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Well, good morning, Victory. Come on, y'. All. Excited to be in the house? I am. I'm excited. Wanna welcome everyone here to the building. Those joining us online, y', all, I'm thrilled to be back. For those who've been following the journey with my family and I, my wife, we had the baby. Well, she had the baby four weeks ago. And y' all gonna see these photos. Look. Look at this youngin, y'. All. These babies are built different. They strong. That little neck already strong. Girl, slow down. Look at my baby. So her name is Levy Bernice. And again for the Victory family, who's been here for a while, we named her after my mother who went to be with the Lord a couple years ago. So her name means protector and bringer of victory. Come on, somebody. So she's healthy. Candace is healthy. You won't believe this, but my kids, they're changing diapers. Come on, somebody. We will take it. So, y', all, there's just a lot of laughter in our family right now, a lot of joy in our house. Very excited for the season we're in, and also excited about 720 people who said yes to the waters of baptism. Come on. That's amazing. Amazing. But how many of you know that, as exciting as that is, that's just the beginning of the journey, right? And you might be here today, and maybe you were one of the 7 20, or maybe you're one of the ones who gave your lives to the Lord at Easter or rededicated your commitment. We celebrate what God has done, but we simultaneously want to be expectant from what God has yet to do. Because this is a journey that we're gonna be on until we're in eternity with the Lord. And I think within that context, it sets up perfectly the tension that we wanna speak to today as it relates to a very prevalent thing in our society, which is this desire that we have, this innate desire to be seen to be recognized. Come on, somebody. To be that guy or to be that girl. In fact, just this picture, as I was working on this message, I was at Starbucks doing some study, and I ordered a drink. And you know how in Starbucks you can. If you're inside, you can kind of look beyond the bar and see the drive thru window and see who's pulling up in the. So I'm just casually waiting on my order. I'm looking at the window, and this lady pulls up, and she's really lively. She's exciting and laughing and talking to the employee. And I noticed she had some money in her hand, some cash, and she reaches through the window to drop it in the tip jar. Then she pulls her hand back. I was like, okay, that was odd. So I'm just, I'm nosy. I'm nosy, y'. All. I'm nosy. So I'm sitting there watching, my drink came up. I said, I'll get it, hold on. And so she keeps doing that. She'll like, reach and then she'll look and she'll pull it back. So I'm thinking, what is she doing? Is she second guessing leaving the tip? And finally it dawned on me what this woman was doing. Every time she went to put the tip in the jar, the clerk, the employee just so happened to have their back turned. And so this woman wanted to make sure that the employee saw her put the money in the tip jar, y'. All. It was $2, like, but my girl was gonna make sure she got her $2 worth of recognition, right? And I'm sitting there and I'm literally working on this message, like right there. I'm like, lord, look at you giving illustrations in this Starbucks lobby. Come on, won't he do it? And I want to venture to say that that type of behavior, really, that heart posture, is not something that only happens in the Starbucks drive thru. This is a behavior. It is a posture that's running rampant throughout our society and in our culture. Why? Because I don't know if you've noticed this, but we live in a world that rewards you for increasing, right? We hear it all the time. Increase your brand, increase your voice, grow your platform. You need more visibility. You need to strengthen and build your influence. And the byproduct of that is a generation of people who lust for likes and fight for more follows right now. Most of my seasoned saints, those who have seen many moons, they'll say things like, well, it's all that social media. It's that Tic tac, it's that Insta chat, right? And listening to that, I would say, sure, absolutely. I mean, it doesn't. Social media does not help the issue of the heart, right? But let me just say this. Please do not fool yourself into believing the lie that this pattern of self promotion is solely a social media problem. No, no, no. As we look in scripture, we discover that this drive for self promotion and elevation, listen, y', all, it's one of Satan's oldest books in the oldest tricks in the book, right? Any time in history, a man has taken the stance that I will rise above or I will increase. In scripture, it Never ends well. We look back in Genesis chapter 11 at the tower of Babel, right? The people said, come, let us build for ourselves a city, and let's erect a tower into the heavens. And I quote, so we can make a name for ourselves. They said, we must increase. And God responded by scattering them across the globe. And if that's not enough, we can rewind back a few chapters into Genesis chapter three, at the fall of humanity in the garden. We all know that story, right? But what we fail to realize is that Satan did not tempt Adam and Eve with fruit. He tempted them with elevation and promotion. You see, the fruit was just the fruit issue, but below it, there was a root issue. And Satan told them, hey, God knows that if you partake in this fruit, that you're going to be just like God. And they said, yes, I will increase. And it cost them paradise on earth. And that's not enough. This rewinded all the way back to eternity past, before creation was as