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Transformation Church
Better Than Dreaming // Charles Metcalf
00:51:10
Most of us believe God has more for us, but are we actually living it? In this message, Better Than Dreaming, Pastor Charles Metcalf unpacks the tension between the life we hope for and the life we’re actually experiencing. In John 10:10, Jesus makes...
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This is Julian Edelman from Games With Names. I want to take a second to talk about something that's personal to me. I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Kraft for a long time, and one thing I've always respected is how seriously he takes up standing up to hate. As a Jewish athlete, my identity is something I am proud of, but I also know what it feels like to be singled out for it. That's why this new commercial for the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate that aired during the big game really hit home. It's about showing up for someone when they're targeted, even if you don't have the perfect words. And sometimes standing next to someone is enough. And you can show support by sharing the Blue Square Introducing Home Care Plus, a new subscription service from Lowe's that helps make life easier by giving members a hand with home maintenance. Let Lowe's tackle the tasks you keep meaning to do, like electric dryer, vent cleaning, replacing hard to reach light bulbs, and more. Subscribe to Home Care plus for just $99 a year and consider your to do list done. Members get more at Lowe's. Available in select zip codes only. Cancel anytime. Non refundable fee. Product purchase required. Terms and service restrictions apply. Details@lowe's.com Terms subject to change. Welcome to Transformation Church podcast where we represent God to the lost and found for transformation in Christ. We're so glad you're here and wherever you're listening from, we believe God will transform your life through today's message. So we're going to jump into the message today. If you got your Bibles, open up your Bibles to the Book of John. The Book of John, chapter number 10. The Book of John. A little bit about John. He's one of Jesus disciples and he's a little prideful. You won't catch this unless it's in the nuance of how he writes. But in one of his stories, he's talking about him and a friend were running to get somewhere and he talk about himself in the third person. He's like, but then the other disciple beat Peter to the tomb. But he's talking about himself. It's just random fact. He be doing that. He calls himself the one Jesus loved. So he'd be in the, in the joint. He'd be like, yeah, you know, James was there, Peter was there, the one Jesus loved was there. And it's like, bro, you can't do that writing your own letter. That's crazy. John's the best. But John Chapter number 10, verse 10 is gonna kind of be our starting point today. If you got it, say I got it. If you don't, don't worry. We got you. All right. Could you throw that up on the screen for me? John 10:10. It says this. Funny story, actually. I grew up in a church. My dad was a pastor. It was called Abundant Life Church. Abundant Life Christian Church. I don't know, it had some more spiritual words in there, but this was the anchor verse. So John 10:10 in the NIV, this is what it says. Can you throw it up there for me? It says this. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. But I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. This is what Jesus is saying. He says, there's a thief and he's here to steal stuff, to kill and destroy. But the reason I showed up, the reason I'm here, the reason I stepped out of heaven and into human history, he explains in these words, I came that they may have life and have it to the fool. Look at the message. Eugene Peterson was a professor. He kind of paraphrased it this way. He says, a thief is only there to steal, kill and destroy. I have come so that they can have real and eternal life. Now look at this language. More and better life than they ever dreamed of. Jesus is setting some context here. If you want to know why I showed up on the scene, why I stepped out of Perfection and Gold Streets to relate to you, why I put on this flesh suit, why I had to deal with people, that I was there when they were created, why I stepped out of heaven. The reason I'm here today is just to let everybody know he showed up so you could have more and better life than you've ever dreamed of. That's the point. Why is Jesus here? Jesus tells us himself in John 10 that I showed up so you could have a better life than your dreams. So you wouldn't escape life to dream, but you would live your dreams while you're awake. I gotta calm down. I'm not even supposed to be preaching yet. Okay, the title of my sermon today, I'm taking notes. Write it down. Better than dreaming. Better than dreaming. Better than dreaming. Better than dreaming. Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are here. You are here with us in this moment. And I pray that you would reveal yourself in a way that we cannot ignore. A way that changes us, a way that helps us see you differently, a way that changes how we see ourselves. And, Lord God, we love you. It's in your name we pray. And everybody said amen. When we jump into John Chapter number 10, Jesus is talking to a religious group of leaders who are, in summary, super lame. They're super lame. They think they're really cool. They've memorized a lot of the Old Testament, and they think because they know a lot about God, they. That they know God. But these are two different things. You can know a lot about God and still not know God. How do we know this? Because they knew the most, quote, unquote, and they killed him. They had the first five books in your Bible. They had that memorized since they were teenagers. And they still couldn't see God when he was walking around healing people, doing miracles. So you can know about God and still not see God, But Jesus is talking to them. And the context of this scripture is Jesus heals a blind man. And the Pharisees, or these religious group leaders, they go and they start interrogating