Gospel Stories: The Gospel | Chris Dewar | January 6, 2019

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. We appreciate you being here today. We are starting in a new sermon series today gospel stories. And this is going to be a fun thing guys. We are going to be stepping through this year and I'm learning more and more about stories and scripture and stories of who we are and so our whole Year's sermon schedule is based around the concept of Jesus. Duh. I would really help out but we teach on but also on the concept for his together, right? So the first one is on gospel stories and is it going to be mixing of stories about what Christ has done in the gospels mixing in our stories how the gospels affected Our Lives? Okay following that will be actually doing Sunday School Stories and not so Sunday School Stories, whatever you walking through some fun ones of those following Easter. That'll be the end of the year going to be walking through Jesus a story. So I'll be walking through a gospel itself together straight through Animal step in the Advent which is again all about him. What do you know for some reason the church just likes to teach about Jesus. I don't know where that comes from. But he just seems like an important thing to do right today. We're doing gospel stories and we're starting with the beginning by this. I mean the beginning of the Gospel the whole of it when I talk about basically everything in existence forever. You're welcome. Buckle up guys might be wine jug won't be that long is wonder what I heard about. This is completely random my favorite story so far of a Preacher ever. There's a preacher. I like them David Platt. He's pretty cool. He needs a really big church. But he also does these things are called like if they're called like I'm secret gospel night. So it's whenever he asked his megachurch act as if there is a church that is living in a place where the gospel was not legal and so they don't have big sound systems. They don't have things up in the screens. They don't have anything really they just sit down and read the gospel and talk about it, right? But he also sometimes he's at conferences. And if this one conference was a missions conference in New Mexico, like 3 weeks ago. He went ahead and did a 50 point sermon on the Book of Revelation.

Yeah, I will not be doing that to you. It's not going to be that comprehensive. It should be pretty good though. It may not be we'll see what happens. The beginning mark-11 we're going to start with little to Storytime because he live in my story who here has before her the way in which I became a follower of Jesus for the first time. Some of you have right? Yeah. I'm going to walk you through this again, right because I was not always a Christian. I always had some exposure to the church, but I was never actually someone who thought that Jesus was someone that we should care about. I didn't think God was something worth considering you're thinking about and I kind of was just myself. I was a little jerk right which is basically my person died today, but imagine me now, but without Jesus right and that would give you a clue as to just how dirty I can possibly because I'm pretty turkey now at times. Anyway, I'm still working. I'm not doing it for the curves right? I was a mean younger kid. I did not have very much ability to protect myself physically at the time because I wasn't really strong or anyting so I protected myself with my words. I had the distinct ability to never make people cry with my hands, but I could make them cry with my words. I would see who people were I had a pretty Discerning personality. I could find out what people liked and cared about and what they actually thought about themselves and I knew how to say Can niacin and hurt people with the right. This is my personality when I was 15, 16 17 whenever I was a young man who is still not quite a man who is still trying to learn what life is like I would just defend myself by breaking people spirits. And I was me and a lot of this was Defensive. I really didn't feel like I was likable. I didn't feel like people have any reason to actually care about me. It was never something that I thought they would ever. Actually I never expected anyone to ever even think I was worth anything, right? And this one very young lady who I knew from school. She was very nice. And I would like to have dated her. I'd like to I wish that would have been cheetah back that I wanted that I'm glad I didn't now that really my wife, but I wanted to date her back at the time, right? I truly prefer Christi. Right? Right, and she was very nice and sweet and there's something different about her. I had no idea what it was. I don't know why but you just seem like a very genuine and caring person and she seem to actually care about me as a human and that's when he was a very attractive thing cuz no one else really did I really like her. And she invited me to come to a thing at our school one time. I was following school is a club just put on by a bunch of students and it was called solid fog which is interesting an acronym because back in the late 90s early 2000s acronyms are all the rage. It was shining a light in darkness for Argon is what they called it, right and this group of students Christian to work for multiple different churches multiple different backgrounds, but who were followers of Jesus who wanted to be able to be Godly people amongst. The piers in our high school, right? And they were everyone went there. There was something different about them. Like they're always like you not the coolest kids. That was fine. I wasn't either so I had nothing to say about that. But for some reason they all seem like just worthwhile people to talk to and hang out with and I didn't know why and so whenever I was there for this first time I was there hanging out because I want to be close to this young lady and I was talking and listening and then all the sudden they were like singing songs. And when I like this is weird and I were just get along for sing-alongs and high school before

