WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:00.719 Amen. 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:01.439 Amen. 00:00:01.520 --> 00:00:01.840 Amen. 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:04.959 Well, good morning, Multiply. 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:06.879 How we doing out there today? 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:08.080 Good. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:09.439 Y'all sound good. 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:11.599 Some good worship going on in here. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:12.560 For real. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:14.480 Some of y'all was really in the spirit. 00:00:14.560 --> 00:00:15.439 I heard you. 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:16.480 I love it. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:19.519 I mean, I'm really excited about what God is doing here at Multiply. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:26.640 I was just sitting there thinking as they were showing the pictures of being at uh KSU, um, how important it is for you as a church to understand that work is. 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:35.439 I mean, I'll, you know, I'm a person that grew up in church, but I found my relationship with Jesus as a college athlete on a campus similar to KSU. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:54.799 And nobody in my life or that ministry knew that the work they were doing in my life as a 19-year-old on a college campus would lead to the salvation of my wife, who you saw a picture of, who we met my sophomore year, and that I would leave my home state of Georgia to be a pastor in the state of Kentucky. 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:56.159 That was not in my course. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:02.719 But the ministry that came through a para-church organization like FCA has led to much fruit. 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:06.480 So I just want to continue to commend you all to lean into that college campus. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:12.640 There are a lot of kids going to school there right now who have their own plans, but God has a plan for their life that they have yet to realize. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:19.760 And we need churches like you to connect with them to help them see that God has more than just a business degree. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:22.400 God has a ministry for them. 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:24.959 And we want to people, we want to see people walking there. 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:32.879 Um, to get us started today, I want to read from God's word in the book of John, chapter 8, 31 and 32. 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:38.799 And this scripture is just gonna settle our hearts into the posture that we need to take today as we dive into the message. 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:40.000 Says this. 00:01:40.159 --> 00:01:54.319 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, if you abide in my word, meaning live your life, immersed in my word, you are truly my disciples. 00:01:54.959 --> 00:02:00.959 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:09.840 Today, church, with that scripture in mind, I want to talk to you about embracing the tension of that truth. 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:21.840 Throughout this series, each weekend is aiming to bring life to values of multiplied church off of a sheet of paper somewhere into the hearts of the members of the church. 00:02:22.080 --> 00:02:30.800 And though these are values of multiplied church, what we believe is that these are just values for being faithful disciples of Jesus. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:41.280 And so when we talk about embracing the tension, what we mean is being those type of people who are bold both in God's grace and in God's truth. 00:02:41.680 --> 00:02:52.159 It's about submitting to the truth of God's word and all of its practical do's and don'ts, and in its heart for unity and grace as a body of Christ. 00:02:52.560 --> 00:03:04.240 It's about walking in humility, it's it's leaning into hard conversations when they come, remembering that we are called to each other for each other. 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:11.919 It's about walking as Jesus walked and walking as he commanded. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:17.840 With that said, I want to attack this idea from a heart level first this morning. 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:25.919 I want to help us discover what it looks like to have a heart posture that allows us to embrace the tension. 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:31.520 And we're gonna do that from the book of Luke, chapter 8, verses 4 through 15. 00:03:31.599 --> 00:03:35.039 And if you've ever read the book of Luke, this will be a familiar passage to you. 00:03:35.199 --> 00:03:36.479 It's one of my favorites. 00:03:36.639 --> 00:03:41.840 I think it helps me understand what it looks like to live this faith out Sunday to Sunday. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:58.800 Here's what it says As a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from every town, he said in a parable A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some seed fell along the path. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:03.039 It was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it. 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:09.439 Other seed fell on the rock, and when it grew up, it withered away, since it lacked moisture. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:13.919 Other seed fell among thorns, the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:22.879 Still other seed fell on good ground, and when it grew up, it produced fruit a hundred times what was sown. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:30.319 As he said this, he called out, Let anyone who has ears to hear listen. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:36.160 Then his disciples asked him, What does this parable mean? 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:49.600 So he said, The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:52.480 This is the meaning of the parable. 