1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:05,640 Oh Crossing Nation, I love you and I don't ever want to get 2 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:07,080 over. The fact that we get to be a 3 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:11,560 part of this beautiful season and mission together in 2025 is 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,120 off to an incredible start. I'm already hearing wonderful 5 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,560 stories of people taking their steps of faith in the life 6 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:20,480 change that comes alongside with it. 7 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,080 You might remember a couple of weeks ago when the roads were 8 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:26,280 covered in snow and it was really bad weather out and many 9 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,200 of you guys were not able to attend one of our physical 10 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,560 locations. But on that weekend we had 9 11 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:34,120 baptisms and in fact, we are already at 19 for the year. 12 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:40,160 And after service, I received a message on our internal comms 13 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,400 system of a screenshot of a person's Facebook message. 14 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:45,800 I got to read this to you. This is what it said. 15 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,880 Today marked a significant milestone for me. 16 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:55,920 I returned to church for the first time in 14 years alongside 17 00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:58,840 some truly remarkable new friends who have enriched my 18 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:02,560 life with their presence. The snow covered roads did not 19 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:06,960 hinder my determination to open my heart to God's love and 20 00:01:06,960 --> 00:01:10,240 guidance. As I step into 2025, I am 21 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:14,160 resolute in my commitment to personal growth and self 22 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:18,080 improvement, and I trust that God will illuminate the path 23 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,000 ahead. I am deep, deeply grateful for 24 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,560 the blessings of life and the opportunity to begin a new 25 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,760 journey. Hashtag Let God lead. 26 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,480 How cool is that? Then last weekend one of our 27 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:36,120 staff members saw somebody they had not seen in a while and he 28 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:38,000 asked what brought you here today? 29 00:01:38,080 --> 00:01:41,000 And he said, well, a buddy was helping me lay some flooring and 30 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:43,360 I asked what I could do to thank him. 31 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:48,040 And he said not give me 100 bucks, not Take Me Out for a 32 00:01:48,040 --> 00:01:50,520 meal. He said in exchange would you 33 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,160 see me at church tomorrow? And he came and after second 34 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:57,760 service last weekend, a young girl in our church came up to me 35 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:01,800 and she asked me what was the first verse that I read at the 36 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:03,280 beginning of last week's message. 37 00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:09,880 And I said it was John 644. And then she said, is there any 38 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:14,640 chance you could start your sermon next week with that same 39 00:02:14,640 --> 00:02:17,480 verse? Because I'm going to be bringing 40 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:21,160 somebody very important to me. And I want them to know that God 41 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:23,720 has been trying to get back into a relationship with them. 42 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:31,720 So if I may, I want to welcome all of you joining at our 43 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:34,120 different locations, those of you watching online, and those 44 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:35,760 of you who are part of our crossing family. 45 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:38,160 And I want to welcome those of you who are here for the first 46 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,440 time or the first time in a long time. 47 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,200 And we believe that you being here is no accident. 48 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,440 Why? Because John records these words 49 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:55,160 of Jesus in John 644, no one can come to me unless the Father who 50 00:02:55,160 --> 00:03:00,120 sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 51 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:05,760 You are here for a purpose. For some of you, it might be out 52 00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:07,480 of a routine. For others of you, you're here 53 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,120 today because you're just going through something and you need 54 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,720 some help and some hope. Others of you might be looking 55 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:15,800 for something new and something different. 56 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:19,480 No matter what's going on in your life, no matter what 57 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,560 brought you in, I know who brought you in. 58 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,040 God is trying to help you begin an intimate personal 59 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,360 relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. 60 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:34,800 We've been talking a lot about the spiritual spectrum and no 61 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:37,880 matter where you see yourself on the spiritual graphic, I want 62 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:42,080 you to know that God loves you no matter where you are on the 63 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,520 spiritual spectrum has nothing to do with your value. 64 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,920 Every person, no matter where they are on the spectrum, was 65 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:54,080 created by God and loved by God. John 316 tells us that God so 66 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,920 loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever 67 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,440 believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 68 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,680 It does not say for God so loved all the plus threes and all the 69 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:05,960 plus fives. It says for God so loved the 70 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:10,400 world and that includes you. And as a church, our mission 71 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,600 here at the Crossing is to help people find an intimate personal 72 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:17,120 relationship with Jesus Christ. And we have a big audacious goal 73 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:20,240 that we want to make this region where we do life and ministry 74 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,520 the hardest place on planet earth to get to hell from. 75 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:26,440 In our region alone, we recognize that there are over 76 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,680 450,000 people who do not have a heavenly future beyond the 77 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:35,360 grave. This must and this should 78 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:40,200 consume us. But there is a harsh reality. 