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Oh, come on. Red Rocks Church. Anybody grateful to be in the house of God this weekend, to be in the presence of other people, and most importantly, to get to sing praises to a God that is worthy, a God that is worth it, a God that saves and redeems and restores and brings hope and new life, and a God that does more. I love the line of that song that says, how could there be more when you've already been so good? Anybody seen the goodness of God in their life, in their story? Come on. Arvada campus, Lakewood campus. Have you seen the goodness of God? I'm just believing that there's more for somebody this weekend. And I'm just so grateful for the house, so grateful for the church, so grateful for an opportunity to stand up here freely and profess the name of Jesus. And while we're standing, can we just take a moment on this Memorial Day weekend and just honor, man, those that have gone before and paid the ultimate price laying down their lives that we might have the religious freedoms and liberties we do here today? In John chapter 15, it says, Greater love has none than this, that they should lay down their life for their friends. So today, we remember this weekend. We remember this weekend. And we just celebrate in gratitude that we get to gather and worship the name of Jesus. And if you're somebody that's been affected or impacted by someone choosing to put service and sacrifice above all else, I just want to know that God sees you this weekend, that he's close to you. Maybe you lost a brother, a son, a daughter, a sister, a friend. I'm just gonna pray in just a moment that go of heaven would just meet you where you're at. We don't move past this moment flippantly or lightly, but I just believe in that we get the benefit for other people that went on behalf of something bigger than themselves. And so, Jesus, we just invite your spirit here this weekend. We invite your presence, God, and we honor. We. Gosh, God, we just are so grateful for those that have gone before and paid the ultimate price, laid down their lives, that we might celebrate and stand in the freedoms that we have today. In Jesus name, Amen. Amen. You know, it's important to remember, I mean, like a season. I don't know if it's just this moment of nostalgia. I don't know if it's this, like, time of year. Graduation parties. Any graduates in the place? All right, a few. You made it. Or you just clapping for them. The parties should be for the parents. I have come to that Conclusion this weekend it hit me all at once. But I'm just so grateful. Why don't you go ahead and grab a seat at all of our locations. But the truth is, as we memorialize what's important, do we not? We remember that which marks us. And for me, I know the beginning of the year. Always looking ahead at what's next and what hill we're gonna take. And I get to about this time every year and I don't know if it's cause it's light outside when I wake up. For all of you to pray for you. 5am Sun's coming out. I don't know if it's the graduation celebration. I don't know if it's field days. We had a graduation of our own. We have passed turtle class in the best household. Think we're moving up to chipmunks next year. We have a three year old. Significant. Maybe it's all that summer represents as a kid. It could be because I just on Thursday celebrated my 10 year work anniversary at Red Rocks church. Getting to serve. And bill, for all of you that sent gifts and kind words and letters. I haven't got them yet. So I will keep an eye out. Maybe it's at my 10 year anniversary to my beautiful wife is coming up in three short weeks. It could just be cause we're in a really sweet season as a family right now that also consists of really long bedtime routines. Okay. My daughter is obsessed with stories. Daddy, tell me about one time when you were a little kid and you went to the pool and so I'm just making things up. Like I do not. She remembers everything. I am often reminded that I do not. So at bedtime I just kind of wait around the corner. Like I'm backstage getting prepped for my mom and my like walk out song. I'm like, I gotta have something good tonight. She's gonna ask to hear the one and I made it up so I gotta get the details right. We're in trouble. But recently she's been, you know, we've had a few sports on in our house. Watching hockey playoffs. God, please redeem the avalanche. There's basketball on the other night. She's going to bed and she's like, daddy, tell me one time when you were a little kid and you're playing basketball. And I don't remember a lot of things, but this actually sparked something for me. I remember I was about 8 years old. I drove hard. Well, jump, stop, pump, fake, drew the foul like they teach you wreck basketball. I go to the free throw line. I'm ready. I go through my routine and when you're this young, you know you got it, you gotta put something in, you gotta jump like you're not making it there with your little noodle arms at 8 years old. But so I go through the thing and I had the line and hit nothing. Fell about four feet short. And I'll never forget in front of my friends, my family, my fans, this 