Re:Gen May the 4th Be With You

You have been borrowed with a price, so you're not your own. What I love about this is only God can tell you who you are. You are chosen, you are forgiven, you are a new creation, you are a child of God, you are free from sin, you're one with Christ, you're created for good works, you're victorious, you're no longer a slave, you're accepted, you're healed, you're surrounded by God's mercy, you're beautiful, you're not alone, you're strong, you're blessed, you're special to God, you're fearfully and wonderfully made, and you're God's beloved. Praise the Lord. Hey, good night, or good evening. You guys ready to worship? We're going to do it together. Come on, stand to your feet. Is anybody happy that God saved you? We're going to give Him praise. Go ahead, put those hands together. Wandering into the night, wanting a place to hide this weakness, this bag of wounds. I try with all my might, but I just can't win the fight. I'm slowly drifting, a bag of wounds. And just when I ran out the room, I met a man I didn't know. He told me that I was not alone. You picked me up, turned me around, placed my feet on solid ground. I thank the Master. I thank the Savior. Because you healed my heart, changed my name. Forever free, I will not disaim. I thank the Master. I thank the Savior. Oh, I thank God. Come on, let's thank Him this evening. Oh, yeah.

I cannot deny what I've seen. Got no choice but to believe. My doubts are burning like ashes in the wind. So, so long to all my friends. Burden and bitterness, you just keep making moving. Now, you're not welcome here. Yeah. From now till I walk the streets of gold, I'll sing how you, how you saved my soul. This wayward son had found his way back home. You picked me up, turned me around, placed my feet on solid ground. I thank the Master. I thank the Savior. Because you healed my heart, changed my name. Forever free, I will not disaim. I thank the Master. I thank the Savior. Oh, I thank God. Yeah. Oh, I thank God. Oh, I thank God. Thank you for saving me. Come on, sing this with me. Hell lost another one. I am free. I am free. Come on, sing it out. Hell lost another one. I am free. I am free. I am free.

Hell lost another one. I am free. Oh, yeah. Hell lost another one. I am free. I am free. Oh, I am free. I am free. Hell lost another one. I am free. Oh, I am free. I am free. Hell lost another one. I am free. Come on, let's thank Him. Let's give Him glory. He's worthy. Oh, I thank God. Oh, yes, I do. I thank You, Lord. Oh, I thank God. Hallelujah. He deserves all glory. Hallelujah. Oh, I'm so grateful. So grateful that He picked me up. Come on, He said He turned me around. Oh, He saved me. He delivered me. He changed me, not just from death to life, but He's

continuing changing me daily, changing my attitude, changing the way I react to things, changing the way I see things, making me more and more like Him. My name is Angel, and I have a new life in Christ, and I thank God that He's regenerating me, saving me from all those things that had me bound. It's not just, it's not anything that I have to do. It's not anything that I have done. It's not anything that I could ever do. I can't, we are in this series that Jesus plus nothing is everything. There's nothing that I could bring to the table. It's only by the work that He has done. It's only by the finished and complete work of the Son of God, Jesus. It's His blood. It's His blood that frees us and saves us. And so we're going to continue worshiping Him, thanking Him for that blood. God, it's only, it's only because you are faithful to your own word that we are able to live and to be able to be in your family and to be a part of who you are, God. Everything changed. It's getting harder to recognize the person I was before I encountered Christ. I don't walk like I used to. And I don't talk like I used to. I've been washed from the inside. I've been washed from the inside. Hallelujah.

Come on, sing to Him. Hallelujah. It's only was the blood. Only this. Say Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Only was the blood. Could have only been the blood. All of life, Jesus, was only the blood. Oh. I cannot explain. Nothing's more real than this. In the presence of God. Oh, what my heart experienced. When my shame hit the wayside. And my sin met the most high. I was washed from the inside. I was washed from the inside. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Only was the blood. Could have only been the blood. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Only was the blood. Could have only been the blood. Only the blood, Jesus. Oh. Was only the blood.

