Unhindered - NMP

What we're continuing a sermon series called unhindered I stole most of this from a pastor named Craig groeschel So and I've improved it dramatically in and his his material is called Overcomer if you want to go deeper in this but I want to challenge us to let go of things that that keep us from from succeeding in our walk with the Lord and last week. We talked about the land of her. He stole that from Andy Stanley. He admitted that that Andy Stanley talked about the challenge of comparing yourself to others and if we're not careful we slip into this disease where we want to be better faster fitter richer. We want a bigger home a better car until it's always her we always think if I could just get a little more I would feel satisfied and last week we talked about Hebrews where it says let go of those things that hinder you and the sin so not only the send hinder us and that's a clear thing to get rid of it to walk more fully with Christ. But sometimes things like comparison we talked about that last Sunday. It's easy to watch HGTV and just get really depressed about your own home and constantly say, I need more bigger better and we just kind of all of her energy goes in the direction of comparison and competition and that energy that goes there is not energy in following Christ. And so the right of Hebrews gives us good advice when he says put those things behind you let go of those things which tangle you up and we talked about that comparison and competition that hinder Us in this morning. I want us to talk about a different land the sermon title is mnmp and you'll get that a little later in the sermon, but I want to talk about the land of me. I don't know about you, but sometimes I live in the land of Can you relate to what I'm saying? You ever find yourself living in the land of? Your feel that way about stuff in life. By the way, I don't care. No big deal. We kind of reside there traffic. Let me let me ask you this question. Are you still thinking about the persecuted Church?

It is amazing how quickly our minds can shift. We can watch a tragedy on television and genuinely be moved. We might even pause in that moment and say Lord. Please be with those folks were victims this morning, but then 20 minutes later. What are we having for lunch today? Are we going to start preaching house? I'll go start thinking about lunch. Okay. So are we going on are we going on our minds can just shift and there's a danger in The Human Condition to slip into this land of where we we kind of stopped caring or we don't engage or we don't engage enough to really draw us. In the helping Jesus talked about this and Luke chapter 10. He says one day and Authority on the law stood up and put Jesus to the test teacher. He asked him what must I do to receive eternal life. Jesus answered him. What is written in the law? Jesus replied? How do you understand it? Answer this young lawyer love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul love him with all of your strength and with all of your mind and love your neighbor as you love yourself.

You have answered correctly. Jesus replied do that and you will live but Luke says but the man wanted to make himself look good. So I asked and who is my neighbor. So in the original language here what's going on is he wants to feel confident and sure that he can say yes. I've done exactly what you've asked and so he extends the second question. So who's my neighbor not in the language? He's at he's anticipating an answer but he can say good check that off my list been there done that got the T-shirt. So he just wants to to look good. He wants to finalize that sense of I've heard you. I understand the word. I'm in good. I'm Heaven bound. I'm on my way got it all taken care of. Jesus replied instead of giving him the answer. He wanted he replies with a story don't you hate it when teacher do that when you just want an answer to a question and I said yes or no. Jesus says a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him then they went away leaving him almost dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road when he saw the man he passed by on the other side a levite also came by when he saw the man. He passed by on the other side too. But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was where he saw the man when he saw the man he felt sorry for him. He went to him for the olive oil and wine on his wound and bandage them that he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an end and took care of him the next day. He took out two silver coins and gave them to the owner of the end. Take care of him. He said when I return I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have Play finish the story Jesus says which of the three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers? So the lawyer says I want to make sure I'm heading down. I want to get it all secured. Jesus tells him the story and says now which of the three is right left already on the wall replied the one who felt sorry for him and Jesus told him go and do likewise. Now listen most the time when we think about this passage in Luke.

I get my next line up here.

