Our Story | Ps. Keith Pittman

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Come on, church.

Can we put our hands together for the goodness of God, man?

It was such a a powerful time together of fellowship and and and community.

And one of the reasons we wanted to share that with us as a church because I think sometimes you can just kind of get so caught up in the lives that we live and the things that we do that we that we miss opportunities to pause and to celebrate and reflect on it.

And so when you look at the moments where two churches coming together, three languages being a song, and I look at the effort that it took for the worship team to take these songs and sing an English version, sing a Spanish version, sing uh a Portuguese version, and all the effort that went into it, like that doesn't happen by accident.

It's a beautiful opportunity to show a kingdom um alliance and relationships look like.

And it really does reflect what the Bible tells us in Revelation chapter 7, verse number 9, where it talks to us about how we're in heaven, the setting is heaven, and it says that different tribes and different tongues, different nations, ethnicities are all together in heaven, worshiping God together.

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

And what I think is so powerful about the reason the Bible describes it that way is that their distinctions aren't erased.

It says that these differences are clear, they are there, but they're celebrated.

And what it makes me think about is the things that divide us on earth are celebrated in heaven.

And I believe that what we need to be able to be is a group of people that understands the importance of making sure that we can have our distinctions, we can have our differences, but if we have a kingdom mindset, we learn how to recognize the value in each person and glorify God through all of it instead of allowing those things to divide us and define us.

So that's why we are grateful for moments we come together and we can host the presence of God with a diverse community that truly does look like heaven.

I know that sometimes, depending on which camp you may find yourself in, when we're talking about the activity of God.

And the thing that we often speak about is this idea of revival.

And the instance of revival means to revive, to bring life, to see this fresh wind, so to speak, take place.

And there's a lot of different things we think about that will activate revival as we want to see it.

Just this resurgence of people being drawn to God.

And the truth of the matter is when we talk about revival and we're talking about this idea on earth as it is in heaven, it's going to require earth to start being in alignment with heaven.

When we're talking about revival, we don't just pray and declare things, but we have to come into alignment with it.

So I want to look at the ways of Jesus and I want to come into alignment with it.

I want to look at what I see happening in heaven and come into alignment with it.

That is what's going to usher in a revival.

So can we put our hands together for the goodness of God, the activity of God, the kingdom of God coming alive in us?

And then really having a great expectation of what God is going to do in and through this community.

As Hope said earlier, welcome to Team Sunday.

This is a Sunday that we come together and we celebrate the goodness of God, specifically expressed in our differences.

We have this idea that, hey, you may have on a different jersey, but we're still on the same team.

Um, and so this is an opportunity where you can invite people, you can come, and and you can come together and we can celebrate.

So with that being said, I never realized how many um anti-kingdom people were in our church until until um the upcoming event and tonight's festivities.

I I felt so much demonic oppression that's been coming our way.

There's been people that have strategically come in and tried to position themselves in eyeshot of me wearing the enemy's colors, that being the Kansas City Chiefs.

Anything red.

Look.

Where is security?

Do we have a cop out here?

It's supposed to be Corey.

Can we do something about this?

Like, so so I just want you guys to know that even in healthy kingdom environments, thank you.

Hey, Corey, get get him out of here, get his family out of here.

But but Larry, make sure you give him on your way out.

Anyway, um, yes, so so we're we're excited uh for today.

We're excited for the Eagles, man.

We're excited that Kansas City will be there.

Um they will be there.

Um, and and I think that we'll I I did tell our team this, so let me, you know, I I'm not a negative prophet, but let me just acknowledge some things right now.

Um, if by some form of demonic influence the Eagles don't win, um I'll be on sabbatical for the next month.

Like just a time, you know, the Bible talks about that we go through seasons of grieving, and that grieving is typically 30 days of sackclos and ashes.

So this is all scripture.

So if if you don't see me, um just know that I'm I'm getting alone with God and trying to understand, Lord, why hast thou forsaken me?

Anyway, anyway, anyway, anyway, anyway.

I want to jump into the Gospel of John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

Our hope is to preach a little bit shorter and um give us some opportunity to kind of just hang out as a community, engage in some of the festivities that we have outside, and just and just really connect with one another.

Um, you know, one of the things that I've been hearing a lot of, and this is a common theme, but but really specifically, probably over the past three weeks to a month, um a lot of the prayer requests I've been hearing, um a lot of the conversations we've been having as a staff, and even just evaluating our own lives, that a lot of the pain points are connected to other people.

What I mean by that is like relationships.

We all have those themes that we can probably say that we're praying and asking for a move of God.

And and as we heard earlier, uh a theme with career resources, we have that.

We have themes with people wanting to get healed physically, body ailments and mental ailments, things like that.

So those are themes that are that are prevalent and we get that.

