WEBVTT 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:06.959 Welcome to the Medicurch Podcast. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:08.080 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:10.240 I'm the pastor here at Medicurch. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:18.000 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life, that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:20.559 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:29.120 Well, I want to welcome you into a new series we're calling the Great Invite. 00:00:29.199 --> 00:00:32.399 Before we go any further, I want to get into our key text for today. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:34.159 We're going to be in John's Gospel. 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:36.320 This is John's account of the life of Jesus. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:38.479 Chapter one, we're going to start in verse 35. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:42.799 He writes this The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:46.399 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, Look, the Lamb of God. 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:48.960 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:54.479 And when Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, What are you looking for? 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:58.240 They said to him, Rabbi, which means teacher, where are you staying? 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:00.320 Come, and you'll see, he replied. 00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:03.600 So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:05.519 It was about four in the afternoon. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:11.040 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John and who followed Jesus. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:17.200 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, We have found the Messiah, which is translated the Christ. 00:01:17.359 --> 00:01:18.959 And he brought Simon to Jesus. 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:25.840 And when Jesus saw him, he said, You are Simon, son of John, you will be called Cephas, which is translated Peter. 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:28.560 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. 00:01:28.719 --> 00:01:31.040 He found Philip and told him, Follow me. 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:34.239 Now Philip was from Beth Seda, the hometown of Andrew and Peter. 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:39.519 Philip found Nathaniel and told him, We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and so did the prophets. 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:42.640 Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:44.799 Can anything good come out of Nazareth? 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:46.079 Nathaniel asked him. 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:48.400 Philip answered. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:51.200 My message today is come and see. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:02:03.680 And this is an initiative, the great invite, that we first did last year in the same time frame, leading right up to our Easter series, which will take us to Easter and then beyond Easter to baptism. 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:11.039 This is not just a series about mere invitation of people to an event. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:17.680 That is part of it, part of sharing your faith is inviting people into the community of faith that you are a part of. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:22.879 But this series gets to the fundamentals of what the church is. 00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:39.199 For a hundred plus years now, the church in the West has lost its way, and we believe we have done something significant because on a Sunday, we gather in a building, we sing some songs, we listen to a message, and then it doesn't affect our life in any meaningful way outside of the doors. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:40.479 This isn't a new problem. 00:02:40.639 --> 00:02:58.000 2,000 years ago, James, the half-brother of Jesus, he wrote in the New Testament, he said, if you are a hearer of the word, if you come and you sing the songs and you listen to the sermon and you have a great experience, but you are not a doer of the word, you have deceived yourself. 00:02:58.560 --> 00:03:06.319 And so if church is just a religious box to check for you, scripture tells us that you've plagued yourself. 00:03:06.479 --> 00:03:12.319 You think you've done something significant, you think you've built the kingdom of God, but in fact you have not. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:21.280 This is a series that gets to the heart of how we define church, how Jesus defined his church, his ecclesia. 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:26.800 We say that the church meets together so that we can help me out. 00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:30.560 Okay, we're over six years in, we got to do better than that. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:38.080 We say that church meets together so that we can move together. 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:46.800 And I've been very careful for almost six and a half years to not call what we're doing right now across two venues and online church. 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:48.719 You don't go to church. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:53.360 It's not a building, it's not a service, it's not a 501c3 non-for-profit organization. 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:57.439 The church, the ecclesia, these are the called-out people of God. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:05.759 You are the church, and we come together in Sunday service because scripture tells us to, and because it is effective in our lives. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:10.479 But this is us getting on the same page, inspired and enlightened. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:17.839 And when church really begins is when we leave our venues and we hit the exit doors and we get out onto our mission field. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:23.759 And part of what we're getting to in the heart of this series is that you have a ministry. 00:04:24.079 --> 00:04:27.279 And you might think, oh no, no, no, no, Pastor, you have a ministry. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:32.000 You see, you got a stage and you got a microphone and you got lights on you right now and cameras on you right now. 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:33.199 You have a ministry. 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:34.959 I come to the ministry. 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.560 And I'm just imploring you to change your mind about that. 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:42.160 That is not a biblical prescription of how the church works. 00:04:42.240 --> 00:04:48.160 You have a ministry because when you put your faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God came and resided in your life. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:50.399 The spirit of ministry is upon you. 00:04:50.560 --> 00:04:53.519 God has positioned you and placed you uniquely in your world. 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:54.480 I'm gonna teach you something. 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:56.399 It's a mind-blowing, mind-blowing fact. 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:01.120 You are the only you that there is. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:02.399 Did you know that? 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:05.920 You are the only you that there is. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:10.240 That some someone is an English teacher and they just died on the spot with that sentence. 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:12.800 You are the only you that there is. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:20.160 And God has positioned you and He's given you a sphere of influence, and you have a ministry inside that sphere of influence, and we're gonna get clear on that. 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:29.839 And yes, invitation is a part of that, and and for so many of us, we're hesitant to share our faith, we're hesitant to share that we're a part of a faith community because we don't feel like we know enough scripture. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:32.800 What if they ask a hard Bible question and we don't know the answer to it? 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:35.279 For some of us, we're nervous because we're new to the faith. 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:40.000 For some of us, we're nervous because there's some inconsistencies in our lives. 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:41.439 That's kind of the nightmare. 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:45.040 Is you're like, hey, you know, I'm a part of Metachurch, you should come to Sunday service. 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:47.680 And the response you get is like, you go to church? 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:49.040 That's the nightmare, right? 00:05:49.279 --> 00:05:49.600 You? 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:57.279 Like your office nickname is Kegstand, you go to the office flirt, you go. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:05:59.279 That's like, that's the nightmare, right? 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:00.639 And so how do we get past that? 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:02.399 And how do we reinvigorate this passion? 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:11.360 And how do we turn the tide in Western Christianity that is just doing nothing but dying a slow and painful death? 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:12.560 I'm so glad that you're here. 00:06:12.639 --> 00:06:15.680 If you're new with us, my name's Clayton, I'm the lead pastor here at Meta. 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:21.519 Whether you're here at one of our venues in Helotus or whether you're with us online, it's by no accident that you're here. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:29.360 If you're a skeptic, an unbeliever, a lapsed believer, someone who has been away from God for a very long time, you're in the right place. 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.079 This is a community where you can belong before you believe. 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:36.800 And I believe that if you if you lean in and you seek God, that God's gonna get a hold of your heart. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:42.720 And for those of us who are believers, I'm just gonna let you know up front, uh, we are going to be challenged in the series. 00:06:42.879 --> 00:06:48.000 The word of God is going to challenge us and convict us, and I also believe it's going to encourage us. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:50.639 And so before we get into the word, would you pray with me? 00:06:50.879 --> 00:07:10.720 Holy Spirit, I ask for just a fresh filling uh from you, from your word, that you would be here, that you would guide us, that you would guide our time, that we would lean in, that we would set aside distraction, that we would set aside just the false voices that keep us from truly finding out all that you have for us. 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:14.720 I thank you for meta uh community, for anyone at any part of their faith journey. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:18.480 And Holy Spirit, I just ask that you would be with us in a real and tangible way. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:18.959 We love you. 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:20.720 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:23.439 And if you're ready to come and see, say amen. 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:24.720 Amen. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:33.120 Uh, this passage that we read through it has a pretty clear theme all the way throughout the passage, and it's the theme of vision. 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:49.040 Uh, the Greek verb aura'o, which is just to see, it is used over and over and over throughout this passage in different ways, in different tenses, and and it's trying to get at not just what we see physically and not just what we do not see, but how we see in the first place. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:58.879 And there's some really, really stunning research over the last couple of decades that shows us we really don't even understand how we see the world. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:00.879 Now, there's just mere vision, right? 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:04.560 And at some point coming up in science class, you learn about vision. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:07.120 And I I know like basically nothing about this. 00:08:07.199 --> 00:08:09.839 So if you're an optometrist, just know everything I'm about to say is wrong. 00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:12.000 This isn't a science lesson, so it doesn't really matter. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:18.480 But there's like, you know, light reflects, and then you've got rods and cones, and that's like basically all I know, you know, and then you see things, right? 00:08:18.720 --> 00:08:21.120 And so that's how we think we see the world. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:27.839 That we look around and we just observe mere objects, forms, chairs, people, stage. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:34.720 What psychologists and neurologists have found over the last couple of decades is that's not actually how we see things. 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:39.919 We don't see objects in a merely pragmatic, scientific way. 00:08:40.080 --> 00:08:44.960 That we view everything in the world through the lens of narrative. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:50.799 Everything we see is attached to layers and layers of story. 00:08:51.039 --> 00:08:57.360 Some of those stories are conscious, the majority of them are subconscious, but what you see, you see through the lens of story. 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:58.559 I'll give you some examples. 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:06.879 If you have a fear of spiders and a spider comes crawling out, you do not just see that through a pragmatic scientific lens. 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:10.879 If you're afraid of spiders, you don't say, Oh, the arachnid. 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:14.559 Eight legs, a million eyes, terrible things. 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:15.519 I am terrified. 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:20.320 You know, it's like what you see is like layers of stories. 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:29.919 You see fear, you see every spider that's ever scared you, all the way back to when a spider crawled into your sleeping bag at six years old and traumatized you for the very first time. 00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:31.440 You just see layers of stories. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:34.159 I'll give you another example, an interpersonal example. 00:09:34.320 --> 00:09:43.120 Have you ever met someone for the first time and they're pleasant and they're nice, and there's nothing wrong with them, and they're being nice to you, and you're just like, I don't like them. 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:50.159 And you don't really know why, you're just like, ah, I'm not feeling it, you know, and you're very closed off. 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:56.720 And maybe this has happened to you where you reflect and you're like, what is my problem with this guy, you know? 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:05.840 And you trace it down, and they very, very, very vaguely resemble someone who was mean to you like 15 years ago. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:11.600 You're not seeing them, you're seeing them through the lens of story. 00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:15.919 Maybe, maybe we could do like a an example that you can participate in. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:23.039 So if you're here at one of our physical locations, why did you sit in the seat that you sat in? 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.360 Because here's what you didn't do. 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:26.320 We know this now. 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:35.519 You didn't walk in and just put together kind of a scientific matrix of like, hmm, 45 chairs in this section, 33 chairs, that one's got a wobbly leg. 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:37.600 It's like there was some story attached. 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:43.519 So for some of you, it's like, uh, you know, I I I like the music, but I don't want to be too loud, so I need to be somewhere near the back. 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:44.559 That's a story that you tell. 00:10:44.720 --> 00:10:45.840 Some of you are heavy metal. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.639 You're like, I want to be inside the subwoofer, right? 00:10:48.720 --> 00:10:51.120 Like, I gotta be inside the speakers. 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:58.080 Some of you, you walk in and you're single, and you would love to find another single saint, and so you walk in strategically late. 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:07.200 You scope, you know, it's like, oh, she looks single, and so you just position where when you worship, she can really see the tricep, you know, it's like you got that here? 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:16.720 Some of you for like six years have sat in kind of the same seat, and so the story you tell every Sunday is that's my seat, right? 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:25.440 And the one time you were late and someone was in your seat, and you had to find a new seat, and you told a new story, which was like, I don't even know if the Holy Spirit comes with this seat, honestly. 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:37.360 Like consciously or subconsciously, you're telling a story, and that story drives your actions and it drives how you see the world. 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:50.240 And this is an unbelievably powerful insight because it means you don't just have vision, under your vision you have beliefs, and under your beliefs you have your perspective. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:55.840 Which means when your perspective changes and your beliefs change, it's not a metaphor. 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.080 You literally see the world differently. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:05.919 We say it like a metaphor, like you know, I was so lonely, and then I and then I met my girl, and I'm in love, and I just see the world so differently. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:08.480 We say that as a metaphor, it's actually not. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:14.879 You will literally start seeing the world differently when your beliefs change, when your perspective changes. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:23.600 And what that means for us is that the most powerful transformation available to us in how we view the world is a relationship with Jesus Christ. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:28.080 Because we live seeing the world through broken lenses. 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:42.559 We live and we're covered by sin and we're covered by shame and we're covered by confusion and we're covered by chaos and we're covered by division, and that informs our perspective and it forms informs our beliefs, and we do not see the world accurately. 00:12:42.879 --> 00:12:49.759 And the creator of this world and the creator of us, who instilled a purpose inside of us, is calling us into relationship with himself. 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:56.320 And when we believe in and begin to follow Jesus, it will literally change the way that we see the world. 00:12:56.399 --> 00:13:00.320 And I want to talk about some of the effects that that will have on our lives. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:04.480 The theme of this passage is what we can see, and it starts like this in verse 35. 00:13:04.720 --> 00:13:17.279 The next day, John was standing with two of his disciples, and when he saw Jesus passing by, he said, Look, Orao, look, the Lamb of God. 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:20.399 Now he used this verb in a very intense way. 00:13:20.639 --> 00:13:24.559 Some translations say, Behold the Lamb of God. 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:29.759 And it's the idea of like, whatever you are doing, stop doing it. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:35.279 There is nothing possibly more important than what you're about to see right now. 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:41.360 So just put it down, press pause, pay attention, the Lamb of God is here. 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:42.960 Now, who is John? 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:44.480 We're in the Gospel of John. 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:45.440 This is a different John. 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:47.039 This isn't John who wrote the gospel. 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:49.759 This is John the Baptizer. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:55.759 We grew up calling him John the Baptist, and it helped that I grew up in the Baptist church. 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:56.639 And we loved that. 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:13.279 He was John the Baptist, and so we would remind people he's not called John the Methodist, you know, he's not called John the Lutheran, he was John the Baptizer because he was baptizing people, and he was helping people fix their vision. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:26.480 See, he was surrounded by people who were waiting on the Messiah, the one true chosen king of Israel, but they weren't waiting for the biblical Messiah, they were waiting for a Messiah that was shaped in their own image. 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:29.679 You see, Rome had come and dominated Israel. 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:36.080 And because Rome was dominating Israel, all they wanted was reprieve from their captors. 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:42.399 And so they were waiting for a Messiah, but they weren't ready for the Messiah, because they weren't looking for the one true Messiah. 00:14:42.480 --> 00:14:45.279 They were looking for a Messiah formed in their own image. 00:14:45.519 --> 00:14:48.000 And John was helping them correct this. 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:52.000 And when he sees Jesus, he calls him the Lamb of God. 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:56.240 And you know what the lambs did in the Old Testament for Israel? 00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:04.240 The lambs, the pure, spotless, firstborn male lambs, they were taken into the temple and slaughtered for the forgiveness of sins. 00:15:04.960 --> 00:15:12.639 John is pointing the way to a new reality that the Messiah isn't coming to be a commander, to be a general, to be a warrior, to be a king. 00:15:13.039 --> 00:15:15.759 The king is coming to die. 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:18.720 The creator is coming to give his life for creation. 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:21.200 He's trying to help them see things more clearly. 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:34.320 We see evidence of this in John's life because he had a lot of influence and he had a lot of status, and he spoke and it reverberated across his people, and yet he laid down his power when Jesus arrived. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:43.360 And you'll notice it's the disciples of John, his followers, who he now points to become Jesus' followers. 00:15:43.759 --> 00:15:47.919 And their interaction with Jesus is very, very informative. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:52.320 It says in 37 the two disciples heard him say this and they followed Jesus. 00:15:52.480 --> 00:16:00.000 And when Jesus turned and noticed them following him, he asked them, What are you looking for? 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:03.360 It's important for you to know this. 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:08.480 These are the first words Jesus says in John's gospel. 00:16:08.559 --> 00:16:09.759 It's a question. 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:12.159 What are you looking for? 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:14.159 Looking, vision. 