WEBVTT 00:00:00.580 --> 00:00:02.660 Okay, my name is Gregg. I'm one of the pastors 00:00:02.660 --> 00:00:05.919 here at the house. If we've never met, I would 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:08.099 love to meet you. I would love to buy you a coffee 00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:09.900 or a soda or a drink, something like that. Just 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:12.820 put it on the connection card at the end, and 00:00:12.820 --> 00:00:15.080 I would love to follow up with you and connect 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:17.039 with you and make the habit. I would just like 00:00:17.039 --> 00:00:19.300 to hear your story and get to know you a little 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:21.780 bit. Today we're wrapping up our series that 00:00:21.780 --> 00:00:24.699 is called Follow Me Because Jesus Said What? 00:00:25.379 --> 00:00:28.160 Follow Me. I'll try that again. Jesus said what? 00:00:28.699 --> 00:00:32.159 Follow me, right? And so this is how he called 00:00:32.159 --> 00:00:34.840 his first disciples. He walked around and he 00:00:34.840 --> 00:00:36.520 said, for the kingdom of heaven is near. Come 00:00:36.520 --> 00:00:40.159 and follow me. Week one, we saw how Jesus was 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:44.259 calling dramatically different people, fishers 00:00:44.259 --> 00:00:47.100 and tax collectors, people from opposite ends 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:50.560 of the social strata and spectrum to be disciples 00:00:50.560 --> 00:00:54.340 together, to be in relationship with each other. 00:00:54.359 --> 00:00:57.829 We talked about how we are called to do. The 00:00:57.829 --> 00:01:01.789 same thing, to create a community of God's kingdom 00:01:01.789 --> 00:01:05.790 that is full of people that the world would not 00:01:05.790 --> 00:01:11.750 put together. Week two, we saw Jesus teach his 00:01:11.750 --> 00:01:14.349 followers that you have to eat my flesh and drink 00:01:14.349 --> 00:01:16.989 my blood. I said something most Christians and 00:01:16.989 --> 00:01:19.930 most pastors don't admit. That's weird. That 00:01:19.930 --> 00:01:22.370 is weird to hear that if you've never heard that 00:01:22.370 --> 00:01:25.140 before. And he was giving this hard lesson to 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:27.680 people to see if they would keep going, if they 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:29.920 would keep trying to understand, if they would 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:33.319 hear something difficult and continue to follow. 00:01:33.379 --> 00:01:34.900 And that's the same thing that we get asked. 00:01:35.540 --> 00:01:38.439 Will we continue to follow God when he says something 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:40.420 or when we read something or learn something 00:01:40.420 --> 00:01:44.260 that we don't completely understand? And today 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:47.079 we finish up this series in Matthew 28 in Acts 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:49.290 1. And so I'm going to ask you to go ahead and 00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:51.069 grab your Bibles. We're going to open up to Matthew 00:01:51.069 --> 00:01:55.269 28 or Acts 1. You can open to both or just one 00:01:55.269 --> 00:01:57.049 of those, okay? If you don't have a Bible, we 00:01:57.049 --> 00:01:58.870 have Bibles on the tables, and then there's also 00:01:58.870 --> 00:02:01.549 the same Bibles out on the bookshelf in the lobby. 00:02:01.609 --> 00:02:03.290 You're welcome to take one of those home if you 00:02:03.290 --> 00:02:05.989 need a Bible. Otherwise, you can download a Bible 00:02:05.989 --> 00:02:09.960 from any of the digital app stores. It goes Matthew, 00:02:09.960 --> 00:02:12.659 Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans in the New Testament 00:02:12.659 --> 00:02:14.620 or the Second Testament. And so if you see any 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:15.840 of those, you know you're in the right neighborhood 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.219 for Matthew and Acts. And then during the sermon, 00:02:19.240 --> 00:02:21.280 when the passage is read in the context of the 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.039 sermon, we like to give that our full attention. 