Kingdom Ready

What does it look like when a king leaves his throne and comes to live among us? Jesus is that king. The Book of Mark is one of the first accounts, a vivid, fast-moving portrait of how he lived, how he loved, and how he led, healing the broken, silencing the storms, and raising the dead. Then discover the greatest king who ever lived and the greatest servant who ever served. Excited about this summer series around the Book of Mark and looking forward to just how we're unpacking that, what God's going to do in our own hearts, unpacking and uncovering and bringing us to his ever-enduring, everlasting kingdom. Again, we want to welcome you today to Celebration Church, and today's special in that we, across all of our campuses, have been asking our next-generation leaders to preach today and to bring the Word. This morning, my son, Jackson, he preached the services. The third message, I'm pulling Jackson off the stage and the platform he failed so miserably so that we're going to bring. No, we didn't. He killed it. He did an amazing job, but we wanted to have, across all of our campuses and almost in every service, a new communicator. Today, you're going to hear from one who, as I would describe it like this, there are some, and I do believe in the principle that you make leaders. Leaders have to be made. Sam Self was born a leader. He came out of the womb organizing people's lives for the kingdom of God. He's an Austin Christian University student, Lake Travis student. While he was at Lake Travis, he, frankly, led hundreds and hundreds of athletes and students to Christ, weekly gatherings and amazing testimony of what God's been doing with his life. He and his wife, Eden, have a beautiful baby, and I could just go on and on. He's got incredible parents and family that are here today who attend our Lake Travis

campus, but we wanted Sam to preach as it related to just what I do believe is going to be a message for you and hearing it from the next generation. I really do believe, as we have for 25 years, Lori and I, been leading the church, and of course, we're going to continue to do that, but what we will not let happen at our church is that our church is going to grow old and die with us. How many know that the church is to get stronger as it goes longer? It's an eternal kingdom. It's an eternal church. Most churches that are struggling, and you know it because probably you have family in some of these churches, they really had a good run, and they really ran well for a season, and then everyone started to look like Joe Champion, gray hair. And so I don't want our church, though I love gray hair, it's cool, it's fine, but we're not going to become an old church. We're going to continue to push to the next generation the responsibility of carrying the torch, because this city needs not an old church. In fact, let me tell you something. You don't serve an old Jesus. How old was Jesus when he was crucified? Thirty-three years old. I want to submit that to you. If you think, well, you got to be a certain age to know God, well, Jesus probably would have been for many people, never listened to because he was so young, and I do believe that God wants to do something great in the next generation, and that's why we do everything the way we do around here at Celebration Church, is to set up the next generation for the great days ahead. I love what he says in Isaiah 42. This is what God says. He goes, if anybody will hear this, if you have an ear to hear this, and he says this, who will hearken and hear for the time to come. In other words, God is speaking today about things that are going to happen in the future.

God has bigger plans for you in your future than you had plans for yourself, even today. That's why we've got to listen and lean in, and I want you to give a round of applause to our speaker today. Give it up for Sam Self as he comes today. Good morning, Celebration Church. Anybody thankful to be in God's house today? Come on, make a little bit of noise. I serve in students, and so we are constantly interacting, and so I love that today. Like Pastor Joe said, I'm a student at Austin Christian University, and I serve here on the WAVE students team. I just want to say, what God is doing in WAVE every Sunday night is nothing short of a miracle, and what God is doing in the The students, he's reviving them. There are students coming in every Sunday night, getting their lives changed. And so if you have a student, we would love to have them tonight, 6.30, every single Sunday night this summer. The doors are gonna be open. And my wife and I, we absolutely love this church. We had our son in this church, like Pastor Joe said, and we both grew up pastor's kids, and so we're just church kids. And how many know that a healthy church is often reflected by healthy leadership? And so I am so grateful for our pastors, Pastors Joe and Lori, and Paul talks about this in 1 Corinthians. He says, although you have many teachers, or guides is another translation,

