WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.200 Isaiah 61 1 through 4. 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:14.640 And Isaiah writes, or prophesies really, the Spirit of the Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:22.079 He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners. 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:26.079 To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God. 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:30.480 To comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in sigh. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:39.840 To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:46.960 Then they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:52.000 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:56.479 They will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:58.079 This is the word of the Lord. 00:00:58.320 --> 00:00:59.280 Thanks to your God. 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:07.680 I want to talk today about a culture of blessing, that we would be a people defined by blessing. 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:12.319 Blessing can mean a bunch of different things to a bunch of different people. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:36.159 And so what I mean is to use have a defining culture and feel of the room and of our time together to be a space where our words give life versus give death, where our actions build life instead of harming other people and things like that. 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:46.959 And so using everything in our power and our capacity to actually build into the way that Isaiah says, build into things that are devastated, to restore things that have been torn down. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:02:02.159 So to have a culture in our church that exists where when people walk in with broken lives, they have conversations with us and spend time with us, and all of a sudden something in their life is made more whole where there was brokenness. 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:07.680 And so a culture of blessing is what we're looking at, and something that we want to develop based on the scriptures. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:13.199 A few significant moments in my life where I've been extremely blessed, that's really changed the course of my life. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:30.159 One was I was 19, I just moved to Tennessee from Georgia where I lived, and felt called to ministry, and that calling was difficult because I had to leave baseball, which was hard for my family for me to leave baseball because I was a whole life. 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:36.560 I felt called to leave Georgia, baseball, the rest of it, and moved to Tennessee, move here, go to school here, pursue ministry. 00:02:36.800 --> 00:02:48.000 And met a bunch of different people, started going to church, and met a bunch of different people that impacted my life, but was always looking for a space to see like, is this call affirmed? 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:54.639 Because they tell you, like, if you're like, I'm called by God to do this, it's like you really can't say that with um truth. 00:02:54.800 --> 00:02:59.919 And so someone affirms that in you because it's one thing to say you're awesome, but other people need to say it for you. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:11.199 Um, and so in that way, I was waiting, like, Lord, I feel called to this thing, but I've been in Tennessee a year, and I don't have a ministry position, there's nothing that's happening, is there anything that's taking place? 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:27.360 And so I stumble into this church uh up the street in East Memphis, and uh this man had just uh kind of taken over it, and I walk up to him and just jokingly, I'm like, hey, I don't see my office here, and if I'm gonna be your youth pastor, I should really have an office at this church. 00:03:27.599 --> 00:03:28.960 And that was Larry Ray. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:31.759 And uh he was like, You want to work here? 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:33.520 And I was like, Yeah. 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:35.360 And fortune favors the bold. 00:03:35.439 --> 00:03:37.199 So he gave me a job, and he gave me a shot. 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:39.520 I was 19, I knew nothing. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:43.360 I was I did more damage to youth ministry than uh health. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:44.800 I'm certain of that. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:53.199 Um, but he walked with me and mentored me, and he he gave me a shot to do this thing that I felt called to do. 00:03:53.439 --> 00:03:59.599 And uh I'm standing here today, just on again on the shoulders of Larry because he built this church. 00:03:59.840 --> 00:04:03.360 Um and that's that's just changed the course of my life. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:09.599 That if I hadn't gotten that opportunity uh to be in ministry when I was 19, if no one had given me a shot, I don't know if I'd be here today. 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:10.319 So I'm super thankful. 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:11.439 It was a huge blessing. 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:13.039 Just taking a leap of faith. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:17.199 That was a legitimate leap of faith, and maybe one that he regretted from time to time. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:19.040 Um that was one. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:26.480 Another one was um when we moved back to Memphis from New York, me, Rainey, and Teddy moved back to Memphis. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:30.560 Um we had no money, like none whatsoever. 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:34.720 We were living with Larry and Sherry, just renting, or not even renting, we didn't have money to pay them. 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:44.560 So uh we uh were living with them and we're looking for a house to buy, and uh found a house, and every house we found was like this is a beautiful house, awesome house. 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:47.040 It's gonna take$40,000 to renovate this one. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.920 It's like, well, we don't have that, so next, and then you get to another house. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:53.439 So this one's gonna take this much money, this one's gonna take this much money, and just on and on and on. 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.879 And in conversation one day, I said that to somebody, I said, Yeah, it's hard to find a house. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:04:59.120 We don't have the money built up just yet to do that. 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:03.120 And uh and she was just like, What if I give you$40,000? 