Hot Seat Part 3 | What is my Purpose? with Rhet Troxell & Karl Hartman

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We hope this message encourages you, challenges

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Now let's hear the message. Now, without further

ado. Red and Carl. Hey, hey. Good morning, church.

Hey, when the pastor's away, the worship leaders

get to play. That's why Carl and I are here today.

Oh, man, this is the service we live stream.

He's going to hear me. He's going to hear me

say that. I might be in some trouble. Hey, good

morning, guys. What an honor it is to bring the

Word of God to you guys today. So if you've been

here for the last couple weeks, you know that

we are in our series called The Hot Seat. So

back last year when we got together as a pastoral

staff and started talking about what we wanted

to do in terms of our sermon series for this

year. We thought, hey, wouldn't it be cool to

get some engagement from our people to say, hey,

what is it that you struggle with? Or if God

was in front of you, what would be the question

that you would want to ask him? And so we divided

them up, and I asked my best friend, Carl, who's

– we're two out of three of the Iron Boys are

here today, so hopefully that's okay with you

guys, and we're going to have a bit more of a

conversational -style message. But as Carl and

I were going through – the cards, and thank you

so much for the engagement. We had over 100 submissions.

We began to pull out a common theme around the

word purpose. We saw many questions like, God,

what is my purpose here on earth? God, how do

I exist in the world today? God, I know that

your church is important. How am I supposed to

exist in the church today? God, what do you have?

for my life. So as Carl and I sat down and went

through these questions, we both kind of immediately

agreed purpose would be a really cool way to

open this, to preach on this Sunday. Absolutely.

And I think the way that we've structured this

message is that we're going to teach the front

half what God's word says about the concept of

purpose. And then we're going to give you some

ideas of what you can do to dive into all that

he has for you. Before we jump in, I just want

to clear up two things. Number one, This was

not my idea. When the questions came out, there

was one question that I was super excited about.

I did some background research onto ancient Polynesian

culture, and I was preparing to answer what I

would consider to be the preeminent question

of our generation. Will there be Chick -fil -A

in heaven? Almost immediately, Rhett shut this

down. Something about a conflict of interest

because apparently he's a huge AC &T fried chicken

guy. Okay. I don't know if I have anything more

to say this morning. Second service is my people.

Okay. You brought backup today. No, but I think

we need to acknowledge that this is one of the

most fundamental questions that we can ask as

human beings. Some form of the question, what

is my purpose? I believe that God has a unique

purpose for each person here today. In fact,

I believe that God delights in walking alongside

his children as they uncover his will for their

life. But before we dive into the concept of

meaning or purpose on an individual level, I

think it might be helpful to take a step back

and look at what God's word says about his purpose

for humanity. As a whole. Sound good? Sounds

great. All right. So I'm going to pray. We're

going to dive right in. Holy Spirit, come. Father,

I pray right now, God, that you would just meet

us in this moment. That you would make us aware

of your presence. God, that you would highlight

in our minds and our hearts ways that we can

take the next step into the purposes that you

have for us. Lord, you assure us through your

word that you have good plans for our lives.

And I pray, God, right now that a fire would

begin to burn in somebody's heart. to take a

step, to serve, and to pursue their purpose.

In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. All right,

so our first thought for this morning is this.

God's purpose for humanity begins with creation.

When we open our Bibles, we only get a couple

pages in before we come across language that's

really helpful in shaping our understanding of

why God created human beings. to begin with.

Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. Then God said, let

Genesis 1:26

us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,

so that they may rule over the fish in the sea,

and the birds in the sky, over the livestock,

and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures

that move along the ground. So God created mankind

in his image. In the image of God, he created

the male and female, he created them. There's

a couple things to unpack in this verse. First

and foremost, human beings were created with

intention. The human race is not the byproduct

of some cosmic or scientific accident where a

bunch of cells just happen to collide together

and create a human. We were created by God with

intention for a specific purpose. purpose. And

the Bible tells us that that purpose is to rule

over all creation. To make this language a little

bit more accessible, it's helpful to understand

that one way to look at the creation narrative

is that it's a narrative of God speaking order.

out of the chaos. So he speaks to the chaos of

darkness and out comes the order of light. He

speaks to the chaos waters of the deep and separates

the sea and the sky and brings the land out.

