WEBVTT 00:00:13.070 --> 00:00:15.970 Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected 00:00:15.970 --> 00:00:19.550 or to give online, please go to hdv .church slash 00:00:19.550 --> 00:00:23.730 connect or hdv .church slash give. If at any 00:00:23.730 --> 00:00:25.949 point during this message you feel called to 00:00:25.949 --> 00:00:28.769 make a change in your life, text CHANGEME to 00:00:28.769 --> 00:00:36.530 97000. Now enjoy the message. Good morning. Good 00:00:36.530 --> 00:00:44.089 morning. How are you guys today? Good. Listen, 00:00:44.089 --> 00:00:47.310 Tracy, you were handpicked to do announcements. 00:00:49.670 --> 00:00:52.770 Welcome. If this is your first time here, man, 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:56.969 you're in for a treat. I don't know why, but 00:00:56.969 --> 00:00:59.469 you are. Not because of me, but because of God's 00:00:59.469 --> 00:01:03.329 Word. If you're joining us online, thank you. 00:01:03.350 --> 00:01:07.430 Whether you're at home or on a transatlantic 00:01:07.430 --> 00:01:11.469 flight to the Middle East, I don't know. Thank 00:01:11.469 --> 00:01:16.109 you for joining us. The Holy Spirit's going to 00:01:16.109 --> 00:01:18.849 be here again today. I can hear him buzzing. 00:01:19.969 --> 00:01:24.909 I can hear him buzzing in the background. Hear 00:01:24.909 --> 00:01:31.189 that? It's always awesome when I get to lead 00:01:31.189 --> 00:01:34.890 the message after acoustic worship because there's 00:01:34.890 --> 00:01:39.909 something intimate about just sitting, not quietly, 00:01:39.909 --> 00:01:47.439 but... solemnly in the presence of God. So, guys, 00:01:47.519 --> 00:01:50.319 I'm going to jump right in, okay? And I'm going 00:01:50.319 --> 00:01:53.459 to take you kind of a little into the behind 00:01:53.459 --> 00:01:57.420 the scenes of what happens here at the church. 00:01:57.939 --> 00:02:01.400 See, every year around November, December, we 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:03.540 sit down and we write these message series. We 00:02:03.540 --> 00:02:07.439 plan out the entire year, okay? We map out every 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:11.689 single month, every single series. There he is, 00:02:11.689 --> 00:02:17.849 you hear him? Most of the time when we do that 00:02:17.849 --> 00:02:20.969 in November, December, we come up with a great 00:02:20.969 --> 00:02:25.710 series title. Like Under Armour was our series 00:02:25.710 --> 00:02:29.930 about the armor of God, right? Or Stretch Thin, 00:02:29.930 --> 00:02:33.530 which was about a whole series about mental health 00:02:33.530 --> 00:02:38.039 issues that run rampant in our society. We did 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:41.580 inked, where we debunked some Old Testament misunderstandings. 00:02:43.259 --> 00:02:47.000 Some of the time, we know the topic, but we don't 00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:51.860 have a title. Like the month before, last, we 00:02:51.860 --> 00:02:54.719 did Holy Spirit, right? We knew we wanted to 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:56.500 talk about the Holy Spirit, but we didn't have 00:02:56.500 --> 00:03:00.120 a title. Then, when we were designing the poster, 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:03.979 someone mentioned, hey, we say, come Holy Spirit, 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:07.770 literally every time we meet. There's our title. 00:03:09.189 --> 00:03:13.270 It was a no -brainer to call that series Come 00:03:13.270 --> 00:03:18.509 Holy Spirit. And in other times, we have a placeholder 00:03:18.509 --> 00:03:21.830 title. We know the topic. We have a good idea 00:03:21.830 --> 00:03:24.270 what we will be talking about. We have an idea 00:03:24.270 --> 00:03:26.969 what the title will be. But we are open to allowing 00:03:26.969 --> 00:03:29.870 the Holy Spirit to speak to us and guide us and 00:03:29.870 --> 00:03:34.180 often redirect us. This series that we are in 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:37.400 is called Pastor's Picks. It's one of those instances. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:41.060 The working title that we put in for this series 00:03:41.060 --> 00:03:48.240 was called Handpicked. Let me pause for a second 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:52.080 because every year in August we have a series 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:54.759 similar to this because Chris goes out of town. 00:03:56.180 --> 00:03:59.099 Now, we're in the third week of the month, the 00:03:59.099 --> 00:04:02.379 third consecutive support pastor. It's bringing 00:04:02.379 --> 00:04:04.319 the message. Some of you have been coming for 00:04:04.319 --> 00:04:06.939 the past two weeks and still haven't met Chris 00:04:06.939 --> 00:04:11.280 Slaughterbeck, who is our lead pastor. Why? Hopefully 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:15.680 you figured out Chris is on vacation. Now, you 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:18.279 only have one more week. You get to deal with 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:21.420 me today. Chris will be back next week, I promise. 00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:24.480 I'm not sure if you were clapping for me or for 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:31.339 Chris coming back. To be the lead pastor of this 00:04:31.339 --> 00:04:34.680 size church or of any church is a largely stressful 00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:38.839 job. Couple that with the fact that God has told 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:41.600 us multiple times in the Old Testament, in fact, 00:04:41.620 --> 00:04:46.600 commanded us to rest. Further driven home by 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:49.600 God himself, modeling rest on the seventh day. 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:54.819 And Jesus modeling rest time and time again in 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:58.649 the New Testament. So Chris. And as importantly, 00:04:58.990 --> 00:05:04.310 all of you, all of us, don't just deserve a time 00:05:04.310 --> 00:05:09.790 of rest. God expects us to take time to rest 00:05:09.790 --> 00:05:16.189 in him. But understand, Stephen, Rhett, and I, 00:05:16.269 --> 00:05:18.649 we aren't just fill -ins for an absent pastor. 