Rooted Part 5 | Devoted From The Dirt with Chris Schlotterbeck

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard. To get connected

or to give online, go to connect .hcv .church

or give .hcv .church. If at any point during

this message you feel called to make a change

in your life, text change me to 9700. Thank you

and enjoy the message. Hey, good morning everyone.

How's everybody doing? You know, it's not a coincidence

that when I take a Sunday off and let someone

else share, that I got to bring something out

to make you think, what is he going to be talking

about today? If you're joining us from home,

thanks for welcoming us into your space. We're

so glad to have you joining us. I want to start

this morning. I received an email testimony a

few weeks ago that I just want to share with

all of you because it was so encouraging to me.

Hi, Pastor Chris. I just wanted to thank you

for the post -its for prayer on the cross idea.

In other words, the four crosses that are around

the room. I have an answered prayer request that

I would like to share with you. A few weeks ago,

I placed a posted prayer request on the cross

asking for people to pray for my little four

-year -old niece and my little three -year -old

nephew. They were homeless and living on the

streets. Unfortunately, their mother was in deep

drug addiction and her children had be taken

from her. I began to pray bold and specific prayers

asking God if it would be his will that a loving

and godly family would be able to take these

children and give them a life that they deserve.

Shortly after placing that post -it note on the

cross, I would like to give all God glory and

praise because he answered that prayer. A very

loving, let me continue, a very loving young

couple from our church came to the children's

rescue. They shared with me that they wanted

more children but were unable to have their own.

They also shared with me that God laid it on

their hearts to take both of these two young

children, give them a good and godly life. I

would like to thank everyone that prayed for

my niece and nephew, and most of all, I would

like to thank God for answered prayer. So in

other words, Hey, keep putting post -it notes

on those crosses because there's not a Sunday

that goes by that those post -it notes aren't

taken and people are praying over them every

single week. Amen? One other quick announcement

I want to share with everyone. This was given

to me on Friday. We are, if you would like to

know, Tri -State's best church. And here's the

crazy thing. I didn't even know we were in the

running. So I didn't even know we were in the

running, but we won it. And thank you to everyone

that voted for us. And I just want to give all

glory back to God, just like Linda did, because,

you know. Here's the reality. If it wasn't for

what he's doing in our community of faith, then

we wouldn't be voted anything. So God, thank

you for moving in our community of faith. Thank

you for all that you're doing. And we're just

humbled by receiving an award like that. So let's

open in prayer this morning. God, I'm just thankful

for each and every person that's here. God, that

you brought them here for a purpose, for just

to experience you and to be changed. Open our

hearts, God. to receive all that you have for

us. God, open our minds, unplug our ears, remove

distractions, and move in this place. In Jesus'

name, amen. Now, Mother Teresa gave an interview

to Lowe Magazine, and she was asked a simple

question. Is it only the affluent who give? Is

it only the affluent who give? She replied, no,

even the poorest of the poor give. For example,

the other day, a very poor beggar came to me

and said, everyone gives to you, and I also want

to give you 20 pesai, which is about two pence.

I thought to myself, what do I do? If I take

it, he won't have anything to eat. But if I don't

take it, it would hurt him so much more. So I

took his offering, and he was so happy because

he had given to Mother Teresa of Calcutta to

help the poor. Mother Teresa would go on to say,

giving cleans the heart and helps you to get

closer to God. You get so much back in return.

Generosity, see, is not just a nice character

trait that people have. It's right at the heart

of God. Author C .S. Lewis defined Christianity

as a kind of giving. And he said this because

God poured out his generosity on you and me through

Jesus. 316, for God so loved the world, he gave.

And you and I are called to respond in faith

and generosity toward others. See, the key to

the fullness of the blessing from God, to walk

in that fullness, is generosity. Psalm 37, 21

says, the righteous give generously. And here's

the reality. We don't ever graduate from generosity.

This is a quality that we will continue to grow

in for our entire lives. It's hard to grow in

generosity because our default settings are not

generosity. Our default setting is stinginess.

