1 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:20,760 One great thing about youth camp is it gets them like out of 2 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,520 their environment and then places them in a new one. 3 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:26,160 And sometimes, obviously, as we all know, you know, new things 4 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:28,800 kind of breathe new life. Sometimes just switching 5 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:32,000 something up can can make you feel like a completely different 6 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:33,960 person, whether it's, you know, shaving your beard down to a 7 00:00:33,960 --> 00:00:36,760 mustache or whether it's, you know, trying out some new 8 00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:38,720 outfits, like whatever it is, sometimes you just need 9 00:00:38,720 --> 00:00:41,560 something a little new in your life to kind of breathe some 10 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:43,480 energy. And a lot of times that's what 11 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,960 camp can do to teens is they get out of this environment. 12 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:48,920 And for our kids, it's, you know, a little different because 13 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:51,040 it's still our worship team. They still have some of our 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:52,640 speakers and still have some of that stuff. 15 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:54,520 So even though they're in a new location, they still have a 16 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:56,840 little bit of familiarity. But, you know, it's always 17 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,080 exciting to do that. And as I was kind of chewing on 18 00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:03,360 that, you know, it kind of brought me to this realization 19 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:08,360 of how easy it is that we can sometimes make the things of God 20 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,200 common to us. That if we're not careful, we 21 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:15,160 can make the call of God common, right? 22 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:16,680 If we're not careful, we can become. 23 00:01:16,680 --> 00:01:21,600 So we can get so used to our structure, our seat in the 24 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,640 sanctuary, our our Sunday routine, our Wednesday night 25 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,680 routine, that it just becomes familiar. 26 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:31,280 And so I was looking at this passage of scripture in Luke 27 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:37,800 1416 through 24 and it says, but he said to him, a man was giving 28 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,280 a big dinner and he invited many. 29 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,160 And at the dinner hour he set, he sent his slave to say to 30 00:01:44,160 --> 00:01:47,240 those who had been invited, come for everything is now ready. 31 00:01:47,840 --> 00:01:50,920 But they all alike began to make excuses. 32 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,640 The first one said to him, I have bought a piece of land, 33 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:56,360 then I need to go out and look at it. 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,840 Please consider me excused. Another one said I have bought 5 35 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,840 yoke of oxen and I am going to try them out. 36 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:07,320 Please consider me excused. Another one said, I have married 37 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:09,680 a wife, and for that reason I cannot come. 38 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,800 And the slave came back and reported this to his master. 39 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:15,960 Then the head of the household became angry, and said to his 40 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:20,440 slave, Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city, 41 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,840 and bring in here the poor, and crippled, and blind and lame. 42 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:28,040 And the slave said, Master, what you commanded has been done, and 43 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:30,440 still there is room. And the master said to the 44 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,320 slave, go out into the highways and along the hedges and compel 45 00:02:33,320 --> 00:02:36,240 them to come, so that my house may be filled. 46 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,400 For I tell you, none of these men who were invited shall taste 47 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:44,400 of my dinner. So here we have Jesus telling a 48 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:47,440 story of a great banquet, of feast that's being prepared, 49 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,080 ready, and invitations are sent out. 50 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:55,040 But then the invite, the people who were invited respond with 51 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:58,480 excuses. Reasonable excuses. 52 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:00,160 Right. They respond with awe. 53 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:01,960 I just, you know, I just bought some land. 54 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,040 I got to go take care of it. Oh, I just got some new animals. 55 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:05,640 You know, I got to get them broken and I got to figure this 56 00:03:05,640 --> 00:03:07,400 out when I was like, I just got married, right? 57 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,600 And so, by all accounts, every single. 58 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:16,440 Excuse that was given is reasonable, but the master in 59 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:22,400 this story says the invitation was taken lightly, right? 60 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:26,000 There was a call to be invited to the banquet, but because they 61 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:30,280 didn't have a reverence for the invitation, they let something 62 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,240 good become godless distractions. 63 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,760 They let something that seemed harmless devour them from 64 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:43,080 fulfilling the invitation. Then we see that he goes out and 65 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,360 he says, fine, if they're not going to come, go out and invite 66 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,600 all these people in, right? Get them, get them to come, get 67 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,600 them to running, get them to get here, right? 68 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:56,440 And if we're not careful, we'll treat optional what someone else 69 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:02,000 is desperate to receive. If we're not careful, we can 70 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,760 make optional what someone else needs so badly. 71 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,280 There was a time in each and every one of our lives before we 72 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,880 accepted Christ that we needed Him so. 73 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:14,840 Badly. And it was each and every person 74 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:17,320 in this room fulfilling their part on a Sunday morning or a 75 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:19,920 Sunday night that maybe changed someone's life forever. 76 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,560 But the minute we start to then become common to the move of 77 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:32,880 God, right, we start to make the things of God common, then we 78 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:35,880 will lose the reverence for His presence. 79 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,640 If we're not careful, we can treat a Sunday morning service 80 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,280 like just something we're doing, and then worship moves and the 81 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:49,320 spirits here and everyone's on their knees and we're in the 82 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,320 back not receiving anything. I tell my youth this all the 83 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:53,880 time. I said, some of you will come to 84 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,080 the current and you will be here for 4 to 8 years and you'll 85 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:58,760 leave and you'll say I never felt God. 86 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,880 It won't be because his presence wasn't there. 87 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:04,640 It'll be because you chose not to enter into it. 88 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:10,400 And if we aren't careful, we can do the same thing in this room 89 00:05:10,400 --> 00:05:13,560 where we can come and let the worries of the world choke out 90 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,960 the word that's being spoken. And this just becomes something 91 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:21,600 we've done that we've checked off church, and the call becomes 92 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:25,480 unimportant. Never forget the call on our 93 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,880 life. We we got to remember that just 94 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,560 because something's good doesn't mean God's in it. 95 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,440 And often times it's the good things that pull us out from 96 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:43,120 where we're supposed to be. A lot of us think it's the 97 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,000 storms that can knock us out, and storms can, and storms come, 98 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:49,160 and we know that, but often times it's the thing that seems. 