Rich Wilkerson Jr. — Dying To Be Different — VOUSCon 2025

Hey VU friends and family, it's Manishka and I cannot wait to share this video with you. It's from VUConn 2025. We kicked off with Meeting One. Pastor Rich preached an incredible message that set a foundation for VUConn 2025, but we're excited to let you know that VUConn 2026 is already on the books. We're preparing, we're planning. It's happening June 10th to the 14th and we want you in the room. You can go to VUConn.com to register, but why don't you take a moment to check out this message. So tonight, let me just direct our attention to John chapter 21. This is verse 17. This is what the scripture says. It says in verse 17, the end part, Jesus is speaking and he says, feed my sheep. He's speaking to the apostle Peter. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you dressed yourself and you went where you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, follow me. Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. And when Peter saw him, he asked, Lord, what about him? Here comes Jesus. If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me. Look at your neighbor and say, neighbor, what is that to you? Look at your other neighbor, the one that you haven't talked to yet. You're going to have to get to know the people around you and say, you got to follow Jesus. Tell them that. Say, you got to follow Jesus. And I want to preach, if I can, for the next few moments, a song that we wrote about a year ago, Aidan King and Luke Berry and myself, and it's become the theme. And when we title these conventions, I don't just look for fun phrasing, but we really seek God. And I think he always gives us a prophetic unction. And for the past year, we have been making this statement. And tonight I want to preach from it, from the subject, dying to be different, dying to be different. And would you pray with me as we come around God's word? Lord, we thank you so much for your word. God, we thank you for the many that are in attendance tonight. Lord, we thank you, Lord, that there's no accidents. There's no coincidences. God, we thank you, Lord, for all the effort, Lord, as people have labored, Lord, to come to this moment. But now God, we throw off the spirit of Martha and we become like Mary and we sit at your feet and we want to hear from you. Speak to us, Holy Spirit. We don't have to wait till Saturday. We believe you're here right now, moving, speaking. We love you and we praise you. And if you agree with that prayer, all of God's people said, all of God's people said,

if you love Jesus, make a little bit of noise on a Thursday night. Have you ever been surprised by the cost of something? All the time, inflation. I was just thinking about you over the last couple of weeks, and I just know this room. I mean, you bought a ticket. Some of you got on an airplane. Some of you crossed the ocean. Everything about you would already be saying that, yo, I want to be a person of purpose and I want to embrace my calling and I want to be different. I just think what happens to a lot of us on that journey, and I'm just putting my hand up with you, is that on that journey, sometimes we kind of look around at life and we kind of put our head up for a moment. We're going, man, this is a lot harder than I thought. Yo, this is taking much longer than I ever anticipated, much longer than I ever expected. Is this worth it? It's funny, I'm 41 years of age and sometimes I have a hard time differentiating between breakthrough and burnout, because it's right there before you break through. There's an old principle, an old phrase that everybody wants transformation until they see the price. I walked into a shop, not to go shopping for my wife, because I'm an incredible husband, and it was one of these stores, if you've ever been in one of these stores, you walk into the store and you're looking around at the stuff, but there's no price tags on anything. Just warning right now, this is not shopping, this is a setup, okay? And I kind of pick out something nice. I'm like, yeah, what's up? And so I walk up to the cashier, and she kind of just gives me this look, and it's not like a look like, hey, you picked out a great... item the look is more like you got a second credit card kind of a look you know and she gave me the price and this is a true story you can't make this up when she gave me the price I had to take a step back I'm Holy Ghost filled so I spoke in tongues this is true God is my witness I said you know what um I'll be right back friend I didn't walk out of that place I ran out of that place to never return again you feel me what happened what happened was is that like I didn't know the price I'm not even saying it wasn't worth it I'm just saying I wasn't prepared to pay the price I think a lot of times we come to moments like this and we're like yo I want a legacy and I want to walk in calling and man I want purpose but when we get in the checkout line and we get up to all of a sudden get the total we go whoa whoa whoa let me slip out a

