1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,000 Crossing family, how we doing today? 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,800 Are you guys doing all right? I am so excited to be with you 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:10,120 now. Several years ago on Super Bowl 4 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:14,120 weekend, we hosted Super Bowl champion Steve Weatherford from 5 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,680 the New York Giants, and traveling with him was a young 6 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:24,000 man by the name of Pierce Show. He was an ultra runner. 7 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:27,840 I didn't know what that meant, but the entire weekend that we 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,560 were here, he would go out for like these long 10 mile rides or 9 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:33,800 runs. And I started following his 10 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:40,200 journey on social media and he participated in some nasty 11 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:41,840 races. Turn to your neighbors, say 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:45,320 nasty. Let me just walk you through the 13 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:53,160 races he ran in 2023. He did the Tahoe 200 Miller, 14 00:00:54,120 --> 00:01:01,320 then he went and did the Bigfoot 200 Miller, Then he did the Moab 15 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:06,680 240. As in 240 miles through the Moab 16 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:13,760 Desert. However, in 2025, this kid set 17 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,680 his sights on the Guinness Book of World Records for consecutive 18 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,680 days running a half marathon on a treadmill. 19 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:33,960 The previous record holder had done so for 125 days, so Pierce 20 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:40,880 started running. He ran for days, weeks, then 21 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:47,000 months until on August 2nd, 2025, he shattered the old 22 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:58,040 record by 28 days, running 153 consecutive marathons. 23 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:06,400 For those of you who are not good at math, that is 2004.3 24 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,880 miles. It reminds me of the quote that 25 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,800 I am sure almost all of you are familiar with. 26 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:19,760 The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. 27 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:26,760 I titled my message How far would you be willing to go? 28 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:29,520 I want to welcome all of our different campuses that are 29 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:31,840 watching online. Those of you who are part of the 30 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:36,600 crossing inside, I am so thankful that you are here and I 31 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,520 want you to hold my sermon title intention. 32 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:46,280 How far would you be willing to go Now, Super Bowl weekend is 33 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,040 just around the corner and I want to remind you that we'll be 34 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:51,960 hosting a special guest to help you answer some of the key 35 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,280 questions that you have about defending your faith in Jesus 36 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,040 Christ or having a faith in Jesus Christ. 37 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:02,160 We titled the weekend Defend Your Turf. 38 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,200 And if you want, you can go ahead and hop in the app and go 39 00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:08,360 down to the news and events section and it will help you 40 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:12,240 invite a friend to come with you because that weekend will be a 41 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:16,400 great weekend not only for you to in your faith, but to help a 42 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:22,280 person who is close to you but far from God begin their faith 43 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,600 journey. We are in a series called There 44 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:30,920 Has to be a place, real stories of real people with real faith. 45 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,360 As Jesus was speaking to the multitudes, he said this at the 46 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,680 very end of his time here on earth. 47 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:39,720 Matthew chapter 28. He was actually saying this to 48 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:43,240 his disciples. He said, then all authority, or 49 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,240 then Jesus came to them and said, all authority in heaven 50 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:51,360 and on earth has been given to me. 51 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:58,720 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them 52 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,120 in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 53 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:09,520 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, 54 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,320 and surely I will be with you always to the very end of the 55 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,000 age. There's a couple things to 56 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:20,480 notice here. 1 Jesus comes in all authority. 57 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:26,000 There is no negotiation. If you are a Jesus follower, 58 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:31,280 He's in charge #2 this is a command. 59 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:36,080 Jesus is not asking us to do something. 