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:26.460 You can do that in whatever way makes the most 00:02:26.460 --> 00:02:28.759 sense for you, but you're also welcome to stand 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:33.560 with me as I read. Ready? Here we go. Matthew 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:40.099 28, starting in verse 16. Matthew 28, 16. Now 00:02:40.099 --> 00:02:42.180 the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the 00:02:42.180 --> 00:02:46.080 mountain to which Jesus had directed them. When 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:48.539 they saw him, they worshipped him, but they doubted. 00:02:49.259 --> 00:02:52.199 And Jesus came and said to them, All authority 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:54.680 in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:02:54.979 --> 00:02:57.419 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, 00:02:57.439 --> 00:02:59.740 baptizing them in the name of the Father and 00:02:59.740 --> 00:03:01.879 of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:03.740 them to obey everything that I have commanded 00:03:03.740 --> 00:03:07.280 you. And remember I am with you always to the 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:11.150 end. That's what's known as the Great Commission. 00:03:11.349 --> 00:03:17.389 Now we're going to jump to Acts 1. Acts 1, verse 00:03:17.389 --> 00:03:37.520 4. when you will restore the kingdom to Israel. 00:03:38.139 --> 00:03:40.479 He replied, It is not for you to know the times 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:43.180 or periods that the Father has set by his own 00:03:43.180 --> 00:03:46.379 authority, but you will receive power when the 00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:48.919 Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be 00:03:48.919 --> 00:03:52.900 my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, 00:03:53.000 --> 00:04:00.000 and to the ends of the earth. Let us pray. God 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:02.419 of every tribe, of every tongue, every color, 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:04.280 of every nation, we thank you for your scripture. 00:04:04.990 --> 00:04:06.949 Thank you that we still have it, that it has 00:04:06.949 --> 00:04:10.430 persisted throughout millennia, that we have 00:04:10.430 --> 00:04:13.909 it to consider, to learn from. I pray that whatever 00:04:13.909 --> 00:04:15.710 you have for us to learn today, I pray that it 00:04:15.710 --> 00:04:18.089 would stick, that it would become a part of the 00:04:18.089 --> 00:04:20.970 framework of our faith, that our faith would 00:04:20.970 --> 00:04:24.050 become stronger as we become more like your son, 00:04:24.110 --> 00:04:27.529 Jesus. Amen. Amen. Thanks, y 'all. You can have 00:04:27.529 --> 00:04:33.509 a seat. Y 'all know that feeling when you don't 00:04:33.509 --> 00:04:38.850 know what comes next? Maybe it was graduation 00:04:38.850 --> 00:04:43.329 day. Maybe it was that feeling you had when a 00:04:43.329 --> 00:04:46.129 job was coming to an end. Maybe you just moved 00:04:46.129 --> 00:04:49.389 somewhere new or it was the first time that you 00:04:49.389 --> 00:04:56.550 fell in love. So much has led up to that moment. 00:05:00.170 --> 00:05:04.269 And you just weren't sure what would come next. 00:05:04.329 --> 00:05:08.629 You're thinking, now what? I think that's where 00:05:08.629 --> 00:05:10.930 the disciples are when we get to the end of the 00:05:10.930 --> 00:05:13.829 Gospels, when we get to the beginning of Acts. 00:05:13.910 --> 00:05:16.829 They've spent all this time with Jesus. They 00:05:16.829 --> 00:05:20.610 have seen him crucified. They have seen him resurrected. 00:05:22.649 --> 00:05:30.149 But now he's leaving? They have to be thinking, 00:05:30.290 --> 00:05:34.170 what do we do now? The guy that was telling us 00:05:34.170 --> 00:05:38.310 what to do this whole time isn't sticking around. 