you have few fathers. And how many know that in this world, we have a lot of TikTok teachers, we have a lot of YouTube preachers, but we have few fathers, but I'm grateful for our pastors who are spiritual mothers and fathers. Can we honor them, everybody? I love you guys. Well, today we are kicking off our series in the book of Mark. So if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Mark chapter one, verse one. And as you're turning there, I wanna give you some context. The book of Mark was written by a man named John Mark. He was a young man who was a close companion of Peter. John Mark was actually not one of the disciples, but he got all the eyewitness accounts from the apostle Peter. And so we see this in Mark chapter one. It's the second book linearly, so it's Matthew, Mark, Luke, then John, but most scholars believe that Mark was the first book that was written. The theme that we read all throughout this book is urgency and action. Mark skips all the genealogies and the long sermons, and it goes straight to action. It's like Jesus moves, Jesus heals, Jesus saves,

Jesus casts out the demon. It's like Mark opens the door and just shoves us into the text. And so let's get into it. Mark chapter one says this, the beginning of the good news about Jesus, the Messiah. I wanna stop right there. The beginning of the good news. The gospel means good news. How many know in this world, there's a lot of bad news, but we need a place that we can come and look at the good news of Jesus. The world is chaotic, it's bad, but the good news of Jesus is something we can anchor our lives on. And Mark opens up with that. The beginning of the good news about Jesus, the Messiah, the son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way. A voice calling out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight the path for him. And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And so right out the gate, we're introduced to a man named John the Baptist. What I want you to understand is that John is not random. John is a bridge between Old Testament promises

and New Testament fulfillment. See, for the past hundreds of years, they have not heard from God at all. There have been no prophets for 400 years before this point. And for thousands of years, they've been hearing from prophets that there was gonna be somebody that comes that saves to make things right. And so John is being prophesied about in this moment. He wants us to know in the book of Mark that this isn't a random entrance, that Jesus was God's plan all along and he was gonna come through a messenger. This wasn't plan B. And this was what John the Baptist was doing in the wilderness. He was the messenger saying, get ready, prepare your heart, the King is here. And so these prophecies are Mark's way of saying everything that God promised is now happening in Jesus. Okay, verse five, it says this, the whole Judean countryside and all the people in Jerusalem went out to him, confessing their sins, they were baptized in the Jordan River. I wanna point something out here. This is a move of God what's happening here. It said all of Jerusalem and the Judean countryside

are coming out for one reason. And how many know like in America, it's easy to gather people for football. Where are my UT fans at? How come anybody? Okay, yeah, okay, I'm just kidding. A&M fans, any A&M fans? It's easy, it is easy to gather a bunch of people at DKR and it's easy to gather a bunch of people at Kyle Field on a regular basis, 100,000 people, fans roaring. But to gather people for the forgiveness or the confession of sins, to be baptized, this is a move of God that's happening. By the way, Alabama fan, roll tide, just because Nick Saban's out doesn't mean we're done, okay? All right, verse six. John wore clothing made of camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts and wild honey. This seems like a very irrelevant detail unless we look at the context of other gospels. Mark is what's called a synoptic gospel. So there's Matthew, Mark, Luke, these are all accounts of the same story from a different perspective. And like I said, Mark moves fast, a lot of action. And so we get another detail, but this outfit that we see, the camel hair garment and the leather belt, this intentionally echoes an Old Testament prophet

named Elijah, we see him in 2 Kings. And the Jewish people believed that before the Messiah was going to come somebody like Elijah. And so his wardrobe is not random. This is a prophetic fulfillment. And he says that he's going to prepare the way for Jesus. I think it's cool. It's like the one preparing the way for the king is here. This is them showing that. And so the king must not be far behind. And this was his message, verse 7. After me comes one more powerful than I. The straps whose sandals I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize you with water. Oh, but he's going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Water is the symbolism of cleansing. It's something that happens on the outside that is supposed to be representation of what's happening on the inside. But how many know? You can be dunked and dunked and dunked and sprinkled and dunked and you can still be unsaved. But if you're baptized in the Spirit, in God, your life will never be the same. Baptism of the Spirit changes you. John is saying, there is one coming after me more powerful than I. I baptize with water, that's cute. Forgiveness of sins, prepare your heart. But he's going to come and baptize you in the Spirit of God and it's going to change you.

