Sermon Transcript:Well, we are so blessed this morning. I don't know how many of you were here when DOM Simmons was with us last time, but it was a great blessing. And we're blessed to have him here again today. Dom You want to come on up and give us the word of Lord?Come on, can we give God some honor and praise this morning? Not a golf clap, but he's worthy of the praise. Come on. If he's moved, if he's moved mountains in your life, if he's provided for you, come on, give them some praise. Don't Don't Don't don't fall short of giving God the glory and honor this morning. Come on. I'm so glad to be here today. My name is Dom Simmons a little bit about my life. I am married to my beautiful wife, Allie Smith. She's here. She wasn't here last time with me. But she's here this time. We got to drive around. Got to shore with some authentic tortillas tastes like last night. Hey, back home. We add in a cut up to this. All right. This is great. Okay. Got to enjoy that. We have four kids 873. And one. Pray for us. I'll pray for you. You pray for us. Pray for us. Our kids are wild. They like to have fun like to run around. We are. God has done some amazing things in our life. Since the last time I've been here. We are literally eight weeks away from the launch of I am church. We are planting a church in Fort Worth. It launches in January. It's exciting. It's crazy. It's fun, nerve wracking. But God has provided and done some amazing things. So if you're looking to pray for some things for our lives, that's one of the things to be praying for. For us. I also want to just take this time, real quick before we even dive into anything I want to honor. Give honor honors do. You guys have an amazing pastor and Pastor Brent, and they love you. They care about you. They have sacrificed for Life Church, they have given them not only their lives, but their family. And they moved here and they they love this city, they have a heart we went to dinner last night and I could not stop talking about all the amazing things that's happening driving around showing the the money that the church has raised to donate for the build of a of a kid's Museum, art museum downtown, like all of that stuff. And so my pastor grant to you and your lovely wife is coordinate and your amazing kids. honor you. Church can we honor them? Can we can we give them a praise? In the same thank you thank you thank you know it's to to have people praying for you. When you don't even know what to ask people standing in a gap for you. Just know this, you didn't get here on your own. You're standing on somebody's prayer. Now that okay, God's good. God, it's good. So today, we want to dive into it when he called me and he when we talked, he's like, come in and preach. Absolutely. Last time I came I was a guest this time I'm family. I'm in the house. I feel comfortable and I got the shoes off and I got shoes I got my shoes on. Okay, I got my head laid back, you know, saying we go ready to go. Just a reminder, I may get a little rowdy. If you want to take a lap, go ahead, take a lap, they're gonna distract me. If you want to shout and say amen. And they're gonna distract me. It's gonna get me excited and go because we're gonna press in to what I believe that is going to transform our mindset on what we're going to talk about today. And so, we are going to dive into First Peter chapter four, we're getting ready to read. I'm not I'm not a reader. There's only one book I read every day and that's the Bible. Okay, everything else. I'm like a put on audio, given the audio, but we're gonna read the Bible today. There's 19 verses, stick with me, stick with me. And we're gonna get through it. If you have your Bible turn to First Peter, chapter four. We're gonna start in verse one, if you don't know come up on the screens behind me. It starts Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, on yourself also with the same attitude. Because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing the pagans chose to do living into voluntary lust, drunkenness, orgies, core coercion, and detestable idolatry. For that they were they are surprised that you do not join them in the reckless wild living and they heap abuse on you come on somebody that's what it looks like to be a Christian in today's world, they heap abuse on you, but they will this is good news have to give a count to him who was ready to judge the living and the dead for this is the reason the gospel was preached to even those who are now dead so that they might be judged accordingly to the human standards in regard to the body, but live accordingly to God in regard to the spirit verse seven, the end Of all things as near therefore be alert, and a sober and have a sober mind, so that you may pray. Above all love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins, offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very Word of God, if anyone's service should do so with the strength that God provides, so that all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ, to Him be the glory, and the power for ever and ever. Amen. Verse number 