SPEAKER_01: Well I tell you, it is an absolute honor to be here with you guys.
SPEAKER_01: And uh Matt's words are so meaningful to me.
SPEAKER_01: Uh I just wish he had more energy.
SPEAKER_01: You know, he's just kind of uh he's a little bit of an Eeyore.
SPEAKER_01: Uh you know, it takes a little bit to warm him up.
SPEAKER_01: Now I love it this way.
SPEAKER_01: I love being around your pastor.
SPEAKER_01: And every time I'm around him, I walk away with more joy, uh, more laughter.
SPEAKER_01: My cheeks will hurt when we just get laughing.
SPEAKER_01: And uh I love it.
SPEAKER_01: Next week he will be back, and uh so excited for that.
SPEAKER_01: Do not miss next week as he's coming back and uh really excited.
SPEAKER_01: And I just want to let you know, I'm a pastor myself, and uh there are no perfect pastors out there.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and this is what I love about your pastor.
SPEAKER_01: He acknowledges that, and he also acknowledges he's not perfect, but he follows the one who does.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what makes him so good.
SPEAKER_01: This is what this church is all about.
SPEAKER_01: It's not built on a pastor, it is built on the person of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And that's what I love about this place.
SPEAKER_01: This is the joy that you have in here, whether you're a follower of Jesus or not.
SPEAKER_01: You need to know your creator knows you, he loves you, and he is here for you today.
SPEAKER_01: And that is why we're doing the series called Red Letter.
SPEAKER_01: And we're looking in the book of John, where Jesus says seven things about who he is.
SPEAKER_01: And he says, these I am statements, so you and I can know him better, we can follow him better.
SPEAKER_01: And I love what Justin said last week in the series as he was preaching on John chapter 11, but he said this every time Jesus says one of these statements, it's because there's a human problem.
SPEAKER_01: So when we open God's word, it's not just Jesus is declaring it and you go, take it or leave it.
SPEAKER_01: He says these phrases because you and I encounter problems in this life.
SPEAKER_01: Last week we looked at John 11, where Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life.
SPEAKER_01: And it's because Lazarus had passed away at an early age, and his sisters Mary and Martha, uh, they see Jesus and in their honest moment they're angry with him.
SPEAKER_01: And what I love about Jesus is this he is not afraid of your anger or my anger or our disappointment.
SPEAKER_01: Actually, he welcomes it in so he can redeem it.
SPEAKER_01: And this is why he said last week, I'm the resurrection and the life.
SPEAKER_01: Today we're gonna be in John chapter 14.
SPEAKER_01: If you have your Bible, I want to encourage you to open there or your Bible app.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be in John chapter 14, where Jesus says one of the most popular statements, and maybe you've heard this before, where he says, I am the way, the truth, and the what?
SPEAKER_01: Anybody remember?
SPEAKER_01: And the life.
SPEAKER_01: Man, you guys are already getting A today, right?
SPEAKER_01: You guys are already talking back.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what I love about Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It says, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the question we're gonna talk about.
SPEAKER_01: How does life really work?
SPEAKER_01: Like, like how does it really come together?
SPEAKER_01: When you and I encounter hard, disappointing moments, what do we do then?
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I want to do before we uh jump into John chapter 14, I want you to think about a moment in your life where you encountered a difficult time and somebody spoke some biblical truth into your life and it changed everything about your perspective.
SPEAKER_01: Just think about a time.
SPEAKER_01: Could have been, kid, it could be that's how you got here.
SPEAKER_01: Somebody spoke some life into you, and you go, hey man, you really need to get to know this Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I really want you to come to church with me today.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are here today because somebody promised you lunch afterwards, and you're like, that's the only reason why I'm here.
SPEAKER_01: I've encountered that I'm hungry and I want somebody to buy me lunch.
SPEAKER_01: I'll show up, whatever it is, on this stuff.
SPEAKER_01: I remember I was about 23 years old, and I went to Bible college, and after Bible college, I stayed on as a recruiter at the college and just connecting kids to their calling.
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
SPEAKER_01: And I remember uh at that time I started dating really my first serious girlfriend at the time.
SPEAKER_01: She loves Jesus, I love Jesus, and here was my thought.
SPEAKER_01: As long as they love Jesus, everything's gonna work out.
