Series Recap & Reflection | Who Am I

We are at the end of our message series called Who Am I? So pretty much from the start of this year, we've been in this series which the fundamental premise of it is asking, going over some of the really rudimentary truths that undergird our faith, basic truths. You know, if you're a new believer, this might be the first time you're hearing it. Or if you're a mature believer, you've been walking with God for a few decades, you know about this, but it's always good to be reminded of things like that. So these are 11 topics that we dealt with over the last three months. Asking the question where we stand in relation to that. And it's so easy for us to be done with a series and move on. We go on with our lives. We don't apply. I'm going to be talking about the why in just a little bit. But today what we wanted to do is we wanted to take some time to kind of revisit all of these truths that we've talked about over the last three months so that it can settle in our hearts and we can actually apply. Right? Yeah. Absolutely. So buckle up because this is going to be a three and a half hour service. No, I'm just kidding. We can't do that. So it's going to be brief. It's going to feel like a lot. It might feel like a fire hose because we're really going to try and work through briefly all 11 services. of the messages to remind you. And like Ajit said, I mean, ultimately what our church is so, so laser focused on is not just hearing God's word, but putting it into practice, allowing it to change our hearts, change our lives. And so if you've been here with us for the last 11 weeks, maybe there's some delayed obedience that you need to check in with the Lord on. There's some things, maybe it was on your prayer life, or maybe it was on what you treasure, that he was speaking to you and you haven't walked as far as he's called you to. He really prompted you to. This is a great time to look back to that and remember what he's already spoken and to try and move forward. But as well, we're hoping that you're going to hear the voice of God today. So you've got a sheet in front of you which has the big idea from every single sermon in the why and the road. And you're not gonna be able to get every detail of what we're sharing, and that's okay. That's not our expectation, so don't try and make that what you attempt to do. What we're hoping you do is to grab three things that God is really prompting in your heart. What are the three primary areas he's calling you to take a next step in? And when he prompts your heart during the service, We give you permission to check out and spend that time with him. Write it down on the sheet. There's space on the top of this to write down the three biggest areas God is really speaking to your heart in. And write it down. Commune with him. Pray even right then and ask him what he's calling you to do. And then at the end of the service, we're going to give you about five minutes to reflect on those three things specifically and ask the question, what are three tangible steps you can take to obey God's voice? So these are such vital parts of who we are as believers. And we want all of us to be able to take steps forward in that. Right. And I know folks are watching us online. There's a PDF document of this handout as well. So if you go to 180chicago.church slash whoami, you could access an electronic version of that and follow us online. Before we jump into these messages, I want to give you the why. Why do we do, why are we doing this? Maybe we could easily jump into the next sermon and then just move forward. But I want to give you the why directly from Scripture. It's from James 1, verses 21 onwards. It says, Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. He goes on, But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. So a few things that stand out to me in this verse. The first one is, you know, if you go to the next slide, it says, receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your soul. So it just shows the importance of what we're dealing with. We're not dealing just with another book, just with a novel that we just read for leisure, recreation. James is saying what you're encountering in God's Word is stuff that saves your souls. Your soul is online, you know, in effect. And so that's the kind of posture. And he says, receive with humility when you are dealing with God's Word. And then he goes, but be doers of the Word, not hearers only. And this gets me. Deceiving yourselves. So there's a deception that's involved where if you think you can just hear the word of God and you're okay, you're good with God because you were just here at church listening to God's word. That doesn't, unfortunately. I wish that was the case, but unfortunately it isn't, right? So we could have a false confidence that we're on the right track just because we hear something, right? But that's not what the scripture is saying. We can't have a false sense of where we are in our spiritual journey. We can't think that we're fine just because we heard something. But if there isn't, well, we got to obey, apply. And that's what brings about transformation in our walks with God. And then he uses an analogy that we're all familiar with. He