SPEAKER_00: Y'all ready to get in God's Word today?
SPEAKER_00: Come on, one more time.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all get ready to get in God's Word today.
SPEAKER_00: Alright, alright, alright, alright, alright.
SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be a great, great day.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're gonna go to Matthew chapter 28.
SPEAKER_00: Matthew chapter 20.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna give the context behind the text while you're turning.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna be in verses 16 through 20.
SPEAKER_00: Um, this is gonna be a fun, fun message.
SPEAKER_00: I gotta throw this out before I play with it the entire service.
SPEAKER_00: Kevin, can you catch?
SPEAKER_00: Okay, alright.
SPEAKER_00: Well, Kevin, I'm gonna be all right.
SPEAKER_00: Ready?
SPEAKER_00: One, two, three.
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, that uh that can just stay there, it can live there.
SPEAKER_00: All right, it's all good.
SPEAKER_00: Kevin didn't get in the face, we're not getting sued.
SPEAKER_00: That's all I really needed out of that.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, Matthew 16.
SPEAKER_00: Uh so Jesus is uh this is after the whole Easter story has happened.
SPEAKER_00: So we're fast-forwarding a little bit.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus has died, Jesus has risen again, he's been hanging out with his disciples, and Jesus is about ready to peace out.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody say, peace out.
SPEAKER_00: So Jesus is about ready to peace out.
SPEAKER_00: He's about to give his last instructions before leaving Earth.
SPEAKER_00: And how many of y'all know the last words that somebody gives you before they leave Earth really matter?
SPEAKER_00: Like, forget leaving Earth.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the last words somebody gives you before they leave the house really matter.
SPEAKER_00: Like when I was growing up, my mama would always, especially in the summertime, she'd be heading out, she'd say, John, make sure you take out the chicken out of the freezer before you leave.
SPEAKER_00: And of course, I'm a teenager, it's summertime, I'm playing Halo 2, I'm hanging out with my friends.
SPEAKER_00: And then sometime around three o'clock, right before she would come home, it was like the Lord would just warn me.
SPEAKER_00: And you just have this realization of the chicken is and you're trying everything that you can.
SPEAKER_00: This ain't even part of the sermon, this is for free.
SPEAKER_00: You're putting it under the microwave, you're thawing the chicken out.
SPEAKER_00: How many of y'all know the last words that somebody speaks matter?
SPEAKER_00: Uh, me and my wife have been married for 10 years now, uh, I've going on 10 years, uh, and I've learned one of the things that I can do well in marriage is to remember her last words before she leaves the house.
SPEAKER_00: If she says, Would you take out the trash before you go?
SPEAKER_00: And then I come home, like sometimes she'll be like, okay, oh yeah, whatever.
SPEAKER_00: And then I go to work, I forget to take out the trash.
SPEAKER_00: I come home after she's home, and the trash has been taken out.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all know.
SPEAKER_00: It's like she doesn't even say anything.
SPEAKER_00: How are you doing?
SPEAKER_00: I'm fine.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_00: I just start prepping the couch right then in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: You know, just Jesus' last words are an example of what's on his mind, what's on his heart, uh, that he's feeling this calling.
SPEAKER_00: And so we're gonna we're gonna read this.
SPEAKER_00: Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
SPEAKER_00: When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some of them doubted.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody say, doubted.
SPEAKER_00: I'm grateful that this is in the Bible, because when these guys wrote this, they could have made themselves look good.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of y'all know there is room for doubt in the kingdom of God?
SPEAKER_00: There's room for doubt in your faith journey, there's room for you to ask questions, try to figure stuff out to say you don't have it all together.
SPEAKER_00: Because here's what I know in the church where we get religious, there can be some pressure to pretend like you know it all, you've got it all figured out, you don't need to go any further.
SPEAKER_00: But I'm reminded by this that the guys that have been with Jesus for a long time still had questions, still didn't have all the answers.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm grateful because there's some days when I wake up and I still have questions.
SPEAKER_00: Some days when I still need more answers, and I'm glad this is in the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus came and told his disciples, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, go.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody say, go, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, in the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Teach these new disciples, somebody say, new disciples, to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this.
SPEAKER_00: I am with you always.
SPEAKER_00: Even to the end of the age.
SPEAKER_00: We've been in a series for the last couple of weeks called Jesus Says, where we've been going around the words of Jesus, some things that he tells us to do, asks us to do, commands us to do.
SPEAKER_00: And today we're gonna, we're gonna, our penultimate moment is gonna be around this word.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, go.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray together.
SPEAKER_00: Our Father who is in heaven, holy is your name.
SPEAKER_00: Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: Give us today our daily bread.
SPEAKER_00: Forgive us our sins, forgive those who sin against us.
SPEAKER_00: Lead us, Jesus, not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
SPEAKER_00: For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you all so much because I lost it halfway through that prayer.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's it's important.
SPEAKER_00: I love I love what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, Go.
