1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,200 Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:06,000 We are so glad that you are in our lives and that you're with 3 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:10,000 us today. And our moms are amazing in 1000 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,280 different ways. I want to tell you a story about 5 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,840 my mom. So my mom was the executive 6 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,200 director for the Advocacy Network for Children, which is a 7 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,280 nonprofit that helps kids who are victims of abuse. 8 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,880 She got to do this for 18 years and got to help hundreds and 9 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:31,000 hundreds of kids. But when she was 63 years young, 10 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,280 she decided to go back to college. 11 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:37,600 She went back so she could get her masters because she wanted 12 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:44,040 to do more work to help parents. See, she didn't stop caring 13 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,160 about kids. In fact, she realized that the 14 00:00:47,160 --> 00:00:50,280 very opposite was true, that she could help more kids in the 15 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,800 future if she not only treated the outcomes of abuse, but 16 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,520 targeted the source of it. And in the same way, today as we 17 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,960 wrap up this sermon series on marriage in the family, I want 18 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:05,040 to say that I'm speaking primarily to moms and dads, to 19 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:10,400 husbands and wives, because your marriage is the foundation for 20 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:15,280 your family and your family is the foundation for your kids, 21 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,320 and your kids are the foundation for the future. 22 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,880 I want to welcome all twelve of our locations, those joining 23 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,320 online and inside. We are so glad that you're with 24 00:01:26,320 --> 00:01:28,520 us. And I'm so thankful to be a part 25 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:29,920 of this church, and I hope you are too. 26 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:32,560 That's doing everything that we can in this region to try to 27 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,320 help people find an intimate personal relationship with Jesus 28 00:01:36,320 --> 00:01:39,400 Christ. He is awesome and there is power 29 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,200 in his name. And I pray that you meet him 30 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,880 today, if you haven't already. And if you're new here, we love 31 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,120 it that you're with us. And we'd ask you to stop by the 32 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,440 new Hero booth at the conclusion of the service so that we can 33 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,960 meet you. So if you haven't been with us, 34 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,160 we are wrapping up a sermon series called Lovers and 35 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:03,200 Landmines, trying to help families in our church and in 36 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:06,280 our region to navigate the difficulties that come along 37 00:02:06,480 --> 00:02:09,360 with life in proximity with one another. 38 00:02:10,199 --> 00:02:14,800 And today, in this final sermon, I'm not going to add any 39 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,880 landmines to the list of things to avoid, to watch out for. 40 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,120 Instead, this sermon is a call to action. 41 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:24,800 Tell your neighbors. Say get ready. 42 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:32,280 Tell your other neighbor he's talking to you in this message. 43 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:38,280 It's a challenge for all of us to adopt A certain kind of 44 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:43,840 mindset, a mindset that will successfully lead us through the 45 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,720 minefield and on the other side, leave a legacy of faith for 46 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,080 generations to come. Are you ready? 47 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:56,920 So you're a soldier. You've got a land. 48 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,640 You've got a field full of land mines in front of you. 49 00:03:00,480 --> 00:03:02,600 You've been trained how to recognize these hidden 50 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:05,040 explosives. So how do you start to go 51 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,160 through the land, through the minefield? 52 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:10,920 You don't run. You know that that wouldn't be 53 00:03:10,920 --> 00:03:14,840 smart. You don't get distracted with 54 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:18,240 other things, and you don't assume that you're safe just 55 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:20,080 because nothing has exploded yet. 56 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:26,640 You're always on the ready. Every step is calculated, every 57 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:32,520 movement is intentional. But what is going to kill you in 58 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:38,520 a man, in a in a landmine field is when you get careless, when 59 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,280 you lose that sense of urgency and you get distracted with 60 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,120 other things. Your actions get reckless and 61 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:49,720 even your passion for making it through the minefield fades 62 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,120 away. And what I want to suggest to 63 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:59,400 you today is that the greatest threat to your family is not the 64 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:05,800 land mines themselves, but it's your tendency to become passive. 65 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:12,800 It's the problem of passivity. I want to paint a picture for 66 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:14,880 you, but of what passivity looks like. 67 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,240 And I'm going to do it starting with Proverbs chapter 31, one 68 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:19,399 and two. I'm going to read these two 69 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:22,680 verses to you. And at first it might sound 70 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:24,960 like, wait, what? I'm not following it, so just 71 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:29,120 follow with me, OK? It says the sayings of King 72 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:33,280 Lemuel, an inspired utterance his mother taught him. 73 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:39,320 Listen, my son. Listen, son of my womb. 74 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,600 Listen my son to the answer to my prayers. 