1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:03,360 Well, good morning crossing church. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:08,880 How are you doing? Got to feel pretty good. 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:12,680 You're you're in day What Day 2, day three of leftovers. 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:17,120 It's been awesome. I want to welcome all of our 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,400 campuses joining with us all across this region. 6 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,240 If you're inside or online. So thankful for each and 7 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:26,480 everyone of you. I have a question. 8 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:30,320 It's got good. How often is God good? 9 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,120 He just is. He's good and He's good all the 10 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,920 time. And we have so many things to 11 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:39,840 give thanks for. I give thanks for all of you. 12 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:46,560 You are such a blessing. Ones that I'm looking at right 13 00:00:46,560 --> 00:00:48,400 now. All of the view that I can't 14 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:53,200 see, but you can see me. So thankful for all of you and 15 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:57,040 what ground you're taking for God's Kingdom. 16 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,200 Last week I talked about being God's person and I talked a 17 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,120 little bit about what I go through because what I pray 18 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,960 about and the people that I pray for some of their attributes. 19 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:14,000 I, I know that I'm nowhere near where I need to be, but but God 20 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,480 uses that to sift my heart and to bring the fertile soil to the 21 00:01:18,480 --> 00:01:21,960 surface. And it's so important that we 22 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:24,840 capture that. But when we, if we can, if we 23 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:29,440 can try to figure out how to become God's person, and I know 24 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,720 so many of you are on this, on this journey to do that, when we 25 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:37,640 do it together, we can become God's people, not just God's 26 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,920 person, but God's people, God's church, God's called out 27 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:48,440 assembly. And there is no stopping that 28 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:52,200 church. The first time I went through a 29 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:55,800 study called Experiencing God, it was a workbook and a class. 30 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,240 I had already been in ministry for 15 years. 31 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:02,160 And I have to tell you, at the time, I really thought I was 32 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,360 doing it right. If someone would have asked me 33 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,000 what my vision was, you know, what's your vision, I think I 34 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,760 could have come up with a passable answer. 35 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:16,840 But I don't think that outside of like simple obedience and 36 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,280 that there was any particular vision that was driving me. 37 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:25,280 But as I plowed through that workbook, Henry Blackaby's 38 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,160 workbook, something very personal and very powerful 39 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,960 occurred inside of my heart. And I began to realize that 40 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,200 Christians were going through their whole life and they were 41 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:39,320 never understanding that they could have an intimate, personal 42 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,560 relationship with Jesus Christ, What that meant. 43 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:48,280 And those words stuck in my heart, intimate personal 44 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:52,640 relationship with Jesus Christ. It was before I long before I 45 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:58,560 came to Quincy, I saw Christian people who were committed to 46 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,320 going through all the right motions. 47 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,800 They were professional at putting up a front, which we are 48 00:03:03,800 --> 00:03:08,560 as well, but missing out on deep change. 49 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:14,080 That study formed a vision for me to break down every barrier 50 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:19,240 between every person and that intimate, personal relationship 51 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:23,400 with Jesus. And I know that it couldn't 52 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,400 happen by doing business as usual. 53 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,120 It required change. And so I I cast that vision 54 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:32,440 before the elders of the church I was serving. 55 00:03:32,440 --> 00:03:36,920 In that time I said we have to do whatever it takes to help 56 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,160 people find an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus 57 00:03:41,160 --> 00:03:44,240 Christ. And I remember at that elders 58 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:48,320 meeting I got pushed back. But that vision was inside of me 59 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,120 and I wasn't going to be able to honor God doing business as 60 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:54,160 usual. Because if a vision is 61 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:57,480 revelatory, then nothing will stop it. 62 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:01,600 I was passionate about, I was emotional, it was personal, it 63 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:04,000 was preoccupying, it was powerful. 64 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:11,160 And that's why I came to Quincy, IL And I, I think you can look 65 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:14,000 around you and you can see what, what has God done with people 66 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,519 capturing that vision of intimate personal relationship? 67 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:22,079 What is that produced? What kind of fruit has come on 68 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:24,720 the tree from that? That's good. 69 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,080 But you know, a vision, How does that vision become a reality? 70 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:32,120 How does it come to life in our church? 71 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,840 What kind of values do we need to have, you know, to make this 72 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:41,200 fellowship, Christ honoring and not self-serving. 73 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:45,920 It comes from defining the things that we that are 74 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:50,400 primarily important to us for us to make that vision into a 75 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:53,240 reality. It comes from counting the cost 76 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,680 of it and then signing up for it. 77 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,760 And I have to tell you, that's that's what this church did. 78 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:01,320 That's what the crossing has done. 79 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:07,520 And I want to go through those core values with you today to be 80 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:13,680 God's church. Our core value #1 is the outward 81 00:05:13,680 --> 00:05:18,000 value. We will do whatever it takes to 82 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,320 reach people who are far from Jesus. 83 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:22,840 Media, take that one into your heart. 