Here we go. Loop 1025 237 dominantly. It shocks the original listener by portraying the Samaritan widely considered at that time as unworthy and corrupted as the righteous one and defines neighbor as anyone in need not simply as family or other good Jews. That's the dominant meaning of this passage is a shocking passage because in that culture the Jews would have understand Samaritans from their perspective. They would have said they're the ones that didn't go off into Exile the Old Testament. They're the ones that that stay there and they intermarried with other nations and races and they became this mixed race and they ended up crafting not only their genealogy but crafting some of their worship and so samaritas became this group that the Jews would not even set foot on Samaritan soil that cut a path when they traveled as a way to go around Samaria, but Jesus as we know what other parts of the Gospel will just go right into Samaria the woman at the well is the Samaritan woman like, why are you why are you Asking for trouble. Why are you doing this the dominant impact of this this Parable is to shock the listeners hate. The Samaritan is the hero in the story The Samaritan is the one who is righteous in the story and neighbor is not just well family. Of course, we take care of family. If if one of your children or someone's hurt they caught you ain't we're going to take your family. I got your back. We're going to take care of that and the Jews with extended that to a fellow Jews, but certainly not Gentiles and definitely not Samaritan's. This defines neighbor differently. Not just that Angie says L else were in the gospels. Look if you love your your your family, even the pagans do that. I'm challenging you to do more than that. Rosso warning in the story The two good religious people who passed by are not the heaven bound ones after all. think about the seriousness of this Parable that Jesus is telling The lawyer who keeps the law who understands it teaches it knows that sell. Well that when he says to Jesus hey, what is it? What must I do to inherit eternal life. What's the law say boom spits out the answers yet scripture memorized. He is he's got gold stars all over his Sunday School attendance. I mean, he is the man he knows exactly the answer that Jesus says you have said, correct. And then in the story that type of person the levite and the priest. The religiously successful person in the story. Jesus says guess what? They're not the ones that have please God. They're not the ones that are on God's side. They're not the ones that are heaven-bound. They don't represent the kingdom. They don't represent God's heart. They don't represent God's will. It's the Samaritan that represent the lesson in the story that represents God's heart and God's Will and so amazingly. these religious people I've gotten some sort of infection. that have

I don't know destroyed their salvation. Made their salvation not effective on them. Corrupted what they think of as hey, I'm a levite. I'm a priest. I'm a Christian I go to church I do these things. I'm good. I'm having down. I'm on my way to God and Jesus lifted before Pat Parable that little warning. Hey, you know, there's some people who fit all those categories and somehow they've got this infection in their heart that destroys or corrupt or makes obsolete or ineffective their own salvation. They're not on the path to heaven. They're not obeying God. They're not advancing the kingdom. They're part of the story, but they're the example not to follow in the story. You know, the priest had to think I'm a priest. Of course. I'm the example to follow up or some part of God's kingdom. I'm a creature. Can you imagine that there be a preacher who really didn't love and serve God?

I can.

brother paycheck build the church shakes hands kisses babies And God is really not his Lord and Master. Could there be people in the church? Who come to church every Sunday? I think they're on their way to heaven.

And they're not.

I got the disease that the Pharisees had where they said. Well, this is a long We'll add a bunch more to it and will say that while we've attitude is what saves us.

I'm off is honor God in your heart on a Sabbath that's too hard and too personal. Let's just back it up and say I thought you don't mow your yard and your dress up and we'll just create all these rules that we can keep and then we'll Pat ourselves on the back for keeping them and will look down her nose at everybody else. That doesn't keep them and we'll create our own salvation apart from God. What happens in Salvation we create apart from God is it real? Is it fruitful? No. In the midst of this Parable I Think Jesus is is is delivering. This is heavy warning nmp is is infection is not my problem.