says, hey, you know, if anyone is a hearer of word and not a doer, you're like a man, you're like a person. You go, you look at your face in a mirror, and then you forget everything. what you looked like. It's just so applicable. I'm sure there's no one in this room who leaves your house without looking at the mirror, right? We don't forget what we look like. You know, ironically, a couple of weeks ago, I was just about to go to church, and I was saying bye to my kids. I think I was coming downtown, and my kids and my wife, they were going to the Northwest Campus, and my daughter, five-year-old, she laughs at me. She's like, Dad, you look funny. I'm like, okay. She goes, you've got two hairs sticking out. You're a rabbit. And then she's like, well, let me help you with that. And I thought it was so sweet. So she came up to me and then tried to fix my hair. And then I did go in and look. I was like, whoa. I'm glad she actually spotted that. How did I, you know, not spot that one? So we go and look at ourselves to make sure that we're prim and proper. But here in this analogy, mirror represents scripture, right? So it shows your spiritual condition. It's a diagnostic and gives you an accurate reflection of who you are. And James is saying if you look at scripture and you don't do it, you're like a person who looks at yourself in a mirror and then forgets how you look like. There's research that supports that. This as well, just the importance of applying it, because if you just hear something and don't act on it, your brain is also wired to forget it. German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus, he pioneered the experimental study of memory, and he shows that people forget about 50% of what they hear, within an hour. 50% of what you hear, you forget within an hour. So if you can go to that graph, so you could see, it's called the forgetting curve. So you go straight down within 20 minutes, you've forgotten 40% of what you've heard. And then within an hour, 50% of what you've heard. And then by seven days, I mean, if 10% of you remember, that's a big deal. I remember once, You know, Pastor Steven and I, we used to meet, this was before he joined 180. We used to meet every Tuesday morning at 630, you know, for about three years. There was one time, you know, we just sat there and he goes, hey, how was church this Sunday? What did you preach on? So I preached that Sunday. And he's like, what did you preach on? And I blanked out. I go, I don't remember what I preached on right now. It's like, Stephen, give me some time. I got to remember. You know, this is the embarrassing, right? So if I can preach and forget within a day how much more all of us when we listen You know, we just go to our parking lots. We've got, you know, we've got to think about lunch. We've got to think about a lot of other things that we don't forget. But think about this. God's word says there isn't any transformation if we don't act on it, right? So how much more should we really... exercise our spiritual muscles, our memory muscles to be able to do that. So that's what we're going to do. Again, as Pastor Stephen said, you have permission. If God is speaking to you, just write down, you know, what are the three biggest areas God is calling you to take the next step? And we're not expecting you to hear all of it. We just want this to be a collective spiritual workout with all of us, but it's between you and God. We want God to show the things that you need to Apply in your life and hopefully put that into practice this week. So let's go. You guys ready? All right, let's go. By the way, we have a timer here, so we're all set, you know, to keep it brief. All right. So the first one, the question is, am I a Christian? And bear with me. I've lost my voice a bit. You're like, well, of course. Yeah, you didn't need to say that. But so you can be praying for my voice throughout this as well. But hey, the question is, am I a Christian? And this is vital. If you guys have been at 180 for any amount of time, you know that part of the biggest concern in our hearts is that our people not get caught up in the current of cultural Christianity. It doesn't cost a whole lot in our country to claim yourself to be a believer. But to say it is different than actually having the identity of a believer because it's not just a label you give yourself. It's an actual identity because of the transformation that happens within your heart. Only believers who have not just professed Jesus as Lord, but have really surrendered their lives and have been reborn are genuine Christians. You know, in the original context, in the Roman Empire, people were called Christians. It was like a derogatory phrase, not because they raised their hand and said that this was the group they were with, but it was because of how they lived their lives. They were little Christs. They were those who follow Christ. which is why they were called Christians. And so this is costly allegiance. In the Roman Empire, if you proclaim Jesus was Lord, it meant that Caesar was not Lord, which is what everyone else in the empire was required to confess. So as a genuine believer with Paul in 2 Corinthians 5.17, we say, So when you look at your life, have you experienced that genuine