Watch Your Step | Pastor Earl McClellan

He has provided for me day after day after day. He's given me community breath in my lungs a brain He's given me a body. He's given me a call. He's given me a purpose. He's given me all these things I'm not gonna disrespect his character and say he's not good because he hasn't given me what I want If you have your Bibles why don't you turn with me to the book of 1 Corinthians If you have your Bibles Turn with me to the book of 1 Corinthians if you do not have your Bible going to put the verses on the screen But I'd like to apply some positive peer pressure for you to bring your Bible with you, but no shame no guilt And if you don't have one, we have a Bible for you here at Shoreline City. You can get one Right right after service. We'll have one. It's right in the courtyard here at our Dallas campus First Corinthians go to first Corinthians chapter 10 is anybody doing their growth plans. Is anybody doing a growth plan? Okay. Yeah, all right Trying to get y'all to get locked in on this. My mom has been locked in. I've been proud of her She's been going to coffees and lunches and she's got her five people. She's praying for so I want to shut you out mom I always make little jokes about my mom, too. So I got to make sure I shout her out periodically She's a good mom. I love her so much She's drunk today, but I love her In the Lord joy of the Lord. What are you guys talking about? I? Got you mom First Corinthians chapter 10. We're gonna start reading in verse number six It says now these things occurred as Examples everybody say examples Examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did do not be idolaters as Some of them were as it is written the people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry We should not commit sexual immorality as some of them did and in one day 23,000 of them died We should not test Christ as some of them did and we're killed by snakes And do not grumble as some of them did and we're dis and we're killed by the destroying angel These things happen to them as examples and we're written down as warnings for us

Everybody say warnings Man warnings for us on whom the culmination of the ages has come So if you think you are standing firm Be careful That you don't fall The title of today is watch your step watch your steps So if you have some turning in there, we said watch your steps. They watch your step watch your step I I'm excited to jump into this passage of scripture Today and again, I pray that all of us Have our ears open and our hearts open so that God can push us forward because I see us getting Freeed today, I see us stepping more into who God is calling us to be I see it's not staying the same and moving backwards, but I see us moving forward in our when I walk with God That's what I see for you. I was praying for you yesterday, and I felt just an anticipation in my heart seeing God Sons and daughters be set free matter of fact. I'll share with you this this image really really quick I last night as I was praying in this room. I saw in my heart I won't call it a vision, but I at least saw it in my mind's eye I saw a bunch of people Tight up like they were tied up with ropes It was wrapped all the way around them And I saw like the Lord coming through with massive scissors and just cutting the ropes off of people and people getting free That's what I saw so I've been praying that free I've been praying that today would be a day of freedom that you were bound But you get you the ropes get cut and you get free But I also saw this as I was praying not only were the ropes cut I saw that people that were used to living like this because they were bound once the ropes were cut They did not release their arms because they were used to living that way This is used to being bound So since they had a lack of familiarity with being free They didn't know how to run free You heard that little story at some point in time probably about the the elephant when it's a little baby

You know elephant with a baby elephant called I don't even know a baby elephant A calf just kidding. It's not stake. And they keep that little baby elephant connected to that stake. And then as the elephant grows up, but it's always had this thing around its ankle. When it grows up large, you don't even have to tie it with a chain anymore. They can put a little rope connected to a stake because it's trained the elephant its entire life that you can't break free from this. So even though the elephant has a strength to be free, it doesn't get free because it doesn't believe it can be free. It's used to being tied. And that is some of us. You are used to being tied. And I'm praying in Jesus' name today, you would see yourself as a free son and daughter of Almighty God. But go with me. We walk through all of this passage of Scripture here. I want to get to verse number 13 for a second. Go with me to verse number 13. Look at this, verse number 13, 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse number 13. It says, "No temptation," and I want to stop right here. Let's talk about temptation, okay? First and foremost, stop being fake, okay? All of us are dealing with some type of temptation, okay? Now maybe you are of the persuasion that people in church aren't supposed to deal with temptations. Well, I don't know who gave you that because only broken people are in church. People people are in church, saved people are in church, redeemed people are in church, lost people are in church. Whatever you find people, you will find temptation.

