Smells Like Smoke

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] Come on. [MUSIC] Worship, come bring your song, God's done great things, and He's not done yet. Let the sound of heaven come and flood the earth. Let the saints rise up as your glory fills the church. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever. [MUSIC] He is always good and His love endures forever. Come on. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC]

Are you thankful for the presence of Jesus this morning? I believe that God's really going to do something in your life today whether you are in this room or you're online regardless of where you are at. I invite you to go and take your seats and check out your screens. So if you're on campus, stop by next steps after service. We'd love to meet you, answer any questions you have, and help you find a place to get connected. You're joining us online, fill out a connect card through next steps, so we can get to know you and help you stay connected to everything happening on campus. And don't forget to follow us on social media. At WeArePantano for encouragement, event updates, ministry highlights, and more throughout the week. What happens when we push pause on our busy schedules, turn our attention toward God and simply make space to worship? That is exactly what we're gonna do at our night of worship this Monday, August 31st at 6.30 p.m. right here at our Houghton campus. Don't miss this chance to encounter God together with the Pantano family. Come expect it, come ready to worship, come ready to seek Him. And if you can't join us in person, you can worship with us online through the live stream. Let's kick off our week in the best way about worshiping Him together. Head to next steps for more information on that. Kingdom First means looking beyond ourselves and our own church community to join God wherever He is at work.

Church is who we are wherever we are. Generosity plays a role in being a Kingdom First Church, allowing us to live out this value by investing in people and places beyond our walls. Because of your generosity and living out this value, last month our ThisGen families were able to provide backpacks, toys, and handwritten notes to 78 kids through Tucson Refugee Ministry. Your generosity helps bring hope, healing, and transformation throughout Tucson, Benson, and beyond. Thank you for being a part of that impact. To give, simply drop your gift in the giving boxes, give online through our website or text give to 46356. Before we jump into our final week of the Smells Like Smoke series, I wanted you to be some of the first to know that Pastor Trevor has written a brand new book called Smells Like Smoke. And you can pre-order that book today. If you have been impacted by this teaching series the last few weeks, you will want to get the book as he dies much deeper into how we rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. It will be released by the publisher in 2027, but here's why you should not wait to buy yours. The more pre-sales there are, the more books the publishers will be able to promote and get into the hands of people who need to read this message.

You can go to our next steps page to purchase your copy now. And then as soon as the book is released, you will be some of the first ones to receive it. We are so excited to see how God uses this project to love people to Jesus and to launch passionate difference makers. We're praying that this book will inspire us to live with greater courage, greater urgency, and a greater passion for the people who need Jesus. So pre-order your copy today. Thanks again for joining us. We can't wait to see how God will move in our time together. (dramatic music) (dramatic music) (dramatic music) - Well, what is up, Pantano? How we doing? All right. (audience cheering) Well, hey, we've got a bunch of people online before we dive into this. I wanna welcome Matt, who's actually a basic training for the Air Force with his family. So glad you were with us, Matt. Also, we've got all of our folks in Benson, all of our folks at Gospel Rescue, all of our folks on the Pando app and prisons all over the United States.

Do me a favor, welcome all of them in, if you would. (audience cheering) Well, I do wanna say like a really, really big thank you to you as a church and you just heard Chris talk about it. It's funny because this book is coming out and I've never in my life and still don't feel like an author because I'm not an author. I'm a preacher, I'm a pastor, I'm a storyteller. But my publisher keeps telling me you have a book that makes you an author and I'm like, I'm not sure if it does, but I wanna thank you because this book is not even close to what it is if it's not for the Pantano family. Like this has been mulling in my soul for literally like 28 years of ministry and you are the place, the stories inside of it are all how God has moved through you, through us to help reach a city the way that is happening. And so I wanna thank you just for being a part of the story that is this book. (audience cheering) I'll be honest with you, I just hope my mom buys a copy. That's what I really hope for. That makes it successful if my mom buys a copy. But if you buy a copy and help it get a copy, That's when it is on Star Wars Day, which feels kind of fun for me. And so if you're so inclined, I would love to have you get a copy of that. We have got our worship night right here. How many of y'all are coming to worship night, Monday in my coming? Awesome. Don't want to miss it. Please be here for it. Can't wait for an incredible night with you. But we finish out this series. Smells like smoke.

