The Call: Commitment - Pastor Kyle Self

[00:00:00] Welcome to the World Changers Church Gold Coast Podcast. Join us as we listen to today's message. [00:00:08] Amen. It's good to have Jason and Julia here with us this morning, all the way back from the U.S. come on. Give the Lord a hand clap of praise with their two daughters who have grown up on me. Praise God. Amen. We've got so many visitors this morning. I've never been so thankful that people texted me and said they're not able to come. That means you have a seat. I was like, lord, Lord. Bless the Lord. We got to figure it out. James Morrissey told me this morning, we need a building with rubber walls so we can just stretch it. Amen. Amen. Well, I'm excited this morning for what the Lord is doing. We're on week five of the call. We've been going through the six movements of the that we need to settle in. The call is identity. We know that we were loved before we were used. Amen. There's no earning this. There is simply knowing who we are in Christ. And then submission. We learned what true submission looks like. It's not just bowing down to someone to tell us what to do. Submission is when we surrender to Christ. And then formation. That was a really good one. When we're in those years where God is forming us, like Paul took that break for two years, and then we see him come back on the scene, and we see him a formed man of God shaped in his presence. Then confirmation. Paul and Barnabas. No, Barnabas. That's the right one. Were called forward to lead one of the greatest missions in the Bible. They were recognized by elders in the community. So there was confirmation about that ministry. There was no, I have a ministry. I'm going to start one. In the biblical days in the Bible, I believe that's where we've gotten out of order. We don't actually submit to one another. Now, that doesn't mean you submit to just me and do what I say. It's about we submit to one another, and that's that. Formation, confirmation. And then today we're on commitment, my most favorite one. Amen. Next week will be on clarity. But commitment is the costly yes. [00:02:22] Now, I want to share something with [00:02:23] you before we get into it so that you understand this costly yes is going to be defined for you today about the call and when we let that definition come through. Maybe how you've been saying yes to Jesus is your own personal sacrifice. And I want to tell you about that today and how we need to get that in line. So that you're not giving up of yourself, but you're stepping and surrendering to what he's doing. Amen. And then that yes, that just says, yes, my way, like burger King or McDonald's or you call it Hungry Jack's. Here, I forgot. That says, I want it my way. And ministry has got to be my way. And when it doesn't go your way, you're not happy. Amen. We're going to talk about that yes this morning. That your yes doesn't actually define the definition of how it's going to turn out. Your yes says, lord, let it be your will, not my will be done. Amen. [00:03:18] But I promise you today, when you leave here, you're not going to feel beat up. [00:03:21] You're going to feel alive and encouraged, and you'll be like, I can say yes to that. [00:03:26] Amen. [00:03:27] Let's practice it. Say yes. All right, cool. We'll see if you still say it at the end. Because a yes that cost you nothing will change nothing. [00:03:40] Now, I've laid a principle of thought. [00:03:42] Hold on, Pastor. [00:03:43] You're contradicting yourself. No, no, no. When you say yes to something, it actually still costs you something. It costs you your time. It sometimes costs you your opinion. [00:03:59] Praise the Lord. Let's get that one down. [00:04:03] It costs something. David said, I want nothing unless it costs me something. [00:04:09] Amen. [00:04:11] It's not the size of your yes. It's what it costs you. For me, it cost me being a fighter and doing the things I wanted [00:04:21] to do and having a business and being a builder. [00:04:24] It cost me moving from America to Australia. My yes. Send me. I'll go. Cost me the place I grew up in for 39 years. [00:04:32] To come here and do the last 10 years, that was my yes. Amen. So I want to start with something [00:04:41] if you don't know me in my downtime, because I don't get to play golf like some of you guys or play pickup games. [00:04:48] Thank God. Just a little jab there, Jeremy. Amen. Jeremy will tell you all about it after service. [00:04:57] I don't have the time to go out. I'm constantly with City Reach and all [00:05:01] that we're doing and ministers in training and the community that we're building and the life that we're doing with some of you and more of you this year. My time is not spent just going here and there. I spend that extra time with my wife and my kids. [00:05:18] And the time I get that I call me time. Anybody have me time. Y' all know what me time is Leave me alone time. Okay, so there's a few things I [00:05:30] do every year for my me time. [00:05:33] And I heard this pastor preach and [00:05:35] somebody reminded me of it. They've actually heard