1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,240 What up, Crossing family? It is so good to be with you. 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:07,760 You may remember back in April, Ken Ham came and visited our 3 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:11,320 church. Well, last week I was able to 4 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:15,880 take my family to Ohio and while we were there, we swung by the 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,240 Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. 6 00:00:19,240 --> 00:00:23,640 And I am here to tell you it is awesome. 7 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:28,230 You should make it a high priority for you and your family 8 00:00:28,230 --> 00:00:32,950 over 7th grade. Anything below that, you're not 9 00:00:32,950 --> 00:00:35,830 going to get the full meal deal because it's a lot of reading. 10 00:00:36,310 --> 00:00:38,870 But what I will tell you is it is a great spiritual and 11 00:00:38,870 --> 00:00:40,870 educational experience for your family. 12 00:00:41,310 --> 00:00:43,870 When you go to the Arc encounter, first thing you need 13 00:00:43,870 --> 00:00:47,910 to do is go to the left and you go do the the virtual reality 14 00:00:47,910 --> 00:00:50,910 thing that they do off the charts, right, Doug Dog it was, 15 00:00:50,910 --> 00:00:53,230 yeah, it was that good. I actually got to meet some 16 00:00:53,230 --> 00:00:55,110 other people from our church that were there at the same time 17 00:00:55,110 --> 00:00:56,820 we were there. It was like, this is what 18 00:00:56,820 --> 00:00:58,020 happens. Can be like, like, hey, we both 19 00:00:58,020 --> 00:01:00,060 showed up at the same place. Hey, you're here, I'm here. 20 00:01:00,420 --> 00:01:03,140 I didn't think you were coming. Okay, It's going to be one of 21 00:01:03,140 --> 00:01:05,540 those things. I promise you, we're going to 22 00:01:05,540 --> 00:01:08,140 try and do a trip like this in the fall of next year. 23 00:01:08,140 --> 00:01:09,980 So if you don't want to go by yourself and you want to go with 24 00:01:09,980 --> 00:01:12,220 other people. But I'm just telling you it is a 25 00:01:14,140 --> 00:01:18,380 it's just something when you see the arc in all of its glory and 26 00:01:18,380 --> 00:01:21,180 you get an opportunity to go to the Creation Science Museum and 27 00:01:21,180 --> 00:01:26,730 see our world through a Christian, biblical, God shaped 28 00:01:26,850 --> 00:01:29,770 vision and it's it was just incredibly nourishing. 29 00:01:30,170 --> 00:01:33,650 Then on that Sunday, I had the opportunity to go and preach at 30 00:01:33,650 --> 00:01:38,440 River Hills Christian Church and preach the opening sermon to 31 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:41,720 their sermon series called Weeds in My Garden. 32 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,240 In fact, churches across the country are preaching this 33 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,000 series and getting people to help and the hope that they 34 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,320 desperately need. Because of that, in September, 35 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,960 I'm getting an opportunity to share what God has been doing 36 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,880 through that series at a pastor's conference in Nashville 37 00:01:56,230 --> 00:02:00,030 with over 1000 pastors. And that is all possible because 38 00:02:00,030 --> 00:02:03,310 of you guys being willing to go on that faith journey with us. 39 00:02:03,310 --> 00:02:06,470 So I just want to tell you a huge thank you for letting us do 40 00:02:06,470 --> 00:02:08,870 that series and you inviting people because you're giving 41 00:02:08,870 --> 00:02:12,550 pastors across the country the confidence to step into that 42 00:02:12,550 --> 00:02:16,310 space. Then next weekend, like 7 days 43 00:02:16,310 --> 00:02:19,230 from now. Oh no, 5-6 days from now we will 44 00:02:19,230 --> 00:02:22,190 be having our Uncommon Conference, our men's conference 45 00:02:22,470 --> 00:02:27,390 here at our 48th St. location and we have 9 partner churches 46 00:02:27,390 --> 00:02:29,910 in eight different states that are going to be hosting the 47 00:02:29,910 --> 00:02:32,310 exact same conference over the next seven months. 48 00:02:32,550 --> 00:02:34,590 In fact, many of those churches are going to be coming here to 49 00:02:34,590 --> 00:02:36,830 be a part of ours. I heard from Zach Campbell right 50 00:02:36,830 --> 00:02:40,230 before the service started that we just crossed the 800 mark of 51 00:02:40,230 --> 00:02:44,510 men who will be attending that. Super excited fellas. 52 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:47,840 There is room for 200 more people, so if you haven't signed 53 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,360 up, sign up. I promise you it'll help you be 54 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:52,120 the spiritual leader of your home. 55 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:55,200 It'll help you love your wife better, lead your kids better, 56 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,040 and you will not regret it. I want to welcome you joining 57 00:02:58,040 --> 00:03:00,080 from all of our different locations, those of you watching 58 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,650 online and inside, and a special shout out to those of you who 59 00:03:04,650 --> 00:03:07,770 are joining us for the first time or the first time in a long 60 00:03:07,770 --> 00:03:11,010 time as a church. We are in a sermon series going 61 00:03:11,010 --> 00:03:14,130 through the book of Romans, and if you haven't been here a while 62 00:03:14,130 --> 00:03:17,410 or you haven't been here at all, let me catch you up. 63 00:03:17,890 --> 00:03:20,890 Romans can be broken down into three big chunks. 64 00:03:20,930 --> 00:03:24,730 The first one these chapters one through 8, and what we learned 65 00:03:24,730 --> 00:03:27,490 in those chapters is I can trust God. 66 00:03:27,770 --> 00:03:32,290 In chapters 9 through 11, we're navigating trust in God when 67 00:03:32,290 --> 00:03:34,970 others don't. It's one thing to trust God when 68 00:03:34,970 --> 00:03:37,050 you have a bunch of people around you doing the same thing, 69 00:03:37,130 --> 00:03:39,410 but what do you do when you're trusting God and the people 70 00:03:39,410 --> 00:03:41,970 around you aren't? And then the third thing we're 71 00:03:41,970 --> 00:03:44,730 going to navigate when we get into chapters 12 through 16 are 72 00:03:44,730 --> 00:03:48,540 noticeable neighbors that when you place your faith in Jesus, 73 00:03:48,780 --> 00:03:52,060 it should be noticeable to the people around you. 74 00:03:52,820 --> 00:03:55,940 In chapter one, we learned that we could trust God because of 75 00:03:55,940 --> 00:04:00,260 the goodness of his gospel, and his gospel is true, that we are 76 00:04:00,260 --> 00:04:03,460 saved not because of what we've done, but because of what Jesus 77 00:04:03,460 --> 00:04:07,020 has done on our behalf. In chapter two, we learned that 78 00:04:07,020 --> 00:04:11,220 I can trust God because he is patient and kind in an effort to 79 00:04:11,220 --> 00:04:13,460 lead us to repentance. How many of you? 80 00:04:13,460 --> 00:04:16,779 God has been patient with you. So that means that we should be 81 00:04:16,779 --> 00:04:19,860 patient with other people on their spiritual journey. 82 00:04:20,060 --> 00:04:22,500 We shouldn't get mean, hateful, hurtful. 83 00:04:22,540 --> 00:04:25,260 We should give them the same amount of patience that God has 84 00:04:25,260 --> 00:04:27,180 given us. In chapter three, we learned 85 00:04:27,180 --> 00:04:30,660 that I can trust God or you can trust God because he made a way 86 00:04:30,660 --> 00:04:34,700 when there was no way he did what nobody else could do. 87 00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:38,580 In fact, Romans 322 says righteousness is given to all 88 00:04:38,860 --> 00:04:43,140 through faith in Christ Jesus, to all who believe. 89 00:04:43,430 --> 00:04:46,990 So when you place your faith in Jesus, you are made right with 90 00:04:46,990 --> 00:04:50,830 God because of what Jesus has done on your behalf. 91 00:04:51,030 --> 00:04:53,110 And chapter four, we learned something that's really hard for 92 00:04:53,110 --> 00:04:56,750 us to understand and that is that we can trust God because 93 00:04:56,750 --> 00:05:02,190 through faith in Jesus he covers forgives our sins and he does 94 00:05:02,190 --> 00:05:05,230 not count them against us. How many of you have something 95 00:05:05,230 --> 00:05:07,830 in your life who is still counting your sins against you? 96 00:05:09,030 --> 00:05:12,180 Yeah, nobody has more of a right to do that than God, but he 97 00:05:12,180 --> 00:05:15,020 chooses not to. He chooses not to count your 98 00:05:15,020 --> 00:05:17,980 sins against you. In chapter 5, I kind of gave you 99 00:05:17,980 --> 00:05:20,020 a tattoo verse if you're the kind of person who wants to get 100 00:05:20,020 --> 00:05:22,900 scriptures tattooed. Romans chapter 5, verse eight, 101 00:05:22,900 --> 00:05:26,020 we learned that I can trust God because through Jesus he's 102 00:05:26,020 --> 00:05:29,420 justified us, made it as if we've never sinned. 103 00:05:29,580 --> 00:05:33,300 Romans 5/8 says but God demonstrates his own love for us 104 00:05:33,300 --> 00:05:37,620 in this that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 105 00:05:37,820 --> 00:05:40,260 We serve a God who made the first move. 106 00:05:41,180 --> 00:05:44,340 He did it before, not after. Some of you are thinking God 107 00:05:44,340 --> 00:05:46,940 will love you after you get your life together. 