WEBVTT 00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:01.760 Welcome. 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:03.600 We're glad you're here today. 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:10.160 Woo! Now, if if I can, just as before we get started, let me just give you a couple updates. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:20.000 One, you all know that we've had a contract on this property that we had bought out on George Bush, and uh everything's still proceeding as planned. 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:22.800 It did get pushed into next year. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:33.200 Uh we had to do a deal with between the developer and the city about a retaining wall, and it ended up delaying the whole offer by 60 days. 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.600 So we were intended to close at the end of November. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:37.920 Now it looks like it's gonna be the end of January. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:41.439 Once that happens, we're gonna be completely debt-free. 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:43.600 I mean, we're not gonna owe any money on this. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:49.359 No money out on that land over there, and we should clear about a million of dollars. 00:00:49.600 --> 00:00:59.280 But here's the thing: one of the things we've been counting on is once that money clears, is there there are some repairs that need to be done around this place, and not the least of which. 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:01.840 Uh, this building has two different roof systems. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:09.200 There's one on the front end of the building, and then there's one that covers the back end, which is about a quarter of the building. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:11.760 But that back roof is in bad shape. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:18.959 Now we were just hoping that we could kind of stretch out the days, and then when we close, go ahead and pay to get that roof redone. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:22.560 It's about$250,000 to get that done. 00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:30.239 Uh, but the rains of the last week uh have been telling us otherwise, that it may we may not be able to wait until next year. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:34.159 The challenge is we don't have the resources to do that right now. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:45.920 Uh I'm so grateful that Spring Creek, you know, one of the things that has happened, and this is so encouraging to me over the last couple of years, the number of givers giving families we have has increased exponentially. 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:52.400 I mean, there's a lot of people giving money, but what's happened is people are giving less money than what they used to give. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:02:02.879 So more people give less money, and as a result, we're actually even behind the eight ball in terms of the money we need to keep the ministry going at the present level. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:05.519 Uh, this is not to put a guilt trip on anybody. 00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:07.760 I'm asking actually for prayer right now. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:09.199 I'm asking for prayer. 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:10.639 How do we go about this? 00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:20.400 We're going to have a couple roofing companies come out and say, is there any way at all we can patch this to get us through until next year when we can do the replacement job? 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.840 Um and if not, we've got to look at other alternatives. 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:29.360 But I want you to prayerfully be asking, you know, God, provide the resources for this. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.240 Help us to be able to do the things that need to be done. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:38.319 Because at this point, especially with the rear roof, there's some leaking that's actually doing damage to a wall. 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:40.879 And we don't want that happening all throughout the facility. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:42.479 So be in prayer about that. 00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:53.360 Ask God if there's anything that you and your family might be able to do extra in terms of on an ongoing basis that maybe we could accumulate enough money to get it done in a few months, as opposed to having to wait till next year. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:55.280 So join me in prayer for that. 00:02:55.680 --> 00:03:03.680 Uh, today I'm beginning a brand new series, and it's called Desert Community Project, and we want to look at, in particular, the sacred rhythm of Jesus Christ. 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:06.240 As we get started, would you just join me for prayer? 00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:12.879 Father, I believe this is your church, and I believe, God, that any work that's being done in your way will never lack your resources. 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:17.840 So, God, we bring this need before you, the church roof and the leaks that are happening. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:26.960 That God, you're going to provide the for the need, you're going to provide the resources so that we can address this problem so it doesn't create additional problems for us at this facility. 00:03:27.199 --> 00:03:39.360 I want to thank you, God, that you have encouraged so many hearts and families in this place to give on a regular, consistent basis to the church, even in times when it seems like the price of everything is going up. 00:03:39.520 --> 00:03:43.199 They continue to prioritize you, they continue to give to you first. 00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.479 So, God, just continue doing that in every heart and life. 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:50.800 I pray, God, that you'll just give us wisdom for the future and how we can address these problems. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:57.199 Now I ask that as we gather around your word, that you're just going to speak to us in a really powerful way today. 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:00.960 Show us what it is that you're wanting to do in our life and how you intend to do that. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:02.800 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:12.240 So years ago, I'm talking probably 30 years ago now, I came across a mission statement of a church in Cincinnati, Ohio. 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:17.600 You know, every church kind of has their here's our vision, here's our values, this is our mission statement. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.000 And this is a vineyard church in Cincinnati. 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:27.759 And when I read this, something just, it struck such a chord in me that it moved my heart and touched my soul. 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:30.079 I want to read that to you right now. 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:36.480 It says, imagine a ragtag collection of surrendered and transformed people who love God and others. 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:41.279 They're mesmerized by the idea that it's not about them, but all about Jesus. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:44.560 They're transfixed by his story and his heart for their city. 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:51.920 They are seed throwers and fire starters, hope peddlers and grace givers, risk takers and dreamers, young and old. 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.879 They link arms with anyone who tells the story of Jesus. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:05:00.480 They empower the poor, strengthen the weak, embrace the outcast, seek the lost. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:05.360 They serve together, play together, worship together, live life together. 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:08.399 Their city will change because God sent them. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:09.920 They are us. 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:14.319 We believe that small things done with great love will change the world. 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:18.959 And when I got done reading that, I just said, oh Lord, make it so. 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:21.920 I want my life to be about those things. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:26.959 I want Spring Creek to be that kind of church because this inspires me. 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:34.480 It makes me dream about what we could achieve for God as we're transformed by Christ and that desire to make him known to the world. 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:43.839 So, really, all of my life in ministry has been aimed at trying to live out these truths so that we become transformational agents in our community. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:49.279 But that won't happen simply because we pray a prayer and give our life to Jesus. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:52.879 It won't happen because you're baptized or attend church services. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:06:00.959 Those things are good, but in and of themselves, change doesn't happen until we start living life the Jesus way. 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:07.600 So, in the first part of this message, I want to show you how God is working in you as an individual to transform your life. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:13.839 And then in the second part of the message, how God is working in us as a people to transform our community. 00:06:14.079 --> 00:06:19.519 So let me begin by saying life change doesn't happen without intentionality on our part. 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:22.959 So I want to begin with a question: what is spiritual transformation? 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:32.879 Here's how the Bible describes it don't copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:37.519 Now, the word transform in this verse, in the original Greek, is the word metamorphao. 00:06:37.839 --> 00:06:40.240 It's a word from which we get the word metamorphosis. 00:06:40.319 --> 00:06:44.079 You probably remember this from ninth grade biology class in high school, right? 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:52.480 Metamorphosis is the process by which a caterpillar is changed into a butterfly, this total radical kind of transformation. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:57.439 That's the language that God uses to describe what he wants to do in your life and mine. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:00.240 He wants a complete and total makeover. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:05.920 Now, years ago, as a staff, we came up with the following definition of spiritual transformation. 00:07:06.160 --> 00:07:17.199 We said spiritual transformation is God lovingly changing your thoughts, feelings, and actions to resemble Jesus in community for the good of the world. 00:07:17.439 --> 00:07:19.839 That's what God is longing to do in each and every one of us. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:23.120 It's what we as pastors are here to help facilitate. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:26.959 So this message is really an elaboration on that definition. 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.279 It's about how spiritual transformation happens. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:34.240 So first think about this: it's a fundamental shift that affects the total person. 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:42.879 If you were raised in church or you've been around church very long, you've probably heard somebody make the statement that human beings are made in the image of God, right? 00:07:42.959 --> 00:07:43.759 You've heard that statement. 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:45.600 Human beings are made in the image of God. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:47.199 What does that mean? 00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:50.639 What does it mean to be made in God's image? 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:56.639 Personally, I believe that the way we reflect God most is that we are persons like God. 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:59.759 What defines a person is they have a mind, a heart, and a will. 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:02.879 We are thinking, feeling, acting beings. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:06.720 In those ways, that's just like God, because God's a personal being. 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:10.240 He's a thinking, feeling, acting being. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:15.920 Now, as sinful people, as broken people, we no longer think, feel, or act in ways that please God all the time. 00:08:16.079 --> 00:08:23.680 So the image of God has been somewhat marred in us, but it's still those dimensions in our personality that reflect the God image. 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:26.480 This is where spiritual transformation comes in. 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:36.639 Spiritual transformation is God working in you to transform your mind, your heart, and your will, your actions to look like what he originally intended. 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:43.360 So let me say right up front, healthy spirituality believes in addressing all three of those things. 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:48.879 Unhealthy spirituality tends to focus on one to the exclusion of the others. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.399 For example, there are some groups that emphasize only the mind. 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:54.639 This is their motto, feed the mind. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:57.600 Now understand, feeding the mind is an important thing to do, isn't it? 00:08:57.759 --> 00:09:06.399 The Bible encourages us to feed on the Word of God, to learn to discern truth from error, to be good students of the Bible and rightly divide the word of truth. 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:10.639 Even Jesus said, You will know the truth, the truth will set you free. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:14.879 So, right thinking, especially about God, is vitally important to our spiritual growth. 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:17.600 Our mind needs to experience transformation. 00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:23.519 But you also know it's possible to know a lot of right things in your head and still be far from God. 00:09:23.759 --> 00:09:26.559 Listen to the Bible describe this in very specific terms. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:30.799 Don't assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:41.279 I have a special word of caution for you who are so sure you have it all together yourselves, and because you know God's revealed word inside and out, while you're guiding others, who's going to guide you? 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.639 So the Pharisees in Jesus' day are a classic example of this. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:51.120 They thought if they filled their life with the Bible, that that would produce spiritual giants among them. 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:53.440 Well, the Bible's there to point us to Christ. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.639 Mastering the Bible is not the point of the spiritual life. 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:00.080 The point of the spiritual life is to be mastered by Jesus Christ. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:02.639 In fact, Jesus had this to say to the Pharisees. 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:10.080 You have your heads in the Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there, but you miss the forest for the trees. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:11.840 These scriptures are all about me. 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:17.679 And here I am standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:25.200 So if there's anything clear in the Bible, is there's no straight-line correspondence between how much we know about the Bible and how spiritually mature we are. 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:27.759 Knowing about God is really important. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:30.159 That's not the same thing as knowing God. 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:32.639 So you need redemption beneath your eyebrows. 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.279 It's not just about changing your brain, right? 00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:36.320 That's one error. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:37.200 Here's another one. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:42.559 Some people focus exclusively on the mind, others focus exclusively on the heart. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:44.399 This is all about feel the experience. 00:10:44.639 --> 00:10:50.000 I don't think I need to tell anybody here that there are certain groups where everything in their church is about having an experience. 00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:54.559 And once again, let me say, experience is an important part of the spiritual life. 00:10:54.799 --> 00:10:57.039 God wants you to do more than just know about him. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:04.559 He does want you to know him, have a relationship with him, a relationship where you feel his presence or touched by his love and move by worship. 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:08.639 Experience is not just a good thing, it's a necessary thing. 00:11:08.879 --> 00:11:10.559 You need to know God personally. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:12.480 You need to hear his speaking voice. 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:18.320 You need to experience and be settled in his love for you because that produces an unshakable foundation. 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:24.399 But did you know that sometimes there are Christians who become worshipers of experience versus worshipers of God? 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:29.679 There are even those who elevate a subjective experience above the truth of God. 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:32.559 In fact, Paul warned us about this in 2 Timothy 2. 00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:36.240 They take up with every new religious fad that calls itself truth. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.960 They get exploited every time and never really learn. 