WEBVTT 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:12.660 We are so glad you're here. Whether you're listening 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:15.460 on your morning commute, at the gym, or relaxing 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:18.120 with a cup of coffee, thanks for spending part 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:20.960 of your day with us. If today's message encourages 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:23.559 you and you'd like to get connected with everything 00:00:23.559 --> 00:00:26.539 happening at Hub City Vineyard, head over to 00:00:26.539 --> 00:00:30.719 htv .church slash connect. We'd love to meet 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:33.420 you and help you find your place here. Want to 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:35.840 know what's coming up, discover ways to serve, 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.960 or stay in the loop on upcoming events? Check 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:43.179 out hcv .church slash what's up for everything 00:00:43.179 --> 00:00:47.039 happening around HCV. Now turn it up, lean in, 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:49.200 and get ready for what God has for you today. 00:00:49.399 --> 00:00:52.280 We hope this message encourages you, challenges 00:00:52.280 --> 00:00:54.640 you, and reminds you that you are deeply loved. 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:58.460 Now let's hear the message. Now, without further 00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:03.740 ado. Red and Carl. Hey, hey. Good morning, church. 00:01:04.700 --> 00:01:07.120 Hey, when the pastor's away, the worship leaders 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:09.780 get to play. That's why Carl and I are here today. 00:01:10.400 --> 00:01:12.079 Oh, man, this is the service we live stream. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:13.420 He's going to hear me. He's going to hear me 00:01:13.420 --> 00:01:15.700 say that. I might be in some trouble. Hey, good 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:17.780 morning, guys. What an honor it is to bring the 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:21.620 Word of God to you guys today. So if you've been 00:01:21.620 --> 00:01:23.260 here for the last couple weeks, you know that 00:01:23.260 --> 00:01:26.439 we are in our series called The Hot Seat. So 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:28.420 back last year when we got together as a pastoral 00:01:28.420 --> 00:01:30.280 staff and started talking about what we wanted 00:01:30.280 --> 00:01:32.260 to do in terms of our sermon series for this 00:01:32.260 --> 00:01:35.010 year. We thought, hey, wouldn't it be cool to 00:01:35.010 --> 00:01:38.310 get some engagement from our people to say, hey, 00:01:38.310 --> 00:01:40.609 what is it that you struggle with? Or if God 00:01:40.609 --> 00:01:43.609 was in front of you, what would be the question 00:01:43.609 --> 00:01:47.030 that you would want to ask him? And so we divided 00:01:47.030 --> 00:01:49.629 them up, and I asked my best friend, Carl, who's 00:01:49.629 --> 00:01:51.769 – we're two out of three of the Iron Boys are 00:01:51.769 --> 00:01:53.430 here today, so hopefully that's okay with you 00:01:53.430 --> 00:01:54.810 guys, and we're going to have a bit more of a 00:01:54.810 --> 00:01:57.370 conversational -style message. But as Carl and 00:01:57.370 --> 00:02:00.439 I were going through – the cards, and thank you 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:03.500 so much for the engagement. We had over 100 submissions. 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:07.280 We began to pull out a common theme around the 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.620 word purpose. We saw many questions like, God, 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:14.120 what is my purpose here on earth? God, how do 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:17.780 I exist in the world today? God, I know that 00:02:17.780 --> 00:02:20.520 your church is important. How am I supposed to 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:24.060 exist in the church today? God, what do you have? 00:02:24.689 --> 00:02:26.969 for my life. So as Carl and I sat down and went 00:02:26.969 --> 00:02:29.030 through these questions, we both kind of immediately 00:02:29.030 --> 00:02:31.310 agreed purpose would be a really cool way to 00:02:31.310 --> 00:02:34.669 open this, to preach on this Sunday. Absolutely. 00:02:35.909 --> 00:02:37.909 And I think the way that we've structured this 00:02:37.909 --> 00:02:40.789 message is that we're going to teach the front 00:02:40.789 --> 00:02:43.909 half what God's word says about the concept of 00:02:43.909 --> 00:02:45.870 purpose. And then we're going to give you some 00:02:45.870 --> 00:02:49.129 ideas of what you can do to dive into all that 00:02:49.129 --> 00:02:51.870 he has for you. Before we jump in, I just want 00:02:51.870 --> 00:02:54.960 to clear up two things. Number one, This was 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:58.039 not my idea. When the questions came out, there 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:00.159 was one question that I was super excited about. 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:04.400 I did some background research onto ancient Polynesian 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.379 culture, and I was preparing to answer what I 00:03:07.379 --> 00:03:09.500 would consider to be the preeminent question 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:14.080 of our generation. Will there be Chick -fil -A 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:19.409 in heaven? Almost immediately, Rhett shut this 00:03:19.409 --> 00:03:21.729 down. Something about a conflict of interest 00:03:21.729 --> 00:03:24.449 because apparently he's a huge AC &T fried chicken 00:03:24.449 --> 00:03:28.889 guy. Okay. I don't know if I have anything more 00:03:28.889 --> 00:03:30.530 to say this morning. Second service is my people. 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:35.310 Okay. You brought backup today. No, but I think 00:03:35.310 --> 00:03:37.650 we need to acknowledge that this is one of the 00:03:37.650 --> 00:03:41.110 most fundamental questions that we can ask as 00:03:41.110 --> 00:03:44.349 human beings. Some form of the question, what 00:03:44.349 --> 00:03:49.879 is my purpose? I believe that God has a unique 00:03:49.879 --> 00:03:53.840 purpose for each person here today. In fact, 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:56.479 I believe that God delights in walking alongside 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:00.960 his children as they uncover his will for their 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:04.699 life. But before we dive into the concept of 00:04:04.699 --> 00:04:07.939 meaning or purpose on an individual level, I 00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:10.180 think it might be helpful to take a step back 00:04:10.180 --> 00:04:14.280 and look at what God's word says about his purpose 00:04:14.280 --> 00:04:17.579 for humanity. As a whole. Sound good? Sounds 00:04:17.579 --> 00:04:18.980 great. All right. So I'm going to pray. We're 00:04:18.980 --> 00:04:21.660 going to dive right in. Holy Spirit, come. Father, 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:23.420 I pray right now, God, that you would just meet 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:26.000 us in this moment. That you would make us aware 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:28.459 of your presence. God, that you would highlight 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:31.720 in our minds and our hearts ways that we can 00:04:31.720 --> 00:04:34.939 take the next step into the purposes that you 00:04:34.939 --> 00:04:36.860 have for us. Lord, you assure us through your 00:04:36.860 --> 00:04:39.399 word that you have good plans for our lives. 00:04:39.459 --> 00:04:43.480 And I pray, God, right now that a fire would 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:46.560 begin to burn in somebody's heart. to take a 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:49.579 step, to serve, and to pursue their purpose. 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:53.500 In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. All right, 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:55.220 so our first thought for this morning is this. 00:04:55.379 --> 00:05:00.139 God's purpose for humanity begins with creation. 