Thanks Pastor Jeff. Hey good morning again. Wow sounds like we need more coffee.
So hey we're gonna have fun though today. Hey you know this morning how many of
you guys are looking forward to the new season right? The guys looking forward to
Monday. Teachers we're praying for you you know students we're praying for you
parents we're teaching for you praying for you but you know I'm really looking
forward to tomorrow you know why because my wife is coming home. Yeah. I've been a
single man for the last month and how many of you guys know I thought I was
done with that a long time ago. No but my wife had to take her mom home to Japan
so she flew back with her and and been helping mom to kind of get the house
cleaned up so she can downsize to a smaller place it's a little bit too much
for her to care for so she's been doing that all this time and how many of you
know that when you're gone for a month something like that you start getting a
honeydew list anybody have you know what I mean like all the projects and to be
honest you know it's I put the list together but I shared it with her that
all the things that I'm hoping to do and she was happy but I think she's
wondering how many of those things are actually really gonna get done right and
and so there's a maximum out there you might be familiar with it that work
expands to fill time right so in other words if you give yourself a month to do
something how long is it gonna take it's gonna take a month right if you give
yourself you know four days how many when is it gonna get done generally four
days right so it however much the thing so I had I'm gonna change the mailbox I
gotta paint the mailbox I gotta change a faucet I gotta do the yard I gotta you
know there's a few other projects right I had to do guess when they were all
done yesterday that's right no I'm just kidding but like no I couldn't do them all
I want yesterday but you know that they they kind of definitely
telescoped at the end right there's all of that on the end and sometimes in the
middle of those kinds of things that we understand that that you don't always
get around to the most important things right sometimes the things that you've
been putting off and sometimes the things that you want to do and sometimes
just your life gets overburdened by all the emergency things right so urgent
thing somebody needs something today you get a call you get a report you get
some kind of a thing and so at times it's in the middle of that that if we're
not careful that over time we all kind of have our priorities and shifting and
moving and and so at the end though what I would be I would have been really
disappointed in my wife probably more so if we came and and you know nothing was
done right she would have been really disappointed and so thankfully she's not
going to be disappointed but that here's the thing at the end of our days we're
gonna read we're gonna read a verse that I hope that at the end of our days all
of us can say the same words and mean it because Jesus at the end of his days
said this to to the father on the night before he was going to go to the cross
he praised this prayer as he's talking to his father in heaven in John 17 for and
we're gonna stand we're gonna stand in reverence for God we're gonna read this
because this is something I think all of us would love to be true of us ready
let's read I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave
me to do we all know that God has a call in your life every one of you that God
has a calling in your life and and it may not be to do the same thing as the
person that's next to you may not be to to be in the same place as the person
that's next to you but the first calling is to God himself and the second thing
is that sometimes you have a things to accomplish in life and so this is what
Jesus says I did it all I did it all and I think that at the end of your life
wouldn't you want that to be true of you God I brought you glory here on earth
but that I also did all that you called me to do and so in order for that to
happen sometimes there needs to be a realigning of our priorities sometimes in
the middle of life that when we get blown off track or or when work begins to
expand the fill time that maybe we feel that press but one of the ways we can
deal with that is to realign priorities so before you're seated do me a favor
turn to your neighbor says you can do all God's called you to do and then you
can have a seat you can do all God's called you do you can know God you can
you can find freedom you can make a difference you can discover purpose you
can do all of those things but sometimes it's difficult to get first things first
because there's so many competing things that so many competing relationships so
many competing interests so many competing needs and so one of those
things is that God says this he tries to tell us like from the beginning that
hey let's just set things first what does he say he says it like this in Matthew
633 let's read what it says ready begin but seek first the kingdom of God and
his righteousness and all these things will be added to you sometimes even
when we've experienced the mercy of God we've experienced the power of God we've
experienced a miracle of God and we know God can be trusted and that God can be
you know we can be believing him that to do things the way that he wants us to do
but then sometimes you gotta forget it with I gotta do this myself and I got
to work harder and I gotta pour into this and you work and you work and you work
and it seems like it never gets any closer right and then there's a time
where you go like oh my gosh God I just got up I gotta put you first and then
all of a sudden things begin to flow better think you know you're not as
frustrated and so it's in those moments that we need to be reminded he said
seek first the kingdom of God and then he says this all the stuff that you're
worried about you know your kids all the stuff that you worried about like your
your financial picture all the stuff that you're worried about you know like