You ain't seen nothing yet. And so I want to preach to you today from a subject, kingdom ready. If you are taking notes, the title of my message is kingdom ready. Why don't you turn to your neighbor and ask them, are you ready? Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word today. Would you speak to us. Lord, would you clear out any distraction that may be getting in the way of us hearing your voice. Lord, we love you and we give you all the praise. In Jesus' name, everybody said amen. Growing up, I played football at Lake Travis High School just down the road. And I don't know if this is a biased take, some of you may agree with me. But there is nothing like at a high school football level better than Friday night lights. I'm going to get an amen. The crowds are packed with parents who think their kid is going to the NFL, every single one of them. Because they are the 1%. Okay. They're going to go. I played offense. Played a little like slot receiver, H-back, quarterback, running back, tight end position. Swiss army knife vibe.

I would have gone to the NFL but my hamstring. And in football, I played offense. So if they kicked the ball off to your team, you would receive the ball and then you would huddle on the sideline. And you had 11 guys on the field and your coach would come in the huddle and he would call the play. One of our plays went like this. Y-mode, a true right, extra, F return, red dash, crash. And then he would say, on one, on one, and he would go, ready, break. Anybody ever been in a huddle before? And you break the huddle that way. Let's try it all together, okay. Ready, break. All right, everybody clap. All right, let's go. Ready, break. And we would leave the huddle. And the moment we said, ready, break, is the moment our awareness of what was going on and what was about to happen was now raised because it was game time. And the way that we live kingdom ready is living in a way that's raised our awareness of what God is wanting to do in us and through us. And so we would huddle. We would break the huddle. We would go line up on the field. Everybody would take their different positions, their different roles. Receivers would line up to catch the ball.

Running backs to run the ball. Offensive linemen, my big boys, they would block the defense. The quarterback would read the defense and throw the ball. Everyone had a different position. But how many know we all shared the same mission, which was to win the football game. And so it is with the kingdom of God that our position may not be John the Baptist. I might not be the one preparing the way in the wilderness, but my mission is the same. I don't wear camel skin. I wear cowboy boots. And I don't eat locusts and honey. I eat at Jack Allen's. Come on, somebody. And I don't know about you. I don't wake up in the morning and consider myself a prophet. But we all have the calling that if we have been saved by Jesus, baptized in the Holy Spirit, to live on mission. Come on, we can give God praise for that. Your position may be a stay-at-home mom. Your position may be a business owner or an employee. You might be retired. You might be married or single. Whatever it is, we're all called to live with a heightened awareness of what God wants to do in us and through us. You don't need to live in the wilderness to live on assignment. And you don't need John the Baptist platform to have his purpose.

My goal today is simple. It's to huddle us up around the word of God. Not so that we stay in the huddle. Not so that we can just come, lift our hands, sing, clap and go eat lunch. No. So that when Monday morning comes around and it's 9 a.m. And you're at a business meeting. You're at coffee with somebody. You're at home with the kids. You're at the gym. And ask the question, how can my life prepare the way for someone to encounter Jesus? So for the next few moments I want to show us from this text how we can live kingdom ready. Turn to your neighbor and ask them, are you ready? Are you ready? First and foremost, to live kingdom ready means to know Christ before you can make him known. So verse eight, John is preaching to the large crowd and then verse nine, come on, let's go. Main character, Jesus comes on the scene. At this time, Jesus came from Nazareth and Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the spirit descending on him like a dove. A voice came from heaven. This was the father, you are my son whom I love with you, I am well pleased.

