The Build Back Part 4 | Nets and Ladders with Chris Schlotterbeck

Welcome to Hub City Vineyard.

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If at any point during this message you feel called to make a change in your life, text

change me to 970-00.

Thank you and enjoy the message.

This morning we're actually concluding our October series called The Build Back.

We've been looking at an incredible story about an ordinary guy.

Everyone say ordinary guy.

And please remember those two words because we'll be discussing another ordinary guy later

in this talk.

An ordinary guy named Nehemiah who does an incredible work.

And here's what I know about you today.

I want every single one of you to hear this.

You are not a mistake.

You are not an accident.

You are here by God's grace.

And God knew exactly what He was doing when He created you.

He formed you in your mother's womb.

He gave you gifts, passions, desires and talents to do things that will change and impact this

very world.

And today I believe the Spirit of God is going to speak to many of us, stir us, shake us,

move us, convict us, inspire us to do a good work for the Kingdom of God.

And I believe that every single one of us watching online here with us this morning

is called to make an eternal difference for God's Kingdom.

So back to Nehemiah, if you missed one of our last three weeks, who was he?

Nehemiah was an ordinary guy from the Old Testament.

He was not a prophet.

He wasn't a pastor.

He wasn't a king.

He was not a warrior.

He wasn't even a building contractor.

He was a regular guy who was serving King Artaxerxes of Persia in a role known as a

cup bearer.

He was kind of like a consultant or a servant or an advisor to the King.

We learned that in the year 587 BC under the reign of evil King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians

came in and completely destroyed Judah, crushed the temple, burned the gates to the city and

left it in total ruins.

Literally thousands and thousands of Jewish people were taken into captivity.

Decades passed and no one could seem to rebuild the city.

The walls were destroyed.

Then one day Nehemiah's brother traveled to see Nehemiah and told him about the struggles

of his people and Nehemiah's heart broke.

And he wept for his people.

He was broken on the inside because the people were vulnerable.

They had no leadership, no direction and Nehemiah started seeking the heart of God.

I challenged everyone in week two that over and over again Nehemiah would pray throughout

the book.

You see 12 different times recorded in the scriptures that he prays and he seeks God

with all of his heart.

And as he prays he goes before the King and he has permission to leave his job and travel

back to his homeland to assess the situation.

Nehemiah wanted to assemble a group of people that believed that God could lead them to

rebuild the wall.

At first things were sketchy but eventually they started to make progress.

But we all know and we learned last week when Jess shared that as soon as you start to make

spiritual progress, as a good work begins the opposition will come your way.

The moment you start creating spiritual movement and spiritual momentum and you are getting

closer to Jesus and you are desiring the things of God, your spiritual enemy will show up

and try to resist and fight against the very good work that God has put in your heart.

And all of that introduction leads us to our first thought this morning.

See if our enemy can't defeat us, which he can't because we all know that in the end

God wins, he will unfortunately distract us and he will get us off course.

He will do whatever he can to take your eyes off the mission, to take your eyes off your

calling, to take your eyes off your purpose and distract you from God's kingdom.

And this is exactly what happened in this story with Nehemiah.

The wall started to go up and then the enemies, Sambalai, Tobiah and a guy named Gesham.

Everyone say Gesham.

Doesn't that sound like a villain?

I mean that's like a villain name, Gesham shows up and they try to distract Nehemiah

off of his calling away from the job.

Nehemiah chapter 6 verses 1 through 3, Sambalai, Tobiah, Gesham the Arab and the rest of our

Nehemiah 6:1–3

enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained.

Though we had not yet set up the doors and the gates, so Sambalai and Gesham sent a message

asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono.

But I realized they were plotting to harm me, so I replied by sending this message to

them.

I am engaged in a great work.

Now notice, I'm going to pause there for a second.

Nehemiah shifts his verbiage, it's no longer just a good work of rebuilding the wall, it's

now a great work because they're almost finished.

I am engaged in a great work so I can't come.

Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?

And what's interesting to me is to think of how some of us today, right, in our context

might have translated that opportunity to meet with the enemies as a good thing.