And if you ask me to point to one verse that has shaped the entire way that I live my life, the entire way that I view the church, the entire way that I view ministry over the last 28 plus years of my life, I would take you straight to Jude 23. If you've been at Pantanue, you've heard me quote it hundreds of times. It's in our next steps room on the wall. And it's just simply there's rescue others by snatching them from the flames of what? Judgment. See, you already know it. See that verse, the first time I read it, and since the first time I read it, it's never let my soul settle. You ever read something that just never let your soul settle? Like you're uneasy in your soul. That verse, the first time I read it, it just stirred something in me, and it's never let me make church only about the people that just are sitting in the room. Now let me tell you, Pantanue, you know I love you. I hope you do. If you don't let me say it again, I love you deeply. Those of you that already know Jesus that are here every week, I love you. Can I just tell you, I don't do this just for you. Actually, my job is to empower, encourage, build up, spur on, challenge us to come and gather in this place and then to scatter out of this place because people matter. So I don't do this just for you. I actually do this for all of those out there that don't yet know what you and I already know. That's what this scripture put inside of me. And it's reminding me that every day all around us, there are people Jesus loves deeply who don't yet know that he came for them. That's what it reminds me of. In fact, in our house on the wall, when you walk in the front door, June 23 is on the wall. And actually in this room, when I was, when I just got in the job as a new lead pastor and Glenn was about to transition off, and I can't say retired because he doesn't like when I say he retired, but I'm going to say when he retired, he called me in Ohio before we moved. He was like, hey, we're moving into the new auditorium because they renovated the auditorium and he said, we're writing scriptures on the floor. Is there a scripture you would like you to write on the floor for you? Immediately, I said, June 23. And somewhere right in this room in the front, right here in front of the stage, is June 23 is written on the floor. And now I look like almost five years in advance. And I think about what God has done because June 23 is etched in the foundation of our church that we're going to be a church that rescues people from the flames of hell. And now here we are five years later, seeing it happen. See, there are people in our lives who their lives look fine online, but they're falling apart in private. There are people that we work with, people in our neighborhoods, people on our kids' teams, people across the table, it's your Thanksgiving, in your family, someone who's a conversation away from hope. There are people that are one invitation away from hearing the good news about what Jesus has done in their life, one honest prayer away from surrounding their lives to Jesus himself. Now, I know the language in June 23 is intense, flames of judgment. When you hear flames of judgment, I don't know if you're like me, I think of the guy on the street corner with a bullhorn, Turner Burn, the guy at every sporting event you've ever gone to, the guy that's at the Arizona Cardinals football game, Turner Burn, the guy at the baseball game, Turner Burn, like those guys are funny to me. First of all, I'm like, oh, I'm a pastor, Turner Burn, he's like, Turner Burn, I'm like, got it, I'm in, figured it out. And then you read snatching people like, that's intense language, but here's why it's intense, because eternity is real. And Jude's reminding us Jesus is real, heaven is real, hell is very real, and people matter too much for us to just shrug our shoulders and be like, we'll be figuring it out.

Hope somebody helps you. See, I think about a house on fire. You don't be wild, I've never driven by a house on fire, and the firefighters are all across the street going, wow, I hope they make it out. I know we got water and stuff, but man, just see how this turns out. No, you know what you usually see? Firefighters running into the fire, they're running into the house. Why do they run in? Because they understand that someone's life's in danger. Someone's life is in danger. They actually run because they care. That's the difference. Now, understand, that's the heartbeat of this entire series. If we're gonna help people go from hell to hope, then we gotta be willing to smell like smoke. That's what we've been talking about. We gotta get close enough to hell to smell like smoke. We gotta get close enough to people's pain, close enough to people's questions, close enough to people's addiction and brokenness and messiness and introduce them to Jesus himself. Not because we're anyone's savior. Let me let you all off the hook. Myself included, we save nobody. I'm not the savior, neither are you. But because we know the savior, we know how to get people to rescue. And when you've been rescued by Jesus, eventually you have to ask yourself a question, who am I moving towards? Let me ask a quick straw poll. How many would identify that you've been rescued by Jesus, show of hands? Oh, that's a lot of you, that's good.

You might not be as excited when I tell you why in a minute. Because here's what I know is that the main idea of this entire thing is like, if you've been rescued, here's what you need to know. Rescued people, rescue people. Rescued people, rescue people. So if you've been rescued, you can't help, but rescue other people. So over the last four weeks, this little book of Jude, that's one chapter, Jude has called us to contend for the faith, that was week one. And then he said, spot the counterfeit. So how do you spot the people that start to infiltrate the church that claim Jesus, but don't really act like Jesus? And then how do we keep our conversations? How do we keep our lives rooted in the right things so we can help people find hope? Now Jude brings this letter home with this commissioning of those that have been rescued. This is what he does with the last couple verses. Now understand, we don't contend for the truth just so we can be right. That's not why we contend. We don't grow in discernment just so we can point out what's wrong with everybody else. We don't stay rooted in Jesus just so our lives feel secure. We stay rooted because people need someone who knows the way home. That's why we stay rooted.

