AWKN 2026 Part 1

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Amen. Church. Go ahead and be seated. Well, good evening, Christ Church. How we feeling? Come on, we can do better than that. How we doing? Awaken. It is so good to see you guys. My name is Kevin Hart, and I'm so happy to be with you guys this evening to serve you and to. No, just joking. My name, for those who may not know my name is Javon. I get the opportunity and the privilege to serve at our Old Brooklyn campus and. Yeah, Old Brooklyn. Brooklyn. Yeah. Yeah. And I'm excited to serve with you guys. I'm excited to be with you guys tonight. I want to echo what Sarah said. Tonight is not just a night to hear just a good message and to hear just good music and to connect with good people. The ultimate aim of tonight is to [00:00:51] Speaker B: meet a good savior. [00:00:54] Speaker A: That's our heartbeat for tonight. And if we would open up our hearts to that truth and to that mission, to that reality. Friends, we will walk out different than [00:01:02] Speaker B: how we came in. [00:01:04] Speaker A: And that's the goal, and that's what we want. But before we open up, before we jump into tonight, let me say a prayer for this evening. Dear Heavenly Father, you are Yahweh. Forever Yahweh. You are worthy. You are worthy to be praised. And, Father, today I pray that your majesty and your excellence would touch our hearts. That we would catch just a glimpse of what it looks like and what it means to be found in you, [00:01:31] Speaker B: to know you and to trust in [00:01:33] Speaker A: you more and more. There are people in this room today, as it was said, that are caring a lot. But I pray that, Lord, that they [00:01:39] Speaker B: can meet a savior that is much [00:01:42] Speaker A: stronger than they are. I pray that today they can meet a savior that is willing, capable, able and faithful to meet them where they are, but to not leave them how they are. [00:01:53] Speaker B: So reach them, oh, Lord. [00:01:55] Speaker A: It's not my words, it's not what's the songs that we sing, but it's your spirit that has to be present. So, Holy Spirit, please have your way. Have your way in us. Work your good work in us. Meet each and every one of us [00:02:10] Speaker B: in a way that we need to be met. Bless us, I pray. [00:02:13] Speaker A: Help us. I pray it's in your son's perfect name. Amen. Amen. And Amen. Yeah. I like tonight. Keep that same energy. Y' all keep that same energy. I like it. I wanna share something with you. A couple months ago, while school, while my kids were still in school, my son came home and he proceeded to tell me that he had a bad day. And I said, what? [00:02:35] Speaker B: Happened, Son, talk to your dad, man. [00:02:37] Speaker A: I wanna hear all about it. And he tells me. [00:02:40] Speaker B: He said, dad, I broke up with my girlfriend today. [00:02:44] Speaker A: Now, this comes as a surprise, y'. [00:02:46] Speaker B: All. [00:02:46] Speaker A: Cause first of all, homeboy is six. Let me just say that, right? He is six years old, right? And not only that, I did not know he was on the dating scene, Okay? I did not know he was out there, you know, dating and whatnot. And so I'm confused. And, you know, I just didn't realize that he was just into that right now. And, you know, he recovered from it. He got better. But I thought about that moment, you know, when I was younger and I might be aging myself when I say this. When I was younger, I remember asking [00:03:15] Speaker B: a girl out was the old school way. [00:03:18] Speaker A: The old school way was if you wanted to ask somebody out, you wrote [00:03:21] Speaker B: it on a piece of paper. [00:03:23] Speaker A: You know, I'm getting at right there. You're millennial too, right? Yeah. That's okay. We wrote on a piece of paper, will you go out with me? And then, of course, there was two boxes, one box. You know where I'm going. You know where I'm going. The Gen Z ers are like, what's going on here? What in the Backstreet Boys is this? And, you know, and I just remember, you know, you would check the box yes or no, or you would circle yes or no, whatever it may be. And you would just hope that it was yes. You would just hope and pray that it was yes. Cause if it was no, it would be totally awkward, and you would walk away shamed and whatnot. But what I've learned, and when I think about that moment, life is made up of a thousand yeses. If you think about this, every day, we say yes to something. And typically, we say yes to whatever we believe will give us purpose, will give us identity, a sense of security. Pretty much what I'm trying to say is this, that every one of us are giving a yes to something. Right? And every yes shapes the direction