September 22, 2025 • 51 mins
In the inaugural episode of the new series "Life. Legacy. Eternity.," Pastor Karl delivers a heartfelt message addressing recent global turmoil, including the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and its impact on the church and individual believers. Reflecting on the cultural shifts and moral challenges facing society, Pastor Karl emphasizes the centrality of Christ as the only hope for humanity. He urges listeners to prioritize the Kingdom of God over anger, politics, or personalities, drawing from Psalm 116 and Isaiah 6 to underscore God’s holiness and sovereignty. Pastor Karl also shares the church’s vision for its next chapter, including plans to plant churches in Ukraine and expand local services to reach more people. Through a powerful testimony of transformation and a call to sacrificial commitment, this episode challenges listeners to live boldly for God’s purpose, embracing a legacy of faith and impact for eternity.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
I want to
talk a little bit from my heartthis morning.
About recent events,
about our lifeand our legacy as a church and individuals
and about some next steps.
There's no doubt that our world
is in turmoil
(00:25):
for many different reasons,on many different fronts.
And that turmoil was heightened
and exacerbatedby the events of a week ago on the 10th.
Certainly.
And it's interesting in the weekthat has gone on,
after Charlie Kirk's assassination,
(00:47):
I've noticed some shifts and some changethat are somewhat concerning.
I got a call from a friend of mine,
sometime this last.
I forgot what dayit was in the evening time, and he said.
He said, pastor, is part of another churchor another church that we helped plant.
(01:07):
And he said,
pastor, I respect your biblical view,
your theological view of reality and earthand eternity.
Help me understand how I should viewand talk
to people about Charlie's assassination,he said.
I don't know anything about Charlie Kirk.
Never heard him, and he doesn'tcome up on any of my algorithms.
(01:28):
He said he's is not one in my culture
that is listened to or respected.
He said, so I want to be able to respond
with intelligenceand integrity and biblically.
And so we had quite a long conversation,and I think it was fruitful.
But he had listened to sound bites
(01:50):
and sound bites are dangerous,
that were not favorableand is looking through the lens
from his culture through political,completely political lenses.
And so it was it was it was a
difficult conversation, but I think it wasI think it was beneficial.
But what I've noticed in the last 11 daysor so
(02:13):
is the current has shifted
from shock and outrage,
to anger, not just about the event,
but people are angry.
Some are angry at Charlie Kirkand Turning Point, and some are angry
at those who are angry at Charlie Kirkand Turning Point.
(02:34):
The reality that we've got to keep in mind
is that we don't wrestleand fight against flesh and blood,
but against rulers and authoritiesand principalities
of this very dark and evil world.
That has always been the case,and it still is,
and will continueto be until Christ returns,
(02:56):
until he completely does away
with even the presence of evil,
and he establishes his kingdom on earthas it exists in heaven.
But until then,
there is this struggle in the unseen worldthat sometimes shows its
face in the seen world.
And that's what we're seeing.
(03:17):
The one of the things that I hold on to,
especially in light of Charlie'sassassination, is this
is this truth from Psalm 116.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
God is present.
He's near.
(03:39):
Things don't haphazardly happen.
And he's still good.
And what I'm realizing overand over and over, and especially
in light of what happened last weekwhen truth is viewed as hate,
(04:00):
it's a clear sign that the culturehas absolutely lost its moral compass.
And when
some in our culture are more outraged
that Kimmel got canceled, more
than that, Charlie got killed.
It's a signthat things are terribly wrong.
(04:23):
And what I've convinced more and moreand more and more
and more is that Christ is the only hope
for humanity.
And our response?
The Christ followersor his followers response
rather than getting more angry at others.
We must become more passionateabout the Kingdom.
(04:46):
It's the only hope of salvation.
I'm not saying don't postor I'm saying don't be concerned.
I'm not saying don't honor.
Charlie's assassination is no doubt
was politically and morally motivated.
By an evil man.
(05:08):
With political and moral motivations.
But I want us to be very carefulthat we don't
make a bigger deal out a turning pointthan we do the kingdom of God.
And I think
that's exactly what Charlie would say.
Christ was more important than him,and he.
Christ is more important to us.
(05:31):
When I look at what happened,I have to realize
the reality of who I am,
that it was me.
And this is what gets difficultbecause we want to rage against others.
But I have to realize firstthat was my sin
that put Jesus on the cross,
and it's the sin of humanity
(05:52):
that both drove the nailsand pulled the trigger.
And the only hope for the sin of humanity
is Christ him crucified and resurrected.
He is the only hope for this world.
And so we will continue to pray.
(06:13):
One for the witness of this church
in a dark world.
And we will pray
for Erica and the kids.
And we will be very focused
(06:33):
on the Kingdom of God.
Father, I thank you.
I thank you
that we can remember the truththat your sovereign
and that you're a good God
and you are close to your kids.
(06:56):
And I pray in the name of Jesus
that this world will draw close to you.
I pray you help us be mindful.
Of your mercyand your grace, that you would help us
be mindful of your righteousness.
(07:17):
That you'd help us
to trust you in difficulty,
honor you in tragedy.
And pray for the salvation
and the blessing of even our enemies.
And father,I pray over this moment right now
with the honoring of the servicein Arizona of Charlie.
(07:39):
I pray over Erica and the kids,
your peace that passes, understanding,a comfort that cannot be explained
and that somehow.
That you reach.
And this is what you do.
More people,
even in death than you have in life.
(08:01):
We trust you.
And that's in your name, Jesus, we pray.
Amen.
It don't have a lot of notes and a lot ofscripture to put on the screen behind me.
I want to talk to you from my hearta little bit,
not just about the temperature
of the culturethat we're in, the climate of our culture.
(08:24):
But I want to talk to you about our church
as we closedthe first chapter in the first two decades
and open a new chapterover the next two decades
about what we will live for,
what's worth bleeding over,
where our legacy will be.
(08:45):
And what we wantGod to say about us when we meet him.
Through God's
purpose in sending Jesus to the earthis that people who are far from
him will be made right with him
through faith in Jesus,
the cross, his death and resurrection.
(09:08):
The best way to do that
to help people come toChrist is by planting churches.
It's the best way under heavento reach people for Christ.
And so to that end,
we have always beenabout planting churches.
And to that end, we will continue
(09:29):
to double down on that purposethrough this church.
I've never been concerned
about a big footprint.
I've always been motivated and passionate
about a big impact.
His kingdom come.
His will be done on earthas it is in heaven.
And the best way to do that is to plantchurches, not to build a bigger campus.
(09:55):
And so in part of that, we
start this next chapter in Ukraine.
God's opened up a door
that we never saw coming.
To plant churches in Ukraine in profoundnumbers.
Here's the thing.
When you get close to your own mortality,you start asking questions.
You should be asking before you realizeyou were close to your mortality.
(10:18):
And that's what's happening in Ukraine.
And so the door to plantchurches is wide open there.
And I have the opportunity to go trainand set up a system there
to call, affirm and train church planters
to plant churches all over that country,as we've done in Cuba,
(10:38):
as we've done in Guatemala,as we're doing in America.
Because God has asked that.
We don't have the option to tell him no.
So that's one of the things,
as we go into this next chapter,that it's going to continue to be a focus,
but because God's heartis to reach those who are far from him,
(11:02):
the way we will do thatlocally, rather than planting
a bigger campus,is to start another service.
And so we'll move to three services
on November 2nd,
and those services will be at 8:00
and 930 and 11.
(11:24):
And so I'm gonna talkmore about that in a little bit.
But I just want you to know upfrontthat's where we're headed.
We will continue to plant churcheswherever God gives us an opportunity,
and we're going to expand what we do hereby starting another service,
three services eight, nine, 30 and 11starting November 2nd.
Now let me unpack it.
(11:47):
Why Ukraine?
Whenever we talk about reaching peoplewith the gospel, we talk about
looking for people in two scenarios peopleunder tension and people in transition.
And you talk about a war torn country.
Everybody is under tensionand in transition.
And so God oftentimes works.
(12:08):
He always works,
all the time.
But people are more attuned to his work
when their intention and transition.
