WEBVTT 00:00.271 --> 00:15.502 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, if you would stand for the reading of the word and we're going to do it a little different this morning We're going to read it together because every a lot of people know this prayer, but we know it in so many different translations And some of you may not know what's so we're going to read this together 00:16.663 --> 00:25.587 [SPEAKER_00]: Our Father in heaven, howl it be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:26.287 --> 00:43.015 [SPEAKER_00]: Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one, for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. 00:43.715 --> 00:44.095 [SPEAKER_00]: Amen. 00:44.355 --> 00:46.396 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, this is the word of the Lord. 00:48.036 --> 00:48.416 [SPEAKER_00]: Amen. 00:48.456 --> 00:49.016 [SPEAKER_00]: Thanks, Peter. 00:49.036 --> 00:49.937 [SPEAKER_00]: God, for sure. 00:50.197 --> 00:51.617 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, you go ahead and be seated. 00:51.977 --> 00:53.958 [SPEAKER_00]: Unless you want to stand the whole sermon, that's fun. 00:54.678 --> 00:55.758 [SPEAKER_00]: I want you to be comfortable. 00:57.079 --> 01:02.680 [SPEAKER_00]: Um, what's amazing is this is the prayer Jesus taught us disciples, right? 01:03.120 --> 01:09.182 [SPEAKER_00]: And at one point in the gospel's Jesus asks, I mean the disciples, hey, teach us to pray like John teaches his disciples. 01:09.202 --> 01:10.902 [SPEAKER_00]: This is what a rabbi would do. 01:10.942 --> 01:12.583 [SPEAKER_00]: He would teach us disciples how to pray. 01:13.323 --> 01:26.333 [SPEAKER_00]: And so one day, I'm doing coaching with a gentleman I'm taking through this process and we're in this connect with God peace and we're talking about prayer and he just was talking about how it's just a difficult thing for him to do, prayers difficult. 01:26.353 --> 01:29.135 [SPEAKER_00]: And so I said, look Jesus said, pray like this. 01:29.175 --> 01:32.637 [SPEAKER_00]: And so I just walked him through the process, right? 01:32.657 --> 01:34.098 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I would just walk him through the prayer. 01:34.438 --> 01:35.599 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, man, I know that prayer. 01:36.080 --> 01:37.741 [SPEAKER_00]: We used to pray at before football games. 01:40.022 --> 01:45.085 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm like, that's good, you know, I know prayers very controversial now, you know, among football games. 01:45.105 --> 01:51.408 [SPEAKER_00]: But I remember thinking, they're praying, your kingdom come, your will be done. 01:51.808 --> 01:54.109 [SPEAKER_00]: And we all know who wants to win that football game, right? 01:55.270 --> 01:55.970 [SPEAKER_00]: They want to win. 01:56.010 --> 01:57.291 [SPEAKER_00]: And the other team wants to win. 01:58.571 --> 01:59.252 [SPEAKER_00]: But they're praying. 01:59.492 --> 02:05.995 [SPEAKER_00]: So you know what I did more like this, but I said, why do people pray the Lord's prayer? 02:07.126 --> 02:07.746 [SPEAKER_00]: before game. 02:08.007 --> 02:09.448 [SPEAKER_00]: And there's two reasons. 02:09.768 --> 02:11.950 [SPEAKER_00]: One, it sort of calms their nerves. 02:11.970 --> 02:13.651 [SPEAKER_00]: That's why they pray the Lord's prayer. 02:13.671 --> 02:14.291 [SPEAKER_00]: They don't mean it. 02:15.392 --> 02:18.214 [SPEAKER_00]: They just sort of calms their nerves, just to pray. 02:18.254 --> 02:21.516 [SPEAKER_00]: And the other reason was, it was sort of unifying for the whole team. 02:22.197 --> 02:27.761 [SPEAKER_00]: It was just a familiar scripture and they would read it together so they would get calm and they would unify. 02:27.781 --> 02:30.263 [SPEAKER_00]: But yet, they're praying these words. 02:30.303 --> 02:30.483 [SPEAKER_00]: You're 02:35.918 --> 02:47.467 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, not my will be done, but God, your will be done when we pray that we're saying, God, you're kingdom, you're authority, it come and your will not mind, it it be done. 02:48.551 --> 02:51.333 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I'm going to come back to that verse in just a minute. 02:51.373 --> 02:55.896 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, last week was a great message on Ephesians 2-8 and non. 02:55.956 --> 02:57.938 [SPEAKER_00]: And I want us to read that together as well. 02:57.958 --> 02:59.779 [SPEAKER_00]: And you can stay seated, but let's read this together. 03:00.480 --> 03:04.182 [SPEAKER_00]: For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. 03:04.322 --> 03:04.783 [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, stop. 03:04.883 --> 03:06.344 [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all read much better standing up. 03:06.364 --> 03:08.746 [SPEAKER_00]: But let's read like we're standing up, OK? 03:10.027 --> 03:11.068 [SPEAKER_00]: All right, let's read it out loud. 03:11.488 --> 03:15.331 [SPEAKER_00]: For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. 