1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:04,480 Oh, crossing family. It is so good to be with you. 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:06,880 I want to welcome all of you joining at one of our physical 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,600 locations and those of you watching online and those of you 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,080 who are part of a crossing inside, I get the opportunity 5 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:14,960 next weekend to go to the Vandalia prison. 6 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:18,120 So you guys be praying for that in the morning on Saturday to 7 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:20,600 preach an Easter message to the Vandalia crew. 8 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:22,280 I have no clue. I'm going in jail. 9 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:24,800 Might not come back out, guys, so pay attention. 10 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:26,080 This could be the last one. OK? 11 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:30,040 I've got priors. And not only that, it was great 12 00:00:30,040 --> 00:00:32,400 to get some emails this week from some people who've been 13 00:00:32,400 --> 00:00:34,480 watching online. This guy sent some message in 14 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:38,000 and he just says, I was at a friend's house and he invited me 15 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:40,160 to watch Church Online and I hadn't been to church in a 16 00:00:40,160 --> 00:00:42,800 really long time. And he just sent out a message 17 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:44,480 saying thank you. So to those of you who are part 18 00:00:44,480 --> 00:00:48,200 of our online family, we love you and we're so thankful we get 19 00:00:48,200 --> 00:00:49,680 the opportunity to minister to you. 20 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,360 But I got to tell you, if you really want to grow in your 21 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,400 faith, making sure that you can find a group of believers that 22 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,160 you can meet with on a regular basis is going to help your 23 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,920 faith in a tremendous way. God never intended for you to do 24 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,360 the Christian life in the absence of community. 25 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:06,560 So whether that community is getting together with a bunch of 26 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,240 people or finding another church, we would love to help 27 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:10,560 you. But while you're hanging out 28 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:12,280 with us, we're super glad to have you. 29 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:15,360 I also want to welcome those of you joining for the first time 30 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:17,560 or the first time in a long time. 31 00:01:17,920 --> 00:01:20,640 And if you're here and you've never been a part of our church, 32 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,520 I want to encourage you take advantage of the QR code on the 33 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:25,640 seat in front of you. It's a great way for you to get 34 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:27,440 connected. And if you call this church 35 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,880 home, we update that thing all the time where there's new 36 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,520 opportunities and new ways for you to get connected or 37 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,360 involved. And one of them is camp. 38 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,480 Registration is open. And I want to tell you one of 39 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:45,080 the best things you can do as a parent is prioritize and invest 40 00:01:45,080 --> 00:01:46,960 in the spiritual development of your children. 41 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,600 I know that there's you got a busy season, busy calendars. 42 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:52,120 We get it. Jennifer and I have it too. 43 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:55,600 And you wanted kids to do volleyball camp and baseball 44 00:01:55,600 --> 00:01:57,320 camp and all that stuff. That's great. 45 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:01,600 I just want you to know there's like a 0% chance that your kids 46 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:06,440 going to GoPro and whatever it is you're spending money on that 47 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:09,240 I don't how many of you know, like know, like in your family 48 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:11,880 you have a professional baseball player Thursday night? 49 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,440 I said how many of you guys know a professional dancer? 50 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:16,680 And I was like, that was, I should have come up with a 51 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:18,960 better illustration because I was like, I don't necessarily 52 00:02:18,960 --> 00:02:21,760 want that to be the visual that you guys are coming up to slide 53 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:23,600 two of my sermon. And. 54 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:28,840 But there's 100% chance that your son or daughter is going to 55 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:31,040 need to have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus 56 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,920 Christ. There's 100% chance that their 57 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:37,320 future spouse is going to need somebody who is grounded in the 58 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:39,880 word of God. And so I want you to encourage 59 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:43,080 you to do exactly what Jennifer and I do, which is we prioritize 60 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,760 and we invest in the spiritual development of our children. 61 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,720 And we believe that time away dedicated towards spiritual 62 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,600 development is the fastest way to make that happen. 63 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,000 And so every single year, Jennifer and I make a strategic 64 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:58,080 investment in our kids and then we also make a strategic 65 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:00,440 investment to make sure that other kids can go. 66 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:02,800 And if you want to join Jennifer and I on either one of those, 67 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,720 you can do that on the QR code. Now when we started this 50 for 68 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,160 50 journey and for those of you who are new to our church since 69 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:11,600 we started, we're just glad you're here. 70 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,280 But some of us have been kind of doing something for 50 days. 71 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,840 We've been spending 50 minutes a day for 50 days trying to GoPro 72 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,160 in our faith. And when we talk about going 73 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:22,360 pro, this is what we're talking about. 74 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,320 Amateurs make decisions based on their emotions. 75 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:28,400 Pros make decisions based on their commitments. 76 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:31,640 So sometimes you're like, I don't feel like praying that's 77 00:03:31,640 --> 00:03:33,400 been an amateur. Sometimes you're going to be 78 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,600 like, man, I don't feel like working out. 79 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:38,360 That's been an amateur. Sometimes you're like, I don't 80 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,120 feel like reading my Bible. Well, if we made all of our 81 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:46,560 decisions based on our feelings, we would be complete messes. 82 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,120 But if we go, you know what, I'm going to make some commitments 83 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:50,920 that this is the kind of person that I want to be. 84 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:53,400 This is the kind of follower of Jesus that I want to be. 85 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:56,640 And it has been crazy to hear some of the cool wind stories 86 00:03:56,640 --> 00:04:00,440 from our different locations. A lady in Macomb did her first 87 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:04,280 24 hour fast and she said she had one of her best encounters 88 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,720 with God that she's ever had. A person in Monmouth said he had 89 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,640 never read the Bible more than two days in a row and he hasn't 90 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,440 missed since we started the journey. 