Be a Bold Witness | Under New Management | Full Experience

We're going to spend our time together first by singing some songs, declaring the goodness of God in this place. And before we do that, I just want to read the scripture. I hope we'll set the tone for our time together. This is from Psalm 77. This is what we're here to do. It says, once again, I will go over what God has done. I will lay out on the table the ancient wonders. I will ponder all of the things that you have accomplished and give a long, loving look at your acts. Oh, God, your way is holy. There is no God like our God. You are the God who makes things happen. That is what we are here to celebrate tonight. He is alive. He's moving. He's present. And he is always working. He's always up to something good. Come on. We sing this together. Hasn't he made a way for us? Oh, didn't he part the water? Didn't those walls come crashing down? Wasn't he in the fire? Oh, hasn't he kept his promises for a thousand generations? Oh, hasn't he made a way? Oh, hasn't he made a way? Didn't he make a way? Won't he make a way for us?

Come on, we sing. He's working, he's working, he's working everything for good. He's working, he's working, he's working everything for good. Oh, hasn't he been so good to us? Didn't he heal the broken? Didn't he free and give his life? Wasn't the veil torn open? Oh, hasn't he called the dead to rise? Oh, a new creation? Oh, hasn't he been so good working it all for good? Won't he be so good to us? Oh, he's working, he's working, he's working everything for good. He's working, he's working, he's working everything for good. Yeah, he's working everything for good. He's working everything for good. Oh, for good. He's working miracles right here in this moment. Oh, so we pray for the impossible. Oh, we believe that he will do it. Hasn't he made a way? Didn't he make a way? Won't he make a way for us? Oh, sing it again. Hasn't he made a way? Didn't he make a way? Won't he make a way for us? We know, we know, we know that he will make a way for us. Yeah, he's working, he's working, he's working everything for good. He's working, he's working, he's working everything for good. Oh, he's working everything for good.

He is working, He's working everything for good, He is working, He's working everything for good. Come on. From north to south and east to west, we'd hear Christ be magnified. Were the whole earth echoing His eminence, His name would burst from sea and sky. And from rivers to the mountain tops, we'd hear Christ be magnified. Let's join with heaven today, we sing Christ be magnified. Singing oh, Christ be magnified. Let His praise arise. Christ be magnified in me. Singing oh, Christ be magnified. The altar of my life. Christ be magnified in me. When every creature finds its immortal King, and every human heart its native pride, Then in one enraptured hymn of praise, we'll sing Christ be magnified. Be magnified in us. Singing oh, Christ be magnified. Let His praise arise. Christ be magnified in me. Singing oh, Christ be magnified. The altar of my life. Christ be magnified in me. Lord be magnified by everything we do. By everything we sing. We will magnify Your name forever. We will magnify Your name forever. I won't bow to idols. I'll stand strong and worship You. And if it puts me in the fire, I'll rejoice cause You're there too.

I won't be formed by feelings. I'll hold fast to what is true. Cause if the cross brings transformation, Then I won't be afraid. Cause death is just a joy. It's Your resurrection light. And if I join You in Your suffering, Then I'll join You when You rise. And when You return in glory, With all the angels and the saints, When my heart will still be singing, My song will be the same. Singing oh, Christ be magnified. Let His praise arise. Christ be magnified. Oh, we magnify You. Christ be magnified. Let His praise arise. Christ be magnified. ♪ Oh, Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ We sing oh, Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ Oh, let His praise arise ♪ ♪ Oh, Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah, we sing oh, Christ be magnified ♪ ♪ The altar of my life, Christ be magnified, yeah ♪ ♪ Yeah, Lord be magnified ♪ ♪ Oh, I've heard you can move the mountains ♪ ♪ How I need this mountain, Lord ♪ ♪ So would you come and find me in the valley? ♪ ♪ Could you make a way for me? ♪