03:16.012 --> 03:18.294 [SPEAKER_00]: And this is not from yourselves. 03:18.634 --> 03:24.339 [SPEAKER_00]: It is the gift of God, not by work so that no one can boast. 03:26.280 --> 03:31.185 [SPEAKER_00]: And last week, last week Nicole gave her testimony. 03:32.061 --> 03:39.904 [SPEAKER_00]: And if you missed it, I would love you to go back to the church website, YouTube, however you can find it. 03:40.004 --> 03:51.248 [SPEAKER_00]: And watch that service watch that testimony because in there you're going to see how this person used to be this other thing. 03:52.710 --> 03:58.132 [SPEAKER_00]: Like, when she gave her testimonies, I can't even imagine what she was like before. 03:58.412 --> 03:59.853 [SPEAKER_00]: And it was just four years ago. 03:59.873 --> 04:04.054 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, she talks about how the Lord saved her and has sanctified her, right? 04:04.655 --> 04:12.718 [SPEAKER_00]: And she went from death to life, just like Ephesians 2, 1 talks about, she was dead and she came alive and looked like many of us in this room. 04:14.124 --> 04:16.046 [SPEAKER_00]: And she told us, it was faith in Jesus. 04:16.747 --> 04:18.389 [SPEAKER_00]: It was nothing that she did. 04:18.850 --> 04:20.872 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen, it was the gift of God. 04:21.152 --> 04:24.336 [SPEAKER_00]: And the only boast that she did that day was in Jesus Christ. 04:24.997 --> 04:26.458 [SPEAKER_00]: It was in the Lord because of what she did. 04:26.759 --> 04:29.062 [SPEAKER_00]: Her testimony displayed this truth right here. 04:29.442 --> 04:30.223 [SPEAKER_00]: It displayed this truth. 04:30.243 --> 04:33.266 [SPEAKER_00]: You cannot experience the grace of God and remain the same. 04:35.021 --> 04:37.983 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, you may not be exactly where you want to be. 04:38.083 --> 04:39.945 [SPEAKER_00]: Look, none of us are where we want to be, right? 04:40.446 --> 04:42.488 [SPEAKER_00]: But we're not like we used to be thank God. 04:43.128 --> 04:45.070 [SPEAKER_00]: We're not dead in our sins, thank God. 04:46.411 --> 04:56.020 [SPEAKER_00]: But we saw, in our testimony, grace also extended to her from other people. 04:58.087 --> 05:01.150 [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I'm 58 years old, I got saved when I was 20. 05:01.790 --> 05:04.472 [SPEAKER_00]: And so, like 38 years ago, I got saved. 05:05.814 --> 05:10.137 [SPEAKER_00]: And when I first got saved, if you'd asked me what grace was, I said, grace is, I got forgiveness of sin. 05:10.197 --> 05:16.863 [SPEAKER_00]: So, you know, I wouldn't know much, but it was, man, 38 years later, I see God's grace in so many forms. 05:18.024 --> 05:19.846 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, I see God's grace in his goodness. 05:19.886 --> 05:22.208 [SPEAKER_00]: I've got 17 kids, I don't deserve one. 05:22.988 --> 05:25.110 [SPEAKER_00]: And now, I'm sorry, I got, don't have 17 kids. 05:26.561 --> 05:30.923 [SPEAKER_00]: I have six boys, four dollars in law in seven grandkids. 05:31.944 --> 05:32.944 [SPEAKER_00]: I deserve none of them. 05:33.784 --> 05:35.825 [SPEAKER_00]: That's God's goodness to me, right? 05:35.845 --> 05:38.027 [SPEAKER_00]: That's God's goodness. 05:38.727 --> 05:49.192 [SPEAKER_00]: Throughout her testimony, we see grace extended her by others who have been transformed by the work of Jesus Christ, by the grace of Jesus Christ. 05:50.685 --> 06:12.005 [SPEAKER_00]: We see that over and over, and we see Ephesians 2, 10 at work, and so let's read that out loud together for we are God's hand you work, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do, before I get back to our testimony, I want to say this, in here we find identity. 06:15.121 --> 06:17.924 [SPEAKER_00]: you and our created in Christ Jesus. 06:17.984 --> 06:19.546 [SPEAKER_00]: We are God's hand you work. 06:19.566 --> 06:30.758 [SPEAKER_00]: Some translation say, where His workmanship and the word there for that, the Greek word for that is poem and only reason I tell you this, that's where we get the word poem before from. 06:32.476 --> 06:39.544 [SPEAKER_00]: Like you are an expression of the heart of God, you are an expression of his design of his glory, right? 06:39.764 --> 06:53.000 [SPEAKER_00]: When you and you and I, being God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus, when we got saved, we are recreated, part of our new identity, right, is to do good works which he prepared in advance for us to do. 06:54.963 --> 07:01.566 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, you are a work of art by the master designer. 07:01.606 --> 07:02.666 [SPEAKER_00]: That's who you are. 07:04.227 --> 07:11.430 [SPEAKER_00]: And so now, you get to do good works that he planned long before he created you for this. 07:11.530 --> 07:12.911 [SPEAKER_00]: It's God worked in you. 07:13.391 --> 07:14.932 [SPEAKER_00]: So now he can work through you. 07:16.212 --> 07:19.014 [SPEAKER_00]: God worked in you, I want you to understand this truth. 