79 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:44,960 We cannot create the place we want to create unless we 80 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:49,120 createspace in our lives to become the people that God 81 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:52,800 created us to become. That's why we started the year 82 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,120 talking about making sure that we are creating space in our 83 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,280 lives to be committed to the Word of God. 84 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,520 How can we ever expect people to hear the good news about Jesus 85 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:05,600 if we don't know Him? How can we expect them to live 86 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,200 for Him if we don't know what living for Him looks like? 87 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:11,960 We don't want to just be people who read the word, but we want 88 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,440 to be people who do what it says. 89 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:19,800 It is better to live out one word of God than to read 10,000 90 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:23,760 words and do nothing. So in order to be the people 91 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,440 that God created us to be, we need to have a place and a time 92 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,760 and spend time in our word. Last week we talked about 93 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:34,960 prayer, creating space in our lives for prayer. 94 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,640 Right before I came out I heard an incredible, powerful story of 95 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:40,400 the Holy Spirit just working in a persons life to bless 96 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,480 somebody. Billy Graham, one of the most, 97 00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:46,960 well the greatest evangelist that has ever lived, was asked 98 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,480 what are the most important steps in preparing for an 99 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,760 evangelistic revival for a lot of people to come to faith and 100 00:05:52,760 --> 00:05:56,400 his answer was simple. It was prayer, prayer and 101 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,880 prayer. If we were wanting a phenomenal 102 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:02,840 move of God in the lives of our friends and our family, we must 103 00:06:02,840 --> 00:06:06,880 be a people who are reliant on prayer and the power of God that 104 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:11,000 is released because of prayer. We want to start our days in 105 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:13,160 prayer. We want to have a place of 106 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:16,640 prayer and then we want to spend time praying before we step into 107 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,040 new things, whether that's going into the office or coming home 108 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,480 from the office, whether it is starting a conversation or 109 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:26,120 stepping into a meeting. We want to be people who are 110 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,840 covered in prayer. And one of the things you could 111 00:06:28,840 --> 00:06:30,040 do, you could start a prayer journal. 112 00:06:30,040 --> 00:06:32,560 That's what I've been doing. In fact, today after a first 113 00:06:32,560 --> 00:06:35,560 server or during first service, one of the things that I've been 114 00:06:35,560 --> 00:06:39,240 praying for is going to get answered and I and just 115 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:41,600 overwhelmed how good God is at that stuff. 116 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,640 And some of you might want to join me and a bunch of our 117 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,800 leaders at our church who are praying for our Weaver location. 118 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:51,840 Every day at 3:00 PM, I have an alarm set on my phone that goes 119 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:54,280 off that just says pray for Weaver. 120 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,040 And what we're praying for is for our Weaver location to have 121 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:01,360 300 people 4 weekends in a row. And if you're looking for a way 122 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,440 to get out of conversations that typically occur at around 2:55 123 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,360 every afternoon, this is a great, this is a great one. 124 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,960 And it's actually been kind of fun because if I'm on the phone 125 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:13,000 with somebody, I go, hey, we got to we got to pause. 126 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:15,680 Or if I'm taking kids somewhere at 3:00 every. 127 00:07:15,680 --> 00:07:18,480 But when the alarm goes off, we could just spend some time in 128 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:21,240 praying, my boy. We had a chance to unload the 129 00:07:21,320 --> 00:07:23,240 the chairs that those of you and we were sitting in. 130 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:25,920 And we, we hopefully, well, I don't know if it was hopefully 131 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:28,840 or not, but we were, I think the first people to ever pray over 132 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,040 those chairs. And it's fun when I have my boys 133 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,200 in the car and we pray for Weaver because they remember 134 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:35,880 praying over the chairs that the Weaver people are sitting in. 135 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:39,520 If we are indeed going to make this region the hardest place on 136 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,800 planet earth to get the hell from, we have to Createspace in 137 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:46,480 our lives, not just for prayer, not just for reading the Word, 138 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:52,200 but to serve the mission of God. Matthew chapter 18 you guys are 139 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,640 2818 through 20 says this. Jesus came to them and said all 140 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,240 authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 141 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:03,400 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them 142 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,800 in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit 143 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,120 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you 144 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:13,320 and surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. 145 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,400 You guys have heard this a bunch of times, but we got to do a 146 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,320 quick recap. When Jesus gave the Great 147 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:22,360 Commission, it was an expectation that there would be 148 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:29,400 full, active, passionate participation. 149 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:33,640 This is not something that you and I have the right to ponder, 150 00:08:34,240 --> 00:08:39,280 consider, or evaluate. This is something that you and I 151 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:46,480 are to do above all else. You and I do not get to come up 152 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,640 with our own mission. Why? 153 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:55,480 Because Jesus has all authority. If He is the King of our lives, 154 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,960 you and I are bound to be obedient. 