WEBVTT 00:00:07.880 --> 00:00:11.099 Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd 00:00:11.099 --> 00:00:15.039 like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:18.100 slash connect. If you feel called to give, go 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:21.980 to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at 00:00:21.980 --> 00:00:23.920 any time you feel called to make a change in 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:29.399 your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the 00:00:29.399 --> 00:00:31.539 message. So typically you'd be watching a video 00:00:31.539 --> 00:00:33.659 with our announcements. I'm your announcements 00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:40.659 today. So welcome to HTV. We're so glad you're 00:00:40.659 --> 00:00:43.039 here. Listen, if this is your first time joining 00:00:43.039 --> 00:00:46.219 us, welcome. And make sure you stop by our... 00:00:46.810 --> 00:00:49.030 Hippie bus that has been broken down and cut 00:00:49.030 --> 00:00:51.890 in half. We now have a hippie bus table where 00:00:51.890 --> 00:00:54.549 you can sign in and be welcomed, and we'd love 00:00:54.549 --> 00:00:57.270 to give you a gift to check that out. If you're 00:00:57.270 --> 00:00:58.710 joining us from home, thank you for welcoming 00:00:58.710 --> 00:01:00.609 us into your space, and you can come in later 00:01:00.609 --> 00:01:04.829 and see our new welcome table, which is a hippie 00:01:04.829 --> 00:01:08.010 van cut in half, which I think is kind of cool. 00:01:08.650 --> 00:01:10.269 If you've been here for a while, stop and get 00:01:10.269 --> 00:01:12.310 your picture by it and say, hey, join me at HCV. 00:01:12.569 --> 00:01:16.000 It's the place to be. So our first announcement, 00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:18.939 we served at Reach this past week. Hey, if you 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:21.060 were a participant and served at Reach, give 00:01:21.060 --> 00:01:25.299 yourselves a hand. Thank you. It was a challenging 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:27.420 week because we had a lot of snow. It was cold. 00:01:27.959 --> 00:01:30.819 But we had hundreds of hours dedicated to serving 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:33.640 those less fortunate than us. Kelsey and Aaron 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:36.019 Palmer are actually still there, closing it up, 00:01:36.079 --> 00:01:39.000 finishing it up for the last day. So thank you. 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:41.579 Thank you for making a difference and being appreciative 00:01:41.579 --> 00:01:44.709 and grateful. for everything that God has given 00:01:44.709 --> 00:01:48.090 us. When we hang out and spend time with those 00:01:48.090 --> 00:01:49.730 that are less fortunate than us, it makes us 00:01:49.730 --> 00:01:53.549 realize how much of a blessing we have. Today 00:01:53.549 --> 00:01:55.870 is the first Sunday of the month, so it is Start 00:01:55.870 --> 00:01:57.390 With Why. If you want to learn about our community 00:01:57.390 --> 00:01:59.450 of faith, where we've been, where we're going, 00:01:59.629 --> 00:02:02.129 all that God is doing in our midst, join me right 00:02:02.129 --> 00:02:03.769 after this gathering. We'll go to the prayer 00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:06.250 room. Stop by the Welcome Hub first, then we'll 00:02:06.250 --> 00:02:07.489 go to the prayer room, and I'll teach you all 00:02:07.489 --> 00:02:09.370 about, share with you all about our community 00:02:09.370 --> 00:02:12.449 of faith. Tonight is our... First installment 00:02:12.449 --> 00:02:15.849 of Who is the Holy Spirit? Rick Vance and I are 00:02:15.849 --> 00:02:17.750 going to be leading a class tonight at 6 o 'clock 00:02:17.750 --> 00:02:19.750 right here in the auditorium. We're believing 00:02:19.750 --> 00:02:22.129 God's going to fill this house because the Holy 00:02:22.129 --> 00:02:25.090 Spirit is the least talked about, least understood 00:02:25.090 --> 00:02:27.990 part of the Trinity. And we want to change that 00:02:27.990 --> 00:02:30.870 because we believe he empowers us and changes 00:02:30.870 --> 00:02:33.169 our lives. So I want to encourage you, if you 00:02:33.169 --> 00:02:35.150 have questions, you don't understand the Holy 00:02:35.150 --> 00:02:36.969 Spirit, you want to learn a little bit more, 00:02:37.030 --> 00:02:40.379 show up. We'll be here from roughly 6 to 8. Child 00:02:40.379 --> 00:02:42.979 care is provided. If you do need child care, 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:45.139 please stop by the Welcome Hub and let them know 00:02:45.139 --> 00:02:47.599 you're bringing your children so I don't overwhelm 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:51.800 my daughter with 62 kids, okay? So let us know 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:55.719 if your kids are coming. Today is the first day 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:58.780 of HCV softball sign -ups, and you're thinking, 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:02.240 the snow is on the ground, Chris. How are we 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:04.139 playing softball? Well, it'll be a couple months. 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:07.199 We'll have two or three teams, four teams, who 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:10.800 knows. Sign up. Be a part of our softball teams. 00:03:11.460 --> 00:03:14.360 Coming soon to all of our families, we're going 00:03:14.360 --> 00:03:18.759 to do a free movie afternoon matinee and compassion 00:03:18.759 --> 00:03:21.560 letter writing. So if you adopted, excuse me, 00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:23.840 not adopted, that's not the right word. Correct 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:26.419 me when I'm wrong. Compassion. If you sponsored 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.680 a child, we would love to gather together as 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:31.199 a community of faith, write letters to them, 00:03:31.240 --> 00:03:36.240 and watch a movie. The other thing I want to 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.020 share is many of you know that God moved some 00:03:39.020 --> 00:03:41.419 mountains last year as we were praying for those. 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:43.900 We now have land across the street that we're 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:45.800 turning into a parking lot. Slowly but surely, 00:03:45.879 --> 00:03:48.400 we're getting the permits necessary to make that 00:03:48.400 --> 00:03:52.879 happen. It will open up 200 parking spots for 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:57.569 you, for us. To be safe and to welcome more people 00:03:57.569 --> 00:04:00.389 to experience God's love and forgiveness. Now, 00:04:00.469 --> 00:04:03.349 to go along with that, we have a new vision that 00:04:03.349 --> 00:04:05.250 we're kicking off for this year, be it 2026. 00:04:05.569 --> 00:04:08.389 We met with our contractor who built this wonderful 00:04:08.389 --> 00:04:10.969 house of miracles that we're meeting in, gathering 00:04:10.969 --> 00:04:13.750 in. And we can actually add a balcony to our 00:04:13.750 --> 00:04:19.730 back auditorium. So, right back there. We can 00:04:19.730 --> 00:04:22.569 add hundreds of seats right there. And you'll 00:04:22.569 --> 00:04:26.100 get an upper. Higher level, closer to God seat. 00:04:29.620 --> 00:04:32.939 And he gave us, he's drawing up plans for us 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:34.720 so that we can see them, we can cast vision for 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:37.139 them. Their price tag is roughly around $200 00:04:37.139 --> 00:04:41.180 ,000. So if you would like to give towards that, 00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:43.740 please stop by the Welcome Hub, talk to Steve, 00:04:43.839 --> 00:04:47.519 talk to Tracy. We are setting up a fund so that 00:04:47.519 --> 00:04:49.279 that can be built. And some of you are thinking, 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:51.319 wow, that seems like a lot of money. It's not. 00:04:52.009 --> 00:04:54.709 That is very inexpensive so that we can add hundreds 00:04:54.709 --> 00:04:57.529 of seats to our auditorium and continue to reach 00:04:57.529 --> 00:05:01.990 people with the love of Jesus. Amen? All right. 00:05:02.209 --> 00:05:04.829 So we're just believing that's going to happen 00:05:04.829 --> 00:05:18.250 by July. That's not bold ambition. That's faith. 