WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.459 I hope you mean what you said just now when you 00:00:03.459 --> 00:00:08.419 said, we have come with open hearts. Oh, let 00:00:08.419 --> 00:00:13.039 the ancient words impart. See that word impart. 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:15.880 You might hear that and you're like, what does 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:20.399 that even mean? And what I think of is like imparting 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:22.640 wisdom. I'm going to lay this on you. I'm going 00:00:22.640 --> 00:00:24.920 to give this to you. I'm going to bestow this 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:28.280 to you. I'm going to put this on your heart. 00:00:29.710 --> 00:00:32.530 And my prayer this morning, my prayer this week 00:00:32.530 --> 00:00:36.210 has been that God would use his word, that God 00:00:36.210 --> 00:00:39.710 would use his spirit to transform our hearts, 00:00:39.789 --> 00:00:42.630 that he would impart something on us that will 00:00:42.630 --> 00:00:46.490 challenge us, that will stir us up for love and 00:00:46.490 --> 00:00:49.829 good works. And so this morning, I want to say 00:00:49.829 --> 00:00:51.649 something that I didn't have written down. I 00:00:51.649 --> 00:00:53.969 guess I just kind of, we're going to call it 00:00:53.969 --> 00:00:57.500 the spirit. You might call this me just wanting 00:00:57.500 --> 00:00:59.320 to talk about something else other than what 00:00:59.320 --> 00:01:00.960 I wrote. I don't know what you'll call it. I'm 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:04.060 going to blame it on the Spirit. So I was thinking 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:08.620 as we're singing about how sometimes when bad 00:01:08.620 --> 00:01:12.000 things happen, it produces the most beautiful 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:15.060 fruit. And I don't know if you've ever felt that, 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:17.379 if you have ever thought about that. What I started 00:01:17.379 --> 00:01:20.140 thinking about was when I was just seven years 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:23.989 old. I think my math is right there. When I was 00:01:23.989 --> 00:01:27.049 seven or so years old, Hurricane Katrina struck 00:01:27.049 --> 00:01:29.349 the Mississippi Gulf Coast and it wiped out my 00:01:29.349 --> 00:01:32.329 hometown. And I thought about how we were all 00:01:32.329 --> 00:01:34.750 devastated and how life was chaotic and there 00:01:34.750 --> 00:01:36.609 was a lot of uncertainty, there was a lot of 00:01:36.609 --> 00:01:40.000 fear, there was a lot of worry. And in that, 00:01:40.079 --> 00:01:42.819 there was a church right across the street from 00:01:42.819 --> 00:01:45.659 our apartment complex that little did I know 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:47.760 just two years later would be the church that 00:01:47.760 --> 00:01:50.500 would baptize me into Christ and the church that 00:01:50.500 --> 00:01:53.599 would disciple me and be the leading reason that 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:58.180 I am who I am today. And I didn't know that that 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:03.879 would then lead to maybe 12 years later. baptizing 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:06.260 one of my family members in that very church, 00:02:06.439 --> 00:02:08.539 who then a few years after that would have a 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:11.379 stroke that would lead to a rekindled relationship 00:02:11.379 --> 00:02:14.699 with their husband, and that would lead to that 00:02:14.699 --> 00:02:18.099 husband now going to church every Sunday, who 00:02:18.099 --> 00:02:22.199 before that was anti -religious. And he's still 00:02:22.199 --> 00:02:24.419 not sure about the whole Christianity thing, 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:29.229 but he's at least interested. And we can have 00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:31.569 conversations about church. We can have conversations 00:02:31.569 --> 00:02:34.289 about scripture. And my hope is still because 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:36.750 he's an older man and there is no telling when 00:02:36.750 --> 00:02:40.169 his time on earth is going to come due. But I'm 00:02:40.169 --> 00:02:44.050 hoping that in all of this time, he is asking 00:02:44.050 --> 00:02:46.629 questions that God is going to answer and that 00:02:46.629 --> 00:02:50.090 he will give his life to the Lord. But that doesn't 00:02:50.090 --> 00:02:52.189 happen if that loved one doesn't have a stroke 00:02:52.189 --> 00:02:54.789 and that doesn't happen or she doesn't come to 00:02:54.789 --> 00:02:57.849 Christ if I don't ever go to that church and 00:02:57.849 --> 00:03:00.069 I don't ever go to that church if Hurricane Katrina 00:03:00.069 --> 00:03:02.610 doesn't happen. Sometimes when bad things happen, 00:03:02.810 --> 00:03:07.110 it produces the most beautiful fruit. And I think 00:03:07.110 --> 00:03:11.469 about my five -year -old son who today turned 00:03:11.469 --> 00:03:15.669 five years old and how at five years old, I had 00:03:15.669 --> 00:03:18.979 no clue what a loving father was like. I had 00:03:18.979 --> 00:03:21.860 no clue what a loving family was like. And the 00:03:21.860 --> 00:03:24.419 idea of being excited to go to church was not 00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:26.159 something I would have ever thought of. But now 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:29.020 my five -year -old son is so excited to just 00:03:29.020 --> 00:03:34.560 invite people to church. And that doesn't happen 00:03:34.560 --> 00:03:40.680 if not for Hurricane Katrina. Sometimes bad things 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:46.599 happening produce the most beautiful fruit. And 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.919 I thought of that. And I don't even know how 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:53.099 it works, but it works that it connects with 00:03:53.099 --> 00:03:55.099 what we're talking about this morning. Because 00:03:55.099 --> 00:04:00.000 in Acts chapter 13, we find a church that produces 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.479 beautiful fruit throughout their region because 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:09.759 of bad things happening. We find a church that 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.139 was being persecuted, that was run out of their 00:04:12.139 --> 00:04:15.169 home. that was run out of Jerusalem because they 00:04:15.169 --> 00:04:18.310 were afraid of their lives being taken from them 00:04:18.310 --> 00:04:21.290 because of the gospel. And so this church, these 00:04:21.290 --> 00:04:23.829 Christians, they find themselves in Antioch, 00:04:23.910 --> 00:04:26.189 which is this place that is like one of the largest 00:04:26.189 --> 00:04:28.629 cities in the Roman Empire. But it's not just 00:04:28.629 --> 00:04:31.430 a large city. It is one of the most pagan cities 00:04:31.430 --> 00:04:35.970 in the Roman Empire. And they land in this city 00:04:35.970 --> 00:04:39.730 and immediately start preaching the gospel to 00:04:39.730 --> 00:04:43.439 everyone that would listen. Jews and Gentiles 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.879 alike. And God blessed it. And this beautiful 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:49.139 fruit comes from it. This church is known for 00:04:49.139 --> 00:04:51.480 their generosity. This church is known for their 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:53.620 transformation in their community. This church 00:04:53.620 --> 00:04:58.180 is known for looking like Jesus in the crazy, 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.660 dark world that they lived in. And that doesn't 00:05:00.660 --> 00:05:04.980 happen if not for the martyrdom, the murder of 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:10.959 Stephen. And this church... Changes the world. 