As I singing a song I got this feeling that there was someone actually staring at me and I hate that feeling some looking around trying to figure out who it is, right you ever get that like someone's looking at me this annoying right? I couldn't figure it out couldn't figure it out. And then the moments actually stop and realize it wasn't any person was looking at me. I was actually sitting in the presence of God.

Who might have been ignoring and not just ignoring but denying and the way that I would make fun of people in hurt them with my words on my favorite targets of those where the little Christian kids. I like to make him squirm because I like I like the reason a lot and I liked arguing a lot if you can't tell I'm really fond of arguing.

And I would try to make them hurt for the silliness for believing in a god. And I got this feeling that he existed was looking at me and I couldn't shake it. And a sort of shook me to my core and I was trying to figure out what I would do with this in my brain went to all you know, what this is. This is going to change me forever. It's going to completely change everything about who I am. My life will always be different because of this nothing will ever be the same right ever had nothing will ever be the same moment in your life.

Sometimes those things are actually true and nothing will ever be the same. This was not one of those cases. I walked away immediately forgot about an ignored it right? That's why we're going to start our servant as part of the story. I heard I understood that God existed at this point. Nothing in my life changed. Everything was the same, right? We're going to step in to some of Christ story. I'm going to look at just real cookie, the very beginning of each of the gospels each of the gospels start and very unique ways. They are all written by different men for different purposes and they were all written to different audiences and because of that they all focus on different things like in Matthew. He literally starts with the this is the book of the genealogy of Jesus. The Messiah Jesus was a multiple-step to Jesus's genealogy. This is the first prize Book of Matthew. He's super important really cares about where Jesus came from. It's his first and most important thing right Luke is interesting because he's writing and he's writing about this and he says he's going to a guy named Theophilus the guy who likely paid from to write his gospel and he says, oh Theophilus it is my wish to put together an orderly account of all that has occurred that you have heard about and believe so his entire point is Write down an orderly account of what happened to Jesus, right? What do you think life was like, that's Luke John goes way back here. It goes like in the beginning in the beginning. There was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God is with God in the beginning. He goes all the way back to the ending of creation, right? He just walks through bring it up the Incarnation. The marks is intriguing to me. Mark is likely the First Gospel. That was written Mike it Mark has the shortest gospel. Mark is the most action-packed and action-filled gospel. If you ever just get bored read that gospel in the book of like and like the ESV version probably is a good one to do it and just count how many times the word immediately is used in the first three paragraphs right over and over again, right? But you know how Mark starts up his gospel.

He says the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the son of God. Whenever we hear the term the gospel itself, we think of one or two things one is either one of these four books write a gospel straight up a book that was written to explain who Jesus is also hear about the gospel Evangelical circles as this basic like sometimes it's light story these words that you have to know and understand and if you have them correctly enough, then you get like a key into heaven right evangelicals 10 to talk about the gospel like and we tend to break it down to some very small parts. We say that is basically the Jesus lived died rose again, and if you believe that and Proclaim it you have salvation, right? We should have a good reason at times like, you know, Paul basically says that that's where salvation comes from but then we have to also wrestle with this in the fact that to Mark the gospel didn't start with Jesus's death. To Mark the gospel Started With Jesus is life. And the gospel is a theme that runs throughout this gospel. Jesus talks about the good news fairly often in The Book of Mark. He mentions it over and over again and he mentioned it right at the beginning of his ministry at the beginning of his ministry following the time whenever he is baptized and whenever he goes out into the Wilderness and hangs out for a while and then comes back in and starts his ministry. This is how it starts. It says no after John was arrested. Jesus came in the Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying the time is fulfilled the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel. So Jesus is proclaiming the gospel coming and he's proclaiming the fact that the good news has arrived and this is literally at the beginning of his ministry whenever his we Feast routed he kind of hides the fact he supposed to die and rise again, right if Jesus has not yet revealed to people that the gospel. Is his death and Resurrection? How is he preaching the gospel at the beginning if that's all the gospel is?