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:22.420 All right, so many of you know it's the first 00:05:22.420 --> 00:05:24.699 Sunday of the month. If you don't know, every 00:05:24.699 --> 00:05:26.519 first Sunday of the month at our community of 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:30.579 faith, we celebrate communion. So if you could 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:34.519 stand back up, we are going to honor God. Now 00:05:34.519 --> 00:05:38.660 here at our community of faith at HTV, if you 00:05:38.660 --> 00:05:40.360 need an element, I'm sorry, put one hand up. 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:43.199 If you need gluten -free, put two hands up. There 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:46.759 you go. And while the teams are getting people 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:48.519 their elements, I want everybody else to focus 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:51.769 up here on me. We believe that this isn't just 00:05:51.769 --> 00:05:56.250 something we do here at church. We actually believe 00:05:56.250 --> 00:05:59.129 that Jesus told us to do this, left this as an 00:05:59.129 --> 00:06:02.189 ordinance that we should practice because he 00:06:02.189 --> 00:06:05.389 said, do this, share in communion as a remembrance 00:06:05.389 --> 00:06:08.129 of me. So what we are actually doing is we are 00:06:08.129 --> 00:06:11.610 activating. We are activating the presence of 00:06:11.610 --> 00:06:14.949 God in our lives to remember Jesus' broken body 00:06:14.949 --> 00:06:17.889 and his shed blood so that it can cover our sins. 00:06:18.029 --> 00:06:21.230 It can set us free. It can heal us. But it's 00:06:21.230 --> 00:06:23.550 all about submitting to him and honoring him 00:06:23.550 --> 00:06:26.790 as we partake in these elements. So I'm going 00:06:26.790 --> 00:06:28.449 to pray. I'm going to ask the Holy Spirit to 00:06:28.449 --> 00:06:31.170 come to reveal anything that's in our hearts 00:06:31.170 --> 00:06:35.750 that's separating us from God. And then we get 00:06:35.750 --> 00:06:37.970 it right, meaning we say, God, forgive me for 00:06:37.970 --> 00:06:41.540 that. Remove that because I want all of you in 00:06:41.540 --> 00:06:44.000 my life. And then as we partake of the elements, 00:06:44.060 --> 00:06:45.560 I'm going to pray for the Holy Spirit to come 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.000 down and overwhelm you and release his love and 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:50.800 peace in your heart. Amen? So Holy Spirit, come. 00:06:51.100 --> 00:06:54.800 God, reveal anything that's keeping us from you, 00:06:54.860 --> 00:07:00.600 God. Any ceiling between us, any blockage. And 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:02.699 as you reveal that, God, we lay it down at your 00:07:02.699 --> 00:07:06.720 feet. Forgive us, God. The broken people, we 00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.069 want to come into your presence. And we might 00:07:09.069 --> 00:07:11.310 connect with you in a real way this morning. 00:07:11.689 --> 00:07:14.889 In Jesus' name. So on the night that he was betrayed, 00:07:15.069 --> 00:07:18.329 Jesus took bread. He broke it. He gave it to 00:07:18.329 --> 00:07:21.990 his disciples and said, Take, eat, and do this 00:07:21.990 --> 00:07:30.750 in remembrance of me. Let's eat. Likewise, after 00:07:30.750 --> 00:07:33.990 supper, Jesus took the cup of wine. He said, 00:07:34.050 --> 00:07:37.300 This is my blood. which is shed for you and for 00:07:37.300 --> 00:07:40.259 many for the forgiveness of sins. Drink it often, 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:44.980 and when you do, do it in remembrance of me. 00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:52.459 Let's drink. So God, we are thankful for what 00:07:52.459 --> 00:07:55.339 you do in our lives. We are thankful, God, grateful 00:07:55.339 --> 00:07:58.459 that we can gather together. I just pray that 00:07:58.459 --> 00:08:01.040 you would silence distractions in Jesus' name, 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:03.819 that your spirit would be here, your presence 00:08:03.819 --> 00:08:06.699 would be here evident, In our lives, God, open 00:08:06.699 --> 00:08:08.899 our ears, our hearts, and our minds to receive 00:08:08.899 --> 00:08:12.600 your truth. And we pray this all in Jesus' name. 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:21.819 Amen. So today we happen to be kicking off a 00:08:21.819 --> 00:08:24.060 new series for the month of February called Check 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:28.060 Up. And if we're honest with ourselves, we are 00:08:28.060 --> 00:08:30.959 good at checking on everything in our lives except 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:34.809 for our spirits. We check our phones before going 00:08:34.809 --> 00:08:37.450 to bed. We check our phones before we get out 00:08:37.450 --> 00:08:40.669 of bed. We check our bank accounts. We go over 00:08:40.669 --> 00:08:44.289 our schedules. We monitor and check our steps. 00:08:45.070 --> 00:08:47.590 Maybe once a year, we go to the doctor for a 00:08:47.590 --> 00:08:51.450 physical checkup. But when is the last time you 00:08:51.450 --> 00:08:55.389 paused, we paused, and asked, how is my spirit 00:08:55.389 --> 00:09:00.350 today? Or Vineyard National Director Phil Strout 00:09:00.350 --> 00:09:04.500 used to look at me and say, How is your soul? 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:12.480 How is your soul? Not how busy are you, not how 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:16.200 religious you look, but how healthy is my heart 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:19.120 before God? And this month we're focusing on 00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:22.159 a spiritual checkup, not for shame, not for fear, 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.779 but for growth, for change, for us to become 00:09:25.779 --> 00:09:29.279 more like Jesus. I'm going to jump into the book 00:09:29.279 --> 00:09:32.080 of Colossians this morning. And the intro of 00:09:32.080 --> 00:09:34.360 the book, which was a letter written by Paul, 00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:37.919 reads like this. Colossians chapter 1, verses 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.179 3 through 5. We always pray for you, and we give 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:43.679 thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:09:44.059 --> 00:09:46.720 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus 00:09:46.720 --> 00:09:49.200 and your love for all of God's people, which 00:09:49.200 --> 00:09:51.639 come from your confident hope of what God has 00:09:51.639 --> 00:09:54.200 reserved for you in heaven. You have had this 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:56.799 expectation ever since you first heard the truth 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:01.370 of the good news. So Paul opens the letter. By 00:10:01.370 --> 00:10:04.529 writing a prayer. And he's writing this prayer 00:10:04.529 --> 00:10:07.909 to the church in Colossae. Which is a city in 00:10:07.909 --> 00:10:11.289 modern day Turkey. Now remember, Paul was a man 00:10:11.289 --> 00:10:14.269 that was highly educated. He was zealous in his 00:10:14.269 --> 00:10:17.350 earlier years of life. Zealous for a wrong cause. 00:10:17.950 --> 00:10:20.789 Paul was a Pharisee, a religious leader. He was 00:10:20.789 --> 00:10:24.009 extreme. Actually killing and murdering innocent 00:10:24.009 --> 00:10:26.830 Christians during the early formations of the 00:10:26.830 --> 00:10:29.759 church. Then Paul had an encounter with God on 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:32.940 the road to Damascus. His life was shaken to 00:10:32.940 --> 00:10:37.500 the very core. He goes all in for God. He follows 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:40.639 Jesus and ends up changing the world. It's a 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:43.980 reminder to all of us, we're not too far gone. 00:10:44.379 --> 00:10:47.740 None of us have too bad of a past that God can't 00:10:47.740 --> 00:10:51.240 use our very lives. Paul submitted to God, becomes 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:53.620 a leader in the church, and now he's writing 00:10:53.620 --> 00:10:55.639 this letter from prison to a group of people 00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:59.139 that he never met. Now, most of the churches 00:10:59.139 --> 00:11:02.139 that Paul writes to, he actually started or planted 00:11:02.139 --> 00:11:05.700 the church, but not this one. Many scholars believe 00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:09.620 this guy named Epaphras, who was a disciple of 00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:13.179 Paul, went and started this church in the city 00:11:13.179 --> 00:11:15.779 of Colossae. Then he goes back to Paul and he 00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:18.820 says, hey, Paul, we got this church going. It's 00:11:18.820 --> 00:11:21.779 going well, but now we have some issues. Please 00:11:21.779 --> 00:11:25.539 help. Paul is writing this letter to them from 00:11:25.539 --> 00:11:29.100 Rome. Rome is about 1 ,000 miles away. He's sitting 00:11:29.100 --> 00:11:32.519 in a prison dungeon, and he's writing this letter 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:35.460 to the church to bring some challenge and correction. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:39.220 Now, scholars call many of these smaller letters 00:11:39.220 --> 00:11:42.259 in the New Testament prison epistles. And the 00:11:42.259 --> 00:11:44.580 reason is their letters were written by Paul 00:11:44.580 --> 00:11:48.059 while he was in prison. I mean, how about making 00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:50.519 the most of your time and the season of life 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:54.639 you're in? Paul is like, I'm in prison. I got 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:57.250 all the time in the world. Instead of pouting 00:11:57.250 --> 00:11:59.809 about it, complaining about it, being upset about 00:11:59.809 --> 00:12:02.389 it, I'm going to write some letters to churches 00:12:02.389 --> 00:12:04.250 that are literally going to change the world. 00:12:04.870 --> 00:12:07.509 And Paul is writing this letter to the Colossians, 00:12:07.549 --> 00:12:10.289 and the purpose of this entire book is this. 00:12:10.730 --> 00:12:15.269 It's a refocus on Jesus. It's calling them back 00:12:15.269 --> 00:12:19.950 to put their focus on Jesus. See, as the church 00:12:19.950 --> 00:12:22.909 was birthed, they started with good faith and 00:12:22.909 --> 00:12:24.889 focus. You heard Paul say in the beginning of 00:12:24.889 --> 00:12:27.240 the letter, We have heard of your faith in Christ 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:30.360 Jesus and your love for all of God's people. 00:12:30.940 --> 00:12:34.299 Then Paul shifts and he brings a little correction 00:12:34.299 --> 00:12:37.299 into the letter or correction into their lives. 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:40.860 Now he does this suddenly. He noticed first he 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:43.000 celebrates their faith, their accomplishments. 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:46.440 Then he throws in some correction followed by 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:50.120 more celebration of them again. It's a healthy 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:53.399 way for all of us to learn how to practice correction. 00:12:54.110 --> 00:12:56.769 For example, when Jess and I are correcting our 00:12:56.769 --> 00:12:59.549 six -year -old Phoenix and his love for his dogs, 00:12:59.690 --> 00:13:02.909 right, we have two standard poodles. Both of 00:13:02.909 --> 00:13:06.110 them are bigger than him, right? But he loves 00:13:06.110 --> 00:13:08.570 them. He runs up and down the yard with them. 00:13:08.610 --> 00:13:11.429 But then he decides, I wonder if they'll wrestle 00:13:11.429 --> 00:13:15.870 me. So we have to look back at Phoenix and say, 00:13:15.909 --> 00:13:18.289 Phoenix, we know you love your dogs. We know 00:13:18.289 --> 00:13:20.710 you love your poodles. But they're not people, 00:13:20.870 --> 00:13:24.519 okay? That knee. That knee lift and that elbow 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:28.519 drop to the skull may make them a little mad 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:32.299 at you. Don't do it anymore. But we love that 00:13:32.299 --> 00:13:35.399 you love your dogs. See how I did that? It's 00:13:35.399 --> 00:13:40.860 like, celebrate. Correction. Celebrate. The proper 00:13:40.860 --> 00:13:44.539 way of correcting an individual. Paul is doing 00:13:44.539 --> 00:13:47.379 this in our letter today. Starts out with encouragement. 00:13:47.779 --> 00:13:51.080 I heard of your faith. What you're doing. But. 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:55.960 But you've deviated from it. And his whole message 00:13:55.960 --> 00:14:00.100 brings the focus right back on Jesus. And the 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:02.440 central theme of the book or letter to the Colossians 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:05.840 is, it's all about Jesus. And that should be 00:14:05.840 --> 00:14:09.120 the central theme for anyone that is in a relationship 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:13.259 with Jesus. Church, it's all about Jesus. The 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:16.679 church and Colossi made a crucial mistake that 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.429 so many Jesus followers do. It's they started 00:14:20.429 --> 00:14:23.610 with a focus on Jesus, and then they began to 00:14:23.610 --> 00:14:27.230 mix parts of their world into it. Now, in their 00:14:27.230 --> 00:14:30.610 culture, they mixed Gnosticism, which was different 00:14:30.610 --> 00:14:34.649 philosophical ideas and beliefs. Then they brought 00:14:34.649 --> 00:14:37.470 politics in and religious rituals and practices 00:14:37.470 --> 00:14:41.269 and circumcision. The Colossians believed it 00:14:41.269 --> 00:14:44.529 was okay to have Jesus and all this other stuff. 00:14:44.970 --> 00:14:47.500 And I want to challenge you, church. We have 00:14:47.500 --> 00:14:50.379 to guard against that in our culture today. We 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:53.919 have to be very careful not to mix Jesus and. 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:59.519 Jesus and politics. Jesus and self -help. Jesus 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:03.460 and social media. Jesus and our news feeds. Listen, 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:07.139 everyone has opinion. And they all want to tell 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:09.200 you how to live your life and what you have to 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:12.899 do and what you should say. We should only be 00:15:12.899 --> 00:15:17.019 paying attention to Jesus. We have to be careful 00:15:17.019 --> 00:15:20.399 not to mix up our relationship with Jesus and 00:15:20.399 --> 00:15:23.899 these other things. Saying, this is what it means 00:15:23.899 --> 00:15:27.080 to follow God. No, it's not. All those other 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:30.940 things don't mean that's how we follow God. It's 00:15:30.940 --> 00:15:34.580 all about Jesus. Even when we gather as a church, 00:15:34.759 --> 00:15:38.019 we must remain focused on Jesus. We have to point 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:40.600 people to Jesus. After all, if we're honest, 00:15:40.779 --> 00:15:44.179 think about it. It can be a little weird for 00:15:44.179 --> 00:15:47.340 a person that has little to no church background 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:51.059 whatsoever and to walk into this building. Think 00:15:51.059 --> 00:15:54.019 about it. None of it makes sense at all if it's 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:56.659 not about Jesus. None of it makes sense. You 00:15:56.659 --> 00:15:58.980 walk into a cafe full of people and you think, 00:15:59.080 --> 00:16:02.019 why are all these people really happy to see 00:16:02.019 --> 00:16:04.940 me? Like they're high -fiving me and they're 00:16:04.940 --> 00:16:06.679 hugging me. I don't even like to be hugged or 00:16:06.679 --> 00:16:09.919 touched. Like these people are over the top excited. 00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:12.789 What's the deal? And now they're offering me 00:16:12.789 --> 00:16:15.250 coffee and hot chocolate and Crumpy's Donuts. 00:16:15.389 --> 00:16:18.190 I want to pay for it, but I can't. Like, what's 00:16:18.190 --> 00:16:21.889 the catch, man? What's happening here? Then you 00:16:21.889 --> 00:16:24.409 walk with them into the auditorium where worship 00:16:24.409 --> 00:16:26.889 has already begun. They begin to look around, 00:16:27.009 --> 00:16:30.029 and they're wondering, why is that person passionately 00:16:30.029 --> 00:16:33.289 singing to the ceiling? And this person over 00:16:33.289 --> 00:16:35.830 here, they're weeping. What is going on? And 00:16:35.830 --> 00:16:39.269 who are they waving to? I mean, what is happening? 00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:43.000 Is there someone in the rafters? I mean, what? 