And it's not just me. All of us. All of us know

what it means to be stingy. It's wired within

us. It's called our sin nature, right? People

are out to gain all that we can to achieve more.

But this morning, I'm believing God is going

to do something supernatural as we conclude our

series, Rooted, practicing the way of Jesus with

a talk on how to grow in generosity. And listen,

this has been a great, simple series, right?

A reminder that Jesus was simple. And if you

miss any of the talks, you can go back and listen

to them on our YouTube page. But I want to encourage

you, simplicity is the way of life. And this

morning, we're going to learn how to live an

abundant life, which is not a life of bless me,

bless me, bless me, but more like the prayer,

God, use me. To let your love and your life flow

through me and into others. Right? Followers

of Jesus are not supposed to die full. We're

supposed to die empty. Which leads us to our

first thought. See, humanity's hearts are connected

to money. Humanity's hearts are connected to

money. And how do I know this? Well, every time

that we get paid, every time that I receive our

paycheck, this becomes a check. A check to see,

am I going to master this, or is this going to

master me? Am I going to serve this, or is this

going to serve me? It's a check to see, whose

is this really? Just because I'm putting it into

my bank account doesn't mean it's mine. And please

understand that this journey toward generosity,

it's way deeper than money, but we have to talk

about money and generosity because Jesus talked

about it, right? He talked about it. Jesus taught

on stewardship more than any other topic. Speaking

words like this in Matthew 6, 21, wherever your

treasure is, there. the desires of your hearts

will also be. See, God does not need our money,

but money can be a gauge that measures our spiritual

health. You know, where we are in our relationship

with God. Because when it comes to money, our

hearts are inextricably connected to it. It's

just a part of it. In verse 24, Jesus says, no

one can serve two masters. For you will hate

one and love the other. You will be devoted to

one and despise the other. You cannot serve God

and be enslaved to money. Now think about that

for a moment. God says, my number one competitor,

right? It's not football. It's not sex. It's

what? It's money. You cannot serve both. And

why would God put money on the same scale as

himself? Because money will say things to us

that God is supposed to say. Money will say things

like, let me open those doors for you. Money

will say, let me make a way for you. Money whispers

in our ear, let me show you where your value

and your significance really are. See, money

will say things to us that only God is supposed

to provide for us. And to take it a step further,

studies have now shown that when we start to

make more money, when we grow in our income,

it's interesting what happens to a person's psychology.

See, whenever people start making more money

and start climbing the economic ladder, we don't

usually think, well, now I have more responsibility

to be generous. Right? That's not the first thing

that goes through our mind. We don't even think,

I make more money than other people. See, psychologists

have now found that humanity tends to think,

I'm now better than other people because I make

more than you. Look at what I drive. Look at

what I wear. I'm better than you, which is a

strange thought to have. To think that you are

better than anybody else, especially because

the Bible lets us know in Genesis 2 -7 that God

created man and woman from the very dirt of the

earth. Let me say that again. The dirt of the

earth, which leads us to our next thought. See,

all of humanity came from dirt. We come from

dirt. Genesis 2 -7, then the Lord God formed

the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed

the breath of life into the man's nostrils and

the man became a living person. Now, if there

was ever a Bible verse that would stop us in

our tracks and keep us from becoming arrogant,

right? If you're struggling with any type of

pride, please turn to or memorize Genesis 2 -7

from the message. God formed man out of dirt

from the ground and blew into his nostrils the

breath of life. The man came alive, a living

soul. That should get rid of your pride right

there. The Bible is clear that none of us came

from some amazing celestial substance or angelic

creation. All of us came from, let's say it together,

dirt. Dirt. Now do me a favor. Look at the person

to your left. Now look at the person to your

right. Now look at the person behind you. Now

look at the person in front of you. According

to Genesis 2 -7, every person you looked at is

a dirt bag. Now look at your neighbor and say,

you're just the dirt bag. Doesn't that feel good?

