"Called Higher"

Hi, this is John Ozanting, lead pastor of Evolved Church, and this is the Evolved Church Podcast.

Thanks so much for tuning in.

We hope that you find today's message encouraging and full of hope for wherever you're at.

Good morning, everyone.

My husband asked me last night if I was nervous, and I was like, no, I have the peace of God.

I feel so good.

This morning I'm nervous.

So full disclosure.

But I'm so excited to be sharing with you this morning.

I feel incredibly honored.

Our pastors, uh, they are in Phoenix today, soaking up the sun, and I am also grateful that they get to do that.

Who else is grateful that our pastors get to rest today, right?

Um, they work so hard and they pour so much in, their whole family.

And so they're just resting, soaking up the sun.

They're watching online.

And I just want to say how grateful I am for their leadership.

And I think we all feel that, but it needs to be said.

Um, I've been so blessed by the way that they've led with faith in every season.

I could share so many stories, um, especially with this building, but how they've just stood in faith and how that's led me to step into faith.

And so um, man, I'm so grateful for their leadership and grateful that they've asked me to share with you today.

So, my name is Becca, as Bennett already said, and I am a part of the staff team here at Evolve.

I've actually been at Evolve since day one, but I've been on staff for I don't know, three years, something like that.

And I've just been very, very honored and very grateful to see every step of the way kind of front row seat of what God has been doing in this space.

Um, and today we're gonna we're gonna dive in.

Um this message is called called higher.

And uh, before I begin, I want to just paint a picture for you.

Wouldn't it be amazing if the world that we live in was just marked by unity, peace, just love, and not kind of the superficial love, but deeply people are united and doing life together, fighting for one another.

Wouldn't that be amazing?

If all of the things that God invites us into in scripture, that was just what we live in.

It's just natural, it's just day-to-day.

But the reality is that we actually live in a world that values individualism, sometimes at the cost of unity and at the cost of living in community.

We live in a culture that often values doing what feels right over finding out what truly is right.

In a culture that often seeks a moment of relief versus long-term peace.

We live in a culture where we say eyes on the prize, but then we set our gaze on temporary things, easy things, things that feel good, but that often lead to disappointment.

Today we're gonna be looking at the book of Hebrews.

And this book is beautiful and it's full.

And as I was studying for today, I was just sitting in all these commentaries, and there was there's so much that could be said, but I pared it down because I'm not gonna go over time.

But this book is full of themes pointing to the finished work of Jesus, so many beautiful references to the Old Testament, pointing to keeping our eyes on heaven, and themes of keeping our eyes on our faith, persevering in our faith and pursuing our faith.

So the author of this letter wrote to some similar attentions.

He's writing to a church who has been influenced by the culture around them, even to the point where many of them actually wanted to give up on their faith because it would be easier.

So the passage we're about to read is a part of a call to not grow weary.

The author calls the church that he's writing to to not grow weary, to not shrink back, and ultimately to remain confident in their pursuit of Jesus.

Hebrews is also written with a very communal tone, which I thought was cool.

As I studied it, I couldn't ignore that.

Um, for me, I'm I'm really um, you'll often hear me talk about the rhythms and our personal practices, our personal time with Jesus.

But as I read this, um, what I thought was amazing is that actually it's not just about our practices, our pursuit of Jesus, but it's our collective pursuit as a community.

Okay, so back to this picture that we're painting.

We desire to live in a world where there's peace, there's unity, love abounds, everyone lives in harmony, war ceases, and yet we live in a world that is evidently fallen, where war, pain, and division exist.

And so here's where I want to go today.

If we are desiring to live in a better world, if we are desiring a better way, there's actually a high calling for us as people who love and follow Jesus.

Because we are actually the ones who are called to bring peace.

We are the ones who are called to bring unity, we are the ones who fight for purity, we're the ones who are called to choose a better way over and over and over again because we know what's on the other side of those choices.

We know that we're called to it, and we know that it's worth it.

The church was tempted to go back to their old faith practices to avoid persecution.

And I wonder, are we ever tempted to go back to maybe our old ways because it would be easier?

Maybe we would receive less pushback or we would be looked at a bit better.

Maybe it would be easier, but there's a call here to hold fast to our faith.

So in chapter 11, the author points to the saints, and um there's the Faith Hall of Fame, where it's all of these amazing people in history who have held fast in their faith.