little bit here I'm not ready for what all of this is requesting out of me what all of this is asking out of me we live in 2025 and I don't think it's like news to anybody but everybody in 2025 seems like they're trying to stand out like everybody wants to stand out everyone wants to be different everyone wants to be seen everyone wants to be noticed and we know all about self branding self marketing we know all about self-help but very few of us in 2025 know anything about self-denial and I got really good news for you you can be different but you're gonna have to die like before the Gospels good news you got to start with the bad news you sick you need help you have to recognize before I can come and live I must first come and die I think that's what I always have resonated or what I've always really liked about the Apostle Peter is because we see such the human side of the Apostle Peter sometimes I'm reading the Bible like man do I relate to anybody but Peter bro come on man I think I think he's left in the scriptures just to encourage all of us you know cuz Peter was the guy who was like I'm different I ain't like the rest of disciples no Jesus I'll never ever deny you are you kidding me I'm with you to the end man ride or die Jesus really his moment comes and all of a sudden when he gets into that line he says wait a minute I'm not ready to pay this price and the scripture says that he runs as he denies Jesus I think the better news that we have tonight is not just harping on where we fall short I think the better news that we will land on all throughout this weekend is Jesus that Jesus Christ yes I have to die to be different but anybody thankful that Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago went to a cruel rugged cross he died so I could be different because in John chapter 21 that really is the context of what's taking place that Peter has left the checkout line he says man this is gonna cost me more than I know what I'm gonna do and the scripture says that Jesus comes and finds him he doesn't come with a receipt he says Peter you left but I paid the price and this is what we hang our hat on and this is what we preach and this is what we herald and this is what we sing and this is what we gather about a God who pursues us a God who finds us in John chapter 21 before we get to our actual text tonight I think

it's important to put it into context because as you start in John chapter 21 what you'll find is that Jesus has resurrected but apparently Peter doesn't know about it yet because Peter has gone back to the fishing boats he's gone back to the very place where it all began and I've heard a lot of preachers talk about Peter sometimes and sometimes he can kind of get the bad rap like yeah he denied Jesus and then he backslid but I don't know if he actually backslid could it be possible that he wasn't backsliding he was just simply back-searching do you know where Jesus found Peter the first time he found him right here at the Sea of Galilee and something tells me that Peter wasn't backsliding but he was lost and he was confused and he said I got to get back to the place I got to go back to that moment where God first found me I don't know what this past year has looked like but some of you are back in this room and some might say you have backslidden but I came with the gospel I don't think you backslidden I think you're back searching you're coming right back to the room where he first called you where he first met you it might have been a three-year hiatus but you're back in the room tonight and God knows where you live somebody give him some praise he'll come and find you and Peter he's back doing the thing he did in the beginning but now he's not any good at it scripture says he's fishing but he can't catch anything which by the way side note I also always hear people say that Peter left a lucrative fishing business is that true Because every time I find Peter in the Bible, he's catching nothing. Maybe becoming a fisher of men was actually a promotion. At best, a good career pivot, right? Come on. And the scripture says he's out there fishing, he can't catch anything, and then here comes Jesus, resurrected Jesus, he's out there on the shore,

and he comes and finds Peter, he goes, hey guys, try the other side. Which, do you ever just get like simple advice from someone, you're like, no, too simple. And they're like, huh. And they go, okay, and they throw it on the other side, and when they throw it on the other side, the scripture says they try to pull up the nets, but the nets begin breaking, because there's so much fish. And John the Beloved says, it's the Lord. And Peter looks up, and the Bible says he doesn't hesitate, he doesn't wait, he jumps into the water. Do y'all remember the last time that Peter was with Jesus on a water? The same body of water. Remember, Jesus came out. Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid. Ah, it's raining, the boat is sinking, take courage, it is I, do not be afraid. The only dude who was willing to get out of the boat was Peter, and he started walking on water. And before you judge Peter, I don't think you ever walked on water. But the scripture says he took his eyes off of Jesus, and he started looking at the wind and the waves, and he began to sink. I wonder, do you think Peter made a vow that night? Man, if I ever get another chance to be out on this lake, and Jesus shows up, baby, I don't care what I gotta do.