SPEAKER_00: Uh I want you to know as a Christian, as a believer, that God has not only called you to be in church to receive from church, but how many of you know that the things that God wants to pour in your life, He also wants to pour through your life?
SPEAKER_00: See, some of us have experienced freedom in Jesus, we've experienced hope in Jesus, we've experienced salvation in Jesus, we've experienced life change through Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but how many of you know that what is happening inside of you, God did not just design to stay inside of you, God designed for what is happening inside of you to flow through you and make a difference in the world around you.
SPEAKER_00: Uh man, this is the reason why Jesus says this is because he knew these disciples, he knew.
SPEAKER_00: Last time something crazy happened, the disciples stand up, uh, this is at the Mount of Transfiguration, and they tell Jesus, Hey, we'll just build a house for you and we will stay here.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody stay here.
SPEAKER_00: Man, here's what's crazy, easy about Christianity.
SPEAKER_00: The more saved you get, the easier it gets to just stay here.
SPEAKER_00: The easier it gets to just get around saved people, the easier it gets to just say, I'm gonna show up to church, I'm gonna have my couple of songs of worship, pastor.
SPEAKER_00: That message better be good.
SPEAKER_00: The easier it gets to be all about us for and no more.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know that the same God that raised you from the dead, that saved your sins, that sets you on a path of purpose, that same God still has other kids out there that he cares about, that he loves, whose life he wants to change.
SPEAKER_00: And God's answer is to tell you and I to go.
SPEAKER_00: Because the church was made for us to make a difference.
SPEAKER_00: Uh this week is spring break in Denwiddy County.
SPEAKER_00: If you've never, if you don't have kids, you probably don't care because you're like, I gotta go to work anyway, bro.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, one of the things I want to do this week is I want to go fishing with my son.
SPEAKER_00: Um we have a big pond across the street from our house, and I want to go fishing with him.
SPEAKER_00: Um and can I just can I just be real?
SPEAKER_00: Is it okay if I'm like honest with y'all?
SPEAKER_00: I don't want to go fishing with him.
SPEAKER_00: Like, like, like I just don't.
SPEAKER_00: I I just don't.
SPEAKER_00: Not he's good company, he's fun, he'll make it, he'll make it fun.
SPEAKER_00: I just don't want to go, to be fair, let me clarify.
SPEAKER_00: I just don't want to go fishing.
SPEAKER_00: Uh like here's what I learned about uh about fishing.
SPEAKER_00: You have to like fishing, not catching fish.
SPEAKER_00: And I don't want to go fishing, I want to go catching fish.
SPEAKER_00: I want to go sit there, like you know what would be my preferred situation is like you ever see those nature documentaries where the salmon are just everywhere?
SPEAKER_00: I just want to set up a bucket at the end of the river and just have the fish jump in.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know that's not our supposed to be what God calls us to do?
SPEAKER_00: That's not what God is asking us to do.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus isn't saying stay and let them come, Jesus is saying you go out and get them.
SPEAKER_00: There's a call on us to go and receive the lost and to find people that need Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: See, Jesus knew we would always be tempted whenever we're going through the church thing to be more comfortable.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know, like my wife has been bugging me this last week, um, this last year.
SPEAKER_00: I need to be careful how I say these sermons, y'all.
SPEAKER_00: I'm getting in trouble before I even know it.
SPEAKER_00: Um, but she it's been on her heart to go on a cruise for a while.
SPEAKER_00: And uh, I've been like, man, baby, I've been like, I don't want to go on a cruise because I've seen Titanic when I was real young and it's causing some PTSD, and I'm like twitching.
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, you're gonna leave me on that door, is what you're gonna do, is that's what you're gonna do.
SPEAKER_00: Uh but how many of you know the church isn't designed to be a cruise ship?
SPEAKER_00: The church is designed to be a battleship.
SPEAKER_00: The church isn't just designed to be a battleship.
SPEAKER_00: I believe the the call of the church is to be a rescue ship.
SPEAKER_00: What we're supposed to do is go out into the dangerous waters of this world, go out where people have no hope, where people have no purpose, where people have no life, where they're bound and addicted and broken.
SPEAKER_00: And we're supposed to not hide on our shorelines and talk about our excursions and read the scripture that we all love.
SPEAKER_00: We're supposed to go into the broken places of this world and rescue people.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I know about Christianity.
SPEAKER_00: We all love being rescued.
SPEAKER_00: Man, when I'm on the side and I see the ship drive by, I'm like, man, I love that this church came for me.
SPEAKER_00: I love that they gave him that offering for me, I love that other people came to serve me, but when it's time to turn around, can we be honest?
SPEAKER_00: It's hard to go.
SPEAKER_00: When we're sitting on the cruise ship and we're used to being catered to, and God is asking us to move from a place we're being catered to, but when to a place where we are making a difference, it is hard to go.
