WEBVTT 00:00:01.280 --> 00:00:02.640 Yes, I love it. 00:00:02.720 --> 00:00:05.519 I've loved being in this series the last three weeks. 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:07.200 We're concluding it today. 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:20.480 I think it's so easy that if you um have a little bit of a church background and you've been attending church, maybe even for a long time, it's so easy to just, I don't know, kind of get in autopilot. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:21.839 And we have our rhythms. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:23.440 We this is what we do. 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:31.120 Uh we we go to this service, we sit in this area in the building, and just we kind of get in this, I don't know, a rut, really. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:39.759 And what's nice about us stopping here at the very beginning of a school year, if you will, and just thinking, what is what is it that we're supposed to be doing? 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:41.600 What does it mean to be a church? 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:46.479 And the baseline that we've been parked on from the very beginning is that we're a family. 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:48.640 Uh, that the church is a family. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:50.960 We are brothers and sisters in Christ. 00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:55.920 When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, he adopts you into his family. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:03.280 And therefore, we're part of something that's huge, it's big, but it's also very purpose-filled. 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:12.159 And us walking through each of these four Gs that we've been talking about for many years, we gather and worship as a family. 00:01:12.319 --> 00:01:15.040 We grow in small groups as a family. 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:16.640 Uh, we give generously. 00:01:16.719 --> 00:01:20.480 And then today we're talking about how we go in his name. 00:01:20.719 --> 00:01:22.799 Um, we've said it so many times. 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:32.079 Uh, several of our staff wore these shirts today as a reminder of this whole point, but the church is not a building, the church is a people. 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:37.280 So here we are at 11969 Taylor Mill Road. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:38.400 It's a great address. 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:39.439 I love this address. 00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:41.840 I love this place, I love this facility. 00:01:42.079 --> 00:01:56.959 This is a place, uh, an environment, a campus that by the grace of God and his provision, we're able to have as a place to welcome the gatherers and even welcome the small groups that come and get in circles and grow together. 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:03.439 But this cannot be the only address where those who follow Jesus go. 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:09.680 And I think we know that deep down, but to pause and think about it, to think that we need to get out to all the other addresses. 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:18.240 We need to go out to where all the other spaces are and make sure we carry the name of Jesus with us at all of those other addresses. 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:33.360 There are people that may have never ever entered in this place that just need a glimpse of the light, your light, the light that you carry, the light that was given to you because of your encounter with Jesus. 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:46.960 And when they encounter the light that he placed within you, maybe, just maybe, they begin to turn to him and go into that light and by faith also allow themselves to become light in Jesus Christ. 00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:49.199 This is what it means to be the church. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:58.080 We can't huddle up and uh ostracize ourselves away from a world that's hurting and that's dark and that's difficult. 00:02:58.240 --> 00:03:10.080 Although it's tempting to do that, sometimes it just feels great to be like, ah, in this space here, we can just push aside all the distractions and all the darkness and all the worries. 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:14.080 But friends, we need to take that light into all the spaces. 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:17.840 Um, we're called to be more than just a come and see church. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:20.560 We are called to go and show. 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:32.159 And this is a challenge to me personally because I think as a minister, so much of my efforts and thoughts over the years I've done ministry uh lean a little bit towards come and see. 00:03:32.240 --> 00:03:40.560 You know, we want to have this great worship opportunity or this great fun event or this awesome thing that you can come and be a part of. 00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:44.319 Those are great things, and we'll continue to do those things. 00:03:44.560 --> 00:03:47.039 But that cannot be the only thing we do. 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:57.199 We must be also uh a church, a people that go and intentionally get out there and take the light of Jesus with us. 00:03:57.520 --> 00:04:03.520 Jesus famously said some words before he ascended into heaven after the resurrection. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:09.199 We have for many, many centuries called this the Great Commission that Jesus gave us. 00:04:09.360 --> 00:04:10.400 I want to read it for you. 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:12.800 It's Matthew 28, 18 through 20. 00:04:12.960 --> 00:04:20.079 And it says, Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:33.040 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:38.800 And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:47.759 And if you were to sort of go back and read the gospel accounts, you'll see examples of Jesus sending the disciples out two by two. 