SPEAKER_03: Welcome to Sermons from the Way Church KC, a community of licensed saints in Kansas City, following the way of Jesus and pushing back darkness together.
SPEAKER_03: Say good morning.
SPEAKER_00: My name is Daddy.
SPEAKER_00: Today's scripture comes from Acts chapter three.
SPEAKER_00: Acts three, verse one to ten.
SPEAKER_00: Let's start for the reading of the word.
SPEAKER_00: So here it goes.
SPEAKER_00: Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the fourth hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
SPEAKER_00: And the man lay from their birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate, to ask arms for those entering the temple.
SPEAKER_00: Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive arms.
SPEAKER_00: And Peter directed his gaze at him and as did John and said, Look at us.
SPEAKER_00: And he fixed his attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.
SPEAKER_00: But Peter said, I have no silver and gold.
SPEAKER_00: But why what I do have, I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
SPEAKER_00: And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong.
SPEAKER_00: And leaping up, he stood and became to began to walk and enter the temple with them.
SPEAKER_00: Walking and leaping and praising God.
SPEAKER_00: And all the people saw him walking at and praising God and recognized him as he recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for arms.
SPEAKER_00: And they were they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
SPEAKER_00: May the Lord bless the reading of the word.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: Don't forget here.
SPEAKER_01: Can we give Dolly a hand?
SPEAKER_01: You can also turn my mic down just a little bit.
SPEAKER_01: But Dolly is from Malawi, Africa.
SPEAKER_01: And I was telling him the other day, I was like, if they picked the president based off the greatest person in a country, Dolly would be the president of Malawi.
SPEAKER_01: He is the greatest person from Malawi I've ever met.
SPEAKER_01: He's also the only person from Malawi I've ever met.
SPEAKER_01: But he is truly incredible.
SPEAKER_01: So if afterwards, if you haven't gotten to know him, grab him and have a conversation with him.
SPEAKER_01: He's incredible.
SPEAKER_01: Well, my name's Roman.
SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm the youth pastor here at the Waychurch KC.
SPEAKER_01: Um our pastors, Zach and Chelsea, are celebrating his birthday.
SPEAKER_01: His birthday is tomorrow, the first.
SPEAKER_01: So uh if if you have his number, you should shoot him a text tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01: Show him some love.
SPEAKER_01: But they are in Oklahoma celebrating with some family.
SPEAKER_01: Uh so we're just excited that they're having a good time.
SPEAKER_01: And we're happy to be here regardless.
SPEAKER_01: And I will say, don't judge the service by the youth pastor.
SPEAKER_01: I, because I'm gonna have some fun up here.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna I'm gonna do my thing.
SPEAKER_01: But come back next week if you're new and get to know Zach.
SPEAKER_01: Um, but we're happy that you're here.
SPEAKER_01: If you are new here, um this is the Way Church.
SPEAKER_01: Casey, we're we're a new church plant.
SPEAKER_01: We planted about a year and a half ago, and so it's just been a week to week um slow drip, and it's been incredible to be a part of.
SPEAKER_01: Our goal is really to build a beautiful community here in this neighborhood, uh, to get to know the people in the neighborhood, but to but to be a light in a very dark place.
SPEAKER_01: And so um I'm happy that you all are here and pray with me as we get started.
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, we thank you for already um the beautiful worship that we had and the time that we get to sing praises and worship to you.
SPEAKER_01: God, I just ask that you would continue to minister to our hearts today.
SPEAKER_01: Um, we want to know you, we want to know your word, we want to know what you say, how you feel, what you think.
SPEAKER_01: Um God, that that if anything is said today that is not of you, I just ask that you would um burn it up and that only the things that um you would say that align with your character, God, that those things would convict our hearts, that we would come alive to knowing you.
SPEAKER_01: Um and Lord, even as we just read your word, as we sing praises to you, God, I just ask that you would continue to shape our hearts to look more and more like you.
SPEAKER_01: God, we thank you for bringing us here today on another beautiful Sunday.
SPEAKER_01: That we get to take this opportunity to slow down, to be here, to focus on you, to be in community together.
SPEAKER_01: God, uh, we surrender to you once again.
SPEAKER_01: We love you in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Well, in 2020, I was, at the beginning of 2020, I was in Montana.
SPEAKER_01: And I was going to a university in Montana.
SPEAKER_01: I live out west.
SPEAKER_01: And so at the beginning of 2020, I was living there, and I'm sure like many of you experienced everything around me shut down.
SPEAKER_01: And so I had to go home.
SPEAKER_01: Um and I went home.
SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm originally from Boise, Idaho, which is an incredible place.
SPEAKER_01: You guys should visit it.
SPEAKER_01: Um it's much better than the Midwest.
SPEAKER_01: So uh, all you people that live here, let's let's take a trip.
SPEAKER_01: It's incredible.
SPEAKER_01: But I I moved back home, and I was home for just a brief uh couple, four months, and it was right before I moved here to Kansas City.