108 00:05:47,140 --> 00:05:49,300 Nope. God made-up his mind to love you 109 00:05:49,300 --> 00:05:51,580 before you could do anything right or wrong. 110 00:05:51,740 --> 00:05:55,340 That's how good our God is. In chapters 8 we learn that I 111 00:05:55,340 --> 00:05:58,540 can trust God because he defeated the enemy of sin and 112 00:05:58,540 --> 00:06:00,220 death that you and I could not defeat. 113 00:06:00,660 --> 00:06:03,420 In chapter 8 I learn or in Chapter 7 I learned that I can 114 00:06:03,420 --> 00:06:06,900 trust God because he gives us the Spirit that enables us to 115 00:06:06,900 --> 00:06:10,340 bear good fruit. There is a me that I want to be 116 00:06:10,790 --> 00:06:14,190 that I cannot be on my own. It is only through the Holy 117 00:06:14,190 --> 00:06:17,990 Spirit working in my life that produces that kind of fruit. 118 00:06:18,270 --> 00:06:21,630 In chapter 8, I learned that we can trust God because He's our 119 00:06:21,630 --> 00:06:25,590 conqueror. And check this out, Nothing can 120 00:06:25,590 --> 00:06:27,510 separate us from the love of God. 121 00:06:28,310 --> 00:06:31,110 Nothing can stop God from loving you. 122 00:06:31,550 --> 00:06:34,550 Last week, Jerry preached an incredible sermon on Romans 123 00:06:34,550 --> 00:06:40,070 Chapter 9, and we learned that God is both great and our God is 124 00:06:40,070 --> 00:06:42,670 good. And then you have to navigate 125 00:06:42,670 --> 00:06:45,950 What does it mean to trust God when others don't? 126 00:06:46,790 --> 00:06:49,670 That's kind of where we're at in chapters 910 and 11. 127 00:06:49,670 --> 00:06:52,590 Trust in God when other people don't. 128 00:06:52,870 --> 00:06:56,070 On some level, it would be great if there we were always 129 00:06:56,070 --> 00:06:59,110 surrounded by other Christians who are committed to their faith 130 00:06:59,110 --> 00:07:01,550 in Jesus. That's the hardship of summer 131 00:07:01,550 --> 00:07:04,360 camp and the burden of this gin ministry teams here at The 132 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,920 Crossing and around the world. When kids are surrounded by 133 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,400 other kids who are growing in their spiritual walk, they 134 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,040 behave like spiritual beings. It's when you find yourself 135 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:16,280 around friends and around sport teams that don't have the same 136 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,880 priorities. It's one thing to be serious 137 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:20,920 about your faith when you're here at church and surrounded by 138 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,120 other people who are church folk, but it's another thing 139 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,560 when you have to go home and navigate relationships that 140 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,640 aren't the same, aren't as supportive, don't have the same 141 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:31,840 values. There's some of you. 142 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:36,020 You come to our church each week without your spouse or without 143 00:07:36,020 --> 00:07:38,820 your children. You attend each service with a 144 00:07:38,820 --> 00:07:43,260 sense of hope and excitement, and then you have pain envelope 145 00:07:43,260 --> 00:07:48,420 you as you leave, knowing that you're going home to a place 146 00:07:48,420 --> 00:07:51,300 where there's not the same level of encouragement, not the same 147 00:07:51,300 --> 00:07:53,940 level of support on your spiritual journey. 148 00:07:54,700 --> 00:07:57,180 Recently I was talking to a guy at our church who's both 149 00:07:57,180 --> 00:08:01,180 successful in his walk with the Lord and in the business world, 150 00:08:01,940 --> 00:08:07,030 and he was relating to me that the pain of his boss in a heated 151 00:08:07,030 --> 00:08:10,750 moment, asking him to do something illegal. 152 00:08:13,270 --> 00:08:15,870 He fortunately had the courage to push back and say that he 153 00:08:15,870 --> 00:08:18,630 wouldn't do it, but that's not how work environments are 154 00:08:18,630 --> 00:08:21,230 supposed to be. Here's a guy who's trying to 155 00:08:21,230 --> 00:08:23,830 provide for his family, take care of the people that God has 156 00:08:23,830 --> 00:08:26,830 entrusted him to, and now his boss has asked him to do 157 00:08:26,830 --> 00:08:29,430 something in a heated moment that's out of bounds and he's 158 00:08:29,430 --> 00:08:33,950 having to figure out, do I say Nope, My integrity is too 159 00:08:33,950 --> 00:08:37,150 important. I can't do that and risk his 160 00:08:37,150 --> 00:08:39,669 ability to provide for his family, trusting that God will 161 00:08:39,669 --> 00:08:41,750 take care of him. Even if things go South. 162 00:08:41,750 --> 00:08:47,190 That's not how it's to be. And if we're going to live this 163 00:08:47,190 --> 00:08:50,510 kind of life where we're going to trust God when other people 164 00:08:50,510 --> 00:08:52,670 don't, it's going to make us noticeable. 165 00:08:53,230 --> 00:08:54,590 People are going to see our faith. 166 00:08:54,590 --> 00:08:57,190 It's going to be like a refrigerator light in the middle 167 00:08:57,190 --> 00:08:58,550 of the night. When you open it up, you want 168 00:08:58,550 --> 00:09:00,810 what's all in there, but the light hits you. 169 00:09:01,170 --> 00:09:03,210 I mean, I've heard stories. I've never eaten late at night, 170 00:09:03,210 --> 00:09:05,570 but I've heard stories of people who do. 171 00:09:06,530 --> 00:09:11,690 So I hope that makes sense. The idea that you can be an 172 00:09:11,690 --> 00:09:15,290 undercover Christian is a lie from hell. 173 00:09:17,930 --> 00:09:20,090 When you come into a relationship with Jesus Christ, 174 00:09:20,170 --> 00:09:23,010 it transforms you. It changes you. 175 00:09:23,770 --> 00:09:27,890 Jesus calls us as Christians to be a light to the world. 176 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:30,200 That's why we call our men's conference uncommon. 177 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,640 Because ordinary isn't working. The world does not need ordinary 178 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:35,040 men. It needs uncommon men who've 179 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,080 been set apart for the glory and the purposes of God. 180 00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:43,160 If you're CrossFit friends, golf buddies, card club, poker 181 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:47,320 buddies, coworkers were to read your obituary, they should not 182 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,560 be surprised about your faith, your commitment to Christ, your 183 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:55,840 commitment to His church. Our faith should be noticeable, 184 00:09:56,160 --> 00:10:02,450 which leads us to Romans chapter 10, verses one through four 185 00:10:02,930 --> 00:10:04,530 brothers and sisters, Paul writes. 186 00:10:04,810 --> 00:10:08,330 My heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that 187 00:10:08,330 --> 00:10:12,690 they may be saved, for I can testify about them. 188 00:10:12,770 --> 00:10:16,690 That's the Israelites, that they are zealous for God, but their 189 00:10:16,690 --> 00:10:21,410 zeal is not based on knowledge. Do you guys know that it's 190 00:10:21,410 --> 00:10:26,250 possible to be zealous and ignorant, excited and dumb? 191 00:10:27,330 --> 00:10:28,610 Yeah. One time I was super excited 192 00:10:28,610 --> 00:10:30,650 about going to diet. I was like, man, I'm going to 193 00:10:30,650 --> 00:10:33,410 get in great shape and I'm going to just eat one thing over and 194 00:10:33,410 --> 00:10:36,490 over and over and over again. I just chose bratwursts. 195 00:10:38,130 --> 00:10:40,050 And I did. I was like, this is the. 196 00:10:40,050 --> 00:10:42,130 I mean, this will be cake. I mean, I'll just eat like 5 197 00:10:42,130 --> 00:10:44,970 each meal, 15 brats a day. I mean, it's just going to melt 198 00:10:44,970 --> 00:10:46,690 off of me. And it didn't. 199 00:10:47,370 --> 00:10:50,290 Yeah, maybe that's why I have cholesterol medication today. 200 00:10:50,330 --> 00:10:52,210 Okay. All right. 201 00:10:52,210 --> 00:10:55,890 Have you ever watched like YouTube videos of workout fails? 202 00:10:56,370 --> 00:10:58,850 Like people on gym equipment just getting beat to death 203 00:10:58,850 --> 00:11:02,450 because they're excited? Lots of they have a lot of zeal, 204 00:11:02,690 --> 00:11:06,330 but they're uninformed. This way, saying you can have a 205 00:11:06,330 --> 00:11:10,450 zeal for God but be ignorant about God, let's keep going. 206 00:11:10,730 --> 00:11:13,250 Since they did not know the righteousness of God, they 207 00:11:13,250 --> 00:11:17,170 sought to establish their own. They did not submit to God's 208 00:11:17,170 --> 00:11:21,210 righteousness. Christ is the culmination or 209 00:11:21,210 --> 00:11:25,320 another word. For there would be the goal of 210 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:30,360 the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who 211 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,160 believes. Here's the deal. 212 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:37,640 This righteousness of their own is still our struggle today. 