00:05:12.009 --> 00:05:14.269 In Jerusalem, the church in Jerusalem catches 00:05:14.269 --> 00:05:16.430 wind of this and they start hearing about all 00:05:16.430 --> 00:05:18.269 of these great things that these Christians that 00:05:18.269 --> 00:05:21.050 were their contemporaries were doing in Antioch. 00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:23.730 And so they send our friend Barnabas, this son 00:05:23.730 --> 00:05:26.110 of encouragement, they send him to go check this 00:05:26.110 --> 00:05:29.269 out to find out what's going on in Antioch. Why 00:05:29.269 --> 00:05:31.670 is it that they're doing so much good? Why is 00:05:31.670 --> 00:05:33.610 it that they're having such an impact on this 00:05:33.610 --> 00:05:35.790 community? And so Barnabas goes there and what 00:05:35.790 --> 00:05:38.550 he finds is it's so good. He finds that these 00:05:38.550 --> 00:05:40.670 people, they are changing the world and it's 00:05:40.670 --> 00:05:43.009 because they are devoted. to God. They are devoted 00:05:43.009 --> 00:05:45.670 to Christ. They are devoted to making sure all 00:05:45.670 --> 00:05:49.250 people hear those holy words, that good news, 00:05:49.350 --> 00:05:52.250 that gospel message of Jesus Christ crucified, 00:05:52.670 --> 00:05:55.110 risen again, ascended into heaven so that we 00:05:55.110 --> 00:05:57.410 could have a place in the kingdom of God. And 00:05:57.410 --> 00:05:59.790 Barnabas is so encouraged by this. The son of 00:05:59.790 --> 00:06:02.050 encouragement is encouraged. He goes and he gets 00:06:02.050 --> 00:06:05.879 his friend Saul, who we know as Paul. The former 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:08.000 enemy of the church who just a few weeks ago 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:10.819 we met, the guy that was standing there as they 00:06:10.819 --> 00:06:15.019 were stoning Stephen, Barnabas goes to get Saul 00:06:15.019 --> 00:06:17.639 and he brings him back to Antioch because he's 00:06:17.639 --> 00:06:19.779 like, Saul, you've got to see this. What they're 00:06:19.779 --> 00:06:21.819 doing is amazing. They are changing the world. 00:06:21.860 --> 00:06:24.279 They are doing something crazy and it's awesome. 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:29.240 And he brings Saul there. And Saul and Barnabas 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:32.899 teach at the church in Antioch for a whole year. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.199 This was actually the church where believers 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:39.540 were first called Christians, where they were 00:06:39.540 --> 00:06:42.669 first referred to as these little... because 00:06:42.669 --> 00:06:45.329 they were truly a church that set the standard 00:06:45.329 --> 00:06:48.649 for churches. And so now that we have that idea 00:06:48.649 --> 00:06:51.230 that bad things happening produce the most beautiful 00:06:51.230 --> 00:06:54.089 fruit, and now that we have this idea of what 00:06:54.089 --> 00:06:56.029 the Antioch church was, this church that was 00:06:56.029 --> 00:06:58.370 changing the world because they were so bold 00:06:58.370 --> 00:07:00.389 and unashamed about the good news of Christ, 00:07:00.569 --> 00:07:02.750 now that we've got that laid out, I want us to 00:07:02.750 --> 00:07:05.870 read our sermon this morning is going to be over 00:07:05.870 --> 00:07:08.529 three verses, really five verses, but mainly 00:07:08.529 --> 00:07:11.740 three. So I hope I can give you 30. minutes out 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:14.720 of that. Verses one through three, we're going 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:15.980 to read them together and then we'll kind of 00:07:15.980 --> 00:07:18.480 walk back through them. If it's underlined, I'd 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:20.379 love for you to read it with me. Now, there were 00:07:20.379 --> 00:07:22.660 in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:26.480 Barnabas, Simeon, who was called Niger, Lucius 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:29.240 of Cyrene, Menean, a lifelong friend of Herod 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:32.720 the Tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:35.759 the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, set 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.300 apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to 00:07:38.300 --> 00:07:41.019 which I have called them. Then after fasting 00:07:41.019 --> 00:07:43.500 and praying, they laid their hands on them and 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:47.189 sent them off. The first thing I want us to notice 00:07:47.189 --> 00:07:49.889 is how Luke names these key figures in the church 00:07:49.889 --> 00:07:52.449 there. We've talked about Barnabas, of course, 00:07:52.550 --> 00:07:55.389 who himself is a Jewish Christian. He comes from 00:07:55.389 --> 00:07:57.410 a Jewish background, but now he is a follower 00:07:57.410 --> 00:07:59.949 of the Messiah. We've talked about Saul before. 00:08:00.050 --> 00:08:03.110 Maybe you know him as Paul, this reformed Pharisee 00:08:03.110 --> 00:08:05.009 who used to hunt Christians down for a living, 00:08:05.089 --> 00:08:07.810 but now is doing everything he can to make Christians. 00:08:08.089 --> 00:08:10.269 And then you have these other guys that maybe 00:08:10.269 --> 00:08:12.550 you're not as familiar with, guys like Simon 00:08:12.550 --> 00:08:14.970 called Niger, which likely just means... he was 00:08:14.970 --> 00:08:17.769 a black man from Africa. And so you can imagine 00:08:17.769 --> 00:08:19.850 that he doesn't look like the people at this 00:08:19.850 --> 00:08:22.410 church in Antioch, but hey, that's okay. And 00:08:22.410 --> 00:08:25.110 then there's Lucius from Cyrene, a man from North 00:08:25.110 --> 00:08:27.689 Africa. We could maybe assume that he was also 00:08:27.689 --> 00:08:30.050 black, but either way, we know he's not from 00:08:30.050 --> 00:08:32.789 there. And then Manian, who was this contemporary 00:08:32.789 --> 00:08:34.750 of Herod. He was a friend of Herod. He grew up 00:08:34.750 --> 00:08:36.990 with Herod, which means that he probably came 00:08:36.990 --> 00:08:39.470 from old money. Like this was a guy that came 00:08:39.470 --> 00:08:43.129 from a very politically elite class. And so you've 00:08:43.129 --> 00:08:46.070 got this group of people, this very diverse group 00:08:46.070 --> 00:08:48.409 of people, like this was DEI before that was 00:08:48.409 --> 00:08:51.009 ever a thing. And this is what the church looks 00:08:51.009 --> 00:08:53.409 like. This is what the church is. It's these 00:08:53.409 --> 00:08:55.529 different races, different classes, different 00:08:55.529 --> 00:08:58.190 types of people, cultures, and backgrounds all 00:08:58.190 --> 00:09:03.009 in the same family. And you can imagine how bold 00:09:03.009 --> 00:09:05.730 of a proclamation of the kingdom of God that 00:09:05.730 --> 00:09:08.330 was. You see, this is a church that understood 00:09:08.330 --> 00:09:10.889 that in order to fulfill the mission of God, 00:09:11.129 --> 00:09:13.330 they had to be made up of all kinds of people. 00:09:13.710 --> 00:09:16.629 They had to be made up of all types of people 00:09:16.629 --> 00:09:19.110 from every background because Jesus called us 00:09:19.110 --> 00:09:22.190 to bring the gospel to all kinds of people. He 00:09:22.190 --> 00:09:23.789 didn't call us to bring the gospel to people 00:09:23.789 --> 00:09:26.389 that were just like me. He didn't call you to 00:09:26.389 --> 00:09:28.090 bring the gospel to people that were just like 00:09:28.090 --> 00:09:30.350 you. He called us to bring it to all nations, 00:09:30.490 --> 00:09:33.870 to all creation. That was the mission. And the 00:09:33.870 --> 00:09:36.820 church in Antioch very clearly understood the 00:09:36.820 --> 00:09:39.559 mission. Not only did they understand it, but 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:41.960 it was their constant focus. It was this thing, 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:44.019 there's a song right now, and it's one of the 00:09:44.019 --> 00:09:46.399 lyrics is, your praise will ever be on my lips, 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:49.620 meaning it will always be on my lips. And if 00:09:49.620 --> 00:09:51.200 it's always on my lips, it's always going to 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:53.240 be on my mind. And what I think about when I 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.820 think about the church at Antioch is that God's 00:09:55.820 --> 00:09:59.200 glory, the good news was always on their mind. 