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Build What Outlives You Pt. 1 | Nate Ortiz | Radiant Life Church

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  1. Thank you, Pastor Matt.

  2. It's a It's a great time to be in the

  3. house of the Lord. Amen.

  4. >> Okay. All right. We feeling good.

  5. >> Okay. All right. Let's go. Listen, I I'm

  6. super thankful for Pastor Matt and Liz.

  7. Um last night they um I I truly believe

  8. we have just some of the best uh youth

  9. pastors. Can we give it up for them?

  10. Pastor Matt and Liz. I

  11. and we're thankful for even the the

  12. groundwork that Pastor Matt Sullivan and

  13. and Katherine have laid and and I it was

  14. a great season in life. We you know Matt

  15. and Liz are great friends of ours and we

  16. went to their house but we just dropped

  17. off our oldest for a middle school

  18. hangout that they had last night and so

  19. we just got to drop my oldest off and we

  20. said all right see you. Right. And uh

  21. they were having an amazing time. they

  22. were uh just playing on, you know, games

  23. in the yard, all that kind of stuff. And

  24. so, um it was just an amazing time and

  25. uh we're just thankful for what God is

  26. doing in the young people here at

  27. Radiant Life Church. And so, we have the

  28. privilege, we are starting a new sermon

  29. series today, and we are thankful. We're

  30. continue. Pastor Chris and Pastor Rachel

  31. will be back and we are thankful um for

  32. that. And uh if you're taking notes,

  33. today we are starting a a new sermon

  34. series about legacy. All right? And so

  35. when we think about legacy, that's a

  36. that's a big word, right? We we you

  37. know, if you're younger in the room, if

  38. you're like, "Ah, you know, what's my

  39. legacy? What does that really mean?" And

  40. if we're maybe older in the room, we

  41. maybe think about legacy a little bit

  42. more. But God wants to build an internal

  43. impact through your life. What he forms

  44. in hidden places is meant to shape

  45. families, in influence communities, and

  46. point the world to him. You know,

  47. building something worthwhile is not

  48. always a smooth process. And we think

  49. about your legacy. There's lots of

  50. different things that go into that. When

  51. you think about what is my life really

  52. about? What am I building currently?

  53. What will happen when I am gone or my

  54. presence is removed from a situation?

  55. What will people say about me? What will

  56. be left about my life? And when we think

  57. about building this legacy that we're

  58. going to talk about, um, I I probably

  59. started thinking more about my legacy in

  60. my life as I I got married and and you

  61. just you can have conversations, you

  62. think about family. And so

  63. for me, I'm not super great at like

  64. keeping memories and different things

  65. like that in my life. Like when I think

  66. about, you know, my wife, she's way

  67. better than I am. I mean, she has stuff

  68. from say, "Oh, I had this this paper I

  69. did, you know, when I was in third

  70. grade." I'm like, "I literally have

  71. nothing from third grade. I have

  72. nothing. There's no record of it. I

  73. don't know if I completed third grade."

  74. Right? It's just we're just totally

  75. different people. By then to think about

  76. as I get older and for my boys, I think

  77. like what, you know, obviously in a much

  78. simpler sense, like what will be left?

  79. Like what did they say? Hey, what did

  80. dad leave me? Like I don't know. He left

  81. you some Michael Jordan cards and a can

  82. of Coke. I don't know. That's all that

  83. was left. You know, it's like I just

  84. never really like kept things. But when

  85. I begin to think about my legacy, I I I

  86. begin to say, "Lord, what are you going

  87. to do through my life? What's going to

  88. be left? What everything that I'm doing,

  89. is it worthwhile?" And so when we think

  90. about that this morning and we talk

  91. about legacy,

  92. I want to hit you with this thought that

  93. when building a legacy, it starts in a

  94. secret place. When you want to build

  95. something that outlives you,

  96. you have to say,"Lord,

  97. what are you showing me? What are you

  98. revealing to me?" And I'd like to submit

  99. my first point that building a legacy

  100. starts by following God's purpose. And

  101. we're going to be in 1st Samuel chapter

  102. 16:es 1-13. And I may read a bit longer,

  103. but uh 1st Samuel 16 verse 1, we'll

  104. start. It said, "Now the Lord said to

  105. Samuel, how long will you grieve over

  106. Saul since I have rejected him from

  107. being king over Israel? Fill your horn

  108. with oil and go. I will send you to

  109. Jesse the Bethleamite, for I have

  110. selected a king for myself among his

  111. sons." But Samuel said, "How can I go?

