1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,560 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. Have you ever looked back in time and considered 2 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:21,000 how certain defining moments have shaped your life in future? Today, John Metter, lead 3 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:25,200 pastor of Cross City Church, looks at the importance of defining moments and how we 4 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:35,120 can recognize what God is saying through them. We're so glad that you're with us this morning. 5 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:39,440 If you have your Bibles, please take them and turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 today, 6 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:46,160 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, as we talk about a defining focus today in our defining moments 7 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:50,200 series. We've had a number of messages in our defining moments series, and let me just 8 00:00:50,200 --> 00:00:55,120 kind of rehash what some of that's all about. The refining moments series is about moments 9 00:00:55,120 --> 00:01:01,760 in our lives where we realize God has spoken, God has done something, and our lives are 10 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:08,000 changed after that moment where we live in a different way. After that encounter we had 11 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,720 with God where he spoke something, he did something, he said something. For many of 12 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:17,360 us, obviously, that's salvation, the moment we come to faith in Jesus Christ. For others, 13 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:22,480 it's a certain calling in our life, a calling where the Lord has called us to something, 14 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:27,640 to do something, to be a part of an organization, or to be part of a movement of some kind. 15 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:31,480 Sometimes it's just God telling us, I want you to obey me in this particular area of 16 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:36,720 your life, or to leave something behind that has been dragging you down. But defining moments, 17 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,640 here's what I've found. I've found that we have thousands of experiences in life, 18 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:45,480 but only a few defining moments. I hope that you think about the defining moments in your 19 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:50,960 life where you have encountered God in powerful ways. Today, defining focus. Would you stand 20 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:57,960 with me as we read this passage today, 1 Thessalonians 5, beginning in verse 11. 21 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:05,960 Verse Thessalonians 5, beginning in verse 11. Verse 11 picks up in a very important 22 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:10,000 letter of the New Testament where Paul is writing to the church at Thessalonica. The 23 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:15,600 first 10 verses really are about the return of the Lord. Verse 11 picks up with that thought 24 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:19,960 package before it moves into verse 12, but it kind of ties it all together here, and 25 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:25,800 here's what it says in verse 11. Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another 26 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:30,360 just as you were also doing. But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those 27 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:36,360 who diligently labor among you and who have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, 28 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:41,680 and that you esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Live in peace with 29 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:46,880 one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the faint hearted, 30 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:53,400 help the weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, 31 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:57,920 but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people. You find this 32 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:02,240 several times in the Bible. Not only how we respond to each other in the community of 33 00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:09,800 faith, but also to everyone. Verse 16, rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything, 34 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:14,480 give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the spirit. 35 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:21,080 Do not despise prophetic utterances. Then verse 21, but examine everything carefully. 36 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:28,000 Hold fast to that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil. There's a lot of instruction 37 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,800 in that passage, and it's all applicable to us. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, 38 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:38,240 today, let this text, let this passage speak loudly to us. Father, help us to see how it 39 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:43,400 fits us here and now, where we live, where we are. And as we open our eyes to see what's 40 00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:50,000 going on around us, help us to know how we are to be obedient to you as people who follow 41 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,440 you by faith in changing the world around us. Father, thank you for how you've worked 42 00:03:54,440 --> 00:03:58,800 in the past, how you're working now, how you will in the future. We ask this in Jesus' 43 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:07,880 name, amen. Please be seated if you would. I suspect this always happens to people at 44 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:12,960 various times in their lives, but more than 30 years ago I had an incredible opportunity 45 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:19,440 to do something and a desire to do something way beyond what I had imagined. It was an 46 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:24,040 opportunity to be a part of a much larger organization, and during those years I was 47 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:29,080 seeing needs around me that I couldn't see how they were being met by the church and 48 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:33,760 the pastor that I was involved with at the time. So I was looking for a way to impact 49 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:38,880 the world. I was looking for a way to help people, to change lives. And I really looked 50 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:43,960 beyond what was in front of me and tried to see this global picture and tried to find 51 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:50,440 a way, how do I get connected with this global life changing kind of vision when I had only 52 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:55,960 a responsibility that God had placed just in front of me. And the reality, God had to 53 00:04:55,960 --> 00:05:03,040 bring me to the place of saying, wherever I put you is a world changing position. Wherever 54 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,440 I've placed you, whatever