SPEAKER_01: And so it was during this time that I had about you know four months' time, and the whole world was shut down, obviously.
SPEAKER_01: But I I had this feeling on the inside of me, this urge on the inside of me, that I wanted to be discipled, that I didn't want to waste this time and and just sit around.
SPEAKER_01: But I I wanted to learn from someone, I wanted to continue my mop my walk with the Lord and strengthen that before I moved to Kansas City, and ultimately I've been here for about five years now.
SPEAKER_01: But that was that was what I wanted to do.
SPEAKER_01: And so I was asking the Lord if there was anybody that he'd have for me.
SPEAKER_01: And there were no doors opening.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, everyone was doing their COVID thing, you know, and we all experienced that.
SPEAKER_01: But I still deeply wanted someone to disciple me, and so I kept asking around, and there was this man, and and Jerry is still alive, and and I love Jerry, but Jerry went to our church, and he was he's kind of the goofy, quirky, weird guy that went to our church.
SPEAKER_01: Probably how you guys see me is how I saw Jerry.
SPEAKER_01: And so he he was this incredible man.
SPEAKER_01: Um, but you know, you kind of just laughed at laughed at Jerry because he did some silly things.
SPEAKER_01: But he gave me this opportunity to join him and he gave me a job.
SPEAKER_01: So this job was.
SPEAKER_01: I looked up how to describe this because even when I was doing it, I wasn't sure why I was doing it.
SPEAKER_01: But you you tape houses, you put the sheathing up and you tape houses, and it keeps mold out and it keeps the water out.
SPEAKER_01: If you work construction, you know what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_01: If you don't, just pretend like you do.
SPEAKER_01: But this is what this is what this job was, and so it wasn't a great job, it wasn't a high-paying job, but he offered me this job, and and Jerry was an incredible man of God.
SPEAKER_01: And so my prayer was answered, but I didn't know it yet.
SPEAKER_01: And so I was living life, we were going to jobs, and and what we would do is every morning I'd meet him at his house, we'd go get coffee, he'd pay for my coffee, we'd go work a little bit, we'd go to a gas station, get some snacks, work for a little bit, we'd go get lunch together, he'd pay for my lunch, we'd work for a little bit, and then we'd call it a day.
SPEAKER_01: So, overall, we were the least productive construction team in all of Boys, Seattle.
SPEAKER_01: But one thing that Jerry always did was regardless of what we were doing or where we were going, he was sl moved slow and did his thing all while considering the people that were around him, the people that potentially needed prayer around him, the people that maybe needed the Lord, and and he was a radical witness for God.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, even when even when it was the most inconvenient time and we had to get a job done that day, he did not care.
SPEAKER_01: He was going to take the time to sit down with the person next to him, even if they didn't want to talk to him, and he was going to minister the gospel to them.
SPEAKER_01: Then everything we did when we woke up in the morning and we got coffee, while we were getting coffee, he was talking to the poor lady that was, you know, sitting there about the gospel at seven in the morning.
SPEAKER_01: When we go to the gas station, he was looking around to see if there's anyone who needed prayer or anyone that he thought the Holy Spirit was prompting him to pray for, and he would stop and he'd pray for that person.
SPEAKER_01: He would go and we would eat lunch.
SPEAKER_01: This the waitress that would come help us.
SPEAKER_01: She when we left, she knew about Jesus because Jerry was gonna share.
SPEAKER_01: Now, this was extremely uncomfortable for me.
SPEAKER_01: I live my life in a way where I'm trying to inconvenience no one.
SPEAKER_01: You can ask my wife.
SPEAKER_01: I only care about efficiency.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, if I am in my own lane, I don't care about anyone around me, what anyone else is doing, all I care about is that I'm doing the thing that I'm doing and I'm doing it well.
SPEAKER_01: So to do this with Jerry was completely uncomfortable for me.
SPEAKER_01: But what he did, and this is the phrase that I want us to remember and to kind of keep at the forefront of our mind, is walking by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: That every step that Jerry took, every place that he went, no matter what, no matter how inconveniencing it seemed to me, or inconveniencing it seemed to himself, he was listening to the Spirit and was willing to pray for anybody and everybody because he deeply desired that the person that was around him encountered the Lord, no matter how inconveniencing it was.
SPEAKER_01: And so we've been in this uh sermon series through the book of Acts, and last week we talked about a couple of ideas, and I just want to highlight those ideas because we're gonna build on them today.
SPEAKER_01: And so we talked about the church when they first came together that it says that they had everything in common, that they they did everything together, they gave everything that they had to one another, and they lived in this communal state that was beautiful, and that they they thrived and that they were truly devoted to the Lord together.
SPEAKER_01: And so we talked about a couple of dynamics, and the first one was we wanted to fight against this consumeristic church culture that we see that is prevalent here in America.
SPEAKER_01: This culture where you come to church, you sit, you receive, you feel better about yourself, you don't feel as guilty for your sin, and then you leave and you go home.