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:04.079 When we open our Bibles, we only get a couple 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:08.259 pages in before we come across language that's 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:11.379 really helpful in shaping our understanding of 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:15.029 why God created human beings. to begin with. 00:05:15.149 --> 00:05:19.170 Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. Then God said, let 00:05:19.170 --> 00:05:23.730 us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, 00:05:23.730 --> 00:05:27.410 so that they may rule over the fish in the sea, 00:05:27.509 --> 00:05:30.709 and the birds in the sky, over the livestock, 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:33.810 and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures 00:05:33.810 --> 00:05:37.790 that move along the ground. So God created mankind 00:05:37.790 --> 00:05:42.250 in his image. In the image of God, he created 00:05:42.250 --> 00:05:46.480 the male and female, he created them. There's 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:49.420 a couple things to unpack in this verse. First 00:05:49.420 --> 00:05:53.740 and foremost, human beings were created with 00:05:53.740 --> 00:05:57.120 intention. The human race is not the byproduct 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.620 of some cosmic or scientific accident where a 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:02.740 bunch of cells just happen to collide together 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:07.600 and create a human. We were created by God with 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:11.519 intention for a specific purpose. purpose. And 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:14.500 the Bible tells us that that purpose is to rule 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:20.139 over all creation. To make this language a little 00:06:20.139 --> 00:06:22.100 bit more accessible, it's helpful to understand 00:06:22.100 --> 00:06:25.379 that one way to look at the creation narrative 00:06:25.379 --> 00:06:29.399 is that it's a narrative of God speaking order. 00:06:30.170 --> 00:06:33.449 out of the chaos. So he speaks to the chaos of 00:06:33.449 --> 00:06:37.050 darkness and out comes the order of light. He 00:06:37.050 --> 00:06:39.410 speaks to the chaos waters of the deep and separates 00:06:39.410 --> 00:06:43.050 the sea and the sky and brings the land out. 00:06:43.170 --> 00:06:48.089 And so for us, as we pursue our purpose, I think 00:06:48.089 --> 00:06:51.709 that anytime that we experience situations or 00:06:51.709 --> 00:06:55.009 circumstances in our lives that feel or seem 00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:59.120 chaotic, and we seek to bring about a godly sense 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:02.060 of order, I believe that we're partnering with 00:07:02.060 --> 00:07:06.399 God to fulfill our command to rule over all creation. 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:08.019 So human beings were created with intention. 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:12.139 They were also created with inherent identity. 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:15.920 Biblical scholars call this the Imigo Dei. We 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:19.040 were created in the image of God specifically 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:23.819 to model his characteristics. and attributes. 00:07:23.959 --> 00:07:26.079 As we were preparing for this message, one of 00:07:26.079 --> 00:07:28.660 the things we talked about is that we live in 00:07:28.660 --> 00:07:32.579 a world that practices or preaches a message 00:07:32.579 --> 00:07:36.060 of radical individualism and the glorification 00:07:36.060 --> 00:07:39.839 of self. But as followers of Christ, we're called 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:42.500 to live differently. We're not called to be the 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:45.420 brightest light in the room. We're called to 00:07:45.420 --> 00:07:48.740 be the clearest reflection of Christ. Yeah, that's 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:51.209 good. And something about, you know, God's purpose 00:07:51.209 --> 00:07:53.269 for humanity begins with creation, you can immediately 00:07:53.269 --> 00:07:56.250 see that when he created us, he created us with 00:07:56.250 --> 00:07:59.300 a purpose of authority. Yes. When I see... the 00:07:59.300 --> 00:08:02.019 text that says, let us make mankind our image 00:08:02.019 --> 00:08:04.660 and our likeness so that they may rule over. 00:08:04.839 --> 00:08:07.480 When God gave us the ability to rule over things, 00:08:07.660 --> 00:08:10.259 he gave us an inherent ability of authority. 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:12.639 And I feel like one of the tactics of the enemy 00:08:12.639 --> 00:08:14.560 is to get us to believe that we were not fearfully 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:16.959 and wonderfully made, but that we are meek and 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:18.660 that we are mild and that we don't have authority 00:08:18.660 --> 00:08:21.480 to speak things into existence. And I love that. 00:08:21.519 --> 00:08:23.339 And I think what you said is absolutely true, 00:08:23.420 --> 00:08:26.939 that the world today... preaches so many different 00:08:26.939 --> 00:08:31.319 messages, but one of them is the radical individualism, 00:08:31.339 --> 00:08:33.620 that this life is all about me, and people are 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:35.960 here to serve me. I'm here to get my way. But 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:39.480 in reality, the purpose that God has put in our 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:42.139 lives is not to be anything other than a son 00:08:42.139 --> 00:08:44.720 or a daughter of the Most High King. I know sometimes 00:08:44.720 --> 00:08:47.379 in my life I get caught up in all of the things 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:50.490 that I am. a professional at my job. I have a 00:08:50.490 --> 00:08:52.490 career. I have a job title. I have a list of 00:08:52.490 --> 00:08:55.929 responsibility. I'm a husband. I am a father. 00:08:56.070 --> 00:08:58.429 I am a worship pastor. You and I spend a lot 00:08:58.429 --> 00:09:01.269 of time devoting a lot of our time, skill, and 00:09:01.269 --> 00:09:02.970 effort and energy into this worship team. When 00:09:02.970 --> 00:09:05.129 we have issues that we need to work out or when 00:09:05.129 --> 00:09:08.110 things at my job don't go perfect, I can begin 00:09:08.110 --> 00:09:11.580 to create a scenario in which I find my purpose 00:09:11.580 --> 00:09:14.460 being devoted in all of the things that God never 00:09:14.460 --> 00:09:16.639 intended for my life. Now, a lot of those things 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:18.240 are blessings, and a lot of those things, we 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.799 are all called to be different things in this 00:09:19.799 --> 00:09:21.320 life, and we should carry those responsibilities 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:25.240 well. But what grounds me and what brings order 00:09:25.240 --> 00:09:29.000 back into my chaos is when I'm reminded that 00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:32.000 my first and my primary responsibility is to 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:36.440 be a son. of God, to be a son of the Most High 00:09:36.440 --> 00:09:38.080 King. And when you remember that our purpose 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:40.639 is to have authority in this life, to speak our 00:09:40.639 --> 00:09:43.019 purpose over our situations, and remember that 00:09:43.019 --> 00:09:45.820 we are fearfully and wonderfully made, life kind 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:48.240 of seems to even out a bit. It doesn't remove 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:50.460 the problems. It doesn't remove the situations, 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:54.259 but it reassesses, it regrounds your thinking 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:55.940 into what really matters. And something else 00:09:55.940 --> 00:09:57.179 that's really important to remember with our 00:09:57.179 --> 00:10:00.940 purpose in creation is soon after God made Adam, 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:04.409 what did he do? He created Eve. He realized immediately 00:10:04.409 --> 00:10:07.690 that in order for us to execute our purpose in 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:09.669 life, we're not supposed to do this life alone. 00:10:09.809 --> 00:10:14.429 Yes. Yes, absolutely. And part of our identity 00:10:14.429 --> 00:10:17.610 as sons and daughters of the Most High King is 00:10:17.610 --> 00:10:19.950 grounded in what we're going to talk about next, 00:10:20.009 --> 00:10:22.210 which is our covenant relationship. Number two, 00:10:22.269 --> 00:10:26.049 God's purpose for humanity is grounded in covenant. 00:10:26.990 --> 00:10:30.259 All throughout the Old Testament, we see God 00:10:30.259 --> 00:10:33.340 relating to his chosen people through the relationship 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:36.360 of a covenant relationship. A covenant is essentially 00:10:36.360 --> 00:10:40.100 a contract where both sides agree to uphold their 00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:44.740 end. An example of this is the Mosaic Covenant, 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:48.320 and this is where we see the familiar image of 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:52.600 Moses going up to the top of Mount Sinai to receive 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:55.480 the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments 00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:59.909 were written. In the Mosaic covenant, God defines 00:10:59.909 --> 00:11:03.029 what it means to be obedient to him by providing 00:11:03.029 --> 00:11:06.750 the law. And in exchange for Israel's obedience, 00:11:07.110 --> 00:11:11.629 he promises to protect, to defend, and to bless 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:14.250 them. And unfortunately, as we read through the 00:11:14.250 --> 00:11:16.629 Old Testament, time and time again, we see Israel 00:11:16.629 --> 00:11:20.350 failing to be obedient to that covenant. So ultimately, 00:11:20.370 --> 00:11:23.009 God looks ahead to a time where he will create 00:11:23.009 --> 00:11:27.409 a new covenant with people. In Hebrews chapter 00:11:27.409 --> 00:11:31.110 8, the author of Hebrews quotes a prophecy that 00:11:31.110 --> 00:11:33.870 was given to Jeremiah by God. He says, I will 00:11:33.870 --> 00:11:36.610 make a new covenant with the people of Israel 00:11:36.610 --> 00:11:39.629 and with the people of Judah. It will not be 00:11:39.629 --> 00:11:41.870 like the covenant I made with their ancestors 00:11:41.870 --> 00:11:44.750 when I took them by the hand to lead them out 00:11:44.750 --> 00:11:47.830 of Egypt because they did not remain faithful 00:11:47.830 --> 00:12:00.169 to my covenant and I turned away from them. In 00:12:00.169 --> 00:12:03.750 the old covenant, you have the laws written in 00:12:03.750 --> 00:12:07.929 stone, and the covenant is secured by human obedience. 