WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:01.840 Amen and man. 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:05.280 Awesome to uh start our morning off that way in worship. 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:07.919 And if you're anything like me, my heart needed that. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:09.839 So glad to be here connected with y'all. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:15.279 As they mentioned, my name is Nate, and uh just really glad to be hanging out with y'all. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:16.399 Some of you might have been here. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:22.879 I had a chance to uh come last fall and preach, and you guys were over at the movie theater just around the corner there. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:25.920 And look at you now, like quite the glow up here. 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:27.519 I think that's what kids call it. 00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:33.840 And uh it's awesome to see how far God has brought y'all, uh, moved you into this space in this facility. 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:39.119 And I was talking with Forrest a few weeks ago and said you guys are already expanding or looking to expand for more children's space. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:47.359 So just proud of you for taking God's command to be fruitful and multiply literally with a whole bunch of more kids running around this place, which is pretty cool. 00:00:47.439 --> 00:01:03.039 Um, but I think they mentioned I work at a church in Lexington area, South and Christian, and we have just had a front row seat to what God's been doing in y'all's midst, and it is incredibly uh encouraging to me specifically, and a blessing to our church to see you guys up and going. 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:04.079 So keep going. 00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:09.359 Um, I'm also blessed because I have an amazing wife, Stephanie, who's here with me this morning in this service. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:12.560 And we've got two sons, uh, Jordan and Lincoln. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:14.239 And Jordan is a tenth grader. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:21.519 Uh, Lincoln is a seventh grader, so I'm basically a part-time Uber driver at this point because we've entered that stage of life. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:26.159 But man, being their joy, uh uh being their dad is really a joy. 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:36.640 And so the reason I'm here today is to talk about one of the values that you guys have as a church here at Multiply, and you have 10 of them. 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:43.920 So when I found out you had 10 of them, it made me start thinking about like that old, I don't know if many of you guys are old enough to remember the David Letterman show. 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:47.120 He had top 10 lists, and they were hilarious. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:47.439 All right. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:49.680 So I was jogging memory lane, and there's a couple of them. 00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:53.519 One was the top 10 signs that the government is running out of money. 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:58.480 Um, another one was the top 10 signs you are a lame superhero. 00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:04.719 And then there was uh the top 10 things you don't want to hear from a guy dressed as Santa Claus. 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.840 Now, his top 10 lists were really funny. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:15.599 I couldn't read them because they're kind of crass, but y'all's like top 10 lists, it doesn't make me laugh, it gets me inspired. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:24.800 Now, I'm not so inspired, I'm gonna try to preach all 10 of them here in one sitting because, well, we have to get to lunch at some point, let the kids out of their class, and I want you to like me when we're done. 00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:29.120 So I'm just gonna tackle one this morning, and it's this one. 00:02:29.280 --> 00:02:30.800 The value is stated this way. 00:02:30.960 --> 00:02:34.479 At Multiply Church, we see a need and fill a need. 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:35.680 Really simple. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:37.840 We see a need and fill a need. 00:02:37.919 --> 00:02:39.439 And it goes on to elaborate this way. 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:44.560 At Multiply Church, we look for opportunities to sacrificially serve one another. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:49.360 We are the hands and feet of Jesus inside and outside the walls of the church. 00:02:49.599 --> 00:02:52.159 We won't wait for someone else to step up. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:59.360 We take action to meet the needs of those around us, and this is kind of rooted and grounded in Mark chapter 2. 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:05.280 A few weeks ago, I had a chance to play in a golf scramble for a local charity in the area. 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:10.639 And for those of you that aren't familiar with the way golf scrambles work, it's kind of fun because you get to basically be in a team. 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:19.759 So there's four of you, and you all hit your shot, and then you take the best shot, and everybody gets to put their ball there and hit from that shot. 00:03:19.840 --> 00:03:27.360 So it's really a lot of fun, and you kind of repeat that process until the ball goes in the hole, then you record your score, and on to the next hole you go. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:29.280 So it's a lot of fun. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:45.520 And the reason I like it is because when I play golf by myself, you know, the the little white ball, it's just sitting there on the ground, it is not moving, and I have in my mind where it is supposed to go, and then I hit it and it goes in the woods or in the tall grass, and then you got to go hit a recovery shot. 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:48.319 And if that goes poorly, it's gonna be a long day. 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:53.360 And I paid a bunch of money to be out here, and we got four more hours of this, and I'm in a bad mood, right? 