unknown: Good morning.
SPEAKER_00: We have one more week after this week on our series, uh, The Jesus Life.
SPEAKER_00: As we started the Jesus Life series, I didn't want to just take uh the common Jesus stories, maybe that you've heard uh many of the miracles that Jesus performed or the teachings that he did.
SPEAKER_00: My heart behind the series was there's a lot to talk about when it comes to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we could be in this series for a really long time, and but my heart behind this series was this: that we would take parts of Jesus' life and ministry that he actually believes and says that we can now model what he did.
SPEAKER_00: That really the heart behind this series is that you would become more and more like Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all, when you get old, you want to look more like Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: How many of the old people in the room say, when I get old, I want to look more like Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: Our heart in this series is that Jesus came and he lived a life, and he didn't say, good luck, hope you have a good time.
SPEAKER_00: That Jesus came and he lived a life, and he actually said, The life that I lived, you can live.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, that's why a lot of places in Scripture, listen, don't get your theology from one verse in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: What you're gonna see in the Bible is over and over, you'll see patterns and repetitions of scripture that you can tell God is trying to get the point across to you.
SPEAKER_00: Your kids ever tell you, Dad, I got it, I got it, I heard you.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, no, you didn't hear me.
SPEAKER_00: What do you do?
SPEAKER_00: You say it again.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter how many times they say, Well, I heard you the first time, you say, Oh, I'm gonna tell you again.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because I want you to know.
SPEAKER_00: And what I think Jesus is doing in us in the life of this series is saying, I'm gonna tell you again and again, because I want you to know that the life Jesus lived, you can live too.
SPEAKER_00: And today's message really is about that.
SPEAKER_00: I've titled the message The Secret of Success.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all want to be successful?
SPEAKER_00: Three of you.
SPEAKER_00: Bless God.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, uh, I was I got lost in the dark world of YouTube the other day.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know how it's just like, you're like, where did this video come from?
SPEAKER_00: I found myself watching this guy on YouTube approach complete strangers, or at least you think it's complete strangers.
SPEAKER_00: Who knows?
SPEAKER_00: The whole thing could have been set up, but uh he's approaching complete strangers.
SPEAKER_00: A guy's getting out of a Ferrari in a major city and he walks up to him and he says, Sir, are you a millionaire?
SPEAKER_00: And the guy says, Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Would you tell the next generation what it takes to be a successful millionaire just like yourself?
SPEAKER_00: You know, and he gets out of the car, he's got a big gold chain, you know, big nice glasses.
SPEAKER_00: He doesn't take the glasses off for the interview, can't see his eyeballs.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, I can't tell if you're really telling the truth, but you know.
SPEAKER_00: And uh he he just he starts asking him these all these questions.
SPEAKER_00: He says, What does it take to be successful?
SPEAKER_00: And the guy gets out of his Ferrari, he's got his gold chains, he's probably 60 years old, he's got about a 20-year-old girlfriend, and the guy says, How many millions do you have?
SPEAKER_00: Do you have 10 million?
SPEAKER_00: And the guy goes, Yeah.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, 20 million?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 30.
SPEAKER_00: And and the guy finally stops, he goes, Let's just put it this way, young man.
SPEAKER_00: He goes, I got enough money that her grandkids will be blessed and her grandkids' grandkids will be wealthy.
SPEAKER_00: And and he goes on, you ever met somebody like this?
SPEAKER_00: And uh and the guy starts asking me these questions, he says, Well, what is the secret to your success?
SPEAKER_00: And and how many of you know, like, how does it, how does the algorithm know that you can't wait to watch this?
SPEAKER_00: Like, it's like the ad comes up and you're like, Skip, skip, I want to watch, like, I gotta know how to.
SPEAKER_00: And like, they go on and they give you this advice that you're like, is that really it?
SPEAKER_00: Like, is that really gonna make you a millionaire?
SPEAKER_00: Is that like really a get rich quick scheme?
SPEAKER_00: Like, is it is this even gonna really work?
SPEAKER_00: And you know, sometimes I find myself watching that and I realize something about myself that I think is true in our culture, and that is this.
SPEAKER_00: We're always waiting for the guy with the magic bullet.
SPEAKER_00: We're always waiting for the guy who can give us the secret that nobody has ever heard.
SPEAKER_00: And if you just knew what the secret was, then you could be just like them.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I I wish that they would come interview me, because I could I could make a video go viral.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I've never made a million dollars, but I could tell them a few things about how to make a million dollars.
SPEAKER_00: Ready?
SPEAKER_00: Here it is.
SPEAKER_00: I can say in one line: don't go to Starbucks.