07:19.194 --> 07:21.675 [SPEAKER_00]: So that now that he can work through you. 07:22.905 --> 07:25.607 [SPEAKER_00]: He is, it's not just, you got to save the serve. 07:26.768 --> 07:34.634 [SPEAKER_00]: No, you got to save to do the work of God so that God could be glorified through your works, through the design he made you to be. 07:34.874 --> 07:41.359 [SPEAKER_00]: King David knew this when he wrote this Psalm 139, 16, I'll read this, your eyes saw my unformed body. 07:42.140 --> 07:47.023 [SPEAKER_00]: All the days or dayne for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 07:49.625 --> 07:50.286 [SPEAKER_00]: All of our days. 07:52.726 --> 07:54.867 [SPEAKER_00]: were ordained before we came to being. 07:55.107 --> 08:08.192 [SPEAKER_00]: Throughout her testimony, it was a beautiful testimony boasted in the Lord, but in that salvation experience, man, she talked about her quenine group, her small group here on Tuesday nights. 08:09.033 --> 08:13.955 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, she talked about how they embraced her and how they loved her and that the iron, sharpening iron. 08:14.195 --> 08:15.275 [SPEAKER_00]: But I'll tell you what it really is. 08:15.616 --> 08:16.476 [SPEAKER_00]: It's the fellowship. 08:17.664 --> 08:31.652 [SPEAKER_00]: the beauty that felt but she talked about how she was embraced there met her husband there right she talked about when she came to celebrate recovery and a friend met her at the door good works right good works at queenia good works here a friend met her at the door 08:32.548 --> 08:37.409 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, she talked about her, her sponsor, and who's like a mother to her, right? 08:38.029 --> 08:41.610 [SPEAKER_00]: And listen to her and walk with her through this process. 08:42.330 --> 08:45.951 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, she just talked about the people throughout it. 08:46.151 --> 08:47.132 [SPEAKER_00]: She talked about her wedding. 08:47.152 --> 08:48.292 [SPEAKER_00]: Now I've done a lot of weddings. 08:48.452 --> 08:49.132 [SPEAKER_00]: I've done a lot. 08:49.992 --> 08:52.873 [SPEAKER_00]: But this is, I'll never forget this one. 08:52.893 --> 08:55.053 [SPEAKER_00]: I almost said it was one of my favorite, but I may have done your wedding. 08:55.173 --> 08:56.674 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't want to do that. 08:57.934 --> 08:59.494 [SPEAKER_00]: Now I'll tell you what is beautiful about it. 09:02.957 --> 09:05.658 [SPEAKER_00]: They were just going to a low, not a low. 09:06.019 --> 09:08.800 [SPEAKER_00]: We did their pre-marital, and they were just going to do it outside my office. 09:09.921 --> 09:15.543 [SPEAKER_00]: But her co-need group found out about it, and her celebrate recovery groups found out about it. 09:16.104 --> 09:23.007 [SPEAKER_00]: And it was one of the most beautiful celebrations of God's work in those two. 09:23.888 --> 09:25.068 [SPEAKER_00]: It was incredible, right? 09:27.269 --> 09:30.111 [SPEAKER_00]: Good works prepared in advance for others to do. 09:32.508 --> 09:40.333 [SPEAKER_00]: these people that you've heard about her testimony and that was planned long ago from them to be part of Nicole's testimony. 09:41.694 --> 09:47.118 [SPEAKER_00]: Last night at last Tuesday night I spoke at betterman briefly and I want to tell you what I saw. 09:47.718 --> 09:55.383 [SPEAKER_00]: I saw this next generation of leadership I saw a rego and I saw when he couldn't be there that night but I saw Jeff and I saw Brian. 09:57.510 --> 10:03.974 [SPEAKER_00]: And I want to tell you something, they asked me to speak this for a minute in Jeff Taylor, welcome to everybody introduce me. 10:04.014 --> 10:17.403 [SPEAKER_00]: And then he prayed this prayer, a fate, a vision, a depth, and I peaked. 10:18.484 --> 10:23.047 [SPEAKER_00]: I literally opened one mouth, I think he wrote this, and he's prepared this, and he's reading this. 10:23.567 --> 10:24.748 [SPEAKER_00]: And I wanted to copy of it. 10:29.424 --> 10:35.874 [SPEAKER_00]: That prayer was planned long ago to pray over those guys, that night. 10:37.456 --> 10:39.019 [SPEAKER_00]: I saw other people serving that night. 10:39.079 --> 10:40.842 [SPEAKER_00]: Good works planned long ago. 10:42.053 --> 10:43.094 [SPEAKER_00]: Not the care ministry. 10:43.134 --> 10:51.442 [SPEAKER_00]: We met not too long ago, men and women who love Jesus Christ that loved this church, who have been through some situations themselves. 10:51.742 --> 10:52.162 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what? 10:52.182 --> 10:55.465 [SPEAKER_00]: I have ministered to you and I don't know all the stories, Cartina and Scott and England. 10:55.485 --> 11:01.571 [SPEAKER_00]: We don't know all the stories of how they've cared and loved people, but those good works are planned and advanced to do. 11:03.733 --> 11:05.655 [SPEAKER_00]: And God will take your painful experiences. 11:08.220 --> 11:17.848 [SPEAKER_00]: That same night, that same Tuesday night, I saw David and Gene Rotten here, leading grief share because I know what it is to lose someone. 