  112. When Saul hears of it, he will kill me."

  113. And the Lord said, "Take a hepher with

  114. you and say, I have come to sacrifice to

  115. the Lord. You shall invite Jesse to the

  116. sacrifice, and I will show you what you

  117. shall do, and you shall anoint for me

  118. the one whom I designate to you." So

  119. Samuel did what the Lord said and came

  120. to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city

  121. came trembling to meet him and said, "Do

  122. you come in peace?" He said, "In peace,

  123. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.

  124. Consecrate yourselves and come with me

  125. to the sacrifice." He also consecrated

  126. Jesse and his sons and invited them to

  127. the sacrifice. When they entered, he

  128. looked at Elab and thought, "Surely the

  129. Lord's anointed is before him." But the

  130. Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his

  131. appearance or at the height of his

  132. stature, because I have rejected him.

  133. For God sees not as man sees. For man

  134. looks at the outward appearance, but the

  135. Lord looks at the heart." Then Jesus

  136. called Abinadab and made him pass before

  137. Samuel. and he said, "The Lord has not

  138. chosen this one either." Next, Jesse

  139. made Shama pass by, and he said, "The

  140. Lord has not chosen this one either."

  141. Thus, Jesse made seven of his sons pass

  142. before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse,

  143. "The Lord has not chosen these." And

  144. Samuel said to Jesse, "Are these all the

  145. children?" And he said, "There remains

  146. yet the youngest, and behold, he is

  147. tending the sheep." Then Samuel said to

  148. Jesse, "Send and bring for him, for we

  149. will not sit down until he comes here."

  150. So he went and brought him in. Now he

  151. was ready with a beautiful eyes and a

  152. handsome appearance. And the Lord said,

  153. "Arise, anoint him, for this is he."

  154. Then Samuel took the horn of oil,

  155. anointed him in the midst of his

  156. brothers, and the spirit of the Lord

  157. came mightily upon David from that day

  158. forward. And Samuel arose and went to

  159. Rama.

  160. Now, I just want to pause right there

  161. and I want to make a comment that if the

  162. Bible says you're good-looking, you must

  163. be really good-looking. That's a resume

  164. builder. You're saying like, "Hey, I'm

  165. just saying the Bible say I was

  166. good-looking, so I must be

  167. good-looking." Right?

  168. But when we talk about legacy, it's not

  169. built upon looks. It's not built upon

  170. what people think, but it's about what

  171. God is doing on the inside of you. In

  172. summary, what we just read, right?

  173. Samuel is struck in grief over Saul's

  174. failure and God has to redirect him.

  175. Right? How long will you mourn is what

  176. God says to Samuel. God sends uh Samuel

  177. to Bethlehem to anoint the next king

  178. from Jesse's sons. One by one,

  179. impressive men walk by and Samuel is

  180. ready to crown them. But God stops him

  181. every time. Then the forgotten son David

  182. out in the field with the sheep, not

  183. even invited to the gathering, is called

  184. in. And God says that's the one.

  185. Building a legacy starts by following

  186. God's purpose. I want to submit this

  187. thought to you that for for Saul uh for

  188. for Samuel it was difficult. All right.

  189. There was a plan that they they had

  190. Samuel and God and and things shifted

  191. and changed. And I don't know about you

  192. but in our life we often want to show

  193. God our plans. But God wants to give us

  194. purpose.

  195. We often think about what the plans that

  196. we have for our life. Well, if I can do

  197. this, then I will do this, then I will

  198. do this, and God's blessing will be upon

  199. me or I will finally be content and

  200. happy in life. But God is not interested

  201. in our bestlaid plans. Can I tell you

  202. when we say, "God, here's my plan." And

  203. you submit it to him, he's not saying,

  204. "That's the best plan I've ever heard in

  205. my life. We're just going to go with

  206. that."

  207. But if we're being honest, we say, "God,

  208. here's my life, and I know you have

  209. purpose for me. Allow me to lean into

  210. your purpose and not trust my own plans.

  211. That can be difficult, right? Plans feel

  212. clear. They can be strategic and very

  213. helpful." Here, here what I'm saying.

  214. I'm not saying plans aren't helpful,

  215. right? You know, you don't want to wing

  216. it your whole life. Like, oh, what

  217. what's God doing? I don't know. We're

  218. just winging it. But you say, "Lord, I I

  219. have an idea what you want me to do, but

  220. allow me to stay faithful. Allow me to

  221. stay true to what you are speaking to

  222. me.

  223. Allow me not to be so consumed about my

  224. ideas and my trajectory, but allow me to

  225. say, Lord, what are you speaking?

  226. What are you saying to me?"

  227. Plans are typically about outcomes we

  228. can see. But purpose is about a design

  229. only God fully understands.