213 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,440 For the Jews, it was using the Old Testament and finding their 214 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:46,720 righteousness there. However, the law did not make 215 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:49,670 them righteous. The law showed them how 216 00:11:49,710 --> 00:11:54,150 unrighteous they really were and how great and holy and perfect 217 00:11:54,350 --> 00:11:59,070 God really is. Now we do similar things, don't 218 00:11:59,070 --> 00:12:02,110 we? We can be zealous without 219 00:12:02,110 --> 00:12:05,750 knowledge, and we can try to come up with our own way of 220 00:12:05,750 --> 00:12:09,350 making ourselves look good and trying to have a righteousness 221 00:12:09,350 --> 00:12:14,070 of our own. Because what we try to do is we 222 00:12:14,110 --> 00:12:18,780 go into the world of comparison. All of you, if you want to feel 223 00:12:18,780 --> 00:12:22,980 better about how your body looks, you just look at somebody 224 00:12:22,980 --> 00:12:27,420 who has a worse body than you. If you, you know, for me, I 225 00:12:27,420 --> 00:12:30,300 can't find anybody. But I mean for you guys, you can 226 00:12:30,300 --> 00:12:34,740 look at me, okay. Like you can find somebody to 227 00:12:34,740 --> 00:12:37,860 go, well, at least I'm not ass. But if I were to go to a 228 00:12:37,860 --> 00:12:40,500 CrossFit gym and compare myself to the people to CrossFit gym, 229 00:12:40,500 --> 00:12:43,460 I'm like, ooh, I guess I could probably, you know, lose an inch 230 00:12:43,460 --> 00:12:46,860 or 12, right? I could make some adjustments. 231 00:12:47,770 --> 00:12:49,610 And that's how we sometimes do our morality. 232 00:12:50,770 --> 00:12:55,170 Well, at least I'm better than. But salvation is not based on 233 00:12:55,170 --> 00:12:56,650 are you better than other people. 234 00:12:57,410 --> 00:13:01,050 Salvation is based upon whether or not you meet the perfect law 235 00:13:01,050 --> 00:13:05,650 of Christ, and we don't. So how do imperfect people get 236 00:13:05,650 --> 00:13:08,410 into the the presence of a perfect God? 237 00:13:08,810 --> 00:13:12,250 We get there through a right relationship with Jesus where he 238 00:13:12,250 --> 00:13:15,930 does on our behalf what we could never do. 239 00:13:16,790 --> 00:13:19,270 We end up comparing ourselves, the people we'll win against, 240 00:13:19,550 --> 00:13:23,270 instead of the standard that we will be measured against, which 241 00:13:23,270 --> 00:13:26,630 is why he goes like this. In Romans chapter 10 versus 5 242 00:13:26,630 --> 00:13:30,390 through 8, Moses writes about this righteousness that is by 243 00:13:30,390 --> 00:13:32,830 the law. He says the person who does 244 00:13:32,830 --> 00:13:36,270 these things will live by them, but the righteousness that is by 245 00:13:36,270 --> 00:13:39,990 faith says do not say in your heart who will ascend to heaven. 246 00:13:40,190 --> 00:13:44,590 That is to bring Christ down, or who will descend into the deep, 247 00:13:44,790 --> 00:13:47,370 and that is to bring Christ up from the dead. 248 00:13:47,850 --> 00:13:52,170 But what does it say? He says the word is near you. 249 00:13:52,650 --> 00:13:55,330 It is in your mouth and in your heart. 250 00:13:55,530 --> 00:13:59,490 That is the message concerning faith that we proclaim. 251 00:13:59,930 --> 00:14:03,290 What he's saying is the path forward for you Christians is 252 00:14:03,290 --> 00:14:05,530 not so high that you have to bring it down. 253 00:14:05,850 --> 00:14:08,250 It's not so far down that you have to bring it up. 254 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,600 It's no so it's not so far away that you have to bring it near 255 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:16,000 because it's available right here, right now, the moment you 256 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:17,920 want it. And we see evidence of that 257 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,960 every single week here at the crossing when people start an 258 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:24,640 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the path to 259 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:27,480 salvation is here, and it's through an intimate, personal 260 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,760 relationship with him, Which is why he says this in Romans 261 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:36,200 chapter 10, verses 9 through 13. If you declare with your mouth 262 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:41,720 Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him 263 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,920 from the dead, you will be everybody say that word saved, 264 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,680 for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, 265 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:55,000 and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are 266 00:14:55,080 --> 00:15:00,040 saved, as Scripture says. Anyone who believes in him, 267 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,360 that's Jesus, will never be put to shame. 268 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,160 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. 269 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:12,240 The same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses. 270 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,200 We're going to circle back to that all who call on him, for 271 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,440 everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 272 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:24,200 I have good news. If you're in everyone, you can 273 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,440 be saved when you come into a right relationship with Jesus. 274 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:30,880 Now, the Jews and the Gentiles here, they've been having a 275 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:32,440 problem. If you've been here for a while, 276 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,800 you've been hearing me navigate this. 277 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,160 You have these Jewish people who've been committed to the 278 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,760 law, and then you have these Gentile believers who are going, 279 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,800 well, we don't have to file the law because Jesus came and 280 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,640 they're trying to navigate that tension. 281 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,560 And what Jesus is trying to explain to them is that 282 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,000 salvation has always been through faith. 283 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:59,120 The dividing line of who is in and who is out in the family of 284 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:04,520 God has always been belief. If you believe, you are saved. 285 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:08,760 If you do not believe you're not, and you get to make the 286 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,600 choice about whether or not you want to stand before God on your 287 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:16,000 own or you want to stand before God with Jesus and the Jews are 288 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,160 going well, When did God change His mind? 289 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,400 How did this happen? Because the Old Testament was 290 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:23,680 leading us all the way to here and now. 291 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:25,880 All of a sudden, it looks like God's changed his mind, 292 00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:29,480 abandoned his plan. And that's a fair assumption for 293 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:31,520 them and in their right to be frustrated. 294 00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:33,200 But that's not what's been happening. 295 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,040 That's why Paul says that Jesus is the goal of the law. 296 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:41,360 What he's saying is the law was always pointing to Jesus, that 297 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,680 it was always looking to Jesus. Imagine my family were going on 298 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:48,920 a walk and because I'm a superior athlete, I'm way in 299 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:54,240 front of them and we come to the edge of a street and I go on 300 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:57,470 before them and my family is back on the other side of the 301 00:16:57,470 --> 00:17:02,230 road and I turn around and I say stop, don't walk. 302 00:17:02,230 --> 00:17:05,950 And so they stop and they don't walk. 303 00:17:07,030 --> 00:17:09,270 And then I say go ahead and walk. 304 00:17:10,430 --> 00:17:15,510 Did my 2 decrees to my family? Did my 2 commands contradict one 305 00:17:15,510 --> 00:17:18,589 another or were they in order of one another? 306 00:17:19,510 --> 00:17:22,470 I turned around and I told my family, stop, don't walk. 307 00:17:22,630 --> 00:17:26,990 And the car passes by and then I say go ahead and walk. 308 00:17:27,390 --> 00:17:30,790 The first command was designed to get us safely to the second 309 00:17:30,790 --> 00:17:33,390 command. The Old Testament law was 310 00:17:33,390 --> 00:17:37,830 designed to get us to Jesus. And now that we are in Jesus, we 311 00:17:37,830 --> 00:17:41,430 take hold of him by faith through grace. 