Oh. Oh, thank you, Father. And a powerful performance. Perfection. Striving for acceptance. Let me tell you. It's only by the blood. It's never been about deserve or earn. It's a gift that's freely given. Let me tell you. It's only by the blood. Does anybody want to be holy and righteous? Purified and spotless? Let me tell you. It's only by the blood. Does anybody want to be worthy, forgiven, justified, really living? Let me tell you, it's only by the blood. Hallelujah, hallelujah. I know it was the blood, could have only been the blood. Hallelujah, hallelujah. I know it was the blood, could have only been the blood. Holy you Lord, holy you can change me. Holy you're blood. Oh. Oh, we sing hallelujah, hallelujah. I know it was the blood, could have only been the blood. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I know it was the blood, could have only been the blood. Hallelujah.

Oh, it's only you, shed for me. Thank you for the blood. Oh, thank you for the blood. Amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saves a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see. T'was grace that taught my heart to fear. And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear. The hour I first believed. My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood, his mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace. The Lord has promised good to me. His word, my hope, secures. He is good, my hope, secures. He will my shield and portion as long as life endures. My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, my Savior has ransomed me. And like a flood, his mercy reigns. Unending love, amazing grace. My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, my Savior, has ransomed me, and I have loved His mercy rest, unending love, amazing grace. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, the sun forbear to shine. The God who called me here, dear, will be forever mine, will be forever mine. You are forever mine.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, that we get to come into your house tonight and that we get to be in community with you and with one another. God, I pray that every person that has walked into this room tonight, everyone that is listening from anywhere, can feel your presence tonight and knows that they are loved by you. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for your blood. Thank you for your grace and your mercy. You are so, so good to us. In Jesus' beautiful name, we all pray, amen. Thank y'all for coming here tonight. Please go ahead and take a seat. We are so excited you are here. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ All right. Good evening. How are you guys doing tonight? Yeah. All right. Before we get started, I really feel like I do need to acknowledge something kind of important. May the fourth be with you. All right. All right.

In all seriousness, you know this actually got me thinking. Because in Star Wars, everything just revolves around the force. Right. This unseen power that people rely on to guide them, to strengthen them and to help them out of the darkness. Right. How often do we try to live our lives like that? Right. Relying on our own strength. Our own control. Our own understanding. Instead of recognizing the very real personal presence of God in our lives. Right. Tonight we're going to look at gratitude from Psalms 118. Now Psalms 118 does not say may the force be with you. But what it does say is the Lord is for me. How personal is that? Pretty amazing. You know when life gets hard, gratitude is not found in some vague force. It is found in knowing God himself is with you and is for you. Now a lot of you already know my story. And there have been seasons in my own life where gratitude just didn't feel hard. It felt impossible. Not inconvenient. Not something I just forgot to practice. But something that felt completely disconnected from

reality. I remember walking through my first marriage. An abusive marriage. Wondering how anybody could say give thanks to the Lord in a place like that. Then the divorce. The unraveling of everything I thought my life was supposed to be. The questions, the shame, the grief that this is not how it was supposed to go. Then watching my children rebel. That kind of pain that keeps you going. you up at night, where your heart feels like it's walking on the outside of your body, and you don't know how to fix it. And then years later, when I thought I finally have found stability, my husband becomes disabled, and suddenly life shifted again. And in those seasons, if I'm honest, I was not thinking about gratitude. I was thinking, God, where are you? Why is this happening? How much more can I carry? You know, gratitude felt like something for other people, people with easier stories, fewer scars. But Psalms 118 tells us something completely different. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His faithful love endures forever. Hi, my name is Des, and I'm a new life in Christ. Hello, I'm in life recovery from self-doubt, loneliness, and anxiety. Tonight we're going to look at gratitude, what gratitude looks like when life doesn't feel so good. If you got your Bibles tonight, if you would open up to Psalms 118, we're going to start