00:12:08.389 --> 00:12:10.330 But in the new covenant, the covenant in which 00:12:10.330 --> 00:12:14.230 we now live, the laws are written on human hearts, 00:12:14.370 --> 00:12:18.200 and the covenant is secured by... Christ's obedience, 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:21.259 not by ours. And so I think one question is, 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:23.639 why does this idea or this concept of covenant 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:26.620 matter? How does it play into our understanding 00:12:26.620 --> 00:12:32.059 of our purpose? Ever since sin entered the world 00:12:32.059 --> 00:12:35.580 through Adam and Eve, every generation that's 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:38.519 been born since them has been born with a distorted 00:12:38.519 --> 00:12:42.820 sense. of purpose. We were called to rule over 00:12:42.820 --> 00:12:45.580 all creation, to bring order out of the chaos. 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:48.320 But when we look at humanity today, when we turn 00:12:48.320 --> 00:12:50.779 on the news, when we turn on social media, more 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:54.419 often than not, what we see is that people create 00:12:54.419 --> 00:12:59.659 deeper and darker levels of chaos. Into this 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:03.169 broken situation, God steps. And he offers us 00:13:03.169 --> 00:13:05.950 an opportunity to be redeemed through this new 00:13:05.950 --> 00:13:09.090 covenant with Christ. And not only does he redeem 00:13:09.090 --> 00:13:13.929 our souls for eternity, but he redeems our sense 00:13:13.929 --> 00:13:16.649 of purpose. Which brings us to our third thought 00:13:16.649 --> 00:13:19.110 for this morning. God's purpose for humanity 00:13:19.110 --> 00:13:25.110 is redeemed in Christ. Continuing on in Hebrews 00:13:25.110 --> 00:13:30.269 chapter 9, the author says, Christ is the mediator 00:13:30.269 --> 00:13:33.629 of a new covenant that those who are called may 00:13:33.629 --> 00:13:37.049 receive the promised eternal inheritance. Now 00:13:37.049 --> 00:13:40.190 that he has died as a ransom to set them free 00:13:40.190 --> 00:13:44.350 from the sins committed under the first covenant. 00:13:44.529 --> 00:13:48.269 God took it upon himself to change the terms 00:13:48.269 --> 00:13:51.409 of the covenant. He sent Jesus to die for our 00:13:51.409 --> 00:13:55.269 sins so that we could be viewed as holy and righteous 00:13:55.269 --> 00:13:58.690 and that we could receive the promised. eternal 00:13:58.690 --> 00:14:02.789 inheritance. When we read that phrase, promised 00:14:02.789 --> 00:14:05.409 eternal inheritance, it's easy to assume that 00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:09.470 what's being talked about here is heaven. And 00:14:09.470 --> 00:14:12.350 while salvation through Jesus is an important 00:14:12.350 --> 00:14:14.909 part of the redemptive work of the cross, it's 00:14:14.909 --> 00:14:18.389 not the only piece. In addition to our salvation, 00:14:18.590 --> 00:14:21.929 our promised eternal inheritance includes the 00:14:21.929 --> 00:14:26.029 indwelling of the Holy Spirit. and an invitation 00:14:26.029 --> 00:14:30.690 to partner with God to advance his kingdom on 00:14:30.690 --> 00:14:33.750 earth as it is in heaven. We have a saying here 00:14:33.750 --> 00:14:36.350 at the vineyard that we live between the already 00:14:36.350 --> 00:14:40.429 and the not yet. And that's what God has already 00:14:40.429 --> 00:14:44.110 done through Christ and what he has not yet done 00:14:44.110 --> 00:14:48.090 but longs to do through his church. Yeah, and 00:14:48.090 --> 00:14:49.789 I think a lot of our purpose can be found in 00:14:49.789 --> 00:14:51.710 that point right there, that when we remember 00:14:51.710 --> 00:14:54.480 that God's purpose for humanity. is redeemed 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:56.820 when christ gives just like you said he he he 00:14:56.820 --> 00:14:59.899 changed the terms of the initial covenant he 00:14:59.899 --> 00:15:02.500 knew that his son literally meant everything 00:15:02.500 --> 00:15:04.580 to us and again it kind of just goes back into 00:15:04.580 --> 00:15:07.059 what i was saying earlier that when we realize 00:15:07.059 --> 00:15:10.440 and when it it sinks into our bodies it sinks 00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:13.259 into our souls it sinks into our minds that we 00:15:13.259 --> 00:15:15.759 are nothing more than sons and daughters of the 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:19.080 most high king our purpose begins to change. 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.879 It becomes less about our circumstances. It becomes 00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:24.759 less about the problems that we face in our everyday 00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:27.559 lives. It becomes less about the plans and the 00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:31.600 purposes that we want to pursue. And when we 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.320 are obedient to our calling in the moment, whether 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:37.559 or not we understand it or not, God's purpose 00:15:37.559 --> 00:15:40.480 can be revealed. I'm reminded of one of my favorite 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:43.289 things that I learned in the Bible. And I didn't 00:15:43.289 --> 00:15:45.269 say this first service, so I apologize for everyone 00:15:45.269 --> 00:15:48.570 in first service. But I love the story of David 00:15:48.570 --> 00:15:52.490 in the Bible. After he is anointed to be the 00:15:52.490 --> 00:15:55.110 future king and before he wears the crown, there's 00:15:55.110 --> 00:15:58.409 this moment where Goliath is out on the battlefield 00:15:58.409 --> 00:16:01.230 shouting his obscenities and shouting at the 00:16:01.230 --> 00:16:04.289 army. David is still a shepherd boy in this moment. 00:16:04.669 --> 00:16:07.350 And his father says, hey. Come here, I need you 00:16:07.350 --> 00:16:09.870 to go deliver lunch to your brothers. And I often 00:16:09.870 --> 00:16:11.549 think about what that must have been like for 00:16:11.549 --> 00:16:13.529 David, knowing that he's eventually going to 00:16:13.529 --> 00:16:15.970 be king, but still serving in what we would view 00:16:15.970 --> 00:16:18.409 as a lowly purpose. And here he is becoming an 00:16:18.409 --> 00:16:22.490 errand boy for his brothers who were not chosen 00:16:22.490 --> 00:16:25.190 to be king. But because he was obedient in his 00:16:25.190 --> 00:16:28.389 purpose, his father said, Go deliver this meat 00:16:28.389 --> 00:16:30.389 and this cheese to your brother. He was in a 00:16:30.389 --> 00:16:33.250 position to hear Goliath shout, and that is what 00:16:33.250 --> 00:16:35.330 led him to one of his greatest claims to fame 00:16:35.330 --> 00:16:38.710 because he was walking in his purpose in the 00:16:38.710 --> 00:16:40.509 moment. So for someone in your day, I just feel 00:16:40.509 --> 00:16:42.090 like I'm supposed to say this. You may be walking 00:16:42.090 --> 00:16:44.710 in a season that you don't feel is powerful, 00:16:44.929 --> 00:16:48.529 you don't feel is prestigious, but carry your 00:16:48.529 --> 00:16:51.509 purpose well because your act of obedience today 00:16:51.509 --> 00:16:54.759 could be the thing that leads you. To something 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:56.879 that God has for you that you have no idea that 00:16:56.879 --> 00:16:59.159 becomes your greatest claim to faith. Come on. 00:16:59.259 --> 00:17:02.139 So we have God's purpose begins with creation. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:05.240 God's purpose for humanity is grounded in the 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:07.940 covenant. God's purpose for humanity is redeemed 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:10.299 in Christ. And this is where we want to go today 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:12.119 and what becomes the talk of our future message. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:15.779 God's purpose for humanity is fulfilled through 00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:20.099 the church. Fulfilled through the church. Carl 00:17:20.099 --> 00:17:23.559 and I believe. That the church, the big C church, 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:26.599 the body of Christ, that's what the Bible calls 00:17:26.599 --> 00:17:29.960 the church, the body of Christ is so, so important. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:34.980 It is a pivotal thing in our faith. Not necessarily 00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:37.440 just the building, right? We're not talking about 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:40.259 this structure that has walls and a floor and 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:42.740 a ceiling, but we're talking about the body of 00:17:42.740 --> 00:17:44.900 Christ. And what we want to do today is get you 00:17:44.900 --> 00:17:47.910 to realize, get you to understand. That so much 00:17:47.910 --> 00:17:50.849 of the purpose that God has for our life can 00:17:50.849 --> 00:17:54.849 either be confirmed, activated, or started because 00:17:54.849 --> 00:17:57.829 you choose to engage with the body of Christ. 00:17:58.190 --> 00:18:02.509 Matthew 28, 18 to 20 says, Then Jesus came to 00:18:02.509 --> 00:18:05.130 them and said, All authority in heaven and on 00:18:05.130 --> 00:18:08.329 earth has been given to me. Therefore, Here's 00:18:08.329 --> 00:18:12.130 the action. Go and make disciples of all nations, 00:18:12.349 --> 00:18:15.289 baptizing them in the name of the Father and 00:18:15.289 --> 00:18:17.890 of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. These are 00:18:17.890 --> 00:18:20.970 Jesus's words. This is him teaching and teaching 00:18:20.970 --> 00:18:24.490 them to obey everything I have commanded you. 00:18:24.630 --> 00:18:27.549 And surely I am with you always to the very end 00:18:27.549 --> 00:18:30.390 of the age. Jesus is telling. his people, his 00:18:30.390 --> 00:18:33.690 disciples, go and make disciples of all the nations. 00:18:33.769 --> 00:18:36.349 And we believe that the church is so pivotal 00:18:36.349 --> 00:18:38.930 and so important in that message. Absolutely. 00:18:38.950 --> 00:18:42.430 I find it fascinating that Jesus didn't ascend 00:18:42.430 --> 00:18:46.150 into heaven and merely leave behind some kind 00:18:46.150 --> 00:18:49.109 of seemingly infinite pile of get out of hell 00:18:49.109 --> 00:18:52.349 free cards, but rather he left behind a clear 00:18:52.349 --> 00:18:57.609 mission for his followers to go to baptize. and 00:18:57.609 --> 00:18:59.809 to teach. We're called to go out into the world, 00:18:59.869 --> 00:19:04.109 to introduce people to Jesus, and to teach them 00:19:04.109 --> 00:19:06.089 what it looks like to follow Jesus through our 00:19:06.089 --> 00:19:09.950 words, our attitudes, and our actions. Now, some 00:19:09.950 --> 00:19:13.410 of you here this morning have already made the 00:19:13.410 --> 00:19:15.890 decision to follow Christ, but you have not yet 00:19:15.890 --> 00:19:19.609 been baptized. You've not yet made a public declaration 00:19:19.609 --> 00:19:23.509 of faith, and I have great news for you. There's 00:19:23.509 --> 00:19:27.710 still time to sign up. for our August 30th summer 00:19:27.710 --> 00:19:31.309 baptisms at Potterfield Pool in the evening. 00:19:31.450 --> 00:19:33.329 So I want to encourage you, if that's you, if 00:19:33.329 --> 00:19:36.190 you've not yet been baptized and you would like 00:19:36.190 --> 00:19:39.609 to be, go see Tracy after this message. She'll 00:19:39.609 --> 00:19:40.930 be in the Welcome Hub. She'll get you on the 00:19:40.930 --> 00:19:45.430 list to be baptized today. Now, as we were preparing 00:19:45.430 --> 00:19:49.109 for this message, God laid a specific image on 00:19:49.109 --> 00:19:51.049 my mind, and I believe that this is for many 00:19:51.049 --> 00:19:56.380 of us here this morning. For those of you who 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:58.299 don't recognize this, this is the board game 00:19:58.299 --> 00:20:02.720 Perfection. Perfection was invented in 1973. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:05.440 It was distributed by the Milton Bradley Company. 00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:08.900 And to play the game Perfection, you have exactly 00:20:08.900 --> 00:20:13.200 one minute to place each of the 25 uniquely shaped 00:20:13.200 --> 00:20:17.319 pieces into their corresponding slots. The game 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:20.599 is over when either you put all the pieces in 00:20:20.599 --> 00:20:24.190 place, you stop the clock, or... If you don't 00:20:24.190 --> 00:20:26.509 get all the pieces in place in exactly one minute, 00:20:26.690 --> 00:20:29.390 this spring -loaded board launches them at you 00:20:29.390 --> 00:20:32.250 like some kind of cosmic firing squad, declaring 00:20:32.250 --> 00:20:35.869 that you are a failure. Can I just say, when 00:20:35.869 --> 00:20:38.930 I see that, it brings back childhood trauma and 00:20:38.930 --> 00:20:42.730 a lot of anxiety. I hated this, and I hated the 00:20:42.730 --> 00:20:45.329 jack -in -the -boxes. It's evil cousin, yeah. 00:20:45.450 --> 00:20:49.750 The evil cousin of perfection. But listen. We 00:20:49.750 --> 00:20:51.470 live in one of the most anxious generations, 00:20:51.650 --> 00:20:54.349 and I think it is no surprise, considering our 00:20:54.349 --> 00:20:57.009 childhood toys were essentially military -grade 00:20:57.009 --> 00:21:05.750 psychological experiments. And we laugh, but 00:21:05.750 --> 00:21:08.470 I think that this is how many of us are currently 00:21:08.470 --> 00:21:12.269 living our lives. We live under constant pressure, 00:21:12.529 --> 00:21:16.109 trying desperately to fit all of the pieces perfectly. 00:21:17.049 --> 00:21:19.589 into place. I have to find the perfect partner. 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:22.309 I have to be the perfect parent. I have to hit 00:21:22.309 --> 00:21:25.089 my career goals, my financial goals. I have to 00:21:25.089 --> 00:21:28.470 hit my health goals. I have to. I have to. I 00:21:28.470 --> 00:21:32.109 have to. To make matters worse, society is doing 00:21:32.109 --> 00:21:36.190 us no favors. Through social media, we're constantly 00:21:36.190 --> 00:21:39.150 bombarded by images of other people around us 00:21:39.150 --> 00:21:42.869 who are seemingly always hitting their goals. 00:21:43.130 --> 00:21:46.529 And if we're not careful, We can get drawn into 00:21:46.529 --> 00:21:49.869 competition with people who quite frankly may 00:21:49.869 --> 00:21:54.009 not even realize that we exist. Church, this 00:21:54.009 --> 00:21:57.089 morning, I want to challenge you with this question. 00:21:58.690 --> 00:22:03.009 What if today we chose to play the game differently? 00:22:03.250 --> 00:22:06.670 What if we turned down the pressure, abandoned 00:22:06.670 --> 00:22:09.970 the quest for perfection according to human standards, 00:22:10.210 --> 00:22:12.849 and instead we embraced a sense of community? 00:22:13.730 --> 00:22:16.589 in collaboration, bringing God's kingdom on earth 00:22:16.589 --> 00:22:19.730 as it is in heaven. But in order to do that, 00:22:19.789 --> 00:22:22.789 there's a couple things we have to do. There's 00:22:22.789 --> 00:22:24.269 a couple things we have to do before we get to 00:22:24.269 --> 00:22:26.769 the action steps. Think about how much easier 00:22:26.769 --> 00:22:29.130 that game becomes when you invite three or four 00:22:29.130 --> 00:22:31.980 people to play with you. And a lot of times I 00:22:31.980 --> 00:22:33.980 believe we live our lives in isolation and the 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:35.880 enemy tries to do everything he can to keep us 00:22:35.880 --> 00:22:38.660 boxed in and he makes us believe that we have 00:22:38.660 --> 00:22:41.099 to solve all of our problems ourselves. When 00:22:41.099 --> 00:22:43.220 I played that game as a child and I turned that 00:22:43.220 --> 00:22:45.200 dial, I had an intense amount of pressure because 00:22:45.200 --> 00:22:48.259 it was just me and the pieces. But if I would 00:22:48.259 --> 00:22:53.079 ask you and Gary and Sam and Grant and Riley 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:56.630 to come play along with me, that... pressure 00:22:56.630 --> 00:22:58.809 becomes so much easier because I'm asking people 00:22:58.809 --> 00:23:01.130 to come alongside of me and help me in my cause. 00:23:01.650 --> 00:23:04.430 So back to the example that our purpose begins 00:23:04.430 --> 00:23:07.930 with creation. God created Adam and immediately 00:23:07.930 --> 00:23:10.250 created Eve to have a partner. And I think so 00:23:10.250 --> 00:23:12.549 many times we forget that we are supposed to 00:23:12.549 --> 00:23:14.630 live in community. And so that's where we want 00:23:14.630 --> 00:23:17.769 to go with our action steps today. There's a 00:23:17.769 --> 00:23:19.890 couple things that Carl and I believe are so 00:23:19.890 --> 00:23:22.230 important to us realizing our purpose. Now, one 00:23:22.230 --> 00:23:24.339 of the questions that we got... that I really 00:23:24.339 --> 00:23:27.279 loved and became the crux of the action steps 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:31.940 was, what is my purpose and how do I exist within 00:23:31.940 --> 00:23:37.920 the church today? The American church, the Western 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:41.680 church, the church that we look at has become 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:44.039 a variety of different things. And I think if 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:45.960 we're being honest, we can get really confused 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:48.799 at what good looks like. How are we supposed 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:51.299 to exist in fellowship with others? But Carl 00:23:51.299 --> 00:23:53.200 and I believe there's three main things that 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:56.839 we can do to ground ourselves within the church, 00:23:56.920 --> 00:23:59.799 to serve the church well. We just talked about 00:23:59.799 --> 00:24:02.599 how the Bible calls the church the body of Christ, 00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:05.140 but there's another thing that he calls the church. 