WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:03.279 The teaching text is uh just one verse today, it's very short. 00:00:03.520 --> 00:00:06.000 The teaching text is Ephesians two, verse ten. 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:18.000 And Paul writes, and he says, For we, we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:19.519 This is the word of the Lord. 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:57.280 In a series right now called Welcome to Church, Welcome to C3, I'm just refreshing what our church is seeking to be about and what we're trying to accomplish and the ways that we're aiming at that, and uh the vision that we're chasing as a church, and that is to develop and build a community of people that are seeking to practice the way of Jesus, to follow this man, Jesus, um, bless you, so that we experience the fame and deeds of God in our time, so that we experience what the early disciples experience as they follow Jesus. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:01:03.840 They experience God's closeness and nearness and his power breaking out among them, and we want to experience the exact same thing. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:06.640 And so our vision as a church is to pursue that thing. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:18.640 And the way that we primarily seek to practice the way of Jesus and put his word to practice in our lives is through seven core practices that we're aiming at driving you to and wanting you to begin practicing in your own life. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:41.599 And we talked about the scriptures and being saturated with the scriptures and reading the scriptures and meditating on them to be shaped by them because it's God's word speaking to you, being a part of a community, but not just like any community, like the knitting community or the quilting community, but like a one-another community that seeks to not only love one another, but also to bear with one another and to encourage one another, but also to forgive one another. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:43.760 And those other communities don't really call you to do that. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:48.319 And so it's a unique thing here in the life of the church that God wanted for his bride, the church. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:55.439 And then today I want to talk about sacrificial blessing and what it looks like to practice sacrificially blessing others. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:02:02.159 Uh I came across this quote uh from a pastor friend of mine, um, and this is what he says. 00:02:02.319 --> 00:02:11.120 He says, We know from the early church fathers that people were often confused about what these strange followers of Jesus were called. 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:27.919 Because the Greek word for Christ, Christos, is so similar to the word kristos, which means kind, apparently many people, mistakenly, but perhaps fittingly, called Jesus' earliest followers, not Christian, but the kind ones, not the Christians, but the kind ones. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:32.319 And I've I've used that quote a lot because I I just love that idea. 00:02:32.479 --> 00:02:36.960 Like there was there used to be confusion about like, are they Christians or are they the kind ones? 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:40.719 And it's like, honestly, it's either way because the Christians are the kind ones. 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:47.759 And I'm like, man, in a culture like ours, where that is no longer the case, the Christians aren't confused about being the kind ones. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:56.800 The Christians are confused about being the condemning ones or the hateful ones or the judgmental ones or the ones that will look down on you for wearing different clothes, or I don't, like whatever it is. 00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:59.599 Like the confusion is actually negative, not positive. 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:03.520 And so when I read something like that and go, man, look at the vision of what it used to be. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:17.520 I'm just going, like, I want that to exist in all churches with all Christians, but especially here, as I think about our church, I want this to be the defining marker of our church. 00:03:17.680 --> 00:03:23.759 Like we are followers of Jesus, and it's like, man, they're so associated with Jesus, and Jesus was kind, and Jesus blessed others. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:28.879 And like, if you run into somebody from Christ Community Church, like you have met one of the kind ones. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:30.879 And so I'd love to see that happen here. 00:03:31.039 --> 00:03:39.039 I want us to be a people of blessing, a people of service, a people of constantly entering into people's lives and leaving them better than we found them. 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:45.919 I found this person's life, and when I left that person's life, my influence left them better than where they were when they started. 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:48.639 And so I want us to be a people of blessing. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:58.800 And what I want to do today is really just give you shortly three quick reasons why I want that to be a part of what we're doing here. 00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:01.840 Um, not just seeking to read the scriptures, yes, I want us to do that. 00:04:01.919 --> 00:04:12.719 Not just seeking to develop a strong community here, but also like genuinely pouring into the practice of blessing one another and serving one another, not only in this space, but also in our community. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:18.319 And so, for me, we need to, and for you, we need to be people of blessing. 00:04:18.560 --> 00:04:24.079 Because blessing helps people, the first one, it helps people see what God is really like. 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:33.120 For most people, what comes to mind when they think about God is not normally, oh, God is seeking to bless me. 00:04:33.360 --> 00:04:35.040 God is a God who blesses. 00:04:35.279 --> 00:04:48.000 Normally, in my experience, what people think when they think about God is that he's mad at me, disappointed in me, looking at me, similar to the way that a TSA agent looks at you going through, they're not looking to bless you, they're just looking to make sure you're not doing anything wrong. 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:53.839 And a lot of people, when they think about God, that's like he's probably somewhat disappointed with some of the things that are going on in my life. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:05:04.240 He's probably not super thrilled about this stuff, and he's looking at my behaviors and like picking through them like a TSA agent, picking through our luggage and things like that. 