Smells Like Smoke - Keep Yourself in God's Love

together come on and i'm clean Shame was running deep Your love was spilled on Calvary Oh hallelujah i'm clean God, how can it be I'm ransomed and redeemed I'm standing in your victory Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Come on Washed in the blood As good as new Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood Because of you Oh hallelujah I'm clean It's not what I have done But what you've done for me You painted all upon that tree Oh hallelujah I'm clean Your love has overcome Your mercy is supreme I'm dancing in your victory Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood As good as new Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood All because of you Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water

Washed in the blood As good as new Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood All because of you Oh hallelujah Cause you took away my shame And you brought me to your cross You got me running out the grave Oh hallelujah Cause you took away my shame And you nailed me to the cross You got me running out the grave Oh hallelujah Cause you took away my shame And you nailed me to the cross You got me running out the grave Oh hallelujah Cause you took away my shame And you nailed me to the cross You got me running out the grave Oh hallelujah Oh hallelujah Oh hallelujah Oh hallelujah Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Come on, sing it one more time Washed in the water Washed in the blood

As good as new Oh hallelujah I've been washed in the water Washed in the blood All because of you Oh hallelujah Give him a hand, give him praise Yes! Oh God, you're so good God, we worship you in this place We lift your name You are worthy, Jesus Sing You're the only one who is worthy Giver of forgiveness, rich in mercy I was dead in sin But you pulled me from the pin God, you saved my soul And I can't get over it I respond to your grace With faith on fire I surrender it all And tell God From my heart to the heavens Hear my cry I love you, I love you Jesus I give you my worship You can have my whole heart No one else is worthy like you are Jesus

You are all deserving So here's my hallelujah No one else is worth like You are Oh The Holy One, the highest King of Heaven Enthroned upon the praises of Your people Every knee will bow and every tongue proclaim God, You gain all the glory, all the honor, all the praise Jesus, I give You my worship You can have my whole heart No one else is worth like You are Jesus, You alone deserve it So here's my hallelujah No one else is worth like You are Oh Like You are, Jesus Oh I respond to Your grace with faith on fire I surrender it all with hands held high From my heart to the heavens, hear my cry I love You I respond to Your grace with faith on fire I surrender it all with hands held high From my heart to the heavens, hear my cry I love You, I love You Jesus, I give You my worship You can have my whole heart No one else is worth like You are Jesus, You alone deserve it So here's my hallelujah

No one else is worth like You are Oh Like You are No one else is worth like You are Jesus, give Him a cup of praise Yes, God, You're worthy You're worthy, Jesus There is none like You There is none like You, Jesus A thousand generations Falling down in worship To sing a song of ages to the Lamb And all who've gone before us And all who will believe Will sing a song of ages to the Lamb Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name stands above them all Your powers and dominions All powers and positions Your name stands above them all And the angels cry Holy, all creation rise Holy, You are lifted high Holy, holy forever If you've been forgiven If you've been redeemed Sing a song forever to the Lamb If you walk in freedom If you bear His name

Sing a song forever to the Lamb We'll sing a song forever in the Name The angels ♪ Christ, holy, all creation ♪ ♪ Christ, holy, you are lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Jesus, we will sing, holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Holy, you're the king of kings ♪ ♪ Holy, you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Jesus, your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Your name and the millions of hours and positions ♪ ♪ Your name, it stands above them all ♪ ♪ Your name is the highest ♪ ♪ Your name is the greatest ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Your name and the millions of hours and positions ♪ ♪ Your name stands above them all ♪ ♪ Let the angels cry, holy, all creation ♪ ♪ Christ, holy, you are lifted high ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ Let the people sing, holy, to the King of kings ♪ ♪ Holy, to the King of kings, holy, you will always be ♪ ♪ Holy, holy forever, you will always be holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ You will always be holy, holy forever, holy in the highest ♪ ♪ You alone, you alone, Jesus, you alone are worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ You alone, just lift your voice, lift your voice to the King of kings, to the Lord of lords ♪ ♪ Holy forever, you alone, you alone, you will be holy, holy forever ♪

