WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.640 This podcast is the Ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church. 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:06.160 For more information on our church, please visit grandparkway.org. 00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:10.640 Well, if you came in um after Lance made announcements, my name is Wade Collier. 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:13.359 Uh I'm I don't know what I am right now. 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:15.039 I'm in between positions. 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:16.719 I am in limbo. 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:18.239 Uh I'm in transit. 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:23.760 Uh I have been, and we'll talk a little bit more about this as we we kind of wrap up this becoming series. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:33.920 I've spent uh the last six wonderful years being a student pastor here at Grand Parkway, um, the longest five-month job anyone has ever experienced in their entire lives. 00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:37.759 Uh and uh and and now we're entering into a new season. 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:47.039 Um but I most importantly this morning have the opportunity to um to be a part of kind of wrapping the bow around this becoming series. 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:51.200 Um if you were handed a worship folder as you came in on the front, there's a road, it says becoming. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:53.119 Um that's been a four-week series for us. 00:00:53.280 --> 00:01:01.280 Um it started uh as we talked about uh change, and then we um went to the process of progress, nice alliteration there. 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:09.359 And then Neil last week um came in and talked about uh what he called, and I like that, the dirty word of the faith, the four-letter word of the faith, discipline. 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:28.319 Um we don't like to talk about discipline, we'd rather have more grace and less law, and we talked about the importance of discipline in this thing of becoming, and so now um I get to be um hopefully the instrument of the Lord and his word this morning and bringing all the different pictures of this mosaic together into a clear picture of mission. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:30.480 And that's what we're gonna talk about this morning is mission. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:33.920 If you have your Bibles, we're gonna be in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:35.359 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:36.959 If you don't have a Bible, um, two options. 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:37.840 It'll be on the screen. 00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:40.079 The majority of the things we talk about will be on the screen behind me. 00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:44.159 There also is a hardcover pew Bible somewhere around you can reach and grab that. 00:01:44.239 --> 00:01:47.439 And we're on page 966 in that Bible. 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:54.000 Um in I said we we we went from uh we went change and we went progress, we did discipline. 00:01:54.079 --> 00:01:54.799 Now we have mission. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:57.680 And that word mission can be a tricky word. 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.439 Um it can it can it can bring about different thoughts, different emotions in some of us. 00:02:01.519 --> 00:02:06.560 We hear mission, and some of us we are um and we are on fire for that word mission. 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:20.000 Um whatever we've shaped that in our mind to be, whether that's international missions, um, we if if you've if you've never if you haven't spent much time around Grand Parkway or it's been a while, and I know we um we we kind of have this undulating cycle of folks throughout the summer, which is great. 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:27.599 You will you will always hear from the pulpit here, it is a sin to have a lake house, to have a beach house, to have family and other places and not go see them. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:29.520 We we say yes, that is worship, go do that. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:37.439 And but if you if you don't spend a lot of time here in the summers, we're different from a lot of other churches that you've been around because a lot of churches kind of slow down during the summer. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.400 Um, and we do to an extent, we we don't have our midweek studies. 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:43.919 Here we we ramp up, and one of those things that ramps up here is missions. 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:50.080 Um, we've had three mission trips this summer, um, locally, regionally, internationally, um, and we'll continue on in that. 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:58.960 And so you hear missions, and yes, you you yes that you're all about it, and that's just within you, and you can't wait to do more, or you've heard heard these opportunities and you want to jump in. 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:01.680 Maybe for some of you it's it's you're in juxtaposition to that. 00:03:01.759 --> 00:03:02.800 You're you're complete opposite. 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:04.879 You hear mission, and that makes you nervous. 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:08.000 And that makes it more than a Sunday faith. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:14.800 That makes it more than what you feel comfortable with, and we'll we'll we'll revisit that, but it's a stretching of who we are. 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:19.360 And maybe there's some of us that are somewhere in the middle, or maybe on the outside looking in, and we've heard mission. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:22.960 Missional is a word that's thrown around a lot, especially the last couple of years. 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:25.840 You talk about church, we're a missional church, we do these things. 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:28.400 Um we should all be missional churches, but we'll get to that. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:33.039 Um in now, there's this world that probably most of us in here don't care about. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:43.360 There's a big discussion, there's books being written and conferences being launched talking about what is the mission of the church and what is the mission of the believer and all those things. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:51.759 And all those things are great, and all those things are all a part of what we want to talk about this morning, folding under the mission of God. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:04:05.120 And so, what we're gonna do as we read 2 Corinthians 5, these verses 16 through 21 this morning, as we read these verses, what we're going to do is we're gonna ask and answer two questions. 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:17.120 Um, and so if you're taking notes, and I think these will come up on the screen, but if you're um if you're interested in this, we're gonna we're gonna talk about what is the mission of God and how does God fold us into that mission? 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:20.720 What role does God have us play in his mission? 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:23.120 And so that is mission work, yes. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:33.839 That is um the things that we do in India, um, all the way to India, probably our furthest reaching, one of our furthest reaching mission partnerships, or even just a mile and a quarter down the road at the Carol Vance prison unit. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:40.160 All that is mission, yes, but it all falls under uh this banner of God's mission. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:49.439 And so um what read with me um 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 16, it'll be on the screen, um, or read along with me. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:05:00.399 From now on, therefore we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regarded him thus no longer. 00:05:00.639 --> 00:05:07.759 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, and the old is passed away, and behold, the new is come. 00:05:08.639 --> 00:05:16.000 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:26.959 That is, in Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against him and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 00:05:27.519 --> 00:05:33.680 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:39.360 We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:49.600 For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:56.639 Now, if you think through this and you see patterns and you know literature at all, you see this pattern of this word we saw a lot, reconciliation. 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:57.759 I'll give away the answer. 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.000 The mission of God, reconciliation. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:00.959 Reconciliation. 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:03.519 Underline that's a church Bible, underline that, all right? 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:05.600 We're gonna talk about reconciliation this morning. 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:23.439 But here's what I want to do, and and not because it's easy to go and pick the loaf hanging fruit and look at cultural things and bash those, but if we want to look in principled thinking, if we want to operate in principled thinking, we want to look at black and white, and we want to say, what is the mission of God and how do I be a part of that? 00:06:23.600 --> 00:06:24.879 We identify the mission of God. 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:26.319 We're gonna see that as reconciliation. 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:28.480 We'll kind of unpack that word here in a minute. 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:41.040 But I think as thinking people, because in in at no time as we read through the gospels, we read through the Bibles, we are on this journey of faith, does God ever ask us to remove our mind from our heart or from our faith? 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:45.680 And this, we we're all we are our body, all as one, being created by God. 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:52.480 And so I think what was a responsible thing to do is we ask this question, we answer this question, what is the mission of God? 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:55.360 It's okay, it's okay, everybody look at me. 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:58.720 It's okay to look at things and say, that's not the mission of God. 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:12.959 And it's not politically correct to do so, and it's not socially acceptable to do so, but we we we we we want to narrow in and we want to be as as the hymn that we sang, we want the proclamation of our lives to be the glory of God's name. 00:07:13.600 --> 00:07:23.360 And so one way we do that is we are discerning and we're responsible and we think things through, and so I want us to look at three things that are not the mission of God. 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:26.079 And and I'm not gonna single anything out. 00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:28.000 I know some people are really excited to think that's gonna happen. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:29.519 It's not, you can go back to sleep. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:34.079 But I do want us to uh point at three different things that are not the mission of God. 00:07:34.240 --> 00:07:39.040 The mission of God is not driven by what we think is the most pressing need. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.839 It is not driven by what we think is the most pressing need. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:50.720 And there are things that are important, and there are things that you are passionate about, and God has made us passionate creatures. 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:56.879 But just because we have made that the gospel in our lives doesn't necessarily mean it is the mission of God. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:05.199 And we could be super excited against picketing against McDonald's and the pink slime and their chicken nuggets or whatever they're feeding us, right? 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.600 And that is that is not the mission of God. 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:16.480 And and uh I kept thinking as I was as I was kind of putting this outline together and kind of shaving things off, the word Coney, the name Coney, kept coming to me. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:21.040 And I thought about a few months ago when the world found out about Coney. 