John the Baptist, he has this God encounter and I found something out this week is that John was a pastor's kid, okay? Zachariah was a priest, meaning John would have grown up in a pastor's home, a priest's home. He would have known the Torah inside and out. He would have had religious customs, religious background, religion in his DNA. And listen to me, if anybody could have faked it on knowledge alone, it was John the Baptist. But Mark paints us this picture of a man who knew religion, who knew the rules, who knew the law, but in front of his very eyes was a God affirming Jesus, showing him that I am a relational God. And he gives him the three things that everybody needs in a relationship, affirmation, acceptance, and approval. You are my son whom I love, whom I am well pleased. Can you imagine for a second that John is baptizing Jesus, the heaven split open, the spirit descends on him like a dove, and he hears a voice saying, Jesus, make sure you're in service every week, reading the verse of the day, and giving, and praying at least an hour a day. Imagine, of course that wouldn't happen because God is not a God of rules, or checklists, or religion, he's a God of relationships. And we may not see the Trinity like God or like John did, but in order to live a kingdom-ready life, we first have to have a relationship with God.

We first have to know Christ before we can make him known. Kingdom-ready people are not just theologically informed in their head, they have to be personally transformed. Your credibility as a witness is not because of your education, but an encounter with Jesus. And I thought about this this week, I was like, imagine a friend comes up to you, and they're like, bro, you gotta try this restaurant, say it's Chick-fil-A for example, you have to try this restaurant, the number one at Chick-fil-A, oh my gosh, Chick-fil-A sandwich, two pickles, seared perfectly over the top, we got an Oreo milkshake, they make it different than anybody, bro, different than any restaurant, and they start going on and on about the number one with an Oreo milkshake at Chick-fil-A, and he's like, more than that, I went and I heard Dan Cathy, the CEO, talking at a business conference about this restaurant, you gotta go, and you're like, oh, cool, man, when did you eat there? They're like, oh, I didn't eat there, I read the menu, though, and I saw the owner talk about it. It's like, how many of us live this way as Christians? If this was you, you would say, bro, you're not a credible witness for this food, because you haven't tasted it. I think a lot of us live this way as Christians, we know the verses, John 3, 16, come on, God's love the world, he gives one to every person

in the entire parish, have eternal life. Philippians 4, 13, I can do all things through Christ as you're doing bicep curls in the gym. Who gives me strength? And you hear Pastor Joe preach every Sunday, but as David writes, have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good? Do you know him? You gotta know him before you can make him known. Well, Sam, how do you know him? Romans 10, nine says, if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you are safe. Okay, so what are you believing in? Let's talk about it. Perfect creation, this is the whole gospel in a few minutes, perfect creation. In the beginning, Adam and Eve, perfect unity with God. They're walking with him, it's holy, it's perfect, there's nothing wrong with the world, nothing is separating them from God. Then sin enters the world, sin's separation. Sin separates us from God because Adam and Eve ate the fruit and so now for thousands of years, it's man trying to be perfect when they can't be perfect. It's man trying to follow rules when they can't get the rules right. It's man trying to do what they can in their own ability but they can't and the only way they can is if somebody comes who is perfect,

who can follow the rules, who can take their place on a cross and his name is Jesus. He came on this earth, died on a cross after 33 years of perfect life, hung on that cross and said three words with you and me in mind. Our sins, past, present and future. It is finished. He died, he rose again three days later. Now anybody who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life in him. The Holy Spirit fills you, begins to transform you and now, guess what? You have the Father's affirmation. So the same thing that he said about Jesus when the sky split, you are my son, whom I'm well pleased, who I love, is the same thing he says. He doesn't see us for our worst mistake. He doesn't see us in our sin anymore. He doesn't see our brokenness. He says, you are my son, come on. You are my daughter, whom I love, whom I am well pleased. We gotta know him. We gotta believe that. That's perfect creation, sin separation. Jesus restored it all. And now the father looks at you and is pleased. He's not mad at you.

