What You're A Part Of - Matt Reagan

Mission Church, how y'all doing? Good to see you. Good to see you.

My name is Matt Reagan. I am a pastor from Louisville,

Kentucky, 5-kid dad, and I'm just glad to be here, man.

I'm good friends with Landon. I have loved he and Bree for a long time.

Got a sweet season when they were figuring things out. My wife and I got

to be in their lives in a powerful way. And I kind of get to

just sneak in the back every once in a while and just pray some ninja

prayers over you. You don't even know they're coming. And I've just been watching

God do impossible things and I just love this place. And so I've been hanging

out. I'm a people person. So I've been hanging out with people, meeting people.

As a matter of fact, my son came. I won't give you the whole story

today, but my son came to GCU right down

the road all the way from Louisville. We were like, are you sure? And he

is like, yeah. So he came and we sent him and I'll say it

like this. He came thinking he was an atheist. I don't know

if any of your kids have ever run from the Lord. I'm sure that I'm

the only person that that's ever happened to. But he was pretty

sure he was an atheist. And then God just literally just showed

up powerfully in his life. And I was just like, man, Lord,

who's there? Who's going to— and all of a sudden I get this text from

Landon. And Landon— and it's a picture of him and Noah, my oldest,

sitting down together. And he's like, I got your dude, man. And so I

was just like, oh my guy. And I love it. Who is

going to be an atheist is now a pastor in San Diego. So that's how

that works. Yeah. Yeah. And it's

just a big family and I'm excited to spend some time

with you. I just— this is going to kind of be a sermon, kind of.

I'm going to share some stories of what God's doing in me and through me

and around the world. And it's also going to be kind of an encouragement to

you to be who you were made to be, to step in fully, to like

that half-hearted is no longer on the table for any of us right now.

I really believe that. I don't know what you think when you see me,

but you probably think Man, pastors, they kind

of grow up, they have it all together. I just need you to know that's

not my story. I'm sure that's somebody else's story, but I grew up in the

hood. I grew up in an inner city project. I'm the only one from

my 2 parents. Both of them had families before. My dad was a Special Forces

Vietnam vet, and we were just broken. Anybody start off with a

broken story? Can I hear you? Like, that was us.

And I'm just here to tell you, I'm only standing here because the radical grace

of Jesus came through and somebody back in the day, I was like, I was

a pup, man. Somebody was bold enough to grab my

mom and say, you got to come to this thing called the Billy Graham— I

forget what they called it— evangelism outreach thing. And my mom was like,

I've tried everything. I'll give it a shot. She went by herself.

She sat in the back and they were talking about Jesus. And as she sat

there, she could just feel the love of God for the first time in a

powerful way. And my mom, man, she did. She went down and

she just responded. She was like, I would do anything. For that kind of love.

And as she went forward, she was like, just tell me what to do.

And they're like, okay, how many of you would do good with this advice?

And they were like, okay, just spend half an hour in prayer, half an hour

in, you know, like studying your Bible and getting a local church. You're going to

be great. And that's all she had walking out the door.

At least that's what she thought was all she had walking out the door.

But what she had was the Holy Spirit in her chest. And because of that,

when I grew up, I grew up to a mom who, when I would come

down, I kind of crawl out and things were crazy and we had cops in

the house and all that kind of stuff. But my mom was like this radiant

light, man. She was just glowing, just this

Jesus-ness in her. I remember sneaking down because I was kind

of the kid that the other kids weren't so sure about because I was kind

of the golden child and I was the youngest. I'd crawl down and I'd literally

peek into where my mom was meeting with God. And it just— I literally,

just from being in the room, could feel his love, could feel his presence.

And so I grew up with that. And so, man,

from there, life was hard,

difficult, beautiful. I think that's all of us. It's like, man, I know God's called

me and I know he's doing this stuff. So I just kind of hop in

and I'm like, okay, I'm figuring this out, but I kind of got a broken

family and I've got a lot of baggage and I'm trying to figure it out

and I'm navigating life. And as I grew up and as I kept pursuing

Jesus, I started running into things that I didn't know where to put.

And so some of it was like, man, God, I'm giving my best.

I'm trying to, I'm showing up at church and I'm changing my friend group

and I'm still trying to be intentional. I'm doing and I'm doing, I'm doing.

And it was this wild thing where in life, my life, my Christian life,

I don't know if it was you, but started getting really busy with Christian stuff.

And literally I was like, man, this is great. I'm here for it. And I

don't know how to explain it. And maybe you've been here before,

but I feel like I was starting to recognize that my Christian life

was busy and I was doing good stuff, but it was starting to feel like

it was stuff on the outside. And I was wondering, I just I just remember

praying to God, God, I wish I could change this thing.