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:30.160 And Coney is a horrible, horrible mercenary of war and killing kids and child soldiers, and and and that is that is that is not good. 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:31.600 Are we all in agreement of that? 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:33.440 This is not a good thing, right? 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:38.960 But it it speaks to our passions and the way that we feel like things are pressing. 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:52.480 I remember when Coney hit and the documentary movie came out, and then it was on Facebook, and it was on CNN, and it was on Fox News, and it was on Drudge, and then they were coming around and they were, I was watching local news in Houston, and they were going and they were interviewing pastors, and what did they think about that? 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:53.440 And I think it's great. 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:57.600 I think it's great to be culturally aware, but that became the gospel for some people. 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:00.639 But now let's just be honest and keep your it's a rhetorical question. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:02.159 Think of it, you just keep your answer yourself. 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:04.080 When was the last time you thought about Coney? 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:08.559 But before it was such a pressing need, right? 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:11.519 We had to get the word out and you had to hit like because that was going to change everything. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:14.559 If you liked it on Facebook, the world was gonna change, right? 00:09:15.360 --> 00:09:20.480 Because it's the most pressing need, but the mission of God is not always what we think is the most pressing need. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:25.279 And falling right in line with that is the mission of God is not always mandated by the culture. 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:28.799 The mission of God is not always mandated by the culture. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:35.120 And there are good things to be involved in, but that doesn't always mean that they are the mission of God. 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:47.440 And in part of this discussion I was reverencing before of all these people trying to figure out what is the mission of God and what's the mission of church and all these things, you have people picking these different it's hard to not even say this without laughing. 00:09:47.519 --> 00:09:53.360 They had they pick these different sermons from Jesus and decide just one of those sermons is the mission of God. 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:56.000 Just one thing that Jesus said, He said reach to the poor. 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:57.519 That's the only thing we're supposed to do. 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:00.399 We're a social gospel church, now that's what we're doing. 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:01.679 And we just pick this one thing. 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:04.240 Here's the problem, and here's where we need to be okay. 00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:05.679 This is all good news, by the way. 00:10:05.759 --> 00:10:07.120 I had to keep reminding the first service. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:08.480 Maybe it's me, maybe I'm too serious. 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:14.559 This is good news that we get to find all this out and then we get to be focused and remove distraction. 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:36.080 Because here's where we are guilty, and maybe it's just me, but if you watch TV, uh, whether it's sitcom, reality TV, even sports, pretty much everything across the gamut, with the exception of documentaries, but watch Discovery Channel, and what I'm about to say will even it's beginning to happen there as well, is marketing people, whether we like it or not, they're smart and they know what they're doing. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:46.639 And people who sell ad space and people who write shows and people in those production meetings, even though some of the stuff they put on TV, my wife and I always have this joke of there were people who sat around a table and decided that was a good idea. 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:49.519 And then they sent it to other people who decided it was a good idea, and then they put it on TV. 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:51.279 And you're like, why do they well they made money, right? 00:10:51.440 --> 00:10:52.240 So they know what they're doing. 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:59.600 But one of the things they've realized is they market to the generation of the teenagers from anywhere from about 13 to about 27 in here in that in that age group. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:07.919 They'll take that, and if you watch TV and go home and watch this, about every 18 to 22 seconds, my students hear this because I remind them all the time don't be lazy and have an attention span. 00:11:08.159 --> 00:11:12.480 Between 18 to 22 seconds, they're constantly changing what's happening on the TV screen. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.360 Because we don't have an attention span longer than that. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:21.360 And so if we look at our own sinful nature, and and I know everybody's everybody's great, right? 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:22.320 We're all we're all good, right? 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:22.559 Right? 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:24.960 And we have these, you're like but weighed but mine. 00:11:25.039 --> 00:11:28.799 If you just knew what I was passionate about, that I don't always find it lined up in the Bible. 00:11:29.120 --> 00:11:42.720 If we take our consumerism and we take our ADD nature and our inability to focus and inability to have any follow-through, and we try to make that the mission, we're just basically saying, God, I'm passionate about this. 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:44.879 I really want you to be passionate about it as well. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:47.279 And we've we've got it upside down. 00:11:47.519 --> 00:11:50.080 And so we we're actually trying to answer these questions differently. 