84 00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:27,600 We will do whatever it takes. That's a lot to reach people who 85 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:32,040 are far from Jesus. In John 435, Jesus said, I tell 86 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:34,440 you, open your eyes and look at the fields. 87 00:05:34,440 --> 00:05:40,320 They are ripe for harvest. We focus outward, which means 88 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:45,440 that our primary concern are for people who are outside our 89 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:49,680 church walls, who don't have an intimate, personal relationship 90 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,320 with Jesus. So we invest our time and our 91 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:56,160 abilities and our resources to reach that group. 92 00:05:57,560 --> 00:05:59,640 That's why our locations are where they are. 93 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:02,520 It's why our buildings are the way they are. 94 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,080 It's why our services and our ministries are designed the way 95 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,600 they are for an hourly focused church. 96 00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:14,040 The competition is not other churches in the area. 97 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:17,440 I mean, how many churches to grow? 98 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,600 They want to grow from the other churches in the area. 99 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:24,240 I'll tell you what our competition is at the crossing 100 00:06:24,240 --> 00:06:28,160 every other available use of time. 101 00:06:29,880 --> 00:06:33,520 What could you use this time for if you weren't here in church 102 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:35,920 today? If you weren't dedicating it to 103 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:40,760 the Lord right now, well, a lot of other things and the studies 104 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:45,280 that we did back then with the, the, the Quincy crossing and 105 00:06:45,280 --> 00:06:48,800 then as we started to branch out into these other locations, we 106 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,440 found out that this was generally true, that our 107 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:56,320 communities tend to be about 80% with no active faith. 108 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:01,560 The people that live in our communities, 8 out of 10 of us 109 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,400 have really no active faith. So what do we do? 110 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:09,520 If we want to be an outwardly focused church, we have to get 111 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:11,880 into that. The shoes of the 80%. 112 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,720 We have to invite the 80%. We have to build relationships 113 00:07:16,040 --> 00:07:19,680 with the 80% because we want them to know Jesus. 114 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:22,480 And as we started to do that years ago, you know what we 115 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:25,440 found out? It was that we had invited about 116 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:30,480 everybody we know, and there's nobody in the world that knows 117 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:37,000 the 80% better than the 80%. And when those 80%, those people 118 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:39,200 that were coming and they were finding Jesus for the first 119 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:43,480 time, they get so excited about it that they would go invite all 120 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:45,560 their friends who didn't know Jesus Christ. 121 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,960 And there was this compounding that happened where all these 122 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:54,200 people started coming who didn't have a relationship with Christ. 123 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:57,720 You know, a lot of churches, the the the baptisms that you see in 124 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:00,520 a lot of churches are children that are growing up in Christ. 125 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:02,880 But our Baptist is we're all adults. 126 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:07,000 They were people who are for the first time realizing that they 127 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,480 could have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 128 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,360 You know, the unchurched new Christians, they come with a lot 129 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,840 of baggage. Some of you could could go, 130 00:08:18,840 --> 00:08:20,400 yeah, I can give you an Amen to that one. 131 00:08:21,480 --> 00:08:26,080 But you watch a person change right before your eyes as Jesus 132 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:32,799 touches them and I go, wow, that's my bigger yes, I don't 133 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:37,200 mind giving up things. If I can watch that miracle 134 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,159 happen over and over. I will give up what is 135 00:08:40,159 --> 00:08:44,600 comfortable and usual for that. Many years ago I was out in this 136 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:49,960 lobby and there was a lady that came in real diminutive lady 137 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:56,720 small and she looked troubled. She looked sad and she was very 138 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,760 quiet and our our our people out in the lobby were very outgoing. 139 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:03,480 But she shield away. She didn't want to be noticed. 140 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,200 She didn't want anybody to see her. 141 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,600 She had a frown on her face. She didn't have a smile almost 142 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:11,240 looked painful that she was here. 143 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,720 But there were some people that came up closer to her and kind 144 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,400 of wouldn't let her off the hook and just just kept pushing in, 145 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:23,360 kept trying to understand who she was. 146 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,360 And over a period of weeks, because I'll tell you, after 147 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:30,240 that first week, that was a huge deal for her to even walk into a 148 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:33,720 church. After that, she would every week 149 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:36,720 she would find it just a little bit easier to come to into 150 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:38,360 church. She would sit in the back. 151 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:42,440 She didn't want to be noticed, but but she did that, found out 152 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,440 that the reason that she wasn't smiling or talking is because 153 00:09:45,440 --> 00:09:49,440 most of her teeth were gone. Most of her teeth were gone not 154 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,960 from some periodontal disease, but because they had been 155 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:59,520 knocked out by a man. And so because of the abuse 156 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:03,280 she'd had in her life, she really, really pushed away from 157 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,440 other people, been very reclusive. 158 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,480 And she didn't smile because she didn't want people to see that. 159 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,040 She didn't talk to people because she didn't want people 160 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:13,600 to see that. And as she shared that with some 161 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,560 people out in the lobby, some of the guys took responsibility for 162 00:10:17,560 --> 00:10:19,680 it. They said, you know, a man 163 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:23,720 knocked her teeth out, we need to do something about it. 164 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:29,640 And those guys, just guys in a church, said we need to take 165 00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:33,400 responsibility for it. So they took up an offering to 166 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,200 pay for her to have implants and new teeth. 