SPEAKER_00: But the truth is, you will make such a difference if you move from state to go.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I want to tell you.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know how many much of my notes that they have, but uh here's what God wants to do.
SPEAKER_00: God wants to move you from where you are to where you need to be.
SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna go, you gotta move.
SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna make a difference, something's gotta change.
SPEAKER_00: We are called to make a difference in the world, but there's some things that stop us from going to where God wants us to be.
SPEAKER_00: One of the things that stops me from going places is inconvenience.
SPEAKER_00: Like, can we be real for a second?
SPEAKER_00: Can we be real?
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes like this morning especially, it was 31 degrees outside, my bed was warm and twisty.
SPEAKER_00: I was like, Jesus, send an angel to preach to them, they'll do a better job in the first place.
SPEAKER_00: And um, and like I I was just like, this is not convenient.
SPEAKER_00: Like, can't here's what I've learned about doing the right thing.
SPEAKER_00: Doing the right thing is rarely convenient.
SPEAKER_00: Man, blessing somebody is rarely convenient, serving somebody is rarely convenient.
SPEAKER_00: Showing up early is rarely convenient.
SPEAKER_00: Mr.
SPEAKER_00: Chris is part of our setup team and he shows up and we're like lifting stages and carrying stuff out, and we're trying not to scratch the floor.
SPEAKER_00: Mr.
SPEAKER_00: Chris, I've never lifted the stage and been like this is easy and very convenient.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know, unless I step into the place that is inconvenient, then God will never make a difference in it through my life.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's the inconvenience.
SPEAKER_00: The other thing that sometimes gets in our way is our insecurity.
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not good enough, I'm not smart enough, I don't know enough Bible, I don't know enough scripture, I'm not tall enough, I'm not strong enough, I'm not as good looking as Pastor John.
SPEAKER_00: He's so handsome.
SPEAKER_00: If I was handsome like him, maybe.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you uh one of my favorite things about this scripture, the way Jesus starts it?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus starts this scripture before he gives him any instruction, before he tells him to go, before he tells them what to do, Jesus tells him the basis of what he's called into.
SPEAKER_00: He says this I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you the basis for you making a difference in the world, the basis for a change in your life, the basis for changing your family, the basis for a change in our church, the basis for changing our community is not how good we are, it's not how smart we are, it's not how good we are, it's about how good he is, it's about his power, his goodness, his love, his grace, it's about what he can do.
SPEAKER_00: And our job ultimately is not to point Jesus to us, it's to point Jesus to him.
SPEAKER_00: See, I want to tell you today the goal of Vision Church is not to make Vision Church bigger, the goal of Vision Church is to make heaven bigger.
SPEAKER_00: The goal of Vision Church is not to add more services so we can meet all awesome and we're our church.
SPEAKER_00: So think how cool we are.
SPEAKER_00: The goal of Vision Church is to do those things so that there can be room for people and their lives can be changed.
SPEAKER_00: Our goal is that we can do those things so that Jesus will be made mighty in the hearts of people.
SPEAKER_00: So we gotta rest in God's strength.
SPEAKER_00: So inconvenience and security.
SPEAKER_00: But the third one is this is opposition.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all ever try to do the right thing?
SPEAKER_00: Like try to fix up your life, and now for some reason, like when you were sinning, nobody had a problem with it, but now you're trying to be righteous, everybody's got an opinion.
SPEAKER_00: Like, like, so when I was up late at night and I was going to the club and I was doing all those things, but now I want to get up early for Bible study and everybody's got an opinion.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you, here's what I here's what I want you to remind you of?
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes we start facing opposition.
SPEAKER_00: If you are facing opposition from the enemy, then you are going in the right direction.
SPEAKER_00: If the devil is coming against you, I want to remind you, as the church, you have the ability to go up against the devil.
SPEAKER_00: See, your backup is better than his backup.
SPEAKER_00: He may have every demon in hell.
SPEAKER_00: You can look at him and say, I got every angel in heaven, I got the whole church praying for me, I got the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit interceding for me.
SPEAKER_00: So come on.
SPEAKER_00: You need to recognize and remember that God has called you, anointed you, purposed you.
SPEAKER_00: And you're not standing on your own authority, you're standing on God's authority.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I love about this message.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says, go.
SPEAKER_00: One more time, say go.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says go.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does not say write a letter.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does not say uh send a song.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus does not say send an email.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus doesn't even say make an Instagram post.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says go.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I love about that message.
SPEAKER_00: It's not just that Jesus wants us to share the gospel, Jesus wants us to be the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: Because if it was about like, oh, let me just send you a message or whatever, then you can just let me just text my cousin so-and-so.
SPEAKER_00: Hey man, Jesus loves you.
SPEAKER_00: Send prayer hands emoji.
SPEAKER_00: But it's a different thing to say, hey, I just want to grab coffee with you.
SPEAKER_00: I just want to share with you what the Lord has been doing in my life.
