1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:04,680 I need to tell you about someone from my hometown, from the 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,880 Bidwell, Rodney Rd. area or the Rodney, Bidwell Rd. area, 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:09,760 depending on whether you're in Bidwell or Rodney. 4 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:14,920 That, that was our great hope when I was growing up. 5 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:19,720 Her, her name's Norma and, and Norma was, was great in school 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,440 from the time of kindergarten all the way on up. 7 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:27,960 She was an A+ student, got great grades in every subject and she 8 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,000 was a brilliant athlete. She lettered in four sports even 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,880 though we only had two girls sports in the school. 10 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:41,120 She was that good. She she went on to college with 11 00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:43,440 everyone expecting great things. She left home. 12 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:45,440 We said, Norma, our, our hopes are on you. 13 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:49,320 We're depending on you to do something wonderful to change 14 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:51,640 this world. She she went to an Ivy League 15 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:56,360 school and she majored in majored in physics, pre Med 16 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:59,960 literature and, and international economics and, and 17 00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:04,040 got A's all the way through graduated summa cum laude, went 18 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,120 on to get her doctorate degree and all of those subjects. 19 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,280 We thought, Norma's, she's our hope. 20 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:14,520 She's going to put us on Bidwell Rodney Rd. on the map and change 21 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,960 the world. After all of that school, Norman 22 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:18,520 was like, I need to take a break. 23 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,000 I need a little bit of a breather before I jump into 24 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:24,600 changing the world where we what we all understood and we wished 25 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:26,960 her well and she was going to take a trip around the world. 26 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:29,520 Well, on that trip around the world, she went through the, 27 00:01:29,600 --> 00:01:33,360 the, the wonderful country of Luxembourg and, and happened to 28 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,680 have all people meet the King of Luxembourg. 29 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:40,240 And as they were chatting over Bratwurst, they, they, he, he 30 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,960 told Norma about his prize possession, which was his 31 00:01:43,960 --> 00:01:46,640 aquarium. Now aquarium for you and me 32 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,680 might be a fish tank. He had like a whole water park. 33 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:54,280 He was the king after all. And his prize in that aquarium 34 00:01:54,440 --> 00:01:58,280 was his dolphin, whom he named Queenie. 35 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:02,760 She was a wonderful dolphin. And Norma just fell in love with 36 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,440 Queenie. She stayed in Luxemburg for a 37 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:06,800 few days. She went on the rest of her 38 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:08,520 trip. But as she was traveling the 39 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,039 rest of the way around the world, her mind kept drifting 40 00:02:11,039 --> 00:02:14,800 back to Queenie and how much she missed Queenie and how much she 41 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:16,600 wanted to be there. And when she finished her trip 42 00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,560 around the world, she abandoned all of her plans. 43 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:23,400 No longer going to try to bring World Peace, No longer going to 44 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:27,160 try to create cold fusion, No longer going to bring a cure to 45 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:30,240 cancer, write the greatest novel ever written to transform the 46 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:31,600 world. She was going to go to 47 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,400 Luxembourg and take care of Queenie. 48 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:36,880 And she went and the king said, well, I'm not sure you're 49 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:38,880 qualified. She said I'm a quick learner and 50 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:40,240 she learned everything she needed. 51 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,680 She fed Queenie every day. She cleaned out her tank. 52 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:45,880 She was sick. She gave her the medicine. 53 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:48,920 She was a friend of her. She took care of Queenie. 54 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:53,400 But everyone back in my town was very disappointed because we all 55 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:55,440 had such great hopes and such great plan. 56 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:56,800 She was going to put us on the map. 57 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:58,680 She was going to change the world. 58 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:01,600 So we sent a representative over to talk to Norma. 59 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,320 Thankfully it wasn't me. I didn't want to have to deliver 60 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:06,360 that bad news. But the representative went over 61 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:08,840 to talk to Norma, said Norma, what's going on here? 62 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,760 We had such great hopes in you. You were going to change the 63 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:13,360 world. You were going to cure cancer. 64 00:03:13,360 --> 00:03:15,240 You were going to solve the energy crisis. 65 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:17,960 What has happened, Norma? What has happened? 