1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,360 Good morning. My name is Daniel. 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:05,440 I'm the lead pastor here at Res Church. 3 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:08,119 Welcome if you're new here. Welcome if you're coming back 4 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,040 from Easter excited. You joined us today. 5 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:15,280 You braved that torrential downpour of a storm, 110th of an 6 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:17,960 inch of rain. Welcome to Res Church. 7 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,960 We are continuing a series we started last week. 8 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:25,280 Hey, have you ever, have you ever had a plan? 9 00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:29,840 Maybe a good point, you know, maybe, maybe a perfect plan that 10 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:37,560 fell apart in in college, I got invited to play quarterback for 11 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:41,200 a flag football team, for a fraternity flag football team. 12 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:46,720 And I wasn't in a fraternity, but the, the Delta Chi invited 13 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:48,760 me because they hadn't won a game in two years. 14 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:50,920 So at that point, they're just inviting anyone with a pulse. 15 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,080 And we ended up making it all the way to the championship game 16 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,120 down by 5. Last play of the game, and I was 17 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:01,320 supposed to call the play. And so I was thinking like I had 18 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:06,040 like a razzle dazzle, you ain't nobody seen this coming sort of 19 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,960 play. And I drew it out in the huddle. 20 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:12,880 The wide receiver is going to head out and then get behind the 21 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:13,920 defence in the back of the end zone. 22 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:14,960 I was going to throw it over their heads. 23 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:16,720 Everyone was going to cheer. I was going to be hero. 24 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:22,360 And then we hiked the ball and the receiver fell down and they 25 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:24,840 blitzed. And that's about the time that 26 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:27,920 it dawned on me that the other team was all like 6 foot, 4 frag 27 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,160 guys. And we were short and 28 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:31,640 unathletic. And I couldn't see anything 29 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:34,360 other than all of the defense. And so I just closed my eyes and 30 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,720 threw the ball. Listen, it was a good plan in 31 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:40,360 the huddle. You ever have plans to fall 32 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,680 apart? Me too. 33 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:46,080 Here's one of the things that I've learned about myself in the 34 00:01:46,080 --> 00:01:51,000 Christian life is that I have a lot of ideas and every once in a 35 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,720 while I decide I should check in with God about his plans. 36 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:01,720 You see, the one of the problems that we have as humans is we 37 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,720 have this tendency to trust our own plan more than we seek and 38 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:09,280 trust the Lord. And so today, as we start in 39 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:13,680 Acts chapter 1, Jesus is going to make a point that most of us 40 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,360 will probably feel pretty uncomfortable with. 41 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:22,680 He's going to hand his disciples the mission of their lives and 42 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:24,880 he's going to deliberately withhold the plan. 43 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:29,720 And the reason that he does is, I believe, one of the most 44 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,240 important lessons that you're going to learn about living the 45 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,840 Christian life. And if you you leave today and 46 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:38,800 you get nothing else out of it, I want you to leave with this 47 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:41,480 concept. You actually don't need the 48 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,080 plan, You need the power. You don't need the plan, you 49 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:48,720 need the power. Let's read together starting in 50 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:53,520 Acts chapter one. Verse one says this in the first 51 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:55,880 book. O Theophilus, I have dealt with 52 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,640 all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken 53 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:02,320 up. After he had given commands 54 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,880 through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 55 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:10,400 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many 56 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:15,280 proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the 57 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:19,560 Kingdom of God. The apostle Luke, who also wrote 58 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:24,160 the book of Luke, opens the book of Acts by connecting this story 59 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,680 all the way back to the end of his gospel. 60 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,560 He's saying Jesus is still active. 61 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:31,880 His ministry doesn't end when he died. 62 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:33,440 It doesn't end at the resurrection. 63 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:36,560 It doesn't end at the ascension, which we're about to see in just 64 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:40,760 a moment. It continues through the people 65 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:45,760 that he empowers, and those people are actually called the 66 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,960 church. That that's what Jesus had 67 00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:52,520 originally promised all the way back in Matthew 18. 68 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,240 The church. The church is not a building. 69 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,640 It's not a program. The church is the continuation 70 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:02,440 of Christ's mission to the world that makes the church 71 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:07,960 indispensable. The church is Christ's plan for 72 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,680 the world. It is the hope of the world 73 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:16,240 until he returns. And that means we don't get to 74 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:18,640 just dismiss it or ignore it and listen. 