Living Legacy | Part Four | Pastor Bryan Grant

Thank you for listening to the Kelowna Christian Center Podcast.

Our desire is that today's message will be fresh and encouraging to you.

For more information on KTC and how to connect, visit us at KTC.net.

So did we all have a good Christmas?

Yeah?

How many of you had to loosen the belt before they came to church this morning?

Realized that it was not good or had to wear your stretchy pants to come to church.

I'm not going to tell you how much I gained over the Christmas holidays.

Um we've had a really awesome uh series, and I actually get to close it out, so it's my first time closing out a theme, and we've been on the theme of legacy.

Uh Pastor Brody started us off at the beginning of the year, or beginning of the year, beginning of the month, uh, and we're just moving into legacy.

And this is the final one.

I'm gonna talk about legacy in a bit of a different way.

I want you to walk away from this time today, going into 2019, thinking that you can conquer the world.

That's always our our our when we're trying to communicate, we want you to walk away feeling like you can do it.

And that feeling that you're stronger and that you're gonna, and I love it when Pastor Roy says that his job is to make sure that, or to bring forth the fact that you have to change uh and show you how we're gonna change and how the things are gonna happen.

And so I want to be a part of what Pastor Brody does and be part of that change this morning.

So I'm gonna start with a statement.

I said, your legacy is gonna be designed by default or design.

Your legacy is designed by default or design.

So what does that mean?

So you either you can sit back and let life happen to you and just move on and move past and do all those things and have and just enjoy life.

It's good, it's good, you can have a good life.

And your legacy that you're gonna leave behind you is gonna be left and made for you.

So the difference is you either invest into and dig into what God has for you and see and always be moving forward.

We're talking about the presence of the Lord and when He's speaking to you.

Uh, whenever someone comes to me and says, Hey, I have a problem, I'm like, okay, they'll tell me what the problem is.

I'm like, whatever the issue is.

It's like, did you pray about it?

Well, no.

Did you read your Bible?

Uh no.

Start there.

We're talking this morning about the presence of the Lord in the songs that we're speaking.

Uh we're in a moving in a place and going into next year about, I'm gonna be changing the language of legacy just a little bit, but we're gonna be talking about making a difference.

The legacy that you leave, there's a difference between inheritance and legacy, as I was discovered this morning when I was studying, is that inheritance is something you leave behind for someone, money, real estate, whatever it is, the legacy is something that you leave in someone.

There's a difference between inheritance and legacy.

Legacy is something that you leave in someone.

I'm gonna tell you just a uh Billy Graham had this saying so the greatest legacy one can leave and pass on to one's children and grandchildren are not money or other material things accumulated in one's life, but rather a legacy of character or faith.

Money fades, materials fade, things that we have fade, all that fades.

I'm gonna just tell you a little bit about my life and my story.

It'll probably make my mom cry.

Uh, when we moved here a whole bunch of years ago, um we came, my parents had split, and all four of the kids came with mom.

And so we all lived in West West Kelowna, just the four of us, and dad was in Vernon, I think, but he was away from where we were, and mom had to raise four kids on our own, with no job, no career, and just believing that the Lord was gonna just follow through on everything.

And so, as we we I was thinking back and I was even preparing this morning, like Lord, how do you how do you explain the legacy versus the inheritance?

So, what my mom left behind was one of prayer, was one of worship, was one of investing time and energy into me as opposed to the financial things that she had.

She went to school, I won't say her age, she went to school to take care of her children.

And so she's been a healthcare nurse ever since she's still doing the same thing, but we had left everything that we knew with no, with with no money, with no job, with no career, moved to well, our options were either Cranbrook or Kelowna.

Someone laughed, they're like, Oh, I know about Cranbrook.

But obviously, Kelowna is the better choice, but we moved from there to here.

Now, the difference being is that the legacy that she had at the time could have been this.

She could have quit.

She could have quit and said, I'm just throwing my hands up in the air, I'm just gonna exist, and we're gonna see what happens with my kids and watch and hopefully they turn out.

Now, as a parent, you don't really do that, mostly.

But well, when she says you never mind.

We won't go into any stories of things that mom had to tell, but when you are a parent and your mom says, and you don't really realize the difference until you get older and you realize that those things are burnt into your own heart that you're not gonna quit.