99 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:54,320 Good, that pulls us away. And familiarity makes that scene 100 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:55,680 more important. Well, I've been coming for a 101 00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:00,080 long time. I've been doing this for a long 102 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:01,320 time. It doesn't matter if I miss 103 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,720 this, and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you got to be at 104 00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:07,600 every single thing, but what I am saying is make sure when an 105 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,480 invitation is sent that we weigh the response. 106 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,680 What I'm saying is don't just default to I've been here, I've 107 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,120 been busy, I've done this, it's Sunday morning, it'll be OK, 108 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:22,880 right? We do. 109 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,560 Every Sunday morning, I also kind of double as like our 110 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:27,440 service producer, our coordinator. 111 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,360 So I help make sure. And what I mean by that is like 112 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,720 we kind of have like a, you know, it's more like guidelines 113 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:33,480 of like what the service is going to look like. 114 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,000 And then from there, when the spirit moves, we kind of go. 115 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,520 And one of the reasons we do a welcome song isn't just because 116 00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:40,680 we like, oh, let's get them ready. 117 00:06:40,680 --> 00:06:44,080 It's because we know that it's going to take you guys like 5 to 118 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:46,600 10 minutes after the countdown to actually get in here. 119 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,880 And so like the size of the room from the welcome song to like 120 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:54,080 actual worship. Is a big shift difference, 121 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,560 right? But one thing we got at camp, 122 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,360 which is so exciting, is like these kids sitting at the door 123 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,040 of the sanctuary waiting hours to get in. 124 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,720 I'm walking through a group of kids to try to get to a sound 125 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:12,200 check because they're so hungry. This generation isn't lost. 126 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,240 They're hungry for something. They're hungry for something 127 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:19,480 real and they're looking to you as their example. 128 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:25,160 And what you treat as optional they will eventually negate all 129 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:28,840 together. Parents, what you treat is 130 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,640 optional. Your kids will leave all alone. 131 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:36,720 Going up church was not optional for me and I did not hate my 132 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:40,400 parents for it. There might have been times 133 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:42,400 where I wanted to do something. There might have been times 134 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,520 where I had other things that I've thought in my mind, but the 135 00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,280 words spoken each and every week ultimately sits in. 136 00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,880 There's times where I've told pastor, listen, I'm like, man, I 137 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:54,040 just feel like this message just so like just. 138 00:07:54,040 --> 00:07:57,160 Flopped. It just hit like it's like no 139 00:07:57,160 --> 00:07:58,600 one. It's like none of the kids were 140 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:00,320 engaged. I was like, it just felt like I 141 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,240 was trudging through trying to finish this thing. 142 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:05,360 Like did I miss it? Did I hear it? 143 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:06,960 Like did was this the right word? 144 00:08:08,080 --> 00:08:10,080 And the next thing you know, a couple weeks later a kid reaches 145 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:13,000 out to her or me and they're like, man, I remember this from 146 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:14,600 the message. Like man, it doesn't matter how 147 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:18,120 it feels in the moment, they stick and there's words imparted 148 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,920 in you and your kids every week that when the time comes you 149 00:08:21,920 --> 00:08:30,800 need it, the Holy Spirit will bring it back. 123123123 So the 150 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:33,559 more common we. Make God the less sacred. 151 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:37,360 We will treat his presence. Never forget the call. 152 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:40,840 Like I said, there was once a call on your life as well. 153 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:43,039 There was a. Time that you needed to take 154 00:08:43,039 --> 00:08:46,680 that invitation seriously and then how we treat the 155 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:50,880 invitation, how we continue to live in the invitation will 156 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:52,480 help. Others enter in. 157 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:56,560 But. Whether you want it or not, the 158 00:08:56,560 --> 00:08:59,080 way you enter in worship, people who are coming for the first 159 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:03,480 time see and they say, oh, worship is this way because of 160 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,240 this group or worship isn't this way because of this group. 161 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:15,400 How we respond to the invitation is so important, Psalms 11960 162 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:18,880 says. I hastened and did not delay to. 163 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:24,160 Keep your commandments. I hastened and did not delay to 164 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:28,120 keep your commandments. When an invitation is sent, we 165 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:32,840 have to treat it with priority. We have to treat it with the 166 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:36,000 priority it deserves, right? Because when we want something 167 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:38,640 from God, we want something from God now. 168 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:45,080 But when God wants something for us, oftentimes we need like 3 169 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:48,960 confirmations, a bird in the sky. 170 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,120 The tide has to be at a certain depth like. 171 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:56,920 Well God, if I wake up and my left shoes rolled 3 feet then 172 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,960 I've got it. Right. 173 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,240 But then when we need something, we're like, where were you, God? 174 00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,640 Where were you? No, we have to treat the 175 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,960 invitation just as we expect God to respond to us. 176 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:19,120 We hasten and did not delay. I think it's interesting that 177 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,080 this whole passage in Luke was Jesus obviously speaking and 178 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,920 giving this parable. And the very next thing he 179 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,000 transitions to, he goes from this call where he says, hey, 180 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,240 I'm giving you an invitation. Don't take it lightly. 181 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:36,280 Take it serious, be there, answer this call, and then the 182 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,680 very next thing he transitions to is the cost of answering the 183 00:10:39,680 --> 00:10:42,520 call. Because if you jump to Luke 184 00:10:42,520 --> 00:10:46,680 1426. He says if anyone comes to me 185 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:52,360 and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children 186 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:57,360 and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot 187 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:01,760 be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own 188 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:07,160 cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 189 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:11,520 For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not 190 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,880 first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to 191 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,080 complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a 192 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:23,200 foundation and is not able to finish all who observe it will 193 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:26,760 begin to ridicule him, saying the this man began to build and 194 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,800 was not able to finish. Or what king, when he sets out 195 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:32,360 to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and 196 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,600 consider whether he is strong enough with 10,000 men to 197 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:39,240 encounter the other one coming against him with 20,000, or 198 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,800 else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation 199 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:45,520 and ask for terms of peace. So then none of you can be my 200 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,920 disciples who do not give up all of their own possessions. 