00:04:53.120 --> 00:05:05.199 The seed is the word of God, the seed along the path are those who have heard, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:16.319 The seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, having no root, these bel these believe for a while and fall away in times of testing. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:44.720 As for the seed that fell among the thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way, and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit, but the seed in the good ground, these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it, and by enduring produce fruit. 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:47.519 Bless the reading of God's word. 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:59.519 Now, because I know God's word to be true, as I stand before you right now inside this room, exists the possibility for all four of those souls to be present. 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:15.360 As the word goes forth today, and every day, whether it's through a preacher like me, whether it's through reading God's word, whether it's through a song that you hear, its potential in our life is based on how we receive it, but also how we maintain it. 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:20.879 In our passage, it's obvious that Jesus wants us to be the good soul. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:26.560 And the first step in that process is examining where we are today. 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:28.000 Here's what I want you to know. 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:33.519 Every time that you come to church, you have an opportunity to come in with whatever heart posture you decide. 00:06:33.680 --> 00:06:37.759 And the heart posture I want to urge us to have today is a heart of humility. 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:44.000 Because a heart of humility comes into a gathering like this knowing that God has a word for them. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:52.959 A humble heart comes into a gathering like this knowing that they are not where God wants them to be, and they are willing to receive what God has for them today. 00:06:53.040 --> 00:06:54.959 And I want us to be in that posture. 00:06:55.360 --> 00:06:59.439 My favorite scripture that charges us with that is 2 Corinthians 13, 5. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:15.759 It calls us to this practice when it says, test yourself to see if you are in the faith, examine yourselves, or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus is in you unless you fail the test? 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:22.879 What the Apostle Paul is getting at is that every day of our faith journey is filled with daily decisions. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:32.720 And as you go about making your daily decisions, you have to understand that some of the daily decisions that you're going to be asked to make might not align with the faith you possess. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:47.759 And so as you go about making your daily decisions, even in your heart posture, you want to be asking yourself, does this decision I'm making, if I make it, will it profess the truth of God's word in my life? 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:55.680 Does the way that I'm living, does it show evidence of God's grace, but also of his discipleship? 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:02.399 Does my faith contradict or confirm the words of Jesus? 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:08.639 Those are the type of questions as mature believers we have to be not afraid to ask. 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:10.319 Now here's the truth. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:18.399 Regardless of how you answer that question, the good news is that good soul is on the other side of just being willing. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:26.079 In that we find three ways this passage teaches us about what it looks like to be willing followers of Jesus. 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:28.800 When Jesus was describing the good soul, he said this. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:34.159 He said, number one, they receive the truth with an honest and good heart. 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:43.919 So the first thing you need to know is that every time you encounter God's word, whether you read it or whether you hear it, I want to challenge you to pray that the Holy Spirit will give you a soft heart. 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:53.200 I want to challenge you to say, Holy Spirit, give me a word that only you can give me about my situation, about my life, and about my commitment to Jesus. 00:08:53.440 --> 00:09:06.159 We got to come before God with an honest heart, acknowledging our sins, acknowledging where we've fallen short, being faithful to repent of those things, and at the same time understanding that God's goodness is the only place that He's leading us to. 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:12.799 So even when something sounds hard when I receive it, it's leading me to something good and holy and righteous in the Lord. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:18.799 The second thing is this is that they held on to the truth with everything they had. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:22.159 It uses the the language of enduring. 00:09:23.360 --> 00:09:29.679 It uses the examples of the others to show what they had to go through to remain good soil. 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:34.240 So just like the soil before it, they they deal with the worries of the world too. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.279 The pleasures of life tried to get them too. 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:46.159 Their jobs and their careers and their families and their relationship status, all these things tried to come in and rob them of the seed that God had planted in their heart. 00:09:46.240 --> 00:09:47.279 But there was something different. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:50.799 When those things came, they abided in Christ. 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:55.120 They held on to the word of God with everything they had. 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:58.799 And that's what it looks like for us if we want to be willing Christ followers. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:03.840 The third thing that we read is that they endured the cost of living in that truth. 