WEBVTT 00:00:00.500 --> 00:00:02.770 This week has been a fascinating week. 00:00:02.770 --> 00:00:13.449 If you have been involved in the challenge, you know, we've been doing all these different things and there's been so many kind of fun moments throughout this week where you just kind of get together and you, you laugh. 00:00:13.470 --> 00:00:14.339 I'll give you one. 00:00:14.339 --> 00:00:18.478 You know, we, we plan all this stuff out literally months and months and months in advance. 00:00:18.478 --> 00:00:21.678 We don't always see how things are going to work together. 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:29.239 And, uh, we have, we did this, this food challenge, you know, in this Matthew 25 on Monday. 00:00:29.570 --> 00:00:34.079 It was to go without lunch and then, uh, skip lunch. 00:00:34.109 --> 00:00:37.250 And then for dinner, you just choose to have rice and beans. 00:00:37.740 --> 00:00:39.149 Well, we didn't coordinate. 00:00:39.179 --> 00:00:46.390 We didn't realize that that night was going to fall on a night that we were going to have a banquet, which we did Monday night. 00:00:46.390 --> 00:00:48.789 We had a leadership banquet in this very room. 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:53.380 And, uh, we realized we were going to serve this big Italian dinner and it was going to be awesome. 00:00:53.909 --> 00:00:57.149 We had sent out invitations, Italian dinner, and then we realized. 00:00:57.685 --> 00:01:01.335 That falls exactly on the night we're supposed to have rice and beans. 00:01:02.174 --> 00:01:03.183 And so we had a crisis. 00:01:03.183 --> 00:01:04.084 We had to make a decision. 00:01:04.084 --> 00:01:05.823 We said, look, we said rice and beans. 00:01:06.103 --> 00:01:09.625 We're going to send a note out to the leaders and go, Hey, we changed the menu. 00:01:10.174 --> 00:01:15.899 And so we came in here and there were just trays of rice and beans that you got on your way in. 00:01:16.259 --> 00:01:20.588 And we had this banquet with rice and beans and it was memorable and it was awesome. 00:01:20.868 --> 00:01:23.129 And it was amazing how God orchestrated that. 00:01:23.569 --> 00:01:29.189 And then I think the next day or a couple of days later, uh, it was to sleep on the floor. 00:01:29.459 --> 00:01:30.838 And I told you, I'm going to do this. 00:01:30.838 --> 00:01:36.359 So Lisa and I, we slept on our living room floor and, and, uh, because we don't have, we have wood floors. 00:01:36.359 --> 00:01:42.894 And so we have a carpet in there and And the next day I woke up and I'm like, wow, things are hurting. 00:01:43.024 --> 00:01:43.524 Okay. 00:01:44.015 --> 00:01:54.183 And so then I went to lunch with a friend and then some other friends showed up and all of us were just complaining about the, you know, the crook in our necks and the sore in the arm and all the sleep and all this kind of stuff. 00:01:54.243 --> 00:01:58.045 And so many things like that were so fun throughout this week. 00:01:58.433 --> 00:02:00.454 But there was a purpose behind all of that. 00:02:00.825 --> 00:02:03.295 And, uh, the purpose was to get us. 00:02:03.890 --> 00:02:08.449 To today and to get us to, uh, something we knew was coming. 00:02:08.508 --> 00:02:12.019 And I am so excited to have you here today because I'm excited. 00:02:12.534 --> 00:02:14.314 To have a special guest with us today. 00:02:14.705 --> 00:02:17.245 And, uh, I'm just going to call him Rusty. 00:02:17.284 --> 00:02:18.794 I'll just say that much. 00:02:18.805 --> 00:02:21.974 He'll tell you his last name and give you some explanation for that. 00:02:21.974 --> 00:02:22.903 I'll skip all that. 00:02:23.275 --> 00:02:24.835 But let me tell you a little bit about Rusty. 00:02:24.835 --> 00:02:27.194 Rusty actually grew up in Arizona. 00:02:27.194 --> 00:02:29.655 Rusty went to Marcos de Niza High School. 00:02:29.655 --> 00:02:31.245 He's a native of Arizona. 00:02:31.314 --> 00:02:37.965 But after, after graduating high school, he went to, um, a Nazarene College in Chicago. 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:46.740 And he got his degree there and just kind of pursued the heart of a pastor, but kind of felt God pulling on him to work with the homeless. 00:02:46.889 --> 00:02:50.129 And so he began that journey working with the homeless. 00:02:50.569 --> 00:02:55.889 And then he got involved in this organization, which, uh, you're probably hearing about called world vision. 00:02:56.209 --> 00:02:59.270 And so for the past quite a few years, um, has. 00:02:59.794 --> 00:03:03.924 Uh, 11 or 12 years, whatever it's been, uh, been on staff with World Vision. 00:03:04.344 --> 00:03:09.794 And, uh, so we invited Rusty from Chicago to come talk to us about what he's going to share with us today. 00:03:10.104 --> 00:03:12.674 Now, I just want you to know he's a married man. 00:03:12.683 --> 00:03:18.474 He and his wife, Alyssa have a little boy, Ira, um, like a year old little boy. 00:03:18.683 --> 00:03:22.234 And anyway, all that's to say church, I think you're going to be super blessed. 00:03:22.234 --> 00:03:23.144 Now here's what's going to happen. 00:03:23.834 --> 00:03:27.623 I've invited him to come up and share some stuff and I'm going to come back up and share some stuff. 00:03:28.014 --> 00:03:30.183 And, uh, we just have an exciting morning in store. 00:03:30.183 --> 00:03:36.223 So, hey, Church, will you welcome to Central, Rusty from Chicago. 00:03:38.493 --> 00:03:38.813 Thank you, sir. 00:03:40.954 --> 00:03:41.524 All right. 00:03:41.653 --> 00:03:42.044 Well, it's good. 00:03:42.054 --> 00:03:45.254 It is really good to be here today for so many reasons. 00:03:45.254 --> 00:03:46.884 But first, my name is Rusty Funk. 00:03:48.150 --> 00:03:52.030 And every time I meet people for the first time, they ask me two questions. 00:03:52.030 --> 00:03:55.879 In fact, someone asked me these two questions in the lobby just a few minutes ago. 00:03:56.229 --> 00:03:57.379 And so I'm just gonna answer them for you. 00:03:57.379 --> 00:03:58.838 So you don't have to ask me after service. 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:00.549 Yes, that is my real name. 00:04:00.558 --> 00:04:01.459 Thank you, mom and dad. 00:04:01.460 --> 00:04:03.419 That's my real name, Rusty Funk is my real name. 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.329 And two, no, I do not play in a band. 00:04:07.409 --> 00:04:08.479 No, I don't play the guitar. 00:04:08.479 --> 00:04:09.939 I'm not a DJ. 00:04:10.049 --> 00:04:12.109 No, I have zero musical talent whatsoever. 00:04:12.109 --> 00:04:15.969 If you're worshiping in this section, you probably heard how little musical talent I had. 00:04:15.969 --> 00:04:20.259 I know it's a waste of a musical name on, on just a normal guy with no talent. 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:23.988 So I apologize to disappoint you there, but I'm just gonna get that out of the way. 00:04:24.959 --> 00:04:27.019 In all seriousness though, it is an honor to be here. 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:27.899 I'm very excited. 00:04:27.968 --> 00:04:29.048 All of us at World Vision are excited. 00:04:29.298 --> 00:04:32.848 There are multiple reasons why we've been praying for this day and why we're excited. 