00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:04.000 But the beauty of the golf scramble is if I hit a bad shot, chances are one of the other three guys is not, and we get to go on as though my ball that just got hit in the water doesn't count. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:06.080 So golf scrambles are a lot of fun. 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:18.879 Now, I was gonna play with in this golf scramble with another pastor who works on South and with me, um, another church planter here in the community, not forrest, another church planter, and a former college golfer. 00:04:19.040 --> 00:04:21.759 Now, one of those is not like the others, right? 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:29.120 The former college golfer clearly we were going to rely on his shots most all day long, but a funny thing happened. 00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:33.360 The guy who works on staff with me at church got sick and could not come. 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:37.040 So at the last minute, there was a need to be filled. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:45.040 And the former college golfer called another former college golfer, and all of a sudden we transformed into the Dream Team Golf Edition. 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:46.720 I'm not joking. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:52.800 Like, literally, I got to spend all afternoon watching two guys that know how to play golf play it really, really well. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:55.920 We got through the whole process and we handed in our scorecard. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:02.000 We were so good that day, we got accused of cheating, having run away with the golf scramble victory. 00:05:02.079 --> 00:05:05.120 And all I did to contribute was basically show them what not to do. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:07.439 You know how that works, like especially on the putting green. 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:10.639 Like, well, don't roll it there because clearly it should go there. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.279 But we had a great time and a lot of fun. 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:20.480 And so it can be a very beautiful thing when someone sees a need and fills a need, can't it? 00:05:20.639 --> 00:05:24.800 Especially when that someone is like highly skilled and trained in that need. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:28.800 We're gonna look at Mark chapter two, and if you have your Bibles, you can go ahead and open them up there. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:42.959 And we're gonna learn from this little story a lot of things, but one of those things is that meeting a need and filling a need is not just for the especially trained or skilled the professionals, it's for all of us. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:47.360 Now, you're probably familiar with this story, even if you haven't been in church a lot. 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:51.920 If you went with a little kid, there's a good chance you heard this because it's a great story, all right? 00:05:52.000 --> 00:06:05.199 There's basically two miracles, and they're kind of wrapped around this heroic, jaw-dropping story of four guys that make like special um forces-level tactical decisions to get this thing accomplished. 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:07.680 So it was like a Sunday school teacher's dream, right? 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:15.439 Because what better lesson to teach rowdy fourth grade boys than these four dudes who go up, bust a hole in the roof, and get their friend to Jesus. 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:26.720 There are several things that we'll observe and learn, but one thing is this that the friends saw a need and they met a need, and the next thing that happened was literally a miracle. 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:28.639 Mark chapter 2, verses 1 to 12. 00:06:28.720 --> 00:06:30.639 I'm gonna read this from the message translation. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:36.720 It says this after a few days, Jesus returned to Capernaum, and word got around that he was back home. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:41.360 So a crowd gathered, they jammed the entrance so no one could get in or out. 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:42.800 He was teaching the word. 00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.079 They brought a paraplegic to him, carried by four men. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:54.319 When they weren't able to get in because of the crowd, they went up and removed part of the roof and they lowered the paraplegic on his stretcher. 00:06:54.800 --> 00:07:01.839 Impressed by their bold belief, Jesus said to the paraplegic, Son, I forgive your sins. 00:07:02.079 --> 00:07:06.720 Well, some religion scholars were sitting there and they started whispering among themselves, He can't talk that way. 00:07:06.879 --> 00:07:07.680 That's blasphemy. 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:09.839 God and only God can forgive sins. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:16.160 Well, Jesus, he knew right away what they were thinking, and he said, Why are you so skeptical? 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:25.600 Which is simpler to say to the paraplegic paraplegic, I forgive your sins, or say, Get up, take your stretcher, and start walking. 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:31.839 Well, just so we are clear that I'm the son of man and authorized to do either or both. 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:37.839 He looked now at the paraplegic, get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home. 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:39.680 And the man did it. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:42.959 He got up, grabbed his stretcher, and walked out. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:52.560 With everyone there watching him, they rubbed their eyes, stunned, and then praised God, saying, We've never seen anything like this. 00:07:52.959 --> 00:08:00.720 So to recap, we've got a group of four men that brought a paraplegic man to Jesus and they couldn't get in the building, right? 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:01.920 So they improvise. 00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:06.560 Now, obviously, I don't know these guys, but I'd like to meet them in heaven, heaven someday. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:10.480 I mean, they are tenacious and they are creative and a little bit redneck, right? 