SPEAKER_00: We gotta have a willingness to go.
SPEAKER_00: Going back to the scripture, I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, go and make what?
SPEAKER_00: Make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: The church was not designed to create consumers or converts, it was designed to make disciples.
SPEAKER_00: And I I want us to know that if you are in Jesus, you can come to Jesus however you are.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know that Jesus is gonna change you from wherever you are to be more like him every day?
SPEAKER_00: Man, I've been following Jesus for a long time, y'all.
SPEAKER_00: 20, I think I've been saved for 25 years now.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I'm telling you, every single year, there's still something I'm learning in.
SPEAKER_00: Every single year, there's something I'm growing in.
SPEAKER_00: Every single year, there's something he's showing me about himself, there's something he's showing me about me.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to encourage you that you need to be making disciples because before we see a difference in the world out there, we better start seeing a difference in the world in here.
SPEAKER_00: See, we it can get so easy to point at everybody and what they need to change, what they need to fix, what they need to make different.
SPEAKER_00: But before we go out there to tell them what they need to do, we need to look in here and ask Jesus, what can I need to do?
SPEAKER_00: How can I be different?
SPEAKER_00: Because here's the truth: this is a principle.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, like reproduces like.
SPEAKER_00: So if I want apples, I need to plant un.
SPEAKER_00: If I want oranges, I need to plant un.
SPEAKER_00: If I need lemons, I need to plant uh.
SPEAKER_00: If I get a chicken, I'm gonna get more.
SPEAKER_00: Did you just say mac and cheese?
SPEAKER_00: Oh, chicken cheese.
SPEAKER_00: Man, like I If we're gonna produce more disciples, then we need to be disciples.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, baby.
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate it.
SPEAKER_00: I'm trying.
SPEAKER_00: The difference that some of us are hoping God will make in our family is dependent on the difference that God wants to make in our hearts first.
SPEAKER_00: We're walking in and we're saying, God, I want my family to experience more freedom.
SPEAKER_00: You need to experience that freedom in Jesus before you start seeing it in your family.
SPEAKER_00: Some of us need to say, Man, I want to have confidence in who God has called me to be.
SPEAKER_00: I want to, I want, I want my whole family to have that.
SPEAKER_00: Well, you need to have confidence before you can speak confidence.
SPEAKER_00: You need to have freedom before you can speak freedom.
SPEAKER_00: You need to have hope before you can speak hope.
SPEAKER_00: One of my favorite things in our church is to hang out with people that have walked away from an addiction.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, because we've had a number of people that have connected to our church and they're six months free and seven months three, and they're going on a year free.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and I love it because every once in a while we'll have somebody show up at our church and they're saying, John, I'm just two days free and I don't know how I'm gonna make it.
SPEAKER_00: And I can point them to somebody in our team, on our church, as part of our crew, and I can say, Hey, I want to introduce you to so-and-so.
SPEAKER_00: They were right where you were seven months ago, but then God started doing a work in their life, and now everything that they thought they never could have, God has given them above and beyond.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you your story is the key to somebody else's freedom?
SPEAKER_00: Like produces like.
SPEAKER_00: You don't go to somebody that's dysfunctional and expect to function well.
SPEAKER_00: You don't go to somebody that's broke and expect to know how to manage your finances well.
SPEAKER_00: You don't go to somebody that's being dramatic and gossiping all the time and expects to have your relationships well.
SPEAKER_00: You don't go to somebody that doesn't have faith and ask them how to be a better Christian.
SPEAKER_00: We go to somebody that we trust, and I want to encourage you, one of the things I want you to commit to is to be a disciple before you start asking people to be disciples.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know our our community would be better if we had more of Jesus in it?
SPEAKER_00: Some people when we were launching the church had asked me, John, what's your what's your end game for vision?
SPEAKER_00: Like, what where do you want to go?
SPEAKER_00: What do you want to do?
SPEAKER_00: Like, you don't want to be like here's here's here's my goal.
SPEAKER_00: I want there to be a Christian in every room in our entire community, and not just uh, I go to church and I wear the t-shirt, kind of Christian.
SPEAKER_00: I'm talking somebody that is on fire, that knows their word, that is full of God's spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Why?
SPEAKER_00: Because when we put somebody like that in a classroom, that classroom changes.
SPEAKER_00: When we put somebody like that in a work crew, that work crew changes.
SPEAKER_00: When we put somebody like that on the PTO, that that whole PTA meeting changes.
SPEAKER_00: When we put somebody like that in our government, that whole government office changes.
SPEAKER_00: When we put somebody like that in your family that you know needs Jesus, that whole family can change.
SPEAKER_00: Some of us think that the difference that God wants to make is so small, we're wondering how God can do it.
SPEAKER_00: And God is just saying, you be a disciple, I'll take care of the rest.
SPEAKER_00: Like will reproduce like.
SPEAKER_00: And so my encouragement for you is to do this, to be all in with God.