60 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:40,480 He is telling us that if you are a Jesus follower, this is what 61 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,920 you were to be about. This is an expectation for 62 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:46,680 believers. When you get baptized, you don't 63 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,840 just make Jesus your Savior, you make him your Lord. 64 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,240 And how do you know that you have made Jesus the Lord of your 65 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:56,840 life? It is really easy. 66 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:01,280 Are you doing the things that He has commanded you to do? 67 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:07,800 And three, you and I are to be about making disciples. 68 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:10,760 And you might be asking, how do we make disciples? 69 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:17,720 Jesus answers it by going, by baptizing, by teaching, and by 70 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:19,880 obeying. In other words, if you've ever 71 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,960 wondered am IA Christian, you can answer it by those four 72 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,080 ways. Am I going about the things that 73 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:28,640 God has called me to do? Have I been baptized? 74 00:05:28,840 --> 00:05:30,800 Am I teaching other people the word of God? 75 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,120 And am I obeying the word of God? 76 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:37,960 And this is to be our preoccupation. 77 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,320 If somebody were to ask you, what do you do? 78 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,320 Your answer should be, I make disciples of Jesus Christ. 79 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,040 That should be your answer. What we typically do is we tell 80 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:55,120 them where we work, but that is not why you were put on earth. 81 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:58,440 It is helpful that you do that while you were here on earth, 82 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:01,240 but that is not why you are here on earth. 83 00:06:01,720 --> 00:06:06,880 In other words, it is not where you work that matters nearly as 84 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:11,240 much as what you do for God while you are at work. 85 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:14,760 Where you work is your occupation. 86 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:19,640 What you are about is your preoccupation. 87 00:06:19,840 --> 00:06:23,280 And you and I are to be preoccupied with the things of 88 00:06:23,280 --> 00:06:26,520 Christ. And you might be going, hey, 89 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,520 that sounds great, I'm just not there yet. 90 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:32,120 And I want you to hear me say this. 91 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:36,840 That's OK. It is just not OK to stay that 92 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,120 way. The Bible zooms in from time to 93 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,800 time on people and what I want to do for just a second is I 94 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:46,800 want to zoom in on just three of them. 95 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,400 The first person I want to zoom in on is Peter. 96 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,320 Peter is one of the lucky people that has chosen to spend close 97 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,880 time with Jesus over a three-year period. 98 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:03,160 He has seen almost everything that Jesus does. 99 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,920 On the very last night of Jesus's life, he's gathered in 100 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,680 an upper room. They're taking the Last Supper, 101 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:13,160 and Jesus is telling them that things are about to get bad and 102 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:14,480 you guys are going to abandon me. 103 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,920 And Peter says I will never deny you. 104 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:25,560 And then a few hours later, not once, not twice, but three 105 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:31,400 times, he denies Jesus. The Bible zooms in on another 106 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,000 person. His name is Thomas. 107 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,520 Just like Peter. He is one of the 12 who gets to 108 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,840 spend a whole lot of time with Jesus and see a whole lot of 109 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,760 things that Jesus does. But Thomas was the one who 110 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:49,160 showed up late. He wasn't at the meeting when 111 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:53,640 Jesus appeared to them after he had been crucified, buried and 112 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,560 rose from the dead. And so all the other people are 113 00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:59,520 the other ten are saying Jesus is alive. 114 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:01,920 We've seen him. And Thomas says this in John 115 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,920 chapter 20 verse 25. But he said to them, this is 116 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:09,800 Thomas speaking, unless I see the nail marks in his hands and 117 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,480 I put the my finger where the nails were and I put my hand 118 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:18,320 into his side, I will not believe. 119 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,480 Then there's Paul. When we're introduced to Paul, 120 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:27,440 though he doesn't go by Paul, he goes by a name, Saul. 121 00:08:28,280 --> 00:08:34,480 The first time he's mentioned, he is in attendance of the very 122 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:39,559 first person who was killed for their faith in Jesus. 123 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,640 The man that they were killing was named Stephen, and there 124 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:47,640 were a group of men who were throwing stones at him to kill 125 00:08:47,640 --> 00:08:49,680 him. That's how you stoned a person. 