X-Factor (04/21/24)

Amen.

Good morning.

I'm Forrest Lee Pastor here at Multiply.

If I've not met you, welcome.

Glad that you're here.

Glad that you're uh part of this Sunday.

It's gonna be a great time.

Myself and about a hundred other people planted and began and launched the work of Multiply Church now two years ago.

So grateful that you're here as we step into this uh next week we have here of our X Factor series.

I was reflecting this last week uh about um even before the launch of Multiply Church, uh, but the first ever event that we had for Multiply, which was now three years ago, this week, April the 18th in 2021, 12 people gathered at Sage Coffee Shop to get together and to say yes to stepping in to join the launch team in the beginnings of what one day would become Multiply Church.

And then today, this week, we get to experience more than the 12 then, but as of today in our baptisms, we're gonna see 15 people be baptized already this year in the same amount of time, January to April, and I think about the people who said yes, and they're saying yes to God moving years and years later.

See, what we've been talking about in this series is that our X factor is the intersection between your gifting and greater purpose.

What it looks like for you as someone who's in the body of Christ to be walking out in the gifts and the talents, the skills the Lord has given to you, and see how that walks out in your life, in the life of the church, and in your life outside the walls of the church.

See, we've been going through the last few weeks and talking about these specific stories and places in the scripture where we are taught how important it is for us to be walking out in our gifting.

And but but here's the thing that I know because just the nature of the enemy that we have, that already today, some have come into the room, or maybe you've been thinking for a whole long time, but the enemy, Satan, the devil, does not want for you to walk out your purpose and your greater purpose in the giftings that you have, but instead to feed you a lie, and one of those lies that the enemy wants to feed you is this I'm not needed.

I'm not needed.

Well, you know, somebody else got it.

Here I want you to hear very clearly from me today.

You were put here.

Whether you were born in 1959, 69, 79, 89, 99, 2009, right now, this moment today, here in the life of Multiply Church, you were put here for a reason and for a purpose.

You have a part to play.

That's the title of my message.

It's it's it's uh so plain to us from God's word that we shouldn't listen to the enemy's lies of you know what, I am not even needed.

But it was not too long ago uh that here in a life of our church, I want to give a shout-out to somebody this morning.

This is Shannon Lee.

Shannon, who served for some time in a life of short life of multiplied church, Shannon said something with our volunteers, and something that has become our one of our first values statements at a church, and this the statement is this see a need, fill a need.

See, what you don't know about Shannon is that uh Shannon is a trained physical assistant.

He's a he's a PA.

He has all the medical knowledge that he could, you and me, take us, and we can have a physical, he could diagnose us, he has all that information and all that knowledge.

And for the beginnings of Multiply Church, what he used all that gifting to do was to pull the trailer to the movie theater with his big truck, because he had a big truck, because he farms and has goats and bring water for baptism.

He served in a lot of different ways.

Now he's leading and serving at the parking lot team and the safety team, but he's got so many skills, but he has stepped up time and time again in the same way that he spoke, and now that that we speak to one another, see a need, feel a need.

And not in a way, because here's the thing you probably you you're never going to see Shannon probably uh anywhere that he's looking for any attention.

He's never like, oh, I see this need, I'm gonna go to everybody look at me.

Like most of the things that he does is completely behind the scenes background.

You may now notice him because you've seen his picture today.

The scripture tells us so plainly in 1 Corinthians 12, 27, all of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it.

You have a part to play.

Everybody say part to play.

Everybody has a part to play.

See, over the last few weeks, we've been talking about what it looks like for us to be stepping into and being the X factor in our own heart and life and walk with Jesus in our homes and the four walls of our homes, the four walls of our home church, and then also outside of the walls in our homeland.

And we've walked through each of those uh over the last few weeks.

And see, that's you being uh someone who's making and being a disciple in your home, realizing the fact that everyone has a part to play in the work and life of the body of Christ in your home church, and then being the salt and light of Christ in the surrounding culture outside the walls.

In Matthew chapter 14, we see Jesus and the disciples, and they're on a hillside, and Jesus has been teaching and preaching all day long.

Matthew 14 · chapter mention

You think my summers are long?