transformation? It all starts here. if you don't have this foundation laid as much as you might be able to grab some really helpful things from the rest of the 10 things we're going to share it starts here are you a genuine believer and follower of jesus in luke 9 23 jesus invites us into a relationship not just of profession but of following him as a disciple if anyone would come after me he says let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me jesus doesn't want admirers or consumers or mere professors of belief he calls us to be followers and so the big idea for this sermon is being born again is not a prayer you repeat it's a miracle that god performs he gives us a new heart new nature new direction and you don't just believe new things, you become somebody who is new. And so if you're seeing a change of direction in your life, not perfection, but a change of direction that is coming from a spiritual rebirth, you can have assurance and confidence of who you are in Christ. Or why on the road in this section is the question is not merely am I a Christian, but am I a follower of Jesus? Have I turned from my sin and entrusted myself fully to him? Not just for forgiveness, but for complete leadership over my life. The second message in this series was, am I committed to sanctification? And just as Pastor Steven said, when you become a Christian, when you give God the lordship of your life, it's just the start of your journey. The goal of sanctification is to be a Christian. Is Christlikeness where we become like Jesus? This is what Wayne Grudem, theologian, defines what sanctification is. Sanctification is a progressive work of God in believers that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives. And you see that reflected in Titus 2, verse 12-14. It says, for the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people. So God's grace saves us. If you've trusted in Jesus, you're saved. But it doesn't stop there. It goes, so not just saves us, but goes training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives today. In this present age. So if you're really believers, followers of Jesus, God wants us to be in this path of sanctification. And I love this graph chart that we did. If you could go to that chart. Which kind of tracks our journey. So this is our sanctification journey. So when you gave your life to Jesus, you are positionally sanctified. That's when you start your journey. And then the journey doesn't end until... We go to be with the Lord. So that's at the end here. That's ultimate sanctification. This is not about perfection because we won't be completely free from the presence of sin until we're with Jesus. But there is this trajectory that God wants us to follow. And as you look at this, the trajectory is upward where we say no to our flesh, to our worldly desires, things that are invariants to what God's Word says, and we say yes to the things of God. So we might fall, you know, there might be, you know, circumstances where we don't reflect Christ as much as we need to, but that's an opportunity for growth, where we grow upward. And this is what 1 Thessalonians 4 says, A lot of times we wonder what is God's will for our lives. Here's a direct quote from scripture. For this is the will of God, your sanctification. That you abstain from sexual immorality. That each of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor. Not in the passions of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. And then verse 7 goes, for God has not called us for impurity. But in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not man, but God who gives his Holy Spirit to you. So the why in the road for this message is, am I, are you actively participating in the transformation Jesus is working in you? Or are we just staying comfortable where we are? All right. Next one is the question, am I unashamed? Are you unashamed of the gospel? Are you unashamed of Jesus? Are you unashamed of his word? Paul says it this way in Romans 1.16. He says, for I am unashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile. The reason that Paul can be unashamed of the gospel is because it is the very power of God in the only way that salvation comes. And so we do not have to have shame over what it is, who Jesus is, no matter what people think of him, or how counter-cultural he And unfitting people think he and his ways are in this world because of who he is and what we know the power of the gospel truly has. Jesus says this as well in Matthew 10, 32-33. He says, who is in heaven. Now, just to be clear, we can all fall into places like Peter did. So this is not talking about a one-time slip. And if you ever denied Jesus once or have any sort of shame that you're done, he's gonna deny you before his father in heaven. But what characterizes your life? Are you ashamed of the gospel? Are you ashamed of Christ? Or are you like the disciples in Acts 5, who after they were beaten and suffered persecution by the religious leaders, rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus? That should characterize our lives because of who Jesus is and what he's done for us. And we're gonna be different. To be sanctified literally means to be set apart. So as we become more like