Better Than Dreaming // Charles Metcalf

Welcome to Transformation Church Podcast, where we represent God to

the lost and found for transformation in Christ. We're so

glad you're here and wherever you're listening from, we believe

God will transform your life. Do today's message.

So we're gonna jump into the message today.

If you got your bibles, open up your bibles to

the Book of John. The Book of John, chapter number ten.

The Book of John. A little bit about John.

He's one of Jesus' disciples and he's a little prideful.

You won't catch this unless it's in the nuance of

how he writes. But in one of his stories, he's

talking about him and a friend. We're running to get somewhere,

and he talked about himself.

In the third person. He's like, but then the other

disciple beat Peter to the tomb. But he's talking about himself.

It's just random fact he'd be doing.

He calls himself the one Jesus loved, so he'd be

in the joint.

He'd be like, yeah, you know, James.

Was there, Peter was there, The one Jesus loved was there.

But you can't do that write in your own letter.

That's crazy. John's the best. But John chapter number ten,

Verse ten is going to kind of be our starting

point today. If you got it, say I got it.

If you don't, don't worry. We got you all right.

Could you throw that up on the screen for me?

John ten ten says, this funny story. Actually, I grew

up in a church. My dad was a pastor. It

was called Abundant Life Church, Abundant Life Christian Church. I

don't know they had some more spiritual words in there,

but this was the anchor verse. So John ten ten

and the NIV, this is what it says.

He throw it up there for me. It says this,

the thief.

Comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

But I have come that they may have life and

have it to the full.

This is what Jesus is saying. He says, there's a

thief and he's here to steal.

Stuff, to kill and destroy.

But the reason I showed up, the reason I'm here,

the reason I stepped out of heaven and into human history.

He explains, in these words, I came that they may

have life and have it to the fool.

Look at the message.

Eugene Peterson, I was a professor. He kind of paraphrase it.

This way, he says, a thief is only there to

still kill and destroy. I have come so that they

can have real and eternal life, and look at this language,

more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

Jesus is setting some context here.

If you want to know why I showed up on

the scene, why I stepped out of perfection and gold

streets to relate to you.

Why I put on this flesh suit.

Why I had to deal with people that I was

there when they were created.

Why I stepped out of heaven.

The reason I'm here today is just to let everybody know.

He showed up so you could have more and better

life than you've ever dreamed of.

That's the point. Why is Jesus here.

Jesus tells us himself in John Tinton, I showed up

so you could have a better life than your dreams.

So you wouldn't escape life to dream, but you would

live your dreams while you're awake.

I gotta calm down. I'm not even supposed to be

preaching yet.

Okay, the title of my sermon today, I'm taking notes.

Write it down.

Better than dreaming, better than dreaming, better than dreaming, better

than dreaming.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are here.

You are here with us in this moment, and I

pray that you would reveal yourself in a way that

we cannot ignore, a way that changes us, a way

that helps us see you differently, a way that changes

how we see ourselves.

And Lord God, we love you. So you let me pray,

and everybody said amen.

When we jump into John chapter number ten, Jesus talking

to a religious group of leaders who are in summary,

super lame. They're super lame. They think they're really cool.

They've memorized a lot of the Old Testament, and they

think because they.

Know a lot about God that they know God. But

these are two different things.

You can know a lot about God and still not

know God. How do we know this because they knew

the most quote unquote and they killed him. They had

the first five books in your Bible, they had that

memorized since they were teenagers, and they still couldn't see

God when he was walking around healing people doing miracles.

So you can know about God and still not see God.

But Jesus is talking to them, and the context of

this scripture is Jesus heals a blind man and the

Pharisees or.

These religious group leaders. They go and they.

Start interrogating the blind man. Why because they're not concerned

with the miracle. They're more frustrated about Jesus's method of

how he gets to miracles. This is something that still

happens today, and I'm not gonna go on a whole

rant with it, but people will be more frustrated with

the method of how people get saved than the actual

fact that five hundred and twenty four people are getting saved.

Still happens today.

They frustrated because Jesus, You're not supposed to do it

like that. That's not how people are supposed to get saved.

And so Jesus goes on this whole rant as he

normally does.

He's kind of like.

Talking to the crowd, but he's also taking direct shots.

At all the Pharisees. It's very gangster of Jesus.

But he does this whole illustration about sheep and he's like,

there's a sheep gate and I'm at the gate and

other people are trying to get in the gate, and

if you come and it's stuff that doesn't make sense now,

but if you were a shepherd back then and you know.

It made a lot of sense. And here's the connection.

Have you ever, I don't know if you've heard the

scripture of the twenty third song.

Some of y'all, you know, if you played any.

Type of sports in the two thousands, you probably have

that tattooed on your.

Ribs or something like that. But it's like a very

specific call. But somebody in here is like, dang it,

I do.

