WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:01.840 Well man, I'm so glad that you're here this morning. 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:03.279 I want to start by saying thank you. 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:04.559 I was gone last week. 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:06.480 Uh we went on vacation with my parents. 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:08.160 We tagged along on their vacation. 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:11.679 My brother and his girlfriend came down from Missouri and we brought our kids. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:15.279 We went to Orange Beach, Alabama, which is an awesome place, by the way. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:18.960 Never really been there before until recently, and it's become one of my favorite places. 00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:20.239 And it was amazing. 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:22.480 I had an incredible time with my family, with my son. 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:27.039 My son is five years old, and he is so much braver than I am. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.039 He wanted to go parasailing at five, 400 feet in the air. 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:36.320 And so we did, we did, and I got to go and pretend like I was not nervous at all about that. 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:40.719 He wanted to go kayaking on the waves because he saw other people doing that, and so we did. 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:44.719 And then 10 feet away from us, a fin came up, and it was definitely a shark, 100%. 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:46.479 And he's like, awesome. 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:48.960 And I'm like, nope, we're just going back, you know. 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:52.240 Um, but we had we had an amazing time. 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:56.719 I say thank you though, because this is what's so special about this church. 00:00:56.880 --> 00:00:57.840 I'm gone for one week. 00:00:57.920 --> 00:00:59.200 I'm on vacation with my family. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:04.719 It was unbelievable, it was wonderful, but I was so excited pulling into the parking lot this morning. 00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:09.359 So excited to be back here because this place is it's just special. 00:01:09.599 --> 00:01:10.319 It's just special. 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:15.599 And so, you know, for me to be on vacation and come back and not be like, ah, I'm back, back to regular life. 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:16.400 No, it's the opposite. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:18.239 It's like, wow, I'm I'm so excited. 00:01:18.319 --> 00:01:21.120 One week away is is too much for this place. 00:01:21.280 --> 00:01:22.319 So thank you for being here. 00:01:22.400 --> 00:01:24.319 Thank you to all of you who make this place what it is. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:26.879 Those of you who volunteer, you pray, you give. 00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:30.560 Um, if you're here for the first time, we don't pass a plate or a bucket or anything like that. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:34.000 Uh, but we do have four giving stations at the back, and you can support us financially. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:35.040 We appreciate that. 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:39.920 It's what it's what makes so much of what happens here possible, it makes everything here possible in a lot of ways. 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:48.400 Um, and those of you who serve on Teams, this month we're gonna be talking about a lot of our teams at the church and highlighting all the different areas you can you can get involved in. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:55.040 Um and so if you're not on a team, you will enjoy this place so much more when you're serving alongside other people. 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:57.760 It'll just make you part of it in a very different way. 00:01:57.840 --> 00:01:59.680 And so I encourage you to do that, to sign up. 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:01.439 You can do that in the lobby this morning. 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:03.200 Uh, but thank you to everyone here. 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:04.719 You make this place so special. 00:02:04.879 --> 00:02:08.400 You are his hands church, and God is doing such cool things here. 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:10.800 Let's pray and we're gonna jump into the message. 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:13.280 Jesus, thank you so much for all you do for us. 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:15.599 Thank you that your presence is here. 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:17.919 And that we we feel you, God. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:25.280 We don't have to manufacture excitement, we don't have to manufacture energy or passion because you fill us with whatever we need. 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:36.400 We love you, Jesus, and we just ask that for the rest of this time our hearts and our minds would be open to what you have for us, that your word would speak to us, and we thank you so much in advance for doing that. 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:37.360 Amen. 00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:38.240 Amen. 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:41.520 Well, like I said, I got back from vacation this this last week. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:48.960 It was the closest, the closest I have ever gotten to being on a vacation where everything goes 100% according to plan. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:50.879 I mean, it was it was close. 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:52.560 It didn't quite happen, but it was close. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:54.319 We were at the beach for a week, no rain. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:55.919 How often does that happen, right? 00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:59.360 The waters were calm, I mean, weather was absolutely perfect. 00:02:59.439 --> 00:03:02.960 We didn't forget any of the kids' toys or anything like that that they needed. 00:03:03.039 --> 00:03:04.960 Um, it was awesome. 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:06.479 So close. 