Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Good morning, everybody. Happy Memorial Day weekend.
[00:00:05] Yeah. All right.
[00:00:07] It's a beautiful day out there and, you know, it's always good this weekend to just man remember and honor those who have sacrificed for us.
[00:00:19] It's so easy to take for granted the beautiful place that we live. Sure, America has problems, but I'll take our problems over a lot of other places. Amen.
[00:00:30] Like there we. We are blessed and it's good to acknowledge that and, and thank those who have, who have paid a price for that. So we're going to keep talking through the Book of Nehemiah, but just before we do, would you bow your head in prayer?
[00:00:45] Father, we thank you, Lord, so much, Father, for the men and women, Lord, who serve, who served. Thank you for the place that, Lord, we live and the freedoms that we have. And Father, the opportunity, help us just to use that all wisely. And Father, as we look at the Book of Nehemiah, I pray we could just embrace the journey that you have for each of us, the quest that you invite us to, Lord, in our lives and as a church and Father, I pray all of it would just glorify your name. I pray you could form in each of our souls the qualities and the virtues that you want.
[00:01:30] And I pray, Lord, we could live in a way where your goodness, your existence, your reality becomes just more real and personal to us. And you would be glorified.
[00:01:44] And I ask all this in Jesus name, Amen.
[00:01:50] Well, several years ago, our church went on a medical mission trip to Honduras.
[00:01:56] And so it was like a group of a lot of Cleveland Clinic doctors, Cleveland Clinic nurses, pharmacists, and me.
[00:02:09] Which one is not like the other, you know, there was another pastor there too, so we were. But they needed a medical expert to oversee it all.
[00:02:20] And that's.
[00:02:21] Nevermind.
[00:02:23] But no, but we went down there and it was a really cool. It was a really powerful trip. Anytime you do a trip like that, it's just so eye opening and so amazing to see people serving. And we were kind of deep in the mountains in Honduras because these were people that it was hard to get routine medical care.
[00:02:45] So we were really far in the mountains. Couple hours in a bus, weaving in and out, wondering if you're going over the edge, kind of one of those types of journeys. And when we finally got to the town, it was like this really cool spot and beautiful mountains everywhere. And when we got there, I was like, I wonder if there's like any cool trails on some of these peaks around us.
[00:03:09] And I just asked around and they Were like, yeah, there is a trail and it's kind of behind this person's house.
[00:03:17] And so then me and this other doctor, we were like. I was like, hey, we should do a sunrise hike up to the top of it.
[00:03:27] And everybody agreed. I don't know what happened. It was being in the bus so long, but you know, we didn't have any idea what we were getting into, but it seemed like a good idea. So that morning we got up early, it was still dark. We start going on this trail and it was in the jungle, there was nothing around, so it was like dark outside. But then the jungle made it even darker, you know what I'm saying? Like. Cause there's so much coverage and so it was like nearly impossible to see. And we're going through the jungle, you know, not really hoping we're going the right way and right direction. And then all of a sudden there was these dogs that started barking and kind of getting like louder and more aggressive. Now in this village, there were dogs all around, but these were not dogs you would like. And I know there's a lot of dog lovers in this church, but even you dog lovers would not love these dogs because they were wild and feral and diseased and they were just all. And like we actually had to run them off. So I'm hearing these dogs barking and I'm like, these are these disease infested dogs and they're gonna come eat us, you know. And so like, they're getting louder, the barking's getting more intense. And then the one, the doctor that was with us, he was, he started saying to him, he like got like a real voice, like he was talking to a baby. And he's like, hey, doggies, it's okay.
[00:05:05] We're not here to hurt you.
[00:05:07] And I'm like, that's gonna work.
[00:05:11] Like this is. Now this is just insult to injury at this point.
[00:05:16] I at least wanna die with some dignity, you know.
[00:05:20] And he just like kept like, oh, it's okay, we're just walking through here. And you know what? It worked.
[00:05:28] And we just kinda kept going and they didn't bother us. And we made it to the top and saw this beautiful sunset and almost everyone came back alive.
