WEBVTT 00:00:00.600 --> 00:00:03.879 I want you just to look at two verses with me 00:00:03.879 --> 00:00:07.379 today. And we'll be in a couple other places 00:00:07.379 --> 00:00:09.439 that I'll try to make sure you're with me. But 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:11.359 the two main verses that we're going to focus 00:00:11.359 --> 00:00:15.099 on today are Ephesians chapter four, verses 11 00:00:15.099 --> 00:00:18.640 and 12. Ephesians chapter four, verses 11 and 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:25.980 12. And he gave some to be apostles, some prophets, 00:00:26.660 --> 00:00:29.980 some evangelists. and some shepherds. How many 00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:34.500 of your Bibles say pastors? We'll talk a little 00:00:34.500 --> 00:00:36.939 bit about that, not really much today, but we'll 00:00:36.939 --> 00:00:39.359 be in this passage or at least referring to it 00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.060 for about the next six weeks. So we'll talk a 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:44.340 little bit more about that. Shepherds is a little 00:00:44.340 --> 00:00:46.240 bit of a better translation, but some of the 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:48.880 Bibles do translate that as pastors. He gave 00:00:48.880 --> 00:00:51.380 some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some 00:00:51.380 --> 00:00:54.920 to be evangelists, some to be shepherds and teachers 00:00:54.920 --> 00:01:00.000 for the equipping of the saints. So let's break 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:01.619 that down a little bit and keep your Bible open 00:01:01.619 --> 00:01:04.680 there with you just for a second. The first thing 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:07.719 I want you to notice there is how many of your 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:09.700 Bibles, the translation that you're looking at, 00:01:09.739 --> 00:01:12.719 start with the word and. There's a conjunction 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:15.519 there at the very first part of that verse. And 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:17.840 he gave some. How do you have a conjunction there? 00:01:18.219 --> 00:01:22.340 Something like that. How many of you are alive? 00:01:22.599 --> 00:01:28.620 Let's start with that. So so still a conjunction. 00:01:28.620 --> 00:01:30.700 Yes, so there's some kind of a conjunction there 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:32.920 so or and or something like that Do you have 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:35.659 something like that? Okay, you guys were making 00:01:35.659 --> 00:01:37.939 me nervous there for a second some kind of conjunction 00:01:37.939 --> 00:01:41.459 the one that I'm reading from says and and Whether 00:01:41.459 --> 00:01:44.379 it's and or so it's a conjunction and you already 00:01:44.379 --> 00:01:46.599 know this, right? So anytime there's a conjunction 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:50.040 It's taking something it's introducing a new 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:52.040 thought after a thoughts already been introduced, 00:01:52.180 --> 00:01:55.200 right? We are we understand that So like if Danita 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:58.099 sends me to the store and she says to me, hey, 00:01:58.099 --> 00:02:00.060 Phil, I want you to go to the store. I want you 00:02:00.060 --> 00:02:05.299 to get milk and coffee and cookies. Specifically, 00:02:05.500 --> 00:02:07.900 there would be Oreo cookies, right? So Danita 00:02:07.900 --> 00:02:11.419 loves Oreo cookies. So milk and coffee and Oreo 00:02:11.419 --> 00:02:13.719 cookies. It's taking something that we already 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:16.280 know and adding to that list. You already know 00:02:16.280 --> 00:02:20.229 this. So here in Ephesians chapter four, the 00:02:20.229 --> 00:02:23.250 and is linking apostles, prophets, evangelists, 00:02:23.430 --> 00:02:28.629 shepherds, and teachers to something. And here 00:02:28.629 --> 00:02:32.490 specifically is referring back to verse seven. 00:02:32.610 --> 00:02:35.229 Verse seven says this, teach one grace has been 00:02:35.229 --> 00:02:39.289 given. The and that we're looking at is connecting 00:02:39.289 --> 00:02:41.789 this new thought of these leadership roles of 00:02:41.789 --> 00:02:44.270 apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers. 00:02:44.620 --> 00:02:47.479 back to verse seven which says that to all of 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:50.560 us grace has been given. So there's an important 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:53.659 thought even in that simple word. So it's connecting 00:02:53.659 --> 00:02:56.080 this new idea of leadership roles of apostles, 00:02:56.360 --> 00:02:58.599 prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers, back 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:01.780 to the fact that it's about grace. That the reason 00:03:01.780 --> 00:03:06.180 we have these gifts is because of grace. So these 00:03:06.180 --> 00:03:09.539 are not status symbols, they're not just titles, 00:03:09.639 --> 00:03:12.180 but they're gracious appointments by Christ for 00:03:12.180 --> 00:03:14.000 the purpose of building up the body of Christ. 00:03:14.300 --> 00:03:16.460 So the reason that there are apostles, prophets, 00:03:16.659 --> 00:03:18.360 evangelists, shepherds, and teachers in the church 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:22.919 and in the world is because of what? Because 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:27.900 of grace. So the outcome of that is that the 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:31.080 body should be built up. But the reason that 00:03:31.080 --> 00:03:33.180 we have those in the church and in the world 00:03:33.180 --> 00:03:39.379 is because of grace. So it's safe to say that 00:03:39.379 --> 00:03:41.780 apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:47.520 teachers are a means of grace. That the reason 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:49.460 those have been given to the church and to the 00:03:49.460 --> 00:03:51.819 world is so that they would be a means of grace 00:03:51.819 --> 00:03:56.620 in the world. So what that tells us is that prophecy 00:03:56.620 --> 00:04:02.000 done well is a means of grace. That shepherding 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:06.879 done well is a means of grace. That teaching 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:11.180 done well is a means of grace. That evangelism 00:04:11.180 --> 00:04:16.600 done well is a means of grace. So if that's true, 00:04:17.899 --> 00:04:20.459 then why do we allow those who serve in these 00:04:20.459 --> 00:04:23.240 leadership capacities to use and abuse the same 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:25.819 people who should be the recipients of grace? 00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:33.699 So let's take a quick survey here. Of all of 00:04:33.699 --> 00:04:36.579 those things, apostles, prophets, evangelists, 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:41.019 shepherds, teachers, how many of you have ever 00:04:43.060 --> 00:04:45.319 realized that it wasn't, you didn't receive it 00:04:45.319 --> 00:04:49.439 in a way that was gracious. So let me give you 00:04:49.439 --> 00:04:52.519 some examples. Have you ever heard somebody who's 00:04:52.519 --> 00:04:54.379 trying to tell somebody about Jesus and they 00:04:54.379 --> 00:04:58.519 sound really angry about it? Have you ever heard 00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:00.920 these kind of approaches to evangelism? Like 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.560 the entire turn or burn, right? So I'm telling 00:05:03.560 --> 00:05:05.319 you right now, you either listen to what I'm 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:06.879 gonna tell you or you're gonna burn forever in 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:09.100 a lake of fire. Now there's truth to that, right? 00:05:09.100 --> 00:05:13.040 We understand that. But is that gracious? No, 00:05:13.060 --> 00:05:15.439 that's not gracious. Have you ever heard somebody 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:17.120 preaching a sermon? Hopefully it's not me, but 00:05:17.120 --> 00:05:18.259 have you ever heard somebody who's preaching 00:05:18.259 --> 00:05:20.300 a sermon and you're like this dude is ticked 00:05:20.300 --> 00:05:24.319 off? He's he's really mad at us and he's really 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:26.519 mad at God And I think he doesn't even like himself 00:05:26.519 --> 00:05:29.120 because this guy is ticked off How many of you 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:31.839 have ever had something like that? So is that 00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:33.959 gracious? You're like, you know what? I'm excited 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:37.259 the recipient of grace today because this guy's 00:05:37.259 --> 00:05:40.550 ticked off, right? No Have you ever heard teaching 00:05:40.550 --> 00:05:44.910 that was less than gracious? So in all of those 00:05:44.910 --> 00:05:46.769 things the reason they've been given to the church 00:05:46.769 --> 00:05:48.970 and given to the world is to be a means of grace 00:05:48.970 --> 00:05:51.949 and unfortunately sometimes they get weaponized. 00:05:53.769 --> 00:05:56.129 But I think it's foundational for us to remember 00:05:56.129 --> 00:05:59.509 that the reason that those leadership roles exist 00:05:59.509 --> 00:06:04.329 is to be gracious to the church and to the world. 