155 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:03,760 We must make His last words our first priority. 156 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:06,200 So let's put the spiritual spectrum up for just a second. 157 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:10,000 So when it comes to your participation in serving the 158 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:14,400 mission of God, what number would you give yourself? 159 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:18,680 Let's say a -. 5 is someone who just shows up for church and 160 00:09:18,680 --> 00:09:21,400 watches, but they're not leveraging their abilities to 161 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,240 advance the Kingdom. It is as soon as worship's over, 162 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,200 soon as the communion. We've got to get out of here 163 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:30,240 because I don't want to meet anybody, OK? 164 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:32,320 And if you're here, we love you. We just hope you don't stay 165 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,840 there. Plus 3 or -3 might be somebody 166 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:37,840 who doesn't believe that God could use them. 167 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:42,200 Maybe a -, 1 is somebody who used to be active, but for some 168 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,720 reason or another, they no longer are leveraging the gifts 169 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:46,680 that God has given. And they're kind of sitting on 170 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:48,280 the sidelines. They think that they need to 171 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,680 heal or they want other people to have a place to play. 172 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:55,240 And both of those are ways that Satan uses you to stop using 173 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:58,200 what God has given you to advance His Kingdom. 174 00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,880 Maybe a zero is somebody who is ready to start serving the 175 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,680 mission, but they're not completely sure where they fit 176 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:07,080 in. Maybe a + 1 would be somebody 177 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:10,160 who's just starting to leverage their gifts and abilities for 178 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:11,800 the advancement of God's Kingdom. 179 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,520 A + 3 might be somebody who's God is using them in ways that 180 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,400 they never thought possible. And a + 5 is somebody who has 181 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,200 turned absolutely everything over to him. 182 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,480 They've written God a blank check in their lives. 183 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,680 I will do whatever, whenever, for whoever, for however long 184 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:32,880 you want me to do it. What number would you give 185 00:10:32,880 --> 00:10:34,040 yourself? Take a second. 186 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,040 What number? I am not as concerned about the 187 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:43,120 number that you have. I'm more concerned about this 188 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:49,200 year you moving on the spiritual spectrum from left to right. 189 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:53,120 So if you're a -, 1, I'm hoping that this year you'll become a 190 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:55,560 zero. If you're a plus one, I'm hoping 191 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:58,320 that this year you'll make the moves to become a +2. 192 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:03,360 And how do we move from left to right in two ways, through faith 193 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,360 and obedience. It is when we believe that God 194 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:12,960 has called us, equipped us, and step into ministry moments. 195 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:16,800 It is in that that we realize what God has actually placed not 196 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:21,280 just in front of us, but in US. I want to walk you through a 197 00:11:21,280 --> 00:11:24,960 really powerful verse. First Peter chapter 4. 198 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:28,600 This is what it says. Each one should use whatever 199 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:33,920 gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering 200 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:36,200 God's grace in its various forms. 201 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:40,600 If anyone speaks, they should do one do so as one who speaks the 202 00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:43,800 very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do 203 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:48,840 so with the strength that God provides, so that in all things 204 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,440 God may be praised through Jesus Christ. 205 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:58,800 To Him be the glory and the power, forever and ever. 206 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:01,520 Amen. There's four things I want you 207 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:03,520 to notice inside of this chunk of scripture. 208 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:08,600 The first thing is, everyone has a gift. 209 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:12,840 Every single person that is hearing my voice and every 210 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,360 single person that the people who are hearing my voice will 211 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:19,200 ever lay their eyes on has a gift. 212 00:12:19,680 --> 00:12:22,320 To say that you don't have something to offer is to say 213 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:28,880 that God is a liar. When God made you, he gave you 214 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:34,200 gifts, passions and abilities. No matter where you are on the 215 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:39,240 spiritual spectrum, you have a gift that was given to you by 216 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,600 God. A lot of people are, you know, 217 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,200 one of the, you know, a great chapter in the Bible is Romans 218 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:47,200 chapter 12. And a lot of people remember 219 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:50,200 like the first 2 verses of Romans chapter 12 where it talks 220 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,400 about that we're supposed to offer our bodies as a a living 221 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,880 sacrifice to God, which is holy and pleasing to him. 222 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,760 And that in doing so, we're not going to be transformed by the 223 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:00,440 world, but we're going to be transformed by the renewing of 224 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,480 our minds. And then we'll be able to test 225 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,440 and approve what God's will is, is good and pleasing and perfect 226 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:06,840 will. And everybody knows that. 227 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,640 But if you keep reading in Romans 12, it actually talks 228 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:12,800 about all the gifts that God has poured out into his people. 