66 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:22,360 And Norma said, well, well, I believe I've served a noble 67 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:28,760 porpoise. Thank you very much. 68 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:37,160 I'll be here all week. Here's the reality, we all have 69 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:41,480 a noble porpoise. We are all children of the King 70 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:43,920 and we have a purpose in this life. 71 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:45,800 And the scripture I'm going to read this morning is going to 72 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,640 point us in that direction. So I want to read Matthew 2816 73 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:54,920 to 20 and Acts 1/6 through 15 as we talk about our noble porpoise 74 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,400 purpose here today. Then the 11 disciples went to 75 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,120 Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 76 00:04:02,600 --> 00:04:04,720 When they saw him, they worshipped him, but some 77 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:07,440 doubted. Then Jesus came to them and 78 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,200 said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to 79 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,320 me. Therefore go and make disciples 80 00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:17,760 of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of 81 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,519 the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything 82 00:04:21,519 --> 00:04:25,920 I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always to the very 83 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,440 end of the age. Then in Acts, just before Jesus 84 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:33,600 ascends into the heavens. Then they gathered around him 85 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:37,400 and asked him, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the 86 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:40,640 Kingdom of Israel? He said to them, It is not for 87 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,320 you to know the times or the dates the Father has set by his 88 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:47,840 own authority. But you will receive power when 89 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:51,600 the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be My witnesses in 90 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:55,600 Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the 91 00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:59,120 earth. After this, after he said this, 92 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,880 he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid them, 93 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,320 hid him from their sight. They were looking intently into 94 00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:11,480 the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in 95 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,240 white stood beside them. Men of Galilee, they said, Why 96 00:05:15,240 --> 00:05:17,200 do you stand here looking into the sky? 97 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,960 The same Jesus who has been taken away, who has been taken 98 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,960 from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have 99 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:29,920 seen him go into heaven. May the Lord add His blessing to 100 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:32,560 the reading and hearing of His Word. 101 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,160 We live an Easter life. We are followers of Jesus 102 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:38,880 Christ, the one who died, but not just died. 103 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:43,440 He rose again from the dead, and we live in light of that 104 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:47,040 resurrection. We live a life because of Easter 105 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:50,320 that is different than we could live if Jesus had just died as a 106 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,720 martyr. That life we live in a world 107 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,600 that's turned upside down. It's a life of faith, it's a 108 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,080 life of service, and it's a life of purpose. 109 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:05,320 We have purpose in this world and and it is incredibly 110 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:09,560 important for us to to remember that and remind ourselves of 111 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:12,680 that because there is so much in this world that says the 112 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:15,000 opposite. The Easter life is a life of 113 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,800 purpose, but there are a lot of voices in the world that say 114 00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:22,400 life is not purposeful, life is directionless, meaningless, 115 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:27,040 pointless and futile. Easter says no, life is not 116 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:29,040 directionless, meaningless, pointless or futile. 117 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,240 The, the, these kinds of voices, there have been those kinds of 118 00:06:34,240 --> 00:06:36,680 voices that have said those things, as far as I know, 119 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,600 throughout recorded history. And, and they, they, they wax 120 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:42,520 and they wane. They go quieter and they grow 121 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,000 louder at times. And right now in Western 122 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,720 culture, in the United States and Europe in particular, those 123 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,360 voices are really, really loud that our entire existence is 124 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,440 just an accident, a random collection of atoms and energy 125 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:58,120 and explosions that that bring us here. 126 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:02,160 And nothing that we do matters because one day it's all going 127 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:04,960 to collapse into another black hole and then explode again. 128 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:09,320 And every single thing that has ever been said, made or done 129 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,680 will cease to exist forever and ever and ever. 130 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:16,320 It's all meaningless. That's one way. 131 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,160 It's phrased another way to phrase this, you know, well, 132 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,960 there's meaning, but we make up our own meaning, you know, truth 133 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:23,560 and meaning. That's that's a social 134 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,560 construct. And we have to decide for 135 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,280 ourself what our purpose is. That's another way of saying 136 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:31,360 there is no meaning. Just so we know, if we have to 137 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,080 make up our own meaning, then we don't have a meaning. 138 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,560 But we do have a meaning. There is purpose. 