Because all of us came from nothing. We came

from nothing. Right? So let me, I know all of

you, some of you, I'm sorry, most of you, you

need a little help. So let me give you a visual.

Okay? Let me give you a little visual. Humanity

came from dirt. Dirt. How many of you know this

didn't mess up our budget? Right? It's just dirt.

And every single person came from nothing but

dirt. And it's funny to think about all the things

we do with our dirt. Many of you got up this

morning and washed your dirt. At least I hope

you did. You put deodorant on your dirt. The

amount of money we spend on our dirt. We get

dirt manicured. We get dirt pedicured. We work

out our dirt at the gym. People spend billions

of dollars around the world on dirt surgery.

We have dirt suction, dirt lift, dirt tucks,

and all the other things we do to our dirt. But

here's the crazy thing. Of all the things, that

God could have used to create us, why did he

use dirt? Why did he use dirt? Because if you

think about it, God created everything with beauty

and splendor. I mean, the last time you saw a

sunrise or a sunset, it's the handiwork of God.

I was away last week spending time with my daughters

in Florida. And when I walk along the beach and

see the vastness of the ocean, my heart leaps.

Did you know that God's the interior designer

of heaven? And he designed streets with gold.

And the gates are made of pearl. But when he

got ready to create you and me, his prized possession.

The one he sent his only son to die for on a

cross. Of all the things he could have used,

he used dirt. Since the beginning of time. Here's

the crazy thing. God has actually been trying

to teach us something about who he is and about

how he works. God is holy, but he's not afraid

to work with things that are dirty. See, we serve

a God who is awesome, but is not afraid to work

with things that are awful. We serve a God who

is magnificent, but he is not intimidated by

the things that are ordinary, dirty, or mundane.

When all of humanity is trying to keep dirty

situations and people from them, God says, no,

bring me that dirt. I want that dirt. That dirt

that you think is insignificant, that person

you think I cannot use, I will put my hands on

that dirt and I will shape that dirt. I will

work with that dirt and I will use that dirt

to further my kingdom. Church, that's good news.

And we need to thank God that he doesn't need

photoshopped Pinterest perfect people to change

his kingdom. God is showing us that he can work

with dirt. He can work with all our messed up,

God issues, dirty situations. And not only does

he show us this, but in the creation narrative,

we, you and I, are the only thing that God put

his hands on. He reached down and he what? He

touched the dirt. We're the only thing he put

his hands on. And not only did he touch the dirt,

but he breathed into the dirt and it came alive

and became a living soul, which leads us to our

next thought. The breath of God is inside each

of us. God formed man out of dirt from the ground

and he blew into his nostrils the breath of life.

The man came alive, a living soul. I want you

to pause and think about that for a second. The

breath. of God is on the inside of every one

of you, whether you believe in God or not. And

do you know what your most valuable asset is?

It's not your house. It's not your boat. It's

not your car or your jewelry. It's not even your

financial portfolio. The most valuable asset

you have is that the breath of God is inside

each of you. A generous God put his breath in

humanity and then gives us the opportunity to

be generous in our life and give it back to him.

So this morning, ask yourself, what are you doing

with that breath? What are you doing with the

borrowed breath that God gave you? Because not

only that, God sent his son to earth in the person

of Jesus who points us back to the father and

then through his death, burial and resurrection

connects us to the father and now inhabits our

lives for those that believe. Romans 8, 11, the

spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead

lives in you. And just as God raised Christ from

the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies

by the same spirit living in you. See, God works

with dirt, lives in dirt. And did you know dirt

is the only environment that is conducive for

a seed to grow? Can you put seed in a diamond?

Can you put seed in gold? But if you get some

dirt. and you put a little seed in this dirt,

what happens? It grows. It grows, and it blossoms

into something beautiful and powerful. Just another

reminder that we follow a good, good father.

And not only is he a good, good father, but he's

a good, good gardener. And although we come from

dirt, there's a seed inside of you, and that

seed is a gift. And this morning, God is ready

for you to stir it up. Someone say stir it up.