And so for us, as we pursue our purpose, I think

that anytime that we experience situations or

circumstances in our lives that feel or seem

chaotic, and we seek to bring about a godly sense

of order, I believe that we're partnering with

God to fulfill our command to rule over all creation.

So human beings were created with intention.

They were also created with inherent identity.

Biblical scholars call this the Imigo Dei. We

were created in the image of God specifically

to model his characteristics. and attributes.

As we were preparing for this message, one of

the things we talked about is that we live in

a world that practices or preaches a message

of radical individualism and the glorification

of self. But as followers of Christ, we're called

to live differently. We're not called to be the

brightest light in the room. We're called to

be the clearest reflection of Christ. Yeah, that's

good. And something about, you know, God's purpose

for humanity begins with creation, you can immediately

see that when he created us, he created us with

a purpose of authority. Yes. When I see... the

text that says, let us make mankind our image

and our likeness so that they may rule over.

When God gave us the ability to rule over things,

he gave us an inherent ability of authority.

And I feel like one of the tactics of the enemy

is to get us to believe that we were not fearfully

and wonderfully made, but that we are meek and

that we are mild and that we don't have authority

to speak things into existence. And I love that.

And I think what you said is absolutely true,

that the world today... preaches so many different

messages, but one of them is the radical individualism,

that this life is all about me, and people are

here to serve me. I'm here to get my way. But

in reality, the purpose that God has put in our

lives is not to be anything other than a son

or a daughter of the Most High King. I know sometimes

in my life I get caught up in all of the things

that I am. a professional at my job. I have a

career. I have a job title. I have a list of

responsibility. I'm a husband. I am a father.

I am a worship pastor. You and I spend a lot

of time devoting a lot of our time, skill, and

effort and energy into this worship team. When

we have issues that we need to work out or when

things at my job don't go perfect, I can begin

to create a scenario in which I find my purpose

being devoted in all of the things that God never

intended for my life. Now, a lot of those things

are blessings, and a lot of those things, we

are all called to be different things in this

life, and we should carry those responsibilities

well. But what grounds me and what brings order

back into my chaos is when I'm reminded that

my first and my primary responsibility is to

be a son. of God, to be a son of the Most High

King. And when you remember that our purpose

is to have authority in this life, to speak our

purpose over our situations, and remember that

we are fearfully and wonderfully made, life kind

of seems to even out a bit. It doesn't remove

the problems. It doesn't remove the situations,

but it reassesses, it regrounds your thinking

into what really matters. And something else

that's really important to remember with our

purpose in creation is soon after God made Adam,

what did he do? He created Eve. He realized immediately

that in order for us to execute our purpose in

life, we're not supposed to do this life alone.

Yes. Yes, absolutely. And part of our identity

as sons and daughters of the Most High King is

grounded in what we're going to talk about next,

which is our covenant relationship. Number two,

God's purpose for humanity is grounded in covenant.

All throughout the Old Testament, we see God

relating to his chosen people through the relationship

of a covenant relationship. A covenant is essentially

a contract where both sides agree to uphold their

end. An example of this is the Mosaic Covenant,

and this is where we see the familiar image of

Moses going up to the top of Mount Sinai to receive

the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments

were written. In the Mosaic covenant, God defines

what it means to be obedient to him by providing

the law. And in exchange for Israel's obedience,

he promises to protect, to defend, and to bless

them. And unfortunately, as we read through the

Old Testament, time and time again, we see Israel

failing to be obedient to that covenant. So ultimately,

God looks ahead to a time where he will create

a new covenant with people. In Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 8 · chapter mention

8, the author of Hebrews quotes a prophecy that

was given to Jeremiah by God. He says, I will

make a new covenant with the people of Israel

and with the people of Judah. It will not be

like the covenant I made with their ancestors

when I took them by the hand to lead them out

of Egypt because they did not remain faithful

to my covenant and I turned away from them. In

the old covenant, you have the laws written in

stone, and the covenant is secured by human obedience.

But in the new covenant, the covenant in which

we now live, the laws are written on human hearts,

and the covenant is secured by... Christ's obedience,

not by ours. And so I think one question is,

why does this idea or this concept of covenant

matter? How does it play into our understanding

of our purpose? Ever since sin entered the world

through Adam and Eve, every generation that's

been born since them has been born with a distorted

sense. of purpose. We were called to rule over

all creation, to bring order out of the chaos.