And so the door is wide open in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, I'll fly from here to Krakow,
arrive in Krakow on Wednesday,
(12:31):
and I'll go to Auschwitz.
And then on Thursday, travel to Ukraine.
And in Ukraine we will run a couple day
discovery center for people who feel likethey're called to plant churches.
And we'll do a lot of trainingand calling and affirming and
and just assessing what God is doingand helping them learn how to do it.
(12:51):
Well.
And then we'll take about a three daybreak
and I will drive.
So they'll get a driver for me,to what they say right now
is about ten milesfrom the Russian troops on the frontline.
And I will get to ministerto the Ukrainian army
and to their chaplains and to some people
(13:14):
who are just now coming to faith.
And I'll spend two of spendtwo days in the night there,
and then we'll drive backjust south of Kiev
and do another discovery centerfor people who are planting churches.
And then the following Sunday,which would be,
I think, the first or somewherearound there, whenever that Sunday is,
(13:36):
I'll get to be in another churchin Ukraine ministering as well.
So the church has my full itinerary
and they know when
that when I'll be on the front lines,they know when things are happening,
and I'll get informationas I'm available to,
so you'll know
more firsthand what's going on,and what's happening.
(13:59):
So thank you for your prayers.
I've given Brenda and Scott a list ofof almost all 14 couples
who will be trained to plant churchesand their kids
so you can be praying for them. Here'swhat I'm asking for.
Your prayers.
Real simple.
Pray that the kingdom of God advances.
(14:20):
Is that clear?
Your tendency is going to beto pray for my safety.
I'm asking you to praythat the kingdom advances regardless.
Is that clear?
Is his kingdom overall?
And so I've just told you more than a lotmore than I told the first service,
because as some who were in the firstservice and I want to be sensitive.
(14:41):
And so I trust thatyou'll be sensitive as well.
Do you hear what I'm saying? Yes.
We do this because of who God is,
and I think we've lost sightof who God is.
I think the church in generalhas become too familiar
and too comfortable with who God is.
(15:04):
And I want to remind us this morningon who God is.
We have a Bible and brought one with you.
I want you to go to Isaiah chapter six.
It's in the Old Testament just past
Psalms and Proverbs and
the first of the three great prophets,Isaiah and Isaiah.
(15:25):
Chapter six says this
in the year that King Uzziah died,I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high
and lifted up, and the train of his robefilled the temple.
Above him stood the seraphim.
Each had six wings, with twohe covered his face.
With twohe covered his feet, and with two he flew,
and one called to another and said,Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
(15:49):
The whole earth is full of his glory,
and the foundations of the thresholdsshook at the voice of him who called.
And the house was filled with smoke.
And I said, woe is me, for I am lost.
I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwellin the midst of a people of unclean lips.
For my eyeshave seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
(16:11):
Chapter six starts with this statement.
In the yearKing Uzziah died, that's important.
UJA became King over God's people.
When he was 16 years oldand ruled for over 50 years.
It was a prolific reign.
It was a beautiful reign.
He I wouldn't say thathe's the the lead or the second
(16:32):
top king in Israel,but he's certainly in the top five.
He was the last of the reformer kings
that brought real reformationand revival to the people of God.
And it was in that year that he died.
The year that he died, that Isaiahthe prophet says
he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne.
(16:54):
That word, Lord,if you look in your Bible, it's
probably capitalL, little o, little r, little d.
That's the Hebrew word Adonai.
The wordAdonai is the supreme title of God.
This is the master.
This is the Supreme.
This is the sovereignGod over all things life
(17:16):
and death, creation, heaven, hell,the God over all.
He saw that God sitting upon a thronehigh and lifted up.
That word Adonai has been reserved
for what we would consider God the Father.
In this instance,I believe it's attributed to God the Son,
(17:36):
a pre incarnate Jesus,
the second person of the Trinity.
And what Isaiah sees here
is the in the enthronement
of Christ on his throne, the supreme God.
This reminds us of the most often
(17:58):
uttered and referred to Psalmin the New Testament.
Psalm eight, verse one.
In Psalm eight one it says, O Lord,
our Lord, how majestic is your namein all the earth.
When the Bible says in Psalm eight one,and that's
what this verse reminds us ofin Isaiah, O Lord, our Lord.
It uses two different words for Lord, OLord,
(18:21):
capital L, little o, little r, little d, oAdonai, O sovereign one,
O master, O Supreme one, O Lord,
our Lord, Jehovah, the personal God,
O Supreme one, you are the personal one.
That's what that's what Psalm eight onesays, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic
(18:42):
is your name, O sovereign master, rulerof heaven and earth, how majestic are you?
The personal one to me.
Do you understand that?
And what Isaiah sees here inIsaiah chapter
six is the sovereign master,ruler of the universe,
the Most High and Exalted, one
(19:02):
God above all gods.
That's who he sees attributed to
Jesus on the throne,the enthronement of Jesus.
And we don't know.
The text isn't clearif Isaiah is actually in the temple,
having this vision or somehow, asGod did with the Apostle John
(19:23):
on the island of Patmos,pull back the curtain to heaven
as John pennedthe words of the revelation.
Perhaps what Isaiah is seenhere has God pulling back the curtain
and peering into heavenand seeing Christ, the sovereign Supreme,
enthroned in heaven above.
(19:43):
And it's this that he seeshigh and lifted up the train of his robe,
filled the temple, and above himstood your Bible, says Seraphim.
That's a plural word in the Hebrew.
Any time of the Hebrewit word ends in I'm.
That's the plural of that word.
So these are seraph, which is an angel,and there's multiple of them.
(20:03):
Seraphim.
We don't know much about these angels.
This is the only placeare listed in Scripture.
It appears that these are createdangelic beings with the sole purpose
of worshiping the Supreme, Almighty God.
Day and night, night and day.
Now it's importantto realize what these angels are like.
God's creation is the creation of economy.
(20:27):
What that meansis that he doesn't waste creation.
Everything created is createdwith a purpose for a purpose.
These angels,it tells us what they're like.
What are they like?
They have how many wings?
Six. It's not that God just gotsuper excited about wings and made six.
They have a purpose with two.
(20:48):
They flew with two.They covered their feet.
And with two, they covered their eyes.
Let me explainone aspect of these six wings.
With the two, they cover their eyes. Why?
They're created to worship the Almighty,supreme, majestic God.
Day and night, night and day.
And so holy is him.
So righteous is God that these angelswere created to worship him day and night.
(21:12):
And I can't even bear to lookat him because he's so holy.
They have to cover their eyes.
This God that we become
so comfortable withand so familiar with is so holy
that these otherworldlyangelic beings created to worship him
day and night, night and day,cannot even bear to look at him,
(21:36):
but through veiled eyes,because he is so holy.
Do you understand?
And we come to him with such familiarity
that breeds contempt,
as if we have the right
to stand before him with unveiled faces
and unveiled souls.
(22:01):
And what do they say?
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
There's no other characteristic.
There's no other quality of Godthat is mentioned in thrice form.
The Bible doesn't sayGod is love, love, love.
It doesn't say God is peace.
Peace. Peace.
The Bible doesn't say God is grace.
(22:23):
Grace. Grace.
The only character of Godthat's mentioned three times.
Like this for emphasis.
Purpose is holy, holy, holy.
How dare we come before him?
With such familiarity.
(22:44):
That we would have the audacity.
To be bored, disinterested,
or God forbid, tell him no.
So holy is God.
Angels can't even look upon him.
It reminds me of Exodus chapter 33
(23:07):
when Moses is on the mountain with Godreceiving
the commandments, that would becomewhat we call the Mosaic Law.
The Ten Commandments,
chapter 33 and verse 17,the Lord said to Moses, this very thing
that you have spoken, I will do, foryou have found favor in my sight.
And I know you by name.
Can you imagine God saying,I know you by name?
(23:27):
Guess what he does?
Moses said, please show me your glory.
And God said,I will make all my goodness pass
before you, and will proclaim before youmy name of the Lord.
And I will be gracious to whomI will be gracious,
and I will show mercy on whomI will show mercy.