139 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:43,200 We are not here by accident. We are here on purpose, and that 140 00:07:43,200 --> 00:07:47,400 purpose is God's purpose. See, the purpose is not ours. 141 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:51,360 We don't get to decide what our purpose in this world is. 142 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:53,960 I'm going to talk a little bit more about that later, but we 143 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:56,920 don't. The purpose is not ours. 144 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,040 It's not yours. It's not mine. 145 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:04,400 The Easter life is a life filled and directed by God's purpose. 146 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,160 God has a purpose for us. God has an intention for us. 147 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:12,560 God has a plan for us. There is a reason every single 148 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:17,320 human who has ever drawn breath, who has ever been conceived, has 149 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:21,640 done been drawn breath, been conceived by the will of God and 150 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:23,200 with the purpose of God behind them. 151 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,800 No one is an accident. No one is meaningless, no one is 152 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:31,000 purposeless. Everyone has a place and is part 153 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,760 of God's purpose in this world. Jesus said this when he was 154 00:08:34,760 --> 00:08:36,640 talking to his disciples about purpose. 155 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:40,640 We get different witnesses, different evangelists, you know, 156 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,360 Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. We have 4 different main 157 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:47,520 evangelists who wrote the gospels and, and they, they 158 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:49,960 phrased the purpose a little bit differently. 159 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:54,200 And John last week, John at the end of Jesus's ministry and life 160 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,920 on earth before he ascended. John's primary focus was to 161 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,520 remind us that Jesus told his disciples they needed to serve. 162 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,680 Serve one another, Feed my sheep, take care of my lambs. 163 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,720 Life of service. And in Acts, which is a 164 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,840 continuation of the book of Luke written by Luke, before Jesus 165 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:15,320 ascends, he says this to his disciples. 166 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,960 You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you 167 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,360 will be my witnesses. You will receive power. 168 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,760 That word in English that doesn't have any direction to 169 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:27,560 it. Power can be like the 170 00:09:27,560 --> 00:09:30,880 electricity coming out of Gavin and Tiger Creek, which does work 171 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:32,440 in the world, very important work. 172 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:35,880 Or power can be the stick of dynamite in the coyotes hands 173 00:09:35,880 --> 00:09:38,400 that just makes things go boom, which we're going to do. 174 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,480 We are going to do. Yeah, I got, I got potential 175 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:44,440 dates in mind, so I'll reach out this week. 176 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:48,760 We're going to blow stuff up. It'll be fun power. 177 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:50,840 That's how power works in English. 178 00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:54,400 That word in Greek, that word power dunamis, It has a sense of 179 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:58,840 direction to it. It's not just explosive power. 180 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:01,160 It's power that's going someplace. 181 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,120 It's power that's taking us someplace. 182 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,600 When Jesus said the Holy Spirit will come on you with power, he 183 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,320 wasn't saying you will have the power to live your true life and 184 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:13,400 be your true self and do whatever you feel is most great 185 00:10:13,400 --> 00:10:16,320 and most wonderful. That's not what Jesus did not 186 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,640 just hand his disciples to stick a dynamite and say go do it. 187 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,360 Jesus gave power for purpose. It's moving in a direction. 188 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:28,960 And the way Luke formulates that and emphasizing what Jesus said 189 00:10:29,040 --> 00:10:31,160 was that you will be my witnesses. 190 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,720 It's a legal term, right? Witnesses tell what they have 191 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:37,640 seen. They tell what they have heard. 192 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:39,320 They tell what they have experienced. 193 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:44,640 And that's what our purpose is, to tell what we have seen of 194 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:49,240 Jesus, what we have experienced of God, what we have seen them 195 00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:52,840 do and heard them do in the past, what we see and hear them 196 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:58,640 doing now so that we can follow. Our job is to observe, witness, 197 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,560 report and share what we see and hear and experience God doing 198 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:07,280 past and present and future. If we get that kind of 199 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,800 information from God, which we sometimes get now. 200 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:15,120 The witness is one person in the whole trial process, right? 201 00:11:15,280 --> 00:11:17,080 The witness is not the investigator. 202 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:20,920 Jesus didn't say. The Holy Spirit will come upon 203 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:23,920 you so that you might investigate what your neighbors 204 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:27,400 are doing wrong. That's not what Jesus said. 205 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,480 My Spirit will come on you with power so that you will be my 206 00:11:31,480 --> 00:11:33,440 witnesses. We're not the prosecutor. 207 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:35,440 Jesus didn't say. The Holy Spirit will come on you 208 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:39,160 with power so that you can make your neighbors start doing 209 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,480 things right. He didn't say that you will be 210 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:46,000 my witnesses. The you didn't say the Holy 211 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,640 Spirit will come on power so that you can judge your 212 00:11:48,640 --> 00:11:51,720 neighbors whether they are right, wrong, going to heaven or 213 00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:55,880 hell. You will be my witnesses. 