[00:05:39] So it was just kidding.
[00:05:43] It was a fun, successful trip. And you know, I think like, sometimes the most meaningful destinations, they require an adventure to get there, right? The most meaningful destinations, they require a challenge to get there. They require overcoming obstacles to get there. If you just wanna sort of settle and do easy, unimportant things in life, that doesn't require that. But if you wanna do things that matter and important and are good and develop your soul, it's always gonna have challenge, it's always gonna have adventure, it's always gonna have a risk. But at the end of the day, the destination makes the journey worth it, Right? When you get there, you're like, yeah, this. This was worth all that challenge. This was worth the difficulty. And what we've been looking at in the book of Nehemiah is that Nehemiah is a man who's been called by God to do something meaningful. And he was called by God to go back to the city of his ancestors and to rebuild that city. And he started by rebuilding the wall.
[00:07:00] And what we've seen is that Nehemiah has faced challenge. He has faced opposition, he has faced fatigue, he has faced discouragement. He's faced all these things that are part of a worthwhile journey. But today we're gonna see him finally arrive at the top of the mountain, at the destination and see that the journey was all worth it. So we're gonna look at Nehemiah, chapter six. And I'm just gonna read two verses to you today, and here's how it goes. It says this.
[00:07:31] So the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month of Elul. Now, all through this story we've been getting, like dates and months so you can put a timeline together for this. So he finished on the 25th day of the month of Elul in 52 days.
[00:07:52] So in about two months time, the wall was complete. And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem. In other words, he says, all the people that were against this and we've read and talked about them. I've also skipped a couple chapters where you can see all the adversaries that were against him, all the opposition. There was a lot. A lot of. The book of Nehemiah is telling the story of the people that were opposing and against this. But Nehemiah said when they all heard that the wall was complete, they were all humbled by it.
[00:08:35] They fell greatly in their own esteem. That just means that they were humbled. They didn't know what to do or say. And then he goes on and he says, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.
[00:08:52] Nehemiah said, we got the wall built, but everybody realized it was because God helped us.
[00:09:00] And because everybody realized that it humbled them.
[00:09:07] And then for others, it strengthened them as they saw God's hand in it. And what I love about this is it shows a picture of what happens when we partner with God, when we do what he wants us to do, and when we get to certain milestones or destinations that he has for us. And the first thing we see here is that I think in our lives and in the world and in the scriptures, God's work happens gradually and then suddenly.
[00:09:43] It happens gradually and suddenly. Now we get the timeline here. And to just give you the whole timeline of the book of Nehemiah, when we first started in chapter one, and Nehemiah heard the news about the city of his ancestors, that was about nine months before this moment.
[00:10:04] So then from the time he heard the news to the time he traveled from where he was at to Jerusalem, it was about seven months.
[00:10:13] And then once he got to Jerusalem and they actually started to build the wall, it was two months.
[00:10:19] So basically, just to put this in perspective, this work took a total of about nine months, but yet it had been stalled out for a hundred years.
[00:10:34] So God did, through them, something in nine months, which other people struggle to do over 100 years. You with me on this?
[00:10:44] And there's a gradual and sudden way that God works in our life. Cause here's what I believe. I bet those were nine long months, right? You ever have a week that feels like a year?
[00:10:58] Hopefully it wasn't this week.
[00:11:00] You know, I remember, like, starting this year, and I was like, wow, 20, 25. We're in January, and it already feels like a decade. You know?
[00:11:10] And I bet it felt like that for Nehemiah. It was like it was nine months. And you say, well, relatively speaking, nine months is not that long of a time.
[00:11:19] But I felt in the midst of all the fatigue, in the midst of the challenge, in the midst of looking at the obstacles that they were facing, it probably felt like, man, this is a grind.
[00:11:33] But then all the sudden, you're done.
[00:11:39] All of a sudden, the wall is complete.
[00:11:42] Yeah, those two months where every day they're lifting rocks and they're worried about other people. Like, it's exhausting. It's tiring. But then those two months are over, and you're like, what God has done is. Is amazing.