And here's what I'm gonna realize, the world does not need another church that's angry with people far from God. Have you ever been to those churches? People show up that don't look like them, act like them, smell like them, live like them, and they look at them with their nose, turned up a little bit like, why are you here? Shouldn't we be gone? Why haven't you been here? Like how can we help you understand that you belong in this place? The world needs a church that's moved by people far from God. And needs a church that's moved to move in that direction, church full of people who can see the mess without being scared of the mess that walks in the door. A church that tells the truth and shows mercy at the same time. A church that will not compromise the truth, but will also not give up on those that don't know it yet. See, that's what it means to smell like smoke. Is that we get close enough to people to love them, serve them, invite them, pray for them, and point them to Jesus. While we stay close enough to Jesus that we don't lose our way in the process. Because rescued people, do what? Rescue people. So Jude begins this final movement in verse 22, actually. You gotta back up one verse.

And here's what he says. You must show mercy to those whose faith is wavery. So that's where rescue begins, mercy. Right there, mercy is where rescue begins. Not annoyance. We're not gonna be annoyed by people to get them to Jesus. You ever met those people who were like, "Huh, whatever." Not superiority. Like we're not gonna lord it over people. Like if you knew what I knew, you could have Jesus. We're not gonna be shocked when people struggle. We're gonna be merciful. Like there are people right now in this space or one of our campuses whose faith is wavering right now. I know you walked in here and your faith is wavering. You may not be trying to walk away from Jesus, but you're just, you're tired. You have questions. Maybe you've been hurt. Maybe you've watched something happen that you can't make sense of. Maybe you prayed for a healing that didn't come. Maybe you saw hypocrisy in a Christian leader. By the way, can I let you in on a little secret? Every Christian leader is a hypocrite. Me too. Not only am I a client, I'm the club president. (congregation laughing) You know how I know?

'Cause I'm human and so are you. We're all hypocrites. Okay, that's sidebar. Let me get back to this. (congregation laughing) Like maybe, maybe your marriage is falling apart. Maybe you've carried a secret for years and now you wonder if God could still want you. And yet Jude says, show them mercy. Show them mercy when they feel that way. Mercy says, I'm not afraid of your questions. I love people I don't have to pretend around, don't you? Where you can just be fully you. Mercy says, I'll sit with you in the mess. I'll keep pointing you towards Jesus. Some Christians are great at having answers and terrible at having compassion. That's why people haven't wanted our Jesus. We can win an argument and we can lose a soul. We can prove a point and miss the heart. A few months ago, it was a Sunday morning, I was up early, there's no good coffee shops open at 5 a.m. So I went to the only thing that is open at 5 a.m. Is Dutch Bros. Any Dutch Bros fans in here? Not great coffee, great caffeine. That's all it is, right? Now I don't know who trains the Dutch Bros employees, but these kids are brilliant. They know how to communicate, they know how to talk to people.

I pull up in the drive through at 5 a.m. I'm the only one in the drive through. I don't want to talk to anybody. I've ordered my 35 shot tall Americano for the morning, right? I'm sitting in line and the kid pokes his head out the window and he's like, what's up bro? Did you drink my drink? Like what is happening right now? I was like, bro, you're way too excited for 5 a.m. I don't want to talk. I'm like, hey buddy, you are the Dutch bro. You are him. He's like, how are you doing this morning? I'm like, better if you would be quieter. And then he does what Dutch Bros. do, right? He's like, what are you doing today? I was like trying to get you to shut up. That's what I'm doing right now. And I said, I'm on my way to work. And then he says, well, what do you do? I'm like, I don't want to be a pastor today. I just want to get my coffee. So I looked at Dutch bro and I was like, actually I'm a pastor and he goes, expletive, yeah, that's amazing. I perked up. In my head, I went expletive. Yeah, that is amazing. Now my expletive was like the cartoons. It had like the dollar sign, the pound sign,

the exclamation point. He did not say expletive, just in case you're wondering. He used slightly different language. And then I looked at him and I was like, yeah, actually it is pretty cool. I was like, hey, can I ask you a question? He was like, yeah, man. And I was like, whoa, bro, you don't have to answer everything so excited. It's like a puppy, man. He's just peeing all over everything. He's just so excited, you know? I was like, have you ever been in church in your life? And this is what he goes, he goes, nope, never. And I was like, really, never. He goes, nope. I was like, wedding, funeral. He goes, nope. I was like, seriously. I was like, can I ask you a question? How come you've never gone to church before? You know what he said to me? And I've heard this answer hundreds of times in our city. He goes, I don't know. I guess no one's ever asked me. And so the other guy was like, would you ever come? He goes, sure, man, when is it? I was like, it's once every six months, bro. You're bringing some energy, you know? (audience laughs)

