1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:04,320 We're in week two of a series called scent and we we talked a 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:06,080 lot about this last week. We're going to talk about it all 3 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:08,640 month long in with particular emphasis. 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:13,920 And it is this idea that when God saved you, say me, he didn't 5 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,800 just save you to then sit in a seat as a spectator sport and 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:22,560 watch someone else do ministry. He put his Holy Spirit inside 7 00:00:22,560 --> 00:00:26,040 you, commissioned you, called you, has a plan for your life. 8 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,880 To be a minister of the gospel. To be a vocational minister is 9 00:00:29,880 --> 00:00:31,160 not to be a minister of the gospel. 10 00:00:31,160 --> 00:00:34,960 It is to equip you. The Saints say me for the works 11 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:37,400 of service. And so all week long or all 12 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,040 month long, we we want to continue to open up Scripture 13 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:44,440 and look at this call in the New Testament to go out to be the 14 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:49,000 hands and feet of Christ, to plant seeds of the gospel, to be 15 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,520 workers in the harvest. And we're going to continue 16 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,200 along the way to find opportunities for you to 17 00:00:56,200 --> 00:01:00,360 investigate so that you can continue to to pursue this idea 18 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,400 of calling in your life. And we're going to bring people 19 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,000 in to open up the Word of God and preach that to you. 20 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:10,440 And so today we're going to invite a guest speaker up to 21 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,200 open up the Word of God and speak to us from both God's Word 22 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:17,680 and his personal testimony. His name is Gerard. 23 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,000 And that means it sounds like a fishing rod. 24 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,840 It's not Gerard. I know we're from Oildale, but 25 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:24,880 we don't have to add extra letters to things. 26 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:31,040 Gerard is so here from Fresno, as I like to call Fred. 27 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:37,520 Yes, I moved to the teaming metropolis of Fred. 28 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,720 Yes, from Pennsylvania. Like everybody dreams when 29 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:45,560 they're a young child works for an organization called CCO, 30 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,960 which is a coalition of Christian outreach and is going 31 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:50,880 to come and talk to us particularly about reaching 32 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:53,920 young people with the gospel on college campuses. 33 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:57,440 Most of CC OS footprint of putting full time missionaries 34 00:01:57,440 --> 00:01:59,520 on college campuses is in the East Coast. 35 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,400 So draw was the first missionary to come out to the West Coast to 36 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:07,880 the best coast and begin to spread the gospel. 37 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:09,680 And so he's going to come speak with us today. 38 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,240 Would you welcome him to rest church? 39 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:19,360 We're going to pray over Jerrod before we get started. 40 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,800 And Father God, we thank you so much for the call that you have 41 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,920 on our lives. I thank you for running 42 00:02:25,920 --> 00:02:29,400 relentlessly after me in college when I was far, far from you. 43 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:32,360 And I thank you for the call that you put on Jerrod's life. 44 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,800 And Father, today we lift him up as he proclaims your word, as he 45 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,480 teaches, as he preaches, as he testifies to your goodness. 46 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:42,600 And God, would you use these words in this time to cut us to 47 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,960 the heart, to encourage us to bind up wounds, but also to give 48 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:49,120 us a vision and for what it looks like to follow you, Holy 49 00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,320 in Jesus name, Amen. Amen. 50 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:56,280 Good morning church. Like pastor said, my name is 51 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:58,520 Gerard Brumfield. And so if you don't say Gerard, 52 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:00,920 you just don't listen to your pastor and that is your problem, 53 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:04,440 not mine. And I, like you said, I servant 54 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,400 friends. Yes, California, and I am 55 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:09,920 partnered with a Presbyterian Church there, so it's fantastic 56 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:11,640 that the Presbyterians and the Baptists are together this 57 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:14,800 morning. Yeah, and I serve with a bunch 58 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:18,160 of really fun folks at Fresno State, Fresno City, and Fresno 59 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:21,520 Pacific universities, and it is a joy for me to be here with 60 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:23,400 you. If you have your Bible, go ahead 61 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:26,600 and open up to Luke chapter 10, verses one through 9. 62 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:31,960 But before we dive in, I want to tell you that what I'm going to 63 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,040 talk about today is not just of what the CCO does, but how it 64 00:03:35,040 --> 00:03:38,760 has shaped who I am. In the CCO, our mission is 65 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,520 transforming college students to transform the world. 66 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:47,040 That is a bold statement to make, but that phrase just isn't 67 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,320 a tagline. Again, it is my testimony. 68 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,080 Over the last decade and 1/2. I have. 69 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,640 I have watched transformation happen. 70 00:03:56,280 --> 00:04:01,400 I've watched it happen slowly, relationally, imperfectly, and 71 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:06,160 often scared and but transformation happens when we 72 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:09,720 go to. That is true in scripture and 73 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:11,440 that is very true in my own life. 74 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:14,720 I went to school to be an elementary school teacher and it 75 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:18,279 always been a dream of mine since I was in the 4th grade and 76 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,040 had Mr. Carter as my teacher, who was a fantastic male role 77 00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,720 model. And I knew from then that I too 78 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:26,240 wanted to go and do the same thing. 79 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,320 So know my surprise that when the day I was standing in front 80 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,520 of my class and I had this overwhelming sense that God is 81 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:38,960 telling me that it's time for me to go, I learned in that context 82 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,720 how to present the gospel in public education in an 83 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,240 appropriate way. I learned how to wake up early 84 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:48,240 because friends, I got here at 7:45 today and I'm, if I sit 85 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,280 down, I might fall asleep, right? 86 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:55,040 So I also had a great time learning how to use my giftings 87 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,400 to be creative and fun and interactive with my students. 88 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:02,840 I thought that was my, I was going to be my way of sharing 89 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:06,520 the gospel in the classroom with 25 fifth grade students. 90 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:11,520 But then God said go. And looking back, I realized 91 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:15,680 that God was less interested in my comfort and far more 92 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:19,760 interested in my obedience. So Long story short, I called my 93 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,520 mentor and to my surprise, I found myself stepping into 94 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,960 college campus ministry. And I want to be honest, I had 95 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:32,400 no desire to be a pastor or minister or having any 96 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:35,280 significant role in the in the church. 97 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,600 I didn't feel qualified, nor that I feel comfortable with the 98 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,280 idea. However, God made it apparently 99 00:05:42,280 --> 00:05:48,520 clear to me that I need to go. So I embraced it and now here I 100 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:50,880 am serving college students 14 years later. 