♪ Oh, Jesus, and I've heard you can heal the sick ♪ ♪ And the broken, but these wounds are buried deep ♪ ♪ So would you come and be the great physician? ♪ ♪ Could you do a work in me? ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I need you like nothing else ♪ ♪ Nothing else, we sing it out, Jesus, oh, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, oh, Jesus, nothing else, nothing else ♪ ♪ Oh, nothing else, only you ♪ ♪ And I've heard that you can walk on water ♪ ♪ And my mind's a raging sea ♪ ♪ So would you come and calm the storm within me? ♪ ♪ Could you walk the waves with me? ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I need you like nothing else, nothing else ♪ ♪ I need you like nothing else, nothing else ♪ ♪ Jesus, only you and nothing else, nothing else, yeah ♪ ♪ Only you, only you, only you, only you, only you, only you ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, Jesus, how I trust you ♪ We fill this place up with our faith today. We sing this out. ♪ Jesus, Jesus, how I trust you ♪ ♪ Yeah, we surrender, we surrender on you ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, how I trust you, oh, I trust you, Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ I need you like nothing else, nothing else, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh be there when nothing else, oh nothing else ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus, Jesus, I need you like nothing else, oh nothing else ♪ ♪ Like nothing else, oh nothing else, oh Jesus, only you ♪ ♪ And nothing else, nothing else, only you ♪ ♪ Nothing else, only you ♪

♪ And I've heard the promises you've spoken ♪ ♪ What you say, I will believe ♪ ♪ On my days, your goodness here surrounds me ♪ ♪ Surely mercy follows me ♪ Amen. CCV, we love worshiping together with you. You can have a seat. My name is Leo and I get to serve as one of the pastors here at our Peoria campus. Thank you so much for spending part of this beautiful weekend here with us. And for those of you watching online, thank you so much for joining us. This is what the Bible says in 1 Peter 3, verse 15. But in your hearts, revere Christ this Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. And I love that line, the hope that you have. Because what I've realized is that people, us, we're not looking for perfect answers. We're looking for real hope. And communion reminds us where our hope comes from. You see, that small cracker reminds us of Jesus' body being broken for us. The small cup of juice reminds us of his blood being poured out for us. We have hope because Jesus stepped into our brokenness. Because he took our place and he made a way for us to be right with God. Not in the future, but here and now. And you see the point that Peter was trying to make was that if Jesus is truly the Lord of our lives, not just something we believe, but someone we follow, someone we chase after, it will show up. It will show up in the way we respond. It will show up in the way we treat others. It will show up in the way we handle difficult situations when life doesn't go our way. And people will start to notice. People will start to wonder, man, what's different about you? And right there, that is our moment to point them back to Jesus, to point them back to his hope.

CCV communion is personal. It's between you and Jesus. But it was never meant to be private. So today as we take communion together, as we remember what he has done for us, we allow that to shape the way we live in private and around others. Because there's someone in your life that needs hope. And God has already placed you there. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your son Jesus. Thank you for his sacrifice. Thank you for the hope that he brings when we place our faith in him. Father, so many of us have experienced that hope. So many of us have experienced that peace. And we know that we cannot keep that to our own. So today as we remember that sacrifice, Father, remind us that it's not just simply for us to keep, but for us to share with the whole entire world. Lord, we thank you. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ I was 17 years old and working doing painting and landscaping for the summer months. Most every day I worked with the 19-year-old son of the owner and president. And his son and I would mow grass, we'd clean, we'd paint apartment units for different complexes. And one day, to my surprise, the owner, the head honcho, the big boss, showed up at one of the apartment complexes. And he had two shovels with him, and he said, Dave, he said, I need your help on helping me dig out this entire area. I said, okay. I said, but Tim Jr. asked me to put a second coat of paint on a first-floor apartment. And he said, well, it's okay, I'll talk to him, but you're with me today. Now, do you think I continued to say, well, no, no, my dear sir, I realize that you're the big kahuna, the grand poobah, the head hog at the trough, but I'm thinking it would be wise for me to do what your 19-year-old son, who flunked out of college, told me that I should be doing. No, I would never say that, of course not. And I don't have to tell you that in that moment, when he asked me to join him, his purpose became my purpose. And you understand that. When you agree to the terms of employment, you are saying, I am choosing to work for you, ultimately. And each day of our lives, we are faced with, whose voice are you going to listen to? And today, we're wrapping up our series under new management. And this study, we've looked at a lot of different things. In week one, we saw that Jesus has access to every area of our life. In the next week, we looked at the new values that we should have. And then last week, we looked at the new systems.