00:05:19.949 --> 00:05:24.350 Stephen was hand -picked by God to teach us how 00:05:24.350 --> 00:05:28.810 to read the Bible. Rhett was handpicked by God 00:05:28.810 --> 00:05:31.889 to help us dive deeper into an understanding 00:05:31.889 --> 00:05:36.490 of what it means to worship. When we changed 00:05:36.490 --> 00:05:39.029 the name of the series to Pastor's Picks, and 00:05:39.029 --> 00:05:40.910 we decided that each of the three of us would 00:05:40.910 --> 00:05:44.189 get to choose the topic for our week, the word 00:05:44.189 --> 00:05:48.730 handpicked just wouldn't escape my head. I prayed, 00:05:48.850 --> 00:05:52.949 and God said, Rudy, handpicked is the message 00:05:52.949 --> 00:05:57.360 I want you to speak. So today, I'm going to bring 00:05:57.360 --> 00:06:03.000 a message titled, Handpicked by God. God's going 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:05.100 to bring this message, so without further ado, 00:06:05.360 --> 00:06:10.160 let's invite him into this space. Come Holy Spirit. 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:15.800 God, we know that you are in this space all week 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:20.600 preparing for this morning. God, we know that 00:06:20.600 --> 00:06:23.480 you handpicked each and every person to sit in 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:25.420 every single seat that they are sitting in this 00:06:25.420 --> 00:06:29.500 morning, God. God, I ask that you just speak 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:33.459 through me. Allow your word to penetrate the 00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:36.519 hearts of every person in the seats and every 00:06:36.519 --> 00:06:40.180 person online. God, we thank you for the rest 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:42.100 that you have allowed our lead pastor to take, 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.399 bringing him back next week just to speak a powerful 00:06:45.399 --> 00:06:48.509 message to us next week. But for today, God, 00:06:48.689 --> 00:06:51.790 just allow us to lean into your presence. In 00:06:51.790 --> 00:06:58.170 Jesus' name, amen. All right. So, today I want 00:06:58.170 --> 00:07:01.329 to open the message by looking at Peter's opening 00:07:01.329 --> 00:07:04.629 salutation in his first letter. Oftentimes what 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:07.449 we do is we read a book of the Bible. When we 00:07:07.449 --> 00:07:09.790 open that book, we look at the first chapter 00:07:09.790 --> 00:07:14.500 and we skip through a lot of it. Right? We skip 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:16.259 through Matthew because we don't care who begot 00:07:16.259 --> 00:07:19.180 who, who begot who. We skip through the introduction 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:21.879 because we just want to get to the good stuff. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.839 But today, I'm going to challenge you that the 00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:28.939 good stuff is in the first part of 1 Peter. So 00:07:28.939 --> 00:07:31.800 in the introductory paragraph of his first letter, 00:07:31.879 --> 00:07:34.560 1 Peter, it goes like this. And I'm going to 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:38.439 read all of it, so just hang tight. Peter, an 00:07:38.439 --> 00:07:42.120 apostle of Jesus Christ, to God select. Exiles 00:07:42.120 --> 00:07:44.220 scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:49.779 Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. I had 00:07:49.779 --> 00:07:51.240 to look up how to pronounce some of those names. 00:07:53.339 --> 00:07:56.060 Those who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:58.360 of God the Father through the sanctifying work 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:00.879 of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ 00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:05.699 and sprinkled with his blood. Praise be to God 00:08:05.699 --> 00:08:09.529 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his mercy, 00:08:09.589 --> 00:08:12.310 he has given us new birth into a living hope 00:08:12.310 --> 00:08:14.569 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from 00:08:14.569 --> 00:08:17.670 the dead and into an inheritance that can never 00:08:17.670 --> 00:08:22.470 perish, never spoil, never fade. This inheritance 00:08:22.470 --> 00:08:27.230 is kept in heaven for you. You who by faith are 00:08:27.230 --> 00:08:29.930 shielded by God's power until the coming salvation 00:08:29.930 --> 00:08:32.409 that is ready to be revealed, to be revealed, 00:08:32.769 --> 00:08:36.889 to be revealed in the last time. In all of this, 00:08:36.889 --> 00:08:40.980 you greatly rejoice. Now, though now for a little 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:43.940 while you may have had to suffer grief in all 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:47.440 kinds of trials, these have come so that the 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:50.299 proven genuineness of your faith, of greater 00:08:50.299 --> 00:08:53.580 worth than gold, which perishes even though refined 00:08:53.580 --> 00:08:57.820 by fire, may result in praise, glory, and honor 00:08:57.820 --> 00:09:01.779 when Jesus Christ is revealed. That you have 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:04.679 not seen him, you love him. And even though you 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:08.039 do not see him now, You believe in him and are 00:09:08.039 --> 00:09:11.179 filled in an expressible and glorious joy, for 00:09:11.179 --> 00:09:13.159 you are receiving the end result of your faith, 00:09:13.320 --> 00:09:17.500 the salvation of your souls. So say the Lord, 00:09:17.639 --> 00:09:23.620 or however they end it. So I'm going to jump 00:09:23.620 --> 00:09:27.240 right into point one, but before Aidan puts the 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:30.139 point on the Sky Bible, I know how many of you 00:09:30.139 --> 00:09:33.059 are. Some of you just sit there and don't even 00:09:33.059 --> 00:09:35.120 look at the outline and whatever, you just listen 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:38.250 to the pastor. Others of you, if you're like 00:09:38.250 --> 00:09:42.169 me, sit at the ready with your pens, ready to 00:09:42.169 --> 00:09:45.190 fill in those blanks with maybe a tinge of anxiety 00:09:45.190 --> 00:09:51.470 that you're going to miss a blank. Please put 00:09:51.470 --> 00:09:54.429 your pens down and don't fill in the blank until 00:09:54.429 --> 00:09:59.250 I tell you. Okay? Are you ready to not write 00:09:59.250 --> 00:10:05.730 anything? Point one. Please know this. Jesus. 