229 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:16,040 In verse 4 it says for God or for just as each one of us is 230 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:20,320 one body with many members and these members do not all have 231 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:23,880 the same function. So in Christ we though we are 232 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:28,920 many form 1 body, and each member belongs to all the 233 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:33,280 others. We have different gifts 234 00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:37,240 according to the grace that God has given each of us. 235 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,480 If your gift is prophesying, then prophecy in accordance with 236 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:42,720 your faith. If it is serving, then serve. 237 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:46,320 If it's to teach, teach. If it is to encourage, then give 238 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:48,680 encouragement. If it is giving, give 239 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:51,080 generously. If it is to lead, do it 240 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:53,720 diligently. If it is to show mercy, do it 241 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,120 cheerfully. Every single one of us has a 242 00:13:57,120 --> 00:13:58,720 gift. In fact, I'm going to do an 243 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:03,440 entire sermon on the gifts that God has given us in, I think 244 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:04,880 October or November of this year. 245 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:07,720 So don't leave our church yet. Stick around, OK? 246 00:14:07,720 --> 00:14:11,280 I'm, I think you'll love it. Now, second thing, so one, 247 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:12,920 everybody has a gift. Look at your neighbor. 248 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,360 So you have a gift. Now turn to your other neighbor. 249 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:18,200 It's not as good as mine, but you have one. 250 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:24,200 OK, you have a gift. The second one is that we are to 251 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,840 use our gifts in service of others. 252 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:33,720 Lots of us, we use our gifts to build our own Kingdom instead of 253 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:38,960 the Kingdom of God. Many of you why you get promoted 254 00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,600 at work is because you are operating in your giftedness. 255 00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:47,040 The very thing that is making you successful in the workplace 256 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:51,080 or successful relationally. More than likely that is a gift 257 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,440 that you have from God and there's nothing wrong with 258 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:56,760 leveraging that gift for you to get promoted to be successful in 259 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,760 the world. However, that gifts primary 260 00:14:59,760 --> 00:15:04,320 purpose is not to benefit you. That gives primary purposes to 261 00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:08,480 advance the mission of God. Here's the easiest way for me to 262 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,560 describe it. Sometimes when our kids are, you 263 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:13,720 know, it's a snow day or kids are just being silly. 264 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,000 Do you guys, and you guys probably did this too. 265 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:18,680 You, you move all the furniture in the house. 266 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:21,080 You pull all the chairs away from the dining room table and 267 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,960 you get some sheets and some blankets and and some towels and 268 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:25,640 you made a Fort in the middle of the living room. 269 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,120 And then as soon as they make it, it takes them like an hour 270 00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:31,200 and a half to make it. And they only want to play in it 271 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:34,680 for like 5 minutes and they want you to be in there for all of 272 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:37,080 it. And and yet they didn't make it 273 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,520 your size. So like you're trying to get in 274 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:42,120 there, you throw out your back and now you have to go see a 275 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:44,520 chiropractor, right? So you're like, OK, OK, I've 276 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:45,760 been down here long enough this month. 277 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:48,760 But isn't it crazy then when you say, all right, guys, let's put 278 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:53,280 it all back, then they're like, no, please, no, leave it up, 279 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:54,720 please. That's all they want. 280 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,240 They want to make the Fort and then they just want to leave the 281 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,440 mess in the middle of the house. But the problem is, is it's 282 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:03,680 while it's cute and it's fun that we don't live in this. 283 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:07,040 This is not how we live. These chairs have a real purpose 284 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,480 and it's not holding up your jank Fort. 285 00:16:10,080 --> 00:16:13,160 It's so that way when we eat cereal, we can sit at the table 286 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:15,080 and the sheets, they go on the bed. 287 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:20,880 I you have to be an absolute savage to not have sheets on 288 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,400 your bed. How do you how do you these 289 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:26,640 sheets are not for a Fort. They are going on the bed 290 00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:29,440 because I'm not sleeping on a bed that has no sheets. 291 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:37,160 We OK, so we went about a year and a half ago, we went 292 00:16:37,160 --> 00:16:41,280 furniture shopping and the the guy who was selling his stuff, 293 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,600 he's he's good at his job. He has a gift. 294 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:46,600 If he, if he wanted to use that gift to tell people about Jesus, 295 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,160 it would be phenomenal. The church would be three times 296 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:57,120 the size because he conned us. He, he, he, he had a bed there 297 00:16:57,120 --> 00:16:59,360 and it had buttons on it and it would move the bed. 298 00:17:00,400 --> 00:17:01,840 And my family fell in love with it. 299 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:03,960 And have you ever noticed that, like you, they don't let you 300 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:07,560 spend the whole night in that bed before you buy it? 301 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:09,520 So you just aren't in it for like 30 seconds. 302 00:17:09,560 --> 00:17:12,119 You're like, yeah, I can spend a third of my life here. 303 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:14,720 This is fantastic. And so we bought and I don't 304 00:17:14,720 --> 00:17:17,000 want to please don't leave our church, but I got, I want to be 305 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:18,800 honest. We bought an adjustable bed. 306 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:24,440 So we're that commercial at like 3:00 in the morning of 2 old 307 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,880 people. OK. 308 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,160 The problem is, is when we adjust the bed too high, I fall 309 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:34,600 off because half of my body now doesn't fit on. 310 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:41,120 We've taken a king size bed and we've made it this and the 311 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:46,480 problem is, is I'm so big and the slope is so high that the 312 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,880 the top part of the fitted sheet is just hanging on for dear 313 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,840 life. We got to put ratchet straps 314 00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,240 underneath it. And so sometimes I'll be 315 00:17:55,240 --> 00:18:03,720 sleeping and it'll come flying off and I'm trying, I'm trying. 