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I need to tell you about someone
that was the, the, the great 

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hope of my hometown growing up a
lot on Bidwell, Rodney Road or 

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Rodney, Bidwell Rd. depending on
whether you were starting in 

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Rodney or Bidwell and, and, and,
and it was Norma. 

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Her name was Norma, still is 
Norma. 

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And Norma was brilliant in 
school. 

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She got straight as everything, 
kindergarten through 12th grade.

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She was a tremendous athlete, 
gifted athlete. 

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She lettered in four sports even
though we only had two girls 

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sports. 
It was just incredible. 

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She went from high school. 
She had everyone had great 

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dreams and hopes and we thought,
you know, no one's ever heard of

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Bidwell Rodney Rd. before and 
most people don't know where 

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Bill Well or Rodney are. 
And Norma's going to put us on 

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the map. 
Norma's going to change the 

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world. 
Everyone will know how how 

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wonderful this part of the world
is. 

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Because Norman and she, she 
started off great. 

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She went off to college, went to
an Ivy League school. 

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She majored, majored in nuclear 
physics, pre Med literature and 

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international economics and got 
straight A's in all four. 

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Then went on to Graduate School 
and got got doctoral degrees in 

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all those areas. 
And we just knew. 

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We knew she was going to change 
the word. 

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She was either going to discover
how cold fusion works or she was

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going to find the cure for 
cancer. 

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She was going to figure out how 
to how to end poverty all around

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the world. 
Or she was going to, you know, 

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write the greatest novel ever 
written that would change 

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people's lives forever. 
We knew it. 

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We knew it. 
After she graduated, she was a 

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little tired. 
She said, before I really get 

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started and all of that, I'm 
going to take a gap year, travel

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around the world. 
We said, we understand, Norma, 

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you've been working hard, take a
break. 

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We know great things are coming 
from you. 

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And so she started traveling 
around the world. 

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She happened to go through 
Luxembourg, where she happened 

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to meet the king of Luxembourg. 
And they were having brats 

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together. 
They were enjoying some 

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conversation. 
He said, Norma, you got to come 

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see my aquarium. 
It's amazing. 

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Now for me, an aquarium's a 
glass tank, you know, like this,

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with a few fish in it. 
For the king of Luxembourg, it 

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was like a whole water park kind
of thing. 

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And his prize possession and his
aquarium was his dolphin, whom 

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he had named Queenie. 
And when Norma saw Queenie, she 

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just fell in love. 
It's the most wonderful thing in

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the world to her, absolutely 
love Queenie. 

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It's time for her to move on, to
continue her trip. 

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And she did. 
But even as she traveled the 

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rest of the way around the 
world, her heart kept going back

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to Queenie. 
And when she finished her gap 

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year, she didn't go on to cure 
cancer or to figure out cold 

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fusion or to end poverty or even
to write a novel. 

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She went to Luxembourg and said,
hey, I'd like a job taking care 

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of Queenie. 
And the king was like, well, I'm

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not sure you really qualified 
for that. 

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She said, I'm a quick learner. 
She figured it out. 

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And she devoted herself. 
She she fed Queenie every day. 

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When Queenie was sick, she gave 
her medicine and took care of 

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her when she cleaned out her 
pools. 

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So her water was always fresh 
and clean. 

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And she was a friend and, and 
companion to Queenie. 

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It was, it was just wonderful. 
But the folks in my town were 

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really disappointed and we were 
feeling like Norma was letting 

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us down, 'cause no one's going 
to know about someone who's 

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doing that. 
We need someone to do something 

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important. 
And that someone was Norma. 

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So we nominated a 
representative, thank goodness 

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it wasn't me, to go speak to 
Norma and share our collective 

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disappointment with her. 
And they went over to meet with 

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Norma and they said, Norma, you 
know, we all had such high hopes

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and such grand dreams for you. 
You were going to do all of 

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these wonderful things and 
change the world, but, but what 

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are you doing here? 
And Norma thought for a minute. 

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She said. 
Well, I do believe I'm serving a

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noble porpoise. 
That's a long, long way to go 

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for not a lot of pay off. 
But here's the thing, we all 

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have a noble porpoise. 
All of us. 

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We are all children of the King,
followers of Jesus Christ, the 

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King of the universe, which 
means we all have a noble 

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porpoise. 
We do the Easter life. 

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Easter life is not only a life 
in a world turned upside down. 

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It's not only a life of faith 
and a life of surface. 