  230. As Samuel had to understand that he had

  231. to follow God's purpose and understand

  232. what what was happening. You know it's I

  233. the question that you know can can be

  234. hard to say God why why did this have to

  235. happen or why did it have to go this

  236. way? But God's ways and his plans are

  237. are better than we can even understand

  238. or comprehend. In Proverbs chapter 19

    Proverbs 19:21

  239. verse 21, it says, "You can make many

  240. plans, but the Lord's purpose will

  241. prevail."

  242. Proverbs 19:20 uh uh one in the NASB

    Proverbs 19:20

  243. says, "Your plan, many plans are in a

  244. man's heart, but the council of the Lord

  245. will stand."

  246. the purpose that God has for you is

  247. going to outlive you. Right? When you

  248. think about a legacy, you want something

  249. that's going to outlive you, that's

  250. going to impact people. And you have to

  251. submit your plans to the Lord. And when

  252. you begin to do that, your purpose

  253. becomes a lot more clear in your

  254. day-today activities. But you have to

  255. trust him. You know, when plans don't go

  256. the way we hoped, it can cause us to

  257. focus on what was versus what could be.

  258. Have you ever been there where you said,

  259. "Lord, I I thought it was going to go

  260. this way or I had this plan. I had it

  261. all laid out. I had it in a binder. It

  262. was colorcoded. I had graphs. I had all

  263. these kind of things. And I I knew where

  264. I was going, but this happened. And now

  265. I'm kind of in a little bit of a tail

  266. spin.

  267. You know, to understand Samuel's

  268. mourning, we need to go a little bit

  269. back in the story. And not to unpack

  270. Saul's full story, but for Samuel.

  271. Samuel went to Saul. He he was anointed

  272. to be king. God said, "This is the guy."

  273. And Samuel's telling him, I mean, he's

  274. head and shoulders above the rest. And

  275. he was good-looking, too. Now, I have a

  276. complex. I'm like, "You have to be tall

  277. and good-looking to be used by God. But,

  278. you know, 0 for two. What can you do?"

  279. Right? And so, that's totally fine. But,

  280. but Samuel's saying, "This is the person

  281. that God has picked." And what

  282. disqualified Saul from being the king.

  283. And where Samuel had to then anoint

  284. David. Well, Saul almost did everything

  285. that God asked him to do.

  286. Samuel spoke to Saul and said, "When you

  287. go into this battle, you're not to take

  288. anything with you. You're supposed to

  289. just

  290. not bring anything."

  291. And Saul had a idea. Said, "Well, I'll

  292. just take the good stuff and I'll do

  293. good things with it." But that's not

  294. what God asked Saul to do. That wasn't

  295. the plan.

  296. Saul went with a plan, but God's looking

  297. for a greater purpose.

  298. So Samuel had to lament this fact that

  299. Saul was being disobedient. And it

  300. wasn't about the actions, but it's about

  301. what was in Saul's heart.

  302. I don't know if you've ever been there,

  303. but have you ever been in a place where

  304. a plan went south and you found yourself

  305. just trying to resuscitate the plan and

  306. God's saying, "We got to move." And

  307. you're there giving chest compressions

  308. to your plan. We're we're going to

  309. revive it. we can make it. And God say,

  310. "No, no.

  311. We're moving on."

  312. That can be hard to say, "God, I I I I

  313. thought we had a plan, but God's calling

  314. you to greater purpose."

  315. Saul wanted to look right in front of

  316. the people. Right? So Saul, he looks at

  317. Samuel, says, "I know I messed up, but

  318. can you just stand with me so people

  319. think I'm right?

  320. You don't have to live your life say,

  321. "Well, I I I just want to look right in

  322. front of people. I want to walk into

  323. church and just, you know, puff out my

  324. chest and just be, how you doing?" "Oh,

  325. I'm blessed and highly favored. I'm the

  326. lender, not the borrower."

  327. Praise God.

  328. No.

  329. But every moment that we live our lives,

  330. God is moving us closer to his will if

  331. we let him lead us. We don't have to be

  332. like Saul to say, "Well, I want to look

  333. right, even though I'm making choices

  334. that are against God."

  335. You know, Samuel may have had a

  336. difficult time mourning Saul's choices.

  337. But there was things that Saul was doing

  338. that wasn't part of God's plan, and

  339. Samuel had to let that go.

  340. I love this quote from Corey Tenboom. It

  341. says, "Never be afraid to trust an

  342. unknown future to a known God."

  343. And for Samuel, he was going to learn to

  344. trust God's purpose.

  345. I'd like to submit the second thought to

  346. you this morning. We talk about building

  347. a legacy. It doesn't require an

  348. audience.

  349. The legacy that you strive to build, it

  350. starts small. It starts in the secret

  351. places. It doesn't just happen because

  352. you know people recognize it or they see

  353. this greatness in you, but it happens

  354. because you allow God to shape and to

  355. mold you.