well what is my job thing gonna happen in the future he's saying this seek me
first and I'll add these things I'll order these things in your life but in
the busyness of life sometimes it's very difficult that when the winds blow and
the things change and and moves happen whether it's it's like the church move
or or sometimes your business moves sometimes you move a line of business
and it reminded me of a the old story that I read a while back about the
captain at sea in the middle of the darkest night seas off in the distance a
little light and they appear to be coming closer to each other and so the
captain of the ship tells the the signal man send the message to the vessel
turn 10 degrees to the south and so the they signal the other ship and pretty
quickly comes a reply negative you alter your course 10 degrees to the north and
so the captain of the ship not used to getting this kind of a response is a
little offended and he says hey this is the captain speaking alter your course
10 degrees to the south pretty quick came to reply negative this is semen first
class Jones turn your ship alter your course 10 degrees to the north now the
captain is like really upset he says send this he says I am a battleship turn
your vessel 10 degrees to the south and immediately came the reply turn negative
turn your ship 10 degrees to the north I am a lighthouse right because no matter
how big a boat you think you are right you're not bigger than the lighthouse
right and certain things are meant to take direction from a point of reference
that does not change and you and I our lives change worlds our worlds change but
God does not change and so he says to us his encouragement to us is this don't
try to make me revolve around your life instead would you order your life around
me he says after we do that he says what happens all the things that you need he
says will be added to you and so this week when we're talking in this aspect of
preparing for the new season and why we reset is because we reset to be able to
grow as a disciple now now some of us may know this that the moment that you
said yes to Jesus the moment you said yes to Jesus there's a number of things
that happen God forgives you of your sin he he transfers you and adopts you into
his family and that you become a child of God and that is a declaration of status
okay so in other words that when you are adopted into God's family that even in
the in the Roman world that when Paul wrote that he understood that when
you're adopted it can never be revoked okay so do me a favor turn your name
and just says if you trusted Jesus your child of God right that's your status
that's your status okay that's who you are that's what that's your relationship
to God but we are talking this morning about part of this aspect of reset and
changing priorities because sometimes we need to reset to grow as a disciple now
a disciple is different than being a son or a daughter of God than being a child
of God the word disciple comes from the word learner in the in the Greek
language math it takes it comes from being a follower of a master it would be
like someone who is learning how to be something and journeyman kind of a
training up to be able to become a craftsman it was a religious spiritual
kind of a mentor to become more like his teacher and so becoming a disciple is
not something that's automatic it has to be something that's chosen it has to be
something that's engaged in and there is a cognate word to that disciple is the
word discipline right now how many of you when you hear the word discipline it
brings you great joy probably not right because what do you think when you think
of discipline sometimes all the things you got to give up right they all they
got to discipline my diet so I cannot eat all the cake I cannot eat you know
right sometimes that's what we think about discipline all the things that you
sacrifice all the things you give up or sometimes we think discipline can have
the implication of punishment or correction right that you discipline
a child or you're under disciplinary action at work but can we understand
this to be a disciple and to have discipline that we need to understand
not how we interpret it not maybe even what your experience has been but what
is God trying to accomplish it for you and so this is what it says he says even
when you have discipline for the moment it seems sorrowful but in the end it
produces a greater fruitfulness right and and so God's desire is for you to at
sometimes say learn how to say no to certain things why so you can say yes
to better things it's is why does God want you to be disciplined just like if
you have kids and then you're telling them hey I want you to kind of buckle
down you know want you to learn how to study I want you to like hey do your
homework first then you can go out why is that because we hope their future is
better sometimes in our future right and then in our life and in our situation
so what is it for it's for your freedom not for your punishment God's not trying
to take anything away from you he's trying to help you bring focus and so to
be a disciple that means there's times we need to to be able to grow as that it
says it like this in Matthew 28 18 to 20 let's read what it says it says this
ready begin therefore go and make what disciples of all the nations baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teach these new
disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this I am
with you always even to the end of the age and so this is the commission where
it's like to go go reach the world right go go go make disciples where of of
like of Hawaii no it says of all the nations right of Israel no not of just
of Israel around the world of all the nations now here's the thing about
making disciples it's hard to make disciples when you don't know how to be
a disciple yourself right because when it says teach the disciples to obey all
the commands I have given you if I obey none of the commands and I'm trying to
teach somebody to obey all the commands what does that make me maybe