SPEAKER_01: Doing nothing with what we talked about.
SPEAKER_01: We don't want to just be a consumeristic Christian that comes, hears beautiful music, feels better about themselves, and leave.
SPEAKER_01: And we want to fight against this because the model that the church in Acts models for us is completely the opposite.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you see in our culture, and I don't want to villainize megachurches and I don't want to villainize um, you know, production, those are all those ways to do that with a genuine heart for the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: But the reason that you see these megachurches thriving is because their goal is to keep people in seats.
SPEAKER_01: What can we do that's going to keep the person that is watching me right now in the seats?
SPEAKER_01: And so it looks oftentimes like a concert more than it does church.
SPEAKER_01: Or it looks like some sporting event that we go to on Sunday more than it does church.
SPEAKER_01: And so we want to fight against that.
SPEAKER_01: And being in the place that we're in now, wanting to, you know, build this church on the foundation that the Lord has for us, this is something that we have to fight against.
SPEAKER_01: And it's going to take every one of us personally to continue to fight against that.
SPEAKER_01: And on the flip side, the next thing that we talked about was this idea of gathering and then scattering.
SPEAKER_01: And it goes hand in hand with the consumeristic Christianity.
SPEAKER_01: That when we come, we come to be filled up, both in the community that we're in, by the hearing of the word, by worship, but it doesn't end there.
SPEAKER_01: That when we leave the four walls, that we would actually do something with it.
SPEAKER_01: And it was it was timely that we did it because this week we had some really cool opportunities to leave the four walls of the church on Tuesday.
SPEAKER_01: Um we went to Rosedale Middle School and had a table there, and it was an incredible connection that we had that the Lord set up, and we got to meet people that were in our neighborhoods, that were just around the corner that are that are next door, and we got to really be a light in that in that place.
SPEAKER_01: And many of you showed up to that, and it was incredible.
SPEAKER_01: And then on Thursday, we had an opportunity to go uh to a UMKC Collegiate Impact um group, and we got to uh provide the food and we got to serve the food.
SPEAKER_01: The HIA guys were oh, I guess and and uh Bo here and Dwayne, I guess it wasn't just the HIA guy, but it also was the HIA guys uh served the food, and it was a great time where we got to meet these students that are just coming to UMKC for the first time and introducing them to the local church and and what we have going on here.
SPEAKER_01: And so we had this idea of gathering and scattering, but I want it to go further than just the opportunities that the church provides, because it it is a good thing that we have these opportunities, but uh what I want to talk about is this idea of a daily life that is lived walking by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And so we're here in Acts 3, and Dolly read it.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna read it again.
SPEAKER_01: So if you have your Bibles, it'll be up on the screen, but we'll read it again because the reading of the word is the most important thing that we do today.
SPEAKER_01: So um just read it with me, either paying attention to it on the screen or opening your Bible yourself.
SPEAKER_01: Acts 3, verse 1, it says, Now Peter and John were going up to the temple, and at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour, and a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, that is called the beautiful gate, to ask for alms of those entering the temple.
SPEAKER_01: Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms.
SPEAKER_01: And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, Look at us.
SPEAKER_01: And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them.
SPEAKER_01: But Peter said, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you.
SPEAKER_01: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.
SPEAKER_01: And he took him by the hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and his ankles were made strong.
SPEAKER_01: And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
SPEAKER_01: And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple asking for alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened.
SPEAKER_01: And so we have a couple of characters in this story that we read.
SPEAKER_01: The first character that we have is is this lame man, and uh the what I want to categorize this lame man as is someone who's stuck.
SPEAKER_01: He was stuck physically.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he had to be carried to the gate in order to even be there.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mention this, but I'd I'd imagine that in order for him to go to the bathroom, he had to have help to go to the bathroom to even provide for himself.
SPEAKER_01: He had to ask people for money, he couldn't work for himself.
SPEAKER_01: And so, in almost every way you could think of, this man was stuck.
SPEAKER_01: And so we have this stuck man that is set by the gate, and he doesn't know that that day his life is going to completely change.
SPEAKER_01: And then the other characters that we have in this story are Peter and John.
SPEAKER_01: And if you read in the Gospels, you know these characters well.
SPEAKER_01: These are some of the main disciples of Jesus, some of the ones that were closest to him, and they are going about their business, and it says they're walking to prayer.
SPEAKER_01: Now we talked about this last week, so I just want us to move back last week and think about it.
SPEAKER_01: We talked about how the church came together and they devoted themselves to prayer, to the teachings of the disciples, and to gathering together as a community.
SPEAKER_01: And so what we see here is that Peter and John were just being faithful to do the thing that they were doing every single day.
SPEAKER_01: That they didn't go out especially thinking, okay, we're gonna go out, we're gonna minister the gospel today, we're gonna heal this person, we're gonna do this thing, and then we're gonna go home.
