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We hope this message encourages you, challenges
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Now let's hear the message. Now, without further
ado. Red and Carl. Hey, hey. Good morning, church.
Hey, when the pastor's away, the worship leaders
get to play. That's why Carl and I are here today.
Oh, man, this is the service we live stream.
He's going to hear me. He's going to hear me
say that. I might be in some trouble. Hey, good
morning, guys. What an honor it is to bring the
Word of God to you guys today. So if you've been
here for the last couple weeks, you know that
we are in our series called The Hot Seat. So
back last year when we got together as a pastoral
staff and started talking about what we wanted
to do in terms of our sermon series for this
year. We thought, hey, wouldn't it be cool to
get some engagement from our people to say, hey,
what is it that you struggle with? Or if God
was in front of you, what would be the question
that you would want to ask him? And so we divided
them up, and I asked my best friend, Carl, who's
– we're two out of three of the Iron Boys are
here today, so hopefully that's okay with you
guys, and we're going to have a bit more of a
conversational -style message. But as Carl and
I were going through – the cards, and thank you
so much for the engagement. We had over 100 submissions.
We began to pull out a common theme around the
word purpose. We saw many questions like, God,
what is my purpose here on earth? God, how do
I exist in the world today? God, I know that
your church is important. How am I supposed to
exist in the church today? God, what do you have?
for my life. So as Carl and I sat down and went
through these questions, we both kind of immediately
agreed purpose would be a really cool way to
open this, to preach on this Sunday. Absolutely.
And I think the way that we've structured this
message is that we're going to teach the front
half what God's word says about the concept of
purpose. And then we're going to give you some
ideas of what you can do to dive into all that
he has for you. Before we jump in, I just want
to clear up two things. Number one, This was
not my idea. When the questions came out, there
was one question that I was super excited about.
I did some background research onto ancient Polynesian
culture, and I was preparing to answer what I
would consider to be the preeminent question
of our generation. Will there be Chick -fil -A
in heaven? Almost immediately, Rhett shut this
down. Something about a conflict of interest
because apparently he's a huge AC &T fried chicken
guy. Okay. I don't know if I have anything more
to say this morning. Second service is my people.
Okay. You brought backup today. No, but I think
we need to acknowledge that this is one of the
most fundamental questions that we can ask as
human beings. Some form of the question, what
is my purpose? I believe that God has a unique
purpose for each person here today. In fact,
I believe that God delights in walking alongside
his children as they uncover his will for their
life. But before we dive into the concept of
meaning or purpose on an individual level, I
think it might be helpful to take a step back
and look at what God's word says about his purpose
for humanity. As a whole. Sound good? Sounds
great. All right. So I'm going to pray. We're
going to dive right in. Holy Spirit, come. Father,
I pray right now, God, that you would just meet
us in this moment. That you would make us aware
of your presence. God, that you would highlight
in our minds and our hearts ways that we can
take the next step into the purposes that you
have for us. Lord, you assure us through your
word that you have good plans for our lives.
And I pray, God, right now that a fire would
begin to burn in somebody's heart. to take a
step, to serve, and to pursue their purpose.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. All right,
so our first thought for this morning is this.
God's purpose for humanity begins with creation.
When we open our Bibles, we only get a couple
pages in before we come across language that's
really helpful in shaping our understanding of
why God created human beings. to begin with.
Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. Then God said, let
us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,
so that they may rule over the fish in the sea,
and the birds in the sky, over the livestock,
and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures
that move along the ground. So God created mankind
in his image. In the image of God, he created
the male and female, he created them. There's
a couple things to unpack in this verse. First
and foremost, human beings were created with
intention. The human race is not the byproduct
of some cosmic or scientific accident where a
bunch of cells just happen to collide together
and create a human. We were created by God with
intention for a specific purpose. purpose. And
the Bible tells us that that purpose is to rule
over all creation. To make this language a little
bit more accessible, it's helpful to understand
that one way to look at the creation narrative
is that it's a narrative of God speaking order.
out of the chaos. So he speaks to the chaos of
darkness and out comes the order of light. He
speaks to the chaos waters of the deep and separates
the sea and the sky and brings the land out.
And so for us, as we pursue our purpose, I think
that anytime that we experience situations or
circumstances in our lives that feel or seem
chaotic, and we seek to bring about a godly sense
of order, I believe that we're partnering with
God to fulfill our command to rule over all creation.
