WEBVTT 00:00:04.459 --> 00:00:06.660 You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:09.480 podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone 00:00:09.480 --> 00:00:12.199 Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan 00:00:12.199 --> 00:00:14.259 Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message 00:00:14.259 --> 00:00:16.620 strengthens your faith and draws you closer to 00:00:16.620 --> 00:00:20.780 Christ. Let's dive in. Cool. Well, with that 00:00:20.780 --> 00:00:22.480 being said, let's go ahead and dive in if nobody's 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:24.739 got any questions. Today, we're going to be, 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:28.339 the title of my sermon is, Who Are You? Because 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:32.439 we're going to, you're going to see, oh, Noah. 00:00:33.390 --> 00:00:43.009 Your Bible son You left it up here so Go ahead 00:00:43.009 --> 00:00:45.130 and open to Jonah while you're opening to Jonah 00:00:45.130 --> 00:00:47.950 You we're gonna see in the text that where we're 00:00:47.950 --> 00:00:52.369 at. So we left off where Jonah is asleep in the 00:00:52.369 --> 00:00:55.310 boat and There's more that we're gonna unpack 00:00:55.310 --> 00:00:57.270 with that. By the way, there's there's a reason 00:00:57.270 --> 00:01:04.060 why Jonah goes into the the ship but He's now 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:06.760 been awakened, right? And we talked about last 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:10.040 week, if you weren't here, how the chaos of the 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:13.500 storm, typically we are the ones that do it to 00:01:13.500 --> 00:01:17.280 ourselves, right? Like usually, now life just 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.780 happens because we live in a fallen world, right? 00:01:20.379 --> 00:01:23.719 But typically when we find ourselves in a chaotic 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:26.359 mess, it's usually because of decisions we've 00:01:26.359 --> 00:01:31.609 made, right? And so I talked about how But when 00:01:31.609 --> 00:01:34.209 you make those decisions, you are typically impacting 00:01:34.209 --> 00:01:37.629 not just yourself, but those in your boat, those 00:01:37.629 --> 00:01:40.049 that are around you. It's not just yourself. 00:01:40.510 --> 00:01:43.510 I mean, how many times have I heard secular people 00:01:43.510 --> 00:01:46.709 say, the decisions I make are me. Like if I'm 00:01:46.709 --> 00:01:48.650 hurting myself, it's not hurting anybody else. 00:01:48.670 --> 00:01:50.269 So what does it matter? No, you're hurting the 00:01:50.269 --> 00:01:51.609 people around you too, because there are people 00:01:51.609 --> 00:01:55.709 that care about you, right? Or if you're a parent, 00:01:55.790 --> 00:01:58.049 the decisions that you make affect your children 00:01:58.049 --> 00:02:01.560 and your spouse if you have one, right? And so 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:05.159 we unpacked that, and so now we leave off, we 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:08.960 left off where we're gonna dive into, there's 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:11.099 some questions that begin to get asked, but let 00:02:11.099 --> 00:02:14.659 me ask you like this. When you first meet somebody, 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:18.719 all right, as an adult, typically, because as 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:22.419 kids, you just find out like, oh man, you like 00:02:22.419 --> 00:02:26.439 Nintendo, I like Nintendo, right? But as an adult, 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:29.039 when you meet somebody, what are the first things 00:02:29.039 --> 00:02:32.629 you do? What's the first things, let's do it 00:02:32.629 --> 00:02:35.030 like this. Sue, you and I are meeting for the 00:02:35.030 --> 00:02:39.530 first time, okay? Hey, I'm Logan. You are? Sue. 00:02:39.849 --> 00:02:44.150 Sue, nice to meet you. What typically, if we're 00:02:44.150 --> 00:02:47.889 just exchanging just pleasantries and maybe we're 00:02:47.889 --> 00:02:53.770 at an Easter lunch like we were before at, you 00:02:53.770 --> 00:02:57.490 know, over with Mary Lynn and Scott, what typically 00:02:57.490 --> 00:02:59.330 are some conversational things that you're gonna 00:02:59.330 --> 00:03:03.590 ask? And I'm going to ask. Where you live. Yep. 00:03:03.729 --> 00:03:07.189 Good. What you do. What you do. Good. Anything 00:03:07.189 --> 00:03:12.550 else? Those are kind of the primary things, right? 00:03:13.870 --> 00:03:16.849 Yeah. And then more stuff kind of comes out of 00:03:16.849 --> 00:03:18.770 that, right? So typically, we're going to ask 00:03:18.770 --> 00:03:21.849 the question, where are you from? What do you 00:03:21.849 --> 00:03:29.740 do? What do those things revolve around? Right, 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:32.379 but like what does it begin to tell us about 00:03:32.379 --> 00:03:35.060 the person like if I'm asking the question sue 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:36.759 Hey, where are you from? What do you do? What 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:40.060 am I what am I ultimately doing in my own mind? 00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:47.759 Right, but I'm also you about to say somebody 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:55.520 Yes, I'm trying to place them into like a category 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:58.870 right I'm trying to, in the word that my wife 00:03:58.870 --> 00:04:01.389 just used, identify, I'm trying to identify them, 00:04:01.389 --> 00:04:05.610 right? It becomes our identity. Like, the first 00:04:05.610 --> 00:04:08.110 time I ever met Anita, you wanna know how she 00:04:08.110 --> 00:04:11.009 introduced herself? Do you know how you introduced 00:04:11.009 --> 00:04:14.069 yourself? She's like, terrified now. The crazy 00:04:14.069 --> 00:04:16.209 cow lady. And the first couple times she texted 00:04:16.209 --> 00:04:19.689 me was, hey, this is the crazy cow lady. And 00:04:19.689 --> 00:04:22.610 so I know her as the crazy cow lady. That's how 00:04:22.610 --> 00:04:25.529 she sees herself, that's how I see her, right? 00:04:26.629 --> 00:04:30.750 And so, you know, as I was getting to know Matt 00:04:30.750 --> 00:04:35.209 and he made fun of my makeshift 12 -year -old 00:04:35.209 --> 00:04:38.389 mustache and beard, he said he's had a beard 00:04:38.389 --> 00:04:41.149 since he was five. I now know him as the hairy 00:04:41.149 --> 00:04:46.310 bear man, right? So, you know, last week I saw 00:04:46.310 --> 00:04:48.930 him back there and I could see the hair from 00:04:48.930 --> 00:04:52.629 his back and I was like, man, that's got to be 00:04:52.629 --> 00:04:56.870 awful to deal with. And I wanted to ask Keely, 00:04:57.069 --> 00:04:59.129 but I was like, I want to be like, hey, what's 00:04:59.129 --> 00:05:02.649 it like to snuggle with a literal bear? But I 00:05:02.649 --> 00:05:10.949 did it. Anyway, getting off track. So we ask 00:05:10.949 --> 00:05:12.990 questions, right? Well, we're going to see now 00:05:12.990 --> 00:05:17.209 in our text, this is where the sailors go, specifically 00:05:17.209 --> 00:05:20.189 the captain. So let's dive in. So we're going 00:05:20.189 --> 00:05:22.129 to be starting in verse seven. We left off at 00:05:22.129 --> 00:05:29.990 verse six. Verse seven, come on. The sailors 00:05:29.990 --> 00:05:33.449 said to each other, let's cast lots, then we'll 00:05:33.449 --> 00:05:36.509 know who is to blame for this trouble we're in. 00:05:37.009 --> 00:05:41.569 So they cast lots and the lot singled out Jonah. 00:05:42.829 --> 00:05:45.629 Then they said to him, tell us who is to blame 00:05:45.629 --> 00:05:48.810 for this trouble we're in. What is your business? 00:05:49.449 --> 00:05:53.649 Where are you from? What is your country? and 00:05:53.649 --> 00:05:56.529 what people are you from? Do you see those questions? 00:05:57.730 --> 00:05:59.629 What are they trying to figure out in this moment? 00:05:59.810 --> 00:06:02.850 If they're casting lots, so to cast lots, if 00:06:02.850 --> 00:06:06.829 you don't know, it's kind of like drawing straws, 00:06:06.850 --> 00:06:08.689 but doing it like kind of with dice, if you will. 00:06:09.009 --> 00:06:12.649 And so they would always do this, by the way, 00:06:12.709 --> 00:06:16.370 and God, you see the disciples actually do this 00:06:16.370 --> 00:06:20.709 in the book of Acts. And so God would permit 00:06:20.709 --> 00:06:23.019 it at times. when they were trying to figure 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:24.879 out what it is they were supposed to do, the 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:27.620 will of God. And so what I find really interesting, 00:06:27.779 --> 00:06:33.959 though, is that even atheist Roman leaders would 00:06:33.959 --> 00:06:36.699 cast lots, even though it was illegal, by the 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:38.939 way, not to be an atheist in those times because 00:06:38.939 --> 00:06:43.379 they had so many gods. But there are certain 00:06:43.379 --> 00:06:46.779 philosophers who were atheist and they discussed. 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:49.540 how they would cast lots to figure out what it 00:06:49.540 --> 00:06:52.860 is they were to do. And so this is a very common 00:06:52.860 --> 00:06:56.399 practice where they're going, all right, well, 00:06:56.579 --> 00:06:58.100 I don't know what we're supposed to do. So we're 00:06:58.100 --> 00:06:59.800 going to do this. We're going to draw straws. 00:06:59.839 --> 00:07:03.839 And so they're saying, whose fault is it that 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:08.959 this is happening? This obviously has to be somebody's 00:07:08.959 --> 00:07:12.540 sin. And so they believed these sailors, they 00:07:12.540 --> 00:07:14.600 believe in multiple gods, but they specifically 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:19.470 believe in a God of the, the sea. And so they're 00:07:19.470 --> 00:07:21.110 casting lots, trying to figure out whose fault 00:07:21.110 --> 00:07:24.250 is it. And it lands on Jonah. So then they're 00:07:24.250 --> 00:07:27.750 like, Oh, so you're the troublemaker. So who 00:07:27.750 --> 00:07:31.769 are you? What do you do? Where are you from? 00:07:32.329 --> 00:07:39.730 Okay. Then what does Jonah say? So he says in 00:07:39.730 --> 00:07:43.649 verse nine, and he answered them, I am a Hebrew. 00:07:44.540 --> 00:07:46.779 That's important that you notice that, by the 00:07:46.779 --> 00:07:51.660 way. Briefly, why didn't he say, I'm from Israel 00:07:51.660 --> 00:07:57.920 or I'm Israeli or I'm an Israelite? Any ideas? 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:01.220 Why does he say he's a Hebrew instead of I'm 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:05.899 an Israelite? Well, first off, because to other 00:08:05.899 --> 00:08:08.980 nations, they weren't Israelites, they were Hebrew 00:08:08.980 --> 00:08:12.259 people. They didn't know them as it was only 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:15.740 within The Israelite nation that Israelites consider 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:18.839 themselves Israelites because it comes from the 00:08:18.839 --> 00:08:22.680 name whose name got changed to Israel Jacob so 00:08:22.680 --> 00:08:25.220 to other surrounding nations That's why he wouldn't 00:08:25.220 --> 00:08:29.139 say I am an Israelite and again the reason why 00:08:29.139 --> 00:08:31.100 I'm pointing this out is because it's it's important 00:08:31.100 --> 00:08:37.059 and so He says I'm Hebrew. I Worship the Lord 00:08:37.059 --> 00:08:41.320 the God of heavens who made the sea and dry land 00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:45.360 All right Then the men were seized by great fear 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:47.519 and said to him, what is this you've done? And 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.840 the men knew that he was fleeing the Lord's presence 00:08:50.840 --> 00:08:57.100 because he told them. So tell me what, what do 00:08:57.100 --> 00:09:01.440 you see in the text? Like what just pops off 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:04.720 by the way, like immediately, if we're looking 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:07.100 at identity, okay, that's what we're talking 00:09:07.100 --> 00:09:09.679 about. If we're talking about identity and we're 00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:11.899 answering these questions that he's answering. 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:17.080 What do you notice about the way that Jonah responds? 00:09:21.460 --> 00:09:24.299 Okay, good, he identifies his God, what else? 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:29.899 How does he identify his God, by the way, Doug? 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:44.780 Yeah, he is the God, right? What else? What's 00:09:44.780 --> 00:09:53.320 that? What about the order with which he says 00:09:53.320 --> 00:10:04.860 his answers? Right, but how does he answer first? 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:07.139 What's the first thing that comes out of his 00:10:07.139 --> 00:10:15.019 mouth? Says he's a Hebrew, right? Then he says, 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:24.100 I worship the Lord. Is he not a prophet? You 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:25.559 may be like, I don't understand where you're 00:10:25.559 --> 00:10:28.840 going with this. His national identity mattered 00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:33.059 more to him than who he got his identity from. 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:37.559 That's important that you see that. So when we 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:41.580 look at the fact that yes, he is a prophet. He 00:10:41.580 --> 00:10:44.779 literally is a mouthpiece for God. He sees it 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:50.080 as a job, not a calling. And that's secondary 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:52.720 to his identity because what is first to his 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:56.200 identity to him is his ethnicity and his nationality. 00:10:58.039 --> 00:11:00.120 I'm going to go ahead and say something that 00:11:00.120 --> 00:11:10.519 is very, very controversial. It is not It's not 00:11:10.519 --> 00:11:14.840 beating around the bush. So we have an entire 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:19.840 culture problem with you see yourself by your 00:11:19.840 --> 00:11:23.460 race or by your family lineage or your heritage 00:11:23.460 --> 00:11:27.100 before you see yourself with anything else. That's 00:11:27.100 --> 00:11:33.700 a problem. That's a problem. And it doesn't matter 00:11:33.700 --> 00:11:37.120 what race or nationality you are, white, black, 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:40.899 Hispanic, Indian it doesn't matter if that is 00:11:40.899 --> 00:11:43.360 the first and foremost thing of your makeup and 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:46.240 you call yourself a Christian You are just like 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:50.159 Jonah in this moment You're made in the image 00:11:50.159 --> 00:11:53.960 of God You are an image bearer. So it's important 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:56.519 that you understand that first and foremost in 00:11:56.519 --> 00:12:03.700 your identity It's him okay, this is so much 00:12:03.700 --> 00:12:07.129 of the problem in our culture is because We don't 00:12:07.129 --> 00:12:09.450 see ourselves as image bearers or we don't have 00:12:09.450 --> 00:12:11.610 him first in our identity. And I'm going to go 00:12:11.610 --> 00:12:14.490 back and say something too. There are a lot of 00:12:14.490 --> 00:12:18.529 pastors who have the role of pastor and see themselves 00:12:18.529 --> 00:12:22.529 as pastors before they see themselves as sons 00:12:22.529 --> 00:12:26.950 of the living God. They don't, they see it as 00:12:26.950 --> 00:12:30.049 a job. They don't see it as a call. And now you 00:12:30.049 --> 00:12:32.029 see why there's a lot of dead churches, right? 00:12:33.929 --> 00:12:38.830 So, all right, let's get going. Diving in first 00:12:38.830 --> 00:12:44.830 in the first Point that I have is Purpose. So 00:12:44.830 --> 00:12:46.529 the first thing they ask is what are you doing 00:12:46.529 --> 00:12:50.149 here? Okay, and they're asking what is your purpose? 00:12:50.250 --> 00:12:52.370 What's the reason you're here? Why are you in 00:12:52.370 --> 00:12:56.269 this boat right now? And so why is he in the 00:12:56.269 --> 00:13:02.169 boat? He's running from God right running from 00:13:02.169 --> 00:13:06.879 his mission He has a mission And he's running 00:13:06.879 --> 00:13:10.360 from it. And so here's what I want you all to 00:13:10.360 --> 00:13:12.720 know. And you need to write this down, because 00:13:12.720 --> 00:13:15.000 this is important. This is a lot of the reasons 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:21.539 why we as Christian families are so, we play 00:13:21.539 --> 00:13:24.299 defense instead of offense. And here's why I 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:28.899 say that. God gives each of us a mission, a reason 00:13:28.899 --> 00:13:33.460 for being that is tied to our gifts, responsibilities, 00:13:34.100 --> 00:13:38.090 and opportunities. Avoiding it limits our impact 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:42.190 and robs us of fulfillment. Do you hear that? 00:13:42.929 --> 00:13:46.350 Did you hear what I said? All of us have a mission. 00:13:47.090 --> 00:13:50.490 It's not just Pastor Logan. It's not just because 00:13:50.490 --> 00:13:54.610 Pastor Logan is a pastor or missionaries or whatever. 00:13:54.769 --> 00:13:58.149 All of us have a purpose and a mission that God 00:13:58.149 --> 00:14:02.529 has given us. Every single one. My wife has a 00:14:02.529 --> 00:14:09.330 crucial mission. She homeschools She helps raise 00:14:09.330 --> 00:14:15.730 up our kids and she would tell you that She also 00:14:15.730 --> 00:14:19.509 had to unfortunately Turn me into a godly man 00:14:19.509 --> 00:14:22.690 because before that I was just a little boy who 00:14:22.690 --> 00:14:25.269 had no idea what it was to be a godly man and 00:14:25.269 --> 00:14:29.509 so But she has a mission that is crucial because 00:14:29.509 --> 00:14:31.769 as you guys have heard me say before when the 00:14:31.769 --> 00:14:36.110 Psalms talk about that Blessed is the man whose 00:14:36.110 --> 00:14:38.750 quiver is full of arrows, talking about children. 00:14:39.129 --> 00:14:43.669 What do arrows do? They hit their mark, right? 00:14:44.370 --> 00:14:48.149 And so if you are a godly parent in this room 00:14:48.149 --> 00:14:50.649 and grandparent, you should see your children 00:14:50.649 --> 00:14:54.470 as arrows going to pierce darkness. Are you raising 00:14:54.470 --> 00:14:56.889 them up in a purposeful way? That is part of 00:14:56.889 --> 00:14:59.830 your mission. What is your gift sets? What are 00:14:59.830 --> 00:15:02.240 the things that God has given you? What has God 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:04.919 placed around you? What are the opportunities? 00:15:05.139 --> 00:15:08.120 All of these things are a part of your mission. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:14.840 Scott, in the military, would the military be 00:15:14.840 --> 00:15:17.419 kind of aimless and useless if we didn't have 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:19.519 a mission and we were all just kind of like making 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:21.919 it up as we went along? We wouldn't be a very 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:27.039 good military, right? And so, but yet there's 00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:30.320 a lot of families, a lot of Christians. who are 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:33.480 like an aimless military. You're just kind of 00:15:33.480 --> 00:15:36.639 existing. You're fighting fights that don't need 00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:39.360 to be fought. God doesn't need you to do that. 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:42.179 He needs you over here engaged in a spiritual 00:15:42.179 --> 00:15:46.419 battle. And instead, we're too busy arguing on 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:49.460 Facebook about how many colors were in the code 00:15:49.460 --> 00:15:53.299 of many colors. You see what I'm saying? Does 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:58.610 that make sense? So I want you to imagine The 00:15:58.610 --> 00:16:02.429 parable of the talents. Where servants were entrusted 00:16:02.429 --> 00:16:05.549 with different amounts of gold, the servant who 00:16:05.549 --> 00:16:08.409 buried his talent missed out on a chance to grow, 00:16:08.909 --> 00:16:11.409 while the others invested wisely and multiplied 00:16:11.409 --> 00:16:14.809 what they were given. Our purpose is to recognize 00:16:14.809 --> 00:16:17.850 the gifts God has bestowed upon us, not hide 00:16:17.850 --> 00:16:20.929 them in fear, but to actively use them for His 00:16:20.929 --> 00:16:24.409 glory. When we embrace our God -given mission, 00:16:24.909 --> 00:16:27.980 we step into a life rich with potential. Just 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:30.139 like those servants who sought to multiply their 00:16:30.139 --> 00:16:33.039 master's wealth. So my question to you right 00:16:33.039 --> 00:16:37.580 now is what is your mission? Husbands and wives 00:16:37.580 --> 00:16:39.899 you should be getting together praying through 00:16:39.899 --> 00:16:43.000 going. All right We're in specific phases. We're 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:46.580 in different phases of life the phase that Christie 00:16:46.580 --> 00:16:49.539 and Derek are in are in a lot different phase 00:16:49.539 --> 00:16:52.580 than Tracy and I are in and the the phase that 00:16:52.580 --> 00:16:55.080 Tracy and I are in in life and a lot different 00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:57.840 phase than what Trudy and Gene are in, right? 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:01.399 All of us are in different phases of life. The 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:03.720 problem is, is when we get to a different phase 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:06.460 of life, we start to relax a little bit more. 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:10.259 And senior adults in this room, I love you, but 00:17:10.259 --> 00:17:12.920 many times you guys are thinking with a westernized 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:16.119 mindset that says, it's about retirement age. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:19.720 And you start kind of like, tapering back on 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:21.640 things and you're not too active. And then you 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:23.640 start saying things like, well, I can't be engaged 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:26.680 with youth and helping in youth ministry or children's 00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:30.380 ministry or doing this or that because, well, 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:32.819 they don't want to hear from me or, you know, 00:17:32.819 --> 00:17:35.180 I just, it's time for me just to enjoy my life. 00:17:35.420 --> 00:17:38.460 I've worked my, nah, you don't see retirement 00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:43.559 in the scriptures anywhere. You don't. Okay. 00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:49.069 So. What does it look like then? Well, the Levites, 00:17:49.269 --> 00:17:52.650 the priest, they would, as they got older, they 00:17:52.650 --> 00:17:54.990 had younger priests coming in. What did they 00:17:54.990 --> 00:17:57.450 do? They sowed into them and they made way for 00:17:57.450 --> 00:18:00.569 them and they continued on. And so here's what 00:18:00.569 --> 00:18:03.569 I'm saying. You should each, no matter your age, 00:18:03.630 --> 00:18:06.150 no matter if you're married or single, no matter 00:18:06.150 --> 00:18:08.730 if you've got kids or grandkids, all of you, 00:18:08.809 --> 00:18:10.910 all of you, all of you should be gathered and 00:18:10.910 --> 00:18:13.029 trying to figure out and pray through what is 00:18:13.029 --> 00:18:14.930 the mission God has called us to in this moment. 00:18:15.670 --> 00:18:18.750 Right now where we are, what does that look like? 00:18:19.450 --> 00:18:22.670 What is our mission? The mission we have as a 00:18:22.670 --> 00:18:26.170 family right now is to one, homeschool each one 00:18:26.170 --> 00:18:28.910 of our kids, raise them up, get them ready for 00:18:28.910 --> 00:18:32.549 life to go pierce darkness. We also, our mission 00:18:32.549 --> 00:18:35.789 is to help love this church and disciple and 00:18:35.789 --> 00:18:39.609 send out. And then to love our neighbors that 00:18:39.609 --> 00:18:42.549 are around us and those who God has placed within 00:18:42.549 --> 00:18:45.250 our influence, that is our family mission right 00:18:45.250 --> 00:18:47.829 now. Will it change? Absolutely, it'll change. 00:18:47.950 --> 00:18:50.430 As my kids begin to go out, they get married, 00:18:50.529 --> 00:18:52.769 have grandkids, Tracy and I will then pivot. 00:18:52.950 --> 00:18:54.390 All right, God, what is it that you want from 00:18:54.390 --> 00:18:57.630 us now? Does that make, am I, you guys following? 00:18:58.450 --> 00:19:00.369 I want you to hear this and I think I have a 00:19:00.369 --> 00:19:02.349 slide for it. It's a quote from John Calvin. 00:19:02.990 --> 00:19:08.569 Is there, is it on there? I hope so. Okay, cool. 00:19:08.769 --> 00:19:12.150 You should write this down John Calvin French 00:19:12.150 --> 00:19:16.869 reformer All who are ignorant of the purpose 00:19:16.869 --> 00:19:22.029 for which they live are fools and madmen Dude 00:19:22.029 --> 00:19:26.170 that is a punch in the face John Calvin saying 00:19:26.170 --> 00:19:28.869 if you are ignorant of your purpose and mission, 00:19:28.970 --> 00:19:34.650 then you are nothing more than a fool So here 00:19:35.420 --> 00:19:38.339 Just as Jonah was called to Nineveh, God has 00:19:38.339 --> 00:19:40.299 a mission for each of us. As I've said, this 00:19:40.299 --> 00:19:43.099 isn't only for pastors, it's for every person 00:19:43.099 --> 00:19:47.400 in our workplaces, homes, and communities. Purpose 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:51.779 gives us direction and meaning to life. To give 00:19:51.779 --> 00:19:58.460 you an idea, and this is part of an identity 00:19:58.460 --> 00:20:02.960 issue in myself. Too many times I have, because 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:06.880 we as men, by the way, We put our identity in 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.859 what we do. Women tend to put their identity 00:20:09.859 --> 00:20:15.059 in parenting, in taking care of the home. We 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:17.000 have, and that's because those things are innately 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:19.799 put into us. You see that in the creation narrative. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:24.680 God created Adam to work and he created Eve to 00:20:24.680 --> 00:20:27.059 be a helpmate and to come alongside and they 00:20:27.059 --> 00:20:32.460 live together. One is nurturing, right? So, but 00:20:32.460 --> 00:20:35.059 we as men, We put our identity in what we do. 00:20:35.240 --> 00:20:37.200 And so when that identity is stripped from us, 00:20:37.299 --> 00:20:40.440 we tend to wander. And so there was a time when 00:20:40.440 --> 00:20:44.259 different times in my life where I growing up, 00:20:44.339 --> 00:20:45.519 I was like, man, I'm going to be a professional 00:20:45.519 --> 00:20:47.980 baseball player and playing, you know, and doing 00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:49.720 all these things. And then when I get hurt and 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:51.460 I get stripped from me, I have no idea who I 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:54.119 am. And then I'm like, oh, I know who I am. I'm 00:20:54.119 --> 00:20:57.279 I'm. I want to be a famous drummer and I want 00:20:57.279 --> 00:20:59.220 to be a rock star. And it's like all those things 00:20:59.220 --> 00:21:01.579 begin to happen. That gets stripped away. Then 00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:03.680 I have no idea who I am. And then it's like I 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:06.200 put all my effort into being a pastor. God takes 00:21:06.200 --> 00:21:08.680 that away from me for a season. I am depressed 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:12.099 and have no idea who I am apart from pastoring. 00:21:13.779 --> 00:21:17.269 And so why? because I feel like I'm purposeless. 00:21:17.269 --> 00:21:19.430 I feel like I have no meaning to my life, but 00:21:19.430 --> 00:21:22.369 what God had to show me is ultimately He is the 00:21:22.369 --> 00:21:24.109 purpose and meaning to my life. I have to get 00:21:24.109 --> 00:21:28.230 things right in my identity order, and then once 00:21:28.230 --> 00:21:31.049 I've got things right in order, then I can go 00:21:31.049 --> 00:21:35.930 back to my purpose and meaning. Your mission 00:21:35.930 --> 00:21:38.190 isn't just for you. It impacts your family, your 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:40.750 friends, and community. Actively embracing your 00:21:40.750 --> 00:21:43.609 calling blesses others and multiplies your influence. 00:21:45.210 --> 00:21:47.349 As I already said about the parable of the talents, 00:21:47.390 --> 00:21:49.509 the servants were entrusted with resources that 00:21:49.509 --> 00:21:52.549 they need to steward. So I wanna ask you, are 00:21:52.549 --> 00:21:55.690 you stewarding the gifts that God has given you 00:21:55.690 --> 00:22:03.990 well? Don't run from God in fear and in disobedience 00:22:03.990 --> 00:22:05.930 because you're just like, I can't do that or 00:22:05.930 --> 00:22:08.509 I'm too old for that or my body's too broken 00:22:08.509 --> 00:22:11.450 for that. If God's telling you to do something, 00:22:11.450 --> 00:22:13.269 you should do it. And if you're wandering through 00:22:13.269 --> 00:22:18.029 life without a mission, You're a madman. So I 00:22:18.029 --> 00:22:19.869 want you to recognize the gifts that God has 00:22:19.869 --> 00:22:22.630 given you, the spiritual gifts, the relational 00:22:22.630 --> 00:22:25.769 gifts, the practical gifts, and use them intentionally. 00:22:26.930 --> 00:22:30.589 Purpose is expressed in action, not just intention. 00:22:32.089 --> 00:22:35.289 So I want to go back. Jennifer, you said, and 00:22:35.289 --> 00:22:38.970 Trudy, you said, I really appreciate the devotions 00:22:38.970 --> 00:22:42.109 that you're doing. And multiple of you guys, 00:22:42.109 --> 00:22:44.029 like I said, have told me that it's been very 00:22:44.029 --> 00:22:46.859 meaningful. I have noticed, and I was telling 00:22:46.859 --> 00:22:52.640 Tracy this, writing was not a natural gift that 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:55.579 God had given to me. I have terrible grammar, 00:22:55.859 --> 00:22:59.519 but it has been an exercise and something that 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:02.140 I've enjoyed doing. And I've noticed that the 00:23:02.140 --> 00:23:04.299 more that I do it, one, the better I get, but 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:08.920 two, I begin to see God working through it. And 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:10.940 so it wasn't a natural gift that was already 00:23:10.940 --> 00:23:12.740 there. It was something I had to learn to do. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:17.279 My question is, we can't just have just intention 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:20.519 of, oh, I'd like to do that. It's no, I may not 00:23:20.519 --> 00:23:22.900 be good at it. It's no, like maybe I need to 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:30.279 work at it. Does that make sense? Um, so when 00:23:30.279 --> 00:23:33.539 we embrace our God given mission, we step into 00:23:33.539 --> 00:23:37.440 a full life of potential just as the faithful 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:40.579 servants multiply their talents. Like Jonah, 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:43.440 avoiding our purpose can create confusion. it 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.700 can harm others and diminish our witness. Point 00:23:46.700 --> 00:23:52.839 number two. People, who are you with? Who are 00:23:52.839 --> 00:24:00.299 you with? God gives us relationships and communities, 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:03.740 but when we rely on them to define our worth, 00:24:04.039 --> 00:24:08.420 our identity, they become virtual gods. Replacing 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:11.900 God as the source of significance, Jonah leaned 00:24:11.900 --> 00:24:14.700 on his Hebrew identity, treating it as the ultimate 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:17.599 marker of value rather than letting his obedience 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:20.400 to God define him. I'm gonna put it to you like 00:24:20.400 --> 00:24:24.240 this. I told you when I decided I wanted to be 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.539 a rock star, I put all of my effort into it. 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:30.539 And so when I had the chance to tour, what's 00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:37.069 up, Gus? When I had the chance to tour all over 00:24:37.069 --> 00:24:41.690 the country and play and and when I began to 00:24:41.690 --> 00:24:45.109 Meet people that I grew up. So just kind of give 00:24:45.109 --> 00:24:49.730 you guys a little window into young Logan I was 00:24:49.730 --> 00:24:53.650 so enamored with with CDs and tapes and records. 00:24:53.769 --> 00:24:57.849 So I was that kid that Maybe you guys don't get 00:24:57.849 --> 00:25:00.150 this but like if I got a tape or a CD or anything 00:25:00.150 --> 00:25:02.569 and I love records to this day because I love 00:25:03.500 --> 00:25:07.460 I love the tangibleness of feeling stuff. I miss 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:09.440 being able to go and rent a movie at Blockbuster, 00:25:09.700 --> 00:25:12.500 okay? Like I hate the fact that I love the easy 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:15.920 use of streaming stuff, but I love the experience 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:20.160 of art. And so when I was a kid, I would get 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:22.740 the CDs or the tape jackets out and I would read 00:25:22.740 --> 00:25:24.339 all the lyrics. I'd look at all the pictures 00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:27.519 and I would look at who produced and who wrote 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:30.309 and all these things. And so I was a nerd about 00:25:30.309 --> 00:25:32.730 those things. So whenever I began to, God began 00:25:32.730 --> 00:25:36.750 to open the doors for me to meet people of, of 00:25:36.750 --> 00:25:39.849 bands and stuff that I loved, getting to meet 00:25:39.849 --> 00:25:41.970 people that influenced me, getting to meet record 00:25:41.970 --> 00:25:44.069 producers that I had read their name in a CD 00:25:44.069 --> 00:25:47.230 jacket and different writers, like it kind of 00:25:47.230 --> 00:25:51.230 puffed me up. And then you'd begin to like name 00:25:51.230 --> 00:25:53.329 drop in a conversation for the, you know, have 00:25:53.329 --> 00:25:56.289 you guys ever met name droppers or it's like, 00:25:56.650 --> 00:26:01.329 yeah, you know, Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, when 00:26:01.329 --> 00:26:02.730 we were hanging out, having lunch the other day, 00:26:02.829 --> 00:26:04.369 and Coffee was asking me what I thought, and 00:26:04.369 --> 00:26:05.789 I told him what I thought. You know what I mean? 00:26:06.150 --> 00:26:07.190 You know what I'm talking about? You guys know 00:26:07.190 --> 00:26:10.230 those name droppers. So you begin to name drop, 00:26:10.269 --> 00:26:12.289 because you start feeling very self -important, 00:26:12.609 --> 00:26:14.109 and you're like, yeah, I'm rubbing elbows. I'm 00:26:14.109 --> 00:26:16.490 touring with this person, and I'm getting to 00:26:16.490 --> 00:26:19.170 know this person, and I've got this person's 00:26:19.170 --> 00:26:24.329 number in my phone. And I actually just random. 00:26:25.259 --> 00:26:27.680 I put in a fake phone number and I took a picture 00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:30.579 of Tom Brady and I put it in my phone just to 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:32.700 tell my kids and Micah forever thought I really 00:26:32.700 --> 00:26:36.059 had Tom Brady's phone number. So but it really 00:26:36.059 --> 00:26:38.299 made him in his eyes. His dad was really cool 00:26:38.299 --> 00:26:44.460 then. But when God stripped me of those things. 00:26:44.779 --> 00:26:48.099 And let me tell you, when you are no longer a 00:26:48.099 --> 00:26:51.259 musician in the Christian music industry, OK, 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:54.980 if you no longer have a use to them, you're gone. 00:26:55.099 --> 00:26:58.259 You're no longer in the in crowd, all right? 00:26:58.900 --> 00:27:01.799 And when it was like, I would comment on somebody 00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:04.059 who I had become friends with, the next thing 00:27:04.059 --> 00:27:07.180 I know, I'm deleted and I'm no longer a friend 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:09.579 with them. And I'm like, what just happened? 00:27:10.019 --> 00:27:12.880 It's like a whiplash effect, right? And then 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:16.299 I begin to melt down. Why? Because my entire 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:19.619 identity was based on those who were around me 00:27:19.619 --> 00:27:24.519 and what I did. And so when our identity becomes 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:27.759 about Who are you with and what are you about? 00:27:28.680 --> 00:27:32.579 And it can be your family. When those things 00:27:32.579 --> 00:27:38.400 become bigger than God, it will crumble. Family 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:43.500 members, jobs, money, all of these things are 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:47.859 terrible gods. They will never fulfill. They 00:27:47.859 --> 00:27:50.279 will always let you down and they will always 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:53.440 be slave drivers. You can never work enough. 00:27:54.990 --> 00:27:58.789 You can never do enough. Does that make sense? 00:28:01.109 --> 00:28:05.589 So everyone gets their identity. We all say to 00:28:05.589 --> 00:28:08.430 ourselves, I'm significant because of this or 00:28:08.430 --> 00:28:12.029 I'm acceptable because of I'm welcomed by them 00:28:12.029 --> 00:28:14.730 or because I'm hanging out with them. It could 00:28:14.730 --> 00:28:16.609 be family, a social group, it can be culture 00:28:16.609 --> 00:28:18.930 or achievements. But all of those things, if 00:28:18.930 --> 00:28:22.230 you've ever found yourself saying, I'm significant 00:28:22.230 --> 00:28:24.809 to yourself. I'm significant because of this, 00:28:24.869 --> 00:28:27.950 or I'm acceptable because of that. I'm telling 00:28:27.950 --> 00:28:32.130 you right now that is idolatry. It's only going 00:28:32.130 --> 00:28:37.730 to break you. These are all false gods in disguise. 00:28:39.109 --> 00:28:41.470 When identity people or approval become our ultimate 00:28:41.470 --> 00:28:43.910 source of significance, they start to dictate 00:28:43.910 --> 00:28:48.829 our choices. We protect them at all costs, sometimes 00:28:48.829 --> 00:28:52.230 even over God's call. And I'm telling you right 00:28:52.230 --> 00:28:54.849 now, God will absolutely break you to get you 00:28:54.849 --> 00:28:57.009 to a place to see that he is the ultimate God. 00:28:58.869 --> 00:29:01.650 Jonah's example, as Jonah leaned into, leaned 00:29:01.650 --> 00:29:05.029 on being a Hebrew as his claim of value, it gave 00:29:05.029 --> 00:29:07.970 him comfort, but it blinded him to God's mission 00:29:07.970 --> 00:29:11.150 and truth. His identity became a crutch and in 00:29:11.150 --> 00:29:14.049 effect, a rival God. What do I mean by that? 00:29:15.069 --> 00:29:21.140 Why did Jonah not want to go to Nineveh? Why 00:29:21.140 --> 00:29:24.480 didn't he want to go to Nineveh? He hated them. 00:29:24.720 --> 00:29:28.500 Couldn't stand them. He saw them as evil. They 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:32.640 were the arch rival to his own nation state. 00:29:34.019 --> 00:29:37.240 So of course, if you put your identity in your 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:41.859 nationality, then those other people become your 00:29:41.859 --> 00:29:46.680 rival. And your nationality is your God, not 00:29:46.680 --> 00:29:53.299 God. So let's reflect for a second. What or who 00:29:53.299 --> 00:29:56.720 in your life have you elevated to ultimate importance? 00:29:57.319 --> 00:30:01.319 When relationships, reputation, or cultural labels 00:30:01.319 --> 00:30:04.140 control you, you're worshiping them instead of 00:30:04.140 --> 00:30:08.160 God. True freedom comes from finding identity 00:30:08.160 --> 00:30:13.380 in Christ. And so God calls us to let him define 00:30:13.380 --> 00:30:17.710 our significance, not the people around us. Only 00:30:17.710 --> 00:30:20.849 when our identity is rooted in Him, can we embrace 00:30:20.849 --> 00:30:23.789 purpose, obey His call, and live faithfully, 00:30:23.990 --> 00:30:27.009 regardless of cultural, familial, and social 00:30:27.009 --> 00:30:29.690 pressures. Now, before I go into the next thing, 00:30:30.089 --> 00:30:32.410 something I was thinking about when I was driving 00:30:32.410 --> 00:30:36.650 up here Wednesday was the verse, and I wish I 00:30:36.650 --> 00:30:37.930 would have written it down, but it's just popping 00:30:37.930 --> 00:30:41.910 in my head now. There's a verse in Psalms that 00:30:41.910 --> 00:30:46.309 says, Something along the lines of, they exchanged 00:30:46.309 --> 00:30:55.009 the glory of God for an ox. Okay. That line, 00:30:55.049 --> 00:30:59.369 they exchanged the glory of God for an ox. And 00:30:59.369 --> 00:31:03.190 I was like, exchange the glory of God. And you're 00:31:03.190 --> 00:31:05.799 like, yeah, okay, there's a... Of course, like 00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:07.420 they're worshiping a false idol, but it's like, 00:31:07.460 --> 00:31:09.680 no, there's something else there. And as I began 00:31:09.680 --> 00:31:12.720 to drill down and drill down, it hit me. Like 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:14.700 the Lord, the Holy Spirit was like, ah, it's 00:31:14.700 --> 00:31:18.359 right here. When he says they exchanged the glory 00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:20.319 of God, and when you read in Romans, it kind 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:22.680 of says something similar. They exchanged, right, 00:31:22.859 --> 00:31:25.599 who they were for something false, and God gave 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:28.539 them over to it. Who are we made in the image 00:31:28.539 --> 00:31:33.220 of? God. When you begin to put your identity 00:31:33.220 --> 00:31:36.819 into something else, that thing becomes your 00:31:36.819 --> 00:31:39.279 God, right? So you're exchanging the glory of 00:31:39.279 --> 00:31:44.700 God for that thing. Now follow me. The glory 00:31:44.700 --> 00:31:52.380 of God is infinitely valuable. Okay? When you 00:31:52.380 --> 00:31:55.880 put your identity in that thing or that person 00:31:55.880 --> 00:32:00.079 or whatever it is, that role, you devalue the 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:03.319 glory of God. And thus, when you devalue the 00:32:03.319 --> 00:32:07.319 glory of God, you devalue yourself. Your value 00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:10.940 is then gone because you were made in His image 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:13.660 in which He, by the way, came and died for you. 00:32:13.940 --> 00:32:18.500 You are devaluing yourself and Him by worshiping 00:32:18.500 --> 00:32:21.700 something false that cannot provide. Does that 00:32:21.700 --> 00:32:26.380 make sense? And so what is it? What's the thing? 00:32:26.650 --> 00:32:31.769 that you are putting all of your time, your energy, 00:32:31.930 --> 00:32:38.049 your money, all of you into this that has stolen 00:32:38.049 --> 00:32:41.210 the glory of God and ultimately devalued you. 00:32:42.750 --> 00:32:48.569 Next, place. Where do you come from? The places 00:32:48.569 --> 00:32:52.289 we occupy physically, socially, and spiritually 00:32:52.289 --> 00:32:55.769 reveal what really matters to us. Jonah tried 00:32:55.769 --> 00:32:58.750 to position himself far from the people God had 00:32:58.750 --> 00:33:01.809 called him to reach, and his choices revealed 00:33:01.809 --> 00:33:03.970 that his heritage and self -interest mattered 00:33:03.970 --> 00:33:06.250 more than God's obedience. So remember when I 00:33:06.250 --> 00:33:11.029 said, this hit me this week whenever I was preparing, 00:33:11.849 --> 00:33:16.150 when I said that Jonah went into the bowels of 00:33:16.150 --> 00:33:20.089 the boat, right? And I've always just thought, 00:33:20.450 --> 00:33:24.640 okay, I've always just thought, well, yeah, because 00:33:24.640 --> 00:33:27.980 it says he went to sleep, just tired. He's trying 00:33:27.980 --> 00:33:30.140 to like shut everything off. He's trying to ignore 00:33:30.140 --> 00:33:33.000 everything. And as I was preparing, I'm like, 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:36.720 Oh my Lord. No, he does that. He does that on 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:40.680 purpose, not just to go to sleep. But who are 00:33:40.680 --> 00:33:45.859 on the boat? Who's on the boat with him? Sailors. 00:33:46.279 --> 00:33:49.740 Are sailors Israelites? Do they worship the God 00:33:49.740 --> 00:33:54.700 of heaven and earth? So that makes them pagan. 00:33:56.299 --> 00:34:02.039 Who was Jonah running from? Pagans. Jonah was 00:34:02.039 --> 00:34:06.539 so self -important to himself that he was like, 00:34:06.660 --> 00:34:08.239 oh, I can't, like, yeah, I'm going to get on 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:09.699 this boat because I'm running from God and I'm 00:34:09.699 --> 00:34:12.199 only going to use you guys as a tool with which 00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:14.840 to run, but I don't even want to be near you. 00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:20.869 You're unclean. You see that? In all aspects 00:34:20.869 --> 00:34:24.190 of what Jonah is doing and what he, like what 00:34:24.190 --> 00:34:26.610 he spouts, he says he believes, because he says 00:34:26.610 --> 00:34:29.130 it, that he does believe in the God of heaven 00:34:29.130 --> 00:34:31.530 and earth, right? He says he's a Hebrew. Like 00:34:31.530 --> 00:34:33.690 all of these things that he espouses, he doesn't 00:34:33.690 --> 00:34:41.449 actually believe. And so he shows it. The way 00:34:41.449 --> 00:34:45.369 he occupies space, where he puts himself physically 00:34:45.369 --> 00:34:49.650 in the boat. And so we use distance as a shield 00:34:49.650 --> 00:34:52.289 just like Jonah. Jonah physically isolates himself 00:34:52.289 --> 00:34:54.989 on the ship trying to escape the pagan sailors 00:34:54.989 --> 00:34:57.429 and symbolically the mission that God had given 00:34:57.429 --> 00:35:06.409 him. Avoidance becomes a strategy. We all do 00:35:06.409 --> 00:35:11.730 that. We allow avoidance to become the strategy 00:35:11.730 --> 00:35:15.519 to keep us from the mission of God. Jonah is 00:35:15.519 --> 00:35:18.260 arrogant, he's self -righteous, and he's bigoted, 00:35:18.659 --> 00:35:22.099 yet completely unaware of it all. Like many of 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:24.679 us, he's not self -reflective until confronted 00:35:24.679 --> 00:35:33.619 by external pressure, casting lots. Okay, so 00:35:33.619 --> 00:35:35.760 when I say what I'm about to say, just know Pastor 00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:38.079 Logan is preaching to himself. My wife will tell 00:35:38.079 --> 00:35:39.679 you, she's gonna shake her head, I know she is, 00:35:39.679 --> 00:35:45.329 in agreement. Your pastor. is not very good at 00:35:45.329 --> 00:35:50.630 knowing himself. I am the most, one of the most 00:35:50.630 --> 00:35:52.909 emotionally unintelligent people in this room, 00:35:52.929 --> 00:35:57.409 I can assure you. My wife will be like, what's 00:35:57.409 --> 00:35:59.289 the matter with you? I'm like, what do you mean? 00:36:00.090 --> 00:36:04.070 Something's wrong. No, I'm fine. No, something 00:36:04.070 --> 00:36:07.829 is wrong because you're just kind of like angry 00:36:07.829 --> 00:36:11.130 a little bit and... You're stressed about something. 00:36:11.170 --> 00:36:13.110 I'm like, I'm totally fine. I'm totally good. 00:36:13.469 --> 00:36:15.349 Two days later, after I've blown up and it's 00:36:15.349 --> 00:36:19.750 like, I go, oh, hey, remember when I said nothing 00:36:19.750 --> 00:36:21.489 was wrong the other day? Yeah, there was something 00:36:21.489 --> 00:36:22.889 wrong. I just didn't realize it. And she's like, 00:36:22.969 --> 00:36:25.730 yeah, I know. You just distract yourself all 00:36:25.730 --> 00:36:33.510 the time with stuff. And so there's so many people 00:36:33.510 --> 00:36:35.389 in the world, and I'm sure there are many people 00:36:35.389 --> 00:36:39.239 in this room. We are not very self -reflective 00:36:39.239 --> 00:36:44.579 to know who we are and what we're about. It's 00:36:44.579 --> 00:36:48.539 very easy to say what you're about, but do you 00:36:48.539 --> 00:36:53.179 really live out what you're about? Are you really 00:36:53.179 --> 00:36:56.699 looking inside and going, ah, are there things, 00:36:56.920 --> 00:37:00.760 am I avoiding God? Am I avoiding a specific person? 00:37:01.059 --> 00:37:04.880 Am I avoiding my mission? Am I like, why am I, 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:08.039 why am I upset? Why am I? because we're not very 00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:12.039 self -reflective. And it takes God getting in 00:37:12.039 --> 00:37:14.559 the way and smacking you upside the face and 00:37:14.559 --> 00:37:19.679 going, wake up. And for Jonah, it was casting 00:37:19.679 --> 00:37:22.900 lots. Jonah's like, I'm going to act like Jonah 00:37:22.900 --> 00:37:26.039 is so self -righteous and arrogant, he was willing 00:37:26.039 --> 00:37:28.800 to die and let everyone else die around him than 00:37:28.800 --> 00:37:32.199 say who he was and where he was from. And to 00:37:32.199 --> 00:37:40.460 have God tell him, go back. Am I wrong? And so 00:37:40.460 --> 00:37:43.059 God's like, okay, all right, well, I'm gonna 00:37:43.059 --> 00:37:46.420 use their superstition to point you out and shine 00:37:46.420 --> 00:37:49.199 a gigantic light on you to say, you're the problem. 00:37:50.519 --> 00:37:52.119 And so there's some of you guys, and I said it 00:37:52.119 --> 00:37:55.260 last week, and I'm pointing at myself. We can 00:37:55.260 --> 00:37:57.659 be going, what's the issue? Why is my life the 00:37:57.659 --> 00:38:00.039 way that it is? What is going on? Why is it always 00:38:00.039 --> 00:38:03.039 kind of in chaos? Why is it that I'm always mad 00:38:03.039 --> 00:38:05.820 at people? And then it's like, It's got to be 00:38:05.820 --> 00:38:09.280 all the other people. Like, it's got to be my 00:38:09.280 --> 00:38:11.420 job. It's got to be my coworker. It's got to 00:38:11.420 --> 00:38:16.039 be my neighbor. It's definitely my spouse. And 00:38:16.039 --> 00:38:21.199 then it's like, God's like, hey, you're the problem, 00:38:21.400 --> 00:38:26.420 bud. You're the issue. And so we need to self 00:38:26.420 --> 00:38:29.920 -reflect and go, where do I come from? What's 00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:35.519 going on? What's the place? So Jonah declares, 00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:39.699 I'm a Hebrew, this is where I come from, before 00:38:39.699 --> 00:38:42.579 acknowledging I worship the God of heaven. His 00:38:42.579 --> 00:38:46.079 ethnicity, his lineage and heritage take precedence 00:38:46.079 --> 00:38:50.559 over obedience. Race and nationality in his mind 00:38:50.559 --> 00:38:53.739 are more significant than his God -given calling. 00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:58.139 And so he has excuse over obedience. Jonah's 00:38:58.139 --> 00:39:00.440 attachment to his identity becomes an excuse 00:39:00.440 --> 00:39:03.880 to flee God's mission. His sense of place where 00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:06.260 he belongs culturally and physically is self 00:39:06.260 --> 00:39:09.539 -serving, masking his lack of conviction and 00:39:09.539 --> 00:39:15.260 deflecting responsibility. So I want to read 00:39:15.260 --> 00:39:17.440 this quote to you. I think I have it here too. 00:39:18.219 --> 00:39:20.800 This is a quote from a sermon from Charles Spurgeon. 00:39:23.360 --> 00:39:25.400 Go ahead and let this punch you in the face like 00:39:25.400 --> 00:39:30.719 it did me. Let them get home to their knees and 00:39:30.719 --> 00:39:34.159 pray God to give them manliness enough, at least 00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:38.000 to be damned honestly, and not to go down to 00:39:38.000 --> 00:39:40.280 perdition wearing the name of Christian when 00:39:40.280 --> 00:39:46.860 Christians, they are not. Do you guys get that? 00:39:47.400 --> 00:39:50.719 You guys get what he's saying? We pull a Jonah. 00:39:51.860 --> 00:39:56.900 We're Christian by name, by title only, because 00:39:57.039 --> 00:39:59.900 our actions and who we are and what we're about 00:39:59.900 --> 00:40:04.739 are completely different than what we say. And 00:40:04.739 --> 00:40:07.820 so Charles Spurgeon says, hey, let them go home 00:40:07.820 --> 00:40:11.579 and pray and pray that they would be manly enough 00:40:11.579 --> 00:40:17.559 and honest enough to if they're going to go down 00:40:17.559 --> 00:40:20.019 to hell, let them go down to hell understanding 00:40:20.019 --> 00:40:21.940 that they were not a Christian. And they were 00:40:21.940 --> 00:40:28.659 willing to admit that. That's a hard core Hardcore, 00:40:29.219 --> 00:40:34.420 quote. And so ask yourself, do the places you 00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:37.800 occupy, the groups you cling to, or the roles 00:40:37.800 --> 00:40:41.179 you play dictate your actions more than God's 00:40:41.179 --> 00:40:45.099 calling? True faith may require moving beyond 00:40:45.099 --> 00:40:47.659 comfort, cultural norms, and personal privilege 00:40:47.659 --> 00:40:51.599 to embrace God's mission. And so just as Jonah's 00:40:51.599 --> 00:40:54.219 sense of place and heritage kept him from obedience, 00:40:54.659 --> 00:40:58.610 we too let geography We let culture or our social 00:40:58.610 --> 00:41:03.190 circles dictate our faithfulness. God calls us 00:41:03.190 --> 00:41:06.630 to root our place in Him, not in the comforts 00:41:06.630 --> 00:41:12.070 or labels put that surround us. Last one, the 00:41:12.070 --> 00:41:18.329 last P word, perception. How your choices affect 00:41:18.329 --> 00:41:22.630 your witness. Now, Dustin, if you would pull 00:41:22.630 --> 00:41:26.320 up our verse of the week, please. I will bless 00:41:26.320 --> 00:41:29.679 those who bless you. I will curse anyone who 00:41:29.679 --> 00:41:34.139 treats you with contempt and What's that next 00:41:34.139 --> 00:41:39.179 word it says and? All the people's on earth will 00:41:39.179 --> 00:41:50.619 be blessed through you Oof Oof Jonah my brother 00:41:53.920 --> 00:41:58.199 You missed that one bud is he being a blessing 00:41:58.199 --> 00:42:05.179 to the sailors on the boat No, they're literally 00:42:05.179 --> 00:42:11.480 about to die Because of his own disobedience 00:42:11.480 --> 00:42:19.500 oh Man, I just got water all over myself. I promise 00:42:19.500 --> 00:42:24.519 I didn't yeah, okay Our obedience or disobedience 00:42:24.519 --> 00:42:28.179 doesn't just impact us. It shapes how others 00:42:28.179 --> 00:42:32.039 see God, and whether we are a blessing or a curse 00:42:32.039 --> 00:42:36.599 in the lives around us. Jonah's flight endangered 00:42:36.599 --> 00:42:40.579 the sailors and misrepresented God, turning it 00:42:40.579 --> 00:42:42.719 into a stumbling block rather than a witness. 00:42:50.260 --> 00:42:57.420 by complete disobedience, He causes a storm that 00:42:57.420 --> 00:43:02.699 almost kills men, and instead of being a blessing, 00:43:03.119 --> 00:43:08.260 He is a curse to these men. So Genesis 12 .3 00:43:08.260 --> 00:43:11.500 says that they are a blessing. God, if God blesses 00:43:11.500 --> 00:43:13.500 them, He will bless others, and those they curse, 00:43:13.539 --> 00:43:16.280 He will curse. and Abraham and the Hebrew people 00:43:16.280 --> 00:43:18.360 were called to be a blessing to the nations. 00:43:18.420 --> 00:43:21.340 It does not say just to Israelites, did it? It 00:43:21.340 --> 00:43:26.559 said all peoples. Our faith is relational. It 00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:32.420 affects the world around us. And so instead of 00:43:32.420 --> 00:43:35.119 being a blessing, Jonah's avoidance and selfishness 00:43:35.119 --> 00:43:38.800 put the sailors in danger. His disobedience created 00:43:38.800 --> 00:43:41.599 turmoil and suffering, distorting the witness 00:43:41.599 --> 00:43:46.289 of God he claimed to serve. I want to give you 00:43:46.289 --> 00:43:49.510 guys, I'm going to give you guys a personal failure 00:43:49.510 --> 00:43:55.570 time of me where I basically lived this out and 00:43:55.570 --> 00:43:57.929 I lived it out in a way that was very public 00:43:57.929 --> 00:44:03.150 and very personal and it still affects us today 00:44:03.150 --> 00:44:10.150 as a family. I coached Micah in 9U travel baseball. 00:44:11.550 --> 00:44:16.539 The name of our team is the ambassadors. We have 00:44:16.539 --> 00:44:24.199 a cross on our sleeves. We are known as a Christian 00:44:24.199 --> 00:44:26.119 team, even though not all the players or families 00:44:26.119 --> 00:44:30.639 are on our team, we're Christians. And all of 00:44:30.639 --> 00:44:32.679 our coaching staff and all of our parents knew 00:44:32.679 --> 00:44:39.579 that I was a pastor. Okay? I tried very hard 00:44:39.579 --> 00:44:46.170 to not take winning Like, we were bad, really 00:44:46.170 --> 00:44:52.750 bad, okay? We only won two games out of 30. So 00:44:52.750 --> 00:44:55.610 needless to say, I didn't get any calls to go, 00:44:55.610 --> 00:45:01.329 you know, up to AAA or anything. And I didn't 00:45:01.329 --> 00:45:03.489 we had a lot like we're playing nine you but 00:45:03.489 --> 00:45:05.429 we had seven year olds on our team and like I 00:45:05.429 --> 00:45:07.510 got thrown into coaching because I wasn't supposed 00:45:07.510 --> 00:45:10.289 to and just it's a big mess, but I never took 00:45:10.289 --> 00:45:12.170 losing personally never I never cared I wanted 00:45:12.170 --> 00:45:14.969 kids to learn the fundamentals Okay, and my dad 00:45:14.969 --> 00:45:18.230 was brutal to me growing up just really brutal 00:45:18.230 --> 00:45:20.530 And so I was like I'm not gonna do that to my 00:45:20.530 --> 00:45:24.730 son never gonna be that dad well, we go to a 00:45:24.730 --> 00:45:29.610 tournament in Omaha and the the opposing coach 00:45:30.320 --> 00:45:32.400 We have to come out and introduce ourselves and 00:45:32.400 --> 00:45:35.800 whatever and do all the stuff that you do beforehand. 00:45:36.159 --> 00:45:38.699 Talk about the rules, all that stuff. Well, the 00:45:38.699 --> 00:45:44.400 guy was an absolute jerk. Massive jerk. The only 00:45:44.400 --> 00:45:48.699 coach that I legitimately was like, after the 00:45:48.699 --> 00:45:51.000 game, if he just happens to be in a dark alley 00:45:51.000 --> 00:45:55.219 somewhere, he and I are gonna go at it. Because 00:45:55.219 --> 00:45:57.420 I wanted the kids to have fun. This was a tournament. 00:45:57.840 --> 00:46:00.199 But I was like, hey, do you mind if once you 00:46:00.199 --> 00:46:02.780 bat through your lineup, if we don't have three 00:46:02.780 --> 00:46:05.840 outs that we just change? And he said, no, this 00:46:05.840 --> 00:46:08.460 is a tournament. We're not playing Little League. 00:46:08.860 --> 00:46:10.219 I'm like, well, technically it is Little League, 00:46:10.300 --> 00:46:13.500 but whatever. And so he was just a huge jerk 00:46:13.500 --> 00:46:16.619 about it because it literally, I'm not joking, 00:46:16.820 --> 00:46:19.320 guys. There was one tournament. It took us an 00:46:19.320 --> 00:46:21.960 hour and a half to get three outs. An hour and 00:46:21.960 --> 00:46:26.340 a half, and it's a two hour game. We were bad. 00:46:26.769 --> 00:46:28.849 So I'm just like, hey man, all right, whatever. 00:46:29.010 --> 00:46:31.030 So he was just a massive jerk. And so I'm like, 00:46:31.570 --> 00:46:33.670 so I go back to our team and I'm like, boys, 00:46:33.829 --> 00:46:36.949 I have never begged so hard for a win in my life. 00:46:37.989 --> 00:46:40.550 But that dude over there needs to be kicked in 00:46:40.550 --> 00:46:42.190 the teeth, fellas. So this is what we're gonna 00:46:42.190 --> 00:46:47.610 do. Well, I wanted to win so bad. Here's my son. 00:46:48.590 --> 00:46:50.250 By the way, I'm not saying this because he's 00:46:50.250 --> 00:46:52.130 my son, but he's legitimately, he was the best 00:46:52.130 --> 00:46:55.960 player on our team. And so. But I never tried 00:46:55.960 --> 00:46:59.559 to put any pressure on him. Well, he gets a hit, 00:46:59.960 --> 00:47:03.159 he's running, he gets to second base. Great, 00:47:03.380 --> 00:47:05.440 we gotta double, we gotta run in, we're on the 00:47:05.440 --> 00:47:09.579 board, all right? Well then, there's a pop -up, 00:47:10.400 --> 00:47:12.400 and if anybody's ever played baseball, when there's 00:47:12.400 --> 00:47:14.460 less than two outs and there's a pop -up, you 00:47:14.460 --> 00:47:18.980 do not run, all right? My son knows this. What 00:47:18.980 --> 00:47:22.980 does he do? He runs, because he, in his mind, 00:47:23.300 --> 00:47:27.619 he's like... Dad wants to win. I'm scoring, baby. 00:47:28.900 --> 00:47:32.019 He takes off. They catch the ball. They tag him 00:47:32.019 --> 00:47:37.519 out. Three outs. I come unglued. Brothers and 00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:42.840 sisters, I come unglued. I run out onto the field. 00:47:43.440 --> 00:47:45.480 I grab him by the arm. I'm like, what is the 00:47:45.480 --> 00:47:48.099 matter with you? There's less than two outs. 00:47:48.559 --> 00:47:51.460 Are you kidding me? You know better than that. 00:47:52.579 --> 00:47:59.030 He looks at me. And he never cries, ever. And 00:47:59.030 --> 00:48:03.690 he just crumbles. And we've got fans from both 00:48:03.690 --> 00:48:07.730 the opposing teams and everybody knows that I'm 00:48:07.730 --> 00:48:12.730 a pastor. And I'm like, and here we got the cross 00:48:12.730 --> 00:48:17.309 on our jerseys and I am livid. And he goes back 00:48:17.309 --> 00:48:20.710 and I said, don't you cry, suck it up, get the 00:48:20.710 --> 00:48:27.420 catcher's gear on and get out there. Dude, daddy 00:48:27.420 --> 00:48:31.900 woke up mama bear. She comes storming into that 00:48:31.900 --> 00:48:37.360 dugout. Listen, pastor, who do you think you 00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:42.440 are? That's my son. And a reminder, that's your 00:48:42.440 --> 00:48:46.480 son. We're going home. I said, it's only the 00:48:46.480 --> 00:48:48.719 first sentence. She says, I don't care. You need 00:48:48.719 --> 00:48:52.500 to get your crap together, sir. She snatches 00:48:52.500 --> 00:48:55.360 my cup. She gets in all the rest of my kids, 00:48:55.539 --> 00:48:57.780 all right? This was the look I got. I'm standing 00:48:57.780 --> 00:49:00.860 in the dugout. As they make their way to the 00:49:00.860 --> 00:49:07.480 vehicle, these are all the rest of my kids. And 00:49:07.480 --> 00:49:12.139 in that moment, I'm like, oh my gosh. This has 00:49:12.139 --> 00:49:14.760 been two years ago, people. I have not lived 00:49:14.760 --> 00:49:20.059 this down. I have apologized to my son. I apologize 00:49:20.059 --> 00:49:23.420 to the team. I apologize to the parents. still 00:49:23.420 --> 00:49:25.380 wanted to kick that dude across the face that 00:49:25.380 --> 00:49:27.800 was over on the other side. But I felt about 00:49:27.800 --> 00:49:32.679 that big as I drove home by myself in the car 00:49:32.679 --> 00:49:36.380 from Omaha back to Lincoln. And I'm like, and 00:49:36.380 --> 00:49:39.300 still to this day, go up to Mike and be like, 00:49:39.460 --> 00:49:41.539 who's the worst coach you've ever had? He'll 00:49:41.539 --> 00:49:43.800 go, there's only really one. I've had some bad 00:49:43.800 --> 00:49:47.840 ones, but there's one that tops the list. And 00:49:47.840 --> 00:49:51.739 I share that story because of this. We wear the 00:49:51.739 --> 00:49:54.409 cross. Everybody knows me as a pastor. We're 00:49:54.409 --> 00:49:58.610 the ambassadors of the gospel. And here I am 00:49:58.610 --> 00:50:01.750 acting a fool on a nine -year -old game that 00:50:01.750 --> 00:50:04.230 I couldn't even tell you who won that tournament. 00:50:05.050 --> 00:50:09.030 Couldn't tell you. We won two games the entire 00:50:09.030 --> 00:50:13.349 year. Did that one game really matter? Nope. 00:50:14.210 --> 00:50:17.570 But what is forever cemented in my kid's mind? 00:50:18.710 --> 00:50:23.800 How I acted a fool and not like his dad. And 00:50:23.800 --> 00:50:28.639 so Jonah is acting a fool, and I'm asking you, 00:50:29.099 --> 00:50:37.219 when have you acted a fool? Many of us fail to 00:50:37.219 --> 00:50:41.159 be a blessing in our spheres. Instead of a blessing 00:50:41.159 --> 00:50:44.199 to my son, I was absolutely a failure to him. 00:50:44.900 --> 00:50:47.559 Our family, our work, our neighborhoods, through 00:50:47.559 --> 00:50:51.260 selfishness, negativity, or avoidance of responsibility, 00:50:51.639 --> 00:50:54.460 Our attitude, our words, and our choices can 00:50:54.460 --> 00:50:57.380 either point others to God or push them away. 00:50:59.900 --> 00:51:02.719 Are your actions encouraging? Are they uplifting? 00:51:03.239 --> 00:51:05.000 Are they pointing to God or are they creating 00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.380 friction and confusion? Our lives are a living 00:51:09.380 --> 00:51:13.340 testimony. Being faithful in small daily obedience 00:51:13.340 --> 00:51:17.960 blesses others and honors God. Anybody can write 00:51:17.960 --> 00:51:21.329 a thousand dollar check and one or a thousand 00:51:21.329 --> 00:51:24.269 dollar tip to a waitress and feel good for a 00:51:24.269 --> 00:51:28.369 moment. But it takes a lot, a lot of just dying 00:51:28.369 --> 00:51:31.829 to self to be faithful every single day and just 00:51:31.829 --> 00:51:37.250 small little obedience is. One momentary lapse 00:51:37.250 --> 00:51:39.809 of fallenness can ruin your entire testimony. 00:51:42.909 --> 00:51:47.730 Our perception is built on not on titles or intentions. 00:51:48.219 --> 00:51:52.500 but on what others experienced through us. Jonah's 00:51:52.500 --> 00:51:55.280 story warns us that failing to live rightly, 00:51:55.519 --> 00:51:58.460 even in small ways can misrepresent God and hinder 00:51:58.460 --> 00:52:01.920 his work through us. True faith flows outward 00:52:01.920 --> 00:52:07.780 as a blessing, not friction. Men in the room. 00:52:09.159 --> 00:52:12.619 I'm going to say this. If you did not get a book 00:52:12.619 --> 00:52:15.360 from me, I will order more if you would like 00:52:15.360 --> 00:52:26.030 one, but I passed out a book. Can I borrow? So 00:52:26.030 --> 00:52:29.710 I passed out a book, and I'm going to get more. 00:52:31.210 --> 00:52:33.909 But I passed out this book to the men in the 00:52:33.909 --> 00:52:41.750 room, How to Exasperate Your Wife. And this book, 00:52:42.329 --> 00:52:45.880 I just absolutely. loved, and one of the things 00:52:45.880 --> 00:52:47.559 that it says in there, because you know you're 00:52:47.559 --> 00:52:49.079 not supposed to exasperate your wife, that's 00:52:49.079 --> 00:52:51.880 why it's a funny take, but there's a title of 00:52:51.880 --> 00:52:53.960 one of the chapters on how to exasperate your 00:52:53.960 --> 00:52:55.940 wife, and one of the things that Doug Wilson 00:52:55.940 --> 00:52:59.880 says in it is, make sure to comment on her body 00:52:59.880 --> 00:53:03.000 daily and tell her how she doesn't add up to 00:53:03.000 --> 00:53:06.460 the other women in your life. Comment on her 00:53:06.460 --> 00:53:11.789 cooking and how your mom's was better. Single 00:53:11.789 --> 00:53:15.429 guys in the room, don't do those things. If you 00:53:15.429 --> 00:53:20.409 want to go on living or to procreate, you will 00:53:20.409 --> 00:53:24.210 not do those things. But the reason why I'm bringing 00:53:24.210 --> 00:53:26.630 this up and what we just talked about, husbands, 00:53:28.329 --> 00:53:32.789 you are crucial, crucial, crucial, crucial to 00:53:32.789 --> 00:53:35.889 the spiritual lifeblood of your family. How you 00:53:35.889 --> 00:53:38.650 treat your wife, how you treat your kids will 00:53:38.650 --> 00:53:42.289 ultimately either make much of Jesus or it will 00:53:42.289 --> 00:53:46.130 diminish him. It will rob him of his glory by 00:53:46.130 --> 00:53:48.389 the way that you talk to her, the way that you 00:53:48.389 --> 00:53:53.710 love her. After I read that book, I called Tracy 00:53:53.710 --> 00:53:58.230 on the phone and I said, I'm sorry. She goes, 00:53:58.369 --> 00:54:01.090 for what? I said, because one of the things he 00:54:01.090 --> 00:54:06.050 talks about it in there is, though God has placed 00:54:06.050 --> 00:54:09.380 you as the spiritual head of your home. You are 00:54:09.380 --> 00:54:14.699 responsible, okay? But God has given your wife, 00:54:15.420 --> 00:54:18.880 the ladies in this room, the dominion and authority 00:54:18.880 --> 00:54:24.699 in your home. Not that she is placed over you, 00:54:25.559 --> 00:54:28.920 she is to be the homemaker and you are to come 00:54:28.920 --> 00:54:34.920 alongside and help. And if mama says, take your 00:54:34.920 --> 00:54:38.239 shoes off at the door, Take your shoes off at 00:54:38.239 --> 00:54:42.940 the door. Because if you don't, the sons and 00:54:42.940 --> 00:54:44.199 the daughters that you have that are walking 00:54:44.199 --> 00:54:47.519 behind, they won't either. And here's what I 00:54:47.519 --> 00:54:51.400 had to apologize for. He says, when she makes 00:54:51.400 --> 00:54:53.980 a meal and it's not something you really want 00:54:53.980 --> 00:54:56.980 or it's leftovers, you weren't the one that made 00:54:56.980 --> 00:55:02.659 it. She was. So you say thank you and you eat 00:55:02.659 --> 00:55:05.380 it with a smile on your face and be thankful 00:55:05.380 --> 00:55:07.719 that she made it for you. And it's not poisoned. 00:55:07.900 --> 00:55:12.960 That would be the other part. And so, I'm handing 00:55:12.960 --> 00:55:17.699 that out because men in this room, what we say 00:55:17.699 --> 00:55:19.960 about what we believe and who we are, we can 00:55:19.960 --> 00:55:23.340 either be disobedient Jonas, who see ourselves 00:55:23.340 --> 00:55:29.329 as self -important and arrogant, or we can see 00:55:29.329 --> 00:55:32.829 ourselves as servants of Christ who love our 00:55:32.829 --> 00:55:35.349 spouse, who love our kids, and die daily to ourselves. 00:55:35.710 --> 00:55:39.489 Because if we live that way, I promise you, the 00:55:39.489 --> 00:55:41.710 world would be a lot better place. Let's pray.