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:06.480 See, this is the part that we don't like so often. 00:10:06.639 --> 00:10:11.360 See, sometimes enduring the cost of following Jesus means that you got to miss out on stuff sometimes. 00:10:11.600 --> 00:10:16.960 There's some trends and some things that come and go in the world that Christ followers just don't get to be a part of. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:25.039 There's also some hardship, some heartbreak that's gonna come into your life sometimes when you live according to the truth of God. 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:31.120 There are gonna be some relationships that are gonna break your heart to end, but it's for your good to end that relationship. 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:33.759 And God is calling you to that goodness. 00:10:34.159 --> 00:10:39.519 There are gonna be some careers or some jobs that God is gonna tell you it's time to leave, it's time to go. 00:10:39.679 --> 00:10:42.879 But you know leaving this job means leaving this big old house I got. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:45.759 And God says, trust me, not the paycheck. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:58.159 There are gonna be times where you're gonna be called to endure in relational capacities where your commitment to Jesus will be at odd with your entire friend group, and that peer pressure is gonna come. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:10.799 And those are gonna be times that the Holy Spirit will empower you to stand if you are a willing disciple, to be a testimony to your friends that I'm not here just to be your friend, but I'm here to point you to the Savior. 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:20.799 That's what it looks like to be a willing heart, to be good soul in God's hands. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:32.799 I love those distinctions because they encompass what we often focus on when it comes to embracing the tension of following Jesus. 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:46.559 Like when we think about endurance, when we think about holding on, when we think about having a good and honest heart, as we wrestle with truth, sometimes we have to ask the question, well, God, what actually is truth? 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:59.759 We gotta be willing to ask questions like what is the right thing to believe, and what is the right religious practice to commit to because of these beliefs that I'm holding on to for the rest of my life. 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:06.879 Theologically, we call this process or we call this idea orthodoxy and orthopraxy. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:08.320 Here are the definitions. 00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:12.480 Orthodoxy is embracing the tension of the truth and belief. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:36.559 What that means is uh living in orthodoxy means that when I read God's word and it says, when Jesus says, There is no way to the Father except through me, we embrace that as truth, even though it's really hard for me to believe that when I got friends who are Muslim, when I got friends who are Hindu, when I got friends who are atheists, because I want everybody to get in. 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:46.879 But if I'm committing to Jesus, then I have to commit also to the idea that there's only one true religion in the world, and that is following Jesus, even when it's hard. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:52.559 Now, orthopraxy is embracing the tension of truth in practice. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:12:59.759 And this is the idea of saying, I'm not just gonna come and be a hearer of the word, but I'm gonna be a doer of the word. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:10.000 When Jesus in his word calls me to turn and repent or to move away from something, I don't just hear it and let it sting me, but I choose to walk in that newness of life. 00:13:10.559 --> 00:13:13.039 My actions match my words. 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:17.200 I don't just get on the public say, this is a big problem in our society right now. 00:13:17.360 --> 00:13:19.840 I was I was talking to my men's Saturday small group. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:30.080 We're reading through the book of Proverbs, and if you ever read through the book of Proverbs, I mean, you get to like chapter 15 and 16, and it's like it's really hard to read those and be hateful people. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:32.480 It's really hard to read those and be spiteful people. 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:38.480 It's really hard to read those and not care about what you're doing because it teaches you all about the principle of sowing and reaping. 00:13:38.639 --> 00:13:58.879 And I was reading that and I said, man, you know what breaks my heart is there are a lot of people who have a public space right now as Christians, and I'm afraid they might have never read the book of Proverbs because they profess with their mouth that they are rocking with Jesus, but some of the initiatives and some of the things that they're doing in a public space have nothing to do with Jesus. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:07.360 And they're giving people a character of what it means to walk with Jesus that we faithful believers on the ground have to fight against every day. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:12.720 And so we got to be people who are committed to the practices of Jesus. 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:21.440 Now, the way that we get to orthodoxy and orthopraxy is learning how to deal best with our emotions, and that's what we call orthopathy. 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:29.200 This is embracing the tension of the truth in our passions, in our emotions, and our concerns. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:33.600 So it's not just belief and it's not just action, but it's also our heart. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:37.519 Our heart has to be submitted to the truth of God's word as well. 00:14:38.320 --> 00:14:46.799 Now, make no mistake about it, embracing tension is about our doctrines, it is about our practices, and it is about our restraints. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:15:01.840 Yet, from the lens and example of Jesus in our passage, but also through his life that led him to death on a cross, the fruit of those things authentically taking root in our lives should look like perseverance. 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:15.679 It should look like long suffering, it should look like self-forgetfulness, it should look like a fatherly submission, it should look like obedience in the hard things in life. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.360 See, Jesus didn't cut corners when he preached this. 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:24.559 In Matthew 24, 13, he said this the one who endures to the end will be saved. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.720 Pointing back to this parable. 00:15:28.399 --> 00:15:35.120 See, that indicates to me that embracing the truth is is not just about having the right opinion, y'all. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:42.320 It's not about telling, it's not about getting on social media and making a post about sexuality or politics. 00:15:42.559 --> 00:15:46.080 That's that's not what it means to walk with Jesus authentically. 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:57.360 Walking with Jesus authentically is having a perspective from God's word on those things, but also being willing to walk out the work that it looks like to bring people into that truth. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:02.159 It looks like living a life of sincerity before God. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:06.480 It's about living a life of safety before God. 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:13.600 It's about learning how abiding in God's word is the best way to survive in your faith in His Word. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:15.360 I don't know if we understand that. 00:16:17.440 --> 00:16:37.840 Like when you think about walking with Jesus and you think about persevering in your faith, when you think about not backsliding whatever words you want to use, the reason that we commit to like orthopraxy and orthodoxy and orthopathy or the full-fledged submission of our whole being to God is because it produces a sincere faith in us. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:45.440 Like when you give your whole self to something, that something begins to truly impact your life. 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:52.480 Like, you know, when you truly give yourself to like eating right, right? 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:59.840 Like when you say, I'm gonna do uh, you know, no no carbs, when you fully give yourself to no carbs, right? 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:02.720 You over time that begins to impact your life. 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:11.920 You begin to look different, you begin to feel different, your desires begin to change, the things that you order at the restaurant begin to look different, the things that you cook begin to look different. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:17.440 Like when you fully give yourself to something, it produces a sincerity of commitment in your life. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:25.680 Along with that, though, sometimes we don't think about this, but God gives us his word not as rules, but as guardrails for our life. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:28.160 He gives us these things to keep us safe. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:31.039 Like, think about watching a basketball game with no rules. 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:33.599 You've maybe seen this with five-year-olds. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:34.880 It's chaos. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:45.440 No dribbling, they tackling each other, they running down the court, they shooting on the wrong rim, they got six kids, this team got four kids. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:47.680 It's ridiculous, right? 00:17:48.160 --> 00:17:52.480 That's what it's like when you try to live your faith without the guardrails of God's word. 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:55.920 You can make your own rules because it's all okay. 00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:58.960 God loves me, and that is not what Jesus calls to. 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:01.200 He calls you to a safe faith. 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:06.400 He gives us these guardrails because he knows the outcomes of stepping outside of those guardrails. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:10.400 And so it is out of his love that he puts restraints on our life. 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:13.519 The third thing is survival. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:21.279 Like your faith is meant to survive because your faith is for the next generation in your family tree. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:24.319 We have to leave an inheritance of faith. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:29.119 Like a lot of us can point to our big mama or our grandma or grandpa who had strong faith. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:35.119 And the reason we can point back to it is because they persevered in the faith, they held on to their faith. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:38.240 You gotta think about some of the things some people went through to hold on to their faith. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:39.839 Sometimes we we too soft. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:42.960 We think about you know, our world and what's so hard. 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:44.400 Man, listen, this ain't nothing. 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:45.599 Yeah, inflation sucks. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.119 Yeah, my paycheck means more, means less to me every day. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:50.799 It sucks, all right? 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:51.920 But you know what? 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:53.200 I still ate out this week. 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:54.240 It's all right. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:19:16.880 But like when I think about some of the things that at least like my my grandma went through, like my grandma held on to her faith, like growing up in the Jim Crow South, where the congruence of her expression of Jesus and the society that she was living in didn't match up all the time. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:29.200 But something about what she knew about God allowed her faith to survive so that when I was a little boy, I could go to her house and she's gonna tell me a story about Jesus. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:32.960 She's gonna open her Bible, she was gonna lead us in prayer. 00:19:33.599 --> 00:19:36.400 Something happened, and I know what happened. 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:41.680 She didn't allow the circumstances of society to decide her sincerity of faith. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:53.200 But she leaned in and allowed the faith to produce fruit that moved to two generations away from her that I can reference back to that faith today. 00:19:53.759 --> 00:19:56.079 That can be your story too. 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:00.079 That multiply, this is a core belief. 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:02.400 We want to be people who embrace attention. 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.920 Because here's what Forrest and the rest of the team knows. 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:12.640 They know that Frankfurt needs followers of Jesus who follow him even when it gets hard. 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:25.359 Beyond that, they know that the way that you grow a healthy church is to grow and build healthy people with healthy families and healthy and healed relationships. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:29.519 So I just want to challenge you. 00:20:30.319 --> 00:20:39.599 When we talk about embracing the truth of Jesus, the first place that that has to be embraced is in your heart and in the people closest to you. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:45.759 What does embracing the attention and the truth of Jesus look like in your home right now? 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:50.400 What would that mean for you as a spouse in your marriage? 00:20:52.799 --> 00:20:56.400 What would that look like for you as a parent or a child right now? 00:20:56.480 --> 00:21:04.079 If you say, Jesus, you have the throne of my heart and I want to live in attention to what that means, what is that calling you to right now? 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:08.799 For some of you, it's gonna call you to some forgiveness you don't want to give. 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:12.720 But can I tell you that lack of forgiveness is your prison? 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:15.279 Not the person you hate. 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:20.160 It's gonna call you to some humble submission. 00:21:20.640 --> 00:21:26.240 If some of you would commit to this in your marriage, it will save your family 10 years from now. 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:33.200 See, some of you don't know that the path that you're walking on in your home is leading to a moment of decision one day. 00:21:33.519 --> 00:21:38.960 Because one or the other people are gonna get tired of compensating for your lack of commitment to Jesus. 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:50.400 Some of you are holding together because you still got little kids and making plans right there in your head that as soon as these kids leave, I'm done. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:53.599 And your spouse has no clue that you're at that point. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:59.359 Can I challenge you as a follower of Jesus? 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:04.079 Live in the attention of what it means to be honest in your place. 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:08.480 And allow Jesus to come in and reorient some things in your life right now. 00:22:08.640 --> 00:22:09.680 That's just one example. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:11.279 What does it mean for you? 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:31.039 My prayer is that we would be believers so committed to Jesus that when we encounter his word and it stings, and that when we're called to press on, when it feels easier to quit, that we understand his goodness is with us even in the middle of the storm. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:37.039 And that we will remain committed to what we've been called to. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:43.599 Because embracing the tension of God's truth is really just embracing faithfulness. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:46.240 It's embracing faithfulness. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:57.279 You know, one of the best ways that I've found that illustrates this idea of embracing faithfulness in God is actually the vows of marriage. 00:22:58.240 --> 00:22:59.920 I've heard it said this way before. 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:17.119 And what it's speaking to is that marriage is not just some business agreement, but in God's created order, it is a covenant. 00:23:18.160 --> 00:23:25.119 That means my life now belongs to you, and your life now belongs to me, and we're gonna rot this way until one of us die, both of us die. 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:31.119 And I think that makes a lot of sense. 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:39.279 Because when you think about the words that people say at a wedding, sometimes they mindlessly say these things because that's not the important part of the wedding, it's the most important part. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:44.079 But people get so with the decorations and what type of rice we're gonna have. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:47.039 Is that chicken look a little pink, throw it back in the oven? 00:23:47.119 --> 00:24:01.680 Like people so worried about all these other things at a wedding, and they missed the point that everybody's coming together as witnesses to watch them make a lifelong commitment that means that sometimes your life is gonna suck, but you stick with it. 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:13.359 Here, listen to these vows, and I want you to hear these vows from the perspective of being a disciple making this commitment to Jesus. 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:35.440 It says, In the name of God, I take you as my spouse to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until we are parted by death. 