So human beings were created with intention.
They were also created with inherent identity.
Biblical scholars call this the Imigo Dei. We
were created in the image of God specifically
to model his characteristics. and attributes.
As we were preparing for this message, one of
the things we talked about is that we live in
a world that practices or preaches a message
of radical individualism and the glorification
of self. But as followers of Christ, we're called
to live differently. We're not called to be the
brightest light in the room. We're called to
be the clearest reflection of Christ. Yeah, that's
good. And something about, you know, God's purpose
for humanity begins with creation, you can immediately
see that when he created us, he created us with
a purpose of authority. Yes. When I see... the
text that says, let us make mankind our image
and our likeness so that they may rule over.
When God gave us the ability to rule over things,
he gave us an inherent ability of authority.
And I feel like one of the tactics of the enemy
is to get us to believe that we were not fearfully
and wonderfully made, but that we are meek and
that we are mild and that we don't have authority
to speak things into existence. And I love that.
And I think what you said is absolutely true,
that the world today... preaches so many different
messages, but one of them is the radical individualism,
that this life is all about me, and people are
here to serve me. I'm here to get my way. But
in reality, the purpose that God has put in our
lives is not to be anything other than a son
or a daughter of the Most High King. I know sometimes
in my life I get caught up in all of the things
that I am. a professional at my job. I have a
career. I have a job title. I have a list of
responsibility. I'm a husband. I am a father.
I am a worship pastor. You and I spend a lot
of time devoting a lot of our time, skill, and
effort and energy into this worship team. When
we have issues that we need to work out or when
things at my job don't go perfect, I can begin
to create a scenario in which I find my purpose
being devoted in all of the things that God never
intended for my life. Now, a lot of those things
are blessings, and a lot of those things, we
are all called to be different things in this
life, and we should carry those responsibilities
well. But what grounds me and what brings order
back into my chaos is when I'm reminded that
my first and my primary responsibility is to
be a son. of God, to be a son of the Most High
King. And when you remember that our purpose
is to have authority in this life, to speak our
purpose over our situations, and remember that
we are fearfully and wonderfully made, life kind
of seems to even out a bit. It doesn't remove
the problems. It doesn't remove the situations,
but it reassesses, it regrounds your thinking
into what really matters. And something else
that's really important to remember with our
purpose in creation is soon after God made Adam,
what did he do? He created Eve. He realized immediately
that in order for us to execute our purpose in
life, we're not supposed to do this life alone.
Yes. Yes, absolutely. And part of our identity
as sons and daughters of the Most High King is
grounded in what we're going to talk about next,
which is our covenant relationship. Number two,
God's purpose for humanity is grounded in covenant.
All throughout the Old Testament, we see God
relating to his chosen people through the relationship
of a covenant relationship. A covenant is essentially
a contract where both sides agree to uphold their
end. An example of this is the Mosaic Covenant,
and this is where we see the familiar image of
Moses going up to the top of Mount Sinai to receive
the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments
were written. In the Mosaic covenant, God defines
what it means to be obedient to him by providing
the law. And in exchange for Israel's obedience,
he promises to protect, to defend, and to bless
them. And unfortunately, as we read through the
Old Testament, time and time again, we see Israel
failing to be obedient to that covenant. So ultimately,
God looks ahead to a time where he will create
a new covenant with people. In Hebrews chapter
8, the author of Hebrews quotes a prophecy that
was given to Jeremiah by God. He says, I will
make a new covenant with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah. It will not be
like the covenant I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand to lead them out
of Egypt because they did not remain faithful
to my covenant and I turned away from them. In
the old covenant, you have the laws written in
stone, and the covenant is secured by human obedience.
But in the new covenant, the covenant in which
we now live, the laws are written on human hearts,
and the covenant is secured by... Christ's obedience,
not by ours. And so I think one question is,
why does this idea or this concept of covenant
matter? How does it play into our understanding
of our purpose? Ever since sin entered the world
through Adam and Eve, every generation that's
been born since them has been born with a distorted
sense. of purpose. We were called to rule over
all creation, to bring order out of the chaos.