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:52.560 They went to villages, they went to homes, and they just spoke of Jesus. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:57.120 They taught about him, they carried his name wherever they went. 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:09.519 And so, in my mind, what I want to start thinking about every time I'm here with you guys on a Sunday morning is like, all right, here in this first service at 10:30 a.m., church isn't over. 00:05:09.920 --> 00:05:12.079 Church doesn't stop, it doesn't end. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:21.839 In fact, maybe you can make the argument that's when it's really beginning that we walk out of this room into wherever we go next, and we carry his name with us. 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:28.319 The church has left the building and it's going to brunch, or it's going to lunch, or it's going to wherever you're going next. 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:30.000 We begin to think that way. 00:05:30.079 --> 00:05:33.920 Maybe it will change our perspective a little bit. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:40.079 In addition to this great commission passage, what I really want to do is kind of park a little bit in another passage. 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:46.319 It's uh some verses that was written by the Apostle Paul to a church in Colossae. 00:05:46.800 --> 00:05:52.800 And it doesn't sound like a kind of a go be on mission for Jesus kind of passage. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:58.079 But as we break it down together, I think it will help us understand how we do this. 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:01.519 Colossians 3, I'm going to read to you verses 12 through 17. 00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:17.040 It says, Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:20.480 Bear with each other and forgive one another. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:26.560 If any of you has a grievance against someone, forgive as the Lord forgave you. 00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:33.519 And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:41.279 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:43.120 And be thankful. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:57.199 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:06.879 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 00:07:07.519 --> 00:07:09.279 It's a beautiful passage. 00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:11.600 When I read that, I'm like, ah, it's inspiring. 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:15.680 I want to break down just four little things to kind of pull out of that passage. 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:19.279 One is that I'm learning that God chose me. 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:24.240 And that sounds like a weird thing to say, but it's literally right there in the scripture. 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:33.759 Therefore, as God's chosen people, there's this crazy theological truth that sometimes might be hard to really think is true. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:58.480 But when you put your faith in Jesus, when you choose Jesus, what's really happened is that he first chose you by the power of the Holy Spirit drawing you to him, even your choice to turn, the Bible word there is repent, to turn to Jesus and say, I believe in you, forgive me of my sins and enter into my heart and I surrender my life to you. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:02.639 That whole thing that happens is really an act of God in your life. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:11.839 So you'll see verses like this in Scripture where it says that we are actually chosen, that He chose us, He adopted us, He picked us. 00:08:12.399 --> 00:08:18.560 So just thinking about that for a moment inspires me because that's different. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:20.879 I'm not just around calling all the shots. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:22.319 God picked me, He chose me. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:25.680 I'm His child, and that means He has a purpose for me. 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:34.799 The second thing I'll pull from there is that because of that, it lists all these things I must clothe myself with in that passage. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:37.679 To sort of sum it up, I would say compassion and love. 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.440 It talked about humility and kindness and forgiveness. 00:08:42.080 --> 00:08:56.960 Because we've been picked, because God chose us, because he adopted us into his family, we're going to develop this compassion and this love for the same things he has compassion and love for. 00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:00.879 The heart that he has, we begin to have. 00:09:01.360 --> 00:09:03.039 And that will change things. 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:04.799 We begin to look at the world differently. 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:06.879 We're going to look at our look at our neighbors differently. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:10.159 We can begin to look at the needs around us differently. 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:28.159 And if we realize, just as this passage says, that we must forgive because he forgave us, when we begin to realize just how much we are dependent on the mercy of God and his forgiveness of us, then we begin to look at every single person around us as just like us. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:30.240 They also need mercy. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:31.919 They also need forgiveness. 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:36.960 They also need the compassion and the kindness and the patience that God offers them. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:39.600 And how can they experience it? 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:41.200 Through me. 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:45.759 And through you, the lights of the world that God has placed here. 