20 year old referee had the audacity. He pats me on the back and says, ooh, just a little more mustard, big fella. And I have never treated mustard the same. My sandwiches are swimming in mustard. We got all the mustard I could ever need. I mean, bowls of mustard now. It's funny the things that mark us, like of all things, I remember that and can call that to memory. When it comes to remembrance, it's just funny what tends to mark us. The successes, the shortcomings, and all of it ultimately shapes our story. They're doing a lot of work around this now in the psychology and counseling world. And there's a place called the Allender Institute. And one of their head thought leaders there named Rachel Clinton Chin says this. There's a lot of power in remembering, especially in taking stock remembering in a kind of way that there is some discernment or wisdom involved. I do think there is something that these cycles of ending and beginning give us an opportunity both to remember our monuments or places and where beyond all possibility, God showed up and was faithful to provide. And I think there is also a power in remembering where things didn't go well and what we learned through suffering and what it reveals to us. Dr. Dan Allender, the head of this whole movement, he says something about narrative storytelling. He says, actually when we remember things, it's not a one to one the way it happened. So if you and your spouse are ever fighting in the car about how it happened, you're both wrong. But we remember things based off of how we narrate them and the story that we tell ourself from beginning, middle and end. And I wonder, some of you, what story have you been telling yourself throughout your life? Maybe the way forward for you in this next season is actually a look backward. And friend Lauren Bond, who runs the whole church, said, I'm praying for your message this weekend. I just heard a line from a song that says remembrance is the remedy and so I stole it. Don't know the song, don't know the artist. So if it's PG13, I'm sorry, but title of my message is remembrance, remedy. Remembrance, remedy. And I want to turn to second Peter, chapter one, verse five. And this isn't like home court advantage with this Bible. I don't just found this one, so gotta learn to work with it. Says this, this is Peter writing, says, for this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness. And to goodness knowledge. And to knowledge, self control. And to self control, perseverance. And to perseverance, godliness. And to godliness, mutual affection. And to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be ineffective or unproductive when it comes to my faith and living out the call of God on my. I think the same is probably true for you. They say add to your faith these things and you will avoid being nearsighted and narrow minded. And the text goes on to say in verse 12, therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right as long as I am in this body to stir you up by way of reminder. I hate that stir you up by way of reminder. I hate remind when someone pours their heart out and preaches like a fresh word from God. And then whoever's closing the service comes up and goes, man, wasn't today just a great reminder? And like they poured out their life and their heart. Come on, we've been there, you've heard it. You're like a reminder. A reminder is like, hey Siri, remind me to get the chicken out so it thaws in time for dinner. But Peter actually would say that the way to effectiveness is by way of remembrance. And so today my prayer is that I can stir you up by way of reminder over the time that we have together. And by no means is this an exhaustive study. If you have the list up there and some of you write it down, it'll keep showing back up for us. Cause each deserves its own message, right? Like it could be a whole series. Well, I'm gonna do a seven point message for you, so buckle up. It's illegal in 28 states, but we're gonna go for it. And I'm just praying that the Holy Spirit would fill in the gaps for you, that something would be recalled to memory, that your Faith would be stirred that you would be reminded about the hand of God on your life and your story and your season. And to do so, I wanna look at part two of the story that Pastor Sean shared last week. And. And a phenomenal message about hearing from God. Anybody hear it? If you didn't, you gotta go check it out. Phenomenal. It challenged me in every way. Anybody change a pattern of their life after hearing that sermon. Like, three people. So let me stir you up by way of reminder, like, let's get on it. But I wanna look at. He talked about how Samuel goes to a man named Jesse's house to anoint the next king. The favor of God had left Saul because of disobedience. And so now they need a new king of Israel. And so Samuel is directed to go to Jesse's house and find the next king, and that will be David. And it'll be through David that the line of Jesus will actually come to earth and have its kingdom here on Earth. In First Samuel, chapter 16, Samuel's looking for the next king. And I don't know what this is. It's like a lineup. Like, I'm kind of