And then in chapter 12, he reminds them of Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, the perfect example of holding fast.

So the author sees what the church is facing, and he not only encourages them, but he actually warns them and he challenges them.

He calls them higher.

And we are being called higher today, too.

Called to hold fast, called to stand up for the things that matter, to be a part of what God is doing in the earth.

There is a better way, and God is inviting us to be a part of it.

He's calling us higher because there is actually more that God has for us.

For us, for the church, for our nation, he's calling us higher.

Would you pray with me?

Father, we just um invite you into this moment.

We thank you that um you've just been so present in this space, even as we worship today.

And God, would you help our hearts to be present as we look to your word today?

God, as we look to your heart, would you speak to us?

God, that we would be attentive to who you are, to what you want to say to us and what you want to do today.

Amen.

So, what does it look like to be called higher?

I want to start by saying that being called higher does not mean that God is calling us to be perfect, He's not calling us to perfection.

What it does mean is actually that wherever we're at today in our walk with Jesus, whatever up till today has looked like, God is calling each of us a little bit higher.

He's calling each of us into a little bit more.

Wherever we're at, wherever we're going, God has more for us.

So I want to invite us into that today.

Um, and we're actually made for that.

We're made to evolve, to become, to grow.

And so we're gonna dive in.

Um, today we're reading from uh Hebrews 12, verse 14 to 17.

Hebrews 12:14–17

If you have your Bibles, you can open to that.

It's gonna be up on the screens as well.

So here we go.

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

Look after each other so that no one of you fails to receive the grace of God.

Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal.

You know that afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected.

It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

So we just picked an easy passage today.

Uh I was so compelled towards Hebrews 12 when I was asked to share.

And the more I dug into this passage, the more I was like, what am I doing preaching on this?

This is not an easy one.

Um, but as I got deeper, I realized that this is actually a really important word for us today in this time, and that it needed to be shared.

And so I'm excited to dive in.

So, how is God calling us higher?

First of all, he is calling us to each other.

And we see this throughout the passage.

So it says that we are called to peace with everyone.

We see that in verse 14.

Work at living in peace with everyone.

And peace with others is actually a part of our pursuit of holiness, righteousness.

It's the fruit of a life after Jesus.

Thomas Shriner writes that those who see the Lord are at peace with others.

So he's saying that peace with others is actually fruit of our closeness with Jesus.

And yet, peace is also something we need to pursue.

I love how the passage actually says work at living in peace with everyone.

Some passages actually or some translations even say strive for peace with everyone.

To strive means that it actually takes work and real effort.

It's not doing the easy thing.

When people are gossiping to not actually engage in that, when someone offends you to not hold on to that, it's often doing the hard thing, not speaking ill of others, but actually being good other good listeners, believing the best in others, forgiving quickly, and not getting caught up in offense.

We strive for peace, we pursue it.

What would it look like if we approached every interaction in this heart posture?

That when someone actually says that thing, that you're like, did you actually just say that?

You pause and you just actually, no, how can I pursue peace right now in this relationship?

When someone starts gossiping and you're tempted to, yep, no, no, no.

How do I pursue peace in this moment?

In our relationships, are we pursuing and striving for peace?

Romans 12, verse 8 says, if possible, not if easy, if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Romans 12:8

That's the ESV.

And the NLT says, do all that you can, not just do a little bit, but do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

And this verse always convicts me because there's so often where we'll let that little offense or that little, I can't believe they did that, or they totally meant this, or they, you know, and we'll let that kind of stir up in our heart.

But if possible, so far as it depends on you, not on what that person said, not on the as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Why?

Because we're called to each other, we need one another, and when we let quarrels, disagreements, and offense get between us, we miss out on the greater picture that God is painting.

And he actually talks in here about a root of bitterness that grows up that actually corrupts many.

Because when we let those things get a hold of our heart, it doesn't just affect us, it affects the people around us, our family, our community.

We're called to each other.

And we're called to look after each other.

Verse 15, I love that that's the language, look after each other.

The author calls the church to this, to look out for, to watch over.

And the Greek word here actually means to take care.

We're called to look after, look out for, and take care of each other.

How different would our worlds be if we understood that we were here for that purpose?

I want to read verse 15 one more time.

It says, look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God.

And it goes on, but the author, in calling the church to holiness, saw this to be such a serious matter that he didn't just say, Hey, look out that look out for yourself that you don't fall short.