Now look down, I said, well, we have a Thursday, but then we have a Sunday, eight, 30, 10, 30, 12, 30. He goes like, today? I was like, yeah, today. Like now I'm mentally preparing. And I was like, I tell you what, if you come, like we have breakfast and lunch in our cafe. I was like, I'll buy your meal if you come. He was like, I'll be there. (audience laughs) I was like, maybe. I've heard that before. I pulled out, realized I forgot my coffee because I thought he'd already given it to me. So I had to pull back through. (audience laughs) 'Cause Dutch bro got real duchy and bro-y and I forgot my coffee. And then I got my coffee, I headed to the church and quite honestly, the whole interaction was kind of wild, but I kind of forgot about it, got done. I walk out after 10, 30 and I hear him from across the courtyard. And what I hear is, bro! (audience laughs) I'm like, bro, you are putting the bro in Dutch bro all day. And he be lines across the courtyard. And he goes, bro, that was the best expolative I've ever heard in my life. And everybody in the courtyard stops like in a movie.

It immediately is like, it looks right at me. And I was like, thanks, man. And this lady comes over after he walks away, she goes, are you gonna say something to him about that? I was like, about what? She was like, that language. I was like, this was his first day ever in church. Ever. (audience applauds) Right, ever. It's because he needs to know how to behave. I was like, no, he needs to know he belongs. Let's start there. (audience applauding) Like, we'll work on the belief, we'll work on the behavior. Let's just be happy that he found a place to belong. And I'm not giving you a hall pass. Like, please don't walk out across the courtyard and use a bunch of expletives with me when you walk out of service. (audience laughing) We're not gonna be the cussing church. That's not what we're gonna be known for, okay? (audience laughing) Can I just tell you? That's June 23. That people get rescued just by knowing they belong. And here's what you need to know, is mercy doesn't mean truth doesn't matter. Mercy's just how truth gets heard.

If I'd have pulled through the drive-through at 5 a.m. and be like, hey, bro, I'm gonna need you to bring that language back a little bit. Can I tell you, he'd have never showed up. If he'd have walked out of here and he didn't know any other way to express what he'd experienced. Then he'd drop an expletive on me in the courtyard. (audience laughing) And you know what? He'll figure the rest of this out because we'll walk with him. But mercy doesn't mean our truth doesn't matter. It just means truth gets heard. See, this is why Jude turns up the urgency in Jude 23. He says, rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Now, that's not a command to be weird. It's not a command to be loud or judgmental. It's a command to care enough to act in the lives of people that desperately need hope. See, there are moments when mercy looks like patiently listening to somebody that is having a doubt. Sometimes that's mercy. There are moments, though, when love needs to move a little faster. When somebody's about to blow up their marriage or walk back into addiction or make a decision that could destroy their future or walk away from Jesus, love can't just sit by and watch that happen.

That's when love speaks up. That's when love makes the call. That's when love gets in the car. That's when love offers the ride. That's when love gets on the phone and says, I'm gonna stay on the phone with you. Love says, I know you're angry, but you don't have to go back there. Love says you're not too far gone. Love says you're, you can come with me. Let me help you get help. Let's pray, let's talk. Let's get you back to Jesus. See, that's Jude 23. Rescuing others by snatching them from the flames. For 28 years of ministry, I've watched Jesus do this over and over and over and over again in the lives of people. Like I've watched him take people who you thought were done. There's no way they can redeem or store recover. And I've watched him do magnificent things in the lives of those people. I've watched him restore marriages that people are like, yep, they're done. And next thing you know, they're renewing their vows. I've watched him break the grip on addiction from people that they're like, we're gonna be preaching our funeral and we get to actually see them give their lives to Jesus.

I've watched him turn shame into freedom. I've watched people come to baptism carrying their past, thinking that they're disqualified and they walk in the water coming out and when they're forgiven, clean and new. That's why we do this. (audience applauding) This is why the church exists, not to gather, but to scatter. To help people know that their lives are what matter to Jesus. Jesus himself said it. He said, "For the son of man came to seek "and save those who are church and religious." Nope. Jesus came to seek and save those who are well. What's this say, church? Lost. Like Jesus did not come to make the comfortable, slightly more religious. It's not what he came for. He didn't come to make you and I more comfortable. That's not what the gospel's about. Let me ask another question. Those of you that have claimed that you've been rescued and wanna rescue others. How many of you wanna be more like Jesus? Show of hands. It's a good thing to aspire to, right? If we wanna be more like Jesus,

if Jesus came to seek and save those that are lost, then maybe we should be a little more like Jesus to seek and save those that are lost. Like I think about the people he came looking for. Like he came after this guy, Zacchaeus. Remember Zacchaeus? He was a wee little man, wee little man, was he? Looked up in a sycamore tree, see what he could see? Remember him? (audience laughing) If you get that joke, you've been in church a long time. If you have no idea what I just did, you're Dutch bro. Welcome to church, we're glad you're here, okay? It's great. (audience applauding) Zacchaeus, hated by everybody. Jesus showed up for him. He came looking for him. Remember the woman at the well? She'd been married five times and then she was living with a dude that she wasn't even married to. She had a reputation in town. Jesus came looking for her. Remember the woman caught in the act of adultery? Remember this lady? She was literally caught in the act, pulled out of the room,