SPEAKER_01: Do you know this?
SPEAKER_01: Even if the girl you're dating loves Jesus, it doesn't mean it works out, right?
SPEAKER_01: I was naive mate at the time.
SPEAKER_01: And so here's what would happen.
SPEAKER_01: We would date for a while, and then we would uh, you know, we wouldn't break up, we would just take a break.
SPEAKER_01: And then we would come back together, we'd date for a while, and then it wouldn't really work out, and so we would take a break, and we'd come back for a while, and we got to this moment where it's the DTR.
SPEAKER_01: You gotta define the relationship moment.
SPEAKER_01: I'm about 23, 24, it's like, hey, are you gonna marry this girl?
SPEAKER_01: Are you gonna not?
SPEAKER_01: We're trying to figure this stuff out, and I'll never forget it.
SPEAKER_01: I when I was on the campus, my mom called me.
SPEAKER_01: And she said, Nathan, I love you.
SPEAKER_01: You're a grown man, you're gonna make your own decision.
SPEAKER_01: But as your mom, I just want to let you know.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying marriage doesn't have problems.
SPEAKER_01: I just want to let you know when it's the right person, there's just not this many problems at the beginning.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, your mom has the gift of prophecy.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, she does, right?
SPEAKER_01: Thank the Lord for godly moms.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I'll be honest, in that moment, I didn't like a word, she just told me.
SPEAKER_01: I I can tell you exactly what I mean.
SPEAKER_01: I stopped my car because it changed everything in my perspective.
SPEAKER_01: Here's my perspective about the dating relationship.
SPEAKER_01: If you just work hard enough that it's all gonna work out.
SPEAKER_01: There's moments in time that after you've pulled all the levers that you know to pull, things still aren't working out.
SPEAKER_01: It may be because there's a different way that God wants to lead you.
SPEAKER_01: Man, thank the Lord for a mom who's willing to speak truth into my life.
SPEAKER_01: Changed my entire perspective, changed my entire trajectory of my family, who I'd married, just everything.
SPEAKER_01: And I was like, man, what a moment.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what I want you to understand Jesus didn't just come into a Qdoba in Jerusalem at the time, kick the door open, and go, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_01: Anyone want to follow me?
SPEAKER_01: That's not what he does.
SPEAKER_01: Matter of fact, this is what we want to find.
SPEAKER_01: The reason why he gives it is actually because of a deeper life question was asked of him.
SPEAKER_01: Listen what it says in John chapter 14.
SPEAKER_01: Before we even get to that sentence in chapter 6, or verse 6, listen what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Don't let your hearts be troubled.
SPEAKER_01: Why would he say that?
SPEAKER_01: Because he knows we're troubled.
SPEAKER_01: Trust in God, trust also in me.
SPEAKER_01: In my father's house are many rooms.
SPEAKER_01: If it were not so, I would have told you.
SPEAKER_01: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may be where I am.
SPEAKER_01: You know the way to the place where I'm going.
SPEAKER_01: He's talking about heaven.
SPEAKER_01: You know the way.
SPEAKER_01: Thomas, verse 5.
SPEAKER_01: Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you're going.
SPEAKER_01: So how can we know?
SPEAKER_01: Don't you love it that that's in the Bible?
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Some of the times we think disciples, oh man, I couldn't be one of Jesus' disciples.
SPEAKER_01: Thomas is sitting there and he's listening to Jesus' every word, and he's like, I don't know what you're talking about, man.
SPEAKER_01: Man, that gives me so much peace.
SPEAKER_01: And what does Jesus tell Thomas?
SPEAKER_01: We give Thomas a bad rap.
SPEAKER_01: We call him doubting Thomas.
SPEAKER_01: I love he's honest, Thomas.
SPEAKER_01: Right here.
SPEAKER_01: He's like, Jesus, this doesn't make any sense.
SPEAKER_01: Where you're going, we know the way.
SPEAKER_01: I thought you're here.
SPEAKER_01: Where are you going?
SPEAKER_01: He's gonna die, he's gonna rise again, he's gonna rule and reign in heaven where he is right now.
SPEAKER_01: Listen what he tells him.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes he will get real mad when we ask questions, don't we?
SPEAKER_01: That's how some of you got detention.