101 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,160 And that is the heart of what Luke 10 is all about this 102 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,200 morning. So let's read it together. 103 00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,080 If you have the Bibles again, you're going to go to Luke 104 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,080 chapter 10 verses one through 9. Here's the word of the Lord. 105 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,240 After this, the Lord appointed 72 others and sent them two by 106 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:11,360 two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to 107 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,040 go. He told them the harvest is 108 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:15,920 plentiful, but the workers are few. 109 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,560 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers 110 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:22,480 into his harvest field. Go. 111 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:25,480 I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 112 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:29,240 Do not make a Do not take a purse or bag or sandals. 113 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:33,400 Do not greet anyone on the road. When you enter a house, first 114 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,920 say peace to this house. If someone who promotes peace is 115 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:38,760 there, your peace will rest on them. 116 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:44,080 If not, it will return to you. Stay there eating and drinking 117 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,400 whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. 118 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:50,080 Do not move around from house to house. 119 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:54,040 When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to 120 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:56,760 you. Heal the sick who are there and 121 00:06:56,760 --> 00:06:59,480 tell them the Kingdom of God has come near to you. 122 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:05,360 Amen. Right away we see that God has 123 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:07,640 has already started sending people. 124 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:09,880 Jesus sends people before they feel ready. 125 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,960 He went to 72 people that were not the 12 original folks who 126 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:17,800 were his disciples who have been following Him to go. 127 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:20,480 He went to. He didn't go to the experts, 128 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:23,600 those who knew how to travel and how to figure it all out. 129 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,440 He didn't even try to train a group of professionals to do it. 130 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:32,080 He went and got 72 people who had experienced His grace 131 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:36,040 themselves and sent them out to go and tell the story. 132 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:39,560 He was looking for the available people. 133 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,640 He was looking for us. It is important to notice that 134 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:47,240 Jesus also sent them out in pairs. 135 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:52,360 That he wanted them to have a friend, a companion, someone who 136 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:57,160 else who could make to, who can protect them and verify what 137 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:59,800 they're saying. He didn't expect them to be 138 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:04,120 alone in the mission. When I was in college leading a 139 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,720 Bible study, we always had a Co leader. 140 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,600 It was why go alone when you can go together? 141 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:14,160 Jesus knew something about us. He knew that we could probably 142 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,040 be bold for a good 15 minutes, but then if fear came, we were 143 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:21,360 often run. So he didn't want them to go 144 00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,280 alone. And the text shows us that Jesus 145 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:28,640 started to send them to the places that he was already going 146 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,440 to be going. Which is where? 147 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:37,840 Everywhere Church in Matthew 2818 to 20. 148 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:41,360 It says that Jesus came to them and said, all authority in 149 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:43,799 heaven and on earth has been given to me. 150 00:08:44,440 --> 00:08:48,520 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them 151 00:08:48,680 --> 00:08:51,880 in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 152 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:56,400 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely 153 00:08:56,400 --> 00:08:59,560 I am with you always to the very end of the age. 154 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:04,120 Friends, God is already moving in Bakersfield. 155 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:07,320 The question is not is God at work? 156 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:13,320 But will you join him? When I was a kid, I hated being 157 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:15,080 ignored, all right? Hated it. 158 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:19,240 I'm an I'm the eldest in my family and so I often times my 159 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:20,480 brother's got more attention than me. 160 00:09:20,480 --> 00:09:21,480 And it's OK. I'm not bitter. 161 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,800 I'm I'm over it now. My therapist and I have been 162 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:26,040 talking about it. She's great. 163 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,680 Well, I'm great. It's good, all right, but I 164 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:30,760 hated being ignored. When I would ask the question, 165 00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:32,680 she would just like act like I wasn't talking to her. 166 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:36,640 And again, it's fine. But what was important for me, 167 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,240 whenever she didn't answer me, instead of me just being annoyed 168 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:41,240 or frustrated, I would just do something. 169 00:09:41,840 --> 00:09:43,920 I would just do the thing and then she would ask, why did you 170 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:46,400 do that? I was like, well, you didn't say 171 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:48,880 anything so I thought you were saying to me you trust my 172 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:54,160 decision making skills. So I made a decision and now 173 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:59,280 here we are. Here's the thing, Oftentimes I 174 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:01,880 made a good choice, not just because I'm thinking about 175 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:05,280 myself, but because I made a choice because I knew what my 176 00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:09,480 mom would want me to do because I knew her heart, right? 177 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:11,360 I knew what she would want from me. 178 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:13,680 And guys, that's the same thing what's happening here in 179 00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:16,400 Bakersfield. You, it's not about if God is 180 00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:19,360 wait, like if God wants you to go because sometimes we're 181 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:22,080 waiting for this like lightning strike to happen, but God has 182 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,120 already told us to go. But if you are waiting, friends, 183 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:28,840 here I am to let you know that God wants you to go. 184 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:31,360 All right? I don't know where it is, but 185 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:36,120 God wants you to go. We already know that God is 186 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,880 moving in our in our city, in Fresno and in this city in 187 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:42,560 Bakersfield. And maybe the discernment is 188 00:10:42,560 --> 00:10:46,280 what you were waiting for. Maybe it's working with college 189 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,560 students, or maybe it's children in foster care and their 190 00:10:49,560 --> 00:10:52,000 families. Maybe it's the unhoused 191 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,280 population in in your city or victims of human trafficking. 192 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:00,480 No matter where it is, though, God is sending you somewhere. 193 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:06,120 The text continues by saying the harvest is plentiful, but the 194 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:10,400 workers are few Last week. Pastor Daniel told us that the 195 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,520 harvest was never the problem. I say to us, even though I 196 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:15,960 watched online, OK, I know it's like you weren't here, Jerrod. 197 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:17,880 I know I watched it. He told me too. 198 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:22,080 But he told us the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are 199 00:11:22,080 --> 00:11:25,520 few. Last week, that's my spot. 200 00:11:25,600 --> 00:11:27,840 We go. It was always about those who 201 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:31,520 love the Lord being obedient to follow his commands, right? 