♪ You alone, you alone, you alone, you will be holy, holy forever ♪ ♪ There is no one like you, oh Jesus, you alone are worthy of all praise ♪ ♪ You alone are worthy of all praise ♪ God, would you cause our hearts to remember that we are seated in the heavenlies with you. God, that you have called us. You've called us by name. Jesus, remind our hearts that you are with us. That the King of kings, the Lord of lords walks with us through every day of our lives, Jesus. God, circumstances don't look the same whenever we have the King of kings with us. When we know that we are seated in the heavenly realms with you, Jesus, and you've positioned us there. God, remind our hearts. We lift your name, Jesus. You are worthy in this place. There is none like you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Give him a clap of praise. He is worthy. He's worthy of our affection. He's worthy of our adoration. He's worthy. King of Kings. Lord of Lords. Jesus, you are worthy. You are worthy, Jesus. You alone, God. You deserve all the praise, all the glory, all the honor. Yes, Jesus. You alone. You alone. You alone. Thank you, Jesus. If you're here for the first time, we love that you're here worshiping with us. Each and every week we do communion. And right now, as our hearts are positioned right in the throne room of grace, I just want to remind us, remind our hearts, that God is with us. He has proven his love by giving his own body, his own blood for us. And we do this every single week. And I say this very often, but may this never become a religious act or something that we just do out of repetition. But right now, as our hearts are positioned before him, just take time to maybe ask him, Lord, what's next? What do you want me to do next? And just remind your heart what he's done for you. He is so worthy of your affection, your adoration. So right now, as we take communion, just remember that. And take communion whenever you're ready. Amen. Amen. Hey, I'm Aaron, and I'm so excited you're joining us today. Whether you've been coming for years or today is your first time, Pantano is a place where you can build meaningful relationships, grow in your faith, and take your next step with Jesus. If you're on campus, stop by Next Steps after service and say hello. We'd love to meet you, answer any questions, and help you find the best way to get connected. Joining us online? We'd love to connect with you too. Fill out a Connect card through Next Steps so we can get to know you and help you stay connected to all that's happening at Pantano. Next week is Baptism Week. While every week is a great week to get baptized, we set aside one week each month to celebrate and share those incredible life stories of change together. Baptism is a chance to say yes to Jesus and to step into the amazing new life he has for you. If you've been thinking about taking that step, don't wait. Visit Next Steps and sign up today. We can't wait to celebrate with you. Generosity is more than an act. It's a reflection of God's love. We believe radical generosity reshapes our world. Every gift you give helps bring hope, healing, and transformation throughout Tucson, Benson, and beyond. Thank you for being part of that impact. To give, simply drop your gift in the giving boxes, give online through our website, or text GIVE to 46356. Join us in November as we head to Rocky Point, Mexico for our short-term mission trip. For over 30 years, we've partnered with the local community to build homes and bring hope to families in need, all while loving people to Jesus through practical service and compassion. Head over to Next Steps for all the details and to register. We'd love for you to join us as we make a difference together. Want more Pantano throughout the week? Follow us on social media for event updates, encouraging content, ministry highlights, and everything happening across all our campuses. Thanks again for joining us. We're so glad you're here. Well, hey there, Pantano. So excited that you are with us today. Hey, we've got a bunch of people.

I want to welcome a few of them. We've actually got Bryant from North Dakota with us. We have got all of our folks at the Gospel Rescue Mission with us. We've got all our friends at the Santa Rita unit down at the prison. And I want to give a special welcome to all of you on the Pando app. And I just want to celebrate again with you. Over a million prisoners in the last year have joined us on the Pando app. And we're so excited that you're with us. Well, I do want to thank you and give you a bit of an update. I've had a lot of you ask, as you know, if you've been around, last week, one of the hardest weeks we've kind of walked through in the DaVage house, my dad ended up in the hospital for seven days. And I'll be honest with you, like we had this moment where I wasn't sure if we were planning a funeral or we're going to plan a celebration. And I just, I got to tell you, I commissioned you guys to pray alongside of us. And I got to thank you for all those prayers, every single one of them. I wish I could have responded to every person that's reached out to us. We've read just about every comment, every prayer.

I went back and looked at social media analytics just for fun, because we can do that now. And I was able to show my dad, over 20,000 people prayed for my dad in the last week. Really cool. And I share that because on Tuesday, I was able to get in a car, go down, pick him up and take him home. So he's home resting right now. And he says, thank you for all the prayers. He will be back soon. He's being obnoxious. So I know he's on the road to recovery right now, which is really, really good. But again, thank you for those prayers. So we are in week three of our series, Smells Like Smoke. And we're talking about what does it look like to rescue people from the flames of judgment? Jude 23, rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. And we talk all the time about, if we don't smell like smoke, we're probably not getting close enough to hell to get people out. Now, I don't know if you've ever heard of this little thing called Biosphere 2. Anybody heard of Biosphere 2? It's up in Oracle. Some of you guys are like, what happened to Biosphere 1? Biosphere 1 is actually the earth.

I was told that after another service this week, that Biosphere 1 is considered the earth we live in. This is Biosphere 2. And I don't know if you know about Biosphere 2, but it was actually built in the late 80s as an experiment. And they moved people into it, into ideal conditions, into ideal environments, and to see how they would basically respond. Now, the researchers did this interesting experiment while they were in there. They planted a mini rainforest and a bunch of trees inside this dome. And they would actually give it ideal soil, ideal light, ideal water. And here's what's interesting. The trees grew faster in there than they do in the wild. But here's what happened. Before they could reach full maturity, they began to mysteriously crash and fall over under their own weight. And it perplexed the scientists. And so they begin to ask this question, why did they not grow to their full potential? And here's what they came to the synopsis of. It was the missing wind. And let me explain it to you. Like, this sealed environment completely lacked weather, storms, or wind. So there was no what they would call stress wood that was developed in these trees.

So there's something that trees need to be able to withstand. It is they need a push and pull against them. And these trees never felt any physical stress, so they had weak roots. So trees respond to wind. If you live in Vail, you know about the Vail gale. If you don't, you're like, what is that? Don't worry about it. But here's what I know. Without that resistance, they didn't develop stress wood or what some scientists call reaction wood. Like, it's wood that actually begins to help the roots grow deeper because they're fighting against the resistance and the stress. And I think a lot of us, we're kind of like these trees. Look, we're trying to put ourselves in ideal environments. We're trying to take stress away. We're trying to take all of the elements of life away. We're trying to self-help ourselves into the ideal environment. But the problem is we're growing, but we have weak roots. Like, I don't know if you're like me. There's always another alert, right? Like, my phone went off the other night, like 2 a.m. There was some alerts. There's another headline. There's another outrage. Another thing that's supposedly going