hypocrite on one hand right or ignorant on the other it's it's difficult you
can't do it because you might have knowledge of something it doesn't mean
it's what I'm doing and so here's one of the things that I found is that you
never reproduce what you want you just reproduce what you are this is kind of
the principle in life right and so that if there's no resonance in what I'm
doing then I don't reproduce what I want I end up reproducing what I am and
so in order for that to happen that we have to grow as disciples as learners
as followers of Jesus and so in the 21 days that are beginning tomorrow in
many ways it's a that's part of the reset that we're doing say we do that twice
a year every year in the beginning in the year in January we do it with fasting
right and so hey let's seek God as the scriptures talk about with prayer and
fasting in the summertime we do it with prayer and feasting right so we'll have a
feast on the 26 27 and and so in the midst of that that we're wanting to learn
now there's some skills that you need in order to grow right and and that as
we're seeking God as we're trying to grow in this aspect some of us are going
to be praying for things that that you you want change in right anybody have
some things that you want God to work in your life right yeah I think all of us
we have things places and and situations and and so it's very easy that if you
you know you had a child that's maybe kind of off you know on their own and
they're kind of the prodigal son that we're going to be praying for prodigal
sons maybe for some of us right for some of us you're going to be praying for
for prodigal spouses right for some of you gonna be praying for prodigal parents
right so it goes all the different places but you know in those moments so
so often it's easy to say God would you change them but sometimes you know where
we need to begin by saying God would you change me that would you change me now
I'm not saying it's because you're responsible for all those things when
Jesus told the story of the prodigal son the father was a perfect father the
father was God right in the story really that illustration but he had no
reason he wasn't the cause why the son went off the farm and the son kind of
went off crazy sometimes there's just rebellion in the heart but at the same
time for some of us that maybe there's things before you start saying all the
changes that would you change all these people change the situation sometimes
you got to be willing to grow and change yourself right that we need to be able
to do that why because even if the the son comes home the spouse comes home
the parent comes home whatever the boss comes home the the worker comes home
that we need to be able to steward them and sometimes what needs to happen is
that maybe we weren't responsible for it but somehow the way that we'll receive
it needs to be a little different and so we need to be willing to grow and change
because it will take some discipline and it will take some aspect of the grace of
God now one of those things that is necessary then is you're gonna have
spiritual discipline is what we talked about is is what we haven't talked about
it yet we're gonna talk about it now it's it's you need some spiritual
practices in order for that to happen the scripture says this it says discipline
yourself unto godliness and what does that mean it says there are some things
you can do that will build you up spiritually it just says there are some
things you could do that will tear you down spiritually right that we don't
have to probably list out all the things that tear us down because we all came
from that but what do we do to build ourselves up let me give you a few things
that will help you and if you're willing to grow in it and willing to change in
it I promise you that that your life will change over the coming 21 days the
first thing is this I'm gonna say this is worship in community worship in
community and some of you said man I man I play my worship music all all the time
I I have that plugged in I mean I'm listening to elevation I'm listening
to battle I'm listening to whoever and that you're listening to worship all
the time I think that is great I think that's wonderful but it's probably not
enough and why do I say that because that's what the scriptures say the
scriptures say this in Hebrews 10 24 to 25 he says it like this let us think of
ways to motivate let's say the word motivate motivate what is motivation
right it's not having information it's it's kind of igniting a desire for
something right that if you're gonna change it's not enough that all of us
have information but not sometimes we lack motivation right because we all many
of us know that we got to change our diet a little bit anybody know that right
that's information how many of us do it that's motivation right that's a that's
a very different thing so he's saying this sometimes people have information
but they need motivation to think of ways to motivate who one another not
motivate yourself it doesn't think of ways to motivate yourself it says think
of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good deeds and let us not
neglect what our meeting together as some people do but encourage one another
especially now that the day of his return is drawing here people ask
sometimes when is Jesus coming back only God knows all I know is this it's
closer than it used to be and I think it's close right that's all I can say I
don't know when it is right it's it's closer than it used to be it's
definitely closer than when this was written right and it's close but here's
what we need to do we need to motivate one another we need to encourage one
another and why do you do it because you need community you and I are social
beings by design you might not think I'm not the most sociable person I'm
anti-social in fact some of you might think but you are affected by people
around you you are affected by what happens in the world around you and so
this is what the scripture is saying you will if you live in the world you will
become like the world but if you want to become more like Jesus you need to shift
