Palm Springs Drive Church of Christ

Series: Song Service

Service: Wednesday Singing Night

Type: Song Service

Speaker: Noah Hinely

Series: Moving From Fear to Faith

Service: Praise and Preaching Service

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

God has a purpose for all of us, and we can praise Him this morning for choosing us to help Him. God has chosen us—sometimes for very specific things and sometimes for more general things. In Scripture, the way calling works is that what God calls us to do is mostly good for us. He calls us to receive gifts and blessings. He calls us to belong. He calls us to holiness. So what fear should there be in that?

But there is something worth exploring: what happens when God picks a person for a particular task, and that person feels unqualified? Have you ever felt inadequate to do something and maybe did not do it because you thought you could not? And the whole time God was trying to push you toward it, and you kept fighting back.

Moses was called by God at the burning bush to do something spectacular, and his first response was, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring your people out?” He told God he was inadequate, that he did not know what to say, that the people would not believe him, and that even if God told him the exact words, he would not know how to say them because he was not eloquent. At that point, God essentially told Moses, “You may think you are inadequate to do this job, but I am adequate to choose who does this job. Quit arguing with me and go.”

Jeremiah felt the same way. God told him, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Jeremiah’s response was, “I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” And God said, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak” (Jeremiah 1:7). Paul said something similar to Timothy: “Don’t let anyone despise your youth.” Sometimes we use age as an excuse—too young on one end of the spectrum, too old on the other—but if God wants us to do something, we have to be open and available.

Gideon thought he was too insignificant to be useful for God. His tribe was the smallest, his family was the least significant in that tribe, and he was the youngest in the family. Yet the angel called him a “mighty man of valor.”

From these examples and others like them, a pattern emerges. God chooses a person for a specific task. The person feels inadequate. And here is the key: God sometimes acknowledges that you are inadequate—and that is okay. But then He refocuses you away from your inadequacy and onto the fact that He is more than adequate. Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” and in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” God can do all things through us.

In each case, God gave a specific reassurance: “I will be with you.” To Moses: “I will certainly be with you” (Exodus 3:12). To Jeremiah: “Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you” (Jeremiah 1:8). To Gideon: “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man” (Judges 6:16). No matter what He asks us to do, if He asks us to do it, He will be right along with us. Jesus said the same thing before He left: “I will be with you always.”

Eventually, you have to decide that you will do what God wants even when you are afraid or feel inadequate. And when you do, God proves Himself faithful. He gives you the chance to be adequate—sometimes even better than adequate—and that builds your faith.

But what if God picks you for something and it is hard, requiring a great deal of sacrifice? Ezekiel was sent to the children of Israel, and God told him plainly: “They are rebellious. They will not listen to you, because they will not listen to me. They are hard-hearted” (Ezekiel 2:3–7; 3:7). God was honest about the difficulty. Paul was told he would suffer many things for Christ’s name. Mary was told a sword would pierce her own soul. And yet none of them said no. Mary’s response was, “I am the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be to me according to your word.”

There is something important in how God handled Ezekiel’s calling: He clarified Ezekiel’s responsibility versus His own. “Your only responsibility is to go and tell them. You do not have to convince them. I will tell you what to say. It does not matter if they listen or not. But if you refuse, you will bear the guilt.” The same principle applies in the New Testament: we sow, we plant, we water, but God gives the increase. As an older preacher once put it, “You need to whittle on your side of the stick and let God whittle on His side.” God sustained these people through the difficulty, He proved faithful, and He rewarded their faithfulness—not necessarily their results.

And then there is Jonah, who simply said no. God told him to go to Nineveh, and Jonah refused because he did not want the same thing God wanted. God wanted the Ninevites to repent, and Jonah did not. He suffered greatly for his refusal. And ironically, he became one of the most successful prophets in the Bible—he turned a whole city around, and he did not even want to. That goes back to the same point: the outcome was not Jonah’s responsibility. His responsibility was simply to deliver the message.

The rich young ruler was told to sell everything and follow Jesus, and he went away sorrowful because it was too hard. Many disciples in John 6 said, “This is too hard to understand,” and left. King Saul did not do what God told him to do. Others made excuses. It does not work that way.

