WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:00.800 We good? 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:01.760 Good. 00:00:01.919 --> 00:00:02.879 Man, it's a good day. 00:00:03.040 --> 00:00:06.480 Um, if it's your very first time at his hands, I want to start by saying welcome. 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:11.679 Anytime you come to a church for the first time, you you try to get the lay of the land, you want to know what the church is really about. 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:13.359 Uh this is our this is our passion. 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:14.320 This is why we exist. 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:16.559 We exist to love people to Jesus. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:17.519 That's why we're here. 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:17.920 Okay? 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:26.160 And so we want to love you and want you to know so completely that you are loved by God that you realize that it's not a love that comes from us, because that'd be weird. 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:26.800 We just met you. 00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:27.760 How would we love you? 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.199 Uh it's from God. 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:31.760 Because He's known you since before you existed. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:35.119 And He chose you and chose to love you before you were even created. 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:38.799 And as a church, our passion is that you know that you're loved by God. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:42.960 I believe that when people receive love, it tends to have a positive impact on us. 00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:45.679 Most of the time, if someone says I love you, I respond in kind. 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:46.320 I like that. 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:47.439 I don't know what it is about me. 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:48.640 Maybe I'm weird. 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:50.240 But I think all of us are like that. 00:00:50.320 --> 00:01:01.359 We've got to know that we're loved, and we've got to make sure that everyone in our lives, everyone in this community, everyone on earth knows that the God that created this giant ball that is floating in space right now, nothing's holding it up. 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:02.000 Think about that. 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:05.840 This giant ball that we're on, we're surrounded with love. 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:08.239 God loves everyone that He has created. 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:09.280 That's why we're here. 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:14.239 Um specific group of people we want to show a lot of love to right now is moms, because it's Mother's Day. 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:15.920 So let's hear it from moms. 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:36.959 So I I went through a little mental exercise this morning, and uh and and and men, if if you have a wife or or just a mom of your children, I want you to think for a second, just engage in this with me, because obviously there could be some uh some some exceptions, but I think the general rule will apply. 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:45.920 I started to count the number of things that I do for my children on like a daily basis, and then the number of things that my wife does for my children on a daily basis. 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:50.319 And it did not take long before the list was a little embarrassing on my part. 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:53.439 I'm like, oh my gosh, I am I am so far behind. 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:58.159 I've got to pick up the slag, I gotta, I gotta do some things because my wife is amazing and she loves our children. 00:01:58.319 --> 00:02:01.439 And there is something so special about the heart of a mom. 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:09.520 And so, all of you in here who are moms, even those of you who are spiritual moms, maybe you don't have you don't have children biologically, but you are a mother to someone. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:11.120 You love someone in that way. 00:02:11.360 --> 00:02:14.719 You are so amazing and you represent God so well. 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:18.319 So, just one more time, let's give a huge round of applause for all the moms. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:20.159 You guys are awesome. 00:02:20.479 --> 00:02:21.439 We love you. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.159 Most of us wouldn't even be here without you, if you think about it. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.960 Um, there is a lot of really exciting things that are about to happen. 00:02:33.039 --> 00:02:35.680 I want to talk about a few of them really quickly before we jump into the message. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:40.960 Number one, this summer, for the very first time ever, at his hands, we are doing a vacation Bible school. 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:42.879 A good old-fashioned VBS. 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:45.199 We're in Georgia, why not? 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:46.960 You know, in the South, do a good old-fashioned VBS. 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:47.680 So here's the deal. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:56.719 If you've never experienced this, it's a it's a week-long thing in the summer that exists for kids, and it's all about them having a blast, really having the time of their life and learning about Jesus. 