Don't Follow The Crowd - Joey Salazar

♪♪ Hey, man, hey, man, what's up? Journey's online. Familia, we are here. We are ready. Scoot over. Wherever you at, scoot over. Yeah, you're coming in. Because we stepping in. For you. Are you ready? Oh, my gosh. I'm ready. I know. It's a really good Sunday. The singing in the first couple seconds, that's new. That's another level of online engagement. Let's go. He said, uh, move a side. Come inside. We're coming into your space, which means we should introduce ourselves. Yeah, as you can tell, we're happy. We're joyful. We're feeling it. And we are... Who are we? Who are we? Who is... My name is Chantel. And I get the absolute joy to be here at the House of the Lord today.

Amen. Yes, my name is Rael, and I have the same joy and privilege to be here worshiping with you all. That's right. Absolutely. My name is Julian. I get the joy and honor of being here as well as part of your online team. Yeah. Amen. And my name is Ben. Yeah, come on. I'm just happy to be here. All right. I'm just happy to be in the presence of the Lord, in the presence of these amazing people to my left and with you this morning. Yeah. Let us know where you're tuning in from. Let us know what you're up to today. Let us know if you're feeling the energy that we are feeling in this room, wherever you are. Ben's legs don't break. It's just so you let it jump on you. We got to let us know one more thing, Ben. They got to let us know what they got from last week's Word. Yes, let's take it back. From last week's Word. Absolutely. What'd y'all take from it? Man, it was the sticky statement of trying versus training. Yeah. Trying versus training. Yeah.

We had a lot of sticky statements from last sermons in the chat because he really broke down practically how to stop thinking about how to do everything all in one fell swoop, but just slow down and choose a different choice at every single point. So when he used this example of worrying instead of doom scrolling, he said, I'm going to turn on Spotify. I'm going to worship. And I was just thinking like, yeah, I will notice what it is that I'm feeling and what God says about that feeling and choose something different according to his Word. Yeah. And so that was my takeaway. What about y'all? So good. And one thing that stuck out to me was the training aspect of the spiritual training. You know, there's a lot of people who are on the live stream today. You might be new to your faith and you might not know what are they talking about, but you got to think about it this way. When you started a new job, you had to go to training, right? When you started working out, you had to train, right? So the same thing when you're walking into your faith, when you get in, you know, yeah, I'm looking you right in the eye. That's right. It means that you just got to spiritually train with the Lord so that when things happen to you, you know what Jesus is doing for you and you can identify and have discernment of what's going on in your world. So that is what I got from last week. That's so good. That was really good. What I got from it was a part that Pastor JJ said. He said, waiting is surrendering a long time. And that changed that verse that we all hear.

You may not have heard Isaiah 40 something where it says, they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, which really means they who surrender a long time to the Lord. And I was like, wait a second. I thought we just surrendered. And I was good. Like, no, it's a continual process of surrender. It's really good. Yeah. No, absolutely. And I'm going to combine their thoughts here because it's the weight training. The weight training. The weight training. It's always going to work. So spiritually, that exercise of learning how to wait, especially in a culture where we don't know how to wait. Yeah. You go to a fast food joint, they take more than two minutes. You're like, oh, my gosh, why are they taking so long? You know what I mean? And so I think that counterculturally, the Lord has asked us to have these waiting seasons. And waiting is an active verb, by the way. It's not passive. It's so good. Actively. Jesus. And how do we wait? We wait in prayer. We wait in worship. We wait in just sometimes just being. Yeah.

Just being present. Still. Still in his presence. Yeah. So exercising that aspect of it. Let us know what your takeaway was. What your sticky statement I like. Sticky statement. Your sticky statement from the message. I'm excited about today. Yeah. Super excited. It is Palm Sunday. Amen. Not this Palm, though. Palm trees. What's Palm Sunday? If you don't know what Palm Sunday is, it's when Jesus entered into Jerusalem on the donkey. That's right. And the people were shouting. The crowds were shouting, Hosanna, Hosanna. Which translates to save us. And so they were expecting this political revolutionary king to enter in. What they didn't understand that it was a spiritual revolutionary king establishing a different type of kingdom. That's right. So as he entered into the city, the folks were praising him. And this was the beginning. of a very important week that transformed history forever. Because at the end of that week, on that Friday, was a different palms being dealt with.

It was the spikes going through the palms of the hand of our savior. And so, that's not where it ended. Come on, come on. Come on, three days later. Three days later. Easter, y'all. Easter. Resurrection Sunday is what we call it. Rolled away, he rose up out of the grave. He is risen. It's not even Sunday yet, we're already preaching. It's not even Easter yet. If you feel it through the screen, let us know what you feel at preaching, all right? I don't think there's openings, but you know, if we could, we would. But one thing I would say about Easter, my goodness, I had something happen to me at work, where there's somebody in my job that was like, you know, talking about being invited. But then even feeling like, wow, like I'm not gonna be able to go in there. I'm gonna light up on fire. And I was like, whoa, that is not how the Lord works. And then somebody behind the screen today is like waiting for that invitation, waiting for what you should do. And we are here to tell you, come on in. Come on in and find out what the Lord has done for you

and the sacrifice that he did and how he rose on the third day for you and me. And it's something that we definitely want you to go and do because we have multiple services. Yeah, multiple services, a couple of days. And the week after that is Baptism Sunday. Let's go, hooray. I ran into someone at the last baptism in the restroom and they said that they watched online and they recognized me. And I was like, yo, like, hey, we're so glad that you drove hours to come here. So if that's you, make sure you sign up. But as we prepare our hearts for worship, Ben, would you mind praying us in? Absolutely, be my joy. Father, we thank you today, Lord. We just wanna honor you and what you are doing in the lives of everyone, not just online, in the building, wherever they are, Father. And we celebrate this day that Hosanna, Hosanna, the King has entered the space, Lord God. So we just ask that today we will be transformed. We would leave changed after this service. So we honor you in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. We'll see you soon. Let's worship. Let's go.