312 00:17:42,310 --> 00:17:45,350 And now that we are in this kind of relationship, the Jews are 313 00:17:45,350 --> 00:17:48,630 going, yeah, but this is not what we thought was going to 314 00:17:48,630 --> 00:17:51,310 happen. This salvation through Jesus is 315 00:17:51,310 --> 00:17:54,850 not what we saw coming. The easiest way for me to 316 00:17:54,850 --> 00:17:57,890 describe this is through a marriage illustration. 317 00:17:58,650 --> 00:18:02,410 Imagine this. A husband and wife who are 318 00:18:02,410 --> 00:18:03,970 struggling. I know. 319 00:18:04,730 --> 00:18:08,290 Try hard to imagine it. The husband has promised the 320 00:18:08,290 --> 00:18:11,330 wife that he will do something to work on their marriage to 321 00:18:11,330 --> 00:18:15,410 save it before it falls apart. The wife is constantly giving 322 00:18:15,410 --> 00:18:17,330 him subjections. Typical. 323 00:18:18,170 --> 00:18:19,650 We need to go to this conference. 324 00:18:19,810 --> 00:18:22,450 Look at this retreat. We need to read this book 325 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:25,600 eventually, she starts being very specific. 326 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:29,440 Hey sweetie, there's a convention planned for the last 327 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,240 week in September. I want us to go to it. 328 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:36,400 I think it's what we need. And she believes deep in her 329 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,400 heart, that this conference at the end of September is what 330 00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:41,480 they need to save their marriage. 331 00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:49,160 She goes on and on and on, as women sometimes do, about the 332 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:53,520 conference. Finally, but just let me pause 333 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:54,560 before you guys send me hate mail. 334 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:56,120 This is not this is just an illustration. 335 00:18:56,120 --> 00:18:57,440 I borrowed it from Michael de Fazio. 336 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:02,160 This is not me and Jennifer cuz I'd had to go on and on and on. 337 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,880 OK, I'm leaving her alone this week. 338 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:10,600 OK, Finally he comes home one day and he says clear your 339 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,640 calendar for that week in September. 340 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,960 I've made plans for us to do what is necessary to heal our 341 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:21,440 home. She is obviously delighted. 342 00:19:22,150 --> 00:19:25,310 The day comes, her bags are packed, they hop in the car and 343 00:19:25,310 --> 00:19:29,070 they are on the road. But along the way she seems a 344 00:19:29,070 --> 00:19:32,150 little confused because he seems lost. 345 00:19:33,430 --> 00:19:37,710 She thinks about correcting him and asking Are you sure you know 346 00:19:37,710 --> 00:19:39,710 the way? But she doesn't want to ruin the 347 00:19:39,710 --> 00:19:44,750 weekend before it starts, so she just stays quiet and she just 348 00:19:44,750 --> 00:19:47,910 trusts. Then he veers off on some weird 349 00:19:47,910 --> 00:19:50,870 Rd., leading to what seems like nowhere. 350 00:19:51,620 --> 00:19:53,620 We're basically off roading at this point. 351 00:19:53,780 --> 00:19:56,980 She's getting tossed around in the car, and eventually she 352 00:19:57,060 --> 00:19:59,260 screams out. Where are we going? 353 00:20:00,500 --> 00:20:01,860 He says. Trust me. 354 00:20:02,700 --> 00:20:07,300 And then he pulls up to a solitary cabin in the woods. 355 00:20:09,260 --> 00:20:12,020 He stops the car. He puts it in park. 356 00:20:12,540 --> 00:20:16,340 He goes, we're going to work on our marriage here, And he 357 00:20:16,340 --> 00:20:18,420 smiles. She looks around. 358 00:20:18,740 --> 00:20:22,100 Lonely cabin in the woods and starts to get a little angry and 359 00:20:22,100 --> 00:20:24,860 spouts off. I know what you're thinking and 360 00:20:24,860 --> 00:20:27,180 that is not the answer to our problems. 361 00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:31,060 We don't need a romantic getaway, we need a solution. 362 00:20:31,740 --> 00:20:34,420 He says relax and he leads her inside. 363 00:20:35,860 --> 00:20:39,020 They go inside the cabin and he explains to her that he has 364 00:20:39,020 --> 00:20:41,740 downloaded some videos from the conference that she was so 365 00:20:41,740 --> 00:20:44,320 excited about. He has purchased the books that 366 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,760 were on her marriage reading list, and then he opens up a 367 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:50,960 schedule that he is printed off with her that he is prepared 368 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:53,240 for. Their weekend romance is not 369 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,720 excluded, but the bulk of their time is about patiently and 370 00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:59,240 intentionally talking through the issues that have gotten them 371 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:02,400 off track. She wants to be angry because 372 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:04,920 she feels betrayed, because they're not at the conference 373 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:06,520 that he thought that they were going to. 374 00:21:07,120 --> 00:21:10,440 But then she realizes that he hasn't broken his promise or 375 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:14,000 commitment to her at all. In fact, he's done more than she 376 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,800 ever expected. It doesn't look quite like what 377 00:21:17,800 --> 00:21:20,680 she expected, what she thought she wanted. 378 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:24,120 But the more she thinks about it, the more she realizes this 379 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:26,360 is exactly what she has been asking for. 380 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,680 Hoping for, praying for. He has indeed kept his word in a 381 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,960 way that is surprising, in a way that is magnificent. 382 00:21:34,120 --> 00:21:38,360 In the end, it's perfect. This is what Paul is trying to 383 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,400 convey to the Jewish believers. Jesus coming and being the 384 00:21:41,400 --> 00:21:44,960 righteousness on our own behalf is better than we can expect it, 385 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:49,720 although we didn't expect it. Second thing that gets brought 386 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:52,960 up inside of this passage is they start talking about Jesus 387 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,520 as Lord. When you talk about Jesus, Lord, 388 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,920 there's two realities. One is that of ownership and the 389 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,840 other one is that of deity. I got to. 390 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,000 I got to get in your grill for just a little bit because I had 391 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000 to get my own. When when you're talking about 392 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,940 ownership, it means that Jesus is the landlord. 393 00:22:10,100 --> 00:22:12,580 We're simply the stewards, the tenants. 394 00:22:13,100 --> 00:22:15,300 If Jesus is Lord, he's in control. 395 00:22:15,420 --> 00:22:18,540 Not you, not me. It's his, not ours. 396 00:22:18,820 --> 00:22:22,180 Your life, your marriage, your family belonged to him. 397 00:22:22,940 --> 00:22:24,980 The second thing is that of Deity. 398 00:22:25,340 --> 00:22:29,020 That Jesus is Lord. He's in control. 399 00:22:29,100 --> 00:22:32,340 Whether you acknowledge it or not does not change whether or 400 00:22:32,340 --> 00:22:34,700 not he is indeed Lord. It's kind of like no matter how 401 00:22:34,860 --> 00:22:37,620 stupid somebody acts this week, it doesn't change my name. 402 00:22:38,460 --> 00:22:42,260 My name is what it is and your behavior doesn't change who I 403 00:22:42,260 --> 00:22:44,840 am. In fact, you can be a real Jack 404 00:22:44,840 --> 00:22:47,600 wagon all week and it doesn't change my position. 405 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:49,920 I'm still a pastor. No matter how messed up you 406 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:54,080 might be, I'm still a pastor. Whether you acknowledge Jesus's 407 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:58,000 Lord or not does not change whether Jesus is Lord or not. 408 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,000 And this is where we have to get into a a pretty tough area. 409 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,480 Look what it says in Philippines chapter 2, verse 9 through 12. 