If the gospel is just as his death and Resurrection, what is Jesus saying because it makes no sense.

But here's the deal. The gospel is far bigger than just Jesus death and Resurrection. far bigger the good news is far bigger than we could ever imagine. It spans everything. everything

Jesus's words that he talked the induction of his kingdom the him stepping into this world the story of what he was doing from Before Time began the time before creation began all the way through whenever he was caring for the people of Israel and bring them out of slavery all the way whenever he is helping the people of Israel avoid a destruction and death in the books of judges and all the time whenever the people is rebelling against him in the works of the Kings and the Chronicles and all the time whenever people are actually just being completely crazy and completely ignoring him and he's sending out profits to tell him to stop and they're not doing that. They just keep going and he eventually allows them to be sent into captivity in Babylon. All of this is part of the Gospel. Because all of that is leading up to one point the fullness of time in the Book of Daniel Daniel talks about this times. These times are going to be happening in the fact whenever the fullness of these times occur, when will come pollachi bring life to the world and Jesus proclaims that he is the one who is doing that. He says whenever the fullness of time has come that sang. The time is fulfilled.

In different books of scripture. We also see the same thing stated Paula points. That's when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his son. So whenever the time was perfect and ripe and ready Christ came. He didn't come randomly. He stepped into the world of a perfect time and a perfect place to do exactly what he wanted to do. He stepped in a fact that the world heavily, right?

in the gospel goes and Carries On far beyond that because of the Jesus says the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe the gospel that concept that calling to recognize the coming of Christ Kingdom the fact of his eminent and here and that called a repent. Therefore is also part of the Gospel. It's part of that good news right back to my story. story time so I heard the story I heard and got the fact that God existed, right but I didn't change it. All there was no repentance in my heart. I did not become a different person. I did not so fully understand. I had no idea what the kingdom of God was with his eminence's like right. So I went back to my old life and became even more of a jerk directly following the time whenever I learn this at first and then whenever I did so about eight months later a gentleman who's on the wrestling team with me and invited me out to another one and I'm like, you know, what y'all are still pretty cool you seem like you're nice people and genuine and something happens. Might as well go back, right? So I went back to another gospel night at my school and this one actually pay attention to more of what was happening. And this one the guy who invited me a really good guy. He also was with a group of people putting on a scat and then ask it they were all functioning like Jesus like not all them one of the most function like this one person was like acting as if he was Jesus and there were people all around him wander around with things just like wearing them down on their necks. Like they were had chains around their necks with likes things written across them right like fear or adultery or murder when I things that are like rough sex during our imperfections things. We're not supposed to do right and they have these all around their necks, right and you just walk up to them one by one and take them off of them and put them on himself over and over again, right? And then once he was done with taking them all the way those people he took them off of went and crucified him. And he died and then whenever he even really dies the rapper still alive. And then he whenever he was demonstrating the resurrection, he stood back up and reached up and grabbed the chain around so I can just rip them off and threw them on the ground, right? He destroyed all of them by his power. Which is a pretty darn good outline of what the gospel is Christ came, he took our afflictions upon himself. He accepted that which we deserve which is broken relationship before God the effects of the Fallen world including that's right, and he placed onto himself those things. He accepted the effects of the broken World on himself, except the death onto himself. And then he rose again. He destroyed those broken things. He kills them by the power of his blood by the power of his life and he makes it possible for us to have new life and in the resurrection, he gives us what only he can dessert which was right standing before God. He came to save us. We ignore them at best. And crucified him at worst. But he offered himself up for us freely, right? Again, this is the Crux of the gospel and I heard it and I got it. I like this is amazing. I never knew this is what the Bible is teaching. This is something I could learn forever from and I will never change nothing will ever happen again. I will definitely change because this my life will be never the same. And guess what happened? My life didn't change I walk away to meet Lee forgot to get right. I nearly forgot it. I'm going to say a couple things real quick. You're one thing just a big take away from this is this sometimes were afraid to talk to people about things like what Jesus is on our lives because we're worried we're going to do it in perfectly. Right? I don't have the best words or the perfect words to tell someone what the gospel means and if I can't do it perfectly. I should probably hold off cuz I want to see if someone wrong right ever felt that way. Well now that I've got a degree in Theology and I've been trying for a while and it's not a lot of time studying the Bible. I can look back at the skit. They didn't the songs they sang and I can nitpick the crap out of them, right? Oh my goodness. Jesus Took on their things before him before he got on the cross that doesn't make any sense. Whatever I could just take away. However much I want to write. I can look at some of the songs they sang. Cuz now I have a much deeper respect for songs with good theology. And love the songs. I sang don't have that. I wouldn't send them in this church. But here's a fun story even in there not perfect retelling of Christ story my goodness. I heard and understood the gospel. I wouldn't be standing here today if they hadn't given an imperfect telling