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:49.039 That's how they encounter God's compassion. 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:52.960 This is how they encounter God's love is through you and me. 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:59.840 I love that little sentence in verse 16: let the message of Christ dwell among you richly. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:07.200 And I've been thinking about that, that his message, his gospel, his truth, it dwells within each and every one of us. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:11.360 If you've placed your faith in Jesus Christ, his message is in you. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:12.879 His gospel is in you. 00:10:13.039 --> 00:10:20.320 So wherever you go, wherever you work, wherever you live, wherever you play, you carry that with you. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:27.519 And I like that it commands us to let it dwell, let it live, let it remain, let it flourish. 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:40.240 I think I don't fully understand exactly what that is, but I know it's something that I need to do more of and that I need to allow happen in the spaces that are not church spaces, if you will. 00:10:40.480 --> 00:11:02.559 That whether I'm doing a training run or just going to Skyline to get a meal or just uh running into people at the Dollar Tree or wherever it is I go, that this message of Christ is dwelling in me and that it shows up somehow, somehow in my conversations, in my character, in the way that I live. 00:11:02.720 --> 00:11:13.039 And then that last thing that I pull out of that, that last verse, whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:25.840 That last verse, do absolutely everything I do in his name, to begin thinking that way, that I can do any activity and carry his name with me as I do it. 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:35.600 I think I've mentioned him before, but one of my good friends who's also done some pastoring and some mission work over the years is a guy named Bill Evans. 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:39.840 And um, he, I think, pastored at Demosville Baptist Church. 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:43.519 And so he's the one that owns Brother Bill's Heating and Air. 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.799 And there's a van or multiple vans that ride around. 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:50.480 And every now and then I get asked, are you that brother Bill? 00:11:50.720 --> 00:11:51.759 Heating and air. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:58.480 I'm like, do you know I have no skill level in the area of heating and HVAC and all that? 00:11:58.639 --> 00:12:01.120 Um, so it's Bill Evans that does that. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:04.799 What I love about Bill Evans is that he lives that out. 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:14.159 And so we talk about carrying the name of Jesus every single time he's come over to my house to do any work, but I've also witnessed it in other spaces. 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:19.840 He's just every other maybe third or fourth sentence, man, isn't God good? 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:20.799 Praise the Lord. 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:24.480 And I'm I have to admit, when I first met him, I'm like, is that for real, though? 00:12:24.639 --> 00:12:31.679 Like, you just like feel like you have to be that way all the time, that you have to be that joyful, that you have to utter his name so much. 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:33.519 You you're feeling pressure to do that. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:35.919 And the more I got to know him, I was like, that is just him. 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:40.480 That's exactly his authentic self, uh, how God has made him. 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:49.600 I know that's not necessarily every person in here's demeanor, but be your authentic self in Jesus Christ, and that light will shine out. 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:59.759 One time I was literally coming to church here, that big four-way intersection, Taylor Mill Road and Madison Pike, and uh I'm parked to make the left to come to church. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.720 He pulls up beside me on the right side of me. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:08.639 We just kind of look at each other, roll down our windows, and he's like, God's good, isn't he? 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:10.320 He's alive, he's alive. 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:12.639 I'm like, he is he is, praise the Lord. 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:16.720 I wasn't fully awake when he first said that to me, but now I'm feeling it, man. 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:17.440 Thanks, Bill. 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:18.559 I appreciate that. 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:25.519 And then he keeps going, and I turn and come here, and that just little encounter, I'm like, man, that is awesome. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:27.440 We don't have to be just like Bill Evans. 00:13:27.679 --> 00:13:29.279 You don't have to be just like that. 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:35.840 But you are uniquely created and wired to carry his light in a unique way. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.960 If you put your faith in Jesus, his message is in you. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:51.600 He's building your character, he is beginning to shape what compassion and love from God look like in a way that you can show it, that you can dispense it in your words and in your actions. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.879 And yeah, when you do everything in his name, it's gonna show up. 00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:56.159 It's gonna show up. 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:57.840 That's inspiring to me. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:01.919 But I want to move from the inspirational to the uncomfortable. 