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:48.419 And then there's this guy. He walks out in jeans 00:16:48.419 --> 00:16:53.220 and a t -shirt. And wait, he has tattoos. I thought 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:56.019 he was supposed to be wearing a robe. Like, what's 00:16:56.019 --> 00:17:02.200 going on? Friends, none of it makes sense if 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:05.279 we're not focused on Jesus. And I believe this 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:08.480 letter is a reminder to our community of faith. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:11.470 That's right, to us. We don't want to be like 00:17:11.470 --> 00:17:15.750 this church that started well, is doing well, 00:17:15.890 --> 00:17:18.990 but deviated from it because of what our culture 00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:22.309 told us to mix into our faith, which leads us 00:17:22.309 --> 00:17:26.250 to our first truth this morning. We need to focus 00:17:26.250 --> 00:17:29.349 on Jesus. Continuing Paul's opening prayer in 00:17:29.349 --> 00:17:31.549 Colossians 1, 9 through 10, we ask God to give 00:17:31.549 --> 00:17:33.809 you complete knowledge of his will and to give 00:17:33.809 --> 00:17:37.210 you spiritual wisdom and understanding. then 00:17:37.210 --> 00:17:39.789 the way you live will always honor and please 00:17:39.789 --> 00:17:42.210 the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind 00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:44.990 of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as 00:17:44.990 --> 00:17:48.309 you learn to know God better and better. See, 00:17:48.369 --> 00:17:50.650 Paul makes it very clear in his opening prayer. 00:17:51.089 --> 00:17:56.170 Our faith, our life, our hope is built on Jesus. 00:17:56.569 --> 00:17:59.470 The author of Hebrew writes it this way in chapter 00:17:59.470 --> 00:18:03.390 12, verses 1 through 2. Therefore, we are surrounded 00:18:03.390 --> 00:18:05.690 by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life 00:18:05.690 --> 00:18:08.869 of faith. Strip off every weight that slows us 00:18:08.869 --> 00:18:11.250 down, especially the sin that so easily trips 00:18:11.250 --> 00:18:15.130 us up. Let us run with endurance the race God 00:18:15.130 --> 00:18:19.069 has set before us. We do this. We live our lives 00:18:19.069 --> 00:18:25.069 by keeping our eyes on Jesus. See, we have to 00:18:25.069 --> 00:18:28.730 keep our eyes on Jesus. We have to fix our attention 00:18:28.730 --> 00:18:32.589 on Jesus. And let's be honest, we all have moments 00:18:32.589 --> 00:18:35.490 where our eyes get deviated off of what is most 00:18:35.490 --> 00:18:38.809 important. And I want you to ask yourself, what 00:18:38.809 --> 00:18:41.930 is it that has taken your focus off of Jesus 00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:46.089 today? Is it the busyness of life? The rampant 00:18:46.089 --> 00:18:49.170 do, do, do culture? Could it be that you're just 00:18:49.170 --> 00:18:51.700 distracted in this life? You got a lot going 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:55.660 on with your family, with your sports, with your 00:18:55.660 --> 00:18:58.319 business, with social media, and you've taken 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:01.200 your eyes off Jesus. Maybe it's just worldliness. 00:19:01.579 --> 00:19:04.900 You know, our world is enticing. We have money, 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:06.680 and we can make more money, and we can get more 00:19:06.680 --> 00:19:09.359 stuff and fame and followers, and it tempts us. 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:13.279 It lures us away from our focus being on Jesus. 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:17.039 It could be pride, the subtle idea that we can 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:19.859 do life without God. We find a little success. 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:22.799 We go back to school. We get a degree. People 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:26.480 praise us. And immediately we begin to think, 00:19:26.559 --> 00:19:31.920 it's all me. I did it. See, pride pulls our focus 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:34.319 off Jesus. Maybe for some of you it's doubt. 00:19:34.779 --> 00:19:38.279 A lie is whispered into your ear and we begin 00:19:38.279 --> 00:19:41.380 to question who God really is. Where is he in 00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:44.039 this difficult season I'm walking through? See, 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:47.200 it draws our eyes away from Jesus. For some of 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:49.160 you, it's religion. It's the ceremonies, the 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:52.460 rituals, the duty that I must perform in order 00:19:52.460 --> 00:19:55.700 for God to love me. For others, it's relationships. 00:19:56.279 --> 00:19:58.759 It could be a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a husband, 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:02.460 a wife, family, friends. When we prioritize people 00:20:02.460 --> 00:20:06.819 over God, it takes our eyes off Jesus. And Paul, 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:10.920 he's challenging us today, stop making your relationship 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.269 with God about all these other things. We have 00:20:14.269 --> 00:20:17.769 to remain focused on Jesus, Colossians 1 .23. 00:20:18.049 --> 00:20:21.089 But you must continue to believe this truth and 00:20:21.089 --> 00:20:24.069 stand firmly in it. Notice, don't drift away 00:20:24.069 --> 00:20:26.029 from the assurance you received when you heard 00:20:26.029 --> 00:20:29.410 the good news. The good news has been preached 00:20:29.410 --> 00:20:31.869 all over the world, and I, Paul, have appointed 00:20:31.869 --> 00:20:34.710 as God's servant to proclaim it, which leads 00:20:34.710 --> 00:20:38.390 us to our simple, practical steps. How do we 00:20:38.390 --> 00:20:41.670 remain focused on Jesus Christ? Well, Paul outlines 00:20:41.670 --> 00:20:44.589 it for us. He writes a beautiful passage of Scripture 00:20:44.589 --> 00:20:46.890 that we're going to discuss today from verses 00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:51.109 15 through 20. Now, in church history, this section 00:20:51.109 --> 00:20:53.630 has been called the Christ hymn or the Christ 00:20:53.630 --> 00:20:57.039 song. And many scholars believe that this passage 00:20:57.039 --> 00:20:59.940 either became a worship song in the first century 00:20:59.940 --> 00:21:03.900 or was a popular song, hymn, or poem that the 00:21:03.900 --> 00:21:06.859 early church would recite. And then Paul writes 00:21:06.859 --> 00:21:10.859 it into this passage to put our focus back on 00:21:10.859 --> 00:21:14.000 Jesus, which leads us to our first step. We have 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:18.299 to recognize Jesus as creator. We recognize Jesus 00:21:18.299 --> 00:21:21.880 as creator. Colossians 1, 15 through 16, listen 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:25.459 to the beautiful words written by Paul. Christ 00:21:25.459 --> 00:21:29.279 is the visible image of the invisible God. Pause. 00:21:30.099 --> 00:21:32.180 You read that sentence and you're like, wait 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:33.400 a minute, I've got to pause there for a second. 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:35.880 If you've ever wondered what God looks like, 00:21:36.019 --> 00:21:39.720 read the Gospels. That's all we have to do. Now, 00:21:39.720 --> 00:21:42.240 some of you are saying, well, I can't see Jesus. 00:21:42.299 --> 00:21:44.220 He lived 2 ,000 years ago. Yeah, but you can 00:21:44.220 --> 00:21:46.640 read about him, and history knows that he was 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:49.849 a real, living, breathing person. He existed 00:21:49.849 --> 00:21:53.930 before anything was created and is supreme over 00:21:53.930 --> 00:21:57.029 all creation. For through him, God created everything 00:21:57.029 --> 00:21:59.690 in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made 00:21:59.690 --> 00:22:02.430 the things we can see and the things we can't 00:22:02.430 --> 00:22:05.269 see, such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities 00:22:05.269 --> 00:22:08.250 in the unseen world. Everything was created through 00:22:08.250 --> 00:22:12.109 him and for him. Church, Jesus is our creator. 