1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:16,100 Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. 2 00:00:16,100 --> 00:00:22,720 To get connected or to give online, go to hcv.church or give.htv.church. 3 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:26,960 If at any point during this message you feel called to make a change in your life, text 4 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,200 change me to 970-00. 5 00:00:30,200 --> 00:00:32,640 Thank you and enjoy the message. 6 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:34,880 Now join me if you would. 7 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:40,120 Put your hands together in welcoming Hub City Vineyard's own worship team as they bring 8 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:54,720 to you 2004 Green Days Boulevard of Bergen Dreams. 9 00:00:54,720 --> 00:01:00,560 I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known. 10 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:12,040 Don't know where it goes, but it's home to me and I walk alone. 11 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:17,720 I walk this empty street on the boulevard of broken dreams. 12 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:26,440 When the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone. 13 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,440 I walk alone, I walk alone. 14 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,440 I walk alone, I walk alone. 15 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:37,440 My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. 16 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:40,440 My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. 17 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:49,440 Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me. 18 00:01:49,440 --> 00:02:11,440 Till then I walk alone. 19 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:20,440 I walk alone, I walk alone. 20 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:29,440 I walk alone, I walk alone. 21 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:42,440 I walk alone, I walk alone. 22 00:02:42,440 --> 00:03:01,440 I walk alone, I walk alone. 23 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:21,440 Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me. 24 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:50,440 I walk alone, I walk alone. 25 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:56,440 I walk this empty street on the boulevard of broken dreams. 26 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:02,440 When the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone. 27 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:07,440 My shadow's the only one that walks beside me. 28 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:13,440 My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating. 29 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:20,440 Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me. 30 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:47,440 And I walk alone. 31 00:04:47,440 --> 00:05:11,440 I walk alone, I walk alone. 32 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:17,440 Alright, good morning Hub City! 33 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,440 Hey, if you're joining us from home, thank you for welcoming us into your home. 34 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:24,440 Today we kick off our Summer Jams series. 35 00:05:24,440 --> 00:05:29,440 Now believe it or not, I actually realized this morning it's been four years 36 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:33,440 since we've actually played our last live rock anthem, 37 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,440 what used to be called rock anthems, and now summer jams, 38 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,440 and I desperately say I have missed it. 39 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:44,440 Alright, for those of you that don't know, this series focuses on music 40 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:47,440 and its connection to our culture. 41 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,440 This series is all about discovering God in our everyday life. 42 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:55,440 The songs that have been chosen for this series are simply tools 43 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:59,440 that assist us in discovering God's truth for our lives. 44 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,440 Now some of you may be thinking, well Chris, how is this biblical? 45 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,440 How do you take a song, a secular song, and apply it to our lives? 46 00:06:06,440 --> 00:06:09,440 Well, Paul did it! Just read the book of Acts. 47 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,440 Paul took the unknown God, the statue that was there, 48 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:16,440 and he pointed to it and said, I know who that God is! 49 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:18,440 And he pointed the people to Jesus. 50 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:21,440 What are we simply doing? We're taking the God of rock, 51 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,440 and we're pointing people, we're pointing those in our relationship with Jesus 52 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,440 back to Jesus to say, hey, let's grow our relationship with Him. 53 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:34,440 Now we at HCV are in no way encouraging you to go out and buy these albums, 54 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:39,440 though many of you already have the songs, so it is what it is. 55 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,440 Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day was named Record of the Year 56 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,440 at the Grammy Awards in 2006. 57 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,440 The song's broad appeal was demonstrated by its performance 58 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:53,440 on several of the Billboard charts. 59 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:58,440 It spent 14 weeks at number one on the mainstream rock tracks chart. 60 00:06:58,440 --> 00:07:01,440 It reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. 61 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,440 It was actually the highest Green Day song, 62 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:07,440 meaning that it made it to the mainstream media 63 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,440 because Green Day really was like a pop punk band 64 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:15,440 and not everybody gravitated to them, but this song kind of built the bridge. 65 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:19,440 Boulevard of Broken Dreams was written by frontman Billy Joe Armstrong 66 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:23,440 at a time when he was feeling alone and isolated. 67 00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:26,440 He actually rented an apartment in New York City 68 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,440 and found himself walking aimlessly into the wee hours of the night 69 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,440 just simply trying to discover himself. 70 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:36,440 The band decided to include it on American Idiot, 71 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:40,440 a Green Day concept album, because he felt it conforms 72 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:46,440 to the project's overall themes of escapism and inner conflict. 73 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:49,440 Boulevard of Broken Dreams is a song about loneliness, 74 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,440 the struggle a person goes through living an unsatisfactory life 75 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,440 while battling inner dreams. 76 00:07:56,440 --> 00:08:02,440 Friends, this song has never had more of a connection within our culture than today. 77 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,440 America's loneliness epidemic is getting worse. 78 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:12,440 Three out of every five Americans, 61% report that they are lonely, 79 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:16,440 a seven percentage increase from 2018. 80 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:22,440 These results come against the backdrop of a rising mental health crisis in the United States 81 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:27,440 with more than 46 million people living with some form of mental illness. 82 00:08:27,440 --> 00:08:30,440 It's an urgent time for the study of loneliness, 83 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:34,440 says Bert Uccino, a professor at the University of Utah. 84 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:39,440 More and more research suggests that its impact doesn't end with mental health. 85 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,440 Evidence is really pointing to the fact that relationships, 86 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,440 the kinds of bonds you have with people, how close you are, 87 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:51,440 how connected you feel with others, impacts your overall physical health. 88 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,440 I mean, here's the reality. 89 00:08:53,440 --> 00:08:57,440 There's been times where all of us have felt very alone. 90 00:08:57,440 --> 00:08:59,440 Even myself. Now, some of you sitting there thinking, 91 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,440 oh, Chris, you're constantly surrounded by people. 