And countless other people's lives are the same way, right? You don't have to be perfect in the way. You tell the gospel. It's good to be as accurate as you possibly can be you don't have purposely say or do Falls things right, but you don't have to worry. If you are not perfect in your theology before talking to someone about it because if you're waiting for Perfection, you're going to wait until Jesus returns. You won't have perfect theology until then. And Christ can use people. To tell his story even an imperfect times right good grief in the Old Testament. He uses a donkey to tell a person to stop being an idiot if he can ya balaam's donkey look up your enjoyment. I saw her face right there, but there's a profit he was supposed to go and preach the people of Israel and then he's like no, I don't want to tell them about it. And then as he's riding along On His donkey is I don't like a blast of people of Israel whatever and then there's an angel who standing in the path of the donkey with a sword out said if he just keeps riding forward the television PL himself on his Angel sword in the donkey can see it but he can't see it obviously and so dumb, she keeps like throwing him off the side of the road eventually. He's just like beating his donkey. Like why are you stupid donkey want to keep going forward and then God gives a donkey the ability to say because you're going to die you idiot and then points for right? I'll show you in the Bible. It's really interesting. Any who only time when the Bible besides the cream besides the fall of Man that animal Talks by the way, you never once a serpent. I know of any who There we go. One story donkey talk Old Testament back into the gospel.

What? Shrek donkey

these people in there not perfect rendition of the Gospel affected my life greatly and other people's lives greatly out of the year that I was there there about three classes of people who are going to this group with me and out of those there's like 30 or so people fright and of them that I know of so far roughly five or pastors and to our worship leaders of other churches. Like that is an amazing. That's a pretty darn big percentage of people who have gone on the ministry and most of us who were in that group were not Christians before then. These were not people who were raised in church all the time that God used both that group and other people in our lives to bring us into where we are glorifying with our lives now, right? You can't know how you're being willing to tell someone the gospel will affect the future. I doubt if I went back there was a hey Rob you don't have to get you did back whenever you were like a sophomore in high school and you pretend to be Jesus and I was like, yeah, that was crazy and I’m like seven People are pastors now, Just sticking it out there, right? He had no idea that would happen. You don't know. now here's the interesting thing though part of the reason why I immediately following that I went back to being a jerk was because I heard this Jesus did these things for you therefore it's all good.

