Sent Living | Jake Vayda

Sunday, June 21st, 2026

This week in our Created for This series, we explored what it means to live sent. Through Exodus 19, we saw that God calls His people to be bridges, not barriers, helping others connect with Him.

Most people decide what they believe about God after they decide what it’s like to be around His people. Living sent doesn’t require having every answer. It means allowing God’s love to be seen through the way we listen, serve, make room, and show up for others.

The challenge is simple: pray for one, pursue one, and point one person toward Jesus this week. Your willingness to bend your plans could help someone take their next step toward God.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Who has been a bridge for you for a better life? Who's been a bridge for you to a better life? For me, that answer is someone named Jim. Jim, when I was in middle school, uh, met up with a group of 12 of us guys and really taught us so much about what it looks like to be a man. In fact, uh sometimes he would even take us uh in the summers for an entire week uh where we're just hanging out all together. In fact, we might have a picture of one of those times where we hung out together. We'll put it on the board here in a second. Yep, that's uh that's me in the middle. There, puberty is a wonderful thing. That's uh so he gave us the best gift, which is his time. And we would read books together. Uh uh, he would even help us uh when it comes to uh being generous with our time, with our money, with our talent. Uh, he taught me a lot of not only what it means to be a man, but mean me what it means to be a man of God. And as I was learning from him, it was interesting because he wasn't a pastor, uh, he was a full-time truck driver. That that was what his role is. He's been doing that for about 40 years at this point now. Uh, and yet he decided to invest his life into the next generation. I'm grateful for him to be a bridge for me to become a better man. Who has been a bridge for you when it comes to a better life? Was it a teacher that saw something in you that you didn't see in yourself? Was it a coach who spent special time with you to coach you up? Was it uh a parent? Was it a father? Who was it for you? Here's what I know is that as Christians, if you are a Christian in the room, I'm just speaking to you for a second, uh, we are actually called to help bridge people to a better life. And that better life is someone named God. So we bridge people to God. And in fact, uh, here's what I know if you are an atheist in the room or you're skeptic or you're not sure if you believe all this stuff, uh, what I know is that you want to bridge people to a better life as well. How do we do this? In fact, that's the question that I want to answer today, and it's this how can my life become a bridge that helps someone move closer to God. Here's what's at stake if we're not able to understand what it looks like to be a bridge. It actually says, uh statistically, in America over the past 20 years, those who've said yes to be a Christian is 15% lower than it was 20 years ago. So it is difficult for us as Christians to become a bridge to help connect somebody else. Here's what we also know. Personally, if we don't become a bridge to help someone else, our faith becomes stagnant. In fact, our relationship with God was never meant to end with us. It was actually always meant to flow through us to the people that we love. And I believe no one deserves to not know what it looks like to be a bridge that helps somebody else. Because here's what I know your life becomes better if you are bridge for someone else. And that is true when you get to see someone get baptized, when someone learns how to pray, when someone uh starts speaking quotes that you've said, but they don't attribute you because they think it came from them and not you. I mean, this is what happens when you pour your life into someone, when you decide maybe I don't need to be the hero, I can be the hero maker. So, today, if you want to be a bridge for somebody else to pour your life potentially into someone else and get the benefits from it, this is the talk for you. In fact, I want to give you a definition that we'll walk through today, and then I'll give you three ways to actually do it. So, uh, today we are ending our series called Created for This, where we have been looking at the five gifts that God has given humanity time and time again. We see these five gifts in Genesis, we see it with Jesus, and we see these same five gifts with a group of people called the Israelites. The Israelites were stuck in slavery and ultimately were freed, and this group of refugees wandering in the desert became the greatest movement the world has ever seen. Because God gave them these five gifts. Today I want to talk about the fifth gift that God gives humanity, and you can write this down, and it's this living set. This is a gift that God gives his people, an opportunity to live sent. Now, I'm gonna give you the definition of what this looks like in a moment. But as we jump in, whether you're here for the first time, exploring faith, wherever you are, we are glad you are here. In fact, we'd love to give you a gift at Create Corner right after this. We are a Bible-believing, Bible preaching church, and today we'll be in Exodus 19. Where does this story pick up? We have the Israelites, three months have passed since their chains fell in Egypt. And then Israel arrives at Mount Sinai. Now, throughout scripture, mountains are where uh heaven meets earth, mountains are where God meets his people. So we see here Mount Sinai rising up in the silent desert, and thousands of Israelites camp out all around the mountain, expecting something from God. This is where the story picks up. There, Israel, and camp before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. You can write this down in regards to the definition of living scent. The first fill-in, being a bridge. Being a bridge. Moses acted as a bridge, helping people move closer to God. In fact, this is a lesson that I've learned time and time again. You might be wondering like, why did the Israelites