75 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:47,200 So why did I pick these verses to start out with? 76 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:52,440 To talk about the problem of passivity in our homes, well, 77 00:04:52,840 --> 00:04:56,640 it's Mother's Day and we all know the incredible role that 78 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:00,080 moms played in our lives. And without them, we would not 79 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:05,240 be the people who we are today. But look at this verse here. 80 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,160 If you don't know the book of Proverbs where this comes from, 81 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:09,400 let me tell you a little bit about it. 82 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,160 Proverbs is a whole book of wisdom. 83 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,720 It's just wise saying after wise saying about how to live a godly 84 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:17,280 life. And it was written by King 85 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:19,360 Solomon. If you don't know about King 86 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:23,120 Solomon, he was the wisest person to live because God had 87 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:26,080 given him a supernatural gift of wisdom. 88 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,920 Not only that, he was also the greatest king to ever live. 89 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:34,560 He was this, he was the king after David, but in terms of the 90 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,080 expanse of his empire, he was the most powerful king in 91 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,120 Israel's history. So here you have the most 92 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,160 powerful king and you have the wisest king. 93 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,720 And he ends his book. He caps off his book on wisdom 94 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:55,200 saying it all comes down to what my Mama taught me and what did 95 00:05:55,320 --> 00:06:00,840 his mom teach him? Started with grabbing him by the 96 00:06:00,840 --> 00:06:05,200 shoulders and saying Son, my son whom I love, my son whom I 97 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,560 prayed for. Listen to me, listen to me, 98 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,760 listen to me. Why did she have to say? 99 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:19,560 Why is God saying to us? Listen, listen, listen, moms, 100 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,720 you could preach this part of the sermon because you know that 101 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:26,880 unless we really get your attention and you're going to 102 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:28,560 miss it. And God knows that. 103 00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:32,200 Just like Tyler mentioned last week when he talked about the 104 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:37,000 role of parents in the four to 14 years, he said dads are 105 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:42,080 especially prone to be apathetic, to be careless, to be 106 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,320 passive. And so God is saying listen, 107 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,040 listen, listen. And guys, we're the ones who are 108 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:50,800 most prone to be passive, aren't we? 109 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,920 We're the ones who say I'm good, I got this. 110 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,720 We're the ones who say I don't need to ask for directions, 111 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:06,240 honey, I know we'll get there. And guys, right now, I know that 112 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,840 you're probably sitting there thinking I'm good, my family's 113 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,120 good. I don't need help navigating 114 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,760 this minefield. Like I'm doing pretty good. 115 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,880 My marriage is pretty good, my faith is pretty good. 116 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:23,080 My kids, they're just fine. This isn't that big a deal. 117 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,920 But God is grabbing us by the shoulders and he's saying, come 118 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,320 on, listen, listen, listen. God has had you here. 119 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:33,240 You've been hearing these sermon, these sermons on how you 120 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:34,800 need to be a leader in your family. 121 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:43,320 Let's do something about it. But King Lemuel, which is 122 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:45,520 probably a nickname for King Solomon's mom. 123 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:50,760 And God knows that men sometimes we're not passive in other in 124 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:52,920 other areas. There are certain areas where in 125 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:57,240 fact we spend too much time. And so the word of God goes on, 126 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:01,840 and it says, do not spend your strength on women, your vigor on 127 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,480 those who ruin kings. It's not for kings, Lemuel. 128 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,640 It's not for kings to drink wine, nor for rulers to crave 129 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,160 beer, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and 130 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,040 deprive all the oppressed of their rights. 131 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:19,720 We're not passive sometimes in the areas where we shouldn't be. 132 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:23,720 Men, are you paying more attention than to pornography, 133 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,560 than to your wife and to your kids? 134 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:28,520 And The thing is, it will SAP your strength. 135 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:33,120 It will leave you no energy left to be devoted to your home. 136 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,960 You know, the Bible doesn't say the drinking itself is wrong, 137 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:41,400 although drunkenness is. But it's sure hard to be 138 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:45,880 intoxicated at home and still lead and manage your family 139 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:47,560 well. And it's not just these two 140 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:52,880 areas where we get distracted from leading our family through 141 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:55,600 the minefield. It's other things that pull our 142 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:57,840 attention away and we forget what we're doing. 143 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:02,320 Gaming. Are you more engaged in gaming 144 00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:05,840 than you are in guiding your family towards Christ? 