But when we look at humanity today, when we turn

on the news, when we turn on social media, more

often than not, what we see is that people create

deeper and darker levels of chaos. Into this

broken situation, God steps. And he offers us

an opportunity to be redeemed through this new

covenant with Christ. And not only does he redeem

our souls for eternity, but he redeems our sense

of purpose. Which brings us to our third thought

for this morning. God's purpose for humanity

is redeemed in Christ. Continuing on in Hebrews

Hebrews 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9, the author says, Christ is the mediator

of a new covenant that those who are called may

receive the promised eternal inheritance. Now

that he has died as a ransom to set them free

from the sins committed under the first covenant.

God took it upon himself to change the terms

of the covenant. He sent Jesus to die for our

sins so that we could be viewed as holy and righteous

and that we could receive the promised. eternal

inheritance. When we read that phrase, promised

eternal inheritance, it's easy to assume that

what's being talked about here is heaven. And

while salvation through Jesus is an important

part of the redemptive work of the cross, it's

not the only piece. In addition to our salvation,

our promised eternal inheritance includes the

indwelling of the Holy Spirit. and an invitation

to partner with God to advance his kingdom on

earth as it is in heaven. We have a saying here

at the vineyard that we live between the already

and the not yet. And that's what God has already

done through Christ and what he has not yet done

but longs to do through his church. Yeah, and

I think a lot of our purpose can be found in

that point right there, that when we remember

that God's purpose for humanity. is redeemed

when christ gives just like you said he he he

changed the terms of the initial covenant he

knew that his son literally meant everything

to us and again it kind of just goes back into

what i was saying earlier that when we realize

and when it it sinks into our bodies it sinks

into our souls it sinks into our minds that we

are nothing more than sons and daughters of the

most high king our purpose begins to change.

It becomes less about our circumstances. It becomes

less about the problems that we face in our everyday

lives. It becomes less about the plans and the

purposes that we want to pursue. And when we

are obedient to our calling in the moment, whether

or not we understand it or not, God's purpose

can be revealed. I'm reminded of one of my favorite

things that I learned in the Bible. And I didn't

say this first service, so I apologize for everyone

in first service. But I love the story of David

in the Bible. After he is anointed to be the

future king and before he wears the crown, there's

this moment where Goliath is out on the battlefield

shouting his obscenities and shouting at the

army. David is still a shepherd boy in this moment.

And his father says, hey. Come here, I need you

to go deliver lunch to your brothers. And I often

think about what that must have been like for

David, knowing that he's eventually going to

be king, but still serving in what we would view

as a lowly purpose. And here he is becoming an

errand boy for his brothers who were not chosen

to be king. But because he was obedient in his

purpose, his father said, Go deliver this meat

and this cheese to your brother. He was in a

position to hear Goliath shout, and that is what

led him to one of his greatest claims to fame

because he was walking in his purpose in the

moment. So for someone in your day, I just feel

like I'm supposed to say this. You may be walking

in a season that you don't feel is powerful,

you don't feel is prestigious, but carry your

purpose well because your act of obedience today

could be the thing that leads you. To something

that God has for you that you have no idea that

becomes your greatest claim to faith. Come on.

So we have God's purpose begins with creation.

God's purpose for humanity is grounded in the

covenant. God's purpose for humanity is redeemed

in Christ. And this is where we want to go today

and what becomes the talk of our future message.

God's purpose for humanity is fulfilled through

the church. Fulfilled through the church. Carl

and I believe. That the church, the big C church,

the body of Christ, that's what the Bible calls

the church, the body of Christ is so, so important.

It is a pivotal thing in our faith. Not necessarily

just the building, right? We're not talking about

this structure that has walls and a floor and

a ceiling, but we're talking about the body of

Christ. And what we want to do today is get you

to realize, get you to understand. That so much

of the purpose that God has for our life can

either be confirmed, activated, or started because

you choose to engage with the body of Christ.

Matthew 28, 18 to 20 says, Then Jesus came to

them and said, All authority in heaven and on

earth has been given to me. Therefore, Here's

the action. Go and make disciples of all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and

of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. These are

Jesus's words. This is him teaching and teaching

them to obey everything I have commanded you.

And surely I am with you always to the very end

of the age. Jesus is telling. his people, his

disciples, go and make disciples of all the nations.

And we believe that the church is so pivotal

and so important in that message. Absolutely.