I wish I could change my heart and I wish I could change my appetites

and I wish I could change the way that I think and the way that

I feel and this brokenness inside of me. And I just remember feeling like,

man, I want to do this stuff, but I read

scripture, man, and I see people that came to know you and something

happened on the inside and it just transformed us. And I just remember saying,

God, man, I want that, man. Like, I want to know you.

Like, I want to know you. I don't want to just clean up my mouth

and clean up. I don't want to not cuss and not chew and not date

girls that do. Like, I just, I want to move with

you. Like, I want, if you have something available, and that's what, when I

read scripture, that's what I see. I want that thing, man. And so I started

reading and there's a season in my life and I just remember the Lord just

started, I'm kind of unpacking and I started, God's word was like,

it took me a while. I don't know how you were. But everybody's like,

oh, just read his word. It's going to be great. I'd get to his word

and I was like, I'm bored out of my mind right now, man. And I'm

like, it took me a while to like figure out how I learn in scripture.

And I had to like make a commitment to sit down. But as I started

reading his word, I just, it just started just like things started popping off the

page, right? Like this is how this works. As that started to happen and this

guy said, hey man, I'd love to walk you through Romans. I was like,

that's great. Because, you know, you know, so he starts walking me through Romans and,

I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't know that Romans was the most

catalytic book ever written on the planet that I specifically didn't know as we started

leaning into Romans chapter 8, that Romans 8 was the most catalytic revival passage

Romans 8 · chapter mention

in all of history. It formed the great reformers. I won't be nerdy and list

them all off, but Luther and Hus and all these reformers, it was like they

got to Romans 8 and it was like Romans 1 through 7. If you haven't

read it, I'm sure Landon's taught about it. It's like all this stuff. It's like

this is what faith is. And it's like the cognitive side of faith. This is

what this looks like. This is what it means to follow. But then you get

to the end of 7 and Paul says, hey man, but I

have this thing at work in me, man. It's this thing inside of me where

it's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.

But man, in my heart,

man, I do the thing I don't want to do. And I'm

like, and who's going to— and he literally says, who will rescue me from this

body of death, man? I've got all this stuff and I don't know how to

fix it, man. So Romans 8 leans into then, if you ever

read it, it's so beautiful. But I was studying and I just started reading and

all of a sudden, again, I didn't know at the time,

I didn't know that Paul is about to introduce life in the Spirit, that he's

going to literally use the Spirit 17 times. He's just going to put on a

demonstration of what it means to, like what has really been bought by the

precious blood of Jesus, that it's not just the cross saying this is God's love

and he's always loved you and And so now you come and he loves you

so much. Now you should try harder to please him.

But that because the extravagant love of a father who loved you, he sent

his one and only son. He died on a cross to literally pay for our

sins, reconcile us, pour out his favor. And this

is always his heart for you.

And then we— and I just started reading through and

I just started reading passages like this. And if the Spirit of him who raised

Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Christ from the

dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives

in you. And I started recognizing that it wasn't just like, God,

thank you for what you've done. I'll try to take it from here. That it

was like, oh God, thank you for what you've done. And now Father,

I want this Holy Spirit that you've put in my chest to

do like you said, you said like the same power

that raised Jesus from the dead, that reanimated his body

and brought him back to life, that that same power is at work in me,

man, you're going to have to help me because I don't see it. So then

I just start diving into scripture and that's where you go. And I just start

reading like John 14 and he is like, hey, if you love me, you're going

to obey my commands. I'm like, I'm trying, man. And I will ask the Father

and he will give another advocate, one of the same kind that he was going

to give something like to the degree of what Jesus was to the disciples,

that the Holy Spirit was going to be something for us filling us and fueling

us. And he says he's going to be your advocate. He's going to fight for

you. He's going to lead you and he's going to be with you forever.

He's the Spirit of truth. It's like the world cannot accept

him. Why? Because there hasn't been a way until they accept the precious blood.

There's not a way for the Spirit to come until we receive the sacrifice

of Jesus and say, I claim you. But the second that happens,

he starts to live in you and be in you. And I started seeing things

like John 16. Jesus says, it's better for you that I go. And if I'm

the disciples, I'm like, no, it's not, bro. I would rather you be right here.

Stick around. You're actually kind of a deal, Jesus.

But he says, no, no, no, because here's what's going to happen. If I go,

then my Father is going to send the Holy Spirit and y'all don't know

what's coming. Acts chapter 2, he gets in front of a bunch of people

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and they hear the message and they're like, man, if that's God and that's who

loved and that's what happened at the cross, then what do we need to do?

