WEBVTT 00:00:09.900 --> 00:00:12.300 Thank you for listening to this message from 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:23.539 Lifehouse Church. Isn't that awesome? Yeah. I'm 00:00:23.539 --> 00:00:25.280 going to ask you if Brent and Bethany would make 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:27.960 their way up on the stage here with little Vera. 00:00:28.059 --> 00:00:31.879 They got James in tow as well. Amazing family. 00:00:32.100 --> 00:00:34.359 If they can come around to this side. They don't 00:00:34.359 --> 00:00:36.219 want to see me. They want to see you all. So 00:00:36.219 --> 00:00:38.939 we want to get you up here. But we are honored 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:45.840 today. Vera was born 12 -26 of 2024 and continues 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:48.990 to be pure joy. to her parents and to her family 00:00:48.990 --> 00:00:52.549 and friends that are here. And it's so good to 00:00:52.549 --> 00:00:54.409 have them here. Children are amazing, aren't 00:00:54.409 --> 00:00:56.490 they? They're awesome. It really is true. They're 00:00:56.490 --> 00:00:58.329 an amazing gift from God. They're amazing to 00:00:58.329 --> 00:01:01.729 watch, to observe, to be with the moment they're 00:01:01.729 --> 00:01:04.629 born until they grow and be adults, you know, 00:01:04.650 --> 00:01:07.810 and leave the home. It's an amazing thing to 00:01:07.810 --> 00:01:11.310 watch children just change and go from stage 00:01:11.310 --> 00:01:13.870 to stage to stage. That first year in particular. 00:01:14.409 --> 00:01:16.569 And it is the baby moments that are particularly 00:01:16.569 --> 00:01:19.450 incredible. How they use their entire bodies 00:01:19.450 --> 00:01:23.150 to yawn and stretch, right, is an amazing thing. 00:01:23.230 --> 00:01:25.469 The first time they laugh out loud, we just go 00:01:25.469 --> 00:01:27.950 crazy. We do, right? The first time they look 00:01:27.950 --> 00:01:30.250 up with that trust in their eyes to mom and dad, 00:01:30.349 --> 00:01:33.810 and just you can see it in their faces. The first 00:01:33.810 --> 00:01:36.510 time they crawl. And, you know, all those first 00:01:36.510 --> 00:01:39.629 moments. And Brent and Bethany, God has blessed 00:01:39.629 --> 00:01:43.159 you. This beautiful little girl and giving you 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:45.620 so many of those moments and we'll continue to 00:01:45.620 --> 00:01:48.519 do that. So today, Brent and Bethany are acknowledging 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:51.420 that these moments are from God and that Vera 00:01:51.420 --> 00:01:54.439 was in God's hands long before she was in theirs. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:58.019 Today is a public declaration. It's about dedicating 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:01.180 Vera. back to God. And that's what they're doing 00:02:01.180 --> 00:02:04.359 here today as parents. Children are a gift from 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:05.980 God. The word of God tells us this. They're on 00:02:05.980 --> 00:02:09.120 loan to us. In Isaiah 40, 42, it says, thus says 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:11.659 the Lord who made you and formed you from the 00:02:11.659 --> 00:02:14.500 womb, who will help you and keep you. Fear not. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:18.520 It is the Lord who formed Vera in the womb. It 00:02:18.520 --> 00:02:21.009 is the Lord who will help Brent. And Bethany 00:02:21.009 --> 00:02:23.870 continued to aid them in forming and shaping 00:02:23.870 --> 00:02:27.169 her character and who she sees God to be. And 00:02:27.169 --> 00:02:30.129 we read this in several accounts in God's word 00:02:30.129 --> 00:02:32.990 that God knew us, right, before we were even 00:02:32.990 --> 00:02:35.949 born. God speaks this to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 00:02:35.949 --> 00:02:38.610 1, verse 4. It says, And the word of the Lord 00:02:38.610 --> 00:02:41.729 came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the 00:02:41.729 --> 00:02:45.210 womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I sanctified 00:02:45.210 --> 00:02:48.349 you. I ordained you a prophet to the nations. 00:02:49.050 --> 00:02:52.469 The Creator knows us before He even forms us, 00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:54.870 and He knows what He's ordained us to do, and 00:02:54.870 --> 00:02:57.710 He's done that for Vera. He knew before she was 00:02:57.710 --> 00:03:00.030 a twinkle in your eye, before the plans were 00:03:00.030 --> 00:03:02.189 made, right? He knew before you were longing 00:03:02.189 --> 00:03:04.569 to have another child. He knew before either 00:03:04.569 --> 00:03:07.349 of you even thought of all this, before you had 00:03:07.349 --> 00:03:09.830 any idea who Vera would be and what she would 00:03:09.830 --> 00:03:13.139 grow up to become, right? God knew Vera, and 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:15.759 God saw fit to place her in your loving and caring 00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:18.719 arms and hands. He's trusted you, right? The 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:21.819 plans that he has for her, he's trusted you to 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:24.659 unfold that. The plans for her to grow up and 00:03:24.659 --> 00:03:26.740 what she's going to become is entrusted to you 00:03:26.740 --> 00:03:29.120 to help her develop and know that, right? The 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:31.539 things that she walks in and the things that 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:34.219 she will one day do. And the beautiful part of 00:03:34.219 --> 00:03:37.219 all this is that he has picked you two to help 00:03:37.219 --> 00:03:39.280 her discover that and to help her walk in that 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:42.389 path. Also, children are a gift. The word of 00:03:42.389 --> 00:03:45.289 God tells us that. In Psalms 127 .3, children 00:03:45.289 --> 00:03:48.849 are a gift from God. They are a reward from him. 00:03:49.229 --> 00:03:51.229 Remember that when Vera is screaming at three 00:03:51.229 --> 00:03:53.949 in the morning. She's a gift from God. You just 00:03:53.949 --> 00:03:56.169 got to say it, right? Just keep mumbling it to 00:03:56.169 --> 00:03:58.490 yourself. Just say it over and over. She's a 00:03:58.490 --> 00:04:00.830 gift from God. She's a gift from God. Remember 00:04:00.830 --> 00:04:03.949 it a few years from now when she sasses back 00:04:03.949 --> 00:04:06.849 for the very first time. She's a gift from God, 00:04:06.909 --> 00:04:09.370 right? When she's in junior high and she looks 00:04:09.370 --> 00:04:11.430 at you like she knows far more than you ever 00:04:11.430 --> 00:04:15.009 have or ever will know, right? She's a gift from 00:04:15.009 --> 00:04:18.389 God, right? When she drags some boy home to meet 00:04:18.389 --> 00:04:20.389 the parents and you're thinking, just leave that 00:04:20.389 --> 00:04:22.769 back at the curb wherever you found it, right? 00:04:23.430 --> 00:04:26.290 She's a gift from God. She's a gift from God. 00:04:26.329 --> 00:04:28.509 Say it because it's true. Say it because it's 00:04:28.509 --> 00:04:31.149 what you prayed for. And say it because God has 00:04:31.149 --> 00:04:33.649 gifted you today with his amazing children, right? 00:04:33.810 --> 00:04:37.180 Say it out loud. So that is the, and here's the 00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:38.660 thing about a gift. The amazing thing about a 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:40.899 gift is a gift is meant to be received, which 00:04:40.899 --> 00:04:43.060 you have received this amazing gift, but it's 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:45.779 also meant to be given. So one day when she's 00:04:45.779 --> 00:04:48.399 grown, you're going to give her back to this 00:04:48.399 --> 00:04:50.779 world so God can use the gifts and abilities 00:04:50.779 --> 00:04:52.939 in her. Just kind of really feel prompted with 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:56.029 that. And today that God's going to. Give her 00:04:56.029 --> 00:04:57.389 gifts and abilities, and you're going to get 00:04:57.389 --> 00:05:00.730 to witness that and give that back in her life. 00:05:00.850 --> 00:05:02.529 So today I'm going to ask you to publicly respond 00:05:02.529 --> 00:05:04.709 to this commitment that I charged you with by 00:05:04.709 --> 00:05:07.610 answering the question with we do. Do you recognize 00:05:07.610 --> 00:05:09.829 that Vera is a precious gift given to you from 00:05:09.829 --> 00:05:12.050 the Lord, and do you stand ready to dedicate 00:05:12.050 --> 00:05:15.389 her back to the Lord's work so it can be manifested 00:05:15.389 --> 00:05:18.329 in her life? And if you're there, just say we 00:05:18.329 --> 00:05:20.560 do. All right, we do. You're doing a great job, 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:23.040 Dad. All right, he's juggling up here, right? 