316 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:06,600 I'm I don't have sleep apnea. I'm being strangled to death by 317 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,960 the fitted sheep. Now listen, even with me, the 318 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:12,920 fact that I'm alive is a miracle. 319 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,240 And even under all of that, do you? 320 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,640 I'm still putting a sheet on my bed because I would rather get 321 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:23,640 suffocated by a rogue sheet than sleep on a bed with no sheets. 322 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:27,680 Because sheets have a purpose. Therefore, when you are going 323 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,960 out and using your gifts, talents, and abilities, hear me. 324 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,840 When you are using the sheets that God gave you to build forts 325 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:38,440 in your living room, while it may be cute and fun, it is not 326 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,520 why they are there. They are there for you to do 327 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:45,160 something magnificent for the cause of Christ. 328 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:50,120 Third thing, it is through the power of God that we are able to 329 00:18:50,120 --> 00:18:54,880 do more than we think, for longer than we think, because 330 00:18:54,880 --> 00:18:59,120 God is the one who supplies us with the strength that we need. 331 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:03,440 And even when we don't feel like leveraging our gifts, God 332 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,840 promises that He will come through and use it for His 333 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:09,240 glory. His strength will overcome your 334 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,680 feelings of inadequacy. His strength will overcome your 335 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,560 tiredness and your fatigue and your willingness to participate 336 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:25,080 #4 so that God gets the glory. When you and I use our gifts for 337 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:29,120 our own glory, we have received our reward. 338 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:36,800 But when we do things for God's glory, God promises to reward 339 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,920 us. How many of you you married a 340 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:43,280 good gift giver? Yeah. 341 00:19:43,280 --> 00:19:46,760 Raise your hand, Jenny. OK. 342 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:51,120 How many of you didn't? OK, Right. 343 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:52,520 OK. You'll love this. 344 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:56,480 So I was joking with my kids all leading up to Christmas. 345 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,280 That was going to give them a big lump of coal because 346 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:00,680 apparently I make jokes like an 80 year old man. 347 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:03,840 And I think most of that is because I have an adjustable bed 348 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:05,440 that is built for 80 year old men. 349 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:08,520 Like it comes with a bedpan. It's a pretty cool bed. 350 00:20:08,560 --> 00:20:12,640 And like the nurse comes standard, you know, press the 351 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:14,280 button and the they come into the room. 352 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:18,640 Anyhow, I sleep in a hospital. Anyhow, so I was telling my kids 353 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:20,640 that they were going to get a lump of coal and I kid you not, 354 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,960 for Christmas, both of my boys bought me a lump of coal and I 355 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,120 was like, OK, well done boys. Anyhow, look what it says in 356 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:30,960 Second Corinthians chapter 5. So we make it our goal to please 357 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:34,880 Him, whether we're at home, in the body, or away from it. 358 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,120 Second Corinthians 5 Finding 10. Let's keep going for that. 359 00:20:39,120 --> 00:20:43,280 We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ so that 360 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:49,080 each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while 361 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:53,440 in the body, whether good or bad. 362 00:20:54,440 --> 00:21:03,200 God is a gift giver and God is going to reward you for the 363 00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:07,840 things that you have done. The word here for the judgment 364 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:12,680 seat is the Bema. The Bema seat, it is a raised 365 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:17,800 platform where you would give out an awards after an athletic 366 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:20,520 competition. Think of the Olympics for a 367 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:23,480 second where you have first, second and 3rd and it's the 368 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:26,880 Olympics. It's us, us and you know some 369 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:28,400 other country because we dominate. 370 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:33,600 And we when they step onto the platform to receive their reward 371 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:38,280 for what they have accomplished. When you and I are before God, 372 00:21:38,280 --> 00:21:39,760 we will there will be two judgments. 373 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:42,080 One of the judgments is the Great White Throne. 374 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:45,200 This is where you and I will be asked, what did you do with 375 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:48,120 Jesus? And the correct answer is this 376 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:50,480 is all about salvation. The correct answers, I made him 377 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,680 my Savior, I turned my life over to Him. 378 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:58,000 He saved me, He rescued me and my life was covered in Him and 379 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,160 now it belongs to him. However, the second judgement is 380 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:05,120 this Bema seat where we are rewarded for the things that we 381 00:22:05,120 --> 00:22:10,560 did for the cause of Christ. This question is in light of my 382 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,440 son Jesus. What did you do with what I gave 383 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:16,280 you? This is not about heaven or 384 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:18,400 hell. This is about what heaven will 385 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:24,080 be like for you. This question is all about 386 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:28,440 lordship. Did you just receive a salvation 387 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:31,400 and say yes Jesus, you can be my savior, but I'm going to do 388 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,360 whatever I want with my life for the rest of my life. 389 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,640 A person like that has a cold hearted view of God. 390 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:41,000 They're completely self-centered. 