75 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,640 There are a lot of problems with the church, mainly because you 76 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,840 and I are in it. That makes it really messy. 77 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:32,600 What's the, what's the phrase? You don't ever want to show up 78 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,680 at a perfect church because the moment you show up, it's not 79 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:39,440 perfect anymore. It's really messy. 80 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:44,360 But even in that mess, the church is called the bride of 81 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,760 Christ. It is the continuation of his 82 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,360 work here on earth. Do you know there are no 83 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,960 Christians in the New Testament who are disconnected from the 84 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:58,120 local church and are still living on mission? 85 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:02,520 Doesn't even exist. I just I want you to think about 86 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,840 that the next time someone tells you that they that you don't 87 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:12,400 need the church. Let's keep reading verse 4 And 88 00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:16,920 while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from 89 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:21,720 Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which he 90 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,640 said you heard from me for John baptized with water, but you 91 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:30,240 will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. 92 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:34,200 Just consider for a minute that the disciples that he's telling 93 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,800 wait. The disciples have spent about 3 94 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:42,200 1/2 years with Jesus and in that time they've they they've eaten 95 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,560 their meals together, they've traveled together, they saw 96 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:47,000 slept in the same spots that the disciples have watched all of 97 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,160 these miracles happen about 40 miracles. 98 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,440 They've heard every teaching and all these lessons that Jesus 99 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:53,840 taught. I calculated it. 100 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:58,560 We were, as we were running the numbers somewhere between 14,000 101 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:01,960 and 16,000 hours of intense mentorship. 102 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:10,640 Malcolm Gladwell writes a book where he says that it takes 103 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:15,560 roughly 10,000 hours to master any subject. 104 00:06:16,280 --> 00:06:20,360 They had 14 to 16,000 hours with Jesus. 105 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:23,000 They didn't just study under him. 106 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:25,800 They they had mastered the subject of Jesus. 107 00:06:26,080 --> 00:06:28,760 And Jesus says, hey, this thing that's coming, you're not ready, 108 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:35,720 Wait, wait, don't move. Why? 109 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:40,800 Because everything that he is about to ask them to do cannot 110 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,520 be done by human means. No matter how much training 111 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:46,880 they've had, knowledge is not enough. 112 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,200 They're going to need something supernatural. 113 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:56,600 What is about to happen is something that had never 114 00:06:56,600 --> 00:06:58,960 happened before. So if you're familiar the the 115 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:02,280 first part of the Bible the the pre Jesus part of the Bible is 116 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:05,440 called the Old Testament. And in the Old Testament the 117 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:10,440 Spirit of God rested on specific people, usually prophets, 118 00:07:10,760 --> 00:07:13,880 priests or kings and it was temporary. 119 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,640 It would rest on a person for a specific task for a specific 120 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,680 time. And so when the task was done, 121 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:25,600 the Spirit could leave. There's a man named King Saul in 122 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:28,320 the Old Testament, and he lost the Spirit of God. 123 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:30,840 There's a man named King David in the Old Testament. 124 00:07:30,840 --> 00:07:33,960 He prays to God. Don't take your spirit from me. 125 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:36,720 Because it was selective and it was temporary. 126 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:42,240 What Jesus is about to give the disciples and us had never 127 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:49,040 existed before the Holy Spirit permanently indwelling and 128 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:53,600 living with every single believer, not resting on a few 129 00:07:53,880 --> 00:08:01,160 living inside of us all. So Jesus says, wait, they're on 130 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,600 the edge of something that would have been unimaginable to any of 131 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:08,600 the Old Testament Saints. Now you would think after 132 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:13,920 hearing what he just said, there would be some profound 133 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:17,640 questions, something like really impactful. 134 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:24,920 Let's read verse 6. So when they had come together, 135 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:30,360 they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom 136 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,039 to Israel? He said to them, it is not for 137 00:08:34,039 --> 00:08:37,840 you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his 138 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:42,440 own authority three years with Jesus. 139 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:45,200 They've witnessed the resurrection. 140 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:50,040 Jesus is physically standing in front of them, risen from the 141 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,720 dead. And their first question is, is 142 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:58,680 Israel going to be in charge? They want to know about the 143 00:08:58,680 --> 00:09:03,120 Romans. Are you going to conquer the 144 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:05,440 Romans? National politics? 145 00:09:06,520 --> 00:09:09,240 How would you imagine for a second that tomorrow night? 