00:05:23.579 --> 00:05:25.779 Family and church, do you stand ready to support, 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:29.519 and are you willing as a family and a support 00:05:29.519 --> 00:05:32.680 system for Brent and Bethany both to support 00:05:32.680 --> 00:05:36.060 them in every way as they lead Vera to follow 00:05:36.060 --> 00:05:39.040 God's path? If you are, say, we're willing. All 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:40.980 right, so I'm going to ask you, church, to stand, 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:45.180 and as you stand. Tim, if you would come. Team 00:05:45.180 --> 00:05:47.459 Wheeler is coming. Tim's coming for a couple 00:05:47.459 --> 00:05:49.360 reasons. One, he's grandpa. What do they call 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:53.600 you? Pap. This is Pap. Say hi, Pap. All right. 00:05:53.660 --> 00:05:56.519 This is Pap. Pap's coming because he's Pap. But 00:05:56.519 --> 00:05:58.879 he's also a minister of the gospel of Jesus. 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:01.879 And he's going to make a few comments as Pap 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:04.959 and then pray a prayer of dedication over here. 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:07.519 Well, children, indeed are a blessing. Thanks 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.699 for your words, Kip. Those are excellent. Really 00:06:09.699 --> 00:06:12.199 appreciate those reminders about our responsibility 00:06:12.199 --> 00:06:14.019 before the Lord, but the great blessing that 00:06:14.019 --> 00:06:17.360 these children are to us. And the multiple children 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:19.720 that we have and grandchildren, and it's a blessing 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:23.459 to be a part of God's plan in being able to just 00:06:23.459 --> 00:06:26.899 live lives before them. That will be a testimony. 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:30.000 Yeah, absolutely. All right. Church, if you would, 00:06:30.040 --> 00:06:31.639 I want you to extend your hand this way. And 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:33.879 if you would, Tim, lead in prayer of dedication 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:38.449 over Vera. Father God, we... come before you 00:06:38.449 --> 00:06:41.110 now and we give, first of all, just great thanks 00:06:41.110 --> 00:06:44.529 to you for this little one. For Vera and her 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:48.410 life, for all that is in the future, we thank 00:06:48.410 --> 00:06:53.550 you. And Father, the words that I think of is 00:06:53.550 --> 00:06:55.629 your spirit just gave these to me this morning, 00:06:55.689 --> 00:06:58.889 Lord, to remember. Lord, my prayer is that you 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:01.470 would bless her and that you would keep her. 00:07:02.089 --> 00:07:07.670 Oh God in heaven, lift up your face on her. And 00:07:07.670 --> 00:07:11.310 be gracious to her. Gracious with the gift of 00:07:11.310 --> 00:07:13.790 salvation, with the calling, with the drawing 00:07:13.790 --> 00:07:15.730 through the Spirit of God. That she would come 00:07:15.730 --> 00:07:18.050 to know you. And then that she would continue 00:07:18.050 --> 00:07:21.910 to grow in grace and the knowledge of who you 00:07:21.910 --> 00:07:25.750 are. Father, that you would lift up your countenance, 00:07:25.750 --> 00:07:29.310 your being, and turn towards her in relationship. 00:07:30.310 --> 00:07:33.029 And that in that relationship, Lord, that you 00:07:33.029 --> 00:07:36.459 would give her peace, that shalom. that complete 00:07:36.459 --> 00:07:40.800 fulfillment of life. May she be a blessing to 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:43.980 those around her, to her parents, to all of the 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:46.839 family, to the church. And Father, for those 00:07:46.839 --> 00:07:49.639 of us around her life, for mom and dad, for James, 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:53.240 as they live before her every day, for great 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:56.420 -grandparents and grandparents, for our church 00:07:56.420 --> 00:08:01.399 family as we live an example, for... pastors 00:08:01.399 --> 00:08:04.579 and teachers that will impact her life. God, 00:08:04.660 --> 00:08:08.199 give to us what we need to be a blessing and 00:08:08.199 --> 00:08:11.579 to help this young lady grow into all that you 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:14.540 have planned for her. And all this we pray in 00:08:14.540 --> 00:08:18.060 faith. Spirit, thank you for the gifts you give 00:08:18.060 --> 00:08:21.120 us. And all this we pray in the name of our Savior, 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:25.920 Jesus Christ. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.259 so much. That's awesome. Can you give him a hand? 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:33.519 And at the same time, he may be seated. We do 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:35.240 have a little something that we love to give 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:38.139 the parents each and every time we do this. And 00:08:38.139 --> 00:08:41.700 this is important to me because it represents 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:45.080 really what the love of God is all about. And 00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:48.039 it's three roses. I'm going to give these three 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:50.659 roses to you. And if you see, they're different 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:53.100 colors. First, there's the white rose, which 00:08:53.100 --> 00:08:55.690 represents the love of Jesus, our Savior. And 00:08:55.690 --> 00:08:57.590 really, there's no greater love that anyone can 00:08:57.590 --> 00:09:00.129 experience other than the love of Christ in our 00:09:00.129 --> 00:09:02.870 lives. The second one is a red rose, and that 00:09:02.870 --> 00:09:05.649 represents the parents' love. And in conjunction 00:09:05.649 --> 00:09:11.090 with Jesus, you work and live and move to be 00:09:11.090 --> 00:09:13.250 a part of Vera's life, which is the pink. It's 00:09:13.250 --> 00:09:16.009 a mixture of the two, and to raise her up. So 00:09:16.009 --> 00:09:19.450 we love and appreciate your family, and we want 00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:21.210 you just to have this as a representation. You're 00:09:21.210 --> 00:09:23.169 going to do this, man. He's got two hands. I 00:09:23.169 --> 00:09:25.590 told you, he's going to juggle it all. Also, 00:09:25.750 --> 00:09:28.129 we have this Beginner's Bible. We love this Bible. 00:09:28.389 --> 00:09:31.529 There's actually great stories in here, stories 00:09:31.529 --> 00:09:33.549 of the Bible that are at a level for a child. 00:09:33.769 --> 00:09:35.830 So we want the Word of God to be first and foremost, 00:09:36.009 --> 00:09:38.450 which I know you both care about that deeply, 00:09:38.629 --> 00:09:41.289 and then also a certificate to commemorate the 00:09:41.289 --> 00:09:43.590 day. So thank you for being a part of this. Thank 00:09:43.590 --> 00:09:47.169 you for doing this. as an example. And we just 00:09:47.169 --> 00:09:49.009 love and appreciate it so much. So would you 00:09:49.009 --> 00:09:53.470 give them a hand as they return back? Love these 00:09:53.470 --> 00:09:59.690 families. Absolutely. God's so good. Again, love 00:09:59.690 --> 00:10:02.610 the opportunity to be a part of something so 00:10:02.610 --> 00:10:07.129 amazing and being a part of families and being 00:10:07.129 --> 00:10:08.929 a part of this. And I appreciate the family and 00:10:08.929 --> 00:10:11.210 all the support that came along. They got a whole 00:10:11.210 --> 00:10:12.970 section. They got a cheering section back there, 00:10:13.049 --> 00:10:16.029 which is awesome. We love that and love seeing 00:10:16.029 --> 00:10:17.690 that and that support because that's what it 00:10:17.690 --> 00:10:19.789 takes. It really does. We believe in community 00:10:19.789 --> 00:10:21.789 here at Lifehouse. It's one of the things we 00:10:21.789 --> 00:10:24.509 strongly talk about. So appreciate you all so 00:10:24.509 --> 00:10:27.649 much. Well, listen, this is the last week of 00:10:27.649 --> 00:10:30.710 a message series that I have called Salty. Say 00:10:30.710 --> 00:10:34.929 salty. Salty. All month long, as this is week 00:10:34.929 --> 00:10:37.210 five, you've been learning about what it means 00:10:37.210 --> 00:10:40.309 to personally share the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:10:40.570 --> 00:10:43.830 And we use this acrostic, this word salty, hopefully 00:10:43.830 --> 00:10:46.029 so it sticks in your spirit. Hopefully this is 00:10:46.029 --> 00:10:48.070 something you can put in your pocket, take with 00:10:48.070 --> 00:10:50.190 you and pull out anytime you're thinking about 00:10:50.190 --> 00:10:53.070 sharing the gospel. And it's really this. They're 00:10:53.070 --> 00:10:55.309 going to put it up on the screen. S is start 00:10:55.309 --> 00:10:58.899 a conversation. Say start a conversation. Come 00:10:58.899 --> 00:11:01.639 on. You're going to ask good questions. You're 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:04.259 going to L. You're going to listen to understand 00:11:04.259 --> 00:11:06.320 and not just respond to somebody. You're going 00:11:06.320 --> 00:11:08.559 to understand the person that you're talking 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.580 to, right? And then last week was tell. We're 00:11:11.580 --> 00:11:13.740 going to tell the story of Jesus. We're going 00:11:13.740 --> 00:11:16.820 to thread God's story through our story or through 00:11:16.820 --> 00:11:18.919 whatever we're speaking. We want to make sure 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:21.639 that we're conveying in the conversation Jesus. 