So how do we know what God wants us to do? The first thing is to prepare your heart to be ready to hear God when He speaks, however He communicates it. Be open and available. Do not put limits on how God can use you. Ask God to use you. Study His Word to see what kinds of things He has used people to do throughout history. Spend time around God’s people, because you will see them doing things God wants done, and others will confirm what you should be doing. That is how it often works—someone gets an opportunity, and then people encourage them, and over time it becomes clear.

If you do not know exactly what specific thing God wants you to do, start with what He wants everybody to do. Live a holy life. Love one another. Make disciples. Use whatever talents you have to serve somebody. Find a need and fill it. As you do what God wants all Christians to do, you will often find the more specific task He has in mind for you.

Recognize that God often works through a pattern: He gives you talents, then opportunities, and then helps you see the need. Know what your talents are—do a self-assessment, and ask others for help. Know what opportunities are available—ask what needs to be done. Try things, because sometimes the greatest benefit of trying something is finding out it is not your calling, and you never have to feel guilty about it again. Look for confirmation from multiple sources. Pray for God to open doors, and pay attention when He closes them. Pray for wisdom, because James tells us that if we ask for it, we will receive it.

And then just do it. Lay your fears aside. Lay aside the idea that you are inadequate or that someone else can do it better, and trust that God is adequate. Take the step, and trust that He will put the pathway before you. The worst case is that you chose the wrong path, and He will let you know. But what is unacceptable is to do nothing—to be complacent and lukewarm.

The challenge for all of us this year, as we move from fear to faith: do something you feel inadequate to do, and do something that is hard and difficult and challenging. If you are not a Christian and you are not right with God, there is nothing to fear in taking that first step. Have your sins washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. We can help you with that right now, or whenever you are ready.

Series: N/A

Service: Lord’s Supper Service

Type: Lord's Supper Talk

Speaker: Brian Messerli

Series: N/A

Service: Adult Class

Type: Bible Class

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

Series: N/A

Service: Lord’s Supper Service

Type: Lord's Supper Talk

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

From Darkness to Declaration

The Final Three Minutes at the Cross

This morning, put yourself at the foot of the cross.

Do not simply observe it from a distance. Stand there. Feel the weight of what has already happened. Experience what Jesus has been experiencing.

In the first three hours on the cross, Jesus made three statements — and every one of them was for someone else.

He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Even while being executed, He sought mercy for those driving the nails.

He promised the repentant thief, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Even in agony, He offered hope.

He looked down at His mother and said, “Woman, behold your son,” and to John, “Behold your mother” (John 19:26–27). Even while dying, He ensured care for His family.

For three hours, Jesus’ focus was outward.

Then something changed.

When the Sun Quit

At noon, the sun stopped shining.

Matthew records, “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land” (Matthew 27:45). For three hours — from 12:00 to 3:00 — the world stood in darkness.

Imagine standing there.

You cannot see clearly. The sky is wrong. This is not normal. Is this judgment? Is God angry? Is something cosmic happening? What does this mean?

For three hours, Jesus hung in darkness.

During those hours, He was bearing our sins. He was appeasing God’s wrath. The judgment symbolized by darkness was not falling on the crowd. It was falling on Him.

Darkness in Scripture represents judgment. In those hours, God’s wrath against sin was being poured out — not on us, but on Jesus.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, the darkness ended.

The Light Returns

The sun came back.

Picture yourself there. After three hours in darkness, your eyes are straining. The sudden brightness forces you to shield your face. Your vision struggles to adjust.

And in that moment — before your senses have fully recovered — you hear a voice.

A loud voice.

Matthew tells us, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matthew 27:46).

Mark also records that it was a loud cry (Mark 15:34).

Think about that.

This is a man who has been beaten beyond recognition. A man who could not carry His cross the entire distance. A man suspended on a cross for six hours.

And yet He cries out loudly.

Where did that strength come from?

Some bystanders misunderstand. “This Man is calling for Elijah!” they say (Matthew 27:47).

But something deeper is happening.

Psalm 22 — The Whole Psalm

When Jesus cries out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He is quoting Psalm 22:1.

In the Jewish world, quoting the first line of a psalm often brought the entire psalm to mind. It was not merely the opening lament that mattered, but the full arc of the psalm.

So read further.

In Psalm 22:19–21, the psalmist pleads:

“But You, O Lord, do not be far from Me;
O My Strength, hasten to help Me!
Deliver Me from the sword,
My precious life from the power of the dog.
Save Me from the lion’s mouth
And from the horns of the wild oxen!”

