With that said, this is Lewis. Lewis is an eight
-year -old English Bulldog. And if you know anything
about Bulldogs, that's like eight to 12 is about
their lifespan. If you make it to eight, it's
a pretty good time. So he's batting above his
average at the moment. With that, Lewis is my
reminder that we are just camping. Lately, I
found that every day that I get with him feels
like a bonus. It feels like something special.
I'm aware that he's not going to be around forever.
And it reminds me that I'm just camping. And
so I thought I'd bring him along just to remind
you all that we're just camping. Come on, buddy.
You can sit. And we'll see what he does. He's
a wild... He's a wild card today. So he's just
going to do what he does and we're just going
to go along for the ride. So I was just camping
this past week in Miami. And what I mean by that
is we ended up at the airport and we're walking
through the airport and there's this really long
line. And as we're walking along, I asked my
son -in -law, Noah, I go, hey man, what's the
line for? What's everybody lining up? And he
goes, I think it's the cancellations. He goes,
I just heard that Charlotte canceled its third
flight. And I was like, oh, I didn't even know
there was weather. Where we were, everything
was fine. So we get to our gate, and all of a
sudden at our gate, they go, hey, we have overbooked
this plane by 12 people. We're looking for 12
people that are willing to get off this flight,
and we'll pay you $3 ,000 a person to get off
the flight. To which I am texting my wife as
fast as I can. The Wi -Fi did not work. That
is my story, and I'm sticking to it. So she's
over in another spot. She comes back. I'm like,
babe, go get in line. We were too late. And so
then they go, okay, your flight's a little delayed,
but we're going to board you anyways. We're going
to get you on there. And so we begin to taxi
out. We get out on the tarmac, and all of a sudden
we come just to a dead halt. And they go. We're
trying to work with the air traffic. It's kind
of convenient that the airlines blame the air
traffic controllers. They're like, they're figuring
out a route for us around this storm. We think
we have one. We move a little further. They stop
again. They're like, no, we were wrong. We're
going back to the gate. So we go back to the
gate. It's like mid -afternoon at this point
and moving towards dinner. And we're like, okay,
we're fine if we get on a flight. It just means
a long day. So new crew comes, same plane. They
board us back on the same plane. We head out
onto the tarmac again. We figured out a route.
We get stopped again and they go, we don't think
the route's gonna work. I'm like, you couldn't
have told us this like back there. So now what
you need to know about the story, we went on
vacation with our oldest and her husband and
our 14 month old grandson. So a 14 -month -old
on a plane that's not going nowhere, that's a
good time, right? Like mama's in high mama mode,
like just entertainment for quite a while. So
we're sitting on the thing. They go, we're going
to head back towards the gate, but we're going
to park you off to the side because we think
we can figure this out. Well, then they come
on. Every 15 minutes, this guy gets on the radio.
This guy, the captain gets on the radio. And
he goes, I told you I'd be back in 15 minutes.
I got no new information. He did this for an
hour, right? And then he goes, well, it turns
out, folks, that we don't have enough fuel to
get around south to get around this thing, and
we can't put enough fuel on the plane to do that.
So we're heading back to the gate. Well, now
it's about 11 o 'clock at night. 11 .10, they
cancel the flight. I look at Noah, I go, you
gotta go get in that line. So he's gone, right?
Noah's out, or my wife told him to go get in
the line. He's gone, he's running down. And we
figure out that you can rebook through the app.
So we rebooked the earliest flight. This was
Monday, the earliest flight is Thursday. And
so we're like, okay, cool, we're in Miami. We're
just camping. So we go down to the baggage claim
to get our bags. And while we're sitting at baggage
claim waiting, we're like, we gotta book a car.
And so we... Go to book a car. We booked the
Airbnb. It was one of the last ones available.
Hotels were ridiculous. There was barely any
rooms left. Crazy expensive. So we booked this
Airbnb and they go, you got to book a car. So
I booked the biggest thing I can find because
there's seven of us with a lot of luggage. And
we got a 14 -month -old and they come with an
entourage of luggage, right? So we booked this
thing. I should have known when I got to the
counter and the guy goes, oh, you booked the
limo van? I don't know much about limos, but
when you put it with a van, that sounds... It's
like something. And then he goes, you need to
sign this waiver to drive the thing. And I'm
like, I am definitely not qualified for this.