picturing it like a bodybuilding competition, you know, like, all the sons are there. They're like, do we smile? Are we serious? Like, what kind of king are we looking for, Sam? And so they're like, so confused. And he's like, that ain't it. In verse seven, it tells us that to not look on the outward appearances. For the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. So Samuel is looking for the man that would carry the heart of God. They said there is another brother. He's out in the fields tending to the sheep. Honestly, didn't think he was on your draft board. We'll get him in here. So they wait, and David shows up. And they realize that this is him, this is the Lord's anointed. And Scripture tells us that the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And I love what happens next. David goes back out to the sheep. The Spirit of God upon him anointed the new king of Israel. And he heads back out to the fields. Anoint just means to be marked, to be set apart. Samuel put oil on his head and said, it's you. But David goes back into his season. And what does he do? He continues to serve his family by taking care of the sheep. And in fact, since the spirit of God had left Saul, Saul is now tormented in his Palace. And they're like, man, you know what would chill you out? We gotta get you some good vibes in here. We need to get somebody that can play the liar. Okay? It's a lost art, but I think there's a few that are still doing it well. And so they're like, you need someone to come in and can play and set the tone for you to be healed. And they find David first. Samuel 16, verse 18 says, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence. And the Lord is with him. I want that to be the description of me, a man of valor. Come on. Prudent in speech, skillful, good presence. And the Lord was with him. David finds favor with Saul and enters into his courts and begins to play at Saul's service. That Saul could be taken care of while he is still on the throne as king. Not only that, but David's going back and forth from the sheep to the palace. He also ends up being a delivery driver. He's door dashing his brother's food. Okay, like, this is the anointed king of Israel. And his dad's like, hey, buddy, loaded you up some stuff. So I just picked. Like, it's not close, right? Like he's just running all over the desert. I don't really know the geography. I've been to Bethlehem once. I can't imagine it was a short trip. David, he finds himself in the service of his brothers to deliver food and to bring them out unto the battlefield so that they could be sustained. David, humble and hard working the spirit of God upon him. I want to remind you about goodness. We see David carrying goodness in his life. That word goodness that we read in Second Peter would be purity, modesty, and excellence of a person we know. He's a man after God's own heart, so he carries this humility and faithfulness and he continued to serve in his seeds. And you see, David remembered who he was, anointed king, but still choosing goodness. And I wonder if some of you need to be stirred up to goodness this weekend. Like as purity, modesty, excellence. That descriptive of your life and your story in this moment? See, if we're not careful, we get so fixated on forward and progress and grind and running down the next hill that goodness might just be a thought in the rearview mirror for you. Do you remember a time when God changed you and set you free and goodness actually was a desire of Your heart, not just getting what you thought was. David continues to serve. I wonder if you've been robbed of humility because you feel like you've got to put on some other sort of affront in the rooms that you walk in. I wonder if chaos has stripped you of character and the conduct that you carry with yourself. David continues to serve in goodness and he actually finds himself on the front lines. And he continued to honor his assignment and his season. And he's moments away from the greatest battle of all time, the one we all know, an opportunity to take on the giant Goliath. When he's there serving humbly, he takes food to his brothers and realizes that they've been in a 40 day deadlock with the Philistines. And this giant named Goliath is standing down in the valley, taunting the Israelites, tempting them, calling them out, and nobody has the courage to step into it. And then David shows up on scene in verse, you won't have it, but it's verse 26. It says, for who is this uncircumcised Philistine? Like, I might take that insult on the road to Vegas for the next ABS game. Just see that he should defy the armies of the living God. David knew who was on their side. David knew who was going with him. And he could not believe that nobody was willing to step up and to confront the enemy. But of course, he's dismissed by his brothers. He's challenged, but he doesn't shrink back. He continues to persist. All of a sudden, Saul catches wind of this and he comes over on the scene. He's like, hey, music man, what's happening? That's how I envision it. Like he knew him, like he had to have recognized him. It doesn't give us a lot of context. He had to have known who