Jesus said these things for you. Therefore you are covered which still believe that honestly I do but that was where the gospel ended that day. And that is not where the gospel ends. Right? Sometimes we make the gospel far too small, especially in Evangelical churches. There's a relatively simple term that people talk about whenever you believe in the gospel this way and that term is fire insurance.

Yeah, you believe the gospel enough that you won't go to hell. That's it. If there's a hell that is nice and Bernie, I won't go there because I have right belief right? That's basically what I thought the gospel was. and strangely enough churches hold to this theology pretty heavily Turn and Burn churches are literally churches that teach the gospel in that respect right churches that do things like Try and scare people into salvation are doing the same thing right there saying that the only goal of the Gospel is to keep you from being in Hell someday. And that is a very very sad gospel. right That's a sad gospel because the gospel is far far far bigger than just avoiding. Eternity without God the gospel of himself as both an offering from God to you allowing you to have a relationship with him and he's offering a way for you to step into this Kingdom and he is creating a sin offering frame is away. Taxi, bring you new life not in the future, but new life now.

It requires a lot of recognition and submission on our part in sacrificing our party requires us to be willing to say, you know what I was wrong. My life was wrong. I have not been glorifying to God with my life. I need to turn in walk in the other direction.

That is what this comes into when Christ says the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe the gospel repentance is the act of recognizing the way in which you were walking before was wrong and turning around and walking in the other direction. That's the Hebrew concept of repentance. It was a literal term that means turn around and walk the other way. I'm supposed to be going east repent. Okay, I'm going west now that's repentance Jewish language is very very fun. Hebrew language was very fun. It was based off of people who have very grounded Lifestyles. They are working on farms. They were it was it was very practical language. So it's a very practical thought Greek is really kind of weird. It's worth cerebro a month. So the concept and Greek of repentance is actually a turning of the mind or breaking the renewing of your mind right changing your mind in the right direction. Both of which are wonderful metaphor is right. It's easier to change your mind on which direction you should go look at turn around and walk the other way. right

We are called to repent I would had no call to repentance in the gospel that I heard it first. I didn't hear it. They may have said it I didn't hear it. Right that portion of the Gospel is not present for me. Two years later whenever the same guy Rob who played Jesus in that play invited me out to a concert that he was those happening at his church fun story. I'm just at the house. Hear the band was Nebraska. Actually it was a Ska band. You can learn a lot more whenever I was in high school based off that statement. It was awesome. Nick Brewer was in it. Yeah, all of you know, I'm yeah.

Joshua Brewer the oracles owner and his brother was in that band.

So Nick Brewer was in the span of the time and he was there playing the show. I didn't know him for like six more years. But anywho, I went to this concert and there met a pretty girl again a different pretty girl who at the time. I really wanted to date once again, very glad that married to my wife for the time. I really want to date her right and so just like before whenever I followed this first girl to this gospel presentation like hello there and she is like, here's a girl. Here's a girl heels a girl. Nope. I'm talking to you. Okay, he did it. He did it again at this church right church here. I should step into this church here. Nope, you're not going to date her. But hey, you should be here right here. It was a very caring approach to get me to come closer. That was what I'm saying. OK very little stick a lot of carrots, okay.