It is easy to get that kind of infection in your heart when you see stuff that's going on. That's not my problem. Somebody's homeless and hungry. It's not my problem. I'm working a job and put my money in the bank not addicted to anything. Is there a problem that's not my problem? You see somebody maybe a married couple and they're just really going at it and it is not there arguing. There is there is Venom being exchanged and you just feel awkward and tense and you just think that is not my problem. I mean, I don't want to get involved. Who was the say to somebody for the public restaurant? Who wants to say? Hey, you guys got a lot of could I could I pray for you and they might say mind your own expletive business. But even if they do does that mean the right thing to do is to say not my problem. Not my problem in that what the priest and the levite said there's a guy beating up waiting on the road. That's not my problem. I've got enough on my plate. I've got enough to do. I just got to get to where I got test to study for. I mean, I got to pass these tests or I'm not going to let you know I've got stuff to do my wife gave me a long to-do list. I can't come home 2 hours late and say I didn't get any of that. To-do list. My employer said I've got to listen all those assumptions assume that it's all up to us that God's not in control that if I dare stop orchestrating my own life and go off schedule and go off plan that God says well good luck with that. I'm not going to help you at all. But face says that God has my back that I can trust him that I could say to that couple he can I pray with you that I can say to that person on the side of the road. How do you have AAA? Can I call somebody for you is your battery dead and I could be 20 minutes late to my next meeting and God will have my back that I could get involved with with people helping them that I could be like the Samaritan and stop spend my own money my own time delay my trip rearrange my trip and that's what God wants from me. Deadly to Salvation is this infection the problem with the priest and levite was not that they were religious. So don't miss hear some people want to say that's right religion is no good. Religious. People are no good. That's not the heart of the problem. The problem is that they did not allow themselves to be moved to action by another person's need because that's the work that God seeks to do in our heart. He wants us to become like him Jesus Christ came to give us the ultimate revelation of what God wants from us. He came to be God In the Flesh and say this is your destiny. God made you to be like him. He created all of us in His image and send corrupted that image and the journey of Salvation is restoration back to that image. The Journey of Salvation is not protect me from the consequence of sin so that I can slide fat dumb and happy from the Cradle to the Grave. The Journey of Salvation is too loud. The completely changed and wreak havoc on our own lines, but our own wishes and dreams so that we become like Jesus Christ. Salvation is transforming. It is life-changing pistol vaccinations to keep us out of trouble in the Patterson house on the back. It's like we're the good people that are in church on Sunday morning. Salvation is to create an army of people who love the Lord so much that they will give their life away. for Christ and for others that they will look at the problems in this world and stay with God's help and they will jump in. And if we slip into that infection in her heart that says not my problem not my prob you realize what we're doing or saying, I want to live my own life. I want to live it my way. I want to be my own Lord. I need to make my own decisions about what I do with my money and my time you realize Jesus is pleading with us that when we do that for putting our arm to him and say no salvation from you for me Lord. I'll be the master of my own domain. I'll be the leader of my own life. It's too messy to get involved in the life of others you and I must fight this apathy in our hearts and Minds. Amen. We got to fight it. We live in a culture that that makes it so easy to be apathetic. I mean I reside in the land of V. all the time Don't you? Don't you watch the news and you're moved for a good 5 minutes, and then you're thinking what I'm eating for lunch before you know it you're not move to action. Easy to be led astray and Jesus was pleading with us of the danger of apathy in our hearts. It's difficult to fight that apathy very difficult to fight for these reasons. The volume of information is overwhelming. Amen. You go to Facebook and there's somebody that's doing a GoFundMe for a surgery that they have to have to live and then the next thing is about terrorism and I was part of the country and then the next round is about violence and conflict and politics in her own nation. And then the next thing is this the other kind you can just be overwhelmed by the need in this world. It can just be overwhelming and then you feel like what difference can I make I'm helpless to make it different. So I just might as well watch the Cat video laugh for a few minutes and then get back on track for my day full of distraction. We are blessed and cursed with Comfort Inn North America. It can be a blessing but it also can be in. This is a hold of a sermon which I'm only going to try to spend like 30 seconds on it can also be this fall sort of escape and comfort can can give us an escape that's not real Sabbath when God calls us to rest. He calls us to a Sabbath where we pull aside and we recalibrate our hearts and our minds with him. So they were renewed and strengthened in the willingness to see the pain in the world and the help and renewed and strengthen our connection with him. So it's his love was coming through as his forgiveness that allows us to forgive others Sabbath is restoring its ringing it's Recreation. Not Recreation absent of recreation is that Recreation of who we are but Comfort create the temptation to just have a temporary numbing of the pain just to escape for 20 minutes or 3 hours and if we're not careful, it becomes part of this disease of apathy in our own heart. How do you fight apathy. Let me say it unless I hear some of you could preach the sermon better than I am because some of you have hearts that are so large and open and loving and you're doing this already and I am not naive about that. There's so many people Hillandale that give away their time and energy and money and love to those in need that that's that's one of the things that keeps wind in my sails is when I think of some of the people here who are just gold and you could get up and you could you could do it better than I could inside this. This is what it's like to live for others to serve and didn't realize that bigger picture. But if you're like me where you occasionally wake up out of the fog and I'll call him and I've been living in the land of just about so many things that because it's overwhelming or too much information. How do we fight apathy one expose yourself to that which creates righteous discomfort or what breaks the heart of God. You cannot say, you know, what I've discovered that if I never go to that side of town. I never see people need I found the perfect path. I will always drive this way in my car because when I go that one store cuz I only think I'm out front when I leave now. I got all these groceries. Can you spare a dime? You know, I was feeling good about today and now you make me feel bad about myself. I don't like that at all. And so I'm going to shop at a different grocery store. Could we could we do zoning and create an entire sections of cities that you never have to deal with the need? I always quit preaching and gone to Madeline me. And it's the church sometime stood on the wrong side of all those issues.