But when we look at humanity today, when we turn
on the news, when we turn on social media, more
often than not, what we see is that people create
deeper and darker levels of chaos. Into this
broken situation, God steps. And he offers us
an opportunity to be redeemed through this new
covenant with Christ. And not only does he redeem
our souls for eternity, but he redeems our sense
of purpose. Which brings us to our third thought
for this morning. God's purpose for humanity
is redeemed in Christ. Continuing on in Hebrews
chapter 9, the author says, Christ is the mediator
of a new covenant that those who are called may
receive the promised eternal inheritance. Now
that he has died as a ransom to set them free
from the sins committed under the first covenant.
God took it upon himself to change the terms
of the covenant. He sent Jesus to die for our
sins so that we could be viewed as holy and righteous
and that we could receive the promised. eternal
inheritance. When we read that phrase, promised
eternal inheritance, it's easy to assume that
what's being talked about here is heaven. And
while salvation through Jesus is an important
part of the redemptive work of the cross, it's
not the only piece. In addition to our salvation,
our promised eternal inheritance includes the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. and an invitation
to partner with God to advance his kingdom on
earth as it is in heaven. We have a saying here
at the vineyard that we live between the already
and the not yet. And that's what God has already
done through Christ and what he has not yet done
but longs to do through his church. Yeah, and
I think a lot of our purpose can be found in
that point right there, that when we remember
that God's purpose for humanity. is redeemed
when christ gives just like you said he he he
changed the terms of the initial covenant he
knew that his son literally meant everything
to us and again it kind of just goes back into
what i was saying earlier that when we realize
and when it it sinks into our bodies it sinks
into our souls it sinks into our minds that we
are nothing more than sons and daughters of the
most high king our purpose begins to change.
It becomes less about our circumstances. It becomes
less about the problems that we face in our everyday
lives. It becomes less about the plans and the
purposes that we want to pursue. And when we
are obedient to our calling in the moment, whether
or not we understand it or not, God's purpose
can be revealed. I'm reminded of one of my favorite
things that I learned in the Bible. And I didn't
say this first service, so I apologize for everyone
in first service. But I love the story of David
in the Bible. After he is anointed to be the
future king and before he wears the crown, there's
this moment where Goliath is out on the battlefield
shouting his obscenities and shouting at the
army. David is still a shepherd boy in this moment.
And his father says, hey. Come here, I need you
to go deliver lunch to your brothers. And I often
think about what that must have been like for
David, knowing that he's eventually going to
be king, but still serving in what we would view
as a lowly purpose. And here he is becoming an
errand boy for his brothers who were not chosen
to be king. But because he was obedient in his
purpose, his father said, Go deliver this meat
and this cheese to your brother. He was in a
position to hear Goliath shout, and that is what
led him to one of his greatest claims to fame
because he was walking in his purpose in the
moment. So for someone in your day, I just feel
like I'm supposed to say this. You may be walking
in a season that you don't feel is powerful,
you don't feel is prestigious, but carry your
purpose well because your act of obedience today
could be the thing that leads you. To something
that God has for you that you have no idea that
becomes your greatest claim to faith. Come on.
So we have God's purpose begins with creation.
God's purpose for humanity is grounded in the
covenant. God's purpose for humanity is redeemed
in Christ. And this is where we want to go today
and what becomes the talk of our future message.
God's purpose for humanity is fulfilled through
the church. Fulfilled through the church. Carl
and I believe. That the church, the big C church,
the body of Christ, that's what the Bible calls
the church, the body of Christ is so, so important.
It is a pivotal thing in our faith. Not necessarily
just the building, right? We're not talking about
this structure that has walls and a floor and
a ceiling, but we're talking about the body of
Christ. And what we want to do today is get you
to realize, get you to understand. That so much
of the purpose that God has for our life can
either be confirmed, activated, or started because
you choose to engage with the body of Christ.
Matthew 28, 18 to 20 says, Then Jesus came to
them and said, All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Therefore, Here's
the action. Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. These are
Jesus's words. This is him teaching and teaching
them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always to the very end
of the age. Jesus is telling. his people, his
disciples, go and make disciples of all the nations.
And we believe that the church is so pivotal
and so important in that message. Absolutely.