167 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:43,560 And I thought to myself, if that isn't outward, I don't know what 168 00:10:43,560 --> 00:10:48,160 is. And I remember when the that 169 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:51,960 surgery had happened and she came in and she walked into the 170 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:57,000 lobby and she had the brightest, most powerful smile I think I'd 171 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,560 ever seen before. She had been transformed and and 172 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:06,160 it wasn't anything compared to what God was doing in her heart. 173 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:09,240 And I thought to myself, that's what it's all about, to be 174 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:12,440 outwardly focused, to see people where they are and to say, you 175 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,560 know what? Jesus can change you. 176 00:11:14,960 --> 00:11:17,520 And even though a smile is a great thing, it's nothing 177 00:11:17,680 --> 00:11:19,720 compared to what he can do in a human heart. 178 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:24,080 It's our first core value. Our second core value is 179 00:11:24,080 --> 00:11:26,720 downward. We will gladly give up the 180 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:31,480 things we love to reach a future generation we love even more. 181 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:37,000 Sometimes it's hard because you know people younger than us, 182 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:39,880 They like different things than us. 183 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,920 And if we're a consumer in the church, we might want to have 184 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:50,200 what we want to have rather than focus our attention downward. 185 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,960 Matthew 1914, Jesus said, let the little children come to me 186 00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:58,200 and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to 187 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,920 such as these. We love little kids, we love 188 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:06,880 teens, we love young adults. We don't call them the next 189 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:10,520 generation, we call them this generation because they can 190 00:12:10,520 --> 00:12:12,040 change the world. Right now. 191 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:16,280 We heavily invest in preschool and camp and weekly ministries 192 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:20,240 to help young people find that intimate personal relationship 193 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,120 with Jesus Christ. You know, there are elders at 194 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:27,080 the crossing that came to know Jesus Christ because their 195 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:33,240 children were in preschool here at the 48th Street campus. 196 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,000 There was someone standing right about here a little while ago. 197 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:40,760 Beautiful blonde girl and I remember when she was four in 198 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:44,200 preschool and she went home to her mom and dad, Craig and Julie 199 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,640 Hilbing and began to share Christ with them at 4:00. 200 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:54,360 Now Craig is an elder. I remember when he started 201 00:12:54,360 --> 00:13:00,520 working with youth after he came to know Jesus Christ and how God 202 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:02,440 had changed his life. He's here today. 203 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:09,160 And Julie, she started using her gifts and talents to start a 204 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,840 workout class where Christ is shared with a bunch of the 205 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,440 ladies at the church. Still doing that today. 206 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:20,160 And then here's a little 4 year old Lydia now leading you in 207 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:23,640 worship. See, that's what God does. 208 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:29,000 I could tell you about Chris and Lee McKenzie and their daughter, 209 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:33,720 their their son Julian, who was a handful back then in 210 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,480 preschool. My wife would tell you and how 211 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:43,560 God changed their hearts so completely, how he became an 212 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:47,160 elder in the church and they served here together until they 213 00:13:47,160 --> 00:13:50,040 moved to Chicago for many, many years. 214 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,480 I could tell you about Denny and Lindsay Wagner. 215 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,400 They're here this morning. How they brought their kids, 216 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,600 Olivia, Emily and Haley, to preschool. 217 00:14:01,200 --> 00:14:04,400 And now those three girls are so active in so many ministries. 218 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:08,400 And Lindsay is in the baptistry more than more, more than most 219 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:11,120 of our pastors as she's discipling girls. 220 00:14:11,680 --> 00:14:15,520 Then he's an elder. I could tell you about Dale and 221 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:17,760 Sandy Heniger. They're here today. 222 00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:21,720 They were here from before I was here and their son James, who 223 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:25,000 was a miracle baby because they were dealing with infertility 224 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,080 and they they had already adopted. 225 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,360 But then here God gives him this baby. 226 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:34,320 And I remember Allison going, boy, that boy's a handful in 227 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:38,120 preschool and how God has turned that around. 228 00:14:38,160 --> 00:14:40,760 I was talking to him out in the lobby earlier this morning 229 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:46,160 because now he's on staff at the crossing that is so usual around 230 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:48,040 here. I can tell you about Randy and 231 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:53,680 Becky Drish who got involved do becoming guides at Journey to 232 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:56,640 Bethlehem. And I remember when I was out in 233 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:00,080 this lobby and I tapped him on the shoulder to become campus 234 00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:03,240 pastor, starting the Hannibal location and how hundreds and 235 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:06,320 hundreds of lives have come to know Jesus Christ, not just from 236 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:10,000 them, but from their kids and them serving as a family 237 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,200 together. Pretty awesome. 238 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,160 And you know, I could keep on telling stories like that. 239 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:25,000 We focus downward because Christian maturity should be 240 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:33,560 defined as it's not about us to set our own desires, our own 241 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:40,120 wants, and our own needs aside. To fix our eyes on Jesus means 242 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:44,600 to fix our eyes outward and to fix our eyes downward. 243 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:48,800 In Hebrews 12/2 and three, it says Fixing our eyes on Jesus, 244 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:51,640 the pioneer and perfector of faith. 245 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,920 For the joy set before him, He endured the cross, scorning his 246 00:15:55,920 --> 00:15:58,360 shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 247 00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:02,480 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners that you 248 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,560 do not grow weary and lose heart. 249 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,200 Our third core value is to be relevant. 