Come on church, how are we doing this morning? How are you guys ready to worship God? Come on, let's put our hands together. How we love you, we thank you for your presence. You are here in this place. We lift your name, oh God. Come on, let's sing this out. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Shaking off the heaviness Dancing out of my regrets Throwing caution to the wind No, I am not ashamed to praise like this Some would say it's foolishness But I say it's worth the risk Can't forget what Jesus did No, I am not ashamed to praise like this Where are those chains that won't tell me I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free My sin is gone, I can live I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free Look at what the Lord has done I'm never going back to the way I was I'll sing, I'll dance, cause I feel I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free Come on, church, how many are free? Come on, we sing about a friend I found a friend that never quits But when the love is good, it stings I don't care what anyone says I'm never ashamed to praise like this

Where are those chains that won't tell me I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free My sin is gone, I can live I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free Look at what the Lord has done I'm never going back to the way I was I'll sing, I'll dance, cause I feel I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free You took the cross and you broke your body You shed your blood, now the sinner can't see My debt is paid and my reckoning is gained I couldn't do it, so you did it for me You took the cross and you broke your body You shed your blood, now the sinner can't see My debt is paid and my reckoning is gained I couldn't do it, so you did it for me You took the cross and you broke your body You shed your blood, now the sinner can't see My debt is paid and my reckoning is gained I couldn't do it, so you did it for me ♪ I couldn't do it so He didn't for me ♪ ♪ I couldn't do it so He didn't for me ♪ ♪ I couldn't do it so He didn't for me ♪ ♪ I couldn't do it so He didn't for me ♪ Come on, Church, we sing. ♪ Near all those chains There's only one telling me ♪ ♪ I'm free, I'm free I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ My sin it's coming I can feel it ♪ ♪ I'm free, I'm free I'm free, I'm free ♪ ♪ Look at what the Lord has done ♪

♪ I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ ♪ I'll sing, I'll dance, I'll be free ♪ Come on, we sing, you took the cross. ♪ You took the cross and you broke your heart ♪ ♪ You shed your blood now the sin it kills ♪ ♪ My debt is paid and my record is I couldn't do it, I couldn't do it ♪ ♪ You took the cross and you broke your heart ♪ ♪ You shed your blood now the sin it kills ♪ ♪ My debt is paid and my record is I couldn't do it ♪ ♪ Only God can do it, only God can do it ♪ ♪ I couldn't do it so you did it for me ♪ ♪ I couldn't do it so you did it for me, I couldn't do it ♪ ♪ And look at what the Lord has done, I'm never going back ♪ ♪ And look at what the Lord has done, I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ ♪ And look at what the Lord has done, I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ ♪ Look at what the Lord has done, I'm never going back to the way I was ♪ ♪ You're worthy God, I'm never going back ♪ Come on, is anybody thankful for Jesus this morning? Amen, amen. Family, we're so glad you're here with us this morning. You know, as I reflect on the songs we're singing this morning, I think it's really important for us to acknowledge what today is. It's Palm Sunday. It's the beginning of a journey for Jesus on his way to the cross. And I just want us for a second to really be thankful for Jesus. And I just want us for a second to really grasp and understand the weight that he took up a cross that was meant for you and me. But he did it because he loved you and he loved me. And he wants eternity with us.

And I think for this next song, you know, we've sang it before, but we're asking the Holy Spirit to fall on this place. And I know a lot of the times we ask for these things, maybe with a half heart, but I wonder if we had some people in the room today who really believe that this wasn't just for a moment, but we're asking the Holy Spirit to come in because he wants to do something inside of us. That's the gift of the Holy Spirit is that he's here with us. And he's able to do anything, anywhere, at any time. And that's the faith we hold on to this morning. So if you feel comfortable with me, would you just lift your hands as a sign of surrender? Lord, we lay our hearts down to you in this moment. Lord, we ask, Lord, we ask in this moment, just like you did when you sent the Holy Spirit, Lord, that you would move in this place, Lord, and that you would move in our hearts and that we would understand, Lord, that you're here to help. You're here to help, Jesus. And we need you. We need you desperately, Lord. We love you, Jesus. We love you, Jesus. How we love you. And you told us to wait. You told us to wait.

The helper's on the way. And we'll never be the same. So meet us as we wait. Come on, we declare. And fall, fall, fall on us again. ♪ And wildfire spreading with the wind ♪ ♪ Inhabit your way, fill this place ♪ ♪ We ask to fall, fall again ♪ Come on, because He told us. ♪ And you told us to pray ♪ ♪ And we're gathered in your name ♪ Come on, because we know it. ♪ And we believe in Jesus so killer as we pray, we say ♪ ♪ And fall, fall, fall on us again ♪ ♪ And wildfire spreading with the wind ♪ ♪ Inhabit your way, fill this place ♪ ♪ And fall, fall again ♪ ♪ We ask you, Lord, to fall, fall again ♪ ♪ Come and move, come and move ♪ ♪ There's war when two of us are here ♪ ♪ We shake the atmosphere, it sounds a lot like heaven ♪ Come on, we sing. ♪ There's power, power in your name ♪ ♪ We lift a shout of praise and watch as you bring it ♪ Come on, let faith fill the room. ♪ There's war when two of us are here ♪ ♪ We shake the atmosphere, it sounds a lot like heaven ♪ ♪ There's power, power in your name ♪ Oh, we lift our voice. Oh, we sing out to you, Jesus.

Oh, you're holy, you're worthy, Lord. ♪ It sounds a lot like heaven now ♪ Oh, we declare it. ♪ It sounds a lot like heaven now ♪ ♪ And fall, fall, fall on us again ♪ ♪ And light the fire, spread your wings ♪ ♪ And have it your way, have it your way ♪ Oh, thank you, Lord. Oh, thank you. ♪ So fall, fall again, we ask you to fall ♪ ♪ And fall, fall, fall on us again ♪ ♪ And wildfire, spreading its away ♪ ♪ And have it your way, fill this place ♪ So fall. Oh, we ask you, Jesus. Oh, we ask you, because we know there's more. ♪ When two of us are here, we shake the atmosphere ♪ ♪ It sounds a lot like heaven now ♪ ♪ There's power, power in your name ♪ ♪ We lift a shout of praise and march as a team ♪ Oh, because there's more, there's more. ♪ When two of us are here, we shake the atmosphere ♪ ♪ It sounds a lot like heaven now ♪ ♪ There's power, power in your name ♪ ♪ We lift a shout of praise and march as a team ♪ Oh, so come down more. ♪ It sounds a lot like heaven now ♪ Oh, and we sing to you, Lord. ♪ It sounds a lot like heaven now ♪ Oh, we know.