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:07.160 So, that's the and. The second thing I want you 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:09.720 to notice there is and. It's a conjunction. It's 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:11.860 tying what we're about to learn about leadership 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:15.560 roles back to grace. Here's the next part, and 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:22.019 he gave. Now, that phrase, he gave, is in the 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:26.379 aorist active form. Everyone say ooh -ah. That 00:06:26.379 --> 00:06:28.639 was pretty good. That was pretty good. That felt 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:30.259 good hearing you say that. Everyone say ooh -ah. 00:06:30.259 --> 00:06:32.980 That's just fantastic. So, the aorist active 00:06:32.980 --> 00:06:36.589 verb, in scripture, it points to a completed 00:06:36.589 --> 00:06:40.370 act with lasting effect. So anytime you find 00:06:40.370 --> 00:06:43.110 an aorist active verb, it's something that has 00:06:43.110 --> 00:06:46.149 been done, but once it's done, it's gonna continue 00:06:46.149 --> 00:06:48.850 to have ripple effects forever. It will never 00:06:48.850 --> 00:06:51.730 stop having a ripple effect. These are the things 00:06:51.730 --> 00:06:55.470 for which there is no undo button. So I don't 00:06:55.470 --> 00:06:57.970 know about you, but I like the undo button on 00:06:57.970 --> 00:07:01.170 my computer. I use it all the time. Because I'll 00:07:01.170 --> 00:07:03.089 realize that I did something wrong I know this 00:07:03.089 --> 00:07:05.189 will shock many of you But I did something wrong 00:07:05.189 --> 00:07:08.009 and I want to click the undo button and I know 00:07:08.009 --> 00:07:09.910 what it looks like on Apple I know what it looks 00:07:09.910 --> 00:07:12.649 like on IBM stuff I know what the undo button 00:07:12.649 --> 00:07:14.730 looks like and I'm a big fan of the undo button 00:07:14.730 --> 00:07:17.149 But what this is saying is that this is the kind 00:07:17.149 --> 00:07:20.389 of thing that once it's done. It's done There's 00:07:20.389 --> 00:07:26.149 no undoing it It will be like that forever There's 00:07:26.149 --> 00:07:30.329 it's once it's done. There's no going back So, 00:07:30.370 --> 00:07:33.889 there's a powerful expression of this in Romans 00:07:33.889 --> 00:07:37.069 chapter 11 verse 29. This is so good. So, this 00:07:37.069 --> 00:07:38.930 is Roman. You can't turn over there. You don't 00:07:38.930 --> 00:07:41.490 have to. It's Romans chapter 11 verse 29. It 00:07:41.490 --> 00:07:43.089 says, for the gifts, that's what we're talking 00:07:43.089 --> 00:07:46.389 about, right? So, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 7 00:07:46.389 --> 00:07:49.189 says, and he gave gifts. And then it goes on 00:07:49.189 --> 00:07:51.329 and it's talking about that he gave some gifts 00:07:51.329 --> 00:07:53.529 that are apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:55.730 and teachers. If you're with me, go like this. 00:07:56.120 --> 00:07:58.519 So we're talking about the gifts, right? So Romans 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:02.480 11 says, the gifts and the calling of God are 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:11.699 irrevocable. Heiress active verb. Once it's done, 00:08:13.300 --> 00:08:17.360 there's no going back. There's no undo button 00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:21.339 whatsoever. Once it happens, it's that way forever. 00:08:22.129 --> 00:08:25.290 So, it's referring back to verse 7 and 8. So, 00:08:25.410 --> 00:08:27.529 verse 7, to each one grace has been given, and 00:08:27.529 --> 00:08:30.230 then in verse 8, he's given these gifts. These 00:08:30.230 --> 00:08:32.730 roles are not man appointed, they're not self 00:08:32.730 --> 00:08:34.889 -selected, nobody can get up tomorrow morning 00:08:34.889 --> 00:08:38.009 and say, you know what, I am an apostle. It doesn't 00:08:38.009 --> 00:08:41.450 work like that. God has to call us to that. He's 00:08:41.450 --> 00:08:43.850 the one who gives these gifts. So, here's the 00:08:43.850 --> 00:08:45.690 point that I want you to see. The gifts and the 00:08:45.690 --> 00:08:49.240 calling of God are not like Amazon Prime. So 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:51.639 you can't take the stuff off the Amazon Prime 00:08:51.639 --> 00:08:54.720 truck and say you know what it doesn't it doesn't 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:57.519 look good with my eye color It was it's the color 00:08:57.519 --> 00:08:59.460 in the description is not quite what I'm looking 00:08:59.460 --> 00:09:03.039 for It's not that I'm getting any bigger the 00:09:03.039 --> 00:09:05.019 size of the shirt is off. I'm sure that's what 00:09:05.019 --> 00:09:07.419 it is So I don't like this shirt anymore, and 00:09:07.419 --> 00:09:09.320 I'm gonna take it back to Kohl's It's my place 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:12.120 that I like to return stuff to Amazon because 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:15.299 they give me Kohl's cash So I don't like this 00:09:15.299 --> 00:09:17.320 thing. I'm gonna take it to Kohl's I walk in 00:09:17.320 --> 00:09:19.179 there and I give it to them and they give me 00:09:19.179 --> 00:09:21.000 five dollars in Kohl's cash Hoping that I'll 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.299 come back to the store. Here's the point of Act 00:09:24.299 --> 00:09:28.820 it heiress active. It's not like that at all 00:09:28.820 --> 00:09:31.820 Once he's been done that it gets stamped into 00:09:31.820 --> 00:09:36.659 our spiritual DNA forever So and he gave some 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:38.840 to be here's the point that I want you to see 00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:45.629 in that Not everybody's an evangelist Not everybody's 00:09:45.629 --> 00:09:52.330 a shepherd. Not everybody's a teacher. Not everybody's 00:09:52.330 --> 00:09:54.950 an apostle. Now there are some things that we 00:09:54.950 --> 00:09:57.389 do know. Like not everyone's an evangelist. That's 00:09:57.389 --> 00:10:01.850 true. But everyone can and should evangelize. 00:10:10.809 --> 00:10:14.259 Everyone should and can evangelize. What do I 00:10:14.259 --> 00:10:18.519 mean? Everyone should tell people the good news 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:25.620 about Jesus. Do you know how incredibly selfish 00:10:25.620 --> 00:10:29.399 it is if you know the good news about Jesus and 00:10:29.399 --> 00:10:31.179 you don't tell anybody about the good news about 00:10:31.179 --> 00:10:40.919 Jesus? I mean, it's pretty terrible. So everyone 00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:43.220 can and should tell people about Jesus Paul says 00:10:43.220 --> 00:10:46.600 that everyone can and should prophesy, right? 00:10:47.139 --> 00:10:48.940 First Corinthians talks about this that everyone 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:51.480 can and should prophesy, but not everyone's a 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.899 prophet So there's this guy that I doubt any 00:10:54.899 --> 00:10:56.820 of you have ever met his name was Mike It really 00:10:56.820 --> 00:10:58.639 was his name. I'm not changing it for any reason 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:01.279 I have no reason to change it but Mike was one 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:04.559 of the most gifted shepherds I've ever known 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:08.110 and yet Like a lot of times when we think about 00:11:08.110 --> 00:11:10.070 shepherds, we automatically make the connection 00:11:10.070 --> 00:11:11.769 that some of your Bibles have made and we think 00:11:11.769 --> 00:11:13.690 about shepherds in the role of being a pastor. 00:11:14.309 --> 00:11:16.870 So like when I talk about Mike was one of the 00:11:16.870 --> 00:11:20.029 best shepherds I've ever known. Like how many 00:11:20.029 --> 00:11:21.330 of you heard that and you immediately thought 00:11:21.330 --> 00:11:24.889 that I was talking about a pastor? Because that's 00:11:24.889 --> 00:11:27.149 kind of the stereotype that we have. If you're 00:11:27.149 --> 00:11:29.230 a shepherd, you're a pastor. And Mike wasn't 00:11:29.230 --> 00:11:32.710 a pastor. In fact, Mike was the district ODOT 00:11:32.710 --> 00:11:36.379 director. Delaware if you're if you're familiar 00:11:36.379 --> 00:11:38.779 at all with Delaware as you're going into Delaware 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:43.399 from Sunbury on 36 and 37 you go in and 36 go 00:11:43.399 --> 00:11:45.840 straight 37 beers off right before that happens 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:48.120 there's the district ODOT garage there he was 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:51.820 an ODOT director there one of the most gracious 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:54.179 shepherding people I've ever known in my life 00:11:54.179 --> 00:11:56.960 and so Mike's not a pastor he's never been in 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.500 that role but he was fantastic at caring for 00:11:59.500 --> 00:12:03.809 people and like he could teach a master's level 00:12:03.809 --> 00:12:07.169 course to pastors on how to take care of people. 00:12:08.289 --> 00:12:10.210 So Mike was known, like he would do these kind 00:12:10.210 --> 00:12:13.230 of things. So when the guys who are operating 00:12:13.230 --> 00:12:15.950 the plows in the middle of the winter, when they'd 00:12:15.950 --> 00:12:17.529 had an incredibly long night, you know what Mike 00:12:17.529 --> 00:12:22.629 would do? He wouldn't sleep. And he would go 00:12:22.629 --> 00:12:25.690 track down his plows and jump up on the side 00:12:25.690 --> 00:12:27.669 of the plow and just say, hey, how you doing? 