uh not go up to the mountain themselves? I mean, they also had feet, just like Moses had feet. The issue is that the Israelites had a difficult time with power. In fact, their only really knowledge of power was the Pharaoh, which means being enslaved. So their example of a father figure wasn't so hot at this point of a God. So they weren't yet ready to meet God face to face. Moses had to go up for the mountain for them. Moses was the bridge. God often won't reveal himself if we're not ready. In fact, he will reveal himself at the pace that we're ready to receive him. God will reveal himself at the pace that we're ready to receive him. And he knew that they weren't ready, so they needed a bridge. God doesn't need a bridge. People need a bridge. People need a bridge for someone to go up to the mountain until they're ready themselves. My dad is a great example of this. Amazing man of faith, but he's also a man of football. I'm very grateful that he has helped bridge me to became a become a hardcore Steelers fan. Uh I'm so grateful it wasn't the Raiders. And one of my favorite memories was uh TiVo. Anyone remember TiVo back in the day, about 20 years ago, it was like the new hot thing, and we got to record games and we'd wash them and we'd be wearing jerseys, and it was great. All up until the day that there was a Steelers game where my dad wasn't around. He was on a business trip, and I washed it by myself, and the Steelers lost in the fourth quarter. It was a heartbreaker. And I was young and I started crying. I apparently my mom says I was outside wandering in our driveway, just crying because the Steelers lost. So much so that she had to like dial my dad on like the landline and hey, son, come in. Your dad needs to talk to you. Like, hey, hey, son, it's just a game. It's okay, you know. It doesn't feel like a dad. I am a hardcore Steelers fan, and I think it has been a great benefit to my life, and I hope that I get to pass it on to my son Maverick. In fact, we actually gave him a jersey on today. But, anyways, that's not the point. The point is, the point is that my dad was a great bridge for my relationship with the Steelers. Moses was a great bridge for their relationship with God. How much more that matters. And in fact, if you are a Christian in the room, God has called us to become a bridge for other people. It's actually a part of what we do as Christians. In fact, we look at our neighborhood. We look at our job and the place that we and the people that we work with. We look at our family as opportunities to bridge them to the most life-giving relationship that they could ever possibly encounter. So we live set where we live and where we work and where we play. Why does this matter? Most people decide what they believe about God, hear me when I say this, after they decide what it's like to be around you. My question for you: Are you being a bridge connecting people to God right now, if you are a Christian in the room? If your friends have questions about Jesus, are you a safe place for them to ask them? Do your coworkers even know that you have a relationship with Jesus? If someone in your life has an inkling of a desire or curiosity of church, do they look at your life and your thriving relationship with the local church as an opportunity for them to ask you, are you being a bridge? Connecting the people that you love to God. Let's move on. So Moses in his sandals climbs all the way up the mountain to Sinai and Mount Sinai, and he meets God. They meet face to face because the Israelites weren't yet ready. So Moses decided to be a bridge for them. And here's where God speaks. God says this you yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. You can write this down. Being a bridge means being living sent. Being a bridge and not a barrier is the next filling, and not a barrier. The reality is, as I mentioned before, the Israelites did not have a good relationship with this god-like figure. Pharaoh enslaved them for decades. Imagine what your relationship with God would look like if the only God that you've ever known is the God that's enslaved you. This is the Israelites. Now they they've had a relationship with uh with the one true God, and yet I can imagine how it gets so entangled as it goes. Have you ever noticed that sometimes people can become a barrier to like it's not God, it's actually the people who represent God. You know, I uh do you remember your first job? Oh, my first job, Italian pizza joint. That's what it was. 15 years old, and I worked in the carryout area, and I learned really fast. If I smile and if I ask them a question, uh I could actually make their day better. And if I was fast, right? Getting the sodas and the pizza and the breadsticks, I could make their day better and I could get better tips. So win-win. And at the time I was making like six bucks an hour, so it felt like I was working on Wall Street. I mean, I am 15 years old. This is big money for me at the time. And I loved my job. And one day it got very busy. Lines out the door, and my boss comes up to me, and he says, if you don't pick up the pace, you won't be working here much longer. I'm 15. Now I know I was good at what I did. The tips proved I was good at what I did. And I was thinking I could maybe one day open up a pizza joint by myself. Like that would be, you know, I might go in the restaurant business. But after that day, after being threatened to be fired, I remember going to work Trepidatious. I bet my my performance did dip a little bit because I was working out of fear versus out of love. You know, I'm not in the restaurant business now. Uh you know, it wasn't about the restaurant business. It was the person that represented the restaurant business that was a barrier for me. For you, has it been about God, or maybe it's been about someone who has represented God? And that's your barrier to Jesus. And if so, welcome to the club. The Israelites. Some would say they even have church hurt, church trauma. And they're trying, they're trying to untangle their experience with leadership and love with a God who says he's love. That's a hard thing to do.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