SPEAKER_00: Take the money you'd spend at Starbucks, put it in investment, you'll be a millionaire by the time you're 65.
SPEAKER_00: Every 20-year-old in the room, that's free advice today, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't know if I'm preaching to y'all or my wife, or I don't know, but let's just uh what is the secret to success?
SPEAKER_00: I want to talk to you about that secret today because I believe in the chapters of the Bible we're about to read, Jesus is revealing the secret to success.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know when Jesus came, he started teaching things that nobody really wanted to hear?
SPEAKER_00: Like this, I don't think if Jesus showed up today, he would be viral on YouTube with his teachings because his teachings go contrary.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, often what Jesus would say at the beginning of his messages is, you've heard it said this way, but I tell you this way.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, he's saying, everybody else says this is this secret.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody else says this is how you're gonna be successful, but Jesus says, but I've got a different idea about what success looks like.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to give you this passage today out of John chapter 14 through actually John chapter 17.
SPEAKER_00: There's several chapters in here where Jesus at the upper room, Last Supper that we just celebrated, the communion we just took, right before Jesus passes on on the cross, here's what he does.
SPEAKER_00: He sits down with his disciples and he gives them the secret sauce to living the Jesus life.
SPEAKER_00: He tells them, this is the secret, this is what you need to know.
SPEAKER_00: How many know we often are looking for the secret answer when what we've been doing isn't working?
SPEAKER_00: You you know, you ever feel that way?
SPEAKER_00: You're like, what I'm doing isn't working, there's gotta be something better.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: That's about the time you get on and start looking at some blogs on Google.
SPEAKER_00: That's about the time when what you had planned isn't working, and you're saying, there's gotta be something better than this.
SPEAKER_00: Often when things in life don't work is when we go running for that secret magic quick fix.
SPEAKER_00: I have toddlers, I or I have a four-year-old, and uh, the biggest event of the week this week, y'all, uh, my son, uh just the the pre-K graduation, but um, before I tell you a little bit about that, I gotta tell you kids these days are terrible with secrets.
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00: It's like, uh moms, how did the men do in the room on Mother's Day?
SPEAKER_00: How'd they do?
SPEAKER_00: Apparently I did great because my wife was the only one who cheered.
SPEAKER_00: Ladies, how did your husbands do for Mother's Day?
SPEAKER_00: All right, let's skip this message and go back.
SPEAKER_00: How to have a great marriage.
SPEAKER_00: Um, what was I saying?
SPEAKER_00: You guys really threw me.
SPEAKER_00: My kids, you know, it's really hard to buy your wife a gift for Mother's Day, right?
SPEAKER_00: Because in today's world, Amazon tracks everything.
SPEAKER_00: She's already got a notification on her phone ten times that the package is on the way, you know?
SPEAKER_00: And uh, but kids make it even harder, right?
SPEAKER_00: Because you'll take your four-year-old and will go buy mom a gift, and the first thing they do when they walk through the door is, Mom, we got you, and you're like, slap in that face, they're like, just cover it up, don't say, don't tell her.
SPEAKER_00: And then you finally convince them not to tell mom what it is that they got, and then they'll do something like this.
SPEAKER_00: They'll say, Mom, wouldn't you love a brand new pair of headphones?
SPEAKER_00: Like, you just told her.
SPEAKER_00: What am I saying?
SPEAKER_00: They can't help but tell the secret.
SPEAKER_00: Before Jesus gets on the cross, he couldn't help but tell the secret.
SPEAKER_00: It's like he begins to reveal the secrets of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Now, listen, I know some of you may be thinking, like, I don't know a lot about this church life.
SPEAKER_00: I've read some of my Bible, but I'm not really sure about all this.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know that I really understand everything.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I want you to know: the mysteries of heaven have been revealed.
SPEAKER_00: This is not a secret that only a few people know.
SPEAKER_00: This is not a secret that is withheld.
SPEAKER_00: This is open information that the Lord says, if you catch these secrets that I'm about to reveal to you in the final moments of my life, he says, this will change your life.
SPEAKER_00: This is not a YouTube gimmick.
SPEAKER_00: This is not an algorithm meant to bait and switch you.
SPEAKER_00: This is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
SPEAKER_00: It's as if it's his deathbed confession.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: You know the deathbed confession, you know, like where grandma's like, hey, there's a million dollars in a coffee can buried in the backyard.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, bless God, you know?
SPEAKER_00: It's like, have you ever had somebody before they go, they say, I just want to make sure you know this.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know that I love you.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know that uh despite everything we've been through, I want you to know this simple truth.
SPEAKER_00: This is what Jesus is doing.