00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:47.600 So feelings and experiences we have with God are really important, but experiences alone are never going to produce a mature believer. 00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:50.399 Here's a third thing: the will to do the right thing. 00:11:50.559 --> 00:12:00.399 And probably a lot of you, maybe some of you that grew up in Baptist churches or in the Catholic faith, you know that sometimes there's a major emphasis placed on what we do, how we act, how we live. 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:02.080 Well, those things matter too. 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:08.879 The Bible makes clear that when a person is genuine, has a genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, they start living a different way. 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:11.759 True children of God live lives of obedience. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:14.240 They want to do the things that please God. 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:20.320 But you realize you can do some pretty impressive religious things and still not know God. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:22.879 Even Jesus said this in Matthew. 00:12:34.960 --> 00:12:37.039 Apart from me, you evildoers. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.440 There are people who claim to know Christ intimately. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:41.840 That's what it means when you repeat the name of the Lord twice. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:43.039 That's an intimate sign. 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:44.639 I know the Lord intimate. 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:46.639 But they didn't know the Lord, did they? 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:55.200 They they hadn't they had this, they were doing right things, but doing right things wasn't translating over into a transformed life. 00:12:55.360 --> 00:13:02.240 So, all that to say, unhealthy spirituality only focuses on one aspect of who we are as people. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:05.200 And the Bible, so scripture never does that. 00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:08.000 It's all three, the totality of our personhood. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:10.480 Experiences are not more important than truth. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:14.080 What you know about the Bible is not more important than how you live. 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:20.960 And simply doing right things, doing the things Christ taught, without heart and mind transformation just leads to a dead religion. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:22.320 We're whole people. 00:13:22.559 --> 00:13:24.240 We need a whole answer. 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:30.960 Another aspect of the transformation God wants to do in us, conformity to Christ is its central objective. 00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:38.559 So throughout the New Testament, we're told to emulate Jesus, to become more and more like him, to look to him as our pattern or our model. 00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:43.600 The whole goal of spiritual transformation is to make us more and more like Jesus. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:46.480 So imitation is a part of human nature, isn't it? 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:48.799 In a sense, we were born to imitate. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:53.919 Modern psychology tells us that we often imitate others while we're building our own personality. 00:13:54.159 --> 00:13:56.639 We see this really clearly in adolescence. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:10.879 When your kid first goes to school, they see what other kids are doing, especially if they want acceptance and approval from other people, and they say, well, maybe if I talk like that, or maybe if I have that attitude, or maybe if I dress that way, I'll get that acceptance for myself. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:14.240 We're all trying on new identities, trying to figure out who we are. 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:19.440 But that desire to find acceptance and copy others doesn't end at 18, does it? 00:14:19.679 --> 00:14:22.399 To many adults, we still emulate and imitate. 00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:24.799 We become more sophisticated at it. 00:14:24.879 --> 00:14:30.799 We're better at hiding it, but it's often true that business people will copy other successful business people. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:35.519 And pastors will often copy other preaching styles of successful pastors. 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:39.600 And the Dallas Cowboys try to copy the winning strategies of other football teams. 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:42.159 I mean, it happens everywhere all the time. 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:46.240 But the point is, hey don't groan, it's just the truth, and that's all I do up here. 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:47.279 Share the truth. 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:53.600 But the point is, every single person has this hunger for a greater image. 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:56.480 Where does this desire to imitate come from? 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:59.120 Why is it that we can't be happy with ourselves? 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:05.360 Now there's no question, it seems like we're chasing after something that we've lost, and that's really the key to understanding this. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.159 The Bible says we are looking for something we lost. 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:14.080 Because at one time we had a true identity, a true image of being created in the image of God. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:16.399 But sin came along and distorted it. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:26.399 What sin did, it caused us to turn our eyes away from the source of our self-image and made us look to all the wrong people and places for meaning and worth. 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:31.120 Because you were created in the image of God, you were made to look like him. 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:33.279 Listen to Paul explain it. 00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:35.840 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:42.720 He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his son. 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:45.919 The son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.000 We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:55.919 After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.360 After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. 00:15:59.440 --> 00:16:05.360 And then after getting them established, he stayed with them in the end, gloriously completing what he has begun. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:09.200 So Jesus is our example of humanity restored. 00:16:09.360 --> 00:16:16.480 When you look at Jesus in the gospels, you see what your life was intended to look like before sin came along and messed it up. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:18.480 Because Christ is the perfect pattern. 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:25.440 So spiritual transformation is about the whole person, mind, heart, and will, starting to look like Jesus Himself. 00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:26.799 The question is how? 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:27.919 How does that happen? 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:29.279 And that's our next point. 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:31.679 Three essential catalysts for change. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:36.000 Now I want to tell you, everybody in this room has a rhythm to your life. 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:39.679 For example, think about what you do first thing when you get up in the morning. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:44.240 The moment your feet hit the floor by the side of the bed, what do you do? 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:48.080 Some people, the first thing we do is we pick up our phone, we check what happened overnight. 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:51.200 Some people, maybe you go off to exercise, some of you don't. 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:55.279 Some of you may decide to head right to the kitchen and eat your breakfast. 00:16:55.519 --> 00:17:00.240 There are certain things about our rhythm that we do on Friday night that we don't necessarily do on Wednesday. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:03.120 Part of your rhythm may be showing up here on Sunday mornings. 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:05.599 Some come at 9:30, some come at 11. 00:17:05.839 --> 00:17:12.640 What you think, what you watch, how you spend your leisure time, what you do in the car on the drive to work. 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:14.160 Do you turn on the radio? 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:16.720 Do you scroll through your phone at traffic lights? 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:19.279 Do you do you uh just remain quiet? 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:24.559 Whatever it is that you're doing, every aspect of your life has a rhythm, your ways, your habit. 