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:11.759 But on the first day, my daughter Lily, 18 months old, got an ear infection. 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:15.439 And I had forgotten, because I'm a good dad, to bring insurance information. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:17.919 And so we had to call the insurance company, but they were close. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:20.560 We had to wait a day to get proof of insurance so we could go to a clinic. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:26.879 And so for the first 48 hours, she was just screaming at the top of her lungs for mom, and it was a great way to start our vacation. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:27.840 It was awesome. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.039 Um, so close to the perfect vacation, right? 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:32.479 Everything else though went smoothly. 00:03:32.560 --> 00:03:34.560 My mom planned it, and it was unbelievable. 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:37.360 Had I remembered to bring our insurance card, it would have been perfect. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:45.039 But I'm curious, saying that, has anyone ever been on the perfect vacation where nothing happened that that derailed the vacation at all? 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:46.800 Everything went according to plan. 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:51.439 Not one single thing happened that that made you have to change or adapt or anything at all. 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:52.719 Nothing no one? 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:54.879 One, two people, you guys. 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:55.840 Wow, three people. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:56.319 Okay. 00:03:57.039 --> 00:04:02.319 Please write a book or something and share with us how that happened because I've never had that experience in my life. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:03.439 It's amazing. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:14.000 It's amazing how no matter how much you plan, no matter how much you prepare for something, even like a vacation, something where you know where you're gonna go, you can look at the weather, you can you can pack, you can do all this planning ahead of time. 00:04:14.159 --> 00:04:19.920 Something almost always happens that makes your plans and your preparations just go out the window. 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:21.759 Vacations can be stressful, right? 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:25.519 Because when you're on vacation, you feel a pressure to enjoy yourself. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:28.079 You feel a pressure to have fun and relax. 00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:31.680 And it's really hard to relax when you feel a pressure to relax. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:34.319 Because on vacation, there's so much riding on that. 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:38.720 If you have a normal Tuesday that goes awry, you can make up for that on Wednesday. 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:43.600 But if you have a vacation that goes awry, you're not gonna have another shot at that for a year or maybe longer. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:45.279 And so you feel this pressure to have fun. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:54.720 And if you're the person planning the vacation, you feel that multiplied by however many people are there because you want to make sure they have a good time as well. 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:57.439 Who in the audience, who here plans vacations? 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:04.160 When your family goes on vacation, you're the one that makes the plans, or when your group of friends take a road trip, you're the one that just naturally finds okay. 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:06.000 You're amazing people. 00:05:06.160 --> 00:05:09.199 Because the pressure you must feel is so intense. 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:10.720 I mean, that's a lot of pressure. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:19.120 For a few years here, I actually, and how this happened, I don't know, but I was in charge of planning the road trips for the high school students, for the college students here. 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:22.319 Um, yeah, some of you guys have been on some road trips with me. 00:05:22.399 --> 00:05:24.639 Uh, I do not have a logistical mind. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:29.439 I should not be the person planning those kinds of details, but it just fell to me to do it. 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:33.920 And so every year I would plan the high school trip, a hundred plus people going out of town for a week. 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:35.519 There's a lot of planning that goes into that. 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:46.959 I'd plan the college trip, and without fail, every year, no matter how much preparation I would put in, something would happen, something outside of my control, and it would take so many of my plans and just and just flush them down a toilet. 00:05:47.040 --> 00:05:49.439 I mean, it was it was like it was so frustrating. 00:05:49.920 --> 00:05:56.560 A couple years ago, we we took our high school students to this set of cabins that we had never gone to, and we only went there once for a reason. 00:05:56.720 --> 00:06:04.959 Um I saw them online, I saw the pictures, and they were beautiful cabins, and the thing that sold me was they had these huge fields in front of the cabins. 00:06:05.279 --> 00:06:12.079 And the last year we had gone to these cabins that were great, but there was really no space for our students to spread out and kind of sprawl out and just enjoy themselves. 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:19.279 And so I saw these fields, and I'm picturing high school students throwing frisbees and footballs and us all just hanging out and building fires and all kinds of great stuff. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:21.680 And so I rented these cabins, they're a really good price, by the way. 00:06:21.839 --> 00:06:30.000 I rented the cabins, and then we got there and I saw the fields, and they're beautiful, and I'm just going, oh yes, this is amazing, this is exactly what we need. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:41.920 And then I opened the door, and my excitement immediately went away because there was this smell that is a very specific smell. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:44.240 You know exactly what it is when you smell it. 00:06:44.480 --> 00:06:51.120 And if you have a hundred teenagers with you, uh they don't take very long to let you know that they smell it too. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.959 And so I called up the company that we had rented the cabins from. 00:06:55.040 --> 00:06:58.639 I said, hey, we're here, it's beautiful, but there's this really intense odor, and I don't know what this is. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.040 And they said, Oh, they looked at our cabins. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:05.519 That field in front of you, that that's a septic dump field. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:10.959 That um all the cabins around there have septic tanks, and that's where it's where it goes. 00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:13.040 That's why the price is what it is. 00:07:13.439 --> 00:07:16.079 And I was, yeah, yeah. 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:19.120 I I heard about that for a long time with our high school kids. 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:22.800 The next year I'm like, hey, we're going to the cabins, and all the kids are like, Are we going to the poop field again? 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:24.480 I'm like, no, no, not. 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:28.240 Because high school kids, they they remind you of your faults. 00:07:28.480 --> 00:07:29.600 They do that. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.879 A couple years later, we took our college students on this trip. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:35.439 We went to North Georgia and we brought canoes. 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:39.759 We rented six canoes, and there was this trailer that the canoes were attached to, and everything went really well on the trip. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:41.360 But on the way back, I got a phone call. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:47.680 It was from someone who was behind me, and they said, Hey Justin, did you realize that two of the canoes just flew off the back of your vehicle? 00:07:47.920 --> 00:07:50.480 We're driving 75 miles an hour down the road. 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:53.360 And I said, No, I did not realize that. 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:54.160 Are you serious? 00:07:54.240 --> 00:07:54.959 And they're like, Yes. 00:07:55.040 --> 00:07:57.600 And so I turned around and they were they were smart enough. 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:01.839 They saw it kind of happening, so they they eased back, and the canoes did not hit any vehicles. 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:03.920 They just hit the road and they slid into a ditch. 00:08:04.079 --> 00:08:07.279 But we had to figure out how to get two canoes back here. 00:08:07.439 --> 00:08:10.720 We were an hour outside of Atlanta and our trailer had broken. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:11.600 That's why they flew off. 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:17.439 And I'm sitting here, not a logistically minded person, trying to figure out how we are going to do this, and so frustrating. 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:21.759 It's amazing how often life throws us curves. 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:29.199 And it's amazing how no matter how much planning or preparation we put into life, life does not seem to appreciate our plans. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.519 That's why statements like the only thing constant is change ring true. 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:39.279 That's why verses like James chapter 4 speak so truthfully to life. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:40.879 James wrote this, James was very blunt. 00:08:41.039 --> 00:08:46.960 Look here, you who say, Today or tomorrow we're gonna go to this certain town, we'll stay there for a year, we'll do business there, we'll make a profit. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.120 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:50.879 Your life is like the morning fog. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:52.639 It's here a little while, then it's gone. 00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:56.879 What you ought to say is if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:01.440 Otherwise, you're boasting about your own pretentious plans and all such boasting is evil. 00:09:01.600 --> 00:09:06.480 In other words, James is saying, look, you can make your plans, but you don't know if those plans are gonna work out. 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:07.919 You don't know what tomorrow is gonna bring. 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:10.799 You have no idea what life is going to throw at you. 00:09:10.960 --> 00:09:23.440 And all of us experience that, all of us in every aspect of life, we know what it feels like to make plans, to prepare, to have an idea of what's gonna happen, only to see life go very differently. 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:26.879 And when that happens, how do we feel? 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:29.840 When that's the case, what do we feel inside? 00:09:29.919 --> 00:09:31.600 If you're like me, you feel unequipped. 00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:34.559 You feel like you don't have what you need to succeed. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:37.120 I am a person that that needs to be prepared. 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:38.080 I just live that way. 00:09:38.159 --> 00:09:45.039 I'm very planned, I'm very prepared, and when I have a situation that I did not anticipate, I feel unequipped. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:46.240 I think thoughts like this. 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:47.679 I'm not ready for this. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.120 I'm not prepared for this. 00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:51.200 I did not sign up for this. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:53.039 You ever hear that thought in your mind? 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:54.799 This is not what I signed up for. 00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:06.240 I can't handle this, I can't get through this, I can't get over this, I think those thoughts, and it all comes from this feeling of being unequipped, unprepared for what's facing me. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:13.039 If you've been here the last few weeks, we've spent we've spent our time looking at who God says we are in Scripture. 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:15.519 We're in the middle of a series right now called Who Do You Think You Are? 