00:22:12.369 --> 00:22:15.410 He is our originator of everything we see and 00:22:15.410 --> 00:22:19.279 experience. It all started by him. And this passage 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:22.099 is for him. And it's interesting. Quite often 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:23.779 we look at the news. We get overwhelmed with 00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:26.400 the world. We get stressed out with what's happening 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:28.880 in our country. We get stressed out with wars 00:22:28.880 --> 00:22:32.000 and sickness and all the things that bombard 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:35.779 us in our modern day social media. And we have 00:22:35.779 --> 00:22:38.660 to realize, friends, Jesus created it all anyway. 00:22:39.539 --> 00:22:47.059 He's in control of it. And if we pause and we 00:22:47.059 --> 00:22:50.890 take a walk, or a bike ride along the canal and 00:22:50.890 --> 00:22:52.990 we see a beautiful bird or a wind blowing in 00:22:52.990 --> 00:22:55.670 our face or on a beach and we see a sunrise and 00:22:55.670 --> 00:22:59.609 a sunset, we recognize that this world and all 00:22:59.609 --> 00:23:02.970 its beauty was created for us to live in. It's 00:23:02.970 --> 00:23:05.190 unreal to think of the universe that we live 00:23:05.190 --> 00:23:07.569 in, and Paul points the people, he points them 00:23:07.569 --> 00:23:10.349 back to God who created it. Paul writes this 00:23:10.349 --> 00:23:13.089 in Romans 11, for everything comes from him, 00:23:13.170 --> 00:23:15.890 everything, and exists by his power and is attended 00:23:15.890 --> 00:23:18.329 for his glory, all glory to him forever, amen. 00:23:19.150 --> 00:23:22.950 See, God didn't just create the world. He created 00:23:22.950 --> 00:23:25.769 our worlds. He created our life and wants to 00:23:25.769 --> 00:23:28.289 be in control of it so we can experience and 00:23:28.289 --> 00:23:31.740 walk in abundance. Anything. that is good in 00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:35.339 our lives, comes from God. Originated with God 00:23:35.339 --> 00:23:38.680 is maintained through God. I mean, I still remember 00:23:38.680 --> 00:23:41.180 the day, Justin, I was invited to be a part of 00:23:41.180 --> 00:23:44.259 a missions trip in Kenya. As soon as I was asked, 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:46.859 I knew we were supposed to go, but we prayed 00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:49.680 about it, and sure enough, we said yes. And being 00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:52.279 a part of that trip opened my eyes to God's greatness. 00:23:53.090 --> 00:23:56.430 standing at what is called the Rift Valley. We 00:23:56.430 --> 00:23:59.809 would look out over thousands of miles of African 00:23:59.809 --> 00:24:03.829 land, and God's wonder and creation just overwhelmed 00:24:03.829 --> 00:24:07.269 me as I began to tear up. I thought to myself, 00:24:07.569 --> 00:24:11.230 here I am standing on the other side of the world, 00:24:11.289 --> 00:24:13.809 22 -hour plane fight that I'll probably never 00:24:13.809 --> 00:24:18.279 do again, a kid. That grew up in Hagerstown, 00:24:18.299 --> 00:24:20.759 Maryland. Whose father didn't want to leave the 00:24:20.759 --> 00:24:23.880 state. Was hard headed and struggled just to 00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:26.920 get out of the county. And here I am standing 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:30.980 in Africa. Seeing, witnessing, experiencing God's 00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:34.220 glory and animals. And it wasn't anything I did. 00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:38.220 It wasn't anything I said. God put me there. 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:42.000 Led me there. So that I would experience abundance. 00:24:42.910 --> 00:24:45.670 so that we would change lives halfway around 00:24:45.670 --> 00:24:48.769 the world. We would build kitchens, and now my 00:24:48.769 --> 00:24:51.130 family would experience what it means to trust 00:24:51.130 --> 00:24:54.089 in God. For those of you who don't know, check 00:24:54.089 --> 00:24:57.430 out this image. This image here is an image of 00:24:57.430 --> 00:25:00.930 my son and his students. My oldest son, Isaac, 00:25:01.049 --> 00:25:04.849 now lives in Kenya, is a secondary STEM teacher 00:25:04.849 --> 00:25:07.450 there, science, technology, engineering, and 00:25:07.450 --> 00:25:13.660 math. And he is the first. He is the first non 00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:17.140 -African to ever step foot in that village. Now, 00:25:17.180 --> 00:25:21.759 Isaac has established and is establishing a track 00:25:21.759 --> 00:25:24.619 team and a basketball team for his students. 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:29.759 Pretty cool, huh? Now, here's where you come 00:25:29.759 --> 00:25:34.700 in. Isaac shared with us that they have no shoes. 00:25:35.529 --> 00:25:39.009 They play basketball barefoot. They run track 00:25:39.009 --> 00:25:42.230 in their loafers that the school gives them. 00:25:42.569 --> 00:25:45.170 And he wanted to know if we could send some used 00:25:45.170 --> 00:25:48.690 sneakers to Kenya. Do you think we could do that? 00:25:49.309 --> 00:25:54.190 So if you're a lady or a woman and your foot 00:25:54.190 --> 00:25:56.930 size is 7 1⁄2 to 10 and you have an extra pair 00:25:56.930 --> 00:25:59.890 of sneakers, bring them in next Sunday. If you're 00:25:59.890 --> 00:26:02.779 a gentleman... and your foot size is 8 to 10, 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:06.299 or especially 9 to 10, if you could bring in, 00:26:06.380 --> 00:26:09.380 and I'm not asking for just one pair. If all 00:26:09.380 --> 00:26:12.640 of us brought in one pair, we would have hundreds 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:15.279 of pairs to not just give to the students, they 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.200 can give them to the whole village. Why not? 00:26:19.339 --> 00:26:22.980 You know why? Because God is in control, and 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:26.859 God desires that we make a difference. And if 00:26:26.859 --> 00:26:29.279 we would develop the type of gratitude and appreciation 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:32.480 for all that God gives us, does through us, you 00:26:32.480 --> 00:26:34.839 know what would happen? We would be full of smiles, 00:26:34.940 --> 00:26:37.440 laugh. We would be people that support and encourage 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:40.319 others to come experience it with us. And many 00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:43.700 would just be drawn to our shadows. But so often 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:48.180 we get distracted. And we forget that Jesus is 00:26:48.180 --> 00:26:52.240 the creator of my world and this world. It's 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:56.259 not me. It's not us. It's him working in us because 00:26:56.259 --> 00:26:59.140 he created us, leads us, provides for us, and 00:26:59.140 --> 00:27:02.980 loves us. And if you're here this morning and 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:05.599 you feel like God doesn't love you or value you, 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:09.599 that is a lie in Jesus' name. And you need to 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:12.000 stop believing it. Well, Chris, it's not that 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:15.319 easy. Yeah, it is. Stop doubting your value because 00:27:15.319 --> 00:27:17.759 you're not the one that determines it. Neither 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:20.680 does your ex or your boyfriend or your abusive 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:24.380 parents or our culture because our value is determined 00:27:24.380 --> 00:27:27.380 by what our creator says we are worth. And what 00:27:27.380 --> 00:27:30.359 does our creator say we are worth? We are worth 00:27:30.359 --> 00:27:34.420 the price of his son dying on the cross. That 00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:37.880 is how much you are worth. And we must remember, 00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:43.000 His son, Hebrews 1 .3 tells us, radiates God's 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:45.559 own glory and expresses the very character of 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:48.680 God. So whenever you doubt your worth or your 00:27:48.680 --> 00:27:52.380 abilities in God, listen, believe what Ephesians 00:27:52.380 --> 00:27:55.819 2 .10 says about you. You are a masterpiece. 