this was. He shows up and he's like, oh, you want to take like, I think we'll just keep chilling out here. Like, you're but a youth. You are but a youth. And then chapter 17, verse 34, David says to Saul, your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it. I struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, I struck it and I killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the tiger and the bear. Oh, my. This uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them because he has defied the armies of the living God, the Lord, who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine. You see, David knew what to do. He was made for this moment. He had had the training that he needed. No one could see it on him. Though he was formed for this fight to take on the enemy. He knew who he was, but more importantly, he knew who he was with. And I wonder if sometimes as we stand on the edge of a battle or a fight, we forget that we know the one that goes with us. Can I stir somebody up to remember the knowledge that you have of a God in heaven that sees you, that goes with you, that fights on your behalf? David, New and in verse 46, he does one better. As he's about to approach Goliath, who is just talking mad trash. He says this, that all the earth. I'll read it from here. Yeah. That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand. He said that all the world may know. Could I stir you up to a reminder of the knowledge that you have about who goes with you, the knowledge that you have about what God has already trained you and positioned you to do. A knowledge that God has you where he needs you to be. Do you remember how you got there? And do you remember what has been formed in you for the fight that is at hand? Could I stir you up to knowledge? As you reflect on your life, what is wisdom shaped in you? And also what has shaped wisdom in you? Like how has God's wisdom changed you? And how has your life experience given you wisdom to then go forward? What do you know how to do? And do you trust that that knowledge and the knowledge of the one who saves and fights on your behalf is sufficient? Spoiler alert. David defeats Goliath. It's a 3,000 year old story. If you haven't read it, I don't know what to tell you. He gets him with his slingshot, his familiar weapon, he takes him out and then he goes over, takes Goliath sword, he chops his head off. It's like so gangster. I like that. That's good. And the Philistines all flee. They all take off. They're like, this guy is crazy. Like, they win. Let's get out of here. All the Israelites celebrate. They're like, we knew we had them, but really it's because a shepherd boy showed up on the scene, and he begins to be celebrated as a champion of the people, you see? But as people start to celebrate him, Saul's jealousy begins to grow. And he starts to realize that once the champion and the conqueror and the friend and the servant is a threat now to his throne. We see David in Saul's palace, and Saul is literally throwing spears at him, trying to take him out. He's arranging for David's murder. He's sending David into the hardest places in battle with hopes that he would be killed. So David enters the seas, and the anointed king, he turns into a fugitive, a man in the wilderness, hiding in caves, going to foreign territories and living his life on the run. And while David is out hiding, Saul's like, we gotta take this guy out. I need to reinstate my dominion. And David and his buddies, they're hiding in a cave. And on two separate events, David has an opportunity to take out his enemy, and he spares Saul's life. The first is that they're in that cave and Saul comes in to relieve himself, which I don't know how big the cave is. I don't know how long his robe was, but somehow David gets close enough to cut off the corner of Saul's robe. And as Saul leaves, David's like, hey, I could have had you. There's another moment where David and his men are. They travel into Saul's camp when everybody is sleeping. And he's got the opportunity before him to seize the moment, to take control into his own hands. And his friends are encouraging him to take out the king. Because David, maybe this is your time. And Saul says, or David says, judgment belongs to the Lord and he bypasses the opportunity for revenge. You see, David had a mastery of his desires and his passion. Could I stir you up this weekend back to self control like Second Peter talked about? We see this tremendous amount of self control from David. He honored God's authority and God's timing above all else. And I wonder what God has asked you recently. Do you remember what God asked you to submit back to his control? Cause the temptation is to commit to our timing every time, right? Like, we do it, we got the elbow grease, we got the grit. Like, I can take this into my own hands. It's time to grab onto it. Do you remember a time in your life when you were absolutely ruled by impulse and reaction and response, but then God got ahold of your life and he gave you a measure of fruit of the spirit called Satan? Self control. And I was thinking about this and man, I just felt pressed by the spirit to like