00:24:05.240 --> 00:24:07.740 And what is that? The bride. The bride of Christ. 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:12.000 God calls church the bride of Christ. And that 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:14.490 tells me that there's a relationship that we 00:24:14.490 --> 00:24:17.150 need to look at, and there is an importance in 00:24:17.150 --> 00:24:18.970 that correlation. But before we go there, let's 00:24:18.970 --> 00:24:20.869 get into the first action step. So step number 00:24:20.869 --> 00:24:26.930 one, it's pretty simple. Go. Go. It is really, 00:24:27.009 --> 00:24:30.069 really important that we prioritize being in 00:24:30.069 --> 00:24:35.029 fellowship with each other. Hebrews 10, 23 through 00:24:35.029 --> 00:24:39.329 25 says this. Let us hold unswervingly to the 00:24:39.329 --> 00:24:42.839 hope we profess, for he... who promised is faithful. 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:45.799 Thank you, God, for being faithful. And let us 00:24:45.799 --> 00:24:49.539 consider how we may spur one another on toward 00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:52.779 love and good deeds. Spur one another on. It's 00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:54.819 really hard to spur one another on if you're 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:58.960 living life alone. Not giving up meeting together. 00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:03.319 Not giving up meeting together as some are in 00:25:03.319 --> 00:25:05.460 the habit of doing, but encouraging one another 00:25:05.460 --> 00:25:10.099 and all the more as you see the day approaching. 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:12.480 It is really, really, really important that we 00:25:12.480 --> 00:25:15.539 all buy into the importance of being in fellowship 00:25:15.539 --> 00:25:19.980 with each other. We just learned that God calls 00:25:19.980 --> 00:25:22.579 the church his bride. And I think there is some 00:25:22.579 --> 00:25:25.319 real power that we often don't think about. So 00:25:25.319 --> 00:25:27.500 let me ask you this. Let's talk about marriage. 00:25:27.579 --> 00:25:29.059 We just learned that he calls the church his 00:25:29.059 --> 00:25:30.640 bride. So let's look at marriage, for example. 00:25:31.640 --> 00:25:34.559 Just answer this question. Is it possible for 00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:37.599 two people to be married yet live separately 00:25:37.599 --> 00:25:40.410 and never be in contact with each other? Yes. 00:25:40.450 --> 00:25:43.109 It is. It is possible. Will that marriage thrive? 00:25:43.549 --> 00:25:46.910 No. Probably not. So the same question exists. 00:25:46.990 --> 00:25:51.809 Is it true for followers of Jesus to be Christians? 00:25:53.950 --> 00:26:00.410 Yes. And not go to church? No. Yes, it is, right? 00:26:00.450 --> 00:26:03.470 It is possible for us to be Christians, to be 00:26:03.470 --> 00:26:06.750 followers of Jesus, and not go to church. But 00:26:06.750 --> 00:26:10.109 will the relationship thrive? No. Probably not. 00:26:10.730 --> 00:26:14.170 Probably not. I'm not saying that those of you 00:26:14.170 --> 00:26:16.990 watching on the live stream today are bad people 00:26:16.990 --> 00:26:19.450 for not coming to church. I believe that there 00:26:19.450 --> 00:26:21.910 are tools that exist that help us that when we're 00:26:21.910 --> 00:26:24.130 feeling sick, when we're feeling ill, when we're 00:26:24.130 --> 00:26:26.230 on vacation but we want to tune in. But what 00:26:26.230 --> 00:26:29.190 I believe the enemy tries to do is he tries to 00:26:29.190 --> 00:26:33.089 make us choose convenience over community. It's 00:26:33.089 --> 00:26:35.150 really simple to stay home on a Sunday morning 00:26:35.150 --> 00:26:36.650 when it's raining because you don't want to go 00:26:36.650 --> 00:26:38.849 out in the rain. It's really simple to stay home 00:26:38.849 --> 00:26:40.589 on a Sunday morning because you stayed up too 00:26:40.589 --> 00:26:42.730 late on Saturday and you're just tired. And yeah, 00:26:42.789 --> 00:26:44.250 you'll have church on in the background, but 00:26:44.250 --> 00:26:46.329 are you really listening? And even if you listen, 00:26:46.450 --> 00:26:49.549 by not prioritizing being, what did the Bible 00:26:49.549 --> 00:26:52.829 just say? In the habit of meeting together, that 00:26:52.829 --> 00:26:54.829 means coming together. If we don't do that, we 00:26:54.829 --> 00:26:57.950 have no idea the blessings that we are foregoing 00:26:57.950 --> 00:27:00.269 by being with each other. There have been plenty 00:27:00.269 --> 00:27:02.430 of times where I've considered, hey, babe, let's 00:27:02.430 --> 00:27:04.829 just stay home today. But I come and I get to 00:27:04.829 --> 00:27:06.509 have a conversation with someone that I find 00:27:06.509 --> 00:27:07.930 out six months later, they're like, hey, that 00:27:07.930 --> 00:27:09.829 one Sunday that you spoke that word over me changed 00:27:09.829 --> 00:27:12.210 my life forever. Or maybe I'm going through something 00:27:12.210 --> 00:27:14.529 that I don't know that I need. and someone comes 00:27:14.529 --> 00:27:16.529 up to me and gives me a hug and chooses to pray, 00:27:16.630 --> 00:27:20.750 God can use the smallest interactions with other 00:27:20.750 --> 00:27:23.670 people to propel us forward in our purpose. And 00:27:23.670 --> 00:27:25.490 I think if we're not careful, if we don't choose 00:27:25.490 --> 00:27:29.769 to go to church, we can become victims of our 00:27:29.769 --> 00:27:31.910 own complacency, victims of our own convenience, 00:27:32.029 --> 00:27:35.029 and we can completely neglect the body and the 00:27:35.029 --> 00:27:38.769 bride of Christ. Absolutely. If your version 00:27:38.769 --> 00:27:43.420 of church does not include community, I think 00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:47.000 it's safe to say it does not include the same 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:50.460 level of power that Jesus envisioned for his 00:27:50.460 --> 00:27:52.480 body and his bride. Yeah, it's something you 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:53.700 and I talked about this week that was really 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:55.759 powerful to me. You gave me this analogy and 00:27:55.759 --> 00:27:57.940 gave me credit for it. So many times we look 00:27:57.940 --> 00:28:00.799 at Sunday morning, we look at church as the game. 00:28:01.240 --> 00:28:03.220 I've got to get myself ready Monday through Saturday 00:28:03.220 --> 00:28:04.700 because when I get to church, man, I want to 00:28:04.700 --> 00:28:06.940 worship. I want to receive the message. We get 00:28:06.940 --> 00:28:09.960 ourselves all geared up, and we treat Monday 00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:11.920 through Saturday as the preparation, and then 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:14.519 we treat Sunday as the game. But we believe we 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:16.880 need to flip the script. What if we treated church 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:19.480 more like the locker room talk? What if we treated 00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:23.420 church more like the pregame huddle where we 00:28:23.420 --> 00:28:25.559 came, we got fired up together, and we treated 00:28:25.559 --> 00:28:28.299 our life Monday through Saturday like the real 00:28:28.299 --> 00:28:30.960 game? That's why church exists. Church exists 00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:33.779 for us to come together, to get fired up, to 00:28:33.779 --> 00:28:36.640 get fueled up, to get lessened up, to get taught 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:39.039 up, so that when we leave this place and we go 00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:41.819 out to our job or school or whatever we do on 00:28:41.819 --> 00:28:44.400 a Monday, we have the tools and we have the things 00:28:44.400 --> 00:28:46.549 inside of us. that we learned on Sunday to be 00:28:46.549 --> 00:28:48.710 effective in the world. And that's what God wants 00:28:48.710 --> 00:28:50.910 for our purpose. God wants us to be effective 00:28:50.910 --> 00:28:53.769 in the kingdom of heaven and expanding his kingdom. 