Hey, look out for you.

No, he says, look out for each other.

I need you to look out for your brothers and your sisters because it's that important.

We're called to each other.

Bob Attlee points out that the term saint is actually always used plural in the Bible.

Did you know that?

It's always used plural or to address a group of people.

It's not just like, hey, you, you're a saint.

Actually, we as the saints.

He says, we are our brother's keeper.

We must spare no effort to encourage one another.

We are given and gifted for the health of the whole.

I love that.

Given and gifted for the health of the whole.

And I actually believe that this is God's heart.

Like what would happen if we understood this as a part of our purpose?

That all that God has given us, all that He's gifted us, is meant to bring health and life and unity to the body.

It's not just about us.

We're called to each other.

A part of my story is that I came to know Jesus kind of at the end of high school, so I went straight into Bible college, and I didn't have a great relationship with the church.

I grew up in a very formal Orthodox church, and my family didn't quite fit into that box.

And so I think the picture that I had painted of the church was a little bit tainted by that.

And so I remember in Bible college feeling wholly called to who Jesus was.

Like I knew I needed to give him everything that I had, my whole life, everything.

But I sat with one of my profs, Mark McKnight, incredible pastor of pastors, and I shared this with him.

You know, I love Jesus, but the church has a bit of a hard time with the church.

And I'll never forget how he responded to me in that moment.

Gently but sternly.

But after that conversation, I began to actually grow into the church a little bit.

And now, after five plus years rooted in this beautiful expression of the local church, I'm more convinced than ever that the church is not just a part of loving Jesus.

It's actually the expression of his heart.

The church is actually how God wants to bring his kingdom here on earth.

And I've seen it firsthand that this is the place where people heal, it's the place where families reconcile, it's the place where teens find a safe space.

I was that teenager and the church was a safe space for me, and it's brought me here today.

And now we get to do that with our youth.

It's a place where moms are surrounded.

More and more I'm aware that there is nothing like the church.

Messy, beautiful, human, real, we're called to each other.

When the world is advocating for individualism, for our own rights, you know, do what feels good for you, but the fruit of it is division, war, mistreatment of others.

It's clear that there has to be a better way.

And God is actually calling us to be a part of changing that narrative.

You know that?

We're not just meant to be passive bystanders.

I love that throughout this passage it talks about work at, strive for, give everything that you have.

We're not called to be passive.

He invites us to be a part of changing the narrative.

We are people called to each other, called to look out for each other, given and gifted for the health of the whole.

We're meant to be different.

Like we've been talking about a city on a hill and all these things this year.

We're meant to be different.

And how we love each other is one of the biggest parts of that.

I don't think it's an accident that the book of Hebrews actually ends with a call to keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters in Hebrews 13, verse 1.

Hebrews 13:1

Keep on loving one another, that that's how he would end.

We are called to each other.

Secondly, I believe that God is calling us to holiness.

And there's a lot that we could say about holiness.

Um, I think that would be a separate message, probably, but I want to just scratch the surface here.

If the author is seeking to keep the church anchored in their faith, not shrinking back, not falling away, why holiness?

Because the pursuit of holiness actually means the pursuit of Jesus.

And none of this is possible without Jesus.

This better world, this better way, putting each other first, seeking holiness, none of it is possible without Jesus.

Thomas Scheiner puts it this way: holiness should not be understood in terms of sinlessness, but describes those who continue to seek and pursue the Lord.

The reward is here, described in personal terms.

Those who seek holiness will see the Lord.

Those who seek holiness will see the Lord.

So again, this is not about being perfect.

This is not about being, um, okay, we're not going to do any of the things, but it's actually a consistent, continual pursuit of seeking the Lord.

Matthew 5, verse 8 says, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:8

And the writer of Hebrews writes, uh, those who are holy will see the Lord, or in this version, those who are not holy will not see God.

This sounds harsh, but I actually believe that it's an invitation.

If you just hang with me for a minute.

So when it comes to our walk with Jesus, our salvation is in an instant.

You know, we invite Jesus into our heart, we're saved by grace.

That's it.

We don't have to do anything.

Everything that we've done, any wrongs, it's forgiven, it's in the past.

We're new in Jesus.

It's beautiful.

All because of the price that he paid.

Sanctification, though, being made holy, this is a process.

By abiding, remaining, pursuing Jesus every day, we become like him.

Again, it says we work at living a holy life.