If I get to run, if I get to walk, if I gotta sink, if I gotta swim, I'ma do whatever it takes, I'ma be different, I'ma get to Jesus. And the Bible says he gets up on that shore, and would you believe it, when he gets up on that shore, what's Jesus doing? Jesus is cooking fish! That speaks to me. Not the fish that they just caught! Not the miracle catch, Jesus already had it! He's got more, which preaches to me, because sometimes I'm spending my whole life out there at sea, striving, and hustling, and grinding, but I oughta take a step back tonight, and recognize my God is already cooking up everything that I need. Come on, somebody, let your God cook! You don't have to strive! He's already got what you need! And the Bible says that he's created a charcoal fire. It's a charcoal fire that he's making this fish. Would you believe it? The last time we saw Peter talking about Jesus, he was next to a charcoal fire. But he didn't know the cost, and he's denying Jesus. Thank God for Dawn Cherie and her book, Slow Burn, I learned something new. That scent is the greatest sense that we have attached to memory.

I want you to know about a God who cares about every detail, because he's wanting Peter, I believe, that when he smells fire, Peter, I don't want when you smell fire for you to go back and remember your failure, but when you smell fire, I want you to remember my grace. I'm the God of a second chance. I'm a God who says, you still have a future. Come on, somebody, I need you to praise him tonight if you're thankful that we serve a God not of the second chance, but the third chance, 100 chances. Jesus says to Peter, Peter, do you love me? How many times has he asked that? Three times. How many times did Peter deny him? I don't think Jesus is lecturing Peter. I think he's loving Peter, and he's unraveling Peter's shame, and he's allowing him right now to be restored and reinstated. I know he's restored, because what does Jesus say to Peter? He says, Peter, feed my sheep. That's why I landed on this passage, because what he's saying to Peter is what I believe he's saying to us. He's saying, Peter, build my church. I gotta stop here, because there's all sorts of different gatherings, and I love any type of Christian gathering, lift up the name of Jesus,

but this gathering is not about hype. It's not about merch. It's not about a brand. This is a gathering of the church of Jesus Christ. The devil is not afraid of a big church or a hyped-up church. He's afraid of a united church. He's saying, Peter, you gotta feed my sheep. You've got work to do. I know we're living in interesting times, and we just gotta speak to the elephant in the room. It seems like so many men of God are falling from grace. It seems like so many are walking away from the faith, and every story matters, and we pray for them, and we grieve with them, but we should not be that surprised. We should not be that shocked when men of God and women of God fall from grace. The entire church started with a fallen pastor, but I'm thankful for Jesus. He does not cancel, Peter. He calls Peter and he says Peter I can still work with you Upon this rock upon you Peter. I'm a build my church and the gates of hell shall Not prevail. I need you to clap your hands if you're grateful. God can work with you Some of us tonight we're getting reinstated Some of us are finding our fire again The most beautiful thing about the story of Peter is that if God can build with Peter he certainly can build with you He certainly can build with you and he's inviting us tonight. I don't know what your ears look like I'm not being light on sin tonight by any means I'm just making much out of the name of Jesus that we serve a God who can redeem