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.959 Uh, the top three, I just want to name before we dive in today. 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:41.680 The first is, I know you don't know me yet, but I've been getting to know you from afar. 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:49.439 Through watching service after service to meeting with Pastors Cal, and Lisa, and Paul, and John, and Allison, and Zoe. 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:50.920 There's just so many beautiful leaders here. 00:04:50.930 --> 00:04:55.738 And I just want to let you know that I have the honor of speaking at a number of churches per year across the country for World Vision. 00:04:56.134 --> 00:04:57.394 Y'all got something special here. 00:04:57.415 --> 00:05:01.524 There is a humble service and Holy Spirit movement in this church. 00:05:01.545 --> 00:05:03.225 And just hold on to what you got here. 00:05:03.225 --> 00:05:04.093 It is a beautiful thing. 00:05:04.514 --> 00:05:04.944 Number one. 00:05:05.374 --> 00:05:05.834 Number two. 00:05:05.884 --> 00:05:21.704 Uh, like Pastor Cal said, I get to share about something today that, that God brought to our lives at World Vision a few years ago that turned everything upside down and it turned our hearts inside out just as humans, just as followers of Jesus, not even as, as, as part of the World Vision staff team. 00:05:22.543 --> 00:05:30.185 And as if those two reasons weren't enough to feel really personally excited to be here today, like Pastor Cal said, I'm actually from Arizona, born and raised here. 00:05:30.185 --> 00:05:33.694 I've lived in Chicago for the last 20 years, but this is coming home in a lot of ways. 00:05:34.144 --> 00:05:39.733 And if we had more time today, I could tell you sermons based around the fact that I grew up as a Phoenix Suns fan. 00:05:39.733 --> 00:05:41.343 I think we've got a picture of my awkward self. 00:05:41.343 --> 00:05:45.495 I thought I was going to be the NBA, like Kevin Johnson, Charles Barkley, Dan Marley. 00:05:45.495 --> 00:05:47.875 That was my goal in life was to be in the NBA. 00:05:48.384 --> 00:06:00.543 Um, another sermon for another day would be how I met my wife in high school at Marcos Teneza and we went, uh, to many a dances together and I'm pretty sure we have an awkward picture of me forcing her to wear a son's jersey at a high school dance. 00:06:00.543 --> 00:06:01.593 That's the middle picture there. 00:06:01.593 --> 00:06:02.603 That's me on the left. 00:06:03.504 --> 00:06:06.824 The first picture there, I know, you probably could see what my dad saw right away. 00:06:06.824 --> 00:06:08.305 That kid is not making it to the NBA. 00:06:08.425 --> 00:06:09.915 Like, you gotta stay in school, son. 00:06:10.894 --> 00:06:26.139 Or I could tell you a sermon about the farthest picture, where my wife and I have been on a long journey of trying to be parents, and even though we live in Chicago, Miraculously, our son came very early here in Arizona, and was born in June of 2021. 00:06:26.408 --> 00:06:29.379 And as we've recovered from that, we stayed here for a number of months. 00:06:29.389 --> 00:06:37.800 And his first experience as a little human in this world was to watch the Phoenix Suns lose to the Milwaukee Bucks in the summer of 2021. 00:06:39.139 --> 00:06:41.468 And it's like, son, this is your first lesson on being a Phoenix fan. 00:06:42.644 --> 00:06:44.973 We are the best at almost being the best. 00:06:45.793 --> 00:06:47.673 We are really great at almost being great. 00:06:47.673 --> 00:06:51.204 We get to the semi finals and the finals a lot, but we just never, you know, Alright, I'm done. 00:06:53.843 --> 00:06:54.935 Anyways, it is an honor. 00:06:54.973 --> 00:06:55.723 I could keep going. 00:06:56.064 --> 00:06:59.194 So many personal moments, uh, that make this weekend very special for me. 00:06:59.194 --> 00:07:06.913 But, to dive in today, if I were to title the portion of my message today, I would probably call it the Upside Down Kingdom of God. 00:07:07.863 --> 00:07:10.184 And you may be thinking, well, that's kind of a weird name. 00:07:10.184 --> 00:07:13.384 And if you like dad jokes like me, you'd be like, well, that's an upside down name, isn't it? 00:07:13.663 --> 00:07:17.454 And hey, I know, I know God's kingdom is right side up and our world is upside down, but hear me out here. 00:07:18.113 --> 00:07:23.483 I think scripture and theologians would back me up in saying this simple but profound thing, at least for my own life. 00:07:24.194 --> 00:07:35.043 That the Bible we believe in and the God we serve and the Jesus we chase after, everything about the Bible we believe in, the God we serve and the Jesus we chase after, is upside down from this world we live in. 00:07:35.944 --> 00:07:36.605 Let me say it one more time. 00:07:36.995 --> 00:07:44.124 Everything about the Bible we believe in, the God we serve, and the Jesus we chase after is upside down from this broken world we live in. 00:07:44.355 --> 00:07:48.105 And what I should have done on that slide is put, and that is why it's so beautiful. 00:07:48.713 --> 00:07:52.134 His kingdom is just beautifully different than the world we live in. 00:07:52.473 --> 00:07:53.785 A couple, a couple highlights for you. 00:07:54.134 --> 00:07:55.555 SportsCenter top ten, if you will. 00:07:56.735 --> 00:07:58.704 We follow a king who washes our feet. 00:07:59.495 --> 00:08:00.045 Doesn't make sense. 00:08:00.064 --> 00:08:04.564 We follow a teacher who uses examples like the Good Samaritan or turning the other cheek. 00:08:05.783 --> 00:08:11.805 We follow a coach who drafts short people to slay giants and calls stutterers to be his public speakers. 00:08:13.074 --> 00:08:17.233 We follow a CEO who chooses outcasts and failures to be on the senior leadership team. 00:08:17.235 --> 00:08:25.115 We follow a priest who lifts up the worst of sinners, points to them as a pillar of morality, pointing to their humility and their repentance. 00:08:26.154 --> 00:08:28.245 We follow a preacher who preaches jubilee. 00:08:28.274 --> 00:08:30.274 That jubilee does not make sense to our world. 00:08:30.274 --> 00:08:33.933 We follow a father who gives strength to the weak and elevates the humble. 00:08:33.933 --> 00:08:34.985 We follow a shepherd. 00:08:35.490 --> 00:08:38.360 who leaves the 99 just to go and get the one. 00:08:39.788 --> 00:08:40.399 Do you see it, Central? 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:49.109 Everything about the Bible we believe in, the God we serve, and the Jesus we chase after, it's upside down from this world we live in, and that is why His kingdom is so beautiful. 00:08:50.570 --> 00:08:59.309 The challenge is for me, and I'm not sure if it is for you, that I tend to like, see the upside down things in Scripture, but keep them at arm's length. 00:08:59.950 --> 00:09:01.870 Because it just doesn't make sense to the world I live in. 00:09:03.019 --> 00:09:05.070 And for me personally, I do that. 00:09:05.889 --> 00:09:18.029 I think because the most upside down thing of all is the hardest thing for me to accept that this first step and the most upside down thing for me is really accepting the fact that God loves and chooses me. 