gifts I've given you, that's what I want you to use to change 55 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:12,880 people's lives all around you and around the world. And it really came to be a defining 56 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:18,360 moment for me, a defining focus that's really guided me for more than 30 years now. And 57 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:23,560 I realized it doesn't take a big organization to change the world. It doesn't take a massive 58 00:05:23,560 --> 00:05:28,080 government change to change the world. But what will change the world is when people 59 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:36,240 of God follow the God who is in control and when they follow Him, He multiplies everything 60 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,520 they do to transform lives around them. 61 00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:43,200 And that's what I want to talk to you about today just a little bit. How do we focus our 62 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:49,280 lives to be what we ought to be in our nation at this time, in our community at this time, 63 00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:56,080 in our family, our city at this time? How do we be the church God called us to be? A 64 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:02,400 pastor from England whose name is Jay John has a YouTube video out where he spoke a little 65 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:07,280 bit about the meaning and the purpose of the church and it's kind of gone viral in a sense. 66 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:10,640 Millions of people have watched this video. It's a very encouraging video. I'm going 67 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:15,200 to try to reproduce some of the words of that. And he tells the story of being on an airplane 68 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:19,440 when a woman asked him, what do you do? You know, that's one of the conversation pieces 69 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:24,160 we have when we talk to strangers. We ask them what they do and then they ask us what 70 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:29,600 we do. And he always hesitate to say, I'm a pastor because I can tell this from personal 71 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:34,080 experience. When I say that I'm a pastor, it usually shuts the conversation down, right? 72 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:37,840 I don't know what they think I'm going to do. I don't know if they think I'm going to preach 73 00:06:37,840 --> 00:06:41,760 to them one-on-one on the airplane or something like that. I'm not really sure, but they don't 74 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:46,000 like to hear that I'm a pastor. And he had that same experience. So he didn't really want to tell 75 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:52,160 the woman what he did because of that. So he said, Oh ma'am, I'm a part of a huge organization that 76 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:57,840 brings change in the world. She said, Oh really? And he said, yes, I'm, I'm part of a global 77 00:06:57,840 --> 00:07:03,360 enterprise with Atlas in every nation of the world. We have hospitals and hospices and homeless 78 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:09,200 shelters. We do marriage work. We have feeding programs at educational endeavors. And she goes, 79 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:14,720 Oh wow. And he went on and said, we have all sorts of justice and recovery kinds of things. 80 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:19,680 Basically we look after people from birth to death and major in the area of behavior 81 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:25,360 modification. We change lives. The lady was astounded. She said, well, what's the cause? 82 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:31,440 He said, it's called the church of Jesus Christ. And in reality, that may be an interesting and 83 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:37,680 humorous conversation, but he is exactly right. The church of Jesus Christ is bigger than anything 84 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:43,040 you and I can possibly even imagine. We can't fathom. We can't get a calculator and add up all 85 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:48,640 the representatives of the church of Jesus Christ on the planet. But if we believe God is in control, 86 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:55,520 the way that changed the world is through the church of Jesus Christ and through him leading the way. 87 00:07:55,520 --> 00:08:00,320 And that's what Paul is writing about in first Corinthians or first Thessalonians chapter five, 88 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,680 beginning in verse 11 to a group of people that need to hear it. And by the way, 89 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:08,720 one of the principles that came out of my own experience and one that I want to share with you 90 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:14,320 today is this principle, pursue what is before you and you will influence what is beyond you. 91 00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:19,600 And I believe that's true. Pursue what God has placed in front of you. Pursue what God has 92 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,680 allowed you to see in the position that you're in, wherever that is and whatever that is. 93 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:30,320 And God will use that, may even multiply that to impact lives way beyond what you could possibly 94 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:37,280 have imagined when you began doing what God called you to do. You know, there's a verse in the 95 00:08:37,280 --> 00:08:42,080 scripture that I absolutely love. It's in Ephesians chapter three, verse 20 and 21. And you hear it 96 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,480 from time to time, but I want you to put it into your life for just a few moments and imagine 97 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:52,960 what would happen if you would trust God for that verse in your life today. Here's what it says. 98 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:58,960 It says, now to him who is able to do far more abundantly above all that we ask or think, 99 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:04,080 according to the power that works within us. In other words, according to the Holy Spirit's 100 00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:09,360 power in your own life, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, 101 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:16,880 forever and ever. Amen. That's a great passage. That tells us that we can't even imagine how God 102 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:22,240 wants to use our influence in the world that we live in. And it also tells us that it's God that 103 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:28,320 makes the difference, not our aspirations, not some organizations, not the government, not some 104 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:34,400 church organization, but it's us working side by side with brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. 