I find it fascinating that Jesus didn't ascend

into heaven and merely leave behind some kind

of seemingly infinite pile of get out of hell

free cards, but rather he left behind a clear

mission for his followers to go to baptize. and

to teach. We're called to go out into the world,

to introduce people to Jesus, and to teach them

what it looks like to follow Jesus through our

words, our attitudes, and our actions. Now, some

of you here this morning have already made the

decision to follow Christ, but you have not yet

been baptized. You've not yet made a public declaration

of faith, and I have great news for you. There's

still time to sign up. for our August 30th summer

baptisms at Potterfield Pool in the evening.

So I want to encourage you, if that's you, if

you've not yet been baptized and you would like

to be, go see Tracy after this message. She'll

be in the Welcome Hub. She'll get you on the

list to be baptized today. Now, as we were preparing

for this message, God laid a specific image on

my mind, and I believe that this is for many

of us here this morning. For those of you who

don't recognize this, this is the board game

Perfection. Perfection was invented in 1973.

It was distributed by the Milton Bradley Company.

And to play the game Perfection, you have exactly

one minute to place each of the 25 uniquely shaped

pieces into their corresponding slots. The game

is over when either you put all the pieces in

place, you stop the clock, or... If you don't

get all the pieces in place in exactly one minute,

this spring -loaded board launches them at you

like some kind of cosmic firing squad, declaring

that you are a failure. Can I just say, when

I see that, it brings back childhood trauma and

a lot of anxiety. I hated this, and I hated the

jack -in -the -boxes. It's evil cousin, yeah.

The evil cousin of perfection. But listen. We

live in one of the most anxious generations,

and I think it is no surprise, considering our

childhood toys were essentially military -grade

psychological experiments. And we laugh, but

I think that this is how many of us are currently

living our lives. We live under constant pressure,

trying desperately to fit all of the pieces perfectly.

into place. I have to find the perfect partner.

I have to be the perfect parent. I have to hit

my career goals, my financial goals. I have to

hit my health goals. I have to. I have to. I

have to. To make matters worse, society is doing

us no favors. Through social media, we're constantly

bombarded by images of other people around us

who are seemingly always hitting their goals.

And if we're not careful, We can get drawn into

competition with people who quite frankly may

not even realize that we exist. Church, this

morning, I want to challenge you with this question.

What if today we chose to play the game differently?

What if we turned down the pressure, abandoned

the quest for perfection according to human standards,

and instead we embraced a sense of community?

in collaboration, bringing God's kingdom on earth

as it is in heaven. But in order to do that,

there's a couple things we have to do. There's

a couple things we have to do before we get to

the action steps. Think about how much easier

that game becomes when you invite three or four

people to play with you. And a lot of times I

believe we live our lives in isolation and the

enemy tries to do everything he can to keep us

boxed in and he makes us believe that we have

to solve all of our problems ourselves. When

I played that game as a child and I turned that

dial, I had an intense amount of pressure because

it was just me and the pieces. But if I would

ask you and Gary and Sam and Grant and Riley

to come play along with me, that... pressure

becomes so much easier because I'm asking people

to come alongside of me and help me in my cause.

So back to the example that our purpose begins

with creation. God created Adam and immediately

created Eve to have a partner. And I think so

many times we forget that we are supposed to

live in community. And so that's where we want

to go with our action steps today. There's a

couple things that Carl and I believe are so

important to us realizing our purpose. Now, one

of the questions that we got... that I really

loved and became the crux of the action steps

was, what is my purpose and how do I exist within

the church today? The American church, the Western

church, the church that we look at has become

a variety of different things. And I think if

we're being honest, we can get really confused

at what good looks like. How are we supposed

to exist in fellowship with others? But Carl

and I believe there's three main things that

we can do to ground ourselves within the church,

to serve the church well. We just talked about

how the Bible calls the church the body of Christ,

but there's another thing that he calls the church.

And what is that? The bride. The bride of Christ.

God calls church the bride of Christ. And that

tells me that there's a relationship that we

need to look at, and there is an importance in

that correlation. But before we go there, let's

get into the first action step. So step number

one, it's pretty simple. Go. Go. It is really,

really important that we prioritize being in

fellowship with each other. Hebrews 10, 23 through

25 says this. Let us hold unswervingly to the

hope we profess, for he... who promised is faithful.