202 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,800 The people at Bakersfield are waiting for you to follow his 203 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,800 command. Those in the margins, the 204 00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:43,240 broken, the orphan, the widow, the outcast, those who are down 205 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,600 on their luck are waiting for you to follow the command to go. 206 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:51,160 Those in government are waiting for you to follow God's demand 207 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:53,520 to go. Your child's teacher, the 208 00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:56,880 baseball coach, the band parents, the cult, your Co 209 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,600 workers are waiting for you. Your mom or dad who has given up 210 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,400 on faith waiting for you. Your son or daughter who never 211 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,040 understood why you bought in the church is waiting for you. 212 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:12,200 Waiting for the church to be the church instead of just staying 213 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:17,200 inside the church. And yes, the harvest was never 214 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:19,920 the problem. It was the workers being 215 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:22,680 obedient. And who are the workers? 216 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:25,720 US. It's us. 217 00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:28,880 And they're usually reasons people don't go. 218 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:31,880 They're usually a few fears. I'm going to give you 3 that I'm 219 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:34,280 aware of. 1 is the fear of rejection. 220 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:39,080 It is common to think that when we go that out and share the 221 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:43,840 gospel, people would abandoned us or mock us or not engage. 222 00:12:44,560 --> 00:12:48,440 However, God doesn't ask you to change hearts because He already 223 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:52,040 does that in the CCO. One of our core values, one of 224 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,280 the things we believe to our core, is that Jesus changes 225 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,840 people's lives. We believe that we are just 226 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:02,680 called to show up, be present, and be the living testimony of 227 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:05,920 what Jesus can do. It is our job. 228 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:08,680 It is not our job to make people get it. 229 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:13,200 We show up for Him to let him. We show up and let him do the 230 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,320 work. Another fear is us being afraid 231 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,800 of being hypocritical. Here it is friends, I got some 232 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:24,440 news for you. We all are right, so get over it 233 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:26,200 .3. I'm just kidding. 234 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:28,960 I know that we want to be perfect. 235 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,560 I don't know who taught us that. I don't know where it came from 236 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:33,680 in our minds that if we don't do it perfectly, we shouldn't do it 237 00:13:33,680 --> 00:13:36,040 at all. But that is not what Jesus is 238 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:38,360 telling the disciples. What is not what Jesus told the 239 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:43,160 72 even in their brokenness, even when they didn't get it 240 00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:47,720 fully, he still sent them. I still remember this one time I 241 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,360 was preaching at this event and it was an event where people are 242 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:53,760 breaking their friends. We hadn't heard the gospel and I 243 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,040 was super excited. I gave the talk and then I sat 244 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:58,440 down. I was like, I didn't mention 245 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:03,920 Jesus name not a one time. Gosh. 246 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:08,680 And so then I was afraid. I was like I messed up, messed 247 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:11,640 up. Then what happened is that 248 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:15,400 somehow people still started giving their lives to Jesus 249 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:20,760 because that night reminded me that God is not limited by my 250 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:23,760 forgetfulness. God is not limited by my 251 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,400 mistakes. God is not limited by my 252 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:30,080 imperfect, my imperfect obedience, because God doesn't 253 00:14:30,080 --> 00:14:33,880 call us to do it perfectly. He calls us to do it faithfully. 254 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:39,280 So our Third Point is that the third fear is that people are 255 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:41,200 afraid of not knowing enough, enough. 256 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:44,240 Now, I know because you guys have Pastor Daniel. 257 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:46,880 When I was hanging out with him, this man feels, well, red, 258 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,120 right? He looks like he has it all 259 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:50,840 together. He gets up here very confidently 260 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:52,520 and he just does his thing, right? 261 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:53,960 And we feel like, oh, he must have it. 262 00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:57,800 But here's the truth, just like Pastor Daniel, the reason he's 263 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,600 able to get up here is because Jesus is working through his 264 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,080 imperfections. Second Corinthians 12/9 tells us 265 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:09,560 that God's power is made perfect in weakness and and you're going 266 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:12,960 and you getting up and going out, you are actually allowing 267 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,760 God to work through you to make a difference in your city. 268 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:22,120 And we also begin to see that in Mark 28, Matthew 28, he would 269 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,800 never leave us to fend for ourselves. 270 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,640 And when we listen to the context of the rest, rest of 271 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:32,640 Scripture in John 15, he tells us to abide or to stay connected 272 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,800 to him because he wants to work through US. 273 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,920 So there's no need to try to find an excuse. 274 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:45,680 All you need to do is go. It is important to know when I 275 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:47,880 read Scripture that it was go with an exclamation point. 276 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,600 When I was when I was in school, my teachers told me that those 277 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:53,840 were commands. She said that those are things 278 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:55,200 that you need to do, like stop me. 279 00:15:55,200 --> 00:15:57,840 It's not a suggestion. And it's the same thing true for 280 00:15:57,840 --> 00:15:59,960 God here. When he said go, it wasn't a 281 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:03,440 suggestion, it was a command. He would say that this means 282 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,880 that Jesus understand, and Jesus understood that he was 283 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:08,640 commanding us to do it because we wouldn't do it otherwise, 284 00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:12,760 because we know he knows that He was asking us to be vulnerable, 285 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,880 to get uncomfortable. It's a maybe risk it all. 286 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,280 I went from a job that was going to give me a really good pension 287 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:23,080 on the end to a job. I'm asking people to give me 288 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:26,200 money to do it. It doesn't make sense and I'm 289 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:27,440 I'm still having questions about it. 290 00:16:27,880 --> 00:16:31,160 But here's the thing, God has taken care of me for a good 14 291 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,280 years, I believe, or 37 years and I believe he's going to keep 292 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:35,280 doing it. All right. 293 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:38,000 And so here's the thing. When we read the scripture and 294 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:41,240 he tells us to do something, he's doing it because he knows 295 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:43,280 he's going to be with us as we're doing it. 296 00:16:44,040 --> 00:16:47,280 In verse 3, when he says the statement sending you out like 297 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,520 lambs among the wolves, my first thought was hold up Jesus. 298 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:56,720 I don't know if you know, but wolves eat lambs. 