1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,880
Welcome to the River City Church
podcast and a message by our 

2
00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,960
lead pastor, Jason Powers. 
Our prayer is that this message 

3
00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:12,240
would inspire and encourage you,
build your faith and point you 

4
00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,160
to the life changing love. 
Of. 

5
00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:18,040
Jesus, may you enjoy the 
goodness of God as you follow 

6
00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:19,920
Him today. 
We're going to begin today, like

7
00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:21,520
we always do, with our 
confession. 

8
00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:23,640
And our confession is just 
telling the truth. 

9
00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,560
And sometimes the good news is 
we believe the truth, and 

10
00:00:27,560 --> 00:00:30,960
sometimes the truth is the truth
whether we believe it or not, 

11
00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:34,040
right. 
And so our confession, each week

12
00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:38,720
we say this We are badly broken.
Yes, you are. 

13
00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:42,520
Grace and peace to you. 
That phrase, that sentence, that

14
00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,680
whole idea, badly broken and 
deeply loved. 

15
00:00:45,680 --> 00:00:50,960
It is a deeply formative part of
who we are as a congregation. 

16
00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:55,720
We assume from the outset that 
each of us has brokenness, and 

17
00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:59,320
brokenness is brokenness in a 
sense of wounds that have been 

18
00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:03,040
handed to us by others. 
Brokenness from church 

19
00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:06,560
experiences that with went 
wrong, from family experiences 

20
00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,000
that went wrong, from choices 
and decisions that we've made 

21
00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:15,480
that have gone well and poorly. 
We have brokenness, but we also 

22
00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:17,760
confess that we have brokenness 
in the sense that. 

23
00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:21,360
In the same way that we receive 
pain, we have a tendency and 

24
00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,680
history of inflicting pain. 
And when we declare, when we 

25
00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,920
confess our brokenness, the 
point is that this isn't just 

26
00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,920
some sense of well, if you can't
handle me at my worst, you don't

27
00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,640
deserve me at my bet. 
That's nonsense. 

28
00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:34,880
Right, like. 
We don't say anything. 

29
00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:39,040
The reason we confess both our 
brokenness and our belovedness 

30
00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:42,840
is because we believe in the 
partnering of those two things. 

31
00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:47,640
Transformation is possible if we
deny our brokenness. 

32
00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:50,960
It's like the person that never 
admits that they have like a 

33
00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,840
festering wound on their arm and
you can't get any treatment if 

34
00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:57,960
you don't take it to the doctor.
But the belovedness, our 

35
00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,160
belovedness by God means that 
when we bring him our brokenness

36
00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,040
and whatever form it is and 
listen, we don't even know what 

37
00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:07,760
form it's in all the time. 
But when we bring that 

38
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:12,000
brokenness to God, God I'm an 
addict, God, I'm afraid, God, 

39
00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,200
I'm selfish, God, I'm 
insensitive, God, whatever it. 

40
00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:19,720
AB because we're beloved, he 
heals that. 

41
00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:24,800
So as we started talking last 
time about what it means to be a

42
00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:28,040
member at the church, what it 
means to be a partner with River

43
00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,400
City in this mission of the 
Capital Sea Church, that's part 

44
00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:33,360
of it and it's an important 
part. 

45
00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:34,800
I'm going to tell you about my 
friend Ernie. 

46
00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:38,840
Ernie was a member of part of 
the other church that we went to

47
00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:40,760
before we came here, when we 
planted out of this. 

48
00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,960
And Ernie by all and for all 
intents and purposes, was 

49
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,960
absolutely as immersed as a 
person could be in the cultural 

50
00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,640
life of our congregation. 
Ernie was a small group leader. 

51
00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:53,240
Ernie LED mission trips. 
Ernie's kids were involved in 

52
00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:54,280
the youth ministry. 
He. 

53
00:02:54,280 --> 00:02:57,000
Showed up on Sunday mornings and
he was a greeter and he stood at

54
00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:58,920
the door and he passed out 
bulletins. 

55
00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:03,080
And everywhere you went at 
church, you wanted to be where 

56
00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:04,760
Ernie was. 
He was just that guy, Just a 

57
00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:09,080
great big old hulking guy. 
Always smiled on the outside, 

58
00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:10,760
love. 
And he came to me once and I was

59
00:03:10,760 --> 00:03:13,560
like, kind of a new associate 
pastor, right? 

60
00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:15,760
And I was running around like a 
chicken with my head cut off 

61
00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,280
trying to make it all happen. 
And I loved a guy like Ernie 

62
00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:21,920
because Ernie wore lots of hats.
He did. 

63
00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:23,680
He was multifaceted in his 
service. 

64
00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:25,720
I love it. 
So Sunday morning, Ernie came up

65
00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:27,560
to me and said, hey, Jason, can 
I talk to you for a second? 

66
00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,840
And we went around the corner. 
He said, hey, I don't think I'm 

67
00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,000
going to be able to leave my 
small group anymore. 

68
00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,760
And in fact, I'm not going to be
able to do most of the things 

69
00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:37,040
that I went. 
And he went on for the next, 

70
00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,400
next 5 minutes to talk about how
in the span of a week, his 

71
00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,960
entire life had fallen apart. 
He said. 

72
00:03:43,960 --> 00:03:46,760
My wife's been in having an 
affair for a year. 

73
00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,840
I've been having an affair for 
about that long. 

74
00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,040
The money's gone. 
We're going to lose the house. 

75
00:03:54,040 --> 00:03:59,840
We're going to lose everything. 
So I can't leave my small group 

76
00:04:00,320 --> 00:04:03,400
this week and I was just 
floored. 

77
00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:04,960
I was shocked. 
I mean, this is a guy who's 

78
00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:06,760
always there like he always 
didn't. 

79
00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,000
So I asked him, I said well, 
how's your like? 

80
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,240
What is your small group? 
Say I this thing goes well, I 

81
00:04:12,240 --> 00:04:19,200
haven't told them yet. 
For a year, my friend Ernie was 

82
00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:24,040
living in two worlds, trying to 
live in two worlds. 

83
00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,160
And what Ernie realizes, the 
thing that we all realize 

84
00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:32,120
ultimately, you can't be in 2 
worlds you can't live in, you 

85
00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,720
can't swim in the Atlantic Ocean
and the Pacific Ocean at the 

86
00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,160
same time. 
And that was the problem with 

87
00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:40,680
Ernie. 
Ernie was religiously. 

88
00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,000
Busy he went and he did. 
A lot of the things he. 

89
00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:45,760
Showed up at the things that 
that he was supposed to be at 

90
00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:49,160
the things that he went but none
of the content of those things 

91
00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,720
none of his participation in 
those moments sought got any 

92
00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,800
deeper than his skin. 
It never became anything more 

93
00:04:56,800 --> 00:04:59,680
than something that he heard on 
a Sunday morning and he or he 

94
00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,440
heard on a Tuesday night in his 
small group, but never got down 

95
00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:05,640
into his habits or his 
confidence or his belief. 

96
00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,800
He was religiously busy, but he 
wasn't being transformed and 

97
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:14,920
being shaped to look like Jesus.
And so the question becomes, 

98
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:19,440
what was going on with Ernie? 
Now, let me just say, I tell 

99
00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:23,360
that story as a part of my own 
formative experience because 

100
00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:26,840
here's part of Ernie's story 
that's hard for me to share. 

101
00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:30,840
For the four or five years that 
Ernie was around doing all those

102
00:05:30,840 --> 00:05:34,600
things, I was the one 
encouraging him to do it. 

103
00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:38,440
I was like, I knew, man, hey, 
listen, if you want to get 

104
00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:40,600
something done, you got to ask a
busy person to do it, right? 

105
00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:44,680
So when I needed something done,
I asked Ernie, Ernie, do you 

106
00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:46,280
want to lead a, another small 
group? 

107
00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:47,840
Do you want to do this for men's
ministry? 

108
00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:49,320
Do you want to use a missions 
trip? 

109
00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,560
And I always could count on 
Ernie to do the things. 

110
00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:54,120
You know who couldn't count on 
Ernie? 

111
00:05:54,240 --> 00:06:03,280
His wife it's kids and so at 
River City we have a phrase that

112
00:06:03,280 --> 00:06:05,040
helps protect us. 
I actually bought it from the 

113
00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:06,640
other place where we try to live
into this. 

114
00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:08,920
If you've been around me for a 
while, I hope you've heard me 

115
00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:10,520
say this. 
If you haven't heard, I hope I 

116
00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:13,880
say it 1000 times going on for 
and the point is that it's going

117
00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:16,760
to it saves us from walking down
the aisle like we did with 

118
00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,000
earning. 
We say at River City, we're not 

119
00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,560
making a product. 
We are the product. 