probably naked and thrown in the temple in front of Jesus. Jesus came looking for her. Remember Peter? He was one of Jesus closest friends. He denies Jesus three times. You know who else he came looking for? You and me. He came for us too. Like Jesus doesn't rescue us from a distance. Like he steps into our broken world. He took on flesh. He entered our pain. He carried arson to the cross. He went for death itself. And then three days later walked out victorious. See, Jesus got close enough to our hell to smell like smoke. And he calls us to follow him. He calls us to move with him. James says it this way, "If someone among you wanders away from the truth "and is brought back." You can be sure whoever brings a center back from wandering will save the person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. Let me tell you, wandering is not the end of your story. Being lost is not the end of your story. Some of you walked in here and you're wandering around this world,

not knowing where you fit. That's not the end of your story. Some of you are lost right now. You're as far from God as you've ever been. It's not the end of your story. Some of you, you're like, yeah, but I have this son. Can I just tell you, your son who walked away is not beyond the reach of Jesus. Some are like, yeah, but I have this daughter who wants nothing to do with the church. Can I tell you, she's not beyond the reach of Jesus. You have this friend who says that they don't really believe anymore. They're not beyond the reach of Jesus. The co-worker who looks like they have it all together, but it's drowning inside. They're not beyond the reach of Jesus. I heard this story this week actually will on our staff, had read this article and was following along with this story. This guy had been an atheist his whole life. And he sought out to disprove the power of scripture and prayer. I always love when people seek out to disprove that stuff. It's always fun for me. He said, for 30 days, I'm gonna do what I actually ask you as a church to do is he was gonna read scripture for about 10 minutes a day and pray for 10 minutes a day to prove that it doesn't work for 30 days. Day 20, he posts a video in tears. And he literally says in this video,

I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is changing my life. It's changing my attorney. This is the most real thing I've ever experienced in my life. Can I just tell you if an atheist for 20 days can pray and read scripture with nothing else that just reminds me that he's not beyond the reach of Jesus, then neither are you. (audience applauds) So maybe you're here today because somebody invited you. I know some of you are because, and that's my fault, I told him to do it last week. (audience laughs) You're like, yeah, I got this weird text message about this time last week. Uh-huh, yeah, I asked everybody to text their one. You're like, what's a one? Well, actually it's verbiage we use here that we want everybody in our church to have one person far from God in their lives that they're gonna pray for and love on care for to get them to Jesus. So maybe somebody invited you and that's why you're here. Maybe you came because someone wouldn't stop praying for you. Maybe you're here because someone loved you enough to keep moving towards you when it would have been easier to give up on you. It's not an accident that you're here. I think it's even less an accident that you're here today. I think that's a mercy of God reaching for you.

Now Jude gives us a little bit of a balance to the scripture. If you go down further in verse 23, he says, "Show mercy to still others, "but do so with great caution, "hating the sins that contaminate their lives." So here's what you need to know. We don't avoid people because they're messy. But we also don't get so close to sin that we begin to call sin normal. Now here's where I love the balance of Jesus. This is why you need to study the life of Jesus. Jesus was known as a friend of sinners. There's a reason they accused him of being a glutton and a drunk because of the people he hung out with. Like when I was a kid, my dad used to say, "Son, if you hang out with those people, "you're gonna be guilty by what?" Anybody know? Oh, you had my dad too. That's cool. (congregation laughing) And I used to say to my dad, "Well, I go to those parties to help them see Jesus." He's like, "Really?" (congregation laughing) Then why are you throwing up with a headache? (congregation laughing) I got the flu, dad. I got the flu. That's what happened.

That's why I love about Jesus, though. He was a friend of sinners, but he never became comfortable with sin. He just became a friend of sinners. He loved people too much to leave them where he found them. That's why we say at P&T and all the time, we love you enough to let you come as you are. We just love you way too much to leave you there. (congregation clapping) I need you to know, we love you as a person. I just hate what is destroying you. So we show mercy. We'll tell the truth. We get close, but we get to stay rooted in this. He says, "God is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into His glorious presence without a single fault." That's the gospel. That's the good news of Jesus' life. We are not the heroes in the rescue story. God is. He's the one who saves. He's the one who keeps. He's the one who forgives. He's the one who can take a life that feels stained, shattered, addicted, ashamed, and far away and make it new. That's Jesus. Not us. And then Jude does something interesting. He ends this entire book in a way that nobody expects. Because after you read rescue others from the flames of judgment, like we need to smell