126 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:53,080 You threw rocks at them until they died. 127 00:08:53,560 --> 00:08:56,160 And while the guys were throwing rocks, they needed to get a 128 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:58,240 little bit more heat on the rock. 129 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,080 And so they took their coats off so they could get a better 130 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:03,240 throw. And guess where they put the 131 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,200 coats? They put their coats at the feet 132 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:11,440 of a man named Saul, so he was keeping watch over the jackets 133 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:15,040 while the people were stoning the very first Christian martyr. 134 00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,200 Acts chapter 8 picks up the story. 135 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:22,840 And Saul approved of their killing hymn. 136 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:27,480 And on that day a great persecution broke out against 137 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,120 the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were 138 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,640 scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 139 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:40,280 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 140 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:48,840 But Saul began to destroy the church, going from house to 141 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:53,880 house. He dragged off both men and 142 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:58,480 women and put them in prison. Why is he putting them in 143 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:00,120 prison? For their faith. 144 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:05,800 Their faith in what? In Jesus, the Bible zooms in and 145 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:10,520 we have a denier, a doubter, and a destroyer. 146 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:14,520 Some of you today you could fit into one of those 3 categories. 147 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,920 Maybe you're a denier, you're a person who you deny Jesus with 148 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:23,000 your words. Or maybe you don't deny him with 149 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:27,440 your words, but you deny him with your life on a regular 150 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:30,480 basis. You deny him in your home. 151 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,720 You deny him at work. Depending on the crowd 152 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:40,480 surrounding you, you deny Jesus. Others of you, you might be a 153 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,360 doubter. There are just some things that 154 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:47,480 make it hard for you to fully commit your life to Jesus. 155 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:52,400 And there might even be some of you today who you would be a 156 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,520 destroyer. You're actually against God. 157 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:01,520 You're against the church. You're against his people. 158 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:06,280 You've made fun of people for their beliefs, you've shamed 159 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:11,400 them, ridiculed them, picked on them every time they take a step 160 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:15,760 of faith. However, these pesky Christians 161 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:19,840 that are in your life that you keep picking at, they keep 162 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:25,640 praying for you, loving you, inviting you, and for some 163 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:32,680 reason or another, you find yourself here today for this 164 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:37,160 message. And I for 1:00 AM so glad you 165 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,360 are here. Recently I heard a story about 166 00:11:41,360 --> 00:11:45,400 one of our staff members that was just way too good to be 167 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:47,760 true. So I asked him if he would come 168 00:11:47,760 --> 00:11:51,720 and share his story with you. So would you please welcome 169 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,920 Johnny Woodfield to the stage? Come on up, Johnny. 170 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,560 You're going to be great, OK? You're going to do great. 171 00:12:01,480 --> 00:12:03,840 So for those of you who don't know, when we launched our 172 00:12:03,840 --> 00:12:07,840 Weaver location, Johnny ended up being the worship pastor at the 173 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:09,720 Weaver location. So Johnny, you should probably, 174 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:11,960 they'll hate you if you don't. You should say hi to the people 175 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:14,720 in Weaver real quick. Hi people in Weaver. 176 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:15,640 There you go. Good job. 177 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:17,760 OK. Thanks for loaning us to him for 178 00:12:17,760 --> 00:12:20,080 the weekend. Now, Johnny, tell us a little 179 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:24,280 bit about you. Yeah, so ever since I graduated 180 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:28,120 high school, I had been on a constant search for what God 181 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:32,920 wanted me to do with my life. When I graduated, I moved 1000 182 00:12:32,920 --> 00:12:36,920 miles away from the East Coast to Quincy, IL, where I wanted to 183 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:40,640 study to be a pilot. But I found that career path 184 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:45,000 required far too much debt that I was comfortable with, so I 185 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,080 enlisted to the National Guard to try to get them to pay for 186 00:12:48,080 --> 00:12:50,360 it. While in training, I became 187 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,360 obsessed with the need for biblical counseling and decided 188 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,720 that maybe that should be what I'd study. 