00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:09.440 The Jesus who he said by his own words is with us to the very end of the age. 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:11.440 That's what he said at the end of the Great Commission. 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.639 Lo, I'm with you always to the very end of the age. 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:23.600 That same Jesus who's with us to the very end of the age will lead us into the places that need him. 00:14:24.240 --> 00:14:28.080 He's gonna lead us into the places who need him. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:33.440 So take Jesus with you wherever you go is only part of the Great Commission. 00:14:34.720 --> 00:14:39.759 Take yourself where Jesus tells you to go is the other part. 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:44.159 And that's not always initially comfortable. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:57.840 If you follow Jesus, if we were following Jesus in the first century, before he died on the cross for our sins, we would have gone to these places. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:07.200 We would have approached the woman caught very publicly in adultery, we would have been close to unclean lepers. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:12.159 We would have seen firsthand the poor and the hurting. 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:19.039 We would have had conversations with the ostracized and the religiously unacceptable. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:26.879 Any place or any person that hasn't had a chance to say yes to him, that's where Jesus goes. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:28.720 That's where he walks. 00:15:28.960 --> 00:15:32.080 So if we're gonna walk with Jesus, we're gonna actually follow him. 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:37.039 It's gonna lead us into those spaces somehow, some way, at some point in our lives. 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:42.879 It's gonna take us a little bit out of our comfort zone into those places that need him most. 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:50.879 Now, this is a very silly example, but this is how sometimes God teaches me things through weird little silly examples. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:59.279 But if you at all see anything that I post on social media, you probably have seen me post pictures of food at some point. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:05.840 More specifically, you've probably seen me post pictures of food that I get from a restaurant called Better Blend. 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:12.960 And it's gotten to a point where one of my friends, Chris Grubbs, says, I met someone who says, Isn't that the Better Blend guy? 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:14.559 And I'm like, oh, I don't know. 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.440 I don't know if I want myself to be named that. 00:16:17.600 --> 00:16:22.559 Like, as it I'm not, I'm not that obsessed, slightly obsessed, but not that obsessed. 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:26.720 Um, but it turns out I'm an ambassador for Better Blend. 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:28.559 That's why I post so much. 00:16:28.720 --> 00:16:31.840 I actually uh do several posts for them a month. 00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:35.679 I do more than that usually because I take a lot of pictures of my food anyway. 00:16:35.840 --> 00:16:42.960 And they actually give me uh gift cards uh for Better Blends so I can keep buying things and it's kind of a whole thing. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:44.720 You can apply to be an ambassador. 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:47.919 By the way, I'm just gonna say I'm an athletic ambassador. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:48.799 Thank you very much. 00:16:48.960 --> 00:16:50.399 I'm gonna throw that in there. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:16:54.879 I don't, I think it's just because they don't see me limping when I try to run. 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:58.720 Um, so I post uh a few times a month. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:04.720 And part of being an ambassador, though, is they want you to try different things. 00:17:04.960 --> 00:17:09.279 And I remember this summer they released the refresher menu. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:13.359 I do not like refreshers at all, despise them. 00:17:13.599 --> 00:17:17.119 Uh, I've had taste, every now and then so oh, you gotta taste this. 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:18.799 Man, this is good stuff. 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:20.000 It's terrible. 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.160 Like, really, it's not good. 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:32.559 It's like uh I don't like nerds and sweet tarts and tardy, fruity stuff, and all those refreshers are like liquid sweet tarts and stuff like that. 00:17:32.720 --> 00:17:33.680 So I don't like them at all. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:37.680 I'm like, oh no, it's gonna, I'm gonna have to try these. 00:17:37.839 --> 00:17:40.000 And I didn't want to, but I'm like, I got to. 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:42.640 That's part of my job as an ambassador is to try them. 00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:44.160 And I was a little nervous about it. 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:46.880 So I tried the strawberry watermelon one first. 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:56.400 And they told us from the very beginning when we agreed to be ambassadors, like, be honest, don't fake it, review the things, shoot straight. 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:02.400 I'm like, oh, I took a video of me trying it, and I'm like, it's different. 00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:04.000 We'll see how it goes. 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:09.519 And then I later on that day said, I could only get, I'd made myself try to drink that thing. 