1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,280 Crossing family, I am so glad that you are here as we jump 2 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:06,080 into First Corinthians chapter 2. 3 00:00:06,440 --> 00:00:09,320 And to help us do that, I've invited my friend Josh Howard to 4 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:12,760 be our preacher for the weekend. Josh has lived in India since 5 00:00:12,760 --> 00:00:17,000 2008 and has a passion to see the Kingdom of God spread 6 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,560 throughout the world through raising up disciples who make 7 00:00:20,560 --> 00:00:25,200 disciples, leaders who create leaders, and churches that plant 8 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,760 churches. In 2015, he launched a ministry 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,520 called Ignite, which has seen over 20,000. 10 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:35,800 That's right, 20,000 churches started in about 8 years through 11 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:39,080 movements of multiplication. Josh currently serves as the 12 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,120 global mobilization catalyst for E3 Partners and Director of 13 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,120 Vision and Mobilization for discipleship.org. 14 00:00:46,480 --> 00:00:49,440 He and his wife and their three kids live in the Indianapolis 15 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:51,680 area. So would you please give a warm 16 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:56,000 crossing Welcome to my friend and our preacher, Josh Howard. 17 00:01:01,280 --> 00:01:04,200 Man, it it is an honor and a privilege to be here with you 18 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,320 guys and I am I'm pumped. It's been a great weekend. 19 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:12,640 I got to golf a couple times, which has been great and got to 20 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:15,720 hang with Clayton some and and you guys have an incredible 21 00:01:15,720 --> 00:01:17,320 pastor. You know that. 22 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:18,640 Yeah. Give him a hand. 23 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:23,160 Give him a hand. And so thank you and Jennifer, 24 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,640 just for just the you guys are awesome. 25 00:01:25,640 --> 00:01:29,400 Love you guys dearly and appreciate you and and my wife 26 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:31,760 and my kids also send their love and greetings. 27 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,040 As Clayton said, we live in Indianapolis right now. 28 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:39,840 We actually had to leave India about a year ago due to 29 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:41,920 increasing persecution in the area. 30 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,040 And and so we've been living stateside now for about a year, 31 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,080 but the work in India continues. As a matter of fact, it has been 32 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,480 our best year ever. We've seen more churches, plants 33 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,000 that are, more people come to Christ in the last year than 34 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:59,160 ever in the history of our ministry, which is unbelievable 35 00:01:59,160 --> 00:02:02,800 to see the local leaders taking true ownership and seeing as 36 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,440 many people come to faith as possible. 37 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:06,160 And it's all been while we've been gone. 38 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:07,360 Now. I don't know how I feel about 39 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,600 that personally, but no, it's, it's really the goal and the 40 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:13,960 dream of of every missionary to see that happen. 41 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:17,520 But let me be real for a second. OK, like Clayton, Clayton gave 42 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:21,160 some numbers there that blow my mind of what God has done. 43 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,520 As a matter of fact, in the in the first six months of this 44 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:29,840 year, we've already seen over 30,000 people come to Jesus from 45 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:36,440 it's, it's crazy. But but again, let me be real, 46 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:39,880 like it's really easy for a white guy on a stage like this 47 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,280 to take credit for stuff that God's doing across the world. 48 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:45,560 And, and what you need to know is that there are hundreds of 49 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:49,280 thousands of everyday ordinary people that are risking their 50 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:51,520 lives for the sake of the gospel. 51 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,360 And they were sharing their faith every single day and 52 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,480 planting churches in their homes and in coffee shops and 53 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,200 saturating Indian, the surrounding nations with the 54 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:02,160 gospel. And I just have the honor of 55 00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,680 representing them on a stage like this. 56 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:06,560 They're the real heroes of the story. 57 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:08,880 Well, Jesus is the hero, but you get what I'm saying? 58 00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:11,400 They're the ones that are out there really going hard after 59 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:12,800 it. And so Please remember them in 60 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:15,240 your prayers when you can. They are going through 61 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,440 tremendous difficulty over and over again, but yet they are 62 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,520 advancing the Kingdom at record pace. 63 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:26,080 And that's only one movement, that God is doing that type of 64 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,160 work across the world right now. And it's really special that we 65 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:31,520 get to be alive and witness it and be a part of it. 66 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,320 Amen. All right, guys, listen, let's, 67 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:38,200 let's jump in and pray together. But we're going to, as you know, 68 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:41,400 we're in a series that just started a few weeks ago on 1st 69 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:43,160 Corinthians. We're going to be in chapter 2 70 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,720 today. But just in case you need a 71 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:48,880 reminder, if God doesn't move this morning, nothing's going to 72 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:50,520 happen. I don't have anything to offer, 73 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:53,080 OK? Just you're like, well, you 74 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:55,560 should probably as a preacher have something to offer us. 75 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:59,720 But you get what I'm saying? Like if, if Jesus moves in this 76 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,160 place, everything can change in the matter of a moment. 77 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:05,600 But if he doesn't move, nothing's going to happen. 78 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,360 We're going to walk out these doors the same way that we came 79 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,880 in. But if Jesus touches US1 touch 80 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:14,200 from him is all it takes. Amen. 81 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,600 And so would you just join me in asking Jesus to move, asking his 82 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:23,520 Holy Spirit to be in this place and to really transform us from 83 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:24,760 the inside out? You with me. 84 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:27,400 And so let's pray and then we'll jump in together. 