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It is a life of purpose. 
We have purpose because of 

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Easter. 
And it is really, really 

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important that we are clear 
about that with ourselves and 

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with other people because there 
is so much noise in the world 

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that suggests that that there is
no real purpose, that life is 

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meaningless. 
But Easter life is a life of 

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purpose. 
Life is not directionless, life 

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is not meaningless, Knife is not
pointless and life is not 

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futile. 
Now, these kind of voices, they 

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wax and wane over the years. 
They get louder, they get 

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quieter, they're more popular 
and they're less popular. 

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But right now in the Western 
world, in the US and and Europe,

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these voices that say life is 
meaningless, that there is no 

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purpose, it's all pointless, 
it's all futile. 

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These voices are very loud, you 
know, Wow, we're only here by 

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accident. 
And one of these days it's all, 

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you know, all collapse back into
another singularity, a black 

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hole. 
It'll all blow up again. 

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Everyone that has ever lived, 
everything that's ever been 

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built, everything that's ever 
been done, everything that's 

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ever been said, every song ever 
written will come to absolutely 

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nothing, will be totally, 
completely obliterated and 

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forgotten. 
There's no point. 

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It's pointless. 
It's futile. 

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No matter what we do, what you 
do, it will come ultimately to 

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nothing. 
Life has no meaning. 

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That's one way to get off the 
rails. 

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The other way to get off the 
rails is, well, we'll grant you 

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that life can have meaning, but 
we have to make that meaning up 

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ourselves. 
We have to manufacture our own 

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meaning. 
Meaning and purpose are social 

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constructs. 
They are not given realities and

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and we just have to invent them 
ourselves. 

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But when you scratch that, you 
know, below the surface on that 

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way of thinking, you just get 
back to the fact that life has 

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no meaning and life has no 
purpose. 

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Now, the fact is, life does have
purpose. 

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That purpose is not yours and 
ours. 

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We are not creating our own 
meaning and our own purpose in 

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the world. 
It's not up to us to do that. 

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In fact, it's not even within 
our capacity and our power to do

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that. 
We're going to talk about that a

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little bit more later, but right
now I'm going to say the purpose

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is not yours. 
Your purpose is. 

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Our purpose is not ours to 
define and to describe. 

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The Easter life is a life filled
and directed by God's purpose. 

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God has a purpose for us, and 
that purpose does not change 

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whether we agree with it, 
whether we buy into it. 

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God has a purpose for us, 
whether we accept it, whether we

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reject it, whether we think life
is futile. 

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In meaning. 
It's not. 

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God has a purpose. 
Every single human being that 

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has ever been conceived, that 
has ever drawn breath has done 

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so on purpose with God's purpose
in their lives, whether we 

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recognize it or not. 
Jesus said when we talk about 

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purpose. 
But you will receive power when 

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the Holy Spirit comes on you and
you will be my witnesses. 

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This is what Jesus this is Luke 
writing. 

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We have 4 evangelists that that 
take different slants, different

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formulate and phrase and and 
proclaim God's purpose for us in

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different ways. 
Last week we looked at John and 

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and and his formulation of God's
purpose for us is a life of 

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service. 
Feed my sheep, tend my lambs, 

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take care of my sheep. 
This is our purpose. 

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Luke phrases it and proclaims it
a little bit differently. 

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And just before Jesus ascends 
into the heavens, he says to his

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followers, you will receive 
power when the Holy Spirit comes

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on you, and you will be my 
witnesses. 

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That word power in the Greek is 
a little different than an 

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English and English power 
doesn't have to have any kind of

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direction. 
Power can can have a purpose and

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have a direction like the power 
generated over at Gavin or Tiger

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Creek. 
That has purpose. 

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It has direction. 
It travels out from there and it

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goes out to accomplish things in
the world. 

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But, you know, there's also the 
kind of power that's like a 

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stick of dynamite or a great big
old bomb that just just explodes

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and destroys in Greek. 
The word power there carries 

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with it a sense of direction, a 
sense of purpose, and, and Jesus

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is not just giving us the Holy 
Spirit so we can do whatever so 

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that we're walking around with 
some sticks of dynamite and we 

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can blow up. 
What we can do this, we can do 

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that. 
Just we've got power to use for 

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whatever purpose we wish. 
Jesus gives us power for his 

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purpose and that purpose is to 
be his witnesses. 

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What do witnesses do? 
Witnesses report on what they 

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have seen, heard, and 
experienced. 

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And we are to be Jesus's 
witnesses. 

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Our purpose is to share and 
proclaim what we have seen, 

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heard and experienced Jesus 
doing. 

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What we see and hear and 
experience Jesus doing. 

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Now to share that with others so
they can better hear, see and 

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experience what Jesus is doing 
too. 