We don't passively, you know, hope for it to happen.

We work at living a holy life.

We are saved in a moment because of what Jesus has done, and yet our lives are spent pursuing Christ, pursuing peace, and seeking holiness.

We pursue holiness by pursuing Jesus.

We become whole by wholly trusting in Him.

Some commentators have actually said that the language of seeing God is meant to say to abide, to be close, to enjoy, to walk in relationship.

So if this is true, then actually to pursue holiness is to pursue Jesus.

It's to every day choose that time with him, every day choose that pursuit of him, to abide, to remain.

The pursuit of holiness is a process and it requires a relationship with God, a connection to the source.

If to see him is to dwell with him and to walk closely with him, then the pursuit of a relationship with Jesus is actually how we pursue holiness.

So, what would it look like if we as a church actually stepped into this?

Again, not just individually, but as a church, spurring one another on in our home groups in these moments where we get to sit together at mom's group to pursue holiness.

Lastly, we are called to fix our eyes.

Now, growing up in Alberta, I don't know if everyone else got this talk, but going into driving on the winter roads, I got some uh conversations with my dad teaching me how to navigate because maybe he's a little worried.

Um, but I will never forget the advice my dad gave me.

Have you ever been driving and you hit an ice patch, you start spinning out?

You're trying to kind of control your car, you're spinning your wheel.

So he told me, okay, typically when this happens, someone hits an ice patch, they start spinning out.

They see a lamppost, so they look at the lamppost and they're trying to drive away from it, but they end up hitting it because that's where they're looking.

So he said, if ever you hit an ice patch and you're spinning out, look at the open space and then redirect your car.

So my kid got it.

Um got into that position many times, and it worked every time, actually.

So thanks, Dad.

Um, but isn't that incredible?

People will drive into something because they're trying to avoid it.

But if we keep our eyes on the open space, we might actually be able to get there.

Where we go, or sorry, where our focus is, we follow.

We go where we focus.

So this third call comes to us in the story of Esau.

And I believe that the author shares this story because it actually paints the picture of someone who had something lasting and important, but in a moment of desire, of hunger, of what his flesh wanted, he actually gave up that lasting thing for something temporary.

He lost sight of it.

He lost sight of what was important, what would be his future and the future of generations, because he was hungry, because of what he wanted in a moment.

Verses 16 to 17, it says, Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal.

You know that afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected.

It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

Honestly, I was avoiding this passage at first.

I was like, maybe I can just preach like the other part.

Um, but there's something so beautiful and actually redemptive in this, and so I want to go there.

And we're gonna read from Genesis, because that's where the story comes from.

If you're curious, you can read the whole thing.

I'm gonna read a piece today.

But it says, Once when Jacob was cooking stew, that's Esau's brother, Esau came in from the field and he was exhausted.

Esau said to Jacob, Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted.

Jacob said, Well, sell me your birthright.

Esau said, I'm about to die.

Of what use is a birthright to me?

I'm about to die.

Okay.

Jacob said, Swear to me now.

So we swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, what he wanted.

And he ate and drank and rose and went his way.

Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Esau was tired, hungry, and let's be real, a little bit dramatic.

I'm gonna die.

But how many of us have been there?

Oh, I'm so exhausted, I'm dying, I'm so tired, I'm so hungry.

And he just wanted something that would ease the ache that he was feeling.

We do this too, right?

Again, in our exhaustion, in our pain, our uncertainty, where does our focus go?

What are the things that we believe will actually ease the discomfort?

This is the heartbreaking thing about Esau, is that he actually believed that this bowl of soup would ease his discomfort.

And it did.

He wasn't hungry anymore, he was full, he was satisfied.

But what he didn't account for was the cost of his comfort.

And maybe you've been there.

You know, maybe just one more drink.

Maybe if we push the boundaries just this once, scroll a little while longer, maybe then I'll feel okay.

But these things that leave a temporary sense of comfort or relief often leave us feeling empty, regretful, and sometimes send us actually into a cycle, going back to that thing over and over and over again.

It happens often where we choose the easy thing and things actually get harder.

The thing that feels good in a moment, that feels easy in a moment, and puts us on a trajectory where things get a lot more difficult.

This week I saw on the doors of our kids' classrooms, they'd done a craft and it said, if you think you can't wait, think twice.

And I thought that was adorable, but also profound, because actually sometimes as adults, we just have these things we're like, nope, I'm just we don't think about it.