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:13.680 You reach a point when you're trying to enjoy something, and you're like, you know what? 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:14.799 This is done. 00:18:14.960 --> 00:18:16.319 I can't do it anymore. 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:20.160 And I took a picture of what was left over and said, This is as far as I could get with this. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:24.400 And I thought to myself, and this was my last day as an ambassador for Better Blend. 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:25.599 Game over. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:27.279 Like, but it was really cool. 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:35.359 They ended up opening up a new Better Blend in Hyde Park, and they like for the ambassadors to, if they can, to attend any grand openings. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:40.240 And I got to go there and finally meet Isaac Hamlin, who owns and is the founder of it. 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.200 And we had talked to each other but had never met each other. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:44.960 And he actually was so complicated. 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:51.119 He said, Man, I'm so glad you posted that because there's a lot of people who do not like refreshers. 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:55.440 So that you, the fact that you just tried it and was honest about it, that's what we needed. 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:56.559 I'm like, oh, cool. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:57.200 Thanks, man. 00:18:57.440 --> 00:18:58.319 Appreciate that. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:03.279 Um, turns out one of those refreshers are really good, though, the pineapple passion fruit, delicious. 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:10.960 Um, so all that being said, this is this weird little God lesson that God has taught me through that. 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:23.440 Like, I would have never, I promise you, I would have never tried those refreshers if it weren't for the fact that it was my job as an ambassador to try to do them. 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:28.000 That's what pushed me to do something different than I would normally do. 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:31.359 Now, here's that, you probably already see where I'm going with this. 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:36.000 As a follower of Jesus Christ, we carry his name. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:43.440 And I love carrying his name when it comes to worship, when it comes to learning, when it comes to growing. 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:57.119 But sometimes I hesitate when it comes to going to those spaces where I don't know if his name's going to be received, when I don't know how I will be received if I boldly carry his name. 00:19:57.359 --> 00:20:02.480 Or it's just a different place that I've never gone to, or a different need that I've never tried to meet. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:04.400 Or I'm just worried, am I going to do this right? 00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:05.279 Am I going to fail? 00:20:05.359 --> 00:20:06.559 Am I going to mess up? 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:09.599 In those spaces, I tend to withdraw. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:21.519 But because I have been chosen by God as one of his children, clothed in his compassion and love, I must go. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:26.559 I must take a step of uncomfortability and do this. 00:20:26.720 --> 00:20:27.680 I got to, right? 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:28.960 I gotta at least take a step. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:31.039 I love what Scott Munich said in the video. 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:34.319 Just, I want to do something big, I want to do something big for the Lord. 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:44.000 But it always starts with just that first little step where you just sign up or you just show up, you just do it and see what happens. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:46.000 I remember getting very nervous. 00:20:46.240 --> 00:21:01.200 Some of my running friends have this event that they do on occasion where we load our backpacks up with things that we would hand out to people who are living on the streets in Newport, Covington, Cincinnati, and we go for a long run and we stop. 00:21:01.279 --> 00:21:07.440 And I'm like, man, I've done mission trips and I've done some things, but for some reason I'm I'm feeling the butterflies. 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:09.680 I'm feeling edginess about this. 00:21:09.759 --> 00:21:11.359 It just feels different. 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:17.920 And I never will forget one of the ladies who had done it a few times before me saying, These are just real people. 00:21:19.039 --> 00:21:20.400 So just talk to them. 00:21:21.440 --> 00:21:24.480 Talk to them like you would talk to anybody else that you would see. 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:27.440 And that was a game changer. 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:30.240 Just going around saying, Hey, do you need anything? 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:34.880 We got some socks, we got some bottle of water, can we give you anything? 00:21:35.119 --> 00:21:37.279 And then just talking to them about life. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:43.359 And turns out they had a lot of stories to share, and they were just like you and I. 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:56.559 And I'm realizing that sometimes what I do is I categorize specific areas as places that I'm not sure I can go or should go, or that I just don't feel comfortable going. 00:21:56.960 --> 00:21:58.559 I know how to approach that. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.759 I'm telling you, guys. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:08.799 Take a little step, get out of your comfort zone, go to a space where Jesus is needed to be proclaimed. 