  356. That can be difficult. There was a

  357. season in my life where I didn't know

  358. what God was going to do in my life. I I

  359. I never I never had this idea of like

  360. one day I want to be a pastor. And I

  361. remember I'm like, could could I be a

  362. pastor? Like I I began to doubt myself.

  363. I'm like, I don't think I I don't think

  364. I can do that. I don't I don't know if

  365. that's what God has for me. And someone

  366. just told me just pray. And I begin to

  367. pray. And I begin to pray. And I'm not

  368. just talking about I prayed in the

  369. morning and I just 10 minutes. I mean, I

  370. prayed hard to say, Lord, I need to know

  371. this is you. If I'm stepping out, I'm

  372. I'm going to honor you with my life. I

  373. need to know this is you. And in those

  374. moments, there wasn't there there wasn't

  375. this audience that confirmed. They

  376. didn't say, "Nate, we heard you

  377. preaching. We you think we think you

  378. should be a pastor or you nothing like

  379. that." But it became in the quiet

  380. places.

  381. And when Samuel anointed Saul and David,

  382. it was done privately. Because here's

  383. the reality this morning is that God

  384. doesn't need the approval of an

  385. audience, but the obedience of one

  386. heart. The obedience of one heart could

  387. change generations.

  388. Do you understand that? the obedience of

  389. someone saying I want to see a shift and

  390. change in my family and and you know

  391. that that goes long beyond what I could

  392. ever think or hope or imagine.

  393. It doesn't require people to it's

  394. approval but it just requires you saying

  395. Lord I want everything that you have for

  396. me. 1 Samuel chapter 6 verse 7 says

    1 Samuel 6:7

  397. uh don't look at his appearance or at

  398. the height of his stature because I have

  399. rejected him. For God sees not as man

  400. sees. For man looks at the outward

  401. appearance, but the Lord looks at the

  402. heart.

  403. Aren't you thankful this morning that

  404. God

  405. doesn't look at just what we are

  406. currently, how people perceive us,

  407. but he looks at our heart.

  408. God sees the potential in us.

  409. He doesn't say, "I could use you because

  410. it seems like people like you or it

  411. seems like people know you.

  412. But have you ever been around a person

  413. who just has spent time with God? I

  414. truly believe they're some of the most

  415. confident, bold people. Not because they

  416. say, "Look at what people think about

  417. me." But you've ever been around a

  418. person who prays and they hear from the

  419. Lord and they come with that boldness.

  420. The kind of people that say, "I'm taking

  421. it to prayer."

  422. And when they pray, oh, they pray. I

  423. mean, I can tell you there's times where

  424. it's like I I've gone to an altar and

  425. asked for prayer

  426. and I, you know, you just feel defeated

  427. sometimes. You just I just I I don't

  428. know what to do. I need help. And then

  429. you get with someone who's praying and

  430. you you feel encouraged. You feel like,

  431. oh my goodness, come on. They spent some

  432. time with God. You're like, I can do

  433. this. I, you know, I can I can get

  434. myself going. And that's the kind of

  435. boldness that we need. That's the kind

  436. of boldness that David had. No one was

  437. watching him out in the field. No one

  438. saw what he was doing. It was just him,

  439. the Lord, and some sheep and some

  440. animals that he would kill along the

  441. way. And there are there's a lesson to

  442. be learned here that in the time that

  443. you are building your legacy, it begins

  444. now. Young people, it doesn't begin

  445. later. It doesn't be begin when you

  446. graduate college or you get married. It

  447. begins right now where you are. They

  448. say, "My legacy will be that I will

  449. pursue Jesus. I will honor him with my

  450. life. I will give him everything that I

  451. have." There will be things that will

  452. try to diminish what God wants to do in

  453. your life and you will get distracted.

  454. It will try to pull you away. But I'm

  455. telling you, step into what God is

  456. doing. Even if you're right now saying

  457. you're you're raising your family and

  458. you're doing just life,

  459. don't don't get distracted with the

  460. other things that don't really matter.

  461. But be honest with yourself. What is God

  462. doing in you that you could then share

  463. with your family and speak life into

  464. them?

  465. What is God preparing in your heart?

  466. Privately,

  467. no one's around.

  468. God doesn't need your vi visibility to

  469. advance his work in you. Legacy gets

  470. built in the seasons that feel forgotten

  471. when you're overlooked, underestimated,

  472. or maybe you're left out of rooms you

  473. deserve to be in. David's greatest

  474. qualification wasn't his resume.

  475. It was his faithfulness in the field

  476. when no one was keeping score. Imagine

  477. David out in the field watching his

  478. brothers go to the house and maybe say,

  479. "Hey, hey, what's going on? Do I need to

  480. be there?" No, you're good, man. You

  481. stay there. Oh, okay.