299 00:16:58,320 --> 00:16:59,960 They don't, they don't just bully them. 300 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:02,000 You know, I'm not going to just get rustle and tussle, you know 301 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:03,960 what I mean? He's like, no, they eat them. 302 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,079 So in like reasons, first, I just want you to know that it 303 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:10,560 didn't make my top 10 of 2025, and I doubt it's going to make 304 00:17:10,560 --> 00:17:15,760 my top 10 of 2026 because it feels almost like he's misspoke 305 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,760 a little bit because why would you send me somewhere if 306 00:17:18,760 --> 00:17:20,760 something's going to potentially eat me? 307 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:26,440 But Jesus says this, I would never see you somewhere that I'm 308 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:30,240 not willing to go myself. Because Jesus was explaining 309 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:33,920 that he knows he was sending us to people who might not respond 310 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,600 the way we need them to. He he might send us to to be 311 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:43,040 among folks who don't like us. But in Philippians 2, it shows 312 00:17:43,040 --> 00:17:46,760 that that Jesus came from heaven to be among people, and those 313 00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,960 same people killed him on the cross. 314 00:17:52,320 --> 00:17:57,040 He came as a Lamb of God and died among the wolf. 315 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:04,000 His very own people, other Jews, people who probably knew him 316 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:07,280 when he grew up, people who where he probably played ball 317 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:11,520 with outside of his house, people that his mom knows. 318 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,040 It wasn't strangers, it was people he knew. 319 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,120 When Jesus sends us to share the gospel, he wants us to be aware 320 00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:23,280 that being attacked is this common place. 321 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:25,920 But you know who else is ready to attack? 322 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:32,600 The shepherd church. Jesus will protect you, He will 323 00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:36,480 be with you, and He's ready to care for us in those situations. 324 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,680 I still remember the first whenever I was I moved to 325 00:18:40,680 --> 00:18:43,520 Fresno, I was trying to find a creative way to reach students 326 00:18:43,520 --> 00:18:45,400 on campus. So we went and we were going to 327 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:50,280 hand out free hot dogs on campus and we're going to do every home 328 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:53,480 game. And so I went earlier in the 329 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,240 week. So like find like what's the 330 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:57,320 right spot to go? Because you can't just hand out 331 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,640 hot dogs for free at night and think it's going to be OK 332 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,800 without being in the right spot. So I found this corner that had 333 00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:07,840 a light post and I was like, this is great. 334 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:10,600 And so I want to go there. I want to I want to ask all 335 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:12,400 these people to come with me. It's going to be a good time. 336 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:17,800 And the and as we pull up there, I tell my friend, oh, before I 337 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:19,400 get there, I ask a friend, will she go with me? 338 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:21,560 And she goes, oh, you going to Sin City? 339 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,000 And I was like, no, I'm just going to Greek Road. 340 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:26,840 And she's like, no, we call it Sin City. 341 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:29,840 I was like, oh, I call it a place that Jesus loves, right? 342 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:34,760 And so, yeah, because of that, because he calls it, I want to 343 00:19:34,760 --> 00:19:36,760 go to this place because I know that Jesus will be there. 344 00:19:36,760 --> 00:19:39,960 I want to show you a picture of what it looks like. 345 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:44,000 This is where we go every home football game to interact with 346 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:45,960 college students. And then that house in the back 347 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:49,480 is the house that we went to. We arrived the first night, 348 00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:51,360 right? And I'm so excited with all my 349 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:52,360 friends. We're there. 350 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,640 And as I get to the the corner where the street light was on, 351 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:59,520 it's now gone, right? And listen again, like I said, 352 00:19:59,520 --> 00:20:04,080 you can't be handing out hot dogs at night for free in this 353 00:20:04,080 --> 00:20:07,080 economy and expect people to trust you, right? 354 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,480 So I, I was like one of my friends, her name was Mindy. 355 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,080 She said, you know, Girard in California, the from the curb, 356 00:20:14,120 --> 00:20:16,600 from this grass to the curb belongs to the city. 357 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:19,920 I was like, whatever that means, like that doesn't mean anything 358 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:21,560 to me. Where I'm from, you don't just 359 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:23,160 go stand in someone in front of someone's house. 360 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,320 She goes, so we can go stand down there and they will, we'll 361 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,400 be OK. I'm like, but what if they don't 362 00:20:29,400 --> 00:20:31,920 want us there? I mean, like the corner I was 363 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:33,520 standing on, no one was going to stop us. 364 00:20:34,320 --> 00:20:37,920 But This is why God sends us in pairs, because when I was ready 365 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,400 to give up, Minnie wasn't going to allow me to, right? 366 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,480 And so we took our hot dogs and our waters and when stood on 367 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,680 this little corner, well in an intersection, and then I said, I 368 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,480 probably should go tell this house that we're there. 369 00:20:50,760 --> 00:20:53,400 And as I'm walking up to the house, they have trash bags, 370 00:20:53,600 --> 00:20:56,600 like covering everything from the porch, so you can't see any 371 00:20:56,600 --> 00:20:58,200 windows. And they have just like this 372 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,600 little enclave of like the Lucy from the peanuts of this little 373 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:04,840 guy bouncer who was not that big, still sitting at the door. 374 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,000 He's like letting people in and out. 375 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:08,280 And I just walked up to him and say, Hey, hey, I'm from my 376 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:10,720 church and we're here to hand out hot dogs and some water. 377 00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,160 I just want you to be aware. And in my mind as I'm like 378 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:16,240 telling myself this narrative, I'm ready for him to say, like, 379 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:17,760 why are you here? Don't be here. 380 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:19,280 Get off our lawn. Like, right. 381 00:21:19,520 --> 00:21:21,640 But what? He stands up, he goes, that's so 382 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:23,560 awesome. And I don't know if it's because 383 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:27,120 he was drunk or if he was just excited, but either either way, 384 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,560 he welcomed me with open arms and I was excited about that. 385 00:21:29,680 --> 00:21:31,920 And he goes, because do you need some chairs? 386 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:35,200 He goes in and grab the chairs and grabs the president of the 387 00:21:35,200 --> 00:21:38,040 fraternity comes out and they say to us, you're welcome back 388 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,920 anytime. And now for nine years, we still 389 00:21:40,920 --> 00:21:43,720 have been standing in that same spot handing out hot dogs, 390 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:50,800 right? Here's the thing, I wanted to 391 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:53,440 give up. I knew that guy was telling me 392 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,400 to go, but I didn't want to. I was a little nervous about it. 393 00:21:56,480 --> 00:21:59,720 I was like, what if, what if? How about let's reconsider, how 394 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:02,360 about we do it in the daytime, right? 395 00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:06,200 But when, as God sent us, we have opened up a door for 396 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,680 relationships that have now changed multiple people's lives. 397 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:12,760 No one, I want you to know this. And no one in the group who went 398 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,000 with me, not one of them was a Greek life student. 399 00:22:15,680 --> 00:22:17,440 None of them understood how Greek life works. 