250 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:13,600 What we say is we'll do fresh things and fresh ways to reach 251 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:15,880 people that no one else is reaching. 252 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,880 To hear that, to reach people that no one else is reaching. 253 00:16:18,880 --> 00:16:24,800 Second Corinthians 215 says for we are to God the pleasing aroma 254 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:30,080 of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are 255 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:32,200 perishing. I have a question for you, 256 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,480 really important, deeply spiritual question. 257 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,280 How many of you have ever eaten at Lambert's? 258 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,520 Oh, there's a lot of hands that went up. 259 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,280 You know the tagline of Lambert's, It's called the home. 260 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:48,240 Yeah. That's a good. 261 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:50,640 That's it. The home of the throat roll. 262 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:52,360 Right. And I remember the first time 263 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:55,680 Allison and I ate at Lambert's. There's something special about 264 00:16:55,680 --> 00:16:57,840 it. And I don't know, all of our 265 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,360 locations spread out if you've ever had the opportunity to do 266 00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:02,400 it. But it's great because other 267 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:04,520 than the fact that you're really tying on the feed bag. 268 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:09,480 Yeah, but. But they make these fresh rolls 269 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,760 that are just awesome. And the smell, the fragrance of 270 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:16,119 these rolls, it rolls out of the kitchen and they come out with 271 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:19,200 these huge trays of rolls and they go hot rolls. 272 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:22,520 And then people put their hands up and they just start grabbing 273 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:28,240 rolls and chucking them at you. And so rolls fill the air going 274 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:32,000 in all directions. These ducking rolls, catching 275 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:33,960 rolls. And then of course, they have 276 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:35,280 all this stuff on the table to do. 277 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:37,920 And I thought, you know, that's the fragrance of Christ. 278 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:39,800 What smells better than fresh bread? 279 00:17:39,960 --> 00:17:42,720 I did a sermon that weekend called Fresh Bread. 280 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:45,400 I found some people that could make really good rolls. 281 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,120 They made them in our kitchen. This is back when we were down 282 00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,800 at the the gym before we had this part of the building at 283 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:54,800 48th St. and and you could smell it. 284 00:17:54,800 --> 00:17:57,240 People were you could tell they didn't know what was going on 285 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,680 that day, but there was they were getting hungry because they 286 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:01,960 could smell it. And then here comes these trays 287 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,000 of fresh rolls. And I was preaching this sermon 288 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,160 called fresh bread. And I go, who wants a hot roll? 289 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,960 People's hands went up. We're chucking rolls all over 290 00:18:10,960 --> 00:18:13,600 the place in church. That's relevant. 291 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:18,760 Man, that's that's crazy. We had Hola carts of apple 292 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:20,920 butter and regular butter and honey and all kinds of other 293 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,920 things to put on it. All these people listen to the 294 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,840 fragrance of Christ in the sermon while they're munching on 295 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,600 their hot rolls. Pretty awesome. 296 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:32,280 You see, that's what we want to be. 297 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,600 We want our songs to be fresh, our messages to make sense, use 298 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,880 words that we can all understand in our ministries, touch places 299 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,560 where we live and the challenges that we're facing. 300 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,480 That's why we do uncommon. Uncommon reflects that. 301 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,640 Rise reflects that. Camp reflects that. 302 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:54,800 Marriage retreats reflect that, as does regeneration or our 303 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:58,120 thrift stores and our coffee bars and our small groups and 304 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:01,120 all the other stuff we do. We want to meet people right 305 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,520 where they are and share a Jesus that they can understand. 306 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:09,600 And we will never compromise on the truth of God's Word, but we 307 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:13,600 will present it in a relevant way so that people can connect 308 00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:16,800 to it. See, that's what Jesus did over 309 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:19,040 and over again. Whether you're talking about the 310 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:22,080 woman at the well or a man let down through a roof, or a woman 311 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,040 who touched the hem of his garment, or the 10s of thousands 312 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:29,000 that he would heal and feed in in in one afternoon, or the 313 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,800 thousands that were listening to his teaching on a mountainside 314 00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,840 and on and on. I want to be a church like that. 315 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,320 Number of years ago at the end of a service someone came up to 316 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:46,440 me with a box, 1 of the difference makers and they came 317 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:50,200 up with a box and handed it to me and I opened it up and it was 318 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:53,320 a wedding set was a woman's wedding set, an engagement ring 319 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:56,120 and a wedding ring. And there was a note inside the 320 00:19:56,120 --> 00:20:01,280 box that someone, a lady has left it in the woman's bathroom 321 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:06,760 and she said my marriage is over but maybe somebody could get the 322 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:11,360 use out of this. She handed that or this 323 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:13,280 difference maker handed it to me. 324 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:15,480 I didn't know what to do with it. 325 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:19,400 What do you do with that? So I put it in my desk drawer 326 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,480 and it sat in my desk drawer for probably 2 years. 327 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:28,720 Was just in there and I had a guy that was coming to me and he 328 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,120 came for counseling. He had a lot of addiction 329 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:33,800 issues. The woman that he was living 330 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,520 with also had addiction issues, but they were coming to church 331 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,280 and they were hearing about Jesus and it was challenging 332 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:45,520 them and he wanted more of his questions answered about that. 333 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:49,400 And as we were talking together, I said, you know what? 334 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,960 You're living with that girl, but you're not married to her. 335 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,920 You need to marry her. You need to do it. 336 00:20:57,280 --> 00:20:59,720 What do we say? We need to do God's way? 337 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,680 Because God's way is the best way. 338 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:09,400 And he only told me, well, I'd like to ask her to marry me, but 339 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:12,760 I can't afford a ring. True story. 