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It's a legal term. 
And, and by saying you will be 

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my witnesses, Jesus is excluding
some things. 

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Jesus did not say the Holy 
Spirit will come on you with 

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power and you will be my 
investigators going out to 

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figure out what's wrong with 
other people. 

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He did not say that. 
He said you will be my 

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witnesses. 
He did not say the Holy Spirit 

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will come upon you with power 
and you will be my prosecuting 

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attorneys going out and trying 
to punish people for the things 

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they're doing wrong. 
He did not say that. 

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He said you will be my 
witnesses. 

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He did not say the Holy Spirit 
will come on you with power and 

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you will be my judges in this 
world deciding who's good, who's

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bad, who's going to heaven, 
who's going to hell. 

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He did not say that we receive 
his Holy Spirit. 

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We receive this power for the 
purpose of being Jesus's 

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witnesses, seeing what Jesus, we
need the Holy Spirit to 

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recognize the Holy Spirit in the
world around us so that we can 

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follow the Holy Spirit and tell 
others about the Holy Spirit. 

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Matthew phrases it a little bit 
differently. 

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He emphasizes a little bit 
differently. 

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Here Jesus is gathering with his
disciples outside Jerusalem and 

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Matthew, they're gathering in 
Galilee. 

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And this is this is part of what
he says in Matthew. 

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John read the rest of it this 
morning already. 

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Jesus said all authority in 
heaven on earth. 

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That authority, power, it's been
given to me and I'm giving it to

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you. 
So go and make disciples of all 

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nations. 
This is a little bit different 

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nuance, a little bit different 
inferences. 

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Now that go and make disciples, 
there are no word for word 

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translations of the Bible or any
complex writing from one 

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language to another, because 
different languages do things 

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differently. 
Greek does amazing things with 

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participles and verb tenses that
are very difficult to do and to 

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sound reasonable in English. 
And and it that this make 

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00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,800
disciples is one of those spots 
where it's tough to really 

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completely captured in the 
English. 

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The most literal way to 
translate it might be to say go 

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and disciple all nations, but 
that doesn't quite capture the 

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full nuance either because 
because how do you disciple a 

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whole nation? 
Making disciples makes it feels 

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like you're you're manufacturing
something. 

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I'm going to make you into the 
disciple. 

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Even if you don't want to be a 
disciple, this is something I am

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going to make, doesn't it Sort 
of gets there, but not quite. 

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Another way to phrase it would 
be to say, therefore go and 

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bring disciples of me out of all
nations. 

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Bring disciples. 
But whether you think of it as 

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discipling nations, making 
disciples of the nations, or 

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00:12:54,880 --> 00:12:58,560
bringing disciples from the 
nations, it's all active. 

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It is doing something. 
We have a purpose to go out and 

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bring people into discipleship, 
to enable people, help people, 

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facilitate people to become 
followers of Jesus. 

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00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:13,760
A disciple is a learner, but 
it's more than just head 

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00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,280
learning. 
It's more than just academic 

235
00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:19,280
book work where you need to 
learn information so you can 

236
00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:20,920
write it down and communicate it
on test. 

237
00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:24,000
It's it's more like an 
apprenticeship learning how to 

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live like Jesus lived. 
And we get we get kind of a 2 

239
00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:30,400
step process in that from Jesus 
here. 

240
00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,240
And it's been its most 
distilled, simplest form. 

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00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,000
Baptizing them in the name of 
the Father and the Son and the 

242
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,320
Holy Spirit bring them into the 
family, initiate them into the 

243
00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,680
community and, and that 
initiation, the sign of that 

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00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:45,040
initiation that welcome that 
reception. 

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00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,920
It's different from the old 
covenant with Abraham where the 

246
00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:52,440
sign was circumcision. 
That sign only half the people 

247
00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,040
could ever participate in that 
sign and that was the men. 

248
00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,840
Everyone can be baptized. 
Plus, circumcision is a 

249
00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:08,440
physical, physical change, a 
physical sign that represents 

250
00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,680
the covenant. 
If want to be too graphic. 

251
00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,800
But if someone says, hey, can 
you prove you're circumcised? 

252
00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,840
Yeah, people can prove whether 
they're circumcised or not. 

253
00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:23,600
You can do that. 
Someone says prove to me you're 

254
00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:26,040
baptized. 
It's different. 

255
00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,920
That sign is not a physical 
alteration. 