SPEAKER_01: Quit asking questions.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I love about Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus loves our questions.
SPEAKER_00: Honesty, the curiosity.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, Oh, Thomas, I am the way.
SPEAKER_00: I am the truth.
SPEAKER_00: I'm the life.
SPEAKER_01: What you need, what your purpose is, what my plans are for you, I'm the plan.
SPEAKER_01: And no one comes to the Father except through me, Thomas.
SPEAKER_01: And if you really knew me, you'd know my father as well.
SPEAKER_01: And from now on, you do know him and you have seen him.
SPEAKER_01: If you want to know who God is, you need to know who Jesus is.
SPEAKER_01: That's what he says.
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, When you know me, you know him.
SPEAKER_01: And then Philip said, Lord, show us the Father, and that'll be enough for us.
SPEAKER_01: You ever had that bargain with God?
SPEAKER_01: God, if you just do this, I'll follow you forever.
SPEAKER_01: And then he does it, and then you don't follow forever, right?
SPEAKER_01: But that's what we pray.
SPEAKER_01: God, if you just do this, then I'll do this.
SPEAKER_01: If Jesus was my rooted leader, I would show up to root it.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's like we say all these types of things.
SPEAKER_01: God, just do this for me.
SPEAKER_01: Listen to what he says.
SPEAKER_01: Don't you know me, Philip?
SPEAKER_01: Even after I've been among you such a long time, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
SPEAKER_01: How can you say, show us the Father?
SPEAKER_01: Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?
SPEAKER_01: See, the words I say to you are not just my own.
SPEAKER_01: Rather, it is the Father living in me who's doing his work.
SPEAKER_01: Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves, Philip.
SPEAKER_01: And you go, what is Jesus trying to say here?
SPEAKER_01: Here's what he's trying to say.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says, I didn't come to be part of your life.
SPEAKER_01: I came to be awe of your life.
SPEAKER_01: Life bridge on the count of three.
SPEAKER_01: I just want you to say the word all with me.
SPEAKER_01: Ready?
SPEAKER_01: One, two, three.
SPEAKER_01: Oh.
SPEAKER_01: 9.30, you're awake, right?
SPEAKER_01: I'm on Eastern Standard Time.
SPEAKER_01: It's 11:30 my time, man.
SPEAKER_01: We're like, I'm good to go up here.
SPEAKER_01: But you guys are early.
SPEAKER_01: You guys are with me.
SPEAKER_01: And here's the thing, Jesus, when he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, what he's saying is this.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't come just to lead part of your life.
SPEAKER_01: I came to save and lead all of your life.
SPEAKER_01: How many times have you been in a conversation?
SPEAKER_01: Somebody's gonna say something difficult to you, and they say this.
SPEAKER_01: Now don't take this personally.
SPEAKER_01: You're like, so you don't want me to be human.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, you just want me to be a robot, right?
SPEAKER_01: Just slice and dice me and say whatever you want, and you want me to not have a reaction.
SPEAKER_01: That's not it.
SPEAKER_01: We think that's it.
SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, if I can just compartmentalize my life.
SPEAKER_01: I got my church life, I got my work life, I got my family life, I got my golf life, I got this.
SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, Jesus says that that's not the way it works.
SPEAKER_01: It's like a Rubik's Cube.
SPEAKER_01: It's all connected.
SPEAKER_01: I remember I was uh I got three kiddos.
SPEAKER_01: Uh one is about ready to be a freshman in high school, and another one is going in fifth grade, another one's going to third grade.
SPEAKER_01: And uh when I was serving in local church, my my world was just crazy.
SPEAKER_01: You know, you got weekend services, and you got ball games, and you got this, and you got all these things going on.
SPEAKER_01: And and I had a mentor ask me, he's in his six in his 60s, wise man.
SPEAKER_01: He said, Nate, how's life going?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, How long you got?
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, you know, I'm crazy, I'm this, I'm that.
SPEAKER_01: And I told you last time I was here, kind of a secret.
SPEAKER_01: I tell uh just you guys don't tell my family, even though they're watching online, is uh in every season I don't I don't know what I'm doing.
SPEAKER_01: Uh my daughter's gonna be a freshman in high school.
