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I have to admit this first Sunday of the year is always a bit of a stumper for those of

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us in pastoral ministry.

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We're never really sure how to approach the first Sunday.

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It's just sort of an interesting time.

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On the one hand, some of us have this strong desire to get rolling into the new year, but

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on the other hand, there's this competing desire, this sense of we need to recover from

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the holidays, right?

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This fatigue that comes from the holiday season.

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A lot of us have had time off, but then it's also been filled with travel, and it's been

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filled with lots of parties and get togethers and lots of time spent with friends and family.

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You might think that those things would rejuvenate us, but as we all know, they usually aren't.

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They're good things, of course, but oftentimes they drain us as well.

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For those of us who are in the business of planning ministry, we usually decide to take

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the first Sunday of the year and not dive into something brand new, not just yet, but

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instead to take some time to look forward together into the new year as a church family

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to see what God might do in our lives over the next 12 months.

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As I say that, by the way, just so you remember, next week we're diving into a brand new expository

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preaching series in the book of Titus.

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Get your hearts ready for that.

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Today is different.

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Now, as we approach the new year, I have a question for you.

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How many of you guys would consider yourself planners?

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Do we have any planners out there?

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Okay.

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How many of you guys actually like making New Year's resolutions?

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Oh, groaning.

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See, some of you guys are wired for those things.

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You get so excited by the idea of sitting down on the couch with a notebook, with your

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calendar, your planner, you're already, you know, you put in your holidays and your birthdays

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and your vacation time, it's all penciled in, and now you're like, I'm going to set

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some goals and I want to create some to-do lists.

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You're already strategizing about how you can accomplish great things in the new year.

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And by the way, I think that's wonderful.

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But for others of us, that is not appealing at all.

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Right?

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I'm not alone.

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It's not appealing at all because it's not just how, it's not how you're really wired.

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Now, you may have some things in mind like, okay, there's some things I'd like to improve

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on or there's some projects I'd like to finish in the new year, but you're not one of those

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people that formalizes it in any way.

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So we're different.

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And this morning, whether you're a planner or an anti-planner, I do want to make the

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case that every single person in this room this morning should make it a goal to grow

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in the year 2025.

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And so as you can see by the title on the screen, we are looking this morning at a biblical

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vision for growth.

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Now this is not going to be a sermon about growing the size of our church.

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Sadly, when you hear the term growth today in church culture, that's often the first

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thing that people think about because, you know, we're in this era of mega churches and

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everything always has to be bigger, right?

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We need to grow.

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I'm talking about actual biblical growth, both as individual worshipers and biblical

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growth together as a church family.

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So I'm talking about spiritual development.

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I'm talking about increasing in spiritual maturity.

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I'm talking about deepening our abiding relationship with Christ.

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And practically, I'm talking about bearing more spiritual fruit that shows up in our

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lives, practically shows up in the way we think and the decisions that we make and in

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the deeds that we do.

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That's the type of growth that we want to talk about.

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Now it's true that when a church does that, when a bunch of saints come together and we're

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all focused on that goal of growing as worshipers and growing as a church family, it's true

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that often a church like that grows in size and scope because it's filled with a bunch

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of vibrant people who are growing.

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But we don't want to put the cart before the horse by making numerical growth the goal

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of our ministry.

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That's never been the goal here at Oak Hill and it never will be that we're just seeking

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after numbers.

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To paraphrase a very famous pastor, we strive to increase the depth in our church and then

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we let God determine the breadth of our church.

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That's always been a driving principle at Oak Hill.

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We aim to increase the depth amongst the saints here in the church, but we let God determine

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the breadth of it.

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And that is precisely the message that I want to make sure comes through this message this

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morning.

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There's principles in scripture about this subject, about growth, that if you just look

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at it with an untrained eye, you might think these are contradictory statements, but they

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actually work hand in hand.

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Let me give you some examples.

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First of all, famously in Psalm 90-12, Moses writes this.

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He says, teach us to number our days that we may present to you, Lord, a heart of wisdom.

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Now we read that and we think, okay, well good.

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So that's telling us we need to start carefully planning all of the time that we have.

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Plan, prepare, do all of that stuff, whether it's daily, weekly, monthly, throughout the

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whole year.

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We need to be about that.

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But then we come to a verse like Proverbs 19-21 that says, many plans are in the man's

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heart, but the purpose of the Lord will stand.

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And that seems to indicate that we can plan all we want, but at the end of the day, our

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plans don't really amount to anything because God sovereignly does as he pleases in the

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life of his people and his church.

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So two important verses, two important principles, how do we fit them together?

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And the truth is it's really not an either or choice.

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It's a both and.

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This is a both and.

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We strive in our planning to honor the Lord.

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We strive to grow in spiritual depth, but all the while, we know that ultimately it's

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God's purposes that are going to prevail.

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Amen.

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So what I want to do this morning is expose it to fairly familiar New Testament passages

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that I think are instructive for us as a church about how we look at the year to come in 2025.

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And then at the end, we're going to get super practical.

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I want to share a whole bunch of things that are on the hearts of our elder team, the things

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that we talk about at our elder meetings, you know, those mysterious meetings where

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we get together, where we talk about things in our body that we're interested in seeing

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growth happen in this particular church body in 2025.

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So let's start.

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Grab your Bibles.

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Let's turn to 1 Corinthians chapter three.

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So two sort of sides of a single coin this morning.

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And the first side of the coin comes from 1 Corinthians three.

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And we're going to start at the very top beginning in verse one.

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Now most of us know that Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church is a highly corrective

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letter because there's a lot of problems going on in this church.

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He does not hold back in reprimanding the body of Corinth for a whole long list of things.

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They need to be corrected.

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And we're going to see that right here in the first nine verses of this chapter.

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Verse one says this, and I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual men.

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But as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not solid food,

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for you were not yet able to receive it.

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Indeed, he says, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly.

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So Paul's addressing men and women who are members of this church in Corinth.

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And my guess is like so many churchgoers today, they've been attending services occasionally

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and they've been coming to some church events and they've been building some relationships

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in the body and yet something is not healthy about their walk with the Lord.

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There's something not healthy here.

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Now Paul doesn't question their salvation.

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He says at the end of verse one, they are in Christ.

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But the thing that marks their walk with him is immaturity.

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Right?

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They're infants, he says.

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Infants in the faith.

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They're in need of growing up.

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And he says, look, we have fed you the basics of the faith.

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The milk of Christian doctrine.

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You know what the gospel of truth is.

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And I have no doubt that they were being taught well by the apostles and by the teachers in

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this church.

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Right?

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They were hearing the basics of doctrine on Sundays.

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They were hearing it in private conversations.

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They were hearing it in their small groups.

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But still Paul says, I can't speak to you as spiritual men and women in practice.

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Because they weren't submitted to the Holy Spirit.

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They weren't being led by the Holy Spirit.

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It was still their flesh.

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Their personal wants and desires that were leading them.

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Leading every decision they make.

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Leading the way they think.

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It's their flesh and not the spirit.

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It's their appetites.

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Their wants.

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And they're showing a lack of restraint and self-control in that process.

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By the way, if you're a parent, you know that this is exactly what characterizes an infant

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or even a toddler.

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They always put themselves first.

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Right?

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Have you ever had a toddler walk up and go, no daddy, I would like to serve you instead

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of you serve me.

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Now this is how toddlers act.

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They always put themselves first.

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All that matters is what they want in the moment.

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No self-control.

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No restraint.

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No concern for putting the needs of others before themselves.

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And that's what Paul likens them to.

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These believers in Corinth.

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So what's a parent to do with a toddler or an infant?

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How do you raise them up?

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So with great patience, we keep correcting and disciplining and teaching and encouraging

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and praying.

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Right?

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Parents, you're doing all those things?

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And that was Paul's life in calling in the church to do all of those same things among

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the churches that he had planted.

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With great patience, keep correcting, disciplining, teaching, encouraging, praying and hoping

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for the saints that were participating in body life in those churches.

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And honestly, when I was looking at this last night, I thought to myself, this is actually,

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this is the story of every single pastor in every single church.