Thank you, God, for being faithful. And let us

consider how we may spur one another on toward

love and good deeds. Spur one another on. It's

really hard to spur one another on if you're

living life alone. Not giving up meeting together.

Not giving up meeting together as some are in

the habit of doing, but encouraging one another

and all the more as you see the day approaching.

It is really, really, really important that we

all buy into the importance of being in fellowship

with each other. We just learned that God calls

the church his bride. And I think there is some

real power that we often don't think about. So

let me ask you this. Let's talk about marriage.

We just learned that he calls the church his

bride. So let's look at marriage, for example.

Just answer this question. Is it possible for

two people to be married yet live separately

and never be in contact with each other? Yes.

It is. It is possible. Will that marriage thrive?

No. Probably not. So the same question exists.

Is it true for followers of Jesus to be Christians?

Yes. And not go to church? No. Yes, it is, right?

It is possible for us to be Christians, to be

followers of Jesus, and not go to church. But

will the relationship thrive? No. Probably not.

Probably not. I'm not saying that those of you

watching on the live stream today are bad people

for not coming to church. I believe that there

are tools that exist that help us that when we're

feeling sick, when we're feeling ill, when we're

on vacation but we want to tune in. But what

I believe the enemy tries to do is he tries to

make us choose convenience over community. It's

really simple to stay home on a Sunday morning

when it's raining because you don't want to go

out in the rain. It's really simple to stay home

on a Sunday morning because you stayed up too

late on Saturday and you're just tired. And yeah,

you'll have church on in the background, but

are you really listening? And even if you listen,

by not prioritizing being, what did the Bible

just say? In the habit of meeting together, that

means coming together. If we don't do that, we

have no idea the blessings that we are foregoing

by being with each other. There have been plenty

of times where I've considered, hey, babe, let's

just stay home today. But I come and I get to

have a conversation with someone that I find

out six months later, they're like, hey, that

one Sunday that you spoke that word over me changed

my life forever. Or maybe I'm going through something

that I don't know that I need. and someone comes

up to me and gives me a hug and chooses to pray,

God can use the smallest interactions with other

people to propel us forward in our purpose. And

I think if we're not careful, if we don't choose

to go to church, we can become victims of our

own complacency, victims of our own convenience,

and we can completely neglect the body and the

bride of Christ. Absolutely. If your version

of church does not include community, I think

it's safe to say it does not include the same

level of power that Jesus envisioned for his

body and his bride. Yeah, it's something you

and I talked about this week that was really

powerful to me. You gave me this analogy and

gave me credit for it. So many times we look

at Sunday morning, we look at church as the game.

I've got to get myself ready Monday through Saturday

because when I get to church, man, I want to

worship. I want to receive the message. We get

ourselves all geared up, and we treat Monday

through Saturday as the preparation, and then

we treat Sunday as the game. But we believe we

need to flip the script. What if we treated church

more like the locker room talk? What if we treated

church more like the pregame huddle where we

came, we got fired up together, and we treated

our life Monday through Saturday like the real

game? That's why church exists. Church exists

for us to come together, to get fired up, to

get fueled up, to get lessened up, to get taught

up, so that when we leave this place and we go

out to our job or school or whatever we do on

a Monday, we have the tools and we have the things

inside of us. that we learned on Sunday to be

effective in the world. And that's what God wants

for our purpose. God wants us to be effective

in the kingdom of heaven and expanding his kingdom.

Yes, I love this action step, go, because it

implies direction and it implies movement in

a specific direction. And I believe we're called

to go to church, to gather with believers, but

we're also called to go out into the world to

carry the gospel with us. In Ephesians chapter

six, Paul encourages the church to put on the

full armor of God. And when we read through that

passage of Scripture, it's easy to fix our minds

on the more Avengers -style pieces of armor,

the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit,

the helmet of salvation. But as I was praying

this week on Friday, God highlighted for me the

shoes fitted with the readiness of the gospel

of peace. Now, I came here this morning. wearing

a pair of custom Nike shoes given to me by a

dear friend of mine. On the tongue of these shoes,

there's a tag that has my name on it. So church,

I want to ask you just to take a second and look

down at the shoes that you wore in here today.

