WEBVTT 00:00:02.909 --> 00:00:05.610 Howdy Well glad to have you all joining us today, 00:00:05.610 --> 00:00:08.730 and how did everybody joining us online as well? 00:00:09.429 --> 00:00:12.390 Whenever I was younger I spent about eight months 00:00:12.390 --> 00:00:15.529 working at a Christian bookstore it was over 00:00:15.529 --> 00:00:18.890 off of 34th Street not too far from Ella over 00:00:18.890 --> 00:00:21.789 near Waltrip High School and Yep, I'm a Houston 00:00:21.789 --> 00:00:25.109 boy and You know when I was there. I was a general 00:00:25.109 --> 00:00:28.300 assistant And most of my job, it involved helping 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:32.140 customers, stocking shelves, cleaning up, and 00:00:32.140 --> 00:00:35.539 just making sure things ran smoothly. I was such 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:38.840 a newbie. But there were so many days when there 00:00:38.840 --> 00:00:41.859 wouldn't be a big project to do. There was no 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:45.719 shipment coming in. There was nothing obvious 00:00:45.719 --> 00:00:48.539 that needed to get done, no major tasks. But 00:00:48.539 --> 00:00:52.049 you see, I grew up being told you don't wait 00:00:52.049 --> 00:00:54.030 for someone to tell you something needs to get 00:00:54.030 --> 00:00:56.590 done if you can see it for yourself. You just 00:00:56.590 --> 00:01:00.469 do it. So, I would just start looking around, 00:01:00.909 --> 00:01:02.530 and I would notice that there were books that 00:01:02.530 --> 00:01:05.409 are out of order, or they need to be put back 00:01:05.409 --> 00:01:07.989 where they belonged, or I'd start straightening 00:01:07.989 --> 00:01:10.549 displays that someone had bumped into. There 00:01:10.549 --> 00:01:13.989 might be a book that was tucked in that I'm seeing. 00:01:14.489 --> 00:01:18.209 This is actually a really popular book. How's 00:01:18.209 --> 00:01:20.189 anyone going to find it if it's tucked in down 00:01:20.189 --> 00:01:22.069 there? And so I'd make everything more visible. 00:01:22.510 --> 00:01:25.030 But you see, what would happen is I'd be leaning 00:01:25.030 --> 00:01:28.609 over to do all these different things. And this 00:01:28.609 --> 00:01:30.409 one guy thought that as I leaned over, I looked 00:01:30.409 --> 00:01:33.930 like a water buffalo. And I'm like, am I a VeggieTales 00:01:33.930 --> 00:01:35.849 cartoon or something? I have no idea. But he'd 00:01:35.849 --> 00:01:39.010 say I was water buffaloing all around. So he 00:01:39.010 --> 00:01:41.469 turned it into a verb before millennials got 00:01:41.469 --> 00:01:44.329 a hold of it. So what we end up seeing, though, 00:01:44.530 --> 00:01:47.040 is sometimes they would pause and be like, what's 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:50.260 Jason up to? And they'd say, why are you messing 00:01:50.260 --> 00:01:52.620 around with all those things? And my answer was 00:01:52.620 --> 00:01:55.579 always simple, because it needs to get done. 00:01:56.840 --> 00:01:59.760 It helps the store, and the store will be better 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:02.280 if somebody takes care of it. Now, I was not 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:05.260 the manager. I wasn't in charge of merchandising, 00:02:05.439 --> 00:02:08.400 and nobody had assigned it to me, but I realized 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:11.680 something important. Just because something wasn't 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.849 my primary responsibility, It didn't mean that 00:02:14.849 --> 00:02:18.250 it was not important or that I couldn't somehow 00:02:18.250 --> 00:02:21.629 be helpful. And years later, I was working for 00:02:21.629 --> 00:02:24.009 Office Depot for a bit and I jumped into the 00:02:24.009 --> 00:02:26.610 copy and print center. I loved Photoshop and 00:02:26.610 --> 00:02:29.189 I wanted to make little business cards. But there 00:02:29.189 --> 00:02:31.530 would be times where someone needed something 00:02:31.530 --> 00:02:34.189 that had nothing to do with my department. So 00:02:34.189 --> 00:02:36.909 I would need to learn all the other parts of 00:02:36.909 --> 00:02:39.689 the store. And so as we're talking, as I'm getting 00:02:39.689 --> 00:02:41.770 the order and chit -chatting a little bit, I'd 00:02:41.770 --> 00:02:44.389 find out maybe they needed some office furniture, 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:47.050 or they needed some toner, or they needed some 00:02:47.050 --> 00:02:49.550 more Post -It notes. We all need Post -It notes. 