00:24:35.680 --> 00:24:38.319 This is my solemn vow. 00:24:39.839 --> 00:24:40.960 Think about this. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:51.599 In the name of God, Jesus, I take you as my Savior, to have and to hold from this day forward. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:25:01.519 God, I'm gonna stick with you for better or for worse in this life, for richer or for poorer in this life, when I'm sick and when I'm healthy. 00:25:01.759 --> 00:25:09.759 I'm gonna love and cherish you and your words and your grace for me until I leave this earth and experience the first death. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:12.000 God, this is my solemn vow. 00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:17.440 What would that type of life look like? 00:25:18.079 --> 00:25:20.880 What would that type of commitment produce? 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:30.079 Does that type of unwavering commitment fill your heart and mind today? 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:38.160 When I think about that, I think about Jesus when he said in Luke 14, 33. 00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:46.400 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:51.039 Damplified Bible gives it to us in commentary this way. 00:25:51.359 --> 00:26:09.119 It says, this call of Jesus is for people to carefully consider the cost and then for his sake be willing to give up everything they possess and about themselves to be his disciple. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:14.559 Now, in the world today, we ain't got no problem no more with the giving up the possessions. 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:20.240 What we really got an issue, especially in our Western culture, is the things about themselves. 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:28.079 Because we have a culture of idolatry where everybody are little demigods running around here and everything about us makes us special. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:38.160 And the enemy has snuck in and convinced our society and our world that everybody deserves a throne. 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:51.680 And since everybody deserves a throne, since everybody's a king, since everybody's a queen, since everybody is something special, it leaves no room for Jesus to be the only special one. 00:26:52.640 --> 00:26:58.319 And so when he comes asking for our identifiers, we have a hard time putting those down. 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:04.960 This is why we got Christians online arguing about crackerbarrel redesign. 00:27:06.880 --> 00:27:07.680 Stupid. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:09.920 Who cares? 00:27:11.279 --> 00:27:14.720 I mean, I saw so many followers of Jesus online this week. 00:27:14.880 --> 00:27:19.039 I'm boy coming to crackerbar, putting my grandma picture back on the wall. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:20.079 Shut up. 00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:22.880 Crackerberry made me uncomfortable. 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:24.480 I like the new cracker bear. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:29.039 And it felt like I was going back into slavery for them pancakes. 00:27:29.599 --> 00:27:32.079 I didn't want to go to crackerberry how it was decorated. 00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:35.119 So for me, I'm with the corporation. 00:27:35.279 --> 00:27:36.720 Because them pancakes is good. 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:37.920 I like that syrup. 00:27:38.079 --> 00:27:40.000 I don't want to always have to get it catered. 00:27:40.079 --> 00:27:41.119 I want to go. 00:27:42.880 --> 00:27:45.519 And it's like we arguing about dumb stuff. 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:51.440 And the reason that we're arguing is because we don't realize that something is attached to our hearts. 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:58.000 We got to give all of ourselves to Jesus. 00:27:59.680 --> 00:28:03.839 Now, maybe for some of you in the room, that's a new version of Jesus for you. 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:07.920 Maybe the gospel you received never quite touched your stuff. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:10.880 Maybe you only got Hobby Lobby Jesus. 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:18.559 You get the pictures, you go get your devotion, 365 days of meditating on Jesus, and it's all about warming your heart. 00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:25.519 Can I just tell you that Jesus wants to warm your heart, but the Holy Spirit wants to finish the work that he started? 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:30.319 And so, can I just encourage you to receive all of Jesus? 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:36.799 You got to receive the love of Jesus and the warrior Jesus and the King Jesus. 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:39.279 You got to receive the Messiah Jesus. 00:28:39.440 --> 00:28:41.839 You got to receive all of Jesus. 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:52.480 And so I just want to pause right here and say, listen, if if you if you don't have a like a full understanding of Jesus, it is not a rocket science formula. 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:54.640 I want to encourage you to just to read God's word. 00:28:54.880 --> 00:28:57.119 And I want to just encourage you to go to the Gospels. 00:28:57.200 --> 00:28:58.480 Those were written for that purpose. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:28:59.839 Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. 00:28:59.920 --> 00:29:06.160 If you've never read those, if you and you're looking for a place to start, the place to start in the Bible is not Exodus. 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:08.000 Um, it's not Leviticus. 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:12.319 Um, don't go read one of the prophets because your cousin name Isaiah. 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:13.599 Don't go there. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:17.039 Start in the New Testament. 00:29:17.519 --> 00:29:23.920 Read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and you get to see the ministry in the life of Jesus and his words. 