of our lives, but also shapes who we become. [00:04:43] Speaker B: The problem is, for me, I say yes to the wrong things. [00:04:49] Speaker A: You got a little quiet there, there. Y' all was laughing before, you know, y' all got a little. Oh, now he got serious. [00:04:54] Speaker B: Right? Right. [00:04:55] Speaker A: As. As. As many as yeses that we. That we make in our lives, the problem lies. [00:05:01] Speaker B: Sometimes I say yes to the wrong things. [00:05:05] Speaker A: But today, what I want to do [00:05:06] Speaker B: is I want to shape what it looks like to say yes to Jesus. To give that yes to Jesus. [00:05:14] Speaker A: See, for Many people, what we believe is to say yes to Christ, to [00:05:18] Speaker B: say yes to Jesus. [00:05:19] Speaker A: It's kind of like checking the box, right? Check the box. You know, do a couple things. Get up, pray, go on the Bible YouVersion app, and then you're kind of just done with your spirituality for the day. Or it's kind of Jesus fitting into your already busy schedule or managing your commitment to him and whatnot. But today, today I wanna help you. If you're taking down notes today, I wanna help you that saying yes to [00:05:45] Speaker B: Jesus is much more than that. [00:05:48] Speaker A: See, saying yes to Jesus isn't about adding him to your life. [00:05:52] Speaker B: It's about giving him your life. [00:05:56] Speaker A: It's not just about adding him into your schedule that you already got going on, whether it's school or family or jobs or career, whatever it may be. It's not just adding him to your [00:06:07] Speaker B: life, friends, it's about giving him your life. Because saying yes to Jesus changes who you are, how you live and why you live. Saying yes to Jesus, what it does, it changes everything. It changes everything. [00:06:28] Speaker A: And I wanna be rooted in this one particular passage. I love, love this passage. Every new Bible that I get, doesn't matter what it is, what version, small or big, I always highlight this passage every time I open up a brand new Bible. And that's found in. If you have your Bible, if you don't have one, if you have your device, you can go on your device or it'll be on the screen for you. I'm gonna go to Galatians chapter 2 in verse 20. This is the great apostle Paul that [00:06:54] Speaker B: wrote this wonderful, wonderful passage. And he says this. [00:06:58] Speaker A: Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. Love that very strong language right there. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I live in the body. Or some of your translations may say the flesh, the life that I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God. That's Jesus in the Son of God, [00:07:33] Speaker B: who loved me and gave himself up for me. [00:07:38] Speaker A: I love. [00:07:38] Speaker B: Paul talks about his yes to Jesus. [00:07:43] Speaker A: If you catch it, he says it actually very early on. [00:07:46] Speaker B: Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. [00:07:51] Speaker A: Now when you read that, if your first time reading this or your first time reading the Bible, you're kind of like, that's kind of strong language. And Paul means that, he means to insert this type of language, this type of radical commitment. What Paul ultimately says that Jesus didn't just come to make a better version of Paul. No. Jesus came to make Paul new. And Paul says, my yes to Jesus is saying no to my old ways. And I have crucified. That means that I put to death. Because crucifixion, we know that our Savior was crucified. He died literally. Not figuratively, but literally. [00:08:32] Speaker B: And Paul says. Paul ultimately says that I am no longer who I once was. [00:08:40] Speaker A: See, you gotta know a little bit about Paul. Paul was once a man that chased worth through his achievements. Paul was once a man that chased worth through religion. Paul was once a man that chased worth through all these external things. And I think that represents a lot of us. We're all chasing worth in something. We're all chasing value in some place in one way or another. Which is why we compare ourselves over and over exhaustively. [00:09:07] Speaker B: Right? I don't even know if that's a word, but I just made it up. Okay, Just go with it. Axe chatgpt later. Okay? [00:09:14] Speaker A: Right. Which is why we compare ourselves, which is why we double check on our Instagram to make sure that we got the likes that we want to get. What I'm trying to say is we ultimately are trying to find identity. That's just who we are. We were made that way. We're trying to find identity and success in relationships. How well we're liked, how much we make, how small we look, how strong we look, whatever