Next Man Up | Chad Bruegman

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[MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] ♪ This story of the Lord is mind-free ♪ ♪ Oh, it is mind-free ♪ ♪ Oh, it is mind-free ♪ ♪ Great job ♪ ♪ We always have something to be thankful for ♪ ♪ He's so worthy of us ♪ ♪ There is a land so good ♪ ♪ Where the reverence ♪ ♪ There is a joy ♪ ♪ That makes the morning ♪ ♪ Come on, y'all ♪ ♪ The summit rock ♪ ♪ That stands ♪ ♪ When all around it shakes ♪ ♪ Jesus, my mind ♪ ♪ I find it only for you ♪ ♪ I die so much to me ♪ ♪ So much to be thankful ♪ ♪ I die so much to be thankful ♪ ♪ So much to be thankful for ♪ ♪ A thousand years ago ♪ ♪ And more it's so me ♪ ♪ To praise you Lord, I've got so much ♪ ♪ So much to be thankful for ♪ ♪ There is a moon so strong ♪ ♪ It holds me through the storm ♪ ♪ There is a moon ♪ ♪ That makes the mountain soon ♪

♪ The name so great ♪ ♪ A name not even yet ♪ ♪ It stands again ♪ ♪ Till I find ♪ ♪ I find it only for you ♪ ♪ I die so much to be thankful for ♪ ♪ So much to be thankful for ♪ ♪ I die so much to be thankful for ♪ ♪ So much to be thankful for ♪ ♪ A thousand years ago ♪ ♪ And more it's so easy ♪ ♪ Praise you Lord, I've got so much ♪ ♪ More it's to be thankful for ♪ ♪ More it's to be thankful for ♪ ♪ We bless the nation ♪ ♪ Oh Lord ♪ ♪ I've got so much to be thankful for ♪ ♪ You've been ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ You've been ♪ ♪ Sounds good and I just can't forget ♪ ♪ What you've done for me, you've been ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget what you've done for me ♪ ♪ You've been ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ You've been ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget what you washed me clean ♪

♪ So good ♪ ♪ More it's to be thankful ♪ ♪ More it's to be thankful for my God ♪ ♪ More it's to be thankful for ♪ ♪ More it's to be thankful for ♪ ♪ Sounds good and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget what you've done for me ♪ ♪ I just can't forget what you've done for me ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ What you've done for me, you've been ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ And I just can't forget what you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ ♪ Oh Lord, and I just can't forget how you washed me clean ♪ And now I'm so easy, I'm free and forgiven and I'm the future, and it's worth believing. 'Cause I wasn't made to be, tendin' a grave I was caught by, born and raised back to me. So I would admit, I bet in my same way I felt enough, it's runnin' my own way, I know I was.

And I was made for more, yeah, I know who I am, 'cause I know who you are. The cross of salvation was only the stone, and now I'm so easy, I'm free and forgiven and I'm a future, and it's worth believing. 'Cause I wasn't made to be, tendin' a grave I was caught by, born and raised back to life again. And I was made for more, so I would admit, I bet in my same way I felt enough, it's runnin' my own way, I know I am yours, and I was made for more. Oh, yeah, you call that my name, so I'll sing out your praise. Oh, yeah, you'll bury my past, I'm not going back. Oh, yeah, you call my name, so I'll sing out your praise. Oh, yeah, you'll bury my past, I'm not going back, 'cause I wasn't made to be, tendin' a grave I was caught by, born and raised back to life again. And I was made for more, so I would admit, I bet in my same way I felt enough, it's runnin' my own way, I know I am yours, and I was made for more. Oh, I was made to be, tendin' a grave, I was caught by, born and raised back to life again. And I was made for more. So I would admit, I bet in my same way I felt enough, it's runnin' my own way, I know I am yours, and I was made for more. I'm not going back, I'm not going back, I'm not going back. I'll leave you here You buried my breath I'm not going back I was made to be tingling a grave I was caught by I was made from wine And so I would have been I'm out of hand I stood there for mine I was made to be I was caught by One and you raised back to life And I was made from wine And before I ran me I bet in my shame In a fountain of grace It's runnin' my way I know what I am And I was made from wine Man, y'all sound so good this morning