92 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,440 It's what you do. It's what you're called to do. 93 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,440 Hundreds of people weekend after weekend. 94 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,440 Well, listen to some of this research from Barna. 95 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:16,440 40% of pastors have considered leaving the ministry in the last three months. 96 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:20,440 70% of pastors experience loneliness and have no close friends. 97 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:22,440 They trust with personal matters. 98 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,440 And 70% of pastors have a lower self-image now 99 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:31,440 than they did when they first started pastoring or called into the ministry. 100 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:33,440 I mean, just be honest. 101 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,440 All of us can look in the mirror and realize that these last 18 months 102 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:41,440 have probably been the hardest times of all our collective lives. 103 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,440 And many of us feel completely isolated. 104 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,440 Maybe you're going through a tough situation 105 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:51,440 and you look around and realize you have no one to call, no one to pray for you. 106 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:53,440 Maybe you have something that you want to celebrate. 107 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:55,440 You just graduated from college, 108 00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:00,440 but yet there's no one around to join in your celebration. 109 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,440 I mean, even this morning, think about it, we're gathered in this large group of people. 110 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,440 Chris said, stand up and high five someone. 111 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:11,440 And I guarantee you, some of you went, and no one did anything. 112 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:15,440 Right? And you just kind of slowly slipped back into your seat. 113 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:19,440 Even in a group of hundreds of people, we can feel isolated. 114 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:24,440 We can feel alone. We can feel completely separated. 115 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,440 Yet it's not God's best. 116 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:33,440 God's desire for you, His greatest plan and purpose, is for you to never walk alone. 117 00:10:33,440 --> 00:10:36,440 It's for you to never stand alone. 118 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:39,440 And what He wants for you now more than ever before 119 00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:44,440 is just a deep personal connection with you, which leads us to our first thought. 120 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:50,440 See, we're created for connection, but we drift toward isolation. 121 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,440 We're created for connection, but we drift toward isolation. 122 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,440 When we look at the Bible, specifically when God created the world, 123 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:02,440 we constantly hear, it is good. 124 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:08,440 Over and over and over again, God said, this is good, that is good, this is good, that is good. 125 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,440 But it wasn't until God looked at Adam, all by himself, completely alone, 126 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,440 where God said this in Genesis 2, 18, God said, it's not good. 127 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,440 Everyone say, it's not good. 128 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:25,440 It's not good for a man or woman to be alone. 129 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:27,440 It's just not good. 130 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,440 Everything else that He created was good. 131 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:35,440 But the very first thing that God said wasn't good was loneliness. 132 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,440 He said, it's not good for you to be alone. 133 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:40,440 We see this in our lives. 134 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:46,440 God created us to have a connection with Him, with one another. 135 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:52,440 And yet today, it's so natural for us to drift toward isolation. 136 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:54,440 It's very, very natural. 137 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:59,440 Now, if you're gathered here in Person HTV, maybe you're watching from behind your screen online. 138 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,440 I want you to know this today. 139 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:03,440 You're part of this church. 140 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:06,440 You're part of this community of faith. 141 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,440 In this very moment, God is building His church. 142 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,440 And His church isn't this structure that we're meeting in. 143 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,440 His church is His people. 144 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:18,440 It's me, it's you. 145 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:22,440 And together, He's putting us together and He's building the church. 146 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:24,440 In fact, the Bible says it this way. 147 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:26,440 Paul wrote in Ephesians 2. 148 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:31,440 So now, you Gentiles, you're no longer strangers or foreigners. 149 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:36,440 You're citizens, along with all of God's holy people. 150 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:39,440 See, listen, you belong here. 151 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,440 Even if this is your first time, if someone invited you, 152 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,440 hey, we're doing this series, you should come check it out. 153 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:44,440 I want you to know this. 154 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,440 If you're new with us, you belong here. 155 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,440 We welcome you in this place. 156 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,440 And it doesn't matter what your background is. 157 00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:54,440 It doesn't matter what your past looks like. 158 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,440 It doesn't matter what your skin color is. 159 00:12:56,440 --> 00:12:58,440 It doesn't matter the magnitude of your sin. 160 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:00,440 You belong here. 161 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:02,440 And I want to say this to you. 162 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:03,440 Welcome home. 163 00:13:03,440 --> 00:13:07,440 Welcome home. 164 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,440 Welcome to the family. 165 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:11,440 Paul continues. 166 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:14,440 You are members of God's family. 167 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:20,440 Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. 168 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:22,440 And the cornerstone is Jesus Himself. 169 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:28,440 We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 170 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:35,440 Through Him, you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit. 171 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,440 And I just love how Paul writes, you're no longer strangers. 172 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:41,440 You're not outsiders. 173 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,440 You're welcome here. 174 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:46,440 God is building a home, and He's using all of us. 175 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,440 Now notice, Paul says, it began with the apostles and the prophets. 176 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,440 They laid the foundation, right? 177 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,440 The foundation, of course, is Jesus. 178 00:13:54,440 --> 00:13:56,440 He's the cornerstone. 179 00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:00,440 And He's building His church brick by brick, stone by stone. 180 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:01,440 That's me and you. 181 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,440 He's putting them together so that we are created for connection. 182 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:07,440 But friends, let's be honest. 183 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,440 We drift toward isolation. 184 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:13,440 We drift away from that connection. 185 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:15,440 You see it all the time in social media. 