She could have quit and stopped praying and stopped worshiping and stopped working and could have done all of those things.

Do you know?

This is I'm gonna give you an example.

I'm gonna show my age a little bit.

The day before, the night before I got married, it's 11 o'clock at night, I had a CD player playing some kind of Chris Tomlin thing on dial-up internet.

I'm trying to get onto the internet, and if you have dial-up, you might as well just have coffee and lunch while you're waiting for it to load up.

But I'm sitting there weeping because I'm about to get married.

I'm about to be responsible for I wasn't it wasn't because I it was a poor decision, it was a fantastic decision.

I can see you guys just kind of close the eyes off a little bit.

You're like, but it was I'm I'm about to be responsible for another human being.

And she she's I don't know what woke her up because she's usually asleep by the time.

She comes over, she sits down, she asks, hey Brian, what's going on?

And I said, I'm just like, I was like ugly crying because I'm like, this is this is a huge decision.

This is a huge thing that I'm taking on, this is a huge responsibility.

And the first thing that she says to me after I do it, let's pray.

So every this is a legacy that's been instilled in me versus what she can give me that's gonna carry from generation to generation.

This is what's instilled in me is to pray.

Mom always had worship music on in the house or played the piano, but always had worship music in the house, whether I liked it or not, the old school Steve Green or any of those guys, they weren't my favorite style, but she always had worship music and she was always praying.

This is the legacy she left in me is to worship and pray and always go to the Lord first.

Does that make sense?

There, this is the thing, is that even as I tell these stories and I'm going through all the little bits and pieces, there's always that one little part that says, we have all suffered through something.

We have all had something.

My parents' divorce wasn't the worst in the world, wasn't the best in the world, and I can walk away from that and either be a victim in everything that I did.

As I've stated before, I can be a victim of what I who I am, and use that as an excuse for further growth and actually establishing the legacy that I have?

Or I can use what God's given me and whatever small part that or big part that mom played into what's going on in my life, we can move that forward.

So, this is what here.

How many of you had a mom or a dad that always told you said you can't hang out with that friend because they're bad for you?

How many of you still have those friends?

Don't put your hands up.

Mark was like, that was me.

But you had that friend and said, She always said that if you hang out with, I won't say any names because I don't know if they're here today.

But if you hang out with that person, it's a it's a bad experience.

You're not gonna you're not gonna make good decisions.

And when you're 15 or 16 or 17, you don't really make great decisions.

But having friends around you that make good decisions with you said, one of the things that uh I I've heard before, and it makes more sense as an adult because of what my mom instilled in me as a legacy, says, when you surround your who you surround yourself with will determine the success of your future, the quality and direction of your life.

Who you surround yourself with will determine the direction and the quality of your life.

How many of you have that friend that was not good for the quality or direction of your life?

Right?

And even as an adult, we tend to hang on to these toxic people that are not good for you, that are not cheering for you, that are not are not on your side, that don't want to do anything different.

You're not like married couples, if you're struggling, find another married couple that's not and dig into what they have.

If you're a father and you're struggling, dig in, find another father that's gonna help you.

If you're a senior in this house and you're struggling, find seniors around you that are gonna love you and care for you and cheer you on and do the best for you.

If you're 19 and you're struggling with what am I gonna do next with my life, find someone in your life that's gonna move you, help you move forward.

Because the the really is the qual the people in your life that are gonna make the difference, that is actually the difference between success and no success.

It's the people that are cheering you on.

I have a friend, he's close to me.

This just goes into someone that has taken something from nothing and made it into something great.

So he has no mom.

Or most sorry, no dad.

He grew up with no dad whatsoever.

He only had a mom all of his life.

No dad was ever present.

Now, some of us know that story, some of us have had no dads, no moms, some of us have had both, and it's not been great.

But he had no dad whatsoever in the life, so he didn't have all those things that men passed down to their children.

But what he's done effectively is he's taken what he didn't have, become a man of God by surrounding himself by the right people, investing, having those men invest into him and build into him, and now he has four children and is a successful person and a successful dad.

He's taken what was less and what was not much of and moved it forward.

Then what's the legacy that he's gonna leave?

What's the legacy that he's gonna leave?