00:10:06.590 --> 00:10:09.990 calls you. Didn't write, don't write anything 00:10:09.990 --> 00:10:14.690 yet. I want you to make this personal. I don't 00:10:14.690 --> 00:10:17.669 want you to write the word you. Write the word 00:10:17.669 --> 00:10:24.769 me. These are your notes. Jesus calls me. Now 00:10:24.769 --> 00:10:32.450 you may write. Back to 1 Peter 1. Peter, an apostle 00:10:32.450 --> 00:10:36.269 of Jesus Christ, to God's elect. Exiles scattered 00:10:36.269 --> 00:10:40.029 throughout the providence of those five things. 00:10:42.590 --> 00:10:47.490 Who have been chosen, chosen according to the 00:10:47.490 --> 00:10:49.570 foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying 00:10:49.570 --> 00:10:52.610 work of the Spirit to be obedient to the blood 00:10:52.610 --> 00:10:57.549 of Christ. I'm going to jump back to that word 00:10:57.549 --> 00:11:01.210 scattered. The word scattered comes from the 00:11:01.210 --> 00:11:05.039 Greek word diaspora. I looked that one up too 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:09.820 and I probably butchered it. Diaspora. That word 00:11:09.820 --> 00:11:15.480 means to sow throughout. Like a farmer that intentionally 00:11:15.480 --> 00:11:21.100 spreads his seeds. The figurative meaning of 00:11:21.100 --> 00:11:25.200 the word diaspora is to distribute in foreign 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:29.559 lands. Folks, we are scattered with a purpose. 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:35.409 A farmer doesn't just Throw out the seed. He 00:11:35.409 --> 00:11:39.269 places them purposefully. You have a purpose. 00:11:40.429 --> 00:11:43.210 And we are all put in different places, in different 00:11:43.210 --> 00:11:48.830 situations for a godly purpose. And in the phrase, 00:11:48.970 --> 00:11:51.649 who have been chosen? That word chosen comes 00:11:51.649 --> 00:11:56.149 from the Greek word eklego or a different form, 00:11:56.250 --> 00:12:01.279 eklegomai. Butchered that one too. That word 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:05.399 eclego means to select. Folks, you are a child 00:12:05.399 --> 00:12:09.639 of God. You are selected by God. You are handpicked 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:13.679 by God. You are adopted into his family through 00:12:13.679 --> 00:12:15.980 the resurrecting power of our Lord and Christ 00:12:15.980 --> 00:12:22.379 Jesus. You are called. Which leads us to point 00:12:22.379 --> 00:12:27.320 two. You don't have to wait for me. You are his 00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:33.269 partner. and his partner. Now, this may sound 00:12:33.269 --> 00:12:35.649 familiar. If any of you are here the last time 00:12:35.649 --> 00:12:39.509 I spoke, the last message I did was called Partnering 00:12:39.509 --> 00:12:42.350 with the Holy Spirit. So this message is kind 00:12:42.350 --> 00:12:45.769 of a sequel to my last message. Go back to YouTube 00:12:45.769 --> 00:12:50.049 and listen to it. During that message, I called 00:12:50.049 --> 00:12:55.850 myself a knucklehead. In fact, I have a history 00:12:55.850 --> 00:13:01.879 of self -deprecation. And my message is, it's 00:13:01.879 --> 00:13:04.100 because I want you to know that I'm no different 00:13:04.100 --> 00:13:07.860 than anyone else in here. After that message, 00:13:08.059 --> 00:13:13.960 no less than three of you approached me, called 00:13:13.960 --> 00:13:17.960 me out. So this part of the message is for you, 00:13:17.980 --> 00:13:21.139 Michaela, for you, Dodie, and for you, Jim Cannon. 00:13:22.700 --> 00:13:27.409 You're right. I am not a knucklehead. Although, 00:13:27.509 --> 00:13:32.070 if you hang out with me for about a week, or 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:39.710 if you talk to Carrie, I truly know that my identity 00:13:39.710 --> 00:13:44.090 is not knucklehead. My identity is in Jesus. 00:13:45.169 --> 00:13:47.789 In fact, when I speak to people about their identity, 00:13:47.909 --> 00:13:51.789 to youth, to young adults, to old adults, especially 00:13:51.789 --> 00:13:54.789 Christians, I remind them that their identity 00:13:54.789 --> 00:13:59.929 is in Jesus. Jesus. Your identity isn't your 00:13:59.929 --> 00:14:04.370 job. Your identity isn't boyfriend or girlfriend, 00:14:04.490 --> 00:14:08.809 husband or wife. It's not mom or dad. Your identity 00:14:08.809 --> 00:14:12.029 isn't softball player. It's not guitar player. 00:14:13.509 --> 00:14:15.990 Your identity doesn't lie in your sexual identity 00:14:15.990 --> 00:14:19.909 or in your gender. All of those things are part 00:14:19.909 --> 00:14:23.429 of who you are. But your identity is son of God. 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:33.230 Daughter of God. Child of God. Jump back into 00:14:33.230 --> 00:14:37.049 1 Peter 1, this time in verse 3. Praise be to 00:14:37.049 --> 00:14:39.149 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:14:39.470 --> 00:14:42.129 In his great mercy, he has given us new birth 00:14:42.129 --> 00:14:46.129 into a living hope through the resurrection of 00:14:46.129 --> 00:14:48.929 Jesus Christ from the dead. And into an inheritance 00:14:48.929 --> 00:14:52.100 that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance 00:14:52.100 --> 00:14:56.059 is kept in heaven for you who by faith are shielded 00:14:56.059 --> 00:14:59.360 in God's power until the coming of salvation 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:02.820 that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:06.559 When you partner with the Holy Spirit, you do 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:14.419 great things. Say it, I do great things. See, 00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:18.659 I often think, self -deprecation again, I often 00:15:18.659 --> 00:15:21.629 think. That when I partner with the Holy Spirit, 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:23.990 the Holy Spirit is getting a short end of the 00:15:23.990 --> 00:15:30.070 stick. It's him in all his great power partnering 00:15:30.070 --> 00:15:38.909 with little old useless me. But that's not the 00:15:38.909 --> 00:15:44.649 truth. He uses me. He uses my experience. He 00:15:44.649 --> 00:15:48.049 uses the knowledge that he has given me. All 00:15:48.049 --> 00:15:54.169 of me, the best person for the job. Stephen's 00:15:54.169 --> 00:15:56.789 teaching message came from what Stephen knows 00:15:56.789 --> 00:16:00.190 and teaches our youth. The Holy Spirit doesn't 00:16:00.190 --> 00:16:02.870 get the short end of the stick. He gets a son 00:16:02.870 --> 00:16:05.809 of God in Stephen who actually uses his skill 00:16:05.809 --> 00:16:08.590 set to teach the youth something. And then he 00:16:08.590 --> 00:16:12.889 turned around and taught us how to read, break 00:16:12.889 --> 00:16:16.779 down, and understand