186 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:16,440 Now, hear me out. 187 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,440 Social media is a great tool. 188 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,440 It's a great thing to spread the good news. 189 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:25,440 And that's why all of you that participate in social media, right? 190 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,440 You'll post a picture every now and again. 191 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:30,440 Maybe you were just recently on vacation, 192 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:33,440 and you snapped a photo of the family together. 193 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,440 Hashtag quality time, hashtag vacation. 194 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:40,440 Even though it took 24 takes and two arguments later. 195 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:46,440 Right? 196 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,440 But then what happens? 197 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:50,440 You throw it out in social media world. 198 00:14:50,440 --> 00:14:53,440 You post something, and in every two minutes, you go back and check. 199 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:55,440 Who likes that again? 200 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:56,440 Who hearted me? 201 00:14:56,440 --> 00:14:57,440 You know, who smiled? 202 00:14:57,440 --> 00:14:59,440 Who thumbs up? 203 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:00,440 Right? And why is that? 204 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,440 Why do people go back and look? 205 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:05,440 Because you're created for connection. 206 00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:09,440 You have this longing within you that you want to share your lives with others. 207 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,440 But yet so often in the social media world, 208 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,440 it drives us towards isolation because here's what happens. 209 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:20,440 You see someone else's vacation, and someone else's highlight reel, 210 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:22,440 and you start to get those feelings. 211 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:24,440 Those feelings, right? 212 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:26,440 Jealousy. 213 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:27,440 Envy. 214 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:29,440 Hey, did I say anger? 215 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,440 Because you weren't invited to the party? 216 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,440 Well, I'm your friend. 217 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,440 How come I couldn't come to your birthday? 218 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:39,440 And those feelings, right? 219 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:40,440 What do they do? 220 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:41,440 They drive us. 221 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:46,440 They drive us to isolation because we have all these emotions that come over us. 222 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:47,440 And here's the thing with social media. 223 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,440 You never talk about it. 224 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,440 You have all these emotions and these feelings from these different pictures that you see. 225 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,440 But when is the last time you went to somebody and said, 226 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:03,440 Hey, I was really jealous of that vacation picture you posted. 227 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:05,440 You know, when's the last time you went to someone and said, 228 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,440 Hey, why didn't you invite me to your birthday party? 229 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:13,440 I saw it all over social media, but I wasn't invited. 230 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,440 You all laugh, but you don't do it. 231 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:21,440 You don't address your feelings of negativity, your feelings of isolation, 232 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,440 your feelings of loneliness that we all get from social media. 233 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,440 You don't address it. 234 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:35,440 But friends, it causes us to drift because we separate ourselves from people 235 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:41,440 because of these negative emotions, which leads us to our next stop. 236 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:43,440 See, everybody needs grace. 237 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:45,440 Everybody. 238 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:49,440 The most important connection you are created to have is a relationship with God. 239 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:56,440 And when you surrender your life to Jesus, you enter into a relationship with your heavenly Father. 240 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:03,440 And friends, it's the most important connection that you and I, that the entire world is supposed to have. 241 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:05,440 And when you walk with God, guess what? 242 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:07,440 He walks with you. 243 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:12,440 Doesn't matter how difficult the times, it doesn't matter how up and down life is, 244 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:15,440 He is walking with you. 245 00:17:15,440 --> 00:17:21,440 You know, when you're wandering those streets, those lonely streets of New York 246 00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:27,440 or Hagerstown or Martinsburg or Williamsburg, friends, God walks with you. 247 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:29,440 He is right there with you. 248 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:34,440 When you're going through a challenging situation, God promises to never leave you. 249 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:39,440 When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, what does He promise? 250 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:40,440 He says He's going to lead you. 251 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:41,440 He's going to be with you. 252 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:44,440 He's not going to leave you or forsake you. 253 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:52,440 When you have a difficult decision to make, His Holy Spirit empowers you to make those choices. 254 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:57,440 Friends, God walks with you and He shows you His faithfulness. 255 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:02,440 And when you feel like you're drifting toward isolation, friends, you've got to fight that drift 256 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:06,440 by remembering the faithfulness of God. 257 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:09,440 You've got to stop and look backwards in the rear view mirror. 258 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:11,440 Those are your relationships with Jesus. You've got to look backwards and say, 259 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:14,440 wait a minute, God helped me there. He pulled me out of this. 260 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,440 He walked me through this. 261 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,440 In the Bible, it tells us in the book of Joshua about the Israelites. 262 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:23,440 They were God's chosen people. 263 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,440 They had been delivered from Egypt, from slavery. 264 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:28,440 They were given a land, a promised land, if you will. 265 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,440 God told them that, hey, I'm going to give you this land. 266 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:35,440 It's going to flow with milk and honey. 267 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,440 And they stepped out in faith and went after the promise. 268 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:45,440 But see, after many years of stubbornness and disobedience and drifting, 269 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:52,440 40 years, in fact, an entire generation didn't go into the promised land. 270 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:58,440 They stood at the banks of the Jordan River and they looked across. 271 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:05,440 And they saw the promised land. All they had to do was walk across to take what God had given them. 272 00:19:05,440 --> 00:19:12,440 It was a big deal. It was such a big deal that literally God tells Joshua to build stones, 273 00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:16,440 to put them together, to make a marker. And why? 274 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:20,440 Well, in Joshua 4, 21 and 24, we read, then Joshua said to the Israelites, 275 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:26,440 in the future, your children will ask, what do these stones mean? 276 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,440 Then you can tell them. This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground, 277 00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:34,440 for the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes. 278 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:39,440 And he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did in the Red Sea, 279 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:42,440 when he dried it up and all crossed over. 280 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:46,440 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord's hand is powerful 281 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,440 and you might fear the Lord your God forever. 