You go ahead and take a seat We got Pastor Chad Harold with us this morning He's got a grave message before that I want to go ahead and join me in prayer Heavenly Father, thank you so much For this time the worship you've got Now we ask that you focus our minds In quiet our hearts so that we receive your word To the full of six times Heavenly Father, I ask this in your son's precious name And it's in his holy name that we pray Amen Amen Well good morning, how's everybody doing? Good, I love it, good energy in here today Hey, I want to start by making something I want to talk about something really important First of all, everybody at Most City, West End Online, I want all of the men To lean in for just a second On October 23rd, two Fridays from now We are going to have a men's gathering Men's tonight It's going to be hosted here at the Richmond campus So Most City, West End, we need you to travel in But this is going to be an amazing time We're talking high school and up All the guys getting together We're going to start with fun stuff So we've got an 18 hole putt putt thing coming in

We've got table bowling, no clue what that is But more importantly, we've got axe throwing We're going to have an axe throwing tournament Multiple trailers of that Don't worry, we got insurance, so it's going to be great So all kind of fun stuff we're going to do We're going to have chili, so great food We're going to do all that before And then we're going to all come in here And just imagine, ladies, just imagine for a minute This room just full of the men from all of our campuses How cool is that going to be? And so that's our goal, we're going to gather here We'll sing, and our senior pastor, Chad Bremen has got to have a message for us It's going to be really, really powerful So men, be there, but we do want you to go and sign up There is a fee, it's 20 bucks If that's a problem, let us know, we'll make it work We just want guys to be here, but we want to know how many are coming So we can be ready, so get registered for that Be here on the 23rd, all the details are up on the website Our socials, it's going to be an incredible, incredible time Do not miss it Now, let's take a special moment and welcome all of the men At the Ramsey, and I want all of our campuses to give them The warm welcome Men, we say hi to you every week and we mean it from the bottom of our hearts But I want to say something a little extra today It just lets you know that you are such a key part of our church

You are not an afterthought extension You are a part of what God is doing here And so we are so grateful for you Let's thank them again and a man of praying today will be a blessing For you particularly We are in this series now called the locker room We are almost there, if you are bored with it I hope you are not, but if you are, we are almost there We got one more week, next week is going to be great But we are in this series, and what we have been doing in this series Is really trying to use this analogy of the locker room to talk about the church And the goal is, man, we just want to remember that The field, right, the player is going out to the field It's not the church, it's the world out there The church is more like the locker room It's where we gather to be inspired, to train, to teach, to equip, to heal All that stuff happens in the church But ultimately to get us ready to go out into the world, to go out onto the field So that's kind of the analogy that we have been using And one of the elements that we're gonna talk about today is this idea that we all have something to offer the team that all of us are a key piece of making a team happen. That you have been brought here by God or by an aunt or a mom that drug you hear. But you've been brought here with a purpose and a purpose to be hopefully filled up, charged up, armed up, ready to go out into the world and make a difference. All have gifts and abilities and personalities and unique perspectives.

My fear though is that we are not all using them for ministry. Things that God's given us that we might not be using for ministry. Now when I use the word ministry, sometimes we go, well, yeah, 'cause I'm not like on staff. I'm not one of you guys like a pastor or a staff member. And you're right, there is a vocational ministry. Those that have chosen this as their career and are paid to do this. But when you read through the scriptures, when we see ministry being articulated, it's never reserved only for those folks. Ministry is for all, what is ministry? It is simply to serve God by serving others. That's a very simple way to put it. But all of us have been brought into that if we are followers of Christ. And so what I wanna do today is just kind of stir up that idea of ministry in you and give you some practical things that you can be looking at thinking about on how you might either confirm you're in this or discover some ways you might be able to step into it. And I think you're gonna find it's easier than you think. And it's extremely powerful when we lean into this. Now, before we can get into ministry, we have to understand something else. There's a locker room right now that we're all familiar with,

at least when I'm around, 'cause I'm always talking about the Texans. There's a locker room right now that's going through it. The Texans this year, it would have been awesome. They were like undefeated. And I'd be like, look at the series. And like, we did that, not what happened. In fact, it took a turn. I mean, we started the season and people, national media, thought then, Texans, Super Bowl, that's probably gonna happen. And here we are, 0 and 4, getting ready to play our fifth game. And man, who would have thought? Now, why I'm bringing that up is because there are some players and some coaches in that locker room. I don't know for a fact, but I'm assuming that are going through it. That are feeling, man, just beat up a little bit. Like, this isn't working. And in that struggle, here's what happens for us that our fans are like the media, is we forget that they're human and we just attack them for what they do or didn't do on the field. And the reality is, as a professional athlete and any sport, the expectation is you perform, we get that. But sometimes we can miss the fact that like, they're still people. They're husbands, they're fathers, they're sons.