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Because we all sort of have to work through this frustration as leaders and teachers in

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the church, knowing that we strive with everything we have in us to make sure that we're teaching

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well, that we're exhorting and correcting and encouraging and building up.

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And yet we know at the end of the day, some of the sheep just aren't going to grow.

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They're going to remain toddlers.

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And so it's my job as a pastor not to get frustrated by that, not get discouraged by

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that, not ever give up, but keep doing those same things with great patience, correcting,

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disciplining, teaching, encouraging and praying and hoping for the best for every single person

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that walks in those doors.

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That's my job.

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Now continuing in verse three, Paul goes on to describe a unique symptom of this fleshliness,

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this infanthood that's happening in the church of Corinth.

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And thankfully, I have really good news this morning.

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This is not a problem for us at Oak Hill, this particular problem.

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And I praise God for this.

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Look at verse, the end of verse three.

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He says, for since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly?

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And are you not walking like mere men?

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Isn't that interesting?

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You're not walking in a divine way, you're acting like just fleshly people.

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For when one says, I'm of Paul, and another says, I'm of Apollos, are you not acting

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like mere men?

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So the members of the church of Corinth are lining up behind their favorite teachers and

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they're boasting in them in such a way that it's creating all kinds of quarrels and divisions.

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Oh, you think Apollos is a great teacher?

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I think Paul's better.

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What a silly thing to fight over, right?

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And as I said, this is not a problem at Oak Hill.

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Nobody's out there lining up behind me and saying, oh, Jeff's better than this other

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elder or vice versa, we don't have this issue.

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By the way, this is one of the best things about Oak Hill.

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I've never been a part of a church that is so unified in the way we love each other.

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The lack of drama in this church is stunning.

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I mean, if you know people who go to other churches, you know this is true.

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You hear just awful stories, you're like, yeah, we're pretty much united.

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So it's really a beautiful thing.

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So I thank you for that.

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Now here's the point of Paul bringing this up, this issue of, look at verse five.

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He says, what then is Apollos?

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And what is Paul?

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Underline the next word, servants.

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Look, are they apostles?

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Are they important?

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Are they great teachers?

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Yes.

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Paul says, we are servants through whom you believed even as the Lord gave opportunity

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to each one.

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So I can echo Paul's words.

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What then is Jeff?

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What then is Grant?

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What then is any elder or teacher in our church?

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Just servants.

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Just servants, striving imperfectly to care for this body of believers, striving to teach

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well so that we grow out of infanthood and grow towards maturity.

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As the teaching pastor here, I'm nothing more than a servant through whom, Paul says, you

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believed.

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Or if you came to Oak Hill as a believer, I am just a servant through whom you are being

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fed truth, through whom you are being exhorted and corrected and instructed to grow in your

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faith.

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That's all I am, a simple servant.

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That's all we all are as leaders.

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None of us are the means or the power by which you believe or grow.

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Can't say that loud enough.

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It doesn't matter if you think one of us on the elder team is a very talented teacher.

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We are not the means or the power by which any of you believe or grow.

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And if you want a good illustration for this, I read this years ago and it made a ton of

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sense to me.

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How many of you guys have copper pipes in your home?

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Okay, are you thankful for your copper pipes?

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Yeah, they're great.

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But they're just conduits.

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What really matters is the water that comes out of the pipes.

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Because it's the water that nourishes you and sustains you.

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You can still really be like, thank you for the copper pipes, but it's the water that

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matters.

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Leaders in the church are like those pipes, we're just conduits for truth.

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But it's the truth that matters.

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It's the truth that nourishes you.

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Does that make sense?

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That's important.

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Now verse six is key.

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I, that's Paul speaking, I planted, Apollos did what?

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He watered.

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But God was causing the growth.

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So then Paul concludes, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything.

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But God who causes the growth.

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So God's always the decisive factor.

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Always.

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In faith, in growth, not any man, not any teacher, no matter how good they might be.

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And note the agricultural metaphor that he uses here.

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Now again, back in the first century, most people were farmers.

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This was obvious to them, but less obvious to us today.

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But planting is a particular work.

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And the reference here is the Paul who's out there planting churches all across the Greek

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world right in the first century.

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Through his efforts, God was busy producing, saving faith in these Gentiles in the Greek

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world through him.

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Paul wasn't doing it, God was doing it through Paul.

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And then the watering was the work that Apollos took on once Paul left because Paul didn't

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like to stay in one place too long.

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He wasn't a local pastor, he was a missionary, he was an apostle.

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So he would take off and men like Apollos would step in and they would water.

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And what God was doing through Apollos was producing spiritual growth in these infants

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who needed to grow up.

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Are you getting the picture here?

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They're tag teaming this, it's very important.

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Now before we go any further, let's talk about this biblical word growth.

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It's a very important word.

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What does Paul mean when he talks about growth?

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Well the original Greek word is oxano.

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It's a word that you find fairly frequently in the New Testament, 23 times.

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And it's almost always translated either grow or growth or increase.

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Now sometimes it's used in a very simple way to talk about how the lilies of the field

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grow or a seed that is planted grows into a tree.

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It's even the word used for when a child grows up.

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But at other times it's attached to some very important theological statements.

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Let me give you some examples.

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First in the book of Acts, that word is used to describe how God's word was spreading and

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increasing among the early disciples in the church.

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Then we have in 2 Corinthians 10 a reference to how the same word is used to talk about

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how the faith of the saints is growing.

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In the book of Ephesians, and we heard this in the call to worship this morning, this

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word is used to describe how we as believers, listen now, grow up in all aspects into Him

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who is our head, who of course is Christ.

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We find the word used repeatedly in Colossians 1 and 2, speaking of how the gospel had come

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to the believers in that city, says bearing fruit and increasing among them.

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How the believers in Colossae were increasing in the knowledge of God and how we should

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hold fast to the head from whom the body grows with growth that is from God.

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So you're starting to see a trend here.

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Finally, Peter uses this word in both of his epistles.

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He writes like newborn babies long for the pure milk of the word so by it you may grow.

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And then he speaks of growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

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So all of those verses, all the use of this particular word in the Greek, lets us know

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what the biblical writers envision when they talk about growth.

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And it's always connected to knowing Christ on a deeper level, abiding with Him, knowing

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His word, moving towards spiritual maturity, bearing spiritual fruit, and to things like

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grace and faith.

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So that's what the biblical writers mean when they talk about growing.

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Interestingly, you don't see any of this related to growing in numerical size.

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It's always growing in depth as individual worshipers.

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Make sense?

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Are you with me?

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And using Paul's metaphor, this type of growth is produced through watering.

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How many of you guys like the garden?

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Are you like me?

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Do you spend way too much time, especially in summer, out watering?

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It's important, otherwise what happens?

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Things die.

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They die.

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Okay, good.

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That was not a trick question.

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But this is what pastors and elders and teachers are called to do in the church.

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We're to water the church.

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Now it's funny, Grant's gonna laugh at this.

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He contacted me two days ago and said, what do you want to title the sermon?

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I said watering the church.

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And he laughed at that.

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He said no.

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That just sounds weird.

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And I get that.

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But really, watering the church is a truth and a reality because watering a plant does

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produce growth.

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I love gardening.

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Ask my wife.

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I spend far too much time in the backyard with a hose.

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But I love it.

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And I've seen this for myself.

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Water has all these amazing functions which causes growth.

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It produces, how many of you guys remember Ross, help him out, photosynthesis.

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What year was that in school?

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Eighth grade maybe, something like that?

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Really that, five, fifth grade.

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Okay, fifth grade.

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That's the process which allows plants to convert sunlight into energy.

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And we know that water is essential for root development and root growth, right?

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As the plant absorbs water, it creates a pressure in the roots that drives them deeper into

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the soil.

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And when they go deeper into the soil, you see more growth on the outside, right?

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Water also plays an essential role in transporting minerals and nutrients from the soil to different

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parts of the plant.

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It also, water helps to regulate temperature so plants don't wilt, especially in the heat

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of Santa Clarita.