282 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:55,440 He did it. He wanted Joshua to build it as a means of showing God's faithfulness. 283 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,440 And he wants us to do the same. 284 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:01,440 He wants us to look back and remember the markers that are in our life 285 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:05,440 as evidence of God's Spirit leading us and guiding us. 286 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,440 I mean, just simply go to your salvation. Look at 1 John 1, 8 through 9. 287 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:15,440 If we claim we have no sin, we're fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 288 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,440 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just, 289 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,440 to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness. 290 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:27,440 See, when you're drifting, it's good to stop and remember 291 00:20:27,440 --> 00:20:31,440 that he simply forgave us our sins. 292 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,440 And see, that's why in two weeks, you know, you just heard the announcement 293 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,440 we're doing our summer baptisms here as a part of our Sunday morning gathering. 294 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,440 Why do baptisms? Well, because God told us to. 295 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,440 God told us to be public in our faith, 296 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:49,440 to make a public commitment that you're following him, that you're a new creation. 297 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,440 And hear me out. Some of you are like, well, Christa, I did that. 298 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:54,440 I was sprinkled when I was an infant. 299 00:20:54,440 --> 00:21:00,440 Okay, that's good. So was I. But when I was 22, I made a personal commitment 300 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:02,440 between me and God that I was following him. 301 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,440 I mean, it's cool that my parents got me sprinkled, but that didn't count. 302 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:10,440 What counted was that I was choosing to personally follow him. 303 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,440 And some of you see, you need to make that commitment in a few weeks 304 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:15,440 so you have something to look back to. 305 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:19,440 So that you can point to that as a marker saying, well, wait a minute. 306 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:25,440 I went public and I let people know that I was following Jesus. 307 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:29,440 Now I've heard it said, you know, some of you are like, well, Chris, why are you doing it here? 308 00:21:29,440 --> 00:21:32,440 Well, we do it here because we celebrate it as a family. 309 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:34,440 Right. It's going to be a part of our Sunday morning gathering. 310 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:36,440 We're going to fill the tank up and we're going to get the floor all wet. 311 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,440 And we're going to celebrate people's lives being changed. 312 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:45,440 Now, some of you are river rats. Right. 313 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,440 And you're like, well, Chris, I only get baptized in the Potomac River 314 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:51,440 so that the scum can come into my mouth. 315 00:21:51,440 --> 00:22:00,440 And I can truly feel that I left behind the dirt and the grime. 316 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:04,440 Yes, it happens. I've seen it bringing people up out. 317 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:09,440 It's real fun. But anyway, I already committed to one person that I would go 318 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:14,440 after our second gathering to Riverbottom Park and Dunk You in the River. 319 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:19,440 So if there's one of those people, listen, I will go because that's what God does. 320 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,440 We go if people request that. 321 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:27,440 OK, so I'm not saying I want a hundred of you to go. I want you to do it here. 322 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,440 But if a few of you want to go to Riverbottom, I'll meet you there and gladly baptize you 323 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,440 because that's just simply what we're called to do. 324 00:22:34,440 --> 00:22:38,440 We're called to create markers in our life that point to God's faithfulness. 325 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:41,440 Now, I get it. I want to stop here a second. 326 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:46,440 There's some of you who are gathered here this morning and you think about your memories. 327 00:22:46,440 --> 00:22:51,440 You think, well, truth is, Chris, I don't remember God's faithfulness. 328 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:54,440 There's some of you that are going to say, I'm carrying around these stones in my life, 329 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:59,440 painful moments that I don't believe God was faithful. 330 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:05,440 And you look back and you wonder, where were you, God? 331 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:09,440 I'm carrying around this pain. Why didn't you help me? 332 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:17,440 Maybe you went through just a horrible breakup and divorce and you feel like God let you down. 333 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:24,440 Maybe you were called to marry this young lady and she just left you. 334 00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,440 Maybe you felt like you were supposed to get this job that was going to change your life, 335 00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:32,440 change your family's life. You were going to be able to provide for your family, but you didn't get it. 336 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:37,440 Maybe somebody you trusted abused you and let you down and took advantage of you. 337 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:43,440 And suddenly in your mind, you're beginning to think, well, God, where were you? 338 00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:48,440 Maybe you're here today and you made some decisions in your life and you've tried to walk away from the guilt and shame, 339 00:23:48,440 --> 00:23:52,440 but it just keeps coming back and back and back. 340 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:58,440 And these pains are real. They're stones that you carry and you struggle to put them down. 341 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:04,440 And it's painful, even me bringing it up, because you just don't see God's faithfulness. 342 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,440 So sometimes when it's hard to see God's faithfulness, it leads us to our next thought. 343 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:13,440 See, not only are we called to connection, but see everybody needs somebody, right? 344 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:19,440 Everybody needs grace, but everybody needs somebody. You need somebody you can vent to. 345 00:24:19,440 --> 00:24:25,440 You need somebody you can word vomit on. Right? 346 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:29,440 Isn't that a good mental picture now? 347 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:34,440 And what do I mean by that? Well, you need somebody that's just not going to judge you. 348 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:39,440 Right? You need someone that you can trust, that you can just let out what you're feeling in your life, 349 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:44,440 what you're going through. But listen up. You've got to have the right people around you. 350 00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:51,440 Because you can word vomit on people and they'll be like, yeah, you go get him. Get rid of him. He's no good. 351 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:55,440 And they'll just agree with you no matter what you say. 352 00:24:55,440 --> 00:25:02,440 But no, you need someone that's going to listen to you and give you an honest opinion based on what God feels. 353 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:09,440 The difference between where you are today and where God wants you to be depends on the people in your life. 354 00:25:09,440 --> 00:25:13,440 Ooh, that one hurts. 355 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:18,440 The difference between where you're sitting today and where God wants you to be is all about the people. 