Scripture. God whispered 00:16:16.779 --> 00:16:19.539 that pick to Stephen because Stephen was the 00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:25.019 best person for the job. Rhett's message came 00:16:25.019 --> 00:16:26.840 from everything Rhett has experienced in his 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:32.360 life, in music and outside of music. The Holy 00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:35.080 Spirit doesn't get shortchanged. He worked through 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:37.820 Rhett, using Rhett's calling through music to 00:16:37.820 --> 00:16:43.399 teach about worship. God prompted Rhett to pick 00:16:43.399 --> 00:16:48.529 worship. Because Rhett was the best person for 00:16:48.529 --> 00:16:54.269 the job. The last time I spoke, I told this story 00:16:54.269 --> 00:16:58.830 about how God called me to pray for this random 00:16:58.830 --> 00:17:03.710 man at the city park. When God called me to pray 00:17:03.710 --> 00:17:06.309 with that random man at the city park, he was 00:17:06.309 --> 00:17:10.250 just calling me into a conversation. A conversation 00:17:10.250 --> 00:17:14.190 that was easy. Because I only had to talk about 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:19.009 things that I know. That guy that I talked to 00:17:19.009 --> 00:17:23.930 was a musician. I am a drummer. Or identified 00:17:23.930 --> 00:17:29.329 as one in my past. That man's son actually went 00:17:29.329 --> 00:17:33.390 to the school that I taught at. We were able 00:17:33.390 --> 00:17:36.369 to quickly fall into conversation based on what 00:17:36.369 --> 00:17:39.710 we both knew. See, guys, when God calls you, 00:17:39.789 --> 00:17:42.880 please know. That you already know what to do 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:45.460 when he calls you. You already have the tools 00:17:45.460 --> 00:17:50.160 for it ready to go. And if you don't, he's going 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:52.779 to fill out and fill in everything you need. 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:58.099 As long as you take the step. And folks, the 00:17:58.099 --> 00:18:00.519 Holy Spirit does not get the short end of the 00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:06.160 stick. He gets a strong, mighty Son of God. Built 00:18:06.160 --> 00:18:15.359 by God. Wearing the honor of God. Remember, you 00:18:15.359 --> 00:18:18.240 might want to write this one down. We are the 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:21.880 hands of feet. Not yet. The calling isn't about 00:18:21.880 --> 00:18:24.059 being a pastor or a math teacher or a restaurant 00:18:24.059 --> 00:18:27.079 manager. It's about showing people the love of 00:18:27.079 --> 00:18:31.859 Jesus. Here it is. The calling isn't the skill 00:18:31.859 --> 00:18:37.160 set. The calling is using the skill set for the 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:41.490 kingdom. The calling isn't the fact that you 00:18:41.490 --> 00:18:44.309 have a skill set even though you do. The calling 00:18:44.309 --> 00:18:47.150 is, I'm going to use my skill set, me, Rudy, 00:18:47.349 --> 00:18:54.809 all of me, to further the kingdom of God. 2 Thessalonians 00:18:54.809 --> 00:18:58.990 3, but the Lord is faithful. He will establish 00:18:58.990 --> 00:19:01.910 you and guard you against the evil one. And we 00:19:01.910 --> 00:19:04.789 have confidence in the Lord about you, about 00:19:04.789 --> 00:19:09.220 what you are doing, what you are doing. and about 00:19:09.220 --> 00:19:12.839 what you will do. Those things are the things 00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:16.799 that they commanded. May the Lord direct your 00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:19.779 hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness 00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:23.660 of Christ. Let me repeat what I said a moment 00:19:23.660 --> 00:19:26.460 ago. When you partner with the Holy Spirit, you 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:31.440 do great things. So right now, I denounce that 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:37.190 I am a knucklehead. Will you do the same? What 00:19:37.190 --> 00:19:39.930 negative word or association do you put on yourself? 00:19:43.470 --> 00:19:47.130 What identity do you hang on to that is not of 00:19:47.130 --> 00:19:52.789 God? So, we're going to do this together. If 00:19:52.789 --> 00:19:56.670 you have a word or a picture, an identity that 00:19:56.670 --> 00:19:59.190 is not of God, you're going to repeat after me. 00:19:59.230 --> 00:20:02.289 I denounce right now that I am a blank. Ready? 00:20:02.410 --> 00:20:06.740 Say it with me. Fill in your blank. Ready? I 00:20:06.740 --> 00:20:13.980 denounce right now that I am a knucklehead. Now, 00:20:14.140 --> 00:20:17.839 you're going to say this, depending on your gender, 00:20:17.940 --> 00:20:20.839 which is only part of your identity. I am a son 00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:25.099 of God or I am a daughter of God. Ready? I am 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:32.900 a son of God. Feel better? Now, whatever you 00:20:32.900 --> 00:20:34.859 just prayed and denounced, don't let it back 00:20:34.859 --> 00:20:43.269 in. Point three, he wants all of you. He wants 00:20:43.269 --> 00:20:47.710 all of me. Now, I have a couple cool little photos 00:20:47.710 --> 00:20:50.190 up here. So, Aidan, will you put the first photo 00:20:50.190 --> 00:20:55.390 up here? If I gave you this rock as a gift, what 00:20:55.390 --> 00:21:00.730 would you do with it? I might take the rock and 00:21:00.730 --> 00:21:03.349 skip it across. It looks like a pretty good skipping 00:21:03.349 --> 00:21:05.519 rock, right? I'd probably take it and skip it 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:07.960 across the pond. Thanks, Rudy, for a great skipping 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:11.700 rock. Let's look at this second rock. What about 00:21:11.700 --> 00:21:13.759 this one? If I handed this rock to you, what 00:21:13.759 --> 00:21:18.200 would you do with it? Paperweight? Cherish it. 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:22.880 Thank you, Lance. I love you. Name it. Pet rock. 