91 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,720 There was a person in Jacksonville who took the sermon 92 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:19,399 on physical fitness and loving God with our with our strength 93 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:21,680 seriously. And every single day they're 94 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,400 posting an encouragement and for accountability, the physical 95 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:26,720 fitness journey that they're going on. 96 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,480 But one of my favorite stories happened right in front of us 97 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:31,320 last weekend when we were celebrating our fifty year 98 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,200 anniversary on and we were talking about prayer. 99 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,240 A guy came up to the steps after first service and he started to 100 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:42,040 pray that his nephew's heart would be softened and that he'd 101 00:04:42,040 --> 00:04:44,120 begin our relationship with Jesus Christ. 102 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,080 And so he's just at the steps praying like lots of you guys 103 00:04:47,080 --> 00:04:49,480 are up with the steps praying he gets done. 104 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:51,440 He goes back and his nephew would come with him to church 105 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,320 that day. And so he sits down next to his 106 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,640 wife and then it's the nephew's on the other side of the wife. 107 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,000 And after the service is over, this kids just got tears running 108 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,760 down his face and they're like they start talking. 109 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:04,560 What's going on? I need this. 110 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:06,320 I need a relationship with Jesus Christ. 111 00:05:06,320 --> 00:05:09,440 And so after first service, before second service ended or 112 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,240 started, this kid said I want to start an intimate, personal 113 00:05:12,240 --> 00:05:14,800 relationship with Jesus Christ. We walked him up to the 114 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:16,720 baptistry. We made it happen. 115 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:18,600 God still answers prayers. Don't you think? 116 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:25,320 For a second he's not. So today we begin the last two 117 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:27,520 weeks of this sermon series, and I think they're the most 118 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,520 important of two weeks of this entire series. 119 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:33,520 And today is going to kind of function as part one and next 120 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:36,520 week will function as Part 2. And so if at the end of this, 121 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:38,680 when you're like, I feel like there was more that should be 122 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:40,480 said, you should come back next week. 123 00:05:40,880 --> 00:05:43,720 And I want to tell you this, next week I will be sharing the 124 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:48,400 stage with a dear friend who has an incredibly powerful story 125 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,520 that will benefit and minister to every single one of you. 126 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:54,360 Every single person needs to hear the story. 127 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:56,280 We're going to be getting together this week and working 128 00:05:56,280 --> 00:05:58,920 on it, but you will be blessed. And so I want to encourage you 129 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,320 to be back here next weekend. And then right after that, it's 130 00:06:02,320 --> 00:06:04,640 Easter at The Crossing. It's not just Easter at The 131 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:07,240 Crossing, it'll be Easter everywhere, but we will be 132 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:09,360 celebrating Easter here at The Crossing. 133 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:12,000 And if you haven't picked which service you're going to, you can 134 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:15,480 go to thecrossing.net/easter cause a lot of our locations are 135 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,120 going to have a lot of different service times and I want to make 136 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,800 sure that you get the right one. And if you are a person who 137 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,600 loves Jesus, we're asking you to do 4 things. 138 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:29,720 Bring someone park far away, serve somewhere and pray. 139 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,760 And some of you, there's a special ministry that we're 140 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,960 going to invite you to because there's going to be some people 141 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:38,280 who aren't going to park far away. 142 00:06:38,800 --> 00:06:40,960 And So what we want to do is we want to recruit. 143 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,440 Have you ever seen, like, that judgy face that grandmas get? 144 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:47,320 You know what I'm talking about? Like they see what you didn't. 145 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:53,400 We'd like to recruit some of you to serve in a ministry that 146 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:54,960 shames people who park too close. 147 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:59,280 So we're just going to position people with white hair. 148 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,040 It different strategically throughout our parking lot and 149 00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,920 you're just going to be out there, OK. 150 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:09,640 So there's a ministry opportunity for everybody here 151 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:10,960 at the crossing. OK. 152 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,480 And and if you're thinking I wasn't talking to you, your 153 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:16,680 family will tell you, OK, they've seen the look. 154 00:07:16,920 --> 00:07:18,280 They've seen the look on your face. 155 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,960 But today we are going to talk about the last words of Jesus 156 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,640 while he was here on earth. And I know that for most of you 157 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:28,280 we don't need to talk too much about the significance of last 158 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:29,680 words. Because you get it. 159 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,360 If you were to find out that today was your last day, what 160 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,960 would be your last words? What would you say to your 161 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:39,240 spouse? What would you say to your 162 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:41,040 friends? What would you say to your kids? 163 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,240 Now push past the I love you. Like what coaching would you 164 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:47,640 give them? What advice? 165 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,720 What would be the last nugget of wisdom that you'd want to 166 00:07:51,720 --> 00:07:56,280 deposit? What would be the thing that you 167 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,000 would say to them, that would guide them and that would direct 168 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:01,920 them? Many years ago on this very 169 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,760 stage, I was ordained in the ministry, and the man who spoke 170 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,000 at my ordination was a man by the name of Roy Weiss. 171 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,480 Roy had mentored my father and was respected all across the 172 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:17,720 country as a man of God. And he had a deep voice that my 173 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:19,960 father would emulate whenever I was in trouble. 174 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,280 So my dad would talk like a normal human being until I did 175 00:08:24,280 --> 00:08:26,680 something bad, and then he would go into his Roy voice. 176 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:31,000 No. Clayton, can you explain to me 177 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,159 why you would do this and bring shame on the whole family tree? 178 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,280 OK. I was like, Dad, that's Roy, OK? 179 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:43,520 And when Roy would speak, he'd have his hands in like a blade, 180 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,800 and he would get up on his tip toes and he would just stand in 181 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,400 the center and he would just preach a deep message. 182 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:53,600 And his sermons were transformative. 