105 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:38,880 And when Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica, he's giving them some incredible insights that I 106 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:44,720 think will help us today. By the way, one of the questions that I want to answer today and want you 107 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:49,840 to answer for your own life is this question. How do we live in today's America in such a way 108 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:56,400 as to change her for the better? I'm a firm believer that we've been blessed to be in America, 109 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:02,320 but I'm also a firm believer that there's more to come. There's another chapter. It needs to be 110 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:07,920 another chapter. It must be another chapter of how we interact with people and with each other in 111 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:12,720 America. As a matter of fact, what I was looking over the last few weeks thinking about this day 112 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:17,920 and this celebration that'll happen tomorrow, thinking about what I would say to you, I began 113 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:24,720 to realize that in my lifetime, I've seen at least three versions of America and three eras of 114 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:34,240 people's mindsets in the nation and how they think in general. I can remember when I was growing up, 115 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:39,440 I felt like we were in an era of responsibility. And some people that are what are called old 116 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:43,760 timers, people that have been around a long time might say, all right, I remember that era of 117 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:48,880 responsibility, that era where the big question was not what will everything, what will everyone 118 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:53,600 do for you, but what will you do for everyone else? I think it was John F. Kennedy that says, 119 00:10:53,600 --> 00:10:58,560 ask not what your country will do for you, but what you will do for your country. It's a great, 120 00:10:58,560 --> 00:11:05,200 great question to ask. And it mirrored that era of responsibility. During that era, it was a very 121 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,920 important thing for people to go into military service. It was an important thing for them to do 122 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:15,360 to serve the nation and maybe to serve other nations that were in danger. And that's just part 123 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:20,480 of what you did. I remember growing up and my father talked about being in the Navy all the time 124 00:11:20,480 --> 00:11:25,520 and I wanted to be in the armed forces. And I was actually disappointed when my hearing loss kept me 125 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:31,120 from being in the armed forces. It was an age of responsibility, an era of responsibility. 126 00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:37,280 But as I grew older, I realized that things were changing. And I think all of us do look back and 127 00:11:37,280 --> 00:11:43,200 say things did change. The seventies, the eighties, the nineties, I would call the era of rights. We 128 00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:47,680 wanted to know what our country could do for us, what others could do for us. We wanted to know 129 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:52,080 what rights do we have. I mean, if you really began to think about it, the sexual revolution 130 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,880 was taking place in the sixties and the seventies and the eighties. And really Roe v. Wade, which 131 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:02,400 we talked a bit about last week, was actually enacted to take care of those that did not want 132 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:07,520 to be responsible for what was taking place as a result of sexual freedom. And that really is what 133 00:12:07,520 --> 00:12:15,120 began that. So it was an age of looking for rights. How can I make sure that everything serves what I 134 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:20,480 want to do? And then I think in the last 20 years, we've moved into a very, very different era. I 135 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:27,440 would call the last 20 years to be an era of redefinition and reinvention. We're redefining 136 00:12:27,440 --> 00:12:33,680 terms. We're reinventing everything. And sometimes not always for the better. We're even reinventing 137 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:38,800 what is a man and what is a woman. We're reinventing gender roles. We're reinventing everything, 138 00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:45,600 trying to find some way to satisfy everyone. And my question for us today is how do we live in a 139 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:51,920 nation like that? Because how we lived in America 50 years ago is a little bit different from how 140 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:57,520 we live in America today. How do we interact? How do we deal with things like that in our nation 141 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:03,600 today as born again believers in Jesus Christ, following the same God who worked in powerful ways 142 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:08,880 hundreds and thousands of years ago? How do we do that today? And I find no better admonition than 143 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:14,880 this text we just read in 1 Thessalonians chapter five. Go back to that text for just a moment. 144 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,040 I want you to look at this with me for a moment and understand the background. 145 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:24,000 In that day and time, those in the church were citizens of God and of the Roman empire, 146 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:30,160 not America, but the Roman empire. These people had a freedom to worship, but were also told to 147 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:36,720 be tolerant of every other belief. Rome was a polytheistic nation. It was also a very immoral 148 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:43,760 nation. All kinds of immorality took place and were accepted in culture. But even though Christianity 149 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:49,040 was accepted in a big way, within 15 years of the writing of this letter, the tolerance for both 150 00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:55,840 Jews and Christians diminished. And Nero began to falsely accuse the Christians of burning down the 151 00:13:55,840 --> 00:14:01,920 city of Rome, which historians say he actually did so that he could rebuild Rome and its palaces. 