But one of the things that starts out and says,

the Lord is my shepherd. So when Jesus starts talking

about he's the real shepherd, that he's the good shepherd,

everybody in the crowd says, is he saying what I

think he's saying. Everybody knows there's a connection that's deeper

that's happening right now. He is making a claim to

be somebody who we've been looking for for hundreds of years,

and he's saying, yeah, I know you've been looking for him,

but it's me.

Just make the pharise. He's very, very angry.

But then he backs up and he uses this verse

verse number ten, and he says, the enemy or the

devil with adversary, he has three goals in your life

to steal to kill and destroy it. Now, I'm not

gonna spend much time on the devil because he don't

need no time and just a little bit of vice.

Don't give the devil any of your time. It's a

waste of your time to get him your time. It's

just it don't make no sense. And some people love

to be like, oh the devil, be quiet. The devil's defeated.

He's dead. He has literally no powers at all.

I don't give the devil the pleasure of even getting

the opportunity to use my vocal course to talk about him.

He just ain't that important. But for two seconds, let

me explain.

This scripture to you.

Still kill and destroy here's the easy illustration. I went

down the whole rabbit hole of the original language just

to give it to you simply where you can understand.

Still kill and destroyer is like these three steps. If

I got the.

Password to your phone.

That was I stole your password, so now I have access.

Nothing's changed, you don't know it, but I have an

access point to something you desperately need. That's the steal

to kill would be like if I went into your

phone and I deleted all your apps in all your contacts.

So it's still a phone.

It looks like it functions, it turns on the same way,

but there's something that is missing that is primary to

its immediate fund and purpose. It was created destroyed after

he does all that, your.

Phone is destroyed.

Not in the sense that it's crushing that got ran over,

but it can't be used for its intended purpose.

This is what the devil tries to do to you.

So he doesn't start off with trying to destroy you completely.

He starts off by just trying to steal a little

bit of your connection and communication in your marriage. Then

he kills your intimacy so that y'all still technically married,

but there's no life actually happening in the middle of

your marriage. So then he can destroy the ultimate purpose,

which is for you to be a picture of God

on earth. You still married, you still find you still

look good on the outside. But he's stolen, he's killed,

and he's destroyed. He is he's slow with He doesn't

come out yelling at you in a red pitchfork and

being like I'm here to take.

Your purpose, give it over.

That's why I be so interested Christians me sometimes man

just begiving me because we be missing the plot. Sometimes

we're like, oh, man, you watching that show you going

to head there's demons and devils jumping off that TV

into your soul. Maybe maybe I'm not saying there's not,

but I'm saying when you when you stop being kind

and you lose joy, you don't realize the Bible says

the joy of the Lord is your strength. So if

he can take your joy, you can't get stronger. So

I'm just saying, you gotta be you gotta be aware.

Of the enemy's taxes.

He still kills and destroyers. But then Jesus he summarizes

his whole mission and he says, the reason I am

here is so you can have a better life than

you've ever dreamed of. Now it's interesting to me, Jesus,

does I mean, if I'm reading this scripture, I don't

know what it's about to say Jesus like, this is what.

The enemy does.

Now I'm about to tell you why I am here,

and I'm not going, Okay, here we go.

He's here to beat up the devil. He's here to

make sure I go to heaven. He's here to.

Make sure I'm always healed. He's here to answer all

my questions. He's here to do what I need him

to do when I need him to do it. He's

here to make me feel good here.

He doesn't say any of that. I'm here so you

can have a good life. Now.

I know some of you are like, that's not spiritual enough.

That can't be that simple.

In today's time, where there's no peace, no clarity, full

of anxiety, full of fear, full of worry, full of

all these things.

I want to submit to you this morning.

The life that Jesus is presenting could be the most

spiritual act ever, you having a better life than you

could dream of.

Now.

I get this because we are trained spiritually to want

super deep like.

Stuff where we go, oh my gosh.

So when you just say, like Jesus here so you

can have like a super fulfilling life, you're.

Like, what what does that? What does that mean?

I'm about to walk you through it here. But here's

my submission today. When Jesus says I came that you.

Might have life and life to the full, the language that.

He's using is I am here so that you can

have an exceeding and obnoxious, overflowing amount of fulfillment and

satisfaction in your life. The word picture is like it's

just an exorbitant amount, Like it's so much you cannot contain.

It's it's you have a little cup and you just

pour on it for fifty years and then another fifty

It's it's so much life, so much peace, so much joy,

so much love, so much patience, so much peace in

your life. He says, That's why I'm here, so you

can have a full.

And satisfying life. What kind of life. Let's just start

off with the fruits of the spirit.

What if he just said, I want you to have

an exceeding amount of love, joy, and peace, an overflowing,

obnoxious amount.

Of love in your life. That's why I showed up.

So you just have so much love you don't even

know what to do with it. People bump into you

and they feel love. People look at you and they

just think, I don't know what that is. But I've

never seen somebody that seemed to that present with me,

that God showed up so that you could have more

joy than you know what to do with. Not so

you're scratching and clawing and fighting for these little moments

where you kind of have peace.