This is the reality. So let us not be, and I'm in fact, I'll fight against this until I have no teeth in my mouth and I'm wearing dentures. I will fight against the whole lie that in order to be a part of church, you have to be perfect. Take your mask off here at the house of God and be who God has called you to be. Be honest, be open, be vulnerable, be real. This is essential for you to be the man or woman that God has called you to be. I'm not talking about us elevating our brokenness and worshiping our sin. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about us being honest that we have some stuff that we are dealing with. And if you are living and breathing, you have something you're dealing with. And the thing you're dealing with might not be the thing I'm dealing with. But all of us are dealing with something. So let's just say this is a mask-free zone here at Shoreline City Church. You take off your masks, do not have to have it all together because none of us have it all together. Thankfully, we've got a glorious Savior that has it all together. And his death, bill, and resurrection is what makes us right with God. Temptation is a part of all of our lives. Now, when we use the word temptation, sometimes everybody wants to make it kind of like sexual or sultry or like, "Ooh, not all temptation is in that category." Some of it is just like, "Thank you." Somebody said, "Food is in our people confessing." Matter of fact, what's your temptation? Just kidding. You're right there, sir. No, just kidding. Everybody doesn't have the same thing. I can be around drinking and drugs and stuff just everywhere.

I'm never in those places just so you know. There's never a time. I've been in a place with drinking and drugs every place. But if I was, it wouldn't bother me. It bothered me in that I don't want to be around all this. But it's not like I need some coke in my head. I have so many more jokes, but this is inappropriate because this might be your struggle, but it's not mine. It's not mine. I don't see that stuff and I really, really need it or want it. But that might be somebody else's struggle. What we've done in the church is we've said, "If I don't struggle with it, but you struggle with it, then yours is a really, really bad one." Mine, just kind of, "You're just going to send you to hell." Mine, I'll just simmer a little bit, but you're going to hell. Yours is really bad, mine, not so bad. It's so foolish that we keep on grading everybody else's temptations and sins. Let's just say we all have stuff that we are navigating and dealing with. Temptations, all of us have something that can kind of get you. All of us have something that can kind of get you off track, kind of get you in your own head, in your own feelings. So now that we know all of us have temptations, look at what this verse says. Verse, again, 1 Corinthians chapter 10 verse number 13, no temptation has overtaken you except what is common, common to mankind, common to humankind. That is what you are dealing with is not so abnormal that you're the only one that has ever dealt with it. The enemy likes to try to lie to us and give us some mindset of exclusivity when it comes to our temptations so that we are isolated, can't listen to anyone, can't talk to anyone and it can pull us into a space where we are all by ourselves and we don't think anybody else can ever understand what we are going through. The problem with that is it's not true. The Bible says any temptation that you are navigating is actually common to humankind. So someone else at some point in time

has gone through what you're going through, maybe not the exact thing but the root thing that you are dealing with, they are dealing with. And because it's common, it takes you away from the lie of the enemy like try to put in your ear because you're the only one dealing with this, you probably need to leave the church. You know what, you're the only one dealing with this, you're going to be in this the rest of your life. You know what, you should probably just end your life because you're never going to get through this because no one's ever dealt with anything like you're dealing with. Just go ahead and end it all. There's a lie that you and I can hear in our ears and it's the devil trying to steal, kill and destroy. You're not the only one. You're not. You're not. Well, I mean me and my wife, you're not. Stop. It might be unique. Yes, you're not the only one. You're not the only one navigating it. And then when we can get rid of that pride that we are the only one, it opens us up to community in ways we have never known so that we can get the healing that God is wanting us to have. Keep on walking with me. Common to mankind. This is one of my favorite parts of this verse. God is faithful and God is faithful. I said he's what? God is what? God is what? God is faithful. God is faithful. God is faithful. God is faithful. God is faithful. God is faithful. God is faithful. God can't be anything but faithful. He's always been faithful. He always will be faithful. It's not that God used to be faithful but now he's lost his power. No, he used to be faithful. He's faithful in the past, in the present and in the future. God is faithful. God is reliable. God is trustworthy. God is strong. God is mighty. God is faithful. Even when your prayer isn't answered. God is faithful. Come on, even when it doesn't work out the way you want it to work out. God is faithful. Even when you're confused. God is faithful. Even when you're frustrated. God is faithful. Even when you're like God, what are you doing with my life right now? God is faithful. Time and time and time again. And I don't care how big the temptation. I don't care how hard the struggle. Every single thing that you and I are facing. You have to know this fact. Ten toes down that God is faithful. He can carry me through this. He can carry me through it. He can carry me through it. Now, not only is he faithful, watch this. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. So, this is interesting. This verse tells us, let me tell you this. We've got three kids, right? And boy, boy, girl. And our kids are all five years apart. So, our oldest, Parker, shut up youth. He's, you know, leading the youth. He and his wonderful wife leading the