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:25.489 And I know if I were to poll the audience, we would probably all raise our hand and say, Hey, I know God loves me. 00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:26.259 He likes me. 00:09:26.259 --> 00:09:27.068 He chooses me. 00:09:27.068 --> 00:09:29.070 We probably would cognitively agree with that. 00:09:29.070 --> 00:09:34.249 But I need to confess today that I, I struggle with that almost on a daily basis. 00:09:34.259 --> 00:09:34.889 Cause you know what? 00:09:36.899 --> 00:09:39.080 I see the real me, the me that you don't see. 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:46.639 I dwell on my past failures, I dwell on my current failures, my sin, my destruction, my struggles, my shortcomings. 00:09:47.099 --> 00:09:57.210 And if I'm being honest, each morning when I wake up, and I look in the mirror, not just the physical mirror, but the introspective mirror, my self doubt often doesn't like what I see in myself. 00:09:57.210 --> 00:09:59.389 So how could God like it and choose me? 00:10:03.325 --> 00:10:10.434 A few years ago, a spiritual mentor of mine had me do a prayer practice for the first time that changed my life, and I tried to do it weekly, if not daily. 00:10:11.254 --> 00:10:22.254 It's just a quick prayer, individual listening exercise that has really helped me anchor my own identity in Christ and nothing else, not in the name of self doubt or what the world says about me. 00:10:22.254 --> 00:10:26.534 So if you would, humor me a 60 second prayer exercise here. 00:10:26.884 --> 00:10:31.524 So whether you're online or here in person, if you could bow your heads and close your eyes, just for a few seconds here. 00:10:33.198 --> 00:10:41.809 With every head bowed and eye closed, right now in the privacy of your own mind, I just want you to think about the things you don't like about yourself. 00:10:43.409 --> 00:10:51.169 Your shortcomings, your embarrassments, your failures, both the public ones and the hidden ones, just, just hold them in the privacy of your mind. 00:10:54.349 --> 00:11:00.239 Now with your eyes closed, I want you to picture Jesus pulling up a chair and sitting right in front of you, face to face with you. 00:11:01.619 --> 00:11:05.669 And with your physical eyes remaining closed, I need you to find the eyes of Jesus. 00:11:06.479 --> 00:11:11.129 Find his eyes and look him in the eyes and hold them and hear him say these words to you this morning. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:13.629 I see you. 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:15.049 I choose you. 00:11:15.629 --> 00:11:16.318 I love you. 00:11:17.429 --> 00:11:20.629 My child, please stop thinking about your failures and your shortcomings. 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:21.850 They do not define you. 00:11:22.870 --> 00:11:26.629 Please stop dwelling on what the world labels you because I label you, my beloved. 00:11:27.884 --> 00:11:31.985 I died and rose again for you, and I love everything about you, everything. 00:11:32.745 --> 00:11:38.225 In fact, I would leave the 99th sheet over and over again just to be with you. 00:11:39.585 --> 00:11:40.085 I got you. 00:11:41.073 --> 00:11:41.794 It's gonna be okay. 00:11:44.034 --> 00:11:44.644 You can open your eyes. 00:11:49.563 --> 00:11:57.575 Essentially, when we can first truly accept what I think is the most upside down thing of all, that, that God loves us. 00:11:58.004 --> 00:11:59.904 And that, that is our identity. 00:12:00.014 --> 00:12:03.745 None of our own self doubt, none of what the world labels, no, no education, no degree. 00:12:03.904 --> 00:12:05.335 Our identity is in Christ alone. 00:12:06.215 --> 00:12:08.335 That is the freedom of a life in Jesus. 00:12:09.254 --> 00:12:10.014 It just brings joy. 00:12:10.014 --> 00:12:18.504 And out of that salvation, out of that freedom, all he does is he asks us to pass that love on to others while we're here, to build his upside down kingdom, to help him in this. 00:12:18.865 --> 00:12:25.195 And, again, if you're like me, I know this is a message that has a lot of if you're like me statements, because it's a message I need to keep hearing. 00:12:25.605 --> 00:12:27.315 If you're like me, that's step one. 00:12:28.014 --> 00:12:32.404 of just accepting the fact that he loves me and he chooses me, that's hard enough. 00:12:32.914 --> 00:12:44.724 And then when it comes to like building this kingdom, I typically say things like, well, I'm not a pastor, I'm not a preacher, I'm not a missionary, I'm not a this, I'm not a that, I'm not a this, I don't have that degree, I don't have this education, I don't have that experience. 00:12:45.823 --> 00:12:48.404 I've come to learn that God does not like I am not statements. 00:12:49.115 --> 00:12:51.095 Because to everyone he says, I know you're not, but I am. 00:12:52.480 --> 00:13:02.620 And I have equipped you to go and build my kingdom, regardless of the education or those skills you think you do or don't have, we are all called to help build this upside down kingdom of God here on earth while we're here. 00:13:04.179 --> 00:13:15.149 And if you were to stick with this analogy, I know this analogy of building a kingdom and builders, uh, it probably gets problematic at some point, but if you were just to stick with this analogy, you could look at scripture as like the building plans. 00:13:15.169 --> 00:13:17.068 What are we supposed to do after that saving grace? 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:19.049 Freed by grace. 00:13:19.049 --> 00:13:19.828 What are we supposed to do? 00:13:19.828 --> 00:13:21.328 How can we share that with others? 00:13:21.328 --> 00:13:34.980 And I, we could choose a number of passages to go into today, but we're gonna say in Matthew 25, the, the verse that pal Pastor Cal preached on last week, the verse that a lot of you lived out, uh, in the, in the days between last Sunday and this Sunday. 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:41.789 And we're gonna dive into it in just a quick side note, pastor Cal, pastor Cal's message from last week was incredible. 00:13:41.789 --> 00:13:41.948 So you haven't. 00:13:42.679 --> 00:13:43.879 Watch it, go back and watch it. 00:13:43.889 --> 00:13:52.120 He, he talked a lot about how empathy is a choice, it's an action, and it is an action that we need to take to model the life of Christ. 00:13:52.139 --> 00:13:54.639 And out of empathy, we need to then take action. 00:13:54.870 --> 00:14:08.309 And as we read Matthew 25, verses 31 through 40, I want to build on that specifically and point out two of what I'll call, like, the pillars, two of the many pillars of this upside down kingdom of God, and just some action plans of what we can do out of this love of Jesus. 00:14:08.309 --> 00:14:10.649 So, we're gonna read it, starting in verse 31. 00:14:12.004 --> 00:14:17.534 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne. 00:14:17.534 --> 00:14:24.424 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate people, one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 00:14:25.294 --> 00:14:29.105 He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left. 00:14:30.894 --> 00:14:34.625 Then the King will say to those on the right, Y'all come on in, you who are blessed by my Father. 00:14:34.644 --> 00:14:38.475 Take your inheritance, the kingdom of God prepared for you since the creation of the world. 