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:27.460 Let's look at the last rock. What might you do 00:21:27.460 --> 00:21:32.279 with this rock? Ah, there's gold in this one. 00:21:34.039 --> 00:21:38.819 I'm keeping this one. Aidan, put all three images 00:21:38.819 --> 00:21:42.420 up there. What if I told you that all three of 00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:46.200 these rocks had gold in them? One, two, and three, 00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:49.680 guess what? They all have gold in them. What 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:52.079 if I told you rock one had gold? You're diving 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:54.900 in that pond and searching for the gold rock. 00:21:56.339 --> 00:22:01.220 Right? You're taking that paperweight and melting 00:22:01.220 --> 00:22:09.730 out the gold. Can I suggest that each and every 00:22:09.730 --> 00:22:13.390 person here has a golden treasure inside of you? 00:22:14.430 --> 00:22:17.069 Some of us have gold that shines through more 00:22:17.069 --> 00:22:22.569 than others, but all of us have it. Will you 00:22:22.569 --> 00:22:26.230 receive it? When you take these rocks out of 00:22:26.230 --> 00:22:29.049 the mine, when you take them out of the riverbed, 00:22:29.230 --> 00:22:32.950 you have to take the whole rock to get the treasure 00:22:32.950 --> 00:22:38.309 inside. God wants the whole rock. He wants all 00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:42.609 of you. The dirty parts of the rock and the shiny 00:22:42.609 --> 00:22:46.009 parts of the rock. Just know the more you live 00:22:46.009 --> 00:22:48.849 with Jesus and your heart and the Holy Spirit 00:22:48.849 --> 00:22:52.150 guiding you, the more your golden treasure shines 00:22:52.150 --> 00:23:00.289 through. But also, oftentimes, it's the dirty 00:23:00.289 --> 00:23:04.950 parts that people are going to relate to. It's 00:23:04.950 --> 00:23:10.210 the raw, pure dirt that attracts people to you, 00:23:10.329 --> 00:23:14.490 especially when you have the gold shining through. 00:23:16.630 --> 00:23:20.690 1 Peter 1 .9, for you're receiving the end result 00:23:20.690 --> 00:23:24.990 of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Give 00:23:24.990 --> 00:23:27.670 them all of your faith, he will give you all 00:23:27.670 --> 00:23:31.490 of himself. That inheritance includes your salvation. 00:23:33.150 --> 00:23:38.049 Romans 8, 17, and if children, then heirs. If 00:23:38.049 --> 00:23:39.930 you're a child of God, then you are heir of God 00:23:39.930 --> 00:23:44.329 and fellow heirs with Jesus, provided we suffer 00:23:44.329 --> 00:23:47.109 with him in order that we may also be glorified 00:23:47.109 --> 00:23:51.769 with him. You are a child of God. That inheritance 00:23:51.769 --> 00:23:56.390 is yours, but you have to surrender and submit, 00:23:56.490 --> 00:24:03.759 give up, and give in to God. Do that and you'll 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:06.339 be glorified. Let me tell you a fun story about 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:08.480 Kingston. And some of you as parents might have 00:24:08.480 --> 00:24:12.400 a similar story. When Kingston was little, we 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:14.579 would take him to get ice cream and he never 00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:17.839 wanted to eat ice cream. We had to force him 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:20.680 to try ice cream. Anyone have a kid like that? 00:24:21.259 --> 00:24:24.700 We had to force him to try ice cream. Now, when 00:24:24.700 --> 00:24:26.619 he finally started getting ice cream, he would 00:24:26.619 --> 00:24:28.819 get Superman ice cream. If you don't know what 00:24:28.819 --> 00:24:31.440 Superman ice cream is, it looks like crazy vanilla. 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:35.079 But every different color is a different, nasty, 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:41.779 horrible flavor. But he absolutely loved Superman 00:24:41.779 --> 00:24:46.539 ice cream. I love cotton candy because I'm a 00:24:46.539 --> 00:24:51.500 child. Well, I won't identify with that. I love 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:53.880 chocolate marshmallow. So I'm like, Kingston, 00:24:53.960 --> 00:24:55.480 man, you got to try this chocolate marshmallow. 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:58.359 Kid, it is so good. No, I don't want chocolate 00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:02.660 marshmallow. It's brown, ugly. I want pretty 00:25:02.660 --> 00:25:05.480 Superman ice cream with all the colors. I'm telling 00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:07.579 you, kid. I'm telling you, dude. I'm telling 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:09.599 you, little man. Try the chocolate marshmallow. 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:12.480 You're going to love it. Not going to do it. 00:25:13.579 --> 00:25:18.200 Until that day he gave in. Gave up the Superman 00:25:18.200 --> 00:25:21.539 and tried the chocolate marshmallow. And now 00:25:21.539 --> 00:25:25.880 he loved it. One of his go -to flavors is chocolate 00:25:25.880 --> 00:25:31.660 marshmallow. And me. Being the kind, loving, 00:25:31.839 --> 00:25:39.059 gentle father I am, said, see? I told you so. 00:25:39.640 --> 00:25:44.140 If you listen to your father, I know what's best. 00:25:45.960 --> 00:25:48.180 How many of you are still eating Superman ice 00:25:48.180 --> 00:25:53.200 cream? Listen, if you listen to the father, he 00:25:53.200 --> 00:25:56.220 knows what's best. Some of you don't want to 00:25:56.220 --> 00:25:59.880 give it up. Give it up, man. And give in to the 00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:03.400 God, your Father, your Savior, Jesus, your Father, 00:26:03.500 --> 00:26:06.279 the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, the Father, whatever. 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:09.400 If you lean into him, you'll be glorified in 00:26:09.400 --> 00:26:11.680 him. That got me all worked up. I've got to take 00:26:11.680 --> 00:26:19.400 a drink. Now, if you read my email this past 00:26:19.400 --> 00:26:23.559 Thursday, you saw that this conversation grew, 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:26.000 or this message grew out of a conversation that 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:29.730 Carrie and I had a few months back. We were contemplating 00:26:29.730 --> 00:26:33.789 what it means to be a child of God. And we couldn't 00:26:33.789 --> 00:26:36.190 articulate it. We couldn't, like, I knew in my 00:26:36.190 --> 00:26:37.950 heart what it meant, but I couldn't articulate 00:26:37.950 --> 00:26:41.910 it. I'll tell you, it's okay to not know all 00:26:41.910 --> 00:26:45.009 of the things. It's okay not to have a definition 00:26:45.009 --> 00:26:47.890 for every word. It's okay to not have an answer 00:26:47.890 --> 00:26:49.930 to every time someone asks you a Bible question. 