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And as you hear that, I hope you hear all the comparisons with spiritual growth.

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God knows what he's doing when he gives us metaphors like this, especially from agriculture.

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As believers, we're energized, I'm not going to say photosynthesized, but we're energized

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by teaching.

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Our spiritual roots develop and grow deeper into the soil with good teaching.

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Through teaching, we're nourished and by it, our spiritual temperature is regulated so

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that we endure and we don't wilt.

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So there's so many amazing comparisons here.

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So I want you to hold on to that thought of watering because we'll come back to it later.

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Now back to our text, there is an interesting tension now in verse seven that we should

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resolve.

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In other parts of the New Testament, we're told that leaders and teachers should be honored

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and appreciated.

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But verse seven seems to say something different, but don't get confused.

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The reason that Paul says that leaders and teachers are not anything in this context

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is specifically tied to results, spiritual results.

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You should honor and appreciate those who teach and lead you.

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But compared to God, who provides 100% of the power to grow, people like me are nothing.

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And I'm okay with that because I can't produce the results.

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And that is the point that Paul is making here.

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Now go to verse eight.

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Now he who plants and he who waters are, are what?

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Are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

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So here you see Paul talking about this unity and oneness.

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And listen, servants who lead and teach in the church should be one, whether they plant

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or whether they water.

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We should all have our eyes fixed on the kingdom, fixed on Jesus, not to building our own little

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kingdoms.

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And this is a problem we see in the church today, right?

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We should all be looking at Christ and his kingdom, not building our own little fiefdoms.

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Always pointing to him and not drawing attention to ourselves.

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That is a huge problem in our culture today in this sort of celebrity pastor culture that

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we live in.

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We're not to draw attention to ourselves.

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We're always to point people to Christ.

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So we're to be one in that.

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We're to be one in love, one in purpose, one in mission, one in our dependence upon God,

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one in love for the sheep, and one in our teaching of the essentials of the faith.

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That's what Paul's getting at here.

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So Paul says to the Corinthians, look, me, Apollos, Peter, pick any of us.

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We are one in all of these things.

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So don't make us, don't make us the means for you guys having quarrels and divisions.

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00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:21,160
And then in verse 9, our last verse, we see Paul now switch metaphors, and it's very interesting.

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He says, for we are God's fellow workers, me, Apollos, Peter, all of us, we're fellow

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workers, you are God's field, that's the planting and watering.

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But then he says, you are also God's building.

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So Christ is building his church as a great temple for his glory, and guys, every single

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one of you here who's found in Christ, you're part of that building.

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Sometimes we forget that.

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Christ is building this superstructure, this thing called the church, and we are all a

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part of that.

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Now, we don't have time to go through it today, but Paul's going to go on to talk about this

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structure that's being built and how it's built on a particular foundation, the only

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00:24:00,360 --> 00:24:04,980
foundation that's valid, that arises from that foundation.

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00:24:04,980 --> 00:24:09,360
But the picture's the same, whether you're talking about agriculture or construction,

417
00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:10,680
the picture's the same.

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Planting the field corresponds with laying the foundation.

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And then watering the field corresponds with building the structure.

420
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That's a picture of growth.

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One is a picture of the base, and the other is a picture of growth.

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Does that make sense?

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Okay, so that's part one of our study today.

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I want you to hold that thought, because now we need to look sort of at the other side

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00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:33,760
of the coin.

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So we're going to go to James chapter four.

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James chapter four.

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And then drop down to verse 13.

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Now, James is another one of those letters where there is a ton of warning and correction.

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And James has just been warning the early church about the wickedness of our tongues,

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the way we speak to each other, so be careful.

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And then he's also talked about the things that cause quarrels and divisions among us.

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And now in verse 13, he gives us another warning.

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He says, come now, you who say today or tomorrow, we will go to such and such a city and spend

435
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:24,200
a year there and engage in business and make a profit.

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00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:28,680
So James is reprimanding folks in the church who are actually acting in a way similar to

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00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:30,720
those Corinthians.

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00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:32,560
They're just out there doing their own thing.

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00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:37,640
They're planning their lives, being led by the flesh and not considering God at all.

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00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:38,640
Right?

441
00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,120
They're acting like spiritual infants, not being led by the spirit.

442
00:25:43,120 --> 00:25:44,360
So what do they plan to do?

443
00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:47,120
Five things that these people are absolutely sure of.

444
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Ready?

445
00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:54,400
When I'm going to leave, today or tomorrow, where I plan to arrive at such and such a

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00:25:54,400 --> 00:26:02,400
city, how much time I'll spend there, a year, what I'll do when I get there, engage in business,

447
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:07,440
and finally what the results are going to be and turn to profit.

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00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,920
Now every time we read this passage, there's this logical question that pops up in our

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00:26:10,920 --> 00:26:11,920
brain.

450
00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:12,920
Hold on a second now.

451
00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:14,480
Does that mean we can't plan a trip?

452
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:16,280
Are we not supposed to plan a trip?

453
00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:20,480
Are we not supposed to make any plans about what we do when we get there?

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No.

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00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,960
But hold on to that thought because let's see what else James has to say.

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00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:31,160
Verse 14, yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.

457
00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:33,720
That's the day he planned to leave, right?

458
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,560
You don't know what your life's going to be.

459
00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:39,360
You're just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

460
00:26:39,360 --> 00:26:42,000
Now everybody in this room understands this principle.

461
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:43,280
We see it played out every day.

462
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:48,840
Our life is a mist that appears and then disappears very, very quickly, right?

463
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:53,440
And the point that James is making is that our lives are utterly fragile.

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00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:57,240
They could be taken away today, right, for everyone in this room.

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00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:58,820
And we should know that.

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00:26:58,820 --> 00:27:04,460
So if you're planning, if you're looking down the road, James says, you have to take this

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00:27:04,460 --> 00:27:05,760
truth into account.

468
00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:06,760
You are a vapor.

469
00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:09,680
Now that doesn't mean stop planning altogether.

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In fact, we know in other places of scripture, planning and investing is actually honored

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00:27:14,860 --> 00:27:16,860
by the Lord, right?

472
00:27:16,860 --> 00:27:20,120
So it doesn't mean we should stop taking the future into consideration at all.

473
00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:23,720
By the way, it also doesn't mean that we should just become hermits because some people do

474
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:24,720
this, right?

475
00:27:24,720 --> 00:27:27,840
They'll take a truth like this and go, well, I guess I just need to sit in my apartment

476
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:30,760
and be a hermit and wait till the vapor of my life ends.

477
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:34,240
Okay, so we don't want to do that either, right?

478
00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:39,640
The point is, if we've truly adopted a biblical worldview, it means that the fragility of

479
00:27:39,640 --> 00:27:45,380
life is going to inform and shape the way we think about the future, right?

480
00:27:45,380 --> 00:27:50,720
This fact that we are a mist or a vapor is going to inform the way we make plans about

481
00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:51,720
our future.

482
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:53,080
And you should know this.

483
00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:55,220
Your mindset matters to God.

484
00:27:55,220 --> 00:27:57,480
Your worldview matters to God.

485
00:27:57,480 --> 00:28:02,900
He doesn't want you to just go and do things, just go and do things with your physical body.

486
00:28:02,900 --> 00:28:08,800
He wants you to go and do those things with certain attitudes and convictions in all things

487
00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:12,080
because we do all things to the glory of God.

488
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:16,720
And part of that is remembering how short life is and how we should hold all things

489
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:20,880
loosely because life is so short.

490
00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:26,020
Just in case God has a different plan than you planned for, right?

491
00:28:26,020 --> 00:28:27,020
Or a different road.

492
00:28:27,020 --> 00:28:28,680
He says, look, I know you've got these plans.

493
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:31,720
I have a different road for you and I'm always good.

494
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,800
It might be hard, but it's good for you.

495
00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:36,160
And that's what I've ordained for you.

496
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:41,880
So we hold all things loosely in light of the fact that our lives are a vapor.

497
00:28:41,880 --> 00:28:44,160
Then verse 15 is the positive exhortation.