another pastor preach about it. It might have been one of you guys. I can't remember. About Saving Private Riding. Did I have that conversation with one of you this week? No, I don't. Okay, great. [00:05:46] Anybody ever seen the movie Saving Private Ryan? [00:05:48] Okay, great. [00:05:49] You remember how that scene opens up? And I'm not talking about the graveyard. I'm talking about that unforgettable 20 minutes when the ramps drop and the beach is chaos. [00:06:01] Most of you probably couldn't get through that first few minutes, right? You had to. [00:06:06] There were men cut down on both sides in the sand. The sand turned red. [00:06:10] A whole generation was wiped out in 60 seconds. And that's not just a movie. [00:06:15] That's history. And then this squad of men are handed a mission to go save this [00:06:20] soldier, Private James Ryan, whose brothers have been killed, and to get him home to his mother. One by one, men die to carry out that mission. Right? [00:06:33] The captain who led them dying in the dirt pulls Ryan close and says [00:06:36] two words towards the end of the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, I'm about to ruin it for you. And he says to Ryan that he will carry for the rest of his life, earn this, make all their lives count. [00:06:53] Now, I want you to hold this [00:06:54] picture because there was a bigger sacrifice. And that starts in the garden at the night before the cross in Gethsemane. Jesus on his face in the dirt, sweating blood drops. [00:07:04] In Luke writing, a doctor calls, great [00:07:07] drops of blood, praying, father, if it [00:07:09] is your will, take this cup from [00:07:11] me nevertheless, not my will be done, but yours. [00:07:16] The most expensive yes ever spoken was [00:07:20] knelt down in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Not my will, but your will be done. [00:07:28] Sid, with his eyes wide open, seeing every nail, said yes. [00:07:32] Anyway. Men died for riot so that Ryan could live. Jesus died so that you could [00:07:40] let [00:07:40] that settle in for a second. [00:07:42] Well, Pastor, I don't know how I feel about this. [00:07:46] Stay with me. [00:07:48] Any talk about our commitment must start not with what we owe, but what's already been paid. [00:07:56] Amen. [00:07:58] Because if you start with what you owe, you can never pay back for humanity the price of our salvation. There is not one sacrifice we can [00:08:11] make that can do what Jesus did. [00:08:14] So to get into a mindset of I owe him. I am the chief of all sinners. I've got to do more. [00:08:22] That is the wrong yes. Are you with me so far? Okay, so in this week, we're talking about the call commitment, the costly yes. And let me say from up front, this is not just for leaders. This is not just for pastors called to a church. [00:08:44] This is not just people that lead [00:08:46] a connect group or maybe just the ordinary follower that never gets the clap through making it through the week. This is for every everyone. There's not a person in the room that this message is not for. Amen. So let's settle that there. So we need to see that there's three simple moves this morning that come with our yes, count it, give it, hold it. Your yes this morning, no matter the call on your life is count it, give it, hold it. I'm going to explain that. Because a yes that costs you nothing will change nothing. [00:09:35] If it has to be comfortable for [00:09:37] you to say yes, if it has to be clear for you to say yes, I mean, come on, y'. All. [00:09:41] Anybody had kids? Amen. [00:09:47] Anybody got siblings? [00:09:50] That one hard friend. [00:09:52] Amen. Yeah, I might be that one hard friend. Amen. [00:09:58] Then you need to hang on to those two words that say earn this. [00:10:01] Because I want to shape it because it means something different than what you're thinking. Because before we're done, the gospel is going to shape something surprising with those two words. Earn this, count it, give it, hold it, Amen. I got the room already. Y' all quiet already. Praise God. Look at you guys, all settled in. So before we take another step, I want you to understand that there is nothing you can do today that earns one ounce of God's love. You already have it all. I want to settle that before we continue the next sentence. You have all of God's love showering you right now. All of God's love is showering you right now. It doesn't matter what you did last summer. It just matters you don't do it again this summer. Amen. [00:11:09] We settled that about having all his love in week one. [00:11:14] You were loved before. [00:11:15] You were useful. I couldn't understand my wife's love because I didn't think I deserved it. And I was rejecting my wife's love early years before I got saved in the first few years of our marriage because I just couldn't understand as horrible of a man as I was and all that I've done. And yes, for those of you don't know, left her one month before we got married and the wedding was off [00:11:47] and she still married me, by the way. I think you did right. No, I'M just