See, generosity starts with somebody who's not

stored up the gift of God, but has made a decision

to stir up the gift of God, which leads to our

final thought. See, our generous God placed good

gifts inside of us. 2 Timothy 1, verses 3 -7.

2 Timothy 1:3–7

Timothy, I thank God for you, the God I serve

with a clear conscience just as my ancestors

did. Night and day, I constantly remember you

in my prayers. I long to see you again, for I

remember your tears as we parted. And I will

be filled with joy when we are together again.

I remember your genuine faith, for you share

the faith that first filled your grandmother

Lois. and your mother Eunice. And I know that

same faith continues strong in you. This is why

I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual

gift God gave you when I laid hands on you. For

God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity,

but of power, love, and self -discipline. Now

from 2 Timothy 1 .6, from the New King James

Version, Therefore, Timothy, I remind you to

Stir up the gift of God which is in you through

the laying on of my hands. So Paul, he's writing

to his spiritual son, Timothy. And he's letting

him know about the gift that God has placed on

the inside of him. But you can't really appreciate

what Paul is writing to Timothy until you understand

the context from which Paul is writing from.

Paul is writing 2 Timothy from a jail cell. So

he's in jail, and whenever you read 2 Timothy,

you're hearing the psychology of somebody who

knows they're about to die. Paul is given a death

sentence. He knows his life is coming to an end,

and when you know you're about to die, the words

that you speak, they're powerful, and they mean

something. I mean, if you're about to die, You

don't have time to waste. If I was to tell you

you only had 24 hours to live, binge -watching

Netflix is not important. If you only had 24

hours to live scrolling through social media

and posting on Instagram, it's not a priority.

So I find it interesting in the last moments

of Paul's life, of all the things he could have

written about, He feels the need to tell his

spiritual son, Timothy, whatever you do, whatever

you do, stir up the gift of God on the inside

of you. Paul is saying, Timothy, Paul is saying,

church, God gave you a direct deposit. And Paul

feels the need to tell Timothy, Stir it up. Stir

it up. Why? Why would he be writing these words?

Because church, that's what life is all about.

That's what life's all about. What did you do

with what God put in you? See, when we get to

heaven, God's not going to ask you how many times

you read the Bible. He's not. Should we read

the Bible? Yes. Yes, we should. But he's not

going to ask you that question. He's not going

to ask you how many times you jumped up and down

or wept during your favorite worship song. He's

not going to ask you. God's not going to look

at you and say, you were such a success on your

job. See, God, he's going to want to know, what

did you do with that deposit? What did you do

with the opportunities that I put on the inside

of you? Are you breathing out what I breathed

into you? Since the beginning of time. See, we

are living our entire lives on this earth to

hear two words. Two words. Matthew 25, 23. The

master said. God said, well done, my good and

faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling

this small amount. And so now I will give you

many more responsibilities. And when we are using

our gifts, notice what God does. Let's celebrate

together. And notice God didn't say. Well posted,

my good and faithful servant. God didn't say,

well fought, my good and faithful servant. Well

dreamed, my good and faithful servant. What did

God say? Well done. And that is why Paul says

in 2 Corinthians 4 -7, we now have this light

shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like

fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.

This makes it clear that our great power is from

God, not from ourselves. Paul writes in the book

of Romans, Romans 12, 6 -8, he says, In his grace,

God has given us different gifts for doing certain

things well. So if God has given you the ability

to prophesy, speak out as much faith as God has

given you. If your gift is serving others, serve

them well. If you're a teacher, teach well. If

your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.

If it is giving, give generously. If God is giving

you leadership ability, take the responsibility

seriously. And if you have the gift of showing

kindness to others, do it gladly. Notice what

Paul is writing to us. Do something with the

gift that is inside of you. He's waiting on all

of us to do something. Stir up the gift that's

inside of you. Church, I gave you a deposit.

You got to stir it up. I mean, Bob Marley's song

just took on a whole new meaning. That's got

to become a playlist for all of us. Stir it up.