He said, I want you to have an abundance of peace.

I want the world to be following apart and you

not think nothing of it.

Because you know who holds the future.

Now, the question is if this is what Jesus is promising.

Here's the question. I've asked the time into my life,

and I know people in here are asking why am

I following Jesus? And I still don't feel that way.

If the whole reason like his, the whole reason is

I can have a lot of love, a lot of joy,

a lot of peace, a lot of patience.

And I feel like I got a little bit here

and there.

What's the distance? What's the gap? What's the delta? Why

is it that the whole reason he showed up is

something that we can barely seem to find.

I want to present to.

You today that you can live this life and it's

easier than you think.

Okay, let me let me, let me, let me get.

Myself together here because I'm sometimes I have so much

to say and it would just be too much.

Let me give you this point.

Here's kind of the anchor point of the sermon.

Write this down.

The fulfillment we seek is usually found in the action

we avoid. The fulfillment we seek is found in the

action we avoid.

Here's here's the whole sermon. I'm gonna give it to you, and.

Then I'm gonna prove it to you for the next

twenty minutes, and then I'm gonna really prove it to

you for the last Like ten. Okay, there is a

difference between accepting grace and acting on grace. And you

can live your whole life having accepted the grace of

God but never acted on the grace of God.

And I want to present to you this morning.

The reason John ten ten feels like a such outlandish

idea is because many of us live a significant amount

of our life having accepted Jesus but never acted on

the grace he gave us. What I mean, if I

gave you one hundred million dollars.

You could accept it and never spend it. And this

is what you would do. You would walk around like,

sh I got a hundred million dollars and people be like,

how much money?

Oh?

You was what you were checking your bank account? Siri,

read to me my bank account number. They have twenty

eight cents. No the other account. The other.

What you would do is you would start to get

prideful because you think that since you accepted it and

it's in your account, you know how to use it.

Oh, I'm about to I'm about to get into it.

This is how we get spiritually obese, because oh, I

was listening. I was listening to the sermon and it

was so good. It really just spoke to my heart.

And here this happens all the time. And please, if

this is if this has ever fault happened to you,

I love you.

But here's what be happening.

Man, past a child, that was the best sermon you

ever preached. Sometimes I'd be like, I don't know, but

I appreciate it. I hear in the middle of church,

we mean saying something, ooh that's so good man, I

needed that. But just because you heard it and you

felt it doesn't mean you did anything with it.

I'm not. I'm not.

I'm being super I'm super wool man, and I'm trying

to keep.

It calm, kind and collected and confident. I'm going through

my frame. Croc, come on, man, I'm locking in. Man.

But I'm saying, it's very easy to.

Be in church and thinking because you hearing what Jesus

does that you do what Jesus did. It's very easy

to watch your favorite preacher and say, man, that was good,

and you never do nothing with what they said.

It's very easy. I'm saying it's very easy because I

do it all the time. We'd be like, whooh man,

I love that.

And sometimes I'll be saying to myself, don't tell me

you love it. Show me you love it by changing

something in your life.

Oh man, I really needed that. Tell me how much.

Show me how much you needed it by what you

did differently on Monday because of what you heard on Sunday.

It's so easy because many times the fulfillment we seek

is in the action we're avoiding. So we think that

just hearing information and hearing people talk and hearing people

pray is the same as actually doing it. But this

is how you get this delta and this internal frustration

because you feel like you should be further along because

you got so many notes, and you got so many

prophetic words, and you got so many revelations, and you

have so much power written down in your phone.

But then you look at your life and you barely.

Got any peace, you barely got any joy, you barely

got any love, and now you mad because it was

like I was at church and I wrote it down

and I felt the goosebumps, and they went to the

chorus and they said, just y'all sing it, and I

sang it, and I did.

It and I felt it. But I went to work

and felt the same.

Maybe there's an opportunity to close the distance between what

you've accepted and what you're acting on. Because here's the deal.

Your life is not changed by the truth you accept

to and believe. They are changed by the truth you

accept and then act like you believe them.

There's a difference.

Your life is not changed by just accepting. There's a

transformational thing that happens. Yes, but if you really want

the full life here on earth, it's gotta show up

in your actions. Because here's the deal. Accepting grace gets

you into heaven. And let me just say this, if

that's really you was all trying to get out of this,

you good, You into heaven.

Bam, he's going to hell. Now you're going to heaven.

But your life on earth, like you know, like the

seventy eighty ninety, well, however many years you got accepting grace,

it secures your eternity and so if you're just trying

to live like a super mediocre life and just make

sure you make it into heaven, I don't.

Want to take that from you.

So if you're just like Charles, I'm really only in

here to secure my past so that when I die,

i'm in the line. That's the only reason I come

to church. That's the only reason I read my Bible.