340 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,920 I went really well. God bought you a ring. 341 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:20,800 He's like, what? I go, yeah, it's right here in 342 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:22,320 my desk. He goes, what are you talking 343 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:23,520 about? I pulled that out. 344 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:27,040 I go, here's the ring that God bought for your girlfriend. 345 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,080 And he looked at it. He was out of excuses. 346 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:35,840 It was pretty wild. I go. 347 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,240 But you know, if you're going to get married and God expects you 348 00:21:39,240 --> 00:21:42,520 to be the spiritual leader of your family, you need to lead 349 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:44,640 this woman in the direction of Jesus Christ. 350 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,280 You need to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 351 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:50,080 Are you ready to do that? He goes, I think I am. 352 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:57,080 So that weekend came to church in that baptistry, both he and 353 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:00,160 his girlfriend came forward to accept Jesus Christ. 354 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,160 Oh, that's not even the good part of the story. 355 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,400 And they got in that water together and I baptized them 356 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,040 both into Jesus Christ. They came up out of the water, 357 00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:12,880 and guess what He had in his hand. 358 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:20,120 So in that baptistry, he asked her to marry him and put the 359 00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:25,280 engagement ring on her finger. Everybody was clapping. 360 00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:27,520 Knew what I said. Since it was the end of the 361 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:29,240 service, I go, everybody just stay here. 362 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:34,040 And they came right down here and I married him at the end of 363 00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:41,850 the service. How's that for relevant? 364 00:22:44,370 --> 00:22:46,850 How's that for doing fresh things in fresh ways to reach 365 00:22:46,850 --> 00:22:50,570 people nobody else is reaching? Our 4th core value is we'll take 366 00:22:50,570 --> 00:22:54,970 big faith filled risks and never insult God with small thinking 367 00:22:54,970 --> 00:22:59,730 and safe living. In Acts 429 to 31, after 368 00:22:59,930 --> 00:23:03,760 apostles had been beaten for their faith, they prayed this 369 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:06,520 prayer to God. Now Lord, consider their threats 370 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:09,920 and enable your servants to speak Your word with great 371 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,320 boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal 372 00:23:12,320 --> 00:23:15,360 and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy 373 00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:18,160 servant Jesus. And after they prayed, the place 374 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,880 where they were meeting was shaken and they were all filled 375 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,200 with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly. 376 00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:28,280 Traditional churches could easily be defined as places of 377 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:32,400 small thinking and safe living. This is certainly not the case 378 00:23:32,400 --> 00:23:35,800 about the church that we read about in the book of Acts. 379 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:39,000 The early church was an extreme church. 380 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,280 The very first sermon, all the listeners were accused of 381 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,400 murder. I mean, that's what Peter said. 382 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:50,920 God has made this Jesus whom you've crucified, both Lord and 383 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,640 Christ. And instead of picking up rocks 384 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,480 and stoning Peter and the rest of the apostles, they were cut 385 00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,760 to their heart. And they said, what do we do? 386 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:02,680 And he said, repent and be baptized everyone of you in the 387 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:05,400 name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and 388 00:24:05,400 --> 00:24:07,400 you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 389 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:10,280 And 3000 people were baptized that day. 390 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:16,480 That is an extreme church. It's also a very risky message. 391 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,280 It wasn't long before the apostles were being hauled in by 392 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,080 the authorities. They were first threatened, then 393 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:25,280 later beaten. That's pretty risky. 394 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:29,520 Not long after that, we read about the first martyrs, Stephen 395 00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:32,400 and James. Definitely extreme. 396 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,560 Not too long after that, the church's number one enemy. 397 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,360 It became his greatest evangelist. 398 00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:42,200 What kind of risk was it not only to forgive a man who had 399 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:46,360 brutalized and killed church members, but to unleash him to 400 00:24:46,360 --> 00:24:49,320 be the international spokesman for the movement? 401 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:52,440 But that's what happened with the Apostle Paul. 402 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,520 I think you get the point. The church was designed to be a 403 00:24:55,520 --> 00:25:01,760 risk taking enterprise. Risk is resisted in the church 404 00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,880 because we fear failure. I find it interesting that the 405 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,480 church can become so adverse to failure when, in my mind, 406 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,960 failure is essential for doing anything great for God. 407 00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:16,760 The only time I've ever really been concerned about the 408 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:20,840 crossing and its future is when we've decided it's time to slow 409 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:24,760 down, take a breath, and get our bearings before moving forward 410 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:28,360 again. And I'm amazed how quickly we 411 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:32,080 can become sedentary and neglect the urgency of our mission. 412 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:36,600 You see, debt is risky, hiring is risky. 413 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,680 Change is risky, eliminating programs is risky. 414 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,800 It's all risky. Risks are worth it, though, when 415 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:46,600 you're doing them for what you know to be the right reasons. 