00:14:38.485 --> 00:14:40.504 For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. 00:14:41.715 --> 00:14:43.575 . I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. 00:14:43.605 --> 00:14:45.554 I was a stranger and you invited me in. 00:14:45.554 --> 00:14:47.414 I needed a clo and you clothed me. 00:14:48.195 --> 00:14:49.575 I was sick and you looked after me. 00:14:50.294 --> 00:14:51.075 I was a prison. 00:14:51.134 --> 00:14:52.544 I was in prison and you came to visit me. 00:14:53.085 --> 00:14:57.105 Then the righteous, as they're walking in, they're gonna be scratching their head saying, Lord, do not remember any of that. 00:14:57.195 --> 00:15:01.875 When did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? 00:15:02.445 --> 00:15:04.335 You were a stranger and we invited you in. 00:15:04.485 --> 00:15:07.095 Definitely don't remember you needing clothes and giving you and clothing you. 00:15:07.095 --> 00:15:09.975 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? 00:15:11.264 --> 00:15:17.835 Then the king will reply, truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. 00:15:19.105 --> 00:15:19.434 Amen. 00:15:20.174 --> 00:15:24.195 Now again, as Cal reminded us last week, this passage is part of the Olivet Discourse. 00:15:24.903 --> 00:15:34.875 And I just love how whether a part of that discourse or really a part of any of the teachings or stories or parables of Jesus, he always gives us answers that are literally the opposite of what we expect, right? 00:15:35.105 --> 00:15:37.575 Some could say that they're upside down from what we expect. 00:15:37.575 --> 00:15:39.044 They caught, catch us off guard. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.549 Think about the imagery of this story he's telling right now. 00:15:42.750 --> 00:15:45.629 The imagery of a king who's letting people into their kingdom. 00:15:46.190 --> 00:15:52.720 I'm not a historian, but I'm pretty sure no king in history has said anything other than power, money, land, troops. 00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:54.500 That's how you get into my kingdom. 00:15:54.720 --> 00:15:57.129 And in this model, he goes the opposite direction. 00:15:57.409 --> 00:16:06.840 And I think one of these things, the first pillar of this upside down kingdom he's pointing out to us in this scripture, it's kind of obvious, but we're called to restore the broken circumstances of the world. 00:16:08.054 --> 00:16:17.965 We're called to do something in a tangible way for those who are hurting, and not just those who are hurting, but seeking out those who are hurting so deeply and just terrifying circumstances and pain all over the world. 00:16:18.154 --> 00:16:20.115 It's pretty clear in Matthew 25 in the last scriptures. 00:16:20.384 --> 00:16:23.634 There's a do goodness that we're called to do out of this love of Jesus. 00:16:25.700 --> 00:16:31.870 But if we're not careful, we only kind of notice this first pillar of the upset on kingdom, this kind of action of what we're doing. 00:16:31.899 --> 00:16:47.679 And we forget to look for the more subtle, but yet I'd argue just as powerful second pillar that he's pointing out in this scripture, central, did you know this, the intentionality or what, what Jesus did when he called the people who are hungry and thirsty? 00:16:48.799 --> 00:17:01.818 The people who are experiencing homelessness in that moment, the people who are hurting, the people who have the least in the, in this world, what he did when he called them his brothers and sisters, what he was doing is he was affirming their inherent dignity. 00:17:04.118 --> 00:17:05.250 You know how important that is? 00:17:06.634 --> 00:17:21.153 You see, Jesus knows that we as Christians, no matter how good our hearts, no matter how empathetic we try to be and how we try to do good for others and share the love of Jesus, he knows that we live in this world that is filled with lies and sin and evil. 00:17:21.305 --> 00:17:27.285 And one of the lies that this world tells us seeps into our head when we're doing good as Christians and we're doing mission work. 00:17:27.634 --> 00:17:32.575 And that lie is this, the world says that when people have less, they are less. 00:17:33.464 --> 00:17:34.674 If you want to get real for a second. 00:17:35.345 --> 00:17:38.394 The world then tells us if we have more, we are more in the eyes of God. 00:17:39.595 --> 00:18:00.364 It mistakenly ties our identity to our circumstances and throughout all of scripture, if you may examine the how Jesus did his work, not just what he did, but if you imagine the how, he's flipping that upside down and he's tearing down that lie and he's reminding us that Christians, when you're doing good, when you're serving those who may have less than you, don't forget that they are my family, my kin. 00:18:01.759 --> 00:18:04.299 That I care just as much about those children as your children. 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:06.919 That they are just as smart, beautiful, and powerful as you are. 00:18:07.169 --> 00:18:10.009 Do not mistake identity with circumstances. 00:18:11.619 --> 00:18:13.919 I know that's subtle, but it changes everything. 00:18:14.499 --> 00:18:28.589 And when we have the courage to not just restore the circumstances out of the love of Jesus in our heart, not just to do good, but we have the courage to do it in a way That tears down that lie, that tells the world, no, the people we are serving are actually beautiful children of God, made in His image. 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:37.729 When we, when we have the courage to do things in innovative ways like that, that don't put us as the hero of the story who are helping, but those who are being helped are actually the heroes of the story. 00:18:37.730 --> 00:18:41.429 When we do it like that, the whole world is changed, but it also changes our life. 00:18:43.309 --> 00:18:45.369 And I'm a talker, and I'm a storyteller. 00:18:45.750 --> 00:18:55.219 I got dozens of stories where God has used beautiful people in my life to remind me of this truth about not just broken circumstances, but making sure we affirm the inherent dignity of the people we're serving. 00:18:55.220 --> 00:18:57.029 But I only got time for one story. 00:18:58.669 --> 00:19:00.898 So I'm gonna tell you the story of how I met my friend Julian. 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:04.710 I first met Julian back in 2012. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:06.900 It was a setting very similar to this at Central. 00:19:07.150 --> 00:19:10.940 I was just sitting in a seat, probably similar to yours right now, and I was sitting next to my wife. 00:19:12.144 --> 00:19:22.214 A person got on stage and invited us in to sponsor a kid with World Vision that day and they were like, it's only 39 a month and my wife and I looked at each other, I think she's on my right, and we said, yeah, let's do it. 00:19:22.224 --> 00:19:26.424 So we went and lobbied that afternoon after service got out and we actually sponsored two kids that day. 00:19:26.674 --> 00:19:29.834 One was Samu from Ethiopia and the other was Julian from Rwanda. 00:19:30.324 --> 00:19:34.094 And then about six months later, I got the chance to go to Rwanda and meet Julian. 