152 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:07,360 And so the end result of that was Christians began to be persecuted. We find this letter written 153 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:13,200 during that age of persecution. And eventually, Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple was destroyed 154 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:18,400 as a result of all those kinds of things that were happening. So Paul is writing a letter to 155 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:25,520 this church in that era of great persecution, great difficulty, when the nation itself did not 156 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:33,280 embrace their values. And he's answering questions. How then do we live? How then do we hold our 157 00:14:33,280 --> 00:14:39,920 values, our morals? How do we worship our God? And all the admonitions I read to you a few moments 158 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:46,720 ago reflect all of that. Here's how to live till Jesus comes back, Paul says. I find it very 159 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:51,520 applicable for us today. I'm gonna break it down for you today. Three key things that we need to 160 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:56,000 be looking at today. And it's more important than it's ever been for us to live this out. 161 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:03,120 First of all, Paul talks about encouragement, encourage the people around you. This whole 162 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:09,040 package, this whole series of verses begins with verse 11 as it concludes the previous 163 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:15,360 verses and starts the next one. Therefore, encourage one another. And following that is 164 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:20,400 a list of things to actively do. This is as relevant as you and I can possibly imagine. 165 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:26,720 Things that we are supposed to do to encourage and to call out to people who need encouragement. 166 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:30,400 Now I have to tell you today, people need encouragement today. I have to tell you, 167 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:36,640 you need encouragement today. We're living in an era of more confusion and more discouragement, 168 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:41,280 more depression than I can possibly even remember over the last 50 or 60 years. 169 00:15:41,280 --> 00:15:46,640 It's really amazing how many people are giving up on life or just giving in to the temptations of 170 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:53,920 life. So encouragement is incredibly important just as it was then. It's especially important 171 00:15:53,920 --> 00:16:00,320 now. You know, the word encouragement means to call out to from alongside. That's what the word 172 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:06,160 actually means in the original language. If I were to define this word in human terms, I would point 173 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:12,720 you to the Boston Marathon and the Heartbreak Hill, which is at mile 20. Heartbreak Hill is an 174 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:17,600 incline at the end of 20 miles when they're climbing that hill in Boston and they've already 175 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:22,960 run that many miles and they just have about six more to go. But it's really literally a heartbreak 176 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:28,800 moment because they either pursue it to the top and get over the top and usually finish well after 177 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:34,240 that or they give up on Heartbreak Hill. People all over the world will fly to Boston not to run 178 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:40,320 the Boston Marathon, but to go to Heartbreak Hill and call out encouragement to people trying to 179 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:47,600 make it up on top of that hill. They call out to them while alongside them. Now that's my part of 180 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:52,160 the marathon. I'm not going to run a marathon, but I'll call out to somebody that is. And when 181 00:16:52,160 --> 00:16:56,880 they're on Heartbreak Hill, I want to say, you can do it, you can do it, you can, you can. I'll be a 182 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:02,320 cheerleader for them. But that word literally means to call out to from alongside. Paul said the church 183 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:09,440 of Jesus Christ needs to know how to encourage people that are hurting. And then he gives seven 184 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:16,160 very clear practical applications. I want you to keep your Bible open to verses 12 to 15. 185 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:21,840 And I'm going to read these and show these seven practical applications for you today. Seven ways 186 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:26,960 to encourage people. And these encouragements are not just for the church, not just for the community 187 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:33,200 of faith, but we, the community of faith, are to encourage all those around us to call out from 188 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:38,720 alongside them as we go through life. First of all, love your leaders. It begins with verse 12, 189 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:44,080 love your leaders. It says to appreciate and esteem your spiritual leaders, those that labor 190 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,640 among you. And the purpose for that is for the church to be encouraged, the leaders must be 191 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:53,680 encouraged. And so there's that simple admonition during a very persecution oriented era, 192 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:59,360 encourage your leaders. Secondly, live in peace. Verse 13. Some of us need to hear this. We live 193 00:17:59,360 --> 00:18:07,040 combative lives. We're not peacemakers. We're not peacekeepers. But the Bible says that we're to live 194 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:13,440 in peace with all people. That's verse 13. The third one is admonish the disorderly. It is important 195 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:19,600 to confront those who are irresponsible, those who are unruly. That's in verse 14. Admonish the 196 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:25,040 disorderly. Number four is to reach out to the fearful, those who are in panic, those who are 197 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:30,000 fearful, those who don't know what the next step will be in life and when the next foot will fall. 198 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:36,320 Those who are fearful of tomorrow's news, reach out to them. The fifth admonition is to help the weak. 199 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:41,840 It literally means to grab and lift them up and hold them while they are weak, provide whatever 200 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:48,560 they need in order for them to be strengthened and encouraged. Number six is a huge one. It says be 201 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:55,760 patient with all. It's an attitude command. I don't believe we live in the age of patience, do you? 202 00:18:55,760 --> 00:19:01,600 I believe we live in the age of panic. We live in the age of hurry it up. But we're supposed to be 203 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:09,120 patient with all. And then number seven, pursue good for all. That's in verse 15. Not only do we 204 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:14,320 pursue the good that we think is good for us and the church of Jesus, but we are to pursue good for 205 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:21,600 all mankind. That's a huge order that Paul gives the church at Thessalonica. When you think about 206 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:27,680 these seven ways of encouragement, ask yourself the question, can I put these into practice in my 207 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:34,880 life? Can I look around me at all the needs and become the kind of citizen of heaven while being 208 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:41,920 a citizen of our country that reflects what God says I'm supposed to reflect in these words of 209 00:19:41,920 --> 00:19:48,080 encouragement? There will