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:29.839 And here's the deal: what you're current what you currently do is producing the person in your seat. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:34.640 Your habits are producing someone, your rhythms are producing someone. 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:39.359 The question is, are they producing the person that Jesus wants you to become? 00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.759 It's all about how we arrange our life. 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:44.960 Some of us, we do this by intention, we do it on purpose. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:48.640 Some of us just by default about what's happening all around us. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:51.759 Now, let's shift gears and let's talk about sacred rhythms. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:59.359 Sacred rhythms are specific ways of arranging your life to cultivate a personal and intimate relationship with Christ. 00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:02.400 Now, like I said, every one of us, you have a rhythm already. 00:18:02.559 --> 00:18:06.559 Whether it's by design or by default, you have a rhythm to your life. 00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:10.799 But have you ever intentionally arranged your life with Christ? 00:18:11.039 --> 00:18:14.400 Here's something you need to understand about God's agenda for you. 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:22.880 More than your happiness, more than having a successful marriage or great singleness, or even establishing a great business. 00:18:23.200 --> 00:18:27.519 Everything about your life, God's agenda is to make you more like his son. 00:18:27.839 --> 00:18:38.400 Every up and down of relationship, every win or loss in business, every success or failure in your personal life, God orchestrates them to draw, to get your attention and draw you to himself. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:44.559 And a bit at a time, a little by little, make you more and more like his son in your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:46.559 The question is, how does that happen? 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:53.440 How in the world does God take, God's Spirit take a normal average person like you and me and make us into little Christ? 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:55.839 How does he make us more like Jesus? 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:58.559 This is the sacred rhythm, and I want to show it to you. 00:18:58.720 --> 00:19:00.400 It occurs many times in the Gospels. 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:04.799 Here's one of the first occurrences in Luke 6, 12 to 19. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:09.599 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and he spent the night praying to God. 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:15.119 When the morning came, he called his disciples to him, and he chose twelve of them, whom he designated apostles. 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:16.880 Simon, whom he named Peter. 00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:29.759 Peter, his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaus, Simon, who was called the zealot, Judah son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. 00:19:29.920 --> 00:19:31.920 He went down with them and stood on a level place. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:42.640 A large crowd of his disciples was there, and a great number of people came from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:50.079 Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, and the people all tried to touch him because power was coming from him and healing them all. 00:19:50.480 --> 00:19:55.920 So this section in Luke 16 gives us Christ's sacred rhythm. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:58.400 First, he spends time alone with his Father. 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:00.799 Second thing he does, he gathers a community. 00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:03.440 The third thing he does is he goes out to do ministry. 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:15.680 So think of it like this: we go from solitude, which is time alone with God, to community, which are vital relationships that sustain us in life, to ministry, which is service for God for the sake of others. 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:26.400 Now remember our definition of spiritual transformation, that spiritual transformation is God lovingly changing our thoughts, feelings, and actions to resemble Jesus in community for the good of the world. 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:34.000 Our definition of spiritual transformation intentionally follows the sacred rhythms that were shown in Scripture about the life of Christ. 00:20:34.240 --> 00:20:38.160 And I have to add, the order really matters. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:41.119 We go from solitude to community, then ministry. 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:44.079 You cannot reverse this and get the same results. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:48.720 You can't go try to do ministry, then engage in community, and then go find your solitude. 00:20:48.880 --> 00:20:49.680 It never works. 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:51.759 But that's what we try to do all the time. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.079 We go out there and we attempt to do something in our own power and our own strength for God. 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:59.119 I'm going to go do my ministry, and we invariably fail. 00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:00.880 And when we fail, then we cry out to help. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:02.960 We call all our friends, hey, why don't you come around me? 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:04.079 Help me with this thing. 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:10.960 And then when all else false and nothing else works, then we cry out to God and we pray, God, come and help me and save me in all this. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:12.160 It's the opposite. 00:21:12.319 --> 00:21:13.359 It doesn't work. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:16.079 It's not the rhythm of Christ. 00:21:16.319 --> 00:21:21.359 So throughout church history, this sacred rhythm has been described in different ways. 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:26.079 At Spring Creek, the way we say it most often is grow, connect, serve. 00:21:26.319 --> 00:21:28.079 That's the same message, okay? 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.920 Others call it our communion, our community, and our co-working. 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:32.799 Same message. 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:37.279 So others call it what I'm calling it in the series, our desert, our group, and our project. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:41.200 And some people call it loving God, loving one another, and loving our neighbors. 00:21:41.359 --> 00:21:43.279 But all of them say the same thing. 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:47.200 It doesn't matter what you call it, what matters is whether you practice it. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:50.079 In the words of the Mandalorian, this is the way. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:51.599 I mean, this really is. 00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:53.599 This is the way of Jesus. 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:59.759 And if you've never heard of the way of Jesus or the sacred rhythm of Christ's life, this is what I'm describing to you right now. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.200 It's how he lived. 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:04.720 And if we're to become like Christ, we need all three. 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:06.480 We need time alone with God. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:08.960 We need a community around us to sustain us. 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:14.160 And we need to be doing ministry service for others that makes a real difference in this world. 00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:15.680 So let's go through them one at a time. 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:17.920 First, our desert is loving God. 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:23.440 Jesus said this: love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind. 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.319 It's interesting. 00:22:24.480 --> 00:22:31.039 Whenever the Bible describes our relationship with God, it always defaults to the language of craving. 00:22:31.200 --> 00:22:33.519 Listen to David in the Psalms. 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.920 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. 00:22:38.079 --> 00:22:41.119 Or how about this in Psalm 63, O God, you are my God. 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:42.559 Earnestly I seek you. 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:48.319 My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 00:22:48.559 --> 00:23:01.119 So to satisfy the craving, this heart that's crying out for satiation, for the refreshing water of God, to satisfy that craving, we need more of God. 00:23:01.440 --> 00:23:03.920 To get more of God, we have to do what Henry Nowen said. 00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:10.559 Henry Nowen said in the spiritual life, the word discipline means the effort to create some space in which God can act. 00:23:10.799 --> 00:23:14.319 Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. 