391 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:44,760 I just want the good of God, but I don't want to be a part of 392 00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:47,360 other people having what I have in Him. 393 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:51,600 This is about what did you do with all of your time and all of 394 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:53,840 your talents and all of your abilities. 395 00:22:54,960 --> 00:22:57,160 It will be about how you leveraged your money, how you 396 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,480 opened your home, how you used your time. 397 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:01,600 It will be about how you purposed your gifts and whether 398 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:06,080 it was for your glory and your mission or God's glory and God's 399 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:08,080 mission. I know that for some of you, 400 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:10,000 this might be kind of hard to take in, but if you start 401 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,040 reading your Bible, you're going to see that this shows up over 402 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:18,200 and over and over again. For instance, when Jesus is 403 00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,240 telling us how to pray, he says, hey, don't do all of your 404 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:22,320 prayers out in front of everybody. 405 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:23,920 So everybody thinks you're spiritual. 406 00:23:24,040 --> 00:23:25,760 Well, when you pray in a bunch of hope in front of a whole 407 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:27,600 bunch of people and everybody thinks you're spiritual, guess 408 00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:29,080 what? You everybody thinks you're 409 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,320 spiritual. You have received your reward, 410 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,680 but Jesus is going to a room where nobody sees you, and your 411 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:40,040 Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 412 00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:44,200 Hey, when you fast, when you decide to say no to eating so 413 00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,200 that for a time dedicated to the Lord, don't walk around telling 414 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:51,720 everybody about it. Oh, man, I am hungry. 415 00:23:53,160 --> 00:23:54,760 Yeah, I they're like, eat something. 416 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,320 I can't. I'm fasting. 417 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:02,200 I'm saying no to food because I'm a hyper spiritual person and 418 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,480 it's important for me that you know that I am a hyper spiritual 419 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:09,320 person and you and people around you go, that is a super 420 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:13,040 spiritual person and you will have received your reward. 421 00:24:13,960 --> 00:24:19,320 But Jesus says, hey, when you fast, take a shower, put some 422 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,880 makeup on if you're a girl, don't put some makeup on if 423 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,680 you're a dude and comb your hair, put some gel in it, spray 424 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,440 yourself with some Cologne and walk around like nothing is 425 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:33,040 happening and your father perceives what is done in secret 426 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:37,560 will reward you. First Corinthians chapter 3 427 00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:42,760 verse 8 says the one who plants and the one who waters have one 428 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:50,520 purpose and each one will be rewarded according to their own 429 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,720 labor. When you stand at the Bema seat, 430 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:57,880 the right answer for you is I gave my life as a living 431 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:02,080 sacrifice to God to bring God all the glory to love my 432 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,600 neighbor, to reach the lost, to disciple the save. 433 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,720 I took all of my talents that you gave me and I use them to 434 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,600 serve people and to point them to Jesus. 435 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,840 I took the money that you gave me and I use it to advance your 436 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,640 mission and build your Kingdom. I use my time and I invested in 437 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,760 people and Kingdom causes. I took my words and I use them 438 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,920 to pray to you and to pray for for other people and that God 439 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:28,120 would open doors to share the good news about his Son Jesus. 440 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:32,120 And Jesus is very serious about this. 441 00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:34,920 Look what it says in Revelation chapter 22. 442 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:39,280 This is Jesus talking. This is like a cosmic Santa 443 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:45,680 Claus watch. Look, I am coming soon. 444 00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:55,360 My reward is with me and I will give to each person according to 445 00:25:55,360 --> 00:25:59,080 what they have done. Do you not see Santa Claus all 446 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,920 over this? Except now it's instead of like 447 00:26:02,360 --> 00:26:05,960 a fat white dude in a red jumpsuit, it is the King of 448 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,080 Kings and the Lord of Lords, which is actually tattooed on 449 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,840 his thigh with a sword coming out of his mouth, wearing all 450 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:14,760 white, carrying his gifts with them. 451 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:19,240 And according to everything you have done, you will be rewarded 452 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,800 by him. In other words, what you and I 453 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:29,720 do in this life matters in this life and in the life that is to 454 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,320 come. Two ways you can serve. 455 00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:35,120 The Mission 1 is in the community. 456 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,000 We should be the best at mowing widows lawns and shoveling their 457 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,480 drives. We should be the best at going 458 00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:43,240 to schools and helping the teachers. 459 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,680 We should be the very best at coaching kids teams and 460 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:50,160 ascribing value to the kids that are entrusted to our care. 461 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,520 We should be the most committed, the most dependable people that 462 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:57,040 anybody ever interacts with. And as a church, we want to come 463 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:00,000 alongside of you and help you to leverage your gifts and your 464 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,440 passions and your abilities to meet the needs of the community. 465 00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:07,080 However, unless you tell us that you are ready to make a 466 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:11,400 difference, how can we help you start making a difference? 