always be the poor. There will always be the hurting people. The 210 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:54,400 disorderly will still be around in a hundred years just like they are now. But early Christians 211 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:59,920 didn't look to Caesar or Rome to take care of people. It was quite the opposite. The nation 212 00:19:59,920 --> 00:20:05,920 actually looked to the church because the church was willing to radically serve the culture around 213 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:12,080 them. The New Testament church was known for doing what nobody else would do. Last week I talked to 214 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:16,720 you about the million hands of culture that try to shape the way we think. I'm going to talk to you 215 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:22,080 today about the million hands of the church that really meet the needs of the culture. And I want 216 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:27,360 you to envision that with me if you would. There are hundreds of thousands of evangelical churches 217 00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:32,400 in America. You could expand that wider and wider depending on what groups you include. But there 218 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:37,680 are hundreds of thousands of organizations just like this. Millions and millions of born again 219 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:42,720 believers. Millions and millions of hands that can reach out and encourage and pick up and give 220 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:46,960 what's necessary. The pat on the back that's necessary. The word of encouragement that's 221 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:54,480 necessary. Live life so that we can encourage those around us. This passage is teaching us. 222 00:20:55,360 --> 00:20:59,920 The book of Hebrews has a great verse that talks about the church and talks about what we've been 223 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:06,320 discussing. In chapter 10 verse 23 it begins like this. It says, Let us hold fast to confession of 224 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:12,640 our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful. Let us consider how to stimulate one 225 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:18,560 another to love and good deeds. Not forsaking our own assembling together as is the habit of some, 226 00:21:18,560 --> 00:21:24,000 but encouraging one another in all the more as you see the day drawing near. As the end times come 227 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:30,240 upon us, learn to gather together. I would break that down into three phrases. Stay strong, stay 228 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:36,080 active, stay together. Let me tell you that happens when the church of Jesus learns to stay strong, 229 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:41,440 learns to stay active, learns to stay together. We move together with a powerful alignment. 230 00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:47,440 That alignment is based on what God calls us to do as the people of God. It really has ripple effects 231 00:21:47,440 --> 00:21:53,840 in changing lives. Those of you that are part of this Cross City Church, you understand how God has 232 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:58,960 worked powerfully for us to be able to impact people's lives. I'm very thankful for how he's done 233 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:04,000 that. I'll share some stories about that in just a few moments. I wonder if we would ask ourselves 234 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:09,600 the question, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, how will different needs arise and how will the 235 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:17,200 church step up to meet those needs? It's one thing to celebrate the protection of human lives, of 236 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:22,240 unborn children. It's another thing to step up and say to those who may have unplanned pregnancies, 237 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:27,680 who may otherwise be abortion minded, how will I meet these needs? How will I deal with these 238 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:35,440 challenges? So I asked a few questions about that. How will we respond? Let me give you some data 239 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:40,960 to let you know. This is our DNA. Research already shows that adoption rates among Christians are 240 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:46,720 twice that of non-Christians in the USA. So think about that for just a moment. Those who are 241 00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:53,680 professing Christians, active in local churches, adopt at twice the rate as other adults in America. 242 00:22:54,480 --> 00:22:58,640 It's because we're more than just pro-life for the unborn. It's because we're pro-whole life. 243 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:04,400 It's because we're willing to step up and change really the future of our family by adopting someone 244 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:09,440 that's in need of adoption. That's what I would call a defining moment, would it not be? When you 245 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:14,640 make the decision to do that or to foster, Christians are twice as likely as others to do 246 00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,840 that in America. Did you know that Christians give money at twice the rate other people give 247 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:26,000 for benevolent causes? For those that are hungry, those that are hurting, Christians give twice as 248 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:31,680 much than others. And the same way Christians who volunteer to help in their community do so at 249 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:37,840 greater rates than others. More than 10 years ago, we started an organization called Six Stones. 250 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:42,560 And I vividly remember a conversation with a government leader who said, one of the big 251 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:49,360 problems in our culture is that there are homes in our cities that are beyond normal repair. 252 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:55,600 They're below code. We're going to find them and they may not be able to have the money to fix the 253 00:23:55,600 --> 00:24:01,920 homes. They may be elderly, they may just be poor, don't have money. There may be a number of causes, 254 00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:08,160 but we can't fix these problems. And as a result, it's a difficult situation. And we just asked the 255 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:13,280 question, how can our church help bless our community? And here's what this government leader 256 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:19,040 said to me. He said, we do have enough money to be able to purchase materials for these homes that 257 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:24,320 are in need of repair, but we can't pay for the labor and we don't know how to find volunteers. 258 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:31,840 And I thought, I bet I can find some volunteers. Before long, this church stepped up, Six Stones 259 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:39,360 was started. And now in the last 10 years, we've rebuilt or repaired 800 homes in 10 years. 