We might think, well they hate me, they're judging me, they don't like what I'm doing,

this is an opportunity to win over my critics, to win them to my side.

This is an opportunity to go and expand by influence.

This is an opportunity for me to build my brand.

Or maybe it's an opportunity for me to reach more people and establish and build up my

name.

The problem is, when we often think it's an opportunity, God calls it distraction.

What we often think of as an opportunity, God calls it distraction.

We look at it and we think this is an opportunity, we reach more people, we gain more traction.

When in reality, it's a distraction from the enemy trying to get us off course of the very

purpose that we've been created to do.

The enemies, they say, please come and meet with us.

I mean, they're even polite.

Nehemiah, please come and meet with us, we're trying to distract you.

But the enemies, the critics, they ask Nehemiah for a meeting.

How does he respond?

He says, no.

He rejected the meeting.

Why?

So he could stay on task and keep building the wall.

Nehemiah, will you meet with us?

No.

Nehemiah, can we have this meeting?

No.

Nehemiah, we want to talk to you about your philosophy and help you see another way.

And he constantly says, no, no, no.

One of the most strategic skills that you and I can develop in order to do what God

has called us to do and to stay strong and to avoid distraction is learn the word no.

But yet so often, because we're in a relationship with Jesus, because we want to impact and

change the world, because we want to see people reached and their lives changed and people

set free, we're constantly saying yes, yes, yes.

But if you're going to grow in your relationship with God and you're going to pursue His passion

for your life, which we all have a calling, then we have to grow in our nose and begin

to say yes, less, more, and more.

And you say, why, Chris?

Why can't I say yes to everything?

Because saying yes to everything distracts you from the very purpose that God has called

you to do.

We have to learn to say no.

Can we all say no together?

I didn't even say three yet.

Bill Johns.

One, two, three.

Thank you.

That's very good.

Now listen, when you say no, you don't yell.

You don't make an angry face.

You just look at the person, smile with your head not nicely tilted to the side and just

no.

When someone asks you for a meeting, hey, can we get together?

Can we do lunch?

No.

See, as our community of faith grows, I have more and more people that want to meet with

me.

And I love to have lunch.

I love to have coffee.

I love to meet with you.

But what people don't like to hear is when they say, hey, Chris, I have this great idea.

I think the church should do it.

Let's get behind this idea.

Let's go for it.

Will you start it?

And I say, no.

Then they're mad at me because I said no because they think I'm telling them they can't do

it when in reality I'm going to look back at them and say, no, you do it.

Because if God's calling you to do it, you're called to do it, not me.

Will the church support you?

Absolutely.

Will the church pray for you?

Absolutely.

Will the church help to fund you?

Probably.

I know our accountant's in here somewhere, so that's why I said probably.

I can't say yes to everything.

But don't expect me to do it for you.

The answer is going to be no.

Because I'm doing what God has called me to do.

And for those of you that think that it's wrong to say no, Jesus said no.

There'd be crowds of people.

He'd heal a lot of them and then he'd say, hey, I'm done for the day.

And he would walk away.

He wasn't being mean.

He was being wise.

Because that's how the Spirit was leading him.

Look at Mark chapter 1.

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up, went out to an isolated place to pray.

Later Simon and the others went out to find him.

When they found him, they said, everyone is looking for you.

But Jesus replied, notice, we must go on to the other towns as well and I will preach

to them too.

That is why I came.

He said, it doesn't matter that everyone wanted to see me.

No, I will not see them.

We are moving on.

I would argue that perhaps there's never been an easier time to be distracted in the history

of the world than it is today.

Because see, it's not just that people will distract us.

Our stuff will distract us, which leads us to our next song.

See, our world is full of distractions.

Disruptions are everywhere.

Our world is now a constant feed of information and entertainment.

We carry around phones in our pockets everywhere we go.

We connect to the internet at just about anywhere and we're bombarded by advertisements on nearly

every flat level surface that's out there.

As you're driving you're going to see advertisements.

As you're driving your car, your phone dings and bings and there's this constant reminder

that your phone is alive.

And we have got to learn that for 24 hours a day there's a news cycle given to us.