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:02.179 And this mission to proclaim it was always on 00:10:02.179 --> 00:10:03.620 their mind. They didn't turn it off when they 00:10:03.620 --> 00:10:05.559 were at the football game so they could say whatever 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:07.500 they wanted. They didn't turn it off when they 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:09.200 were at the bar so they could drink however much 00:10:09.200 --> 00:10:10.899 they wanted. They didn't turn it off when they 00:10:10.899 --> 00:10:12.600 were at work so that they could do things that 00:10:12.600 --> 00:10:14.659 were questionable morally so that they could 00:10:14.659 --> 00:10:16.860 do that to make more money. They didn't do that. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:20.100 It was always on their mind. It was a constant 00:10:20.100 --> 00:10:22.460 focus. It was who they were. Their identity was 00:10:22.460 --> 00:10:27.299 a people on mission for Jesus. And that identity. 00:10:27.789 --> 00:10:30.070 was there long before they ever did anything 00:10:30.070 --> 00:10:32.350 impressive. It was there long before they ever 00:10:32.350 --> 00:10:35.149 acted in a way that changed the world. That's 00:10:35.149 --> 00:10:38.210 who they were, and they simply acted on it. And 00:10:38.210 --> 00:10:39.970 so the first thing I want us to know this morning 00:10:39.970 --> 00:10:44.210 is identity precedes activity. I have to know 00:10:44.210 --> 00:10:47.190 who I am. I have to know whose I am. I have to 00:10:47.190 --> 00:10:50.049 know what I belong to, who I belong to, in order 00:10:50.049 --> 00:10:52.529 to fulfill what it is that I've been put on this 00:10:52.529 --> 00:10:56.110 earth to do. That's what I mean when I say identity 00:10:56.110 --> 00:10:58.590 precedes activity. A church lives on mission 00:10:58.590 --> 00:11:01.889 when it knows whose it is. And so we asked the 00:11:01.889 --> 00:11:06.009 question this morning, whose are we? And I think 00:11:06.009 --> 00:11:09.490 if you're a member, if you're a contributing 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:12.370 part of the body of Christ here in Blairsville, 00:11:12.409 --> 00:11:14.669 then you know who we are. At least you should. 00:11:14.730 --> 00:11:17.970 We are the Blairsville Church of what? Christ. 00:11:18.090 --> 00:11:21.360 We are the Blairsville Church of? Christ. We're 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:23.080 not the Blairsville Church of Donovan. We're 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:26.000 not the Blairsville Church of Georgia. We're 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:28.759 not the Blairsville Church of Chad or Phil. We 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:30.360 are the Blairsville Church of Christ. That's 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:33.159 who we are. It's whose we are. It is who we belong 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:38.460 to and our mission is whose? Christ's. And so 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:41.659 we have to live like it. Our activity has to 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:45.899 match our identity. And the way of God, the way 00:11:45.899 --> 00:11:50.230 of Christ is to sin. If our identity is in Christ, 00:11:50.470 --> 00:11:53.230 if that's what our bloodline is, then we have 00:11:53.230 --> 00:11:56.230 to act like our bloodline. I'll tell my kids, 00:11:56.289 --> 00:11:57.850 and I think I've said this before, I will tell 00:11:57.850 --> 00:11:59.570 them when they ask, well, how come we can't say 00:11:59.570 --> 00:12:01.570 that? Or how come they get to say that? Or how 00:12:01.570 --> 00:12:03.289 come they get to do that? And I'll say, because 00:12:03.289 --> 00:12:05.149 you aren't in their family, you're in my family. 00:12:05.210 --> 00:12:07.940 And in my family, we do things this way. And 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:11.960 in God's family, God sends. And he doesn't just 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:14.320 send anything, he sends his best. And in Jesus' 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:16.700 family, he sends, and he doesn't just send anything, 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:19.860 he sends his best. God sent Jesus, and Jesus 00:12:19.860 --> 00:12:23.320 sent the Spirit, and Jesus sent the church. And 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:25.700 so then the next question is, is if they send 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:29.360 their best, what will the church send? What will 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:34.230 the church do? Because if our lineage is a family 00:12:34.230 --> 00:12:37.269 of senders, we can't be content to sit here and 00:12:37.269 --> 00:12:40.750 do nothing. Or worse, we can't be content to 00:12:40.750 --> 00:12:43.350 sit here and hoard all that we have. We follow 00:12:43.350 --> 00:12:46.269 the example of our rabbi. We follow the example 00:12:46.269 --> 00:12:50.690 of our father. And so we'll figure out what we're 00:12:50.690 --> 00:12:53.090 going to send. We have to send. I want us to 00:12:53.090 --> 00:12:56.629 look at how the church in Antioch realized that 00:12:56.629 --> 00:13:00.169 they too needed to send. something and what that 00:13:00.169 --> 00:13:03.370 something was. We look at verse two. While they 00:13:03.370 --> 00:13:05.830 were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy 00:13:05.830 --> 00:13:09.190 Spirit said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul 00:13:09.190 --> 00:13:12.389 for the work to which I have called them. You 00:13:12.389 --> 00:13:15.529 see, this church heard directly from God because 00:13:15.529 --> 00:13:19.139 they were seeking God. They were worshiping God. 00:13:19.200 --> 00:13:21.539 They were fasting. They were pouring some out 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:23.620 of themselves so that God would fill them with 00:13:23.620 --> 00:13:25.980 something better. They were hungrily seeking 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:29.100 God, and God showed up. I said it last week. 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:31.059 For those of you who were here, I hope you remember 00:13:31.059 --> 00:13:34.019 this. If not, I hope you do after today. God 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:37.500 loves to show up where God is wanted. When the 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:41.120 church is hungry for God, God shows up. God will 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:45.100 always fill what his people are hungering for. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:47.840 When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, 00:13:48.000 --> 00:13:51.080 God gave them food, did he not? And he gave them 00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:54.720 water and he gave them shade. God shows up where 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.899 he's wanted, where people are hungry, God feeds. 00:13:58.460 --> 00:14:00.860 And so the church in Antioch, they seemed hungry 00:14:00.860 --> 00:14:03.679 to me. They seemed like a people that wanted 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:08.190 God and God showed up for them. As far as we 00:14:08.190 --> 00:14:10.350 can tell from the text, they weren't asking God 00:14:10.350 --> 00:14:13.110 for anything specific. It doesn't seem like they 00:14:13.110 --> 00:14:15.210 were asking for a nicer building. It doesn't 00:14:15.210 --> 00:14:16.850 seem like they were asking for a new preacher. 