146 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:13,280 So Monday night, Jesus shows up at your house and you can ask 147 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,720 him anything you want and you're like, who's going to win the 148 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,880 next election? What? 149 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:28,160 What of all the questions, bro? Now notice Jesus doesn't even 150 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:33,760 answer the question. He redirects it entirely. 151 00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:38,120 And I just want to say something for maybe a couple of you. 152 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:42,560 This This is a word for when you've been asking the wrong 153 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:44,280 question. Often times you don't get an 154 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:49,440 answer, you get a redirect. And so maybe in this season of 155 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:52,200 your life, you've been frustrated by what you feel like 156 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,520 is God's silence. And I just want you to sit in 157 00:09:55,520 --> 00:09:57,720 this for a moment. You, you might be asking the 158 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:02,000 wrong question. You see, the wrong question is 159 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,720 always some version of when are you going to fix my situation on 160 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:11,000 my terms? As if, as if Jesus is some kind 161 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,640 of genie in a lamp and you have wishes left. 162 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:19,560 The right question is what are you already doing Lord and how 163 00:10:19,560 --> 00:10:25,840 do I get in on it? And so look again at what Jesus 164 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:30,880 says verse 7. He says It is not for you to 165 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:35,320 know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own 166 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:43,280 authority. But you will receive power when 167 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:45,760 the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my 168 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:49,400 witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the 169 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:56,680 ends of the earth. He gives them, He promises them 170 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,160 power. You will receive power when the 171 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:03,880 Holy Spirit comes, and He promises them purpose. 172 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:10,720 You will be my witnesses, but He intentionally withholds some 173 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,280 things and I don't want you to miss the fact that he withholds 174 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:21,080 the plan and the particulars and most of the procedure of how 175 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:25,000 this is going to work. Like you realize he is about to 176 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:32,920 launch them on the greatest mission in human history and he 177 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:39,320 gives them zero timeline. You may have realized that for 178 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:42,480 the last 2000 years, people have not actually listened to that 179 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:44,920 and have decided that they can come up with the time that Jesus 180 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:51,000 is going to come back. It's going to be November 11th, 181 00:11:51,160 --> 00:11:56,840 1982. It is not for you to know the 182 00:11:56,840 --> 00:12:00,080 times or the season. It's not for you. 183 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:03,360 And he doesn't give them the particulars. 184 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:05,200 There's no step by step strategy. 185 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:06,800 There's no details of what's coming next. 186 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:08,560 You know what? There's not even a playbook. 187 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:11,520 I don't. Some of you are planners. 188 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:16,440 Got a couple planners in here. Oh, yeah, they get nothing. 189 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:18,720 So do we need Sunday school or Bible study? 190 00:12:19,080 --> 00:12:21,000 Do we need Wednesday night prayer meeting or Sunday night 191 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:22,880 prayer meeting? Do we need small groups or do we 192 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:25,480 need, should we we meet in parks or should we meet in buildings? 193 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:27,080 Should have a big church or small church. 194 00:12:27,080 --> 00:12:32,760 You don't get any of that and get any of that detail. 195 00:12:39,660 --> 00:12:41,380 Why does he withhold all the details? 196 00:12:41,380 --> 00:12:43,580 Why doesn't it give him any of the plan? 197 00:12:47,780 --> 00:12:51,860 This is this is about to be the greatest movement in all of 198 00:12:51,860 --> 00:12:55,060 human history. Objectively, if you track back 199 00:12:55,180 --> 00:12:59,980 what what will happen with Christianity, nothing in history 200 00:13:00,100 --> 00:13:04,500 will impact the world like the movement of Christianity. 201 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:10,440 It is the biggest move sociologically and culturally 202 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:11,920 that will ever happen in human history. 203 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,000 And they get no plan, no tips, no organization. 204 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:21,560 I was at a wedding yesterday and man, if you've ever any of you 205 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:24,400 want to use a planner and like your spouse is not or vice 206 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,800 versa. I was at a wedding and I kid you 207 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:32,160 not, I open, I open the, the the the bulletin and the bride has 208 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:34,920 organized all of the photographs of all of the people in the 209 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:36,800 wedding by three minute increments. 210 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:41,680 It's like 443-440-6440. I was like, this is a I like 211 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:47,320 this person, this is a planner. Her husband texted me the day 212 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:48,480 before want to be in the wedding. 213 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:59,280 I'm like, really? Why would God hold back all the 214 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,960 planning and all the details and all the how TOS? 215 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,760 If you're familiar with the story of the Bible, kind of how 216 00:14:08,760 --> 00:14:11,960 it starts, there's a book called Genesis in the beginning and in 217 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:16,160 and in chapter 3 of the very first book is the story of the 218 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:20,200 Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve. And in that story we get the 219 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,520 story of the first rebellion against God. 220 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:25,640 All everything's perfect until we rebel against God. 221 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:29,360 We call that sin. And the first sin is the first 222 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,440 man and woman sinning against God. 223 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:35,760 And Eve takes a fruit she's not supposed to take, and she does 224 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:37,760 it because she's tempted by this serpent. 