145 00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:10,200 Have you made more plans for buying your next truck than you 146 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:14,360 have for building your family on the foundation of God and His 147 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,120 Word? Do you know more about your 148 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,920 hobby than you do about your wife and kids? 149 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,360 Listen, listen, listen. Some of these other temporary 150 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,080 pursuits are not bad in and of themselves, but they're a 151 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,560 secondary thing. And for some reason, we get 152 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,440 attracted to those things instead of pouring our passion 153 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:38,560 into the primary thing that God has given us and an eternally 154 00:09:38,560 --> 00:09:42,360 significant pursuit of raising up our kids, of preparing them 155 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:46,400 for the roles that he has in the family, in the future, in the 156 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:51,080 Kingdom, and in society. There's something that I want 157 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:54,200 you to understand as we think about what is passivity look 158 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,200 like? And it's this passivity isn't 159 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:01,600 about your personality. It's about initiative versus 160 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,560 inaction. You know, we're all different. 161 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:08,160 Some of us are really outspoken, some of us are really quiet, 162 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:11,680 some of us are extroverts, some of us are introverts, but all of 163 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:17,280 us are called to be the people who are leading our homes for 164 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:19,920 God. So just take some of the 165 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:23,880 planning that you already do for work and direct it towards your 166 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:25,680 family. Take what you already have 167 00:10:25,680 --> 00:10:29,320 passion about in your hobby and put it towards your home. 168 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:32,400 Take whatever interest you have in your favorite sports teams 169 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:37,720 and start to direct it towards your wife and your kids or your 170 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:42,680 husband and your kids. Another thing about what 171 00:10:42,680 --> 00:10:47,560 passivity looks like is that it's a cousin to laziness and 172 00:10:47,560 --> 00:10:50,760 procrastination. Look at what it says in the book 173 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:55,840 of Proverbs in chapter 24. It says a little sleep, a little 174 00:10:55,840 --> 00:11:00,000 slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will 175 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:05,240 come on you like a thief, and scarcity like an armed man. 176 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:10,080 Guys, how many were at Uncommon last year? 177 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:14,480 If you were there, you probably remembered the first message of 178 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:18,120 Uncommon. Matt Proctor came and he drove 179 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,040 from Missouri, and with him he brought two things. 180 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,840 He brought his lazy boy from home and he put it on one side 181 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:29,480 of the stage and he brought some combat boots and he put them on 182 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:33,840 the other side of the stage. And he said, men, the most 183 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:39,080 dangerous position in your home, the most dangerous place there 184 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:43,480 is the easy chair. So get out of the chair and put 185 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:48,960 on the boots. And guys, uncommon registration 186 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,520 for 2026 is open now. So don't be passive. 187 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,200 Sign up today. Sign up early. 188 00:11:55,200 --> 00:12:01,760 Get the early bird ray. Passivity is not a sudden bomb 189 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:07,640 that will destroy your family. It's a rot. 190 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:15,920 It's a slow, silent killer made-up of 1000 missed 191 00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:19,480 opportunities. It might not be so much what 192 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,720 you're doing, but what you're not doing. 193 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:31,200 It's the accumulation of little moments when you chose comfort, 194 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,840 you stayed in the chair, you kept the remote in your hand, 195 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:38,120 you kept scrolling. You stayed out in the shed 196 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:42,680 instead of choosing inconvenience, Clayton said It 197 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:44,760 one of the other sermons that stuck with me. 198 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:47,920 He said if you're not loving your wives and leading your 199 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:51,440 family in a way that's selfless and sacrificial and painful, 200 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:57,680 you're not doing it right. Passivity not only leads to 201 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,920 destruction in the end, but it also leaves you with a bitter 202 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:07,080 cup of regret that after your kids have left the home, you 203 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,520 realized you never discipled them. 204 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:14,520 You realize you never opened the Bible with them. 205 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,920 You never told them about what Jesus did for you and what it 206 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,920 what he means to you. You never warned them about 207 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:24,760 Satan's tricks. You never prayed with them. 208 00:13:24,760 --> 00:13:27,160 You never asked them how you could pray for them. 209 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,560 You never modeled forgiveness by apologizing to them. 210 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:34,160 You were going to, but you said, I'm going to do it next time. 211 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,440 Not this week. We're really busy this week. 212 00:13:38,440 --> 00:13:42,440 I'll get to it next week. In the fall, you said I'll do it 213 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:44,400 in the spring. In the spring you said I'll do 214 00:13:44,400 --> 00:13:47,880 it in the summer, and you never did. 215 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:52,680 Let me talk about passivity in marriages. 216 00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:56,760 Passivity in marriage can sometimes create conflict 217 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:00,760 because one spouse, not always, but some, a lot of times is that 218 00:14:00,760 --> 00:14:04,480 the man is passive and the woman is dying for the guy to lead. 219 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,600 And so then sometimes she starts to lead or she starts to nag and 220 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:09,640 he doesn't like those things and it creates conflict. 221 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:15,360 But other times passivity can be contagious and both spouses are 222 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:19,080 guilty of it and it's leading to a marriage that merely exists. 223 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:26,080 Check this out In the 1990s, family therapist and researcher 224 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:31,240 Doctor John Gottman studied thousands of marriages and found 225 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:36,760 out that couples who avoided discussing serious relationships 226 00:14:36,760 --> 00:14:39,400 problem relationship problems. They were passive in their 227 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:42,440 marriage. They didn't have better 228 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:44,480 marriages. Let me say it again. 