00:02:50.270 --> 00:02:52.710 And I could have said, I'm sorry, that's not 00:02:52.710 --> 00:02:55.110 my department. And then, yes, of course, I could 00:02:55.110 --> 00:02:58.250 have called somebody over. But how much better 00:02:58.250 --> 00:03:02.050 when I already knew what to share and where to 00:03:02.050 --> 00:03:05.449 lead them? Because even though I worked in one 00:03:05.449 --> 00:03:09.050 part, I wanted the whole store to succeed. And 00:03:09.050 --> 00:03:12.969 the same thing is so true in our churches. How 00:03:12.969 --> 00:03:15.169 often is it that we're saying just because it 00:03:15.169 --> 00:03:19.110 may not be my task right now, isn't there a way 00:03:19.110 --> 00:03:22.610 I can still be... You know, there was this one 00:03:22.610 --> 00:03:26.229 guy that came around here and he was in our sanctuary 00:03:26.229 --> 00:03:28.169 and he starts looking around at all the stuff, 00:03:28.530 --> 00:03:30.810 all the audio video stuff that we've been putting 00:03:30.810 --> 00:03:33.169 up the last few years and everything. He was 00:03:33.169 --> 00:03:35.430 like, why don't you do this with the cameras? 00:03:35.689 --> 00:03:38.210 And why don't you try that with the audio system? 00:03:38.590 --> 00:03:41.069 And are you using the captions more effectively 00:03:41.069 --> 00:03:44.129 and zooming in at the right frame for the pastor? 00:03:44.490 --> 00:03:47.330 And so instead of saying, well, I'm just a pastor. 00:03:47.509 --> 00:03:51.340 I don't know all these things. being like well 00:03:51.340 --> 00:03:53.599 we haven't really been doing all of that I'm 00:03:53.599 --> 00:03:56.259 not sure if we could I looked at him I said why 00:03:56.259 --> 00:03:58.819 don't you give it a shot and so now he's helping 00:03:58.819 --> 00:04:01.520 to run our AV ministry so that's how you get 00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:03.939 suckered into stuff is when you complain then 00:04:03.939 --> 00:04:07.680 that's when you know but It's also though one 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:10.919 of the best parts is because then you find someone 00:04:10.919 --> 00:04:14.080 who actually is excited and interested And it's 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:16.480 a chance to use their passions and strengths 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:18.639 because you don't want to push people into stuff 00:04:18.639 --> 00:04:21.519 They're not as passionate about right? but you 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:23.600 see he saw something that could be improved and 00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:26.540 he was willing to make it happen and Life works 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:29.800 best of course when people care more about their 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:33.279 own corner of it But especially when they see 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:36.470 how they can be blessing all of those around 00:04:36.470 --> 00:04:40.410 them from where they're at. See, families work 00:04:40.410 --> 00:04:42.810 that way, where oftentimes we may say, well, 00:04:42.810 --> 00:04:45.189 that's not my job, blah, blah, blah. Well, OK, 00:04:45.250 --> 00:04:48.389 yes. But as a part of this family, aren't you 00:04:48.389 --> 00:04:51.269 able to support and help one another? Hospitals, 00:04:51.470 --> 00:04:54.050 how often it is that someone may be going around 00:04:54.050 --> 00:04:57.189 and seeing a person in need, well, I'm not assigned 00:04:57.189 --> 00:05:01.189 to them. But at this moment, can I truly help? 00:05:02.050 --> 00:05:04.769 Stories whenever there was a gentleman who was 00:05:04.769 --> 00:05:07.509 a janitor and he would be mopping up around the 00:05:07.509 --> 00:05:10.949 hospital floor and someone went to him and said, 00:05:11.290 --> 00:05:14.689 what do you do for a living? And he said, I save 00:05:14.689 --> 00:05:18.889 lives. And they paused and they looked around, 00:05:19.449 --> 00:05:21.689 but realizing every time he mopped the floor, 00:05:22.290 --> 00:05:24.170 he realized he was getting rid of the germs that 00:05:24.170 --> 00:05:27.709 might cause an infection. Every time he straightened. 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:30.680 a picture frame. He might realize that someone 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:32.560 woke up and needed to feel that they were at 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:35.779 home, so they'd recover. Or every time somebody 00:05:35.779 --> 00:05:38.839 needed a shoulder to cry on, he might be the 00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:41.279 only person who could be there for them in their 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:44.980 times of depression. And to be honest, communities 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:48.819 need that. People who see their work beyond just 00:05:48.819 --> 00:05:53.819 their one spot. And churches, too. You see, we 00:05:53.819 --> 00:05:58.000 need a church. of all sorts of types