00:11:21.980 --> 00:11:24.840 And this week is the last one, which is the why, 00:11:25.100 --> 00:11:29.519 which is you. You. Take a finger right now. I'm 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:31.000 gonna let you do something that your parents 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.600 told you don't do. You're gonna point, all right? 00:11:34.419 --> 00:11:35.720 Anybody's parents ever tell you don't point at 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:38.360 people? Yeah, mine did. All right, I want you 00:11:38.360 --> 00:11:40.080 to point at yourself. You can do it, this is 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.039 legal. Point at yourself and say, you can do 00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:45.240 this. You can do this, come on. You gotta encourage 00:11:45.240 --> 00:11:47.679 yourself like David in the Lord. You can do this, 00:11:47.679 --> 00:11:50.320 right? You can share the gospel with Jesus Christ. 00:11:50.830 --> 00:11:54.429 You can lift up his name because God told us 00:11:54.429 --> 00:11:57.309 to do this because Jesus commissioned us to do 00:11:57.309 --> 00:11:59.889 this. And if he told you to do something, he 00:11:59.889 --> 00:12:02.990 will empower you and he will enable you to do 00:12:02.990 --> 00:12:05.629 it. Philippians 4 .10 says this, and this is 00:12:05.629 --> 00:12:08.309 a familiar piece of scripture, 10 through 13. 00:12:08.389 --> 00:12:10.549 It says this, and Paul wrote this, the apostle 00:12:10.549 --> 00:12:13.230 Paul says, I know how to be abased, which means 00:12:13.230 --> 00:12:15.809 to be brought low. And I know how to abound. 00:12:16.389 --> 00:12:18.669 Everywhere in all things, I've learned both to 00:12:18.669 --> 00:12:22.679 be full. and to be hungry, both to abound and 00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:24.299 to suffer need. That means in all conditions, 00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:29.399 right? I can do all things through Christ. That's 00:12:29.399 --> 00:12:32.230 the key right there, who strengthens me. You 00:12:32.230 --> 00:12:35.610 can do anything in Jesus. If it's his will, if 00:12:35.610 --> 00:12:38.889 it's his purpose in your life, if you believe 00:12:38.889 --> 00:12:42.210 in faith, you can do whatever God calls you to 00:12:42.210 --> 00:12:44.750 do. So if you walked into this place this morning 00:12:44.750 --> 00:12:47.309 with zero confidence that you could share the 00:12:47.309 --> 00:12:49.470 gospel one -on -one with somebody confidently, 00:12:49.669 --> 00:12:51.570 right? If you've walked in and you're thinking, 00:12:51.610 --> 00:12:53.830 there's no way I can ever do this, I'm just gonna 00:12:53.830 --> 00:12:56.029 listen to the message, come back next week, hopefully 00:12:56.029 --> 00:12:58.149 he's preaching about something else, right? Well, 00:12:58.230 --> 00:13:00.470 if you're in that place, I'm here to say awesome. 00:13:00.860 --> 00:13:02.340 Because you're in the perfect spot, you're in 00:13:02.340 --> 00:13:04.659 the perfect position for God's strength to come 00:13:04.659 --> 00:13:08.320 alive in you. Because 2 Corinthians 12, 7 says 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:10.620 this, and he said to them, my grace is sufficient 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:12.960 to you for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 00:13:13.299 --> 00:13:15.659 It's in our weakness where God works the strongest. 00:13:15.700 --> 00:13:19.279 Amen? How many are happy about that? I am, right? 00:13:19.460 --> 00:13:22.200 It's in our weakness. I can do nothing in me, 00:13:22.299 --> 00:13:25.000 but I can do everything in him. And when Jesus 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:27.860 walked this earth, he gave us everything we need 00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:31.080 to do everything he called us to do. He provided 00:13:31.080 --> 00:13:34.460 salvation through a sacrifice at the cross. He 00:13:34.460 --> 00:13:37.899 sent the Holy Spirit to empower us. He gave us 00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:41.139 living examples in his word of how we should 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:43.600 walk things out. He gave us the keys to literally 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:46.879 overcome in every area of our life, physically, 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.659 mentally, socially, emotionally, financially, 00:13:50.019 --> 00:13:53.039 relationally, spiritually. He's given us the 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:57.679 keys. And Hebrews 12, one. confirms this. It 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:12.919 says this, Jesus is the author and he is the 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:27.889 finisher. of everything we need. He is the beginning. 00:14:28.110 --> 00:14:30.710 He is the end. He is the alpha. He is the omega. 00:14:30.889 --> 00:14:34.009 He is the bright and the morning star. He did 00:14:34.009 --> 00:14:38.190 not miss a thing when he empowered us to serve 00:14:38.190 --> 00:14:43.919 him. Nothing in him is incomplete. provided everything, 00:14:44.139 --> 00:14:46.600 the finished product for all that we would need 00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:49.720 at the cross and at the resurrection. It's everything 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:52.139 that we would need to experience life, everything 00:14:52.139 --> 00:14:54.019 that we would need to step through and do what 00:14:54.019 --> 00:14:58.019 he has asked us to do. We have an all -inclusive 00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:02.120 package in Jesus, all right? How many of you 00:15:02.120 --> 00:15:04.580 have ever had an all -inclusive package in something? 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:07.120 How many of you have ever done an all -inclusive 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:10.490 vacation? Maybe an all -inclusive order of some 00:15:10.490 --> 00:15:13.590 kind that you got, right? I got to tell you, 00:15:13.590 --> 00:15:16.269 more than once, I've needed this in my life. 00:15:16.629 --> 00:15:19.289 I've shared this many times from this platform 00:15:19.289 --> 00:15:22.950 that my cooking skills and my baking skills are 00:15:22.950 --> 00:15:26.029 highly limited, okay? That's being generous, 00:15:26.110 --> 00:15:29.929 actually, all right? They're weak, to put it 00:15:29.929 --> 00:15:35.269 truthfully. I can cook mildly, just a few things, 00:15:35.429 --> 00:15:37.590 right? And here's the thing. My wife's an amazing 00:15:37.590 --> 00:15:39.889 cook. She's an amazing baker. She's incredible 00:15:39.889 --> 00:15:42.529 at it. I'm the recipient of all that. I love 00:15:42.529 --> 00:15:46.669 every second of it. But here's the problem. She's 00:15:46.669 --> 00:15:48.830 also a tax preparer. She has her own tax business. 00:15:48.929 --> 00:15:51.669 And in tax season, I don't see her for a couple 00:15:51.669 --> 00:15:54.500 weeks. She's knee deep in paper, actually head 00:15:54.500 --> 00:15:58.039 deep in paper and numbers, and she's gone. And 00:15:58.039 --> 00:16:01.559 if my children and my in -laws, if my son -in 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:03.480 -laws don't take pity on me, sometimes they do. 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:05.720 They bring meals during that time, which is amazing, 00:16:05.820 --> 00:16:07.779 right? I will eat anything that's left over, 00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:11.720 anything, right? But for those few occasions 00:16:11.720 --> 00:16:14.500 that they can, they have this thing called HelloFresh. 