SPEAKER_00: It's like a deathbed confession, John chapter 14 through 17.
SPEAKER_00: In fact, it's probably one of the most uh dense uh red letters in your Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, red letters in the Bible is not because Jesus said, I'm just gonna use a red pen.
SPEAKER_00: It's because the in modern day we say, What are the words that Jesus spoke?
SPEAKER_00: And most of John 14 through 17 are red letters, which means Jesus himself is saying these things.
SPEAKER_00: He's giving them the secrets of heaven, he's revealing them like my toddler coming in the house saying, I can't wait to tell you this.
SPEAKER_00: I need you to know this because the world is going to say this is how you are successful, but I have another way all together.
SPEAKER_00: So the heart behind today's message really is this the secret to being successful in your faith.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to this verse in John chapter 16.
SPEAKER_00: I think it sums all of these chapters up.
SPEAKER_00: I couldn't get over this verse this week.
SPEAKER_00: I wanted to share it with you.
SPEAKER_00: John 16, verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, I've said all of these things.
SPEAKER_00: He's several paragraphs into the discourse by now.
SPEAKER_00: He's telling the disciples, I've told you all of this because of this one reason.
SPEAKER_00: I want to help keep you from falling away.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all want to be successful?
SPEAKER_00: You don't want to fail.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is saying, I'm going to reveal this information to you because I don't want you to walk away from your faith.
SPEAKER_00: I want to reveal this information to you.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because the disciples are about to find themselves alone.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is about to be gone, and Jesus is saying, I want to give you the secret sauce to staying with your faith when everything in your world gets turned upside down.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want you to fail.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to keep going.
SPEAKER_00: And he begins to reveal his heart to them.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm telling you this because here's what I want you to know.
SPEAKER_00: You need to take your name and put it in John chapter 16, verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is saying today, this message is for you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm telling you, Jesus says, not just to the disciples, he's saying, I'm saying this to you.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want your faith to fail, so let me give you the answers to the test.
SPEAKER_00: Bless God when the teachers do that.
SPEAKER_00: Remember when you used to study for a test, and the teacher said, Hey, I'm going to give you an answer key or a study guide that's going to help.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, yes, this is going to be the best thing ever.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, here it is, right here.
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing secret or hidden about it.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says that Jesus reveals the mysteries of heaven.
SPEAKER_00: That for generations they were scratching their head trying to figure it out.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus just showing up on the scene is a revelation of the mysteries of God coming to us, which means this for you.
SPEAKER_00: The secrets of heaven are for you.
SPEAKER_00: The secrets of heaven can be revealed to you in your life.
SPEAKER_00: So I want to give you some things that Jesus said in this final discourse that can help you be successful in your faith.
SPEAKER_00: Not success the way the world looks, but success the way faith looks.
SPEAKER_00: Number one, Jesus says this to you the secret is this you will do what I do and greater.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' final words, this is what he wants to say.
SPEAKER_00: Anybody hear that and think, yeah, not me.
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's no way he could have been talking to me.
SPEAKER_00: Don't you know my life?
SPEAKER_00: Don't you know my background?
SPEAKER_00: Don't you know I haven't even read all my Bible?
SPEAKER_00: I don't even pray every day.
SPEAKER_00: Like, don't you know I don't get it all right?
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is parting words to this group of 12 disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, this is not the crowds of 5,000.
SPEAKER_00: This is the 12 right here around the table, taking the Passover festival communion together.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is looking at them and he's saying, This, you're gonna do the things that I do, the things that I've done, and you're gonna do them on an even greater level.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all know that's a revolutionary thought?
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 14 tells us this, truly, truly, he says, I tell to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever you ask in my name, he says, This I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
SPEAKER_00: If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
SPEAKER_00: I think I can live on that one passage for the next 20 years and still not understand the depth of what it is that he's saying.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I mean, we're talking about Jesus, okay?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus did miracles, Jesus taught, Jesus showed compassion to those we would say don't deserve it.
SPEAKER_00: He was merciful and kind and generous and benevolent.
SPEAKER_00: Like Jesus is the ultimate standard and the ultimate model.
SPEAKER_00: And how many of you know when your mentor or the one you look after says, you're gonna be just like me, there's something about that that is encouraging but daunting at the same time.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is looking at the disciples saying, the things that I did, you're gonna do.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Jesus worked miracles.
SPEAKER_00: What kind of miracles are you working in your life?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus taught the word of God to everybody around him.
SPEAKER_00: What kind of word of God are you teaching to your family and the people around you?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus did incredible things.
SPEAKER_00: And it doesn't just stop with, you're gonna do the things that I do, you're gonna look like me, Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: You're also gonna do even greater things.