00:19:34.684 --> 00:19:45.355 And if we throw the picture on the screen, you'll see that Julian, uh, her, her mom and her baby brother on that picture, this was before the translator got there, so I was trying to explain to Julian what stickers were, and stickers translate. 00:19:45.365 --> 00:19:46.244 That's beautiful. 00:19:46.275 --> 00:19:49.744 Julian's the one right next to me with the sticker on her forehead, the beautiful six year old girl. 00:19:51.664 --> 00:20:05.289 And in this picture, we're sitting there in Julian's 10 by 10 mud hut of a house, and, and I just need to tell you that what looks to be a happy and healthy six year old girl, Her circumstances, I've been around the world many a times, and I've never seen poverty this harsh. 00:20:05.289 --> 00:20:06.029 I'll just put it that way. 00:20:06.029 --> 00:20:07.309 That's probably the best way to say it. 00:20:08.159 --> 00:20:15.329 And we're sitting there in the 10x10 mud hut of a house, and trying to make conversation, and through the translator, I asked Julian what turned out to be a dumb question. 00:20:17.159 --> 00:20:18.500 I asked her how she liked school. 00:20:19.299 --> 00:20:24.459 Immediately, that beautiful smile you were just looking at turned into a look of embarrassment, and she deflected to her mom. 00:20:25.404 --> 00:20:28.964 Her mom shot me in those mama eyes, like why would you ask something like that? 00:20:29.094 --> 00:20:31.773 And luckily, her mom had some grace on me and explained to me. 00:20:33.584 --> 00:20:36.234 She explained to me that Julian couldn't go to school. 00:20:38.194 --> 00:20:49.684 That her mama and baby brother every day had to walk four miles, one direction, fill up their jerry can with muddy water that was so bad that it was killing 50% of the babies in the village before age five. 00:20:50.970 --> 00:20:53.309 Take that water, 40 pounds of water, back four miles. 00:20:53.549 --> 00:21:00.388 That route, both directions, twice a day, was one of the most dangerous routes where women and children often got attacked and kidnapped. 00:21:02.888 --> 00:21:06.338 It was their daily struggle to do that walk for water and look for food on the way home. 00:21:07.888 --> 00:21:08.460 Go to school. 00:21:09.159 --> 00:21:09.660 You can't go to school. 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:10.929 It was their daily struggle to survive. 00:21:12.464 --> 00:21:26.564 But over the next few years, because of my child's sponsorship of Julian and the hundreds of others from that same church who sponsored kids in the same village, I got to see the upside down kingdom being built, not just in the circumstances being restored, but that inherent dignity of the people of this village in Rwanda be affirmed. 00:21:28.693 --> 00:21:29.154 Check it out. 00:21:29.744 --> 00:21:36.474 Less than two years after sponsoring Julian, World Vision puts this water well 95 yards from her house, 95 yards. 00:21:37.549 --> 00:21:41.109 If you know anything about global development, water change is everything, like everything. 00:21:41.109 --> 00:21:42.059 A couple, a couple of quick things. 00:21:42.059 --> 00:21:45.189 One is Julian gets to go to school for the first time in her life at eight years old. 00:21:46.230 --> 00:21:49.710 Second is they get to learn about sanitation and hygiene and washing their hands. 00:21:49.710 --> 00:21:50.628 Hospitals are open. 00:21:50.638 --> 00:21:51.628 Churches are thriving. 00:21:52.009 --> 00:21:55.479 No one even knew the pandemic was coming multiple years later, but they would be ready for it. 00:21:55.480 --> 00:21:56.398 And they had no problems. 00:21:56.398 --> 00:21:57.299 They knew how to do it all. 00:21:58.809 --> 00:22:01.138 Another thing is we always forget in these situations. 00:22:02.034 --> 00:22:05.644 We need to help the children, and then also we're at the same time helping the parents. 00:22:05.654 --> 00:22:15.375 We always forget about the mamas, but Julian's mom, for the first time in her life, now that Julian can go to school because there's clean water, the trickle effect, she can now try to earn a living for her babies. 00:22:16.815 --> 00:22:20.664 Talk about a dignifying experience as a parent, finally be able to provide a better life for your babies. 00:22:21.194 --> 00:22:27.805 So our sponsorship dollars continued to fund things like job education programs, and Julian's mom went and got trained on how to be a milk harvester. 00:22:28.154 --> 00:22:31.974 Which is you partner with a local dairy, goats, and cows, and you harvest the milk. 00:22:32.484 --> 00:22:38.244 Julian's mom started earning some income, but the World Vision staff in Rwanda saw that the circumstances were changing. 00:22:39.015 --> 00:22:41.384 Water, school, hospitals, churches, jobs. 00:22:42.194 --> 00:22:44.434 But the inherent dignity of the people of this village was still not being affirmed. 00:22:46.049 --> 00:23:04.288 One of the ways that was happening is Julian's mom and her other colleagues would take that milk they harvest, go sell it at a local city center, and because it wasn't bottled in the same way and pasteurized in the exact same way, people were ripping them off to the tune of 10 cents on the dollar, manipulating their understanding of the market, saying because it wasn't done this way, we have to sell it at this price. 00:23:05.118 --> 00:23:07.529 Their dignity wasn't being affirmed. 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:11.680 So what World Vision's sponsorship program did is, they built this milk collection center. 00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:15.599 And gave it to the local Anglican church, and it's still running to this day. 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:20.859 So now Julian's mom can go with her hard work, get a fair price for her milk in the city center. 00:23:24.670 --> 00:23:34.328 Six years later, I got to go back to Rwanda for a second time and meet Julian again, and sit in that same house, but in front of a whole new young woman. 00:23:37.499 --> 00:23:38.528 You see it in her eyes. 00:23:39.179 --> 00:23:40.369 You see it in her mom's eyes. 00:23:41.263 --> 00:23:55.354 Circumstances, yes, but the inherent dignity, God has birthed in this young woman an identity that is coming to life and as if she could remember, as if she did remember my dumb question from six years earlier, the first thing she said is, Rusty, I'm doing great in school. 00:23:57.054 --> 00:24:04.914 She talked about her plans to go to college and what she wanted for her career, and she's thinking about being a doctor and all this, and y'all, I'm not a sweater, so I was like, why am I sweating? 00:24:05.144 --> 00:24:08.845 Sorry, I'm not a crier, but in that moment, I started crying, and I was like, why am I sweating from my eyes? 00:24:11.184 --> 00:24:14.005 To hear Julia talk about her future, it clicked for me. 00:24:14.065 --> 00:24:16.164 It's not just about what we do, but it's about how we do it. 00:24:17.095 --> 00:24:18.454 And it's a beautiful, beautiful moment. 00:24:18.454 --> 00:24:18.964 It changed my life. 00:24:18.973 --> 00:24:22.974 And I've told this story dozens of times since this second trip to Rwanda. 00:24:23.164 --> 00:24:26.115 But this is the first time I get to not end this story here. 00:24:26.115 --> 00:24:31.944 Because in January of 2023, just six, seven months ago, I got to go back to Rwanda for the third time. 00:24:32.244 --> 00:24:38.164 And I need you to, need you to meet almost 17 year old Julia, who's now in high school. 