WEBVTT 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:04.219 If you have your Bibles today, I want you to 00:00:04.219 --> 00:00:06.900 look in Ephesians chapter 4. This is our key 00:00:06.900 --> 00:00:14.960 verse here, chapter 4 verse 1. The message that 00:00:14.960 --> 00:00:18.739 I had felt the Lord give me for today, we're 00:00:18.739 --> 00:00:22.960 gonna land there. But with everything that has 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:26.079 happened this week, I have altered it a bit. 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:33.020 With the assassination of Charlie Kirk this week, 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:36.939 this verse has just been resonating within me. 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:41.679 And that is, as a prisoner for the Lord then, 00:00:42.479 --> 00:00:49.060 I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:56.520 you have received. I urge you. He's not saying 00:00:56.520 --> 00:00:59.780 I'm hoping you will he's saying I am urging you 00:00:59.780 --> 00:01:05.900 as a prisoner of the Lord To live this life of 00:01:05.900 --> 00:01:11.319 yours Worthy of the calling you have received 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:18.280 With the With the death of Charlie Kirk who was 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:21.540 31 and I feel that a little because it's just 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:26.859 a little older than my oldest son And if you're 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:30.319 not familiar with him, I'm sure you've been seeing 00:01:30.319 --> 00:01:34.680 it all over the place this week. But he was a 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:38.659 conservative political activist. He was an author. 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:44.379 He was a media personality. He was a voice in 00:01:44.379 --> 00:01:49.900 politics. He was a leading voice in politics. 00:01:51.099 --> 00:01:57.209 Interestingly, he had no college degree. Sometimes 00:01:57.209 --> 00:02:00.150 we sit there and we disqualify ourselves because 00:02:00.150 --> 00:02:03.250 we don't think we have some kind of adequate 00:02:03.250 --> 00:02:07.129 certification. One of the most influential men 00:02:07.129 --> 00:02:12.330 in the nation had no college degree. He lived 00:02:12.330 --> 00:02:17.689 his life out loud, his faith out loud, regardless 00:02:17.689 --> 00:02:22.300 of the consequences which we saw this week. And 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:26.139 while you may or may not agree with his political 00:02:26.139 --> 00:02:31.979 stances, he undoubtedly loved his country and 00:02:31.979 --> 00:02:35.759 he worked hard to empower the next generation. 00:02:38.919 --> 00:02:43.539 This is a person that has lived his life worthy 00:02:43.539 --> 00:02:48.539 of the calling he received. Even as I was thinking 00:02:48.539 --> 00:02:54.189 about his life, the death of it I was recalling 00:02:54.189 --> 00:02:59.330 another young man Dietrich Bonhoeffer great one 00:02:59.330 --> 00:03:04.710 of the greatest theologians of our time and He 00:03:04.710 --> 00:03:11.050 was 39 years old when he was hanged For his work 00:03:11.050 --> 00:03:17.240 against the Nazi regime regime He was a pastor 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:20.939 and he also, I find the similarities interesting 00:03:20.939 --> 00:03:24.819 because he also worked greatly with the next 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:32.419 generation of his time. He loved his country, 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:37.419 Germany, to the point of being hanged. He was 00:03:37.419 --> 00:03:41.620 one of the last group of people, prisoners, to 00:03:41.620 --> 00:03:46.919 be hanged before the Nazi regime collapsed, one 00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:53.340 of the final few, and then it all ended. That 00:03:53.340 --> 00:03:56.300 was after a one and a half year prison sentence. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:01.000 And today, his voice is one of the loudest within 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:04.500 especially the world of spiritual formation, 00:04:04.860 --> 00:04:10.080 discipleship. 39 years old. And we look at that 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:13.319 and we see, okay, we have this young man, Charlie, 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:16.180 which I find interesting that just a few months 00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:18.860 ago when asked the question, what happens if 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:22.819 this all goes away? And he says, if I die, what 00:04:22.819 --> 00:04:28.100 do I want to be remembered for? The courage of 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:34.279 my faith in Jesus. And we look at this, a 31 00:04:34.279 --> 00:04:38.300 -year -old with such influence. We look at Dietrich 00:04:38.300 --> 00:04:42.360 Bonhoeffer, 39 years old. He had immense influence 00:04:42.360 --> 00:04:46.680 in his nation as well. And we are like, what, 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:52.279 Lord, is going on? There is this mystery of it 00:04:52.279 --> 00:04:56.720 all. And in our human logic, we don't understand. 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:01.680 There is this thing called the mystery. But what 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:05.220 I do know is that the ways of God are different 00:05:05.220 --> 00:05:10.420 than the ways of this world. And what I do know 00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:13.439 is that the God that these two young men served 00:05:13.439 --> 00:05:18.399 is not a god of waste. Right? What I do know 00:05:18.399 --> 00:05:21.199 is that the way the kingdom of God works that 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:25.300 is unless a seed dies and falls to the ground. 