And today, we want to see what the new mission is that we're on. You know, there are thousands of you here at CCV who have crossed that line and have been baptized in the last 12 months and made a full-fledged commitment to Christ. So in this series, we've been trying to inform you of what it means to allow someone new to begin calling the shots in your life. But it's equally important for those who have been longtime Christians, because over time, we can slip back into thinking that we can call the shots. And prior to our commitment to Christ, we had an agenda of looking out for number one. But since surrendering to Jesus, that purpose and mission has changed. His purpose has become our purpose. There's a verse in Luke 19, verse 10, where Jesus shares the purpose and intent of why he left heaven and came to earth. Luke 19, 10, Jesus says, The Son of Man came to seek and save. that which was lost. So Jesus left heaven and he came to earth on a rescue mission. Several years ago Dorothy Fletcher was on a transatlantic flight from Manchester, England to Orlando, Florida. She was traveling with her daughter. They were going to see another one of Dorothy's daughters get married in Orlando. But in the middle of the flight as she was talking with her daughter she said to her, I don't feel very well. And then Dorothy Fletcher just slumped over and her daughter immediately pushed the flight attendant call button and informed the stewardess that she thought that her mom was having a heart attack. The attendant immediately made an announcement over the intercom and said, is there any medical personnel on board? If so would you please push your call button? And in an instant 15 passengers pushed the button. All 15 of them were cardiologists. You see in Orlando the next day the World Health Association had a conference that was taking place with over 10,000 doctors attending and they sprang into action. And with what equipment was on board they performed a minor surgical procedure. The plane made an emergency landing in North Carolina and after Dorothy spent five days in the hospital

she was able to attend her daughter's wedding in Florida. Now imagine being one of those doctors. You just departed from England, settled in for a long flight, you're ready to chill, you're gonna sleep, you're gonna watch a couple movies and then halfway through on a second's notice you're called into service to intervene where you are to help save a life. And her need became their purpose. And I promise you that Dorothy Fletcher was grateful that they got involved. You see when those doctors took the Hippocratic Oath it essentially says a doctor has a moral responsibility to care ethically, compassionately and responsibly for patients or people in need. So that commitment may have been made four years before or 40 years before but it motivated them to change their plans and to get involved on a second's notice. And when that flight attendant asked for medical help the doctor's purpose was quickly and drastically revealed and 15 of them responded because Dorothy's life was more important than their plans. Now if you're not a doctor you didn't likely swear the Hippocratic Oath but when you gave your life to Jesus Christ you did take an oath. And that oath said that you were gonna tell the world about Jesus. You'd make his name famous. And I believe that your personal story is the call button that will alert the great physician who can come and save a life eternally. And today all I'm going to do is I'm just going to share with you two expectations that I have. The first one is use your story to tell his story. You say why are you all always talking about your story? What's so important about that? Well people might complain about your convictions, they might not agree with your choice of churches, they might disagree with the doctrine, they might belittle your beliefs but they cannot tarnish your testimony. They cannot discount your story. They can't refute what is your reality. Your story is personal. It's what you've experienced and people are more prone to listen to the story of a friend than they are to endure some lengthy explanation of doctrinal beliefs. It's just how God wired us. He made us in such a way that we love stories. Stories have a way of touching our hearts. Our need for story is downright physiological. That's why you dream in stories and that's why Jesus' favorite method of teaching was