SPEAKER_01: I've decided to homeschool her this year, and uh no I haven't.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, nope, nope, nope, because I'm like, oh no, I'm not sending my daughter in a high school and all this other stuff.
SPEAKER_01: And and I get real anxious.
SPEAKER_01: I remember that, and I just told him, I said, uh, man, I'm feeling some anxiety about life and anxiousness, and you know, everything's just ramping up, and I and I'm I'm trying to figure out this work-life balance.
SPEAKER_01: And he said, Oh, work-life balance.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Yeah, what do you think about that?
SPEAKER_01: He said, Here's what you need to know, Nate.
SPEAKER_01: There is no such thing as work-life balance.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, what?
SPEAKER_01: He said, There's just life, and work is a part of it.
SPEAKER_01: What he was calling me back to was this scripture.
SPEAKER_01: Nate, Jesus has got to be the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_01: Or life does not work.
SPEAKER_01: He was calling me back into this.
SPEAKER_01: To say you're trying to do work over here, trying to raise your kids over here, you're trying to lead the church over here, you're trying to do that, and he's going, no, no, no.
SPEAKER_01: All of this integrates and works together.
SPEAKER_01: So, how does it look like for us to have Jesus be over all of our life?
SPEAKER_01: If you're taking notes, I'm gonna encourage you to write this down.
SPEAKER_01: Life is found in the journey with Jesus, not just the destination of heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Man, I can't wait for heaven.
SPEAKER_01: Lost my grandma this year.
SPEAKER_01: Super sad.
SPEAKER_01: I cannot wait to worship Jesus with her in heaven.
SPEAKER_01: I can't wait for that day when there's no more pain and there's no more death.
SPEAKER_01: And at the same time, God is not absent from us now, going, hopefully, you do good enough because I'm gonna come back and I'm gonna give you a report card.
SPEAKER_01: No! He says, I promised you heaven, but here's the thing: I promised you my presence right now.
SPEAKER_01: And I have a journey, I have a way for you to live right now.
SPEAKER_01: What I found interesting is this.
SPEAKER_01: I grew up in the church, my dad's been a pastor my whole life, so I've always grown up around the church.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and I began to think about this as a kid because the church I grew up at was called Second Church of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: And in my mind, I'm like, how'd you get that name?
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, did you lose to the first church of Christ in like Church League softball?
SPEAKER_01: And there you got the first church of Christ, and your second church of Christ.
SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm like, how do we come up with our church names?
SPEAKER_01: Anyone know what the name of the church was in the book of Acts?
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know this until a couple years ago.
SPEAKER_01: So I was just reading it.
SPEAKER_01: Acts chapter 9, verse 2, it just says this the way.
SPEAKER_01: It's the name of the church.
SPEAKER_01: The early church was this.
SPEAKER_01: We are followers of the way.
SPEAKER_01: The way rules everything.
SPEAKER_01: Way before the Mandalorian.
SPEAKER_01: This is the way.
SPEAKER_01: Way before any of that.
SPEAKER_01: So many, how many people drive Jeeps in this place?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Jeep, right?
SPEAKER_01: You got a Jeep crew, right?
SPEAKER_01: I learned this out, my buddy's got a Jeep.
SPEAKER_01: He's like, Nate, here's what you need to understand.
SPEAKER_01: It's a Jeep thing.
SPEAKER_01: You wouldn't understand.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: There's like a whole Jeep culture.
SPEAKER_01: I learned, like when I rent a Jeep, when I'm traveling, I'm like, I learned you wave at the other Jeep.
SPEAKER_01: Because there is a way.
SPEAKER_01: If you're gonna drive a Jeep, there's a way to drive a Jeep.
SPEAKER_01: There's a way.
SPEAKER_01: And the early church was called to be people who have and live the way of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Your everyday life, how you work, how you invest in others, how you show up for others, how you step into the pain of others.
SPEAKER_01: Now, just listening to the early role of the video about all the care group opportunities that are coming up this fall, and the rooted group opportunity, and all of these things, I'm going, yes, because the way of Jesus makes time for those who have gone through incredibly painful things in life.
SPEAKER_01: That's the way of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: He says, I am the way.
SPEAKER_01: You've got to understand my grace.
SPEAKER_01: But here's the key to understanding the way.
