WEBVTT 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:11.759 You're listening to the road, Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:16.719 God wants to have his face shine up. 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:20.160 But anywhere we gotta slow down. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:26.000 Maybe early in the morning when you get up and get your coffee and to go to that place. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:27.199 It might be a couch. 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:28.800 It might be a chair. 00:00:31.679 --> 00:00:33.439 Maybe try a new translation. 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:36.880 Like I'm doing with the passion. 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:44.000 I don't know if every word in that translation is absolutely perfect. 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:51.039 But I know it speaks to me because at the end of the day, it's not the perfection of the word to use. 00:00:51.759 --> 00:00:55.200 It's the presence of God coming that really matters. 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:01.280 At the road, our vision is to raise up wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ. 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:05.840 For more information on the road, visit theroad.org. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:11.120 We hope you are encouraged by today's message from Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:01:17.760 --> 00:01:19.439 Matthew 18. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:23.200 At that time the disciples came to ask Jesus. 00:01:23.359 --> 00:01:25.760 Remember, he's been preaching the kingdom. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:28.079 He's been healing the sick. 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:32.560 He's been casting out demons, saying the kingdom of heaven has come. 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:35.519 And this is what the disciples ask him. 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:40.959 Who is considered to be the greatest in the heaven's kingdom realm? 00:01:42.400 --> 00:01:44.400 I mean, that's the way we are, right? 00:01:45.040 --> 00:01:48.879 We tend in our life to always think upmanship. 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:56.560 So even in Jesus' little group, like, who's the top gun in the kingdom with your group? 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:59.599 And Jesus had to have been shocked by that. 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:02.239 And this is what he says. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:12.319 Verse 2 Jesus called a little one, a child, to his side, and he said to them, Learn this well. 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:27.919 Unless you dramatically change your way of thinking and become teachable, and learn about heaven's kingdom realm with the wide-eyed wonder of a child, you will never be able to enter in. 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:37.280 Whoever continually humbles himself to become like this gentle child is the greatest one in heaven's kingdom realm. 00:02:38.479 --> 00:02:39.919 You know, it's interesting. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:51.680 Um, a few weeks ago, I was speaking on the baptism of the Spirit, the baptism of fire, the baptism of power in our lives. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:57.599 And in that altar call, in that call forward, some 75 or 80% of you came forward. 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:04.000 There has been increasingly a longing throughout this congregation for an encounter with God. 00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:17.599 And Jesus is encountering his disciples, and he's saying, look, if you want to know the kingdom, if you want to experience the kingdom, if you want to know who's the greatest in the kingdom, look at this child. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.360 What is it about this child that's like the kingdom? 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:24.879 And he's saying, revolutionize your thinking. 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:27.199 You've got to change your whole way of thinking. 00:03:27.280 --> 00:03:33.360 You've got to quit, this is crazy, but you've got to quit thinking like an adult. 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:42.479 Men and women, you've got to quit thinking like an adult and start thinking like a child. 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:44.960 And when I was meditating on that, I had this. 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:49.039 Does anybody know what the extreme water pillow is? 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:53.039 Raise your hand if you've ever heard of the extreme water pillow. 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:54.800 See, that's the problem. 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:59.840 You don't even know the extreme water pillow. 00:04:01.039 --> 00:04:03.439 Oh, a kid raised his hand. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:04.960 He knows the extreme water. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:07.360 How many have been up to Eagle Lake before? 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:09.840 The Navigators Ministry, Eagle Lake. 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:11.520 That's another problem. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:13.680 You guys haven't been to Eagle Lake. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:19.920 Well, Eagle Lake is this awesome lake where I've caught a ton of trout there too. 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:24.480 But it's a cool lake that kids go to in the summer. 00:04:24.560 --> 00:04:30.399 It's a summer camp lake that navigators have been doing for years and years, has all these cabins strung out around it. 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:39.279 And when you go there in the summer, there's this massive pillow that's about the size of this stage, maybe half this stage. 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:40.399 It's huge. 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:52.000 And kids jump on this pillow and it catapults them up about 20 feet higher than that video, the picture you see here. 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:54.319 And they go flying in the air. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:59.839 And some of them do flips and stuff, and then they just smash themselves into the water. 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:04.240 It's the extreme water pillow. 00:05:05.839 --> 00:05:10.639 I've been there fishing because I had special permission. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:12.399 I don't anymore, but anyway, I used to. 00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:16.480 But I'd be sitting there and I'm watching this and I just lose it. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:24.000 I lose it watching these kids go flying as high as the ceiling in the air and then splatting on the water. 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:26.160 Guess what I've never seen? 00:05:27.040 --> 00:05:29.680 I've never seen an adult do it. 00:05:30.160 --> 00:05:34.319 I've never watched anybody over 25 do it. 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:39.199 I see kids doing it and they're screaming at the top of their lungs and they can't wait to do it again. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:50.240 Because listen, there's something about childlike faith, childlike joy, childlike exuberance that we tend to lose after a while, right? 00:05:50.639 --> 00:05:54.000 And Jesus saying, This is the kingdom, what does it say? 00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:55.600 What a great translation. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:06:00.720 He says, you're gonna have to dramatically change your way of thinking. 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:12.800 Men and women, if you want 2019 to be different than 2018 in a better way, we're gonna have to dramatically change our thinking. 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:18.000 The battle is always between the ears. 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:20.879 And Jesus saying, This is the kingdom. 00:06:21.120 --> 00:06:23.439 It's like, it's like a little kid. 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:25.680 And then he explains what that's like. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:28.319 And you know, I have two grandchildren. 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:30.079 We've had seven kids. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:33.040 They were all born as babies. 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:49.279 My mom used to say that in a perfect world, you'd birth the baby and you'd have the first few months to enjoy the baby, and then you would hand the child over to someone else. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:55.120 And then somewhere around six or seven years old, you'd get them back. 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:59.759 And then around nine or ten years old, you'd give them away again. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:06.240 And then somewhere in the teen years, maybe the first year or two, 12 and 13, you'd get them back. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:11.439 But then all through high school and college, you wouldn't see them. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.879 And then they would come back perfectly mature and developed. 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:19.040 Well, it doesn't work that way, does it? 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:27.120 So we get these kids, and we're born into these families with kids, and they don't play by the rules. 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:28.560 Anybody notice that? 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:31.279 Kids don't play by the rules, they have a whole nother set of rules. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:32.560 They don't think. 00:07:34.399 --> 00:07:38.480 They don't think, they feel. 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:46.959 And so I wanted to do this morning, in a little bit of time I have left, not a lot, I want us to look at four dramatic changes. 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:55.920 I want to challenge us with four dramatic changes in our thinking in 2019 that we can learn from kids. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:12.639 And let me tell you, there's there's 20 that we could learn from kids about their spontaneity, about the unpredictable nature, uh, and the way in which they uh love people, regardless of their race, regardless of their socioeconomic background. 00:08:12.800 --> 00:08:14.560 There's so many great things about kids. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:29.360 But I want to camp on what I see in Scripture as being principles that we can live by that I think Jesus had in mind when he said, dramatically change your thinking. 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:43.279 So, church, here's the rubric: encountering God in 2019 in our lives is going to take some dramatic changes in our thinking. 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:44.320 So let me give you the first. 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:47.600 Number one, be in the moment. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:50.639 Be in the presence. 00:08:51.440 --> 00:08:54.879 Learn presence in 2019. 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:59.279 Kids want to be in our presence. 00:08:59.360 --> 00:09:05.360 Have you ever had a child grab your face and point it toward them? 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:10.480 If you haven't, then you need to get down on the floor a little bit more often and play with these guys. 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:14.159 Because they'll grab your face and they want to make sure you're focused. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:22.879 One of the worst things you can do with a little kid is be working and tapping away on your phone, you know, when the kids are in the room. 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:24.399 But they want our presence. 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:33.919 And one of the things that Penny does, one of my grandchildren, is she she grabs me, she comes over to me, and she's really not interested in hearing about my day. 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:38.320 She's really not interested in hearing about how my marriage is going. 00:09:38.559 --> 00:09:40.960 She's really not interested in what I had to eat. 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:44.960 She wants to play, and she doesn't want to play alone. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:47.279 She wants to play with grandpa. 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:49.519 Right, Perkins? 00:09:49.600 --> 00:09:52.080 Grandpa and Grandma, we are it's just that way. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:52.960 They want to play. 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:58.480 And so we do this thing called the, in Christmas, the baby Jesus puzzle. 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:00.480 So it was the baby Jesus puzzle. 00:10:00.559 --> 00:10:08.960 So it's this puzzle of about, I don't know, like 25 pieces, really big, and it goes on the floor, of course, because it's it's actually too big for a table. 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:17.120 And we get down there and we just start to play, and it really doesn't matter to her how long it takes. 