rewrite restore Stories, come on. I need you to thank him tonight build your faith a little bit But now it's from this place as Jesus has paid the ultimate price I I paid That ticket Peter you you can actually be different now because you don't have to strive I I went to the cross and I paid the price for your sin But Peter there is a cross that you must pick up. It is the cross of your purpose It is the cross of your calling And Peter you got to be different Tonight as we just examine these few verses, I believe in many ways These are prophetic statements over your life, but I also think these are very very practical Over the last few weeks as I've been thinking about this message This hasn't just been a word from God for me It's also been like tools in my hands and it's helped me It's helped me walk in peace because what does it look like to be different? What does it look like to truly go and build the church? What does it look like man of God who's leading the church and trying to carry all of these things and what does it look Like to serve in God's house. I just want to show you three words from this text I think the first thing when it comes to being different is this word beyond everyone say beyond Jesus says to Peter feed my sheep, but then he says when you were younger you dressed yourself but when you're older, you will stretch out your hands and Somebody else will dress you and somebody else will lead you to where you do not want to go Now this is amazing because this is a euphemism in this time period stretching out your hands Was something that was commonly used about being crucified Jesus is not showing up to Peter and giving him a five-year plan. He's giving him a prophecy of pain Peter you're gonna have to die You're restored But let me tell you the end you're gonna die on a cross And I don't know how to get this into your heart all the way But I'm telling you that if you're gonna be different God is gonna call you beyond you

Beyond your capacity beyond your gifting beyond your comfort zone I think you start following Jesus man. You got to get on you got to get comfortable being uncomfortable Like you want to what leadership looks like I got to get real comfortable being uncomfortable your comfort zone is nice It's just missing your calling It's Missing your calling like it's not there and if you want to be different this next year, you got to say God What's the big thing you're asking me to do? What's the thing that's bigger than me? What's that walking on water moment? Like God, I'm gonna step out here, but I don't know if I can make it Lord If you don't show up God, I'm gonna die God likes us in that place Our story was in 1998 my dad got a word from God and he moved his four sons from Tacoma, Washington To Miami now, I was telling the pastors earlier today. Like I didn't get a vote in this In fact so much of my life And so much about my purpose came from other people's decisions when I was 14 dad wasn't like rich We're gonna take a family vote. No, it wasn't a democracy. It was a kingdom And my dad is the king We moved to Miami and I'm just telling you it was uncomfortable I'm 14 years of age moving from Tacoma, Washington I just wish somebody would have explained some of the basics like yo, bro. You're closer to the equator now You're gonna be sweating all the time. I Just had questions. I went to school in the Miami Lakes area Dade Christian shout out and I remember went to the cafeteria day one some day Christian people and I went to the cafeteria and I had my first croquette Did I say that right a Jamaican patty my god Wow and that a pie, you know I'm like, where is this food from? They're like which country it was like the Epcot Center right there in my cafeteria You think You're freshman year everyone turns 15 so all the girls had these things called quinces.

I don't know how. My mom signed me up for salsa classes. Suavemente. Bailamos. Let the rhythm take you. Oh, tumba la casa, tumba la casa, tumba. Is that a bad word? Okay. I'm just telling you, I wasn't ready. And we used to cry every day going to school. My dad is just one of a kind. And I remember one time my older brother and I were in our bed crying, like, we gotta go back to Tacoma. My dad, but this is such a Rich Wilkerson Senior story, my dad burst in the door, he's like, boys! That summer, I remember, 1998, the movie Saving Private Ryan had come out. It's a World War II film, okay. And my dad's like, boys, I'm taking you back to the theater and we're gonna watch Saving Private Ryan because I wanna show you what real sacrifice looks like. No! He's different, yo. But he was right, like, no, South Beach and Normandy Beach are very, very different. But there was a mindset that he was trying to get on us. Boys, this wasn't merely a move. This is a mission and it's beyond you because it's only until you get beyond your comfort that you discover his comfort.

Come on, this is a word for somebody. Some of you have never, ever experienced the comfort of the Holy Spirit because you stay in your comfort zone. But this is a year that you're gonna step out in faith and you're gonna go beyond your capacity, beyond your strength. God is calling pastors and preachers and leaders and prophets and evangelists. He's building his church! I got a sense, a senior pastor's coming in and this week somehow, God is gonna deposit something into your heart but you're gonna hear it and when you hear it, it's gonna be so beyond you, you're gonna go, was that Jesus? I wanna let you know right now, that was the Holy Spirit. He's calling you to big stuff. He's calling you to great stuff. He's calling you beyond. If you believe it, clap your hands. Beyond, beyond. But this is the tension. It's not just beyond. It's always beyond but different is always beneath. It's always beyond but it's always beneath because listen to what he said. Jesus said, when you were younger, you dressed yourself. He is not just speaking as he goes into this next phrase, when you're older, someone else will dress you.