183 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,160 But what was more transformative was the way that he lived his 184 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:02,120 life. In fact, he had a success in 185 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,200 ministry and in life that few people I've ever heard of have 186 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,800 experienced. You see, he started a campus 187 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,840 ministry at the University of Missouri and in Columbia. 188 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,560 And the primary goal of his ministry was to teach. 189 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:17,640 You guys have heard this to teach people that God is real, 190 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:19,760 Jesus is alive, and the Bible is true. 191 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:21,880 You've heard me talk about that before at our church. 192 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:26,760 I got that from Roy. Over 38 years, thousands of kids 193 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,880 left his college ministry to go on become leaders in churches 194 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,640 all across the country. His sermons and hundreds of 195 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:34,480 churches were incredibly powerful, and the thing that 196 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,360 impressed people the most was how he had entire books of the 197 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:40,960 Bible committed to memory. His family served together 198 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,520 weekly, visiting prisons, nursing homes and they took on a 199 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,880 regular occasion they would take in Vietnamese refugees to live 200 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,760 in their house. Once 2 Jehovah's Witnesses 201 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,440 called him because they wanted to talk to him. 202 00:09:57,280 --> 00:09:59,560 And he said, I'm a Jehovah's Witness too. 203 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,840 My God is Jehovah and I love to witness for him. 204 00:10:03,560 --> 00:10:06,560 And two hours later he took him out and they accepted Jesus 205 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:09,160 Christ and got baptized. He's that kind of guy, all 206 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,880 right. And in Roy's lifetime, in 207 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,880 one-on-one conversations, he baptized over 10,000 people. 208 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:23,520 I've never heard of anybody like him, and my ordination was his 209 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:28,720 last public speaking engagement. Soon thereafter, he was 210 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:33,480 diagnosed with cancer, and because of a huge mistake that 211 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:36,440 the doctors made, it went from being something that was going 212 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,400 to be treatable to something that was going to be terminal. 213 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:45,680 Instead of suing the doctors and nurses, he asked for an 214 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:48,560 opportunity to meet with them so he could share the gospel with 215 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:50,720 them. He's this kind of guy. 216 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,560 As Roy's time on earth was coming to a close, he invited 217 00:10:55,560 --> 00:10:58,320 all of his kids, all of their spouses, and all of his 218 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:03,320 grandkids into the room. And Roy talked to them about his 219 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:07,280 love for them and his love for the Lord and the joy and the 220 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,240 privilege of being a Christian and following after Jesus. 221 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:16,560 And then he said, my time on earth is drawing to a close and 222 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:19,960 I am finally going to be reunited with my Lord and Savior 223 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:24,640 Jesus in heaven. But before I go, I need to know. 224 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:30,520 And then he went one by one and asked this question of every 225 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,040 kid, of every spouse, of every grandkid. 226 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:39,680 Will you meet me there? And waited for their response. 227 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,800 The last words of this family talking to Roy Weiss was him 228 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:47,520 asking the question, will you meet me there? 229 00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:52,080 This series has been built around 2 critical sets of 230 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:54,240 verses. The first one's mark Chapter 12. 231 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,040 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, 232 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:00,200 with all your mind and with all your strength. 233 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:03,120 The 2nd is this. Love your neighbor as yourself. 234 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:05,280 There is no commandment greater than these. 235 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:10,440 And if we're really going to love God with our all, that 236 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:15,000 means that we should take His last words seriously. 237 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:19,120 And what were His last words? They're the second set of verses 238 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,160 that have guided us this entire series, Matthew, chapter 28. 239 00:12:22,480 --> 00:12:25,760 Then Jesus came to them and said all authority in heaven and on 240 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:29,520 earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples 241 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,800 of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of 242 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:36,320 the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey 243 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,800 everything I have commanded you, and surely I'm with you always 244 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:45,040 to the very end of the age. If we are going to call 245 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:49,160 ourselves Christians, we must be in the business of making 246 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,440 disciples, in making people followers of Jesus. 247 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:57,200 Some of you might be asking, well, how do you make a 248 00:12:57,200 --> 00:13:00,000 disciple? How do you make a follower of 249 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,240 Jesus? Guess what? 250 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:07,400 Jesus gives us the answer. We make disciples by going by 251 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,400 baptizing and by teaching people to obey. 252 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,920 That means that as Christians, there should be evidence in our 253 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:17,920 lives through our going as we go into our homes, as we go into 254 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:21,360 our neighborhoods, as we go on our travel teams, as we show up 255 00:13:21,360 --> 00:13:24,920 in business meetings with the intentionality of pointing 256 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:28,600 people to Jesus every single day, you and I have an 257 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:32,320 opportunity to appoint someone to Jesus to introduce them to 258 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,680 Jesus over time. The result of that kind of 259 00:13:35,680 --> 00:13:38,960 intentionality should be them being brought to a point of 260 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,760 decision where they say, you know what, I'm going to make a 261 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:44,440 decision to follow Jesus or not. And that would be evidenced by 262 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:46,400 whether or not they're going to be obedient in the area of 263 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:48,720 baptism. But when that happens, it's not 264 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,520 over. We continue to teach them to 265 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:55,040 obey the word of God and the Spirit of God. 266 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,360 And this is where it gets kind of tricky for us as Christians, 267 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:05,840 because for years many of us have confused maturity in Christ 268 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:12,640 because we think that maturity equals knowledge. 269 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:15,480 Now let me say this up front, because I don't want an e-mail. 270 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,040 Knowledge about Jesus is not bad. 271 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,440 How many of you want to know more about the woman you 272 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:23,960 married? Dear God, we need some help 273 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,840 there, right? Like I, there's so much I don't 274 00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:29,880 know because I keep doing things wrong, evidently, right? 