But you, Moses, cannot see my face.
For man shall not see me and live.
(23:49):
And the Lord said, behold,there is a place by me
where you shall stand on the rock.
And while my glory passes by,I will put you in the cleft of the rock,
and I will cover you with my handuntil I have passed by.
Then I will take away my hand,
and you shall see my back,but my face shall not be seen.
Here's what's happening.
God is saying, I am so holy.
(24:11):
You can't see
my holiness because it would destroy you.
And so the Bible says, Godcarved out a hole in the rock
and stuck Moses in a hole,and then covered his face.
And as God
passed by,he said, then I will let you see.
(24:32):
The Hebrew word is the hind parts.
God is so holy.
Moses had to be covered by a rock,and then the hand of God to see very dimly
a muted, a muted view of the back
part of God's passive glory.
(24:53):
And the result of that.
Exodus 34
and verse 29,when Moses came down from Mount Sinai
with the two tablets of the testimonyin his hand
as he came down from the mountain,Moses did not know
that the skin of his face shonebecause he had been talking with God.
The implication shone as brightas the sun.
(25:17):
Merrin, Aaron,and all the people of Israel saw Moses,
and behold, the skin of his face shone,and they were afraid.
They were terrified to be near him.
So powerfulis the glory of as the holiness of God,
that a man
hidden, covered by a rock,and the hand of God that got a passing,
muted glimpseof the backside of his glory,
(25:40):
so changed him
that others were terrified of him.
Do you understand?
Are you getting a glimpseof the holiness of this God?
He's not to be trifled with.
(26:00):
He's not to be approachedwith familiarity.
This is a holy God.
I know during the late
(26:21):
1990s and 2000, there was
there was this thing on the coast.
It was kind of like a a ChristianWoodstock called Spirit West Coast.
It was it was pretty cool.
It's pretty cool.
But I remember those days
when people came to supposedly worship
(26:44):
this move that tried to make God so common
and so familiar.
There was a deep and profound
loss of his holiness, so muchso that I remember T-shirts being printed
by people just trying to make a buck offof ignorant Christians.
(27:05):
That said, Jesus is my homeboy.
The contempt.
We would say,
yeah, God's my blood, just my blood. The.
I understand the heart behind it.
I do.
(27:28):
But we've got to be very carefulabout this
God that we treat.
With such familiarity
and far too much comfort from.
Holy, holy, holy.
That indicates two things.
(27:50):
One, the Trinity.
God the father. God the son, Godthe spirit.
Holy, holy, holy,but also indicates emphasis
in our world.
We would put exclamation mark, exclamationmark, exclamation
mark.
This emphasizes emphasis.
(28:12):
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
The whole earth is full of his glory.
And the foundations of the thresholdsshook at the voice of him
who called that which is inanimateand has no
life moves
at the holiness of God.
(28:32):
And the response is, I'ma man of unclean lips.
I am undone
because of this dirty manhas seen the glory
and holiness of God.
We've become too familiar.
And too comfortable.
(28:54):
He is the sovereign.
He is the ruler.
And as a sovereign,a sovereign is not a sovereign.
A Lord is not a Lordwithout subjects and slaves.
He is sovereign.
He is mighty.
He is majesty, and we are but slaves,
(29:14):
not duty bound.
Because we know in John 15
that thougha slave and subject to of Christ,
now I am his friend.
And we know from Romans eight
that notduty bound as a mere subject or slave,
(29:34):
I am not only a friend of the master,I am also a co heir of him.
But yet still his slave.
And because God is holy, holy, holy
I, we must be about his business.
(29:55):
See, here's how I say it.
God's holiness demands my allegiance.
You follow me.
Are you okay? Yes.
(30:16):
His holiness demands my allegiance.
We can do no other.
I want you to understand something
that Christianity at its heart,
at some level, is treasonousand subversive.
(30:38):
Christianity, at the heart of it,is treasonous and subversive.
We get our name flip side from act 17 six,
and then at 17 six, it'sthe Jewish leaders
that are making a chargeagainst new Christ followers
and their charge against them is thisthey've turned the world upside down.
That was a Jewish idiom
(30:59):
for their subversive, their treason us.
And they are counter to the prevailing
rulers and authority and cultureby which we live.
That's what Christianity is.
That's what Jesus was.
That's what all of his followers were.
And that's what got him killed.
(31:19):
John John the Baptist was beheaded.
Not because he told peoplethey could be saved,
not because he said,Jesus can be your forgiver.
He was beheaded because he was treasonousand subversive to the king,
and called the king outfor his immorality.
He says,
(31:39):
you say that reality is this, God'sreality is this, and you are in error.
And they took his head.
In acts
one eight,if you know what acts one eight says,
some of you do.
You just realize the address.
You don't know where it lives.
Let's say, David, be my witness.
(32:01):
That's it.
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth.
I want you to understand something.
That Greek word witness is Marta's.
Guess what word we get from Marta's
martyr.
You understand what Jesus is saying?
(32:22):
Sometimes that word is translated.
A witness.
But we get our word martyr from that word.
Jesus is it.
You will be my martyr
in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.
(32:43):
That's the call of Christ.
And lo,
I am with you to the very end of the age.
We've
become so familiar with this God that wesay, yeah, I'm going to follow you.
I will sometimes I wantsometimes some things I will.
(33:04):
Some things are wrong.
Jesus has said, you, O follower of me,
will follow me.
To the cross.
If you have to,
and you will be my martyrs, right here
in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria,and to the ends of the earth.
(33:28):
And I am with you always.
And he is so holy and so supreme,
that the follower of Christ says, hereI am.
Send me.
Yes, Lord.
(33:56):
Do you know the moment
Paul gave his life to Jesus, his lifegot worse?
Think about it for a minute.
The moment Paul said yes
to Jesus, saying yesto Jesus was detrimental
to Paul's health and to Paul's longevityand to ball's very life.
(34:17):
Saying yes, Jesus was detrimental to that.
When I when I look at Scriptureand people who follow Christ,
they look so different than me.
And it's probably different for you.
All I know is me.
Like you're probably a lot more holyand righteous and sacrificial than I am.
I just know me.
(34:39):
And there's so much of me
that wants to add Jesusto something in my life to make it better.
Stuff gets haywire.
Jesus. Come on, I need you now.
Make this better.
And what I see in Scripture,when people added Jesus to their life,
it got worse.
So I did some study this weekand I want to share this with you.
(35:00):
When Paul said yes to Jesus,this is an outline of Paul's life.
Is difficulty.
Once he didn't have any of these problemsbefore Jesus.
Once he said yes to Jesus.
Here it is in the first three yearsof saying yes to Jesus.
He faced a plot to kill him.
He was forced to escapethe city under the cover of darkness.
He was lowered in a basketfrom an opening in the city.
(35:22):
Walton's run for his life at that point.
Would we have said, okay, hold on. Jesus,I think you got something wrong.
He had to
run to Tarsus while he was in Jerusalem.
A plot was made against his life,forcing him to leave
and go to his hometown,where people wouldn't try to kill him.
(35:42):
In the first three yearsof accepting Jesus.
And then he took this missionary journey.
Within ten years, this missionary journey.
And when he was in position, Antioch,they stirred up
a persecution against Paula Barnabasand kicked him out of the city.
And then they stoned him,and they left him for dead.
They pelted his head with rocks, so muchso that it busted everything in.
(36:06):
And they checked himand they pronounced him dead.
And miraculously, he was revived.
And we would say, well, wait a minute.
Like God can't be in that county.
Do yousee how it Paul added Jesus to his life.
It got worse,
(36:27):
And then in his second
missionary journey,Paul and Silas were flogged
as Jesus was before being crucifiedand thrown in prison.
And then the Jews stirred up a mobagainst Paul and Silas,
and they were forced againto run for their lives on the cover of
darkness, to get out of the city.
And then they were draggedbefore the pro council on other charges.
(36:48):
Did Paul's life ever get better?
No. Don't be spiritual and say, well,you know, he's in the will of the Lord,
so it's all better because that's nothow we respond to ourselves
when stuff goes wrong, right?