For 24 hours a day there's an updated streaming service that we are constantly being drawn

to.

We're bombarded with distractions.

And every bit of information that enters my mind, enters our minds has one goal, to gain

control of our attention and our resources.

They want us to buy stuff.

And with so much information battling for space in our minds, it's no wonder our attention

spans have been steadily shrinking.

Check this out.

According to some recent studies, our attention span is now less than that of an ordinary

goldfish.

The average attention span for the ill-focused goldfish is nine seconds.

Nine seconds.

But according to a new study from Microsoft Corporation, the very people that are feeding

all these distractions to us, the average person in the US now generally loses concentration

after only eight seconds.

Seeing the effects of an increasingly digital lifestyle on the brain.

Basically our whole culture is now ADD.

The entire culture.

The information age is literally rewiring our brains.

And here's the worst part, church.

We're letting them do it to us.

We're choosing to engage.

We're choosing to carry the phones.

We're not turning them off.

We're allowing notifications to constantly go off about posts and updates and dances

and clothes that are coming out.

It's just constant.

That is a problem.

And notice what we see in Nehemiah 6, 4 through 6.

Four times they sent the same message and each time I gave the same reply, remember

he was constantly saying no.

The fifth time San-Balé's servant came with an open letter in his hand and this is what

it said.

There is a rumor among the surrounding nations that Gesham tells me it is true.

That you and the Jews are planning to rebel and that is why you're building the wall.

According to his reports, you plan to be their king.

There's a rumor.

Right?

Here's the reality about rumors.

Rumors in our day and age.

Where do they come from?

Social media.

Because everyone has the freedom to type anything they want about anyone that they want without

face to face contact and there is no accountability.

And it's just out there for the world to see.

But here's the reality.

Don't let that pull you down.

I hope you'll understand that you're never going to do great things for God if you're

distracted by small minded people.

Small minded people that just want to blast and get attention on social media but not

be held accountable.

But it's not just social media.

It's not just phones.

The larger distractions in life keep us from realizing the life God calls us to live.

A life focused on making a difference for the kingdom of God.

For example, there's the distraction of constantly pursuing the promotion, the career, the business

opportunities.

Friends, that can distract us from using our talents to serve the community.

The distraction of maintaining a large and perfectly landscaped home.

We want it.

We desire it.

I believe in taking care of what God has given us.

But here's the reality, if we focus on it too much, we forget about the people living

inside of it.

The urge to check up on our social media fields steals more time away from us to have personal

one on one contact with others.

The opportunity to spend money on newer and trendier stuff keeps us from using it to accomplish

greater good in our world.

In each case, these distractions keep us from accomplishing a greater significance in our

very own lives.

These are the distractions that cause irreversible harm to us and to our families.

Luke chapter 10 verses 38 to 41.

Luke 10:38–41

As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village

where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.

Her sister Mary sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he taught, but Martha was distracted

by the big dinner she was preparing.

She came to Jesus and said, Lord, doesn't it seem unfair to you that my sister just

sits here while I do all the work?

Tell her to come and help me.

But the Lord said to her, my dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details.

Right?

The house, the home, the dinners, the yard work, the new car, making it shine, the new

phone that has to have all the bells and whistles.

Right?

We, as a result, are lured away from the true significance in our lives.

Jesus challenges Martha, right, that Mary had chosen wisely, that she sat at Jesus's

feet and was receiving his teaching.

She was focused on the eternal, not the temporary.

And here's the reality.

Often our lives go unevaluated.

And that's what this talk is all about today.

It's about evaluating your heart to see where you are.

Because when we don't evaluate our hearts, then the true significance just drifts by.

Socrates famously wrote, the unexamined life is not worth living.

So this morning, we're going to do some self-examination, which leads us to our next talk.

Don't miss the life Jesus has for you because you're distracted by the life you created.

Don't miss the life Jesus has for you because you're distracted by the life you created.

We currently live in a culture of entitlement.

Many people today believe they deserve special treatment, privileges, without putting in

any effort, right?

We often see and hear people say, you owe me.

And they live with this attitude and feel that society and schools and businesses and

companies should provide for them because of who they are rather than what they are

doing.