kidding. [00:11:53] There was nothing about me that was good and I was still so confused and she was showing me the love of God. Till one day I got so brave years later to say, why did you marry me? And I'm thinking, like, because you're so [00:12:05] handsome, because you're a strong man. [00:12:09] I thought I was going to get all those ego stroking words. [00:12:11] No, no, no, no. She said, because God told me to. I said, well, thanks God. She could have let in, but because I look good, but God told her to, and that was the truth. [00:12:26] Because you can't give love like she [00:12:28] was showing me and that God was displaying through her without first understanding the love of the Father. You cannot commit to a ministry and the call of God that is birthed [00:12:40] out of hurt, that is birthed out of a split, that is birthed out [00:12:43] of opinion, that is birthed out of your character, your ethic, your degree. You gotta birth a ministry out of [00:12:50] God calling you in love with the [00:12:52] people he's sending you to, [00:12:59] So there's [00:13:00] nothing you can do to earn it. This is not striving, it's surrender. Amen. [00:13:07] Every yes I'm about to ask for [00:13:10] is a response to love that we already have. Never a payment, just a surrender to being loved. So let's count it together. Jesus wants an honest yes, not a hyped up one. Let's go to Luke 14, 27 through 28 and 33. Count the cost. Now, Jesus wasn't a salesman, by the way, if you read this this way, [00:13:37] Jesus was not saying, come join the team. We're gonna get a package. You know, you're gonna get a T shirt and a lanyard. We got children's ministry, we got youth ministry, we got singles ministry, we got salt ministry, garden ministry, parking lot ministry, coffee ministry. No, no, no, he wasn't selling it. He was saying, and whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me [00:13:56] cannot be my disciple. [00:13:58] For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first [00:14:03] and count the cost whether he has enough to finish it? Let's go to verse 33. [00:14:09] So likewise to whosoever of you does not forsake all that he has, cannot be my disciple. Now we have read that and gone, [00:14:19] I'm gonna sell my house, quit my job. [00:14:21] And I'm gonna tell you what, I followed a joker that made me sell my business. Well, he didn't make me, I did it. I sold my business, a very lucrative business building company, to my brother for a dollar because I let someone tell Me a perverted truth about this. This is you laying down self to be selfless, to care for others and to care for others before yourself. This is not about your businesses. This is not about your time. This is not about your money. This is about you positioning the heart of the Father so clear in your heart, your mouth, your eyes, your ears, and what you see that you will say, I would prefer that Simon gets the raise on the job before me. I would prefer that she eats before I do. I would prefer that you sleep before I do. That is the yes. Not the job, not the place, not the destination, not all the things that religion, and I'm not against religion, as some of you might be, but religion is an outworking of a corporate group of people and what they believe. If a corporate group of people are believing the wrong thing, the religion is wrong, not religion. Get that garbage out of your mouth. [00:15:39] Religion over relationship garbage. [00:15:44] Religion done right will be pure. Like James 1:27. Amen. Sorry, I just had a little moment there. It's all right. But look at what Jesus said. He's not selling anything. A huge crowd of followers, big numbers, momentum. The kind of momentum most of us would try and close. I mean, we got this. The next building, the next church. We've arrived. He says, you know what? [00:16:14] Unless you can count the calls, you can't follow me. [00:16:18] You gotta count it. Because if you're doing it for yourself, if you're doing it vicariously to feel good, you will not make it through ministry. But people, they will not pat you on the back and say thank you. They will ask for more. Amen. So you and then how many? [00:16:41] Like my wife, she has had a [00:16:43] ministry for 25 years now. [00:16:45] Praise the Lord. Called loving Kyle. And let me tell you, she is [00:16:56] a champion at that ministry. And one of her initiatives is let Kyle love me the way I love him. Another one of her initiatives, and I'm just being truthful, is I'm gonna love him no matter how he loves me. [00:17:12] That's a ministry. [00:17:15] The way our family is built is [00:17:18] the way this house is built. [00:17:20] We love you no matter how you treat us. [00:17:24] Amen. Come on, give the Lord a hand clap of praise. [00:17:32] You know when he said, whosoever does [00:17:34] not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. [00:17:39] Then he says, before you build a tower, don't you sit down first and count the calls to see if you can finish it? Before a king goes to war, does he not sit down and figure out if he can win? And if he lands it Whosoever he