00:26:51.849 --> 00:26:55.990 But once the question is posed, you got to find 00:26:55.990 --> 00:27:00.630 the answers. Look at Peter, the man who wrote 00:27:00.630 --> 00:27:03.509 this book. Long before he wrote the letter 1 00:27:03.509 --> 00:27:06.089 Peter, he didn't truly understand Jesus' calling. 00:27:07.109 --> 00:27:09.569 Jesus even looks at him and says, get behind 00:27:09.569 --> 00:27:16.809 me, Satan. Ouch. But I firmly believe that Peter 00:27:16.809 --> 00:27:19.529 grew in his time with Jesus. And he continued 00:27:19.529 --> 00:27:22.309 to grow in his spirit after Jesus left. So that 00:27:22.309 --> 00:27:24.869 by the time he wrote this letter, he knew exactly 00:27:24.869 --> 00:27:27.809 what it meant to be a child of God. And exactly 00:27:27.809 --> 00:27:32.670 what it meant to walk out God's calling. The 00:27:32.670 --> 00:27:34.789 only way you will know what it means to be a 00:27:34.789 --> 00:27:37.470 child of God is to spend time with Jesus and 00:27:37.470 --> 00:27:40.450 be guided by the Holy Spirit. I challenged you 00:27:40.450 --> 00:27:43.509 in that email to read these scriptures. The one 00:27:43.509 --> 00:27:46.069 that I started at the top is one of those scriptures. 00:27:46.970 --> 00:27:49.789 Read it. We're going to use that scripture again 00:27:49.789 --> 00:27:53.049 right now to hear what Peter has to say, what 00:27:53.049 --> 00:27:55.170 it means to be a child of God. So let's look 00:27:55.170 --> 00:27:57.670 at our action steps. What does it mean to be 00:27:57.670 --> 00:28:00.789 a child of God? First, you have to align yourself 00:28:00.789 --> 00:28:05.970 with Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the 00:28:05.970 --> 00:28:09.490 example. Aligning yourself with Jesus gives you 00:28:09.490 --> 00:28:12.930 all the power of the Holy Spirit. Being a child 00:28:12.930 --> 00:28:15.150 of God means that you get to use all the tools 00:28:15.150 --> 00:28:17.309 the Holy Spirit has given you, just like I talked 00:28:17.309 --> 00:28:20.630 about in the park. Tools to relate to people, 00:28:20.750 --> 00:28:23.630 to see people, to lift people up, to help people 00:28:23.630 --> 00:28:28.740 heal. All the power. 1 Peter again, this time 00:28:28.740 --> 00:28:32.900 in chapter 2. You who have been chosen according 00:28:32.900 --> 00:28:35.119 to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through 00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:37.680 the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient 00:28:37.680 --> 00:28:40.259 to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood. 00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:43.559 Being sprinkled with his blood means to be free 00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:48.819 of bondage and sin. To align yourself with Jesus 00:28:48.819 --> 00:28:55.579 also means to hate sin, be an enemy of sin. It's 00:28:55.579 --> 00:29:01.240 not about your sin. It's about my sin. Don't 00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:06.279 hate that guy's sin. Hate my sin. Take the focus 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:10.119 off the sin of everyone else and focus on my 00:29:10.119 --> 00:29:15.720 sin. Remember the plank in my own eye? It doesn't 00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:17.440 mean we can't lift up and encourage our brothers 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:23.559 and sisters. Understand your sin. Do an inventory 00:29:23.559 --> 00:29:27.599 of your sin. Keep doing an inventory. Then atone 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:29.579 for those sins and align yourself with the truth, 00:29:29.779 --> 00:29:32.440 with the Bible, with the Word, with the Holy 00:29:32.440 --> 00:29:37.920 Spirit, with Jesus. Being a child of God means 00:29:37.920 --> 00:29:43.779 walking out His will for me. Me. 1 Peter, this 00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:48.400 time, 1 and verse 6. In all this you greatly 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:50.579 rejoice, though now for a little while you may 00:29:50.579 --> 00:29:53.900 have had to suffer grief and all kinds of trials. 00:29:54.799 --> 00:29:57.019 These trials have come so that to prove ingenuous 00:29:57.019 --> 00:29:58.900 of your faith, the greater worth of gold which 00:29:58.900 --> 00:30:02.059 perishes, even if refined by fire, may result 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:04.839 in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ 00:30:04.839 --> 00:30:07.880 is revealed. Romans 12, 17, that other scripture 00:30:07.880 --> 00:30:10.579 in the email that I gave you, it says it this 00:30:10.579 --> 00:30:13.140 way. If indeed we share in his sufferings, in 00:30:13.140 --> 00:30:16.400 order that we may also share in his glory. We 00:30:16.400 --> 00:30:18.319 share in his sufferings, share in his glory. 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:21.720 I used to read this to mean that as a Christian 00:30:21.720 --> 00:30:24.829 we would endure suffering. That old school Christian 00:30:24.829 --> 00:30:27.490 mentality that almost causes us to look for suffering. 00:30:28.009 --> 00:30:31.309 Right? To manufacture suffering. To work out 00:30:31.309 --> 00:30:36.029 suffering. I took it to mean we would be mocked. 00:30:36.029 --> 00:30:38.589 We would be chastised to be a Christian. And 00:30:38.589 --> 00:30:40.549 I still believe that all of that is part of it. 00:30:41.829 --> 00:30:44.690 But I was convicted. I had an aha moment reading 00:30:44.690 --> 00:30:48.470 the scripture the past couple weeks. In this 00:30:48.470 --> 00:30:51.299 life there will be suffering. Ecclesiastes 4 00:30:51.299 --> 00:30:55.160 .10 says we will have suffering. Jesus himself 00:30:55.160 --> 00:30:58.819 in John 16 .33 tells us we will have trouble. 00:30:59.940 --> 00:31:02.880 All of us have lived lives with Jesus and without 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:05.799 Jesus. And we know that suffering, troubles happen 00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:07.880 no matter what relationship we have with Jesus. 00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:13.960 We will have suffering. You can choose to suffer 00:31:13.960 --> 00:31:19.700 with Jesus or suffer without Jesus. I'm going 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:23.720 to choose to suffer with Jesus by my side. Being 00:31:23.720 --> 00:31:27.359 a child of God means you got Jesus by your side. 00:31:27.579 --> 00:31:34.420 And family, ladies and gentlemen, with mental 00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:39.579 health being a huge issue in our society, I'm 00:31:39.579 --> 00:31:43.000 telling you right now, please do not suffer in 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:49.670 silence. Get a friend. Get a support group. Get 00:31:49.670 --> 00:31:52.230 prayer here today at the end of this service. 