00:14:17.049 --> 00:14:19.110 It doesn't seem like they were asking for a bigger 00:14:19.110 --> 00:14:22.110 Sunday crowd or newer worship songs. They just 00:14:22.110 --> 00:14:25.590 wanted to experience God and glorify Him. And 00:14:25.590 --> 00:14:30.929 because of this want for God, God shows up. And 00:14:30.929 --> 00:14:33.850 that wanting God himself, not just what he can 00:14:33.850 --> 00:14:36.230 do for you is a beautiful, but it's also a dangerous 00:14:36.230 --> 00:14:39.250 thing. Because sometimes when you want God, he 00:14:39.250 --> 00:14:41.450 shows up in a way that you may not have wanted. 00:14:42.149 --> 00:14:45.529 Think about it. Like all of these things that 00:14:45.529 --> 00:14:48.750 happen, these feelings, these calls we have to 00:14:48.750 --> 00:14:51.450 give up certain things for ourselves or stop 00:14:51.450 --> 00:14:53.909 doing certain things for ourselves or stop going 00:14:53.909 --> 00:14:57.029 certain places. Sometimes we don't want that. 00:14:57.549 --> 00:14:59.710 I wanted to be a country singer. I wanted to 00:14:59.710 --> 00:15:02.169 write songs for a living and live in Nashville 00:15:02.169 --> 00:15:04.450 and be able to make a living on music. But guess 00:15:04.450 --> 00:15:08.190 what? I'm here preaching. This does not look 00:15:08.190 --> 00:15:10.409 like me on stage with a guitar singing country 00:15:10.409 --> 00:15:14.950 songs. But you know what? I'm far better off 00:15:14.950 --> 00:15:17.870 for it. This is far more beautiful than any song 00:15:17.870 --> 00:15:21.309 I could ever write. Sometimes it's not what we 00:15:21.309 --> 00:15:24.309 want, but it's what we need. But God shows us 00:15:24.309 --> 00:15:28.940 when he shows up. And what he handed Antioch 00:15:28.940 --> 00:15:32.340 was a call. It probably wasn't what they wanted, 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:34.820 but it was a call to send out, to give up their 00:15:34.820 --> 00:15:37.279 best. Think about who he called them to give 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:41.879 up. Saul. This great preacher, this very knowledgeable, 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:44.620 noble person that he knew all of the scriptures. 00:15:44.779 --> 00:15:46.879 Now he's just on the right team. And then you 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:48.600 have Barnabas, this great son of encourager. 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:50.539 How many of you would like to have someone that's 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:52.940 so encouraging that his nickname is literally 00:15:52.940 --> 00:15:55.299 the son of encouragement? And you're like, you 00:15:55.299 --> 00:15:57.100 would want that person around. We would want 00:15:57.100 --> 00:15:59.000 them in this church. You probably would want 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:01.179 him as a preacher over me because I seem to just 00:16:01.179 --> 00:16:03.679 be challenging, not encouraging. And so we want 00:16:03.679 --> 00:16:05.779 those guys and they probably don't want to give 00:16:05.779 --> 00:16:07.799 them up. But guess what? God said, give them 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:10.379 up so you know what they did. They gave them 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:13.919 up. They gave them up all for the sake of the 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:16.379 mission because it is not our place to hoard 00:16:16.379 --> 00:16:19.019 what God has blessed us with. It is our place 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:21.220 to send it out. Why? Because we come from a family 00:16:21.220 --> 00:16:26.100 of senders. And the leadership of this congregation 00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:28.580 here in Blairsville has been doing what the church 00:16:28.580 --> 00:16:31.759 in Antioch has done or did. We've prayed, we've 00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:34.120 fasted, we've sought God. We're still doing that. 00:16:34.220 --> 00:16:36.639 And one thing that I love, and I love to brag 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:39.870 on our elders, we've got a really good group 00:16:39.870 --> 00:16:45.389 of elders. These guys, these men love God. They 00:16:45.389 --> 00:16:48.809 love his church and they are honest and earnest 00:16:48.809 --> 00:16:53.669 about what they are doing in their service. And 00:16:53.669 --> 00:16:56.950 they have prayed and I have prayed and our deacons 00:16:56.950 --> 00:16:59.309 and all of you, we've been praying about what 00:16:59.309 --> 00:17:02.289 God is going to do and we want God. And so in 00:17:02.289 --> 00:17:06.460 seeking God and hungering for God, We believe 00:17:06.460 --> 00:17:08.880 we're being called to send our best to do two 00:17:08.880 --> 00:17:11.660 things. And those two things, very specific, 00:17:11.940 --> 00:17:16.799 small group and discipleship and the next generation. 00:17:17.700 --> 00:17:20.980 We believe that we need to pour into our small 00:17:20.980 --> 00:17:23.720 group ministries because as much as and as cool 00:17:23.720 --> 00:17:27.539 as this is, this is not where real discipleship 00:17:27.539 --> 00:17:31.480 happens. It's around a coffee table and it's 00:17:31.480 --> 00:17:35.230 in a kitchen around a dinner table. Real discipleship 00:17:35.230 --> 00:17:39.029 happens in small group settings. It happens in 00:17:39.029 --> 00:17:41.170 close personal connections and conversations. 00:17:41.210 --> 00:17:43.349 And so we believe that we need to pour into that, 00:17:43.390 --> 00:17:45.829 which is why we're bringing Buddy Bell in to 00:17:45.829 --> 00:17:48.609 do a small group workshop for us next month. 00:17:48.690 --> 00:17:51.470 So by the way, I want everyone to be there. If 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:53.250 you are a member, if you're not a member, we 00:17:53.250 --> 00:17:55.390 want you to be there because this is going to 00:17:55.390 --> 00:17:58.450 help us to relaunch and kind of figure out a 00:17:58.450 --> 00:18:01.470 better way to more effectively conduct a small 00:18:01.470 --> 00:18:04.769 group ministry. But it's also why we've asked 00:18:04.769 --> 00:18:07.309 you to be in prayer about how you might and how 00:18:07.309 --> 00:18:10.150 we might contribute, yes, monetarily, but in 00:18:10.150 --> 00:18:12.150 other ways toward the hiring of a youth minister. 00:18:12.769 --> 00:18:15.269 Because we see the need for these things and 00:18:15.269 --> 00:18:18.349 we feel like those two areas specifically are 00:18:18.349 --> 00:18:20.950 how we might answer the call of God to send our 00:18:20.950 --> 00:18:25.250 best to fulfill the mission. And I want you to 00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:27.329 hear me clearly. I'm not saying I heard a voice 00:18:27.329 --> 00:18:29.529 from heaven. I'm not saying the elders have. 00:18:30.109 --> 00:18:31.809 They might have. You can talk to them about it. 00:18:31.849 --> 00:18:34.210 That's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying the 00:18:34.210 --> 00:18:36.549 Holy Spirit verbally spoke to us. What I'm telling 00:18:36.549 --> 00:18:38.690 you is that several men who love this church 00:18:38.690 --> 00:18:40.829 family, who love the kingdom of God, have been 00:18:40.829 --> 00:18:43.549 seeking God and His direction, and we believe 00:18:43.549 --> 00:18:48.849 this is it. This is our next step to sin. And 00:18:48.849 --> 00:18:52.990 with a call always comes a cost. And the cost 00:18:52.990 --> 00:18:56.049 is obedience. The church in Antioch exemplified 00:18:56.049 --> 00:18:58.980 this in verse 3. Then after fasting and praying, 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:01.799 they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 00:19:02.259 --> 00:19:04.440 And see, this wasn't the church giving them a 00:19:04.440 --> 00:19:06.160 pat on the back and just saying, all right, we'll 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:09.480 see you later. Write us sometime. Come back and 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:13.380 report how your work's going. This wasn't them 00:19:13.380 --> 00:19:16.119 just like, all right, guys, go on and we'll miss 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:19.380 you. This was them putting their hands on them, 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:23.839 praying over them, blessing their work and sending 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:27.509 them off. It was them giving up. some of their 00:19:27.509 --> 00:19:29.890 best. It was them giving up some of their best 00:19:29.890 --> 00:19:32.410 leaders. It was them giving up guys that they 00:19:32.410 --> 00:19:36.930 really wanted to keep. Like I said, these aren't 00:19:36.930 --> 00:19:40.009 just random church members. These are key figures. 