Kind of forgetting Christ himself and Cher sing our own comfort.

We have to intentionally if we're going to fight apathy in her own heart. We have to intentionally expose ourselves to those things that break the heart of God. And I do it really poorly but occasionally with the Lord's help and my wife and other Christians around me. I'm at least smart enough to know how below-average I am as a disciple and I'm so I'm smart enough to say, you know what I need to hang out with awesome people. I need to be around disciples that raise the bar for me that encourage me to be at a higher level. So since 1986 and the summer and and building homes in and running VBS and and and witnessing to others in in and being exposed. That's a whole different world and a few years ago the theme in Mexico with a theme each year for Mexico Family Camp. You don't know the history about we all start I started going when I was 18 in 1986, but then we all got older and fatter and got married and had kids still about 25 years ago. We started doing a version that's family-friendly bringing her kids until my oldest son. Who's 22 is Ben coming with me since he was seven unfortunately is really paid attention. And so now he wants to to work. Globally for justice when I'm like no. No, I want you to leave the house next door to your mother and I and make good money and follow the American dream and he's like no, I'm going to live in Mexico City and fight for justice and I'm like what your dad says to you. You know, why don't why are you being a disciple? I'm kidding. Of course. I'm thrilled that he has that kind of heart. And that's what exposing yourself to need. He's been exposed to it since he was seven. It's changed his view of the world has changed his view about the good life is for him is changed his view of what he's going to do with all this time and energy between now and when the Lord takes him home and I were there for years ago in the theme was disrupted and we were challenged by the preachers and teachers that week about letting God disrupt our life. And we came back and Lance at honey. I think you and I should go to one of these informational meetings about foster care. And I said, that's a lousy idea. I said that will disrupt my life. Look that's not my problem. I know they're 70,000 children that need a home that are abandoned just here just in Kentucky, but that's when we're so close to being empty nesters. Then we can take cruises and we can be those people on Facebook that people say look at they're doing all this cool stuff with all their time anymore. They're just like free free. Maggie was his 14-year. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 22 year old and 17 year old to 14 year old and my wife says we should go to one of these foster care meetings and I knew that she was right. And that God was speaking to my heart through her heart. And so we went and she knew me well enough to know that once we went. I mean your heart breaks you expose yourself to a breaks God's heart and when they say there's thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of babies that are abandoned and we can't find enough parents are willing to watch them. Take care of him even just what you just do respite for us. We just sign up for you could do a weekend every now and then for these children when they're pulled out of their home because of all the awful things that are going on in the world. Could you watch him for a few days? So we did the training you guys know the rest of the story already. We did the training. We became full-time foster care parents. We received a beautiful little baby girl name Skylynn 8 months old then a couple of months later. They said called and said, can you go to the hospital and get her little sister? She's 5 days old. We went and got her little sister. We're working the system the way they want us to work at taking care of the children in hopes of seeing reunification with the biological family, but that never happened and so about a year ago. The question is will you adopt them and become their permanent home and you guys know a couple of weeks ago, we celebrated the finalization of that adoption. And now we have five children instead of 3, and now I'm 50 and I have a 2 year old that was up last night at 1 in the morning with daddy saying I'm just awake. Can I cry guess what Dad I've learned how to crawl out of my crib all kinds of exciting things in the middle of the night. Because we let God disrupt our heart and he said you will lose your life Robbie. If you live it the way you want to live it. If you live in from your own heart, you will lose it. It will be a self-serving a selfish life. Sure. You can binge watch Netflix more you might even scraping up enough money to go on a cruise in your 50s. But it is not the good life is. The rich life. It is not the full life. So when he disrupted our hearts, he wasn't punishing us. He wasn't saying what you thought you were going to have a good life or a fun life and I'm going to show you something different. He was bringing the gospel into her life and saying listen I created you. I know how it works life is so much richer in Fuller if you let me give it to you. So we expose ourselves to the pain. Look what Paul said in Romans 9. He said speaking about Jews who don't know Christ. He said was Christ as my witness. I speak with other truthfulness my conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm it. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and I didn't grief. We don't really use that much in evangelism. Do we when witnessing to people? Hey, you should give your life to Christ and one thing will happen is he'll be seasons of your life intentionally as part of being a Christian your heart will be full of grief and bitterness. Hey, ya sign me up for that. You know Paul says, my heart is filled with bitter sorrow and I need to grieve for my people my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed cut off from Christ if that would save them. Don't you long for a heart like that? Can you imagine having a heart for the lost so broken for the lost that you'd be willing to say if it was possible that losing my own salvation with God would somehow bring the people in I would do it. Some of us won't change our musical preferences for the Lost.