This is now manifested into unreasonable expectations and the lack of accountability.

This needs to change.

Nehemiah, he had to fight against this entitled spirit.

And we read this in Nehemiah 6, 10 through 13.

Later, I went to visit Shemiah, son of Deliah and grandson of Mahetabel, who was confined

to his home.

He said, let us meet together inside the temple of God.

Both the doors shut.

Your enemies are coming to kill you tonight.

Now let's just pause there a second.

What's interesting is that Nehemiah actually had the authority to go into the temple.

But if he was doing it for personal gain and not for God's glory and bringing glory to

God, he would have been abusing his power.

He'd actually be sinning against God and he would lose all credibility with the people

that he was leading.

So notice what Nehemiah says.

But Nehemiah replied, should someone in my position run from danger?

Should someone in my position enter the temple to save his life?

No, I won't do it.

I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against

me because Tobiah and Sanbele had hired him.

They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin.

Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me.

So what Nehemiah is saying is, this isn't about me.

What we started is all about God.

It's about what God wants to do in rebuilding the wall.

Nehemiah didn't come to make a name for himself.

What did he do?

He came to live out his mission and he was not allowing the distractions to get in his

way.

Any diversion, any distraction, any temptation to do anything else, he says, I'm not gonna

do it.

He's saying no to everything that's pulling him away from God's purpose in his life.

I believe because we live in the United States, we have to guard against the spirit of entitlement.

Friends, we're blessed.

We're rich.

Are we willing to say, I'm gonna press on to win the prize as Paul challenges us to

do?

I'm gonna focus on the kingdom and do what's best for that call that God has on my life.

Now remember what I said.

It's not just Nehemiah that was an ordinary guy.

We see it in the life of another ordinary man named Peter.

So we're gonna go to Luke chapter five and we're gonna read here where Peter was called

into following Jesus.

One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed

in on him to listen to the word of God.

He noticed two empty boats at the water's edge for fishermen had left them and were

washing their nets.

Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out onto the

water.

Now notice, Jesus didn't ask for permission.

He just hopped in the boat.

He said, hey, get me out on the water.

Why did he want to do that?

Because when he goes out on the water and he shares the good news, his words reflect

off the water and then bounce off the hills so that large crowds of people can hear it.

When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, now go out where it isn't deeper and

let down your nets to catch some fish.

Master Simon replied, we worked hard all last night and didn't catch a thing.

So here's Peter second guessing Jesus.

He's saying, he's a carpenter.

This guy works with wood.

He knows nothing about fishing.

Why would I go out deeper?

And this time their nets were, oh sorry, I skipped.

We worked hard last night.

But if you say so, I'll let the nets down again.

So even though he questioned, he still responded and went.

This time their nets were so full of fish, they began to tear.

A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat and soon both boats were filled

with fish on the verge of sinking.

When Simon and Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said,

Lord, please leave me.

I'm a sinful man, for he was awestruck by the number of fish that he had caught, as

were the others.

His partner, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, don't be afraid.

From now on, you'll be fishing for people.

And here's the part I want you to see.

And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Peter leaves everything and follows Jesus.

And the same goes for us.

See, friends, we can be distracted by the life we have created.

Jesus promises what?

Abundance.

But so often we settle for less than and it looks like this.

This ladder represents the kingdom of God.

This ladder represents the life that we have created.

And if you think about the life that we have created, it all starts at five years old.

We get schooling.

We learn.

We go to high school.

We graduate.

We get a job.

We start earning money.

As we earn money, we fall in love.

We get married.

We start a family.

We buy cars.

We now have a mortgage and a home to pay for.

And what have we created?

We have created a life that tells us that we're successful.

But my question to you is this.

Do we often sacrifice and are we distracted with this life that we forget about the calling

that God has on us for the kingdom of God?

Because quite often as we struggle to pay our bills, as we struggle to learn more, as

we want that promotion, we constantly focus on the life we create.

Now think about Peter, right?

Peter had just brought in the haul of his life.

Two boats of fish.

The boats were nearly sinking, right?

Peter could have started his own fishing business.