SPEAKER_01: Oftentimes we we make a big deal out of verse 6 on the way, the truth, and life.
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
SPEAKER_01: Here's how you encounter the way.
SPEAKER_01: You ready?
SPEAKER_01: It starts by what Thomas said.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, I don't know the way.
SPEAKER_01: The way?
SPEAKER_01: What does that look like, Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: You show up like that tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, I don't know what I'm doing.
SPEAKER_01: You're not gonna last very long at that job.
SPEAKER_01: And they're gonna be like, great, you're fired, right?
SPEAKER_01: And it's like any other thing, you show up in that place and you say you don't know what you're doing, you're out.
SPEAKER_01: You show up to Jesus and life begins.
SPEAKER_01: I I God, I don't know how to lead my family.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, Would you invite me to do it?
SPEAKER_01: I I God, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: What does it look like for what you have for me?
SPEAKER_01: And he goes, Would you let me lead your life?
SPEAKER_01: I find it interesting every time I go to preach a passage, in some way, I don't know if it's just because everything's more heightened and I'm paying attention to the passage.
SPEAKER_01: Uh, Jesus will always teach me a lesson before I preach the passage.
SPEAKER_01: He's like, You're not gonna get up there and just tell people what you think.
SPEAKER_01: You need to live this scripture.
SPEAKER_01: I'm literally right after 4th of July, I'm working on this sermon on my front porch.
SPEAKER_01: And uh my house kind of sits back a little bit off the road.
SPEAKER_01: There's a house in front of us near the road, and I look up and I smell like fireworks coming from that house.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, who's letting off fireworks at 9 a.m.?
SPEAKER_01: Come on, man, let it go.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: And uh, and then I see like this black uh plume of smoke coming from the house.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, that's not a firework.
SPEAKER_01: And uh and I run up there, and their car had an electrical fire, and their car is on fire.
SPEAKER_01: And it's right by the garage, it's about ready to catch the garage on fire, it's about ready to catch the car next to it on fire, and I'm like, uh-oh, uh-oh.
SPEAKER_01: And so I run back to my house, and you know, my hose can't reach all the way up there, so I just fill up a five-gallon bucket of water, and I run back up there.
SPEAKER_01: By that time, the whole car is on fire.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, this is not gonna work.
SPEAKER_01: Like, this is this is that, but I don't know what to do.
SPEAKER_01: But as soon as I get back up there, there's a guy driving by, pulls his truck over, has a chain, pulls a chain out, ties it to the car, rips it away from the house, and it burns down in the middle of the road.
SPEAKER_01: And I come back to this passage.
SPEAKER_01: We don't know where you're going.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I just have my bucket.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I had no idea what I'm doing in that moment.
SPEAKER_01: The Lord's like, I need you to know that helpless feeling, mate.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm telling you, there's some moments in life you walk into a catastrophe, it's like, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: I'm letting you know this is where Jesus goes to work.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus says this in Mark chapter 1.
SPEAKER_01: You want to know how you begin this journey with me?
SPEAKER_01: Repent and believe the good news.
SPEAKER_01: Not power up, not skill up.
SPEAKER_01: Repent.
SPEAKER_01: Repent just simply means this to return home to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: God, I don't know how to lead this life, but you do, and so would you help me?
SPEAKER_01: He goes, I would, because I am the way.
SPEAKER_01: I am the way.
SPEAKER_01: That's why I'm so excited about this uncommon conference coming up this fall.
SPEAKER_01: Because man, we need other men around us who say, hey, this is the way.
SPEAKER_01: And not only do men need it, I'm looking around, man.
SPEAKER_01: We've got a bunch of young men in this room.
SPEAKER_01: I absolutely love it.
SPEAKER_01: And can I just let you know, my calling in the ministry didn't happen from my dad.
SPEAKER_01: He encouraged it, he created the environment, he told me about it, but it happened from my youth pastor who called me up and into what God saw in me.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm telling you, I would not know where I am without Mark Halstettler speaking into my life.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know the way.
SPEAKER_01: And God goes, I want to bring people in your way to show you my way.
SPEAKER_01: This is why the uncommon conference is gonna be such an incredible moment.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna be men who join in this place to say, God, we want your way to rule.