189 00:12:56,560 --> 00:12:59,440 A few months later, I got the opportunity to join another 190 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:03,840 military group to take a flight halfway across the world where I 191 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,440 fell back into the dream of being a pilot. 192 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:12,000 And for whatever reason, on that trip I decided I wanted to do 193 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,600 social media professionally, if that's even possible. 194 00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:20,560 I I gave it a try and quickly became obsessed with how much of 195 00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:25,160 A creative outlet outlet it was. There were very few limits on 196 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,320 the things that I could create as long as somehow I could get 197 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,960 people to notice. And while I was brainstorming 198 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:36,120 for my next idea on what to post about, I stumbled upon a short 199 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:41,600 video describing a town in Nebraska with only one resident. 200 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,400 For those of you to kind of catch you all up, I want to show 201 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:46,720 you guys the cool video that he found online. 202 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:49,600 This is the smallest town in the United States. 203 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,160 Welcome to Manawai, Nebraska, a town with only one resident. 204 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,160 But why is there only one resident and who is it? 205 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,880 The town is located in the continental United States, 4 206 00:14:00,880 --> 00:14:03,920 miles from the South Dakota border and 60 miles from the 207 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,440 nearest supermarket, surrounded by dirt roads. 208 00:14:06,880 --> 00:14:10,600 The town used to be home to 150 people and had stores, 209 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:14,040 restaurants, and even a prison. But all the people moved away to 210 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:17,520 the big cities and now only Elsie is left and she is 90 211 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:20,080 years old. There are only three buildings 212 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,840 in the town, a house, a library and a Tavern. 213 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:26,200 The Tavern is open 6 days a week where you can eat a burger made 214 00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:28,720 by Elsie and drink a beer. It's easy for her to get a 215 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:32,000 liquor license, just apply as a bartender, sign it as a clerk, 216 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,960 get it as a secretary and send it back to the bartender. 217 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,480 She holds all these positions and she's also a librarian and a 218 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,280 mayor. She is alone but not lonely as 219 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:42,920 there are many customers in her place. 220 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:46,200 If you are interested in Land in the Middle of nowhere, Elsie has 221 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:52,080 a list of available. So you see this video and what 222 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:56,080 goes through your mind? So after I realized it was only 223 00:14:56,280 --> 00:15:00,120 8 short hours away from Quincy, I knew that I just had to go 224 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,320 there. I didn't really have much of A 225 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,360 game plan. I couldn't imagine there was 226 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,080 much content to capture in the world's smallest town. 227 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:10,880 But for the next few months I worked on some other projects 228 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,920 and kind of put the Mono Y project on the back burner. 229 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:19,400 Until one day I was driving around and for whatever reason, 230 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:25,440 Monoi came back to mind. Except this time I wasn't 231 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,960 interested in how to capture content, but curious if there 232 00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:34,160 was any possibility that Elsie, the town's single resident, 233 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,960 could have a church to go to. I kept thinking about it, then 234 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:42,920 wondered if she even had access to a Bible. 235 00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:48,160 This thought solidified my plan. I no longer cared about the 236 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:52,960 content, I just cared about getting her a Bible. 237 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,320 I ordered a nice large print Bible with her name just stamped 238 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,520 on the front. A few days later it came in the 239 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:05,520 mail and it was no longer if but when I would make it to Elsie. 240 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,760 The next open weekend I had I made the trip up to Monoi and 241 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:14,800 normally on these projects I'd I have a list of things I wanted 242 00:16:14,800 --> 00:16:19,080 to record, but this time I didn't have a plan at all. 243 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:23,680 When I got there it was about how you'd expect a town with one 244 00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:28,880 resident to look empty. I walked into the Tavern and 245 00:16:28,880 --> 00:16:33,120 ordered a burger and fries, and it didn't take long to start a 246 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:35,640 conversation with Elsie after guys. 247 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:39,200 After the guys at the bar had left, I asked her if she'd be 248 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:43,280 open to an interview. I set up my phone and a mic that 249 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:48,680 really hardly worked and started an interview that I had 0 250 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:52,800 qualifications to give. It didn't take long for the 251 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,840 conversation to shift to questions about what finding 252 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:59,520 community looks like in a town with one person. 