120
00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:29,800
And So what I mean by that is 
the worship set is not our 

121
00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:35,160
ultimate goal. 
This gathering is not our 

122
00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:39,560
ultimate goal. 
Children's ministry is not our 

123
00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:41,640
ultimate goal. 
Because if those things are our 

124
00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:44,800
ultimate goal, then we can do 
all of those things and you can 

125
00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,800
never have a meaningful, 
significant encounter with 

126
00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:51,280
Jesus. 
And in fact, one of the guys who

127
00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:54,680
writes a bunch of books, he's 
been super formative in my 

128
00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:56,640
journey, books that he's written
in classes that he offers. 

129
00:06:56,640 --> 00:07:00,160
His name is Pete Scazaro. 
He's responsible for emotionally

130
00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,320
healthy stuff. 
If you're not familiar with it, 

131
00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:04,680
you should be 
emotionallyhealthy.org. 

132
00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:06,920
You should go read everything 
that he's ever written in your 

133
00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,240
small group. 
You should do these emotionally 

134
00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,120
healthy classes. 
They're fantastic. 

135
00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:12,720
They're wonderful. 
He's up from New York. 

136
00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:14,840
He's this, you know, he's just 
kind of a little guy, talks 

137
00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:17,960
fast, high energy like that. 
His stuff is deeply foreign if 

138
00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:22,760
he says this when people have 
authentic spiritual experiences,

139
00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:25,000
like when I was talking to Ernie
about right the leading the 

140
00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:27,800
authentic and spiritual 
experiences such as worship. 

141
00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,600
And prayer. 
And Bible study. 

142
00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,000
And fellowship. 
They mistakenly believe they are

143
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:39,680
doing fine, even if their 
relational life is fractured and

144
00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,120
their interior world is 
disordered. 

145
00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:50,600
They are deceived and what I 
want to hold up for us today is 

146
00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:56,880
it's not OK to be spiritually 
deceived by spiritual busyness. 

147
00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:00,600
We started last week talking 
about what it means to be a 

148
00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:05,160
member, to be a partner at River
City and at River City, what 

149
00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:07,080
being a partner at River City 
means. 

150
00:08:07,080 --> 00:08:10,840
It does not mean that we are 
making you busy. 

151
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,800
One of the hallmarks of our 
culture, kind of this cultural. 

152
00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,800
You, if you will, if you walk 
around and this time is people 

153
00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:20,960
wear busyness like a badge of 
honor. 

154
00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:24,200
We say, oh, if somebody asks me 
how I'm doing and I say I'm 

155
00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:26,040
busy, that must mean that I'm 
important. 

156
00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,360
That must mean that I have irons
in the fire that a lot of people

157
00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,320
are trying to get at me. 
And what I want to say is I 

158
00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,240
believe that's true. 
And I believe that we say that. 

159
00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,039
And I believe that there are 
lots of places in your world 

160
00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,840
that will go that will reinforce
that to you that you are 

161
00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:42,720
important because you are busy. 
And if you've got free time or 

162
00:08:42,720 --> 00:08:45,520
margin or you're just sitting on
the couch, so you're wasting 

163
00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:47,360
your alive or wasting that your 
time. 

164
00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:50,640
And what I want to say is that 
is formative for our souls. 

165
00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,080
When you constantly have a job 
that tells you your worth is in 

166
00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,080
what you produce, of course you 
want to work the extra shift. 

167
00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:59,840
Of course you want to do more. 
Of course you need to stay here 

168
00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:01,920
because I want to be valuable, 
right? 

169
00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:06,280
And we get so busy working for 
our families that we never get 

170
00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:10,200
time to be with our families. 
And we're always hurried and 

171
00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,120
we're always getting and we're 
always going. 

172
00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:17,640
Are we ever getting there? 
Have you ever made it and this 

173
00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:19,840
life that we live in and it's 
different. 

174
00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:24,200
Listen, when I was growing up, 
we had summers time. 

175
00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:25,880
My kids. 
I have kids that are 

176
00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:27,920
cheerleaders and jacks used to 
play baseball. 

177
00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:33,000
There's no summer anymore. 
You're working right now And 

178
00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,520
listen, I we and listen to the 
easiest thing for me is to be 

179
00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:38,120
like, Dang, old schools, man, 
you got a Co-op. 

180
00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:39,880
Except I have to parent my own 
children. 

181
00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:44,480
I'm responsible in my house what
we say yes to and what we say no

182
00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:46,080
to. 
And you know what? 

183
00:09:46,280 --> 00:09:49,920
Like driving somewhere and being
busy and always planning and 

184
00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:53,600
stacking the schedule. 
That's easier to do than this is

185
00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:59,920
how we deal with boredom. 
This is what doing nothing feels

186
00:09:59,920 --> 00:10:01,920
like. 
And we did it the other day with

187
00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:02,680
my kids. 
You know what? 

188
00:10:02,680 --> 00:10:05,880
And listen, their heads did not 
even pop off, not even for a 

189
00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:07,720
second. 
And they made it and they 

190
00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:12,360
survived and it was fine. 
The problem is and when this is 

191
00:10:12,360 --> 00:10:14,920
our input, when you wake up and 
you go to a job that tells you 

192
00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,000
what you're produced and you 
look at a social media platform 

193
00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,720
that tells you you are the size 
of your house or the size of 

194
00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:23,000
your car. 
Or you are whatever kind of 

195
00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,960
curated example you're supposed 
to be. 

196
00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,360
It forms us just like this can 
has formed this Play DoH. 

197
00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,440
This play DoH didn't have to do 
anything to be formed by this. 

198
00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:35,720
It just existed and you can't 
get it out. 

199
00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,440
And so here's the thing what I 
dream of. 

200
00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:44,680
Smells so good. 
What I dream of for this play 

201
00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:48,720
DoH is a beautiful goose. 
But do you know what stands in 

202
00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:51,560
the way of this play DoH being 
the goose that I want it to be? 

203
00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:58,400
It's shaped like a can already, 
and it can't become a goose 

204
00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:05,200
unless it unbecomes a can. 
And we live in a culture and a 

205
00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:12,160
time that loves to make us busy 
and afraid and anxious and 

206
00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:18,320
alone. 
Because if I'm afraid, they can 

207
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,480
tell me who my enemy is. 
And if they can tell who my 

208
00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:27,840
enemy is, then they can largely 
dictate where my heart goes. 

209
00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,600
If they tell me who my enemies 
are, if they tell me to be busy,

210
00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:34,320
they can tell me what my value 
is. 

211
00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:38,200
And then they can sell me a 
solution to make me what they 

212
00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,280
want me to be. 
But the question then is what 

213
00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,320
are we becoming? 
And again, like one of the 

214
00:11:45,320 --> 00:11:46,800
things we said last week, we're 
committed. 

215
00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:49,520
There's no shame here. 
I don't come to condemn you. 

216
00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,920
I don't come to to shame you or 
to manipulate you or try to get 

217
00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,840
listen, we're not following me. 
We're we're following Jesus. 

218
00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:57,720
But what I do want to do is I 
want to hold up. 

219
00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:00,560
What shape is your life in right
now? 

220
00:12:02,560 --> 00:12:06,000
Are you anxious and afraid? 
Are you nervous? 

221
00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,280
What if it didn't have to be 
like that? 

222
00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:13,920
What if that's not the way that 
it was supposed to be? 

223
00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,000
And that's what I want to 
suggest and what I want to hold 

224
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,280
us, hold up to us today is that 
I think we've been malformed. 

225
00:12:21,120 --> 00:12:24,360
I think our souls and our 
spirits and our minds have been 

226
00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:28,800
malformed by by busyness, by 
anger, by fear. 

227
00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:31,080
And listen, I'm not saying that 
a lot of it isn't valid. 

228
00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,360
I'm not saying that you don't 
look out at the world and see 

229
00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:36,760
lots of things that could be 
interpreted as as afraid or. 

230
00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:38,440
Whatever. 
But the question, the problem 

231
00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:42,400
isn't is that stuff out there? 
The question is, what's in here?

232
00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:46,520
The question wasn't did did 
Ernie do enough stuff? 

233
00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,280
The question was, was Ernie 
working on the things that 

234
00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:52,720
really mattered? 
Ernie was busy with lots of 

235
00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:56,480
stuff, but he wasn't busy. 
Being transformed. 

236
00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:03,240
And so when we're when we've 
bought into the idea that we are

237
00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:06,840
what we do, then the solution is
always to do more. 

238
00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:12,720
And the people that lose our 
spouses and our kids and our 

239
00:13:12,720 --> 00:13:16,200
soul. 
And so when we talk today about 

240
00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:19,080
things to do, I want to 
acknowledge. 

241
00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,280
And like this one guy flying 
around all over here, he's 

242
00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:25,760
killing me. 
But I have to acknowledge him so

243
00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:29,920
that I can ignore him. 
You see, another thing that we 

244
00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,080
hide behind is this idea of 
perfectionism, right? 

245
00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:34,920
But we don't so much call it 
perfectionism. 

246
00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:37,840
We don't so much call it 
perfectionism anymore. 

247
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:39,520
You know what we say now? 
We've got better language for 

248
00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:41,440
it. 
Now, what we say as people, as 

249
00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:44,240
individual, as corporations, as 
churches, as groups, what we say

250
00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:51,760
is we value excellence, right? 
Well, great, write it down. 