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:17.039 John says, Everyone stop. 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:18.240 You have to see this. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:22.559 Here he is, the one we've been waiting for, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:24.399 See him, see him, see him. 00:16:24.639 --> 00:16:29.759 And so they go to him, and Jesus asks him, So what are you looking for? 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:36.159 John told you you have to see me, but what you see is informed by what you're looking for. 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:41.039 Because what you see is informed by your beliefs, and your beliefs by your perspective. 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:50.240 And it's almost like Jesus is stepping out of the pages of the gospel, out of 2,000 years Israel, ancient Israel, stepping into our world today. 00:16:50.320 --> 00:17:01.279 And it's like before you get into this gospel, and before you learn about my life, and before you learn about my death, and before you learn about my resurrection, and before I offer you eternal life, I need to know first, what are you looking for? 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:10.559 Now, if you are just coming here for a religious exercise and to give the right religious answers, it's like, I'm looking for Jesus, you know, like I'm looking, I'm looking for prayer in the Bible. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:11.839 It's like that's that's great, right? 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:17.599 And if you if you want to check a religious box, there are hundreds of churches within 10 miles of here. 00:17:17.680 --> 00:17:18.480 You can go to one of those. 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.400 At Meta, we come here to get brutally honest. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:26.799 And Jesus is asking, what are you looking for? 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:31.279 Are you looking for Jesus the genie? 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:34.720 And you can rub that lamp and you can get all of your wishes granted? 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:37.359 Are you looking for self-help Jesus? 00:17:37.599 --> 00:17:43.759 Jesus who will give you three steps to financial wealth, Jesus who will help you climb the corporate ladder, Jesus who will ease all your pain. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:50.319 Are you looking for Jesus to get on your agenda, to eliminate all of your pain, to give retribution to your enemies? 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:52.400 What are you looking for? 00:17:54.000 --> 00:18:03.359 You see, in that time, 2,000 years ago, with John the Baptist trying to correct the people's view, they were looking for the wrong thing. 00:18:03.599 --> 00:18:10.640 They were looking for a king and a conqueror, and because they were looking for the wrong thing, they missed it when Jesus showed up. 00:18:12.240 --> 00:18:20.079 For so many people who have a Western idea of Christianity, we have imposed so many of our own ideas on Jesus. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:22.559 We have shaped Jesus so much in our own image. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:26.240 Jesus looks like our political leader, our political ideology. 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:31.920 We have permissive Jesus, Jesus who's kind of hard on some sins, but he's okay with the sins that I really like doing. 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:36.160 We have Jesus who doesn't look anything like Jesus. 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:45.039 And so he shows up all the time and he calls us all the time, and we miss him all of the time because we haven't dealt first with what we're looking for. 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:55.039 And if you are looking for something other than the one true Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, you might just miss him. 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:58.240 Jesus asked, What are you looking for? 00:18:58.400 --> 00:19:02.319 And they said to him, Rabbi, where are you staying? 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:09.599 It's a very interesting question because we don't understand the dynamic between rabbi and disciple, but it was a huge cost. 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:18.160 Uh to be a disciple, it meant you like literally sat at their feet and you followed them wherever they went, and you were tied to them in a real way. 00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:20.400 So, like, if they got in trouble, you got in trouble. 00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:22.960 You know, you you were co-signing them. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:28.000 And the first thing they want to know is okay, where are you located? 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:29.519 Where are we going? 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:31.279 How far are we gonna have to travel? 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:37.359 What the disciples are doing is they are counting the cost of following Jesus. 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:39.599 They know what it means to follow John. 00:19:39.920 --> 00:19:42.720 Now, what does it really mean to follow Jesus? 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:45.279 What is this going to cost me? 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:52.240 It's a very straightforward question that they ask, and Jesus does not answer it. 00:19:52.480 --> 00:19:58.640 Instead, in verse 39, Jesus says, Come and you'll say it with me. 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:01.519 See, it's the theme of the passage. 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:05.920 And it's very interesting because this is now future tense aura. 00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:25.359 What it means is like come and keep coming and keep following and keep submitting and keep repenting and keep dying to yourself and keep carrying your cross and keep bearing the burden, and over time it will get clearer and clearer and clearer. 00:20:25.519 --> 00:20:26.720 This is a promise. 