498
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,040
Instead, here's what you should do, he says.

499
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:52,440
You should say, if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.

500
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,840
So that is the correct heart posture that Christians should have.

501
00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:02,480
Whenever we look at making New Year's resolutions or we talk about planning for the future,

502
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:04,760
if the Lord wills.

503
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:11,120
Now that doesn't mean just tacking that statement onto everything that we want.

504
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:13,060
I know I've done this.

505
00:29:13,060 --> 00:29:14,240
I'm guilty of this.

506
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:15,880
We've all done this, right?

507
00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:20,840
We say something really bold, bordering on boasting, and then we go, oh, if the Lord

508
00:29:20,840 --> 00:29:22,200
wills.

509
00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:23,920
Right?

510
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:26,100
And we sort of catch ourselves.

511
00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:28,400
It's not a magic formula.

512
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,680
We can't just make all these plans and just tack that on.

513
00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:35,720
The question is, do we really mean that if the Lord wills?

514
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:39,160
Do we really mean that we'll submit to God's will and give up our own?

515
00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:41,400
Do we really mean that?

516
00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:46,500
It's not Christianese that we just tack on for the sake of sounding good.

517
00:29:46,500 --> 00:29:48,200
It's an actual heart posture.

518
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:52,080
Yes, we should say it out loud, by the way, as a reminder to one another, because that's

519
00:29:52,080 --> 00:29:53,580
the instruction here.

520
00:29:53,580 --> 00:29:57,920
But the words from our lips are less important than whether or not we affirm that in our

521
00:29:57,920 --> 00:29:58,920
hearts.

522
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:03,220
Because when it's true in our own hearts, what are we basically saying?

523
00:30:03,220 --> 00:30:04,980
God is sovereign and I'm not.

524
00:30:04,980 --> 00:30:07,240
God is in control and I'm not.

525
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:10,840
And we're acknowledging that the days that we have on the earth are in His hands.

526
00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:14,000
All of our movements are in His hands.

527
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,960
All of our vacation plans are in His plans.

528
00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:20,960
All the things that we want to accomplish, they're all in His hands.

529
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:29,160
And the accomplishments, the results that come out of it, especially are in His hands.

530
00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:30,600
And these things matter to our God.

531
00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:31,600
He's good, right?

532
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:36,160
And He's going to direct us, but we have to make sure that we're submitted to His will.

533
00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:43,080
Now, is there a deeper problem behind just not saying or thinking or feeling Lord's will?

534
00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:46,080
There is a deeper problem, right?

535
00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:48,000
Look at verse 16.

536
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,200
Here's the diagnosis that James has.

537
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:53,980
As it is, you boast in your arrogance, he says.

538
00:30:53,980 --> 00:30:59,380
And all such boasting is, heavy word, evil.

539
00:30:59,380 --> 00:31:06,180
The root problem behind this planning, this casting a vision without considering God's

540
00:31:06,180 --> 00:31:09,400
will is arrogance.

541
00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:10,400
It's pride.

542
00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:14,120
And in the grand scheme of things, James says it's actually evil.

543
00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:17,860
So that's a serious warning, right?

544
00:31:17,860 --> 00:31:19,640
Now let's be clear again.

545
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:21,500
Everything is okay.

546
00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:23,540
Doing business is okay.

547
00:31:23,540 --> 00:31:25,940
Making a profit is okay.

548
00:31:25,940 --> 00:31:32,280
The problem is pridefully ignoring God's will and believing that you can control it all,

549
00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:36,680
that you are sovereign, right?

550
00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:38,400
Just so we get the balance there, right?

551
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:42,040
Because I know we have a tendency to like swing the pendulum, get the balance right

552
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:43,040
here.

553
00:31:43,040 --> 00:31:47,880
It's thinking that you can in your own power make things happen according to your will

554
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:52,960
rather than submitting all of your plans and all of your days to the Lord's sovereign hand.

555
00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:55,860
By the way, Jesus talked about this too.

556
00:31:55,860 --> 00:32:00,320
He tells this great parable in Luke chapter 12 about a rich man who'd run into a really

557
00:32:00,320 --> 00:32:01,780
good problem.

558
00:32:01,780 --> 00:32:06,020
His crops were doing so well that he had no more space in his barn.

559
00:32:06,020 --> 00:32:09,020
So you may remember this passage.

560
00:32:09,020 --> 00:32:10,020
Here's the parable.

561
00:32:10,020 --> 00:32:14,840
Jesus says, and this man began reasoning to himself saying, well, what should I do since

562
00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,680
I have no place to store my crops?

563
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:21,880
And he said, this is what I will do.

564
00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:24,800
Now, catch all the I wills in this.

565
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:26,600
This is what I will do.

566
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:30,280
I will tear down my barns and build larger ones.

567
00:32:30,280 --> 00:32:35,040
And there I will store all of my grain and my goods.

568
00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:43,040
And I will say to my soul, soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come.

569
00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:46,280
I've got plenty, he says, for many years to come.

570
00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:50,160
So take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

571
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:51,560
We know how the story ends, right?

572
00:32:51,560 --> 00:32:57,280
But God said to him, you fool, this very night your soul is required of you.

573
00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:01,380
And now who will own what you have prepared?

574
00:33:01,380 --> 00:33:06,300
So it's a reminder that God controls the future, right?

575
00:33:06,300 --> 00:33:11,760
We can make all the plans we want, but God controls the results.

576
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:14,240
And I want to share with you something this morning.

577
00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:20,920
Apart from his sovereign will, there is no security in this life.

578
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,800
We can fool ourselves, numb ourselves into thinking we're secure.

579
00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:26,960
There's no security.

580
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:28,200
We've seen this just recently.

581
00:33:28,200 --> 00:33:33,400
We're just one terrorist attack away from tragedy, right?

582
00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:39,600
We're just one economic crash away from ruin, right?

583
00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:43,600
Even in a nation, I mean, we can sometimes fall back on, yeah, but we're America.

584
00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:45,040
We're so big and powerful.

585
00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:49,960
Listen, that can fall apart in a day.

586
00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,860
We live in a very unstable world right now.

587
00:33:52,860 --> 00:33:55,720
So what are you trusting in this morning?

588
00:33:55,720 --> 00:33:57,240
Where is your security rooted?

589
00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:01,800
Or are you just around, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that.

590
00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,680
I can control it.

591
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:07,160
What are you trusting in this morning?

592
00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:11,760
Years ago, I read this really short but insightful blog article from a Christian author.

593
00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,200
I'm going to read a portion of it to you.

594
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:17,780
She describes herself as one of those type A planners.

595
00:34:17,780 --> 00:34:21,800
You guys know who I'm talking about, right?

596
00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:25,000
No comment.

597
00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:30,000
But after years of her battling her own will in her planning, she came to this wonderful

598
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:31,000
realization.

599
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:32,800
Let me read to you what she realized.

600
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:34,520
This took years, she said.

601
00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:36,640
She says, I'm out of control.

602
00:34:36,640 --> 00:34:40,280
I mean, that's a good start.

603
00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:44,800
She says, I literally do not have control of my life.

604
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:50,800
I can get all my ducks in a row and create a foolproof blueprint for the year or the

605
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:52,960
month or the week ahead.

606
00:34:52,960 --> 00:35:00,640
But no matter how disciplined and diligent I am, it never goes the way I think it should.

607
00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:02,040
Anybody else?

608
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:05,720
Typically, it goes something like this, she writes.

609
00:35:05,720 --> 00:35:11,920
I make a plan or set a goal that's good and healthy, maybe even holy.

610
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:16,520
Then something happens that diverts my course and I have to shift.

611
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:18,120
And this is what I've learned.

612
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:19,120
Here's the big idea.

613
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:20,700
This is what I've learned, she writes.

614
00:35:20,700 --> 00:35:23,680
There's nothing wrong with making that shift.

615
00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:28,400
Even though it means I failed to accomplish my original goal, I actually accomplished

616
00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:29,800
something better.

617
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:34,680
I followed where God led me, even when it was in a different direction than I had planned.