of people, 00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:01.279 with each one having strengths to build up the 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:03.860 kingdom of God, because the harvest is plentiful, 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:06.939 but the workers are few. We don't need all those 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:10.800 workers to be exactly the same. You see, in our 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:13.600 gospel reading, Jesus looks out at the crowds, 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:15.899 and Matthew tells us that he sees people that 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:18.000 are harassed and helpless, like sheep without 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:20.800 a shepherd. They need someone. But what does 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:24.970 Jesus do? Does Jesus say, Yeah, the world's pretty 00:06:24.970 --> 00:06:27.350 terrible. Well, hopefully heaven will come back 00:06:27.350 --> 00:06:31.089 soon. Does he just look and say, you know, just 00:06:31.089 --> 00:06:33.470 believe in me and then go back to life and someday 00:06:33.470 --> 00:06:38.189 I'll come in and fix it all? No. He teaches. 00:06:39.029 --> 00:06:41.389 He proclaims the kingdom. He heals diseases. 00:06:42.310 --> 00:06:45.069 He has compassion and heals the afflictions of 00:06:45.069 --> 00:06:47.800 people right in front of him. He sees the suffering. 00:06:47.879 --> 00:06:50.699 He sees the pain. Does He stop and say, I'm the 00:06:50.699 --> 00:06:52.600 Messiah. I'm here to save everybody and their 00:06:52.600 --> 00:06:55.420 sins. I don't have time for you and your issues. 00:06:55.860 --> 00:06:59.939 No! And more than that, He finds the disciples 00:06:59.939 --> 00:07:03.860 to go and to do the same. And when we hear Matthew 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:07.959 10, we get so caught up sometimes in things being 00:07:07.959 --> 00:07:10.810 miracles. Oh, wasn't that amazing what they did 00:07:10.810 --> 00:07:13.670 back then? Oh, those apostles, they could heal 00:07:13.670 --> 00:07:15.790 the sick, they could cleanse the lepers, they 00:07:15.790 --> 00:07:17.930 could raise the dead and cast out the demons. 00:07:18.009 --> 00:07:21.850 And yes, yes, the miracles matter. They were 00:07:21.850 --> 00:07:24.009 showing the coming of the kingdom of God and 00:07:24.009 --> 00:07:27.110 that God was saying, this is my son, follow him, 00:07:27.110 --> 00:07:31.230 of course. But notice the larger picture. Every 00:07:31.230 --> 00:07:35.629 one of those actions is aimed at restoring what 00:07:35.629 --> 00:07:39.899 was broken in the world. See, not every day is 00:07:39.899 --> 00:07:43.939 one of obvious miracles. You're not always going 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:45.800 to see something, and frankly, you're not going 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:48.959 to see any magic tricks from me today. But you 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:52.120 see, the miraculous things of God happen in the 00:07:52.120 --> 00:07:56.480 every day. Teaching that restores the truth. 00:07:57.060 --> 00:08:00.720 Proclaiming the kingdom to restore hope. Healing 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:04.980 that restores bodies. Cleansing lepers was about 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:08.720 restoring community. How many of us can restore 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:12.199 people who were rejected back into a world that 00:08:12.199 --> 00:08:16.459 needs Jesus? Casting out demons was about restoring 00:08:16.459 --> 00:08:20.579 freedom to those who did not know Christ. And 00:08:20.579 --> 00:08:24.120 raising the dead, we do that every time we proclaim 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:28.519 Christ's name to those dead in their sins. The 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:33.000 actions may feel different, but the mission of 00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:37.059 restoration is the same. Jesus restoring people, 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:42.200 communities, creation itself through His people, 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:46.659 His disciples, His church. And then He invites 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:49.240 the disciples as they're participating in that 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:54.360 work, not to say you can do everything, not to 00:08:54.360 --> 00:08:57.299 say you're going to be able to meet everyone, 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:02.480 but to say wherever you are, that is where you 00:09:02.480 --> 00:09:05.860 can restore the kingdom. Do we really think that 00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:08.879 all those disciples were all the same? That they 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:11.200 all were able to do things in exactly the same 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:14.120 way? Do we really think that a tax collector 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:16.860 and a zealot were the same? Do we really think 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:19.220 that a person sitting under a fig tree is the 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:21.840 same as a guy out on his boat yelling at people? 