00:28:53.890 --> 00:28:56.210 Yes, I love this action step, go, because it 00:28:56.210 --> 00:28:59.730 implies direction and it implies movement in 00:28:59.730 --> 00:29:01.569 a specific direction. And I believe we're called 00:29:01.569 --> 00:29:04.809 to go to church, to gather with believers, but 00:29:04.809 --> 00:29:08.390 we're also called to go out into the world to 00:29:08.390 --> 00:29:11.109 carry the gospel with us. In Ephesians chapter 00:29:11.109 --> 00:29:14.640 six, Paul encourages the church to put on the 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:16.960 full armor of God. And when we read through that 00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:20.480 passage of Scripture, it's easy to fix our minds 00:29:20.480 --> 00:29:24.160 on the more Avengers -style pieces of armor, 00:29:24.259 --> 00:29:26.980 the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, 00:29:27.140 --> 00:29:30.579 the helmet of salvation. But as I was praying 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:33.980 this week on Friday, God highlighted for me the 00:29:33.980 --> 00:29:36.539 shoes fitted with the readiness of the gospel 00:29:36.539 --> 00:29:40.440 of peace. Now, I came here this morning. wearing 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:43.200 a pair of custom Nike shoes given to me by a 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:47.440 dear friend of mine. On the tongue of these shoes, 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:51.339 there's a tag that has my name on it. So church, 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:54.480 I want to ask you just to take a second and look 00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:57.859 down at the shoes that you wore in here today. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:03.259 While your shoes may not have your name written 00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:06.240 on them, I believe That your shoes, as well as 00:30:06.240 --> 00:30:09.059 the path that they are following, are customized 00:30:09.059 --> 00:30:12.240 for you specifically by God. Everywhere that 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:14.400 you place your foot, whether it's your workplace, 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:18.240 your home, your school, the grocery store, the 00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:21.839 gas station, you carry with you the gospel of 00:30:21.839 --> 00:30:25.559 Jesus. Can we stand up for a second? He's getting 00:30:25.559 --> 00:30:28.039 fired up. Listen, as I was praying over this 00:30:28.039 --> 00:30:31.579 this week, God laid it on my heart that there 00:30:31.579 --> 00:30:34.240 would be some people here this morning. walking 00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:36.680 through those doors who are feeling discouraged 00:30:36.680 --> 00:30:39.440 and defeated because you feel like as you're 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:42.660 going to take the gospel message out into the 00:30:42.660 --> 00:30:46.279 world, the enemy is coming to try to take territory 00:30:46.279 --> 00:30:49.700 in your life. And you came in here this morning 00:30:49.700 --> 00:30:53.220 and you're sick and you're tired and you've had 00:30:53.220 --> 00:30:56.160 enough. As my daughter would say, you're about 00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:02.119 done. So here's the thing. We need to understand. 00:31:03.000 --> 00:31:06.980 that Jesus has already won. We don't have to 00:31:06.980 --> 00:31:10.119 put up with the enemy trying to take over territory 00:31:10.119 --> 00:31:13.680 in our marriages, in our families, in our purposes. 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:19.200 So this morning, church, can we make a public 00:31:19.200 --> 00:31:22.380 declaration? Can we make a public declaration 00:31:22.380 --> 00:31:25.960 of faith? Can we make a public declaration? Okay. 00:31:26.059 --> 00:31:28.740 Yes. This is what we're going to do. On the count 00:31:28.740 --> 00:31:31.900 of three, I'm going to count to three. And then 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:36.039 we're all going to say loudly, I'm taking it 00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:40.380 back. On the word back, I want you to stomp down 00:31:40.380 --> 00:31:42.700 your right foot, signifying that you are taking 00:31:42.700 --> 00:31:46.279 back the ground that the enemy is trying to steal 00:31:46.279 --> 00:31:49.700 from you. Does that make sense? Okay. I need 00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:53.960 you to know before we do this. That you have 00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:58.140 the authority over the enemy. You have authority 00:31:58.140 --> 00:32:01.019 over what the enemy is trying to do in your life. 00:32:01.079 --> 00:32:03.039 Jesus said, whatever we bind on earth will be 00:32:03.039 --> 00:32:05.799 bound in heaven. Whatever we release on earth 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:09.180 will be released on heaven. Do you believe that? 00:32:09.460 --> 00:32:12.700 Yes. Okay. So on the count of three, I'm taking 00:32:12.700 --> 00:32:15.220 it back. I'm taking it back. Stomp your right 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:17.880 foot. I want to hear the stomp. All right. One, 00:32:17.880 --> 00:32:22.460 two. Three. I'm taking it back. Come on. Somebody's 00:32:22.460 --> 00:32:25.339 getting set free today. Somebody is taking their 00:32:25.339 --> 00:32:28.160 purpose back, their passion back, their fire 00:32:28.160 --> 00:32:29.900 back. Come on. Can we give them some praise? 00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:37.819 Yeah. I'm going to stay standing just because 00:32:37.819 --> 00:32:39.460 you got me all fired up. We got a couple more 00:32:39.460 --> 00:32:41.519 points. You guys can be seated. We got a couple 00:32:41.519 --> 00:32:43.180 more points to get through, but I like to preach 00:32:43.180 --> 00:32:45.779 standing up. These chairs are cool, but standing 00:32:45.779 --> 00:32:48.019 up is cooler. Yes. So what was point number one? 00:32:48.660 --> 00:32:52.759 Go. Prioritize being in fellowship with others. 00:32:53.019 --> 00:32:56.380 Support and go to your church. Number two, give. 00:32:56.839 --> 00:32:59.819 2 Corinthians 9, 6 -7. Now, before you get to 00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:01.579 thinking, oh, here comes the money speech, we're 00:33:01.579 --> 00:33:03.579 not just going to talk about money. Remember 00:33:03.579 --> 00:33:06.799 this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:09.599 and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 00:33:09.859 --> 00:33:12.220 Each of you should give what you have decided 00:33:12.220 --> 00:33:14.700 in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under 00:33:14.700 --> 00:33:17.579 compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Not 00:33:17.579 --> 00:33:20.140 only is it important to go to church, but it 00:33:20.140 --> 00:33:23.339 is important to support your church. God, Jesus 00:33:23.339 --> 00:33:26.380 calls us to tithe back to the church. We do so 00:33:26.380 --> 00:33:29.119 much here with our fundraisers and our community 00:33:29.119 --> 00:33:31.720 outreach, and it takes a lot of resources to 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:35.039 do what we do. We don't collect tithes because 00:33:35.039 --> 00:33:36.799 we want to become rich and famous. We collect 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:39.640 tithes because that money goes to bringing more 00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:42.019 and more and more people in. But there's more 00:33:42.019 --> 00:33:45.379 that you can give outside of your money. God 00:33:45.379 --> 00:33:47.660 doesn't just want your money. He doesn't want 00:33:47.660 --> 00:33:49.619 you to come in here with a nasty heart and throw 00:33:49.619 --> 00:33:51.599 money in the plate and then leave. You can give 00:33:51.599 --> 00:33:54.859 of your time. You can give of your heart. You 00:33:54.859 --> 00:33:56.960 can give of the things that God has placed in 00:33:56.960 --> 00:33:58.759 your life. We believe that God has given each 00:33:58.759 --> 00:34:02.720 of you significant tools, resources, characteristics 00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:05.619 that can be used to glorify his name. So yes, 00:34:05.819 --> 00:34:08.420 tithing is important, but we can be generous 00:34:08.420 --> 00:34:11.039 to the church. We can give to the church in ways 00:34:11.039 --> 00:34:16.329 outside of money. Serve the church. And then 00:34:16.329 --> 00:34:19.489 finally, number three, we're going to go, we're 00:34:19.489 --> 00:34:21.969 going to give, and arguably the most important, 00:34:22.190 --> 00:34:26.849 you need to grow. You need to grow. It's okay 00:34:26.849 --> 00:34:30.110 to come as you are, but we don't want you to 00:34:30.110 --> 00:34:33.300 stay as you are. We want you to come. We want 00:34:33.300 --> 00:34:35.920 you to receive. And we hope that through the 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:37.980 teachings that we give, through the worship that 00:34:37.980 --> 00:34:40.300 we sing, through Chris's message and Rudy's message 00:34:40.300 --> 00:34:42.579 and Carl and I's message and Jess, we want you 00:34:42.579 --> 00:34:45.599 to take tools. We want you to take learnings 00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:49.320 and teachings to further expand. your relationship 00:34:49.320 --> 00:34:51.760 with Christ. If you want to be purposeful, if 00:34:51.760 --> 00:34:53.960 you want to know what your purpose is in this 00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:55.820 life, if you want God, if he was in front of 00:34:55.820 --> 00:34:57.679 you and you said, God, what is my purpose? One 00:34:57.679 --> 00:34:59.119 of the things he's going to say is you need to 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:02.780 grow in me. You need to grow. Colossians 2 .6 00:35:02.780 --> 00:35:05.119 says, so then just as you received Christ Jesus 00:35:05.119 --> 00:35:09.519 as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 00:35:09.699 --> 00:35:12.719 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the 00:35:12.719 --> 00:35:16.119 faith as you were taught and overflowing. with 00:35:16.119 --> 00:35:18.000 thankfulness. In order for you to grow, we have 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:20.059 so many different ways here at Hub City Vineyard 00:35:20.059 --> 00:35:22.059 that you can get involved. Show of hands, how 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:24.780 many of you are involved in a growth group or 00:35:24.780 --> 00:35:27.840 a small group? That's fantastic. But as I look 00:35:27.840 --> 00:35:29.820 around, I see a lot of hands that are down. Listen, 00:35:30.059 --> 00:35:32.599 Sunday mornings are great. They're fantastic. 