♪ It sounds a lot like heaven now ♪ ♪ It sounds a lot like heaven now ♪ ♪ So fall, fall, fall on us again, wow ♪ ♪ Spreading with the wind, having a way, fill this place ♪ ♪ Fall, fall, fall on us again, wow ♪ ♪ We ask you to fall, fall again ♪ On us again, the Holy Spirit is a beautiful thing and it helps us do many things. And one of the things So Holy Spirit helps us do is pray. And we at Journey Believe and Pray First, which means prayer is our first response, not our last resort. And with that being said, I would love for you to join me from wherever you are as we pray over these needs that are gonna appear on the screen. Father, we thank you today. We honor and praise you and we know that you see these prayer requests. Lord, we pray that you would meet each need, you would meet each request according to your will and your will alone. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen, amen. Thank you so much for that. Ben, if you or anyone that you know has any prayer requests or praise reports, we, your church family, we wanna join hands with you. So please submit those via the QR code below

so that we can do that. And with that, we should probably introduce ourselves, y'all. If we haven't met yet, my name is Julian. I get the honor of serving as part of our online team. Yes, and my name is Ben. I'm not your Ben. Ah! He does Ben. I had to fix that from a couple of weeks ago. Bita's Ben, but I am your online host today. Amen. That's right, I love it. And my name is Shantel. My name is Raelle. And we're your online hosts. That's right, get into it. And I wanna also take the opportunity to welcome you guys back in. My goodness, we're so excited to have you guys here with us on the live stream today. So wherever you're watching from, welcome in. Absolutely, and shout out to people on the Pando app. Let's go! We love you, we see you. Thank you so much for worshiping God with us. We appreciate y'all for being here. We don't take it for granted. Yes. That's good, yeah, yeah. And if you are here for the first time,

that means you are a first-time guest. Thank you for being with us, first-time guests. That's a first-time move. That's a first-time pose. That's the first time I've seen that. Drop MTG in the chat so we know who you are. That was my anime move. Yeah, yeah. If you're a first-time guest, put MTG in the chat. Scan the QR code so we can reach out to you and help you get to know who we are, get to know who you are, and figure out your next steps. Absolutely, Ben. Next steps, while we're talking about it, is the opportunity to connect with what the Lord wants to do in your life. So make sure you scan that QR code below. Next steps, step one, on demand whenever you want. Step two is on April 19th. Yes, that's great. Thank you, brother man, Julian. And also, the YouTube page, you guys, we need subscribers. So just go ahead and subscribe, follow, like, all that, and you can find past content and sermons. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Well, before we get to our generosity story, you guys, I just want to say thank you so much.

Because of your generosity, we get to serve our community. We get to be here. We get to reach out to people locally and globally, and even beyond that. And today, we're not just talking about generosity, but we're remembering it through the life of Diana Augusto. Yeah. Diana came to Journey. And when she came, she felt, she was terrified of being seen, of being hurt, but she pushed past that to reignite that fire inside of her. So she joined our outreach team on 2022. And over time, as she served, she eventually became our Fern Park local outreach coordinator. That's right. And she led by example, and she got her hands and feet dirty, okay? She was doing so much for the community, and even her yes affected me in my personal life. So her yes changed a lot. Not only did she double the outreach campaigns and the journeys that they've done, but she also did it ministrally and also personally. So great, amazing job. Absolutely. And what a reflection of her heart, because she cared deeply about everything that she did.

To her, these weren't just numbers. They were stories. They were souls that Jesus was allowing her to take part in. That's right. Absolutely. I want to share with y'all a devotional that she shared with her outreach and mission leaders. She said, I asked God at the beginning of the year to give me a word to focus on and set a goal for. The Lord said, beloved, I will focus on the fact that I am God's beloved. I want to bask in his love for me. The more I understand his love, the more I can love others. The more that sin loses its flavor, the more that I can reflect him. I want people to see him through me. I want to carry his fragrance, she says. This year, I will stay low at the feet of Jesus. That way I can look up and keep my eyes on him. I will just be loved. And Diana was and is loved by Jesus. So we will continue her legacy of serving, being the hands and feet of Jesus in local outreach. So right now, as Diana is presently in the presence of the Lord, worshiping with the angels, we're going to join her here on earth to worship the one true living King, because who else is worthy? We love you.

We'll see you later. We love you. We'll see you later. And this time I want to welcome all of our Journey Church locations, Kissimmee, Easton Online. Come on, give it up for all of our locations. Wherever you're at, I just want to invite you to lift your hands in response to His goodness. God, we're grateful for your provision, but we thank you, Jesus, for being a Savior. God, we prepare the way for you in our hearts today, God, because who else could have saved us? Who else could have reached out and brought us up out of the pit that we were in, God? Who else would have healed us? Who else could have mended us? Who else could have saved us? Just worship Him right now in this place. Come on, we sing. I am an instrument of exaltation And I was born to lift the name above all names You hear the melody of all creation There's a song of praise that only I can sing Who else is worthy? There is no one, it's only you, Jesus Who else is worthy? There is no one, it's only you, Jesus You are the infinite God of the ages Yet you chose to make my heart your dwelling place You healed my brokenness, showed me your glory So I have songs of thanks that even angels sing Who else is worthy? There is no one, it's only you, Jesus Who else is worthy? There is no one, it's only you, Jesus

Who else is worthy? There is no one, it's only you, Jesus Who else is worthy? There is no one, it's only you, Jesus It's only you, Jesus Because who else could have saved me? Who else could have reached me? You are the name above all names Come on, if He's been a Savior in your life If He's healing you right now, could you lift up Or worship unto Him and declare who He is? Come on, we sing, we declare You're the name of God, anointed one Who was and is and needs to come Seated on the throne above Holy, holy Righteous one who shed His blood To prove to us the Father's love Jesus Christ, be lifted up Holy, you're the name of God Anointed one, He who is and is to come Holy, you're the righteous one To prove to us the Father's love Jesus Christ, be lifted up Who else is worthy? There is no one, it's only you, Jesus Who else is worthy? ♪ There is no one There's only Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one There's only Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one There's only Jesus ♪

♪ There's only Jesus There's only you ♪ ♪ There's only you Who else is worthy? ♪ I've had the opportunity to have a relationship with Jesus for most of my life. Big part of that is because my parents were pastors in Texas and they continue to be so. That doesn't make, I don't say that to brag, I don't say that to even give off the impression that my life was perfect. If anything, that just means I need more counseling than you do, all right? But there's a pattern I've noticed in my life and maybe you can identify with, and it's that, man, I am good and it is easy to worship God when life is good. Anybody know what I'm talking about? When the check hits the bank account, he is worthy. Hello, somebody. When you ask that person to marry you and they say yes, he is worthy, come on, somebody. When they give you the keys to your brand new house, he is worthy. But how many people know though that life isn't always all just good? And I really feel like the test of this song and the test of our hearts is to not just sing this song, believe this lyrics in the good times, but even in the bad times. Psalms 34 verse one, the Bible says, I will bless the Lord at all times.