the blind man. Why? Because they're not concerned with the miracle. They're more frustrated about Jesus's method of how he gets to miracles. This is something that still happens today. And I'm not going to go on a whole rant with it, but people will be more frustrated with. With the method of how people get saved than the actual fact that 524 people are getting saved. Still happens today. They frustrated because Jesus, you're not supposed to do it like that. That's not how people are supposed to get saved. And so Jesus goes on this whole rant as he normally does. He's kind of like talking to the crowd, but he's also taking direct shots at all the Pharisees. It's very gangster of Jesus, but he did this whole illustration about sheep, and he's like, there's a sheep gate. And I'm at the gate, and other people are trying to get in the gate. And if you come. And it's stuff that doesn't make sense now, but if you were a shepherd back then, and you know, it made a lot of sense. And here's the connection. Have you ever. I don't know if you've heard the Scripture, the 23rd Psalm, some of y', all, you know, if you played any type of sports in the 2000s, you probably have that tattooed on your ribs or something like that. But it's like a very specific call. But somebody in here is like, dang it, I do. But one of the things that starts out, it says, the Lord is my shepherd. So when Jesus starts talking about he's the real shepherd, that he's the good shepherd. Everybody in the crowd says, is he saying what I think he's saying? Everybody knows there's a connection that's deeper, that's happening right now. He is making a claim to be somebody who we've been looking for for hundreds of years. And he's saying, yeah, I know you've been looking for him, but it's me. This makes the Pharisees very, very angry. But then he backs up and he uses this verse, verse number 10. And he says, the enemy or the devil or the adversary, he has three goals in your life. To steal, to kill, and destroy. Now, I'm not going to spend much time on the devil because he don't need no time. And just a little bit advice. Don't give the devil any of your time. It's a waste of your time to give him your time. It's just. It don't make no sense. And some people love to be like, oh, the devil, be quiet. The devil's defeated. He's dead. He has literally no powers at all. I don't give the devil the pleasure of even getting the opportunity to use my vocal cords to talk about him. He just ain't that important. But for two seconds, let me explain this scripture to you. Steal, kill, and destroy. Here's the easy illustration. I went down the whole rabbit hole of the original language just to give it to you simply. Where you could understand steal, kill, and destroy is like these three steps. If I got the password to your phone, that was I stole your password. So now I have access. Nothing's changed. You don't know it, but I have an access point to something you desperately need. That's the steal. To kill would be like if I went into your phone and I deleted all your apps and all your contacts. So it's still a phone. It looks like it functions, it turns on the same way, but there's something that is missing that is primary to its immediate function and purpose. It was created destroy. After he does all that, your phone is destroyed. Not in the sense that it's crushed and it got ran over, but it can't be used for its intended purpose. This is what the devil tries to do to you. So he doesn't start off with trying to destroy you completely. He starts off with to trying by just trying to steal a little bit of your connection and communication in your marriage. Then he kills your intimacy so that y' all still technically married, but there's no life actually happening in the middle of your marriage. So then he can destroy the ultimate purpose, which is for you to be a picture of God on earth. You still married, you still fine. You still look good on the outside. But he's stolen, he's killed, and he's destroyed. He's slow with. He doesn't come out yelling at you in a red pitchfork and being like, I'm here to take your purpose. Give it over. That's why I be so interested. Christians be sometimes mad, just be getting me because we be missing the plot. Sometimes be like, oh, man, you watching that show, you going to hell. There's demons and devils jumping off that TV into your soul. Maybe, maybe. I'm not saying there's not, but I'm saying when you stop being kind and you lose joy, you don't realize the Bible says the joy of the Lord is your strength. So if he can take your joy, you can't get stronger. So I'm just saying you got to be aware of the enemy's tactics. He still kills and destroys. But then Jesus, he summarizes his whole mission and he says, the reason I am here is so you can have a better life than you've ever dreamed of. Now, it's interesting to me. Jesus does. I mean, if I'm. If I'm reading this scripture and I don't know what it's about to say, Jesus is like, this is what the enemy does. Now, I'm about to tell you why I am here. And I'm like, okay, here we go. He's here to beat up the devil. He's here to make sure I go to heaven. He's here to make sure I'm always healed. He's here to answer all my questions. He's here to do what I need him to do when I need him to do it. He's here to make me feel good. He's here to. He doesn't say any of that. I'm here so you can have a good life. Now, I know some of y' all are like, that's not spiritual enough. That can't be that simple. In today's time, where there's no peace, no clarity, full of anxiety, full of fear, full of worry, full of all these things I want to submit to you this morning, the life that Jesus is presenting could be the most spiritual act ever. Early birds always rise to the occasion for summer vacation planning because early gets you closer to the action. So don't be late. Book your next vacation early on VRBO and save over $120. Rise and shine. Average savings. $141. Select homes only, day or night. VRBoCare is here 24. 