00:05:38.449 --> 00:05:41.810 And so Jesus tells them. These two passages, 00:05:41.949 --> 00:05:45.689 Jesus tells them. He says, go and find. He says, 00:05:45.750 --> 00:05:50.689 go and keep going. He says, go and I will be 00:05:50.689 --> 00:05:53.810 with you. All right, but real quick before I 00:05:53.810 --> 00:05:57.290 jump all the way into all that. I put these passages 00:05:57.290 --> 00:06:00.050 together because many scholars believe that these 00:06:00.050 --> 00:06:04.930 two passages are actually the same event. But 00:06:04.930 --> 00:06:06.730 if you look at them, one of them happened in 00:06:06.730 --> 00:06:08.750 Galilee on a mountain, the other happened more 00:06:08.750 --> 00:06:12.029 than 70 miles away in Jerusalem. So I want to 00:06:12.029 --> 00:06:15.649 say something about the Bible. If we think that 00:06:15.649 --> 00:06:18.750 the Bible is like a stenographer in a court of 00:06:18.750 --> 00:06:21.569 law, writing down every single syllable exactly 00:06:21.569 --> 00:06:24.290 the way that it happened, then the Bible is going 00:06:24.290 --> 00:06:30.120 to let us down. In the Bible, two different writers 00:06:30.120 --> 00:06:34.220 can quote Jesus from the same event and use different 00:06:34.220 --> 00:06:37.500 words, even include new ideas. They might change 00:06:37.500 --> 00:06:41.699 the location or the timing. They might even change 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:43.639 exactly who was there. If you read all of the 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:46.180 Gospels, if you read the resurrection account 00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:48.939 of who was there at the resurrection, all four 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:53.120 stories give a different list of who was there. 00:06:53.240 --> 00:06:56.420 Because how we think of historical narrative, 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.779 The Gospels are what we think of as historic 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:02.660 narrative. When we think of that in our modern 00:07:02.660 --> 00:07:05.180 minds, it is not exactly how the Bible writers 00:07:05.180 --> 00:07:07.660 were thinking about how they were meant to write 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:12.120 down their narratives. Instead, these guys were 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:14.360 thinking about what people needed to know about 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:18.040 Jesus and how that could be shaped for a theological 00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:23.819 purpose. So the writer isn't always worried about... 00:07:24.029 --> 00:07:26.310 quoting Jesus exactly word for word. Instead, 00:07:26.629 --> 00:07:30.129 the writer is thinking about intention for intention, 00:07:30.410 --> 00:07:32.990 meaning for meaning, purpose for purpose, and 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:37.970 context for context. And newsflash, they did 00:07:37.970 --> 00:07:42.930 not have us in mind. When they were writing these 00:07:42.930 --> 00:07:47.170 things, they did not have a modern American mind. 00:07:48.370 --> 00:07:50.769 in the context of this is who I'm writing this 00:07:50.769 --> 00:07:52.050 for. They were writing it for the people that 00:07:52.050 --> 00:07:54.689 were immediately around them in that day with 00:07:54.689 --> 00:07:56.910 their kinds of minds, with their kinds of logic, 00:07:57.029 --> 00:08:02.410 with their kind of contexts. They didn't think, 00:08:02.449 --> 00:08:04.910 well, what happens if some people on the other 00:08:04.910 --> 00:08:07.189 side of the earth 2 ,000 years from now get frustrated 00:08:07.189 --> 00:08:10.350 that I didn't quote it exactly the same way the 00:08:10.350 --> 00:08:14.350 other guy did? They were just trying to tell 00:08:14.350 --> 00:08:15.970 the story in the most compelling way that they 00:08:15.970 --> 00:08:18.449 could because they wanted people to believe in 00:08:18.449 --> 00:08:22.089 Jesus. So now maybe you're hearing that concept 00:08:22.089 --> 00:08:25.670 for the first time, and you're saying, well, 00:08:25.709 --> 00:08:28.209 now what? See how I did that? I brought it back 00:08:28.209 --> 00:08:32.149 around. What comes next? How am I supposed to 00:08:32.149 --> 00:08:34.769 read the Bible now if I don't even know if it's 00:08:34.769 --> 00:08:36.929 an exact quote here and there? Well, I'll give 00:08:36.929 --> 00:08:38.940 you two quick things. And this is especially 00:08:38.940 --> 00:08:41.240 for the kids and the youth in the room, the students. 