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:31.170 And so what I know is that their deaths are not 00:05:31.170 --> 00:05:40.370 the end. Their deaths actually cause their voice 00:05:40.370 --> 00:05:46.649 to be even louder, their message to go even further. 00:05:49.410 --> 00:05:54.670 And so today I want us for a few moments to look 00:05:54.670 --> 00:06:00.959 at these lives. then to take a moment and to 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:05.120 look at our life because what these two men understood 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:08.480 even at these young ages is that we do live in 00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:12.779 a battle. We do live. We have not all died and 00:06:12.779 --> 00:06:16.360 gone to heaven yet. There is a kingdom of darkness 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:18.980 and there is a kingdom of light and there is 00:06:18.980 --> 00:06:24.920 a battle for souls that is happening today. And 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:29.949 so I want us to reread our text again, and this 00:06:29.949 --> 00:06:32.610 time I want us to read it in the Amplified. So 00:06:32.610 --> 00:06:36.709 I want you to listen closely to this. So, and 00:06:36.709 --> 00:06:39.810 this is Paul. The Apostle Paul is writing to 00:06:39.810 --> 00:06:45.110 the church of Ephesus. So I, Paul, the prisoner 00:06:45.110 --> 00:06:53.370 for the Lord, I appeal to you to live a life 00:06:53.370 --> 00:06:57.300 worthy of the calling to which you have been 00:06:57.300 --> 00:07:03.720 called. That is to live a life that exhibits 00:07:03.720 --> 00:07:10.160 godly character, moral courage, personal integrity, 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:18.399 and mature behavior. A life that expresses gratitude 00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:24.250 to God for your salvation. What I do know is 00:07:24.250 --> 00:07:27.870 that these two young men are in good company 00:07:27.870 --> 00:07:31.170 with the Lord Jesus Christ who at the age of 00:07:31.170 --> 00:07:36.709 33 died upon a cross. He was one of the most 00:07:36.709 --> 00:07:44.529 controversial men of his time and died at the 00:07:44.529 --> 00:07:51.639 age of 33. Listen. The ways of the kingdom, we 00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:54.459 cannot put these things into a box of our own 00:07:54.459 --> 00:08:04.560 earthly understanding. What these two young men 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:11.439 got is that the Lord Jesus at age 33 died for 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:16.519 them. And because Jesus died for them, Their 00:08:16.519 --> 00:08:20.300 response was to live a life worthy of that death. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:25.720 This is the calling. This is the living with 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:30.699 gratitude. My life is defined and lived as an 00:08:30.699 --> 00:08:35.879 offering of gratitude to my Savior. To live this 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:42.840 life worthy. What that actually means is... is 00:08:42.840 --> 00:08:45.500 what we were saying. It's to live in a manner 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:52.039 that is honoring. And so the way I live my life 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:57.059 either honors the sacrifice of Christ or it dishonors 00:08:57.059 --> 00:09:00.840 it. That is what it is to live worthy of the 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:06.080 calling. This life that I have I only have because 00:09:06.080 --> 00:09:12.000 of Him. And so when I live it, Worthy unto His 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:19.879 sacrifice, I'm honoring the sacrifice. And let's 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:22.259 think about this word, calling, because we use 00:09:22.259 --> 00:09:26.399 this word when we're talking about like calling 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:30.179 to ministry. But Paul was writing to a church. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:35.970 He was writing to you and to me. To just whoever 00:09:35.970 --> 00:09:40.330 so heard these words this calling is a calling 00:09:40.330 --> 00:09:46.389 to a lifestyle That is marked by the Lord Jesus 00:09:46.389 --> 00:09:52.409 Christ And so today my call to us is to examine 00:09:52.409 --> 00:09:56.250 our lives and say, am I living in a way that 00:09:56.250 --> 00:10:00.590 is honoring the sacrifice of Christ? Am I living 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:04.330 in a manner that is worthy of the calling that 00:10:04.330 --> 00:10:11.590 I have stepped into when I said yes to Him? It's 00:10:11.590 --> 00:10:13.809 just not a matter of us showing up at church 00:10:13.809 --> 00:10:16.799 on Sunday mornings. There's a lot of people in 00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:21.360 this world that do that. And they know nothing, 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:25.500 really, of walking worthy of the calling of Christ. 00:10:28.259 --> 00:10:30.899 Charlie and Dietrich are men that lived this 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:35.220 verse out. They, to me, are people of inspiration. 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:42.820 They are, I love people. of inspiration. And 00:10:42.820 --> 00:10:47.940 so my question today is, what does it look like 00:10:47.940 --> 00:10:54.539 for you and for me to live this verse out? What 00:10:54.539 --> 00:10:57.980 does it look like for you and me on Monday morning 00:10:57.980 --> 00:11:03.389 to walk worthy of the calling? What does it look 00:11:03.389 --> 00:11:06.529 like for you and me when everything is falling 00:11:06.529 --> 00:11:10.610 apart in life? It feels like your life is just 00:11:10.610 --> 00:11:14.330 one crisis after another. Can I say to you that 00:11:14.330 --> 00:11:17.730 these are men that were not living a life of 00:11:17.730 --> 00:11:27.429 ease? Paul himself is a prisoner. And he's saying 00:11:27.429 --> 00:11:30.919 this is not about what is going right or wrong 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:34.240 in your life. This is in the midst of what is 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:36.879 going right and wrong, living worthy of the call. 