85 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:36,040 OK, Jesus, we just ask that you would come where your presence 86 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,480 is. There is freedom, there's 87 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,600 healing, there's resurrection power. 88 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,240 God, you are moving in radical, unbelievable ways across the 89 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:50,480 world right now, and we are so grateful that we get to be a 90 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,800 part of it. But Jesus, we ask that you would 91 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,000 move that way right here this morning as well, right here in 92 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:58,760 this church, right here on every campus. 93 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,120 God, we ask for your spirit to be here and that you would 94 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:04,720 transform us from the inside out. 95 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,480 We thank you that you were still the God of resurrection power, 96 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,400 that you bring dead things back to life, dead hearts, dead 97 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,720 relationships. God, thank you. 98 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:18,400 And I pray that you would speak life and healing over each one 99 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,120 of us today and that Jesus, you would do a transformative work 100 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:25,120 in our hearts. Lord, speak. 101 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:28,240 May you have the floor and may you speak with boldness and 102 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:31,000 urgency. Jesus, through this message and 103 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:33,600 through your word. We pray this in Jesus name, 104 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:35,520 Amen. Amen. 105 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,720 If you want to open your Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 2, 106 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:42,360 that's where we're going to be today. 107 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:49,120 Now before we move there, let me let's let's set a couple ground 108 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:51,680 rules together, OK? I waited a little too long 109 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,320 Thursday to tell this story, and so I'm going to tell it on the 110 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:56,560 front end. That way you're with me the 111 00:05:56,560 --> 00:05:57,440 whole time. OK? 112 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:00,480 Is that good with you? I was going to tell you anyway, 113 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:02,240 even if it wasn't. So that's, that's really good. 114 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,400 Back about two years ago, I was in Dallas, TX. 115 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:10,000 I was recording a podcast and we were in this little podcast 116 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,320 studio and there were all these pre recorded buttons that you 117 00:06:13,320 --> 00:06:15,160 could hit while you were talking. 118 00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:19,160 So one was a laugh track. I bet every preacher wishes we 119 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,840 had one of those, right Clayton? Like there's times you tell a 120 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:24,360 joke and you think it's going to hit and then nobody laughs and 121 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:25,600 you're like, well, that was great. 122 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:27,000 It'd be great to hit that button. 123 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,440 But my favorite button though, was a the voice of a black 124 00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:34,880 preacher. And when you hit the button, it 125 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:40,520 would say come on somebody. And let's just say I hit that 126 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:43,120 button maybe 2-3 or thirty times too many. 127 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,640 OK, like every good point, man. It was come on somebody every, 128 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,360 every time. So listen, it's OK to yell and I 129 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:54,080 would love to hear some come on somebody's if you like something 130 00:06:54,080 --> 00:06:57,800 that I say, OK, you with me? Hey, there, there you go. 131 00:06:57,840 --> 00:06:59,120 See, we're starting off good here. 132 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:02,240 All right, Every preacher needs a little pat on the back every 133 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:03,200 now and then. You know what I mean? 134 00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:10,560 Because this is about me. So all right, First Corinthians 135 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:12,840 chapter 2. Now that you know, you can yell 136 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,800 out, feel free at any time. But before we start reading, I 137 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,800 want to ask you a question. And, and honestly, this is a 138 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:26,120 very hard question for even me to ask myself, but I believe 139 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,680 it's important for us to ask it right up on the front end. 140 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,360 And here's what it is. If someone were to follow you 141 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:38,480 around for a week and they witnessed everything that you 142 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:42,680 did, everything you said, everywhere you went, everywhere 143 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:47,400 you spent money, would they be able to tell that you were a 144 00:07:47,400 --> 00:07:50,400 follower of Jesus? Now here's a rule. 145 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:55,800 You in that week cannot verbally talk about Jesus all the time. 146 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,880 You need to be showing it with the way that you live and the 147 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:01,000 way that you love and the way that you serve people. 148 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:07,480 Would your life look pretty much like everyone else's life around 149 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:12,480 you who are not Christians? Or would it be radically 150 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,240 different? Because I don't know about you 151 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:20,600 ma'am, but my whole life I think I have struggled with this whole 152 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:26,080 idea of like my life looking closer to Jesus or the way the 153 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:30,080 Bible explains my life should be versus looking like everyone 154 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:31,640 else around me. Do you get what I'm saying? 155 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,919 Like we live in a day, friends, where for example, the divorce 156 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:39,640 rates inside the church are almost equal to those outside 157 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:44,120 the church or addiction rates are equal inside the church as 158 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,720 outside the church many a times. I'm not talking about the 159 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,040 crossing. Honestly, Clayton and many 160 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:52,240 others have told me the transformative work that is 161 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,600 happening here, and it is unbelievable to see what God is 162 00:08:55,600 --> 00:08:58,120 doing in this church. But if I talk about Christians 163 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:02,120 across the country, many of our lives look very, I mean, there's 164 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,720 very little difference between our lives and those around us 165 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:07,200 who don't even know Jesus at all. 166 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:10,520 If I were going to name this chapter something that we're 167 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:13,080 going to read in just a moment, it would be this. 168 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:20,480 The unexplainable life. Is your life easily explainable 169 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:23,560 with the world's wisdom and the world's pathway? 