201 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:52,680 Therefore salt is good. But if even salt has become 202 00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:55,960 tasteless, with what will it become seasoned? 203 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:59,800 It is useless either for the soil or for the manure pile. 204 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:05,240 It is thrown out. He who has ears to hear, let him 205 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:10,160 hear. So Jesus says, you can't just 206 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,840 follow me casually. He's saying, look, I've sent out 207 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,720 a call and then I want you to respond to this call with haste. 208 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:20,840 I want you to respond to this call with reverence. 209 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:23,560 I want you to respond to this call with importance, with the 210 00:12:23,560 --> 00:12:26,080 importance that it is because what is more important than the 211 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:30,120 call of God on your life? But then he says, now once you 212 00:12:30,120 --> 00:12:34,160 respond, there is a cost associated with this response. 213 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,960 And this cost is that you cannot take it casually. 214 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:44,040 The invitation is free, but discipleship will cost you 215 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:48,640 something. The invitation is free, but 216 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,040 discipleship will cost you something. 217 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:58,040 To carry the cross is to choose him over your comfort. 218 00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:02,760 When he says you have to pick up your cross and follow me, He's 219 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:07,840 saying look, you've got to leave your comfort behind and choose 220 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,920 to follow me daily. You want to be my disciple. 221 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:15,080 It's going to cost you choosing me over you. 222 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,240 Every time. Man, I'm so honored to be a 223 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,440 youth pastor here. I'm so honored to have the 224 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:25,480 great, amazing team we have who took a week of their vacation 225 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:30,400 and chose to honor a call at the cost of their own time, at the 226 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:34,120 cost of sleep, at the cost of decent food, at the cost of 227 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,920 attitudes, at the cost of so many things this week. 228 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,800 They said this call to respond is more important than what it's 229 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:47,960 going to cost me to give. May we not forget that the coal 230 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:53,280 is worth the cost. Carrying the cross is not in 231 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,960 burden, but in. Reverence to the King. 232 00:13:58,040 --> 00:14:01,240 When you carry your cross, it's not in burden, but it's in 233 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:03,200 reverence. To the King. 234 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:05,440 Right. We always say it's, it's, it's 235 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:10,120 always easy to to help someone when it doesn't really cost you 236 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:13,360 anything. But the strength of friendship 237 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:17,920 is tested. At inconvenience, right? 238 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:21,000 It's one thing to pick someone up on the way, it's another to 239 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:25,040 drive 45 minutes out of the way, right? 240 00:14:25,040 --> 00:14:28,480 It's one thing to be there for someone when you can. 241 00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,600 It's another to say. This is extremely inconvenient 242 00:14:31,600 --> 00:14:39,280 for me, but you're worth it. And God's saying, look, put down 243 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:43,400 yourself. Put down your own time. 244 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:45,440 Put down this. Pick up this cross and say, 245 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:50,760 follow me. I'm worth the cost of 246 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:55,880 discipleship. Your call is worth the cost of 247 00:14:55,880 --> 00:15:00,160 discipleship. There is nothing more pressing 248 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:02,640 that can come up than the calling God's place in your 249 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,600 life. There will be nothing more 250 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:10,160 pressing than that call. But we have to choose to answer 251 00:15:10,160 --> 00:15:12,640 that daily. We have to choose to walk in 252 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:14,320 that daily. You have to choose to walk in 253 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:17,440 that at moments of inconvenience. 254 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,160 I'm so thankful for all the people who had inconvenient 255 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:24,400 times. To to to pour into my life. 256 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:29,440 I'm so thankful for the people that had awkward conversations 257 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,480 to pour into my life. I'm so thankful for the people 258 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:34,800 that could have been doing something else but chose to 259 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,560 invest in me. I would not be here today 260 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:41,880 without people who chose to invest over doing their own 261 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:45,160 thing. And we're always, the thing 262 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,600 about excuses is we'll always have them. 263 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:52,360 There's always something that can draw on our attention. 264 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:55,760 There's always going to be something that could be more 265 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:58,760 pressing or more important than what we think we need to do 266 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,320 right now. But often times the greatest 267 00:16:02,760 --> 00:16:06,400 points in your calling will come at the most inconvenient time 268 00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:10,600 for you, right? You're going to gain the most in 269 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:13,240 your calling through the most inconvenient moment. 270 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:17,640 You're going to go to something, you know? 271 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,520 And I was joking because we were dealing with some situations 272 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:22,320 that can't because we like managing everything. 273 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,560 And I was speaking on Tuesday night and we had something come 274 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,080 up and I was like talking. And I was dealing with Pastor 275 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:28,680 listen, I was talking with Pastor Dennis and I was talking 276 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:30,920 with Pastor Daryl. And it was like one hour before 277 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:33,760 I was supposed to go speak. And so Pastor Alissa was talking 278 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:35,760 to me and pastor and she was like, hey, man, you know, we can 279 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:37,320 maybe take care of this. Like, Nah, I need to be here. 280 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:38,680 I'm going to be involved. I'm going to handle this. 281 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:41,440 I'm going to take care of it. I got done maybe like 20 minutes 282 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:42,720 before it was time for me to be in there. 283 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,240 And I remember I looked at Pastor Alissa and she's like, 284 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:46,240 you're right. And I was like, I'm great. 285 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:48,400 Can't be anything else. I said this word has got to be 286 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,360 amazing tonight. Otherwise there would not have 287 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:52,920 been so much distraction before, right? 