Jesus, we're gonna be less like the world, which means the world is gonna look at us like we're different because we are. and we're supposed to be, but we should stand firm in who Jesus has called us to be, being set apart from the world and set apart for his purposes, and you can stand in utter confidence. Shame is choosing to hide or distance yourself from Jesus. Because of the gospel, you are secure in Christ, and that identity frees you to live boldly and unashamed in all areas of your life. We don't have to fear man or what they think about us or what they're gonna say. or if you're going to lose a job or a relationship, we stand firm because of who Jesus is, and you can do so confidently. So the why on the road for this section is the question, where might I be choosing comfort, image, control over boldly identifying with Jesus? The next one that we talked about was the question, Am I abiding? And to me, this is one of the most important ones that we can really live out because it has an impact on how we actually live day to day. I grew up in India, a very pluralistic society. So everywhere I go, there's Hindus, there's Muslims, people trying to earn God's favor. trying to earn God's approval. And this truth is one that really sets apart Christianity from all other religions in the world. And this is it. The foundational posture of Christianity is not one of burden or frenetic activity or striving, but it's resting in the finished work of Jesus. Here is Jesus' invitation for us in Matthew 11. Jesus says, come to me all... So the big idea of this sermon is, You'll see in your handout it says, abiding is the life-changing invitation of our relational God in which we acknowledge that our transformation to be more like Jesus is only made possible in seeking him as our source of life and growth. In John 15, this is what Jesus says. He says, I am the vine and you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he He it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. Then the question remains, how do we actually abide? And this is where spiritual disciplines come in. Reading the Bible. prayer, these are not meant to be checklists where we earn God's grace, where we earn God's approval, or where we try to prove ourselves to God. These are practices that promote communion with Him, where our faith becomes real, dynamic, and it thrives because of our relationship with Him. So the why in the road for this is, which of the disciplines below are you committing to practice this month? Prayer, reading, fasting, silence, solitude, where we focus on God and remove distractions that are always around us. Confession, worship, or rest. Abiding is key to a thriving relationship with Jesus. Amen. And as Jesus said, apart from me, you can do nothing. So one of the primary ways that we abide in him is through a relationship of prayer. So we ask the question, am I a person of prayer? Charles Spurgeon says, prayer is the natural out gushing of a soul in communion with Jesus. For me personally, for my walk with the Lord, and I think it's true for us in general, often the health of our prayer life is a really good indicator of the health of our spiritual life in general. Because when we are desperate for the Lord, when we desire to be with him, we're going to speak with him. We're going to sit in his presence. You know, if there's anybody who didn't need to pray, it was Jesus. And yet we see with Jesus, he was a person of prayer because it was a showing of what his eternal relationship with his father was like. They existed in perfect communion with one another. And so he continued in that relationship when he was on the earth. So how much more do we need that as well? We want to follow in his footsteps. In Mark 135, it says, in rising very early in the morning while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place. And there he prayed. So Jesus withdrew. He had public ministry. He had much to do. He had to disciple the 12 and the 72. But all of this flowed from his personal relationship with his father in the prayer closet. So, are you praying in your need? Are you praying for your work? Are you praying in the midst of your fear? Are you praying when you're tempted? Do you pray to commune with God? One of my professors at Moody, Dr. Thrasher says, when we're tempted, we use temptation as an invitation for conversation with God. So the very weaknesses and sins and shortcomings and struggles that we have are often what can lead us away from God. But what if we flip the script and say in the areas where I see my weakness, I'm going to be triggered to immediately go to the Lord in those. Man, I can give you testimony. It is powerful when you use your weaknesses in that way. So prayer is an essential part of following Jesus. To follow him is to depend on the Father, bringing every need, decision, fear, and desire into an ongoing relationship with God. And this is why as well, guys, for the worship and prayer night tomorrow night, we're focusing on depending on him and being desperate for him. Because man, do we depend. need him. The why on this road for this section is am I living dependent on God through prayer or trying to navigate life on my own? Another way to abide in God is dwelling on his word so