12. I know you're not enough and going to sleep but wait back up, we almost done, dear friends. Do not be surprised at the theory or the other has come on you to test you as though some something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in as much as you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed for the spirit of the spirit of glory of God rests on you. If you if you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any kind of criminal or even a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, come on somebody, do not be ashamed, but praise God, that you bear the name for it. It's time for judgment to begin with God's household right here at Life Church. And if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? That stings a little bit. So then those who suffer according to God's will, should commit themselves to their faithful Creator, and continue to do good. Come on, give yourself a round of applause. You just read a chapter in the book, you're done right there and check it off the list like I'm a Bible theology, theology. Now you know, as in, you just got to learn Hebrew and you'll be you'll be good, you'll be good. Hey, today's message title. If you're taking notes, it's called it's costly. It's costly. Let's pray God right now. I pray that as we unpack and dive into First Peter, chapter four today, I pray that your voice should be the loudest voice in the room. I pray that the Holy Spirit or move and do and be in comfort in the areas that need to be confident and reveal some truth to our hearts, so that we may move forward activated, ready to live our life, the way you've called us to live our life. God, I pray that any distractions that the enemy has schemed up, may fall to the wayside. Anything that the enemy has scanned has no authority right here in this moment online as well. You have no authority. Here, Satan. God, move on you can and have your way. In Jesus name, amen, and amen. Now, before we understand First Peter, we have to first understand who Peter is, before we can unpack that we got to know who we're dealing with. See, see this is a man who first was a fisherman, when first when he first stepped into the scene, he he was a fisherman and and he also challenges Jesus in front of the other disciples. Now, I know that some people that were preaching like, oh, he walked on water, but but at first, like he's like, Jesus, that's really you. You know, I mean, call me out there. I'll come to you. He was bald. He was a he was a bald man. He he walked on one. And then we see in Johnson to six, when when all of the disciples were leaving Jesus, when all these 1000s of people were walking away from Jesus, Jesus says, Are you going to leave me too? And Simon Peter was the first one to step up and say, well, where would we go? We're rocking one lawyer. We're all in Peter. Peter was was bold and courageous. And Peter was like, no, no, we're all in. See, when when Peter was also the man that when soldiers showed up to arrest Jesus, Peter shot this man's ear off. Peter one playing no games. Peter was about that life. He were my generations that he stood on business. That's, that's, that's, that's what Peter did. Peter was like, I'm about it. Right? But also in that moment, Peter also got rebuked. And Jesus said, Get behind me Satan, in that moment. And then Peter, also he, he denied Jesus three times. On the way to when Jesus was on his way to be crucified. They're like, wait, wait, you're that guy and Peter's like, No, I'm not. He did it three times. Peter, Peter also was the same man that Jesus came back to. And said, on this rock, my church will be built. See, Peter was a man who do who went through some things. He dealt with some things. He had moments where he was great and we can honor Him and quarterback look at Peter, but then he also had some moments where he struggled it. And it was tough. And there were some sufferings that he had to navigate through. See, Peter was this man who was who very so much so finds himself in a place to be able to talk to us today about what we are going to unpack, see, Peter had the credentials to talk about what it looks like to suffer as a Christian.See, Peter had the resume to come to us and say, Hold on, wait a minute. We got to we got to address some things. See, Peter knew what it looked like and what it was going to take in order to walk with Jesus and be a Christian. See, in the book, first, Peter, the apostle, the apostle Peter addresses, a group of believers who are facing a intense persecution and living in a hostile world. In chapter four, Peter provides valuable insight on how we as Christians can navigate the challenges of living for God's glory in the world that opposes our faith. I don't know about a better chapter or a better book that describes what it looks like to be a Christian in today's world. I don't I don't know of another of another insight that we have to challenge us on how we navigate to encourage us to how we navigate the challenges that we're facing in today's world. You turn left you turn right, it's prosecution. You do this, you do