encourage some of you. Maybe that did describe your life, but maybe the chaos and the season and life experience, you've actually stepped away and turned your back from self control. You once possessed it and now you're reactionary. You're angry. Your first response, it says to take charge and do things your way. How desperate we are for control, are we not? I was thinking about that this week. Man, we love control. If we could control things, we would until it becomes ourselves. And we love to give in to our passions and our desires. I wonder if God has asked you to surrender to self control. I wonder if he's asked you to put something to trust. In his timing and his word. David committed his safe place and his comfort in the presence of God. And his response flowed from a place of trust. I wonder if your response flows from a place of trust or of haste, of self reliance, of dependence. Can you remember self control this weekend? You see, there's, there's beauty and remembrance. Eventually, David becomes king, right? We all knew it was coming. At the age of 30, he becomes King of Judah. I'm like, Bro, 30, it's about time. Like, what were you doing just chilling in your 20s? It doesn't seem like he's that old, but scholars would say that David spent 15 to 20 years of his life between that moment of being anointed king and finally getting to step into it. So at 30 years old, he becomes king over Judah and then seven years later becomes king over all of Israel and he ends up having a 40 year reign. And I was thinking about that, like, he continued to serve and to play music and to fight battles. He continued to just be available and to persist and trust the hand of God. David had a measure of perseverance that I envy and that I respect. Can you imagine 15 to 20 years knowing that you were the anointed one and submitting your life to every other circumstance and situation, to God's timing. He would have spent about a decade in Saul's service, dodging spears, being sent off to try to be killed, many of those years in danger as a fugitive. And I wonder what you have been promised in your life. Like, what has God promised you? And where are you at on your journey of perseverance? Like, maybe some of you, you're like, I am not looking to be royalty. I'm just looking for some relief. And as you look at your story, man, I just encourage you, like, what has God brought you? What did you Persevere through. What did shape you? What has God called you to persevere in right now? What was on the other side of perseverance when you did do it? The truth is, is that these moments of endurance, they shape us. In Romans chapter 5, verse 3, it says this not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character. And character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. And I know for a fact that I don't know everybody's story in here, but I know enough to know there's a lot of suffering in these rooms and in our church and our campuses, inside correctional facilities and people tuning in from hospital beds online like we're not far from suffering. But by way of reminder, can I just encourage you to perseverance again that what God has spoken, he will fulfill, that he is faithful. Can I remind you that on the other side of character, perseverance is hope. And hope does not put you to shame. Hope does not put you to shame. That's why we can stand up confidently. If you've been walking around in shame as God has invited you into a season of perseverance, could I tell you no more? Because that is not the heart of hope. Remembering is so hard for some of us, but I was just reminded, like God will remain faithful and our job is to just remain. God will remain faithful and your job in this season might just be to remain. God was so faithful to David and David just remained a man after God's heart. He just kept showing up, he just kept inviting God to speak. And it's in that place where you can learn to worship again. You can learn to experience God's presence again. You can be reminded of his goodness on the other side of your perseverance. I told you I've been thinking about a lot of things over this last stretch of time and one of those had a lot of things stack up in 2016 and one of those that actually this weekend is the 10 year anniversary of what would have been my future mother in law's passing. She lost a long, hard, brutal fight with cancer. And there were good times and there were bad times and I was fortunate enough to see her up until the end and she ended up passing three weeks before our wedding. And I think what was so crazy about it and getting to know her was that she had had a hard story like throughout, like she had been a victim of a car accident, ended up losing her mom. She had burns that were all over her body. She ended up getting shipped to just someone else to care for her with a relative. Cause her dad wasn't sure quite what to do and how to raise her. And from that, she fell into, like, a season of abuse. And then eventually her. Her sister decided, hey, I'll be the one to take care of her and raise her. And then Betty gets radically saved. Love of Jesus. And then all that stuff became a memory. All