00:02:56.800 --> 00:03:03.439 And for a lot of kids in this community, it will be their first encounter with Jesus, their first exposure to who he is. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:05.199 And that's that's an amazing thing to think about. 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:10.240 We are anticipating between three and four hundred children for VBS this summer, which is awesome. 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:12.400 That's gonna be so much something. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:13.680 It's gonna be so good. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:14.960 It's gonna be so good. 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:17.360 And really, right now, what we need is some help. 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:20.400 We need some people to volunteer to help with VBS. 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:22.159 We'll give you more details really soon. 00:03:22.240 --> 00:03:28.000 It's in July, and I think next week we'll even start telling you when you can register and sign up your kids if you want them to be part of it. 00:03:28.159 --> 00:03:45.680 But if you are someone that loves to have fun, if you're someone that that loves children, that has some energy and that understands how absolutely vital it is for kids at a young age to know that God made them and that he loves them, go to the Connect Desk today and sign up for the VBS team and we'll follow up with more info from there. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:48.639 And if you don't know where the connect desk is, by the way, it's in the main lobby. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:50.639 It has a big word over the top of it, it says connect. 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:52.400 We try to make it painfully obvious. 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:54.080 But that's a really important place. 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:57.599 Because, see, a church is not something we just want to go to. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:00.560 This church, his hands, is not a place we attend. 00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:01.599 It's not a building, right? 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:02.319 It's a movement. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:06.240 And we have to be connected to one another if we're gonna move in the same direction. 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:08.240 And so being connected here, it's really important. 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:10.719 There are so many ways that you can get connected. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:11.680 You can join a team. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:13.919 That happens all the time at the Connect Desk. 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:20.079 There are people there every Sunday to help you find the place where your gifts and your abilities fit and you can serve other people. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:23.120 You'll make amazing friends as you serve alongside other people. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:24.079 It's awesome. 00:04:24.319 --> 00:04:27.519 You can also join a home group any Sunday at the Connect Desk. 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:29.040 You can get all the info you need there. 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:31.360 You can sign up online and in other ways, of course. 00:04:31.439 --> 00:04:38.000 But the Connect Desk is great because there's a person there ready to help you find a married couple group or a men's group or a women's group. 00:04:38.160 --> 00:04:40.399 We have a college group, a young adult group, you can name it. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:43.839 We have a group for you, and we want you to know people, to be connected. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:46.959 I want to share a story that came in about our home groups. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:50.079 All of us should have had one of these cards sitting on your seat when you came in. 00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:51.839 We'll talk more about those here in just a moment. 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:55.040 But these are our share your story cards, and this is what it says. 00:04:55.279 --> 00:05:01.120 Back in 2014, when his hands began having home groups, we felt like God was calling us to join one. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:08.319 Personally, during this time, we were nearing the end of an adoption process, but we were stuck in the red tape of paperwork mistakes. 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:15.680 We felt an instant connection to the other couples in our group, and even though we really didn't know them, we shared our frustrations and we asked for prayer. 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:26.319 Not only did our new friends support us in prayer and rejoice when our paperwork was completed the next month, almost all of them came to the courthouse and joined us in the courtroom for our adoption hearing. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:32.000 These couples that we had only known for two short months were there to support us in one of the most important events in our lives. 00:05:32.160 --> 00:05:36.000 They even threw us a surprise adoption party at our home group meeting that night. 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:39.839 Our new friends showed more care and support than some people we had known for years. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.480 And our group has grown in so many ways in the past year. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:46.160 We've been able to celebrate so many things in all of our families' lives. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:48.879 How amazing is that! Isn't that not awesome? 