But one of the things I've seen a lot of is just relationships being fractured, um, marriages being on the verge of divorce, relationships with with children and parents, relationships with coworkers, like just the weight of relationships and the dynamics and the tension and how those beautiful things that God gives us as a gift, being relationships, can be something that ushers us into a place of joy and happiness and and peace.

But those very same things can be the pathway to bring pain and suffering and disappointment and brokenness, and and we all can relate to that two-way street of the very thing that makes me happy is also the thing that has the closest access to make me sad.

But the idea that God gives for us is to be at one with Him and with one another.

So, how do we accomplish that?

Recognizing we're different, recognizing there's times where we may step on each other's toes, recognizing there's times where we may offend each other.

How can we be at one when it seems like we're so different?

And it's not easy, but but Jesus He He tells us how to do this, He shares His heart and his mind with us on this idea in John 17, verse number 20 and 21.

And and this is John, this is Jesus preaching to his disciples.

It's what we often refer to as the priestly prayer.

You know, in the Old Testament, there was Aaron who was the high priest, and he had a he had a priestly prayer that we say at the end of every service, may the Lord bless you and keep you.

That's like a prophetic declaration over the people of God.

Well, Jesus provides his own version of that in John chapter 17.

John 17 · chapter mention

And what he does is he says, I am not praying only for these disciples, but for also for all of those who will ever believe in me through their message.

I pray that we will all be one, just as you and I are one, as you were in me, Father, I am in you.

And may they be in us so that the world will believe that you sent me.

Jesus is nearing the end of his earthly ministry.

He's he's in he's literally coming to the end of his life, and and and as he's praying for the church, he's he's praying for us, he's he's praying, God, like I just want them to be at one with one another.

It doesn't mean they're gonna always agree, but I want them to be at one with one another.

And then he says, Because if they are at one with one another, that is the very thing that will make the world believe that I came.

That that is challenging for me.

Because when we look out at the world right now, we will think that people will know that we're followers of Christ based off of what we tweet.

People will think that we're followers of Christ based on on our comments or or us taking a stand for Jesus.

But what Jesus says is the greatest way that people will know that you are a follower of me is that you are one with other people who believe in me.

That is the greatest testimony we can have is by living out the ways of Jesus with people who see things differently than us.

That can sometimes be a coworker, that's hard.

That that could be someone who who has a different political affiliation, that's hard.

That could that could be with someone who hurt you.

So so how do we do this well?

Today I want to talk to us about relationships and how do we function with boundaries, but how do we also move forward in a way that glorifies God?

I've entitled today's message Our Story.

Let's pray and let's get into it, Lord.

We thank you so much for your word.

We're so grateful for this precious community, this diverse community, God, and I'm grateful for you being amongst us.

And so you're the guest of honor.

Um we humble ourselves and we ask, God, for for you to occupy this sacred space.

I pray for open eyes that we can see you.

I pray that for open ears that we can hear you, and I pray for open hearts that we can receive what it is that you want to deposit into us today.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen and amen.

Well, if you guys didn't know this yet, I am a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, um, who I often refer to as God's team.

Um, and and so as a as a lifelong fan of this team, I've I've been a part of my fair share of rivalries.

People um who aren't Philadelphia Eagles fans, and and you look at them and you're saying, like, Lord, they they have they have strayed so far away from from your path.

They've they've gotten away from it, Lord.

And I don't know how to how to intervene and I don't know how to help them, but but you have your fair share of rivalries.

And so through the years of of me being born into this, and this is the life that I live, and and and celebrating all these moments, but I I also love the rivalries, just the the the the bittered tension that exists between us and and cowboys fans.

God help them and and and and and and us and patriots, Lord help them, and and and us and and basically us and everybody.

Like you know, you just have this thing where you just have this tension, but there's also these moments in these games that I absolutely love.

And the thing that I love most about uh being a sports fan is is I love the tension, I love the drama, I love all the build-up, I love the backstories of of how the different players had to make certain decisions to be where they are.

And I love hearing the story about the undrafted free agent who was looked over, but yet he still persevered and they got the violence playing in the background, and they want to help you to make sure that you understand that you too can do it as long as you don't give up.

Like I love those stories.

But the thing that I probably love the most is at the end of the game is when the players come together and they shake hands.

I I don't know why that's a thing for me.

Aside from when my team wins, I just love this idea that these guys can be against each other, literally tackling each other, trying their best to make sure that this other person isn't successful.

But when the whistle blows and it's all said and done, they can look at each other and shake hands with one another and say good game.

There's something about sportsmanship that I just truly respect.

They become teachable lessons that I've often used with my children.

Like, hey, you can be at odds with people, but at the end of the day, let's respect that we're all in this thing together and let's give them dignity and honor.

It really does something to me.

But but one of the other things that I've seen that shifted specifically this year is not that long ago, there was something that unified uh the football community and even beyond that at a deeper level.