SPEAKER_01: I think it's incredible that River has this desire on the inside of him to, you know, bring us all together and go do street evangelism.
SPEAKER_01: I think that's an amazing thing.
SPEAKER_01: But there is this other dynamic that we see here from Peter and John, that they were just going about their day, that they were faithfully devoted to what God had for them, and in doing so, the Lord opened an opportunity up for them.
SPEAKER_01: And so we see Peter and John walking along, going to prayer.
SPEAKER_01: And what's interesting is that it says that they he was laid there by the gate his whole life, every day.
SPEAKER_01: And so there's a chance that Peter and John have passed by this man before.
SPEAKER_01: But today there was something different.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's even a chance that they've given money to this man, but today there was something that was different.
SPEAKER_01: And so they they walk by, and this man who is is completely stuck, can't do anything for himself, asks the same question that he asks everyone that walks in, and he says, Do you have any money?
SPEAKER_01: But Peter and John that day had no money.
SPEAKER_01: And so what they did is they said, Look at me.
SPEAKER_01: And this all of a sudden wouldn't have been different, but they said, Look at me, and they make eye contact with this man, and they say, I don't have money, but what I do have, I give to you.
SPEAKER_01: And this man gets up and starts walking for the first time in his life.
SPEAKER_01: This is an incredible miracle that the power of Jesus does in this man.
SPEAKER_01: And so there's a couple of things that I want us to pull out and look at our own life.
SPEAKER_01: Today is is it's gonna take you guys to examine your own life.
SPEAKER_01: If you see it in Scripture, then it's gonna take you leaving this place and actually applying it to your life.
SPEAKER_01: And so it's up to you if this sermon means anything to you.
SPEAKER_01: But what we see here is that this man was stuck, and I I would submit to you that we see stuck stuck, sorry, not stuck, stuck men and women every single day.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't just have to be the homeless person you see on the side of the road, although it is.
SPEAKER_01: Even in this room, I would venture to say there are people who feel stuck.
SPEAKER_01: Whether that's emotionally, you feel stuck, you feel stuck in in trauma or in patterns of emotion that you can't get out of.
SPEAKER_01: Or you're stuck in an anxiety and depression that no matter how much you do, no matter how much medicine you take, you can't get out of it.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you feel stuck financially.
SPEAKER_01: I guarantee you that you see people every day that feel stuck financially, that that can't break that barrier and can't seem to make good decisions with their money, no matter what they do.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we see people every single day who are hurting, that are broken, and we have no idea.
SPEAKER_01: And I would categorize these people as stuck.
SPEAKER_01: They can't move.
SPEAKER_01: And if someone comes to your mind right now, I just want you to keep them in mind as you go, as we go through the sermon today.
SPEAKER_01: That it doesn't just have to be that person that's on the side of the road, but it's the person that you see at work.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's the person that's in your family, maybe it's the person that you consider your close friend.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's you yourself that feels this feeling of being stuck.
SPEAKER_01: But but but that's not abnormal.
SPEAKER_01: And in fact, it's probably more normal to feel stuck than it is to not feel that way.
SPEAKER_01: And so these people exist in this world and we pass by them every single day.
SPEAKER_01: And the next thing I want us to to take out is is.
SPEAKER_01: You guys are here on a Sunday morning, and so there's part of you that cares about being devoted to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And I that is that is amazing.
SPEAKER_01: We're on the right track.
SPEAKER_01: And so if you feel that way, if you feel like you're devoted to Jesus, then what we see modeled here by Peter and John is this idea of just faithfully taking this next step, faithfully doing the next right thing, faithfully going about our business for the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: But what Peter and John do is a little different than maybe what you and I do every single day.
SPEAKER_01: Because they aren't just going about their business like me and focusing on the thing that they have to do, focusing on efficiency over the people around them, but instead they're walking by the Spirit, that they're considering that the Spirit wants to move in people's lives, that He wants to change people's lives, that people that don't know Him, God desperately wants to know them.
SPEAKER_01: And then we see something that that I wanna, it's it's frustrating that we have to qualify this, but it's good that we need to.
SPEAKER_01: But we see the name of Jesus used here in accordance with this man's healing.
SPEAKER_01: And in our culture today, in Christian culture, is what I'm talking about, we see the name of Jesus being used and being misused in so many different ways.
SPEAKER_01: In so many different bodies of believers, unfortunately, the the name of Jesus is misused, or ways that we think about him, it's misused.
SPEAKER_01: And you know, it the name of Jesus isn't just a hat trick that we can throw around and expect it to receive whatever we want.
SPEAKER_01: It's not just, I want a Ferrari, so in the name of Jesus I get a Ferrari.
SPEAKER_01: That is misusing and watering down what the name of Jesus actually is.
SPEAKER_01: But I don't want us, understanding that that is something that is prevalent in our culture, I don't want us to miss out on what is truly the power of the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: We see it here and we see it throughout the Bible, but the power of Jesus is still alive and it is still working in our life.