the next question is am I a student of the word and this is absolutely critical because if we are followers a disciple of Jesus if we say Jesus is the Lord of our lives fundamentally the word disciple means a learner a follower so we become like Jesus and we saw The goal of sanctification is Christ-likeness. Then the question remains, if we actually don't know what Jesus did or how he wants us to live through his word, which is the only way we know about God, is how do we even become the disciple that Jesus wants us to be? And that's why reading the word is so critical. It's not, I mean, it gets a bad rap because it's more of like, it's a chore that I want to, you know, I mean, growing up. Man, I didn't get my breakfast. My mom wouldn't have me have my breakfast if I don't read three verses that morning. So I had to, whether I liked it or not, read three verses or else I'm going to go hungry that morning. Nikki, write that one down. We're going to start doing that with Ezra. But the problem with that is it becomes a chore, it becomes a checklist, something that we need to do instead of it being something that helps us abide in Jesus. So we saw that the Bible primarily is purposeful to make us complete and equipped And it helps us in our spiritual transformation. That is the goal of these scriptures where we become more like Jesus as we read the word. I want to just give you three verses just from one passage alone. In John 14, this is the week before Jesus is crucified, and so he's talking to his disciples. And I want to just underscore just the importance of not just reading, but following, obeying God's word, which is what we're trying to do with this sermon. So in John 14, remember, this is just one passage. John 14, 15 goes, Jesus says, if you love me, You will keep my commandments. You will obey my commandments. So he's saying, well, if you're in a relationship with me, if I'm the Lord of your life, you've given your life to me, and you claim to love me, you'll obey my commands. Straight from his words. And then verse 21 of the same chapter. It says, whoever has my commandments and keeps them, heed his who loves me. So a way to know if we really do love Jesus is are we obeying God's word and following the lifestyle that God has for us. And he who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and manifest myself to him. And then John 14, 23 and 24, just two verses later, Jesus says again, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him. And we will come to him and make our home with him. Then he goes, whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine, but the Father who sent me. So the big idea of this sermon is a student of God's word reads scripture and is shaped by it. With humility and obedience, they seek to understand. To live it and let it transform every part of their life. So the why and the road. What would need to change in your day-to-day life to become a student of God's word? The next one is the question, am I living in step with the Spirit? In that same chapter, in the upper room discourse, Jesus, on the night that he's betrayed, the day he goes before the cross, one of the primary things that he's focusing on with his disciples is the coming of the Holy Spirit. Because he is the one who guides and equips us and who even recalls to our minds what we have learned in the scripture. So, my living and step with the spirit, Galatians 5.16, Paul says this, he says, but I say, walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. It even continues on to say, for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. For they're opposed to one another to keep you from doing the things you want to do. So the question isn't just, am I relying on the spirit or am I relying on myself? Am I trying to take control or am I trusting in God? But it's who are you following? Are you following the Holy Spirit and his voice in you? Are you following your flesh? Is it your desires or the desires and the will of God that are directing your life? God's presence is within you. One of the greatest blessings of the new covenant that we have as a result of Jesus' death on the cross is that we have the Holy Spirit within us. Even in Ezekiel 36, in the Old Testament prophecy of the new covenant, he says he's going to put his spirit within us and he's going to cause us to walk in his statutes and to keep his ordinances. We can't do it on our own. We need the spirit to empower us to do even what we're learning in the word. So are you living in step with the spirit? Following Jesus means living in step with the spirit and turning away from our old desires. The fruit of the spirit is the evidence of a life surrendered to Christ and empowered by him. If you're like me as well, maybe the spiritual health or your spiritual health can be indicated by how patient you are. For me, I see it. When I'm at home and I don't feel like I'm in the best place with the Lord, I'm less patient with Ezra and Shiloh in situations that I normally would be. So when we're not exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, we take a step back and say, Lord, where am I walking in the flesh rather than the Spirit? Where do I need to turn from desires that are even leading me down a path where the