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:42.100 And so, are we living? What does it look like 00:11:42.100 --> 00:11:47.460 for us to exhibit godly character? What does 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:51.059 it look like for us to exhibit moral courage? 00:11:51.559 --> 00:11:56.860 Because we need moral courage today. What does 00:11:56.860 --> 00:12:02.720 it look like for you and I to exhibit personal 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:08.379 integrity when it's more important now than ever 00:12:08.379 --> 00:12:13.259 that the world sees us living in integrity? We 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:16.559 are behind closed doors who we are in front of 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:22.539 everybody. What does it look like for us to exhibit 00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:29.029 mature behavior? to maybe finally grow up in 00:12:29.029 --> 00:12:33.750 the Lord. What does it look like for you and 00:12:33.750 --> 00:12:37.429 I to live a life that expresses gratitude to 00:12:37.429 --> 00:12:43.690 Him? This is our question for today. And so I 00:12:43.690 --> 00:12:46.070 want us to take a moment and look in Philippians 00:12:46.070 --> 00:12:49.950 chapter 3. This is one of my all -time favorite 00:12:49.950 --> 00:12:53.190 chapters, one of my life verses, one of my life 00:12:53.190 --> 00:12:57.759 chapters. And Paul is also writing this to the 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:01.700 church of Philippi. And so I hope you have your 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:05.120 Bible because I want you to really get into this. 00:13:06.059 --> 00:13:09.940 In chapter 3 verse 12, Paul says, now Paul is 00:13:09.940 --> 00:13:15.759 a very gifted guy. He's very well educated. And 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:19.820 he says in verse 12, not that I have already 00:13:19.820 --> 00:13:28.629 attained or am already perfected. But I press 00:13:28.629 --> 00:13:34.669 on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ 00:13:34.669 --> 00:13:40.889 Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do 00:13:40.889 --> 00:13:44.769 not count myself to have apprehended, to have 00:13:44.769 --> 00:13:51.769 grabbed hold. But one thing I do, and this is 00:13:51.769 --> 00:13:54.879 what you need to hear. forgetting those things 00:13:54.879 --> 00:14:00.639 which are behind and reaching forward to those 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:05.700 things which are ahead. And listen, Paul had 00:14:05.700 --> 00:14:08.759 a lot to forget, didn't he? He was killing the 00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:13.460 Christians. That's what he did before he had 00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:19.899 his Jesus moment. And he's saying, I can't imagine 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:24.450 having to carry that. knowing that you had overseen 00:14:24.450 --> 00:14:27.250 the people dragging Christians out of their homes 00:14:27.250 --> 00:14:29.929 and watching them be stoned to death. Can you 00:14:29.929 --> 00:14:33.730 imagine that kind of guilt that you would bear? 00:14:34.629 --> 00:14:37.990 And yet he says, listen, this is not him just 00:14:37.990 --> 00:14:41.899 being callous. He understands the cross. And 00:14:41.899 --> 00:14:44.860 so because of that, he's able to say, I forget 00:14:44.860 --> 00:14:48.600 those things which are behind and I reached forward 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:52.159 to those things which are ahead. I press toward 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:56.820 the goal for the prize of the upward call of 00:14:56.820 --> 00:15:03.620 God in Christ Jesus. This is an upward call. 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:09.279 Let's lift up our eyes, friends. We are pressing 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:14.409 on. toward this upward call. There is something 00:15:14.409 --> 00:15:17.629 in us, and I love that the word says that the 00:15:17.629 --> 00:15:20.190 earth is waiting for the sons and the daughters 00:15:20.190 --> 00:15:24.649 to be revealed. There is something that has been 00:15:24.649 --> 00:15:28.610 deposited in you when you were created that is 00:15:28.610 --> 00:15:33.289 made for this upward call of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:15:33.710 --> 00:15:37.690 It should pull some kind of string inside of 00:15:37.690 --> 00:15:42.009 you that says I am not for the mundane of this 00:15:42.009 --> 00:15:45.809 earth. I'm not for the common things of this 00:15:45.809 --> 00:15:48.929 earth. I have a higher call. I have been called 00:15:48.929 --> 00:15:53.509 upward in Christ Jesus. There is a more that 00:15:53.509 --> 00:15:58.009 he has called me to. There is a life he has called 00:15:58.009 --> 00:16:05.600 me to. But it's he won't just do it for you. 00:16:05.620 --> 00:16:08.000 He won't just drop it in your lap He's waiting 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:11.460 for you to put those things behind you and to 00:16:11.460 --> 00:16:15.240 begin to press forward onward toward that call 00:16:15.240 --> 00:16:22.320 and in verse 15 he goes on to say Therefore let 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:28.179 us as many as are mature I think we would all 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:31.620 like to say, I'm growing in maturity. This is 00:16:31.620 --> 00:16:35.220 the goal, right? We don't want our babies, Sabrina, 00:16:35.259 --> 00:16:38.860 to remain a baby forever, do we? You would like 00:16:38.860 --> 00:16:41.779 to sleep at night, right? You would like them 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:44.659 to start feeding themselves a little bit, wouldn't 00:16:44.659 --> 00:16:48.720 you? We don't want them to remain babies forever. 