WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:04.000 If you're here for the first time, our message this morning is going to be a little bit different than normal. 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:08.000 Normally, what we do is we open up the Bible and we ask God to teach us amazing things for our life. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.160 We love to study the word together as a church. 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:11.599 The Bible is not boring. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:24.480 There are people who teach the Bible in a boring way, and there are boring people who teach the Bible, but the Bible in and of itself is the furthest thing from boring because there have been whole whole countries and whole nations who have banned the Bible and burned the Bible, and they don't burn or ban boring things. 00:00:24.640 --> 00:00:27.199 So we love to open up God's word and say, Lord, teach us something. 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.839 And next week we're going to start a new series called Resurrected. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.000 We're going to begin going through Ephesians chapter 2. 00:00:32.079 --> 00:00:38.479 And I really want to encourage you to be here for that because when you hear the word resurrected, you might think, oh yeah, Jesus, but no, we're actually going to be talking about us. 00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:42.159 Because according to Ephesians chapter 2, it's us who have been resurrected as well. 00:00:42.320 --> 00:00:45.520 That we've actually moved from death to life when we've given our lives to Jesus. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:47.359 So we're going to talk about that next week. 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:51.439 Today, we're doing something that we actually don't do very often as a church. 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:56.640 We're going to take a few minutes, we're going to take a little bit of time and actually talk about our church. 00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:58.399 This isn't something that we normally do. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:00:59.359 We love to talk about Jesus. 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:07.040 We don't spend a lot of time talking about ourselves, but every once in a while it's really important for us to get together and make sure that we understand where we are and where we're going. 00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:12.480 And so for the last few weeks, I've been talking about today and calling it mid-year because we're halfway through. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:18.400 I know there are some of you who are sticklers and you're like, actually, technically the midway point of the year was a few weeks ago, and I get it. 00:01:18.719 --> 00:01:21.760 But generally speaking, we're at the halfway point. 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:24.000 We're halfway done. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:32.400 That phrase, we're halfway done, that's kind of a loaded phrase because it can be really positive in some senses, it can be really negative in others, right? 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:33.840 It depends on what you're doing. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:40.079 If you're doing something you hate, something that's making you miserable, and you realize you're only halfway done, that's the worst. 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.760 As a kid, I was born in Springfield, Missouri, and then we moved a lot. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:45.439 We moved to Wisconsin, we moved down here. 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:49.519 It seemed to be anywhere that we moved was always a 12-hour drive back home. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:53.040 And so several times a year, we would make a 12-hour drive back home. 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.159 And, you know, I love my parents, and they may be here right now. 00:01:56.319 --> 00:01:57.280 I love you, mom and dad. 00:01:57.359 --> 00:02:01.280 And I and I loved, I loved the time that we had together in those car rides. 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:02.719 It was meaningful time. 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:04.239 But it was hard. 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:08.400 It was hard because it was 12 hours, which is a long time to be in a car, period. 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:10.319 And every time the same thing would happen. 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:16.719 My mom would buy a new CD, and it would be a greatest hits compilation of one of her favorite artists. 00:02:16.879 --> 00:02:18.800 An artist that she and my father loved. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:21.439 They typically were from the late 60s and the 70s. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:33.680 And so I have an unusual understanding and an unusual knowledge of bands like Three Dog Night and The Grassroots and Fleetwood Mac and James Taylor and all these bands, and that's fine. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:43.360 I'm glad, but when you're 13 and it's 1996, you don't want to be an expert on Fleetwood Mac, okay? 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:54.080 And so my mom, she would buy these greatest hits compilations and she would play them, and she'd be so excited, and she and my dad would get to talking, and they would just let the same, the same CD play the entire trip. 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:55.520 Like the entire trip. 00:02:55.599 --> 00:03:01.759 The worst offender, the worst, the one that made it just made me want to be done with like life, to be honest with you, was it was Jim Croce. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:03.599 You guys know who Jim Croce is? 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:15.360 Jim Croce was a singer-songwriter, and uh my mom loved Jim Croce, and you know, I respect his musical talent and ability, but man, 12 hours of Jim Croce. 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:20.319 If you've never heard of Jim Croce, if you're young enough, you never even like heard a song of his. 00:03:20.560 --> 00:03:22.000 Pretty, pretty chill dude. 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:25.120 Like this is put you to sleep type of music, okay? 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:37.759 All right, he had a couple of songs, he had a couple songs that were upbeat, and the way the CD my mom had was the there was one upbeat song at the beginning and one upbeat song at the end, and then the rest was just like the most boring music you could possibly imagine from my perspective. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:45.840 There was this one song that that when I heard this song for the fourth time on a trip, I was like, oh Lord Jesus, what have I done to deserve this? 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:48.000 And actually, we have it kind of cued up, guys. 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:51.919 Go ahead and play this and just understand this is six hours into a drive. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.439 I could save time in a bottle. 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:02.000 And I've heard it five times. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:12.000 It's horrible. 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:12.960 It's horrible. 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:14.319 You guys can stop that. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.959 12 hours of that, it makes you want to pull your hair out, you know? 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:28.160 And so I remember there there being trips, and we're driving, and it's 12 hours, and we're listening to Jim Croce, and the fourth time that time in a bottle comes on, I'm like, hey, mom and dad, how far are we away? 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:29.680 They're like, we're about halfway done. 00:04:29.839 --> 00:04:32.560 I'm like, are you serious? 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:36.800 Like, I never thought I'd say this, but please put Fleetwood Mac on. 00:04:36.959 --> 00:04:37.759 Please. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:39.600 Anything but this. 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:43.279 If you're doing something that's hard, being halfway done, that's a big negative. 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:48.959 But if you're doing something great, if you're doing something you enjoy and you realize you're only halfway done, it's a whole different thing. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:55.360 And I want to say this we're only halfway done with this year. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:57.920 And I'm not talking Jim Croce halfway done. 00:04:58.240 --> 00:04:58.560 Okay? 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:01.199 We're only halfway done. 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:10.319 There's never been a year in the history of our church where halfway through the year I was like, we've got to stop and shed some light on what God has done so far this year. 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:11.360 It's never happened before. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:16.160 It's never happened that midway through the year, I'm like, we've got to stop and realize what's happening. 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:18.800 Sometimes at the end of the year, I'm like, wow, look at what God's done. 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:27.120 We've got to talk about this, but I'm saying six months into the year, I don't think there's ever been a year where we've seen God do as much as he's done this year, and we're only halfway done. 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:34.639 There's never been a year in the history of our church where we've had the kind of impact in our community like we've had this year, and we're only halfway done. 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:43.680 If I reround the clock back to January, we talked together and we said that it was time for his hands to stop being our name and to start being our identity. 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:46.399 That it's time for us as a church to get going. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.040 And so we added the word go to our to our vision statement. 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:50.000 It's time for us to go. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:56.879 It's time for us to go out from this place, it's time for what God is doing in this place to leave this place and start affecting our community and beyond. 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:03.839 It's time for us to go hands-on because we cannot call ourselves his hands if we're not hands-on in this community. 00:06:04.240 --> 00:06:05.920 Because we serve a God who's hands-on. 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:06.800 Jesus shows us that. 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:09.519 It's God going hands-on with our lives. 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:14.399 And so at the beginning of the year, we said, this is the year his hands becomes his hands. 00:06:14.720 --> 00:06:15.759 It's time for us to go. 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:17.600 And guys, we have been going. 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:30.079 In January, we launched a partnership with an amazing ministry in Guatemala, 250 kids that live in extreme poverty, 250 kids that live in an extremely dangerous part of Guatemala City, and they need our help. 00:06:30.319 --> 00:06:36.160 And in one Sunday, in one Sunday, you guys sponsored 250 children in Guatemala. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:40.480 You're providing food for them, you're providing education for them, you're literally changing their lives. 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:46.800 We had our first ever mission trip, our first group of volunteers from our church go and work with those children just a few months ago. 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:48.639 That's how it all got started. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:50.480 That was our first go moment. 00:06:51.040 --> 00:06:52.399 And it just picked up from there. 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.680 In March, we had our first ever hands-on community day. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:58.480 And several of us met here on a Saturday and we prayed together. 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:02.399 Then we went out from this place and we went to Goshen Valley Boys Ranch and we worked on their property. 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:04.160 We did landscaping, we painted. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:11.439 Some of us went to the Never Alone food pantry and we put on an Easter egg hunt and did face painting for these amazing kids who live in really desperate situations. 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:17.360 So not only could they come and get some food, but they could come and have an amazing time and have a treat for their life. 