170 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:27,160 Or is it unexplainable the way that you live, the joy that you 171 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:29,720 have, the peace in your heart, the way that you love, the way 172 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:32,040 that you serve? Is that something that when 173 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:36,240 people see it, they take notice that it is radically different 174 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,520 from everyone around us and the way even Hollywood portrays what 175 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:44,560 life looks like? It's a tough question, and it's 176 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:46,920 with that question that we want to jump into this chapter. 177 00:09:47,160 --> 00:09:49,520 And I want you to keep that in the back of your mind as we go 178 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:52,280 through. But let's look at Paul for a 179 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,040 second. And this is what he says. 180 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:56,920 First Corinthians chapter 2. I'm going to read the first 5 181 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,520 verses 1st and then we're going to jump into the rest of the 182 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:01,520 chapter. But this is what he says. 183 00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:06,960 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters, when I came to you, 184 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,000 I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to 185 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:17,520 you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing 186 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:22,520 while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 187 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:24,880 I want you to take note of that verse. 188 00:10:25,240 --> 00:10:29,080 I, I chose to know nothing except Jesus and him crucified. 189 00:10:29,440 --> 00:10:32,960 I came to you in weakness, with great fear and trembling. 190 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:36,720 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive 191 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:38,320 words. I mean, Paul's kind of throwing 192 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:39,760 himself under the bus here. You know what I mean? 193 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:43,920 Like I came to you and, and, and I was shaking and trembling. 194 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:47,800 I didn't speak very well. My words weren't very wise, but 195 00:10:49,160 --> 00:10:56,720 I came with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your 196 00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:00,320 faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power. 197 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:06,760 Here's a question, friends. Is your life impressive, or is 198 00:11:06,760 --> 00:11:11,760 it powerful? Is your life easily explainable, 199 00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:17,920 or is it filled with the supernatural grace and power of 200 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:20,720 the Spirit of God? Man, that's tough to think 201 00:11:20,720 --> 00:11:24,240 about, isn't it? Now Paul, I love what he says 202 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,440 here because he literally laser focuses on Jesus right away, 203 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:30,400 right? Like he literally says when I 204 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:35,760 came to you, I chose basically to proverbially, proverbially, I 205 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:37,360 can't say that word. Can you get? 206 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:38,760 I need to come on somebody right now. 207 00:11:38,760 --> 00:11:39,600 Thank you. I appreciate. 208 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:40,880 I needed that, Clayton. Thank you. 209 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:45,760 He, he basically says like, I forgot about everything else. 210 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:51,240 And I lasered my talk, my focus and my life on Jesus, his work, 211 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:54,400 his life, his death, burial and resurrection. 212 00:11:54,560 --> 00:11:58,200 Everything about who I was and who I am is going to be about 213 00:11:58,240 --> 00:11:59,640 Jesus. That's what Paul's saying. 214 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:03,120 And here's the question we've got to ask ourselves if we're 215 00:12:03,120 --> 00:12:04,920 going to live that unexplainable life. 216 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:09,160 It starts with having Jesus at the center of everything. 217 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,640 And man, I don't know about you, but and listen, I'm not 218 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,440 preaching at you today. I'm preaching with you because I 219 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:18,760 have also struggled with this my whole life. 220 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:22,640 I mean, how many of you, like me, have kind of added Jesus 221 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:26,560 sometimes as almost sprinkles on top of our already good life 222 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:29,200 rather than it being the foundation of everything? 223 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:31,960 Do you get what I'm saying? Like Jesus becomes something we 224 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,600 add on top as long as I, you know, maybe read the Bible every 225 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,160 now and then, or pray every now and then, or go to church at 226 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,200 least once a week or maybe a couple times a month, something 227 00:12:41,360 --> 00:12:43,360 maybe I go to small group or whatever. 228 00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:47,640 Rather than Jesus being the laser focus of our lives, he 229 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:53,200 becomes kind of like a side hustle rather than our full time 230 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:57,080 gig. And man, what Paul is trying to 231 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,000 remind the Corinthians is of his life. 232 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,680 When I came to you and preached and spoke, it was #1 in the 233 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:06,920 Spirit's power. But more importantly, it was 234 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:09,640 laser focused on Jesus. You saw that in my life. 235 00:13:09,640 --> 00:13:11,440 That's what he's saying. You saw it in my life. 236 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,320 You saw it in my preaching. You saw it in every aspect of 237 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,520 who I am. Jesus bled out of me every 238 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:22,280 moment. Man, How, how long to live that 239 00:13:22,280 --> 00:13:23,600 way? Do you know what I'm saying? 240 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:28,560 Like there there's something in me that when I talk about this 241 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:32,360 even out loud and I read it, it's like, man, I I long to to 242 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:34,720 have that life. But there's constantly this 243 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:38,880 battle way, you know, being waged inside of us that draw our 244 00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:42,240 attention away from Jesus and on to all the other stuff of the 245 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:43,400 world. Do you know what I'm saying? 