7 to help make every part of your stay seamless. If anything comes up or you simply need a little guidance, support is ready whenever you reach out. From the moment you book to the moment you head home. We're here to help things run smoothly because a great trip starts with the right support. And hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either. You having a better life than you could dream of. Now I get this because we are trained spiritually to want super deep, like, stuff where we go, oh, my gosh. So when you just say, like, jesus here so you can have, like a super fulfilling life, you're like, what? What does that. What does that mean? I'm about to walk you through it. But here's my submission today. When Jesus says, I came that you might have life and life to the full. The language that he's using is, I am here so that you can have an exceeding and obnoxious, overflowing amount of fulfillment, fulfillment and satisfaction in your life. The word picture is like, it's just an exorbitant amount. Like, it's so much, you cannot contain it. You have a little cup and you just pour on it for 50 years and then another 50. It's so much life, so much peace, so much joy, so much love, so much patience, so much peace in your life. He says, that's why I'm here, so you can have a full and satisfying life. What kind of life? Well, let's just start off with the fruits of the Spirit. What if he just said, I want you to have an exceeding amount of love, joy and peace, an overflowing, obnoxious amount of love in your life. That's why I showed up. So you just have so much love, you don't even know what to do with it. People bump into you and they feel love. People look at you and they just think, I don't know what that is. But I've never seen somebody that seemed that present with me that. That God showed up so that you could have more joy than you know what to do with. Not so. You're scratching and clawing and fighting for these little moments where you kind of have peace. He said, I want you to have an abundance of peace. I want the world to be falling apart and you not think nothing of it because you know who holds the future. Now the question is, if this is what Jesus is promising, here's the question. I've asked the time in my life, and I know people in here are asking, well, why am I following Jesus? And I still don't feel that way if his whole. The whole reason, like, his whole reason is I can have a lot of love, a lot of joy, a lot of peace, a lot of patience, and I feel like I got a little bit here and there. What's the distance? What's the gap? What's the delta? Why is it that the whole reason he showed up is something that we can barely seem to find? I want to present to you today that you can live this life and it's easier than you think. Okay, let me, Let me, Let me. Let me get myself together here because I'm. I'm. Sometimes I have so much to say, and it would just be too much. Let me give you this point. Here's kind of the anchor point of the sermon. Write this down. The fulfillment we seek is usually found in the action we avoid. The fulfillment we seek found in the action we avoid. Here's the whole sermon. I'm going to give it to you, and then I'm going to prove it to you for the next 20 minutes, and then I'm going to really prove it to you for the last, like, 10. Okay? There is a difference between accepting grace and acting on grace. And you can live your whole life having accepted the grace of God but never acted on the grace of God. And I want to present to you this morning, the reason John 10:10 feels like a such outlandish idea is because many of us live a significant amount of our life having accepted Jesus but never acted on the grace he gave us. What do I mean? If I gave you $100 million, you could accept it and never spend it. And this is what you would do. You would walk around like, I got $100 million. And people would be like, how much money? Oh, you was what? You was checking your bank account. Siri, read to me my bank account number. They have 28 cents. No, the other account. The other. What you would do is you would start to get price prideful because you think that since you accepted it and it's in your account, you know how to use it. Oh, I'm about to. I'm about to get into it. This is how we get spiritually obese. Because. Oh, I was listening. I was listening to the sermon, and it was so good. It really just spoke to my heart. And here. This happens all the time. And please, if this has ever happened to you, I love you, but here's what be happening, man. Pastor Charles, that was the best sermon you ever preached Sometimes I be like, I don't know, but I appreciate it. I hear in the middle of church we be saying, woo, that's so good, man. I needed that. But just because you heard it and you felt it doesn't mean you did anything with it. I'm not, I'm not. I'm being super. I'm. Woo, man. I'm trying to keep it calm, kind and collected and confident. I'm going through my frame car. Come on, man. I'm locking in, man. But I'm saying it's very easy to be in church and thinking because you hearing what Jesus does, that you do what Jesus did. It's very easy to watch your favorite preacher and say, man, that was good. And you never do not nothing with what they said. It's very easy. I'm saying it's very easy because I do it all the time. They'll be like, woo, man, I love that. And sometimes I'd be saying to myself, don't tell me you love it. Show me you love it by changing something in your life. Oh, man, I really needed that. Tell me how much. Show me how much you needed it by what you did differently on Monday because of what you heard on Sunday. It's so easy because many times the fulfillment we seek is in the action we're avoiding. So we think that just hearing information and hearing people talk and hearing people pray is the same as actually doing it. But this is how you get this delta and this internal frustration because you feel like you should be further along because you got so many notes and you got so many prophetic words and you got so many revelations and you have so much power written down in your phone. But. But then you look at your life and you barely got any peace, you barely got any joy, you barely got any love. And now you mad because it was like I was at church and I wrote it down