251
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:54,400
Tell me what excellence looks 
like. 

252
00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:57,400
Because too many times and we 
just say we value excellence. 

253
00:13:57,400 --> 00:13:59,400
What we mean is we make it 
perfect. 

254
00:13:59,560 --> 00:14:02,360
And if the standard and the goal
is perfection, that means that 

255
00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:06,760
you can't get there. 
That means that you're not 

256
00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:10,040
enough. 
And So what we default to then 

257
00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:13,440
is we laugh off ha ha ha. 
I'm just a control freak. 

258
00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,600
And control freak is one of 
those things like busyness that 

259
00:14:17,600 --> 00:14:22,760
I think we should be lamenting 
over, not celebrating when 

260
00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:24,160
somebody tells me I'm. 
Too. 

261
00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:25,680
How are you doing? 
I'm so. 

262
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:27,800
Busy. 
We should stop and pray for 

263
00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:29,600
them. 
Oh my gosh. 

264
00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:31,520
Because here's what Jesus. 
Said. 

265
00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:34,200
Jesus stood in the. 
Temple in the most religious 

266
00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:37,280
culture that it ever had been, 
the culture that was looking for

267
00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:40,840
God and Jesus said. 
Come to me. 

268
00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:45,360
If you're heavy burdened and 
I'll give you rest. 

269
00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:49,840
He said if you. 
Follow me, it will look like 

270
00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:51,320
rest. 
And he said, now here's how 

271
00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,560
you're going to learn rest. 
He talked about taking his yoke,

272
00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:55,320
right? 
He said, take my yoke on you. 

273
00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:58,160
And then he described we're 
like, yes, Jesus, I have your 

274
00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:01,720
yoke and it is a Bible study and
two Beth Moores and a small 

275
00:15:01,720 --> 00:15:04,240
group and I serve and I got 
prayer group and I got this. 

276
00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:12,240
Jesus said my burden is humble 
and gentle, not busy and 

277
00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,480
forceful, not powerful and known
it is. 

278
00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:22,920
Humble and gentle. 
And he said you'll find rest for

279
00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:25,440
your soul. 
See, this is the challenge for 

280
00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:27,800
me. 
This is why I didn't challenge 

281
00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,440
Ernie often enough, because at 
the time when I talked about 

282
00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:32,240
Jesus, Jesus just wants to come 
and give you what? 

283
00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:34,560
Eternal life, right? 
He wants to give you eternal 

284
00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:36,680
life. 
I always process that 

285
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,320
chronologically. 
Jesus wants to make me live 

286
00:15:39,480 --> 00:15:41,040
forever. 
Are you kidding me? 

287
00:15:41,120 --> 00:15:43,760
At the pace I'm going, I'm not 
going to make it to 50. 

288
00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,360
What am I going to do with 
50,000 years? 

289
00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:48,640
See, when when Jesus talked 
about eternal life, he wasn't 

290
00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:51,320
just talking about quantity, he 
was talking about quality. 

291
00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:55,440
Shalom. 
The Greek word is irenae. 

292
00:15:55,440 --> 00:15:59,120
It's peace and it's not peace 
like I want that peace too. 

293
00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:01,840
Like God just make everyone 
quick calling God just make 

294
00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:03,760
everything go away. 
Just make everything bad stuff 

295
00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:05,040
happen. 
He says no, it's not that kind 

296
00:16:05,040 --> 00:16:06,680
of peace. 
It's integration where what 

297
00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:10,680
happens on the inside and what 
happens on the outside are in 

298
00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:12,920
harmony. 
Not that nothing bad ever 

299
00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:16,840
happens out there, but that you 
have what it takes in here to 

300
00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:21,240
withstand it. 
How many times do we see Jesus 

301
00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:22,960
in the Scripture? 
Like one time, my favorite, he's

302
00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,320
sleeping in the storm where his 
neighbors are like the disciples

303
00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:29,320
are freaking out Jesus and he 
gets up and he calls us. 

304
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,160
I'm like, oh, thank goodness 
he's able to do that. 

305
00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:37,120
It rained again and they were 
supposed to remember. 

306
00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:41,000
The real secret in that wasn't 
the rain not falling. 

307
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:46,600
The real secret in that was our 
king sleeps in the middle of and

308
00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,440
he says follow me. 
See that's integrity, that's 

309
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:54,880
peace, that's Shalom. 
Not always getting what I want, 

310
00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,000
but always having enough where I
am. 

311
00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:00,960
Oh, I have a boyfriend or a 
girlfriend. 

312
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,240
Good, I have enough. 
Oh, I'm single, that's enough 

313
00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:09,680
too, because I'm not identified 
by who my significant other is. 

314
00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:12,720
Oh, I have enough money to buy a
new house. 

315
00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,000
Oh, I've been living in the same
house wherever I am. 

316
00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:20,400
Oh, that's OK, I have enough. 
I'm not defined by what I am or 

317
00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:22,359
what you say of me or what you 
think of me. 

318
00:17:22,560 --> 00:17:28,840
Can you imagine the rest in your
life if nobody else got to tell 

319
00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,080
you who you were or what was 
important for you? 

320
00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,640
If you weren't trying to live up
to or make peace with, if you 

321
00:17:37,640 --> 00:17:43,480
just accepted the peace and the 
rest, the gentleness and the 

322
00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,240
humility. 
But if we're. 

323
00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,760
Going to walk in Jesus yoke. 
We have to take off the other 

324
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:54,920
yoke because you can't. 
You can't be, like I said, you 

325
00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:57,200
can't be in the Atlantic Ocean, 
in the Pacific Ocean at one 

326
00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:58,800
time. 
We talked last week about 

327
00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:01,320
partnership in the church is to 
be immersed. 

328
00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:05,040
You cannot be immersed in the 
life of Jesus and immersed in 

329
00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:08,320
the life away from Jesus and too
many times the reason we're 

330
00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:11,880
tired and exhausted and weary 
and overwhelmed. 

331
00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:13,840
Is because we're trying to be 
both. 

332
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:17,600
We want to take a little bit of 
what Jesus offers and tack it on

333
00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:21,280
to what my boss offers or my job
offers because honestly, my boss

334
00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:24,440
offers better bitters. 
If it's Jesus says trust me and 

335
00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:26,600
you'll be fine. 
My boss is like, it's not a 

336
00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:29,320
great insurance plan, but it's 
an insurance plan. 

337
00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:31,760
You're like, but I got to go to 
Austin to get a doctor. 

338
00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,120
He's like, that's fine, that's 
whatever. 

339
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:36,760
And Jesus is like, you'll be 
fine, Just trust me. 

340
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,840
Be gentle and humble. 
So the question of our 

341
00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,840
apprentice then ship it to Jesus
is if it's not about filling 

342
00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:46,800
this room and it's not about 
filling this room. 

343
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:48,960
We were here before this room 
was full. 

344
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:51,760
Hopefully we'll be here and 
after. 

345
00:18:52,560 --> 00:18:55,880
It's not about adding people. 
It's not about programs. 

346
00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,200
Being a disciple, being a 
partner at River City is about 

347
00:18:59,600 --> 00:19:03,720
following Jesus together. 
And if that's our question, then

348
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,120
the question is how can we 
partner with him and become the 

349
00:19:07,120 --> 00:19:09,320
goose that we were created to 
be? 

350
00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:18,240
How can we go from ordinary 
cylinder of smelly dough and be 

351
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,480
reformed and transformed into 
what he has for you? 

352
00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,640
That process is Christian 
spiritual formation. 

353
00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,720
And Christian spiritual 
formation is the process of 

354
00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,960
total transformation. 
You're here already, like I 

355
00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:36,040
said, and you've been formed by 
genetics. 

356
00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:38,440
You've been formed by right, 
Like Grandpa. 

357
00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,320
That one of the things that Pete
Skizero says, like Grandpa is in

358
00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:43,480
your bones. 
You felt this. 

359
00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:44,920
I'm Irish. 
Yeah. 

360
00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:47,280
That's why I yelled at that Lady
at the store, because I'm Irish.

361
00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,960
You shouldn't have done that. 
Whether you're Irish or not, 

362
00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:53,840
right? 
And we know this understandably,

363
00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:56,000
right? 
We've been shaped by our family.

364
00:19:56,240 --> 00:19:58,640
We freak out about the same 
thing that our parents freaked 

365
00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,400
out about, because we're shaped 
by them, because they formed us.

366
00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,080
We're formed by our experiences.
The places that you've gone, the

367
00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:07,360
things that you've done, the 
choices that you've made, 

368
00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,920
intentionally and 
subconsciously, all of those 

369
00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,920
experiences form us. 
They shape us. 

370
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:16,440
They turn us into the people 
that we are. 

371
00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,840
And there is no such thing as a 
blank slate. 

372
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,560
There's no such. 
Such thing as an unformed 

373
00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:25,920
person. 
You are here today and you have 

374
00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:29,080
been formed by the world that 
you've lived in, by the people 

375
00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:30,880
that you've encountered, by the 
people you are. 