00:12:27.750 --> 00:12:30.250 Are you doing okay? Do you need anything? Can 00:12:30.250 --> 00:12:33.169 I run and buy you a cup of coffee? Are you doing 00:12:33.169 --> 00:12:36.029 all right? And sometimes he'd say, hey, I'm going 00:12:36.029 --> 00:12:37.210 to jump in the truck with you. And they'd be 00:12:37.210 --> 00:12:38.809 like, hey, I don't like this. The director's 00:12:38.809 --> 00:12:40.309 in the truck with me. And he'd be like, no, listen, 00:12:40.549 --> 00:12:43.889 I'm not here for that. I'm not here to judge 00:12:43.889 --> 00:12:45.509 how you're doing. I just want to make sure you're 00:12:45.509 --> 00:12:49.409 OK. And just one of the best shepherds I've ever 00:12:49.409 --> 00:12:52.289 worked with. And he cared for people in a way 00:12:52.289 --> 00:12:56.200 that I have found to be very rare. And he just 00:12:56.200 --> 00:12:58.159 was like, nothing I'd ever seen before. So what 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:00.559 am I getting at with all of that? We need to 00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:04.460 be aware of false consensus effect. It's a cognitive 00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:07.519 bias where people overestimate the extent to 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:09.879 which their beliefs, values, habits, and behaviors 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:12.639 are normal and typical of others. In other words, 00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:15.759 we tend to assume that others think and act exactly 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:21.860 like we do. Does that make sense? We talked about 00:13:21.860 --> 00:13:25.809 this over the weekend at our house. So I don't 00:13:25.809 --> 00:13:27.129 know if you know this but these two beautiful 00:13:27.129 --> 00:13:29.809 ladies it's their birthday today So we've been 00:13:29.809 --> 00:13:32.049 celebrating because like when you this is a big 00:13:32.049 --> 00:13:36.090 birthday. I won't tell you which one it is It 00:13:36.090 --> 00:13:38.549 could be 25. You don't know any better. It's 00:13:38.549 --> 00:13:42.789 25. Don't they look good for 25? So they look 00:13:42.789 --> 00:13:45.509 good for 25 I don't know how we have a child 00:13:45.509 --> 00:13:47.289 that's close to that same age, but hey, we don't 00:13:47.289 --> 00:13:49.990 need to talk about that. 25 it is. 25 is a good 00:13:49.990 --> 00:13:51.289 number. And we were talking about this over the 00:13:51.289 --> 00:13:54.330 weekend, so everybody's in. And we all do this 00:13:54.330 --> 00:13:57.690 to some extent, right? So how many of you, like 00:13:57.690 --> 00:13:59.889 you just thought that whatever your family dynamic 00:13:59.889 --> 00:14:01.750 was, that that's what it was like in every other 00:14:01.750 --> 00:14:04.750 household that your friends were a part of. And 00:14:04.750 --> 00:14:09.049 at some point you realize, no, it's really not 00:14:09.049 --> 00:14:13.899 like that. And maybe it's better for me, or maybe 00:14:13.899 --> 00:14:15.820 it's not better for me. But we start to realize 00:14:15.820 --> 00:14:18.100 that it's not quite like that. But at least to 00:14:18.100 --> 00:14:20.759 some extent, we all have this idea that whatever's 00:14:20.759 --> 00:14:23.320 normal to me is normal to everybody. And here's 00:14:23.320 --> 00:14:25.120 where we get in trouble with that. And here's 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:28.200 where it got me in trouble. So one of the things, 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:30.100 like if I took the test that I asked you guys 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:31.639 to take this week, one of the things that I would 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:34.440 score extremely high on, because I have a few. 00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:38.039 And I score very poorly in a few of them too. 00:14:38.299 --> 00:14:40.039 Which is the way it's supposed to be, by the 00:14:40.039 --> 00:14:42.460 way, right? So sometimes we look at that, and 00:14:42.460 --> 00:14:44.720 we're like, man, I wish I would be able to score 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:47.059 higher at this. Hey, listen, God wired you that 00:14:47.059 --> 00:14:49.100 way on purpose. He knows what he's doing. It's 00:14:49.100 --> 00:14:51.539 not a mistake. It's OK. That's the way that he 00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:54.879 wanted you to be. So I would score very high 00:14:54.879 --> 00:14:57.799 on any test that I was given about being a shepherd. 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.220 And we'll talk more about that when we talk about 00:15:00.220 --> 00:15:03.440 shepherding. And one that I also score very highly 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:07.220 in is the prophet role. And I kind of, here's 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:09.179 the way that I best explain that, and we'll talk 00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:11.779 more about this when we get to these two. When 00:15:11.779 --> 00:15:15.759 the pressure's on, I kind of gravitate more to 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:19.000 the shepherd side. So when things are tough, 00:15:20.279 --> 00:15:22.120 that's the part that kind of shines through, 00:15:22.220 --> 00:15:24.980 is I become more of a shepherd. And it becomes 00:15:24.980 --> 00:15:26.759 more important to me to take care of people. 00:15:27.340 --> 00:15:30.860 When I'm resting and things are good, that's 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:32.580 where I tend to be more in the prophetic. Does 00:15:32.580 --> 00:15:36.220 that make sense? But when things are tough, I 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:39.019 kind of default to being a shepherd. And then 00:15:39.019 --> 00:15:41.539 like right under that is, and it kind of depends 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:43.820 on the role that I'm in, the one that's just 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:46.179 below that is apostle, and like what I do with 00:15:46.179 --> 00:15:49.259 public safety, that's 100 % the role that I'm 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:51.960 in. So like with the highway patrol, with local 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:54.139 law enforcement and fire, that's kind of the 00:15:54.139 --> 00:15:56.240 role that I'm in, and we'll talk more about that 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:59.179 when we get there. But so I'm a shepherd. But 00:15:59.179 --> 00:16:01.679 here's where it gets me in trouble. Because I'm 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:03.919 a shepherd, my natural tendency is to assume 00:16:03.919 --> 00:16:06.279 that everyone in a role that's similar to mine 00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:11.840 is a shepherd. And when they don't respond like 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:13.740 a shepherd should, because I know how a shepherd 00:16:13.740 --> 00:16:17.019 should respond, because I am one. So I know what 00:16:17.019 --> 00:16:19.080 the response of a shepherd should look like. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:21.740 So when people who are in roles like mine, they 00:16:21.740 --> 00:16:26.399 don't respond like a shepherd, at best, I walk 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:30.139 away feeling disappointed. But if I'm going to 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:32.340 be completely honest, there are times when people 00:16:32.340 --> 00:16:35.000 who are enrolled similar to mine and they don't 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:37.279 behave like a shepherd, I'm not just disappointed, 00:16:37.379 --> 00:16:41.279 I'm disgusted. Because sometimes I look at it 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:45.360 and I'll say, how can you be so blind as to not 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:47.320 care for the people who have been entrusted to 00:16:47.320 --> 00:16:53.580 you? And how dare you treat them like cattle? 00:16:56.830 --> 00:16:59.710 You can't begin to understand how liberating 00:16:59.710 --> 00:17:02.190 it was for me. This was a recent development 00:17:02.190 --> 00:17:05.309 when I recently realized that not everyone's 00:17:05.309 --> 00:17:09.650 like me. And the reason that God put me in that 00:17:09.650 --> 00:17:12.990 situation is not so that I could look at them 00:17:12.990 --> 00:17:14.710 and say, you know what, I can't believe that 00:17:14.710 --> 00:17:17.769 they would do it that way. But the reason I'm 00:17:17.769 --> 00:17:20.009 in the situation is because I am a shepherd. 00:17:21.049 --> 00:17:23.529 So when I see those things, I just need to provide 00:17:23.529 --> 00:17:25.509 care. Get over the fact that they're not doing 00:17:25.509 --> 00:17:27.849 it. But if I'm aware of it, I can provide that 00:17:27.849 --> 00:17:30.910 care. Does that make sense? So I just assume 00:17:30.910 --> 00:17:32.930 that everyone's a shepherd. And man, it was liberating 00:17:32.930 --> 00:17:36.230 when I realized that not everyone's like me. 00:17:36.349 --> 00:17:39.190 And that's OK. I don't have the luxury of being 00:17:39.190 --> 00:17:41.930 a shepherd when I'm at the church. And here's 00:17:41.930 --> 00:17:48.009 what I mean by that. So once I come to grips 00:17:48.009 --> 00:17:51.089 with my gifting and calling, it's irrevocable. 