That's the only reason I pray, that's the only reason

I give. That's the only reason I do anything. Is

because I just didn't want.

To go to hell.

And so Jesus said that if I believed in him,

then I'll go to heaven.

And that's really all I want. I don't really want

the peace he has. I don't want the joy he has.

I would actually like to believe in him and go

to heaven, but still be anxious like all my friends,

and be worried about the future, and just try to

control my kids because I'm afraid.

And I'd love to be terrified.

Politically and just use it to like control things. And

I'd love to fight with people in the comments, and

I'd love to tear people down, even Christian people. I'd

love to just keep tearing them down, and my friends

look at my life and I say, I go to church,

but then they don't see anything. And I'd love be

trying to act like two different people, So like at

church on Sunday, I'd love to show up and acting

my life is great. But then I'd like the rest

of my life just to do whatever the heck I

want to, because all I was really concerned about was

just getting into heaven.

But I don't want to really do any of like

the stuff, you.

Know, because that's just it's a lot, and I just

I really only have what time will you be done preaching?

Because I gotta It's just I already got my cards,

So I don't really know why I need to go

to church if I got the.

Card into heaven? What do I need you for? What

do I need church for? What do I need friends for?

Why should I why? What does it matter who I

have sex.

With or how I talk to people, or if I

look my waiter in the eye.

Why does that really matter?

Because I'm going to heaven and I got my cards,

So I don't really know why you're telling me to

read this book. I don't really know why you talk

about these tribes and I got a text tribe to

eight too, eight two eight two. I don't get it

because I got my pass and I'm good and that's

all I wanted from him. I'm not saying you say

it like that, but I do know we all live

it like that, because accepting grace changes your eternity, but

acting on grace changes your reality. Accepting grace will get

you into heaven, but you gotta act on grace if

you want to get Heaven into you. Accepting grace will

have you feeling good in a moment, but acting on

grace is how the early Church started a movement.

There is a difference. If you're just here to come

to church, check your box and feel good, that's cool.

You can just accept the grace.

But if you are here to see blind eyes opened,

if you're here to see dead people walk out of tunes, if.

You're here to see atheists say, oh my gosh, holy,

holy holy.

If you're here to find purpose that the world can't

give you. If you're here to walk on water, if

you are here to see something different. Friend, you're gonna

have to go from looking and observing and one day

you're gonna have to act.

On the grace he gave you.

And this is how we have different experiences in our

Christian walk, because we have some people that look like,

how'd it be happening for them?

How they be hearing God so much?

How is because there is a step you can take

to act on what you believe in.

So here's what we're gonna do.

I'm gonna give you three three ways that you can

act on grace, and I promise you'll change your life,

not because I said it, but because the.

Bible says it. But first, let me read you this scripture.

Let me read you James. James is the brother of Jesus,

and so he's got some.

Stuff to say about his brother, which if I was

writing a book about my brother, I'd be just in

there talking trash like, yeah, he is God and everything

jump shot was broke.

Just throw some little jabs in there, okay.

James, Chapter number one in the twenty second verse, I'm

gonna read it to you out of the message.

Could you throw that up there for me? Look at

what this says.

Don't fool yourselves into thinking you're a listener when you're

anything but letting the word go in one ear and

out the other. Act on what you hear, go to

the next one.

What does it say? It says those who.

Hear and don't act are like those who glance in

the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no

idea who they are or what.

They look like. Now, let me give you the go

back to that one real quick.

So I'm gonna give you a little context on why

that's important. Because mirrors weren't accessible like they are now.

If you go back in that time, it was very

rare for you to have a mirror. It was polished

bronze that someone had to work hard, really really really

intentional to get a little reflection.

So what the scripture is saying is if.

In this time, if you looked at a mirror, you

had to stare at that thing for a long time.

You had to intently look, you had to look at it.

So and then you get a picture of yourself. And

it says you spend all that time looking in the

mirror and.

You walk away and forget. What does this tell me?

It's not ignorance, it's unwillingness.

It's not you unaware, it's just your they're unwilling.

So it's not that you don't know you're unkind of people.

You just don't want to become kind because you looked

in the mirror, you saw it, you saw it was there,

and you said, you know what, I'm good, I'll be fine.

Oh goodness.

The next scripture, what does it say, but those who

catch a glimpse of the revealed council of God, the

free life, even out of the corner of his eye,

and sticks with it, no distracted scatter brain, but a

man or woman of action. Here's the connection to John

ten ten. That person will find delight and affirmation in

the action.

What you're looking for. It's in what you are avoiding

doing right now. So the peace you're.

Looking for, it's in the action that scares you the most.

It's in the thing that you won't do. It's in

the thing that you're worried about doing. And it's so

easy to get so much information around a thing and

still not.

Do a thing. But I'm gonna give you three ways

to act on the grace, because acting on grace works.

Here's the first thing.