256
00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:37,360
It's an internal transformation.
You can get dunked or sprinkled 

257
00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:42,680
or poured or whatever, but if 
the love of Jesus Christ is not 

258
00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,720
flowing out of our hearts and 
our minds into the lives of 

259
00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:51,200
others, serving and caring and 
nurturing them, how can anyone 

260
00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:54,160
know We've actually been 
baptized, been made part of the 

261
00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:57,520
family of God? 
So that's part of it. 

262
00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:01,080
The other part of it then is 
teaching them to obey everything

263
00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,240
I have commanded you 
faithfulness. 

264
00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,880
That's right back to that life 
of faith, obediently hearing the

265
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,960
word of God doing that, 
recognizing what God is doing, 

266
00:15:12,160 --> 00:15:15,920
what God is saying, where God is
going now and obediently 

267
00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,920
following that in our context, 
in our situation. 

268
00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:25,400
And that's our purpose. 
That's our purpose to bring 

269
00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:29,760
disciples out of all nations to 
bear witness to Jesus Christ 

270
00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,760
throughout the whole world. 
Now I've been preaching this 

271
00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,480
long enough that I, I, I have 
done it poorly. 

272
00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:41,440
I, I, I think that's not I, I, I
have, I've preached this poorly 

273
00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:43,560
in the past. 
I'm OK with that. 

274
00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:46,600
I didn't used to be OK with 
doing stuff poorly, but then 

275
00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:49,320
someone said, you know, 
everything worth doing is worth 

276
00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:52,240
doing poorly at first. 
And, and you have to learn, you 

277
00:15:52,240 --> 00:15:53,560
have to grow. 
It takes time. 

278
00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,000
I'm older now. 
I hope I'm doing things better 

279
00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:00,200
than I was when I was in my 20s.
When I used to teach this, I 

280
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,840
didn't make any distinction 
between sensing God's purpose 

281
00:16:02,840 --> 00:16:05,440
and acknowledging God's purpose.
And one of the things I've 

282
00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,760
learned is there are some folks 
in every church that have a 

283
00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:11,200
really strong sense of God's 
purpose in their life. 

284
00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,520
They can feel it, they recognize
it. 

285
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:16,600
It's just part of the air they 
breathe. 

286
00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:19,160
It's part of the background 
music that's in their head all 

287
00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:22,040
the time, part of the the, the 
canvas that's in front of their 

288
00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,840
eyes, that sense and feel of the
reality of God's purpose in 

289
00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:28,120
their lives. 
There are some people that don't

290
00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:31,800
have that at all. 
They have no sense of God's 

291
00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:34,760
purpose. 
And what I learned as I was 

292
00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,640
preaching it that way is that 
some people would hear me 

293
00:16:37,640 --> 00:16:39,640
preaching and teaching about 
this and they'd say, you know, I

294
00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:41,840
don't have any sense of God's 
purpose in my life. 

295
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,960
Maybe I don't have God's purpose
in my life. 

296
00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:48,760
Maybe I'm not part of the 
Kingdom of God. 

297
00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:52,080
Maybe I'm not really saved. 
Maybe I'm not really being 

298
00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:56,480
faithful if I'm not sensing it. 
But there is a world of 

299
00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:00,800
difference between sensing God's
purpose and acknowledging God's 

300
00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:02,480
purpose. 
You can acknowledge God's 

301
00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:06,400
purpose to say God has a purpose
for me, whether I can sense it 

302
00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,440
or not. 
And that's the key thing. 

303
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,359
I now have the perfect 
illustration for this. 

304
00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,560
That perfect illustration is my 
dog Bruno. 

305
00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:18,680
I should have had a picture of 
Bruno for the slides, but I 

306
00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:22,119
don't. 
Bruno is a 70 LB knucklehead. 

307
00:17:22,839 --> 00:17:25,760
And, and, and I, we adopted 
Bruno. 

308
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:30,080
I had he's, he's my dog. 
I adopted Bruno for a purpose. 

309
00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:37,240
I adopted Bruno to be my buddy, 
hang out with me, one of the low

310
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:39,520
energy dog that like to lie 
around. 

311
00:17:39,800 --> 00:17:43,240
Best thing Bruno can do for me 
is if I'm sitting on the couch 

312
00:17:43,240 --> 00:17:46,080
and can put his head on my lap 
and snore while I scratch him 

313
00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:49,440
behind the ears. 
I enjoy that he enjoys that. 

314
00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,840
He crawl up and sit on my 70 
lbs, sit on my lap, rub his 

315
00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,440
belly. 
I can't see the TV because he's 

316
00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:02,800
right here scratching his belly 
and he loves it and it's good. 