Whenever I ended up there I met these two other gentlemen one named Kirk Albert and one named Shaymin a shame was the youth pastor at the church there and Kirk was one of the guys who work with the youth groups strange enough Kirk ran small groups and Shane preached. And now whenever I do small group stuff, I teach them like Shane did it whenever I preset priests like Kirk did I don't know why I got them backwards. These two guys were all both order to my brain. Now, I realize there probably about the age. I am now 30-35 back then I felt like these dudes had to be like 60. And like just all those two have this wisdom in these ages and these Concepts they're going to be able to actually pour into my life likes me like these old guys now, I'm like all they're probably younger than I am now. They took me under their wing sometimes quite literally one of the things I used to do to try and be cool was to pretend to know martial arts. I didn't but I wanted to write. And so that person that I found quite pretty I was trying to be like no. Yeah many can just like do this thing unblocked here one on push, right? And Shane Walker was like a really can you show me that real quick? Okay. He's like he literally I think I can tell you what a dick cuz he taught me afterwards just for fun. But whenever I want like this he block my arm away and he stopped for when he did so many brought his arm back caught me across the chest while kicking out with my legs and then he caught me before I hit the ground. Didn't know this but shaine was actually nationally-ranked for Marshall. If you guys know the guy who did Tae Bo Billy Blanks, he actually fought his brother and tournaments before like do you actually want to tournament with a style of martial arts? You've never done before just cuz he want to see if he could do it like this guy was a fighter and he was super nice to me by not just wiping the floor with me. Like he's like, I've made you look slightly ridiculous in front of everybody. Now, are you willing to calm down and stop being a little crazy person? and that made me if you guys don't know how teenage guys are that made me love him so much right just so much these guys took me under their wings and one of the things that they did was they took me to 17 year old kid at the time who had never dated someone really who had no prospects of what maturity look like who would held jobs and one not but you don't like nothing real before and they taught me what it means to be a godly man who leads my family When I was 17, I was working through a book called Point man, which is how a man leaves his family with both of these guys and they Tommy Theology and I taught me what my life should look more and more like because they show me who Christ is and should with his life was like, right. They taught me what repentance looks like The next time I preach I'll tell you whenever I actually finally got that that's next week story. But here's what I learned. The gospel was Far bigger than just believe and don't go to hell. the gospel affects everything

the gospel affects every area of your life and every area of creation. If you don't know this the final hope the gospel is not just we won't be in Hell the final hope of the Gospel is that we will be reflected in the image of Christ. We will be true image bearers of God as we were created to be we will be our perfect cells because he will recreate Us in perfect Us by his blood and not just us but the entire world if you read the book of Revelation the main thing that they're working through at that book is the fact that we can have hope and now because we know the circumstances are not of now or not where you going to live with forever Christ himself will return and will make the world perfect. He will undo completely the effects of the Fall. He will remove sin and death completely and he will make everything perfect again. Earth will be recreated heaven will be recreated. There will be a new Heaven and new her perfectly set up as if the Fallout never occurred and we will get to Revel in that forever. And be present with God forever. Jesse's present is Adam and Eve were present with God in the Book of Genesis. This is what we look forward to and in that time while we're looking forward to this. We is the church get to participate in that recreative aspect of the world. And how we live and how we act we get to actually take part in allowing the world to be more just allowing the world to be more cared for we get to take part and seeing the world come together. We get to see in the way. They Humanity Works how we can actually work against the effects of disease and death right we get to actually witness that as people and then we get to wait for it to be perfect whenever he comes our hope is in him and what he's doing, but we can still be a part of it now.

I get to take part in this Redemptive process of God because of who he is and what he's done. It's a beautiful thing.

Galatians 2:20. I've been crucified with Christ and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. My life is no longer. Mine. My life is his to do with what he wills and not myself that is next week's topic right there. But what's our take away with this? Story Time Again or take away is this yes, the gospel is bigger than we could ever imagine. Sometimes you make the gospel too small and the gospel affects literally everything in their life. Some takeaways are this if you say, you know and understand the gospel, but your life looks exactly like it looked before you in understanding of the Gospel then you may not yet have full understanding of the gospel because if you understand that there will be ramifications in your life transformation will happen right because God will enable it to happen. He'll do it.

That's one take away a second takeaways this we is the church have been entrusted with the gospel of God. We have been entrusted with this for his glory.

