REWIND
The podcast "REWIND" features a collection of past sermons from Organic Church. Each episode takes listeners on a journey through the teachings and messages delivered during previous worship services. The content is a retrospective look at the spiritual guidance and insights shared by Pastor Michael and visiting guests!
Listeners can expect to revisit powerful sermons, meaningful scriptures, and impactful messages that have been shared in the past. The podcast aims to provide a convenient and accessible way for the church community and new audiences to engage with the timeless wisdom and spiritual teachings presented during earlier sermons.
Whether it's a reflection on a particular theme, a series of teachings, or a selection of sermons covering various topics, "REWIND" offers an opportunity for individuals to deepen their understanding of the faith and find inspiration in the timeless messages.
The podcast may also include commentary or reflections on the historical context of each sermon and how it continues to resonate with the present-day congregation.
REWIND
Galvanized (January 26, 2025)
Feeling drained and disconnected from your church community? I, along with the experiences of fellow churchgoers, navigate the common struggle of overcoming fatigue and frustration to rekindle our dedication. This journey reveals both the profound importance of active participation in church life and the risks of falling into complacency. Inspired by the insights from "The Working Genius," we explore how understanding different personality profiles can help invigorate our congregations, encouraging every member to bring their unique strengths to the table.
When it comes to embracing roles that don't naturally fit, the discomfort is real. My candid confrontation with the concept of "galvanizing" will resonate with anyone who's felt out of sync with their responsibilities. Through honest reflections, scripture from Isaiah 48, and a thought-provoking conversation with a friend, we delve into the themes of stubbornness, personal growth, and the critical balance between faith and leadership. This segment is a reminder that sometimes the truth may be challenging, but it's essential for accountability and growth.
Purity of faith isn't just a lofty ideal—it's a journey akin to the refining of precious metals. Drawing from my time in the jewelry industry, I use humor and anecdotes to illustrate how life’s trials purify and enhance our spiritual value. Genuine friendships, personal space, and a steadfast connection with Jesus are vital components of a fulfilled spiritual life. As we conclude, we celebrate the joy of church fellowship, the transformative power of prayer, and the call to be spiritually fortified, leaving listeners inspired to renew their faith with fervor and integrity.
know what happened, but I got a real righteous anger standing back there in that sound booth this morning and I am whew, whew. I didn't have an espresso this morning. I knew better. I actually said that to somebody. I'm like I can't have a latte because I'm going to be a latte. I just I knew that I couldn't do it, but I'm going to tell you I'm frustrated, I'm angry. I stand and I look around the building and the people who should be here today are not here today.
Speaker 1:Amen, and listen, this isn't about I'm not mad because somebody went to winter jam. That's a joke. I'll give Connie and Dale a hard time about that later. But there are people who need Jesus in their lives every day. Amen. And I don't know if maybe you don't think you're one of them, but I know I'm one of them, right, hallelujah.
Speaker 1:Listen, for those of you who came to the tutu party yesterday, I didn't get to stay for the whole thing, but I was in and out most of the afternoon, most of the day. I was here first thing in the morning, I made coffees. I came back in the afternoon and fixed the furnace. I came back in the evening and just saw through whatever else they might need. But I'm going to tell you, this place was on fire yesterday and there were a fraction of the people. There were people dancing, there were people praying. I mean it was insane in this place.
Speaker 1:Now, I'm not saying that you can live on that, amen. I'm not saying that you can live on that. You live on the word of God, amen. But the problem is the church doesn't have fire anymore. The church doesn't have fire anymore and we count on those events. When somebody comes in and they start preaching the truth, whenever they start bringing the word, they're like oh, thank you, jesus, for revival.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you something Revival happens every day. Right, you are the revival. You should be excited about what God has done for you today, right? Listen, I didn't get out of bed planning any of this for you guys. Today I got out of bed going man, I have to go to church today, right, exactly, a lot of us do that every Sunday. How many of us get up on Sunday morning? The enemy's like nah, you're still tired, go back to sleep, right? Hey, I'm in a bad mood. I ain't going to church today. Tina, listen, I'm not picking, I'm being honest, right, like you get that emotion.