00:10:17.360 --> 00:10:21.600 It doesn't really matter to her if we're if we're not getting everything lined up. 00:10:21.759 --> 00:10:31.600 It does matter to her where the pieces are, and we do find that Rocky, her brother, comes along and he crawls over and sometimes takes pieces with him. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:33.600 So we have to go and retrieve those. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:38.639 But but she's sitting there and it's about the puzzle and it's about my presence. 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:41.840 It's about my presence. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:48.720 If you look at that puzzle as an adult, you go, well, hmm. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:52.000 I'm not sure Jesus looked like that. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:58.559 I mean, was there really an angel with little wings sitting on the top of the barn? 00:10:59.360 --> 00:11:00.399 I mean, really. 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:03.279 Hey, I've been to the Middle East. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:05.759 I've been to Israel twice. 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:09.840 I've been to Bethlehem three times. 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:14.159 And Jesus wasn't born in a barn. 00:11:14.960 --> 00:11:16.960 Jesus was born in a cave. 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:19.120 This is a stupid puzzle. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:26.320 There's not hardly any donkeys in the Bethlehem area, and there's a donkey in this this stable. 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.080 That that doesn't fit. 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:31.519 Was this a Calvinist? 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:37.519 Or an Armenian who put this puzzle together? 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:41.279 I mean, come on, dumb puzzle. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:42.639 I can't do that. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:49.039 I'm I'm breaking convictions of my heart about how it really happened for me to join in on that puzzle. 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:55.600 Penny doesn't give a rip to use a theological term. 00:11:56.720 --> 00:11:58.799 She wants presence with me. 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:00.399 Men and women. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:09.519 In 2019, would you start to call out to God in a deeper way, God, I want your presence in my life? 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:18.960 Psalm 27, David says that that he, this one thing he did was that he might gaze at the beauty of the Lord all the days of his life. 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.960 And then he says, I seek your face because you told me to seek your face. 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:28.159 And presence and face, same root Hebrew word. 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:33.120 God wants to have his face to shine upon you. 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:36.639 But men and women, we've got to slow down. 00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:39.679 We've got to slow down enough. 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:45.919 Maybe early in the morning when you get up to get your coffee and to go to that place. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.720 It might be a couch, it might be a chair, and you open God's word. 00:12:51.679 --> 00:12:53.919 Maybe try a new translation this year. 00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:57.679 Like I'm doing with the Passion Translation. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:03.679 I don't know if every word in that translation is absolutely perfect. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:19.039 I don't know if Eugene Peterson's mess the message is absolutely perfect, but I know it speaks to me because at the end of the day, it's not the perfection of the words used, it's the presence of God coming that really matters. 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:27.039 And so to open God's word maybe this year and actually study less and wait on God more. 00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:30.000 To ask him for his presence. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:31.279 God, speak to me. 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:32.799 Lord, as I open the word. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:34.720 And for me, I'm starting in Matthew again. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:37.360 I'm going to just go through the New Testament just to open the word. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:41.279 And let me just say this: there's a place for studying God's Word. 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:42.480 Absolutely. 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:44.399 I love studying God's Word. 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:52.480 But I'm speaking of a presence time each day where we open God's Word and we say, God, speak to me from your word. 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:55.360 And to have that journal nearby. 00:13:55.759 --> 00:13:59.200 We call it PBJ, prayer Bible journal. 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:03.679 PBJ, not peanut butter and jelly, prayer Bible, and journal. 00:14:03.840 --> 00:14:07.759 To open the word and ask God to speak to us. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:08.799 So presence. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:13.600 So one thing we learn from kids is they love presence. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:20.879 Number two, this is what I see as a key part of being like children. 00:14:21.120 --> 00:14:23.440 Learn joy in 2019. 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:25.279 Learn joy. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:28.159 Kids want to have fun. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:30.480 They don't have a to-do list. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:32.480 They don't worry about a job. 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:34.080 They don't worry about money. 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:36.399 They don't worry about responsibilities, do they? 00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:39.120 Now we wish they would worry a little bit more about that. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:40.960 But they don't. 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:43.039 God made them that way. 00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:47.120 They're full of spontaneous, present joy. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:48.879 They're full of joy. 00:14:49.039 --> 00:14:50.240 We can learn from that. 00:14:50.559 --> 00:15:01.039 We could gain a lot of ground, even in our own creativity and our own effectiveness in what we do if we would experience and ask God for more joy in our life. 