356 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:22,440 Because see, those people will help you remember God's faithfulness. They'll point you to God. 357 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,440 You need someone that you can lean on, someone that's going to be there for you. 358 00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,440 But it's got to be the right people. Look at Proverbs 14. 359 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:34,440 Escape quickly from the company of fools. They're a waste of your time, a waste of your words. 360 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:40,440 The wisdoms of the wise keeps life on track. The foolishness of fools lands them in a ditch. 361 00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:50,440 Isn't that a perfect picture of drifting? You drift. Right? And you end up in a ditch. 362 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:58,440 I'm just being honest here. Some of you here today, you need to get rid of that relationship you're currently in. 363 00:25:58,440 --> 00:26:02,440 Because it's just bringing you down. 364 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:08,440 Though you feel you're alone and you need someone, that person's just dragging you into a pit. 365 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:13,440 For some of you, you need to hit that block button and unfollow that person. 366 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:19,440 Because that person's negativity and finger pointing is not good for your life. 367 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,440 See, there's times in your life, even family members, because Jesus said, 368 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:25,440 No, you leave your father and mother if you're going to follow me. 369 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:31,440 There's people that can bring negativity into our lives and into our spirits to pull us away from Jesus 370 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:35,440 and push us further into isolation. And you've got to make the choice to separate. 371 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:41,440 You've got to get yourself around the right people that are going to speak life into you. 372 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:46,440 So how do I find the right people? Right? Some of you are thinking, alright, how do I find the right people? 373 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:51,440 I'm going to give you a little nugget. Here's three little quick easy ways to find the right people that will speak into your life. 374 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:58,440 You ready? You've got to start serving. Right? You've got to stop sitting and start serving. 375 00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:02,440 I mean, Jesus said the Son of Man, He didn't come to be served. What did He do? 376 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:07,440 He came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. 377 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:13,440 You need to start serving. Why? Because you'll get around like-minded people that are serving, that are doing likewise. 378 00:27:13,440 --> 00:27:23,440 And then suddenly you'll feel this connection with people and you'll be able to build friendships that are lasting and meaningful. 379 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:31,440 It just so happens that today's Team Up. Isn't it amazing how it fits into my sermons every month? 380 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:36,440 Amazing. And you say it's not spirit led. Yes, it is. 381 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:41,440 Team Up, what's that? Will you just meet Kelsey at the Welcome Hub, take you 20 minutes, join a team. 382 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:46,440 Begin to serve here at HTV. It's very, very important. Number one, start serving. 383 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:52,440 Number two, just get around a smaller group of people. Right? This is a large group of people. 384 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:57,440 Right? On a Sunday morning there's hundreds of people that flow through here. Right? 385 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:06,440 And it's hard to high five. It's hard to connect. It's hard to begin a really nice friendship, relationship with people in a larger setting. 386 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:12,440 You've got to get in a smaller setting. Some of you are like, well, Chris, I'll do that in the fall when the groups start again. 387 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:16,440 And that's a good thing. Yeah, our groups are good. But there's still groups meeting this summer. 388 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:23,440 All you've got to do is jump in, go to groups.htv.com at a church and join one. I know Charlie will welcome you. Right, Charlie? 389 00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:30,440 See, look, absolutely. Come on in. He would love for you to join his group. 390 00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:40,440 Now some of you are like, well, I don't like Charlie. I don't want to join his group. 391 00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:45,440 You know what I say to that? Fine, start your own group. Start your own group. 392 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:50,440 Like if you don't like that group, start your own group. Well, am I allowed to do that? Of course you are. 393 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:56,440 There's a young lady who works at Grow and her name's Courtney and she came to Jess and she's just like, 394 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:07,440 hey, I want to start a group for some 20s, like girls that are 20 years old, just to get together and hang out, talk, grow our faith. 395 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:13,440 Jess is like, okay, do it. She called John. They're meeting now on Wednesday nights. 396 00:29:13,440 --> 00:29:20,440 Right, and my point is, don't make excuses. Like if you're not in a smaller group of people, start one. Right, start one. 397 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:27,440 There isn't any reason we don't have a hundred smaller groups meeting on a regular basis throughout the week so that you are being honest and real, 398 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:34,440 avoiding isolation and not drifting. True or false? Okay, we'll do something about it. 399 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:42,440 So you serve, you get in a smaller group of people, and then you get real. Like just take the mask off, man. 400 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:49,440 Right, you've heard me get real from the stage. Like when you're around a smaller group of people, just get real. 401 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:55,440 Tell them what your struggle is. Tell them how you're struggling. Get prayer. Request prayer. 402 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:59,440 Surround yourself with people that are going to love on you, cry with you. 403 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:06,440 So that you're able to begin to see God's faithfulness. Right, be honest about your problems. 404 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:14,440 Because that is going to help you to see God's promises. You've got to get around people to be encouraged. 405 00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:22,440 And I promise you, and I mean this, if you do one of those three things this week, you won't feel lonely. 406 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:28,440 But notice, just like I said last week, it's a choice. It's all a choice. 407 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:36,440 Because see, Galatians 6.2 says, stoop down, reach out to those who are oppressed, share their burdens, and so complete Christ's law. 408 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:42,440 Friends, God's putting us together. He's building His church stone by stone, person by person. 409 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:51,440 Right, we were created for connection, but we drift toward isolation. Right, we drift towards isolation. 410 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:59,440 Everybody needs grace. Everybody needs somebody. And number four, our fourth thought, somebody needs you. 411 00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:08,440 You're not just another stone. You're not just another person. You have a story. And your story has power. 412 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:13,440 Your story has the power to make a difference in the lives of others. 413 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:19,440 I mean, we look no further than the Old Testament, and many of you know the story of David and Goliath. 414 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:29,440 Right, David, right, a small shepherd boy, Goliath, a monster of a man, a giant, if you will, a giant warrior. 415 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:34,440 And he comes up and he's just speaking down to God's people, to the Israelites, challenging them. 416 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:42,440 You have no one to fight me. Come and fight one on one. Be a man. No warrior would stand up to him. 417 00:31:42,440 --> 00:31:48,440 David shows up, a young shepherd boy, which remember, this is important. It doesn't matter how old you are. 418 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:56,440 You have a story. If you're 10 years old, you have a story of God's faithfulness, but you just have to be willing to share it. 419 00:31:56,440 --> 00:32:02,440 You have to be willing to share it because your story has power. Does it matter your age? 420 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:08,440 Notice what David says. He arrives. He's 1 Samuel 17. Don't worry about this, Philistine. 