00:19:40.829 --> 00:19:44.309 Like to put it in another way, this would be 00:19:44.309 --> 00:19:47.930 like the Chicago Bulls shipping off Michael Jordan 00:19:47.930 --> 00:19:50.250 and Scottie Pippen in their primes to some other 00:19:50.250 --> 00:19:52.789 team and then not actually getting anything in 00:19:52.789 --> 00:19:55.190 return for it. Can you imagine how crazy that 00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:58.000 would be? I mean, like if you're a basketball 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.619 or a sports fan, you know what I'm saying. That's 00:20:00.619 --> 00:20:03.039 giving up your best when you're not getting anything 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:06.240 in return. And you don't do that unless you truly 00:20:06.240 --> 00:20:08.519 believe in the mission and who's called you to 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:11.859 do it. And this requires more than your own comfort. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.519 This requires more than your own personal want 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:17.160 and desire. It's saying the kingdom of God, the 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:19.099 mission of God is far more important than me 00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:22.680 and what I want and what I need. I mean, churches 00:20:22.680 --> 00:20:24.940 all the time are just yaying about like, well, 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:26.839 I want it this way and I like it this way. And 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:29.619 like, I'm all for preference. I have my preferences. 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:31.779 My wife will tell you I'm a very particular person. 00:20:32.779 --> 00:20:35.339 But when it comes to the mission of God, it's 00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:38.319 about what God needs from us, not what we want 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:43.640 for us. Also of note is this almost certainly 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:48.400 cost them their money and resources. You think 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:51.299 about mission work. We've got some missionaries 00:20:51.299 --> 00:20:53.119 in the room. We've got people that have been 00:20:53.119 --> 00:20:55.259 missionaries or have family that were missionaries. 00:20:55.319 --> 00:20:58.859 And they can tell you that mission work doesn't 00:20:58.859 --> 00:21:01.720 come free and it doesn't come easy. And you have 00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:04.180 supported missionaries. We had a mission Sunday 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:06.079 in December and it was awesome. I was so impressed 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:08.359 by this church. More importantly, I was so impressed 00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:10.779 by God and the way he moved to this church to 00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:14.759 do some good work over in Africa. And we're doing 00:21:14.759 --> 00:21:17.000 some good things with missionaries. So we understand 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:20.269 that that costs something. physical. Like it 00:21:20.269 --> 00:21:23.650 costs something tangible. But the church in Antioch, 00:21:23.650 --> 00:21:25.150 they're generous and they're mission minded. 00:21:25.250 --> 00:21:27.809 So they do what they need to do regardless of 00:21:27.809 --> 00:21:30.029 what it costs because of the mission. And so 00:21:30.029 --> 00:21:31.950 I want you to hear something this morning. Yes, 00:21:32.049 --> 00:21:35.150 mission is costly and we can't act like it's 00:21:35.150 --> 00:21:37.609 not. We can't pretend like it isn't. We can't 00:21:37.609 --> 00:21:39.869 just skirt around it and say, well, you know, 00:21:39.910 --> 00:21:42.329 everything should just be free. Yeah, I agree. 00:21:42.750 --> 00:21:45.289 I wish that were the case, but the truth is. 00:21:45.930 --> 00:21:49.230 It's not. We still live in this world. And unless 00:21:49.230 --> 00:21:52.190 you guys want to live like on a commune and just 00:21:52.190 --> 00:21:54.769 like have plants and take care of each other 00:21:54.769 --> 00:21:58.109 that way, which let's talk about it, right? Unless 00:21:58.109 --> 00:22:00.450 y 'all want to do that, we still live in society 00:22:00.450 --> 00:22:04.089 where things cost and there are real needs that 00:22:04.089 --> 00:22:07.430 have to be met that require resources and finances. 00:22:07.609 --> 00:22:12.470 And so mission is costly. And if it isn't costing 00:22:12.470 --> 00:22:15.829 you anything, If the mission isn't making you 00:22:15.829 --> 00:22:18.809 uncomfortable, if it isn't stretching you a little 00:22:18.809 --> 00:22:21.670 bit, it isn't a mission, it's just sentiment. 00:22:22.369 --> 00:22:24.809 If it's not costing you anything, it's just, 00:22:24.809 --> 00:22:28.170 man, I really hope that works out. Somebody will 00:22:28.170 --> 00:22:31.529 take care of that. I heard a story about a church 00:22:31.529 --> 00:22:37.109 where they had visitors coming and nobody would 00:22:37.109 --> 00:22:39.150 ever invite them to their small group or a Bible 00:22:39.150 --> 00:22:44.420 study. And so these visitors show up They show 00:22:44.420 --> 00:22:45.839 up, and everybody's like, hey, how you doing? 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:47.339 We're so glad you're here. We're so glad that 00:22:47.339 --> 00:22:49.700 you visited our church this Sunday morning. And 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:52.200 that was it. And then the visitors show up again, 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:54.779 and it's the same thing. And then the next week, 00:22:54.779 --> 00:22:56.460 it's the same thing. But nobody ever invites 00:22:56.460 --> 00:23:01.019 them to have their lives changed. And so finally, 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:02.819 the visitor's like, hey, are y 'all going to 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:06.220 ever, like, you know, act on this stuff we've 00:23:06.220 --> 00:23:07.740 been talking about in the sermon, or is it just, 00:23:07.759 --> 00:23:10.380 hey, how you doing? Because if you're going to 00:23:10.380 --> 00:23:11.720 act on it, you're going to invite them to a Bible 00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:13.490 study. If you're going to act on it, you're going 00:23:13.490 --> 00:23:16.230 to try to be in a discipleship relationship with 00:23:16.230 --> 00:23:19.089 them. See, we can't just say cool things. We 00:23:19.089 --> 00:23:21.349 can't just say we want these things to happen. 