When his when his kids get old enough to actually read into it and are just like, Dad, you didn't have mom, no, or he didn't have a dad, but the Lord was in him to give him the vision, give him the Holy Spirit, their direction needed to move that forward.

He found the right people.

Like, we're moving into 2019.

And as we go into 2019, we have seen a real trend uh in marriages that have taken a hit.

So I'm I just I want to talk plain.

If you give up on one side of your marriage, one person gives up, you will watch it fall down like a house of cards.

But that house of cards, literally, you pull little bits and pieces out of your marriage until there's nothing left.

So the legacy that you're leaving as a married couple that is going to invest into your children, you need to take care of your marriage.

In 2019, one of my primary missions, it seems, or um is uh something that's on my heart, is to see marriages succeed in a way that is supernatural.

In a way that is not normal to what the world says, because the world's success isn't our success.

You know, I talk about inheritance when the when what the world does is they leave money and real estate and all these things for your kids.

And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, guys.

Don't assume, well, Brian's against money and against I'm not against that.

What I am for is leaving something in there so they can handle the the money and the educ.

Like you have to educate your kids to be able to handle the financial next step.

Right?

The legacy is something that gets inside, the character to be able to handle money, the character to be able to pray your way through, the character to forgive, the character to do all of those things that God's called us to as a church, called us to as uh as an individual.

And some of the things that that actually stop us from doing these things, uh, all of them are fear-based.

All of them are fear-based.

But one of the biggest things that stop us from actually establishing our own legacy and moving forward is fear.

He said, I had this thought come to me, um, blended families.

If you come from a blended family and you're going in with other children, um one of uh our worship pastors moved in uh years ago was a blended family.

But what he didn't do was let fear dictate all of us's moves about how he was gonna raise his children and how he's gonna serve the Lord and how he's gonna move forward with that.

He said, fear keeps us away from what God's best is for you.

As we're moving into 2019, do we know what's God's best for us?

Habits.

Sometimes habits are formed and they prevent us from doing anything.

How many of you?

I wish Johnny was here.

Where's is Johnny here?

Okay, Johnny is about this tall.

He's built like a tank.

Like just, I would hate to see that guy in the back alley angry at you.

But what Johnny did was is I I met him one day after church, and he's like, Brian, I'm tired of not working out.

So he changed his habits from getting up in the morning at just before work, the five-minute scream before he got to work, into getting up at 5:30, going to the gym every day and working out.

He changed the habit so he could see change.

He's still built like a tank, but I think he's getting a little bit smaller on the tank side.

Or stronger on the tank side.

I don't really know.

But he's changing his habit.

What habit are do you have that you you like every year?

My goal is to be able to get up at five in the morning.

I am wholly unsuccessful.

I did it once by accident.

Well, I fell as I fell asleep early, woke up way too early in the morning, and I was at the gym at five after five, and I saw Sheldon.

Like, I haven't seen him stand at the gym because I'm never there at five, but my mission in life is to get up at five because I want to be able to do to do my devotions, I want to be able to do my workout and spend time with my kids before I head off to work.

So far, it's a pipe dream, but I'm getting there.

Like, I'm gonna get like what we're now rate around five to six.

I don't actually get to the gym until about 20 after, but we're rate until about five to six.

So, but it's a habit that we want formed.

What's a habit in your life that you know is gonna make a difference, like getting up and actually reading your Bible, or actually reading your Bible.

Like it's it's surprising how many people don't read their Bible.

As a believer, this is God's word to us.

I wish I had a Bible.

That seems really, really shallow.

We got a Bible in the sky.

But it's surprising how many of us don't read our Bible regularly.

This is the word of God.

So when I always say to youth kids when I was in youth ministry many, many years ago, is there's two things you always did pray and read your Bible.

And the third one we added there was worship, but pray and read your Bible.

Why?

Because you are investing into your own walk with God by knowing what the words that He is saying.

Because those words can have the difference between life and death.

Amen?

You give up.

These are just some of the reasons.

Some of the reasons mostly they come from my own walk with the Lord, my own life.

I just give up on stuff.

I uh Pastor Ed once told me years ago, I don't know if he remembers this.

He says, Brian, you're a starter, not a finisher.

Ooh.

That hurt.

We we we were in uh Portland, and we had just spent this amazing 10 or 14 days with um a missions group down there.

We were from Bible school, and they were talking on the way back, man, who would you be send down there?