with verses 1, and we'll go through 4. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. Let Israel now say, his mercy endures forever, and let the house of Aaron now say, his mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord now say, his mercy endures forever. If you're taking notes tonight, point one, gratitude is rooted in who God is, not what you're experiencing. Psalms 118 doesn't say, give thanks to the Lord because your life is going well. It says, give thanks, for he is good. That means God goodness is not up for debate based on your circumstances, and that can be hard. Because we often define God's goodness by, when life is working well, God is good. But when life is painful, God is distant. The scripture says, God is good all the time, not just when life is. And then it repeats, his faithful love endures forever. Forever means through abuse, through loss, through broken relationships, and through seasons where nothing makes sense. God's love is not fragile, and it will not collapse under the weight of your story. Here's the truth. Sometimes we don't struggle with gratitude because God isn't good. We struggle because we've tied his goodness to outcomes we've expected. Point two, gratitude is a fight in the middle of distress. Let's look at verse five. It says, I called on the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. I called to the Lord in distress. The word distress means tightness, pressure, confinement. That feeling of I can't breathe, I can't fix this, or I don't see a way out. That's not a peaceful moment, guys. That's survival mode.

And right in the middle of that, the psalmist says almost something shocking. Let's look at verse six. It says, the Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me? What? Wait. How do you say that in distress? Because fear is what naturally grows in tight places. Fear of what's going to happen next. Fear of what will people do or how will this turn out. Fear of whether you're just going to make it through. And if we're honest, fear and gratitude, they don't coexist real well. Because when fear grows, gratitude shrinks. And if we're not careful, our hearts slowly shift from trust to resentment. I've had to face this in my own life. You know, there were moments when I realized that I wasn't just hurting, I was becoming hardened. Gratitude felt unnatural, but complaining felt so easy. And that's because complaining is our flesh's default. But gratitude is a spirit-led decision. Now, the psalmist continues. Let's look at verse seven through nine. Says, the Lord is for me among those who help me. Therefore, I shall see my desire of those who hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Here's what this reveals.

Our struggle with gratitude is often a trust issue. Because when we place our hope in people, in outcomes, in stability, or how we think life should go, we will eventually be disappointed. And then that disappointment, if we're not careful, turns into bitterness, frustration, entitlement, or quiet resentment toward God. Now, gratitude grows when we shift from people failed me to God has never failed me. Gratitude grows when we stop asking who can fix this and start resting, and God is already with me in this. Even in the distress, even in your fear, you are not alone. You are not without help, and the Lord is for you, and he is with you. Point three, gratitude shifts what we magnify. Let's look at verse 14. The Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation. The Lord is my strength and song. That's a choice of focus. Because pain is loud, circumstances is loud, and our fear is loud. But gratitude intentionally says, I will not let my circumstances be the loudest voice in my head. What you magnify grows, and if you magnify what's broken, what's missing, what's unfair, your heart shrinks. But when you magnify God, his faithfulness, his presence, his promises, your perspective expands. Now, gratitude doesn't deny pain, but it re-centers truth.

Point four, gratitude is choosing today even when today is hard. Let's look at verse 24. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. It does not say, this will be the day once everything is fixed. This day, even this one, the hard day, the exhausting day, the confusing day. Gratitude doesn't wait for life change. Gratitude declares, God is still at work today. So what changed for me? Because my circumstances did not change, right? Didn't change instantly, my pain didn't disappear overnight, but something in my heart began to shift. You see, I stopped asking, why is this happening to me? And I began to see things that I had missed. God sustaining me when I felt like I couldn't keep going. God protecting me in ways that I didn't recognize at the time. God pursuing my children even when I couldn't reach them. And God strengthening my husband and our marriage in ways suffering never could have produced otherwise. And slowly, gratitude started to grow. Not because life became easy, but because I began to see that God had never left. Not in the abuse, not in the divorce, not in the rebellion, not in the disability. He was present in all of it. He was faithful in all of it and working in it.

in all of it. And I realize gratitude is not saying this is good. Gratitude is saying God is still good. I'll end with this. Today, if you're in a season where gratitude just feels impossible, you're tired, you're hurting, you're questioning, Psalms 118 does not demist your pain, but it invites you into something deeper, a gratitude that is not based on your story, your circumstances, but rooted in God's unchanging love. So today, if your voice shakes or if your heart is still healing, you can say, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his love endures forever. All right, thank you guys for letting me share. Thank you. We're gonna move into testimony time. Gary, why don't you come up on the stage? I wanna introduce you to Gary. He is such a gentle soul, a wonderful leader, just a wonderful man. So let's welcome Gary. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.

Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. That's where I was placing my hope. After being married to my wonderful Anna and having two beautiful children, we were happy for a while. Our marriage began to struggle and got worse. We didn't have God in our lives and the tension became unbearable. I started to drink heavily to dull the pain that seemed to work for me, but our marriage continued to backslide. I tried quitting alcohol on my own, but each time I couldn't overcome the physical pain and mental fog I was in. The solution seemed worse than the problem I had, at least to me. This is when I felt hopeless, depressed, isolated, and hated what I had become. Looking at myself in the mirror, I didn't recognize the person looking back at me and I didn't like looking at him. Also, I couldn't dull the pain

I knew I was causing my family. I was convinced that my exit would be best for our family because not drinking was no longer an option. I came up with a plan and the timeline was short. Within a few weeks of this, Anna secretly had called my sisters and my parents and asked them for help with an intervention. They showed up, showed me love, and I agreed to do an inpatient medical detox or rehab without me even knowing God had another plan for me and it was now in motion. Praise God. After coming home, all my energy went into staying sober. I didn't lean on God. My marriage was still broken. Being sober didn't fix that. Our son Cole had just gone off to college and was a freshman at SMU in Dallas and he had joined a Christian fraternity. One evening, we called him and in that conversation, he announced he was being discipled by another man in his church. Now, Anna and I had no idea what discipleship was, so we looked at each other and whispered, what is that? Is he being lured into some kind of cult? Now, Cole explained he was learning the lifelong process of following Jesus Christ. Cole was learning the way. Cole was and still is worshiping

and serving at Watermark Church. This is the church where regeneration and all other ministries that start with re were developed. I would occasionally talk with a friend of mine, Rob, about salvation. Rob had consistently told me I was wrong in believing good works would bring me salvation and I was a dummy for believing this. You see, Rob only calls people dummy when he loves you, but you're misguided in your thinking. He told me about God's grace through faith and being justified was a gift. Romans 3, verse 23 and 24 says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption, which is in Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus did the work that I would never be able to do. Rob was also a great example of Proverbs 29, 25. It says, the fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted. Not long after Cole's announcement of being discipled, he came home during a semester break. He asked me to watch a documentary with him called The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. This tells the story of Lee's journey from atheism to faith through his two-year investigation of the Bible and the life of Jesus. Christ. After watching this and remembering what my friend Rob had been telling me all along, the pieces started to fall into

place over the next few days. I now believed and accepted in my heart that Jesus Christ walked the earth as holy man, holy God, took the sins of the world, including mine, to the cross and defeated death by being raised on the third day. I couldn't deny these things. Why was I sober now and had remained sober? It was God. I believe he needed me well in mind, body, and spirit to accept his gift of salvation willingly and to glorify Jesus for what Jesus had done on the cross and resurrection. Why was I still married and forgiven by my wife? Again, Jesus Christ's will. Why had I not given up and left this world? His mercy. Romans 12, 2, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. Now, next we were led to Abundant Life to be called to call Abundant Life our church home in September of 2021. Within a short period of time, we went through first steps and next steps, and we began serving here. We were also encouraged to take part in Discipleship One. Anna called Abundant Life to see if there was a couple that could disciple us. We were informed that Pastor Joe and his wife, Jennifer, had just become available, and their leadership was timely as Pastor Joe would guide me to regen. Towards the end of our discipleship, Pastor Joe was about to graduate from regeneration, and he believed I would benefit greatly from this ministry. He asked me to pray about it, and because I trusted Joe, I prayed. The three answers I received from God, one, God used my son as a tool to open my heart to him. Two, God told me to go to an AA meeting. When I went back to that one meeting, I saw something I had never seen in the previous 70 or so meetings. There was 25 plus people weeping, praising,