00:16:50.019 --> 00:16:53.679 The goal is spiritual maturity. And so he says, 00:16:53.960 --> 00:16:58.820 have this mind. And if in anything you think 00:16:58.820 --> 00:17:02.299 otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 00:17:02.740 --> 00:17:07.400 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already 00:17:07.400 --> 00:17:10.119 attained, so whatever maturity you've already 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:16.980 attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:22.500 be of the same mind. Okay, this here is our transitional 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:28.079 moment. There is this call to live your life 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:32.579 worthy of the calling and It rests our ability 00:17:32.579 --> 00:17:37.279 to do that rests right here in these passages 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:43.259 To begin with what we have attained to to begin 00:17:43.259 --> 00:17:48.900 to walk it out By the same rule and by the same 00:17:48.900 --> 00:17:52.779 mind. What is a rule? We hear the word rule and 00:17:52.779 --> 00:17:54.920 some of you like if you're like my husband or 00:17:54.920 --> 00:17:58.920 like I don't like rules Rules were made for me 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:02.759 to break I'm giving him a hard time because he 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:04.460 threw me under the bus with a bunch of pastors 00:18:04.460 --> 00:18:09.359 this week. So He has it coming They told me that 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:12.920 Yesterday he kind of threw you under the bus. 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:18.680 So I'm throwing him under I'm going to quit doing, 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:20.039 we're going to quit doing this when we're both 00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:23.000 in the same room together as Pastor Jack gets 00:18:23.000 --> 00:18:28.859 moved over to Petersburg. But a rule is not a 00:18:28.859 --> 00:18:33.720 bad thing. All a rule is, is a standard. That's 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:38.700 what a rule is. It's a standard for behavior, 00:18:39.799 --> 00:18:43.440 right? If I had a household of four kids that 00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:46.799 I was homeschooling and we had no rules, no standards, 00:18:47.240 --> 00:18:49.119 I wouldn't have survived, it would have been 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:54.420 chaos. And I don't do chaos well. A rule is simply 00:18:54.420 --> 00:18:57.960 a standard. It isn't, what is the standard? He 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:01.319 said it in Ephesians, live worthy of the calling 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:11.750 of Christ. He is the standard. These rules these 00:19:11.750 --> 00:19:14.990 activities that happen in our sphere There are 00:19:14.990 --> 00:19:18.109 things that enable us to press on to the prize 00:19:18.109 --> 00:19:21.190 of Jesus If you are how many of you were athletes 00:19:21.190 --> 00:19:25.410 here you competed in what basketball football 00:19:25.410 --> 00:19:30.390 basketball Basketball football and baseball. 00:19:30.390 --> 00:19:35.059 All right He's a true athlete. Wow, we have a 00:19:35.059 --> 00:19:37.680 very athletic. Well, I know Kristen is a softball 00:19:37.680 --> 00:19:40.960 player. I don't know by sight because she ditched 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.900 on me, but I've heard she's a softball player. 00:19:44.380 --> 00:19:47.960 She ditched on my team. I'm not offended at all. 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:53.319 That was like a year ago. I need to move on, 00:19:53.519 --> 00:20:01.440 let go of the past and move onward. Okay. I won't 00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:07.640 ever refer to it again. I will. She has such 00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:13.759 faith in me. Okay. So nobody else are athletes 00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:17.859 in here? Okay. There we got a few hands. Okay. 00:20:18.579 --> 00:20:22.140 Do athletes do whatever they want when they are 00:20:22.140 --> 00:20:26.440 in training? No. Are there things that you do 00:20:26.440 --> 00:20:31.500 not do? Are there things that you do do? Yes. 00:20:33.099 --> 00:20:37.039 Because they help you to become a competitive 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:41.740 athlete. Nobody wants you on the team if you're 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:44.680 gonna not do the things you should do and if 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:47.180 you are gonna do the thing, not do the thing, 00:20:47.339 --> 00:20:51.099 you know what I mean. If you're gonna do or not 00:20:51.099 --> 00:20:54.160 do, they're not gonna want you on the team, right? 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:59.940 They want your team, once you engage in the rules, 00:21:00.170 --> 00:21:05.710 the standard that the team sets to participate 00:21:05.710 --> 00:21:12.230 and to compete. I've got a short clip. We're 00:21:12.230 --> 00:21:15.390 going to hear about this in the words of Charlie 00:21:15.390 --> 00:21:18.710 Kirk. And so I want you to turn to the screen 00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:24.549 for just a moment. And did you catch in there 00:21:24.549 --> 00:21:30.589 that one point of a device is set a rule for 00:21:30.589 --> 00:21:35.369 yourself. What was he saying? Now, don't get 00:21:35.369 --> 00:21:38.630 all religious on me. Oh, that's religious behavior. 