Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Thoughts Of Some Guy In Ohio
Living with Purpose: Embracing the Transformative Power of the Resurrection
What if the purpose of your life was far greater than you ever imagined? Tune in as we explore the profound implications of Christ's resurrection on our everyday lives, revealing how even a simple act, like switching a baptism song to "Made for More" by Josh Baldwin, can symbolize our calling to a higher purpose. We journey through the Gospel of Mark and the transformative moments it presents, challenging the notion that life ends with death. Instead, we're invited to embrace a life filled with hope and purpose—a life that answers the world's cries for help through the vibrant and active community of the church.
In a world where darkness and moral decay often seem overwhelming, the message of Jesus' resurrection shines as a beacon of hope. Our conversation delves into the difference between merely transactional and truly transformational faith, urging us to live out the gospel actively. Through compelling stories, such as young Trey finding his way back to his church community, we highlight the vital role the church plays in spreading hope and making disciples. Join us as we confront the challenges of today's world and inspire one another to take action, uniting as a church to impact our communities for Christ and lead lives of true fulfillment.
So I've really been. It was 10 o'clock last night and the way that God kind of works in my life, it's like a culmination of things and a lot of times the revelations that I feel like I have is it's kind of like it's a bunch of little things that kind of mount on top of each other. And so last night about 10 o'clock, that song Made for More came on and I was actually scrolling through my TikTok and I heard you know, josh Baldwin is who sings it, and I was listening to it and it just kind of like punched me in the stomach. Man, I've heard that song before, we played that song before, and so I text Cody. I'm like, hey, I was like we've done this right, like I know you've sang this song before. And he's like yeah, and I was like, well, I was like we're going to change direction. And he's like, what do you mean? I'm like, well, you know we have a baptism song and we've had the same baptism song made new. We've been doing that one for almost two years now.
Speaker 1:I was like, but, moving forward, when someone gets baptized, I think we need to do Made for More by Josh Baldwin. I was like I love the lyrics of the song. I'm not meant to be tending a grave. I've been saved for more, I'm made for more, and this is where you know. I was sitting there last night and, of course, like I'm trying to go to bed and God's like, hey, I gotta tell you something. I'm like all right, cool, like give it to me.
Speaker 1:And and one of the things that I strongly believe and this has come from several conversations I've had this week is the church is the single greatest answer the world will ever have. Everything they need is inside this building and inside you and me. We talked about this last week when we were talking about Jesus and the way that he lived. He showed up and lived in such a way that it changed the course of the men and women, dramatically changed their life course for almost all of them. When we talk about the early disciples and I love it when Jesus has this conversation with the early disciples he says listen, follow me. And I think we have a misunderstanding that when we say, when Jesus says follow me, it's not this hey, you guys are going to walk around with me as I heal and I teach and you're just going to kind of be my audience Jesus says follow me, give up your life, lay it all down for the cross, understand that some of you will die because of what I've called you to, but it'll be the single, greatest transformation you've ever experienced. Nothing in life will ever give you what I'm about to offer you. Nothing in life will measure up, because I'm about to change everything about you. And so we get into the gospel of Mark and we walk through the gospel of Mark and we see all the things and we're going to find ourselves in Mark, chapter 16, because listen, this is the point of the gospel. Everything leads up to this moment in the life of Jesus. He sacrifices his life, he dies for those who love him, even for those who hate him, but when the time comes, the grave is not his keeper.
Speaker 1:Matthew 16, verse 1, it says when the Sabbath was over, mary Magdalene, mary, the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Understand, at this time they had accepted that he was gone. They were going to anoint His body. It says very early on, in the first day of the week Jesus, or just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb. They were still missing the point. They were coming to anoint the body and they were trying to figure out how are we going to get that big rock out of the way. But when they looked up they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. And as they entered the tomb they saw a young man dressed in white robe sitting on the right side and they were alarmed.
