WEBVTT 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:08.960 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:14.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit Grandparkway.org. 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:15.919 Thank you, man. 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:20.000 I'll say bless the Lord if you say, Oh my soul, bless the Lord. 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:20.879 Oh my soul. 00:00:21.039 --> 00:00:22.239 Bless his holy name. 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:23.280 Hello, men. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:25.600 Great to worship with you. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.559 Great to be in the great state of Texas. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:33.359 Let's pray before we jump in. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:41.200 We'll just take a deep breath in and exhale. 00:00:45.039 --> 00:00:46.640 Try to be fully present. 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:56.079 Ask the Lord to speak directly to you tonight through his word. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:06.799 You would pray for the man on either side of you. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:35.120 And I would accurately reflect the Father's heart. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:38.400 Through his words. 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:50.239 And ears to hear? 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:55.920 Jesus, would you go before us in this text and make a way? 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:00.560 And together we say the words that ravage your heart. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:02.400 Speak, Lord. 00:02:02.719 --> 00:02:04.480 Your servants are listening. 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:05.439 Amen. 00:02:07.920 --> 00:02:09.759 It's good to be back with you guys. 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:11.199 I was here last year. 00:02:11.439 --> 00:02:12.639 We've seen each other before. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:13.280 Hello. 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:14.639 We've never met. 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:16.319 I'm no big deal. 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.240 Neil is a good friend. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:22.639 I already had my retreat. 00:02:22.719 --> 00:02:24.639 I got two and a half hours in the car with him. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:27.840 And so I am full. 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:31.120 I have a new set of potty words. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:35.840 And I could burst at the seams. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:40.240 Neil found me working youth camps about 20 years ago. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:46.400 And the second I heard him talk and interact, it called deep called the deep. 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:52.240 And something was dormant or dead in me started to come to life. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:03:05.199 And I just I just needed an example of what it looked like to walk with the Spirit and in His power and love people and take a stand for God in ways I'd never seen before. 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:08.000 And so I'm honored to call him friend. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:10.240 I'm honored to be a part of you guys. 00:03:10.479 --> 00:03:16.319 Part of our talk was I was supposed to tell you how much you should appreciate him, and you don't know how good you have it. 00:03:17.759 --> 00:03:20.800 And just okay, you got that part. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:21.439 All right, good. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:23.120 We'll go on to the next one. 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:25.439 But yeah. 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:43.199 As I was praying through our time together and I was talking to Don and delighted to be back with you guys, one of the things I think the Lord put on my heart for our time together is I want to talk tonight just about how we go from just being a crisis Christian to a committed Christian. 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:50.719 I don't know about you guys, but are you noticing a deficit of commitment lately in the world, especially among men? 00:03:51.520 --> 00:04:05.840 Are you noticing it in your workplace with new hires where it just seems that there's not a lot of work ethic or a commitment or people sticking to their word or you're actually asking for something that you've agreed upon and then getting someone to follow through. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:12.080 You're starting to go into contracts or negotiations or relationships and you're assuming the worst. 00:04:12.879 --> 00:04:16.480 Because there just seems to be a lack of serious commitment. 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:24.959 We had an author at our church recently, Stephen Mansfield, and he's done a lot of work in men's group, and he talked about a survey. 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:06.720 Does that bother you as much as it bothers me? 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:14.879 And I'm aware without intentional effort or commitment, I could easily become one of those statistics. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:26.319 By nature, I isolate, I hide, and I want to be left alone. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:34.399 And I've convinced myself that I don't need friends, or I only need relationships where I'm the one with the power and the authority. 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:45.120 And I assume since you guys are here this week, and unless you've been coerced or drugged by someone or you're regretting your decision already, it's okay. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:46.560 They don't lock the facility at night. 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:48.399 You can take off if this session sucks. 00:05:48.560 --> 00:05:50.879 Um Neil will refund your money. 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:07.839 What if we just stopped playing church for a minute and started telling the truth about who we are and where we're at and what we honestly need as men? 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:12.480 Maybe then we'd have something to offer the other relationships in our life. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:24.000 Maybe if we validate and acknowledge I want to be seen and I want to be valued and I want to be heard, and I'm sick and tired of hiding sinful and shameful things. 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:28.560 And I want God to call me on a life of adventure and sacrifice. 00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:33.120 That's my hope and prayer for us. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:37.439 That you'll be resolved and encouraged and strengthened in your commitment. 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:40.879 So, what do I mean when I say how do we move from a crisis Christian to a committed Christian? 00:06:41.040 --> 00:06:42.800 Well, first thing is, what is a crisis Christian? 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:45.040 I can tell you because I spent half my life as one. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:47.120 See if any of you guys can relate to this. 00:06:47.279 --> 00:06:56.480 What I mean by a crisis Christian is I said one prayer one time that took care of my afterlife, but I never said multiple prayers after that to actually live my life. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:59.040 That's what I mean by crisis Christian. 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:05.759 Crisis Christian is someone who, yeah, I can pray before a meal, but I have no appetite for scripture or the things of God. 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:08.480 What do I mean by crisis Christian? 00:07:08.639 --> 00:07:28.800 I mean that I'll do religious services and possibly even give to good causes, but when push comes to shove, I will rely on myself, my resources, and my power to solve my problems, and I will only turn to God once I have no other options. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:32.240 That's what I mean by a crisis Christian. 00:07:33.439 --> 00:07:43.279 And ironically, usually what it takes, at least what it took in my life, to move from being a crisis Christian to a committed Christian is a crisis. 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:59.680 Where I finally come exasperated, desperate, humbly, needy, plans pulverized, self-sufficiency, demolished, empty, lonely, with nowhere else to turn. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:02.000 And I say, into your hands, Lord. 00:08:02.639 --> 00:08:04.000 I commit my spirit. 00:08:05.199 --> 00:08:06.079 It's yours. 00:08:06.800 --> 00:08:10.800 Will you take it, will you redeem it, will you resurrect it, and will you transform it? 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:15.279 I think that's exactly what the psalm that we're going to spend this weekend talks about. 00:08:15.439 --> 00:08:18.000 So if you have your Bibles, we'll be in Psalm 31. 00:08:18.240 --> 00:08:21.439 And they'll read us the first ten verses. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:25.360 Well, actually, I do 15. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:26.720 Psalm 31. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:33.600 And I need to confess to you guys, I love the Psalms, okay? 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:36.320 Um, this is the Hebrew prayer book. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:45.279 One of the reasons we don't know how to pray fervently, authentically, and with passion and fire and great vernacular is we don't read the Psalms anymore. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:54.159 Um I think there's an incredible amount of insight, um, and it's where the people pour out their hearts before the Lord. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:55.679 Trust in the Lord at all times, O people. 00:08:55.759 --> 00:08:56.879 Pour out your hearts through Him. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:58.720 God is an ever-present refuge. 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:03.120 Uh every week I'll pick a psalm, stay in it, and find a phrase that I continue to pray throughout the week. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:10.000 And so I've had a two-year love affair with the Psalms and have fallen back in love with them and the intimacy that they bring. 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:13.840 And so I hope uh some of that will rub off on you guys this weekend. 00:09:14.639 --> 00:09:18.159 Starting verse one in you, O Lord, I have taken refuge. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:19.600 Let me never be put to shame. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:22.159 Deliver me in your righteousness. 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:26.159 Turn your ear to me and come quickly to my rescue. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:31.840 Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:37.679 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name, lead and guide me. 00:09:38.240 --> 00:09:43.200 Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:46.720 Into your hands I commit my spirit. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:49.440 Redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:52.000 I hate those who cling to worthless idols. 00:09:52.159 --> 00:10:03.919 I trust in the Lord, I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction, you knew the anguish of my soul, you have not handed me over to the enemy, but you have set my feet in a spacious place. 00:10:04.559 --> 00:10:07.360 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am in distress. 