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:08.799 Jesus said to Martha, Martha, Martha, you're worried and troubled about so many things. 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:13.600 But Mary has chosen the right thing, and she'll be remembered for that. 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:24.559 And so he was speaking of her being in the presence and Martha making sandwiches that God, Jesus, had never ordered. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:38.639 And some of us are so worried about our lives that we forget that joy, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control are the fruit of the Spirit. 00:15:38.799 --> 00:15:52.559 So one of the ways that we could start 2019 is say, God, would you fill me with your spirit of joy and begin to change, listen, dramatically change our thinking toward joy. 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:53.840 You can do that. 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:55.840 We can do that as a team. 00:15:56.080 --> 00:16:02.720 We can do that as a Jesus follower to ask God to fill us with his joy in a fresh, new way. 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:06.799 The Bible says the joy of the Lord is our strength. 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:11.840 I'm reminded of the parable of the feast and the wedding. 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:14.639 Remember, everyone was invited. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:16.159 But who couldn't come? 00:16:16.320 --> 00:16:18.879 Well, I've got to milk my cow. 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:20.960 I've got to take care of my wife. 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:25.200 I've got job responsibilities because that was adult thinking. 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:36.000 In our adult thinking, losing the opportunity of the joy of being in the presence of the master, they missed out on the feast. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:37.679 Kids are fun. 00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:40.480 Guess where kids go? 00:16:40.559 --> 00:16:43.679 If there's a group of adults in a room, guess who they go toward? 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:49.600 They go toward the funnest, coolest guy in the room or gal in the room. 00:16:49.759 --> 00:16:50.559 That's where they go. 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:51.919 They want joy. 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:53.360 They want spontaneity. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:54.480 They want fun. 00:16:54.639 --> 00:16:56.480 Wouldn't it be exciting? 00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:11.920 If more and more in our lives we could just put some of the responsibilities that we carry that weigh us down over to the side a little bit this year and ask God for the joy of the Lord that gives us strength. 00:17:12.240 --> 00:17:15.839 That joy bubbling up within us through the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:18.160 So we had a plumbing problem. 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:34.960 How many feel like that there's a demon that moves through Christian homes during the holiday season that attacks ovens, stoves, and toilets? 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:36.240 Anyone believe? 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.200 There's like a toilet spirit that you need to cast out. 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:40.799 There's like an oven spirit. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:49.359 So anyway, that the shower spirit came into our guest room, and we had Zeb Matherly, a guy here in our church. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:52.319 Zeb's just a great guy, has his own plumbing company. 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:55.599 And so Zeb came out, he fixed it in five minutes. 00:17:55.839 --> 00:18:06.160 I really, I have to say, that my adult hat was on, and I felt like an idiot because he went, well, Steve, if you'd have just done this, this, you know. 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:07.440 But here's what was fun. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:11.039 The reason I share that is Zeb came with joy. 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:13.279 He did his work with joy. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:23.920 And I mean, it took him five, ten minutes to get the job done, and then for the next hour, we we were in the kitchen just laughing our heads off about fun stuff that were that was on our heart. 00:18:24.160 --> 00:18:25.680 It was so much fun. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:29.759 I think Jesus laughed a lot. 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:36.720 He's not as somber as some of the movies that we've watched. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:45.039 Because I believe joy is such a characteristic of us that are anointed with the Holy Spirit, that Jesus exhibited that. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:47.759 And he expressed it for the joy. 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:48.799 Listen to this. 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:54.720 For the joy set before him, he endured the cross. 00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:59.759 For the joy set before him, he endured the cross. 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:08.720 And so Zeb came to our house and he filled our house with joy as a plumber doing a service to us that was a blessing to us. 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:16.240 As we look at the children's ministry, one of our goals is joy down there. 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:19.359 We want to fill that place with joy. 00:19:19.599 --> 00:19:26.799 We want all of our greeters, we want every teacher that comes, you better come full of joy to bless those kids. 00:19:27.119 --> 00:19:34.400 Because those kids need joy, those kids expect joy, and it'll be good for you. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:36.720 Listen, it'll be good for you. 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:38.799 You're gonna get joy from them. 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:40.400 So that's the second point. 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:41.279 Joy. 00:19:41.759 --> 00:19:42.799 Alright, number three. 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:46.559 And this one's gonna, you're some of you are gonna disagree with this. 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:49.359 Kids love to learn. 00:19:51.039 --> 00:19:56.240 A lot of school teachers here in this auditorium would say, I don't know about that sometimes. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:58.319 But let me explain. 