376
00:20:31,040 --> 00:20:33,960
You're here with an imprint on 
you. 

377
00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:37,560
And what I want to say to you is
Jesus isn't mad at that. 

378
00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,760
He wants to transform it and he 
always wants to take it from 

379
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,600
good to better, from wherever 
you are. 

380
00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:46,960
And you can look at the things 
and go, oh, I'm lonely. 

381
00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,760
Oh, I'm afraid I'm ugly, I'm 
poor. 

382
00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,440
Whatever the labels you've 
bought, whatever the script that

383
00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:55,640
you've been handed, Jesus looks 
at your things and goes, I can 

384
00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,480
work with that. 
Of course I can make something 

385
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:02,640
beautiful out of this, but it 
only begins when we. 

386
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:06,240
Start with this. 
The Apostle Paul talks about it 

387
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:12,680
in the scripture that Sean read.
He said Romans chapter 12 verse 

388
00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,560
1 and 2, the whole leading up, 
Paul had been talking about 

389
00:21:15,560 --> 00:21:18,400
salvation, writing about how God
gets involved and he brings the 

390
00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,720
Jews and the Gentile together 
not to have a Jewish humanity 

391
00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:25,360
and a Christian humanity. 
But one new humanity, all 

392
00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:28,920
serving God together under his 
name and this new Kingdom where 

393
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,800
we're not afraid and where God 
makes everything new and, and 

394
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,880
all this stuff. 
And he says, in light of that, 

395
00:21:33,880 --> 00:21:37,600
brothers, in in view of his 
mercies, I urge you to present 

396
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,120
your bodies as a living 
sacrifice, holy and pleasing to 

397
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,960
God. 
This is your worship. 

398
00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:48,160
Our worship is not singing songs
with raised hands, although we 

399
00:21:48,160 --> 00:21:50,880
can absolutely worship with our 
hands raised. 

400
00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:54,400
Our worship is here is all of 
me. 

401
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:59,760
It is this is my body, God. 
Use it for what you will. 

402
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,360
And remember last week we saw 
that we're the body of Christ. 

403
00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,600
We saw the things that Jesus did
with his body. 

404
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,120
What did he do? 
He healed, He taught, He gave, 

405
00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,960
he served, He loved. 
Those are all the things that 

406
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,320
his body is supposed to be doing
today. 

407
00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,880
That's what this congregation is
about, loving and serving. 

408
00:22:17,920 --> 00:22:21,240
It's not me, it's not the 
worship team, it's you. 

409
00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:25,240
It's us, the way that God formed
and created you. 

410
00:22:25,280 --> 00:22:28,880
And so he says, present your 
bodies as a sacrifice. 

411
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,240
And the sacrifice part we just. 
Can't get around. 

412
00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:33,960
If you go back to the Old 
Testament, they had to bring 

413
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:38,360
animals to be sacrificed and the
picture was if you're going to 

414
00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:40,560
gain the liberty and the freedom
that God. 

415
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,800
Has for you. 
Something has to die. 

416
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:44,560
And so The thing is, here's the 
deal. 

417
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,120
If again, the question is, how's
your way going? 

418
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:54,520
Are you free from anxiety? 
Are you free from concern? 

419
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:58,200
Are you free from anger? 
Are you free from envy? 

420
00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:01,200
Are you free from? 
Selfishness are you free from? 

421
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:03,040
If you are, you don't should be 
teaching. 

422
00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:09,160
Come talk to me. 
You can preach next week, but if

423
00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:16,240
not, the way that we've been 
formed is what's behind that. 

424
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:19,520
And Jesus wants to offer us 
something new. 

425
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:23,040
So he says offer me your bodies.
And he says this. 

426
00:23:23,680 --> 00:23:29,480
Do not be conformed to this age.
Don't be crammed down into that 

427
00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:35,000
Tim, but be transformed by the 
renewing of your mind so that 

428
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:39,080
you may discern the good, 
pleasing and perfect will of 

429
00:23:39,080 --> 00:23:41,200
God. 
To be transformed is to think 

430
00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,640
differently about the way that 
we exist in this world, not as 

431
00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:48,440
consumers, not to get, not to 
grab, to receive, but he has 

432
00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:51,400
placed us in this world with a 
blessing to give. 

433
00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,600
Do you remember? 
What did he tell Abraham, right.

434
00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:56,120
He said, I'm going to make you a
blessing and the whole world is 

435
00:23:56,120 --> 00:24:00,120
going to be blessed from you. 
That's God's design for humanity

436
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:04,680
to be givers, to be producers of
a blessing far and wide and 

437
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:06,560
world. 
His heart hasn't changed. 

438
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,200
His purpose for his people is 
still to be. 

439
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,320
Get that. 
But if we're going to be what he

440
00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:14,960
has called us to be, we have to 
be immersed in the life that he 

441
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:17,640
calls us. 
And we have to think differently

442
00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:20,960
about this world. 
And then we have to behave like 

443
00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:22,160
it. 
And you're like, great. 

444
00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:24,800
So all I have to do is 
fundamentally alter the way that

445
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,560
my brain works. 
Yes. 

446
00:24:30,360 --> 00:24:33,920
How's that working? 
Are you discouraged? 

447
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:38,400
Are you frustrated? 
I am. 

448
00:24:40,360 --> 00:24:42,520
Paul knew something and Jesus 
knew, and we're going to talk 

449
00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,440
about it in just a second. 
But this is something that we 

450
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:50,480
need to grasp as his church. 
Affection follows action. 

451
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:56,640
This is not what our culture 
tells us. 

452
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:03,360
Our culture tells us whatever 
you feel you should do, the 

453
00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:07,080
whole phrase, you do you. 
That's terrible advice. 

454
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:09,920
You don't know how selfish I can
be. 

455
00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:14,720
You don't know how much I will 
take and take and take and take 

456
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,840
and never be satisfied If me 
doing me, you know what me doing

457
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:23,440
me let's my own devices will end
all of you empty on the floor, 

458
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:25,320
right? 
That's the human nature. 

459
00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:27,960
That's what we do. 
He doesn't say hey, live out 

460
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:28,840
your life. 
He said. 

461
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:32,880
Hey, your affections, what you 
care about will follow what you 

462
00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:34,520
do. 
It will follow what you do. 

463
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:39,600
This is scandalous stuff. 
This says you can train your 

464
00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:42,400
heart to do what it's supposed 
to do. 

465
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,760
See, this is how we get 
addicted, right? 

466
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:46,600
There was a moment. 
Listen, if you're in here and 

467
00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:48,720
you're an addict, whether you're
secret or you're out of the 

468
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:51,360
closet or you're recovery or 
you're not, listen, I want you 

469
00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:55,640
to know, I know why you drink. 
I know why you use. 

470
00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,040
And you don't need to be ashamed
of it or you don't need to be 

471
00:25:58,040 --> 00:25:59,800
embarrassed of it. 
You need to admit it because 

472
00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,600
here's the deal. 
One day in your life, something 

473
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:06,680
was bigger than you could 
handle, and you were afraid and 

474
00:26:06,680 --> 00:26:08,640
you were scared, and so you 
sought. 

475
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:13,040
Answers and you realize when I 
take a drink, I feel better. 

476
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,520
And so the next day you did the 
same thing and then you did the 

477
00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,000
same thing and then you did the 
same thing. 

478
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:23,680
The problem is you never faced 
up to why life was scary in the 

479
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,800
1st place. 
You never learn to think about 

480
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:28,560
that thing that was out there. 
And so listen, I'm not 

481
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:30,000
condemning you. 
I'm not judging you. 

482
00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:32,080
If you're here and you're caught
up in the throes of an 

483
00:26:32,080 --> 00:26:35,800
addiction, what I want to tell 
you is there's delivery, there's

484
00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:37,600
deliverance. 
Like you can find your way out, 

485
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:39,080
like you can find your way out 
of that. 

486
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,920
But it involves thinking 
differently about your addiction

487
00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:44,320
and the way that that you 
respond to the world. 

488
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,440
And it revolves A bodily 
investment. 

489
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,760
It involves you getting there 
and showing up because when you 

490
00:26:49,760 --> 00:26:54,560
start that now you can't escape 
when a young man or an older 

491
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,640
man, but when a young man grows 
up and he wants to wonder, am I 

492
00:26:57,640 --> 00:26:59,720
powerful? 
Am I strong? 

493
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,640
Do I mean something? 
You know what a great way to 

494
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:06,880
find out is sexually. 
And so a young man begins sexual

495
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,120
conquest with a question. 
Am I enough? 

496
00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:11,280
Am I big enough? 
And he finds an answer. 

497
00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:14,040
Young ladies ask different 
questions. 