that stuff became her path to leaving a legacy of three amazing daughters. She marries an incredible man of God. Her life has changed until she finds this moment where she has to face reality again and fight this battle that we all know, and it's too close, called cancer. And I just remember seeing her always persistent in the word, in the will and the things of God, always reading her word at the very end when things were the very worst. Just counting on God, depending on God, saying, hey, it might not be now, but on the other side of this thing, I have a hope that will not put me to shame. And so this weekend, man, I honor her. But I also know that how we look back and how we remember things has a way to shape how we live out the next part of our life. She could have been embittered. She could have just mailed it in. She could have sent off and just said, hey, I'm done with this. But instead, she dug in. She became a nurse. She became caring for people. She made memories with her daughters that she never had a chance to have. And I wonder if perseverance, man, for you, looks like just choosing to see things a little differently. Knowing that, man, you're producing a harvest of hope for someone else. And I just can't help but know that that road also instilled something in my wife to persevere at our hardest moments of loss and tragedy. So I've seen my mom do it, but now she's not here. In a season of infertility, she said, hey, if my mom was here, I know what she would tell me. And I asked Whitney last night, I was like, what? Like, what stood out about your mom? She didn't know the context of this message. And she said, oh, perseverance to leave a legacy. And just earlier, Whitney and my daughter, they went to visit her mom's grave site. Can I just show you a picture of what God's faithfulness looks like? The daughter that we had prayed for and asked God for is now sitting in commemoration of her grandmother that she never got to meet, because somewhere along the way, they picked up perseverance and just said, on the other side is hope, and it does not put us to shame. And the presence of God can prevail. That was important to David. Finally, when he becomes king, it's paramount to him to get the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the presence of God brought into Jerusalem, so that the cornerstone of everything that they did as a culture and as a civilization would surround the presence of God and his holiness, be the foundation of his kingdom. See a man after God's own heart. David's deepest desire was to honor God and obey holiness. I stir you back up to godliness this weekend, to holiness, to reverence for the things of God. Maybe some of you like things that used to bother you in your past when you became a Christian. You had, like, a conviction about maybe those have fallen off, or maybe you remember a time when you just were given to reckless and wild living, and God has saved your life and called you to godliness and holiness, to be changed, to be in his likeness, to change the way you interact with people around you. I wonder for some of you, you need to put some things down in obedience to what God has invited you to be a part of. And it's time, no more to continue living that way. There's some things in your life that you know, that you know, that you know God, just man. Maybe God could prompt your heart today on something that's got to go. See? Cause it wasn't all good for David. Thank God it's not based on our performance. Am I right? Cause David gets it wrong a few times pretty quick after that. There's a season where everybody is off at battle, and David gets a little lonely. And he sees Bathsheba bathing on her roof, which I don't know. So he invites her, they send for her, and they bring her up into his palace, and he ends up impregnating her. And then he goes on this whole journey of trying to cover it up and to hide his sin and his shame. And eventually he sends her husband, one of his military leaders, out to the front lines to be murdered and to be killed in battle. He ends up having to be called to this moment of repentance. And then a little bit later, closer to his death, David decides to take up a census because he's more reliant on his military power and his prowess and the pride of his heart for all the great things that he has done as king. And eventually the people all end up Paying for it. And David has to turn again. Repentance just means to turn back to the things of God, back to godliness, and apologize for his mistakes and seek the face of God again. And I wonder if for some of you, there's something that God is calling you to repentance of. Is there room for repentance? When was the last time the presence of God compelled you into something you see? Cause Peter would tell us that effectiveness for the kingdom depends on godliness as a building block. So in his moment, David sets up an altar and he begins to sacrifice back to God and to offer up. He said, hey, I am turning back to you. And that very place becomes the building site of the first temple, the place of David's repentance. And turning back, back to God becomes a foundation of what the presence of God