WEBVTT 00:00:00.699 --> 00:00:02.200 God, we thank you for this morning. 00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:05.966 We thank you that you are our firm foundation. 00:00:05.966 --> 00:00:10.365 There are so many other things we try to stand on and they're not firm. 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:13.300 Thank you that you are holy, dependable. 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:15.099 You are true. 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:17.399 You are trustworthy. 00:00:17.399 --> 00:00:20.000 You are eternal. 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.065 And no matter what we face, you are always there. 00:00:24.065 --> 00:00:26.233 God help us to be faithful. 00:00:26.233 --> 00:00:28.733 Help us to hear from you today. 00:00:28.733 --> 00:00:30.632 We love you, Jesus. 00:00:30.632 --> 00:00:32.265 Amen. 00:00:32.265 --> 00:00:32.865 Amen. 00:00:32.865 --> 00:00:34.500 Well, it's great to have you here this morning. 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:37.466 You can go ahead and be seated for those who are here. 00:00:37.466 --> 00:00:44.633 Thank you for venturing out and braving the massive snowstorm that swept through this morning. 00:00:44.633 --> 00:00:51.600 If it feels a little empty, 46 people are gone this weekend at our winter retreat, students and leaders. 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:53.100 Which is really exciting. 00:00:54.265 --> 00:01:00.633 Yeah, they're in Gatlinburg having a great time together, sleeping some, I think. 00:01:00.633 --> 00:01:08.599 I'm glad I'm not there missing out on sleep, but how many of you parents have kids off this weekend at Winter retreat? 00:01:08.599 --> 00:01:10.000 Yeah. All right. Good. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:15.733 How many of you have no kids in the house as a result, this weekend because of winter retreat. 00:01:15.733 --> 00:01:18.099 Okay, because of winter retreat. 00:01:18.099 --> 00:01:19.332 Let me clarify. 00:01:19.332 --> 00:01:21.000 We've been a little confused. 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:26.700 This is one of the first times I think for us where we have no kids at home because they're all gone. 00:01:26.700 --> 00:01:28.400 And so we're kind of like, what do we do? 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:31.066 I don't know, you know, but we figured it out. 00:01:31.066 --> 00:01:33.165 We make it. 00:01:33.165 --> 00:01:38.766 Well, listen, it's great to be together today as we're talking about to start our new year together. 00:01:38.766 --> 00:01:40.200 Who are we? 00:01:41.465 --> 00:01:45.900 If you meet someone new and they ask you, hey, tell me a little bit about yourself. 00:01:45.900 --> 00:01:47.400 Who are you? 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:49.533 Sometimes that can be a little intimidating. 00:01:49.533 --> 00:01:51.865 It can be a little hard to go, well, what do I say? 00:01:51.865 --> 00:01:55.500 You know, I don't want to really say who I am, because then I might come off a little weird. 00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:59.033 Let me think of some things to say that I think they'll like about me. 00:01:59.033 --> 00:02:01.066 Or sometimes you just lay it out there and don't care. 00:02:01.066 --> 00:02:03.066 This is who I am. 00:02:03.066 --> 00:02:05.033 But sometimes that can be a struggle. 00:02:05.033 --> 00:02:10.665 Who am I? The way you can answer that question is first to know who you are. 00:02:11.332 --> 00:02:14.800 The phrase we used last weekend - Know Thyself. 00:02:15.633 --> 00:02:17.032 In fact, enable... 00:02:17.032 --> 00:02:29.599 in order to be able to move forward, you got to know who you are and where you are and what we're talking about over these next last week and this week is who is Valley View, because each of us individually has an identity. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.665 But collectively as a church, there is an identity. 00:02:32.665 --> 00:02:34.199 Who is Valley View? 00:02:34.199 --> 00:02:36.699 When someone asks you, what's your church like? 00:02:36.699 --> 00:02:37.832 What do you say? 00:02:37.832 --> 00:02:39.599 What do you tell them? 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.400 Last week we talked about three things. 00:02:41.400 --> 00:02:42.500 First, come as you are. 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:44.432 We hope anyone comes as they are. 00:02:44.432 --> 00:02:45.532 We we want you to come. 00:02:45.532 --> 00:02:49.633 But second, so that you don't have to stay as you are. 00:02:49.633 --> 00:02:51.233 None of us want to stay as we are. 00:02:51.233 --> 00:02:52.165 We want to keep growing. 00:02:52.165 --> 00:02:55.133 Yeah, come as you are, but we want to keep growing. 00:02:55.133 --> 00:02:56.500 And how do you really know? 00:02:56.500 --> 00:02:58.432 The third point was, how do you know who you are? 00:02:58.432 --> 00:03:00.199 You got to know who he is. 00:03:00.199 --> 00:03:02.966 That's ultimately how you know who you are. 00:03:02.966 --> 00:03:11.199 We're going to look at six other identities of Valley View, six other things that describe who Valley View is. 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:14.165 And I'll say it this way at our best, right? 00:03:14.165 --> 00:03:17.866 Because we all have our ups and downs, but this is what we're striving for. 00:03:17.866 --> 00:03:20.566 This is who we hope we are at our best. 00:03:20.566 --> 00:03:23.400 Six things in Second Peter chapter one. 00:03:23.400 --> 00:03:30.932 And if you have one of our church Bibles, that page number should be on the screen, if not second, Peter's near the end of the Bible. 00:03:30.932 --> 00:03:32.400 It's on page 957. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:38.300 If you don't have a Bible, I'll be reading directly from the Bible and you can follow along with the church Bible. 00:03:38.300 --> 00:03:39.932 Those are out in the connection corner. 00:03:39.932 --> 00:03:42.800 Slip out any time and grab one those are free for you. 00:03:42.800 --> 00:03:46.400 You can keep that or return it whatever you want at the end of the service. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:55.866 But we want you in God's Word, reading God's Word, absorbing his words, his eternal words, his firm foundation to us. 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:02.400 And we're going to see six ways to grow and know who we are in 2025. 00:04:03.165 --> 00:04:05.400 And second Peter chapter one. 00:04:05.400 --> 00:04:05.932 So here we go. 00:04:05.932 --> 00:04:06.966 Second Peter chapter one. 00:04:06.966 --> 00:04:09.900 We're going to start by looking at verses three and four. 00:04:09.900 --> 00:04:13.733 That'll give us our first area of knowing who we are as a church. 00:04:13.733 --> 00:04:14.566 So look at verse three. 00:04:16.533 --> 00:04:35.800 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises. 00:04:37.833 --> 00:04:40.233 The first identity of Valley View. 00:04:40.233 --> 00:04:43.233 The first point to make about who we are. 00:04:44.165 --> 00:04:52.699 In fact, I hope that when we think of who we are as a church, we don't think about who we are because it's not about us. 00:04:53.932 --> 00:04:54.865 That's the first point to make. 00:04:54.865 --> 00:04:56.300 In fact, I wanted to bring this out. 00:04:56.300 --> 00:04:59.932 It's a bummer the students aren't here because I think they would appreciate this. 00:04:59.932 --> 00:05:03.000 If you ever go to the Wednesday night service, I promise I'm coming back. 00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:04.500 I'm not leaving. 00:05:04.500 --> 00:05:09.899 If you go to the Wednesday night service for the students, they have this sitting out in the lobby. 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:13.500 They meet in the chapel over there, and this is sitting right there. 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:16.500 Now imagine it says it's not about you. 00:05:17.165 --> 00:05:18.000 Imagine showing up. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:19.533 That's the first thing you see. 00:05:19.533 --> 00:05:20.966 Hey, this isn't about you. 00:05:20.966 --> 00:05:21.500 Thanks a lot. 00:05:21.500 --> 00:05:22.733 Why am I what am I doing here? 00:05:24.500 --> 00:05:34.600 What if you got that got your mind around that reality in high school or middle school that it's ultimately not all about me. 00:05:35.233 --> 00:05:37.365 You know, there was a book written by Rick Warren. 00:05:37.365 --> 00:05:41.432 It's one of the most widely distributed books of all time. 00:05:42.300 --> 00:05:46.233 And he starts that book out, The Purpose Driven Life. 00:05:46.233 --> 00:05:54.199 The very one of the very first statements in the book is you got to get your reality, your mind around the reality that life's not just all about you. 00:05:55.600 --> 00:06:01.500 And that can be hard to hear, because I don't know about you, but I love to make it about me at times. 00:06:02.333 --> 00:06:04.500 But there's no worse place to be in life. 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:07.500 When life is all got to be all about me. 00:06:07.865 --> 00:06:09.065 And you've been there. 00:06:09.065 --> 00:06:12.865 You know people who are stuck there and they're miserable people. 00:06:14.665 --> 00:06:17.165 Life ultimately is not about us. 00:06:17.165 --> 00:06:28.500 And the way we see this here in Second Peter, if you look back at that passage I read verse three, his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:34.800 Also in verse four, by which he has granted to us every precious promise. 00:06:35.165 --> 00:06:44.365 It's not like because I was so smart, because I was so special, I was able to figure out how great God is and go toward him. 00:06:45.365 --> 00:06:48.199 No. 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:55.865 Because of how great he is He came to me, he rescued me. 00:06:55.899 --> 00:06:58.165 He came and found me. 00:06:58.165 --> 00:07:04.000 He granted to me the ability to even be able to acknowledge who he is. 00:07:04.733 --> 00:07:09.899 We've got to start there. Now, of course, we have a role in our relationship with him. 00:07:09.899 --> 00:07:11.733 He calls us to act, obey. 00:07:11.733 --> 00:07:22.100 It's not like we do nothing but the starting place is the recognition that is, it's not about me, it's about him. 00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:27.100 And as a church, I hope that Valley View never makes it about Valley View. 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:29.733 Look at how great we are. 00:07:29.733 --> 00:07:32.300 No. 00:07:32.300 --> 00:07:37.800 I hope, and I think at our best, Valley View makes it about Look at how great He is. 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:41.632 If something great happens here, thank you Lord. 00:07:41.632 --> 00:07:43.365 You are at work. 00:07:43.365 --> 00:07:47.733 It's not because of how special or how great we are. 00:07:47.733 --> 00:07:51.033 In fact, it's probably because of the opposite. 00:07:51.033 --> 00:07:54.065 We know left to ourselves, we're going to mess it up. 00:07:54.065 --> 00:07:56.033 But it's not about us. 00:07:56.033 --> 00:07:57.100 It's a great place to start. 00:07:57.100 --> 00:08:00.065 I think it's true of who we are as a church. 00:08:00.065 --> 00:08:02.632 Second point, look here. 00:08:02.632 --> 00:08:08.033 We're going to look at verse five and eight, but I'll just read it before because I want you to be looking for something in these verses. 00:08:10.733 --> 00:08:18.600 The second thing I think that describes who we are is forward facing growth, in fact, forward facing gracious growth. 00:08:19.233 --> 00:08:21.132 Those words are really important in that sentence. 00:08:21.132 --> 00:08:23.466 Forward facing, facing gracious growth. 00:08:23.466 --> 00:08:25.233 I'm going to read through verses five through eight. 00:08:25.233 --> 00:08:32.700 We read these last week, I know, but really I could read these every day of my life and still not have read them enough. 00:08:32.700 --> 00:08:34.500 I'm going to read verses five through eight again. 