SPEAKER_01: The power of Jesus can still change people's lives in an instant.
SPEAKER_01: That you can be deeply anxious, deeply depressed, and in a moment, by the power of Jesus, that situation can change.
SPEAKER_01: That you can be headed in a direction, and by the power of the name of Jesus, you can be moving in another direction.
SPEAKER_01: That physical ailments and diseases and injuries, all of those things, can be fixed in an instant by the power of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't always happen in an instant.
SPEAKER_01: But what I don't want us to miss out on is the fact that it can.
SPEAKER_01: That the power of Jesus is enough to change a situation in a moment.
SPEAKER_01: In Philippians 2, it talks about that because Jesus died and he rose again and he conquered death, he now has the name that is above every other name.
SPEAKER_01: That there is not a name that has power over the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And in the Gospels we see that Jesus says, You ask anything in my name, and you will have it.
SPEAKER_01: And so again, I want us to find this balance, to not go one direction and misuse and water down the name of Jesus by by asking for things that that are not God's best for our lives.
SPEAKER_01: But I do want us to recognize the true power of the name of Jesus, and that the only reason that you and I are sitting in these chairs is because his name has power.
SPEAKER_01: And so we see that these disciples understand the power in the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And I want us to recognize it in our own life as well.
SPEAKER_01: And the final thing that we see in this story is that the disciples, Peter and John, that were faithful to do what God told them to do, met this man that was stuck.
SPEAKER_01: By the power of Jesus, he was healed, and the entire temple, the entire energy in the temple, the entire vibe in the temple was completely different that day.
SPEAKER_01: It was not the same.
SPEAKER_01: This man that they saw every single day, that many of them gave money to every single day, was now walking, was now moving, was now jumping, was doing things that they'd never seen him do before.
SPEAKER_01: It's like when you see a teacher at the grocery store and you're like, you're not supposed to be here, you're supposed to be in the classroom.
SPEAKER_01: It's like we think teachers never leave the classroom.
SPEAKER_01: This man was not supposed to be doing this.
SPEAKER_01: In their mind, they had an understanding of who this guy was, that he was going to be there their whole life, and there was no option in their head that there was going to be a situation that changed for this man.
SPEAKER_01: But what happened was he was rejoicing, that he was giving praise and thanks to God.
SPEAKER_01: And because of that, his faith was stirred, and the people in the temple's faith was stirred because the power of Jesus changed this man's life.
SPEAKER_01: And so today we're talking about this idea of walking by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And we see walking by the Spirit, mostly talked about in Galatians 5, and what precedes it is the fruit of the Spirit, and that the walking by the Spirit actually changes us on the inside, that we can live differently and look differently.
SPEAKER_01: But I would say that this is also an example of what it looks like to walk by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And so, what does walking by the Spirit do in our life?
SPEAKER_01: Well, number one, walking by the Spirit, if that's what we're truly doing, living our life in accordance to what the Spirit urges us and tells us what to do, number one, it causes us to share.
SPEAKER_01: The story of my friend Jerry, I mean, Jerry couldn't help himself but share who Jesus was to every person that he ever met.
SPEAKER_01: Jerry was not perfect, but his goal was that every single day that he would slow himself down, that he wouldn't move too quickly, as to pass by a person next to him that was in need of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: So you and I, if if walking by the Spirit is something we truly care about, then what that will do is that it will cause us to share.
SPEAKER_01: I have there's another story that I was thinking of, and he's not here because he chooses not to be.
SPEAKER_01: He's my friend, Ty.
SPEAKER_01: If you know Ty, you know Ty.
SPEAKER_01: But this is a great story about Ty.
SPEAKER_01: So Ty and I, we a couple months ago, we were hanging out, and it was about 9.30 and um at night, and we were like, let's go get Chipotle.
SPEAKER_01: So it's a little late, but we are hungry, and you know, we were just hanging.
SPEAKER_01: And so we go to Chipotle, we go in, we get our food, and so our food's in the bag, and and we're headed out because we're not gonna eat there, we're gonna eat somewhere else.
SPEAKER_01: And someone stops us in our tracks as we leave the restaurant.
SPEAKER_01: And it's this lady, and she's she's you know, kind of rambling on, but really what she wanted was she wanted a taxi.
SPEAKER_01: She wanted us to call her a taxi.
SPEAKER_01: Now, I'm the bad guy in this story because I was hungry and I wanted to keep moving.
SPEAKER_01: I wanted to get in the car and I wanted to drive away.
SPEAKER_01: I was like, let's not do this right now.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's dark, we're in this neighborhood, it's not always a good idea to stop for everyone that tells you to stop.
SPEAKER_01: But Ty, because this is who he is, stopped and was like, what is it that you need?
SPEAKER_01: And was listening to this woman.
SPEAKER_01: And ultimately she needed a taxi.
SPEAKER_01: And so Ty is like, great, and she gives him the number to call and he calls the taxi, and we get her the taxi, is the end of that part.