through stories, through parables. You say what's a parable? A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. And if your story involves a spiritual journey of your need for a Savior and you're accepting Jesus as the Lord and Master and CEO of your life, then I guarantee that your story of being under new management can have a heavenly meaning for someone. Your story doesn't need to be dramatic or decadent, it just needs to be true. Different stories relate to different people. You say, well, Dave, I wouldn't know where to start. Well, some of you have heard this before so it might be a review for you but I want you to think of your story in three different parts, all right? I was, then God, and now. Let's take a look at each of those individually. I was, that's acknowledging your need for God in your life. It may come by candidly sharing a weakness or a struggle you've had with an addiction or you continue to battle with something in your life, a thorn in the flesh, or maybe it's the I was is that part of your story that centers on that moment when you realize the depth of the consequences of your sin and the need for your imperfections to be forgiven by a perfect sacrifice of Jesus. I was, then God. This is the section where you experience God's intervention or presence through a scripture that someone shared or a talk or a testimony or something that was said in a sermon or an action that you observed. And God got your attention in that moment. It was a come to your senses moment. It was clear what you needed to do. Maybe what you needed to do was just to emotionally fall on your knees and cry out and say,

God, I need you in my life. Perhaps it was quietly in obedience, humbling yourself and walking into a pool of water and saying, I want Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I'm being baptized to represent his death and his burial and his resurrection. Maybe it was saying to a Christian relative, my way is not working. And so I'm gonna try God's way like you've been suggesting. The third section and now, this is where you honestly share the changes that God has brought into your life. You share the benefits you've experienced since making that commitment, whether that's peace or freedom or joy or the assurance of heaven. And you contrast what's different all the while sharing of how you aren't perfect, but you're growing in Christ. I'm just saying, use your story to tell his story. We began by reading Luke chapter 19, verse 10, the son of man came to seek and save that which was lost. You know where that verse comes from? It comes from the conclusion of a dramatic conversion of a greedy tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus. And when he starts this personal relationship with Jesus, Zacchaeus begins telling his story to everyone. And he says, I was, I was greedy and dishonest. Then God, God in the flesh came to my house. And now, now I'm generous. Now I'm paying back everybody that I've cheated.

I'm paying them back four times over. Now that's a story. And it's his story. It's simple, it's memorable, and it's true. Think of the blind man in the gospel of John chapter nine. Jesus heals him. The Pharisees are hacked off that Jesus has healed him. And so they bring this guy in for questioning. They say, you know, explain to us how this happened. And the man announces to the Pharisees, this man, Jesus put mud on my eyes and he told me to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. And so I did, and I can see. And this really perturbs the Pharisees. And so they kick him out because this was done on the Sabbath. And Jesus hears that the Pharisees have thrown this man out and Jesus goes and he finds a guy. And he asks if he believes in the son of man. Now the son of man, that's the old Testament prophecy term to describe the coming Messiah. Jesus says, do you believe in him? John chapter nine, verse 36. Who is he, sir? And the man asked, tell me so that I may believe in him. And Jesus said, you have now seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you. And then the man said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. So his story is, I was blind from birth.

Then God healed me and I can see. And now I believe and I worship him. And I wanna tell everyone the difference he's made in my life, both physically and spiritually. What was that verse that we learned back in the Revelation series? Revelation 12, 11. I love this verse. They triumphed by the word of their testimony. Your testimony is your story. No one can deny your experience. Your story is your strategy. Let me give you an example. This is what my story would sound like. I grew up in a Christian home. Over time, I took pride in my church attendance and my self-righteousness until I realized that I was a believer. a poster child for spiritual pride. And Jesus despises a holier-than-thou attitude. Then God used my godly parents and a teacher to show me that sin separates me from God. But Jesus built a bridge through the cross and through him comes forgiveness and salvation in heaven, not by my righteousness, but by trusting in him. And so I accepted Jesus as my Lord and was baptized into him. And though it was decades ago, I remember it like it was yesterday. And now, now I live with deep gratitude

for what Jesus has done. I realize my pride is just as serious of a sin as open rebellion. I'm striving to walk closely with Christ, not out of fear, but out of love. I still fall short and I still struggle. I'm not sinless, but I do sin less and less as I walk more closely with him. Now that's my story. It's not as flashy as the blind man or a Zacchaeus, but it's my story. It might seem boring compared to others, but it's the one that God gave me and it's personal. And it allows me to talk about Jesus. Your story should spark a conversation and not an argument. It is a dialogue. It's not a monologue. It's a conversation with others. This is not a debate to be won. It's a seed to be planted. And every time you tell your story, you resemble a farmer planting seeds and you will never reap a harvest if you never plant a seed. About two months ago, I was flying home from Chicago. I thought I was gonna have an empty seat next to me. Last guy who gets on the plane comes and sits next to me. And his language was pretty rough as he's talking on the phone. I'm hearing him say words that I'm like, oh, wow.