Speaker 1:It happens, it's okay, drag your butt to church. And why should you drag your butt to church? Because the enemy doesn't want you here, because he doesn't want what you've got. He's afraid of who you will be in Christ. If you say you know what, not today, satan, I'm gonna call my dad out right now.
Speaker 1:He left this morning. He was here and left. I texted him. I said where are you? He said just not feeling it. Buddy, oh, wait till after church. You wait, you wait, because you know what? I ain't feeling it either.
Speaker 1:I wasn't feeling it this morning. When I got up, you know, I said I'll make lattes for everybody this morning. And I'm standing out there begrudgingly making lattes. Right, I didn't get to go to prayer this morning. I miss out on life because I serve every day, every day. You can't come to church on Sunday, hallelujah. I'm telling you, if the church wants to be lazy, your pastor's going to get lazy, right, your pastor gets lazy. Then what happens? The church dies. And then who's the one to blame? The pastor? The guy who's killed himself to keep the building alive? Amen, listen, it ain't just me. Roger's bled on every light fixture in this building, every light fixture. There's blood to prove that he served.
Speaker 1:Holly is here day in and day out. She's here on Monday night, wednesday night, thursday night. We want to sleep, we would like to get filled up, but for some reason nobody thinks that's okay. You know, I go to bed every last night I went to bed at 6 30. Last night I didn't go to sleep at 6 30, I went to bed at 6 30 and I said to listen, I'm gonna watch my show. By seven o'clock I was out. I woke up this morning I was tired, I was exhausted. I didn't have to do a lot, but there was a lot to do, right? It always feels like there's so much more expected of us than what we can actually give. I'm telling you, the church can't survive if the people don't want to step up. All right, now for the real message. I'm going to need a nap.
Speaker 1:So I've been reading this book. It's something I've been working on for a long time. The book is called the Working Genius and it's a personality profile book, kind of like the disc profile, maybe even the five-fold ministry to a certain degree. And the idea is inside of this book kind of like the disc profile, maybe even the five-fold ministry to a certain degree. And the idea is inside of this book that it helps you understand where you fit best in your job Now, and it works for every position, whether you're a fast food worker at McDonald's or you're an executive or a CEO, because it talks about the five things required to make every business operate and every project go well.
Speaker 1:And I'll tell you, every time I read it, I just get a little more frustrated with it, because I realize that there are things in this book I just don't agree with. Right, we all like that. Somebody says something to you. You just don't agree with it. You're just like I ain't dealing with that today, right. Okay, it's not just me. I ain't dealing with that today, right, okay, it's not just me. But so here's the idea. For instance, if you don't like to come up with new ideas, you should not be part of the innovations team, right so I'm an innovator, I like new ideas, I like to come up with new and crazy things to do. However, you may prefer to push a project along. That means you need to be on the development team, right so, every job, there is somebody for it.
Speaker 1:Now, I don't necessarily like some of the parts of my job, but I have to do them. But here's the word in the book that always just turns my stomach, and the word is galvanizing. And here's how it's defined in the book the genius of galvanizing is the natural gift of rallying, inspiring and organizing others to take action. So, according to that definition, in order to be a galvanizer, I have to enjoy or be a natural at rallying people and getting them to take action. But I know that is not my favorite thing to do.
Speaker 1:I would rather carry a project on my back than to ask more than once to have something completed. That comes from pastoring a small church, right, because there's a limited number of resources that we have to do certain things. So if I have to ask more than once, I'm just going to do it myself. And then people are going to get upset because, well, why didn't you let me help you? It's been three months, right, help has been three months coming Like, listen, there are priorities when pastoring, there are priorities when serving, and sometimes you just have to say I'm going to do it myself, all right. I hate the idea of having to rely on others to accomplish a task that I know that should have already been completed.
Speaker 1:So then I sat down with coffee with a friend and he said this to me this is not a joke, he has no idea I'm reading this book. He says well, you have to be galvanized. I would think that when he said it he probably knew immediately that he'd struck a chord, because the frustration that overwhelmed me in that moment and I'm sure I had a smug look on my face and I was just waiting for him to finish that statement, right, and he just kept talking and talking, and talking, and I knew what he was doing as he was doing it. He wasn't going to let me talk, big brain, because if he let me talk, I was going to what Complain? I was going to complain that he told me the truth, right. But here's the problem as we sat there and he talked and he talked and I got a little more smug and a little more smug, I realized that by the time he was finished I really didn't know what to do with myself, because there is more to galvanizing than just that definition Amen. So we're going to jump through a little bit of scripture, we're going to move pretty quickly. I have plenty of time, but I've got a lot that I want to cover and who knows where we're going to end up.