I will praise, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. That word all in the Greek means all. Not just in the good times, but even in the bad times. And maybe you're here right now and you're going through a bad time. Maybe you have some unanswered prayers and I'm not dismissing your feelings, I'm not dismissing what you went through. I know it hurt when they passed away. I know it hurt when they let you go from that job. I know it hurt when they broke up with you. I know it hurt reading that report from the doctors, but can I remind us something today? We don't worship God because life is good. We worship God because he is good. And so today, if you feel comfortable, can you lift up your hands? Can you open up your mouth and can you declare this with everything you got inside of you? Let's remind ourselves. It doesn't matter what I'm going through. It doesn't matter what I've been through. It doesn't matter what I'm waiting for. He's still worthy. He's still worthy. He's still holy. He's still awesome. He's still great. He still deserves my worship. He still deserves my praise.

You're holy, holy, holy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on. ♪ He's worthy, oh, he's worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one so little Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one so little Jesus ♪ ♪ There is no one so little Jesus ♪ Come on, put your hands together if you know he's worthy today. Oh, come on, we can do a little bit better than that. Let's confuse the enemy today. We're not gonna wait for the end of the story to know how it finishes. We're gonna worship right here in the middle of it. God, you're worthy. You're worthy, worthy, worthy. I've often come to realize that worship is oftentimes a decision before it's a feeling. Sometimes you've got to decide, hey, I'm gonna worship. Hey, I'm gonna go to church. Hey, I'm gonna lift up my hands and God begins to do a work inside of you. Come on, if you're thankful for the spirit of God today, can you put your hands together? Hallelujah. Well, hey, on your way to your seat, why don't you high five two or three? three people and tell them good morning, good morning, good morning. Amen.

Well, happy Palm Sunday, church. It is an absolute privilege to be in the house of God today. If we haven't had an opportunity to meet, my name is Joey Salazar and I serve as one of the pastors here at the church. Thank you, thank you. It really is a privilege to do what we get to do with whom we get to do this. Super honored to be serving alongside my wife as well, Zelly, and just the incredible staff and leaders. I wanna take a moment to recognize Pastor JJ and Liz. Can you help me put your hands together for them at this time? Not just bosses or coworkers, these are friends, lifelong friends that have really just been there for us in many different seasons of our life. And I'm just so grateful for their consistency. I'm thankful for the voice and the value that they've added to my life over the years. I do wanna just take a moment to honor a couple of groups of people at this time. I wanna welcome in all of our locations, all of our campuses. Let's give it up for East Orlando. Let's give it up for Kissimmee. Let's give it up for Online. And let's welcome all those who are watching through the Pando app who are currently incarcerated. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Welcome.

Earlier today, we had a guest with us who used to watch our services from the Pando app. Now that they've been released, now they're attending in person. And it's amazing what God is doing, even through technology. So super grateful for that. This is a very, very special time in the life of our church. We have a lot of beautiful things happening. I wanna invite you personally to join us for next weekend. It's going to be an incredible Easter weekend, and we've added additional services because we know you're ready to invite your friends and your family as well. And so here at Fern Park, at least, we have services on Saturday. And we wanna invite you to already RSVP through our website and just let us know that you're coming. And I wanna challenge you as well. Invite somebody. Invite somebody with you. This is a perfect time to study show that most people, if I'm not mistaken, three out of four people will join you for church. It only takes an invitation. And so I wanna invite you to be bold, share that invite, share a graphic, and invite that coworker.

I believe God can do something special in their lives. And then the following Sunday, we got one of probably my favorite Sundays of the year, and it's Baptism Sunday, somebody. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Baptism Sunday is a day where people go public with their faith. We're gonna have some pools set up, and people are gonna be going in and out of the water. And really, it's just a public declaration of what is happening on the inside of them. And so we believe that every Sunday's intentional. And by the way, I also wanna recognize all of our first-time guests today. Can we put our hands together for all of our first-time guests? It's a big deal. It really, really is a big deal that you would spend some of your Sunday here with us, and you're invited to all of this. Everything I just shared, we want you to come back, we want you to feel at home, and we have a space here for you as well. And so are you ready for God's Word today? Yes! Well, I'm ready to get into it as well. Before I do so, though, I wanna,

you may or may not know this about my wife and I, but we have two children. We have a 15-year-old girl, and we have a 12-year-old boy, soon to be 13, and so soon we'll have two teenagers. And I don't think one week goes by that I am not amazed or confused by some of the words that come out of their mouths, or even the latest trends that they put me onto. There are times where they'll talk in their language, right, the new generation language, and I'll just look at them with this blank stare in my face, and I'm like, can you please translate for me, because I have no idea if that's good or bad. Like, I don't know how to react to what you just told me. And they've gotta explain it to us oftentimes, and they'll send me, they'll show me trends on TikTok, and they'll show me trends online of things that are popular now, that people are doing, that they're posting, and I'm just like, well, that's weird. But I can't judge too hard, to be honest with you, because truth of the matter is, back in my day, and not that it was a long time ago either, but in all of our days, there were things, too, that growing up became popular at times. And I brought a couple of pictures. I don't know if maybe you might resonate with some of these. Some of these, I'm originally from Texas, I don't know if they're true Texas,

I don't know if it was global, but maybe, maybe you'll be able to recognize some of these and just kind of let me know, we're gonna put the first picture up on the screen and let me know, does anybody remember when like the frosted tips of having this hairstyle was in style? Someone's like, I have that right now, okay, cool. That's okay, you know, all trends come back, you know, a couple years later. And so, yeah, so that was in style for a while and if you want it, I don't know if it was influenced by NSYNC, I don't know what was going on there, but it was very popular, you wanted to have this kind of hair. All right, let's go with the next one. The next image is called planking. I don't know if you're familiar with this old trend, right? But there was a season, there was a time where it was the cool thing to just lay down flat in the most random of places. And I was looking up pictures and I was actually going over these pictures with my kids and they're like, that was weird. I'm like, no, you're weird, this is, you know, this was cool back then, all right? And so, but yeah, obviously this person was like just at work, you know, just totally in plank mode and I'm not gonna try to do that right now. But anyways, let's go with the last picture.