In Acts chapter 2, he says, here's what you need to do. You need to

Acts 2 · chapter mention

repent. You need to believe the good news about Jesus. And you'll

receive what? The gift of the Holy Spirit.

And I just started digging through scripture and I was like, I started realizing that

sometimes I can kind of slow the activity of the Spirit. How do I do

that? I grieve the Holy Spirit. I just, I get caught up on my own

stuff and my own ways and my own heart. And I just kind of move

at the spade of spade, the speed of mediocrity. And then

there's sometimes where I keep in step with the Spirit and I just speed the

Spirit's work in my life. But the Spirit, The same power that was available

to Jesus. Oh, by the way, and I didn't even know this at the time,

I started digging into the life of Jesus and I just started recognizing the

relationship that Jesus had with the Holy Spirit. And then I just started reading and

I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, timeout. Jesus needed the Holy Spirit. This is blowing

my mind, man. And so wait, so Jesus was conceived by the Spirit,

anointed by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit, sealed by the Spirit, led by the

Spirit, rejoiced in the Spirit, performed miracles by the power of the Spirit,

and he was raised by the Spirit. I didn't know where to put that,

but I just started saying, God, I want that. And then I just started recognizing

that passage as I just kept reading through Romans and going back to scripture.

It said Romans 18, I consider that our present sufferings

are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed

in us. And I had, I knew this word.

Now I don't mean like, and I would say when this is written,

the people that this was written to, it's not written to a group of people

who are, who are under what I would say governmental

persecution. That actually is not happening in the timeline yet.

This is a group of people who knew suffering because this is a part of

life. Amen. Like suffering is a part of life. Sometimes it's cancer

and sometimes it's relationships and sometimes it's a broken mind. And sometimes you

change and you go back to your group of people and there's no room for

you because you can't fit in that world and you sacrifice relationships.

And sometimes Sometimes you have a brokenness inside

of you and there's this, I'm just telling you, I know this word, but I

also know I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing the glory

that there's something else on the table. Yeah,

yeah, yeah. We've been through hard times and yes, we've experienced a lot

of things, but what I started to recognize is the gospel

didn't just promise that he loved me, promised that there's going to be glory being

revealed out of my life. And I was like, man, Lord, tell me about this.

And then this phrase, and this is like tattooed on my heart.

I just started reading this passage. It says, for the creation waits in eager expectation

for the children of God to be revealed. And it's this picture, if you read

Romans, of the whole world, literally from the beginning

of time, from the dawn of civilization, since the very first sin entered the garden,

the whisper and a lie. As soon as they bought the lie, something happened.

The world just started moving into chaos. Things started breaking. And as they

broke, they didn't, they didn't get unbroken. So God just steps into history,

but he, but he has this plan and he has this thing. He's like,

so here's the thing, man. From the beginning of time, the entire world has just

been waiting for the Spirit-filled

sons and daughters of God to step in and be who they're made to be.

And that blew my mind, man. That blew my mind.

So I was in Iquitos, Iquitos, Peru. As a matter

of fact, in Iquitos, Peru, I don't know if you know much about it,

but Iquitos, you know, Peru's in South America. I'm helping some

of you that were not great at school. Peru,

South America. And Peru is attached to Amazon jungle.

As a matter of fact, Iquitos, Peru is the very center of the Amazon jungle.

It's this massive city, but you have to go there by plane or you can

only get there by boat. That's the only way in. And I had a friend

of mine who said, hey, I need you to be a part of something.

I was like, okay, I'm up for an adventure. What are we doing? And he's

like, we're going to go to the middle of the Amazon and there's all these

pastors from all over the Amazon and and all these other countries and they're going

to come in. We're going to do a pastor's conference right there. And I'm like,

let's go. So I was pumped and I hopped on a plane

and I got down to Iquitos and I got there a couple days early,

kind of like I did when I came here because I just want to pray

and get ready and get settled. And so as I'm sitting there in Iquitos,

I get bored. Ask the security guy. I walk all the time. I just want

to see the people, be around the people. I don't sit well. And so I

saw this group of young 20-somethings that were attached to this ministry. That were

kind of helping out with the conference or anything. And I got to know them

and they were like, hey, we feel

like there's probably like 20, 30 of them. They're like, we feel like you need

to go with us today. I'm like, where are we going? And they're like,

we're just going to hop on a boat and we're just going to take the

boat maybe 45 minutes to an hour down, kind of out into the Amazon and

we're just going to get off at a town and we're just going to share

Christ. And I was like, what could possibly go wrong? This is going to be

great. Might see an anaconda. Let's go.