lands it here, whosoever of you does not forsake all that he has, cannot be my disciple. War costs lives. When Jesus was speaking this, this was during war riddled times. Thrones are not built off of just titles. Thrones are built off of men and women sacrificing everything so that people can have more. [00:18:20] So when the captain was in the [00:18:22] seat grabbing ahold of Private Ryan, saying earn this, he wasn't saying earn this, [00:18:29] he was saying go live. [00:18:33] Go live. When Jesus died, he said the enemy came to steal, kill and destroy. But I came to give life and life more abundantly. Don't go live your way. Don't go live half heartedly. Go live so that people can see the cost of you living, which is Jesus Christ dying for you. Amen. Does that make sense? Well, what does that look like? First? It looks like a smile. [00:19:03] I got a creepy smile. I don't smile that much. It's kind of like a half cocked one, you know? You know it's weird, but a good [00:19:11] attitude is part of salvation. Go draw from the wails of your salvation with joy. The first step of knowing that you are following Christ with the earn it mentality is having a good attitude. You don't have to have a ministry to have a good attitude. Amen. [00:19:34] Hallelujah. [00:19:34] I'm gonna leave that there and let it land. [00:19:39] Jesus is saying something here. [00:19:42] He would rather have your honest yes [00:19:44] than your excited one. Amen. [00:19:49] He would rather have your honest yes [00:19:51] than your excited one. That's grace, actually. [00:19:55] He tells you the price up front because he's not trying to trick you into following him. And you see the other side of it too. [00:20:03] The rich young ruler comes running full of enthusiasm and Jesus tells him one thing it costs. The Bible says he went away sorrowful because he had so many possessions in Mark 10. Here's the thing, at least that was honest. [00:20:18] We look at the rich young ruler like he can't follow God. Tradition says that that was Lazarus. Did you know that there's traditions out there that believe that the rich young ruler that came to Jesus that knew him was Lazarus. Most of you didn't know that. [00:20:33] Go research. [00:20:35] Can't be proven. [00:20:36] And I don't care to try and prove it right now. Amen. [00:20:39] But most people look at that like he didn't love the Lord. Rich people ain't gonna make it into heaven. That's just opinion. What was happening is Jesus said, until you can lay everything down, you cannot walk in this. I tell people to invest money all the time. Don't invest unless you can lose that money. If you can't lose that money, don't invest. [00:21:04] Because my son, Alex. Where's he at? There he is. You got glasses on? You're like Clark Kent now. Hallelujah. [00:21:13] Amen. But we were talking about investments one time. I said, take $100 bills out and light a match to it. He looked at me. He was young and he just looked [00:21:23] at me like, er. I said, that's why you can't invest, because you care too much about holding onto it. Now, I'm not here to talk to you about investments. I'm talking about the price. [00:21:34] If you are holding onto your life [00:21:37] and you're not willing to release it [00:21:39] to serve others, it's okay. [00:21:42] But don't fool yourself into walking into ministry. Amen. [00:21:48] Amen. Amen. Come on. How many people have hurt you because they loved you? Fake up front, but when you became too hard to deal with, they were gone. Amen. Listen, I know some of y' all personally. I know most of you are hard to deal with. I love you anyway. Amen. Especially that guy over there. [00:22:08] I love you, bro. I'm just messing. [00:22:10] I'm just guilty. A real no is better than a fake yes. Jesus is after people who have counted [00:22:20] the cost and still say yes. Let's look at Philippians 2 and 13. [00:22:27] Is staying faithful in the thing. [00:22:31] Nobody's watching. Count those two and say yes. [00:22:34] When your eyes are open and you [00:22:36] don't count it alone, you don't carry it in your own strength. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do, for his good pleasure. [00:22:47] I said yes. How am I gonna do this? I said yes. When do we start? I said yes. I need to know more. I said yes. But, Pastor, I need to spend time here so I can know how to do it. I need a whole blueprint. Stop. Just say yes and start walking with him. He will shape you. He will form you. He will confirm you. He will lead you in the way. That is his good pleasure. But if you haven't laid down your good pleasure, it's hard to follow. Amen. Is the Lord telling me to give up my Bentley? Honey, if you own a Bentley, I need to talk to you about offering for next week. [00:23:27] Amen. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. [00:23:30] Wait a minute. [00:23:30] I'm just kidding. [00:23:31] I'm just kidding. But you got to lay down your good pleasure. [00:23:43] He gives you the wanting and the power to. [00:23:48] All you gotta do is say yes. Quit thinking about what you gotta do quit thinking about the stages you're gonna be on. Quit thinking about the people you need to reach and how many likes you didn't get on your social media posts. Just follow him. You're not counting the cost of being seen. You're counting the cost of following him. [00:24:10] Count it. Let's get to give it. The cost [00:24:16] of your yes is not [00:24:17] measured by the size of it. Now I'm going to tell you a familiar story. Let's go to mark 12. 41 and 44. 41, 44. And Jesus sat opposite of the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich. [00:24:31] Oh, whoa, whoa. [00:24:33] Put in much. [00:24:35] The one poor widow came and threw [00:24:37] in two mites, which makes a say that word for me. Thank you. Come back. I don't know where you're going, but you're going all over the place. [00:24:47] So he called his disciples to himself [00:24:49] and said to them, assuredly I say to you that this poor widow has [00:24:54] put in more than all those who [00:24:56] have given to the treasury. [00:24:58] For they all put in out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, put [00:25:03] in all that she had, her whole livelihood. [00:25:09] He was watching them. [00:25:12] I'm gonna say something harsh. He was watching them give their leftovers, their change. Now, I know we say here, whatever you can give, give. I'm not talking about the offering, but your leftovers is not what you give to God. [00:25:33] People that don't understand offering and tithe and giving and serving will not catch this. [00:25:39] But people that understand that will. The rich come through with big amounts, puffed up chest. She came with two coins. They mocked her, they made fun of her. She shuffled off, head down, knowing that she had given all that she had to God. And he says, that woman has given more than anybody. She gave less than everyone. And Jesus said she gave more than everyone. Because heaven doesn't count the size of your gift. It counts the gift that it cost you. She gave up eating. I promised you we'd be transparent. I promised you that we would be family. I'm going to say this and I want no sympathy. I'm being led to say it to you. We're doing city reach that has its own money separate from the church. We're doing church that comes through what you give. But I have a labor agreement. I can only work for the church. And for me to be in this country, I have to receive a wage from here now to walk in integrity. I can't work anywhere else. For the first time in 10 years, my wife went to something like a food bank, just so we could eat. We have needs in the house. And I was giving what I had. And when I wrote this, God said, son, you've given your two shekels. You've given all that I've asked you to give. Stop giving so much. So for those of you that are giving more than your means, that are tapping with your credit cards, stop. [00:27:45] God will meet the bill. [00:27:48] Let me tell you the other side of that coin. People are showing up. Cause we're praying and they're handing us money without us complaining. This is the first time I've talked about it in public. There's a few people I've called in private, said, pray with me. And they're showing up without knowing, and they're handing us money. [00:28:05] My wife so much so approached me this morning as if I had done something and goes, did you tell them? And I was like, no. Well, somebody handed us money and it was for food. You must have told them. And I was like, sorry, Maybe God's just meeting our need. When you say yes and you weigh the cost, God will pay the bill. I've been living on miracle money for nine years. I've been living without for nine years. I've been living with borrowed shoes, borrowed cars, borrowed clothes for nine years. I'm okay with it. Because I love him. And if he does nothing else for me and I get to serve you with my dying breath, I have. I have answered the call to love you with my whole heart, with my whole mind, with my whole being. Because giving you a cup of water gives him a cup of water. Fixing you a meal. Fixes him a meal. Putting clothes on your back. Put clothes on his back. Didn't he preach that in the Beatitudes? So when I go without, my father robes me with things you can't even imagine. My treasures are stored up in heaven. I'm not worried about what I don't have. I know that everything I give out of the abundance of my heart he restores here in heaven and in earth. Come on, somebody. Y' all thought I was going to [00:29:36] tell a sad story. I ain't that guy. I just ain't that guy. Two coins cost her everything. Were worth more to God than the fortune that cost the rich nothing. Hear this. If you ever felt like you're going, nothing's worth giving. You don't need a title. You don't need a platform. You don't need a bigger bank account. You just need a costly yes. If you can't see why, you're doing it, you need to say yes, differently. If you need pats on the back [00:30:17] and you're feeling like nobody notices you, [00:30:19] you need to say yes, differently. [00:30:22] If you feel like I just need to be given opportunity, and if I was given opportunity, I could say it and preach it