And what the scripture says is that it was approaching evening time, and there were thousands and thousands of people who were there on the hillside.

And so the disciples come to Jesus and they say, uh, Jesus, it's probably about time for you to start winding down this sermon, and the people are getting hungry, so why don't you send them on into the towns to uh go to Chili's or to White Castle or wherever they're gonna go?

Let them go get dinner.

It's about that time.

And Jesus looks back at the disciples and he says, You give them something to eat.

Which I'm sure if that was me, I would have been like, What?

What do you mean?

Which is what they said.

They even said they even argue with Jesus, like, Jesus, do you not understand how expensive that will be?

We couldn't possibly do that.

And so sheepishly, they're probably like talking amongst themselves.

Like, did you hear what he just said?

Do you think he meant that?

Like, what should we do?

Like, we probably should go look for some food, maybe so they go through the crowds and they're searching and they find this little boy.

He's got two fish and five loaves, and they take this and they bring it to Jesus.

And in verse 18, he says, Bring them here, he said.

Then he told the people to sit down on the grass.

Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish.

He looked up towards heaven, he blessed them, and then breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples who distributed it to the people.

They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterwards the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.

About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and the children.

See, all the way back in the beginning, we talked about last week.

That God wants us to step into our purpose that we would be fruitful and multiply.

That we would, in walking with Jesus, that we would be able to produce in the name of Jesus, walking with him.

Now I don't know, I don't know what it was actually like at that scene, but I can imagine me as one of the disciples, and and they got this food, and there's not a whole lot in there.

There's thousands of people.

They walk up to Jesus with this bag of long John Silvers.

Like, Jesus, this is all we got.

Like, we'll give you this bag here.

I know there's thousands of people, but here, you know, I and they placed it into Jesus' hands, and it was in his hands that Jesus was able to multiply it.

See, what they brought to Jesus was just a little bit of potential.

They just brought a little bit of potential and they placed it into the hands of Jesus, and then Jesus is the one who blessed it and multiplied it through his great power.

And so, what we get to do as followers of Jesus, we get to also come to him and practice the potential that we have of the skills, the talents, the things that we have in our life, and we just get okay, Jesus, this isn't much, but can I just put it into your hands and see what you'll do with it?

We get to bring that potential to the Lord.

Your potential is a powerful thing.

A few now months ago, kind of the end of last year, going into the beginning of this year, our volunteers gathered in this building before we'd ever met in this building, and before there was ever services in this building.

And I gave every single one of them a uh rubber band like this.

Now, a rubber band, uh, it was was created in 1845, Stephen Perry, an inventor in England, and he created the the the weather the rubber band and patented it.

But here's the thing the rubber band, um if it's not stretched, it's useless.

Like, let me just put it on here real quick.

This is doing nothing right now.

This is serving zero, no purpose at all.

But when it's stretched, it's at its weakest point, but also has the most potential energy.

If I shot this at somebody right now, I'd go across the room.

The strength is in the stretch, the strength is in the potential, the strength is in you coming to Jesus and saying, Ah, Jesus, I don't know.

This is not a lot, but let me just lay this into your hands and see what you can do within and through my life, Jesus.

But you gotta bring it to him.

Last week we talked about we've shared this passage each week.

1 Corinthians 7, 17.

Let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to whom God has called him.

This is my rule in all of the churches.

See, God has put you here, and he's assigned to you a life that you're walking out and leading, and the skills, the giftings that God has given you for your own life, for your home, your homeland, your home church, that that you would be walking out in the potential that Jesus might do something in and through you.

And that he's the one that would be willing to do it on your behalf.

The scripture is filled with stories like this, but it reminds me of two individuals in the Old Testament, these warrior women in the book of Judges, Deborah and Jael.

See, at the time before Israel, the people of God were ruled by kings, Saul and David, and on and on and on.

Before they were kings, they were the people of God were ruled by these judges.

There's a whole book in the Old Testament called Judges.

And it's the story of the people of God during this season and during this period of time where they were being ruled by someone who'd be named the judge, who would then rule over God's people and would sit in the seat of judging them.

And at this point in time, and there was a series of them, but at this point in time, the person who's called to be the judge and the leader over the Israelites is this woman named Deborah.