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:38.399 As I'm reading, look for words that are growth focused. 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:41.365 Try to draw these out in your own mind. 00:08:41.365 --> 00:08:46.765 You see the repetitiveness of growth in this passage, verses five through eight. 00:08:46.765 --> 00:08:49.666 Look at verse five. 00:08:49.666 --> 00:09:16.399 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge and knowledge with self-control and self-control, with steadfastness and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:30.799 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:33.865 I love the focus on growth in this passage. 00:09:33.865 --> 00:09:35.232 Supplement your faith. 00:09:35.232 --> 00:09:38.232 Make every effort to keep growing. 00:09:39.066 --> 00:09:42.566 These qualities should be yours and increasing. 00:09:42.566 --> 00:09:47.633 There's this huge emphasis on growth here, and that's the theme of our church. 00:09:47.633 --> 00:09:50.700 Come as you are, but we don't want to stay as we are. 00:09:50.700 --> 00:09:51.666 We want to keep growing. 00:09:51.666 --> 00:09:54.166 That's our theme for 2025. 00:09:54.166 --> 00:09:57.600 Grow into oaks of righteousness. 00:09:58.732 --> 00:10:00.200 Keep growing. 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:04.799 We don't want to stay the same and we're not after perfection. 00:10:04.799 --> 00:10:07.299 None of us will be perfect. 00:10:07.299 --> 00:10:10.399 But the emphasis here is on how do we keep growing? 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:12.700 How do we keep moving towards Christ? 00:10:12.700 --> 00:10:17.533 How do we keep growing in our faith, our virtue, our knowledge, our self-control? 00:10:21.299 --> 00:10:26.932 And now the hard part of that is the past is relevant. 00:10:26.932 --> 00:10:29.466 The past does matter. 00:10:29.466 --> 00:10:34.666 We want to be forward facing in our growth, but also we all have a past. 00:10:34.666 --> 00:10:41.865 We want to acknowledge the reality of that past, but we don't want to stay stuck there, whether good or bad. 00:10:41.865 --> 00:10:48.466 We're not stuck in 1985, when the worship center was built as a church, we're looking forward. 00:10:48.466 --> 00:10:50.100 We're going to celebrate that. 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:51.232 We love that. 00:10:51.232 --> 00:10:52.932 I love the history of this church. 00:10:52.932 --> 00:10:54.000 It's meant so much to me. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.133 I talk about how the church has shaped me. 00:10:56.133 --> 00:10:57.000 I grew up here. 00:10:57.000 --> 00:11:01.865 I talk about that all the time, but I don't want to stay stuck back there. 00:11:01.865 --> 00:11:11.666 We're facing forward, and we're also have a posture of grace in our growth because we're all in different places. 00:11:11.666 --> 00:11:14.932 Some of us are more mature spiritually than others. 00:11:14.932 --> 00:11:17.500 Some of us have been walking with the Lord for decades. 00:11:17.500 --> 00:11:22.865 Some of us have trouble finding even the difference between the New and the Old Testament. 00:11:22.865 --> 00:11:24.066 And that's okay. 00:11:24.066 --> 00:11:25.966 It's we're in different places. 00:11:25.966 --> 00:11:28.000 That's okay. 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.000 We want to be gracious in our growth. 00:11:31.899 --> 00:11:40.200 A few weeks ago, I came into the service and ran into a guy who was very upset, very upset. 00:11:40.200 --> 00:11:45.432 He'd had a difficult conversation with someone and and was quite emotional. 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:48.966 And I said, Look, do we need to talk about it? 00:11:48.966 --> 00:11:52.232 He said, you know what I think it would be best if we talked later. 00:11:52.232 --> 00:11:56.000 Let me just kind of see if I can process this. Calm down. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:57.332 Let's talk tomorrow. 00:11:57.332 --> 00:11:58.966 Okay. That sounds good to me. 00:11:58.966 --> 00:12:00.299 No problem. 00:12:00.299 --> 00:12:01.466 So the next day, I call him. 00:12:01.466 --> 00:12:03.332 Hey, are you ready to talk? 00:12:03.332 --> 00:12:04.466 How can I help? 00:12:04.466 --> 00:12:06.500 What do we need to try to press into? 00:12:06.500 --> 00:12:10.200 And he said, you know what, John, I'm doing a lot better. 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:14.732 I had some time to process and pray, and I was able to talk with a few others. 00:12:14.732 --> 00:12:18.000 And I'm in a lot better place now, so I don't I don't really need to talk about it. 00:12:19.033 --> 00:12:26.865 Then he said, this, I got to tell you, John, this was a huge step forward in growth for me. 00:12:27.566 --> 00:12:31.932 Because even a year ago I would have stormed out and said, forget them. 00:12:31.932 --> 00:12:35.200 I don't want anything to do with them again, someone offended me. 00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:36.399 How dare they? 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:40.466 I don't I don't ever want to see that place again. 00:12:40.466 --> 00:12:43.466 Huge step of growth for me, you know. 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:46.500 Yeah. The big praise. 00:12:46.899 --> 00:12:48.633 I really on the phone was going. 00:12:48.633 --> 00:12:49.600 Yes. 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:53.066 It was so cool to hear because how often does that happen? 00:12:53.066 --> 00:12:55.966 We get offended and we're we're done with them. 00:12:55.966 --> 00:12:58.066 It could be a person. 00:12:58.066 --> 00:13:00.832 It could be an entire church. 00:13:00.832 --> 00:13:02.332 I'm done with them. 00:13:02.332 --> 00:13:06.133 Instead of pressing into the conflict moving forward. 00:13:06.133 --> 00:13:08.899 And he recognized it in himself that that was growth. 00:13:10.033 --> 00:13:13.365 We need to be gracious with one another and forward facing in growth. 00:13:13.365 --> 00:13:16.533 And I think that's a priority for our church. 