So I hop in a boat and we go down the stream and so we

roll down there and I'm having— I love young men and women. That's like

most of my ministry has been fueling and feeding 20-somethings because I

just believe when they get the kingdom in their eyes, it changes their whole trajectory.

And so I'm all about it. So we're riding, we're having a blast, we're laughing,

and we pull into this place, this little city, and we

park and we're going up these rickety things and we're riding back and then we're

on motorcycles. I'm like, this is wild, man. And so we get back and all

of a sudden I'm with, they're like, okay, we're going to break up and we

got some stuff and we've got some local pastors and we're just going to go

house to house. I'm like, okay, I'm here for it. Let's go. And so me

and a bunch of Peruvian young people just start going kind of house to house.

So I'm with this group and I'm like, man, I'm like

the whitest dude here. Like white, white. I don't speak the language.

And so I thought, I'm just going to hang back and watch, right? This is

going to be great. I'm going to get some great sermons out of this.

It's going to be amazing. So all of a sudden we show up

at this first house and I'll never forget, I walk in the first house and

I'm like kind of trailing. I'm like listening. I'm like, you know, I don't speak

Spanish. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah, Jesus. And we

walk in the door, we walk in the door and all of these young people,

they're like, you know, they kind of make, you know, they're like saying all this

stuff and then they're like, and they look at me and they're like, pastor.

And I was like, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, what are we doing?

And they're like, go ahead and just, would you mind just sharing the gospel

with her? And I was like, oh sure, there's not

a handbook for this, y'all. So I look at her and I was like,

oh, great to meet you. I'm kind of making small talk and they just sit

down while me and this woman and this family start talking.

And I'm like, wow, I feel like this is a bad idea. So I just

need you to know I'm a pretty evangelistic guy. I work out at gyms for

the sole purpose really for lost people because it's a way to get lost people

in my life. I do that with my boys too. I want them to do

that. We've helped our kids. Lost people matter

to God. They have to matter to us. I'm all about it. But walking into

a hut in the middle of the Amazon jungle and sharing

my faith with somebody I just met who the first question I said is

like, are you a Christian? She said, what is a Christian? And I was like,

oh no, she doesn't even know what this is,

man. Where do you start? And so I

just start leaning in and I'm just talking to her and I'm just sitting there

going, man, Lord, what are you going to do here,

man? And I just said, man, give me your eyes for

this woman and let me see what you see. And I saw all these little

kids kind of running around and I didn't know where her husband was. And I

just started asking question after question after question. And at some point

I'm like, Lord, how do I open the door? What are you doing? And all

of a sudden I can't explain it, but this is what happens. People always want

the Holy Spirit feelings when they're sitting in the rooms and I'm all about it.

But I'd say it like this. The Holy Spirit's so active when we join him

and what he's doing, we just come alive, man.

So I just said, Lord, what are you seeing? What are you doing? I'm so

bad at this, man. I don't know what to say. And I just felt like

he was like, he gave me eyes for, I don't know how to explain this,

but it was almost like I could see her shame. Doesn't that sound weird?

And maybe I recognize it because I know my own.

I know those seasons where I mean, because of my past and because

of how I grew up and because of what I was exposed to and what

happened to me early on in my faith, man, I just carried so much shame

that Jesus has just had to deal with. But I'm just telling you, I just

looked at her and I said, this is going to sound crazy,

but do you feel ashamed?

And she just looked at me with— she just— eyes started to

tear. She's like, I do. And we just started talking about Jesus

and what he does and how he does it. And all of a sudden,

I'm like into this place. I'm like, I don't know how to, like, how do

I, what do we, how do we do the end of this?

Like, how do I make this? Like, I don't, I know I don't make this

happen, God. I know this is you, but what do you do? And all of

a sudden she looks at me and she's like, so Pastor Matt? I was like,

yeah. She said, this is all through translator.

She's like, I think I know what you're asking. Can I accept this Jesus?

And I was like, I probably should have cut to that already, but yes.

And she was like, can all my family too? Will you tell them the whole

thing too? And so all of a sudden this whole family comes out and I

kind of say all this stuff again and we got rolling,

man. And this family just in tears accepts Christ

in the middle of the jungle. Isn't that wild? And man, I just, I got

to be honest, I walked out of this hut and I was like, whoa,

first one. That is wild. That is not going to be how the day goes,

right? So then I walk into this next house. It's literally right

next door. And all these people are like, what are these people doing here?

So we walk into the next door and we're talking

to 'em and all of a sudden they kind of move out of the way.

