WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:07.200 And that if we do have programs, it's a natural outflow of being salt and being light. 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:20.719 We want to avoid compartmentalizing our lives and saying that we we're gonna live one way when we've turned the switch on, and then when we're done, we're gonna flip it off and just go back to our normal selves. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:31.600 If we're not careful, we allow the systems and the programs of the church to become the only avenue by which we live out our faith. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:33.679 And we we believe in community groups. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:52.880 We say that circles are better than rows, but if you live and take part in a community group, but you disconnect and the rest of your life outside of that community group, you don't engage with the people in your group and in regular life, day-to-day life, then we're missing the point. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:54.960 We're not living out our faith. 00:00:55.119 --> 00:01:07.680 And uh if we reserve our Christian life to a Sunday morning gathering and it's compartmentalized to that gathering, and then we flip the switch off and we go about our life, then we're missing the point. 00:01:07.840 --> 00:01:12.319 We're missing out on the opportunity to be sought in life 24-7. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:21.040 If you volunteer on a Sunday morning or maybe a Wednesday night with students, or you engage with our Kids Grove Ministry, that is a great thing. 00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:38.560 But when you disconnect from that, you switch the flip, uh you flip the switch off, then we're missing out on the opportunity to love children in our community, to love youth in our community, and to be a part of people's lives every day of our life. 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:52.640 And so we've tried our hardest to structure our church in such a way that you understand that the life of following Jesus is a life that comes from the transformation that Jesus provides. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:55.840 It's not something that we flip off when we're done. 00:01:56.000 --> 00:02:00.000 Our lights shouldn't go off when we disconnect from our programs. 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:03.920 Our light stays on in every area of our life. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:11.919 Um we also learn this that being the light means you illuminate the darkness. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:19.360 That word in Scripture that describes us as being a light is that word luminary out of the Greek language. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:29.439 And it's this idea that we don't in and of ourselves possess the power to be the light, but we reflect the greater light from Jesus Christ. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:31.520 It's the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:35.520 Just like the moon doesn't have a light inside of it that flips on. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:40.560 It is, when we look at the moon, it is simply a reflection of the sun. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:45.280 And so when the sun goes down, we see that reflection in the moon. 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:51.120 And so we're to be like the moon, we're to reflect the greater light of Jesus as we live our lives. 00:02:51.280 --> 00:03:00.400 And so when we gather here on Sunday mornings and we take part in the worship with the family of God, it's a miraculous thing. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:09.599 We come into the presence of God so we can continue to be filled and continue to be powered to reflect the light of Jesus. 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:15.039 People from different backgrounds, people from different age categories, from different generations. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:20.000 We gather together, even people from different political perspectives. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:30.879 It's a miracle that takes place when we gather and worship together, but the purpose of the church is not just to gather, the purpose of the church is to scatter. 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:35.599 Being a light is not about coming, but it's about going. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:39.199 We're called to bring light to the dark places. 00:03:39.360 --> 00:03:55.280 I heard a story from another preacher that where they took their child to a big box store like Walmart and they they bought a flashlight, and the child was so excited while they were in the store and they turned their light on, the flashlight, they flipped it on. 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:58.479 And the child says, Well, I can't see the light. 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:02.639 It's not shining on the floor, it's not shining as I as I pointed at things. 00:04:02.719 --> 00:04:11.840 And the and the the parent explained to the child that you can't see the light unless the light is pointed into the dark. 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:21.360 And so, what a great lesson for us that we are, as the church, we as the church are called to engage the dark places with the light of Jesus. 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:24.879 We're called to be the light of Jesus to a dark world. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:05:00.000 And so we've been told a lie that through our educational systems, through our political structure and political systems, that through the government and the programs the government uh enacts, that we can take care of the poor, that we can make sure that hunger goes away, that we can make sure that children have adequate care in the foster system or take care of the needs of the people around us through those systems, and that hopefully over time things will get better and better. 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:05.199 But you have seen and I have seen that things don't get better, things continue to get worse. 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:12.319 And the reason is that those those institutions are not built to be the answer to the problems. 00:05:12.639 --> 00:05:16.560 The church is given the answer, and the answer is Jesus. 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:25.040 And so we're to reflect the light of Jesus toward the world or world around us, and that darkness is removed only when the light comes. 