it may be. Paul says, that was one way of [00:09:42] Speaker B: how I lived, but that way was exhausting. [00:09:47] Speaker A: That way was the pleading. That way was the feeding. That way got me nowhere. As a matter of fact, it drew me further from Jesus. That way. It drew me further from the real purpose and the real truth and the [00:10:02] Speaker B: real meaning that I'm ultimately searching for. And Paul says, and I think this is where you and I, what it looks like to say yes to Jesus is to say yes to the identity he came to give you. And your identity is not in what you achieve, but it's what he achieved for you that's a better identity. Why? Because what he achieved can never be taken away. It can never be lost. [00:10:32] Speaker A: It can never be robbed. It can never be defiled. It can never fade away. What Christ achieved for you and I going up on the cross, hanging, bloodied, and ultimately being crucified. That very reality, friends, Paul says, that is what defines me. I'm not defined by the failures. I'm not defined by the mistakes. I'm not defined by the sin. I'm not defined by the shame. I'm not defined by who Betrayed me. I'm not defined by any of those things. Because little do we realize. Little do we realize we are all [00:11:04] Speaker B: living a perception of life. [00:11:07] Speaker A: You're living some type of perception. You're seeing your life through a certain lens. And for many of us, we see [00:11:14] Speaker B: our lives through a lens of brokenness, right? For a lot of us, we're seeing our lives through the lens of frustration, of offense, of who hurt you. But Paul says, I found something better. I now see my life through the lens of what Jesus has done for me. And friends, that is enough. That is enough. Because Christ is enough. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ, right? Right. And Paul says, ultimately, I'm alive. But in order for something to live, it means something needs to die [00:12:08] Speaker A: in [00:12:08] Speaker B: order to be alive in Christ, in order to. For something to live. [00:12:13] Speaker A: Because what Christ came to do is to bring you. Bring. Bring you to life. [00:12:18] Speaker B: But in order for something to live, something must die. And friends, only you can answer what that looks like today. I'm sure you get the. The euphemism in that. [00:12:31] Speaker A: There are some things in our lives [00:12:32] Speaker B: that are keeping us from saying yes to Jesus. And those things need to die. [00:12:38] Speaker A: They don't need to go into a coma. They don't need to take a nap, right? No. There are just some things in our life and in my life that need to be crucified, right? That need to be put to death. Right? Because little do we realize there are things that will compete for your yes. Think about that. Culture competes for your yes. It throws out new trends, throws out new algorithms. [00:13:08] Speaker B: You don't want to see mine. [00:13:09] Speaker A: It's a little bit messed up, but anyway, it throws out new trends, throws out all new things, right? Culture is competing for your yes. Relationships are competing for your yes. Your brokenness and sin is competing for your yes. And whatever you give your yes to, [00:13:24] Speaker B: as we said before, ultimately shapes your life, right? Because the direction of your life is determined by whatever has your deepest yes. By whatever has your deepest yes. But when Jesus has your wholehearted yes, your life is secure because it's anchored in the one who is unchanging, faithful. Tonight, friends, tonight's about reminding ourselves the most important thing about me is Christ. [00:14:06] Speaker A: Where I get my value is Christ. Where my worth is Christ. How I need to understand me is first looking to Him. Because when I look to me, I tend to say yes to dead things, to the wrong things. [00:14:24] Speaker B: But when I look to him, when my eyes are fixed on him and I say, ultimately, he is the defining reality of my life. Well, friends, that's a much better yes we can commit to. [00:14:38] Speaker A: Then Paul says this. Paul says something amazing. As we move on, Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. The old me is dead and gone, right? It's dead and gone. I'm no longer that, that old person. I'm now new. I'm new in Christ, right? But, but now this, this new way. I'm sorry, this, this new life Christ [00:15:00] Speaker B: has given Paul ultimately produces a new way to live. Look what Paul says. [00:15:07] Speaker A: Bring up verse 20 for them. [00:15:09] Speaker B: Again, Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life that I live. Now listen to what he says. I live by faith. I live by faith. If you think about it, we