416 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:49,160 And even if they're the right reasons, there's going to be 417 00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:52,440 times when stuff's going to blow up in your face. 418 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:56,760 Regardless of success or failure, though, God is still 419 00:25:56,760 --> 00:26:00,160 God, and we're still serving it as pleasure. 420 00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:05,040 And it hasn't stopped us. So we keep taking risks, resting 421 00:26:05,040 --> 00:26:08,200 on our faith in Jesus to build His Kingdom, learning from our 422 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,520 mistakes, adapting our approach to take new ground. 423 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:17,760 We often consider the risks of trying something new, but fail 424 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:20,480 to consider the risks of not trying. 425 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,320 See, we considered an insult to God to remove our faith and 426 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,600 trust in Him by only doing things that we believe we could 427 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:35,760 accomplish without Him. Our fifth core value is we make 428 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:39,080 leaders. We will make leaders who honor 429 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:41,760 God and inspire people and they will change the world. 430 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:46,720 Second Timothy 322 says, and the things you have heard me say in 431 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:50,200 the presence of many witnesses and trust to reliable people who 432 00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,400 will also be qualified to teach others. 433 00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:55,360 Think about what Jesus accomplished through 12 434 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:59,600 committed guys more than he did with any large crowd that he 435 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,720 attracted. And in order for a real 436 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:04,960 discipleship to happen, three things need to be there. 437 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,960 An intentional leader, and Jesus was certainly that. 438 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,480 A relational environment where you actually are getting to know 439 00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:14,200 others and a reproducible process. 440 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:18,800 And that's critical for every ministry. 441 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:23,440 At the Crossing, we encourage everyone to find their 442 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:27,640 replacement to build up the next leader of that role. 443 00:27:29,040 --> 00:27:31,880 But nowhere is it more critical than the highest levels of 444 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:32,840 leadership. Why? 445 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:37,600 Because leadership isn't about winning a popularity contest. 446 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:43,040 It's about providing for a new generation the most rock solid, 447 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:47,360 biblically grounded, vision minded leaders to move Christ's 448 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:50,840 church forward. You know, our elders do that 449 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:54,880 whenever we have new elders come on, they, they spend a year in 450 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,960 training, They have a mentor elder. 451 00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:02,800 They attend elders meetings, don't speak in those meetings. 452 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,560 They ask questions of their mentor and anytime in that 453 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,200 process they can say, you know what? 454 00:28:08,360 --> 00:28:12,760 I just don't think this is for me or the existing elders can 455 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:14,240 say, I don't know if this is for you. 456 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:19,840 That's important. I remember doing this with 457 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:21,720 Clayton. It started 11 years ago when I 458 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:26,640 told the elders to be watching and praying for two years about 459 00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,360 the possibility of Clayton being the next senior pastor. 460 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:33,360 And that's what they did. For two years they watched and 461 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:39,000 prayed, and after that two years, they agreed it was a good 462 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:40,920 idea. Clayton and I were in New York 463 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:44,600 when I told him. I also told him he'd be waiting 464 00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:51,800 for six more years. He took that in stride. 3 years 465 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:57,480 ago this weekend, I announced that he was taking that role. 466 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:01,480 I can't. Amen. 467 00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:06,040 Praise the Lord. I cannot tell you how many 468 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:10,320 leadership transitions in churches are Greek tragedies. 469 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:15,760 They're absolute disasters. But our church never lost a 470 00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,400 step. As a matter of fact, it gained 471 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:21,160 some. And that's the way God intends 472 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:23,560 for it to be. Because we need to make leaders. 473 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:30,240 Our 6 core value is growth. We will never stop measuring, 474 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,680 changing and moving for growth because nothing matters more to 475 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:38,480 God than people. Acts 247 says the Lord added to 476 00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:41,400 their number daily those who are being saved. 477 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:47,080 You know, last weekend we had 7635 people in person at our 478 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:50,800 locations. That means we had 7635 479 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:57,640 opportunities to share the gospel and we had 4693 people 480 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:02,120 online. That means we had 12,328 481 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:07,720 opportunities just last weekend. And I don't want to waste even 482 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:12,400 one. Not even one sometimes, and you 483 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,400 all know it, you only get one. I was talking to someone 484 00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:18,720 Wednesday night in the lobby and they that person told me that 485 00:30:18,720 --> 00:30:23,240 they had been inviting the same couple for 10 months and it was 486 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:28,480 Wednesday night that they came. Sometimes you only get one. 487 00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,280 And we want to present the gospel with the greatest 488 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:35,160 excellence, even though we are as imperfect as we are. 489 00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:41,080 See, we know that growth was important in the 1st century 490 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:43,680 because it was written about constantly. 491 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,600 On the day of Pentecost, someone counted the number of baptisms 492 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,800 3000. The word added described the 493 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:51,840 growth of the church in its early days. 494 00:30:52,120 --> 00:30:55,600 We read about the number swelling to 5000 in the and then 495 00:30:55,840 --> 00:30:58,800 in the book of Acts, the word added is changed to the word 496 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:02,600 multiplied, which is what happened when we went to 497 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,240 multiple locations, multiple services. 498 00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:10,720 While some might resist counting or attendance numbers, it seems 499 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:12,960 like the early church considered it very important. 