288 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,360 If God, if, if something is trying so hard to pull me out of 289 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:58,480 this zone, then what's going to be tonight's got to be 290 00:16:58,480 --> 00:17:00,240 important. And so I'm not going to let 291 00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,040 something distract me from the place I've been placed right 292 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:06,000 now, right? So in this moment, I'm going to 293 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,560 know that, hey, I'm called to be here. 294 00:17:07,560 --> 00:17:10,359 I'm called to handle and I'm. This is inconvenient, but this 295 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:11,760 is. Important to handle, so I will 296 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:13,480 handle it and then I'm going to step into. 297 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:15,640 A grace and we're going to run because this is where we're 298 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,319 supposed to be. Right we. 299 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:22,240 Can't let inconvenience keep us from our call, Philippians 37 300 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:25,400 says. But whatever things were gained 301 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:29,320 to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of 302 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:31,320 the Kingdom. More than that, I count all 303 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:36,360 things to be lost because of the surpassing value of Christ, of 304 00:17:36,360 --> 00:17:39,560 knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the 305 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:43,720 loss of all things, and count them but rubbish, so that I may 306 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,680 gain Christ and be found in Him not. 307 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,120 Having a righteous. Business of my own, which is 308 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:53,400 from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the 309 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:57,080 righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know him 310 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:59,040 in the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship 311 00:17:59,040 --> 00:18:02,360 of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, in order 312 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:06,560 that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 313 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:11,320 There is nothing we can try to pile ourselves that will ever 314 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,480 amount to what God's call can give us, right? 315 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:21,600 There is nothing you can try to build on your own that the call 316 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:27,720 of God won't give you better of. There is nothing you will 317 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,240 collect in this life by yourself that God's wouldn't have been 318 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:35,120 better had you followed. Right. 319 00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:41,560 And when we take the call and we weigh the cost. 320 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:46,280 Of it, we can then pursue into the crown and into the reward 321 00:18:46,280 --> 00:18:51,600 that God has for us. We can push into further steps. 322 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:53,360 We can push into more of our relationships. 323 00:18:53,360 --> 00:18:57,240 See, the cost of discipleship is obviously laying down our own 324 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:01,160 self to pursue Him, but God is never going. 325 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:04,680 To let you lay down. Your own self in pursuit of him 326 00:19:04,880 --> 00:19:10,200 just to only be miserable because it does let us know that 327 00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,080 hey, in this life you'll have trials and tributaries. 328 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:15,120 But don't worry, for I have overcome the word. 329 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:17,840 I like to tell our kids that, you know, God never promised us 330 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:22,160 easy, but he did promise us victory, right? 331 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:25,760 And so although the path of Christ is not the easy path, 332 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:30,080 it's the victorious path. And as a competitor, as a 333 00:19:30,080 --> 00:19:33,440 competitive person, I'm never looking for easy anyways, but I 334 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,120 always like to win. And I know. 335 00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:40,760 If I'm walking in my calling and I'm pursuing after the thing God 336 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:44,000 placed in my life, then victory has to follow. 337 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,200 You know, I started running a while ago because I was playing 338 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,320 a game with my oldest daughter who's, you know, athletic and 339 00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:55,200 getting into athletes. And, you know, honestly, I was 340 00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:57,400 kind of running around with her. And by the time I got done, I 341 00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:59,160 was exhausted. And I was like, man. 342 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:02,960 I can't be having her outrun me. I'm going to have to figure this 343 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:04,640 out. You got to put a little more 344 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,640 cardio in that Pastor Mike has been harping on me up for years. 345 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:12,680 So I started running. I set a goal, I set out, I got 346 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,760 this app that, you know, helped is like from couch to 10K. 347 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:17,680 And I was like, that's me because I can't, I've been on 348 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,480 the couch. So I'm like, click that thing. 349 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:24,080 The first run was like, you know, 5-1 minute intervals, like 350 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:25,640 run for a minute, walk for a minute. 351 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:29,920 And it was miserable. Like I started, I got the first 352 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:31,600 three no problem. But like, by the time that 353 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:35,200 fourth round came, I was breathing so hard, I was 354 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:37,800 sweating, I was drenched. I was just like, this is 355 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:40,960 ridiculous. Like I had never felt more out 356 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:44,560 of shape than I did in that moment, but I was like, man, I'm 357 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:46,920 going to stick with this thing. I'm going to keep pursuing this 358 00:20:46,920 --> 00:20:48,320 thing. It tells me to run three times a 359 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:49,520 week. I'm going to run three times a 360 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:51,560 week. My goal is to get this 10K. 361 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:53,240 So I'm getting there, I'm building, I'm trying. 362 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,000 We finally get to like a milestone about halfway through 363 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:57,920 where it's like time for me to run a 5K. 364 00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:01,880 So because I'm a competitive person, I grabbed my phone and I 365 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:09,080 Google what is a great 5K time and it says the world record is 366 00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:10,640 like 14 minutes and something seconds. 367 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:17,280 And I was like, never mind, what is the average 5K time? 368 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:21,400 And they were like, oh, if you're, you know, a male in your 369 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:24,200 30s, it's like 28 to 32 minutes, something like that. 370 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:25,960 I said I can beat that. I will not be average. 371 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:28,280 I will not be world record, but I will. 372 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:32,680 I refuse to be average. So I was like, it came time to 373 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:33,720 run. I took off. 374 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:38,960 It took me 32 minutes, but I ran an extra mile because I was just 375 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:42,320 feeling it that day and then I felt it the next day. 376 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,280 But I gave it everything I had cuz I'm like man, I refuse to 377 00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,840 just be average. I've been working for this 378 00:21:49,840 --> 00:21:51,680 thing, I've been training for this thing. 379 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:53,720 I've been in it. I'm texting people who are 380 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:55,760 running and trying to get their times and they're sending me 381 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:57,960 their times and it's just insultingly fast. 382 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:00,400 He's like, let's go run. I was like, I don't think you 383 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,520 understand that when you say run, it's a completely different 384 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:07,320 speed. I felt like I was running, but 385 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:12,040 now I feel like I'm maybe just quickly jogging, right? 386 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:14,400 And then I meet, you know, we have some friends at camp and 387 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,400 their daughter runs and she's like, yo, she was talking to me. 388 00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,440 I was like, yeah, how'd you do? She goes, I ran a mile in 558 389 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:21,680 and I was like, wow, that's awesome. 390 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:25,200 I have not ran a mile that fast ever in my life. 391 00:22:25,520 --> 00:22:31,080 And you are 12, you know. So then I got to resort to like, 392 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:33,080 I'm, you know, 100 lbs heavier than you. 393 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:35,240 So, you know, kind of thing, right? 