Yes, he's prophesying. Yes, he's speaking about the fact that you're gonna die on a cross in the future but he's also speaking about something very, very practical. He's telling Peter that you're gonna have to be clothed in humility and you're gonna have to take on the life of a servant. And this is big because in 2025, we know how to self-brand and we know how to self-market and we know how to mix self-help with the gospel but it's self-denial. Everybody wants a call that's beyond them. Nobody wants a call that's beneath them. Beneath, beneath. It's weird because I have big dreams. I've always had big dreams but I just wanna try to encourage somebody in this room tonight who has a big call from God and a big dream from God. It seems like every big dream that God has given me, I have to take small steps. And I'm still doing it, man. Like, as a pastor, it's like, man, how many more times I gotta say this small thing? How many more times I gotta have this meeting? As a husband, I gotta be the first. Hello, I gotta be the first to apologize. It's these small little steps. This is 15 years and tonight for me is one of the great privileges and one of the greatest joys of my entire ministry, being in this room with you,

some 7,000 people registered for VUCon 2025. All glory to God. Thank you for coming. But how many of y'all know, it didn't start in an arena. We're not all Bryce Crawford. No, it started with. Small steps. Last week, about eight days ago, I went to Everglades Correctional Institution, which is where we do our prison care ministry. And I went in to preach to the men. And I don't know if you noticed, but this past year I was really dying to be different. I bleached my hair and we lost some donors and so I'm growing it back out. But, it made me laugh. Oh, but people at church started calling me Pastor Ken. Y'all, I walked in last Wednesday night to a room full of 200 inmates. This dude walked up to me and said, how you doing, Pastor Ken? I said, no, the joke stops here. I am not okay with my prison nickname being Pastor Ken. Shut up, no, no, not okay. But the reason why I went is because those men always hear my message one week behind. They're always delayed because I preach it on Sunday and then we have to bring it to them on Wednesday. And about 10 days ago, I was thinking to myself, you know what, these guys are a part of this community.

They're not here physically in the room, but their spirit is with us. And so last Wednesday, I went over there and I preached John 21. And I told those guys eight days ago, I said, nobody in the arena knows it yet, but Vucon is starting right here in the prison on a Wednesday night. Why? Because if the prison is too small, the arena is too big. We need some leaders in 2025 who say, I'll do the thing that feels like it's beneath me, the small thing. Listen to Jesus's words because I don't want you to miss it. Do you know what he's saying? He says, when you were younger, you dressed yourself. And if you just breeze by it, it seems so insignificant. I mean, Peter, the leader of the New Testament church, why is Jesus talking about clothes? But I think it's really relevant because he's saying, Peter, if you're gonna follow me, you don't get to pick out your fit. Which in 2025, be honest, some of y'all would lose your salvation. If God said for the next month, I'm gonna pick out your outfit. No! Be honest.

Because clothes in 2025, we're not just dressing what we're expressing ourselves. It's an extension of my identity and I'm expressing myself. And these are my clothes, man. This is what I wear. And Jesus is trying to say to Peter, if you're gonna be different, yeah, you're gonna have to die and it's gonna be big and this thing's gonna go on for 2,000 years and 2,000 years later, they're gonna be talking about you and telling your story, but you better understand, it's also gonna hit your pride in such a way that you don't even get to pick out your outfit. It sounds so small and insignificant. I grew up in a real church. Like I used to go to church Wednesday night, had to go to church Friday night, I had to go to church Sunday morning, had to go to church back again Sunday night for a new program, new message, whole thing. And I grew up in an era where we had to wear church clothes, which y'all don't know about. I was gonna wear all black and I was walking out of my house and my son said, dad, why are you so dressed up wearing all black? I said, I'm going to church. He says, those aren't church clothes. Those are wedding clothes.