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:16.960 As I think about this, I think about an encounter or an experience that the Apostle Paul had, I want to read to you from Acts chapter 17. 00:22:17.119 --> 00:22:22.240 And we actually not too long ago read this passage in another sermon. 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:28.319 This was a time when actually Paul was all by himself in the city of Athens. 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:32.079 I want to read to you just a part of what it says about his time there. 00:22:32.319 --> 00:22:45.279 It says in verses 13 through 17, but when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:50.079 The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:55.440 So, in other words, they had to send him away because there was persecution coming upon them. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:23:04.000 It says those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:16.559 So his mission, entourage, took him to Athens, left him in Athens, go back to Silas and Timothy with a message from Paul to come back when you can, to come to Athens when you can. 00:23:16.799 --> 00:23:27.680 And it says in verse 16, while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:37.920 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day, with those who happened to be there. 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:44.880 And I think the couple of words that I skip over pretty quickly in this passage is greatly distressed. 00:23:45.119 --> 00:23:57.200 Like Paul was a little shaken, perturbed, irritated, distraught, mortified, whatever adjective you want to replace that with, it was like it took him aback. 00:23:57.920 --> 00:24:02.720 I just recently read a quote about Athens back in the first century. 00:24:02.960 --> 00:24:08.079 And one quote about Athens is that there were more gods in Athens than there were people. 00:24:08.240 --> 00:24:09.440 God's a little g. 00:24:09.839 --> 00:24:16.960 It was a place of great idolatry, the pantheon of Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. 00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:25.279 You could find them being lauded or at least idolized or some imagery of it everywhere you went. 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:26.799 It was just everywhere. 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:33.440 I can imagine that if I were there with Paul, like this place, this is pretty crazy, isn't it? 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:36.720 Like we're gonna have a lot of issues here. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:39.519 And part of me would maybe want to cut and run. 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:40.640 Get back to my comfort zone. 00:24:40.720 --> 00:24:46.160 Let's get back to where the majority opinion is that Jesus Christ is king. 00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:48.079 But Paul didn't do that. 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:52.559 He went on to, as it says, he just spoke to people in the marketplace. 00:24:52.799 --> 00:24:54.559 There happened to be a synagogue there. 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:55.759 That's where Paul went. 00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:58.480 Almost in every city he went with the gospel. 00:24:58.559 --> 00:25:02.880 He started off in a local synagogue to begin to proclaim Jesus there. 00:25:03.119 --> 00:25:12.480 Which is also uncomfortable because the people in the synagogue probably had not received Christ yet, and it became a place of great persecution from both Jews and Greeks. 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:14.720 But Paul kept doing those things. 00:25:14.880 --> 00:25:22.880 He ended up going to speak at this council called the Areopagus at a place called Mars Hill and proclaiming the gospel. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:28.960 I mean, once he started talking about the resurrection of Jesus, they all thought he was crazy and they were very dismissive of him. 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:36.000 However, there were a couple of leaders, Demaris, Dionysius, placed their faith in Jesus. 00:25:36.240 --> 00:25:44.400 God began a movement even in that godless city of Athens, all because Paul needed to get out of Berea. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:47.440 Well, let's take him to Athens. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:53.279 And while he went to Athens, he carried the name of Jesus with him. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:58.319 It's actually not as complex as we make it out to be. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:05.119 As you are going, where you usually go, carry the name of Jesus with you. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:12.720 But also ask Jesus to lead you into hard places to carry his name. 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:14.480 What would that be? 00:26:15.440 --> 00:26:16.799 What might that be? 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:20.400 We talk a lot about serving opportunities. 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:25.359 It's very much a part of what it means to grow as a believer. 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:27.759 We need to give of ourselves, right? 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:30.240 Serving takes us to a whole new level. 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:39.920 I would love us to be at a point, and we're getting there, to where if anybody were to say, hey, I feel like I need to start serving, where could I start? 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:47.839 That we would have just as many opportunities for you to start off campus as we do on campus. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:49.440 That would be a good goal. 00:26:53.599 --> 00:27:05.599 To prepare a Sunday like today, to have the amazing kids' ministry and youth ministry that we have here, to do all the things we do, to allow worship to happen the way it happens here this morning. 00:27:05.920 --> 00:27:08.559 And also the ministries that we have right here. 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:13.680 We're launching Upward Basketball and Cheerleading, which is a big outreach into our community. 