some of your world to be around people who want to be like Jesus right that's
that's part of that principle now but some of us are thinking but but we have
online right can we just say good good morning to our church family online hey
good morning guys glad that you're joining us now here's this here's the
principle here at the same time and we I know we have a bunch of teachers in the
room we've had a bunch of teachers over the weekend and I asked this question
Saturday night and there was like probably like seven eight teachers or in
the room and I said how many of you loved when we had all online school none of
the teachers raised their hand why is that because it wasn't pleasant for the
teacher and it wasn't pleasant for the student why is that because people were
in silos people were individualized stuck in their home right and you know
what to be honest some of the benefit for some people some students they did
well some students did well why because they could just grind it out do their
thing and then they went out and did their you know played or do whatever but
it was hard for the teacher was hard for the student and as a result today and so
and not just students and not just kids but but just this last three years been
hard for people you know why because all of the social systems that people had in
place a lot of those things got interrupted during during the pandemic
and so today and this is what they said would happen and this is what's happened
is that today if you know anybody in the mental health care profession right and
you want to see somebody there is a backlog because it's being inundated
with people trying to deal with their stress trying to deal with some of the
emotional issues someone trying to deal with all these things that what happened
that's what happened from isolation and so nobody says that that that's the best
model so we're glad we do have online church we are glad that we do have a
streaming but here's the thing it's meant to be on the moment that you can't make
it maybe when you're traveling on vacation you're you know you had a family
thing you know there's the kids had a game or whatever it is so in the midst
of that you still can catch it but should this be your main means of
connection no it shouldn't because we need to gather together because you know
what happens that you grow from people that are around you and that you need to
place yourself there's I'd say there's tremendous value in coming to a place
every week and it doesn't matter to place so much as as a place that is going
to worship a place that's gonna call you higher a place that's gonna lead us to
remember all the calling of God in our life it's gonna instruct us on ways to
go that this is what we're talking about just singing it's not just singing but
it's the communal spiritual life a long time ago a long time ago the church went
through this kind of process where they thought it's it's the individual it's
just the individual committed to God that's all that matters and part of that
movement a long time ago created monks and that they would go get away from the
world and they would go live in a cave somewhere they would go some remote
place and they just kind of lived out their faith alone in that period close
rather quickly and then later why did they find that because people you know
what happened to them they got weird they did they got weird so some of them
thought like I to be close to God I gotta live up on top of a pole and there
was a guy who lived on top of a pole for a year right you know what happened
to him he lost a lot of weight living on that pole but they also he got all
these infections he had all these things because he had to tie himself to the pole
and did did Jesus really call him to do that I don't think so right people who
lived in Cape they got weird so this is what happened they at least began to
pull them into communities that then became things like monasteries and
things like that because what happens is people need community apart from that
they get weird you guys never noticed that about people around you right like
some I say this about sometimes older people that when they get stuck at home
and I see this with sometimes my relatives you guys anybody have the
relative that that they don't come up I don't even need to finish the statement
somebody raising their hand and I got all relatives but the ones that like you
know they they come up for breath every so often but you they can't you know
just keep talking talking talking talking are those people who are around a lot of
people no they're so isolated that when you get with them they just constantly
right because they don't have social skill why because that's degraded you
know that happens in every other kinds of skills as well we need people that you
need people around you if not you get weird right you get you get crotchety
and you get like oh like kind of like stubborn and rigid and and so what causes
us to have to do that it's when you have to live with somebody you know what over
the last month I've been living not by myself because my kids are at home but
you know what like I can see there's a little bit of degradation hopefully the
house doesn't look too bad when my wife comes home right but if I was left to
that device man I'm starting to live like I used to live before I got married
right I'm glad that part is what has been in the rearview mirror I need other
people around me you do too we need to live in community here's the second
thing I want to mention about that is you also got to learn how to to practice
prayer you got to learn how to practice prayer and so in first Thessalonians 5
17 the Paul tells us to pray without ceasing and and it doesn't mean that you
just like kind of just pray to yourself like 24 hours a day it's more a sense of
implying a sense of regularity and constancy it's like a daily habit and
and that we have a default is to talk to God we have a default to pray it's a
moment-by-moment thing but but we we can pray throughout the day it's not like