00:23:21.410 --> 00:23:24.109 We have to act on them. Otherwise, it is just 00:23:24.109 --> 00:23:26.029 sentiment. And I don't know if you've ever heard 00:23:26.029 --> 00:23:30.490 about good intentions. But good intentions don't 00:23:30.490 --> 00:23:33.890 do everything, do they? So we've got to act. 00:23:34.509 --> 00:23:36.940 We have a mission as a church family. It's a 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:39.119 pretty simple one too. It's simply to bring the 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:41.740 gospel to everyone we can and make disciples 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:44.619 who make disciples who make disciples who make 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:47.059 disciples who make disciples and I could keep 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:51.259 on going because it should. We have that mission 00:23:51.259 --> 00:23:55.400 even and especially including those who are not 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:59.640 like us. And unfortunately, just like in Antioch, 00:23:59.660 --> 00:24:01.960 the mission is going to cost us. It's gonna cost 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:04.140 us three things that I want you to remember this 00:24:04.140 --> 00:24:06.680 morning. Three things, and I got this from Phil, 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:08.140 so I'm gonna give him some credit. I think he 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:10.079 got it from someone else. It's gonna cost us 00:24:10.079 --> 00:24:13.839 our time. It's gonna cost us our talents, and 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:17.339 it's gonna cost us our treasure. The mission 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:21.180 costs. It's going to cost us our best regardless 00:24:21.180 --> 00:24:23.359 of how uncomfortable it might make us, but the 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:26.380 cost is worth it for the sake of the kingdom 00:24:26.380 --> 00:24:28.559 because there is no shortage of young people 00:24:28.559 --> 00:24:30.720 in this community, in these mountains, who are 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.259 unchurched or completely spiritually homeless. 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:35.559 There is no shortage of people in this church 00:24:35.559 --> 00:24:38.279 family and out in that community who need to 00:24:38.279 --> 00:24:40.740 have a small group relationship, who need to 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:43.079 have people discipling them. There's no shortage 00:24:43.079 --> 00:24:45.539 of people who need to have their lives changed 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:49.750 by the gospel. And we have the opportunity to 00:24:49.750 --> 00:24:52.390 change their lives, to transform their lives. 00:24:52.430 --> 00:24:55.490 Like I told you, my life doesn't change if not 00:24:55.490 --> 00:24:58.910 for the Long Beach Church of Christ. And my family's 00:24:58.910 --> 00:25:00.910 life doesn't change if not for the Long Beach 00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:03.250 Church of Christ. And what they did was they 00:25:03.250 --> 00:25:06.150 committed to the mission regardless of how uncomfortable 00:25:06.150 --> 00:25:11.099 it made them. And my question for us is will 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:13.720 we commit to the mission regardless of how comfortable, 00:25:13.980 --> 00:25:16.660 uncomfortable it makes us? Because the truth 00:25:16.660 --> 00:25:19.440 is we don't reach the others. We don't reach 00:25:19.440 --> 00:25:22.839 the not like us by accident. And we don't do 00:25:22.839 --> 00:25:25.099 it by waiting around, hoping they'll wander through 00:25:25.099 --> 00:25:26.619 our doors. And if we can just get them through 00:25:26.619 --> 00:25:29.710 the doors. We'll take care of the rest. That's 00:25:29.710 --> 00:25:32.490 not how that works because the sad reality is 00:25:32.490 --> 00:25:35.569 every day that we wait to disciple them is another 00:25:35.569 --> 00:25:38.309 day that someone or something else disciples 00:25:38.309 --> 00:25:41.970 them. Every single adult or person over the age 00:25:41.970 --> 00:25:44.849 of like 13 in this room has a cell phone and 00:25:44.849 --> 00:25:47.390 on that cell phone is thousands or thousands 00:25:47.390 --> 00:25:49.549 of things wanting, millions of things really, 00:25:49.670 --> 00:25:52.210 wanting to disciple your children, wanting to 00:25:52.210 --> 00:25:54.049 disciple those children, wanting to disciple 00:25:54.049 --> 00:25:58.180 you. Every day you turn on the TV, you see the 00:25:58.180 --> 00:26:00.000 news, you see the shows, you see these things, 00:26:00.099 --> 00:26:03.079 and they are wanting to disciple you. And they're 00:26:03.079 --> 00:26:05.319 wanting to disciple the people out there. Every 00:26:05.319 --> 00:26:07.619 day you get on social media, people are trying 00:26:07.619 --> 00:26:10.200 to disciple. And disciple does not always mean 00:26:10.200 --> 00:26:13.539 a good thing. There are bad things in this world. 00:26:14.220 --> 00:26:16.640 There is an enemy that we believe is real and 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:19.640 his name is Satan and he is doing his work. He 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:22.000 has his own disciples and he is trying to make 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:25.039 his own disciples. Every day we wait is another 00:26:25.039 --> 00:26:30.599 day the enemy covers more ground. And so our 00:26:30.599 --> 00:26:33.299 leadership believes that we need to act, that 00:26:33.299 --> 00:26:36.079 we need to get on it because this is not going 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:40.240 to wait. We believe that bringing someone here 00:26:40.670 --> 00:26:43.509 to Blairsville, to go after that different group, 00:26:43.549 --> 00:26:46.210 to go after that other group, that next generation. 00:26:46.710 --> 00:26:49.130 That's our act of obedience to the same kind 00:26:49.130 --> 00:26:51.529 of call that Antioch answered when they sent 00:26:51.529 --> 00:26:54.549 Saul and Barnabas 2 ,000 years ago. But please 00:26:54.549 --> 00:26:57.009 understand this because I need this to be very 00:26:57.009 --> 00:26:59.730 clear. This isn't a pet project of the elders. 00:27:00.089 --> 00:27:02.329 This isn't Chad and Phil just want to tinker 00:27:02.329 --> 00:27:04.269 and see how things work. And this isn't just 00:27:04.269 --> 00:27:06.750 a pet project of mine. This is something that 00:27:06.750 --> 00:27:10.559 is going to require the entire family. of God 00:27:10.559 --> 00:27:13.839 that meets here in Blairsville. It requires every 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.539 single one of us because it doesn't happen by 00:27:16.539 --> 00:27:19.279 accident and the enemy has all hands on deck 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:25.180 and we need those too. Many people prayed in 00:27:25.180 --> 00:27:27.779 the church of Antioch. Many people fasted. Many 00:27:27.779 --> 00:27:30.680 people gave. Many people worked so that the mission 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:33.339 could be accomplished and that's what we need 00:27:33.339 --> 00:27:36.539 too. The entire church has to own this mission 00:27:36.539 --> 00:27:40.640 or it will fail. The entire church. We've all 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:42.420 got to be on the same page. We've all got to 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:44.339 be pulling in the same direction. We all have 00:27:44.339 --> 00:27:49.039 to lay our hands on this initiative. And I want 00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:51.059 to show you what's on the other side of obedience 00:27:51.059 --> 00:27:53.140 to the call. Because like I said, the obedience 00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:55.920 costs and it can stink and it really stretches 00:27:55.920 --> 00:27:57.700 you. But on the other side of it, it's something 00:27:57.700 --> 00:28:00.599 beautiful. Because remember, bad things often 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:03.900 produce really beautiful fruit when God's involved. 00:28:04.819 --> 00:28:08.460 In Genesis. Joseph says, what you meant for evil, 00:28:08.500 --> 00:28:11.740 my God meant for good. That does not mean God 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:14.559 made that happen so that good. It means God figured 00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:17.180 I can work here and I can do something amazing. 