fruit is not being produced because I'm relying on myself rather than you? So the why on the road for this section is where in my life do I need to embrace my new identity and let the spirit guide my thoughts, actions, and relationships? This is vital, guys. The next one is also another core identity marker of our walk with God. The message was, am I a servant? The big idea of this message is following Jesus means becoming a servant. True service flows from a heart shaped by Christ, putting others first, loving sacrificially, and living out Christ's example in everyday life. In 2 Corinthians 5.15 says, It says, and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. So Jesus died for us so that we who live, we don't live just for ourselves, but for others. And this is an identity marker that God gives us. This is not something that Jesus is expecting us to follow without him doing that himself. We're imitating the radical self-sacrificial model that Jesus set for us in Mark 10, 45. If there was a purpose statement for why Jesus came into this world, this is it. It says, for even the Son of Man came not to be served. but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. The culture that we live in and just the way we are, we're intrinsically self-centered beings. I know that even more so if I didn't believe that. Now that I have my kids, you know, five years and three years old, I'm like, where do you learn this stuff? Why can't you just share? We are not teaching you all of these crazy things. Where do you get this from? Because it's intrinsically, we're more self-centered. We want stuff for ourselves. And that's what the world, that's the messaging of the world, right? Survival of the fittest. You go and get it. There's no one who's going to have your back. You got to do that. This is where we could really stand out from the world when we start to serve one another, when we know that our rights might be infringed on, but then we go, instead of claiming our rights in very... It could be a situation where you're at the grocery store and someone cuts ahead of you in line. What is your response? Do you want to reflect the love? Do we want to reflect the love of Jesus and be a servant in scenarios like that? Because that's what's going to go, you're different. Why are you different? And you can talk to what Jesus has done for you in your life. So the why in the road for this is, where in my relationships am I holding back from serving Jesus? out of pride, comfort, unforgiveness, rather than exercising the servant love of Jesus. Amen. As a result of our tendency or our natural inclination to be self-centered, we also have to ask the question, am I treasuring God above all else? We are all treasure chasers. God designed us to be this way. So the question is not whether we will pursue treasure, but what kind of treasure we are in pursuit of. Every human heart is wired to seek something of ultimate value. John Calvin said our hearts are perpetual idol factories. The only real question then is where we aim the affections of our heart. Jesus says this in the Sermon on the Mount. It's one of my favorite heart-piercing passages to help me, to help others that I'm walking with, to get under the surface of their heart to see really what they're treasuring, what they're focusing on, what they're living for, what they're loving, what they're serving, what they're devoted to, and ultimately what we're worshiping. Jesus says this. He says, do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys or where thieves break in and steal. For, this is why, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So if we're treasuring the things of this world, our heart is going to be disjointed and disconnected from treasuring the one who is not of this world. So what are we treasuring? What are we placing our focus on? What I love in that passage as well in the Sermon on the Mount is immediately after he goes through this part, he says, therefore, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat and what you will drink, because often what we worry about is a revealer of what we worship. When we are worried about something in a not healthy way, I'm not talking about like, is my child going to be saved? Are they going to walk in the faith? Like, not that sort of worry. But when we worry about things that we really ought not to, it reveals what we worship in our hearts, what we give our affection to, what we're trusting in instead of God, what we're desiring instead of God. And so we have to listen to his voice in that. If this is the part where you really feel like the Lord is speaking to you, go to that passage, read Matthew 6, and the rest of the chapter. It is so heart-piercing in the most beautiful way. The big idea for this section is where our treasures are shows where and what our hearts truly follow. Kingdom-oriented living reorients our possessions, our passions, and our giving towards eternal impact rather than temporary gain. Because we're focused upward and outward rather than inward. The why and the road for this section is do my daily decisions and how I spend my time, treasure, and talent, the three T's, do they reflect God's priorities or my own? The next one is a message that I would never forget