge, sure and steadfast.

In verse 8, we read: "Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. He makes war cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot with fire."

"Be still."

And know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.

What is this psalmist showing us in Psalm 46? Beautiful words in that psalm reveal that God is over and above all of those things that melt the hearts of men. He is above all those things that cause us distress and destabilize our souls, our psyches, and our lives. God is unmoved by those things that move us. He allows the things we trust in to be shaken so that we will realize that our idols—those things we are devoted to—are unworthy of our devotion and trust.

It all comes down to this: God will allow things to crumble around you. Maybe you're going through a situation right now where you feel like everything is falling apart in your life. Perhaps you've lost a family member, a relationship, a job, or a house. Some sort of loss has caused all kinds of destabilization in your life. In the midst of it, you may have even prayed or asked people to pray for you, wondering, "God, why have you not fixed this?"

From my reading of the Scriptures and my observation of other people's lives, as well as my own experiences, I have found that God will allow things to crumble around us. While we are standing in the midst of the rubble, amidst all the things that have fallen, we might find Him. He will allow the storm to rage so that we will turn to Him. Sometimes, He lets us sink into the waves so that we will cry out to Him for help, much like Peter, who walked on water. When he saw the wind, the storm, and the waves, he started to sink and cried out to God for help.

God will allow us to go through these situations so we will rely more fully upon Him and cry out to Him for help. He will allow us to grope about, lost in darkness, so that we might find life and light in His grace. Ultimately, we will come to recognize that what we truly desire and deeply need is found in Him.

In the abundant life that comes only from a connection with Him, we were created by God to live life in connection with God. Apart from Him, we will always be lost and in darkness. However, we often find ourselves apart from God, trying to seek help, light, and life in all these other things that ultimately will not satisfy and will not save us.

We were created to live life in connection with God. At the very beginning, go back and read the opening words of the Bible in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. In Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 2, man and God were connected; there was a tight relationship. But humanity set out to try to be self-sufficient and strong on its own. That is what the fall described in Genesis chapter 3 is all about. God allows us to grope about in the dark until we are ready to call out to Him when we realize that we are deficient and weak without Him.

I think this is beautifully pictured in some words from the Psalms. In Psalm 107, we read these words: "Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep. For He commands and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up the waves of the sea. They mount up to the heavens; they go down to the depths." You can envision poetically these huge waves and the people who are on these great seas in their ships. Their soul melts because of trouble; they reel to and fro and stagger like drunken men, and they are at their wit's end.

Maybe that's how you feel right now, with all the instability of life. You are at your wit's end. Then, verse 28 tells us, "They cry out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brings them out of their distress. He calms the storm so that its waves are still, and then they are glad because they are quiet. So He guides them to their desired haven." Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

We were created to live life in connection with God, and a life lived disconnected from Him is ultimately a life that is lacking in abundance. Yet, we try so hard to find wholeness and abundance apart from Him. That life, which seeks wholeness and abundance apart from God, is like the...

The lives of those sailors in that passage in Psalm 107 are in the midst of a huge storm, with rolling seas. They stumble about to and fro like drunken men; they are at their wits' end. This is a life disconnected from God.

We've done a pretty good job in Western society of trying to create beautiful, wonderful existences. We've created a society that is about as close to heaven on earth as one might be able to imagine. However, it is amazing how quickly things can unravel and how fast they can be destabilized. It is in the midst of that storm that we need to cry out to the Lord.

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He brought them to their desired haven. He brings them out of their distress and guides them to where they were looking to get to—the life of abundance that we so deeply desire. True abundant life is found only through Jesus in connection with God. That's why we say here at Cross Connection Church that life is in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus.

That abundant life is only found in connection with God through Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "The thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." He also said, "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness."

He stated, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost." Furthermore, He said, "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many." Jesus came to rescue us from darkness and death, to reconcile us to God the Father, that we might receive His unshakeable kingdom.