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:21.519 And it's it's really unbelievable because people think God is all about telling us what to do, but He's actually about telling us who we are. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:27.759 And when you search Scripture, you find that God's opinion of you is so much higher than your opinion of yourself. 00:10:27.919 --> 00:10:30.240 No one thinks more highly of you than God. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:39.360 You find countless examples in Scripture of God showing up and telling someone who they are, what they're meant to do, and you never find the person saying, Whoa, God, you're selling me way short. 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:41.840 You have failed to see all my good qualities. 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:43.279 You're really underestimating me. 00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:44.240 It's always the opposite. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:49.200 It's always people going, God, I don't know who you think I am, but I am not that person. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:52.240 I am not capable of doing what you say I can do. 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:55.919 I don't have the bravery, I don't have the courage, I don't have the talent, I don't have that. 00:10:56.080 --> 00:10:58.000 God, you're you're mistaken. 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:03.120 See, God never underestimates, God never overestimates, God knows. 00:11:03.600 --> 00:11:12.720 And when God speaks to us and when he tells us who we are, we are always greater and we are always more than we would ever choose for ourselves. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:18.000 So we've been looking at scripture and we've been asking God to show us who he says we are. 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:22.000 And this morning we're gonna we're gonna look at this identity that God gives us. 00:11:22.879 --> 00:11:31.840 And it's an identity that proves those thoughts that we sometimes have, thoughts like, I didn't sign up for this, I'm not ready for this, I'm not prepared for this, I can't handle this, those thoughts, they're lies. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:39.759 Because God says that you are equipped to handle anything that life throws at you. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:51.440 God says that you are prepared and you are ready, that right now within you is everything you need to handle every situation life throws at you and to handle it with success. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:55.759 In Hebrews chapter 13, verse 21. 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:01.039 God's word says, May He, talking about God, equip you with all you need for doing his will. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:06.240 May He produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:08.960 All glory to him forever and ever. 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:09.519 Amen. 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:11.679 I love that phrase, equip us for doing his will. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:14.320 Sometimes we wonder what God's will is. 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:17.519 God's will is that you live life. 00:12:18.080 --> 00:12:24.879 And that you live life to its fullest, and that you live life in such a way that other people see your life and they see God in your life. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:28.320 Jesus said, I come to give them life and give it abundantly. 00:12:28.480 --> 00:12:34.159 God's will for you is to live life, not to exist, not to get by, not to just make it and hold on. 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:36.240 God's will is for you to live. 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:40.480 And he says, I will equip you to do just that. 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:46.480 2 Peter 1:3 almost echoes the words that were in Hebrews perfectly because the Holy Spirit inspired both. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:47.679 It's really the same author. 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:49.600 And this is what this is what 2 Peter says. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:56.639 By his divine power, talking about Jesus, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:04.000 We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:09.519 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living life. 00:13:09.679 --> 00:13:13.440 We are equipped, you are equipped to handle anything. 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:16.799 If that's the truth, why doesn't it feel that way so often? 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:24.799 Because I've been in plenty of situations in life where I can say with a lot of confidence that I'm not equipped for this, I'm not ready for this. 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:26.559 And we've all been there. 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:29.279 It might be a job. 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:33.519 I know we have a lot of students in the room, a lot of people preparing for their careers. 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:36.480 Even if you're not a student, you're training for your future. 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:46.720 And here's the great thing no matter how much training and preparation you do, no matter how much study, even if you land your dream job, there will be aspects of it that you hate, aspects of it that you did not anticipate, right? 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:48.799 We've all experienced that to a certain degree. 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:54.399 How many of us have had a job and two months in we were like, this is exactly what the job description said it would be? 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:58.240 I have not been asked to do one thing other than what was in my job description, right? 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:00.799 This is this is what I signed up for. 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:02.799 That's never the case. 00:14:03.120 --> 00:14:08.000 There's always these moments where we're like, I I this is not the job I thought I was taking. 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:08.879 What do I do? 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.679 I'm not I'm not trained for this, I'm not prepared for this. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:13.679 It could be marriage. 