Those fish equals dollars.

He would have been wealthy.

He would have been rich.

But what did he choose to do?

He walked away.

He followed.

Now Peter could have said no.

He could have said, I'm not going to follow you, Jesus.

And then he would have had a story about his encounter with Jesus that left him a very

profitable business.

But God calls us to so much more.

And unfortunately for many people, you know what happens, especially within our culture,

they start a journey with Jesus.

They meet him for the first time.

They're on fire for God.

They love God.

They start to pray.

They get baptized.

And then suddenly they go back to school.

And as they go back to school, they want to get that promotion.

Not only do they get that promotion, they get a new job.

And as they get a new job, they begin to climb the ladder.

And as they climb the ladder, they begin to be distracted by what?

What they're doing and what they're creating for themselves.

But then Sunday comes along and they think, oh, it's about Jesus.

So they get their foot back in the kingdom of God.

And then suddenly they're on two different ladders.

They've created for themselves a decision.

Do we pursue God with everything?

Or do we continue to focus on this life that we've created for ourselves and are distracted

by the kingdom of God?

God desires that we focus on his kingdom.

So my question to you this morning is this.

Do you have your foot in two kingdoms?

Because if you do, that's the struggle that God's challenging you to change.

Where are your priorities?

Where are your distractions?

Is it in your pocket?

Is it about the money in your pocket?

Is it about the credit cards you have to pay off?

What are you currently being distracted by?

Because if your foot is in both worlds, Jesus is inviting us to go all in.

Because the last time I checked, he promises abundance.

When we go all in with him, he promises nothing but abundance.

Is it gonna be easy?

Of course not.

But it's so much more than the temporary struggles and promises of this world.

Peter went all in.

And for three years, he experienced life change that comes with following Jesus.

Think about it.

He walked on water.

He was on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured and literally became God.

He preached a sermon about God's grace.

And 3,000 people believed that day and the church was born.

The point, the abundance Jesus promises is so much better than this life that we've built

for ourselves.

Which leads us to our final thought.

Growth comes from daily decisions, not monumental moments.

Now notice how Nehemiah responds to his critics in the temptation to engage and be distracted.

Nehemiah 6, 3, 8 and 14 to 15.

So I replied by sending this message to them.

I'm engaged in a great work so I can't come.

Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?

I replied, verse 8, there is no truth in any part of your story.

You're making the whole thing up.

You're making the whole thing up.

You're making the whole thing up.

He calls out the rumor.

Remember, notice this prayer my God, all the evil things that Tobiah and Sambalai have

done and remember the die of the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to

intimidate me.

So on October 2nd the wall was finished just 52 days after we had begun.

Nehemiah realized that rebuilding the wall is what God created him to do.

God put him in the exact place at the right time with the right king to grant him the

provision to do the right purpose to go back and inspire the people.

This isn't just a good work, it's a great work.

And Nehemiah challenges his haters, his doubters, the critics and he says, I'm doing a great

work.

I'm not coming down off of God's mountain, off of the calling that God has for me.

Third criticism will not deter me from doing the work that God has created me to do.

And here's the reality.

Nehemiah wasn't doing something to impress others.

He was doing something important.

He was doing what he was called to do, not trying to be popular.

He was simply living out his purpose.

This happens with daily decisions of saying no to the distractions in this life.

Nehemiah was constantly saying, no, I won't visit.

No that rumor is not true.

No I will not be torn down by those haters.

Now Peter, he wrote a letter now called Second Peter near the end of his life and he's reflecting

on the promises of God that he experienced throughout his life.

How God was faithful to him.

And this is how Peter tells us to grow our faith.

Listen to his words, Second Peter 1, 5 through 8.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises.

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence and moral excellence with

knowledge and knowledge with self-control and self-control with patient endurance and

patient endurance with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection

with the love of everyone.

The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of

our Lord Jesus Christ.

So Peter, he's talking about how we grow our faith.

And notice, not one time does he mention one of the monumental moments he experienced.

He doesn't say, in order to grow your faith, you gotta walk on water, start trying.