Like, they matter, they have a soul that's in deep need of purpose. And I say that because what they're likely battling is the tension of not allowing what they do on the field to become who they are. Or more importantly, what they're unable to do on the field represent who they are as a person or a child of God. And I bring that up because we all have that same battle. Before we can ever talk about going out into the world and doing ministry for God, we have to first understand our identity, who we are in Him. Because if anything in ministry flows out of anything but God, it will always be a miss. And so we have to understand this. In essence, we gotta do a little work on the soul. And so I wanna start today, before we get into the practical, to show you just one little verse here. It's 1 Peter 2, 9. And it's gonna show us, it's gonna remind us this truth that we are called by God before we're commissioned out. Before we do anything, we are His. Let me read this to you and I pray that it's powerful. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into marvelous light. All right, if you know the song, you wanna start singing there, that's not the place.

This verse is loaded with a few things that are so important. First, it says that you are chosen. Why is that important? Because you didn't select yourself, neither did I. God did. And that's important because it kills two things right away. Pride and anxiety. Being chosen by God kills pride and anxiety. It kills pride because it reminds you that whatever God decides to do through you was all Him, not you. There's no puffed-upness that gets to come out here. Like, you're not some great. And so that first thought I'd been chosen by him, equipped by him and powered by him, kills pride if we have a healthy perspective. But then it also kills the other side, which is anxiety. Where then now we start to think I have to perform. That if I don't perform, if I'm not perfect, if I don't accomplish this, this, and this, and God is not going to be pleased with me, or I'm going to miss the mark, and then we start to live in this anxious world and God doesn't desire that. He says, I chose you, and I've put everything you need inside of you. It's not because of you or in spite of you, it's because of me. Then he says, you're a royal priesthood.

That's a weird one, right? Anybody putting that on their Instagram handle? Probably not, right? Royal priesthood, what does that even mean? Well, in the Old Testament, the priests were the only ones that can enter into the presence of God. And so they were not only a representation for the people to God, but they were a representation of God to the people. Well, since Christ came, lived, died, rose again, and sent the Holy Spirit to now live within us, and we have God now living within us. We now have access to the Holy God every single one of us. Think of it like this. If I were to say, what's your name? - Ron. - Ron. Let's say that Ron, we don't know you, Ron. Let's say Ron decided, hey, I got something to say to the president. I don't need to know. It's okay, we'll just roll with the story. I got something to say to the president, right? So if you're like, me, I'm ready, they're not the point. And Ron decides, you know what, I'm taking off. Gets on a plane, flies down to the White House, pulls up parks, walks right through the front yard, right through the main lobby, right up or down or set to wherever the old office is, I don't know. And he makes his way to the old office, and he walks right into the door

to make his comment to the president. How many do you think he's getting very far? Anybody? I mean, I hate to be dark, but like, dude's probably getting shot before he gets to the old office, right? Like, not gonna work unless he's the president's son. Unless he's the president's son, because the son has unique access to him that no one else would. That's not the president's son, by the way, just to be clear. Listen, that is the truth living in us as Christ followers. That we have access to a holy God, and we get to represent him, represent the people to him, what that might look like. It's praying, intercessing for each other, like warring in prayer for each other, but also we are the representation of God to the people. You are a royal priesthood. Not only do we have access, but now we have the mission. So royal priesthood, then he says, and we are his own possession, a holy nation, and his own possession. A holy nation means that we are a holy means set apart, that we are no longer of this world, we are now of his ways. That it says of his own possession, our life is no longer our own, it is surrendered to him. Now, whatever he wants to do in us and through us,