SPEAKER_01: Well, then what happens is because we have that conversation, Ty then says, Hey, is there anything that I can pray for you for?
SPEAKER_01: Again, our bag is getting colder, or our food is getting colder in the bag, and so I'm hungry and I want to eat.
SPEAKER_01: But he asks this, and all of a sudden, this woman just pours out her heart to Ty.
SPEAKER_01: She's like, Yes, I'm estranged from my kids, and I want a relationship, a better relationship with my kids, and I have this anger that builds up on the inside of me that I can't do anything about, that I don't know how to how to help it.
SPEAKER_01: And she just is pouring out her heart to my friend Ty.
SPEAKER_01: And so at this point, my heart softens and I'm in it as well.
SPEAKER_01: And so before we pray, I then ask, I say, Hey, have you accepted Jesus into your life?
SPEAKER_01: Do you know the Lord?
SPEAKER_01: Do you have a relationship with Jesus?
SPEAKER_01: And she says, Yes, I do.
SPEAKER_01: I love the Lord, I love reading the Bible, I love going to church.
SPEAKER_01: But I just can't seem to get rid of this anger that's on the inside of me.
SPEAKER_01: I can't seem to make the right decisions.
SPEAKER_01: I can't seem to move in the right direction.
SPEAKER_01: And so this was a woman that I would consider stuck.
SPEAKER_01: That in the inside of her, she had this anger that she couldn't deal with, and she was stuck in it.
SPEAKER_01: And so it was an amazing opportunity.
SPEAKER_01: We got to pray for this lady, and um we got her her taxi and we left, and the food was still warm, and it was all a good story.
SPEAKER_01: But walking by the Spirit puts us in situations where people that stop us, we have something to offer them.
SPEAKER_01: That if we come to church, if we read our word, if we're devoted to what the Lord has, we have something to offer these people.
SPEAKER_01: And it is Jesus that we meet stuck people everywhere that we go.
SPEAKER_01: And these people need the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And it's not always going to be that people come up to you, but sometimes it's on your way to work, you see the same person every single day.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe one day you stop and ask if they need prayer for anything, or if they need anything, if they need a couple bucks, or maybe it's the person at your work that that has been going through some tough situations.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's you stop and you say, Hey, I'm sorry that that you're going through that.
SPEAKER_01: Would you mind if I prayed for you?
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be weird, it doesn't have to be this, you know, big thing that we do that you know makes everyone feel awkward.
SPEAKER_01: It can be as simple as you have something, this person is stuck, so pause, wait, walk by the spirit.
SPEAKER_01: The next thing that walking by the spirit does is that it pushes us out of our comfort zone.
SPEAKER_01: And with my my story about my friend Jerry, I was constantly out of my comfort zone.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, constantly.
SPEAKER_01: I would be like, I want to stay in the car so bad.
SPEAKER_01: I would be like, Jerry, I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat today, let's just keep working.
SPEAKER_01: But he insisted on doing this, and when we're walking by the spirit, sometimes we're out of our comfort zone.
SPEAKER_01: That we have the places that we feel safe and we want to stay in those places.
SPEAKER_01: But unfortunately, that's not where the Lord's called us.
SPEAKER_01: He's called us to be out of our comfort zone.
SPEAKER_01: He's called us to be in places where there's people that are stuck, and sometimes those places are uncomfortable for us.
SPEAKER_01: But if we're walking by the Spirit, it would be to continue to put yourself out of your comfort zone if that's what you need.
SPEAKER_01: Some of you live out of your comfort zone.
SPEAKER_01: That's what River said this morning.
SPEAKER_01: He was like, I'm never comfortable.
SPEAKER_01: So if you're like River, then this doesn't apply to you.
unknown: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm not trying to make you look bad.
SPEAKER_01: I know you're joking.
SPEAKER_01: River, River is just a perfect example of someone that does this as well, where he is constantly putting himself in positions to be uncomfortable for the sake of other people.
SPEAKER_01: And so I am trying to shout you out.
SPEAKER_01: I'm not trying to make you look bad.
SPEAKER_01: But that we're constantly trying uh if we're following the Spirit, it would be to be pushed out of our comfort zone.
SPEAKER_01: And the next thing is, and this is the one that that should motivate especially.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we want to be the we want the Lord to be delighted in what we do.
SPEAKER_01: So that's why we do this.
SPEAKER_01: But the next thing is that we get to see stuck people and their life changed.
SPEAKER_01: We get to meet people that are stuck, that have all sorts of situations, and since we have something, we get to see their life changed.
SPEAKER_01: Now, like I said, it's not every time, immediately, exactly when we ask, but what we get to see is that the more that we do this, the more that you'll see the Lord actually wants to move in people's hearts.
SPEAKER_01: And the more that you walk with people, you walk with stuck people, you get to see that their life changes by the power of Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: And so we should be motivated by this.