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:05.279 And I was like, what? 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:07.040 What's that? 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:16.240 Um and uh and so this this sweet lady gave us our family$40,000 to start our life and buy a house in Memphis. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:20.399 Changed, I mean it changed our entire journey in Memphis. 00:05:20.480 --> 00:05:27.839 Um, because we bought that house, lived in there, and then was able to sell it for for a profit years later, and now we live where we currently live and all this stuff. 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:37.439 But it's it began this journey for us to where we just had nothing, and someone stepped in financially for us and just did an amazing thing without even being asked, just all I needed and met it, and it was amazing. 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:39.120 Uh so that's the second one. 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:43.439 Um and she's in this room, so um, anyways. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:49.920 Um third was Teddy was speech delayed, and I've shared the story a lot. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:57.519 Um Teddy was speech delayed for most of his, I mean, up till his three-year-old birthday. 00:05:57.680 --> 00:05:58.639 And uh couldn't talk. 00:05:58.720 --> 00:05:59.600 I mean, he could say ga. 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:00.079 Gah ga. 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:03.279 He'd tell you a whole story, but just that ga ga. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:04.800 Like everything would be that. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:11.439 If he wanted to tell you about donuts or any whatever happened in his day, it would be a whole string of a story with the inflection gh. 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:12.560 Like it was just on and on. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:18.480 And we eventually learned what the gas meant because he he was able to talk that way so long. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:20.879 But I ended up going to this church in Nashville. 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:23.759 I was there, I was on my way through, and just stopped at this church. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:24.879 They had Tuesday night service. 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:26.560 I was like, it's crazy, I'll go to this church. 00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:31.519 And I walk up into the church and they have a prayer bar, and so we had a coffee bar that had a prayer bar, which I really loved. 00:06:31.600 --> 00:06:33.839 And it was in a literal bar, um, so it was kind of cool. 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:36.079 There's whiskey on the shelf and then prayer on the streets. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.000 Um, so that was that was pretty cool. 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:43.279 Um, but I walk up there and uh I was like, I was thinking about Teddy and I just wanted him to start talking. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:48.480 I just wanted to hear him say dad, I wanted him to say mom, because he was saying nothing, nothing but God. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:07:08.879 And um so I walk up there and I share this story to the guy that was gonna pray for me, and uh he was holding his little baby, and he was about to pray for me, and he's holding his little baby, and he was like, Hey, before I pray for you, I want you to know like this is a miracle child, like the the this kid that exists, like we were told, me and my wife, like we cannot have kids. 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:20.079 Um, and then somebody prayed over us, and we were able to have kids, and he's like, So I'm here, like praying for you, and I just want you to know like he still does impossible things, he can still do miracles, he can still do that stuff. 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:23.120 And then he prophesied really over Teddy. 00:07:23.199 --> 00:07:32.720 Like Teddy wasn't even there, but he was just prophesying these words of like uh beauty uh over his life that like because his prayer wasn't like, Lord, would you please? 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:42.959 It was like, Lord, he is like Teddy is going to talk and he is going to sing, and his he is gonna his his voice is gonna go out to the nations, and his song is gonna be beautiful and all this stuff. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:47.920 And I was like, I started crying, so I was like, Oh God, I want all of that so much. 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:54.240 Like my vision for what I wanted for from Teddy was like, just say dad or cuss me out, whatever words you want to say. 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:55.839 I don't care, I just want to hear your voice. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:04.160 And this man spoke life into my soul and into my faith and gave me faith to go, like, he still does these things, he can still do this stuff for you. 00:08:04.399 --> 00:08:12.079 And um, it was such a significant blessing just to have somebody else believe greater than I believed, and his faith stirred mine. 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:16.480 And then Teddy now, he does talk and he does sing and he makes beautiful music and songs. 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:21.680 And the other day he was uh watering our plants and he was singing, another one bites the dust. 00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.399 He's like pouring the water into a plant, and he's just killing it. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:34.799 And I'm just every time I see that, I'm reminded of this thing that was spoken over him in these words that people he, the man just blessed me with his words. 00:08:35.039 --> 00:08:38.320 And uh he never knew, he never knew that his words did so much. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:41.200 I found him on Instagram, and I just wanted to encourage him. 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:48.240 I found him on Instagram, and I sent him a video like, here's what it was like before you prayed for me, and here's what he was like three weeks after you prayed for me. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:54.799 I just want you to know your prayers moved things in my life, and uh so the blessing, I was trying to repay the blessing that he was for me. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:09:04.720 My point is those things were significant blessings, and I think we went around the room, we'd hear just stories where you've been blessed as well, I hope. 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:13.440 But my point in all of that is to say a culture of blessing is an environment where stuff like that happens regularly for people who follow Jesus. 