00:31:53.029 --> 00:31:57.450 Find people to walk alongside. Life happens. 00:31:57.509 --> 00:32:00.970 The world bears down. The enemy attacks. Find 00:32:00.970 --> 00:32:04.950 your concilium, your Christian family to walk 00:32:04.950 --> 00:32:08.250 with. When Jesus told Peter to feed his sheep, 00:32:08.410 --> 00:32:11.309 he was also telling each of us to do the same. 00:32:12.589 --> 00:32:15.569 Being a child of God means to take care of each 00:32:15.569 --> 00:32:22.380 other. Speaking of caring for God's children, 00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:26.359 you guys know we have an awesome kids wing, right? 00:32:27.759 --> 00:32:30.160 As we're transitioning from the end of summer 00:32:30.160 --> 00:32:32.740 to the beginning of a new school year, the number 00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:37.160 of children is greatly, steadily rising, and 00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:41.000 the number of teachers is doing the opposite. 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:44.880 So while you are praying about being called, 00:32:45.019 --> 00:32:47.019 I want to encourage you for the next couple days. 00:32:47.930 --> 00:32:51.150 Take time to pray and ask God if helping in a 00:32:51.150 --> 00:32:53.549 kid's wing is something you might be called to 00:32:53.549 --> 00:32:59.529 do. Churches die when they don't take care of 00:32:59.529 --> 00:33:01.950 their children, when they're not leading up the 00:33:01.950 --> 00:33:07.589 next generation. So, so far I've given a couple 00:33:07.589 --> 00:33:09.490 of examples highlighting what it means to be 00:33:09.490 --> 00:33:12.109 a child of God. I didn't give you an exhaustive 00:33:12.109 --> 00:33:15.369 list. We could talk all day, listing plenty of 00:33:15.369 --> 00:33:17.690 characteristics. You guys know I talk too much 00:33:17.690 --> 00:33:20.470 anyway. So I'm going to leave you with one last 00:33:20.470 --> 00:33:22.910 scripture to help you align with Jesus. This 00:33:22.910 --> 00:33:25.430 is another aha moment that I had. Think about 00:33:25.430 --> 00:33:27.970 the Last Supper in the upper room. In Matthew 00:33:27.970 --> 00:33:30.930 26, Jesus is with his disciples in the upper 00:33:30.930 --> 00:33:35.029 room. Starting in verse 20. When evening came, 00:33:35.130 --> 00:33:37.130 Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve. 00:33:37.369 --> 00:33:39.390 And while they were eating, he said, Truly I 00:33:39.390 --> 00:33:43.309 tell you, one of you will betray me. They were 00:33:43.309 --> 00:33:45.750 very sad and began to say one after another, 00:33:45.990 --> 00:33:50.009 surely you don't mean me, Lord. One after another. 00:33:50.390 --> 00:33:53.910 Peter, surely you don't mean me, Lord. John, 00:33:54.009 --> 00:33:58.869 surely you don't mean me, Lord. James, Andrew, 00:33:59.109 --> 00:34:03.710 surely you don't mean me, Lord. And Philip and 00:34:03.710 --> 00:34:07.710 Thomas and so on. Every disciple acknowledges 00:34:07.710 --> 00:34:15.070 Jesus as Lord, Savior. Messiah. But look down 00:34:15.070 --> 00:34:20.429 in verse 25. Then Jesus, the one who would betray 00:34:20.429 --> 00:34:27.349 him, said, Surely you don't mean me, Rabbi. Judas 00:34:27.349 --> 00:34:32.070 acknowledges Jesus as Rabbi, as teacher, which 00:34:32.070 --> 00:34:35.570 he was. But he doesn't acknowledge him as Lord 00:34:35.570 --> 00:34:43.559 and Savior. How do you acknowledge Jesus? Understand 00:34:43.559 --> 00:34:48.360 that Jesus is the Lord and Savior. That's what 00:34:48.360 --> 00:34:50.380 you need to be a child of God. He is not just 00:34:50.380 --> 00:34:53.400 teacher, not just rabbi. He is not just carpenter. 00:34:53.460 --> 00:34:56.860 He is not just man. He is King of Kings, the 00:34:56.860 --> 00:34:59.880 Great Shepherd, the Lamb of God, the Light of 00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:02.539 the World, Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor. 00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:05.480 He's the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the 00:35:05.480 --> 00:35:08.360 Last. But most importantly, out of all those 00:35:08.360 --> 00:35:13.440 things, He is my Lord and Savior. The Lord and 00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:17.619 Savior over my life. Now listen, when you identify 00:35:17.619 --> 00:35:20.599 as a Christian, that means you wear the name 00:35:20.599 --> 00:35:26.559 of Jesus on your heart. The name Christ is in 00:35:26.559 --> 00:35:31.380 your identity as Christian. How do you acknowledge 00:35:31.380 --> 00:35:36.300 Jesus? Which leads us right into our last action 00:35:36.300 --> 00:35:41.119 step. Number two. Once you recognize Jesus as 00:35:41.119 --> 00:35:43.619 your Lord and Savior, you will be transformed. 00:35:48.559 --> 00:35:53.780 Romans 12, 1 and 2. Therefore, I urge you, brothers 00:35:53.780 --> 00:35:56.519 and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer 00:35:56.519 --> 00:35:59.639 your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing 00:35:59.639 --> 00:36:03.739 to God. This is your true and proper worship. 00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:06.980 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, 00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:11.500 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 00:36:11.880 --> 00:36:14.199 Then you will be able to test and approve what 00:36:14.199 --> 00:36:17.780 God's will is, his good and pleasing and perfect 00:36:17.780 --> 00:36:25.880 will. Christian, you have his name stamped on 00:36:25.880 --> 00:36:30.440 you. First of all, it's not a renewing of our 00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:33.719 minds, or it is a renewing of our minds, not 00:36:33.719 --> 00:36:40.519 of our bodies. Trust me, I'm 50. Our bodies are 00:36:40.519 --> 00:36:46.280 decaying. I know at 50 what has already started 00:36:46.280 --> 00:36:48.900 to happen to my body. When I look at my mother 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:53.599 and my father, I see it in them. Except my father 00:36:53.599 --> 00:36:59.019 does have hip replacement, so I guess. The renewing 00:36:59.019 --> 00:37:01.199 of our bodies comes with our inheritance. The 00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:03.260 renewing of our bodies comes right out of the 00:37:03.260 --> 00:37:06.840 time, right around the time that Jesus will create 00:37:06.840 --> 00:37:10.539 our new earth. But the passage tells us to be 00:37:10.539 --> 00:37:14.539 transformed by the renewing of our minds. I love 00:37:14.539 --> 00:37:20.280 this word transform. I prefer it to change. You 00:37:20.280 --> 00:37:23.139 will be changed. You will be refined. But here's 00:37:23.139 --> 00:37:27.179 why I like transform. Because I think of that. 00:37:27.690 --> 00:37:32.449 Semi -rig named Optimus Prime, the Transformer. 