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:13.920 They just kind of rednecked their way through that process, figured out how to do it. 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:21.600 Instead of waiting for like the talk to be over and the crowd to disperse and then getting their friend to Jesus that they were urgent and they went and got after it. 00:08:21.680 --> 00:08:23.839 These are the kind of guys that you want on your team, right? 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:26.480 The kind of guys you want to hire and have on your project. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:31.759 They worked and acted outside the box, resulting in something extraordinary. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:33.759 Now hold that thought for a second. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:41.200 So, as we've established, I work at a church and I'm in some meetings where we have to solve problems from time to time, as you can imagine. 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:45.519 And so, you know, I can just see how this meeting went, like after the event, right? 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:55.279 Like somebody had to circle up and go, all right, now over at Simon's house, Jesus was teaching, and some guys showed up and they wanted to get the friend of Jesus instead of just waiting until the talk was over. 00:08:55.440 --> 00:08:59.679 They went on the roof and then they busted a hole in the roof, and then they interrupted the talk. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:02.720 And I mean it was a little bit frustrating, but Jesus just stopped the talk. 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:03.759 He forgives the guy's sins. 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:06.879 Next thing you know, he's bouncing around because he's been healed and the place is going crazy. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:19.279 It was amazing, but we've got to get a call into the insurance company and get a roofing contractor out there, and that's just probably what had to happen at some point, even after the miracle was over, and that happens in the church. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:28.000 I've been there, the rains come and the roof leaks, or the students are meeting and they bust holes in the drywall, or we've had the one where someone's like stealing money out of the offering bucket. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:33.360 Like you just kind of have to solve problems when you are gathering around groups of people. 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:35.600 Back to the thought we were holding, all right? 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:36.639 Something extraordinary. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:38.799 Mark chapter 2, verse 5, it says this. 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:45.840 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:50.240 That's kind of an interesting thing when the guy sitting in front of Jesus is paralyzed. 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:51.279 So let's talk about it. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:57.039 First century Jewish assumptions would be that this dude or his parents were like bad people. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:13.759 Like the common belief was if something like this happened, you had done a series of bad things and God was punishing you, or your parents had done one or a series of bad things, and so your lot in life was just kind of tied to the need for God to punish you. 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:21.200 So Jesus stating that he forgives this guy's sins confronts those faulty assumptions. 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:27.200 And it also implies that Jesus is God or God like, and the religious leaders couldn't fathom it, they get mad. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:33.679 So the fact that Jesus can forgive this man's sin is actually an entire sermon for another day. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:36.960 But for right now, let's keep our focus on the friends. 00:10:37.440 --> 00:10:51.200 The guys who were less concerned about what kind of box they needed to keep Jesus in, and more concerned about seeing the need and filling it through the power of Jesus. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:11:00.320 You see, when I read this story earlier, I read it from the message, and Eugene Peterson, the translator of that message, he calls the friend's faith bold belief. 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:03.840 You see, the men in the story saw that need and they filled it. 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:08.960 Their friend needed to get to Jesus, and so they figured it out. 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:20.879 But isn't it amazing that the man's sins were forgiven and his body was healed because of the faith of his friends, the guys up on the roof? 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:29.519 See, our focus is on seeing a need and feeling the need, but let's not miss the point that what motivates our actions also matters. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:48.000 You see, it's one thing to do good things for the sake of doing good things for others, but it went, but when it is the overflow of our faith in Jesus, our belief that Jesus can change the circumstances of those we're serving and can change them, it blows the doors off what's possible. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:49.519 I'm not pointing this out. 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:55.600 This is not a mathematical formula or a science-backed theory or a guarantee of any outcome. 00:11:55.679 --> 00:12:05.200 I'm simply recognizing that the text teaches us that the faith of the friends was involved in the miraculous event. 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:06.639 It mattered. 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:19.519 You see, there's a danger in seeing a need and filling it for the sake of doing this because, well, the guy at church talked about it on Sunday, or it's printed on the church brochure, or it's on a website somewhere. 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:23.679 You see good deeds get disconnected from a good God. 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:27.360 They have their place, but they lack power. 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:31.759 You see, in all our best efforts, we can't change a life. 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:33.679 Only Jesus can do this. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:35.919 If you're like me, you've tried, right? 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:43.039 You've tried to change your kids, or you've tried to change her, or him, or them, and it doesn't work. 00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:43.919 It gets messy. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:50.399 Here's the truth Jesus has the power to forgive sins and save souls and change people. 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:59.679 So we see a need and meet a need, not out of altruistic Western cultural congeniality built on platitudes and well-wishes. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:03.919 We meet needs because this is what Jesus did for us. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:05.759 And we just sang about it. 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:08.960 See, the Bible teaches we have a big problem. 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:19.679 The problem is sin, and our sin, our rebellion against God's best, his plans and wishes, it puts us at odds with God. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:23.679 We are broken and we are lost and without hope. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:25.200 We are wandering in darkness. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:40.879 And in loving response to our condition, Jesus came to earth, he took on a body, he endured this life, including a brutal death on the cross, to receive the punishment that we deserve for our rebellion against a perfect God. 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:44.320 He saw our need and he met that need. 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:52.639 And this is the reason that we gather here every Sunday, and more importantly, it's the reason we go out of this building and we meet needs. 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:53.200 Okay. 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.639 That's a lot of deep theology and kind of one bite and it's early. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:57.840 So let's step back for a minute. 00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:01.840 I'm curious, by show of hands, how many of you in the room are sign people? 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:04.159 I don't mean like a cool marquee road sign. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:05.840 I mean like there's two paths. 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:09.360 God, show me a sign you like to have kind of your hunches confirmed, right? 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.000 There's a couple of you out there, and some of you nodding your heads. 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:15.279 Now, my wife's kind of that way, so y'all are my people. 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:16.799 Like I have a lot of affinity for you. 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:28.799 Now, I'm not necessarily a sign person, but while I was preparing and kind of thinking and praying and studying for this message, I took a break and I just decided to walk down the sidewalk at our church. 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:42.159 And I get to the end of the sidewalk, and it was the other end of the building where students had been uh hanging out a couple nights before, and some of them um had sidewalk chalk, and they were just out in front of the building riding sidewalk chalk, wrote some really cool things. 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:49.039 And all of a sudden, in that sidewalk chalk art, I saw this verse, 1 John chapter 4, verse 19. 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:56.399 And 1 John chapter 4, 19 says this we love because he loved us first. 00:14:56.799 --> 00:14:58.799 We love because he first loved us. 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:02.879 Now, if you're a signed person, you're really leaning in right now, right? 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:04.960 Because here I am, I'm preparing for this message. 00:15:05.039 --> 00:15:11.279 And literally, the best verse in all of the Bible just pops out of the woodwork written there on the ground. 00:15:11.440 --> 00:15:15.840 Now, I'm still not necessarily a signed person, but the kids are right. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:18.320 We love because he first loved us. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:24.879 Later in the Bible, Romans chapter 5, verse 8, it says this, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:30.559 While we were sinners, Christ died for us. 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:39.440 It's in the filling of needs that we see around us that we get to pass along the love that God has for us in practical and tangible ways. 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:42.240 I want to look at one more picture from Jesus' life. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:56.720 You see, it's one thing for a group of like ordinary guys to kind of see and need and fill it, but given all that we've said to be true about Jesus, I want us to see how he demonstrated on a much smaller yet very profound scale. 00:15:56.879 --> 00:15:58.960 This time we'll look in John chapter 13. 00:15:59.039 --> 00:16:02.000 Again, if you have your Bibles, you want to turn over there to John 13. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:04.639 It's another pretty well-known story from Scripture. 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:07.360 And Jesus is nearing the end of his ministry. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:16.240 The guys that have been following him most closely don't necessarily realize that, but he wants to get them together for a meal and kind of pour some things into them. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:20.480 And so at this meal, he sees a need and he fills it. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:30.080 John chapter 13, verses 3 to 5 say this Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:34.720 So he got up from the meal, he took off his outer clothing, he wrapped a towel around his waist. 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:41.600 After that he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:17:01.279 Now, somehow, this meal had been planned in advance and everything was taken care of, and it would have been customary for someone to take care of washing those the feet of those that were coming in, because back then stinky feet were a big problem at a meal because they'd been out on the streets all day, so the dirt and the dust and sweat would be on their feet. 