youth here at our Dallas campus. Doing a wonderful job. Parker has a little brother, Grayson, who's bi-- Like any good dad, I let my boy's wrestle. Duh. So, when Parker's 10, let's say Grayson's five, right? Parker, he's kicking Grayson's butt. I mean, every single time. I mean, just putting a whooping on him. Every single time. Now, Grayson's, he's grown, we call him a, when he was a baby, we call him the Dallas Destroyer. This guy was so strong, and he's still very, very strong. You ever shake his hand? Be careful, he's got a mean grip right there. It's like, okay, trying to flex. But I could still beat him in arm wrestling and everything and beat him up and stuff. So, I'm still, I'm still the king in the house. There will be a day, there will be a day, they'll be able to beat me, but it ain't yet. So, Parker and Grayson, they will wrestle. And they will wrestle, and Parker will just be destroying him, right? He's 10, his brother, his five. And Grayson told me that I need to let you all know that he doesn't think that's still the case. He thinks he can now beat Parker. And I know Parker would say that's not true, but we'll, we'll figure it out in the backyard. Maybe this afternoon.

With that being said, Parker beat Grayson. They're wrestling, wrestling, wrestling. I'm watching this happen. I can see it. When Parker starts to put too much pressure on Grayson, I tell Parker, hey, hey. Back up, back up, it's too much. Stop, I'm overseeing all of the struggle. This verse right here tells us that when you were tempted, God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. So, watch this, this was revelation for me. That God is supervising every temptation that you're in. He's over it. I used to think whenever I was in temptation, I would always be thinking about my temptation. I would always be thinking about my struggle. I would always be thinking about my shortcoming. But this verse tells me that in the midst of my temptation, I could actually get my eyes off of myself and onto the God that is supervising the temptation that I am in right now. That, am I saying, some of you are like, wait, God's watching me? Yeah, no, no. That does not mean I step into more temptation. That lets you know that when it comes, you do not have to fall, you do not have to buckle, you do not have to crumble under the temptation. You and I end up buckling and falling and crumbling is because we actually start taking more on from God

than God wants us to take from Him. But if we would trust Him when the temptation comes, He would go, hey, I've given you every bit of strength that you need to say no to the way of the enemy and to say yes to my path for your life. He's overseeing it. Now, watch this. When you are tempted. He does not say, it doesn't say if. He says when. So if you think, oh, I'm so Christian, I'm so holy, I got it all together so much I'm never even going to be tempted. I'm just going to use maybe a biblical word. You are full. [LAUGHTER] OK, that's not the way it works. You and I will have to navigate some type of temptation. But when you do, when you do, watch this. This is beautiful. When you are tempted, God, He will also provide. What's He going to provide for you? Away out. Oh, my goodness, this is good, this is good. So I'm in the temptation. And while I'm in it, God's still providing for me. I used to think when I was in the temptation that He wasn't in it. Little did I know that while I'm in the temptation, God's like, I got provision for you. What is it, God, away out?

What, you're telling me I don't have to be stuck in this? What, you're telling me I don't have to be bound in this? What, you're telling me I don't have to be in this the rest of my life? You're telling me there's a way for me to get out of the thing that I'm in right now? Because the lie is that you'll be stuck in it forever. But you do not have to be stuck in that thing forever. Because God always provides a way out. Are you looking for the way out? because we're so far in. I'm so far in, I'm not even looking for a way out. So let me learn to hide, let me learn to conceal, let me learn to fake, let me learn to manipulate, let me learn to circumvent somehow this temptation, the struggle that I am in, so that I can live a halfway decent life, but I'm never gonna find a way out. I've also found that the way out, usually, is not a path a lot of us like to take. The way out usually has something to do with confession. Okay, confession. Not like you go to a priest's confession, but you go to a trusted friend, godly friend, maybe a mentor, maybe not, and you say, "Here's the real of what I'm navigating and going through." And I just have to, I'm praying that Shoreline City would be a space where we would know how to handle and care for the very real temptations and confessions that people will give. I have a, I've been a pastor for a minute,