(37:09):
And in his thirdmissionary journey in Ephesus,
they instigated a citywide riot,forcing Paul to leave.
And at his home in Ephesus,they were in a state of that he was.
He said that he was afflictedand he was despaired of.
Life itself,
like he thought he was going to die again.
(37:31):
And then Paul learned of a Jewish plotto kill him and had to change his plans.
Like, over and over and over.
They're taking shots at him.
20 years
after he acceptedJesus, 25 years after year after Christ,
he was arrested in the temple courtsin Jerusalem after
(37:53):
being falsely accused.
And then he was saved from me, killed
by a Jewish mob, by Roman soldiers.
And for two years,he was thrown in prison in Syria.
And then he was sent to Rome.
And the ship
he was on shipwrecked on the storm,and he was stuck on the island of Malta.
And then he spent the last two yearsunder house arrest in Rome.
(38:15):
After that,
and after brief reprieves,
he was again arrested under Emperor Nero
and then martyred by beheading.
30 years after giving his life to Jesus.
(38:35):
Did his life get better
because he put Jesus in the middle of it?
Accepting Jesus as his Savior
was a detriment to his health
and his livelihood and his earthly future.
And look at what Paul said about himself.
(38:56):
I do not account my life of any value,nor as precious to myself.
If only I may finish my courseand the ministry that I've received
from the Lord Jesus to testifyto the gospel of the grace of God.
He says, mylife is not precious to me at all,
(39:16):
except that I may testifyabout the grace of God.
For I'm already
being poured out as a drink offering,and the time of my departure has come.
Paul never said death.He never talked about it.
He always talked about departure.
Because for him, it was like gettingon a plane and taking a trip
to a new home,
(39:38):
a better home.
For whoever would save his life.
Well, what? Lose it.
But whoever loses his life for my sake
will find it.
So is what it means to follow Christ,
to serve a holy, holy, holy God.
(40:04):
Indeed, I count everything as lost
because of the surpassing worthof knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have sufferedthe loss of all things and count them
as rubbish trash, in order that I may gainChrist and be found in him,
not having a righteousness of my ownthat comes from the law,
(40:24):
but that that which comes through faithin Christ, the righteousness from God
that depends on faith, that I may knowhim, and the power of his resurrection.
Absolutely.
But resurrectiononly comes through suffering and death.
That I may knowthe power of his resurrection
and share in his sufferings,becoming like him in his death,
that by any means possibleI may attain the resurrection of the dead.
(40:46):
This was the focus of Paul's earthly life.
It was live for one purpose,
and it was counted as loss,
because Paul understood what he'dbeen told about the words of Christ.
You will be my martyrin Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
and to the ends of this earth,and I am with you always.
(41:09):
And because God is holy, holy, holy,
the slave has no right to say no.
Lord.
So be it.
(41:31):
God's business
is about seekingand saving those who are far from him.
And God has no other businessin this world.
And God has a plan for reaching people.
And that plan is me and you.
And he has no plan B,
and that's why we will plant churches,
(41:53):
and that's why we will give and leadand serve and invite,
because a holy God
has said, I am your sovereign,I am your master, and this is my business.
And that's why we're
going to start three services
(42:15):
on November 2nd,
because there are people in the ranchos,there are people in Riverstone,
there are people in Tesoro.
And God knows there's people in Tulathat do not know him.
I have to give you a chanceto breathe in this.
That's your chance to breathe.
(42:37):
You understand? Yes.
We will not build a bigger campus.
We'll start another service.
I've never had the desire.
I've never been about a big campus.
I've been about
a big impact.
Because that's biblical.
(43:01):
And so we'll start
churches and start campuses
and start services.
And here's why.
Let me read this just real quick.Let me read this to you.
This came from our birthday celebrations.
What someone said about
these past 20 years.
I first came to a flip side back in 2018.
I still remember
(43:21):
walking through the doors, feelingso scared and unsure of what I was doing.
Faith wasn't something I grew up with.
In fact, it was pretty. It was.
It was pretty discouraging in my home.
And to be honest, I was embarrassed.
I knew a lot of people from schoolwho went to flip side, and I was so aware
of my reputation, the life I was livingand how others saw me.
(43:43):
That first Sunday Carl preached,and for the very first time
in my 17 years of life,I heard the good news.
I realized I wasn't too far gone.
Slowly but surely, God began liftingthe shame I had carried for so long.
After that day, I gave my life to Jesus.
Fast forward a bit, and in 2020,I was baptized
(44:03):
right alongside the manwho would later become my husband.
Things at home didn't magically change,
but something in me had the light of Jesusbegan to shine in me.
And even in that darkness,my family started to notice.
My mom and siblingsbegan asking questions about Jesus.
Now years later,not only do they come to flipside,
but they've come to know
(44:23):
what it means to havea real personal relationship with Jesus.
That'ssomething I never thought I'd get to see.
My husband and I have grown
so much together, both as a coupleand in our faith.
On September
15th, we'll celebrate one year of marriageand seven years of being together.
And this October,we're expecting our first baby boy.
God has been so incredibly faithful.
(44:47):
I grew up with every cardstacked against me.
The environment I came fromwas heavy and hard.
But Jesus met me right where I was
and flip side.
Was a place
where the seed of faith was firstplanted in me.
And I'll never stopbeing thankful for that.
(45:10):
Yeah.
And that's why I will add services.
And that's why I will start churches.
And it will require sacrifice.
And you will sacrifice right along with meand right along with each other.
And sowhile I am in Ukraine, you will pray
(45:33):
that the kingdom of God advancesthroughout that country.
And you will pray over yourselvesin this place.
What is your part?
Decide what your sacrifice is
for some of you, as a martyr.
Your sacrifice will be showing up at 8:00.
(45:57):
And some of your sacrifice
will be coming to the late one at 11.
And some of you will sacrifice
your time and your energy.
You pray about what your role is
in leading, not just helping,
(46:17):
but also in helping
what your role is in giving
and what your responsibility isin inviting.
Because we serve a holy God.
And because of his holiness,
it will always be kingdom over partyand because of God's holiness,
(46:39):
it will always be kingdom over politicand because of God's holiness
it will always be kingdom over personalityand because of God's holiness.
It will always be the expansionof his Kingdom, regardless of the cost.
And because of his holiness.
We will respond with, here am I, send me.
(47:05):
Because of the holiness of God,
give him your life and don't take it back.
This is the God we serve,
and this is why we do what we do.
(47:25):
You understand?
Father.
Thank you
that you love us,
that you've loved uswith an everlasting love.
That we could never separate us
from your love.
And I thank you that you are the Holy God.
(47:47):
Who has stepped into our existence
and drawn near to usso we could draw near to you.
Thank you that you took the initiative.
I pray that we respond
with unwavering commitment,
with steadfast love,
(48:09):
and with a heart that says, here am I.
Send me,
oh God, that your kingdom wouldcome on this earth as it is in heaven,
that your will would be done on this earthas it is in heaven.
Friends,I want to invite you in this moment.
To come before a holy
(48:31):
God, not a familiar one.
But a holy, holy, holy God.
And before that, Holy God,
admit who you are.
God, you are holy.
I am not.
(48:55):
Tell him I cannot make myself
right with you.
Say, Jesus, thank you
that you made it possible.
For a sinful person like me.
To be accepted by a holy God.
(49:19):
And Jesus,
I accept the workyou did on the cross for my forgiveness.
Thank you.
And now make this commitment.
God, because you are holy.
I will stop telling you no.
(49:41):
I realize Your Holiness
demands my allegiance.
And so today, I'm giving you all of it.
We love you, Jesus.
Thank you
for the opportunityyou've given us to be made right with you.
(50:02):
Do what only you can do.
Grow your kingdom through this church.
I pray that we would reach the ranchos,that we would reach Riverstone, that we
reach to soil, that we would reach beyondour own borders, beyond our country,
that we'd get to be a small part of yourgroundwork, of the redemption of humanity.
You're the only hope of salvation.
You're the only hope for this world.
(50:22):
Thank you that we get to be yourtorchbearers, your image in this world.