and around us, it's all yours, Lord, whatever you want. Now, why is this important? Because first we have to understand who we are in him before we do any kind of thing that might be called performance. But then second, we have to understand that there's a mission that we entered in when we said yes to Christ. Think about this, this is interesting. Do you know how many times the word Christian comes up in the Bible? Three times. Do you know how many times the word disciple comes up? Over 270. Now think about it. Christian is a title to show the identity. Disciple is the formation process that follows after surrendering our life to Christ. My fear is there's a lot of Christians that believe in God, but not a lot of formed people trying to live for him, what we would call a disciple. Someone coming under his leadership to learn from him and then to replicate him out into the world. And so the reason I'm saying this is because if you don't understand that, then you won't feel any desire to do what we're about to talk about. You will feel no desire to go do a ministry for the Lord because you don't feel the mission. But the reality is when you and I surrendered to Christ, we entered into his mission. We have now been brought in.

And here's the thing, we have to make sure that we die to self in that process. There's a massive thing in the collegiate sports world right now called NIL. For the last couple of years, this new phenomenon is taking place where athletes can be paid for their NIL, name, image, likeness. They can be paid so that companies like car dealerships and clothing brands and energy drinks, and you name it, everybody's using it, can pay these players so that they can use their name, And what's happened is, well, side note, it's really messed up the game, right? It's messed up sports because now it's become all about money and not about the things that it was originally intended. But more importantly, what happens is it's a false view for us. If we're not careful, we look at that and go, yeah, that's what we're supposed to do. Protect our brand, protect our name, our image, our likeness. And that's not what God called us to do. God called us not to protect but to surrender to Him. God called us to lift up His name, His image, and His likeness. And so why this is important? Because there's a lot of people, and I'm gonna say young people, but I think probably all ages in all rooms, where we're struggling to figure out who I am because we're trying to answer the question who I am without I am. We're trying to answer the question

of why I've been brought on this earth created, what am I supposed to do without the one that created us? The I am, y'all way, God is the one that created you, designed what your plan is in life. He knows exactly the purpose He wants to use, but if you go out, young people listen, if you go out and try to figure it out on your own, you're gonna end up in an endless circle of confusion because you won't find the fullness of your life away from Him. You must have Him to understand why He placed you here on this earth. And so before we get into ministry, we have to know who we are, we have to know why we're here, we have to understand, there's a mission behind, like we are not just playing church, we're not just here to hang out. God has some process, some mission, some formation for us to follow. And so with that framework, now let's look at this idea of ministry. What does this mean? What does it look like? And more importantly, how can we take some routine things in our life and move them toward ministry? Let me read to you a passage that will give us a bit of a fly-by of what this could look like, and then I wanna show you three elements. Colossians 1, now Paul is gonna speak to us, and this is what he says. Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,

and in my flesh, I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's affliction for the sake of His body, that is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given for me. Okay, now notice, here comes the first word. To make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed to His saints. To them, God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. He goes on, him we proclaim, warning everyone, and teaching everyone with all wisdom. Here's the next idea that we may present everyone mature in Christ, and then finally for this, Paul says, I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Okay, now you might not see it right away, but Paul gives us three elements of ministry, but let me say this first. If you notice, as we read that, did you recognize some of the harder words to use? Suffering, toil, struggle. Paul's very clear that what he's going through will likely also be what we go through, that for you to surrender under Christ and to walk in his ways. And what we were gonna add and say,

to do ministry on his behalf is probably going to cost you something. Now, it may not be your life. It may not be as much suffering as Paul experienced. He was unique, but it's likely gonna cost you something. It's likely gonna require you to lay some things down, to move away from some stuff, or to just give in a way that's different. And so, I wouldn't be a good leader if I didn't lay that out in front of you first. Like, what we're about to talk about is hard, but what's waiting on the other side of hard is worth it. So, with that, let's look at what he was saying. Paul gives us, and again, it's kind of broad. You gotta look, but you can see it all throughout scripture. He gives us three elements of ministry, Word Fellowship Service. The first one is Word. There'll be a little diagram up on the screen here. Word, what's the idea of Word? Word is I tell others about Christ. If we're gonna do ministry, Christ has to be lifted up in that ministry. Now, this doesn't mean that you have to go stand on a stage and preach. Now, what we're saying? But this does require that Christ, His teachings, His ways, are brought into what you're describing as ministry. Here's some examples. It could be to read or teach the Bible.