  482. And maybe it was his fourth brother, you

  483. know, come. Hey, hey, I see more people.

  484. You need me? No, no, no, Dave. This

  485. ain't for you.

  486. But little did he know that God saw his

  487. heart when he was just worshiping and

  488. doing what was asked of him.

  489. You know, if I was David,

  490. I would feel kind of left out. What's my

  491. purpose? I feel like everyone's doing

  492. greater things than than I am.

  493. But I truly believe God builds his

  494. greatest work in people that nobody has

  495. noticed yet.

  496. If you're in this room and you're

  497. feeling like, man, my family's a mess.

  498. I'm a mess. You talk about legacy. We're

  499. just trying to keep it together, right?

  500. Some of you, you know, you hear heard

  501. that old phrase of like, and we put the

  502. fun in dysfunctional, right? Like,

  503. that's my family.

  504. I don't think things are ever going to

  505. change. I don't think things are going

  506. to shift. But I want to encourage you,

  507. be faithful.

  508. You don't know what God has ahead. You

  509. don't know the purpose he has for you or

  510. your family,

  511. but rely fully on him.

  512. I'd like to submit my third point

  513. is that building a legacy continues in

  514. the ordinary.

  515. Building continues in the ordinary.

  516. Legacy isn't this giant thing that one

  517. day you're ready for it and it happens.

  518. But every day that you live, every day

  519. that we live, you are building your

  520. legacy.

  521. I remember when I was growing up, I

  522. mean, I just what's my legacy? Having

  523. fun, living life. And not that I was

  524. wild or anything like that, but it's

  525. just like I'm just I'm just going 100

  526. miles an hour. And you know, my my mom

  527. would tell me, she would say, 'Nate,

  528. you're burning the candle at both ends.

  529. I'm like, I know. Isn't that great?

  530. Instead of one candle, you have two.

  531. She didn't see it that way, right? But I

  532. began to think deeply about what is my

  533. life really about? Is it about wearing

  534. certain kind of clothes or feeling like

  535. you're going to make a certain amount of

  536. money? Is it about finding approval from

  537. certain people? Well, maybe God has more

  538. for me. And it's not about building up

  539. for this one moment, but it's saying

  540. every day that I live my life, I am

  541. building my legacy. I'm living in my

  542. purpose for God

  543. right now. Everyone in Radiant Life

  544. Church, we are building our legacy. And

  545. we all want something that's going to

  546. outlast us, outlive us.

  547. And when David was anointed, it wasn't

  548. an immediate promotion,

  549. but it was an affirmation for him to

  550. keep doing what he was doing.

  551. I mean,

  552. if David wasn't careful, right, there

  553. maybe could have been some pride that

  554. just crept up in David when Samuel's at

  555. Jesse's house is saying, "Is there

  556. anyone else? I've seen all your sons,

  557. but is there anyone else?" And she's

  558. like, "Yeah, we got I mean, David,

  559. David's out in the field. I mean, you

  560. can get David.

  561. I mean, David could have walked in that

  562. house and just been like, "Yeah, boys.

  563. What's up now? Man of God wanted me."

  564. You guys didn't want me, but now the man

  565. of God wants me. You hear that? I'm

  566. anointed to be king.

  567. All right. I mean, is what? Like, you

  568. know what? What comes with this? Do I

  569. get like a ring? Do I got a special

  570. cape? Do I get a special chair at the

  571. table? Like, what what happens now that

  572. I'm anointed to be king?

  573. What happens?

  574. I said, 'Well, you get to go back to the

  575. field and do what you were already

  576. doing.

  577. Oh, okay. Okay,

  578. but tomorrow then I get to be king. No,

  579. no, no. You go back to doing what you

  580. were doing.

  581. Building a legacy happens in the

  582. ordinary,

  583. the everyday

  584. who God is calling you to become.

  585. Colossians 3:23 says this, "Whatever you

    Colossians 3:23

  586. do, do your work heartily as for the

  587. Lord rather than for men."

  588. Legacy is not built in one moment but

  589. all moments.

  590. I think

  591. one mistake that we can make is we want

  592. to create a narrative for people that

  593. they want to speak about our lives.

  594. We want people to say, "Well, I mean,

  595. you know, tell me I'm a good person or

  596. tell me this or tell me I was this or

  597. tell me." But truly, when you live your

  598. life for the Lord and you are in this

  599. the the center of God's will, when your

  600. presence is removed from people's lives,

  601. they will remember the impact that you

  602. had.

  603. And it comes in the ordinary day by day.

  604. Challenge yourself. When's the last time

  605. you told maybe your son or your daughter

  606. that you love them? When's the last time

  607. you prayed with a spouse or prayed as a

  608. family?