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it doesn't go well.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you've ever been evangelizing or if you've ever tried to have a conversation with someone and they immediately reject you.
SPEAKER_01: It's like that's actually pretty common as well.
SPEAKER_01: Well, you can go away from those situations and be stirred for the Lord as well, because you got to put yourself out of your comfort zone, walk by the spirit, be obedient to what the Lord told you to do, and be rejected.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that we're going to be rejected in this world, that it's not about approval.
SPEAKER_01: What it's about is obedience.
SPEAKER_01: That's what we're here for.
SPEAKER_01: And so when we're walking by the Spirit, the goal is for us to be obedient to what the Spirit urges us to do everywhere that we go in everything that we do.
SPEAKER_01: And so I want us to ask ourselves some questions this morning.
SPEAKER_01: And like I said, a sermon like this, the only way that it means anything to you is if you actually go there with the Lord, if you actually ask these questions to yourself.
SPEAKER_01: That if you would actually go away here from here and consider that you could do something different, even if it's not drastic.
SPEAKER_01: But if there's something different that you could do when you go away from here, that's the way that this is going to help you, if this is going to change your life.
SPEAKER_01: And so the number one question that I want you to ask yourselves while we're sitting in these chairs, I want you to genuinely search your heart and ask the Lord these questions is number one, am I too focused on my own life to listen to the Spirit?
SPEAKER_01: I've already admitted to you that this is something that I struggle with, but the question is, are you too focused on your own life to listen to what the Lord has told you to do?
SPEAKER_01: To listen to what you're called to do.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, we all live our life, we all go to work, we do all the things that we need to do, and I'm not saying don't do that.
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't say that Jerry is a great example of being great at your job.
SPEAKER_01: So if, you know, be good at your job, that's not that's not a bad thing.
SPEAKER_01: But in being good at your job, are you slowing down enough to consider that the people around you feel stuck, that the people around you are hurting, that the people around you are broken?
SPEAKER_01: Are you slowing down to ask the Lord, is there anyone around me right now that you want me to pray for?
SPEAKER_01: Are you slowing down to ask the Lord, is my character right now modeling you?
SPEAKER_01: I work with Janet at Country Club Bank.
SPEAKER_01: She's gonna feel uncomfortable that I'm saying this.
SPEAKER_01: And she works at the main location.
SPEAKER_01: It's uh, I don't know where it is from here.
SPEAKER_01: Don't make me say that.
SPEAKER_01: But she works there and I work at a different branch, but I used to work at the same branch every now and then.
SPEAKER_01: Everyone there knows that Janet loves the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Everyone.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, the way that she m handles herself, the way that she talks to people, the way that she's there for people, everyone at that bank knows that Janet loves the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And that doesn't just happen.
SPEAKER_01: That's not just happenstance that it's like, oh, well, Janet wears cheetah print.
SPEAKER_01: She must love the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Well, no, because what actually is true is that Janet is intentional to walk out a life that shows that she cares about the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And because of that, there are 200 plus people that know that Janet loves the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And if someone wants prayer, I guarantee you that they would feel comfortable to go up to Janet and ask for it.
SPEAKER_01: Or if they needed something, that they'd feel comfortable going up to Janet and asking for it.
SPEAKER_01: So the question is, are we slowing down enough to consider that the Lord has people that he wants us to pray for, that he wants us to minister to?
SPEAKER_01: Are we listening to the Spirit, or are we just consumed with our own thoughts daily?
SPEAKER_01: The next question is: do I live a life that is led by the Spirit?
SPEAKER_01: And if we use Galatians 5 as an example, this includes the fruit of the Spirit and on the inside of us, are we living a life that is holy, that is righteous, that the Lord would be proud of?
SPEAKER_01: Are we in the secret place when no one sees us, are we living a life that the Lord would be proud of, that he'd be pleased with?
SPEAKER_01: But also while we're out, our actions, our speech, our character, what we talk about or what we don't talk about, are we living a life that is led by the Spirit?
SPEAKER_01: The way that I see this and express it in my own life is I make the distinction between kingdom thinking and worldly thinking.
SPEAKER_01: And that living by the Spirit would be to be kingdom-minded, as it says in God's Word.
SPEAKER_01: That we're always considering that you and I are on mission.
SPEAKER_01: We talked about this at youth this last Sunday, but we talked about the Great Commission and how in there's the word go, that we're commissioned to go.
SPEAKER_01: And so in the same, in the same way, are we living by the Spirit and are we going on mission to the people around us?
SPEAKER_01: Are we kingdom-minded in what we see?
SPEAKER_01: Are we kingdom-minded with how we hold our finances?
SPEAKER_01: Are we kingdom-minded in how we hold our time?
SPEAKER_01: Or are we just another cog in the machine that America produces very well, that is very worldly minded, that thinks, I have to make enough money, I have to pay rent this week, I have to, you know, have food on the table.
SPEAKER_01: Those are all important things, and you want to be able to do those things.