11:19.570 --> 11:28.117 [SPEAKER_00]: And somebody that didn't even sign up happened to walk in and was, man, they were prepared because they said, yes, Lord, your will be done. 11:29.278 --> 11:32.060 [SPEAKER_00]: Good works, planned, and long ago. 11:32.761 --> 11:33.562 [SPEAKER_00]: Our CR team. 11:35.160 --> 12:02.574 [SPEAKER_00]: Made up of former drug addicts and alcoholists and sex addicts and depressed and and angry people And God's using them because it was planned long ago Kind of tell you what I think one of the greatest ministries that you can do is just show up Just show up and I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hand, but there's times and you're probably this person today There's times you thought I just don't think I'm gonna go today. 12:02.634 --> 12:03.575 [SPEAKER_00]: I just don't feel it 12:05.423 --> 12:09.487 [SPEAKER_00]: I can't tell you something that you may do, a hug, manny hugged me down here. 12:10.608 --> 12:11.730 [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't even see it coming. 12:13.051 --> 12:14.432 [SPEAKER_00]: Just gave me this hug. 12:14.753 --> 12:15.433 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what it told me? 12:15.474 --> 12:16.094 [SPEAKER_00]: He'd loved me. 12:18.957 --> 12:24.763 [SPEAKER_00]: You're showing up in being kind and loving and welcoming and in tune with people. 12:26.005 --> 12:28.107 [SPEAKER_00]: And good works planned long ago. 12:30.087 --> 12:31.951 [SPEAKER_00]: You come to faith to God alone. 12:32.673 --> 12:33.194 [SPEAKER_00]: Understand this. 12:33.214 --> 12:37.022 [SPEAKER_00]: You come to faith to God alone, but you continue in your faith to the people of God. 12:38.260 --> 12:39.521 [SPEAKER_00]: We need one another. 12:39.561 --> 12:41.261 [SPEAKER_00]: Look, I'm going to tell you, you are needed. 12:41.982 --> 12:45.203 [SPEAKER_00]: You are necessary part of the body of Christ. 12:45.443 --> 12:48.245 [SPEAKER_00]: You are necessary part of Easteridge. 12:48.905 --> 12:49.205 [SPEAKER_00]: All right? 12:49.505 --> 12:52.086 [SPEAKER_00]: You are needed and we need each other. 12:52.126 --> 12:53.367 [SPEAKER_00]: It's God's design. 12:53.987 --> 13:02.091 [SPEAKER_00]: And you need the ministry of other people, never underestimate the power of showing up, never underestimate the power of attending. 13:02.591 --> 13:06.073 [SPEAKER_00]: There is ministry in an up fellowship. 13:07.033 --> 13:11.154 [SPEAKER_00]: These people in the colonists testimony, they were created in Christ Jesus and to good works. 13:11.274 --> 13:13.235 [SPEAKER_00]: All those days were ordained. 13:13.255 --> 13:20.697 [SPEAKER_00]: They were already fashion and that we right now, you and I, we are working out the will of God in our lives. 13:21.978 --> 13:27.719 [SPEAKER_00]: Right now, by you being, I'm telling you right now, it is a will of God for you to be here right now. 13:28.560 --> 13:29.760 [SPEAKER_00]: And you and I are created. 13:30.760 --> 13:31.560 [SPEAKER_00]: four good works. 13:31.600 --> 13:36.262 [SPEAKER_00]: We're created for this day to do good works, which he prepared in advance for us to do. 13:36.522 --> 13:39.824 [SPEAKER_00]: Now some of us find that very comforting, Scott England started this service. 13:39.844 --> 13:43.785 [SPEAKER_00]: He said, you know what, that's very comforting because I know today, I got God's will to do. 13:44.685 --> 13:48.087 [SPEAKER_00]: Now some of you are overthinkers aren't you, right? 13:48.147 --> 13:49.567 [SPEAKER_00]: And more than what does that mean? 13:49.687 --> 13:50.768 [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, right? 13:52.349 --> 13:53.169 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm an overthinker. 13:54.609 --> 13:55.350 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm an overthinker. 13:57.010 --> 13:58.491 [SPEAKER_00]: This question of God's will. 14:00.685 --> 14:05.406 [SPEAKER_00]: has allowed it to paralyze me for years, right? 14:06.346 --> 14:08.886 [SPEAKER_00]: Cause just like, how will I know what what I do, right? 14:10.887 --> 14:12.367 [SPEAKER_00]: This then is how you should pray. 14:14.007 --> 14:17.248 [SPEAKER_00]: Your kingdom come, your will be done. 14:19.048 --> 14:22.269 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's easy to pray, but to put aside your wills a heart thing sometimes. 14:23.089 --> 14:25.969 [SPEAKER_00]: Cause sometimes I think I know the will of God and I better say it right now. 14:28.010 --> 14:29.250 [SPEAKER_00]: And that didn't turn out real well. 14:30.853 --> 14:40.570 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm honest, right, or you know, I need to pay that bill for them, and then they used it for drugs, right? 14:41.820 --> 14:44.202 [SPEAKER_00]: It's hard sometimes to think you know the will of God. 14:45.022 --> 14:47.965 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm already overthinking it right now, as I'm sitting up here. 14:48.485 --> 14:49.726 [SPEAKER_00]: This then is how you should pray. 14:50.306 --> 14:52.308 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul talks about this in Romans 12. 