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.740 Anybody ever hear of that? Yeah. It's an all 00:16:17.740 --> 00:16:20.860 -inclusive meal package. I love it. It comes 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:23.100 with all this stuff. It has instructions for 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:25.440 dummies like me, right, that tells you every 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:28.700 little thing to do. And I can actually cook something 00:16:28.700 --> 00:16:31.840 that's edible if I have a HelloFresh meal because 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:35.480 it's all -inclusive. It's ready to go. I can 00:16:35.480 --> 00:16:38.559 prepare that. You can do this. Jesus has given 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:41.299 you everything you need to be salty in the world 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:44.019 that's around you. You can do this. He's provided 00:16:44.019 --> 00:16:47.440 everything that we need in every kind of way. 00:16:47.580 --> 00:16:50.320 You can do it. Point at yourself one more time 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:52.159 and say, you can do it. Go ahead, do it right 00:16:52.159 --> 00:16:53.919 now. I'm watching you. I'll just wait till you're 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:58.960 done. Okay, you can do it. You can do it. And 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:01.440 on this last message, I wanna give you just a 00:17:01.440 --> 00:17:05.259 few biblical perspectives on personally sharing 00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:09.220 our faith, being salty. Being salty. And maybe 00:17:09.220 --> 00:17:12.579 shift your perspective just a little bit because 00:17:12.579 --> 00:17:16.619 our perspective always changes how we approach 00:17:16.619 --> 00:17:20.059 something. Our perspective always shifts the 00:17:20.059 --> 00:17:23.180 lens that we see through, the filter that we 00:17:23.180 --> 00:17:25.220 go through in life. And if you don't believe 00:17:25.220 --> 00:17:26.980 me in this, go ahead and experiment a little 00:17:26.980 --> 00:17:28.960 bit with this this week. Here's what I'll ask 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:32.480 you to do. Walk into a place sometime in a private 00:17:32.480 --> 00:17:34.920 setting or even a public setting completely dressed 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:37.259 different than you normally dress. All right. 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:39.960 And how many know everybody else's perspective 00:17:39.960 --> 00:17:43.509 of you will change? It's true. It's true. I can 00:17:43.509 --> 00:17:44.809 tell you some different things you could wear 00:17:44.809 --> 00:17:48.009 that would change the perspective of what people 00:17:48.009 --> 00:17:50.890 see. A few months back, I had the opportunity 00:17:50.890 --> 00:17:53.269 to go into a rehab center. I was going for a 00:17:53.269 --> 00:17:55.990 pastoral visit. That's what pastors do. One of 00:17:55.990 --> 00:17:57.430 the things we do is somebody will call and say, 00:17:57.529 --> 00:17:59.650 hey, can you go to see so -and -so in the hospital 00:17:59.650 --> 00:18:02.589 or in the rehab unit? So I went to this rehab 00:18:02.589 --> 00:18:05.710 unit. And usually when I go to a rehab unit or 00:18:05.710 --> 00:18:09.250 a hospital visit, I wear a jacket, right? I try 00:18:09.250 --> 00:18:11.180 to put some clothes on that looks like like I'm 00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:13.160 pastoralist in nature. I don't even sure what 00:18:13.160 --> 00:18:15.539 that is, but you're right. It's a pastor. Well, 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:17.599 this particular day, I didn't have a jacket and 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:19.940 I came into this rehab center and there was this 00:18:19.940 --> 00:18:23.640 little lady, elderly lady, very elderly lady 00:18:23.640 --> 00:18:26.559 behind the reception desk. And she looked at 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:29.000 me and I said, I'm here for a pastoral visit. 00:18:29.240 --> 00:18:32.579 And she looked me up. She looked me down. She 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:35.559 looked me up. She looked me down. And I saw the 00:18:35.559 --> 00:18:40.660 doubt in her eye. And she goes, do you have any 00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:45.099 ID? Not driver's license, like pass or ID. I 00:18:45.099 --> 00:18:47.140 said, well, matter of fact, I do. You know, so 00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:50.160 I pulled out my ID and I showed her my ID and 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:53.500 she looked me up and she looked me down and she 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:55.779 almost shook her head like this. Like, I guess 00:18:55.779 --> 00:18:57.900 I'm going to have to sign them in right for this. 00:18:58.140 --> 00:19:01.150 She didn't believe me. And it was just because 00:19:01.150 --> 00:19:04.470 of the way I was dressed that day. She wasn't 00:19:04.470 --> 00:19:07.430 buying in. And she had a perspective as soon 00:19:07.430 --> 00:19:09.809 as I came in the door. She had a perspective. 00:19:09.990 --> 00:19:12.069 There was a lens, there was a filter she was 00:19:12.069 --> 00:19:14.690 looking at me through. So our perspective can 00:19:14.690 --> 00:19:18.069 shift things. And how we approach sharing the 00:19:18.069 --> 00:19:20.309 gospel with someone, if our perspective is off. 00:19:21.019 --> 00:19:24.119 We're not gonna approach it the right way. And 00:19:24.119 --> 00:19:25.779 here's a couple of things that we gave you. The 00:19:25.779 --> 00:19:27.400 first thing I wanna give you this morning is 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:30.140 this, sharing our faith is not a spiritual event, 00:19:30.279 --> 00:19:33.680 but it is a spiritual investment, okay? Small 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:37.099 tweak, small shift in perspective, but sharing 00:19:37.099 --> 00:19:40.579 our faith is not a spiritual event. It is a spiritual 00:19:40.579 --> 00:19:43.539 investment. Sometimes we look at sharing our 00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:47.039 faith and an invitation to someone like it's 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.799 an event, right? Like it's a checklist kind of 00:19:49.799 --> 00:19:52.559 thing. Like I need to invite somebody to God's 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.980 house and I need to invite somebody to know Jesus 00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:58.039 and I got to check it off my Christian spiritual 00:19:58.039 --> 00:20:00.619 checklist, right? Kind of thing. And listen, 00:20:00.740 --> 00:20:02.460 don't get me wrong. I understand that there are 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:04.440 spiritual events that we celebrate. There really 00:20:04.440 --> 00:20:06.440 are. There are things here that we celebrate. 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:09.779 When somebody makes a decision for Jesus, that's 00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:11.700 what these orange balls are all about over here. 00:20:11.779 --> 00:20:13.700 And we had 12 of them this week. Praise God. 00:20:13.920 --> 00:20:16.299 Come on, you can give him a hand for that. Yeah, 00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:19.789 12 of them this week. When somebody, that's an 00:20:19.789 --> 00:20:22.509 event that took place, spiritual event, we celebrate 00:20:22.509 --> 00:20:24.910 that. We really do. When somebody takes the next 00:20:24.910 --> 00:20:27.470 step in salvation and they get water baptized 00:20:27.470 --> 00:20:31.450 and we, right? Come on, we dunk them into water. 00:20:31.549 --> 00:20:33.769 We baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, 00:20:33.829 --> 00:20:35.410 and the Holy Spirit. And we all jump up and get 00:20:35.410 --> 00:20:38.250 happy and celebrate, right? We play music. Those 00:20:38.250 --> 00:20:40.349 are events. Those are things. When somebody starts 00:20:40.349 --> 00:20:42.390 stepping into their giftings or their callings, 00:20:42.450 --> 00:20:45.230 somebody's baptized in the Spirit. These are 00:20:45.230 --> 00:20:47.710 spiritual milestones and they're spiritual events 00:20:47.710 --> 00:20:50.180 to take. place and we celebrate it. But Jesus 00:20:50.180 --> 00:20:52.660 taught us that leading others to him and into 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:55.400 the kingdom of God is also about investment. 00:20:56.579 --> 00:21:00.859 It's about investing in others. And a little 00:21:00.859 --> 00:21:04.359 perspective change makes a big shift in your 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:07.759 approach. Instead of talking at somebody, it 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:10.339 becomes investing in somebody. I mean, that's 00:21:10.339 --> 00:21:14.269 very different. If I'm talking to you, if I'm 00:21:14.269 --> 00:21:17.230 speaking to you, that's one thing. If I'm investing 00:21:17.230 --> 00:21:19.869 in you as I talk to you, that's a whole different 00:21:19.869 --> 00:21:23.390 thing. Coaching and mentoring, if you come from 00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:25.490 that perspective, if you come from that light, 00:21:25.690 --> 00:21:29.410 it changes everything in your approach. And I 00:21:29.410 --> 00:21:31.849 realize sometimes we don't get a lot of time 00:21:31.849 --> 00:21:34.230 with people, right? Sometimes it's only a few 00:21:34.230 --> 00:21:37.730 moments. And you've got to think investment even 00:21:37.730 --> 00:21:41.279 in those moments. Even in those flashes of time 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:44.559 with a person, think investment and not event. 00:21:45.099 --> 00:21:48.440 Jesus said this in Matthew 28, 18, before he 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:50.619 left and went to the father and commissioned 00:21:50.619 --> 00:21:52.400 us in what we're supposed to do. He said, and 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:55.000 Jesus came and spoke to them saying, all authority 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:57.279 has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 00:21:57.380 --> 00:22:02.680 Go therefore and make disciples, invest, mentor. 