Level Up Your Life | The Big Night |Crossroads Students

Hey, welcome to the big night! My name is Jason Hobner. I'm in the American Sign Museum and we're here for one reason and one reason only, to tell you how you can level up your life. I got to tell you, some people in this room, they'll be like, I don't want to level up my life. They're idiots. You and I desire to level up our lives, whether it's leveling up yourself personally, or whether it's getting into a new place, getting a new place in your relationships, getting to a new place in your success, your Instagram follower count. Where is it? You and I are obsessed with leveling up. And I think the reason why is based out of fear. We don't want the same year that we had last year. Do you? Do you want the same year that you had last year? Eighth graders in the room, do you want the same year of eighth grade, middle school, in high school? No, of course you don't. We want to level up our lives. And that's what we're talking about today. In fact, we're here in the Sign Museum because every single sign behind me promises you they will level up your life. The world is telling you so many different ways that you can level up your life if you buy their goods and services. You want to have a great Christmas? Find a polar bear and a Coca-Cola classic and you'll have a great Christmas. You want to find a place to cash checks? They got you right here. You want good insurance? Farmers. Every place is trying to get you to trust them to help you to level. The main reason, the main way I feel like that society is trying to get us to level up is video games. I mean, you and I are obsessed, if we're honest, about leveling up in video games. I'm a gamer. Love it. It's awesome. Here's where I'm out on the spectrum. I play Rocket League and I suck at it, but I play Call of Duty and I'm great at it. So you're better than me at Rocket League and I'm better than you at Call of Duty. You better believe that. Take it to the bank. But we're obsessed with leveling up. You know, it wasn't always the case that you could just swipe a credit card and level up on the games that we have right now. Back in the day, if you got stuck on a level of Donkey Kong Land, what you had to do was you to find an uncle or an older brother and that person was better than you at the game and you'd hand them the controller and they would beat it first try. And it was like, ah, dude, level up. All right, next level. I get to move. And so you and I have the opportunity to level up our lives. The gaming industry has capitalized this idea of you trying to level up your life. Did you know, did you know in America alone, we spent $109 billion

in video games last year? That is so much money. That's $315 per person per year we're spending on video games. And the majority of those purchases, I promise you, are grandmas or that friend who sucks at Clash Royale, who got stuck. And instead of asking for help or getting better at the game, you know what they did? They swiped their credit card. They paid with Apple Pay and they bought more troops and leveled up or they bought more lives and had more opportunities to get to the next level. We've been capitalized and trained to think the only way to level up is to pay money. The only way to level up is to get more. And what if, instead of focusing only on the external ways to level up our life, what if you leveled up our lives inside? You know what would be different? What would make you stand out in your high school, above head and shoulders, above everyone else there, if you had a good day? Aren't you sick of everyone always having a bad day? Everyone's always busy. Everyone's always stressed. And I'm not saying your calendar isn't full. It is. But what was the last time you had a good day? Don't you want that? What if we leveled up and we got to a new place in our lives? The issue with leveling up though, sometimes we get stuck. You ever been stuck? There's so many ways to get stuck right now. I mean, you feel like you're stuck in that relationship and you can't get out of it. Maybe you feel like you're stuck fighting for the relationship and you guys just can't seem to figure out how to make it work. Maybe you feel stuck with where you're at with your relationship with your parents right now. And no matter what you do, you just feel like you're letting them down and you're working hard. You're trying everything, but you just feel stuck. Maybe you feel stuck in your personal life. Maybe you're stuck with a bad habit that you can't shake. Maybe you're stuck because something happened to you a long time ago and you still like feel like it's got control over you. Have you been stuck? I got stuck once. I sold books door to door. Don't make fun of me. Sold books door to door. I was 17 years old, had a little red car and I drove it all the way out to North Carolina. And it was the middle of summer. It was blazing hot as a ginger. It was terrifying experience for me. And all day long, I was. Knock on doors and try to sell people books door-to-door. I know crazy. It feels like a totally different time They still need to do that to this day though. So it's just it's just nuts. I Hated it and I was so bad at it and I was all alone all day long And by the way, I worked 80 hours a week

And so just so you know, the Sun is up 96 hours a week and I worked for 80 of those hours Some would come up and I'd go knock on doors and some would set and I was still knocking on doors and one time I got Stuck I was having a miserable summer It was right near like the second half of the summer and I was in the middle of nowhere zero Cellphone reception and I was driving. I saw this giant farmhouse. So I thought two things number one. They got money I bet they buy some books and secondly, I thought dude, I need some help. Like I'm lost I'm on gravel roads in Cornfields right now like I need help I'm lost and so I went up to the door and knocked and the largest man I have ever seen Answered the door. I mean farmer Dan was John He's wearing overalls and boots inside of his house This guy looked like he wrote the song Cotton Eye Joe, right? Like this guy this guy was like farmer, you know, I'm talking about huge guy And he was so mad that I was knocking on his door I think he was even mad that people knew that he existed out in the country he wanted his privacy and he built that house out there probably with his bare hands and like a mule or something like that knock On the door and I'm instantly getting attitude from this guy's like, hey, I'm Jason some books. He's like, yeah, I'm not interested Dude, he's just so abrasive So kind of angry that I was there and I get it like I'm bothering him And so I totally used to it and so I didn't sell many books and I left but before I left I turn around I was like, excuse me. How do I get slams the door in my face? I'm stuck middle of nowhere. Just a terrible interaction with the guy and I am lost with no cell phone reception I am stuck in every way stuck in a job. I don't love something a day That's tough stuck in middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception I'm driving I'm trying to figure it on my phone and there's a cornfield and then a gravel road and a ditch And I'm looking at my phone. I accidentally veer into the ditch. I didn't go all the way in it was worse than that I teetered on the edge and so literally like the movies like my axles are on the ground My wheels are not on the ground and I'm stuck like this in my car So I'm like freaking out like I'm like reversing nothing's happening going forward. Nothing's happening. I get out of my car