00:28:17.859 --> 00:28:20.119 And then the apostle Paul, the guy that we were 00:28:20.119 --> 00:28:21.940 talking about that got sent off with Barnabas, 00:28:21.960 --> 00:28:24.839 he says, all things work together for good for 00:28:24.839 --> 00:28:28.430 those who love God. And so when it costs us, 00:28:28.529 --> 00:28:30.910 we believe that God is going to do something 00:28:30.910 --> 00:28:32.869 special on the other side of it. Here's what 00:28:32.869 --> 00:28:35.829 happens in Acts 13, verses 48 through 49. When 00:28:35.829 --> 00:28:38.309 the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing 00:28:38.309 --> 00:28:41.230 and glorifying the word of the Lord. And as many 00:28:41.230 --> 00:28:43.730 as were appointed to eternal life believed, and 00:28:43.730 --> 00:28:45.710 the word of the Lord spread throughout the whole 00:28:45.710 --> 00:28:49.930 region. You see, what those verses are talking 00:28:49.930 --> 00:28:53.250 about is Saul and Barnabas just preached the 00:28:53.250 --> 00:28:56.690 gospel to the Gentiles. And what they did was 00:28:56.690 --> 00:28:59.089 they told them this good news of Jesus Christ, 00:28:59.250 --> 00:29:02.069 how he came to this earth to forgive and redeem 00:29:02.069 --> 00:29:04.569 all creation. And the Gentiles are hearing this 00:29:04.569 --> 00:29:05.910 for the first time, and they're hearing that 00:29:05.910 --> 00:29:07.789 it's available to them, that this was meant for 00:29:07.789 --> 00:29:11.089 them too. And they rejoice. They worship God 00:29:11.089 --> 00:29:14.869 because they know the good news has come to them. 00:29:15.450 --> 00:29:18.609 And the word, the good news, the gospel of Christ 00:29:18.609 --> 00:29:20.950 spread throughout the region like a wildfire, 00:29:20.970 --> 00:29:24.779 and it changed the world. And all the good things 00:29:24.779 --> 00:29:27.180 in this world, the hospitals, the charities, 00:29:27.380 --> 00:29:29.599 the orphanages, like the good stuff of this world, 00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:32.539 it all comes from the kingdom of God. Check the 00:29:32.539 --> 00:29:34.799 history. It all comes from the kingdom of God. 00:29:34.839 --> 00:29:37.519 But that doesn't happen if the church doesn't 00:29:37.519 --> 00:29:41.380 do its job. And so I'm just asking, what are 00:29:41.380 --> 00:29:44.339 we waiting for? What more do we need to say? 00:29:44.400 --> 00:29:47.559 What more does God need to prove? That if we 00:29:47.559 --> 00:29:50.079 will work, great things will happen. If we will 00:29:50.079 --> 00:29:52.779 just suffer for a little while, the good fruit's 00:29:52.779 --> 00:29:56.779 on the other side. The Gentiles, these outsiders, 00:29:57.039 --> 00:30:00.279 those that were not like them, they were reached 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:02.759 and their lives were changed. That's the payoff 00:30:02.759 --> 00:30:07.839 of obeying the call, of staying on mission, of 00:30:07.839 --> 00:30:10.319 keeping that mission on your mind always. And 00:30:10.319 --> 00:30:11.839 that's what I'm putting on the table for you 00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:15.440 this morning, to obey the call. to send our best, 00:30:15.460 --> 00:30:18.319 to spread the good news in this community, in 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:20.539 this world. And so this morning, I'm asking this 00:30:20.539 --> 00:30:23.319 congregation one simple question, because we 00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:25.039 love to say this in the churches of Christ. We 00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:27.119 love to put it on our signs. We love to put it 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:29.619 on our websites and our bios, that we are the 00:30:29.619 --> 00:30:31.519 church of the New Testament, that we are the 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:33.819 church of Acts. We are the church that was established 00:30:33.819 --> 00:30:38.220 in AD 33. And I'm just asking, are we? And if 00:30:38.220 --> 00:30:41.049 we are, Will we act like it? If our identity 00:30:41.049 --> 00:30:43.690 is that, it should come before some activity. 00:30:44.710 --> 00:30:46.849 And if we are going to be the church of Acts, 00:30:46.930 --> 00:30:50.450 the church in Antioch, then we will this morning 00:30:50.450 --> 00:30:52.250 have the chance to lay our hands on this work. 00:30:52.349 --> 00:30:54.450 In just a moment, I'm going to pray over us. 00:30:54.650 --> 00:30:56.710 And I'm going to pray over the call that the 00:30:56.710 --> 00:30:59.829 leadership here believes that we've been given. 00:31:00.460 --> 00:31:02.880 If God has been stirring something in you during 00:31:02.880 --> 00:31:05.900 this message or over this past few months, if 00:31:05.900 --> 00:31:08.539 you sense God calling you to be a part of reaching 00:31:08.539 --> 00:31:10.920 the next generation, of reaching these others 00:31:10.920 --> 00:31:13.460 that need the good news, that need their lives 00:31:13.460 --> 00:31:16.339 transformed, I'm asking you to settle that with 00:31:16.339 --> 00:31:20.019 God in your heart and in your mind. However that 00:31:20.019 --> 00:31:22.420 looks for you, settle it with God. Is it going 00:31:22.420 --> 00:31:25.480 to be your time? Is it going to be your talents? 00:31:25.619 --> 00:31:27.640 Is it going to be your treasure? And you'll have 00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:29.759 the ability to commit to that. As we leave this 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:33.019 morning in the lobby, over on the side table, 00:31:33.160 --> 00:31:37.680 we've got these next -gen pledge cards. And even 00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:41.119 if you have no intention this morning of filling 00:31:41.119 --> 00:31:44.160 this out and pledging anything, I'm asking you 00:31:44.160 --> 00:31:47.240 to take one and pray over it. Pray over the person 00:31:47.240 --> 00:31:49.460 sitting next to you that may be considering how 00:31:49.460 --> 00:31:52.640 they're going to pledge to go on mission with 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:55.309 this congregation. Pray over the people that 00:31:55.309 --> 00:31:57.809 aren't thinking about it so that maybe they will 00:31:57.809 --> 00:32:00.029 think about it. But I'm asking you because what 00:32:00.029 --> 00:32:02.430 we did a few months ago was we asked you, you 00:32:02.430 --> 00:32:04.269 know, if you're willing to partner with us, just 00:32:04.269 --> 00:32:06.970 come talk to us. And the truth is, is I believe 00:32:06.970 --> 00:32:09.170 we have more out there that need to respond to 00:32:09.170 --> 00:32:11.589 that call, that want to. I believe you because 00:32:11.589 --> 00:32:13.410 you've talked to me about it. You've talked to 00:32:13.410 --> 00:32:15.789 our leadership about it, that you want to pledge 00:32:15.789 --> 00:32:19.019 your commitment to this mission. And so this 00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:22.000 morning, we are going to have this card. It's 00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:24.420 in the lobby. If we need more copies, I can print 00:32:24.420 --> 00:32:27.480 more. That's no problem. But we just want everyone 00:32:27.480 --> 00:32:30.579 to start pulling in the same direction to reach 00:32:30.579 --> 00:32:35.119 what we believe is our most fertile grounds of 00:32:35.119 --> 00:32:38.500 gospel initiative. We believe the next generation, 00:32:38.779 --> 00:32:41.460 one, they need the gospel, but here's another 00:32:41.460 --> 00:32:44.779 thing, they want it. The next generation wants 00:32:44.779 --> 00:32:46.299 it. In fact, and I should have put this stat 00:32:46.299 --> 00:32:49.220 on the screen, the next generation, and by that 00:32:49.220 --> 00:32:51.960 I mean the millennials and Gen Z, are among the 00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:55.059 most engaged people, the most engaged generation 00:32:55.059 --> 00:32:59.400 right now in churches. They're coming. The question 00:32:59.400 --> 00:33:01.619 is, what are we going to do? What are we going 00:33:01.619 --> 00:33:04.519 to do for them? There's a church in Atlanta right 00:33:04.519 --> 00:33:08.119 now that is exploding because they live with 00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:10.839 this mission in mind, and it's a simple quote, 00:33:10.920 --> 00:33:13.380 until all have heard. That we are going to do 00:33:13.380 --> 00:33:14.579 what we need to do. We're going to preach the 00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:16.839 gospel. We're going to go where we need to go 00:33:16.839 --> 00:33:19.680 to who we need to go to until all have heard 00:33:19.680 --> 00:33:22.599 the good news. And you know what that church 00:33:22.599 --> 00:33:25.900 has made up a lot of? Young people, millennials, 00:33:26.359 --> 00:33:28.920 Gen Z, the generation that everybody wants to 00:33:28.920 --> 00:33:30.279 talk about. They're ruining the world. Yeah, 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:32.640 maybe. But guess what? If we can change their 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:36.259 life, they'll be the ones saving the world. So 00:33:36.259 --> 00:33:40.670 we ask the question, what will we give? to save 00:33:40.670 --> 00:33:44.210 that generation's life and the one beyond it 00:33:44.210 --> 00:33:46.390 and the one beyond it. I don't know about you, 00:33:46.450 --> 00:33:48.910 but I've always heard, leave this better than 00:33:48.910 --> 00:33:52.369 you found it. And I'm not going to be here forever. 