SPEAKER_00: And it's about that point that we begin to scratch our head and say, Jesus, how could you ever say such a thing about a person like me?
SPEAKER_00: The event of the week, actually, the event of the year around our house was this week, uh, pre-K graduation.
SPEAKER_00: Bless God, somebody.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all know you want to grow a church?
SPEAKER_00: Just have a pre-K graduation.
SPEAKER_00: There was like 10 kids up here and like 500 people out there, you know?
SPEAKER_00: Grandmas and uncles and ex-relatives.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, everybody's there.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, you know, uh, they they did this thing, the teacher gave every four-year-old an award.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, and so uh, you know, the the girl that got up before my son walked up there and the teacher gave her the Fashionista award.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all know the mom was so proud back there?
SPEAKER_00: So I did it, you know?
SPEAKER_00: And like the last time my kid was at one of these things, he just cried the whole time in front of everybody.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, just let's just make it out of here without a tear, you know.
SPEAKER_00: And he walks up the little stage in his cap and gown and and all cute and and all the things.
SPEAKER_00: Mom has got the video camera, and the teacher says, Cohen Small gets the hardest worker award.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, yes.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, that's my boy, you know?
SPEAKER_00: I'm thinking he got it from me, y'all.
SPEAKER_00: Just just so you know.
SPEAKER_00: Like, he he got it from me.
SPEAKER_00: Like, so much so that um, you know, uh the other day, uh yesterday, uh we were out running around town and he wanted to do one thing.
SPEAKER_00: We had all these activities planned, all this stuff going on, and he said, Dad, I want to fix the sprinklers.
SPEAKER_00: I said, What do you mean?
SPEAKER_00: He said, I'm time to go fix the sprinklers.
SPEAKER_00: I took them all.
SPEAKER_00: Dad, you want to go to Chick-fil-A, play on the playground?
SPEAKER_00: No, no, no, I want to go fix the sprinklers.
SPEAKER_00: So finally I drove him home, and for 30 minutes he went out in the yard with a screwdriver, a shovel, and a level.
SPEAKER_00: Don't know what he needed the level for, but he was gonna figure it out.
SPEAKER_00: And for 30 minutes, he fixed the sprinkler.
SPEAKER_00: And he walked into the garage, he said, Dad, it's time to test it.
SPEAKER_00: Because we'd fixed the sprinklers three weeks ago, so now that's what he's fixated on.
SPEAKER_00: We go in, we test it.
SPEAKER_00: He says, Ah, it works.
SPEAKER_00: You owe me a hundred bucks.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you got all the things I want you to get, buddy.
SPEAKER_00: But parents, how many of you know you want your kids to do greater things that you've done than you've done?
SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe an older brother would say, I want you to fail.
SPEAKER_00: But there's not a mom in the room that wouldn't look at their kids and say, The things that I've done, I want you to do more than I've done.
SPEAKER_00: The things that I have, I want you to have more than I have.
SPEAKER_00: And even greater levels.
SPEAKER_00: And I was reflecting on that this week because that is the heart of the father towards you.
SPEAKER_00: And the the reality is you have to embrace this.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember this in my own life.
SPEAKER_00: My dad, I never forget having the conversation with him when I was 17 or 18 about going into ministry.
SPEAKER_00: I felt the pull of God calling me into ministry, but my dad had lived in the same town his whole life, and he was in business and he had done well in business.
SPEAKER_00: He it just seemed like everything I watched my dad do, everything he put his hands to, it's like it would succeed and he would have success.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember weighing the cost.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says, count the cost.
SPEAKER_00: I was weighing the cost of going into ministry, and what I was really weighing is, Dad, I don't know that I'll be able to do the things that you can do.
SPEAKER_00: Have you ever felt the people in your life?
SPEAKER_00: You feel the pressure to live up to them.
SPEAKER_00: And I'll never forget what my dad told me.
SPEAKER_00: I remember my dad looking me in the eyes when I was contemplating going into ministry, and he looked at me with all sincerity and he said, The things that I have, you'll have more of.
SPEAKER_00: The things that you'll do, I've never been able to do.
SPEAKER_00: And he looked at me with all sincerity, he said, You will be able to go places I was never able to go.
SPEAKER_00: And at 17 years old, I'm looking at him thinking, Yeah, but dad, how could I ever be like you?
SPEAKER_00: And he told me this.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Listen, he goes, but it has nothing to do with you going into business and everything to do with you following God.
SPEAKER_00: What's the heart of a father?
SPEAKER_00: The heart of a father is that you would do what he has done and even greater.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus' final deathbed parting words to us are the same thing, that same truth.