253 00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:04,359 I knew that that would be my chance to ask her if she had a 254 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,960 church to go to. She shut down the line of 255 00:17:07,960 --> 00:17:10,400 questioning, saying that she believed she didn't need to go 256 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:15,920 to church and that life is just about being good to people just 257 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:20,400 like Jesus was it. It seemed to me that she thought 258 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,760 that Jesus was a good teacher, but wasn't too concerned with 259 00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:28,760 Christianity. At the end of the conversation I 260 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:32,360 told her that I had a gift for her and I pulled out the Bible I 261 00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:36,640 had ordered a week prior and I could see her eyes water as I 262 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:42,360 slid it across the table. She said thank you and asked me 263 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:48,360 to sign my name on the presented by line on the first page and I 264 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:52,800 knew something was happening in her heart but I didn't think it 265 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:58,480 was quite appropriate to ask. We got up to take this picture 266 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:06,000 together and just when I thought that that was the end of my 267 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:11,120 trip, she stopped me just before I could reach the door to tell 268 00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:15,440 me that she would find a way to make it back to church. 269 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:26,160 Yeah, I hope God raises up 1000 more people just like you. 270 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,320 You obviously learned a lot and you have some takeaways from 271 00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:31,920 that experience. Share them with us. 272 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:37,000 At first this whole trip seemed to be like something that was 273 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:42,760 just a fun, curious project, but by the end I really felt the 274 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:47,560 weight of the fact that this isn't just a fun thing to do, 275 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:53,280 but a soul who needs Jesus just as much as anyone else does. 276 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,720 A few days after the trip, I I really had internalized the fact 277 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:02,400 that the trip mattered, regardless of whether anyone 278 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,280 heard about it. Even though it was just one 279 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:12,360 person, it still matters. What I'm learning is that as 280 00:19:12,360 --> 00:19:15,560 long as you were living life completely surrendered to Jesus, 281 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:20,000 you aren't going to miss God's will or His plan for your life. 282 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:23,560 You don't have to go into missions or vocational ministry 283 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,720 to be obedient to the Great Commission. 284 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:31,880 Every person that you encounter needs Jesus just as much as 285 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:35,920 anyone else. Dude, my man, you killed it. 286 00:19:36,200 --> 00:19:38,520 Hey, you seriously did an awesome job man. 287 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:43,560 Great job. When we talk about making this 288 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:46,000 region the hardest place on planet earth to get to hell 289 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,360 from, that is exactly what I'm talking about. 290 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,440 In the book of Acts chapter one, verse 8, there's a second Great 291 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:55,560 Commission. It just never gets called that. 292 00:19:55,760 --> 00:19:57,320 But when you read it, you'll see it. 293 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,360 Acts chapter one, verse 8, this is Jesus talking again. 294 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:06,000 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, 295 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:12,840 and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and 296 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:18,520 Samaria and to the ends of the earth Jesus mentions. 297 00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:28,160 Four specific places he mentions Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and 298 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:32,200 the ends of the earth. If he were saying it to you 299 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:38,040 right now, Jerusalem would be your family, your neighborhood, 300 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,960 the people in closest proximity to you. 301 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:47,160 After you do a good job there, you would make it to Judea, your 302 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,840 country, the United States of America, or wherever you're 303 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,240 watching from. Now, when you get to Samaria, 304 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:54,080 those people would have been like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, 305 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,160 whoa. You don't mean Samaria, because 306 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:03,400 Samaria, that's your enemies. That's the people. 