I find it fascinating that Jesus didn't ascend
into heaven and merely leave behind some kind
of seemingly infinite pile of get out of hell
free cards, but rather he left behind a clear
mission for his followers to go to baptize. and
to teach. We're called to go out into the world,
to introduce people to Jesus, and to teach them
what it looks like to follow Jesus through our
words, our attitudes, and our actions. Now, some
of you here this morning have already made the
decision to follow Christ, but you have not yet
been baptized. You've not yet made a public declaration
of faith, and I have great news for you. There's
still time to sign up. for our August 30th summer
baptisms at Potterfield Pool in the evening.
So I want to encourage you, if that's you, if
you've not yet been baptized and you would like
to be, go see Tracy after this message. She'll
be in the Welcome Hub. She'll get you on the
list to be baptized today. Now, as we were preparing
for this message, God laid a specific image on
my mind, and I believe that this is for many
of us here this morning. For those of you who
don't recognize this, this is the board game
Perfection. Perfection was invented in 1973.
It was distributed by the Milton Bradley Company.
And to play the game Perfection, you have exactly
one minute to place each of the 25 uniquely shaped
pieces into their corresponding slots. The game
is over when either you put all the pieces in
place, you stop the clock, or... If you don't
get all the pieces in place in exactly one minute,
this spring -loaded board launches them at you
like some kind of cosmic firing squad, declaring
that you are a failure. Can I just say, when
I see that, it brings back childhood trauma and
a lot of anxiety. I hated this, and I hated the
jack -in -the -boxes. It's evil cousin, yeah.
The evil cousin of perfection. But listen. We
live in one of the most anxious generations,
and I think it is no surprise, considering our
childhood toys were essentially military -grade
psychological experiments. And we laugh, but
I think that this is how many of us are currently
living our lives. We live under constant pressure,
trying desperately to fit all of the pieces perfectly.
into place. I have to find the perfect partner.
I have to be the perfect parent. I have to hit
my career goals, my financial goals. I have to
hit my health goals. I have to. I have to. I
have to. To make matters worse, society is doing
us no favors. Through social media, we're constantly
bombarded by images of other people around us
who are seemingly always hitting their goals.
And if we're not careful, We can get drawn into
competition with people who quite frankly may
not even realize that we exist. Church, this
morning, I want to challenge you with this question.
What if today we chose to play the game differently?
What if we turned down the pressure, abandoned
the quest for perfection according to human standards,
and instead we embraced a sense of community?
in collaboration, bringing God's kingdom on earth
as it is in heaven. But in order to do that,
there's a couple things we have to do. There's
a couple things we have to do before we get to
the action steps. Think about how much easier
that game becomes when you invite three or four
people to play with you. And a lot of times I
believe we live our lives in isolation and the
enemy tries to do everything he can to keep us
boxed in and he makes us believe that we have
to solve all of our problems ourselves. When
I played that game as a child and I turned that
dial, I had an intense amount of pressure because
it was just me and the pieces. But if I would
ask you and Gary and Sam and Grant and Riley
to come play along with me, that... pressure
becomes so much easier because I'm asking people
to come alongside of me and help me in my cause.
So back to the example that our purpose begins
with creation. God created Adam and immediately
created Eve to have a partner. And I think so
many times we forget that we are supposed to
live in community. And so that's where we want
to go with our action steps today. There's a
couple things that Carl and I believe are so
important to us realizing our purpose. Now, one
of the questions that we got... that I really
loved and became the crux of the action steps
was, what is my purpose and how do I exist within
the church today? The American church, the Western
church, the church that we look at has become
a variety of different things. And I think if
we're being honest, we can get really confused
at what good looks like. How are we supposed
to exist in fellowship with others? But Carl
and I believe there's three main things that
we can do to ground ourselves within the church,
to serve the church well. We just talked about
how the Bible calls the church the body of Christ,
but there's another thing that he calls the church.
And what is that? The bride. The bride of Christ.
God calls church the bride of Christ. And that
tells me that there's a relationship that we
need to look at, and there is an importance in
that correlation. But before we go there, let's
get into the first action step. So step number
one, it's pretty simple. Go. Go. It is really,
really important that we prioritize being in
fellowship with each other. Hebrews 10, 23 through
25 says this. Let us hold unswervingly to the
hope we profess, for he... who promised is faithful.
Thank you, God, for being faithful. And let us
consider how we may spur one another on toward
love and good deeds. Spur one another on. It's
really hard to spur one another on if you're
living life alone. Not giving up meeting together.