00:24:38.644 --> 00:24:42.444 Still at the top of her class volunteering at her local church helping her mom. 00:24:42.444 --> 00:24:59.164 They're in a different house now She's got plans for college and she's doing it We're not the heroes in this story Y'all this the same beautiful upside down love of God that That delights in us. 00:24:59.194 --> 00:25:06.304 Everybody's sitting in this room right now, the same upside down love of God, that actually loves you and chooses you despite what you know about yourself and what you think about yourself. 00:25:06.464 --> 00:25:15.694 The same upside down love of God that calls us all to help build this kingdom and not just restore the circumstances but do it in a way that affirms the dignity of the people we're serving. 00:25:16.855 --> 00:25:21.414 The same upside down love of God is now calling central church to do something a little upside down. 00:25:21.924 --> 00:25:25.484 Something that has never been done before for three specific villages in Malawi. 00:25:27.299 --> 00:25:32.009 Mbenchera, Dindi, and Kapan are rural villages in southern Malawi. 00:25:32.930 --> 00:25:36.950 And in these villages, many families live in small thatched roof mud huts. 00:25:37.409 --> 00:25:42.069 They have similar circumstances, different countries than where Julian is, but some similarities. 00:25:42.118 --> 00:25:46.140 Lack of water, education, child protection is a huge issue in Malawi. 00:25:48.470 --> 00:25:50.569 These are some of the poorest people you're ever going to meet. 00:25:51.430 --> 00:25:57.190 But you need to hear me today, Central, that the people of these villages in Malawi, they are not less just because they have less. 00:25:58.009 --> 00:25:59.619 God loves them as much as he loves us. 00:25:59.630 --> 00:26:04.628 He has put just as much beauty, power, and strength in their lives as he has in ours. 00:26:07.509 --> 00:26:12.490 They're just waiting for some folks to come alongside and help restore those circumstances and like Julian, affirm that inherent dignity. 00:26:13.390 --> 00:26:18.430 Central, today, I'm asking each and every one of us to become a child sponsor. 00:26:19.474 --> 00:26:27.513 To step up and say yes to sponsoring one or maybe even two or three of the nearly 3000 kids in these three villages waiting for years to be sponsored. 00:26:28.163 --> 00:26:33.003 I'm telling you that decision will change your life and it will change the life of that child and their family. 00:26:34.414 --> 00:26:36.934 Now, for years, we have partnered with churches all over the U. 00:26:36.934 --> 00:26:37.064 S. 00:26:37.064 --> 00:26:43.914 in a similar fashion by connecting that church with kids at the individual level where individuals can sponsor the whole community. 00:26:43.914 --> 00:26:48.134 At this church, sponsors a community and you watch that community break the bonds of poverty over the years. 00:26:48.174 --> 00:26:49.044 It's a beautiful journey. 00:26:49.954 --> 00:26:54.484 And typically, how we would do that is a little bit of how I've sponsored our first two kids. 00:26:54.484 --> 00:27:02.824 We'd ask you to go in the lobby and in the lobby, you see this beautiful display of clothes pins and string, and on the string and clothespins, you see these picture folders. 00:27:03.433 --> 00:27:12.423 And these folders would have the face of the child, their name, their age, you could open up, you could read about them, and we would spend 20, 30, 40, however long you want picking the child you want to sponsor that day. 00:27:14.824 --> 00:27:18.894 But for the last few years, we've been praying big prayers at World Vision that God would not let us rest. 00:27:19.584 --> 00:27:24.444 Not just in innovation around how we restore the circumstances, but what about that second part, God? 00:27:24.444 --> 00:27:25.013 Push us. 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:35.269 To radically affirm the inherent dignity of the people we serve in a way that doesn't just affirm it to them that they are children of God, but tells the rest of the world that they are children of God and they are not less just because they have less. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:38.779 And he birthed an idea that did just that. 00:27:38.848 --> 00:27:42.939 An idea that turned our whole world upside down and even as just individual humans, our hearts inside out. 00:27:44.839 --> 00:27:47.470 He let us ask a question that would change everything and that is this. 00:27:49.214 --> 00:27:53.034 What else could we do from the very first starting point of the relationship? 00:27:53.075 --> 00:27:56.914 That powerful moment of where the relationship starts between a sponsor and a child. 00:27:56.914 --> 00:28:04.534 What we could, at that moment, what else could we do to radically proclaim the inherent dignity of the kids we serve to them and to the world? 00:28:06.513 --> 00:28:13.115 What would it look like if for the first time in history, we flipped this thing on its head and said they are empowered to choose us? 00:28:27.909 --> 00:28:36.669 Let me be filled with kindness and compassion for the one. 00:28:37.929 --> 00:28:47.279 The one for whom you love and gave your son. 00:28:47.289 --> 00:28:52.578 For humanity, increase my love. 00:28:52.578 --> 00:29:01.503 So help me to love with open arms like you do. 00:29:36.744 --> 00:29:42.865 If I could spend just a few moments with you, I want to have a pastoral heart to heart, a pastor to church. 00:29:44.493 --> 00:29:52.954 One of the things that I struggle with personally In my life is I feel like God has blessed us in so many ways, my family. 00:29:54.005 --> 00:29:59.184 And I picture, you know, uh, and I'm just going to say this, just take this for what it's worth. 00:30:00.055 --> 00:30:02.845 We give, uh, generously. 00:30:02.845 --> 00:30:05.375 I'm just going to say that and, and just trust me. 00:30:05.375 --> 00:30:15.894 We, we give generously, but deep down inside, I can't help but wonder if God looks at that and says, are you going to stop there? 00:30:16.355 --> 00:30:17.144 Are you going to stop there? 00:30:17.194 --> 00:30:18.785 That, that's going to be the line. 00:30:20.394 --> 00:30:22.545 You know, most of us would not say we're rich. 00:30:23.154 --> 00:30:25.634 Most of us would not say, you know, hey, we have it. 00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:28.500 We have it, you know, we have it all. 00:30:28.769 --> 00:30:31.519 Most of us would say, yeah, I'm just trying to take care of my own. 00:30:32.829 --> 00:30:44.359 If you were to look on a global scale, however, maybe the way God looks at the world, He would separate those who have a lot from those who have so little. 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.799 And I know which camp I would land in, and I honestly know which camp you would land in. 00:30:49.785 --> 00:30:55.115 And, uh, I can't help but wonder if God, I'm just telling you my own struggle. 00:30:55.134 --> 00:31:03.265 If God says you could have done so much more, you could have done, I gave you the resources to do so much more this past week. 00:31:03.265 --> 00:31:06.424 And we experienced this challenge, which many of us did. 00:31:07.484 --> 00:31:10.375 It was so good for us. 00:31:11.210 --> 00:31:12.369 It was so good for us. 00:31:12.710 --> 00:31:14.839 I got to put myself in other people's place. 