246 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,400 And then rather than him becoming the focus, although 247 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,760 that's our intention, we are constantly divided in our mind 248 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:51,600 and in our attention and our focus. 249 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,360 And, and then pretty soon, man, there, there have been seasons 250 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,680 in my life, friends, if I'm not preaching, where there may be 251 00:13:59,680 --> 00:14:04,520 weeks that go by where I don't have like a long period of time 252 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:07,440 with Jesus, where I'm focusing on him and talking to him. 253 00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:10,680 And now when I'm preaching a message, oh, I better prepare 254 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:12,560 for that because I'm in front of you and I don't want to fall on 255 00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:13,680 my face. You know what I mean? 256 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,760 Are you with me? And so today, friends, listen, 257 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:22,760 if we are going to live an unexplainable life, it has got 258 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:25,720 to start at the center. After this message, we're going 259 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:29,440 to sing a song literally called Center and they start out by 260 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,840 saying maybe we've made all this too complicated. 261 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:34,680 Maybe we've over complicated life. 262 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,000 Maybe we need to go back to simple things. 263 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,840 And the simple thing is this, friends, Jesus cannot just be a 264 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:44,160 side hustle in our lives. He has got to be King and Lord 265 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:48,240 sitting on the throne of our heart and the main focus of our 266 00:14:48,360 --> 00:14:55,480 every second. And then people will begin to 267 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:59,600 take notice that there is something different about us 268 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:02,280 when our lives begin to look like Jesus. 269 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:07,080 Amen. Every day a little more like 270 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,560 Jesus. Holy Spirit, make me more like 271 00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:17,480 Jesus. Now he goes on verse 6. 272 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:23,920 This is what he says. We do, however, speak a message 273 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:25,480 of wisdom. So he said, I didn't come to you 274 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:27,960 with wisdom, but I do speak in wisdom. 275 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:29,520 What's he talking about? Right. 276 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:33,040 And this is what he says. We do, however, speak a message 277 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:37,040 of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of 278 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,320 the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. 279 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:46,280 No, we declare God's wisdom. So he is making a comparison 280 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:50,920 between the wisdom of this world and godly wisdom, or what I 281 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,320 would like to call Kingdom wisdom. 282 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,200 So there's a difference between the wisdom of the world or the 283 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:00,440 pathway to success that we've been preached about our whole 284 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:06,360 lives by the world, or the Kingdom pathway that Jesus lays 285 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,040 out for what our life should look like. 286 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,880 And so here's a question we should continually ask 287 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,280 ourselves, not does this make sense? 288 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,080 Because a lot of times the what makes sense to the world and 289 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:21,760 what we've been preached about to our whole lives about, right 290 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,160 is actually not the Kingdom pathway that Jesus lays out. 291 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:29,040 So one of the questions we could kind of test things with is this 292 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,080 not doesn't make sense because there's a lot of stuff that 293 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:36,160 makes sense that may not be in line with the Kingdom of God. 294 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:43,000 Do you get what I'm saying? Oh, it makes sense that if I'm 295 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,840 in love with somebody, then I might as well give all of myself 296 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,080 in every single way to that person, whether or not there's a 297 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:52,600 long term commitment or not. That makes sense. 298 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:56,400 But is it the Kingdom pathway? It makes sense for me to keep as 299 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:00,560 much money for myself and my family as possible, but is that 300 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:02,880 the Kingdom pathway that Jesus is laid out? 301 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,160 So the question should not be, does it make sense? 302 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:09,359 The question should be, does it please the King? 303 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:13,839 See, that is what I just heard her. 304 00:17:13,839 --> 00:17:14,720 Come on, somebody. Thank you. 305 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:16,119 A little louder, please. OK. 306 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:17,160 All right. Thank you. 307 00:17:17,960 --> 00:17:19,839 There you go. You can't whisper it, guys. 308 00:17:19,839 --> 00:17:23,560 Come on. OK, Listen, not doesn't make 309 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:24,960 sense. Does it please the King? 310 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:34,800 That is the one of the key, one of the key evidences that Jesus 311 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,040 is the center of everything. If you are focusing all 312 00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:42,120 decisions through the filter of does this bring a smile to my 313 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:44,800 King's face? That's a whole different 314 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,520 lifestyle, friends, you with me. Like if we're making every 315 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,240 decision on is this going to bring joy to my king? 316 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:53,600 Is this going to bring a joy to his heart? 317 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:55,200 Is this going to put a smile on his face? 318 00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:58,200 Like literally every night before bed and every day before 319 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,680 my kids go to school, we are praying together. 320 00:18:00,800 --> 00:18:03,040 Help us put a smile on your face, Jesus. 321 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,160 That is what a Jesus centred lifestyle looks like. 322 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:12,040 And that's what it means to live in a in a Kingdom wisdom rather 323 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:14,880 than a worldly wisdom. Are you with me? 324 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,760 Hey dude, I'm liking this. This is I just snorted. 325 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:23,200 That was great. I don't know what it is. 326 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,400 Since I turned like 35 I've started to snort when I laugh. 