Not giving up meeting together as some are in
the habit of doing, but encouraging one another
and all the more as you see the day approaching.
It is really, really, really important that we
all buy into the importance of being in fellowship
with each other. We just learned that God calls
the church his bride. And I think there is some
real power that we often don't think about. So
let me ask you this. Let's talk about marriage.
We just learned that he calls the church his
bride. So let's look at marriage, for example.
Just answer this question. Is it possible for
two people to be married yet live separately
and never be in contact with each other? Yes.
It is. It is possible. Will that marriage thrive?
No. Probably not. So the same question exists.
Is it true for followers of Jesus to be Christians?
Yes. And not go to church? No. Yes, it is, right?
It is possible for us to be Christians, to be
followers of Jesus, and not go to church. But
will the relationship thrive? No. Probably not.
Probably not. I'm not saying that those of you
watching on the live stream today are bad people
for not coming to church. I believe that there
are tools that exist that help us that when we're
feeling sick, when we're feeling ill, when we're
on vacation but we want to tune in. But what
I believe the enemy tries to do is he tries to
make us choose convenience over community. It's
really simple to stay home on a Sunday morning
when it's raining because you don't want to go
out in the rain. It's really simple to stay home
on a Sunday morning because you stayed up too
late on Saturday and you're just tired. And yeah,
you'll have church on in the background, but
are you really listening? And even if you listen,
by not prioritizing being, what did the Bible
just say? In the habit of meeting together, that
means coming together. If we don't do that, we
have no idea the blessings that we are foregoing
by being with each other. There have been plenty
of times where I've considered, hey, babe, let's
just stay home today. But I come and I get to
have a conversation with someone that I find
out six months later, they're like, hey, that
one Sunday that you spoke that word over me changed
my life forever. Or maybe I'm going through something
that I don't know that I need. and someone comes
up to me and gives me a hug and chooses to pray,
God can use the smallest interactions with other
people to propel us forward in our purpose. And
I think if we're not careful, if we don't choose
to go to church, we can become victims of our
own complacency, victims of our own convenience,
and we can completely neglect the body and the
bride of Christ. Absolutely. If your version
of church does not include community, I think
it's safe to say it does not include the same
level of power that Jesus envisioned for his
body and his bride. Yeah, it's something you
and I talked about this week that was really
powerful to me. You gave me this analogy and
gave me credit for it. So many times we look
at Sunday morning, we look at church as the game.
I've got to get myself ready Monday through Saturday
because when I get to church, man, I want to
worship. I want to receive the message. We get
ourselves all geared up, and we treat Monday
through Saturday as the preparation, and then
we treat Sunday as the game. But we believe we
need to flip the script. What if we treated church
more like the locker room talk? What if we treated
church more like the pregame huddle where we
came, we got fired up together, and we treated
our life Monday through Saturday like the real
game? That's why church exists. Church exists
for us to come together, to get fired up, to
get fueled up, to get lessened up, to get taught
up, so that when we leave this place and we go
out to our job or school or whatever we do on
a Monday, we have the tools and we have the things
inside of us. that we learned on Sunday to be
effective in the world. And that's what God wants
for our purpose. God wants us to be effective
in the kingdom of heaven and expanding his kingdom.
Yes, I love this action step, go, because it
implies direction and it implies movement in
a specific direction. And I believe we're called
to go to church, to gather with believers, but
we're also called to go out into the world to
carry the gospel with us. In Ephesians chapter
six, Paul encourages the church to put on the
full armor of God. And when we read through that
passage of Scripture, it's easy to fix our minds
on the more Avengers -style pieces of armor,
the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit,
the helmet of salvation. But as I was praying
this week on Friday, God highlighted for me the
shoes fitted with the readiness of the gospel
of peace. Now, I came here this morning. wearing
a pair of custom Nike shoes given to me by a
dear friend of mine. On the tongue of these shoes,
there's a tag that has my name on it. So church,
I want to ask you just to take a second and look
down at the shoes that you wore in here today.