410 00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,240 Therefore, God exalted him. That's Jesus to the highest 411 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,560 place and gave him Jesus the name that is above every name. 412 00:23:13,260 --> 00:23:16,220 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on 413 00:23:16,220 --> 00:23:19,740 earth and under the earth and every tongue acknowledged that 414 00:23:19,860 --> 00:23:24,340 Jesus Christ is everybody. Say that word, Lord, to the 415 00:23:24,340 --> 00:23:30,700 glory of God the Father. There is no more significant 416 00:23:30,700 --> 00:23:34,460 claim in the New Testament than Jesus is Lord. 417 00:23:34,780 --> 00:23:36,100 You're like Okay Clayton. We get it. 418 00:23:36,100 --> 00:23:36,700 But Nope. Nope. 419 00:23:36,700 --> 00:23:37,980 Come here. Let me Let me take you on a 420 00:23:37,980 --> 00:23:40,700 little journey here. It's awesome when you say Jesus 421 00:23:40,700 --> 00:23:43,550 is the Christ, and it's wonderful when you say that he's 422 00:23:43,550 --> 00:23:45,870 the son of the living God. It's accurate. 423 00:23:46,270 --> 00:23:48,230 It's appropriate. It's fitting. 424 00:23:48,550 --> 00:23:52,430 It's biblical. But if you omit the central 425 00:23:52,430 --> 00:23:57,150 confession that Jesus is Lord, you ignore the central claim of 426 00:23:57,150 --> 00:24:00,190 New Testament Christianity. Here's what I mean when I'm 427 00:24:00,190 --> 00:24:02,310 talking about that. If you were to go through the 428 00:24:02,310 --> 00:24:07,750 book of Acts, Jesus is referred to twice as Savior and 92 times 429 00:24:07,750 --> 00:24:10,860 as Lord. If you're to go home, read the 430 00:24:10,860 --> 00:24:13,940 entire New Testament and you're to make tally marks on the left 431 00:24:13,940 --> 00:24:17,460 hand page every time it talks about Jesus as a savior and 432 00:24:17,460 --> 00:24:19,580 you're to make tally marks on the right hand side of the page 433 00:24:19,620 --> 00:24:21,700 every time it talks about Him, that's Lord. 434 00:24:22,220 --> 00:24:26,460 You would have 10 times mention him as Savior and 700 times him 435 00:24:26,460 --> 00:24:30,100 mentioned as Lord. And anytime they're mentioned 436 00:24:30,100 --> 00:24:34,020 together, Lord always precedes Savior. 437 00:24:34,420 --> 00:24:37,920 Here's what I'm saying. And everybody wants Jesus to 438 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,160 save them and clean up the mess on aisle three of their life. 439 00:24:43,280 --> 00:24:47,560 But not everybody wants to turn their life over to him. 440 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:53,320 Jesus, who I am, all that I am, it belongs to you now. 441 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,680 You're in charge. My marriage, my family, my 442 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,280 ethics, my money, how I navigate things. 443 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:04,420 It gets filtered by you. Now I'm not in control. 444 00:25:04,620 --> 00:25:06,900 You're driving Now. I'm in the back seat. 445 00:25:10,500 --> 00:25:14,620 Here's what we want. Hey, Jesus, I screwed up again. 446 00:25:14,780 --> 00:25:18,100 Will you clean it up? I'm not going to make you the 447 00:25:18,100 --> 00:25:19,740 Lord of my life. I'm actually just going to keep 448 00:25:19,740 --> 00:25:23,260 letting you be my savior. And what we think is, is that 449 00:25:23,260 --> 00:25:25,740 this is a better alternative to this. 450 00:25:25,940 --> 00:25:28,140 I don't want to turn all these things over to God, because what 451 00:25:28,140 --> 00:25:31,530 if, just so you know, God's not saving you from the things that 452 00:25:31,530 --> 00:25:34,170 He's done on your behalf. He's saving you from the things 453 00:25:34,170 --> 00:25:38,010 that you've done on your behalf. The areas of my biggest regret 454 00:25:38,450 --> 00:25:42,010 are in the areas where I haven't had Lordship turned over to him. 455 00:25:43,010 --> 00:25:46,370 The things he's saving me from are the things that I did, not 456 00:25:46,370 --> 00:25:48,090 the things that he prescribed me to do. 457 00:25:49,490 --> 00:25:52,010 If you're going to come to faith in Jesus Christ, you are not 458 00:25:52,010 --> 00:25:56,370 just making him your Savior, you are making him your Lord. 459 00:25:57,190 --> 00:26:01,150 You're turning your life over to him, believing and knowing that 460 00:26:01,150 --> 00:26:04,830 life in his hands is better than life in your own hands. 461 00:26:06,270 --> 00:26:10,510 And when Paul is talking to him, he's saying Jesus is Lord. 462 00:26:10,830 --> 00:26:14,870 Those who belong to God have made him the Lord of their 463 00:26:14,870 --> 00:26:17,990 lives. And then he says, when you make 464 00:26:18,110 --> 00:26:20,550 Jesus your Lord, you will never be put to shame. 465 00:26:21,270 --> 00:26:23,760 That means that on the day of Judgment, you and I will be 466 00:26:23,760 --> 00:26:27,200 wearing the gift of the robe of Christ's righteousness and not 467 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:29,680 be ashamed of who we are or what we've done. 468 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:31,640 We will be bragging about what God did. 469 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,880 In other words, you have two choices on Judgment Day. 470 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:37,960 You can show up with a righteousness of your own, or 471 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,840 you can show up in the righteousness of Christ. 472 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,960 Look what it says in Isaiah chapter 61. 473 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,660 I delight greatly in the Lord. My soul rejoices in my God, for 474 00:26:47,660 --> 00:26:52,300 he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a 475 00:26:52,300 --> 00:26:56,500 robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like 476 00:26:56,500 --> 00:27:00,860 a priest, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 477 00:27:01,060 --> 00:27:03,540 Look what it says in 2nd Corinthians 521. 478 00:27:03,900 --> 00:27:09,660 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we 479 00:27:09,660 --> 00:27:13,020 might become the righteousness of God. 480 00:27:13,020 --> 00:27:16,930 Look what it says in Isaiah 64. All of us have become like one 481 00:27:16,930 --> 00:27:21,930 who is unclean, and all of our righteous acts are like filthy 482 00:27:22,170 --> 00:27:23,890 rags. Here's what they're saying. 483 00:27:24,730 --> 00:27:27,210 You have a choice. Here are your righteousness. 484 00:27:27,210 --> 00:27:29,570 And you know what they are? They're filthy rags. 485 00:27:30,290 --> 00:27:33,490 They're not enough. Here's what Christ offers. 486 00:27:34,090 --> 00:27:37,730 When you stand before God, do you want to be wearing your own 487 00:27:37,730 --> 00:27:41,690 righteousness, or do you want to take what Jesus has done on your 488 00:27:41,690 --> 00:27:43,050 behalf? And here's what happens. 489 00:27:43,590 --> 00:27:48,790 Jesus takes our filthy rags and put it on himself, and he takes 490 00:27:48,790 --> 00:27:51,870 all of his righteousness and he puts it on us. 491 00:27:52,270 --> 00:27:55,310 So you can stand there on Judgment Day and God can see 492 00:27:55,310 --> 00:28:00,550 your sin, your righteousness. Or on Judgment Day, He instead 493 00:28:00,550 --> 00:28:04,840 of seeing your sin, he could see his Son that you are covered in 494 00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,760 the blood, in the sacrifice of what Jesus Christ did for you 495 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,280 and in you and through you. You can show up on judgment day 496 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:14,480 wearing your righteousness or Jesus's. 497 00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:17,520 But the only one that gets you into heaven is belief that what 498 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:22,200 Jesus did on the cross has been applied to your life. 499 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:25,360 That's why Paul says my righteous acts. 500 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,120 I consider them as garbage in Philippines 3. 501 00:28:28,430 --> 00:28:32,670 That I may gain Christ and be found in him wearing his 502 00:28:32,710 --> 00:28:36,230 righteousness, not having a righteousness of my own that 503 00:28:36,230 --> 00:28:39,890 comes from the law, but that which is through faith in 504 00:28:39,890 --> 00:28:42,810 Christ, the righteousness that comes from God. 505 00:28:43,050 --> 00:28:47,410 On the basis of faith, we receive what Jesus did by faith 506 00:28:47,410 --> 00:28:51,810 in our lives, and we stand before God covering the blood of 507 00:28:51,890 --> 00:28:53,970 Jesus. That is how we get in. 508 00:28:54,250 --> 00:28:56,490 And some of you might be going, well, that's fantastic, but I 509 00:28:56,490 --> 00:28:58,730 mean, who is this for? Well, this is for everyone. 510 00:28:58,930 --> 00:29:03,170 He richly blesses all of us because all of this belongs to 511 00:29:03,450 --> 00:29:05,170 him. And some of you might be going, 512 00:29:05,170 --> 00:29:08,740 Well, we got to be careful. But how much grace we give out 513 00:29:08,740 --> 00:29:10,620 because we don't want God to run out of it. 514 00:29:10,900 --> 00:29:13,540 God has an awful lot in common with a grandma at Thanksgiving. 515 00:29:13,540 --> 00:29:15,940 No matter how many people show up, more food keeps coming out 516 00:29:15,940 --> 00:29:18,620 of the kitchen. No matter what you do, God will 517 00:29:18,620 --> 00:29:21,420 never run out of grace for people who want to turn to him, 518 00:29:21,860 --> 00:29:25,580 He is fully able to bless all the more that come to faith and 519 00:29:25,580 --> 00:29:27,900 salvation. Grace will abound. 