00:21:38.670 --> 00:21:41.390 That's the Pharisees. No. What we're talking 00:21:41.390 --> 00:21:45.230 about today is setting a standard in your life. 00:21:46.509 --> 00:21:51.269 Setting a rule. One of the people that I love 00:21:51.269 --> 00:21:57.509 is St. Benedict, and he raised up a system of 00:22:00.149 --> 00:22:04.609 monasteries and and he what is called is the 00:22:04.609 --> 00:22:08.849 rule of st. Benedict and and what it was is he 00:22:08.849 --> 00:22:12.210 wrote out to be a part of this here's what it 00:22:12.210 --> 00:22:15.069 looks like to live here here's what it looks 00:22:15.069 --> 00:22:18.490 like to work here here's what leadership is here's 00:22:18.490 --> 00:22:21.069 our daily schedule here's what we're doing for 00:22:21.069 --> 00:22:26.349 spiritual growth what was he doing he was setting 00:22:26.349 --> 00:22:33.990 a standard I have rules in my life. Now see, 00:22:34.130 --> 00:22:36.970 Darren gives me a hard time because at age 20, 00:22:37.130 --> 00:22:40.849 at age 30, at age 40, and at age 50, it's like 00:22:40.849 --> 00:22:44.589 I don't like those decade moments, but they truly 00:22:44.589 --> 00:22:48.410 are evaluation points for me because I truly 00:22:48.410 --> 00:22:54.049 try to live intentional. I want to make the most 00:22:54.049 --> 00:22:58.869 of this one life I have been given. And so I 00:22:58.869 --> 00:23:02.990 do, I have rules that I've set into my life. 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:06.890 I have rules of nutrition that I have set into 00:23:06.890 --> 00:23:10.480 my life. I have rules about the kind of flour 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:13.380 that is allowed in my house. I have rules about 00:23:13.380 --> 00:23:15.900 the kind of dairy that is allowed in my house. 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:18.980 I have rules about where my meat comes from. 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:22.259 I have rules about grains and them being sprouted 00:23:22.259 --> 00:23:25.859 or unsprouted. I have rules about my nuts being 00:23:25.859 --> 00:23:30.069 soaked and dehydrated before I eat them. Now 00:23:30.069 --> 00:23:33.130 am I legalistic about this no if you invite me 00:23:33.130 --> 00:23:36.609 into your home like Mike and Suzanne did a couple 00:23:36.609 --> 00:23:40.049 of weeks ago I don't think about my rules. I 00:23:40.049 --> 00:23:42.869 enjoy the beautiful meal that you with great 00:23:42.869 --> 00:23:47.250 joy and A lot of times I'm eating food that I 00:23:47.250 --> 00:23:50.509 don't normally eat and I enjoy that But it is 00:23:50.509 --> 00:23:55.869 a standard I've set in my life. I Have rules 00:23:55.869 --> 00:23:59.029 for our lifestyle I don't buy paper products 00:23:59.309 --> 00:24:02.089 We don't eat off of paper plates and silverware. 00:24:02.990 --> 00:24:05.089 I just don't even buy it because I don't want 00:24:05.089 --> 00:24:08.750 the temptation in my house. I have a hard time 00:24:08.750 --> 00:24:12.230 with my big laundry detergent jugs and all that 00:24:12.230 --> 00:24:17.210 plastic, so I buy eco sheets. It's a rule for 00:24:17.210 --> 00:24:21.750 me in my life. Reusable lifestyle. When we're 00:24:21.750 --> 00:24:25.009 traveling, I have rules. If at all possible, 00:24:25.210 --> 00:24:29.170 we pack it. We pack our food because I want to 00:24:29.170 --> 00:24:32.089 know what I'm eating and I don't like to eat 00:24:32.089 --> 00:24:35.690 at restaurants if I don't know where the food 00:24:35.690 --> 00:24:41.569 is at. I have a reusable water bottle. We fill 00:24:41.569 --> 00:24:44.470 a five gallon jug and we just keep refilling 00:24:44.470 --> 00:24:48.170 our water bottles. I hate plastic water bottles. 00:24:49.309 --> 00:24:51.910 What is that? That's a rule that I have set. 00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:56.380 in my life. I have rules about my eye gate and 00:24:56.380 --> 00:25:00.700 my ear gate, what I watch and what I listen to. 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:06.119 I have no problem with you looking through all 00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:11.940 of my Netflix or all of my apps. I have no problem 00:25:11.940 --> 00:25:14.079 with you getting on my YouTube and looking at 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:17.720 what I'm listening to and watching. It is an 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:22.349 open book. because I have a rule, I have a standard. 00:25:24.109 --> 00:25:29.130 Now, I have rule of my devotional life, how I 00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:31.809 engage with the Word, how I engage in worship. 00:25:32.269 --> 00:25:35.089 I take communion every morning on my way to work. 00:25:36.589 --> 00:25:40.789 These are all, I have no expectation for you 00:25:40.789 --> 00:25:45.470 to do what I'm doing. This is the standard for 00:25:45.470 --> 00:25:50.579 my life. You are free to do whatever you want. 00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:56.660 It's your life These are rules that are subjective 00:25:56.660 --> 00:26:02.180 They're not necessarily good or bad spiritually 00:26:02.180 --> 00:26:08.099 speaking these are my personal choices However 00:26:08.099 --> 00:26:16.029 There is a rule that is not subjective There 00:26:16.029 --> 00:26:19.269 is a rule that I don't get to define and you 00:26:19.269 --> 00:26:23.990 don't get to define. And that is the rule of 00:26:23.990 --> 00:26:31.650 Rabbi Jesus. There's this beautiful saying and 00:26:31.650 --> 00:26:36.450 it comes from an ancient Jewish text actually 00:26:36.450 --> 00:26:40.730 before Jesus was ever on the earth. The text 00:26:40.730 --> 00:26:46.440 is the Mishnah. This writing is a writing that 00:26:46.440 --> 00:26:54.319 is describing the student of a rabbi. So this 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:59.099 