and I felt the goosebumps. And they went to the chorus and they said, just y' all sing it. And I sang it and I did it and I felt it. But I went to work and felt the same. Maybe there's an opportunity to close the distance between what you've accepted and what you're acting on. Because here's the deal. Your life is not changed by the truths you accept to and believe. They are changed by the truths you accept and then act like you believe them. There's a difference. Your life is not changed by just accepting. There's a transformational thing that happens. Yes. But if you really want the full life Here on Earth, it's got a. It's got to show up in your actions. Because here's the deal. Accepting grace gets you into heaven. And let me just say this. If that's really you was all trying to get out of this, you good, you into heaven, bam, you was going to hell. Now you're going to heaven. But your life on Earth, like, you know, like the 70, 80, 90, however many years you got, accepting grace, it secures your eternity. And so if you're. If you're just trying to live like a super mediocre life and just make sure you make it into heaven, I don't want to take that from you. So if you're just like Charles, I'm really only in here to secure my past so that when I die, I'm in the line. That's the only reason I come to church. That's the only reason I read my Bible. That's the only reason I pray. That's the only reason I give. That's the only reason I do anything, is because I just didn't want to go to hell. And. And so Jesus said that if I believed in him, then I'll go to heaven. And that's really all I want. I don't really want the peace he has. I don't want the joy he has. I would actually like to believe in him and go to heaven, but still be anxious like all my friends and be worried about the future and just try to control my kids because I'm afraid. And I'd love to be terrified politically and just use it to, like, control things. And I'd love to fight with people in the comments and I'd love to tear people down, even Christian people. I'd love to just keep tearing them down. And my friends look at my life and I say I go to church, but then they don't see anything. And I love be trying to act like two different people. So, like, at church on Sunday, I'd love to show up and act like my life is great, but then I'd like the rest of my life just to do whatever the heck I want to, because all I was really concerned about was just getting into heaven. But I don't. I don't want to really do any of, like, the stuff, you know, because that's just. It's a lot. And I just. I really only have. What time will you be done preaching? Because I gotta. It's just I already got my card, so I don't really know why I need to go to church if I got the card into heaven. What do I need you for? What do I need church for? What do I need friends for? What do I. Why should I? Why? What does it matter who I have sex with or how I talk to people or if I look my waiter in the eye? Why does that really matter? Because I'm going to heaven and I got my card. So I don't really know why you're telling me to read this book. I don't really know why you talk about these tribes. And I got a text tribe to 828282. I don't get it because I got my pass and I'm good and that's all I wanted from him. I'm not saying you say it like that, but I do know we all live it like that. Because accepting grace changes your eternity, but acting on grace changes your reality. Accepting grace will get you into heaven, but you got to act on grace if you want to get heaven into you. Accepting grace will have you feeling good in a moment. But acting on grace is how the early church started a movement. There is a difference. If you just here to come to church, check your box and feel good, that's cool. You can just accept the grace. But if you are here to see blind eyes opened, if you're here to see dead people walk out of tombs, if you're here to see atheists say, oh my gosh, Holy, holy. If you're here to find purpose that the world can't give you, if you're here to walk on water, if you are here to see something different, friend, you're gonna have to go from looking and observing. And one day you're gonna have to act on the grace he gave you. And this is how we have different experiences in our Christian walk. Because we have some people that look like how that be happening for them, how they be hearing God so much, how they be is because there is a step you can take to act on what you believe in. So here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna give you three, three ways that you can act on grace. And I promise you it'll change your life. Not because I said it, but because the Bible says it. But first, let me read you this scripture. Let me read you James. 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So you can all enjoy the payoff come summer with VRBO's early booking deals. Rise and shine. Average savings $141 select homes only James is the brother of Jesus, and so he's got some stuff to say about his brother. Which if, if I was writing a book about my brother, I'd be just sitting there talking trash like, yeah, he is God and everything. Jump shot was broke. Just throw some little jabs in there. Okay, James, chapter number one in the 22nd verse. I'm going to read it to you out of the message. Could you throw that up there for me? Look at what this says. Don't fool yourselves into thinking you're a listener when you're anything but letting the word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear. Go to the next one. What does it say? It says those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are or what they look like. Now let me give you the Go back to that one real quick. So I'm going to give you a little context on why that's important. Because mirrors weren't accessible like they are now. If you go back in that time, it was very rare for you to have a mirror. It was polished bronze, that someone had to work hard, really, really, really intentional to get a little reflection. So what this scripture is saying is if in this time, if you looked at a mirror, you had to stare at that thing for a long time. You had to intently look. You had to look at it. So. And then you get a picture of yourself and it says you spent all that time looking in the mirror and you walk away and forget. What does this tell me? It's not ignorance, it's unwillingness. It's not you unaware. It's just you're unwilling. So it's not that you don't know you're unkind to people. You just don't want to become kind because you looked in the mirror, you saw it. You saw it was there. And you said, you know what? I'm good. I'll be fine. Oh, goodness. The next scripture, what does it say? But those who catch a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God, the free life, even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, no distracted scatterbrain, but a man or woman of action. Here's the. Here's the connection to John 10:10. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action. What you looking for, it's in what you are avoiding doing right now. So the peace you're looking for, it's in the action that scares you the most. It's in the thing that you won't do. It's in the thing that you're worried about doing. And it's so easy to get so much information around a thing and still not do a thing. But I'm gonna give you three ways to act on a grace. Because acting on grace works. Here. Here's the first thing. The first thing that acting on grace does is it works in me. It works in me. It changes how I think. When you go from accepting grace to accepting and then acting on it, it starts to work in you. The scripture that this church is founded on, Romans 12, it says, don't conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed, formed by the renewing of your mind. One translation says, by changing the way you think, so you can accept grace and still think crazy, perverted thoughts. Crazy. Just, wow, I'm going to heaven. But everybody I see, I'm thinking the most ratchet stuff about. Because you haven't acted on the grace you've accepted. When you act on it, meaning you start saying, okay, I. I don't want to just accept this, but I want to align my life to this. What does God say? What does his word say? Think on these things that are pure and right and holy and upstand. When I start to act on his grace, it changes the way I think. And if you want to do something different, you're going to have to think different. You're going to have to think because you're doing will always revert to your thinking so you can try to. This is what we do. Because I know back in the day, I. You got saved. It was slam all your CDs, throw all your bad stuff Come on. Some of y' all don't know about that. But I remember seeing some people, they were smashing CDs at the altar. And that's how we knew you were going to heaven. I'm never listening to Guns N Roses ever again. Really? That's okay. Maybe it's that simple. But because what we do is we maximize on doing something different. And I'm not saying you shouldn't do something different, but I'm saying if the grace hasn't acted in you and it's changed the way you think, think you being fake in what you're doing anyways, because you don't even really want to do it. And you're thinking about doing what you don't want to do while you're doing what you think you're supposed to be doing. And that's why you frustrated. I'm trying to help you. This is why you be like, I mean, I hate. This is so dumb. I don't even want to be doing this. Why am I here? What? Because you haven't changed how you thought about it. So when I accept grace, it empowers me to live a new life. When I act on grace, it's me drawing on that power to saying, God, help me, stop thinking about me the way I think about me. And what do you say about me? So I feel unqualified. But you say that I am called a qualified and I have everything I need to live the life you've called me to live. Let me remind myself of that every single day. I want to act on that. I want to live that way. I want to talk that way. I want to see something different in my life. When you start acting on grace changes the way you think. And if you don't change the way you think. I already said it, but I cannot stress it enough. This is why it can be so demoralizing, trying to make progress in your walk with Christ. Because you haven't acted on it yet. You haven't moved into it yet. The next thing that the scriptures say is that if you want to act on grace, the way it works is it works in you. And then it starts working on you. This is what you do and how you live and how you treat people and how you talk and how you move and how you move through the world. And here's what I am saying. I am saying you first say, I want to accept the grace, but I want to act on. On the grace. And I want that to work in me. And now I want to start changing how I Live. What do I mean? I mean, if the scripture says that the fruit of the spirit, the proof of the spirit, the proof that God is with you, that you have surrendered your life to him, is love. When it starts working on you, the proof that you love Jesus more is not that you pray loud. It's not that you come to church. It's not that you know worship songs. The Bible says it's your super loving. That's how you know you're acting on the grace he gave you is you are super loving. You are super patient. Super patient. Show up to get your food, it's late, it's wrong, not even your order. And you're like, oh, don't even worry about it. I got time. Don't even. I'm so sorry. We just. We've had a busy day. Don't even worry about it. Don't even worry about it. Here's an extra tip. But I didn't get your order right. It doesn't matter. It's fine. Don't. Hey, you're doing a great job. I see you. God loves you. Don't worry about it. Then you get in your car and there's traffic. Good thing I don't live a hurried life. And I got plenty of time to wait here and listen to some music. I can listen to good things. That's the spiritual thing. That's what the Bible says. You're super joyful. So you all, you have a smile on your face and your hat. People look forward to being around you because of how much joy you have. That's the most spiritual thing the Bible says. Peace. You're peaceful. Oh, my gosh. Did you see the news? My answer