225 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:39,560 And here's the here's the promise. 226 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:41,760 Here's the trick that he gives her to get her to do this. 227 00:14:41,920 --> 00:14:51,000 He says you can be like God. You can be like God. 228 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:54,240 You see, at the at the root of our sinful nature, because we 229 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,960 have all come from Adam and Eve, is a desire to be God, not to 230 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:03,640 serve God as we were created to do, but to replace him, to be 231 00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:08,120 him, to not need him. And see what happens for me, and 232 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,320 often times what happens for you is that when I get the plan and 233 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:12,760 when I get the details and when I get the strategy, I begin to 234 00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:19,360 think that I don't need God. I got this, I can handle it, I 235 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,480 don't need you. The desire to have all the 236 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:24,920 details and have all the plan and to map it all out and to 237 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:29,320 control it and to execute it all on our own is as old as the 238 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,920 Garden of Eden. We haven't changed. 239 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:35,120 If you give me the plan and give me the procedure and give me the 240 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,160 details, then I won't need to depend on you, God, because I'll 241 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:40,880 be in control this way. You turn to the Lord's Prayer 242 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:43,680 and he says, what? Give us this day Our Daily 243 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:44,800 Bread. You don't even get to know if 244 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:54,320 you got tomorrow's bread because I want to be in control. 245 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:02,200 And Jesus says it is not for you to know these things that should 246 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:04,880 make you uncomfortable. Sure makes me uncomfortable. 247 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:11,120 That's my flesh fighting against the Holy Spirit because I hate 248 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:13,120 this. I hate this in every area of my 249 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,280 life. But you're in school. 250 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:17,480 You want to, you want to plan out the classes you're going to 251 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:19,360 take every single semester and how long is it going to take and 252 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:21,560 what internship are going to be at what was my first job going 253 00:16:21,560 --> 00:16:23,160 to be and how much is that going to pay and where I'm going to 254 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:24,000 live when I'm going to come here? 255 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:25,720 I want to plan it all out. I want to know what those 256 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:28,840 details are. I want to I want to, I want to 257 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:31,440 climb the the corporate ladder. I want a career path. 258 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:40,360 I want it all laid out for me and Jesus says no, you don't 259 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:43,040 need to have all the details of the things that I'm going to do 260 00:16:43,040 --> 00:16:44,720 in your life. Here's what you need. 261 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:48,440 What you need is is a helper that you learn to follow. 262 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:56,360 Oh, negative. No, do not like that at all. 263 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:00,280 Zero out of five stars. Would not recommend unsubscribe. 264 00:17:02,280 --> 00:17:04,160 I don't like that I depend on other people. 265 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:07,680 Oh no, depend on the Holy Spirit. 266 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:12,560 You see in our church. If they're up to me, I would 267 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:14,240 like whiteboard out the next 10 years. 268 00:17:15,319 --> 00:17:17,920 I would have every wall filled in the office and it would look 269 00:17:17,920 --> 00:17:20,640 like the conspiracy theory guy with the threads and the strings 270 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:27,839 and I. And yet all of the greatest 271 00:17:27,839 --> 00:17:29,560 things that have happened in this church have not come 272 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:33,520 because we came up with a plan. They happened because we got on 273 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:35,080 our knees and we saw the face of God. 274 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:40,560 And then when he prompted us, we obeyed. 275 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,240 Wrest Mania, this big thing that we're talking about today, our 276 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:48,280 big kids camp. Y'all really think we were 277 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:51,080 sitting around one day and we thought to ourselves, you know 278 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:55,200 what? What if the church worked 279 00:17:55,200 --> 00:18:00,600 themselves half to death, took vacation time from work, dressed 280 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,520 up in horribly silly costumes and danced like no one was 281 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:10,040 watching for Jesus? We did not know. 282 00:18:11,040 --> 00:18:16,560 That is not how that happened. We were praying and seeking the 283 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:22,440 face of God, and then when he responded, we obeyed radically. 284 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,640 You see, this is what we're actually supposed to do. 285 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:30,080 Is the purpose of the Holy Spirit the recipe that Jesus is 286 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:34,280 going to leave them with His Wait, seek and obey. 287 00:18:35,480 --> 00:18:42,160 Wait, seek and obey. Now we're not waiting for a 288 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,360 feeling. We're not waiting for a vibe. 289 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:49,200 We're waiting for a person. The Holy Spirit, the disciples, 290 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,120 had been living with God in the flesh. 291 00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:54,240 That's Jesus and he's transitioning so they will be 292 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,160 ready to live with God in the Spirit. 