229 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:48,440 Those who avoided discussing serious relationship problems 230 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,560 didn't have better marriages, but they had divorces that took 231 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:56,200 longer to happen. Pay attention here, guys. 232 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,880 Do not become a statistic. His research showed that 233 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:05,160 unresolved issues in marriage don't disappear overtime. 234 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:09,960 No, instead they go underground. And then they surfaced later as 235 00:15:09,960 --> 00:15:13,960 criticism, as contempt, as defensiveness, and as 236 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:18,240 stonewalling. Couples who thought that they 237 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,680 were keeping the peace by not addressing problems were 238 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:27,080 actually creating the very conditions that would lead to 239 00:15:27,080 --> 00:15:31,280 future relationship breakdown. Their passivity LED them 240 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:38,240 straight into the landmine. Gottman Studies demonstrator 241 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:40,320 demonstrated this. Check this out. 242 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:45,880 Marriages with higher conflict levels but better resolution 243 00:15:45,880 --> 00:15:51,400 skills were more stable than marriages where couples avoided 244 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:54,120 conversations all together. Conflicts. 245 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:56,240 Not bad. It can even breed closer 246 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:00,280 intimacy if you have the resolution skills to be able to 247 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:04,200 handle the conflict. And here's where Satan can trick 248 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:09,160 us because we might think that we're doing the right thing by 249 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:15,600 being patient with our spouses sin, but we're actually being 250 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:18,400 passive by not addressing what needs to be addressed. 251 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:24,600 There's that thing in your marriage or in your family that 252 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,160 you can't talk about. That's passivity. 253 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:32,880 And instead of using your energy to address that thing, you use 254 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,560 your energy instead to coach everybody else in the family how 255 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:42,080 not to set off mom or dad. Instead of trying to do that, 256 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:44,240 use your energy to address the problem. 257 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,320 It's like you're using your energy to avoid the landmine 258 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:51,360 when you could be using your energy to remove it safely all 259 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:56,680 together. Don't let passivity masquerade 260 00:16:56,680 --> 00:17:01,440 itself as godliness. It's good to address things in 261 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:02,920 your family that need to be addressed. 262 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,160 Remove the landmine. And here's the thing, you get to 263 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,200 choose. We get to choose between the 264 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:12,880 pain of difficult conversations because I realized that 265 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,599 addressing some of those things are going to be uncomfortable. 266 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,640 It's going to take maybe many conversations, late nights, 267 00:17:19,640 --> 00:17:21,040 maybe you got to go to counseling. 268 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,560 Maybe it's a season of discomfort in the relationship. 269 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:25,960 It'll be painful. I recognize it. 270 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,160 We all know that's true. But do you want the pain, pain 271 00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:32,120 of difficult conversations now, or do you want the pain of 272 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:33,800 something like divorce in the future? 273 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,720 It's going to hurt either way. So tackle the problem now 274 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:44,480 instead of a lifetime of regret and a wake of heartache later. 275 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:48,800 And I bet some of you are saying, look, I've tried and 276 00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:51,840 it's just not working. Like I'm, I'm addressing these 277 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:55,040 things, I'm bringing them up and I just feel like it's no more 278 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:56,080 use. It's not working. 279 00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,280 Don't give up, continue and if you need to try it from 280 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:02,800 different angles, if you need to, just committed to prayer, if 281 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,280 you need to bring somebody in alongside you to help you 282 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,080 navigate through it, do not give up. 283 00:18:11,760 --> 00:18:16,880 Now we see what passivity is like, but I want to tell you the 284 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:20,800 good news today. The good news is this, that if 285 00:18:20,800 --> 00:18:25,520 you're a Christian, you have everything in you to not be 286 00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:30,480 passive because passivity is contrary to the nature of God, 287 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,120 and therefore it's contrary to the nature of a Christian. 288 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:38,120 God is not a passive God. He wasn't passive when he 289 00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,720 created the world, He wasn't passive when he developed the 290 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,800 plan of salvation, when he sent a global flood, when he parted 291 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:45,720 the red seas, and the list goes on. 292 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:49,440 And Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was not passive when He came to 293 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,720 this earth on a mission to die for our sins. 294 00:18:53,080 --> 00:18:56,840 There's a great line in Luke chapter 951 and it says this 295 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:00,840 about Jesus. As the time approached for him 296 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:07,800 to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely said out for 297 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,560 Jerusalem. Jesus knew what awaited him in 298 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:14,280 Jerusalem. It was no surprise. 299 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,560 He knew he had land mines all around him. 300 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,600 He was going to be betrayed. He was going to be arrested. 301 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,240 He was going to be mocked and abused. 