14:52.348 --> 14:54.830 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm gonna read through all of Romans 12 right now. 14:54.990 --> 14:56.051 [SPEAKER_00]: We're just gonna read through this. 14:56.371 --> 15:00.074 [SPEAKER_00]: He talks about how to apply your kingdom come and your will be done. 15:00.114 --> 15:06.659 [SPEAKER_00]: So in Romans 12 when he says, therefore, our urge you brothers and sisters and few of God's mercy, death to life, 15:07.980 --> 15:09.421 [SPEAKER_00]: Tinder Mercy's new every day. 15:09.481 --> 15:21.011 [SPEAKER_00]: I could go on, but if you guys mercy to all for your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship. 15:21.051 --> 15:22.132 [SPEAKER_00]: You wanna know what worship is? 15:22.212 --> 15:23.774 [SPEAKER_00]: It's great to worship through song. 15:23.794 --> 15:24.975 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what real worship is? 15:25.235 --> 15:26.616 [SPEAKER_00]: Say, hey, I'm yours. 15:26.976 --> 15:28.097 [SPEAKER_00]: I prayer shouldn't be God. 15:28.157 --> 15:29.058 [SPEAKER_00]: What do you want me to do? 15:29.078 --> 15:30.640 [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, I prayer should be this. 15:30.860 --> 15:31.941 [SPEAKER_00]: God, you can have all of me. 15:33.590 --> 15:47.679 [SPEAKER_00]: our first prayers not what man my first prayer Lord take me I am yours you use me however you want well how do we get there Paul continues do you not conform to the patterns of this world 15:48.747 --> 15:57.313 [SPEAKER_00]: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you'll be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. 15:57.953 --> 16:05.118 [SPEAKER_00]: Then you'll be able to test, be transformed by the renewing of your mind, then you'll be able to test and approve what is good, pleasing, and perfect will is. 16:07.099 --> 16:09.181 [SPEAKER_00]: God doesn't necessarily want to change what we do. 16:10.742 --> 16:12.003 [SPEAKER_00]: He wants to change who we are. 16:15.445 --> 16:16.786 [SPEAKER_00]: He changes our thinking. 16:18.453 --> 16:19.834 [SPEAKER_00]: so that we can know His will. 16:21.075 --> 16:27.218 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm gonna say this, it's almost impossible to know the will of God, if you don't know the Word of God. 16:28.939 --> 16:32.341 [SPEAKER_00]: And we need to be, to be students, that may we need to have perfected it. 16:32.401 --> 16:36.804 [SPEAKER_00]: You can start out at day one in your walk with Jesus, but start out in the Word of God. 16:36.844 --> 16:40.866 [SPEAKER_00]: And the more you stay in the Word of God, the clear of the will of God will become. 16:41.547 --> 16:46.830 [SPEAKER_00]: And then he continues, Father, by the grace given me, I say to every one of you, 16:48.564 --> 16:49.525 [SPEAKER_00]: Listen to these words. 16:50.566 --> 16:52.989 [SPEAKER_00]: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. 16:55.672 --> 16:57.674 [SPEAKER_00]: That is so anti-raculture in it. 16:58.913 --> 17:04.994 [SPEAKER_00]: but rather think of yourself with sober judgment and accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 17:05.034 --> 17:09.255 [SPEAKER_00]: He's talking about these gifts and these acts of abilities and things you can do to serve. 17:09.555 --> 17:15.156 [SPEAKER_00]: For just as each of us has one body with many members and these members not all of us have the same function. 17:15.797 --> 17:21.878 [SPEAKER_00]: So in Christ, we, the many form one body and each member belongs to all the others. 17:23.316 --> 17:24.637 [SPEAKER_00]: all of us belong to one another. 17:24.657 --> 17:27.660 [SPEAKER_00]: We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. 17:28.000 --> 17:32.724 [SPEAKER_00]: If your gift is prophesying, preaching, then prophesying, and of course with your faith. 17:32.964 --> 17:34.886 [SPEAKER_00]: If it is serving, then serve. 17:34.946 --> 17:36.747 [SPEAKER_00]: If it is teaching, then teach. 17:36.787 --> 17:38.989 [SPEAKER_00]: If it is encouraged, then giving encouragement. 17:39.049 --> 17:41.111 [SPEAKER_00]: If it is giving, then give generously. 17:41.151 --> 17:43.212 [SPEAKER_00]: If it is to lead, do it, diligent. 17:43.292 --> 17:45.634 [SPEAKER_00]: If it is to show mercy, do it, cheerfully. 17:45.654 --> 17:46.355 [SPEAKER_00]: You know what he said? 17:46.535 --> 17:49.758 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, whatever God's entrusted you to do, hey, do it. 17:51.293 --> 17:56.017 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, you'll know by the grace he's given to you, you'll know by the gift, you'll know by the ability. 17:56.057 --> 17:57.879 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, if he's given it to you, do it. 17:58.139 --> 17:59.400 [SPEAKER_00]: And I also be careful this. 17:59.500 --> 18:00.861 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't have gift envy. 18:02.983 --> 18:04.384 [SPEAKER_00]: I am music people, right? 18:04.444 --> 18:05.926 [SPEAKER_00]: No, they don't have envy. 18:05.946 --> 18:08.027 [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of us envy them. 18:08.067 --> 18:10.550 [SPEAKER_00]: We wish we could do what they do, right? 