00:27:56.099 --> 00:27:59.579 You were created new in Christ Jesus so you can 00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:02.460 do good things he planned for you to do. God 00:28:02.460 --> 00:28:05.059 says he formed you in your mother's womb. You 00:28:05.059 --> 00:28:07.740 are not an accident. He says there's a purpose 00:28:07.740 --> 00:28:11.359 in your life. God gave it all to you, and he 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:14.380 gave it to us by nailing his son to a cross so 00:28:14.380 --> 00:28:16.920 that we can have a relationship with him. Stop 00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:21.119 doubting, church, and embrace abundant life that 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:23.180 is given to us by our creator, which leads us 00:28:23.180 --> 00:28:26.720 to our next step. We rely on Jesus as sustainer. 00:28:27.150 --> 00:28:31.150 Colossians chapter 1, 17 says, again, Paul writing 00:28:31.150 --> 00:28:34.529 these magnificent words. He existed before anything 00:28:34.529 --> 00:28:39.049 else. And notice, he holds all creation together. 00:28:39.349 --> 00:28:42.539 See, Jesus starts to work in our life. When we 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:45.460 declare that he is Lord of our life. But he also 00:28:45.460 --> 00:28:48.559 sustains the work in our life. And Paul is correcting 00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:51.220 the church saying you started in faith. You were 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:53.900 following Jesus. But now you've deviated. You 00:28:53.900 --> 00:28:56.700 got sidetracked. You allowed for the culture, 00:28:56.880 --> 00:28:59.880 the world to sneak into your relationship with 00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:02.960 me. And that's not God's best. And I want us 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:05.539 all to just pause. And I want us to think about 00:29:05.539 --> 00:29:09.539 the earth just for a second. The earth that we 00:29:09.539 --> 00:29:13.349 live on. is sustained by God. How do I know that? 00:29:13.509 --> 00:29:15.549 Well, I did a little research this week. There 00:29:15.549 --> 00:29:18.910 was a specific zone for our planet and where 00:29:18.910 --> 00:29:21.670 it is in our universe, and it's called the habitable 00:29:21.670 --> 00:29:25.289 zone. Our earth is in this zone where it's not 00:29:25.289 --> 00:29:28.289 too cold and it's not too hot. It's actually 00:29:28.829 --> 00:29:31.769 perfect for life. And when you do the research 00:29:31.769 --> 00:29:35.450 and realize how perfect it is for life, you suddenly 00:29:35.450 --> 00:29:38.289 realize that God's hands on it, because if it 00:29:38.289 --> 00:29:42.269 was 1 % to the left or 1 % to the right, you 00:29:42.269 --> 00:29:44.089 know what would happen? There would be no life 00:29:44.089 --> 00:29:46.650 on this planet. If it was a little bit closer 00:29:46.650 --> 00:29:49.490 to the sun, we would all burn up. If it was a 00:29:49.490 --> 00:29:51.809 little bit further away, we would all freeze, 00:29:51.910 --> 00:29:58.279 which we understand what that feels like. If 00:29:58.279 --> 00:30:01.700 it was not tilted the exact way that it's tilted 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:04.119 on its axis, we wouldn't have the season to sustain 00:30:04.119 --> 00:30:07.119 life. See, God is the one holding this all together. 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:10.720 And it's not an accident. This is not circumstantial. 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:13.099 It is by the grace of God that we're living on 00:30:13.099 --> 00:30:15.960 this planet. Because God is a divine creator 00:30:15.960 --> 00:30:20.339 who positioned life perfectly to sustain life 00:30:20.339 --> 00:30:23.880 and allow for us, his creation, the glory of 00:30:23.880 --> 00:30:27.730 his creation to flourish and prosper. Now scientists 00:30:27.730 --> 00:30:29.829 tell us that our world, think about this, it's 00:30:29.829 --> 00:30:32.470 going to blow your mind. Scientists tell us that 00:30:32.470 --> 00:30:35.349 our world is spinning at 1 ,000 miles an hour. 00:30:36.210 --> 00:30:38.130 Like we are literally spinning in a circle 1 00:30:38.130 --> 00:30:40.329 ,000 miles an hour, yet here we are living, breathing, 00:30:40.490 --> 00:30:43.150 functioning, worshiping, not even realizing that 00:30:43.150 --> 00:30:45.569 our world is spinning. And then circling around 00:30:45.569 --> 00:30:49.230 the sun. Every day that we wake up, the earth 00:30:49.230 --> 00:30:52.349 has spun around again, and we should say, God, 00:30:52.430 --> 00:30:55.460 thank you for sustaining it. Thank you for sustaining 00:30:55.460 --> 00:30:58.920 me. Thank you for giving me another day. Everything 00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:02.220 that we have is being held together by the sustaining 00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:05.480 power of God. Hebrews chapter one, verse three 00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:07.980 says, the sun radiates God's own glory and expresses 00:31:07.980 --> 00:31:10.900 the very character of God. Notice this line, 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:16.900 he sustains everything by the mighty power of 00:31:16.900 --> 00:31:20.980 his command. And anytime we feel like life is 00:31:20.980 --> 00:31:23.700 falling apart, we're overwhelmed, we're stressed, 00:31:24.109 --> 00:31:28.009 It might be the fact that the sustaining power 00:31:28.009 --> 00:31:30.849 of God has been removed from that situation. 00:31:31.490 --> 00:31:34.569 Let me say it this way. Anything that we need 00:31:34.569 --> 00:31:37.089 held together, we need to make sure that Jesus 00:31:37.089 --> 00:31:39.710 is involved in it. And if something is falling 00:31:39.710 --> 00:31:41.970 apart in our lives, it's probably because we 00:31:41.970 --> 00:31:44.609 pushed Jesus out of it. And when we push Jesus 00:31:44.609 --> 00:31:47.529 out of it, church, the sustaining power is no 00:31:47.529 --> 00:31:50.809 longer there. Your marriage won't be sustained 00:31:50.809 --> 00:31:53.849 when Jesus is not in the middle of it. That's 00:31:53.849 --> 00:31:56.430 the truth. And some of you, we are launching 00:31:56.430 --> 00:31:58.430 our marriage class at the end of this month, 00:31:58.509 --> 00:32:01.269 and it's not guilt, it's not shame. Your marriage 00:32:01.269 --> 00:32:04.069 could be okay, but it certainly can be better. 00:32:04.289 --> 00:32:08.210 Your marriage may be failing. Let's fix it. So 00:32:08.210 --> 00:32:10.109 I want to encourage you, if you want to be a 00:32:10.109 --> 00:32:12.089 part of the marriage class, stop by the Welcome 00:32:12.089 --> 00:32:15.170 Hub and get signed up, because it's an opportunity 00:32:15.170 --> 00:32:17.500 for your marriages to flourish. And see, the 00:32:17.500 --> 00:32:20.779 purpose of our lives will not be sustained when 00:32:20.779 --> 00:32:22.759 we make it about other things instead of Jesus. 00:32:23.180 --> 00:32:26.440 Our friendships, our joy, our business, our career 00:32:26.440 --> 00:32:30.039 won't be sustained when we make it about other 00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:33.059 things instead of Jesus. He is the glue that 00:32:33.059 --> 00:32:35.319 holds life together. And let me say it this way. 00:32:35.619 --> 00:32:38.440 Jesus is not some cheap Elmer's school glue. 00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:43.359 He is gorilla glue that can't and won't be separated. 00:32:45.130 --> 00:32:49.069 And when Jesus is the focus of our life, he sustains 00:32:49.069 --> 00:32:51.630 us. And when it feels like we're in over our 00:32:51.630 --> 00:32:55.210 head, God is under your feet. He's there to support 00:32:55.210 --> 00:32:58.809 you, care for you, and love on you. And you may 00:32:58.809 --> 00:33:00.630 be here this morning and feeling overwhelmed. 00:33:01.230 --> 00:33:04.269 Let me encourage you. Jesus will sustain you. 00:33:04.309 --> 00:33:08.569 Psalm 55, 22. Cast your cares on the Lord and 00:33:08.569 --> 00:33:12.730 he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous 00:33:12.730 --> 00:33:16.569 be shaken. When we give up control to God, he 00:33:16.569 --> 00:33:20.210 sustains us in our weakness, which leads us to 00:33:20.210 --> 00:33:23.920 our third step. We have to submit to Jesus. As 00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:27.680 king. We have to submit to Jesus as king. Colossians 00:33:27.680 --> 00:33:31.079 1 .18. Christ is also the head of the church. 00:33:31.119 --> 00:33:35.160 Which is his body. He is the beginning. Supreme. 