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:25.460 But you see, I think that one of the traps that 00:09:25.460 --> 00:09:29.539 we fall into is that we oftentimes divide our 00:09:29.539 --> 00:09:32.500 life into two categories. What are the things 00:09:32.500 --> 00:09:36.190 I have to do? And what are the things I want 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:38.870 to do? See, we oftentimes think of things like, 00:09:39.049 --> 00:09:43.169 what is my work? And what are my hobbies? Okay? 00:09:43.809 --> 00:09:45.970 What are my obligations? The things I have to 00:09:45.970 --> 00:09:49.450 get done. I have my checklist. And then the things 00:09:49.450 --> 00:09:51.210 where, oh, I'm going to hang out with my buddies 00:09:51.210 --> 00:09:53.789 and we're going to go do something fun and life 00:09:53.789 --> 00:09:57.009 is good. But you see, the Christian life introduces 00:09:57.009 --> 00:10:02.049 a third question. What do I get to do because 00:10:02.049 --> 00:10:06.960 Christ is restoring the world? How can God use 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:12.679 me right here and now? How is it that I am a 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:16.000 blessing? How is it that God's restoration is 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:20.620 showing up through me? Not because I am the same 00:10:20.620 --> 00:10:24.740 as that person doing what God desires, but because 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:28.539 I am brought to this place. You see, the disciples, 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.559 they didn't go into every town having a list 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:33.460 of all the people they needed to go to help. 00:10:33.549 --> 00:10:35.690 They didn't go over there walk through the gate 00:10:35.690 --> 00:10:39.129 and say all right who's first all right? Okay, 00:10:39.129 --> 00:10:41.470 we have Richard the leper. Let's go take care 00:10:41.470 --> 00:10:43.769 of him all right We got that okay got that one 00:10:43.769 --> 00:10:47.389 okay after that okay. We've got Bob Demon possessed 00:10:47.389 --> 00:10:50.029 over here. Okay. We got okay. Let's go take care 00:10:50.029 --> 00:10:52.190 of that. Okay. There's a grieving family Let's 00:10:52.190 --> 00:10:54.809 make sure we take three hours set that aside. 00:10:54.809 --> 00:10:57.149 I know but there will be cookies. It'll be good 00:10:57.149 --> 00:11:00.509 Okay, so let's get through all this Of course 00:11:00.509 --> 00:11:03.629 they had no idea who they were going to see, 00:11:03.929 --> 00:11:06.970 what they were going to come across. They arrived. 00:11:07.409 --> 00:11:12.750 They listened. They observed. They cared. And 00:11:12.750 --> 00:11:16.990 when they asked, what is broken here? Then they 00:11:16.990 --> 00:11:20.629 asked, how can Christ's restoration be present 00:11:20.629 --> 00:11:22.919 here as well? See, and that's still the question 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:26.059 for Christians today. There are so many people 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:28.960 doing all sorts of different great things. We 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:31.500 see professors teaching the next generation, 00:11:31.700 --> 00:11:34.899 and doctors healing diseases, surgeons with injuries, 00:11:35.340 --> 00:11:38.080 and therapists with recovery. We see teachers 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:41.480 shaping minds, and engineers solving problems, 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:43.899 hopefully not creating extra ones, but you know. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:47.539 We see people who are in the military protecting 00:11:47.539 --> 00:11:50.440 those in the world around them. We see parents 00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:53.480 raising children, chaplains caring for souls. 