I pray we carry it well
and that whatever it costs us, God,
we willingly
as your slaves, martyrs,
friends and co-heirs,
give and sacrifice
(50:42):
because you're holy.
In your name I pray.
Amen. Church, I love you.
I'm proud of you.
Let's stormthe gates of hell with a water pistol,
Cause we already won.
Let's sing.
I want to
talk a little bit from my heartthis morning.
About recent events,
about our lifeand our legacy as a church and individuals
and about some next steps.
There's no doubt that our world
is in turmoil
(00:25):
for many different reasons,on many different fronts.
And that turmoil was heightened
and exacerbatedby the events of a week ago on the 10th.
Certainly.
And it's interesting in the weekthat has gone on,
after Charlie Kirk's assassination,
(00:47):
I've noticed some shifts and some changethat are somewhat concerning.
I got a call from a friend of mine,
sometime this last.
I forgot what dayit was in the evening time, and he said.
He said, pastor, is part of another churchor another church that we helped plant.
(01:07):
And he said,
pastor, I respect your biblical view,
your theological view of reality and earthand eternity.
Help me understand how I should viewand talk
to people about Charlie's assassination,he said.
I don't know anything about Charlie Kirk.
Never heard him, and he doesn'tcome up on any of my algorithms.
(01:28):
He said he's is not one in my culture
that is listened to or respected.
He said, so I want to be able to respond
with intelligenceand integrity and biblically.
And so we had quite a long conversation,and I think it was fruitful.
But he had listened to sound bites
(01:50):
and sound bites are dangerous,
that were not favorableand is looking through the lens
from his culture through political,completely political lenses.
And so it was it was it was a
difficult conversation, but I think it wasI think it was beneficial.
But what I've noticed in the last 11 daysor so
(02:13):
is the current has shifted
from shock and outrage,
to anger, not just about the event,
but people are angry.
Some are angry at Charlie Kirkand Turning Point, and some are angry
at those who are angry at Charlie Kirkand Turning Point.
(02:34):
The reality that we've got to keep in mind
is that we don't wrestleand fight against flesh and blood,
but against rulers and authoritiesand principalities
of this very dark and evil world.
That has always been the case,and it still is,
and will continueto be until Christ returns,
(02:56):
until he completely does away
with even the presence of evil,
and he establishes his kingdom on earthas it exists in heaven.
But until then,
there is this struggle in the unseen worldthat sometimes shows its
face in the seen world.
And that's what we're seeing.
(03:17):
The one of the things that I hold on to,
especially in light of Charlie'sassassination, is this
is this truth from Psalm 116.
Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
God is present.
He's near.
(03:39):
Things don't haphazardly happen.
And he's still good.
And what I'm realizing overand over and over, and especially
in light of what happened last weekwhen truth is viewed as hate,
(04:00):
it's a clear sign that the culturehas absolutely lost its moral compass.
And when
some in our culture are more outraged
that Kimmel got canceled, more
than that, Charlie got killed.
It's a signthat things are terribly wrong.
(04:23):
And what I've convinced more and moreand more and more
and more is that Christ is the only hope
for humanity.
And our response?
The Christ followersor his followers response
rather than getting more angry at others.
We must become more passionateabout the Kingdom.
(04:46):
It's the only hope of salvation.
I'm not saying don't postor I'm saying don't be concerned.
I'm not saying don't honor.
Charlie's assassination is no doubt
was politically and morally motivated.
By an evil man.
(05:08):
With political and moral motivations.
But I want us to be very carefulthat we don't
make a bigger deal out a turning pointthan we do the kingdom of God.
And I think
that's exactly what Charlie would say.
Christ was more important than him,and he.
Christ is more important to us.
(05:31):
When I look at what happened,I have to realize
the reality of who I am,
that it was me.
And this is what gets difficultbecause we want to rage against others.
But I have to realize firstthat was my sin
that put Jesus on the cross,
and it's the sin of humanity
(05:52):
that both drove the nailsand pulled the trigger.
And the only hope for the sin of humanity
is Christ him crucified and resurrected.
He is the only hope for this world.
And so we will continue to pray.
(06:13):
One for the witness of this church
in a dark world.
And we will pray
for Erica and the kids.
And we will be very focused
(06:33):
on the Kingdom of God.
Father, I thank you.
I thank you
that we can remember the truththat your sovereign
and that you're a good God
and you are close to your kids.
(06:56):
And I pray in the name of Jesus
that this world will draw close to you.
I pray you help us be mindful.
Of your mercyand your grace, that you would help us
be mindful of your righteousness.
(07:17):
That you'd help us
to trust you in difficulty,
honor you in tragedy.
And pray for the salvation
and the blessing of even our enemies.
And father,I pray over this moment right now
with the honoring of the servicein Arizona of Charlie.
(07:39):
I pray over Erica and the kids,
your peace that passes, understanding,a comfort that cannot be explained
and that somehow.
That you reach.
And this is what you do.
More people,
even in death than you have in life.
(08:01):
We trust you.
And that's in your name, Jesus, we pray.
Amen.
It don't have a lot of notes and a lot ofscripture to put on the screen behind me.
I want to talk to you from my hearta little bit,
not just about the temperature
of the culturethat we're in, the climate of our culture.
(08:24):
But I want to talk to you about our church
as we closedthe first chapter in the first two decades
and open a new chapterover the next two decades
about what we will live for,
what's worth bleeding over,
where our legacy will be.
(08:45):
And what we wantGod to say about us when we meet him.
Through God's
purpose in sending Jesus to the earthis that people who are far from
him will be made right with him
through faith in Jesus,
the cross, his death and resurrection.
(09:08):
The best way to do that
to help people come toChrist is by planting churches.
It's the best way under heavento reach people for Christ.
And so to that end,
we have always beenabout planting churches.
And to that end, we will continue
(09:29):
to double down on that purposethrough this church.
I've never been concerned
about a big footprint.
I've always been motivated and passionate
about a big impact.
His kingdom come.
His will be done on earthas it is in heaven.
And the best way to do that is to plantchurches, not to build a bigger campus.
(09:55):
And so in part of that, we
start this next chapter in Ukraine.
God's opened up a door
that we never saw coming.
To plant churches in Ukraine in profoundnumbers.
Here's the thing.
When you get close to your own mortality,you start asking questions.
You should be asking before you realizeyou were close to your mortality.
(10:18):
And that's what's happening in Ukraine.
And so the door to plantchurches is wide open there.
And I have the opportunity to go trainand set up a system there
to call, affirm and train church planters
to plant churches all over that country,as we've done in Cuba,
(10:38):
as we've done in Guatemala,as we're doing in America.
Because God has asked that.
We don't have the option to tell him no.
So that's one of the things,
as we go into this next chapter,that it's going to continue to be a focus,
but because God's heartis to reach those who are far from him,
(11:02):
the way we will do thatlocally, rather than planting
a bigger campus,is to start another service.
And so we'll move to three services
on November 2nd,
and those services will be at 8:00
and 930 and 11.
(11:24):
And so I'm gonna talkmore about that in a little bit.
But I just want you to know upfrontthat's where we're headed.
We will continue to plant churcheswherever God gives us an opportunity,
and we're going to expand what we do hereby starting another service,
three services eight, nine, 30 and 11starting November 2nd.
Now let me unpack it.
(11:47):
Why Ukraine?
Whenever we talk about reaching peoplewith the gospel, we talk about
looking for people in two scenarios peopleunder tension and people in transition.
And you talk about a war torn country.
Everybody is under tensionand in transition.
And so God oftentimes works.
(12:08):
He always works,
all the time.
But people are more attuned to his work
when their intention and transition.
And so the door is wide open in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, I'll fly from here to Krakow,
arrive in Krakow on Wednesday,
(12:31):
and I'll go to Auschwitz.
And then on Thursday, travel to Ukraine.
And in Ukraine we will run a couple day
discovery center for people who feel likethey're called to plant churches.
And we'll do a lot of trainingand calling and affirming and
and just assessing what God is doingand helping them learn how to do it.
(12:51):
Well.