00:13:16.533 --> 00:13:17.700 Keep growing. 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:18.865 It's okay. You messed up. 00:13:18.865 --> 00:13:20.533 Keep growing, keep moving forward. 00:13:20.533 --> 00:13:30.299 Maybe you took a step back, keep growing, keep moving forward, keep increasing in the knowledge of him, and he's going to continue to work in your life. He will. 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:31.200 So that's the second one. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:32.666 Now let's look at the third. 00:13:32.666 --> 00:13:34.200 And this one. 00:13:34.200 --> 00:13:40.000 It's probably not going to come across the right way at first, but let me explain. 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.399 I think one way we could describe Valley View is humble and authentic. 00:13:44.399 --> 00:13:48.799 Okay, that sounds a little prideful to call yourself humble. Let me explain. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:50.200 Look back in the Bible here. 00:13:50.200 --> 00:13:51.432 Look at verse nine. 00:13:51.432 --> 00:13:55.166 I'm going to read this first and then talk about what I mean by humble and authentic. 00:13:55.166 --> 00:13:57.600 Verse nine for who... 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:14.600 For whoever lacks these qualities, the qualities that were all listed in verse five, whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 00:14:14.832 --> 00:14:17.865 We've all been there at times where you're blind. 00:14:17.865 --> 00:14:25.232 And by the way, we all have blind spots right now, even, and you don't know about them because they're a blind spot. 00:14:25.232 --> 00:14:27.000 You you don't know. 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:34.365 But we all have them, and some have been exposed at times graciously, some not so much. 00:14:34.865 --> 00:14:41.166 But to say that if you don't have these qualities, that's a blind spot. 00:14:41.166 --> 00:14:45.066 Especially if we've forgotten how God has worked in our lives. 00:14:45.066 --> 00:14:54.466 But I think at Valley View in general, there's a measure of just a humble awareness that without God, we really have nothing. 00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:03.500 There's the sense that if he doesn't move in my life, there's nothing really special about me. 00:15:03.500 --> 00:15:08.232 Apart from him, I don't have anything to offer. 00:15:08.232 --> 00:15:12.566 You know, first Corinthians talked about not many of you are wise. 00:15:12.666 --> 00:15:15.666 Not many of you were noble. 00:15:16.500 --> 00:15:21.566 Not many of you, and not many of us by the world's standards, are highly praised. 00:15:21.566 --> 00:15:22.832 I have people come to me all the time. 00:15:22.832 --> 00:15:26.000 John, I don't have much money. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:28.232 I don't have many talents. 00:15:28.232 --> 00:15:34.466 But I'm leaning on Christ and depending on him, and I hope to watch him work. 00:15:35.633 --> 00:15:37.732 In fact, there's a verse that struck me this week. 00:15:37.732 --> 00:15:43.033 If you've been reading through the Bible reading plan, flip over to Genesis, Genesis, the first book of the Bible. 00:15:43.033 --> 00:15:45.399 So this is just going to be a few pages into the Bible. 00:15:50.265 --> 00:15:56.100 The end of chapter 39, Joseph, who was sold by his brothers into slavery. 00:15:56.100 --> 00:16:02.600 I mean, talk about a rough start to life, sold into slavery by his brothers. 00:16:03.365 --> 00:16:04.600 But here's what happens. 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:07.600 The end of chapter 39. 00:16:09.100 --> 00:16:15.365 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, meaning he gave him free reign. 00:16:15.365 --> 00:16:23.432 You're in charge because the Lord was with him, and whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed. 00:16:23.865 --> 00:16:29.365 You know, when I read that, I thought, Lord, I want that to be my prayer in the coming months. 00:16:29.365 --> 00:16:32.133 You make it succeed. 00:16:32.133 --> 00:16:39.332 I want to walk in humility of going it, it's not about what I do. Of course, Yes. In fact, Joseph was in charge. 00:16:39.332 --> 00:16:41.133 Joseph did have tasks to do. 00:16:41.133 --> 00:16:42.399 Joseph was at work. 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:43.832 But look who made it succeed. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:47.533 The Lord is the one who made it succeed. 00:16:47.533 --> 00:16:57.600 I think as a church, there is a measure of humility that we tend to walk in, going, thank you, Lord, you've done this. 00:16:57.600 --> 00:16:58.600 Not not us. 00:16:58.600 --> 00:17:02.966 Yes, we put forth effort, but you've done this. 00:17:02.966 --> 00:17:04.865 You're the one that’s working. 00:17:04.865 --> 00:17:06.365 And we give him great praise for that. 00:17:06.365 --> 00:17:11.732 Now, I think another measure of humility, though. 00:17:12.099 --> 00:17:22.566 That I love seeing in any church, is just this ability to enjoy life and ability to laugh with one another. 00:17:22.566 --> 00:17:23.566 Not at. 00:17:23.566 --> 00:17:29.566 Maybe a little bit of laughing at one another, but to be able to enjoy one another. 00:17:30.266 --> 00:17:32.532 This week I called one of our guys here, Jim Newton. 00:17:32.532 --> 00:17:38.099 We were talking about something that was last week, actually, and I said, how are you surviving the snow? 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.665 He said, oh, I hate the snow. 00:17:41.665 --> 00:17:42.665 It's terrible. 00:17:42.665 --> 00:17:44.633 Don't want anything to do with it. 00:17:44.633 --> 00:17:46.133 I thought, bah humbug. 00:17:46.133 --> 00:17:52.266 You know, here we are out playing in it, throwing snowballs at each other, having a blast with the kids. 00:17:52.266 --> 00:17:53.865 I said, you know what you need? 00:17:53.865 --> 00:17:58.500 You need a good snowball fight to make you appreciate the snow. 00:17:58.732 --> 00:18:00.299 Dick Clark lives down below you. 