WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.540 You know, I felt the need to do this series because 00:00:02.540 --> 00:00:06.280 in my young adult life, I have seen people, young 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:10.820 and old, fight to feel like they were worth something. 00:00:11.480 --> 00:00:13.880 both in the physical world and in the digital 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.280 world. On social media, you get on Instagram 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:19.059 or Facebook or TikTok, and you see people doing 00:00:19.059 --> 00:00:22.339 everything they can trying to get likes, trying 00:00:22.339 --> 00:00:24.280 to get followers, trying to get subscribers. 00:00:24.820 --> 00:00:27.780 You go into your job and you see people killing 00:00:27.780 --> 00:00:30.399 themselves, working themselves literally to death, 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:33.280 trying to get a raise, trying to get the promotion, 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:36.740 trying to get just noticed by their boss. You 00:00:36.740 --> 00:00:39.920 look on TV and you see ads for people trying 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:42.960 to be... in positions of power, trying to be 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:45.979 voted into offices so that they can have these 00:00:45.979 --> 00:00:49.219 positions of acclaim. And you see all throughout 00:00:49.219 --> 00:00:52.859 society, in social circles, in schools, in jobs, 00:00:53.140 --> 00:00:57.719 in the digital spaces, people doing things even 00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:00.700 if they have to compromise their morals and values 00:01:00.700 --> 00:01:07.939 for the sake of having a place of value. You 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:10.819 even see people tear others down. So that they 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:14.420 can feel just a little bit bigger. As if tearing 00:01:14.420 --> 00:01:17.019 people down doesn't make you look even smaller. 00:01:17.379 --> 00:01:20.560 You see people compromising on what they believe 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:23.280 just so they can be accepted by somebody else. 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.000 Compromising on what they believe just in hopes 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:28.840 that it would finally make them feel like they 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:32.500 mattered. Only to be disappointed every single 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:37.069 time. So I felt like we needed. A series to say 00:01:37.069 --> 00:01:40.109 that in the eyes of God, you don't have to chase. 00:01:40.349 --> 00:01:42.430 You don't have to accomplish. You don't have 00:01:42.430 --> 00:01:45.709 to achieve in order to have value. You don't 00:01:45.709 --> 00:01:49.409 have to be better than anybody else in order 00:01:49.409 --> 00:01:53.549 for God to see you as worthy. It is not a competition. 00:01:53.890 --> 00:01:59.010 It is not a rat race. You know, you watch enough 00:01:59.010 --> 00:02:02.109 ball games and you'll notice something about 00:02:02.109 --> 00:02:06.829 how we hand out value. You know, we started the 00:02:06.829 --> 00:02:08.810 college football season this past week. Regardless 00:02:08.810 --> 00:02:11.250 of what people say, I enjoyed staying up till 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:14.129 1 a .m. last night watching UNLV versus Memphis, 00:02:14.250 --> 00:02:17.849 and I would do it every time. Because we watch 00:02:17.849 --> 00:02:21.650 these guys on a field, on a court, in a gym, 00:02:21.830 --> 00:02:25.330 and we look at them and we say, if they win, 00:02:25.650 --> 00:02:29.349 they matter. If they win, they're worth millions. 00:02:29.469 --> 00:02:31.729 If they win, they're worth all of the notoriety. 00:02:31.729 --> 00:02:35.080 They're worth the parade. But if they lose, then 00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:39.020 who cares about them? If they lose, they're a 00:02:39.020 --> 00:02:43.060 failure. If they lose, they don't matter. And 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:47.520 so we hand out worth based on achievement. And 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.400 I hope you know this morning, and I hope you 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.699 believe it to be true. And if you don't yet, 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:54.659 I hope you do by the time you leave here. And 00:02:54.659 --> 00:02:56.539 if that doesn't work, please give me a call. 00:02:56.780 --> 00:03:01.719 God does not define worth that way. He never 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:06.110 has. God does not define your worth, your value 00:03:06.110 --> 00:03:09.189 by talent. He doesn't define it by achievement, 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:13.469 by income, by popularity. God does not care about 00:03:13.469 --> 00:03:16.229 what you have built or where you rank on somebody's 00:03:16.229 --> 00:03:20.849 list. He does not care about any of that. In 00:03:20.849 --> 00:03:23.810 fact, the Apostle Paul tells the church, the 00:03:23.810 --> 00:03:27.740 Colossian church to bury that mindset. If you 00:03:27.740 --> 00:03:29.580 have your Bibles, turn to Colossians chapter 00:03:29.580 --> 00:03:32.740 2. That is in the New Testament. It is one of 00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:34.759 the letters from the Apostle Paul, Colossians 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:37.219 chapter 2. We're just going to look at three 00:03:37.219 --> 00:03:40.039 verses from this chapter at this moment, and 00:03:40.039 --> 00:03:41.680 then we'll look at some more passages in a minute. 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:44.719 But Colossians chapter 2, starting in verse 8. 00:03:44.879 --> 00:03:48.219 Colossians chapter 2, verse 8, 20 and 23. See 00:03:48.219 --> 00:03:50.979 to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy 00:03:50.979 --> 00:03:53.960 and empty deceit, according to human tradition. 00:03:54.460 --> 00:03:57.120 according to the elemental spirits of the world 00:03:57.120 --> 00:04:00.360 and not according to Christ. If with Christ you 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:02.860 died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, 00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:06.500 as if you were still alive in the world, do you 00:04:06.500 --> 00:04:11.599 submit to regulations? These have indeed an appearance 00:04:11.599 --> 00:04:16.480 of wisdom, but they are of no value against the 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:19.139 indulgence of the flesh. Let me repeat that last 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:25.199 line in verse 23. They are of no value. Against 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:27.600 the indulgence of the flesh. Mind you, he doesn't 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:29.899 say they're of little value. He doesn't say they're 00:04:29.899 --> 00:04:32.540 of less value. He doesn't say that. He says they 00:04:32.540 --> 00:04:37.259 are of no value. Paul's not exactly being subtle 00:04:37.259 --> 00:04:39.860 here. He's not being gentle here. And when you 00:04:39.860 --> 00:04:42.680 think about it, he's very right. He is not saying 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:45.240 something that is questionable. He's not saying 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:47.819 something that is up for debate. Paul is saying 00:04:47.819 --> 00:04:51.000 every system that the world... hands you to rank 00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:53.740 yourself. Every measurement, every calculation, 00:04:54.019 --> 00:04:56.360 all the rule keeping and tradition, the performance, 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:00.579 your image, all of that stuff, all of the accumulating 00:05:00.579 --> 00:05:02.660 that you could try to do, all of the things you 00:05:02.660 --> 00:05:06.060 could try to do to achieve status, none of it 00:05:06.060 --> 00:05:10.019 can give you what it promises. And this is why 00:05:10.019 --> 00:05:12.939 all of these people that are famous, all of these 00:05:12.939 --> 00:05:14.800 people that are wealthy, all of these people 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:17.019 that have the power, they have the status, they 00:05:17.019 --> 00:05:20.480 are not happy. They are sad. They are miserable. 