520 00:29:28,100 --> 00:29:31,140 No need to worry about over promising, No need to keep the 521 00:29:31,140 --> 00:29:34,420 guest list short. So who is this for? 522 00:29:34,580 --> 00:29:38,060 It's to everybody who calls on the name of the Lord. 523 00:29:38,340 --> 00:29:42,100 Confessing His Lordship is what sets us apart and what puts us 524 00:29:42,100 --> 00:29:45,620 in a right relationship. Our appeal to our salvation is 525 00:29:45,620 --> 00:29:50,100 not our own righteousness, it's the righteousness of Jesus which 526 00:29:50,100 --> 00:29:57,100 leads to chapter 10, verse 14. In light of all this, how can 527 00:29:57,100 --> 00:30:01,220 they call on Jesus on the 1:00 they have not believed in? 528 00:30:01,820 --> 00:30:04,460 And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? 529 00:30:05,060 --> 00:30:07,980 And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 530 00:30:08,460 --> 00:30:12,660 And how can they preach unless they are sent as it is written? 531 00:30:13,180 --> 00:30:17,420 How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news? 532 00:30:18,020 --> 00:30:21,940 The only way anyone can accept be accepted by God is through 533 00:30:21,940 --> 00:30:25,060 the gift of God's own righteousness found and the 534 00:30:25,060 --> 00:30:29,620 basis of Jesus Christ. And the only way to receive it 535 00:30:29,620 --> 00:30:33,860 is by faith in Christ Jesus. But in order for them to 536 00:30:33,860 --> 00:30:38,870 believe, they have to have first heard or hear. 537 00:30:39,150 --> 00:30:42,310 And they cannot hear unless someone speaks. 538 00:30:43,750 --> 00:30:47,190 And unless someone goes, no one will ever tell them. 539 00:30:48,390 --> 00:30:51,950 Here is something that you and I have to wrestle with God of the 540 00:30:51,950 --> 00:30:56,070 universe, allowing you and I to be part of his salvation 541 00:30:56,270 --> 00:30:58,670 mission. What an incredible 542 00:30:58,670 --> 00:31:03,070 responsibility. And what a privilege some of you 543 00:31:03,070 --> 00:31:04,470 might be going. I don't know enough. 544 00:31:05,260 --> 00:31:08,220 You know more than you think, and I'll tell you this much. 545 00:31:08,220 --> 00:31:11,420 If you get passionate of about something, you will learn about 546 00:31:11,420 --> 00:31:13,420 something. I'm a horrible baseball player, 547 00:31:14,180 --> 00:31:16,260 but my boys want to play baseball and I want to be their 548 00:31:16,260 --> 00:31:18,180 coach. So I found the time in my 549 00:31:18,180 --> 00:31:21,500 schedule to learn how to coach baseball, because if it matters 550 00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:25,420 to you, you will Orient your life around it for some of you. 551 00:31:25,420 --> 00:31:28,140 You've been saying I don't know enough for a decade, and if 552 00:31:28,140 --> 00:31:30,340 you'd have taken as much time as you did saying you don't know 553 00:31:30,340 --> 00:31:32,340 enough to actually learn something, you'd have been just 554 00:31:32,340 --> 00:31:34,560 fine. Some of us, we don't like the 555 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,880 world that we're seeing and we don't like where the world is 556 00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:38,360 headed. But if I were to ask you, who 557 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:40,720 have you baptized recently, who are you investing in 558 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:42,640 spiritually? I'm guessing it would be a goose 559 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:44,760 egg. So we can't get frustrated at a 560 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:46,440 world that we're not investing in. 561 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,400 Recently I picked up the game of golf, and here's what I've 562 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:52,520 learned. People want me to get better 563 00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,880 because I'm God awful. I'm so bad at golf. 564 00:31:56,920 --> 00:32:00,480 Other people cuss. OK, that's it's just bad. 565 00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:03,160 I mean, it's so bad. But here's what's happening. 566 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:06,600 The more people see me trying to get better and struggling, the 567 00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:08,720 more people come around me to help me get better. 568 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,520 I got a putter and I got a wedge from Lucas. 569 00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:17,080 I got a driver from Mike, I got shoes from Ben, I got golf balls 570 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,560 from Craig, and I got a bag from Connie and I got clubs from Pat. 571 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:23,360 There's not a single thing I have other than my underwear 572 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:26,600 when I show up to golf that I purchased and it's because 573 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,880 everybody goes golfing with me and they go you. 574 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:32,730 This has got to change, but they see me wanting to get better and 575 00:32:32,730 --> 00:32:35,530 they want to come alongside of me and resource me in the 576 00:32:35,530 --> 00:32:38,770 journey and what I can tell you. You raise your hand up and say I 577 00:32:38,770 --> 00:32:41,850 want to learn more about God. Someone will meet you, resource 578 00:32:41,850 --> 00:32:43,530 you and go on the journey with you. 579 00:32:43,890 --> 00:32:46,890 Some of us pride is keeping us from raising our hand and saying 580 00:32:47,050 --> 00:32:49,370 I want to know more. I want to be a better leader in 581 00:32:49,370 --> 00:32:52,080 my home. I want to be able to be better 582 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:54,920 able to articulate the gospel. I want to know how to read my 583 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:56,720 Bible. Just raise your hand around 584 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:00,160 somebody around here and they'll come alongside of you and go on 585 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,080 the journey. And when you go on the journey 586 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:04,920 to start telling people around you, when you step into these 587 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,920 moments when you choose to be a light and a dark place, you get 588 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:10,280 beautiful feet. And the reason why he says 589 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:12,960 beautiful feet is he's hearkening him all the way back 590 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:16,200 to the book of Isaiah when a messenger came delivering this 591 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:19,320 message that the Babylonian captivity was over. 592 00:33:20,450 --> 00:33:23,330 When they had walked along the mountain ridges, they had 593 00:33:23,330 --> 00:33:27,530 traversed muddy and dusty and windy and rainy terrain, and so 594 00:33:27,530 --> 00:33:29,450 when they showed up, their feet would have been the most 595 00:33:29,450 --> 00:33:32,330 disgusting part of them. But the good news that they 596 00:33:32,330 --> 00:33:35,290 brought was so good that even their ugly feet looked 597 00:33:35,290 --> 00:33:37,570 beautiful. And when you and I carry the 598 00:33:37,570 --> 00:33:41,570 gospel message to those in need, we receive beautiful feet. 599 00:33:41,810 --> 00:33:44,730 When you and I carry the gospel message to those who don't know 600 00:33:44,730 --> 00:33:48,610 about God's loving and redeeming work, we get some beautiful 601 00:33:48,610 --> 00:33:50,910 feet. Teachers, I have a special word 602 00:33:50,910 --> 00:33:54,230 for you. This month, my kids will join 603 00:33:54,230 --> 00:33:57,550 millions of other kids across the country and starting back to 604 00:33:57,550 --> 00:33:59,550 school. And I want to tell you before it 605 00:33:59,550 --> 00:34:00,870 all starts. Thank you. 606 00:34:01,510 --> 00:34:04,630 I know there will be long days. Angry parents, challenging 607 00:34:04,630 --> 00:34:08,270 expectations, limited resources, and heartbreaking stories. 608 00:34:08,870 --> 00:34:11,469 Thanks for reenlisting to serve on the front lines of our 609 00:34:11,469 --> 00:34:14,070 society. Thanks for shaping and guiding 610 00:34:14,070 --> 00:34:16,909 and directing the minds and imaginations of those who will 611 00:34:16,909 --> 00:34:19,350 come after us. Thank you for pushing through 612 00:34:19,350 --> 00:34:21,949 your own pain to minister to the pains of others. 613 00:34:22,270 --> 00:34:24,230 Thank you for being kind even when you're hurt. 614 00:34:24,469 --> 00:34:26,550 Thanks for being generous, even when things are tight. 615 00:34:26,949 --> 00:34:30,710 I just want you to know that this church, 11 campuses, 10,000 616 00:34:30,710 --> 00:34:32,429 square miles wide, is in your corner. 617 00:34:32,550 --> 00:34:34,310 But more than that, God is with you. 618 00:34:34,630 --> 00:34:37,790 He will be your strength, your patience, and your kindness. 619 00:34:37,989 --> 00:34:41,830 You are the pastor of your classroom, and with all of this 620 00:34:41,830 --> 00:34:45,120 in your favor, you should be the very best teacher, the one with 621 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:48,280 the waiting lines around the block to be in your class, the 622 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:50,600 ones that everyone wants to be on their team. 623 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,040 And when you go out and you love people like this and you show 624 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:57,320 them a better way when you preach Jesus in those moments, 625 00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:01,600 you have beautiful feet and nobody can take that from you. 626 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:05,000 But furthermore, this is not just for teachers, this is for 627 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,320 everyone. No matter what your profession 628 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,520 is, you can have beautiful feet when you choose to leverage your 629 00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:12,880 profession to point people to Jesus. 