00:33:35.660 --> 00:33:39.299 Over all who rise from the dead. So he is first 00:33:39.299 --> 00:33:42.599 in everything. And Paul challenges us right here. 00:33:42.660 --> 00:33:45.980 He says put Jesus first in our lives. And that 00:33:45.980 --> 00:33:48.839 word supremacy. Or supreme. When it's written 00:33:48.839 --> 00:33:51.680 in this context there. Is a verb. And it means 00:33:51.680 --> 00:33:55.460 to be first. Or to have preeminence. Meaning, 00:33:55.559 --> 00:34:00.789 we go to Jesus above all other things. So what 00:34:00.789 --> 00:34:03.250 I want you to think about today is this. I want 00:34:03.250 --> 00:34:05.450 you to think about your life, and I want you 00:34:05.450 --> 00:34:08.590 to think about what holds your life together. 00:34:09.349 --> 00:34:12.989 And for many of us, we look at this as different 00:34:12.989 --> 00:34:15.929 examples in our life. We have health, we have 00:34:15.929 --> 00:34:17.929 marriage, we have children, we have relationships, 00:34:18.349 --> 00:34:21.369 we have finances, and we have a career. And which 00:34:21.369 --> 00:34:25.869 one of these would you say holds your life together? 00:34:26.070 --> 00:34:28.309 Maybe for some of you, you say it's your marriage. 00:34:28.510 --> 00:34:31.949 He sustains it. me. He takes care for me. He 00:34:31.949 --> 00:34:35.889 provides for me. Or she loves me. She makes me 00:34:35.889 --> 00:34:38.989 a better person. And listen, I want to encourage 00:34:38.989 --> 00:34:41.949 you, all that is true and good. I love marriage. 00:34:41.989 --> 00:34:44.650 I support marriage. I love my wife. But as soon 00:34:44.650 --> 00:34:47.909 as a fight creeps into it, that can certainly 00:34:47.909 --> 00:34:50.630 crumble and fall away. And if we put it at the 00:34:50.630 --> 00:34:52.590 center, we have to be careful not to make it 00:34:52.590 --> 00:34:55.550 a god. For some of you, it's your children, right? 00:34:56.269 --> 00:34:58.730 And you say, oh, they're my world. They're everything 00:34:58.730 --> 00:35:02.030 to me. Well, my response to you is this. If they're 00:35:02.030 --> 00:35:03.750 your world, be careful because one day they're 00:35:03.750 --> 00:35:06.570 going to move out. And one day they may move 00:35:06.570 --> 00:35:09.969 to Africa, which will really rock your world. 00:35:10.050 --> 00:35:13.449 There is no promises when it comes to our children. 00:35:13.929 --> 00:35:17.260 Maybe for you, it's your career. Oh, I need my 00:35:17.260 --> 00:35:19.980 career, Chris. My career provides for my wife, 00:35:20.059 --> 00:35:23.360 provides for my kids, allows me to pay my bills, 00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:26.500 allows for me to be successful and to be acknowledged 00:35:26.500 --> 00:35:29.119 in this culture. Which again, my encouragement 00:35:29.119 --> 00:35:31.800 to you is, what happens when your career changes? 00:35:32.059 --> 00:35:35.260 What happens when your career ends? What happens 00:35:35.260 --> 00:35:39.280 when you get laid off? Which Paul is telling 00:35:39.280 --> 00:35:43.679 us, no, it's got to be Jesus. Jesus has got to 00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:46.440 be at the center of everything that we do when 00:35:46.440 --> 00:35:49.059 it comes to life. But let's look at what the 00:35:49.059 --> 00:35:51.699 church in Colossae was doing. See, the church 00:35:51.699 --> 00:35:54.320 of Colossae, they started this way. They put 00:35:54.320 --> 00:35:57.199 Jesus at the center. They were excited, but then 00:35:57.199 --> 00:35:59.320 they allowed other things to creep in. Say, for 00:35:59.320 --> 00:36:02.440 example, it's your health. Say your health or 00:36:02.440 --> 00:36:05.599 their health was struggling and health went to 00:36:05.599 --> 00:36:09.400 the forefront of their focus, right? They begin 00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:11.840 to diet. They begin to take medication. They 00:36:11.840 --> 00:36:14.500 make sure they look right. They make sure they 00:36:14.500 --> 00:36:16.980 eat right. They do exercise. They do everything 00:36:16.980 --> 00:36:19.619 right. And Jesus kind of gets pushed to the side, 00:36:19.760 --> 00:36:23.059 right? But here's the reality when it comes to 00:36:23.059 --> 00:36:25.420 our health. Every day we wake up, something's 00:36:25.420 --> 00:36:28.519 going to hurt a little bit more. Because we get 00:36:28.519 --> 00:36:30.119 older and our bodies are going to break down. 00:36:30.420 --> 00:36:33.079 And we're not promised anything when it comes 00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:35.480 to life. But when we focus too much on health 00:36:35.480 --> 00:36:38.679 and we push Jesus out and our focus is just on 00:36:38.679 --> 00:36:41.320 health, we begin to lose track of what is most 00:36:41.320 --> 00:36:43.719 important. Or say for you, it's not your health. 00:36:43.760 --> 00:36:47.039 Say it's your friendships, right? You value your 00:36:47.039 --> 00:36:49.519 friendships. And because you have these friendships 00:36:49.519 --> 00:36:51.300 and you want to hang out with people and you 00:36:51.300 --> 00:36:53.199 want to spend time with them, you push Jesus 00:36:53.199 --> 00:36:56.489 out of the center. And because of those friendships 00:36:56.489 --> 00:36:58.889 that you love and you want to be with people 00:36:58.889 --> 00:37:00.510 and hang out with people and high -five people, 00:37:00.710 --> 00:37:02.630 but some of those friends aren't in a relationship 00:37:02.630 --> 00:37:06.130 with Jesus. And you begin to doubt and you begin 00:37:06.130 --> 00:37:08.110 to question your faith because they're leading 00:37:08.110 --> 00:37:10.590 you down a wrong road because you made Jesus 00:37:10.590 --> 00:37:13.670 a Sunday morning thing, a quiet thing, and you're 00:37:13.670 --> 00:37:16.869 not bold in your faith yet. And you push Jesus 00:37:16.869 --> 00:37:20.940 out. And Paul says, no, stop pushing Jesus out, 00:37:21.079 --> 00:37:23.639 put him back in the center where he needs to 00:37:23.639 --> 00:37:25.699 be, because when we put him in the center where 00:37:25.699 --> 00:37:30.599 he needs to be, everything works out. That's 00:37:30.599 --> 00:37:34.260 why Jesus reminds us in Matthew 6, 33, seek the 00:37:34.260 --> 00:37:39.099 kingdom of God above all else, live righteously, 00:37:39.260 --> 00:37:41.400 and he's going to give you everything you need. 00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:45.159 You know what that means? We see God, Jesus first, 00:37:45.400 --> 00:37:48.250 he's going to provide. For all these needs. I 00:37:48.250 --> 00:37:50.690 love the way that C .S. Lewis says it. He says 00:37:50.690 --> 00:37:52.510 it this way. And this is our quote of the week. 00:37:53.449 --> 00:37:56.050 Put first things first. And second things are 00:37:56.050 --> 00:38:04.489 thrown in. Put second things first. We lose both 00:38:04.489 --> 00:38:12.730 the first. And the second thing. The things that 00:38:12.730 --> 00:38:19.559 make you go. When we put our focus on the other 00:38:19.559 --> 00:38:26.440 things, we lose everything. And Paul is reminding 00:38:26.440 --> 00:38:30.000 his church, put your focus back on what is most 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.059 important. And that's Jesus. Colossians 119. 00:38:34.360 --> 00:38:38.159 For God, in all his fullness, was pleased to 00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:41.960 live in Christ. And through him, God reconciled 00:38:41.960 --> 00:38:46.480 everything. Everyone say everything. To himself. 00:38:47.179 --> 00:38:51.239 See, Jesus reconciles all things in our life 00:38:51.239 --> 00:38:53.920 back to him. You know why? Because he has the 00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:57.780 power to move in and sustain every area of your 00:38:57.780 --> 00:39:00.539 life, which leads us to our final step. See, 00:39:00.619 --> 00:39:03.239 when we make Jesus as king, then we can embrace 00:39:03.239 --> 00:39:06.260 the peace that's found in him. Colossians 1 .20, 00:39:06.380 --> 00:39:10.110 he made peace with everything. In heaven and 00:39:10.110 --> 00:39:12.750 on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. 00:39:13.090 --> 00:39:15.670 And in a world that's constantly pulling us into 00:39:15.670 --> 00:39:20.050 anxiety, fear, and doubt, Jesus offers something 00:39:20.050 --> 00:39:23.369 radically different. He says, I am going to give 00:39:23.369 --> 00:39:26.309 you a peace that does not depend on your circumstances, 00:39:26.409 --> 00:39:30.909 John 14, 27. I am leaving you with a gift. Let's 00:39:30.909 --> 00:39:33.550 all open that gift. Peace of mind and heart. 00:39:33.650 --> 00:39:36.030 And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot 00:39:36.030 --> 00:39:41.130 give. So don't be troubled. Or afraid. Or doubt. 00:39:41.730 --> 00:39:45.409 Or anxiety. Or fear. And you know what that tells 00:39:45.409 --> 00:39:48.789 us right away? Peace is not fragile. It is not 00:39:48.789 --> 00:39:52.989 borrowed. Peace is from God. The world's peace, 00:39:53.110 --> 00:39:55.969 what is it? It's temporary. It says, yeah, you're 00:39:55.969 --> 00:39:57.429 going to have peace when your bills are paid. 00:39:58.530 --> 00:40:01.329 You'll have peace when you're healed and that 00:40:01.329 --> 00:40:04.210 diagnosis changes. Yeah, you'll have peace when 00:40:04.210 --> 00:40:06.670 the fight's over. But you know what Jesus says? 00:40:06.789 --> 00:40:10.409 He says, just come to me now. Come be in my presence. 