so I've heard some crazy stuff, okay? I'm not gonna share any of your things, okay? These are other places I've been. People have said, no, just kidding. I don't want you to think your stuff's gonna be shared. I just have seen a lot, and people have been sharing stuff with me, and I'm like, "Whoa, okay." Inside, I'm like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wow! Wow! That's what, inside, I'm going, "Wow!" On my face, I'm going. (Laughter) You have to have a level of spiritual maturity to not shame a person, to not make them feel small in front of you, to not measure your sin against their sin, but you to go, "Wow, God, you are providing a way out for them, and you are trusting me to steward and to carry and to handle their secret, their temptation, their whatever. God, give me the grace to handle this properly." Now, you don't need to take it on your shoulders. Now, try to fix everything. Sometimes you gotta go, "Uh, leader, I cannot promise you that I'm only gonna share this with us because somebody else needs to be involved in this so we can actually see you get to a place of freedom. Can we go to somebody that I really trust a lot that I think can help us work through this together?

I'm gonna still be right by your side. I'll still be praying for you. I still love you so much, but this is above my pay grade. I want to bring this over to another leader that I think can really have your back, and if you trust me, you can trust them too. That's healthy community. That's church done well right there. We can develop and grow and become who God is calling us to be. I want to also come against this whole thing that people say, "I'm accountable. I have an accountability partner. I have accountability partner. I have accountability partner, but you don't share anything with them." You don't have accountability partner. You have a fake accountability partner because your accountability is only as good as your transparency. If you are not transparent and if you are not vulnerable then you are not accountable. You are telling yourself you're accountable, but accountability is I have been willing to come all the way here and I'm going to give you the real world. Does anybody know your debt? Does anybody know those fears? Does anybody know those thoughts that are in your head? Does anybody know that you think she's really, really pretty? This is like a little connection between the two of you, but you're already married to somebody else and for some reason there's some kind of connection here.

Can you share that with anybody and then you not feel shame? If you don't have that type of openness and honesty with somebody then you're doomed for a trap in my opinion. I think you've got to have some place that you can go and go, "I want to quit. I don't like it. I hate this. I'm mad at God. I'm mad at myself. I'm mad at him. I'm mad at her. And someone that's not going to take you off the rails or take you down a road that you don't need to go. But if you can find a safe, godly place where you can share these things, then that is God usually providing you a way out so you don't say stuck in your head, but you get on the road to freedom because you expose the thing that's trying to chain you. I've got to keep on going here. Okay, okay. Provide a way out so that you can endure it. The word here endure, I don't think you have to live your life with shame and fear and I've got to endure it. I think the joy of the Lord is your strength. I think there could be things that you are navigating that are so incredibly difficult. you can have the grace of God and the joy of God flowing through your veins, even while you are fighting some things that you think are too big for you, because you are not fighting them alone. You are fighting them with the God Almighty on your side, and you've got a whole community of people that have your back as well.

This is why we keep talking about groups all the time. You got to connect group, you want to serve them? Do you have any people in your life? You've got to have some people in your life that have been like, "I got your back." You don't have the strength to stand. I'll stand for you, you don't have the strength to hope. I'll hope for you, you don't have the strength to believe. I'll believe for you, you don't have the strength to trust God. I'll trust God for you in this. You can borrow my faith as long as you need to borrow my faith, and I'll walk with you all the way through this thing. So, this is verse number 13. Now, when you go back to verses six through 12, we are given some warnings. All right, let me see my little eighth frame right here. Thank you so much, J.C., appreciate you, sir. Okay, this right here. You ever see one of these? You've seen one, you've seen one. Caution, wet floor, watch your step. You and I have never seen one of these set up on the ground. There's a pool of some liquid on the other side, and we go, "Oh, I wonder what the liquid is. Let me go jump in it." You don't do that, okay? Because that will be gross, that will be foolish. The only ones that do that are kids. Kids do that 'cause they're immature.