327 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,960 I don't know what it is, but apparently my wife does not like 328 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:36,280 it. So listen, the wisdom of the 329 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,320 world will say things like this, right? 330 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:44,120 Like get on the path of success. Save as much money as you can. 331 00:18:44,240 --> 00:18:47,840 Make sure that you are the one that is the center of 332 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:49,880 everything. Your happiness, your comfort, 333 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,120 your joy, your immediate family are the ones that get all of 334 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:55,440 your time and attention and money. 335 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:58,760 Make sure that you're having as much pleasure in your life as 336 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:01,520 possible. And that makes sense in the 337 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:03,720 world's eyes. But what doesn't make sense is 338 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,400 when, when we start living in these Kingdom principles, it 339 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:09,000 doesn't make sense to the world. As a matter of fact, polls say 340 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,880 in a few minutes that it's foolishness to those who don't 341 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:14,680 know Jesus. It is foolishness to them that 342 00:19:14,680 --> 00:19:19,120 we are going to give away more to people across the world or to 343 00:19:19,120 --> 00:19:21,080 the poor than we keep for ourselves. 344 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,800 Like that's, that's foolishness. Who would do something like 345 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:25,960 that? Who would give away 10 or 15 or 346 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:30,400 20% of their income, not to taxes, but to help poor people? 347 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:31,760 Like, who would do something like that? 348 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,760 That doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make make any sense 349 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:39,400 that you know we will smile and have joy and peace in the midst 350 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,880 of something like cancer. It doesn't make sense that when 351 00:19:42,880 --> 00:19:46,760 we get a bad phone call from the doctor, we still have a sense of 352 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,640 foundation and joy because we know that we have an eternity 353 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:52,520 with Jesus. That doesn't make sense. 354 00:19:52,640 --> 00:19:56,240 It doesn't make sense whenever you have horrible marital issues 355 00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,320 and rather than filing for divorce immediately, you go 356 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,640 through reconciliation and offer forgiveness instead of revenge. 357 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:05,080 It doesn't make sense to the world. 358 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:08,120 Do you get what I'm saying? And so if we're going to be on a 359 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:12,400 Kingdom pathway, then we cannot be asking, does this make sense? 360 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:14,880 Because that will lead us in the wrong direction. 361 00:20:15,720 --> 00:20:18,360 The Bible is clear. There is a way that seems right 362 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:22,040 to a man, but in the end it leads to death. 363 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:28,280 We have got to be living Kingdom principles on a Kingdom pathway 364 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:31,240 with Jesus at the center of it all. 365 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,320 This is what Paul is trying to remind the Corinthians. 366 00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:37,760 And then he goes on and says this. 367 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:44,920 I'm going to skip down to verse 8. 368 00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:50,160 None of the rulers of this age understood it. 369 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:51,440 We just talked about that, right? 370 00:20:51,720 --> 00:20:54,040 People who don't know Jesus, they may not understand the 371 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,560 pathway or the life that we're living for. 372 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:00,480 If they had understood it, they would not have crucified the 373 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,480 Lord of glory. Do you hear that like when you 374 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:08,160 live in the in the worldly pathway, you're going to screw 375 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:13,080 up massively. There will be horrible decisions 376 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:16,560 that you think are right where you miss the heart of God 377 00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:18,640 completely. And that's what happened when 378 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,680 these with these men, like they literally thought they were 379 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:25,040 doing the right thing by destroying Jesus, putting him on 380 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,800 the cross, crucifying him. And what happened was they miss 381 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,680 the very heart of God. They miss the King of glory 382 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:35,640 because they living their own pathway and making sure that 383 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:37,960 they made sense in their own minds and hearts. 384 00:21:38,800 --> 00:21:42,600 And friends, listen, when you're on the worldly path to wisdom, 385 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:49,400 you will miss the heart of Jesus and that scares me to death. 386 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,720 Man. Man, I don't want to run this 387 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,440 race as hard as I can and then realize my ladder was up the 388 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,920 wrong wall the whole time. That analogy didn't make sense, 389 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:04,480 but you get what I'm saying. Running ladders. 390 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:09,480 Where's he going with this? And I, I don't, I don't want to, 391 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,480 I don't want to wake up one day and realize that everything I 392 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:15,960 poured my blood, sweat and tears into is going to be burned up 393 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:17,720 and none of it lasts for eternity. 394 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:23,040 And then there's a promise that he's that that that Paul offers. 395 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,000 Listen to this. He pulls it from the book of 396 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:30,200 Isaiah, verse nine. However, as it is written, what 397 00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:36,120 no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no human mind has 398 00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:40,840 conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love him, 399 00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:45,160 what a beautiful promise like when we live this Kingdom 400 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:47,560 pathway. What he's saying is, listen, you 401 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:52,160 can't even imagine or dream the blessings that God has prepared 402 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:56,280 for those who choose to walk that path for their, for the 403 00:22:56,280 --> 00:23:00,400 entirety of their lives. You have no idea the blessings 404 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:05,040 and, and the emotional stability and the peace that someone will 405 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,720 have whenever they're following the Kingdom principles that God 406 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,080 has laid out. Now, listen, what I'm not 407 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,760 preaching, I want to make it very clear, I'm not preaching 408 00:23:13,760 --> 00:23:16,520 some sort of, you know, prosperity gospel here, that 409 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,600 when you follow Jesus, everything's going to be peachy 410 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,200 and everything's going to be OK. That's not what Paul was trying 411 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,120 to say either. Because we're in a real battle 412 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:27,480 every day, friends, you know that you're with me like we live 413 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:31,640 in a broken, messed up world and we have a real enemy that when 414 00:23:31,640 --> 00:23:35,520 we choose to follow Jesus like that laser focus, we will 415 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,280 immediately have a target on our back that the enemy will 416 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,240 consistently and constantly fight us for. 417 00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:46,520 OK, he's going to do it. So the, the, the thing here that 418 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:48,560 Paul's trying to say is not that you're just going to have a 419 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:50,520 perfect life if you choose this pathway. 