we know it. The Bible tells us that there was this angelic creature in the heavenly host by the name of Lucifer. And the prophet Isaiah, many years later, prophesied and gave us a snapshot into this cosmic story from eternity past. Listen to this. He says, how you have fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning. You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. Watch this. For you said to yourself, lucifer, that I will ascend to heaven and I will set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the most high. But instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths. Can I tell you something? This hard posture of elevation and promotion, it is so dangerous and dire to our journey with Jesus. Do you think about this for a moment? The reason that a hell even exists is because somebody stood in the presence of God and still had the audacity to say, I must increase. The reason that we have sickness, disease, famine and war in the earth is because people, two individuals, stood in the presence of God and still were not satisfied and said, I will increase. So no family. Social media did not create this problem. Social media just gave us a scoreboard. Likes. That is good. Likes, follows, shares, Repos. It gave us something to measure this innate desire by. But hear me when I tell you, my friend. I've come to this house to remind someone in this room that although the world says, promote yourself, the Kingdom of God says to humble yourself. Listen to me. The world will tell you that no one's gonna give you anything. So, baby, you better get up, get out and get some something. But the last time I read my Bible, I remember reading that those who wait upon the Lord shall never be put to shame. Right? The world says, build your audience. But my Bible tells me that I perform for an audience of one. One king who receives all the glory. Right? So, new believers, hear me. I know that many of you here right now in our overflow online, you may be asking, well, what's the next step? Like, I just got saved. I don't know what I'm doing. How do I take the next step in my journey? Well, let me just pause before you take the step and let me give you some insight to consider that it's gonna be the foundation for every step you take. You have to understand that. Understanding that the Kingdom way of doing things is completely countercultural to the world's way of doing things. That reality and that truth is foundational for your walk with the Lord. So what I wanna do today is dive into the text, and I wanna answer this question. How then do we stay low in the midst of a world that is always calling us higher? So let's dive in. We're in the Book of John. For those who are new to victory. We are in the book of John for this entire year. And I don't know about you, but I have enjoyed this. Have you guys enjoyed it? Ooh, it's been good. It's been good. So I wanna pick up right where we left off in John chapter 3, starting at verse 27. Now, let me see, am I right here? No. John 3. 22. Here it is. So after this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside where he spent some time with them and baptized them. Now, John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water and people were coming and being baptized. And this is before John was put in prison. Now, I was talking about John the Baptist. Okay, stick with me. Verse 25, it says, Then an argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. And they came to John and said to him, rabbi, that man that was with you on the other side of the Jordan, speaking about Jesus, he says, that guy that you testified about, look, now he's baptizing people, and now everyone is going to him. Let's pause right there. I want you to get the context of what's Happening right here. Okay. It's so good. So what's happening is this John the Baptist has been dunking folks in the Jordan for quite a while now. He's been proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. His ministry was thriving. He had disciples, followers, all of that. Jesus shows up on the scene. John makes it clear that Jesus, he's that guy. He's the one I've been talking about, right? He baptizes Jesus in that beautiful moment we've all read in Scripture, but fast forward now. Jesus and his disciples are showing up, and they're also baptizing people as well, right? So what you have are two ministry movements that are happening simultaneously within close proximity of each other. Y' all with me? All right. Now, in the midst of that, you would think. You would think. Everyone's celebrating. We're excited. People are repenting. They're being baptized. But in the middle of that, John's disciples show up to him and they're like, bro, John, this Jesus guy, he taking your people, bruh. Like, like, like, John, come on. Like, you're losing your influence, John. You're losing numbers, John, this guy, everyone's going to. This Jesus guy, John, what are you gonna do, John, if you don't change something, if you don't say something, if you don't do something, if you don't promote yourself? We need a new marketing strategy. John, John, what are we gonna do? And I love the response that John gave to his disciples. And that's where we're gonna park today. Ooh, this is good. Y' all ready for it? Listen to what John says in verse 27. He says to this John replied, a person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, I am not the Messiah, but I am sent ahead of him. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. And the friend who attends to the bridegroom, he waits and he listens for him, and is full of joy whenever he hears the bridegroom's voice. And John says, and that joy is mine. And now that Jesus has finally shown up, he says, my joy is complete, for he must become greater, I must become less. Hmm. Hmm. Now, I don't want you. Keep this. Keep this up, if you don't mind. I don't want you to miss the precision of language used here in that last passage that you see highlighted. Because if I'm going to be honest, for many years, I have misquoted this verse. And many Christians, many pastors, many leaders, all well meaning, we've misquoted this passage you yourself may have said over the years. At some point in time, this statement, I must decrease so that Jesus can increase. But that is not what John said here. John said, Jesus must become greater and I must become less. A period after both statements. Can I make this real plain? Let me help y' all out in this 11 o' clock service. Listen to me, friends. Don't fool yourself for a moment into believing the lie that God's greatness, that his magnitude, that his grandeur, that his power is dependent upon a decision that you make or don't make. What? No. Why? Because Jesus always has been greater. Today Jesus still is greater. And 20 years from now, guess what? Jesus will still be greater. Like my grandmama used to say, God is good all by Himself, not Himself, his self. Jesus does not need our help to become more glorious or more powerful. Listen to me. The worth of Jesus, his omnipotence, his infinite wisdom, the magnitude of his character, all of that is a part of his intrinsic value. So do you understand in light of that, whether I choose or choose not to lay down and stay down does not and cannot change the essence of his character. He is God all by Himself, with or without my help. Y' all ain't talking to me in this service, but I'm gonna keep on preaching. Listen to me. The question we have to ask ourself though is this. If he is who he says he is, period. The question I have to ask is this. Is my life centered on Jesus, thus magnifying what is already true about him? Or is my life centered on me and I just take Jesus along with me for the ride? You know, as if Jesus is just like a little add on component to what I already got going on. You know, my son, he's 14 years old, he's a businessman, he has his own business. Tomorrow he has a meeting and he's gonna go into this meeting and he's gonna present a package to sell to this person. And what that person doesn't know is after he presents that package, he has some add on options as well. Well, if you need that, you can pay this for that. If you want that, you can add this on that. And hear me, that may work in the world of business and economy, but in the kingdom of God, hear me, Jesus has no desire to be added to anyone's add on menu. In your life and in my life, we don't choose the areas in which Jesus Christ rules and reigns, my friend. He's either king of all or he's not king. At all. And we've got to come to that realization. Hear me, young Christian. I want you to hear me when I say it because it's foundational to, to what we're talking about today. I'm not just talking about being humble. I'm talking about getting out of the stinking way so that the glory of God can be on full display for hurting and a broken world. Amen. So how do we do that? How do we walk this thing out? I'm so glad you asked. Now that I'm done with my intro, let's get to it. How do we stay low in a world that is constantly calling us higher? Well, we're going to follow John's model. All right? We're going to go through. We're going to go through John's response line upon line, precept upon precept, right? Number one, we have to first settle the source. Settle the source. In other words, we have to understand that I am not the creator. I am just a receiver, right? We have to understand that our help comes from the Lord. We didn't build, fashion, or fabricate anything good in our lives. Everything we have is from God. Look at what John said when his petty disciples pulled up on him. He said, a person can only receive what is given from heaven. And notice, John does not defend himself. He doesn't throw shade at Jesus. He doesn't even acknowledge the comparison. He simply makes one quiet, world altering statement, which is simply, whatever I have, I didn't make it. Whatever I have, I simply received it. Listen to me, church. Everything that you have, everything, everything, everything that you have, has been given to you by God. It is a gift that you have received, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, whether you realize it or not. Can I make it very plain? Your business that is thriving, it was received. Your influence, it was received. Your voice, it was received. The gifts of God in your life, the blessings, your family, they were received. The healing in your body has been received. The same second chance, the third chance, the oh, y' all ain't never had more than one chance. Okay, well, let me just go on. The fifth, the sixth, the seventh, the eighth. Every blessing that God has poured out on my life, it was received. I haven't earned a thing in my life, but I've been entrusted with much and I am rich in my soul because the Lord has been faithful. And let me tell you, friend, it's better that way. Do you realize that? Do you realize that it's better that way to understand that? Listen to me, If God gave it, then I know God can sustain it. Right? And you know what that does for me now all of a sudden, Jace? I don't have to struggle. I don't have to hustle and grind. I don't gotta stress over what that person's doing or how their business is doing. My competitors and my k. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't have to stress because I know that if God gave it, that he is the one to sustain it. Now, let me say this, let me add this, because there are some of us here today that we are plagued by debilitating anxiety. And we spend our lives worrying and stressing over what's coming in and what's going out. And, Lord, where are you at? And I don't know. And let me. Let me just free someone up in this place. This may not be for you. It may be for the person beside you. I don't know. Can I tell you? You want to know why we struggle with anxiety in that regard? Here's why. Because you think that you built this thing. And this thing can be whatever your thing is. And the problem with that is that whenever you feel like you built it, then you feel the pressure to be the one to carry. But if you can live your life with the realization that if God gave it that he's gonna sustain it, then you can also say that if God doesn't give it, then, baby, I don't even need it. Keep your promotion. Keep your open door. Keep your following. Keep all the noise. Give me Jesus. Hear me, young Christian. Hear me, brother. Hear me, son. Hear me, daughter. If you want to know how to stay low in this world and out of the way of what Jesus is doing, I'm going to give you a quote from our founding pastor, Dennis Rouse. Are you ready for it? It's very inspirational. Here it is. Without God, I am nothing. I know nothing, and I have nothing. How's that for your daily affirmation? Hey, write that on your mirror in your bathroom. You brushing your teeth in the morning. I have nothing. I ain't nothing. Come on, we gotta settle the source. I am not the source. Everything I have, I receive from God. Y' all with me. Let's keep going. The second thing we have to do to stay low is stay clear on the assignments. Stay clear on the assignment. All right, here's what I'm saying. You have to understand that you and I, we are not the Messiah. We are simply the messengers. Look at what John said to his disciples. He went on to say, you yourselves can testify that I told y' all from the beginning that I am not the Messiah. I am simply sent ahead of him. You see, John knew who he was not. He understood his assignment. He understood his lane. He understood his purpose for that season in history. And because he was clear on what he was not, it gave him confidence in who he was. Right. John is stating a truth here that more Christians need to embody. And it's simply this standing up boldly and confidently and humbly and saying, listen, I love the Lord, and I want people to know them, and I'm open to listen. I'm about that life. I'm gonna evangelize and share. But at the end of the day, I am not the Savior. I am not your solution. I am not the center. So I'm gonna be real with you. John is handling this little moment with a lot of maturity. I mean, he's given them some good content, right? So, John. Good job, John. But I'm gonna be real with you. The ones that got me tripping and laughing are his petty disciples. I mean, petty city. I mean, they pulled up. Hey, cuz, man, I know. I know that Jesus. I know you baptized him last week, and I know he's doing his little ministry down the way, but, John, what we gonna do, bro? We need to pull up on Jesus. I mean, they must have been from the south side of Judea. I don't know. I mean, they were about that life. You about to roll up on Jesus. They don't do that. They were loyal. We love loyalty, right? We do. But these guys were so loyal that some of them struggled to shift their loyalty from John to Jesus. And if I'm going to be honest with you, today, we live in a society in the church world, if I can just be honest with you, where we see a lot of that behavior still happening today in the church. And especially in a city like Atlanta, where we look at these men of God and these pastors and these churches and these movements and, oh, that's the man of God. Only my pastor preaches the truth. Only my church preaches the unadulterated. Oh, no, no. If it don't come from my. My bishop, we can become so in love with a vessel that we miss the one that the vessel is meant to point to in the first place. Are you kidding me? No, no. Listen to me. Listen to me. I thank God for every faithful pastor that is in the pulpit declaring the unadulterated truth of God. I thank the Lord for churches being planted. I thank the Lord, for Christian movements that are reaching millions, I thank God for influencers who are using their platform to bring people into the saving knowledge of Jesus. But can I tell you, church, at the end of the day, they are just a man. They are just a woman like you and just like me. And I don't care about how big a follower count is. I don't care about how far their network reaches or how much revenue their church brought in or all the things they do. Can I tell you, at the end of the day, when the name of Jesus is lifted up, it doesn't matter how much of a charismatic preacher you are or a gifted teacher or a successful business owner at the name of Jesus, the Bible says every knee must bow and every tongue will confess that he alone is Lord, that he alone is God. And who am I as a mere man to try to get in the way of that? No, sir. Paul said it like this. He wrote to the church in Corinth. He said, what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ is Lord and ourselves simply servants for Jesus sake. For God who said, let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts. Come on. Thank God for that right. Made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. Y', all, that is amazing that the eternal God has entrusted us with the revelation of all things. But look at what Paul says next. He says, but this great treasure that the Lord has given us, we hold it in jars of clay. In other words, this eternal power, insight, revelation is entrusted to these broken vessels with all of our scars, with all of our