00:05:20.660 --> 00:05:22.759 They feel empty. And they would tell you that 00:05:22.759 --> 00:05:24.720 there's still something that they're missing. 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:29.259 And I've been talking about. my goat the last 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:31.720 couple of weeks in Drew Brees, but I know there's 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:33.220 some people in this room that have a different 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:35.439 goat. His name is Tom Brady, and I don't care 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:38.199 what you think about him, but Tom Brady is considered 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:40.819 the greatest football player of all time. He 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:43.560 has all the accolades. He's won, what, six Super 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.339 Bowls. He has the MVPs. He has the records. He 00:05:46.339 --> 00:05:48.579 has all these things to prove that he is worth 00:05:48.579 --> 00:05:51.680 something. But would you know, Tom Brady was 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:55.160 doing an interview one time and he told the interviewer 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.000 that after all of the accomplishments, he still 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.879 feels a void. He still feels like he's missing 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:06.560 something. And I just wish somebody would grab 00:06:06.560 --> 00:06:09.680 Tom Brady by his arms and shake him and say, 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:13.339 it's Jesus. It is Jesus that you are missing. 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:15.620 The reason there is a void when you have all 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:17.620 of this status, you have all of the money, you're 00:06:17.620 --> 00:06:19.040 going to be in the record books, you'll be in 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:21.540 the Hall of Fame. The reason you still feel like 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:24.060 you are missing something is because you are 00:06:24.060 --> 00:06:27.860 missing the fullness that only God provides. 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:32.560 All of the measurements of this world cannot 00:06:32.560 --> 00:06:38.220 manufacture value. Only Christ has that ability. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:41.980 And he's already done it. He's already given. 00:06:42.339 --> 00:06:45.540 He's already proven your worth. And we need to 00:06:45.540 --> 00:06:47.740 know, and I hope you do, that true worth comes 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:52.060 from God alone. And he says you are priceless. 00:06:53.480 --> 00:06:57.740 We have to know it. We have to believe it. God 00:06:57.740 --> 00:07:00.819 has gone to great lengths to prove. your value. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:03.339 He's gone to great lengths to prove how much 00:07:03.339 --> 00:07:05.680 we are worth to him. As we've discussed the last 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:08.079 few weeks in this series, God has proven time 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:11.579 and time and time again that his children, his 00:07:11.579 --> 00:07:14.420 people, his creation, they are worth, we are 00:07:14.420 --> 00:07:18.279 worth so much to him, even when we may not feel 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:23.220 it or see it. And so I tell you the truth that 00:07:23.220 --> 00:07:26.180 our worth is not defined by what we can achieve 00:07:26.180 --> 00:07:30.360 or accomplish. It's defined by what God achieved 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:34.040 when he purchased us with the sacrificial blood 00:07:34.040 --> 00:07:38.939 of Jesus. And that truth changes everything. 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:42.100 I like to say that when you learn something to 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:46.459 be true, it demands a response. And so we've 00:07:46.459 --> 00:07:49.139 learned this truth that God deems us to be priceless. 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:51.939 He deems us to be worthy of sending his son to 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:55.420 die for us, of doing these things, of fulfilling 00:07:55.420 --> 00:07:57.819 these things so that we can have a chance to 00:07:57.819 --> 00:08:01.279 be in his family again. And when we learn that 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:10.959 to be true, it demands a response. And God wants 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:15.720 you to not just see your worth, He doesn't want 00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:18.939 you to just believe it. He sees you as a part 00:08:18.939 --> 00:08:23.120 of his mission. And so I want you to think about 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:27.160 a guy like Moses. This guy spent 40 years trying 00:08:27.160 --> 00:08:32.460 to hide from his mistake. He was trying to run 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:35.159 from what he had done, but then when he's called 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:37.440 by God, or then when he's called by God, he's 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.419 so convinced that he is not the man for the job 00:08:40.419 --> 00:08:42.860 that he flat out tells God that he must send 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:46.470 someone else. And God still used him anyway. 00:08:46.809 --> 00:08:49.610 He uses Moses to lead an entire people, God's 00:08:49.610 --> 00:08:53.509 chosen people, from being slaves to being this 00:08:53.509 --> 00:08:57.129 new chosen nation. Or think about a guy like 00:08:57.129 --> 00:08:59.049 Zechariah. We talked about him a few weeks ago. 00:08:59.169 --> 00:09:03.110 This old priest who has no real value. He has 00:09:03.110 --> 00:09:07.590 no real reason to expect ever having children. 00:09:07.750 --> 00:09:11.190 He's old. His wife's old. It's just not going 00:09:11.190 --> 00:09:13.759 to happen. His wife was barren, as the scripture 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:17.860 says. But God chooses them to have a miraculous 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:21.360 child who would not just be a kid for their pleasure, 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.220 but this child would be the forerunner of Jesus. 