00:23:14.559 --> 00:23:20.079 If you want more of God, if you say right now, I don't feel like my spiritual life is hitting on all cylinders. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.799 I don't feel as close to God as I once did. 00:23:23.039 --> 00:23:27.200 I don't feel this hunger and this desire to have more of God in my life. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:30.640 I can tell you right now, you're not practicing the spiritual disciplines. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:31.279 You're not. 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:36.079 Because the spiritual disciplines create that space for God to enter into your life. 00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:38.240 You see, you have a part in spiritual growth. 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:39.119 You really do. 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:41.599 Your part is pushing back life. 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:50.559 I mean, a part of the reason that you're here on a Sunday morning, you've dedicated this time to push back everything else and say, God, I'm bringing myself present to you. 00:23:50.720 --> 00:23:53.359 You've done that in worship, you're doing that now in this message. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:56.480 This is a spiritual discipline that we're all engaged in in this moment. 00:23:56.640 --> 00:23:58.400 But you need this every day. 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:01.440 You need this time where you're creating space for God. 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:07.599 Now, there are several ways that you can engage in the disciplines, and there's a lot of different disciplines that are very enjoyable. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:09.119 We've done a whole series about them. 00:24:09.200 --> 00:24:10.400 You can find them on YouTube. 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:15.200 Richard Foster breaks them down into three categories: inward, outward, and corporate. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:16.240 So look at them like this. 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:20.400 Inward disciplines are things like meditation, fasting, study, and prayer. 00:24:20.640 --> 00:24:25.440 Outward disciplines are simplicity and solitude and submission and service. 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:27.839 Corporate, which means related to the body. 00:24:27.920 --> 00:24:29.759 So these are things we practice as a group. 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:33.039 Confession, worship, guidance, and celebration. 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:40.319 Now I have to, I feel compelled to mention something I've never mentioned before in a message about spiritual disciplines. 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:43.279 You've got to learn to discipline your phone. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:45.759 You have to. 00:24:46.559 --> 00:24:47.759 True confession here. 00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:53.039 For more than 10 years, and I'm proud of this, for 10 years, I have walked three to four miles a day. 00:24:53.279 --> 00:24:54.880 I mean, practically without fail. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:25:00.880 Unless I'm just deathly ill or you just can't walk because there's ice everywhere, I'm out there getting my mileage in. 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:03.119 But it serves a dual purpose in my life. 00:25:03.279 --> 00:25:06.880 For me to walk three miles, which says something about my shape, it takes me about an hour. 00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:10.480 Probably like 55 minutes every day while I walk three miles. 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:13.680 And so I'm not cracking any land speed records here. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:15.039 I'm just out there and I'm walking. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:19.440 And when I'm walking, I use that as a time to create space for God. 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:22.079 I push back life, I bring myself present to God. 00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:23.200 It's a great time to prayer. 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:35.759 But what I've noticed over the last six months is I get up my phone, and what should be time with me and God becomes Facebook time or catching up on the news time. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.880 And I find myself more engaged with this than with God. 00:25:39.039 --> 00:25:45.119 And I notice that, of course, as I'm preparing this message, and I say, okay, God, something's got to give here. 00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:46.640 I can't, I can't keep doing this. 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:52.000 I like to carry my phone because it keeps track of my mileage, but it cannot become a disruptor in my life. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:55.359 So I've decided I'll still carry my phone to keep track of the mileage. 00:25:55.440 --> 00:25:59.119 And if Brenda or the girls need to reach me with text or phone, they can do that. 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:02.160 But I don't need to be looking at my phone, I'll just keep it in my pocket. 00:26:02.400 --> 00:26:05.279 So listen to these recent findings about Americans and their smartphones. 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:07.440 This is a study released this year. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:10.240 Americans check their phones nearly 200 times a day. 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:13.359 That's about once every five minutes while they're awake. 00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:14.640 Or how about this? 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:19.119 Nearly 46% of Americans consider themselves addicted to their phones. 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:20.559 That's 2026. 00:26:20.880 --> 00:26:22.400 That's almost half of us. 00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:24.240 And these were the honest ones, okay? 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:27.920 I mean, I'm not talking about the people who are addicted and didn't admit it. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.680 We know what they are, right? 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:32.559 So this is not just a problem for me, it's a problem for us. 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:36.480 So I want to talk to you just for a few minutes about developing digital discipline. 00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:39.839 Now, there's no question there's a lot of good that comes from having smartphones. 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:41.920 We can do all of our finances on our phone. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:43.680 I could deposit a check on my smartphone. 00:26:43.759 --> 00:26:44.559 Can you believe that? 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:47.279 Finding your way across town to an unfamiliar place. 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:49.039 You know what we used to do in Dallas? 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:52.319 We bought these books called MAPSCo. 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:57.920 And to get across town, it was five pages of, okay, here's this new neighborhood. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:00.640 And we had to do that while driving, okay? 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:03.039 Dallas traffic was horrible back then. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:12.240 So restaurants, home security, health monitors, shopping, being reachable anywhere, anytime, tons of benefits that come from having a smartphone. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:18.160 But one big downside: our phones are intentionally engineered to be addictive. 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:22.960 Tech companies use things like intermittent rewards to get you hooked and keep you scrolling. 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:27.519 Your phone has been optimized to capture and keep your attention. 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:28.799 And you know what else they do? 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:30.480 They tank us emotionally. 00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:39.119 Studies have found that the more time you spend on social media, the more anxiety you'll have, the more depression you'll have, and feelings of being overwhelmed. 00:27:39.359 --> 00:27:54.799 And if we're not careful, the moments in our life that used to be restorative, like early mornings or right before bed, or going on a walk with Jesus, they cease to be that and they become things that take from us rather than give to us. 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:57.039 So let me just offer you four simple suggestions. 00:27:57.119 --> 00:27:58.880 Number one, remove the triggers. 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:10.720 Social media often triggers our feels, our feelings of insecurity, because apps like Facebook and Instagram present a very heavily curated version of people's life. 00:28:10.880 --> 00:28:14.960 And so you're comparing your behind the scenes with everybody else's highlight reel. 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:16.559 And you come away feeling bad. 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:22.640 Just remember social media is a curated reality, not the whole reality. 