500 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:16,240 We also measure baptisms. I was talking to Clayton earlier 501 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:22,040 this week, and we're on schedule to go over 900 baptism this 502 00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:25,400 year, 900 of them. And Buddy. 503 00:31:25,840 --> 00:31:26,640 Yeah. Yeah. 504 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,000 Do you think that Clayton was thinking about that, or was he 505 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:31,840 thinking about how do we get to 1000? 506 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:38,760 I'll give you one guess. And then I told him that the 507 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,520 best we ever did as a church was 1011. 508 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:43,800 And you know, he wants to beat that one. 509 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,600 Yeah, I would too. But you know what? 510 00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:52,840 That's all because you God's people are sharing your faith 511 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:58,000 with others. We have all sorts of metrics 512 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,280 that we use. We want to know how many people 513 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,920 go to our church in any given community, and we divide it by 514 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:06,800 the amount of people that live in the community. 515 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,040 And you know, the goal that we have is at least 10% of 10% of 516 00:32:12,040 --> 00:32:13,720 the people that go to a particular church in a 517 00:32:13,720 --> 00:32:16,040 particular community go to our church. 518 00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:18,960 And we use that as a measure of influence. 519 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:21,200 How do we influence that community? 520 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:26,800 We make it count by measuring, setting goals, evaluating 521 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,520 processes and programs, and changing accordingly. 522 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:34,440 But listen to me, we're not who makes the church grow. 523 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:39,320 Only God makes the church grow. We plant, we water, we 524 00:32:39,320 --> 00:32:44,240 cultivate, we harvest, but the miracle is the growth that only 525 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:48,480 God can do. Growth is the fingerprint of 526 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:53,320 God. Finally, our 7th core value is 527 00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:56,040 oneness. The church is the hope of the 528 00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:00,160 world and we can accomplish infinitely more together than 529 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,920 apart. In John 17, Jesus high priestly 530 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:09,200 prayer, the night before he was crucified, he prayed this. 531 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:13,520 My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will 532 00:33:13,520 --> 00:33:16,360 believe in me through their message that all of them may be 533 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:18,800 one. Father, just as you are in me 534 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:23,120 and I am in You, may they also be in us, so that the world may 535 00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,960 believe that you sent me. I have given them the glory that 536 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:30,680 you gave me, that they may be one as we are one, I and them 537 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:35,840 and You and Me, so that they may be brought to complete unity. 538 00:33:36,280 --> 00:33:40,320 Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them 539 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:45,640 even as You have loved me. Few years ago Allison and I were 540 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:50,520 at a a conference meeting and we had a day off and we were in 541 00:33:50,520 --> 00:33:56,560 California, Central California. And so we had a rental car and 542 00:33:56,560 --> 00:34:01,400 we drove to a place called Big Basin State Park in Central 543 00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:04,720 California. For one reason, neither one of 544 00:34:04,720 --> 00:34:07,200 us have ever seen the coastal redwoods. 545 00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:11,679 Now, coastal redwoods are something amazing to behold. 546 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:16,719 I mean, they are so massive. I remember being in that, in 547 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:23,840 that forest and it was, it was like being in Jurassic Park. 548 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:27,560 I was waiting for like AT Rex to come and attack us. 549 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:31,920 It was super quiet because of all the of that foliage. 550 00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:37,639 It was actually amazing how huge they are, how tall they are. 551 00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:42,480 And when I was reading about them on the signs that were 552 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,239 there, you know what it said? It says that their root system 553 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:49,159 is actually very shallow. You'd think with these towering 554 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,360 trees that they would have to have super deep root systems, 555 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:55,320 but they don't. Here's what they do have. 556 00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:01,880 Those trees never grow alone. They grow in circles. 557 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:05,360 And you know what they call those circles? 558 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:13,840 Families and there's a mom tree and a dad tree and the mom tree 559 00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:18,240 and the dad tree are surrounded in this circle by all their 560 00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:20,560 children. And the reason that those 561 00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:24,680 coastal redwoods don't fall down is because all of their root 562 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:30,680 systems entangle in one another and they hold each other up. 563 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:37,280 We did a, an album, our worship ministry. 564 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,840 The first album we did, it was called together as one. 565 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:44,920 And the front of that picture is a, the front of that album was a 566 00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:47,280 picture Allison took of those coastal redwoods. 567 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:50,880 Because that's what we believe that we're stronger together 568 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:56,200 than we are apart, that God has used the strength of our 569 00:35:56,200 --> 00:35:58,720 relationships to take new ground that we could have never taken 570 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:02,080 by ourselves. You know that 48th St. was is 571 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:06,720 kind of the mom campus to all of us and yet they only account for 572 00:36:06,720 --> 00:36:11,720 about 35% of our tenants. 65% are all the other locations. 573 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:17,000 See, God never intended for us to do anything alone. 574 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:21,520 That's why the name that God gave for the church, Ecclesia, 575 00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:28,440 is a word for assembly that's been called out, sanctified for 576 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:30,520 his purpose. We were intended to work in 577 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:34,440 unity. Those are the core values that 578 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:39,800 we hold tightly onto in order to reach people that don't have a 579 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:43,480 relationship with Christ to present to them an intimate, 580 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:51,520 personal relationship. I believe in this generation. 581 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:55,800 I believe that we can have an influence far greater than we've 582 00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:59,120 had in the past, by far. And you know what? 583 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:02,040 I want this generation's joy, their team spirit, their 584 00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:05,600 willingness to learn and share, their non judgmental attitude. 