293 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:00,560 That's the Holy Spirit, and that's us too. 294 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:05,280 The recipe for us is to wait, to seek and to obey. 295 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:09,320 What does it look like to wait? You all realize we're a culture 296 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:14,000 that hates waiting, right? I mean, we've got drive through 297 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,280 so you don't have to get out of your car to get food you didn't 298 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:18,080 prepare. And if the line is too long, you 299 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:22,000 drive past it. We are turning in patients into 300 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,720 an art form. What does it look like to wait? 301 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,480 It is active positioning. It is not passive sitting. 302 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:34,680 It is getting ourselves, our minds and our hearts in a 303 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:38,960 position to hear from the Lord. And so so Monday morning when 304 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,080 you wake up, before you open your phone and you start doom 305 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,160 scrolling, before you start the To Do List of all the things 306 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:48,520 that are on your plan, we stop and we wait and we talk to the 307 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:50,960 Lord. We read our word in the 308 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:57,480 stillness of the moment. Been reading through Proverbs a 309 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,280 lot lately in the daily reading plan. 310 00:20:00,680 --> 00:20:02,800 And it's weird because it's almost like a biography because 311 00:20:02,800 --> 00:20:04,640 it keeps talking about this guy named a fool. 312 00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:11,760 Man do I relate. But, but you're reading through 313 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:13,960 it and, and, and, and, and this has maybe happened to you 314 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:15,120 before. You're reading, you're reading 315 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:17,240 through some verses and you're speaking to the Lord and all of 316 00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,760 a sudden someone comes to mind. It has nothing to do with even 317 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:21,200 what you're reading. You're like, why did that person 318 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:23,000 come to mind? And in that moment you go, man, 319 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:24,080 I should start praying for that person. 320 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:26,000 You've got to pray for them. And you go, I need to reach out 321 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,480 to them just to check on them. And you text them or you call 322 00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:29,680 them. And then as you do, you realize 323 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,080 that God's working in their life and there's an opportunity that 324 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:34,800 you have maybe to, to, to respond to a need that they 325 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,240 have. And, and that's God working 326 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:41,360 through his word, through prayer, through time to lead 327 00:20:41,360 --> 00:20:45,600 you. And that comes while waiting. 328 00:20:48,040 --> 00:20:51,000 I'm, I'm, I'm struggling with some things that are going on in 329 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:52,960 this church right now. I want to just run out and fix 330 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:55,920 all of them right now. And God is just pressing on me. 331 00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:01,880 Wait, slow down, be present with me. 332 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:09,040 Psalm 4610 Be still and know that I am God. 333 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,960 Wait, but in the waiting seek Him. 334 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:15,680 What does it look like to seek God? 335 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:20,720 It is to pursue His presence, to pursue His face, not just His 336 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:26,960 answers. We have to learn to stop asking 337 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:30,800 God to bless our plan and start asking God to show us where He's 338 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:35,760 already moving. Practically, you wake up and you 339 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:40,840 ask God, Father, what are you doing today and where do you 340 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,920 want me? And then pay attention, God, 341 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,600 where are you at work? Father, what does it look like 342 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,680 to do your will today? If you're, if you're brand new 343 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:54,400 to this and you're like, man, I've never even heard of this 344 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:56,440 idea of seeking the Lord. I'd start here. 345 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:03,640 Just talk to him even out loud. God, if you're real, show me 346 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:07,320 where you're moving. What a great start. 347 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,000 And when you realize where He's leading, obey. 348 00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:17,080 When you see it, you move. Even when it's costly, 349 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,000 especially when it costs something. 350 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:24,560 The moment that you begin to realize real conviction, we act 351 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:26,440 on it before we talk ourselves out of it. 352 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,160 Because I'm really good at talking myself out of it. 353 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:31,040 I have a lot of excuses about why not to obey God. 354 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:37,080 Don't do that. That could be taking a risk, 355 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,960 making a phone call, having an awkward conversation, signing up 356 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,960 somewhere to volunteer. This past week, I was sitting in 357 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:46,760 a meeting for this secular business, non Christians just 358 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:49,080 kind of sitting in the room and talking about some stuff. 359 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:51,640 And they begin to talk about some employees that that had 360 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:53,840 done some really evil stuff in their company and that they'd 361 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:55,240 gotten rid of. And as they're talking about 362 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:57,480 like, finally we got rid of these bad people. 363 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,600 And I and I heard the Holy Spirit just go like, there 364 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:01,880 aren't bad people, you're all bad people. 