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:14.960 And that happens here. 00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:16.799 Those will always be here. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:24.480 However, if that's all we ever have as serving opportunities, then we're missing part of the Great Commission. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:28.559 It isn't just come and see, it's go and show. 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:42.799 And so with Scott and Mandy Munich's help who were in the video this morning, uh they worked really hard to reach out to a lot of our community organizations right here locally that need volunteers. 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:52.559 Some of these organizations are organizations that our church or people who are part of Hickory Grove have already maybe engaged in in some way, some are not. 00:27:52.720 --> 00:28:00.160 And Scott and Mandy literally contacted each and every organization that you will find on the list that this QR code will take you to. 00:28:00.319 --> 00:28:06.960 And we made sure to put a card on every chair today that has this very QR code so that you can scan it on your own. 00:28:07.200 --> 00:28:13.680 Also, easy to remember if you go to hickorygrove.net slash go, it will take you there as well. 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:17.039 And so you'll see a list of local organizations. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:20.480 And it's broken down in different types of needs. 00:28:20.799 --> 00:28:25.920 No, it's there are people out there that are rebuilding their lives that need our help. 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.839 There are people that are trying to recover from something hard that they've gone through. 00:28:29.920 --> 00:28:33.200 There are people that are just literally hungry, that need fed. 00:28:33.440 --> 00:28:35.279 And there's all those different opportunities. 00:28:35.440 --> 00:28:40.480 We're very blessed in this area to have a lot of nonprofits trying to do work. 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:46.480 What if we join them and take the name of Jesus with us as we go? 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:52.000 Just take a one small step and see what God does. 00:28:52.319 --> 00:29:04.160 In just a moment, we're all gonna walk out of this building, walk out of this campus, get in our cars, and we're gonna leave 11969 Taylor Mill Road. 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:07.519 But the church is you. 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:11.759 Wherever you go, there the church goes. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:19.759 And if you place your faith in Jesus Christ, you carry him with you, you carry his name with you. 00:29:20.160 --> 00:29:32.880 What if we just got a little bit more courageous and bold to speak his name, to share our story, to make sure people encounter his compassion and love that he's given us? 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:35.920 And what if we don't just go where we usually go? 00:29:36.160 --> 00:29:44.799 What if we pray and ask the Lord to lead us to go someplace that he would have us go in his name? 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:50.319 So my question as we think about next steps is are you taking Jesus with you? 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:55.519 A few little things I want to walk with you through before we pray and worship with one more song. 00:29:56.480 --> 00:30:06.000 You just heard about us taking the name of Jesus with you, but if you've not placed your faith in him, that great commission actually doesn't apply to you. 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:09.119 And it might be tend to be like, good, I'm off the hook. 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:10.720 I ain't gotta do anything. 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:16.480 But the truth is, is you're missing out on the purpose for which God created you. 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:25.279 He created you so that you might draw near to him, that you might put your faith in him. 00:30:25.839 --> 00:30:44.160 And by putting your faith in him, you might experience what it's like for him to walk with you all the days of your life, to be your good shepherd, to walk with you through the valleys and the beautiful green pastures of your life, and to one day see him face to face. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:31:02.880 But until that day comes that he fills your life with great purpose, that the same compassion and love that he's bestowed upon you, that same compassion and love he's given you that transforms your heart and your life, that you get to dispense that. 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:07.440 Literally, where you work, that's where he wants that dispensed. 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:12.799 Literally, where you go enjoy your hobby, that's where he wants that dispensed at. 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:19.599 The stands where you watch your kids play their sports, that's where he wants his compassion and love dispensed. 00:31:19.920 --> 00:31:24.400 But it all begins with you placing your faith in Jesus. 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:28.240 So if you haven't done that yet, do that today. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:34.799 Romans 10 13 says, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:41.920 This family we've been talking about for the last four weeks, he wants you to be a part of it, but he'll not force it. 00:31:42.160 --> 00:31:44.079 He'll only invite you into it. 00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:52.480 And perhaps the whole purpose of this series was for you to hear that he desires to adopt you into his family. 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:57.599 But then start living as if he's with you wherever you go because he is. 00:31:57.680 --> 00:32:01.359 And I'll be, I'll confess to you, this is my biggest challenge. 00:32:01.599 --> 00:32:03.519 I just, I just go. 00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:06.640 And I don't think that Jesus is right here with me. 00:32:06.720 --> 00:32:10.079 And I'm trying to solve problems, I'm trying to get tasks done. 