And some of you are on that journey now. And I just want to say, God would be so proud of you, and the steps you're taking to even show up in a church building.

SPEAKER_01 13:43

I mean, this is hard stuff for some of you. And thank you for being here. And I promise you that God desires to speak to you today. But I do want to say, I don't want to step on too many toes here. Some of us, I would say even all of us, we might have someone who's been a barrier, but have you ever been a barrier to someone else's faith? This is, I don't know, this is a little nerve-wracking here. Have you have you ever been the person that, you know, says love but maybe judges a little bit more than you'd like to admit? Are you the person who uh speaks a big game, but your words definitely don't match this relationship with Jesus that you talk about? Have you used the Bible as a weapon? Where have you been a barrier to someone else's faith through your kids, the people that you love? Let's continue. It says this. Now, therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, this is God talking to Moses, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. And there are the words, these are the words, that you shall speak to the people of Israel. I'll give you the full definition of living scent, being a bridge and not a barrier, that helps someone else connect with God. Connect with God. Imagine you're on top of the mountain, and maybe for the first time God's speaking to you and says, You are my treasured possession. Maybe last night you you drank a little too much. Maybe you said a couple things, you you don't like, maybe you have a little addiction, and God right now is saying, You are my treasured. That can't be true. No, you are my treasured possession. He says, Look, all the earth is mine. I made it all. The planets, the galaxy, the ants, right? I know you don't like the ants, but I made I made everything. And you, out of everything, are my treasured possession. This is God. I can imagine how giddy Moses must have been with his thanos, running down the mountain, ready to tell the people, hey, guess what? This God said, He's not like the Pharaoh, he's a different type of God. This God says, You are my treasured possession. It's interesting. What's the goal? We connect people with God. So what? The goal is so that people can have a soul connection with their creator. And I believe something just happens when the created starts talking to the creator. Something happens. If you're a Christian or not, that just makes logical sense. Something happens. I believe if someone has a soul connection with the creator, everything can change. Everything can change. I've seen it thousands of times here at Create Church for the past 18 months. And I believe God's not stopping. I think he wants to continue doing it. And Moses acts as a bridge and communicates the love of God to the people of God. And you might say, well, why are the Israelites a chosen people? Well, I'll say this: anyone who desires to be chosen can be chosen. Like you just gotta ask and you shall receive. That's how this works. There's no special formula. You gotta say yes to this life with God, and then you are God's holy, set apart chosen people, his treasured possession. And then here's what's exciting the Israelites are galvanized and become the greatest movement the world has ever seen. We're here today because the Israelites were a bridge for somebody else's faith. How amazing is that? Moses becomes a bridge, and then the Israelites become a bridge for somebody else. It's almost like this is how Christianity should be. You become a bridge, and I become a bridge for the next generation. So, how do we become a bridge for somebody else and their own connection with God? What would that even look like? How do I become a little bit more like Moses and a little less like, oh bless you, a little less like Pharaoh? How do I become a little bit more like Jim and a little bit less like my boss at the Italian pizza joint? When was the last time you were on the Coronado Bridge? Uh