is, first of all, no. No, I didn't see it. I didn't. So sorry. I was too busy wrestling a three year old and my friend's kid taught my son how to do a choke hold. And so I'm wrestling. I'm waking up to a headlock and an arm bar by a seven year old. So, no, I didn't see the news. Because the truth is, this is, this is all the news I need to be concerned about. Now, listen, please don't hear the reverse of that and be like, oh, you should just be ignorant and. No, no, no, no. I'm saying I'm. I know how much information I need to act on and have peace in my life. And the truth is, some of y' all know a lot. And it ain't doing nothing but making you anxious. You ain't doing nothing but get more Worried. It's not that you go to look at the news so you can intentionally pray and plan and pray. It's just so you can talk about it with your friends and then post about it and then fight somebody and then just be up late at night worried about, oh, my God, we're all gonna die. What's happening? Oh, my goodness. I want to run because I'm trying to explain. Explained to all of us that the most spiritual thing, the thing that changed the world, the way this went from one guy and 12 of his friends to thousands of people, was an actual power that separated them from everybody else. And as long as the church looks exactly like the world, what business do they have coming here? Why in the world. Why? You should come to church. Church with me. Why? You were just talking about how mad you are at your spouse and you hate them. You don't. You don't. Why? What is you. What do you. You hate your spouse, you're rude to your family. I never see I. You post all the time. I've never seen your wife. Where are they? We don't see your family, your kids look at you and crouch. Why in the world would I ever want what you have? All these people don't want God. No, they don't want your version of God because you've twisted it so bad. And he thinks they're mad at them. They want God. Let's be clear. But if you don't ever do anything with his grace, Longsuffering, you keep a good attitude. At a job where they mistreat you, that's how they know you got something different. I'm faithful. I'm faithful. I do what I say. When I say I'm gonna do something, I do it because I'm a faithful person. This is the. I promise you, this is the life Jesus is talking about. You got a lot of love, you got a lot of joy. You got a lot of peace, patience, kindness. Kindness. I can't tell you how many friends I have that their story of why they don't mess with God is because a Christian was unkind. They have no problem believing that Jesus was God. No problem being interested in a God who gives them grace, mercy, and power to become and live the life they're dreaming of. What they have problem with is people who say they believe that and are rude to them for how they look. That's what they got problems with. So if you are supposed to represent him, I can't get to him through you. You seem like an obstacle, not helping me get There. So I would rather just distance myself from your whole joint because y' all are so mean and so judgmental and you fight amongst yourself all the time. I don't want that. That this is part of the rise of why people love God and don't go to church. This is a part of it. Because depending on what they wear, you're going to look at them weird. No, I won't. You look at me weird sometimes. Get out of here. When is Charles got on? I am. I'm so serious right now. I'm so serious because I have friends that I love so much. And to be honest with you. To be honest with you, this is not. This is a reflection of my own work. But I'd be nervous. I'd be trying to control who they meet first because I know if you meet the right person, this will go good. But if you meet the wrong person, it'll mess up all of this. And why do we gotta do that? Why can't we trust that? Like, oh, you could come in and you can meet anybody. I could never be here. You could go to a different church. It'll be beautiful. But I don't be thinking that. I'll be thinking, okay, just come on this day, and I need you into this friend that's super kind, and I need you introduce this other friend that I know will be patient with you. And I need to make sure there's nobody around that's gonna look at you weird because you're still trying to figure some stuff out. It's so just. And that's because that's the story of the church for a long time, because we've accepted all this grace, but we are not acting like the guy we're supposed to represent. I have a friend, his name is Alec, and he's a cyclist, and he was in town this past week. He lives in Canada. There was a race. And when I got into cycling, I immediately found, like, all the coolest racing teams in America. And one thing they do is they. They sell, like, their jerseys. And so I immediately was like, I'm buying all the dopest stuff. So I got, like. I had no idea what I was doing, but I showed up, and the first ride I went to, everybody thought I raced for this team. And I was like, oh, no, no. I just. I just bought the jersey online. And so we had a race this past week, and I had on one of these guys, there's this team out of London, and they're so sick and so dope. And. And so I Showed up, I had the jersey on, and my friend Alec was there, and he's a pro cyclist. And so when I showed up, all these people who normally don't ever talk to me, they, like, rolled up and they're like, yo, hey, bro. And they were talking to my friend Alec, and they're like, what are you doing here? And he was like, oh, I'm here for my boy Charles, and blah, blah, blah. And then they were like, oh, what up, bro? And I was like, man, get out of here. But I've been here for six months. You never said nothing to me. But. But this is. This is funny. I promise it's gonna make sense. I get. I get in the race, and it's like 40 or 50 guys, and I'm locked in. And then at, like, five laps to go, so maybe like 15 minutes. We've been going 28 miles an hour in a mile loop for an hour. And my heart rate. I'm not lying to you, was 202. My heart rate is like. And literally, another. Another guy attacked and went. And it was like five of us