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:19.120 I mean, marriage is basically constantly feeling unequipped to handle whatever you've got to handle, right? 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:20.720 Megan and I got married really young. 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:23.440 I was 21, she was 20, but we had been together for three years. 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:26.559 We were high school sweethearts, we'd known each other for five or six years. 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:30.720 We even took premarital counseling, so we thought, we thought we were prepared. 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:32.559 We were like, ah, we've got this. 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:38.240 We're in love, we're puzzle pieces that complete each other, and we're in love, and it's just gonna be smooth sailing. 00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:40.159 And it wasn't really smooth. 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:45.759 Um I'll never forget one of the things it was so such small things. 00:14:45.919 --> 00:14:48.080 Megan was not prepared for the fact that I snore. 00:14:48.480 --> 00:14:49.440 She did not know that. 00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:54.960 I actually did not know that I snored as well, because when you snore, you're asleep and you can't hear yourself snore. 00:14:55.039 --> 00:15:05.039 And so I didn't really find out that I snored until I was married to Megan, and she informed me that not only did I snore, but apparently I snored with like tall tail levels of exaggeration. 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:06.720 She'd say, You shake the whole room. 00:15:06.799 --> 00:15:10.639 I'm like, that's not physically possible from my nostrils. 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:12.080 That cannot happen. 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:16.960 But she swore, and again, I can't hear myself snore, so maybe she was not prepared for that. 00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:21.120 I was not prepared to be woken up five times a night to be told that I was snoring. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:24.000 And I know there's some men in the room that have had this experience. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:25.519 What are you supposed to do? 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.080 Like Megan will wake me up and say, You're snoring. 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:30.399 I'm so sorry. 00:15:30.639 --> 00:15:32.559 I will, I'm so sorry. 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:33.039 I went to bed. 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:34.080 I was like, should I snore or not? 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:35.120 Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna snore. 00:15:35.200 --> 00:15:36.720 No, that's not how it works. 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.279 And snoring is not a crime. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:42.879 It's not, but you would think it would be if you asked Megan. 00:15:43.440 --> 00:15:44.879 I'm working on it. 00:15:46.080 --> 00:15:48.000 There were so many things we were not prepared for. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:49.120 Having children. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:51.759 How in the world can you be prepared for children? 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:52.879 How in the world? 00:15:53.120 --> 00:16:01.759 Because if you read every book there is, if you buy every product that that exists to help make you a good parent, you just have no idea who that child is gonna be. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:03.840 Megan and I just found out, it's exciting. 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:07.120 We found out recently that we're expecting our third, so we're gonna have our third child. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:08.159 Yeah. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.720 That is that is how we are gonna grow this church, you know, one one baby at a time. 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:16.720 It's a slow build, but it'll work. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:26.480 Um and we're excited, but there is this realization that's terrifying to realize that now there will be more of them than us. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:36.639 And and I don't I don't really like that feeling, to be honest with you, because even just even just equal, we can play man to man right now, and now we gotta go zone, and I don't know what to do. 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:44.320 I don't know what to do because there's gonna be moments where Megan leaves and I'm with all three, and there's more of them than I have arms, and I don't know how to handle that. 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:49.360 And even even if I can figure out some logistics, I don't know what this next child's gonna be like. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:54.799 Will this child be like Liam, our oldest, who just talks and talks and talks and talks? 00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:58.240 I have no idea where he got it from, but he just talks all the time. 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:00.960 Is that how is that how this child's gonna be? 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:05.680 But he but he's sweet and he's kind, he's generous, and he's helpful, and he he's very accommodating. 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:10.000 He just lets you know exactly what he's thinking at all times with a lot of words. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:23.440 Or is this next child gonna be like like Lily, who doesn't talk the same amount that Liam talks, but there's an intensity behind every word that is very real. 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:32.240 I mean, Lily, she's 18 months old, but she will point at you and point at something else and scream at you to get it because she believes that she is in charge. 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:33.200 She believes it. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:39.759 She is gonna love being an older sister, she's gonna love it because she is naturally so opinionated and direct. 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:43.839 Or is this child gonna be completely different? 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:45.200 Not like either. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:46.559 Uncharted territory. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:49.359 How are you equipped for something like that? 00:17:49.599 --> 00:17:53.359 Life is so completely surprising so often. 