00:17:52.009 --> 00:17:55.720 It cannot be stopped. It's not like it's something 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:57.940 that's a switch that I can turn on and off. So 00:17:57.940 --> 00:18:00.880 here's what that looks like So yes when we're 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.039 here and things are good. I tend to be more of 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:05.079 a prophet It's just the way that God's wired 00:18:05.079 --> 00:18:08.299 me. I don't make excuses for it. I don't apologize 00:18:08.299 --> 00:18:10.180 for it That's the way that God wired me when 00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:12.279 things are tough. I tend to be more of a shepherd 00:18:12.279 --> 00:18:14.380 So let me ask you a question. Which one am I 00:18:14.380 --> 00:18:21.480 right now? If I had to toss up between the prophet 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:23.400 and things are really good and when things get 00:18:23.400 --> 00:18:25.000 tough, I tend to be more of a shepherd. Which 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:32.599 one am I right now? I'm a shepherd. In fact, 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:36.480 if I were to take the test right now, like you 00:18:36.480 --> 00:18:38.460 wouldn't see the tension between shepherd and 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:41.200 prophet right now. You would see that, hey, this 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.779 guy's a pretty strong prophet. I mean, a pretty 00:18:43.779 --> 00:18:45.640 strong shepherd. That's because things are a 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:47.380 little challenging right now, and that's fine. 00:18:50.179 --> 00:18:52.440 Eventually realized that and here's the way that 00:18:52.440 --> 00:18:54.980 that looks so I don't get to shut that off So 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:56.920 when I go to the bus yard, you know the way that 00:18:56.920 --> 00:19:03.059 the Lord wires me I'm still a shepherd So it's 00:19:03.059 --> 00:19:04.859 a common thing when I'm out driving school bus 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:07.039 I'm telling you it happens like all the time 00:19:07.039 --> 00:19:09.359 like multiple times every single week people 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:12.980 will come up to me out of the blue and they'll 00:19:12.980 --> 00:19:15.960 say things like Hey Phil, would you pray with 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:19.839 me? Like not in your prayers, but would you pray 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:22.900 with me right now about this particular thing 00:19:22.900 --> 00:19:27.140 that's going on? Why is that? Because I'm a shepherd 00:19:27.140 --> 00:19:30.819 And I don't have to find people people come find 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:35.299 me Because they understand that hey if you go 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:36.980 talk to Phil about that he's gonna care he's 00:19:36.980 --> 00:19:38.759 gonna show up he's gonna do those things it's 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:41.420 because the way the Lord's wired me so at home 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:43.599 and you can ask the need afterwards if you want 00:19:43.599 --> 00:19:46.619 you can ask her So what I want you to know is 00:19:46.619 --> 00:19:48.819 that when I'm here, what you see is pretty much 00:19:48.819 --> 00:19:51.400 what you get at home, right? So the way that 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:54.500 you experience interaction with me, that's pretty 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:56.799 much what Danita gets. And Danita would tell 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:59.359 you that at home, I'm pretty much a shepherd, 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:01.859 except for when things are really good and I 00:20:01.859 --> 00:20:04.940 tend to be more of a prophet at things. I'm not 00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:06.920 as much of an apostle at home because that's 00:20:06.920 --> 00:20:09.880 more of like Danita's lane. And so anyways, we 00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:11.539 don't need to get into all that. We will talk 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:13.619 about that at some point. So it's not something 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:18.539 we can turn on or off. When I'm in ministry, 00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:21.900 I'm kind of a hybrid between shepherd and prophet 00:20:21.900 --> 00:20:25.000 in my roles with public safety. I'm definitely 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:28.160 kind of a shepherd apostle, but shepherd's always 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.259 right there in the top of the list. So we need 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:32.299 all the fivefold in the church to function well, 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:36.579 right? So here's the reason that Christ has given 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:39.839 these gracious gifts. And this is back to Ephesians 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:43.119 chapter four, verse 12, for the equipping of 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:46.579 the saints. So it's a fascinating word that's 00:20:46.579 --> 00:20:48.640 used there. You know that I'm a biblical language 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:53.059 nerd. The word that's used there is catturismo. 00:20:53.279 --> 00:20:58.779 Catturismo, say that. Catturismo. And that word 00:20:58.779 --> 00:21:01.440 that's used there means to make fully ready to 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:05.839 repair or to restore to proper function. And 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:08.700 it's used throughout the New Testament, but here 00:21:08.700 --> 00:21:11.599 are a couple places that I think are super fascinating 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:15.299 to me. So this word is used in Matthew chapter 00:21:15.299 --> 00:21:18.740 four, verse 21. We'll look at it in just a second, 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:23.180 but in Matthew chapter four, it's used to mend 00:21:23.180 --> 00:21:26.240 nets. And I'll actually read the passage to you 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:28.720 in a second. You don't need to turn there, but 00:21:28.720 --> 00:21:32.140 it's used to mend nets, to return them to their 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:34.000 proper function, to repair them, to make them 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:37.440 fully ready. Well, why nets? Well, because nets 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:42.869 catch what otherwise would be lost. Now think 00:21:42.869 --> 00:21:44.789 about that in the context of Apostles prophets, 00:21:44.970 --> 00:21:48.410 evangelists, shepherds, teachers. So why do we 00:21:48.410 --> 00:21:50.609 use words like mend? Because if we don't get 00:21:50.609 --> 00:21:54.930 this right, we're going to miss things that they're 00:21:54.930 --> 00:21:58.890 going to be lost forever. So you understand what's 00:21:58.890 --> 00:22:02.700 riding on this. So we're talking about the people 00:22:02.700 --> 00:22:05.039 your loved ones your friends who do not know 00:22:05.039 --> 00:22:08.039 the Lord if we get this right And we get the 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:11.119 net mended correctly. It's able to catch that 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:14.700 which otherwise would be lost And if we don't 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:21.319 get it right The lost are still lost You see 00:22:21.319 --> 00:22:24.859 the connection So here's what it says in Matthew 00:22:24.859 --> 00:22:27.660 chapter 4 verse 21 and going from there. He saw 00:22:27.660 --> 00:22:30.259 two brothers. He's talking about Jesus He sees 00:22:30.259 --> 00:22:32.599 two brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and 00:22:32.599 --> 00:22:35.279 John, his brother, in the boat with Zebedee, 00:22:35.339 --> 00:22:37.539 their father, mending their nets. There's the 00:22:37.539 --> 00:22:40.619 word, mending their nets. And he called them. 00:22:40.799 --> 00:22:42.579 It's also used throughout the New Testament, 00:22:43.059 --> 00:22:45.359 it's mending nets, that's true, but also for 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:50.160 restoring a broken bone. So many, many years 00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:55.259 ago, Kalen was just a tiny, tiny little thing. 00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:59.130 She was about two years old. I was actually working 00:22:59.130 --> 00:23:02.289 with my in -laws who are in town because these 00:23:02.289 --> 00:23:04.349 lovely ladies are having their 25th birthday 00:23:04.349 --> 00:23:06.069 and I was working with them. We were working 00:23:06.069 --> 00:23:11.490 on this barn in the middle of nowhere and I was 00:23:11.490 --> 00:23:14.369 putting sheeting on the top of this barn and 00:23:14.369 --> 00:23:17.809 I have the nail gun in my hand and So I mean 00:23:17.809 --> 00:23:19.589 we have to get these sheets all the way up on 00:23:19.589 --> 00:23:21.490 top of this ladder and it's the very last sheet 00:23:21.490 --> 00:23:24.450 up on the very top of the barn and we have to 00:23:24.450 --> 00:23:26.789 get the sheet in the kind of the middle of the 00:23:26.789 --> 00:23:29.049 ladder so you get everything squared up well 00:23:29.049 --> 00:23:31.490 by the time you get it where it needs to go it's 00:23:31.490 --> 00:23:33.490 not really in a great spot to get all the nails 00:23:33.490 --> 00:23:36.720 in. So I needed to get one last nail on the very 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:39.019 top far side of that board. I'm right -handed. 