260 00:24:40,320 --> 00:24:48,960 I think that's an incredible thing. It's a picture of the church being active. It's a picture of a 261 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:53,760 church saying, there's a need out there. So we can't depend on someone else doing that, but that's our 262 00:24:53,760 --> 00:24:58,720 neighbor. That's our friend. That's someone that knows them. We're going to step up and do all that 263 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:03,920 we can. And that's what the church is known for. That's what the church should be known for. And 264 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:08,960 these days ahead, I see the need of that growing and growing and growing, but I also see the response 265 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:14,480 of that growing because we're wired to do this. We're wired to follow the compassion of Jesus, to 266 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:19,920 look at all the things that he taught us and the way he lived. We're wired to be encouragers to all 267 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:27,840 those around us. But here's some questions. Are you serving? Are you giving? Are you acting on the 268 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:34,320 needs around you? Are you encouraging those that are hurting? That's the calling we have in life. 269 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:40,720 First of all, encourage the people around you. The second principle in these verses is equally 270 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:47,520 important. Depend on the one above you. Notice what it says in verses 16 through 20, rejoice always, 271 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:53,600 pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 272 00:25:53,600 --> 00:26:01,760 Don't quench the spirit. Don't despise prophetic utterances. 29 words in five verses, very short, 273 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:08,160 very to the point, but it all points to one thing. You've got to depend on God to do the things that 274 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:15,520 God is calling you to do. Listen to this quote. For me to give, for me to rejoice, for me to pray, 275 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:20,800 and give thanks in everything, I must believe that God will work every circumstance in my life for 276 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:25,920 good. It takes faith to do those things. I mean, you can't rejoice and give thanks in everything 277 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:31,120 unless you believe God is going to bring something good out of it. You can't pray without ceasing 278 00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:36,320 unless it's just part of what your dependence is. You're depending on God for every little thing. 279 00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:41,280 You're depending on God for every little thing in life, and so you're praying without ceasing. 280 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:47,520 You can't keep from despising prophetic utterances unless you believe that if God speaks, 281 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:51,680 then it'll be the right thing to do. You're going to listen to that. You don't want to grieve his 282 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:58,800 spirit. All that says we've got to depend on God more than we ever have before. Let me just tell 283 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:04,720 you as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, as a citizen of America, I need to be walking by faith 284 00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:12,080 in how I live my citizenship at, and how I have responsibility to reflect the gospel of Jesus and 285 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:17,200 the love of God with the people that are all around me, not only in the way of encouraging them, 286 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:24,400 but depending on God to help me with that, to be led of the spirit. Every significant work 287 00:27:25,040 --> 00:27:31,440 God has done beginning in our church and beyond our church, and he has done many things, 288 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:37,840 has happened through a spiritual prompting, a spiritual prompting. 289 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:46,880 Today we have a Lionheart Academy here. One of my friends and a man that served in the church staff 290 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:54,240 years ago, Stan Dobbs, was in a hospital bed in Houston going through transfusions for his cancer, 291 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:59,920 and it didn't have a good prognosis, but Stanley had been involved in many ministries, and he'd 292 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:04,880 seen God speak to him and lead him in great ways. While he was on that hospital bed, not knowing 293 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:10,080 what his future was, he got the vision for Lionheart Academy. The vision for Lionheart 294 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:16,560 Academy was this, that we would reach a whole generation of children that only secular 295 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:22,400 organizations were attempting to reach, and that we would help them have incredible child care, 296 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:29,120 incredible early education at a high, high level, but also with the gospel of Jesus Christ alongside 297 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:34,160 that. Just a few years ago he started Lionheart Academy, and now I think there are up to 21 298 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:38,640 different academies and 21 different churches, and it won't surprise me at all if he has hundreds 299 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:44,560 and hundreds of those in the days ahead. And how did all that begin? By a spiritual prompting on 300 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:49,360 a hospital bed when he didn't know his future. He acted on that, and God has done the rest. 301 00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:55,840 Listen, that's why the church needs to be really alert to the things the Spirit is leading us to 302 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:02,160 do as individuals and as a church as a whole as we move into a new era. What I consider a new era 303 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:08,480 of the church in America, it's incredibly important that we depend on the one above us. And then 304 00:29:08,480 --> 00:29:17,040 finally, we need to discern the issues before you. These last two verses, again, are brief, 305 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:23,280 but notice what he says there. He says, examine, examine everything carefully. Hold fast to that 306 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:31,280 which is good, abstain from every form of evil. Now some of what he says here is attached to that 307 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:36,160 previous verse which says, don't despise prophetic utterances. In other words, be discerning about 308 00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:41,120 what you listen to when someone says, the Lord has told me that. But I consider that to be good 309 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:46,960 common sense as well. When someone says, God has said something to me about you, you need to use 310 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:52,800 good common sense. You need to consider it with discernment. But he's also speaking in a general 311 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:56,720 sense. He's doing this all the way through the text. This is going to affect how you look at 312 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:02,320 issues in your culture as well. It's even going to help us answer the question, how do Christians 313 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:07,360 deal with the issues in our culture? How do we help the poor and hurting? How do we meet the needs 314 00:30:07,360 --> 00:30:13,360 of the aged and sick? What about abortion? We've posed that already today. What about transgenderism? 