SPEAKER_00: But listen, I already know what some of y'all are thinking.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all thinking, yeah, but not me.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe those Christians that have gone to church their whole life, yeah, maybe those Christians that don't cuss when they're not at church, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe those Christians who got their life all cleaned up or study their Bible every day, maybe those guys, but listen, you need to hear this.
SPEAKER_00: Don't disqualify what God has already qualified.
SPEAKER_00: This is really important.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' final parting words to you are the things that I've done, you will do, and you will do even greater.
SPEAKER_00: The Jesus life is for you.
SPEAKER_00: This is not wishful thinking, this is not just a good idea, this is not just a preacher trying to encourage you today.
SPEAKER_00: This is the word of God coming to you, saying the things that He's done, you're gonna do even greater.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what He says He says, You're qualified for that.
SPEAKER_00: So stop trying to disqualify yourself.
SPEAKER_00: What disqualifies us, our past often.
SPEAKER_00: Many people in the room, in fact, oftentimes people walk in the doors of the church the first time, and I've heard this phrase said out loud.
SPEAKER_00: I'm so shocked the walls aren't falling down on me yet.
SPEAKER_00: And I know what they're saying.
SPEAKER_00: They're saying they feel like their life's so messed up that they're just gonna walk into church and the whole place is gonna fall apart because of how bad they've been or the places they've gone or the things that they've done.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what Jesus is saying.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, even that person who feels that way is qualified to do the things that Jesus did and greater.
SPEAKER_00: Why am I telling you this?
SPEAKER_00: Because this is the secret.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe your faith, it's not your faith, but listen to this for just a second.
SPEAKER_00: Humor, for just a second.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you feel like your faith is failing because you're not believing the very thing that God told you to believe.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe the challenge of your faith and getting the freedom you've been looking for for years has nothing to do with what God is or isn't doing.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it has everything to do with what you believe about what he already said about you.
SPEAKER_00: Because here's the Bible that I read.
SPEAKER_00: In Genesis chapter 1, the Bible says that you were made in the image of God.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, your very wiring and DNA, the very breath of life that you have on the inside of you, comes from heaven.
SPEAKER_00: He says, You were born looking like me.
SPEAKER_00: The challenge is not whether or not you can do the things God said you do, the challenge is whether or not you believe he can put back together all the pieces that done got messed up along the way so that you can still look like him.
SPEAKER_00: This is this is the truth of the God.
SPEAKER_00: This is a secret.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because so many times we walk into a room and we feel so unqualified.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I can do it.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, if God says you can do it, you can do it.
SPEAKER_00: If God says that in his name you can pray and ask, then guess what?
SPEAKER_00: In his name you can pray and ask.
SPEAKER_00: If God says that you can call on him when your family is in trouble, you can call on him when your family is in trouble.
SPEAKER_00: And it's not about whether or not you're a preacher or been at your faith for a long time.
SPEAKER_00: It has everything to do with you believing the word that he's already said about you.
SPEAKER_00: That's the secret.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, is that it, Clayton?
SPEAKER_00: Like, where's the ten steps?
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's it.
SPEAKER_00: Do you believe what God says about you?
SPEAKER_00: Number two, that one came out of John where Jesus said this.
SPEAKER_00: And in John chapter 14, and then he goes on to John chapter 15, and I want to give this one to you.
SPEAKER_00: It says this, apart from him, you can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, You can do nothing apart from me.
SPEAKER_00: So he tells you, you're gonna do everything I did, and you're gonna do greater things.
SPEAKER_00: And he says, But I want to remind you that apart from me, you're going to not be able to do anything.
SPEAKER_00: And here's how he begins to unpack this.
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, I I I totally jumped down.
SPEAKER_00: I got lost in my notes.
SPEAKER_00: Number the number two is this one.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna give you this one first.
SPEAKER_00: I will send you a helper.
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, not trying to be confusing.
SPEAKER_00: Just got a bird in the room.
SPEAKER_00: I will send you a helper.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: How are you gonna do the things that Jesus said you could do?
SPEAKER_00: How are you gonna do greater things than even what Jesus did?
SPEAKER_00: Number two is He's gonna send you a helper.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all know you need some help?
SPEAKER_00: Stop elbowing your spouse.
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 14, verse 26.
SPEAKER_00: But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
SPEAKER_00: I love how he equates.
SPEAKER_00: The name of the Holy Spirit to the helper.
SPEAKER_00: They go hand in hand.
SPEAKER_00: You can call them the Holy Spirit, you can call him the helper.
SPEAKER_00: You can call him the Holy Spirit, you can call them the comforter.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, what he's saying, when you start asking the question, well, God, how am I going to be able to do all the things that you said that I'm going to do?