The first thing that acting on grace does is it

works in me.

It works in me. It changes how I think.

When you go from accepting grace to accepting and then

acting on it.

It starts to work in you.

The scripture that this church has founded on Romans twelve,

it says, don't conform to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. One

translation says, by changing the way you think, so you

can accept grace and still think crazy, perverted thoughts, crazy,

just wow, I'm going to heaven. But everybody I see,

I'm thinking the most ratchets stuff about because you haven't

acted on the grace you've accepted.

When you act on it, meaning you.

Start saying, Okay, I don't want to just accept this,

but I want to align my life to this. What

does God say? What does his word say? Think on

these things that are pure and right and holy and upstairs.

When I start to act on his grace, it changes

the way I think. And if you want to do

something different, you're gonna have to think different. You're gonna

have to think because you're doing will always revert to

your thinking.

So you can try to if this is what we do.

Because I know back in the day you got saved,

it was slam all your CDs, throw all your bad

stuff and come on. So you alln't know about that,

but I remember seeing some people they were smashing CDs

at the altar, and that's how we.

Knew you were going to heaven.

I'm never listening to Guns n' Roses ever again.

Really, that's okay.

Maybe it's that simple, but because what we do is

we maximize on doing something different. And I'm not saying

you shouldn't do something different, but I'm saying, if the

grace hasn't acted in you and it's changed the way

you think, you being fake and what you're doing any ways,

because you don't even really want to do it, and

you're thinking about doing what you don't want to do

while you're doing what you think you're supposed to be

doing it, And that's why you frustrated. I'm trying to

help you. This is why you.

Be like, I mean, I hate this is so dumb.

I don't even want to be doing this. Why am

I here?

Because you haven't changed how you thought about it. So

when I accept grace, it empowers me to live a

new life. When I act on grace, it's me drawing

on that power to saying, God, help me stop thinking

about me the way I think about me and.

What do you say about me?

So I feel unqualified, but you say that I am

called a qualified and I have everything I need to

live the life you've called me to live.

Let me remind myself of that every single day. I

want to act on that.

I want to live that way, I want to talk

that way. I want to see something different in my life.

When you start acting on grace changes the way you think.

And if you don't change the way you think. I

already said it, but I cannot stress. This is why

it can be so demoralizing trying to make progress in

your walk with Christ because you haven't acted on it yet,

you haven't moved into it yet. The next thing that

the scriptures say is that if you want to act

on grace, the way it works is it works in you,

and then.

It starts working on you.

This is what you do and how you live, and

how you treat people, and how you talk, and how

you move and how you move through the world.

And here's what I am saying. I am saying you

first say.

I want to accept the grace, but I want to

act on the grace and I want that to work

in me. And now I want to start changing how

I live.

What do I mean?

I mean if the Scripture says that the fruit of

the spirit, the proof of the spirit, the proof that

God is with you, that you have surrendered your life

to Him, is love when it starts working on you.

The proof that you love Jesus more is not that

you pray loud. It's not that you come to church.

It's not that you know worship songs. The Bible says,

it's your super loving.

That's how you know you're acting on the grace He

gave you. Is you are super loving. You are super patient,

super patient. Show up to get your food. It's late,

it's wrong, not even your order, and you're like, oh,

don't even worry about it. I got time, don't even

I'm so sorry. We just we've had a busy day.

Don't even worry about it. Don't even worry about it.

Here's an extra tip.

But I didn't even get your order right, It doesn't matter,

It's fine, don't Hey, you're doing a great job.

I see you. God loves you. Don't worry about it.

Then you get in your car and it's traffic. Poof

good thing. I don't live a hurried.

Life, and I got plenty of time to wait here

and and.

Listen to some music. I can listen to a good thing.

That's the spiritual thing. That's what the Bible says. You're

super joyful.

So you all, you have a smile on your face

and you're a hap.

People look forward to being around you because of how

much joy you have. That's the most spiritual thing.

The Bible says. Peace. You're peaceful.

Oh my gosh, did you see the news? My answer

is hearts of all. No, No, I didn't see it.

I didn't, so sorry. I was too busy wrestling a

three year old and my friend's kid taught my son

how to do a chokehold, and so I'm wrestling. I'm

waking up to a headlock in an armbar by a

seven year old.

So no, I didn't see the news. Because the truth is,

this is this is all the news I need to

be concerned about. Now listen.

Please don't hear the reverse of that and be like, oh,

you should just be ignorant. And no, no, no, no,

I'm saying, I'm I know how much information I need

to act on and have peace in my life. And

the truth is, some of y'all know a lot, and

it ain't doing nothing but making you anxious.

You ain't doing nothing but get more worried.

It's not that you go to look at the news

so you can intentionally pray and plan and pray. It's

just so you can talk about it with your friends

and post about it and infight somebody, and then just

be up late at night worried about, Oh my god,

we're all gonna die.