Deborah is a prophetess, the scripture says.

We don't know anything else about her background, but we just know that she is a woman who's powerful in the Lord.

And at the time that Deborah is leading and judging the people of Israel, at this point in time, the Canaanites, who are an evil people, think child sacrifice, think murder, violence, think rampant immorality.

Because of Israel's sin, they have been given over and taken over the people of God, Israel, and have been terrorizing them for 20 years.

And Deborah, who's the judge, she hears from the Lord that it's time for them to rise up, for them to fight against this evil.

And so she goes to her friend, a general, Barak.

She goes to Barak and she tells them that it's time for them to go and to fight against this evil group, the Canaanites, who were led by their general that is Sesera.

And Barak hears it from Deborah, and he's like, are you sure?

Because Sesera has like uh has like 900 chariots and a large army.

Like, are you sure?

And then he says, Okay, Deborah, I'll go if you go.

I'll go if you go too.

And she's like, Okay, if that's what you need, I'll be a warrior and I'll step up.

But because you wouldn't go and because you wouldn't step into what God called you to do, now in the victory that is going to come from the Lord, you'll get no credit, but the credit will go to a woman.

So they go and they fight against the Canaanites, and the people of God push them back.

They win.

And Sesera flees the scene.

He retreats and he finds his way to the tent of a couple that he thought were his allies.

A woman named JL and her husband.

And he's sneaking and trying to hide so that he won't be killed.

And so he goes to JL and he says, Hey, can can I come into your tent and can you hide me?

She's like, sure, come on in.

Come on in.

Knowing of his evil deeds, knowing that he is the enemy, she brings him into the tent.

She gives him a warm glass of milk.

She has him lie down, places a blanket over him, and he falls fast asleep.

And then she goes out and she gets a spike, a tent peg, and she comes into the tent while he's asleep and takes a hammer, and bam! She drives that stake right through his head.

And it wasn't Baric who got the victory.

It was a woman, JL, who in the moment that God needed her, she stepped into her purpose.

See, here's what you need to hear today.

Here's what you need to hear.

Strike while the iron is hot.

Bam.

Just like Jael.

Just like Deborah.

And here's what the scripture says about them.

Judges 5, 7 says, Deborah arose as a mother of for Israel, the people of God, that she she is there honored as a mother of the people of God.

And then of JL in verse 24, most blessed among women is JL.

See, these women, they stepped into the purpose that God had called them to in the moment at the time.

They didn't wait.

They didn't hold back.

They didn't say, uh, maybe later.

They didn't say, Oh, let me finish college.

Oh, let me wait until I have more time.

Let me let me make sure that all my kids are out of the house.

They stepped up and they struck by the iron is hot and they stepped into their calling and into their purpose in the same way.

We pursue purpose with God, not just for him, of what 2 Corinthians 6 1 says, working together with him, then we appeal to you to not to receive the grace of God in vain.

Here's the thing: we're not just working for God, we're working with him.

We're partnering with him.

When we get to step out and say, okay, Lord, I'm going to step into the purpose that you've called me to, inside and outside the walls of the church.

Then I'm not going to do this on my own, but I'm going to be doing it with you, and you're going to be helping me do it.

I'm going to place this potential into your hands, and you're going to help me be able to walk this out.

And you're going to be pursuing the purposes that God's called you and assigned to you.

And this work, it really matters.

It really matters.

1 Corinthians 3.

Paul puts it like this of building a foundation on Christ.

Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials: gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.

But on the day of judgment, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done.

The fire will show if a person's work has any value.

If the worker survives, that builder, if the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.

But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss.

Now listen to this.

The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.

And verse 16.

Don't you realize that all of you together are the temple of God?

And that the Spirit of God lives in you.

See, we partner in with the power of God.

I want to tell you about another friend of mine.

This is Antoine Lemon.

Everybody loves Antoine.

Give it up for Antoine real quick.

I don't even think he knows that I'm calling him out right now, so shout out to you, bro.

Antoine, uh, he is uh walking in his calling and purpose early in his career at Collins Lane Elementary School, where he works in the after-school program and works with kids.

And not too long ago, Antoine stepped up to start serving kids here at church.