618
00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:39,520
I adjusted my goal to align with His will.

619
00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:40,520
Sounds simple, right?

620
00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:42,520
But not easy to do.

621
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:45,960
And then she finishes, to be honest, I don't always do this.

622
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:50,100
I don't always attain such faithful flexibility.

623
00:35:50,100 --> 00:35:54,760
Sometimes I dig in my heels and stubbornly attempt to do it all, to fulfill my own desires

624
00:35:54,760 --> 00:36:01,120
while simultaneously obeying God's commands, even if that is completely impossible.

625
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:04,600
It's hard to let go of the reins sometimes, she writes.

626
00:36:04,600 --> 00:36:09,120
But I think I can truthfully say that I've improved over the years because the more I

627
00:36:09,120 --> 00:36:14,600
know God, the more I trust Him in the perfection of His ways.

628
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:17,040
Now that will preach.

629
00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:18,320
That will preach, right?

630
00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:23,600
Can we all affirm that that is a good word for every single one of us, especially Americans,

631
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:26,120
especially our type A planners?

632
00:36:26,120 --> 00:36:27,120
That's a good word.

633
00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:28,120
Okay.

634
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:35,560
Now, let me just summarize, we have two important principles at work here.

635
00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:38,440
This is where I want to head as we talk really practically.

636
00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:39,440
Two important principles.

637
00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:42,880
First, we have the example of Apollos and Corinth.

638
00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:46,440
We are to water the church.

639
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:51,680
And we're to do that through excellence, through solid teaching, through biblical worship,

640
00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:56,200
through rich fellowship, through exhortation and correction, and building one another up

641
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:58,280
and practicing the one another's.

642
00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:03,520
We have to plan and prepare and strive to do all those things, right?

643
00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:05,760
Those are things we're commanded to do in Scripture.

644
00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:07,000
We have to strive and do that.

645
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:11,740
And yes, trust me, as elders, we are planning to do these things well.

646
00:37:11,740 --> 00:37:13,760
We are preparing to do them well.

647
00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:16,040
We want to strive to do them well.

648
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:21,540
And yet at the same time, we cannot get ahead of God.

649
00:37:21,540 --> 00:37:23,280
We cannot get ahead of God.

650
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:29,920
We dare not say, well, we're going to do this or that this year at Oak Hill without saying

651
00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:33,280
if that's God's will.

652
00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,440
This is what we call the limiting principle, right?

653
00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:37,080
You can cast vision all day long.

654
00:37:37,080 --> 00:37:39,040
You can say we're going to plan and prepare.

655
00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:40,840
This is the limiting principle.

656
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:43,840
If God wills.

657
00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:48,000
And by saying that in our hearts, we're acknowledging that even if our plans are good and healthy,

658
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:52,000
even holy, God may turn us in a different direction.

659
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,960
Yes, we need to have that faithful flexibility.

660
00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:58,280
Guys, it's not that long ago that COVID hit us.

661
00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:01,640
Did you talk about having to be flexible?

662
00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:03,080
Have we forgotten that lesson?

663
00:38:03,080 --> 00:38:05,280
We had great plans for that year.

664
00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:06,280
Kaboom.

665
00:38:06,280 --> 00:38:07,280
Gone.

666
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:08,280
Diverted.

667
00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:11,280
You know, recalculating.

668
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:12,280
Yeah.

669
00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:20,560
So can we hold all things loosely here at Oak Hill and trust that the Lord is going

670
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:25,520
to be good and faithful no matter where he takes us?

671
00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:28,820
And it may not be anywhere we expect to go right now.

672
00:38:28,820 --> 00:38:30,960
Do we keep planning and preparing?

673
00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:32,220
Absolutely.

674
00:38:32,220 --> 00:38:36,320
But then we hold it all loosely and say, okay, Lord, if it's your will.

675
00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,640
Does that make sense?

676
00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:42,920
That's really, I know it's a simple message, but that has got to get ingrained in our heads

677
00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:47,280
and hearts because we all have our own idea of what ministry should look like in a local

678
00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:48,840
church.

679
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:53,240
So we strive and we plan and we prepare, but then we trust the Lord for the results.

680
00:38:53,240 --> 00:38:54,240
Okay.

681
00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:58,040
As I wrap up, let me just share with you then a list of things that are on the hearts of

682
00:38:58,040 --> 00:38:59,640
your elder team here at Oak Hill.

683
00:38:59,640 --> 00:39:04,420
Things that we see, we've talked about this at our meetings, room for growth in our body.

684
00:39:04,420 --> 00:39:10,800
Things that we can focus our attention on in 2025 as we plan and prepare and as we open

685
00:39:10,800 --> 00:39:16,800
our hands to say, all right, Lord, this is what we see, but if it be your will.

686
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:18,320
Amen?

687
00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:23,280
So if you or I were to, if we were going to create a list of resolutions, I know some

688
00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:27,200
of you guys are completely against this, but hang with me here.

689
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:32,920
If we were going to create a list of resolutions for the new year, the highest priority on

690
00:39:32,920 --> 00:39:39,140
every one of our lists is an absolute no brainer because it comes straight out of scripture.

691
00:39:39,140 --> 00:39:44,880
And that is to once again return to our first love.

692
00:39:44,880 --> 00:39:51,120
To come back to Christ, to rekindle a passion for him and for his kingdom, to put Jesus

693
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:53,780
at the center of our lives.

694
00:39:53,780 --> 00:39:56,960
And to illustrate what this should look like, I want to just give you a picture.

695
00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:59,920
That is what we call a wagon wheel.

696
00:39:59,920 --> 00:40:04,720
And a wagon wheel is one of the most simple, simply constructed things you can imagine.

697
00:40:04,720 --> 00:40:07,760
There's really just three parts to it, right?

698
00:40:07,760 --> 00:40:11,000
There's the outer rim, which, or the tire.

699
00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:15,960
There's the spokes in the middle, and then what's that thing at the center called?

700
00:40:15,960 --> 00:40:17,180
What is it called?

701
00:40:17,180 --> 00:40:18,180
The hub.

702
00:40:18,180 --> 00:40:19,180
Dave?

703
00:40:19,180 --> 00:40:22,480
Where's Dave?

704
00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,560
That's called the hub, right.

705
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:27,800
The hub is clearly at the center of the wheel.

706
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:30,160
Nothing works without the hub.

707
00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:33,440
And then the spokes are connected from the hub to the tire.

708
00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:40,400
Now, if your life were organized as a wagon wheel, I know that sounds strange.

709
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:47,520
If your life was organized as a wagon wheel, what would be at the center?

710
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:53,120
What is the hub of your life?

711
00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:56,720
That's actually a more complex question than you can imagine.

712
00:40:56,720 --> 00:40:58,480
But be honest with yourself right now.

713
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:00,280
What is it the hub of your life?

714
00:41:00,280 --> 00:41:03,000
Biblically, we know the answer.

715
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:04,680
It's got to be Christ and his kingdom.

716
00:41:04,680 --> 00:41:07,480
That's got to be at the center of every Christian's life.

717
00:41:07,480 --> 00:41:11,720
And then the spokes of the wheel represent other things that are also very important

718
00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:12,720
in life.

719
00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:15,520
Because our lives are not, they're multi-dimensional, right.

720
00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:17,520
There's a lot of important things in life.

721
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:19,800
But there's only one thing at the center.

722
00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:21,520
So the spokes represent important things.

723
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:27,240
Our spouses, our children, our friends, our jobs, our homes, our hobbies, our free time,

724
00:41:27,240 --> 00:41:29,720
all kinds of things, right.

725
00:41:29,720 --> 00:41:33,280
And they spring out of the hub, which is Christ.

726
00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:37,720
And it's he who gives shape and meaning to all of those important spokes.

727
00:41:37,720 --> 00:41:40,360
Does that make sense?

728
00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:43,600
It's a simple illustration, but I think it's very important.

729
00:41:43,600 --> 00:41:45,520
Here's the problem now.

730
00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:51,040
For far too many professing Christians today, Christ and his kingdom are not at the hub

731
00:41:51,040 --> 00:41:52,040
of their lives.