18:11.512 --> 18:23.360 [SPEAKER_00]: or we wish we could be like the leader, we wish we could preach like courage, we wish we could counsel like this, but we wish we could know, God say, hey, whatever God's entrusted you to do, and do it. 18:25.762 --> 18:31.505 [SPEAKER_00]: So now he goes from this big assignments to his daily will for us. 18:33.987 --> 18:37.129 [SPEAKER_00]: He gets into the daily will, he gets into the weeds here. 18:38.750 --> 18:40.451 [SPEAKER_00]: He says, there's love, must be sincere, 18:42.737 --> 19:07.329 [SPEAKER_00]: Cling to what is good, think about this playing out in your daily life, love must be sincere, hate what is evil, and cling to what is good, be to vote it to one another in love, honor one another above yourselves, never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual 19:10.429 --> 19:20.557 [SPEAKER_00]: Daily will here, be joyful and hope, patient and inflection, faithful and prayer, share with the Lord's people who are in need, practice hospitality. 19:22.178 --> 19:23.379 [SPEAKER_00]: He's talking to the church. 19:23.419 --> 19:29.244 [SPEAKER_00]: He's not just talking to the people that might be really good in some of these areas, and some of them are going to be better than others in this. 19:32.186 --> 19:36.770 [SPEAKER_00]: He says be diligent, right here in the middle of all this, be diligent, do not lose 19:42.364 --> 19:46.445 [SPEAKER_00]: don't lose that church and don't lose that. 19:47.306 --> 19:50.627 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, we need to guard our time alone with the Lord. 19:50.647 --> 19:52.527 [SPEAKER_00]: We need to guard our time in the world. 19:52.547 --> 19:56.569 [SPEAKER_00]: We need to set aside time for being together as a body of Christ. 19:56.609 --> 19:58.890 [SPEAKER_00]: Man, we need to guard those moments. 20:00.350 --> 20:04.411 [SPEAKER_00]: If not, we'll lose our fire for the Lord. 20:05.872 --> 20:06.872 [SPEAKER_00]: We need one another. 20:07.973 --> 20:08.613 [SPEAKER_00]: Be diligent. 20:08.633 --> 20:09.533 [SPEAKER_00]: Don't lose your fire. 20:13.387 --> 20:25.694 [SPEAKER_00]: He continues, and he gets tough, bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. 20:27.315 --> 20:35.659 [SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn, church, live in harmony with one another. 20:36.640 --> 20:40.822 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul later says, as much as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 20:43.809 --> 21:01.997 [SPEAKER_00]: do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position, do not be conceded, do not repay anyone evil for evil, be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 21:04.018 --> 21:08.600 [SPEAKER_00]: And again, he says, if it is possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 21:12.125 --> 21:17.709 [SPEAKER_00]: Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. 21:17.749 --> 21:21.471 [SPEAKER_00]: For this written, it is mine to revenge, I will replace it's a Lord. 21:22.212 --> 21:37.382 [SPEAKER_00]: On the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is searched to give him something to drink, and doing this, you will keep burning colds on his head, which is a blessing not a, oh, we'll get him in the end, kind of calm out. 21:38.835 --> 21:40.936 [SPEAKER_00]: This is actually providing heat for their home. 21:41.216 --> 21:42.357 [SPEAKER_00]: This is actually a blessing. 21:43.458 --> 21:45.219 [SPEAKER_00]: Do not be overcome by evil. 21:46.700 --> 21:48.261 [SPEAKER_00]: But overcome evil with good. 21:50.102 --> 21:55.945 [SPEAKER_00]: The will of God, Paul gets very practical, incredibly practical, blessed people who hurt you. 21:56.766 --> 22:06.232 [SPEAKER_00]: Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn, don't become proud associated with humble people, don't repay evil with evil, pursue peace, don't seek revenge and overcome evil with good. 22:09.075 --> 22:17.778 [SPEAKER_00]: He gets very practical and know this, doing God's will isn't just completing my responsibilities. 22:20.038 --> 22:23.359 [SPEAKER_00]: It's faithfully loving the people God has placed around me. 22:26.500 --> 22:32.102 [SPEAKER_00]: As you and I mature in our faith, we realize it's not about what He wants us to do so much 22:39.025 --> 22:46.687 [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of times, we make God's will more about what, instead of who we may more about ourselves. 22:47.427 --> 22:51.208 [SPEAKER_00]: What He's saying is, here, live out God's will among the people around you. 22:52.388 --> 22:55.969 [SPEAKER_00]: You know where I'm going to live out my will a lot of times, I think God's will for me is futuristic. 22:56.169 --> 22:57.029 [SPEAKER_00]: No, it's today. 22:57.289 --> 22:58.209 [SPEAKER_00]: I need to love you. 23:00.250 --> 23:01.610 [SPEAKER_00]: We need to love one another. 23:02.730 --> 23:09.995 [SPEAKER_00]: I live out God's will with you guys, and then when I'm in the world, I'm going to live out God's will with them and hopefully to them. 23:11.196 --> 23:14.037 [SPEAKER_00]: So let me ask you this question, who's around you on a daily basis? 