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:53.360 And lastly, is this is God's mission isn't changing? 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:55.600 That's the best news this morning. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:57.360 God's mission isn't changing. 00:11:57.600 --> 00:12:04.240 The things that we read about this reconciliation of Christ, God has been doing it since the beginning of time. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:12.799 And the God of Revelation, who always was and always is and always will be, is reconciling. 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:14.720 And his mission is the same. 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:18.000 And he's invited us to be a part of that. 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:22.720 And so the first question being, what is God's mission? 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:26.960 The second question being, how does how does God use us within that mission? 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:37.440 If we were to go around this room and kind of take a poll and ask these questions of um, man, where do we uh where do you think that God's mission is for your life? 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:48.320 I I might I would guess the chance would be we'd we'd have a smattering of um a little bit of um to to to know God and enjoy him forever, which is absolutely right. 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:53.120 And some of it would be to love God and love others, and to both of those I say yes. 00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:53.679 Really? 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.360 We could take both of those, we could pray, we could wrap it up and take it to the house. 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:57.759 All right? 00:12:57.840 --> 00:12:59.759 But don't get too excited, we're not gonna do that. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:09.360 Because if we don't, if if we're not grounded in God's mission, then we take these sayings of knowing God, enjoying him forever. 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:12.559 You gotta ask the question, what God are you enjoying? 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:24.159 If this ministry of reconciliation, here's a great uh here's a great quote from Tozier, if you guys could put that up, about um about this putting the world back to rights. 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:26.960 Putting the world back to rights. 00:13:27.120 --> 00:13:35.759 So when we read this, verse 18, all is that all this is from God who through Christ reconciled us, put us right to himself. 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:38.559 And he gave us the ministry of putting it right. 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:48.399 And that is in Christ, God was putting right the world to himself, not counting trespasses against them and entrusting the message of putting it right. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:54.399 Now we can't do it on our own, and we have some able-bodied people here, but we can't. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:59.679 I was thinking about this and I started thinking um I'm in a lot of, I mean, kind of in that season of reflection. 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:04.399 I'm sure a lot of you can relate to that, just kind of moving from one season of life to another. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:08.159 Um and and actually, can I just take a minute? 00:14:08.240 --> 00:14:20.720 I just want I want to pause here and just say, as we talk about this word mission, as we talk about this position, and I know Lance referenced it before, but um I sent out a couple emails over the last few weeks just to parents of students just saying, hey, this thing's going student ministry. 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:23.840 I think I made a reference a couple times about not being there anymore. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:31.360 And so um, I've had a lot of concerned emails that Neil has canned me, um, which he keeps trying, but I'm an unstoppable force, he cannot fire me. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:36.000 Um and then also uh everybody wants to avoid eye contact with me because I think I'm on the way out the door. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:49.519 Let me uh just take a minute and just tell you, uh, just because we are full disclosure, and because in case you weren't here and you're kind of make making heads of tails of things, um, as of September 1st, we've kind of backed it up for a couple reasons, and I'll tell you that in a second. 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:57.039 Is um I I I have been here for uh for six years as a student minister, and uh it has been six of the best years of my life. 00:14:57.120 --> 00:14:58.000 It's been incredible. 00:14:58.159 --> 00:15:18.320 And um and God has begun to work in in Grand Parkway and allowed uh me and my family and and and what's going on here in this ministry to be a part of that, as um God had really been disturring in us the need for a full-time missions pastor here at Grand Parkway and a full-time staff person to be a part of that lay-led team. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:20.799 Um and so as we begin to do that. 00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:33.440 Um, in that same season of time, um we had a we had a 19-year-old kid come on with us, Aaron Cotton, um, started working as an intern for us, um, and then he went from intern to unpaid volunteer that I treated like an employee. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:49.200 Um and then we uh kind of moved him more into a full-time internship and to associate, and then uh it was it was very clear as as God was just kind of orchestrating and fitting all that into place that Aaron was the person to be our student minister here at Grant Parkway and it just became uh this seamless transition. 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:58.559 And so um I say all that just because um, one, we're we're full disclosure, and two, um if you take a preaching class, I'll tell you never to do this. 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:02.480 I just want to offer anybody, anybody have any questions about how that works? 00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:05.120 I probably will regret this if anybody does ask a question. 00:16:05.279 --> 00:16:08.320 But I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page moving forward with that. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:09.600 That's what it looks like. 00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:11.440 Going once, going twice, good. 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:11.840 All right. 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:26.159 So as we take this mission forward, as we push forward, um, I started thinking about um growing up and I started thinking about um confused missions and confused messages. 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:36.000 And when I was in uh junior high, I took metal shop because it is a great idea to give 12 and 13-year-old boys welding equipment and blowtorches. 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:36.960 That's a super idea. 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:39.840 Throw an angle grinder in there and just turn them loose, right? 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:48.960 And uh I had a I had a teacher who taught metal shop, and his job was, his mission, as given by the school district that I grew up in, was to teach metal shop. 00:16:49.120 --> 00:16:53.759 Teach us how to weld, teach us how to not cut our fingers off and all those great things that happened in metal shop. 00:16:53.919 --> 00:17:01.360 His job was not, as he convinced himself later, was to come up with crazy conspiracy theories and scare us half to death. 00:17:01.679 --> 00:17:14.240 Because I remember, like it was yesterday, standing outside of his classroom, because you weren't allowed, you weren't allowed to go into his class, right, if he wasn't in there, because there were arc welders and blowtorches and angle grinders. 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:19.920 But at least three times a week, he would just turn us loose and just leave, go on smoke break, right? 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:27.440 And so here's you got 13-year-old kids running around their hair on fire and setting each other's hair on fire, and man, look how black my toenail turns when I get heat on it, right? 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:29.279 And so all these things. 00:17:29.519 --> 00:17:32.400 But I remember like it was yesterday standing outside of his class, and he said, Mr. 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:34.799 Collier, uh, you're in charge. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:37.119 It's easy. 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:42.160 Uh it's a scary enough thought thinking about me being in charge now, but at 13 years old, right? 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:43.519 And he said, You're in charge. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:44.960 I just got horrible news. 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:46.720 And I think I was a pretty empathetic kid. 00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:51.039 I remember saying, uh, and I and I said his name in the first service, so that will not be going on the podcast, by the way. 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:53.359 Uh, I think because I think he's still a teacher in the city. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:55.680 Uh I said, uh, well, you know what's going on? 00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:56.559 Is there an emergency? 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:58.559 And he said, I just found out. 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:01.039 I can say it with straight face. 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:08.559 I just found out there are subs at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, and they are leaking nuclear waste. 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:12.960 And then he laid out this five-year plan of how it was gonna get into the water system. 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:14.640 Some of you are afraid right now, aren't you? 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:15.039 Yes. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:16.319 It was like 20 years ago. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:17.039 You're gonna be alright. 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:23.200 And so it's gonna get in the water system, and then fish are gonna come, we're gonna eat them, and then we'll all have seven eyes and two tails. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:28.079 And he was serious about this, and I would, I no, I've never seen his contract. 00:18:28.160 --> 00:18:44.079 I never went into the assistant principal's office and opened the file cabinet and looked at junior high metal shop teachers' contract roles, but I'm pretty sure one of the bullet points wasn't scaring the ever-living daylights out of junior high kids with conspiracy theories, right? 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:45.680 But he continues on to this day. 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:46.799 I haven't figured that out. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:49.759 And so, what was the what what why the whole point of that? 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:53.839 Because you have someone with a clearly defined mission. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:55.599 Teach kids. 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:58.079 Don't let them cut appendages off, right? 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:08.559 Instruct kids in what he had decided was his passion and these things that he began to infuse in had nothing to do with God. 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:12.400 Or had nothing to do with his job, really, had nothing to do either, but had nothing to do with his job. 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:13.279 Right? 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:19.839 And so as we read this again, I won't read it all, but as we read this again, all this is from God. 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:26.240 Who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:37.920 That is, in Christ, God is reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against him, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:43.039 And I think I said this before, but we this isn't new. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:48.160 God's message of making things right and drawing those to him. 00:19:48.640 --> 00:19:50.480 Because here's something that we need to see. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:52.319 Here's something that we have to draw in on. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:53.599 If you have a pen, underline it. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:55.200 If you're taking notes, write this down. 