421 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:15,440 David told Saul, I'll go fight him. Like, didn't even second guess. I got this. 422 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:23,440 Cruises out, picks up five smooth stones from the river, puts them in his bag, takes one of the stones, puts it in his sling. 423 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:33,440 Ding! Forehead shot. I know all about that. Right? Except modern Nerf guns. 424 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:43,440 Goliath falls. David takes his sword, cuts his head off, declares victory over the enemy. 425 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:51,440 The Israelites won. You know the best part about this story? Goliath wasn't David's giant. 426 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:58,440 Goliath wasn't David's personal giant. David was out in the field tending his animals, taking care of his animals. 427 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:06,440 Goliath was defying God's people. Goliath was defying David's God. 428 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:16,440 And see, what we have to realize is your giant becomes my giant. When you're in a community of faith, your story has power. 429 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:21,440 And you need to remember, right, those moments in your life that were so painful. 430 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:27,440 There's other people that are going through that pain right now and need to hear that you've overcome it. 431 00:33:27,440 --> 00:33:32,440 So that you are pointing them to your faithfulness, that they can begin to build faithfulness and say, 432 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:38,440 Wait a minute, God's going to walk me out of this. Amen? 433 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:42,440 I mean, think about those five smooth stones that David picked out of the river. 434 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:49,440 There was a time where those stones weren't smooth. They probably dropped into that river and they were jagging and rough. 435 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:57,440 And had sharp edges on them. But as it rolled down through the river and hit other rocks, those edges got knocked off. 436 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:05,440 Maybe it went over a waterfall and landed in a riverbed and the sand was being swept over it and the water was rushing over it. 437 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:10,440 So that suddenly that stone became what? Smooth. 438 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:16,440 And see, many of you have got to realize that all those painful jagged edges that you look back on and say, God, where was you? 439 00:34:16,440 --> 00:34:22,440 He was there. And he just wants to smooth them over so that your story becomes powerful. 440 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:28,440 Your story becomes a tool. Right? That divorce that almost broke you is a tool in your life. 441 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:32,440 That addiction that almost killed you is a tool to help somebody else. 442 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:41,440 That abandonment that you felt from your parents when they left you becomes a part of your story that God your father restored you. 443 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:46,440 But see, you've got to be able to take that tool out of your bag and use it. 444 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:51,440 It's interesting. There was a man that came out to meet Jesus in the Bible. 445 00:34:51,440 --> 00:34:55,440 Think about this. We don't realize how neat the Bible is. 446 00:34:55,440 --> 00:35:02,440 Notice how the Bible describes this scene. Jesus, he's climbing out of the boat. He was crossing the other side of the lake. 447 00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:09,440 He climbs out of the boat and there's this possessed man with demons, full of demons, and he comes out to meet Jesus. 448 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:18,440 Right? You think, okay, that sounds typical. You know, demon possessed man comes out to meet Jesus. 449 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:27,440 The Bible goes on to say for a long time he's been homeless and naked, living in the graveyard. 450 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:30,440 Okay, does that change the image in your mind a little bit? 451 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:36,440 So now you've got a naked, homeless man rolling out. He wasn't covered in fig leaves. 452 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:45,440 Rolling out, just everything exposed, rolls up to Jesus, demon possessed. 453 00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:50,440 Jesus sets him free. Sets him free. 454 00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:54,440 Now I want to read for you Luke 8, 38, 39. 455 00:35:54,440 --> 00:35:59,440 The man who had been freed of the demons begged to go with him. He wanted to go with Jesus, obviously. 456 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:02,440 I'm sure he had clothes on now. 457 00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:08,440 But Jesus sent him home saying, no, go back to your family and tell them everything God has done for you. 458 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:15,440 See that? Naked man, demon possessed, probably one of the strangest encounters Jesus ever had, 459 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:21,440 much less all the people that were walking with him. 460 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:27,440 Now this man is going and telling his family and the entire town about God's power. 461 00:36:27,440 --> 00:36:32,440 See, when you walk with God, he provides opportunities for you to use your story, to release your story. 462 00:36:32,440 --> 00:36:37,440 And when you release that power, guess what? You destroy the giants in people's lives. 463 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:45,440 Maybe that pain that you experienced in your past was pain that you used to set people free today. 464 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:53,440 But you got to begin to turn and understand that God is calling you to stop drifting. 465 00:36:53,440 --> 00:37:01,440 Stop drifting into isolation, become a part of a community where God can use you to change others. 466 00:37:01,440 --> 00:37:05,440 So this morning, let's look at three simple steps. I had to love the lonely. 467 00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:09,440 You need to be able to love the lonely friends because they're all around us in the tri-state area. 468 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:12,440 And the first is this, you need to love with touch. 469 00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:16,440 Matthew 8, 2 to 3, suddenly a man with leprosy approached him, knelt before him. 470 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:21,440 Lord, the man said, if you're willing, you can heal me and make me clean. 471 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:25,440 Leprosy, we don't know a lot about it now because it's not around. 472 00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:31,440 But in Jesus' time, if it was left untreated, you would be dead in 10 years. 473 00:37:31,440 --> 00:37:39,440 It starts with fatigue, pain in the joints, suddenly you begin to get marks all over your skin that is filled with pus. 474 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:45,440 And literally your body is just seeping, just this negative pus. 475 00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:56,440 The face changes, the vocal chords change, literally your body begins to decompose while you're living and while you're going about. 476 00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:00,440 And the smell is horrendous. 477 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:04,440 Everywhere these people went, they had to scream unclean, tear their clothes. 478 00:38:04,440 --> 00:38:10,440 They had to cut all their hair off and no one touched them. 479 00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:14,440 Why? Because it was very contagious. 480 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:18,440 What's Jesus though? Jesus reached out and touched him. 481 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:20,440 I am willing, he said, be healed. 482 00:38:20,440 --> 00:38:23,440 And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 483 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:26,440 Now if you think about it, Jesus didn't have to touch him. 484 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:30,440 Jesus healed many people but he's speaking the word, true or false? 485 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:36,440 But here Jesus touched him. Why? 486 00:38:36,440 --> 00:38:43,440 Yes, the leper needed healing from the disease, but he also needed love for that rejection. 487 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:47,440 And there's something about the touch that can change everything. 488 00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:54,440 I mean, one of the strongholds of our community of faith pre-COVID was high fives, hugs. 489 00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:59,440 It just kind of created this community environment where people felt embraced and loved. 490 00:38:59,440 --> 00:39:02,440 And since COVID, let's be honest, it's been hard. 491 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:05,440 Air high fives just aren't the same. 492 00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:09,440 And fist bumps, I mean, am I doing it too hard? I don't want to break knuckles. 493 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:12,440 Elbow bumps just hurt. 494 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:17,440 Like it's just awkward. Right? True or false? 