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:14.960 I've got a list, I've got this idea of things I need to do and get done any given day. 00:32:15.119 --> 00:32:27.920 And I can start on that list and get a lot of the ways through that list and not give thought that God is with me until I need to give thought that he is with me. 00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:44.799 When it gets too hard, when I'm struggling a little bit, maybe when someone uh offers me a prayer request to pray, then it hits me like, oh my goodness, how can I have gone through this much of my day and have given no thought to the presence of God with me? 00:32:45.119 --> 00:32:46.319 He's with you. 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:54.400 By faith in Jesus Christ, he is always right there, dwelling within you, right there with you. 00:32:54.960 --> 00:33:07.039 If you start living with that acknowledgement constantly on your mind and your heart, it will change the way you do your work, do school, do your hobbies. 00:33:07.359 --> 00:33:08.880 You will carry his name. 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:13.519 But then, yes, let's pray for boldness and courage to speak his name. 00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:17.279 Just to say his name when we get a chance to do so. 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:19.519 I've tried to do better about this. 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:24.319 Um, just to say, man, give him credit for things in my life. 00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:38.079 And I've noticed, even as I've tried to do that better, that there's this little temptation to just not say it because you're not sure what the response is going to be in that moment because of the people you're with or the circumstances you're in. 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:48.319 I've been having some back issues, and so it's been affecting my marathon training and my the people that I get to pace run with, that I get to coach. 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:49.839 They know all about it. 00:33:50.079 --> 00:33:55.680 And uh, so I was having a really good day running, and they were like, that's awesome. 00:33:55.759 --> 00:33:56.960 And I'm like, you know what? 00:33:57.119 --> 00:34:07.039 It's because I'm gonna give credit to the open door class at my church because I finally they asked me for prayer requests every week, and I never asked them to pray for my back. 00:34:07.200 --> 00:34:09.119 So I finally asked them to pray for my back. 00:34:09.199 --> 00:34:12.239 And it's been a good week since I asked them to pray for my back. 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:14.480 And uh, and so it feels great. 00:34:14.559 --> 00:34:20.480 And I was due for an injection later that week, and I did tell my running friends I'm still gonna get the shot. 00:34:20.719 --> 00:34:28.159 But, and one of my run friends was like, uh, yeah, you might want to get that shot just in case they take your name off the prayer list or something. 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:46.000 But it started a conversation where the name of Jesus was spoken and how we need him, and now when we're going through something, let's not forget to go to him, even though we're trying to fix things and we're so blessed with the medical profession that is there. 00:34:46.320 --> 00:34:54.239 Man, I never will forget my own dad's oncologist saying, we know where the source of healing really is. 00:34:54.800 --> 00:35:13.199 And so literally, if you're hurting physically, you have an opportunity to speak the name of Jesus about it with someone else who might need to hear that you're relying on him, that needs to hear that you give him the glory for just feeling better for at least one day. 00:35:13.599 --> 00:35:16.320 Pray for boldness and courage to speak his name. 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:21.360 And then that last thing on the list, pray for direction and calling to go to an Athens. 00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:25.119 I I think this one's a little tougher. 00:35:25.599 --> 00:35:31.760 I know that maybe it's going to be tempting to not even consider that, but what if we did? 00:35:32.159 --> 00:35:43.920 Like, what if most all of us were to come before the Lord and say, Lord, would you show me a hard place to go to carry your name? 00:35:44.159 --> 00:35:46.159 And then give me the courage to do it. 00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:49.760 Just to see what God does. 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:51.679 Why not do that? 00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:56.079 This is what it means to be the family of God. 00:35:56.480 --> 00:36:02.800 We don't just gather, we don't just grow, we don't just give, we go. 00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:04.559 We are goers. 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:15.760 We take the name of Jesus, we take his love, we take his compassion with us to the places that we don't know if light will ever shine if we don't take that light with us to go. 00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:20.320 So by his power, let's go. 00:36:20.960 --> 00:36:22.079 Will you pray with me? 00:36:22.639 --> 00:36:30.079 Father, we thank you and praise you that you choose us to be adopted in your family, Father. 00:36:30.159 --> 00:36:42.639 And there might be someone here they've not taken that step yet, and this is the moment, this is the day that they will finally call upon your name and say, Jesus, adopt me. 00:36:43.519 --> 00:36:46.000 I believe you died on the cross for my sins. 00:36:46.159 --> 00:36:56.079 I believe that you are the Son of God, that you rose again on the third day, and I am a sinner and I need your salvation, I need your grace. 00:36:56.320 --> 00:37:01.199 Please forgive me, O Lord, and make me your child now and forever. 00:37:01.440 --> 00:37:10.960 Father, whoever might be praying a prayer like that, help them to know that today is the first day of the rest of their abundant and eternal life, and what an adventure it is. 00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:14.159 It's an adventure where we get to take your name with us wherever we go. 00:37:14.320 --> 00:37:20.800