00:22:03.490 --> 00:22:05.930 coach. That's what making disciples is, right? 00:22:06.349 --> 00:22:08.730 These newer terminology be mentoring and coaching, 00:22:09.029 --> 00:22:13.710 invest in them, of all nations, baptizing them 00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:15.730 in the name of the Father and of the Son and 00:22:15.730 --> 00:22:18.329 of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe 00:22:18.329 --> 00:22:21.710 all things that I commanded you. And lo, I'm 00:22:21.710 --> 00:22:24.849 with you always, even to the end of the age. 00:22:25.009 --> 00:22:29.170 Amen. That's what the word says. Jesus calls 00:22:29.170 --> 00:22:33.269 us to invest. He calls us to invest in others, 00:22:33.329 --> 00:22:35.630 to mentor others, to coach them, even if we get 00:22:35.630 --> 00:22:37.890 a few minutes or we get more, right? It's not 00:22:37.890 --> 00:22:40.490 an event in the kingdom of God. It's an investment. 00:22:40.589 --> 00:22:43.349 And that perspective change will shift how you 00:22:43.349 --> 00:22:46.250 approach anybody when you're going to talk to 00:22:46.250 --> 00:22:50.049 them about Christ. I've seen this myself as an 00:22:50.049 --> 00:22:53.089 investor, right, in others. Sometimes if you 00:22:53.089 --> 00:22:54.509 come and you're just making an event, they're 00:22:54.509 --> 00:22:57.190 going to run the other way. People know when 00:22:57.190 --> 00:22:59.819 you're not investing in them. It's true. So whatever 00:22:59.819 --> 00:23:02.980 time God gives you, whether it's a minute, right? 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:05.160 Whether it's a day with somebody, sometimes you 00:23:05.160 --> 00:23:07.880 get the day with someone. Maybe it's a week that 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:09.700 you get to work with someone. Maybe it's a year 00:23:09.700 --> 00:23:12.880 period of time. Whatever time God gives you in 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:16.220 that invest and don't make it an event because 00:23:16.220 --> 00:23:19.460 we want to approach it. We want to be salty and 00:23:19.460 --> 00:23:20.940 we want to come in with the right perspective. 00:23:21.079 --> 00:23:24.039 It's true. It's true. It's true. And I understand 00:23:24.039 --> 00:23:27.599 this in God's word. There's a pattern to investment. 00:23:28.210 --> 00:23:32.009 Investment begins with an invitation to come 00:23:32.009 --> 00:23:36.650 and see. Any investment always begins with the 00:23:36.650 --> 00:23:40.349 opportunity to come and see. If I want you to 00:23:40.349 --> 00:23:42.569 invest in something, I'm going to ask you to 00:23:42.569 --> 00:23:46.009 come and see. I want you to come and observe. 00:23:46.109 --> 00:23:48.930 Just come and take a look, right? It's true. 00:23:49.509 --> 00:23:52.769 Years ago, Dixie and I got the opportunity to 00:23:52.769 --> 00:23:55.630 go to Cabo San Lucas on vacation. And it was 00:23:55.630 --> 00:23:58.069 not because we had money. It's because we knew 00:23:58.069 --> 00:24:00.450 somebody that had money and they invited us to 00:24:00.450 --> 00:24:02.789 go to Cabo San Lucas and said we'd pay. And we're 00:24:02.789 --> 00:24:05.910 like, ding, ding, right? We're in. He said the 00:24:05.910 --> 00:24:09.250 magic words, all right? And we went with this 00:24:09.250 --> 00:24:12.569 couple to Cabo San Lucas and it was this five 00:24:12.569 --> 00:24:15.089 -star all -inclusive resort. We were so out of 00:24:15.089 --> 00:24:17.440 place. We had no idea what we were doing. And 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:20.519 we went to this place and it was incredible. 00:24:20.799 --> 00:24:23.960 And once we got there, even on the way there, 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:25.480 we're like, how are we going to pay for things 00:24:25.480 --> 00:24:27.720 there? Like this is a five -star resort. And 00:24:27.720 --> 00:24:30.819 we found out that when we got there, that this 00:24:30.819 --> 00:24:34.500 was, they had an opportunity to invest in this 00:24:34.500 --> 00:24:37.319 organization, to invest. And they had what calls 00:24:37.319 --> 00:24:40.740 like a timeshare thing, right? You come and see 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:43.420 what you can invest in. And if you did that, 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:46.299 you got a couple hundred bucks to spend at the 00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:49.299 resort. resort. Like we will come and see anything. 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:50.960 If you're going to give us a couple hundred, 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:53.099 well, almost anything. All right. If you're going 00:24:53.099 --> 00:24:55.740 to give us a couple hundred bucks. So we went 00:24:55.740 --> 00:24:57.720 and did the timeshare. Thank God we didn't have 00:24:57.720 --> 00:24:59.240 to produce any bank statements because we had 00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:02.240 never got in the door. Right. This was high end. 00:25:02.420 --> 00:25:04.339 You know, I think they started off at like $75 00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:07.700 ,000, like for two weeks to stay at this place. 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:12.720 Yeah, it was laughable. So we went in, but the 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:17.400 offer was to come and see. And after we got talking 00:25:17.400 --> 00:25:19.279 with this guy and we sat down with him, we fessed 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:20.920 up. Like, there's the way. God's green earth. 00:25:21.019 --> 00:25:23.339 We can do this. But he said, hey, it's okay, 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:27.799 right? You came to see. Investment always begins 00:25:27.799 --> 00:25:30.660 with coming and seeing what you're going to invest 00:25:30.660 --> 00:25:33.640 in. Come see what's taking place. And investment 00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:37.240 to come and see Jesus, it starts, right, with 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:40.380 investment. It starts with the idea, just come 00:25:40.380 --> 00:25:43.960 and see. Come and see who Jesus is. We invite 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:47.980 someone personally. We come with the attitude 00:25:47.980 --> 00:25:51.819 and the heart. Just come and see Jesus. Here 00:25:51.819 --> 00:25:54.079 at LifeHouse, that's what the green balls are 00:25:54.079 --> 00:25:56.220 all about over here. This is about the invitation. 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:59.140 If you invite somebody to church, if you invite 00:25:59.140 --> 00:26:01.119 somebody to life group, if you invite somebody 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:03.740 to know Jesus, we ask you just to fill out one 00:26:03.740 --> 00:26:06.319 of those balls. We tell you, put the initials 00:26:06.319 --> 00:26:09.259 of the person you invited or a symbol that represents 00:26:09.259 --> 00:26:12.000 them, the date that you invited them, and put 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:13.660 that in there and celebrate. You know why we 00:26:13.660 --> 00:26:15.839 do that? So we can pray over those invitations. 00:26:16.140 --> 00:26:18.900 We want people to come. We want to pray over 00:26:18.900 --> 00:26:21.420 what's taking place here at LifeHouse. We want 00:26:21.420 --> 00:26:23.920 to respond. Come and see what it's all about. 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:26.759 Come and see who he is. Come and see. how he's 00:26:26.759 --> 00:26:31.640 changed lives. Come and hear the testimony. Tonight's 00:26:31.640 --> 00:26:34.259 revive. If you've never been to a revive, what 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:37.599 takes place at revive, it's not structured nearly 00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:39.799 like a Sunday morning. When you come into a revive 00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:42.099 worship service, we get together for an hour 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:45.039 and we just lift up God in praise. We worship 00:26:45.039 --> 00:26:47.140 him. But at the end of revive, it's been our 00:26:47.140 --> 00:26:49.519 tradition that we gather up front and we just 00:26:49.519 --> 00:26:52.740 hand the mic around and you hear testimony of 00:26:52.740 --> 00:26:55.019 what God's done in people's lives. It's incredible. 00:26:55.640 --> 00:26:58.180 It's amazing. Just listening to somebody talk 00:26:58.180 --> 00:27:00.700 about it. Come and see what he's about. Come 00:27:00.700 --> 00:27:04.599 hear the testimony. Make the invitation a come 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:08.480 and see event, right? Not an event, an investment. 00:27:09.259 --> 00:27:12.640 Come and see investment. We should give people 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:15.900 time to observe Jesus. We should give them time. 00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:19.339 They need to come and look at it and test and 00:27:19.339 --> 00:27:22.079 see God for themselves, see Jesus for themselves. 