275 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:32,320 I don't even fold towels anymore. 276 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,280 I just start and then she takes over. 277 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,840 OK, anyhow, maturity is somebody just Amen to me. 278 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:41,840 God bless you. I I love this church. 279 00:14:42,040 --> 00:14:46,800 OK, so knowledge is not enough. You're like, you know what? 280 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:50,840 I want to know more about God. That's great, but that's not the 281 00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:54,440 end goal, and it never has been. It's not been more about how 282 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,320 much knowledge about God can you cram into your head. 283 00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,840 We go to church and we listen to the sermon so we can know more 284 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:02,800 about Jesus. We signed up for a Bible study 285 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:05,760 because we want to know more about the Bible. 286 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:09,120 We watch a sermon on YouTube about a specific topic because 287 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,400 we want to know more about this biblical topic. 288 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,280 And all of this is good. Don't hear me? 289 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,280 This is a good thing. It's a worthy goal, but it's not 290 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:21,360 the end goal. Maturity is not so much about 291 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,560 knowledge. Maturity is not measured by 292 00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:32,320 knowledge, but by obedience. I'd wonder if I were to rank you 293 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,800 on a scale of zero to 1010 being the highest. 294 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:38,400 And I would have just said if maturity is knowledge, how many 295 00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:40,480 of you would have given yourself a really high score? 296 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:43,680 And then I were to say, OK, well, what if we were to measure 297 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:49,080 maturity by obedience, actually putting into practice what you 298 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:51,320 know? Would you have still given 299 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:55,440 yourself a really high score? We are actually warned in 300 00:15:55,440 --> 00:16:02,040 scripture that knowledge without obedience is worthless and 301 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:04,160 dangerous. I'm going to read one of those 302 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:05,640 tough passages. I hope you guys are here next 303 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,360 week. Luke, Chapter 12. 304 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:13,040 The servant who knows the Master's will knowledge and does 305 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:16,960 not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be 306 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:19,120 beaten with many blows. Jesus is giving you an 307 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,080 illustration and he's going. Knowing what you're supposed to 308 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:24,240 do and not doing it will get you in trouble. 309 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:27,760 Let's keep reading, but the one who does not know and does 310 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,440 things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. 311 00:16:31,760 --> 00:16:36,320 In other words, if you're knowledgeable but you don't 312 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,600 actually apply it, you're going to get in more trouble than the 313 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:43,520 person who doesn't know and messes up from everyone who has 314 00:16:43,520 --> 00:16:47,120 been given much. Much will be demanded, and from 315 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,080 the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be 316 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:56,680 asked global Christianity. We are some of the most elite 317 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,760 consumers of knowledge. We have access in ways that 318 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:08,520 other countries would envy. We know so much, but we struggle 319 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:12,119 to obey. And we know this to be true. 320 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:14,960 How many of us know how to eat right? 321 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,440 Don't raise your hand. I'll just do this for me, but 322 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,400 fail to do it. How many of us know that being 323 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,400 bitter hurts us more than it hurts the person that we're 324 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:28,000 bitter at, but we stay bitter anyway? 325 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:32,880 How many of us know that selfishness is a relationship 326 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:40,880 destroyer and leads to loneliness, but we act selfishly 327 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:45,760 anyway? You can know something and not 328 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,520 obey it. It happens all the time. 329 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:56,360 So instead of maturity, we should focus on faithfulness. 330 00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:01,360 Our goal should not be hey, I'm going to become mature and just 331 00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,160 know a whole lot. What we should focus on is am I 332 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:08,920 being faithful to what I know? And a disciple, a follower of 333 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,240 Jesus, if you want to call yourself a Christian, should 334 00:18:11,240 --> 00:18:14,280 have evidence in at least three areas. 335 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:16,600 I'm not saying these are the only three, but these are like 336 00:18:16,600 --> 00:18:18,640 the big three. So the first one, this is good 337 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:21,520 news for us because you guys probably already have an A+ 338 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:25,480 knowledge. We should know God's word. 339 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:28,200 We should read God's word. We should gain an understanding 340 00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:31,520 of who God is, who Jesus is, and what they have done on our 341 00:18:31,520 --> 00:18:34,960 behalf to bring about our salvation and the desires that 342 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:37,600 they have for us to walk out in our everyday life. 343 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:42,400 But knowledge is not enough. We also need to apply it to be 344 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:46,720 obedient to the scriptures. This is the story of the wise 345 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:48,520 and foolish builders. And listen, I know some of you 346 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:50,200 who've been coming to our church for a really long time. 347 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:52,640 You're like Clayton. Do you really talk about this 348 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:54,680 chunk of scripture, like, every two months? 349 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:58,680 Yeah, because it's that good. And there's a lot of people in 350 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:01,120 our church who have never been here before that they don't know 351 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:02,360 it yet. So I'm going to say for them. 352 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:06,400 So if you're already a master at this verse, just stand up so we 353 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:10,520 can all look at you and OK, OK, just watch this with me, 354 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:14,400 Matthew, Chapter 7. Therefore everyone who hears 355 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:17,960 these words of mine and puts them into practice, this is 356 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:22,360 obedience is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 357 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:25,920 The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat 358 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:29,360 against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its 359 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:32,840 foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these 360 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,760 words of mine and does not put them into practice is like, you 361 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,320 guys say this word. I didn't want to call you that 362 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:40,960 man who built his house on the sand. 363 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:43,920 The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat 364 00:19:43,920 --> 00:19:46,280 against that house, and it fell with a great crash. 