and preach the paint [00:30:28] off the walls, you need to say yes, differently because you have not given yourself as an offering to the Lord. Count it, Give it. This is not about. [00:30:44] This is not about more money given [00:30:47] in the offering plates. This is about more hearts given to him. Amen. [00:30:53] Is this good this morning? [00:30:56] It's a bit confronting, though, right? [00:30:58] Is it confronting a little bit? [00:30:59] No, no, no, no. Okay, good. I'll preach harder. No, I'm kidding. [00:31:04] But let's hold it. [00:31:06] A real yes doesn't come with an exit clause. [00:31:11] I have been there watching the bank account on a Monday morning going, lord, [00:31:15] if you don't pay this bill, this is years ago. Daniel 3, 16, 18. Watch this. Your yes, once you've counted it and you've given, it talks like this. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said [00:31:29] to the king, o Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter if that is the case. Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. And he will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known [00:31:52] to you, our king, that we do serve our king, that we do not [00:31:57] serve your gods, nor will we worship [00:31:59] the golden image which you have set on up. Now, here's the hardest part, because anybody can say yes on a good day. The question is whether it holds when it costs. [00:32:11] Daniel 3:3 young men far from home. [00:32:14] A king builds a golden statue and says, bow down. [00:32:17] They don't bow down, they're gonna be burned. He turns a fiery furnace up hotter than it was, even killing the people stoking it. And as they approached to throw them in the fire, it was so hot, these men said, when Nebuchadnezzar asked, where is deliver you, they said this. But if not, I know he can, and I know he will. But if not, we still don't bow down to serve your gods, nor bow down to your golden image. But if not, when you've counted it and you've given it, you hold the line. Amen. Money doesn't move you. Nothing moves you because you've said yes. [00:33:07] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego give one of the bravest answers in the Bible. But if not, sit on Those three words, they're saying, God can rescue us, and we believe he will. One of my dearest friends, Patsy Calminetti, left us a message after passing away [00:33:26] from cancer, her husband just a week gone. To be with the Lord. I go to Tony Calminetti. I go to the homegoing says, patsy told me to tell you my God is able and whether he delivers me on this world and delivers me to the next, he has healed me and miraculously saved me. He has not failed me. She left us a message that said, but if not. And I got to sit there and watch a man that should be riddled with tears stand strong in faith and said, I still believe God. Amen. I still believe God when the bank account's still empty, I still believe God when the car doesn't start in the morning, I still believe God. When friends stab me in the back, I still believe God. God. When they don't show up, I still believe God. When I don't see that miraculous healing and things don't come through, I come on somebody. You know what I'm saying? God is able to do above more than we can imagine or think. But commitment to the call is not an exit clause. [00:34:45] It's a say, lord, send me, I'll go. Here's the grace that keeps us from white knuckle willpower. [00:34:59] You know, you ever tried to do this on your own? Amen. When those three men hit the fire, the king jumps up and said, didn't we throw three men in there? I see a force standing in the fire. There is not a trial that you've been through that the Holy Spirit hasn't stood with you. There hasn't been a thing that you've went through that God hasn't been present. Just because you went through the fire, you came out on the other side not smelling like smoke. Honey, you're still alive. You still got breath in your lungs and you're still ministering today. Don't let what you didn't want to happen stop you from seeing the God that stood with you the whole way through. Amen. Well, praise the Lord. Well, what about. What about the Bible says he will make a way of escape. [00:35:50] Read it in the Greek. He will make a landing place in the storm. [00:35:58] He will not take you out. [00:36:01] He will make a place of rest and peace in the midst of it. He will prepare a table before your enemies in the midst of it. [00:36:12] Amen. Anybody know what I'm talking about? [00:36:15] Come on, if you know what I'm talking about, say Amen. That grace Keeps me going. That's how you say yes. Not by being strong enough, not by being trusting the ones who's in it with you. No, it's saying yes. [00:36:32] The same yes Peter and John gave [00:36:35] the Council, Acts 4, 20. [00:36:39] For we cannot but speak the things [00:36:42] which we have seen and heard. That same yes that held Jesus in the garden all the way to the cross. And the same yes is for you staying in the marriage, Staying in the country, staying in that friendship, staying on the job. And maybe your yes