315 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:20,480 The rise of LGBTQ? What about the border? Here it is in the simplest form. 316 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:26,800 From my perspective, we've become a nation that merely talks and votes. We do not largely see 317 00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:33,440 and act on needs in front of us as we should. But the scripture is going to encourage us to deal with 318 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:37,840 what's in front of us, not just what's on the other side of the continent. We're so concerned 319 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,400 about something we can't affect, and we're so ignorant about the things that are right here 320 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:49,040 before our very eyes. We can make a difference with those right here. God uses that in a concentric 321 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:55,840 circle effect of influence if he'll use us, if we'll let him. So how do these admonitions 322 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:01,200 respond and how we respond to them? First of all, let me say these three things about these three 323 00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:06,320 admonitions. I'm just going to break them down and use everyday language. First of all, filter 324 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:11,520 everything through scriptural truth. Let me say of all the people in the world to be confused, 325 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:16,960 Christians should be the last ones confused. Wouldn't you agree with that? I mean, if we know 326 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:22,320 who God is, let me know where truth comes from. And if we know where truth comes from, we know 327 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:28,000 what truth is. It's really important for us to filter everything that we hear, everything we see, 328 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:33,600 everything that comes across our path with scriptural truth. It literally says to weigh 329 00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:39,920 everything carefully. Truth is not changing. Truth is not relative. It's not murky. It doesn't 330 00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:45,920 contradict itself. You can know the truth. It's become very popular today because it's 331 00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:50,480 become very popular today for people to say they're deconstructing their faith, which is another way 332 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:54,560 of saying, I don't like everything that I've been told that I should believe. I don't like everything 333 00:31:54,560 --> 00:31:59,600 the Bible says. And so I'm going to deconstruct the faith. I'm going to rebuild it the way I want to 334 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:05,360 rebuild it. And it can only happen in an era where people are rejecting the biblical and traditional 335 00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:10,960 morals of the Bible. Tony Evans said it really well. He said, people don't reject the Bible because 336 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:17,200 it contradicts itself. They reject the Bible because it contradicts them and their own 337 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:24,320 perspectives. But the Bible is our truth. Filter everything from scriptural truth. 338 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:31,440 The second admonition that those verses hold is this one about what is good. Embrace and protect 339 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:38,640 what is good. Do you see the verse again? He said, hold fast to that which is good. Stand by good. 340 00:32:38,640 --> 00:32:46,000 Celebrate good. Don't be ashamed of good. Keep what is good from being threatened. It's true wherever 341 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:53,120 you are a citizen. Embrace the good. Here's what I know. I know in our culture today when some people 342 00:32:53,120 --> 00:33:00,080 stand up for good, they stand up all by themselves. And that Paul is saying, hold fast to that what is 343 00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:06,480 good. Come alongside those who want good for culture and for society. What's good for all is 344 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:13,440 worthy to be stood up for. The third admonition is move away from all forms of evil. He says, abstain 345 00:33:13,440 --> 00:33:18,880 from every form of evil. That's the actual translation. Now that's kind of tricky in an 346 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:25,200 un-Christian world, un-Christian culture. But here's what's true. Bad company still corrupts good 347 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:31,440 morals. It's incredibly important for us to be discerning. And it corrupts good morals by 348 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:37,920 practicing and excusing and rationalizing evil. And eventually we just give up and say, okay, I guess 349 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:44,560 it's all right. It's not so bad when the Bible says it's evil. It's still important to refrain from 350 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:50,720 every form of what God says is evil. So what you see and what you listen to, what you tolerate in 351 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:57,040 your life, what you think about, what you defend, what you lobby for, all those things are covered 352 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:03,360 under this blanket umbrella. Embrace what is good and abstain from what is evil. 353 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:09,440 Now the church should never be a political machine, but we do have to represent truth when our nation 354 00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:16,240 and our community makes decisions because we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ. We're ambassadors of 355 00:34:16,240 --> 00:34:23,280 the word of God. And if we think truth is best, best not only for us, but God's best for people 356 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:30,400 everywhere. Why would we be silent when it counts? And beyond that, making decisions and voting is 357 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:36,480 not all we're called to. We're called to see the needs around us and act in the spirit of Christ. 358 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:40,640 And by the way, we're the only people group that I know of that will actually do that. 359 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:45,440 He will say, we believe in meeting needs. We believe in the power of Christ and His provision. 