394 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:38,120 But like, you don't start something until you count the 395 00:22:38,120 --> 00:22:39,720 cost. So when I got into this, I knew 396 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,600 it's going to cost me time. And when I wanted to stay in it, 397 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,160 there was multiple days that the running was extremely 398 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,600 inconvenient. It was, it's Florida. 399 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,240 It is hot. I could not get a run in the 400 00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:55,000 morning. Now I'm running in the afternoon 401 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,160 in the dead of the heat just trying to get, I went to like a 402 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,720 baseball game and I came back and I was like I got to get my 403 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:02,240 running. Like I've got to do it today 404 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:04,840 because I can't tomorrow. And if I skip today then I'm 405 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:06,560 just going to be off. So I'm like I'm just I'm going 406 00:23:06,560 --> 00:23:08,040 to go do it. And so I get off and I'm 407 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:09,320 running. I'm just like sweat. 408 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:11,040 It's hot. Slowest mile ever because it's 409 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,280 just 1000°. But I'm like I'm dedicated to 410 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:15,800 this. I'm counting the cost of the 411 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,760 extra 3 workouts I'm doing every week because the reward of being 412 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,080 a healthy person that can continue to play with my kids is 413 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,160 it was worth it to me, right? It was worth it. 414 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:28,440 So I'm like, I'm gonna pursue this thing at the cost of a lot 415 00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:32,600 of discomfort and a lot of inconvenience and a lot of time 416 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,160 and a lot of different things. And when you're doing those, 417 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,520 it's amazing how God begins to then just reveal things to you. 418 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,680 And I've told my students, it's like I was running, then I 419 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:45,120 pushed for this 5K. And then I'm like reading some 420 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:47,720 books at home and I'm reading this, you know, a book just 421 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,320 trying to grow spiritually, studying up on some stuff. 422 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:52,360 And I just like, I'm tired. So I read a chapter, I close it 423 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:53,400 and God like kind of corrects me. 424 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,240 He's like, amazing, you pushed an extra mile today, but you 425 00:23:55,240 --> 00:24:01,080 can't read an extra chapter. I was just like, it's amazing 426 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:04,160 how often we can like physically push for our own personal goals, 427 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:08,280 but then the spiritual goals hit and we're like, we can negate 428 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:10,880 them. So it's like, all right, I won't 429 00:24:10,880 --> 00:24:16,280 read 1 chapter again. I'm a 2 chapter guy, right? 430 00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:17,960 I'm like, I'm just going to pursue this thing. 431 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,440 I'm going to continue to grow. I'm going to continue to go. 432 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:24,720 But the, the, the reward, the crown that comes after the cost 433 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:27,520 is so worth it. It's so worth it. 434 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:35,360 First Samuel 2 three or 2:30. I'm kind of read like a little 435 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:40,880 section of it says for those who honor me, I will honor and those 436 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,920 who despise me will be lightly esteemed. 437 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:53,720 So God honors those who honor him, which means when you take 438 00:24:53,720 --> 00:25:02,120 time to honor him, God honors that honor brings honor, right? 439 00:25:02,120 --> 00:25:07,760 And when we count the cost of what we're giving up to pursue 440 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:13,960 the call, God honors that. And He will never leave you out 441 00:25:13,960 --> 00:25:16,720 because of that, right? He will always understand that 442 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:18,960 man. They're putting themselves down 443 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:20,880 to be here. Like we said earlier, it's 444 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:24,280 always easy to help people when it's convenient, but it also 445 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:27,240 means more to someone when they know it's inconvenient. 446 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,440 But a lot of times when they know that that you went out of 447 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:35,920 their way to help them, it, it shows them how much more. 448 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:40,360 And God's like, I see all that you're putting down to continue 449 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:43,280 to pursue me. And I will honor that because 450 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:49,040 honor brings honor. And when we bring that, that 451 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:54,000 means we're bringing our supply each and every time we walk into 452 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:57,560 this room, all right? Each and every time we walk into 453 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:01,480 this room, we're bringing our supply to service this see 454 00:26:01,480 --> 00:26:05,200 church isn't just about worship team and speaker. 455 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,320 The Bible lets us know. When two or more gather, he is 456 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:11,400 here. It doesn't say. 457 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:13,880 When two or more gather on the platform, he is here. 458 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:16,560 It doesn't say when your pastor spent extra time in prayer, 459 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:20,000 he'll show up. It says when two or more gather, 460 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:25,280 which means you bring your supply, right? 461 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,520 You bring your supply. If you are a joy person, then 462 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:32,840 bring some joy and let that joy seep through the sanctuary. 463 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:36,080 You've, if you've been here at Anchor Faith Church for any 464 00:26:36,080 --> 00:26:39,440 amount of time, then you've seen gifts get used on on the 465 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:41,600 platform all the time. People who have words during 466 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:45,320 worship, There's flow to it, there's an order to it, but 467 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:49,080 ultimately gifts can be used and you bring your supply. 468 00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:54,600 The supply you bring God honors. So we don't have to wait for a 469 00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:57,240 moment. To honor God, we get to create a 470 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:01,440 moment to honor God. I don't have to wait for the 471 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:04,080 team to get to All Hail Kings. Just be like, oh, I love this 472 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:05,920 song. I can worship here. 473 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:12,680 I don't need the perfect atmosphere before I can step in. 474 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,120 No, I create an atmosphere for myself. 475 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,560 I come to service with expectation. 476 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,920 I listen to the songs I love the most before I get in here. 477 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:29,680 I prime myself up for the rest of the set, right? 478 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:33,560 I bring my supply, and when I bring my supply, God honors the 479 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:35,760 supply. I bring in what you honor you 480 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:41,640 protect, what you esteem you prioritize, and what you value 481 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,320 you will respond. To with urgency. 482 00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:51,000 What you honor, you protect, what you esteem you prioritize, 483 00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:55,000 and what you value, you respond to with urgency. 484 00:27:58,360 --> 00:28:02,480 When you truly. Honor something You will make 485 00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:04,960 sure to keep this sanctuary sacred. 486 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:09,240 When I honor the presence of God, I will keep this sanctuary 487 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:14,040 sacred, meaning I will not let the worries of the world and the 488 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,120 different trials I'm going through and the different 489 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:18,880 situations I've seen and what's happened to affect my. 490 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:23,000 Time at this altar, because these moments are sacred. 491 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:27,040 My worship is important and I'm not letting anything distract me 492 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:30,880 out of that. Right, I esteem it too much, so 493 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,480 I prioritize it. Meaning this is so valuable to 494 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,920 me that on Sunday mornings, I prioritize making sure I'm 495 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,480 getting myself ready. I'm not rolling out last second. 