SPEAKER_00: All in for God.
SPEAKER_00: Because He wants to make a difference.
SPEAKER_00: Like six of you said this is helping.
SPEAKER_00: The rest are like, I'm coming back, I'm coming back Easter Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: Like this is there's a verse that Jesus speaks, and he says this.
SPEAKER_00: Uh John 3.16 says this, for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
SPEAKER_00: Here's the beautiful thing, because if if the solution for the kingdom was for Jesus to come, uh then why did Jesus not stay?
SPEAKER_00: If the solution for the world to be saved was for Jesus to come, why did Jesus not stay?
SPEAKER_00: And my answer for you, my answer for you, for you, for you is I think he's stuck around.
SPEAKER_00: See, in the word it says that Jesus sent us the power of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_00: The power of the Holy Spirit activates not just by himself, although sometimes he does that, but the power of the Holy Spirit activates when you and I start saying yes to the things that God is saying yes.
SPEAKER_00: And that's part of the process of discipleship.
SPEAKER_00: I just want to say yes to the things that God is saying.
SPEAKER_00: Alright, I'm gonna go back to the first.
SPEAKER_00: Uh Jesus says this, 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.
SPEAKER_00: Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this.
SPEAKER_00: I am with you all the way.
SPEAKER_00: Uh one of the things that struck me as I was reading this verse is this statement All nations.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody say all nations.
SPEAKER_00: This is one of those weeks where I'm just being very vulnerable with you, and uh, I'm being like as open as I can.
SPEAKER_00: Can I be honest that I struggle with the all nations thing?
SPEAKER_00: Like, can we be honest that there's sometimes when we go, Jesus, I want them to be saved, but I don't really want them to come to my church.
SPEAKER_00: Like, Jesus, don't you know how they voted in the last election?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, don't you follow them on Facebook?
SPEAKER_00: Did you see what they posted two weeks ago?
SPEAKER_00: Why would they ever come to Jesus?
SPEAKER_00: I was driving past the club and they were there morning, noon, and night.
SPEAKER_00: What?
SPEAKER_00: I don't want them in my church.
SPEAKER_00: Before we were part of the nation of God, this verse included us.
SPEAKER_00: We are the all nations.
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know where you're from, I don't know what your background is.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you grew up rich, I don't know if you grew up poor.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I know we are all the nation of God.
SPEAKER_00: God loves us and cares about us, but God also loves the people that are out there.
SPEAKER_00: And I want to encourage us to have a heart that says, I'm gonna be a blessing to all the nations.
SPEAKER_00: So how do we do that?
SPEAKER_00: How do we do that?
SPEAKER_00: So one more time, Jesus says go.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody say go.
SPEAKER_00: Uh when his father passed, his father had been a pastor.
SPEAKER_00: And he grown up in the church, but when you have a pastor, especially a pastor that has a moral failure, that's how my grandfather came out of ministry.
SPEAKER_00: How many of you know it makes you a little jaded?
SPEAKER_00: And my dad wasn't really into the church thing until he gave his life to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And why by the time I came around and was growing up, my dad was my dad was head of the deacon board and went to one of them churches and uh my mom was uh head of the Sunday school committee.
SPEAKER_00: Um we don't have a Sunday school committee here, we just have people that are background checked and taking care of our kids.
SPEAKER_00: And amen.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you all I praise God for them.
SPEAKER_00: Um whoever's holding my kids right now, praise God for you.
SPEAKER_00: And when I was coming up in today, I really struggled with a lot of stuff.
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't loving Jesus when I was young and I I made mistakes.
SPEAKER_00: I never believed that God would use anybody.
SPEAKER_00: I never believed that God would use.
SPEAKER_00: The reality is as long as I was leading on my own strength, it was never gonna make it.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you think you're not special, some of you think God's not gonna use you, some of you think this verse, therefore go and make disciples is for pastors and preachers, therefore, go and make disciples isn't for people that get paid to work out of church, it's not for people that speak for a living.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, go and make disciples is for homeschool moms and homeschool dads, it's for the entrepreneur, it's for the it's it's the person that works as a cashier.
SPEAKER_00: God can use you where you are, how you are to make a difference.
SPEAKER_00: How does he do that?
SPEAKER_00: One first thing you gotta remember is man, your story is special.
SPEAKER_00: Your story is part of God's story, the story that God has written for you.
SPEAKER_00: Some of you think, man, John, it's just a nothing story.
SPEAKER_00: I I one of the fun things about starting this church is I get to sit down with people, John, and uh they'll share their story of like what how they got saved and how they got to Jesus, and they're telling me and they think their story is normal.
SPEAKER_00: I've never sat down with one of y'all that your story's normal.
SPEAKER_00: Your story's simple.
SPEAKER_00: Some of y'all are like, well, you know, like we're we're really struggling with having a baby, and then God we got God blessed us, and now we're having a baby and we're praying through it, and yada.