praying to God that night for their sobriety and God's help in their lives. You see, AA had also prepared me for another 12 step program, regeneration. Three, Pastor Joe, who is faithful to God, whom I trust, was healed from scars that he had buried deep through this ministry. The answer was clear to me that God wanted me in regeneration. I needed trust and obedience in him, and that was put in my heart when I signed up for regeneration. John 15, 7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. With Curt and Ryan as my leaders, I would learn what regeneration was about. We are often reminded to trust the process and put the work in. The fellowship with the other guys and supporting each other was often what kept me honest with God and these men. I call these guys brothers in Christ. I would come to understand regeneration was built around one central goal, full devotion to Christ. Maintaining my sobriety and overcoming other sins, both those I've caused and those done to me, is not the end goal. Rather, it's an important step in my ongoing journey to become a fully committed follower. Every day, God is working in my sanctification until I join him in heaven. These are some of the key insights I gained from regeneration. Obedience and trust in him has given me a peace that surpasses all understanding. Nothing's going to take that from me. I want to know God and be known by him. Fear speaks with urgency, and God whispers trust. I want more of him and less of my sinful nature evident in my life, always seeking the Holy Spirit, who is in me, for wisdom, correction, and direction. Don't let the adversary convince you to be apathetic in your walk with God. From my brother in Christ, Michael, the devil owns the fence. Don't find yourself

on that fence between good and evil. Never set boundaries on what God can do in your life. Allow him to work beyond our human limitations, expectations, and understanding. Trust in his unlimited power and grace. After going through regeneration, my life has changed. God is now at the forefront. I prayed and I asked God to lead me where I can best serve him. He answered by sending me back as a leader to shepherd another group of men to regen. During the time I was a participant, my leader, Kurt, and I became great friends. I call him my brother. I respect to know him as a good, godly man. God then placed us as co-leaders to guide another group of men through the process of regeneration. The second time was just as impactful as the first. God answered my question as to why I had fallen so far before I was able to see the truth in him. Going through a tribulation in this world is inevitable. We live in a broken world. Everything in this world will die, decay, and turn to dust. Going through regen will not stop this. John 16.33, these things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage. I have overcome the world. You see, Jesus Christ doesn't drop us off in a valley or tribulation. He walks with us through our tribulations. We're never alone. God never wastes our pain ever. Genesis 50 verse 20 says, what the enemy intended for harm, God will use for good. Here's a quote from Billy Graham. Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys. He is speaking of spiritual fruit. It is in the valley where we develop perseverance, courage, love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The valley is also the place we are reminded of obedience, diligence, and our need to rely

on Christ Jesus. Now knowing and believing this, I no longer fear the valleys and tribulations, not that I necessarily look forward to them either, but I know he is with me. This understanding helped me accept that everything from God is counted as a blessing. Romans 8, 28, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose. Every day I now thank God for the blessings of today, the blessings of yesterday, and the blessings of tomorrow. Everything I receive from our Lord I count as a blessing. If you're here and considering joining this ministry, I encourage you to stop thinking and start acting. God calls us to put our faith into action. Our Lord will be with you, and through Him you'll find more than you ever thought possible. God is good, and He is for us. God bless us all. Thank you. Praise the Lord. Awesome. Thank you, Gary, so much. Let's give another round of applause for Gary. And another big round of applause for Desiree. Thank you so much, Des, for sharing the message for us tonight. Awesome. Alrighty, guys. Well, if you have not met me and I have not met you, my name is Lauren, and I have the honor of presenting to you the message of the day. I want to thank you for being here. I want to thank you for being a part of this. I want to thank you for being a part of this. I want to thank you for being a part of this. Thank you. We're going to introduce Carol and David to come on down to the front. So, as everyone leaves to go to their groups, all of our first time guests, you guys will come to the front to meet with David and Carol, and they'll take you guys to your orientation class. If you attended last week, was your first night and you're back here again, you'll be joining our

groundworks group. So, women, you guys will go outside of these doors to the left here. You guys is right. Up to the kids' imagine theater. That's where your groundworks will be held. And men, you guys will walk across the street to the core building and the core auditorium there.