What's happening. I'm trying, my goodness, I want to run because.

I'm trying to explain to all of us that the

most spiritual thing, the thing that changed the world, the

way this went from one guy in twelve of his

friends to thousands of people was an actual power that

separated them from everybody else. And as long as the

church looks exactly like the world, what business do they

have coming here? Why in the world, why you should

come to church with me? Why you're just talking about

how mad you are your spouse and you hate them?

You don't why?

What? What do you you hate your spouse? You're rude

to your family. I never see you post all the time.

I've never seen your wife. Where are they? We don't

see your family? Your kids look at you and crouch.

Why in the world would I ever want what you have?

Oh, these people don't want God.

No, they don't want your version of God because you've twisted.

It so bad and he thinks they're mad at them.

They want God. Let's be clear.

But if you don't ever do anything with this grace,

long suffering, you keep a good attitude at a job

where they mistreat you, that's how they know you got

something different.

I'm faithful. I'm faithful. I do what I say.

When I say I'm gonna do so, I do it

because I'm a faithful person. This is the I promise you.

This is the life Jesus is talking about. You got

a lot of love, You got a lot of joy,

and a lot.

Of peace, patience, kindness, kindness.

I can't tell you how many friends I have that

their story of why they don't mess with God is

because a Christian was unkind. They have no problem believing

that Jesus was God, no problem being interested in a

God who gives them grace, mercy, and power to become

and live the life they're dreaming of. What they have

problem with is people who say they believe that and

are rude to them.

For how they look. That's what they got problems with.

So if you are supposed to represent him, I can't

get to hear through you. You seem like an obstacle

not helping me get there. So I would rather just

distance myself from your whole joint because y'all are so

mean and so judgmental, and you fight amongst yourself all

the time.

I don't want that.

This is part of the rise of why people love

God and don't go to church.

This is a part of it because depending.

On what they wear, you're gonna look at them weird. No,

I won't you look at me weird?

Sometimes? Get out of here. Why this child's gone on?

I am I'm so serious right now.

I'm so serious because.

I have friends that I love so much, and to

be honest with you, to be honest with you, this

is not this is a reflection of my own work.

But I be nervous.

I'd be trying to control who they meet first, because

I know, if you meet the right person, this will

go good. But if you meet the wrong person, it'll

mess up all of this.

And why do we gotta do that? Why can't we

trust that, like, oh, you could come in and you

could meet anybody. I could never be here.

You could go to a different church and be beautiful.

But I don't be thinking that. I'll be thinking, Okay,

just come on.

This day, and I need you to insu this friend

that's super kind, and I need you to insuce this other

friend that I know will be patient with you. And

I need to make sure there's nobody around that's gonna

look at you weird because you're still trying to figure

some stuff out, and so just and that's because that's

the story of.

The church for a long time.

It's because we've accepted all this grace, but we are

not acting like the guy we're supposed to represent. I

have a friend, his name is Alec, and he's a

cyclist and.

And he was in town this past week. He lives

in Canada.

There is a race and when I got into cycling,

I immediately found like all the coolest racing teams in America.

And one thing they do is they they sell like

their jerseys, and so I immediately was like, I'm buying

all the dopest stuff. So I got like, I had

no idea what I was doing, but I showed up

and the first ride I went to.

Everybody thought I raced for this team, and.

I was like, oh no, no, I just I just bought

the jersey online. And so we had a race this

past week and I had on one of these guys

there's a team out of London and they're so sick

and so dope, and.

So I showed up.

I had the jersey on, and my friend Alec was

there and he's a pro cyclist. And so when I

showed up, all these people who normally don't they ever

talk to me, they like rolled up.

And they're like yo, hey, bro like, and they were

talking to my friend Alec and they're like, what are

you doing here? And he was like, oh, I'm here

for my boy Charles bl blah blah blah. And then

they were like, oh what up, bro like and the.

Man get out here. But uh, I've been here for

six months. You never said nothing to me.

But but this is this is funny. I'll promise it's

gonna make sense.

I get I get in the race and it's like

forty or fifty guys and I'm locked in and then

at like five life laps to go, so maybe like

fifteen minutes we've been going twenty eight miles an hour

in a mile loop for an hour, and my heart rate,

I'm not lying to you, was two o two. My

heart rate is like what? And literally another guy attacked

and went and it was like five of us all

the way down to the end, and I just didn't

have it.

At at five laps to go, I just gave up

and pulled off.

The road and rolled up to Alex and Alec and

he was he was like, bro, what happened?

And I was like, man, I just didn't have it.

I just didn't have it. I just completely gave up.

And he's here's the funny connection.

I got home and I took off the jersey and

I thought, this is why people don't be liking when

you roll up in a jersey that you can't.

Back up so lot.