He doesn't say, in order to grow your faith, you need to share a message and see 3,000

people choose to follow Jesus.

He doesn't talk about any of those experiences.

What does he tell us to do?

He says make daily choices of moral excellence, patient endurance, self-control, godliness,

compassion.

That church is how you grow your faith.

These daily decisions make us more and more and more like Jesus.

Now does that mean we should not desire special encounters with God?

Of course not.

We should always want more.

We should always desire more.

But true life change comes from the daily decisions that happen in our life when no

one's watching.

So I want to encourage you.

Stop comparing yourselves to others and allow God to use you daily in the lives of people

in your sphere of influence.

Growth comes from daily decisions of following Jesus one step at a time.

Now tell me if this is true or false.

Now I'm going to move this ladder a little bit.

Okay, I'm going to try a stunt.

So bear with me.

You guys ready?

Okay.

Is this how you climb a ladder?

Man, I only got to the second step.

I wanted to get up here.

Gosh, it's so bad.

Is that how you climb a ladder?

Of course not.

You don't climb a ladder by jumping and skipping over the work.

You make daily decisions saying no to distractions, no to temptation, no to entitlement.

Yes to Jesus.

Yes to prayer.

Yes to the Bible.

Yes to serving others.

Yes to community in the church.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes to worship.

Yes to the miraculous.

Yes to healings.

Yes, I want to hear the Holy Spirit speak to me and I'm way, way high.

But here's the point.

This is where God wants us.

God wants us on the mountaintop where our light shines before others so they may see

your good works and glorify who?

God.

Are you willing to say no to temptation?

No to distractions?

No to sin?

No to those people that want to suck your life and suck your time?

No.

No.

No.

As you make daily steps and take daily steps of life choices, right?

Moral excellence, godliness, self-control.

As we do those things, we get closer and closer and closer to Jesus, which leads us to what

would be our action steps.

Growth changes our perspective.

But here's the reality.

I don't want to give you action steps because I just gave them to you.

The first step, if you want an action step in beginning a relationship with Jesus that

focuses on the kingdom is being thankful for all that God has done in your life currently.

It all starts with giving thanks.

Are we perfect?

Have we arrived?

No.

But think about all that he has done in your life up to this point and how he's changed

you from yesterday to today.

See, I believe that if we pray this daily prayer every day, we'll become more like Jesus.

Feet hits the ground.

Jesus, show me the next step you want me to take in following you today.

What if that became our simple prayer?

Jesus, show me the next step to take in following you today.

And it's going to be different for all of us.

And that's okay because we're all at different points in our relationship with Jesus.

For some of you, it's like take a risk and pray for someone.

For some of you, it's like, no, take a card.

You work with 20 people that are desiring Jesus, invite them to our community of faith.

For some of you, it's, no, get involved in a community outreach so that you're not so

embarrassed about your faith and you realize that a relationship with Jesus is much more

important than what our society tells about you.

It's a choice, but it all starts with self-reflection.

So what I did was I took Peter's seven steps of growth and I have a question for each one.

I'm going to slowly read each question for you.

And what I would like you to do as we close is to reflect on where you are in your relationship

with God.

Number one, moral excellence.

Second Peter 1, 5, in view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises.

Be thankful.

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence.

What is moral excellence?

What are you known for?

When people see you coming into our community of faith, into your workplace, into your schools,

what do they say about you?

What are you known for?

And if you don't like what you're known for, get off your own ladder and start pursuing

the kingdom.

Number two, knowledge.

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God's promises.

Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence and moral excellence with

knowledge.

Ask yourself this morning, do you daily make wise choices about what you watch, what you

listen to, what you eat, who you're spending time with, what you're putting into your body?

Do you daily make wise choices?

Number three, self-control, and knowledge with self-control.

Ask yourself, if you're not controlling yourself, who or what is?

Is it your career?

Is it TikTok?

Is it your money, your stuff, or does Jesus have your heart?

Number four, patience and knowledge of self-control and self-control with patient endurance.

Ask yourself, how do you respond when interrupted?

Do you get a scow?

Are you angry, frustrated, upset, or are you patient?