I'm like, we're doing this again. Come on, man. You guys are the ones who

speak Spanish. And I look at this lady and she's kind

of an older lady. She's in her 80s. And I said, are you a Christian?

She was like, I kind of am. I was like, I don't know what that

means. She's like, but you're a believer? I said, yeah. She said,

my son has a darkness in him and he knows it and I know it

and we don't know what to do about it. And I was like,

I was not prepared for that. And so

I'm like, oh Lord, help, man. And so

again, I was just like, okay, Lord, there's no way I'm here on accident.

There's no way we're just walking. You are aware of what's going on. You sent

a Spirit-led son. I don't know what I'm doing and I'm not perfect and I

don't know what to do, but I'm here, man. So God, just show me what

to say and show me what to do. And we just start talking. And there's,

again, there's no handbook for this, y'all. But I could, man, I could sense something

was going on with this dude and it was a darkness. I don't want to

call things. I'll let your pastor help you decide what that is. But I'm

just telling you, as I looked at that, I could tell too, this guy's whole

life was just locked up. And so we just talked

to him. We talked to them about Jesus. We talked to him about Jesus.

I said, brother, do you want the

love and grace of God? Do you want Not only to choose him, but do

you want freedom, man? And he's like, I do. So we just laid hands on

him and I can't explain it, but I'm just telling you, as soon as we

did that, it was like, it was like, and it wasn't like, it was like

the Spirit of God just showed up in the room and just a lightness.

And that's like, and again, I don't have a box for this. If you do,

then great, but I don't. But it just felt like you could just

feel chains falling off this dude.

And I'm just like going, wow, God, you're so good, man. I didn't know this

was going to work. I know you, But sometimes you pray and things happen and

sometimes you pray and they don't. And I can't ever tell why, but I'm just

sitting here with this guy in the middle of the Amazon jungle and I'm just

literally, you could almost feel his chains drop because Jesus

loves to free people, man. He just loves

it. And so all of a sudden we pray for

him, we walk out, we're all crying. I'm like wiping the tears. I'm like 2

for 2. This is wild, man.

You got to be kidding me. And then we go to the next house and

I walk into the next house and it's this young couple and they've got this

little baby and I am, I don't know if this is manly or not,

but I'm like a baby stealer. Not in a bad way.

When young couples, we have tons of young couples at our house. I'm like,

give me the baby, man. I got it. I had 5 kids because I love

babies. Bring them to me. I didn't know what I didn't know and I love

them. I can't wait for grandkids. No pressure. But kids, come on.

So, and so all of a sudden I walk in the door and this,

like, I'm at the door and the lady just hands me her baby and I'm

like, oh, we're doing this. I don't even know

who you are. And she's like, so I heard you talking next door. I was

like, okay. She's like, and I'm a Christian. Or no, she said, she said,

I know you're a Christian. I said, yeah, yeah. She said, so then,

then you need to pray over my baby because we can't lose this one.

And I was like, tell me about that.

She said, well, where we live, we've had so many babies and they don't make

it past 2. And you got to pray. Would your

God save my baby?

Theological answer. I mean, of course he will.

But God, will you?

You know, I've had some of those questions myself. I don't know if you have,

but I have those questions sometimes about God. I know what you've got on the

table. And I'll be honest, I was on a hike. It was an Israel trip.

And I was hiking with some good friends and I was

a running back and I had a pretty bad knee injury and I've had 9

knee surgeries. Don't cry for me. You got way worse.

But I'm just telling you, I had chronic pain for like 15, 16 years and

it got to the place where I just kind of managed it. And so I

went on this hike and I was super excited to be with the dudes and

really honestly, I was just excited to be with Jesus for like 8 days of

just walking and unplugged. And I was so ready. First day I got to the

end and I get to the end of hiking and I recognize,

oh shoot, I'm going to have to Uber the rest of the trip, man.

My knee was swollen, it was big, and I was just like,

come on, man. So I remember,

and this is not a thing, right? It's not a thing. So I get up

at like 4:30 in the morning, I'm under the stars and I'm just like,

okay, I'm in Cana. I was in Cana. I was like on this over route,

kind of at this bed and breakfast and Cana's right down this little

church. And I was like, oh, I need to read through Cana. I just need

to get over myself. I'll Uber. It's fine. God knows what's up. So I'm reading

through stories and in Cana I just recognized first, first miracle is water into

wine. And it just popped out to me that Jesus'

mom came and said, hey, they got a wine problem. Jesus was like, no,

no. And she's like, yeah, he will.

And he did. And I was like, Jesus, you didn't even want to do

this and you did it because you just love your mom.