I can tell you right now. So in the midst of
that, we discover we're not getting our luggage.
Our luggage is staying on the plane and making
it to Phoenix days ahead of us. I'm like, you
can get my luggage there, but not me. How does
that work? Anyways, so they get our luggage.
Our luggage is gone. So now we got a limo van
for seven people. My kids, and then on top of
that, we're like, we have no necessity. We got
to go get the necessities. What's open? There
was one target that if we hit everything right,
we had 10 minutes to get the necessities. So
we get in the limo van. We're racing through
Miami in a limo van. That's a fun time. My kids
are bouncing, but it's okay because the ceiling's
high enough. They're not hitting their heads.
And we pull into the Target. We pull right up
to the door at Target. We got like eight minutes,
and it's like everybody spills out, and in we
go. And it's like, well, what do I need as necessities?
Well, I don't have any clean underwear, so let's
grab a pack of that. I don't have no T -shirts.
We'll grab a pack of that, and we'll grab some
sweats. That's how we're going to live for the
next however many days. Well, then we pull up
to our Airbnb, and it is in a sketchy neighborhood.
And we pull up in the limo van. You can't make
this stuff up. So we go to the door. We get the
key. We get the key out of the lockbox. We go
up to the door. The key doesn't fit the lock.
We're like, this has to be something. We're getting
punked by somebody right now, right? What I learned
from all that is really important who you camp
with. It's really important who's on the trip
with you. Right, it's really important that you
understand today, you were never meant to camp
alone. You were never meant to camp alone. That
what we inherited by birth on this fallen planet
is that we are isolated on a camping trip. And
that is not the intent that God had for you ever.
And what happens is if we're not careful, we
can let the story we inherited. blind us from
the story that's actually true. And what I mean
is this. We've been in 2 Corinthians chapter
5. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, we've been framing
up this whole idea of just camping, right? This
is temporary. This life is temporary. Eternity
is coming. And so on this camping trip, how do
we understand what it is and how do we live this
camping trip to the fullest? And then, you guys,
did you not enjoy Pastor Todd the last two weeks?
He is phenomenal. Phenomenal. So grateful for
the gifts that God has given him. But he talked
last week, if you were here, about this idea
that you are a new creation in Christ, that you've
been transformed, that you're not the same you
no more. That you've been completely transformed
by the person of Jesus, by the work of Jesus,
and now you are new, which means that because
you're new, what has been kind of rebirthed in
you is that you don't, you were a worshiper the
whole time. You don't have to worship idols no
more. You can worship God with your life. And
so he talked about this idea of being new. Verse
17, therefore. If anyone is in Christ, the new
creation has come, the old is gone, and the new
is here. Don't miss this. You are new today.
This isn't something you're waiting for. This
camping trip in the temporary body, I am not
the same person I was that didn't know Jesus.
I'm not the same person I was that was separated
from God. I am not the same person that I was
that is broken and has no help and can only be
selfish and live the way I want. That is not
true of me anymore because I've been transformed
to be in the image of Christ and I am new today.
You are brand new. So the question is, are you
living new? Or are we stuck with these old habits
that come, right? Because what we're told is
we're new. Then he says, part of the new is all
of this, all of this is from God. All of this
is from, you know what that tells me? There's
not one of us in this room that has said yes
to Jesus, that you did anything to deserve it.
You didn't earn it. You're not ahead of anybody
else. You're not cuter than anybody else. You're
not smarter than anybody else, and you figured
it out. God didn't just look at you and go, ooh,
look how cute and smart you are. What this tells
me is it's all from God. All you did was go,
he initiated, and all you did was went, I'll
take it. He gave it to you. You didn't ask to
be made new. He goes, I'm gonna make you new.
How am I gonna do it? I'm gonna show up in the
person of Jesus and you are going to be new today.
And so you have the privilege. You have the privilege
of living this newness of life. And he goes,
it's all from God. It's all by grace. Church,
let's never get bored of grace. Let's never get
to the point where we're like, well, we shouldn't
teach too much grace because all we have is grace.