  609. That's part of legacy.

  610. You have to think about these things

  611. not just in the big moments.

  612. We like to think about David's life.

  613. David's life just,

  614. you know, he took out Goliath. I mean,

  615. that was amazing.

  616. But God was preparing him in the field.

  617. God was preparing him long before there

  618. was a Goliath.

  619. And sometimes we're waiting for the

  620. Goliath to come so we can show how great

  621. we are, show our legacy.

  622. But really, it starts

  623. being consistent.

  624. You know, I

  625. you know was talking about Colossians

  626. chapter 3:23. Whatever you do, do your

  627. work heartily as for the Lord rather

  628. than for men. Whatever you do, we talk

  629. about building your legacy. It's not

  630. about you, but how do I honor the Lord

  631. with my life? Because I can tell you

  632. there's times where God will give you

  633. something and you see the full picture.

  634. You see from beginning to end, you're

  635. saying, "I got it, God." And God, I want

  636. to do all of it. And God's saying, "All

  637. I need you to do is this." He say, "No,

  638. no, no. I want to do all of it." He

  639. says, "That's great. I hear you. But I

  640. just need you to do this. Are we

  641. obedient when it comes just to doing

  642. this?"

  643. And maybe people don't know your name.

  644. People

  645. forget your story,

  646. but God knows.

  647. And one day you'll be in heaven saying

  648. thank you for your faithfulness in that

  649. season. But because you were all this

  650. has happened

  651. and that's your legacy.

  652. But we have to be faithful

  653. in the ordinary.

  654. We have to be faithful

  655. to do what God is asking us to do.

  656. I love this quote from Joe Lewis who big

  657. in the boxing world. it. He says, "A

  658. champion doesn't become a champion in

  659. the ring. He's merely recognized in the

  660. ring. His becoming happens during his

  661. daily routine."

  662. Who are you becoming through your daily

  663. routines?

  664. When you talk about growing your faith

  665. and you think about your legacy, who are

  666. you becoming with God?

  667. You know, I'm going to ask the worship

  668. team if they can come forward.

  669. And I want to just um ask Yuka if she

  670. can come forward uh as well

  671. because we want to just share something

  672. here,

  673. a word of encouragement.

  674. I would love to say that the legacy that

  675. we desire, the things that we want to

  676. see happen happen immediately. But as we

  677. know, that's not always the case. It

  678. doesn't always happen like that. There's

  679. times where you have to say,"Lord, I'm

  680. going to be faithful even though I don't

  681. see the results. Lord, I'm going to be

  682. faithful even though I feel left out.

  683. I'm going to trust you."

  684. And we always don't get to decide the

  685. impact, but we do get to decide our

  686. obedience. And I asked Yuka if she she

  687. can come this the service and share her

  688. story of how her faithfulness in just uh

  689. what God was speaking to her, what he

  690. did in her life impacted

  691. her family. And I I and I hope this is

  692. encouragement for you this morning is

  693. that

  694. the legacy that Yuka has in her family

  695. and she doesn't view it this way, but it

  696. was through her being obedient,

  697. faithful, and what God was speaking to

  698. her. She's served the Lord for 11 years,

  699. is a huge part of this church, her and

  700. her boys, and uh her story is just

  701. inspiring, and I know it'll inspire you

  702. this morning. So, Yuka, could you please

  703. share?

  704. So um when I was saved 11 years ago, I

  705. had no way of reaching out to my family

  706. physically and I didn't have a good

  707. relationship with them either. So that's

  708. where I had to start is like Lord Jesus

  709. please help me mend my family

  710. relationship because it was so broken.

  711. And

  712. after maybe four years or so, I got to

  713. go back to Japan and meet my family. And

  714. they were like, "Who are you?" Like,

  715. "Why are you talking about Jesus all the

  716. time?" And it's like, I was a weirdo in

  717. my family. And because I was the first

  718. person who became a Christian in the

  719. line of I don't know how many generation

  720. of idol worshippers. And so it was just

  721. prayers through myself and my family and

  722. my family mean my children and the small

  723. group and all. And then but nothing

  724. happened until maybe the year six or

  725. seven when my grandmother

  726. gave her life to Jesus and I didn't even

  727. get to see it. Nobody heard it. Just

  728. Jesus told me that she came to know the

  729. Christ. uh my grandfather two years

  730. later that he got saved on his deathbed

  731. and last year my brother came to know

  732. Jesus and

  733. I asked him yesterday I wanted to know

  734. why you came to know Christ. What what

  735. was it that made you decide to follow

  736. Jesus? And he said well he did something

  737. in my life that I never see it possible

  738. with my own strength. And I said praise

  739. God. But in my heart, I was like, "Oh,

  740. but I shared about Jesus so many times.