Number five, godliness and self-control with patient endurance and patient endurance with

godliness.

What area of your life are you controlling?

Because remember, when we're in control of our own world, we're climbing what we built

and we think we are the God.

Jesus says, no, it's about Him.

Number six, affection and godliness with brotherly affection.

Ask yourself, are you kind to others even when it's difficult?

You know, when you see that person coming?

And one final question.

Love.

And brotherly affection with love for everyone.

Do you have a genuine heart of compassion toward others?

Do you care where people will spend eternity?

Do you care that people are broken and hurting and lost?

Do you care about the homeless and the addicted and the abused?

See, this self-reflection are the daily moments that God challenges us with that no one knows

about, but it's how we grow closer to Him.

And that's what matters in this life.

Peter says it this way in his final words to the church, to you and I.

Second Peter 3, 17 to 18.

You already know these things, dear friends.

So be on guard.

Then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure

footing.

Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Because that's where abundance comes from.

You know, I just wanted to share, I share with our first gathering that I kind of had

an overwhelming week.

For those of you that think that I just share and teach on Sundays, it's not a reality.

I share with the staff on Tuesday and staff meeting that I'm kind of intimidated by this

week because of all that's going to happen.

I wasn't going to be in the office much because I had to prepare.

Not only did I have to prepare for this Sunday to share with you and talk about ladders and

life change.

I had two celebrations of life I had to prepare for in the same day.

One at 11 for a young man that died way too young and one at one o'clock for a grandmother

and mom that passed away just three weeks after being diagnosed with cancer.

And I tell you what, at three o'clock on Thursday afternoon, after sharing those two celebrations

of life, I was in tears driving to the grave site.

And all I could think of was texting all my kids that I love them because that's all that

matters.

That's all that matters in this life.

It's not the cars we drive.

It's not the jewelry we wear.

It's not the clothes we wear.

It's not the houses we have or the boats that we want or the fun getaways that we can get.

It's about relationships with Jesus and other people.

And the more we desire them and the more we pursue them, friends, the more life change

we will experience in our own lives and in the lives of others.

God has called our community of faith to be a catalyst church in what I believe is the

entire East Coast.

Because as we pray and we step out and we share and we see people's lives changed and

transformed in healings and miracles, it spreads from here to other churches in our community,

to other churches in our states, to other churches up and down the East Coast.

It all starts with us.

That's what God's calling us to.

And you say, Chris, how do you know that?

Look around.

There's hundreds of people baptized every year.

There's people set free and healed every Sunday morning.

There's people that give their lives to Jesus every single week.

Lives are being changed and God is inviting you to be a part of it.

Will you focus on what is important and take that step of faith and step out in the calling

that he has for you?

Will you stand with me?

I'm going to pray a simple prayer over all of us because here's the reality.

As I was preparing for this talk this week, I'm distracted just like you.

We're all distracted because we're bombarded with news, what we need to buy, where we need

to go, every single second.

And until we learn to turn it off and shut it down and put it away, we're not going to

be our best for God's kingdom.

And he is inviting us into so much more.

What is it again?

An abundant life.

And that's what I want for all of you.

So I'm going to pray against any distraction in your life and here's your choice.

You can choose to receive it or you can choose to keep a hold of it.

But if you choose to keep a hold of it, then you're going to remain distracted with your

own world, with your own life that you're building and creating.

So Holy Spirit come.

I pray for this community of faith, God.

I'm thankful for them.

They're serving hearts.

They're giving attitudes, God.

I just pray against distractions in Jesus' name.

I silence the enemy in Jesus' name.

There'll be no more lies.

There'll be no more deceit.

There'll be no more stealing in Jesus' name.

I pray for a balance with these smartphones that you've given us.

That we use them for your glory, not for our glory.

That we're not distracted and pulled away from the people that are all around us hurting

and desiring more of you.

Help us to remain focused on the call to God that we would press on, press on, and win

the prize that you're calling us to.

That we no longer have one foot in our world and one foot in the kingdom, but that we're

all in, sold out, everything for you in Jesus' name.

There's no impossible.

I believe that you are working now to pour it out.

Oh, pour it out.