They don't understand what the sign means, so they don't understand the sign. They just go right past the sign, and they start playing in the mess. That is what kids do. And I don't want us to be kids spiritually. I want us to be adults spiritually. I want us to mature spiritually. So, that means when God puts up a caution sign, we don't go jump in the thing that He has said, "Warning." In this text, He has set up for us in verse number six. Look at this, chapter 10, verse number six. Now, these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. It's a watch your step sign. Let me tell you what they did, how they messed up. And look at the list, the list is crazy. You ready? Here's a list. These are the four things listed up. Just in the last little soft list for a Sunday morning, idolatry, sexual immorality. We're about to talk about these. Testing Christ and crumbling, okay? Turn your neighbor and say, "He's not talking about me. "He's definitely talking about you." I mean, the second you walked in, I knew he was talking about you, I saw this. This word is for you, this word is for you.

It ain't for me. Idolatry, sexual immorality, testing Christ and grumbling. Even when you look at the list, you're like, okay. Grumbling, oh yeah, I do that. All right, I do grumbling. I don't even know what testing Christ is. I don't even know, I hope I'm not doing it. Sexual immorality, mind your business. Idolatry, probably not. But I want to show you that probably all of us are in one... Something y'all are in all four, okay? So let's go ahead. Let's go through this here. No shame, okay? No masks. We want to be free. We want to be free. We want to be free. Okay, so let's define idolatry real quick. Let's do the idolatry one. Here's idolatry, I'm a scroll past these pretty quickly. I'm a scroll past these, so you're not going to have a ton of time to write everything down. You can take a picture if you want to, but this is a robust theological definition for idolatry. Placing anything other than God at the center of worship and devotion, whether through explicit worship of false gods or through elevating personal desires above allegiance to Him. Now you see this, you go, "I'm not going to make some false God."

But then you start looking, elevating personal desires above allegiance to Him. Huh, okay. I'm not going to say too much on this one, okay? But let me go here. God has set up a warning sign, idolatry. You step in this, it messes with your connection with God. It messes with your purpose. It messes with your clarity. It messes with your vision. It messes with your destiny. It slows you down from where you're trying to go. So God is saying, "I'm setting up this warning sign." So you don't step in this and said, "You go around this." They went through this as an example so that you don't have to do this same thing, idolatry. Something on the throne of your heart that is not God. How do you know if it's an idol? How do you know? I'm gonna give you a couple little idol litmus tests for you. Here's the first one. Anything that gives you validation that is not God. Is an idol. Does it validate you? Is that the thing that you hang your hat on and your identity is in that? I'll give you some random things. Your kids' behavior. This was an idol in my life when my kids, when they were all young.

How they acted had everything to do with how I saw myself as a father and as a leader and as a man. That was on the throne of my heart. I didn't know it till they kept acting like fools and then I realized that God was saying, Hey Earl, this is something that's on the throne of your heart. It's a personal preference that you are giving your allegiance and your time and your effort and your identity too. If your kids are acting right, then you feel like you're a good man. If they're not acting right, you feel like you're not a good man. And I need you to understand that your validation does not come from their behavior. So it might not just be, might not be kids for you. It might be a wedding ring that might validate you. Might be your looks that might validate you. Might be your bank account that might validate you. Might be your placement in school. It might be how much money you make. It might be where you live. It might be what you drive. It might be who knows you. It might be the number of followers that you have. It could be anything, but is there anything in your life that validates you? And if that thing, I'll even say this, even if it's your pain, what validates you is how you were victimized.

And though it was wrong and sinful, it has now become the thing that validates you. And anything that validates you, whether good, bad or ugly, and it's an idol in your life. And God wants that thing to be dealt with. Not only, you know, I gotta keep on going. I'm gonna have to give you the second one on the podcast. Okay, keep on going, keep on going. I gotta get, let me, let's go to this one. (laughing) Oh man, I was like, Lord, you really want me preaching this, huh? I'm like, let's do it. Let's go there then, let's go there, okay? Sexual immorality. Any sexual behavior, any sexual behavior. Outside the covenant of marriage, which violates God's design for sexuality and defiles the, who uses the word defiles, but this theological bible did. Defiles the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit. Let me say this first and foremost. God made sex. God made it. The world did not make it. The devil did not make it. God made it. It was God's idea. Hold on, can't, don't play yet, don't play yet, don't play yet.