Famous fidgets, anybody ever have a fidget spinner? Yeah, very cool. You know, I probably had more than one, I won't tell you how many I had, but I had a lot of them because it wasn't good enough just to have one. You wanted to have the newest one, you wanted to have the one that would spin faster, you wanted the one that had the flames on it, you wanted all these different styles. And to be honest with you, I could spend a lot of my time today just talking about old trends. Here's this last one, does anybody remember the Harlem Shake videos? Okay, all right, we're about to record a video, I'm just kidding, we're not gonna do that right now. But do you remember that video? For you unfamiliar with this trend, there would be one person in a room just like dancing on their own and then all of a sudden the beat would drop and then everybody in the room is like dancing or just like in random costumes and things like that. And to be honest with you, when I look back at trends, maybe even some of the things that we have in our closets, some of the things that we did or places we went, a lot of times we didn't do them because they were cool, we did them because the crowd was doing it. And we wanted to fit in, we were influenced,

we wanted to be like everyone else, we wanted our share of likes, we wanted our moment of fame. And my concern with that is that, my fear is that as believers, we don't just follow the crowd for trends, my fear is that we would follow the crowd for truth. And we can't necessarily be led by the crowd. Just because somebody posted something online, how many people know, it doesn't mean it's true. Especially now in the AI generation that we live in, time that we live in, now it's so scary because now you don't know what's real, what's not, what's viable, what's not. And sometimes we'll be led by other people's opinions thinking it's the word of God, and yet the whole time, it's actually pointing us away from God's word. There's a couple of phrases, maybe you've heard some of these. Here's one for example, have you ever been told, have you ever heard the phrase, just follow your heart? It makes nice for a T-shirt, makes nice for a little post, but that's definitely not biblical. Who should I marry? I don't know, just follow your heart. What job should I take? I don't know, just follow your heart. Like, just follow your heart,

that is so not what the Bible leads us to do. Jeremiah 79, the Bible says, the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond here. Who can understand it? That word deceitful means misleading. One day your heart can tell you one thing, the next day your heart can wanna tell you to do something completely different. And forget one day after the next, sometimes it's the same day. You wake up happy, but then you haven't had lunch, nobody should be around you. It's your heart, it goes up and down. We can't trust our heart. Here's another phrase that sometimes I hear and I'm just like, oh man, that's not, that's not, that's taken out of context. Have you ever heard the phrase, God won't give you more than you can handle? Someone's in shock right now, because they're like, oops, I have that tattooed on my body. Sorry about that. That's not biblical. It's not biblical because God will allow life oftentimes to overwhelm us, not because he's trying to be mean to us, not because he wants to keep us at a distance, but rather because that's oftentimes the only way that we will stay close to him. And someone is like, well, isn't there a verse

that almost says that same thing? You might be thinking of this verse, 1 Corinthians 10, 13. The Bible says, no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful. Somebody say faithful. Faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. This verse sometimes, again, it's taken out of context. They're like, well, God won't give me more that I can handle. No, the Bible's saying he won't allow you to be tempted more than you can bear. And oftentimes I refer to this verse to encourage myself because if temptation is present, there's also an exit nearby. That's what this Bible says. Sometimes that means shutting off the phone, closing the laptop, deleting or blocking that contact. But there's always, according to this verse, there's always an exit in the midst of temptation. But this isn't necessarily talking about life's pressures. Oftentimes our lives will keep us close to God, but because of what he's allowed to be on it. And here's the last one. Money is the root of all evil. Money is the root of all evil.

And again, that's a phrase that is out of context as well. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6.10, for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Very interesting to know, it's the love of money. Money by itself isn't bad. It's a tool. It's what you determine to do with it. It's this, you know, there's some people who just have, they just never have enough money. And their desire, their greed, their obsession with more money leads them to compromise their values. It leads them to neglect their family. It leads them to always desire more and to take, and it doesn't matter who I have to run over. I'm gonna get everything that is mine. That is completely different. It's the love of money. But again, if we're not in Scripture, if we're not in our word, if we're not close to God, oftentimes we won't be able to distinguish what's true versus what's a trend. And that's why today, for the next few moments, I wanna speak to you over the subject, don't follow the crowd. Don't follow the crowd. Many of you may know, and today we're actually closing out a series today, this year, our pastor earlier this year, he declared a vision phrase, which was, follow me.

As we follow God, we've gotta decide that we're not gonna follow the crowd. If we're gonna follow Jesus, we're gonna have to learn how to not follow the crowd, because although we are in this world, we are not of this world. Now, today, as mentioned, it's Palm Sunday, and today, I wanna read to you a portion of what happened today many, many years ago, and it's found in Matthew chapter 21, verses eight and nine, and the Bible says the following. A very large crowd, there goes a crowd again, a very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest heaven. I'm a visual person, so imagine with me, if you will, this large multitude. You have some people removing their cloaks, their outer garments, their jackets. They're laying it before the Lord as a symbol of surrender, as a symbol of, hey, what I own belongs to you. Other people are going to cut branches down, and they're waving them, they're laying them down before Jesus. That was a very, that was a practice, a very common practice that would be used

when you were receiving a king into the city, or you were receiving heroes back into the city. And so this whole moment, this whole moment is celebratory. This whole moment is amazing. Everyone's happy. They're shouting Hosanna. Hosanna means save us now. Like they're cheering for him, but then just a few minutes later, A few days later, the very same crowd they're saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. now sounds a little bit different. Hosanna to the Son of David. Now follow me, if you will, Matthew 27, 22 and 23. Hosanna to the Son of David. It says, what shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Messiah, Pilate asked. Pilate is a Roman governor who, at the time, his job is to approve executions. And so he's in front of the crowd, and he's asking them, what do you want me to do? Again, it's the same crowd that was celebrating him just a few days ago, and the Bible goes on to say, they all answered, crucify him. Why? What crime has he committed, asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, crucify him. Notice how they didn't even answer the question, they just kept yelling. What, one week, one week they're celebrating him,

the next week they're criticizing him, they're condemning him, and the only thing that changed, it wasn't Jesus, but rather, it was the crowd. And I love that it's intentional, I love that the word of God is intentional with every word mentioned, because the Bible says that the crowd was loud. And I think there's a teaching moment right there, because just because they were loud, and I think this applies to us today, just because somebody is loud, it doesn't mean they're loyal. Come on, that's right, come on. They were loud with their praise, they were loud with their claps, they were loud with their spirit, they were waving at God one day, but what happened to the loyalty? What happened to having my back? What happened to now I'm being unjustly accused, and now I'm being sentenced to death? What changed in this scenario, again, wasn't Jesus, it was the crowd. And there were people in the crowd who loved Jesus because the crowd loved Jesus, but then the next week hated Jesus, not because Jesus had done anything to them, but because the crowd hated Jesus. And you see this wave, you see this change of character, change of verbiage, now we're all those who loved him,