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:33.200 And then once you understand his words, you can go understand what Paul was talking about and what Peter was talking about and what the Old Testament was prophesying about. 00:29:33.519 --> 00:29:35.279 So start with Jesus. 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:40.559 Now, I want to pivot from the heart and go to the practical. 00:29:40.799 --> 00:29:50.160 And what I want to do is I just want to give us a easy acronym to remember because I'm a principal, I'm a preacher, and preachers always have to make stuff rhyme or go together. 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:54.640 And so I worked real hard to come up with an acronym today that's spelled out good. 00:29:55.200 --> 00:30:00.559 And so what I want us to do is figure out how we can be good people at Multiply Church. 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:03.920 How we can be good people at multiply church. 00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:09.039 The first thing I want to call us to is uh group identity over idolatry. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:12.240 Group identity over idolatry. 00:30:12.559 --> 00:30:20.960 All throughout the scriptures, we are reminded of the fact that the Christian faith is not just a set of beliefs, but it's a beloved community. 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:28.880 In God's view, whether we like it or not, each and every one of us are one family and one blood in Christ Jesus. 00:30:29.119 --> 00:30:32.480 Because of that, he has given us a standard. 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:38.960 He has an expectation that we would live like our spiritual reality. 00:30:39.680 --> 00:30:45.119 That we would act like we got some home training out here, that we would be a family. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:50.799 Hebrews 12:1 says to us, uh, remember the great cloud of witnesses. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:53.759 AK, remember the family that came before you. 00:30:54.079 --> 00:31:01.599 As you understand what it means to be a part of this group identity of being Christ's followers, understand there's a lineage of faithful believers that came before you. 00:31:01.680 --> 00:31:09.359 And when you think it's time to quit on Jesus because Jesus ain't giving you that new car, remember the person that got set on fire for just saying the name of Jesus. 00:31:10.319 --> 00:31:14.880 Remember Peter who was crucified upside down for proclaiming Jesus. 00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:25.039 Remember, remember our brothers and sisters in the faith who died to preach the gospel so that when you go through your struggles in life, you don't allow those to overwhelm you and choke you out. 00:31:25.279 --> 00:31:28.160 You're a part of a lineage of perseverance. 00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:33.920 Romans 12, 5 tells us that we are one body and belong to one another. 00:31:34.160 --> 00:31:37.279 That's hard because we all want to be champion of ourselves. 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:43.519 But the the Christian faith is of such that once you accept Jesus, you become a part of a body. 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:48.559 And so you may be a finger and somebody else may be a thumb, and y'all need to work together. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:52.559 You are part of a body, you're not your own anymore. 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:59.519 Ephesians 4:4 tells us that not only are we one body, but we also share the same spirit and hope. 00:31:59.839 --> 00:32:02.880 What that means is this, guys, we got the same daddy. 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:05.920 And we all getting the same thing for Christmas. 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:07.839 Like, we got the same daddy. 00:32:07.920 --> 00:32:10.960 If I'm ugly, you ugly too, because we got the same features. 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.759 That's what I would say to my brother. 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:14.400 You ugly. 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:16.880 You look, we look just the same. 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:19.279 We got the same face. 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:21.119 Every time we go somewhere, y'all must be brothers. 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:22.400 So that means you're ugly too. 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:23.920 If I'm ugly, you ugly. 00:32:26.559 --> 00:32:30.640 And lastly, 1 Peter 2 5 says this about us. 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:32.480 And I want you to hear this. 00:32:32.720 --> 00:32:34.160 Because this is about purpose. 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:36.720 We got a lot of people wondering what their purpose is in the world. 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:40.480 Can I just read to you what the word of God says your purpose is? 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:58.400 It says, you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 00:32:58.799 --> 00:32:59.839 That's your purpose. 00:33:00.640 --> 00:33:02.000 That's who you are. 00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:06.640 You don't wear no collar, but God said you're a priest. 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:13.440 And your job is to be a mediator between the lost world and a loving God, pointing people to his reconciliation. 00:33:13.599 --> 00:33:14.880 That's your job. 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:26.640 And when we live those scriptures as the means in which we see each other, it becomes easier to discipline our here and now emotions and comfort and desires unto the Lord. 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:34.000 When we don't live that way, we can move obedience to the side and we can move scripture to the side and we can begin to preach a gospel of me over we. 00:33:34.079 --> 00:33:39.119 And when we begin to preach that gospel of me over we, idolatry has taken root into our hearts. 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.240 Because we are the center of the story and not Jesus anymore. 00:33:46.160 --> 00:33:47.519 And so, can I tell you this? 00:33:47.680 --> 00:33:54.720 How you live as a part of the body of Christ is either a detriment to the kingdom of God or to the benefit of the kingdom of God. 00:33:56.559 --> 00:34:04.960 How you choose to love, forgive, and speak life has everything to do with the representation of Jesus. 