400 00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:20,800 And I still don't get it right. But here's the thing, I do know 401 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,880 that they are looked hungry for something and I have what they 402 00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,640 need, so who am I to withhold it from them? 403 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,840 Same thing for you. No matter where you are going, 404 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:34,960 you have what people need. So don't wait until you feel 405 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,800 prepared. Obedience prepares you. 406 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:42,640 What Jesus was doing for the 72 when He sent them out, He told 407 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:47,080 them not to bring a bag. Not to bring a purse, a bag or 408 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,440 sandals. He was basically was telling 409 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,520 them don't worry about money or food or how you're going to get 410 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:53,920 there. Just go. 411 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,640 He wanted them to begin to understand how to have full 412 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,320 reliance on God. He didn't want them to to 413 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,040 overthink it or wait till they got the perfect logo on it. 414 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:08,040 And I know that my detailed oriented friends are like 415 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,600 Jerrod. I've been trying to get these 416 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,160 people to focus and they haven't for so long. 417 00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:15,360 Like don't just tell them to go now or my risk management folks. 418 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,840 But I found out in California, you can't just hand out hot dogs 419 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,600 without a permit. So I'm really glad that the 420 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:23,440 letters come on their grass because it's legal there, but 421 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:24,600 it's not legal where we were standing. 422 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:27,920 But praise the Lord, he saw us. He saw us, right? 423 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:31,080 But and so he tells them not to worry about it, but just to go 424 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,640 to trust them. He then also tells them not to 425 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:38,040 greet anyone. Now, as a person who's a natural 426 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:43,040 introvert and I do have ADHD, that felt offensive to me that 427 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,320 he told me not to greet anyone on the road. 428 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,280 It felt a little rude. But what he was actually telling 429 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:53,160 to them is stay focused. Keep your eyes on the prize. 430 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:55,480 Why? Because Gerard, when you get up 431 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,480 from the living room and go to the kitchen, you forget why 432 00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,880 you're there. So how about I tell you not to 433 00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:02,000 say hello to anyone and keep your eyes on where you're 434 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,320 supposed to go, right? And I was like, you know what? 435 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:06,800 That makes sense. Yeah, that tracks. 436 00:24:07,040 --> 00:24:09,560 And then later he tells, he begins to tell them, no matter 437 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,360 what, where you go, just stay in one house. 438 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:17,160 Like I'm like, if, how do we multiply our time, right? 439 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,560 If I go, if I'm going to go to one house, how about I talk to 440 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,080 the neighbors as well? Jesus told them, no, focus on 441 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:25,120 one house. Every marketing major was like, 442 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:29,720 that is such a bad idea, right? Like you, you how do you 443 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,760 multiply time? But Jesus was saying, I want you 444 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,120 to be counter to what everyone else is trying to do. 445 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,960 I don't need your flashiness. I need your faithfulness. 446 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:43,200 And I and he wanted us to be faithful to the mission. 447 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:47,520 So one house at a time when he was asking them to take their 448 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,600 time. And the last part of this is 449 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:56,200 that he made the game. So because he made the game, he 450 00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,400 gets to tell you how the rules of the game work, right? 451 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:01,520 We don't need to do that ourselves. 452 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:04,720 So I believe that in this moment, Jesus was saying you 453 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:07,920 don't have to save the whole world, you just have to be 454 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:09,760 faithful to the places I send you. 455 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:14,640 And it reminds me of the time I invited John to come out with us 456 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:18,000 to head out hot dogs. At the time, John was in his mid 457 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:19,840 50s. I wonder if you can find him in 458 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:24,320 that photo. He's a very thoughtful man. 459 00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,880 He's not one to be in front of the crowd, but has meaningful, 460 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:30,600 thoughtful conversations in the background when no one else is 461 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,080 listening. And in my e-mail, I sent 462 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:34,920 everyone all the details about what we were doing. 463 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,680 And the only thing John sent back was, I'm with you, brother. 464 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,120 So even I was like, oh, even an e-mail. 465 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:44,920 He has not much to say, but he showed up and he, and when he 466 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:47,600 showed up, he had a great time. And I asked John, John, why did 467 00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:52,600 you say yes to coming? He said, well, I didn't have 468 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,800 anything else to do at 10:00 PM. So I thought I would come on out 469 00:25:55,800 --> 00:26:00,320 with you and I thought that was amazing because he, he still 470 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,280 shows up to to this day of still handing out hot dogs, 471 00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,040 remembering where students are from and telling them random 472 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:09,160 facts about that place, but always hoping that they will 473 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:13,640 come to know the love of Jesus. And honestly, John wouldn't have 474 00:26:13,640 --> 00:26:15,640 been someone I thought would say yes. 475 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:22,600 But when God told John to go, he went feeling unprepared, not 476 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:25,280 sure what he was going to do, didn't know if he had the gifts 477 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:28,880 to connect with college students, but he came anyway. 478 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:34,280 And then when John went back home, his wife Lisa, originally 479 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,560 the first year, didn't join us. It was past your bedtime or 480 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:40,960 something. But here's the thing, John kept 481 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:45,360 going home and sharing stories about what we were doing. 482 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:49,120 And the next thing we know is Lisa joined the team and she 483 00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:53,760 comes with her glow sticks and her and her bulldog prints and 484 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:56,760 students love it and she loves doing it. 485 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,680 The one time we actually had she'd hand out glow sticks and 486 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,680 she'd get these paw Princess. We said go dogs and one of the 487 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:03,880 guys was like, put it on my chest. 488 00:27:04,040 --> 00:27:08,240 And she was like, ah, all right, I am married, I am married, I am 489 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:11,840 married, I am married. And she's like putting dog 490 00:27:11,840 --> 00:27:14,320 points on the students. And it's wild because Lisa, who 491 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,720 brought these things that seems so juvenile and so useful, 492 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:22,520 college students are loving it. So it was really wild to watch 493 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:26,000 Lisa step into the space where God is saying go. 494 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:29,840 And this is one of my favorite stories to share, not because of 495 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,960 anything that I was doing, but what God was doing in the hearts 496 00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:36,400 of John and Lisa. Because what happened for John 497 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,520 is that he told me that hey drunk, my faith has come alive 498 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,720 again because I'm sharing it with other people. 