that it's canceled. You stand on this, you stand on that? How dare you. You believe in this, you believe in that? Who do you think you are? See, see Peters giving us some Hey, I'm about to give you the download. I'm about to give you some some cliff notes on how to navigate this thing. Because I don't know about you, but we're living in a hostile time. Things are rough. For those who Claire who classify themselves as Christians, as Christ believers, as people who have morals, who people who stand firm and believes that there is only ONE WAY, the TRUTH and the lie, that there are circumstances that that I just can't live like this any more. I can't do this anymore. I used to, but not no more. See, Peter knew that it would go it was going to be costly. He knew it. He knew that it was going to cost us some things. He knew that it was going to be tough for us to navigate some things because he had the same experience while he was growing and he was moving and doing and being with Jesus. And so if you're taking notes, I'm gonna I'm gonna hit three points real quick. And we're gonna we're gonna we're gonna dive deep into these three points and, and we're gonna get up out of here. God's team is playing right now. And we're praying that they pull out the victory, right? I'm not saying Okay, listen, if you want to fight, we can fight. Okay, guys, let's say God loves the Cowboys. All right. That's the bottom line. I love the Cowboys. They lose because Satan, alright, that's why I'm not I'm not a I stand on it. I hate I will stand on it. And if you're not a Cowboy fan, come up after it. We'll pray for your salvation. And we'll, we'll get some water in the tank. Well, don't you get you up and put a stone on your chest so you can move forward, move forward the right way in life, believing in the Lord. All right. All right. And if you're an Eagles fan, there's no hope for you, right? There's no hope for you, you might as well go ahead and just just give up now. All right. Number one, in order to live this costly life, in order to in order to walk this out. Peter shows us that we have to embrace the suffering for Christ's sake. See, Peter reminds us that suffering is inevitable. It's a part of the Christian journey. However, he encourages us as believers to embrace suffering for Christ's sake. Rather than being surprised or discouraged by trials, we should consider them as opportunities to share the sufferings of Christ. It is through our suffering that we can grow in our faith and develop press perseverance, and grow closer to God. See, it's in the moments where you say, You know what, it's gonna be okay. It may not look good, it may not be good, but it will be one day, it's in the moments where you're able to say, You know what, I'm gonna strap my boots up, I'm gonna, I'm gonna put my pants on, and I'm gonna go after it. And I'm gonna run and I'm gonna be bold and courageous and stand on being a Christian no matter what it looks like. It's when you're able to do that when you're able to embrace the suffering does the stretching of your faith does the stretching of your belief, this stretching of of how you navigate life begins to take place in your life, and you begin to move and do things and you're like, wait a minute, I didn't even know that I can. I can stand in this room with a bunch of haters and a bunch of people who talk bad about me but still Love them. But look at God give me the bonus look at God give me the race, look at God do this and provide a ways that I didn't know he could. It's because of the willingness to stand in and to take on what it looks like to suffer in those moments. Now, I don't want to I don't want to sit here and paint this picture that suffering is like this, like, you gotta like, every day. Let people just punch you in the face and be like, Okay, I'm a Christian. It's butterflies and unicorns and Jesus loves you and I don't know if I met my man Peter cut a guy's ear off don't cut nobody's here. Somebody said, Hey, man. I gotta wait. You don't do that because he's, he can't put it back on. But, but suffering is sometimes holding your tongue. Suffering is sometimes looking at things and saying. Suffering can be mean that I don't know how our bills are gonna get paid. Me and we just lost somebody suffering suffering, can look in all different types of forms and shapes. Let me let me say this. Your suffering is no greater than someone else's suffering. Suffering your suffering. We're not going to play this tit for tat game. Well, you didn't go through this and I had to go no, no, no. It's hard out here. But when you embrace it when you when you take it on when you say you know what, I got it? I got it because God's got it. I'm good because God's good. Bill the bills are gonna get paid because it's in God's hands. You know, my family is covered because we're covered by the by the blood of Jesus, we were gonna we're gonna be good because God said we're good. God said know what the formula for a prosper against us. He didn't say we didn't hurt he didn't say Winston. But this ain't prospering. In the name of Jesus, I declare