While your shoes may not have your name written
on them, I believe That your shoes, as well as
the path that they are following, are customized
for you specifically by God. Everywhere that
you place your foot, whether it's your workplace,
your home, your school, the grocery store, the
gas station, you carry with you the gospel of
Jesus. Can we stand up for a second? He's getting
fired up. Listen, as I was praying over this
this week, God laid it on my heart that there
would be some people here this morning. walking
through those doors who are feeling discouraged
and defeated because you feel like as you're
going to take the gospel message out into the
world, the enemy is coming to try to take territory
in your life. And you came in here this morning
and you're sick and you're tired and you've had
enough. As my daughter would say, you're about
done. So here's the thing. We need to understand.
that Jesus has already won. We don't have to
put up with the enemy trying to take over territory
in our marriages, in our families, in our purposes.
So this morning, church, can we make a public
declaration? Can we make a public declaration
of faith? Can we make a public declaration? Okay.
Yes. This is what we're going to do. On the count
of three, I'm going to count to three. And then
we're all going to say loudly, I'm taking it
back. On the word back, I want you to stomp down
your right foot, signifying that you are taking
back the ground that the enemy is trying to steal
from you. Does that make sense? Okay. I need
you to know before we do this. That you have
the authority over the enemy. You have authority
over what the enemy is trying to do in your life.
Jesus said, whatever we bind on earth will be
bound in heaven. Whatever we release on earth
will be released on heaven. Do you believe that?
Yes. Okay. So on the count of three, I'm taking
it back. I'm taking it back. Stomp your right
foot. I want to hear the stomp. All right. One,
two. Three. I'm taking it back. Come on. Somebody's
getting set free today. Somebody is taking their
purpose back, their passion back, their fire
back. Come on. Can we give them some praise?
Yeah. I'm going to stay standing just because
you got me all fired up. We got a couple more
points. You guys can be seated. We got a couple
more points to get through, but I like to preach
standing up. These chairs are cool, but standing
up is cooler. Yes. So what was point number one?
Go. Prioritize being in fellowship with others.
Support and go to your church. Number two, give.
2 Corinthians 9, 6 -7. Now, before you get to
thinking, oh, here comes the money speech, we're
not just going to talk about money. Remember
this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,
and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
Each of you should give what you have decided
in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under
compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Not
only is it important to go to church, but it
is important to support your church. God, Jesus
calls us to tithe back to the church. We do so
much here with our fundraisers and our community
outreach, and it takes a lot of resources to
do what we do. We don't collect tithes because
we want to become rich and famous. We collect
tithes because that money goes to bringing more
and more and more people in. But there's more
that you can give outside of your money. God
doesn't just want your money. He doesn't want
you to come in here with a nasty heart and throw
money in the plate and then leave. You can give
of your time. You can give of your heart. You
can give of the things that God has placed in
your life. We believe that God has given each
of you significant tools, resources, characteristics
that can be used to glorify his name. So yes,
tithing is important, but we can be generous
to the church. We can give to the church in ways
outside of money. Serve the church. And then
finally, number three, we're going to go, we're
going to give, and arguably the most important,
you need to grow. You need to grow. It's okay
to come as you are, but we don't want you to
stay as you are. We want you to come. We want
you to receive. And we hope that through the
teachings that we give, through the worship that
we sing, through Chris's message and Rudy's message
and Carl and I's message and Jess, we want you
to take tools. We want you to take learnings
and teachings to further expand. your relationship
with Christ. If you want to be purposeful, if
you want to know what your purpose is in this
life, if you want God, if he was in front of
you and you said, God, what is my purpose? One
of the things he's going to say is you need to
grow in me. You need to grow. Colossians 2 .6
says, so then just as you received Christ Jesus
as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the
faith as you were taught and overflowing. with
thankfulness. In order for you to grow, we have
so many different ways here at Hub City Vineyard
that you can get involved. Show of hands, how
many of you are involved in a growth group or
a small group? That's fantastic. But as I look
around, I see a lot of hands that are down. Listen,
Sunday mornings are great. They're fantastic.
We should be here. But if you want to really
take your relationship with Christ to the next
level, You've got to do more than just coming
in here for an hour on a Sunday morning. You
need to get connected. You need to get in fellowship.
We just learned that so much of God's purpose
in our lives lives in our relationship with others.
So this is our shameless plug to get involved
in a small group, creating that sense of community,
creating that sense of fellowship, creating the
ability to learn and grow with each other and
just have that midweek boost to your spirit is
so, so. vitally important. Think about a tree
or a flower or a plant. What are the trees or
flowers or plants that are growing effectively?
What are they also doing? Their root system.