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:13.840 My eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief, my life is consumed with anguish, and my ears with groaning. 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:17.440 My strength fails me because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. 00:10:17.679 --> 00:10:29.120 Because of all my enemy, I'm in the utter contempt of my neighbors, I'm a dread to my friends, those who see me on the street flee from me, I am forgotten as though I was dead, I become like broken pottery. 00:10:29.440 --> 00:10:35.360 For I hear the slander of many, there's terror on every side, they conspire against me and plot to take my life. 00:10:36.320 --> 00:10:40.159 But I trust in you, O Lord. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:44.639 I say, You are my God, and my times are in your hands. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:47.360 I'll say the word of the Lord if you say thanks be to God. 00:10:47.519 --> 00:10:48.399 The word of the Lord. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:49.600 Thanks be to God. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:53.120 Into your hands I commit my spirit. 00:10:53.279 --> 00:10:56.639 Redeem me, O Lord, the God of my truth. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:10:58.559 Um, do you guys remember this? 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:06.399 In 2011, uh 33 Chilean miners were trapped below the surface. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:08.720 Seven days had passed. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:10.799 They were all presumed dead. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:18.080 And then a drill goes down, finds a pocket, and comes back up on top of it is a note written in Spanish. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:22.720 We are all safe in the refuge. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:32.879 Because there was a refuge, a place that hadn't collapsed in, those 33 miners were able to stay alive for another seven days on ration food and water. 00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:36.240 And one by one, they started coming to the surface. 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:44.799 And when they finally got to the surface, the last miner, a rescue worker, held up a sign and said, Mission accomplished. 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:48.240 They had a refuge and they had a safe place. 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:55.759 Now, I want to submit to you that in these first five verses, there's a key pattern from moving from a crisis Christian to a committed Christian. 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:58.080 And that is they had a refuge. 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.840 I love the way Eugene Peterson translates this in the message. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:06.960 It says, You are my hiding place and my climbing space. 00:12:07.440 --> 00:12:10.720 Be my safe leader and my true mountain guide. 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:14.399 In the NIV, you are my rock and my fortress for the sake of your name. 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:15.679 Lead and guide me. 00:12:15.840 --> 00:12:21.279 So one of the first things I think that we need is we need a hiding place, a refuge with God. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:25.039 So, man, here's my question to you, and we're going to ask this in small groups. 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:32.320 And by the way, I think the time that you guys spend in small groups will be the most spiritually transformative times of this weekend. 00:12:32.559 --> 00:12:44.799 It's when you get the process and you get to get right up against your soul and get the sandpaper out and go, look, let's just get to the heart of the matter and tell the truth about who you are and where you are. 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:48.080 So my question is: where is your hiding place with God? 00:12:48.480 --> 00:12:50.240 Do you have a refuge? 00:12:50.720 --> 00:12:52.720 Tell me when and where it is. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:13:00.159 When do you have specifically, rhythmically committed to mark out this is how I retreat with God? 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:04.080 This is where I go to feel safe in the arms of my Father. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:06.960 He says, in here, incline your ear to me. 00:13:07.120 --> 00:13:12.240 Where are those places that you know God has your undivided attention and he has yours? 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:22.480 Where are those places that you know you are specifically setting aside time to be in prayer and be in God's word and be held accountable? 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:24.639 What does your refuge look like? 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:30.000 Or are you a crisis Christian that doesn't worry about that until your life starts falling apart? 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:37.519 Or are you someone who just goes, hey, I'll be fine, I'll take it from here unless something really, really bad happens in my life? 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:47.840 I think one of the reasons that we get in trouble a lot of times is because we're not self-aware enough, because the psalmist says, uh, free me from the traps that are set for me. 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:53.440 Other question I have for you is what traps are in your life right now that are consistently tripping you up? 00:13:56.639 --> 00:13:58.080 And who knows about them? 00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:01.679 Every Friday at freaking Cracker Barrel. 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:02.639 I hate Cracker Barrel. 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:04.639 This just shows you how much I love the Lord, okay? 00:14:04.799 --> 00:14:06.720 It's just crap-astic food. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:12.000 And for some reason people love it, and you walk through Disney World just to get there and buy more crap. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:13.840 Uh, it just gives me the heebie-jeebies. 00:14:14.159 --> 00:14:21.039 But I meet Davy, soul friend of mine, Friday mornings, eight o'clock, that's our time to hear each other's soul. 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:29.200 We catch up, we speak into the other's life, and then he has three very specific questions that are designed for me because he knows the traps that are set for me. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.480 And he asks very specific questions about my week. 00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:34.080 Has this trap been tripped? 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:35.279 Has this trap been tripped? 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:36.559 And has this trap been tripped? 00:14:36.720 --> 00:14:39.279 The last question he says, have you been honest with me? 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:42.159 Because that's how much of a liar and a hider I am. 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:43.440 Say yes. 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:47.039 And so we go through weekly confession with each other back and forth. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:49.200 You want to know something that's really interesting? 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:51.519 Confessing my sin is not that big a deal. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:53.600 I've got a lot of practice at it. 00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:59.759 Confessing who I am in Christ is when I start losing my junk and my eggs every time. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.799 Like our waitress probably thinks I have emotional issues. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:07.919 But David, here's my confession, and he says, This I hear your confession. 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:09.679 God forgives you, and so do I. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:13.600 And sometimes I just need a priest to stand and tell me that in the presence of God. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:17.679 Like, because I'll hear lies that say, no, you're not loved, you're not valued, not forgiven. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:21.039 And then he looks at me and says, Now confess who you are in Christ. 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:25.759 And that's the toughest part to remember who I was designed to be. 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:28.159 That's why we need a refuge. 00:15:29.039 --> 00:15:31.679 I am God's beloved in whom he is well pleased. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:33.279 I've been crucified with Christ. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.399 I don't no longer live, but Christ lives in me and through me in the life I live in the body. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:39.360 I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:41.120 I am free and light in God's sight. 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:49.840 I am his mighty warrior, I'm his weeping prophet, I am his tender son, who will not stop coming before him every day, no matter what happens. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:51.120 That's who I am. 00:15:51.600 --> 00:15:56.960 I'm a faithful husband and I am a loving father, even though my actions have betrayed me this week. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:05.120 But by the power of the gospel and the grace of Jesus Christ, through this Holy Spirit living and working in me, I can become who my father says I am. 00:16:05.840 --> 00:16:08.480 That's the kind of refugees that we need. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:11.679 We need a hiding place, we need a refuge. 00:16:12.799 --> 00:16:26.080 I think uh we constructed sometimes, I don't know about you, but I grew up in Christian subculture, and um we had this idealistic view of a super Christian, right? 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:31.840 That you never got tired, you always had the right Bible verse, you were always patient, you never lost your temper. 00:16:32.159 --> 00:16:34.480 And if you did, you would just hide that stuff. 00:16:34.799 --> 00:16:46.480 And I think when we look at, I wanted to be Superman, like I thought, hey, once I said this certain prayer, I would stop sinning, I could leap frustration in a tall bound, like other people's disappointment would just bounce off me like bullets, and I would be fine. 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:55.360 But it's interesting, even Superman needed the fortress of solitude to go be reminded about who he was and what we were supposed to be about. 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:09.200 Where is the place of solitude in your life that you can constantly and consistently retreat to to hear the Father's voice and be heard and seen and valued in the context of biblical community? 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:17.440 Um, Jorge Galergios was one of those uh 33 uh rescued minors. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:22.000 Time magazine went back a couple of years ago and did a follow-up story. 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:24.640 They found out this about the Chilean minors. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:27.519 Most of them have post-traumatic stress disorder. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:35.359 And while there are a few success cases, most of them are part-time or unemployed trying to cobble together a living. 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:39.920 Most of them are under psychiatric care, most of them are medicated. 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:44.640 One of them was found building a wall around his house, and when asked why, he couldn't explain it. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:50.480 And Jorge was interviewed, and he said this, and it stuck with me. 00:17:51.920 --> 00:17:54.880 I thank God that I am alive. 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:58.000 I'm so thankful that I'm alive. 00:17:59.119 --> 00:18:00.960 But I should be doing better. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.640 Anybody feel like Jorge's story is your story? 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:12.480 Thanks be to God, I've been saved and I've been forgiven. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:15.119 But I should be doing better. 00:18:16.240 --> 00:18:27.440 And I wonder, especially for us as Christians, we just got to remind ourselves, we're not just in the get people out of death business, we're into the get people into life business. 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:28.559 I don't know about you. 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:36.799 I just don't want to look at my church or my own life and just go, hey, Christian just simply means my life looks like everyone else's life. 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:40.000 I just hold up a big sign that says I'm sorry at the end of it. 00:18:41.039 --> 00:18:43.519 Uh it's not appealing enough to me. 00:18:43.680 --> 00:18:50.880 Uh I wonder sometimes, maybe if we need to realize, uh, I know you know how to be forgiven, but do you know how to live free? 00:18:51.200 --> 00:18:54.160 And that's what the psalmist is saying when he says, lead me. 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:57.920 He's saying you're my climbing space, you're my safe mountain guide. 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.799 I think we've moved from a crisis Christian to a committed Christian. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:04.400 Not only do we need a hiding place, we need climbing space. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:18.400 And God is calling us up and out and in to the unknown, to risk things, to find adventure, to expand his kingdom, to discover brokenness that we want to redeem in the name of Jesus, to go back to our edict values, right? 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:22.640 When he commissions Adam and Eve, I want you to go and subdue. 00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.200 I want you to bring order where there is chaos. 00:19:25.359 --> 00:19:35.200 There's something intrinsic about the image of God on us that likes to go out into the wild and go, let's bring order and peace and redemption to this chaos. 00:19:36.319 --> 00:19:38.640 I practice it every night with my kids. 00:19:38.799 --> 00:19:43.359 It's bedtime, it's the most chaotic time in my entire life, and I have to amp up for it. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:45.440 I've got to pray gospel prayers before I go. 00:19:46.079 --> 00:19:48.960 I just want to watch Netflix and have sex with my wife. 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:50.559 Not in that order. 00:19:51.359 --> 00:19:53.759 But it's just, no, let's be fully present. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:54.640 Here we go. 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:56.720 Everyone's trying to fight against it. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.599 We are to bring peace. 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:14.000 We are to come and in the authority and power of Jesus as men who have the same spirit that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, we should have areas that God is giving us to climb into. 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:21.359 So my question for you is where is the climbing space in your life right now? 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:31.119 Is there an area God's calling you to go on an adventure with Him, but you've looked and said, I'm too tired. 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:33.039 I had enough going on. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:42.480 Ah, that sounds great, but I think a lot of us have been sold half the gospel. 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:46.480 If you have half the gospel, you just have a hiding place and no climbing space. 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:51.119 If you just have a hiding space, then you don't know how to walk out in adventure with God. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:55.680 And you don't know how to find, you know how to find safety, but you don't know how to find strength in God. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:21:03.839 Now, if you're a doer and you're just like, hey, I love going, going, going, going, but sitting alone with God, that's not really my speed, that's also half the gospel. 00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:12.079 If you have climbing space, but you don't have a hiding space, chances are your identity is in your success and your achievement, and you need to learn submission. 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:19.440 I had somebody once say it to me this way, especially for those of us who are in ministry. 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:24.559 Hey, Chris, you do a great job working for the king, but do you know how to be alone with your father? 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:27.599 So you can keep that to yourself, buddy. 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:45.519 I'd rather do do do, especially in front of other people, so I can get all my hidden approval needs meet, rather than sitting alone with Jesus and him asking me, I see you, is that enough to move from a crisis Christian to a committed Christian. 00:21:46.079 --> 00:21:47.839 I think we need a hiding place. 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:49.839 We need calming space. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:59.759 And I think the prayer that I want all of us to practice praying this weekend is simply this into your hands, Lord, I commit my spirit. 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:07.200 And what in your spirit holds back when you pray that? 