over this household, my household over my kids, that we will be safe and covered and be good. Why? Because God said so that's what it looks like to embrace the suffering of which we walked through in life. It's not to stand on your way is to stand on God's way. It's not the standing you're in. You're you're just Oh, my accolades and look at me and my resume. No, no. Forget your resume. What about the resume of Jesus that splitsies in walked on water? And God did this and God did that. What? What about that, right? That's the resume we should claim to. Because that's the resume. That no matter what happens, is always victorious. It's always victorious. You don't believe me? There are 66 books that you can go read. Starting in Genesis, all the way to Revelation. And you'll see the provision. You'll see trials, you'll see tribulations, but you'll see provisions because God always comes through. He always when he's undefeated. He's undefeated. And he ain't waiting to right now to lose, he'd be like, okay, 2024 I'm just gonna take a hell. He ain't doing that. No, 2025 Guess what he goes in? It's election year. He goes 2026 He goes in 2027. He goes in. That's just who he is. So we have to embrace suffering and price for Christ's sake. The second one is honestly when I was doing this, and Holy Spirit was talking to me and I was typing I said, I don't I like this one. This is not I'm not gonna preach this one. Yes, you are. Because this is the one I struggle with God I don't I don't want to I don't want to preach against him. I struggle he said, That's why you need to preach on it. The second one is you got to exhibit self control and love. Hmm. Somebody said Mm hmm. Self control. I mean, I can't just pop off. That mean I can't just tell her about herself when she comes in here talking negative every single day. Put a smile on your face. And Thanksgiving coming up. You know some of y'all got family that you can't stand. It's coming over to your house. It's gonna eat up all your food. Dang, I'm bringing nothing to pitch in. Oh. Self control. Control yourself. Walk you love. Control yourself. I believe this is one of the most the hardest things for us to do. Because we believe that we have everything in our power to check somebody and put somebody in that place sometimes. Like me, my wife, she's so nurturing.She's so sweet. Our kids love her. Kids like, Mommy, can I have this? On? My wife has daddy, because we know you're gonna say no. You gotta ask us if our room is clean, you're gonna ask them to, they will take the trash out and we feed the dog. I want the conflict. I want to know what did you do what you're supposed to do. But oftentimes, I wonder if that pushes people closer to God, or pushes them far further away from him? I wonder if our lack of self control paints a picture of something that's unattainable, or something that's attainable. I wonder if if we would do a better job in this area of having self control and walking in love. I wonder I wonder if people would would want to be more like us. versus us trying to change them. Maybe maybe they would just change because of what we're projecting what we're exhibiting from our hearts. You know, in the world, in a world filled of immoral, immoral immorality and sin. Peter urges us to exercise self control, and live in holiness. He embraces the importance of loving one another deeply, even in the face of opposition by exhibiting self control and demonstrating Christ like love. We can be a powerful testimony, come on, somebody received that. By demonstrating Christ like love, we can be a powerful testimony to the world and show them the transformative power of the gospel. healthy things produce fruit. We're living in a time and age that because I said so no longer works. Because we have people have we've grown tired of him because I said so. And seeing no fruit be produced from it. We want to see some fruit. But the only way to produce that is to be healthy. And you can't sit up here and proclaim your Christian and cuss somebody out because they got in front of you. You can't proclaim your Christian and your auntie come over to your house and you ready to charge her up? Because I got a list of family members that are not invited to my house for Thanksgiving. So listen, it's just guy working on me. Okay, I gotta say sometimes y'all can come over. You can't proclaim your Christian it should appear and have this attitude. That everything has to be ran through you ran by you. And if it's not your way, it's the highway. We got to walk in love. One of our one of our mission statement, one of our one of our just mission statements and core values within our churches is man, we want to love people beyond what we see. See, sometimes it's hard. Because we see all the messiness. And we see all the above we can see them the way God sees them through all of that. It'll be a little bit easier to love them. It'll be a little bit easy to say, okay, Susan, you got it today. Bob, Okay, love you have a great day, God bless you. And that stretching happens. And self control. But here's another self control, that