And he's dropping some F-bombs and gets off the phone and we take off and I put my headphones on and we're about halfway through the flight. And all of a sudden he starts talking to me, strikes up a conversation with me. And I'm like, you know, I've got headphones on, brother. So I demonstratively take off my headphones and answer him and then I put them back on thinking that that should send a pretty clear message, right? Well, his language while he's talking to me, you know, it would make a sailor blush. And he keeps asking me things. I put them back on again and then I realized he's still talking to me. And so I start talking with him. I've realized I'm gonna be talking to this guy. I say, so why are you coming to Kentucky? He said, a friend who I was in the army with took his own life. And he said, some of us from the gang were coming back and we're gonna just try to encourage his family. I said, well, that's really, really kind of you. And that sparked this conversation that we got on. And it went a variety of different directions and everyone within two rows could hear everything he was saying. Within one row could hear everything that I was saying. And he's still dropping bombs and it's still going on. And that's after he knows that I'm a pastor, all right? Yeah, so there's that.

And then we get to this point where he says, I've done some pretty bad things. And he said, I don't think God could ever forgive me. I said, you know what? I'll bet he would. I said, what have you done? He said, when I was joining the army, the day before I went in, he said, I told God, I just blatantly told God, I am going to forsake you. He said, I'm going to forsake you while I'm in the army and I'm gonna do what everybody else does and I'm gonna do this on my own without you. He said, I chose to turn my back on him. And he said, God could never forgive me for that. I said, well, you know, the Bible says in 1 John 1, it says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I said, have you ever confessed that? He said, a bunch of times. He said to me, he said, what makes you think that he would forgive that? I said, well, he has to. I mean, he keeps his word and he promises that he will forgive you. He said, what makes you think that God would forgive an a-hole like me and not forgive you? And I said, I know he will. Because he forgave me.

I said, you hear me say that I'm a pastor, so you have this preconceived thought of what that means to you. But Jesus' harshest criticism was of the self-righteous, not the rebellious. And I said, if you knew some of the thoughts that I've thought, if you knew the resentment that I've had toward my enemies, I said, you know, sin is sin. I said, Marty, the very first sin that I ever committed and the first sin that you ever committed, immediately it separated us from a perfect God. That's why Jesus left heaven and came to earth. I said, so if God can forgive someone like me, God can forgive someone like you. And we talked about whether he believes that Jesus is God's son, and he said he did. And then, just out of the blue, he said, would you pray for me? And I said, oh yeah, yeah, I'll be praying for you. He said, no, right now. And he grabbed my hand and said, hold my hand. And he was bigger than me. And so I said, I would love to hold your hand in this public place, you know. That's what I was looking forward to. And so, I prayed with him right there. And everybody around is hearing this prayer. And I prayed and I said, Lord, will you relieve him from this guilt?

He's turned this over to you. He's asking you to forgive him. Would you cleanse him of that? And then I said, Lord, would you draw him closer to you? Would you help him be in a relationship with you? And we talked the rest of the flight. Whole time we walked the baggage claim, he kept saying over and over again, he said, my buddies are not gonna believe this. My buddies are not gonna believe this. And I'm thinking, yeah, mine won't either, right? He's got my number, but I haven't heard from him. But that day, I was reminded your mission starts right where you are, whether you want that mission or not. And who knows, maybe that conversation wasn't for Marty's benefit, but it was for the people around who had to hear the entire conversation and had to hear my prayer and seeds were planted reluctantly and I didn't really wanna get involved. Here's what's sad, those cardiologists heard of a need and they pressed the call button to help. And when I had someone reaching out to me, I put my headphones on and full disclosure, this is crazy. What I was listening to on my headphones were some scriptures that I was trying to memorize. And when I put my headphones back on, the very next verse was from James chapter one, don't just listen to the word of God, do what it says. I'm like, okay, Lord, all right, I got you.