But when I was younger, we had to wear tucked in Oxford shirt, weird pleated pants. In fact, I'm back wearing them. Remember the penny loafers that you could like skate on, like you could like slide on the carpet. I remember one Sunday, one Sunday I got invited by my non-Christian friends to go to the skating rink in between services. Mom agreed. I walked into what they called, it was called the Tiffany's skating rink. It's also, you could call it Babylon. It was a sinful place. And I just remember being there in this strange, silly outfit and I stood out. I looked different. I looked awkward. I looked like a Mormon for goodness sake. But there's something about that, that God says, I'm gonna dress you in a way that's gonna make you look different. It won't be different in the way that society says that's different, but will you let God clothe you in humility? Would you let God clothe you in service? Would you let God clothe you in anonymity? What if nobody ever knows your name? Will you still follow Jesus?

Because if serving is beneath you, leadership is beyond. you. I'm just telling you tonight, never be impressed with my wife or myself. We stand on the shoulders of generations who went before us. Names that you don't know, but names that shaped us and formed us and people that were faithful and people that were obedient, people that were consistent. I could tell you story after story of just people in my family. I'm not bragging about myself, I'm giving glory to God. Some of you are first-generation Christians and you are starting a new legacy for your family. Come on, I need you to clap right there. I felt that. There's been some stuff running in your family. You didn't start it, but by the grace of God, this weekend you're gonna stop it. But a name that comes to my mind was my Uncle Mark Bontane. My Uncle Mark Bontane used to work closely with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. It was Mother Teresa who one time, she said it this way, she says, not everybody can do great things, but everybody can do small things with great love. My Uncle Mark, when he was 31 years of age, took his wife and his little baby girl. They sailed to Calcutta, India. They thought they were gonna be there for a couple months. It turned out to be their entire life. And Mark, when he got there, he would preach everywhere. They started a little church and it used to be on the second floor and beneath it was a dance hall. And their favorite phrase was, it's heaven upstairs and hell downstairs. But he tells a story about one time preaching and while he was preaching, a man walked in and said, preacher, fill our bellies with food and then tell us about a God who loves us. And he says that day is the day that changed everything for him. Because yes, God was calling him to go beyond, but God was also calling him to go beneath. And that was the day that he began to serve. Find a need and fill it. He started building feeding lines and he started building orphanages and he started building hospitals. He died prematurely in his early 60s with a brain aneurysm all alone in Calcutta, India. His wife was away. His daughter was at college. His only request was, bury me

in Calcutta. And they say about my Uncle Mark Bontane that at his funeral, 20,000 people showed up. Not because he was some great platform preacher, not because he was some famous person on the internet, but rather because he was a man who let God clothe him in a different fit. You've ever heard that phrase before? Clothes don't make the man. The man makes the clothes. And I want to tell you tonight that God wants to clothe you and he wants to use you, but at times as he uses you, it's going to hit your pride, it's going to hit your ego. But as you serve God, he can do exceedingly, immeasurably more than you could ever ask, think, or imagine. I'm talking about different tonight. We're not leaving here the same. God's calling me beyond. God's calling me beneath. But notice what happens to Peter because I think it happens to me. Here comes the grace of God. Here comes a God who finds him. He's back on the boat. He quit. Jesus, so good, so loving, so merciful, finds him, restores him, reinstates him, gives him a purpose, gives him a plan. And as soon as he gets that plan, what does Peter do? Peter looks and he sees John. He goes, whoa, what about him? Because different is always beyond you. It's always beneath you, but listen to me, different is never beside you. It's never beside you. Isn't this Peter's great Achilles, that he always takes his eyes off the mark? This is what he did on the water. He was walking on water as he was looking at Jesus, as he was following Jesus, but as soon as he looked at the wind and the waves, he started to sink and there he goes again. Yo, yo, yo, yo, what about John? And listen to Jesus's words. Jesus's words, he doesn't give him clarity, he doesn't comfort him. He goes, what's that to you? Someone say, what's that to you? You gotta follow me, Peter. What's that to you if he lives or dies? Because we come into these places and we say, God, I want to be different. God, I want to be transformed. God, use me. But the moment God... starts treating you differently, you cry out, unfair. Unfair! What about him? What about that pastor? What about that person?