00:23:39.200 --> 00:23:41.619 So this left nail way up there on the very top 00:23:41.619 --> 00:23:44.099 of the barn is the last one that I need to get 00:23:44.099 --> 00:23:46.140 to. And I can't quite get there because I'm on 00:23:46.140 --> 00:23:48.539 the ladder and if I get out there too far, I'll 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:51.339 lose my balance and fall off the ladder. So I'm 00:23:51.339 --> 00:23:53.039 a little bit stubborn. I don't know if you knew 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:55.099 that, but I have a little bit of a stubborn streak, 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:58.319 a determined streak. It's a determination streak 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:01.690 is what it is. So my father -in -law said, hey 00:24:01.690 --> 00:24:04.210 Phil, just wait a second. Don't do anything stupid. 00:24:04.809 --> 00:24:07.170 Because how 40 feet up in the air, something 00:24:07.170 --> 00:24:10.250 like that? 45 feet, something like that. We were 00:24:10.250 --> 00:24:13.049 up there pretty far. So I'm like, he's like, 00:24:13.130 --> 00:24:15.210 just wait a minute. Don't do anything stupid. 00:24:15.250 --> 00:24:17.089 I'll come up through the inside of the barn and 00:24:17.089 --> 00:24:19.690 I'll get that last nail. I'm like, that's ridiculous. 00:24:20.109 --> 00:24:22.210 It's going to take you 10 minutes to climb up 00:24:22.210 --> 00:24:24.930 through the entire barn. That's insane. I'm just 00:24:24.930 --> 00:24:27.309 going to get it. So he's telling me, wait, don't 00:24:27.309 --> 00:24:29.529 do anything. I'll come up and get it. And I'm 00:24:29.529 --> 00:24:32.150 determined. Some people would call it stubborn. 00:24:32.529 --> 00:24:35.490 So I laid out across the barn. And I'm like, 00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:38.769 I can do this. He'll be happy if I do this. He 00:24:38.769 --> 00:24:40.470 doesn't have to climb up to the barn. So I'm 00:24:40.470 --> 00:24:42.170 laying out on the barn. I've got my feet on the 00:24:42.170 --> 00:24:45.130 ladder. I've got the gun. And I'm like, OK, here 00:24:45.130 --> 00:24:47.789 we go. So I'm stretched out. I've got this hand 00:24:47.789 --> 00:24:49.950 at reach out as far as I can on the board. I've 00:24:49.950 --> 00:24:51.490 got the nail gun in this hand. I'm like, here 00:24:51.490 --> 00:24:55.069 we go. And I reach up and bang! And I'm like, 00:24:55.470 --> 00:24:58.950 yes, except for now the gun recoils and comes 00:24:58.950 --> 00:25:03.450 down on my hand, my middle finger, and put a 00:25:03.450 --> 00:25:06.970 ring shank nail through my middle finger. So 00:25:06.970 --> 00:25:09.450 I'm like, well, that's not quite what I was hoping 00:25:09.450 --> 00:25:14.289 for. So I pretty calmly said, I just shot myself 00:25:14.289 --> 00:25:16.730 with a nail gun. Now this might be a shock to 00:25:16.730 --> 00:25:19.710 you, but I'm a little bit of a jokester too. 00:25:20.490 --> 00:25:22.509 So they thought that I was just being funny. 00:25:23.230 --> 00:25:25.690 And so he's making his way up through the barn 00:25:25.690 --> 00:25:27.690 and he gets up there and he's like, he did, he 00:25:27.690 --> 00:25:30.190 shot himself with a nail gun. He's got a nail 00:25:30.190 --> 00:25:33.130 in his hand. So I'm like, it's okay. So I came 00:25:33.130 --> 00:25:36.470 down off the ladder and I'm like, I'm just gonna 00:25:36.470 --> 00:25:39.670 bandage it up. It'll be fine. And I'll go have 00:25:39.670 --> 00:25:42.230 the doctor look at it later. So the plan was 00:25:42.230 --> 00:25:44.269 they're gonna get off these shears and cut the 00:25:44.269 --> 00:25:47.410 glove off my hand. And that was a good plan until 00:25:47.410 --> 00:25:51.019 they bumped the nail with the shears. and just 00:25:51.019 --> 00:25:53.299 shot pain all the way through my arm into my 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:56.140 neck and into my head. I did not know that you 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:59.059 could feel the bone in your finger in your head, 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:02.240 but I'm like, yeah, let's not do that. So long 00:26:02.240 --> 00:26:05.420 story short, I was originally just going to drive 00:26:05.420 --> 00:26:09.099 myself to the ER, and we asked the owner of the 00:26:09.099 --> 00:26:11.519 barn, hey, where's the nearest ER? He said, it's 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:13.480 40 minutes if you know where you're going. I'm 00:26:13.480 --> 00:26:15.680 like, that's fantastic. And being that I don't, 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:17.880 this is probably not a good option. So they call 00:26:17.880 --> 00:26:20.910 an ambulance. So the ambulance comes out, it's 00:26:20.910 --> 00:26:23.349 like, I'm like, this is amazing. I knew that 00:26:23.349 --> 00:26:25.670 a day like this would come. I've waited for this 00:26:25.670 --> 00:26:29.009 moment to come. So they get there, and I'm making 00:26:29.009 --> 00:26:30.930 jokes about the entire thing, and I said, I'm 00:26:30.930 --> 00:26:34.369 so glad that I put on clean underwear. I'm just 00:26:34.369 --> 00:26:36.529 so glad. I mean, it's really the thing that matters 00:26:36.529 --> 00:26:38.309 to me, because when they cut all my clothes off 00:26:38.309 --> 00:26:40.089 of me, I'm glad that I have clean underwear on. 00:26:40.170 --> 00:26:43.130 You know, I'm so glad my grandmother got it right. 00:26:43.210 --> 00:26:45.509 I really am glad I have clean underwear on. They 00:26:45.509 --> 00:26:47.150 didn't cut my clothes off, in case you're wondering. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:51.480 So the medics get there, and they see the barn 00:26:51.480 --> 00:26:53.339 and the ladder and the entire thing, and I'm 00:26:53.339 --> 00:26:55.599 just going to have some fun with them. So they 00:26:55.599 --> 00:26:59.240 say, ask all the normal questions. Do you know 00:26:59.240 --> 00:27:02.480 where you are? What's your name? So I said immediately, 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:04.460 I said, I'm 53 years old. I'm the president of 00:27:04.460 --> 00:27:07.920 the United States. And they look and they say, 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.619 did he fall off the ladder? I'm like, I'm just 00:27:09.619 --> 00:27:12.279 making all that up. They load me in the ambulance. 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:15.200 We get to the emergency room. They think that 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:16.980 I'm going to have to have surgery. So they're 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:19.140 starting to prep the entire thing for surgery. 00:27:19.579 --> 00:27:24.099 They give me a pain block for my hand. And that's 00:27:24.099 --> 00:27:25.980 pretty amazing. I'm pretty happy with that. And 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:27.500 they're doing all the stuff they need to do to 00:27:27.500 --> 00:27:29.920 get me ready to go to surgery. Contacts have 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:33.900 to come out the entire deal. Getting ready to 00:27:33.900 --> 00:27:36.019 do all that and two deputies come walking in 00:27:36.019 --> 00:27:38.799 and I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. So 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:42.680 they walk in and they said, hey, we need to ask 00:27:42.680 --> 00:27:44.259 you a couple of questions. I'm like, you've got 00:27:44.259 --> 00:27:45.940 to be kidding me. You're just making this worse. 00:27:45.940 --> 00:27:47.460 You're adding insult to injury. And they're like, 00:27:47.619 --> 00:27:51.660 it's technically a gun wound. So we need to question 00:27:51.660 --> 00:27:53.599 you about that. I'm like, you've got to be kidding 00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:56.599 me. So I'm like, you guys are just absolutely 00:27:56.599 --> 00:27:59.059 making it worse. So they make everybody leave 00:27:59.059 --> 00:28:02.099 and they're like, OK, so You shot yourself with 00:28:02.099 --> 00:28:05.500 the nail gun for the hundredth time. Yes, I shot 00:28:05.500 --> 00:28:08.559 myself with the nail gun. Did anyone tell you 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:11.119 to say that? Would you stop it? You're making 00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:14.440 it worse. No one told me to say that. Did anyone 00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:16.900 pay you to say that you shot yourself? Listen, 00:28:16.940 --> 00:28:20.299 how can I explain this to you? I shot myself 00:28:20.299 --> 00:28:23.140 with a nail gun. No one else was a part of it. 00:28:23.220 --> 00:28:27.279 No one else paid me anything. I shot myself with 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:30.079 the nail gun. Are you happy? He's like, yes. 