all are living by something. Does that make sense? We're all living by something. [00:15:35] Speaker A: And if we're not careful, the things that. Pretty much what I'm trying to say is we all have things in our [00:15:41] Speaker B: lives or we make center, we make ultimate. [00:15:46] Speaker A: We say, this is the most important thing about my life. [00:15:51] Speaker B: But Paul says this, the way I understand life is through faith. My youngest son, I have a 4 year old. [00:16:03] Speaker A: He's gonna be 4 on Sunday. Crazy 4. He's gonna be 4 on Sunday. And he's in this phase where he wants to do everything on his own. It's cute, but it's annoying at the same time. Like, it's like, oh, you know, it's so cute. But no, give me the milk, bro. Like I'm trying to, you know, sit down, you know. And so he'll see me come in with all these groceries and I'll be walking in, he'll say, da da, I [00:16:26] Speaker B: got it, I got it. [00:16:27] Speaker A: Da da. And then he'll, you know, he'll do this thing, he'll stretch. [00:16:30] Speaker B: It's hilarious and cute. [00:16:31] Speaker A: And then he'll go to pick it up and then he says, I don't got it, I don't got it, I don't got it. But no, he'll keep trying and trying and, and trying more and more. And then I'll try to help him and then he'll get mad at me. He'll say, no, I got it, I got it. And then I'm clearly telling him, no, you don't have it. It's very obvious. We've been at this for 15 minutes. It's 99 degrees out. Okay, what are you doing right now? Right? He's just in this phase where he wants to do everything by himself. [00:17:01] Speaker B: But sadly, many of us never grow out of that stage. [00:17:08] Speaker A: Sadly, many of us never grow out of that stage. See, for a lot of us and Sarah talked about this earlier. A lot of us, we try to [00:17:16] Speaker B: carry burdens on our own. [00:17:19] Speaker A: When somebody asks you, how are you doing? [00:17:20] Speaker B: You say, I'm fine, but you're miserable. You're upset and angry all the time. But we try to carry burdens by ourselves. We try to control every outcome and everybody as well. [00:17:32] Speaker A: We convince ourselves and we tell ourselves, if I just work harder, if I just think smarter, if I just hold it all together, but then I'll get through this. But Paul says that's not the life that I live anymore. The life that I live is not self dependent. The life that I live is not looking. To me, the life that I live is a life that is postured and depending on Christ and Christ alone. Because that's what faith is. Faith is simply saying this, I can't, but Jesus can. That's what faith is saying, I can't fix this, I can't change them. You need to hear that very clear. I can't change it. I can't do anything about this. I can't. But Jesus can. And that's what faith is. Paul says that the way that I interpret my life is not through my circumstances, but rather I interpret my circumstances through who Christ is, through who Jesus is. To me, faith says I can't, but Jesus can. [00:18:43] Speaker B: Paul says the way that I operate, everything in life, even in the moments where I don't understand. Now, Paul's not talking about a blind faith. Paul's talking about a faith that says, I am not strong enough, I am not capable, but Christ is. And I think today our prayer as we jump into worship may be this. Jesus, give me more faith. That's not a bad prayer. As a matter of fact, the apostles prayed this prayer when things got difficult, [00:19:23] Speaker A: when things got shaky, when Christ became a little bit hard to interpret because things were getting a little bit confusing. You know what they said? [00:19:32] Speaker B: Increase our faith, increase our faith. Why? Because faith, friends, faith is the way where we see Christ at work in our lives over and over again. Because here's the truth, friends. We all will struggle. And some of us, we're struggling. But the question, the question, it's not whether if you will struggle, the real question is what will carry you when you do, what will ultimately carry you? Is it going to be you? Because you realize over and over that [00:20:20] Speaker A: you've tried harder and harder. [00:20:22] Speaker B: And we think Christianity is this Idea where I just work as hard as you can. [00:20:27] Speaker A: But no, Christianity has come to the end of yourself. [00:20:33] Speaker B: Because when you come to the end, that's where faith becomes so powerful and Christ becomes so clear. In those moments, friends, we all will struggle. But the question isn't if you will struggle. The question is, who will carry you when you struggle. When you struggle. Right. See, when I struggle, when I feel [00:21:04] Speaker A: lost, [00:21:06] Speaker B: when