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:43.720 I want you to listen to this, okay? Because you're 00:08:43.720 --> 00:08:46.000 at the beginning of your life of reading the 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:47.759 Scriptures. I'm going to give you two things. 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:50.320 When you read the Scriptures, read it spiritually 00:08:50.320 --> 00:08:53.879 and read it practically. Reading the Bible spiritually 00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:56.440 means listen to the Holy Spirit when you are 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:02.000 reading. Listen to the Holy Spirit when you are 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:03.679 reading. Because you're not just reading the 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:06.240 Bible for content. You're not trying to figure 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:07.940 out, well, how many days were there between when 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:11.000 he crossed over the border of this and went through 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:13.179 Samaria and talked to the woman at the well, 00:09:13.299 --> 00:09:16.100 and then when he went and he healed. That's not 00:09:16.100 --> 00:09:18.759 the primary thing that you're looking for. You're 00:09:18.759 --> 00:09:21.940 looking for the Holy Spirit to show you what 00:09:21.940 --> 00:09:27.259 it is that you need in your life. Because, listen, 00:09:27.340 --> 00:09:29.120 the Holy Spirit was involved when this was written, 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:31.659 and the Holy Spirit should be involved when we 00:09:31.659 --> 00:09:35.639 read it. Amen? Let the Holy Spirit show you what 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:39.259 you need and then hide all of that in your heart 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:42.539 and carry it with you. And then read it practically. 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:46.440 Practically meaning you should ask this question 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:48.340 when you're reading the scriptures. How does 00:09:48.340 --> 00:09:53.799 this cause me to love my neighbor? When we read 00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:56.580 the scriptures, we read it spiritually and then 00:09:56.580 --> 00:10:00.659 we ask, how does this cause me to love my neighbor? 00:10:00.679 --> 00:10:02.879 Because the Bible is ancient, but it is not a 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:08.710 relic. It still speaks to our lives today. So 00:10:08.710 --> 00:10:12.570 read it spiritually and then live it practically. 00:10:13.590 --> 00:10:16.570 All right, that's sermon one. Sermon two. Jesus 00:10:16.570 --> 00:10:19.370 said, go and find. He said, go and keep going. 00:10:19.509 --> 00:10:22.830 And he said, go and I will be with you. If you 00:10:22.830 --> 00:10:28.929 are here right now, you are here because somebody 00:10:28.929 --> 00:10:31.669 heard Jesus say, go and find. And they came and 00:10:31.669 --> 00:10:37.120 found. This makes me think of a guy named Tom 00:10:37.120 --> 00:10:41.700 Williams. I probably saw, whether I knew it or 00:10:41.700 --> 00:10:44.919 not, I probably saw Tom every Sunday of my life 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:49.080 between the age of 4 and 18. I saw Tom, and I 00:10:49.080 --> 00:10:51.720 knew Tom because he was one of the adults at 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:55.340 the church that I grew up at. Tom was shorter 00:10:55.340 --> 00:11:00.960 than me, 5 '4", 5 '5". Not tall, a slight man, 00:11:01.159 --> 00:11:06.629 balding, like my dad. But he was a wonderful, 00:11:06.789 --> 00:11:12.830 wonderful man. I got to poke, right? So I knew 00:11:12.830 --> 00:11:16.889 Tom really my whole life leading up to college. 00:11:16.970 --> 00:11:18.370 Actually, he taught me something I wanted to 00:11:18.370 --> 00:11:20.289 teach you guys. Wallace, come here for a second. 00:11:20.769 --> 00:11:23.950 So he taught me something I call the Holy Spirit 00:11:23.950 --> 00:11:26.570 handshake. So Tom taught me this. It's right 00:11:26.570 --> 00:11:28.190 here in the middle so it's on the camera. Father, 00:11:28.230 --> 00:11:34.200 Son, and Holy Ghost. There you go. Thanks. Tom 00:11:34.200 --> 00:11:36.460 taught me that handshake. I carry it with me 00:11:36.460 --> 00:11:42.659 to this day. Now, the number one reason that 00:11:42.659 --> 00:11:45.379 I noticed Tom growing up was because he sang. 00:11:46.279 --> 00:11:49.000 He didn't have the best voice, but he would sing. 