Speaker 1:So, but by the time he had finished talking to me, I was basically a puddle of myself because I knew that he was right and that I was wrong. But we don't like to admit that right. So I was like I'm going to prove him wrong. So I went to the word he's a Christian, I'm a Christian. So I went to the word, and so Isaiah 48, and we're going to read 1 through 11. Now, this is a lot and there's only a small portion that we want to get to. It's actually 10 that we want to talk about specifically. So when you see it, come up there, because I won't see that back here.
Speaker 1:It says listen to me, o family of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel and born into the family of Judah, Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord and call on the God of Israel. You don't keep your promises, even though you call yourself the holy city and talk about depending on the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord of heaven's armies. Long ago I told you that it was going to happen. What was going to happen? Then, suddenly, I took action and all of my predictions came true, for I know how stubborn and obstinate you are Full stop. That's the end of the scripture, right? As far as I'm concerned, your necks are unbending as iron. Your heads are as hard. As I'm concerned, your necks are unbending as iron. Your heads are as hard as bronze.
Speaker 1:Okay, just making sure you heard it. That is why I told you what would happen. I told you beforehand what I was going to do. Then you could never say my idols did it, my wooden image and metal. God commanded it to do. Then you could never say my idols did it. My wooden image and metal. God commanded it to happen. You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled, but you refuse to admit it.
Speaker 1:Now I will tell you new things, secrets you have not yet heard. So they are brand new, not things from the past. So you cannot say we knew all the time. Where are we at? We at eight? Okay, yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new, things that will never have been heard before. I just want to real pause, real quick. This feels like a guy who's trying to get X amount of words in his essay. It's the same sentence three times. Bro, we can skip some of it, but here we are.
Speaker 1:Anyhow, yes, I will tell you things that are entirely new, things that have never been heard before, for I know so well what traitors you are. You have been rebels from birth. Yet, for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. Here we are. I have refined you, but not as silver is refined, rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. I will rescue you for my sake, yes, for my own sake. I will not let my reputation be tarnished and I will not share my glory with idols. Amen, amen.
Speaker 1:Now I want to go back to 10. Go back to 10 for me real quick, please. Are you on there? Look at you. I have refined you, but not as silver is refined Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. So galvanizing is not refining, but we have to refine in order to get to galvanize.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I want to talk about refining for just a second. This scripture outlines we're going to do a lot more of this, but this scripture outlines I have refined you, but not as silver is refined Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. Does anybody know how they refine gold and silver? A lot of us do. We've heard it. If you don't know, I'm going to tell you. So you trust me, we're going to get there.
Speaker 1:But let's do another passage of scripture real quick Malachi 3, 2 and 3. But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Hallelujah, hallelujah. He will sit like a refiner of silver.
Speaker 1:Anybody picking this up yet? I am like silver, I am like gold unto the eyes of the Lord. But did you know that I have to be refined every single day, right? Okay, I want to jump real quick to a little note that I've just popped in here. For those of you who didn't know, I used to work in jewelry. Did you guys know that about me? Used to sell jewelry. Used to send jewelry out to be melted down. I love, I love jewelry. I don't wear any anymore, but I love it. Okay, I love to buy my wife jewelry, but she also doesn't wear it. So if anybody wants jewelry, let me know, because I have a hankering to buy some. So just kidding, yeah, just kidding. What Beth's like? Hey, I'll send you the list.
Speaker 1:A refiner's fire is intended to purify the contents inside of the flame. It's to burn out the impurities of the metal and to allow it to be as valuable as possible. How many of you genuinely like gold jewelry? Right? Gold's nice. Right, it's valuable. Right, gold will be around forever. How many of you have 24 karat gold in your collection, right? I didn't figure. How many of you got some 10 karat gold in your collection? Yeah, okay, you got it, you got it.