365 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:06,000 And I was just like, well, well, I'm, I'm a bad person too, but 366 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,640 but for the grace of God that they're no different than me. 367 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:11,760 And just, you know, people that are Christians are looking at 368 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,680 you like what? Those awkward moments where 369 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:20,800 you're like, no, it's true. They're going to be moments 370 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:23,560 where the Holy Spirit calls you to do something in a moment that 371 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,000 is very awkward, that is going to require a risk that might 372 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:28,440 even seem radical. And if you're paying attention, 373 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,760 you will obey. And it was awesome. 374 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:39,440 And it was also scary. See, The thing is that wait, 375 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:43,080 seek, obey sounds really simple, but it's actually pretty hard 376 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,840 because in order to be good at it, you have to practice it. 377 00:23:51,080 --> 00:23:55,160 And most of us, most of us have this tendency to, to, to lean 378 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,680 away from that in one of two ways. 379 00:23:57,680 --> 00:24:00,720 I would, I would describe them like like ditches on the side of 380 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:03,360 the path or the side of the road that we often find ourselves 381 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:06,680 falling into and on and on one side is this ditch that is 382 00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:12,520 religious formalism. It's when I replace wait, seek 383 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:16,760 and obey, I replace dependency on God with a checklist. 384 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,720 Went to church today, check. Read my Bible, check. 385 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,320 Give some money to God, check guess I'm good. 386 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:28,160 It's when I'm managing God instead of following him. 387 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:37,760 It's when I'm managing him. The Holy Spirit, though present 388 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:43,000 in my life, I completely ignore. I've stopped noticing I built 389 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,360 such a religious performance instead of a relationship that I 390 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:54,200 I can't tell when he's moving. There's no formula, guys. 391 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:56,720 It's a person, it's a relationship. 392 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,760 God is at work all around you did like we always. 393 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:02,400 I wish I wish I knew what God was doing. 394 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,360 God is at work all the time. God is at work in your life. 395 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:07,080 He's at work in your family, he's at work with your 396 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:09,240 neighbors. He's at work in your workplace, 397 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:11,320 he's at work in your gym and that the restaurant in the 398 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:12,880 supermarket. God is at work. 399 00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:18,480 We're generally just too busy to notice, and we're missing it. 400 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,560 We're too busy with religion to notice God at work. 401 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:29,600 Think of the irony of that. The Holy Spirit doesn't start 402 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:31,880 working when you walk in those doors and stop working when you 403 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:33,680 get to the parking lot. You all know that, right? 404 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,880 This is the building. The Holy Spirit lives in you. 405 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,320 He's at work all week long through you. 406 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:46,200 Or he's trying to be and so we have to start paying attention 407 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:48,720 and then responding when we recognize it here. 408 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:50,800 Hey, lean in real quick. I got something for you. 409 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,360 I'm going to give you a money back guarantee. 410 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:55,440 You ready for this one? Come on, everybody likes a money 411 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,360 back guarantee. Money back guarantee. 412 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:06,080 If you will start really earnestly seeking God and then 413 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:10,560 just obeying when you realize He's moving, your Christian life 414 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:16,720 will go from boring to sizzling money back guarantee. 415 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:19,280 If that doesn't happen, I will give you every dollar back that 416 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:29,040 you paid to get saved. Pastor jokes If one ditch if one 417 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,440 extreme is religious formalism, then the other ditch on the 418 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:35,120 other side of the road is emotional decision making. 419 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,680 This is when I can't tell the difference between something the 420 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,040 Holy Spirit is doing and my own emotions. 421 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:46,640 Anytime you feel something intensely, you call it God. 422 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:50,800 And this is where we get dangerous. 423 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:54,520 When we act out of hurt and call it conviction. 424 00:26:55,240 --> 00:27:00,400 We act out of fear, shame, excitement or even a wound and 425 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:06,040 we call it God. Hebrews 4514 is the author is 426 00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,600 talking to a group that lacks spiritual maturity and he's 427 00:27:09,600 --> 00:27:13,400 explaining the concept to them and he says this he says solid 428 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:18,240 food is for the mature for those who have their powers of 429 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:23,840 discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good 430 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:27,680 from evil. Now, the Greek word that is used 431 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:33,440 in this verse for trained is the word gagumnasmanah. 432 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:37,440 That's a tongue twister, but it means athletic training, like 433 00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:41,560 you're training a muscle. You build it by using it 434 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:44,960 repeatedly over time. Spiritual maturity is not 435 00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,560 referring to how long you follow Jesus. 