307 00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:07,320 You don't mind if they go to church as long as it's not 308 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:12,040 yours. You don't mind if they make it 309 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:14,320 to heaven. You just don't want them to be 310 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:17,600 close to you when they get there. 311 00:21:18,360 --> 00:21:22,520 The people that have hurt you, frustrated you picked on you, 312 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:27,320 the people who've made your life difficult, your enemies. 313 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:32,840 But one of the hallmarks of the Church of Jesus followers has 314 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,760 that they have always been known for their enemy love. 315 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:43,600 No wonder Jesus says pray for those who persecute you into the 316 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:46,000 earth. Well, that's everywhere else. 317 00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:51,320 That's everyone else. So I titled my sermon. 318 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:57,240 How far would you be willing to go, Johnny? 319 00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:02,640 He traveled from Quincy all the way to Nebraska, a distance of 320 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:10,160 523 miles, to tell one person about Jesus. 321 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:16,280 Remember Peter the denier? Well, that's not how his story 322 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:19,560 ends. Peter goes from Jerusalem all 323 00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:26,680 the way to Rome, a distance of 1500 miles. 324 00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:32,680 Thomas the doubter doesn't stay a doubter forever. 325 00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:39,160 He ends up taking the Gospel from Jerusalem all the way to 326 00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:44,800 India, a distance of over 3000 miles. 327 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,600 And through the mission partners of this very church, we are 328 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:54,560 still carrying out Thomas's desires to reach that reason for 329 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:58,680 Jesus. And remember Paul the destroyer 330 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:01,480 it his story doesn't end that way. 331 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,600 Paul starts going on trips. He goes on so many trips that 332 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,560 they bundle them into missionary tours. 333 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:14,880 His first missionary tour he travels 1235 miles. 334 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,600 This is before planes, This before power boats is before 335 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,680 locomotives. This is either by foot or by 336 00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:23,080 donkey or camel. Second missionary journey, he 337 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:27,640 goes 2700 miles. He likes it so much he does that 338 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,120 journey again. The 3rd missionary journey, 339 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:39,320 another 2700 miles to tell people about Jesus, the one he 340 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,360 used to persecute people for believing in. 341 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,560 And you would think after that he was all done. 342 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:50,960 He wasn't. He made a final trip to the 343 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:52,840 place that would eventually kill him. 344 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:59,320 He traveled from Jerusalem all the way to Rome, a distance of 345 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:04,400 2130 miles. And I am so glad he made that 346 00:24:04,400 --> 00:24:10,560 trip because before he died, he wrote the book of Romans. 347 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,800 And if you have ever read the book of Romans, chapter 3, 348 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:23,280 chapter 5, chapter 8, all the chapters really, you would 349 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,360 realize that it was the message that he spoke to them that is 350 00:24:27,360 --> 00:24:38,240 still speaking to us all. 8583 miles later. 351 00:24:39,240 --> 00:24:46,560 So today if you're here and you're a denier, A doubter or a 352 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:53,680 destroyer, God can still use you if you'll let him and your 353 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:57,080 journey you might be going. There is no way I'm ever going 354 00:24:57,080 --> 00:25:04,320 to go that far for Jesus. You don't know that because the 355 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:12,000 journey of 1000 miles begins with one single step, and every 356 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:18,560 time you take a step towards Jesus in faith, He will help you 357 00:25:18,560 --> 00:25:23,080 take everyone after it. But here's the crazy part. 358 00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:29,880 Every time you take a step of faith, you make it easier for 359 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,520 somebody else to take theirs. To those of you who are Jesus 360 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:36,840 followers, my question is simple. 361 00:25:37,400 --> 00:25:42,320 How far are you willing to go? Are you willing to go across the 362 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,960 hallway at work? Are you willing to go across the 363 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,760 street in your neighborhood? Are you willing to go across the 364 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:55,640 gym, Across the factory floor? Because the next step that you 365 00:25:55,640 --> 00:26:00,200 take just might be the step that somebody else will take because 366 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:01,920 of it. We're moving to a time of 367 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:09,080 decision. To those of you who don't know 368 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:13,720 Jesus yet, let me just talk to you for a little bit. 369 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,600 I love this time, and I say this every time I get the opportunity 370 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:21,840 to share in this invitation. The first step is very scary. 