214 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,280 That's the power we get. That's the purpose we have. 215 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,480 Matthew phrases it. It's very similar, but he 216 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:05,680 phrases, we Jesus phrases a little bit different. 217 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:08,840 In Matthew, Jesus said all authority in heaven on earth. 218 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,840 I've got the power, I've got the authority, Jesus saying has been 219 00:12:12,840 --> 00:12:15,520 given to me and here's my job for you. 220 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,560 Here's your purpose. Go and make disciples of all 221 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:21,840 nations. That's another one of the spots 222 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,400 where English makes it. We got to work at it in English 223 00:12:25,560 --> 00:12:29,520 because different there are no word for word translations of 224 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:33,520 the Bible or or really anything of complexity from one language 225 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,200 to another because different languages do things differently. 226 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:41,960 And Greek uses a lot of verb tenses that do not are not easy 227 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,600 to translate into English. They make for very awkward 228 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,480 sentences. A a more literal translation of 229 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,360 this would be therefore go and disciple all nations. 230 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:53,680 But that's awkward. And what does it mean to 231 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:57,080 disciple a nation? And it doesn't quite capture 232 00:12:57,120 --> 00:13:00,240 what he's trying to say. Another way to say it is go and 233 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:04,360 bring into discipleship people of all nations. 234 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,120 And, and so it's tough to get one phrase or one word that 235 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:12,360 captures all of that in English. But however we phrase it, 236 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,720 discipling all nations, making disciples or bringing people 237 00:13:15,720 --> 00:13:19,360 into discipleship, there is action for us to do. 238 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,400 And Luke, Jesus's primary concern is that we observe and 239 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,400 witness and experience and share that. 240 00:13:26,680 --> 00:13:29,800 In Matthew, Jesus's primary concern is he's communicating 241 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:31,960 purpose is to say you've got a job to do. 242 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:35,400 And that job is to go out and make disciples, bring people 243 00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:37,360 into discipleship. And what does that mean? 244 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:41,080 That means bring him into the family, baptize him, and that's 245 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:45,080 a sign of a covenant relationship that anyone can 246 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,520 receive and anyone can share. Unlike the covenant of 247 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,320 circumcision, the sign of circumcision, and the covenant 248 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,920 made with Abraham, everyone can be baptized, not just the men. 249 00:13:55,680 --> 00:13:59,880 Unlike circumcision, which was a visible physical sign. 250 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:01,680 Someone would say I'm circumcised. 251 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:03,600 You can prove you're circumcised. 252 00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:09,040 You can. If you are, you can baptism. 253 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:14,240 It's not a physical sign. I mean, we put the water on the 254 00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:16,840 body. Once that water dries, the only 255 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:19,880 way you know whether someone has really been baptized is the 256 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,880 condition of their heart, how they're treating other people. 257 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:28,800 Are they loving and serving the way Jesus calls us to love and 258 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:33,320 serve? So it's it's a sign that anyone 259 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:39,000 can receive, but has to go a lot deeper than our skin, all the 260 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:43,840 way into our hearts and into our minds, baptizing them and 261 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,600 teaching them to obey everything I've commanded. 262 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,680 Faithful, living faithfully, hearing the Word of God, 263 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:54,640 obediently following the Word and the teaching of our Lord and 264 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,960 our Savior Jesus Christ, our Father who is in the heavens. 265 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:00,920 This is what it means to be making disciples. 266 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:05,760 This is our purpose, witnesses who are bringing people into 267 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:08,680 discipleship to be followers of Jesus. 268 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:12,720 That word, disciple itself is a fun word and it gets interpreted 269 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,160 a lot of different ways. It it, you can think of it, it, 270 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,600 it, it strictly speaking means learner. 271 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:20,880 But but for us, learning is primarily a head thing. 272 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,120 You know, we got to study our notes and learn our math and 273 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:26,360 learn our science and learn our geography and those kinds of 274 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:28,760 things. A disciple was much more of an 275 00:15:28,760 --> 00:15:33,440 apprentice than as in a learner than than an than an an 276 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:36,480 intellectual as a learner. There's intellectual things to 277 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:40,400 learn, but what you're learning is not just information to be 278 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:45,160 able to repeat, but you're learning a way of living life, 279 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:50,120 apprenticeship with Jesus, following Jesus. 