Speaker 1:10 karat gold is typically less expensive than 14 karat gold, and why is that? Because it is less pure, right? Okay, so here's how this works. 10 karat gold is only 41% actual gold. It's 58.3% other materials, other things that have been left in there. 14 karat gold is 58.3% gold. 41.7% other metals. 16 karat gold, which you don't see very often, is 66.7% gold. 33.3% other metals. 18 karat gold 75% gold 25% other metals. 22 karat gold 91% gold, 8.4% other metals. 24 karat gold is 100% gold.
Speaker 1:Okay, so when you go out panning for gold anybody ever panned for gold before? I have not that doesn't look like fun to me. Like you're always, you're just wet all the time, right Like out there just panning for gold and you get these little tiny specks, these little tiny, and you think you've hit it big. Right, like it's 47 cents, but it's not refined. There's no value to it until it is refined. Can I tell you that there is no value until we are refined? See, in the kingdom of God, we are all his children. However, if we choose to live for the world, we will never become refined.
Speaker 1:Ooh, got a little uncomfortable for a second, because some of us are sitting here thinking well, I go to church on Sunday. Well, I give when I feel led to. I volunteer once or twice a year. I show up for Easter and Christmas. Poor Clark, I was giving him a hard time yesterday. He's like hey, I come on Easter and Christmas. I was like you got it, buddy, right, at least he's showing up. At least he's showing up. That's more than other people in this world can say for themselves. But we can't guarantee anything in our lives.
Speaker 1:But just saying, like you are at this point, rough gold found in a pain. You might not even be gold, you might just look like gold. You might be fool's gold. You might be a fool, right, because you ain't really gold, but you think you're gold. Listen, I'm going to tell you something I question every day where I'm at on the gold scale Gold, 24 karat gold. The reason you don't see jewelry in 24 karat gold is because it is soft, it's pliable. So I'm going to tell you, ladies, if your man ever brings you a 24 karat gold ring, know your finger is going to turn green tomorrow morning Because it is gold plated. It is not real gold, because they don't make jewelry out of 24 carat gold because it is so soft.
Speaker 1:If I am as pure as 24 carat gold in the eyes of God, I should be soft to the rest of the world. I should be able to look at the world and say you're hurting, but I'm here to help you. I should be able to look at the world and say you're hurting, but I'm here to help you, you're lost. Let me lead you Right. Right, see, I go through the fire so that I can be refined, but that refining doesn't benefit me, that refining benefits the people around me.
Speaker 1:Maybe you know this, maybe you don't, I don't know, but most of us who are called into pastoral work are not called for our own sake. We are not called into ministry leadership so that we may become rich, famous or important in the world. Can you believe that? Can you believe that I am not getting rich doing this as a living? It's not happening. Instead, I am here so that I can help refine you, so that I can lead you to the furnace. That might not sound great. You get what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:My point is let me backtrack that for just a second. My point is I need you to be in fellowship with Jesus so that he can refine you, so that you can become as pure as humanly possible, because your purity is what's going to allow the world to find Jesus. Amen, okay, all right, what? 24 karat gold? Yeah, in heaven, I'm going to have all those things. Listen Now, here's the deal, though.
Speaker 1:Here's the deal, though. When I get there, I want to be 24 karat gold. Okay, soft or not, I don't care, but I want to be shiny like that, right, what I don't want to be tie back to yesterday is a pillar of salt, right? I don't want to get to heaven and look back and think, well, I could have, should have, would have. I want to get to heaven and know I've done everything I can possibly do, right, in the mighty name of Jesus, because I'm going to tell you I wish Harry were here.
Speaker 1:You can lead a horse to water, but sometimes it's too dumb to know it's thirsty, right? You can preach the gospel to people all day, every day, but some of those people are still going to say Jesus, it doesn't matter to me. That's not part of my life. I don't need your Jesus. Let me tell you what I need him every day. You need him at least once, right, for just a minute, because if you only understood how important Jesus actually is in your life, you would have a huge change in the way that you behave in the world. Right Now.
Speaker 1:Sometimes we fall short of the glory and we do stupid, free of impurities. You must remain in the fire longer, right? So you don't get 10 karat gold the same way you get 24 karat gold, right? There's a process for that. You put your gold in the fire and you're like well, that's good enough, and then you take it out. 10 karat gold Right. I showed up to church. That's good enough. I put $10 in the offering plate. That's good enough, right? 10 karat gold, it's all you'll ever have. It's all you'll ever be. If you want to be 24 karat gold, you're going to go in the fire. You're going to come out. They're going to scrape all of the impurities off the top and they're going to put you right back in. How many of us have been through a trial in our lives? How many of us come out of that trial feeling really stinking good about ourselves because I survived it, and then a week later you're back in the fire.