They're not only growing up, but they're growing
down. And if you want to flourish, if you want
to be beautiful, quote unquote, beautiful on
the outside, you have to have roots that go deep.
And the way that you grow those roots is getting
involved and growing in your faith. We believe,
That Sundays are important, but we believe that
being in active fellowship with others is equally
important. And that brings us to our final point
today, and I'm going to pick up this thing right
here. What is this? Shovel. It's a shovel. Gary,
what's a shovel used for? To dig. To dig. Now,
Gary and I had a great conversation, and I'm
going to take you on a little bit of a journey
with this shovel. Sometimes it's not the importance
of the tool that's in your hand, but it's how
you choose to use it. Now, this shovel can be
used for good purposes, but I believe that many
of us in this place today need to put down the
shovel. There's many people in this room today
that need to put down the shovel. And I'm sure
you're wondering, what in the world does that
mean? This is what it means. We're going to read
a parable. But before I do that, I believe that
there's three categories. Will you hold this
for me? Absolutely. I believe that there are
three categories that many of us would fit into
today when it comes to purpose. Number one, you
would say, I am effectively walking in my purpose.
I feel that I am right where I need to be. I
feel that I'm thriving. I feel that I am doing
what I'm called to do. If that's you, I celebrate
you, and I'm thankful that you're there. But
I believe there's two other categories of people
today. Number two, you're unsure of your purpose.
You're looking around and you see people serving.
You walk through your life Monday through Saturday
and you feel like, man, I just feel like there's
got to be something more. And then category number
three, you're aware of your purpose, but you're
not walking in it. You're aware of what God has
called you to do where there's this thing or
there's these things that you know you are equipped
with, but you feel unqualified or you feel like
you're too far gone. Look at this shovel. I was
in Lowe's parking lot yesterday. And I texted
Carl and I said, hey man, I'm getting ready to
run into Lowe's to buy our shiny brand new shovel
for our message. And he said, no dude, no, no,
no. He said, find the dirtiest, rustiest shovel
you can find at your house and bring in. He said,
God's not afraid of the dirt. God's not afraid
of the rust. God's not afraid that your past
is too dirty. He can use what you are equipped
with. So we're gonna read from a parable today
that will illustrate this principle and why I
told you to put down the shovel. For it will
be like a man going on a journey who called his
servants and entrusted them to his property.
There's three men. There's three guys in the
story. To one, he gave five talents. To the second,
he gave two. And to the third, he gave one. To
each according to his ability. Then he went away.
So here we have three people, right? Person number
one got five. Person number two got two. And
person number three got one. A talent. was worth
about 20 years of a day's labor wages. So person
number one was handed 100 years worth of salary,
if you will. Person number two, 40, and person
number three, 20 years. If you give me 100 years
worth of salary, or 40 or 20, I'm going to be
pretty happy about that. But this is where the
story gets good. He who had received the five
talents went at once and traded with them, and
he made five talents more, a 100 % return on
his investment. So also, the one who had two
talents went and made two talents more, another
100 % investment. But he who had received the
one went, picked up a shovel, dug in the ground,
and buried the talent that his master had given
him. So person number one made 100 % return.
Person number two made 100 % return, doubled
their profits. But person number three picked
up a shovel and buried what he'd been blessed
with. Now, after a long time, the master of those
servants came back to settle the accounts. He
went up to the person who he gave the five talents,
and the person said, Master, I've taken what
you've given me, and I've doubled my profits.
And he said, Well done, good and faithful servant.
Person number two says, Master, I've taken the
two that you gave me, and I've doubled my profits.
And the master said, Well done, good and faithful
servant. But the third man said, Master. I knew
you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not
sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
So I was afraid and I went and I hid your talent
in the ground. Here, take back what is yours.
But his master then answered, you wicked and
slothful servant. You knew that I reap where
I've not sown and gathered where I scattered
no seed. Then you ought to have invested my money
with the bankers and my coming. I should have
received what was my own with interest. So take
them. take the talent from him and give it to
the one who has 10. For to everyone who has more
will be given and he will have an abundance.
But from the one who is not, even what he has
been taken away and cast the worthless servant
out into the darkness in that place, there'll
be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The master
came back and he said, you buried what I gave
you. Here's the truth today. I believe many of
us in here, we're busy, we're busy, but we're
not producing fruit. Come on. The act of digging
in the ground, if anyone's ever planted a tree
or had to dig deep, it is a busy, strenuous exercise.