365 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:48,640 Now let me show you something. Some of you are going to be 366 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,000 tempted to go, man, when I follow Jesus Christ, it's just 367 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,760 going to be up and to the right. It's just going to be Skittles 368 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,480 and rainbows for the rest of my days, right? 369 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:58,640 And then you started your relationship with Jesus Christ 370 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:00,120 and you're like, hey, it's raining. 371 00:20:01,520 --> 00:20:05,560 No, listen, watch. Watch both of them heard. 372 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:12,960 Both of them experienced rain. Both of them had a stream rise 373 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:16,120 on them. Both of them had winds blow that 374 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:20,480 beat against the house. Both of them went through the 375 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:25,680 same stuff. One decided to obey and at the 376 00:20:25,680 --> 00:20:27,840 end of the storm was still standing. 377 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:33,640 One chose not to obey, and at the end of the exact same storm, 378 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:36,840 their house fell with a great crash. 379 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,320 Now, there are definitely things that happen when you start an 380 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,960 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ and you 381 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:44,680 receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 382 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,600 It keeps you out of certain storms, and we are incredibly 383 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,080 thankful for it. But I need you to know this, 384 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:53,280 because we're not like a health and wealth church here. 385 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:56,760 If you follow Jesus, the Bible tells you that you could be 386 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:00,480 persecuted, that you'll experience hardship, that you 387 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,080 may lose things, you may have to take a stand that other people 388 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:07,920 don't have to take a stand for. And just so you know, God 389 00:21:07,920 --> 00:21:11,720 promises in His word that he sees it and he will reward you 390 00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,000 for it. But whether you're a Christian 391 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,440 or not, people that you care about and you love are still 392 00:21:18,440 --> 00:21:21,640 going to die. Whether you love Jesus or don't 393 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:24,080 love Jesus, you're still going to have people in business rip 394 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:25,440 you off. You're still going to have 395 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:28,080 employees steal from you. Whether you're a Christian or 396 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:31,040 you're not, your kids are still going to act up and have to be 397 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:32,560 13. Like when you become a 398 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,560 Christian. Your kids don't just go 399 00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:39,200 91011151617. We have to go through all the 400 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,360 years of demon possession just like everybody else. 401 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,640 The difference is, is we go through the storms with Christ, 402 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:51,400 and when we take what Christ has given us and we apply it to our 403 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:55,440 lives, the assurance that we have is after the storm will 404 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,600 still be standing. That is what knowledge plus 405 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:08,640 application gives us. Now you can You can spend all 406 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,880 the time and energy you want watching videos of how to play 407 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,920 poker. And you can spend all the energy 408 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:18,200 you want to in the world watching people teach on how to 409 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:20,880 pitch a fastball or a curveball or a slider. 410 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:23,760 And you can watch all the videos in the world about how to hit a 411 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:25,880 volleyball. You can watch them all, and you 412 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:27,760 can learn from the very best in the world. 413 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,920 But until you begin to put it into practice, the knowledge is 414 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:36,720 of no value. It does not serve any purpose. 415 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:42,920 So once we are applying what we are learning, the Bible commands 416 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:46,320 us to share it, to tell people about it. 417 00:22:46,680 --> 00:22:48,680 We were not just to be people who breathe in. 418 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:50,760 We're to be people that breathe out. 419 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,320 We're not just supposed to be consumers, but distributors of 420 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:58,440 all that God wants to do. And how could you and I possibly 421 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:02,160 say that we love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and 422 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:06,400 strength and not share the love of God to the very people that 423 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,480 Jesus died on the cross for? This is what a Christian life 424 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,600 should look like. Knowledge and application, 425 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,480 obedience and sharing equals faithfulness. 426 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:20,880 That when we are doing all three of those things, we're learning 427 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:23,360 about God, we're applying what we learn about God, and we're 428 00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:26,920 sharing with people around us. That would make you and I 429 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:30,680 faithful followers to Jesus. What happens if you only go one 430 00:23:30,680 --> 00:23:33,800 out of three? What happens if you go two out 431 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:34,920 of three? Let me show you what happens if 432 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:36,840 you just go two out of three. Watch. 433 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:41,000 I'm learning about God. I'm applying it to my life, but 434 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,680 I'm not sharing it. You know what that makes us 435 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:51,760 selfish means our heart is more concerned with ourselves than 436 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:53,840 the eternal destination of the people around us. 437 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:59,200 For us to know the truth, to experience the blessings of 438 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,600 living it out and not share the blessings of a life with God, 439 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,680 with the people around us, makes us incredibly selfish people. 440 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:08,960 You guys have probably seen this one more than the other one. 441 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:13,480 Knowledge sharing, but no application. 442 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,480 They make hypocrites. How many of you? 443 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,440 Carefully, How many of you know of a hypocrite? 444 00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:25,040 OK, we just not participating today like it's Saint Patty's 445 00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:27,280 Day. We did a bar crawl last night. 446 00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:29,560 We're just here. Be glad we're here. 447 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:31,240 OK. And I'm wearing green. 448 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,520 I've got green batteries because if you punch me, I'll knock you 449 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:37,640 out. OK, Now how many of you know a 450 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,880 hypocrite? OK, how many of you are married 451 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:43,200 to him? Wow, I got a couple of you. 452 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:50,120 Oh, you're going home alone. All right, now there's a real 453 00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:53,640 tension here, isn't there? Because not only do we know 454 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:55,440 hypocrites, we've been hypocrites. 