00:34:05.119 --> 00:34:08.480 I heard it said, you may be the only Jesus somebody sees. 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:11.760 Could you walk with that weight every day, please? 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:20.800 One of the best illustrations of this that I read last summer is this in this old book that came out in the 90s. 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:22.719 It's a book called Tuesdays with Maury. 00:34:23.280 --> 00:34:34.079 It's a book about a college professor who was passing away, and one of his students, who was really endeared to him, just committed to flying in every Tuesday to spend time with Maury until Maury passed away. 00:34:34.159 --> 00:34:37.920 And Maury just poured out his life and all the wisdom he had, and the students took it in. 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:39.440 He wrote a book about it. 00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:42.079 And there's a story in there about a little wave. 00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:49.119 Here's what it says This is a story about a little wave bobbing along in the ocean, having a grand old time. 00:34:49.440 --> 00:34:56.880 He's enjoying the wind and the fresh air until he notices the other waves in front of him crashing against the shore. 00:34:57.280 --> 00:34:59.039 My God, this is terrible. 00:34:59.199 --> 00:35:02.159 The wave says, Look what's going to happen to me. 00:35:02.639 --> 00:35:04.159 Then along comes another wave. 00:35:04.320 --> 00:35:10.000 It sees the first wave looking grim and it says to him, Why do you look so sad? 00:35:10.800 --> 00:35:13.519 The first wave says, You don't understand. 00:35:14.000 --> 00:35:16.400 We're all going to crash. 00:35:16.639 --> 00:35:19.440 All of us waves are going to be nothing. 00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:21.280 Isn't it terrible? 00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:24.559 The second wave says, No, you don't understand. 00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:26.880 You're not a wave. 00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:29.119 You're part of the ocean. 00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:31.920 Part of the ocean, he says. 00:35:32.239 --> 00:35:35.280 Part of the ocean. 00:35:36.320 --> 00:35:37.199 Let me ask you this. 00:35:37.280 --> 00:35:39.360 Are you living as a wave or part of the ocean? 00:35:41.039 --> 00:35:42.320 Check your calendar. 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:43.840 Check your money. 00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:45.199 Check your friend group. 00:35:45.280 --> 00:35:46.239 Check your text messages. 00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:49.440 Are you living as a wave or part of the ocean? 00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:51.840 This is why we're excited about groups launching. 00:35:52.880 --> 00:35:55.280 If you want to live as a part of the ocean, join a group. 00:35:55.360 --> 00:35:57.360 That's the easiest first step. 00:35:57.840 --> 00:35:59.760 Learn to do life with people. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.159 Learn to be a part of the ocean of work God is doing here in Frankfurt. 00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:10.000 The second thing I want to encourage us into is to own your sins and snares. 00:36:10.400 --> 00:36:19.760 One of my favorite instructions in the Bible is found in Hebrews 12.1 when the writers say, Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:23.679 Says this, let us run with endurance the race that lies before us. 00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:27.119 I love the sports language here because it's practical to follow. 00:36:27.280 --> 00:36:34.800 If you want to run for a long time, if you want to run well, you need to make sure that your journey is as simple and light as possible. 00:36:35.039 --> 00:36:40.320 If you want to run 10 miles, you don't need to put no 30-pound backpack on unless you plan it, unless you train it in the military. 00:36:40.480 --> 00:36:44.960 For us regular folks, you don't need to take nothing that's going to weigh you down. 00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:47.199 You just need the lightest load as possible. 00:36:47.360 --> 00:36:51.199 In the same way, we want to have a long obedience in one direction with God. 00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:59.039 And if we want to have that long obedience in one direction with God, we got to be honest about our sins and aware of the snares in our life. 00:36:59.199 --> 00:37:01.199 These things that are weighing us down. 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:06.320 Hidden and unaddressed sin in our lives offends God and hurts our neighbor. 00:37:06.960 --> 00:37:12.639 And if you're trying to run a race to represent God to reach your neighbor, then your sin is a problem. 00:37:13.679 --> 00:37:21.360 Snares, when taken lightly, hinder us from our commitment to God and our commission to others. 00:37:21.679 --> 00:37:26.000 See, sometimes the snare in your life is something you have a right to have a snare about. 00:37:26.159 --> 00:37:29.760 Somebody broke your heart and that produced some hurt in you. 00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:32.800 And you feel like I got a right to be hurt. 00:37:33.039 --> 00:37:37.199 Not when that hurt becomes bitterness and unforgiveness and resentment, you don't. 00:37:37.760 --> 00:37:44.559 Not when that hurt goes, tells you that you don't have to engage into the body of Christ, like the scriptures say, because the last church hurt you. 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:45.119 No. 00:37:45.840 --> 00:37:47.039 That is a snare. 00:37:47.199 --> 00:37:51.920 That is something that is tripping you up and getting in the way in the full expression of your faith. 00:37:52.159 --> 00:37:54.000 And Jesus says, deal with it. 00:37:54.159 --> 00:37:57.679 One of my favorite movie scenes is in the movie Remember the Titans. 00:37:58.159 --> 00:38:04.559 It's this scene right here when Coach Boone he wakes the team up early in the morning and they get out of the bed, we're going running. 00:38:04.719 --> 00:38:08.559 They go running through the woods, giving me trauma of a football camp. 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:11.039 And they keep running, they keep running, they keep running. 00:38:11.119 --> 00:38:12.559 They get to this opening. 00:38:12.639 --> 00:38:17.360