280 00:15:50,840 --> 00:15:54,680 This is why we're here. This is the purpose that every 281 00:15:54,680 --> 00:15:57,800 single one of us has is not just the pastor whose job it is to 282 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,200 make disciples. It's not just the pastor whose 283 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:03,320 job it is to be a witness. It is like Rick was saying, it's 284 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:05,720 all our job. Whether we're standing up here 285 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,400 in the front or we're sitting down in a Pew or we're out 286 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:11,600 serving somewhere, it's all our jobs to be witnesses and to be 287 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:14,720 making disciples. That is our purpose. 288 00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:17,040 Now, I've been preaching and teaching about purpose long 289 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:21,200 enough to do it badly. And, and, and I, I, I feel like 290 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,360 I'm doing a little bit better. I feel like that's the right way 291 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:26,560 to, you know, you when you're younger, you don't know as much 292 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:28,400 and you'd mess up and you learn as you go. 293 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:31,040 I think that's the way life is supposed to work. 294 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:35,960 And, and, and so one of the things I realized as I've taught 295 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:40,600 this in the past is that some people have a really strong 296 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:42,680 sense of God's purpose in their lives. 297 00:16:43,400 --> 00:16:46,400 They can just feel it. I know God's got a purpose for 298 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:47,960 me. I know God's got a plan for me 299 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:50,880 and they hear a sermon like this or messes like this. 300 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:53,240 Amen, Amen, Amen. I feel it. 301 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:54,520 I believe it. Let's go do it. 302 00:16:54,800 --> 00:16:58,320 But not everyone has a strong sense of God's purpose in their 303 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,000 lives. And if in the the risk of the 304 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,520 way I've taught this in the past is that for folks that don't 305 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,000 have a strong sense of God's purpose in their life, they 306 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,640 begin to wonder, maybe I don't have a purpose. 307 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:14,760 Maybe God hasn't saved me. Maybe I'm not part of God's 308 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,440 Kingdom because I just don't have this sense of purpose that 309 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:20,800 Blevins and other folks seem to have. 310 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:24,599 But there's a world of difference between sensing God's 311 00:17:24,599 --> 00:17:27,359 purpose and acknowledging God's purpose. 312 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:32,240 And I now have the perfect illustration for this teaching. 313 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:37,200 It's my dog Bruno. I love Bruno, Bruno's favorite 314 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,480 pet I've ever had. He's a 70 LB knucklehead. 315 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:44,400 He's a big Herfy Durfy teddy bear. 316 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,960 He's a coward. He's afraid of everything that's 317 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,560 not on the other side of a door and and particularly loud 318 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,440 noises. Bruno's purpose is to be my 319 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,440 buddy. That's his purpose. 320 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:59,280 That's why I adopted Bruno. That's why I brought him home. 321 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:04,640 That's why I give so much food to that crazy nut, why I give 322 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:08,720 him his flea and tick medicine, why we take him to the vet to be 323 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,440 my buddy. The best thing Bruno can do as 324 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,240 far as I'm concerned is when I am sitting on the couch, he can 325 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:16,360 put his head on my lap and I can scratch his ears. 326 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:21,160 The best thing Bruno can do? Hang out with me. 327 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:22,960 I go place. I could put him in the truck and 328 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:24,840 goes with me, hangs out with me. We can do stuff. 329 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,440 He can hang around and just be there and I, he gets his belly 330 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,920 rubbed once in a while. I climbs up on my lap, He's 331 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,640 heavy and I'll rub his belly and he'll just, he loves it. 332 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,360 He loves it. That's Bruno's purpose. 333 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:40,560 That's not what Bruno thinks his purpose is. 334 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:48,120 Bruno thinks his purpose is to defend our household from the 335 00:18:48,120 --> 00:18:51,400 mortal threat of Shelley, our mailman. 336 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:55,320 We have a mail slot, so Shelley has to come all the way up on 337 00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:56,720 the front porch to deliver our mail. 338 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:01,640 And according to Bruno, Shelley is the most dangerous thing in 339 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:05,920 the world, and he will run from anywhere in the house, barking 340 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,360 furiously at the door to chase Shelly away. 341 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:12,920 But he's not picky, really. Anyone who walks along the 342 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:15,360 sidewalk in front of her house, particularly if they have an 343 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:21,120 animal of any size, a mortal threat, and Bruno is convinced 344 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:25,960 his job is to chase them away. Bruno is so committed to his 345 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:28,200 purpose. We have a long house. 346 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:32,840 We got a smallish backyard. If we're in the backyard and 347 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:37,280 Bruno looks and sees someone walking down the sidewalk and 348 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,640 going to pass in front of our house, he will run in the house 349 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:43,320 to the front door and bark at them. 350 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:47,240 And he doesn't go around the house because he's a coward. 