00:09:24.860 --> 00:09:27.539 You talk about using somebody who the world would 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:30.639 have seen as worthless to do something incredible. 00:09:31.019 --> 00:09:33.620 Or last week, we talked about Peter, this ordinary 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:36.240 fisherman from this small little fishing town. 00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:40.750 And Jesus comes to Peter despite all... his flaws, 00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:44.070 despite all of his deficiencies. And he says, 00:09:44.230 --> 00:09:49.450 I'm going to use you. to launch the church. I'm 00:09:49.450 --> 00:09:52.049 going to use you to bring the gospel to the nations. 00:09:52.190 --> 00:09:54.529 I'm going to use you to preach the first good 00:09:54.529 --> 00:09:57.490 news sermon. I'm going to use you to no longer 00:09:57.490 --> 00:10:00.370 fish for fish. You're going to fish for men and 00:10:00.370 --> 00:10:01.830 you're going to bring them into the kingdom, 00:10:01.870 --> 00:10:04.490 into the family of God. I want you to notice 00:10:04.490 --> 00:10:06.809 something in all of those stories, in Moses' 00:10:06.990 --> 00:10:09.850 life, in Zechariah's life, in Peter's life, that 00:10:09.850 --> 00:10:12.960 God finds... these people. He keeps picking these 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.279 people that the world would have never picked, 00:10:15.419 --> 00:10:17.100 that the world would have looked at and said 00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:19.620 they are useless. They are not of value. They 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:22.139 are not essential to the mission. He finds these 00:10:22.139 --> 00:10:25.220 people, not by accident, but intentionally so 00:10:25.220 --> 00:10:29.039 that he can use them for a great mission, a great 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:32.259 cause. And when he uses them, no one will think 00:10:32.259 --> 00:10:37.399 Peter is so awesome. Peter is so capable. Peter 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.360 is so talented. The only thing they'll think 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:43.090 is God. is so good to work through somebody like 00:10:43.090 --> 00:10:45.850 Peter. And think about some of the stories we 00:10:45.850 --> 00:10:48.710 love to tell in our society, these redemption 00:10:48.710 --> 00:10:52.210 stories of people going from a nobody to a somebody. 00:10:52.529 --> 00:10:55.090 You think about the guy that nobody would have 00:10:55.090 --> 00:10:57.429 ever picked to be on the team, that nobody would 00:10:57.429 --> 00:10:59.669 ever, it would not have been the first choice 00:10:59.669 --> 00:11:02.490 for the job, but then he does the thing and he 00:11:02.490 --> 00:11:05.110 does it so well that we make documentaries about 00:11:05.110 --> 00:11:07.190 it and we tell stories about it and we write 00:11:07.190 --> 00:11:09.960 books about it because it's so... incredible. 00:11:09.980 --> 00:11:12.080 I think about like Easton, my five -year -old, 00:11:12.100 --> 00:11:13.940 his favorite person in the world right now is 00:11:13.940 --> 00:11:16.919 Michael Jordan. And we love to tell the story 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:19.120 about how Michael Jordan as a sophomore in high 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:21.919 school didn't make the varsity team. But then 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:24.240 he goes on to be the greatest basketball player 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:26.480 of all time, one of the most notable figures 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:29.000 of all time, which is why I can say Michael Jordan, 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:31.159 and everybody in the room knows who that is, 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:34.039 regardless of if you like sports or not. We tell 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:37.000 these stories because it shows something incredible. 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:39.899 But can I tell you, the truth of the matter is 00:11:39.899 --> 00:11:42.600 that the human body, just in a general sense, 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:45.000 if you're kind of athletic and you work hard 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:48.429 enough, you can do that. But some of the things 00:11:48.429 --> 00:11:51.330 that God has used people for in the past, it 00:11:51.330 --> 00:11:54.210 is by no explanation of genetics or by working 00:11:54.210 --> 00:11:57.009 hard. You talk about, like I love, we just talked 00:11:57.009 --> 00:12:02.029 about Joshua. And I love that Josh said, well, 00:12:02.070 --> 00:12:04.429 yeah, the recruitment for our army is a little 00:12:04.429 --> 00:12:08.389 down. You think about the story of these battles 00:12:08.389 --> 00:12:11.929 and how there is no way that they win these battles 00:12:11.929 --> 00:12:15.549 if not for the hand of God. We tell these stories. 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:19.779 Because they show that it is only God's power. 00:12:20.539 --> 00:12:25.379 And God does that through every one of us if 00:12:25.379 --> 00:12:30.620 we let him. But we first have to believe that 00:12:30.620 --> 00:12:36.220 he wants to use us. And he needs you to believe 00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:39.539 that because there's more to your life than what 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:43.480 you have been doing. You know, I don't know if 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:45.740 you caught on, but when we had our three little 00:12:45.740 --> 00:12:47.500 characters up here, I say little, they're all 00:12:47.500 --> 00:12:48.879 bigger than me. When we had our three characters 00:12:48.879 --> 00:12:52.980 up here, I said, you guys have been working. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:57.580 You guys have been doing something. And there's 00:12:57.580 --> 00:13:01.179 a reason we say working, because we weren't meant. 00:13:01.850 --> 00:13:04.070 The kingdom of God was not about these chairs. 00:13:04.389 --> 00:13:06.710 We weren't meant to just sit here and listen 00:13:06.710 --> 00:13:09.289 to someone tell you how good you are. You weren't 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:11.190 meant to sit here and listen to someone tell 00:13:11.190 --> 00:13:13.929 you how powerful you are or how qualified you 00:13:13.929 --> 00:13:16.590 are, how capable you are, because the truth is 00:13:16.590 --> 00:13:19.509 you're just like Peter. You're not qualified 00:13:19.509 --> 00:13:22.409 for the job that you've been called to. You're 00:13:22.409 --> 00:13:24.899 just like Zechariah. where it makes no sense 00:13:24.899 --> 00:13:26.779 that you're going to do what you're going to 00:13:26.779 --> 00:13:29.279 do. You are just like Moses where you've got 00:13:29.279 --> 00:13:31.539 all the reason to feel ashamed. You have all 00:13:31.539 --> 00:13:33.679 the reason to feel guilty. You have all the reason 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:37.500 to feel dirty. But guess what? God still can 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:44.500 use you and he will. He wants to for work. And 00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:47.940 I don't care what anybody says. He wants to use 00:13:47.940 --> 00:13:53.230 us for work because we've got a kingdom. to spread. 