23:15.859 --> 23:23.023 [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe a home, maybe maybe a work, maybe maybe a school, church groups. 23:23.083 --> 23:23.944 [SPEAKER_00]: Who are you around? 23:24.484 --> 23:28.087 [SPEAKER_00]: Because I'm going to tell you right now, they're the recipients of you doing God's will. 23:29.035 --> 23:30.977 [SPEAKER_00]: And maybe we've never realized that before. 23:31.498 --> 23:35.802 [SPEAKER_00]: And how we do it is so much more than what we do. 23:36.543 --> 23:41.508 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, in 1 Corinthians Paul, he writes these between these two chapters on gifts. 23:41.849 --> 23:42.790 [SPEAKER_00]: He writes this chapter. 23:42.810 --> 23:50.277 [SPEAKER_00]: He says, if I speak in the tongues of men of the angels, but do not have love, I'm only a resounding, young, and a clanging symbols. 23:56.350 --> 24:12.640 [SPEAKER_00]: have just don't matter, it's so possible to do the right thing and not love people and pauses. 24:12.661 --> 24:21.306 [SPEAKER_00]: You know, it sounds like it's so possible to use our spiritual gifts and have not love. 24:22.707 --> 24:24.088 [SPEAKER_00]: You can be gifted and abrasive. 24:26.596 --> 24:30.537 [SPEAKER_00]: We can serve, and be angry, we can lead, and not love. 24:31.617 --> 24:34.497 [SPEAKER_00]: We can teach and not care about the people we're teaching. 24:41.799 --> 24:43.379 [SPEAKER_00]: It's not about so much what we do. 24:44.019 --> 24:45.239 [SPEAKER_00]: It's much as how we do it. 24:49.060 --> 24:50.100 [SPEAKER_00]: We've got to love them another. 24:51.801 --> 24:53.581 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll be honest, it's not always easy. 24:57.805 --> 24:59.426 [SPEAKER_00]: But that is the will of God for us. 25:01.288 --> 25:03.750 [SPEAKER_00]: Paul just walked through what it would it looks like. 25:05.291 --> 25:06.953 [SPEAKER_00]: Going back to Nicole's testimony. 25:08.014 --> 25:09.195 [SPEAKER_00]: Look at Paul's testimony. 25:10.396 --> 25:15.340 [SPEAKER_00]: Killing over seeing the killing of Stephen, these murderous threats he went from death to life. 25:17.842 --> 25:18.642 [SPEAKER_00]: Your testimony. 25:21.225 --> 25:22.766 [SPEAKER_00]: You're living out your testimony right now. 25:25.187 --> 25:27.848 [SPEAKER_00]: We are living out our testimony right this moment. 25:30.909 --> 25:37.310 [SPEAKER_00]: And as we live out this testimony, we're also being prepared for future works. 25:38.371 --> 25:46.913 [SPEAKER_00]: And I didn't really briefly, I was even told this morning, Lobby Know where we're starting this thing called Better Together, and I don't really don't want to get into it a whole lot. 25:47.373 --> 25:49.474 [SPEAKER_00]: But I want to tell you how the Lord's been working in that. 25:52.327 --> 25:54.489 [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not going to explain the whole all what it is, I guess. 25:54.549 --> 25:58.313 [SPEAKER_00]: But 10 years ago, and I'm not stepping away from East Ridge. 25:58.533 --> 25:59.594 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm like a bad fungus. 25:59.714 --> 26:01.016 [SPEAKER_00]: You can't get rid of me, you know. 26:03.658 --> 26:06.921 [SPEAKER_00]: But I could not have done this 10 years ago what we're doing. 26:08.083 --> 26:08.963 [SPEAKER_00]: I could not have done it. 26:10.245 --> 26:11.286 [SPEAKER_00]: Nor would I have wanted to. 26:13.074 --> 26:24.603 [SPEAKER_00]: I started here as a youth minister 37 years ago and I've held about every other than preschool director, I've held every title or position, minus worship leader, I even let worship with students, right? 26:25.564 --> 26:28.587 [SPEAKER_00]: I've done all that, I was a senior pastor, I've done all that. 26:29.147 --> 26:34.151 [SPEAKER_00]: And then the Lord had me step down to be the suburb of recovery pastor. 26:35.352 --> 26:41.117 [SPEAKER_00]: And I love it, but I'll never get that first night, I walked down, I'm walking my car and I'm like, Lord, this is great, but why am I here? 26:42.670 --> 26:43.771 [SPEAKER_00]: This is not what I had planned. 26:46.472 --> 26:47.973 [SPEAKER_00]: My kingdom come, my will be done, Lord. 26:49.394 --> 26:50.334 [SPEAKER_00]: This is not what I had planned. 26:50.374 --> 26:50.794 [SPEAKER_00]: I love it. 26:50.814 --> 26:51.915 [SPEAKER_00]: These people are fantastic. 26:51.935 --> 26:54.997 [SPEAKER_00]: And it fits me like a glove, but it's not what I had planned. 26:57.538 --> 27:02.541 [SPEAKER_00]: And then through prayer and through conversations, I get into new assignment. 27:03.378 --> 27:05.179 [SPEAKER_00]: Right, I get a new assignment. 27:06.000 --> 27:07.140 [SPEAKER_00]: Hey, we're going to start better together. 27:07.661 --> 27:09.482 [SPEAKER_00]: And some of you would call it a side hustle, I guess. 27:09.522 --> 27:10.042 [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not sure. 27:11.443 --> 27:16.266 [SPEAKER_00]: But, and what we want to do, we want to meet people that are trapped, defeated, and stuck. 