It could be to pray with someone. It could be to share the gospel to evangelize. It could be to take a biblical principle and encourage someone. These are ways we take the Word and we bring it into the Word. is fellowship. Now, if you've been around the church, this is kind of a church word. You might hear fellowship and you would think, "Oh, that's when we hang out. I like that one. That's fun." We just kind of chill, drink some coffee, eat a steak, whatever. Get it. But the reality is, in our modern church, we have kind of downgraded fellowship away from what Scripture intended. Paul says that, "Hey, I want us to move," where he said, "present everyone mature in Christ." So, basically, fellowship is not just kind of hanging around having fun. That's a piece of it. It's as we hang out, we are moving each other towards something better. We are moving, helping each other grow in Christ while they also help me grow in Christ. So, ministry is word, but it's also fellowship. And then finally, it's service. The third piece is service. I put Christ's love in action. And this is where Paul says, he says it kind of indirectly, but he's reminding us that if you're going to serve someone, if you're going to sacrificially serve someone, you're going to toil, you're going to struggle, and it's going to have to come from the energy of Christ inside of you. And so, the idea is, when we serve, it costs us something. And so, what Paul says now is, if you want to do ministry, it takes these three elements. And inside of these three elements, there's your ministry. Like, as you bring these three together, something that was just a routine, normal thing now becomes something really significant, something that God could use in a mighty way. Now, does this mean that all things that we do in our life are ministry? No, not necessarily. But everything in your life has the potential to be ministry. Last night, we celebrated with my wife for her birthday. We just hung out. We weren't preaching the gospel, right? We weren't doing a big ministry thing. We were just enjoying time together. So, it's okay to have some things. But my fear is that many of us have our whole life around that, where we're not quite leaning into some full potential of ministry. We're kind of just hanging out over here. And I just wonder if God's getting ready to stir something really cool, really special in your life, by simply just wrapping your mind around this idea.

So, it requires all three. Now, let me give you some inspiration, because maybe at first rate, you're kind of like, ah, I kind of see what you're saying, but I'm not quite sure what that means for me or how it could work in my context. Let me give you a couple of examples just to kind of spur your minds and your thoughts. And let's see what the Lord might do with this. Here's some examples. If you're a parent, your ministry might include word by reading a short passage like Psalm 23 at bedtime and reminding your children, the Lord is with you when you are afraid. Fellowship by asking about their day and really listening instead of just correcting. I'd read that again, but I don't have time. And service by patiently helping with homework, meals, rides, and listen to this, and all the hidden work that makes a home feel safe. If you're single, your ministry might include word by telling a friend, I'm trusting Christ with this season and meaning it, or sending a verse to someone who is anxious. Fellowship by inviting someone to coffee, checking on a friend who's drifting, or being honest about your own struggles. And service by babysitting for a young family, bringing a meal, or showing up when somebody needs help moving. If you're a youth sports coach, your ministry might include word by praying before practice, or telling a player your worth is not based on your performance. We need to reclaim youth sports. Fellowship by learning each kid's name, remembering what is going on at home, and making time to check in after a rough game, and service by staying late to work with the kid who's behind, hauling equipment, and building a culture where every player feels seen and valued. Let me give you a few more. If you have a struggling friend, your ministry might include word by speaking honest hope. Like, I don't have all the answers, but I know Christ hasn't left you. Fellowship by calling instead of disappearing and staying close enough to walk with them through the hard season. And service by sitting with them in their crisis, bringing a meal, or simply being the steady presence they need when life feels heavy. Service costs you something. If you're a widow or widower, your ministry might include word by sharing how God has carried you through grief. Fellowship by showing up to pray with others and staying connected instead of withdrawing and service by using your prayers, presence, wisdom, and quiet faithfulness to strengthen the people around you. And finally, men at the Ramsey unit, your ministry might include word by telling another man Christ still gives hope in here. Our praying scripture over your Fellowship by encouraging a brother who is discouraged and being present with men who are trying to follow Jesus