00:35:33.059 --> 00:35:35.519 We should be here. But if you want to really 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:37.960 take your relationship with Christ to the next 00:35:37.960 --> 00:35:40.369 level, You've got to do more than just coming 00:35:40.369 --> 00:35:42.510 in here for an hour on a Sunday morning. You 00:35:42.510 --> 00:35:44.650 need to get connected. You need to get in fellowship. 00:35:44.769 --> 00:35:46.369 We just learned that so much of God's purpose 00:35:46.369 --> 00:35:49.530 in our lives lives in our relationship with others. 00:35:49.690 --> 00:35:52.429 So this is our shameless plug to get involved 00:35:52.429 --> 00:35:55.550 in a small group, creating that sense of community, 00:35:55.710 --> 00:35:57.610 creating that sense of fellowship, creating the 00:35:57.610 --> 00:35:59.829 ability to learn and grow with each other and 00:35:59.829 --> 00:36:03.070 just have that midweek boost to your spirit is 00:36:03.070 --> 00:36:06.940 so, so. vitally important. Think about a tree 00:36:06.940 --> 00:36:10.960 or a flower or a plant. What are the trees or 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:12.679 flowers or plants that are growing effectively? 00:36:12.880 --> 00:36:15.280 What are they also doing? Their root system. 00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:18.219 They're not only growing up, but they're growing 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:20.739 down. And if you want to flourish, if you want 00:36:20.739 --> 00:36:23.219 to be beautiful, quote unquote, beautiful on 00:36:23.219 --> 00:36:25.719 the outside, you have to have roots that go deep. 00:36:25.900 --> 00:36:29.079 And the way that you grow those roots is getting 00:36:29.079 --> 00:36:34.099 involved and growing in your faith. We believe, 00:36:34.619 --> 00:36:37.460 That Sundays are important, but we believe that 00:36:37.460 --> 00:36:40.199 being in active fellowship with others is equally 00:36:40.199 --> 00:36:43.480 important. And that brings us to our final point 00:36:43.480 --> 00:36:46.360 today, and I'm going to pick up this thing right 00:36:46.360 --> 00:36:51.940 here. What is this? Shovel. It's a shovel. Gary, 00:36:52.139 --> 00:36:56.880 what's a shovel used for? To dig. To dig. Now, 00:36:56.960 --> 00:36:58.840 Gary and I had a great conversation, and I'm 00:36:58.840 --> 00:37:00.480 going to take you on a little bit of a journey 00:37:00.480 --> 00:37:04.059 with this shovel. Sometimes it's not the importance 00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:07.280 of the tool that's in your hand, but it's how 00:37:07.280 --> 00:37:09.880 you choose to use it. Now, this shovel can be 00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:13.400 used for good purposes, but I believe that many 00:37:13.400 --> 00:37:17.460 of us in this place today need to put down the 00:37:17.460 --> 00:37:20.880 shovel. There's many people in this room today 00:37:20.880 --> 00:37:24.480 that need to put down the shovel. And I'm sure 00:37:24.480 --> 00:37:25.739 you're wondering, what in the world does that 00:37:25.739 --> 00:37:29.239 mean? This is what it means. We're going to read 00:37:29.239 --> 00:37:31.800 a parable. But before I do that, I believe that 00:37:31.800 --> 00:37:34.139 there's three categories. Will you hold this 00:37:34.139 --> 00:37:35.760 for me? Absolutely. I believe that there are 00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:38.900 three categories that many of us would fit into 00:37:38.900 --> 00:37:42.179 today when it comes to purpose. Number one, you 00:37:42.179 --> 00:37:44.300 would say, I am effectively walking in my purpose. 00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:47.000 I feel that I am right where I need to be. I 00:37:47.000 --> 00:37:48.940 feel that I'm thriving. I feel that I am doing 00:37:48.940 --> 00:37:51.340 what I'm called to do. If that's you, I celebrate 00:37:51.340 --> 00:37:53.980 you, and I'm thankful that you're there. But 00:37:53.980 --> 00:37:55.760 I believe there's two other categories of people 00:37:55.760 --> 00:37:58.179 today. Number two, you're unsure of your purpose. 00:37:59.069 --> 00:38:00.969 You're looking around and you see people serving. 00:38:01.510 --> 00:38:03.369 You walk through your life Monday through Saturday 00:38:03.369 --> 00:38:04.829 and you feel like, man, I just feel like there's 00:38:04.829 --> 00:38:07.750 got to be something more. And then category number 00:38:07.750 --> 00:38:10.650 three, you're aware of your purpose, but you're 00:38:10.650 --> 00:38:13.550 not walking in it. You're aware of what God has 00:38:13.550 --> 00:38:15.210 called you to do where there's this thing or 00:38:15.210 --> 00:38:16.929 there's these things that you know you are equipped 00:38:16.929 --> 00:38:20.889 with, but you feel unqualified or you feel like 00:38:20.889 --> 00:38:22.710 you're too far gone. Look at this shovel. I was 00:38:22.710 --> 00:38:25.429 in Lowe's parking lot yesterday. And I texted 00:38:25.429 --> 00:38:27.590 Carl and I said, hey man, I'm getting ready to 00:38:27.590 --> 00:38:30.170 run into Lowe's to buy our shiny brand new shovel 00:38:30.170 --> 00:38:32.510 for our message. And he said, no dude, no, no, 00:38:32.530 --> 00:38:35.349 no. He said, find the dirtiest, rustiest shovel 00:38:35.349 --> 00:38:37.530 you can find at your house and bring in. He said, 00:38:37.550 --> 00:38:40.650 God's not afraid of the dirt. God's not afraid 00:38:40.650 --> 00:38:43.690 of the rust. God's not afraid that your past 00:38:43.690 --> 00:38:46.869 is too dirty. He can use what you are equipped 00:38:46.869 --> 00:38:48.809 with. So we're gonna read from a parable today 00:38:48.809 --> 00:38:52.690 that will illustrate this principle and why I 00:38:52.690 --> 00:38:55.539 told you to put down the shovel. For it will 00:38:55.539 --> 00:38:58.219 be like a man going on a journey who called his 00:38:58.219 --> 00:39:00.320 servants and entrusted them to his property. 00:39:00.579 --> 00:39:02.780 There's three men. There's three guys in the 00:39:02.780 --> 00:39:06.719 story. To one, he gave five talents. To the second, 00:39:06.780 --> 00:39:10.239 he gave two. And to the third, he gave one. To 00:39:10.239 --> 00:39:12.340 each according to his ability. Then he went away. 00:39:12.559 --> 00:39:15.119 So here we have three people, right? Person number 00:39:15.119 --> 00:39:20.159 one got five. Person number two got two. And 00:39:20.159 --> 00:39:23.309 person number three got one. A talent. was worth 00:39:23.309 --> 00:39:26.590 about 20 years of a day's labor wages. So person 00:39:26.590 --> 00:39:29.230 number one was handed 100 years worth of salary, 00:39:29.389 --> 00:39:31.230 if you will. Person number two, 40, and person 00:39:31.230 --> 00:39:33.750 number three, 20 years. If you give me 100 years 00:39:33.750 --> 00:39:35.630 worth of salary, or 40 or 20, I'm going to be 00:39:35.630 --> 00:39:37.969 pretty happy about that. But this is where the 00:39:37.969 --> 00:39:40.170 story gets good. He who had received the five 00:39:40.170 --> 00:39:42.329 talents went at once and traded with them, and 00:39:42.329 --> 00:39:45.650 he made five talents more, a 100 % return on 00:39:45.650 --> 00:39:48.750 his investment. So also, the one who had two 00:39:48.750 --> 00:39:50.929 talents went and made two talents more, another 00:39:50.929 --> 00:39:54.769 100 % investment. But he who had received the 00:39:54.769 --> 00:40:00.050 one went, picked up a shovel, dug in the ground, 00:40:00.170 --> 00:40:04.170 and buried the talent that his master had given 00:40:04.170 --> 00:40:07.570 him. So person number one made 100 % return. 00:40:07.710 --> 00:40:10.050 Person number two made 100 % return, doubled 00:40:10.050 --> 00:40:11.650 their profits. But person number three picked 00:40:11.650 --> 00:40:13.849 up a shovel and buried what he'd been blessed 00:40:13.849 --> 00:40:16.679 with. Now, after a long time, the master of those 00:40:16.679 --> 00:40:20.219 servants came back to settle the accounts. He 00:40:20.219 --> 00:40:22.519 went up to the person who he gave the five talents, 00:40:22.619 --> 00:40:25.280 and the person said, Master, I've taken what 00:40:25.280 --> 00:40:27.579 you've given me, and I've doubled my profits. 00:40:27.699 --> 00:40:29.659 And he said, Well done, good and faithful servant. 00:40:30.360 --> 00:40:33.199 Person number two says, Master, I've taken the 00:40:33.199 --> 00:40:35.340 two that you gave me, and I've doubled my profits. 00:40:35.960 --> 00:40:38.059 And the master said, Well done, good and faithful 00:40:38.059 --> 00:40:42.539 servant. But the third man said, Master. I knew 00:40:42.539 --> 00:40:44.679 you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not 00:40:44.679 --> 00:40:46.719 sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 00:40:46.780 --> 00:40:49.679 So I was afraid and I went and I hid your talent 00:40:49.679 --> 00:40:52.159 in the ground. Here, take back what is yours. 