317
00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:07,040
And that's Bruno's purpose. 
That's not what Bruno thinks his

318
00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:10,320
purpose is. 
Bruno has a very strong sense of

319
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:13,640
his purpose and has not to do 
with being my buddy. 

320
00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,280
Bruno's sense of his purpose is 
that he is there to protect our 

321
00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:22,360
house and our family from the 
mortal threat of Shelly, our 

322
00:18:22,360 --> 00:18:26,840
mailman. 
We have a mail slot, so she has 

323
00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,480
to come up under our front porch
every day. 

324
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:34,960
And Bruno, wherever he is in the
house, launches himself in the 

325
00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:39,840
direction of the front door, 
barking and growling like Satan 

326
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,360
himself is attempting to break 
in the front door. 

327
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:47,400
And, and, and Bruno's not. 
He's not real particular. 

328
00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,960
Anyone or anything that walks 
along the sidewalk in the front 

329
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:56,440
of our house is a mortal threat.
And Bruno is confident that his 

330
00:18:56,440 --> 00:19:01,160
purpose is to keep all mortal 
threats out of the house and he 

331
00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:02,920
will bark ferociously to do 
that. 

332
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:04,760
He's very committed to this 
purpose. 

333
00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:09,120
He is a coward by the way. 
He's frightened of loud noises 

334
00:19:09,920 --> 00:19:13,520
and and as soon as you open the 
door, suddenly he's not so 

335
00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,040
ferocious. 
But we'll be in the backyard. 

336
00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:19,520
We got a long house, smallish 
backyard. 

337
00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:23,600
We'll be in the backyard. 
If Bruno is on the edge of the 

338
00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,880
backyard and he sees someone 
walking down the sidewalk, 

339
00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,520
particularly if they're walking 
a dog, he will run into the 

340
00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:34,880
house to the front door, it's a 
glass door, and bark at them 

341
00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,400
ferociously as they walk past 
the house. 

342
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:40,960
He won't go outside because then
he doesn't have a door between 

343
00:19:40,960 --> 00:19:44,280
him and he's a coward. 
But that's what he thinks his 

344
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:47,200
purpose is, is to protect the 
family. 

345
00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,120
Bruno is not going to protect 
the family. 

346
00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:51,520
He tries. 
He really does try. 

347
00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:57,080
He's very afraid of loud noises 
and even some not so loud noise.

348
00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,840
I have an electric. 
He's terrified of motorcycles. 

349
00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,080
Anywhere that he can hear a 
motorcycle, he'll run in the 

350
00:20:02,080 --> 00:20:04,360
house. 
But I have an electric 

351
00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:07,920
lawnmower, push mower and he's 
afraid of that. 

352
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,920
That's too loud for him. 
He'll when I start mowing, he'll

353
00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,960
run in the house. 
Except one day recently, I was 

354
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,440
out mowing in the backyard and 
we got a fence in the backyard. 

355
00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:18,840
On the other side of that fence 
are neighbors that have a 

356
00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:23,080
mammoth big German Shepherd 
that, that again, I have no, 

357
00:20:23,080 --> 00:20:25,280
I've never met the German 
Shepherd on the other side of 

358
00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:27,280
the fence, just across the 
fence. 

359
00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,080
And but that when you get close 
to the fence of the German 

360
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,040
shepherds back there, he barks 
like if that fence weren't 

361
00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:34,640
there, I would have a dog on my 
throat. 

362
00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:36,840
I mean, he he barks like he 
wants to kill me. 

363
00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,360
So I'm out mowing by the back 
fence and that dog is barking 

364
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:47,720
and Poro Bruno comes running out
of the back of the house to 

365
00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:53,120
protect me from the dog. 
He tries, he tries. 

366
00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:57,040
He doesn't run straight. 
He kind of zigzags 'cause he's 

367
00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:00,640
afraid of the lawn mower. 
But he had his tail between his 

368
00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:03,200
legs and his ears down and he 
was shivering a little bit. 

369
00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:04,960
But he got between me and that 
fence. 

370
00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,400
Bruno will never protect. 
It's just not in him. 

371
00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,320
But that's not why I got it. 
That his purpose is to be my 

372
00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:15,320
companion, my buddy, not my 
bodyguard. 

373
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,640
This is the thing. 
Bruno will never understand his 

374
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:24,560
real purpose. 
He will never sense what his 

375
00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:28,040
real purpose is. 
His sense is always going to be 

376
00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:33,600
I'm here to protect. 
It's the same for us. 

377
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:39,320
Even if we can't sense what our 
purpose is, what God's purpose 

378
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:42,840
is for us, that doesn't mean God
doesn't have a purpose for us. 