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:10.240 Most people don't think of a God who is desiring, delighting in them and desiring to bless them. 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:12.800 That's not normally the first thing that comes to mind. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:22.959 And so when you hear things like God loves you or God's seeking to bless you, it can be like, ah, my primary thought is like that he's probably more mad at me than he is delighted in me. 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:28.240 But the truth is, if you read the scriptures, like a God who is seeking to bless, that's who he was. 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:29.199 That's who he is. 00:05:29.279 --> 00:05:31.759 From beginning of the scriptures to the end, that's who he is. 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:41.040 And so, just real quickly, in Genesis 1, when God actually does first create humans, when he creates us, the first thing that he does to them is he blesses them. 00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:43.439 It says, so God created mankind, his own image. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.279 Male and female, he created them. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:48.000 And God, the first thing, he blessed them. 00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:49.759 Like they haven't done anything yet. 00:05:49.839 --> 00:05:56.560 They've been on earth for, I don't know, how, you know, depending on your young earth, older theology, like how long they've been here, but they ain't done anything. 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.920 They've done nothing to desire, to deserve blessing. 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:04.000 But the first thing that he does, like creation, and now I'm gonna bless you too. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:07.279 And so from the very beginning, it's like we were created to be blessed. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:13.519 Dallas Willard, we don't have the quote here, but Dallas Willard says, We were created for blessing, to receive blessing. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:19.439 Because we're created by a God who desires to bless, we were created for blessing, and our souls can't live without being blessed. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:24.560 Like there's something that we're longing for in there, because we are created by a God who desired to bless us. 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:29.040 And if you continue going through the scriptures, God gets to Abraham and he chooses a people. 00:06:29.199 --> 00:06:35.120 He's like, From you, Abraham, I'm gonna, I'm gonna build this people, and from this people, I'm gonna bless the nations through you. 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:37.759 All peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:44.959 Then you get into Exodus, and the people of Israel are in slavery, and God chooses to bless them by delivering them out of slavery. 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:49.519 And what he could have said was like, because he doesn't give the Ten Commandments yet in that particular portion. 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:51.519 He gives the Ten Commandments after the blessing. 00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:56.879 And what he could have said is like, look, I have a desire to bless you, but you guys aren't following the rules. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:07:03.199 So I'm gonna give you ten rules, and if you can crush those ten rules, then I will bless you by saving you out of slavery. 00:07:03.360 --> 00:07:06.240 If you will do the work, I will do the blessing. 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:07.759 But he doesn't do it that way. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:10.879 He just moves into their story and he blesses them. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:26.000 And then from that relationship, from that trusting relationship, but from that kindness that they experience, he's like, now that you know who I am, that I'm a God who loves you, who saw your sorrow and sought to bless you, now that you know that, I want you to follow me and to trust in me and to come after me. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:26.879 I want you to do that. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:30.959 Not to gain blessing, but I want you to actually move towards me from blessing. 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:33.839 I have blessed you, so therefore be close to me. 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:35.199 Draw close to me. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:41.040 But he seeks to bless and not leverage their pain to get them to obey him. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:45.439 And then, I mean, just all the way through, you see God pursuing them, trying to chase after them. 00:07:45.519 --> 00:07:46.959 They're rebellious and God pursues them. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:53.199 They're rebellious and God forgives them with and blesses them with forgiveness, just constantly chasing after him and promises like, I'm going to bless you. 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:54.240 It's still going to happen. 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:55.759 That promise is still going to be true. 00:07:55.920 --> 00:08:09.120 And then you get to the New Testament, and Jesus declares, He's like, God has loved the world so much that he sought to bless the world by sending his son so that whoever believes in him would not actually die even though they die. 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:11.040 But they would actually experience this life. 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:16.079 Like God loved the world so much, this world that has been in rebellion against him from the beginning. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:19.360 He loved them so much that he sought to bless them by giving him his son. 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:24.720 And he says that God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:30.959 And then you see Jesus, who is God embodied, he is God himself, and he says, like, I have come to reveal the Father. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:32.480 Me and the Father are one. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:34.879 I only do what I see the Father doing. 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:38.720 And Jesus' ministry on earth could easily be defined as like, what was he like? 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:40.879 It was like, it was a ministry of blessing. 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:43.919 He just moved into people's stories and he just started blessing them. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:53.600 He would heal them, he would deliver people from their bondage, he would spend time with the outcast, he gave hope to the hopeless, he'd stand up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves and the weak and the wounded. 00:08:53.919 --> 00:09:00.159 He came and he began doing all these things, and he's saying, I am only doing what the Father, what I see the Father doing. 00:09:00.320 --> 00:09:03.360 And so he's blessing because the Father desires to bless. 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:04.799 That is who he is. 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:08.000 Jesus says, I did not come to be served. 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:10.320 I did not come to be blessed by other people. 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:11.360 I came to serve. 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:15.840 I came to bless and to be a blessing to other people and to give my life as a ransom for many. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:22.080 And then on the cross, like Jesus, like where do you see like God seeking to bless the world as much as he possibly could? 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:23.840 It's like you see that on the cross. 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:27.840 Jesus was punished so that we might be blessed with forgiveness. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:30.559 Jesus was wounded so that we might be blessed with healing. 00:09:30.720 --> 00:09:35.120 Jesus was clothed with our sin so that we would be blessed to be clothed with his righteousness. 00:09:35.279 --> 00:09:38.240 Jesus died our death so that we might be blessed with new life. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:43.360 Jesus became poor with our poverty so that we might be blessed with every spiritual gift in the heavenlies. 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:47.759 Jesus bore our shame that we might be blessed to experience his glory and his joy. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:52.559 Jesus endured rejection so that we might be blessed to be accepted as children of God. 00:09:52.720 --> 00:09:55.840 And Jesus became a curse so that we could walk in blessing. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:02.320 This Old Testament line that you can maybe almost miss, but it was like, cursed is anyone who hangs in a tree. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:07.120 And then Jesus is hanging on a tree that's been shaped and formed into the way of the cross. 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:10.080 And he's this cursed hanging on this tree. 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.679 And so he literally becomes a curse so that we could experience blessing. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:18.879 And if you think all the way back to Genesis 3, like it's like, don't eat from that cursed fruit in that tree. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:21.840 There's a curse hanging in the tree, Adam. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:23.919 Don't eat from that curse hanging in the tree. 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:24.639 And they do. 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:29.120 And Jesus does this amazing thing, and God is doing this amazing thing of reversing that curse. 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.120 And now he is the fruit. 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:35.200 He is the cursed fruit hanging in a tree so that we could actually experience blessing. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:38.240 He has undone the curse so that we can experience blessing. 00:10:38.320 --> 00:10:41.039 Like that is what the Father has been aiming at from the beginning. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:42.240 I desire to bless. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:43.200 I desire to bless. 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:44.080 I desire to bless. 00:10:44.240 --> 00:10:50.559 And so the fact that people don't know that about him, the fact that that's not the first thing that kicks into people's minds, like, what is he like? 00:10:50.799 --> 00:10:53.919 The fact that it's not this space where it's like, he's a God who delights in me. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:55.360 He is for me and not against me. 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.519 He desires to bless me and not curse me. 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:01.279 He desires to lift me up and not push me down and shove me down. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:07.440 The fact that that's true or not true, the fact that people don't see him correctly is a problem. 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:17.120 And I think when we seek to bless other people in Jesus' name, the people of God seeking to bless people in God's name, I think we provide them with this vision of like, what's he actually like? 00:11:17.279 --> 00:11:18.559 Like he is like this. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:23.120 This is what he desires for you, this is what he's like, and this is what he wants to do for you. 00:11:23.679 --> 00:11:34.879 I have this friend that I've known him for about 11 years, and um when I first met him, um he really wanted nothing to do with God at all. 00:11:34.960 --> 00:11:36.080 Or the God of the Bible. 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:41.360 He wanted nothing to do, and and the God of the Christians that he had encountered, he wanted nothing to do with them. 00:11:41.519 --> 00:11:49.759 And uh I've known him for about 11 years, and I had coffee with him just kind of off the cuff uh last Friday for about like, it was only like 45 minutes. 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:54.240 But in that 45 minutes, uh he was like, he's a he's a self-professed Christian now. 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:55.840 He's like, I'm a Christian now. 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:01.039 Uh and it's just such a huge difference from where he was 11 years ago to where he is now. 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:09.200 And um one of the things he said, he was like, he was like, um, no one was gonna preach me into Christianity. 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:15.600 Like there was not a sermon I was gonna listen to, which actually he heard me preach, and I was kind of like, I was hoping that he would say, like, your sermons were amazing. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:16.480 I was like, thank you so much. 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:17.360 Means a lot. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:19.120 He didn't say that. 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:25.120 Um but he was like, no one was gonna preach me into Christianity. 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:28.879 No one was gonna, he's like, I'm just not a tell me what to do kind of person. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:31.840 And so would somebody tell me you need to convert, you need to repent, you need to. 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:33.440 He's like, I'm just not gonna do that. 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:40.879 He's like, what I needed, I needed to see what God was like by watching somebody just live it out. 00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:52.080 I needed to just see somebody actually do this thing because my experience and everything that I had thought about God and all that stuff, like I needed to see somebody actually reveal what God was actually like and see it lived out. 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:56.799 And he was so kind and it made me very emotional, but he was like, your sermons didn't do it. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:12:58.480 But he's like, but you you did that. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:00.399 Like you lived that out in front of me. 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:02.399 He's like, You I well, I'm so thankful. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:08.559 Like every time we were together, like you befriended me, we hung out, and you knew that I didn't believe anything that you believed in, and I would tell you that. 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:11.759 He goes, but you you never sought to constantly convert me. 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:16.240 You didn't preach at me, you didn't try and condemn me or try and tell me how wrong I was. 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:19.759 We just sat together and we had coffee and we got to get know each other and that kind of thing. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:24.159 He's like, and I got to see through your life like what God is actually like, and it really did. 00:13:24.240 --> 00:13:25.440 It was it was very sweet. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:29.840 And it was even, I told Randy, I was like, I don't even want to tell this story because it sounds like I'm like bragging on myself. 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:35.840 But it's like it was hum, I didn't do it perfectly at all, but it was this thing that he he pointed out, and I was like, man, that's so crazy. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:38.879 I am talking about that this weekend, not this story. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:50.080 Um, but I do think that there's this possibility that exists in Christians that we we can shout at people and yell at people and signs on the roads and whatever. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:14:03.759 But at the end of the day, like we have this opportunity to really like there is God lives in me, and when God has poured out of me into other people's lives, I have this opportunity and we have this opportunity to reveal to people like, I think your vision is skewed. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.759 I don't think you know who he actually is. 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:08.080 Please let me show you who he actually is. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:18.480 And when we are seeking to bless and serve other people, not because they've done something to deserve it, but just because it's we didn't deserve it and God blessed us, and we're seeking to bless others who don't deserve it either. 00:14:18.720 --> 00:14:22.639 They have this vision presented to them like, this is what God is actually like. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:28.159 He wants to be this kind to you, he wants to bless you this much, he loves you this much. 00:14:28.559 --> 00:14:36.240 And it gives them a picture of what God is actually like, and it did that for my friend, and I'm very thankful that I was able to play a part in that. 00:14:36.480 --> 00:14:49.600 But I think that's our opportunity in every single there are people in your life, there are people at your work, there are people that are just like their primary experience with people who believe in God or what they believe about God is just like it's just not what the scriptures testify to who he actually is. 00:14:49.679 --> 00:14:53.759 And we have the opportunity through blessing other people to go like that's what he's like. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:15:06.559 If you're if you're if you're uplifted by that, if you're encouraged by that, if that's if it if it made you feel like I have worth and value and you're important and you feel loved by that thing, like that is what you were able to, like, why why are you making me feel that way? 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:07.919 Why is why are you doing this thing? 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:10.639 Like, that is how God sees you, that's how he feels about you. 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:19.679 Saint Francis says this he says, the deeds, the deeds that you do may be the only sermon some persons will ever hear. 00:15:19.919 --> 00:15:23.039 The things that you do may be the only sermon that some people ever hear. 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:28.960 And some of you, you know, you standing on a stage and preaching and that kind of thing, you'd hate that and it'd drive you crazy. 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:30.080 Never do it at all. 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:31.519 But you can bless people. 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:35.919 Like, I don't know how to share my faith, I don't know enough to share my faith, I don't really quite sure how to do that. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:38.240 It's like that's I know you should learn that. 00:15:38.320 --> 00:15:44.960 But at the end of the day, you do know how to bless somebody, you can encourage somebody, and that could be the best sermon that they ever heard. 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:48.639 It could be a space where it reveals, like, this is what God is actually like. 00:15:49.039 --> 00:15:55.679 And so I want us to be a people of blessing because when we bless others in Jesus' name, we help people experience this is what he's like. 00:15:55.840 --> 00:15:57.840 This is the heart of God on display. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:01.440 It is a tangible expression of who he actually is. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:07.279 So, number two, we need to be people of blessing because you are created for blessing. 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:11.840 It reveals what God is like, and then we should be a people of blessing because that's what you were created for. 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:20.000 One of the primary purposes for God in your life, one of the things that he has made you for is to bless the world. 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:25.360 And you can see this from beginning to end of the scriptures again, but I don't want to do that again. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:31.360 But in the beginning, God creates Adam and Eve, and then he tells them their commission is to go out and bless the world. 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:33.039 You, I made you in my image. 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:36.080 I brought order and blessing from chaos and curse. 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:40.879 Now I want you to move out into the world and bring flourishing in order where there's chaos. 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:42.720 Continue this work that I'm doing. 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:45.679 Bring beauty into the spaces where there's no beauty. 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:50.399 And so they're supposed to be moving, created to move out into the world and bring blessing. 00:16:50.559 --> 00:17:03.440 But then they screw it up, and then you get all the way into the New Testament, and Jesus is this the firstborn son of God who was actually bringing blessing in the world, and now through him, we are now brought into the family of God as sons and daughters of God. 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:06.160 And now the commission is to us to move out as his children. 00:17:06.319 --> 00:17:10.400 He has chids again, to move out into the world and bring blessing to the world. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:12.559 Paul says it in our teaching text. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:15.119 He says, For we are God's handiwork. 00:17:15.599 --> 00:17:19.680 The idea is you are his work of art, you are his craftsmanship. 00:17:19.839 --> 00:17:23.359 He has created you in Christ Jesus through what Jesus has done. 00:17:23.440 --> 00:17:29.680 He has created you to do good things, do good works, which he has prepared in advance for you to do. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.960 He has created you and brought you into this family of his. 00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:39.839 And it's not like go and do to earn my love, go and do to earn my favor, go and do something good to make me love you. 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:40.559 It's not that. 00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:47.839 It's just like now that you're in and you've experienced my blessing, you've experienced my love, now move out into the world and do that thing. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:53.279 I have created, there are things that I have for you to do in the world, and they're specific to you. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:56.559 I want you to move out into the world and do those things. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:18:03.839 Theologian John Henry Newman says this: he says, God has created me to do him some definite service. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:08.160 He has committed some work to me, which he has not committed to another. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.319 He has not created me for nothing. 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:12.319 I have a part in his great work. 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:14.240 I am a link in the chain. 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:16.960 I shall love as Christ loved, and I shall do his work. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:17.599 I love that. 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:18.799 I'm a link in the chain. 00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:19.680 Like what a gift. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:21.279 Like he can just do whatever, he can do whatever he wants. 00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:25.119 He doesn't need me at all, but he's like, but I want you to be a part of this work that I'm doing. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:27.200 You are a link in the chain. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.880 Blessing and serving others is one of the purposes for our existence. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:33.279 He has created us to do these things. 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:35.119 God has made us for that. 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:43.359 There's a reason when you and me, when we when we do something kind to other people, there's a reason that joyful chemicals go off in our brains. 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:45.519 Like God has created us that way. 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:52.640 He's like, I've made you in such a way where I'm actually, it does something in your world where you're like, I'm I'm blessed by blessing others. 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:55.200 There's a reason that happens because we're made that way. 00:18:55.519 --> 00:19:00.000 Came across this article that says this is uh it's the science of kindness. 00:19:00.160 --> 00:19:07.279 It says studies have linked acts of kindness to releasing dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain that can give us a feeling of euphoria. 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:12.240 This feel-good brain chemical is credited with causing what's known as helper's high. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:20.960 In addition to boosting oxytocin and dopamine, being kind can also increase serotonin, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate your mood. 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:25.279 In serving others, we're building better communities and better selves at the exact same time. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:26.880 That's what science found out. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:30.799 But what's what's what's so interesting to me is like he has built you for this. 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:36.720 Like there's a like, he's like, I want you, I want you to, I've made you to serve, I want you to go and do that. 00:19:36.880 --> 00:19:47.599 And so, because I want you to do it, I'm going to place a reward in your mind and in your brain that when you do that thing, that it's gonna constantly be this space where you're like, that felt really good, I should do that more. 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:48.880 That felt really good, I should do that more. 00:19:48.960 --> 00:19:56.640 And again, it's not trying to earn something, it's just God going, I'm calling you to do something and then calling you to bless other people, to do what I've created you to do. 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:58.880 I'm actually seeking to bless you as well. 00:19:59.039 --> 00:20:03.920 And so calling us to bless others is his way of also going, and I'm trying to bless you. 00:20:04.079 --> 00:20:06.160 Do that thing so that you experience what I have for you. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:10.240 I have made you to be people who enjoy blessing others. 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:14.640 I've made it to be this space where you actually experience goodness from doing it. 