00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:25.910 If I invite you to my house, For a meal, and 00:27:25.910 --> 00:27:27.869 it's the first time you've ever come to my home. 00:27:28.190 --> 00:27:30.990 How many know that's a come and see thing, right? 00:27:31.329 --> 00:27:33.849 You're going to come and see. We all do this. 00:27:33.890 --> 00:27:35.410 First time you go to somebody's house, you're 00:27:35.410 --> 00:27:38.099 scoping everything, right? You're looking at 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:40.799 what's on the front door, right? As soon as the 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:43.779 door opens, you're peeking around. What's in 00:27:43.779 --> 00:27:46.259 that room? What's in this room, right? You're 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:48.400 checking out the house. You're checking out the 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:51.299 yard. You're looking at the dog, right? Is it 00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:53.759 a friendly dog? You're checking out how clean 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:55.619 the house is so you can decide whether you're 00:27:55.619 --> 00:27:58.200 gonna eat the food, right? Or you're suddenly 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:00.660 gonna get sick and go home. You know, you're 00:28:00.660 --> 00:28:03.099 doing all this. You come in and at a come and 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:05.259 see event, you come in for the first time, the 00:28:05.259 --> 00:28:07.700 invitation, and you look. around. And then you 00:28:07.700 --> 00:28:10.000 decide if you're coming back. We got to give 00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:13.339 people time to learn about Jesus and to see Jesus 00:28:13.339 --> 00:28:15.700 for the first time. Sometimes we mug them, right? 00:28:15.779 --> 00:28:17.480 We just want to make them all make decisions, 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:20.519 right? No, let them come. Let them observe. The 00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:23.819 word of God says in Psalms 34, 8, oh, taste and 00:28:23.819 --> 00:28:26.259 see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man 00:28:26.259 --> 00:28:28.599 who trusts in him. Let him come take a taste. 00:28:28.880 --> 00:28:31.380 Let him see, right? Our investment in others 00:28:31.380 --> 00:28:33.920 begins with the invite to come and see Jesus. 00:28:34.490 --> 00:28:38.690 it let him observe let him see it starts off 00:28:38.690 --> 00:28:40.809 with the come and see in God's word then it goes 00:28:40.809 --> 00:28:43.369 to come and follow the disciples would say come 00:28:43.369 --> 00:28:45.730 and see and Jesus would say come and follow you 00:28:45.730 --> 00:28:48.130 see that in John chapter 1 and it starts with 00:28:48.130 --> 00:28:50.910 verse 43 and says the following day Jesus went 00:28:50.910 --> 00:28:54.230 to go to Galilee and he found Philip and he said 00:28:54.230 --> 00:28:57.329 to him follow me Now, Philip was from Bethsaida, 00:28:57.549 --> 00:29:01.029 the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael 00:29:01.029 --> 00:29:04.289 and said to him, we have found him of who Moses 00:29:04.289 --> 00:29:06.809 in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus 00:29:06.809 --> 00:29:09.730 of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael 00:29:09.730 --> 00:29:11.769 said to him, now listen, this is Philip talking 00:29:11.769 --> 00:29:14.450 to Nathanael. Look, we found Jesus. We found 00:29:14.450 --> 00:29:16.789 the Messiah. We found the Christ. And Nathanael 00:29:16.789 --> 00:29:19.289 said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? 00:29:19.650 --> 00:29:22.009 He doesn't believe it, right? Nathanael's like, 00:29:22.089 --> 00:29:24.380 I don't know. I don't think anything good can 00:29:24.380 --> 00:29:26.740 come out of Nazareth. Philip said to him, what 00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:29.339 did he say to him? Nathaniel doesn't really believe 00:29:29.339 --> 00:29:32.140 you. He says, just come and see. Come and see 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:35.859 for yourself. Philip was already convinced, but 00:29:35.859 --> 00:29:38.940 Nathaniel wasn't. Come and see. Take a look for 00:29:38.940 --> 00:29:41.880 yourself. Check it out for yourself. Find out 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:44.539 what's being said, what's being done, what the 00:29:44.539 --> 00:29:47.019 testimony is. Check out the word of God for yourself. 00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:50.380 Check it out yourself. Investing, mentoring, 00:29:50.900 --> 00:29:54.119 coaching, discipling others begins with the come 00:29:54.119 --> 00:29:58.000 and see invitation. You can do this, church. 00:29:58.440 --> 00:30:01.440 You can do this, right? It's the why and salty. 00:30:01.539 --> 00:30:04.299 You can do it. Let them come and see and taste 00:30:04.299 --> 00:30:07.059 for themselves. It's a little bit like going 00:30:07.059 --> 00:30:11.380 to Sam's Club. I love Sam's Club. I don't know 00:30:11.380 --> 00:30:13.519 if you've ever gone into Sam's Club, but I'll 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:15.099 go in and look for the bargain of the week. We're 00:30:15.099 --> 00:30:16.779 there about every week to get stuff for the church. 00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:19.740 And I'm cruising the aisles looking for the bargain 00:30:19.740 --> 00:30:21.920 of the week. And there it is. It always happens. 00:30:22.140 --> 00:30:24.799 Right at one of the end caps, there stands a 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:28.299 person, right? And they have a come and see thing 00:30:28.299 --> 00:30:31.200 going on right there. They've got a sample of 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:33.839 something. It's always some kind of food. And 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:36.059 they got it in little itty bitty tiny cups, right? 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:38.460 And you come over and they're like, come on over. 00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:40.940 over here. Come on in. I want you to see something. 00:30:41.259 --> 00:30:43.420 And you go over and you just take a little taste 00:30:43.420 --> 00:30:45.180 of whatever they have. Now, what they're trying 00:30:45.180 --> 00:30:47.220 to get you to do is invest in the product, whatever 00:30:47.220 --> 00:30:50.859 it is, right? Whatever the thing is for the day. 00:30:51.079 --> 00:30:53.579 But I love it. They'll say, come on over and 00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:57.039 see. And I go, hmm, that's not bad, right? They 00:30:57.039 --> 00:30:58.220 taste that. They're hoping you're going to buy. 00:30:58.279 --> 00:31:00.319 You're going to invest. You got to let people 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:03.339 come and see. You got to let them get a taste 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:05.930 of what it's all about. You've got to help them 00:31:05.930 --> 00:31:08.509 understand. And once they decide to follow Jesus, 00:31:08.710 --> 00:31:11.650 once they make a decision on their own that this 00:31:11.650 --> 00:31:15.009 is true, that Jesus is the Son of God, he's Savior 00:31:15.009 --> 00:31:17.569 of the world, that he loves them more than anybody 00:31:17.569 --> 00:31:19.730 else could ever love them. Once they believe 00:31:19.730 --> 00:31:21.710 that he is the way, the truth, and the life. 00:31:21.789 --> 00:31:24.569 Once they experience the love of God, that it's 00:31:24.569 --> 00:31:26.890 like no other love, right? They understand the 00:31:26.890 --> 00:31:29.269 forgiveness and freedom that comes in Jesus. 00:31:29.549 --> 00:31:32.109 Once they call him Lord and Savior, once they 00:31:32.109 --> 00:31:36.759 invest, then comes and... follow. Come and follow. 00:31:37.160 --> 00:31:41.140 It's come and see and come and follow. Jesus 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:43.400 said these things. I'm going to go ahead and 00:31:43.400 --> 00:31:45.740 reread that previous passage, right? In John 00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:48.900 1 43, the following day, Jesus wanted to go to 00:31:48.900 --> 00:31:52.380 Galilee and he found Philip who was already convinced 00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:57.960 and said to him, follow me. Follow me. Follow 00:31:57.960 --> 00:32:02.859 me. Philip was ready. He came and saw Jesus previously. 00:32:03.140 --> 00:32:05.720 He was ready. He was convinced. He was convicted 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:08.720 and convinced, right? He was sure that Jesus 00:32:08.720 --> 00:32:12.279 was Savior. Philip's all in. Come and follow. 00:32:13.130 --> 00:32:16.150 Sharing the gospel with others, becoming salty 00:32:16.150 --> 00:32:18.890 with the invitation, right, is a come and see, 00:32:19.109 --> 00:32:21.890 right, and then come follow me experience. It 00:32:21.890 --> 00:32:24.369 really is. But we have to start with the come 00:32:24.369 --> 00:32:27.589 and see. And it's investment. It's the perspective 00:32:27.589 --> 00:32:30.349 you're coming from. Are you investing in somebody? 