00:13:54.029 --> 00:13:58.029 We've got a family to grow. We've got a job to 00:13:58.029 --> 00:14:00.830 do. We've been put here for a reason. And so 00:14:00.830 --> 00:14:04.269 the first step is believing that you are valuable, 00:14:04.470 --> 00:14:06.429 that you have a place in the mission of God. 00:14:06.669 --> 00:14:09.529 The second step is, as I said, when you find 00:14:09.529 --> 00:14:12.549 something to be true, you have to respond. The 00:14:12.549 --> 00:14:18.389 second step is walking in our worth. It's not 00:14:18.389 --> 00:14:20.429 enough to just believe you have value. You have 00:14:20.429 --> 00:14:24.039 to live it out. Like I said last week, you know, 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:25.899 you don't take an escalate through a mud hole 00:14:25.899 --> 00:14:28.879 unless you have no idea what that escalate is 00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:34.120 worth or you just don't care. Walking in worth 00:14:34.120 --> 00:14:39.220 starts with how and what you think. Once your 00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:41.139 view of God changes, you know, that's kind of 00:14:41.139 --> 00:14:43.399 the easy part of getting someone to believe, 00:14:43.519 --> 00:14:46.159 to become a Christian is getting them to believe 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:50.120 that God loves them. I say the easy part. I mean, 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:52.200 that's still a pretty difficult part, but that's 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:54.519 like the easy part of it if there was one. It's 00:14:54.519 --> 00:14:56.460 getting people to believe that God loves them, 00:14:56.580 --> 00:14:58.940 that God values them, that God treasures them, 00:14:58.960 --> 00:15:01.539 that yes, God would send his son to die for them. 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:05.139 The hard part is getting people to understand 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:08.820 that that should change your view of yourself, 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:12.279 that that should not only change the view of 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:14.860 yourself, but that it should change the way you 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:18.330 live. You see, once you know that God doesn't 00:15:18.330 --> 00:15:21.769 just see you as some worthless blob on a random 00:15:21.769 --> 00:15:24.830 planet in a random period of time, you then have 00:15:24.830 --> 00:15:28.070 to see yourself as he sees you, at least you 00:15:28.070 --> 00:15:30.970 should, and then you have to live like he destined 00:15:30.970 --> 00:15:34.389 for you to live. Let me not... leave room for 00:15:34.389 --> 00:15:37.070 confusion this morning, it's tempting to think 00:15:37.070 --> 00:15:41.190 that being used by God makes you worth more than 00:15:41.190 --> 00:15:43.909 others. That if you are used by God, that if 00:15:43.909 --> 00:15:46.409 you're accomplishing God's will, if you're fulfilling 00:15:46.409 --> 00:15:48.909 the mission of God, that you're suddenly worth 00:15:48.909 --> 00:15:51.769 more. You know, like we look at these offices 00:15:51.769 --> 00:15:53.830 in the church, you know, I kind of, when people 00:15:53.830 --> 00:15:56.250 say, like, you know, people will refer to me 00:15:56.250 --> 00:15:58.990 as Pastor Donovan. And I'm like, no, no, no, 00:15:59.009 --> 00:16:03.429 I'm just Donovan. I don't deserve a title. Because 00:16:03.429 --> 00:16:05.789 I'm no different than you. I'm just trying to 00:16:05.789 --> 00:16:07.690 do what God has called me to do, just like you. 00:16:08.190 --> 00:16:10.070 I'm just trying to fulfill the mission, just 00:16:10.070 --> 00:16:13.169 like you are. I'm just trying to walk in my worth, 00:16:13.309 --> 00:16:17.169 just like you are. We're worth the same. The 00:16:17.169 --> 00:16:19.509 only difference is our function. I do a little 00:16:19.509 --> 00:16:20.990 bit different. You do a little bit different. 00:16:21.029 --> 00:16:23.149 But guess what? The apostle Paul says that does 00:16:23.149 --> 00:16:25.409 not matter because if the body was missing a 00:16:25.409 --> 00:16:27.870 foot, how would it stand? If the body was missing 00:16:27.870 --> 00:16:29.990 its ears, how would it hear? If it was missing 00:16:29.990 --> 00:16:31.990 its eyes, how would it see? They all do different 00:16:31.990 --> 00:16:37.169 things, but they are all equally valuable. And 00:16:37.169 --> 00:16:41.409 so don't think that I'm saying working makes 00:16:41.409 --> 00:16:43.769 you worth more, but also don't think that I'm 00:16:43.769 --> 00:16:47.549 saying not working makes you worth less. In fact, 00:16:47.570 --> 00:16:49.669 this is what the Apostle Paul says in his letter 00:16:49.669 --> 00:16:54.529 to the Ephesian Christians. Here we are. For 00:16:54.529 --> 00:16:58.549 by grace you have been saved through faith, and 00:16:58.549 --> 00:17:01.970 this is not your own doing, it is the gift of 00:17:01.970 --> 00:17:05.809 God, not a result of works, so that no one may 00:17:05.809 --> 00:17:09.890 boast, for we are His workmanship, created in 00:17:09.890 --> 00:17:13.210 Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared 00:17:13.210 --> 00:17:18.150 beforehand that we should... Walk in them. We 00:17:18.150 --> 00:17:24.769 were created not for or not to earn our salvation. 00:17:24.789 --> 00:17:28.950 We were not meant to earn our redemption. This 00:17:28.950 --> 00:17:31.970 was something that Jesus did for us. And we were 00:17:31.970 --> 00:17:36.430 created not as better than. We were created handcrafted. 00:17:36.430 --> 00:17:39.509 I love that word. It's his workmanship. Created 00:17:39.509 --> 00:17:43.650 in Christ Jesus for good works. We were handcrafted 00:17:43.650 --> 00:17:48.690 to do the good. that God put us here to do. You 00:17:48.690 --> 00:17:51.650 notice in the garden, when God created Adam and 00:17:51.650 --> 00:17:54.170 Eve, he puts them in this garden, and he gives 00:17:54.170 --> 00:17:57.549 them what? Work. He gives them a job, and I've 00:17:57.549 --> 00:17:59.170 mentioned it before, and if you haven't heard 00:17:59.170 --> 00:18:01.150 this, I hope you take it and run with it, because 00:18:01.150 --> 00:18:02.670 I love this. The first time I heard it, I was 00:18:02.670 --> 00:18:05.210 like, oh my goodness, it blew me away. The word 00:18:05.210 --> 00:18:09.329 work, there in the Hebrew, in the Garden of Eden 00:18:09.329 --> 00:18:12.210 in Genesis, the word work is the word avoda. 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:16.759 And that word also is used to describe or to 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:19.940 translate worship. And so how do we worship? 