371 00:26:21,840 --> 00:26:23,480 I get it. If you haven't ever taken that 372 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:27,200 step to trust Jesus and surrender your life to Him, it 373 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:28,360 can be scary. I get it. 374 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:31,640 It could be laced with tons of fear for some of you. 375 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:33,800 You're like, man, I got so many questions and that's what's been 376 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:35,480 holding you back from taking that step. 377 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,880 I don't know what it is for you, but I know it can be scary. 378 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,800 I've been for a long time. If you think about your life and 379 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:45,600 you think about all the decisions you've made in the 380 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:49,520 past, you have been making the decisions, you have been running 381 00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:51,480 the play. You've been leaning on your own 382 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:52,760 strength. You've been leaning on your own 383 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:56,080 understanding. And I just need you right now, 384 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:58,160 wherever you're at. For those of you who have not 385 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:00,280 started relationship with Jesus, those who are online, those in 386 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,280 this room, I need you to take a deep breath and I want to ask 387 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,840 you this question. How is that working out for you? 388 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,520 And I don't say that in a in a, in a condemning way. 389 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,120 I don't say that in like, Hey, this is me putting my thumb down 390 00:27:13,120 --> 00:27:14,480 on you. I'm just saying, are you 391 00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:16,840 satisfied with the direction of your life? 392 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:19,960 Are you are you fulfilled? Do you feel fulfilled? 393 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,440 And I have good news for you. For those of you who want to 394 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:26,240 take that step, even though it's scary, although it's filled with 395 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,200 all those things, listen, there's a better way. 396 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,600 And his name is Jesus. You heard about him were crazy 397 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,680 about him and his desire is to walk with you and to enter into 398 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:38,720 this relationship with you and to give you this hope and to 399 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:41,960 give you this, this assurance of his love and and in a 400 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,960 forgiveness. And I love as we talk about this 401 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:48,320 story, we talk about these these three men specifically that that 402 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,840 scripture points out that that Peter was the denier, right? 403 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,320 You heard it. Thomas was the doubter and and 404 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,760 and and Saul or Paul was a destroyer right. 405 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:01,720 But it reminds me that God can change anyone, anyone, and he 406 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,600 could use them in a way that they never thought was possible. 407 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,040 And that's why I think there's somebody in this room and online 408 00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,480 right now that Satan has convinced you that you have 409 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:13,280 messed up too much, that you're disqualified, that you can't be 410 00:28:13,280 --> 00:28:16,240 loved by him or be part of this family of believers. 411 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,240 And I'm here to tell you, you have not messed up more than 412 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,480 those three guys. You have not messed up too much. 413 00:28:22,680 --> 00:28:24,120 You have not said the wrong things. 414 00:28:24,120 --> 00:28:25,480 You have not done the wrong things. 415 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:28,640 You have not gone too far because when you turn your heart 416 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,680 to Jesus, he did a mighty work through those guys. 417 00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:36,280 And I believe, not only do I believe, I know he can do the 418 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:40,440 same thing in your life in an instant, in a moment, as soon as 419 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:42,640 you take that first step, as soon as you trust them. 420 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,560 And so if you're listening to my voice right now and you want to 421 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:50,160 like take off those names that you've called yourself, whether 422 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,160 you've been that denier, whether you've been that doubter, 423 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:56,440 whether you've been that destroyer, you can put on a new 424 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:01,120 name, a son or a daughter of the most high God. 425 00:29:01,680 --> 00:29:04,480 And that is only through an intimate personal relationship 426 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,560 with Jesus Christ. And so if you want to take that 427 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,680 very scary step and trust him and start that relationship with 428 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,000 him in just a little bit as we start to stand and meet, the 429 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:17,800 band's going to come out and we're going to we're going to 430 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:19,960 worship. Some are going to come down the 431 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:22,360 steps right away. And they're just simply bowing 432 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:23,960 in humility and giving God praise. 