SPEAKER_00: And he tells the disciples, because I'm going to send you a helper.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, you're not in this alone.
SPEAKER_00: You're not going to have to figure this out on your own.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about your smarts.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about your finances.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about your resources.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about your skill, your gifts, or your talents.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about your past.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about what you've had.
SPEAKER_00: This isn't about what you've done.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, this is about the Holy Spirit being your helper all the days of your life.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying the helper's going to come to you, and that's how you're going to look more like Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, sometimes I'm I'm a little nervous about preaching.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason I'm nervous about preaching is not because y'all are crazy.
SPEAKER_00: The reason I get nervous about preaching is because I think sometimes what happens if it gets lost in translation.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to know I'm not here to tell you to look like Jesus to be a burden to you.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you go to church and you're like, well, the pastor told me to do another thing.
SPEAKER_00: I can't even do the last five things he said.
SPEAKER_00: And by the way, I slept through the last message because I couldn't even do the first message.
SPEAKER_00: And like sometimes we can feel like it's a burden, but I'm telling you, this isn't meant to be a burden.
SPEAKER_00: It's meant to be a blessing.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what he is saying.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to look more like Jesus, not because you're so good, but because he's so good.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to look more like Jesus not because you're so perfect, but because he's so perfect.
SPEAKER_00: You're going to look more like Jesus not because you're so faithful, but because he's so faithful.
SPEAKER_00: And what he's saying is, I'm going to help you navigate these things in your life.
SPEAKER_00: So don't disqualify yourself because the Holy Spirit's going to come live inside you.
SPEAKER_00: And listen to what he says in John chapter 16.
SPEAKER_00: He uses another word.
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
SPEAKER_00: Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.
SPEAKER_00: It is to your advantage.
SPEAKER_00: Say advantage.
SPEAKER_00: It's to your advantage that I go away.
SPEAKER_00: For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you.
SPEAKER_00: But if I go, I will send him to you.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all would like to have an advantage in your life?
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is an advantage.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, the Holy Spirit helps you do the things that you can't do.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit gives you wisdom that you don't have.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit will help you answer things you can't answer.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit will give you guidance in places that even the guidance of your friends and your peers and the people that you love falls short.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because here's what Jesus is after.
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 16, verse 1.
SPEAKER_00: He's after your faith, not failing.
SPEAKER_00: And he will do whatever it takes.
SPEAKER_00: And what it takes is his Holy Spirit coming to you to be an advantage to you.
SPEAKER_00: When you go to work, you have an advantage.
SPEAKER_00: When you go to school, you have an advantage.
SPEAKER_00: When you're fighting in your marriage, you still have an advantage.
SPEAKER_00: When you're going through challenges, you have an advantage.
SPEAKER_00: And this is the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: I want to give you a theology lesson real quick.
SPEAKER_00: This is what we call the Trinity in the church.
SPEAKER_00: You're not going to find the word Trinity in the Bible, but what you're going to find throughout Scripture is the teaching of the Trinity, which is this: that we believe in one God in three persons.
SPEAKER_00: One God, three persons.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, we what makes Christianity so unique is we believe in God the Father.
SPEAKER_00: We believe in God the Son.
SPEAKER_00: His name is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He came to earth and died on the cross for our sins.
SPEAKER_00: God raised him from the dead.
SPEAKER_00: Right now he's seated at the right hand of the throne of the Father.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible says that at his name.
SPEAKER_00: There is no other name like his name.
SPEAKER_00: One day he's coming and he's going to return again.
SPEAKER_00: That's Jesus the Son.
SPEAKER_00: And then we believe in the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Son.
SPEAKER_00: God sent Jesus His Son, and Jesus sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: All that is just simply to say this one truth right here: that the Holy Spirit is your access to God.
SPEAKER_00: That the Holy Spirit is your advantage.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is your helper and your comforter.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is the only 2 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: friend that will always be there.
SPEAKER_00: Because by the way, I'm sleeping at 2 a.m.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about y'all.
SPEAKER_00: But the Holy Spirit, he's with you there on your dark days and on your good days, on your fun days and your not so fun days.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is designed to be your helper.
SPEAKER_00: I love this translation.
SPEAKER_00: The one who provides the strength and energy, the ability to do what needs to be done to live the Christian life.
SPEAKER_00: I loved what one translator wrote.
SPEAKER_00: He said, it's extra strength.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just strength.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all need strength?
SPEAKER_00: It's I don't just need strength.
SPEAKER_00: I want Tylenol extra strength.
SPEAKER_00: Let's knock this bad boy out, you know?