302 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:29,000 He was going to be beaten, He was going to be crucified, and 303 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:33,640 he was going to, on the cross, bear the wrath of his Father, 304 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,840 not because of his sins, but because of all of ours. 305 00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:43,520 And he went anyway. He did not avoid the land mines, 306 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:48,600 He was not passive to remain distant from the plan of God, 307 00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:53,240 but he went through it with every step calculated and depend 308 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,320 upon God in prayer. In the Bible describes it, it 309 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,280 says he resolutely set out. It's a more descriptive 310 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,360 metaphor. Or in the original it says he 311 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:08,600 fixed his face to go to Jerusalem and that same 312 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:15,240 determination that was in Jesus. Rest in each believer in Jesus 313 00:20:15,240 --> 00:20:18,520 Christ. You may not realize what you are 314 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,000 capable capable of, but I am here to tell you. 315 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:27,240 In Second Timothy chapter one verse 7, it says this. 316 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:33,680 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but 317 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:39,560 He has given us a spirit of power and love and 318 00:20:39,560 --> 00:20:44,280 self-discipline. If you're a Christian, you have 319 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:46,960 the Spirit of God living inside of you. 320 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,880 And that means that even though you and I might be people who 321 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:57,240 are naturally fearful and I want to avoid conflict, we might 322 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,560 naturally be timid and not want to approach a difficult 323 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,520 conversation. We might naturally be passive. 324 00:21:03,800 --> 00:21:08,480 You do not have to be ruled by your own nature if you're in 325 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,040 Christ, because you have a new self created a new in Christ 326 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,240 Jesus. It's the Holy Spirit's nature in 327 00:21:14,240 --> 00:21:16,320 you. And he can work through you and 328 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:19,080 he can give you his power and his love and his 329 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:24,360 self-discipline. You have his power to overcome 330 00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:30,640 your fear, you have His love to move you to action, and you have 331 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:36,000 his self-discipline that's greater than any motivation to 332 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,760 move you past your laziness. You may not feel like you can 333 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:44,520 experience that kind of work in your life, but God is telling 334 00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:48,520 you, and I'm here to tell you and I'm asking you to believe 335 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,920 that it's true and to you to lean in and to listen, listen, 336 00:21:52,080 --> 00:21:54,720 listen, listen to what God says is true about you. 337 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,520 I want to read another place in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 18 338 00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:01,760 through 21. It says, I pray that the eyes of 339 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:08,080 your heart may be enlightened. Everybody say enlightened in 340 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:12,600 order that you may know. Say you may know the hope to 341 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:15,240 which He's called you, the riches of His glorious 342 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:19,120 inheritance and His holy people, and say this with me, His 343 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:23,280 incomparably great power for us to believe. 344 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:29,520 That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when 345 00:22:29,520 --> 00:22:32,200 he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right 346 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:34,640 hand. In the heavenly realms far above 347 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:38,920 all rule and authority, power and dominion, every name that is 348 00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:43,160 invoked, not only in this present age, but also in the one 349 00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:48,200 to come. This is a prayer, and it was a 350 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:53,720 prayer that Paul prayed 2000 years ago, and he was praying it 351 00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:57,000 for some Christians who lived in a town called Ephesus that some 352 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,440 of our friends just got to see. And he was praying it for moms 353 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:06,160 and dads, for husbands and wives, young and old alike, 354 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:11,440 because sometimes we as Christians, we're in this 355 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:15,080 position where we don't realize who we can be and who God's 356 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,400 called us to be in every resource that he's given us 357 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,600 along the way. And so I'm asking you to take 358 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:24,040 this prayer for yourself and to believe it. 359 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,760 And I'm telling you as well, this is God's prayer for you. 360 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:34,600 He wants every person here today that in Christ you have the 361 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:42,280 power to be active in your home, you have great power to forge a 362 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:47,840 new path for your family, and you have incomparably great 363 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,840 power that's in every Christian household to create a legacy of 364 00:23:52,840 --> 00:24:01,000 faith for generations to come. And so today, I'm asking you to 365 00:24:01,360 --> 00:24:05,400 take an action step. This is a day of decision. 366 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:09,920 One of the reasons why I think that we stay passive in our 367 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:11,360 homes is because we don't know what to do. 368 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,200 It's like, OK, I might feel like hey, I should do something, but 369 00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:16,040 what do I do? I'm going to tell you 4 things 370 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:20,040 to do and right now I'm asking you to write it down. 371 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,560 Take out your phone, take a note, take out your phone, take 372 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,120 a picture of the screen, but do something. 373 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:27,800 Don't be passive. Do something. 