And then we'll take about a three daybreak
and I will drive.
So they'll get a driver for me,to what they say right now
is about ten milesfrom the Russian troops on the frontline.
And I will get to ministerto the Ukrainian army
and to their chaplains and to some people
(13:14):
who are just now coming to faith.
And I'll spend two of spendtwo days in the night there,
and then we'll drive backjust south of Kiev
and do another discovery centerfor people who are planting churches.
And then the following Sunday,which would be,
I think, the first or somewherearound there, whenever that Sunday is,
(13:36):
I'll get to be in another churchin Ukraine ministering as well.
So the church has my full itinerary
and they know when
that when I'll be on the front lines,they know when things are happening,
and I'll get informationas I'm available to,
so you'll know
more firsthand what's going on,and what's happening.
(13:59):
So thank you for your prayers.
I've given Brenda and Scott a list ofof almost all 14 couples
who will be trained to plant churchesand their kids
so you can be praying for them. Here'swhat I'm asking for.
Your prayers.
Real simple.
Pray that the kingdom of God advances.
(14:20):
Is that clear?
Your tendency is going to beto pray for my safety.
I'm asking you to praythat the kingdom advances regardless.
Is that clear?
Is his kingdom overall?
And so I've just told you more than a lotmore than I told the first service,
because as some who were in the firstservice and I want to be sensitive.
(14:41):
And so I trust thatyou'll be sensitive as well.
Do you hear what I'm saying? Yes.
We do this because of who God is,
and I think we've lost sightof who God is.
I think the church in generalhas become too familiar
and too comfortable with who God is.
(15:04):
And I want to remind us this morningon who God is.
We have a Bible and brought one with you.
I want you to go to Isaiah chapter six.
It's in the Old Testament just past
Psalms and Proverbs and
the first of the three great prophets,Isaiah and Isaiah.
(15:25):
Chapter six says this
in the year that King Uzziah died,I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high
and lifted up, and the train of his robefilled the temple.
Above him stood the seraphim.
Each had six wings, with twohe covered his face.
With twohe covered his feet, and with two he flew,
and one called to another and said,Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
(15:49):
The whole earth is full of his glory,
and the foundations of the thresholdsshook at the voice of him who called.
And the house was filled with smoke.
And I said, woe is me, for I am lost.
I'm a man of unclean lips, and I dwellin the midst of a people of unclean lips.
For my eyeshave seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
(16:11):
Chapter six starts with this statement.
In the yearKing Uzziah died, that's important.
UJA became King over God's people.
When he was 16 years oldand ruled for over 50 years.
It was a prolific reign.
It was a beautiful reign.
He I wouldn't say thathe's the the lead or the second
(16:32):
top king in Israel,but he's certainly in the top five.
He was the last of the reformer kings
that brought real reformationand revival to the people of God.
And it was in that year that he died.
The year that he died, that Isaiahthe prophet says
he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne.
(16:54):
That word, Lord,if you look in your Bible, it's
probably capitalL, little o, little r, little d.
That's the Hebrew word Adonai.
The wordAdonai is the supreme title of God.
This is the master.
This is the Supreme.
This is the sovereignGod over all things life
(17:16):
and death, creation, heaven, hell,the God over all.
He saw that God sitting upon a thronehigh and lifted up.
That word Adonai has been reserved
for what we would consider God the Father.
In this instance,I believe it's attributed to God the Son,
(17:36):
a pre incarnate Jesus,
the second person of the Trinity.
And what Isaiah sees here
is the in the enthronement
of Christ on his throne, the supreme God.
This reminds us of the most often
(17:58):
uttered and referred to Psalmin the New Testament.
Psalm eight, verse one.
In Psalm eight one it says, O Lord,
our Lord, how majestic is your namein all the earth.
When the Bible says in Psalm eight one,and that's
what this verse reminds us ofin Isaiah, O Lord, our Lord.
It uses two different words for Lord, OLord,
(18:21):
capital L, little o, little r, little d, oAdonai, O sovereign one,
O master, O Supreme one, O Lord,
our Lord, Jehovah, the personal God,
O Supreme one, you are the personal one.
That's what that's what Psalm eight onesays, O Lord, our Lord, how majestic
(18:42):
is your name, O sovereign master, rulerof heaven and earth, how majestic are you?
The personal one to me.
Do you understand that?
And what Isaiah sees here inIsaiah chapter
six is the sovereign master,ruler of the universe,
the Most High and Exalted, one
(19:02):
God above all gods.
That's who he sees attributed to
Jesus on the throne,the enthronement of Jesus.
And we don't know.
The text isn't clearif Isaiah is actually in the temple,
having this vision or somehow, asGod did with the Apostle John
(19:23):
on the island of Patmos,pull back the curtain to heaven
as John pennedthe words of the revelation.
Perhaps what Isaiah is seenhere has God pulling back the curtain
and peering into heavenand seeing Christ, the sovereign Supreme,
enthroned in heaven above.
(19:43):
And it's this that he seeshigh and lifted up the train of his robe,
filled the temple, and above himstood your Bible, says Seraphim.
That's a plural word in the Hebrew.
Any time of the Hebrewit word ends in I'm.
That's the plural of that word.
So these are seraph, which is an angel,and there's multiple of them.
(20:03):
Seraphim.
We don't know much about these angels.
This is the only placeare listed in Scripture.
It appears that these are createdangelic beings with the sole purpose
of worshiping the Supreme, Almighty God.
Day and night, night and day.
Now it's importantto realize what these angels are like.
God's creation is the creation of economy.
(20:27):
What that meansis that he doesn't waste creation.
Everything created is createdwith a purpose for a purpose.
These angels,it tells us what they're like.
What are they like?
They have how many wings?
Six. It's not that God just gotsuper excited about wings and made six.
They have a purpose with two.
(20:48):
They flew with two.They covered their feet.
And with two, they covered their eyes.
Let me explainone aspect of these six wings.
With the two, they cover their eyes. Why?
They're created to worship the Almighty,supreme, majestic God.
Day and night, night and day.
And so holy is him.
So righteous is God that these angelswere created to worship him day and night.
(21:12):
And I can't even bear to lookat him because he's so holy.
They have to cover their eyes.
This God that we become
so comfortable withand so familiar with is so holy
that these otherworldlyangelic beings created to worship him
day and night, night and day,cannot even bear to look at him,
(21:36):
but through veiled eyes,because he is so holy.
Do you understand?
And we come to him with such familiarity
that breeds contempt,
as if we have the right
to stand before him with unveiled faces
and unveiled souls.
(22:01):
And what do they say?
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.
There's no other characteristic.
There's no other quality of Godthat is mentioned in thrice form.
The Bible doesn't sayGod is love, love, love.
It doesn't say God is peace.
Peace. Peace.
The Bible doesn't say God is grace.
(22:23):
Grace. Grace.
The only character of Godthat's mentioned three times.
Like this for emphasis.
Purpose is holy, holy, holy.
How dare we come before him?
With such familiarity.
(22:44):
That we would have the audacity.
To be bored, disinterested,
or God forbid, tell him no.
So holy is God.
Angels can't even look upon him.
It reminds me of Exodus chapter 33
(23:07):
when Moses is on the mountain with Godreceiving
the commandments, that would becomewhat we call the Mosaic Law.
The Ten Commandments,
chapter 33 and verse 17,the Lord said to Moses, this very thing
that you have spoken, I will do, foryou have found favor in my sight.
And I know you by name.
Can you imagine God saying,I know you by name?
(23:27):
Guess what he does?
Moses said, please show me your glory.
And God said,I will make all my goodness pass
before you, and will proclaim before youmy name of the Lord.
And I will be gracious to whomI will be gracious,
and I will show mercy on whomI will show mercy.
But you, Moses, cannot see my face.
For man shall not see me and live.
(23:49):
And the Lord said, behold,there is a place by me
where you shall stand on the rock.
And while my glory passes by,I will put you in the cleft of the rock,
and I will cover you with my handuntil I have passed by.
Then I will take away my hand,
and you shall see my back,but my face shall not be seen.
Here's what's happening.