And that's when I took them off. Okay, Lord, all right, I got you. And that's when I took them off. God's gonna cross your path with someone this week. Will you be ready? It might be an old friend from high school who's going through a divorce. It might be a coworker with an addiction. It might be your spouse or a business partner who's been resistant to God. I don't know, but what I do know is that it starts right where you are. So follow that prompting, have the boldness to tell your story, use your story to tell his story. Here's the other expectation, expectation number two, reach your world and the world. Acts chapter one, verse eight, really cool. Jesus is about to ascend into heaven. He says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. You see that word witnesses? The Greek root word for witnesses is also where we get two different English words, martyr and marquee. So you are to be a witness to tell your story regardless of the cost. You are to be a billboard like a movie marquee.

You are to be a walking advertisement and representation of Christ. You're to be a witness for him right where you are. And then that witness can ripple farther and farther and God places you in places for a reason. I want you to watch this life story. It's an everyday story that we can all relate to. In it, you'll meet Jackie Montenegro from our Avondale campus. It's a young adult's mission trip to Utah to the Short Creek Dream Center. It's a residential. support center there to help people in abuse recovery, crisis intervention, and life skills development. Watch this with me. When we think of mission trips, it's going out really far and you are spreading the gospel and you are doing stuff like that. While yes, we're still doing that here, but we're doing it in small ways that you really don't really think of it, like doing yard work or painting things for the community. It's small, but kind of, I guess, mundane things that you wouldn't really think would be so meaningful to the people here, but they're really, really thankful for it. With sharing my faith, it's allowed me to trust in him more. It's helped me to trust him more through everything that I do. Instead of doing things on my own strength,

I have found myself more relying on him. Whether I feel unqualified to do something or serve in a certain way, I've now grown to be able to trust in him and just say, I'm gonna do it and I'm just gonna let you move in the way that you want me. I think it's valuable to share your faith by going on a missions trip because it gives you new experiences. It gives you new ways that you can take from being on that trip and bring back with you home on how you can serve others, different ways that you can show the love of Jesus, that you would have never thought of before going on that trip. For me, this experience has really just been fulfilling. I have been able to serve in ways that I would have never thought have been, I guess, showing Jesus to others. It's just been really cool to see what ways I can do that and see how else I can maybe bring that back to the Valley and serve those around me in the same ways I have served others here. I love that. I loved when she said that she learned things that she can bring back home and use. That's what happens on mission trips. Sometimes our life stories are dramatic or emotional that we watch, but I watch that, we can relate to it. It's everyday life.

Don't miss the point of this video. You don't have to go to Africa or even Utah. I would love for you to go on a missions trip. That can be life changing. But today, realize that God wants to use you right now, this week at work, today at the gym, or in your neighborhood. It starts right where you are. And so step outside your comfort zone. Share the gospel with others through what you say and how you live and through your acts of service. When a person commits to following Christ, they're ready to start sharing of their knowledge and experience. That's an expectation to tell others about Jesus if he really is important to you. Matthew 10, verse 32 and 33, Jesus says, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. First Peter 3, verse 15 says, but in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect. Being a bold witness for Christ always starts right where you are. But we are quick to come up with excuses for why we can't share our story and why we're inadequate to reach the people where God has placed us.