374 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:31,840 Because if we spent the last five weeks talking about all 375 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,240 these land mines and all the things that we want to do, but 376 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:36,840 you don't take a step, then it's all for not. 377 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:41,520 So here we go. 4 things. You can pick one, you can pick 378 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:45,680 4, whatever you want to do. The first thing is build 379 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,880 yourself up spiritually. If you're trying to lead your 380 00:24:49,880 --> 00:24:53,120 family spiritually and you're not there yet, then just start 381 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:56,200 with working on yourself. And there are all kinds of ways 382 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,240 that you can do that by coming regularly to church, by reading 383 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,040 the Bible. All these things, I would 384 00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:06,200 recommend you joining ADBS at your location, a Discovery Bible 385 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:07,600 study. And the reason is because it'll 386 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,920 give you a group of people around you where you're doing it 387 00:25:10,920 --> 00:25:14,600 together and you're learning together, you're learning from 388 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:16,360 each other and you're holding each other accountable. 389 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:18,960 And I think about a guy who, after last year's Uncommon, 390 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,720 joined my DBS group and he came and he was very open about he 391 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:24,120 wasn't where he wanted to be as a man. 392 00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:25,680 He wasn't where he wanted to be as a husband. 393 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:27,760 He wasn't where he wanted to be as a dad. 394 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:32,040 And nine months, ten months later, this guy, every aspect of 395 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,520 his life, life has changed because of that support and 396 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:39,120 because of that pursuit that he had to step out and just take 397 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:45,880 one step, joining the group. Second thing, build your, build 398 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:50,160 a plan for your family. Do you have a vision for your 399 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,320 family? I mentioned Matt Proctor earlier 400 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,080 from Uncommon last year. Do you guys remember if you were 401 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:57,440 there? He has a vision for his family 402 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,960 that was built on like an acrostic of his last name, like 403 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:04,560 Proctor in each letter represented something that he 404 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:07,760 wanted his family to look like. What do you want your family? 405 00:26:07,760 --> 00:26:09,920 You could do it that way or you could just write down what you 406 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:13,160 want your family to look like in 5 to 10 years from now. 407 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:17,480 Write it down and then write down a routine. 408 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,520 If this is where you want to be in five to 10 years and you're 409 00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:23,680 here now, what's something that you can do on a day in, day out 410 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:27,200 basis that is going to move you closer and closer to that 411 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:30,360 vision? And literally again, write it 412 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:32,280 down. It's like this is where we're 413 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,440 prone to be passive. Like I'll just remember it, I'll 414 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:38,240 think about it, write it down and discuss it with your spouse. 415 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:42,040 Third thing is start a prayer journal. 416 00:26:43,320 --> 00:26:45,560 So first of all, if you need, if you don't have a journal, buy a 417 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:47,680 journal. And here's what I would 418 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,960 encourage you to do. Ask every member of your family, 419 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,800 what's one thing that I can be praying for you about and write 420 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,480 it in that journal. You can also take your vision 421 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,240 that you wrote and your routine and write it in the journal. 422 00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:06,880 And every day, grab your journal, go to a place and spend 423 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:11,440 some time praying every day. I'm telling you the 424 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,160 accumulation, just like on the passivity side, the accumulation 425 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,560 of little things will lead you into a landmine. 426 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,760 The accumulation of little action steps will lead you to 427 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:25,880 the realization of your vision. And the fourth thing is you can 428 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:30,000 lead your family in a Discovery Bible study ADBS there in your 429 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:32,960 home. So right now you can take out 430 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:36,200 your app and one of the first few messages that you'll see on 431 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:40,640 it is a summer family DBS. We thought, hey, we're coming 432 00:27:40,640 --> 00:27:42,600 out of this series. We're heading into summer. 433 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:45,840 This could be a great time to equip our families and our 434 00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:51,440 church to do something to live out what we've been talking 435 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:52,880 about. Just go there. 436 00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,520 And if you're like, hey, I don't know how to leave the DBS, you 437 00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:58,640 just click on the link you and it tells you, hey, if you know 438 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,480 how to lead a go for it. If you don't know how to lead 439 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:04,160 it, click here. We'll take care of the rest for 440 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:06,920 you. Now, 2 tips that I want to give 441 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:11,240 you as you begin an action plan. And this is super important. 442 00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:16,760 Number one, don't despise small beginnings. 443 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,760 So you know, if you've never played golf before and you go 444 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:22,800 out today, you don't expect to shoot par. 445 00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:27,040 Now probably you're like, hey, I've been golfing for 20 years 446 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:28,840 and I go out today and I don't expect to shoot par. 447 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,280 I got you. All right. 