495 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:20,440 Man, I really want to get back to that embrace. 496 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:24,440 I'm cool with you hugging me when you leave. 497 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:26,440 It's all good. I'm moving past it. 498 00:39:26,440 --> 00:39:34,440 But if you're not cool, I get it. I probably won't elbow bump you. I'll just, you know, something. 499 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:37,440 Maybe we can do an ankle tap. Right? 500 00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:42,440 Tim, we're kicking the soccer. How's that? Start something new. 501 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:48,440 But it's not just about Jesus reaching out and touching people. Look at Luke 8. 502 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:52,440 Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. 503 00:39:52,440 --> 00:39:56,440 Immediately the bleeding stopped. Who touched me? Jesus asked. 504 00:39:56,440 --> 00:40:00,440 Everyone denied it. Peter said, oh, it's just someone in the crowd. 505 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:06,440 But Jesus said, no, someone deliberately touched me for I felt healing power go out from me. 506 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:10,440 Twelve years, suffering, isolation, separation. 507 00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:17,440 The woman was desperate for healing, desperate enough to take an enormous social risk. 508 00:40:17,440 --> 00:40:23,440 See, she touched the fringe of his garment, of Jesus' robe, which it just wasn't decoration. 509 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:29,440 It was Hebrew tradition that the fringe served as a visible reminder of God's law. 510 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:35,440 See, a normal man likely would have been angry because that fringe, that garment was now contaminated. 511 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:42,440 He would have made a scene. He would have demanded she be punished and humiliated because of her condition. 512 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:48,440 But the woman was desperate, desperate enough to take a risk. 513 00:40:48,440 --> 00:40:53,440 And just think about it. She took that risk. And Jesus says, who touched me? 514 00:40:53,440 --> 00:41:00,440 And in her mind, she's thinking, what if I say it's me? 515 00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:06,440 Because see, Jesus could have let her slip back into her regular life, just healed, and it would have been no big deal. 516 00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:17,440 Instead, he wanted to listen to her story, and he wanted to look at her and call her daughter. 517 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:24,440 Two astonishing truths, friends. Jesus can't be contaminated. 518 00:41:24,440 --> 00:41:32,440 Jesus can't be contaminated because he is the source of wholeness and cleansing. 519 00:41:32,440 --> 00:41:40,440 And he wanted to welcome her at the faith so that it's an example to us that if we reach out, he'll reach back. 520 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:44,440 And some of you are in that place this morning, friends. 521 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:55,440 You're in that place of wanting to be healed, and God desires to reach back and say to you, son, daughter, I want to touch you this morning. 522 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:58,440 But you've got to be open to receiving it. 523 00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:05,440 Stop closing yourself off. Allow his spirit to overwhelm you with his love. 524 00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:09,440 Start to cry, for God's sake. 525 00:42:09,440 --> 00:42:13,440 I walked into worship first and second service. 526 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:21,440 And literally the first thing I did when I walked in his doors is just weep because of God's presence. 527 00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:28,440 But see, many of you, you've got to pull off the front. It's okay to weep. Okay? 528 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:33,440 Your biceps aren't as big as mine, and I can weep. All right? 529 00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:40,440 I'm not bragging. I'm just trying to make a point. 530 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:46,440 So it's important that we learn to love by touch, which leads us to our next step. 531 00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:49,440 Just love by listening. 532 00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:53,440 See, this is a lost art in the United States of America. 533 00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:58,440 See, most people don't listen with the intent to understand. 534 00:42:58,440 --> 00:43:01,440 Most people don't listen with the intent to love. 535 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:04,440 Most people listen with the intent to reply. 536 00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:06,440 You're looking for the answer. You're looking for the response. 537 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:10,440 You want to look to make yourself like you know it all. 538 00:43:10,440 --> 00:43:12,440 You want to be their savior. 539 00:43:12,440 --> 00:43:14,440 And that's just not God's best. 540 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:16,440 God's best is we learn to listen. 541 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:22,440 And there was two guys walking along, they were cruising down the street, depressed, lonely, isolated, separated. 542 00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:33,440 Jesus had just been crucified and buried, their hopes of salvation, of eternal life destroyed as he's laying in a tomb. 543 00:43:33,440 --> 00:43:36,440 And then we read this in Luke 24. Jesus asked them, 544 00:43:36,440 --> 00:43:41,440 What are you discussing so intently as you walk along? Walk along, excuse me. 545 00:43:41,440 --> 00:43:44,440 They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 546 00:43:44,440 --> 00:43:51,440 You must be the only person in Jerusalem that hasn't heard about all the things that have happened in the last few days. 547 00:43:51,440 --> 00:43:54,440 Jesus again, what things? 548 00:43:54,440 --> 00:43:59,440 Well, the things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth, he said that he was a prophet, a powerful miracle, 549 00:43:59,440 --> 00:44:03,440 because he's a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 550 00:44:03,440 --> 00:44:05,440 Notice Jesus, what was he doing? 551 00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:07,440 He was asking questions. 552 00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:10,440 He wanted to hear their pain. He wanted to hear what they were going through. 553 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:18,440 And he was asking questions that ultimately he learned from them of how he could help them. 554 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:22,440 Right? It's not about just getting with people and talking a lot. 555 00:44:22,440 --> 00:44:27,440 Just because you talk a lot, it doesn't make a good conversation. 556 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:33,440 Good conversations are when people open up, when people share what's going on in their life. 557 00:44:33,440 --> 00:44:36,440 And friends, we need to learn to listen. 558 00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:43,440 I find it interesting that the word listen has the exact same letters as the word silent. 559 00:44:43,440 --> 00:44:49,440 Maybe that's why we read in James 1.19, understand this, my dear brothers and sisters. 560 00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:55,440 You must be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to get angry. 561 00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:59,440 What if we begin to ask questions with people around us in our sphere of influence? 562 00:44:59,440 --> 00:45:02,440 Like, tell me your story. What are you going through? 563 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:04,440 I want to hear more. 564 00:45:04,440 --> 00:45:07,440 How can I pray for you? 565 00:45:07,440 --> 00:45:11,440 See, suddenly you open the door for people to be honest, and they don't want you to fix them. 566 00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:14,440 They just want to be heard. 567 00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:17,440 People in our culture want to be heard. 568 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:22,440 They want people to understand, people to care about what they're going through. 569 00:45:22,440 --> 00:45:28,440 Friends, the church has called to be those people, which leads us to our final step. 570 00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:31,440 You've got to love with time. 571 00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:33,440 It takes effort, friends. 572 00:45:33,440 --> 00:45:35,440 You've got to change your schedule. 573 00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:37,440 You've got to be open to distractions. 574 00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:41,440 You've got to be open to suddenly going off course. 575 00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:46,440 Jesus was always going somewhere, but he never rushed. 576 00:45:46,440 --> 00:45:50,440 He was never busy. He always made himself available. 577 00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:54,440 You know, here he is in Luke 5. He's teaching, he's sharing about the kingdom. 