00:40:10.710 --> 00:40:14.190 Not after the storm passes, but while the waves 00:40:14.190 --> 00:40:17.110 are crashing all around you. And we see that 00:40:17.110 --> 00:40:20.309 clearly when Jesus is asleep in the boat while 00:40:20.309 --> 00:40:22.829 the storm is raging, Mark chapter 4. But soon 00:40:22.829 --> 00:40:25.429 a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking 00:40:25.429 --> 00:40:28.050 into the boat. It began to fill with water. Jesus 00:40:28.050 --> 00:40:31.349 was sleeping at the back of the boat with his 00:40:31.349 --> 00:40:36.309 head on a cushion. Talk about specifics. The 00:40:36.309 --> 00:40:46.500 disciples. Don't you care that we're going to 00:40:46.500 --> 00:40:49.219 drown? What did the disciples do? They panicked. 00:40:49.780 --> 00:40:53.679 They were panicking. Jesus, rest. He's resting. 00:40:53.739 --> 00:40:57.400 Why? Because peace is not the absence of trouble. 00:40:58.039 --> 00:41:01.179 Peace is the presence of God. It's trusting that 00:41:01.179 --> 00:41:03.659 God is in control. See, when we invite Jesus 00:41:03.659 --> 00:41:05.980 into our boat, into our life, we may still face 00:41:05.980 --> 00:41:09.590 storms, but we won't face them alone. Embracing 00:41:09.590 --> 00:41:12.429 the peace of Jesus. Church, it requires surrender. 00:41:12.610 --> 00:41:14.590 Philippians chapter 4. Don't worry about anything. 00:41:15.489 --> 00:41:18.010 Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what 00:41:18.010 --> 00:41:19.489 you need. Thank him for all he's done. Then you 00:41:19.489 --> 00:41:22.409 will experience. There it is. God's peace. Which 00:41:22.409 --> 00:41:25.010 exceeds anything we can understand. His peace 00:41:25.010 --> 00:41:26.789 will guard your hearts and minds as you live 00:41:26.789 --> 00:41:30.389 in Christ Jesus. And notice what it says there. 00:41:30.530 --> 00:41:35.530 It says guard. See, God's peace stands watch 00:41:35.530 --> 00:41:39.059 over us when our thoughts are running wild. So 00:41:39.059 --> 00:41:41.800 today, the invitation is simple. Stop striving. 00:41:42.260 --> 00:41:45.260 Stop carrying a weight on your shoulders that 00:41:45.260 --> 00:41:47.920 you were never meant to carry and rest in him. 00:41:48.199 --> 00:41:50.079 And he doesn't promise that it's going to make 00:41:50.079 --> 00:41:54.179 your life easier, but he promises a steady life 00:41:54.179 --> 00:41:57.659 of abundance. And in him, church, that's more 00:41:57.659 --> 00:42:04.659 than enough. Will you stand with me? So I was 00:42:04.659 --> 00:42:06.880 praying about how to close this gathering. I 00:42:06.880 --> 00:42:11.500 felt compelled that So many of us, each and every 00:42:11.500 --> 00:42:15.179 week, we walk into this place and we have a weight 00:42:15.179 --> 00:42:18.960 on our shoulders. It could be worry, doubt, fear, 00:42:19.199 --> 00:42:23.260 stress, anxiety. It could be finances. It could 00:42:23.260 --> 00:42:24.880 be your marriage. It could be a relationship. 00:42:26.380 --> 00:42:29.880 It could be anything. And quite often when we 00:42:29.880 --> 00:42:32.519 bring those things into here, we just carry them 00:42:32.519 --> 00:42:35.300 in and then we carry them out. And God says, 00:42:35.340 --> 00:42:38.579 no, will you lay them down today? Will you trust 00:42:38.579 --> 00:42:42.440 me? Will you lay him down? Will you put me first? 00:42:43.019 --> 00:42:45.199 Will you stop focusing on all the other stuff 00:42:45.199 --> 00:42:48.039 in your life and put me first and center on me? 00:42:48.079 --> 00:42:50.860 And when you center on me, my peace, which passes 00:42:50.860 --> 00:42:52.920 all understanding, the Bible tells us, will fall 00:42:52.920 --> 00:42:57.440 on us. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna 00:42:57.440 --> 00:42:59.960 invite the Holy Spirit to come. I'm gonna ask 00:42:59.960 --> 00:43:02.159 the Holy Spirit to reveal anything in us that 00:43:02.159 --> 00:43:04.360 we are carrying in our own strength on our shoulders. 00:43:06.030 --> 00:43:07.829 And then I'm going to walk you through a prayer 00:43:07.829 --> 00:43:09.570 where you choose as an act of your will to lay 00:43:09.570 --> 00:43:12.130 it down. And then I'm going to pray a prayer 00:43:12.130 --> 00:43:15.769 of abundance and peace over your life. Because 00:43:15.769 --> 00:43:18.590 I believe God is going to set you free today. 00:43:19.690 --> 00:43:24.190 So Holy Spirit come. Open our hearts, our minds 00:43:24.190 --> 00:43:27.989 to see your truth this morning in anything that 00:43:27.989 --> 00:43:32.550 we are worried about, stressed about, overwhelmed 00:43:32.550 --> 00:43:35.469 about. That we've put in as a priority over you. 00:43:38.199 --> 00:43:41.719 Now, church, let's pray together. I choose by 00:43:41.719 --> 00:43:48.320 an act of my will to lay down. There you go. 00:43:48.340 --> 00:43:52.519 Lay it down. Lay it down. Say, forgive me, God. 00:43:54.239 --> 00:43:57.860 I put you first. I put you at the center of my 00:43:57.860 --> 00:44:01.260 life. There you go. Now I'm going to pray for 00:44:01.260 --> 00:44:03.440 the peace of God to come. Holy Spirit, come. 00:44:04.400 --> 00:44:07.699 Release your peace. into this gathering, God. 00:44:08.239 --> 00:44:10.880 I just pray that each and every heart would sense 00:44:10.880 --> 00:44:14.880 and know that you are here with them. That your 00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:17.420 rest, your joy, your abundance, your love would 00:44:17.420 --> 00:44:20.559 be released into each and every person. That 00:44:20.559 --> 00:44:22.239 we don't leave this place carrying a burden, 00:44:22.360 --> 00:44:26.219 but we laid it down at your feet and now free 00:44:26.219 --> 00:44:33.159 to walk with you. In Jesus' name, amen. Now there 00:44:33.159 --> 00:44:34.619 are several, hold on, there are several words 00:44:34.619 --> 00:44:36.079 of knowledge I want to share with you before 00:44:36.079 --> 00:44:37.380 we go and then we're going to pray a prayer. 00:44:39.659 --> 00:44:43.059 If you have left ankle pain because of arthritis, 00:44:43.539 --> 00:44:47.400 you have headaches caused by the nerves behind 00:44:47.400 --> 00:44:51.099 your eyes, you have left hip pain, you have pain 00:44:51.099 --> 00:44:55.000 in your jaw on the right side. If any of those 00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:56.599 are you, they're pretty specific. Our prayer 00:44:56.599 --> 00:44:58.260 team will be on my left and my right. We're going 00:44:58.260 --> 00:44:59.699 to pray for you and believe that God will heal 00:44:59.699 --> 00:45:02.539 you. But for the rest of you, we pray a simple 00:45:02.539 --> 00:45:05.440 prayer here every single Sunday at every single 00:45:05.440 --> 00:45:07.960 gathering. We believe that God brings people 00:45:07.960 --> 00:45:09.820 in our midst that are distant and far from God 00:45:09.820 --> 00:45:12.280 and that want to meet him for the first time 00:45:12.280 --> 00:45:14.519 and come home and be welcomed into our family. 00:45:14.699 --> 00:45:16.619 And we all pray this prayer together, believing 00:45:16.619 --> 00:45:19.760 that God's going to set people free. Amen? So 00:45:19.760 --> 00:45:24.559 if that's you, pray with us now. Jesus, I'm broken. 00:45:25.179 --> 00:45:31.039 I'm full of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change 00:45:31.039 --> 00:45:36.480 me. Forgive me. I believe you're God's son. I 00:45:36.480 --> 00:45:41.440 believe you died for me. I believe you're alive 00:45:41.440 --> 00:45:47.239 today. Make me new. Set me free. Fill me with 00:45:47.239 --> 00:45:52.300 your spirit. Help me, God, to serve others. In 00:45:52.300 --> 00:45:56.780 Jesus' name, amen. Now, if you prayed that prayer 00:45:56.780 --> 00:46:01.079 for the first time, see me. Tell me, hug me, 00:46:01.119 --> 00:46:03.639 do something so I can get you baptized, so I 00:46:03.639 --> 00:46:05.380 can give you some next steps on how to follow 00:46:05.380 --> 00:46:07.360 him. Don't forget, before we leave, hold on, 00:46:07.480 --> 00:46:13.059 hold on, chill, chill. It's cold out there, dude. 00:46:13.159 --> 00:46:18.000 You want to be in the warmth. Start with wise 00:46:18.000 --> 00:46:19.619 today right after this. If you want to meet with 00:46:19.619 --> 00:46:22.699 me, go to the welcome home. Holy Spirit class 00:46:22.699 --> 00:46:25.840 tonight, six o 'clock, child care provided, right? 00:46:26.400 --> 00:46:29.329 God bless you guys. Now go and be the hands and 00:46:29.329 --> 00:46:30.690 feet of Jesus. Amen.