they just had a NASCAR race there, right? This whole weekend? Some people are sunburnt because they were at the NASCAR race. It's really cool. First time ever. Um man, I'm glad they could get over to Coronado. They were able to get over because someone built a bridge. In fact, the bridge has a huge curve in it, right? Like, why? Why does it have a gigantic curve in this bridge? Anyone actually know? Is there a reason? The ships, yeah, the navy ships that go below. I actually went on a boat recently and I was able to look up and thought how far up it is from sea. Like it's crazy. And you know what's a little annoying? Uh, it took a lot more time, tax dollars, design. It's actually a pretty amazing feat, design-wise, to create such a bend in this bridge. But that wouldn't have happened if the builders' main priority was their own comfort. Then just don't build a bridge. Right? That's a lot of work. No, their main priority was connection, connecting people to the destination. And they were willing to get this to bend a little bit to make it happen. They're willing to risk a little bit to change their calendars and spend a little bit more money because the goal was connection, not comfort. So here's what I just want to say to somebody in this room: is that your calendar might have to change a little bit if you want to be a bridge for somebody else. Your money, how you spend it, might have to look a little bit different. In fact, my wife and I, we realize that people are off on Saturdays. Our congregation are off mainly on Saturdays. And we love hanging out with our friends on Saturday, going to events on Saturdays. We love going to open houses that happen on Saturdays, usually only. We love houses. And uh can't afford, but we love going to those open houses. We love Saturdays, and we just knew that we needed to change our schedule. So uh six weeks ago, we decided uh to open up our schedule entirely on Saturdays. So we just hang out with a bunch of people, and it's so funny what happens, and it's the cheesy stuff. Like, I don't even want to say it, but I'll just say it like really the the beneficiary is me, right? Like, I open up my calendar, I open up my, you know, and I actually do all the annoying stuff, and then the one of the best days of the week for us is now Saturdays, because the tears that have been shed, the prayers that we prayed, the intimate details that we get to learn about people's lives, we get to shed light in dark areas and to give them a little bit of hope. I mean, there's nothing better than our Saturdays. And if you are Jesus Follower, does your calendar look different? Does your pocketbook look different? How? How do we come someone who can build a bridge? I'll give you three words. Uh, very simple. If you want to write it down, it's these three things. The invitation today is this pray, pursue, point. That's all we gotta do. Pray, pursue, point. Three P's. That's the invitation this week is pray for one, pursue one, and point one to Jesus this week. Prayer, prayer. Sounds a little woo-woo, especially if you're not a Christian in the room. You're like, why pray? Again, I think something happens when you start a conversation with the creator and you're the created. Something happens. Uh, in fact, one of the prayers that I've started to pray the past year changed the game in my relationship with Jesus and my soul connection is this God, give me your perspective on. God, give me your perspective on the marital issue. God, give me your perspective on the addiction. God, give me your perspective on the budget deficit. God, give me your perspective on my mental health. God, give me your perspective on my health diagnosis. Something happens. It's almost like God wants to answer our prayers, and I start seeing things differently. What if you prayed that when it comes to the people that you love the most? I don't want to see my wife just through my eyes.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

I want to see my wife through the eyes of Jesus. What is she seeing? Where is she hurting?