to ruin the entire world, which that's every other day now. Add in the pressure of homes, the noise in our devices. is the tension in our relationships. And it sometimes feels like the wind never stops blowing, but we try to contain the wind so we don't have to deal with it. So we try to make ourselves feel secure by controlling everything we can. Let me ask you, how many control freaks do we have in the room? Any control freaks? Awesome, we should start a group. But nobody'd be able to lead it because we'd all try to control it, and that would be crazy, right? Like we curate our feeds, we actually try to protect our schedules, we scroll until we're numb, we stay busy enough that we don't have to sit still with God. And then we're surprised when one hard conversation, one temptation, one diagnosis, one disappointment, one divisive comment blows us over. Because we don't have any relief wood built into our souls. We don't have roots. And the problem is not that the wind came. Like Jesus actually tells us in scripture, the wind's gonna come. It's not if the wind comes, it's when the wind comes. But the problem is some of us have confused

being around church with being rooted in Jesus. Some of us have confused it. Like we know the songs, right? You know them, like you just sang some of them, and you know when the bridge hits, oh, and that feeling hits you, and you're like, touchdown Jesus, yes, coffee, touchdown Jesus. Like it's a holy moment, it's okay. I'm not bagging on it, but if the only time we worship is in that moment, like we attend when we can, we have Christian friends. But roots don't grow because you own a Bible. If that were the case, most Americans would be the best Christians ever because the average American home has at least two Bibles in it. They just don't open them. See, having a Bible doesn't make you deep. Roots grow when you regularly put your life into the presence and the truth of God. That's where roots happen. So this week's message, I'm gonna tell you up front, this is for the committed. Now, before you check out, if you're not, this isn't for the people that have it all together. That's not what committed means. It's for the people who've decided they're not going to drift. It's for the committed.

The people who refuse to let a loud world make them shallow. Let me ask you, how many of you would like to be more committed in your walk with Jesus? Just show of hands. That's good, you're in church. I'm glad you raised your hand, that's great. That's why you should be here. Now, I'm gonna give you just four words today that I want you to let roll in your soul a little bit. And they're really short, but they're really punchy for your life if you'll live by them. And it's just this, stay rooted, stay ready. Stay rooted, stay ready. In fact, repeat it after me, stay rooted, stay ready. Let's do it one more time for fun. Stay rooted, stay ready. Like, we're gonna live our lives rooted, we're gonna live our lives ready. So last week, Jude shows us how to spot the counterfeits. We talked about this. If you were here, you remember, we talked about the fake eventually breaks. You gotta spot the counterfeits. But then Jude, he goes even deeper, because he doesn't want us just to become better at calling out what is false. He doesn't want us just to be good at spotting counterfeits. He wants us to become the kind of people who can stand when falsehood, pressure, and division come near. So that's where he leans in next.

See, that's what committed people do. They don't build their lives on a mood. I don't know if you're like me, when I was in elementary school, I had a mood ring. Anybody ever have a mood ring? No, I don't know why my mood ring was always black. I don't know if it went through the dishwasher. I don't know if it got in the dryer. Maybe I just got a dark soul back then. I don't know what was going on with me. But you don't build, the committed lives aren't built on a mood. Like when you feel like it, like you don't follow Jesus only when life feels convenient, because you'll never follow Jesus. See, committed people don't confuse proximity to spiritual things with intimacy with God. Can I just tell you, just because you show up at church does not make you committed. It doesn't. You're like, then why am I here? It's one step. But just because you show up doesn't make you committed. Just because you own a Bible doesn't make you committed. Just because you know some scriptures and know a few songs does not make you committed. What makes us committed is intimacy with the Father. That's where it's at. And this matters because we're not trying to win debates. We're trying to become a people, a church

that can get close enough to the smoke to help people find their way to hope. But if we're gonna step toward people in the haze, we have to know where our feet are planted. So we're gonna stay rooted and we're gonna stay ready. So let me take you back to Jude. Jude's a one-chapter book. And we've talked about this. It's only like 25 verses. We're almost through the book. We got one more week. But there's this little section we're gonna pack into today. And Jude's writing to a church under pressure. Like false teachers had slipped in. They're dividing. They're distorting grace, they're making sin feel normal. And then verse 17 through 21, if you got Bibles, go to Jude, it's right before Revelation. It's next to last book in the New Testament. And Jude turns from exposing the counterfeit to actually strengthening the committed. So he spent the first 16 verses talking about you gotta contend for the faith, you gotta spot the counterfeits, and now he's like, but now I wanna strengthen those of you that are committed so you understand how to rescue people. So here's how he begins, Jude 17. He says, but you, talking about the committed,

my dear friends, you must remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ predicted. So he uses two words, but you. Those two words matter. Because Jude is saying, don't let your behavior become like their behavior. Don't let their behavior become your blueprints. Don't let their noise set your direction. He's like, remember what is true. You remember what is true. And then Jude reminds them that the apostles already warned about these people they called the scoffers that would come. Now, we don't use that word anymore. If you do, you're from like the 1800s. Look at these scoffers, right? Like, that's what you do. If you're like, what is a scoffer? Here's what a scoffer is. It's just people driven by their own desires, people who create division, people without the Spirit of God. That's a scoffer. We oughta bring that back this week. You imagine you're at work, you're like, that lady down in accounting, she's a scoffer. Causing a lot of division around here. Sitting in class, man, that guy's a scoffer. Look what he's doing in the class. A scoffer is just that.