499 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,320 He then was asked to become an elder of the of the church 500 00:27:45,320 --> 00:27:48,840 because they saw him on mission and they wanted others to be on 501 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,440 mission too. And John was inviting them to do 502 00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:55,200 so. So friends, this idea of going 503 00:27:55,200 --> 00:27:57,120 is not just I'm going. You may not know what happens. 504 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:01,040 You will grow and be different in your faithfulness. 505 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:05,280 And as we begin to wrap up this text, it's important for us to 506 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:08,680 remember that we are people who are supposed to bring peace. 507 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:11,960 He says. When you first step into a brace 508 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:17,520 a space, say peace be to you. We don't bring arguments or 509 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:21,280 division or dissension or the rememberment. 510 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:23,720 Remember when you did that or remember how you said that. 511 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:27,840 We don't bring the hurt. What we do is we bring peace. 512 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,200 What does it mean to bring peace? 513 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:32,240 It means that we need to be present. 514 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:36,000 It means that we have to listen to the people we are serving. 515 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,600 It means that we have to give them a love that blows their 516 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:43,800 mind. When we bring peace, it also 517 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,600 means that we have to receive the hospitality the same way I 518 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,080 received the chair. I didn't even think about 519 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:50,760 bringing chairs because I'm not detail oriented. 520 00:28:50,880 --> 00:28:53,120 But he brought me the chair and I was like, Oh yeah, this makes 521 00:28:53,120 --> 00:28:54,440 sense. I should have had chairs next 522 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:58,560 time, like, right. So we received the hospitality 523 00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:01,120 of those of people that we are serving as well. 524 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:05,840 And then we tell them that the Kingdom of God has come near to 525 00:29:05,840 --> 00:29:08,720 you. And it's important for us to 526 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,960 realize that the Kingdom of God is more than you think. 527 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,360 When Jesus came preaching, he didn't just preach about 528 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:18,760 salvation. He preached the Kingdom of God 529 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:21,360 from the very beginning of his ministry. 530 00:29:21,360 --> 00:29:24,320 Jesus invited people to something bigger than the moment 531 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,400 of belief. Invited invited them into a 532 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:32,400 whole new way of life. The Kingdom of God is more than 533 00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:35,600 just salvation. Salvation matters deeply, yes, 534 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:39,160 but the Kingdom is not only about where we go after we die. 535 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,600 It's about how we live right now. 536 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,200 The Kingdom of God is an invitation to join in the 537 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,640 building of God's Kingdom and to participate in his redemptive 538 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:52,680 work in the world by living under His reign of King Jesus in 539 00:29:52,760 --> 00:29:57,000 every area of our lives. The Kingdom of God is more than 540 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,800 just coming to church. The gathering together matters. 541 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:02,440 Yes, worship matters, absolutely. 542 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:04,400 Community matters. You bet, You betcha. 543 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,520 But the Kingdom of God calls us beyond just attendance. 544 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:14,840 It is an invitation to the church to be the church, to 545 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,040 become the hands and feet of Christ who brings healing to a 546 00:30:19,040 --> 00:30:23,880 broken, to The Who brings peace to divided and bring hope to a 547 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:27,520 hurting world. The Kingdom of God is more than 548 00:30:27,520 --> 00:30:31,400 just a future promise, it is a present reality. 549 00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:36,720 Wherever Jesus is King, wherever his will is done, wherever love 550 00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:41,080 over accomplice overcomes hate or justice replaces oppression, 551 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,400 and where mercy triumphs over judgment, the Kingdom is 552 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:48,400 breaking in Jesus. Invitation is simple, friends, 553 00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:52,400 but it is costly. It says repent, for the Kingdom 554 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,200 of God is at hand. The Kingdom is now. 555 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,640 The Kingdom of God is not just something we believe in, it is 556 00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:03,840 something we step into. So when we go and tell people 557 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:08,040 about the Kingdom, we invite them into something far greater 558 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:12,680 than just simple salvation, far greater than just church 559 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:16,240 attendance, far greater than just joining a small group, far 560 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:19,000 greater than just something that happens when we die. 561 00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:22,240 We're inviting people into the active work of bringing the 562 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:25,120 Kingdom to Fresno and to Bakersfield. 563 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,240 And serving hot dogs was not was never the full goal. 564 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,520 It was always meant to just be an enrolled an inroad to 565 00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,720 something deeper and meaningful relationships. 566 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,440 Another family that has gone with with me to Greek life 567 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:40,560 students has been Jamie and Mindy. 568 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,800 Now, when we met these guys, they when we would when Jamie 569 00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:47,080 and Mindy and I would meet students, they will often tell 570 00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:51,360 us we are in college now, so we're going to party that after 571 00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:53,080 we graduate, we're going to lock in. 572 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:58,480 I didn't agree with that logic. However, I had to build a 573 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:01,240 relationship in order to have the conversation. 574 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:05,960 So now as they are figuring things out, what we begin to see 575 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:08,360 is that they were like, hey, we're like, how do we invite 576 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:11,920 them into our home? So then Jamie and Mindy open up 577 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:15,720 their table at their house to say, come and have dinner here, 578 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:20,640 have a space to study here. And then it became a tradition 579 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:23,640 of that fraternity's brothers to say, before you join our 580 00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:26,800 fraternity, you have to go meet the Franklins, right? 581 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:32,280 That is a big deal, right? Because they, the Franklins, are 582 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:33,720 going to tell them about the gospel every time. 583 00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:36,120 If you meet Mindy and Jamie, Jesus is the first thing out of 584 00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:38,240 their mouth, right? So they know they're going to 585 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,040 meet Jesus. But then it changed the ethos of 586 00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:45,200 how they worked. And then it also began to change 587 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:47,600 one brother and specific one brother specifically named 588 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:50,840 Bryant, one of the fraternity brothers who took a special 589 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,760 interest into the Franklins as they took an interest into him. 590 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:57,840 Every time we went to hand out hot dogs, Bryant would come to 591 00:32:57,840 --> 00:32:59,720 the table and look for the Franklins. 592 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:04,720 One parents weekend he brought his mom and sister over and said 593 00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,960 you need to meet them. They're like my home away from 594 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:10,800 home. Then as Brian begin to have 595 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:15,280 milestones celebration in his life like graduation and baby 596 00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:18,280 showers and daughter's birthdays and all these things that 597 00:33:18,280 --> 00:33:21,520 Franklin's were inviting, invited into those faces. 