SPEAKER_01 22:45

How can I help? How can I love her? I want to do the same with my brothers and my sisters and my sons and my daughters and my coworkers and the people that I play basketball with. God, give me your perspective and give me one. I just want one. Give me one person that I can help this week. And I'll be happy. Give me one person, God. And I wonder if God wants to answer that prayer. I wonder if God would be so happy that you would even ask about someone else other than yourself. It's been true for my life. Pray. Here's the second thing. Pursue. This is the hard part for me. I can pray. Praying. Praying can be hard for some. Praying is hard, but for me, this is the hardest one. Pursue. This is where you gotta bend your plans like the Coronata Bridge had to bend. I gotta bend my life for the sake of bridging somebody. For you, if you had to bend one thing right now that would actually help you love someone that you desire to love in your life, what would that be? Would that be something in the calendar? Would that be where you invest your money? Would that be where you invest your talent? What you're good at? And then the third, we pray, we pursue, and then we point, we point someone to Jesus. And I want to say, if you pray and pursue, and if you're not a Christian, that alone will help people. It will help people. And if you are a Christian in the room, I'm telling you, there's nothing better than connecting someone to the thing that actually changed your own life, and that is the person of Jesus. One of my favorite quotes I'm just a poor beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread. I point them, I bridge them. And what I've seen is one of the best ways is the local church. In fact, we started a church, my wife and I and the team, for the sake of having an easy place where you can invite your friends who don't know Jesus to come. In fact, we've had 395 first-time guests in the past 12 months. I know to a D. How many do we have? We have 15 guests on average. Why? Because this is the thing that we prioritize uh uh almost more than anything else, because it's what Jesus, he left the 99 for the one. This is who Jesus is interesting. Uh we had a guest speaker come, older guy, built this gigantic church. Well, God built it through him and great stuff. And and he after when he was leaving, he was like, Jake, it's almost like you're like you're you're just like ready for a first-time guest. Like, yeah, that's the whole point. We come expectant for God to bring new people because God's always looking to bring. So uh my hope is that this would be a safe place for you to invite your friend. And it's an easy way that they could encounter God where you might not have all the right words or uh all the but hopefully God can do something in a 60-minute service. Maybe you've seen that in yourself, let alone groups and the other things that God offers here at the local church. So I have a goal. My goal is to invite one person to church every week. Sometimes I don't do it, sometimes I don't. It's not this religious weird thing that I have to hold myself to. Uh, but I try to, and it's weird how God always opens a door for a conversation with someone at OB Beans or at uh by the ocean or the other day right by the grocery store over here, uh by Starbucks. I can tell you different places in San Diego where I've had these random conversations. Uh, but it's because I've asked, would you would you pray? Would you pursue, and then would you point? I my my my hope for you is that you would do it for one one person this week. One person. And uh our it our our email, info at createchurch.co, uh email me what happens inside of you when you do it. I don't care about the other person. Oh, I care about the other person, God cares about this other person, but what I know is that you will be changed just as much, if not more, than the other person if you decide to be a bridge for somebody else. Email me. And I'd love to know the story of how God changes your life by praying for one, pursuing one, and bridging one this week. I want to invite the band to come up, and as the band comes up, uh I just asked it, could you stand with me? Sounds good to get the blood flowing. What's God doing? Getting getting into what God could do over the next 13 minutes as we end today. Uh, one of my favorite verses as I read before, I kind of skimmed over some of it, and I just want to read it again. And I I want to pick you to picture yourself in this story when God is telling Moses. He says, You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings, and I brought you to myself. This is a different God than the God of the world. This is a different God than the Pharaoh. This is a God who comes to me like an eagle and pursues me, and an eagle loves to swoop up