Speaker 1:Listen, I said this to Holly the other day. This is the truth about me, and if you need like I think everybody needs to hear this about me I value friendships that don't require effort. Right, that's not a mean thing. Like Pastor Roger, pastor Holly, I might not talk to them or see them for a solid week, but when I see them again, we're in the same place we were before. Nobody's going, well, gee, I wonder if he's mad at me. Nobody's going. Nobody's going well, gee. I wonder if he just doesn't think that I listen.
Speaker 1:Sometimes I just need to be by myself, right? Sometimes I need to be with my family, sometimes I need to be with Jesus. I don't have to be with you all the time in order for us to be friends, right? Okay, so I value that. That is a huge value to me and everybody needs to understand that, because if you call me and I don't answer, just know it's not because I don't like you, it's not because I don't love you, it's because I need to be by myself, right? Because sometimes, if I don't get that by myself time, when you call me and I answer, the world comes out instead of Jesus, right? Especially, if you call me trying to form a posse, I'm like, let's go, who are we fighting? Like it's natural for us to be that way, and so I value that because it's important to me, because it's important to me.
Speaker 1:But I have to come out of the fire, live in the world, but then I have to go back in the fire and I have to be okay with the constant chaos and the turmoil and listen, sometimes that's what people bring in your life. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Sometimes people bring chaos in your life. That doesn't mean you don't love them. Listen, I love chaotic people a lot. It's not always my choice, but sometimes I know that they need Jesus, right, and so sometimes I have to live in the chaos.
Speaker 1:But here's what I'll never do in the chaos with you. Are you ready? I will never agree with you for the sake of agreeing with you. You know what I'm going to do. Instead, I'm going to tell you the truth, and you ain't going to like it, and when I do and you get mad, I'm going to say but I still love you. You can be mad at me, but here's the deal.
Speaker 1:Typically, those are the people who need you constantly. Right, and that's okay. But when you hurt their feelings or you make somebody upset, they don't want to talk to you. That's okay too, but you still have to show Jesus. I don't have to be the favorite, I don't have to always, but I have to show Jesus. That's hard. That's hard because when you don't like me, I don't have to always, but I have to show. Geez, that's hard. That's hard because when you don't like me, I don't like you. Right, that's how it is Like in the world. If you don't like me, well, that's fine. I don't like you either. And so when somebody comes up to me and they say oh, can you believe what Karen said? I'm going to be like Karen's, a Karen Right, like I ain't got to deal with her, no more, right? True, am I the only one? Please tell me, I'm not the only one. I'm starting to feel a little guilty standing up here. I'm starting to feel kind of vulnerable.
Speaker 1:But my point is that we know that not everybody is going to show up and be there to support us. Sometimes they're going to show up to watch us suffer. See, they show up in your life when you're in a struggle and they're like look at that. See, they show up in your life when you're in a struggle and they're like look at that, and they want to see you in the fire, but they don't want to acknowledge who you are when you come out. Because when you come out and you're stronger and you're better and now I'm a step up in impurities they don't. Oh, no, no, no, Because guess what? God has given you something that they haven't gotten. God has given you something that they haven't gotten.
Speaker 1:See, when I was talking about chasing blessings earlier today, here's what I mean by that. You can't go. Well, I feel led to this, I feel led to that. But really what it is is you want to serve your own selfish self, right, you want to run from this to that and that to this. And well, god told me. God said no, he didn't. He said to plant yourself on the solid rock. The solid rock is Jesus Christ. It is not chasing a blessing that you feel like somebody's going to speak over you. Let me tell you something.
Speaker 1:Somebody once prophesied over my wife and I in this building that we were going to have another baby. Let's square up, I'll meet you in the parking lot right. Here's the thing. When I heard that, I was like you're crazy, because I know I can't do that, right, it ain't gonna happen. But we exactly we don't know what that means in the spirit. Listen. So if god tells you that you're going to do this, that or the other, it lives inside of you, it's possible. It doesn't mean it's going to happen today. It doesn't mean if God see, God never told me I was going to preach. He never told me that, but apparently he told Florence. I don't know if I believe her anymore, but apparently he told her. And so when he said it and she said it to me, I'm like no, I don't think that was God, right, I don't. No, I don't think that was true at all.