420 00:23:51,520 --> 00:23:57,680 He's saying in eternity, what Jesus is preparing for us is so 421 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,760 much greater than anything we could ever imagine on this 422 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:03,880 planet, that it will be all worth it. 423 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,520 No matter what problems or difficulties you face, it will 424 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:09,920 be all worth it in the end. And being in God's favor, in his 425 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:12,640 heart and his love is going to be so much greater. 426 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:14,800 The joy and the peace that you're going to experience is 427 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,600 going to be so much greater than what the other path is going to 428 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:21,520 provide because it will leave you unfulfilled. 429 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:26,400 It'll leave you without peace, and it will leave you wishing 430 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:31,520 that you did things differently. And so, friends, may we choose 431 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,600 the path that Jesus is truly calling us to. 432 00:24:36,120 --> 00:24:39,040 Amen. Because at the end of the day, 433 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:41,200 listen. Jesus never promised you that 434 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:42,520 you'd have a life without trouble. 435 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,880 He never promised you that that the enemy would not attack. 436 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,080 As a matter of fact, we see it all throughout the Bible. 437 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:52,600 Like Jesus or or God did not save, for example, Shadrach, 438 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,400 Meshach, and Abednego from going into the fire. 439 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:57,440 He saved them in the middle of the fire. 440 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:00,240 He didn't save Daniel from going to the lion's den. 441 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:02,600 He saved him in the middle of the lion's den. 442 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,800 He didn't save Lazarus from dying. 443 00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:07,960 He saved them in the middle of the grave and called his name 444 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,840 out in resurrection power. He didn't even save himself from 445 00:25:11,840 --> 00:25:16,040 going to the cross, but instead he took it for us, sacrificing 446 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:19,040 himself for us, which is foolishness to the world, and 447 00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:22,800 then rose back from the grave three days later, defeating 448 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:24,560 death. That didn't make any sense. 449 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:26,480 But he didn't save himself from the grave. 450 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:28,440 He saved himself out of the grave. 451 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:31,600 And so no matter what you may be going through, friends, Jesus 452 00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:34,680 meets you in the fire, He meets you in the den, He meets you in 453 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,600 the grave, and then he calls your name and brings you out. 454 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,080 And no eye has conceived or perceived, no mind has conceived 455 00:25:47,120 --> 00:25:50,800 what God has planned for those who truly love him. 456 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:55,040 Amen. And This is why Paul over and 457 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:58,960 over again is trying to remind these Corinthians, Man, listen, 458 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,000 focus your life on Jesus. Focus your life on him. 459 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:06,080 Don't go with the wisdom of this world. 460 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:07,960 Go with the wisdom of the Kingdom. 461 00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:13,280 Please, the King, not those around you, make sure that he 462 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:17,720 has your first, yes, make sure that he is your priority because 463 00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:21,760 He is going to be the one with you, whether the water is high 464 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,080 or low, whether there's fire or not in the good signs and the 465 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,840 bad, Jesus promises, I will never leave you or forsake you. 466 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,240 I am with you to the very end of the age and then I will be with 467 00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,360 you for eternity. And there is no one on this 468 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:36,280 planet that will give you that type of promise. 469 00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:40,640 Amen. It's OK to say come on somebody 470 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:48,520 right now, go ahead listen verse 10 actually, you know what let's 471 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:50,360 I want to skip down to the very end here. 472 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:56,240 We're going to go to verse 16 because there's one phrase that 473 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,760 Paul ends with and kind of a drop the mic kind of moment that 474 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:05,200 I want you to see and this is what he says for who has known 475 00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:08,400 the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him. 476 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:15,440 But we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. 477 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:18,800 In the previous verses he goes around and talks about how when 478 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,320 we have the Spirit of God inside of us, we now have access to the 479 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:26,840 heart and the mind of God. Because only the Spirit within a 480 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:29,560 man knows his thoughts. No one else really does. 481 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:33,000 So when we have the Spirit of God inside of us, we now have 482 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,360 access to the heart of God and to the mind of God. 483 00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,800 And not only that, God gave us the gift of this book, the 484 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,560 Bible, so that we can know his heart and personality and His 485 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:46,960 spirit, so we can have his mind and his heart as well. 486 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:49,880 Isn't that beautiful? I mean, he doesn't just leave us 487 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:51,840 and say, listen, you're going to have to figure this out 488 00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:54,440 yourself. He gives us these amazing gifts 489 00:27:54,640 --> 00:27:57,600 through the Bible and through his Holy Spirit, where we now 490 00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:02,000 have access to his heart, We have the mind of Christ. 