SPEAKER_01: But the second thing is this Jesus says, I have a way and I want to teach you, my Holy Spirit's gonna lead you.
SPEAKER_01: But here's what it looks like: you've got to encounter my truth.
SPEAKER_01: And the truth is this life is found in the authority of Jesus more than anyone else's opinion.
SPEAKER_01: Boy, we're we're loaded on our opinions today, aren't we?
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to look very long for somebody to give you your opinion.
SPEAKER_01: Some people go, Well, I have the spiritual gift of criticism.
SPEAKER_01: I've never read that in the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Like, yeah, you're just making stuff up.
SPEAKER_01: You just love to be critical of everybody else that's not in the scriptures.
SPEAKER_01: And I know right after this statement of I am the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus says a phrase that if you say this in the public square, whoo, baby, look out.
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna get attacked.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what he says no one comes to the Father except through me.
SPEAKER_01: Now, people would say that is harsh and exclusive.
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I found out the more I've studied the truth of Jesus, and the more I've allowed the truth of Jesus to be the authority of my life.
SPEAKER_01: There be there may be some moments that feel harsh, but one of the greatest things that we could ever have from someone is for them to honor us by telling us the truth.
SPEAKER_01: I will be forever grateful for my mom telling me the truth about relationships.
SPEAKER_01: Matter of fact, my mom and I, after that moment, like you couldn't fit it on a spreadsheet.
SPEAKER_01: I already loved her, I already thought the world of her, but I'm like, you went to another level.
SPEAKER_01: You're not just my mom.
SPEAKER_01: You're a mentor.
SPEAKER_01: And here's why.
SPEAKER_01: You weren't afraid.
SPEAKER_01: She would tell you she was afraid.
SPEAKER_01: You weren't afraid to tell me the truth.
SPEAKER_01: Proverbs 27, verse 6 says this the wounds of a friend can be trusted.
SPEAKER_01: Do you have friends in your life who can wound you?
SPEAKER_01: Not kill you.
SPEAKER_01: Not stab you in the back.
SPEAKER_01: But love you enough to go, I love you.
SPEAKER_01: That's not the way of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I love you.
SPEAKER_01: This is what he has for you.
SPEAKER_01: See, that's learning to live by a different authority.
SPEAKER_01: And we say stuff like this, or our mindset is nobody comes to the Father except through Jesus, and we go, Oh, we have to get to God.
SPEAKER_01: Here's the gospel it's not just that you have to get to God, God has come to us in Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And our decision is to allow him to be the authority of our life.
SPEAKER_01: Every other religion says you have to work your way to God.
SPEAKER_01: The religion of Christianity, the gospel is this Jesus has worked.
SPEAKER_01: His way to us.
SPEAKER_01: He's left heaven.
SPEAKER_01: He's laid it down so that we can experience him.
SPEAKER_01: And here's what happens when you and I live in this authority, it's going to be a little bit difficult.
SPEAKER_01: And here's why.
SPEAKER_01: The more I study scripture, beside every truth of Jesus is a lie from Satan.
SPEAKER_01: Study the scripture.
SPEAKER_01: God tells Adam and Eve, I've got everything you need.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: Be fruitful, multiply.
SPEAKER_01: You have dominion over all things.
SPEAKER_01: Enjoy all creation.
SPEAKER_01: Who shows up right after that?
SPEAKER_01: Satan.
SPEAKER_01: And what does he say?
SPEAKER_01: God didn't really say that.
SPEAKER_01: God really doesn't, he doesn't really mean that.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, after his baptism, in Matthew chapter 4, the Holy Spirit leads him into the desert for 40 days of prayer and fasting.
SPEAKER_01: Who shows up in his prayer and fasting?
SPEAKER_01: Satan.
SPEAKER_01: See, this is why it is so important that Jesus is our authority over any opinion, anybody else's opinion, or even our opinion.
SPEAKER_01: And here's why.
SPEAKER_01: He has authority, not just because he wants to have power, but here's this.
SPEAKER_01: You know when power dynamics go wrong?
SPEAKER_01: Power and authority by themselves are not bad.
SPEAKER_01: But when power and authority are used and it's not used for the assignment, that's where power and authority goes wrong.
SPEAKER_01: Listen what Jesus says further on in this passage.
SPEAKER_01: He says this in verse 12.