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:20.400 He wants to use me, and he wants to use you in the lives of other people to bless them. 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:26.319 I um didn't ask to share this story, but I'm gonna share it anyway, so forgive me. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:38.079 Um, but uh I was having a lunch with Rob on Thursday, and uh just thinking about like God wants to use us to bless other people, um, even sometimes without our knowing it. 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:49.119 He was talking about uh being a missionary, and he went and preached uh somewhere overseas and uh was just preaching and doing his thing, and uh he said there was this this kid that he had no idea this was happening. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:21:01.599 But there's this kid in the room hearing him preach, and like from that moment that he heard Rob preach, he was like, I I wanted to know God as well as Rob knew, that this preacher knew God. 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:05.759 I wanted to know the Bible as well as this man who's preaching knew the Bible. 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:12.799 And like it did something in this man's heart that Rob didn't even know was happening in the room, and now that man left and was so stirred by that. 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:16.880 Now the man's a pastor and it's being trained as a pastor and maybe helping train other pastors and all this stuff. 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:18.319 And it's like, why did that happen? 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:20.400 It's like it wasn't because Rob was aiming at it. 00:21:20.480 --> 00:21:21.759 He's like, there's somebody in the room. 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:24.559 I'm gonna do it, like he's not doing that and going, like, I'm trying to do that. 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:28.960 So it's like God wants to use people to bless other people. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:30.160 That's what he wants to do. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.799 He primarily wants to use his people to bless other people. 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:41.519 And so even without him knowing it, it was this space was like, you're gonna, I'm gonna use you to direct the course of someone's journey and calling in their entire lives. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:44.559 Their whole life is gonna shift sitting there listening to you preach. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:45.599 And he had no idea. 00:21:45.680 --> 00:21:46.720 And it's like, why did that happen? 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:50.960 It's like, because that's what God wants to do at any given moment, at any given time. 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:57.200 He wants to use his people to bring blessing to the people that are in the room, that are in the world, that are in their realm of influence. 00:21:57.279 --> 00:21:58.240 That's what he wants to do. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.759 And like, what an amazing story. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:03.839 This thing is like, you can't, it was like, I can't, Rob was like, I can't even take credit for it. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:05.119 I didn't even know what was happening. 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:08.799 But God is constantly seeking to work through his people, whether we know it or not. 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:11.440 He wants to use us to bless others. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:14.559 It was this, um, I've told this story before, but I love it. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:22.480 But just in the same idea that I have a friend in New York that um was a pastor, or and he just struggled telling people he was a pastor. 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:25.200 Normally he'd like, people like, what do you do for work? 00:22:25.279 --> 00:22:27.039 And he would say that he worked for a nonprofit. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:31.359 He's like, he's like, every time I told people that I was a pastor, they always, it was like, okay, that's weird. 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:31.759 Bye. 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:34.079 And like conversation ended and they left. 00:22:34.240 --> 00:22:36.400 And he goes, I gotta figure out a new way to do this. 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:40.559 So he started saying, I work for a nonprofit that you know deals with souls and kindness. 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:46.000 Um and then he felt super convicted about it because he's like, I feel like I'm somewhat lying. 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:53.519 I'm not just dealing with the persecution that comes my way when I tell people I'm a Christian, that I'm a follower of Jesus, and I'm a pastor who's trying to get people to follow Jesus. 00:22:53.680 --> 00:22:55.039 And so he felt super convicted about it. 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:57.680 And so he was like, All right, I'm gonna make a commitment to not lie. 00:22:57.839 --> 00:23:00.720 I'm just gonna, I'm gonna tell people when they ask, what do you do for a living? 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:03.839 I'm gonna tell them I'm a pastor and just watch them walk away. 00:23:04.640 --> 00:23:18.480 And he says that one time, um, like shortly after that, he was leaving his apartment and going down the elevator, and there was a guy that had just moved in to his apartment and had all these boxes and stuff, and was getting on the elevator as well to go grab some more stuff and load in or whatever. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:21.759 And they struck up a conversation, oh, you're new here, that's great, where'd you move from here? 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:26.240 And he's and my friend asked him, like, what do you do for what do you do for work? 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:28.160 And he explained that he does something for work. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:32.240 And then the inevitable question, the guy asked my friend Eric, like, what do you do for work? 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.960 And Eric was like, No, I have to do it again. 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:42.319 Like, this guy is like living on my hallway, and it's gonna be this really awkward time every time we see each other, where he's just like, Oh, this is a pastor. 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:53.119 So, but he tells him, and he's like, I I'm a I'm a Christian, uh, uh I lead a church that's a Jesus believing church, and I'm a I'm a pastor of that church. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:57.759 And the guy did not like just end conversation and go, what a weirdo, and leave. 00:23:57.839 --> 00:23:59.599 He didn't do that, but it was just as awkward. 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:07.359 The guy burst into tears uh on the elevator, and uh, and so Eric's like, I it's God, why? 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:12.160 Like, I'm I worked for a nonprofit, don't worry about it, it's fine. 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:20.640 And um, but the guy eventually turns back to Eric and is like, he goes, I was just in my apartment and I was praying. 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:24.799 Um I'm I'm not I'm not really religious, I die, but I I feel so alone here. 00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:26.720 I'm in a new spot, I know no one. 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:30.880 And I was just like, God, if you are real, would you just would you just show me that you're real? 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:37.279 And he goes, and the first person I encounter on the elevator is a pastor that believes in this God that I was praying to. 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:40.720 Like, do you believe that this is God telling me that he is real? 00:24:40.880 --> 00:24:42.480 Do you think that this is him answering my prayer? 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:45.279 And Eric was like, Yes, this is an answer to prayer, it's amazing. 00:24:45.440 --> 00:24:47.680 And then they built a relationship and the whole thing. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:52.480 But like, Eric is actually trying not to be a blessing. 00:24:52.640 --> 00:24:56.960 Like, he is actively trying to avoid these types of conversations. 00:24:57.279 --> 00:25:08.799 And like, almost accidentally, like he is used by God to be an answer to this man's prayer, to reveal to this man like God sees you, he's with you, you are not alone, he is for you, not against you. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:10.000 And he used Eric to do that thing. 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:18.799 It's like what God wants to do through you and through me, almost accidentally, even if we're trying to avoid it, is he wants to bless people through us. 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:25.920 If you are his son or his daughter, he wants to use you in the world to bring about flourishing and blessing in the lives of other people. 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:27.119 That's what he wants to do. 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:32.720 You are made for that, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that he has prepared in advance for you to do. 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:34.160 Things that haven't happened yet. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:35.839 There is stuff that he wants you to do. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.640 And again, it's not like go and do there and make me proud. 00:25:38.720 --> 00:25:39.839 It's like I'm so proud of you. 00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:46.720 So I have I have set some things in advance for you to do because I know my people are gonna move into the world and do those things. 00:25:46.960 --> 00:25:48.640 And so we're created for that. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:51.680 He wants to use us to be the answer to somebody's prayers. 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:54.640 He wants to use us to shape someone's future and their destiny. 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:57.119 He wants to use us to bring life where there's death. 00:25:57.279 --> 00:25:59.920 He wants to do that thing because that's what we're created for. 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:03.359 And so I want us to be people of blessing because that was the created thing. 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:07.839 You're meant to do this, to join him in the work of shaping the world. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:13.839 And then number three, I want us to be people of blessing because the world is just desperate for blessing. 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:17.200 We live in a world where the primary experience is cursing. 00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:26.079 Very, and not like cuss words, although maybe that's true for you, but uh, very few people on the road are trying to honk at you and tell you how good of a driver you are. 00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:32.720 Their hand gestures to you aren't like, good job, really good work, really love the how fast you're going, love that. 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:33.920 Uh they're not doing that. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.559 The hand gestures mean something else, if you weren't aware. 00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:46.079 Like the world that you live in is constantly, primarily seeking to bring about curse or to take from you, not to give to you. 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:49.039 The crime in Memphis is not trying to give back to you. 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:49.440 Okay? 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:55.279 You live, we live in a world where the primary experience is one of cursing and not blessing. 00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:58.960 And so in a world like that, the world is just desperate for blessing. 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:03.119 To the point where people are like so excited about random things that should be normal. 00:27:03.759 --> 00:27:12.079 I shared the story a couple weeks ago, but Teddy and I went to Chick-fil-A, and Teddy was just holding the door for the people walking in while we were getting our order and stuff. 00:27:12.160 --> 00:27:22.559 And then a lady that he held the door for came up to us while we were eating and was like so moved by this kid holding the door for her that she bought like a$5 gift card to give to Teddy so that he could buy whatever. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:23.599 And he was very excited. 00:27:23.680 --> 00:27:25.039 And I was like, yes, man, thank you so much. 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:25.839 I'm very proud of him. 00:27:25.920 --> 00:27:26.480 That's so great. 00:27:26.640 --> 00:27:30.880 And it was, it was a sweet moment, and we're trying to teach Teddy to be chivalrous and all the rest. 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:37.599 But I thought about it later, and I was like, holding the door should be normal, right? 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:43.359 This shouldn't be so life-altering and life-shaking that it's like we gotta buy gifts for people who hold doors. 00:27:43.519 --> 00:27:45.920 Like, that used to be just normal behavior. 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:47.599 You just do that thing. 