and service by choosing humility, refusing to stir up drama and helping keep peace and using your time to lift others up instead of tearing them down. Now that is not all inclusive, but it gives us an opportunity to see the wide scope of what God could be doing. Now, here's some things we have to remember. What we are talking about is what we would call the full scope of ministry in your life. For anything that you do to be called ministry, it must include all three. Now, in some areas, the ministry might be heavy on word and lighter on service or lighter on fellowship. It might be heavy on fellowship and lighter on word or lighter on service, but it has to include all three. It's to be the full scope of ministry. Listen, if you just go build a well, that's a good thing, we're not knocking that, but that's also philanthropy, right? We are looking at God, how do we take these basic things and use them for your glory and turn them into ministry? And for them to be ministry and God's context, it requires all three. Imagine this, if you didn't have word as a part of your ministry, that alone is a non-negotiable, right? It's service and fellowship are a little more natural. We're good at hanging out with people and encouraging them and we're good, we've become good at serving each other.

But word is one that we oftentimes pull back and go, well, that's kind of reserved for the pastor or the teacher. But the reality is, do you remember what the great commission said? The great commission said, go make disciples, baptize them and teach them to obey. Baptize means bring them to Christ so that they can surrender to him first, right? We want them to start a relationship with him, but then it goes on, it doesn't stop there and it says teach them to obey all that I have commanded you. This is why word cannot be excluded from ministry for it to be the full scope. Now that doesn't mean you have to evangelize everyone, doesn't mean you need to preach a sermon. But if the word is there, it opens the door for it to be ministry. So it can look a little different. It might be unique for stuff, but we have to understand the full scope. And then the second thought I wanna give you is that this will change in different seasons. This will change. If you're a college student versus a retiree, you're in two different seasons of life. But ministry opportunities are everywhere for you, right? If you're a, I'm not even gonna try it. We listed a whole bunch of examples. You get the picture. So it will change in your life,

but the idea is ministry is always available. Man, where is God working? Where could he make a couple of small tweaks? And so I think the most natural question then is, well, how do I figure out mine right now? What does that look like? So let me just give you two questions. Just simple questions. Are who and aware that who is this? Who is God placed in my path? And what have they already begun to trust me with? Who is God placed in my path? And what have they already begun to trust me with? Most, almost, let me phrase that, all of our ministries will always involve people. It'll always involve people. So one of the best questions we can start with is who is right in front of me that God might be using? Maybe you have a friend that's going through a whirlwind of a moment in their life. And because you are their friend, you have access to them that no one else would. And maybe your natural thought is, hey, I'm just gonna invite them over and we're just gonna sit around and hang out and they'll just know they're not alone. Man, that's awesome. But what if you invited them over for them to hang out? You serve them to the best of your ability so that you could remove the burden.

And then before they left, you said, hey, I know this is a little weird 'cause I've never done this, but could I just pray over you before you go? Well, now you have taken a small thing that was one intended to be just a little hangout to encourage them. And now you've given them spirit-led moment. You've given them the truth of the Lord and you've also created a space to relieve the burden. You see how this works? So you can take simple things with some small tweaks and make a big difference, but it always starts with people. The second question is where in my current life could one small step turn routine into ministry? What small, am I a youth sport coach? Could I just tweak for just a moment that at the end of this game, no one will remember who actually won, but the kids will remember what they felt. Parents, could we continue building a great home of connectivity and of love, but could we incorporate there just a little bit of truth about God? Business owners, could there be an opportunity for you to share periodically where your leadership principles come from, Like, could you just take them? I know we can't preach a sermon, maybe at work,

and you're a corporate level job, but you could share with yourself, hey, how did you become a great leader? I follow the principles of God. Right there are endless, endless opportunities out here. It always involves people, and it will always involve some kind of sacrifice. Last night, we, this is kind of crazy. It's my wife's birthday. We had this little dinner get together. And what my wife wanted to do for her birthday, listen, this is so weird, this is so weird. She wanted to have a party, but she wanted to cook a four course meal and serve everyone. Yeah, if you're looking at me, like, what kind of husband lets her do that? I agree with you. Like, I had to have conversations in the meal. Like, I am doing something wrong. Like, Lord, what am I, what do I do? But no, she was insistent. She loves to cook, and she had created this whole, I mean, whole menu, I mean, the whole nine yards. And it just reminded me that, man, what it looks like to do ministry, always involves people, it always requires service, and it will look different than what the normal world would expect. And that's what makes it godly ministry,