Then comes a remarkable shift:

“You have answered Me.”

That phrase is not a heading. It is part of the inspired text.

“You have answered Me.”

What if, when the light returned and Jesus cried out, He was not only expressing anguish — but declaring completion?

What if this was the turning point?

All Things Accomplished

John’s Gospel gives us a crucial insight.

John 19:28 says:

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst.’”

Knowing that all things were accomplished.

When the light returned, Jesus knew something.

The wrath had been borne.
The price had been paid.
The judgment had been satisfied.

The devil had no more arrows left.

From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Satan had tried to derail Him. In the wilderness, he tempted Him (Matthew 4:1–11). Luke says Satan departed “until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). That implies ongoing attempts.

All through His ministry, temptation pressed in. Avoid the cross. Prove yourself. Take an easier path.

Now there were only minutes left.

And Jesus had not sinned. He had not failed. He had not quit.

He says, “I thirst” (John 19:28), fulfilling Scripture. A sponge filled with sour wine is lifted to His lips (Matthew 27:48). Some object, saying, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him” (Matthew 27:49).

Then Jesus says three words that echo through eternity:

“It is finished.” (John 19:30)

Finished.

Completed.

Accomplished.

The Most Peaceful Three Minutes

If the three hours of darkness were the worst three hours of Jesus’ life, these next few minutes may have been the most peaceful.

The battle was over.

The victory was secure.

There was nothing left for Him to prove. Nothing left for Him to endure in terms of bearing sin. Nothing left for Satan to attempt.

Only one thing remained.

Luke records:

“And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last.” (Luke 23:46)

Again, a loud voice.

Not a whisper of defeat.
Not a fading gasp.

A declaration.

Father, into Your hands.

There is peace in that statement. Trust. Completion. Confidence.

The work was done.

Victory Before the Final Breath

It is striking that these final four statements — from “My God, My God” to “Father, into Your hands” — likely occurred in rapid succession. The Gospel accounts read as though these events unfolded almost immediately, not over another three hours.

Three hours of darkness.
Three minutes of declaration.

Jesus did not die defeated.

He died victorious.

The resurrection was never in doubt in His mind. What mattered was obedience. What mattered was finishing the mission without sin.

And He did.

The burden was lifted.

“It is finished.”

Our Parallel

When we gather at the Lord’s table, we often focus on the cross itself. The nails. The blood. The agony. And rightly so.

But today, reflect on those last few minutes.

Reflect on the moment the light returned.

Reflect on the moment Jesus knew all things were accomplished.

Reflect on the moment He declared victory.

There will come a moment in our lives — if we remain faithful — when we will hear the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

That moment will be the most peaceful of our existence. The mission complete. The race finished (2 Timothy 4:7). The crown awaiting.

But that moment can only happen because of those last three minutes at the cross.

Because the light came back.

Because Jesus finished the work.

Because He committed His spirit to the Father.

As you partake of the bread and the cup, remember not only the darkness — but the declaration that followed it.

The worst hours were followed by victorious minutes.

And because of that, the story does not end in darkness.

It ends in triumph.

Series: N/A

Service: Praise and Preaching Service

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Brian Messerli

Series: The Christian Family

Service: Sun Bible Study

Type: Bible Class

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

Series: N/A

Service: Wed Bible Study

Type: Invitation

Speaker: Jared Morton

Series: 1 Peter

Service: Praise and Preaching Service

Type: Sermon

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy

Praise God that the end of our faith is the salvation of our souls. That is a wonderful thought—that where our faith is leading us is actually the salvation of our souls, and that is what we all want.

In our study through 1 Peter, we have noted that the book breaks into three major sections: salvation, submission, and suffering. One of the things we are trying to do is look at what Peter writes through the lens of his own life experience. Before Jesus was crucified, He told the apostles that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth and bring to their memory everything He said. So as we read 1 Peter, we can think about what the Holy Spirit was reminding Peter of. Peter was a complex individual whose trajectory from fear to faith was not a straight upward line—it went up and down repeatedly. That is the trajectory of most of our lives as well.