And then the next miracle that happens at Cana, somebody brings him

somebody that needs to be healed. And he literally says to the crowd, he says,

it's a wicked generation that demands a sign. When you sit there

and say, God will because he has to, there's a wickedness in that. He's like,

he doesn't have to do anything. It's a wicked generation that demands a sign.

And so you're like, oh, so he's not going to heal. I'm like, and then

he turns and heals the guy. I'm like, you're so confusing to me.

So I go down into Cana. I'm down in the basement and we're all literally,

it's like the one place in Cana. It is the spot for

the wedding feast. And I'm down there and I'm just, my knee is swollen and

it hurts and I'm, And I'm frustrated and I just have an honest— I don't

know if you've done this before, but sometimes Jesus said this, not me. You don't

have because you don't ask.

And I was just thinking that and I was standing there and I was like,

and I just said to him, I was like, Lord, so here's the deal,

man. I don't need you to heal my

knee because if you don't do it, you're not faithful. That's not real. You're my

life, man. You're breath to me. You mean everything to me.

And man, it'd mean a lot to me if

like just for 7 days, man, could you just make it to where it's tolerable

for me to walk with my friends and walk with you? That means so much

to me. From that moment, true story, I was just like, I put my

backpack on. I'm like, I'll just give it a shot. I haven't had a single

drop of pain for 8 years now. It's wild.

Does he do that all the time? No,

but sometimes he does. What do you do with that? I don't know.

But as I'm holding this baby, I'm sitting there and I'm praying over this baby.

I'm like, Lord, if there's ever a time where I just want you

to answer a prayer, man, like please save this little girl, like give

her life. And so all of a sudden I'm like, maybe don't just give her

life. God, would you raise her to be a warrior for you, to be a

Spirit-led daughter of yours? God, would you Allow this girl. And I just start praying

like prayers, prayers, like the kinds of prayers I only pray over my

kids, man, over this little girl. And again, I can't explain it and I

won't know until we get on the backside of heaven what God did in that

moment. But as I walked out that door, I felt a confidence in my chest

that we were supposed to be there and that God was not only going to

save this little girl, but she was going to be a powerful force for the

kingdom. I believe that. Amen.

I won't do this. I gotta keep going. I'm sorry.

I walk into the next door. As soon as I walk in there and

is another family and the parents were gone and the kids, everything was kind of

weird and I couldn't figure out what was going on. And we're telling the gospel

and they so want to hear it. But again, you could just tell something's not

right. Something's not off. And what's keeping them? And just said,

Lord, what are you doing? And all of a sudden, and again, I just

asked the Lord, what do you see? What's going on? And sometimes you pick things

up and sometimes you just plow through with the gospel and just keep sharing good

news and hope it works out. But as soon as we get going, it's like

this. You could just tell. And again, maybe it's because I've been a

pretty broken dude. I grew up in a house where there's a lot of brokenness

and a lot of abuse and a lot of things that aren't supposed to be.

But I could just see that in the family. And I

just asked them, do you guys, do you feel safe?

Do you feel safe in your home? Do you feel safe? And every single one

of them were like, No. And I was like, we kind of walked

through, I won't go through the whole thing, but we just sat there and we

prayed and all of a sudden they're like, we got to the end. I was

like, I don't know how to close it. And again, they're just like, so we

think we know what you're saying. Is there any way we could just accept Christ

today? And I'm like, I mean, I guess.

And so we just invited and they accepted Christ. And so we walk out.

And so literally every single house we went to that day, Was like

that. And I was like, God, what are you up to, man?

What is going on? And literally I was with a good friend of mine and

we went out and they put us in those little tuk-tuks. You ever seen them?

It's like a motorcycle and you're in the back. Anyways, so we're sitting in this

little tuk-tuk and we sit there and we're just crying. We're just crying like,

God, what in the world, man? You're so good. As we're

sitting there, my friend just kept saying this line. He was like, He's like,

Matt, they were just waiting on us. And at first I was like, yeah,

man, it was, man. It was like, this is like a divine setup.

And then he said it again. He was like, man, they were just waiting on

us. I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's like, Matt, they're just— I'm like,

bro, stop saying it. And then he said it like the 15th

time. And I'm telling you, there's like a sonic boom in my heart because it

took me back to a passage. It was just like, and the whole world is

just waiting, Man, this is a divine setup. Like every single one of

us that steps in with faith and confidence and just says, hey God,

I'll say yes to you. I'll go with you wherever you want.