I thought that because I showed up wearing this jersey,

and here's the connection, people thought that meant something about

my heart cycling It's all about your heart rate, because

if your heart rate gets to a certain point, it

don't matter how strong you are, you just can't go

with everybody else. So they saw me on the outside

and I look clean, and I looked like I was

about to win. But the truth is, when it came

down to it, I didn't have anything to offer. No lie,

I told Alex. I was like, bro, I put I

took all the jerseys, all my dope jerseys.

I put them. I put them away. I'm not wearing

them until I get stronger. I felt so embarrassed. There's

none of those people. Literally at the end of the race,

they're like, what happened, man? I was like, my leg

really uh? It was immediately started lying, you know, a cramp.

You know. I got hit by a car actually in

twenty twenty four, So my hip kind of acts up

when I really get going. It's always good to have

that that really did happen to me, so I can

pull that up as an.

Excuse at any moment.

What happened, Well, I got ran over by a reindeer,

so it's kind of weird. Here's my closer I today,

Acting on grace works in you, works on you, and

then and then the most beautiful thing is it starts

to work through you. It starts to work through you.

It starts to work through you, meaning the people around

you start to realize there's something different about you. There's

something I don't know what it is, but there's something.

They just seem like there's something different about them. It's

just kind of how they I don't know, but there's something.

And how they talk there's something, and how they they look.

They're always excited to see me. I know, we be

at work and the boss be yelling, but they don't

seem to get worked up. There's something different because you

accepted his grace, but now you're trying to act on

his grace and you wanted to show up in your life.

And all I'm saying this morning is my most beautiful

moments with Jesus have not happened in this church in

a building. They've happened when I was outside of the

church trying to act on.

What I've accepted.

It was in the function of telling my friends about

God and that I was anxious and depressed, and He

did something about it then, like really, I was like, yes,

And you don't have to be if you don't want

to be anxious anymore, here's the cool thing you don't

got to be.

And I'm like, well, what I gotta do.

All you gotta do is you just talk to God

and you there's a thing called prayer, and when you pray,

it's like you trade all your.

Anxiety and just gives you peace. Well, what I gotta do?

Nothing really, just you just every day. You just got

to learn how to keep giving it to him. Really,

that's yes, that's the Oh my god, it's the best.

And then when you get overwhelmed, you remind yourself that

like he he's in control anyways, and.

You didn't get yourself there.

And it's like when you get super pressurized, you remember,

like he's got a plan that's so much bigger than

my plan.

And what in the world isn't so great? It's been

an acting.

It's been acting and out where it shows up around.

And it shows up through my life. We're about to

get out of here. And my prayer is that.

If you have ever felt that way, he felt like, man,

I'm following Jesus, but.

I don't feel fulfilled. My encouragement.

Is to take one truth about Jesus that you've accepted.

Maybe he's a healer. Maybe you've accepted that he gives

second chances. Maybe you've accepted that he's a friend that

sticks closer than a brother.

Maybe you've accepted that he gives peace in the middle

of the storm.

Maybe you've accepted that he's a strong tower and those

who run in are safe. Maybe you've accepted that the

Gospel can change your heart. Maybe you've accepted what I

don't know what it is for you, but one truth

you've accepted, and this week.

I want you to spend the whole week acting on

that one truth.

So if God is a healer, what would I be

doing in my week differently than I don't.

Do right now? Oh that's a dangerous that's.

A that's a dangerous that's a dangerous Christian right there?

If I knew God.

Healed anybody, anybody's sick in here?

Anybody not feeling good? Is there anybody who doesn't? You're good,

You're fine, you're hippis? Or what is it? What's what's

hurting right there? Oh you're left? Okay, your left?

This is because that sounds crazy. But that's the thing

you'd be shouting about in the book is that they

walk past.

People and their shadows healed people. So if we're trying

to live like that, you can't just read himok. Wow,

that's good. You gotta walk out.

And be like, oh, man, if I see somebody who

ain't feeling good.

I promise you, I'm about to pray for.

Them so fast because I'm trying to act on what

I've accepted. If you knew that God could give peace

in the middle of the storm, how would you be

talking to your family that you ain't talking to him

like right now? If you knew that God had the

whole world in his hands and he had a plan for.

Your child before you knew them, he knew them.

How would you talk to your kid if you knew

God had them and they're okay, and He's got a

perfect plan for their life, and he's gonna protect them,

and he's gonna keep them, and he's got more than

enough grace for every mistake they'll make.

And he's gonna keep them. And I'm gonna raise them

in the way they should go. But I trust my God.

How would you raise your kids if you were acting

on what you said you've accepted.

How patient would you be if you knew that He's

a God that gave mercies new every morning?

How would you talk to yourself differently? If you knew

God was pleased with you. He's pleased with you, He's

pleased with you. If you acted on that. How would

you show up? What type of husband would you be?

What type of wife would you be?

If you and this is where I'm saying that John

ten ten life, it's in that.

It's in the action that we sometimes avoid.

Every head bow, every eye closed, two groups of people.