Now, grace doesn't mean we don't put in effort
after, but all you have is grace. When you have
the newness, you have to live the newness. How
do you live the newness? It's going to take me
living my life in a specific way that God's called
me to. Right? It's going to call me to live in
a specific way where worship is the definition,
as Todd talked about last week. But here's the
thing. It's by grace. Don't mix those two. Because
if you mix those two, what you end up doing is
trying to earn the favor of God your entire life
and you never can. You never can. It will never
save you. All this is from God who reconciled
us to himself. How did he do it? Through Christ
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. We'll
talk about that next week. That God was reconciling
the world to himself. So God is reconciling the
world to himself. in Christ, not counting people's
sins against them. And he has committed to us
the ministry of reconciliation. So we'll get
into what we've been given with the ministry
of reconciliation next week. This week, I wanna
zero in on this idea that all this is from God
who has reconciled us, reconciled you and me
to himself through Christ. Like, okay, the Apostle
Paul wrote a lot of the New Testament that we
have, wrote a lot of the new letters. And when
he wrote those, one of the key themes that he
talks about is you and me as followers of Jesus
being reconciled to God. That tells me it's a
pretty important topic for us. That it's pretty
important that you understand what it means to
be reconciled, that if you don't understand what
it means to be reconciled to God, You will miss
what it means and the gift that you've been given
by grace of what it means to be new and what
you've actually been established between you
and God. You will always live out of sync with
the story of God. So what does the word reconciled
mean? Core definition is that you have been brought
into harmony. You have been brought into relational
harmony. The kind of the core around it is that
there's one that is a hostile enemy and one steps
in and removes that person from being a hostile
enemy, moves them into being a friend of the
other person, that they go from enemy to friend.
What that tells me today is when it says that
you have been reconciled, you have been made
in relational harmony through Christ. that God
has removed what was there, and what you have
today, it tells me this, that God is your friend.
God's your friend today. You think about that.
How many people live like God, like God's out
to get them? You have friends that you're out
to get? I sure hope not, right? You have people
that you're in relational harmony with, relational
wholeness? When you're in relational wholeness
with somebody, you're for them. I am for my wife.
I want to see her flourish in everything she
does. I wanna see her supported and cared for.
Why? Because we have relational harmony and the
harmony, what it does is it brings me to the
point where I want nothing but good for her.
She's my best friend. And what this is saying
between you and God is that you are a friend
of God today. He is not out to get you. So much
so that the story goes, remember, we're just
camping, right? And the story of just camping
is this is temporary. Eternity's coming. There
will be a day when you stand before the judge.
So much so that he has covered you for all of
eternity, that when you get to heaven and it's
judgment, he goes, I got this one. I'll pay for
it. Because you're a friend of God. When I stand
with the judge. I stand there as one who is in
relational harmony with the God Almighty of the
universe. Romans picks up on this and kind of
explains it a little bit more. Romans 5, verse
8. There we go. But God demonstrates his own
love for us. Pastor Todd talked about love compels
us. What compelled God Almighty to move towards
you? His love. What are you a living proof of?
When you receive the gospel of God, when you
receive grace, what are you now living proof
of? You are living proof that you are the demonstration
of God's love. When people go, does God really
love? They should be able to look at you and
go, wow, God loves that. He is love, right? But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this,
while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us. While we were still sinners, capture that
part. Since we have now been justified by his
blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's
wrath through him? So since we've been made right
by his blood, right? Verse 10, for if, for if
while we were enemies, we were reconciled to
him through the death of his son, how much more
having been reconciled shall we be saved through
his life? You catch what he says there? That
you, we tend to think we're pretty good people,
right? Like I'm a pretty good person. How you
meet people that don't know Jesus and they're
like, well, I've been good. What's interesting
with this is the definition that God gives those
that don't know him is that they are enemies.
They are opposed to the kingdom of God. And it
says that while you were opposed to the kingdom
of God, while you were an enemy. Jesus showed
up on your behalf to what? Bring relational harmony.
How did he do that? He removed the sin so that
you could have a relationship with him. And he
brought relationship harmony. Now here's what
it tells me, that if he did all that while you're
an enemy, imagine what he'll do when you're a
friend. Imagine what he'll do when you're a son
and daughter. That's what he's getting at. Imagine
how good this temporary life, how good God is
to us. Imagine how good eternity is gonna be
when he lavishes out. without the barriers of
sin, every ounce of good he has on his people.