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:29.279 They're not showing you everything that happens late at night when they're not feeling all that happy and things aren't marvelous. 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:31.759 Second, audit who you follow. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:34.640 Some people you probably ought to unfollow. 00:28:35.279 --> 00:28:37.920 There are some people, this is a great option on Facebook. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:38.960 It's called snooze. 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:41.359 You say, I'm just kind of tired of seeing this. 00:28:41.440 --> 00:28:43.039 And you snooze them for 30 days. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:51.279 It doesn't mean you unfriend them, but you don't have to be reminded of their constant heartache or their constant, you know, passive aggressive. 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:55.279 I'm saying this to everybody, but I have one person in particular in mind, right? 00:28:56.799 --> 00:28:59.279 Third, nuke the notifications. 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:03.119 There are some things you need to know about, most things you don't. 00:29:03.359 --> 00:29:08.960 Just turn them off on all your apps, apart from phone calls, texts, maybe your home security system. 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:15.440 There are a few things maybe you need to know about, but you don't need to know every time somebody sends you a message on Facebook, believe me. 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:18.480 Fourth, create physical separation. 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:24.160 I mean, there's a do not disturb and focus mode on many of our phones that says during this time, you just can't disturb me, right? 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:25.680 That's a good option to do. 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:30.960 But remember this when it comes to going to bed at night, don't charge your phone right beside your head. 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:35.119 And please, for the love of Jesus, if you wake up, don't start scrolling, okay? 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:36.640 Just don't do that to your partner. 00:29:36.799 --> 00:29:38.079 What's that bright light over here? 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:39.119 Is Jesus coming back? 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:39.519 No. 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:42.160 They're scrolling their phone. 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:44.319 It's interrupting your sleep. 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:46.240 It's not adding anything good. 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:50.000 Digital discipline is essential if you're going to have a quality relationship with God. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:52.799 Second catalyst, our community, to love one another. 00:29:52.960 --> 00:29:57.759 The Bible says it like this: a new command I give you, these are the words of Jesus, love one another. 00:29:57.920 --> 00:29:59.920 As I've loved you, you must love one another. 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:04.079 By this, everyone will know that you're my disciples if you love one another. 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:07.039 We can't live lives completely isolated. 00:30:07.200 --> 00:30:11.039 We need touch, we need attention, we need conversation, warmth, and affection. 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:12.880 We're bent toward relationships. 00:30:13.039 --> 00:30:20.640 Even though we may struggle with them at times, there's something that happens when believers gather together that does not happen when we're alone. 00:30:20.880 --> 00:30:21.920 And Jesus told us that. 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:26.160 He said, where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. 00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:28.960 Now, is that saying that Jesus is not with us when we're alone? 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:30.480 No, that's not what it's saying. 00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:48.240 But what it is saying is when believers gather together, like in a place like this, or in a small group, or a group of believers you work with on the job, when we gather together in community, Christ gives us a special manifestation of his presence that we don't experience all alone. 00:30:48.480 --> 00:30:53.359 There's something about the presence of Christ that gets magnified or multiplied when we come together. 00:30:53.599 --> 00:31:04.079 In fact, it was Dallas Willard, reflecting on the same verse, who said this personalities united can contain more of God and sustain the force of his greater presence better than scattered individuals. 00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:10.160 The fire of God kindles higher as the brands are heaped together and each is warmed by each other's flame. 00:31:10.400 --> 00:31:21.839 If you've ever been in scouting or you go camping and you have a bonfire and pretty soon the fire burns down and you just have a lump of a bunch of coals, take one coal and kick it away from the fire and see what happens to it. 00:31:22.000 --> 00:31:23.680 It goes out real quick, doesn't it? 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:26.640 But if they're heaped together, that burning goes on. 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:29.200 In fact, if you lay wood on it, it'll reignite. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:34.640 We need to be together because that's what where God manifests in such a powerful way. 00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:38.480 So the Bible knows nothing of a Lone Ranger Christian. 00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:40.559 We're in the family of Christ. 00:31:41.440 --> 00:31:45.039 My relationship with Christ may be personal, but it's not private. 00:31:45.279 --> 00:31:48.799 So the question is not, am I going to be a part of the community? 00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:51.440 But how am I going to be a part of the community? 00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:53.519 Maybe a comparison will help. 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:56.319 The church is not a coffee bar. 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:06.079 Now, I realize that we have a coffee bar right out here in the lobby as I'm saying this, and I'm not saying this to detract from that business venture or anything like that. 00:32:06.319 --> 00:32:09.839 I just want to point out something that's different about church and coffee bars. 00:32:10.079 --> 00:32:13.680 Paul Lewis Metzger, he's a professor of theology and culture. 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:18.640 He says that in the average church, the coffee bar has replaced the communion table. 00:32:18.880 --> 00:32:20.480 And there's consequences that come with that. 00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:21.440 Listen to what he says. 00:32:21.599 --> 00:32:28.079 Both the coffee bar and the Lord's table affirm community, but the kind of community they affirm differs significantly. 00:32:28.319 --> 00:32:29.680 I mean, think about the difference. 00:32:29.920 --> 00:32:32.400 At the Lord's table, we're guests. 00:32:32.640 --> 00:32:35.440 We each come, we're invited, we're welcomed by the Lord. 00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:38.160 We don't choose who we share the meal with, do we? 00:32:38.319 --> 00:32:39.839 We don't place an order. 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:42.000 We don't customize our beverage. 00:32:42.240 --> 00:32:46.559 Instead, we all drink, eat the same bread, we drink from the same cup at the Lord's table. 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:49.440 We're all humble recipients of the grace of God. 00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:52.000 In the coffee bar, we're in control. 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:56.319 We review our options, we order what we want, when we want, how we want it. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:59.359 We decide who to share our table with and who to avoid. 00:32:59.599 --> 00:33:02.799 The coffee bar is not designed to make us into Christians. 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:05.039 The coffee bar makes us consumers. 00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:08.480 This is not who we are as a church or who we're supposed to be. 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:10.480 In the coffee bar, I'm in charge. 00:33:10.640 --> 00:33:17.039 And in particular, I'm choosing the company that I want to be with, the people most like me, the people I already know and like. 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:23.759 I want my community to be clean, cool, and efficient, not messy, stretching, or challenging. 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.440 But how does that fit with the New Testament concept of the church? 00:33:27.759 --> 00:33:28.559 It doesn't. 00:33:28.799 --> 00:33:29.519 Not at all. 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:31.839 That's not the sort of church he wants us to be. 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:37.759 Instead, he calls Jews and Gentiles to share one faith, one church, one table. 00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:49.039 Because the gospel is all about breaking down barriers and forming a countercultural community, a new humanity where genuine unity is displayed in the midst of radical diversity. 00:33:49.279 --> 00:33:53.519 This is one of the great testimonies that the gospel has entered our life. 00:33:53.839 --> 00:33:59.920 Gospel communities experience radical diversity in the midst of tremendous unity. 