491 00:28:02,120 --> 00:28:04,640 That's what Paul says. But here's the question, guys, 492 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:09,400 do we really? When we're not living a Jesus 493 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:14,240 censored life, we can say all day long that we are Christians, 494 00:28:14,360 --> 00:28:17,040 but then deny him by the way that we live. 495 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,720 There's that old quote that goes like this. 496 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:27,120 The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today are 497 00:28:27,120 --> 00:28:33,520 Christians who proclaim Jesus with their lips, walk out the 498 00:28:33,520 --> 00:28:37,040 door, and then deny Him by their lifestyle. 499 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,760 That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable. 500 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:47,080 You see, there is a way that we can sing about Jesus, talk about 501 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:49,720 Jesus, do everything we can for Jesus. 502 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,320 But when our mind is divided and He's not the center of 503 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:55,960 everything, we can talk all day long, but then deny Him by the 504 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:59,720 way that we live every day where people can no longer see him or 505 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:01,760 even evidence of Him in our lives. 506 00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:04,400 Do you get what I'm saying? And so rather than having the 507 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:08,720 mind of Christ, we have a divided mind or a religious mind 508 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,520 or a mind that is addicted or a mind that is filled with 509 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:15,600 pleasure, or a mind that desires comforts, or a mind that is 510 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:18,680 focused on getting what you want to get rather than what God 511 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:21,280 desires. Like we have all sorts of 512 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:24,800 battles going on in our mind. And Paul is trying to remind us, 513 00:29:24,800 --> 00:29:27,240 listen, you are filled with the Spirit of God. 514 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:29,240 You are a child of the most high God. 515 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:32,440 And when you accept Jesus, you are filled with his Spirit. 516 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:36,080 And now you have have access to his mind and his heart, so you 517 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,120 can know what is good and what is wrong. 518 00:29:38,200 --> 00:29:41,160 You can know what is Kingdom wisdom versus what is godly 519 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:44,160 wisdom. And so lean into the heart of 520 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:47,560 Jesus and have a desire to please him above everything 521 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:52,760 else. And so, friends, it is time for 522 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:57,200 us together to lay aside the path that the world has tried to 523 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,880 pitch to us over and over and over again and pick up the 524 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:04,440 Kingdom path that Jesus has called us to. 525 00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:09,880 It's time to make him the center of everything. 526 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,880 It's time to give him 100% of who we are. 527 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:20,240 It's time to lay down our hearts and say, Jesus, listen, I've 528 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,360 been living divided. You've not been the center of 529 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:27,040 everything. I've been living my own path or 530 00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:29,360 the path of the world rather than the Kingdom path. 531 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:33,680 And man, I long, I long for you to take over everything. 532 00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:35,120 And so I'm laying it all down today. 533 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:40,720 Jesus, come in, film me, give me your heart, give me your mind so 534 00:30:40,720 --> 00:30:45,320 that I can now live with you at the center of everything. 535 00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:50,320 Amen. We're going to move now to a 536 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:58,360 time decision, OK. Well, every time the gospel, the 537 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,040 good news of Jesus Christ is preach, a miracle can happen, 538 00:31:02,320 --> 00:31:05,320 something unexplainable, something that the world can't 539 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:08,840 quite comprehend. And here's what I believe. 540 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:12,680 It could happen right now. It could happen in this moment, 541 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,600 in this space, in this room. And for those of you who are 542 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,680 watching online, wherever you're watching from, somebody can 543 00:31:18,680 --> 00:31:21,560 start an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 544 00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:24,520 And here's the best thing. You don't have to walk through 545 00:31:24,520 --> 00:31:26,520 this life with your own strength. 546 00:31:26,640 --> 00:31:28,560 You don't have to try to be strong enough. 547 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:31,480 You don't have to try to walk in with your own wisdom. 548 00:31:31,480 --> 00:31:33,840 You can walk out with godly wisdom. 549 00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,720 And here's probably some hope that you need to hear for some 550 00:31:36,720 --> 00:31:40,360 of you in this room. You don't have to try so hard to 551 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:45,080 be good because that is exhausting to try to be good and 552 00:31:45,080 --> 00:31:48,320 to do good. The simple gospel, listen, the 553 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:55,440 simple gospel message is this. We are bad, God is good. 554 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:00,160 And Jesus meets us right in the middle, steps into the gap, and 555 00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:04,120 he rescues us and he gives us this free gift of salvation that 556 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:07,240 is available to everybody. Listen to my voice this morning. 557 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:11,200 You can become a walking miracle when you step into that. 558 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:14,640 And honestly, isn't that quite relieving to know that you don't 559 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:17,440 have to earn your salvation, That it's not up to you, it's 560 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:19,560 not up to your wisdom, it's not up to your strength. 561 00:32:19,720 --> 00:32:23,200 It is a free gift of God. And Scripture says it very clear 562 00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:27,080 in Ephesians chapter 2 that is by grace that you've been saved 563 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,760 through faith. It's not about what you've done. 564 00:32:33,160 --> 00:32:37,200 It's a gift of God, not by work, so that no one in this room and 565 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,920 no one online can boast. Just like the letter in First 566 00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:42,920 Corinthians chapter 1 ended last week. 567 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:45,840 Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. 