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:07.440 In 2019, I think God wants us to be a continual learner and stay in a place of humility. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:21.039 The reason I say that I think kids are terrific learners is because when we see them not learning, I really do believe that's oftentimes the parents' fault, and that's oftentimes the teacher's fault. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:22.559 Because I can tell you this. 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:27.759 When I get a when I was a kid, fifth grade was really where, I mean, I was terrible till fifth grade. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:28.720 I was in so much trouble. 00:20:28.799 --> 00:20:31.119 Many of you heard my stories, I won't tell you again. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:32.720 But in fifth grade, Mrs. 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:35.599 Milton actually, I think she actually liked me. 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:43.359 First teacher who liked me. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:49.119 I think all the others just promoted me to the next grade to get me out of their class. 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:51.359 She cared. 00:20:51.519 --> 00:21:02.319 And she made the courses interesting, and she and she came and she was animated and she brought something there, and suddenly I began to fall in love with learning. 00:21:03.119 --> 00:21:13.440 Men and women, some of you have lost track of that gift that God gave you to be a continual learner. 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:23.920 I want you to challenge yourself this year, to challenge yourself to learn, to read books, to study, to go after a new hobby, to go after something new. 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:26.079 Because we have amnesia, don't we? 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:27.920 We all kind of have amnesia. 00:21:28.079 --> 00:21:30.160 And we start off the year, what is this? 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:31.519 This is the 6th? 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:32.720 January 6th. 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:37.039 So some of you have already been to the gym this week for the first time in a hundred years. 00:21:37.359 --> 00:21:40.480 I know, because I'm at Villa and I see them all. 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:44.640 And they're all there, and I know that in about a week they'll all be gone, which is fine. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:45.599 I don't mind. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:47.440 Um we'll just give them a week. 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:52.319 Because we get amnesia, we jump in and we listen, you go too strong. 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:56.400 You go too fast, you think you're 20 years younger. 00:21:56.559 --> 00:21:57.359 Big mistake. 00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:58.400 You're not. 00:21:58.640 --> 00:21:59.359 You're fat. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:05.359 You're out of shape, and you're gonna be so sore you can't even walk the next day. 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:12.000 My son was doing stuff on his legs for baseball starting up, and he was walking like this yesterday. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:13.599 He's 16. 00:22:13.920 --> 00:22:18.480 Well, think about all of us here that are over, I don't know, 28. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:22.960 You're like, you're gonna be like this for the next week. 00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:24.799 And then you're gonna quit. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:26.799 Don't quit. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:29.359 Well, how do you not quit? 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:30.960 It's how you start. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:41.039 What do you love to do that you could do every day or every other day that's just a little thing? 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:41.920 Just a little. 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:44.640 Some of you guys love to walk. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:46.480 Some of you maybe like to run. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:48.319 Maybe some of you like to do push-ups. 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:51.680 Start small, start low. 00:22:51.839 --> 00:22:53.519 Don't try to do a big deal. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:23:00.880 And I know when I when I made some big changes in my life and got into prayer walking, I would just prayer walk for about a half a mile. 00:23:01.119 --> 00:23:06.640 And then I got hooked on it, and it grew and grew over time to more and more time. 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:16.880 But the issue is I think what we see in kids, kids usually understand what their limitations are by virtue of their own exhaustion level. 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:20.640 But when they find something they want to do, man, they dig it. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:22.559 And I even see it with my kids. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:28.000 Some of them are readers, some of them are a little more athletic, some of them are a little more musical. 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:35.920 So what we do as parents is we're trying to always channel our kids toward their gifting, toward their anointing as best we can. 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:39.599 And men and women, God has anointed and gifted each one of you. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:47.839 I want to challenge you to be a continual learner this year, to enjoy learning and growing in your walk with God. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:24:00.079 On Thursday night, we had a group of people, I think of somewhere between 40 and 50 people came to our house, and we were talking about children's ministry. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:03.039 And there was so much joy in the room. 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:04.240 It was crazy. 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:06.720 Everybody was fired up, it was exciting. 00:24:06.960 --> 00:24:12.319 As we started to dream about what God might want to do in the next year in 2019. 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:18.160 Here's what was the most fascinating thing to me that I did not expect. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:21.200 Everybody in that room was a learner. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:24.720 Everybody in the room is a learner. 