00:33:53.009 --> 00:33:55.549 I don't think I've got that much time left. And 00:33:55.549 --> 00:33:58.089 here's the thing, 100 years isn't that much time. 00:33:58.710 --> 00:34:01.250 So even if I've got 100 years left to live, I 00:34:01.250 --> 00:34:03.950 don't have that much time left. And neither do 00:34:03.950 --> 00:34:07.269 you. And so right now, in this moment, in this 00:34:07.269 --> 00:34:10.420 context that we are in, What will we do to leave 00:34:10.420 --> 00:34:12.739 this place better than we found it in? I'm not 00:34:12.739 --> 00:34:14.000 just talking about the Blairsville Church of 00:34:14.000 --> 00:34:17.639 Christ. I'm talking about this world. What will 00:34:17.639 --> 00:34:21.579 we do? What will you do? What will the church 00:34:21.579 --> 00:34:25.880 do? So once you've prayerfully responded on your 00:34:25.880 --> 00:34:27.639 card, I'm asking that you please bring it back 00:34:27.639 --> 00:34:30.739 to one of the shepherds, to me, to anybody in 00:34:30.739 --> 00:34:33.159 leadership that you trust with your card. You 00:34:33.159 --> 00:34:35.119 can drop it in the box out there, which we use 00:34:35.119 --> 00:34:38.150 for our offering. Like I said, you can hand it 00:34:38.150 --> 00:34:41.650 to one of us. This card is essentially your amen 00:34:41.650 --> 00:34:46.170 to this mission. It's your saying, yeah, I'm 00:34:46.170 --> 00:34:50.670 in. What do I do? How can I help? Y 'all, Antioch 00:34:50.670 --> 00:34:54.190 worshiped and they gave their best. They sought 00:34:54.190 --> 00:34:58.570 God and God showed up. I said it a few months 00:34:58.570 --> 00:35:01.670 ago. We cannot bring the fire, but we can stack 00:35:01.670 --> 00:35:05.230 the wood. And all I'm asking, all we're asking 00:35:05.230 --> 00:35:07.750 you this morning is how will we, as a church 00:35:07.750 --> 00:35:10.750 family, stack the wood to light a fire in the 00:35:10.750 --> 00:35:13.530 next generation to change this world for the 00:35:13.530 --> 00:35:17.119 better? That's the call. And so I'm asking that 00:35:17.119 --> 00:35:18.940 we partner together and we do the very same thing. 00:35:19.019 --> 00:35:20.840 I'm going to pray for us and then we'll have 00:35:20.840 --> 00:35:23.480 a song of invitation. If you need to respond, 00:35:23.739 --> 00:35:26.179 if you need prayer, if you need the church to 00:35:26.179 --> 00:35:27.860 lay hands on you because you are struggling, 00:35:28.019 --> 00:35:30.099 I want you to know that we do want to encourage 00:35:30.099 --> 00:35:32.420 you. We do want to be like Barnabas and give 00:35:32.420 --> 00:35:34.659 you some love this morning and help prop you 00:35:34.659 --> 00:35:36.860 up so that you can make it through another day, 00:35:36.900 --> 00:35:38.920 another week until we gather again. We want to 00:35:38.920 --> 00:35:40.900 be here for you. So if you need anything, come 00:35:40.900 --> 00:35:43.400 after we pray and as we stand and sing. Let's 00:35:43.400 --> 00:35:45.420 pray together over this mission. Father God. 00:35:47.219 --> 00:35:51.139 You're so good. And the way that you work in 00:35:51.139 --> 00:35:55.559 all things, and the way that you can take a storm 00:35:55.559 --> 00:35:58.719 that wipes out a community, the way that you 00:35:58.719 --> 00:36:01.940 can take persecution that runs these people out 00:36:01.940 --> 00:36:03.579 of their homes, Father, the way that you can 00:36:03.579 --> 00:36:06.619 do extraordinary things through the worst tragedies, 00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:12.480 Father, that is proof that you are so good. And 00:36:12.480 --> 00:36:15.050 God, So many people in this room have a story 00:36:15.050 --> 00:36:17.550 to share about your goodness in their life. So 00:36:17.550 --> 00:36:19.550 many people in this room have a story to share 00:36:19.550 --> 00:36:21.269 about the goodness they've witnessed because 00:36:21.269 --> 00:36:24.750 of your divine activity. And so, Father, my prayer 00:36:24.750 --> 00:36:28.050 this morning is simply, will we share it? Will 00:36:28.050 --> 00:36:30.909 we do everything we can to share our testimony 00:36:30.909 --> 00:36:34.570 of a good God who came to this awful world to 00:36:34.570 --> 00:36:37.659 make it good again? And will we do everything 00:36:37.659 --> 00:36:40.699 we can to bring as many people as we can into 00:36:40.699 --> 00:36:45.039 the good world you have in store for us? Because 00:36:45.039 --> 00:36:50.159 God, I want to truly make heaven crowded. I want 00:36:50.159 --> 00:36:53.260 to force you to have to build more and more and 00:36:53.260 --> 00:36:56.559 more rooms. God, I want to make heaven constantly 00:36:56.559 --> 00:37:00.789 throw parties. And we can't do that if we sit 00:37:00.789 --> 00:37:03.150 on our hands. We can't do that if we hoard the 00:37:03.150 --> 00:37:06.210 good news. We can't do that if we hold back what 00:37:06.210 --> 00:37:09.349 we have been blessed with. And so God, my prayer 00:37:09.349 --> 00:37:12.769 is that everyone in this room, church member 00:37:12.769 --> 00:37:15.550 or not, will see your goodness and decide, I 00:37:15.550 --> 00:37:18.809 need to act. I need to respond to the goodness 00:37:18.809 --> 00:37:22.889 of God. And as Tim said earlier, when he talked 00:37:22.889 --> 00:37:26.920 about the offering, Your goodness, your activity, 00:37:26.980 --> 00:37:31.059 your redemption in our lives should produce a 00:37:31.059 --> 00:37:34.840 response of self -sacrifice, of giving our entire 00:37:34.840 --> 00:37:38.179 lives. I heard a story last night about a man 00:37:38.179 --> 00:37:42.420 who worked in Wall Street, and he wanted to commit 00:37:42.420 --> 00:37:44.460 his life. Somebody asked him, how much do you 00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:46.380 feel like you need to earn in this world? And 00:37:46.380 --> 00:37:47.940 he said, I want to earn so much that I can give 00:37:47.940 --> 00:37:52.460 90 % and live off of 10. God, help us to be of 00:37:52.460 --> 00:37:55.599 that mindset. To be of the mindset that I don't 00:37:55.599 --> 00:37:57.719 need as much as the kingdom needs because the 00:37:57.719 --> 00:38:00.460 kingdom needs something poured into it so that 00:38:00.460 --> 00:38:02.800 we can bring it to as many people as possible. 00:38:02.840 --> 00:38:05.679 God, there's so many people that need you. There's 00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:08.199 people in this room that need you. My prayer 00:38:08.199 --> 00:38:10.980 is that we will keep talking. We will keep telling 00:38:10.980 --> 00:38:13.940 of the good news of Jesus, those ancient and 00:38:13.940 --> 00:38:16.199 holy words. We will keep spreading that until 00:38:16.199 --> 00:38:18.880 all have heard and until we have made disciples 00:38:18.880 --> 00:38:21.199 that make disciples that make disciples in this 00:38:21.199 --> 00:38:24.760 world. and until you are glorified in all nations, 00:38:24.960 --> 00:38:28.820 with all creation, of all generations. Father, 00:38:28.860 --> 00:38:32.559 bless our mission and help us to always keep 00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:35.000 it at the forefront of our mind. We love you 00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:37.320 and we praise you. We thank you so much for doing 00:38:37.320 --> 00:38:39.719 beautiful things in this world. It's in Jesus' 00:38:39.780 --> 00:38:42.639 name we pray. Amen. If you need anything, please 00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:45.360 respond to the invitation and come as we stand 00:38:45.360 --> 00:38:46.119 and as we sing.