And I remember Ed just talked to me, he said, Brian, I can't send you.

He was like, why not?

Just because you don't finish anything.

And this is the truth is that when he said that, as angry as I was, and as much as I just wanted to lash out at Pastor Ed, that is stuck in my mind for the rest of my life.

Because he told me I wasn't a finisher.

I'm like, I'm gonna be a finisher if it kills me.

And it darn near has many times.

Because I'm willing to go to the, I'm gonna finish this, even if no one, I'm dragging my kids with me to finish something, even they're like, dad is tired, cold, minus five, but we're at minus 20.

We're gonna do it anyway, guys, because we're finishers in this family.

Even if they're they're they're they're he's like six.

Rain's like, I'm tired.

I don't care, son.

We're gonna finish this driveway in Prince George is minus 25, four feet of snow, you'll like it.

But because of what he said to me, I'm gonna instill that into my kids that we're finishers.

That's a legacy moment, right there.

That's a moment that I can I can go from generation to generation.

So being a victim.

This is the the fun about being a victim is that being a victim takes no effort.

You just have to blame someone else for everything that's going on in your life.

This is the reason that I haven't done certain things, is because I was being the victim.

Instead of, I'm gonna I always say this and I always feel like I'm gonna man up and I'm gonna do the right thing.

There's a time in my marriage I had to man up and do the right thing.

There's been a time as a father I've had to man up and do the right thing.

I have two sons, as you know.

My oldest son is like he is just like me.

He's a finisher.

Right?

Yeah?

He's a finisher, but he also likes to finish his arguments with me, which does not work in his favor or mine.

The discussion, but he's right in my face.

And so if I get in his face, he actually was like, okay, and then he sees my point generally.

He's 13, so I don't really know what's going on in there.

My other son, I actually had to learn that if I respond to him in the same way that I responded to my 13-year-old, my 11-year-old turns into a puddle.

And I've I've I've actually hurt his feelings.

And I and I can't tell you how many times that Natalie walks into the room and he's like, Brian, you need to put on your Jesus pants.

Because I'm just I'm enraged.

And it's not even, it was because my own anger issues, whatever the but I had to learn that there's a difference.

Now, what am I gonna what do I want to instill into my son?

Peace.

And that dad loves him unconditionally, even when I can't see straight because you made me so angry.

Right?

But I can control my actions, so I want my son to know that when you get older and you have a wife and children, that when they make you angry, you can control how you respond to them.

Because I didn't I didn't have that.

So now I want to pass that on to my kids.

So who dad dad got mad, but he didn't freak out at me.

I can tell you there's been a lot of failures.

A lot of Jesus pants had to get put on.

Your past.

How many times have we looked into our own past and said, I'm not good enough, I can't do it, uh to have this stacked against me, I have that stacked against me.

Can I just be honest?

It doesn't matter.

If if you have the Lord in your life and you're letting him move you in a direction where the Holy Spirit can take you, it doesn't matter what your past is because he will take the raw material of what you think is impossible and move that forward in a way that will just you will never expect it.

God can take the impossible and make it possible.

He can take the what you think.

Isn't enough and making more than enough.

What does it say?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Do you believe it or you just say it?

Now I don't mean if I was to try and go lift Johnny's amount of weight, because he's a tank and I'm quite less of a tank.

If I was to lift his weight, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and then I snap something.

That's the difference.

But when you're in that life and the God's asking you to do something and you move forward in that, when he says to do something, he doesn't leave you wanting.

If he says go be a missionary to Africa, he doesn't leave you wanting.

If he says go to Bible school in the States and leave your church, he doesn't leave you, doesn't leave you hanging.

Right?

He provides a way for our two right here that are part of the legacy of KCC to go to a foreign country and learn more about themselves, more about Jesus, and establish more of a legacy for this house.

But when he asks you to do something, when he says you need to lay down your issue that you're having right now, you need to lay down your past, you need to put away all of that stuff.

That means that his presence goes with you, his wisdom goes with you, his direction goes with you, his strength goes with you.

You are not going to be left wanting.

Now that doesn't mean when I say that, that everything goes your way, but he won't leave you wanting.

What does God say about all of this?

We've talked a little bit about this.

Psalms, Proverbs 22, verse 1 reminds us that good name is to be more desired than great riches.