585 00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:10,200 I want their leadership and their fresh new ideas of Gen. 586 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:11,840 X and Gen. Y and Gen. 587 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:15,000 Z and whatever Gen. number letter they have now. 588 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:18,360 So much of Jesus is reflected in them. 589 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:23,000 I want that millennial generation, their desire to hear 590 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,920 everyone, to be open, to learn and try new things. 591 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:28,720 I want the Gen. Xers where they see Jesus in 592 00:37:28,720 --> 00:37:31,840 that small band of brothers and sisters and the mission of 593 00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:34,320 living. I want the baby boomers that see 594 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:37,520 Jesus in his optimism building, his mighty church. 595 00:37:37,720 --> 00:37:41,480 The traditionalists where we see Jesus in his loyalty, his 596 00:37:41,480 --> 00:37:46,000 tenacity and his self sacrifice. We make it count when it's not 597 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:50,360 about us, and we capture the power that comes from unity when 598 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:54,040 it's not about us. And I want you to consider that 599 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:56,160 as we move to a time of decision. 600 00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:03,600 And some of you might be listening to me going, OK, I 601 00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:06,760 just heard a sermon about the church or about this church. 602 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:09,760 What difference does it make? Listen, it makes all the 603 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:13,160 difference. It makes all the difference. 604 00:38:14,400 --> 00:38:17,560 God never sent you out to do that work alone. 605 00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:22,720 He never said that I'm going to give you all of the gifts, 606 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,000 everything you need to do everything. 607 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:33,200 He made you intentionally to not be able to do everything so that 608 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:36,040 you would need the person sitting next to you or behind 609 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,800 you or coming to a different service or a different campus 610 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:42,120 than you to accomplish what you couldn't accomplish. 611 00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:45,960 It's only happening when the Holy Spirit of God works through 612 00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:50,840 His people as a church, as a body, as a community to change 613 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:55,120 the entire context around them. And God has done that, and He'll 614 00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,960 do that through you. But you were never intended to 615 00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:01,200 do this alone. You were intended to do it with 616 00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:05,960 other people just as messed up as you, just as fouled up as 617 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:13,320 you, that all of us together would become this beautiful 618 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:20,440 thing. I'm going to ask, I didn't tell 619 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:23,280 you to do this for can tech people turn on the light, the 620 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:28,800 baptistry? You see the scripture right 621 00:39:28,800 --> 00:39:33,280 there says first Peter 25. You see that? 622 00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:35,560 I wonder how many of you've ever looked that up. 623 00:39:38,280 --> 00:39:41,960 Do you see what looks like stones suspended in the air? 624 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:48,160 And have you ever noticed that if those stones were to go down, 625 00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:56,800 they would complete that wall? And if you look up first Peter 626 00:39:56,800 --> 00:40:02,840 25, you'll understand what that means that you and I, as living 627 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:08,800 stones were designed. To build a royal house, but it 628 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:12,400 won't be complete until God completes it. 629 00:40:14,320 --> 00:40:19,120 And there's some of you here today that have never made a 630 00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:24,400 decision to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and 631 00:40:24,400 --> 00:40:25,920 Savior. To come into an intimate, 632 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:31,720 personal relationship with Jesus Christ because something is 633 00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:37,240 missing in this church and it will continue to be missing 634 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:43,840 until you are part of it. God isn't finished. 635 00:40:45,520 --> 00:40:47,400 He is not finished with this community. 636 00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,040 He's not finished with this church. 637 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,080 He's not finished with this region. 638 00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:57,240 He is not finished. And God is calling on you to be 639 00:40:57,240 --> 00:40:59,120 a part of it. And if you are here and you 640 00:40:59,120 --> 00:41:02,120 don't have an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, 641 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:05,360 there's nobody standing in your way except for you. 642 00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:08,200 There's going to be somebody right up there by that 643 00:41:08,200 --> 00:41:11,520 baptistry, right next to that Scripture, who would love 644 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:15,360 nothing more than to talk to you about your next steps with Jesus 645 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:19,360 Christ. And if you have accepted Christ, 646 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:24,960 these steps are for you. Now, I don't know what you might 647 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:28,240 think when you come up to these steps, but when I've knelt at 648 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:33,400 these steps, the thing that's most important is the same thing 649 00:41:33,400 --> 00:41:35,560 that's important for a person who's receiving Christ for the 650 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:38,400 first time. And that is Lord, Get Me Out of 651 00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:44,520 my own way so that God can do something in me unhindered by 652 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:50,440 me. I don't know what it is that God 653 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:53,760 wants you to do, but I want to ask you a question. 654 00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:57,200 Is your heart available? Is your heart available? 655 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:01,240 Why don't you let him know that today, on your knees at these 656 00:42:01,240 --> 00:42:06,040 steps, my heart is available for you. 657 00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:10,200 Would you stand with me and pray with me? 658 00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:13,840 Jesus? We pray in Jesus name, Heavenly 659 00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:18,840 Father, that you would take this moment, that it be a moment of 660 00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:24,040 clarity for us, that instead of a stronghold, that our heart 661 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:28,920 would be wide open, all the doors, all the windows, wide 662 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:35,840 open so that a fresh wind and a fresh fire can flow through us. 663 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:41,080 Your Holy Spirit, so that we might smell the fragrance of 664 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:46,920 Christ and be changed. Because like you Father, we want 665 00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:53,320 to have a heart like you and we want to be here for your lost 666 00:42:53,320 --> 00:42:59,640 children so they find their way home in Jesus name, Amen.