It breaks my heart that it breaks God's hard so much. I know what to I'm not trying to point fingers or be mean-spirited. I do it too. I operate my own discipleship out of fear and self-preservation, and I'm what's wrong with the church? Because the church is just a whole bunch of bees. Different heights eye color hair length, wait all that kind of stuff but a whole bunch of human people with hearts that can easily say, you know what? Let's just do what's best for us. Let's just do what safest let's just do what is self-serving and preserving and I'm not saying this in a condemning way. I'm saying it in a pleading way because that path is the path to death and God pleased with us turn the other directions. It feels like if I save my own life if I protected if I preserve it if I keep things the way they are comfortable and familiar to me that somehow that's the good thing. That's the smart thing that will save me from having pains, but it's actually a deception.

Here's how we fight apathy. We expose herself to the paint and we focus on something as opposed to everything. Okay, because you can be overwhelmed. You can say OK Robbie the Holy Spirit speak in my heart. I want to help in Mexico and we're going to go right after the service and get foster children. And then I'm going to go downtown with Gary and help, you know, if you can just be overwhelmed and so part of the challenge of fighting a pit in your heart is to focus on something not everything you could be different for different people. Some of you will have a heart for Missions and want to travel and help those in need and that is absolutely awesome. And some of you will have a heart for those right here in the church body and you'll say I want to visit to take communion for those who can't make it to the church and pray with them and that is absolutely awesome and somebody will come early and prepare coffee you do practical things like that. That is absolutely awesome. Christ calls us to get out of ourselves and to serve. Get out of the land of me. I mean maybe if Robbie does a real exciting service or Washington with over-the-top exciting. I might go from man to Haynes pretty good service today. God calls us to not even have that be the measure of our life measure life is not how satisfied we are. The measure of a life is how much we give ourselves to Christ and then as a byproduct will No Satisfaction that dwarfs anything we can manage with her own construction. And so we focused on something as opposed to everything to fight. Whatever your cause is. Maybe it's praying for those in need maybe spraying for the persecuted Church. One awesome thing to have a list where every day. I've got a friend that can't sleep. Well and he says you're on my shortlist. And I said what that mean. He said I get up about every morning about 5:30 and I can't sleep until I get on my short prayer list and I pray and I pray for you. What am I saying to know that there's somebody praying for me like that. There's so many ways in which we can let God use us Embrace what hurts so not only expose yourself to it. Not only focus on one thing as opposed to everything but embrace the burden that's exactly what Paul did for his Jewish Brothers and Sisters in Christ. He carried that burden is on hard that was part of being christ-like Jesus embracing burdens when he came into Jerusalem, and he looked at the city. They said father. He said they're like sheep without a shepherd. We was in the garden when he said if there's anybody this pain this suffering the tortures is crossing paths for me. Let it pass but nonetheless father die will be done. He embraced that burden and accepted it Moses embrace the burden of his people. And agreed to serve God in that manner David and Brace God's honor Wentz as a kid. He went up against Goliath who are you to say these things against the Lord in his army, and it was thinking you're dead you're dead you are dead. That is the stupidest thing I've ever seen another human being kid. We're told the David statue that he was little and he had Rosy Cheeks. I'm serious. That's what the Old Testament says about David. He was a little guy with rosy cheeks and of that that he played a heart. Okay, and the lineup is this huge monster and he comes out and says on God and David says how dare you defy. This is this is going to be he's going to be crushed. We need to do more things in our life that all of our friends and family say what are you doing? You don't need people said to us when we adopted the girls were you doing?