Like, this is not Jude being pessimistic either. He's not being pessimistic. He's just making the church ready. He's making Christians, the committed Christians ready for how to rescue people. Like, he's setting us up for what we're gonna talk about next week, and here's what you need to know. Jesus never promised his followers an easy world. What he did promise is his presence in a hard world. Let me say that again. He didn't promise his followers an easy world. Let me just ask you, how many of you know that this world's kind of a hard place to live right now? Anybody feel that? You're like, seriously, bro? Were you in the parking lot 10 minutes ago? No, I wasn't, but you were. It's a hard world, and Jesus promises his presence in this world. He told us there would be trouble. Jesus said there will be trouble in this world. And then he told us take heart. He was like, because I've actually overcome all that. So when culture shifts, or when faith gets mocked, when the truth gets edited to make it easier to swallow, like, we don't have to panic. Like, God's not surprised. You realize this, right? Like, God's not there going, oh no, what happened? What is wrong with these people?

Man, I sprinkled something wrong in that recipe. He's not up there wringing his hands going, okay, screwed that one up. No, God doesn't panic. There's nothing surprising him. The kingdom is not fragile, believe it or not. You know how I know, because Jesus is still Lord. He's still resurrected. So Jude does something. He gives us these four practices for a rooted life. And we're gonna unpack the four of them with the rest of our time. I'm gonna give them to you real quick, and then we'll unpack them on the screen with the rest of our time. I'm gonna give you the four real fast, okay? I'm gonna let Quentin Tarantino this. I'm gonna give you the end, and then we're gonna go back and see how we got there, okay? If you get that, we should be friends. All right, here's the first one, is remember the truth. The second one is we're gonna build our faith. The third one is we're gonna pray in the Spirit. And the fourth is we're gonna wait for the mercy of Jesus. Four practices. Here's what they're not. They're not four hacks to a better life. They're not four ways to make yourself look more spiritual. These are actually four practices to keep your life close to the love of God.

That's what they are. So let's unpack them. Here's the first one. Remember the truth, is what Jude says. Remember the truth. See, we don't stay rooted by chasing every new voice that comes down the road. That's not how we live. We stay rooted by returning to what Jesus has already said. Now, here's what the enemy loves. The enemy loves spiritual amnesia. He loves for us to forget, to forget the promises that God has already given us. Like, I'll give you a case in point, spiritual amnesia. Like, last Thursday night, I'd been up for 38 hours. And then I decided it was a great idea to come stand on the stage and talk. Can you hear how stupid that is? When I tell you I don't remember Thursday night last week, all I remember is I looked at these notes and went, huh, those look like words. And then I prayed to God that something good came out. Like, if you came to Thursday night last week, I hope you found Jesus, because I don't remember it. Spiritual amnesia, right? But the enemy wants us to do that in life. Like, some of you guys aren't doing that just when you're standing in lack of sleep. Like, he wants you to forget who God is. He wants you to forget what God has done.

He wants you to forget who Jesus has already called you to be. And for some of you, you've been called. Actually, all of you have been. But some of you have forgotten what God has called you to. Some of you have forgotten what he's done for you. Some of you, you grew up as a Christ follower, and somewhere along the way, you just diverted off that path, and probably wasn't anything earth-shattering for some of you. You just got busy. You just got distracted, and you forgot. God says, I want you to remember what I've done for you. That's why Jude, his first move is not, hey, why don't you figure everything out first? Nope, the first move is remember. Like, remember that Jesus is good when you don't understand it. Remember that God is faithful when the timeline feels confusing to you. Remember that your feelings are real, but they're not always a great leader. You ever had that moment? Your feelings tell you something, and you're like, I feel all of that, and you're like, that was a horrible way to lead my life. Those feelings are real. They just don't always lead us well. In fact, remember the cross already said

the loudest thing to you about God's love, is that he's willing to die for you. So we remember the truth, the truth that you were loved, that you were cared for, the truth that you were restored, redeemed, and recovered, the truth that transformation gets to be the part of your story, not guilt, shame, and hell. But something better. That's the first thing, remember the truth. Here's the second thing that Jude says, build your faith. Build your faith. Jude says, build each other up in your most holy faith. Notice what he doesn't say, build your private brand. Notice what else he doesn't say. He doesn't say build your platform. He says, build each other up. Build each other up. See, faith was never meant to be a solo project. Like, you don't get to be like Yoko Ono and break away from the Beatles, you know what I'm saying? Some of y'all will get that later. Some of you guys are like, who are the Beatles? Wow, okay. Like, you literally need people to remind you of Jesus when you're tired. You need people to remind you the truth when you're drifting. Like, as I was laying in a hospital last week with my dad, I had this weird moment. Why do weird moments hit at 2 a.m., not at 2 p.m.? Why am I a moron at 2 p.m. and can't think of anything,

but 2 a.m. and it's all like, hey, let's play? And 2 a.m., I had this thought, I was like, who pastors the pastors when they're in crisis? And God was like, got it, the church does. And can I just tell you, in that moment, you built my faith in that moment last week. So, when the church comes together, you elevate and build up. Like, in the moments where I'm in question, where I'm tired, the church is like, we got you, we're here. See, that's what the body does. Like, you need people who will celebrate what God is doing in you and call you higher when life starts settling for less, you need those people, too. See, church is not an event we consume. Like, if you just show up for this and that's it, you're missing out. We're not called to consume, we're called to be consumed and then go back out. It's a family where faith gets built. So, every time you serve, every time you pray with someone, every time you open scripture in a group, every time you confess something you've been carrying and you show up when it could have been easier to stay home, you're putting down roots that are building your faith. You're building something deeper than a Sunday or a Thursday feeling. Can I just tell you, if the only time that you get spiritually fed