just one time a day or it's not just like once a week but that we have this
conversation with God now there's there's something that I think that happens is
that most people I believe want to pray but they don't pray as much as they
would like to pray and it's one of the things that devil uses to make people
feel guilty and and you know feel ashamed but but part of the reason is this
they don't know how to pray they don't know how to make it meaningful they don't
know how to do all those things and and so this is what the scripture says
and Ephesians 6 18 as kind of a point to this he says this and pray on the
spirit on what all occasion so when should you pray all the time right so
that when when things are hard yeah of course that's an occasion when things are
good of course when that occasion when you know what to do yes on that occasion
when you don't know what to do yes on that occasion they're saying so pray in
the spirit on all occasions basically all the time with what all kinds of
prayers and requests with this in mind be alert always keep and always keep on
praying for all the Lord's people you see some of us we think prayer is just me
talking to God like conversationally yes that's part of it is not all of it
right and and sometimes it's just like you know that you want to be quiet and
reverent before God you want to be silent before God you want to be
meditative before God yes that's part of it but you know what when when life is
coming at you and throwing you left hooks and jabs you know what that's not
the time just to be quiet and say God would you just help me sometimes you
need warfare prayer right sometimes you need a prayer that helps you to stand
firm and stand strong sometimes you need to know how to pray a prayer of faith
sometimes you need to know how to pray a confessional prayer sometimes you need
to know to pray a declarational prayer sometimes the prayers that we pray like
over our kids that that you know that if you lay your hands and say you know God
has a great future for you that that you're gonna be a person of influence we
start praying like that over our our kids you know what is that mean that
because you know exactly what's gonna happen no we're declaring over them the
favor of God to go before them and that what does it do it creates a track for
them to follow and that we ought to be blessing our kids regularly right you
ought to be praying that blessing over one another regularly but you got to
learn how to do it right you got to learn how to do it and so that's one of the
things that we want to do in the 21 days of prayer is we want to teach people
all different kinds of ways to pray one of the ways that we do it is there's a
free booklet we give to anybody who wants one it's called pray first you can
actually download it from the website on the resources page and it gives a
bunch of different ways but the other part of it is this that you really only
learn how to pray by praying right that you can watch all the YouTube videos in
the world but if you don't go out and try to do what the YouTube video showed
you then you just watch YouTube videos right so it's not just reading a book on
prayer it's it's getting instructed so you can practice praying and so we want
to be able to do that and I guarantee you if you join us for 21 days of prayer
that at the end of those 21 days what will happen is that you will pray more
in the succeeding 330 days that are before you 300 and however 350 34 days
right 265 days my math is off sorry 340 whatever days so here's what we want to
do though we want to involve everybody so we're even challenging you if you have
a life group that meets on a certain night hours meets on Thursday what are
we saying do the next three weeks hey on Thursday we're not going to meet at my
house we're going to meet here right and we're gonna we're gonna worship together
and we're gonna pray together and we're gonna fellowship maybe afterwards but
but here's the thing we're gonna we're gonna do it here why because we need to
gather the people of God to pray now why is that and I I know for some people
we're gonna have a theological maybe a challenge on this but can we say this
that they God hears all of your prayers let's say that right turn to your
neighbor says God hears your prayer right but there's some things that you can
pray for it's not enough that one person prays it's just not your prayer
is heard but it's it's not enough right and and it's sort of like you guys ever
look at the nation and think like whoa man our country needs help right our
country needs a directional change our country needs to come back to some
common sense right we think that and you've probably prayed for that it's not
enough why because we need more people in the country to pray for that right so
in we find this in the book of Jonah when when God gave a message to Jonah and
he was reluctant to do it but he finally goes to the city of Nine of a hundred
twenty thousand people that's a big city back then and and it was a it was a
warring city and God had a message of judgment and what happened is that
because Jonah declared that message one person changed his heart the king but you
know what not just the king everybody around him and it says everybody began
to pray they began to fast they began to repent from the from their ways and so
what happened is God spared the city if it was just the king I believe that you
know what that wouldn't have happened right we see the same thing in the New
Testament we see what happens is when in the early church that there was great
persecution that started to arise under Herod Agrippa and he was on a tear
against the church and the church was getting it grew quickly and then all of
a sudden there was a lot of pushback and so Agrippa arrested one of the apostles
James whose brother John is the guy that wrote the book of John who wrote the book
of Revelation who wrote the three letters of John but they arrested James
and then they killed him with a sword and so what happens is they saw well the
people were pretty happy because they're putting down this kind of crazy thing