SPEAKER_01: But living by the Spirit would be to consider those things given to you by the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: That it's the Lord that gives to you the food, it's the Lord that gives to you your job.
SPEAKER_01: It's the Lord that, you know, many of you that have a testimony of getting out of addiction, it's only because of the Lord that you are sitting in these chairs.
SPEAKER_01: And so there's people around us that have these situations, and so the question is, are we kingdom-minded?
SPEAKER_01: Are we living a life that is led by the Spirit?
SPEAKER_01: And the third question, and Ashton, you can come on up.
SPEAKER_01: And Zach asked this question a couple weeks ago in passing, but I had something that I want us to sit in and ask ourselves these questions.
SPEAKER_01: I want us to ask ourselves, if prayer didn't exist, would anything in my life look differently?
SPEAKER_01: Would would would I look any differently?
SPEAKER_01: Would I sound any differently?
SPEAKER_01: Would the people around me be affected at all?
SPEAKER_01: If prayer didn't exist, would would I have a chunk of time that I now have because I usually used it for prayer?
SPEAKER_01: Would I be devoting myself to the things that the Lord has for me if prayer didn't exist?
SPEAKER_01: The point of the question is to ask yourself: are there people around you, are there places around you, are there things around you that the Lord is asking you to pray about?
SPEAKER_01: I would consider walking by the Spirit to be praying continually, is what Paul says.
SPEAKER_01: Paul calls it praying continually.
SPEAKER_01: That in everything that we do, that there should be this posture of prayer.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's times in my life that I will, I'll go about a day or I'll go about a couple of things, and I'll be like, I'll think back, I'll be like, why didn't I pray about any of those things?
SPEAKER_01: Like I just did like eight things, and not one of them did I consider what the Lord thought about it or what the Lord would want me to do differently.
SPEAKER_01: And in those moments I'm convicted because we're supposed to live a life of prayer.
SPEAKER_01: And so if prayer didn't exist, would your life look any different?
SPEAKER_01: Are you living a prayerless life?
SPEAKER_01: Where there's things in your life that the God is calling you to pray for that that you don't?
SPEAKER_01: Are there things that the Lord has for people around you, but you're not praying because you're so caught up in your own life?
SPEAKER_01: These are the questions that we have to ask ourselves.
SPEAKER_01: If our goal is to walk by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And he doesn't just sit there dormant while we just live our life.
SPEAKER_01: But he's asking us to pray for people, he's prompting our hearts with compassion for people.
SPEAKER_01: He's giving us we have these testimonies.
SPEAKER_01: I think of Ashton and I's life and um some of the some of the things that that we deal with in relationship.
SPEAKER_01: And there's a perspective to look at it that it's not just something that's happening to us, but that ultimately these things are are testimony of what the Lord's goodness in our life.
SPEAKER_01: And we maybe not see it in the moment.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe there's nothing that's changed in the moment, but all these things are given to us as a testimony of God's goodness.
SPEAKER_01: And one thing I love about our church is that it's it's filled with people who are tender to what the Lord has done in them.
SPEAKER_01: Because many of you have real life addiction that you fought through, and so you know that the only way that you can live your life is in dependency to Jesus.
SPEAKER_01: But it doesn't just stop there.
SPEAKER_01: Just because you're not on meth anymore doesn't mean the Lord stopped moving on your heart.
SPEAKER_01: He continues to want us to live a life that is devoted to Jesus, that would be that would be modeled as walking by God's Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: And so, if you would with me today, as we end, before we end in song, just close your eyes.
SPEAKER_01: And I'm gonna just ask these questions and I'm gonna say them once again, and and and the exercise is for you to have these conversations with the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: So don't listen to my words if if there's something the Lord is prompting you in.
SPEAKER_01: But but maybe one of these questions is really on your heart and you want something to be different.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe the question that you have is am I too focused on my own life to listen to the spirit?
SPEAKER_01: Are you too focused on your own life to listen to the spirit?
SPEAKER_01: Or maybe the question is, do I live a life that is led by the spirit?
SPEAKER_01: Are you kingdom-minded or are you worldly minded?
SPEAKER_01: And if prayer didn't exist, would your life look any different?
SPEAKER_01: Is God asking you to pray for people and things and situations?
SPEAKER_01: But something on the inside of you is is it's not allowing you to go there with the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: Let's just stay here for a moment, continue to have these conversations with the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: If if you need to repent, repent.
SPEAKER_01: If you need to ask the Lord for help, ask the Lord for help.
SPEAKER_01: Let's not leave here the same as we came.
SPEAKER_01: Let's take these moments to quiet ourselves, to tenderize our hearts, and to ask the Lord to do something.
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you're in the camp of you don't understand why you need to walk by the Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: That's okay.
SPEAKER_01: Ask the Lord why it's important.
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for listening.
SPEAKER_03: Join us Sundays at 10 30 a.m.
SPEAKER_03: in the Rosedale neighborhood of Kansas City or find us anytime at the wayc.church.