379
00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:46,240
God has a purpose for us, 
whether we can sense it or not. 

380
00:21:47,360 --> 00:21:50,640
God's going to accomplish his 
purpose through us, whether we 

381
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:55,120
understand that purpose or not. 
But if we acknowledge that 

382
00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:57,920
purpose, that opens up 
opportunities to act 

383
00:21:57,920 --> 00:21:59,280
intentionally. 
And here's the thing. 

384
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:03,720
I mean, even if we don't even 
perceive it, Jesus, when he said

385
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,840
to his disciples, they're 
outside Jerusalem, the Holy 

386
00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:12,960
Spirit will come on you and you 
will be my witnesses throughout 

387
00:22:12,960 --> 00:22:15,440
the whole world. 
Not, not the Holy Spirit will 

388
00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:17,360
come on you. 
And if you do things the right 

389
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:18,880
way, then you'll be my 
witnesses. 

390
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:20,840
Not the Holy Spirit will come on
you. 

391
00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,640
And if if you don't make any big
mistakes, you'll be my 

392
00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,960
witnesses, or if you learn the 
right things, or if you go, 

393
00:22:28,800 --> 00:22:33,080
Jesus the Holy Spirit will come 
on you and you will be my 

394
00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,000
witnesses throughout the whole 
world. 

395
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:38,360
Jesus wasn't giving them a 
command. 

396
00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:42,280
He was making a prophecy. 
He was prophesying what would 

397
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,640
happen. 
They are going to fulfill 

398
00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,920
Jesus's mission for them, 
whether they can sense that 

399
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,320
mission or not. 
And that was the promise. 

400
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,400
And that's the promise Jesus 
makes for us, whether we sense 

401
00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:56,760
it or not. 
But if, even if we can't sense 

402
00:22:56,760 --> 00:23:00,040
it, even if we can't feel it, if
we acknowledge it, it allows us 

403
00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:04,000
to act intentionally in ways 
that we might not otherwise act.

404
00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:06,160
And I want to tell you a story 
now. 

405
00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,760
I love this story. 
I, I keep saying that like 3 

406
00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,800
weeks in a row here, but I love 
these current contemporary true 

407
00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:18,680
stories of people just doing 
God's stuff as part of their 

408
00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,360
regular lives. 
Tiffany Whittier and Michael 

409
00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:23,600
Kent. 
And I'm not going to, I'm not 

410
00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:26,960
going to give any introduction 
to their specific story. 

411
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,360
I will tell you that if you've 
never been to the website 

412
00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:33,400
iamsecond.com, it's a great 
website. 

413
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:37,440
It's a Christian website. 
And the idea is God is 1st and I

414
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,760
am 2nd. 
And it's lots of stories and 

415
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,680
lots of personal testimonies, 
some from regular ordinary 

416
00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,720
folks, some from fairly 
reasonably famous folks about 

417
00:23:46,720 --> 00:23:50,040
how God has changed their lives.
And the the videos are well 

418
00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:51,880
produced. 
Their stories are well told. 

419
00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:54,320
And it's there's some really, 
really beautiful things on 

420
00:23:54,320 --> 00:23:56,320
there. 
Their search feature on their 

421
00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:01,000
website is not the greatest. 
If you want to find Tiffany and 

422
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,640
Michael's video from I Am 
second, it's easier to go to 

423
00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,400
YouTube and search Tiffany 
Whitaker, Michael Kent I am 2nd 

424
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:10,920
and then you can find the video.
I'm not playing their I am 

425
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:12,240
second video. 
It's too long. 

426
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,560
It's like 1213 minutes long. 
But once they did their I am 

427
00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:20,360
Second video, some mainstream 
news media, this case in 

428
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:24,160
particular ABC News picked up 
the story and made it into a 

429
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,480
national news story. 
And so I'm going to it's only a 

430
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:28,760
3 minute segment. 
I'm going to show you that one. 

431
00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:30,000
Then we're going to talk about 
it. 

432
00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:33,400
But let's let's see and hear 
about Tiffany and Michael. 

433
00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:37,040
My name is Michael Kent. 
I'm over here at Fallen Heroes 

434
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:42,600
to get a swastika covered up. 
I've never, never, never been in

435
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,080
a inside of a tattoo shop 
getting a professional tattoo. 

436
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:46,920
It's a lot different than the 
prison style one. 

437
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:48,760
It's not done with guitar 
strings. 

438
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,160
It's painful to get it out. 
Yes, but it's going to be worth 

439
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:56,000
it. 
Tell me your story. 