that's happening about these guys who are called Christians and so they arrest
Peter Peter's in prison and what happens is to begin to pray and this is how it
describes it in in a acts 12 verses 5 to 8 but well Peter was in prison what
happened the church prayed how very earnestly for him so was this everybody
like a God bless Peter and then that's it is that how they prayed no I don't know
how they pray they're saying God that we know that that the king has Peter in
prison but we declaring Lord Jesus your king and that you can change the hearts
of the of the kings and turn their hearts whichever way you want right so God
that you're the same God that that broke prison doors that have broken the change
right they're praying God for something to happen they're praying earnestly
they're praying fervently and when you pray with people who are praying earnestly
and fervently what does it do it helps you to pray earnestly and fervently and
so the night before Peter was to be placed on trial he was asleep fastened
with two change between two soldiers so we know this at least he had peace Peter
had peace while he was in prison he knew that if he died he would go to see Jesus
right but he was still in prison and this is others stood guard at the prison
gate and suddenly there was a bright light in the cell and an angel of the
Lord stood before Peter and the angel struck him on the side to awaken him
and said quick get up and the change fell off his wrists and then the angel
told him get dressed put on your sandals and he said now put on your coat and
follow me right now the next few verses in verse 12 it says this Peter actually
goes to Mary's house where the prayer meeting is held right and where
everybody is praying earnestly now would this have happened if Peter's friend
just one of them prayed for him I don't think so I don't think so because it's
something the whole church prayed for there are things that just one person's
prayer is not enough one small group is not enough and that's why we're calling
the church to pray now it's sort of like this my my son asked me a little while
ago is a dad why don't why don't we see miracles today like we saw in the Bible
I said you see miracles right you seen you know this anti who got healed you
see you saw this thing where God opened this door and in this situation it's not
that like a person of a person of a person these are people that he actually
met he knows he said yeah I know that that is a miracle that God God did move
but why don't we see miracles like in the Bible like what we see like this that
Peter in prison right and the only response I had to him and I think it's
the true response is that if you want to see Bible-sized prayers answered in
Bible-sized miracles happen we got to pray Bible directed prayers right
we got to pray like what the scripture says right if you want to see Jesus kind
of centered like a miracles that Jesus did guess what you got to live like
Jesus right we got to learn from him and so this is what we're calling ourselves
to do hey let's just reset is it because everything we're doing is wrong no but
maybe over the next 21 days we have a focus why because we're saying we want
to finish the end of the year strong right I believe that we're going out to
Kapolei again because we've been praying for this as a church for months right
we've been praying for to be honest years from during the pandemic season
God's opened the door is it the time to stop praying no because it would be I
would be foolish to think there's not going to be resistance or opposition to
us moving right so we need to pray more so we're calling the church over the
next 21 days let's seek God let's seek his face let's learn how to hear his voice
and let's learn how to experience his power so we're going to talk about over
the next 21 days if you can join us in person or if you need to online but we
need every person we want you to learn how to pray and so just at the end of
that 21 days guess what that's what 21 days takes to build a habit maybe you'll
pray a little more right maybe you'll pray a little a little more effectively
maybe you'll learn a little different ways that you can pray is that helpful
and what happens when you come will worship why because God's worthy we'll
hear a little bit of a word why because his faith comes from hearing and hearing
by the word of Christ right so it stimulates that if God if you could do
this for Peter God you can do it for me God if you could turn the people of
Nina around maybe you can turn that prodigal around right so God if you can
do all these things that's what happens and so it stimulates a faith and the
word of God is living and active it says right it's not it's not history
although it contains history it's a living living word and so at the end of
21 days we're praying for breakthrough how many of you guys need a breakthrough
somewhere right you need a breakthrough somewhere let's let's partner together
you pray personally but sometimes you need partner with other people we're
partnering together as a church man and then we'll just say the this is the last
point is that part of the reason why we need to reset is sometimes it's for the
next generation right it's sometimes just for the next generation it's it's I'm
not concerned about your destiny for the folks who are in the room I'm not
because I know you know the Lord I we want you to grow we want to equip you
and and and do all of that and yes we will continue to that we want to make
sure people get connected we want to start small groups we're gonna do all
these kind of things but I am concerned about the next generation the generation
that will come after us and when I say that it's not just necessarily kids
although I think that age group has is front with more challenges than
frankly guys my age right it said more it's a different world so they're more
distractions different distractions but the next generation is anybody who
doesn't know Christ yet right I'm concerned about them because without us