now they are hating him, and the issue wasn't information, but rather the issue was formation. There were people in the crowd who were being formed by the crowd. And that's why following Jesus for you and I, friends, it's not just about formation, but it's actually about counter formation. What do I mean by counter formation? This means you and I choosing not to become what's, not, excuse me, it's choosing not to become like what's around us. It's not just about what we're choosing to do, it's not just about choosing what we're going to start doing and start following, but it's just as equally as important to now to decide what we're not going to do anymore, and now choosing who we're not gonna follow anymore, and now who we don't wanna become anymore. It's not just one, but it's both. Like I mentioned, we are in this world, but we are not of this world. I don't know if we have any fisher people in the house there. I like to go fishing, I don't go often enough, but early on when my uncle was taking me and teaching me the ropes, I remember going and catching some fish, and man, I love seafood personally, and I'm just like, man, I can't wait to eat this, and we'd be in salt water, right, we'd be out there in a boat, a couple of hours, we'd come back with our fish,

and I always noticed this thing, that right when we were going to cook, right before he was gonna prepare it for us, he had to add some salt, and I remember questioning him about this one time because I'm like, hey, I really don't like the fish too salty, like I don't know, and he's like, no, but it needs it, and I'm like, I don't know if it really does because it lives in salt water. That was my ignorance. I'm like, it lives in salt water, it must already be prepared for me, you know what I'm talking about? It's Jesus seasoning, all right, and so he's like, it doesn't, Joey, it doesn't necessarily work like that because although it's in salt water, the fish has scales, has this outer coating that doesn't allow what's on the outside to come on the inside, and I think that's, it connects with you and I today, and it refers to how you and I can be in this world but not necessarily have to be of this world because we don't, we're not here by ourselves, but the Bible says we've been sent a comforter and a helper by the name of the Holy Spirit who fills us up so that it can help us not have to be like everything and everyone that we are necessarily around. We're in this world, but we are not of this world,

and again, if we're not careful, something, or someone is always going to shape us. And so here's my big idea for today. If you write down nothing else, if you have a pencil, marker, mascara, use this to write this down. But a part of becoming like Christ is not becoming like the crowd. It's the crowd. It's the crowd that we've gotta pay attention to. It's the crowd that we've gotta make sure that we create distance. And this is what Paul is talking about when he writes in Romans chapter 12, verse two, the Bible says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. If we can leave this verse up for just a little bit. I like these words right here. There's a difference between conform and transform. Conforming has to do with outside pressures, has to do with cultural things, social media things, or relationship things. There's a lot of pressures that come from the outside, the external, that are trying to mold us, trying to shape us, trying to convert us, trying to mold us into something that we're not called to be. But true transformation, that happens from the inside. That happens in our mind.

It happens in our heart. It happens from the inside. And I wrote it like this. The world pressures you from the outside, but God transforms you from the inside. I wanna encourage somebody who maybe has been praying for somebody, and maybe you don't see a lot happening on the outside. Maybe they're still dressing the same way. Maybe they're still talking the same way. But hey, you don't despise the days of small beginnings. You just never know what God might be doing on the inside of them. And so you keep praying, you keep believing, you keep believing that God is up to work in their hearts. But Paul, when he writes this verse in Scripture, he is actually writing to the disciples, which is the followers of Jesus, who live in a city called Rome, hence the name Romans. Now, Rome at that time was a formation machine. What I mean by that is they were excellent at converting you, they were excellent at shaping you. Whenever they conquered your city, your town, your region, their one goal was going to be to get you to become like them. They wanted you to think like them. They wanted you to recognize that Caesar is Lord. They wanted you to talk like them. They wanted you to speak their language, use their phrases. They wanted you to live like them.

Hey, you need to follow our customs. You need to fit into our culture and even worship. Hey, once we conquered you, you had to worship what we were going to worship. You had to honor Caesar, you had to honor this man, this emperor. And it's crazy because Rome's goal was, again, to make these people from all kinds of backgrounds into more Romans, but yet Paul's goal was to take Romans and make them more into Christians. Two different missions, two different assemblies, two different assignments. One is, hey, I wanna make you more like me. You gotta be part of the crowd. And Paul's over here saying, hey, it's not about me. It's about God. It's not about you becoming like the crowd. It's about you becoming more like Jesus every single day. And if I can be honest with you, today we might not be living in Rome per se, but the world and the crowd is still trying to form us. Every day we are becoming someone. It's not a question of if, but it's a matter of who. Who are you becoming? And something I've realized in my life is that you can't stop formation, but you can choose direction. You can choose what you allow to speak into your life. You can choose to allow who you're becoming, like you can choose who you are going to follow.

And if there's anything that I've recognized is oftentimes it's not the big things, but rather it's the little things that begin to shape and have a huge impact in our lives. You see, our lives are meant to be like this glass cup, filled and pure and clean. Right now I feel comfortable drinking this water because I know it's pure. I know where it came from. In our lives, God calls us to be like this. But what happens is that sometimes we allow little things, and this food coloring's gonna represent the little things, to let slip. And we're like, well, it's not that big a deal. It's just, you know, I know I shouldn't follow those social media accounts, but I really like the way they look. I know I really shouldn't make these type of jokes or include myself in these kind of conversations, but they're my friends. What's gonna happen with one drop? What's gonna happen with one chance? I know I have these thoughts that I should be replacing, but I really enjoy them. I know I shouldn't be going to certain places, and it's just a little thing, Joey. It's just a one weekend. I'm not there all the time. And little by little, it's just one drop, and now all of a sudden, our life isn't as pure

as what God is calling it to look like. When did it happen? A little bit at a time. And now we're disgusted with ourselves. Now we feel shame. Now, you know, that's how oftentimes the enemy will work. He'll beg you, he'll entice you to fall. He's like, no one's gonna get hurt, it doesn't matter. All of a sudden, we fall, and all of a sudden, he flips the card, he flips the language. Now it's shame on us, and how could you? And now our lives look like this cup, and they're dirty, and they're just like, no one's gonna love me, I don't know what to do. But it wasn't one big thing. It was little things after little things. And today, what I wanna do is I wanna, my remaining time is share with you three steps of what you and I can do so that we're not formed by the crowd. The very first thing we gotta do is cut the noise. The Bible says that they were loud, the crowd was loud, and here's the truth, you can't hear God clearly if the crowd is always loud. If everything's yelling, if everything's trying to fight for your attention, if you don't know what to pay attention to, you'll start making choices that you would have never made before, but again, you're distracted,

you're influenced in a way that we shouldn't be. Matthew chapter 27, verse 20 through 21, the Bible says, but the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. Which one of the two do you want me to release to you, asked the governor. Barabbas, they answered. Now, for those of you unfamiliar, Barabbas was somebody on death row. He was a criminal, somebody who deserved the punishment that was coming to him. But now, there was an opportunity. The crowd has asked, hey, release somebody. And he said, okay, well, who do you want me to release, Barabbas or Jesus? And the Bible clearly lets us know they went with Barabbas. Interesting to note that Barabbas' name actually means the son of the father, but Jesus in all actuality is the true son of the father. And in a moment of decision, instead of picking an original, they picked an imitation. Instead of picking what was right, they went with what was wrong. Instead of going with what they should have, now they're picking the fake things over the real things. My daughter, she says a phrase often, maybe you have heard it, maybe you use it. I had to be taught about it. Whenever she's going to put some headphones on, she'll make this announcement, I'm going airplane mode.