732
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:54,760
They are.

733
00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:56,240
They are.

734
00:41:56,240 --> 00:41:58,220
They have put themselves at the center.

735
00:41:58,220 --> 00:42:00,300
They are their own hub.

736
00:42:00,300 --> 00:42:04,620
And they'll say, but Jesus is one of the spokes.

737
00:42:04,620 --> 00:42:10,780
The kingdom of God is one of the important spokes, but I'm at the center.

738
00:42:10,780 --> 00:42:12,600
That's just the reality.

739
00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:13,600
I've been there.

740
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:15,500
Look, I've been there myself.

741
00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:18,960
There are times when I put myself at the hub.

742
00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:19,960
But Christ is God.

743
00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:22,160
That's his place.

744
00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:24,560
That's his throne.

745
00:42:24,560 --> 00:42:28,640
So for those folks who are at the center of their own lives, guess what?

746
00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:32,640
Christ and his word are no longer giving shape and meaning to the important things in their

747
00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:33,640
lives.

748
00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:34,640
They are.

749
00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:35,640
They're shaping it.

750
00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:36,640
They're forming it.

751
00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:38,800
Scripture doesn't drive their priorities and choices.

752
00:42:38,800 --> 00:42:40,520
I'm going to come back to it.

753
00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:43,780
They are like spiritual infants.

754
00:42:43,780 --> 00:42:49,920
They are driven by their own fleshly appetites and desires, not by Christ and his word, because

755
00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:51,280
they're at the center.

756
00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:53,820
They've put themselves there.

757
00:42:53,820 --> 00:42:57,720
And so for a lot of Christians today, church is a good thing.

758
00:42:57,720 --> 00:43:04,040
It's a spoke, but it's a compartmentalized thing here on the side that I occasionally

759
00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:07,120
dip into.

760
00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:09,120
But that's not the design.

761
00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:12,080
It's not how Christ has designed it.

762
00:43:12,080 --> 00:43:17,200
So look, I'm going to serve and I'm going to care and I'm going to dip my toe into body

763
00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:25,280
life here on occasion when it sort of fits into my life.

764
00:43:25,280 --> 00:43:27,040
It's hit or miss.

765
00:43:27,040 --> 00:43:31,320
It's subject to my personal needs and my wants, which makes sense.

766
00:43:31,320 --> 00:43:35,600
If you're at the center of your life, that's the way your Christian walk is going to be.

767
00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:40,480
That's the way your life in the church is going to be because you're on the throne.

768
00:43:40,480 --> 00:43:41,920
And it's a tenuous place to be.

769
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:42,920
This is my warning.

770
00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:44,120
This is the warning part.

771
00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:45,640
That's just a practical reality.

772
00:43:45,640 --> 00:43:47,240
And we've all been there at times.

773
00:43:47,240 --> 00:43:52,520
We just need to keep, look, we need to look at that hub or that the chair on the throne

774
00:43:52,520 --> 00:43:54,600
and keep getting off of it.

775
00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:59,120
You're saying I don't belong here, Jesus does.

776
00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:00,600
But it's a tenuous place to be.

777
00:44:00,600 --> 00:44:03,680
So this is the warning.

778
00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:08,520
When you're found in Christ, Paul says, you are not your own.

779
00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:11,720
You've been bought with a price.

780
00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:14,680
That's a hard reality.

781
00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:18,520
We love the fact that we've been redeemed, but Paul doesn't leave it there.

782
00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:22,000
He says, no, you're not your own.

783
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:27,280
You don't get to sit on that throne.

784
00:44:27,280 --> 00:44:29,520
And Jesus himself addressed this.

785
00:44:29,520 --> 00:44:32,680
He said, seek first what?

786
00:44:32,680 --> 00:44:35,500
The kingdom of God.

787
00:44:35,500 --> 00:44:40,120
Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the spokes will be added unto you.

788
00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:42,160
I'll handle all that, but seek me first.

789
00:44:42,160 --> 00:44:45,480
Put me in the hub.

790
00:44:45,480 --> 00:44:47,720
Amen.

791
00:44:47,720 --> 00:44:53,480
So as we look at resolutions for the year, if the wagon wheel of our lives is improperly

792
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:59,200
built and is faulty, that's the first adjustment we need to make in 2025.

793
00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:01,600
Because everything else springs from that.

794
00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:04,080
We've got to fix that construction in our lives.

795
00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:08,940
Next, next thing on our hearts for some of you, and I'm going to give you a list here.

796
00:45:08,940 --> 00:45:14,440
For some of you, it may be time to really consider moving towards membership in the

797
00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:16,560
local church.

798
00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:19,000
We've had lots of visitors at Oak Hill in recent months.

799
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:20,640
It's been so great.

800
00:45:20,640 --> 00:45:21,920
We love seeing it.

801
00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:27,400
It brings a great smile to the faces of our elders to see them all.

802
00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:33,480
But there comes a point when every single Christian has to say, all right, I need to

803
00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:35,600
move beyond attending.

804
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:43,000
I need to move beyond just watching to actual participation.

805
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:44,360
Right?

806
00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:47,080
Look, you may love attending here.

807
00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:50,880
You may enjoy the worship and the fellowship and the teaching and all that, and you keep

808
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:52,600
coming back, and that's wonderful.

809
00:45:52,600 --> 00:45:58,040
But I think there comes a time where the Spirit's going to ask you, say to your heart, are you

810
00:45:58,040 --> 00:45:59,040
going to commit?

811
00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:02,960
Are you going to covenant with an actual body of believers?

812
00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:06,040
Or are you just going to stand on the outside?

813
00:46:06,040 --> 00:46:10,280
Are you going to actually dive in and start living out the one another's which are commanded

814
00:46:10,280 --> 00:46:12,880
in Scripture?

815
00:46:12,880 --> 00:46:17,640
Commanded in the New Testament, loving, serving, caring, giving, encouraging, building up,

816
00:46:17,640 --> 00:46:20,480
showing hospitality, stirring up, exhorting.

817
00:46:20,480 --> 00:46:25,800
These are all things we are commanded to do in the midst of an actual body of believers,

818
00:46:25,800 --> 00:46:31,040
not theoretically, but an actual group of believers.

819
00:46:31,040 --> 00:46:35,120
So let that be a point of prayer for some of you in January 2025.

820
00:46:35,120 --> 00:46:41,480
Am I ready to move from dipping my toe in the water to diving all the way in?

821
00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:45,240
I knew that one would get some silence.

822
00:46:45,240 --> 00:46:48,600
Okay, second thing, some of you are members.

823
00:46:48,600 --> 00:46:53,680
You've committed to membership, but still, you're not as integrating in body life as

824
00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:55,520
you could be.

825
00:46:55,520 --> 00:46:59,680
You're not putting the energy, the time, or the heart into integration in the body.

826
00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:03,480
And so there's a lack of consistency, a lack of presence.

827
00:47:03,480 --> 00:47:06,220
And I'm going to say something hard.

828
00:47:06,220 --> 00:47:10,780
You're allowing others to minister to you without reciprocating.

829
00:47:10,780 --> 00:47:15,760
You're benefiting from all kinds of ministry from other people, but you're not giving it

830
00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:16,760
back.

831
00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:22,440
And by the way, this is a weakness in every single church on the earth, but it's something

832
00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:24,360
we need to talk about.

833
00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:28,280
We all need to be joining in the one another's of scripture.

834
00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:30,080
So this is a good point of prayer for some of you.

835
00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:31,440
Why am I holding back right now?

836
00:47:31,440 --> 00:47:35,720
I've joined, I've signed a covenant, but why am I holding back?

837
00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:41,080
Is there something that's blocking me from really diving in all the way?

838
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:43,240
Make sense?

839
00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:49,280
Next, let me share a few quick issues again that the elders have taken note of, things

840
00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:50,680
that we, areas that we can grow in.

841
00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:54,240
The first one is prayer.

842
00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:59,920
I think there's a great deal of room for growth in Oak Hill in terms of becoming a truly praying

843
00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:00,920
church.