SPEAKER_01: He says, I tell you the truth.
SPEAKER_01: 24 times throughout the book of John, Jesus says, I tell you the truth.
SPEAKER_01: I tell you the truth.
SPEAKER_01: And he says this again in verse 12, he says, I tell you the truth.
SPEAKER_01: Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.
SPEAKER_01: And he will do greater things than these because I'm going to the Father.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, I have authority, and it's not just that I have authority, I have authority because you haven't an assignment to do what I've been doing.
SPEAKER_01: See, Jesus didn't just come to save you, he's come to send you and I into NOCO, into our workplaces, into this region.
SPEAKER_01: Do you believe?
SPEAKER_01: And here's what's fascinating about this passage.
SPEAKER_01: I just, at first when I heard this, I'm like, sounds good.
SPEAKER_01: Not sure I believe it, but he says this.
SPEAKER_01: If anyone who has faith in me will do what I've been doing, then he says this.
SPEAKER_01: He or she will do greater things than these.
SPEAKER_01: Let me just ask you for a moment.
SPEAKER_01: Do you think you're gonna do something greater than Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: We're like, no, that's Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: What does Jesus say though?
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna do greater things.
SPEAKER_01: How?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus is like, I got three and a half years to make disciples.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are gonna have 20, 30, 40, 60, 70, 80 years to make disciples.
SPEAKER_01: I uh, Johan, you you guys have an incredible staff here.
SPEAKER_01: He was emailing me, hey, let me know what you need, anything you need.
SPEAKER_01: I said, Yeah, here's what I need.
SPEAKER_01: I want to know how many people have been baptized in the last two years at Life Bridge.
SPEAKER_01: He's like, Okay, let me get right back with you.
SPEAKER_01: A couple hours later, sends it right back.
SPEAKER_01: He goes, 493 people have been baptized in the last two years at Life Bridge.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, man.
SPEAKER_01: And in that number 493, everybody has a name and everybody has a story.
SPEAKER_01: And what's incredible is this how'd you how'd you get to Light Bridge?
SPEAKER_01: Oh, so and so invited me.
SPEAKER_01: We were, I was at this place, this happened to man.
SPEAKER_01: They reached out, uh-huh, and Jesus was like, I told you greater things.
SPEAKER_01: I told you you're gonna do greater things.
SPEAKER_01: Here's our problem.
SPEAKER_01: If we're not careful, we'll believe our opinion more than we'll believe the authority of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: This happened in my own home and in my own life this year.
SPEAKER_01: My daughter's gonna be a freshman, I told you, and uh uh she's got some friends that just love Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: Man, you've got to have people around you that believe Jesus, follow Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And what's incredible is they all go to different churches and never talk about what God's doing, and they have this idea, they said, hey, once a month, we just want to come together and we want to have a Bible study for our class, our eighth-grade class.
SPEAKER_01: Just we, you know, that way we can invite people and share Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm looking around all these young people, and I'm like thinking about like I'm looking right at my daughter, I'm like going, uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01: And in my mind, I'm like, You ain't been to Bible college.
SPEAKER_01: You ain't let a Bible study.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, sounds great.
SPEAKER_01: I'll pray about it.
SPEAKER_01: Pray for you.
SPEAKER_01: Right?
SPEAKER_01: We say all those spiritual words, and she goes, Can you know, can you all host?
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
SPEAKER_01: We'll buy all the food we need.
SPEAKER_01: First Bible study, 12 kids show up.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like, wow, that's pretty cool.
SPEAKER_01: Next month, 24 kids show up.
SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
SPEAKER_01: Next month, 30 kids show up.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, maybe I need to rethink some things here.
SPEAKER_01: Next thing happened, they go, yes, so-and-so is coming to camp with us this summer.
SPEAKER_01: So-and-so is getting baptized right now, all this other stuff.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm sitting here and I'm going, I have forgot the authority of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We think life is built on our ability.
SPEAKER_01: Life is not built on your ability.
SPEAKER_01: Your life is built on the authority of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And he says, I am gonna do greater things in and through you than what I've done.
SPEAKER_01: But you got to do what I've been doing.
SPEAKER_01: You've got to live an intentional life that's pouring into other people.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what the last thing he says, I am the way, the truth.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says this, and I am the life.