351 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:51,080 He needs a door between him and whoever he's trying to scare 352 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:55,440 away, but it's a glass door so we can see him and he just barks 353 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,080 furiously and for you would think he would going to RIP 354 00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:00,520 that, but he's not. He's not. 355 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,360 He's a big teddy bear. You open the door. 356 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,160 Was it really me barking? He tries though, like we got our 357 00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:10,240 neighbors straight to the back. We got a fence across her 358 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:12,280 backyard and the neighbors straight to the back have a 359 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,640 great big old German Shepherd. And again, I've, I've never met 360 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,040 it on the other side of the fence. 361 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:19,600 So I don't know whether it's kind of barrier aggression or 362 00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:22,200 whether it's just a big teddy bear, whether it really is 363 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:24,400 ferocious. But you get close to the fence, 364 00:20:24,400 --> 00:20:26,240 it'll bark like it's going to rip your head off. 365 00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:28,840 And he's got a German shepherd's, got a great big 366 00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:30,480 bark. I was out mowing. 367 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:35,480 Bruno is afraid of loud noises. Motorcycles terrify him. 368 00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:39,360 I have an electric mower and it's too loud for Bruno. 369 00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:44,360 He will run in the house to stay away from the electric mower and 370 00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:47,160 and I'm out mowing in the backyard and that other dog's 371 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,880 barking and I could barking like that sound of man, if that fence 372 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,360 wasn't there, I'd probably have a dog on my throat right now. 373 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:58,720 And Bruno came running out of the house to get between me and 374 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,920 that other dog. Now his tail was between his 375 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:05,840 legs and his ears were down and he was shaking a little bit. 376 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:10,080 But he ran out and got between me and the other dog for two or 377 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:11,680 three minutes and then he ran back inside. 378 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:15,880 He tries, but Bruno was not a guard dog. 379 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:20,000 That is not his purpose. It's not his purpose. 380 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:24,080 Now here's the thing. Bruno will never understand his 381 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,680 purpose. In Bruno's mind, I know that to 382 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,640 the day he dies, he's going to be convinced that his purpose is 383 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,400 to keep us safe from the mailman and all other mortal threats. 384 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:39,560 But that's not his purpose. His purpose is to be my buddy. 385 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:41,960 His purpose is to be my companion. 386 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:47,920 Bruno will fulfill his purpose whether he is aware of his 387 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:52,320 purpose or not. Bruno has a purpose whether he 388 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:56,560 is aware of his purpose or not, and that is the same with us. 389 00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:04,200 Jesus did not say if Holy Spirit will come upon you and if you do 390 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,320 everything just right then you will be my witnesses. 391 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,680 Jesus just said you will be my witnesses. 392 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:15,640 He wasn't. He wasn't giving them a job at 393 00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:18,240 that point. He was telling them what was 394 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:24,920 going to happen. God's purpose is for us like 395 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:26,800 that. Sometimes we need to be aware of 396 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,640 it. I'm, I'm more and more convinced 397 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,640 that that if, if, if we have a sense of God's purposes just 398 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:37,720 because for that moment we need that sense of God's purpose. 399 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:41,720 But even when we don't have a sense of God's purpose, God 400 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,760 still has a purpose for us. And God will still accomplish 401 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,360 that purpose through us even when we're not aware of it. 402 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:55,080 Bruno's going to be my bud, even when he thinks he's got another 403 00:22:55,080 --> 00:22:58,280 job. We've got that purpose now. 404 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:03,080 I, I want to tell you this story is I, I keep finding these 405 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:05,800 amazing stories and I, I, I don't know, I love true stories 406 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:08,440 and I love modern true stories. And this is another one. 407 00:23:08,440 --> 00:23:11,160 Tiffany Whittier and Michael Kent, I don't know if you're 408 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,160 familiar with the website iamsecond.com. 409 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,920 If you've never visited that website, I encourage you to. 410 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,440 It's, it's a Christian based website and the notion is God's 411 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:26,000 first and I am 2nd and, and it's got tons of videos, some of 412 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,240 regular ordinary folks, some of very famous folks you would 413 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:33,960 recognize about how God came in and and changed their life and 414 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,160 transformed their life and they went from making themselves 415 00:23:37,160 --> 00:23:39,600 first to putting God first in their lives. 416 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:42,320 Beautiful stories on iamsecond.com. 417 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:46,160 This is 1 and sometimes it's easier to find their stuff. 418 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:49,200 Their, their search on their website isn't great for this 419 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,520 video. You'll find it easier on YouTube 420 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,760 if you go to YouTube and search for Tiffany Whittier and Michael 421 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,880 Kent. I am second. 422 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,120 I'm not going to show the I am second video. 