SPEAKER_00: And you don't recognize the difference that I can make in the life of somebody else that's still waiting for for their baby to come.
SPEAKER_00: Some of us are like, well, you know, we were on the urge of the verge of divorce and we're fighting all the time, and then we've been in the Bible for a little while, and now we're holding hands, walking in the church, and it's not that big a deal.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you, for the couple that's walking in hopelessness, you're there with living hope.
SPEAKER_00: For the person that's walking in addiction, there needs to be something in our story that we recognize.
SPEAKER_00: Man, that story isn't just my story.
SPEAKER_00: This is a story that God is writing through me.
SPEAKER_00: And the thing that God is writing through me is a testimony of his goodness, it's a testimony of his healing power.
SPEAKER_00: It's a testimony, because what God is saying is what I did for them, I can also do for you.
SPEAKER_00: I want to encourage us to be the kind of people that remember Allah God continue writing our story.
SPEAKER_00: Brian?
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00: Whatever, baby, just amen.
SPEAKER_00: Thanks, buddy.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, if I preach for a few minutes.
SPEAKER_00: We often underestimate what God wants to do in and through our lives.
SPEAKER_00: First thing we underestimate what God wants to do in.
SPEAKER_00: There are things in your life that you are walking in that you've always believed this is how I always be.
SPEAKER_00: I'll never change, I'll never be different.
SPEAKER_00: This is how they were before me.
SPEAKER_00: And can I tell you the resurrection power of Jesus says this you can be made different.
SPEAKER_00: You don't just have to act different.
SPEAKER_00: God can show up in a supernatural way in your life that you're not just pretending to be something different, you can be made new, is what the gospel says.
SPEAKER_00: See, when Jesus dies, the whole gospel is Jesus dying, he's buried in the grave, and then he comes back.
SPEAKER_00: And that whole thing is our process.
SPEAKER_00: There are things in you that you never thought would die that God is calling to die.
SPEAKER_00: There are addictions, brokenness, hurts, issues, problems that God is asking you to let die.
SPEAKER_00: And here's what I need you to know and trust the power of the gospel is this.
SPEAKER_00: If I let God kill what he needs to kill, then God will resurrect what only he can resurrect.
SPEAKER_00: If I let God take away what only he can take away, then he's gonna bring back to life what only he can bring back to life.
SPEAKER_00: The power of the gospel isn't about your effort, my effort, what I do, what you do, what I'm trying harder.
SPEAKER_00: The power of the gospel is looking at the man who was buried, who was on the cross, who was buried, who rose again, and saying, I'm I'm putting my faith in that guy.
SPEAKER_00: And the power of the gospel is that you and I are raised up to do this crazy thing called serve alongside.
SPEAKER_00: You know what's crazy?
SPEAKER_00: Jesus' team is still drafting today.
SPEAKER_00: There's still room on the team.
SPEAKER_00: You know, like back in the day when I was coming up, there was a team called the New England Patriots.
SPEAKER_00: They're still around.
SPEAKER_00: They're doing well, apparently.
SPEAKER_00: But back in those days, there was this guy, what was his name?
SPEAKER_00: Uh, Tom Brady.
SPEAKER_00: Some of y'all are like cussing under your breath right now.
SPEAKER_00: Like he's taking out your team and you're still bitter about it.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: If you found out that you could go back in time and you could get drafted right alongside Tom Brady, how many of you would say yes?
SPEAKER_00: Because everybody, let's be real, it's not even because you like Tom Brady.
SPEAKER_00: Some of y'all are like, I hate Tom Brady, but I want to be on that team.
SPEAKER_00: Because I want to win.
SPEAKER_00: I want to be on.
SPEAKER_00: Can I tell you?
SPEAKER_00: There is still room in God's team.
SPEAKER_00: And when we read the scriptures, we know that God is a victorious God who has overcome hell, death, the grave, and he is still gonna do it again.
SPEAKER_00: And there's a call on you and I to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_00: Uh next week.
SPEAKER_00: Next week, we're gonna be inviting people to come to each other.
SPEAKER_00: Y'all got a card?
SPEAKER_00: If you got a card somewhere in you near you, close to by.
SPEAKER_00: Can you just train yourself a little bit?
SPEAKER_00: Wave at me, wave at me if you got a card, if you got a card, if you got a card.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm about to get in trouble.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, if I get in trouble.
SPEAKER_00: Um I I don't like Easter Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: I was waiting to see if anybody was gonna get up and walk out of the room.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, cool.
SPEAKER_00: Here's why I don't like Easter Sunday.
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of activity.
SPEAKER_00: That should be about people instead of about the church.
SPEAKER_00: Easter is this message that Jesus rose again.
SPEAKER_00: And because Jesus rose again, I have life and you can have life.
SPEAKER_00: And y'all don't get me wrong, we're gonna do Easter egg hunts, we're gonna do Easter Bunny inflatables, we're gonna do the photo boost and all that stuff.