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:04.032 Why don't you launch some snowballs down at his house? 00:18:05.232 --> 00:18:07.333 Well, I can't I can't launch them that far. 00:18:07.333 --> 00:18:09.299 He's down below me, but it's still a ways up. 00:18:09.299 --> 00:18:11.066 So I sent him plans for a cannon. 00:18:11.066 --> 00:18:13.799 A snowball cannon. 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:14.766 These are online. 00:18:14.766 --> 00:18:16.099 You can use a leaf blower. 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:17.165 Create your own snowball cannon. 00:18:17.165 --> 00:18:18.833 I think you can get there with those. 00:18:18.833 --> 00:18:19.799 Let's see what you can do. 00:18:21.032 --> 00:18:24.066 I thought I better give Dick Clark a heads up. 00:18:24.066 --> 00:18:27.066 He may want to retaliate. 00:18:28.833 --> 00:18:39.000 I texted Dick, I said, watch out, there may be a snowball coming towards your house. And he said, if a snowball comes, we will show no mercy. 00:18:39.865 --> 00:18:41.633 I thought, oh, man, this is getting good. 00:18:41.633 --> 00:18:43.200 I can't wait to see. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:48.400 I said, look, just so we have a level playing field, here's the plans to the snowball cannon because you're shooting uphill. 00:18:48.400 --> 00:18:48.965 You need this. 00:18:48.965 --> 00:18:50.400 And he said, you know what? 00:18:50.400 --> 00:18:54.599 If I can use it from my recliner, I'm good. 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:55.633 I believe in you, Dick. 00:18:55.633 --> 00:18:58.232 I believe you can, really. 00:18:58.232 --> 00:19:05.500 The sad part of all this is that Dick came to me a little later, and he said, we have signed a non-aggression pact between us. Okay. 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:06.165 Thank you. 00:19:06.165 --> 00:19:10.299 I love here in the aws and the rivalry is over. 00:19:10.299 --> 00:19:13.200 I'm praying for more snow that we can stir it up again. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.266 But here's the point. 00:19:14.266 --> 00:19:17.232 We got to be able to laugh together. 00:19:17.232 --> 00:19:26.400 We got to be able to enjoy one another, not walk on eggshells around one another, worried about saying the wrong thing or offending someone. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:27.365 We got to be able to laugh. 00:19:27.365 --> 00:19:30.000 That's a sign of humility. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:42.665 Of course, none of us are perfectly humble, but I hope we can walk in the humility of knowing that we're in Christ and he's the one that's working through us at the end of the day, not us. 00:19:42.665 --> 00:19:44.432 It's him working through us. 00:19:44.432 --> 00:19:45.900 We get to participate in that. 00:19:45.900 --> 00:19:53.333 But it's him, humble and authentic, real about who we are, real about where we are. 00:19:54.365 --> 00:19:58.400 And now, number four, what's a fourth way to describe who we are as a church? 00:19:58.400 --> 00:20:01.400 Look at verse 12 and 13. 00:20:02.365 --> 00:20:07.200 Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:13.500 This is Peter telling his audience, here's what I hope to do in my role in serving you. 00:20:13.500 --> 00:20:22.000 I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:33.532 Even if you know something, even if you are established, rooted in God's Word, even if you believe it is my absolute authority in life, I still got to be reminded of His Word. 00:20:33.532 --> 00:20:36.000 It's so easy to forget. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.266 I can't just say, well, I read that back in 1994. 00:20:39.266 --> 00:20:41.099 16. 00:20:41.099 --> 00:20:42.333 I've heard it before. 00:20:42.333 --> 00:20:43.066 No no no no. 00:20:43.066 --> 00:20:46.066 We need constant ready reminders. 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:48.299 And here's what he hopes to do. 00:20:48.299 --> 00:20:53.633 I think it right as long as I am in this body to stir you up by way of reminder. 00:20:55.965 --> 00:20:59.133 That's part of the power of reminding people who Christ is. 00:20:59.133 --> 00:21:01.365 It's to stir them up towards love and good deeds. 00:21:01.365 --> 00:21:03.932 24. 00:21:03.932 --> 00:21:10.200 Let us constantly be about stirring one up toward stirring one another up towards love and good deeds. 00:21:11.266 --> 00:21:12.266 Also, Ephesians 00:21:12.266 --> 00:21:15.266 29 talks about this. 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:19.032 I want to make every effort to build up the body. 00:21:19.032 --> 00:21:26.532 Don't use any words that tear down, but only words that build up, that edify, that give grace. 00:21:26.532 --> 00:21:28.333 And that's that's what we're about. 00:21:28.333 --> 00:21:34.500 In fact, one of the things I think that describes us is we are life giving multipliers. 00:21:34.766 --> 00:21:46.432 Again, at our best, the church hopes to be life giving multipliers and who else do you want to be around in life than someone that's life giving? 00:21:47.732 --> 00:21:50.133 Those are the people that I want to be around. 00:21:50.133 --> 00:21:55.432 That's part of what I look forward to Sunday morning, is knowing I'm going to be around people who are giving life. 00:21:55.432 --> 00:21:59.932 They're not taking, they're giving. 00:21:59.932 --> 00:22:08.932 So much of this world is about taking, I mean, you know, the people, they've got to tear you down to feel better about themselves. 00:22:08.932 --> 00:22:09.865 They don't know. 00:22:09.865 --> 00:22:16.165 They can't handle giving you a compliment because then that makes them feel worse about themselves. 00:22:16.165 --> 00:22:19.200 They've got a tear down others to make themselves feel better. 00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:21.799 And that's sad. 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:31.799 But we're about giving life to others, giving life freely, pouring it into others. 00:22:32.232 --> 00:22:33.500 I was at a funeral recently. 