It's a better life. It is a better life to follow God's leading to follow his plan. I'm telling you he when he has to kind of push until you into it through your wife. This is a better life is a better life Embrace what hertz is easier to hurt with a purpose than to exist without one. A man listen the world around us went when they don't know Christ. They're trying to figure out how to exist without a purpose. I went to a bar the other night.

Alphabetically word that and they all just like yours. Why do you do those kind of things special meeting now? I was looking for somewhere to work on my laptop and I was near a place that I got to Wi-Fi signal and head outdoor seating. It was a nice night. I thought I'm going to go there instead. So I sat and worked and I I got into what I was working on so much so that I was there a couple hours that got dark and the regular, you know, Friday evening bar crowd showed up. And so suddenly I was this loan little dork with his laptop on an outdoor table surrounded by people just having a good time, but I listen to their conversations and it was heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking. There was so much desperation to find meaning in whatever a vacation the next big thing a promotion dancing going to the amusement park all these things about their their life and their conversation made me think of this quote. We're one pastors Wiley said it is easier to hurt with a purpose than exist without One Life is Richer and Fuller when you accept a burden from the Lord and a Ministry that breaks your heart and you pull yourself out as an offering is Paul says for the sake of the gospel than it is to say look Lord. I buried the talent you gave me here. It is exactly the same as when I received it. You know that Parable in the Gospels. And Jesus says to that servant you Wicked lazy servant.

CS Lewis's to love at all is to be vulnerable love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. He continues if you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give it to No One not even an animal wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries avoid all entanglement lock it up safe in the casket or confine of your own selfishness. But in that casket safe dark motionless airless, it will change it will not be broken. It will become unbreakable in Pinnacle irredeemable. And Jesus is pleading with us. Don't slip into that path. Don't slip in that direction Jesus in Luke 17, those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them.

He means that literally. That is true.

Because if you plan your life on your own terms. You're saying to God, I'd like to keep you and your salvation and your lordship at arm's length. I'd like to plan my own life. I'm not going to give up myself for you. I'm not going to give my money away or change my lifestyle or live less comfortably. I'm not going to forgive that person who hurt me years ago. I'm not going to change my beliefs political even though they might contradict the gospel itself. When you do that you are saying to God. No, thank you for your lordship. No, thank you for salvation. You're saying to him I can manage a richer Fuller life on my own. You know how fun it is to watch hours and hours of TV Lord. That's good enough for me. That's good enough for me. You see how we can slip into this deception where we think we're choosing the good life and we're choosing doubt that and so Jesus pleads those who try to keep their life will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them. When you come to Christ and say my life is yours, it becomes something larger and richer than you could ever accomplish on your own and many of you know, that very well so many here have served Christ for decades and loved others and made a huge impact on the world. I was just talking to Gary Wednesday night at the Bible study about the first time he was ever exposed to someone who didn't have a home who had a need and now it's been what 15 years and Gary if if let me just don't believe me. Okay. Don't take my word for it Gary if I could somehow magically change what has 15 years and you can spend more time and money on yourself. You could have been as watched all your favorite shows on Netflix. You can be driving a nicer cars because all your time and energy was spent on yourself. Would you trade it if we could do that? I know the answer that question before asking and you would anyone could come to you and talk to you about it after the service. Can they tell them that I'm saying this thing that Gary would say Christ has done so much in his own life and his own heart over the past 15 years of having a Ministry with those in need without without shelter that he wouldn't trade it for anything else. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty. I'm not trying to poke and prod you and say you're a bad person or you're a bad Christian. I'm pleading with you to step into the life that is rich and full and full of Adventure and good that will expand your heart in a way that you could never expand it on your own. I want you to make a difference to change the world. When I was in Mexico when your pastor came to us and said hey went when I was like 14 years old. I hated God because we were so poor but you and this group came here. This has been 1986 the first year we went and built a home for her family. And then I started thinking maybe God isn't so bad and then I started following God and then I became a pastor and I've never left this Village. I've ministered everybody these past thirty years. I had no clue whatsoever. And honestly, I'm a below-average disciple. I'm not saying that they wasn't that special. I was smart enough to follow somebody else that seemed to know what they were doing and say, okay, let's go do this. Let's let's it will build homes for those in need. And God does amazing things through our lives even when we're just kind of doing nothing but being obedient to what's right in front of us. I'm going to bite the worship team to come forward and I want to close with a prayer for all of us. And and when we when I say this prayer, it's a Franciscan blessing on you. I want you to hear it in the context of this tournament and I want you to know when this prayer is over and they sing that worship song If there's things on your heart or mind decisions you need to make I'll be in the back come pray with me come talk to me. Don't let this moment pass if Christ is speaking to your heart. You may be a fully devoted follower of Christ and you just want to come to me or somebody else and say, how can I serve? What can I do to engage the kingdom of God? Is it in my neighborhood in my church in my city? How can I let you know, and it could be as simple as thing I'm going to help with the nursery.