is during this hour of your week, you're starving. If the only time you get spiritually fed is with me or someone on this stage with a spoon going, let's give this a little bite, here comes the airplane. You're just an infant in your faith and you're actually probably not gonna survive. You can't continue to live off of an hour's worth of nourishment a week. Like, if you're just showing up for the event, go to a concert. This isn't about this moment, this is about preparing you for the rest of the moments of this week. Gathering for encouragement and edification and maybe some challenge to be better at what this thing is called faith. That's the second thing, build your faith. First thing, remember the truth. Here's the third thing, and some of y'all are gonna weird out on me for a second, so don't get weird yet, okay? Pray in the Spirit. Pray in the Spirit, let me read what Jude says. Pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, I know some of you, you grew up in some charismatic backgrounds of church, Pentecostal, so you hear pray in the Spirit and you think somebody should slap you in the head and you should fall out. Right?

Or some people, they've come to me and they're like, I know what they're asking when they ask this, they're like, is this a Spirit-filled church? Now, my sarcasm kicks in in that moment. And I'm like, would you want to be a part of a non-spirit-filled church? Don't we want the Spirit of God to be in this place? No, what they're asking is, do we speak in tongues? That's what they're asking. That's a whole different sermon for a whole different day. But this is not what Jude's talking about. He's not talking about are we spirit-filled so we can speak in tongues. He's talking about are we filled with the Spirit of God that resurrected Jesus from the dead? Because when you give your life to Jesus, he says the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now dwells within us. So when we pray, we get to pray with resurrection power, not with human power. So this is not fancy language for only praying when the worship music hits right. It's not the, yes, now, Lord, which is fine. It also doesn't mean that you're sending God a list hoping he notices. Like, God, I took my time and wrote it down. Like prayer's a relationship. Prayer is surrender. Prayer is making room for the Spirit to shape your desires and correct your motives and lead your next steps. And some of us, you know why we don't pray? Because we think we have to sound impressive. Here's what I know. God's not grading your vocabulary when you pray. He's not like, you didn't use a big enough word there, sorry, C minus. You don't get to take it home for test corrections.

He's not looking for how big a word you said or how fancy a word or how churchy a word you said. Like, I don't think he cares about any of that. You know what he's inviting? He's inviting honesty. Praying in the Spirit can be as simple as, God, I'm scared, God, I'm angry, God, I need your help. God, I don't know what to do. That's prayer. Last Wednesday night, I was sleeping in a recliner, sleeping, very loose word, at the hospital. And at 3 a.m., it was completely dark. My dad didn't have his hearing aids in or his glasses. So when I tell you he could not hear or see, he could not hear or see. And then thunder from the monsoon cracked. And he sat up in bed like a zombie apocalypse just happened. And I immediately jumped up because I knew he didn't know what was going on. And so I ran over and I grabbed him by the face. I was like, Dad, it's me. And he was like, I don't have to pee. I was like, that's not what I said. So I turn on the light. I wish I could tell you that's a joke. It's not. That really happened. So I turned the lights on, put his glasses on. He was like, oh, it's you. I was like, that's what I said. Then I put his hearing aids in. And then it got real somber.

I got him settled down and he looked at me and he said, son, he said, I don't think I'm going to make it out of here. I think I'm going to die. I need you to take care of mom. And then he went back to sleep. I was like, you're just going to drop that and go back to sleep? So I did what anybody would do. I sat in that chair for the next hour and I watched him breathe. And then I prayed. And here was my prayer. Got him scared. Got him a 47-year-old little boy that doesn't want to lose his daddy. That was my prayer. Then 45 minutes later, he woke up and was like, want to go for a walk? I was like, really? I was like, you're going to drop I'm dying tonight. Let's go for a walk. And can I get some ice chips? Can I tell you in the honesty of that moment with God? Like I brought as real a self as I could to God in that moment. You know what I learned? The spirit meets me in those moments probably more than any other. In the moments before he woke up and wanted to go for a walk, God just reminded me no matter the outcome of this, I'm still good. No matter what happens from here forward, you know where your pops is headed. And I was like, well, hopefully home. God's like, well, which home? Because I've got two. I was like, preferably the one on this side. But even in that, I'm in the outcome.

I can't tell you the peace that God threw over my soul in that hour and a half. See prayer is how roots go down when life is dry. It's the brute honesty of those prayers. It's how we stop reacting to every gust of the wind and start listening to the voice of the shepherd pray in the spirit. That's prayer in the spirit is honesty. It's not polished. It's just honesty with God. So he says, remember the truth, build your faith, pray in the spirit. And then he gives us this fourth thing. He says, wait for mercy. Wait for mercy. Jude says, await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ who will bring you eternal life. Here's what you need to understand in faith. Waiting is not passive. We're not sitting around. I'm going do, do, do, do, do, do, do. Like, that's not what we're doing. Actually, if you're in faith, biblical waiting is actually active trust. That's what biblical waiting is. It's living faithfully today because you believe Jesus is coming tomorrow. That's what it is. It's refusing to make a permanent compromise for a temporary moment. Like, we live in a world that says, get it now, fix it now, feel better now, make the pain stop now, but followers of Jesus, we have a longer horizon than that.