440
00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:58,200
Behind that shirt is a lot of 
ink. 

441
00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:01,480
I was a part of a Skinhead 
group, a very violent group. 

442
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:06,880
My first tattoo, the racial 
tattoo was my white pride when I

443
00:25:06,880 --> 00:25:11,520
got 2 swastikas, 1 on my chest. 
How long have you had that on 

444
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:13,160
your chest? 
Over 20 years. 

445
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:15,240
Talk about that transformation 
process. 

446
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,640
This is kind of a good story, 
but odd story. 

447
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:21,960
I got my caseload transferred to
a black woman. 

448
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:25,600
She just marched up to my house.
If it wasn't for her, I probably

449
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:27,200
would have been deep back into 
it. 

450
00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:29,520
You feel like she became much 
more than a probation officer. 

451
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,440
Yes, she's much more than that, 
so I would look at her as 

452
00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,200
family. 
I'm Tiffany Whittier. 

453
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:35,680
I haven't seen him in over a 
year. 

454
00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:37,920
He doesn't know that I'm here. 
We're going to surprise him. 

455
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:49,680
Say hello 
hi. 

456
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,240
She gave me a chance and it 
opened my eyes. 

457
00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:57,680
You 2 are unlikely. 
Friends. 

458
00:25:57,920 --> 00:26:01,520
Yes, yes, I had a German war 
flag, she says. 

459
00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,480
You need to take that crap down 
and start putting up more 

460
00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,040
positive stuff. 
Put up smiley faces so when you 

461
00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,080
wake up you see positive instead
of hate. 

462
00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:12,280
That's a big difference. 
Yeah, that's a big change. 

463
00:26:12,360 --> 00:26:14,680
When you wake up and you see a 
:), you're going to go to work 

464
00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,800
and you're going to smile. 
Before all this, I wouldn't work

465
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:21,560
for anybody or with anybody that
wasn't white. 13 people that 

466
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:23,800
work with me, I'm the only white
person there. 

467
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:27,960
We have company parties, or they
have quinceaneras or barbecues 

468
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:30,320
or birthday parties. 
I'm the only white guy there. 

469
00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,960
Last night we were with him and 
he got a tattoo taken up, he 

470
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,320
said. 
Tiffany was one of the people 

471
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:38,440
that helped me make this 
transition. 

472
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,840
I'm not here to judge him. 
That's not my job to judge. 

473
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:44,640
My job is to be that positive 
person in someone's life, try to

474
00:26:44,640 --> 00:26:46,680
make a difference. 
I'm getting trucked up again. 

475
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,600
If you got a strong support 
system and you have people that 

476
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:52,440
believe in you in a positive 
way, you can change. 

477
00:26:52,440 --> 00:26:55,120
Oh wow, that's. 
Crazy thing. 

478
00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:58,400
Do it, Michael. 
You're touching before and after

479
00:26:58,400 --> 00:26:59,760
now. 
Did you ever think they'd come 

480
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:00,960
off and have you been a part of 
that? 

481
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:03,960
Not in the million years I would
have ever guessed. 

482
00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,040
That Michael. 
Changed his life for the better.

483
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:11,760
She gave me the strength and the
courage to do what I'm doing and

484
00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,880
changing my life because I know 
it, she can do it and she 

485
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:16,520
believes in people, good in 
people. 

486
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:27,880
I know I can't too. 
This side one of the the good 

487
00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:30,320
things about this clip is it was
short enough to show the whole 

488
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:33,840
thing here in this morning 
because it's ABC News and their 

489
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:38,680
focus is just on information. 
They they cut out all of the 

490
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,280
faith stuff from their story 
there. 

491
00:27:41,280 --> 00:27:45,120
I am second interview and and 
they've been on Kelly Clarkson 

492
00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:47,840
show an interview there and some
other places as well. 

493
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,800
There are several different 
interviews for them there where 

494
00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,760
they are very explicit about 
their faith in the role that God

495
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,040
played in this. 
But in particular on that I am 

496
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:00,120
second interview Michael, which 
was I believe the first one they

497
00:28:00,120 --> 00:28:03,240
did. 
Michael asked Tiffany. 

498
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,400
He said, I've always wanted to 
know why you did this for me. 

499
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:09,640
Why did you do this for me? 
Why did you do this for me? 

500
00:28:10,200 --> 00:28:12,920
And and her response, she seemed
baffled by that. 

501
00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:15,520
And she just said quite 
sincerely, well, it's my it was 

502
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,280
my job. 
And he's like, this wasn't your 

503
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:20,520
job. 
And they're both right. 