598 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:26,120 And Mindy, who once told me she hated graduations and almost 599 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:30,320 miss her kids own commencement, when she received an invitation 600 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,960 to Brian's graduation, she took her book and showed up anyway to 601 00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,320 celebrate them. And at the end of graduation, 602 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,680 when Brian it's like it's time for a family photo, he made sure 603 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:42,360 that Mindy was in the photo, right? 604 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,360 Because he knew there was something about Mindy that he 605 00:33:46,360 --> 00:33:48,720 needed. And in those three years that he 606 00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:53,160 was a student, he never came around to coming to church, but 607 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:55,240 he always showed up to Mindy. Mindy and Jamie's, if they 608 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,360 invited him, they still, he still responds to text messages. 609 00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:01,680 So much so that when Mindy texted him a few weeks ago to 610 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,240 say, hey, you should come be a part of our Alpha program at 611 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,320 church, he was like, I'll consider it even though he's 612 00:34:07,320 --> 00:34:10,880 lives 45 minutes away. Because the relationship that 613 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:14,719 they built opened up doors for God to do what God needs to do. 614 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:18,120 And what did Mindy do in response to him saying maybe she 615 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,719 went back to her community and said, can you pray for him? 616 00:34:21,719 --> 00:34:24,960 That's why we don't go alone because now when she said pray 617 00:34:24,960 --> 00:34:26,960 for Brian, I know exactly who Brian is. 618 00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,960 I know exactly why we're praying for him because Minnie does not 619 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:31,719 have to do the heavy lifting by herself. 620 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:35,960 So what? We need to go, I need you to go. 621 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:39,520 I need you to go with me to share the gospel because it 622 00:34:39,520 --> 00:34:42,840 actually encourages me to make as we're making it happen. 623 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:49,120 As I was preparing for the sermon, an old Tim Hughes song 624 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:52,040 called God of Justice kept playing in my mind. 625 00:34:53,239 --> 00:35:06,760 And it's like we must go live to feed the hungry, stand stepping 626 00:35:06,760 --> 00:35:11,360 forward, we keep us from just singing. 627 00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:17,120 Move us into action. We must go. 628 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:21,320 Then it then it goes into this prayer to Jesus when he goes, 629 00:35:21,320 --> 00:35:26,160 fill us up and send us out. Fill us up and send us out. 630 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:33,320 Fill us up and send us out. Lord, it's almost this begging 631 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:36,920 and pleading of my God. I know that there's people out 632 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:38,200 there. Can you send me to go? 633 00:35:38,200 --> 00:35:41,320 But I need you, God, to be with me. 634 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,240 I'm not asking you to go on your own strength. 635 00:35:45,840 --> 00:35:49,200 That is not why we are here to just to say just go do your own 636 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,080 thing. We actually ask you to go in the 637 00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:56,480 power of the spirit, to love students at Bakersfield, to love 638 00:35:56,480 --> 00:36:00,800 students at Big Swiss College, to love students at CCSUB. 639 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:05,640 That's also a lot of letters and we got a big tongue. 640 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:10,960 It's hard to say, but we must go into bring the Kingdom here to 641 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:15,160 Bakersfield as it is in heaven because we are inviting people 642 00:36:15,160 --> 00:36:17,560 into the Kingdom. This means we're inviting 643 00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:20,400 husbands to come and love their wives like Christ loved the 644 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:23,360 church. We're calling musicians to use 645 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:24,840 their gifts to build the Kingdom. 646 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:27,880 We're calling students to use their majors to bring out the 647 00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:30,720 goodness of God from all of creation. 648 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,200 In the CCO, we say we are inviting students to join Christ 649 00:36:35,320 --> 00:36:37,400 in his restoration of all of creation. 650 00:36:37,600 --> 00:36:41,360 This means that marriages will be healed because we're we are 651 00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:44,040 going. This means that government, the 652 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,760 government will be redeemed because we are going. 653 00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:50,000 This means that every student will get the education they 654 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:54,000 deserve because we are going. This means that entertainment 655 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:57,720 and media will bring out the best of us in creativity because 656 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:01,640 Christians are going and giving hope and then bringing healing 657 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:05,320 to a world that is yearning and crying for something to be 658 00:37:05,320 --> 00:37:08,040 different. And although Jesus didn't 659 00:37:08,040 --> 00:37:11,960 mention it here he clearly is saying that the start of 660 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:17,440 redemption is by his people going he chooses to include us 661 00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:21,360 like Pastor Daniel. How do you say say me look, I 662 00:37:21,360 --> 00:37:22,760 came from a Baptist Church as a kid. 663 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:26,160 So look at each other. They say you he wants us. 664 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:33,400 He wants us to go and be his hands and feet. 665 00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:40,520 It blows me away, church, that God wants us to be a part of it 666 00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:43,000 with Him, to redeem this broken world. 667 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:47,880 We often want to give up. We often want other people to do 668 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:49,080 it. That feels like their problem. 669 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:55,520 But for some reason, God says, no, I want you the broken, the 670 00:37:55,520 --> 00:38:00,920 flawed, the confused, but the one who is fully redeemed to 671 00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:04,920 come and do it with me. And as I close, I want to tell 672 00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:07,200 you about a young man who's a part of our ministry. 673 00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:12,240 His name is Eli. He we met him. 674 00:38:12,840 --> 00:38:18,480 He is in the far corner up the top your right my left. 675 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:23,760 He even though he wasn't a Fresno State student, he found 676 00:38:23,760 --> 00:38:26,040 himself on Greek Rd. looking for the same thing everyone else 677 00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:26,560 was. Hope. 678 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:31,320 And because of his personal life story he had no interest in 679 00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,840 Jesus or the church or any church group. 680 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:39,040 But for some reason, he kept showing up to be with us at the 681 00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:42,400 table. We invited him to come over and 682 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:46,120 to our biweekly dinner at our pastor's house once and we sat 683 00:38:46,120 --> 00:38:48,000 together. He didn't eat any food because 684 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,480 he was so nervous. But we did sing together and 685 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:53,120 homeboy has the voice of an Angel. 686 00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:57,560 He didn't really feel comfortable in the space, but 687 00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:59,960 for some reason he kept showing up. 688 00:38:59,960 --> 00:39:05,640 And what I know I didn't have to do, I didn't have to do anything 689 00:39:06,040 --> 00:39:10,040 but make an invitation. God did the work to change his 690 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:12,840 heart. After a bit, After a bit, he 691 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:14,800 decided he was not going to just show up anymore. 692 00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:17,240 He just stopped coming. But we stayed in contact. 693 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,920 I once sent him a text message or we were talking. 694 00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:24,000 I said, hey, you should come with us to this conference in 695 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,560 Pittsburgh. He was like, yeah, we got this 696 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:28,360 plane ticket that was non refundable. 697 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:33,760 See where the story is going. I got this ticket and he said he 698 00:39:33,760 --> 00:39:37,480 was going to come. And then the day of, he just 699 00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:38,800 stopped responding to text messages. 