I feel defeated, when I feel alone, when I feel that my prayers are. They seem unanswered. When I feel desperate, faith shows up in those moments. Paul says, the life that I live now is a life faith. I interpret everything through who Christ is. Because when I do that, I'm reminded that I'm not alone. I'm reminded that he will fulfill his purpose for me. I'm reminded that greater is he that is in me. I'm reminded that he is my peace. I am reminded that he is my source. I am reminded that he is my strength. Because as I said before, we all live by something. Some of us, we live by fear. Some of us, we live by insecurity. Some of us, we live by shame. Some of us, we live by our past. But a life in Christ is a better, better way. Why? Because you get to live by faith. Not that you will always have all the answers, but you would have the one who holds it all in his hands. That's what it looks like. Then Paul. Paul landed with this. I love this. I love how Paul. Look. [00:22:41] Speaker A: Look what Paul does. [00:22:41] Speaker B: This is so cool. So cool. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life that I live now in the body. I live by faith. Look what he says in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Listen to this, friends. Paul doesn't talk about his commitment. He talks about Christ's commitment and he personalizes it. Bring up verse 20 for them, if you could. He says, I live by faith in who loved me. And he gave Himself up for me. Paul's ultimate point isn't talking about his commitment, but it's first talking about Christ's commitment. And what keeps us saying yes to Jesus? What keeps us going back to Jesus? [00:23:43] Speaker A: Is it to prove? Is it to get? Is it to finally receive? [00:23:51] Speaker B: No, no, friends, what fuels our yes is the love of Christ. Is the love of Christ. Because here's the truth, friends. Here's the reality. And this sits with me. There will be days where your faith feels weak. There will be days where you will stumble. There will be days where your love feels shaky. And what carries you isn't your love for Christ. It's the certainty of Christ's love for you. Today, friends, if anything, what we need is a fresh encounter of the love of Jesus. So many of us are looking for answers. So many of us want to know what are the options? But there's one thing that needs to touch our heart, and that is the heart of God and the love of Christ. This love is the reason why you keep saying yes to Jesus in Christ. He is worthy of our yes. Because he said yes first to you. Because He. He first said yes to you. As we worship and as we. As we come together, [00:25:30] Speaker A: many of us [00:25:31] Speaker B: are seeking for answers. [00:25:33] Speaker A: But what we need [00:25:36] Speaker B: is for God's heart to shine in our hearts, the love of God to become real to us, and to know that this yes that we give to Jesus is sustained because he loves us first. Everybody loves a good love story, right? Right. My wife got me watching Vampire Stories or Vampire Diaries. Yeah, yeah, don't judge me. It's called 16 Years of Marriage, okay? Right. And you know, it just. [00:26:17] Speaker A: It's all about love. [00:26:18] Speaker B: And, you know, you know. But you want to know what makes love story so compelling? It isn't when someone. Someone says, I love you, you from when someone gives themselves away. Because sacrifice gives love its depth, right? Sacrifice gives love its depth. And that's what we see on the cross. Because on the cross is where Christ, God himself, demonstrated his great love for us. For while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ knew we were going to get it wrong. When Christ knew we were going to say yes to the wrong things, he said yes to the cross for you and for me. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I pray and I hope and I pray that you would help us to see the love of Christ more today through the songs, through the teaching, through the words, through the connections, through the conversations, whatever it may be, Lord, help us to not just know this love, but help us to experience this love more and more. I pray that tonight is not just another night where we just are looking to be entertained, but rather we would encounter the love of God for us today. And that love changes everything. That love changes the way we think. That love changes how we respond. That love changes our affections. That love changes our attention. That love changes our commitments. This love changes everything. When we see the cross, we don't just see sin paid for. We see love. We should love. So help us, Lord. Work in us Lord, strengthen us, O Lord, say your son's perfect name is who we pray. Amen and amen.