844
00:48:00,920 --> 00:48:05,680
A church that we pray for ourselves, we pray for one another, we pray for the Lord to move

845
00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:06,800
amongst us.

846
00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:08,380
We're praying for our leaders.

847
00:48:08,380 --> 00:48:10,700
We're praying for spiritual fruit to be born.

848
00:48:10,700 --> 00:48:11,920
We're praying for outreach.

849
00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:15,240
We're praying to see unchurched people come to know the Lord.

850
00:48:15,240 --> 00:48:16,360
Are we a praying church?

851
00:48:16,360 --> 00:48:21,120
I think there's a lot of room for growth in this particular area, and we can exhort one

852
00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:26,640
another, right, to do this more because the prayers of a righteous man, of a righteous

853
00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:28,820
woman avail much.

854
00:48:28,820 --> 00:48:32,680
And if we, if we don't have, oftentimes it's because why?

855
00:48:32,680 --> 00:48:34,800
Because we haven't asked.

856
00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:35,800
So prayer.

857
00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:37,360
Here's a tough one.

858
00:48:37,360 --> 00:48:40,520
How about biblical parenting?

859
00:48:40,520 --> 00:48:42,080
We have a few children in our church.

860
00:48:42,080 --> 00:48:46,720
I don't know if you've heard this.

861
00:48:46,720 --> 00:48:51,680
Never an easy subject to tackle, but becoming more and more necessary every year.

862
00:48:51,680 --> 00:48:52,680
How are we doing?

863
00:48:52,680 --> 00:48:58,840
Parents, how are we doing at aligning our strategies for parenting with what scripture

864
00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:01,400
says?

865
00:49:01,400 --> 00:49:08,240
Are we being more driven by the latest trends, the latest magazine articles, the latest blogs,

866
00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:11,840
or are we lining up our parenting with what scripture says?

867
00:49:11,840 --> 00:49:15,180
Are we being consistent with those principles?

868
00:49:15,180 --> 00:49:20,020
And are we not judging others as we come to conviction, we're not judging others about

869
00:49:20,020 --> 00:49:24,600
how they're doing in this area and letting the Holy Spirit do that and not trying to

870
00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:26,260
play the Holy Spirit?

871
00:49:26,260 --> 00:49:30,360
There's a lot of dynamics here, but this is something that we should make a point of prayer,

872
00:49:30,360 --> 00:49:34,680
biblical parenting at Oak Hill.

873
00:49:34,680 --> 00:49:38,720
Next let's talk about our goal to become more consistent in looking outside the boundaries

874
00:49:38,720 --> 00:49:42,360
of our church, right?

875
00:49:42,360 --> 00:49:46,220
Can I just say that one of the things that is so great about our church is we love the

876
00:49:46,220 --> 00:49:47,220
fellowship here.

877
00:49:47,220 --> 00:49:48,840
I hear it all the time.

878
00:49:48,840 --> 00:49:49,960
We love each other well.

879
00:49:49,960 --> 00:49:52,000
That's literally the tagline of our church.

880
00:49:52,000 --> 00:49:53,080
Love each other well.

881
00:49:53,080 --> 00:49:57,320
And we do it and we love our church and it's a rich fellowship.

882
00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:03,760
But oftentimes when that happens in a church, it's a good thing, but we fail to look outside

883
00:50:03,760 --> 00:50:09,380
because we're so satisfied within and we're not really thinking about the unchurched.

884
00:50:09,380 --> 00:50:13,640
So friends, who are we building relationships right now that we can invite into this rich

885
00:50:13,640 --> 00:50:17,520
fellowship, right?

886
00:50:17,520 --> 00:50:20,800
Are we building relationships with coworkers and friends and neighbors that we can invite

887
00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:25,080
into this fellowship so that they can see what it looks like to be part of a healthy

888
00:50:25,080 --> 00:50:26,080
body?

889
00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:28,880
Guys, people are hurting out there right now.

890
00:50:28,880 --> 00:50:31,500
Did you know that they're struggling right now?

891
00:50:31,500 --> 00:50:33,640
We have answers.

892
00:50:33,640 --> 00:50:34,640
They want peace.

893
00:50:34,640 --> 00:50:36,280
They want to overcome anxiety.

894
00:50:36,280 --> 00:50:39,520
They want to know what's going to happen in this world.

895
00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:40,520
They want security.

896
00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:42,520
We have answers.

897
00:50:42,520 --> 00:50:43,960
We just have to start conversations.

898
00:50:43,960 --> 00:50:49,000
I thought last night I was like, we have this amazing evangelism table we call ambassadors

899
00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:50,680
well at the mall twice a week.

900
00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:54,360
By the way, we're the only church in Santa Clarita that does this.

901
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:56,020
Little Oak Hill.

902
00:50:56,020 --> 00:50:59,060
Out there starting conversations about spiritual things.

903
00:50:59,060 --> 00:51:03,880
And it hit me, what if so many people in our church volunteered for that ministry that

904
00:51:03,880 --> 00:51:06,640
we had to start another one or two?

905
00:51:06,640 --> 00:51:13,180
And we had three different tables all over Santa Clarita starting spiritual conversations.

906
00:51:13,180 --> 00:51:18,020
We need to look outside the boundaries of our church.

907
00:51:18,020 --> 00:51:20,840
There's another thing on the hearts of our elder team.

908
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:26,040
Setting up the next generation of elders and deacons and ministry leaders here.

909
00:51:26,040 --> 00:51:32,080
Creating a pipeline of people who are committed to stepping up into service in the body.

910
00:51:32,080 --> 00:51:34,720
And so here's a challenge for every one of you.

911
00:51:34,720 --> 00:51:42,140
Are you on a path towards maturity where at least someday, someday you might put your

912
00:51:42,140 --> 00:51:46,760
hand up and say, put me in, coach.

913
00:51:46,760 --> 00:51:49,080
I'm ready to help.

914
00:51:49,080 --> 00:51:51,360
I want to become a leader.

915
00:51:51,360 --> 00:51:56,000
I don't maybe not even know what that looks like right now, but you go to somebody on

916
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:59,660
our elder team or one of our deacons and say, what do I need to do?

917
00:51:59,660 --> 00:52:04,720
Are you on that trajectory, that path to say someday, you know what, I'm not going to rely

918
00:52:04,720 --> 00:52:08,880
on other people serving me, leading me forever.

919
00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:11,280
Someday I want to be the one leading.

920
00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:14,440
That's not an arrogant thing if the Lord wills, right?

921
00:52:14,440 --> 00:52:21,040
But to say, I want to move towards maturity so that I can lead and I can serve, especially

922
00:52:21,040 --> 00:52:22,040
as I get older.

923
00:52:22,040 --> 00:52:26,360
Now there's a whole long list of other things we could talk about this morning.

924
00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:30,240
That's just sort of a short list, but these are really important points of prayer for

925
00:52:30,240 --> 00:52:32,040
us as a body, areas we can grow in.

926
00:52:32,040 --> 00:52:36,800
Now I'm going to leave you with one last one, and this is going to be a surprise, but I'm

927
00:52:36,800 --> 00:52:41,360
going to, I'm going to cast a vision and say, if the Lord wills, I want to bring up this

928
00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:42,360
last one.

929
00:52:42,360 --> 00:52:51,280
How do we found a building of our own?

930
00:52:51,280 --> 00:52:56,120
We've been talking more and more about this at our elder meetings.

931
00:52:56,120 --> 00:52:57,560
Look, we're content.

932
00:52:57,560 --> 00:53:01,360
God has given us this, PICO has been very good to us, the New Hall School District,

933
00:53:01,360 --> 00:53:02,360
very good to us.

934
00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:03,760
This is a great facility.

935
00:53:03,760 --> 00:53:07,400
There's a lot of really great things and we'll be, if God wants us to be here for another

936
00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:11,000
18 years, we will say, thank you Lord and be content.

937
00:53:11,000 --> 00:53:16,880
But there's nothing wrong with starting to pray big and to say, Lord, what if you gave

938
00:53:16,880 --> 00:53:19,840
us a gathering spot of our own?