630 00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:14,920 If you're a farmer, I just let you know. 631 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:18,000 It doesn't matter how good your corn crop is, or how bad it is, 632 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:21,200 or how good the soybeans are, or how bad they are, or how good 633 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:25,600 the market is, or how bad it is, or how fantastic the the well, 634 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:27,080 the weather. I'm not going to talk about that 635 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:28,280 because you haven't had it this year. 636 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:31,480 It doesn't matter how good or bad of a farmer you are. 637 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,360 What matters is did you use your farming to point people to 638 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:37,520 Jesus? If you're a doctor, it doesn't 639 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:40,200 matter how good your diagnosis is, although it matters. 640 00:35:40,790 --> 00:35:43,710 The most important thing about your job is pointing people to 641 00:35:43,710 --> 00:35:45,910 Jesus. If you're a nurse or a blood 642 00:35:45,910 --> 00:35:49,230 tech, I mean, yeah, be the very best you can possibly be at 643 00:35:49,230 --> 00:35:51,110 getting the blood on the first poke. 644 00:35:51,110 --> 00:35:53,590 By the love of God, be good at the first poke. 645 00:35:54,190 --> 00:35:56,870 But what's more important, what's more important, is that 646 00:35:56,870 --> 00:35:59,550 you have beautiful feet and you tell people and you point people 647 00:35:59,870 --> 00:36:03,030 to Jesus. If you're an insurance agent, if 648 00:36:03,030 --> 00:36:05,830 you're an Uber driver, I guess around here you're a Lyft 649 00:36:05,830 --> 00:36:07,470 driver. No matter what it is that you 650 00:36:07,470 --> 00:36:11,730 do, Your primary job is that beautiful feet. 651 00:36:12,330 --> 00:36:15,290 And they carry a gospel message that people can be in the right 652 00:36:15,290 --> 00:36:18,330 relationship with God if they believe in God. 653 00:36:19,010 --> 00:36:22,410 And hear me when I say this, right now, our world needs some 654 00:36:22,410 --> 00:36:25,650 people who will carry the gospel message and have beautiful feet. 655 00:36:26,170 --> 00:36:30,450 Right now is when we need it. We need it now because right now 656 00:36:30,450 --> 00:36:33,290 there's a man struggling with a porn addiction and he doesn't 657 00:36:33,290 --> 00:36:35,410 know what to do or how to tell his wife. 658 00:36:35,610 --> 00:36:38,370 And we have good news for that. If only we had some beautiful 659 00:36:38,370 --> 00:36:40,940 feet to carry it. Right now there's a couple 660 00:36:40,940 --> 00:36:43,700 struggling with sexual intimacy and growing more and more 661 00:36:43,700 --> 00:36:46,900 resentful and distant, and we have good news for that. 662 00:36:48,020 --> 00:36:51,500 If only we had some gospel feet, some beautiful feet to carry it. 663 00:36:51,860 --> 00:36:54,260 Right now there are middleclass families navigating immense 664 00:36:54,260 --> 00:36:57,260 financial pressure and wondering if the stress will destroy not 665 00:36:57,260 --> 00:36:59,460 their dreams, but their present reality. 666 00:36:59,620 --> 00:37:01,420 And we have a gospel message for that. 667 00:37:01,500 --> 00:37:03,260 We have a beautiful message for that. 668 00:37:03,460 --> 00:37:05,380 If only. If only we had somebody with 669 00:37:05,380 --> 00:37:07,380 some beautiful feet to carry it to him. 670 00:37:07,730 --> 00:37:09,450 Right now. Their parents are getting ready 671 00:37:09,450 --> 00:37:12,610 to sign divorce papers. Right now there are spouses who 672 00:37:12,610 --> 00:37:15,210 are filing papers for divorce, and their husband or wife 673 00:37:15,410 --> 00:37:17,890 doesn't even know. Right now. 674 00:37:18,210 --> 00:37:20,970 There are wives in the midst of emotional affairs, and we have 675 00:37:20,970 --> 00:37:23,130 good news for that too. If only there were some 676 00:37:23,130 --> 00:37:25,090 beautiful feet to carry the message. 677 00:37:25,370 --> 00:37:28,450 Right now, there are addicts overcome by their addiction and 678 00:37:28,450 --> 00:37:31,150 they don't know where to turn, but we know where to turn. 679 00:37:31,350 --> 00:37:34,190 We know that you can turn to God who never gives up on you, who 680 00:37:34,190 --> 00:37:37,350 never stops, who never sleeps, who never you never have to wake 681 00:37:37,350 --> 00:37:39,230 him up. We have good news for a person 682 00:37:39,230 --> 00:37:41,910 in a situation like that. If only there was someone who 683 00:37:41,910 --> 00:37:43,790 has some beautiful feet who would take it. 684 00:37:43,990 --> 00:37:46,870 Right now there's an addict who just broke a sobriety streak, 685 00:37:47,350 --> 00:37:49,670 and the shame and the frustration is making them want 686 00:37:49,670 --> 00:37:52,750 to give up and never try again. But we serve a God that it's 687 00:37:52,750 --> 00:37:55,750 never over, that any moment he can step into the picture, then 688 00:37:55,750 --> 00:37:58,550 he can turn things around that God's not afraid of failures. 689 00:37:58,670 --> 00:38:01,470 God saves failures. We have a message for that. 690 00:38:01,470 --> 00:38:04,190 If only we had some beautiful feet to take it to him. 691 00:38:04,390 --> 00:38:07,990 Right now a man in our community is having suicidal thoughts and 692 00:38:07,990 --> 00:38:10,670 we have a gospel message that it's not over as long as God's 693 00:38:10,670 --> 00:38:12,510 in the picture. If only we had some beautiful 694 00:38:12,510 --> 00:38:16,110 feet to take it to him. Right now there are kids getting 695 00:38:16,110 --> 00:38:18,430 ready for school and they have mixed emotions. 696 00:38:18,590 --> 00:38:21,760 At least they'll be fed regularly, but being but their 697 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:24,040 poverty is a lightning rod for getting bullied. 698 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:27,840 So they're going to have full stomachs but empty hearts for 699 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:30,840 the next nine months. And we have a message for that. 700 00:38:31,350 --> 00:38:33,830 We have a message to teach the people around them, the kids 701 00:38:33,830 --> 00:38:36,550 around them, that we should treat them that the way that we 702 00:38:36,550 --> 00:38:39,110 would want to be treated, that they are worthy of dignity 703 00:38:39,110 --> 00:38:41,670 because they have the image of God inside of them. 704 00:38:41,750 --> 00:38:44,070 We have a good news for that, but we also have a good news for 705 00:38:44,070 --> 00:38:46,950 the kid, good news for the kid in poverty, that what defines 706 00:38:46,950 --> 00:38:49,830 your worth is not what is on you, but what is in you. 707 00:38:49,950 --> 00:38:51,790 We have a gospel message for them. 708 00:38:51,910 --> 00:38:55,640 If only we had beautiful feet. Right now there's a young girl 709 00:38:55,640 --> 00:38:59,080 cutting and self harming and we have good news for that, that 710 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:03,000 she was known by God and loved by God and pursued by God before 711 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:05,720 she was ever even formed. We have a gospel message. 712 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:09,320 If only we had somebody, if only we had somebody who had some 713 00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:11,640 beautiful feet. Right now there's a young girl 714 00:39:11,640 --> 00:39:14,750 empty inside and getting ready to cross boundaries sexually in 715 00:39:14,750 --> 00:39:16,670 the hope to find love and acceptance. 716 00:39:16,830 --> 00:39:20,030 But what someone needs to tell her is the gospel messages that 717 00:39:20,030 --> 00:39:22,750 she's already loved. She's already accepted. 718 00:39:22,870 --> 00:39:26,510 If only we had beautiful feet. Right now, rich people who have 719 00:39:26,510 --> 00:39:28,990 everything on the outside but are empty on the inside are 720 00:39:28,990 --> 00:39:31,990 trying to figure out if this is all that life has to offer, 721 00:39:32,350 --> 00:39:35,130 while on the outside they're trying to make sure that 722 00:39:35,130 --> 00:39:37,570 everything looks OK and keep everything fine. 723 00:39:37,650 --> 00:39:39,650 It's the fact that they've been trying to keep up their image 724 00:39:39,810 --> 00:39:41,770 that's keeping them from being honest about where they're 725 00:39:41,770 --> 00:39:43,890 really at. And we have good news for that 726 00:39:44,090 --> 00:39:47,010 right now, a friend or a coworker, it's going through a 727 00:39:47,010 --> 00:39:49,410 diagnosis and there's people around them that don't know how 728 00:39:49,410 --> 00:39:51,650 to answer their questions. Right now, there's people who 729 00:39:51,650 --> 00:39:54,170 are dealing with loss, and there's a gospel message for 730 00:39:54,170 --> 00:39:55,370 that. If only. 731 00:39:55,490 --> 00:39:57,810 If only there were some people with some beautiful feet who 732 00:39:57,810 --> 00:39:59,970 would take it to him. And our world doesn't need this 733 00:39:59,970 --> 00:40:01,810 answer. This church doesn't, or this 734 00:40:01,810 --> 00:40:03,650 world doesn't need this solution. 