all the way down to the end, and I just didn't have it. And at five laps to go, I just gave up and pulled off the road and rode up to Alex, Alec, and he was. He was like, bro, what happened? I was like, man, I just didn't have it. I just didn't have it. I just completely gave up. And here's. Here's the funny connection. I got home and I took off the jersey, and I thought, this is why people don't be liking when you roll up in a jersey that you can't back up. No lie. I thought that because I showed up wearing this jersey, and here's the connection, people thought that meant something about my heart. Cycling is all about your heart rate, because if your heart rate gets to a certain point, it don't matter how strong you are, you just can't go with everybody else. So they saw me on the outside, and I looked clean, and I looked like I was about to win. But the truth is, when it came down to it, I didn't have anything to offer. No lie. I told Alec. I was like, bro, I took all the jerseys, all my dope jerseys. I put them and I put them away. I'm not wearing them until I get stronger. I felt so embarrassed. There's none of those people. Literally, at the end of the race, they were like, what happened, man? And I was like, my leg really just immediately started lying, you know, cramp, you know, I got hit by a car, actually, in 2024, so my hip kind of acts up when I really get going. It's always good to have that. That really did happen to me, so I can pull that up as an excuse at any moment. What happened? Well, I got ran over by a reindeer, so it's kind of weird. Here, here's. Here's my. Here's my close. Tonight, today, acting on grace works in you. Works on you. And then. And then the most beautiful thing is it starts to work through you. It starts to work through you. It starts to work through you, meaning the people around you start to realize there's something different about you. There's something. I don't know what it is, but there's something. They just seem like there's something different about them, just kind of how they. I don't know, but there's something in how they talk. There's something in how they. They look. They're always excited to see me. I know we. We be at work and the boss be yelling and. But they don't seem to get worked up. There's something different because you accepted his grace, but now you're trying to act on his grace. You want it to show up in your life. And all I'm saying this morning is my most beautiful moments with Jesus have not happened in this church, in a building. They've happened when I was outside of the church trying to act on what I've accepted. It was in the function of telling my friends about God and that I was anxious and depressed and he did something about it. They're like, really? I was like, yes. And you don't have to be if you don't want to be anxious anymore. Here's the cool thing. You don't got to be. I'm like, what I got to do? All you got to do is just. You just talk to God and you. You exchange. There's a thing called prayer. And when you pray, it's like you trade all your anxiety. Anxiety, and it just gives you peace. But what I gotta do? Nothing really. You just. You just. Every day, you just gotta learn how to keep giving it to Him. Really? That's. Yes, that's. Oh, my gosh, it's the best. And then when you get overwhelmed, you remind yourself that, like, he's in control anyways, and you didn't get yourself there. And it's like when you get super pressurized, you remember, like, he's got a plan that's so much bigger than my plan. And what in the world this is so great. It's been in acting. It's in acting it out where it shows up around and it shows up through my life. We're about to get out of here, and my prayer is that if you have ever felt that way, you felt like, man, I'm following Jesus, but I don't feel fulfilled. My encouragement is to take one truth about Jesus that you've accepted. Maybe he's a healer. Maybe you've accepted that he gives second chances. Maybe you've accepted that he's a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Maybe you've accepted that he gives peace in the middle of the storm. Maybe you've accepted that he's a strong tower and those who run in are safe. Maybe you've accepted that the gospel can change your heart. Maybe you've accept what. I don't know what it is for you, but one truth you've accepted. And this week I want you to spend the whole week acting on that one truth. So if God is a healer, what would I be doing in my week differently that I don't do right now? Oh, that's a dangerous. That's a. That's a dangerous. That's a dangerous Christian right there. If I knew God healed anybody. Anybody sick in here? Anybody not feeling good? Is there anybody who doesn't? You're good. You're fine. Your hip is. What is it? What's. What's hurting right there? What? Oh, you're okay. You're left. This is. This is. Because that sounds crazy, but that's the thing you'd be shouting about in the book, is that they walk past people and their shadows healed people. So if we trying to live like that, you can't just read and be like, wow, that's good. You gotta walk out and be like, oh, man, if I see somebody who ain't feeling good, I promise you I'm about to pray for them so fast because I'm trying to act on what I accepted. If you knew that God could give peace in the middle of the storm, how would you be talking to your family that you ain't talking to him like, right now? If you knew that God had the whole world in his hands and he had a plan for your child, before you knew them, he knew them. How would you talk to your kid if you knew God had them and they're okay and he's got a perfect plan for the life and he's going to protect them and he's going to keep them and he's got more than enough Grace for every mistake they'll make. And he's going to keep them and I'm going to raise them in the way they should go. But I trust my God. How would you raise your kids if you were acting on what you said you've accepted? How patient would you be if you knew that he's a God that gave mercies new every morning? How, how would you talk to yourself differently if you knew God was pleased with you? He's pleased