498
00:27:14,040 --> 00:27:16,400
They don't wonder whether 
they're big enough or strong 

499
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,160
enough or conquest. 
They seek love and affirmation 

500
00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:22,960
and they can find it there. 
The problem is the question 

501
00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:25,160
never gets answered. 
The problem is we get dependent 

502
00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:29,440
on that and we go there and now 
we become defined by who we are 

503
00:27:29,440 --> 00:27:33,320
in this context or that context.
We become defined by all these 

504
00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:34,920
kind of labels. 
And what I want to tell you is 

505
00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:39,000
what an exhausting life that 
leads that Jesus wants to leave 

506
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,920
you, lead you out of. 
Paul said, present your bodies 

507
00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:45,040
and be transformed by the 
renewing of your mind. 

508
00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:47,440
Jesus said the exact same thing 
a little differently. 

509
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,680
And the problem is like we read 
this passage and the first thing

510
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:52,200
we think about money and it is 
about money. 

511
00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:56,040
But he says this, don't store up
for yourself treasures on earth 

512
00:27:56,040 --> 00:27:59,280
where moth and rust destroy and 
where thieves break in and 

513
00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:00,640
steal. 
And I just want to stop and say,

514
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,400
like, for some of you, that's 
talking about money for sure. 

515
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,600
But for some of you, your 
treasure is your identity. 

516
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,840
And you work so hard to build it
in a social media space. 

517
00:28:09,840 --> 00:28:12,560
And you put all those pictures 
up you so that you'll get to see

518
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:14,400
the hearts and you'll get to see
the likes. 

519
00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:16,920
And you get to hear the comments
and you get to hear people say. 

520
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:19,560
And what I want to say is as 
good as that feels for right 

521
00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:23,680
now, it is a fragile existence 
because all it takes is one 

522
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,320
person to say you're not and you
believe. 

523
00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:32,440
And So what I'm saying is, those
powerful voices, they shape us. 

524
00:28:32,960 --> 00:28:35,680
And we let those voices come. 
So, he says, don't put your 

525
00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:37,520
treasure. 
Whether that's your identity, 

526
00:28:37,840 --> 00:28:39,520
whether that is your time, 
right? 

527
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:40,600
For some of you, that's the 
deal. 

528
00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:43,320
Like time is I don't have enough
time to do all the things that I

529
00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:45,280
need to do, he says. 
Are you giving your time to 

530
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,600
eternal things? 
That some of it is money for 

531
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:52,760
sure. 
If you ravenously scour the 

532
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:55,400
stock market pages because you 
know that your ability to 

533
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:58,800
survive depends on what 
direction that line is heading 

534
00:28:58,800 --> 00:29:01,880
and you have anxiety and fear, 
what I would say is you've put 

535
00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,960
your treasure in something that 
cannot ultimately fulfill you 

536
00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:13,520
and satisfy you. 
But store up for yourself 

537
00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:16,480
treasures, all those things and 
identity in heaven. 

538
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,720
Store for yourself treasures in 
heaven, where moth and moth and 

539
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,760
rust destroy, where thieves 
don't break in and steal. 

540
00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,880
And like, here's the line for 
where your treasure is, there 

541
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,840
your heart will be also. 
I would expect that to be 

542
00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:31,920
different. 
That's a nice 21st century 

543
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,760
reading of that passage. 
Where your heart is, there your 

544
00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:36,680
treasure will be. 
Well, here's the problem with 

545
00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:38,520
that. 
I'm married to my loving wife, 

546
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,840
and my loving wife has revealed 
something in my nature and in my

547
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,640
character that is sinful. 
And she's like, Jason, I like 

548
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:46,200
you. 
Like, why are you walking in 

549
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:47,520
that fear? 
Why are you walking that? 

550
00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,600
And she's telling me the truth 
and I don't like it because I 

551
00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:52,400
don't want her telling me the 
truth, right? 

552
00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:55,120
And then someone walks by that 
makes me feel something kind of 

553
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,000
funny. 
And all of a sudden I'm like, 

554
00:29:57,200 --> 00:29:58,720
oh, my heart is going out to 
this one. 

555
00:29:59,040 --> 00:29:59,960
It's a. 
Trap. 

556
00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:05,320
It's a trap, Jesus. 
Says give your best. 

557
00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:07,480
To where you want your heart to 
go. 

558
00:30:08,160 --> 00:30:13,800
My wife gets the best of me. 
Supposed to my kids get the best

559
00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,520
of me because long after this is
gone. 

560
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,560
Listen, I'm not doing this 
forever, right? 

561
00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:21,400
I'm almost 50 years old. 
You know what that means? 

562
00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:22,640
Likely 10 years. 
What? 

563
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:26,040
10 years, 15 years? 
Someone else will be here, 

564
00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:30,240
right? 
Then who am I? 

565
00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:33,560
Then what am I? 
That's why I took two months off

566
00:30:33,560 --> 00:30:36,160
this summer. 
This church has grown and it's 

567
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:38,960
opportunities on the horizon. 
Is that what I am? 

568
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:43,480
Am I that, am I some guy who 
leads a bigger church or am I 

569
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,400
something else? 
Does God have something to say 

570
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,000
for me? 
He says where your treasure is, 

571
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:53,840
there your heart will be also. 
And again, this isn't just about

572
00:30:53,840 --> 00:30:56,040
money. 
Jesus is talking about that 

573
00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:58,480
thing that we protect and pursue
most. 

574
00:30:58,640 --> 00:31:00,640
And I also do want to say, 
right, like there's something in

575
00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:02,560
me as a passion. 
I did. 

576
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,280
I saw there were a few. 
Things in my religious 

577
00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:10,760
upbringing that were more abused
and and causing of spiritual and

578
00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:13,880
religious trauma then the 
dealing with money at the 

579
00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:16,600
churches that I went to. 
I mean, it was bad. 

580
00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:18,760
It was bad, right? 
And so here's the thing I just 

581
00:31:18,760 --> 00:31:21,520
want to offer you as a parent, I
don't talk enough about it to 

582
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,920
you and I and I don't, I don't 
talk about it because I don't 

583
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:26,800
all the things I don't want to 
offend you and I don't want to 

584
00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:27,800
do it. 
But here's the problem. 

585
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,560
Everyone else talks about it, 
the world talks about it, the 

586
00:31:31,560 --> 00:31:34,360
news talks about it, friends 
talk about it, We feel it. 

587
00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:35,600
It hangs over. 
We're nervous. 

588
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:37,520
We know this. 
And what I want to say is Jesus 

589
00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,320
is talking about that thing that
most has the power and the 

590
00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:42,680
ability to make you 
uncomfortable and to make you 

591
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,040
nervous. 
And what he's talking about is 

592
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:49,880
rearranging the way that our 
lives relate to all of those 

593
00:31:49,880 --> 00:31:56,800
things, rearranging the way that
we look at what we love, the way

594
00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,840
that we look at the things that 
we do because our behavior can 

595
00:32:00,840 --> 00:32:04,440
direct our heart. 
Our spirits are malformed as we 

596
00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,080
treat shallow things as if they 
are eternal. 

597
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,880
We treat people as if they are a
means to our end. 

598
00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:14,720
But we serve our treat our 
house. 

599
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:17,360
Listen, I watched my house being
built. 

600
00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:27,640
It's not going to last forever. 
I, I assure you, right, my car, 

601
00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,680
that car that I got a payment 
for and it's nice and it's under

602
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:35,120
warranty and all that, it's a 
payment and six months from now 

603
00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:37,320
it's going to be the thing that 
I throw my McDonald's wrapper 

604
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:41,200
in, just like my paid for 
beater, right? 

605
00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:43,560
One maybe comes with a little 
stress. 

606
00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:46,280
One comes with a little less 
stress. 

607
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:51,920
The question then that Jesus is 
talking about is around what are

608
00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:57,440
you orienting your life? 
What are you building on? 

609
00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,560
And that is what forms our 
souls. 

610
00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:04,640
And so the practice of spiritual
formation is an intentional 

611
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:09,200
immersion into the habits and 
practices of Jesus. 

612
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:11,960
And So what I'm going to do is I
want to show some things that 

613
00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:13,360
Jesus immersed himself in, 
right? 

614
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:15,280
And here's what it's not a list.
Go do this. 

615
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:16,720
Go do this. 
Go do this, go do this. 

616
00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:19,080
Because I'm listen, because I'm 
not talking about a list, 

617
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,000
because here's the thing you can
take, take the list. 

618
00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:25,040
An already busy person can take 
a list and go, I can squeeze 

619
00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:27,520
these things in, right? 
And what you're trying to do is 

620
00:33:27,520 --> 00:33:29,800
you're trying to live swim in 
the Atlantic and the Pacific at 

621
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,320
the same time. 
I'm not telling you to go do 

622
00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:36,000
more. 
I'm saying stop doing everything

623
00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:39,480
and begin building a life that 
has Jesus 1st. 

624
00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:42,520
And if it wasn't previously on 
those things, then some things 

625
00:33:42,520 --> 00:33:43,720
are going to have to be 
different. 