00:40:52.400 --> 00:40:54.579 But his master then answered, you wicked and 00:40:54.579 --> 00:40:56.980 slothful servant. You knew that I reap where 00:40:56.980 --> 00:40:58.880 I've not sown and gathered where I scattered 00:40:58.880 --> 00:41:00.960 no seed. Then you ought to have invested my money 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:03.440 with the bankers and my coming. I should have 00:41:03.440 --> 00:41:07.239 received what was my own with interest. So take 00:41:07.239 --> 00:41:09.230 them. take the talent from him and give it to 00:41:09.230 --> 00:41:11.730 the one who has 10. For to everyone who has more 00:41:11.730 --> 00:41:13.969 will be given and he will have an abundance. 00:41:14.070 --> 00:41:16.570 But from the one who is not, even what he has 00:41:16.570 --> 00:41:18.610 been taken away and cast the worthless servant 00:41:18.610 --> 00:41:20.570 out into the darkness in that place, there'll 00:41:20.570 --> 00:41:22.090 be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The master 00:41:22.090 --> 00:41:25.090 came back and he said, you buried what I gave 00:41:25.090 --> 00:41:27.650 you. Here's the truth today. I believe many of 00:41:27.650 --> 00:41:32.630 us in here, we're busy, we're busy, but we're 00:41:32.630 --> 00:41:35.659 not producing fruit. Come on. The act of digging 00:41:35.659 --> 00:41:37.800 in the ground, if anyone's ever planted a tree 00:41:37.800 --> 00:41:40.920 or had to dig deep, it is a busy, strenuous exercise. 00:41:41.360 --> 00:41:44.659 We're busy, but we're not fruitful. And what 00:41:44.659 --> 00:41:46.699 happens when God gives us things in our lives 00:41:46.699 --> 00:41:48.579 that he wants us to use, so many of us pick up 00:41:48.579 --> 00:41:51.800 a shovel and we decide to bury it. Some of us 00:41:51.800 --> 00:41:54.139 intentionally, but some of us subconsciously. 00:41:54.139 --> 00:41:56.039 Sometimes we don't realize that we're not acting 00:41:56.039 --> 00:41:59.539 on the blessing. You see, it's possible to be 00:41:59.539 --> 00:42:04.230 busy in this life, but not. fruitful. The Bible 00:42:04.230 --> 00:42:06.309 says that we have different gifts. If your gift 00:42:06.309 --> 00:42:08.949 is prophesying, then prophesy. If it is serving, 00:42:09.050 --> 00:42:11.369 then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. If 00:42:11.369 --> 00:42:12.829 it is to encourage, then give encouragement. 00:42:13.050 --> 00:42:15.010 If it's giving, give generously. If it is to 00:42:15.010 --> 00:42:17.150 lead, do it diligently. And if it is to show 00:42:17.150 --> 00:42:21.670 mercy, do it cheerfully. I don't believe that 00:42:21.670 --> 00:42:24.829 the majority of us in here intentionally tell 00:42:24.829 --> 00:42:26.630 God, no, we're not going to serve. But when we 00:42:26.630 --> 00:42:29.230 allow the busyness of our lives to consume every 00:42:29.230 --> 00:42:32.210 part of our life, A byproduct of that is we can 00:42:32.210 --> 00:42:34.210 fill ourselves up with all of the wrong stuff. 00:42:34.670 --> 00:42:37.130 And we take the talents that God has given us 00:42:37.130 --> 00:42:40.690 and we pick up dirty shovels and we bury them 00:42:40.690 --> 00:42:42.829 in the ground. And I'm here, we are here to tell 00:42:42.829 --> 00:42:46.289 you today, it's time to put down the shovel. 00:42:46.530 --> 00:42:49.809 It is time to search your heart, to find out 00:42:49.809 --> 00:42:53.389 what God has given you that you can use to bless 00:42:53.389 --> 00:42:54.750 the kingdom of heaven. Because let me tell you, 00:42:54.769 --> 00:42:58.849 when you find that, you find your purpose. When 00:42:58.849 --> 00:43:01.329 you find what God has equipped you with, you 00:43:01.329 --> 00:43:04.869 find your purpose. So today, Carl and I want 00:43:04.869 --> 00:43:06.969 to close with this. We just talked about three 00:43:06.969 --> 00:43:08.889 categories of people. Let's start with category 00:43:08.889 --> 00:43:11.150 number two. You don't know what your purpose 00:43:11.150 --> 00:43:15.269 is. You want to find out. You're saying, God, 00:43:15.369 --> 00:43:18.170 I'm ready to get off of the bench. I'm ready 00:43:18.170 --> 00:43:20.610 to get into the game. But I don't know what you 00:43:20.610 --> 00:43:23.170 have for me. If that's you, you're category number 00:43:23.170 --> 00:43:26.530 two. But category number three. If you know what 00:43:26.530 --> 00:43:28.289 your purpose is, if you have an idea of your 00:43:28.289 --> 00:43:31.389 purpose, but you feel unqualified. Carl believes 00:43:31.389 --> 00:43:32.849 that there's people in this place today that 00:43:32.849 --> 00:43:34.829 are not serving because they're full of shame. 00:43:35.909 --> 00:43:37.570 They're full of thinking that they're too far 00:43:37.570 --> 00:43:40.469 gone, that God cannot use their past. That's 00:43:40.469 --> 00:43:44.530 category number three. If you find yourself in 00:43:44.530 --> 00:43:46.389 those two categories, I'm going to ask the prayer 00:43:46.389 --> 00:43:49.010 team to come forward. I believe there's power 00:43:49.010 --> 00:43:50.750 in intentionality. I believe there's power in 00:43:50.750 --> 00:43:53.139 vulnerability. And to be really easy for you 00:43:53.139 --> 00:43:54.639 just to stay in your seat. But I believe that 00:43:54.639 --> 00:43:56.460 if you want to walk in your purpose today, you 00:43:56.460 --> 00:43:58.599 need to take this step of faith. And if you're 00:43:58.599 --> 00:44:00.860 in category number one, you would say, I know 00:44:00.860 --> 00:44:02.699 my purpose and I'm walking it. You have an incredible 00:44:02.699 --> 00:44:04.360 opportunity to come forward and pray over these 00:44:04.360 --> 00:44:06.659 people. So if you find yourself in category number 00:44:06.659 --> 00:44:08.579 two or number three, you're either searching 00:44:08.579 --> 00:44:10.380 for your purpose. You want to know what that 00:44:10.380 --> 00:44:12.900 is. You're saying, God, I'm ready to be used. 00:44:14.659 --> 00:44:16.940 Or God, I know my purpose, but I'm too ashamed 00:44:16.940 --> 00:44:19.980 to use it. I want you to come forward right now. 00:44:20.219 --> 00:44:21.960 Can we all stand up together in this ministry 00:44:21.960 --> 00:44:29.980 moment? Be vulnerable, come forward. If you want 00:44:29.980 --> 00:44:31.820 God to move in your life, if you want him to 00:44:31.820 --> 00:44:34.840 reveal what he has for you, if you want to be 00:44:34.840 --> 00:44:39.019 used for a purpose greater than yourself, now 00:44:39.019 --> 00:44:57.619 is your moment. Come Holy Spirit. God, I pray 00:44:57.619 --> 00:45:00.019 right now, Lord, that you would not let the fire 00:45:00.019 --> 00:45:03.960 go out. That you would blow on the embers that 00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:07.239 people are feeling right now. Yes, Lord. God, 00:45:07.280 --> 00:45:10.320 they're feeling a burning, a calling, a desire 00:45:10.320 --> 00:45:13.539 to step into what you have called them to, God. 00:45:13.659 --> 00:45:17.079 A burning and a desire to step into the purpose 00:45:17.079 --> 00:45:20.099 that you've placed on their heart, Lord. I just 00:45:20.099 --> 00:45:22.059 pray right now, God, that you would blow them. 00:45:22.199 --> 00:45:25.679 a fresh wind into that fire to stoke the flames, 00:45:25.780 --> 00:45:30.099 God, so that you can get people on task, on target 00:45:30.099 --> 00:45:32.539 for the purpose that you have for them, Lord. 00:45:32.639 --> 00:45:41.440 Yes, Lord. For anybody here today who has come 00:45:41.440 --> 00:45:46.219 through those doors and you want to identify, 00:45:46.400 --> 00:45:48.699 as Rhett was talking about earlier, as a son 00:45:48.699 --> 00:45:55.309 and daughter of God, But you don't know if you're 00:45:55.309 --> 00:45:57.670 in relationship with him or not. Today is your 00:45:57.670 --> 00:46:01.409 day. So we're going to pray a quick prayer here 00:46:01.409 --> 00:46:03.550 at the Hub City Vineyard. We pray this prayer 00:46:03.550 --> 00:46:10.469 all together, all right? Jesus, I'm broken, full 00:46:10.469 --> 00:46:18.670 of doubt, shame, fear, regret. I've been running, 00:46:18.809 --> 00:46:27.150 but today, I'm coming home. I believe you're 00:46:27.150 --> 00:46:34.690 God's son. I believe you died for me. I believe 00:46:34.690 --> 00:46:41.750 you rose again. Fill me with your spirit. Set 00:46:41.750 --> 00:46:50.230 me free. Make me new. Set me on my purpose. In 00:46:50.230 --> 00:46:55.429 Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. We're going to 00:46:55.429 --> 00:46:56.929 let this ministry moment go. There's a couple 00:46:56.929 --> 00:46:58.809 words of knowledge before you leave. Top part 00:46:58.809 --> 00:47:00.869 of your foot is very painful. The outer part 00:47:00.869 --> 00:47:03.070 of your left knee hurts. Multiple people with 00:47:03.070 --> 00:47:05.050 back pain. Someone with severe kidney issues. 00:47:05.349 --> 00:47:08.550 You have a right knee ACL tear. Painful muscle 00:47:08.550 --> 00:47:10.909 between the neck and shoulder. And a hip bone 00:47:10.909 --> 00:47:16.309 of hip joint issue pain. So guys, thank you so 00:47:16.309 --> 00:47:19.849 much for coming out today. We love you. Remember, 00:47:20.010 --> 00:47:22.809 we are made for more. And if you're still in 00:47:22.809 --> 00:47:24.250 this place and you're feeling the nudge to come 00:47:24.250 --> 00:47:25.429 forward, I'm going to ask the prayer team just 00:47:25.429 --> 00:47:26.949 to hang out for a couple more minutes. But for 00:47:26.949 --> 00:47:28.849 those of you that want to go, God bless you. 00:47:29.110 --> 00:47:30.730 Have an incredible rest of your week, and we'll 00:47:30.730 --> 00:47:32.090 see you back next Sunday.