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:22.480 How do we praise God in the work that we do in 00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:25.779 this world? God put us here to accomplish some 00:18:25.779 --> 00:18:29.119 good. And we're saved not as a result of those 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:32.119 works. Your worth isn't earned. It doesn't go 00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:34.619 up. It doesn't go down based on what you do or 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:37.579 don't do. This isn't like a meritocracy. But 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:40.339 in verse 10, Paul turns right around and he says, 00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:44.210 you were created. You were designed for this. 00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:48.130 You have the things in this world that you can 00:18:48.130 --> 00:18:51.029 tell they were created to do nothing. It's like 00:18:51.029 --> 00:18:54.029 the designer dogs. And some of you have designer 00:18:54.029 --> 00:18:56.410 dogs. And I'm not messing, like I'm not making 00:18:56.410 --> 00:18:58.990 fun of you, but designer dogs, like the little 00:18:58.990 --> 00:19:01.329 tiny things that you can fit in a purse and carry 00:19:01.329 --> 00:19:04.210 around. Those dogs have no, like they don't do 00:19:04.210 --> 00:19:07.410 anything. They just eat food and cost you a vet 00:19:07.410 --> 00:19:10.670 bill every six months. But like if you've got... 00:19:11.150 --> 00:19:15.869 a bloodhound, or if you've got a Doberman, those 00:19:15.869 --> 00:19:18.369 dogs have a function, right? They're either for 00:19:18.369 --> 00:19:22.869 hunting or for protecting. And we had a Chihuahua 00:19:22.869 --> 00:19:25.410 when I was in like the ninth grade. It wasn't 00:19:25.410 --> 00:19:28.150 mine. My aunt had it and I hated that dog because 00:19:28.150 --> 00:19:30.630 you know what that dog did? It didn't serve a 00:19:30.630 --> 00:19:35.650 purpose. It didn't do anything except bark. All 00:19:35.650 --> 00:19:39.750 it did was bark. And I think a lot of Christians 00:19:39.750 --> 00:19:43.650 are kind of like that, right? We just talk. We 00:19:43.650 --> 00:19:47.589 just bark. But we're not working. We're not doing 00:19:47.589 --> 00:19:50.230 what we were designed to do. We were designed 00:19:50.230 --> 00:19:52.690 not to sit on a couch. We were designed not to 00:19:52.690 --> 00:19:54.769 sit here and listen. We were designed not to 00:19:54.769 --> 00:19:56.930 go out on a street corner and just talk. We were 00:19:56.930 --> 00:20:05.250 designed to do good works. These works were prepared. 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:10.000 In our design, they were prepared ahead of time 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:13.579 for us to walk in. These two things aren't competing 00:20:13.579 --> 00:20:16.039 with each other. This idea of work and faith 00:20:16.039 --> 00:20:18.819 or accomplishing and salvation, they're not competing 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:21.279 with each other. Your worth, your value, it is 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:23.740 settled. There's no question about that. Before 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:26.019 you ever serve in a ministry, teach a class, 00:20:26.200 --> 00:20:28.299 go on that mission trip or give the offering, 00:20:28.440 --> 00:20:31.599 your worth has been determined. But settled worth 00:20:31.599 --> 00:20:35.930 does not mean you sit on worth. It doesn't mean 00:20:35.930 --> 00:20:38.269 that you just sit on the shelf. You were not 00:20:38.269 --> 00:20:41.230 rescued to sit on the shelf. You were not redeemed 00:20:41.230 --> 00:20:43.970 to occupy a pew. You were not put on the team 00:20:43.970 --> 00:20:48.890 to sit on the bench. You were made to go and 00:20:48.890 --> 00:20:53.670 do, to be a part of God's redemptive mission 00:20:53.670 --> 00:20:58.230 in this world. There's a song called Made for 00:20:58.230 --> 00:21:01.130 More. It's a really popular song right now. I 00:21:01.130 --> 00:21:03.569 know there are some of our Christian colleges, 00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:05.490 it's like their theme for the year. And I know 00:21:05.490 --> 00:21:07.609 some churches, this is their theme song for the 00:21:07.609 --> 00:21:11.390 year. It's made for more. And I think it talks 00:21:11.390 --> 00:21:14.049 to this point. The idea that too many of us were 00:21:14.049 --> 00:21:18.049 living this quiet, sidelined life where we're 00:21:18.049 --> 00:21:20.849 content with just sitting on the bench and just 00:21:20.849 --> 00:21:23.710 watching the game play out in front of us when 00:21:23.710 --> 00:21:26.109 we were actually built for something bigger than 00:21:26.109 --> 00:21:29.220 that. I want you to listen to these lyrics. I 00:21:29.220 --> 00:21:34.000 know who I am because I know who you are. The 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:38.559 cross of salvation was only the start. I am chosen, 00:21:38.720 --> 00:21:43.420 free, and forgiven. I have a future, and it's 00:21:43.420 --> 00:21:46.359 worth the living. Because I wasn't made to be 00:21:46.359 --> 00:21:49.900 tending a grave. I was called by name, born and 00:21:49.900 --> 00:21:54.480 raised back to life again. I was made for more. 00:21:55.849 --> 00:21:59.789 So why would I make a bed in my shame when a 00:21:59.789 --> 00:22:03.690 fountain of grace is running my way? I know I 00:22:03.690 --> 00:22:08.910 am yours and I was made for more. You see, that's 00:22:08.910 --> 00:22:12.650 the tension there in Ephesians. It's this knowing 00:22:12.650 --> 00:22:15.309 you're valuable, knowing that you are worth, 00:22:15.390 --> 00:22:17.289 knowing that you were made for something great 00:22:17.289 --> 00:22:21.180 and then doing absolutely nothing with it. Y 00:22:21.180 --> 00:22:23.660 'all, that's not humility. It's not being safe. 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:28.640 It's not being cautious. It's waste. And it's 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:34.039 poor stewardship. And the Bible talks about stewardship. 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:37.359 And I don't think any of us want to be poor stewards. 00:22:37.859 --> 00:22:40.160 We don't want to be wasteful with what God has 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:45.490 entrusted us with. And it's not. It's not that 00:22:45.490 --> 00:22:47.789 sitting on the bench makes you worthless. I don't 00:22:47.789 --> 00:22:50.369 want that to come across because we need the 00:22:50.369 --> 00:22:53.089 sixth man, right? We need the extras. We need 00:22:53.089 --> 00:22:55.190 the people that are ready to go whenever one 00:22:55.190 --> 00:22:58.809 of us can't. That's why I love Aaron and I love 00:22:58.809 --> 00:23:00.990 Chad and Phil and Greg and the people that are 00:23:00.990 --> 00:23:03.109 here that are willing to preach when I can't. 00:23:03.390 --> 00:23:05.589 It's why I love that we have a song leader rotation 00:23:05.589 --> 00:23:07.769 so that when one of us loses our voice, guess 00:23:07.769 --> 00:23:10.269 what? Somebody's ready to go. It's why I love 00:23:10.269 --> 00:23:12.390 that in our ministries, like our deacons are 00:23:12.390 --> 00:23:14.789 developing people that can come behind them, 00:23:14.890 --> 00:23:17.450 that can work alongside them. The way I would 00:23:17.450 --> 00:23:20.069 put it is we are discipling people to take our 00:23:20.069 --> 00:23:23.809 jobs. We need that because the quarterback gets 00:23:23.809 --> 00:23:27.250 the flu sometimes. And sometimes you need a guy 00:23:27.250 --> 00:23:29.829 to sub in because I just can't go all the time. 