I don't know about you, that makes me excited
for what's to come because I can't wait to see
it because I've tasted the goodness here. Imagine
how good it's gonna be there. And so what happens?
He goes, you've been reconciled, this relational
harmony. Sometimes it just helps to put like
a new, a new kind of thought behind a word. This
guy right here. It was quite comfy. Lewis was
not originally in our home. We had to go to a
place we'd never been before. Our daughter was
16 at the time, something like that, 15, 16.
And she'd always wanted a dog, and we'd always
said no. The time was never right. And finally,
I just made a decision like, babe, if we don't
do it now, we're never going to do it. Let's
go do this. And I was convinced if I was getting
one, it was going to be an English Bulldog, which
my wife to this day is like, you picked the wrong
breed. Like, all I do is clean his rolls, right?
And so we go down, and we enter a space we've
never been. We go into a home that's not our
home. And there's a little fenced area. In the
middle of this home, and Lewis is inside the
fenced area with another dog. And as we begin
to, you know, entertain, see which one matches
us, this guy will take love whenever you give
it to him. And we knew his temperament, we're
like, this is a dog for our family. But there
was a barrier between us and him. There was a
literal fence, if you like, between us and him.
And we had to pay the price to remove the barrier.
To which then we got to take him home. And when
we got to take him home, we also gave him a new
name. He wasn't called Lewis when we found him.
He got a whole new identity. And on top of that,
he got a whole new family. See, we weren't his
family until the price was paid and we got to
bring him with us. Now, what's crazy about it
is there was a point in this journey with him.
5 .30 in the morning, he woke me up and he couldn't
breathe. Now, you may be going, it doesn't sound
like he can breathe. No, he's doing good today.
But he was turning a little blue and I'm like,
babe, something's wrong. We got to get him to
the ER. So we take him to the animal ER and they're
like, yeah, his soft palate, his... pulled away
from the roof of his mouth. He's dying. We need
to do emergency surgery. So this guy goes in
for emergency surgery. They fix him up. He comes
out wagging his, well, he's kind of got a tail,
wagging his butt, right? You know what he didn't
do? He didn't pay. Guess who paid? This guy.
This guy, and my wife will tell you this, requires
more care. Like he's got special wipes for his
rolls because if not, they get sores in them,
right? So the special wipes that she has to do
every day. He has to have his eyes wiped. He
likes to eat multiple times a day. Guess who
pays for that? You see, the care that he needs
has been provided. The price that it costs for
this guy to stay alive has been provided by me.
When Jesus crossed the universe to a home that
was not his home, he walked in and there was
a barrier between him and people. And guess what
he did? I'll pay the price. I'll pay the price
to remove the barrier. What was the payment of
price to remove your sin? I'll pay the price
for their sin. And then what does he do? He takes
you and he creates a new home. And he not only
creates a new home for you, but guess what? He
puts you in a new family with a new identity
and a new name. And he goes, I'll cover the cost
for them. Who is your provider? It's God Almighty.
What is God Almighty doing? He's paying for your
tab. That's what he does. The care that you need,
he wipes your wrinkles. Why? Because he has reconciled
you. He came and he put you in relational harmony
with himself. Why? Because God has always wanted
to be on the camping trip with you. He made a
way so that he, so today, as you are just camping,
God is camping with you, but it gets even better.
If you go back to 2 Corinthians, we've read this
verse a bunch, but it's one that we just need
to remember. 2 Corinthians 5 .1, for we know
that if the earthly tent, this thing right here,
were destroyed, we live in is destroyed. We have
a building from God, an eternal house in heaven,
not built by human hands. Right, it's the guarantee
we started this whole collection with, that when
this earthly tent is laid down, and it will be,
that we have a permanent dwelling waiting for
us in our eternal home, because we are on the
journey home, and we have this eternal dwelling
that's waiting. Verse five then says this, because
that's true, now the one who has fashioned us
for this very purpose is God. You caught that,
right? God is a fashion designer. What did he
design? Tents. Your earthly tent was fashioned
by God. You are part of his collection as a designer,
which means that when you're walking along and
somebody goes, you look good, thanks. What are
you wearing? God. What line is that? God. I'm
part of his collection. He has fashioned you
for this trip. He has fashioned you for this
camping trip. And so then he goes, for this very
purpose is God who has given us, who has given
us the spirit. So the Holy Spirit as a deposit
guaranteeing what is to come. So you have been
given. So you're fashioned. designed and given
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does what? It
comes in and dwells you. Know what the word indwell
is? To make home. Where does the Holy Spirit
make home? In you. For how long? Well, he's a
deposit for what? When we lay down this life
and pick up our what? Eternal dwelling. So the
Holy Spirit has been given to you and will not
leave you, which tells me you are never alone.