626
00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,960
And what Jesus is talking about 
is utter transformation of the 

627
00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:51,000
way that we see ourselves and 
the world and our place in the 

628
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,960
world, about seeing the things 
that define us and they give us 

629
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:57,080
purpose and hope and meaning. 
And what I'm saying is he 

630
00:33:57,080 --> 00:33:59,800
doesn't come to you and say you 
got to give me everything right 

631
00:33:59,800 --> 00:34:04,680
now, but he does say give me 
yourself and I will change 

632
00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:08,400
things and I will turn you from 
temporal and angry and 

633
00:34:08,400 --> 00:34:14,440
frustrated into fully. 
Alive for all of eternity, if 

634
00:34:14,679 --> 00:34:17,960
you'll trust me. 
And what I want to say is 

635
00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:19,679
important is the three things 
I'm going to tell you. 

636
00:34:20,040 --> 00:34:23,320
These habits will not change 
your heart. 

637
00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,040
You can't change your heart. 
If you could change your heart, 

638
00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:29,719
it would be changed, right? 
If we could do that kind of 

639
00:34:29,719 --> 00:34:31,120
heart surgery, we'd be 
different. 

640
00:34:31,280 --> 00:34:33,159
I wouldn't be selfish. 
I don't want to be selfish. 

641
00:34:33,199 --> 00:34:35,560
I am selfish. 
I need to train that. 

642
00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:38,600
I need to discipline that. 
I need to work that out. 

643
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:43,040
If I want to be listen, if I 
want to be an unselfish person, 

644
00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:47,280
I have to immerse myself in 
unselfish things. 

645
00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,480
And you know what that means? 
That will be like every moment 

646
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:55,800
at first kicking and screaming 
because I want to be selfish for

647
00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:58,440
49 years old. 
I've built my entire life around

648
00:34:58,440 --> 00:35:00,680
it and now all of a sudden I got
to do something different. 

649
00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:03,280
I don't have to do something 
different, but if you do what 

650
00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:04,040
you've always. 
Done. 

651
00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:05,400
You will get what you've always 
got. 

652
00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:10,880
Your relationship to Jesus and 
others will not change if 

653
00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:14,200
nothing changes. 
And when we saw last week when 

654
00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:17,200
he built this whole thing on 
immersion, again, that's what 

655
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,640
I'm asking. 
I'm not manipulating you. 

656
00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,000
I'm not trying to punish you or 
cajole you or get browbeat you 

657
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:24,240
in. 
But what I do want to do is I 

658
00:35:24,240 --> 00:35:27,480
want to present the way that the
Scripture talks about following 

659
00:35:27,520 --> 00:35:30,560
Jesus and being a part of his 
church and its immersion. 

660
00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:35,360
It's not an option. 
You will either be immersed in 

661
00:35:35,360 --> 00:35:40,000
the way of Jesus or immersed in 
the way of the world. 

662
00:35:40,720 --> 00:35:45,320
So where do we begin? 
You can begin by immersing 

663
00:35:45,320 --> 00:35:50,280
yourself in God's Word. 
Well, it's legalism. 

664
00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,360
You can't say I got to get up 
every day and put the word of 

665
00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:55,960
God into my head. 
No, but I bet you get up every 

666
00:35:55,960 --> 00:35:57,560
day and put something in your 
head. 

667
00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:05,880
Fox News, CNN. 
Forbes, who gets to tell you 

668
00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:06,600
what? 
Your day. 

669
00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:08,560
Is going to be about first thing
in the morning. 

670
00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:14,040
You can choose. 
You can choose to read Psalm 139

671
00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:17,800
that says, I am fearfully and 
wonderfully made before I was 

672
00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:20,560
born, all the days for me were 
written out and I can step back 

673
00:36:20,560 --> 00:36:24,720
and go, Father, this day is in 
your hands, not their hands. 

674
00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:31,160
I can read Jesus where he says 
love your enemies, pray for 

675
00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,880
those who persecute you. 
Or I can look at the news who 

676
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:39,040
says they're your enemy? 
They're the one who's ruining 

677
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:40,240
it. 
Get them. 

678
00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:45,600
And those two messages are 
opposites and opposing, and you 

679
00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:50,040
are immersed in the one or you 
are immersed in the other. 

680
00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:54,040
And so when I say immerse 
yourself in the word, I listen 

681
00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:55,720
like some of you. 
And here's the thing, right? 

682
00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:58,040
Like there's a party that wants 
to go tell me what, right Like. 

683
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,400
And so some of you have been 
getting up for an hour long for 

684
00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:06,000
the last 25 years of your life, 
and that hour has ceased to be 

685
00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:09,480
fruitful for you. 
I'm not saying you need to do an

686
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:11,640
hour and 20 minutes. 
I'm saying maybe you need to go 

687
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:14,400
down to do 15 minutes of 
something that's meaningful. 

688
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,320
You need to go for a walk, you 
need to change all together. 

689
00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:21,480
But for some of you, you're just
like going from the time you get

690
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:22,960
up in the morning. 
So what I would say then is, 

691
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:26,440
yeah, like fast, Like just go 
for 30 days with no news. 

692
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,520
The world's going to turn 
whether you know it or not, 

693
00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:32,280
right? 
As much as I like to worry about

694
00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:37,760
what's going on in DC and Austin
and Sacramento and and Albany 

695
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:40,160
and all those places, not once 
do they call me and go. 

696
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:49,120
Not once you get to choose what 
you put first. 

697
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:52,480
So here's what you can do. 
Practice Lectio Divina every 

698
00:37:52,480 --> 00:37:54,720
morning. 
I don't know what Lectio Divina 

699
00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:59,040
is, go look it up. 
If you wanted to work out, you'd

700
00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:00,960
figure out how to work out. 
If you wanted to eat healthy, 

701
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:02,360
you'd figure out how to eat 
healthy. 

702
00:38:02,680 --> 00:38:04,600
If you want to know where to 
invest your money, you figure 

703
00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:07,760
out how to make investments. 
Lectio Divina in the morning, 

704
00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:12,720
set an alarm on your phone at 
11:30 every day and read a Psalm

705
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:15,760
every day for lunch, not to get 
through it, but to remind 

706
00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:20,560
yourself God is here, He's with 
me before you go to bed every 

707
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:23,120
night intentionally. 
Where did I see God today? 

708
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:25,120
Where did God come through 
today? 

709
00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:29,640
The point is to immerse 
ourselves in being with Father 

710
00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:32,640
and listening to Him. 
Because listen, somebody's going

711
00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,160
to tell you who you are. 
Somebody's going to tell you who

712
00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:36,720
your enemies are. 
Somebody's going to tell you 

713
00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:38,840
what your value is. 
Somebody's going to tell you 

714
00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,120
what's real and ultimate and 
lasting. 

715
00:38:41,200 --> 00:38:44,080
If you're not getting it from 
Jesus, the world would be happy 

716
00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:46,480
to tell you and fit you into 
their little bubble. 

717
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:50,240
Afraid and anxious and 
unrepentant and just going and 

718
00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:53,800
wishing something would change 
on the outside if I eat. 

719
00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:56,440
Too much. 
I'll never be healthy if I don't

720
00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:00,120
exercise. 
I'll never be healthy if I never

721
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:03,320
let God tell me who I am. 
I'll never know who God says 

722
00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:06,760
that I am. 
Immerse yourself in God's Word. 

723
00:39:06,760 --> 00:39:11,120
Second, immerse yourself in the 
practice of generosity. 

724
00:39:12,960 --> 00:39:16,600
The Church of Jesus is intended 
to be a giving, generous 

725
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:20,600
organization. 
Christians are supposed to be 

726
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:24,080
known as generous. 
When we read about the first 

727
00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:27,520
church in Acts, it says if 
somebody in the church saw 

728
00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:31,400
someone with need, they would 
sell their property in order to 

729
00:39:31,400 --> 00:39:35,360
meet that need. 
The first church didn't talk 

730
00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:37,800
about a tie. 
They didn't talk about 10%. 

731
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:42,760
The New Testament model is they 
gave everything to whoever had 

732
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:45,760
need. 
And so here's what that means 

733
00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:47,520
for you. 
And again, like I, I confess 

734
00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:50,400
this, I don't talk about money 
enough, right? 

735
00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:52,400
Because I don't want you to 
think that I'm manipulating you.

736
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:53,720
And now I'm not manipulating 
you. 

737
00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:56,120
What I, what I want to say is I 
don't want to defer the 

738
00:39:56,120 --> 00:39:59,600
conversation anymore to people 
that would make you afraid. 

739
00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:02,520
What I would say is, or going to
the reason here's why we're 

740
00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:03,840
afraid of money. 
You know why? 

741
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:07,440
Because we consume 100% of what 
we make and we live right at 

742
00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:08,800
that margin. 
And then we just go. 

743
00:40:08,920 --> 00:40:13,160
If one more thing happens, what 
if you? 

744
00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:16,480
Reorganize your life so that you
don't consume 100% of what you 

745
00:40:16,480 --> 00:40:17,520
make. 
You know what a great way to 

746
00:40:17,520 --> 00:40:19,080
practice that is? 
By giving. 