00:32:30.569 --> 00:32:32.730 Do you see it as mentoring? Do you see it as 00:32:32.730 --> 00:32:34.910 coaching? Whatever you get, everything's about 00:32:34.910 --> 00:32:37.210 the invitation to come and see. And then the 00:32:37.210 --> 00:32:40.309 follow -up is come and follow. It really is. 00:32:40.829 --> 00:32:44.309 And there is such a pure, amazing, beautiful 00:32:44.309 --> 00:32:48.630 model of this in the early church, in the church 00:32:48.630 --> 00:32:52.990 of Christ in Acts chapter 2. When your church, 00:32:53.289 --> 00:32:56.029 the first church is birthed after Jesus leaves 00:32:56.029 --> 00:32:59.910 and goes to the Father, after he instructs his 00:32:59.910 --> 00:33:03.769 disciples to coach and to mentor and to invite. 00:33:04.589 --> 00:33:08.809 You see this beautiful model. He sends 120 to 00:33:08.809 --> 00:33:10.849 Jerusalem into an upper room and he says, I'm 00:33:10.849 --> 00:33:12.930 gonna send the gift. And the gift comes, it's 00:33:12.930 --> 00:33:15.809 the Holy Spirit who comes. Best gift ever, by 00:33:15.809 --> 00:33:19.069 the way, right? You can't be, this kind of gift 00:33:19.069 --> 00:33:21.029 isn't something that gets consumed, used, or 00:33:21.029 --> 00:33:23.970 put on a back burner, or even at a yard sale 00:33:23.970 --> 00:33:26.630 next year, right, for 10 cents. The Holy Spirit 00:33:26.630 --> 00:33:29.910 comes to live within us. And those who follow 00:33:29.910 --> 00:33:33.569 Christ, he comes and he resides within us in 00:33:33.569 --> 00:33:35.569 the spirit. Spirit of the living God for each 00:33:35.569 --> 00:33:40.450 follower of Jesus and his power and his prompting 00:33:40.450 --> 00:33:43.670 and his teaching is ours. And we witness this 00:33:43.670 --> 00:33:46.170 after the come and see and it goes to come and 00:33:46.170 --> 00:33:48.049 follow. And it's so powerful. And what takes 00:33:48.049 --> 00:33:50.750 place in that early church is when this church 00:33:50.750 --> 00:33:54.089 is birthed, immediately. When the Holy Spirit 00:33:54.089 --> 00:33:56.890 comes, the gift comes. Peter, who's one of the 00:33:56.890 --> 00:33:58.710 disciples, right? One of the guys that Jesus 00:33:58.710 --> 00:34:01.450 has been mentoring and coaching and pouring into 00:34:01.450 --> 00:34:03.829 all along the way. He goes out to Jerusalem. 00:34:03.849 --> 00:34:06.369 He goes out into the streets and he begins to 00:34:06.369 --> 00:34:09.389 preach an invitational message. He says, come 00:34:09.389 --> 00:34:13.389 and see Jesus. He preaches this message. 3 ,000 00:34:13.389 --> 00:34:18.159 plus people decide to follow Christ. They go 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:20.400 to come and follow. Let me read the account for 00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:22.780 you. In Acts chapter 237 says this. Now, when 00:34:22.780 --> 00:34:24.719 they heard this, they were cut to the heart when 00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:27.000 they heard Peter preaching and said to Peter 00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:28.579 and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what 00:34:28.579 --> 00:34:30.980 shall we do? And Peter said to them, repent and 00:34:30.980 --> 00:34:32.699 be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus 00:34:32.699 --> 00:34:35.039 Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And 00:34:35.039 --> 00:34:37.300 you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit 00:34:37.300 --> 00:34:39.679 for the promises for you and for your children 00:34:39.679 --> 00:34:42.840 and for all who are far off. Everyone whom the 00:34:42.840 --> 00:34:45.480 Lord God has calls to himself. And with many 00:34:45.480 --> 00:34:47.380 other words, he bore witness and continued to 00:34:47.380 --> 00:34:49.619 exhort saying, save yourself from this crooked 00:34:49.619 --> 00:34:51.980 generation. So those who received the word were 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:55.920 baptized and they were added that day, 3000 souls. 00:34:56.719 --> 00:35:00.239 So he preaches a come and see message, an invitational 00:35:00.239 --> 00:35:03.579 message. Then we'll look what follows afterwards. 00:35:04.380 --> 00:35:06.739 In verse 42, it says this. Now, this is talking 00:35:06.739 --> 00:35:08.920 about those who got saved. This is talking about 00:35:08.920 --> 00:35:11.260 the 3 ,000 who are now following Jesus. And they 00:35:11.260 --> 00:35:13.059 devoted themselves. He's talking about the entire 00:35:13.059 --> 00:35:16.460 crowd here. To the apostles' teaching and to 00:35:16.460 --> 00:35:19.119 fellowship and to breaking of bread and prayers. 00:35:19.460 --> 00:35:22.539 And awe came upon every soul. And many wonders 00:35:22.539 --> 00:35:24.380 and signs were being done through the apostles. 00:35:24.659 --> 00:35:27.199 And all who believed were together and had all 00:35:27.199 --> 00:35:29.880 things in common. They were selling their possessions 00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:32.199 and belongings and distributing the proceeds 00:35:32.199 --> 00:35:37.139 to all. as any had need. And day by day, attending 00:35:37.139 --> 00:35:38.920 the temple together, breaking bread in their 00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:41.380 homes, receive their food with gladness and generous 00:35:41.380 --> 00:35:43.960 hearts, praising God and having favor with all 00:35:43.960 --> 00:35:46.679 people. And the Lord added to their number day 00:35:46.679 --> 00:35:50.780 by day, those who were being saved. They came 00:35:50.780 --> 00:35:53.980 together in the follow, right? They devote themselves 00:35:53.980 --> 00:35:57.440 to learning the word of God, to hearing the words 00:35:57.440 --> 00:36:01.090 of scripture. and the words of Jesus. Now, I 00:36:01.090 --> 00:36:03.030 can't tell you how important this is. You're 00:36:03.030 --> 00:36:05.070 going to hear more about this. When we launch 00:36:05.070 --> 00:36:08.510 into 2026, we've got a focus already set up. 00:36:08.550 --> 00:36:10.449 We're going to get into God's word. We're going 00:36:10.449 --> 00:36:12.670 to dive deep because there's incredible benefit 00:36:12.670 --> 00:36:14.969 when you get into God's word. But this early 00:36:14.969 --> 00:36:17.309 church, they dive in. They're learning the word 00:36:17.309 --> 00:36:19.170 of God together. They're coming together and 00:36:19.170 --> 00:36:21.969 learning together. They also engage in something 00:36:21.969 --> 00:36:24.949 called fellowship. We love fellowship because 00:36:24.949 --> 00:36:28.679 fellowship involves food. Amen. Yeah, church 00:36:28.679 --> 00:36:31.360 people fellowship always involves food. It's 00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:33.420 breaking the bread of life, which is the word 00:36:33.420 --> 00:36:35.780 of God, and then breaking bread for real, like 00:36:35.780 --> 00:36:38.739 the food we eat, the physical food. And we love 00:36:38.739 --> 00:36:40.320 to get together. And there's something spiritual, 00:36:40.400 --> 00:36:41.820 you didn't know this, but there's something spiritual 00:36:41.820 --> 00:36:44.400 about eating together. It really is. About sitting 00:36:44.400 --> 00:36:46.960 across the table and breaking bread and eating 00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:49.760 together. Hearing the word of God, breaking spiritual 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:52.260 bread, and then breaking physical bread. And 00:36:52.260 --> 00:36:54.420 listen, this happens all the time in our life 00:36:54.420 --> 00:36:57.000 groups. I hear about all the great meals. Life 00:36:57.000 --> 00:36:59.280 groups meet in different places. They all come 00:36:59.280 --> 00:37:01.380 together. They're eating food. I hear about the 00:37:01.380 --> 00:37:03.820 feast that takes place. They're breaking bread. 00:37:04.139 --> 00:37:08.099 There's fellowship that takes place. And Jesus 00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:10.739 knew this. It's why he instituted communion. 00:37:11.099 --> 00:37:13.239 It's one of the sacraments we participate in. 00:37:13.340 --> 00:37:15.880 It's the breaking of bread, and we remember the 00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:18.659 body of Christ, and then the juice from the vine 00:37:18.659 --> 00:37:21.219 that represents his blood. He says, when you're 00:37:21.219 --> 00:37:24.820 eating and drinking, remember me. This is spiritual. 00:37:25.710 --> 00:37:28.590 And then they come and follow, and they do something 00:37:28.590 --> 00:37:31.969 else. They care. They care about each other. 00:37:33.090 --> 00:37:35.809 And not just a, like, I care about you kind of 00:37:35.809 --> 00:37:39.469 phrase kind of care. Not just a passing, hey, 00:37:39.570 --> 00:37:42.590 I hope everything works out okay for you kind 00:37:42.590 --> 00:37:46.570 of thing. This is the kind of care that comes 00:37:46.570 --> 00:37:50.530 down to, I'm not okay if you're not okay kind 00:37:50.530 --> 00:37:52.949 of care. That's what happened in the early church. 