We see something further. Like, we know if you're committed, you know that this moment is not the whole story. This isn't it. Like, we know every wrong will not get the final word. In fact, let me, some of you need to hear that. Every wrong in your life does not get the final word. Jesus actually gets the final word. We know our hope is not in a politician, praise God. And I don't care which politician, none of them get the final word. I don't care what side of the aisle you're on. You know why they don't get the final word? They're not Jesus. They're just not. If you're a politician, I'm so glad you're here. You're still not Jesus. And it's okay. Actually, if you're here, you already know that, I'm sure. It's not a hope in the economy. Some of you guys are like, yep, already got that one. It's not hope in a diagnosis or a relationship status or the perfect version of whatever you think your life is supposed to be. Our hope is in the mercy of Jesus. That's where our hope is. And then Jude says this. He says, in this way, you will keep yourself safe in God's love. Now, don't hear that as God will love you

if you work hard enough. You can't earn God's love. You don't pray your way into becoming acceptable. You don't Bible read your way into God finally being pleased with you. He's not up there going, well, you almost got through the 365-day Bible reading, but you missed day 364. Sorry. That's not how it goes. Like, you're loved because Jesus loved you first. You're secure because his grace found you. His cross covered you. His resurrection opened a new future for you. So keeping yourself in God's love means staying where his love is shaping you. It's like standing in the light, but you don't have to create the sun. It's like staying connected to the source, but you don't have to generate the power. What's crazy is we always try to generate our own power, don't we? We're like a power strip. We just keep plugging into ourselves. You ever done that stupid little game? You ever plugged a power strip into itself thinking you plugged it into the wall and you can't figure out why it won't work? And then you realize it and you're like, why am I dumb? You ever do that?

Yeah, we do that with our lives. We keep trying to plug into ourselves, I'm gonna self-help. How's that working for you? You're like, it's not. The switch doesn't work. You're right, because you're plugged into the wrong source. Jesus says it this way, John 15. I've loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love is what Jesus says. And then he connects remaining to obedience, not because obedience is what purchases love, but because obedience keeps us close to the life Jesus wants for us. Here's what he says, verse 11. I've told you these things so that you will be filled with my what? What's he say? Joy. Yes, your joy will overflow. You know what I love about Jesus there? He wants you to have joy. Like, I don't understand Christians who walk around like, woo-hoo, thank you, Jesus. Life's still horrible. Yay. I'll worship you with all I have. That's how we live, we live joyless. And Jesus does not call us to a smaller life, he just calls us on a path to a fuller one.

And here's why I think sometimes we miss the joy, is because sin always over-promises and under-delivers. Let me ask you, when's the last time you enjoyed a good sin? When's the last time you enjoyed a good sin? Some of you guys are like, I don't wanna answer that. This is church, you shouldn't ask that. Why do you sin? You sin on the forefront of sin, because sin entices us, it looks kind of fun. It over-promises, it's like, your life's gonna be so much better. And then the next morning, you're like, my life is so much worse. See, it over-promises and under-delivers. That's why on the front end, we like sin, but on the back end, we're full of guilt and shame. See, followers of Jesus, we may have a cost and comfort on the front end of what Jesus gives, but it never costs us the life we were made for. He may cost you some comfort, but it won't cost you your calling. And here's the tension we need to hold. Jude tells us to keep ourselves in God's love. Here's what Paul tells us. Philippians chapter one, verse six. God who began the good work within you. Don't miss that. God began a good work within you. work within you, will continue his work until it's finally finished.

So here's what that tells me. All of us, all of us created in the image of God, we have a good work that's been started in us. And some of you are like, yeah, but I screwed the good work up. Let me ask you, how many of you are still breathing in this moment? Just raise your hand. Okay, good. That's a fantastic thing to know. The medical team does not have to come find you right now. That's good. But if you're breathing, he's not finished with you. So the good work he started, he said, I will finish. And so if you will allow him to actually finish what he started, you do it by staying rooted because God is keeping us. He keeps showing up because grace is already working in us. Like our discipline is not a way to replace God's faithfulness. It's our response to it. That we're gonna show up. So I don't want you to hear this as pressure. I want you to hear this as invitation. Like God's not standing over here with a stopwatch and going, well, see if they miss their quiet time tomorrow. Oh, they didn't read anything this week. No, he's a father inviting you into something closer. He's not the watchdog.

He's your father. And he's saying, come back to me, stay near. Let me love and hold you steady. Stay rooted. Stay ready. Stay rooted in me and stay ready in my love. Now, you may be sitting here going, that's great. So what does this mean? Well, I'm glad you asked. Like maybe the reason your faith feels a little thin right now is not because you don't love Jesus. In fact, I'd venture to say most of you probably do. Maybe you've just been trying to survive on spiritual leftovers. You're not really feeding yourself. You're just eating some crumbs off the floor. Here's what I would tell you. You can't live on last Sunday's worship. You can't survive it. But like for our students, you can't live off of last year's camp experience. That's not how it works. You can't live off of the social media post with a scripture on it that you saved that you'll never go back and look at. But you're like, it was so touching to my soul. See, those things can encourage you, but they can't be your daily connection with Jesus. Once a week will not do it for you.