00:31:15.029 --> 00:31:17.599 It was so good for me, for us. 00:31:18.190 --> 00:31:21.329 It didn't do anything to change the world. 00:31:22.109 --> 00:31:23.680 It just did something for us. 00:31:23.990 --> 00:31:26.019 It's the beginning of changing the world. 00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:34.470 So this whole idea of child sponsorship is something that's been on my heart and my mind truly for decades. 00:31:35.140 --> 00:31:42.599 Because we have been so focused in North Africa, which is so strongly Muslim, we've not been able to do this. 00:31:43.589 --> 00:31:47.430 And in recent years, we've rethought this and said, we've got to broaden our focus. 00:31:47.470 --> 00:31:48.880 We have to do more. 00:31:49.380 --> 00:32:03.420 And so that's when this whole idea of, got birthed, where we could go to a country that's very Muslim, but it's also got a Christian influence that allows World Vision to come in and create the program that takes care of children. 00:32:04.204 --> 00:32:09.924 If you've been around this church for any amount of time, you know, there's a couple of verses that are kind of the bedrock verses of this church. 00:32:09.924 --> 00:32:15.474 You know, Luke, Luke nine 23, the whole idea of, you know, got to die to yourself and, you know, follow Jesus. 00:32:15.474 --> 00:32:18.414 The other one would be Philippians two, three, and four. 00:32:18.414 --> 00:32:19.595 It'll come up on the screen. 00:32:19.595 --> 00:32:21.484 I want you to just stare at these words with me. 00:32:22.025 --> 00:32:32.255 Do nothing out of conceit rather in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of others. 00:32:33.029 --> 00:32:40.730 So we have a saying around here, there's more to life than me because we live in a culture that's convinced us that all that matters is what matters to us. 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:43.640 And it's an upside down value to the kingdom. 00:32:43.640 --> 00:32:45.470 The kingdom says, we don't live like that. 00:32:45.480 --> 00:32:48.799 We learn how to put other people's needs above our own. 00:32:50.009 --> 00:32:56.700 So bottom line church is, um, I am asking you as your pastor to consider sponsoring a child. 00:32:57.369 --> 00:32:58.430 I give you my word. 00:32:58.430 --> 00:32:59.829 We're in, we're doing it. 00:33:00.109 --> 00:33:00.640 We're in. 00:33:01.660 --> 00:33:09.039 And, uh, We really believe that we can change the world, that Central can change the world. 00:33:09.690 --> 00:33:10.980 We can make a huge difference. 00:33:11.009 --> 00:33:14.660 And I know that some of this, you might feel like, wow, this is getting sprung on me. 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:15.599 I get that. 00:33:15.660 --> 00:33:26.869 But I think, you know, in your heart, whether you have the capacity and the will to sponsor a child and, and, and, and you, and you might be going like, well, how long do I have to sponsor them? 00:33:27.069 --> 00:33:29.960 That's between you and God, honestly. 00:33:30.515 --> 00:33:31.795 It's between you and God. 00:33:31.894 --> 00:33:35.934 You know, Rusty told the story of staying with this girl, you know, through her graduation. 00:33:36.375 --> 00:33:38.825 They age out of this program, just so you know. 00:33:39.654 --> 00:33:41.164 But, but here's the deal. 00:33:41.795 --> 00:33:44.065 I, I don't want, you know, we talked empathy last year. 00:33:44.065 --> 00:33:47.674 If you voluntarily put yourself, you're not forced, you're not coerced. 00:33:48.025 --> 00:33:49.944 Don't feel forced and don't feel coerced. 00:33:51.234 --> 00:33:55.805 But, but when you say, I'm going to put myself in somebody else, I'm going to make a difference to somebody. 00:33:56.319 --> 00:34:03.450 Just like I want to make a difference for my kids and just like I want to make a difference to our grandkids, I want to make a difference to somebody else's kids. 00:34:04.339 --> 00:34:05.789 And, uh, I don't have to. 00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:07.890 No one's got a gun to my head. 00:34:07.910 --> 00:34:08.639 I want to. 00:34:09.440 --> 00:34:13.920 And so, the idea being that you say, I'll take this on. 00:34:13.969 --> 00:34:19.199 And all I'm going to ask you is if you really have no intention of fulfilling a commitment. 00:34:19.239 --> 00:34:20.110 And again, how long? 00:34:20.130 --> 00:34:20.710 I don't know. 00:34:20.739 --> 00:34:21.780 Start with a year. 00:34:23.070 --> 00:34:25.389 That, uh, for a year, will you sponsor? 00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:29.440 You know, there's no way I could afford, you know, that amount. 00:34:29.710 --> 00:34:30.150 Yeah. 00:34:30.210 --> 00:34:30.699 Okay. 00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:40.469 I think you might be able to Hey, here's what it's gonna happen in just a few moments when we dismiss the service We're gonna invite you to go out in the lobby. 00:34:40.469 --> 00:34:56.744 I told you last week get ready because we're Possibly gonna take your picture remember this I ended the message get ready I'm gonna explain to you what's gonna happen if you want to do this Then we want to invite you to go out there in the lobby and get your picture taken. 00:34:58.625 --> 00:35:14.764 And I want you to know that tonight my wife, Lisa, uh, Paul, our senior exec couple of people from our video team, we're going to jump on an airplane tonight and we're going to fly to Malawi. 00:35:15.474 --> 00:35:18.155 And I'm going to take your picture that you took here. 00:35:18.155 --> 00:35:19.335 I'm going to take your picture. 00:35:19.394 --> 00:35:25.094 And I'm going to put you in front of some kids in a village, one of three villages in Malawi. 00:35:27.494 --> 00:35:28.844 I'm going to watch them choose you. 00:35:29.565 --> 00:35:31.425 And I want them to be my sponsor. 00:35:31.425 --> 00:35:32.155 I want them. 00:35:34.454 --> 00:35:42.315 And then next week, barring no disaster coming home, we're going to have a reveal party. 00:35:42.315 --> 00:35:45.175 I'm going to bring back... 00:35:46.284 --> 00:35:48.804 From Malawi, uh, report. 00:35:48.824 --> 00:35:51.195 And we're going to connect you with the kid that chose you. 00:35:52.045 --> 00:35:53.635 So I got a busy week. 00:35:54.304 --> 00:35:54.735 All right. 00:35:55.954 --> 00:35:57.494 I have a dream for us as a church. 00:35:57.494 --> 00:35:58.344 This is ambitious. 00:35:58.344 --> 00:36:04.494 I don't know what we're capable of, but I know central is much larger than you ever think it is because we only come to a service. 00:36:04.494 --> 00:36:10.744 This is all we see, but we've been praying and dreaming about sponsoring 900 kids. 00:36:10.744 --> 00:36:11.655 I don't know if we can do it. 00:36:11.695 --> 00:36:12.155 I don't know. 00:36:13.355 --> 00:36:23.594 I know we can, you know, I know we can, but that's the dream that 900 children in Malawi will be taken care of by this church. 00:36:24.994 --> 00:36:26.744 And again, you might feel I can't change the world. 00:36:26.784 --> 00:36:32.315 Oh, I promise you, you can change the world for one child if you just make a decision. 