735 00:40:03,770 --> 00:40:05,850 Intend. Years it doesn't need it in five 736 00:40:05,850 --> 00:40:08,410 years it doesn't need it. Next year it doesn't need it. 737 00:40:08,410 --> 00:40:09,770 This year. It doesn't need it. 738 00:40:09,770 --> 00:40:11,730 Next month. It doesn't need it this month. 739 00:40:11,850 --> 00:40:15,170 It needs it right now. It needs it right now. 740 00:40:15,450 --> 00:40:19,170 It needs the good news of Jesus Christ carried by beautiful 741 00:40:19,170 --> 00:40:21,050 feet. And how could we do anything 742 00:40:21,050 --> 00:40:22,330 last? We're moving to a time of 743 00:40:22,330 --> 00:40:29,710 decision. To those of you in this room and 744 00:40:29,710 --> 00:40:32,110 to those of you watching online who have never started in a 745 00:40:32,110 --> 00:40:34,750 relationship with Jesus Christ, hear me clearly. 746 00:40:35,230 --> 00:40:38,430 Your right relationship with Jesus Christ is not going to be 747 00:40:38,430 --> 00:40:41,110 based on you. It's based on Jesus. 748 00:40:41,910 --> 00:40:44,230 And I keep using the same invitation every week. 749 00:40:44,230 --> 00:40:47,110 I feel like in the Book of Romans, but it's because Book of 750 00:40:47,110 --> 00:40:49,870 Romans keeps saying it over and over and over again. 751 00:40:50,190 --> 00:40:53,270 Your salvation is not based on you, it's based on Him. 752 00:40:53,740 --> 00:40:56,660 The only thing keeping you from being saved is you believing 753 00:40:56,660 --> 00:40:59,900 that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, making 754 00:40:59,900 --> 00:41:03,540 him your Lord and Savior, that if you believe in your heart and 755 00:41:03,540 --> 00:41:06,140 confess with your mouth. And the Bible also talks about 756 00:41:06,140 --> 00:41:09,220 being obedient in the area of baptism, that you can receive 757 00:41:09,220 --> 00:41:13,020 not just the washing away of your sins, but you will model 758 00:41:13,020 --> 00:41:16,580 the life, death and burial of Jesus Christ, but also his 759 00:41:16,580 --> 00:41:18,740 resurrection into the newness of life. 760 00:41:18,980 --> 00:41:22,100 And it is available to you right now. 761 00:41:23,010 --> 00:41:25,130 You don't have to wait. And it's just a few moments. 762 00:41:25,130 --> 00:41:27,170 If you're watching online, it probably has already happened. 763 00:41:27,410 --> 00:41:29,770 Somebody's entered into the chat that if you want someone to pray 764 00:41:29,770 --> 00:41:32,890 with you, they're willing to. And we have a team of people 765 00:41:32,890 --> 00:41:35,530 here at this church and also around the nation who will take 766 00:41:35,530 --> 00:41:37,810 you into a private prayer room and they will chat with you and 767 00:41:38,570 --> 00:41:40,050 they'll help you navigate whatever it is you're 768 00:41:40,050 --> 00:41:42,330 navigating. They'll help you get connected 769 00:41:42,330 --> 00:41:45,290 to our church or a church in your area, because we don't want 770 00:41:45,290 --> 00:41:47,170 you to live the Christian life alone. 771 00:41:48,010 --> 00:41:51,580 But to those of you who are in this room, you can choose to get 772 00:41:51,580 --> 00:41:55,460 right with Jesus today. And I'm telling you the only 773 00:41:55,460 --> 00:41:58,300 thing keeping you from making that happen is you. 774 00:41:59,900 --> 00:42:03,460 If you want it, you can have it right now. 775 00:42:04,620 --> 00:42:09,460 To the rest of you in the room, the Christians, who in your life 776 00:42:09,900 --> 00:42:17,300 needs the good news about Jesus. Who in your life needs you to 777 00:42:17,300 --> 00:42:20,710 have beautiful feet? What we're going to do right now 778 00:42:20,710 --> 00:42:25,310 is the church is we are going to bang on the door of heaven for 779 00:42:25,310 --> 00:42:27,470 that. We're going to come up here on 780 00:42:27,470 --> 00:42:29,950 the steps, we're going to get down on our knees and we are 781 00:42:29,950 --> 00:42:32,910 going to bang on heaven's door for the good news to enter their 782 00:42:32,910 --> 00:42:34,790 life. Now I want to give you some 783 00:42:34,790 --> 00:42:38,350 prayer coaching. Let's say that the person you're 784 00:42:38,350 --> 00:42:42,590 praying for is Bob. This is not what your prayer 785 00:42:42,590 --> 00:42:46,790 should be. God, you know how bad Bob is. 786 00:42:46,830 --> 00:42:49,640 Bob is bad. And I'm tired of Bob. 787 00:42:49,640 --> 00:42:51,480 And when I married Bob, I was kind of tired of him, but I 788 00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:54,400 married him anyway. And God, Bob never shows up for 789 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:55,880 church. And Bob's mean to me when I'm at 790 00:42:55,880 --> 00:42:57,560 home. And then Bob isn't always 791 00:42:57,560 --> 00:42:59,200 helpful when I need help around the house. 792 00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:01,080 And Bob sometimes got a short temper. 793 00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:04,920 And God, I just, I need you to change Bob or some of you. 794 00:43:04,920 --> 00:43:06,680 Your problem's not a Bob, It's a Becky. 795 00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:09,600 And if you're a Becky or a Bob, I just got to pick different 796 00:43:09,600 --> 00:43:11,800 names each week. So just, you know, I'm not 797 00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:14,320 pointing at you. You know, I'd be going, you 798 00:43:14,320 --> 00:43:16,640 know, God, I'm tired of working for Becky. 799 00:43:17,420 --> 00:43:18,860 Becky's mean and not considerate. 800 00:43:19,380 --> 00:43:21,060 And God, I need you to change Becky's heart. 801 00:43:21,660 --> 00:43:23,460 I need you to make Becky more like you. 802 00:43:23,460 --> 00:43:26,980 Because that's what we want to do, isn't it? 803 00:43:28,460 --> 00:43:32,940 We want to pray for other people to get their life right so we 804 00:43:32,940 --> 00:43:37,420 can stay the same. It's a lot easier to pray over 805 00:43:37,420 --> 00:43:40,540 the failures and the shortcomings of other people 806 00:43:43,380 --> 00:43:47,570 than to pray about the failures and the shortcomings and us. 807 00:43:48,370 --> 00:43:50,570 Here's a better prayer. God. 808 00:43:50,570 --> 00:43:53,890 You know who Bob is and you know what it's like when I'm around 809 00:43:53,890 --> 00:43:56,970 him. But God give me the strength to 810 00:43:56,970 --> 00:44:00,290 be kind, even when He's not. Give me the courage to be 811 00:44:00,290 --> 00:44:04,210 patient, even when He's rushed. Give me the courage to be sweet, 812 00:44:04,330 --> 00:44:07,210 even when he's harsh. God, give me the courage to 813 00:44:07,210 --> 00:44:09,770 stand for you. Be kind on your behalf. 814 00:44:09,930 --> 00:44:12,890 Be loving God. Show me the things in my life 815 00:44:13,050 --> 00:44:15,590 that are hurting, Bob. Show me the things in my life 816 00:44:15,750 --> 00:44:18,910 that are keeping Becky from seeing and receiving and hearing 817 00:44:18,910 --> 00:44:21,270 your good news. God, I know that they need a 818 00:44:21,270 --> 00:44:22,950 gospel message and I don't know enough. 819 00:44:23,190 --> 00:44:24,430 God. Convict me enough that I'll 820 00:44:24,430 --> 00:44:26,550 start making moves to know more about you. 821 00:44:26,710 --> 00:44:29,630 God, I'm claiming the promise and scripture that says you'll 822 00:44:29,630 --> 00:44:32,270 give me the words that I need in the moment that I need him when 823 00:44:32,270 --> 00:44:33,550 I decide to talk to him about him. 824 00:44:33,750 --> 00:44:35,110 God, I'm not asking you to do work. 825 00:44:35,110 --> 00:44:36,870 And Bob, I'm not asking you to work. 826 00:44:36,870 --> 00:44:39,030 And Becky, I'm asking you to do a work in me. 827 00:44:39,190 --> 00:44:42,150 Start the work in me. Do it here first before they 828 00:44:42,150 --> 00:44:43,510 need it. Before they need it. 829 00:44:43,670 --> 00:44:45,790 I need it. I need you to get my heart 830 00:44:45,790 --> 00:44:47,590 right. I need you to set me right. 831 00:44:47,710 --> 00:44:50,950 Set my heart aflame with what you want to do in this world 832 00:44:51,030 --> 00:44:53,430 before you start lighting the flame and other people. 833 00:44:53,470 --> 00:44:55,230 Start it right here. Start with me. 834 00:44:55,310 --> 00:44:57,190 Start it now. I don't know what God could do 835 00:44:57,190 --> 00:44:58,670 with the church to pray those kind of prayers. 836 00:44:58,790 --> 00:45:00,190 But I'd like to be around to find out. 837 00:45:00,230 --> 00:45:03,590 Would you stand with me? Do something right now. 838 00:45:04,230 --> 00:45:07,710 Heavenly Father, I'm begging you, do something right now. 839 00:45:09,190 --> 00:45:11,030 Got young and old in their faith. 840 00:45:11,470 --> 00:45:15,440 Lot of flame. But God, don't you light a flame 841 00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:19,520 there that you haven't started in here, Started in me. 842 00:45:23,840 --> 00:45:29,680 Got to bring about a change, a commitment in me. 843 00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:34,760 God make it all the way to the back of the room. 844 00:45:36,040 --> 00:45:38,720 People who are far from you and people who've been close to you. 845 00:45:39,320 --> 00:45:43,480 God, draw us all closer. Got started working here? 846 00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:47,200 Send us out this week with a beautiful gospel message, a 847 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:51,240 message of hope, and help us to steward it well. 848 00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:53,640 And your name, I pray. Amen.