360 00:34:45,440 --> 00:34:53,680 We believe we are to help meet those needs. All the way back in 1 John, John, the disciple of love, 361 00:34:53,680 --> 00:34:58,960 gives us advice to the church. I just love what it says. It says, but whoever has the world's 362 00:34:58,960 --> 00:35:03,200 goods and see his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide 363 00:35:03,200 --> 00:35:08,880 in him? And then the practical application is so good. Little children, let us not love with word 364 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:16,320 or with tongue, but indeed and truth. In other words, don't just talk about it. Don't try to get 365 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:24,480 somebody else to meet the need. You love by your actions and by your truth. And when one believer 366 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:32,160 does this and acts upon this passage and loves indeed and truth, then another and then another, 367 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:37,360 when a church makes a big commitment to those in need and then another and then another, 368 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:42,160 God raises up still more of this group and that group. And before long, all are acting 369 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:48,080 in encouraging ways, all depending on God, all are discerning the issues and being on the right side 370 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:52,960 of God's truth, which is the only place we can be. And that's when we're sought and light. 371 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:57,520 That's when the gospel of Jesus Christ begins to be very evident. These people are not here for 372 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:04,160 themselves. They're here for the living God and they're here to represent Him to us. That's our 373 00:36:04,160 --> 00:36:11,680 calling. In early Rome, you may not know this fact, but in early Rome, Christians made up less than 374 00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:20,160 1% of the population, yet they had a profound impact on the culture. By 100 AD, they could only 375 00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:27,680 count 7,000 Christians in the whole civilization. That's not very many Christians, 7,000, that's it. 376 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:35,360 And yet, because Christians lived in such a winsome, loving, authentic way, they had a profound 377 00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:40,880 impact on the culture. They did things that others wouldn't do. They took care of those that had gone 378 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:46,720 down in a plague and those who were sick were left by their own family members and Christians 379 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:51,360 would come back and take care of them. They lived in such a way where Christ's teachings were 380 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:58,320 exemplified, it became acceptable and even desirable to be a Christian because of that 381 00:36:58,320 --> 00:37:06,000 winsome way of life. By 350 AD, just 250 years later, there were over 30 million followers of 382 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:12,800 Christ with huge influence in the world. Why? Because it's a superior way to live, mirroring 383 00:37:12,800 --> 00:37:18,160 and following the life of Jesus Christ. That's why. Because there's power in that kind of living. 384 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:24,320 There's power in that kind of love. There's power in those kinds of actions that meet needs that are 385 00:37:24,320 --> 00:37:29,200 right in front of us for the cause of Christ, for the gospel of Christ. When I read that kind of 386 00:37:29,200 --> 00:37:35,680 thing, I say, we should do this again. We should live this out. We should go out and live it out 387 00:37:35,680 --> 00:37:42,800 locally and let it impact the world globally. You may be listening to me today and saying, you know, 388 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:47,920 I'm glad you have great optimism. I don't share your optimism. Let me just say this to you. You 389 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:55,040 don't see what God is doing in many parts of the world. But if you were able to see it, you would 390 00:37:55,040 --> 00:38:02,000 share my optimism. God is still at work. He's still the same God. He still works the same way. 391 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:07,120 Human nature hasn't changed and He's still able to meet the needs of those around us. 392 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:12,640 If we would just let Him work through us, be an encourager, depend on the God of the universe, 393 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:21,520 and then you reach out, discern the things around you, and act as an ambassador of Jesus Christ. 394 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:28,240 In just a few moments, we're going to have a time of dismissal. I have a couple of invitations for 395 00:38:28,240 --> 00:38:33,680 you today. One of those invitations is to come to Christ if you haven't already. 396 00:38:33,680 --> 00:38:38,880 If you haven't seen and realized what Jesus did on the cross for you, and maybe you've never had 397 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:44,560 a moment in your life where you said, I want to be forgiven of my sin. I want to have forgiveness 398 00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:49,520 that God promises to Christ. Then we can talk to you about that. We can have a conversation with 399 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:54,080 you. You can put your faith in Christ today. I would encourage you to do that today. Not later, 400 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:59,520 not tomorrow, not next week, now. We have decision stations that are set up for those kinds of 401 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:05,760 conversations. Please stop by, talk to somebody. Say, I'm having questions about my faith in Jesus 402 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:11,040 today. So stop by and talk to them about anything, but certainly about that. The second invitation 403 00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:16,000 is I would love to meet you if you're a guest. We have a guest reception center that's just 404 00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:20,960 outside our center exit doors and across the hallway. Take a moment to drop in. Let me say 405 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:25,360 hello to you. Let me welcome you to our services today at the Cross City Church. 406 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:31,920 Would you stand with me as we have this closing word of prayer? Father, today I am so thankful 407 00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:36,400 for all the many things we've talked about today. Thankful to live in this country. 408 00:39:36,400 --> 00:39:42,160 Thankful to be a part of the church of Jesus Christ. Father, I'm thankful for the faith 409 00:39:42,720 --> 00:39:49,440 that has been true through the ages and for the remembrance that you never change. You're just as 410 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:55,040 powerful today as you always have been. Father, I want to thank you today that you call us to do 411 00:39:55,040 --> 00:40:01,200 something in our nation at this time. You call us to be active. You call us to be involved, to 412 00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:07,600 encourage, to build up people, to meet needs. And Lord, help us do that together. Father, I ask you 413 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:13,600 today to give us a spirit of optimism and trust as well as gratitude. And then Lord, help us to do 414 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:18,560 something about the things we're concerned about. So today, Lord, we commit ourselves to you into 415 00:40:18,560 --> 00:40:44,320 that. And we ask this in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.