700 00:39:39,440 --> 00:39:42,640 But in that process, I asked for my friend Michaela to pray for 701 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:46,680 him to say, hey, would you be willing to pray for Eli to see 702 00:39:47,120 --> 00:39:49,400 me, hoping that he's going to show up because it was a 703 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:52,920 expensive ticket. But he did it. 704 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:55,320 And we left, and we did our thing. 705 00:39:56,720 --> 00:40:01,560 And then for seven months, Eli didn't respond to a text 706 00:40:01,560 --> 00:40:06,000 message, a phone call, even when I slid in his DMS. 707 00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:11,160 He didn't respond. Then he came to, I was out of 708 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:14,160 town for a little bit and he came to a meeting that I wasn't 709 00:40:14,160 --> 00:40:17,200 at and I saw a picture on the Instagram page that showed him 710 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:19,760 in the background. I'm like, what is he doing 711 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:23,480 there? And then he he walks in, he 712 00:40:23,480 --> 00:40:25,080 goes, oh, Gerard, let me tell you what happens. 713 00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:26,880 I was like, I don't want to hear it. 714 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:31,000 The the Lord might move your sins as far as the easiest from 715 00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:32,800 the West, but I'm still here. All right here. 716 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:37,400 And he tells me like, hey, like it was just it was a hard last 717 00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:40,680 seven months while I'm here and he asked if he can go with us to 718 00:40:40,680 --> 00:40:43,280 our fall retreat. And I said yes, but you have to 719 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:45,280 ride with me because I'm not getting stood up twice in the 720 00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:49,240 same year. And so as we go down, he's we're 721 00:40:49,240 --> 00:40:50,520 talking, we're having a great conversation. 722 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:53,160 We end up talking to the speak the, the retreat speaker 723 00:40:53,160 --> 00:40:55,760 together, just the three of us, me Eli, the speaker. 724 00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:59,400 And she asks him like, why are like what, what made you be a 725 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:01,880 part of the group? And he start, he's trying to 726 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:05,160 explain what has happened in his life over the last seven months, 727 00:41:05,160 --> 00:41:08,520 but he can't explain it. Like, and you can tell that he's 728 00:41:08,520 --> 00:41:10,680 trying to say like, like, I want things to be different, but I'm 729 00:41:10,680 --> 00:41:12,200 also stuck like he's in this space. 730 00:41:12,560 --> 00:41:15,120 And then because he didn't have the words, we just begin to say, 731 00:41:15,120 --> 00:41:17,080 I think God is doing something in you. 732 00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:21,720 And he was taken aback for a moment because he was surprised 733 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:23,480 that God could do something in his life. 734 00:41:23,480 --> 00:41:26,400 A man who'd been running from God the majority of his life, 735 00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:30,680 and he begins to have this conversation with us about, 736 00:41:30,680 --> 00:41:35,040 like, that God. God did something in him, and 737 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:38,440 he's ready to process it. He's, like, coming to all the 738 00:41:38,440 --> 00:41:42,040 sessions fully alive and alert. It was just really cool. 739 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:45,920 And that toward the end of the retreat, I had invited Michaela 740 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:48,280 and her husband to come and be our cooks for the week. 741 00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:53,520 And Michaela pulls me aside, and she goes, Jerrod, I finally know 742 00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:57,000 who Eli is. And I was like, OK, I guess like 743 00:41:57,040 --> 00:41:59,360 what makes you say that? She goes back in February. 744 00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:02,880 You asked me to pray for him and I have been praying for him ever 745 00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:04,480 since because he will pop up randomly. 746 00:42:04,680 --> 00:42:07,400 So I took a post it of his name and just put it on my mirror in 747 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:09,360 my bathroom. So every time I go into the 748 00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:12,720 bathroom, I pray for Eli. And then it clicked. 749 00:42:17,160 --> 00:42:18,240 I'm tired. That's all it is. 750 00:42:18,320 --> 00:42:22,920 I'm just kidding. It clicked for me that Michaela 751 00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:27,240 was praying for a man she didn't know, but she was in on mission 752 00:42:27,240 --> 00:42:32,400 with me and Eli was having a whole life thing happened where 753 00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:34,680 God was meeting him in places he never expected. 754 00:42:35,600 --> 00:42:38,760 And God gave me a front row seat to see these two things merge 755 00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:41,880 together because I decided to go. 756 00:42:43,480 --> 00:42:46,160 God wants to show you that the Kingdom is not broken. 757 00:42:46,240 --> 00:42:49,880 He wants to give you hope, but you have to get up and go. 758 00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:55,840 You have to get up and go a really cool thing. 759 00:42:57,120 --> 00:42:59,520 That's that's enough, right? But here's another really cool 760 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:01,520 thing. I'm in conversations now still 761 00:43:01,520 --> 00:43:03,760 with Eli about the day he's going to get baptized because 762 00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:11,320 he's ready, right? And I'm really excited about 763 00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:13,400 that because he graduated from Barber school and now he's on 764 00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:15,120 Barber and it's a lot cheaper than my last Barber. 765 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:19,280 So great things are down in pipeline, friends. 766 00:43:19,280 --> 00:43:24,320 Great things, great things. As I close, though, I want us to 767 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:28,520 think about Eli's story. Eli didn't walk into our 768 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:35,960 ministry ready to follow Jesus. He didn't show up convinced he 769 00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:40,840 didn't trust the church. But he just kept showing up and 770 00:43:40,840 --> 00:43:50,000 people kept loving him. And what Eli didn't realize was 771 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:54,960 that long before he said yes, God was already at work in his 772 00:43:54,960 --> 00:44:02,720 life before Eli chose Jesus. Jesus has already chosen him. 773 00:44:04,720 --> 00:44:07,520 And I believe that there's some of you here today who are 774 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:12,320 finding yourself in the same space that you may not have 775 00:44:12,320 --> 00:44:14,520 plans to say yes to Jesus or come back home. 776 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:21,240 You might still have questions or feel a little unsure, but 777 00:44:21,240 --> 00:44:26,000 something in your heart feels stirred and you don't fully know 778 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:28,600 why. That's OK. 779 00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:35,680 That's how Eli showed up to you. The good news of the gospel is 780 00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:40,880 that we don't need to find God. Is that God comes looking for 781 00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:46,600 us. That Jesus lived a life for us. 782 00:44:48,040 --> 00:44:53,560 He died for us, and He rose again to make us new. 783 00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:58,720 And today He's inviting you into this life with Him. 784 00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:05,840 So I want to invite us into a quiet moment with every head 785 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:11,280 bowed and eyes closed. Today you're realizing that you 786 00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:16,680 want to say yes to Jesus for the first time, or you're actually 787 00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:19,400 saying, hey God, I've just been gone a while and I want to come 788 00:45:19,400 --> 00:45:22,720 back home. I want you to raise your hand 789 00:45:24,720 --> 00:45:28,400 saying, God, I trust you and I believe you, and I'm in this for 790 00:45:28,400 --> 00:45:31,920 you. And I realized that all I have 791 00:45:31,920 --> 00:45:34,400 to do is take a step toward you because you've already been 792 00:45:34,400 --> 00:45:38,600 coming toward me. That is you just go ahead and 793 00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:41,800 slip your hand up. I see you. 794 00:45:41,800 --> 00:45:48,600 I see you, and what I want you to know is that you are. 795 00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:51,240 This is not going to be a journey where you're in it 796 00:45:51,240 --> 00:45:57,440 alone, because we're going to walk toward Jesus together. 797 00:46:00,760 --> 00:46:07,680 So will you pray with me, Jesus, the one that ascends us to go, 798 00:46:09,720 --> 00:46:12,440 the one who loves us before we knew how to love ourselves. 799 00:46:14,600 --> 00:46:19,240 We thank you. And may you help us to know how 800 00:46:19,240 --> 00:46:22,680 we can love you as we figure out how to love college students 801 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:28,200 here in Bakersfield. Because our desire, Lord God, is 802 00:46:28,200 --> 00:46:32,480 to see Bakersfield as it is in heaven and to see Fresno as it 803 00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:35,200 is in heaven, and to see California as it is in heaven. 804 00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:37,480 Because that's the only way earth is going to look like it 805 00:46:37,480 --> 00:46:41,800 is in heaven, Lord God. So we are here begging God that 806 00:46:41,800 --> 00:46:46,160 you send us up, fill us up, and send us out to build your 807 00:46:46,160 --> 00:46:49,040 Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. 808 00:46:49,760 --> 00:46:50,200 Amen.