496 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,200 No, I'm waking up, coming hungry and prepared for something. 497 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,400 Because we all believe God's word is alive and active, right? 498 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:50,680 And it's sharper than any truth. And it pierces between. 499 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,560 Joint marriage means every word spoken, even if you've heard it 500 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:55,560 has a way to affect. You a new way. 501 00:28:57,240 --> 00:28:59,000 This is why we do the Bible reading plan in Anchor Faith 502 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:02,720 Church because it's amazing how every year you read God can 503 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,560 speak something different. That year I personally started 504 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,720 highlighting my years on my app in different colors. 505 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:14,080 So I go through an all year I'll use one color, then the next 506 00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,360 year I'll use a different color just because I like how I can 507 00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:21,240 kind of see last year this spoke to me, but this year 2 verses 508 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:24,840 down spoke more. Right, because I have a hunger 509 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:26,920 and I have an honor for the word. 510 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,400 God sits there and he looks at it and he says, look, I'm going 511 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:32,520 to continue to invest here. There's always something more to 512 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:35,400 learn. You will never attain 513 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:38,360 everything. You'll never know it all. 514 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:41,680 So that means when we show up, we say, God, what do you have 515 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:45,080 for me today? What do you have for me right 516 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:47,440 now? God does not overlook your 517 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:49,160 honor, He. Responds to it. 518 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:56,000 He's not going to overlook the time you spend prepping for 519 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,720 service, the time you spend serving, the time you spend, you 520 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:03,280 know, investing. God honors those times. 521 00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:08,120 You know, camp is kind of a weird thing because you pour out 522 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,600 so much, but yet you leave so full. 523 00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:15,960 Like as a worker, you can sometimes be so tired, but yet 524 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,200 so full and ready at the same time. 525 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:21,640 You know, I'm sure everyone of the workers responded a little 526 00:30:21,640 --> 00:30:22,840 differently. We had a group chat going and 527 00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:24,680 they're all kind of telling you either what they ate when they 528 00:30:24,680 --> 00:30:26,760 got back or how much they slept. Some people slept more than 529 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,520 others, some people slept less. You know, I'm kind of a routine 530 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:31,320 person. So I just got up and went like I 531 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:34,720 was ready to get back, get my stuff clean and get back on what 532 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,040 I'm doing. But like, I personally, this 533 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:41,840 year probably did the most I've ever done yet feel the best 534 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:44,920 after camp I've ever felt. Right? 535 00:30:44,920 --> 00:30:47,520 Because God honors the investment. 536 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,920 And God says, look, I'm not going to leave you stranded when 537 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:53,000 you're pursuing me, Romans 828 says. 538 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:58,200 And we know that for those who love God, all things work 539 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:02,120 together for good. For those who are what called 540 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:05,400 according to. Who's his purpose? 541 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,480 This is one of those scriptures that we love to quote halfway, 542 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:10,240 right? Well, God's going to work all 543 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:13,600 things for the better. But there is a second-half 544 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:15,400 that's pretty important here, which is. 545 00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:19,920 For those who are called according to his purpose. 546 00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:23,520 So God is obligated to work things for your good when you 547 00:31:23,520 --> 00:31:27,480 are called and working according to his purpose. 548 00:31:27,720 --> 00:31:31,400 God is not called to make your own personal side mess. 549 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:35,560 Good y'all wanting. Some of you are wanting him to 550 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:38,880 bless these message you. Created outside of his purpose 551 00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:41,560 and will. Well, God said he'll work it 552 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:42,880 out. No, God said he'll work out 553 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:45,920 anything you're doing called according to his purpose, He's 554 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:48,440 going to work it for good. Meaning when situations happen, 555 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,560 God will work him for good. When you're standing righteous, 556 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:52,520 when you're living right, when you're pursuing God, when you're 557 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,040 doing these things, he's going to work those out. 558 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:57,080 So when you answer the call and you count the cost, then God's 559 00:31:57,080 --> 00:31:59,600 obligated to say, no, I'm going to work this out. 560 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:02,400 Good for you. I'm going to see you through 561 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:04,120 this situation. I'm going to turn it into a 562 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:05,560 place that you're going to get there, man. 563 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:09,240 What I love about camp is not only do we get to invest, but 564 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:11,400 our leaders get to invest. And some of our leaders got to 565 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,080 see this time that their stories and their testimonies and what 566 00:32:14,080 --> 00:32:16,840 they've gone through and their experiences started to started 567 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:18,680 to impact the kids around them as well. 568 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:21,680 And God said, look, I know you did this stuff and I know it was 569 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:23,520 bad and you've got your life right and you're walking on 570 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:25,160 track. And now I'm going to use that to 571 00:32:25,160 --> 00:32:27,640 help keep these kids from ever experiencing what you've 572 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,360 experienced. And now I'm going to work good. 573 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:35,160 What mess you had right? And so we get to see these 574 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,400 things that come together when we count the cost, God honors 575 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,360 it. Second Timothy, 47 through Aces 576 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,280 I have. Fought the good fight. 577 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:49,080 I have finished the course, I have kept the faith in the 578 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:51,080 future. There is laid up for me the 579 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:55,960 crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, 580 00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:00,600 will award to me on the on that day, and not only to me, but 581 00:33:00,600 --> 00:33:06,800 also to all who have loved His. Appearing right as we continue 582 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:10,280 to fight this life of faith, as we continue to walk in this life 583 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:12,280 of purpose. And we understand that, look, 584 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,400 there's a cost, but there's a crown. 585 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:17,560 There might be a cost, but there's a crown. 586 00:33:17,720 --> 00:33:22,880 But this life with Christ will be worth everything I go 587 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:27,440 through, and God will reward all that I do when I'm doing it for 588 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:31,080 him. God is never going to leave you 589 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:33,040 hanging when you're pursuing him. 590 00:33:33,920 --> 00:33:36,400 God's never going to leave you abandoned when you're pursuing 591 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:37,680 him. God's never going to leave you 592 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:40,560 alone when you're pursuing Him. God says, look, I've seen your 593 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:42,280 struggles, I've seen what you're going through. 