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:15.360 That's what I want to see happen. 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:19.919 Not not consistent miracles because the world would break with all the miracles that we're asking for. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:29.360 Not that, but just a, I do want that as well, but just a space where it's like, man, your words impacted me, your words gave me life, your generosity changed my future. 00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:42.559 Um, the chance you took and with the faith you have in me changed my life, and I just want a space and an environment where things like that, those blessings that can change and radically shift a person's life, where those things happen more and more and more. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:52.720 And so, what I want to do quickly is look at three things that I hope a culture of blessing will do in your hearts and in our space. 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:57.039 So, a culture of blessing, if that took shape here, what it would do for us and in us. 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:11.440 The first is I want a culture of blessing among us to be the it's we're we're defined by because I want us to have this vision in our hearts and our minds that we are God's chosen instrument. 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:15.200 If you're a follower of Jesus, you are God's chosen instrument to bless the world. 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:19.440 You are his first chosen instrument to move out in the world and bring blessing to it. 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:28.399 And so I want a culture of that to exist, to not be, well, it's nice if I can go and be kind to someone, but like, who does God want to use to bless the world? 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:29.039 You. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:30.559 Primarily you. 00:10:30.799 --> 00:10:33.600 He wants to do that, and that's what this passage is testifying to. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:41.279 Isaiah's prophesying at the beginning, and he says, one day there's gonna come a man, there's gonna come somebody who's filled with the Spirit of the Lord. 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:45.600 He's like, that man's gonna radically transform people's lives. 00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:48.240 He's gonna do amazing things in their lives. 00:10:48.399 --> 00:11:09.120 But then if you notice, if you go to the text, I think it's verse 4, it says, as soon as that happens, they, they, those people whose lives have been transformed, they'll be called oaks of righteousness, which means like they will be right things, right stuff, the stuff that you look at and go, that's correct, that's right, that's the way the world should be. 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:17.440 That will grow in them, right things will grow in them, they will become people and oaks like trees that won't move, that bear the rightness of the world. 00:11:17.679 --> 00:11:17.919 Okay? 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:24.559 And then he goes on and he says, they will rebuild, these people that have been transformed will now transform things among them. 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:32.559 They'll rebuild ancient ruins, they'll restore places long devastated, they will renew ruined cities, and they will uh that have been devastated for generations. 00:11:32.799 --> 00:11:40.559 And so the point that Isaiah is getting at is that there will come a man who transforms people's lives, who creates people who transform other people's lives. 00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:45.919 People's lives who are devastated, these are the people that will actually rebuild, restore, and renew those things. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:55.679 And so Isaiah is testifying to the fact that, like, who does God want to use in the world to bless it, to restore it, to renew it, to bring about restoration? 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:59.840 It's us, those who are followers of Jesus who've been transformed ourselves. 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.679 We are his chosen instrument to move into the world and bless the world. 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:30.960 At any given moment, and this is the what I want us to have in our minds, at any given moment, in any space whatsoever, restaurants, coffee shops, your home, bumping into people on the street, at any given moment, you are the person for such a time as that, for such a person as that, you are the person consistently that God wants to when he's like, I want to bless that lady, I want to bless your waitress, I want to bless this place, I want to bless the plot of ground that your feet are walking on. 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:35.519 You are the person through which he wants to actually do that into the world. 00:12:35.679 --> 00:12:37.120 He's not just like, I'm just gonna bless it. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:41.200 He's like, I'm going to use you to restore, rebuild, and renew. 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:42.240 I want to use you to do that. 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:51.600 Jesus lived this way consistently, had this vision that at any moment he was the person to bless the people in his lives that walked into his life. 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:55.519 Perfect example of this is John 4, where he goes to the woman at the well. 00:12:55.679 --> 00:13:00.399 If you remember the story, the Samaritan woman, he's thirsty. 00:13:01.039 --> 00:13:03.759 And so he just announces his thirst. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:05.200 Woman, I'm thirsty. 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:06.240 Can I have a drink? 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:12.320 And then the conversation that follows that transforms that woman's life completely. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:16.559 And then she moves into the city and it transforms an entire city. 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.279 And it began with, I'm thirsty. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:24.000 Like that, just saying that and asking for a cup of water radically transformed a person's life. 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:30.879 But he knew I am the instrument through which the world will be blessed, and those who are blessed through me will also begin to live that way as well. 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:34.639 And so he used his thirst ultimately to actually bless someone. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:36.879 But he lived with this expectancy. 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:52.559 At any time somebody entered into his life, anything that happened, whether it was actually supposed to be, I'm on my way to go do this and I'm going to be a blessed in that space, or I was on my way to do this, and then someone interrupted me, I'm the person that God wants to use to bless this person. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:14:03.440 Nearly half the miracles that Jesus performs in people's lives, nearly 50%, are not things he's on his way to do, their interruptions in his daily life. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:10.320 People just interrupt him while he's teaching, like cut the floor out, and then drop a guy in, and it's like, hey man, I'm preaching right now. 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:11.279 I'll give you a second. 00:14:11.360 --> 00:14:12.159 But he doesn't do that. 00:14:12.320 --> 00:14:20.240 It's an interruption that takes place, and God just he believed that God was sending something in front of him, and so he blessed this person. 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:24.559 He allowed the interruption to actually be his face where it's like, I'm the person who could bring blessing. 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.600 And so I'm gonna allow these interruptions as things from God. 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:29.919 There's this quote by Marcia Lieber. 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:40.639 She says that if you had slept in the same house or field with Jesus, if you had awakened with him, eaten with him, helped him, here's what you would have or what would you have observed? 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:48.480 She says, one thing we always think of is that Jesus gave himself almost entirely to what we would call interruptions. 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:56.080 Most of the teaching, healing, and wonders we see in his life were responses that were seemingly unplanned. 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:01.200 He trusted what the father allowed to cross his path was exactly that from the father. 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:11.039 So whatever the father allowed to cross his path, he just believed in this moment, it's possible in this woman's life, in this man's life, in this particular space, that I can do something in the world. 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:14.639 He's sitting at the Cana, the wedding of Cana, there's no wine. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:16.159 I can do something about that. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:25.759 And so there's this space where he just had this vision in life where he's like, regardless of where I am, what God wants to do through me into the world is to bring blessing and flourishing into the world. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:27.519 And we are just those exact same people. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.039 We're the people who've been transformed by him. 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:38.960 And so I want us to live with this space where at any moment, regardless of where we are, God does want to bless the world and he does want to bless the people around us, and that we're just those people to do it. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:45.440 And so that we move with some expectancy into these spaces and go, like, what he might want to do something right now. 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:53.600 This interruption, this woman I'm talking to, this waitress at my office, this conversation that I wished I wasn't planning on having, this phone call, whatever. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:55.279 That there's always a space. 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:58.720 And I'm not I'm not saying go out and be annoying and be like, Do you want me to bless you right now? 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:00.639 I'm not saying that we should do that. 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:03.200 But I do think that we need to have this expectancy. 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:10.399 This like he wants to do stuff in the world, and the primary person he wants to do that through is you, if you carry his spirit. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:20.960 Uh Randy and I were at uh with Teddy at Waffle House uh maybe a year ago when this happened, and uh we used to go every Saturday, and it was awesome, but it's deadly, y'all. 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:22.879 You can't eat that food every week. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:27.360 Even if you pray for it, so like God bless it, like he's not gonna be. 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:34.960 Um but every time we go, we obviously we play some games with Teddy or whatever, and we pray for our food. 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:36.879 I mean, eat the food and leave. 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:40.799 And we pray for the food the next week and leave, pray for the next week, and leave, whatever. 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:48.879 And then one day we got there, after just doing regular life, eating Waffle House and just, you know, whatever, just living life. 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:59.120 And Rainey walks in to the Waffle House to put our names on the list, and the woman who's the hostess, who's the hostess every week, um, like burst into tears and is like, thank God you're here. 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:00.480 Thank God you're here. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:04.559 And Rainey's like, I think you're looking for someone else. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:06.799 And she's like, No, no, no, no, no, no. 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:08.319 You guys pray before your meal. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.480 I every time, like, I you guys pray for your meal. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:12.319 My mom uh is about to die. 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:14.079 I need you to pray for my mom. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:18.559 And she was like, Oh, like, okay, like, yeah, we will absolutely do that. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:24.480 And so she like came, we I think, you know, we wanted to leverage it, and we like, can we get a table now and then we'll definitely pray. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:27.039 We didn't pray her for you, um, but we didn't do that. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:36.559 We waited for our table, got our table, and then she came to our table and shared her story and talked about our mom and everything that was taking place, and then we prayed for her mom, and then we swapped phone numbers and all this different stuff. 00:17:36.640 --> 00:17:38.400 And this is the hostess at Waffle House. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:44.559 Like, this is such an and I bumped into her, she doesn't work there anymore, but I bumped into her the other day at Crunch Fitness because I go there to work it out. 