433 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,440 If you have questions and you want to start that relationship 434 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:28,440 with Jesus, there's going to be someone over right by the 435 00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,920 baptistry underneath that screen that you can just say, I need 436 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,560 that. I want to strip off those names, 437 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,560 and I want that name of being a son or a daughter of God. 438 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:41,160 And that's our prayer. That's why we're here today. 439 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:44,960 And for those of you who are listening, who know Jesus, let 440 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:47,280 me ask this very clear again, deep breath. 441 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,360 How far would you be willing to go? 442 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,360 What step do you need to take even in this moment? 443 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,880 What person is the is the Lord placing on your mind in your 444 00:29:57,880 --> 00:29:59,200 heart right now? Because I have a feeling he's 445 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,480 putting the name in your mind. That's not that's not me, that's 446 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:03,960 not Clayton, that's the Holy Spirit. 447 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:05,440 He's putting someone on your mind. 448 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:09,440 And I invite you during this time that you would just bring 449 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,680 that name, get down on your knees and you would just give it 450 00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:17,440 to the Lord Ask God, give me a burden for the lost. 451 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:21,240 Give me a burden to, to, to reach that person to do whatever 452 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:25,200 it takes. Johnny went a lot of miles to 453 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:30,200 Nebraska. Paul, Peter, Thomas, they 454 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:33,400 traveled a lot of miles. But here's the deal, Church, we 455 00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:36,320 have 10,000 square miles. And in order to make this region 456 00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:39,120 the hardest place on planet Earth to get the hell from, we 457 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:42,240 have to be willing to go. We have to be willing to obey. 458 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,440 We have to be willing to share our faith. 459 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:47,440 So let's join God on this mission together. 460 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:53,160 Let's lock arms. Or maybe I feel like I have to 461 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,920 speak to this real quick for that person in this room who's a 462 00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,920 Christian. Maybe you felt like you went 463 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:03,160 backwards this week or it's been backwards for the last couple 464 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:07,120 months and you you drop down that name of son and daughter 465 00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,440 and you've been living in shame, you've been living in regret and 466 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:10,760 you've been living like in darkness. 467 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,960 Listen, you can just also come back up to these steps. 468 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:17,080 You can recommit your life to Jesus and you could say, I don't 469 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:18,920 want that name. I am your son. 470 00:31:18,920 --> 00:31:21,240 I am your daughter. And you can get down on your 471 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:23,520 knees and you could get back in that right relationship with 472 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:24,920 Jesus. You haven't gone too far. 473 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:28,000 Come back, come back to him. So would you guys stay with me 474 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,000 right now? Let's let's worship and let's 475 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,320 believe that there's power in the name of Jesus in this 476 00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,880 moment. How far would be be willing to 477 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,880 go right now? Jesus, we, we pray God, in this 478 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:42,480 moment as we lift up this song, as we lift up our voices, as we 479 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,120 take those steps, even though they're scary, we do it with 480 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:47,120 your strength. We do it with your power. 481 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:50,840 We do it in your name, Jesus. God, I pray for that person who 482 00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,400 has been wearing the wrong name, wearing just walking in their 483 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:57,160 own strength, God, that they would just drop all of that and 484 00:31:57,160 --> 00:31:58,680 just trust you and walk with you. 485 00:31:58,680 --> 00:32:01,960 God, I pray for, for the people that we want to reach, God that 486 00:32:01,960 --> 00:32:05,200 we go out of this room with your strength, with your boldness, 487 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:06,760 with your courage that you give us. 488 00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,520 Lord, there's power in your name, and we want to declare 489 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:11,960 that right now in Jesus name, Amen.