imperfections, with all of our doubts, with all of our questions, why would God do it that way? Here's why. To show and to remind, remind us that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us. Are you with me today, church? That's why, my friend, listen to me. That's why I carry my own Bible. Some of y' all don't know what I'm talking about, but I grew up in a semi black church and I know that in a lot of black churches and in a lot of Spanish churches too, in other cultures as well, there is this honor towards the man of God or the woman of God. First lady. Oh, can I carry a Bible? Absolutely not. I'm good. Can I tell you something? I don't need an armor bearer because I got the armor of God, baby. And guess what? And I got it on me like right now. So I have nothing for you to bear. All right, no armor for you to bear, because I'm a man just like the next man. And in fact, one of the reasons my wife and I said yes to Victory Church over five years ago when we were interviewing. I'll never forget the moment we were sitting up in the top, just watching service, experiencing it. And I watched Pastor Johnson preach three passionate messages on all day, poured his heart out. And when I saw this man walk up these stairs and then stand in the lobby and shake every single hand and pray with people and bless people. When I saw that, I told my wife, this is where we're coming. Because can I tell you something? It doesn't matter the influence. No one is above it. Can I tell you, the more that God elevates you, the more that God lifts you up, the more that the Lord increases your voice and your influence. It should not drive us to this place of self righteousness. No, no, no. Adversely. It should actually bring us to our knees and humility, saying, God, that you would choose me to do the things that I'm doing. All glory be to the God who redeems the broken and places the lonely and the poor at the table with kings and princes. You see, this thought here that I'm sharing is important for anyone here under the sound of my voice, in the room or online. It's important for anyone who's leading people. Again, I'm talking about fathers who are leading your home. If you're a mother, leading your children. Influencers, coaches, group leaders, small group leaders, influencers, artists, athletes, whoever you are, business owners, pastors. Hear me clearly. We're carrying the message, but we were never called or asked to be the message. And I want to say this next statement with the fear of God in my heart. Listen to me, church. If my life makes you more impressed with me than it does submitted to him, then I have failed you. I have failed you as a pastor. I failed you as a spiritual leader. Because at the end of the day, God did not put me in this earth to collect fans. God did not put you in this earth to just grow a fan base. He put us in this earth with the assignment to raise up and equip and deploy disciples. He put us in this earth to build families, to transform communities, to reconcile cultures, and to impact nations by the glory of God. And that goes for me. That goes for Pastor Johnson. It goes for Pastor TJ and every single person under the sound of my voice. Hear me, friend. If people need you in order to feel close to Jesus and Something's off. Something's off. So, athletes. I'm talking to the athletes. Is Jesus really Lord, or is he just your brand partner? Small group leaders, when you're having those conversations with your group, are you driving them to your opinions and your perspectives, or are you driving them to God's word? Mothers, are you raising your children to need you or to know him? Hey, fathers, y' all already know. Y' all gonna get the smoke from me every time. Because your role is so pivotal and so necessary in the home. Fathers, are you calling your children and expecting them to just walk in your footsteps and do the things that you did because that's what you know to do? Or are you teaching your son to hear the voice of God and to follow the unique calling that's on his life or her life? Leaders, come on. What are we building? Are we building businesses and brands that are solely focused on the bottom line, or are we building something that is gonna make Jesus smile? Hear me, family. We have to fight the urge to build simply based around our personalities and our charisma. Why? Because, hear me, the influence that we have, like I said earlier, it was given to us and it was given to us for the sole purpose of pointing people to the presence of God. Now, don't hear what I'm not saying. If you're in business and you're. Listen, dude, work hard, right? The Bible says that a good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children. So work hard. Do the things you're supposed to do. But, my friend, do it with integrity. Do it with values that are rooted in scripture. Walk into the workplace. Walk into the boardroom meeting. Walk into those rooms knowing that you're in there. Yes, to run a business. Yes, to make things happen. But, baby, before all of that, you are an ambassador of the kingdom of God first and foremost, right? Because hear me, your charisma is great. I love your charisma. But, baby, your charisma will only bend the yoke. Only the anointing can break it. And that's what we need. And I know that there are some of us here, like, you're listening to this message, trying to digest it. You're like, but, Pastor Kervin, like, I. I'm not really leading anything right now. Like, I just got saved, like, seven minutes ago. Like, I'm still trying to figure out how to spell Leviticus. Like, good luck. Right? And I get that. So for you, I would offer this consideration. I would challenge you in this way. I would say this. If your Christianity