939
00:53:19,840 --> 00:53:23,760
Listen, this is not, this is not about we're going to buy a $5 million piece of land and

940
00:53:23,760 --> 00:53:26,040
do a fundraiser and raise $20 million.

941
00:53:26,040 --> 00:53:27,880
We're not going into debt like that.

942
00:53:27,880 --> 00:53:33,520
All we're talking about is a lease somewhere that we could get into a place that we could

943
00:53:33,520 --> 00:53:34,680
gather on our own.

944
00:53:34,680 --> 00:53:35,680
Here's the point.

945
00:53:35,680 --> 00:53:38,040
It would be so transformative for our ministry.

946
00:53:38,040 --> 00:53:45,440
Right now we pay, we pay a lot of money for this place and we get it for five hours, five

947
00:53:45,440 --> 00:53:48,740
hours a week we get this place.

948
00:53:48,740 --> 00:53:53,000
What if we had a place, we actually had seven days a week.

949
00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:55,360
How much would that change the ministry here?

950
00:53:55,360 --> 00:53:57,520
Again, I don't want to get ahead of God.

951
00:53:57,520 --> 00:53:59,040
I want to see if the Lord wills.

952
00:53:59,040 --> 00:54:00,040
All of that stuff.

953
00:54:00,040 --> 00:54:01,200
We get that, right?

954
00:54:01,200 --> 00:54:03,540
But what if we started praying in this direction?

955
00:54:03,540 --> 00:54:07,040
What if we had our own children's classrooms?

956
00:54:07,040 --> 00:54:10,520
What would that mean for our acorn ministry?

957
00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:14,720
What if we had a place to gather for member communion, a place for community groups, a

958
00:54:14,720 --> 00:54:20,560
place where we could do counseling and discipleship, an actual church office for staff?

959
00:54:20,560 --> 00:54:32,100
I mean, I know you all love my home office and all when you FaceTime me, but it's home.

960
00:54:32,100 --> 00:54:36,280
But to be able to do all of those things in our own gathering spot without changing our

961
00:54:36,280 --> 00:54:41,000
DNA, that would be very important because we've always been a nomadic church for 18

962
00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:42,000
years.

963
00:54:42,000 --> 00:54:46,200
We have been, but it'd be a great challenge for us both financially and practically.

964
00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:47,200
Right?

965
00:54:47,200 --> 00:54:49,520
And again, we can be content, but we serve a great God.

966
00:54:49,520 --> 00:54:54,080
So it's okay to ask and just say, if you will, Lord, this would be really a blessing for

967
00:54:54,080 --> 00:54:56,480
our body in so many ways.

968
00:54:56,480 --> 00:54:57,760
All right.

969
00:54:57,760 --> 00:55:01,040
So I just put that out there and say, look, we want to be a praying church.

970
00:55:01,040 --> 00:55:02,040
Let's pray.

971
00:55:02,040 --> 00:55:03,040
Right?

972
00:55:03,040 --> 00:55:08,400
And in fact, I want to wrap up our message on that note and ask you to just bow your

973
00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:11,760
heads and let's pray about some of these things together.

974
00:55:11,760 --> 00:55:17,960
Can we do that?

975
00:55:17,960 --> 00:55:28,040
Father, I thank you this morning that your word is so practical in so many ways.

976
00:55:28,040 --> 00:55:34,080
The way it instructs us on how we should view the future, the mindset that we should have,

977
00:55:34,080 --> 00:55:41,660
the worldview that we should hold in our hearts related to the days, the months, the weeks,

978
00:55:41,660 --> 00:55:44,800
the years that you have ordained to give us.

979
00:55:44,800 --> 00:55:51,880
And so Lord, we take seriously our responsibility to do what we can down here on earth, to water

980
00:55:51,880 --> 00:55:58,240
the church and to strive and to plan and to prepare to grow in this coming year.

981
00:55:58,240 --> 00:56:04,620
But Lord, we also take seriously James's warning about making sure that we align our will with

982
00:56:04,620 --> 00:56:06,480
your will.

983
00:56:06,480 --> 00:56:10,120
So we want to do that together with one voice this morning as a body.

984
00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:13,080
Help us to find that healthy balance.

985
00:56:13,080 --> 00:56:18,640
Help us to trust in your sovereign outcomes for us, both in our individual lives and for

986
00:56:18,640 --> 00:56:19,640
our church body.

987
00:56:19,640 --> 00:56:20,640
Lord, we trust you.

988
00:56:20,640 --> 00:56:21,840
We know you are good.

989
00:56:21,840 --> 00:56:23,320
We know you are faithful.

990
00:56:23,320 --> 00:56:28,540
And whatever result you want to give us, we will take it because it's from your hands.

991
00:56:28,540 --> 00:56:31,040
So help us to hold things loosely, Lord.

992
00:56:31,040 --> 00:56:38,200
God, help us to put you first in all things, to make you the hub of our lives.

993
00:56:38,200 --> 00:56:43,100
For those who would consider moving towards membership, Lord, would you convict hearts

994
00:56:43,100 --> 00:56:45,360
if that's your will?

995
00:56:45,360 --> 00:56:49,660
For those who would consider becoming more integrated into body life to not just dip

996
00:56:49,660 --> 00:56:55,120
a toe in but to dive all the way in, if that's your will for them, Lord, will you convict

997
00:56:55,120 --> 00:56:56,120
their hearts?

998
00:56:56,120 --> 00:57:04,780
God, as a church, would you give us a greater emphasis on praying, which speaks to our trust

999
00:57:04,780 --> 00:57:08,040
in you, speaks to our acknowledging your sovereignty?

1000
00:57:08,040 --> 00:57:09,600
Help us to pray more.

1001
00:57:09,600 --> 00:57:15,200
Help us to be more concerned about the unchurched here in Santa Clarita, to look outside the

1002
00:57:15,200 --> 00:57:20,480
walls of our church, even as we celebrate what you're doing inside our church.

1003
00:57:20,480 --> 00:57:26,040
Father, would you give us guidance by your Spirit in our parenting that you would convict

1004
00:57:26,040 --> 00:57:29,440
us on the principles that we should be living by?

1005
00:57:29,440 --> 00:57:33,000
Guidance in raising up the next generation of leaders here at Oak Hill, Lord, would you

1006
00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:37,000
point people in that direction and give the elders eyes to see?

1007
00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:43,380
And God, for the possibility, if it be your will, that we might identify a building of

1008
00:57:43,380 --> 00:57:49,200
our own that we might be able to lease and enjoy seven days a week and that might increase

1009
00:57:49,200 --> 00:57:53,880
the effectiveness of our ministry and our lives together, if that's your plan, Lord,

1010
00:57:53,880 --> 00:57:55,920
if that's what's going to be best for us.

1011
00:57:55,920 --> 00:58:00,840
Lord, we just lay that at your throne and say, Lord, this would be the desire of our

1012
00:58:00,840 --> 00:58:01,840
heart.

1013
00:58:01,840 --> 00:58:06,900
But all of these things, Father, we submit them to you.

1014
00:58:06,900 --> 00:58:09,040
We submit them to you and we trust in you.

1015
00:58:09,040 --> 00:58:10,720
And Lord, we look forward.

1016
00:58:10,720 --> 00:58:15,000
I look forward to one year from now, if it be your will, that I would be able to stand

1017
00:58:15,000 --> 00:58:18,640
up behind this pulpit and say, look what God has done.

1018
00:58:18,640 --> 00:58:22,080
And we would celebrate you, not celebrate what we've done, but celebrate what you've

1019
00:58:22,080 --> 00:58:25,000
done and that we give you all the glory for it.

1020
00:58:25,000 --> 00:58:29,280
So Father, help us to be a praying church, help us to take these things outside of this

1021
00:58:29,280 --> 00:58:34,640
building this morning and continue to lift them up to you again for your glory and for

1022
00:58:34,640 --> 00:58:35,640
our good, we pray.

1023
00:58:35,640 --> 00:58:42,640
Amen.