That makes the mood too right for this, this topic. I want somebody to be like, yeah, yeah, God didn't make it. Yeah, no, no, no. See, you messed up, you messed up, okay? That's your brokenness coming out, okay? God made this, all right? He is the one. It was his idea. It was his design. Stop thinking sex in and of itself is dirty. It is not. That's a lie from the pit of hell. God made it. God made it holy. God gave it as a gift. He gave it as a gift for a husband and her wife to enjoy in the context of marriage. That's how God gave the gift. The world has tried to take the gift and the world uses the gift for a whole lot of things to advertise, to validate, to help someone, to manipulate, use it for a whole lot of things. But that was not God's design for it at all. God's design was for it to be holy and beautiful and a gift for a husband and a wife in the context of marriage. Now that God has given us this gift, TikTok and Instagram and TV and movies and whatever else has tried to take this gift of God and give us a counterfeit that is not based on love

but is based on lust and lust is not about giving. Lust is about getting but love is about giving because that's who God is and God is love. Now that the world has taken it, Are marriages better? Are our high school students better? Are women on college campuses safer? The world has taken this and said, do what you want when you want. And God says, no, no, no, no, no, no. Let me put this sign here, let me put this sign here. If you step in that, that ends up hurting you and hurting people that you care about. So I don't want you stepping in that. I want you going around that 'cause I've got this gift for you that I want to preserve for the covenant of marriage. Let me keep on going here, okay? Y'all looking at me funny. Oh, that was good, but I gotta skip over it. Okay, go to this one, go to this one, testing Christ, testing Christ, testing Christ. Cam, I'll tell you when to play, I'll tell you when to play. When I get to grumbling, you can play when I get to grumbling, testing Christ. This is expressing unbelief, watch this. This is a good one, unbelief in God's character and care by demanding what we want rather than trusting and accepting his provision. Okay, let me make this one practical.

At our Women's Conference this year, our Cultivate Women's Conference, that's coming to ground again next year, can't wait for June, it's gonna be amazing. Our Women's Conference, we had some breakout sessions. One of the breakout sessions was led by a lady named Leslie Wallace, okay? My wife calls Leslie, Dr. Model. I don't call her that, 'cause that'd be weird. It was up, Dr. Model, I don't want anybody over here in that thing if it's weird. So I call her Leslie. But my wife calls her Dr. Model, 'cause she is such a gift to our lives. We've known Leslie for 15 years. She is so special to us. Leslie is in her 40s, has never been married, very sharp, very gifted. I mean, a leader of leaders, we love her so, so very much. She sat there in this breakout session with other single women. And she said to them, "You are whole before you are married." A ring does not complete you, okay? You don't believe this? A ring does not complete you. I'll say this to you. If a ring makes you whole, that means Jesus was not whole. 'Cause Jesus was single. Now we love the covenant of marriage. I'm thankful for it.

It's a picture of Christ in the church. It's a beautiful lighthouse to the world to give God, to give people a picture of God's love for humanity. Yes, it's a sacrament of the church. I love marriage. I do not want to elevate it so much though that single people feel like they are less than second-hand citizens and somehow don't belong in the family of God and don't have God's call and hand on their life. You have God's hand and call on your life as you are single as well. And Leslie was saying to these ladies, and I'm using her because she, I need to leverage her, her weight for this subject. Because when single people hear married people talk about being single and celebrating it, you're like, yeah, whatever, you're married, I get it. So I'm using Leslie's credibility right here and she told all those single ladies, listen, even if God never gives you a husband, he is still good, he is still faithful, he's still on the throne and he still has your back. It doesn't mean you might not be sad at times, it doesn't mean you don't have emotions, all that stuff can be true. But she is saying, I am not going to crave something I don't desire and disrespect the things that God has already given me.

He has provided for me day after day after day. He's given me community, breath in my lungs, a brain, he's given me a body, he's given me a call, he's given me a purpose, he's given me all these things. I'm not going to disrespect his character and say he's not good because he hasn't given me what I want. But this doesn't just work for single people, it works for every one of us. 'Cause a married couple that doesn't have a child yet can make the baby the idol. And when you have one child, you can make the second child an idol. And it's not that it could be your career, you're at this level but you're not at a level that you're happy with so it's got to be another level. Thank you God for what you've done but I'm really not all that thankful what you've done 'cause I'm craving something that you have not provided and you keep on craving and craving and craving and craving. Another love I've been around pastors that keep on craving 200 people aren't enough, 300 people aren't enough, 1,000 people aren't enough. I've been around business leaders, one campus is not enough, five locations is not, I always need more, Your cravings keep pushing you to a place where you do not think God is actually for you. He's holding out on you, and that's a lie from the pit of hell. He's not holding out. Okay, hit it, Cam.