747
00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:22,400
And you say, I'm going to give. 
So that way when I walk out in 

748
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:24,200
this world, I know I'm a 
contributor. 

749
00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:28,040
I'm making this, I'm making this
world go. 

750
00:40:29,040 --> 00:40:31,280
There's a guy that I know if you
saw him, you would recognize him

751
00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:32,960
right at River City. 
And I just had a conversation 

752
00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:36,200
with him at the park the other 
week and he talked about one of 

753
00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:38,320
the things that I always say is 
like, I'm not telling you to 

754
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:40,880
quit your job. 
I'm saying you might need to 

755
00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,480
quit your job, right? 
Like you're not following me, 

756
00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:45,280
you need to follow Lord. 
And that guy told me, says ha 

757
00:40:45,280 --> 00:40:47,000
ha. 
My pastor always tells me that 

758
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:48,880
you might not quit my job, but 
you need to quit. 

759
00:40:48,880 --> 00:40:52,080
And he quit his job. 
He got a smaller house. 

760
00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:55,680
And you know what he said my job
was too hectic. 

761
00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:57,200
I was under anxiety and 
oppression. 

762
00:40:57,200 --> 00:40:59,720
I was burned out all the time. 
So we decided we were going to 

763
00:40:59,720 --> 00:41:03,200
do something different. 
You guys, the faith of that 

764
00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:06,560
takes to organize your life 
around a different set of 

765
00:41:06,560 --> 00:41:08,680
priorities and a different set 
of principles. 

766
00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:11,160
Now, I'm not telling you that 
you need to sell your house, but

767
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:14,280
I'm telling you if your house is
the source of your anxiety, you 

768
00:41:14,280 --> 00:41:16,760
should sell your house. 
Because you know what? 

769
00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:19,960
You're going to leave it to your
kids when you die and they're 

770
00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:22,680
not going to care that much and 
they're going to sell it. 

771
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,720
So why don't you just get ahead 
of them and spend it on 

772
00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:28,600
something else? 
Not the dying part. 

773
00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:37,120
But I also don't say 10% because
listen, there's probably some 

774
00:41:37,120 --> 00:41:39,640
people in you who have such 
great resource that giving it 

775
00:41:39,640 --> 00:41:42,480
10% isn't that much to you. 
There's no, you've been giving 

776
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:45,640
it 10% and there's no faith or 
sacrifice involved in that in 

777
00:41:45,640 --> 00:41:47,000
any. 
And what I would say is, are you

778
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:48,920
still trusting God with your 
finances? 

779
00:41:49,040 --> 00:41:51,640
Or are you just now at a place 
where you're fiscally secure 

780
00:41:51,640 --> 00:41:54,600
enough that you can make do on 
90% in a way? 

781
00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:57,240
And again, I don't know. 
Here's the thing that I promise 

782
00:41:57,240 --> 00:41:59,240
you, I don't look at finances 
for you. 

783
00:41:59,240 --> 00:42:02,560
I don't get involved and go. 
Oh, well, I see all so and so is

784
00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:04,400
back. 
Looks like they're given 8% 

785
00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,360
right now. 
Don't do that because for some 

786
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:09,080
of you have never given anything
and you hear 10% and you just 

787
00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:11,560
go, I could never get that. 
I've got dollars, right? 

788
00:42:11,600 --> 00:42:15,280
And what I'm saying is begin to 
reorganize your life, cut out a 

789
00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:18,760
meal every week, cut out a 
Starbucks every week and begin 

790
00:42:18,760 --> 00:42:22,080
to put something in and begin to
see if you don't experience 

791
00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:24,560
freedom. 
And then I'm not saying give 

792
00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:28,440
more, I'm saying chase freedom. 
You believe, listen, we chase 

793
00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:30,280
the standard that the world 
tells us, right? 

794
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:33,920
It looks like the car and the 
house and reputation stop facing

795
00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:36,200
that. 
What if freedom is the metric? 

796
00:42:36,280 --> 00:42:39,920
What if not ever being 
financially worried is the 

797
00:42:39,920 --> 00:42:41,360
metric? 
And here's the thing that I want

798
00:42:41,360 --> 00:42:43,080
to tell you right? 
Like because I know you can just

799
00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:44,960
be like sounds pretty 
self-serving preacher. 

800
00:42:44,960 --> 00:42:48,080
You're trying to get us. 
Listen, I want you to give for 

801
00:42:48,080 --> 00:42:49,520
you. 
But here's the thing I want you 

802
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:52,760
to know Rivers, we don't have 
denominational affiliation. 

803
00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:55,240
There is no outside financial 
support. 

804
00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:58,440
What we have is what God puts 
here. 

805
00:42:58,640 --> 00:42:59,840
And here's the thing. 
I know, right? 

806
00:42:59,840 --> 00:43:01,760
And I introduce you to the 
elders so that you can see, you 

807
00:43:01,760 --> 00:43:02,880
know. 
We are. 

808
00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:06,560
Gladly committed to living on 
what the Lord provides. 

809
00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:13,040
And if that number goes down, 
we'll do less because I'm not 

810
00:43:13,040 --> 00:43:15,840
here to manipulate you into 
paying my salary. 

811
00:43:16,360 --> 00:43:20,840
What I am saying is if the 
voices of fear are the only ones

812
00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:24,080
that get to speak into your 
financial well-being, what I'm 

813
00:43:24,080 --> 00:43:27,640
telling you is the secret is 
generosity. 

814
00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:31,760
To say, my first priority is to 
be generous. 

815
00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:35,320
And I, I'm looking around the 
room and I see like, I know some

816
00:43:35,320 --> 00:43:37,480
of you and I know some of your 
stories that are, that are 

817
00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:38,840
generous people. 
And you know what? 

818
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:44,280
Generous people smile at this. 
The generous people know 

819
00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:47,800
they've, they've seen it and it 
doesn't make sense. 

820
00:43:47,800 --> 00:43:48,880
I'm going to confess to you, 
right? 

821
00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:50,920
Like there are times, right? 
I got kids going to college, I 

822
00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:53,200
got cars breaking down. 
I got like, like all of the 

823
00:43:53,200 --> 00:43:54,960
things, right? 
There are times where I just go,

824
00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:56,840
Oh, I can't. 
Oh, right. 

825
00:43:56,920 --> 00:43:58,600
And this, Oh, I didn't write the
check this week. 

826
00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:01,880
Let me just tell you, I have 
never skipped A tithe payment 

827
00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:06,040
and then more at peace and at 
ease than I was before. 

828
00:44:06,160 --> 00:44:08,520
Never, not once. 
Do you know why? 

829
00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:14,640
Because whatever I've skipped my
my spiritual payment for now 

830
00:44:14,640 --> 00:44:16,120
that's I'm looking at that 
thing. 

831
00:44:16,720 --> 00:44:19,680
I'm looking at my debt, I'm 
looking at what comes and that's

832
00:44:19,680 --> 00:44:22,960
scary. 
But when I just go, Lord, in 

833
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:25,240
this world that consumes 
everything, you've given me the 

834
00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:29,080
ability to be a contributor. 
I'm a contributor into my world.

835
00:44:29,080 --> 00:44:33,800
I'm not just a consumer. 
That's what Jesus has for you. 

836
00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,720
And so listen, so if you're like
a physical writer, we have check

837
00:44:36,720 --> 00:44:40,200
boxes around. 
I think River City does amazing 

838
00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:42,000
things. 
I think the, I think the work 

839
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:44,680
here is valuable. 
You're not giving to me, you're 

840
00:44:44,680 --> 00:44:47,680
partnering here. 
Some of you have brought your 

841
00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,960
friends here and I've seen God 
move in their lives. 

842
00:44:51,760 --> 00:44:55,000
But more than I want you to just
be honest, I want you to have 

843
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:58,400
the freedom to know that you can
be generous. 

844
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:02,760
And it's not just your money, 
it's your time as well. 

845
00:45:03,520 --> 00:45:04,840
It's your talents and your 
gifts. 

846
00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:10,040
So the question is, who have you
given your life to that doesn't 

847
00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:16,280
have your last name? 
Who that doesn't have your last 

848
00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:20,160
name? 
Have you given yourself to the 

849
00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:21,560
last thing that leads the last 
thing? 

850
00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:25,440
Immerse yourself in community. 
I want you to immerse yourself 

851
00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:27,880
in God's Word. 
I want you to immerse yourself 

852
00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:30,560
in practicing generosity. 
Here's like, here's the thing, 

853
00:45:30,560 --> 00:45:34,280
generosity, little practices. 
Just commit to this. 

854
00:45:35,280 --> 00:45:42,760
No matter how bad the meal is, 
you're a 25% tipper, right? 

855
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:46,280
Just because and and more than 
that, if you can be just 

856
00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:48,480
whatever is you just go, yeah, 
it's not about whether my soup 

857
00:45:48,480 --> 00:45:51,480
was warm or they got, you know, 
I asked for French fries or 

858
00:45:51,720 --> 00:45:53,600
potatoes. 
They're about you seeing 

859
00:45:53,600 --> 00:45:57,200
somebody working at doing a hard
job making whatever and you just

860
00:45:57,200 --> 00:45:59,440
saying I'm going to make their 
life better. 