SPEAKER_00: And what the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is that extra strength that will come to you in your life.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus wants you to know this.
SPEAKER_00: Why does he want you to know this?
SPEAKER_00: Lest you think you're doing it on your own.
SPEAKER_00: To the person in the room who's like, I don't know how to pick up all the pieces.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord is saying, but the Holy Spirit does.
SPEAKER_00: And here's why this is so profound.
SPEAKER_00: Because before Jesus goes, he knows the disciples are going to be looking around saying, Where is Jesus now?
SPEAKER_00: What do we do now?
SPEAKER_00: And when they feel like all is lost, Jesus wants them to know something really, really important.
SPEAKER_00: That the Holy Spirit is going to come to them on Pentecost Sunday, next Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is going to come to them.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what the Holy Spirit is going to do.
SPEAKER_00: The Holy Spirit is going to help them and guide them and lead them into the truth and convict them and help them and be their leader.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what Jesus says about that.
SPEAKER_00: He says, I'm going to manifest myself to you.
SPEAKER_00: I like the word manifest.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what it means.
SPEAKER_00: He's going to show up to you.
SPEAKER_00: God wants to show up to you in your life.
SPEAKER_00: And listen, lest you're looking for Jesus to show up in human flesh and human form, that's not what we're looking for.
SPEAKER_00: What we're looking for is the manifestation of God is through the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what he says in John chapter 15 and 16.
SPEAKER_00: He says that we're going to come and make our home with you.
SPEAKER_00: In other words, that when you receive the Holy Spirit, here's what God is saying.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, I'm gonna come make my home inside of you.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, I don't want a helper all the way in China.
SPEAKER_00: I want a helper that's walking with me every day.
SPEAKER_00: I don't want a helper who's on vacation.
SPEAKER_00: I want a helper that's walking with me and never takes a day off.
SPEAKER_00: And that's what the Lord is saying.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus is instructing them this because here's what they need to know: that they can't do it on their own.
SPEAKER_00: And the last one is this that comes out of the scripture, is uh the one I already said.
SPEAKER_00: You can do nothing apart from me.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus reveals this final secret.
SPEAKER_00: You can do nothing apart from me.
SPEAKER_00: You know, I'll never forget.
SPEAKER_00: I I mean, I grew up in church.
SPEAKER_00: I grew up reading my Bible.
SPEAKER_00: I believed in God the Father, I believed in Jesus Christ the Son, and I thought the Holy Spirit was just some weird uncle thing, you know?
SPEAKER_00: Some crazy relative you didn't invite over.
SPEAKER_00: And uh I often will say it like this, I've heard it this way before, that the Holy Spirit was the God I never knew.
SPEAKER_00: And I say that because I remember being in my car in college when my future lovely wife introduced me to the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: If it wasn't for her, I couldn't preach this message today.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the words that I used to describe.
SPEAKER_00: As she began teaching me about the Holy Spirit out of the Bible, I remember for the first time in my life, I said these words.
SPEAKER_00: I said, I feel like for the first time in my life, I can actually do the things that Jesus says I can do.
SPEAKER_00: And if you've ever read the Bible and thought, I can't do that, if you've ever gone to church and thought, I can't be like that, if you've ever heard a sermon and thought there's no way that could happen for me, then you're in the same boat.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I realized: my challenge was I had forgotten the God who was right there with me, the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: And so maybe to you today, the answer is this if you feel like things in your life are failing and not succeeding, if you things like feel like things are harder than they should be with your faith and not finding success, here's what I'd encourage you.
SPEAKER_00: Are you remembering the Holy Spirit who wants to walk with you and help you, who makes God more real to you than ever before?
SPEAKER_00: Don't be looking for Jesus in the flesh, because listen, a lot of people were looking for Jesus in the flesh.
SPEAKER_00: And it's so easy to say, well, if I was there when Jesus was there, then by golly, I would be doing all this.
SPEAKER_00: No, that's not true.
SPEAKER_00: You know why?
SPEAKER_00: Because 5,000 people in one day gathered around Jesus and watched him multiply bread and fishes and feed everyone.
SPEAKER_00: And can I tell you who was standing there at the cross with him?
SPEAKER_00: Not them.
SPEAKER_00: What I'm saying is they could see it with their eyes, but until you receive the Holy Spirit in your heart, you lack the ability or the strength to do the things that he says that you can do.
SPEAKER_00: So my question is, are you trying to do things apart from him?
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 15, verse 5.
SPEAKER_00: Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.
SPEAKER_00: For apart from me, you can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all are encouraged by that?
SPEAKER_00: You can't do anything.