594 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:46,960 I've seen your pursuit. And I will honor that there's a 595 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:49,440 crown at the end of the cost there's. 596 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,280 This life is. Worth living? 597 00:33:54,160 --> 00:34:00,520 This pursuit is worth it, right? Your calling is worth everything 598 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:03,920 it'll cost. It's worth everything it'll 599 00:34:03,920 --> 00:34:07,600 cost. Because in the end, what does it 600 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:12,280 really cost? Because is there anything really 601 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,199 better than his call in the first place? 602 00:34:15,320 --> 00:34:17,920 Are we really going to find anything better than the purpose 603 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,920 God made us for? We've all heard the saying 604 00:34:20,920 --> 00:34:22,239 before. It's like, oh, when you love 605 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:24,239 what you do, you'll never work a day in your life. 606 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:28,239 And it's like as silly as it is, you know, I've come to find that 607 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:32,800 the more I step into my purpose, the easier it is to just run, 608 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:38,960 the easier it is to just do it. Like it is true. 609 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:43,400 I love what I do, and so doing it is easy. 610 00:34:44,159 --> 00:34:47,480 No matter how late it goes, no matter how long it takes, no 611 00:34:47,639 --> 00:34:50,600 matter how many events we've got scheduled, it's just easy 612 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:54,360 because this is me. This is why God created me. 613 00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:57,000 This is what I'm here for. I've stepped into this thing. 614 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,280 I'm going to run with it. Some of us might be struggling 615 00:34:59,280 --> 00:35:02,000 with where we're out because we're just not where God placed 616 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:08,840 us, right? And storms don't just come to 617 00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:09,720 those who are doing something wrong. 618 00:35:09,720 --> 00:35:11,000 They can come to you when you're in the right place. 619 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:12,840 So sometimes you're there and you just got to continue to 620 00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:14,600 fight through and that's fine. But sometimes we've got to 621 00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:17,800 assess, am I continuing to have I answered the call that God's 622 00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:19,880 put on my life? Am I where God placed me to 623 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:22,280 continue to pursue? Or did I find myself here and 624 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:24,480 I've just kind of been here and I've just kind of wandered here 625 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,440 and I've and now I'm just here, right? 626 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:30,160 We want to check ourselves and say, man, am I actually where 627 00:35:30,160 --> 00:35:33,600 God placed me to be so that I can pursue him wholeheartedly? 628 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:36,760 Am I where God put me in this place so that I can continue to 629 00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:40,120 love every second? Every chance I get to invest the 630 00:35:40,120 --> 00:35:42,240 word, every chance I get to minister to someone, every 631 00:35:42,240 --> 00:35:44,600 chance I get to be a light to someone, every chance I get to 632 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:48,040 be joy for someone, right? This is part of bringing your 633 00:35:48,040 --> 00:35:49,680 supply. You don't just bring it here, 634 00:35:49,680 --> 00:35:53,040 but you bring it outside, You bring it into the workplace. 635 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,800 You should look different. You should be different. 636 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:58,320 You should act different. People should be wondering 637 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:00,680 what's different about you. Why are you always like this? 638 00:36:00,920 --> 00:36:02,520 How come every, everything, everything's tough. 639 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:04,480 But yeah, you're always happy. Because I got the joy of the 640 00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:08,200 Lord in my heart. Because I know in the end 641 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:10,360 there's victory. Because I know in the end 642 00:36:10,360 --> 00:36:12,840 there's a king coming. Because I know in the end, no 643 00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,360 matter how any of this unfolds, my King's going to win. 644 00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:17,800 Because I know in the end, when I'm doing what God's called me 645 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:20,880 to do, the only outcome is victory. 646 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:26,280 When I'm walking his course, the only outcome is that God is with 647 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:30,880 me, Romans 818 says. For I consider that the 648 00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:33,040 sufferings of this present. Time are not. 649 00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:38,720 Worthy to be compared to the with the glory that is to be 650 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:45,400 revealed to us. The cost may be real, but so is 651 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:50,960 the crown. The cost may be real, but so is 652 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,520 the crown. And anything you go through in 653 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:59,280 this life will be so worth it with all the glory that's been 654 00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:01,760 to be revealed. Anything you experience in this 655 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:04,640 life, you'll look back and be like, man, it was worth every 656 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:05,920 second. Like I said, our leaders come 657 00:37:05,920 --> 00:37:08,200 back and we're exhausted, we're tired, but then we look back and 658 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:10,480 like, man, I would do it again right now. 659 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:16,240 I would do it again right now because the outcome was worth 660 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:21,680 it, because there's no suffering in this present time that will 661 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:24,000 not be worthy compared to the glory. 662 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,920 And what it costs doesn't compare to what He gives you. 663 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,480 What it costs will never compare to what He gives you. 664 00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:42,480 The call from God is something we have to continually esteem, 665 00:37:43,240 --> 00:37:49,120 continually Revere, continually keep in awe of that man. 666 00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:52,000 God called me. God shows me. 667 00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:57,840 God freely gave me this gift. How could I not continue to just 668 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:00,600 be in awe of this moment? I will never take this call 669 00:38:00,600 --> 00:38:03,320 lightly. I will never take this call 670 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:08,760 lightly because I know where it placed me. 671 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:12,880 I know where the call of God got me. 672 00:38:13,440 --> 00:38:15,480 I know where I would be without it. 673 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:21,560 If I had not had this invitation, I know what I would 674 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:27,040 have gone down without it. And so, yeah, when we accept 675 00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:30,160 that call, we then start to lay down ourself. 676 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:34,040 We then place ourself down. Piece by piece, God starts to 677 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:36,000 pull things away from us. Why? 678 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:39,320 Because those things are things that only pull you back to who 679 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:42,200 you were before. And now we're trying to get to 680 00:38:42,200 --> 00:38:45,800 this new place God wants us, this better place God has for 681 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:47,440 us. The more fullness God has for 682 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:49,800 your life, He's called you out of it, right? 683 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,960 The invitation was a call out of something. 684 00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:58,600 Not a call for you to straddle the line, Not a call for you to 685 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:01,960 try to be halfway. Like I said, This is why 686 00:39:01,960 --> 00:39:06,400 discipleship isn't casual, because it requires all of you. 687 00:39:08,120 --> 00:39:11,720 It requires your full heart and devotion to it. 688 00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:16,360 It requires you taking time to be in it. 689 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,040 It requires that X those extra moments when everyone else is 690 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:21,960 sleeping, that you're studying, when everyone else is doing 691 00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:23,160 something. You're praying when everyone 692 00:39:23,160 --> 00:39:27,640 else is here, right? It requires me putting myself 693 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,480 down at moments and saying, man, I'd rather be asleep. 694 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,920 I'd rather be this, I'd rather be doing this. 695 00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:39,120 But in the end, this little bit of a cost is worth the crown 696 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,280 that comes at the end. This little bit of cost that I 697 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:44,000 have now, this little bit of suffering. 