While your shoes may not have your name written

on them, I believe That your shoes, as well as

the path that they are following, are customized

for you specifically by God. Everywhere that

you place your foot, whether it's your workplace,

your home, your school, the grocery store, the

gas station, you carry with you the gospel of

Jesus. Can we stand up for a second? He's getting

fired up. Listen, as I was praying over this

this week, God laid it on my heart that there

would be some people here this morning. walking

through those doors who are feeling discouraged

and defeated because you feel like as you're

going to take the gospel message out into the

world, the enemy is coming to try to take territory

in your life. And you came in here this morning

and you're sick and you're tired and you've had

enough. As my daughter would say, you're about

done. So here's the thing. We need to understand.

that Jesus has already won. We don't have to

put up with the enemy trying to take over territory

in our marriages, in our families, in our purposes.

So this morning, church, can we make a public

declaration? Can we make a public declaration

of faith? Can we make a public declaration? Okay.

Yes. This is what we're going to do. On the count

of three, I'm going to count to three. And then

we're all going to say loudly, I'm taking it

back. On the word back, I want you to stomp down

your right foot, signifying that you are taking

back the ground that the enemy is trying to steal

from you. Does that make sense? Okay. I need

you to know before we do this. That you have

the authority over the enemy. You have authority

over what the enemy is trying to do in your life.

Jesus said, whatever we bind on earth will be

bound in heaven. Whatever we release on earth

will be released on heaven. Do you believe that?

Yes. Okay. So on the count of three, I'm taking

it back. I'm taking it back. Stomp your right

foot. I want to hear the stomp. All right. One,

two. Three. I'm taking it back. Come on. Somebody's

getting set free today. Somebody is taking their

purpose back, their passion back, their fire

back. Come on. Can we give them some praise?

Yeah. I'm going to stay standing just because

you got me all fired up. We got a couple more

points. You guys can be seated. We got a couple

more points to get through, but I like to preach

standing up. These chairs are cool, but standing

up is cooler. Yes. So what was point number one?

Go. Prioritize being in fellowship with others.

Support and go to your church. Number two, give.

2 Corinthians 9, 6 -7. Now, before you get to

thinking, oh, here comes the money speech, we're

not just going to talk about money. Remember

this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,

and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Each of you should give what you have decided

in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under

compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Not

only is it important to go to church, but it

is important to support your church. God, Jesus

calls us to tithe back to the church. We do so

much here with our fundraisers and our community

outreach, and it takes a lot of resources to

do what we do. We don't collect tithes because

we want to become rich and famous. We collect

tithes because that money goes to bringing more

and more and more people in. But there's more

that you can give outside of your money. God

doesn't just want your money. He doesn't want

you to come in here with a nasty heart and throw

money in the plate and then leave. You can give

of your time. You can give of your heart. You

can give of the things that God has placed in

your life. We believe that God has given each

of you significant tools, resources, characteristics

that can be used to glorify his name. So yes,

tithing is important, but we can be generous

to the church. We can give to the church in ways

outside of money. Serve the church. And then

finally, number three, we're going to go, we're

going to give, and arguably the most important,

you need to grow. You need to grow. It's okay

to come as you are, but we don't want you to

stay as you are. We want you to come. We want

you to receive. And we hope that through the

teachings that we give, through the worship that

we sing, through Chris's message and Rudy's message

and Carl and I's message and Jess, we want you

to take tools. We want you to take learnings

and teachings to further expand. your relationship

with Christ. If you want to be purposeful, if

you want to know what your purpose is in this

life, if you want God, if he was in front of

you and you said, God, what is my purpose? One

of the things he's going to say is you need to

grow in me. You need to grow. Colossians 2 .6

says, so then just as you received Christ Jesus

as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,

rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the

faith as you were taught and overflowing. with

thankfulness. In order for you to grow, we have

so many different ways here at Hub City Vineyard

that you can get involved. Show of hands, how

many of you are involved in a growth group or

a small group? That's fantastic. But as I look

around, I see a lot of hands that are down. Listen,

Sunday mornings are great. They're fantastic.

We should be here. But if you want to really

take your relationship with Christ to the next

level, You've got to do more than just coming

in here for an hour on a Sunday morning. You

need to get connected. You need to get in fellowship.

We just learned that so much of God's purpose

in our lives lives in our relationship with others.

So this is our shameless plug to get involved

in a small group, creating that sense of community,

creating that sense of fellowship, creating the

ability to learn and grow with each other and

just have that midweek boost to your spirit is

so, so. vitally important. Think about a tree

or a flower or a plant. What are the trees or

flowers or plants that are growing effectively?