Speaker 1:Now this angel says to them don't be alarmed. I feel like that's what happens when you tell someone don't look down. Their response is they're going to be alarmed. He says don't be alarmed. He said You're looking for Jesus, the Nazarene who was crucified. He has risen. He is not here. See the place where they laid him, but go tell his disciples and Peter, he is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you. And their response is what anyone's would be Trembling and bewildered.
Speaker 1:The women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid. In the Gospel of Mark, this is actually where it ends. So verses 9 through 20 are not in the early manuscripts. It doesn't mean they're not reliable, which is they weren't in the early manuscripts. So imagine, the Gospel of Mark ends in such a way that it says the women fleed and they said nothing to no one. You and I might assume that that's the end of the story.
Speaker 1:What happens after the gravestone's been rolled away? What happens after Jesus is resurrected from the dead? In the other Gospels Matthew, mark, luke and John we realize that Jesus goes around and he starts teaching, spends a good amount of time 40 days with people and traveling and helping them understand and using the scriptures to help them understand who he is. But everything, the entirety of the gospel message, hinges on the moment that Jesus rose from the grave, because the grave is not his end and it's not ours either. That's what I cannot help but wrestle with every single day of my life.
Speaker 1:If I am not meant to be tending a grave, then what am I supposed to do with my life If I am not meant to experience death, eternity separated from God? If I'm called to do more, if I'm called to be more, if eternity is within my grasp because of what Jesus did on the cross, how in the world can I not tell someone about it? How can we not understand, as believers, that our life is so much bigger than living day to day. It's so much bigger than getting money in our bank account. It's so much bigger than having a title and a job. It's so much bigger. But yet, for some reason, we settle for less than what God has given us. We settle for less than the resurrection of Jesus as our starting point. We believe that he died for us, we believe that he offered us eternity, but we sit down and we do nothing with it. We live as if the only reason we exist and the only reason Jesus died is so that we don't go to hell. You and I are called to be so much more, much more. You see this in the book of Acts, as the early church starts out.
Speaker 1:These disciples, these disciples who had no business, anyone even knowing who they were. No one knew their names. They were simple people, but they would change the course of history. When Jesus is talking to disciples and he says follow Me, it's not just us walking around watching what he does. Jesus knew that eventually they would do exactly what he was doing, that their impact would be far greater than even his. To the ends of the earth, paul would go on missionary journeys bringing Gentiles to the knowledge of Jesus. Most of the early apostles were murdered. They would die for their faith, but they would die with a smile on their face because they proclaimed the gospel as death met them, because they didn't just sit around waiting for heaven to come. They brought heaven to earth. They brought Jesus to the masses. They went and they made disciples. They did it fearlessly and faithfully, to the point of death. Death because they understood that their life was meant for more. They understood that what they had been given was a gift that was going to change the world.
Speaker 1:I was sitting there last night, just kind of sitting in the presence of God and trying to just understand, because I've always tried to live my life, ever since I found Jesus. I've tried to live my life. Ever since I found Jesus. I've tried to live my life in a way that at the end of it, the only thing I want to know is whether or not I brought people into heaven with me. The only thing that I want to know is that if I was called to give my life for the sake of the gospel, that I would do it without hesitation. I want to live in such a way that my life is being transformed by the gospel every single day, that I look at my life and I thank God for everything that he's done.
Speaker 1:You know, when we talk about everything Jesus has offered us and we talk about our response to grace, I believe with everything in me that we are saved by grace. We are saved by the grace of God. None of us deserve to be here. It's simply by his death, burial and resurrection that we can stand in this place. But the beautiful thing is, our response to grace is our own. We can choose to have grace and sit in our filth and our shame and tend our grave, or we can choose to accept the grace that God has given us and accept that our life is bigger now, that our purpose is bigger, that you and I, like the early disciples, are called to be more, be more. The entirety of the gospel message is that your life and my life are no longer our own, that God has saved me from myself, that God has called me to a bigger purpose.