Maybe you guys are familiar with the story of DeMar Hamlin, but there was a football player who ended up getting tackle or he made a tackle and he gets up and then he falls back down, and and and everybody's looking.

And as a football fan, a lifelong football fan, I'm used to seeing players injured.

I'm I'm used to seeing um guys with broken bones, I'm used to seeing guys with concussions, I'm used to seeing these injuries.

But but this one was a little bit different.

What I began to recognize is that as I'm looking at this this guy laid down, and and and and one commercial break comes, and another commercial break comes, and another commercial break comes, you realize like, okay, this isn't normal.

You start to see players around him praying, you're seeing guys on the other team that are breaking down into tears.

You're you're seeing all these raw emotions, and and at the time I I don't know what's going on.

Well, we fast forward a little bit and he ends up leaving the field, and then we begin to get information saying that he went into cardiac arrest on the field, that there was an impact to his chest that that literally disrupted his heart's rhythm, and that he had coded on the ground, and and that he had to be resuscitated, he was rushed to the hospital, and it was really touch and go for a period of time.

I what I what I found so fascinating is in all of my years of being a sports fan, I've never seen the sports world come to a standstill like I did with that.

They canceled the rest of the game.

That everybody came to a standstill and and and nobody moved forward.

And as people began to make sense of what was going on, one of the most common phrases that were communicated from football players and and commentators alike is like, man, this is bigger than football.

So we're we're in the middle of a game that has playoff contentions.

We're in the middle of a game that has a lot of weight to it with being able to determine who's gonna make it um into the playoffs, who could potentially make it to the Super Bowl.

But everybody stopped and said, No, but there's somebody, there's one amongst us who's down, he's hurt, and and and this is bigger than football.

This is so much bigger than a game.

It was fascinating to me, and it revealed to me, even at its core, what is possible for humanity when we see that someone is hurting.

It's it's inside of all of us to recognize that we may have our our differences, we may have our distinctions, but but getting to a point where we recognize that, but but this is so much bigger than our differences.

They were united because they were able to find something that was bigger than the thing that divides them.

That was a beautiful image.

And and I can be honest with you, man, like there are there are words that I have adopted into my life that has allowed me and Megan to be together for 28 years.

And and I and it took a mentor of mine to help me with this concept.

Megan and I have been together for for 28 years.

She she she fell just head over heels in love with me from the time we were freshmen in high school.

She's not in here right now, so I'm about to go in.

So she fell radically in love with me.

Okay, just just fell in love with me.

And I and I don't.

I legitimately didn't see you there again.

But I got the microphone, and it's my story.

So she fell in love with me.

She fell in love with me when we're in high school.

We we saw we sat each other face to face, and she she fell in love with me, and I can understand why.

When she chased me down every single year, and I'm like, nah, girl, I'm trying to focus on God, I'm trying to focus on my schoolwork.

But she finally, finally wore me down.

I was like, okay, fine, I'll marry you.

Okay, so that's that's the short version of the story.

Um I may have left some details out, but but but but watch this.

But we grew up together, literally.

So so the person that I am when I was 20 was vastly different than the guy that I was at 17.

And and then who I became at 24 was vastly different than who I was when I was 20.

And so what would happen is as we're maturing, it's possible that you can begin to grow apart because you're growing in different directions because we're still growing and maturing as adults.

And what was happening is when we got really on fire for God, and I'm recognizing that, man, like who I am is not who I was, and who she is is not who she was, and we have these new variables, we got we got kids, we got we got bills, and these new things come in that can sometimes be a dividing for us.

The the wise man said to me, he said, You got to make sure that you recognize that you are more important than it.

That that that you protecting you guys is more important than the thing that is trying to divide you.

You are more important than it.

And and so simple but so profound, I still lean on those words to this day.

That even in moments where there's tension and we have to recalibrate to come back together, moments where we're growing in different directions, we have to recalibrate and come back together.

I make sure that I audibly say these words sometimes, man, but we're more important than it.

Because if we're not careful, that the enemy will cause us to exalt the things that divide us, and then we lose sight of the thing that God is trying to do to unite us, that we are more important than it.

What are the things that you are connected to?

Who are the people that you're connected to, and you're spending more time talking about it than we're talking about us?

That the things that we're beginning to exalt that is trying to divide us, and and and what Jesus is ultimately saying, it is possible to coexist with other people that may look differently than you, that may think differently than you.

You may even be connected to a spouse that has evolved in a different direction, but it's possible for you to find this unity as long as you find something bigger than it to exalt, and that is absolutely Jesus.

As long as we lift up Jesus, we can find a way that we can work it together as long as we recognize that we are more important than it.

The reason why this is so important is because God has given us the gift of relationships.

It's it's a gift that He's literally given us, that He's telling us that man, relationships are currency.