is not giving up on life. Your yes is quiet and private and maybe harder than me saying yes to getting up and preach on Sunday. But your yes to keep going. Your yes to lay down the bottle. Your yes to stop watching porn. Your yes to get up and do what God's called you to do and nobody else will do it. When everybody says you shouldn't and you come to the pastor and he says, go for it, but you don't know how you're going to get there. That yes. [00:37:38] That yes. [00:37:39] Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Keep letting him be a lamp unto your feet. Come on. Somebody showing up for the small assignments don't always feel good. But, man, this week I've moved two. This past week I've moved two disabled people with a group of people from here, I think it was last week. We've communicated with them. They're happy, they're hopeful, and it may not seem much what we did, but man, seeing hope restored, having a man call and another agency say we can't get to him till Thursday, and all we did was provide presence and practical care and gave him a donated refrigerator that came from one of us here for his insulin so that he could [00:38:25] get to the agency on Thursday to have a home. [00:38:28] You were a part of that. The battery pack that he needed so [00:38:32] he could charge his phone, the plug in so he could plug in things and respond to the emails. I mean, come on, you were a part of that. Well, how was I a part of it? [00:38:45] When you laid your two pennies in the offering plate, when you prayed for me and Tina, when you wanted to pray for yourself, you were a part of that. When you encouraged somebody, did you know they actually came to this church and sat with us and worshiped with us, you were a part of that. Amen. Oh, Timmy, I hope you're praying for me. I asked Timmy to pray so I wouldn't cry. I asked the Lord this. Tell me I was worth it. I don't watch saving private ryan for war and history. I Watch it. Because of men like Burt Dotson, who died mentoring me. Sorry. A brother that gave up a career to keep me out of jail so I could come preach in this country. He didn't know that keeping me out of jail would lead me to this country one day. Me not getting indicted, me not being raided and him stepping in and losing his job would make me able to stand here and preach you this message. A wife that loves me through my unlovable moments. At the end of that movie, he looks at his wife shattered, in tears, and says, tell me it was worth it. Tell me their lives mattered. There's so many people that have walked with you that have represented Christ and they laid their life down so that you could stand where you're standing. They've laid their life down so that you could sit where you're sitting so that you could live the life you have. They poured into you in small ways that maybe you couldn't even see. And you are now those people for other people. Your not giving up is doing more for people than you realize. Your showing up is doing more for people than you realize. [00:41:49] You answering that phone call when you [00:41:51] don't have the strength is doing more for people than you realize. [00:41:56] This is not about the money you [00:41:57] give, the time you serve. [00:42:01] This is not about this. Commitment is not about the things that you do. [00:42:07] It's the life that you live before men. That John says is a written letter that all men can read and that they can see the testimony of Christ in you. That's the commitment. We don't hold these lines in fear of going to God taking from us. My blessings are yes and amen. We don't give because we want to return. That's not the true heart of giving. No. It's the life that we've been given to live that shows others the life that they can live. I'm a drug. I was. Let me say it right. I was a drug addict, alcoholic, gang member, gun runner who had enough on him to put me away for 50 years to life. And when a pastor and my brother met with a captain and a detective, called me three years later and threw away the case because Christ had dismissed it in court before they could ever even indict me. Your case is dismissed and Christ is just asking for your yes. Come on, somebody give the Lord a handcuff for praise. Jesus didn't say to us like the captain did to Ryan, earn this. Jesus said something different. John 19:30. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And Bowing his head, gave up his spirit. He will never stand across from us and say, earn it. He's already declared. You're worth is finished. You don't have to spend the rest of your life being good enough for the cross. Y' all guys can come up if you want. I don't know how much more of this I can take. God's loving on me this morning, you couldn't be enough. You can't earn it. The bill's been paid. I remember many times I've paid for people's dinners and they go, no, Pastor, no, no, no. We need to get it. I said, go, try pay for it. It's already been paid. Well, we'll get the next one. No, you won't. I live by one rule. I invite you out. I'm getting. So what's your yes? If it isn't to pay him back, what's your