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:32.700 And so what I'm not saying is that sitting on 00:23:32.700 --> 00:23:35.819 the bench makes you worthless. If you were worthless, 00:23:36.099 --> 00:23:39.359 I would tell you you are perfectly fine. You 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:43.519 are in the perfect spot on the bench. It's because 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:46.500 of your immense value that I say we need you 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:50.380 ready to go in the game. We need you prepared 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:53.900 and ready. And let me just say this. Honestly, 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:58.859 I don't consider being a backup. I don't consider 00:23:58.859 --> 00:24:01.460 that sitting on the bench because it's more of 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:03.660 like in a war, right? There's no bench. This 00:24:03.660 --> 00:24:05.980 isn't a game. I guess we should do this. Okay, 00:24:06.039 --> 00:24:08.319 in a war, you have your front line. But guess 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:10.200 who's still in the fight with you? The people 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:12.440 behind you and the people behind them and the 00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:14.200 people behind them and the people in the command 00:24:14.200 --> 00:24:16.619 center and the people that are offering air support. 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:19.920 And so we're all in the fight. There are no bench 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:21.539 players here. Let me just go ahead and correct 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:23.900 that bad illustration that I used. We're all 00:24:23.900 --> 00:24:26.740 fighting. There's no sideline in God's army. 00:24:28.140 --> 00:24:30.299 And so I ask the question, are you using what 00:24:30.299 --> 00:24:34.259 God gave you? Are you using the life that he 00:24:34.259 --> 00:24:36.839 has designed you for? Are you using it or are 00:24:36.839 --> 00:24:40.359 you wasting it? Are you walking in worth or are 00:24:40.359 --> 00:24:42.680 you sitting in your own self -doubt, your self 00:24:42.680 --> 00:24:46.259 -pity, in your shame, in your fear, in your cautiousness? 00:24:47.539 --> 00:24:51.960 And here's another thing. It doesn't stop with 00:24:51.960 --> 00:24:55.039 how you see yourself. Like I said, walking in 00:24:55.039 --> 00:24:58.569 worth changes how you see yourself. It changes 00:24:58.569 --> 00:25:01.349 how you view yourself, but it also changes or 00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:03.849 it should change how you see other people too. 00:25:06.349 --> 00:25:08.970 I want you to think about maybe you had a friend 00:25:08.970 --> 00:25:10.529 growing up or maybe you have a friend like this 00:25:10.529 --> 00:25:13.890 now that was more like family to you than a friend. 00:25:14.690 --> 00:25:17.410 My best friend growing up in the fourth grade 00:25:17.410 --> 00:25:21.230 we met, his name was Ty. And Ty, he was awesome. 00:25:21.369 --> 00:25:23.430 He was the best friend you could have as a kid. 00:25:23.730 --> 00:25:26.670 He's still a great friend now. But so my friend. 00:25:27.390 --> 00:25:30.289 He invited me over one day after school. And 00:25:30.289 --> 00:25:33.069 so I go over to his house and I hang out with 00:25:33.069 --> 00:25:35.910 him. And I think we like played with lightsabers. 00:25:35.910 --> 00:25:37.789 And so it was awesome, right? He had woods behind 00:25:37.789 --> 00:25:39.829 his house. And so we went in the woods. We were 00:25:39.829 --> 00:25:42.269 like Star Wars. There's no woods in Star Wars, 00:25:42.289 --> 00:25:44.309 but you know what? Who cares? It's our own fiction, 00:25:44.410 --> 00:25:46.369 right? And so we go in the woods, we're playing 00:25:46.369 --> 00:25:48.930 everything. And we come back to the house and 00:25:48.930 --> 00:25:52.500 I didn't ask for anything to eat. My grandma 00:25:52.500 --> 00:25:54.400 was going to, well, no, his mom was going to 00:25:54.400 --> 00:25:56.740 drop me off back at home, and I thought I was 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:59.880 going to eat dinner at home. But his mom, she 00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:02.599 made dinner, and she invited me to sit at their 00:26:02.599 --> 00:26:06.359 table and eat dinner. And this friendship progressed. 00:26:07.579 --> 00:26:11.759 And next thing I know, everything they did, it 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:14.359 seemed like I was doing. They'd go to the water 00:26:14.359 --> 00:26:16.819 park, and I'd get a call. Hey, do you want to 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:18.930 go to the water park? Yeah, but I don't have 00:26:18.930 --> 00:26:20.589 any. Don't worry about money. We have season 00:26:20.589 --> 00:26:22.930 passes and my little sister isn't going to go 00:26:22.930 --> 00:26:25.630 so that you can go. Or do you want to go to a 00:26:25.630 --> 00:26:28.609 movie? Well, don't worry about it. And so it 00:26:28.609 --> 00:26:30.750 was like this thing where I became a part of 00:26:30.750 --> 00:26:32.490 their family and they treated me like one of 00:26:32.490 --> 00:26:36.250 their kids. I didn't bring any value to them 00:26:36.250 --> 00:26:39.049 other than maybe like giving them laughs because 00:26:39.049 --> 00:26:42.210 I was so chaotic. I didn't bring any value to 00:26:42.210 --> 00:26:44.829 them, but they treated me like I was one of their 00:26:44.829 --> 00:26:47.569 own. Or maybe you were blessed to marry into 00:26:47.569 --> 00:26:49.990 a family that treated you just like one of their 00:26:49.990 --> 00:26:53.769 kids. I was. My in -laws are the best in -laws 00:26:53.769 --> 00:26:56.009 I could have ever asked for. And they treat me 00:26:56.009 --> 00:26:59.970 like I am genuinely their son. Like if they do 00:26:59.970 --> 00:27:01.789 something for one of their children, they do 00:27:01.789 --> 00:27:03.650 it for me too. And it's the coolest thing. And 00:27:03.650 --> 00:27:06.029 I'm super grateful. And I hope to do the same 00:27:06.029 --> 00:27:09.329 thing for my in -law. What do you call that? 00:27:09.410 --> 00:27:12.650 I don't know. My kid's wives one day. Like I 00:27:12.650 --> 00:27:16.099 hope to be that type of father -in -law. And 00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:19.680 the same is true in God's family. When God sees 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:22.440 us, he looks at us and he says, you've got a 00:27:22.440 --> 00:27:25.220 seat at my table. You've got a seat in my living 00:27:25.220 --> 00:27:27.440 room. We're going to the water park. Come on. 00:27:27.859 --> 00:27:29.660 We're going to the beach. Let's go. We're going 00:27:29.660 --> 00:27:31.880 to do something cool. We're going on a mission 00:27:31.880 --> 00:27:35.440 to do something way greater than whatever you 00:27:35.440 --> 00:27:41.119 had planned with your life. You're invited. And 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:45.200 he expects us. To do just like my friend Ty did. 00:27:46.259 --> 00:27:50.099 And look at other people and say, you're invited. 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:53.960 We don't care if you can't afford it. We don't 00:27:53.960 --> 00:27:55.980 care if you're good enough. We don't care what 00:27:55.980 --> 00:27:58.660 value you think you bring to the team or don't. 00:27:58.660 --> 00:28:03.400 We don't care. Let's go. It should change the 00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:09.069 way we see others. That's the picture. that I 00:28:09.069 --> 00:28:11.910 think scripture uses for God, for what God did 00:28:11.910 --> 00:28:15.289 for me and you. He looked at us despite all of 00:28:15.289 --> 00:28:18.250 our flaws, inadequacies, deficiencies, and honestly, 00:28:18.390 --> 00:28:20.970 sometimes our uselessness. And he said, I can 00:28:20.970 --> 00:28:24.150 use you. I want to use you. I want you in my 00:28:24.150 --> 00:28:28.069 family. And we, as Jesus said, we forgive because 00:28:28.069 --> 00:28:30.869 we've first been forgiven. We treat others the 00:28:30.869 --> 00:28:33.410 way we have been treated. We do for others what 00:28:33.410 --> 00:28:36.609 God has done for us. And I know that can be uncomfortable 00:28:36.609 --> 00:28:40.450 sometimes. This idea that we have to look at 00:28:40.450 --> 00:28:43.450 the outcasts. We have to look at the person that 00:28:43.450 --> 00:28:46.329 is less than. We have to look at the person that 00:28:46.329 --> 00:28:49.190 we wouldn't necessarily associate with. We have 00:28:49.190 --> 00:28:51.730 to look at these people and we have to say, hey, 00:28:51.829 --> 00:28:53.829 you can be a part of our family too. But guess 00:28:53.829 --> 00:28:56.509 what? That's biblical. And so I don't care if 00:28:56.509 --> 00:28:58.490 it's uncomfortable. I don't care if it steps 00:28:58.490 --> 00:29:02.480 on my own toes because it does. I have my people 00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:04.940 that I like to gravitate towards, but guess what? 