would do in the people. Next. David says, I have a house. I have a place to dwell in. Why does the presence of God not have a permanent dwelling place? But he was a man of war, so he wasn't allowed to build the temple. And so instead he went into retirement. He spent his days on the beach playing golf, took up sailing. No. He decided, hey, I've got a lot of purpose left. I understand that. Maybe I'm not the one to inherit this. But he took all of his resources. He took all of his thought power. He arranged for leaders to step up and to lead the temple of God. He gathered the materials, he acquired the supplies and the resources. He drew up plans and instructions. He donated his personal wealth and encouraged the other leaders to do accordingly. Also, David committed to the next generation. He said, this is beyond us. And then he endorsed Solomon to be the next king of the people. He said, I'm gonna do everything I can, that from the overflow of my heart, my reverence for God, that others might have an opportunity to experience his presence. Peter calls this mutual affection. I wonder the last time you were stirred up to mutual affection, that you cherished relationships with other people, you cherished something beyond yourself, and you were committed to seeing it happen. David was committed to other people seeking and experiencing and worshiping the Lord, that they would have a central place for the spiritual life of the people. And he arranged for it. In my journey of driving around and crying over the last couple weeks back several years ago, I was a youth pastor up in Evergreen, and we didn't have a church to meet in. And there's this family in the church that offered up their barn, literally a horseback riding arena, to be used to host gatherings of Students to hear about Jesus. And I was like, I'm young and dumb enough to try. So we did. We rolled out turf. We set up hay bales. Like, if you had allergies, you need to find a new youth group. And I'm talking. There were stables in there, ropes on, like, the whole thing. It's like a rodeo. And I remember just showing up week after week, like, God, are you doing anything in this place? Like, why am I here? Some weeks, man, we gotta host youth for 14 kids. Other weeks, we had dozens. It's like, if the team had a sport, the school had a sporting event, it was just like, might as well cancel, you know? But I would just question, and I would wonder because, you know, I never heard the audible voice of God, like, you shall be a youth pastor. I just committed in my heart that God, who you put in front of me, I'm gonna just do my best to serve and to love and to show up for. And so I found myself in this obscure moment and season. And I drove up to that barn the other day from a distance, very gated at this point in time, but I just began to, like, reminisce and be reminded. And I just asked God, like, God, would you just bring to memory what you shaped in me during this season? I just sat on the corner of the road and I was reminded of a moment where everything shifted and my perspective, and I was reminded about, man, whoever you put in front of me, I will care the best that I can for their souls. God stirred up mutual affection in me, and I began to look through my phone, and there was a particular instance partway through our time meeting there. There was a tragedy in the community, and a student decided to take their own life. And. And, like, we had youth a couple days later, and, like, it was a small community, like, what are we gonna do? And I remember I went to the site of the incident, and I just prayed and I just asked God, like, God, how can I continue to care for these kids? And I don't know what I'm doing. And I just felt invited to be a shepherd in that moment and just love people. Do you know, we all have that invitation to just be stirred to mutual affection to other people that need and are depending on the presence of God. And I looked at my phone, and I had this text message that I had sent the owner. I said this. I just wanted to give you an update on what your generosity has accomplished in this community. I'm sure you heard about the tragedy that hit the high school following A sophomore taking his life over the weekend. Last night we saw 130 kids united in the name of hope at your ranch. Prayers were answered for students and we saw the presence of God change lives and bring salvation to broken and hurting students. I just wanted to include you both in this celebration. That's some people that said we'll prepare the way. We got a barn, we'll use a barn because we care about some people encountering the presence of Jesus. I'll never forget how many hands went up that night that we're actually doing it. Could I just stir you up? You have purpose on your life called to love people. Would you just be reminded of that? What has God called you to sacrifice? When's the last time you remember the satisfaction of sacrifice on behalf of somebody else? Because I bet it was good. Maybe you need a moment this weekend to remember it. Has God challenged you to beyond me mentality? The last prayer of David is credited to Psalm chapter 72. It's written by Solomon, but