I'm in. I want to be aware. If you don't want to do that today,

I'm good. But if you're up for it, I'm up for it. And if you're

into it, I'm into it. And if you want faith to come out of me,

then I know that faith is what pleases your heart. So I want to say

yes to you, man, because so many times the challenge

for me, is this passage right here. This is a prophecy about what happens when

Jesus comes, that not only are we going to be reconciled into

our forever home and into our forever relationship with him, but there's also something

that's going to come into us. This was foretold. This is literally

God whispering in the ear of his friends, the prophets, to speak

of what we would taste today. He says, here's what's going to happen. I'm going

to give you a new heart and I'm going to put a new spirit in

you. And I will remove from you your heart of stone and

I'm going to give you a heart of flesh and I will put my spirit

in you. And here's the thing. I will literally move

you. I will animate you. I will start directing you so

that you can follow my decrees and carefully keep my laws.

So many times, man, when it comes to just wanting to be filled by him

and I don't want to grieve him and I don't want to be— it all

starts with, this right here. You ever feel like that?

And I'm like, well, hey, here's the deal, man. Would I say that I have

a heart of stone? No, man. I'm a pretty friendly dude.

I'm a hugger, man. Even if you don't like it, I'm going to hug you.

I'm a warm person. That's not what this is talking about.

See, I can be a warm person and I can still be a half-hearted husband.

I can be a warm person. I wouldn't say my heart is a heart of

stone, but I can walk into the gym and it just be about me getting

my workout. And not recognize that God has this divine setup.

Every door that I walk into, that God is orchestrating, that he

has love and that he's put me there on purpose for something beautiful

and powerful. And he just says, man,

the world's waiting. They're waiting, man. They're waiting. They're waiting.

So I was— I have so many

stories. I'm taking way too long. I'll skip.

So I was, I was in West Palm Beach and, and I thought this was

funny because I came down here and something kind of happened last night, but,

but those people may be here, so we'll figure it out. So I was in

West Palm Beach and a friend of mine called me and he said, hey man,

I was on vacation in Florida because that's where Midwesterners do. It's what we do.

So we were on vacation and this guy called me and he said he was

having some challenges and problems. He said, hey, I'm supposed to speak at a place

and it's this church and, and they really need somebody, but But something happened in

my life and is there any way? I was like, oh man, I got you.

I talked to my wife. I was like, yeah, yeah, I'll fly down there.

So I'm flying down to some church that I don't know. I don't know them

at all. I've never met the pastor, never been to the church. And honestly,

I'd never been to West Palm. Pretty great. So I head down there and

I'm like, I'm here and I'm at a hotel room. And again, I don't sit

well. I'm bored outta my mind. So what do you do? You Yelp. I'm a

foodie. Let's go. So I'm Yelping. I'm like 4.8 or higher.

Let's go. So I find a spot and I'm like, I'm going to go.

And then I get there and I'm like, Oh, that means I can't get in.

So the place is packed and there's like one spot at the bar and I'm

like, oh, I'm taking it. Like pastor at a bar, this is going to be

great. So I sat at the bar last night too. Anyways,

so I sit at the bar and as I'm sitting there, I'm sitting there

and the place is just packed and there's this couple here and this couple here

and these people are rolling through and all of a sudden this couple over here

starts talking and they're like dropping Language is totally fine

for me. It doesn't bother me. But when you say 10 F-bombs within

a minute, I'm like, that's a record. That's impressive. And this

couple's just like effing this, effing this. And I'm like, this is great.

Let's just go. So we're hanging and we're talking and

I find out that this is Giovanni and Giovanni is married to Olga and they're

here on, you know, they just got away and they had these little kids.

And again, I'm just sitting there and I'm like,

man, Lord, is this one of those things where so many times

where this is an accident and maybe— and so I was just like,

hey, this is going to sound wild. And I don't remember saying there's no right

way to do this. The biggest thing you have to do is just say yes

and let God figure it out. And so I was like,

so tell me about your kids. And then I talk about my kids and all

of a sudden I can't even make this up. 15 minutes in, I'm like,

I don't know what to do here. And Giovanni leans over and he is like,

so, So this was wild, but man, God's been kind of moving

in my heart and I don't know what to do. And you're a Christian.

I can't believe this is an accident. Can you help me? I was like,

nah, no, I'm just kidding. I was like, yeah, let's go, man. So here

I am at the bar with Giovanni and Olga. 20 minutes in, I'm praying over

this couple as they head out the door. And I'm like,

by the way, I'm preaching tomorrow at a church. You guys just want to come

there? Go. Yeah. Yeah. So then this couple next to me,

like I thought they had the record for F-bombs. Theirs was F-bombs plus sexual things

going on. I'm like, this is wild. This is so wild. It's so great,

man. And so I'm just sitting there, I'm like, let's go. So they're sitting there

talking and all of a sudden they got kind of quiet after Jelani and Olga

left and they kind of lean over and they're like, hey. I'm like, hey.