SPEAKER_00: I started with the good one, okay?
SPEAKER_00: I built you up.
SPEAKER_00: And he gets his part and he says, Without me, you just you can't do it.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't say you can do some things.
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't say like you can kind of have a good marriage or you can kind of have a good.
SPEAKER_00: It says, apart from me, you can do nothing.
SPEAKER_00: And before I preached this message this week, I was out on somebody's farm.
SPEAKER_00: I was just spending some time and I was writing and praying and reading, and and I remember testing the Lord on this one.
SPEAKER_00: I said, Lord, am I really gonna stand up there and tell everybody they can do nothing?
SPEAKER_00: And he says, You bet you are.
SPEAKER_00: I was like, is that even really true?
SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, it's like 2026, and we have Amazon, and like, you know, I can order whatever I want, get it whenever I want, and the Lord's like, well, what about food?
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's called H E B.
SPEAKER_00: We have the greatest grocery store in the state of the world, you know?
SPEAKER_00: It's like, and um as I was walking, the Lord reminded me of something that you're gonna think, that's ridiculous, Pastor.
SPEAKER_00: Why would you use an example like that?
SPEAKER_00: Because it's true.
SPEAKER_00: As I was walking, I th the Lord said, Clayton, don't you remember that if it doesn't rain, you don't eat.
SPEAKER_00: I think in our world it gets so easy to get distracted because we think that by our hands we've built it.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, well, what about my neighbor?
SPEAKER_00: He's successful, he's got a great business, and he doesn't even know God.
SPEAKER_00: I think the definition of success looks a lot different.
SPEAKER_00: And what the Lord is encouraging us today is are you trying to do things on your own without Him?
SPEAKER_00: Have you surrendered your life over to His ability to do everything?
SPEAKER_00: It reminds me of these blueprints.
SPEAKER_00: We had blueprints in the life of the church, and this summer we got the parking lot redone, and when we got the parking lot redone, there was a parking block right up in the front, and there was a piece of rebar, about the thickness of my finger, stuck in the ground, and one of the guys took the hammer and he began to hammer that piece of rebar down in the ground and a few more inches down so it would be down in the mud, and all of a sudden water started spewing out from the hole.
SPEAKER_00: Oh no.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody said, Where's the plans?
SPEAKER_00: Where's the plans?
SPEAKER_00: And we went and I pulled the plans, and I don't know what was in that parking lot because it wasn't on the plans.
SPEAKER_00: You ever been there before?
SPEAKER_00: And I'm I'm scrolling through the plans, like, there is no water line in our parking lot.
SPEAKER_00: I may be a preacher, but I ain't dumb.
SPEAKER_00: Like, there's no water line in our parking lot.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember, like, what are we gonna do?
SPEAKER_00: And turns out there was a lot of water line.
SPEAKER_00: We dug dirt in the ground and patched the hole, and there was a water line right in the parking lot.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know one day I was going along and when they had torn out this uh wall, there was some plans stuck down inside the wall.
SPEAKER_00: And I had stuffed them in my office, and I didn't remember that they were there, and and uh come out of the wall, and I remember reading this line right here that somebody had written on these plans as built drawings.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know that makes all the difference in the world?
SPEAKER_00: I don't I didn't just need that day in the parking lot, I didn't just need plans that some architect put together in an office.
SPEAKER_00: All the construction guys in the room are like, here we go, I got this one for you.
SPEAKER_00: Because how many of you know what the guy drew up in the office looks nothing like what happened out here?
SPEAKER_00: And right here on these plans, they drew in by hand the way that it was really done.
SPEAKER_00: As I was thinking about this message, I just thought, you know, sometimes maybe in life, maybe you had a set of blueprint plans and you were living your life by it and it wasn't working.
SPEAKER_00: And you began to wonder, like, this isn't going the way the picture and the drawing had told me that it would go.
SPEAKER_00: And I think what Jesus is doing to the disciples in the midst of the upper room is he says, the day that you realize the plans that you have for your life are not working is the day you need to pick up the plans, where he writes right on top, as built drawings.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the secret.
SPEAKER_00: Here's how it really works.
SPEAKER_00: And on the day you realize that your hands can't build it and you can't sustain it, and you can't do your marriage all by yourself, and you thought you'd be a great parent, but turns out you need a little more help than you thought, and there are some things failing in your life that the Lord says, the day you pick up the plans that says, as I built them, it changes everything for you.
SPEAKER_00: And the way that he built them is by the power of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: You can do what he did and even greater things.
SPEAKER_00: Would you bow your heads and close your eyes?
SPEAKER_00: I want to pray for you this morning.
unknown: I want to pray for you.