SPEAKER_00: But sometimes I think we get so used to the Easter message that we forget the power of Easter.
SPEAKER_00: We get so used to the multicolored eggs, and we get so used to that we forget the blood, we forget its power, we forget the difference it can make in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I'm feeling about to say today.
SPEAKER_00: Here's what I'm fucking pal to say today.
SPEAKER_00: Don't hold the lifeline to yourself.
SPEAKER_00: Perfect it.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know who did that.
SPEAKER_00: Could you imagine uh springing back to the Titanic and fishing and cruise ships and all that?
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine uh it's can we be honest that the world is kind of going through some stuff right now?
SPEAKER_00: Can you imagine you're in the Titanic and and and you come out and there's a bunch of people standing there and some of them are pointing, they're saying, Man, there's a there's a lifeboat that way, and I think there's a lifeboat that way.
SPEAKER_00: Uh, and you know, you know, you know that there is a lifeboat called Jesus on the other side of the boat.
SPEAKER_00: You 100% know.
SPEAKER_00: And you go, would you ever go in that situation?
SPEAKER_00: Would you ever go?
SPEAKER_00: Well, I I think they'll figure it out on their own.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I'll just stay out of the way.
SPEAKER_00: Would you ever go, hey man, always go to heaven, so you know, just figure out where you're going.
SPEAKER_00: Like, just good luck.
SPEAKER_00: Would you ever go?
SPEAKER_00: Well, you know, if you want to come with me, you can, but you know, you do your own thing.
SPEAKER_00: No, you'd be like, listen, you gotta come.
SPEAKER_00: There's a there's a lifeboat on the other side that if you would, if you would follow after him, if you would chase after the person of Jesus, everything in your life would be different.
SPEAKER_00: There needs to be an urgency that comes in our souls because this isn't about our church experience, this isn't about us growing as a country club, this isn't about us getting more people so we can have more staff, so we can have better stuff, so we can get a better building, so that we can like, can I tell you none of that matters?
SPEAKER_00: You know why we're doing this thing?
SPEAKER_00: There is a child going to bed tonight that doesn't believe that anybody loves them, that believes that God is far from them, and we're showing up in McKinney because that child needs the hope and the love and the life and the hope of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: There is an addict on the side of the road that has lost all hope.
SPEAKER_00: We're going for them.
SPEAKER_00: And before you think this is all about helping out broke people, there is a CEO who makes 300k a year and they he has got the full bank account, and he still goes to bed and asks, Why am I doing this?
SPEAKER_00: He needs Jesus too.
SPEAKER_00: I feel like I finally got started, right?
SPEAKER_00: That's here's here's the mistake that we can make.
SPEAKER_00: That's why I love what Jesus says.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says go.
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully I don't spy.
SPEAKER_00: Here, here's what here's what we're not careful.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, Jesus said go.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, we're supposed to stand up and sing now.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, Jesus, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Ha ha, Pastor John said funny joke.
SPEAKER_00: Ha ha.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that was good.
SPEAKER_00: That that message testified to me, and that was a really good message.
unknown: All right.
SPEAKER_00: Oh, amen.
SPEAKER_00: Okay, now we're leaving, so I gotta grab the chair, stack it up, go.
SPEAKER_00: That ain't church.
SPEAKER_00: That is the gathering.
SPEAKER_00: I love the gathering.
SPEAKER_00: I love the presence of God, I love the spirit of God.
SPEAKER_00: I love what happens when I lift my hands in worship.
SPEAKER_00: I love preaching the word to y'all.
SPEAKER_00: That is the gathering.
SPEAKER_00: You are the church.
SPEAKER_00: You are the gospel.
SPEAKER_00: See, the gospel was supposed to walk on two legs, go into every highway, byway, street, office, school.
SPEAKER_00: Every time you walk out of this room, you are the gospel made flesh.
SPEAKER_00: Somebody should be able to look at your life and go, man, I don't know what's going on in their life.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what's going on in their family, but I see a God that I did not even believe in.
SPEAKER_00: They're different than they used to be.
SPEAKER_00: They talk different than they used to talk.
SPEAKER_00: They walk different than they used to walk.
SPEAKER_00: When they when they ask you what what happened?
SPEAKER_00: You don't go, well, you know, Pastor John is just so smart and wise.
SPEAKER_00: Please.
SPEAKER_00: I go to that church and the air conditioning is always broken, so it feels hot.
SPEAKER_00: So I'm afraid of going to hell because I don't want to be hot all the time.
SPEAKER_00: So I give my left, like that's that's not what you do.
SPEAKER_00: You you point him.
SPEAKER_00: You say, Hosanna.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't figure this out.
SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm I'm all kinds of messed up.
SPEAKER_00: I'd still be messed up without Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You need to go talk to you need to go talk to the guy on the middle cross.