God is saying, I am so holy.
(24:11):
You can't see
my holiness because it would destroy you.
And so the Bible says, Godcarved out a hole in the rock
and stuck Moses in a hole,and then covered his face.
And as God
passed by,he said, then I will let you see.
(24:32):
The Hebrew word is the hind parts.
God is so holy.
Moses had to be covered by a rock,and then the hand of God to see very dimly
a muted, a muted view of the back
part of God's passive glory.
(24:53):
And the result of that.
Exodus 34
and verse 29,when Moses came down from Mount Sinai
with the two tablets of the testimonyin his hand
as he came down from the mountain,Moses did not know
that the skin of his face shonebecause he had been talking with God.
The implication shone as brightas the sun.
(25:17):
Merrin, Aaron,and all the people of Israel saw Moses,
and behold, the skin of his face shone,and they were afraid.
They were terrified to be near him.
So powerfulis the glory of as the holiness of God,
that a man
hidden, covered by a rock,and the hand of God that got a passing,
muted glimpseof the backside of his glory,
(25:40):
so changed him
that others were terrified of him.
Do you understand?
Are you getting a glimpseof the holiness of this God?
He's not to be trifled with.
(26:00):
He's not to be approachedwith familiarity.
This is a holy God.
I know during the late
(26:21):
1990s and 2000, there was
there was this thing on the coast.
It was kind of like a a ChristianWoodstock called Spirit West Coast.
It was it was pretty cool.
It's pretty cool.
But I remember those days
when people came to supposedly worship
(26:44):
this move that tried to make God so common
and so familiar.
There was a deep and profound
loss of his holiness, so muchso that I remember T-shirts being printed
by people just trying to make a buck offof ignorant Christians.
(27:05):
That said, Jesus is my homeboy.
The contempt.
We would say,
yeah, God's my blood, just my blood. The.
I understand the heart behind it.
I do.
(27:28):
But we've got to be very carefulabout this
God that we treat.
With such familiarity
and far too much comfort from.
Holy, holy, holy.
That indicates two things.
(27:50):
One, the Trinity.
God the father. God the son, Godthe spirit.
Holy, holy, holy,but also indicates emphasis
in our world.
We would put exclamation mark, exclamationmark, exclamation
mark.
This emphasizes emphasis.
(28:12):
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
The whole earth is full of his glory.
And the foundations of the thresholdsshook at the voice of him
who called that which is inanimateand has no
life moves
at the holiness of God.
(28:32):
And the response is, I'ma man of unclean lips.
I am undone
because of this dirty manhas seen the glory
and holiness of God.
We've become too familiar.
And too comfortable.
(28:54):
He is the sovereign.
He is the ruler.
And as a sovereign,a sovereign is not a sovereign.
A Lord is not a Lordwithout subjects and slaves.
He is sovereign.
He is mighty.
He is majesty, and we are but slaves,
(29:14):
not duty bound.
Because we know in John 15
that thougha slave and subject to of Christ,
now I am his friend.
And we know from Romans eight
that notduty bound as a mere subject or slave,
(29:34):
I am not only a friend of the master,I am also a co heir of him.
But yet still his slave.
And because God is holy, holy, holy
I, we must be about his business.
(29:55):
See, here's how I say it.
God's holiness demands my allegiance.
You follow me.
Are you okay? Yes.
(30:16):
His holiness demands my allegiance.
We can do no other.
I want you to understand something
that Christianity at its heart,
at some level, is treasonousand subversive.
(30:38):
Christianity, at the heart of it,is treasonous and subversive.
We get our name flip side from act 17 six,
and then at 17 six, it'sthe Jewish leaders
that are making a chargeagainst new Christ followers
and their charge against them is thisthey've turned the world upside down.
That was a Jewish idiom
(30:59):
for their subversive, their treason us.
And they are counter to the prevailing
rulers and authority and cultureby which we live.
That's what Christianity is.
That's what Jesus was.
That's what all of his followers were.
And that's what got him killed.
(31:19):
John John the Baptist was beheaded.
Not because he told peoplethey could be saved,
not because he said,Jesus can be your forgiver.
He was beheaded because he was treasonousand subversive to the king,
and called the king outfor his immorality.
He says,
(31:39):
you say that reality is this, God'sreality is this, and you are in error.
And they took his head.
In acts
one eight,if you know what acts one eight says,
some of you do.
You just realize the address.
You don't know where it lives.
Let's say, David, be my witness.
(32:01):
That's it.
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth.
I want you to understand something.
That Greek word witness is Marta's.
Guess what word we get from Marta's
martyr.
You understand what Jesus is saying?
(32:22):
Sometimes that word is translated.
A witness.
But we get our word martyr from that word.
Jesus is it.
You will be my martyr
in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.
(32:43):
That's the call of Christ.
And lo,
I am with you to the very end of the age.
We've
become so familiar with this God that wesay, yeah, I'm going to follow you.
I will sometimes I wantsometimes some things I will.
(33:04):
Some things are wrong.
Jesus has said, you, O follower of me,
will follow me.
To the cross.
If you have to,
and you will be my martyrs, right here
in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria,and to the ends of the earth.
(33:28):
And I am with you always.
And he is so holy and so supreme,
that the follower of Christ says, hereI am.
Send me.
Yes, Lord.
(33:56):
Do you know the moment
Paul gave his life to Jesus, his lifegot worse?
Think about it for a minute.
The moment Paul said yes
to Jesus, saying yesto Jesus was detrimental
to Paul's health and to Paul's longevityand to ball's very life.
(34:17):
Saying yes, Jesus was detrimental to that.
When I when I look at Scriptureand people who follow Christ,
they look so different than me.
And it's probably different for you.
All I know is me.
Like you're probably a lot more holyand righteous and sacrificial than I am.
I just know me.
(34:39):
And there's so much of me
that wants to add Jesusto something in my life to make it better.
Stuff gets haywire.
Jesus. Come on, I need you now.
Make this better.
And what I see in Scripture,when people added Jesus to their life,
it got worse.
So I did some study this weekand I want to share this with you.
(35:00):
When Paul said yes to Jesus,this is an outline of Paul's life.
Is difficulty.
Once he didn't have any of these problemsbefore Jesus.
Once he said yes to Jesus.
Here it is in the first three yearsof saying yes to Jesus.
He faced a plot to kill him.
He was forced to escapethe city under the cover of darkness.
He was lowered in a basketfrom an opening in the city.
(35:22):
Walton's run for his life at that point.
Would we have said, okay, hold on. Jesus,I think you got something wrong.
He had to
run to Tarsus while he was in Jerusalem.
A plot was made against his life,forcing him to leave
and go to his hometown,where people wouldn't try to kill him.
(35:42):
In the first three yearsof accepting Jesus.
And then he took this missionary journey.
Within ten years, this missionary journey.
And when he was in position, Antioch,they stirred up
a persecution against Paula Barnabasand kicked him out of the city.
And then they stoned him,and they left him for dead.
They pelted his head with rocks, so muchso that it busted everything in.
(36:06):
And they checked himand they pronounced him dead.
And miraculously, he was revived.
And we would say, well, wait a minute.
Like God can't be in that county.
Do yousee how it Paul added Jesus to his life.
It got worse,
(36:27):
And then in his second
missionary journey,Paul and Silas were flogged
as Jesus was before being crucifiedand thrown in prison.
And then the Jews stirred up a mobagainst Paul and Silas,
and they were forced againto run for their lives on the cover of
darkness, to get out of the city.
And then they were draggedbefore the pro council on other charges.
(36:48):
Did Paul's life ever get better?
No. Don't be spiritual and say, well,you know, he's in the will of the Lord,
so it's all better because that's nothow we respond to ourselves
when stuff goes wrong, right?
(37:09):
And in his thirdmissionary journey in Ephesus,
they instigated a citywide riot,forcing Paul to leave.
And at his home in Ephesus,they were in a state of that he was.
He said that he was afflictedand he was despaired of.
Life itself,
like he thought he was going to die again.
(37:31):
And then Paul learned of a Jewish plotto kill him and had to change his plans.