And a couple of weeks ago, he taught the kids the lesson for the first time.

Just him solo teaching the kids about Jesus, my children about Jesus.

And even though he's early in his career and he's walking out his giftings, he's not saying, like, ah, you know, well, I'm with these kids all week.

I can't tell you all.

Uh, church, we are so blessed by the people in this room that have the gift and skills of teaching that will step in and say, Yeah, I'm gonna use those gifts for the Lord and for children here on Sundays in the work of our church.

Or we've had uh uh several, several, several teachers.

And and Antoine, early in his early 20s, has stepped out and said, Okay, God, you've given me this, you've given me this purpose, you've given Me, these skills, okay.

I'm gonna use them for you, and it's going to last forever.

It's not gonna get burned up.

In the great fire of London in 1666, a fire that began in a bakery, raged, burning a huge percentage of the buildings.

13,000 homes, ninety churches, other buildings.

The fire raged for four days straight.

And of all the buildings that were still standing, one of those buildings was St.

Catherine Cree Church.

It was in a part of the city that was mostly spared.

Now there was some damage that happened to the building, but the majority of it, the bones of it were intact.

And so workers and firemen were working tirelessly while the fire was raging, and then for a long time after the fact to rebuild the city.

And what this group of believers decided to do was with the building that was still standing, they turned it into a temporary soup kitchen and shelter for the workers who were helping to rebuild the city.

See, because it wasn't touched by the fire, and because it lasted, they were able to serve the Lord and serve the people who were doing the work.

To see something be built and rebuilt.

I just I wonder today.

I imagine, just imagine with me for a moment.

Somebody who's in the room today, who maybe you're in hospitality, maybe you wait tables, maybe you're a server.

Just imagine if you took and brought that level of excellence and professionalism, ability to explain about the menu, deal with all the angry people that don't get the side dish right, that didn't get their cup refilled in time.

If you took all of that skill and you use that hospitality, that skill that God's given you, and you use that for kingdom purposes to make somebody feel at home, welcome here in the body of Christ.

Maybe you're in the room and you're in sales.

Whatever it may be.

Whatever thing it is that you sell.

Well, we know that if you if you're gonna be successful in any ways a salesman, you get to believe in what you're selling, right?

And I hope that if you're here today, that means that you believe in what God is doing in this place.

And that you could use the skills that you have to talk to people and help other people.

You could use those skills for the glory of God.

So imagine with me.

Whatever it is, the role and the skills that you have.

Everybody in their seat got a card like this today, and it looks differently than the card that you normally have in your seat.

You didn't realize it because it kind of looks the same, but then if you look close, it doesn't look the same.

So you grab this card, if you would just humor me and just hold it up like this when you got it.

It's in your seat.

And on this card, there's a place to explain joining a team.

See, here's the thing.

Uh everybody got the card?

Hold it up.

You got it everywhere?

Everybody's got that?

Yeah, they got them all around.

Here's the thing.

Do you believe in the future of our church and how our church is going to continue to change this community and make a difference?

If you're here today, if you've been more than one Sunday, you're automatically your answer is yes.

Because you've come back.

And there's somebody in the room, you've got this car right here, you're already serving, you're on a team, that's fine, that's all good.

And I'm thankful, like you're rolling, and it's amazing.

But I want to ask for those of you that haven't yet taken the step to get into serving the Lord in and through our church.

Do you want to align yourself?

Do you want to align your values with this mission?

See, here's the thing.

Some of y'all are gonna be like, yes, and serve.

And others of y'all are gonna give and do other things, and some of y'all are gonna leave and never come back.

And the thing is, is that right now we're stepping in.

I'm I'm I'm giving to you an opportunity for you to discover what it is that the Lord wants you to work out in your calling, in your gifting.

Do you know that every single one of us have a valid excuse not to serve?

All you do, don't have time, life's busy, got work, got other challenges going on.

Here's the thing, here's the thing, here's the thing, here's the thing.

Are you going to be the X factor or no of what God wants to do in and through your life?

You know what?

And for some of you are like, I don't know for us what to do.

We've even got that covered because there's a box that says unsure.

Unsure, but I want to serve.

You know what's great?

It's okay if you're unsure.