We don't think twice.

And maybe we actually just need to pause, think about it for a minute, invite Jesus in and say, hey, I feel really weak right now, and I need your help.

This is not the path that I want to go down.

Our kids get it.

Maybe they need to come in and uh teach us a little bit.

And actually, even at Youth on Friday, Bennett shared a word with our youth, and he was talking about choosing God over choosing idols.

And um I'm like, man, is this what God is just like speaking to us right now?

Where is our focus?

What are we choosing?

What's coming first?

We're called to pause, to look to Jesus, to fix our eyes on him.

Philippians 4, verse 8 says, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Philippians 4:8

We're called to think on purity, because waiting for marriage is so, so worth it.

Honesty, because hard conversations is actually how real community and real connection happens.

Not by avoiding, not by beating around the bush.

Kindness because something changes in us when we think of others first.

Service because a life lived for others is a part of how we find our purpose.

Hard things that lead to ease in the long run, that lead to ease in our marriage, marriage in our ease in our relationships, ease in our church community, things that might feel difficult in a moment, even like our good habits, getting up early to read your Bible.

It feels hard in the moment, but it leads to life.

And so this is not about a list of do's and don'ts.

This isn't like, okay, stop this, start this.

It's actually about our hearts and it's about our minds.

What has your attention right now?

What has your affection?

We're called to fix our eyes.

As we close here.

What would happen in those moments if we actually just paused and looked to Jesus?

Like we gave it one minute.

Think twice.

If you remember that, kids.

If you think you can't wait, think twice.

Look to Jesus.

Take a minute.

So, this is what happens when we fix our eyes on temporary things.

And I want to start by saying that there is redemption for every story.

I truly believe that there's nothing that we've done that can make us too far gone.

God's heart and God's desire is that whatever is in your past, like if you're listening to this right now and you're like, I feel like Esau, I feel like I gave it away.

I gave the thing away that I can't get back.

I believe that God would want you to know today that He has redemption for your story.

That's not the end of your story.

He has something beautiful for your story today.

But as people who love and follow Jesus, I also believe that he is calling us higher when it comes to the things that get our attention.

Because where our eyes go, our thoughts follow, and then our whole lives.

Esau was paying attention to his hunger, to his desire, and so he gave in.

He gave up his birthright and his inheritance for a bowl of soup.

He couldn't get that back.

I'll say it one more time.

God redeems everything, everything, but there are some things that we can't get back.

If we read through Genesis, we see that God redeems Esau's story too.

Even in the midst of Esau giving away his birthright, God redeems his story.

It's beautiful, it's rich.

We see him and his brother Jacob reconcile and come together.

God redeems his story.

And still, there were things that he couldn't get back.

God wants to bring redemption in that space.

But also maybe you're on the cusp where you're like, would it be so bad?

Would it really matter?

God has more for you today, too.

Because the thing is, I'm gonna say it, sex before marriage robs us of the intimacy of sharing ourselves with one person for the rest of our lives.

Things like lying, they can lead us to isolation, getting ourselves into a space that we just can't get out of.

Anger, lashing out of the people that we love, it has its own consequences.

I could go on.

But when we compromise, when we choose a way from God's best, that's the thing.

This is not a rule list, this is not God's list of do's and don'ts, this is his protection for us.

This is God in his kindness, his best for us.

Inviting us into the better way, inviting us into the world that he wants to build.

When we fix our eyes on temporary things, it eventually drives us to give away the lasting things.

But we're called to fix our eyes on Jesus.

Someone actually asked me recently if my husband and I waited.

And I was like, wait, waited what, to kiss?

Like, um, we didn't, we did kiss, but um waited to have sex until we got married, and I was like, oh.

I was so taken aback because of how highly we held that in our relationship, but I realized that that's not that abnormal.

And again, this is not to bring shame, like God brings redemption for every story, but I want to go there today because we actually got to step into marriage with no shame, no fear.

We got to enjoy this gift that God created as He intended it.

But here's the thing: when we were dating, our eyes were not on Kate, don't have sex, Kate, don't do the thing.

No.

Our eyes were on honoring one another.

Our focus was on being role models for the youth that we lead.

Our focus was on guarding our hearts and our convictions.

Our focus was on living lives that first and foremost honor Jesus, our relationship being an expression of that.

So we set boundaries, we had uncomfy conversations at the start of our relationship.