Stir it up. Can I just share with you what blesses

my heart? So I was walking out through the kids'

hallway, right, on the way here to share with

you. And I high -fived a guy named Alva on the

way towards. He was going towards the kids' room,

and I was coming towards you. And Alva, okay,

and please understand, face tattoos, former addict,

strung out, on. His deathbed, literally. But

God saved him. I'm not making it up. He'll tell

you his story. He smiled at me and high -fived

me and said, I'm going to teach the kids. You

know what I thought on the way out here? I wonder

how many parents are going to be concerned. When

they see Alva teaching their kids. But I shouldn't

have that thought. You know why? Because Alva

is using his what? His gifts. You want to know

how to experience abundant life? Living an abundant

life is the day we realize the gift that's inside

of us. That's when it all changes. Because inside

every one of you is what? A gift. All of you

have this inside of you. But I'd be willing to

say three quarters of you haven't even opened

it. And that's the sad part about the American

church. You're afraid to open your gift. One

author says it this way, and it's not Mark Twain.

There's two important days in your life. Not

the day you're born and the day you die, but

the day you're born and the day you find out

why you were born. Stir up the gift. See, generosity,

because some of you there are thinking, Chris,

what in the world does dirt and gifts have to

do with generosity? For a generous God put that

gift inside of you, inside of me. And now he's

saying, will you use it for me to further my

kingdom? But so many of you, you sit here, you

don't even know what your gifts are. Well, Chris,

I don't even know where to start. I don't even

know what to do. Well, let's quickly go through

a few action steps of what it means to stir up

the gifts. And notice 2 Timothy 1 .6, Therefore

I remind you to stir up the gift of God which

is in you through the laying on of hands. Peter

wrote the same words in 2 Peter 1 .3, I think

it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir

up by the way of reminder. See, when we remember

something, we bring to our conscious minds something

we've already learned or experienced. The Bible

references remember or remind over 200 different

times. In other words, intentionally bring truth

into your minds. Because when you bring truth

in your mind, you stir up the Spirit inside of

you, and He then empowers you to use your gifts,

which moves us to step one. Remember your God

-given gifts. This is why I remind you to fan

into flames the spiritual gift God gave you.

And for those of you who say, well, Chris, I

don't know what my gifts are. Here's my response.

Ask your spouse. Seriously. Ask your spouse.

Well, I'm not married. Ask your friends. Ask

a peer. Right? Ask your parents. And you say,

well, Chris, what do I ask him? What do you see

in me? That's all you ask him. You go to somebody

you trust and you say, what do you see in me?

And they're going to share qualities about you

that you may not even be able to acknowledge

when you look in the mirror. And then when you

hear those truths, you begin to do more of it.

And you begin to love on people and extend grace

to people. Because not only do you remember your

gifts, number two, remember you have to put your

gifts into practice. This is why I remind you,

fan into flames or stir up the gift that God

has given you. And how are you using your gifts?

You know, Easter's coming. You saw those announcements

just block after block. Like, wow, we do a lot.

No wonder I tell everyone, hey, Chris, can I

meet with you after Easter? Chris, can we have

lunch after Easter? Easter's coming. Good Friday

giveaway, Easter egg hunt. There's all these

opportunities to serve, to bless kids, to be

like Alva, you know? And just extend love to

the next generation. And the question is, are

you willing to give up a little of your time?

Are you willing to stir up the gifts? This is

the, I'm making the initial announcement. HCV,

this May, will be doing our first annual, annual

bed build right here. I'm sorry, not here, but

somewhere. So listen, May 3rd, Saturday, May

3rd, we're going to build a bunch of beds for

people that don't have beds. Is that okay? Okay,

but here's the deal. Only 60 people, that's it,

ages 8 and up. Even the kids can carry the wood

and pack the bolts. And we're going to gather

for four hours. Everyone say four hours. From

8 to 12 on May 3rd. And we're going to build

a whole bunch of beds. And all those beds are

going to be given away to the tri -state area

absolutely free. All you have to do. Yeah, it's

a good thing. And notice I said first annual.