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:33.799 I just had to ask, well, for pity's sake, stop 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:37.420 asking. I shot myself. And now I just feel like, 00:28:37.539 --> 00:28:39.799 not only am I at cluts, but I'm just like, man, 00:28:39.819 --> 00:28:42.440 this is embarrassing. So they go through the 00:28:42.440 --> 00:28:45.480 entire thing, and the surgeon says, he's like, 00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:47.200 well, let's just hold off. I think we might be 00:28:47.200 --> 00:28:49.420 able to pull the nail out, and I won't get too 00:28:49.420 --> 00:28:51.180 graphic, but he's like, I think we can just pull 00:28:51.180 --> 00:28:54.319 it out without surgery. So, I mean, hours have 00:28:54.319 --> 00:28:57.960 gone by. So he comes in, and he's like, yeah, 00:28:58.059 --> 00:29:00.049 we're just gonna... but we're just gonna pull 00:29:00.049 --> 00:29:03.089 that nail out the way that it went in. So I'm 00:29:03.089 --> 00:29:05.509 like, hey doc, I know you're a doctor and I don't 00:29:05.509 --> 00:29:07.950 play one on TV, I'm not a doctor, but do you 00:29:07.950 --> 00:29:10.869 understand ring shank nails at all? And he's 00:29:10.869 --> 00:29:12.549 like, well yeah. I'm like, I don't think you 00:29:12.549 --> 00:29:14.750 do. It's like, there's rings on that that are 00:29:14.750 --> 00:29:16.869 made so that it won't pull back out the way that 00:29:16.869 --> 00:29:19.069 it went in. He's like, yeah, yeah, I can see 00:29:19.069 --> 00:29:20.670 that on the x -ray. I'm like, I don't think you 00:29:20.670 --> 00:29:22.950 get it pal. He's like, I said, why don't you 00:29:22.950 --> 00:29:25.029 just cut the nail off and pull it the rest of 00:29:25.029 --> 00:29:27.109 the way through the hand. He's like, no, no, 00:29:27.109 --> 00:29:28.890 no, I want to pull it out the way that it went 00:29:28.890 --> 00:29:32.630 back in. And I'm like, man, you're crazy. So 00:29:32.630 --> 00:29:34.950 he literally, he calls the guy from the maintenance 00:29:34.950 --> 00:29:37.609 department and he's got a pair of pliers on his 00:29:37.609 --> 00:29:39.789 tool belt. And he's like, those will do just 00:29:39.789 --> 00:29:42.450 fine. I'm not making this up. They're not surgical 00:29:42.450 --> 00:29:44.809 at all. So I don't know what he was just doing 00:29:44.809 --> 00:29:47.349 with it, but he grabs these pliers off this guy's 00:29:47.349 --> 00:29:50.319 tool belt. And he's like, okay, he has like a 00:29:50.319 --> 00:29:52.660 nurse hold my arm down. He has another nurse 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:55.859 lay on my chest and he grabs the nail with the 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:59.160 pliers and he pulls the nail back out of my finger. 00:30:00.039 --> 00:30:05.640 And it's extremely painful. So I'm like, whew, 00:30:05.799 --> 00:30:09.420 I'm not doing so good. I'm white. And he's like, 00:30:09.740 --> 00:30:12.799 listen, that's psychosomatic. That's just your 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:14.559 brain telling you that it's supposed to hurt. 00:30:14.990 --> 00:30:17.609 And I'm like, dude, I'm going to hit you. I'm 00:30:17.609 --> 00:30:19.630 going to hit you right now. And he's like, you 00:30:19.630 --> 00:30:21.970 had a pain block, right? I'm like, yeah, when 00:30:21.970 --> 00:30:26.150 I came in. First thing in the ER, they gave me 00:30:26.150 --> 00:30:29.910 a pain block. And then he's like, oh, you did 00:30:29.910 --> 00:30:32.789 feel that then. I tried to tell you that. I felt 00:30:32.789 --> 00:30:35.630 every bit of it. And they bandaged my hand all 00:30:35.630 --> 00:30:37.789 up. And it hurt like crazy. It's probably the 00:30:37.789 --> 00:30:40.210 worst pain I've ever been in my life. In fact, 00:30:40.269 --> 00:30:42.910 it was so bad when Danita went to get Kalen from 00:30:42.910 --> 00:30:45.660 the the daycare place where she was hanging out 00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:48.960 until we all got back. I called Danita and I 00:30:48.960 --> 00:30:51.920 said, babe, I'm in horrible pain. I can't even 00:30:51.920 --> 00:30:54.599 think. So they figured out something to get the 00:30:54.599 --> 00:30:56.619 pain under control. And it pretty much hurt like 00:30:56.619 --> 00:30:58.920 that. I think it was 10 days later, I had a follow 00:30:58.920 --> 00:31:01.940 up, go back and see the surgeon who pulled the 00:31:01.940 --> 00:31:04.059 nail out of my finger. And then I was able to 00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:08.819 punch him. I didn't punch him. Yeah. So I go 00:31:08.819 --> 00:31:11.039 back to see him, and he re -bandaged my hand. 00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:13.680 He gave me another script for more pain meds. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:16.619 And it was the craziest thing, because when he 00:31:16.619 --> 00:31:19.420 got it re -bandaged, I never needed the pain 00:31:19.420 --> 00:31:22.099 meds again. Because I don't know if it was just 00:31:22.099 --> 00:31:23.819 pressure, or if it was just in a funny spot. 00:31:23.859 --> 00:31:25.980 I don't know what it was. But he got the bandage 00:31:25.980 --> 00:31:28.799 off, re -bandaged it, and I'm like, no, I'm really 00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:30.619 good. Now, here's the point with all of that. 00:31:32.119 --> 00:31:34.940 I needed every last single one of those people 00:31:34.940 --> 00:31:38.730 along the way. So who was the most important 00:31:38.730 --> 00:31:43.069 to me on that day? I couldn't begin to tell you 00:31:43.069 --> 00:31:46.430 So you do you mean to tell me that on that day 00:31:46.430 --> 00:31:49.430 that the role that my mother -in -law played 00:31:49.430 --> 00:31:51.730 Even though I didn't necessarily wasn't very 00:31:51.730 --> 00:31:53.569 happy about it. She's like, you know, you need 00:31:53.569 --> 00:31:56.019 to lay down. I'm like, no, I'm fine So they called 00:31:56.019 --> 00:31:58.059 Donita in the midst of all that, and Donita's 00:31:58.059 --> 00:32:01.119 response was, she's like, don't you die! I'm 00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:04.339 like, babe, calm down, okay? I shot myself in 00:32:04.339 --> 00:32:08.059 the hand with a nail gun. I promise I'm not going 00:32:08.059 --> 00:32:12.220 to die. I promise I'm not gonna die. So I'm good. 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:15.480 So was that role most important, or was it the 00:32:15.480 --> 00:32:17.700 doctor's role, or was it the people on the emergency 00:32:17.700 --> 00:32:20.240 squad, or was it the people in the ER? Who was 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:23.619 the most important to me? I can't begin to tell 00:32:23.619 --> 00:32:27.490 you. because every last person was important, 00:32:27.569 --> 00:32:30.109 every last person had a different role to do, 00:32:30.410 --> 00:32:32.710 and every last person was doing that to mend 00:32:32.710 --> 00:32:36.789 a broken bone. Every last person did what they 00:32:36.789 --> 00:32:40.490 did, and I was depending on them to do what they 00:32:40.490 --> 00:32:46.269 did for me to be mended up so I could fulfill 00:32:46.269 --> 00:32:49.190 the purpose that I was supposed to have. That's 00:32:49.190 --> 00:32:52.539 this word. That's the word that's used there. 00:32:52.599 --> 00:32:54.579 It's a picture of how we should be interacting 00:32:54.579 --> 00:32:57.539 with a hurting and broken world. People are hurting 00:32:57.539 --> 00:33:01.440 and broken. Yes, I understand sometimes it's 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:06.980 self -inflicted, like mine was. But just because 00:33:06.980 --> 00:33:10.460 somebody's pain and brokenness is self -inflicted, 00:33:10.660 --> 00:33:15.509 they still need and deserve grace. Amen. God 00:33:15.509 --> 00:33:18.109 in his love and his mercy has put a system in 00:33:18.109 --> 00:33:20.690 place for us to mend what's broken and for them 00:33:20.690 --> 00:33:23.109 to be restored to right relationship with God 00:33:23.109 --> 00:33:25.789 For them to fulfill their God -given purpose 00:33:25.789 --> 00:33:29.410 and destiny and I can't begin to do that by myself 00:33:29.410 --> 00:33:32.910 I need all the fivefold the fivefold parts of 00:33:32.910 --> 00:33:35.569 the hand to be the hands and feet of Jesus to 00:33:35.569 --> 00:33:39.470 mend what's broken so I'm gonna go ahead and 00:33:39.470 --> 00:33:42.109 risk being misunderstood here. So if you're wondering 00:33:42.109 --> 00:33:44.210 like, when is he gonna get himself in hot water, 00:33:44.250 --> 00:33:46.069 this is probably the moment that I can get myself 00:33:46.069 --> 00:33:50.049 in some hot water. So this year, the Church of 00:33:50.049 --> 00:33:52.690 Nazarene in USA and Canada, and does anybody 00:33:52.690 --> 00:33:55.450 know what we're focusing on? Like they have a 00:33:55.450 --> 00:33:57.509 focus every year now. Does anyone know what we're 00:33:57.509 --> 00:34:00.710 focusing on? What is it? Bringing others to Jesus, 00:34:00.789 --> 00:34:03.730 very good. So bringing others to Jesus. And I 00:34:03.730 --> 00:34:06.069 think that I can speak for everyone and say that 00:34:06.069 --> 00:34:10.389 we can all get behind that. Right? Like, is there 00:34:10.389 --> 00:34:12.929 anybody here who's like, I absolutely, I'm not 00:34:12.929 --> 00:34:14.630 sure I wanna be Nazarene now. If that's what 00:34:14.630 --> 00:34:16.409 we're gonna focus on this year, I'm out. Anybody, 00:34:16.889 --> 00:34:19.750 like, we can get behind that, right? That hurting, 00:34:19.849 --> 00:34:21.630 broken people would be brought to Jesus. We can 00:34:21.630 --> 00:34:23.650 get behind that. That's a great thing. There's 00:34:23.650 --> 00:34:25.230 nothing wrong with that. So how are we gonna 00:34:25.230 --> 00:34:29.269 go about doing that? It's a great question. So 00:34:29.269 --> 00:34:32.650 I think what we typically would do is this. We 00:34:32.650 --> 00:34:34.349 would say that what we need to do is to train 00:34:34.349 --> 00:34:38.000 everyone to be an evangelist, right? So we need 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:40.679 to talk about how we can share people with people 00:34:40.679 --> 00:34:42.780 about Jesus and the good news and don't get me 00:34:42.780 --> 00:34:45.719 wrong We'll do that when we talk about evangelism 00:34:45.719 --> 00:34:47.639 and evangelists. We'll talk about that but hear 00:34:47.639 --> 00:34:51.440 me I'm not opposed to evangelism training I'm 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:54.760 not opposed to it in any way I believe that every 00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:57.000 believer should be able to help someone begin 00:34:57.000 --> 00:34:59.440 a relationship with Jesus and I'm just gonna 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:01.760 take away all the stuff Here's here's what it 00:35:01.760 --> 00:35:05.750 is. Do you know how simple it is? It's one beggar 00:35:05.750 --> 00:35:10.010 telling another beggar where to find bread. That's 00:35:10.010 --> 00:35:14.250 all evangelism is. You just tell somebody who's 00:35:14.250 --> 00:35:16.829 looking for the hope and significance in life 00:35:16.829 --> 00:35:19.590 that you have, this is what Jesus did for me. 00:35:19.750 --> 00:35:21.409 If he did it for me, he'll do it for you. I mean, 00:35:21.409 --> 00:35:23.550 I'm not special. If he did it for me, he'll do 00:35:23.550 --> 00:35:26.610 it for you. That's all evangelism is. And we 00:35:26.610 --> 00:35:28.070 will provide some opportunities for training. 00:35:28.130 --> 00:35:31.489 I am not opposed to that. In fact, I'm certified 00:35:31.489 --> 00:35:35.440 in three different evangelists evangelism techniques. 00:35:35.820 --> 00:35:38.480 I'm certified in it. I'm certified as a trainer 00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:41.960 in two of those. So I could actually, with full 00:35:41.960 --> 00:35:44.719 endorsement from them, I could train you in these 00:35:44.719 --> 00:35:47.920 evangelistic approaches. I'm not opposed to evangelism 00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:53.619 training. But here's the problem. Not everyone's 00:35:53.619 --> 00:36:00.179 an evangelist. He gave some to be evangelists. 00:36:04.579 --> 00:36:06.420 I think it makes more sense, at least it makes 00:36:06.420 --> 00:36:09.019 more sense to me, if we were to operate within 00:36:09.019 --> 00:36:11.900 our gifts and abilities and callings, if we did 00:36:11.900 --> 00:36:14.420 that and did that well, I think that makes more 00:36:14.420 --> 00:36:16.880 sense. And I think that we have a better chance 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:19.920 of reaching the world if we did that than if 00:36:19.920 --> 00:36:24.159 we try to play to what we're not called to. Are 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:28.340 you following me? Now, I'm not talking to people 00:36:28.340 --> 00:36:29.960 who are called to be an evangelist. If you're 00:36:29.960 --> 00:36:31.980 called to be an evangelist, then by all means, 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:33.800 you should go do evangelism. You should do it 00:36:33.800 --> 00:36:36.039 really well. And you should help all of us with 00:36:36.039 --> 00:36:37.800 that. You should help us to be better at it. 00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:40.239 But I think it makes more sense. Like, if I'm 00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:41.800 a shepherd, doesn't it make more sense for me 00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:46.139 to be a good shepherd? And doesn't it make more 00:36:46.139 --> 00:36:48.159 sense for me to allow evangelists to be great 00:36:48.159 --> 00:36:50.539 evangelists? And doesn't it make more sense for 00:36:50.539 --> 00:36:53.340 me to allow the prophets to be prophets and the 00:36:53.340 --> 00:36:55.480 teachers to be teachers? Because this is what 00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:58.409 God's called me to. It's not that he's just called 00:36:58.409 --> 00:37:00.550 it to me and I can flip it on and flip it off 00:37:00.550 --> 00:37:03.050 and in this moment I can be an evangelist. That's 00:37:03.050 --> 00:37:05.130 not the way that it is it gets stamped into your 00:37:05.130 --> 00:37:13.190 spiritual DNA So this is who I am and Doesn't 00:37:13.190 --> 00:37:15.110 it make more sense just to allow me to be who 00:37:15.110 --> 00:37:19.730 God's called me to be It doesn't make more sense 00:37:19.730 --> 00:37:23.579 for you to be who God's called you to be And 00:37:23.579 --> 00:37:25.699 I'm not saying that we shouldn't help people 00:37:25.699 --> 00:37:28.619 to know how to evangelize. We will. We'll talk 00:37:28.619 --> 00:37:30.539 about that. I'll give you some tools. I've given 00:37:30.539 --> 00:37:34.659 you tools. I'll continue to give you tools. But 00:37:34.659 --> 00:37:36.840 sometimes I think it just makes more sense and 00:37:36.840 --> 00:37:39.579 I think we're more effective if we do what God's 00:37:39.579 --> 00:37:43.099 called us to do. So I already told Danita that 00:37:43.099 --> 00:37:45.739 I have like tons more material, but I want to 00:37:45.739 --> 00:37:47.840 be done before you are, so I will be done before 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:50.860 you are. We're only going to talk about all of 00:37:50.860 --> 00:37:53.159 the fivefold today, and then I'm going to start 00:37:53.159 --> 00:37:55.960 with the Apostles next week. So I've got a couple 00:37:55.960 --> 00:37:57.840 different graphics I want to throw up just so 00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:00.260 you can see what I'm talking about. So Apostles, 00:38:00.360 --> 00:38:01.699 that's what I'm going to talk about first. We'll 00:38:01.699 --> 00:38:03.539 take them in the order that they are in Scripture. 00:38:04.679 --> 00:38:08.320 Apostles, they're pioneers, they're innovators, 00:38:08.480 --> 00:38:11.039 they're catalysts. They start new movements, 00:38:11.320 --> 00:38:14.880 cast vision. That makes sense, right? So prophets, 00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:17.139 they're truth tellers, they're reformers, they're 00:38:17.139 --> 00:38:20.880 cultural architects. They speak truth, seek justice, 00:38:21.380 --> 00:38:24.579 challenge systems. Evangelists, they're connectors, 00:38:25.400 --> 00:38:27.840 influencers, storytellers. They build relationships, 00:38:29.239 --> 00:38:33.760 spreads ideas passionately. I don't know how 00:38:33.760 --> 00:38:36.380 many of you know this guy, James Smith. I know 00:38:36.380 --> 00:38:38.119 that some of you know James Smith, one of my 00:38:38.119 --> 00:38:40.280 friends. We worked together on staff at Findley, 00:38:40.579 --> 00:38:43.340 worked for Mount Vernon for a while. James Smith 00:38:43.340 --> 00:38:46.800 is an evangelist through and through. Like everything 00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:49.139 that you see there, he is every last one of those. 00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:51.880 He's a connector. He's an influencer. He's a 00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:54.719 storyteller. He's incredibly passionate about 00:38:54.719 --> 00:38:57.139 what he does. He's an evangelist through and 00:38:57.139 --> 00:39:00.650 through. shepherds, nurturer, mentor, community 00:39:00.650 --> 00:39:03.809 builders, cares for people's foster belonging 00:39:03.809 --> 00:39:07.630 and health, teacher's guide, their educators, 00:39:08.110 --> 00:39:11.489 system thinkers, brings clarity, structure, and 00:39:11.489 --> 00:39:14.630 understanding. Now, even that, that's not bad, 00:39:15.510 --> 00:39:18.550 but sometimes we see things like that and we're 00:39:18.550 --> 00:39:24.170 reluctant to say, hey, I am an apostle. And some 00:39:24.170 --> 00:39:25.989 of that's because of the abuse that has happened 00:39:25.989 --> 00:39:29.480 in the body of Christ, right? So because, I mean, 00:39:29.480 --> 00:39:31.300 let's face it, we've already talked about this. 00:39:31.599 --> 00:39:33.760 Not all of the times have these been gracious 00:39:33.760 --> 00:39:36.880 things. And there have been pastors who have 00:39:36.880 --> 00:39:39.119 abused that, and they've abused their people. 00:39:40.280 --> 00:39:42.639 And so we're reluctant to say, because we don't 00:39:42.639 --> 00:39:45.460 want to be associated with that. And I get that. 00:39:45.800 --> 00:39:47.840 So this next slide actually gives us just some 00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:49.820 other ways to think about those things. So apostles 00:39:49.820 --> 00:39:53.400 are sent ones. They can be church planters. They 00:39:53.400 --> 00:39:57.000 can be entrepreneurs. I just feel smarter saying 00:39:57.000 --> 00:40:01.079 the word entrepreneurs. I just want you to think 00:40:01.079 --> 00:40:02.519 about that for a second. And the reason I want 00:40:02.519 --> 00:40:07.539 you to see that is, so business people, people 00:40:07.539 --> 00:40:10.780 who start their own business from nothing, people 00:40:10.780 --> 00:40:13.880 like Bob Robbins, they start a business from 00:40:13.880 --> 00:40:17.619 nothing. That takes a special kind of calling 00:40:17.619 --> 00:40:23.150 to do that. The calling that that would be is 00:40:23.150 --> 00:40:25.130 we would say that they're an apostle. They take 00:40:25.130 --> 00:40:28.630 something and make it from nothing. People who 00:40:28.630 --> 00:40:31.570 can start a company from nothing in my, like, 00:40:31.750 --> 00:40:33.409 you tell me you started a company from nothing 00:40:33.409 --> 00:40:35.929 and I automatically start thinking, okay, that's 00:40:35.929 --> 00:40:38.989 an apostle. That's somebody who can take something 00:40:38.989 --> 00:40:42.769 and make something out of nothing. They can do 00:40:42.769 --> 00:40:44.889 things in new places. They can replicate that. 00:40:44.889 --> 00:40:48.460 That to me is an apostle. So they are church 00:40:48.460 --> 00:40:50.500 planners, they're entrepreneurs, prophets, they're 00:40:50.500 --> 00:40:54.179 truth tellers, artists. Sometimes we think about 00:40:54.179 --> 00:40:57.440 artists in all of their forms. We think about 00:40:57.440 --> 00:40:59.500 artists and we would not ever say, okay, I think 00:40:59.500 --> 00:41:01.199 of that person as a prophet, but that's what 00:41:01.199 --> 00:41:06.639 they are. Is that making sense? Things like intercessors, 00:41:07.559 --> 00:41:09.820 evangelists, they're gospel bearers, they're 00:41:09.820 --> 00:41:12.719 storytellers, they're bridge builders, shepherds 00:41:12.719 --> 00:41:20.349 are caregivers, coaches, mentors. Kevin Deming, 00:41:20.710 --> 00:41:23.590 he's a football coach. He's been a part of what 00:41:23.590 --> 00:41:28.610 we do at camp for, oh goodness, well over a decade. 00:41:30.250 --> 00:41:32.730 And a lot of our students at camp, they just 00:41:32.730 --> 00:41:36.269 call him coach. And it's not something that he 00:41:36.269 --> 00:41:38.030 says, hey, call me this. It's just because that's 00:41:38.030 --> 00:41:40.230 who he is, right? It gets stamped into his DNA. 00:41:40.469 --> 00:41:42.610 And people, like, Kevin doesn't have to say, 00:41:42.630 --> 00:41:45.980 I am a football coach, right? So if you're around 00:41:45.980 --> 00:41:48.039 Kevin for five seconds, you'd be like, dude's 00:41:48.039 --> 00:41:50.980 a coach. I don't know what he coaches, but dude's 00:41:50.980 --> 00:41:53.599 a coach, right? It gets stamped into his DNA. 00:41:55.320 --> 00:41:58.239 So, like you understand how, like I see that 00:41:58.239 --> 00:42:01.460 and I say, okay, Kevin's a shepherd. Because 00:42:01.460 --> 00:42:09.059 he cares for, he guides, he invests in the youth 00:42:09.059 --> 00:42:14.099 of our culture, teachers. truth organizers, educators, 00:42:14.360 --> 00:42:16.340 curriculum developers and I just wanted you to 00:42:16.340 --> 00:42:19.559 see that because I think it helps us to see like 00:42:19.559 --> 00:42:22.099 it sometimes it's difficult for us to say with 00:42:22.099 --> 00:42:24.539 these biblical titles that's what I am and I 00:42:24.539 --> 00:42:26.480 just want to flesh it out a little bit so that 00:42:26.480 --> 00:42:28.219 you can see that there are other expressions. 00:42:28.579 --> 00:42:32.440 Does that all make sense? So we need all of those 00:42:32.440 --> 00:42:37.059 in the body of Christ right? We need every last 00:42:37.059 --> 00:42:40.340 one of those and if we're going to mend a broken 00:42:40.340 --> 00:42:43.949 world It's gonna take all of those people doing 00:42:43.949 --> 00:42:47.550 what they do and We want to get out of their 00:42:47.550 --> 00:42:53.789 way and let them do what they do amen So I told 00:42:53.789 --> 00:42:55.929 you I would be done before you are and that's 00:42:55.929 --> 00:43:02.150 the point that I need to land the plane so In 00:43:02.150 --> 00:43:06.909 2007 which how many of you think that seems like 00:43:06.909 --> 00:43:12.659 forever ago, I mean 2007 so what? 18 years ago, 00:43:13.860 --> 00:43:18.199 18 years ago, there was a band by the name of 00:43:18.199 --> 00:43:23.440 Blue Tree. Has anyone heard of Blue Tree? I hadn't 00:43:23.440 --> 00:43:28.000 really heard of them either. But they were performing. 00:43:29.300 --> 00:43:32.519 They're a Christian. Let me back up. So Blue 00:43:32.519 --> 00:43:37.380 Tree is a Christian band, a worship band. They 00:43:37.380 --> 00:43:43.739 were performing in a bar in Patea. And it was 00:43:43.739 --> 00:43:46.239 part of this outreach place. They went there 00:43:46.239 --> 00:43:48.820 on purpose because Pataya at the time was one 00:43:48.820 --> 00:43:50.920 of the darkest places, the darkest communities 00:43:50.920 --> 00:43:53.559 in the world. And they intentionally wanted to 00:43:53.559 --> 00:43:56.239 find the darkest places in the world. And they 00:43:56.239 --> 00:43:58.619 went on tour to all of these really dark places 00:43:58.619 --> 00:44:01.599 where some awful things happened. This particular 00:44:01.599 --> 00:44:05.800 one, they were known for... Pataya at the time 00:44:05.800 --> 00:44:10.420 was one of the leading cities in the world for... 00:44:10.440 --> 00:44:15.139 human trafficking and sex slave trade. It's one 00:44:15.139 --> 00:44:17.119 of the largest places in the world at the time. 00:44:17.880 --> 00:44:20.739 So during their concert in Patea, Aaron Boyd, 00:44:20.860 --> 00:44:23.199 who was the lead singer, he felt stirred in his 00:44:23.199 --> 00:44:25.880 spirit by all that was going on around him. I 00:44:25.880 --> 00:44:27.460 mean anywhere that you would look you just saw 00:44:27.460 --> 00:44:30.260 brokenness and exploitation and spiritual need 00:44:30.260 --> 00:44:34.760 and in a moment he just began to sing out a spontaneous 00:44:34.760 --> 00:44:40.639 prayer really over the city of Patea. prayer 00:44:40.639 --> 00:44:46.219 went like this greater things have yet to come 00:44:46.219 --> 00:44:48.579 and greater things are still to be done in this 00:44:48.579 --> 00:44:52.900 city now you probably recognize those words because 00:44:52.900 --> 00:44:55.719 chris tomlin heard the song that blue tree did 00:44:55.719 --> 00:44:58.940 in patea and then he recorded it and everyone 00:44:58.940 --> 00:45:03.519 knows um god of this city because chris tomlin 00:45:03.519 --> 00:45:06.579 heard it he began to sing it So those words weren't 00:45:06.579 --> 00:45:08.400 rehearsed. They weren't pre -written. It was 00:45:08.400 --> 00:45:11.579 something that was almost a prophetic declaration 00:45:11.579 --> 00:45:15.519 that was birthed from the band's heartache and 00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:17.320 hope for what God could do in a place called 00:45:17.320 --> 00:45:22.539 Pate. So it is a prophetic declaration. I won't 00:45:22.539 --> 00:45:26.659 dispute that at all, but in my mind that's that's 00:45:26.659 --> 00:45:28.920 the heart of an apostle. A heart of an apostle 00:45:28.920 --> 00:45:32.019 sees past what is to what could be and begins 00:45:32.019 --> 00:45:35.239 to to get the heart of what God wants to do in 00:45:35.239 --> 00:45:40.039 Patea, and what God wants to do in Parma, and 00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:42.699 what God wants to do in North Royalton, and what 00:45:42.699 --> 00:45:44.719 God wants to do in Independence and Brexfield 00:45:44.719 --> 00:45:50.360 and Burlington, and what God wants to do in your 00:45:50.360 --> 00:45:57.329 town. And I think at some point, like we need 00:45:57.329 --> 00:45:59.949 all five right and i understand that we need 00:45:59.949 --> 00:46:02.750 all of the fivefold doing their thing to reach 00:46:02.750 --> 00:46:05.389 a broken world to mend the brokenness that's 00:46:05.389 --> 00:46:08.650 in the world around us but we're going to sing 00:46:08.650 --> 00:46:11.969 that song that they that they they wrote over 00:46:11.969 --> 00:46:18.690 patea and this morning i want you to make a declaration 00:46:18.690 --> 00:46:22.070 over your town the place that you live here's 00:46:22.070 --> 00:46:23.869 some things i want you to think about as we do 00:46:23.869 --> 00:46:27.210 that I want you to think about the theme of the 00:46:27.210 --> 00:46:29.530 song is very easy to figure out that it's talking 00:46:29.530 --> 00:46:33.329 about hope in the midst of the worst kind of 00:46:33.329 --> 00:46:35.849 darkness that you can imagine. So I don't know 00:46:35.849 --> 00:46:37.630 what the darkness looks like in your life. I 00:46:37.630 --> 00:46:39.829 don't know what things are dark and seem like 00:46:39.829 --> 00:46:43.110 they're bleak and hopeless. But as we sing this, 00:46:43.170 --> 00:46:44.849 I want you to know that in the midst of that, 00:46:44.949 --> 00:46:49.769 that there's hope. Amen. And maybe you even need 00:46:49.769 --> 00:46:52.559 to like... stir up some prophetic stuff in you 00:46:52.559 --> 00:46:55.159 and you may need to make this a declaration just 00:46:55.159 --> 00:46:57.519 like they did in Patea and say you know what 00:46:57.519 --> 00:47:01.400 greater things are yet to come this isn't the 00:47:01.400 --> 00:47:05.199 end of the story greater things God's gonna do 00:47:05.199 --> 00:47:07.340 in the midst of all of this stuff than what I'm 00:47:07.340 --> 00:47:10.940 seeing right now and the song speaks about God's 00:47:10.940 --> 00:47:13.579 sovereignty over our cities and our nations and 00:47:13.599 --> 00:47:15.739 And maybe this morning you want to make that 00:47:15.739 --> 00:47:18.460 kind of declaration, that God's sovereign over 00:47:18.460 --> 00:47:20.659 your town, that God's sovereign over your city. 00:47:21.119 --> 00:47:23.519 Maybe some of you, that's not what God's calling 00:47:23.519 --> 00:47:26.260 you to. Maybe what God's stirring up in you apostolically 00:47:26.260 --> 00:47:28.559 today is that you want to declare that over our 00:47:28.559 --> 00:47:31.199 nation, that greater things are coming, that 00:47:31.199 --> 00:47:34.119 this isn't the end. We're not going to be known 00:47:34.119 --> 00:47:37.519 for this. That God's going to do something greater 00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:41.659 than this. And the song speaks to a call for 00:47:41.659 --> 00:47:44.380 us to intercede and believe for transformation. 00:47:45.599 --> 00:47:48.000 That when things are dark and they're bleak, 00:47:49.440 --> 00:47:51.400 that we don't just roll over and say, I guess 00:47:51.400 --> 00:47:55.139 that's as good as it's gonna get. But that we 00:47:55.139 --> 00:47:58.179 begin to intercede and we lean in and we pray 00:47:58.179 --> 00:48:01.460 and we don't quit. We keep leaning in until things 00:48:01.460 --> 00:48:04.780 change. The chorus of the song simply says this, 00:48:04.880 --> 00:48:07.500 you're the god of this city. You're the king 00:48:07.500 --> 00:48:11.019 of these people. You're the Lord of this nation. 00:48:12.119 --> 00:48:18.519 You are. And whatever your circumstance, whatever 00:48:18.519 --> 00:48:23.940 your situation, I want you to declare that over 00:48:23.940 --> 00:48:41.769 your circumstance. You're the God of this. I 00:48:41.769 --> 00:48:43.550 think that we can do that and almost make that 00:48:43.550 --> 00:48:47.010 a prayer. Amen. That's what I want you to do 00:48:47.010 --> 00:48:51.010 with me today. When we're done singing it, don't 00:48:51.010 --> 00:48:53.889 leave. I do have an official benediction that 00:48:53.889 --> 00:48:59.150 I'll give you. But I want us to kind of corporately 00:48:59.150 --> 00:49:03.610 pray this over some dark things together. Will 00:49:03.610 --> 00:49:04.429 you do that with me?