We reassessed boundaries when we needed to.

We took chaperones on trips, did day trips, we did the things because it was that important to us.

But here's the thing: our eyes were on where we wanted to go.

Health in our future marriage, health for our future kids, health for the kids and youth we lead today.

And again, I don't want you to take this and go, oh no.

My hope is that when you hear this, you would hear an invitation.

Where do you want to go?

Where is God calling you to go?

Would you fix your eyes on Jesus?

Would you fix your eyes off of the temporary?

Maybe you've been in a season where you've just wanted to fill that desire.

You just maybe will push that boundary, maybe we'll overstep that, but to actually step back and say, God, where are you taking me?

And where do I want to go?

And how do I build my life around that?

How do I put up the boundaries?

Put in the accountability, bring the right people and who are gonna speak into this and challenge me and call me out and not just let me do what I want to do.

God, where are you taking me?

Our eyes need to be on the place that we want to go.

So, what has your attention?

Is it the desire of a moment or is it the things that will last?

God is calling us to be a people whose hearts are set on eternity, eyes fixed on Jesus.

But when our eyes are fixed on temporary things, this is the trouble, is that we're actually at risk of losing sight of the God who alone can satisfy.

We look to all these things to satisfy this hunger in our soul, thinking maybe this will do it, maybe this will fix it, maybe this will bring me a sense of relief and comfort and peace, but only God can.

This is the trouble.

And the further we go down that path, the further we chase it, the emptier we begin to feel.

The deeper the regret begins to grow.

And yet, Jesus, wherever we're at, his arms are open, he actually invites us.

Come in, I have redemption for your story, I have more for your story.

But we're called to fix our eyes.

We're called to pursue God, not just avoid sin.

Because when we see God, we're changed.

When we move towards him, it changes everything.

And I just want to say this doesn't make it easy.

Um, I want to go back to the icy road analogy because I've been in that position many times, and my dad's advice um, you know, didn't actually allow me to, okay, I'm just gonna let go and let it happen, I'll be fine.

No, you're still your car spinning out, you're spinning your wheel, you're like, I could crash my car right now.

You still feel the intensity, my heart still beats fast out of my chest, but I actually have the peace of mind and confidence in that moment that I know what my dad told me, and I know what to do.

Even as my heart is racing, I feel like, you know, I'm actually gonna be okay because I remember what my dad said, and I'm just gonna aim for the empty space.

I'm gonna look to the open space.

And I believe that this is actually what God desires for us too.

Again, this is not more rules, more do's and don'ts, but in that moment where we're spinning out and we feel like we're losing control, it's like, don't look at that thing that you're trying to avoid.

Look at me.

Look at Jesus.

Fix your eyes on Jesus.

Galatians 6 verse 9, it says, Let us not grow weary of doing good.

Galatians 6:9

For in due season we will reap if we do not give up.

I want to end there because again, this is not a passive thing, it's an invitation, and Jesus carries the heavy weight, but he's actually asking us to come to him with all of it.

Um, and I want us to just worship together for a moment here, but first I want to give a couple of prompts, and they're really simple because I actually just want us to have room to invite the Holy Spirit.

Hey, what do you actually want to highlight in my heart in this area?

The first one is how is God calling me higher when it comes to my community?

Think about your life in community, in the church, in your family.

How is God calling you higher?

Secondly, what would change if you took your pursuit of holiness seriously?

What would it look like?

What would change?

And thirdly, I want us to just think on where our focus has been.

And where is God actually calling us to fix our eyes?

Has your focus been on temporary things?

Have you been caught up in the things that you desire, the things that you want?

Where is God calling you to fix your eyes?

And we're gonna pray together in a moment, but would you just stand?

And I just want us to take a moment to invite God to speak into some of these spaces as we worship before we close here.

God, we open our hearts to you today.

God, whatever it is that you want to say, whatever it is that you want to do.

God, we want to hear the hard thing because we know that it leads to life.

God, we want your best.

We want to be a part of the better way, God.

We want to walk on the path towards better things that you have, God.

And so we open our hearts to you.

God, we want to build our life on you.

We want to fix our eyes on you.

What you just speak to our hearts this morning as we worship you.

Thank you so much for listening to today's message.

If you're ever in the Edmonton area, pop by for a visit.

And if you need any more information, visit EvolveChurch.com.

We hope to see you soon.