You're never alone. No matter how isolated you
feel, no matter how much you think you're not
seen, no matter in a culture that says we have
all this connection, all these friends, and really
we have no relationships, right? And so what
happens is what this calls us to is even in the
midst of your loneliest moment, you're not alone.
Why? Because in your salvation and what God did
for you, he made a way that he would be with
you forever. He never leaves you, no matter how
bad it gets. He'll never leave you nor forsake
you, he says. He's with you. However dark it
is today, all the feelings that you have today,
all the things that don't seem to be working
out today, he is in the midst of them on the
camping trip with you. Why? Because God has always
wanted to camp with you. He's never wanted you
to camp alone. If you turn over to 1 Corinthians,
this idea of the Holy Spirit being in us, 1 Corinthians
6, verse 19 says this. Do you not know that your
bodies, do you not know that your bodies, okay,
let's use same language, right? This earthly
tent, this body, this earthly tent, do you not
know that your body, this earthly tent is a temple
of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who dwells
in you, who is made home in you, whom you have
received from God. There it is again. You didn't
earn it. God gave it. You just received it. God
initiates, we receive. You are not your own.
You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor
God with your body. Okay, a couple of things
this tells me is this, that your tent that is
fashioned by God is actually a temple. That you
right now in your earthly tent. You are the temple
of God. Why are you a temple? Because God in
his spirit dwells in you, which tells me when
Pastor Todd last week went, hey, you worship
everywhere you go. When you go to soccer practice,
when you go to dance, when you go to Chipotle,
when you go to wherever, right? I don't know
why Chipotle. I don't even eat it. I don't even
like it anymore. Anyways, why is that true? Because
you are the temple of God. Your tent is a temple.
Your tent is sacred. It's sacred. You are the
sacred space. So everywhere you go in this life,
as you are camping, you are a sacred moment for
people to be around. And that's how life can
become worship. Why? Because what do you do in
temples? You worship. And what are you? You are
the temple of God. Why? Because the Holy Spirit
has made a home with you. How did he do that?
Because God relationally brought you into harmony
with himself. One last thought. Galatians chapter
five, verse 25. Since, since then, all this is
true. Since we live, that word live is everything
you do in your life. Since we live, since everything
we do in our life, everywhere we go, since we
live by the what? Spirit. What is supposed to
empower your life? The Holy Spirit of God. Who
is supposed to lead your life? The Holy Spirit
of God. Who is supposed to guide your life? The
Holy Spirit of God. Since we live by the Spirit,
let us keep in step with the Spirit. On vacation,
we knew we were going and our grandson had chosen
not to walk leading up to it. So literally, we
tried everything, man. My wife was buying all
kinds of like little things he could push, you
know, and walk behind it. He loves pushing stuff.
Swear he's going to be a lineman. I just kind
of know it. But we had suitcases. He would push
a suitcase around so he'd stand tall. I mean,
we tried everything. Guess where he decides to
walk? On vacation, right? Like none of it worked
beforehand. And so on vacation, what was interesting
is he would hold your finger. And then he would
wobble as he took steps. And guess what I didn't
do? I didn't go, come on, man. No, what did I
do? I waddled. I held his finger and I went at
his pace. Why? Because I was keeping in step
with him. And he kind of knows what he wants.
So at one point he's like, we're going this way
because I want to see the airplanes. And so he
leads me and I keep in step all the way to see
the airplanes. At one point, he wants to go this
way in the terminal, not that way in the terminal,
which that way was the way we needed to go. And
we walk all the way down to the point his mama's
calling me going, where are you guys? I'm like,
I don't know. I'm just following him. But you
move at his pace. You move in step with him.