ever in my life for a couple of reasons. Am I living for God is the question that we were asking. The first one is because it's just such a pleasure to have our campus director from the Northwest Campus, Scott Fowle. He was here. By the way, there's a QR code here that kind of takes you to all of the messages, the YouTube videos of this. So if you want to listen to any of this, you can always go back and listen. And Scott was here sharing his testimony of how Even though he gave his life to Jesus at a very young age, all that his focus was was on money. And for 43 years of his life, that's what he focused on. And he made it real big, you know. He was very successful in his life. And at the end of his journey, as he was about to retire, he goes... Is this what life's all about? There's something missing. And Scott goes, you know, I'm going to stand before God on judgment day, and I have nothing to show for from an eternal perspective other than, you know, just coming to church. So he goes, I got to do something about it. And that was so reflective. That resonated with me deeply because a lot of our The American dream is we want to have money. We want to work hard. We want to get more. We want to have a great house. But all of these things do pass away. Our time in this earth is very short. And I had a real-life demonstration of this the morning I was going to preach this sermon. Because as I was going to the Northwest Campus, a lady, you know, she... She ran a red light and t-boned me, and I'm still amazed how the car was completely destroyed, and I'm amazed how I got out of that wreck without any visible external injuries. I was bleeding, so I was actually able to get to church and be able to preach alongside with Scott, but it was a great reminder that our life is not in our hands. As much as we think we've got this, we're going to you know, it's okay. And I think the thing about this accident that really struck me was I could do everything right because I was, you know, I was following the rules. I wasn't doing anything illegal, you know, wrong. And then I was, I didn't even see this person come and hit me and my favorite car is gone. Thankfully I'm good, you know, but that's how fickle life is. So this is especially, I want to talk to a lot of our young folks here. Now is the time. To follow Jesus. Because if you think I'm going to go make it in the world. I'm going to work. Get a lot of money and then follow Jesus. Unfortunately we don't have that promise. We don't know what's going to happen to us. Today when we go out of church. And so we want to. The best investment that we can leave. Is to invest in our eternal future. Invest. In our relationship with Jesus. And this is what James 4 says. It says, come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit. Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. So the why in the road for this one is, do you have any priorities or pursuits in your life? that are distracting you from serving God, and if I may add, from following God fully, the best investment that you can make is investing in your relationship with God. And now is the time to do that. Amen. And our last one, can you believe it? We've made it to the last one. I feel like we've been sprinting. The last question is, am I a disciple? And this relates again to even where we started. We don't want you to just profess your belief in Jesus and raise a hand and come to services and do the Christian things and check the boxes. We want you to follow Jesus, to really listen to him, to seek him with all that you are. And as you learn from him, to apply what he's teaching you because the goal of discipleship is to become more like Jesus and to make disciples. He doesn't just want disciples, he wants disciple makers. In the great collaboration, we see this in Matthew 28, 18 through 20. He says, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. And behold, I will be with you even to the end of the age. Jesus is not just sending us out to go and work for him. He's saying, come and join me in the work that I'm doing. All authority has been given to King Jesus in the way that his rule and his reign is spread on this earth is by bringing people to believe in him and to surrender to him and to give the throne of their heart over to the true king. That's what he's calling us into. Are you ready to become a disciple maker? Are you ready to truly take up the call to follow Jesus as a disciple, not just as an attender of church, not just as a reader of your scripture, but as a follower of Jesus? The great motivation behind this is our love of God. We receive God's love poured out for us most clearly through Jesus on the cross. We respond to his love with all of our heart, soul, mind, soul, and strength. And then we reflect his love out into the world by loving others just as Jesus has loved us. We need to cast our eyes upon Calvary day after day and remember what he's done because the great motivation for doing the work of Jesus is his love for us and responding by our love for him. If it's not coming from a heart of love for Jesus, anything we do for him is ultimately going to burn out. And the last thing is the great multiplication. Jesus doesn't just want church attenders. He doesn't even