[00:12:00] And God just did something in nine months that had been stalled out for 100 years.
[00:12:08] And I think the lesson for us today is that when God's calling you to do something, there's gonna be a gradual nature to it at first.
[00:12:17] It's gonna be like, man, this is challenging.
[00:12:20] This is tough. Taking that first step. Like anytime you take that first step, step with God and you're like, you know what? I'm gonna go to church.
[00:12:31] Like, it might be a tough step to take. Or I'm gonna start reading the scriptures or praying. It's hard and it's gradual, but then momentum begins to build in your life.
[00:12:45] And then all of a sudden, which took so much effort, now it has a life of its own. And all of a sudden, one day you step back and you're like, man, God has taken me farther than I thought was even possible. You with me on this? There's a great author named Jim Collins. He writes a lot of business and leadership books. And he has this idea he calls cranking the flywheel.
[00:13:10] And I don't really know what a flywheel is, but like, I get the idea, but I do know, I do know something like it.
[00:13:18] How many of you remember those merry go round things on a playground? They like were super rusty and spins, you know what I'm saying? And you would get like a couple friends on there and you'd start to spin that thing. And at first you're like, you know, at first it's like, it takes a lot of work, right? But then, you know, you get it to the point where you stop running and you're just like hitting it with your hand and your buddies are flying off it left and right.
[00:13:48] Anybody relate to that?
[00:13:50] Yeah, actually we went. There's a park that we go to and I was glad to see that they had one of those still.
[00:13:58] But it was a lot nicer than the ones that I remember. It had like seats and handles and stuff like that.
[00:14:06] But you know how, like when you first get that thing going, it takes a lot of effort, but then it gets a momentum of its own and it takes way less effort. And I think that's often how God works in our life.
[00:14:20] But what we need to realize about that is that you can't stop when it's hard to get it moving. You have to keep going to hit that point of momentum. And that's what happens here. And then we see that these Nehemiah and the people that worked with him, what they did with God, it showed God to other people, to people who doubted God and to people who knew God.
[00:14:50] And I think that when God calls us to follow him and when God gives us a quest, that's how I think about this. God gave Nehemiah a quest.
[00:15:02] Nehemiah, part of your life is to do this thing.
[00:15:07] And Nehemiah showed up and did it with God.
[00:15:10] And when I think about our church like we are on a quest right now, and I think that's a beautiful thing.
[00:15:17] God is calling us to be a voice for his goodness, a voice for his salvation, his hands and feet, to love people and receive them in his name. As a church, we are on a quest.
[00:15:34] And when you go with God on a quest and we partner with him and we trust him and. And we walk with him as we move in that journey, the reality of God becomes visible to people, whether they wanna see it or not.
[00:15:50] See, the people that Nehemiah was talking about, they didn't wanna see God in this, but yet they couldn't help but see him in it. You with me on this, and I think that's such a powerful thing. I heard the story of this woman named Ayene Hersey Ali, and she grew up in Kenya, and the part that she grew up in had a very kind of radical Islamic presence there. And so she grew up under that, but she totally rejected it.
[00:16:24] And she was a great intellectual, incredibly smart, incredibly gifted. And so as she became an adult, she rejected any type of faith.
[00:16:36] So she became an atheist, and a very outspoken one.
[00:16:40] And in fact, some time ago, there were several atheist authors and speakers that were writing books that were selling a lot of copies and they were speaking everywhere. And they kind of got labeled the new atheists. And they were Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens.
[00:17:03] And it's probably like 10, 15 years ago, but they were kind of a lot speaking a lot of places. And Ayaan Hirsi Ali was going to be part of their tour where they're kind of going around speaking, writing and talking about atheism and why.
[00:17:24] Not only why Christianity and other religions are foolish, but they actually had the message that they are hurtful to the world.
[00:17:34] And they were very adamant about this. And she was gonna be part of that group, but life kind of intervened and she wasn't able to get connected with them. But that was very much her point of view. Well, interestingly, a couple years ago, she wrote an article in a main publication and the article was why I am Now a Christian.