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:22.480 Some of us went to a veteran's home in our community and we remodeled the veterans' bathroom. 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:25.600 Some of us went to a ministry called the Turnaround Kids, who we love to work with. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:26.560 They're amazing people. 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:34.959 And we built this incredible play fort, this like treehouse monstrosity, because it's a family that's taken in over 70 kids over the last few years. 00:07:35.040 --> 00:07:41.199 And at any given time, they've got 20 to 30 kids, and so we needed to build something that 20 kids can play on at once. 00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:43.920 And that is like an engineering nightmare. 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:46.079 Thankfully, we had an engineer get involved. 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:47.600 What's up, Bob? 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:49.680 He just went like that. 00:07:49.839 --> 00:07:50.879 He's in the back. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:58.000 And we got to go out from this place and go hands-on in our community and make a real impact in a lot of people's lives. 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:01.839 In June, we launched our summer lunch program. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.959 And we've got just a few days left in that because school starts back this Wednesday. 00:08:05.120 --> 00:08:09.519 We said, hey, there's a lot of kids that rely on free and reduced lunch to have a guaranteed meal. 00:08:09.680 --> 00:08:11.120 But in the summer that goes away. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:22.639 And so we partnered with Must Ministries and we began to provide lunch to children in our community every single weekday, every Monday through Friday, all summer long, we have provided lunch to hundreds and hundreds of children. 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:26.800 And I'll give you guys some statistics on how summer lunch went real quick, because this is pretty crazy. 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:29.839 The total number of days that we served lunch, 45. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:30.639 Okay? 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:31.680 This is since June. 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:34.240 45 days that we've been serving lunch. 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:37.039 Do you know how many pounds of lunch meat we have distributed? 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:40.320 1,500 pounds. 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:44.080 Arby's has that phrase, we have the meats. 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:46.960 We do. 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:49.120 We do. 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:51.440 It's amazing. 00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:54.480 You know how many volunteers it took every single week to pull summer lunch off? 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:55.759 185. 00:08:56.399 --> 00:08:57.440 Every single week. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:03.759 We had one person donate 897 loaves of bread this summer. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:05.279 One person. 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:11.200 I had to make two announcements or three announcements, something crazy like that, just for volunteers and for you to bring donations. 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:15.679 Shelby, who's the person on our staff who ran it, she actually came to me about three weeks ago. 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:20.320 She said, Justin, could you please tell people to stop bringing supplies? 00:09:20.559 --> 00:09:24.480 Never in my life have I had someone on our team say, Hey, could you tell people to stop helping? 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:25.919 Isn't that crazy? 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:26.879 Like, stop it. 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:28.320 Stop being so amazing. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:29.679 Stop being so generous. 00:09:29.840 --> 00:09:31.519 And I told Shelby, no. 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:35.440 I refuse to give that announcement. 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:40.080 And you guys donated so much that we were able to have this huge surplus. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:45.039 And this last week we drove that surplus to the Cherokee Family Violence Center, and they are stopped. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:46.879 Like they are stopped. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:48.559 It's awesome. 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:51.360 All in all, this is this is the coolest part. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:09:54.080 All in all, we provided 10,300 lunches this summer. 00:09:54.159 --> 00:10:00.159 And what's funny is when I first heard that number, I was disappointed because the projection we had at the beginning of the summer was like 14,000. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:07.039 That was based on projections provided to us by the communities we were going to, but the actual number of kids that were receiving lunches wasn't what they projected. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:08.080 But that's what I thought. 00:10:08.159 --> 00:10:10.080 And so I was like, 14,000, that's exciting. 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:11.279 And I heard 10,300. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:12.559 I was like, 10,300? 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:13.360 That's kind of dinky. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:14.879 Like, dang it. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:20.799 And then I'm like, if you would have told me in January that we could provide lunch to 10,000 kids, like, are you serious? 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:23.919 10,000 lunches on year one? 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:27.120 Next year we gotta we gotta go bigger. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:28.000 You know? 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:30.559 And how incredible is that? 00:10:31.039 --> 00:10:32.639 And and you guys did that. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:34.240 That was God working through you. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:36.240 That wasn't some giant push that we had to make. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:37.200 You guys responded. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:38.480 You went hands-on. 00:10:39.039 --> 00:10:42.240 In June, we had a group of high school students go on a road trip. 00:10:42.559 --> 00:10:44.960 We had 24 students go all in with Jesus. 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:47.200 24 students give their whole lives to Jesus. 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:48.480 That was amazing. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:55.759 And we had we had several kids that could not afford to go on this trip, and you guys stepped up and you provided the the funds that were needed for that. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:57.600 So every student got to go. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.840 Just this summer, we've had 43 people get baptized here at His Hands. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:05.279 43 people have gone all in with Jesus. 00:11:05.519 --> 00:11:08.080 And again, it's not like we're making a big push for this. 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:11.840 I'm gonna talk about why this is happening here in a second, but suffice it to say, it's God. 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:14.879 God is moving people, God is doing things. 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:17.039 It's unprecedented, it's amazing. 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:18.320 He is working. 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:23.279 And there is so much more that is that is coming down the pipeline. 00:11:23.840 --> 00:11:27.279 There's so much more happening throughout the rest of this year and beyond. 00:11:27.360 --> 00:11:32.879 There's already things that God has lined up, things that a few years ago, if you would have told me that these things would even be possible, I'd be like, really? 00:11:33.440 --> 00:11:35.279 And they're already on the schedule for next year. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:38.159 I mean, just tonight is like where the next phase starts. 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:41.360 Tonight there's a gathering called Power and Unity in downtown Woodstock. 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:45.440 Over 30 churches in Cherokee County coming together to worship God as one church. 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:46.559 And we're part of that. 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:48.480 So be in downtown Woodstock tonight. 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:49.519 It starts about 5:30. 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:55.440 Get there earlier if you if you hope to find a parking spot anywhere near, and just be ready to walk if you can't, because it's gonna be powerful. 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:56.320 That's tonight. 00:11:56.480 --> 00:11:59.120 In August, we've got the one race movement that we're part of. 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:08.720 I know that many of you guys are gonna end up volunteering and be part of that, but for all of us, just come and we're gonna go to Stone Mountain, Georgia, which has forever been associated with racism, and we're gonna reclaim it in the name of Jesus. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:16.000 And we're gonna bring racial reconciliation and revival to that place because over 30,000 Jesus followers are gonna gather together, and we're part of that. 00:12:16.240 --> 00:12:20.960 In September, we're putting on an event called Canvas, and it's an event we've done every year for the last several years. 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:23.440 We raise a lot of money to help a needy family in our community. 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:24.399 It's gonna be amazing. 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:26.559 In October, we have another hands-on community day. 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:28.399 We're going to the Cherokee Family Violence Center. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:29.679 We're gonna be doing a lot of work there. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:30.639 It's gonna be incredible. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:33.840 In November, we're having a Parents Night Out for all you parents, right? 00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:35.360 That's exciting if you have young kids. 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:36.639 But this one's gonna be different. 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:40.320 Because we're gonna change the name from Parents Night Out to Parents' Night Outreach. 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:44.240 And yes, if you have young kids, you can take advantage of it, but we wanna open this up to the community. 00:12:44.399 --> 00:12:50.320 We want to reach people through this event that we've never been able to reach before and invite you to invite others to take part in this. 00:12:50.480 --> 00:12:57.200 For them to have an experience where they walk into a church, and the very first thing that they they experience is the church saying, Hey, can we help you with something? 00:12:57.440 --> 00:13:03.679 In December, we're gonna be part of Christmas Angels again, and it looks like we're gonna have more kids than we've ever had before by a long shot. 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:05.519 Like God is moving. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:13.039 We said at the beginning of the year that it's time for us to become his hands, and I'm telling you, this is what it looks like to be his hands. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:14.879 It's powerful. 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:19.759 And guys, this doesn't even include the financial contributions that we've been able to make. 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:26.240 So far this year as a church, we've been able to give away over$120,000 to organizations in our community, to people in need. 00:13:26.399 --> 00:13:32.639 Some of the stories, I don't have time to get into it, but some of the stories of people's lives, the way they've been impacted by your generosity, it's amazing. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:37.679 And I do want to take a second at this moment and say thank you to those of you who serve and to those of you who give. 00:13:37.919 --> 00:13:40.799 I want to say thank you to those of you who contribute to this place. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:46.000 Because the reality is we we enjoy what we contribute to far more than we enjoy what we consume. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:49.679 And so often we look at church as something that we need to consume. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:57.759 And yeah, it's for us, but when we begin to contribute, when we serve, when we give, we stop being consumers, we become contributors, and it takes on a whole new meaning. 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:00.960 And if not for your generosity, we couldn't do things like that. 00:14:01.200 --> 00:14:03.840 And so, to those of you who give, keep it up. 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:07.039 And if this is your church and you don't give, I want to challenge you to do that. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:08.399 I'm serious, I want to challenge you too. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:10.960 There's three words that begin with P that always guide me with that. 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:13.440 I like I like alliteration, it's like one of my favorite things. 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:16.399 And so, number one, pray, because it's between you and God. 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:18.639 You're never gonna hear us tell you how much to give. 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:19.440 We don't believe in that. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:22.159 Number two, it's a percentage. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:23.360 That's a biblical concept. 00:14:23.440 --> 00:14:24.960 Pray, say, God, give me a percentage. 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:29.200 And God might tell you 0.02% of your income and go, okay, cool. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.720 And God might tell you 25% of your income. 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:35.679 No, He's not gonna lay a burden on you that you can't bear. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:37.120 He doesn't do that. 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:45.039 But if you pray and you say, Lord, show me a percentage, and then the third word, persistence, if you do it every month, you will see God bless you through that and you will see an impact through that. 00:14:45.120 --> 00:14:46.799 So I want to thank those of you who have been doing that. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:55.120 I want to challenge the rest of us to do it because the more, I mean, how amazing would it be if at the end of the year I could say, hey, we gave away a quarter of a million dollars this year to people in need. 00:14:55.600 --> 00:14:57.279 Like that, that can happen. 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:01.120 And honestly, we should probably think bigger than that, because that can happen realistically. 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:02.879 That's not even like a God thing. 00:15:02.960 --> 00:15:06.960 So so we need to we need to ask God what he wants us to do because I believe he wants us to do even more. 00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.519 So those of you who serve, thank you for for serving. 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:11.679 To those of you who pray, keep praying. 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:17.120 Your prayers are powerful because God is moving, because God is lining things up, things are happening. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:23.919 I don't know if you guys have felt it or not, but in the last few months, there's like a different spirit in this place, there's a different atmosphere in this place. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:28.480 And if you haven't felt it, then I pray that you feel it today because God is doing something. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:33.039 And for the next few minutes, I want to talk about not what's happened or what's going to happen. 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.039 I want to talk about why it's happening. 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:37.120 Because I want you guys to understand something. 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:38.799 We all need to understand this as a church. 00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:45.120 What we're seeing happen through our church right now, the movement of God that we're seeing, it's not us. 00:15:45.679 --> 00:15:46.960 This isn't man-driven. 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:50.080 I know what it's like to try to make God do things. 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:52.159 It's hard. 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:55.519 I know what it's like to try to try to force it. 00:15:55.840 --> 00:16:03.919 I know what it's like to sit in a meeting room with a whiteboard and try to brainstorm and out of our own flesh come up with ideas that we think will really move the church forward. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:04.639 Those don't work. 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:10.159 I've had a lot of those ideas, those don't work, but it's it's something altogether different when God is the one leading the way. 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:13.440 I'm telling you guys, God is leading the way right now. 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:17.279 I believe He's pouring new wine on our church. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.799 I believe that God is doing something new in this place. 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:24.960 That there's a new thing that's happening, and it's just beginning. 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:32.720 We just sang that song New Wine, and for those of you who who haven't heard that phrase before, I'm gonna show you where that's at in scripture. 00:16:32.799 --> 00:16:35.840 It's in it's in Luke chapter 5, verses 33 through 39. 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:44.320 It says, one day some people said to Jesus, John the Baptist's disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:46.639 Why are your disciples always eating and drinking? 00:16:46.799 --> 00:16:49.759 Jesus responded, Do wedding guests fast while celebrating the groom? 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:50.639 Of course not. 00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:53.600 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:56.000 And then Jesus gave them this illustration. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:17:04.480 No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment, for the new garment would be ruined, and the and the new patch wouldn't even match the old. 