Speaker 1:I'm not some 16-year-old kid wishing for death. I'm a 38-year-old believer in Jesus seeking to live my life for him. My purpose doesn't come from my family. Don't me wrong. I love my kids, man. I love my wife. My purpose doesn't come from my job. I've had titles titles are pointless. I've had plaques on my desk. They were nice and shiny. When I left that job, guess what? H HR kept it. I didn't get to take it home. I don't even care what you think about me, don't get me wrong. I love you all dearly, but you don't define who I am. My purpose in life is solely defined in the hands of the one who created me and the one who died for me, the one who not only died but resurrected. Because none of you have accomplished that.
Speaker 1:For me, the purpose of this church hinges on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Without that, this doesn't exist. Without the kingdom of God, there is no point. But in the kingdom of God, once you give your life to Jesus, once you understand what he's called you to, it changes everything, everything. Your whole focus should shift.
Speaker 1:We were talking about this in the class we did on Sunday. Cody was talking about there's two responses. There's a transactional response and there's a transformational response to the message of the gospel. You can either hear what God has to offer and you follow the motions and you do what you're supposed to. You do the baptism, you confess, you repent and then you just show up in church and all you do is you sit there and you say, thank God, he saved me, appreciate it. Now I'm not going to do anything. That's transactional, that's, how does this benefit me? Transformational is to look at the message of the gospel, to look at what Jesus has done in my life and say now, what do I do with this? Where do I go?
Speaker 1:There's a young man in here last weekend by the name of Trey, and I'm bummed he's not here, because Trey's an awesome dude, he's a big dude. I remember when I used to work at the Christian Center that dude was 16 years old, the same size as me, and I was a little worried. He's a big dude. I got to talking to him after church yesterday and last Sunday. I was like hey, I'm glad to see you here and he's like. You know what he's like. I'm glad I'm here, he's like. You know why he's like? Because I just got some bad news in my life and this is the only place I believe I can find comfort. And then he said to me and he's like, I remember everything you've done for me and said to me in my life I remember everything you did for me and Ms Kim did for me and the Christian Center did for me. He's like. Even though I've walked away from it, I've never forgotten that you loved me and because of that God loves me.
Speaker 1:That's the power of the gospel. That's what it is to know Jesus and confess Jesus and to make disciples that everywhere we go, people see a glimpse of hope. I realize, man, that I am way off topic from where I was headed. As I sat there last night and I listened to that song, all I could think is God, I hope and I pray that you move so much in the valley here that the world takes notice that people start to see lives being changed through us. God, I pray for the other churches in the area that are trying to do the same thing. That you give them the power they need to be everything they're called to be.
Speaker 1:That we as a church take the message of the gospel, the seriousness of going and making disciples, as a personal call, not an individual effort, but as a unified effort that our purpose is to go into the community of Follingsby in Wellsburg and then tell as many people as we can about Jesus and pray that they give their life to Jesus, they accept him. Through the baptism, they receive the forgiveness of their sins, they've received the power of the Holy Spirit and they go in the world and they do it again. Because that is the only thing that matters at the end of my life and yours it's whether or not we brought the gospel to the masses. This building will someday not exist anymore. The property we have will someday not exist anymore. The property we have will someday not exist anymore. Your life will someday come to an end. There will be a time when no one will remember my name or your name, but as we stand next to them in heaven, we'll always remember we had that.
Speaker 1:God is in the business of changing lives. He does it all the time. We see it throughout the business of changing lives. He does it all the time. We see it throughout the entirety of Scripture. So many people overcome so many things and man, they're not perfect. Some of the greatest historical figures we find in the Old Testament did some of the stupidest things in the world. I've talked about David. David was a man after God's own heart and he still killed somebody. He had someone killed because of a woman that he slept with. Moses didn't even make it into the promised land because he was disobedient. But Moses is also part of the Red Sea. David also knocked out Goliath. So God is in the business of working in people's lives. He's in the business of transformation and we as a church should not only celebrate that, but we should be out there trying to help people understand it. One of the coolest things I've seen in the last several weeks is these names. We're praying for more than a handful of these. I'm hearing stories of how God is opening up conversations and changing lives and helping people understand and bringing people like people are telling me listen. This is really cool. Like I've been watching this, I've been praying for them and God's opened his door and now there's this conversation.