blessing says, may you be covered in the dust 00:26:59.099 --> 00:27:06.660 of your rabbi. Let's say that. May you be covered 00:27:06.660 --> 00:27:13.759 in the dust of your rabbi. So that Jewish blessing 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:17.940 comes from an exact, I'm gonna give you here, 00:27:18.200 --> 00:27:24.480 the exact writing from the Mishnah. And what 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:27.579 it truly means, and this is what discipleship 00:27:27.579 --> 00:27:32.559 truly is, is that you are walking so closely 00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:37.660 behind your Rabbi, your teacher. that as you 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:41.279 walk down the road following him, the dust that 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:45.759 he kicks up falls upon you because you're so 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:51.400 close to him. And so the full writing is this, 00:27:52.440 --> 00:27:56.720 let thy house be a meeting house for the wise. 00:27:57.039 --> 00:28:03.539 I love that. I'm just super, I gotta have continual, 00:28:04.079 --> 00:28:07.779 I love putting inspiring people around me. I 00:28:07.779 --> 00:28:09.920 love listening to people that are doing what 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:14.900 I'm not doing so I can learn and grow. And I 00:28:14.900 --> 00:28:18.559 love this. Let thy house be a meeting house for 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:25.059 the wise. And powder thyself in the dust of their 00:28:25.059 --> 00:28:30.599 feet. And drink their words. with thirstiness. 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:36.859 Can I ask, is our house filled with the presence 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:43.339 of Rabbi Jesus? Are we coating ourselves with 00:28:43.339 --> 00:28:47.759 the dust? I think of Mary sitting at his feet 00:28:47.759 --> 00:28:50.440 and Martha, come on, Martha, or Mary, let's get 00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:53.319 busy. No, no, I'm gonna sit here at his feet. 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:59.039 I'm gonna learn from him. Are we drinking up 00:28:59.039 --> 00:29:04.740 the words of Jesus with thirstiness? Are we hungering 00:29:04.740 --> 00:29:10.920 and thirsting? There is one rule that is not 00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:14.500 subjective. There is one rule that you don't 00:29:14.500 --> 00:29:16.680 get to define and I don't get to define, and 00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:22.289 it is the rule of Rabbi Jesus. I gave you two 00:29:22.289 --> 00:29:25.609 examples today of modern men that have lived 00:29:25.609 --> 00:29:29.049 out a life of obedience to the calling to which 00:29:29.049 --> 00:29:31.930 they've been called. There are others though, 00:29:31.990 --> 00:29:34.750 as I was writing this, that came to mind from 00:29:34.750 --> 00:29:38.430 the Bible, and I'm amazed that almost all of 00:29:38.430 --> 00:29:43.210 them are young people. In their early teen years, 00:29:43.730 --> 00:29:46.789 almost all of them. I find that fascinating. 00:29:47.180 --> 00:29:50.880 And I think of Daniel, a young man captured into 00:29:50.880 --> 00:29:54.799 slavery. He had the courage to say, I will obey 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:59.180 the ways of my God. He said that to his captors. 00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:02.640 He became a high ranking official in the land 00:30:02.640 --> 00:30:06.039 of his captivity because he had the courage to 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:10.039 say, I will obey. I think of Joseph, another 00:30:10.039 --> 00:30:13.740 young man sold into slavery by his brothers. 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:19.880 And in the face of his captor and then prison, 00:30:20.019 --> 00:30:23.900 he had the courage to obey the ways of his God 00:30:23.900 --> 00:30:28.660 in captivity. He became number two in the land 00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:33.299 of his captivity. I think of Noah commanded by 00:30:33.299 --> 00:30:37.039 God to build a massive ark to save his family 00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:41.319 and the world from a flood. Noah obeyed God. 00:30:41.539 --> 00:30:47.309 He persevered for decades in his obedience. No 00:30:47.309 --> 00:30:50.890 experience building ships. No great floods had 00:30:50.890 --> 00:30:54.089 flooded the earth. And he says, yes, he had the 00:30:54.089 --> 00:30:57.349 courage to look a little crazy to the men and 00:30:57.349 --> 00:31:00.390 the women. He was a prophet to the men and women 00:31:00.390 --> 00:31:04.380 of his time. I think of Queen Esther, a young 00:31:04.380 --> 00:31:07.440 girl who becomes just a young Jewish girl that 00:31:07.440 --> 00:31:11.299 gets favor and becomes queen of Persia. And Esther, 00:31:11.539 --> 00:31:14.740 in order to save the life of her Jewish people, 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:18.099 has to approach the king when she had not been 00:31:18.099 --> 00:31:21.059 called on. And he could have said, she's gonna 00:31:21.059 --> 00:31:29.380 die. And she had the courage to step up. And 00:31:29.380 --> 00:31:33.640 she saved her people. Think of Mary the mother 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:36.819 of Jesus this young teenage girl when Gabriel 00:31:36.819 --> 00:31:40.200 comes to her and Says she's gonna conceive the 00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:43.240 son of God as a virgin. It wasn't like today 00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:45.740 You're not gonna get you know pregnant at age 00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:48.960 16 and have a baby shower thrown for you This 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:52.519 is not what was happening in her time She could 00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:59.319 have been stoned to death by Joseph Mary humbly 00:31:59.319 --> 00:32:03.339 and obediently says, behold, I am the servant 00:32:03.339 --> 00:32:07.259 of the Lord. Let it be to me. According to your 00:32:07.259 --> 00:32:17.519 word, I will obey. Here's the real heart of obedience. 