I'm like, I didn't know we had a flight scheduled for our family. Sorry, I'm a dad. And so, now I know she's gonna put her headphones on and we can be, she can be in the backseat of our vehicle. She can be on the second floor in her room. I'm having to text message her to come downstairs instead of just talking to her like normal people. But I know now, when she's got her headphones on, she's on airplane mode. And what she's communicated to us is saying, hey, I'm not being rude if I don't answer you, but I'm choosing what I'm listening to in the moment. And I'm gonna block everything else out and I'm gonna choose to listen to my music. And I said, you know what, that's a great example of what we need to do in our lives today. Some of us need to go on airplane mode because we're listening to a lot of negative soundtracks. We're listening to a lot of negative things. We're listening to a lot of negative voices and they're impacting our lives in a negative way. And we're called to cut the noise so that we can think clearly, so that we can live clearly. And we've gotta be able to say, you know what, above all voices, above all my friends, families, influence, whatever the case might be, God's voice is gonna be number one in my life. Whatever you say, God, is what I wanna do. I've gotta cut the noise and I wanna hear your voice.

Because if everything is loud, nothing is. is leading, and so what are you following today? The second thing that we've gotta do if we're gonna not be formed by the crowd is we've gotta choose truth, choose truth. Why, because formation happens through what you consistently believe. Hebrews chapter four, verse 12, the Bible says, for the word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the hearts. Friends, what I wanna remind us today is that God's scripture, God's word, is calling us to anchor ourselves in scripture and not necessarily in opinions. The crowd today oftentimes isn't just the people who's around you, it's oftentimes the people in your pocket, and by pocket, I mean your phone. Because if we're not careful, we'll be discipled by algorithms more than we are scripture. If they're doing it, it must be okay. Well, they did it, they have it, they want it, so it must be okay with me, and we're taking all these trends and we're confusing them with truth, and they have us leaning every single way. They have us going in every direction,

and where God has called us to stand firm, we're just all over the place. I don't know if you've ever seen this inflatable dancing man like at the car dealerships. Meet my friend. Welcome to Journey Church. These are meant to catch your attention. Why, because they're so flexible, because they move so easy. They just kinda go wherever the wind blows, and they're just going to the left, to the right, to the center, they're bending over, they're doing all these things. They're not stable, they're not consistent, and I fear, friends, that if we're not careful, this will become a picture of our Christian walk. If it's not founded on a foundation of scripture and of solid truth, we'll just kinda go wherever the wind blows. We'll go with whatever is just most popular. We'll go with just whoever has the most likes. We'll go with whoever's most influential in the moment, and we're over here leaning this way, then we're leaning this way, where God has called us to stand firm. We're not called to be like that. If you and I don't stand for something, we'll move with everything, and I fear that, again, we've learned how to follow Jesus in church,

but not how to stand for him in culture. This is a lot easier said than done, but God's called you right there where you're at, in your workplace, to be a light in the midst of darkness. God saved you. God's placed purpose and calling and a light in you because you've been called to make a difference. Why am I at this job, and why am I in this family, and why, and we have all these questions. Can we just go back to the original question that he is worthy, and that he is good, and that everything he does is on purpose, and if you're there, it's because there's a purpose for you. Truth isn't what's popular, it's what's proven. And the third and final thing I wanna share with you, again, if we're not gonna be formed by the crowd, it's gonna take us to commit to Christ. Commit to Christ, because formation is not a moment, but rather, it's a daily decision. Luke chapter nine, verse 23, you've heard it multiple times this year, and we're probably gonna continue to hear it, and we've heard it multiple times this year, and we're probably gonna continue to read this verse. The Bible says, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily, and follow me. Key word there being daily. Not just a one-time thing. Well, I got saved back in 1901, I don't know, right?

But like, I got saved on Sunday, but he also wants to show up in your life on a Monday, and on a Tuesday, and on a Wednesday, and it's not about just what I choose one day, it's about what I choose every day of my life. Because how many people know there's a difference between somebody who's committed versus somebody who's just interested? Somebody who's a true disciple versus somebody who's just a fan. People who are interested will show up in the good times. They'll love God when he's answering all the prayer requests. Oh, when I got the raise, and we got pregnant, and none of those things are bad at all, but I'm just saying, God is not a genie in a bottle. He's not a Santa Claus. He's not an electrician that hooks you up, right? Like it's not, he's our savior. He is worthy of all praise. And he's called us to commit our lives to him, not just for a season, but for the rest of our lives. But maybe you're here today and you're like, I wish I could commit, but Joey, you just don't know the mistakes I've made. You don't know what I've been through. You don't know the choices I've made. Joey, if I can be honest, my cup, my life kind of looks like this red cup. It looks dirty. It looks unusable.

It looks like it's not really good for nothing other than just for it to be thrown out. And there can be a misconception many times, church, and that is that we've got to fix ourselves before we come to God. And so we'll try to, in our own power, we'll try to separate. I'm trying to separate the red from the water, but it's not really working too well. But no, I'm gonna keep trying it because I know I've got to live pure. I got to be right, but I can't come to God like this. It wouldn't make a lot of sense. Like, what are people gonna say about me? What are they gonna think about me? And this could be a lot of us. We're trying to separate it. In all actuality, we're trying to do God's job in our lives. And we're so focused on not sinning, and we're so focused on just running away from the devil, the enemy, where maybe we don't need to be so concerned about what we're running from, but maybe who we're running to. And instead of filling our lives with all these negative things, all this sin, all these things that are making us miss the mark and miss our assignment and miss the purpose that God has for our lives, maybe we shift our focus and we start allowing Him to fill us.