Speaker 1:And then I find myself serving more and more and I'm like you know what he really does, know what he's talking about. But it's in season. I say this all the time. Christians love a good season, right? This is my season of rest. This is my season of waiting. This is my season of listen. As long as it's God's season, you're fine, but if it is your season, you're all wrong. This is not my season of waiting. This is my season of serving. I'm sick of it, but it's my season of serving. Right? God has said that this is what I will do in this season. I'm gonna argue with him. I'm gonna say, lord, should it be your will, let this cup pass from me, because I don't wanna serve my entire life. But you know what? I know that we are serving a community that is broken and in need. I know that we are listen. Cupboard of Hope continues to feed people week in and week out.
Speaker 1:I'm like I don't understand how we do this. I don't understand how there are this many people hurting and in need. It doesn't seem possible because we look around and we've all got most of everything that we need, amen. We might not have all the things that we want, but generally speaking, we're well cared for. These people don't know Jesus.
Speaker 1:I said this to you guys before, but it's the most common lie a pastor hears. I would say it's probably the most common lie that Beth hears. Now I'll see you at church on Sunday. No, you won't. Don't say it because you don't mean it, right? I don't need you to be here, I need you to be in the presence of the Almighty. If God has called you to a place, you should be there. But remember, plant yourself, because the only way for him to water that blessing is if you're taking root.
Speaker 1:How many of you have ever pulled a listen? When Alyssa and I moved out of our last house, I bought her this weeping cherry blossom for Mother's Day years ago and it was literally two twigs. When we got it it was the saddest looking tree I've ever seen in my life. We moved in November. You can't pull that thing until spring, so I told the real estate agent we're going to come back in the spring and we're taking that plant because it means a lot to our family. We've nursed this thing like it is a beautiful tree and our last day there it was just warm enough and I was like we're digging that tree up. And we dug that tree up. It is in a pot in my front yard right now. But here's the thing I don't know if that tree is going to survive, because I knew that it was not in season. Its roots are not going to take hold because we decided to move it when it was not in season.
Speaker 1:Amen, see, if it is not in season for your roots to be moved, then you should stop trying to move your roots, right? I don't care if it's just in this house or if it's from this house to another. I don't care if it's from this house to your couch. If god has not ordained that step, keep your butt planted. You might sit in your seat and hate me. I don't care, it's not about me, it is about your relationship with christ.
Speaker 1:Here's another thing that I think is incredibly important, that we have to understand your presence in this place every, every Sunday, means something to somebody here, right? Because, listen, miss Vicki missed three weeks because of the weather. I don't blame her, I wanted to miss three weeks because of the weather, right, parking lot was icy. We're like there's no reason for her to be trying to come out here to church. Right, she can listen to it online. You know what we get it. Vicki probably knows Jesus better than most of us know Jesus. Right, I'm just being honest with you. I'm just being honest with you. But when I heard that Vicki was in the parking lot today, the first thing I did was get out of my seat to go give her a hug, because her being in the building means something to me.
Speaker 1:Now you might be sitting in your chair not realizing that about yourself. Oh, nobody even notices. Whenever I'm here, every time I come through the door, nobody. Dave Daisy doesn't even speak to me. When I come in in the mornings, do we do it? Pastor Michael didn't even look at me this morning. I can't even take it. It's like he doesn't even like me. Get over yourself, I'm right, right, get over yourself. Listen, I don't care. And most of you don't speak to me either. Let's be honest. Some of you try to hug me and we square up, but you know, no, I'm just kidding. We have to remember that we are not here for ourselves all the time.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, us showing up and sitting in a seat is a blessing to the person sitting next to us. You might say something kind to somebody who hasn't heard a kind word in a long us. You might say something kind to somebody who hasn't heard a kind word in a long time. You might give a hug to somebody who just really needed that hug. Have you ever hugged somebody at church and they hang on just a little bit too tight, a little bit too long, right? Sometimes that's the hug that they needed. They've been missing that in their life. Your presence in this place is not just about you at in their life. Your presence in this place is not just about you. It's about the people around you as well. All right, I got 15 minutes. I got this. I got this.