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:48.640 Um and I was like, oh my gosh, like I haven't seen you in so long. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:49.759 And I was like, How's your mom? 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:53.440 And she's like, she's doing so much better, the prayer works, and it's like it's been a year. 00:17:53.599 --> 00:18:03.359 And to me, it was like it was this random thing that like go in and put your name on a table, and it's like all we're doing is just praying for our food that it's not gonna change it into healthy. 00:18:03.440 --> 00:18:05.599 Like, we're just doing all this, and it's just normal. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:06.960 And it's like, what does God want to do? 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:15.200 He wants to break into that woman's life, and he wants to shift things in her story, and she went and and and so we're just there, and it's like, man, how cool is that? 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:17.839 And Teddy got to see it, and he got to be a part of this thing. 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:19.279 It's like this is what God wants to do. 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:27.039 He sees people in the world, and we are the people who carry the transformative work of Jesus that get to move that out into the world. 00:18:27.200 --> 00:18:32.000 And so I just want us to have this vision that when we go anywhere, what does God want to do? 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:35.440 He wants to do amazing, blessing things in you and through you. 00:18:35.519 --> 00:18:45.920 And so a culture of blessing to develop that in us to where we actually walk around, not holier than thou, not superior to anybody, but just like he wants to do awesome things in the world. 00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:49.039 And I think he wants to do primarily those things through me. 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:52.559 The main instrument he wants to use is the people who are filled with his spirit. 00:18:52.799 --> 00:18:53.839 So that's the first. 00:18:54.079 --> 00:19:03.599 Secondly, I want a culture of blessing so that our church will be a part of rebranding the way Christians are thought of in the world. 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:08.240 Um and I don't have like the we're gonna change the world. 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:13.519 Like, now I don't, you know, I'm I don't want it to sound too big, but I have people in my life that need a Christian rebrand. 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:22.000 Like, they need to think differently about what Christians actually are, because normally they say, like, oh, the Christians, yeah, I know I don't spend any time with the Christians, they're the mean ones. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:25.200 Um they're the judgmental ones. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:29.039 And I just love for it to shift and to change. 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:37.680 John Tyson, uh Pastor I Love in New York, a book that we're uh it's not, this quote isn't in that book, but a book that we're reading in Inns group is is one of his. 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:43.519 Um he says this about the way the early church, how how Christians used to be viewed. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:52.000 He says, we know from the early church fathers that people were often confused about what these strange followers of Jesus were actually called. 00:19:52.240 --> 00:20:10.960 He says, because the Greek word for Christ is Christos, it's so similar to the word Christos, just one letter shift, which means kind, apparently many people mistakenly, but perhaps fittingly, called Jesus' earliest followers not Christian, but the kind ones. 00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:12.400 I love that. 00:20:12.559 --> 00:20:16.960 I I I I that there was a time in history where it was confused. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:19.039 Do we call them the kind ones or Christians? 00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:20.559 And it's like, I don't know, either one fits. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:23.039 They follow Christ and they're also the kindest people on earth. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:24.400 I would love that to become. 00:20:24.799 --> 00:20:26.559 No one's confused about that anymore. 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:28.559 No one's like, should we call them the kind ones? 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:29.680 No one's wondering. 00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:30.799 They're not asking that. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.920 At least the people in my life aren't going, should we call them the kind ones? 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.680 They're not doing, I mean, even people that go to church, should we call the Christians the kind ones? 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:40.559 Even the people in the church are probably like, oh, probably not, I wouldn't. 00:20:40.720 --> 00:20:44.480 Judgmental, angry, condemnation, homophobic. 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:50.000 I just keep going with all the different things that exist in the world, but what people would call Christians. 00:20:50.720 --> 00:21:02.640 The bad tippers, you know, I just I can't remember the data on it, but like nobody wants the Christians after church, you know, uh, waiters and waitresses don't want that. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:04.079 It's like, man, what a shame. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:06.400 They should all be clamoring for the Christian tables. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:09.759 They should all be looking for the people who pray and be like, I'm gonna get that table. 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:11.279 They give a lot of money. 00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:18.720 It's like, and then Christians are like, I don't, I don't, I don't give money to bad service, I don't reward bad service. 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:22.559 I'm like, your whole life in faith is based on being rewarded for bad lives. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:26.880 Like the whole thing is based on Jesus didn't go, well, I'm I'm really gonna give some grace to the good folks. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:28.079 Like he didn't do that. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:29.839 The whole thing is the other way. 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:32.160 You did bad and received good. 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:36.640 If you're going to live like Jesus, you should actually tip more when they do bad. 00:21:38.079 --> 00:21:42.799 I talk to Christians who I know Christians will endure persecution, right? 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:45.920 Like we're going to the world will not understand us, and that's fine. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:47.680 We'll endure persecution. 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:53.599 But most of the time, when people say they're being persecuted, I'm like, you're not being persecuted for Jesus, you're being persecuted because you're a jerk. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:57.359 You're being mean to folks, man, and you're calling it and just suffering for the name. 00:21:57.519 --> 00:21:58.240 Like, you're not. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.759 You're suffering because you're kind of mean. 00:22:00.720 --> 00:22:04.000 People don't like you, not because of Jesus, but because of you. 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:06.240 There's something in you that they don't like. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:09.200 Jesus is suffering at your hands, not you at his. 00:22:10.960 --> 00:22:14.559 I heard this story recently about Bob Goff. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:18.160 I don't know if you've he's an author, he's uh written a couple books. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:28.960 Uh but he says that as his um as his books sold, he became popular, people start asking them to come and uh preach at churches or speak at conferences and stuff like that. 00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:32.640 And he says, and the more popular I got, the churches would start sending nicer and nicer vehicles. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:34.319 Like the first time it was like a pickup truck. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:36.400 And he's like, but one time I got picked up by a limo. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:39.519 And he's telling the story, and he's like, oh my gosh, I got picked up in a limo. 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:42.079 And he's not really a limo guy, he's more of a pickup truck guy. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:52.799 Um, but he gets in the limo or whatever, and he like instead of like enjoying it by himself, he like knocks on the thing and the guy and the limo driver rolls it down, and he's like, Hey, what are you doing? 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:57.519 And um never been to a limo before, and just like giddy as a child, you know, just talking to this man. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:23:08.559 Then he asks the guy the story, the driver, his story, and uh this the man starts cheering about his life and stuff, and he's like, uh-huh, uh this is my second job, I do this to support my wife and my kids. 00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:13.279 And uh all of a sudden Bob Golf is like, pull over, pull over, pull over, you're gonna pull over. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:17.759 And the man's like, and then so he pulls over, and uh he's like, get out, get out of the car, get out of the car. 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:24.319 So Bob Golf gets out of the car, and the man gets out of the car, and Bob Golf grabs the guy's hat and he's like, You're more important than me. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:29.920 You get back there, I'm driving this thing to the airport, and so you get to enjoy the ride in the limo. 00:23:30.160 --> 00:23:32.640 And so the guy didn't know what to do and is like probably gonna get fired. 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:43.359 But anyway, so he gets back there, and uh the rest of the way, Bob Goff drives this limo to the airport, and um, and the guy just enjoys a limo ride when he normally drives people to limo. 00:23:43.599 --> 00:23:48.559 And I love that story, but I think there's a space where it's like if you were to ask the man, what are the Christians like? 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:50.960 Bob Goff's a Christian, what are the Christians like? 00:23:51.039 --> 00:23:55.039 I think he'd be like, yo, they're odd, but they're really kind. 00:23:55.119 --> 00:23:56.160 I mean, they're really odd. 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:59.839 That guy is strange, but he was super kind, super kind. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:28.480 And I just I want a culture of blessing in our church to be this space where it's possible for the people in our lives to go like, man, I ran into a Christian from Christ Community Church, and I tell you, what I normally think of Christians was blown out of the water, and I had to create a new category for Christian, and a new category for what church is like because I experience so much kindness and so much blessing from just being in their presence that has never been my experience, but it's reshaped how I think. 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:31.680 Not about all Christians, but definitely about that one. 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:33.279 And I want that to exist here. 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:53.119 I know the people in my life who I need to experience, and I want them to experience a new version of Christianity or a new version of Christian that makes them create a new category and ultimately maybe check the claims of Jesus and go back, maybe I was wrong, and to rethink, maybe maybe I shouldn't be pushing this off. 00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:58.799 Maybe there should be a space where I actually look into this because I don't know what that was, but that is not my common experience. 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:06.799 And I just wanted to have a culture of blessing where they experienced so much from us that it leads to that and it leads them to repair and rebrand their view of Christians. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:20.079 I think if we did that, I think if we had that, I think there'd be this space where uh people wouldn't just wonder about Christians, but they would possibly change their views about who Jesus is as well. 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:34.480 There was this, I've shared this before, but there's this uh study done, um, I think it was in Thailand, where this missionary group, um a couple of them actually go to um this space in Thailand and they're they're gonna have these coffee shops. 00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:39.839 And one of the groups is like our coffee shop is all of them are gonna be used to share the gospel. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:43.920 But one of the coffee shops, their main vision was like, we just want to prosper the people in Thailand. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:45.039 We just want to prosper them. 00:25:45.119 --> 00:25:49.039 And so everything that they did want to get to the gospel, they just wanted to prosper these people. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:54.079 And um, it's in this book called Missional Entrepreneur, it's a great book, um, it's on Amazon. 00:25:54.400 --> 00:26:01.119 But um the study found that the the group that went to go, like, hey, we just want to prosper you. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:02.960 Um, they just started doing kind things. 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:08.400 They hired some of the people, even though they're Christians and these people aren't, they would hire them to work among them. 00:26:08.480 --> 00:26:15.440 Uh, they would give free drinks away, they would help people move, they would just do any, like whatever you need, they hear a story, see a need, and meet it, they would do that thing. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:22.960 And then eventually, what would happen is it would lead those people to hear about their faith or ask questions, or like, what are you guys doing here? 00:26:23.119 --> 00:26:23.920 What brought you here? 00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:24.720 That kind of thing. 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:33.680 And they would very easily just talk about Jesus, and it's like, oh, we believe that Jesus healed the world and wants to heal the world, and I want to, we want to be a part of that, so that's why we're doing this coffee shop here. 00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:36.160 We're just trying to bless the world the way Jesus has blessed us. 00:26:36.400 --> 00:26:57.839 And they I think it was 40 years of a time span, and they just these cup coffee places being there, and they looked at all the data, like how many people came to faith under all these different missionary organizations, and that one, the one that sought to prosper people first, that then led to a conversation, had 50% more conversions than any other organization that was there over 40 years. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:04.799 And the other ones had them, but it was this amazing space where it's like, man, people don't know what to think about Jesus. 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:12.400 And we're giving they're giving something out in the world, or they have an experience, and normally bad experiences stick with people longer, and so they don't know what to think. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:14.720 And so when they encounter Christians, it's like, why are you blessing me? 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:16.000 It's like, ah, because I've been blessed. 00:27:16.160 --> 00:27:16.559 Like, how? 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:18.000 Well, Jesus has really blessed me. 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:21.519 It just opens the door, and so you might not be very good at sharing your faith. 00:27:21.599 --> 00:27:25.440 And I don't know that I'm that great at it either, because I talk too much. 00:27:25.599 --> 00:27:33.119 Um, but I all of us have the ability and the capacity to just bless someone, and then when they go, why do you do that? 00:27:33.200 --> 00:27:34.079 Just give the answer. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.960 Like, ah, because Jesus has blessed me, I'm blessing you. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:41.039 We can be uh radically generous and just doing this, like, why are you doing that? 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:43.839 It's like I I've experienced radical generosity. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:45.039 Why are you forgiving me? 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:46.960 Because I've experienced radical forgiveness. 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:48.319 Why did you say that you're sorry? 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:50.480 Because I'm not I'm not covered in shame over my sin. 00:27:50.640 --> 00:27:51.119 Jesus took that. 00:27:51.200 --> 00:27:52.799 I can I can announce my mistakes. 00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:55.839 So there's a space where you can move into someone's life and to bless them. 00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:59.920 And I think it does lead to a different category for what Jesus is like and what Christians are like. 00:28:00.079 --> 00:28:00.799 I want that. 00:28:01.039 --> 00:28:03.200 I want to get back to the fact where people are confused. 00:28:03.279 --> 00:28:05.680 Do we call them Christians or do we call them the kind ones? 00:28:05.839 --> 00:28:08.240 Do we call them Christians or we call them the generous ones? 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:11.039 We call them Christians, do we call them for the forgiving ones? 00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:12.240 I just want to get back to that. 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:12.880 St. 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:19.039 Francis of Assisi says, um, the deeds you do may be the only sermon a person ever hears. 00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:22.319 The deeds you do may be the only sermon a person ever hears. 00:28:22.400 --> 00:28:24.240 You might not be able to get some of your people to church. 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:24.720 Fine. 00:28:24.880 --> 00:28:26.559 They don't need to hear me yather on. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:30.640 But you can do something in their lives that leads them to see Jesus in their time. 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:37.039 You can extend what the kingdom of God looks like invisibly, you can make it visible into their life, and be like, man, what is that? 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:39.599 It's like that's the kingdom of God breaking into your story. 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:46.640 Because his kingdom is filled with generosity, his kingdom is filled with forgiveness, his kingdom is filled with kindness, his kingdom is filled with love. 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:55.200 And so when we bless people with love, kindness, forgiveness, and generosity, all of a sudden what they're experiencing is the kingdom coming to bear in their lives, and they're able to see it. 00:28:56.000 --> 00:29:04.480 Lastly, I want a culture of blessing so that our community acts, acts like a little pocket of the Eden life. 00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:12.000 I don't know how to explain this, so that our community becomes this little pocket of what Eden was supposed to be like, I feel like. 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:26.559 God created Eden first, he goes through this whole thing speaking the world into existence and everything into existence, and he's what he's doing in those days is he's getting it ready because he knows there's a day coming where he's gonna make people. 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:31.519 And so he speaks everything else into existence, but it says with his hands he forms humanity. 00:29:31.759 --> 00:29:32.720 So there's a difference there. 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:35.039 He sees us as extremely valuable. 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:43.839 But he creates first all these things so that he can actually bless us, he provides for us completely, and then blesses the people with, hey, I created an environment for you. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:45.759 The whole thing is built to bless you. 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:49.519 Now you have food to eat, you have water to drink, you have air to breathe, you have everything that you need. 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:51.279 And then he blesses Adam with a woman. 00:29:51.440 --> 00:29:51.920 Let's go. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:53.920 What an awesome day that must have been. 00:29:54.640 --> 00:30:01.039 And it's this awesome thing, like it was supposed to be this space where they just walked in blessing, and then the world broke. 00:30:01.279 --> 00:30:08.319 And sin enters in, and this culture of blessing that everybody was exposed to experience in Eden turns into a culture of cursing. 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:09.920 And you see it take shape in Adam. 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:12.160 Adam's first words in a culture of blessing. 00:30:12.319 --> 00:30:16.640 Adam uses his words to it to speak to Eden, poetry and beauty. 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:18.000 He calls out her beauty. 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:21.200 I said, In a culture of blessing, he uses his words to build her up. 00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:27.279 The next time he speaks to her is inside a culture of cursing, and the words that he used are to condemn her and blame her. 00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:29.279 It's her fault, it's her problem. 00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:31.279 And it's like, man, what a difference. 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:37.200 His words used to build people up, and this is what it's supposed to do, and now his words are condemning his own wife. 00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:43.759 And so there's this space where it's like we were created to live in Eden and to experience provision, blessing them. 00:30:43.920 --> 00:30:45.359 We're supposed to live like that in the world broken. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:47.599 So our primary experience is a culture of cursing. 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:53.440 This is why we deal with anxiety, this is why we wonder what people think about us, this is why we deal with depression, this is why people are mean to us. 00:30:53.599 --> 00:30:56.880 I mean, every single thing that you can possibly, this is why we struggle with addiction, this is why we struggle with sin. 00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:58.319 I mean, you can go on and on and on. 00:30:58.480 --> 00:30:59.599 All these different things. 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:01.359 It's not why the baby is crying, though. 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:02.640 That's a gift of God. 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:12.880 Um but there's this space where we live inside a culture of cursing, and you were supposed to experience a culture of blessing, and so we're desperate for blessing because we were made to be blessed. 00:31:13.039 --> 00:31:14.160 This is why we were made. 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:15.039 Our souls, right? 00:31:15.279 --> 00:31:23.200 Dallas Wilton says, our souls, uh, we were we were created to be blessed, therefore our souls long and cannot survive without blessing. 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:29.519 Because all we know to experience the original creation was to, I made you to receive blessing. 00:31:29.599 --> 00:31:31.759 And now our primary experience is the exact opposite. 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:34.559 We primarily primarily receive cursing. 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:37.680 And so we're battling under the weight of that thing. 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:41.519 And so what Jesus does when he comes is he becomes a curse. 00:31:41.680 --> 00:31:48.960 The curse that was that came in Genesis, it says, He became the curse, because cursed is any man who hangs on a tree and he was hanging on a tree. 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:55.119 Cursed is any man who hangs on a tree, so he becomes a curse, so that now the blessing of Eden could come back into our lives. 00:31:55.200 --> 00:31:58.640 And what he does is he turns the clock back and he reverses the curse. 00:31:58.720 --> 00:32:06.160 And so now anybody who goes to him is able to have the stain of the curse removed and then to experience this beauty that's supposed to be there. 00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:14.640 But the primary place that they're supposed to experience the blessing is in the church, among people who've actually experienced the reversal of the curse. 00:32:14.720 --> 00:32:24.960 And so this thing, what this is supposed to be, is this tiny pocket in the middle of a world that's still in a culture of curse, under the curse of sin, in a world like that. 00:32:25.200 --> 00:32:32.640 This community is supposed to be this little pocket of Eden life where you spend time with people and they use their words to build you up. 00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:42.559 Where you come in and beautiful things are called out of you, and you're nervous or worried or anxious or something, and then someone says something that drives the anxiousness away and drives the worries away. 00:32:42.720 --> 00:32:51.680 When you're coming in and you're coming into the space of need and you're like, I have needs, and then people in the Eden community go like, we will meet those needs, we will make sure your needs are met. 00:32:51.839 --> 00:32:53.279 And that's what the church was supposed to be. 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:56.799 And that's actually, if you look at the early church in Acts, this actually happens. 00:32:56.880 --> 00:33:05.440 It says in Acts 4, all the believers in this early church, in this new Eden community, they were of one heart and mind, which means that there was unity. 00:33:07.039 --> 00:33:11.359 They might disagree on certain things and all that different stuff, but they they love one another. 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:12.960 They're unified in being together. 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:15.279 That doesn't exist in the world, you get cancelled out in the world. 00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:17.039 All the believers of one heart and mind. 00:33:17.200 --> 00:33:21.039 No one claimed any of their possessions as their own, but they shared everything they had. 00:33:21.200 --> 00:33:29.440 And so you walk into this space and all of a sudden there's this community of people who are like out there, everybody's biting, backbiting, and yelling at each other and stealing and all that type of stuff. 00:33:29.519 --> 00:33:32.319 But then I walked in here and I was like, Do I have some of that? 00:33:32.400 --> 00:33:34.079 I know I didn't bring anything, but do I have some of that? 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:35.680 I'm like, eat as much as you want. 00:33:35.759 --> 00:33:38.079