can't survive without a certain preacher or a specific podcast or a certain sound or a certain vibe, then you might be in danger of following a messenger more than the Messiah. Right? And before I jump off of this point, I do want to speak to one specific group of people. I think it's important, because if I can just zoom out just a little bit for a second. What we're talking about here is identity, right? Understanding our lane and our place. Understanding. Listen, we're not the savior. Johnson Bowie cannot save any of you. Right? We can't save anyone. You can't save anyone. Right? So it's an identity. It's a shift in understanding our rightful place. And there are some people that are really struggling with who they are and where they've been and the things they're feeling and processing. And there's a lot of people. Listen, I want to lean into this. There are a lot of people who come to the faith trying to find themselves. So about nine months ago, I was introduced online to this young man who. He was a transgender man, and he wore women's clothing. The makeup. I mean, if you saw the guy, you wouldn't even think he was a woman, to be honest with you. But about nine months ago, he gave his life to the Lord. And he went straight on social media and began telling his story, stopped wearing women's clothes, started growing this mustache and this beard. And he was posting every day, and he was asking questions about the faith and chronicling his story. And I've been following this guy for about eight months. I mean, there were times I would pray. I was praying for him. I would comment on some of the posts, encouraging him. Fast forward. A few days ago, I saw a post online where he's back in his woman gear, makeup back on his face. And if I can quote the caption of the post, he said this. He said, I am done being who Christians say I should be. And I'm going to be the woman that Jesus knows and loves. And y', all. My heart broke when I read that because I've been. I feel like I've been walking with. With this guy. I never met him, but I feel like I've been walking with him through this journey, and my heart broke for him in that moment. And I want you to hear me, like, hear my heart. Cause y' all ain't about to have me. This little clip taken out of context, put on Instagram, play me, have me on pastors with props or church, whatever. No, no, no, Hear me. I was grieved, and I don't judge this man. Because if not for the grace of God, my thing may look different, your thing may look different. But the reality is this. When I look back at all of his posts, in hindsight, every post he would put up was always centered around his identity and his journey and his discovery and why this church didn't accept accept him and why that church didn't do. And this is the common mistake that happens for many new believers. Many new believers come and step into Christianity. Watch me thinking and expecting that it's going to be some kind of ethereal spiritual journey that's going to take me on a path of self realization and discovering my true self. But listen, yes, God does have the power to transform your life. Yes, God does desire to transform your life. I don't know about you. I've been transformed. Anybody else? A few of y'. All, Baby, he's still transforming me every day. But hear me. The goal of Christianity is not self discovery, and it's not self realization at the core. It's actually self denial. No, you need to let that sizzle in your spirit for a second. Jesus did not call anyone to the cross to discover themselves. Now we come to the foot of the cross because we realize that our sinful nature is in need of a sin Savior, man. So if you sign up for this journey, hear me, and if you do it thinking that I'm going to discover myself and who I'm supposed to. No, no, no, no. You're going to be disappointed around every turn because the more you discover about yourself outside of Christ, you're going to discover time and time again that I am broken, that I am in need of a Savior. Watch me. A Savior that loves me enough that he will meet me right where I am. But watch this. I like to clap there. But hold on. The Savior that'll meet you right where you are, but also a Lord who loves you enough to not leave you the way he found you. You gotta have both talk to me. It's not either or. It's both. And Paul said to the church in Corinth, I die daily. Daily. It's not an issue of transgender or not. It's not lgbt. Like, we all have our stuff, man. And we want to pick and choose and point and label and say, well, your sin is worse than mine. But at the end of the day, we are all spiritually bankrupt and broken before a holy God, and we need the transforming work of the Spirit in our lives. We have to die to ourselves daily. Jesus said it best. He said, if Any man wants to follow me, he must pick up his cross and carry it. And again. Here's that word again. Daily, that means every morning I'm waking up, I die to myself. I crucify my flesh. I get out of the way and I stay low so the glory of God can be seen and on full display. Amen. Here's the third and final thought. We stay clear on the assignment. We settle the source, and here it is. I love this right here. We have to then find joy in the handoff. All right, look at what. Look at. Look at what John says. In the this moment. He tells his disciples, them petty disciples, John, you got to do better, bro. Do better. Recruit better people. He said, the bride belongs to the bridegroom. For those who are new to the faith, the body of Christ, Christians, sons and daughters of God, we're called the bride in scripture. I know for fellows like, that's kind of weird. Just go with it, bro. We're called the bride, okay? And Jesus is the