This is going to become an annual thing. Because

I believe that Jesus was simple and I believe

Jesus was practical. And guess what? Lives are

changed when they get a bed. Changed. You can

sign up at the Welcome Hub. Just mob them. You

only get 60. That's it. Top. That's it. 60 people.

Can we fill those spots? I think we can too.

Now this is kind of a curveball. I'm the president

of a local little league. And this year, we don't

have enough umpires. And we even pay our umpires.

Isn't that crazy? So if you like kids, young

people, and you think you can call balls and

strikes and outs, we need you. And we will pay

you. Every game that you work as an umpire, you

get paid to do it. So you can see Frank right

after this if you would like to umpire. Frank

is our umpire -in -chief at our Little League.

And he would love to sign you up to get behind

the plate, wear a mask, and get yelled at by

parents. But do you know the exciting thing?

You know the exciting thing about being an umpire?

You can walk over to said parents and say, get

out of here. And they have to leave. Because

I'll make them leave. See? It's a win -win. The

point? Use your gifts. You've got to use your

gifts. If you're just sitting in here twiddling

your thumbs, letting the time pass you by, you're

missing out on all that God's given you. Number

three, remember, there's nothing to fear. 2 Timothy

1 .7, For God has not given us a spirit of fear

and timidity. See, people, people in your sphere

of influence, they can handle your gift. They

like you being kind and generous and loving.

But not a whole lot of people can handle your

dirt. And you say, well, Chris, what's my dirt?

Your dirt is your humanity. Your dirt is that

part of you that you don't post on social media.

Because you don't want anybody to see it. And

so many people, they go through life showing

their gifts but hiding their dirt. And if we're

not careful, that's how you're going to start

approaching God. You're going to show God all

the good parts, but what are you going to hide?

The mess. Hey, God, you can use this. This is

me, but I'm going to hide this. But see, that's

not freedom. You want to know what freedom is?

Freedom and an abundant life is when we take

all of our dirt, all of our flaws and all of

our issues and our hangups, and we take our gift

that God has put inside of it and we just give

it back to God. And we say, God, you formed me,

use me. Because when we get it out of our hands

and into God's hands, that's when everything

changes. Which leads us to our final step. Remember,

And these are all good reminders. True or false?

God's spirit empowers us. For God, he's not given

us a spirit, a spirit, the Holy Spirit of fear

and timidity, but of what? Power, love, and self

-discipline. See, so many people, they try to

live their life in their own limited power and

their weakness. They want to hide from God. And

then every time the enemy knocks them down and

defeats them with guilt or bitterness or hatred

or insecurities or doubts or busyness or distraction

or pride or greed, they're knocked out for like

six months or a year. But you don't have to live

defeated lives. You don't have to be intimidated

by our enemy and fall into sin. You can live

victoriously when you just give it all back to

God. And you walk in his grace. And you tap into

that limitless, that unlimited power of the Holy

Spirit. When we're empowered by the Holy Spirit,

that's when we're walking in fullness. And that

power will never run dry. No matter how many

times you connect to it, it's always on. And

not only is it always on while we're alive here,

but it's on for eternity. This week, God spoke

to me, had a personal encounter through Phoenix.

Everyone knows about Phoenix. Love my Phoenix.

It's five years old, full of energy. If you've

seen the Energizer Bunny commercial, okay, that's

our Phoenix. Even at 9 .30 at night in bed, it's

just never stops. It's just the Energizer Bunny.

Anyway, so he's playing baseball. Five -year

-old playing baseball. He's learning the game.

And he only had short socks, okay? He only had

short socks. These are ankle socks. And he got

cleats, first ever pair of cleats. So he wears

his cleats all the time. Backyard, practice,

all the time. Anyway, he told mom, he says, mom,

I got a bee sting on my foot. Mom was like, what?