Speaker 1:Did you know that diamonds are the exact same way? Diamonds are created out of coal that are pressurized right. Did you know that it is virtually impossible to find a diamond that has no inclusions? Why is that? Because in order for a diamond to have zero inclusions, it has to have the exact same amount of pressure on all sides of that diamond, of that piece of coal right, and it forms and it gets hard, and then it would be beautiful and perfect in all ways. Well, here's the thing. We are kind of like diamonds in that same way. Right, we all feel a little bit of pressure in the world. How many of us have high pressure jobs? Never mind, most of you guys are retired High pressure jobs. I got to get my nap in at two o'clock today, high pressure. No, I'm just kidding, listen, I'm that guy that gets his nap in at two o'clock. So, promise you, you call me this afternoon I'm being napping. Diamonds are a piece of coal. They have large amounts of pressure applied to them and they're all through the earth. It's virtually impossible to find a diamond without an inclusion or an imperfection. It's because the pressure has to be exactly the same on all sides.
Speaker 1:How many of us have ever watched Titanic? Yeah, of course we have right. You guys remember when that came out on VHS it was two VHS tapes. It felt like it was forever long. My grandma took me to see that in the movie theaters for helping her paint an apartment one time. First of all, she shouldn't have done that, because you guys seen that movie right, not for kids, anyhow. Anyhow, we went, we saw it. I mean, we saw all of it, if you know what I mean. Anyhow, shame on you, grandma, shame on you.
Speaker 1:How many of us remember the heart of the ocean, the diamond necklace, right? Oh, that necklace was beautiful, wasn't it? And that old lady throws it over the side at the edge, like I'm thinking, like I jump through the screen, choke that lady out because that's expensive stuff. Now, that's not real, not real. Did you guys know that? It's not real. It's made up. It's not real.
Speaker 1:Okay, but they estimated the value of that necklace if it existed today. Do you know how much that necklace is worth? $500 million, that's exactly how much it's worth. $500 million. That's a lot of scratch for a diamond necklace, right? Okay, how many of you have heard of the Hope Diamond? How many of you have seen the Hope Diamond? For those of us who went to DC in the 8th grade, most of us saw it. Not many, all right, so the idea of the heart of the ocean was actually adapted from the Hope Diamond. It's a beautiful blue diamond set in the center, a large blue diamond set in the center, with white diamonds all the way around it. This thing is gorgeous. Okay, very few inclusions, it is almost perfect. Do you know what the value of that particular diamond is in the world today $350 million, one necklace $350 million. So we went on that whole little trip about gold and diamonds. And all of that because I want to explain that galvanizing has two definitions. Many words do right. The dictionary tells us that galvanizing can both shock someone into taking action or to coat something with protection. Ooh, right, okay, now I'm going to tell you I am ready to be galvanized. Amen.
Speaker 1:How many of you have knives, sharp knives, in your kitchen? Everybody better. My wife for a long time did not like sharp knives in our kitchen. It was like we cut steaks with butter knives. Even then, I think she hides them. I'm not sure. Here's my point. Most of those are galvanized and what they do is they dip that metal iron, whatever it may be, into molten hot zinc and when they pull it out it has a protective coat around it and so the germs from cutting chicken wash off easily, or whatever weird things your kids decide to do with the kitchen knife, like digging out in the dirt. It washes off easily, so you can run water on it and it just beads off.
Speaker 1:See, today we have to be galvanized by the word of God. Right, we have to put on the full armor of God, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit. We have to be refined in the fire, don the armor of God Jesus is calling and be galvanized by the word of God. How does that go? I'm rubber, you're glue. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you. The other one's like a duck or water off a duck's back. Right, that's how I want to be with the word of God, because when you don't like me or you're mad at me, I want to be able to look at this and go. You know what? That's okay, because I don't need to be liked by the world. I need to be liked, I need to be loved by the almighty Amen.