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:56.879 Those are the kind of things that happen in home groups all the time. 00:05:56.959 --> 00:06:02.879 And so if you're not connected in a home group, I really want to encourage you to go to the Connect Desk today and just ask about it. 00:06:03.040 --> 00:06:05.519 Find a night of the week that we have a group that works for you. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:06.079 Give it a try. 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:07.920 You're gonna love it because it's great people. 00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:10.079 Um anyone knows Ken Kington, right? 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:10.959 Everyone knows Ken? 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:11.519 Ken? 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:11.920 Okay? 00:06:12.079 --> 00:06:14.079 Ken's a he's a funny guy, right? 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:16.160 Like, he's moderately funny. 00:06:16.480 --> 00:06:20.720 Uh, if you if you don't know Ken, he is uh he's an amazing part of our teaching team. 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:25.600 He is a professional comedian, so I like to joke about him not being that funny because that's gotta bother him. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:28.399 And he always makes fun of me when he's here, and I he always does. 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:29.519 If you he always has. 00:06:29.680 --> 00:06:35.839 When I first started to grow my beard, which has taken a long time to come in, uh Ken made sure to mention that often when he would come up. 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:39.600 I would do the announcements, and then he would come up and say, Isn't it cute Justin's trying to grow a beard? 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:44.639 And I was like, Ken, you know, so I try to use my moments when he's not here to take a few shots at him, that's all. 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:46.000 But Ken is amazing. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:52.639 He's an amazing part of our teaching team, he's one of the most successful comedians in the country, and he is he's a passionate Jesus follower. 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:58.160 And Ken's gonna be here the next two Sundays doing the message, so you definitely want to be here next week and the week after that. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:02.639 Invite friends, because it's an amazing, he's an amazing person to bring someone to to the first time. 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:03.839 He's he's awesome. 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:11.839 He's also the president of this thing called the Christian Comedy Association, which I didn't even know existed, but they have associations for everything. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.240 So there is an association for Christian comedians, and Ken is the president of it. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:22.399 So next week we need to be very respectful of him, very presidential in our approach to him, okay? 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:23.199 Salute him. 00:07:23.279 --> 00:07:30.079 I don't know what you do to the president of the CCA, but but we're gonna have a special event here that he's kind of leading with that. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:38.079 Uh it's gonna be called the CCA, the Christian Comedy Association, comedy showcase, and it's gonna be Ken and a number of other Christian comedians. 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:43.839 Uh, some you may have heard of, some not, but a number of other Christian comedians that are gonna be here just to do a comedy show. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.399 And if you're new at his hands, we like to laugh. 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:48.720 We are, we, we laugh, we're laughers. 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:51.600 Uh we take God very seriously, but not ourselves. 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:55.759 And so uh we just want to encourage you to mark that date on your calendar, June 7th. 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:57.040 It starts at 6.07. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:08:00.399 Ken wanted it to be 6.07 on 6.07. 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:01.519 Ha ha ha. 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:05.199 Like I said, moderately funny. 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:09.279 Uh we're gonna have tickets for sale next week. 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:12.240 It is a ticketed event, but we're gonna make it really affordable, really good. 00:08:12.319 --> 00:08:14.399 And Ken is excited about this. 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:18.959 Uh, he's been going on and on about how amazing the group of comedians they're gonna have here are. 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:24.480 And I just think it's awesome because comedy is one of those things that is is typically it's dangerous, right? 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:29.839 Like if you want to watch something with your kids, you're like, I don't know if this is gonna be appropriate, and it probably isn't. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:33.919 Uh so it's nice to know you can even bring something with your family, your friends, your kids. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:38.159 You can bring them along, and you know it's gonna be hysterical, but also just really appropriate for all ages. 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:39.120 I'm excited about it. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:42.559 Uh so put that date on your calendar, we'll give you more details next week. 00:08:42.879 --> 00:08:43.759 Can we pray real quick? 00:08:43.840 --> 00:08:44.240 Is that okay? 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:46.240 I know we've already prayed a few times, but it really helps me. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:48.879 So let's pray and let's jump into God's word this morning. 00:08:49.039 --> 00:08:51.600 Jesus, thank you so much for your love. 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:55.840 Oh, God, I can even hear you right now saying, Slow down, Justin. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:57.120 You're going really fast. 00:08:57.360 --> 00:09:00.720 And I appreciate that sometimes, God, because I do go fast. 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:15.600 And thank you for moments where we can just stop and we can slow down, and life can be what it's meant to be, just a relationship with you where we walk each step in our journey with you by our side. 00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:16.879 We love you, Jesus. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:23.840 We thank you for what you've done for us, and right now we ask that you open our hearts to what you want to share, and we ask this in your name. 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:24.799 Amen. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:30.080 Well, if you have been here for the last few months, we are wrapping up a series today. 00:09:30.320 --> 00:09:32.320 It's a series called By Faith. 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.759 We've been exploring what it means to be people who live by faith. 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:40.799 2 Corinthians 5 7 says we are called to live by faith and not by sight. 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:42.799 Live by faith, not by sight. 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:45.679 God is really saying, hey, you've got two approaches you can take in life. 00:09:45.919 --> 00:09:47.200 You can live your life by sight. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:55.120 In other words, your life is defined by what you can envision, by what you can imagine, what you can dream, what you can hope, what you can understand. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:09:57.200 That's how you can live your life. 00:09:57.600 --> 00:10:05.759 The problem there is that, at least in my experience, my perspective, what I can think about, dream about, envision, understand, it's pretty limited. 00:10:06.080 --> 00:10:13.519 And so if I choose to live my life by sight, I am limiting the purpose and the scope of my life to what I can comprehend. 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:16.399 But if I live by faith, that's very different. 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:26.799 Because when we live by faith, the only thing that limits our lives is what God can envision, what God can dream, what God can see, and what God can comprehend. 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:29.039 And God is by nature limitless. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:34.480 So when we live our lives by faith, the only thing that limits our lives is a limitless God. 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:37.679 I want to live a life by faith. 00:10:38.159 --> 00:10:41.600 So we've been exploring this chapter in the New Testament, the book of Hebrews. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:47.679 Hebrews chapter 11 gives us this list of amazing men and women who lived lives of faith. 00:10:48.159 --> 00:10:53.519 They lived lives of great faith, faith that was so intense that it made it into the pages of the Bible. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:57.120 And we've wanted to learn from these people, to follow in their footsteps. 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:06.879 And so, week in and week out, we've been looking at their stories, all the things they've done so that we can try to grow in our faith by imitating them. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:13.600 And this week we're gonna we're gonna wrap this up by looking at Hebrews chapter 12, just one verse in Hebrews chapter 12. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:20.799 After it's gone through all these different people, this is what the writer of Hebrews says in light of these amazing men and women that he's just outlined. 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:29.279 He says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, talking about all the people that we've been looking at for the last several months. 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:39.919 We're talking about Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Rahab, I mean Joseph, Jacob, you name it, all these amazing men and women of faith. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:44.799 Since we have all of these people watching us, is what he's saying. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:55.279 Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up, and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. 00:11:55.360 --> 00:11:59.840 In other words, the writer of Hebrews is saying, look, we've just talked about all these amazing men and women of faith. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:03.440 They lived incredible lives, they've done amazing things for God. 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:06.000 But it's our turn. 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.399 We're the ones living life now. 00:12:08.559 --> 00:12:10.240 They're watching us. 00:12:11.279 --> 00:12:12.720 So let's do this. 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:19.919 Let's live our life in such a way that future generations say, I want to grow in my faith like they did. 00:12:20.639 --> 00:12:22.320 Because now is our time. 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:26.240 The writer of Hebrews is calling his people into action. 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:30.559 He's saying that by faith we have to be people who act. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.080 We have to be people of action. 00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:38.639 I grew up in a church culture that was very focused on performance. 