groom. And what John is saying is like, dude, these people were baptized and they don't belong. Who attends to the bridegroom? We call it the best man. The best man waits and he listens for him, and he's full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. And he goes on to say, and that joy is mine and it's now complete. What is John saying? Lean in. John is saying, I've been baptized into these people. Declaring the soon coming messiah. And, baby, he has come. He's on the scene. So now is my time to step aside and let the bride be with her groom. Fellas, can you imagine being at your wedding day? You waited your whole life for this moment. And you're standing up in the altar, the pastor's right there, and the doors open up in the back. They start playing the music. Everyone stands up, and your bride comes walking down the aisle. Ooh, it's a special moment. She's smiling ear to ear. You got snot and tears falling all out of your face. You're a hot mess, brother. Get your life together, right? She's walking down the aisle. Everyone's taking pictures, and ooh, she's so pretty. What would you do? Fellas, at the moment, your bride got right to the front row if your best man said, and then proceeded to mush you out of the face, push you out the way, grab your bride's arm, pull up to the pastor and said, let's run it, fellas. What y' all doing? I know what I'M doing. I'm throwing hands in the church, at the altar, in the tux. Five fold ministry. That was good. Fivefold ministry. Fist punch, y'. All. That would be crazy, right? Like, could you imagine that, like, in real life, right? Crazy. And yet, for those who are leaders, sometimes this is a picture of what happens when a person who should be introducing people to Jesus misses the assignment and begins drawing the attention and glory to themselves, as opposed to presenting the bride to the groom. Listen to me, family. John said that that joy is mine and that joy is complete now that Jesus is here. John was saying, I'm the best man. I'm not the guy. I am not the guy. I've been screaming make way for the coming of the Lord for years now. And he's here and my joy is complete. Here's what John understood. I want you to get this. He understood that by him stepping back, he wasn't losing anything. Decreasing didn't empty him. Decreasing actually completed him. And church, hear me when I tell you, we are the best man. The bride does not belong to us. The bride belongs to the groom. And that's why in this church, I don't know what church you came from or how you grew up, but in this house, that's why we gladly give up our seats for someone who's visiting for the first time. That's why we gladly park in the north lot across the street and we take a few extra steps to get in the room. Because there just might be a single mom with a car full of kids pulling up and she needs to be in this room to encounter God, not circling the parking lot for 20 minutes. That's what it means. That's what it means to get out the way and to put our preferences aside to make room for those to see the Lord. He must increase, I must decrease. Amen. Now, let me give y' all some practical ways of how to decrease, like starting right now. Y' all ready? I'm go through these real fast. Okay, here it is. Number one. I'm gonna give you seven. Number one, more silence and less scrolling. Because social media again. And I hate. I sound like a. Like a. The kids call me Unk. Like, Unk. I feel like an Unk talking about social media so much, but social media, all it does, it just feeds that engine. It feeds that little miniature pharaoh that we have in our heart. So we gotta dead that. That's why every Friday at Victory, all of our staff, all of our pastors, we Sabbath on Fridays. My family, we've been Sabbathing now for about seven years. Even before we came to victory and we shut everything down, we get silent. And in the silence, we're just. We're reminded of who he is and who we are not. Amen. Slow down on the scrolling. More silence. Number two, choose obscurity over attention, ma'. Am. Put the dang money in the tip jar and drive off with your coffee. Yo, would it be crazy if she was in the service right now? I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I gotta keep going. I. Number three, Celebrate others often and intentionally. Like, celebrate people, Right? That is a simple way to kind of reflect the light. Get in the habit of reflecting the light and not absorbing it. It's hard to stand on a pedestal that you've already given to someone else. Come on, somebody. Number four, choose humility in everyday moments. Right. Number five, receive Correction without defensiveness. Holy Spirit, activate. I'm gonna leave that one right there. All right, how about this one? Serve even when it's inconvenient. Right? That's what I'm talking. Giving up the seat. Parking in the north lot. Joining a serve team, man. Make room. Make room. Make room for people. And number seven, define your blind spots. All right, and on this last one. I gotta. Hurry up, y'. All. On this last. On this last one, I want to give y' all some homework. Y' all want some homework? Yes. Y' all lying, but I'm giving it to you anyway. Here's your homework. This week, I want you to find three people that are in your relational ecosystem. I ain't talking about three people that don't know you that well. I mean, three people that know you, Sarah. Three people that know you. And I want you to ask them this question this week. What is it like sitting on the other side of me? How do I show up in rooms? How do I show up to this relationship? Fellas, if you're brave enough, ask the wife. How do I show up to our marriage? How do I show up as a father? Ask your boss. Hey. Ooh. Thank