He's madly in love with you. And he wants a relationship with you. Point number two is that kingdom ready means to know who you are. Later on, Jesus gets baptized. After he gets baptized, he begins his public ministry. Some of John's disciples come up to him and they're like, bro, Jesus has taken our people. They come up, they're like, he's got a bigger church than us. Look, verse 26. They came to John and said to him, Rabbi, the man who is with you on the other side of the Jordan is baptizing people. He's the one you told us about. Everybody's going to him. He's stealing our business. And I love John's response. He said, a person can receive only what God gives them from heaven. Here it is. You're your witnesses that said, I am not the Messiah. I am not the Messiah. How many know it's good to know who you are, but a big way of finding that out is finding out who you're not. My YouTube shorts reminds me of this all the time because I look at YouTube for one reason and it's to look at fitness inspiration. And so I'll see videos like how to do the perfect pull-up

or how to do the perfect push-up or why you're not getting the gains you want to this summer. I'm like, all right, chill out. Shots fired in my algorithm. And so I'll see this and I'll start looking at my algorithm and all these homies are jacked. They're fit. It's like 8% body fat. And I'm like, I am not that. I don't work out eight hours a day and eat healthy and take steroids. At least that's what I tell myself because it makes me feel better. But if I'm not careful, then I'll start comparing myself to somebody I was never supposed to be. The apostle Paul speaks to this in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. He says this, now, if the foot should say, because I'm not the hand, I don't belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I'm not an eye, I don't belong to the body, it would not for that reason stop being a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be?

As it is written, there are many parts, but one body. Verse 27, now you are the body of Christ and each of you is a part of it. There are many parts, but one body. How many know in this room, there are many assignments, but one calling. There are many positions, but one mission. Think about football. Imagine if the offensive lineman started to get tired of playing offensive line. Hey, I want to play quarterback. And so they get behind the ball and the receivers are like, I'm tired of catching passes. I want to get on the line and start blocking 300 pound defensive lineman. What would the result of that be? The team wouldn't win. They wouldn't be successful. They wouldn't accomplish the desired task because the team works when everybody is confident in their own assignment. And so it is with the kingdom of God. When you know who you are and you're secure in who you're not, the whole body of Christ comes together and we're healthier and stronger. If you're a hand, don't try to be a foot. Come on, somebody. If you're a foot, don't try to be a hand. Thank God that I'm not on the worship team because your boy can't sing.

But I think some of us would just be so free if we knew. I don't have to dress like them. I don't have to talk like that. I don't have to post like them. I don't have to act like that. I don't have to make jokes like them. That's just not my humor. I don't have to like post. I don't have to do the same things everybody else is doing because I'm not that. We gotta be confident in who we are. John not only knew who he was, but he also knew who he was not. I think a lot of, like John gets a bad rap because I think a lot of people think that he was weird, but the truth is I think that he was just fully committed to something most people only half believe. And John, he was dangerous because he had nothing to prove and nothing to lose and he knew who he was. And I think the most dangerous Christians in this room that advanced the kingdom of God are gonna be those who got nothing to prove and nothing to lose because they know their father says, you're my son, you're my daughter, whom I love, whom I'm well pleased. So I'm living kingdom ready and I'm focused on my assignment. Growing up, I was a pastor's kid. I said this earlier and I just, when I was about like six, seven, eight years old, we kind of just roam around the church,

get there early, stay late. And I did whatever I wanted to because I was confident. I would go under the table and start taking donut holes during service. I would take the creamers, you know, like the little creamer packets and I would just drink those by themselves. Super unhealthy. But I walked around that church like I own the place. Why? Because my dad was the pastor. He knew he had this building. I knew who my dad was, so I walked around differently. I just wish some of us would be reminded who we are in Him. Come on, in Him, you're strong. In Him, you have authority. In Him, you have dominion. In Him, you are blessed. You are called. Come on, you are healed. You are a son or a daughter of the King. When identity becomes something more than just that's in your head and starts getting in your spirit, it actually frees you to be able to live kingdom ready. Heightened awareness of what God is wanting to do in your life and through your life. Point number three is this. Kingdom ready means to know what is true. To know what is true. John had spent his whole ministry