27:16.306 --> 27:21.049 [SPEAKER_00]: When we want to all from the hope of Jesus Christ, and show him the path forward, which he's the path. 27:21.569 --> 27:22.330 [SPEAKER_00]: And that's what we want to do. 27:22.430 --> 27:24.151 [SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to do it through recovery housing. 27:24.171 --> 27:26.032 [SPEAKER_00]: We're going to do it through mental health coaching. 27:26.052 --> 27:28.754 [SPEAKER_00]: And we're going to do it by partnering with Eastridge, with celebrate recovery. 27:28.994 --> 27:30.015 [SPEAKER_00]: That's it in a nutshell. 27:30.966 --> 27:34.108 [SPEAKER_00]: But I'm going to tell you, if I don't love people, I'm not going to do it again. 27:34.148 --> 27:38.511 [SPEAKER_00]: But if I don't love people, if our team doesn't love people, it's abrasive. 27:40.413 --> 27:41.153 [SPEAKER_00]: It's abrasive. 27:44.035 --> 27:45.696 [SPEAKER_00]: How will you know your future assignments? 27:46.257 --> 27:48.979 [SPEAKER_00]: The will of God is daily and scripts is very clear what it looks like. 27:50.139 --> 27:51.160 [SPEAKER_00]: Daily obedience. 27:52.341 --> 27:53.802 [SPEAKER_00]: And praying, your kingdom come. 27:54.322 --> 27:55.083 [SPEAKER_00]: Your will be done. 27:55.846 --> 28:05.150 [SPEAKER_00]: Your kingdom come, your will be the daily surrender, will lead to daily transformation, which will lead to daily obedience. 28:05.850 --> 28:10.212 [SPEAKER_00]: And in about 10 years, you might be amazed at where the Lord has you. 28:10.232 --> 28:17.355 [SPEAKER_00]: And don't get confused if he has you right here doing the same ministry that you've always done. 28:17.475 --> 28:18.736 [SPEAKER_00]: Praise be to God for that. 28:18.816 --> 28:20.976 [SPEAKER_00]: You're still loving people, right? 28:21.337 --> 28:22.297 [SPEAKER_00]: You're still loving people. 28:24.402 --> 28:25.703 [SPEAKER_00]: Remember, God's will will. 28:25.763 --> 28:28.006 [SPEAKER_00]: His daily will is laid out through Scripture. 28:29.267 --> 28:31.930 [SPEAKER_00]: And as we are transformed, we will know His will. 28:32.610 --> 28:36.034 [SPEAKER_00]: And it always involves other people to extend His grace to. 28:36.374 --> 28:40.218 [SPEAKER_00]: It always involves other people to show them the love of Christ. 28:42.519 --> 28:43.500 [SPEAKER_00]: I almost say something bold. 28:43.580 --> 28:45.280 [SPEAKER_00]: I know his will for the rest of your day. 28:46.321 --> 28:50.603 [SPEAKER_00]: I know his will for when you leave here where do you go to lunch or you go home. 28:51.003 --> 28:52.704 [SPEAKER_00]: I know his will for this afternoon. 28:53.565 --> 28:55.386 [SPEAKER_00]: Jesus said this, my command is this. 28:55.966 --> 28:58.627 [SPEAKER_00]: A new command I give you, love one another. 29:00.008 --> 29:03.450 [SPEAKER_00]: As I have loved you so much you love one another. 29:03.470 --> 29:09.373 [SPEAKER_00]: Then he says this, by this, every one will know that your motorcycle's. 29:11.365 --> 29:25.312 [SPEAKER_00]: by this, not by our church attendance, not by our giving, not by how many growth groups we're in and some of you are in a lot, by the way we love one another. 29:27.153 --> 29:36.738 [SPEAKER_00]: So whoever you're with today will God is in front of you, love them, serve them, be present 29:42.355 --> 29:57.378 [SPEAKER_00]: want to take a moment just to pray your kingdom come you will be done just that part and however you want to pray that whatever words you want to use I typically I start out with those words and then I just set it become my own words the more I pray about it. 29:58.158 --> 30:11.380 [SPEAKER_00]: Here's what I want you to do I want you to pray your kingdom come you will be done for your life and I want you to pray it for the church and then I want you to pray it for the churches 30:12.800 --> 30:14.411 [SPEAKER_00]: and Newton County, so let's just take a moment. 31:24.128 --> 31:30.674 [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, Lord, your kingdom come, your will be done. 31:33.656 --> 31:39.641 [SPEAKER_00]: On this earth, just as it is in heaven, your kingdom come in our lives today. 31:40.562 --> 31:43.204 [SPEAKER_00]: Your will be done, and our lives today. 31:44.465 --> 31:46.287 [SPEAKER_00]: Your will be done in this church. 31:47.958 --> 31:54.459 [SPEAKER_00]: May we submit to your authority and may your authority may our respect and our obedience to your authority grow. 31:54.979 --> 31:55.380 [UNKNOWN]: God. 31:57.900 --> 32:01.821 [SPEAKER_00]: And may your will be done in us and through us and Father. 32:02.261 --> 32:04.101 [SPEAKER_00]: For every church in this county, God. 32:06.402 --> 32:13.683 [SPEAKER_00]: Truly, may your kingdom come and your will be done in those leaders and the men and the women and the students, Father. 32:21.457 --> 32:32.934 [SPEAKER_00]: at you and what you have done through your Son Jesus Christ and may He be glorified and may He receive all the glory and the honor. 32:34.135 --> 32:37.059 [SPEAKER_00]: And while we pray in the name of Jesus, amen.