kind of like your private life matters. Self control, to be obedient, to stop giving into sin to stop giving into these evil thoughts and stop giving into the world we live in and stop giving into the wild. Well, it's just this just this way and, and this and that. No, no. Be different. Let somebody see you and they see Christ. Let somebody see you and say, I don't understand how you're so blessed. But you can just say because I'm living my life. I'm no longer set apart from God. I'm with God. I'm a son. I'm a daughter, and I'm living in my inheritance. I'm not living in hell on earth. I'm living in heaven on earth. I don't I don't sit up here and dabble with the earthly ways. I'm saying no, no, I'm living my life upright and righteous unto the Lord. I'm serving. I'm doing these things I'm supposed to be doing. I'm being the hands and the feet. I'm not I'm not just sitting back being a spectator. I got a helmet on and I'm in the game. Because Because El Paso needs a church that says hey, we're full of people who are in the game. And we're going to exhibit not only self control, but we're going to live in love too. And I don't care about your political view. I don't care about the way you do this. You do the odd Love you. Why because God loves you. The Bible doesn't say only love them if they have the same political view as you. The Bible doesn't say only love them if they walk talking look like you. The Bible says no love everyone. Because why love covers work? A multitude. Somebody's transformation can be in the way you love them. Who? Somebody, somebody, somebody can come in Oh, Jesus simply because you, you send them a text, let them know you're praying for them and you love them every single day. On Monday, it could be an annoying on Tuesday could get on their nerves a little bit more. But on Wednesday, they could be going through literal hell. And that text message will transform them and say, Why do you keep texting me? Because I want you to know God loves you. You never know. Can we walk this out? Because there's the Izmir it's coming. It's coming. I don't know about you, but I want to see all of y'all in heaven.I'm telling you. My own personal family what's going on? Remember, when you guess what I want to see? I want to see everybody in your family. They'regonna see everybody in this city. They're gonna see everyone they see the Texas they're obviously everybody in heaven. But unfortunately, it's gonna take some work. It's gonna cost you some things. You're not going to be able to be at the party getting drunk anymore. Somebody laughed like That's funny. Sorry, I'm sorry. But you're not gonna be able to be gossiping at coffee and talking about girl did you hear? Did you see this? As you see that? No, you're not gonna be able to do that no more. You can still be in those environments will be set apart. Be different. Be somebody somebody wants to be like be somebody that your son and your daughter you want your son or your daughter to be likeCan we can we think that far can we think generational? The generational impact that our decisions make? I know I'm harping on this a little bit more because this I thought this one is one of those things. It's just like, Man,I don't think we understand the generational impact that self control and walking in love has. What he does, he pours down it pours down. Psalms 133 says what gets what pours over the top of the head flows to the rest of the body. Where do you point over your family? Is it self controlling love? Or is it let's move on. We're gonna we're gonna go into point number three. That's it for today. They didn't gave up on me. They didn't say we done okay, we come on, let's let's, let's exhibit this. Let's do better as a body of believers. Point number three. Be a faithful steward of God's gifts. Peter reminds us each of us have been have been entrusted with various gifts and talents by God. We are called to be good stewards to these gifts, and to use them to serve others faithfully. Whether it's through speaking, serving or showing has a showing hospitality Our goal should be to glorify God in everything we do. When we use our gifts to bless others, we become an instrument of God's grace and demonstration of His love for the world. Everybody in this room was uniquely designed creatively by our father. And the image of who he is. There are people in the room that have a gift to love people that people are in the room that have the gift to be in the back and be behind the scenes. There are people in the room that just have a gift to Bill things that people in the room that hasn't given us people online that have some of those gifts do we all have gifts? We need to use them we need to be good stewards of them. I tell somebody that's one of the guys I mentor this week I said hey guys not asked no Satan's not after you're guessing your talents. He's after your identity. Because he if he can rob you of your identity to use your gifts your talents for him. If he can rob you of your day I don't have time to preach that today. I'm about to come back in a couple of weeks and preach identity but