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:44.320 The idea basically was that how God feels about you is determined by how well you've done this week. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:49.840 And so some weeks I'd go to church and I'd feel like, okay, I think God's pleased with me this week. 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:54.399 I had a little checklist of things that I needed to do, things that I definitely shouldn't do. 00:12:55.039 --> 00:13:00.879 But over time, life got a little harder and my checklist became much less impressive. 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:10.879 And I felt like every week I was a failure in God's eyes because I grew up with this performance-oriented view of God, that God's feelings about me have to do with what I have done. 00:13:11.039 --> 00:13:14.080 And I want to let us know this right at the start. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:24.799 That as we look and explore this concept of acting on our faith, of being compelled to action, we're not talking about what we need to do to make God happy. 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.679 God is happy because he's won. 00:13:27.759 --> 00:13:29.600 And you tend to be happy after you win. 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:31.279 I mean, Jesus defeated death. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:33.200 He's in a really good mood. 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:35.200 And he loves you. 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:36.879 He loves you. 00:13:37.200 --> 00:13:38.879 You don't have to earn God's love. 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:40.799 You don't have to do anything to have his love. 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:44.879 And if you've ever, if you've ever been told that, if anyone's ever given you that impression, I'm so sorry. 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:46.639 But we've got to start by erasing that. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:52.639 You don't have to do a thing to earn God's love because his love for you is the love of a father, it's the love of a parent. 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:53.679 It's Mother's Day, right? 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:54.960 The love of a mother. 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:57.840 Whether children, that's the love that God has for you. 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:01.919 And what does a child have to do to earn the love of a parent? 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:03.360 Nothing. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:04.159 Nothing. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:06.399 Not if the parent is remotely like God. 00:14:07.360 --> 00:14:12.879 In fact, children do a really good job trying everything they can think of to get us to not love them, right? 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:15.279 They're very creative. 00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:19.279 The things that I've even just five years being a parent, five years. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:23.440 I have two children, one is five, the other just turned one, and they're both, they're both amazing. 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:24.240 I love them both. 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:33.120 But there have already been experiences I've had in five years that have that have made me realize that if they were not my children, I don't know if I have it in me to love them. 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:35.679 Because of some of the things that have happened. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:39.919 If you have a gag reflex, close your ears for the next five seconds. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:43.600 My my son once threw up into my mouth. 00:14:43.840 --> 00:14:44.159 Okay? 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:47.279 And you might be wondering, okay, how does that happen? 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:48.639 I'll explain. 00:14:48.960 --> 00:14:51.440 So I'm playing with my one-year-old son. 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:52.320 This is four years ago. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:54.080 I'm throwing him up in the air, you know. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:57.519 I'm going, wee, wee, and he's laughing and he's laughing. 00:14:57.600 --> 00:15:08.159 And then one time as I threw him up, okay, and I said, we, something came out of his mouth right as my mouth was opening, and it was like a mama bird feeding her children. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:09.840 It's like direct shot. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:13.840 And I had to do this thing where like I'm holding him and I'm like, I can't drop him. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:15.600 I'm like, oh, what is that? 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:24.639 And that's like if anyone else ever did that to me, the circumstances that would take to happen, I don't even know. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:27.759 But I would not love that person in my my heart of hearts. 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:28.720 I'd try. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:33.600 But that happens with my son, and it's like I it was it was in a weird way, it was cute. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:35.039 How is that even possible? 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:38.559 Like, oh, my son threw open my mouth, you know, just being a dad. 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:41.519 And those of you that don't have kids yet, you might be thinking, I don't know about the kids thing. 00:15:41.600 --> 00:15:44.639 Ken mentioned this a few weeks ago because some people are like, ooh, diapers, I don't know. 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:51.519 Dipers are like the least of your worries when it comes to the gross things you will experience as a parent. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:53.919 Diapers are pfft, diapers are nothing. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:57.120 See, that happened with my son, and I don't love him any less. 00:15:57.440 --> 00:15:59.759 And that's that's disgusting. 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:01.360 I know that. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:04.720 See, that's how it is when we're when we're children, right? 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:08.720 We when we're children, there's really nothing we can do to make our parents love us less. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:10.159 It shouldn't be that way. 00:16:10.399 --> 00:16:14.799 And if we've ever had experiences like that in our lives, I'm so sorry, but that is not how God is. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:16.720 That is not how God the Father is. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:17.759 He loves you. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:20.399 You don't have to do a thing to earn his love. 00:16:20.559 --> 00:16:22.559 You don't have to do anything to have it. 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:24.480 He has given it to you. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:39.360 But here's the thing once you do have it, once you do have the love of God in your life, it is something so powerful and so strong that we have to do something with it. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:47.919 We don't have to do anything for it, but we've got to do something with it because otherwise it would be a waste if someone walked up to you today and said, hey, here's$10 million, it's yours. 00:16:48.000 --> 00:16:51.519 You don't have to do anything for it, no strings attached, ten million dollars. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:56.480 You would not go home and put it on a shelf and leave it there for ten years. 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:02.720 That would be a waste because it's so it's so valuable, you would use it for something. 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:04.480 You would have to use it. 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:06.000 It would be a tragedy not to. 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.200 God's love is so valuable, it is so powerful. 00:17:09.759 --> 00:17:15.680 The relationship we have with him is so amazing that we have to be people that do something with it. 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:21.839 If we're gonna live lives of faith, we have to be people who who act. 00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:23.920 The book of James. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:27.440 James was the brother of Jesus, and he's a very direct person. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:36.400 We don't get a lot of James in the stories in the Bible, but we we get to see his tone of voice a lot in the chapters of the Bible that he writes, and he's obviously like a straight shooter. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:42.480 If you've ever known someone that just doesn't mince words and they don't they don't like to beat around the bush, they just get right to the heart of the matter, that's James. 00:17:42.720 --> 00:17:45.759 And he puts it this way in James chapter 2, verse 17. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:49.200 He says, So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. 00:17:49.359 --> 00:17:54.960 Unless it produces good deeds, or in other words, unless there's action involved, it is dead and useless. 00:17:55.119 --> 00:18:01.200 And I like James because he's he's very, very thorough, as if we needed more after dead, right? 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:06.400 Faith without action, it's dead, and in case you think dead is a good thing, it's also useless. 00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.079 That's what James is saying. 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:14.720 He's saying faith requires action, and earlier in the book of James, he said it this way, I love this, and we're gonna focus on this today. 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:21.119 He said, be doers of the word, not merely hearers. 00:18:23.039 --> 00:18:26.799 Be doers of the word, not merely hearers. 00:18:27.039 --> 00:18:27.680 His hands. 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:36.000 If we're gonna be a church and a family, live lives of faith, we're going to be doers of the word. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:40.480 James is echoing something that Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:46.880 Jesus said, Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:52.559 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:54.880 Because it had been founded on rock. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:01.759 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 00:19:02.000 --> 00:19:08.160 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was its fall. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:16.079 And Jesus says, in both of these situations, it's the person that hears and acts versus the person that hears and doesn't act. 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:17.359 It's not about hearing. 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:20.319 Both situations the people hear. 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:25.440 But like James says, we are called to be doers, not hearers. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:28.160 Now, again, I want to clarify something. 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:34.880 One of the biggest criticisms that Jesus had of the religious leaders in his day is that they put heavy burdens on people. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:38.160 They gave people these monumental to-do lists. 