And they're like, so we heard you talking to that couple. I'm like, yeah,

yeah, yeah. And they're like, yeah, we're a mess. And they just start pouring out

their hearts. Is there any way? I'm like, yeah, yeah. So I end up praying

like 6 minutes later, I'm praying with this couple and they accept Christ on the

side of the bar. And then it's not done, man. Don't clap

yet. So then this happens and then I'm sitting there,

y'all, I haven't even gotten my appetizer yet.

And I'm sitting there and the bartender comes up. His name's Jacob. And Jacob's like,

what's up, man? He's a stoner. I'm like, what's up, man? And he's

like, dude, I was listening to you guys talk. I was like, here we go.

And he's like, so I got questions and we got questions. Some of us people

in the back, the bar, would just listen. And is there any way, like,

as you eat, would you just ask our questions if we come by? And I'm

like, yeah, man. I show up to West Palm Beach,

it's called SoFlo Church, to preach, and it's me in

the bar in the front row. Isn't that wild?

Yeah.

And I, and I just, I just want to come, and I was just praying

this morning. This is This is such a different message than last night. Don't listen

to last night. So, but I was praying last night and I just felt like

the Lord was like just saying, yeah, you could teach things and

you have such a gifted teacher. He's so good at it and we could for

sure do that. But I felt like the Lord was saying, just remind them

of what they're a part of. Just remind

them, man, that every day that we have this

opportunity. I say it to young guys like this. I'm like, you can either walk

in every room, every situation whether it's like it just feels like it's

impossible and your marriage seems stuck and your kids feel lost and all that kind

of stuff. You can walk into any room and you will either be a thermostat

or a thermometer. Have you heard this before? And you're either going to walk in

the room and you're going to walk into your difficult situation and it's

going to push you down and faith is going to squeeze out of you.

Or maybe you're going to show up at your golf trip with your golf guys

because they're this way and they talk this way and they act like this.

And then you're just going to It's kind of what you just, whatever the room

is, is what you're going to be. The problem with our

thermometer life is you never change a room and it's always about you, man.

It's always about just kind of sliding

in and going under the radar and doing just good enough.

And you're kind of doing church stuff and you're keeping your heart alive.

But man, a thermostat life, that's what we're called to, man. It's a Spirit-led life

where it's like, yeah, you're a thing on a, like you're not that impressive.

I'm not that impressive. You're not that impressive. The thermostat's a tiny

little thing on the wall, but it's connected to a power source.

And if it's hot, it can make it cold. If it's cold, it can make

it hot. And you have this ability when you walk in rooms, like the world

is waiting for you to step into your marriage with a full heart again and

say, God, would you show up in my marriage? I'm here for it.

I'm going to trust that by your power and by your strength and because of

your blood and because of your righteousness, that even though I don't feel like I

can do it, But there's something that you've planted deep inside of me that I'm

made for this. And yes, I haven't

been the perfect dad and I haven't been the perfect mom, and this is where

my kids are, and it just feels like there's just no way to shift the

room. But I would just say this, but you're connected to a power

source, man. The Spirit of God lives in you and he

planted you in this family and in this job and with this situation at this

time. And there's no way that's an accident. The gym

that you work at, the, the, the, the place that you go to regularly.

I'm just telling you, creation is waiting. Our country family is

waiting, not for us to talk more, but just show up,

man. My wife needs this guy to

be a, like the Spirit-led son of God that I'm made to

be. My kids need that, man. Our communities.

I love how you're loving this community, but we can do all the stuff and

not carry that wholeheartedness. And I just want to say this, family, you were

made for wholeheartedness. Creation waits

with eager anticipation for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed.

So be who you're made to be. Father, thank you

for the time that I got with my friends. I pray

that you would stir in their souls what they were made for.

Father, would you help them to not get tied down by shame or what they

have done or how they've blown it in the past? But God, just with a

wave of grace, just freshen their eyes that, that yeah, yeah, yeah, none of

us are perfect. None of us deserve this. None of us can measure up.

And, and that is not what the gospel is. The gospel is recognizing the atoning

work of a Father who loved us, who sent his one and only Son,

and that now we are reconciled to him so that we can be what

we could never be on our own. This is where we step into

what we are made for. So Father, I just pray,

would you send your Spirit on my friends so

they can just say yes to you? Give them

faith. Pray that in the name of Jesus.