SPEAKER_01: I'm the presence, I'm the power that's gonna lead you into this.
SPEAKER_01: I'm the one that's gonna hold you together when all of life isn't holding together.
SPEAKER_01: And this is what I love about Jesus is he says this, that life is found in the presence of Jesus through prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are going, Nate, this sounds so incredible.
SPEAKER_01: I don't even know where to begin.
SPEAKER_01: Listen what he says.
SPEAKER_01: This is how Jesus ends this passage.
SPEAKER_01: He says this, and I will do whatever you ask in my name.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you like, Ferrari, and then he says, remember, in my name.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay, right?
SPEAKER_01: You know, he says, I will do whatever you ask in my name so that, so that the son may bring glory to the father.
SPEAKER_01: And then he says, This you may ask me for anything in my name, and I will what?
SPEAKER_01: I'll do it.
SPEAKER_01: What have you asked God for lately?
SPEAKER_01: So we're like, nothing.
SPEAKER_01: Or if you're honest, you're like, yeah, I've been asking for this.
SPEAKER_01: And I've been asking, but it's not been for his name.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not been so that people would know him.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, what's incredible is this?
SPEAKER_01: Jesus doesn't just ask you and I to believe that he is the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_01: You know what he does?
SPEAKER_01: He says, I want you to pray.
SPEAKER_01: I want you to ask me.
SPEAKER_01: Or somebody like Nate, how do I begin to ask him to be the way, the truth, and the life?
SPEAKER_01: Three phrases I want to give you that are really just breath prayers that can go with you anywhere in any season of life.
SPEAKER_01: Tonight, this afternoon, tomorrow morning, before work, before you get on your phone.
SPEAKER_01: These are three three three things that we can pray and ask Jesus so he can be the way, the truth, and life.
SPEAKER_01: First one is this that we just simply ask this, Jesus, would you lead me?
SPEAKER_01: If you are the way, would you lead me in the way?
SPEAKER_01: And if you are the truth, Jesus, would you teach me?
SPEAKER_01: Would you teach me through your Holy Spirit and through your Holy Spirit, through other believers around me?
SPEAKER_01: Would you teach me?
SPEAKER_01: And the last thing is this, Jesus, would you use me?
SPEAKER_01: You say you want to do greater things.
SPEAKER_01: Would you use me to be a part of your plan?
SPEAKER_01: Would you use me, God, to share?
SPEAKER_01: One of the things is I began to open my life in prayer.
SPEAKER_01: I realize this, I have to open my wallet as well to help assist my daughter begin to disciple others because she always wants to meet them at Starbucks to tell them about Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: That I'm always out$20 every time she does that.
SPEAKER_01: But I tell you, it is the best$20 I could ever spend in my life.
SPEAKER_01: Go do the greater things.
SPEAKER_01: Go begin to be used by Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: I just want to invite you.
SPEAKER_01: What do you need to pray today?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you need to pray all three.
SPEAKER_01: Or maybe there's one in particular where we're going, God, I need you to lead me right now.
SPEAKER_01: But God, I need you to teach me.
SPEAKER_01: I'm like Thomas, I don't know right now what you're doing.
SPEAKER_01: But God, will you use me?
SPEAKER_01: Old phrase that I heard.
SPEAKER_01: God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
SPEAKER_00: He changes us.
SPEAKER_01: He sends us.
SPEAKER_01: I want to invite you right now, if you would, just stand.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna sing here in a moment.
SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to give you a moment just to pray to him.
SPEAKER_01: So if you would just stand with me.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what your situation is.
SPEAKER_01: But I do know this.
SPEAKER_01: Every heart has been created by our Heavenly Father.
SPEAKER_01: And it will not have peace until we acknowledge the presence and the power of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And so right now I just want to give you a moment to pray.
SPEAKER_00: Is it lead me, Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Is it teach me Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Is it use me, Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: Father, there's so many stories in this room.
SPEAKER_01: Stories of people watching online.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for knowing every one of our stories.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you that you didn't come just for a part of us.
SPEAKER_01: You came for all of us.
SPEAKER_01: We lift our hearts and our lives to you, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: For you truly are the way, the truth, and the life.
SPEAKER_01: We pray all this in your name, Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And everybody said together.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Let's sing.