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:52.340 I don't know how many of y 'all grew up in church, 00:11:52.460 --> 00:11:54.419 but who remembers when a church would have a 00:11:54.419 --> 00:11:58.000 special? All right? I grew up in a white church, 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:01.159 so that meant that a special was a cassette tape. 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:05.399 You went to the Christian bookstore and bought 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:07.600 your favorite karaoke version of the Christian 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:10.559 song you heard on the Christian radio, and it 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:14.820 had like maybe four keys on it, and you would 00:12:14.820 --> 00:12:17.679 sing along to it at home, and then you would 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:19.659 take it to church, and they would put it in a 00:12:19.659 --> 00:12:21.159 little tape deck, and it would go through the 00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:24.259 rinky -dink sound system that they had, and you 00:12:24.259 --> 00:12:30.279 would sing to it, and that was the special. That 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:33.789 is the number one way I remember. time from when 00:12:33.789 --> 00:12:36.009 I grew up going to church was he special because 00:12:36.009 --> 00:12:38.370 he was the only one that I the only adult I can 00:12:38.370 --> 00:12:41.389 remember doing a special other kids I felt like 00:12:41.389 --> 00:12:44.309 it was the parents opportunity to use it as like 00:12:44.309 --> 00:12:46.970 a second kind of piano recital for their kid 00:12:46.970 --> 00:12:48.870 or something like that you're like hey get the 00:12:48.870 --> 00:12:50.850 kid up there and play play that piano piece I've 00:12:50.850 --> 00:12:54.629 been paying for you to learn how to do now after 00:12:54.629 --> 00:12:57.429 after high school I went away to college at Judson 00:12:57.429 --> 00:13:00.309 in Elgin, Illinois, about three hours from now. 00:13:00.389 --> 00:13:03.490 And my mom called me one day, and this was not 00:13:03.490 --> 00:13:05.830 a regular occurrence. And then you also had to 00:13:05.830 --> 00:13:07.669 be in your dorm room in order to get a phone 00:13:07.669 --> 00:13:10.450 call back in those days. So my mom had called 00:13:10.450 --> 00:13:14.190 me, and she said, hey, I've got big news. And 00:13:14.190 --> 00:13:17.649 she says, your dad became a Christian. Now, my 00:13:17.649 --> 00:13:19.169 dad didn't become a Christian until he was 50 00:13:19.169 --> 00:13:22.529 years old. And so this was not something that 00:13:22.529 --> 00:13:27.200 I saw coming. Asked the obvious question. I said, 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:34.559 how? How? She says, well, Tom Williams works 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:39.820 at John Deere with your dad. And he asked, hey, 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:43.440 do you want to go hear this guy? He's an ex -Hell's 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:46.220 Angel. And he's going to tell his story and he's 00:13:46.220 --> 00:13:49.580 going to give his testimony. And for whatever 00:13:49.580 --> 00:13:52.480 reason, my dad thought, you know what? That sounds 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.529 okay. I'll go to that. And that night, my dad 00:13:55.529 --> 00:14:08.149 became a Christian. See, Tom heard Jesus say, 00:14:08.309 --> 00:14:19.470 go and find. And Tom went and found my dad. A 00:14:19.470 --> 00:14:24.750 couple years later, Tom... died from cancer. 00:14:26.389 --> 00:14:29.470 He'd had it a couple other times in his life, 00:14:29.529 --> 00:14:31.809 at least two other times. He had been on what 00:14:31.809 --> 00:14:34.710 people believed to be his deathbed, but we believed 00:14:34.710 --> 00:14:39.389 that he had been healed. Years would go by. So 00:14:39.389 --> 00:14:44.929 I'm grateful that in the time between, that he 00:14:44.929 --> 00:14:47.250 went and found my dad. I think there's three 00:14:47.250 --> 00:14:50.970 things that Tom taught me. He taught me the Holy 00:14:50.970 --> 00:14:55.470 Spirit handshake, of course. He taught me that 00:14:55.470 --> 00:15:00.210 a man can stand in front of a congregation and 00:15:00.210 --> 00:15:08.970 sing. And he taught me that no one is too far 00:15:08.970 --> 00:15:17.669 away to be found. For 2 ,000 years, people that 00:15:17.669 --> 00:15:21.389 believe in Jesus have been going and finding. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:27.120 You are here right now because someone went and 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.120 found you. And you are here because Jesus said, 00:15:30.220 --> 00:15:34.759 go and keep going. And so someone went and kept 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:38.080 going. If you'll take a quick look around just 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:39.940 for a second, just look around at each other, 00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:42.899 you might notice that this is not Jerusalem. 00:15:45.120 --> 00:15:47.860 We are not in Israel. We are not on the other 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:51.340 side of the world. You aren't here just because 00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:53.759 someone went and found you. Here because someone 00:15:53.759 --> 00:15:58.840 kept going. Because Jesus had taught them that 00:15:58.840 --> 00:16:01.279 your neighbors aren't only the people that live 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:05.139 next door to you. Your neighbors aren't only 00:16:05.139 --> 00:16:08.299 in your hometown or your city or your county 00:16:08.299 --> 00:16:12.919 or even only in your country. Your neighbors 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:19.580 are all along the way. So go and keep going. 00:16:20.809 --> 00:16:23.789 He says, all the way to the ends of the earth. 00:16:27.490 --> 00:16:29.490 And y 'all, don't you think that Jesus is saying 00:16:29.490 --> 00:16:35.009 the same thing to us? Isn't this still for us? 00:16:39.289 --> 00:16:44.629 Go and find. Go and keep going. Maybe we feel 00:16:44.629 --> 00:16:48.950 like we don't know how to do that. It reminds 00:16:48.950 --> 00:16:55.580 me of Moses. In Exodus 33. There's been a lot 00:16:55.580 --> 00:16:57.200 that has happened by the time that you get to 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:01.960 Exodus 33. Moses, if you go all the way back 00:17:01.960 --> 00:17:06.339 to Exodus 3 is where you see Moses meeting God 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:09.660 in the burning bush. By the time you get, and 00:17:09.660 --> 00:17:12.059 it says take your shoes off, you're on holy ground. 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:16.640 By the time you get to Exodus 33, the relationship 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:21.829 between Moses and God had changed. There was 00:17:21.829 --> 00:17:26.349 relationship. There was a closeness. Moses is 00:17:26.349 --> 00:17:30.769 asking, can I see who you are? But in this moment, 00:17:30.809 --> 00:17:32.609 even after Moses has seen everything that God 00:17:32.609 --> 00:17:35.589 has done, after everything that Moses had done, 00:17:35.650 --> 00:17:38.690 after all of the miracles that had happened in 00:17:38.690 --> 00:17:41.170 Egypt, after they had fled Egypt, after they 00:17:41.170 --> 00:17:45.589 had gone through the waters, at this point now 00:17:45.589 --> 00:17:48.069 they've been wandering for a while, and they 00:17:48.069 --> 00:17:51.859 know they're supposed to go somewhere, Says this 00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:56.920 to God. See you have said to me. Bring up this 00:17:56.920 --> 00:18:03.619 people. But you have not let me know. Whom you 00:18:03.619 --> 00:18:09.500 will send with me. And this is how God responds. 