just want disciples. He wants disciple makers. Who are you pouring into in your life right now? You don't have to be a scholar. You don't have to have a PhD in New Testament studies or anything like this in order to be qualified to do this. I think of the woman at the well. who knew that Jesus was the Christ. He knew everything about her, and yet he still called her into relationship. And she was perfectly prepared for the work that God had planned for her that day. She didn't need anything more. She couldn't have anything less. She was perfectly prepared. And so too are you. God's calling you to make disciples by bringing someone else where he's already brought you. Not just with your lips, but with your lives, leading people into becoming more like Jesus. This is what it's about. This isn't just a me and a pastor a JIT thing. We need you guys to be pouring into one another and making disciples within our church body and in your workplace as well. This is how we reach the world. This is how we change our culture in our country by welcoming people into the lordship of Jesus as disciples. Everyone deserves a fair shot at hearing the gospel. Discipleship is a partnership with God to step into his mission, reaching people where they are and multiplying the gospel through intentional obedience and relationship. And so the last why on the road that we'll head on is, are you willing to join God in his extraordinary mission of disciple-making? Not just convert-making, disciple-making. When we have somebody that we're pouring into who accepts Jesus as their Savior, that's not the mountaintop. That's the bottom of the foothill that we now walk with them towards Christ. Who is in your sphere of influence that hasn't yet heard the good news? And how might God be calling you to reach them? So here's what we're going to do now. We're going to take some time to reflect, to really search our hearts and see what God is asking us to do. What are three tangible steps you can take to obey God's voice. God is here. God is speaking to our hearts. And so what we want to do is we're not going to do a song at the end. We're just going to take maybe five minutes or so of silence where it's just between you and God. We want to build this habit of not just being a hearer, but a doer who acts. And someone who acts is blessed. for that. And to see real transformation in our lives, we want to apply God's word today. So it's just between you and God. You can take notes. You can pray. You can commune with God. We're just going to be in silence. It's going to be a light vamp. And then at the end of it, we're just going to pray and close. But just think deeply as to what God is calling you to do. Do you have anything to add, Stephen? The Lord is speaking to you. Act upon it. Don't allow, like it says in Hebrews, the deceitfulness of sin to harden your heart. God is so gracious to us, and if he's pointing something out, he's poking you in the side, he's confronting you, you're feeling conviction, know that this is a gracious, loving work of your Father. He's not trying to put you to shame or condemn you. He is calling you into greater relationship, into fullness of life as you follow his way rather than the ways of the world that little by little he shows in our heart, not to just point at them, but to remove them so we can walk with him more intimately, experience his life more fully, and be the most powerful witnesses that we can be to a world that desperately needs Jesus. So we're going to do five minutes of this reflection. Five minutes is a long time. So let's just really focus our hearts on God and see what he says to us. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. God, we just thank you for this time. God, we just want to thank you for what you've done for us, God. You sent your son to die on the cross so we have eternal life. But not just for eternity, but even just life in abundance in the present, God. You want us to really live a victorious Christian life, God. And you've made a way for us. And God, even as we encountered your truth and your word through this message series, Father, we really want to be not just a hearer of the word, but a doer that acts. And we know that without your grace, without your empowerment, without your guidance, without your leading, we can't do that as well. And Father, I just pray for every person. I don't know what they've written down, the three tangible steps that they're going to take to obey your voice. God, I pray even as they've taken a step towards you, would you show up for them, God? Would you bless them for obeying your word? And let that cause this ripple effect, this snowball effect of even just realizing how awesome and what a privilege it is to be able to live every day with you. To abide in you. And not just go on with life, be it at work, be it at home, whatever we're doing. Detached from you, God. We just want to build this constant communion, a life that is completely aligned with you and devoted to you. We ask you to make it happen for us, Father. I ask you to bless each and every one of those who have committed to doing your word. Do a sweet work in our hearts. We give you all glory, honor, and praise. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.