A little bit at a time. But I've only been to church one Sunday. I know, just keep coming back. But I don't know where to start reading in my Bible. Hey, we have some resources, we can help you, but just, I can't read a whole, I can't pray a whole hour. Hey, pray five minutes, right? And it's just this practice, it's this daily decision that, hey, I'm gonna spend time with Jesus. I'm gonna put Him first in my life. And you know what? Little by little, there's gonna be a change that begins to happen. And you know what? I'm gonna pick up my cup. Oh, still looks pink, all right. Some of us need more of Jesus. Hello, somebody. Good thing is He never runs out. He has more in store for us, and we just keep coming back to the one who can fill us and who can take us and mold us. And little by little, now we look years past our life, and it's not red anymore. It's not pink anymore. But it wasn't because of what I did. It was because of who God is. And that's the message of the gospel. That's the message of not only Easter,

but even Palm Sunday. And every Sunday, if I can be honest with you, that He took our place on the cross and He died for you and for me so that we wouldn't have to struggle with the pressures of this world on our own. But He could say, hey, I've called you to be more like me. Don't worry about the crowd. I've called you to stand out. You're somebody special. You're somebody different. I love you. It doesn't matter what you've done, but you're mine. I've assigned you. You're called. You're a man of God. You're a woman of God. You belong to me. Thank you. Let's not follow the crowd any longer, church. Today, I wanna make two prayers for us as we close. The first prayer is gonna be for Christ followers, for people who love Jesus. Because I know, I'm not even up here pretending like it's easy to stand in front of the crowd and be different. I know there's a pressure that comes with that. I know you're the only one saved in your family. I know you're the only one who's saved at your workplace. I know you're new in the faith.

I know there's a pressure that comes with that. But God is here to help us with this through His Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, to help us stand firm in the midst of darkness. And so maybe today you're here and you're tired. Maybe today you're weak and you're like, I've been trying to stand for God. I've been trying to make a difference, but I don't know if it's really working out. Hey, I wanna pray for you that God would help you, God would equip you so that you would continue being a light in the midst of darkness. And so right there where you're at, close your eyes. Let me pray for you. Father, in the name of Jesus, we come before you right now and we pray for your people. We pray, God, that you would come and be our strength, our energy, our life, our power, our direction, our source, our foundation, and help us become and be everything that you've called us to be. I know we've been tired recently. I know it's been. It's been hard, I know it's been difficult, but God, you are greater than whatever might be coming our way. And so God, today we shift our eyes off the crowd and we put them back on Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, amen and amen. The second prayer I wanna make today is for anybody who maybe doesn't have

a relationship with Jesus. My final point was commit to Christ. And maybe that's your next step today, to make that decision once and for all. You've been over here trying to separate the red from the water and trying to make it happen for yourself, where God's saying, hey, I'll just take you just the way you are. And so if you're here today, with every eye closed and head bowed down on the count of three, I'm gonna invite you to lift up your hand high as a sign saying, God, here's my heart, here's my life, take it. I can't do this all on my own, but I need you. I wanna commit to you. Today is the day of salvation. One, two, three, lift up your hand right there where you're at. Praise God. We see multiple hands going up all over this place. Praise God. Put your hands down. Whether you raise your hand up or not, I'm gonna invite you to repeat after me right now. Say, Heavenly Father, we come before you right now. I know I'm not perfect, but you are. Help me follow you every single day of my life. I shift my eyes from the crowd back on you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen and amen.

Come on, can we give it up for all those who said that prayer today? Hey, if you said that prayer today, one more thing we want you to do. Welcome back, welcome back. If you just participated in that salvation prayer, first and foremost, welcome home. All I'm telling you is rejoicing. This is the best decision you will ever make, I promise you. And we wanna walk alongside you in this journey because this thing is not meant to be done alone. So go ahead and scan that QR code down below so we can get connected through prayer, through small group. We'll figure out where to get you in there. We just wanna walk with you and congratulations. Amen. Happy re-birthday to you. I'm on re-birthday. That was pretty quick. Yo, when Ben is on one, he's gonna come to the screen, okay? You will feel his presence. That's right. So what, wow, what a word. Yeah. You know, we sing this song, what a God, what a God, but what a word, what a word. What a word. Yeah.

What was your takeaway? Yeah, man, the illustration at the very, so many good things. But what really got me is this illustration at the end with the cup of water pouring into the red liquid and how that is a depiction of the sanctification process. Y'all, it is really like that. If you're stepping into this journey, if you're a new Christian, a new Christian, or if you've been in the middle of your journey and you're like not sure what the growth looks like, it's that. It's gonna be steady. It's gonna be slow. Gradually, that water began to dilute the color and then become purified. And that's what I believe we're gonna be like when we meet Jesus face-to-face. Yeah. That's good. I'm grateful that it's a process. Amen. That's right. One thing I think I got from the illustration as well is that we can't do anything without Christ. And like, we keep trying and maybe there's somebody, you know, behind the screen that's just like trying to figure out how to maneuver life without Christ

and why it's not working. But that's the show, that when you add him into your world, then you can start to see what he's doing in your life. You can recognize what he's doing and how he's moving. So I think when you realize that Christ is the foundation and he's the one that's gonna clear you and, you know- I love that. And do all the things inside of you. That's great. Get some Christ in your life. Yeah. That's right. Hashtag Christ in your life. Hashtag Christ in your life. Let us know as we're sharing our stuff of our takeaways. Please let us know yours. What about you, Ben? What'd you get? Me? There was a part where he says, if you're not intentional about what you're becoming, you're gonna become like what's around you. Cause you're gonna become something. Cause you're gonna become something. You're gonna become something. Pastor JJ has said this word a while ago where he said,

there's no such thing as a neutral influence. Yeah. So whatever you're steeped in, it's like tea. Whatever you're steeped in, you're gonna become like that thing. And so I think being intentional about what you're becoming is like, whether that's in prayer or seeking the Lord or even skill sets in life. Right. And that one is just a good convicting kind of line. Yeah. Cause you know. Slap you up a little bit. Slap you up a little bit spiritually in the name of Jesus. And just checking my heart and seeing what those things are that I'm intentionally becoming like, what am I intentionally surrounding myself with? What am I intentionally taking in these and these? The ear gates and the eye gates. Yeah, because like you said, it starts one little drop at a time. Right. One little conversation that you allow, one little thing that you look at. And that takes the difference between being interested and committed. Yeah. And that's what really stuck with me when he said that,

like actually being committed to following Jesus and becoming like Jesus. Amen. Amen. And we are, we here are committed to making sure that we are going into that Journey Church app and continuing this conversation throughout the week. Let us into your living room every day. Yeah. Well, not him, but the sermon, right? Yeah. Make room. We're coming in. I'm just kidding. But another way is that you guys can actually go follow us on our YouTube channel. You guys can create, you know, become subscribers, create a free account so you guys can look back at the old words, you know, so you get that word of your life. Absolutely. Not me. The old word is a new word to somebody. That's right, man. You know what I mean? Come on, man. So definitely YouTube, the app and... Yes. And another thing, if you want to partner with us in generosity, there's gonna be ways to give down below. We thank you again so much for being a part of a generous church. And until next time, y'all be blessed. Yeah, be blessed by the best, baby. Come on. Amen. Jesus. See ya. Amen. Amen.