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:58.600 But also in the midst of it, volunteers helping 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:03.500 their neighbors for no other reason than just 00:12:03.500 --> 00:12:09.059 because they can. Not one single person can do 00:12:09.059 --> 00:12:12.519 everything. You might be thinking, oh, I wish 00:12:12.519 --> 00:12:14.799 I were as great as that physician. Oh, I wish 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.580 I were cool like that engineer. Oh, man, if only 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:19.960 I were as strong as someone in our military. 00:12:21.720 --> 00:12:23.620 But you see, a healthy hospital is not built 00:12:23.620 --> 00:12:27.379 by everybody being a surgeon. A healthy community 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:30.919 is not everybody joining the HOA or everyone 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:34.840 somehow being a mayor. Church is not built just 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:39.860 on a pastor. This is so true for all these things 00:12:39.860 --> 00:12:43.059 in our lives. But that's the thing is that God 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:47.299 uses all sorts of things to strengthen our faith. 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:50.720 It may be a retreat that we went on one weekend, 00:12:51.500 --> 00:12:54.620 a mission trip we joined one week, a youth event 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:57.080 that we didn't have coming, a service project. 00:12:57.460 --> 00:13:00.080 Maybe we went over there and put together a wheelchair 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.539 ramp, or maybe we got together and decided someone's 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:06.399 going to sit down with people in trauma. and 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:09.740 be their Stephen minister. The things that may 00:13:09.740 --> 00:13:12.460 have changed your life may not be the same thing 00:13:12.460 --> 00:13:15.440 that changed someone else's. And that's okay 00:13:15.440 --> 00:13:18.100 because Christ is working through all these gifts. 00:13:18.539 --> 00:13:20.799 And many people have many opportunities. And 00:13:20.799 --> 00:13:24.539 even so in our churches. Because one of the most 00:13:24.539 --> 00:13:28.360 heartbreaking parts is whenever I see even churches 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:30.360 that are supposed to be brothers and sisters 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:33.440 together, looking and saying, I don't like the 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:37.600 way you do that. I can't believe what type of 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:40.419 music you had. I can't believe that you used 00:13:40.419 --> 00:13:43.379 that type of sermon instead of this one. And 00:13:43.379 --> 00:13:46.559 heaven forbid, we have a band instead of an organ. 00:13:49.299 --> 00:13:51.639 But you see, this is also where things start 00:13:51.639 --> 00:13:56.399 to get uncomfortable. Because sometimes, sometimes 00:13:56.399 --> 00:13:58.320 we're just being honest about our limitations. 00:13:59.289 --> 00:14:02.710 I have only so much ability to do so many things 00:14:02.710 --> 00:14:05.509 and I'm just acknowledging that this is just 00:14:05.509 --> 00:14:08.370 me and these are my strengths and these are my 00:14:08.370 --> 00:14:12.309 flaws. But sometimes we're using our limitations 00:14:12.309 --> 00:14:17.970 as excuses. Those are not the same thing. Reality 00:14:17.970 --> 00:14:21.990 may be saying I cannot do everything, but an 00:14:21.990 --> 00:14:26.490 excuse says therefore I don't need to care. Reality 00:14:26.490 --> 00:14:29.649 says I cannot help every person but an excuse 00:14:29.649 --> 00:14:36.909 says I don't see their needs as my concern. Reality 00:14:36.909 --> 00:14:40.389 may say I cannot solve this problem but an excuse 00:14:40.389 --> 00:14:43.149 is saying therefore nobody should be trying. 00:14:44.690 --> 00:14:47.350 Jesus tells the disciples not to go to the Gentiles 00:14:47.350 --> 00:14:50.070 during this particular mission and it is so easy 00:14:50.070 --> 00:14:53.669 to misunderstand what He means. As if somehow 00:14:53.669 --> 00:14:56.669 the Gentiles weren't supposed to be having the 00:14:56.669 --> 00:14:58.970 message. As if somehow the Gentiles had some 00:14:58.970 --> 00:15:02.570 other type of salvation coming along. This was 00:15:02.570 --> 00:15:05.769 not a permanent boundary on their hearts. Remember, 00:15:05.870 --> 00:15:09.409 the mission of Jesus was just a few years. We're 00:15:09.409 --> 00:15:11.330 talking about something that happened for a few 00:15:11.330 --> 00:15:15.429 weeks. For a few weeks, there was supposed to 00:15:15.429 --> 00:15:19.409 be a specific focus. This was not intended to 00:15:19.409 --> 00:15:21.929 shut down ministry to the rest of the world. 00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:25.899 This was a time when Jesus needed the Jewish 00:15:25.899 --> 00:15:29.360 community to know that He was here as the Messiah. 