you, Holy Spirit. I don't know who this is for. Some of you work for a. A boss that doesn't know the Lord. Maybe it's a very secular environment, but maybe they know you're a believer. I dare you to ask them how you show up, because they know you profess the name, but do you have a life that matches your profession? Ask the questions. Define it. Why? Because. Here's why. My wife. My wife says it's all. It's one of her quotes. I love It. You will never be able to defeat that which you're unwilling to define. So let's define it. And then whenever we get the feedback, don't get mad, don't get angry, but take it to the Lord and allow the Holy Spirit to give you the insight, the revelation, the courage and the humility to humble yourself before the Lord so we can get out of the way and let him do his thing. Amen. Because here's the. Here's the final thought, and then I'm done. We're gonna get out of here and beat the Baptist to the buffet. Come on, Jesus. Here it is, y'. All. One day you will stand before God, and you will have to give an account to him for this life you've lived. Now, you may not know this, but there are two judgment seats. Do you know that when we stand before God, there will be actually two moments of judgment? The first judgment seat is going to be. It's going to determine where we stand with Jesus as our savior. Right? That's going to separate those who have made Jesus Lord, and those who did not. Okay, so many of y'. All, you're gonna. You're gonna pass that test. Come on, somebody. But you're going to step right over to the next judgment seat, and this conversation is going to look different because you're not going to be judged for the faith that you did or did not put in Christ. You're going to be judged by the works that you did on the earth. And in that moment. Oh, my God. You hear me? Heaven will not be impressed by the platforms that you stood on. Heaven will not applaud your highlight reel. You will not get a high five for the businesses you built. You will not receive an atta boy or an atta girl for the following and the audience that you built. No. In that moment, the only work that is going to survive the fall fire of God's holiness. The Bible says that the elements of the earth will be burnt away, and the only work that will remain is whether the people who knew you walked away knowing him. That's it. That's it. So I'm not asking you as a pastor in this beautiful, amazing church that I love. I'm not asking you to do more. I'm actually asking you to consider doing less. Less performing less posturing, less protecting the version of you that you desire to be. Come on. Come down off of that throne that you were never meant to sit on in the first place. Hand the bride over to the groom. Let's make room for those who are far from God. Let's humble ourselves and get out of the way so that a broken, hurting world can see our good glorious God on full display. That, my friend, is the life that I want to live. And I pray that it's the life that you aspire to live as well. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you, Lord. With every head bowed, every eye closed. Listen, if you're here today, and if you don't know the Lord as your Savior, as your master, as, as, as if he is not the Lord of your life, can I tell you, that's the first step in this journey, Saying yes to His Lordship. And I want to give you the chance to do that. I'm going to count to three. And when I do, if you're here, and if you know that, you know that, you know that you're not right with God. I want you to lift your hand in just a moment and here it is. Number one. The Bible is clear. We all fall short of God's glory. All of us. All of us. We are all broken. The Bible says we are all like sheep who have gone astray. We don't have a shepherd. We're out in this life allowing life to happen to us. But the Bible says that Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly. True life that has purpose, that is rooted in the goodness of who Jesus is and what he's done. Number two, the Bible is clear. We all are sinful. But Jesus paid the price for your sin. The death that you deserve. That I deserve. He took it on himself. You imagine that the God of creation humbling himself to come to a broken world that he created, to breathe the very breath that he created and to die on a tree that he spoke into existence for you. So how are you going to respond, friend? Listen, I don't care who's sitting beside you, who brought you, their hands already going up. If you're here right now and you know I need this Savior that you're talking about. If that's you, here it is. 1, 2, 3. Just lift your hand right where you're at. Lift that hand up. High enough, high enough and long enough. I just want to see you. I see hands up all over this room. God bless you. God bless you. Entire families have their hands raised. God bless you. God bless you. You can put them down now. And I want to lead you in a prayer. And every spirit filled believer in this room is going to pray this prayer with you. Even if you're watching us online, we're going to pray this prayer with you. Come on, Victory. Let's open up our mouth. Say, God, it's me, and I've broken your heart. I know that I've broken your law, but I believe that my life can change. Jesus, you are the son of God. You died for my sin. You rose from the grave, and one day you will bring me home. So come into my heart, forgive my sin, heal my mind, and use me to shine your light in this dark and dying world. And I thank you that according to your word and by faith that I am saved. So thank you for loving me when I was unlovable. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Amen. Come on. I need about 11 people to say amen. Hallelujah.