because God is counter-cultural. He's not with all the normal things, but when we step in and we do that, and you go, what an example, what a moment, how I was able to impact someone's life. So I want to encourage you. This is what ministry could look like for you. It's not hard, but it requires you to be aware. Now, my guess is, and this is the last thing that I'm done, my guess is there's probably some people here that are going, well, one, why would I do that? You said it's going to be hard. Remember, God's put us here with a mission, okay? Let's not miss that. But maybe some of us here are going, you know, I get what you're saying, but you don't know my story. See, I think I'm disqualified. I think I'm unqualified. I think I'm late. I think I'm behind. Listen to me, do not believe the lie that you have been disqualified from ministry wherever you are in your life. If you are still breathing and you are a follower of Christ, God has opportunity to use you right where you are. (congregation applauding) I feel like, and I say this, I don't mean any kind of bashing,

but I feel like some of us in these rooms, and I know all of our campuses here with us today, I feel like some of us kind of feel like maybe some of the players in the locker room with the Texans right now. Like, I just discouraged, man. I'm trying and ain't working. I feel like I'm behind. I feel like I'm lost. Like, you're giving this big picture of going to do ministry. I just don't see that happening in my life. I'm telling you, this is why we say, we let God do it through us. We just stay aware. It is hard. And listen, some of us have messed up. Some of us may have lost some opportunities to do ministry because of a relationship that you blew up because of some decision that you made. But I need you to hear, if you're still breathing, you're not disqualified. The other day, I saw a video clip. It's from one of the great coaches, Nick Saban. And I thought it was kind of interesting. We're in this locker room series. But I was listening to what he said to these players. They had just lost the national championship, worked all this time to get to this moment, and then they lost.

And what he says to these players, it might sound a little weird, but like for a moment, it was like, man, I think, I think in a way, God's taken a variation of that and wants to say it to some of us here today. So let me show you this little clip, and then we'll close. Listen, Will, thanks for your time. We'll let you head back to your locker room. I'd like to say something, can I say something? Absolutely. You know, these two guys that are sitting up here, they're not defined by one game. These guys play great for us all year. They're great competitors. They were great leaders on this team. And they contributed tremendously to the success of this team. And we would not be here without them. And both of them take responsibility for the loss, but both of them contributed in a lot of ways and a positive way to giving us a chance to win and a chance to be here to have an opportunity to win. So I just want to thank them for that and let everybody know how proud I am of these two guys. Not cool. [APPLAUSE] How proud I am of these two guys. And I know it's kind of weird, but I just wonder if some of us need to hear this. Could I just speak on God's behalf for a moment

that he is proud of you? And guess what? You go, well, I'm not-- no, he's not. It's not about us. He loves you for who you are. Has He called you to mourn? Yes, but He loves you for who you are. Does He hate our sin and what it does to us? Yes, but He loves us. And instead of looking at you and I full of sin and saying to hell with them, He says, no, I'm gonna make a way through my son Jesus so that they could get to heaven. I'm gonna make a way that I could take all the stupid stuff that you and I have done in our life and I'm gonna wash it away and make them new creations and I'm gonna empower them to make an impact on this world by simply how they live their life following my leadership. Listen, I gotta confess to you. I've been up on this platform many times and there have been many times, this has been burdening me, particularly this over last night. I have missed opportunities to share with you the most important thing. Listen, I want you to do ministry. I want you to follow God's ways. I want you to be obedient because I know what comes with all of that. Like I'm not discrediting that,

but you must understand that if you don't understand and receive the gospel, you don't have a ministry. It starts with Christ. The only thing that you need in this life right now is your faith to be placed in Him so that He can save you from your sin and make you a new creation. That's what you need. Every one of us are broken and I think if we're not careful, guys, I hate to say this, but I think what happens is we kind of play church. We come in here because the music's good and we like the experience and we miss that what we are talking about is a holy God that created the universe and then happened to make you as well and then said, I'm gonna make a way to redeem you from your sin. I'm gonna give you a place in all of eternity and I'm gonna give you purpose while you walk on this earth and that purpose is not so that you can go get on a platform and be famous so that you can serve the people around you. You can bring them the truth of me, God, to their life and you could walk with them in a way that you mature together. Like we have an identity in Christ, but formation matters. Ministry matters, but I'm telling you, if you are here today, listen, if you are here today and you have never surrendered your life to Christ, that is the first step.