God who joins you on the camping trip, who empowers
you with the Holy Spirit, that wants to guide
every moment, what is he calling you to do? He's
calling you to stay in step with him. Are you
behind him? Are you in front of him? Where are
you? Because what I know about the Holy Spirit,
it's a lot like this guy. Come on, buddy. What's
he doing right now? He's just staying in step,
letting me lead him. The picture that we're given
of the Holy Spirit is that he indwells you, he
makes his home in you. Why? So that on this camping
trip, come on, buddy, let's go this way. There
you go. On this camping trip, you wouldn't get
lost. He's like, you ain't leading now, I'm doing
it. Probably a picture of a lot of us. But isn't
it fascinating that what we're called to do is
to just let God lead us and he's provided everything
we need. We don't have to strive for harmony
with God. We already have it. We don't have to
strive to take care of our sin. He already took
care of it. We don't have to strive. What we
get to do is go, the Holy Spirit has made his
home. God, what do you wanna do in me today?
And you'll empower me and lead me to do it. My
job is to what? Stay in step with the Holy Spirit
of God. So what does all this mean, you guys?
Well, it tells me this, that your journey with
God is sacred, even though you're in a tent.
It's sacred, which tells me it really matters,
that there's deep significance to your life.
It also tells me when I understand the story
of God that you right now here are loved by God.
He's not waiting for you to do something. He's
not waiting for you to just be cleaned up enough.
He's not waiting for you. He loves you completely
and fully right now. He cannot love you any more
than he already does. How do I know that? There's
a cross. that is stained red for all of eternity.
There are nail marks in his hands that declares
he loves you and he is for you and that you are
not alone. That your life that you think is just
bumbling along in these days, right? Like there's,
you're just like a tumbleweed, right? Blown by
whatever direction that he goes. No, your life
has deep significance so much so that the Holy
Spirit is gonna live in you to guide you. Because
he wants your life to count for all of eternity.
I think he likes the keys, man. The last thing
it does is it should produce in you such overwhelming
gratitude. The last thing it does is it just
produces this gratitude. How can we not be thankful
when we know what we have? Right, like how can
we not look at the story and go, God, you, you,
reconciled us. You relationally brought harmony
and we didn't deserve it. We didn't earn it.
You gave it. And then on top of that, you join
us on this camping trip. Why? So our camping
trip has significance and value that we know
we are loved, that we know that you care, that
we know we are seen today and you provide for
us everything we will ever need. How can we not
just go, God, all I got is thankfulness. How
can I not go, all I got is gratitude. All I have
is a hallelujah for you. Church, how, how, how?
We're gonna sing in a minute. And I don't want
you to miss what God does in music. You were
designed by God. Remember you're fashioned by
God and part of being fashioned by God is that
music and melody mixed with words would actually
get below your defenses. See, you can have a
defense the whole time I'm talking. But when
you start to join in song, you stop thinking.
And when you stop thinking, it gets below your
defenses and God can get what he needs to get
to your soul. My question for you is some of
you stand up and some of you go, I am not going
to engage. I don't like music. What you're actually
saying is I'm gonna keep the wall up, God, because
I don't want you to impact my soul. You have
a choice. You get to take what is inside your
breath and you get to let your breath come out
of your body in such a way that it's an invitation
that God, as I declare these words, you're actually
cementing something deep inside of me that I
need today. And we're gonna declare that we are
just grateful people today. We're just grateful.
So I'm gonna pray for us and then we're gonna
sing. God, thank you for everyone in this room.
Thank you for everybody across screens today.
God, thank you for the story. that we live inside
of the truth that you are a God who is not distant.
You are not a God who is abandoned, but you're
a God that stepped into a home that was not yours
to claim through paying a price, a family forever.
And God, we are grateful that you have initiated
and we receive. We are grateful that you transform
us, that we are new today. We are grateful that
we have relational harmony today. We are grateful
that God, we have the Holy Spirit living in us
today. And so God, all we got, when our words
fall short, God, we don't have anything new,
but what we do have is a hallelujah. And God,
today it's yours because we just say thank you.
Thank you for loving us first. It's in your name
we pray, everybody said, amen.