436 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,280 It's referring to how well you've developed the ability to 437 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,760 tell the difference between right and wrong, to tell the 438 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,320 difference between what the Holy Spirit is doing and what your 439 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,120 emotions or your wounds are doing. 440 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:05,800 You know, most of the decisions that you're going to make in 441 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:08,400 life are morally neutral decisions there. 442 00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,760 There's not going to be no Bible verse for a lot of the things 443 00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:13,320 that you do in life. You're going to have to have 444 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:17,200 exercised your powers of this sermon, your recognition of 445 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,720 where God is moving and leading in order to get those things 446 00:28:19,720 --> 00:28:26,520 right by design. And when you get saved, that 447 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:28,680 muscle is completely undeveloped. 448 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:35,960 You have no idea it's going to take work and both of the 449 00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:38,760 extremes on either side of the road, whether it's religious 450 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:42,520 formalism or emotional decision making, miss the whole point. 451 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,720 They don't even use a power of discernment. 452 00:28:47,640 --> 00:28:50,560 And you can actually have built this muscle up and then stopped 453 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:53,360 using it for a while and it actually it gets weak again. 454 00:28:53,880 --> 00:29:00,800 It atrophies when you neglect it and either side neglects this 455 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,000 training. Being religious does not use 456 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,680 this muscle. Following emotions doesn't 457 00:29:05,680 --> 00:29:11,680 either. About about 4 1/2 years ago I 458 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,720 just had an absolute emotional meltdown over some stuff and I 459 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,160 was ready to quit. And I had a really good friend 460 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:24,440 who called me and he said so Daniel, are you emotional right 461 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:29,680 now? And I was like, yes, clearly. 462 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:35,560 And he said, well, do we make good decisions when we're 463 00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:41,920 emotional? No, it's like, OK, let's not 464 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:44,400 make any decisions then I'll call you in a week. 465 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,600 I've been, I've been dealing with some of this even in this 466 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,520 last season, in this year, I've, I've had some just significant 467 00:29:51,520 --> 00:29:55,600 relational wounds over the last couple months, like really deep 468 00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,440 ones. And I've been working with my 469 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,960 accountability partner and with my mentor and, and with my wife, 470 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:03,840 just talking through, trying to process through those things 471 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,040 and, and, and I, and in the process, I realized, man, I'm in 472 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,720 a really dangerous place right now, Not not because I'm broken, 473 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:15,360 but because wounds speak loudly and they feel like conviction. 474 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:22,200 They feel like righteous anger. And I've been walking with the 475 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:25,280 Lord long enough to understand what that combination can 476 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:27,600 produce when you're not careful. And so I started to see a 477 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:31,800 therapist about 3 weeks ago, particularly one that 478 00:30:31,880 --> 00:30:33,720 specializes in pastoral counselling. 479 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:35,880 And then at the end of the first session, the therapist said to 480 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,000 me, hey, what's what's your goal with counselling? 481 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:44,560 And I said, I want to have emotions. 482 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:50,520 I don't want them to have me as a leader. 483 00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:53,280 I don't have the luxury of not dealing with my wounds because 484 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:57,920 they will hurt someone, and so I need to work through those. 485 00:30:57,920 --> 00:30:59,880 I don't believe that time heals all wounds. 486 00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:03,800 I think working on those wounds actually heals them. 487 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:08,560 You leave them, they just get infected. 488 00:31:11,720 --> 00:31:14,080 That is the work of building discernment. 489 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:21,840 That is the work of Hebrews 514 in real life, working through 490 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:24,280 those things that you can recognize where God is leading 491 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,040 and then obey. And every one of us has to work 492 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:29,600 on that. You see, there's a difference 493 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,960 between a religious routine and being spirit led and there's a 494 00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,360 difference between being emotionally driven and being 495 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,440 spirit led and the difference matters and learning to tell the 496 00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:41,400 difference is not optional. It is the marker of spiritual 497 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:47,320 maturity. And if that's where you find 498 00:31:47,320 --> 00:31:51,080 yourself right now in, in the fog of a, of a wound or a hurt 499 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:55,440 or an emotion, not sure what's the Holy Spirit and what's your 500 00:31:55,440 --> 00:31:59,480 own pain, Jesus doesn't actually ask you to sort it out all out 501 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,080 on your own. He asks you to come to him. 502 00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:09,400 The disciples in this moment of the ascension, we're going to 503 00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:11,280 read it in a second. They're up on a hillside and 504 00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:13,600 they're going to, they're going to walk off that hillside. 505 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,880 Not with a plan. They're going to walk off with a 506 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,960 promise of power from the Holy Spirit and with a brand new 507 00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:23,360 purpose. Jesus doesn't hand him a 508 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:27,400 whiteboard. He actually hands them himself 509 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:31,920 in the form of the Holy Spirit who was about to come and live 510 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,760 inside them permanently in a way that no human being in history 511 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,640 had ever experienced before. And then he leaves. 