423 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:03,040 It's too long. It's like 12 minutes long. 424 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,320 But after they did their testimony on I Am Second, some 425 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,160 news organizations, national news organizations picked up the 426 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,960 story and this is one of those reports. 427 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,440 It's only three minutes long and we're going to watch it, but I 428 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:17,360 don't want to give you any more introduction than that. 429 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:22,120 This is Michael Kent and Tiffany Whittier, and we're going to see 430 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:24,400 God's purpose working in people's lives. 431 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:27,440 My name is Michael Kent. I'm over here at Fallen Heroes 432 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:33,000 to get a swastika covered up. I've never, never, never been in 433 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,520 a inside of a tattoo shop getting a professional tattoo. 434 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,320 It's a lot different than the prison style one. 435 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:39,160 It's not done with guitar strings. 436 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,560 It's painful to get it out. Yes, but it's going to be worth 437 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,400 it. Tell me your story. 438 00:24:46,640 --> 00:24:48,600 Behind that shirt is a lot of ink. 439 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,880 I was part of a Skinhead group, a very violent group. 440 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:57,280 My first tattoo, the racial tattoo was my white pride when I 441 00:24:57,280 --> 00:25:01,920 got 2 swastikas, 1 on my chest. How long have you had that on 442 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:03,600 your chest? Over 20 years. 443 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:05,680 Talk about that transformation process. 444 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,080 This is kind of a good story, but odd story. 445 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,400 I got my caseload transferred to a black woman. 446 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:16,000 She just marched up to my house. If it wasn't for her, I probably 447 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:17,640 would have been deep back into it. 448 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:19,960 You feel like she became much more than a probation officer. 449 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,880 Yes, she's much more than that, so I would look at her as 450 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:24,680 family. I'm Tiffany Whittier. 451 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:26,120 I haven't seen him in over a year. 452 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:28,240 He doesn't know that I'm here. We're going to surprise. 453 00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:40,080 Him say hello hi. 454 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:46,680 She gave me a chance and it opened my eyes. 455 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:48,080 You 2 are unlikely. Friends. 456 00:25:48,360 --> 00:25:51,920 Yes, yes, I had a German war flag, she says. 457 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,880 You need to take that crap down and start putting up more 458 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:58,680 positive stuff, Put up smiley faces so when you wake up, you 459 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,400 see positive instead of hate. That's a big difference. 460 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:03,840 Yeah, that's a big change. When you wake up and you see a 461 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:05,960 :) you're going to go to work and you're going to smile. 462 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:10,280 Before all this, I wouldn't work for anybody or with anybody that 463 00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:13,560 wasn't white. 13 people that work with me, I'm the only white 464 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:16,360 person there. We have company parties or they 465 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:19,280 have quinceaneras or barbecues or birthday parties. 466 00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:22,400 I'm the only white guy there. Last night we were with him and 467 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:24,680 he got a tattoo taken up, he said. 468 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,280 Tiffany was one of the people that helped me make this 469 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:29,720 transition. I'm not here to judge him. 470 00:26:30,360 --> 00:26:33,680 That's not my job to judge. My job is to be that positive 471 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:35,680 person in someone's life, try to make a difference. 472 00:26:36,120 --> 00:26:38,840 I'm getting trucked up again. If you got a strong support 473 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:41,320 system and you have people that believe in you in a positive 474 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:48,400 way, you can change. Oh wow, you're touching before 475 00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:50,040 and after. Now, did you ever think they'd 476 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:51,400 come off and have you been a part of that? 477 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:56,880 Not many years I would have ever guessed that Michael changed his 478 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,920 life for the better. She gave me the strength and the 479 00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:03,600 courage to do what I'm doing and changing my life because I know 480 00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:06,560 it, she can do it and she believes in people, good in 481 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,160 people. I know I can't too. 482 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,160 So that's ABC News's take on the story. 483 00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,720 And of course, in their in their edit, they take every element of 484 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,480 faith out of it. But if you watch their interview 485 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:28,600 on I am second, then then you'll see that that what motivated 486 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:32,640 Tiffany every step of the way was God through Jesus Christ. 487 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:40,160 That that what transformed Michael was God working through 488 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,720 doing his purpose through Tiffany. 489 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:45,640 And they're very open and very explicit about that. 490 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:47,840 And it's very interesting because Michael says in that 491 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,960 that interview, when I am second, he says, why did you do? 492 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,800 Why did you even do this for me? And Tiffany's response was, 493 00:27:54,800 --> 00:27:59,600 well, it's my job, it's my job. And Michael's like, it's not 494 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:01,240 your job. She says, yes, it is my job. 495 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:04,080 And there's a very real sense in which they're both right. 