It's okay if you say, you know what, I I don't even know what I could do.

These things right here, I can't sing, you know, bless, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And you're like, I don't know what it is that I might be able to do.

Do you know that there's like plenty of opportunity for you, like this building throughout the week, needs people to serve at the facility?

We have a place for you.

If you could do data analysts, you're like, Forrest, I don't want to talk to a human being.

All I want to do is in the computer, we have somewhere that you could serve for that.

We need graphic designers for these people who don't want to talk to another human.

That's okay.

Here's the thing the the the function will follow the form.

If if you bring it, we can build it with you.

If you bring it, we can work with you.

Now I want to I want to speak to this because there's probably somebody in the house that your initial thought, even right now, is forced.

I can't do that.

I'm not worthy for that.

You're partnering with the power of God.

Jesus did not walk out of the grave for us to walk in fear, entrapped, in shame, in guilt, being held back by the enemy.

Instead, Jesus walked out victorious from the grave so that you can walk in victory with him as well, so that you can step into and say, I don't know Jesus, but I've got a little bit of potential, and maybe if I put it into your hands, maybe he'll do something with you.

He's saying, Yes, yes, just place it into my hands.

And then there are some of us in the room that, like the scripture said, of narrowly escaping the flames, barely escaping the flames of eternity, you're in the situation right now where you're not going to escape because you haven't given your life over to Jesus and received his good work on the cross where he died for your sins, so that you would have his power and you would be able to walk with him now and into eternity while you build his kingdom in eternity as you get there.

But today is the day for some of you, maybe that you say, Okay, all right, I'm gonna give my life over to Jesus.

And if in a little while, we're gonna celebrate six people who are making it public and going and being baptized and saying, I've given my life to Jesus.

I'm walking with him.

I'm saved, I believe in him, I'm walking with him in the future.

Don't have it all figured out.

Don't feel like I have it all together because I don't, but I know that Jesus can and will.

So here's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna pray over us.

But before I start praying, I would love for you to at least write your name on that card.

Check one of those spaces.

There's gonna be buckets on the way out the door for you to drop them in so we can have a further connection and conversation with you.

But I'm gonna take a second right now to pray over you.

Father, I pray right now over everyone who's in this place and space today, Father.

God, I pray against any spirit of shame, guilt in the grave.

But instead, Father, that Lord, we would feel empowered by your work, by your invitation to us to follow you and work with you, to grow, to love others, to see your power made real in and through our lives.

Father, I pray for each person today in the room, for that specifically, Lord, that God, that they would know that all guilt and shame was crushed on the cross as they walk with you.

Now, God, also, Lord, I pray right now over this whole room that there's anybody in the room today who's not received you as their savior, who has not asked for their sins to be forgiven, to be washed clean, to be made new, to move from death to life, that today, right now, would be the moment of their salvation, that they would trust you, Jesus, that they would turn from their sin and walk towards you, forgiven and free.

And if that's you today, I want to encourage you right now to pray, Jesus, save me.

Pray it in your mind and your heart.

Jesus, save me.

I believe that you're the Son of God, that you are alive, and that you walked out of the grave.

Forgive me, cleanse me, wash me so that I might be forgiven.

I give my life to you as you gave your life for mine.

From this day forward, I'm following you, Jesus, from now and to eternity in heaven.

Heads bowed all across the room.

Today was the day that you prayed to receive that salvation, for you to receive that finished work on the cross, for you to step into the work and the calling and the purpose that God has in and through your life.

Today was that day for you.

I want to pray for you, I want to acknowledge you.

What I want you to do is the count of three, I want you to raise your hand.

I want to lock odds with you if that was your today.

One, two, three.

Ready?

One, two, three.

Yep, yep, yep.

Keep them up, keep them up so I can lock odds with you.

If you raise your hand right here.

Yep.

Anybody else?

Father, I thank you, Lord, for those, Lord, that are turning to you, that are receiving from you your power, your love, your might, your glory from now until eternity.

So we thank you, God.

Thank you for allowing us to build your kingdom with you.

In the name of Jesus.

Everybody said Amen.

Church, we celebrate as we stand together and as we sing together before we celebrate some baptisms.

Let's do it.