investing in them that to be honest they only know a second-hand Jesus and you
know God only has children he doesn't have grandchildren and nephews and
cousins right and so they need to know Jesus for themselves but how does it
happen it says it like this in Psalm 78 for we will not hide these truths from
our children we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of
the Lord about his power and his mighty wonders we should not tell our kids
about just the little kind Jesus only is that is there is that Jesus merciful
and kind yeah absolutely but are there times where we see Jesus turn the tables
because of you know things that were hypocritical and things that were making
a mockery of God yeah he did other times that Jesus encouraged just the weak and
yes of course there was but there were times that he challenged the powerful
and that he challenged the things that were wrong people need to know the full
counsel of God maybe not when they're for right you're not when they're for
but but we need don't be ashamed to tell people the truth right don't be ashamed
that we ought to encourage them not to not to scare them but I just say this
we want to lead them to the place where they can have their their own personal
experience with God and unfortunately think about how you became a believer
think about how you came to faith was it because everything was smooth in your
life for some of us it was for many of us it wasn't it was in some of those
points of need points of need will arise in everyone's life but we equip them
now so when the point of need comes that they turn the God and not to the world
right they they turn the God and then not to to some drug they turn the God and
not just some relationship to feel some need and that just turns into a serial
thing on and on and on right so we need to raise our kids in the ways of the
Lord and so one of the ways is because they're packed out right in in kids own
every every week's been packed out and so graciously right now what happened is
journeyed the middle school kids they're no longer there they opened up a space
this week so that kids own can take two spaces right and journey where did
journey go where they're right above your head right now so if you hear a
little bit of noise it's not rats we don't get rats right but we got we got
middle school kids ahead now above us and this is only for the next month until
we make the move to Okele but when we get there it's a lot larger space and
there's space for expansion and so because we want to give our kids the
best environment and we've done the best we can with this place but how many of
you guys can agree it's time to make the shift right time to make the shift why
it's because we're believing that we need to make disciples from the kids to the
adults right we mean it's time to make the difference and so well what if I
don't have kids or what if I'm not a kid right what what do I do well what you
do is you gather with a small group of believers to seek God because at the end
of 21 days of prayer we're gonna start a new semester of small groups again and
there are some small groups that are meeting right now but we're gonna we
want to start some new groups in that in September we want there's one started
already last week but we're gonna start a new semester sometimes it's helpful to
have a beginning and an end and so we end before the holidays right people get
busy and all that and then we start again in the in the spring after 21 days
and of prayer in the beginning of the year and then we come up to the summer
right and then we take a little bit of break some of us but why do we gather
together in small groups this is what it says in Acts 5 42 let's read what it
says and every day in the temple and from house to house they continue to teach
and preach this message Jesus is the Messiah and so here's the thing is that
it's it's good to come into a room like this and you know or where we want to be
at the middle school I mean the elementary school and has a nice big air
conditioned facility and I don't know about this but is our air conditioning a
little bit on the low side today right and I'm feeling it today but you have
stronger AC up there but but here's the thing there's time to gather in the
larger group but it's sometimes to pray about the things that's really going on
in your life right to to kind of really ask some of the questions that really
going on in your life to to really dig into certain things and you don't
understand sometimes it's better to do it in a smaller group right where you
know you can ask a question where you can hey can we pray for this situation
and then you can kind of share your heart and and we need that and the other
part about it is because in a small group is where you be able to support one
another encourage one another read the scripture together kind of dig a little
deeper together to do life together right to to learn how to you know do the
one another's in the Bible forgive one another and and bear one another's
burdens all of these kinds of things but we need that as well as sometimes the
things that we can do on on the weekend together that that's
corporate so the scripture said you need both it's not an either or it's a both
and and so that in that place we can tend to grow together now I don't want to
just close with this story I'm and this is I hope pulls it together but there's
a bunch of changes happening in my life this year my daughter came home from
college she got a job and so we were excited my son came home the last year
and so we're excited to have him home too so we had four adults but what I
wasn't so excited as we only had two cars and four drivers two cars things
started to get a little hairy when everybody's working and and so my kids
my son said he dad I want to get a car and he's gonna pay for it himself then
I got it real excited so you pay for it yourself absolutely that'll help you and
so we started looking at cars and he started talking about cars and how many
of you guys know that like kids can just look up whatever on line nowadays so you