[00:17:57] And she talked about her journey from kind of being this, like, militant atheist to being a follower of Jesus.
[00:18:05] And one of the big things she said is that she realized that Christianity makes a far better world, that all the things she values, like a sense of freedom, like we have today. She's like, all these things that I see in the world that I value, she says. When I follow When I trace them back to where they come from, they come from Christianity's influence on the world.
[00:18:30] And she's like, I just. I could not deny that.
[00:18:34] But she said, but even more, the reason I believe is because of what Christ has brought to my life in a very personal way. And she has this great quote, I wanna read it to you. She says, yet I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realization that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes.
[00:19:03] I've also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace, unendurable, indeed, very nearly self destructive.
[00:19:13] Atheism failed to answer a simple question, what is the meaning and purpose of life?
[00:19:19] And she says, but I found that Christ answers that in a deeper way than I could even ask.
[00:19:28] And it changed her life. Now, here's what's really fascinating about her story. She says one of the big things that she realized that as she was going around the world, as she was speaking, as she was talking, as she was kind of this voice for atheism, she said people from where she grew up, they would write her letters that threatened her.
[00:19:48] And she said, but Christians would write me letters that said, I'm praying for you.
[00:19:54] And she said, after just all these experiences, I was getting such a different message from people who are connected to Jesus. It was a message of love. Even though I was speaking, I was tearing them down, they were still saying, I love you and I'm praying for you.
[00:20:14] And she said, and it opened her heart to Christ.
[00:20:20] Because when we partner with God, God will make himself evident through us to people who don't even wanna see it.
[00:20:30] This is what happens in the end. And God will be glorified. And then people who do see it, who do trust God, their faith will be strengthened. See, Nehemiah looked at this wall being built and what do you think happened to his faith?
[00:20:48] You think he trusted God? More or less. After they put that last rock on there, Nehemiah probably sat back, he's like, all right, there's nothing God can't do.
[00:20:58] His faith was strengthened. And all those who saw this thing, that again, for 100 years, they couldn't do it. I bet everybody was like, you know what? We have not been giving God enough credit.
[00:21:11] We have not trusted him like we should. And their faith was strengthened and God gave them glory.
[00:21:19] Just this week, I went to a meeting with this seminary that we're partnering with, and one of the guys there that came to the meeting, friends with, you know, we know each other, he's another pastor in the area. And we get to the meeting and he's like, oh, hey, what's up? Good to see you. And he's like, I wasn't planning on going to this meeting, but I got a last minute invite and I'm here. And so we started talking and I was telling him about, you know, all the stuff that we're doing as a church and, you know, the next month here and moving out of this place and going to set up takedown. And he said, hey, I have a trailer full of setup takedown equipment.
[00:22:05] Would you be interested in any of it?
[00:22:08] And I was like, I would.
[00:22:09] How much would it cost?
[00:22:12] And he's like, well, I have really no use for it, so I'll give it to you for free. And I was like, now you're speaking my language. Amen. Like, that's my price tag right there.
[00:22:25] And, you know, and I was like, dude, that's so gracious of you. Like, thank you. And like, I'm.
[00:22:32] I'm thinking like, all right, yeah, probably got like a couple small things here and there that will be helpful. And, you know, I'm like, man, that seriously, it helps. Every dollar counts, every cent we can save, I'm in for.
[00:22:44] And, well, he showed up and it was quite a bit more than I thought. And in fact, when you walk out, if you look under the pavilion, that's all that stuff given to us completely for free.
[00:22:58] Now, here's what's even cooler about that. Just this week, as a staff, we were trying to order some different equipment and we were trying to be just very discerning with it. And we were saying no to a lot of stuff that we're like, ah, we really want it, but we also, you know, we just want to be the very best stewards we can. And so we said no to all this stuff and we got it all for free at church.
[00:23:30] I'm just telling you, that was like God's saying, hey, I just want you to know I'm gonna provide for you every step of this journey, I'm going to provide.
[00:23:40] Cause we couldn't figure that out.
[00:23:42] It was a random meeting. Wasn't supposed to be there, a random conversation. It just.