That's that's not an insignificant thing ask any parent of little babies. That's a significant thing. There's ways to expand your life to be larger than yourself and when you do that, it actually becomes the good life the righteous life the saved the fulfilling life. And so Jesus, please with us trust me trust my motives. He says trust who I am trust what you see me doing the gospels of healing people and forgiving people and caring for people trust and I'm good and then I'm loving and give your life to me and Trust what I will do with it trust that I will make it richer and Fuller and larger than it could ever be as a result of your own making let's let's say this prayer. What scripture first Jesus seven of sticking his motives? He says the thief comes to steal and kill and destroy but I came to give life life in all its fullness. That's what Jesus offers us. Here's my prayer for you. And when this is done you guys can start to worship and I'll they'll be folks both in the front and the back for prayer needs to our prayer team members. If you have a prayer concern just want to bring somebody before the Lord with a brother and sister in Christ. We want to go to do that with you this morning. But let's make this the prayer of our heart. May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers half-truths and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart and a great prayer. Superficial relationships again. It's easier for me to be in the land of my prayer for you is that you eat if you've not got any deep relationships, I pray that that would be like a pebble in your shoe this week that you would look around and say there is no brother and sister in Christ. Who knows absolutely everything about me. There's nobody that I could call and all night and say I'm in jail and I can't explain come get me. Get some deep relationships where somebody knows who you are that you can confess to one another and you can lean on it one another and they can call you and you're there for them. May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers half-truths and superficial relationship so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at Injustice oppression and exploitation of people that you may work for justice freedom and peace a man. Listen. I know that politically there are camps in North America and there are extremes on both side of the camps and they take words like just us and they kind of corrupt them and they make him about politics but we cannot let parts of our culture take away parts of the gospel because we're afraid of being misunderstood. Amen. Christians are called to fight for justice. Absolutely from Genesis to Revelation without a doubt whatsoever. We are called to have a broken heart for those who are poor and the care for them. Jesus said look when you don't visit those in prison, you don't we don't feed those who are hungry. If you're not feeding me when you don't care for those two are almost you're not caring for me. Jesus made it abundantly clear. So don't be afraid of that word. Let's take it back take ownership of it. Let's show people what God's love looks like Express lets me the Samaritan that see somebody in need and stops and helps. That's Justice. That's Justice. May God bless you with anger and Justice oppression and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice freedom and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from Pain rejection starvation and morph to the you may reach out your hand to comfort them had to turn their pain into Joy. May we do more than just feel bad for what we hear about in the news. Again, you can't do everything but you can do one thing. So, it's God moves your heart figure out what that one thing is. It may be praying for those you see consistently regularly daily pray for the persecuted church or maybe getting involved. I can hook you up with a trip to Egypt. I'm completely serious. I've got to I've got a pastor friend who goes there and teaches on a regular basis and he's asked me about coming in to be honest with you to be honest with you told him you said YouTube yeah, we have to kind of hide a little bit when we do our stuff. I don't know. Let me think about that. The god may put that on your heart and you may end up going. It could be any of those things. That might be like I said, it might be holding a baby in the nursery. caring for a child it might be going can we just stay here for lunch? Can I just freeze for another hour or so? I go into nursing homes.