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:43.680 If if we believe what scripture says, that we are stained by sin, that we are broken as individuals, that we are separated from our Creator, our Heavenly Father, and the source of life, then we must admit on our own we cannot see clearly. 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:47.759 There's all these stories of Jesus like literally healing blind people in scripture. 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:53.680 One guy was born blind, he had never seen anything in his entire life, and Jesus heals him and he and he opens his eyes. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:54.640 It's so incredible. 00:20:54.799 --> 00:21:07.599 We see the power of Jesus, we we see his might and his miracles, but I'm afraid it causes us to miss the bigger picture, which is that everyone who meets Jesus comes to him already blind. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:22.000 We cannot see the world accurately, we cannot see others accurately, we cannot see our spouse accurately, we cannot raise our kids accurately, we don't know who our enemies are, we can't see purpose clearly, we are blinded to the supernatural. 00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:27.359 And Jesus says, if you will come, if you will follow, if you'll submit, they're like, Where are you staying? 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:28.640 What is this gonna cost us? 00:21:28.799 --> 00:21:29.839 What is it gonna mean for us? 00:21:29.920 --> 00:21:30.880 What do I have to give up? 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:32.160 How far am I gonna have to travel? 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:33.759 How inconvenienced am I gonna be? 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:36.960 And Jesus is like, dude, just come with me. 00:21:38.240 --> 00:21:39.839 This takes faith. 00:21:40.160 --> 00:21:48.400 Anyone who tries to sell you a version of following Jesus that doesn't require a radical act of faith is lying to you. 00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.400 It's like, dude, okay, try everything else. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:54.160 And some of you have, and it's why you're here. 00:21:54.240 --> 00:21:55.039 What are you looking for? 00:21:55.200 --> 00:21:57.759 I'm here because I'm at the end of myself, I'm at the end of my rope. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.759 I've tried everything but Jesus, and nothing has fulfilled. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.400 And nothing has been meaningful, and I know I'm meant for something more. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:05.759 And the Holy Spirit has been tugging at my heart, and Jesus has been showing up in my life. 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:07.680 That's what I'm looking for, that's why I'm here. 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:08.799 Then trust him. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:10.319 Submit to him. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:11.359 Follow him. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:15.759 And he says, as you are going, you will begin to see. 00:22:15.839 --> 00:22:37.200 And if you can see your life in the way that God intended for it to be lived, all of that insecurity and all of that longing and all of that search for meaning and all of that search for worth and value, all of that will finally be fulfilled as you begin to live a life on purpose and with purpose through the lens of seeing life, the way that Jesus sees your life. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:39.519 Come and you will see, he said. 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:43.200 And so they went and they saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day. 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:45.599 And it was about four in the afternoon. 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:49.599 Come, and over time, you will see. 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:52.960 It's interesting, Jesus doesn't give them an answer. 00:22:53.200 --> 00:22:54.240 Where are you staying? 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:55.680 He doesn't answer. 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:59.119 Instead, he gives an invitation. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:03.200 And this is hard for us because we want our answers and we want them now. 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:04.720 And we're very spoiled. 00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.079 It's not even your fault. 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:07.519 We're all very spoiled. 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:10.960 If you really want something, you can get on Amazon right now while I'm preaching. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:12.240 Please don't, but you could. 00:23:12.400 --> 00:23:15.920 You get on Amazon right now, and it might be at your house. 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:19.359 By the time I'm done preaching, I have a lot to say today. 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:24.640 Everything's like just instant, instant, instant, instant. 00:23:24.799 --> 00:23:25.599 It's very new. 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:27.680 Like most of human history was not like that. 00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:29.359 When it was hot outside, it was hot inside. 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:31.200 When it was cold outside, it was cold inside. 00:23:31.279 --> 00:23:34.000 Like most of human history, things were slow, and now it's very fast. 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:40.640 And so we hate the idea of like the vision of God for our life developing slowly over time. 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:44.480 And we see things through very broken lenses, and we don't like submitting. 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:46.319 We don't like people being in charge of us. 00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:53.200 And all that is a recipe for disaster because we try to start shaping Jesus into our own image. 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:57.839 And then we wonder, it's like I got baptized three years ago, I don't feel like my life has changed at all. 