504
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:23,800
I, I, I, I, I know a few 
probation officers. 

505
00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:28,840
I guarantee you that there is 
nothing in Tiffany Whittier's 

506
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:33,560
job description that says her 
job is to share the love and 

507
00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:36,440
hope in Jesus of Jesus Christ 
with people. 

508
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:40,760
I, I guarantee you it's not even
to love people is not part of 

509
00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,800
her job description. 
She's assigned. 

510
00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:49,160
And Michael was a bad dude by 
his own admission, he destroyed 

511
00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:54,160
the lives of many people. 
And, and here's this, this 

512
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:59,440
woman, a, a black woman coming 
up and investing in him, sharing

513
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:04,080
the hope, sharing the love of 
God in a way that leads his life

514
00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:08,680
to be changed. 
The way it began, which they, 

515
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:13,040
they again, they, it's a short 
clip, but the way it began was 

516
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,400
when she was assigned his 
caseload, he'd gotten out of 

517
00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:17,240
prison. 
She was assigned him as a 

518
00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:22,000
probationer. 
And, and she looked at his file.

519
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:26,040
She saw the tattoos, she knew 
his history, she knew what he 

520
00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:27,840
was about. 
She was going to make her 

521
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,960
initial contact with him. 
And she said she had a gut 

522
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:35,400
feeling to just go alone. 
And so she showed up at his 

523
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,600
house by herself. 
She walked up. 

524
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:40,800
She knocked on the door. 
He walked out. 

525
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,800
And the first thing he said to 
her was, did you come alone? 

526
00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:49,720
She said her response was, yes, 
I'm alone, Is that going to be a

527
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:54,280
problem? 
And he said, no, it's not a 

528
00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,800
problem. 
He said, no one's ever had the 

529
00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:01,240
courage to come to my house 
alone before, said even the 

530
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:03,200
white folks, when they come, 
bring back up with them. 

531
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:05,920
But you had the courage to come 
alone. 

532
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:13,680
That courage, that willingness 
to risk, that willingness to for

533
00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:17,160
someone who would have been so 
easy to judge and condemn and 

534
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:21,160
write off, but instead speak to 
with hope and grace and 

535
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:26,160
compassion and love. 
Because she, and again in the 

536
00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:30,080
larger interviews, you hear it, 
she understands that God has a 

537
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:34,560
purpose in her life. 
She has a job that she has to do

538
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:36,640
and she has a responsibility to 
do that job. 

539
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:39,840
But God has a purpose in her 
life. 

540
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:42,960
And that purpose is there 
whether she feels the purpose or

541
00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:48,480
not, to share the hope, to share
the compassion, to share the 

542
00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:52,080
love. 
And this is what she did. 

543
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,680
And Michael's life was changed 
and in her life was changed as 

544
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,320
well. 
I think it's interesting that 

545
00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:04,160
that when when the news reporter
asked her did did you ever think

546
00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:07,160
those tattoos would come off? 
Did you catch what? 

547
00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:09,080
Catch what she said? 
She said no. 

548
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:12,480
Said never in a million years 
did I expect Michael would 

549
00:31:12,480 --> 00:31:17,720
change his life for the better. 
You know, talk to some. 

550
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,720
Oh, I always knew they'd come. 
I always knew Jesus would get 

551
00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:21,280
off. 
All right. 

552
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:24,920
She's like, I didn't. 
She was just doing what God had 

553
00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:27,360
called her to do. 
She was doing the work in front 

554
00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:29,200
of her. 
She was doing it in the name of 

555
00:31:29,240 --> 00:31:32,280
Jesus Christ. 
And God accomplished his purpose

556
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:37,280
through her. 
And, and I guarantee you that 

557
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:39,880
Michael is the exception rather 
than the rule in terms of 

558
00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,360
dramatic transformation and her 
life. 

559
00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:45,680
But that doesn't change the 
miracle. 

560
00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:52,160
It doesn't change her purpose. 
Every single one of us has a 

561
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,640
noble purpose. 
We all do. 

562
00:31:55,640 --> 00:31:58,680
Whether we can see it or not, 
whether we feel it or not. 

563
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:04,160
God has purpose for all of us. 
God has purpose for New 

564
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:08,320
Beginnings United Methodist 
Church in this community, in 

565
00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:12,760
this town. 
God has purpose for us, and God 

566
00:32:12,760 --> 00:32:14,920
will accomplish that purpose 
through US. 

567
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,520
Let's acknowledge that purpose 
and pursue it together in Jesus 

568
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:20,680
name. 
Amen. 

569
00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:21,560
Amen.