496 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:08,720 I've known some probation officers over my life. 497 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:14,280 Their job description says nothing about loving they're 498 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:16,720 probationers. Their job description says 499 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:19,680 nothing about sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with their 500 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:22,200 probationers. So there's a very real sense in 501 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:27,240 which it's not their job. But Tiffany understood and 502 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:32,240 acknowledged God's purpose in her life and in that, and 503 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:36,120 through that, she was able to, rather than judging Michael, 504 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:40,320 loving Michael, encouraging Michael, giving Michael hope 505 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:43,920 rather than condemnation. And you know what initially 506 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:45,600 opened the door for her to be there? 507 00:28:45,600 --> 00:28:49,120 Literally, she got his file when her case was transferred to him, 508 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,360 she could see in his file the tattoos. 509 00:28:51,560 --> 00:28:53,200 She knew his background. She knew it was. 510 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,040 And he done some really awful stuff. 511 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:59,040 By His own word, He has destroyed people's lives. 512 00:28:59,960 --> 00:29:04,560 And and she had all of that in front of her and she went to see 513 00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:10,400 him the first time alone. She said she just had a sense in 514 00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:12,840 her gut that she should go alone. 515 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,000 She drove up to his house. She got out of the car, she 516 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:18,600 knocked on the door. He came to the door. 517 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,520 She told him who he was. And his first words to her were 518 00:29:21,760 --> 00:29:24,720 are you alone? She said. 519 00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:28,840 Her response was, yes, I am. Is that going to be a problem? 520 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,840 And he said no. He said no one's ever had the 521 00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:36,640 courage to come out here alone before. 522 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:39,880 Even white folks always come out with backup. 523 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:47,600 But you came out alone. The courage, the willingness, 524 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:53,400 the faith, the hope that opened the door for Michael's life to 525 00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:57,680 be transformed by God from a life of hate and bigotry and 526 00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:01,680 destruction to a life of love and compassion and community 527 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:07,080 reconciliation. This is the testimony, this is 528 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,960 the purpose. And, and, and it doesn't matter 529 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:14,280 what your particular job is, whether, whether it's homemaker, 530 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:17,200 probation officer, police officer, firefighter, school 531 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:22,840 teacher, medical professional, construction worker, blue collar 532 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:26,920 worker, farmer. It does does not matter if, if, 533 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:31,600 if, and I can tell you, I, I, I don't know Tiffany at all. 534 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:33,840 I've never met her in person. I've just seen several 535 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:38,800 interviews with her. But I, I would bet my next three 536 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,320 paychecks that Michael's transformation is by far the 537 00:30:42,320 --> 00:30:45,600 exception rather than the rule and her probationers. 538 00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,200 And she said herself when she was asked, did you think he'd 539 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,600 ever get these tattoos removed? And she said, no, I never 540 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:55,280 thought it would happen. So this is not like this is an 541 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:59,320 everyday occurrence for her and it's not going to be an everyday 542 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,840 occurrence for us. But if in her job with the folks 543 00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:06,680 she is working with, she can have and acknowledge that sense 544 00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,040 of purpose even when you're not feeling it. 545 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:13,280 If we can acknowledge that God has that purpose in US and do 546 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,440 our jobs out of that sense of acknowledgement, whatever that 547 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:20,080 job is, maybe it's just going to school right now. 548 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:24,200 You know, doing that, understanding that God has a 549 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:28,760 purpose for us and leaving room for God to work that purpose out 550 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:33,200 in US and through us as we are loving and as we are serving 551 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:39,600 others in Jesus name. We all have a noble porpoise. 552 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:47,040 Most of us aren't going to change the world in a dramatic 553 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:49,840 way that everyone in the world will know. 554 00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:53,960 I, I It's possible that someone in this room will work out cold 555 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:55,920 fusion. It's possible that someone in 556 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:57,920 this room will work out a cure for cancer. 557 00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:01,200 It's more likely that none of us will do those things. 558 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:06,120 But we still have purpose. God still has A and it's not to 559 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:09,440 spend our time looking up in the sky waiting for Jesus to come 560 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:14,240 back. Our purpose, our purpose is to 561 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:19,840 be sharing with others what we see Jesus doing and bringing 562 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:22,640 other people in to be his disciples. 563 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,400 In Jesus name, let's do that together. 564 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:26,720 Amen. Amen.