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:45.279 Jesus actually said to them, you put a burden on people too heavy for them to carry, and you don't lift a finger to help. 00:19:46.640 --> 00:20:07.440 And I mean this very much that if if we ever come here, if we ever come here on Sundays and we leave burdened, we leave feeling like someone has put a heavy weight on us and we walk out of here weighed down because we feel like we're just not good enough, we're not enough, we're not doing enough, then you gotta go to a different church because that means we have stopped being his hands. 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:09.839 Because that's not who we are, right? 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:14.880 So when I say this, I'm not saying that this is like, oh, okay, be doers. 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:18.400 We we've got to really come on, guys, it's time to stop playing around, it's time to be doers. 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:35.920 What I'm saying is we have this incredible, incredible opportunity to take the inspiration that faith in us stirs and builds and creates and do something with it to see a world that changes. 00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:47.119 And so if we leave here and we're we're filled with inspiration, if we leave here and we're lifted up and we have passion, that's God saying, Great, I'm doing something in your heart. 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:50.240 Now I want you to do something with it because I want to see lives change. 00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:53.759 Inspiration without action, it's just not very useful. 00:20:54.559 --> 00:21:03.119 All of us have been inspired to do something, maybe certain things for a long period of time, but we haven't figured out how that inspiration can materialize into action yet, right? 00:21:03.200 --> 00:21:06.000 I've been trying to lose 20 pounds for like four years. 00:21:06.319 --> 00:21:08.480 I have plenty of inspiration. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:09.680 Plenty. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:12.400 And it's so funny because guys, you know how this is. 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:19.839 Like, even if you're a guy that's just not in great shape at all, uh, there's something about us that we just have really unrealistic ideas about what we can accomplish. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:21.119 That's how men are sometimes. 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:28.480 So you might like see some guy that's just ripped, like in a movie, an actor that spends 12 hours a day lifting weights, and you're like, I should probably get in the gym. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:31.039 Because I could, you know, I could be like that if I if I really tried. 00:21:31.119 --> 00:21:33.119 Give me a couple months, and that's how I am sometimes. 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:34.319 I have the inspiration. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:36.960 Like, oh, I should, I should get in great shape. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:43.359 But then there's food and and sitting down, and that's fun. 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:46.160 Sitting down, sitting down is you guys are all doing it right now. 00:21:46.319 --> 00:21:48.640 You look like you're having a good time, right? 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:52.720 I'm burning more calories than you right now, so it's just, you know, I'm ahead. 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:53.519 I'm a head start. 00:21:53.599 --> 00:21:55.599 I'll make it up, I'll make up for it later, promise. 00:21:55.759 --> 00:21:59.759 Uh see, the inspiration is not my issue, it's it's making the inspiration material. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:08.000 Materialize into action, but it's when we do that, it's when our inspiration in life actually starts to come out through our behavior that things really change. 00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:09.839 That's when results happen. 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:26.480 And if we want to see the lives of our of our friends change, our coworkers, our families, our parents, our children, if we want to see the lives in our communities change, our inspiration has to become action. 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:29.680 We have to become doers of the word. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:34.799 There's this amazing story of a group of doers in Mark chapter 2. 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:38.000 It's one of my favorite stories in the Bible because I can really relate to it. 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:41.119 I don't have a very shady or like crazy past at all. 00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:42.720 I actually sometimes I wish I did. 00:22:42.799 --> 00:22:47.920 I wish I had something that I could point to that was it would give me street cred, because I just don't have much of that. 00:22:48.160 --> 00:23:00.720 And I wish I could say, oh man, back in the day, I was I was in speech and debate, and I was in student government, I was in school plays, really life on the edge type stuff. 00:23:00.880 --> 00:23:02.480 That's my past. 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:09.119 But but I will say this this story, it involves some minor vandalism, okay? 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:20.240 And just don't judge me, but in my best effort to show that yes, I did some exciting things once, I used to toilet paper people's houses on weekends. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:24.799 So so the minor vandalism that we're gonna see in this story, this is something I can relate to. 00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:26.000 And I did it all the time. 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:26.799 I loved it. 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:28.000 I knew it was illegal. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:28.720 I did. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:34.160 But it was kind of one of those things where you're like, well, yeah, it's illegal, but so's speeding, right? 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:37.359 I mean, like, it's sort of, it's it's not really illegal. 00:23:37.599 --> 00:23:41.839 There was something about seeing a roll of toilet paper fly through the air and just unravel. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:43.599 It was like I could hear classical music. 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:44.319 It was beautiful. 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:50.079 It was just, it was, you know, and the best was if a teacher ever told us, hey, I'm going on vacation. 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:52.000 We're like, awesome, awesome. 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:56.640 And we toilet papered so many teachers' houses in high school. 00:23:56.960 --> 00:23:58.319 So, so many. 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:04.240 Had a few close calls, a few moments where I got a little scared that we were gonna get caught and there might be some consequences. 00:24:04.400 --> 00:24:08.799 The worst was was one day I was at a football game and I had already gone to the store and stocked up. 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:09.279 I was ready. 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:16.480 My friends and I were gonna leave from the game, go to one of their houses, and then that night we were gonna go out and just toilet paper everywhere is gonna be awesome, it's gonna be great. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:18.640 And I'm telling them about all the plans I have. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:20.000 I was like the ringleader of that group. 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:21.599 I'm like, guys, here's what we're gonna do. 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:25.279 I know this person's out of town, I know this person, we're gonna go there, I've got all this toilet paper. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:48.400 And normally my friends would have been lit up and excited and engaged and ready to go, but this time they were staring at me with concern and this really, like, really intense look of dread, and I did not know why, until I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around, and there was a police officer who I guess had been standing right behind me the whole time I was talking about this, and and he heard every word that I said. 00:24:48.640 --> 00:25:01.200 And see, here's the thing I wasn't afraid from a legal point of view, because I have watched Law and Order, and I know that possession of large amounts of toilet paper is not a crime. 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:01.680 Okay? 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:03.519 You can't make that stick. 00:25:03.680 --> 00:25:08.160 I know that even intent to roll someone's house in toilet paper is not a crime. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:12.799 There's no way that he was gonna bring me in under those types of charges, right? 00:25:13.039 --> 00:25:14.319 But he didn't have to. 00:25:14.480 --> 00:25:15.920 Because here's what he said. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:19.759 He took my name, he grabbed my driver's license, took down my address. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:21.680 He said, All right, son, here's the deal. 00:25:21.920 --> 00:25:28.880 If one house in this city gets rolled with toilet paper tonight, I will be at your doorstep in the morning, ready to talk to you and your parents together. 00:25:29.119 --> 00:25:33.200 And I remember being 16 and trying to be like, whatever, okay. 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:38.720 Like in front of my friends, like, but on the inside, that that was like the worst night of my life. 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:40.960 I was so nervous, I was so terrified. 00:25:41.039 --> 00:25:45.359 I I remember 10 o'clock in the morning rolled around the next day, and then 11, and I think it was like 2 p.m. 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:48.000 before I finally breathed and was like, oh goodness. 00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:50.559 It was like that episode of that show, Scared Straight. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:51.279 You ever see that? 00:25:51.440 --> 00:25:52.319 That's what happened. 00:25:52.480 --> 00:25:59.440 I didn't roll another house for like three weeks because of how intense that encounter was. 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:00.960 And so that's that's my thing. 00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:10.000 I in my past, in my youth, mild amounts of vandalism, just small little doses of vandalism, that was that was something I I enjoyed. 00:26:10.160 --> 00:26:11.920 And and it was just immaturity. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:12.880 That's all it was. 00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:15.599 This vandalism, this was much more than immaturity. 00:26:15.680 --> 00:26:17.680 This actually served a purpose. 00:26:17.920 --> 00:26:18.720 I love this story. 00:26:18.799 --> 00:26:21.279 It's in Mark chapter 2, verses 1 through 12. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:26.799 It says, When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:32.799 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room even outside the door. 00:26:33.119 --> 00:26:38.640 While he was preaching God's word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:43.680 They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:46.480 They broke a hole in someone's roof. 00:26:46.960 --> 00:26:52.559 That is definitely vandalism, a degree higher than toilet papering someone's house, there's no question. 00:26:54.079 --> 00:26:57.599 They lowered the man on his mat right down in front of Jesus, seeing their faith. 00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:01.440