00:37:34.570 --> 00:37:38.269 He's rolling down the road as a semi -truck, 00:37:38.289 --> 00:37:43.289 right? But when it's time to go into battle, 00:37:43.570 --> 00:37:48.469 he transforms from a truck into a better version 00:37:48.469 --> 00:37:52.570 of himself. Does he lose any part of himself? 00:37:53.929 --> 00:37:57.289 No, he is reformed, reconfigured, refined in 00:37:57.289 --> 00:38:01.989 such a way that he can fight the battle. Guys, 00:38:02.050 --> 00:38:05.190 it's not about changing who you are. It's about 00:38:05.190 --> 00:38:09.150 being transformed. Gold is heated. It's melted 00:38:09.150 --> 00:38:13.909 and refined. Be transformed. Allow your gold 00:38:13.909 --> 00:38:19.929 to shine through the dirt. Today, if you're ready 00:38:19.929 --> 00:38:23.010 to be transformed, if you're ready to be part, 00:38:24.299 --> 00:38:28.360 Of the family of God to become a child of God. 00:38:29.719 --> 00:38:32.340 I want you to say this sinner's prayer with me. 00:38:32.380 --> 00:38:36.599 Say this salvation prayer with me. Repeat these 00:38:36.599 --> 00:38:41.320 words. If this is you, Rudy, it's time for me 00:38:41.320 --> 00:38:43.159 to be transformed. I'm going to give up and give 00:38:43.159 --> 00:38:46.860 in to Jesus. Let's do this together. Put your 00:38:46.860 --> 00:38:49.440 hands out. And as a church family, repeat after 00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:55.269 me. Jesus, without you I am lost. I am broken. 00:38:56.550 --> 00:39:04.030 With you I am found. I am whole. I believe you 00:39:04.030 --> 00:39:08.909 are the Son of God. I believe you died for my 00:39:08.909 --> 00:39:14.489 sins. Open the door of my heart. Come into my 00:39:14.489 --> 00:39:20.530 heart. Transform me. Make me new. Give me your 00:39:20.530 --> 00:39:25.760 Holy Spirit to partner with. In Jesus' name, 00:39:25.900 --> 00:39:32.539 amen. Now, I promised I would make it through 00:39:32.539 --> 00:39:35.880 without crying, and I did. But if you are like 00:39:35.880 --> 00:39:37.739 me these past couple weeks and you are struggling 00:39:37.739 --> 00:39:41.860 with your identity, I want you to take a step 00:39:41.860 --> 00:39:48.420 of faith and come up here. Step forward. If you're 00:39:48.420 --> 00:39:50.460 struggling with what it means to be a child of 00:39:50.460 --> 00:39:52.719 God, I have a scripture that I want to pray over 00:39:52.719 --> 00:39:56.119 you. So I just ask anyone who is struggling to 00:39:56.119 --> 00:39:59.079 stand up, come forward, and take a leap of faith 00:39:59.079 --> 00:40:04.239 with me. In fact, everyone just stand with me. 00:40:05.099 --> 00:40:07.599 And that way nobody gets singled out as they 00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:17.300 come forward. If I wasn't preaching this message, 00:40:17.340 --> 00:40:20.090 I would be standing right down front. Because 00:40:20.090 --> 00:40:22.309 I myself have been struggling with these mental 00:40:22.309 --> 00:40:24.829 health issues the past couple weeks. To the point 00:40:24.829 --> 00:40:26.630 where I doubted I should even give this message. 00:40:26.690 --> 00:40:29.030 But who better to give the message than somebody 00:40:29.030 --> 00:40:33.969 who has been dealing with it? Who better to speak 00:40:33.969 --> 00:40:35.789 the name of Jesus than people that are walking 00:40:35.789 --> 00:40:38.710 through it? So if I can just have some men step 00:40:38.710 --> 00:40:41.090 forward and put hands on men. And ladies step 00:40:41.090 --> 00:40:43.449 forward and put hands on ladies. I want to read 00:40:43.449 --> 00:40:45.909 you this scripture. I want to speak this Bible 00:40:45.909 --> 00:40:50.250 passage over you. It comes from Roman 8. Romans 00:40:50.250 --> 00:40:56.909 8, 14 and 15. For those of you, all of you, all 00:40:56.909 --> 00:41:00.449 of us who are led by the Spirit, you are children 00:41:00.449 --> 00:41:04.429 of God. The Spirit you receive does not make 00:41:04.429 --> 00:41:07.610 you slaves. It does not make you weak so that 00:41:07.610 --> 00:41:11.110 you live in fear again. Rather, the Spirit you 00:41:11.110 --> 00:41:13.590 have received brought about your adoption to 00:41:13.590 --> 00:41:19.320 sonship. And by Him we cry, Abba, Father. We 00:41:19.320 --> 00:41:22.320 are children of God who get to cry out, Abba, 00:41:22.400 --> 00:41:27.579 Father. Everyone, cry out right now, Abba, Father. 00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:36.139 Give me my identity. Folks, you are ordinary 00:41:36.139 --> 00:41:39.800 people that are filled with the Holy Spirit to 00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:45.079 become extraordinary heirs of Jesus. While we're 00:41:45.079 --> 00:41:47.239 here, if you prayed that prayer just now for 00:41:47.239 --> 00:41:50.239 the first time, I want you to text the words 00:41:50.239 --> 00:41:54.940 CHANGEME to 97000. But I also want you to consider 00:41:54.940 --> 00:41:57.460 getting baptized tonight. There is still time 00:41:57.460 --> 00:42:00.719 to go out to the Welcome Hub and get signed up 00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:03.940 to be baptized. Now, before we go, there are 00:42:03.940 --> 00:42:06.639 just one simple word of knowledge. If you have 00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:09.780 any pain in your hip, kind of towards the glute, 00:42:09.800 --> 00:42:13.400 or in your right knee, anywhere in your right 00:42:13.400 --> 00:42:16.280 leg, come up to the prayer team and get prayer. 00:42:20.780 --> 00:42:24.900 Don't forget this Saturday is worship night. 00:42:25.380 --> 00:42:28.380 I expect to see all of you back here in this 00:42:28.380 --> 00:42:31.820 auditorium. If you are a teacher, student, parent, 00:42:32.039 --> 00:42:34.440 you know somebody that goes to school, come here 00:42:34.440 --> 00:42:37.920 Saturday so we can pray over you. Now, I'm going 00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:41.139 to that door. So don't go anywhere until I get 00:42:41.139 --> 00:42:45.800 there. While I'm going there, I want you to say 00:42:45.800 --> 00:42:50.159 to your neighbor, I am a child of God. Thank 00:42:50.159 --> 00:42:51.019 you. Love you.