payment? If he's not asking something from you, Your yes isn't payment, it's a response. It's love answering love. It's not a payback. It's love answering love. And you get that, right? All of it answers it. You're not giving it to become his. You're giving it because you already are. For most of us, your yes is maybe not a call to ministry. Your yes maybe isn't a call to another country. Your yes may be quieter. Forgive them. Give it. Stay. Tell the truth. Keep showing up. It's not the size that moves heaven. It's what it costs you something and you mean it. That means that you're doing it because of love. We don't forgive people because they deserve our forgiveness. When someone does you wrong, we're not forgiving them because they deserve our forgiveness. We're forgiving them to release ourselves from anger. [00:46:23] Jesus forgave you to release us from God's vengeance. Do you get that? If I don't do this, God's going to take Jesus died so God wouldn't take even job before Jesus repented of the sackcloth and ashes. For now, I see you, God, today. I hope that with you that have gotten before sackcloth and ashes, incense burning, get money given more than you can ever doing for people and constantly going, but I've done so much for them. Why do they still treat me this way? I hope you change your commitment and yes, and say, lord, I do it [00:47:02] all for you because you've done it all for me. And no matter what they do, I will live for you. That's your yes. Amen. That's your yes. [00:47:15] That is your yes. I don't have to ask you for that yes, do I? So say it with me. I asked you in the beginning to say yes. If that's your yes, that you're gonna love because you're loved. And you're gonna give because you've been given. And that you're gonna do because he has done. And everything you do for them, you do unto him. [00:47:37] If that's your yes, say yes with me now. Say yes. Oh, wait a minute. [00:47:43] Say yes. Oh, no, no, no, no, not yet. I need a little bit more grit behind that. Say yes. [00:47:52] You almost there. You almost there? You almost there. [00:47:55] You're still a little embarrassed. You're still feeling a little uncomfortable. Now this time I want you to close your eyes. Forget about the person next to you. I want you to see Jesus and say yes. Say yes. Yes. [00:48:08] There we go. Give the Lord a hand clap of praise. [00:48:16] It's not about your fruit. [00:48:17] It's not about your standing. It's about your standing with Him. Accept it. Today you can go through identity, you can go through submission formation, confirmation, but right here at commitment, you gotta know what you're committing to. You are committing to being like him, not, he said, make yourself a living sacrifice. And obedience is better than sacrifice. [00:48:47] Your offering this morning is obedience. [00:48:50] Amen. [00:48:52] So this morning, every head bowed and [00:48:57] every eye closed, maybe you've not even said yes. Maybe you're listening to the podcast, driving down the car, maybe you're listening to the person at the red light and you're thinking, lord, I just want to say yes to you, to be my Lord and Savior. If that's you this morning and you don't know him, can you lift your hand right where you are and say, I want to know you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you. Say this with me, Father, I know that you sent your son so that I may have life. This is a one time commitment, nothing reversed. I believe, I receive. I confess and believe in my heart that you are the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, my Savior, my master, my friend, and now my brother, in Jesus name, Amen. Give the Lord a hand clap of praise. Now. Every head bowed, every eye closed. Maybe you're visiting this morning. Maybe it's your first time. And I know it's been a wild ride this morning and you've watched a grown man cry. And that's okay if you're not used to that. Turn 48, it starts changing after that. Amen. Especially when you start having potential, you know, having grandbabies on the way that really changes your heart, man. Amen. Watching your sons grow up and become men changes you. Maybe you're here this morning and you haven't really said yes. You know, God's called you to do something, but you burn out serving people have abused you and you showed up everywhere and you just never got anywhere. If that's you this morning, we're going to do something. Just raise your hand if that's you. Amen. Thank you for the hands. Thank you for the hands, Father. Everybody say this with me. Father. We forgive the leaders that didn't see us as brothers and sisters and co laborers. Christ, we release forgiveness and free ourselves from past leadership and we accept to follow you into the next and the now. In Jesus name, Amen. Come on, give the Lord a hand clap of praise. [00:51:50] Thank you for tuning in to today's message. To connect or find out more, you can reach us online at worldchangers Life. Remember to subscribe for more uplifting messages from our pastoral team and may you continue to walk in faith and transformation until we meet again.