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:56.319 Verse 18. 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:59.519 All this is from who? 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:01.200 God. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:02.880 It's from God. 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:11.440 And we have to hear this and we have to believe this, and if nothing else, walk out of here with the understanding that it all comes from God. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:18.160 And I say that and I say it again and I say it again because we and our nature don't agree with that. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:20.319 We want a role in this. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:22.480 We want to have a part. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:28.880 We want to have a part of our salvation and we want to have a part of this reconciliation, but it says all this is from God. 00:20:29.119 --> 00:20:32.400 We want this to be some buddy cop movie, right? 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:36.240 Where we get to be the competent, smart, funny one. 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:40.880 Instead of the goofball who's just lucky to be along for the ride. 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:43.039 Let me tell you this, everybody look at me. 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:54.960 It is one of the greatiest, that's not a word, it is one of the greatest moments in your life when you accept and embrace that you are lucky to be along for the ride. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.960 And that you've been reconciled. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:03.680 And that you're you're you're you're not you're not you're not the exception to the rule. 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:14.240 And so God has this ministry of reconciliation, of drawing those to him through mission work, through sharing of the gospel, which we're going to talk about in a minute. 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:21.599 But making it right and drawing, and drawing us in, and then sending us out to be part of that reconciliation. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:26.799 Which brings us to the second part of the question, or the second question rather, is what is our role? 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:30.640 Jesus sends us out to proclaim the good news. 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:33.599 Jesus sends us out to proclaim the good news. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.559 I'll butcher this and I wrote it, so I should probably read it. 00:21:36.720 --> 00:21:39.519 It says this we're on a mission with God. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:46.640 This is a reminder for me. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:50.240 We are not in partnership with God because he needs us. 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:53.440 This is not a symbiotic relationship. 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:57.440 I'm just gonna tattoo this on my forehead backwards so I can read this every morning. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.680 Not because I believe and teach a self. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:04.799 Self-deprecating theology of slugdom, but because the simple fact that God is eternal. 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:06.240 What's the connection? 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:16.319 The God of Revelation 1:8, who always was, always is, and always will be, created, reigns, and will win without you and me. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:17.759 Good news. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:21.519 The God who doesn't need us chooses us. 00:22:21.759 --> 00:22:23.200 He redeems us. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:30.160 He reconciles us to himself and displays his goodness by including us in his plan. 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:32.160 So what's his plan? 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:34.000 Matthew chapter 28. 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:34.880 It'll be on the screen. 00:22:35.119 --> 00:22:36.559 If you have your Bible, feel free to turn. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:38.160 Matthew chapter 28. 00:22:39.119 --> 00:22:41.039 We'll start in verse 18. 00:22:42.880 --> 00:22:46.160 If you're there already, what does it say above that paragraph? 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:48.400 The Great Commission. 00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:55.440 A lot of us are familiar with this. 00:22:56.240 --> 00:23:04.079 Some of us aren't, but all of us can stand to hear it again, especially when it's the question we're trying to answer. 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:16.559 In this ministry of reconciliation, in this ministry, this mission, this mandate, this proclaiming of God's goodness, where does he use us? 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:23.599 And Jesus came to him and he said, This all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:25.359 Been given to who? 00:23:26.559 --> 00:23:27.759 God, Jesus. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.559 It's his. 00:23:29.039 --> 00:23:29.920 It's always his. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:31.599 It always will be his. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:33.599 But verse 19. 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:44.160 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded to you. 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:48.799 Behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. 00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:54.720 Now here's where we begin to start to land the plane. 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:00.240 Is it's not always easy for us to talk about our faith. 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:10.480 But if we were to take a poll in here, chances are most of us have more comfort and more experience talking about our faith. 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:12.319 And that includes, hey, you know what? 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:13.440 I don't know what I believe. 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:18.559 Because here's what the Bible teaches, here's what we believe is that we are all on a journey. 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:20.160 We're all on the same journey. 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:20.880 Alright? 