preparing the way for Jesus. He preached repentance, he baptized in the Jordan, he boldly pointed out that Jesus was the one who was to come, and guess what? In a moment, his voice was silenced. He calls out Herod for his sinful marriage and he gets thrown into a prison. All we get from John in this is that, is one verse, John goes fast, and so all we get is this. It says after John was put in prison, then Jesus pretty much started his ministry. That's all we get. But Matthew gives us more details into one of the most human experiences, one of the most human moments in all of scripture. It's John sitting in a dark cell. This is the man who preached and came out with fire and repent and be baptized and he was bold. Now he's alone. He's in a dark cell. Time passes and he's hearing stories about Jesus, giving sight to the blind and healing people, feeding crowds, opening blind eyes, but guess what? He didn't come for him. Where was John's jailbreak? In fact, they were cousins, John and Jesus, and if my cousin had the power to do anything and wouldn't break me out of prison, I'd be upset. There's no miracle, no rescue. It was just a prison cell.

What happens when you're on fire for God and you get thrown into prison? What happens when you're living your kingdom-ready assignment and life throws you into prison? Maybe it's not a literal prison. Maybe it's anxiety or disappointment. Maybe it's grief. Maybe it's loss. Maybe it's fear of the future. You might have had a real encounter with Jesus. You walked away changed, but then life happened, and now the prison of disappointment leaves you questioning. This is where John was in Matthew 11. It says this, when John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of Jesus, he sent his disciples to ask him, are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else? I just hear the doubt in his voice. Are you the one who is to come? Or should we expect somebody else? John, what do you mean? You were the one that was preaching. You baptized him. You saw the sky split open and the spirit descend like a dove. How are you doubting? But here's what the prison does. The prison has a way of making you question what you know to be true.

When you're in the prison, you had an expectation on God, but when he doesn't meet it, do you question his character? Mike Tyson famously said, everybody got a plan, so you get punched in the mouth. And John was punched in the mouth, and a lot of us have been the diagnosis, the divorce, the heartbreak, the betrayal, the loss, whatever that may be for you, the unanswered prayer, and suddenly you're asking, Jesus, are you who I thought you were? I love what Jesus tells John's disciples. He says this, go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. It didn't look like it to John, but Jesus was moving. And I wanna encourage somebody in the room that just because you can't see God's hand doesn't mean you can't trust his heart because he's always doing more than we think he is. Come on, even when we can't see it, he's working. Even when we don't see the doctor's report change, he's moving. Even when our kids still not coming back to Jesus, he's softening their hearts. And I'm grateful today that even when we are faithless, come on, he is faithful. He's faithful. And then Jesus says something

I don't think was super encouraging to John. He says, all of that, go tell him, the blind receive sight, the dead live. He says, oh, tell him this too. He says, blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me. Notice Jesus doesn't send soldiers to break John out of prison. He doesn't remove the pain. In fact, John is actually gonna get executed, but Jesus gives him something deeper than an escape. and he gives him an invitation to trust him. And isn't that where so many of us are? It's like we prayed against the divorce, but the papers got signed. We prayed for healing, but the person still passed away. We're believing for a baby, but we're still waiting. Some of us thought that if we start following God faithfully and serving and being in his house, that life was gonna get easier, but you still find yourself stuck in the prison of disappointment, grief, loss, or loneliness. The hardest moments are not often when God says no. What I've found is the hardest moments are when God feels silent. But do not mistake God's silence for inactivity. Do not mistake God's silence for absence, because this is what he does. He turns to the crowd and he says this. Truly I tell you, among those born of women,