  741. Like it wasn't me." Uh,

  742. and he But the Holy Spirit told me that

  743. he has to have a foundation that's based

  744. on God, not about man. And so I thank

  745. God for that. And I wanted to share a

  746. scripture.

  747. The Lord spoke to me this morning from

  748. Isaiah 43:18 and 19. Remember ye not the

    Isaiah 43:18

  749. former things, neither consider the

  750. things of old. Behold, I will do a new

  751. thing, now it shall spring forth. Shall

  752. we not know it? I will even make a way

  753. in the wilderness and rivers in the

  754. desert.

  755. And as I was worshiping this morning,

  756. the Lord showed me and spoke to me that

  757. you see your bloodline was a wilderness.

  758. It was a desert that nobody was saved.

  759. Nobody had a wonderful life. It was just

  760. so messed up. And then he made a pass in

  761. the jungle that in my life and in my

  762. family's life. And also, you know,

  763. nothing good was growing in my family.

  764. Everybody was fighting and all, you

  765. know, poverty and all that things. And

  766. then he started bearing fruits in my

  767. life and my family's life. And

  768. then he showed me an aerial picture of

  769. like the thick forest and jungle from

  770. like the above and I saw the straight

  771. path that was going across and it there

  772. were like the people like ants going

  773. marching across forward it and he told

  774. me that that's that can be your legacy

  775. and my legacy too that the people will

  776. be walking in the wilderness because he

  777. makes the way for you. So um

  778. he says on this verse says shall we not

  779. know it

  780. and I didn't know it but he gave me a

  781. revelation today and I know if you have

  782. a messed up family like me and you might

  783. not see it yet but the Holy Spirit can

  784. show you that he is making the way for

  785. your wilderness.

  786. >> Amen. Can we God praise?

  787. And if you can this morning, if you

  788. would just please stand this morning,

  789. before we close out in prayer and in

  790. worship, um I'm going to ask the prayer

  791. team if they can come forward.

  792. But when think about legacy this

  793. morning, and I understand we have a wide

  794. range of ages in the room,

  795. but I just want to bring some

  796. encouragement to you.

  797. If you're young in this room, don't feel

  798. like legacy is something that you worry

  799. about later in life. It's something that

  800. you develop right now.

  801. Right now.

  802. because God is going to prepare and do

  803. things in your heart and in your life.

  804. And maybe if you're advanced in years

  805. and you feel like I I I feel like I've

  806. too much time has gone by. I feel like

  807. it's too late to change things. Things

  808. are just what they are. I encourage you

  809. stay faithful in the place of prayer

  810. to build something out lives you. Give

  811. it to God our eternal heavenly father

  812. and saying, "Lord, I trust you. Even

  813. though I may not see the results that I

  814. want in this time, I'm believing you and

  815. trusting you,

  816. that you're going to do something that

  817. outlives me.

  818. Whether it's family situations or things

  819. in your own life, let's trust God this

  820. morning. So with every head bowed, every

  821. eye closed,

  822. I want to remind you

  823. that legacy in scripture is almost about

  824. what people who plant seeds, they never

  825. fully harvested. They never fully

  826. harvested all those seeds that were

  827. planted. That's the nature of

  828. faithfulness. You build a future that

  829. outlives you.

  830. What are you building right now in

  831. private? What is God doing in your life?

  832. If you think about it biblically, you

  833. Abraham didn't see the nation he

  834. fathered. Moses didn't enter the land he

  835. led the people toward. And David was

  836. anointed king long before he sat on a

  837. throne.

  838. Before we open up these altars and

  839. worship, I just want to take a moment

  840. here. If you're here in this room and

  841. you think about what are you building

  842. and maybe I've been building my life on

  843. sand, not a firm foundation and I need

  844. to accept Christ in my life. I need to

  845. trust him as Lord. Recognize I'm a

  846. sinner and I'm separated from him and I

  847. must receive him. His death, burial, and

  848. resurrection that today I have eternal

  849. life with him. If that's you in this

  850. room, whether you need to rededicate

  851. your life or you are accepting Christ

  852. for the very first time, we want to

  853. connect with you and give you something

  854. in your hand. We're not going to do

  855. anything to embarrass you, but we want

  856. to give this opportunity. If that's you

  857. in this room, can you just slip your

  858. hand up?

  859. We just want to take this moment.

  860. Okay.

  861. For all of us in this room this morning,

  862. you're maybe struggling with what God is

  863. building. You may not see the path

  864. forward.

  865. You might be feeling just discouraged.

  866. I believe that God is doing a great work

  867. within all of us. But you might need

  868. some prayer. You might need some

  869. encouragement.