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:09.680 And the way that you ate that meal would have been reclined on one side with your feet kind of on down the line, so right behind the back of the person eating next to you. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:14.720 So a big problem would have been the smell of stinky feet kind of wasping over the table. 00:17:14.960 --> 00:17:20.640 But a bigger problem was this none of the guys realized that someone needed to take care of that. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:33.039 They had watched Jesus for the last three years spend time reaching out and taking care of the needs of people around him, and they just overlooked it, trying to elbow the best position they could at the table. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:40.160 So Jesus, he gets up and he takes care of this problem, and he begins to wash their feet. 00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:44.160 And they felt pretty awkward because they realized it's something they probably should have done. 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:48.000 As a matter of fact, Peter, one of the followers of Jesus that was closest to him, gets into an argument. 00:17:48.079 --> 00:17:49.440 He's like, Jesus, don't wash my feet. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:50.400 Like, this is embarrassing. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:51.440 I should be washing your feet. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:53.200 He says, No, no, this is what needs to happen. 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:56.160 So resolves that uh argument that kicks up. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:01.440 Jesus returns to the table and he shares a lesson for his followers, and he shares a lesson for us. 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.400 Here's what it says John chapter 13, verses 12 to 15. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:08.640 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:10.960 Do you understand what I have done for you? 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:11.839 He asked them. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:16.720 You call me teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:24.160 Now that I, your Lord and your teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:29.119 I've set an example for you that you should do as I have done for you. 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:37.359 So this picture captures Jesus in the posture of a humble man and servant. 00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:44.960 You see, the beginning of the text that I read clearly states that Jesus had all power and authority. 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:52.079 He had all this power and authority, and yet he got it from the table and he started washing dirty feet of those people around him. 00:18:52.400 --> 00:19:02.880 I make my kids take out the trash at home, partly because they need to learn that kind of responsibility, and partly because, well, I don't want to take the trash out if they can do it, right? 00:19:03.039 --> 00:19:03.920 If we're honest. 00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:09.839 Jesus, he did not leverage his position of power and authority to make other people do things for him. 00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.640 He saw needs and filled them so that you and I would know what it looks like. 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:19.920 This example is carried out in the very first churches ever established in the Bible. 00:19:20.160 --> 00:19:27.279 You don't have to read very far into the book of Acts where this history is kind of recorded to see that the believers were together and had everything in common. 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:32.640 You see, they would sell things and take care of the needs of people around them. 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:35.279 They were taking care of needs from day one. 00:19:35.680 --> 00:19:50.000 They also later in the book of Acts, you see recorded, there's like a like a fight, an argument that breaks out because in the midst of doing good, of feeding hungry widows who couldn't take care of themselves, they're worried about who was getting overlooked in that process. 00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:57.759 And so they appoint some men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom so that they can more effectively meet the needs of people around them. 00:19:58.079 --> 00:20:00.720 The church has been doing this for a very long time. 00:20:00.960 --> 00:20:17.279 From major hospital systems all across our country to private and public education, it is Christian men and women and churches that have established these places of doing good that have made a massive difference in our country and all around the world. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:22.640 It's what Jesus pointed out would be the thing a watching world would notice about us. 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:30.160 He said, By this, everyone will know you're my disciples if you love one another. 00:20:30.799 --> 00:20:45.119 A few years back, um, it was in the fall, and my in-laws were coming to town to visit my wife and I, and they live in uh the state of Missouri, and so it just so happened that that same week in the University of Kentucky was going to play football against the University of Missouri. 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:48.079 And I thought, man, it'd be fun to take my father-in-law to that game. 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:51.359 Now, I didn't have much money, so I started kind of looking for tickets. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:57.839 I was asking around if anybody knew have tickets, and a friend of mine came up with two tickets, but these were not ordinary tickets, all right? 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:00.960 These were tickets with a parking pass. 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:08.240 And beyond that, when you got into the stadium, you had to go to a special set of elevators to get up to your seats. 00:21:08.480 --> 00:21:12.000 We went into a room that I didn't even know existed on the planet, let alone that stadium. 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:20.799 As soon as those doors opened, as far as the eye could see, were televisions and food and drinks and people having an amazing time. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:31.200 And then when the game started, we went out another set of doors and we walked down to our seats lower and lower and closer to the field, and the players were big and giant and massive like they are in real life. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:37.119 Not like little tiny ants like they looked at when I had gotten seats and been to the stadium a few times before that. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:40.960 We had an amazing experience that night. 00:21:41.119 --> 00:21:42.799 And my heart was so full. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:47.839 I could never have ever afforded that experience on my own. 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:55.920 But you've been there when your heart is so full of joy and humility and gratitude because you've been given a gift you could never repay. 00:21:56.079 --> 00:21:59.359 And that's what motivates our hearts. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:09.279 That's what motivates the hearts of this church when we consider what Jesus did for us on the cross, where he died and suffered. 00:22:09.599 --> 00:22:22.799 We know we could never repay the debt he paid for us, but we can use a small part of our lives to share the love of God that we've received with others. 00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:32.880 So, in view of Jesus' sacrificial love, we get to go and we get to give that same amazing love away to other people. 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:37.920 Now, what's great about this is y'all are the kind of church that's already doing this. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:41.920 Force didn't hire me to come in and get you to start doing something you're not. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:43.279 We saw it on the screen earlier. 00:22:43.359 --> 00:22:49.440 You furnished a home in this community to help people, but you've been doing this for a long time. 00:22:49.920 --> 00:22:53.839 I've heard stories and I've seen the pictures myself and I've seen it with my own eyes. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:59.680 A few years ago, you guys gathered on a Saturday to build a wheelchair ramp for a woman who was stuck in her house. 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:00.559 She couldn't get in and out. 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:02.640 She's in a wheelchair, very limited. 00:23:02.799 --> 00:23:16.000 And so on a Saturday you got together and you poured footers and you anchored some foundation there and you cut boards and you measured and you put those boards up and you built a wheelchair ramp so that this woman could get in and out of her house. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:19.440 You saw a need and you filled it. 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:28.000 A few weeks ago, you guys heard you heard about some kids in this community that would go back to school. 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:42.000 And they do it with old torn, worn-out shoes. 00:23:45.759 --> 00:23:48.240 And you just you couldn't stand the thought of that. 00:23:53.039 --> 00:24:07.119 So you sacrificed and you went and bought a whole bunch of shoes so that kids could go back to school with shoes that fit and that they could run and jump and play and love the shoes that they had on their feet. 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:15.200 You also helped feed a group of young men from Kentucky State University. 00:24:15.440 --> 00:24:19.519 You feed them physically and spiritually. 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:31.119 You see, many of them think that they're here to live their dream of playing college football, but you know, you know that they're really here because God has a plan and purpose for their lives. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:32.799 He loves them. 00:24:34.880 --> 00:24:40.960 And though many of them don't realize it yet, he wants to save them from despair and fear and hopelessness. 00:24:41.039 --> 00:24:47.279 And so you feed these boys and you empower force to teach them about the love of Jesus. 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:52.319 And then when they show up here, you greet them and welcome them and you show them the love of God. 00:24:52.559 --> 00:24:56.240 You pray and encourage them, you take them to lunch and you build them up. 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:08.160 And you do it because you've experienced that same amazing love of Jesus, and you're just compelled to give it away. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:24.160 So this city will be different when the hundreds of people that call Multiply Church home spend the next 365 days seeing needs and meeting needs. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:35.920 I believe that Jesus will multiply your efforts because in his economy, a little boy's sack lunch, it feeds thousands of people. 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:39.599 Now that doesn't happen with my number one from McDonald's. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:49.440 But when Jesus gets his hands on things, and when he gets his hands on you and on this church, things change. 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:56.720 People rise up and walk, marriages are restored, the hopeless feel again and on and on. 00:25:56.799 --> 00:26:00.400 The love of Jesus, it just spreads and it grows. 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:07.039 And the Bible tells us that the gates of hell will not prevail against this amazing force of love. 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:31.039 So today, let's gather the pictures in our minds of Mark chapter 2 and John chapter 13 and 1 John 4.19, sidewalk chalk, and people that are out building wheelchair ramps and little shoes and shoes on little kids' feet, and hungry football players, and the picture of Jesus Himself on the cross. 00:26:31.200 --> 00:26:43.039 Let's plant these pictures in our head and in our hearts, and let's go out of this place this week, see needs and fill them in the loving name of Jesus. 00:26:43.279 --> 00:26:44.559 Let's pray. 00:26:48.319 --> 00:26:53.599 Father, thank you for the love that we've received in Jesus and from Jesus. 00:26:53.920 --> 00:27:01.599 And thank you for the opportunity that we have, God, to just give a small portion of that love back to others. 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:14.000 And God, we pray that you would multiply our meager efforts, and that through those efforts, people would see the goodness of God, and they would turn and they would give their lives to Him. 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:17.680 We're grateful for what you've done for us. 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:19.680 And we pray all this in Jesus' name. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:20.480 Amen.