there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist. This blows my mind. You know why? Because John never heard it. Jesus is gossiping about John. John is in the prison and Jesus is saying, that's my guy. John is behind bars and Jesus is bragging about him, and I think it begs the question, what is God saying about you? What is God saying about us? That even in the prison, how many know his word says you're chosen. You are a royal priesthood. You're a son or a daughter. Come on, he'll never leave you, never forsake you. He loves you and he's talking about you behind your back. He's talking about you. I'm grateful for the truth of God's word. What's he talking about you? What's he saying about you? If the enemy can make you doubt in the prison, then he can get you to stop living on mission. So we gotta know Christ. We have to know who we are in him. Come on, I'm a son, I'm a daughter. I'm chosen. I'm the righteousness of God. And then we gotta know the truth even in the prison. Close with this. On the morning of December 7th, 1941,

many of us know that date. There were two young army radar operators who were finishing their shift, but right before they left, they see on the radar there's a massive clump of planes coming in. And so they did what they knew how to do. They called it up the chain. They called the call center. They did their job. The warning went up and the officers on duty said, don't worry about it. We're expecting a bunch of planes from the mainland, some of our bombers. And so they left it, they went off their shifts and in less than an hour, Pearl Harbor was being bombed. Obviously we know that this wasn't the American aircrafts. The tragedy was that it wasn't that nobody saw it coming. The signal was there. The warning was there. The problem was that when the moment came, the people responsible for being ready were not ready. Church, Jesus is moving. The King is here. And I know that John was ready for the first coming of Jesus, but how many know one day the trumpets are gonna sound and Jesus is gonna come back. And I look at John's life, I don't know when it is, but I see the way he lived and how zealous he lived and how on fire he lived.

And I look at the apostles in the book of Acts. They thought Jesus was coming back in their lifetime and look how they lived. I don't know about you. I wanna live like Jesus is coming back in my lifetime so that I live kingdom ready. Come on, I wanna be aware of what God wants to do in me and through me. So this week, when you're at work, because where you spend most of your time is not in this building. When you're at work and somebody asks you, how was your weekend? Don't just say good. Tell them about what God's doing in your life. When you feel the nudge from the Holy Spirit to text that person or call them or invite them to church or talk to your neighbor, don't talk yourself out of it. The kingdom is near. The King is here. When you're scrolling on Instagram and you wanna compare yourself to somebody else, remember who you are and who you're not, not the Messiah. I wanna live ready. I wanna live kingdom ready. I wanna give ready. I want to pray ready. I wanna share my faith ready. I just believe that every single person in this room, you have been saved by Jesus.

He wants to use you this week. He wants to use you this year. This is the first part of the book of Mark and I believe it's going to transform us. If you're in the room and you say, Sam, I have not been living as kingdom ready as I could. I wanna pray for you. And then before that, I wanna point out this first point that if you don't know Christ, how many know? You can't make him known. And so if you feel like you heard that part and you said, I don't even know if I know him, but when he comes. or on the day that I die, whichever one comes first and I meet him face to face, I wanna hear the words, well done, good and faithful servant. If that's you and you wanna pray that prayer, I want you to pray with me. Everybody bow your heads. Repeat after me. Jesus, I believe in you. I thank you that you died for me and rose again. Today, I make you my Lord and I choose to live kingdom ready for your glory. And if you're in the room and you wanna live kingdom ready, you wanna decide today, choose this day, how you're gonna spend your week. If you wanna choose today, then I'm not just gonna wake up tomorrow saying, what do I do?

But I'm gonna spend this week saying, how can I point people to Jesus? If that's you, I want you to raise your hand. We're gonna pray this prayer together. Father, we come before you today, grateful for your word. One, just receive this, open your hands towards heaven as a sign of receiving from God, this commissioning to go out. Thank you, Lord, that you commissioned us to go out and make disciples, to be kingdom ready, God, to pray for people, to love on people, to give to people, to encourage people. God, would you light a fire on the inside of us, God, that we're not leaving here the same. We're not just gonna be hearers of your word, but doers, God, as we leave these doors, would you transform our lives to be aware of what you're doing on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name, and everybody said, amen, amen. Can we give God the praise?