but same wants to use your gifts he'll use or whether you What do you think he's using them or not? Let's be intentional. To use them for for the for the Kingdom. Let's be intentional to use them to get people closer to God. Let's be intentional. So you know what I'm going to serve not only in church on Sunday, but Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, I'm going to open a door for somebody. I'm going to pick up a piece of trash So I'm gonna, I'm gonna say, Hey, have a great day, I'm gonna, I'm gonna serve somebody, I'm just gonna take out the trash. When I, when I see it's full, I'm just gonna do something that's a set apart from who I am. That doesn't benefit me. But it benefits other people. I'm going to be selfless. I'm not going to be selfish and say, no, no, they didn't do this, or they don't deserve this. Who cares what they deserve. Let's be like Christ, and give them what God told us to give them. And that's love and grace and mercy and forgiveness. But we do that, not by just saying it. But we do that. But also doing it being the hands and the feet. Hay, the church can never have too many greeters. The church will never have too many parking lot, parking hosts, the church will never have too many prayer team members, the church will never have too many people singing or playing instruments. The church will never have enough people on the production team on the tech team on the social media team on the outreach team on this team on the church. Listen, I know some people sit up and say, Oh, they good. They got it. Let me tell you as a as a political church or lead pastor, no, we don't know, we know. We need you. The Kingdom needs you. When somebody sees you, they don't just see you. They see your story. They get drawn to you. They get connected to you. They find that community. I don't have time. Yes you do. Because if you're being a faithful steward, you're practicing what it looks like to steward your time. The allness of God. Live a generously life not just with your with your finances, you need to do that you need to bring to bring the temperature at the top not for the churches that once he got his testimony this egg and set it up for the floodgates a blessing over your life. He didn't say Pastor brings life he didn't say Life Church. He said over your life is a testament for your life. You want to see checks show up in the mail, you want to see things shake and break you want to see granddaughters and people get healed and and things like getting your family generation test got in this area. Test them I dare you to. I'd tell you today to be bold to testimony your time. I try to put out near you. In 30 days, and 30 days, you're gonna be like man, look at God show up. Look at him show up. That's who he is serving. He says How come to serve not to be served. You want to look like more like Jesus. Start serving. serve somebody. Serve Yes, serve. Serve your city serve. Serve somebody else outside of yourself. I guarantee you begin to look like him. He'll be in a walk. Say who is I look a little slimmer. Oh, I love me. And really, truly you love who you're becoming? Because you're becoming like Jesus. Let's do it our gifts and our talents and our abilities. Let's serve. If you're gifted you paint, you draw you do, there's room for you in the kingdom. There's room for you here. In conclusion, the first Peter chapter four we learned that living for God's glory in a hostile world requires us to embrace the suffering for Christ exhibit self control and love and faithfully steward the gifts that God has given us. As we navigate the challenges of life. Let us remember that our ultimate purpose is to honor and glorify God in all circumstances. By doing so, we can shine a light in the darkness and impact those around us with the love and truth of Jesus Christ.It's gonna cost you something it's gonna cost you it's costly. It's gonna, it's gonna cost you in the Bible, there are 42 different occasions where Jesus healed one or more people or didn't like some supernatural work, let that that's a lot of miracles.And he did it all in just three years. But yet that was that was just a sample of 40 words mark indicates on three separate occasions that Jesus healed many people in the Senate at the same time Mark chapter one, verses 33 through 34 March of the three verses 10 through 11 and Mark chapter 656. Where we see Jesus just radically heal people radically do a radically be it as you stand on your feet. I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm gonna read off of a couple more you got to stand with me. John chapter four, verse 4060. He heals the noble man son. In Mark chapter one verse 21. He heals the man with an unclean Spirit. In Matthew chapter eight verse 14 Here Simon's Peter mother in law, he heals the leopard man. He heals the paraphyletic. He, he heals the woman with the issue of blood, the, the Jairus is deceased daughter, the two blind men the mute, the mute, possessed man, the deaf man, the blind man, the man that was born blind. He raised his up Lazarus, he yields a 10 labrets. Jesus walks around for