00:32:17.920 --> 00:32:20.960 And I think it is what gave these men and women 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:25.220 the courage to obey. And it's found in the words 00:32:25.220 --> 00:32:30.920 of Rabbi Jesus himself in John 14. And it simply 00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:36.160 is this, if you love me, if you love me, we just 00:32:36.160 --> 00:32:41.640 sang about loving him. It sure is easy in this 00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:44.380 nice air -conditioned room looking all pretty 00:32:44.380 --> 00:32:49.839 to say, I love you, Jesus. But when he calls 00:32:49.839 --> 00:32:55.839 us to obey him and his ways, he says, if you 00:32:55.839 --> 00:33:01.789 love me, keep my commands. What I'm talking about 00:33:01.789 --> 00:33:05.210 today is not some kind of religious outward behavior. 00:33:06.789 --> 00:33:12.269 It brings me joy to please my husband because 00:33:12.269 --> 00:33:17.630 I love him. It brings me joy to please my children 00:33:17.630 --> 00:33:21.730 because I love them. It brings me great joy to 00:33:21.730 --> 00:33:26.089 please God because I love him. Where there is 00:33:26.089 --> 00:33:30.869 love, there should be an auto desire. to please 00:33:30.869 --> 00:33:38.269 that one. And in this case, it's to obey. And 00:33:38.269 --> 00:33:41.349 he goes on to say in verse 16, and I will ask 00:33:41.349 --> 00:33:46.470 the Father, and He will give you another advocate 00:33:46.470 --> 00:33:52.029 to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit 00:33:52.029 --> 00:33:58.049 of truth. I love that Jesus in this verse is 00:33:58.049 --> 00:34:03.180 acknowledging That this is not always easy The 00:34:03.180 --> 00:34:06.880 call to obedience is not always comfortable think 00:34:06.880 --> 00:34:09.280 of that rich young man who said Jesus What do 00:34:09.280 --> 00:34:12.280 I need to do to be saved and he said sell everything 00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:15.000 you have give it to the poor then come follow 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.039 me Well, that was uncomfortable for him That 00:34:19.039 --> 00:34:22.880 didn't make him feel good He he wanted to come 00:34:22.880 --> 00:34:26.460 to God on his terms and when Jesus Said no, you're 00:34:26.460 --> 00:34:28.760 gonna come on my terms. What did he do? He walked 00:34:28.760 --> 00:34:34.900 away and Jesus loved him Jesus is acknowledging 00:34:34.900 --> 00:34:39.780 that we need an advocate. We need a helper to 00:34:39.780 --> 00:34:45.579 obey The spirit of truth the world cannot accept 00:34:45.579 --> 00:34:49.309 him Because it neither sees him nor knows him 00:34:49.309 --> 00:34:53.570 but you know him for he lives with you and will 00:34:53.570 --> 00:35:00.210 be in you You have been given everything you 00:35:00.210 --> 00:35:03.489 need to live according to the standard of rabbi 00:35:03.489 --> 00:35:08.579 Jesus everything We have been given, it lives 00:35:08.579 --> 00:35:12.840 and resides within us. And so when we look at 00:35:12.840 --> 00:35:16.800 John 14, what we see are three things. That obedience 00:35:16.800 --> 00:35:21.420 to God is out of a love relationship. We see 00:35:21.420 --> 00:35:25.159 that the help of the Holy Spirit is given to 00:35:25.159 --> 00:35:29.340 show the way to the truth and how to walk in 00:35:29.340 --> 00:35:34.409 the truth. And we see that the source of courage 00:35:34.409 --> 00:35:38.969 for walking out this obedience is that He lives 00:35:38.969 --> 00:35:43.909 within and dwells within us. We have everything 00:35:43.909 --> 00:35:47.389 that we need. I'm going to ask if the team will 00:35:47.389 --> 00:35:49.550 come back up. We're going to finish here in Hebrews 00:35:49.550 --> 00:35:57.329 12. In Hebrews 12 verse 1, it says this, and 00:35:57.329 --> 00:36:01.199 this is profound because of the context, but 00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:04.079 also because I think that the great cloud of 00:36:04.079 --> 00:36:07.500 witness continually gets bigger and bigger. I 00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:10.659 think that Charlie Kirk is now part of our great 00:36:10.659 --> 00:36:13.920 cloud of witnesses that is saying, come on, come 00:36:13.920 --> 00:36:18.460 on, finish your race, finish your race. And in 00:36:18.460 --> 00:36:22.539 Hebrews 12 .1, it says, therefore, since we are 00:36:22.539 --> 00:36:26.639 surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 00:36:27.719 --> 00:36:31.800 Let us throw off everything that hinders and 00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:37.059 the sin that so easily entangles. And let us 00:36:37.059 --> 00:36:41.500 run with perseverance, the race marked out for 00:36:41.500 --> 00:36:46.800 us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and 00:36:46.800 --> 00:36:51.300 perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, 00:36:51.679 --> 00:36:56.309 he endured the cross, scorning its shame. and 00:36:56.309 --> 00:37:00.110 sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 00:37:00.650 --> 00:37:05.590 Consider him who endured such opposition from 00:37:05.590 --> 00:37:11.030 sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose 00:37:11.030 --> 00:37:16.630 heart. This is written right after, obviously, 00:37:16.889 --> 00:37:20.449 Hebrews chapter 11, the great hall of faith. 00:37:21.150 --> 00:37:25.389 All of the men and women That by faith did awesome, 00:37:25.550 --> 00:37:28.849 amazing things for God. That ran their race to 00:37:28.849 --> 00:37:32.269 the fullness. And it's amazing to read those 00:37:32.269 --> 00:37:36.829 stories. But there's a part in there that talks 00:37:36.829 --> 00:37:42.789 about those that saw death. Those that paid great 00:37:42.789 --> 00:37:47.170 consequences to walk out their faith obedience. 