467 00:27:11,720 --> 00:27:15,920 One of the gifts that God did not give church staff members is 468 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:23,120 the ability to read minds. You have to take your step of 469 00:27:23,120 --> 00:27:30,160 faith and obedience and say, put me in coach, I want to play now. 470 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,840 You are not responsible for doing everything I just listed 471 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,720 on that list because each of you has a different gift, but you 472 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,240 are responsible for making sure that the gift that you have is 473 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:43,920 leveraged in your community to point people to Jesus. 474 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,320 The second way you can do this is in the church. 475 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,840 It would blow you away how many people serve or God uses to 476 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,120 serve every single weekend to make our ministries happen. 477 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:55,560 If you like kids, I want to encourage you to serve in the 478 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:57,880 kids area. If you like technology, join us. 479 00:27:57,880 --> 00:27:59,400 If you're like, I like technology, but I don't 480 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:01,960 understand technology, we'll help you learn it. 481 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,280 We can teach you. If you like music, join the 482 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:06,560 worship team. If talk to our staff, show up 483 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,080 early and greet people at the door. 484 00:28:08,280 --> 00:28:11,520 Every person has smile muscles here at practice. 485 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:14,200 OK? Some people have better smiles 486 00:28:14,200 --> 00:28:16,040 than others. Like I lose my eyes when I 487 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:17,680 smile. They're just gone. 488 00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:19,800 I mean, it's like Clayton, open your eyes. 489 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:22,760 They are OK. You either get teeth or eyes. 490 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,760 You can't get both. OK, So just tell me which one 491 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,680 you want and I'll deliver. When people show up at our 492 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:31,720 church, they should be greeted by the most friendliest people 493 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,760 on planet Earth with the best smile on planet Earth. 494 00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:39,200 Every single person who steps on the campus at one of our 495 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:43,640 locations deserves to be treated with dignity and kindness and 496 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:46,880 respect. When I retire from ministry, if 497 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,480 I don't go to some mission field, I'm going to take over 498 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:52,120 the parking lot team and I'm going to run that parking lot 499 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:55,120 ministry like a dictator. OK? 500 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:59,240 Only savages need apply because we are going to dominate the 501 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,160 parking lot. You want to know why this might 502 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:02,880 be the most important role in our church? 503 00:29:03,720 --> 00:29:06,920 Because surveys show that people make the decision about whether 504 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,960 or not this church is for them 7 minutes after they pull into the 505 00:29:09,960 --> 00:29:12,760 parking lot. This is before they ever hear a 506 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:15,040 sermon. This is before I ever frustrate 507 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,560 them with a joke. This is before they ever realize 508 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,960 they don't like or they do like the worship. 7 minutes. 509 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:24,880 It starts in the parking lot. So to all of you out there that 510 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:28,080 are wearing your city gear and you're driving golf carts or 511 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:30,000 you're greeting people outside, God bless you. 512 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,440 Because people are making the decision about our church when 513 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,320 they see you, not when they see me and hear me. 514 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:37,040 I just want to be super clear about this. 515 00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:40,320 While we are excited that you are serving alongside of us, if 516 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:43,880 you are serving so that we will say thank you, you won't get it 517 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,560 as often as you would like. And I'll there's a theological 518 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,600 reason why we are thankful we get to serve alongside of you. 519 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:53,520 But when we start saying thank you, you might think that you're 520 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:58,440 doing it for us. And if you think you're doing it 521 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,840 for us, the thank you you get from us will be your reward. 522 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:09,400 But if you do it for him, it doesn't matter if somebody says 523 00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:12,640 thank you because you're doing it for him. 524 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:16,320 You're stepping into your purpose and God promises to 525 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:18,680 reward you for the things you have done. 526 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:23,240 Crossing family. We must be in the corner of the 527 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,080 person who invited their friend that they have been praying for. 528 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,320 We got to be in the corner of the parent who's praying for 529 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,360 their their child to one day return to their faith. 530 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:35,320 We need to be in the corner for them in the parking lot and we 531 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:36,920 need to be in their corner at the door. 532 00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:39,000 We need to be in their corner in the line for coffee. 533 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,240 And if you bring some for the first time, you have my 534 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:43,600 permission to cut all the way to the front and say this is their 535 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:45,720 first time. And if somebody who gets 536 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,120 frustrated that you are cutting in line doesn't like it, I will 537 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:51,400 find them some other way to spend their Sundays than ruining 538 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,280 our coffee line by being upset about people who are coming to 539 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:55,560 our church for the very first time. 540 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,960 And you might think that is a bad strategy to grow your 541 00:30:57,960 --> 00:30:59,480 church. And listen, we love you and 542 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,240 we're super thankful for you. But our church is so stinking 543 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:05,560 serious about people finding an intimate, personal relationship 544 00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:08,000 with Jesus Christ. I pray that one day there is no 545 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,800 room for Christians to get coffee because lost people are 546 00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:12,800 filling our coffee lines. Do you hear what I'm saying? 