Like, over and over and over.
They're taking shots at him.
20 years
after he acceptedJesus, 25 years after year after Christ,
he was arrested in the temple courtsin Jerusalem after
(37:53):
being falsely accused.
And then he was saved from me, killed
by a Jewish mob, by Roman soldiers.
And for two years,he was thrown in prison in Syria.
And then he was sent to Rome.
And the ship
he was on shipwrecked on the storm,and he was stuck on the island of Malta.
And then he spent the last two yearsunder house arrest in Rome.
(38:15):
After that,
and after brief reprieves,
he was again arrested under Emperor Nero
and then martyred by beheading.
30 years after giving his life to Jesus.
(38:35):
Did his life get better
because he put Jesus in the middle of it?
Accepting Jesus as his Savior
was a detriment to his health
and his livelihood and his earthly future.
And look at what Paul said about himself.
(38:56):
I do not account my life of any value,nor as precious to myself.
If only I may finish my courseand the ministry that I've received
from the Lord Jesus to testifyto the gospel of the grace of God.
He says, mylife is not precious to me at all,
(39:16):
except that I may testifyabout the grace of God.
For I'm already
being poured out as a drink offering,and the time of my departure has come.
Paul never said death.He never talked about it.
He always talked about departure.
Because for him, it was like gettingon a plane and taking a trip
to a new home,
(39:38):
a better home.
For whoever would save his life.
Well, what? Lose it.
But whoever loses his life for my sake
will find it.
So is what it means to follow Christ,
to serve a holy, holy, holy God.
(40:04):
Indeed, I count everything as lost
because of the surpassing worthof knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For his sake I have sufferedthe loss of all things and count them
as rubbish trash, in order that I may gainChrist and be found in him,
not having a righteousness of my ownthat comes from the law,
(40:24):
but that that which comes through faithin Christ, the righteousness from God
that depends on faith, that I may knowhim, and the power of his resurrection.
Absolutely.
But resurrectiononly comes through suffering and death.
That I may knowthe power of his resurrection
and share in his sufferings,becoming like him in his death,
that by any means possibleI may attain the resurrection of the dead.
(40:46):
This was the focus of Paul's earthly life.
It was live for one purpose,
and it was counted as loss,
because Paul understood what he'dbeen told about the words of Christ.
You will be my martyrin Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria,
and to the ends of this earth,and I am with you always.
(41:09):
And because God is holy, holy, holy,
the slave has no right to say no.
Lord.
So be it.
(41:31):
God's business
is about seekingand saving those who are far from him.
And God has no other businessin this world.
And God has a plan for reaching people.
And that plan is me and you.
And he has no plan B,
and that's why we will plant churches,
(41:53):
and that's why we will give and leadand serve and invite,
because a holy God
has said, I am your sovereign,I am your master, and this is my business.
And that's why we're
going to start three services
(42:15):
on November 2nd,
because there are people in the ranchos,there are people in Riverstone,
there are people in Tesoro.
And God knows there's people in Tulathat do not know him.
I have to give you a chanceto breathe in this.
That's your chance to breathe.
(42:37):
You understand? Yes.
We will not build a bigger campus.
We'll start another service.
I've never had the desire.
I've never been about a big campus.
I've been about
a big impact.
Because that's biblical.
(43:01):
And so we'll start
churches and start campuses
and start services.
And here's why.
Let me read this just real quick.Let me read this to you.
This came from our birthday celebrations.
What someone said about
these past 20 years.
I first came to a flip side back in 2018.
I still remember
(43:21):
walking through the doors, feelingso scared and unsure of what I was doing.
Faith wasn't something I grew up with.
In fact, it was pretty. It was.
It was pretty discouraging in my home.
And to be honest, I was embarrassed.
I knew a lot of people from schoolwho went to flip side, and I was so aware
of my reputation, the life I was livingand how others saw me.
(43:43):
That first Sunday Carl preached,and for the very first time
in my 17 years of life,I heard the good news.
I realized I wasn't too far gone.
Slowly but surely, God began liftingthe shame I had carried for so long.
After that day, I gave my life to Jesus.
Fast forward a bit, and in 2020,I was baptized
(44:03):
right alongside the manwho would later become my husband.
Things at home didn't magically change,
but something in me had the light of Jesusbegan to shine in me.
And even in that darkness,my family started to notice.
My mom and siblingsbegan asking questions about Jesus.
Now years later,not only do they come to flipside,
but they've come to know
(44:23):
what it means to havea real personal relationship with Jesus.
That'ssomething I never thought I'd get to see.
My husband and I have grown
so much together, both as a coupleand in our faith.
On September
15th, we'll celebrate one year of marriageand seven years of being together.
And this October,we're expecting our first baby boy.
God has been so incredibly faithful.
(44:47):
I grew up with every cardstacked against me.
The environment I came fromwas heavy and hard.
But Jesus met me right where I was
and flip side.
Was a place
where the seed of faith was firstplanted in me.
And I'll never stopbeing thankful for that.
(45:10):
Yeah.
And that's why I will add services.
And that's why I will start churches.
And it will require sacrifice.
And you will sacrifice right along with meand right along with each other.
And sowhile I am in Ukraine, you will pray
(45:33):
that the kingdom of God advancesthroughout that country.
And you will pray over yourselvesin this place.
What is your part?
Decide what your sacrifice is
for some of you, as a martyr.
Your sacrifice will be showing up at 8:00.
(45:57):
And some of your sacrifice
will be coming to the late one at 11.
And some of you will sacrifice
your time and your energy.
You pray about what your role is
in leading, not just helping,
(46:17):
but also in helping
what your role is in giving
and what your responsibility isin inviting.
Because we serve a holy God.
And because of his holiness,
it will always be kingdom over partyand because of God's holiness,
(46:39):
it will always be kingdom over politicand because of God's holiness
it will always be kingdom over personalityand because of God's holiness.
It will always be the expansionof his Kingdom, regardless of the cost.
And because of his holiness.
We will respond with, here am I, send me.
(47:05):
Because of the holiness of God,
give him your life and don't take it back.
This is the God we serve,
and this is why we do what we do.
(47:25):
You understand?
Father.
Thank you
that you love us,
that you've loved uswith an everlasting love.
That we could never separate us
from your love.
And I thank you that you are the Holy God.
(47:47):
Who has stepped into our existence
and drawn near to usso we could draw near to you.
Thank you that you took the initiative.
I pray that we respond
with unwavering commitment,
with steadfast love,
(48:09):
and with a heart that says, here am I.
Send me,
oh God, that your kingdom wouldcome on this earth as it is in heaven,
that your will would be done on this earthas it is in heaven.
Friends,I want to invite you in this moment.
To come before a holy
(48:31):
God, not a familiar one.
But a holy, holy, holy God.
And before that, Holy God,
admit who you are.
God, you are holy.
I am not.
(48:55):
Tell him I cannot make myself
right with you.
Say, Jesus, thank you
that you made it possible.
For a sinful person like me.
To be accepted by a holy God.
(49:19):
And Jesus,
I accept the workyou did on the cross for my forgiveness.
Thank you.
And now make this commitment.
God, because you are holy.
I will stop telling you no.
(49:41):
I realize Your Holiness
demands my allegiance.
And so today, I'm giving you all of it.
We love you, Jesus.
Thank you
for the opportunityyou've given us to be made right with you.
(50:02):
Do what only you can do.
Grow your kingdom through this church.
I pray that we would reach the ranchos,that we would reach Riverstone, that we
reach to soil, that we would reach beyondour own borders, beyond our country,
that we'd get to be a small part of yourgroundwork, of the redemption of humanity.
You're the only hope of salvation.
You're the only hope for this world.
(50:22):
Thank you that we get to be yourtorchbearers, your image in this world.
I pray we carry it well
and that whatever it costs us, God,
we willingly
as your slaves, martyrs,
friends and co-heirs,
give and sacrifice
(50:42):
because you're holy.
In your name I pray.
Amen. Church, I love you.
I'm proud of you.
Let's stormthe gates of hell with a water pistol,
Cause we already won.
Let's sing.
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