00:15:30.740 --> 00:15:34.159 He needed them to be the focus. He needed them 00:15:34.159 --> 00:15:37.700 to be a foundation for all of the rest of the 00:15:37.700 --> 00:15:41.399 world to know what was fulfilled. See, that specific 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:45.980 restriction was temporary, but the vision was 00:15:45.980 --> 00:15:49.039 global. That assignment may have been limited, 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:52.820 but the mission was not. The Gospel was always 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:58.100 headed to the nations. Start here, but don't 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:01.580 stay here. And sometimes we have a habit of doing 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:05.279 the opposite. We look at temporary limitations, 00:16:06.139 --> 00:16:09.940 and we turn them into permanent excuses. We say, 00:16:10.120 --> 00:16:13.240 that's not my ministry. That's not my project. 00:16:13.340 --> 00:16:15.559 That's not my interest. And maybe those aren't 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:19.580 my people. But before long, we're no longer saying, 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:23.840 I can't do that at this time. Instead, we're 00:16:23.840 --> 00:16:27.679 saying that shouldn't be done at all. Or maybe 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:29.980 somebody else could do it. I don't want it affecting 00:16:29.980 --> 00:16:35.399 me, though. I don't want space for that. I don't 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:38.820 want resources for that. I don't want my plans 00:16:38.820 --> 00:16:42.220 interrupted. But you see, Christ's Kingdom is 00:16:42.220 --> 00:16:44.419 bigger than just our preferences, bigger than 00:16:44.419 --> 00:16:47.600 our projects, bigger than our comfort zones. 00:16:48.080 --> 00:16:52.279 or anything we may understand. Isn't it possible, 00:16:52.419 --> 00:16:55.700 though, that at moments like that, this is not 00:16:55.700 --> 00:16:58.720 about somehow saying something is wrong. This 00:16:58.720 --> 00:17:02.080 is not necessarily about saying that ministry 00:17:02.080 --> 00:17:06.359 is the wrong ministry, or even stopping to say, 00:17:06.880 --> 00:17:10.640 I am therefore not meant to be part of it. Isn't 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:13.519 it possible that those are the moments when we 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:18.240 feel stretched? The times when we struggle? Not 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:20.740 because we question God's work, but because those 00:17:20.740 --> 00:17:25.240 are the moments when God is changing us. Romans 00:17:25.240 --> 00:17:29.079 speaks to this because Paul is not primarily 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:31.119 just trying to say a bunch of stuff that we need 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:35.000 to do. He'd been talking about God doing things 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:38.380 in our lives that even though it was difficult, 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:42.200 it's not about questioning what God's work is 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:45.500 in our lives. See, suffering that you may be 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:49.809 going through? That produces endurance. Endurance 00:17:49.809 --> 00:17:53.509 that you receive, it produces character. And 00:17:53.509 --> 00:17:56.950 character produces hope. And no, this is not 00:17:56.950 --> 00:18:00.990 just a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon. God is not 00:18:00.990 --> 00:18:05.470 finished. The Christian life is not just Jesus 00:18:05.470 --> 00:18:09.220 saved me good, let's move on with life. The Christian 00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:12.859 life is, Jesus saved me and now let's see how 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:17.380 He transforms me each and every day. The struggle, 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:23.599 it's not comfortable, but it's also good. The 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:27.559 struggles, sometimes it's not something that 00:18:27.559 --> 00:18:30.960 we know how to solve. And sometimes, there's 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:33.259 some level of correction that we're supposed 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:36.609 to have. Maybe we thought someone else was supposed 00:18:36.609 --> 00:18:39.789 to be corrected and it was actually us. Maybe 00:18:39.789 --> 00:18:42.670 we're discovering though that we were wrong. 