Proverbs 22:1

I think that comes down to a point of what direction do you want to go?

And then you have to make a choice.

Are you storing up your treasures and I'm a guitar player?

So am I storing up my treasures and how many guitars I have, how many cool petals I have, how well I play, all of that.

Is that where my treasure is?

Or is my treasure in what?

And there's that other part where in the I wish I could remember the references.

I'm so terrible with references, but where the Lord says, You have God gives for you so you can give to others.

So as an individual, God's given you individual talents, and those are not meant to be hid under a bushel, or no, right?

They're meant to be used for the glory of God and to move the kingdom forward as a church.

And as an individual.

So your individual gifts and callings that God has for you plays a massive part for what we do as a house.

And I like when I was talking to you about that guy that has four kids, had no dad, I said he didn't let his past define his future.

So even as I was praying about it this morning, I feel like there's a there's people here that are letting their history, their past, the mistakes they've made, the things that they've done in the past determine how they're gonna move forward next.

There's something inside of us that always wants to have a cause of something.

And there's no greater calling than to serve what God's called you to.

Now, we as a church, Pastor Brody says this all the time.

He says he wants to see and we want to see what God's calling is in your life.

But if you're letting fear, like we talked about at the beginning, define your future, if you're letting the the change that happens in your life define your future, if you're letting the risk of it all, the habits that you you want to form, all that set just define your future, you're not stepping into God's best for you.

And 2019, as we get passed into it, is a year of God's best for you.

God's best isn't something that is just one time and that's it.

Amen.

Pass me my rope.

We're gonna look at that a little bit of a different way.

I like to do illustrations.

I don't have any filters this time.

So we know that the people in your life can make a major difference in between sex and not uh success and not success.

Woo! I was hoping you didn't catch it, but you sure did.

Thanks, guys.

Someone didn't, and we're not gonna tell you what it is.

How many of you know Sue Glada?

She doesn't know I'm gonna say this.

How many didn't know Sue Glada?

Yeah, put your hand up if you know Sue Glada.

When I talk to Sue, after I'm done talking with her, I feel like they can wrestle a bear.

She is the most encouraging person you will ever meet.

That's the person you want on your side, giving you all of the best that she has.

Like, man, you walk away and are just like, man, I'm awesome.

Like, I didn't know I was awesome, but I sure am.

After you spend five minutes talking, there's a lot of people like that.

But Sue, she came to mind this morning.

But when you that's the person that you want in your life.

Now, imagine this is your life, this little silver piece.

That's your whole life.

That's when you're born until you die.

Just from there to there.

That's all you have.

So I can say an inheritance, and the inheritance say is this whole rope.

And I give you this whole thing, and this is just generations of inheritance.

That's great.

One bad decision from someone can ruin that whole inheritance.

Legacy is this.

We look past the end of my life.

I invested into my children, and he knows how to forgive.

I invested into my children, and he knows how to be compassionate.

I invested into my children, and he knows how to love.

I invested in my children, and he knows how to live life as a good husband.

I invested in my children, and he knows how to live life as a good father or wife.

Every decision that you make when it comes to your legacy is something that you can be invested in and you can actually have tangible results into the next generation.

We're not wanting to just stop at here, life is over and get and that's it.

Is that an investment that I'm gonna make into my kids?

I want to go into when they have children, when they have children, and when they have children.

Are we looking to the legacy that God's called you to?

Now, when I started a business three years ago, no wait, that's really bad math.

Six years ago, and I failed, I learned really quickly that I'm not a businessman, and I'm never gonna be a businessman, and I don't want to be a businessman ever again.

And but my idea is that when I started my business, is that it wasn't just the end of my life that my kids would have something to hang on to.

That the next generation could have a renovation business or whatever it turned into, that the next generation had a place to go where they had they can work and learn skills and do all that stuff.

It ended right here, pitifully.

I'm not a businessman, guys.

But the intent was that I'm gonna give to my generation, I'm gonna treat my wife with love and respect, so that carries and they see that and moves on to the next one.

Legacy is something that is in us, that is developed in us from other people.

And this is the this is the interesting thing, is that um if you look at me and you see how I talk, there's a lot of Grant family in there.

I won't I'll spare you the details, but there's Pastor Ed in me.