00:22:33.500 --> 00:22:34.432 I've got a group of guys. 00:22:34.432 --> 00:22:36.299 I went through college with, four guys. 00:22:36.299 --> 00:22:39.766 We went through almost every class together. We stayed in touch. 00:22:39.766 --> 00:22:50.032 One of the guys lost his mother, the the first of us for to lose a parent, and we go to the funeral and we're talking with them and we start connecting. 00:22:50.032 --> 00:22:52.665 One of the guys’ dads is just hilarious. 00:22:52.665 --> 00:23:01.333 You know, here we are in the funeral home, and we're trying to keep our laughter tamped down because we're he is just making us all laugh so hard. 00:23:01.333 --> 00:23:04.865 He walks up to one of my buddies and he goes, you still can't tackle. 00:23:04.865 --> 00:23:06.900 You know, he watched him play football in high school. 00:23:06.900 --> 00:23:08.633 We're all just dying laughing. 00:23:08.633 --> 00:23:12.232 That doesn't sound like life giving, but it was in the moment, I promise. 00:23:12.232 --> 00:23:24.232 We left there on the drive home and my friend said, you know, Ned's a guy-- that's his name, Ned, this guy's other guy's dad-- Ned's a guy, he worked for him in high school. 00:23:24.232 --> 00:23:29.432 Ned's a guy that I've always wanted to have more time with. 00:23:29.900 --> 00:23:34.133 Every time I've been around him, I thought, I just want to keep being around him. 00:23:34.133 --> 00:23:39.032 Every minute I spend around this guy, he makes me better. 00:23:39.032 --> 00:23:40.599 And we both just sit there thinking about that. 00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:43.599 How many people can you say that of? 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:55.665 I want that said of me, that's a guy that when I'm around gives life, makes me better, pours into me and I can't get enough around him. 00:23:55.932 --> 00:24:05.000 I hope as a church and I think as a church, when people come to Valley View, they feel that, others are wanting to give, not take. 00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:08.000 They want to be givers. 00:24:08.099 --> 00:24:11.599 Now we're not just giving to say we're good givers. 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:12.133 Look at me. 00:24:12.133 --> 00:24:13.566 Look at how great I am at giving life. 00:24:13.566 --> 00:24:14.200 There's a purpose. 00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:14.700 There's a point. 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:21.032 That's why we're life giving multipliers, life giving multipliers. 00:24:21.365 --> 00:24:29.833 And one of the emphases of our church for this year is that we would be about pouring into others spiritually. 00:24:30.566 --> 00:24:38.900 We looked last week at the end of the New Testament, the end not of the New Testament, the end of the book of Matthew, where Jesus gives the Great Commission. 00:24:38.900 --> 00:24:43.532 He says, go, make disciples, baptize, teach in my name. 00:24:43.532 --> 00:24:45.833 That's our calling. 00:24:45.833 --> 00:24:47.665 And we want to be multipliers. 00:24:47.665 --> 00:24:52.032 We want to be producing more followers of Christ. 00:24:52.032 --> 00:24:56.299 If you are an oak of righteousness, a healthy oak is a multiplier. 00:24:56.299 --> 00:24:57.465 It's dropping acorns. 00:24:57.465 --> 00:24:59.532 It's creating more trees around it. 00:24:59.532 --> 00:25:02.700 We want to be multiplying followers of Christ in all that we do. 00:25:02.700 --> 00:25:04.965 We're not here just to soak in for ourselves. 00:25:04.965 --> 00:25:06.432 We're here to soak in, to pour out. 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:09.232 And you know what's this like? 00:25:09.232 --> 00:25:12.965 Think of the moments in your life when you're growing the most spiritually. 00:25:12.965 --> 00:25:15.965 You're also pouring into someone else. 00:25:16.066 --> 00:25:17.200 And that's hard. 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:20.833 That can be intimidating because part of you goes, what do I have to offer? 00:25:20.833 --> 00:25:33.200 I got my own flaws, but you know that when you're pouring into someone else that calls you up, that calls you up to go, I better be living it too. This better mean something to me. 00:25:33.965 --> 00:25:53.133 I think that's my favorite part of being a pastor, actually, is that when I'm getting ready to prepare a sermon, to come up here and talk about the Bible, there's always this moment, usually about late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, where it's like the Lord going, John, this better means something to you. 00:25:54.232 --> 00:25:57.865 Don't just get up there and peddle pretty words. 00:25:57.900 --> 00:25:59.566 This better mean something to you. 00:25:59.566 --> 00:26:01.633 You better be living some part of this. 00:26:01.633 --> 00:26:05.532 You're not doing it perfectly, but it better mean something to you. 00:26:05.532 --> 00:26:08.099 It better be real. 00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:14.532 I love that that good, healthy pressure, that weight. 00:26:14.532 --> 00:26:20.200 It pushes me to grow, to not be complacent, to not get isolated. 00:26:21.066 --> 00:26:24.400 We want to be life giving multipliers pouring into others. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:26.700 And there's going to be opportunities for that. 00:26:26.700 --> 00:26:33.299 I'm going to come to some of you at times and say, you need to be pouring into this person and you'll go, no, I, I'm not ready. 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:34.432 Yes you are. 00:26:34.432 --> 00:26:36.299 No you're not. But yes you are. 00:26:36.299 --> 00:26:40.833 None of us are. Here, here's a resource. Meet with them. 00:26:40.833 --> 00:26:41.700 Pour into them. 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:44.232 We all need that. 00:26:44.232 --> 00:26:45.599 We all need people pour pouring into us. 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:50.700 We all need people we’re pouring into to be life giving multipliers. That's number four. 00:26:50.700 --> 00:26:51.633 And now number five. 00:26:51.633 --> 00:26:54.633 Look at verse 15. 