What are they also doing? Their root system.

They're not only growing up, but they're growing

down. And if you want to flourish, if you want

to be beautiful, quote unquote, beautiful on

the outside, you have to have roots that go deep.

And the way that you grow those roots is getting

involved and growing in your faith. We believe,

That Sundays are important, but we believe that

being in active fellowship with others is equally

important. And that brings us to our final point

today, and I'm going to pick up this thing right

here. What is this? Shovel. It's a shovel. Gary,

what's a shovel used for? To dig. To dig. Now,

Gary and I had a great conversation, and I'm

going to take you on a little bit of a journey

with this shovel. Sometimes it's not the importance

of the tool that's in your hand, but it's how

you choose to use it. Now, this shovel can be

used for good purposes, but I believe that many

of us in this place today need to put down the

shovel. There's many people in this room today

that need to put down the shovel. And I'm sure

you're wondering, what in the world does that

mean? This is what it means. We're going to read

a parable. But before I do that, I believe that

there's three categories. Will you hold this

for me? Absolutely. I believe that there are

three categories that many of us would fit into

today when it comes to purpose. Number one, you

would say, I am effectively walking in my purpose.

I feel that I am right where I need to be. I

feel that I'm thriving. I feel that I am doing

what I'm called to do. If that's you, I celebrate

you, and I'm thankful that you're there. But

I believe there's two other categories of people

today. Number two, you're unsure of your purpose.

You're looking around and you see people serving.

You walk through your life Monday through Saturday

and you feel like, man, I just feel like there's

got to be something more. And then category number

three, you're aware of your purpose, but you're

not walking in it. You're aware of what God has

called you to do where there's this thing or

there's these things that you know you are equipped

with, but you feel unqualified or you feel like

you're too far gone. Look at this shovel. I was

in Lowe's parking lot yesterday. And I texted

Carl and I said, hey man, I'm getting ready to

run into Lowe's to buy our shiny brand new shovel

for our message. And he said, no dude, no, no,

no. He said, find the dirtiest, rustiest shovel

you can find at your house and bring in. He said,

God's not afraid of the dirt. God's not afraid

of the rust. God's not afraid that your past

is too dirty. He can use what you are equipped

with. So we're gonna read from a parable today

that will illustrate this principle and why I

told you to put down the shovel. For it will

be like a man going on a journey who called his

servants and entrusted them to his property.

There's three men. There's three guys in the

story. To one, he gave five talents. To the second,

he gave two. And to the third, he gave one. To

each according to his ability. Then he went away.

So here we have three people, right? Person number

one got five. Person number two got two. And

person number three got one. A talent. was worth

about 20 years of a day's labor wages. So person

number one was handed 100 years worth of salary,

if you will. Person number two, 40, and person

number three, 20 years. If you give me 100 years

worth of salary, or 40 or 20, I'm going to be

pretty happy about that. But this is where the

story gets good. He who had received the five

talents went at once and traded with them, and

he made five talents more, a 100 % return on

his investment. So also, the one who had two

talents went and made two talents more, another

100 % investment. But he who had received the

one went, picked up a shovel, dug in the ground,

and buried the talent that his master had given

him. So person number one made 100 % return.

Person number two made 100 % return, doubled

their profits. But person number three picked

up a shovel and buried what he'd been blessed

with. Now, after a long time, the master of those

servants came back to settle the accounts. He

went up to the person who he gave the five talents,

and the person said, Master, I've taken what

you've given me, and I've doubled my profits.

And he said, Well done, good and faithful servant.

Person number two says, Master, I've taken the

two that you gave me, and I've doubled my profits.

And the master said, Well done, good and faithful

servant. But the third man said, Master. I knew

you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not

sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.

So I was afraid and I went and I hid your talent

in the ground. Here, take back what is yours.

But his master then answered, you wicked and

slothful servant. You knew that I reap where

I've not sown and gathered where I scattered

no seed. Then you ought to have invested my money

with the bankers and my coming. I should have

received what was my own with interest. So take

them. take the talent from him and give it to

the one who has 10. For to everyone who has more

will be given and he will have an abundance.

But from the one who is not, even what he has

been taken away and cast the worthless servant

out into the darkness in that place, there'll

be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The master

came back and he said, you buried what I gave

you. Here's the truth today. I believe many of

us in here, we're busy, we're busy, but we're

not producing fruit. Come on. The act of digging

in the ground, if anyone's ever planted a tree

or had to dig deep, it is a busy, strenuous exercise.