[00:23:49] This is not coincidence.
[00:23:51] This is God's divine work. You with me on this church? And the message that I received loud and clear in that moment was that God is helping us and God will help us and every step. And all that matters is that we show up and we partner with him. That's it. And we trust him in his way and in his time. And it was so cool. And I also just wanna say on the side, you know, so many times, like, we hear about divisiveness in churches and all this kind of thing, but I want you to know, like, behind the scenes, there is so much unity and generosity that many times people don't see.
[00:24:36] And so many of just the churches in our area, like, everybody has that mindset. We're on the same team.
[00:24:44] One team, one fight. And it's not about any of the names on our churches. It's about the name of Jesus Christ.
[00:24:51] And there's a lot of stories you never hear about that. And I just think it's important to point out now, here's the last thing I want to say, is that Nehemiah had this great quality about him that I admire so much.
[00:25:05] He was a great starter and a great finisher.
[00:25:10] Have you ever found that? Usually we're good at one or the other?
[00:25:18] I'm a good starter.
[00:25:20] I've started so many projects, goals, habits, I just haven't finished them. Anybody? Any great starters in the room? You don't. Yeah. And then there's some, like, rare breed of you that are great finishers. And I admire you so much.
[00:25:37] I want that. I just don't know where to find it internally.
[00:25:42] But to have the combination of both of those is a rare gift, don't you think? You have to marry one. Yeah. There you. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:25:51] You know what? I think I did. Thank you. Yeah.
[00:25:54] But it's rare to have both those. But Nehemiah, is that because it's hard to start things. Like, a lot of times, I think people that are starters there may be more risk tolerant. They're kind of maybe have that vision and then, you know, finishers are. Have a greater sense of endurance and like. But it's rare to have both those qualities.
[00:26:14] And Nehemiah has those.
[00:26:18] And I think that maybe it was natural, but my guess is that it probably grew from his trust in his walk with God.
[00:26:28] And that's probably what's needed in our lives. Well, and just as we end this series today, I wanna read you a verse from the book of Hebrews, because I think that this gives us the picture of an even greater starter and finisher that we need to keep our eyes on through the whole journey that God has for us. Here's what it says. This is Hebrews 12. It says this.
[00:26:54] Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Let us lay aside every weight and every sin which clings so closely. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Here's the most important part. Looking to Jesus, the founder, this could be the starter, the pioneer, all those would be fine translations. And the perfecter or the completer, he starts and finishes what our faith.
[00:27:32] He is the perfect starter and finisher, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
[00:27:47] Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so you may not grow weary or faint hearted. And I love these verses because they show the things to focus on on the journey. The destination is worth it, but you gotta keep focused on the journey. And here's what it says. It says, hey, number one, I just want you to know that there's a cloud of witnesses around you.
[00:28:19] One of the painful things that I realize as a dad is I see all my bad habits in my kids, you know, like, oh man, I know exactly where they got that one.
[00:28:30] And it's such a painful thing to see, you know, when I lose my patience with them, like I get snippy, you know what I'm saying? I'm not proud of this, but I just do. I'm like, hey, you know, I kind of like, I get sharp with how I talk.
[00:28:46] And just yesterday my middle was annoying my older. And she like said it the same way that I said. She's like, hey, quit it. You know, it's like, oh great, this is what I'm teaching you. You know, and again, we have a therapy account that we've been very high interest rate.
[00:29:12] So you know, we've putting a lot of money in there.
[00:29:16] But you know, we're always. Our life is communicating a message at all times.
[00:29:23] And what does our message say about who God is?
[00:29:28] And here's the other thing. Our church is communicating a message. We're communicating to the world what we think God is worthy of, what we think, who we think God is, what we think ultimately matters. And this is what Hebrews is telling us. There's a cloud of witnesses.
[00:29:47] You're running a race, but your race isn't just about you.
[00:29:51] Your race has a broader reach than that it matters.
[00:29:55] And I, with the time that we have, with the opportunity that we have, I want to communicate a message that says God is trustworthy, God is worthy of our very best efforts.
[00:30:13] God is not meant to be put in the corner of our life, but he is meant to be the Lord of our lives. God is worth sacrificing for. God is worth trusting. God is worth serving. And people matter to him. And we're gonna do everything we can to help them to know him. I want to communicate messages like that. How about you? Church?
[00:30:38] I want to be a church that. Because the way that I see it is that there are so many great men and women of God that have gone before us.
[00:30:47] Maybe you had some in your family.
[00:30:49] I just. I had a grandmother that just, like, spoke and encouraged faith into my life, you know, even before I was open to it. I know she was praying she would get us little scripture verses. When I started preaching, she was like, I thought that was Billy Graham up there. And like, you know, for that generation, yeah, she was senile, but.
[00:31:15] No, but for that generation, that was, like, the greatest compliment, you know, you could give. But, like, she was just so encouraging of faith.
[00:31:27] And I bet in all of our lives there's been someone. Maybe it was outside our family, maybe it was in this church, but they fan faith in your life. Maybe they're doing it right now. They spoke faith in your life. They prayed for you.
[00:31:41] But you know what?
[00:31:43] Today, the baton of faith has been put in our hands.
[00:31:51] The great men and women of old. That's what Hebrew's saying, they walked with God. But now Hebrew's saying, yeah, but we're up.
[00:31:59] The baton's been passed. How fast are you gonna run? How hard are you? Are you gonna leave some on the track or are you gonna empty yourself out? Because God is worthy of it and I wanna run my very best. And here's what else Hebrews says. It says, and by the way, the only one who can mess this race up is you.
[00:32:23] He says, don't be weighed down or entangled by the sin in your life.
[00:32:33] Here's what that means.
[00:32:35] We all are our worst enemy.
[00:32:39] You can spend your own your whole life, you know, the only person you really have to worry about is the person in the mirror.
[00:32:46] And, you know, the person that we least worry about tends to be that one.
[00:32:50] It's everybody else.
[00:32:52] But one of the things that the New Testament constantly says is that if we make the problem what's messed up in us and we deal with that, that will take care of the issues in our life. You with me on this?
[00:33:08] And it says, hey, whatever is hindering your race, get rid of it. Don't let it catch you up.
[00:33:18] Don't run this race with a weighted vest that you don't have to put on.
[00:33:24] Take it off and run so you can go as fast and as far as God has you. And then he says, and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of your faith. See, I believe in life, focus is everything.
[00:33:43] What you focus on determines the questions that drive your mind. And the questions that drive your mind determine how you feel and experience life.
[00:33:56] So I've had many people, you know, they'll say, like, oh, man, I come to church and no one talks to me, no one reaches out.
[00:34:06] And they'll kind of say things like that.
[00:34:09] But. And I always push back on this a little bit because what I say is like, well, if that's how we enter a room and we're looking, who notices me, who connects with me? See that, that's our driving question.
[00:34:25] Then you will inevitably always focus on who doesn't you with me on this.
[00:34:30] But I think it's a better way. I wanna enter a room and say, who can I connect with?
[00:34:37] Who needs me to see them, who needs me to care about them? If I flip that question around, all of a sudden I'm gonna enter a space. I'm like, this is the friendliest place ever.
[00:34:51] And it's not because maybe anything's changed, but it's because my focus has changed and my question has changed. But yet I think that's a better question, right? You can look at your life and if you're just focused on what is messed up in your life, there'll be probably many things you can see.
[00:35:11] But then by focusing on that, you'll also miss everything that's right about your life, and you won't feel the blessing of any of that. But if you go into your life and look, we all got messed up things in your life, right? You're not, you're not alone in that. We all do.
[00:35:29] But I think if you say, but what is God doing in my life?
[00:35:34] How has God worked in my life? How has God blessed? As soon as you start driving your mind towards that, you're gonna feel humbled by his goodness and you're gonna enjoy more of what he's had. You with me on this. The questions, the focus, they drive so many things. And here's what, here's what the author says. Fix your eyes. Focus your eyes on Jesus.