Can I just encourage you tonight, because maybe you forgot. God is not fair. You don't want fair. Fair would be judgment. Fair would be eternal damnation forever. Lake of fire for all of us. I don't know about you, but I'm grateful for a God who doesn't give me what I deserve. But when I look to my savior, he gives me what Jesus deserves. Get that out of your mouth. Don't let the culture get into the kingdom. Fair, we serve a God of grace. You're gonna have to get okay with someone on your right doing better than you. You're gonna have to get really good at not comparing yourself to somebody who seems like they're further than you. Because I'm telling you what, in the body of Christ, comparison is killing our contentment. And now I'm preaching to pastors for a moment, because there's pastors in this room, your entire job is to help people walk into the abundant life. Your entire job is to help people discover contentment in Christ alone. But some of us pastors are some of the most disappointed people on the planet. Because we had an expectation.

But sometimes we're holding God to a plan that he never even gave us. We're just looking to the right and looking to the left and saying, why aren't you doing that for me? But Jesus comes and he speaks right back to you and says, you're different. I have a plan for you. You gotta take your eyes off of John, and you gotta put your eyes back on Jesus. You gotta follow him. You gotta follow him. Did you notice the text? This is interesting. The text says, the text says, then Peter looked at the one whom Jesus loved. That always makes me laugh. Because do you know who's writing this? Where'd that title come from? Honestly, we don't know. Did Jesus give it to him? Maybe. Maybe not. It doesn't really matter. That's what John believed. He believed I'm chosen. He believed I'm picked. I'm secure, I'm treasured. How do you see yourself? Tolerated? Just barely getting by?

Because until you are convinced of God's love, you'll never be content in your calling. Ever. This is interesting to me. Peter is known as the disciple who loved Jesus. I'll never deny you. But he denied him to a little girl. John the Beloved is known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. But he's the only disciple who stood at the foot of the cross, who did not forsake Jesus. Why? Because different is not about my confession of my love for Jesus. Different always begins when I confess, oh my God, he loves me, he loves me, he loves me. He picked me, he chose me, he came for me. Friend, tonight, the fact that you're in this room, the fact that you're here this weekend is because he's got a plan for you. You're his masterpiece. You're going, God, I feel like you're being cruel. He's like, I'm not being cruel. I've got a custom-made plan for you. It's amazing to me, because when I look back on Peter's life, I think somewhere on his journey, he got this assurance, wait a minute, this is about God who loves me, and now I respond. I respond, and that's why he even wrote in his letter, he says, you are a holy nation. You are a royal priesthood.

You are, watch this, a peculiar, a peculiar, a peculiar, a peculiar, people. Peter became peculiar. Peculiar means marked and set apart. Peculiar Peter, he finally rested in the fact that God loves me. God picked me. It's not about John, it's about Jesus. I gotta put my eyes on Jesus. And if you know the history books, John was exiled to Patmos, where he wrote the Revelation. Many believe that he was boiled, that as he wrote, his body was practically in grave clothes. Peter went on to lead the church and finally that prophecy came true and they came and they got Peter with his family and historians would tell us that when it came time for his crucifixion, when it came time for that prophetic word to come true, Peter made one request. If you're gonna crucify me, do me one thing. Crucify me upside down because I'm not worthy to die like Jesus. He found me in my brokenness and he said I can work with a mess like you and he gave me purpose and he gave me calling and here I am. I know I'm loved by my maker. I know that the moment I leave this earth I will be in his presence. I am driven by eternity and I am different, different to the point that I would say don't even kill me like Jesus. Friend, you can be different but you're gonna have to die to yourself. We're gonna have to let some stuff go. Some of us been carrying the baggage of sin, the baggage of our shame and we must repent and we must stand before a holy God and we must acknowledge I don't have problems, I am the problem. So God forgive me and wash me clean and restore me. God I want to be a part of your church and I want to help build your church and I'm broken just like Peter but God I sense you're calling me