00:34:00.160 --> 00:34:06.000 There's spiritually mature fathers and mothers alongside younger men and women and children. 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:13.519 There's diversity in stages of life, elderly with adult children, alongside young professionals with no children and single moms. 00:34:13.760 --> 00:34:29.039 The church should enjoy ethnic diversity, black, Hispanic, white, and Asian, along with socioeconomic diversity, the wealthy, the poor, the blue-collar, and believe it or not, it should also have diversity in political views, the Republicans, the Democrats, and the Independents. 00:34:29.280 --> 00:34:30.880 Why is this so important? 00:34:31.280 --> 00:34:39.360 By being the people who God called us to be, we're reminded that Jesus came to people who were unlike himself. 00:34:39.840 --> 00:34:47.199 When it comes to preference, we all prefer low-maintenance, spiritually clean, a mature group of believers to fellowship with. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:49.119 But that's contrary to the gospel. 00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:52.639 And it most definitely does not put the gospel on display. 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:55.840 Instead, we're just mirroring the world's categories. 00:34:56.159 --> 00:35:02.719 This clean, homogeneous, knowledgeable people, the religious folks, those are the people Jesus avoided. 00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:13.119 Instead, Jesus gets involved with the messy ones, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the lepers, the demon-possessed, and he forms a community that's been radically transformed by the gospel. 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:16.079 I mean, look no further than Jesus' choice of the twelve. 00:35:16.239 --> 00:35:18.159 They're the original dirty dozen. 00:35:18.320 --> 00:35:25.760 I mean, these Jewish men were chosen from all different sectors of Jewish society, many of them at odds with one another. 00:35:26.000 --> 00:35:26.880 So think about this. 00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:38.480 When an elderly white woman is praying over a black young professional who's babysitting for a Hispanic family with six kids, what does that say to the non-believer when they first encounter that? 00:35:38.719 --> 00:35:53.360 When the poor have equal standing with the rich, when a struggling new believer is not judged but encouraged, when a homeschooling family has lunch with a public schooling family, when things like that happen in our community, what's being put on display? 00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:54.639 The gospel. 00:35:55.039 --> 00:35:58.800 Because something radically has different has happened with these people. 00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:06.480 They formed a new identity without the labels and the stigma and the categories of the society in which we live. 00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:12.079 In the community of Christ, Jesus forms a new humanity where the dividing walls are all broken down. 00:36:12.239 --> 00:36:15.679 Now I'll tell you, this is harder than homogeneous groups. 00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:23.199 But it's messier and it's more challenging, but it's more glorious and more gospel honoring. 00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:29.599 It doesn't begin with what you want to prefer, it begins with what Jesus is doing in a lot of different lives. 00:36:29.760 --> 00:36:30.880 I don't know about you. 00:36:31.199 --> 00:36:39.280 I'm very glad that God has made this a very diverse place, but the best diversity that happens is when we're together in close community. 00:36:39.599 --> 00:36:50.559 And when we're together in close community, it's hard to maintain certain ideas that we get from society that often judge people who are not like us because we come to love people who are not like us. 00:36:50.719 --> 00:36:56.800 And we come to realize that those categories don't fit everything, that this is not taking into account Christ's reality. 00:36:57.039 --> 00:36:57.920 So that's that. 00:36:58.000 --> 00:37:01.679 And then the third aspect of sacred rhythm is our project, to love your neighbor. 00:37:01.840 --> 00:37:03.920 Jesus told us to love your neighbor as yourself. 00:37:04.079 --> 00:37:09.599 You are made to serve, to do good, to give away the things that God has given to you. 00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:15.119 And that's the way we find our joy, a joy that can be taken away from us because we're giving what we've received. 00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:20.480 Ministry is not just about working for Jesus, it means becoming a partner with Jesus. 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:22.960 It's that he becomes our coworker. 00:37:23.119 --> 00:37:24.639 So what does this ministry look like? 00:37:24.800 --> 00:37:28.480 Well, it looks like the vision statement of the Vineyard Church in Cincinnati. 00:37:28.639 --> 00:37:31.599 Let me read it for you again in light of everything I've said. 00:37:31.840 --> 00:37:36.800 Imagine a ragtag collection of surrendered and transformed people who love God and others. 00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:40.639 They're mesmerized by the idea that it's not about them, but all about Jesus. 00:37:40.800 --> 00:37:43.599 They're transfixed by his story and his heart for the city. 00:37:43.760 --> 00:37:50.159 They are seed throwers and fire starters, hope peddlers and grace givers, risk takers and dreamers, young and old. 00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:53.039 They link arms with anyone who tells the story of Jesus. 00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:57.360 They empower the poor, strengthen the weak, embrace the outcast, seek the lost. 00:37:57.519 --> 00:38:02.000 They serve together, play together, worship together, live life together. 00:38:02.239 --> 00:38:04.960 Their city will change because God sent them. 00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:06.480 They are us. 00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:10.239 We believe that small things done with great love will change the world. 00:38:10.400 --> 00:38:13.119 Friends, love is not love until it's given away. 00:38:13.280 --> 00:38:18.239 And Christ is not going to be everything you long for him to be until you give him away. 00:38:18.480 --> 00:38:27.360 Now I'm not going to talk a lot about service because in the rest of this series we're going to be spending a lot of time on the topic of service, but I want to ask one more question, and that is this: how do I know if it's working? 00:38:27.599 --> 00:38:35.360 Well, Paul tells us this if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I have not love, I'm only a resounding gong and a clanging cymbal. 00:38:35.519 --> 00:38:42.880 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains but have not love, I'm nothing. 00:38:43.119 --> 00:38:49.119 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 00:38:49.360 --> 00:38:53.440 Now these are some pretty impressive religious activities in these verses. 00:38:53.599 --> 00:39:02.639 Speaking in tongues, prophetic powers, understanding all mysteries, having all knowledge, mountain-moving faith, giving away your possessions, sacrificing your life for others. 00:39:02.880 --> 00:39:07.360 Yet all of them are devoid of any real power if they're not done in love. 00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:12.800 They're nothing but a bunch of religious noise, a clanging gong, a clanging cymbal. 00:39:13.039 --> 00:39:14.559 Love is the great authenticator. 00:39:14.639 --> 00:39:16.239 It proves that we've been with God. 00:39:16.480 --> 00:39:24.159 So what if God's church, his people, really believed that leading with love was the only way to bring other people into his kingdom? 00:39:24.400 --> 00:39:32.079 What if God's Spirit was so in control of our lives that that same love that characterized Jesus characterized us? 00:39:32.719 --> 00:39:38.719 What if the fruit of the Spirit began to manifest in our life, that our character began to resemble that of Christ? 00:39:38.960 --> 00:39:41.679 Now let me share with you a story that perfectly illustrates this. 00:39:41.760 --> 00:39:46.320 I shared this story for the last time about six years ago, but I want to share it with you again today. 00:39:46.800 --> 00:39:48.320 It's about Tony Campalo. 00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:54.239 Tony Campallo is from Philly, and he was in Honolulu doing some ministry. 00:39:54.480 --> 00:39:56.320 And there's of course a big time difference. 00:39:56.400 --> 00:40:04.000 If you've ever traveled across the country or gone over to Europe, you know that sometimes your internal clock gets way off, and you're awake when everybody else is asleep. 00:40:04.159 --> 00:40:05.119 Well, that's what he found himself. 00:40:05.360 --> 00:40:07.119 He found himself wide awake at 3 a.m. 00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:09.599 And so he went to a local diner that was open. 00:40:09.679 --> 00:40:26.639 And while he's sitting there and he's having his coffee at the counter, uh, all of a sudden these eight or nine really loud, boisterous prostitutes came walking in and sat at that uh uh coffee at that uh bar, that table right at the front, uh, the counter, that's the word I'm looking for. 00:40:26.800 --> 00:40:28.639 Uh they sat down right beside him. 00:40:28.800 --> 00:40:33.920 And he couldn't help but overhear the conversation because one of the women said, Tomorrow's my birthday, I'll be 39. 00:40:34.159 --> 00:40:36.480 And her friend looked at her and said, So what do you want from me? 00:40:36.559 --> 00:40:38.880 I suppose you want me to throw you a party and make you a cake. 00:40:39.119 --> 00:40:41.360 And the woman said, Why are you so mean? 00:40:41.519 --> 00:40:43.119 I don't want a birthday party. 