  870. Father, we just pray for every person

  871. that's in that place battling, feeling

  872. regret, feeling shame, feeling isolated,

  873. feeling not seen. Lord, I pray that you

  874. would speak to their hearts. Lord, I

  875. pray that you would be Lord the good

  876. shepherd. lead them

  877. towards the still waters. Restore their

  878. soul this morning.

  879. That Lord, you are not done. You are not

  880. through yet. Lord, that no person will

  881. receive that lie of the enemy.

  882. Lord, speak to our hearts now as we

  883. enter in this time of worship and

  884. prayer. Your holy name we pray. Amen.

  885. Amen. As we worship God, these altars

  886. are open. If you want prayer this

  887. morning, come receive prayer. And we'll

  888. close our service here in a moment.

  889. Thank you.

  890. Worthy of every song we could ever sing.

  891. Worthy of all the praise we could ever

  892. bring.

  893. Worthy of every breath we could ever

  894. free. We live for you

  895. Jesus. The name above every other name.

  896. Jesus, the only one who could ever sing.

  897. Worthy of every breath we could ever

  898. breathe. We live for you.

  899. Oh, we live for you,

  900. holy.

  901. There is no one like you. There is none

  902. beside you. Open up my eyes in wonder

  903. and show me who you are. And fill me

  904. with your heart and lead me in your love

  905. to those around me.

  906. Worthy of every song we could ever sing.

  907. Worthy of all the praise we could ever

  908. bring.

  909. Worthy of every breath we could ever

  910. breathe. We live for you,

  911. Jesus.

  912. Jesus the name above every other name.

  913. Jesus the only one who could ever say

  914. worthy of every breath we could ever

  915. brea. We live for you.

  916. Oh, we live for you.

  917. Holy.

  918. There is no one like you. There is love

  919. beside you. Open up my eyes and wonder.

  920. Show me who you are and fill me with

  921. your heart and lead me in your love to

  922. those around me. Holy.

  923. There is no one like you. There is none

  924. beside you. Open up my eyes in wonder.

  925. Show me who you are and fill me. Take

  926. your heart and lead me in your love to

  927. those around me.

  928. and I will build my life

  929. upon your love. It is a firmation.

  930. And I will put my trust in you alone.

  931. And I will not be shen.

  932. And I will build my life upon your love.

  933. It is a firm foundation

  934. and I will put my trust in you alone

  935. and I will not be holy and holy.

  936. There is no one like you. There is none

  937. beside you. Open up my eyes in wonder.

  938. Show me who you are. And fill me with

  939. your heart. And lead me in your love to

  940. those around me. Holy,

  941. there is no one like you. There is none

  942. beside you. Open up my eyes in wonder.

  943. Show me who you are. And fill me with

  944. your heart. And lead me in love to those

  945. around you.

  946. This morning, church, as we go

  947. throughout our week, I challenge you

  948. take a moment. What what are you

  949. building in private in the secret spaces

  950. of your life?

  951. >> Are we taking things to prayer? Are we

  952. trusting God when our plans don't come

  953. together? We say, "Lord, I just want

  954. your purpose for my life, for those who

  955. are around me."

  956. Don't try to outthink God,

  957. but just walk with him. Be with him in

  958. those places like David was. David was

  959. going to change a nation, but it started

  960. with worshiping God in a field watching

  961. sheep.

  962. So, let's go throughout this week coming

  963. into next week as Pastor Chris continues

  964. the sermon series and asking ourselves,

  965. what are we building that's going to

  966. outlast us?

  967. So, right now, let's just close our

  968. heads in prayer. Bow our heads in prayer

  969. and close our eyes. Father,

  970. we submit everything we are to you.

  971. everything. Lord, our greatest legacy is

  972. not how much we have on this earth, but

  973. Lord, it's what we give to you. It's

  974. what we surrender to you. Lord, help us

  975. to strip everything that's not of you,

  976. that's not of your purpose, not of your

  977. will, and seek you, seek your hand, seek

  978. your face, Lord, for guidance and

  979. direction. Lord, we thank you for what

  980. you're doing in the hearts of every

  981. person here. We thank you for what's

  982. taking place at Radiant Life Church. And

  983. Lord, we know that you are doing

  984. something greater than we could ever

  985. think or imagine, Lord, as a church and

  986. as individuals and in our families.

  987. Father, we love you and we thank you for

  988. your graciousness to us to walk this

  989. life out. Even when it's hard, even when

  990. it's difficult, you are faithful, Lord.

  991. We love you and we praise you. And all

  992. of God's people said, "Amen." And amen.

  993. Can we get God some praise this morning,

  994. church?

  995. Amen. Amen. And as we head out and we go

  996. to this week,

  997. remember, be careful what you

  998. >> watch.

  999. >> Be careful what you

  1000. >> be careful what you

  1001. >> savor.