like smoke. You're expecting to be like, "Now, go save. Go save some souls. Get out there and go save." He doesn't do that. He ends in a completely different way by bringing glory to God. After he gives all this commissioning to get people to Jesus, he doesn't say, "You go save." All glory, all majesty, all power, and all authority are gods, not ours. So we move towards people with urgency, but without the pressure that it depends on us. Can I just say your friends' eternity does not depend on you if you get them to Jesus. The only thing you're required to do is get them to Jesus. That's what he calls us to. So what do we do? We pray. We invite. We serve. We speak. We love. This can do. See, because rescue people, rescue people. So here's the question. I'm going to ask you this because maybe some of you don't have an answer yet, but who's your one? And again, you're like, tell me about the one again, one person in your life far from God that needs hope. Let me ask you. How many of you know at least one person in your life far from God? Show of hands. Somebody goes like, "Actually, it's me.

Can I be my own one?" Yeah, maybe. And I want you to ask God for that one name if you don't have one. Like, if you don't have a name, I want you to ask Him for one name, not ten, not a vague group of people, one person that you can pursue and pray for with the hope of Jesus. Maybe it's a friend who's drifted. Maybe it's a neighbor who you've never really gotten to know. By the way, you know the neighbor I'm talking about. They're the one when you see them, you pull in the garage and close the door before you get out of the car. Don't act like you don't have them. That's why you take your garbage cane out at midnight, so you don't have to see them. Right? That's probably the one you need to talk to. Maybe it's somebody in your family who needs an invitation, but I don't even like them to come to my house for Thanksgiving. You might need to see them in heaven, though. Maybe it's somebody you've quietly written off. I don't know who it is for you, but I'm going to encourage you right down their name. Like actually take out your phone right now and just put it in your notes on your phone or maybe better yet, text it to yourself, and then move towards them this week, pray for them. Send them a text, make a call, invite them to coffee. Maybe not at Dutch Bros, but somewhere, invite them to coffee. Ask them how they're really doing. Invite them to church, tell them what Jesus has done in your life. You don't need a perfect speech. Just your story. In fact, I'm going to implore you to do something. I've started doing this.

At 123, you're like, "Why 123, Jude, 23?" There's only one chapter, 123. So at 123 every day, I've got a reminder in my phone, and it's got the name of one of my ones, and at 123 every day, I just stop for like two minutes, and I pray for you. That's from my one. What if all of us is a collective at Pantanot at 123 every day, we just stop for a minute and pray for our ones? That God would give us an opportunity. You're like, "How do I set a reminder in my phone?" Talk to one of our students in the student section. They can help you out. Okay, they'll help you. They're actually doing it as we speak. They're like, "Got you." They probably already posted on social media with a cute little meme. It's probably great. And if you're here today, and you're the one who needs rescue, I want to say something to you as clearly as I can. Jesus is moving towards you. You're not too far gone. You're not too broken. You're not too dirty. You're not too late. In fact, you're right on time. The cross proves that Jesus wants you. The empty tomb proves that Jesus saves you in baptism, baptism is your chance to say, "My old life is going to be buried. My new life is going to be with a savior." It's actually baptism weekend at Pantanot, and I know some of you are like, "Isn't that every week?"

It is. But we have these emphasis weekends. That's it. I don't know if you know this, for 2026 over 900 people have given their lives to Jesus in this place. (audience applauding) Unbelievable. And today, I think some of you need to be that next one. Now here's what baptism doesn't mean. It doesn't mean you have it every, everything figured out. All it means is that you've decided you're gonna trust the one who can help you figure it out. So if you've given your life to Jesus, maybe you've never been baptized, but you're trying to live for Jesus, can I ask you, why do you keep putting it off? Like, why are your fingerprints etched underneath the seat that you sit in? Don't let fear or embarrassment, or maybe even your past keep you from taking the next step. I feed all the time, tell me, once I get my life figured out, then I'll get baptized. Like, oh, you're never gonna get baptized. Because it's not about you figuring it out, it's about washing off so Jesus can help you figure it out. So today can be the day you go public with your faith, that you can go from hell to hope. And if you're here and you've never trusted Jesus with anything, you're Dutch bro.

You showed up today. Can I just tell you today can be the day you stop running, that you stop pretending that you decide you're gonna receive the rescue that he's offering you? You're not here by happenstance. And so if that's you, we've got a whole team of people over here. There's a little sign that's gonna light up that says baptism right there, and there's a whole group of people back there that wanna love on you, care for you, that they're shirts and shorts, there's hair dryers for those of you that need that, for those of you that need squeegees, we have those, like, all the things, right? I got all my bald brothers, I got you hooked up, okay? We'll take care of you. Any time during the rest of our time together, you can go over there and people are waiting for you to welcome you into something new. Now, let me say this, if you're here and you've given your life to Jesus, you've been baptized, you've done all the things, and you're like, I'm kinda bored with my faith. You know why you're probably bored? Is because you have not been trying to rescue others. Usually when people get bored in their faith, it's because all their friends are Christians, all the things they do are Christian, they only shop at Christian bookstores, they only eat heavenly chocolates,