455 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,480 I was having a conversation with a guy last week, and he was 456 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:01,840 talking about some of the pressure that he's been 457 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,920 receiving for coming to The Crossing from people in his 458 00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:09,120 family circle. And they belong to a different 459 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:11,840 kind of church. And what they said is The 460 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:14,560 Crossing is where people go who've had a divorce or 461 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:20,040 committed an affair. And I was kind of like, yeah, 462 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:24,200 that's us. We're also for the bad dads and 463 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:26,880 the gossipy moms. We're also for the drunks and 464 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,200 the one finger wagging drivers. We're for the porn watchers and 465 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:33,360 the unkind, uneducated keyboard warriors. 466 00:25:33,360 --> 00:25:35,840 We're for you too. We're for the coaches who cuts 467 00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:39,080 too much at practice and for the parents who get out of pocket on 468 00:25:39,080 --> 00:25:41,160 the sidelines. We're those kind of people. 469 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:44,680 We one time had a guy in Macomb get so excited about what God 470 00:25:44,680 --> 00:25:47,520 was doing his life that when we did our Easter stuff, he went 471 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:51,000 out and he put our Come to the Crossing for Easter sign on his 472 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,440 tailgate, which was awesome. Problem is, it was right next to 473 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:57,760 a Confederate flag and I had a biracial daughter and I'm kind 474 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:05,600 of the sun will rise again, the South will rise again, or kind 475 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:09,080 of in conflict with one another. And I don't. 476 00:26:09,120 --> 00:26:11,840 I didn't really have the heart to rip it off, but I was going 477 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,840 this is not the advertisement that I want. 478 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:19,560 We had a guy locally wearing a crossing shirt, do a dine and 479 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,280 dash and get caught on security camera and everybody blasted it. 480 00:26:22,280 --> 00:26:24,880 The cool thing is like three people in our church all called 481 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,320 to try and pick up the tab for the guy who dined and dashed. 482 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:30,120 And if you're thinking of a cheap way to eat, just do that 483 00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:33,280 because we feel guilty to preserve our reputation. 484 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:37,080 I'm just going to ask you to keep it under 50, OK? 485 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,120 You don't need the queso, all right? 486 00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:44,600 I don't know how many people when I was the pastor up in 487 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:49,400 Macomb got pulled over for drunk driving wearing our crossing 488 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:51,720 gear. It was like the uniform for 489 00:26:51,720 --> 00:26:55,080 drunks in Macomb. And I need you to hear me. 490 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:59,200 We are for you. If you meet somebody that you're 491 00:26:59,200 --> 00:27:00,560 going, no church would take them. 492 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,960 You had better know deep in your heart You can bring them here. 493 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:16,200 But it shouldn't stay that way. That you and I, when we leave 494 00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:21,240 this place, we represent Christ, and people are making their 495 00:27:21,240 --> 00:27:26,240 decisions about Jesus by how you and I conduct ourselves. 496 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:30,320 We should be the best employees, not the worst ones. 497 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:35,440 We should be the best bosses, not the worst ones. 498 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,120 We should be the very best drivers. 499 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:39,480 That's why we're not doing stickers. 500 00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:42,000 Because I've watched you in our own parking lots. 501 00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:48,840 I don't want that. Oh yeah, there's people cutting 502 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,040 me off. They go to the crossing like, I 503 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:52,560 don't want to get cut off on Sunday. 504 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:54,920 I'm already getting cut off all six days out of the week. 505 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,760 Hear me, the way you and I behave, the way we obey the 506 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:02,480 teachings, they're like, oh, you're seriously excited about 507 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:07,520 Jesus, but you're not applying any of what you learn about 508 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:09,960 Jesus. We should be the best at 509 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,920 forgiveness. We should be the best at 510 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,800 sacrifice. We should be the best at 511 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:19,200 selflessness. So hear me. 512 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:24,400 I got no problem for us being the church that welcomes in 513 00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:27,760 jacked up people, because if we didn't allow jacked up people, 514 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:30,360 you'd just be standing at an empty stage. 515 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:36,000 But we should love the Lord our God enough to trust him to take 516 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,280 what He's given to us and put it into our life and live it out. 517 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:43,360 And then people can see the proof and the way we live when 518 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:46,120 we share it, that we should have a different ethic. 519 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,280 You and I should have different priorities. 520 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:52,040 We should walk a different path. Drew Moore, a dear friend who 521 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:55,200 was talking to some of us here on staff, recently asked this 522 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:57,560 question. Are you a disciple worth 523 00:28:57,560 --> 00:29:02,000 reproducing? If somebody were to live the way 524 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,560 you live, would they get closer to Jesus, or would they stay the 525 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:07,040 same? Or would they fall apart? 526 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,560 Would the only difference be what you do on the weekend for 527 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:15,440 75 minutes versus them? When it comes to making a 528 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:17,720 disciple, I've heard many, many times, and I've felt this many, 529 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,120 many times myself, that you just don't know enough. 530 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,200 Like how could I possibly make a disciple or a follower of Jesus? 531 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:28,400 I just don't know enough. See, we prioritize knowledge, 532 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:31,120 but what if it's not an issue of knowledge? 533 00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,720 What if it's an issue of obedience? 534 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,640 What if making a disciple is living out what we've already 535 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:41,720 known in our heads and starting to live it out in our experience 536 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:43,680 and then applying it in our lives? 537 00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:48,040 A ministry friend who I hope to have come preach here next year 538 00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:52,080 is working in India and he is pioneering A discipleship making 539 00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:54,720 movement in India with radical results. 540 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:58,040 And he talks about duckling discipleship. 541 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:00,880 And this is what he means by duckling discipleship. 542 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:05,360 OK, I did this last on Thursday, and somebody's already made me a 543 00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:08,320 shirt because I said, you know, Jesus is my duck. 544 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,080 OK, this is not you. If you're thinking, Oh my 545 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:13,120 goodness, I don't think I can leave. 546 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,600 No, you're here. This is Jesus. 