Once a moment. So let me give you your next step this week. Like let's just get painstakingly practical. Because I think a lot of times we hear these messages and we're like, okay, so now I gotta give up my entire life? Well, let's start small. I would argue you're not giving up your life, you're actually gaining your life, but that's a whole nother message. But let's talk about this week. Here's something practical this week for you. What if you were to spend five minutes in scripture, five minutes in prayer each day? 10 minutes. Just 10 minutes. Before you touch your phone, before the notifications start discipling your mind, open the Bible. Now some of you are like, but my Bible's on my phone. Then buy a real Bible. Amazon.com, it'll be at your house before you get home from church today. Pay the extra 2.99, it'll be there, I promise. How do I know? I do it all the time. I know our Amazon driver by first name. Jose. He knows the gate code to our neighborhood. He knows how to get in my house.

I'm pretty sure he eats breakfast there once a week. Like I'm pretty sure all of us live in that world. You can get a physical Bible. I would argue sometimes we miss out because we're reading and then we get a notification. Like what if we just let this be the notifier? So this week, here's what I want you to do. You're like, well, I don't even know where to start. Good, we're in this series called Smells Like Smoke in the book of Jude. It's 25 verses. In fact, this week, just go read 17 through 21. You're like, what chapter? One, it's only one chapter. Okay, back to that. And just do that every day this week. Jude 17 through 21. And then after you read it, ask God this. God, what do you want me to remember about this? And then pray and tell God what's actually happening in you. Maybe it's God, I'm afraid. Maybe it's God, I'm anxious. Maybe it's God, I'm angry. Maybe it's God, I don't even know what I'm praying right now but can you show me something in my life? And then listen. And then just write down what you sense he might be asking you to do. 10 minutes. Can I just tell you that 10 minutes could change your life?

Now, some of you, you're already thinking, that's way too simple. Good. Because here's what you need to know. Simple is not shallow. A lot of times we think simple is shallow. Actually, sometimes simple is the deepest thing you can do. Like a root doesn't grow because it's dramatic. You know that, right? Like, have you ever seen a mesquite tree or a Palo Verde tree, the root come out of the ground and go, hey, I'm gonna be all dramatic today. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. Like, they don't do that. You know what roots do? Day by day, they just grow a little deeper. Nobody sees it above the surface. It just keeps reaching into the same life-giving source day after day, boring day after. day, same 10 minutes, day after day, before you know it, the roots are deep. Now, if you miss a day, don't turn it into shame. Don't say, well, I blew it, so I guess I might as well quit. See you next year. January 1st, I'll be on it again. No, you won't. Because then you'll say, well, Easter, and then you'll say, well, September, and then you'll say, okay, 2028, we're gonna be awesome. See, that voice is not from Jesus.

Like, just come back the next day. Like, God's mercies in scripture says they're new every day, which I'm very thankful for. His invitation is still open, so if you, you've been following Jesus for a long time, don't mistake information for transformation. Here's what I mean by that. Some of you know more Bible than you're actually obeying. You can quote all the scriptures, the problem is you don't obey the scriptures that you actually know. You want other people to obey, you just wanna do it yourself. Like, let this rhythm be a fresh surrender, not a religious homework. Like, stay in rhythm. There's a great theologian that once said the rhythm's gonna get ya. If you know that rhythm, that's funny. We'll do that together. Here's what I know, if you're far from God, this is your invitation to. Like, let me tell you this, if you're far from God, first of all, I'm so glad you're here, you're my favorite people. So glad you had the courage to show up. Like, welcome, we're really, really glad you're here. But you don't have to clean yourself up before you come to Jesus. Like, the American church has always said,

like, we've gotten this backwards, we're like, we'll let you, if you come in and you behave like us, you believe like us, then we'll let you belong. And Jesus was like, really? Because what I told people was, is you belong to me right now. And we'll work on your belief, and we'll work on your behavior, but you're part of me now. I love you enough to let you come as you are, I just love you way too much to leave you there. It's funny, because I have people, they'll come to me all the time, you know there was somebody smoking in the parking lot at church? And I'm like, uh-huh. They're like, what are you gonna do about it? Nothing. They're like, don't you care? Sure. I'm like, did you go up to them and just see how they're doing? Well, no, they were smoking in the parking lot. I'm like, you ate six burritos in our cafe before, what's the difference? I'm just saying. Like, what if we were just happy people are showing up, far from God? What if we just wanted to walk with people where they are?

You don't have to fix yourself to show up. We'll work on all of that stuff later. Jesus is not asking you to become rooted before he welcomes you. He welcomes you and then gives you a new life to grow into. Piantino, we are gonna be a committed church, but not a frantic church. We're not gonna be a shallow church. Not a church tossed by every trend, every fear, every false voice. We'll remember the truth. We'll build each other up. In fact, today, before you leave this place, build somebody up. Don't be creepy about it. Don't be like, hey lady, you look awesome. Like, don't do that, that's weird, right? This is not a dating market, all right? Don't do that. But you know what? You could talk to a children's worker when you check your kid out. Hey, thanks for loving my kid well. Especially yours, because yours is the crazy kid and you know it. Like, I'm sorry. I'm sorry we left for two hours. We actually came to the last service and we pretended like we were here for both.