00:17:53.519 --> 00:17:54.960 How in the world can this be true? 00:17:55.119 --> 00:18:02.720 How in the world can we be equipped for everything that we need for life? 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:10.640 And the answer's both really simple and also really hard to wrap our minds around. 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:13.440 Because the truth is, we're not equipped. 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:15.839 In and of ourselves, we are not equipped. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:24.079 I don't have the experience, I don't have the wisdom, I don't have the know-how to handle so much in life. 00:18:24.400 --> 00:18:30.160 And so if I'm relying on myself, if I'm relying on what's what's by my own power, I am not equipped. 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:41.119 But both of these verses, if we look back, both of them said, by God's power, by his divine power, we have been equipped. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:47.839 Through the Old Testament, the nation of Israel frequently felt unequipped. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:55.759 God calls them out of slavery in Egypt, and he says, Hey, you're gonna go into this land that's occupied by these very mighty nations, and you're gonna conquer it. 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:58.000 And they had been enslaved for 400 years. 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.359 They had not been trained on how to fight, they hadn't been prepared for battle. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:05.359 Egypt did not train Israel as their slaves to fight. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:07.839 They didn't want that, they didn't want an uprising. 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:11.599 They weren't experienced warriors. 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:22.559 Every nation they went up against had more soldiers, more chariots, more horses, and yet somehow they conquered nation after nation. 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:25.680 They did exactly what God said they would do. 00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:31.440 And how, when they were so poorly equipped for the challenges at hand, how in the world were they successful? 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:36.000 And the answer is that it was not by their strength that they were victorious. 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:38.240 It was God's. 00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:44.880 That they had something with them that has shaped the course of history, and that is the presence of God. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:47.759 Because when God shows up, things happen. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:20:06.400 It was the presence of God that parted the Red Sea, it was the presence of God that led them through the desert, it was the presence of God that made the walls of Jericho fall down, it was the presence of God that brought Jesus into this world, it was the presence of God that rose Jesus back to life from the grave, and it's that very presence of God that is inside of you if you know Jesus. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:15.839 The very presence of God, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is with you, in you. 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:19.519 Every moment of every day. 00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.759 Where you go, God is. 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:28.880 So when you walk into a situation that you've never been in before, even though you might feel unequipped, God does not. 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:35.119 God is with you, He is in you, and there's never a moment that God walks into and says, Oh wow. 00:20:35.759 --> 00:20:37.359 I don't know what we're gonna do. 00:20:38.880 --> 00:20:43.599 There's never a moment in life where you'll bring a problem to God and hear God say, Good luck. 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:48.000 Romans 8, 16. 00:20:52.319 --> 00:20:56.000 For his spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:02.079 God's spirit literally joins with us. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:05.839 And this is this is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:14.640 We live in a time when the gospel is not always a popular message, it is the most powerful message that's ever been spoken. 00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:17.920 It's shaped the course of history for the last 2,000 years. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:30.640 But it's not always popular, and so what we see happen often in the church is the gospel gets twisted and changed so that it's more palatable or it meshes better with the culture that we're part of, but sometimes the gospel is just countercultural. 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:38.559 And so what we see happen is the gospel be watered down and changed so that sometimes it's like, hey, yeah, it's not so much about life now, it's about heaven. 00:21:38.640 --> 00:21:39.440 You're gonna go to heaven. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:43.839 You know, the gospel is that we all have life insurance and it's called heaven, and we get to go there one day. 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:47.039 But Jesus spent his time talking about this life. 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:53.920 He talked about heaven, and we have that to look forward to, but he spent most of his time talking about this life, your life right now. 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:59.599 He wants your life today to be successful, he wants your life to thrive, he wants your life. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:02.400 To have meaning and to have purpose. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.720 The gospel is about this life that we're living right now. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:14.799 Sometimes the gospel gets changed and all the practical good truths remain, but the power's gone. 00:22:15.599 --> 00:22:17.279 The life behind it gets taken out. 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:27.359 And so the gospel gets watered down to be just a bunch of really cool thoughts and a bunch of really practical ideas that if you apply these things to your life, you'll feel better, you'll be better. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:29.119 It's like the self-help gospel. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:32.400 And there's truth in that. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:36.079 Search scripture and you will find answers to every problem you can imagine in life. 