578 00:45:54,440 --> 00:46:00,440 He's challenging the Pharisees, and these men, they come rolling in with this paralyzed man on a mat. 579 00:46:00,440 --> 00:46:09,440 They couldn't get him inside. They couldn't get him near Jesus. They ripped the roof off. 580 00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:15,440 And wouldn't it be, if someone ripped the roof off our building, I think I'd get kind of angry. 581 00:46:15,440 --> 00:46:21,440 Wouldn't you? I'd be like, we just built this, man. 582 00:46:21,440 --> 00:46:26,440 Anyway, they lowered the sick man down with Jesus, and he just healed him. 583 00:46:26,440 --> 00:46:29,440 He wasn't upset. He wasn't offended. 584 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:32,440 Your faith has made him well. 585 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:38,440 Luke 8, they were on a boat sailing across. Jesus takes a nap. 586 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:41,440 And it's cool that the Bible says on a pillow. 587 00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:44,440 It wasn't just a nap. He had a pillow. 588 00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:48,440 In other words, he was asleep. Don't bother him. 589 00:46:48,440 --> 00:46:52,440 Fear of storm comes. Boats filling with water. Disciples freaking out. 590 00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:58,440 We're going to die! Master, we're drowning! 591 00:46:58,440 --> 00:47:03,440 Jesus called me, gets up, quiets the storms. 592 00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:10,440 I wonder if he went back to sleep. 593 00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:17,440 Mark 1, he goes out to be alone with his father. Jesus got up, went out to be in an isolated place and pray. 594 00:47:17,440 --> 00:47:20,440 Simon and the others went to find him. When they found him, notice what they said. 595 00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:25,440 Everyone is looking for you! 596 00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:32,440 Jesus never complained. Does that make sense? He never complained. 597 00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:36,440 He always made himself available to those that were in need. 598 00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:42,440 I just want to be honest with you. I guarantee you that all of us gathered in this room, I challenged the first service with the same thing. 599 00:47:42,440 --> 00:47:48,440 I guarantee you all of us can think of five people right now that are isolated and alone, true or false. 600 00:47:48,440 --> 00:47:53,440 It doesn't matter if it's immediate family members like grandparents or aunts or uncles. 601 00:47:53,440 --> 00:47:57,440 A lot of times they're in nursing homes or wherever they may be. 602 00:47:57,440 --> 00:48:03,440 It could be other family members or friends. It could be people here within your community of faith and you think they're alone. 603 00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:06,440 They're isolated. They're separated. 604 00:48:06,440 --> 00:48:10,440 Classmates. 605 00:48:10,440 --> 00:48:14,440 What are you going to do about it? Does that make sense? 606 00:48:14,440 --> 00:48:22,440 We know they're there, but yet we won't change our schedule. We're too busy to stop by for five or ten minutes. 607 00:48:22,440 --> 00:48:26,440 Jesus is showing us right here, you've got to change. 608 00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:32,440 You've got to begin to make yourself available so that God can use you to impact other people. 609 00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:36,440 Notice, I didn't say you go change the whole tri-state area. 610 00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:43,440 I just said think about your sphere of influence and those that are lonely and make it a priority that you begin to spend a little time with them. 611 00:48:43,440 --> 00:48:48,440 So that ultimately you can speak change into their life. 612 00:48:48,440 --> 00:48:51,440 Why? 613 00:48:51,440 --> 00:48:56,440 Because it's not good to walk alone. 614 00:48:56,440 --> 00:49:03,440 Though the front man of Green Day sings about it, maybe even glorifies it, 615 00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:07,440 I want to encourage you, it's not good to walk alone. 616 00:49:07,440 --> 00:49:14,440 And God desires that you come into connection with Him and ultimately experience life change. 617 00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:25,440 Will you stand with me? 618 00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:28,440 I just want to invite all of you, if you could please. 619 00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:34,440 I want you to go to the place where you receive. 620 00:49:34,440 --> 00:49:39,440 And what do I mean by that? Where you receive, like, 621 00:49:39,440 --> 00:49:47,440 what body posture do you take to receive something? For some of you go like this, some of you may go like this. 622 00:49:47,440 --> 00:49:51,440 Some of you go like this. 623 00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:55,440 I want to challenge you, don't go like this. 624 00:49:55,440 --> 00:50:00,440 I want you to form a posture to receive. 625 00:50:00,440 --> 00:50:05,440 So if you could all go there, no one looking around, close your eyes. 626 00:50:05,440 --> 00:50:11,440 Maybe in the quietness of your spirit say, come Holy Spirit. 627 00:50:11,440 --> 00:50:14,440 Say it again. 628 00:50:14,440 --> 00:50:18,440 Come Holy Spirit. 629 00:50:18,440 --> 00:50:22,440 You're not here by accident. 630 00:50:22,440 --> 00:50:27,440 You were meant to be here this morning. 631 00:50:27,440 --> 00:50:29,440 God loves you. 632 00:50:29,440 --> 00:50:32,440 He cares about you. 633 00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:39,440 And He desires to reveal Himself to you this morning. 634 00:50:39,440 --> 00:50:43,440 So receive these words as I pray them over you. 635 00:50:43,440 --> 00:50:46,440 Isaiah 41 10. 636 00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:51,440 Don't be afraid, for I am with you. 637 00:50:51,440 --> 00:50:55,440 Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. 638 00:50:55,440 --> 00:50:57,440 I will strengthen you. 639 00:50:57,440 --> 00:51:00,440 I will help you. 640 00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:08,440 Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. 641 00:51:08,440 --> 00:51:10,440 Overflow now, God. 642 00:51:10,440 --> 00:51:20,440 Rain down your presence, your peace, your joy. 643 00:51:20,440 --> 00:51:24,440 Change lives this morning. 644 00:51:24,440 --> 00:51:27,440 In Jesus' name. 645 00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:31,440 All said together. 646 00:51:31,440 --> 00:51:34,440 There's power in Scripture. 647 00:51:34,440 --> 00:51:37,440 Just allow it to wash over you. 648 00:51:37,440 --> 00:51:41,440 Allow those truths to become reality. 649 00:51:41,440 --> 00:51:44,440 So that you don't walk in isolation. 650 00:51:44,440 --> 00:51:49,440 So if you could go back to that place, you know that I've committed to the Holy Spirit. 651 00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:56,440 I've committed to God that every week that I stand before you, I will not let a week go by 652 00:51:56,440 --> 00:52:00,440 where I don't offer an invitation for connection with God. 653 00:52:00,440 --> 00:52:04,440 So Holy Spirit come. 654 00:52:04,440 --> 00:52:08,440 No one looking around, this is a private moment. 655 00:52:08,440 --> 00:52:14,440 So as I was sharing this morning, hearing about this connection and this longing for connection. 656 00:52:14,440 --> 00:52:19,440 That you were created for connection with your Heavenly Father. 657 00:52:19,440 --> 00:52:25,440 If you're here this morning and you haven't made that commitment, you haven't started that connection and you desire it. 658 00:52:25,440 --> 00:52:28,440 We all want to pray with you corporately. 659 00:52:28,440 --> 00:52:33,440 So if you could just slip your hand up and say, yes, Chris, I need to make that commitment this morning. 660 00:52:33,440 --> 00:52:36,440 Is there anyone here? 661 00:52:36,440 --> 00:52:39,440 Yes, come Holy Spirit. 662 00:52:39,440 --> 00:52:43,440 Come Holy Spirit. 663 00:52:43,440 --> 00:52:44,440 Yes, Lord. 664 00:52:44,440 --> 00:52:47,440 So we all pray this prayer together. You know that. 665 00:52:47,440 --> 00:52:52,440 Jesus, I'm a broken person. 666 00:52:52,440 --> 00:53:00,440 Full of sin, doubt, shame, regret, negativity. 667 00:53:00,440 --> 00:53:04,440 I believe you died for me. 668 00:53:04,440 --> 00:53:13,440 I believe you're God's son that will give me new life. 669 00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:17,440 I believe I'm a son. 670 00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:20,440 I'm a daughter of God. 671 00:53:20,440 --> 00:53:24,440 Fill me with your Spirit now. 672 00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:28,440 Allow me to change others. 673 00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:33,440 In Jesus' name, Amen. 674 00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:39,440 Amen. 675 00:53:39,440 --> 00:53:43,440 Now, if you prayed that prayer for the first time, and I mean this, I want to reach out to you. 676 00:53:43,440 --> 00:53:47,440 Text changeme to 9700. 677 00:53:47,440 --> 00:53:50,440 Because I'm going to pray for you this week. I want to give you some next steps. 678 00:53:50,440 --> 00:53:53,440 What do you think those next steps might be? 679 00:53:53,440 --> 00:53:57,440 I'll just get baptized in two weeks. 680 00:53:57,440 --> 00:53:59,440 And some of you need to do the same. 681 00:53:59,440 --> 00:54:05,440 You need to make that step so that you can build on the faithfulness of God in your life. Amen. 682 00:54:05,440 --> 00:54:10,440 And don't forget, team up happens right after this. Just meet Kelsey at the information table. 683 00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:18,440 Next week, Summer Jams continues with the red hot chili peppers. 684 00:54:18,440 --> 00:54:21,440 Can't wait. So invite some friends to join you. 685 00:54:21,440 --> 00:54:50,440 I'll see you next week. God bless. 686 00:54:51,440 --> 00:54:53,440 Amen.