Let me say that again; it's so important. Jesus came to rescue us from darkness and death, to reconcile us to God the Father, that we might receive His unshakeable kingdom. We are living in a world that is about as good as it could possibly be in a broken and fallen world. In Western societies, we have such abundance and instant access to virtually anything at any time. There are so many great things, and yet, in the midst of this, we have seen things destabilized. All those things that we trust in or have devoted ourselves to are shown to be fragile.

Ultimately, that which is going to bring about the abundant life is not found in worldly things. I think that the Lord has allowed those things to be shaken so that we will realize that true abundance is found only in Jesus Christ. It is found only in that life in connection with God. Jesus came to rescue us from darkness and death through His death on the cross to reconcile us to God the Father, that we might receive His unshakable kingdom—a kingdom that is enduring.

One of my favorite passages of Scripture that describes what Jesus did in coming to this world is found in Ephesians chapter 2, where Paul writes in verse 14: "For He Himself, Jesus, is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace."

He reconciles them both to God in one body through the cross. It is through the cross of Christ that Jesus reconciles us back to God, thereby putting to death the enmity. He came and preached peace to you who are far off and to those who are near. For through Him, we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. In Him, the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

We have lived through a significant time of shaking, and those significant times of shaking will only increase. I don't know what you believe about end times, but if you read many of the end times passages of Scripture, it says that there will be all kinds of earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, pandemics, and all these things. They seem to escalate more and more as we approach the time when Jesus returns.

All of these things shake and shake and shake. Why? So that we will see the deficiencies and weaknesses in the things we have entrusted ourselves to with our devotion. God allows those things to shake so that anything that can be shaken will be shaken and fall apart, revealing what is unshakable. Only Jesus, only God, in His kingdom, is ultimately unshakable.

In the midst of all that, we can see that God is over and above all the things that melt our hearts in this world. God allows these challenges so that we will turn to Him and say, "God, will You rescue and save me so that I might find life in connection with You and true abundant life?" It is my hope and prayer that, amid all the chaos and shaking that has happened in your life—maybe during this season or in our world over the last couple of years—you will see that Christ alone is the one who brings surety. He alone is our refuge, our ever-present help in time of trouble.

Father God, I pray that You would speak through Your Word and this message to anyone and everyone who will hear it. Draw people to Yourself, even by Your Holy Spirit. I may not be there in person, speaking to that individual, but this is recorded and will be on the internet for only You know how long. However long it remains, God, would You use Your Word and this message to draw people who find themselves in the midst of all the shaking, where everything seems like rubble around them? May they see that You alone are sure and steadfast. Lord, draw them to Yourself; You are our refuge and our strength, our ever-present help in time of trouble.

God, we thank You that in You we have a sure and steadfast hope of a kingdom that will not be shaken. I pray that You would encourage the hearts of Your people with that truth, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

So teach my song to rise to You when temptation comes my way. When I cannot stand, I'll fall on You. Jesus, You're my hope and stay.

Oh God, how I need You! You're my one defense, my righteousness. Thank you for joining us for our broadcast today. That was an excellent message, and I pray that it really impacted you. We heard from the Holy Spirit.

If you'd like to find out more about Cross Connection Church, please visit our website at lifeinconnection.com. We would like to invite you to our in-person services at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. here in Escondido, California. If you're around, we would love for you to be here live in person at 8:30 and 10:30. God bless you guys, and have a great week!

Hey, Cross Connection! How's it going? This year is a great year for you to get plugged into life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus Christ. That's our mission here; that's our goal for you, especially this year. We need connection more than ever.

The best way for you to do that, if you haven't gotten involved in a connect group yet, is to check out our connect group page at connect.lifeinconnection.com. You're going to see a whole list of connect groups and a map showing all the connectors that we have in North County, Escondido, and the surrounding areas. Check those out, and we would love for you to get plugged into a connect group.

The fellowship this year is important, so please don't wait. It is seriously the most fun I've ever had! Connect groups are awesome. You really should get plugged into those. If you have a great home and you'd love to host, let us know about that too. We are always looking for more host homes for our connect groups.