547 00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:15,040 We got to be those kind of people. 548 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:17,520 There needs to be people in their corner when they're 549 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:20,280 checking in their kids areas and to take them on a tour. 550 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,080 We need to make sure there are people that are making sure that 551 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,680 we are helping make sure the place is clean and that it 552 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:26,880 smells good. We need to be in their corner as 553 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:28,800 they walk into the auditorium and how the lights are 554 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:32,080 programmed and the music is mixed and the music is played 555 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:33,720 and the songs are lifted to heaven. 556 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:36,400 We got to be in their corner. Look right now, wherever you're 557 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,840 watching me, look around and make eye contact with like three 558 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:43,640 people in this room. The people you are making eye 559 00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:50,800 contact with have people that they want to know Jesus, and we 560 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:55,600 need to be in their corner and we need them to be in ours. 561 00:31:55,600 --> 00:32:00,120 We need to make good on a promise that if you bring 562 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:04,080 somebody that matters to you that is far from God, we will be 563 00:32:04,080 --> 00:32:07,320 in your corner and we will be ready and we will take 564 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:10,200 everything we have and we will leverage it for God's Kingdom 565 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:14,680 causes and God's glory. We need to be the very best that 566 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:17,800 we can be so that God will entrust us with even greater 567 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:23,040 ministry effectiveness. There has to be a place that is 568 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:27,320 committed to helping people who are lost find their home in Him, 569 00:32:28,240 --> 00:32:31,520 and it will not happen unless you and I leverage the very 570 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:35,800 things that God has blessed us with to be a blessing to others. 571 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:37,640 We're moving to a time of decision. 572 00:32:41,560 --> 00:32:44,600 If, if you don't have an intimate personal relationship 573 00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,040 with Jesus Christ, you, you got to kind of wrestle through the 574 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:50,560 1st judgment. And when you stand in front of 575 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:53,800 the great white throne, you can either stand on your record and 576 00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,120 what you have done, or you can stand on the record of Jesus. 577 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,480 I'm going to unpack a ton of this next week, so I'd encourage 578 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:03,280 you to come back. But you can stand on your record 579 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:05,600 or you can stand on Jesus's record. 580 00:33:05,600 --> 00:33:08,480 And I'll just tell you, no matter how good you have been, 581 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:10,360 your record will not be good enough. 582 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:17,280 But through God's grace and His mercy, He provided a way in 583 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:23,000 Jesus for you and I to be saved. And if you were here today or 584 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,320 you're watching online and you have never started an intimate, 585 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,880 personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I just want to encourage 586 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,400 you, don't put it off any longer. 587 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:39,240 And in faith and in obedience, make a step today to draw closer 588 00:33:39,240 --> 00:33:41,440 to Him. Maybe while the people in the 589 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:43,640 room are standing and singing and some of them are coming to 590 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:47,360 the steps and praying your step, your next step of faith and 591 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:49,920 obedience would be walk over there underneath the screen next 592 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,600 to the baptistry and talk to one of our staff members or or going 593 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,000 by the new here booth before you leave today. 594 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,200 Maybe it's turning to a person in your row or a person who 595 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,080 brought you and saying, hey, I got some questions and I need 596 00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:07,640 some answers. Don't put it off to the rest of 597 00:34:07,640 --> 00:34:10,000 you in the room. To those of you who do have an 598 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,400 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 599 00:34:12,639 --> 00:34:16,000 Serious question. What is going to be your answer 600 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:18,480 when you are standing at the Bema seat? 601 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:24,000 What is going to be your answer to what you did with all that 602 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:37,199 God gave you? This region needs us lost People 603 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:44,360 need us to use the gifts that God has given us to help them 604 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:50,760 find their way home, and we have got to be in their corner. 605 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:58,360 We've got to show them that God loves them and that His people 606 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:02,200 love them. If you're here today and you are 607 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:08,880 not leveraging your gifts for His glory, change can happen 608 00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:13,800 today when you take a step of faith and obedience. 609 00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:23,400 Would you stand with me, God? I'm so hopeful. 610 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:32,640 I believe that any moment you could stir something mighty and 611 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:40,720 powerful in this church. So many people are desiring to 612 00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:44,680 do things for you and they just, they're just stuck on go. 613 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:47,200 They want to do something. They just have a hard time 614 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:50,480 taking that next step. God, I pray that today you'd 615 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:52,360 give them the courage and the strength to do it. 616 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,920 That the lies of Satan would be silenced. 617 00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,560 That the people listening to my voice would hear your voice the 618 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:05,640 loudest. That you would make it clear to 619 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:10,360 them what it is that you are asking them to do, and that 620 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:11,680 you'd give them the courage to do it. 621 00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:13,240 Your name I pray. Amen.