547 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:21,160 OK, Jesus is the big duck. Now, does this duck know 548 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,720 everything? No, It just knows that that's 549 00:30:24,720 --> 00:30:25,960 where Jesus is. And it's going. 550 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,600 I'm going where Jesus is. Now, watch, watch, watch, watch, 551 00:30:28,600 --> 00:30:30,880 watch, watch. What does this duck know? 552 00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:34,880 This ducks us. Actually, this ducks the crop 553 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,480 Saint Patty's day. All right, that's that's mostly 554 00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:41,760 us. But let's just say you're here. 555 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:44,520 All right, How much does this guy know? 556 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:48,960 Not a whole lot. He's just being obedient to what 557 00:30:48,960 --> 00:30:51,160 he knows. Which is the duck in front of 558 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:56,520 me's one step ahead of me. That's duckling discipleship. 559 00:30:57,080 --> 00:31:01,160 If I'm just obedient to what I know, when you read the Bible 560 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:05,000 and gain knowledge, and you become obedient to that, and 561 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,640 then you share that obedience with the duck behind you and you 562 00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:12,040 go like this, they can go one step forward. 563 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:14,040 I don't happen to know everything and you might be on 564 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:18,200 Clayton. This is great because I love the 565 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,400 fact that I'm not responsible for knowing everything, I'm just 566 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:22,720 responsible for being obedient to what I already know. 567 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,840 But how could it possibly be effective? 568 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,560 Well, this is what it would create. 569 00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:34,480 It would create a group of people who were following Jesus, 570 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:37,520 who would invest in a group of people who would want to follow 571 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,280 Jesus. And you don't have to know 572 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:43,040 everything to start making a family tree or a spiritual 573 00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:48,600 family tree. So my friend in India, he has 574 00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:58,280 24,000 of these not people groups, 24,000 groups of people 575 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:01,280 who are following Jesus. Now this is going to mess some 576 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:02,680 of you up because it's messing me up. 577 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,280 Some of the people who've started, like, you know, 200 578 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:08,480 churches have never read the Old Testament. 579 00:32:08,480 --> 00:32:12,720 You want to know why they haven't got there yet. 580 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:16,400 In the last two to four years, they've been opening up their 581 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:18,120 New Testament. They've been reading it. 582 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:20,360 They've been obedient to what it says, and they've been telling 583 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:21,920 people about it. And other people are like, yeah, 584 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:23,040 I want to go with you on the journey. 585 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:26,000 And then they read the next chunk of scripture, and they're 586 00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:28,640 obedient to that, and they tell people about it and they get 587 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:30,480 some people together who want to go on the journey, and then they 588 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:32,200 read the next passage of scripture. 589 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:35,200 We're thinking, man, I don't know if I could do anything for 590 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:36,800 God until I have the whole Bible memorized. 591 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:38,920 They're going well, I'm just going to be obedient to what I'm 592 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:42,520 seeing right in front of me. But there are entire churches 593 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,920 that are being born in India of people who haven't even read the 594 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,680 entire Bible yet. They're just duckling disciples. 595 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,120 They're reading the Bible, and they're being obedient to it, 596 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:57,400 and then they're trying to share it with as many people as 597 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:01,320 possible. Going and making disciples is 598 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:05,560 not an option for us. These are our marching orders 599 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,600 from our commanding officer. This is a directive from the 600 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:12,280 Creator of the universe. This is the plea of the one who 601 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,920 died on the cross on behalf of you and me. 602 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:19,080 The one who loved us when we were unlovely, The one who made 603 00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:22,520 us worthy, redeemed us, saved us. 604 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:27,800 And because of that, how could you and I do anything less? 605 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:35,240 What worthy mission could beat that for us to expand our lives 606 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:43,080 than to know God, obey God, and share it with the people we love 607 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:47,440 the most? I believe that if we were to do 608 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:51,400 that, I think if every single person in all of our locations 609 00:33:51,400 --> 00:34:00,960 were to spend time knowing God, obeying him, and sharing him, we 610 00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,840 would experience the transformation not only in the 611 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:07,360 world that we desperately want, but the transformation in us 612 00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,920 that is long overdue. We're moving to a time a 613 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:17,000 decision. There are some of you in here 614 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:19,600 right now and some of you watching online who have never 615 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,320 started an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, 616 00:34:23,320 --> 00:34:28,360 and I need you. I need you to hear me. 617 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:34,880 One of the greatest gifts that you can give your family, One of 618 00:34:34,880 --> 00:34:37,560 the greatest gifts that you can give your friends is the 619 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:39,600 knowledge of where you will spend eternity. 620 00:34:45,120 --> 00:34:47,840 And Roy Weiss looking at his kids. 621 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,480 His final question is, will you meet me there? 622 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:55,080 And how would you answer that question today if one of the 623 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:57,160 people in your life were to say so? 624 00:34:57,160 --> 00:34:58,800 What's going to happen after you die? 625 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:05,360 Will you meet me there? And this is the most spiritually 626 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:12,280 contested time at our church, because I basically say about 25 627 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:14,720 different things every single week. 628 00:35:14,720 --> 00:35:17,440 It's like 1 of 25. I'm like a used car salesman. 629 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,680 Well, I'm not new. Jesus isn't used. 630 00:35:19,680 --> 00:35:22,560 He's new. Well, he makes you new and nor 631 00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:25,360 the illustration. I say about 25 things, OK. 632 00:35:26,240 --> 00:35:30,600 And it is amazing to me how frequently I hear people say 633 00:35:30,600 --> 00:35:32,440 back to me something I never said. 634 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:39,360 Satan uses this moment to twist things up in your life, to slow 635 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:43,280 things up in your life, to get you to think that I'm saying 636 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:47,000 something that I'm not saying. And so for just a second, I want 637 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:48,360 you to hear me. If you're in here and you don't 638 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:51,160 have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I just want you to know 639 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:57,400 that I firmly believe that there is no greater way to experience 640 00:35:57,400 --> 00:36:02,160 life and purpose and fulfillment, joy and 641 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:07,240 satisfaction. There's no better way than 642 00:36:07,240 --> 00:36:10,320 inside of an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 643 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:13,880 That's just that's just what life on earth is like. 644 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:17,680 But we're not just talking about earthly things. 