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:02.559 It's like, well, are you following Jesus or the version of Jesus you created? 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:07.440 The version of Jesus you created cannot save you. 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:13.759 Can't give you the peace that goes beyond your understanding, cannot give you hope for today and hope for tomorrow. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:16.079 Cannot help you love your enemies. 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:19.039 Are we digging in and saying, Jesus, who are you really? 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:20.400 And what do you require of me? 00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:21.519 And what do you ask of me? 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:24.720 Do we wake up and say, What am I looking for today? 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:28.559 What are we putting on Jesus? 00:24:29.359 --> 00:24:31.599 Or are we just looking for him? 00:24:32.559 --> 00:24:33.680 I just want you. 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:36.799 I want you and whatever you want for my life. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:42.880 When we try to project our own truths onto Jesus, what we're saying is, I trust me more than I trust him. 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:49.920 You see, seeing the true Jesus, it changes us. 00:24:51.359 --> 00:24:57.599 This moment that these two disciples had with Jesus, it changed them forever, and it ended up changing the world forever. 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:01.279 And what's very interesting is this transformation of your mind. 00:25:01.359 --> 00:25:05.599 And remember, the way you see the world, it starts with your mind. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:12.160 When you allow the Lord to transform your mind, it transforms your perspective, it transforms your beliefs. 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:14.319 You literally start to see the world differently. 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:29.119 And one thing you will notice all throughout the pages of scripture is when someone is transformed by Jesus, the first response is they have to get to others to help them see what they have seen. 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:34.960 The first response to transformation is always invitation. 00:25:35.599 --> 00:25:36.480 Always. 00:25:37.359 --> 00:25:38.319 Let's keep going. 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:46.720 We see in verse 40, it says, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, that was one of the two who heard John and then followed Jesus. 00:25:47.039 --> 00:25:50.880 He first didn't go eat dinner, he didn't stop off. 00:25:51.200 --> 00:25:56.240 The first thing he did is he went and he found his own brother Simon. 00:25:56.319 --> 00:26:03.039 And he told Simon, We have found the Messiah, which is translated also as the Christ. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:08.640 Transformation leads to invitation. 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:28.559 And we have lost this, and we have become passive, and we have lost our passion, and we have lost our intensity, and we're consumers, and we have we have to be dissecting the culture that permeates our lives so that we can speak truth to it. 00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:37.279 Some of what you're looking for from Jesus isn't the cry of your heart, it's the cry of the culture infiltrating your life. 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:41.519 And one of the things you know about our culture is we are consumer-based. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:51.519 And so we think if we can get the product right, if we can get the strategy right, if we can get the programs right, then we can see progress. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:56.720 And we reflect that onto our views of the movement of Jesus. 00:26:56.960 --> 00:27:12.640 And so we sing songs begging for revival, and we pray begging for revival, and we preach asking for revival, and we can look back through Christian history and see great revivals even in the West, even in America, but we're consumers. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:39.920 And so we think if we can just get the product right, if we can preach strong enough messages and we can get them to go viral, if we can get the singing right, if we have good enough bands, if we have bright enough lights, if we have enough fog machines, if we have the right programs, if we if we have the right decorations in our kids' programs, if we get the programs, and then we need a strategy, so we need a social marketing strategy, right? 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:42.640 So if we get our social marketing strategy, we'll get enough eyeballs. 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:44.880 Revival will be right behind Instagram, right? 00:27:44.960 --> 00:27:47.039 Because Instagram surely isn't a tool of the devil, right? 00:27:47.119 --> 00:27:50.640 So let's just get Instagram right, and then revival will follow. 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:52.559 I went to a church conference one time. 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:54.079 I wish I was making this up. 00:27:54.640 --> 00:27:58.160 One of the speakers, he was like, I'm gonna tell you the secret to church growth. 00:27:58.400 --> 00:28:00.480 And went through this long speech and it was fine. 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:01.759 And he got to the very end. 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:02.880 I am not joking. 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:07.359 He landed the plane, making the point that you gotta have the environment right. 00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:08.640 That was the point, okay? 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:15.440 We grow to we grow to 1,200 people in a vomit-filled bar, but his point was you you gotta get the environment right. 00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:22.799 And he said, the secret is you gotta have at least two ply toilet paper. 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:28.559 And I was like, holy sh no, I'm just kidding. 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:34.880 I was actually furious, I'm over it now, but I was furious. 