And we have a responsibility to both Stewart at wisely and be willing to offer it whenever necessary, right? We don't have to offer a perfectly we shouldn't shy from being able to tell people that right now. I've been trying to Rack my brain for a while about ways in which we can work on explaining the gospel to people better. And which way is each of us is a church can start participating and doing so more and more and as I was wearing it was actually talking to Dustin Dustin light from Radio church, and he turned me on to a resource that they've been using from a place called exponential And it's this concept of ways in which people can actually just build up good and godly relationships with people around them. So they could be two other people with those people in that gospel presentation group Works to me people. If for some reason it just a different and worth actually paying attention to him talking to a little bit in the first one of these things that they call for your newest is bless bless other people. So we today. They got like two people and some way shape or form you're going to blast. It doesn't have to be I'm giving you a bunch of money. We don't have money right but it could be I'm going to call and see how you're doing. I'm going to actually show that I care. I'm going to write you a note. I'm going to spend some time talking to you. Like how can you purposely bless people needs. They say specifically to bless at least one person outside of your normal Circle of Friends.

Because that is actually what the whole acronym.

I'm never going to remember am I know it's gone. I'll bring it up and next week. So y'all better come back for it. No, no yea yea yea yea yea he just laughing at me. I deserve it. bless eat

Oh, I got nothing. I'll tell you later. I'm sorry. My brain is not as blank and fried and what's happening right now? But that's the basic concept as this week. If you want to start being able to actually share the gospel with people to be able to demonstrate this new life is but given to you one basic and very easy and simple way to start is to begin in some way shape or form blessing those around you. Be a blessing to people cuz you'd be surprised for some reason people like and actually appreciate whenever you're not a jerk to them. It took me a while to learn that one. Don't let take as long for you.

Those are big takeaways today. The gospel changes everything the gospel is bigger than you could ever imagine. Sometimes we make our gospel too small. You don't need to be perfect. To proclaim the gospel. You don't have that perfect understanding to Proclaim it and one of the easiest ways you can begin doing so is by blessing the people around you because that means they'll be more apt to if they come to a point in their life where they do have questions that actually matter that you might be one of the people they turn to.

Does that make sense?

Next week, we'll get to talk about a different portion of the story The Crisis taught has been building in me get to talk about another portion of his gospel. and that'll be What does your life start to look like whenever the transformation starts to take place? And how does he do it? That's another part of the story. Let's take a minute today though. We're going to pray going to spend some time in communion together. Jake will be presenting that in the second and then we're going to one more time sing the chorus of the I Believe song We sang at the beginning, okay? FleetPride Lord Jesus I thank you for today Father. I praise you for the way in which you have demonstrated your goodness to me in my life. Thank you for the store. You've been writing for me. Lord is nothing that I have done this all things that you have done for me through other people. What's thank you for allowing me to know you it is a blessing beyond measure. As I move forward this year Lord, would you allow me to continue more and more to glorify you? May I boldly Proclaim your gospel to a world that needs it? May I Proclaim your goodness your Holiness the sacrifice you've offered in the way with you offer, New Life. Lord I want to see you glorified more and more I Praise You Lord and I thank you for everything you are and everything you've done at your name. We pray Jesus. Amen.