512 00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:42,160 That's what the next verses say. Verse 9 says this. 513 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:44,320 And when he had said these things and they were looking on, 514 00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:48,080 he was lifted up, and the cloud took him out of their sight. 515 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:51,440 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, 2 men 516 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,760 stood by them in white robes. And he said and said, Men of 517 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:57,240 Galilee, why do you stand looking at heaven? 518 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:00,520 This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the 519 00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:02,280 same way as you saw him go into heaven. 520 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,520 What are the angels saying? They're like, Hey guys, what are 521 00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:06,680 you waiting for? It's time to go. 522 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:09,840 You have what you need. Go work. 523 00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:13,400 So you don't need the plan, you need the power. 524 00:33:14,560 --> 00:33:17,960 So for any of you here or online, even listening to this 525 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,640 and realizing in this moment you have just been grinding out 526 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:24,760 religion, You've been grinding out a checklist, checking those 527 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,920 boxes, managing God, going through the motions. 528 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:33,320 I want you to know that is not what God is offering you and for 529 00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:36,800 any of you the likewise that are on the other side of you, you're 530 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:39,600 thinking about, you know what? I've been running on emotions, 531 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,400 making decisions out of my wounds, confusing how you feel 532 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:46,640 with what God is doing. He is offering you something far 533 00:33:46,640 --> 00:33:51,480 more stable than feelings. What He's offering is a person, 534 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,320 the Holy Spirit living in you, guiding you, empowering you to 535 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:59,600 do things that frankly have no business working by human 536 00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,280 standards. And so if you have been 537 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:07,680 minimizing the Holy Spirit and trying to control your life and 538 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:14,400 God, in fact, if you realize today that you are in one of 539 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:17,040 these ditches, I want you to take a moment. 540 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:20,400 I just want you to write that down on your insert because you 541 00:34:20,400 --> 00:34:25,320 can make a choice today to wait, seek and obey in a moment. 542 00:34:25,320 --> 00:34:28,280 As we respond to the sermon, I want you to tell someone about 543 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:30,280 that commitment. Don't keep it a secret. 544 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:40,239 For some of you in the room perhaps, or watching online, you 545 00:34:40,239 --> 00:34:43,639 don't have access to the Holy Spirit because you haven't met 546 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:49,880 Jesus and surrendered to Him. And if that's you, today could 547 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:56,360 be your day One. Jesus died on a cross to pay the 548 00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:59,960 penalty for our sin. Three days later, He walked out 549 00:34:59,960 --> 00:35:04,360 of the tomb. He is alive and He is offering 550 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:08,880 you salvation, forgiveness of our sin, and eternal life with 551 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,800 the Father. So here's the invitation that He 552 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:14,760 extends. Repent and believe. 553 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:20,720 Repent and believe. So I want to offer you that 554 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:23,320 invitation that Christ offers you today. 555 00:35:23,520 --> 00:35:26,240 Will you all bow your heads for just a moment as we close? 556 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:34,160 If you would like to surrender your life to Christ and follow 557 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:37,960 Him as King, I just want you to repeat this prayer after me. 558 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:46,080 Jesus, I know I'm a Sinner who can't save myself. 559 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:56,040 I want you to save me, so I surrender everything to you and 560 00:35:56,040 --> 00:36:02,680 I receive your promise of forgiveness, of adoption into 561 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:09,400 your family, of the Holy Spirit, and of eternal life. 562 00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:17,960 Be my Lord. Please Jesus, if you said that 563 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,760 prayer for the very first time, would you be brave and raise 564 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:27,720 your hand for me to see? Thank you. 565 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:33,320 You put your hands down in Jesus name, Amen. 566 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:38,360 Real quick as we close, if you just committed your life to 567 00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:46,820 Christ for the very first time. Welcome to the family in just a 568 00:36:46,820 --> 00:36:48,580 moment as we respond to the sermon. 569 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:51,520 There are tables in the back that say I raised my hand, 570 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:54,280 there'll be people back there. We would love to talk to you. 571 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:58,040 And so if you've made a decision today or recently to follow 572 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:00,040 Christ and you haven't told anyone about that yet. 573 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:01,840 I want you to go to the back. We have a gift for you. 574 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:03,120 We would love to celebrate with you. 575 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:05,280 Will you stand? We're going to sing a song. 576 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:16,200 If today you made a decision to wait, seek and obey, or if today 577 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:18,680 you would just like prayer for an area in your life, our prayer 578 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,120 team is going to be up here. We love praying for you. 579 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:24,000 You can come up here and receive prayer for any reason. 580 00:37:25,320 --> 00:37:27,520 You move as the Lord leads you. We love you, Church.