It's the most important step. You could die tonight. Do you understand that? Do you understand that? Today could be your last day on earth and I don't wanna play around. I don't wanna just say, well, I hope they figured out before it's too late. I want you to just, I'm begging you to just process what that means. 'Cause it matters. There's a God that loves you as you are, but made a way for you to hit me right with him and then to go have purpose. He died on the cross. And listen, it's Jesus and Jesus alone. There's a lot of things out there that are trying to convince you that there's all these ways you can, it's not. He literally says, he literally says, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. That was Christ. Every one of us, listen, but your iniquities, your sin, your mistakes have made you a separation, a separation between you and your God and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear you. So we are all doomed, but then John 3.16 says, "For God so loved the world."

That he gave his only son that, listen, whoever, whoever believes in me shall not perish but have eternal life. God is sending you to hell. He's giving you a way to be with him. The question is, will you accept that? Do you believe that God exists? Will you surrender your life to him? To believe, but also to obey. And he loves you so much. And he made a way. And so what does he say if we confess our sins? He is faithful and just to forgive our sins. And cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You can be free today. And I don't want any of us to die today, but just in case, let's not play with that. Let's take it seriously. But first, I want to make sure that every person walking out at any of our campuses is right with God, because that's ultimately what we're responsible for. And the great commission, the first thing was to baptize, then to teach them to obey. Baptize means lead them to me. Show them how to surrender their life to me, then get baptized so the world will know next weekend. And that's your chance right now. Some of you need to go out to the next weekend. Let the world know what's happened in you, and then we'll teach them through our time together,

and their time alone with me will teach them how to obey. I want us to have power, but we need Jesus first. So if you're here today, if you're here today, and you have not surrendered to him, what are you waiting for? And I plead with you. I am not promising you a perfect life. That's not what this is. But I promise you this, he'll walk with you in those imperfections, and he makes that burden lighter. And in the end, in the end, we stand before him, and we don't have to worry or fear because we got this right, it matters. Just think about that today before you go. I'm gonna invite everyone to stand. Just for a moment, all of our campuses, would you stand? I wanna end just in a different kind of way. You know, our pastor does a blessing over us every week, and it may become routine for you, and you kind of forget what he's doing, but he's blessing us. He's sending us out in the power of God. What I wanna do today is just I wanna speak a few words of commissioning over you. Commissioning is a moment of sending out. It's identifying, naming, and then sending out, and I'm saying to all of our campuses today, we are headed out into the world. We have an opportunity to do ministry right where we are, and I don't want us to miss it. And so would you, if you feel comfortable,

would you just close your eyes, and maybe hold out your hands just in front of you almost in this receiving posture? Would you let my words fall on you, and I pray God would speak to you. Church, you are being sent out today as people who have been called by God, and formed by his grace. Your ministry is not self-invented, it is God-given. It is not centered on you, it is centered on Christ. It is not casual, it will cost you something. It is not random, but it has purpose. And it is not carried by human strength alone. It depends on the power of God working within you. So go now, as his people speak his word with boldness. Walk in fellowship with one another in love, and serve the world with the compassion and strength of Christ. In your home, in your classroom, in your workplace, in your neighborhood, and in every place your feet touched this week, you belong to the King, and have been sent on mission. Walk into every room with humility, courage, and confidence, knowing that the Lord who called you will also strengthen you and send you. Father, I pray over every person in our rooms today. God help us to have a healthy perspective. We're not leaving to do this work in our own strength.

We're asking you to do the work in us. Help us to see the people and the places and the moments that we kid do ministry. May you turn the routine into powerful ministry, and may you remind us that before we do anything, we are your sons and daughters. God, we love you, and we thank you for the clarity of your word. It's in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. We love you guys. Our prayer teams will be down front at all of our campuses. Have a wonderful week.