Speaker 1:The two very different definitions aren't really that far off. If you are galvanized in the word, it becomes incredibly easy to rally and inspire others to do the exact same thing. You should have excitement for your relationship with Christ and you should have excitement about being in church fellowship with like-minded believers. What I'm saying is that when you show up to the building, when you show up to the house of God. You should be excited to be here, not because, well, I came to church to shut somebody up, or you know, my mom dragged me or so-and-so did, and if I didn't come they were going to yada, yada, yada. I don't care, you should be excited to be in the house. You should be excited to be in the house so that you may be refined, donning the armor of God, and galvanized in the Lord.
Speaker 1:When somebody says to me you need to be galvanized, I don't look at that and say I have to convince people to do what it is that I'm doing or to get behind an idea, that I have to convince people to do what it is that I'm doing or to get behind an idea that I have. I have to be galvanized. I have to be coded in the word of God, because when I am, it becomes so much easier to get people to rally to what it is that the Lord is doing Amen. I hope you guys are feeling that, because I'm telling you, when I look around and I see that we aren't feeling it, when I look around and realize that the people who should be in the building aren't in the building, I realize that the church won't survive if we don't take it seriously. I'm not saying taking the building seriously. I'm saying taking your relationship with Christ seriously.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about a desire to fellowship with like-minded people. It's a desire to share the gospel with everybody around you. It's a desire to look at somebody who's in the wrong and say, hey, listen, I love you, but I really can't support that. It's not easy, but the fire isn't cold either. How many of you guys like to sleep hot? Keep your bedrooms like 180 degrees. My wife is that way. I'm like it's hot in here and she's like it's fine, don't turn on the fan, it's fine. I'm like I can't breathe, right Like she sleeps in the furnace. I want to be able to hang meat in my bedroom, right Like 12 degrees, it's fine. It's fine, you can. Yeah, you guys complain because it's cold in here, but I'm like listen, I've done sweating through the undershirt in this one. I might be through the. I am through the sweater at this point too.
Speaker 1:But I'm saying that when we have that desire to be in the fire versus being out in the world, we're going to have an easier time being galvanized. We're going to have an easier time being refined, an easier time wearing the armor of God. Listen, today you might get up and put on your belt or put on your helmet, but you forget the breastplate right. Every day those things are going to happen to us, but we have to continue to remember that it is the full armor of God that protects us. One of the demonstrations that Holly had yesterday when she said I was like, ooh, that's brutal. She had this mannequin standing here and it had a tutu on it and it had a combat helmet on and she said the chin strap is one of the most important parts of a combat helmet, because without your chin strap, you can still have your head blown off. Brutal, right, but it's true, put that chin strap on. It holds the helmet on your head, right. It makes it a whole lot harder for the enemy to get in there when you're fully covered, when you're fully protected.
Speaker 1:We can't sit in church and pretend like we're saved. We can't sit in church and pretend like, oh well, god's got this. You could say all of those things, but you don't usually mean it if you are not in the fire or being galvanized. Amen, because what you're saying is I'm going to say this to the world and I'm going to put on a show, but when I walk out of here I'm going to try to solve the problem myself. I'm going to start calling people and saying things and doing things and trying to pretend like we will get to, that You're not going to. This isn't your battle. God's got this and he is going to solve it in his way. Amen, let's pray together.
Speaker 1:Father, I thank you and I praise you for an anointed word that rests in this house today. Father, I pray that every heart that's here has just been absorbing the word. Father, that their ears have heard it. Lord Jesus, I really just I just stand before you. I just I beseech you, father, to just continue to work in the lives of the people in this place. Father, drag them into the fire, keep them hot. Father. God, I know that when the body is on fire for you, that the move of the Spirit, just it can't stop. And, father, I pray that the church wakes up, that there's a desire to continue to just move in mighty ways. Father, I pray that every person, as they walk out of this building, retains today's message.
Speaker 1:I know how easy it is to get into the world and to forget A burning desire to be galvanized in the word today. Allow us to encourage and uplift, to inspire. Father God, I thank you and I praise you for all of the things that you're doing, for all of the things that you have done. And, father, I just come with great expectation of the things that you're going to do. Yet I thank you and I praise you for all of the things that you're doing, for all of the things that you have done. And, father, I just come with great expectation of the things that you're going to do. Yet I thank you and I praise you. I give you all the honor and glory and, in the mighty name of Jesus and the church says amen. Love you guys. We'll see you on Wednesday.