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:19.440 God said. My presence will go with you. And I 00:18:19.440 --> 00:18:30.319 will give you. Moses, the great Moses. Even Moses 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:34.819 was nervous, wondering, maybe even a little scared 00:18:34.819 --> 00:18:39.539 about what would come next, what that next step 00:18:39.539 --> 00:18:44.240 would be. And Moses is given the same promise 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:50.779 that Jesus gives to the disciples. God says, 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:54.900 my presence will go with you. Jesus says, and 00:18:54.900 --> 00:19:00.460 I will be with you even to the very end of the 00:19:00.460 --> 00:19:08.380 age. So listen, the how of going is believing 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:14.420 that Jesus is with you. It does not matter what 00:19:14.420 --> 00:19:17.700 you are doing. It does not matter what you have 00:19:17.700 --> 00:19:22.099 planned. It does not matter how simple or intricate 00:19:22.099 --> 00:19:26.140 all of the details are. The answer to the God, 00:19:26.359 --> 00:19:30.180 how do I do this? The answer to that is believe 00:19:30.180 --> 00:19:37.279 that I am with you. So go and find. Go and keep 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:43.619 going. Go and believe that I am with you. As 00:19:43.619 --> 00:19:45.220 I close, I just want to talk to the students 00:19:45.220 --> 00:19:48.710 again. Grade schoolers, middle schoolers. High 00:19:48.710 --> 00:19:52.210 schoolers, I know you all just started a new 00:19:52.210 --> 00:19:55.849 year. Some of you guys are in a new building. 00:19:57.109 --> 00:20:00.710 You've got all new teachers. You've got all new 00:20:00.710 --> 00:20:07.769 friends. You've got new hallways. But listen, 00:20:07.910 --> 00:20:17.410 Jesus is with you. Jesus is in that building. 00:20:18.580 --> 00:20:23.039 Jesus is all around you. Jesus is already in 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:27.700 the room before you walk into it. Jesus is on 00:20:27.700 --> 00:20:31.039 the property. Jesus does not need a badge to 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:33.599 get through the door. Jesus does not have to 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.700 go through a metal detector. Jesus is already 00:20:36.700 --> 00:20:43.579 there. And he loves you. Because we know that 00:20:43.579 --> 00:20:46.240 he loves you, we know that he loves every other 00:20:46.240 --> 00:20:51.619 person that's in that building. And God has said, 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:58.220 go and find. Go and keep going. You are not too 00:20:58.220 --> 00:21:03.859 young to walk in the presence of God. You are 00:21:03.859 --> 00:21:07.480 not too young for the kids around you in school 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:10.819 to know that you are a Christian. Or to know 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:18.450 that you believe in Jesus. St. Patrick. lived 00:21:18.450 --> 00:21:21.130 his life somewhere around the late 4th or early 00:21:21.130 --> 00:21:24.730 5th century. He was kidnapped from Ireland when 00:21:24.730 --> 00:21:27.930 he was 16 years old and taken to Britain as a 00:21:27.930 --> 00:21:31.750 slave. After six years, he escaped and he went 00:21:31.750 --> 00:21:33.970 back to Ireland and he became a cleric. It's 00:21:33.970 --> 00:21:36.450 what we would call a priest now. The Catholic 00:21:36.450 --> 00:21:41.029 Church was in its very early stages. It's what 00:21:41.029 --> 00:21:45.049 we would call a pastor. And he became the great 00:21:45.049 --> 00:21:51.130 missionary to Ireland. He became a saint. And 00:21:51.130 --> 00:21:53.789 as we close, as I close this and just say a final 00:21:53.789 --> 00:21:56.930 prayer, I want to pray over all of you, the students, 00:21:57.029 --> 00:22:01.769 but each of us as well, the prayer that you've 00:22:01.769 --> 00:22:05.470 probably heard parts of that is attributed to 00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:13.089 St. Patrick. Let us pray. Christ with me. Christ 00:22:13.089 --> 00:22:20.980 before me. Christ behind me. Christ in me. Christ 00:22:20.980 --> 00:22:25.140 beneath me. Christ above me. Christ on my right. 00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:29.240 Christ on my left. Christ when I lie down. Christ 00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:35.059 when I sit down. Christ when I arise. Christ 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:38.660 in the heart of every man who thinks of me. Christ 00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:43.380 in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me. Christ 00:22:43.380 --> 00:22:48.900 in every eye that sees me. Christ in every ear 00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:53.059 that hears me. Amen.