didn't need me to find the car and I asked him about the car says what are
you looking at and he says oh civics or integras I said okay the local Japanese
boy that's the kind of car they like just the local boys that's the car civics and
integras and accurate so but so you get in a used car looking at that and he starts
asking me about it I said yeah what do you think about this car I said well I
don't know we got to ask some questions right so like this one have a timing
chain or doesn't have a time change that time chain been been changed or not you
know like we just asking well what about you know different situations you're
looking at the picture and we start asking questions about the car he says
what do you think about the price because he was trying to negotiate price over
online I said you don't even know what you want to pay for the car till you see
the car right so let's hold off on that then don't make any guarantees but I'd
say let's first look at the value just take a look and then let's look from
there right so we started going through this thing and then he said dad can you
come with me when we go when I go look at the car I said absolutely I'll do that
I can do it on Monday on my day off and I can do I have a little more
flexibility in a Thursday or Friday often but in between is really hard so then
the next day he calls me goes text me he says dad can you come to an appointment
the only time he can meet is Wednesday at 12 30 I have a 12 o'clock Bible study
I have a 12 o'clock men's group every Wednesday I said oh son I I have group at
that time I have a group and you know there's this sense came that just you
know just can you rise up be a dad this is a big thing for him and so I said okay
I said I can make it and then let the guys know I can't make it that day and
you know they can take care of themselves they're great but we went we
looked at the car we bid some price and go back and forth on the thing and and
at the end the price was too high and he wasn't willing to come down and I told
my son the biggest thing you have when you buy a car is the power to walk away
you guys know that right you got sometimes that's how you got to do you
got to exercise that part so he asked me dad what should we do I said what do you
want to do so you want to pay that price and he said no that's kind of high
right yeah I think it's way high but what do you want to do he says okay we we
can we can walk away so we drove off and as we're driving home I know he's all
bummed out because he couldn't get the car but I told him I said son I'm really
proud of you today and he said what are you proud for I don't even have the car
and I said no because you walked away because you knew it wasn't right he says
but dad I really wanted to just pay extra I said you know what that's
everybody that's everybody right you guys ever get that place you want what
you want even when you know it's not right but you said no that's everybody
you know that's a lesson you're gonna have to keep right because it's gonna be
in more than cars it's gonna be about relationships it's gonna be about jobs
it's gonna be about temptations gonna be a lot of things you really gonna want
to do it but you gotta know when to walk away and when he got home my wife asked
oh where's the car oh we didn't get it was too they didn't want to negotiate
enough and then but my son goes he says this mom that's why we really need dads
yeah for stuff like this and you know she laughed but you know I felt honored in
that because it reminded me of the fact that no one can be a dad to my son but
me right and there's other relationships and you have them too like no one can be
a husband to my wife but me right no one can be a wife to her husband but my wife
right to me there's some relationships you just cannot farm out and I'm gonna
ask you this when it comes to priorities are there some things you cannot
farm out it's the people that your parent it's the people that you're married to
right sometimes it's the responsibility that you have there's some things you
cannot farm out here's one thing I telling you you cannot farm out no one
can grow for you no one can can you know do spiritual disciplines for you they
can pray for you but they cannot grow for you that's something we must choose
to be a disciple amen make sense this bar has been closed in a word of prayer
father sometimes we we know we get just caught up in life and there's so many
competing things and sometimes they once you have whispers to us like I heard
Lord that just says you know he's gonna be a dad but you here and Lord do you
have a whisper we're praying for your people today about some things you just
want them to realign their purpose in sometimes it's going to be some of those
relationships and sometimes it's this aspect of learning how to be a disciple
and father we're thankful that when you're calling us to do that you're not
calling us out you're calling us up and father I thank you that we can step
higher and we can step into the purposes and plans you have for us but Lord that
part of that is learning how to walk is learning how to pray is learning how to
know you's learning how to grow as a follower of Jesus and Lord we're thankful
for the moment we say yes you call us your son and you call us your your
daughter that we're your kids and we are so grateful for that status but we know
to be a disciple something we just keep on choosing so father help us to keep
choosing in Jesus name guys people say amen amen a god bless you guys thanks
for coming thank you for tuning in to the new hope couple a messages podcast we
hope you enjoyed this weekend's message and that it brought you inspiration and
encouragement in your journey of faith if you'd like to listen to more messages
or stay connected with us visit our website at new hope couple a dot org or
follow us on social media remember no matter where you are in life there is
always hope and a new beginning in Christ so let's continue to grow and learn
together as we pursue a life of purpose and impact thanks again for listening
we'll see you next time aloha and god bless