645 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,160 We're talking about eternal things. 646 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:23,400 And the Bible clearly states that it is destined for man to 647 00:36:23,400 --> 00:36:25,280 die once and then to face judgment. 648 00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:30,840 And when you die, you will stand in front of a righteous and holy 649 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:34,520 God. And you can stand on your own 650 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:39,160 merit, or you can stand on the merit of Christ who became sin 651 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:44,160 for us, who took our iniquities. All the things that you've done 652 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:47,280 bad, the things you know you've done bad, the things that you've 653 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,360 told other people, the things that they've read in the 654 00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:51,360 newspaper, that's just part of it. 655 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:57,600 He knows everything you've done. The dark stuff you've done, the 656 00:36:57,600 --> 00:36:59,760 stuff that nobody knows that you've done. 657 00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,800 The Bible says that everything is uncovered and laid bare 658 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:06,760 before him. There is no evil secret thought 659 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:11,640 that's been hidden from God. And that should terrify us, 660 00:37:12,720 --> 00:37:14,960 because we've fought evil things. 661 00:37:17,560 --> 00:37:20,760 If the people around us knew all the things that we thought in 662 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:23,040 our heads, they would run from us. 663 00:37:24,920 --> 00:37:29,280 And those things stand in judgment against us from a God 664 00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:34,040 who requires perfection. But look at me. 665 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:43,320 Instead of running from you, God ran to you in the person and the 666 00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:47,400 work of Jesus Christ. He went to the dark places of 667 00:37:47,400 --> 00:37:52,280 your soul that nobody dares go, including you, and said, I will 668 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:56,720 die for that, I'll save it, I'll redeem it, I'll repurpose it, 669 00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:59,640 and he opens up his hand and says, give it to me. 670 00:38:02,520 --> 00:38:05,400 And what some of you think, 'cause I hear it all the time, 671 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:10,160 is you got to get some stuff figured out first, and then you 672 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:12,480 can start that relationship with Jesus. 673 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:19,400 But if you could figure it out, God wouldn't have had to send 674 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:29,320 Jesus if you could fix you. How many of you guys let me just 675 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,520 talk to guys, Women. Just listen in, guys. 676 00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,720 How many of you have ever tried to fix something on your car or 677 00:38:34,720 --> 00:38:37,640 your house? Keep your hands up. 678 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:40,960 If it didn't go the way it was supposed to, keep your hand up. 679 00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:45,160 If it got more expensive than you originally anticipated, How 680 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:48,280 many of you have received a ban from your wife on continuing to 681 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:51,440 try and fix things? Yeah, Jennifer's over here going 682 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:59,480 preach. Our earthly methods aren't going 683 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:03,800 to work when we're dealing with spiritual and eternal realities. 684 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:09,200 So you have a choice. You can make it worse, or you 685 00:39:09,200 --> 00:39:13,720 can make it. Gods take your sin, take your 686 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:16,480 mess ups, take your insecurities, take your dark 687 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,600 thoughts, and you can make it worse. 688 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:26,720 Or you can go God, Are you sure you want all of me? 689 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:30,560 You want every part, every nook and cranny, every bad thing. 690 00:39:31,040 --> 00:39:38,160 And God's going, Yup, I want it. I wanted so much that I sent my 691 00:39:38,160 --> 00:39:43,480 son to get it. And you're trying to earn a love 692 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:47,200 from God that you can't earn. That's freely given. 693 00:39:48,200 --> 00:39:50,680 And if you're here today and you have never started an intimate 694 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:53,920 personal relationship with Jesus, my testimony. 695 00:39:53,920 --> 00:39:55,280 You'll hear this again on Easter. 696 00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:58,720 My testimony is 2 phrases. And if you're a part of this 697 00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:01,240 church and you believe what I'm saying, you can uh huh. 698 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:04,360 With me if the greatest decision you've ever made. 699 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:07,680 Is starting a relationship with Jesus Christ, can I get an AHA? 700 00:40:09,160 --> 00:40:11,760 And if your biggest regret is that you didn't do it sooner, 701 00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,240 can I get an AHA? Hear that testimony? 702 00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:18,800 It's not just mine. It's people in every row in this 703 00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:20,280 auditorium. And if you've never started, 704 00:40:20,280 --> 00:40:21,560 walk right over there by the Baptist. 705 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:24,840 As soon as the people get up to pray and find and start that 706 00:40:24,840 --> 00:40:26,400 relationship, that makes all the difference. 707 00:40:26,680 --> 00:40:29,400 To the rest of you, to the Christians, I'm asking you to do 708 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:31,760 one simple thing. I'm asking you to pray whether 709 00:40:31,760 --> 00:40:33,920 you come up here to the steps and you pray whether you get 710 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:35,800 down on one knee in the seat that you're in. 711 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:37,720 Maybe you go over to the bathroom, put your hand in the 712 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:40,200 water, maybe you step out and you put your hand up against the 713 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:42,360 wall so you can just kind of be away from people for a second. 714 00:40:42,400 --> 00:40:45,640 Go, God, I want to make a disciple. 715 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:49,320 I want people to find what I found in you. 716 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:55,240 Help me to know, help me to obey, and help me to share. 717 00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:58,640 The world that you guys are desperately wanting to see is 718 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:00,680 waiting for us to take our faith seriously. 719 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:05,800 Would you stand with me, God bring a holy repentance on this 720 00:41:05,800 --> 00:41:09,960 church and on me for every area of our life that isn't yielded 721 00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,880 to you? God help us to take seriously 722 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:15,160 the call that you're offering to us. 723 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:20,160 God help us to take seriously our faith and the implications 724 00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:23,920 of those who don't have one. God help us to be people that 725 00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:27,920 pursue you and pursue the people you came to die for. 726 00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:35,040 God, shift us, mold us, move us to become the people that you 727 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:41,320 called us and destined us to be. Because at the end of the day, 728 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:45,760 God, we're just nothing without you and God. 729 00:41:45,760 --> 00:41:48,240 I know that this time in our church is special every single 730 00:41:48,240 --> 00:41:49,560 week. And so I'm just going to ask you 731 00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:52,840 to do what only you can do in ways that only you can do it. 732 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:54,920 And hopefully, Heavenly Father, you'll start a fire in this 733 00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:57,600 church that Satan can't put out. In your name, I pray. 734 00:41:58,000 --> 00:41:58,400 Amen.