If you're in here or under the sound of my voice,

you're watching this, you're listening to this, and the idea

of that super fulfilled life like tons of joy, tons

of peace, and overwhelming sense.

Of gratitude and love.

If that feels really far away, it feels a distant,

it feels like, man, I experience that sometimes but not

all the time.

But I want that life. If you're in here and.

You want to try to take the step of acting

on grace, you want to see what this book talks

about show.

Up in your real life. Every head bout, every eye close.

You're saying, I want to act on grace more. If

that's you, I'm gonna ask you just to slip up

your hand.

I want to say, I pray for you.

You want to act on grace more? God, you see

our hands and we want to be stuck saying we

believe something that we haven't done. Help us to do

what we have confessed to believe. Help us to be

people who have faith that moves past just a moment

and shows up in our action. God, would you change

the way we think?

Would you help us change the way we think? Would

you help us change.

How we think about ourselves, think about our friends, think

about our family?

Would you help us to act on your grace?

Every hand down, every head still bowed, everybody is still close.

If you're in here, there's a beautiful first step you

can take, and that is to accept the grace. And

the good news is that's really your only part in

this puzzle is to accept. You ain't got to work,

you ain't got to strive, You ain't got to pretend,

you ain't got to prove it. You accept the grace

of God. Last weekend we celebrated Easter, and the story

of Easter is the good news of the Gospel. And

here's the good news. The good news is God has

paid for all the mistakes you have ever made, will

ever make, and have thought about making.

He's already paid the price. So why does he have

to pay the price.

Because it's clear when we sin, when we make a mistake,

there's a cost associated with it. Just like if you

make a mistake or you lie in a relationship, it

strains the relationship.

That is a cost. And Jesus died on a cross to.

Pay the ultimate price for our sin so that we

have to live in shame, that we don't have to

live in guilt, that we don't have to live under

pressure and performance, but we can live under his grace.

And if you're in this room, or you're watching online,

or you're listening to this, this is the moment where

your life will change forever if you want to accept Jesus.

And I'm not talking about no fake get into Heaven card.

I'm talking about I.

Want my life to look radically different. I want peace

and I want an abundance of it. I want love

and I want an abundance of it. I want joy

and I want all of it. I'm not talking about

settling for pretending and raising your hands and doing just

the bare minimum. I'm talking about you are sick of

your old life and you want a brand new start.

Today this is your moment. This is what Jesus is about.

He's always loved you, he's always been there for you,

and today is that day. If you want to accept

Jesus as your Lord and savior. I'm about to count three.

And when I count to three, if you want to

make that decision, I want you to raise your hand. Now.

Here's why you're gonna raise your hand.

You're not raising your hand for anybody else around you.

You're raising your hand to let your mind, your soul,

and your body. No, I don't just feel this on

the inside, but I'm gonna act on it on the

outside because I know that this is a faith about action.

So if you want to accept Jesus as your Lord

and savior, I'm gonna counter three. Then you're gonna raise

your hand.

One. He loves you.

Two.

Today is the day of salvation. Do not weigh another day.

Three, right now, in this room and online, lift your

hand if you want to accept Jesus.

I got you. I'm so proud of you. I see you, sister,

so proud of you, so proud of you. A family

back here together, right here on the front road.

I see you, so proud of everybody here online, everybody

out loud.

Would you pray out loud.

Together, everybody repeat after me, say Dear God, I love you,

Thank you for loving me. Dear Jesus, I admit I've

made mistakes, Save me, change me, make me new, and

your name.

I pray. Amen.

Hey, can we celebrate people who just made that choice.

So proud of you. Hey, listen, here's a couple of.

Things before we get out of here, and just a moment,

our worship team is gonna sing and we're gonna have

some team members come up down to the front. If

you need prayer for anything, nothing too big, nothing too small.

You need prayer for anything in your life or.

Something powerful that happens when we pray. Some of you,

maybe you gotta head out. You're gonna grab your kiddos

and have but maybe some of you're gonna stay. Our

worship teams just gonna lead us in worship. The Bible

says that God inhabits the praises of his people. Something

beautiful can happen there. But I want to encourage you

to join us for family dinner tonight if you have

space and time. And then the last thing, if you

gave your life to Christ, let us know. Text the

word saved to the number on the screen and you

can scan the QR code.

But we're so proud of you, Lord God. I thank

you for today. I thank you that this week we

are acting on what we believe.

We thank you for your grace, for your love and

your mercy. It's in the beautiful name of Jesus we pray,

and everybody said amen, Amen.

Amen, thank you for joining us today. If you said

that prayer and accept it Jesus into your heart, it's

the best decision you could ever make. We want to

celebrate with you, and we have some tools to help

you on your journey. Text saved to A two eight

two eight two and to find out more about TC

text connect to A two eight two eight two. Be

sure to subscribe and share this podcast with your friends.

Thanks for listening. Now go out out and live a

transform life.