it's credited as the words and the prayer of David where he presents the ideal king, a king of justice and compassion, a king that had protection for the powerless. A king that would redeem and say verse 11, it says this, May all kings fall down before him. All nations serve him, for he delivers the needy when he calls the poor and him who has no helper, he has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy from oppression and violence. He redeems their life and precious is their blood. In his sight, you see, he's writing about what he hopes for the future King of Israel. But in turn, he's really prophesying about the king that is to come, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, Jesus, the Messiah who would change everything, who would love and who would care for his people, who would redeem their lives. Can I remind you of love this weekend that compels everything else about our faith? That word love in Second Peter is agape. If you've been in church, you've probably heard it. That is the highest and most unconditional form of love. You see David's final prayers. He looks back on his life and what people really needed it was that they would be ruled love. And there's no greater symbol of love than the cross of Christ paying the ultimate price for our sins, being sacrificed on our behalf. So my whole desire this weekend, which is just take us on a journey back to love and give us some tools, some building blocks of our faith to continue to build upon, upon See, because the danger of forgetting is that we miss the call. We miss God's will. We give up in the middle. We forget why we started. We don't remember what the sacrifice was ever for. What's the purpose of serving and giving and showing up for other people? We lose sight of the mission along the way. So the next couple moments, I just thought we would set up a place of remembrance where you could step into God's presence and be reminded of your story of God's faithfulness of his hand on your life. Because all seven of these things that we talked about are building blocks that are central to faith. You can have faith, but never build anything meaningful. Never actually get to live on purpose, never actually go and change the world. So my hope is that as we remember Jesus this weekend, you would have a chance to do just that. In First Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 23, it gives us a picture of the Last Supper where Jesus was about to be betrayed and sent to the cross. And if this is new to you, maybe you haven't even stepped into faith. Not only does faith in Jesus allow you life to the full for eternity here and now, but eternity with him forever. You also get to sit at the table of remembrance and accept the sacrifice that Christ made on your behalf. So unless you had a little snack over the last 44 minutes, you should have a communion cup under your seat somewhere. And I'm gonna invite you to just hold on to it. Hold on to it, because I. I just desire, like, don't leave. Don't leave early. The parking's traffic's gonna be there. Okay. But I just believe that God wants to take you back to the moment that he saved you, the moment that he changed you. Like, I've been thinking about this. Like, I don't know the man that I was, but I remember him. And I remember all God's done in the middle. And maybe for some of you, this is gonna be your first moment to partake of communion. And if that's you, I'm gonna give you a moment here as I pray in just a second. But in First Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 23, we're invited into this moment of remembrance. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying, the cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me. The team is going to play in a minute. After I pray and invite people to step into a relationship with Jesus. And I invite you and encourage you, whether you sit or stand, to just have a moment before God where you search your God. Remind me of the road that you've brought me on, the journey that I've walked, of the goodness that you've had toward me. Let's pray. God, I just thank you for this time. I just pray that as we take a moment and reflect on your goodness and your love that wouldn't be lost on us, God, that it's all because of Jesus, where we have an opportunity to build upon our faith and add to it, that we might be effective and productive, that other people will come to know you. Would you add to our lives? God, if you're in here today and you've never put Jesus as that cornerstone, never put your faith in him to even have anything to build upon, but this is your weekend, would you just slip up your hand right now, right where you're at? I want to just include you in a prayer. Say, Jesus, I believe the sacrifice that you made. I believe that I can't do it on my own anymore. And I believe that you're the only one who can save. I see you. Praise God. Come on, God, I just thank you for what you're doing. I thank you for who you are. Thank you for salvation that is in you and in you alone as we remember you, God, would you move on our hearts? Would you remind us that you're the only one worthy of our praise? In Jesus name, Amen.