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:16.880 What in the back of your mind scratches like a cat on the screen door going, wait, but not this? 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.599 Yes, we could, but you don't want to let go of this. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.759 You don't want to give up this. 00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:25.599 But what about this? 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:29.359 But what if it was conditioned into us every day? 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:34.640 I've been trying to pray this before my feet hit the floor in the morning and before I go to sleep at night. 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:37.680 Just, Lord, into your hands I commit my spirit. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:38.799 My times are in your hands. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:39.920 This day is in your hand. 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:42.000 My resources are in your hands. 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:43.519 Show me what you have for me today. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:45.359 I don't want to miss one bit of it. 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.880 In the night, into your hands, Lord, I commit my spirit. 00:22:49.599 --> 00:22:56.000 Constantly making sure I'm with him in the hiding place and in the climbing space. 00:22:58.319 --> 00:23:01.359 The only reason we can do this, man, is because Jesus did it. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:04.720 He's the Son of God. 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:08.160 He's charged with bringing the kingdom of God here to earth. 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:12.640 He's got relatively a short span of ministry, as far as we're concerned. 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:17.039 And yet consistently the gospel tells us he retreats to be alone with his father. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:19.599 Because he says, I can only do what I see the Father doing. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:22.319 What does it look like to live like that? 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:31.839 To be so in constant conversation with the Holy Spirit that everything that you're doing, you're running through the filter with your Father. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:36.880 Not, hey, I'll take it from here and then I'll apologize for all the things I did wrong. 00:23:37.119 --> 00:23:40.319 What does it look like to stay in constant conversation with them? 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:51.039 And then Jesus had some climbing space, especially when he had to climb straight up Golgotha, place of the skull, and carry his cross. 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:56.799 And he walked freely into the trap that was set for him by his enemies to glorify the Father. 00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:00.480 And the burden and the weight of the sin of the world comes on his back. 00:24:01.440 --> 00:24:05.839 And he cries out from the cross, into your hands. 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:08.079 I commit my spirit. 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:21.519 And the evidence of what happens when you pray that and live that is three days later when he rose from the grave as the strongest version of humanity we've ever seen before in a resurrected body. 00:24:21.599 --> 00:24:24.160 And that's the life he's calling us to live. 00:24:24.559 --> 00:24:26.799 Is it without suffering and sacrifice? 00:24:27.039 --> 00:24:27.920 Absolutely not. 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:34.799 But it's dripping with significance, even in the most mundane, boring tasks that we find ourselves in. 00:24:35.039 --> 00:24:44.240 Because when we give it all to God and into his hands we commit our spirit, there will become a connection in the hiding place and in the timing space. 00:24:44.559 --> 00:24:45.200 Amen. 00:24:46.480 --> 00:24:47.440 So let's pray that. 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:53.839 I'm gonna have Clyde sing us a song over us, and then we'll break into small groups. 00:24:54.480 --> 00:25:01.039 I want you to think while we're praying here and while we're singing, what's the one thing that had my name on it tonight? 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:06.000 So let's just take about 120 seconds. 00:25:11.680 --> 00:25:17.519 And go, Father, what's the one thing you brought me here tonight to hear? 00:25:17.839 --> 00:25:19.759 Let it just rise up in you. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:43.039 And then ask him, what do you want me to do about it? 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:46.160 So that's revelation and response. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:49.599 That's what it takes for intimacy to occur. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:52.720 What did the Father reveal? 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:56.400 And how does the Holy Spirit want to empower you to respond? 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:10.400 When we start to ask those questions and we start to talk with our brothers, a collective power and wisdom begins to emerge in the community of God. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:24.559 So wherever you find yourself in your story or this weekend, know that God is going to use your circumstances, your insights, and your story in your group. 00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:28.079 To withhold it is selfish. 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:38.799 I'll never get tired of what happens, how the Holy Spirit starts firing through men when we start being honest and open with one another. 00:26:42.640 --> 00:26:51.920 So, Father, on behalf of my brothers, we want to say this weekend, into your hands, we commit our spirits. 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:53.039 Amen.