568 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,440 And that's what Jesus does. That's what he's in the business 569 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,960 of doing. And nothing listen to my voice, 570 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:57,000 nothing would please the King more than for someone to say, I 571 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:01,080 choose you Jesus, to start believing and trusting in Him 572 00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:03,560 and allowing yourself to surrender your old way of 573 00:33:03,560 --> 00:33:07,160 thinking, surrender your old life, surrender your old ways, 574 00:33:07,160 --> 00:33:10,600 surrender the relationships that that are around you, surrender 575 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:14,280 your job, surrender your time, and start living a life that is 576 00:33:14,280 --> 00:33:17,280 surrendered to the King. What would please the King more 577 00:33:17,280 --> 00:33:20,800 than that? I don't know, but I'm hoping 578 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:23,920 someone will say yes to Jesus for the very first time. 579 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:27,040 If that's you, if you want to start that relationship in this 580 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:30,280 room and you have questions, there's things just going 581 00:33:30,280 --> 00:33:32,560 through your mind and you're wrestling through some different 582 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,040 things and you are like, Nope, today's the day. 583 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,560 I put it off long enough. There's going to be a couple 584 00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,920 people right up by the baptistry that would love to answer those 585 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:42,280 questions. I would love to have those 586 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,600 conversations with you. Whatever it looks like, don't 587 00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:49,840 miss it in this moment. For the rest of us in this room, 588 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:53,680 who started that relationship with Jesus? 589 00:33:55,480 --> 00:33:57,960 Maybe you're like me and you're asking that question about your 590 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,200 own life. Does my life reveal the King to 591 00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:05,000 others? What are the things that are 592 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:07,560 getting in the way? This is your faith. 593 00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:10,280 Does your obedience please Jesus? 594 00:34:11,080 --> 00:34:12,600 Think about all the areas of your life. 595 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:14,040 You can just pick one if you want. 596 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:18,280 Do your does it line up and does it please the king? 597 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:21,120 If not, what do you need to confess in this moment? 598 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:24,480 What If not, what do you need to turn away from in this moment? 599 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:28,840 You know, in just a little bit, as we stand up and sing, in just 600 00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:30,679 a little bit, you're going to see some people come to the 601 00:34:30,679 --> 00:34:31,639 front. They're going to get down on 602 00:34:31,639 --> 00:34:32,560 their knees. They're going to humble 603 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:33,920 themselves. They're going to do business 604 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:36,239 with him. What is it for you that you need 605 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:41,400 to turn away from? The call I heard so plainly, 606 00:34:41,400 --> 00:34:46,000 though, is this. In a roundabout way, we need to 607 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:51,040 stop blending in out in that world and we need to start 608 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:54,080 standing out. I know we're about to enter 609 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:59,120 hunting season and Camo is about to be in style once again, but 610 00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:01,560 can we stop blending into a broken world? 611 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,360 They don't need to see us blending in. 612 00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:05,240 They need to see us standing out. 613 00:35:05,240 --> 00:35:08,520 And so I'm asking, is this a church that is going to stand on 614 00:35:08,520 --> 00:35:11,320 boldness, that is going to just declare with their lives, 615 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:14,680 declare with their mouths that Jesus Christ is Lord in every 616 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:16,760 area of our life. And we have an opportunity right 617 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:21,400 now to do just that, to boldly come before the King to get down 618 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:23,000 on our knees and just pray out to him. 619 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:26,200 And I would just say a great practice to start standing out 620 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:30,840 is to maybe start standing out in this room because for some of 621 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:35,360 us, we, we get to this moment and we're like, this moment of 622 00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:38,360 decision is not for me. This, this moment of, of coming 623 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:39,880 down in front of people is not for me. 624 00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:41,960 What is my wife going to think if I go up front? 625 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:43,440 What is my husband going to think? 626 00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:45,440 What is my, oh, my coworkers up there? 627 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:48,840 What if they see me? My boss is here, but if we can't 628 00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:52,920 boldly declare and come to the Father and hum and humility and 629 00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:55,920 prayer and hear, how in the world are we going to stand out 630 00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:57,240 there in the midst of this world? 631 00:35:57,240 --> 00:36:00,320 So I'm going to invite you, be bold in this time. 632 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:05,560 Stretch yourself, humble yourself, and just ask Jesus, I 633 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:07,680 want to draw close to you. You could do it right now. 634 00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:09,920 You don't have to wait for me to say Amen. 635 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,400 You can get up and move and you can get down on your knees and 636 00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:15,520 you can start declaring my life is yours. 637 00:36:20,240 --> 00:36:24,640 Let's live a life unexplainable. Let's give everything to Jesus, 638 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:28,200 including this moment, including our prayers. 639 00:36:31,080 --> 00:36:33,720 You guys stand with me. Come on, start moving somebody. 640 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:37,320 Jesus, we love you. Thank you for this time. 641 00:36:37,560 --> 00:36:40,360 We want to live a life that doesn't make sense to the world. 642 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:43,160 We don't want to live with, with our own wisdom and our own 643 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:44,720 strength. We want godly wisdom. 644 00:36:44,720 --> 00:36:49,120 And so right now we cry out to you, we get down on our knees 645 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,200 and we pray, Come Lord Jesus, we need you. 646 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,760 We depend upon you, Jesus. And so God, in this moment, as 647 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:59,400 we we sing and remind ourselves, you are the center of our lives. 648 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,320 You are the center of our our prayers. 649 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:03,040 You are the center of our attention. 650 00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:06,040 You are everything because without you we are nothing. 651 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:09,400 And so God, we give this moment to you and your name and that I 652 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:10,560 pray. Amen.