and to take care of her young. This is the metaphor that God uses. And the goal is to bring him, bring us to himself, because it's the best thing for us. And what I know is that the greatest bridge, the greatest eagle of all time was a person named Jesus. It actually says that God sent his one and only Son almost like an eagle to help free those in slavery. What a beautiful metaphor, what a beautiful reality is that we have a God that wants to come into your life right now and to be a bridge, the ultimate bridge that can connect you not only to eternity, but to the best life here and now in 2026 in June. This is what God wants to do. And I'm wondering if there's anyone in the room who might feel some chains around their feet. Yeah, I'm not enslaved by Pharaoh, but I'm enslaved by addiction. Yeah, my friends can't see the chains of my mental health right now. They don't know the money issues I'm going through. What chains are you carrying right now? It feels like 300 pounds you're walking around with, and no one knows. God knows. God sees. There's only one that could break the chain. There's only one that can free us. There's only one. I've tried. Have you tried? What have you tried? Does it work? It hasn't worked for me. Man, I feel like I could be a good blacksmith. I have a big hammer. I can try to hammer the chains off. I can't do it. They couldn't do it. God freed them like an eagle. And he freed them to himself. Do you need to be freed today? Is there a chain that is heavy on your ankles and no one sees it? God says it's easy. All you have to do is say, yes. Some of us, those chains we've brought on ourselves. God would call those sin things that so easily entangle us. Sin is this big word. What it is, it just separates us from the free life God wants to give us. And sometimes it's the sin that is the chains. And Jesus says, if you just are honest about the sins that you're committing, if you're honest about the chains around your feet, I want to do my best to free you right now. And we call that salvation. That's salvation. That's salvation. Saying yes to this life, being freed. And maybe for you, you want to make that decision today, or you're someone who made a decision 20 years ago. You made a decision 10 years ago, two months ago, and you fall way back into you trying to free yourself from the chains, and it's still not working just like it didn't work then. And God is inviting you again to be reminded of the only chain breaker that I know of that actually works. And that is the person of Jesus. So just maybe in a moment of privacy, would you close your eyes? Uh, this is we don't close our eyes for any weird reason. We close our eyes just to focus. So I'm just gonna give you a moment here. Maybe for you right now, you want to commit. You want freedom, and you're tired of trying, like the Israelites, or maybe for you, you need to recommit, man. These chains went right back on your ankles, and you know how it got there, and you need to believe again in the freedom of Jesus who died on your behalf so these chains could be freed from you. What a sacrifice! What a sacrifice. And if you're today saying yes, I want that life, or I want to reimagine what my life could look like because I've just forgotten in the fogginess of what I'm going through. Would you just raise your hand on account of three? Three. I'm saying yes to Jesus, two being, I want free from these chains. Number one, I want to be just like the Israelites. That's you, would you just raise your hand? Moment of privacy, no one sees it's you and God. It's a commitment between you, God.

SPEAKER_00 32:12

Lord, we thank you. God, sometimes I forget what you've done. God, and I get distracted by the mechanisms of the world, and the entertainment, and the success, and the money, and the influence, and the power. I just want to come back to you.

SPEAKER_01 32:36

God, you are more than able, and with faith, you can do more than I could ask or imagine in my wildest dreams. So, God, I pray for the chains around our ankles right now. God, I can can we imagine with all the faith in this room what the Lord can do, what you could do. Can we imagine what you could do? So, Lord, I pray with all the faith in this room, God, that there would be chains of addiction, God, chains of mental health issues, issues, chains of finances, uh, chains of insecurities, chains of shame that would be released right now because this is your heart and this is what you want. You're like an eagle swooping in to free us, God. So thank you that the the God of the Israelites, the God who freed from Pharaoh, God, you're still freeing people from Pharaoh today. And I just want to say thank you for freeing me. And God, over the next five minutes, God, give me a vision of what freedom looks like in Jesus' name.