I like having a nervous breakdown. I'm like, dude, I am so Screwed I am lost. I am stuck. What am I gonna do? I have three options that I realized in that moment Option number one was the most attractive which was lay down in the ditch and die here Like I considered it like you've ever been there like I was like that is the only option right now It's for me to die in the ditch Option two was keep following the road and hope to find someplace new, right? So I was like maybe I go that way and like maybe I find cell phone reception or like a kind farmer Isn't scary or like me maybe I do that option three, which was the safest option was go back and ask that guy for help And so I decided I'm gonna walk a three-quarters of a mile back to that farmhouse and I am shaking the whole time Literally, I walked so slow Like I was like procrastinating every second walk so slow get nervous up on the door Like wait a minute to not knock on the thing and the guy is heated as soon as he opens the door Dude, he is just seething like I can't believe he's back And so he opens the door before I can even get a word I see like I I told you I don't want any books I don't know why you keep bothering. I said sir I'm stuck. I Need help. My car was this and the cornfield there and and instantly he softened. I almost saw like a little Smile on his face and he took out his hand and he put it on my shoulder and he said hey, we'll help you Brought me inside gave me a Sprite to drink called his son 12 minutes later My car was pulled out of a ditch by a truck and I was on the road again, and I had directions in 12 minutes. I Got help You and I are in spots in our lives where we are stuck and no matter how hard you've tried to turn the wheels No matter how hard you've tried to just lean in or wake up early or stay up later or study Harder or workout harder or or no matter how much time that you've spent working on that relationship or caring for that other person You just have gotten stuck and you and I are at the point of lies where we need help Why do we need help because I don't believe that you and I were designed to do life alone You are going to get stuck sometimes But there is someone a God who loves you and like I don't know if you knew this

But this is not a concert venue that you're in right now. This is a church This is a church and we follow the Bible and we believe that Jesus is who he said is, and he said he's your help. He is your salvation. He can be your Savior if you let him. There's real help available. In fact, one of Jesus' quotes is he said this. He said, I have come to give them a rich and satisfying life. Do you want that? I want that. Let me ask you, do you have that right now? Do you have a rich and satisfying life? Because I could be more rich, and I could be more satisfied, but you're only going to get that through the relationship with the creator of the universe through Jesus. There's a lot of people in this world right now that are rich, but have you ever met a rich person who's satisfied, who didn't want more? Have you ever got that birthday money or that paycheck and thought, oh, I don't need any more money? No, because you and I weren't satisfied. We weren't designed to be satisfied by the things of the world. We were designed to be satisfied by relationship with God, and so we're stuck. And maybe you're in a spot right now where you were just so stuck, you can't even see the options. You haven't even got out of the car yet. You're just gripping the steering wheel, hoping something will happen, and maybe that's what tonight is for, for you to be introduced to somebody who can get you unstuck. Life with Jesus is a life full of hope, not worries. A life full of peace, not anxiety. A life full of joy, not working really, really hard for a weekend that's going to be fleeting. And if you and I want to level up our lives, if we're going to take leveling up seriously, we've got to ask for help, and I'm telling you there is help available for you in Jesus. Asking for help is not the only way to level up. There's another way, and it's more difficult. It is leaving the old way that you're living, the old life that you were living behind. See, we want both things, and we can't have them. We want all of the new promises of a new life, and we want to have all of the old things in our old life. Like, you do this all the time. I do this all the time. I want to wake up earlier. I want to be the type of person who wakes up super early and has a routine, and I'll set my alarm for earlier, but I'll stay up the night before way too late watching Reels. You can't have both. If you want a new level of your life, you've got to leave something behind, and I think you do want something new for your life. In fact, maybe some of the new things are getting more connected around here. Next Sunday, you're invited, by the way, to something called a Theme Weekend, where at a Crossroads location near you, hundreds of high schoolers are going to gather, and we're going to dress up in the craziest March madness outfits that we can think of. You want to be a

ref? You want to be a basketball? You want to be your favorite team? Whatever it is, and we're having a crazy way for you to get connected around here. Maybe meet someone new. Maybe meet a mentor in your life that can lead you to the next level. One of the best ways for you to level up your life is this summer called Camp. It is the most important thing we do all year long, because it's an entire population of students. I mean thousands of people coming together and saying, hey, for one week, I'm going to focus on leveling up my spiritual life. You want to have a blast? You want to play in a dodgeball tournament and a volley tournament? You want to meet some amazing friends? You want to feel more connected? You want to have an encounter with God? You better sign up for Camp, but no matter what, you and I have to leave something behind. It's first in Corinthians that talks about this. It says anyone who belongs to Jesus has a new life. It says the old life has passed away. It's dead, and the new life is here. You can have new life. You can have a new start, a new respawn, a fresh start. It's available to you, but it's going to require you and me to let go of the old things that are slowing us down. One of the best ways to explain how this looks in our life is my good friend. I'm going to call him out onto the stage here in a minute. This man is a world record holder. This man dubbed himself as the greatest mouth on the internet. Ladies and gentlemen, get on your feet and get loud for the Insane Shane!