448 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,200 Take another example. You, you've not, you've not been 449 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,880 working out. You go out today and you go and 450 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:39,240 you hit the gym, you expect to be tired, you expect to be 451 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,920 gasping, you expect to be weak. And tomorrow you expect to be 452 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:47,200 super sore. The same thing is true as you 453 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:49,280 start this with your family. Look, guys, I've been in 454 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:52,760 ministry for a long time and I remember the first times that I 455 00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:56,240 tried to start leading my family in these ways and I felt like I 456 00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:58,440 was a green one. I just didn't even, I'm 457 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,640 stumbling all over myself for some reason, it's easier to 458 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,240 preach to a bunch of people than to have a little devotion with 459 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:07,720 my family. And so do not despise that. 460 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,360 Like you're going to expect that it's going to be hard at 1st, 461 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,760 that it's, you're going to stumble through, but keep going. 462 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,600 And the second thing is give lots of grace. 463 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:22,280 And Clayton said it before up here on the stage too. 464 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:26,480 He said his most contested hour of his week is his family. 465 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:28,840 DBS, right? That's the hardest part. 466 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,600 So that's why we got to give ourselves lots of grace. 467 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:33,920 Like, you're going to get upset sometimes and you're going to 468 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:36,200 screw up. Give yourself lots of grace, 469 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,800 apologize, learn from it and keep going. 470 00:29:39,120 --> 00:29:41,680 Your kids or your family, they're going to do things that 471 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:45,120 that's going to screw up. Give them lots of grace, learn 472 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:52,920 from it, and move on. If I told you right now today 473 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:58,840 that in your backyard there's a landmine, what would you do? 474 00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:06,920 If I told you today that there's a landmine in your living room, 475 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:12,520 what would you do? And what would you think about 476 00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:16,120 the person who knew that and did nothing about it? 477 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:23,240 God has called us to be the protectors of our kids and of 478 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:27,520 our homes and the providers, not only materially but spiritually. 479 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:30,160 I want to review with you real quick the four purposes of the 480 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:31,920 family. And you might want to write this 481 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,360 down or take a picture of it as well so you can add it to your 482 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:35,680 prayer journal if you're doing that. 483 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,920 God has called us to be those who are preparing our kids for 484 00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:42,840 godliness. That they would be people who 485 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,280 know Jesus, love Him, and follow Him and know his ways are the 486 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:47,600 best ways. That we would be preparing our 487 00:30:47,600 --> 00:30:50,240 families and our kids for future roles in the family. 488 00:30:50,240 --> 00:30:53,560 That they would be set up to be the kinds of husbands, fathers, 489 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:55,960 moms, and dads that they should be. 490 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,560 That they would be prepared for future roles in the Kingdom, 491 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,960 being part of a body of Christ that's serving and giving and 492 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:06,000 connected and who is making disciples, and to be prepared to 493 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:10,040 live as salt and light in this Dark World in society. 494 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:16,000 Over the past five weeks we have gotten some great advice and 495 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:20,880 tons of biblical wisdom about what to do and what not to do in 496 00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:22,680 our marriages and in our families. 497 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,680 But today is the day of decision. 498 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:31,400 I'm wondering who will get out of the chair and put on the 499 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,040 boots. I'm wondering who's going to 500 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:38,280 listen, listen, listen. I'm wondering who is going to 501 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,960 fix their face to leave a spiritual legacy in their home. 502 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:47,480 You have the incomparably great power of God in you to prevail. 503 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:52,000 Will you kick Satan out of the driver's seat and take the wheel 504 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,160 of your family? Because God is not giving us a 505 00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:58,760 spirit of fear and timidity, but of power and love and 506 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,480 self-discipline. We're moving to a time of 507 00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:10,680 decision. I want to speak a minute aside 508 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,040 from the family in the marriage context to you as an individual. 509 00:32:14,600 --> 00:32:18,080 If you are here and you do not have an intimate personal 510 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:20,840 relationship with Jesus Christ, will you hear me out for just a 511 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:26,320 minute? The Bible says don't put off 512 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:30,120 what you can do today because you don't know what tomorrow 513 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:32,880 holds. And my guess is that you're here 514 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:35,080 and you've probably heard about Jesus before. 515 00:32:35,080 --> 00:32:37,880 You've probably heard how God loved the world so much that he 516 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:41,000 sent his only Son to die for the sins of the world, for your sins 517 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,520 and my sins, and that you can never out sin the love of God 518 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:48,080 for you. He loves you so much, He wrote a 519 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:51,440 book to tell you about it. He sent his son to demonstrate 520 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:52,760 it. And we're here today. 