00:26:54.633 --> 00:27:02.566 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. 00:27:02.566 --> 00:27:06.465 I love where he says here I will make every effort. 00:27:06.465 --> 00:27:09.465 Peter's burden here is to serve. 00:27:10.032 --> 00:27:16.766 And one of our burdens as a church is we are set on service, set on serving others. 00:27:16.766 --> 00:27:22.665 Some of our most robust ministries as a church are service focused ministries. 00:27:22.665 --> 00:27:27.299 We have things like Project Hope, Project Hope. They distribute furniture. 00:27:27.299 --> 00:27:34.532 I call them furniture ninjas because they slip in and out in the night like you don't even know where they got the stuff from or where it's going. 00:27:34.532 --> 00:27:36.333 And they're just constantly on the move. 00:27:36.333 --> 00:27:41.133 Taking furniture to someone, picking it up because you have people in need. 00:27:41.133 --> 00:27:45.266 You have a single mother who has fled an abusive home and has nothing. 00:27:48.900 --> 00:27:50.532 My son and I were talking about this this week. 00:27:50.532 --> 00:28:01.700 I said, imagine if tomorrow morning, Julie, my wife, got up and said, guys, go get in the car, go get in the car right now. 00:28:01.700 --> 00:28:04.700 Why? Just get in the car. 00:28:06.000 --> 00:28:07.066 Okay. 00:28:07.066 --> 00:28:12.566 And that was the last you saw of your house and everything you have. 00:28:13.599 --> 00:28:16.432 It's so hard to imagine people in that situation. 00:28:16.432 --> 00:28:19.500 Some in this room have been in that situation. 00:28:19.500 --> 00:28:22.865 We have a ministry that goes, we want to love on you. 00:28:22.865 --> 00:28:24.599 We want to serve you. 00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:26.365 We are set on serving you. 00:28:26.365 --> 00:28:28.833 That's Project Hope. 00:28:28.833 --> 00:28:30.833 We have lots of service ministries. 00:28:30.833 --> 00:28:31.299 Dare to Care. 00:28:31.299 --> 00:28:34.400 I love it when someone is in need for food. 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:38.432 Man, go over to that house on Thursday around 11- noon. 00:28:38.432 --> 00:28:39.799 We'll give you a box of food. 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:41.432 We want to love on you. 00:28:41.432 --> 00:28:42.365 We want to serve on you. 00:28:42.365 --> 00:28:48.066 We have a group of folks who go out on Monday nights and give food to homeless downtown. 00:28:48.066 --> 00:28:51.133 They find different homeless camps and they distribute food. 00:28:51.133 --> 00:29:01.400 In fact, Mike Bell, who one of the guys who helped heads that up, said to me recently, we're out there serving food and a guy comes up I hadn't seen in a while and a guy said, yeah, I've been in prison. 00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:07.099 But let me tell you, dreaming about your bread pudding is what got me through it. 00:29:07.133 --> 00:29:09.032 Yeah. 00:29:09.032 --> 00:29:11.465 And then another guy came up and said, I'm not here for the food. 00:29:11.465 --> 00:29:14.465 I'm here for the word. 00:29:14.665 --> 00:29:15.833 Bring me the word. 00:29:15.833 --> 00:29:18.833 Bring me what will nourish. 00:29:19.099 --> 00:29:20.232 Service ministries. 00:29:20.232 --> 00:29:21.766 We're here about serving others. 00:29:21.766 --> 00:29:34.799 In fact, even this morning, we're able to worship together because of a team of people who are serving us by putting the right words up on the screen, making sure the instruments are well tuned and practiced and ready. 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:37.266 That takes a lot of work. 00:29:37.266 --> 00:29:42.432 It takes so much work and we just walk in and get to absorb it. 00:29:42.432 --> 00:29:46.532 They're serving us. Children's ministry. 00:29:47.700 --> 00:29:49.633 Here's what I love about children's ministry. 00:29:49.633 --> 00:29:53.833 You know, I'll have someone come who wants to learn about the church. 00:29:53.833 --> 00:30:02.099 I do a pastor's class about once a quarter to introduce people to the church, and they'll say, I'd love to come, but what do I do with my kids? 00:30:02.099 --> 00:30:04.200 We've got a place for your kids. 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:06.633 We are serving them. 00:30:06.633 --> 00:30:14.365 And what I love about our children's ministry is it's not entertainment, it's not childcare, it's ministry. 00:30:15.299 --> 00:30:23.833 We are infusing their hearts with the Word of God from the moment that you put them in our care, we're teaching them God's Word. 00:30:23.833 --> 00:30:28.865 Those kids are being pushed to memorize Scripture, to grow, to know God. 00:30:29.232 --> 00:30:30.732 They're serving you. 00:30:30.732 --> 00:30:34.165 They're serving your children, helping them grow. 00:30:34.165 --> 00:30:43.500 Our church is set on service, and one thing I love about our church is every week someone's like, we need to be doing this other ministry. 00:30:43.500 --> 00:30:46.333 There's 100 other ministries that we all want to see being done. 00:30:46.333 --> 00:30:47.266 I love that. 00:30:47.266 --> 00:30:51.000 We can't do them all, but I love that we all want to see more service. 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:52.066 We want to see more done. 00:30:52.066 --> 00:30:54.232 We want to do whatever we're doing with excellence. 00:30:54.232 --> 00:30:55.900 So we choose wisely. 00:30:55.900 --> 00:30:57.165 I want to make sure we have good leadership. 00:30:57.165 --> 00:30:59.200 We have support. We can launch it. 00:30:59.200 --> 00:31:02.932 I mean, last year we were set to launch a ministry and it just didn't come together. 00:31:02.932 --> 00:31:04.365 And so we said, now's not the time. 00:31:04.365 --> 00:31:06.400 That's okay. 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:10.165 We're trusting that God is in control through this, but our burden is to serve. 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:20.400 Now, the last one, of course, those are five very important dynamics, aspects, descriptors of who we are as a church. 