with you, he's pleased with you. If you acted on that, how would you show up? What type of husband would you be? What type of wife would you be if. If you. And this is where I'm saying that John 10:10 life. It's in that. It's in the action that we sometimes avoid. Every head bow, every eye closed, Two groups of people. If you're in here or under the sound of my voice, you're watching this, you're listening to, into this and the idea of that super fulfilled life, like tons of joy, tons of peace and overwhelming sense of gratitude and love, if that feels really far away, it feels distant, it feels like, man, I experience that sometimes, but not all the time. But I, I want that life. If you're in here and you want to try to take the step of acting on grace, you want to see what this book talks about, show up in your real life, every head bowed, every eye closed, you're saying, I want to act on grace more. If that's you, I'm going to ask you just to slip up your hand. I want to say a prayer for you. You want to act on grace more. God, you see our hands and we don't want to be stuck saying we believe something that we haven't done. Help us to do what we have confessed, to believe. Help us to be people who have faith that moves past just a moment and shows up in our action. God, would you change the way we think? Would you help us change the way we think? Would you help us change how we think about ourselves, think about our friends, think about our family? Would you help us to act on your grace? Every hand down, every head still bowed, every eye still closed. If you're in here, there's a beautiful first step you can take, and that is to accept the grace. And the good news is that's really your only part in this puzzle, is to accept. You ain't got to work, you ain't got to strive, you ain't got to pretend, you ain't got to prove it. You accept the grace of God, Last weekend we celebrated Easter. And the story of Easter is the good news of the gospel. And here's the good news. The good news is God has paid for all the mistakes you have ever made, will ever make, and have thought about making. He's already paid the price. Why does he have to pay the price? Because it's clear when we sin, when we make a mistake, there's a cost associated with it. Just like if you make a mistake or you lie in a relationship, it strains the relationship. That is a cost. And Jesus died on a cross to pay the ultimate price for our sin. So that we have to live in shame, that we don't have to live in guilt, that we don't have to live under pressure and performance, but we can live under his grace. And if you're in this room or you're watching online or you're listening to this, this is the moment where your life will change forever. If you want to accept Jesus. And I'm not talking about no fake get into heaven card. I'm talking about I want my life to look radically different. I want peace and I want an abundance of it. I want love and I want an abundance of it. I want joy and I want all of it. I'm not talking about settling for pretending and raising your hands and doing just the bare minimum. I'm talking about you are sick of your old life and you want a brand new start today. This is your moment. This is what Jesus is about. He's always loved you. He's always been there for you. And today is that day. If you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. I'm about to count to three. And when I count, count to three. If you want to make that decision, I want you to raise your hand. Now, here's why you're going to raise your hand. You're not raising your hand for anybody else around you. You're raising your hand to let your mind, your soul, and your body know. I don't just feel this on the inside, but I'm going to act on it on the outside. Because I know that this is a faith about action. So if you want to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I'm going to count to three and you're going to raise your hand. 1. He loves you. 2. Today is the day of salvation. Do not wait another day. 3. Right now, in this room and online, lift your hand if you want to accept Jesus. I got you. I'm so proud of you. I see you, sister. So proud of you. So Proud of you. A family back here together, right here on the front row. I see you so proud of everybody here online. Everybody out loud. Would you pray out loud together? Everybody repeat after me. Say, dear God, I love you. Thank you for loving me. Dear Jesus, I admit I've made mistakes. Save me, change me, make me new. In your name I pray. Amen. Hey, can we celebrate people who just made that choice. So proud of you. Hey, listen, here's a couple things before we get out of here. In just a moment, our worship is team is going to sing and we're going to have some team members come up down to the front. If you need prayer for anything, nothing too big, nothing too small. You need prayer for anything in your life. There's something powerful that happens when we pray. Some of you, maybe you got to head out. You're going to grab your kiddos and have them. Maybe some of you are going to stay. Our worship team is going to lead us in worship. The Bible says that God inhabits the praises of his people. Something beautiful can happen there. But I want to encourage you to join us for family dinner tonight. If you have space and time and then the last thing, if you gave your life to Christ, let us know. Text the word saved to the number on the screen. You can scan the QR code, but we're so proud of you, Lord God, I thank you for today. I thank you that this week we are acting on what we believe. We thank you for your grace, for your love and your mercy. It's in the beautiful name of Jesus we pray. And everybody said amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you for joining us today. If you said that prayer and accepted Jesus into your heart, it's the best decision you could ever make. We want to celebrate with you and we have some tools to help you on your journey. Text saved to 828282 and to find out more about TC Text connect to 828282. Be sure to subscribe and share this podcast with your friends. Thanks for listening. Now go out and live a transformed life.