861
00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:03,880
Listen, go to Frazee's at lunch.
We have a great hamburger, nice 

862
00:46:03,880 --> 00:46:07,600
crispy fries. 
And make sure that your waitress

863
00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:11,480
knows that you were there and 
make sure that when you walk 

864
00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:15,320
through the door, they're 
fighting to get you to sit in 

865
00:46:15,320 --> 00:46:19,840
their in their section, right? 
Live generous and finally live 

866
00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:23,480
in community. 
Community is training myself to 

867
00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:27,400
love as Jesus loves, and it's 
community where we encounter 

868
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:30,160
that person. 
You know who the One is, right 

869
00:46:30,360 --> 00:46:33,480
all the time, with the talk and 
the story and on and on. 

870
00:46:33,600 --> 00:46:35,920
And you told that story last 
week, and you told it better 

871
00:46:35,920 --> 00:46:37,840
last week, and now you're just 
yammering on. 

872
00:46:37,960 --> 00:46:39,120
And how do you have the same 
thing? 

873
00:46:39,160 --> 00:46:40,760
How can you have not figured it 
out by now? 

874
00:46:40,920 --> 00:46:45,280
And listen, every single time 
that you go to your small group,

875
00:46:45,400 --> 00:46:48,760
to your group of people, and you
listen to that guy and you pray 

876
00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:51,080
for that guy, and you know, and 
in your edge, you're like God. 

877
00:46:51,240 --> 00:46:53,240
Why? 
Why can't they get this right? 

878
00:46:53,400 --> 00:46:56,960
Every time you do it, you are 
practicing being just like 

879
00:46:57,360 --> 00:46:59,480
Jesus. 
Because when you come to Jesus, 

880
00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:01,040
every time you're like God. 
I'm afraid. 

881
00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:02,920
And you've always provided me 
before, but I'm worried that 

882
00:47:02,920 --> 00:47:04,480
this isn't the one that you're 
going to come through. 

883
00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:05,560
And I feel like you're going to 
fail me. 

884
00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:08,240
Now Jesus doesn't go. 
Why aren't you going to get it? 

885
00:47:09,160 --> 00:47:11,720
Why do you keep talking to me? 
Why do you keep yammering on? 

886
00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:14,720
Every time you bring your heart 
to Jesus, he goes. 

887
00:47:15,120 --> 00:47:17,040
I see your pain, he says. 
You don't have to be worried. 

888
00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:21,520
You don't have to be afraid. 
You get to now do that in your 

889
00:47:21,520 --> 00:47:24,800
community to make sure that your
community is a group where 

890
00:47:24,800 --> 00:47:28,440
people are badly broken but also
deeply loved. 

891
00:47:29,640 --> 00:47:34,920
You get to be that kind of love 
and it's hard and it can be 

892
00:47:34,920 --> 00:47:39,160
terrible, but we get to be a 
part of a culture that is like 

893
00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:41,760
that. 
If you're not in a small group, 

894
00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:43,880
you can be. 
And listen, I'm not saying I'm 

895
00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:46,320
not talking about small group as
a program of this church. 

896
00:47:46,320 --> 00:47:48,720
I'm talking about as a 
community, not just. 

897
00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:50,040
But it's different because 
listen your. 

898
00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:51,600
Community. 
I say, oh, my community's at the

899
00:47:51,600 --> 00:47:53,000
Little League field. 
That's great. 

900
00:47:53,320 --> 00:47:56,120
You're Little League. 
Those people, Little League, 

901
00:47:56,320 --> 00:48:00,280
they're judging you based on how
well Junior hits a curveball. 

902
00:48:01,040 --> 00:48:03,920
Is that the metric that you want
to be lived up to? 

903
00:48:04,320 --> 00:48:06,560
That's not. 
That that's not it, right? 

904
00:48:06,640 --> 00:48:09,360
I'm talking about a community as
a place where we immerse in the 

905
00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:12,960
journey of becoming like Jesus 
together. 

906
00:48:13,080 --> 00:48:15,240
If you're not a part of a 
community to that, go outside, 

907
00:48:15,240 --> 00:48:16,920
get talking to the. 
Table but here's the deal. 

908
00:48:17,040 --> 00:48:19,320
Maybe you are a part of a 
community and you're not sure 

909
00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:22,760
how to make it that go listen. 
The great thing about our this 

910
00:48:22,760 --> 00:48:25,440
time that we live in is we have 
all kinds of resource go look up

911
00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:28,880
emotionally healthy 
emotionallyhealthy.org look up 

912
00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:30,760
classes. 
They have video classes. 

913
00:48:30,840 --> 00:48:32,840
You can read a book. 
They have daily devotionals. 

914
00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:35,440
Do it as your small group. 
What would it mean for us to be 

915
00:48:35,440 --> 00:48:37,560
an and emotionally healthy 
believers? 

916
00:48:37,640 --> 00:48:41,280
Go to practicingtheway.org. 
They have entire classes and 

917
00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:43,360
sections and segment that as a 
small group. 

918
00:48:43,360 --> 00:48:46,160
You can get in. 
All you have to do is go play 

919
00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:50,240
and it'll unfold it for you and 
you can talk together about how 

920
00:48:50,240 --> 00:48:55,240
we walk in Jesus together. 
So you're immersing yourself in 

921
00:48:55,240 --> 00:48:57,120
the Word. 
You're immersing your life and 

922
00:48:57,120 --> 00:49:00,360
reorganizing your life around 
becoming a gigger giver, not 

923
00:49:00,360 --> 00:49:03,040
just a taker. 
And you're doing it together 

924
00:49:03,040 --> 00:49:06,280
with people in community. 
That's what the church. 

925
00:49:06,280 --> 00:49:11,760
Is not just a gathering of 
religiously busy people, the 

926
00:49:11,760 --> 00:49:14,920
people seriously practicing the 
life of Jesus. 

927
00:49:15,040 --> 00:49:18,280
I'm not telling you to take this
list and go tack it on to what 

928
00:49:18,280 --> 00:49:21,440
you're already doing. 
I'm inviting you to reorient 

929
00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:23,960
your life around some things 
that maybe have been in the back

930
00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:26,600
seat. 
Because as we do this, as we 

931
00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:30,520
practice the life of Jesus, his 
habits will begin to be 

932
00:49:30,640 --> 00:49:33,840
transformed. 
We'll see the world and our 

933
00:49:33,840 --> 00:49:37,880
neighbors in it differently, and
we'll count on Jesus. 

934
00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:42,640
So, Jesus, that's our desire not
to be conformed to a world that 

935
00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:46,320
tells us we're not busy enough 
or stable enough or rich enough 

936
00:49:46,320 --> 00:49:50,600
or handsome enough or powerful 
enough, but we are lacking. 

937
00:49:50,600 --> 00:49:56,840
Instead, you said, come to me. 
And so, Lord, save us from a 

938
00:49:57,960 --> 00:50:02,360
religion that makes us busy and 
worn out and still far away from

939
00:50:02,360 --> 00:50:07,520
you and each other and make us 
new in your life. 

940
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,200
And in your name and Jesus, as 
we go talk about these this 

941
00:50:11,200 --> 00:50:15,040
week, I pray that we'll begin to
be transformed and we ask these 

942
00:50:15,040 --> 00:50:16,520
things. 
Father, in your name and for 

943
00:50:16,520 --> 00:50:19,800
your glory, Amen. 
Thank you for joining us today. 

944
00:50:20,200 --> 00:50:23,000
River City Church is all about 
experiencing and expressing 

945
00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:25,680
God's love in our lives and 
community, and we hope that 

946
00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:27,720
you've been able to experience 
that today. 

947
00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:30,880
As grateful as I am that you've 
spent this time listening in 

948
00:50:30,880 --> 00:50:33,960
this morning, this podcast is no
substitute for full 

949
00:50:33,960 --> 00:50:37,840
participation in a local church.
I love it when River City people

950
00:50:37,840 --> 00:50:41,160
listen to other pastors, but it 
is those who show up week after 

951
00:50:41,160 --> 00:50:44,120
week faithfully giving their 
support and time and resources 

952
00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:47,480
that make all of this possible. 
If we can help you get connected

953
00:50:47,480 --> 00:50:51,480
to a local church, pray for you,
or support you in any way, click

954
00:50:51,480 --> 00:50:53,160
the link in the description and 
let us know. 

955
00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:55,800
If you'd like to financially 
support the ministry of River 

956
00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:58,760
City, click the Give link on our
website in the description. 

957
00:50:59,240 --> 00:51:01,880
Don't forget to subscribe and 
don't forget to share this with 

958
00:51:01,880 --> 00:51:03,880
your friends. 
Thanks so much for listening. 

959
00:51:04,080 --> 00:51:07,040
May the Lord bless and keep you 
in all grace and peace.