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:25.839 Here's what the vision was. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:33.279 The vision is every week, every child at the road would encounter Christ. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:40.640 Every week, every child in every one of those classes downstairs would encounter Christ. 00:24:40.799 --> 00:24:42.000 How do we do it? 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:43.920 I have no idea. 00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:45.839 We had no idea. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:48.160 So we began to talk about arts and crafts. 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:49.759 We began to talk about worship. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:51.680 We began to talk about God's Word. 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:56.960 And of course, we know those things are true, and that's been happening since the inception of our church. 00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:58.880 All those things are beautiful. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:02.400 But we're but we're looking at how to be new learners, right? 00:25:02.960 --> 00:25:04.240 Men and women. 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:14.400 How might God use you in being available to the presence of the Holy Spirit to be a fresh new learner in 2019? 00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:21.200 So learn presence, learn joy, be a continual learner. 00:25:21.279 --> 00:25:25.440 And then lastly, look at verse 5. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:27.519 Look at verse 5 in our passage. 00:25:28.319 --> 00:25:30.559 Interesting verse. 00:25:31.599 --> 00:25:32.720 Verse 5. 00:25:32.960 --> 00:25:38.240 And if you tenderly care for this little one on my behalf, you are tenderly caring for me. 00:25:38.400 --> 00:25:42.079 Here's what's amazing: to serve children in 2019. 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:44.640 To serve children in 2019. 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:50.640 How might we serve Jesus by serving children in 2019? 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:52.640 Men and women, listen up. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:26:01.119 I believe God's called us to bring Christ down into that room, lay hands on those kids every week. 00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:04.319 Look at Matthew 19. 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:06.400 Look at Matthew 19. 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:08.160 Very interesting passage. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:09.279 Verse 13. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:11.359 Matthew 19, 13. 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:22.160 The disciples do not want Jesus to lay his hands on the kids or have anything to do with the kids, and listen to what happens next. 00:26:22.400 --> 00:26:28.000 Then they brought little children to Jesus so that he would lay his hands on them and bless them and pray for them. 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:34.640 But the disciples scolded those who brought the children, saying, Don't bother him with this now. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:45.119 And Jesus overheard them and said, I want little children to come to me, so never interfere with them when they want to come. 00:26:45.440 --> 00:26:51.119 For heaven's kingdom realm is composed of beloved ones like these. 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:52.960 Listen to this truth. 00:26:53.119 --> 00:26:57.920 No one will enter the kingdom realm of heaven unless he becomes like one of these. 00:26:58.079 --> 00:26:59.680 Now here's the question. 00:27:00.720 --> 00:27:10.720 Do you believe that every time we lay hands on even a baby and we bless them in the name of Jesus, that they receive a blessing? 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:19.519 Men and women, we have got to become habitual in blessing our kids in this church. 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:25.839 We believe God has called this church to be here a hundred years from now if the Lord tarries. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:35.039 Our desire is to build and be a part of a kingdom revolution in Colorado Springs that would last for a hundred years if the Lord tarries. 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:50.240 Downstairs right now are the future leaders, the future pastors, the future deacons, the future elders, the future shepherds, and the future men and women of God coming out of this church right down there, and we're going to bless them. 00:27:50.400 --> 00:27:58.640 And we've got to make it our highest priority here at this church that the kingdom of God would come to those kids. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:03.759 And so we have a focus this year, and that focus is encounter. 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:08.319 I believe that encounter starts on Tuesday night when we come together for worship. 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:22.480 It begins right now in our own lives as we go home and we go to that couch or we go to that quiet time area that I was talking about, and we sit down and say, Lord, I'm hungry for you this year. 00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:26.160 I'm not satisfied with the past. 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:29.039 I want more. 00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:31.680 Philippians 3.10. 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:41.279 Philippians 3.10, Paul says, I'm not satisfied with all the visions I've had, all the dreams I've had, all the encounters I've had. 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:46.640 I'm going after Jesus and his resurrection power. 00:28:46.880 --> 00:28:47.839 I want more. 00:28:49.279 --> 00:28:51.359 Men and women, let's go for more. 00:28:51.920 --> 00:28:55.519 Let's not be satisfied with the Christ that we currently know. 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:58.480 Let's go deeper in our relationship with him. 00:28:58.799 --> 00:28:59.440 Amen. 00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:06.000 You've been listening to The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:09.119 We hope you have been blessed by today's message. 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:13.119 To connect with us further, visit theroad.org. 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:17.200 If you are walking through a difficult time, we want to pray for you. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:24.400 Go to theroad.org, click on the ministries tab, and go to our prayer page to send us your prayer request. 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:32.559 Thanks again for tuning in today, and be sure to listen to the next edition of The Road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt.