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Today we're looking back and looking ahead.

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For those of you that don't know,

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the mission statement of Hosanna is to know the truth,

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to live the truth, and to share the truth.

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Everything that this fellowship does as a church

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is governed by that mission statement

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under the leading of the Holy Spirit.

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In John 17, three, Jesus, at the end of his earthly ministry,

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was praying a prayer, and he said this

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as a part of that prayer.

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This is eternal life, that they may know you,

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the only true God, and the one you have sent, Jesus Christ.

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That's the mission, that you, that I,

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that the world would know Jesus Christ.

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Now, in John chapter 14, verse six, Jesus said this,

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I am the way, the truth, and the life.

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So, Hosanna's mission, when we say to know the truth,

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to live the truth, to share the truth,

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our church is all about knowing Jesus, living Jesus,

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and sharing Jesus, who is the truth.

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That's what governs everything we do as a church.

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Now, when we talk about knowing Jesus,

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and knowing the truth of all of that,

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it means knowing him personally.

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It means that you have a personal relationship with him,

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that yes, you know of Jesus broadly and who he is,

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but you know him in that personal sense,

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that your life is affected daily as you walk with him.

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Now, the way we get to know Jesus personally

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comes from knowing his word, and his word is the truth.

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It tells us in John 17, 17,

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sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth.

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And so, obviously, Hosanna, some of you

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have been here a really long time,

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maybe some of you have joined us over the last year,

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and you should know and understand

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that we put a great emphasis

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on the teaching of the word of God.

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We follow the example of Pastor Chuck Smith,

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the founder of Calvary Chapels,

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in teaching verse by verse through the entire Bible,

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because we believe that that's how you're gonna get

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the entire counsel of God.

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We go from Genesis 1-1 all the way

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to the end of Revelation, and then guess what?

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We start over in Genesis 1-1.

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Now, some of you have been like,

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well, at the rate you teach Pastor Nathan,

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we will never get through the whole Bible in our lifetime,

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and we'll see what God does about that, okay?

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But we believe that God's word addresses

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every possible situation in life,

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every possible question is answered in God's word,

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and so we wanna study all of it as a church.

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It's a very, very important thing that we do

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in our ministries, we encourage them,

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even if they're dealing with things topically,

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that they deal with the scripture

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in a verse by verse contextual way.

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And then, of course, as we study

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the whole counsel of God's word,

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that leads to us knowing Jesus more,

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knowing who he is more and more,

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because, well, John 1 told us that Jesus is the word,

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and the word is truth, and Jesus is the way,

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the truth and the life,

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and you see how it's all tied together, right?

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It's about knowing him.

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Now, in John 17-17, he said,

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sanctify them by the truth.

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That the reason we put such a huge emphasis

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on the study of the word of God

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to know truth, to know Jesus,

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is because that's what leads to us being sanctified.

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Now, for those of you who don't know that word

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or understand it, that is a biblical word

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that means to be set apart, to do God's will.

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You see, every Christian,

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we live in this world today as pilgrims.

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This is our home.

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We're passing through, and we're passing through

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with a message that we have ourselves learned

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that Jesus Christ is God the Son

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who came to this earth, died on the cross

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for the sins of all mankind, rose from the dead,

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and if we put our faith in him,

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when we put our faith in him,

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we are granted eternal life, forgiven of all of our sins.

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That's the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Now, we're sanctified, we're set apart by God

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as his children to do that, to be a part of that work,

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to be a part of sharing who Jesus is,

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and part of that is being a part of a local fellowship

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and being plugged into that fellowship

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and the work that God is doing,

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particularly through that fellowship.

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Now, I do want you to notice that our mission statement

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doesn't say know of the truth.

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The demons know of the truth, and it says they tremble.

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But the word tells us to know it,

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and so our statement is to know the truth personally,

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relationally, experientially, salvationally,

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to know it in all those ways

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where you're drawn into a perfect fellowship with God

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every single day of your life.

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Now, of course, knowing Jesus as your personal Lord

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and Savior, as your God, as your friend even,

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to know him and his word, that personal relationship

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that you would then have with God the Son,

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the creator of all things, that leads to what we have

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as the second part of the mission statement of this church,

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to live the truth.

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You see, just knowing the truth,

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if you don't have a changed life because of it,

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it's not really doing anything.

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There are way too many people in this world today

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that maybe study the Bible and they go,

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I know the word of God and I know what the Bible says,

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but their lives are completely the same as they were

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before they ever read a word of scripture.

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And there are plenty of people who might say,

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oh, I know the truth,

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and they don't really know Jesus personally,

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but without living the truth, it's hard to say

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someone has really met the God of creation.

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And so when we say living the truth,

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the idea is living Jesus, living how Jesus lived,

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acting how Jesus acts, behaving the way Jesus taught us

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to behave as people that are set apart from this world.

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You could sum all that up by following his example.

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Right, and some of this you're going,

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well, duh, that's what we are as Christians.

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If it was so easy, we'd all be doing it.

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And so we have to labor towards it and to pray towards it

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and to learn and study towards it.

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And I wanna read to you 1 John 1, 6, 9,

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I think encapsulates the idea of living Jesus.

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If we say we have fellowship with him,

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and yet we walk in darkness,

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we are lying and not practicing the truth.

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If we walk in the light as he himself is in the light,

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we have fellowship with one another,

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and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all sin.

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If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves,

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and the truth is not in us.

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If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous

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to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us

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from all unrighteousness.

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You see that saving relationship that we come to

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when we put our faith in Jesus Christ,

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believe in who he is and what he's done,

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that is a moment that leads to then us practicing the truth.

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Practicing living the way Jesus wants us to live,

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and that's that phrase there, practicing the truth.

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If we say that we have fellowship with him,

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but we're still walking in darkness,

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what does he say there?

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You're lying, you're lying.

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You are not practicing the truth.

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Now, in this, there is no expectation that the believer

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will be a perfect believer, never again stumbling

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and sinning because, well, other parts of scripture

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make that very clear that there's this dual nature

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within us until we're gone from this earth

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to be with the Lord in heaven.

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But practicing the truth is that phrase,

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which I would state it this way,

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actually being Christ-like as children of God.

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Living humbly as a person who knows they've been forgiven

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of all of their sin, that the penalty of death

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has been removed from them forever,

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and now they're living in a way to say,

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God, I'm so grateful for that.

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This involves forgiving others the way we are forgiven.

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This involves loving the way we are loved.

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It involves giving with great generosity

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the way God is generous with us.

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It involves humbly serving the way Christ has served us.

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We do all those things by discovering

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and exercising the gifts that God has given us

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in service to him and to one another.

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Because the Bible is very clear that God has gifted

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his people with gifts that are to be used to serve

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one another, to build at the body of Christ.

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And this also includes being involved in and connected

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with one another's lives as the body of Christ.

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You see, this is a family here that we're called

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to be a part of.

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And for a lot of believers in the world,

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they will come to church on a Sunday,

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and they'll sit here and they'll learn

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and hear the word being taught,

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and they go, that's great, and they'll worship,

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and they might say hi to a couple people,

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but then they leave and they go about their life

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the rest of the week, not even thinking about

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or praying about or communicating with

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or being involved with anybody in their church.

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Now, it's hard to be a part of a family

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when that's the way you engage with your family.

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And so being involved with people means

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that you're building a relationship with them.

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You get to know people, and then as you get to know people,

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you start to find out their needs and their struggles

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and their wants and their successes,

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and so you come to celebrate with them and support,

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and pray, right?

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This is the body ministering to the body.

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And it's living Jesus, because all this stuff

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we study in his word and all these applications

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and all that his word has to say about us,

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about the type of people he wants us to be,

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we learn that so that we could then go be

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those type of people.

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And that's why our mission statement starts

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with those two things, to know the truth

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and to live the truth.

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Now, as we live the truth and live according

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to Jesus' example, both individually,

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and then as a church, corporately,

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we end up leading to the next part of our statement,

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the third part, which is to share the truth.

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Don't ever discount the power of your witness

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when you just live the way God is calling you to live.

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Don't ever think that the world is not watching you,

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Christian, as you steal the paper clips at work,

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clock in a little early and a little late

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to pad your paycheck.

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The world's watching, and that's why living

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according to the example of Christ is so important,

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because that living is sharing.

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You are telling people who God is,

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who the God you claim to serve is.

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Now, sharing the truth is sharing the truth in word,

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and that's why here at Hosanna,

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we put such a great emphasis on outreach and evangelism.

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We supply free tracks to everybody in the church

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so that you can grab these things

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to go share your faith with people,

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to tell them about the hope that you have in Jesus Christ.

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But it's also about that action, that witness,

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and so spreading the truth of who Jesus is,

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the truth of sin, the need for salvation.

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If you've experienced it, you know what a phenomenally

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fantastic thing that is.

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That if you've come to the place of receiving the truth

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that God knew everything you've ever done,

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he knows everything you ever will do,

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and knowing all of that, he died on the cross for you.

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That's powerful.

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It changed your life.

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Why would we not share that with people

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who don't yet know that truth?

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And yet the devil is really good at making us scared

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and feel ill-equipped and all that,

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and that's why we go back to knowing the truth.

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That's why we put such a huge emphasis

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on teaching the word here at Hosanna.

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That's why we, in our evangelism ministry,

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we have skills meetings, so you could go,

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I don't know how to do this, but show me how.

262
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But it's everybody in the church

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00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,020
that is called to be a part of this outreach,

264
00:11:55,020 --> 00:11:56,720
this type of reaching into the world.

265
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And so as part of our mission,

266
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we also have some values here at the church

267
00:12:00,860 --> 00:12:03,160
that God gave us a few years ago

268
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that really kind of are things we want to push

269
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through the culture of Hosanna here.

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One of those things that is very important to us

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is community.

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We value community here at Hosanna

273
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because we believe we grow better when we grow together.

274
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The isolated Christian struggles with growth.

275
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The Christian who is isolated gets assaulted by the enemy,

276
00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:27,640
and without support, they often fall

277
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into the temptations and the struggles.

278
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But when we're together, we grow.

279
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We encourage one another.

280
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We pray for one another.

281
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That's community.

282
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That's why we have our community groups.

283
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That's why we have that ministry.

284
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You know, a few years ago,

285
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we had a midweek service here at Hosanna,

286
00:12:44,400 --> 00:12:47,200
and over the years, I had been leading

287
00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:51,040
that midweek service, and attendance just started to drop,

288
00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:52,280
especially after COVID.

289
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A lot of people didn't come back,

290
00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,380
and the thought in my mind was like,

291
00:12:55,380 --> 00:12:57,820
well, what's going on here with our midweek service, right?

292
00:12:57,820 --> 00:12:59,120
And I started to pay attention,

293
00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:01,420
and what was happening is a lot of people

294
00:13:01,420 --> 00:13:02,760
would come to the midweek service,

295
00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,160
and they would learn, and they would worship,

296
00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,720
and then they would high-high and get up and leave.

297
00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:10,060
And I thought, well, that's more of that disconnectedness

298
00:13:10,060 --> 00:13:12,460
of just coming to sit in the pew,

299
00:13:12,460 --> 00:13:14,900
but not really be part of the congregation.

300
00:13:14,900 --> 00:13:17,640
And so I said, Lord, what do we do to foster the environment

301
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:19,760
where people are getting close and talking

302
00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:21,740
and getting involved in each other's lives,

303
00:13:21,740 --> 00:13:24,440
and he just gave me the vision for our community groups?

304
00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:25,740
We've been doing those ever since,

305
00:13:25,740 --> 00:13:27,640
and they've been radically successful.

306
00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:29,920
There's so many testimonies of what God has done

307
00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:30,740
through that.

308
00:13:30,740 --> 00:13:32,980
Now, we still gather together on Sundays, obviously,

309
00:13:34,780 --> 00:13:36,320
but during the Bible study,

310
00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:38,260
you guys don't really get to have conversation

311
00:13:38,260 --> 00:13:40,920
with each other, and I hope you don't,

312
00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:42,500
because it would really distract me if you did,

313
00:13:42,500 --> 00:13:44,720
so we'll wait till community groups to do that,

314
00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:48,240
but community is important,

315
00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:50,300
and that's why we meet both congregationally

316
00:13:50,300 --> 00:13:51,500
and in our community groups.

317
00:13:51,500 --> 00:13:53,840
Discipleship is the second value

318
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:56,000
that's really important to our church.

319
00:13:56,000 --> 00:13:58,140
We believe that we intentionally discover

320
00:13:58,140 --> 00:14:02,440
and develop our calling so that we could help others

321
00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:05,020
discover and develop their calling.

322
00:14:05,020 --> 00:14:08,060
That's the essence of what discipleship is.

323
00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:11,480
It's you being poured into by someone else

324
00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,500
who maybe has been walking with the Lord longer than you,

325
00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:16,660
and they help you to grow and get closer to him,

326
00:14:16,660 --> 00:14:18,600
and then you go and you pour that into someone else.

327
00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:20,800
That is the process of the church.

328
00:14:22,060 --> 00:14:23,640
And discipleship is not something

329
00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,080
that only the pastor is supposed to do,

330
00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:27,940
but it's every single one of us

331
00:14:27,940 --> 00:14:29,480
that are a part of that calling.

332
00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:34,280
And so discipleship, it's meant to be intentional,

333
00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:37,320
not just passive, not just a,

334
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:38,620
hey, we're gonna go get lunch,

335
00:14:38,620 --> 00:14:40,920
and maybe we might talk about spiritual things,

336
00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:42,560
but no, it's believers getting together

337
00:14:42,560 --> 00:14:43,920
with an intentional purpose to say,

338
00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:46,660
let's grow deeper in our relationship with God,

339
00:14:46,660 --> 00:14:49,560
let's go deeper in our understanding of the word.

340
00:14:50,660 --> 00:14:52,200
And it's all wrapped around growing

341
00:14:52,200 --> 00:14:54,640
and maturing as children of God.

342
00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,940
Our third value that really is radically important to me

343
00:14:57,940 --> 00:14:59,140
is self-sacrifice.

344
00:14:59,140 --> 00:15:03,180
That's a value that I pray just permeates

345
00:15:03,180 --> 00:15:05,940
the body here at Hosanna.

346
00:15:05,940 --> 00:15:08,240
You see, because if everyone sacrificially serves

347
00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,480
one another, then that means everyone's needs are met.

348
00:15:13,260 --> 00:15:16,720
You know, the Bible tells us in Philippians 2, 3,

349
00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:18,520
it says, do nothing, Paul writing,

350
00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,960
out of selfish ambition or conceit,

351
00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:22,860
but in humility consider others

352
00:15:22,860 --> 00:15:25,340
as more important than yourselves.

353
00:15:26,860 --> 00:15:28,560
It doesn't say kind of important.

354
00:15:29,540 --> 00:15:31,840
It doesn't say more important only on Sunday.

355
00:15:33,100 --> 00:15:36,740
It says consider others in humility

356
00:15:36,740 --> 00:15:38,580
as more important than yourselves.

357
00:15:39,780 --> 00:15:42,520
This means that as a member of the body of Christ,

358
00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,080
you look at your brothers and sisters in the body,

359
00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,520
and you place them on a higher level of priority,

360
00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,460
a higher level of importance than yourself.

361
00:15:52,660 --> 00:15:54,320
What does that mean?

362
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,000
Well, that means that you're gonna be put in a position

363
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,960
to sacrifice often for others.

364
00:16:00,900 --> 00:16:03,560
You might be in a position where someone has need

365
00:16:03,560 --> 00:16:05,200
and you have to go serve them, but you're like,

366
00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:06,640
but the football game's on,

367
00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:09,980
and you have to sacrifice that game.

368
00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:13,720
Maybe there's a need that arises in the church

369
00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:16,340
or in a ministry, and there's a financial need,

370
00:16:16,340 --> 00:16:18,320
and you're like, well, but I earmarked this money

371
00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:22,420
for ABC, but God says, I want you to sacrifice that

372
00:16:22,420 --> 00:16:23,260
and trust me.

373
00:16:25,020 --> 00:16:26,720
Maybe it's gifts and talents you have,

374
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:29,520
and God is saying, hey, I wanna get you up involved

375
00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,500
in the worship team because I've given you a talent,

376
00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:33,700
and I'd love to have you share that with the body

377
00:16:33,700 --> 00:16:35,140
and lead the body into worship,

378
00:16:35,140 --> 00:16:37,140
and you're like, nah, it's just too much.

379
00:16:38,900 --> 00:16:40,040
It's self-sacrifice.

380
00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:41,940
It's the idea of giving of yourself,

381
00:16:41,940 --> 00:16:44,080
and it's not always gonna be easy.

382
00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:49,080
It's not always gonna be convenient, but when you consider

383
00:16:50,020 --> 00:16:51,420
others as more important than yourself,

384
00:16:51,420 --> 00:16:54,760
you'll say, my time, my whatever is secondary.

385
00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,020
Now, this doesn't mean you go and neglect your family

386
00:16:57,020 --> 00:16:59,700
and be irresponsible and reckless,

387
00:16:59,700 --> 00:17:01,560
but the idea is that you're willing to say,

388
00:17:01,560 --> 00:17:04,600
God, when you call me to give of myself my time

389
00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:07,440
or my resources, I'll do it without question

390
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:08,960
because I wanna be sacrificial

391
00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,600
the way you were sacrificial in my life.

392
00:17:11,600 --> 00:17:13,900
And then the last one is innovation.

393
00:17:13,900 --> 00:17:17,580
That's a value of our church where I'm an ex-tech guy,

394
00:17:17,580 --> 00:17:22,580
and so I just dig tech, but in the realm of ministry

395
00:17:23,420 --> 00:17:24,880
and our church, the idea is that we're always

396
00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,360
intentionally seeking better ways to meet the needs.

397
00:17:29,660 --> 00:17:33,420
We never wanna get caught in the trap as a church

398
00:17:33,420 --> 00:17:35,660
that this is how we've always done it,

399
00:17:35,660 --> 00:17:37,660
so this is how we're always gonna do it.

400
00:17:37,660 --> 00:17:42,660
There was a time where drums were the devil in church.

401
00:17:43,900 --> 00:17:46,400
Some of you may remember that, okay?

402
00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:48,380
Drums in church?

403
00:17:48,380 --> 00:17:50,420
That's demonic.

404
00:17:50,420 --> 00:17:53,540
And now every church has drums pretty much, right?

405
00:17:53,540 --> 00:17:56,680
As times change and as cultures change,

406
00:17:56,680 --> 00:17:59,260
methods of communicating the message,

407
00:17:59,260 --> 00:18:03,160
which does not change, grow and change, right?

408
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:05,920
50 years ago, you didn't have social media.

409
00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:09,300
Today, it's destroying an entire generation,

410
00:18:09,300 --> 00:18:11,940
and we're like, okay, well, God, is there a way

411
00:18:11,940 --> 00:18:15,040
to get in there and to shine the light of the gospel?

412
00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:17,000
Right, the idea is being willing and ready

413
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:21,240
to seek new ways to do it, but at the same time,

414
00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,580
we don't wanna be a church that abandons things

415
00:18:23,580 --> 00:18:27,540
that are working well just because it's the new shiny thing.

416
00:18:28,780 --> 00:18:30,960
It's the idea of being led by the Holy Spirit

417
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:33,920
to do what he wants us to do, the way he wants us to do it

418
00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:36,500
as the culture evolves.

419
00:18:36,500 --> 00:18:38,960
Now, this mission and these values,

420
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,640
these are the filter that your church uses

421
00:18:42,640 --> 00:18:45,740
to decide and discern what God wants us to do.

422
00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:48,540
When we're feeling God leading

423
00:18:48,540 --> 00:18:50,880
or we have a desire to do something,

424
00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:52,940
the prayer is always God.

425
00:18:52,940 --> 00:18:54,940
Does it fall under our mission to know the truth,

426
00:18:54,940 --> 00:18:56,680
to live the truth, to share the truth?

427
00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,720
Does it support the values that you've called us

428
00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:02,060
to support, the community, discipleship,

429
00:19:02,060 --> 00:19:03,880
self-sacrifice, innovation?

430
00:19:05,260 --> 00:19:08,300
Because here's the reality is as a church,

431
00:19:08,300 --> 00:19:10,260
and every church has the same issue,

432
00:19:10,260 --> 00:19:11,740
we'd love to do everything,

433
00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:16,840
but we can't do everything, right?

434
00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:21,780
We have a limit in our immediate reach,

435
00:19:21,780 --> 00:19:24,800
we have a limit in the congregation size,

436
00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:26,480
we have a limit in resources,

437
00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,020
and it's not that these are bad things.

438
00:19:29,020 --> 00:19:30,820
It's just we can't do everything.

439
00:19:30,820 --> 00:19:33,380
I would love to have a shuttle ministry

440
00:19:33,380 --> 00:19:35,280
that picks up people from home to get them to church,

441
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,020
and a sports ministry that's gonna go play softball

442
00:19:38,020 --> 00:19:42,260
and outreach people in a, who knows, fill in the blank.

443
00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:46,460
But the issue is God, do these things fall under

444
00:19:46,460 --> 00:19:50,460
our specific mission as this specific fellowship?

445
00:19:50,460 --> 00:19:52,900
And sometimes there are good things

446
00:19:52,900 --> 00:19:54,700
that we simply feel that God's going,

447
00:19:54,700 --> 00:19:56,400
well, that's a good thing,

448
00:19:56,400 --> 00:19:59,240
but there's another fellowship

449
00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:00,340
I'm gonna have be involved in,

450
00:20:00,340 --> 00:20:02,580
and I want you to focus on these things.

451
00:20:02,580 --> 00:20:05,020
And so as we pray for God to enlarge our borders,

452
00:20:05,020 --> 00:20:10,020
we pray for God to extend our reach as a fellowship,

453
00:20:11,260 --> 00:20:13,460
to extend your reach, that the gospel would go forth

454
00:20:13,460 --> 00:20:16,760
as far as God would have it go in our church.

455
00:20:16,760 --> 00:20:19,300
But we also labor to make sure that we're good stewards

456
00:20:19,300 --> 00:20:20,860
of the time and the talent and the resources

457
00:20:20,860 --> 00:20:23,300
that God has provided here.

458
00:20:23,300 --> 00:20:27,560
Now, during this last year, 2024,

459
00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:29,340
we had a lot of growth in our congregation,

460
00:20:29,340 --> 00:20:33,140
and that's just awesome, seeing new faces all the time.

461
00:20:33,140 --> 00:20:35,740
It's, Pastor Gary retired about three years ago,

462
00:20:35,740 --> 00:20:38,320
and it still weirds me out when people go,

463
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:39,320
who's Pastor Gary?

464
00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,460
I'm like, this man was instrumental in my life.

465
00:20:42,460 --> 00:20:43,920
He was like a father to me,

466
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,700
and you don't know who he is, how dare you, right?

467
00:20:47,660 --> 00:20:49,420
But there's just new people coming,

468
00:20:49,420 --> 00:20:51,460
and with new faces and new families,

469
00:20:51,460 --> 00:20:54,300
we have new kids in our Hosanna Kids Ministry.

470
00:20:54,300 --> 00:20:57,440
It's a wonderful thing when the children's ministry director

471
00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,600
goes, Pastor Nathan, we need to steal your office

472
00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,200
because we need more classroom space.

473
00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:05,780
Take it, you know, I'll move into a closet if I need to.

474
00:21:05,780 --> 00:21:08,920
But the idea is that things are growing, you know,

475
00:21:08,920 --> 00:21:11,520
and this is directly as a result of you guys

476
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,860
telling people about your church and sharing with people

477
00:21:14,860 --> 00:21:16,280
with what's going on in your church.

478
00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:17,880
Our men's ministry this past year

479
00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,200
held its first men's conference in years,

480
00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:23,800
and that was amazing because the focus of that conference

481
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,300
was, hey men, if you don't know what your calling is,

482
00:21:26,300 --> 00:21:27,560
if you don't know what your gifting is,

483
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:29,040
we wanna help you discover that

484
00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:30,900
so that you could then get plugged in in your church

485
00:21:30,900 --> 00:21:33,440
with your gifts and your talents and your calling.

486
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:35,180
And that was hugely successful.

487
00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,680
Obviously, we finally got through Revelation

488
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:44,680
early this year and started the book of Genesis, right?

489
00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,280
We soft launched a new discipleship ministry

490
00:21:47,280 --> 00:21:49,380
that I'll talk about later.

491
00:21:49,380 --> 00:21:52,860
I mean, we participated in Freedom Fest and Harvest Crusade,

492
00:21:52,860 --> 00:21:55,360
just a lot of stuff that this church did.

493
00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:58,120
Our evangelism ministry, both people that are directly

494
00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:00,500
in our evangelism ministry, and just those of you

495
00:22:00,500 --> 00:22:04,560
that are evangelizing on your own, here's the stats.

496
00:22:04,560 --> 00:22:07,640
Our teams passed out 45,000 tracks this year.

497
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:12,400
4,000 Gospel of John's, they had about 1,000

498
00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,700
actual conversations with people,

499
00:22:14,700 --> 00:22:16,560
walking them through the Gospel and faith,

500
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:19,320
and that was just the evangelism team.

501
00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:20,840
There's other individuals in our body

502
00:22:20,840 --> 00:22:22,680
that are doing this work outside of it,

503
00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,800
and there's thousands more of tracks

504
00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:27,520
in the Gospel got out to people.

505
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:30,160
We did special outreaches, as we've been doing

506
00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:31,880
for the last couple years, the Street Fest,

507
00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:34,660
which had become a big staple now.

508
00:22:34,660 --> 00:22:36,860
People actually ask, hey, is Hosanna doing that thing

509
00:22:36,860 --> 00:22:38,000
during the Street Fest?

510
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,440
And it's just an opportunity for us to,

511
00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,280
we give away a whole ton of stuff that God provides

512
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:45,960
every penny for every single year,

513
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,480
and we give everybody a Gospel track.

514
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,840
Say, hey, Belfour, we love you.

515
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:51,960
We participated again at Midsummer Scream,

516
00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:53,720
that's that Halloween convention in Long Beach

517
00:22:53,720 --> 00:22:56,560
that has, this year, I think it was, what, 30,000,

518
00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:57,960
35,000 people?

519
00:22:57,960 --> 00:22:59,480
40,000 people.

520
00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,100
40,000 people at a convention that like Halloween.

521
00:23:03,140 --> 00:23:06,520
God brought us in there to build our little maze

522
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,200
and pass out thousands of Gospel tracks to people,

523
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:11,760
and they invite us back.

524
00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,700
That's a huge door that God opened up for us.

525
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:17,880
Obviously, we sent a team to Paris this year

526
00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:19,960
with Living Waters during the Olympics.

527
00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:24,960
Baptisms this year increased 50% over the year before.

528
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:27,600
That means people are getting saved.

529
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:28,800
That means people are getting saved

530
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,120
and then taking this step to say, hey,

531
00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:33,280
I wanna publicly profess what God has done in my life.

532
00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,400
And then your church, Hosanna, we're still supporting

533
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,040
over 13 different parachurch mission organizations

534
00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:42,160
and stuff like far-reaching ministries,

535
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:43,960
organizations that are dealing with

536
00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:46,640
protecting religious rights in the United States,

537
00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:50,040
A21, which is an organization that actually does a lot of work

538
00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,920
going into places like North Korea to rescue kids

539
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,680
that are trapped in trafficking and save the storks.

540
00:23:56,680 --> 00:23:57,720
You guys are familiar with them.

541
00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:00,440
They park the buses outside the abortion clinics

542
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,380
and say, hey, would you like to get a free sonogram

543
00:24:02,380 --> 00:24:04,280
before you go in there?

544
00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,440
And the rate of women who decide to keep their baby

545
00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:08,220
because they see their baby on the screen

546
00:24:08,220 --> 00:24:09,340
is just incredible.

547
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:12,840
These are things that we've been involved with

548
00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:13,740
as a church.

549
00:24:13,740 --> 00:24:15,160
Now, I don't share any of that to say,

550
00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,640
oh, pat us on the back.

551
00:24:17,640 --> 00:24:19,120
It's just really a tip of the iceberg

552
00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:20,600
of what God is doing around the world,

553
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:24,880
but we as a church were able to accomplish these things

554
00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,480
and be a part of all these things through your volunteering.

555
00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:30,560
You're the body of Christ,

556
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,640
and this was accomplished through you guys.

557
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:35,160
This was accomplished through your faithful giving

558
00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:36,040
and generosity.

559
00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:38,680
It was accomplished through your prayers and support,

560
00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:42,320
but as I said in the beginning, the work is not finished yet.

561
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:44,520
Now, I'm with you.

562
00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:46,280
I'm like, God, come back right now.

563
00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:51,120
We're still here.

564
00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:54,080
Why?

565
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:55,500
Because there's so many people out there

566
00:24:55,500 --> 00:24:58,520
that need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

567
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,400
So I urge all of us this next year,

568
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:02,800
as we move into 2025 and we look back and we go,

569
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,040
wow, God, you did such amazing things in 2024,

570
00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,120
as we look forward that we continue to serve

571
00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:10,000
as Jesus served.

572
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,480
We continue to be generous with our time and our resources

573
00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,800
the way Jesus is generous with us.

574
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:19,200
That we do all this in prayer

575
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:20,360
and the leading of the Holy Spirit

576
00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:22,560
so that we can do everything God would call us to

577
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:23,500
as a fellowship.

578
00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:26,840
You know, there's a mystery in the relationship

579
00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:28,420
between, oh, God is sovereign.

580
00:25:28,420 --> 00:25:30,800
If he wants us to do it, he'll provide all the funds,

581
00:25:30,800 --> 00:25:33,500
and I believe that 100% for an outreach, right?

582
00:25:33,500 --> 00:25:34,880
But on the other side of the equation,

583
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:38,000
God is also saying, hey, people, my people,

584
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,560
get involved, make it happen, be a part of the work.

585
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:42,700
And then the mystery of that,

586
00:25:42,700 --> 00:25:45,520
I do believe there's times where God wants to do something

587
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:47,340
through our fellowship or another fellowship,

588
00:25:47,340 --> 00:25:49,240
and when we don't step up and say,

589
00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:50,400
okay, God, I hear your call,

590
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:52,720
let me be a part of this in whatever way,

591
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:53,880
we can't accomplish it.

592
00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:56,720
And I personally, as your pastor,

593
00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:00,440
and a coworker, co-laborer with you in this church,

594
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,320
I don't ever wanna say, God,

595
00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,480
we hear you calling us to do this,

596
00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:07,900
but we can't do it because we can't find enough volunteers.

597
00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:10,640
Or God, because we can't do this or do that, you know?

598
00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,120
What I'd rather say is, God, every single person

599
00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:16,520
in our church is surfing, so we can't do another thing.

600
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:18,120
That would be amazing.

601
00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:19,760
But we're all a part of this solution

602
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,780
of being open to God's leading and calling in our lives,

603
00:26:22,780 --> 00:26:26,060
because as a church, we wanna see more people saved.

604
00:26:26,060 --> 00:26:28,080
Do you guys wanna see more people saved?

605
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:29,180
Yeah.

606
00:26:29,180 --> 00:26:31,560
We wanna see more people discipled.

607
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,080
We wanna see more people reached for Jesus Christ.

608
00:26:35,540 --> 00:26:37,780
And so this next year coming up, Hosanna, your church,

609
00:26:37,780 --> 00:26:39,380
we're gonna continue to listen to the Lord

610
00:26:39,380 --> 00:26:42,080
and filter our decisions through the mission

611
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:44,140
that he's given us as a church.

612
00:26:44,140 --> 00:26:46,600
Other churches may have a slightly different mission,

613
00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:48,120
but this is the one he's given us,

614
00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:50,740
to run everything through the values

615
00:26:50,740 --> 00:26:52,400
that he's called us to lift up,

616
00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:54,140
and of course, always being open to the Spirit

617
00:26:54,140 --> 00:26:55,960
of changing anything he wants at any time,

618
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:57,520
because God can do that too.

619
00:26:59,180 --> 00:27:02,640
But as a church, we wanna move into 2025

620
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,920
being in radical pursuit of Jesus,

621
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:09,640
to know Jesus, to live Jesus, to share Jesus,

622
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,360
to let that be the motivation of everything we do.

623
00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:14,960
So with that, I wanna look at a few verses

624
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:16,960
in Philippians chapter three with you

625
00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,460
as an encouragement for the year coming up.

626
00:27:19,460 --> 00:27:20,800
In Philippians chapter three,

627
00:27:20,800 --> 00:27:24,160
verses 10 through 14-ish, I think we're gonna get through,

628
00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,200
this is what Paul says.

629
00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:27,840
He says, my goal is to know him

630
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:29,160
and the power of his resurrection

631
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:31,080
and the fellowship of his sufferings

632
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,120
being conformed to his death,

633
00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:35,440
assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection

634
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:36,620
from among the dead.

635
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:39,240
Not that I have already reached the goal

636
00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:40,360
or I'm already perfect,

637
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:42,720
but I make every effort to take hold of it

638
00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:46,200
because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.

639
00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:49,280
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself

640
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:50,600
to have taken hold of it.

641
00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:55,540
This is one of my favorite sections of scripture

642
00:27:55,540 --> 00:27:59,060
in the Bible, because there is such a radical encouragement

643
00:27:59,060 --> 00:28:00,460
that I get from this.

644
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,360
Simply this, that Paul is writing this,

645
00:28:04,360 --> 00:28:06,500
this letter to the Philippians,

646
00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:08,320
after he had been walking with the Lord

647
00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:10,800
for approximately 30 years.

648
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,640
In those 30 years, this incredibly intelligent man

649
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,720
had planted numerous churches

650
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:19,580
who had raised up dozens and dozens of leaders,

651
00:28:19,580 --> 00:28:22,060
this guy that had accomplished so much for the Lord

652
00:28:22,060 --> 00:28:24,640
as a missionary and apostle.

653
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,080
What he's saying here is,

654
00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,740
I still have plenty room to grow,

655
00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:33,040
that there is still plenty of work to do.

656
00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:34,800
I have not reached the goal.

657
00:28:34,800 --> 00:28:36,200
I am not perfect.

658
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:37,720
I am not complete.

659
00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:40,880
And so the encouragement I wanna give all of us

660
00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:45,320
moving into 2025 is don't settle for what has been.

661
00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:48,080
We celebrate what has been.

662
00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:49,700
We celebrate what God has done.

663
00:28:49,700 --> 00:28:52,440
We look back and we lean on some of those things

664
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,240
to bolster our faith moving forward,

665
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:55,980
but don't settle for that.

666
00:28:55,980 --> 00:28:58,720
God has done wonderful things, yes.

667
00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:01,480
He's done wonderful things in all our lives individually

668
00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:03,920
and here as part of our church,

669
00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:06,680
but that in no way means that we should cease

670
00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:10,840
to anticipate great things in the future from God.

671
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,020
See, Paul, after walking with the Lord for 30 years,

672
00:29:14,020 --> 00:29:16,600
was still like, I'm not there yet.

673
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:17,600
I haven't obtained it.

674
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:19,560
I'm not at the end.

675
00:29:19,560 --> 00:29:20,960
I still have a goal ahead of me

676
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:22,920
because I trust God is gonna use me

677
00:29:22,920 --> 00:29:25,280
until the day he takes me home.

678
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,100
And this teaches us a very important truth

679
00:29:27,100 --> 00:29:29,760
as we move through year to year as believers.

680
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,680
One, we never reach perfection this side of heaven.

681
00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,800
We never finish maturing and growing here on earth.

682
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:39,820
We're never done.

683
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,120
Ever thinking that you've arrived,

684
00:29:44,120 --> 00:29:45,780
that you know God enough,

685
00:29:45,780 --> 00:29:48,580
that your relationship with Jesus is fine where it's at,

686
00:29:48,580 --> 00:29:52,980
always leads to spiritual pride and spiritual arrogance

687
00:29:52,980 --> 00:29:54,660
and spiritual complacency.

688
00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:59,440
And then as a church and as an organization,

689
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:00,320
as a body of Christ,

690
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:02,020
ever thinking that the best way to do it

691
00:30:02,020 --> 00:30:03,820
is how we've always done it,

692
00:30:03,820 --> 00:30:07,040
or coasting on past successes,

693
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:08,740
all that does is kill vision.

694
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,400
It kills vision in your life individually.

695
00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,000
Here's Paul 30 years later saying,

696
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,340
my goal is to know him as if Paul didn't know him.

697
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:21,500
But Paul understood that he was just scratching

698
00:30:21,500 --> 00:30:22,480
the tip of the iceberg.

699
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:23,680
He says in verse 12,

700
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,840
not that I have already attained or already reached the goal

701
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,680
or am already perfect.

702
00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:31,160
Then he says in verse 13,

703
00:30:31,160 --> 00:30:34,100
I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it.

704
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,120
I think that's a very healthy attitude to have as a believer

705
00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,300
and as a church moving into a new year.

706
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:43,680
We haven't reached the goal yet.

707
00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:44,940
We still have work to do.

708
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:48,440
None of us have reached the peak of maturity and growth

709
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:50,520
in our relationship with God yet.

710
00:30:50,520 --> 00:30:52,240
So don't stop coming to church.

711
00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:53,620
Don't stop reading the word.

712
00:30:53,620 --> 00:30:54,880
Don't stop studying the word.

713
00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:55,780
Don't stop worshiping.

714
00:30:55,780 --> 00:30:58,180
Don't stop praying because you're not there yet.

715
00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:01,720
A Christian should never be satisfied

716
00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,160
with their current spiritual state.

717
00:31:04,160 --> 00:31:06,280
It's one thing to say,

718
00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:07,460
man, look what God did.

719
00:31:07,460 --> 00:31:09,520
I'm so happy with that.

720
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,320
And I'm so excited for where I'm at.

721
00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:12,720
I'm doing good.

722
00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:14,780
My walk with the Lord is very solid.

723
00:31:14,780 --> 00:31:16,120
That's a good thing.

724
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:17,080
But then when we say,

725
00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:20,340
so therefore I don't need to try anymore,

726
00:31:20,340 --> 00:31:21,360
you're gonna fall.

727
00:31:22,260 --> 00:31:23,880
Therefore I don't need to keep reaching out

728
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:27,360
to the relationship that Jesus wants to have with me.

729
00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:28,520
You're gonna fall.

730
00:31:29,860 --> 00:31:32,240
Every Christian should wanna grow more

731
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:35,100
and know God deeper to grow in their obedience

732
00:31:35,100 --> 00:31:36,900
to be a brighter light to the world.

733
00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:39,760
And it's same for the church here,

734
00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:42,260
the body of believers at Hosanna.

735
00:31:42,260 --> 00:31:43,520
Collectively as a church,

736
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:45,720
we wanna keep pushing forward with more teaching

737
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,580
and more growing and seeing more saved and more Jesus

738
00:31:48,580 --> 00:31:49,980
and raising up more leaders

739
00:31:49,980 --> 00:31:52,220
and everything that God would have us do.

740
00:31:52,220 --> 00:31:55,020
So don't settle for what has been.

741
00:31:56,260 --> 00:31:58,660
The other thing that I see in these scriptures from Paul

742
00:31:58,660 --> 00:32:02,100
reminds us to not get distracted from what God is doing

743
00:32:02,100 --> 00:32:04,600
or from doing what God is calling you to do.

744
00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,980
Focus, prioritize, commit, and then do.

745
00:32:08,980 --> 00:32:09,820
Right?

746
00:32:09,820 --> 00:32:12,140
Look at what he says in verse 313.

747
00:32:12,140 --> 00:32:13,540
But one thing I do.

748
00:32:14,780 --> 00:32:18,060
One thing I do.

749
00:32:18,060 --> 00:32:19,780
Now obviously Paul is talking about

750
00:32:19,780 --> 00:32:21,180
in the context of all of this

751
00:32:21,180 --> 00:32:24,280
that he's pursuing Jesus.

752
00:32:25,860 --> 00:32:27,140
But he goes one thing I do

753
00:32:27,140 --> 00:32:28,860
that in all the ministry activity

754
00:32:28,860 --> 00:32:30,300
and all the things he could be doing

755
00:32:30,300 --> 00:32:32,180
and all the, just all of it,

756
00:32:32,180 --> 00:32:34,060
he goes there's one thing

757
00:32:34,060 --> 00:32:36,240
that is at the top of my priority list.

758
00:32:37,260 --> 00:32:41,240
You see there are things that every believer is called to do.

759
00:32:42,420 --> 00:32:43,260
Right?

760
00:32:43,260 --> 00:32:44,100
In our relationship with God.

761
00:32:44,100 --> 00:32:45,300
These are non-negotiable,

762
00:32:45,300 --> 00:32:47,740
but under those things are specific things

763
00:32:47,740 --> 00:32:52,380
that God may be calling us to do.

764
00:32:52,380 --> 00:32:54,940
There's specific callings that each one of us have.

765
00:32:55,940 --> 00:32:57,740
I believe there's specific callings

766
00:32:57,740 --> 00:32:59,820
under the general callings that we're all called to do

767
00:32:59,820 --> 00:33:01,620
that even a church has.

768
00:33:01,620 --> 00:33:04,920
And that each one of us has as part of a church family.

769
00:33:06,780 --> 00:33:07,900
Paul says one thing I do.

770
00:33:07,900 --> 00:33:09,300
He's talking about focus.

771
00:33:09,300 --> 00:33:10,860
He's talking about setting those priorities.

772
00:33:10,860 --> 00:33:12,180
He's talking about where the effort

773
00:33:12,180 --> 00:33:13,820
and the resources are expended.

774
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:16,560
For him everything was about

775
00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:18,360
I'm gonna know God more

776
00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:20,260
because he knew that that trickled down

777
00:33:20,260 --> 00:33:22,100
to everything else in his life.

778
00:33:23,260 --> 00:33:25,300
There's so much in the world and in life

779
00:33:25,300 --> 00:33:28,500
that can distract us from pursuing Jesus and his kingdom.

780
00:33:28,500 --> 00:33:29,520
So much.

781
00:33:31,060 --> 00:33:32,700
And we just have to stay focused.

782
00:33:32,700 --> 00:33:34,820
If you were losing focus last year on your thing,

783
00:33:34,820 --> 00:33:37,260
then 2025 say God I wanna refocus

784
00:33:37,260 --> 00:33:40,940
and be zoomed in on what you want me to do

785
00:33:40,940 --> 00:33:41,940
and what you want me to do

786
00:33:41,940 --> 00:33:43,700
as a part of this local fellowship.

787
00:33:45,340 --> 00:33:46,160
So I don't know if you know it,

788
00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:49,220
but Satan is very good at distracting us from those things.

789
00:33:50,460 --> 00:33:52,500
He distracts us from what we should be doing

790
00:33:52,500 --> 00:33:54,500
as believers with everything else.

791
00:33:55,700 --> 00:33:57,200
How many of you have ever been in that position

792
00:33:57,200 --> 00:33:59,240
where you just feel the Lord is calling you

793
00:33:59,240 --> 00:34:02,780
to get involved in this or to go say this?

794
00:34:02,780 --> 00:34:05,260
Or he's calling you to a specific work

795
00:34:05,260 --> 00:34:07,300
and then you're like hmm.

796
00:34:07,300 --> 00:34:10,380
And so you do everything else that exists in reality.

797
00:34:11,300 --> 00:34:12,660
Well I'll get to that later,

798
00:34:12,660 --> 00:34:14,940
but I've gotta wash my hair first.

799
00:34:14,940 --> 00:34:15,820
I'll get to that later,

800
00:34:15,820 --> 00:34:18,100
but you know that project I've been neglecting at home,

801
00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:19,100
I gotta finish that.

802
00:34:20,940 --> 00:34:23,380
And we're real good at doing everything else

803
00:34:23,380 --> 00:34:25,540
except the thing God is calling us to do.

804
00:34:27,420 --> 00:34:29,080
And so if there's a thing God is calling you

805
00:34:29,080 --> 00:34:30,520
to do individually and there are things

806
00:34:30,520 --> 00:34:33,860
God is calling you to do as a part of this fellowship,

807
00:34:33,860 --> 00:34:36,860
focus on them, prioritize them, commit to them and do them.

808
00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,120
Now Paul says again,

809
00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:43,100
and I mentioned this a couple times in verse 10,

810
00:34:43,100 --> 00:34:46,200
he says my goal is to know him.

811
00:34:46,200 --> 00:34:48,380
Why?

812
00:34:48,380 --> 00:34:50,700
Because the more we know Jesus,

813
00:34:50,700 --> 00:34:53,900
the more your heart is conformed into his.

814
00:34:53,900 --> 00:34:55,620
You become to look like him.

815
00:34:55,620 --> 00:34:57,260
Your priorities become his.

816
00:34:57,260 --> 00:34:58,940
Your desires become like his.

817
00:34:58,940 --> 00:35:01,420
And then as you're growing closer to him,

818
00:35:01,420 --> 00:35:04,340
knowing him more, you start to live more like him

819
00:35:04,340 --> 00:35:06,460
as you're in alignment with who he is

820
00:35:06,460 --> 00:35:08,300
and your call, the call in your life

821
00:35:08,300 --> 00:35:11,720
becomes clearer and clearer and clearer in your heart.

822
00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:13,300
The closer you're walking with Jesus,

823
00:35:13,300 --> 00:35:15,780
the easier it is to discern what he wants you to do

824
00:35:15,780 --> 00:35:18,700
as a believer, both generally, corporately

825
00:35:18,700 --> 00:35:20,760
and individually and specifically.

826
00:35:24,260 --> 00:35:25,480
So don't get distracted.

827
00:35:28,360 --> 00:35:31,640
Next he says, but one thing I do, verse 13,

828
00:35:31,640 --> 00:35:34,700
forgetting what is behind and reaching forward

829
00:35:34,700 --> 00:35:35,800
to what is ahead.

830
00:35:37,180 --> 00:35:39,360
Don't dwell on what's behind you.

831
00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:42,960
Celebrate it, yes, but move forward.

832
00:35:42,960 --> 00:35:44,720
You see, when he says forgetting what is behind,

833
00:35:44,720 --> 00:35:46,820
the idea is this, last year was last year.

834
00:35:47,660 --> 00:35:49,740
Last year was awesome, last year was tough,

835
00:35:49,740 --> 00:35:52,620
last year was whatever it was for all of us.

836
00:35:52,620 --> 00:35:54,560
But regardless of how your last year was,

837
00:35:54,560 --> 00:35:55,940
it is still last year.

838
00:35:57,060 --> 00:35:59,300
It's past, it's done.

839
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:02,100
You move on from these things.

840
00:36:02,100 --> 00:36:04,500
It's the idea of not resting on your successes

841
00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:07,660
or dwelling on your failures.

842
00:36:07,660 --> 00:36:10,560
Isn't that what our relationship with Jesus

843
00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:11,400
is all about anyways?

844
00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:12,560
He comes into our life and he goes,

845
00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:14,580
hey, I love you, I died for you.

846
00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:17,800
And we wanna go, but you don't know what I did,

847
00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:19,640
and he goes, I'm God, do you think I don't know

848
00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:20,480
what you did?

849
00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:24,640
And then you're like, but, but, and he goes,

850
00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:28,580
forgiven, don't dwell on that.

851
00:36:28,580 --> 00:36:33,480
Focus, now, I'm God, I died for you.

852
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:35,000
I wanna save you, I wanna forgive you,

853
00:36:35,000 --> 00:36:37,600
I wanna fill you with my spirit and change your life.

854
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:41,760
And then when we go, yeah, I need that.

855
00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:44,920
It's a process of moving forward all the way

856
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:46,020
until we get to heaven.

857
00:36:47,400 --> 00:36:50,260
That's what God wants in our life, to keep moving forward.

858
00:36:50,260 --> 00:36:53,280
The past is done, our God is about new beginnings, right?

859
00:36:53,280 --> 00:36:55,160
The first of the year is about new beginnings.

860
00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,880
And so the idea is that we put ourselves in that place

861
00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:00,740
of what's ahead of me, Lord.

862
00:37:00,740 --> 00:37:03,200
What's ahead of us, God, is a church.

863
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:06,680
If you want a stagnant life, live your life

864
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:09,280
looking over your shoulder, backwards,

865
00:37:09,280 --> 00:37:10,640
into what has already been.

866
00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:16,060
If you do that, you're gonna miss what's in front of you.

867
00:37:17,400 --> 00:37:19,120
Try to run down the street looking behind you,

868
00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:21,120
you're probably gonna run into something.

869
00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,060
The idea is that is done, reach forward, he says,

870
00:37:25,060 --> 00:37:27,480
reach forward to what is ahead.

871
00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:29,440
Here's the question that I asked myself,

872
00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:33,360
and I ask all of you today as we're looking into 2025.

873
00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:35,960
If we put as much effort pressing into our spiritual life

874
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:37,320
as we do our hobbies,

875
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:40,760
what would our life look like in 2025?

876
00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:41,600
Spiritually.

877
00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:45,040
There's nothing wrong with hobbies, don't misunderstand me.

878
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:47,200
There's nothing wrong with entertainments.

879
00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:50,800
But for some of us, if we put as much time

880
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:53,760
into our spiritual life and learning to hear God

881
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:56,680
and following him as we do in all those hobbies,

882
00:37:56,680 --> 00:37:58,080
how would your life change?

883
00:37:58,080 --> 00:37:59,760
It'd be pretty radical, I bet.

884
00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:03,720
Or the other question is what would our lives look like

885
00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:05,600
if we put as much effort into doing

886
00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:08,920
what we're supposed to be doing instead of everything else?

887
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:16,120
I think it's glorious if we'd focus.

888
00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:20,360
And God's going, just I'm here, I live within you,

889
00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:21,480
don't tell me you can't focus,

890
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:25,280
just ask me to move in your life and we'll get going.

891
00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:27,280
What would our church look like if it was

892
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:29,520
like if every single one of us,

893
00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:30,960
and I'm not putting anybody on blast here,

894
00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:35,600
but every single one of us were participating members

895
00:38:35,600 --> 00:38:37,080
of the body here at Hosanna?

896
00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:42,360
If we were all volunteering when there was an opportunity,

897
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:44,560
when we were all just regularly trusting God

898
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,080
in our finances and giving the way we're called to

899
00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:49,440
and praying for one another regularly

900
00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:50,600
and just all this stuff,

901
00:38:50,600 --> 00:38:52,840
and I'm not saying this to guilt trip anybody,

902
00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:57,840
but just imagine what God could do with this little church.

903
00:39:00,760 --> 00:39:02,280
What did he do with 12 people?

904
00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:04,720
He changed the entire world.

905
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:08,480
God wants to use you to change the entire world.

906
00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:11,520
So it's about hearing what he is saying

907
00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:13,120
and moving forward towards that.

908
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:15,920
Reach forward to what is ahead.

909
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:18,120
Pursue what God wants you to be doing.

910
00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:20,080
And if you don't know, the great place to start is

911
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:21,960
what are you passionate about?

912
00:39:21,960 --> 00:39:22,800
What can you do?

913
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:23,640
What are your gifts?

914
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:24,720
What are your talents?

915
00:39:25,720 --> 00:39:26,560
What are you good at?

916
00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:28,280
What are you just naturally good at doing

917
00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:30,840
and start there and trust God to reveal to you

918
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:31,880
as you move forward?

919
00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:34,760
What was ahead for Paul?

920
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:36,240
What was Paul reaching forward to?

921
00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,880
He says in verse 14, I pursue as my goal

922
00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:42,440
the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

923
00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:46,880
You know, as a pastor, I'm so thankful

924
00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:50,240
for what God has done in my life over the years.

925
00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:53,800
I am so thankful for what God has done in my life

926
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:55,880
through this church.

927
00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:59,600
This church has changed my life forever.

928
00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:03,000
When I came in as just a punk kid with earrings

929
00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:04,560
and spiky blue hair.

930
00:40:06,080 --> 00:40:07,840
And they said, you wanna be a part of junior high?

931
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:09,640
And I was like, sure.

932
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:13,800
I've changed a little bit since then, but.

933
00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:18,880
This church, the ministry that God has done through here

934
00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:20,840
has changed so many of your lives.

935
00:40:21,880 --> 00:40:23,800
And God wants to keep doing that.

936
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,080
He doesn't wanna just stop with you.

937
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:28,000
There have been many saved in Et Hosanna,

938
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:30,560
lives changed, relationships healed,

939
00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:34,080
and on it, and God is still doing that in this church.

940
00:40:35,280 --> 00:40:38,320
We've had people raise up through this little church

941
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:40,200
who are, you know, Pastor Mike Winger,

942
00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:41,680
a lot of you guys know him.

943
00:40:41,680 --> 00:40:45,480
Like, approaching 900,000 subscribers on YouTube.

944
00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:47,600
Wow, what a reach.

945
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:50,160
And again, we don't take any credit for that.

946
00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:52,600
That was God doing a work through people who just said,

947
00:40:52,600 --> 00:40:54,240
God, I wanna serve you.

948
00:40:54,240 --> 00:40:55,760
I wanna be obedient to you.

949
00:40:57,160 --> 00:40:59,480
But we can't forget that there's more unbelievers out there

950
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:02,080
that need Jesus, that need to hear the gospel.

951
00:41:02,080 --> 00:41:05,400
There's more believers out there who need teaching

952
00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:07,600
and discipleship and community and growth

953
00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:09,000
and training and equipping.

954
00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:13,280
And we have to reach into all of that understanding

955
00:41:13,280 --> 00:41:15,680
that all that God wants to do through this world

956
00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:17,520
starts with knowing him.

957
00:41:18,800 --> 00:41:19,800
Knowing him.

958
00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:21,120
He is the root of all of it.

959
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:23,200
He is the prize Paul was pursuing.

960
00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:24,680
He's the point.

961
00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:28,880
And so 2025, yeah, as a church,

962
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:31,080
we're gonna keep moving forward with our eyes on that goal,

963
00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:33,120
reaching forward to what is ahead.

964
00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:37,400
But as a church, we need all of us.

965
00:41:39,960 --> 00:41:41,600
If God brought you to this fellowship

966
00:41:41,600 --> 00:41:43,400
and this fellowship is your home

967
00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:45,920
and you said, God, this is my home,

968
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,080
it wasn't just to sit in the pew.

969
00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:52,440
It was to be a part of the body of Christ

970
00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:53,520
here in this church.

971
00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:56,240
Now if at any time God says, hey,

972
00:41:56,240 --> 00:41:58,560
that's not your home anymore, please,

973
00:41:58,560 --> 00:41:59,720
follow the leading of the Lord

974
00:41:59,720 --> 00:42:01,920
and go wherever he's gonna call you to go.

975
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:05,720
But if God's called you here, it wasn't just to sit.

976
00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:07,720
It was to be plugged in.

977
00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:10,240
And if you're just sitting in the pew

978
00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:11,680
and you're learning, that's awesome.

979
00:42:11,680 --> 00:42:12,680
I'm glad you're learning.

980
00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:13,520
Praise the Lord.

981
00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:15,000
That's the start.

982
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,280
But we can't forget that knowing the truth

983
00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:18,840
leads to living the truth,

984
00:42:18,840 --> 00:42:20,520
which leads to sharing the truth.

985
00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:25,320
We're all a part of this congregation.

986
00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:27,960
And this congregation cannot pursue what is ahead

987
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:30,400
without every single one of us participating

988
00:42:30,400 --> 00:42:33,480
with our time and our talent and our resources.

989
00:42:33,480 --> 00:42:35,080
So this year I'm praying specifically,

990
00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:37,240
God, enlarge our borders.

991
00:42:37,240 --> 00:42:39,120
Enlarge our borders.

992
00:42:39,120 --> 00:42:41,200
Enlarge our borders.

993
00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:44,440
So that there is opportunity for every single one of us

994
00:42:44,440 --> 00:42:46,600
in this church to be a part of the body,

995
00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:48,320
to operate as part of the body,

996
00:42:48,320 --> 00:42:50,840
to use the gifts that God has uniquely given to you

997
00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:52,320
to reach out into this world

998
00:42:52,320 --> 00:42:54,800
with the gospel of Jesus Christ,

999
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:56,040
to minister to one another,

1000
00:42:56,040 --> 00:42:59,560
to see the needs that we have in our life

1001
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:02,280
just practically met and spiritually met.

1002
00:43:03,440 --> 00:43:05,600
I'm praying for God to enlarge the borders so much

1003
00:43:05,600 --> 00:43:08,840
where it's not possible for us to do that.

1004
00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:12,400
But then to set back and watch God go,

1005
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:15,200
watch what I'm gonna do.

1006
00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:20,680
So in 2025, yeah, we're gonna keep encouraging,

1007
00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:23,000
equipping, and providing opportunities

1008
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:24,600
for the body to be the body.

1009
00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:29,240
Much as of what we've begun over the last few years,

1010
00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:30,920
we're gonna keep doing that.

1011
00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:32,760
It's not about like, oh, we did that, move on.

1012
00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:34,880
But God, do you want us to keep doing certain things?

1013
00:43:34,880 --> 00:43:38,040
And he's saying yes, keep doing it, get better at it.

1014
00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:40,120
As we pray and say, Holy Spirit, lead us, right?

1015
00:43:40,120 --> 00:43:41,600
We're gonna keep doing our VBSs

1016
00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:43,080
because more and more kids in the community

1017
00:43:43,080 --> 00:43:44,320
are coming out every year.

1018
00:43:45,560 --> 00:43:47,400
We're gonna keep doing our street fest outreaches

1019
00:43:47,400 --> 00:43:48,720
because that line around the building

1020
00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:50,440
gets longer and longer every time we do it,

1021
00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:53,440
and that's more people getting the gospel of Jesus Christ.

1022
00:43:55,320 --> 00:43:56,840
We're gonna keep praying and outreaching

1023
00:43:56,840 --> 00:43:58,720
and teaching and preaching and evangelizing

1024
00:43:58,720 --> 00:44:01,520
because yes, of course we wanna do those things.

1025
00:44:01,520 --> 00:44:03,920
But last year, for the first time in a very long time,

1026
00:44:03,920 --> 00:44:06,080
I said earlier, we soft launched

1027
00:44:06,080 --> 00:44:07,960
a new discipleship ministry.

1028
00:44:07,960 --> 00:44:10,040
As God has been putting on my heart

1029
00:44:10,040 --> 00:44:12,080
and some of the other leaders' hearts that,

1030
00:44:12,080 --> 00:44:14,120
you know, passive discipleship is great,

1031
00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:18,120
but intentional discipleship is really effective, right?

1032
00:44:18,120 --> 00:44:22,480
To be intentionally, not just communicating information,

1033
00:44:22,480 --> 00:44:24,960
but having that back and forth dialogue and that work

1034
00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:27,200
and that interaction to grow deeper together.

1035
00:44:27,200 --> 00:44:29,840
And so in our men's and women's ministries last year,

1036
00:44:29,840 --> 00:44:31,680
in our men's and women's ministries last year,

1037
00:44:31,680 --> 00:44:36,040
we kind of identified a model we wanted to use

1038
00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:39,240
and say let's soft launch it and see how it works.

1039
00:44:39,240 --> 00:44:41,600
And the results from the people that are still

1040
00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:43,560
a part of those first few groups that started

1041
00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:45,200
is just incredible.

1042
00:44:45,200 --> 00:44:47,680
The blessing, the growth, the maturity is just awesome.

1043
00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:49,520
And so this year, I'm like, okay guys,

1044
00:44:49,520 --> 00:44:50,800
we're throwing the gates wide

1045
00:44:50,800 --> 00:44:52,920
on a discipleship ministry to open it up.

1046
00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:55,760
And the whole thing is about these micro groups

1047
00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:57,560
where it's like, you know, two or three people

1048
00:44:57,560 --> 00:45:00,880
gathering together weekly to pour into one another

1049
00:45:00,880 --> 00:45:01,840
so that there's growth.

1050
00:45:01,840 --> 00:45:03,040
And then guess what, at the end of it,

1051
00:45:03,040 --> 00:45:06,000
it's like, okay, now you go on and do it with someone else.

1052
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,400
My prayer is that in the next five to seven years,

1053
00:45:09,400 --> 00:45:11,120
every single person that's in this church

1054
00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:13,440
has not only gone through a discipleship program

1055
00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:14,600
and built those roots down

1056
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:15,920
and grown in their walk with the Lord,

1057
00:45:15,920 --> 00:45:19,760
but they are then effectively leading other groups

1058
00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:21,800
and walking with new Christians and other Christians

1059
00:45:21,800 --> 00:45:23,560
that haven't yet taken that step

1060
00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:25,720
to help them grow in their ministry.

1061
00:45:25,720 --> 00:45:28,000
You could read some of that on our website

1062
00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:28,960
if you wanna read more about it,

1063
00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:31,560
but we're heavily leaning into that.

1064
00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:34,320
I believe God wants us to continue

1065
00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:36,200
reaching out farther with the gospel.

1066
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:39,640
This last year, I had one individual come to me and go,

1067
00:45:39,640 --> 00:45:41,240
you know, I'm not sure how to say this,

1068
00:45:41,240 --> 00:45:42,520
but I think God may be calling me

1069
00:45:42,520 --> 00:45:43,960
to be a full-time missionary.

1070
00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:47,480
Wow.

1071
00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:50,360
The last time our church sent someone out

1072
00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:52,800
has been like 24 years ago.

1073
00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:55,200
Now, we've gone on trips and we've done short-term stuff,

1074
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:57,160
but someone who God raised up here

1075
00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:58,720
to go be a full-time missionary somewhere,

1076
00:45:58,720 --> 00:46:02,720
so I'm like, okay, God, enlarge our borders.

1077
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:05,200
If there's people you wanna raise up

1078
00:46:05,200 --> 00:46:07,080
that you're calling into the mission field, do it,

1079
00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:10,040
that we would rally around them to pray and support.

1080
00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:13,000
Obviously, I'm like, God, I believe God is saying,

1081
00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:15,840
hey, I wanna take you guys out on some trips this next year

1082
00:46:15,840 --> 00:46:19,120
so that you just get outside the local context

1083
00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:20,720
and see what God is doing around the world,

1084
00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:22,120
and so we're praying that God

1085
00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:24,720
would open up some of those doors.

1086
00:46:24,720 --> 00:46:28,120
This last year, we started intentional leadership development,

1087
00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:29,520
and there's a bunch of young men and women

1088
00:46:29,520 --> 00:46:30,440
that have stepped up to say,

1089
00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:32,400
hey, I wanna learn how to teach,

1090
00:46:32,400 --> 00:46:33,520
and I wanna learn how to lead,

1091
00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:36,200
and I wanna learn how to be a godly servant,

1092
00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:37,480
and so we've stepped into that,

1093
00:46:37,480 --> 00:46:38,800
and we're gonna be doing that more and more

1094
00:46:38,800 --> 00:46:39,920
this year coming up.

1095
00:46:41,120 --> 00:46:42,200
This year specifically,

1096
00:46:42,200 --> 00:46:44,760
we're gonna be launching a pro-life ministry

1097
00:46:44,760 --> 00:46:47,120
to lean into engaging the culture on this issue

1098
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,200
that is still incredibly out of control,

1099
00:46:50,200 --> 00:46:54,280
to not just save the lives of babies, which is huge,

1100
00:46:54,280 --> 00:46:56,760
but to directly minister to the moms

1101
00:46:56,760 --> 00:46:58,520
that are struggling in these situations

1102
00:46:58,520 --> 00:46:59,720
where they're even having to consider

1103
00:46:59,720 --> 00:47:02,300
making these decisions, and how could we help?

1104
00:47:02,300 --> 00:47:03,240
How could we step in?

1105
00:47:03,240 --> 00:47:05,240
How can we be a part of their healing

1106
00:47:05,240 --> 00:47:06,960
and their growth and all of that?

1107
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:09,760
And so, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.

1108
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:11,720
We're still praying as a leadership here.

1109
00:47:11,720 --> 00:47:13,760
I continue, I encourage you guys to be praying

1110
00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:16,080
for your own individual vision.

1111
00:47:16,080 --> 00:47:18,440
If you're in service and ministry here at Hosanna,

1112
00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:20,760
I pray for you to say, God, give me vision

1113
00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:24,960
for my area of ministry and what I'm doing.

1114
00:47:24,960 --> 00:47:27,040
Because I believe God answers that prayer,

1115
00:47:27,040 --> 00:47:28,480
and he wants to answer that prayer,

1116
00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:31,160
but we can't do it without every member

1117
00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:34,000
of the body here at Hosanna participating fully

1118
00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:36,600
as their part of the body of Christ.

1119
00:47:39,120 --> 00:47:41,700
And so I just encourage all of you to be open

1120
00:47:41,700 --> 00:47:44,880
to what the Lord is calling you to do this year.

1121
00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:45,960
As a member of this body,

1122
00:47:45,960 --> 00:47:48,360
or as a member of whatever body you end up with,

1123
00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:51,820
to see your life grow, to see your marriages grow,

1124
00:47:51,820 --> 00:47:55,580
to see your kids grow, to see the effective Jesus

1125
00:47:55,580 --> 00:47:56,740
and all of that.

1126
00:47:56,740 --> 00:47:58,620
That that light that shines from this church

1127
00:47:58,620 --> 00:48:01,180
would grow brighter and brighter and brighter.

1128
00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:07,180
And that all of us would be a part of that work.

1129
00:48:07,180 --> 00:48:12,180
You know, a life lived in service to Christ

1130
00:48:12,180 --> 00:48:17,180
really is a life spent on the most significant task of all.

1131
00:48:19,020 --> 00:48:21,220
This doesn't mean you have to be a full-time minister,

1132
00:48:21,220 --> 00:48:22,060
right?

1133
00:48:22,060 --> 00:48:24,060
Well, I can't focus on Jesus full-time,

1134
00:48:24,060 --> 00:48:25,180
I gotta go to work.

1135
00:48:28,320 --> 00:48:30,500
Guess what your workplace is as a believer?

1136
00:48:31,860 --> 00:48:32,900
It's a mission field.

1137
00:48:33,860 --> 00:48:36,020
Are there anybody, are there any people at your work

1138
00:48:36,020 --> 00:48:37,380
that don't know Jesus yet?

1139
00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:40,140
Sure, it's a mission field.

1140
00:48:40,140 --> 00:48:43,300
Use words, use actions if you will.

1141
00:48:43,300 --> 00:48:45,300
Living your life in service to Christ,

1142
00:48:45,300 --> 00:48:48,100
having that as the priority of everything you do

1143
00:48:48,100 --> 00:48:51,100
no matter what it is means that affecting your community

1144
00:48:51,100 --> 00:48:53,220
and the world for Jesus is the highest priority

1145
00:48:53,220 --> 00:48:54,060
of your life.

1146
00:48:55,100 --> 00:48:58,820
And I pray you seek that and lean into that.

1147
00:48:58,820 --> 00:49:00,900
As a local member of the body here at Hosanna,

1148
00:49:00,900 --> 00:49:03,780
you participate in what God's doing.

1149
00:49:03,780 --> 00:49:05,820
Saying, God, how would you have me be a part

1150
00:49:05,820 --> 00:49:08,060
of what you're doing here in my church?

1151
00:49:08,060 --> 00:49:11,060
It's the name of Jesus Christ that we wanna lift high.

1152
00:49:11,060 --> 00:49:13,660
It's the name of Jesus Christ we want the world to see.

1153
00:49:15,180 --> 00:49:17,340
I don't care if anybody ever knows my name

1154
00:49:17,340 --> 00:49:19,780
in the future to come should Jesus tarry,

1155
00:49:19,780 --> 00:49:22,580
all I care about is if they know Jesus Christ.

1156
00:49:23,980 --> 00:49:26,260
And if I'm never a part of the equation

1157
00:49:28,180 --> 00:49:29,220
and they know Him,

1158
00:49:30,860 --> 00:49:32,580
then that was the greatest thing I could have ever done

1159
00:49:32,580 --> 00:49:34,060
with my life.

1160
00:49:34,060 --> 00:49:35,860
And it's the same for all of us.

1161
00:49:35,860 --> 00:49:38,260
It's the same for all of us.

1162
00:49:38,260 --> 00:49:40,620
As a church, which is every single person here

1163
00:49:40,620 --> 00:49:42,860
that knows Jesus as our Lord and Savior,

1164
00:49:42,860 --> 00:49:46,540
we have a very high calling to know the truth,

1165
00:49:46,540 --> 00:49:49,380
to live the truth, and to share the truth.

1166
00:49:49,380 --> 00:49:53,580
Because we believe in the way, the truth, and the life

1167
00:49:53,580 --> 00:49:55,180
who is Jesus Christ, amen.

1168
00:49:56,620 --> 00:49:58,940
So this morning as we start the new year,

1169
00:49:58,940 --> 00:50:02,460
I can't think of a better way to start the new year

1170
00:50:02,460 --> 00:50:04,380
than sharing together the truth.

1171
00:50:04,380 --> 00:50:07,380
Than sharing together in communion.

1172
00:50:07,380 --> 00:50:09,180
You know every time the church gathers in communion

1173
00:50:09,180 --> 00:50:11,540
and celebrates this, Jesus said do this,

1174
00:50:11,540 --> 00:50:14,180
do this as often as you gather in remembrance of me.

1175
00:50:15,340 --> 00:50:18,020
Because you see in remembering what Jesus did for us

1176
00:50:18,020 --> 00:50:20,460
on the cross, how He gave Himself,

1177
00:50:20,460 --> 00:50:22,620
the body was just beaten and brutalized,

1178
00:50:22,620 --> 00:50:25,340
and then His blood was shed on the cross for our sins,

1179
00:50:25,340 --> 00:50:27,780
that was the point of new beginning

1180
00:50:27,780 --> 00:50:29,300
for every single one of us.

1181
00:50:30,220 --> 00:50:32,020
Believing in that when we put our faith in that,

1182
00:50:32,020 --> 00:50:33,820
that is when our lives changed.

1183
00:50:33,820 --> 00:50:36,060
That is when the Spirit of God came to live within us.

1184
00:50:36,060 --> 00:50:37,780
That is when God started to mold us

1185
00:50:37,780 --> 00:50:39,380
and to shape us into His image.

1186
00:50:39,380 --> 00:50:41,060
And that was the beginning that everybody

1187
00:50:41,060 --> 00:50:42,780
that doesn't know Him needs.

1188
00:50:43,660 --> 00:50:45,740
And that is the beginning that I want to celebrate

1189
00:50:45,740 --> 00:50:47,820
as we start 2025.

1190
00:50:47,820 --> 00:50:49,260
So if the worship team will come forward

1191
00:50:49,260 --> 00:50:51,860
and the men of the communion board will come forward,

1192
00:50:51,860 --> 00:50:53,580
what we're gonna be doing in this is just,

1193
00:50:53,580 --> 00:50:55,580
everybody just remain seated where we're at

1194
00:50:55,580 --> 00:50:59,060
and the men of the communion board will serve you guys

1195
00:50:59,060 --> 00:51:02,820
as we worship together with the Lord in this.

1196
00:51:02,820 --> 00:51:05,620
We're gonna do the bread first

1197
00:51:05,620 --> 00:51:07,780
and then we will partake together.

1198
00:51:07,780 --> 00:51:12,140
And then after that we will then serve the juice as well

1199
00:51:12,140 --> 00:51:13,540
and we will partake of that together.

1200
00:51:13,540 --> 00:51:16,740
And so please hang on to the emblems when you get them

1201
00:51:16,740 --> 00:51:19,620
until we're all partaking together.

1202
00:51:21,220 --> 00:51:23,020
You know, God is just so amazing.

1203
00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:26,640
And He is so perfect.

1204
00:51:26,640 --> 00:51:31,640
And He is so much more than we deserve.

1205
00:51:33,000 --> 00:51:36,000
And yet because God loved us, He said I'm here.

1206
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:38,600
I'm gonna save you and I'm gonna use you.

1207
00:51:39,600 --> 00:51:41,240
And we just look forward to what God is gonna do

1208
00:51:41,240 --> 00:51:42,560
in all of that in this year to come.

1209
00:51:42,560 --> 00:51:44,360
Let's pray and then we'll get started.

1210
00:51:44,360 --> 00:51:47,880
Father, Lord we thank you so much for what you're doing,

1211
00:51:47,880 --> 00:51:51,280
God, we thank you Lord for the work you've begun.

1212
00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:52,960
We thank you Lord that you're gonna be faithful

1213
00:51:52,960 --> 00:51:53,800
to complete it.

1214
00:51:53,800 --> 00:51:56,200
Lord as you've done so many amazing things

1215
00:51:56,200 --> 00:52:00,200
in the years behind us Lord, we expect and look forward

1216
00:52:00,200 --> 00:52:01,520
to the amazing works you're gonna do

1217
00:52:01,520 --> 00:52:03,120
in the years ahead of us.

1218
00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:09,000
And Lord as we begin a new year, Lord as we do every year,

1219
00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:12,640
we look at so much as fresh and new and different.

1220
00:52:13,800 --> 00:52:16,240
Some have resolutions, some have gotten burnt out

1221
00:52:16,240 --> 00:52:20,200
on those things and just wanna continue as is.

1222
00:52:20,200 --> 00:52:23,120
But God this is a moment where we're gonna be able

1223
00:52:23,120 --> 00:52:23,960
to move forward.

1224
00:52:23,960 --> 00:52:27,080
This is a moment where the calendar changes

1225
00:52:27,080 --> 00:52:32,080
and the months change and it represents a new frame of time.

1226
00:52:33,280 --> 00:52:35,400
And God we wanna be people who use the time

1227
00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:38,040
we still have for you to know you, to pursue you,

1228
00:52:38,040 --> 00:52:39,480
to lift your name up.

1229
00:52:40,600 --> 00:52:42,400
Because God we know the time is short.

1230
00:52:44,280 --> 00:52:46,000
God we thank you Lord for our church

1231
00:52:46,000 --> 00:52:50,320
and the gathering that you've done here God

1232
00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:54,080
that you would enlarge our borders, that God as our world

1233
00:52:54,080 --> 00:52:56,000
is descending into worse and worse sin

1234
00:52:56,000 --> 00:53:00,040
and public education is falling apart more.

1235
00:53:00,040 --> 00:53:02,840
God expand the borders of what we can do

1236
00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:05,800
to be a part of lifting your name on high

1237
00:53:05,800 --> 00:53:07,840
and in every area of life.

1238
00:53:07,840 --> 00:53:11,600
Whether it's business or education or personal things,

1239
00:53:11,600 --> 00:53:15,600
God just, Lord do it only you can do.

1240
00:53:15,600 --> 00:53:20,600
God it all began with your sacrifice for us.

1241
00:53:22,720 --> 00:53:25,360
The blood you shed, the you giving your body

1242
00:53:25,360 --> 00:53:28,600
that our sin would be paid for.

1243
00:53:28,600 --> 00:53:31,720
And Lord it's a price we can never pay back.

1244
00:53:31,720 --> 00:53:35,480
So God we remember today as we start a new year

1245
00:53:35,480 --> 00:53:39,320
we remember what you did that we would have a new beginning

1246
00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:40,840
in our eternity.

1247
00:53:40,840 --> 00:53:43,280
We love you so much and we thank you.

1248
00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:45,800
It's in Jesus name we pray, amen.