The first point to consider is that we need to live a faith-filled life. God is offended when we do not trust Him. Think about it this way: if your ten-year-old came to you worried about whether there would be food on the table tomorrow or a roof over their head—after you had provided those things every single day of their life—you would be heartbroken. God, who is far better at providing for His children than we are, is offended when we do not have proper faith.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:5–7 that we are “kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,” and that we greatly rejoice in this, even though for a little while we have been grieved by various trials, so “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” If we would just think about that all week—we are kept by the power of God. He is helping build our faith, and that faith leads to salvation. The tests we face as Christians produce in us a genuine faith, and that genuine faith produces an opportunity for the Lord to receive honor and glory.

This hit hard this week: if our faith has not been tested through trials, it cannot be considered genuine, and if it is not genuine, it does not produce the honor and glory that God deserves. That means we should see trials in a different light—not as something to be avoided, but as something God helps us work through so that our faith becomes stronger and He receives more glory. When trials come, instead of despair, we can say, “If this builds my faith and God gets more honor by how I live through it, that is going to be good.” No one knew better than Peter what it means for faith to be proved through trials. He lived it, and we can listen to him because he lived it.

This theme is not unique to Peter. James writes, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2–4). If trials produce patience and patience makes us complete, then our faith cannot be complete without trials. That changes our attitude entirely.

Hebrews 11, the great chapter of faith, is also a chapter of faith-testing trials. The text records that out of weakness they were made strong; others were tortured; still others had trials of mockings and scourging, chains and imprisonment; they were stoned, sawn in two, slain with the sword; they wandered about destitute, afflicted, tormented—“of whom the world was not worthy.” None of the people in Hebrews 11 had no trials. They had to live in the hall of fame of suffering before they could be placed in the hall of fame of faith. The trials came first, and the faith followed.

Paul experienced the same connection between trials and faith. In Philippians 4:12, he says he learned to be content in every stage of his life, even though his trials were very real. Those trials produced a better faith, and that better faith produced glory and honor to God. Peter completes this thought in 1 Peter 1:8–9, saying that although we have not seen Jesus, we love Him, and though we do not see Him now, yet believing, we “rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.” The faith that is tested by trials—the end of that faith is salvation.

Peter also writes in 1 Peter 2:6–7 that the one who believes in Jesus will never be put to shame. You can live your life knowing that if you are with Jesus and with God, you will be victorious. Jesus is precious to those who believe. Think about that: has Jesus become more precious to you as you have gone through life? As your faith has increased through trials? The trials happen, the faith becomes stronger, and Jesus becomes more precious in our sight. That is a beautiful picture that God paints for us and that Peter traveled in his own life.

Consider Matthew 14, when Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus—until he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Jesus reached out and said, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” It took that trial, that failure, to produce a stronger faith. Of all the disciples, Peter was the only one who got out of the boat, and his faith grew the most through the experience. In one story we see Peter’s faith followed immediately by his fear, and then a greater faith. Peter lived a trial-tested, faith-filled life, and he is well qualified to teach us how to do the same.

The second point is that we need to live a love-filled life. You cannot divide faith and love—you have faith because you love Jesus, and you love Jesus because you have faith. In John 21, after the resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Each time Peter affirmed his love, and Jesus replied, “Feed my sheep.” Jesus knew that Peter’s love for Him would motivate him to serve others. The same is true for us: if we love Jesus deeply, serving God will come naturally, and we will consider trials more as a joy than a burden.

Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:22, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.” The only way to do that is to love Jesus first and to feel His fervent, pure love in return. When we live in that love, we can show it to others. If we do not live in it, we cannot. Throughout 1 Peter, this theme continues: “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood” (2:17). “Be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers” (3:8). “Above all things have fervent love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins” (4:8).

It is no surprise that two of Jesus’ closest friends—Peter and John—wrote so often about loving one another. The Holy Spirit was reminding them of Jesus’ own words: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34–35). If the Holy Spirit thought it significant enough to remind Peter to write it so we could read it, it is significant enough for us to read more than once a year.

By way of practical application, consider two things. First, as we face trials, start reframing them: How are these trials building my faith? How are they going to lead to God and His Son being honored? That is the way Peter tells us to look at it. Second, grow in your love for someone this week—someone in your fellowship, maybe someone you have not been close to or have had a falling out with. How can you show them the fervent love of Jesus?

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, Peter will tell you what to do—because he lived it. On the day of Pentecost, when the crowd asked what they should do, Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That call has not changed.

Series: N/A

Service: Sun Bible Study

Type: Bible Class

Speaker: Dwayne Gandy