698 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:46,560 Like I said, for those who do run and have done those, we 699 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:50,080 understand that even though like at the end, your shins hurt and 700 00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:52,200 all this kind of stuff, you know when you see the difference. 701 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:56,400 I started doing this journey with a barely one minute able to 702 00:39:56,400 --> 00:39:59,600 run and now I'm out there and I can run like 45 minutes 703 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:02,360 unbroken. You go from such like such 704 00:40:02,360 --> 00:40:04,600 little to so much and God's doing the same thing in your 705 00:40:04,600 --> 00:40:05,800 life. He's like, hey, you might have 706 00:40:05,800 --> 00:40:09,280 started and just a little bit of prayer seemed like forever to 707 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:11,160 you. But the more you continue to 708 00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:13,520 pray, the more you enter into prayer, the more you start 709 00:40:13,520 --> 00:40:17,440 sacrificing your time to set here, the easier it becomes to 710 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:19,120 enter in. And now some people can testify 711 00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:24,000 to praying for hours is easy. Because they get in and I'm no 712 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:25,320 different. I remember I was drugged to 713 00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:29,360 morning prayer with my dad and then I spent like 5 minutes in 714 00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:31,880 the opening prayer praying and then sitting there trying to 715 00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:35,120 keep myself awake. It. 716 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:39,120 Took growth and development and time and there's still times 717 00:40:39,120 --> 00:40:40,880 when you come to prayer and you're extra tired and you're 718 00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,520 like, I've got to do something to stay awake. 719 00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:47,080 But it's worth it. It's worth the time. 720 00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:50,720 I know the outcome of me sacrificing this is worth what's 721 00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:53,960 coming. The crown is worth the cost. 722 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:57,880 And I just challenge you guys today to make sure that we 723 00:40:57,880 --> 00:41:07,000 aren't letting the things of God become common in our lives, that 724 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:13,440 we aren't allowing His presence. We aren't missing His presence 725 00:41:13,640 --> 00:41:16,960 because we're so consumed with other things at the moment. 726 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:21,560 I tell our youth this all the time and then obviously expands 727 00:41:21,560 --> 00:41:24,600 to adults, but I say, hey, I'll never discount that you guys are 728 00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:30,800 going through very real things, that there are serious things 729 00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:33,160 happen, but the answer is always the same. 730 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:38,000 It's the word and His presence. And that doesn't change at any 731 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,800 age you get to. We go through real stuff. 732 00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:44,240 We have real problems, we have real needs, but the answer is 733 00:41:44,240 --> 00:41:46,680 always the Word and His presence. 734 00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:56,000 And if we start to treat these moments common, that's when we 735 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:57,840 start to be like, oh, well, you know, I didn't feel like the 736 00:41:57,840 --> 00:41:58,880 worship was that great. Today. 737 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:02,480 Worship's always great because I bring my supply. 738 00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:05,960 The words always great because I'm looking for something. 739 00:42:06,640 --> 00:42:09,040 The moments are always there because I'm bringing them, 740 00:42:10,600 --> 00:42:12,280 right? I can, I have no problem. 741 00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:14,080 I've been, you know, I get to travel with pastor, I get to go 742 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:15,360 to a place. I've been to some churches where 743 00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,680 worship by music standard isn't great. 744 00:42:19,040 --> 00:42:22,840 You're like, some of these people could maybe use a little 745 00:42:22,840 --> 00:42:26,000 more practice. We're glad that they have the 746 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:29,520 gift, but maybe practice a little more, right? 747 00:42:29,720 --> 00:42:32,800 And so I've been to places where it is impossible to clap because 748 00:42:32,800 --> 00:42:34,800 you're just like, I don't know where I'm clapping. 749 00:42:34,800 --> 00:42:38,520 There's a couple different time signatures going on right now, 750 00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:42,600 right? But it doesn't hinder me from 751 00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:45,720 then getting to my own place saying, OK, I'm going to bring 752 00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:49,840 it here and I'm just going to worship myself because I still 753 00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:54,040 won't miss an opportunity with God because we got a lot of 754 00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:59,320 joyful noise going on, right? Sometimes you got to find your 755 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:01,280 own moments in that joyful noise. 756 00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:05,760 But I bring my own supply because I don't ever want. 757 00:43:06,280 --> 00:43:09,560 To. Let God just become common in my 758 00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:12,440 life. You know, sometimes I've had 759 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:14,440 people ask me, especially at camp, they're like, man, you 760 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:16,600 ever get nervous? I'm like, nervous isn't the 761 00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:19,760 right word. I don't, I'm not nervous about 762 00:43:19,760 --> 00:43:22,200 speaking because I'm going to be honest, I'm a pretty good public 763 00:43:22,200 --> 00:43:23,560 speaker. Like I took classes. 764 00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:25,960 I understand how to build like speeches and get that kind of 765 00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:27,920 concept. And I'm pretty confident that if 766 00:43:27,920 --> 00:43:30,480 I really wanted to just deliver speech, I can. 767 00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:33,800 But what I do take very seriously is that I'm delivering 768 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:38,840 the word for the moment. And that way I always feel that 769 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:44,280 I don't ever want to just fall back on a word I could say when 770 00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:46,080 there's a word that needs to be said. 771 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:50,080 And that moment and that way, because I won't let God become 772 00:43:50,080 --> 00:43:55,360 common, I take very heavily. So it's not nervous in the sense 773 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:56,840 of like, oh, will I have a good speak? 774 00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:01,640 Like, yeah, I'll have I'll say good things, but will it be the 775 00:44:01,640 --> 00:44:03,720 right thing? That's what I make sure I 776 00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:06,000 pursue. Will it be the word for the 777 00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:07,880 moment? Will it be the word that these 778 00:44:07,880 --> 00:44:10,560 kids need or that these people need in these seats will be the 779 00:44:10,560 --> 00:44:13,640 word for today? Those are the way. 780 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:17,800 Because I refuse to let God become common in my life and I 781 00:44:17,800 --> 00:44:22,720 refuse to let it just become like a background noise. 782 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:25,840 I refuse. To let the holy. 783 00:44:25,840 --> 00:44:29,160 Things in my life become just background noise. 784 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:33,840 All right? Like I said, we can so quickly 785 00:44:33,840 --> 00:44:36,840 kind of come in and have so much going on that worship just 786 00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:40,960 becomes like white noise in the room because we're processing 787 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:44,480 our own thoughts. We're processing different 788 00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:46,400 things that happen throughout. We're processing different 789 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:47,840 information. Next thing you know, you've 790 00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:50,720 missed an entire experience with God because we just got caught 791 00:44:50,720 --> 00:44:55,280 up in our own head, right? We want to set an expectation 792 00:44:55,320 --> 00:44:59,040 when we come into service that we're ready to receive 793 00:44:59,040 --> 00:45:01,200 something, that we're ready to hear something. 794 00:45:01,200 --> 00:45:04,640 Because when I don't make it common and I count the cost and 795 00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:09,160 God's victory follows behind us, right? 796 00:45:09,160 --> 00:45:15,120 So we don't just want to take that invitation lightly. 797 00:45:16,720 --> 00:45:22,200 We're not just taking a call lightly, but we're showing up 798 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:28,880 with our whole life. God's call will cost your whole 799 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:32,920 life, but the rewards of that cost is so worth it. 800 00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:37,800 The reward of that cost is so worth it.