00:05:25.199 --> 00:05:35.360 And so light and life and freedom only comes through Jesus and following his way and living out the way of Jesus. 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:48.160 And so here's a couple of questions I want you to consider as we come to a close, and I want these to be points of application and questions that you hopefully that you can apply to your life and live out what we're talking about. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:53.439 Here's the first question: how do I take what I have and bring it to the people who need it? 00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:55.360 How do we take what we have? 00:05:55.680 --> 00:06:04.480 The answers that we find in Scripture, the truth of the Word, and the power of the Holy Spirit that provides the light in us. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:06.800 How do we take it to the people who need it? 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:14.240 And we're to the places that no one wants to go, those dark places that need the light of Jesus. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:20.399 Jesus lived out this salt and light in the most perfect way imaginable. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:30.160 And following Jesus means that we're to go to the scandalous places that need that light, that need the grace, and that need the love of Jesus. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:35.920 And so we've had a pretty pretty difficult year, year and a half. 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:44.079 2020 was a pretty dark year in need of some serious light. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:48.000 Um, and our community needs that now more than ever. 00:06:48.319 --> 00:07:10.079 And so I want to encourage you with this reality that statistics tell us that one out of three, even believers, people that have already been part of the church, one out of three that have disconnected from church because of this past year and the pandemic that we've endured, that they may not come back to church. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.279 And we have no idea what what's going on in their life. 00:07:13.360 --> 00:07:19.120 Some for some, it might be mental health issues, it might be severe anxiety. 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:25.759 Um, and so I want to encourage you to consider how to pray for those people, how to possibly engage those people. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:34.639 I believe Easter is gonna provide us an opportunity to see some of those people reconnect with us in worship. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:41.600 And it might be that they're gonna be in person, but it also means that they might engage online with us. 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:54.160 And it's an opportunity to see Easter as an on-ramp for those people that need to reconnect and for those people that have yet to have ever connected with the church and with Jesus. 00:07:54.319 --> 00:08:09.360 And so I want to ask you to join us in prayer as we beg and plead and petition the Lord to help us reach people who've never been to church and people that have disconnected from church. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:15.279 And so I want to encourage you to join us in praying over some specific names. 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:24.639 And in our physical gatherings, we're gonna have some names written on cards at our altar in our front area of the auditorium. 00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:36.559 You can do this at home by writing down some names and maybe putting them on an index card and being reminded as you maybe put them on a bathroom mirror or somewhere in your kitchen or somewhere in your house to pray for those people. 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:37.600 Who are they? 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:40.399 And what is it specifically you need to pray for? 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:46.159 And let's ask the Lord to allow us to shine the light of Jesus into dark places. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:47.600 Would you pray with me right now? 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:48.720 Let's pray together. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:59.759 Heavenly Father, we thank you for the truth of Scripture and what we see in this passage where Jesus says that we are the salt of the earth and we are the light of the world. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:26.799 And so, Father, I pray for people that are under the sound of my voice, uh, who may not know this truth and may not have a relationship with Jesus, that they would take that first step and to believe and to repent and put their trust in Jesus Christ, what he did on the cross, and in providing, uh walking out of that empty tomb, uh, and providing for this transformation that we have, this new life that we have. 00:09:27.120 --> 00:09:32.320 So, Father, I pray that you would help them take that first step and putting their faith in Jesus. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.039 And if that's you, just put your faith in Jesus. 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:38.960 The Bible says to repent and believe the gospel. 00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:46.159 And if that's you, I want to encourage you to text, start to follow to 9700. 00:09:46.879 --> 00:10:00.799 And uh for those of us that are believers, maybe the encouragement that we should have in this time is to ask the Lord to allow us to be a light, to empower us to be the light that He's called us to. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:22.799 Father, would you work in us and transform us, draw us into a place where we can truly shine the light of Jesus into the dark places, and that God, you would use us to encourage people to return to church or to uh to give church a chance, maybe for the first time. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:25.360 Heavenly Father, thank you for speaking to us. 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:27.200 God, would you continue to work? 00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:28.799 It's in Jesus' name. 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:29.600 Amen. 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:31.919 Guys, thank you so much for being with us. 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:35.759 I want to encourage you to join us maybe physically if you can. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.320 If not, come back and join us again next week as we gather together online.