00:18:43.589 --> 00:18:47.670 And that's not such a bad word. Maybe we meet 00:18:47.670 --> 00:18:51.369 people we don't understand. Ministries we don't 00:18:51.369 --> 00:18:53.849 appreciate or discover a kingdom that's bigger 00:18:53.849 --> 00:18:56.589 than anything we even thought about. You see, 00:18:56.910 --> 00:18:59.089 moments like that, that is not an interruption 00:18:59.089 --> 00:19:01.670 to what God is doing in our life. That is the 00:19:01.670 --> 00:19:06.750 discipleship. The struggles, the frustrations, 00:19:07.349 --> 00:19:09.329 the times when we realized something was wrong, 00:19:09.490 --> 00:19:12.950 that is the discipleship. It was never outside 00:19:12.950 --> 00:19:16.029 of it. See, the opposite of faith is not always 00:19:16.029 --> 00:19:18.829 unbelief. Sometimes it's when we assume we already 00:19:18.829 --> 00:19:22.430 knew everything that God had in mind. And perhaps, 00:19:23.250 --> 00:19:26.109 this is most especially seen between the generations. 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:28.900 Because sometimes the older Christians are looking 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:31.460 at the younger Christians and wondering why they 00:19:31.460 --> 00:19:34.460 care so much about you things that like video 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:38.859 likes and card games and and and dance moves 00:19:38.859 --> 00:19:42.539 that somehow are a little less You know coordinated 00:19:42.539 --> 00:19:45.140 Yeah, I can't do it any faster than that. Don't 00:19:45.140 --> 00:19:48.460 even give me a try But the younger Christians 00:19:48.460 --> 00:19:51.099 they look at the older ones and wonder Why do 00:19:51.099 --> 00:19:53.779 you care so much about building things and helping 00:19:53.779 --> 00:19:57.819 your church and learning about? God in ways that 00:19:57.819 --> 00:20:02.539 maybe I don't get yet because sometimes both 00:20:02.539 --> 00:20:06.160 sides can be frustrated Both sides can be convinced 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:09.059 that they know exactly what is obvious But the 00:20:09.059 --> 00:20:11.220 kingdom of God has always been bigger than just 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:16.500 any one generation I Attended the the LCMS youth 00:20:16.500 --> 00:20:20.339 gathering back in in 2010 I think some of the 00:20:20.339 --> 00:20:23.880 kids went maybe a few years ago, too. Yeah, and 00:20:24.059 --> 00:20:25.880 The thing is, I had never been to one before 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:28.680 because I didn't grow up Lutheran. Don't kick 00:20:28.680 --> 00:20:34.000 me out. I know. But you see, I heard people talking 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.500 about these youth gatherings and I didn't understand 00:20:36.500 --> 00:20:39.660 what such a big deal was. But even so, I went 00:20:39.660 --> 00:20:43.160 anyway. And I was surrounded by thousands of 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:45.980 young Christians gathered to worship and to learn, 00:20:46.420 --> 00:20:49.859 to pray, to laugh, to play games, to serve, to 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:54.630 grow. Was every part of that experience for me? 00:20:55.009 --> 00:20:59.589 No. I was a chaperone. But the point was seeing 00:20:59.589 --> 00:21:03.170 what God was doing in their lives. To see young 00:21:03.170 --> 00:21:05.670 people strengthened in their faith, discovering 00:21:05.670 --> 00:21:08.609 that they're not alone in this world, to see 00:21:08.609 --> 00:21:11.670 their lives changed. And you realize something 00:21:11.670 --> 00:21:14.910 important. Just because something was not primarily 00:21:14.910 --> 00:21:17.849 for me, it didn't mean that it wasn't important. 00:21:18.710 --> 00:21:22.589 And even so, even just leaving some room for 00:21:22.589 --> 00:21:26.789 it, I realized it was actually a blessing for 00:21:26.789 --> 00:21:30.710 me as well. The same is true for so many things 00:21:30.710 --> 00:21:34.130 that we hear that the church might do that maybe 00:21:34.130 --> 00:21:38.509 we don't quite understand. Times whenever there 00:21:38.509 --> 00:21:41.869 are retreats that we weren't expecting, mission 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:44.369 trips we weren't planning on, service projects 00:21:44.369 --> 00:21:47.369 that we didn't know about, or Bible studies that 00:21:47.369 --> 00:21:52.289 we hadn't joined. So many ministries that maybe 00:21:52.289 --> 00:21:54.670 someone may be saying why would anyone want to 00:21:54.670 --> 00:21:57.390 do that? But a better question might be what 00:21:57.390 --> 00:22:01.650 is God doing there? Because restoring a broken 00:22:01.650 --> 00:22:04.650 world requires more than one gift more than one 00:22:04.650 --> 00:22:08.730 type of person Not everyone has the same gifting 00:22:08.730 --> 00:22:11.470 and not everyone is the same part of the body 00:22:11.470 --> 00:22:15.430 The body of Christ is not a bunch of feet the 00:22:15.430 --> 00:22:18.480 body of Christ is not a bunch of eyes The body 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:21.059 of Christ is not a bunch of gall bladders, which 00:22:21.059 --> 00:22:25.839 would be a problem. But you see, every part is 00:22:25.839 --> 00:22:29.000 still important, and every part needs to be encouraged. 