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:11.759 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins, for the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.960 New wine must be stored in new wineskins, but no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:18.640 The old is just fine, they say. 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:23.759 So what's happening is these people are coming up to Jesus and they're criticizing him for his choice in disciples. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:28.480 It was common in that day for Pharisees and rabbis to have disciples. 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:34.400 And usually they would choose hyper-religious people who were like the cream of the crop, you know, the good people. 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:37.920 And Jesus didn't choose the good people, Jesus chose people. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:46.799 The story that takes place just before this conversation, Jesus calls a man named Matthew to be his follower, and Matthew was a man that the Pharisees and the religious leaders would have despised. 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.240 The word they used to describe Matthew and his friends was scum. 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:53.599 And so Jesus recruited some scum on his team. 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:55.920 And they're like, What are you doing? 00:17:56.559 --> 00:18:00.640 And what they're really saying is, Jesus, if you really wanted to do something big, you would have picked us. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.720 Jesus, if you really knew what you were doing, you'd pick us, you'd pick the good people. 00:18:04.960 --> 00:18:07.279 And Jesus says, You're old wineskins. 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:09.119 You're rigid. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:12.400 You're stiff, you're set in your ways. 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:14.880 And you love the old. 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:17.599 You love the old way, and I'm doing something new. 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:18.960 I'm bringing a new covenant. 00:18:19.119 --> 00:18:24.880 I'm pouring new wine on this earth, and you're not ready to receive what I'm doing because you can't receive the new. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:34.000 You're so stiff, you're so hard, you believe so firmly that you're right and that you know everything you need to know, that there's no way you can receive what I'm doing because it's so new it would break you. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:36.000 And so I need some people who are humble. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:37.519 I need some people who are flexible. 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:39.519 I need some people who are new wineskins. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:45.279 See, in those days they would they would put wine into wineskins to store it, but but wine expands, it ferments. 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:52.559 And so if you put wine in a new wineskin, that that wine's gonna expand, but that skin that's loose and can stretch, it's gonna expand with the wine. 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:56.640 And eventually, though, that that skin's gonna stretch to its capacity and then it's gonna get hard and rigid. 00:18:56.720 --> 00:19:02.000 And if you were to pour that wine out and put new wine in that old wineskin, it has no more room to grow. 00:19:02.160 --> 00:19:03.440 And it's gonna explode. 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:05.279 And you're gonna ruin everything. 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:07.279 And that's what Jesus is saying to these people. 00:19:07.359 --> 00:19:09.039 He's saying, hey, no offense. 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:10.480 He didn't actually say that. 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:12.559 Jesus was okay offending people, actually. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:13.839 He was really okay with it. 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:19.680 He said, offense intended, um, y'all a bunch of old wineskins. 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:25.440 And I'm doing a new thing, and you can't receive it. 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:30.880 But these people, because they're humble, because they're broken, because they're messy, and they admit it. 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:35.440 We say all the time that our church is a church that loves messy people. 00:19:38.480 --> 00:19:45.279 Because they're humble and open, they're ready to receive the new thing that I'm doing. 00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:51.920 See, God, God loves to do new things, He doesn't always have that reputation. 00:19:52.319 --> 00:19:54.880 But make no mistake, God's always doing something new. 00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:57.839 That's why sometimes we get frustrated when we read the Bible and we see a miracle. 00:19:57.920 --> 00:19:59.039 We're like, God, I want to see you do that. 00:19:59.119 --> 00:20:00.480 And God's like, I don't want to do that again. 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:01.519 I did it already. 00:20:01.680 --> 00:20:03.519 I want to do something new. 00:20:06.079 --> 00:20:07.200 God loves to do new things. 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:08.960 We see it all the time in Scripture. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:11.200 In Isaiah 43, 19. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.160 God speaks to the prophet Isaiah years before Jesus. 00:20:14.319 --> 00:20:16.240 He says, I'm about to do something new. 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:18.000 See, I have already begun. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:18.880 Do you not see it? 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:20.319 I would say that about our church. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:22.880 God has begun to do something new. 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:24.079 Do you see it? 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:26.720 He's already got it started. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:33.359 He says, I'll make a pathway through the wilderness, I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. 00:20:33.759 --> 00:20:39.200 Ezekiel 36, 26, God says, I'll give you a new heart and I'll put a new spirit in you. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:42.160 I'm gonna do something new in the hearts of people. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:43.759 2 Corinthians 5, 17. 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:47.039 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:50.559 The old life is gone, a new life has begun. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:56.079 And even at the end, Revelation 21, verse 5. 00:20:56.319 --> 00:21:00.720 And the one sitting on the throne said, Look, I am making everything new. 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:03.279 I am making everything new. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:05.920 Do you need something new in your life today? 00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:10.160 Like, seriously, are are you here this morning? 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:12.799 And are you stuck? 00:21:12.960 --> 00:21:13.920 Are you tired? 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:15.119 Are you burned out? 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:18.000 Do you need God to do something new? 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:23.039 You know, maybe you're here and you're hearing us talk about all the things that God is doing, and you're like, this is awesome. 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.000 This is so exciting. 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.799 But maybe you're here this morning, you're like, hey, it's great that things are going so well. 00:21:26.880 --> 00:21:31.200 It's awesome to see all the lives that are changing, but my life feels like it's stuck. 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:34.400 And if that's you this morning, what I want you to know is that God loves you. 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:36.880 He loves you so much and he wants to do something new. 00:21:37.039 --> 00:21:40.079 He wants you to experience something you've never experienced before. 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:46.400 He wants to put a new spirit in you, he wants to give you a new heart, he wants to do a new work so that you become a new person. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:52.079 If you've ever heard the phrase God loves you exactly as you are, and He just wants you to be yourself, you've been lied to. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:56.720 The best lives they're half truths, right? 00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:01.119 The truth is God loves you exactly as you are, and He wants to Change everything. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:03.359 Everything. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:05.359 He wants to make you a new creation. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:06.720 He wants to give you a new heart. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:08.880 He wants to give you a new spirit. 00:22:10.160 --> 00:22:16.000 He wants to restore what's on the outside, but he wants to put a whole new engine under the hood in your life. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:17.920 Because God makes everything new. 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:20.000 He loves doing new things. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:26.960 And if you're here this morning and you're like, hey, it's awesome that God's doing a new thing in our church, but but what about in my life? 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:28.079 I want the new thing for me. 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:30.559 How do I experience the new thing? 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:33.200 How do I experience a new chapter in my life? 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:35.200 The answer is to be a new wineskin. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:41.119 You see, God's intention, his heart, his will is to do something new in your life. 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:44.079 That's why we're seeing new things happening right now in our church. 00:22:44.160 --> 00:22:45.759 I believe our church is like a new wineskin. 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:46.880 I think I think we're open. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:50.319 I think we're unique in that we can raise our hands as a church and say, you know what? 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:51.839 I'm kind of a mess. 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:54.000 Anyone raise your hand with that? 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:54.559 You know what? 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:55.839 I don't have it all figured out. 00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:57.039 I don't have all the answers. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:58.400 I don't know what I'm doing. 00:22:58.559 --> 00:22:59.519 I'm your pastor. 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:01.759 I don't know what I'm doing, people. 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:05.680 I don't know. 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.000 But I know that he does. 00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:14.400 And the day that I believe, I know what I'm doing is the day that you should leave this church and go somewhere else. 00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:16.799 But he knows what he's doing. 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:19.519 And so I'll listen to him. 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:26.079 See, when we're new wineskins, when we're fresh, when we're open, we experience the new. 00:23:26.160 --> 00:23:27.599 But that's hard for us, right? 00:23:28.079 --> 00:23:29.920 Like, let's be honest about that for a second. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.000 We we don't like the new all the time. 00:23:32.079 --> 00:23:33.680 We like the sound of new. 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:37.359 But we don't we don't always go for the new. 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:41.440 We'll go back to verse 39 in Luke 5. 00:23:42.079 --> 00:23:45.039 No one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:47.680 The old is just fine, they say. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:54.880 Don't you love how Jesus has a way of just cutting right to the heart of the human spirit with a few words? 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:57.359 He says so much with so little. 00:23:58.240 --> 00:24:00.079 That's like the opposite of me. 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:04.640