00:36:33.534 --> 00:36:36.025 So I'm gonna invite Rusty back up here. 00:36:36.025 --> 00:36:40.925 He's going to kind of explain what needs to happen, how this works. 00:36:41.324 --> 00:36:54.434 Because across five campuses in an online community, we gotta make sure we're coordinated because when we come back next week, we're gonna have a reveal where you're gonna meet the child that chose you. 00:36:55.375 --> 00:36:57.474 And, uh, it's gonna be very, very special. 00:36:57.485 --> 00:37:00.655 We gotta coordinate it because we have multiple campuses in an online community. 00:37:00.655 --> 00:37:02.253 So, Rusty, there you are. 00:37:02.255 --> 00:37:02.835 Come on up here. 00:37:02.835 --> 00:37:05.775 And then he'll kind of tell you where we're going from here. 00:37:07.655 --> 00:37:21.844 Yeah, 900 photos is a lot to coordinate, um, and just so you all know, what we're going to be doing in this choosing party that happens this week that Cal, Lisa, and Paul, and others will be at is that we're going to select the most, the 900 kids in that community who have been waiting the longest to be sponsored. 00:37:22.114 --> 00:37:23.565 They're going to be invited in. 00:37:23.885 --> 00:37:27.795 And they're going to have a hard time understanding what's going on, because they thought they've been waiting years to be sponsored. 00:37:27.815 --> 00:37:32.255 And then they're going to realize in that moment, they get to walk into that tent and choose their sponsor that day. 00:37:32.255 --> 00:37:33.514 And I've been there. 00:37:33.514 --> 00:37:34.565 The empowerment is crazy. 00:37:34.855 --> 00:37:38.215 But that vision of 900 is so complicated that I just want you to know my wife and I are in. 00:37:38.434 --> 00:37:41.175 My wife and my son are coming to the next service. 00:37:41.184 --> 00:37:42.695 We're signing up in a lobby in between. 00:37:42.885 --> 00:37:43.965 It'll be our seventh sponsor shop. 00:37:43.985 --> 00:37:46.934 But we couldn't not be a part of this incredible first time event in Malawi. 00:37:46.945 --> 00:37:48.375 So, uh, next steps. 00:37:48.414 --> 00:37:51.724 If everyone were to just take out your phone real quick here, in person or online. 00:37:52.085 --> 00:37:57.244 Uh, three steps is link, info, photo to get the link on your phone to sign up. 00:37:57.554 --> 00:38:02.565 Uh, you simply need to scan the QR code that the service host is going to display on the screen afterwards. 00:38:02.585 --> 00:38:11.005 Or if you're at one of our in person locations, you can also sign it, uh, scan it ahead of time on the card that you got when you walked in, open your camera app, you scan the QR code. 00:38:11.014 --> 00:38:12.195 You now have the link on your phone. 00:38:12.550 --> 00:38:13.230 That's step one. 00:38:13.579 --> 00:38:18.090 Step two is you fill out your basic information in that link, and I'm not going to walk you through that verbally. 00:38:18.099 --> 00:38:19.639 I don't want to take that much time to do that. 00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:26.780 You, it's kind of intuitive, but I will call it the first question because someone asked me during the other service, what happens if I want to sponsor more than one kid? 00:38:26.789 --> 00:38:27.570 What does that look like? 00:38:27.570 --> 00:38:30.260 Well, you, that first question says how many kids do you want to sponsor? 00:38:30.260 --> 00:38:34.789 And if you do want to sponsor more than one, we just print your photo twice and we just spread it out over the hours. 00:38:35.050 --> 00:38:37.610 And so that another kid will choose you after the first child that does. 00:38:37.639 --> 00:38:39.250 Um, so that's fill out your information. 00:38:39.250 --> 00:38:39.650 Number two. 00:38:39.909 --> 00:38:40.639 Number three is. 00:38:41.539 --> 00:38:44.719 Take the most epic photo you've ever taken in your entire life. 00:38:45.954 --> 00:38:51.985 And if you're online, there's a special way to do that online in your instructions and your service host, and the link will direct you towards that. 00:38:52.195 --> 00:38:59.985 If you're at one of our in person locations, you can go into the lobby right after church and at those photo rings in the backdrop, they make us look better with those rings, and it's pretty awesome. 00:39:00.204 --> 00:39:05.465 Uh, they'll take your photo there, and that photo then will be uploaded to Cal and Lisa's backpack to take to Malawi tonight. 00:39:05.465 --> 00:39:09.565 And we do have a deadline at 6 tonight, because we've got to load them up for their flight this evening, in that sense. 00:39:09.914 --> 00:39:11.635 Uh, and if you have any problems... 00:39:11.769 --> 00:39:20.780 If your smartphone isn't being that smart today, if you don't know how to do the link, the photo booths are the best way to go because we have volunteers there with iPads that can do the sign up for you if your phone's not working. 00:39:20.780 --> 00:39:29.480 So last thing I'll say before I'll close this out is I've been to a couple of choosing parties in person and they have the kids walk into those tents and they choose. 00:39:29.480 --> 00:39:33.869 And it is a empowering moment of just choice and power and dignity. 00:39:34.829 --> 00:39:39.139 But then they have the kids go to a different tent and they write to you why they chose you. 00:39:40.914 --> 00:39:45.164 And sometimes those reasonings are hilarious, to be honest. 00:39:46.045 --> 00:39:48.675 And sometimes the reasoning is spiritual. 00:39:48.675 --> 00:39:55.545 But all the time, a kid writing to us, the first interaction we're going to have is next week when you open that envelope, and you see the kid that chose you, they're going to tell you why they chose you. 00:39:56.550 --> 00:39:57.929 That's a beautiful spiritual moment. 00:39:57.929 --> 00:39:59.670 So right now, I'm gonna close this in prayer. 00:39:59.670 --> 00:40:07.050 Pray for all of us, but then also pray for the 900 kids that are, we want to wake up tomorrow morning with an invite to a party that's gonna change their life. 00:40:07.349 --> 00:40:08.940 God, we just give you all the glory. 00:40:08.940 --> 00:40:17.789 We thank you for your son, Jesus, for his death on the cross and his resurrection for your love that invades our hearts, despite our own self-doubt. 00:40:17.789 --> 00:40:18.570 Despite our sin. 00:40:18.570 --> 00:40:19.829 You forgive us God. 00:40:19.920 --> 00:40:20.969 We're just grateful for that. 00:40:21.889 --> 00:40:29.940 We thank you for the fact that you empower us to share your love while we're here, that, that life is not just waiting for heaven, but we can help build your kingdom here on earth. 00:40:31.829 --> 00:40:33.760 We thank you for the gift of empathy and action. 00:40:33.760 --> 00:40:49.800 And God, I'm just praying in advance that you do a special work for that child in Malawi that has been waiting for years that now gets to come to a choosing party, from that person in this room right now that is waiting to be affirmed in their own inherent dignity by a child choosing us. 00:40:51.304 --> 00:40:54.414 God, just do something that we don't even understand in the next couple weeks. 00:40:54.764 --> 00:40:57.925 Do something around the world that we can only give credit to you for. 00:40:58.144 --> 00:40:58.784 In your name we pray. 00:40:59.045 --> 00:40:59.344 Amen.