SPEAKER_00: You need to talk to the one who he died, rose again, and because of him, I can be rich.
SPEAKER_00: You need to keep pointing people towards Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: That's the key.
unknown: That's the key.
SPEAKER_00: A prayer team, I invite you to come up.
SPEAKER_00: Church, would you stand at your feet?
SPEAKER_00: Alright.
SPEAKER_00: Next Sunday, I'm gonna be preaching a message.
SPEAKER_00: I know it's gonna encourage you and your family.
SPEAKER_00: I know it's gonna encourage people that are coming.
SPEAKER_00: But before I ever preach that message, I want to encourage you and invite you to preach your own message.
SPEAKER_00: There are people in your life that I could never reach.
SPEAKER_00: And I want you to invite him in a church.
SPEAKER_00: Like this part of the message is invite him.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna preach the gospel, we're gonna give a clear declaration of who Jesus is, that he died, rose again for our sins in our place.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna do all that.
SPEAKER_00: But how many of you know they don't need to wait for Easter Sunday to experience gospel life?
SPEAKER_00: I, as the pastor of this church hereby deputize you to go share the gospel of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Well, John, at my work, I can't really talk about Jesus as much as you can at your job.
SPEAKER_00: Like, your job is a whole church.
SPEAKER_00: Like you can you can talk about Jesus whenever you want.
SPEAKER_00: You better talk about Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I work at the work crew, and if I start talking about Jesus, like, can I tell you before you even talk about Jesus, you can show them Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: You can love on them, you can serve them, you can listen, you can be the guy that they go, man, I just know that they have integrity.
SPEAKER_00: I know they're not gonna gossip about me.
SPEAKER_00: I know when I leave my lunch at home, they're willing to share theirs.
SPEAKER_00: And when you do those things, don't take credit and be like, look at how awesome I am.
SPEAKER_00: Point to the man on the middle cross.
SPEAKER_00: Man, I'm different because he's different.
SPEAKER_00: I'm kind because he's been kind to me.
SPEAKER_00: I'm healed because he's healed me.
SPEAKER_00: I've made different because he made me different.
SPEAKER_00: Next week we're believing that God's gonna do that vision.
SPEAKER_00: Um, put your grab an Easter invite card and hold it in your hand.
SPEAKER_00: And I want you in this moment to think of one person.
SPEAKER_00: One person.
SPEAKER_00: And here's the commitment I want you to make.
SPEAKER_00: Do I want you to invite them to Easter?
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
SPEAKER_00: That's invite.
SPEAKER_00: But I want you to make a greater commitment.
SPEAKER_00: God, the person you're gonna show me as we sing this next song is a person that I believe you're calling me to go to.
SPEAKER_00: Whether or not they come this Sunday, next Sunday, Sunday a year from now, like I want you to keep this card until they come.
SPEAKER_00: One last story, and then we'll sing.
SPEAKER_00: I know, in closing 17 times.
SPEAKER_00: I'm getting it out of my system now so I can act right on Easter Sunday, okay?
SPEAKER_00: There was a prayer meeting I was in a few years ago, and um he actually laid down the card for somebody that she wanted to pray.
SPEAKER_00: I didn't know she laid out the card, but I picked up the card and I prayed for that person for a year.
SPEAKER_00: And when I started praying for them, I was like, bang coming.
SPEAKER_00: You have somebody in your life like that that you're like, like I can invite them, Pastor?
SPEAKER_00: Bang coming.
SPEAKER_00: Like, and then one day they came.
SPEAKER_00: And now everything's different.
SPEAKER_00: Give their lives to Jesus, God's moving in their life path.
SPEAKER_00: Never know what God gives.
SPEAKER_00: Let me pray before I get in trouble and preach for the next six hours.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, we love you.
SPEAKER_00: And God, even today, uh, I know who I'm supposed to give my part to.
SPEAKER_00: I'm supposed to invite my next door neighbor to church.
SPEAKER_00: That's who I'm supposed to invite.
SPEAKER_00: I don't think he's gonna want to come, Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be honest with you.
SPEAKER_00: I think he's gonna be annoyed that I walked on his yard.
SPEAKER_00: I think he's gonna be annoyed that put something in his mailbox.
SPEAKER_00: But God, I'm curious what would happen if he said yes.
SPEAKER_00: What happens if he says yes to your presence?
SPEAKER_00: What happens if he says yes to your healing?
SPEAKER_00: What happens if he says yes to your hope?
SPEAKER_00: How many things could change in his life, in my life, in our family because of that one yes?
SPEAKER_00: And God, I know I don't have what it takes to change them, but I know you do.
SPEAKER_00: So, God, I pray today that you would help pave the way to that conversation.
SPEAKER_00: God, give me boldness, give me strength, give me consistency.
SPEAKER_00: So, God, I can share the gospel, the good news of God.
SPEAKER_00: Father, even as we sing today, I pray that your presence be with us.
SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name.
unknown: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Let's sing together.