We're busy, but we're not fruitful. And what
happens when God gives us things in our lives
that he wants us to use, so many of us pick up
a shovel and we decide to bury it. Some of us
intentionally, but some of us subconsciously.
Sometimes we don't realize that we're not acting
on the blessing. You see, it's possible to be
busy in this life, but not. fruitful. The Bible
says that we have different gifts. If your gift
is prophesying, then prophesy. If it is serving,
then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. If
it is to encourage, then give encouragement.
If it's giving, give generously. If it is to
lead, do it diligently. And if it is to show
mercy, do it cheerfully. I don't believe that
the majority of us in here intentionally tell
God, no, we're not going to serve. But when we
allow the busyness of our lives to consume every
part of our life, A byproduct of that is we can
fill ourselves up with all of the wrong stuff.
And we take the talents that God has given us
and we pick up dirty shovels and we bury them
in the ground. And I'm here, we are here to tell
you today, it's time to put down the shovel.
It is time to search your heart, to find out
what God has given you that you can use to bless
the kingdom of heaven. Because let me tell you,
when you find that, you find your purpose. When
you find what God has equipped you with, you
find your purpose. So today, Carl and I want
to close with this. We just talked about three
categories of people. Let's start with category
number two. You don't know what your purpose
is. You want to find out. You're saying, God,
I'm ready to get off of the bench. I'm ready
to get into the game. But I don't know what you
have for me. If that's you, you're category number
two. But category number three. If you know what
your purpose is, if you have an idea of your
purpose, but you feel unqualified. Carl believes
that there's people in this place today that
are not serving because they're full of shame.
They're full of thinking that they're too far
gone, that God cannot use their past. That's
category number three. If you find yourself in
those two categories, I'm going to ask the prayer
team to come forward. I believe there's power
in intentionality. I believe there's power in
vulnerability. And to be really easy for you
just to stay in your seat. But I believe that
if you want to walk in your purpose today, you
need to take this step of faith. And if you're
in category number one, you would say, I know
my purpose and I'm walking it. You have an incredible
opportunity to come forward and pray over these
people. So if you find yourself in category number
two or number three, you're either searching
for your purpose. You want to know what that
is. You're saying, God, I'm ready to be used.
Or God, I know my purpose, but I'm too ashamed
to use it. I want you to come forward right now.
Can we all stand up together in this ministry
moment? Be vulnerable, come forward. If you want
God to move in your life, if you want him to
reveal what he has for you, if you want to be
used for a purpose greater than yourself, now
is your moment. Come Holy Spirit. God, I pray
right now, Lord, that you would not let the fire
go out. That you would blow on the embers that
people are feeling right now. Yes, Lord. God,
they're feeling a burning, a calling, a desire
to step into what you have called them to, God.
A burning and a desire to step into the purpose
that you've placed on their heart, Lord. I just
pray right now, God, that you would blow them.
a fresh wind into that fire to stoke the flames,
God, so that you can get people on task, on target
for the purpose that you have for them, Lord.
Yes, Lord. For anybody here today who has come
through those doors and you want to identify,
as Rhett was talking about earlier, as a son
and daughter of God, But you don't know if you're
in relationship with him or not. Today is your
day. So we're going to pray a quick prayer here
at the Hub City Vineyard. We pray this prayer
all together, all right? Jesus, I'm broken, full
of doubt, shame, fear, regret. I've been running,
but today, I'm coming home. I believe you're
God's son. I believe you died for me. I believe
you rose again. Fill me with your spirit. Set
me free. Make me new. Set me on my purpose. In
Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. We're going to
let this ministry moment go. There's a couple
words of knowledge before you leave. Top part
of your foot is very painful. The outer part
of your left knee hurts. Multiple people with
back pain. Someone with severe kidney issues.
You have a right knee ACL tear. Painful muscle
between the neck and shoulder. And a hip bone
of hip joint issue pain. So guys, thank you so
much for coming out today. We love you. Remember,
we are made for more. And if you're still in
this place and you're feeling the nudge to come
forward, I'm going to ask the prayer team just
to hang out for a couple more minutes. But for
those of you that want to go, God bless you.
Have an incredible rest of your week, and we'll
see you back next Sunday.