We're busy, but we're not fruitful. And what

happens when God gives us things in our lives

that he wants us to use, so many of us pick up

a shovel and we decide to bury it. Some of us

intentionally, but some of us subconsciously.

Sometimes we don't realize that we're not acting

on the blessing. You see, it's possible to be

busy in this life, but not. fruitful. The Bible

says that we have different gifts. If your gift

is prophesying, then prophesy. If it is serving,

then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. If

it is to encourage, then give encouragement.

If it's giving, give generously. If it is to

lead, do it diligently. And if it is to show

mercy, do it cheerfully. I don't believe that

the majority of us in here intentionally tell

God, no, we're not going to serve. But when we

allow the busyness of our lives to consume every

part of our life, A byproduct of that is we can

fill ourselves up with all of the wrong stuff.

And we take the talents that God has given us

and we pick up dirty shovels and we bury them

in the ground. And I'm here, we are here to tell

you today, it's time to put down the shovel.

It is time to search your heart, to find out

what God has given you that you can use to bless

the kingdom of heaven. Because let me tell you,

when you find that, you find your purpose. When

you find what God has equipped you with, you

find your purpose. So today, Carl and I want

to close with this. We just talked about three

categories of people. Let's start with category

number two. You don't know what your purpose

is. You want to find out. You're saying, God,

I'm ready to get off of the bench. I'm ready

to get into the game. But I don't know what you

have for me. If that's you, you're category number

two. But category number three. If you know what

your purpose is, if you have an idea of your

purpose, but you feel unqualified. Carl believes

that there's people in this place today that

are not serving because they're full of shame.

They're full of thinking that they're too far

gone, that God cannot use their past. That's

category number three. If you find yourself in

those two categories, I'm going to ask the prayer

team to come forward. I believe there's power

in intentionality. I believe there's power in

vulnerability. And to be really easy for you

just to stay in your seat. But I believe that

if you want to walk in your purpose today, you

need to take this step of faith. And if you're

in category number one, you would say, I know

my purpose and I'm walking it. You have an incredible

opportunity to come forward and pray over these

people. So if you find yourself in category number

two or number three, you're either searching

for your purpose. You want to know what that

is. You're saying, God, I'm ready to be used.

Or God, I know my purpose, but I'm too ashamed

to use it. I want you to come forward right now.

Can we all stand up together in this ministry

moment? Be vulnerable, come forward. If you want

God to move in your life, if you want him to

reveal what he has for you, if you want to be

used for a purpose greater than yourself, now

is your moment. Come Holy Spirit. God, I pray

right now, Lord, that you would not let the fire

go out. That you would blow on the embers that

people are feeling right now. Yes, Lord. God,

they're feeling a burning, a calling, a desire

to step into what you have called them to, God.

A burning and a desire to step into the purpose

that you've placed on their heart, Lord. I just

pray right now, God, that you would blow them.

a fresh wind into that fire to stoke the flames,

God, so that you can get people on task, on target

for the purpose that you have for them, Lord.

Yes, Lord. For anybody here today who has come

through those doors and you want to identify,

as Rhett was talking about earlier, as a son

and daughter of God, But you don't know if you're

in relationship with him or not. Today is your

day. So we're going to pray a quick prayer here

at the Hub City Vineyard. We pray this prayer

all together, all right? Jesus, I'm broken, full

of doubt, shame, fear, regret. I've been running,

but today, I'm coming home. I believe you're

God's son. I believe you died for me. I believe

you rose again. Fill me with your spirit. Set

me free. Make me new. Set me on my purpose. In

Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. We're going to

let this ministry moment go. There's a couple

words of knowledge before you leave. Top part

of your foot is very painful. The outer part

of your left knee hurts. Multiple people with

back pain. Someone with severe kidney issues.

You have a right knee ACL tear. Painful muscle

between the neck and shoulder. And a hip bone

of hip joint issue pain. So guys, thank you so

much for coming out today. We love you. Remember,

we are made for more. And if you're still in

this place and you're feeling the nudge to come

forward, I'm going to ask the prayer team just

to hang out for a couple more minutes. But for

those of you that want to go, God bless you.

Have an incredible rest of your week, and we'll

see you back next Sunday.