00:37:48.989 --> 00:37:51.550 And you know, I find the most encouragement from 00:37:51.550 --> 00:37:57.159 those. The ones that did not receive what they 00:37:57.159 --> 00:38:01.480 were believing for. The ones that saw their sons 00:38:01.480 --> 00:38:05.039 and their daughters killed, their husbands killed. 00:38:08.619 --> 00:38:11.599 They are part of this great cloud of witnesses 00:38:11.599 --> 00:38:19.280 that Hebrews 12 is referring to. And while we 00:38:19.280 --> 00:38:24.130 honor the races of these men and women, However 00:38:24.130 --> 00:38:28.590 long or short their lives were, we are not guaranteed 00:38:28.590 --> 00:38:32.889 tomorrow. And when a 31 -year -old is killed, 00:38:33.050 --> 00:38:36.329 I think that more than any other age, that reminds 00:38:36.329 --> 00:38:41.050 us we are not promised tomorrow. You don't know 00:38:41.050 --> 00:38:44.230 what your life is gonna look like tomorrow. However 00:38:44.230 --> 00:38:48.489 long or short, what these people did is they 00:38:48.489 --> 00:38:53.079 ran their race wholeheartedly. They ran with 00:38:53.079 --> 00:38:58.300 perseverance to the end. And even now, they encourage 00:38:58.300 --> 00:39:05.840 us to run our race. The cost of obedience is 00:39:05.840 --> 00:39:10.059 worth the victory of finishing our race well. 00:39:11.699 --> 00:39:17.320 And so, this morning, what is the race that has 00:39:17.320 --> 00:39:21.449 been set for you? Your race? It's all a race 00:39:21.449 --> 00:39:24.050 of faith, but what those races look like are 00:39:24.050 --> 00:39:26.130 all different. Your race is different than my 00:39:26.130 --> 00:39:30.829 race. And one is not better than the other. They're 00:39:30.829 --> 00:39:34.389 just different. The only reason one is better 00:39:34.389 --> 00:39:37.010 than the other is because one runs wholeheartedly 00:39:37.010 --> 00:39:42.170 to the end. And so what is the race set before 00:39:42.170 --> 00:39:52.380 you today? God is on the move. Holy Spirit is 00:39:52.380 --> 00:39:57.219 doing something in the land. And this life is 00:39:57.219 --> 00:40:01.500 so short. It's a blink of an eye. It's a shooting 00:40:01.500 --> 00:40:08.420 star, and it's gone. And that, that just says 00:40:08.420 --> 00:40:11.320 to me all the more, I gotta run wholehearted. 00:40:11.820 --> 00:40:14.460 I gotta embrace this moment, because I'm not 00:40:14.460 --> 00:40:17.639 gonna have it again. I have all of eternity. 00:40:17.920 --> 00:40:21.559 But this moment on this earth is a flash and 00:40:21.559 --> 00:40:28.280 it's gone. And so, is it worth the cost of disobedience? 00:40:28.860 --> 00:40:31.659 Is it worth carrying a bunch of junk trying to 00:40:31.659 --> 00:40:36.440 run this race for such a short moment of time, 00:40:36.500 --> 00:40:41.380 of all eternity? My call is the call to fresh 00:40:41.380 --> 00:40:46.420 obedience. My call is the call to fresh renewal. 00:40:46.699 --> 00:40:50.440 to following in the ways of Rabbi Jesus, who 00:40:50.440 --> 00:40:54.920 has set the standard. My call is for us to live 00:40:54.920 --> 00:40:58.260 life worthy of the calling which we have received, 00:40:58.440 --> 00:41:02.679 and we each have received it. And so this morning, 00:41:02.780 --> 00:41:04.360 what I'm gonna do, we're gonna have a moment 00:41:04.360 --> 00:41:06.659 of worship here, and I want you to just stand 00:41:06.659 --> 00:41:11.480 with me. And listen, you may not be doing some 00:41:11.480 --> 00:41:16.179 kind of big act of disobedience. You may be struggling 00:41:16.179 --> 00:41:19.719 with some stuff. You may be struggling with some 00:41:19.719 --> 00:41:22.760 addictions. You may be struggling with some sins 00:41:22.760 --> 00:41:26.599 that have become strongholds. But maybe you just 00:41:26.599 --> 00:41:29.619 have some attitudes that have been keeping you 00:41:29.619 --> 00:41:34.760 in disobedience. Maybe you've been talking in 00:41:34.760 --> 00:41:38.099 a certain way that is not up to the standard 00:41:38.099 --> 00:41:43.420 of Rabbi Jesus. Maybe we've been engaged in prayerlessness. 00:41:45.190 --> 00:41:47.710 It doesn't always have to be some major thing, 00:41:47.710 --> 00:41:51.670 but what I'm calling us to is a fresh coming 00:41:51.670 --> 00:41:57.070 upward to the standard of Jesus. So we can run 00:41:57.070 --> 00:42:01.449 our races unhindered, full on out to the end. 00:42:03.010 --> 00:42:05.929 And it'll kind of hurt. I've been doing sprints 00:42:05.929 --> 00:42:10.269 and I was in pain the next day. Sometimes it 00:42:10.269 --> 00:42:14.469 hurts to run the race, but the prize is worth 00:42:14.469 --> 00:42:17.909 it. The prize is worth it. And so the team is 00:42:17.909 --> 00:42:20.409 going to lead us in a moment of worship. Listen, 00:42:20.449 --> 00:42:25.050 this is an all church moment. I want us to honor 00:42:25.050 --> 00:42:30.849 this room is an altar. And so I want us to not 00:42:30.849 --> 00:42:34.130 distract one another, but I want us to engage 00:42:34.130 --> 00:42:38.110 in this moment of worship. If you need to make 00:42:38.110 --> 00:42:40.789 your way to the altar, the altar is a beautiful 00:42:40.789 --> 00:42:45.320 place to lay it down, those things. and to take 00:42:45.320 --> 00:42:49.380 up the standard of Christ. And so in this moment, 00:42:49.420 --> 00:42:53.019 let's just make this an altar moment of saying, 00:42:53.699 --> 00:42:58.619 I'm hearing you, Jesus. I hear your call. I see 00:42:58.619 --> 00:43:03.059 your standard, and I am rising up toward it. 00:43:03.360 --> 00:43:08.280 I'm pressing on toward it. I'm pressing on toward 00:43:08.280 --> 00:43:12.489 you. In Jesus' name, in Jesus' name. If you need 00:43:12.489 --> 00:43:14.449 to come to the altar, come on while the team 00:43:14.449 --> 00:43:15.630 begins to lead us.