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:32.460 Because if the mouth did not eat the food needed 00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:35.980 by every organ, where would it be? If the eyes 00:22:35.980 --> 00:22:38.720 did not see where the feet were going, how would 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:42.440 they know where to lead? And this brings us back 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:46.119 to what Christ is showing us through Paul. When 00:22:46.119 --> 00:22:49.660 we were still sinners, when we were still weak, 00:22:50.019 --> 00:22:52.859 when we were still enemies, what did God do? 00:22:53.480 --> 00:22:57.640 Christ died for us. See, Christ didn't wait for 00:22:57.640 --> 00:23:00.319 us to have our act together or to know how to 00:23:00.319 --> 00:23:03.039 do every single thing or to understand all of 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:08.519 ministry. Christ came first. Christ loved first. 00:23:09.380 --> 00:23:13.859 Christ died first. See, if God could love us 00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:16.970 though when we were His enemies, then perhaps 00:23:16.970 --> 00:23:21.250 we might realize He is still loving us and others 00:23:21.250 --> 00:23:26.509 as His children. Maybe we could be a little bit 00:23:26.509 --> 00:23:30.130 slower to dismiss the opportunities that we don't 00:23:30.130 --> 00:23:33.730 yet understand. Maybe we could be slower to assume 00:23:33.730 --> 00:23:36.789 that we know how God needs to be working in each 00:23:36.789 --> 00:23:41.069 and every person's lives. Maybe we might allow 00:23:41.069 --> 00:23:44.480 Him to show us the possibilities. Because if 00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:48.299 God is willing to die for us as sinners, then 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:51.640 maybe He's also leading us even in directions 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:55.079 we never understood. Because God has not finished 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:58.000 teaching us. He's not finished correcting us. 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:01.480 He's not finished stretching us. You are not 00:24:01.480 --> 00:24:07.079 done having to say the phrase, I was wrong. I 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:10.609 know I'm not. Because there are times whenever 00:24:10.609 --> 00:24:13.029 God has to ask us to care for the people that 00:24:13.029 --> 00:24:15.829 we overlooked Or the times when we're supposed 00:24:15.829 --> 00:24:18.089 to encourage the ministries we never understood 00:24:18.089 --> 00:24:21.789 Or the times whenever we may say yes my limitations 00:24:21.789 --> 00:24:29.250 are real But I don't use that as an excuse Because 00:24:29.250 --> 00:24:31.710 Christ is still doing his restoration of the 00:24:31.710 --> 00:24:35.150 world Not just at the times when we feel we have 00:24:35.150 --> 00:24:39.710 it together But even though we are still weak, 00:24:40.450 --> 00:24:44.529 and we are still sinful, and we still catch ourselves 00:24:44.529 --> 00:24:47.049 getting in the way of what God is trying to do. 00:24:48.670 --> 00:24:52.250 But if Christ has not given up on us, then it 00:24:52.250 --> 00:24:56.170 means He is also still using us to do His work. 00:24:57.029 --> 00:25:00.329 Because the mission is bigger than just one ministry 00:25:00.329 --> 00:25:04.089 or one type of people. And that's how we find 00:25:04.089 --> 00:25:07.289 more workers for the harvest. by being open to 00:25:07.289 --> 00:25:10.009 seeing what God may be doing through those around 00:25:10.009 --> 00:25:15.430 us. So maybe we pause and say, I don't quite 00:25:15.430 --> 00:25:18.130 know what that ministry or that idea is about, 00:25:18.970 --> 00:25:22.329 but maybe I take the time to get to know them 00:25:22.329 --> 00:25:26.150 and see how I can be a blessing. And maybe you 00:25:26.150 --> 00:25:29.190 go up to the pastor and you say, I'm wondering 00:25:29.190 --> 00:25:32.569 how we can bless this ministry. And yes, I will 00:25:32.569 --> 00:25:35.960 probably say, good. Are you ready to jump in? 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:38.940 But wouldn't that be a wonderful thing to realize 00:25:38.940 --> 00:25:43.259 what we get to do for the kingdom of God. In 00:25:43.259 --> 00:25:44.980 his name, amen.