[00:36:01] Focus your eyes on him. And in fact, this word has this literal sense of like, yes, there's going to be competing things to pull your eyes away, but stay locked in.
[00:36:13] Focus on him. Because when we focus on him, it brings different questions into our lives. He's the author of Here's a question it brings.
[00:36:23] What is Christ starting in my life right now? What does Christ want to start begin in me?
[00:36:34] And you begin to ask that and think that and focus on that. One thing that's been fun about this season and church, I just have to praise you for this is. It's been amazing to see the Spirit in this church, in the heart, to serve and to be part of this adventure.
[00:36:52] Like, just so many conversations before and after church where people are like, hey, what can I do? Or, hey, I want to do this, and I want to jump in. And I know that in many of your hearts, man, Christ is starting a new desire to serve, to be part, to give. Many of you are. You know, you're taking a step. You're giving for the first time and pledging. And I just want to say I think it's all awesome, and I applaud you for it. And I think God is honored in that.
[00:37:19] And what is he starting us? But the author says, but he's also maturing us.
[00:37:25] And when I focus on him, I ask myself the question, what is Christ maturing in my soul this year? I got a big birthday coming up this year. I'm gonna be 40.
[00:37:37] Yeah, okay, okay, Calm down over there.
[00:37:41] You know, man, no mercy.
[00:37:45] But.
[00:37:46] So, yeah, so that's where I'm at.
[00:37:51] Maybe that's why 2025 has been so rough.
[00:37:55] But I actually did this. I like to journal a lot. I find it really helpful for me. And I wrote, like. I was like, all right, here's all the things I want to leave behind in this decade.
[00:38:08] And I had, like. I had a good, solid page of things.
[00:38:12] But what I thought, I thought, like, man, these are all ways I feel like God is trying to mature me.
[00:38:18] And I haven't been a good student this last decade, but I want to be a better one going forward.
[00:38:25] You know, Anybody kind of a slow learner here? That's how I feel in my spiritual life. I'm like, I'm sorry, Lord.
[00:38:32] There should be more progress here.
[00:38:35] But I just kind of wrote this list. I was like, man, I just. I feel like God wants to mature these things. And, you know, will I follow? That's another question. But at least I wrote it down, you know, it's a start.
[00:38:49] But he's always maturing something in us. And then it says that for the joy set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame. See, when I fix my eyes on Jesus, here's another question that comes to mind. What has he done for Me.
[00:39:08] And what Hebrews says is, he's done everything for you.
[00:39:11] He's done everything for you.
[00:39:14] And it wasn't easy.
[00:39:16] The quest that he was on, it required far more out of him than any quest God calls us to will require out of us.
[00:39:25] He endured the cross. What is a cross? That is your forgiveness.
[00:39:29] That is your hope. That is God's mercy. That is God's love. That is God's favor. That is God's blessing. And Christ endured wasn't a walk in the park.
[00:39:43] It was sweat, blood, tears and death for you and for me.
[00:39:50] Despising the shame. What has Christ done for me?
[00:39:54] Everything.
[00:39:56] Everything.
[00:39:57] And he's the beginner and the finisher. And you know, the more that I connect with that, the more I'm willing to follow him and all that he has for me. Let's pray. Father, we love you. We thank you, Lord, that you went to the cross and through the cross.
[00:40:20] For each of us, Father, I pray that, Lord, you're calling us as a church onto this great quest, this great adventure. But Lord, you also have adventures and quests in our own personal lives.
[00:40:35] And they require faith and they require stepping up and they require overcoming obstacle.
[00:40:45] Help us always to have a yes in our heart for you, Father. Help us to have a heart that says whatever you want for us, whatever you want from us, whatever you want to do through us.
[00:41:00] We will walk faithfully with you. We will give you our best.
[00:41:06] And I pray, Father, you would be honored in all that I pray, Father, in this next season as a church, I pray every part of this journey would glorify you.
[00:41:19] I pray every part would develop and mature our souls and every part would make people look at you and give you glory.
[00:41:29] Help us in all this, Lord, in Jesus name, amen.