Grumbling. That's good, look, that's good grumble music. This is expressing this satisfaction with God's provision in leadership. It's rooted in gratitude and a failure to trust him. I think if we were all really serious, I'm really thankful for my wife with this. She has this trust in God that I admire so much. I look at some things and I'm like, I don't know how we're gonna get out of this. And she's like, "Oh, God's got it." I'm like, "Well, I know he's got it, "but what do I need to do?" And I can give some kind of lip service to God's got it, but I really think I've got to handle it. My wife, man, he just trusts God. It's beautiful. I've been asking God to help me grow in this. Help me grow in this. I want to trust you. I want to trust you. Like, no matter what it looks like, I just trust you. You got me. You got my family. You got the church. You got that family. You got that single person. You got them. I trust you God. I trust you.

I trust you. This grumbling thing, the argument can be made that more people died in the wilderness because of grumbling than died because of sexual immorality. The argument could be made. Because they ended up not going into the Promised Land as a result of their grumbling and complaining. So hundreds of thousands of people died in the wilderness because they could not get their mouth in order. For all of us, I'm going to give you a little sneak peek into our November plan. November, we're going to do something called no shade November. No shade November, what is no shade November? It's going to be one whole month. I'm challenging our whole church for one month. No complaining for a whole month. Not one of us can let any words of grumbling or complaining come out of our mouth for one month. Husbands and wives, no complaining for a month. Kids, no complaining for a month. Co-workers, no complaining for at your job, on your served team, at your church, in your house, in your apartment, when you're driving in your car, no complaining for one whole month. I was wondering what would our church look like if we had a month of no complaining that was in our hearts or in our minds or in the air? What would our relationships in our connection look like?

This right here, it comes down to a failure to trust him. God, I don't know if you have my best interests in mind, but you need to know, he does. He does every single time. What's the Lord trying to do here? Keep us from stepping in some stuff. We don't wanna step in. And he doesn't wanna step in. Your future is incredibly bright, family. I'm telling you, it's incredibly bright. But let's not ignore the caution and the warning signs that God puts out there. It just creates more drama in our life. God will forgive, God will restore, God will cleanse. He does it time and time and time again. But it's a whole lot better to never even jump in the puddle in the first place. I'm praying freedom over every single one of us and that we would walk in the joy of the Lord and the strength that can only come from him. I'm gonna ask you to give me a favor about your head for just a moment, family. This is not our time to leave just yet. You're about to be dismissed, we'll be outta here probably. 120 to 180 seconds. But right now, if you're under the sound of my voice, online or in this room, and you have never given your heart and your life to Jesus, you've never made him first, you've never made him number one. You've never said, Jesus, I want you to be in charge

of my life, I wanna surrender my life to you. I want forgiveness of my sins. I wanna turn from going my own way and I wanna go your way. If you've never done that, today can be your day. It's God who's actually knocking on your heart right now and trying to draw you so close to him. If there was the time you were following Jesus but you slipped away and you've gone another direction and today you're saying, I don't wanna go my own way, I wanna go his way. I wanna rededicate my life. these two categories on the count of three I want you to do something simple but something bold I want you to throw your hand in the air and say yes that's me I'm gonna give my heart in my life to Christ ready one two three just lift your hand up be saying yep that's me this is beautiful I want to give my heart my life to Jesus for the first time I want to rededicate my life to serving him come on here's your moment here's your moment to say yeah yep this is beautiful friends in the balcony I see you on the floor I see you this is so powerful this is a holy moment this is God drawing you closer to him right now saving your soul I'm gonna ask everyone put your hand over your heart if you would not mind I want everyone to repeat this prayer out loud after me say dear Jesus I asked you to forgive me of all my sins I admit I made mistakes and today I give you my heart I give you my life give me the power to live for you in Jesus name amen in amic