and they only use testaments to make their breath nice and fresh. Welcome to 90s church culture, it's really weird, right? Maybe you need to move towards some people that are far from God. I say it all the time, if you don't have any people in your life that are far from God, you need to make some new friends. That's why we're here, to help rescue others. So, Pantano, this is who we're gonna be as a church. It's who we've been, it's who we're gonna be, it's who we're gonna continue to be. We will be a church that contends for the truth first. We always do that. We'll be a church that sees through the counterfeits. We won't let counterfeits weasel their way in. We're gonna be a church that stays rooted in God's love, and then we're gonna be a church that moves towards people who need hope. That's who we are. We're not gonna stand at a safe distance from a hurting world, we're gonna step into the smoke with compassion, with truth, with mercy, and the confidence that Jesus still saves, because a rescued church becomes a rescuing church. A rescued person becomes a rescuing person. If we're gonna help people go from hell to hope, and church, we gotta be willing to get close enough to the fire to smoke, to help people see the hope that comes straight through Jesus, because rescued people, rescued people.

And if you've been rescued, it's time to get in the game and rescue people, to get them to Jesus. So I wanna pray for us, and I know some of you are like, we only sing one song, how weird is that? We're gonna do more, I promise, okay? People are gonna get baptized, we're gonna celebrate, we're gonna have a Pantanel party like nobody's business. In fact, I would argue, I know I say this all the time, don't bolt out the doors, let's give a glimpse of heaven to the people that are given their lives to Jesus today. Place Hoot and Holler, celebrate, clap, cheer, all those things. (audience applauding) We're gonna commune together in a minute, spend some time thanking God for His sacrifice for us. But I just wanna pray for you. Thanks for being here, thanks for having the courage to show up, those of you that are brand new, to all my Dutch bros out there, thanks for coming to church. Thanks for being a part. So let's pray, and then let's continue in our time together, Father today. Thank you for being a rescuing God, a God that was willing to show us what it means to smell like smoke, which you sent Jesus into this world. Like for some of us, this is our hell on earth. It feels like the world is on fire. And Jesus steps in to rescue us.

God, I pray that we that have been rescued will help rescue others. surrounding area, God that the world in which we live, God that people would know us by the fruit and the love that comes from the church to help them see you. God help us contend for faith, help us to spot counterfeits and call it out, help us to keep ourselves rooted, help us to be commissioned to rescue others. God, if there's any here today that don't know you, any that have the courage to walk in any that need radical life change, God, we pray right now that you would move them towards you. God, we love you, we give you the glory, we give you the honor, we give you our lives, that we would smell like smoke and it's in the powerful name of Jesus, we pray all these things, our God's people said, amen, love you church. I just want to speak the name of Jesus over every heart and death of mine, because I know there is peace within your presence, I'll speak Jesus, I just want to speak the name of Jesus, to over the dark addiction starts to crack, to claim there is hope and there is freedom, I'll speak Jesus, your name is power, your name is healing, your name is love, make every strong hold, jump through the shafts, burn like a foe, I just want to speak the name of Jesus, over fear and all anxiety, to raise all your captive by depression, I speak Jesus, your name is power, your name is healing, your name is love, break every strong hold, jump through the shafts, burn like a foe, your name is power, your name is healing, your name is love, break every strong hold, jump through the shafts, Jesus from the mountains, Jesus in the streets, Jesus in the dark, the red enemy, Jesus from my family, I speak the whole of me, Jesus, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Jesus in the streets, Jesus in the dark, the red enemy, Jesus from my family, I speak the whole of me, Jesus from my family, I speak the whole of me, Jesus from my family, Jesus Only in the sky Your faith is power You're amazing Your name is mine Let every struggle

Shine through the shadows Don't lie to the fire I just want to speak the name of Jesus Over every order every night 'Cause I know there is peace within your presence But I see Jesus Oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh Shout Jesus from the mountain And Jesus in the streets Jesus in the darkness Over every enemy Jesus, for my family I speak the whole name Jesus Shout Jesus from the mountain And Jesus in the streets Jesus in the darkness Over every enemy Jesus, for my family I speak the whole name Jesus Shout Jesus from the mountain And Jesus in the streets Jesus in the darkness Over every enemy Jesus, for my family I speak the whole name Jesus