three years, he has these radical encounters, and he heals these people.And there's one more there's one more miracle seems to take place in the Bible. But the Holy Spirit just put this on my heart to share with this young man who grew up on the south side of Fort Worth. He was influenced by gangs and hanging out with the wrong people. And one day he decided to go to church. He remember being this do you want athlete and he was in charge. And there was a sermon on what it's like to feel like everybody can see your flaws, and everything that's wrong with you. He felt like a pink elephant in the room. And in this moment, there was an altar call that Jesus didn't see you that way that God loves you. And this, this, this guy just starts crying and he comes up to Christ, he gets baptized, and slowly but surely Gods begin to pull them farther and farther away from hanging out with those people and doing those things. And one day he got an internship at a church. And he started he started to be an intern. The Nine months later this this young man came full time as an Associate Student pastor. And this should listen man would go on 10 years of ministry experience from being a student pastor, to a young adult pastor to a campus pastor to outreach pastor, working and doing and seeing God do amazing things, taking a youth group from 100 to 1000. Seeing hundreds and hundreds of students go public with their, with their faith and get baptized, to work and to and to see other young men like yourself come up and give their selfto Christ. But then it cost this young man something because on this journey he had to there were seasons where this young man was lonely.This young man's family even turned their back. They they didn't want nothing to do with the church. The people he thought was close to him. started calling him names and talking about about this young man would find himself in a space where he was desperate.So men would also lose his father to suicide. Seven days before it was a meeting for the first time.This old man had to walk through some things. It cost him something to live a life for Christ. This man told was told that he'd be in jail, or dead. This isn't me, I thought he would never be married.This young man thought he was just going to be lonely by himself for the rest of his life. But God is something radical. He moves to the city he meets his wife starts his familyministry, they get called to start a church they moved back to his hometown where everybody read a quote him talked about about him didn't have a relation with his family.And now this young man family shows up to this young man's church now this young man has an influence in the same city that totally he'll be dead or in jail. It cost him alive that young man is meThat young man is my that's my story. That's that's the things that I had to walk through and navigate through as a as a Christ follower as a as a Christian to believe that Jesus is who He says He is. And I'm gonna live my life for God, even though it may look likeliterally hell I'm going to suffer through it. I wonder if the miracles I read, leaving my story. If you were to ask us, I know the answer to it. But for me, but these guys wasn't worth it.Was it worth it? What's your healing worth it? Or would you go back and say, Jesus, I don't want it. You can take it back. I'll stay blind, I'll stay paralyzed, I'll stay miserable, I'll stay lonely. I'll stay upset. I'll stay mad. I'll just mourn the death of my daughter. I don't care if you can have it back. Because it's not worth it. I wonder if they would say yes. I can tell you my answer. It was all worth it. It was all worth it. To see my brothers and my mom and my kids and my wife, who was told she would never have kids, as have four healthy, beautiful, amazing kids, for us to navigate and do and be it was all worth it church is your healing worth it? isn't worth it to you. If seeing your your grandkids flourish in a life in a healthy community, in a safe community in a church where they can find community where people that they grew up with, he'd come and run around and and there's people starving, and there's more than enough overflow happening in and people say why in the world is happening, a Life Churchin El Paso. And you get to say it's because a group of people decided it was worth it.cost us something, but it was worth it. And let me tell you about what it costs me. Let me tell you about what I had to give up. But look at everything I have. Look at everything I've gained, look at everything that I've grown from looking at who I am today. It was worth it. I believe this, that if we can be at church, where we declare that it's worth it to look like Jesus, that it's worth it to embrace the suffering, that it's worth it to exhibit self control and love that it's worth it to be a faithful steward of the gift that God's giving us. I believe that we will see a revival take place, and that the world we live in today will look radically different. The news wouldn't be in control, the government wouldn't have a say. So things would just look like this. I told somebody