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:23.599 It's not 18 different journeys that all lead to one place. 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:25.359 We're all on the same journey. 00:24:25.680 --> 00:24:27.920 We're all in different places of that journey. 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:37.519 And some of us, we believe and we strive, and we live for Christ, and some of us, we're still trying to figure out if we believe this whole thing's real. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:39.920 And some of us fall in between. 00:24:40.160 --> 00:24:42.160 But we're all on this journey. 00:24:45.119 --> 00:24:54.960 And as we we we look and we think about this faith, and then we we've all had the opportunity to talk about it and think about it and process it that way. 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:58.319 And so that's part one, is God has sent us out to proclaim the truth. 00:24:58.400 --> 00:25:01.759 But here's here's part two, and here's here's where we begin to wrap this up. 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:06.400 Is God has also empowered us to enact the gospel. 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.799 To enact the gospel. 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.400 To act out the gospel. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:26.400 Jesus said this, Jesus did this, all the power is Jesus', and he has sent us out to proclaim the gospel, to be a part of making it right. 00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:30.480 And by making it right, by pointing others to him. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:40.960 Last summer I was um a moron and thought I was still 17 years old and decided to jump out of the back of an 18-wheeler. 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:44.559 Um that did not pan out well for me, as you can imagine. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:52.799 Um and many of you saw me over the last year kind of go from crutches to limping to um still limping some. 00:25:52.960 --> 00:26:05.119 Um, and I I did such irreparable damage to my knee that uh they had to go in and put all kind of new stuff in there, new muscles and ligaments, and tendons, and a rubber boot and a chicken bone. 00:26:05.200 --> 00:26:06.240 I don't know what all went in there. 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:08.160 And they did all this work in there. 00:26:08.319 --> 00:26:11.759 How many of you had knee surgery before or shoulder surgery or any of those? 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:13.200 All right, pretty common. 00:26:13.359 --> 00:26:19.680 And how many of you had the experience where they brought that big medieval torture device where they want you to start moving immediately after that surgery? 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:22.240 Can I show a yeah, she still got your hand up, so you survived. 00:26:22.319 --> 00:26:22.720 All right. 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:27.680 So um I, because of the extent of what happened, I couldn't do that. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:30.319 Uh they brought that in, and the doctor immediately was like, get that out of here. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:31.519 We can't have that anywhere near him. 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:37.599 We have to do so much work in here that we actually have to let it sit sedentary for like three weeks, two weeks, three weeks, something like that. 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:46.000 So if you uh have any experience with this or or have thought this through, as it sits there, all kind of scar tissue develops and all these things happen. 00:26:46.160 --> 00:26:52.720 And so I go to physical therapy, and they uh when I first get there, they matched me up with this um this this sweet little lady. 00:26:52.799 --> 00:27:10.160 She was from the Philippines or Hades, um, and she uh she we we kind of went through some stuff and then she put me on this chair, and it really was, it was just a metal folding chair, and then she brought over about this eight-foot contraption with a winch on it, hooked it up to a Z71. 00:27:10.240 --> 00:27:16.960 No, she hooked it up to a winch and put it on the ground, and she put my knee in there, and she slowly began to crank and began to pull my knee, right? 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:25.839 And I won't go into all the details and make anybody nauseous in here, but there's a there's a little just imagine like a bag of cornflakes that someone's ringing like a rag. 00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:26.880 That's what it sounded like. 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:28.319 Uh and so they would do that. 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:32.880 And so here is where the the cruel and unusual torture took a whole new level. 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:36.880 After they did it twice, they said, now you're responsible for this. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:48.240 And so every day, three days or three or four days a week, as I would go in, I would get on there, and they and I was responsible for meeting the goals and cranking this lever and making my knee bend, and the same thing. 00:27:48.319 --> 00:28:00.400 They had this other thing with this air compression where I have straightened my leg out, and it was painful and it was horrible, and I get mad at my wife for making me continue to go, and every time I try to think of a reason, she's like, go. 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:13.200 And but what slowly began to happen is through all that pain, and after I crossed over and continued to ascend past the plateaus, I could put more weight on that leg. 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:15.839 And I could put more strength into it. 00:28:16.079 --> 00:28:20.400 And then the stuff that I saw guys doing six weeks beforehand, I was like, I will never be able to do that again. 00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:24.720 I'll never be able to jump in place, I'll never be able to get on a treadmill or an elliptical, I'll never do it. 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:26.640 I started to be able to do those things. 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:31.519 And so why do I tell you the long, drawn-out story of my rehabilitation? 00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:40.319 Because here's my fear, here's what I believe, and here's what I feel as one of your pastors the need to speak to. 00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:45.279 Is I think that many of us have no problem talking about our faith. 