Jesus Jesus, you're worthy of all of our praise You're worthy of all the glory that we can give you, Lord Lord, we remember what you've done on a cross Lord, we remember the moment that we experience grace Lord, maybe this is our first time and so Lord, maybe we're just praying to you as a happenstance Lord, would you come find us? Would you come meet us? Lord, would you come know us and come search us and test our anxious thoughts? Lord, let us lead us in the way that we should go Holy Spirit, we welcome your presence in We welcome your peace Lord We welcome you Jesus, we welcome you Father God You are worthy of our praise, you are worthy to be praised And Lord, as we communion with you, as we take these little elements of communion something so simple as a little cracker and a little thing of Jesus represents the body and the blood of Jesus that was poured out on a cross for the forgiveness of our sins Lord, help us to do so with humble hearts and with the truth We love you Jesus, we all pray together Amen, and feel free to take your seats and take communion when you're ready You ready? ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ - Y'all, we're about to celebrate

some people getting baptized. Come on, would you get to your feet? Here we go. (upbeat music) ♪ Come on man, here we go ♪ ♪ The fairy beneath my shape ♪ ♪ Who could carry that kind of weight ♪ ♪ It was my team ♪ ♪ 'Til I met you ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ I was free these but not alive ♪ ♪ All my failures I tried ♪ ♪ Try to hide ♪ ♪ It was mine ♪ ♪ 'Til I met you ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ I loved the darkness ♪ ♪ Into your glorious day ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ I loved the darkness ♪ ♪ Into your glorious day ♪ ♪ Now your mercy has saved my soul ♪ ♪ Now your freedom is tall ♪ ♪ And I know ♪ ♪ The old man knew ♪ ♪ Jesus, we're out of me, you ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪

♪ I loved the darkness ♪ ♪ Into your glorious day ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into your glorious day ♪ (upbeat music) (audience cheering) - Did God save you from the grave today? (audience cheering) Did God save you from me? (upbeat music) ♪ I needed rescue when my sin was heavy ♪ ♪ The chains break at the weight of your bones ♪ ♪ I needed shelter when I was in order ♪ ♪ You called me a citizen of hell ♪ ♪ When I was broken, you were my healing ♪ ♪ And your love is the air that I'm breathing ♪ ♪ I have a future, my life will open ♪ ♪ When you called my name ♪ ♪ I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into your glorious day ♪ ♪ You called my name ♪ ♪ And I ran out of that grave ♪ ♪ Out of the darkness ♪ ♪ Into your glorious day ♪ (upbeat music) ♪ Thank you, Jesus, for saving me from the grave ♪ ♪ Amen ♪

(upbeat music) (audience cheering) ♪ Who breaks the power of sin in darkness ♪ ♪ This love is mine ♪ ♪ The King of Glory ♪ ♪ The King of Baba King ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪♪ ♪ Who shakes the whole earth ♪ ♪ With holy thunder ♪ ♪ Who leaves us breakfast ♪ ♪ And I wonder ♪ ♪ The King of Glory ♪ ♪ The King of all beings ♪ ♪ Oh, come on ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ This is a friendly glow ♪ ♪ That you would take my place ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪ That you would take my place ♪ ♪ That you would take my place ♪ ♪ That I would be set free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I sing for ♪ ♪ All right, you've done for me ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Who brings our chaos ♪ ♪ Back into order ♪ ♪ Who makes the ocean ♪ ♪ A sunning dark ♪ ♪ The King of Glory ♪

♪ The King of Glory ♪ ♪ Rules and nations ♪ ♪ With truth and justice ♪ ♪ Shines like the sunning ♪ ♪ All of its brilliance ♪ ♪ The King of Glory ♪ ♪ The King of all beings ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ This is amazing grace ♪ ♪ That you would take my place ♪ ♪ That you would take my place ♪ ♪ You'll hate your own life ♪ ♪ That I would be set free ♪ ♪ Oh, Jesus, I sing for ♪ ♪ All right, you've done for me ♪ ♪♪ ♪ For the is the Lamb who was saved ♪ ♪ Jesus, for the is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ For the is the Lamb who was saved ♪ ♪ For the is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ For the is the Lamb who was saved ♪ ♪ For the is the King who conquered the grave ♪ ♪ For the is the Lamb who was saved ♪ ♪ For the, for the, for the is the Lamb who was saved ♪ ♪ For the is the Lamb who was saved ♪ ♪ This is a feeling love ♪ ♪ That you would take my place ♪ ♪ That you would take my place ♪ ♪ You'll hate down your life ♪ ♪ That I would be set free ♪

♪ For Jesus has seen for ♪ ♪ All that you've done for me ♪ ♪ All that you've done for me ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ Come on, give a praise to Jesus in this place. He's so worthy of it. He's so worthy of it. Hey, just a few things before you head out. We have next steps. We're in right across the way. We also, if you're online, there's a link for that. We also have a prayer room. We are a church that believes that God is still a healing God. If you need prayer, you can go over there and get prayed over. And lastly, don't forget, we have a night of worship tomorrow night in this room at 6.30. We love you so much. Have a good week. ♪ ♪