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:36.960 It's there. 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:49.839 But the gospel of Jesus Christ is that God Himself came to this earth, put on human flesh, became one of us, so that he could make a way for our hearts to be his home. 00:22:50.720 --> 00:23:03.599 So that the very presence of God that has existed for forever would live within us, that the power of God would be available to us, that we would never have to go into any situation in life alone, but we have God Himself with us. 00:23:03.839 --> 00:23:08.480 That we are the temple of God, that we are where God lives. 00:23:32.559 --> 00:23:36.079 Your life is God's dwelling place. 00:23:37.039 --> 00:23:46.160 If you have a relationship with Jesus, if you've asked him into your life, God's presence and his spirit is available to you every moment of every day. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:24:02.079 And I'll be the first to admit that I live life and I face my problems and I so often forget that the solution is not outside of me, but the solution is with me and within me because God is with us. 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:04.640 He is with us. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:08.319 And he has promised us that he will give us everything we need. 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:10.319 You are equipped. 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:13.839 So the question is just really simple. 00:24:13.920 --> 00:24:15.440 What do you need right now? 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:18.799 What do you need to happen in your life today? 00:24:19.599 --> 00:24:22.160 What situation are you in that it's uncharted waters? 00:24:22.240 --> 00:24:24.559 What situation are you facing or you don't know what to do? 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:25.279 What do you need? 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:26.640 Do you need wisdom? 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:28.720 Answer is yes. 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:30.640 We need wisdom, right? 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:34.160 We like to think that money solves all problems. 00:24:34.480 --> 00:24:36.720 That if we have more money, we we have less problems. 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:40.960 But a very well-known scholar uh by the name of B.I.G. 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:47.200 Notorious BIG, okay, 90s people, um, he actually promised us more money, more problems. 00:24:47.440 --> 00:24:48.720 No one gets that? 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:49.279 Okay. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:50.720 You know. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:53.920 Some people are like, can you clap for notorious B.I.G. 00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:54.160 in church? 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:55.119 Like, yes, you can. 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:56.079 That's accurate. 00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:57.680 There are studies that back that up, by the way. 00:24:57.759 --> 00:24:58.240 Did you know this? 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:05.759 That the wealthiest nations in the world, not the poorest, the wealthiest nations in the world suffer with the most depression and with the highest rates of suicide. 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:11.039 Having more does not make us better. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:13.119 It does not solve our problems. 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:15.119 But wisdom, that's very different. 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:19.200 If we have more wisdom, oh, life just works. 00:25:20.079 --> 00:25:28.880 If I look back to most of my mistakes in life, they can be traced to a lack of wisdom on my part by me doing something that I would look at now and go, oh, yeah, that was stupid. 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:34.000 And here's the great thing about wisdom: God is gushing with wisdom. 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:39.279 There's a verse in the Bible, we don't have it on the screens, but it says that the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom. 00:25:39.440 --> 00:25:42.400 And I love that verse because God doesn't have any foolishness. 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:49.440 There's no foolishness in him, and so if his foolishness, which doesn't exist, is greater than our wisdom, how wise is God? 00:25:50.400 --> 00:25:52.480 James 1:5 says this. 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:55.119 If you need wisdom, ask God for it. 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:57.519 Ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. 00:25:57.680 --> 00:25:59.440 He will not rebuke you for asking. 00:25:59.599 --> 00:26:03.039 You can at any moment in your life say, God, I don't know what to do. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:04.480 You need to show me what to do. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:05.599 He promised it. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:06.799 You can hold him to his promises. 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:09.119 God, you said you'd give me wisdom. 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:11.920 You said, if I ask, I'll receive it. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:12.559 I need wisdom. 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:13.920 I need to know what to do. 00:26:14.079 --> 00:26:15.519 What should I do? 00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:18.480 God will give you wisdom. 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:25.279 He'll give it to you, he'll speak it into your life, he'll bring someone alongside you who will tell you exactly what you need to do. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:27.039 It's it's in Scripture. 00:26:28.240 --> 00:26:31.920 You can open up the Bible and you'll find wisdom on every single page. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:34.400 You'll find answers to every problem you could imagine. 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:38.559 You have wisdom at your disposal through the presence of God in your life. 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:42.880 Proverbs 2.7 says he grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. 00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:46.079 He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:53.599 How much better would our nation be right now if the leaders of our country just had some common sense, right? 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:56.160 I mean, seriously. 00:26:56.480 --> 00:26:59.440