00:40:43.199 --> 00:40:44.880 I've never had a cake in my life. 00:40:44.960 --> 00:40:46.960 Why don't I want anything from you? 00:40:47.119 --> 00:40:48.159 Just be quiet. 00:40:48.320 --> 00:40:51.760 And the woman said, You know, you you're just so mean. 00:40:51.840 --> 00:40:54.400 And shortly after that, they get up and they walk out. 00:40:54.719 --> 00:40:57.840 Well, Tony and the diner are the only people remaining in that. 00:40:58.559 --> 00:41:00.400 The diner owner, they're the only people remaining. 00:41:00.480 --> 00:41:04.239 And Tony looked at the owner and said, Do these women come in here every night? 00:41:04.480 --> 00:41:05.679 He said, Yes, they do. 00:41:05.840 --> 00:41:09.119 And he said, The one seated next to me, he said, You mean Agnes? 00:41:09.199 --> 00:41:10.880 He said, Yeah, does she come in every night? 00:41:11.039 --> 00:41:14.320 Yeah, yeah, like clockwork, every night she's here, same time. 00:41:14.480 --> 00:41:18.320 And Tony asked, What if we throw a birthday party for Agnes tomorrow night? 00:41:18.559 --> 00:41:27.280 And the owner breaks out in this big cheesy grin, called his wife in the back, who's in the kitchen, and said, Hey, this crazy guy out here wants to throw a birthday party for Agnes. 00:41:27.519 --> 00:41:30.480 And so they all agreed and made plans for the party. 00:41:30.800 --> 00:41:33.519 Next night, Tony is back at the diner at 3 a.m. 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:38.159 The place was clean, amazingly clean, decorated with crepe paper. 00:41:38.239 --> 00:41:41.920 There's even a big sign, a banner that said, Happy birthday, Agnes. 00:41:42.400 --> 00:41:45.440 Pretty soon all sorts of street people began to trickle in. 00:41:45.519 --> 00:41:47.679 As you see, word had gotten out on the street. 00:41:48.000 --> 00:41:51.599 Prostitutes from all over Honolulu were filling up the place. 00:41:51.840 --> 00:41:58.239 Then at their usual time, Agnes and her friends came walking through the door, and everyone shouted, Happy birthday, Agnes. 00:41:58.639 --> 00:42:00.480 Well, Agnes' knees, they buckled. 00:42:00.559 --> 00:42:02.239 She was stunned, she was speechless. 00:42:02.400 --> 00:42:09.679 They led her over to the counter, she sat down, everyone starts singing happy birthday as the owner's bringing out the birthday cake. 00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:13.360 Her mouth fell open, her eyes filled with tears. 00:42:13.599 --> 00:42:16.559 The owner said, Blow out the candles so we can all have some. 00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:20.239 And Agnes just sat there, staring at that cake. 00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:24.000 Finally, she blew out the candles and the owner handed her a knife. 00:42:24.159 --> 00:42:27.840 And she looked at the cake and she said, Do I have to? 00:42:28.960 --> 00:42:30.559 Let me have just a minute. 00:42:30.880 --> 00:42:35.440 And Agnes looked at that cake like it was the most precious thing she'd ever been given. 00:42:35.679 --> 00:42:39.039 And finally she asked, Do I have to cut it? 00:42:39.280 --> 00:42:42.719 And the owner said, Well, no, I suppose you don't have to. 00:42:42.960 --> 00:42:44.800 And then she said something even more strange. 00:42:44.960 --> 00:42:47.760 She said, I'd like to keep it for a while. 00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:49.599 I don't live far from here. 00:42:49.920 --> 00:42:50.960 Can I take it home? 00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:52.400 I'll be right back. 00:42:52.719 --> 00:42:56.079 And the owner said, Sure, you can take it. 00:42:56.719 --> 00:43:03.119 And Agnes picks up that cake and cradles it like she's carrying the holy grail itself. 00:43:03.360 --> 00:43:06.880 And turns around and walks out of the diner with her cake. 00:43:07.119 --> 00:43:11.119 And everybody's kind of shocked, a stunned silence kind of fell over everybody. 00:43:11.199 --> 00:43:14.320 And that's when Tony said, What do you say, let's pray? 00:43:14.559 --> 00:43:17.519 Now, this is about as bizarre a scene as you could imagine. 00:43:17.679 --> 00:43:29.280 I mean, here's this highly respected, well-known Christian sociologist, surrounded by every prostitute in Honolulu in a greasy diner in the middle of the night, and he says, Let's pray. 00:43:29.440 --> 00:43:30.800 So Tony does that. 00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:32.239 He prays a simple prayer. 00:43:32.480 --> 00:43:44.960 He prays that Agnes would somehow find the love of Christ, that she would find the healing that she craved, and that God would be good to her, especially on her birthday. 00:43:45.199 --> 00:43:46.639 And then he said, Amen. 00:43:47.360 --> 00:43:51.760 And that's when the owner looked at Tony and said, Hey, you didn't tell me you were a preacher. 00:43:52.079 --> 00:43:55.280 And Tony said, I'm not a preacher, I'm a sociologist. 00:43:55.519 --> 00:43:58.239 And the owner asked, What kind of church do you belong to anyway? 00:43:58.719 --> 00:43:59.760 If you know anything about Tony. 00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:07.119 He broke out in this wide grin and he said, I guess I come from a church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3 o'clock in the morning. 00:44:09.679 --> 00:44:12.960 And the owner said, No, no, you don't. 00:44:13.280 --> 00:44:15.119 There is no such church. 00:44:15.440 --> 00:44:17.519 Because if there was, I'd join it. 00:44:19.119 --> 00:44:23.760 Friends, people are starved for a fresh expression of God's love. 00:44:24.320 --> 00:44:26.719 The kind of love that takes your breath away. 00:44:27.360 --> 00:44:29.679 Let's be that kind of church. 00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:44.159 You see, Jesus is calling us to be the kind of people who demonstrate his unconditional love to people who are so deeply wounded, so deeply battered that many of them wouldn't even think of coming to a church. 00:44:44.400 --> 00:44:45.679 We're the body of Christ. 00:44:45.760 --> 00:44:48.239 That means we're the hands and feet of Jesus. 00:44:48.480 --> 00:44:52.400 Because he's living in you, that means he's walking the earth today. 00:44:52.719 --> 00:44:56.000 His character is what's intended to shine through you and me. 00:44:56.239 --> 00:44:58.559 You see, we're not called to be spectators in the world. 00:44:58.639 --> 00:45:00.480 We're called to be miracle workers. 00:45:00.719 --> 00:45:04.559 We're called to be walking, breathing definitions of love and forgiveness. 00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:08.239 Desert community project. 00:45:08.559 --> 00:45:09.840 This is the way. 00:45:10.239 --> 00:45:11.920 This is what Tony did. 00:45:12.239 --> 00:45:13.760 He's walking with God. 00:45:14.000 --> 00:45:14.880 He shows up. 00:45:15.039 --> 00:45:18.719 He invites a community to gather with him and celebrate this woman. 00:45:18.800 --> 00:45:24.159 And then Agnes' life has fundamentally changed because of a demonstration of love. 00:45:24.400 --> 00:45:27.519 I had a professor in college, in seminary, graduate school. 00:45:27.599 --> 00:45:28.239 His name was Dr. 00:45:28.320 --> 00:45:29.599 Howard Hendricks. 00:45:30.239 --> 00:45:36.320 He's gone on to be with the Lord, but he would tell us in class that he would often pray the same prayer every morning. 00:45:36.719 --> 00:45:37.920 This is what he'd pray. 00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:39.199 Lord, here I am. 00:45:39.440 --> 00:45:41.760 I want to be your suit of clothes today. 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:43.519 I want you to take me and use me. 00:45:43.679 --> 00:45:46.159 Lord, just walk around in me today. 00:45:47.039 --> 00:45:49.679 I wonder if you'd dare to make that your prayer. 00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.400 Not just today, but every day in the coming weeks and months. 00:45:54.719 --> 00:45:58.400 Lord, wear me like a suit of clothes. 00:46:01.360 --> 00:46:03.039 Walk around in me. 00:46:05.199 --> 00:46:09.360 Show your love to people who are desperate to experience it. 00:46:11.679 --> 00:46:15.599 Let my life intersect with people who need it like that. 00:46:16.400 --> 00:46:18.320 God, help me to reflect your love to them. 00:46:18.719 --> 00:46:19.840 Let's pray. 00:46:20.159 --> 00:46:23.519 Father, thank you so much for who you are. 00:46:24.480 --> 00:46:28.159 Thank you, how the story of Jesus has changed my life. 00:46:28.960 --> 00:46:32.400 I know, God, that you're working in me and will continue to work in me. 00:46:32.480 --> 00:46:34.320 There's still so much to do. 00:46:34.880 --> 00:46:42.320 But Lord, what I have learned is that when I push back life and create space for you, that you fill that space. 00:46:42.559 --> 00:46:51.920 That God, as I gather with my brothers and sisters, there's power and encouragement and inspiration and accountability by being involved with the body of Christ. 00:46:52.239 --> 00:46:55.599 And Lord, then we go out and we do what only you can do. 00:46:55.840 --> 00:46:59.920 We meet people where they are with exactly what they need. 00:47:00.320 --> 00:47:11.599 Because, God, you supply the words, you supply with the resources, you supply what's necessary for us to be your hands and feet, your mouth and your heart to a world that's desperate to experience it. 00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:16.400 God, whatever it takes to make us into that kind of church, do it. 00:47:16.719 --> 00:47:23.519 Whatever it takes, God, to make us into the kind of people who would pray every day, Lord, wear me like a suit of clothes. 00:47:23.679 --> 00:47:28.719 Help me to show up where the need is greatest, and help me just to love people in your name. 00:47:28.960 --> 00:47:30.480 I pray it all in your name. 00:47:30.719 --> 00:47:31.360 Amen. 00:47:31.760 --> 00:47:32.960 God bless y'all.