Think a cafe worker. They get here at 3.30 in the morning to make burritos and eggs. And it's not because they wanna feed your stomachs because they want you to have community to fill your soul. We're gonna build each other up. We're gonna pray in the power of the Spirit. We're gonna wait for the confidence and the mercy of Jesus. And then when the smoke gets thick, we're not gonna run from people who are far from God. We're actually gonna stay close enough to Jesus that we can step towards the fire with compassion and help people find their way from hell to hope. I want you to do something with me this week. One last thing. I'm gonna ask you to do this. At the beginning of this series, I told you I wanted you to commit to all four weeks of this. Just commit to showing up all four weeks. And I think for the most part, you guys have. But I want you to take one more step. Next week is the last week of the series. It's actually Jude 23. We're gonna rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment. We're gonna talk about what rescue work really looks like. We're gonna have baptism weekend. It's gonna smell like all sorts of smoke up in here. Not that kind, don't get weird.

It's gonna be amazing. And here's what I want you to do. There's gonna be a text word on the screen. And it's just gonna say, invite. I want you to text that word right now. Take your phones out. Some of you guys are like, I don't have my phone. Yes, you do. I've seen you on it the whole service. I can see you, okay? I know what the Little League World Series scores are. We'll find them later, okay? Invite to 46356. I want you to text that right now. Just everybody do it. And it's gonna send you something. It's an invite for your friend. I want you to take that invite. I want you to text one person right now as we're sitting here. One person. Your life far from God. I want you to say, hey, my pastor told me I had to do this. Blame me if you have to. But I'm sitting in church right now, and I feel like God is transforming my life, and I'd like for you to be a part of it. Would you come with me next week? I'll give you one of my six burritos if you come. And then just sit, send.

You're like, I don't do the technologies. Okay, good. We have some cards out in the lobby that say invite. You can take one of those cards and hand them to somebody. Here's what I'd say, better yet, pick up a phone or stop by and just say, hey, I'd really like for you to be a part of this with me. One phone call, one text, one invite could change somebody's eternity. If we really claim we're committed to Jesus, how much would we have to hate someone not to invite them into this? But how much do we have to love someone to get them to be a part of the greatest story ever told? So let me pray for us, and as we invite this week, let's stay rooted and let's stay ready for what God's gonna do in our midst. Let's pray. Father, today, God, I thank you that you're a God that's committed to us, that you were committed to hope and transformation in our lives, that you were committed to the cross, you were committed to the grave, that you were committed to resurrection. God, I pray that we would be a committed people, committed to knowing what it is to help people see you. God, committed to smelling like smoke, committed to getting close enough to hell to snatch people out to hope.

God, I pray that we would be a church the gates of hell would never prevail against. But God, we'd get close enough to those gates to get people out. So God, we give you the glory, we give you the honor, we give you the praise, we give you our lives. And it's in the powerful name of Jesus we pray all these things all God's people said. Amen. Will you stand with us? Let's sing together. Love you, church. Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! Woo! When I was lost and all alone Your presence was where I found home You were there and You're here right now When I was lost and all alone Your presence was where I found home You were there and You're here right now You were there and You're here right now And in every high and every low You never left me without hope You were good and You're good right now And I witnessed Your faithfulness

I've seen You breathe life within so I Pour out my praise because You're worthy God, You're worthy of all of it Your promises never fail I've got stories I'll live to tell them now Pour out my praise because You're worthy God, You're worthy of all of it You left the throne and chose the cross Endowed Your life to rescue us The Savior then, the Savior now But even death is not the end You conquered hell so I could live Resurrecting then, resurrecting now Resurrecting then, resurrecting now I witnessed Your faithfulness I've seen You breathe life within so I Pour out my praise because You're worthy God, You're worthy of all of it Your promises never fail I've got stories I'll live to tell them now Pour out my praise because You're worthy God, You're worthy of all of it God, You're worthy of all of it You're good and I've witnessed it You're strong and I've witnessed it You're constant, I've witnessed it And I'm confident that I'll see it again and again You love and I've witnessed it You heal and I've witnessed it You save and I've witnessed it And I'm confident that I'll see it again And again You're good and I've witnessed it You're strong and I've witnessed it

You're constant, I've witnessed it And I'm confident that I'll see it again And again You love and I've witnessed it You heal and I've witnessed it You save and I've witnessed it And I'm confident that I'll see it again And again I've witnessed your faithfulness I've seen you breathe life into it So I'll pour out my praise again Cause you're worthy, God you're worthy of all of this Your promises never fail I've got stories I've been to tell So I'll pour out my praise again Cause you're worthy, God you're worthy of all of this To the broken I've witnessed it To the hurting I've witnessed it To the lost I've witnessed it And I'll tell them this I'm telling what I've witnessed To my family I've witnessed it To my city I've witnessed it Jesus To the nations I've witnessed it I'm telling this I'm telling what I've witnessed Jesus God you're worthy Oh God you're worthy You're worthy of our witness of you Jesus Would you walk with us right now in this time Lord that we would be your hands and your feet That we would witness of your goodness God we are totally confident in you And we pray that you would walk with us out of these walls Lord Into the city, into our homes, into our neighborhoods God into our workplace Into our schools Jesus would you walk with us That we could carry your name In Jesus name we pray Amen Thank you so much Thank you so much God is so good He is so worthy Amen Amen If you are new to Pantano we would love to get acquainted with you

We have a next steps room that's right across the courtyard We would love to talk to you about the next steps of how you could get involved If you need prayer this morning we would love to pray with you Across our courtyard again is our prayer room We have many people that are there to pray with you God bless you have a wonderful day God bless you