And we have this fear of being ridiculed, or we have this lack of Bible knowledge and we feel inadequate. And what if they ask me something that I can't answer? Or we have this fear of the unknown, which paralyzes us and silences our story. But Christ followers should symbolically press the call button, step up to the plate and get involved. When the big boss says to tell others about him, he means it. You're putting yourself under his authority. You're aligning with his mission. His purpose becomes your purpose. In our theme verse throughout this series has been Luke 9, verse 23. Then Jesus said to them all, he says, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow me. We need to have that willingness. We need to have that urgency. Whether it is that people show gratitude when we share it or whether they ridicule us, whether we receive praise or whether we receive persecution. What might seem like a casual lunch or just another round of golf with some buddies can quickly change to a spiritual conversation, which is one question or comment. And so you've got to be ready and you've got to make the most of the opportunities that you have and leverage those.

those conversations. And the longer you're a Christian, you'll discover that it never unfolds according to your timetable. Jesus doesn't want you second guessing his commands. He said, you shall be my witnesses. Are you his witness? Are you obeying his commands, his promptings, his word? I like what Lisa Turkhurst says. She says, my job is to be obedient to God. God's job is everything else. She's right. You see, God plants us in different places through the course of a day to love on different people. He just brings people into our lives and into our path, and it's up to us if we're gonna do something about it, and we're gonna take advantage of those situations. A few years ago, I drove to a small town about an hour from where I live in Kentucky. I had blocked out the entire day for sermon preparation for a series that I was working on, and I was gonna work at a library there. Now, whenever I'm out of town, I eat at places that my wife would never pick. And so midday, I went to a greasy spoon diner for a quick lunch because I knew my wife would say, oh, I would never go in there, right? So I went in there. It was pretty empty, but a few tables over, there was a woman with two little girls,

and she kept glancing out the window at a mechanic's shop next door. I overheard her thanking the waitress and saying, thanks so much for letting us hang out here for a while, and I knew something wasn't right. So when I finished eating, I just walked over to her, and I said, hey, is everything okay? You need anything? She said, no, no, no, we're good. She explained her truck had broken down. They were fixing it next door. The U-Haul that was attached to the truck wasn't working properly either. She said, we're moving from Ohio to Texas, and she said, I have my kids with me, and we visited for a couple of minutes. I tried to encourage her, and then I headed back to my car to go back to work at the library, but when I got to my car, I just had this feeling. You should have done something, and I felt like my words of encouragement, they just felt so hollow, and I sensed that nudge. Oh, go back in there, go back in there. Now, I don't know the first thing about fixing trucks. You would not want me to work on anything that you have, but I had some cash in my backpack in the car, and my wife and I have these little simple cards that have our phone numbers on them that say if you have a need, or if you have a prayer request, just reach out,

and so I got some cash, and I got that card. I went back inside, and she wasn't there, but her purse was there, and her girls were playing a video game, so I just went to her table, and I set my card in the cash next to her purse, and I left, and a few minutes later, my cell phone rang, and this voice said, are you the guy from the diner? I said, yeah, that's me, Diner Dave, and she said, why did you do that? I said, I'm a Christian, and I felt like God wanted me to help, and it sounded like you were having a rough day, and she burst into tears. She learned later that day that her truck was needing more work and might not be done that day. I got my wife involved, and she was able to call Nettie, and we got a hotel room for them right down the street for the night. The next afternoon, when the truck was fixed, my wife wanted Nettie to be well-rested before her long drive to Texas with the girls, and so she invited her and the girls to stay at our house as it was kind of en route, and so Nettie and her girls came, and my wife, Beth, and my daughter, Sadie, just loved on them. I mean, I will never forget that night. We had a great meal. We laughed.

We told stories. We prayed. It snowed. Snow is white stuff that comes down from the sky. Okay? We had hot chocolate. Later that evening, I told Nettie goodnight, and I went on to get ready for bed. Sometime later, Beth crawled into bed. She said to me, "'You need to hear the rest of the story "'that Nettie told me.'" I said, "'Well, what's that?' She said, "'When Nettie was at the diner, "'she was at the end of her rope. "'Her ex-boyfriend had cut off their joint credit card. "'She had no credit card. "'She had no money. "'She had no place to go. To stay, she had a broken truck and two kids, depending on her, hundreds of miles from her family. Nettie said to Beth, I put a quarter in the video game for the girls. I walked into the bathroom. I locked the door. I got on my knees and I prayed, okay, God, if you're up there, you're gonna have to show yourself because I've got nothing. I can't do this.