521 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:55,880 His Spirit is in US and He is calling you. 522 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,640 He is orchestrated this day-to-day to say this is a day 523 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:02,200 of decision. Not just a day of decision for 524 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:05,760 moms and dads, for households, but a day of decision for you to 525 00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,480 stand before God and to stop running away from him. 526 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:12,360 To stop putting off and being passive spiritually and putting 527 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,040 it off and putting it off and putting it off. 528 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:16,240 And I know you're probably saying, but that's not me. 529 00:33:16,400 --> 00:33:18,280 I don't know that I can become that person. 530 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,080 It's just not who I've been and people don't know me to be that 531 00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:21,920 way. Guess what? 532 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:25,120 Me too. And guess what? 533 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,440 Every person who's ever followed Jesus Christ before has that 534 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:31,040 story. And here's the beauty of the 535 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,200 gospel is that you can't do it yourself. 536 00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:36,880 But when you relinquish yourself to Him, would you lay down your 537 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,160 life? When you put your faith in Jesus 538 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:46,720 Christ, He does it for you. He washes your sins away for 539 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:49,600 you. He gives you a new life and a 540 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:51,960 new purpose and a hope. He does it for you. 541 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:55,200 He gives you His own Spirit inside of you to replace your 542 00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:57,680 own so that He can do it for you. 543 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,440 But you have to receive the gift of salvation in the way that He 544 00:34:02,440 --> 00:34:06,960 calls us to receive that gift. He says repent and be baptized 545 00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,400 for the forgiveness of your sins, and you'll receive the 546 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:15,280 gift of the Holy Spirit. Put your faith in me and your 547 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:18,520 life will be built on a rock that will never be shaken. 548 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:21,920 In just a minute, people are going to come to the steps and 549 00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:25,639 pray as we sing the next song. And I want to encourage you, if 550 00:34:25,639 --> 00:34:29,000 that's you and if you're ready to stop being passive 551 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:32,639 spiritually, but to receive God and to step into what he has for 552 00:34:32,639 --> 00:34:33,800 you. There's somebody who's going to 553 00:34:33,800 --> 00:34:35,760 be right over there underneath the screen by the baptistry. 554 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:38,080 And you can go talk to them and tell them, hey, I'm looking 555 00:34:38,080 --> 00:34:40,480 forward to what this looks like for me. 556 00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:41,639 And they'll guide you through it. 557 00:34:41,639 --> 00:34:44,480 And we will celebrate with you, and we'll be in your corner, and 558 00:34:44,480 --> 00:34:48,480 we'll be armed from in arm with you as you journey that through. 559 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:55,120 And for those of us who are Christians, what do you need to 560 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:59,840 do that you have not been doing? What are areas where you've been 561 00:34:59,840 --> 00:35:04,480 passive, lazy, procrastinating? Maybe it's just in your own 562 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:06,320 personal life, maybe not just your home. 563 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:08,360 That too. But maybe in other ways, God's 564 00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:10,560 been calling you to do things. He's been pulling on you for 565 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:13,440 this or for that, and you keep just ignoring, ignoring, 566 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:15,280 ignoring. Today's a day of decision. 567 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:17,880 Today is a day where you can come and say, God, give me the 568 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:21,240 strength and the power and the love and the self-discipline to 569 00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:24,080 stop putting you off and to start doing what you're calling 570 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:25,840 me to do. Or maybe there are things you're 571 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:27,520 doing that you need to stop doing. 572 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,920 God will give you the strength. As you come this morning, repent 573 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:33,960 and say, God, I believe that you can do it for me. 574 00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:36,800 My eyes are open to know the power that you have to work in 575 00:35:36,800 --> 00:35:38,480 me. So God, I'm just trusting you 576 00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:45,440 that you're going to do it. And mom's, it's Mother's Day. 577 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:47,760 I know that this can be a hard day for you. 578 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,560 Maybe you wanted to have kids and you didn't. 579 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:56,280 Maybe you lost a child or maybe you'll you lost a mom and that 580 00:35:56,360 --> 00:36:00,280 could be the same for all of us. Maybe mom's not here today. 581 00:36:00,880 --> 00:36:04,600 So this is a time to step into that tender moment as well, that 582 00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:06,520 broken moment as well, and give that to God. 583 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:09,840 Bring it to him this morning. Maybe you want to circle around 584 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:13,200 your mom or your wife and pray for her this morning and thank 585 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:16,240 her and bless her and ask for God to bless your family. 586 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:24,160 Why don't we stand as we pray? Father God, I am praying that 587 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,840 what it says in the Bible, where it says the Kingdom of God is 588 00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:33,520 not a matter of talk, but of power. 589 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:38,040 And God, that's what I'm asking you would unleash among us is a 590 00:36:38,040 --> 00:36:43,840 real work of your Kingdom, not where we just talk the talk, but 591 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:48,320 where we walk in, where we live it out in our day-to-day lives, 592 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,160 God. And we're all in different spots 593 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:51,960 and we all have different steps to take. 594 00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:56,360 But I pray, God, that nobody here would remain where they 595 00:36:56,360 --> 00:37:00,560 are, but that everybody would have some sort of work in their 596 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:04,080 lives that you would do by your grace and power. 597 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:06,040 And in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray. 598 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:06,800 Amen.