this. I said, You know what, if the church was the church, we would have less hospitals and less prisons. If the church would step up to be the church. That's their stories in the Bible, where people were just getting healed left and right, that people were getting set free from bondage because of the believers they had faith. Not only do you have amazing pastors, but you have a good God. That's on your side. He's the greatest problem solver they'll ever be. He's a way maker. He's a miracle worker. He's a promise keeper. He's a light in the darkness. He'll tear down walls. Don't chase after you. He'll run after you. He'll defend you. He'll fight for you. And he'll stand beside you and say I dare you to touch her. I dare you to touch him. You may think you gotta lick again. But what's coming your way? You ain't ready for it. That's the God we serve. And guess what? You're on that team. And if he can do it for me, he'll do it for you. So let's declare it's worth it. Let's be bold in it. Let's not just show up and be spectators on the sidelines. When we come into this space, let's worship so loud that El Paso hears us. Let's lift our hands so boldly that change form and bonded snaps snaps loose. Let's let's let's sing so boldly and so loudly and declare that he is who he is now in an essay saying hey, we can go over there. Why? Because they know it's worth it. Because they know it's worth it. They about it. They play no games. Believe it? You gotta believe it. We gotta believe it together. Can we do that church? I said can we do that church? I said can we do that church? I don't know about you, but I'm ready. I'm hyped up. I'm ready to go. Save and bring it all ready to go. I've seen God when he'll do it again. I'm ready to go.I'm ready. I'm ready. I'm ready. If it's by myself. I'm ready. I'm ready. Why? Because I'm a living walking testimony of what it looks like to be in a valley and see drop bones come to life again.I've seen mountains be moved. I've seen sleep see split. I've seen it. So we're getting ready to Pray. And when I say Amen, if we could let us sound erupt out of this place to put El Paso on notice to say we are ready, we're gonna sing waymaker I don't want you just to sing the words, I want you to believe it. And I want you to declare it. And I want you to sing it. Like you're not just seeing it for yourself, but you're seeing it for your mama, your daddy, your grandfather, your grandmother, your sister, your brother, your kids, they kids, they kids, kids, your cousin, the one you don't like, and the one you don't even know, I want you to see, as if he's getting ready to do something supernatural in their life. Because they need it. We need it. Father God right now I pray that you begin to show us who you are, and supernatural ways that you begin to encourage our faith to grow. God as we take steps closer to you, that is exhausting us, it may be as hard as it may be as difficult as it may be God that we get to stand in knowing that we are victorious in the name of Jesus. And we ain't just stand on a solid line no more. Now we're willing to say we're ready to pay the price. Because it's worth it. It's worth it. It's worth it. For me, it's worth it for the generations before me and it's worth it for the generations after me it's worth it. It may be costly, but it's worth it. That will embrace it. That will exhibit love and self control and, and that we're gonna we're gonna steward the gifts you've given us for the kingdom of God, I pray that whatever healing that anyone joining in this room or online may need, whether it's physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually, God, I pray that you meet them. And you pour it out for them. And you pour it out not just for them, but for the people around them. They see that they are covered and they are blessed, and they are favored. And I pray that you draw people to them, that when they ask what's different about you that they're able to point them to you, and they get them to this place that's on fire. And that's willing to walk with people through literally life that they have to go through. That I pray that you bring you bring more more of more of more that Life Church needs in order to be the beacon for the city. Let this be the beacon of El Paso. Let it start here, Lord, have your way. God, thank you for what you've done. God, you've you've done so much, all the little things that had to go right for us to be in this place. You've allowed it to happen. It's just God, we give you praise and honor for that. But as our faith rises, and as our anticipation increases, God we give you praise in order for the things to come, that we not only see it, we perceive it and we receive it all together, that we're clinging on to the miracles and blessings ahead that we know that coming we're running with expectation. Knowing that you're getting ready to make a way because you are the miracle worker, you are the promise keeper. You're the light in the darkness. That's who you are. So God thank you for that. In Jesus name, Amen.

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