I just need to know that you care. She told Beth, she wiped her tears away. She got up, she walked back to the table, and that's when she saw the card and the money. And all I can think about, this is me speaking, all I can think about is, what if I would have ignored that prompting, like I have so many times? Our family would have missed out. We still stay in touch with them through texts and videos and updates from the kids, Christmas cards. Here's what I learned through that couple of days. The smallest act of obedience can become the answer to someone else's prayer. And I really hesitate to share that story with you because it's very easy for pastors to cherry pick illustrations and choose stories and words to make you think that we have our act together. But I'm sad to say that my self-absorption has sadly kept me from giving time to people in need. And regrettably, what you heard me to share is more the exception than it is the norm. But the outcome from that day of following that prompting has motivated me to do better because I got to share my story with Nettie and Beth got to share her story with Nettie. And it led to a recommitment to the Lord for Nettie. And sometimes I'm haunted by how many Netties I have walked past or how many times I've sensed the prompting from the Holy Spirit

and then suppress that very same prompting. I can't live in the past, but I can learn from the past and God will give me new opportunities. So my question for you is, who's your Lord? Who's calling the shots in your life? Too often we're listening to the 19-year-old co-worker or to our own selfish desires. And perhaps for you, maybe it's time to start listening to the big boss, you know, the one who you claim is the master and CEO of your life, the one who died and became a perfect sacrifice to pay for your sins. He gave you a new mission and it starts right where you are. You say, Dave, in the past I haven't been real intentional about sharing my faith. Well, your past is behind you. His power is within you. His opportunities are before you. And so I wanna challenge you. Here's my challenge. Have a spiritual conversation with someone this coming week. Have some type of a conversation. You could start it off with some non-threatening question. Here's some possibilities. Hey, if you were to ever join a church, what kind of church would you look for? Or you know who I used to be and you know how I've changed. Would you be open to hearing how that came about? Or how about this? Would you think less of me if I kept something to myself

that could really make your life better? I guarantee you, you will have opportunities this week to have a spiritual conversation with a stranger or a friend. The only question is whether you will have the boldness and the love to push the call button and speak up. When you leave this service in a couple of minutes, each of you will have the opportunity to grab a sticker. At every campus, they'll be giving these out as you leave. This is meant to serve as a reminder that your ministry starts right where you are. You know what it is? It's a location pin within a globe. It's your world inside of the world. And through the power of the Holy Spirit, you can reach both. And so I want you to think about where you wanna place that sticker, where you wanna put it so that it will remind you to plant seeds, to have the boldness, to have a spiritual conversation, to take a risk, a holy risk for God. I promise you, when you follow those promptings, it is always fulfilling. Every time that I step out in faith and say, I'm out of my comfort zone, talking to Marty on this flight, God always comes through. And I'm always glad that I followed through when I say yes. you're going to take this sticker

and you're going to put it on your desk. Maybe you'll put it on the wall of your cubicle. Maybe you'll put it on your laptop or maybe on the dashboard of your car. I put mine on the back of my phone so that every time I see that, it reminds me I want to be looking for opportunities. I need to have the faith to boldly share it with others. You know, God would never place you where he doesn't intend to use you. At the end of this service, we'll have people down front at every campus. If you need prayer, if you need prayer for courage, for a conversation with a person that you already have in your mind, if you need prayer for that, come down front. They'd love to pray with you afterwards. Let's pray together. Father in heaven, I wonder how many times you brought someone in my path but I was too busy talking when I should have been listening. Lord, we're reminded that your son, Jesus, came on that rescue mission to seek and save that which was lost. May his purpose become our purpose and remind us that it starts right where we are. So may we live his purpose,

share our story and reach this world. It's in Jesus' name that we pray, amen. Hey, next week, next week is Mother's Day. Bring your mom, bring somebody with you. We'll see you then. Thank you.