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:21.365 All of those are important. 00:31:21.365 --> 00:31:25.133 But this last one, all the others can be true. 00:31:25.133 --> 00:31:28.566 But if the last one is not true, they don't matter at all. 00:31:28.566 --> 00:31:31.032 Not a bit. 00:31:31.032 --> 00:31:45.165 Look with me at verse 11, for in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 00:31:45.965 --> 00:31:51.232 Here's one phrase that I hope is always descriptive of who Valley View is. 00:31:51.232 --> 00:31:55.465 It's that we're Christ centered in all that we do. 00:31:55.465 --> 00:32:01.665 Our goal, our aim, the aim of our instruction, our goal is Christ. 00:32:01.665 --> 00:32:04.799 Last week I talked at length about how you got to be in God's Word. 00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:05.965 You got to know His Word. 00:32:07.066 --> 00:32:09.165 Everything we do here is based on His Word. 00:32:09.165 --> 00:32:12.165 But the goal is not just Bible knowledge. 00:32:13.633 --> 00:32:16.500 Satan could quote scripture. 00:32:16.500 --> 00:32:18.400 He knew who Jesus is. 00:32:18.400 --> 00:32:20.700 In fact, he knew who he is. 00:32:20.700 --> 00:32:22.432 He knew who he is. 00:32:22.432 --> 00:32:24.665 But he didn't believe in him. 00:32:24.665 --> 00:32:27.665 The goal is not just Bible knowledge. 00:32:27.833 --> 00:32:36.799 The goal is to know Christ, to know him personally, to walk with him, to grow closer to closer to him, to be dependent on him. 00:32:36.799 --> 00:32:42.900 And there's... Look, there's a gigantic difference between knowing about someone and knowing them personally. 00:32:42.900 --> 00:32:45.165 Huge difference. 00:32:45.165 --> 00:32:54.566 I could learn a lot about my wife, Julie, by just reading her social media. 00:32:54.566 --> 00:32:59.200 I could know so much about her and and not know her at all. 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:04.232 If I said, let me tell you about Julie and I only read back to you things I read on Facebook. 00:33:05.665 --> 00:33:12.633 You would call that a shallow relationship, but to know her. 00:33:13.266 --> 00:33:16.200 That's a whole nother level. 00:33:16.200 --> 00:33:26.865 And our goal in knowing Scripture is to know Christ, not just know him, not just to know of him, but to believe that he is the Savior of the world. 00:33:26.865 --> 00:33:31.165 He is the one that rescues me from sin and death. 00:33:31.165 --> 00:33:34.500 Where I'm headed naturally, on my own, I'm running toward sin and death. 00:33:34.500 --> 00:33:41.365 He is the one who will rescue me to believe in him, to trust in him completely, to depend on him fully. 00:33:41.365 --> 00:33:45.465 There is no greater hope and joy in life than that. 00:33:45.532 --> 00:33:48.532 And that's what we're about as a church. 00:33:51.700 --> 00:33:56.833 And if you don't know him, maybe you know some about him. 00:33:56.833 --> 00:33:57.932 That's a good starting point. 00:33:58.900 --> 00:34:13.132 But if you don't know him personally, if you don't believe that he is your Lord and Savior, don't let another day go by where that's up in the air. 00:34:13.666 --> 00:34:16.699 Maybe you need to keep growing to a point where you're ready to do that. 00:34:16.699 --> 00:34:21.900 Maybe you're not ready to do that today, but that's something you've been putting off. 00:34:21.900 --> 00:34:23.500 Don't let another day go by. 00:34:23.500 --> 00:34:30.400 There's no greater decision you make in life than to follow him, to say, Jesus, I'm going to follow you completely. 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:32.400 I'm going to depend on you completely. 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:35.800 I won't be perfect, I know that, but I'm going to depend on you and trust on you. 00:34:35.800 --> 00:34:38.599 Don't let another day go by. 00:34:38.599 --> 00:34:41.632 In fact, after I pray, I've got a couple of things to mention. 00:34:41.632 --> 00:34:43.432 But I'm always down front here. 00:34:43.432 --> 00:34:46.532 I'm always available to talk to anyone as long as you want. 00:34:46.532 --> 00:34:48.666 I'd love to talk with you about what that means. 00:34:48.666 --> 00:34:51.532 And if you don't want to talk today, fill out a connection card. 00:34:51.532 --> 00:34:54.532 In fact, I’m meeting with a guy this afternoon who wants to talk about baptism. 00:34:54.532 --> 00:34:58.733 I'd love to meet with you any time you tell me what works for you. 00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:03.099 We'll talk about the gospel, about following Jesus whenever you want. 00:35:03.099 --> 00:35:04.800 Don't let another day go by. 00:35:04.800 --> 00:35:05.300 Let's pray. 00:35:08.099 --> 00:35:09.333 God, thank you for this morning. 00:35:09.333 --> 00:35:16.500 Thank you that we can worship you first and foremost, and then talk about who we are as a church because of who you are. 00:35:16.500 --> 00:35:19.532 We're not talking about who we are to make us feel good about ourselves. 00:35:19.532 --> 00:35:23.300 It's to make us feel great about who you are. 00:35:23.300 --> 00:35:26.365 Help us to continue to grow in the coming year. 00:35:26.365 --> 00:35:29.432 Each of these areas that we described, we want to grow in. 00:35:29.432 --> 00:35:32.132 We're not perfect. 00:35:32.132 --> 00:35:36.300 These might describe us in some ways, and we want to keep growing. 00:35:36.300 --> 00:35:45.099 And God, I pray for everyone who's here today that they will have heard from you how you want to grow in them specifically this year. 00:35:45.099 --> 00:35:47.099 What you want to do in their life. 00:35:47.099 --> 00:35:51.300 May they become more dependent on you, more open to you working in their life. 00:35:54.065 --> 00:35:55.199 Would you move today? 00:35:55.199 --> 00:36:00.333 Give them that step of courage to say, I'm going to move forward in walking with Christ. 00:36:00.333 --> 00:36:03.333 I'm not going to let another day go by. 00:36:04.300 --> 00:36:06.800 I love you, Jesus. 00:36:06.800 --> 00:36:07.199 Amen.