00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:57.960 1 John 3, 16 says this, for by this we love because 00:37:57.960 --> 00:37:59.900 he laid down his life for us and we also ought 00:37:59.900 --> 00:38:02.260 to lay down our lives for our brother. But whoever 00:38:02.260 --> 00:38:04.699 has this world's goods and sees his brother in 00:38:04.699 --> 00:38:07.320 need and shuts up his heart from him, how does 00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:09.760 the love of God even abide in him, right? How 00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:12.280 does it abide in him? James 2, 14 says, what 00:38:12.280 --> 00:38:14.219 does it profit my brother if someone says he 00:38:14.219 --> 00:38:16.480 has faith but does not have works? Can faith 00:38:16.480 --> 00:38:18.940 save him? If a brother or sister is naked and 00:38:18.940 --> 00:38:21.159 destitute of daily food, and one of them says, 00:38:21.280 --> 00:38:23.800 depart in peace and be warmed and filled, but 00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:25.500 you do not give them the things which are needed 00:38:25.500 --> 00:38:28.340 for the body, what does it profit? That's also 00:38:28.340 --> 00:38:31.980 faith by itself. If it does not have works, it's 00:38:31.980 --> 00:38:36.139 dead. I should not be okay if you're not okay, 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:39.880 right? If you need something. Now, I'm not talking 00:38:39.880 --> 00:38:42.340 about catering to your wants or whims. That's 00:38:42.340 --> 00:38:44.059 not what I'm talking about here. But if you got 00:38:44.059 --> 00:38:48.139 needs in your life, if you need something, food, 00:38:48.300 --> 00:38:52.860 clothing, shelter, support, right? This is where 00:38:52.860 --> 00:38:54.860 we connect. This is what the early church did. 00:38:54.940 --> 00:38:58.659 It was a beautiful picture of coming and following 00:38:58.659 --> 00:39:02.880 Christ. There was word, there was fellowship, 00:39:03.099 --> 00:39:06.380 there was care. The Bible says that they had 00:39:06.380 --> 00:39:09.530 favor with all people, all people. Worship team, 00:39:09.590 --> 00:39:15.269 if you'd come. You and I are salty if we come 00:39:15.269 --> 00:39:18.130 in with the whole perspective and lens that we're 00:39:18.130 --> 00:39:21.269 going to invest in other people. It can't be 00:39:21.269 --> 00:39:23.570 surface, can't be checklist, can't be event. 00:39:23.829 --> 00:39:27.309 We have to come in ready to invest. We got to 00:39:27.309 --> 00:39:29.880 let them come and see. We gotta be invitational 00:39:29.880 --> 00:39:33.139 and let them find Jesus and let them hear about 00:39:33.139 --> 00:39:35.579 Jesus. And then when they come to Jesus, we gotta 00:39:35.579 --> 00:39:38.400 invest further. We gotta go deeper in all this. 00:39:38.739 --> 00:39:40.860 Investing in others is you inviting others to 00:39:40.860 --> 00:39:42.699 come and see and inviting others to come and 00:39:42.699 --> 00:39:45.960 follow Jesus with you. It's a perspective thing. 00:39:46.900 --> 00:39:51.019 Perspective matters. Perspective matters. I read 00:39:51.019 --> 00:39:54.400 this this week as I close. It says this, in February, 00:39:54.539 --> 00:39:59.639 2020. BBC journalist Vicki Baker jumped on the 00:39:59.639 --> 00:40:03.179 first Eurostar to Paris, motivated by a sudden 00:40:03.179 --> 00:40:06.000 urge to have dinner with a friend. American Jim 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:08.920 Hayes had entered his late 80s and his health 00:40:08.920 --> 00:40:12.300 was declining, yet she knew he would welcome 00:40:12.300 --> 00:40:15.480 a visit. Jim always welcomed visitors to his 00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:18.699 home in Paris. She was far from the only guest 00:40:18.699 --> 00:40:21.559 wandering into his warm glow of his artist's 00:40:21.559 --> 00:40:24.840 workroom on a wet winter's night. Inside, people 00:40:24.840 --> 00:40:27.380 were squeezing shoulder to shoulder through the 00:40:27.380 --> 00:40:29.679 narrow kitchen. Strangers struck up conversations, 00:40:30.099 --> 00:40:32.539 brunch together in groups, and balancing their 00:40:32.539 --> 00:40:35.780 dinners on paper plates. Jim had operated an 00:40:35.780 --> 00:40:39.420 open house policy in his home every Sunday evening 00:40:39.420 --> 00:40:43.179 for more than 40 years. Absolutely anyone was 00:40:43.179 --> 00:40:46.019 welcome to come in for an informal dinner. All 00:40:46.019 --> 00:40:48.519 you had to do was phone or email, and he would 00:40:48.519 --> 00:40:50.840 add your name to the list, no questions asked. 00:40:51.039 --> 00:40:53.340 Just put a donation in an envelope when you arrive. 00:40:54.119 --> 00:40:56.420 There would be a buzz in the areas. People with 00:40:56.420 --> 00:40:59.380 various nationalities, locals, immigrants, travelers, 00:40:59.559 --> 00:41:02.980 milled around the small space. Open plan floor, 00:41:03.219 --> 00:41:05.780 right? A pot of hearty food bubbled up on the 00:41:05.780 --> 00:41:08.639 stove and serving would be dished out into the 00:41:08.639 --> 00:41:11.119 trestle table so you could help yourself and 00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:13.539 continue to mingle. It was for good reason that 00:41:13.539 --> 00:41:15.639 Jim was nicknamed the godfather of social networking. 00:41:16.039 --> 00:41:18.860 He led the way in connecting strangers long before 00:41:18.860 --> 00:41:22.960 we outsourced it to Silicon Valley. At the dinners, 00:41:24.090 --> 00:41:26.710 As the dinner peaked, Jim would welcome up to 00:41:26.710 --> 00:41:29.789 120 guests filling his house and spilling out 00:41:29.789 --> 00:41:32.530 into the cobbled back garden as an estimated 00:41:32.530 --> 00:41:36.130 150 ,000 people have come over the years into 00:41:36.130 --> 00:41:39.510 his house. The doors were always open, says Amanda 00:41:39.510 --> 00:41:43.030 Morrow, an Australian journalist. It was a revolving 00:41:43.030 --> 00:41:45.250 door of guests, some who wanted to stay over, 00:41:45.349 --> 00:41:48.090 others who just wanted to say hello. Jim never 00:41:48.090 --> 00:41:53.110 said no to anyone. Amid the outpouring of online 00:41:53.110 --> 00:41:56.510 tribute since his death, January 6th, 2021, these 00:41:56.510 --> 00:42:00.130 words from his son, Jesper, stand out. The only 00:42:00.130 --> 00:42:02.429 thing that really got Jim down was people leaving. 00:42:02.610 --> 00:42:05.610 He struggled with that. His goal from early on 00:42:05.610 --> 00:42:08.050 was to introduce the whole world to each other. 00:42:08.570 --> 00:42:12.849 He was almost successful. What if we were that 00:42:12.849 --> 00:42:17.309 passionate and intentional to help people come 00:42:17.309 --> 00:42:21.079 and see Jesus? What if we were that passionate 00:42:21.079 --> 00:42:26.199 about people coming to experience Christ? What 00:42:26.199 --> 00:42:29.079 if we were that passionate to not just make it 00:42:29.079 --> 00:42:33.559 an event, but to invest like this man did? What 00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:37.920 if we did that? What if we did that? I'm going 00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:45.480 to ask you to stand. This is about being salty, 00:42:45.619 --> 00:42:50.190 church, for Christ. It's about speaking. It's 00:42:50.190 --> 00:42:52.489 about asking good questions, right? Speaking 00:42:52.489 --> 00:42:55.909 to others. It's about listening. It's about being 00:42:55.909 --> 00:42:58.230 intentional, investing into others. It's about 00:42:58.230 --> 00:43:00.409 telling the story of Christ any chance you get 00:43:00.409 --> 00:43:03.449 in any way you can. But it's also about you. 00:43:04.650 --> 00:43:06.789 It's about you. It's about the lens that you're 00:43:06.789 --> 00:43:09.650 looking through as you go out to be salt of the 00:43:09.650 --> 00:43:11.170 earth. That's what the Bible calls it, salt of 00:43:11.170 --> 00:43:16.690 the earth, light. This is what it's about. We 00:43:16.690 --> 00:43:18.269 have to have a right. How many of you can do 00:43:18.269 --> 00:43:20.769 the right thing and do it the wrong way? Amen? 00:43:21.289 --> 00:43:23.510 It's true. We want to do this the right way. 00:43:24.489 --> 00:43:26.750 It's an amazing thing. I love the, I'm hearing 00:43:26.750 --> 00:43:28.190 about the invitations. We're hearing about the 00:43:28.190 --> 00:43:30.369 people who are coming to Christ. We want to make 00:43:30.369 --> 00:43:32.570 sure we're pure at heart when we go do this. 00:43:32.949 --> 00:43:34.869 We want to make sure that we're going there to 00:43:34.869 --> 00:43:38.070 invest. We're not looking for numbers. We're 00:43:38.070 --> 00:43:40.289 not looking to pat ourselves in the back. We're 00:43:40.289 --> 00:43:41.809 not looking for any of that. This is kingdom 00:43:41.809 --> 00:43:44.250 work. This is just about getting people to Christ 00:43:44.250 --> 00:43:46.349 so they can experience exactly what you did. 00:43:46.670 --> 00:43:48.969 The freedom that you know, the forgiveness that 00:43:48.969 --> 00:43:52.309 you know, right? The power of God, the Holy Spirit 00:43:52.309 --> 00:44:03.909 in you. This is what it's for. Thank you for 00:44:03.909 --> 00:44:06.730 tuning in to this message from Lifehouse Church. 00:44:07.329 --> 00:44:10.010 We pray that you were impacted powerfully by 00:44:10.010 --> 00:44:12.849 this message. If you have been personally affected 00:44:12.849 --> 00:44:15.409 by our ministry and you would like to partner 00:44:15.409 --> 00:44:18.630 with us as we love God, love people every day, 00:44:18.789 --> 00:44:24.510 visit our website at www .lifehousecog .com.