Speaker 1:Sarah she's not here because she had to go to work, but Sarah comes to our small group on Thursday nights and she was there on Thursday and she was telling us about how there's this young lady that works with her. Bob Evans, and you know Sarah had posted something about how she was looking to further her faith coming into the new year. Right, I think that's a great thing, and so this young lady reached out to her and said listen, me too. And so Sarah went and she got together and she bought this basket for her and it's got a Bible and highlighters and some candy and a cup and she's going to minister to her. She's discipling her at Bob Evans. So don't tell me you need to have a church or be in a church to tell people about Jesus. She's living in such a way in her own life that someone recognized and said listen, I don't know what that is, but I want it too. And so we're praying for this young lady, we're praying for Sarah, we're praying for that conversation.
Speaker 1:Everywhere we go, we have an opportunity to spread the message of the gospel, because that is why we exist. That is why we're here. Church, do you not understand that? The church only survives when the church members do what they're supposed to do, and that's to take the gospel to the ends of the earth? But here's the thing God doesn't need you for that, but he wants you for that.
Speaker 1:I think about that with my kids. There are so many things in my house that would be easier if I would just do it. If you're parents, you know what I mean. You start working on something and all of a sudden your kids are like, can I help? And I'm like I don't, yeah. And then you accept two things one, you're gonna have to do it again, and two, it's now become an all-day project. But here's the thing as a good parent, it's my job to show them, to teach them that. I include them in that, not because they're going to do it right, but because they need to understand how important it is. God includes us in the process, not because we're good at it all the time, but because he needs us to understand how significant it is.
Speaker 1:And here's the better part. I don't have the Holy Spirit to give my kids when they're working on the car with me. I can't impart on them some spiritual gift to suddenly make them able to change the oil or take off a tire, but God has given us his spirit in us to equip us and give us everything we need to fulfill the mission that he's called us to to be on mission constantly. I believe that God is going to change this valley. I believe that God is going to move so strong in this area that the world's going to take notice. And I realize that sounds crazy on my end and I even confessed this last night to Cody. I was like I might be a little crazy. He said you're not, and I said thanks. But I believe that if we really stick to what God wants us to do, if we really focus on prayer, if we really focus on discipling, if we really take responsibility for who we are in the church and accountability, if we really try to live our lives in the way that Christ calls us to, if we really try to live our lives in the way that Christ calls us to, if we believe and if we teach others to believe as well, that there is nothing in the world that's going to stop the church and there is nothing in the world that's going to stop people from coming to Jesus in masses. It happened back then, thousands of years ago. It can happen today, but it takes every single person being committed to the cause of Christ. The mission to spread the gospel, to speak of his death, burial and resurrection and to call people to live changed lives. That is what the world needs. That's what we're supposed to do.
Speaker 1:Can you imagine if at the end of the Gospel, mark that's how it ends Jesus rose from the grave? Mark, for whatever reason, didn't feel the need to elaborate any further. So, listen, I think personally that Mark was being strategic. I love the Gospel writers, man, all the Gospels are so similar, but they're different because they're written for different audiences. But I love Mark gospel writers, man, all the gospels are so similar, but they're different because they're written for different audiences. But I love Mark's approach Because when he ends his gospel, he leaves it with the resurrection, by the way, which is hugely significant and the angel says don't worry, jesus is going to go ahead of you into Galilee and there you'll find him.
Speaker 1:But I do think that the way Mark ends his gospel is on purpose, because he gives the entire gospel and says listen, Jesus has died for you. Jesus has risen from the grave. Now, what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do with the knowledge that I have just shared with you? A man rose from the grave. Your Savior has returned. Now what it's 2025? Now what it's 2025. The world's in darkness. The amount of Christians in our culture not only ours, but all over the world is significantly less than it ever has been before. The mockery of God is at an all-time high. The brokenness in families, the drug addiction, the failed marriages, the addiction of stuff like pornography. It's running rampant. It's destroying people left and right. Sin is eating people alive, and you and I have the answer. So, with that knowledge in mind, let me ask you now what?