I have a computer for my life. So This morning. I was actually thinking and questions like what I'm going to talk on till seems like yesterday when they want to be. Well, there's that but you know, what what concept of reflection meaning to not say anything fancy at all. Just let it happen. And then as I was sent back we'll steer sermon else like crap man. This is a good thing to talk on this happen this week. So back down and I get together just about every Wednesday and we spent time in Fellowship eating this idea of being Community Gathering Dan blesses my son far more than anybody else you saw him cuz new Batman figurine running around but one of things that Chelsea and I do and that damn I did it that whenever there is a the new year and stuff like that happens instead of setting new goals. We reflect on the past and say, how did we uphold Christ that we see Christ growing in our lives? How do we grow each other? How did our relationship glorify God and I was thinking about how like I had grown throughout the year stuff like that and actually last week our furnace went out. So if you know some space heaters missing here in the church is cuz Chris is nice to know. He's like it going to take Couple of them but if you were called earlier in the year before that our power went out we didn't have feet and so this one was opportunities in life that I didn't realize it then they got to give me another opportunity. Have you grown from a previously happen beforehand? So when I power up before I was very angry I was frustrated. I was mad and in that perspective had to be changed the idea of like you are cold in your home that you own like that you live in while there's people that are outside that don't have shelter and you're the one that's upset. Like I was blessed to be in that situation. So this time when the heat went out it was one of those things that even happen consciously was kind of like, okay, this is just where we are what's got trying to show me here. And so while while the Heat's out and stuff like that, I'm thankful a blessing us have a father-in-law that happens to run a heating and cooling companies. Like I will be out the next day so they come out and there are you doing all the stuff in these two women approached by door and I was just like a who's this? Furnace is out to people are my house to new people now like something else was he going on and they want to talk to me about the gospel. And so thankfully since my father-in-law was there doing the heating cooling he picked up Isaac and took him downstairs to teach me how to do stuff on the furnace promotions smack the old with a hammer I get to talk to these two women and so they're going through the gospel and kind of like what Christmas saying like, they weren't very informed consent laws with Pastor Blackwell actually blow these two of them were out doing something I wasn't doing myself. They're going house to house asking people. How can I bless you how can the church be of service to you and all this other stuff and so as we were talking and things like that, we start getting the different concepts or ideas or just like what's your name? So we start talking more this relationship began. I'm over again this coming week. There's no stopping for some coffee with me and Isaac. But what I mean by all this is that this is all those opportunities that happen through chaos that happened through something that was unexpected happen. Do something that I can easily have complained about but got it allowed me to grow through brother was conscious or subconscious that this time when it happened these two women approached and even now talking about it's just like this idea witnessing the study of women witnessing the Christ and how to I'm just so you know. They are there Mariah but I bet something strange about this time around I think he was able to have the clarity to see a conversation set of being so overrun just be like to get away stay away from me. But do you think he's off to that pop up and having a conversation about the gospel song because they knew that I was a pastor that they approached me. It wasn't because they were trying to save my soul that they approached me. They just had the care and they're hard to say, how can we bless you and your family today are churches near you. It's all came from the same thing can happen at the Oracle to we don't need to have these deep conversations about you know, our apologetic conversations. Not that it's wrong. That it is wrong to be informed and have good apologetics, but that's not usually what's brings people to Christ even shows them Christ and for some of the gentleman that I spend time with you or call. This is like your for now and now their lives are starting to change but that's before years of walking and growing like you have to prove your worth. You have to really prove that this Jesus that you talk on that you preach on has weight in their lives because many of them have been damaged by the church and many of us have been damaged by the church it on because of that. There's got to be the time will tell and if it took Christ three and a half years and they that his disciples still didn't get it probably going to take some time. But it continue to bless those people to continue to allow that chaos of surrounding us. It seems like it's consuming us to be an opportunity to blast and often times. It's not even doing the blessings that are you open enough to be blessed there may be people try Pour into your lies. We are trying to do this US versus them. You're trying to say the world. It's all horrible. Everything sucks. I hate everything but what you're doing is you're confiding yourself into the small little pocket that you can't even allow yourself to be blessed. You can even ask rice to bring about people in cuz you're saying unless you look like the Jesus. I want you to look at it. Like I don't want you but that's an opportunity of growth and that may be enough to nagada stretching you to grow. So as you participate in communion, I asked you would reflect on that and what areas has God or have you been able to see God grow you if there if you haven't seen it and you're struggling to see it asked to give me the eyes to see in the ears to hear his voice maybe at a place that is not a shout but his whisper can be heard, you know and allow yourself if you are in one of these holes and if you are, you know kind of Dugout pit of Life a lot of people around you to be no pull your back out or just to be there with you to provide light for you and to be surrounding with you, you know, don't allow yourself to be so secluded that you know, he couldn't even hear a shout if there was one. Reflect on these things allow yourself. This week to be broken is Crisis Broken and poured out in the same sense that allow the other people in this community to break themselves for you too and to love on you and to unify you as a body of Christ. We ready, please feel free to come up.