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:07.339 That's not what I was called to do. I was made 00:29:07.339 --> 00:29:15.839 for more. And so we go and we reach the people 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:19.460 that aren't like us. We reach the people with 00:29:19.460 --> 00:29:21.980 the different sin issue than us. We reach the 00:29:21.980 --> 00:29:23.960 people from the other country, from the other 00:29:23.960 --> 00:29:26.519 religious background, from the other socioeconomic 00:29:26.519 --> 00:29:30.000 status. We reach the people that, as Jesus would 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:32.859 call, the least of these. And we love them because 00:29:32.859 --> 00:29:35.039 what Jesus says is, as you have done for the 00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:37.079 least of these, you've done for me also. And 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:39.440 I want to glorify my God. I want to worship him 00:29:39.440 --> 00:29:41.480 in everything I do. I want him to know that I 00:29:41.480 --> 00:29:43.819 love him. I want him to know that I value him, 00:29:43.859 --> 00:29:45.799 that I honor him, that I treasure him. And so 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:49.039 what do I do for the least of these? I honor 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:52.880 them. I value them. I treasure them. I show them 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:57.480 love and grace and compassion. And I got to say 00:29:57.480 --> 00:30:00.119 it. We live in a world right now in this day 00:30:00.119 --> 00:30:02.119 and age, especially in this country, where it 00:30:02.119 --> 00:30:04.279 has become very easy to look at people that are 00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:06.660 not like us, that think different than us, that 00:30:06.660 --> 00:30:08.640 are from different places than us, and say you 00:30:08.640 --> 00:30:11.339 are not worthy of being around us. You do not 00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:13.799 belong here. Go somewhere else, somewhere that 00:30:13.799 --> 00:30:17.420 fits you better. That is not biblical. And it 00:30:17.420 --> 00:30:19.720 is not the way of the early church. I've read 00:30:19.720 --> 00:30:22.019 to you before the letter to Diognetus, and I 00:30:22.019 --> 00:30:24.519 love in this early first century letter the way 00:30:24.519 --> 00:30:27.539 that he writes to Nero, and Nero wants to know 00:30:27.539 --> 00:30:30.420 what the deal is with this church, why the Christian 00:30:30.420 --> 00:30:33.859 church is able to take over a nation. And Diognetus 00:30:33.859 --> 00:30:38.000 writes back to Nero, and he says, they treat 00:30:38.000 --> 00:30:41.660 the outcasts like he's a brother, and then they 00:30:41.660 --> 00:30:45.150 treat the immigrant. Like he belongs. And if 00:30:45.150 --> 00:30:47.109 there's somebody among them that's hungry, they 00:30:47.109 --> 00:30:50.089 fast so that they can feed him. And if there's 00:30:50.089 --> 00:30:51.849 somebody who doesn't have clothes, they take 00:30:51.849 --> 00:30:53.890 off their own to put clothes on him so he's not 00:30:53.890 --> 00:30:56.009 cold. If there's somebody who needs a home, guess 00:30:56.009 --> 00:30:58.710 what they do? They house him in theirs and they'll 00:30:58.710 --> 00:31:02.130 sleep on the floor if they have to. And the way 00:31:02.130 --> 00:31:04.069 that he explains this, because Nero wants to 00:31:04.069 --> 00:31:08.430 know why, why are they able to do this? He says 00:31:08.430 --> 00:31:12.250 there's something divine among them. There's 00:31:12.250 --> 00:31:14.930 something supernatural about them, something 00:31:14.930 --> 00:31:19.569 godly that's changing the way they see people. 00:31:20.769 --> 00:31:23.250 And what it is, is it's a people, it's a church, 00:31:23.369 --> 00:31:26.230 it's a family, a community of believers who have 00:31:26.230 --> 00:31:29.509 learned what God says about them, and that is 00:31:29.509 --> 00:31:32.150 that they are valuable, that He loves them, and 00:31:32.150 --> 00:31:34.769 that He has done what needs to be done to redeem 00:31:34.769 --> 00:31:38.690 them. They learned it, they believed it, and 00:31:38.690 --> 00:31:41.240 then they lived it. And that's what we've been 00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:45.000 called to do. In Acts 10, I was going to go through 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:46.960 this, but we are running low on time because 00:31:46.960 --> 00:31:50.019 I've ranted a little. In Acts 10, Peter has this 00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:54.640 vision and it's from God and God comes to Peter. 00:31:54.700 --> 00:31:58.599 He says, Peter, what I've made clean, don't call 00:31:58.599 --> 00:32:03.539 uncommon or don't call common or clean or unclean. 00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:08.539 And he says, I need you to understand that things 00:32:08.539 --> 00:32:11.920 are different now. And when this happens, this 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:14.099 other guy named Cornelius, this Roman, he's a 00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:16.740 Gentile, Peter was a Jew, this Roman centurion, 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:19.079 a guy with a lot of status in this world that 00:32:19.079 --> 00:32:22.799 Peter, quite frankly, conflicted with. And so 00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:25.380 Cornelius has a vision and he's been praying 00:32:25.380 --> 00:32:27.640 to God and Cornelius, he fears God. He loves 00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:30.299 God. He wants to honor God. Well, God says, Cornelius 00:32:30.299 --> 00:32:33.140 sends some men to Peter. Cornelius does. He sends 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:35.339 some men to Peter. Peter goes to Cornelius. He 00:32:35.339 --> 00:32:37.579 preaches the gospel. Guess what? Those people 00:32:37.579 --> 00:32:39.900 are saved. These people who were once outside 00:32:39.900 --> 00:32:43.000 of God's chosen race are now welcomed into the 00:32:43.000 --> 00:32:45.799 family of God. And what I mean to say by that 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:49.319 is. There is nobody in this world that is not 00:32:49.319 --> 00:32:52.599 worthy of saving. There is nobody in this world 00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:55.119 that is not worthy of our fellowship, worthy 00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:57.920 of our relationship. There is nobody in this 00:32:57.920 --> 00:33:05.700 world that is unworthy of God's family. Peter 00:33:05.700 --> 00:33:08.599 looks at these people, he says, you yourselves 00:33:08.599 --> 00:33:11.559 know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate 00:33:11.559 --> 00:33:15.910 with or visit anyone of another nation. But God 00:33:15.910 --> 00:33:19.289 has shown me that I should not call any person 00:33:19.289 --> 00:33:23.690 common or unclean. See, God was flipping the 00:33:23.690 --> 00:33:27.170 script on how people saw each other, how the 00:33:27.170 --> 00:33:30.710 Jews saw everybody else, and how everybody else 00:33:30.710 --> 00:33:34.029 would see the church. And I love what the Apostle 00:33:34.029 --> 00:33:36.390 Paul says to the Gentile Christians in Galatia 00:33:36.390 --> 00:33:39.109 in Galatians 3 .28. There is neither Jew nor 00:33:39.109 --> 00:33:42.730 Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There 00:33:42.730 --> 00:33:52.230 is no male. You see, in God's kingdom, a fisherman 00:33:52.230 --> 00:33:56.390 is worth just as much as a high priest. In God's 00:33:56.390 --> 00:34:03.009 kingdom, the awful Gentile is just as good, well, 00:34:03.289 --> 00:34:06.509 not as good, but just as valuable as the Jew, 00:34:06.670 --> 00:34:10.590 the chosen people of God. In God's kingdom, everybody 00:34:10.590 --> 00:34:15.849 is worth. something. In fact, God would say everybody 00:34:15.849 --> 00:34:20.210 is worth everything. You see, that wasn't just 00:34:20.210 --> 00:34:22.429 a nice thought to the religious establishment 00:34:22.429 --> 00:34:24.869 back then. This was groundbreaking. It was earth 00:34:24.869 --> 00:34:28.969 shattering and it was earth world changing. And 00:34:28.969 --> 00:34:31.230 so I asked the question, how do you look at other 00:34:31.230 --> 00:34:33.989 people, the people that you disagree with, the 00:34:33.989 --> 00:34:35.969 people that are not like you? Do you see them 00:34:35.969 --> 00:34:38.969 with the worth that God sees in them? Or do you 00:34:38.969 --> 00:34:42.269 see them with the worth the world has defined 00:34:42.269 --> 00:34:46.289 them with. I want you to imagine how different 00:34:46.289 --> 00:34:48.650 our life would be and how different the world 00:34:48.650 --> 00:34:52.570 would be if the church, if God's people, Christians, 00:34:52.869 --> 00:34:55.730 disciples of Christ, whatever you want to define 00:34:55.730 --> 00:34:58.190 us as, imagine how different the world would 00:34:58.190 --> 00:35:00.869 look if we started looking at other people the 00:35:00.869 --> 00:35:07.380 same way God does. Because your worth believed 00:35:07.380 --> 00:35:10.639 and lived out isn't supposed to just affect you. 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:13.860 It is supposed to change the world because it 00:35:13.860 --> 00:35:19.179 sends you and it puts you to work. And this means 00:35:19.179 --> 00:35:22.559 that you are someone who helps set other people 00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:27.900 free from the prisons they're living in. It means 00:35:27.900 --> 00:35:32.650 you get to carry and deliver the good news. You 00:35:32.650 --> 00:35:34.630 don't go with a self -help message. You don't 00:35:34.630 --> 00:35:36.329 go with something to put people in a better mood. 00:35:36.429 --> 00:35:39.309 You go with life -changing information about 00:35:39.309 --> 00:35:43.050 a Christ who lived, died, and rose again and 00:35:43.050 --> 00:35:45.130 caused us to follow him through the waters of 00:35:45.130 --> 00:35:48.530 baptism into a brand new life and to keep walking 00:35:48.530 --> 00:35:52.829 from there. It means you get to invite the very 00:35:52.829 --> 00:35:55.090 people that you would normally overlook. I get 00:35:55.090 --> 00:35:57.329 to invite the people that I would normally overlook 00:35:57.329 --> 00:36:02.400 into this family. And so God is asking us to 00:36:02.400 --> 00:36:05.980 walk in a way that says, I am valuable. I was 00:36:05.980 --> 00:36:09.659 made for more than this comparative rat race 00:36:09.659 --> 00:36:14.239 of a life. And I was made to bring people into 00:36:14.239 --> 00:36:19.940 that same place, that same sense of worth. We 00:36:19.940 --> 00:36:22.699 weren't made to sit this mission out. We weren't 00:36:22.699 --> 00:36:25.860 made to believe we were worthless. We weren't 00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:28.659 made to sit on the sidelines and pout. We were 00:36:28.659 --> 00:36:33.579 made. for a life -changing, a world -saving mission. 00:36:34.300 --> 00:36:36.699 And so I need you, I want you, and I need to 00:36:36.699 --> 00:36:39.679 believe that to be true and then go live like 00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:42.559 it. And so today, maybe you've never believed 00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:45.260 it was true for you. Maybe you've never taken 00:36:45.260 --> 00:36:47.500 God at his word. Maybe you've never given your 00:36:47.500 --> 00:36:50.559 life to the one who redeemed you. But today, 00:36:50.760 --> 00:36:53.780 you're ready to, or you're at least questioning 00:36:53.780 --> 00:36:56.519 it, you're considering it. I'd love to talk with 00:36:56.519 --> 00:36:58.949 you about that. Or maybe you've accepted the 00:36:58.949 --> 00:37:00.750 redemption. You've been baptized. You've given 00:37:00.750 --> 00:37:02.789 your life to Christ, but you've been living on 00:37:02.789 --> 00:37:06.329 the bench instead of in the game. No matter where 00:37:06.329 --> 00:37:09.130 you're at today, whether it's you've never given 00:37:09.130 --> 00:37:10.929 your life to Christ or you have, but you have 00:37:10.929 --> 00:37:13.349 not been walking in that worth, wherever you're 00:37:13.349 --> 00:37:15.849 at, please do not walk out of here still living 00:37:15.849 --> 00:37:18.949 like that because you weren't made for it. And 00:37:18.949 --> 00:37:22.150 I believe that when we live against God's grain, 00:37:22.309 --> 00:37:26.320 it makes life really uncomfortable. And we sit 00:37:26.320 --> 00:37:28.539 there and we wonder why our life feels the way 00:37:28.539 --> 00:37:31.519 it does. It's because we're not living in accord 00:37:31.519 --> 00:37:35.739 with what we were designed for. If I use a fork 00:37:35.739 --> 00:37:40.019 to eat soup, I'm going to be pretty disappointed. 00:37:40.820 --> 00:37:44.460 And if I use a spoon to eat spaghetti, I'm going 00:37:44.460 --> 00:37:47.300 to be pretty disappointed. But when I do, when 00:37:47.300 --> 00:37:50.639 I use something the way it was designed to be 00:37:50.639 --> 00:37:55.010 used, it's so fulfilling. The same is true for 00:37:55.010 --> 00:37:58.429 our lives. God is not looking at us as forks 00:37:58.429 --> 00:38:01.630 and trying to eat soup. And when we try to do 00:38:01.630 --> 00:38:04.929 that, we mess up the will that God has. Now his 00:38:04.929 --> 00:38:07.929 will is going to be done, but we mess up if we're 00:38:07.929 --> 00:38:10.750 going to be a part of it. And so this morning, 00:38:10.789 --> 00:38:13.289 I pray and I hope that you will not walk out 00:38:13.289 --> 00:38:16.030 of here still living like that. If you need anything, 00:38:16.150 --> 00:38:18.849 if you need prayer, conversation, if you're ready 00:38:18.849 --> 00:38:20.769 to be baptized, whatever it is that you need 00:38:20.769 --> 00:38:23.210 today, please know that the invitation is open. 00:38:23.329 --> 00:38:26.929 We really do love you and want you to feel that 00:38:26.929 --> 00:38:30.630 love and that welcome because we see you as priceless. 00:38:31.030 --> 00:38:33.090 And I hope you do too. If you need anything, 00:38:33.190 --> 00:38:34.989 please come as we stand and as we sing.