to something big and something beyond me and I don't know how to do it but God I'm gonna trust you and so I'll stretch out my arms. But God if you call me daily to take small steps, Lord here I am. It's not about my pride or about my ego but let me go ahead and echo the voice of John the Baptist. He must become greater and I must become less. I'm dying to be different and I'm done comparing. Maybe you're here and you're wondering is this worth it? Can I do this? I want to be the voice in your life saying it's so worth it. You have no idea what God wants to do in your life. There's nothing like the abundant life and maybe you've walked in here and a friend brought you I don't know but it's night one and I'm not gonna miss the opportunity right here right now to point you to the cross, to allow Jesus to save you and redeem you. He says to Peter you, you must follow me. Those words hit me deep. Though my world may fall, Lord I'll continue to love you and I'll continue to follow you. Would you bow your head across this room this evening? God we thank you for your voice. God we thank you for your presence. God thank you that you're here right now. Lord all across this arena so many stories and so many moments but God I believe tonight is a night of purpose, a night of transformation, a night of legacy. Yes Lord there is a cost but we start with the cost that you paid. You paid the ultimate price. Lord you died and you resurrected that we might be born again. Before I pray for anyone tonight I just wonder if you're in this room and you'd like to be born again. You'd like to put your trust in Jesus, the author perfecter and finish of our faith. The scripture says that yet to all who received him and believed in his name he gave them the right to be called the children of God. You have a heavenly father that's waiting to accept you into the family. The only way you can get there is by being adopted and the only way you get to be adopted is because Jesus paid the price. Tonight with your head bowed and your eyes closed before we sing, before we worship, before we continue to move on, if you're here tonight and you've never met Jesus or maybe you've been running, some would call it backsliding, tonight I believe you're back searching and he knows where you are. He wants to meet you. He's burning a fire right here right now, not

reminding you of your failure or your mistake. He wants you to be reminded of his redemption and his power. Come Holy Spirit. If that's you tonight on the count of three, would you be bold? Rich, that's me. You're preaching to me. I want Jesus to be the Lord of my life. I want to surrender. I want to repent. I want to start this convention the right way. I want to give my life completely 100% over to Jesus. If that's you on the count of three, would you be bold? Lift your hand up high enough and long enough just so I can see it. I already see hands going up in this arena. We've been praying for you. We prayed for you last night but we've been praying for you all year long. Ready? One, the Bible says today's the day. Two, don't look at your neighbor. Forget about your neighbor. This is between you and Jesus. Jesus. Ready, one, two, three. If that's you, lift it up. That's me, that's me, that's me. Hands going up all over this arena. Church, can we just all stand up on our feet for a moment? And if you're comfortable in this house, would you just lift your hands towards heaven? I wanna lead us in a simple prayer and then we're just gonna sing this song. It says, Holy Spirit, fall down. Move upon me right now. I'm dying to be different. So with our hands lifted, say, dear Jesus, tonight I give you my life. I repent. I'm sorry. I believe you are who you said that you are. And I surrender all of me over to you.

Tonight I believe you are the one true God, the God of grace and the God of truth. And I commit to give my life over to you. Move upon me now. I'm ready to go beyond. I'm ready to go beneath. But my eyes are fixed on you, author, perfecter, and finisher of my faith. In Jesus' name, everybody said, come on, VUConn. Come on, lift your voice.