When you see me, you see Pastor Brody in me.

When you see me, you see Pastor Diane.

When you see me, you see Pat Hayden.

He was a Bible school teacher.

That's an investment into legacy.

That doesn't just stop right here.

Like, I want that to move forward into what God's called us to.

But when you see me, there's a long list of people that invested their time and their effort into me to make it to where I am now.

When I was in Prince George, I've told you about Greg.

That man invested time and time.

When you see me, there's Greg in you, in me.

Because he he saw that I could be a good father, and he didn't let me be anything but a good father.

That's the friend you want in your life.

If you're going into 2019 and you have people that are not cheering for you, that are causing you to stumble, that are holding you back from what God's best is for you in 2019.

Ditch them.

They're causing you no end of heartache, even if you don't see it or you do see it, or someone has told you that that's what's going on, that person is not good for you.

2019 is a fresh start.

So here's the the challenge that I had.

Go home.

I got told I looked like a poinsetta today.

I'm assuming with all the laughter that you're like, yeah, you actually do look like a poinsetta.

Go home and ask the Lord how to start the legacy.

I could give you a step one to 22 about what things that we need to do and the scriptures that we need to follow and do all of that.

God's got a legacy for you that is just for you.

God's got a move forward that is just for you.

God's got a new gift that you don't know about that's just for you.

We can take what just a little bit of life that we have, invest everything that we have into it, and watch generations come after us.

I know what Sir Norm said to me, he was like, What about we were talking about legacy because he always wanders into the office when I'm preparing, and he I asked him about legacy.

He's like, What about the guy that uh was in part with Billy Graham getting saved?

What's his legacy?

Thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of people were saved because of Billy Graham, but what about the one guy that walked through the prayer with Billy Graham?

We have an opportunity at all different times.

And like, have you ever looked at your kids and be like they're misbehaving?

You're like, this is a teaching moment.

I feel like Fortnite is a constant teaching moment.

Like that that's that that's a lesson in how to hold your rage.

But it's and this is the thing, it's a video game.

As we're moving up, the the things have changed.

We actually played outside and got mad at our friends in their face, worked it out, and then that was it.

Now they get mad at each other and then send each other nasty texts or messages over Facebook or whatever.

Like it's just a different generation.

We have to teach them that like the one of the statistics I was reading is about the you can actually have an app on your phone that tells you how much you're using your phone.

How much is it taking it away from your children?

How much is it taking it away from your spouse?

My app tells me where I the app I have tells me where I've been on, like how long have I been on Facebook, how long have I been on Instagram, how long have I been surfing?

It tells me how long.

And if I count all those minutes up, I'm not gonna tell you, if I count all those minutes up, that means I was time away from my children.

Time away from that I could be spending with my wife.

Digital things, devices, iPads, computers, that's not a legacy.

That's a distraction from your legacy.

We need to teach our children that the devices that they have are a tool to be used, not a tool to be abused.

And it's so easy for us to abuse it.

I love technology.

So as we're nearing the end here, I just wanted to say we're gonna go from making a legacy into making a difference.

What if the difference that you made in your life made a difference in the neighbor?

What if the difference that you made today, because you're gonna say yes to what the Lord's saying to you, when you're gonna go home and pray and you're gonna ask the Lord, Lord, what legacy can I have?

What if he says you have to do something that's completely uncomfortable?

Are you gonna say yes or are you gonna say no?

What if the difference that you made is gonna be the next politician that changes the face of Canada?

What if the next difference that you make, moving on into the next generation, is the difference between life and death for someone because you spoke life into their life?

When we were in Bible school with Pastor Ed, we were doing the decision in a cold, nasty uh the cobblestone, thank you.

Cobblestone ground, Julie remembers.

On our knees in a little circle for the December, and what we get up, we finish the thing.

Pastor Ed had a moment with someone that he got to speak life.

That guy had gone to the pharmacy, purchased a bottle of pills to kill himself.

What if the legacy they're leaving in that person is life?

The difference between life and death is in what we are going to invest in forward.

What if the things that you did were what changed a community?

Or changed how where you work?

What if the difference that you make, because you're gonna say yes to what God's called you to and how you're gonna move forward, so God, like I said, I'm gonna say this over and over because it works for me all the time.

God doesn't need you at your best, he needs you at your yes.