There's no bees. So she took his sock off and

looked at his foot, and he got a blister. He

didn't know what a blister was, so he called

it a bee sting. Bee got him. Hurts, Mom. He would

be literally laying in a tub with his leg out

like this. Hurts. Bee sting. I'm like, Phoenix,

it's not a bee sting, it's a blister. It's a

bee sting. Fine. It's a bee sting. So he took

him to Walmart. Like, we're going to get you

some socks. Took him to Walmart, and we spent

$5 on three pairs of socks. Five bucks on three

pairs of socks, right? Of course, he got the

cool ones, seen the design. Five bucks! The next

morning, he's getting dressed, and he looked

at Mom, Justin, and me, and he said, where's

my new socks? Where's my new socks? I want to

wear my new socks. Well, they're for practice.

Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to wear

my new socks. And he was more excited for a $5

pair of socks than what he was for a $40 transformer

a month ago. $5 pair of socks. And I was watching

him in his excitement, you know, putting his

socks on, pulling him up to his knees. And I

thought, God, why am I not like that? $5 pair

of socks. And God took me to Lamentations chapter

Lamentations 3 · chapter mention

3, and it reads this. The faithful love of the

Lord never ends. His mercies never cease. Great.

Is his faithfulness. His mercies are new. Everyone

see that? His mercies are new and fresh. How

often? Every morning. Does that make sense? There

isn't a day that goes by if you're in a relationship

with Jesus that you shouldn't be excited about

a $5 pair of socks. Because guess what? God's

mercies, joy, love, and grace are so much more

important than a $5 pair of socks. But if we

can learn anything from a five -year -old little

boy, we should be excited about the gift that

we're given every day. And I want to challenge

you. as the church to stir up the gift that God

has put in your life. Because when you stir up

those gifts, guess what? Then that's when you

become a generous person. That's when you serve

others and love others and invite others. That's

when you give to the church. So many of you are

stingy with your money. You know what I mean?

Oh, I can't tithe. I can't give. I can't do that.

It's a gift. It's all a gift. And when you give,

when you give that gift back to God, he radically

changes your life. And he makes you a happy person

and a joyful person and a person that other people

want to be around. So if you look in the mirror

and you think, people don't want to be around

me, it's time to reopen that gift. Amen? Will

you stand with me? So if you're here this morning,

listen, I just want you to be honest. I want

to pray for you. We're going to do our prayer

that we always pray here in a minute, but I want

to pray for you. If you're here this morning

and you say, Chris, I need my gifts stirred up.

Put both hands up. Put them up. I need my gifts

stirred up. Holy Spirit, come. God, you see the

hands. You know the hearts already that we try

to hide our mess, but we can't. I just pray for

each and every hand that's raised, God. Stir

us up. Overwhelm us with your love. May each

and every person that's sitting in these chairs

be like Alva that passed me on the way to the

kids. I'm going to serve. I'm going to serve.

May we all be generous, God, and give back to

you all that you've given us. In Jesus' name,

amen. So we're going to pray a simple prayer.

And all of you know that we do this every single

Sunday because we believe God brings people in

our midst that are distant and far from him.

Let's pray. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full of doubt,

shame, regret, sin. Change me. I believe you're

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

new. Set me free. Fill me with your spirit. Stir

up my gifts so I can serve others. In Jesus'

name. Amen. Listen, if you prayed that prayer,

Good Friday is coming up. Get baptized. If you

need to get baptized, Good Friday service. There

were several words of knowledge I want to share

with you before we go. Listen, inside of your

left ankle, you're experiencing pain. You have

a broken collarbone. You have a growth in your

armpit, which is kind of gross, but we really

need to pray for you. You have pain on the front

of your left knee. you have pain on the right

side of your rib cage, and you have discomfort

in your right eye that's causing blurred vision

and you need healing. So if you have any of those

needs or you have other needs, our prayer team

will be here on the right to pray for you. I

love you guys. I don't know, am I going there?

I'm going left today, so no one move on this

side. God bless you guys. Thank you for joining

us online. We look forward to our new series

next month. that you are working now so pour

it out oh pour it out