00:28:35.200 --> 00:28:42.960 Because what that tells you is if you get the product right and you get the strategy right and you get the program right, revival will follow. 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:51.680 If you study the revivals throughout time, it wasn't because the preacher was good enough, it wasn't because the singer was good enough, it wasn't because the buildings were good enough. 00:28:51.920 --> 00:29:04.960 Revival happens when the movement of Jesus' people take seriously their call to do whatever it takes to get people to Jesus. 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:13.680 Meta church, we have the right culture, we have the right theology, we have the right DNA, we have the right passion to see revival around us. 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:23.119 But if you're counting on the spiritual professionals and the vocational ministryers and the people with stages and microphones to get it done, you'll be waiting your entire life. 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:26.160 I cannot preach our way into a revival. 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:29.279 It starts with you. 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:34.880 It's never about the people on the stages, it's always about the people in the seats. 00:29:35.119 --> 00:29:44.960 It is always the church realizing and remembering that the movement Jesus started says that every single believer in Jesus has a ministry. 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:51.039 And when they take that ministry into their sphere of influence, revival breaks out in our world. 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:54.240 It can start, but it must start with you. 00:29:55.519 --> 00:29:58.079 If we can see it. 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:04.799 In verse 42, we see Simon, Peter, meet Jesus. 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:11.039 He brought Simon to Jesus, and when Jesus saw him, he said, You are Simon, son of John, you will be called Cephas, which means Peter. 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:15.759 Now, if you've read any of the New Testament, you know a lot of ink is spilled over Peter. 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:18.000 He's one of Jesus' closest friends. 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:21.519 He's in the inner three of the disciples, Peter, James, and John. 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:23.839 He becomes one of the apostles who starts the church. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:26.720 He becomes one of the chiefs of the apostles. 00:30:26.960 --> 00:30:32.799 Peter is so important in church history that the Catholics believe he was the first Pope. 00:30:32.960 --> 00:30:33.839 Now they're wrong about that. 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:37.039 But that just shows how important Peter is. 00:30:37.759 --> 00:30:44.880 And what we miss is Peter's story didn't start with him finding Jesus. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:48.960 It started with a great invite. 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:56.160 It started with his brother being transformed, seeing the world differently, and running after him. 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:03.920 When you really experience the true Jesus, you will not be able to help yourself. 00:31:04.640 --> 00:31:11.599 Everyone who resides in your sphere of influence is now a spiritual, divine opportunity. 00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:18.480 We live in Western Christianity as if lives are not hanging in the balance, and lives are hanging in the balance. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:25.519 When I was writing this sermon, the Lord gave me kind of this like this image in my mind. 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:28.319 And so I want you to walk along this with me. 00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:39.839 I imagined hiking out on one of the San Antonio green belts, and and as you're hiking, you trip over a box and you open the box, and it's just stacks of hundred dollar bills. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:45.119 And you start digging, trying to find the bottom of this box, and the deeper you dig, the deeper it goes. 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:52.000 And pretty soon you have dug so deep, the only thing that you can assume is this is an endless supply of money. 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:53.359 All of your problems are gone. 00:31:53.519 --> 00:32:00.720 Your debts are paid, your mortgage is paid off, your cars are paid off, your medical debt is paid off, your kids go to college, you have all the money you'll ever need. 00:32:00.799 --> 00:32:04.160 And it's endless, which means you can share it with as many people as you want. 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:13.359 So after you get over the shock that you have all the money you want, the natural next thing you're gonna do is you're gonna find about the five people closest to you and you're gonna bring them to this treasure. 00:32:14.559 --> 00:32:18.240 And so I'm I'm genuinely asking you, who are those five people? 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:21.119 They're probably very close to you. 00:32:21.759 --> 00:32:28.160 Family, friends, adult kids, parents who are still living, lifelong friends, college buddies. 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:29.200 Who are those five? 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:31.279 There's there's enough to go around for everyone. 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:35.279 And and would you allow them to say no? 00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:37.440 Hey, bro, you've gotta come. 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.960 I found this thing, you gotta come see this thing. 00:32:39.039 --> 00:32:43.839 If they were like, hey man, super busy right now, you'd be like, hey, I don't care, right? 00:32:43.920 --> 00:32:46.480 Like, you have to, this is gonna change your life. 00:32:46.640 --> 00:32:47.440 You have to. 00:32:47.599 --> 00:32:48.559 Who are those five? 00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:50.400 And after those five, who are the next five? 00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:51.440