00:27:47.839 --> 00:27:54.000 And now, like, we live in a world that's just like the primary experience is like I do not experience people seeking to serve me. 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:56.240 I see I see people seeking to use me. 00:27:56.480 --> 00:28:00.160 I do not experience people seeking to bless me, but to curse me. 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:07.279 I do not see people who are constantly trying to pour into my life with encouraging words, but to actually just talk about themselves or get something from me. 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:08.640 I don't experience that. 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:13.440 And so in a world like that, where very normal things, it happened the other day too. 00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:26.240 We were helping uh the coffins with a tree, and like the neighbor across the way that also had some of the tree in their yard, um, was just there watching and helping, and we were helping and all that stuff, and like it just it moved him. 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:28.880 He was like, This is amazing, like you're a part of a really cool community. 00:28:28.960 --> 00:28:31.359 And I was like, man, this is what you do. 00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:40.480 This is what it this is what it was supposed to be all along, but like, and again, in a world that's just primary experience is cursing, the world is just desperate for blessing. 00:28:40.559 --> 00:28:49.839 And I believe that in a world that's desperate for for blessing, and you have a God that's desperate to bless, therefore he created the people that is he's gonna use to bless other people. 00:28:49.920 --> 00:28:56.559 I just believe that we are those people to move into a desperate world longing to experience the goodness of God in their time. 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:58.400 We are the people that he wants to do that. 00:28:58.480 --> 00:29:01.839 And I want us to take up that mantle, I want us to answer that call. 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:05.599 I want us to recognize like the you're not the only one going, it's hard here. 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:07.119 There are other people doing that thing. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:08.559 And you need to be blessed as well. 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:09.920 You need to be uplifted as well. 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:20.240 But you are his people for this time to move into those spaces and to bring blessing where there's curse and to really surprise people sometimes with just small things that you're like. 00:29:20.319 --> 00:29:22.960 I didn't even think that that would mean so much, but it did. 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:27.279 And so I want us to be a people of blessing because the world is just desperate for it. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:31.119 So, how can you begin doing this? 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:33.519 And I say that, how can you begin? 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:37.440 Many of you are already living into this reality, and it's such a gift. 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:43.279 Our church is financially stable and blessed financially because y'all are so generous to us. 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:51.039 And the like we're able to hire people to come in, and then they're able to bring their gifts and all their different things to bless the people of this church. 00:29:51.200 --> 00:30:02.160 I was looking back at old pictures, uh, we don't have them on the screen, but looking back at old pictures of when I first got here, and we didn't have anybody working with the youth, and so Rainey and I did it, which is everybody's worst nightmare. 00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:10.000 Um but we we did that, and I had this picture of like the youth at our on our back porch, and there was like five kids, you know. 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:22.400 And then the other day I went, and then you know, the church gave, and uh obviously the the ministry um y'all were generous, and we were able to hire Ella, and then even past that, we were able to hire Boyd. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:29.839 And I went to a youth group the other day, and it's like it's not just five, it's like 30 kids are in this room doing this thing, and there's worship happening in there. 00:30:29.920 --> 00:30:35.039 Like they're doing so much beyond anything I could have ever thought was possible in in such a short span. 00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:41.039 And it's like, thank you for being generous, thank you for letting us bring people into this church that have gifting that that seek to bless the band. 00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:43.039 It's like there are prayers. 00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:47.839 Raynie said that uh was talking about that song, and I used to sing this song, uh, Good Plans. 00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:50.000 It's it's by Red Rock's worship, it's an amazing song. 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:55.440 But three years ago, I used to sing that song like the Lord, you have good plans for me, you have good plans for me. 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:59.599 Because I was walking just through a season where I was like, I'm I'm not seeing the blessings right now. 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:10.240 Like I'm just walking through the the heat of it and the heart of like the difficulties of like coming into a new church and trying to do this thing, and just like Lord, I by faith, you have good plans, you have good plans. 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:24.559 And then obviously we got Liz here now and their family and all this stuff, and like praying the other day on Tuesday, and like that's that song came on, and I was like, You have good plans, and and I used to sing this by faith, and now I am walking in the vision of this thing. 00:31:24.720 --> 00:31:26.480 Like you did, I could sing it backwards. 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:28.160 I can be like, You you did have good plans. 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:29.279 You weren't lying. 00:31:29.440 --> 00:31:39.680 I used to sing it by faith, but now I'm singing it by sight, like you did have good plans, you were doing a thing here, and like, what a gift! And a lot of that has to do with the people in this room and the people of this church, and I'm so thankful. 00:31:39.920 --> 00:31:44.799 And so when I say how can you begin serving, I'm not saying get to work. 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:52.720 You're already doing some of those things, but I do want us to recast a vision of like sacrificial blessing for the people in this room to carry that with us. 00:31:52.799 --> 00:31:54.400