00:28:45.920 --> 00:28:51.359 We have no problem writing posts on social networking sites about our faith. 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:55.680 We have no problem forwarding emails because we love Jesus, and that's what you're supposed to do. 00:28:55.839 --> 00:28:57.039 You forward emails, I guess. 00:28:57.839 --> 00:28:59.359 Y'all, can someone give me a verse? 00:28:59.680 --> 00:29:00.079 Anyway. 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:07.839 We have no problem talking about our faith, but we we do have issues enacting our faith. 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:15.200 And I don't think, I don't believe for most of us, it's because we're unable, it's just because it's been so long. 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:21.440 And what happens when you're uh when you hurt a muscle or you hurt something where muscles involved, you have something called atrophy. 00:29:21.599 --> 00:29:23.119 And your leg, your your muscle shrink. 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:24.480 For me, my leg shrunk. 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:32.400 And so they now what I'm running into is uh I have this knee brace they gave me, they fitted me for when my leg was about a third of the size it is now. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:42.079 And so now I'm busting out of this brace because the body is healed, the muscles have grown, and now I can put more weight, and things have begun to happen. 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:48.720 And so for many of us, my fear is when we read about proclaiming the gospel, proclaiming the good news. 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:50.079 And can I say this? 00:29:51.359 --> 00:29:54.880 We talked about the last few weeks about this term born again. 00:29:55.119 --> 00:29:59.359 And we talked about how it's become almost like nails on a chalkboard for some of us. 00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:01.920 It's become almost hokey when we hear born again. 00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:07.680 Even for us Christians, if we're at Starbucks and we overhear people talking, we hear born again, we're like, oh, don't say that. 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:10.000 But we talked about reclaiming that. 00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:16.720 We went and we looked at the story of Jesus and Nicodemus and what it means to be a Christian, is to literally be born again. 00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:21.279 And so let us reclaim that with a proper understanding of God's mission. 00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:22.400 And can I say this? 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:24.480 Can we reclaim good news? 00:30:25.119 --> 00:30:27.519 Because it's the best news, right? 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:32.720 So if we're gonna amen it and we're gonna believe it, then we gotta enact it. 00:30:33.200 --> 00:30:34.640 And we gotta live it. 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:42.079 And we gotta push through the atrophy, and we got to build the strength again to be able to lean and to stand. 00:30:42.240 --> 00:30:45.440 And that means having principles. 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:48.480 That means having conviction. 00:30:49.759 --> 00:30:55.119 That means that compromise is no longer part of our DNA. 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:58.160 It's not, I'm not saying don't be salt and light. 00:30:58.240 --> 00:31:04.319 I'm not saying don't be like Jesus, but I've yet to see anywhere where there was compromise in Christ. 00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:13.599 And here's what I can say is somewhat of an authority after 15 years or so of doing youth ministry is generational sin is a real thing. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:18.720 And I think when we hear generational sin, yes, original sin with Adam. 00:31:18.960 --> 00:31:19.599 Yes. 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:22.160 But there's also generational sin. 00:31:22.240 --> 00:31:23.200 And I remember hearing that. 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:26.319 I became a believer as a teenager, and I started hearing that generational sin. 00:31:26.480 --> 00:31:33.599 I didn't really understand it at the time, and I never could get a definition that really connected and fired all cylinders with me. 00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:41.359 And it wasn't until I got into ministry and started spending time with teenagers and started seeing, oh, that's what generational sin is. 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:48.160 It's the passive attitude in some of us towards sin that our kids have seen and now replicate. 00:31:49.359 --> 00:32:08.480 It's the fact that we don't have conversations in our house without yelling, and so now your kids don't know how to handle interaction with other people when they're disagreed with or there's any kind of elevated conversation, and then it turns to anger and it turns to rage and it turns to blurting out ridiculous things that are way beyond their pay grade when it comes to intelligence. 00:32:08.799 --> 00:32:12.960 Because all they've heard is yelling at home. 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:18.799 And all they've seen is frustration, and all they've seen is that white lies are okay. 00:32:19.359 --> 00:32:22.160 And so, why am I inviting myself into your homes? 00:32:22.400 --> 00:32:27.279 Because the mission of God is reconciliation and making that right. 00:32:27.519 --> 00:32:29.359 And no one's beyond the pale. 00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:34.559 And no one is beyond being reconciled. 00:32:37.759 --> 00:32:38.720 And so now what? 00:32:38.799 --> 00:32:41.519 How do we how do we finish this? 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:54.240 We were often asked, and I know Neil talks about this a lot and did last week, of um when we don't have um a formal, how come we don't have a formal invitation here at Grant Parkway? 00:32:54.480 --> 00:32:54.880 We do. 00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:58.960 There's an invitation here every week, and that invitation is twofold. 00:32:59.119 --> 00:33:06.400 If you would like to come and talk with somebody about anything you've heard, um, any questions you might have after every service. 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:10.880 There are pastors, prayer partners, elders of this church, they would love to answer any questions you might have. 00:33:11.039 --> 00:33:18.480