And I want to say yes.

The end result of us, the end result, we don't know what the end result is of us investing into the future.

We may not ever see it.

But if we're willing to stand tall and dig into what God's called you to, now you can all think back to that moment that you know legacy changed.

Do you have a moment in your life where it's that person made a difference in your life so it was long lasting?

When Ed told me I wasn't a finisher, that was a moment that lasted forever.

When another man told me that I was using my dad as an excuse, that was a moment that lasted forever.

That's the legacy that we can hold on to and take into 2019.

We can make a difference.

Can you put up the last slide, Steve?

Both faith and fear demand that you believe in something you can't see.

The end result is if you choose Jesus and choose what he's called you to, you're putting away fear.

But if you access fear, and that's what directs you and moves you in the direction that you, if you're letting fear rule, then Jesus gets pushed aside.

And God's best for you is less than it was before.

Not because he's holding it back, because you're just not seeing it.

The difference between life and death is in us saying yes.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Lord, thank you for the today.

Thank you for what you've done.

Thank you that we do get to say yes to you.

That we do get to worship you.

That we do have you to give us direction and moving us forward in our life, but most of all, that you're the legacy that we have our hope on.

That our hope is anchored in you.

It's like Pastor Brody said a couple weeks ago, our hope is anchored in you.

If this is your first time here and the first time you've you've heard this, and you're just wondering about these this Jesus thing, and you don't really know what to do with it, Lord, but you feel something in your heart.

Just pray this with us as a church.

For Lord Jesus, repeat after me, for too long I've kept you out of my life.

I know that I'm in need of a savior, and then I cannot save myself.

No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking.

By faith, I gratefully receive your gift of salvation.

I'm ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior.

If you prayed that prayer today, and this is something that you want to, we'd love to meet with you, talk with you.

But Lord, as a church and as an individual is moving forward, we want to say yes to you.

Lord, that our future is filled with things that you've called us to, that you, that our heart and the habits that we want to form are for you and to see your glory and your kingdom move forward.

Thank you for what you're gonna do.

Thank you for all the blessings that you're gonna show us and the people that are gonna be touched by the people around you.

Lord, thank you for uh dying on the cross for our sins so we can actually have all of this that you've given us.

Lord, thank you for who you are and what you've done.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Let's give Lord a hand.

How many of you like the word yes?

Yes.

Yes is the word for the year, amen.

Yes to God, yes to his plans, yes to what his uh yes to uh helping move move life and move the church forward, yes.

It's so quickly uh we hear no.

How many parents out there hear no?

But we want to hear yes.

If you prayed that prayer with uh with Brian today, and that was the first time you made the decision to accept Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior, there's a card in the seat in front of you, it's a connection card.

We just want to encourage you to take a moment and fill out that card and uh just identify yourself and let us know who you are, and uh, we would love to be able to connect with you and just share a little bit about who we are as a church and help you take the next steps.

Um at this time we're gonna be giving uh our offering, our gifts to God.

This is the last Sunday of 2018, and so we believe in giving generously and closing off the year generously.

Amen.

We live generously, we give generously.

And uh so just a few announcements uh for this upcoming week due to New Year's.

Uh the office is closed and will reopen on Wednesday.

And then next week we start a whole new series as we enter into 2019.

Isn't that exciting?

2019! It's gonna be a great year.

Um, we do have a few visitors here from uh that are gonna be traveling back overseas and some on the other side of the continent.

We've got Jamin who's behind me.

Jamin, you're going back home.

When are you going back home?

The third.

So make sure to give him a hug.

I'm gonna get people to give you a hug today.

Is that okay?

Give him a hug, wish them a goodbye, and uh Moana's here for a little while longer, but uh make sure to uh share your love with her too.

And we oh we have Annie that's going away back to school too.

We've got a lot of people who are here for the holidays.

Let the let them know though that you love them.

Alright, let's invite the ushers forward, and uh we'll take a moment and pray as we receive our offering.

Father, we thank you today for all that you've given to us.

We thank you that we can be generous in our giving back to you.

We ask, Lord, that as we give, Lord, it's it's it would uh our seed would grow into that which impacts families and our friends and our community, and Lord, our businesses and our city.

Lord, that we would see great success, Lord, as as this church moves forward, as our city moves forward in 2019.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.