You you know how you think about currency, and when you have currency, you can move forward.

And when you don't have currency, it can keep you from moving forward.

That relationships are literally currency.

And this is even for those of you who are introverts in the building, which I am.

Just, you know, here's a little side note.

Megan is an extrovert if you haven't met her.

She's working rooms and all that type of stuff, and I'm I'm counting down a clock.

And and so, so she knows that I can turn it on, but at any given moment, I can run out of words, and that's it.

Like, I'm talking about like this is our life every single Sunday.

We're out there talking, and so God, man, God bless you, all this stuff.

Meg is right.

I'm ready to go right now.

I'll meet you in the car.

Like it just, it just it just comes abruptly.

Like it's like there's no grace, there's no zero entry.

It's like one minute I'm laughing, one minute I'm talking, and then I'm gone.

And and I didn't understand what was wrong with me.

I'm like, help me, God.

Like I love people, but I love me too.

Um and so literally, Pastor Nate he came to me, he's like, Man, you know what it is?

He's like, here's what you gotta think of it like.

He said, You know, when you're an introvert, you start your day with a certain amount of coins.

And then as you're having conversations, you're giving these coins away.

And when you don't got any more coins left, you got no more coins left.

I said, Hallelujah, boy, you just set me free.

So now my language to Megan is, hey babe, I ain't got no more coins.

I am tapped out.

I'm in a negative right now, actually.

Like, we I I I need to recover.

So, this idea that even for those of us who are introverts, God has still called us to be in precious relationships that help us to move forward and learning how to work together at it.

Scripture goes out of its way to help us to connect this idea that we are better together.

It says that it's not good for man to be alone.

That God says, like, man, we need to make sure that we are connected to other people.

We even see that it says that two are better than one.

That it's important for us to recognize that when we're connected to other people, that we are better together.

Even look at the life and ministry of Jesus.

Let's remind ourselves that Jesus is God in the flesh.

In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God.

Jesus is the word of God who became flesh.

And even he, in all of his power and all of his authority, still chose to do his earthly ministry with other people.

He's modeling and demonstrating to us the importance of us being connected to other people.

And Jesus didn't just connect himself with people that thought like him.

Like we call that a filter bubble in the social media world.

And that's the algorithm where on social media they kind of look and see your tendencies, and then they only send things to your feed that you will agree with, which creates a confirmation bias.

And then you actually don't ever get a chance to get objective information from people that see differently than you.

And so you just continue to go into the people that agree with you and you connect with people that agree with you.

And then when someone doesn't agree with you, you become indifferent or intolerant of them.

Jesus didn't function that way.

He surrounded himself with people that were different than him, that had different perspectives than him, that had different viewpoints in him, different upbringings from him, Samaritans, tax collectors.

Jesus had this ability to bring all these differences together and still in some way declare the kingdom of God the gospel of the kingdom and move people forward.

And this works relationally with people that are our neighbors as well as in our relationships.

Look, think about this.

Matthew the tax collector and Simon the zealot were not just people who had different political ideologies, they were different in every way humanly imaginable.

And Jesus, in his divine sense of humor, says, You know what I want to do?

I want to get a tax collector on my team, and I want to get a zealot on my team.

Maybe you don't know what that means, so let me paraphrase it for you.

The tax collectors worked for the government, the zealots hated the government.

The tax collectors took advantage of the middle class, the zealots were the middle class.

The tax collectors looked for ways that they could extort, the zealots looked for ways that they could kill the tax collectors.

Jesus took people who wouldn't even follow each other on social media and put them on his team.

Think about that for a moment.

And he says, But in me, we are one.

In me, we can find a way to have something bigger than our differences that we can focus our attention on.

Jesus demonstrates to us that it's possible to be at one with people even if we have two different perspectives.

He does a brilliant job at laying this all out in something that we refer to as the Sermon on the Mount.

You can go check this out in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter five.

But what Jesus is doing is he's introducing a new way of life that inspires us, but also challenges us.

Well, what I want to share with us is three really quick thoughts that I think can help us to move forward in oneness, not only with our spouses, but maybe with our siblings, with our friends, these kingdom ingredients that I think can help us with our relationships.

Here's the first one extend the grace that you want to receive.

Extend the grace that you want to receive.

Jesus says this in Matthew 5.

7 He says, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

We we have to extend what we want to receive.

Extending, extending grace, extending mercy is simply recognizing that we all fall short of the glory of God.

There's not a single one amongst us who are perfect.

So in the same way that I would want someone to extend grace to me with my shortcomings, I'm choosing to extend grace to you.

Now, as I've spent a couple of minutes talking about this, all of us recognize that Megan and I are different.

Okay.

We are wired differently.

She's an extrovert, she's very free-spirited.

I'm I'm I'm I'm an introvert, very analytical, very planned out.

And so when it comes time to trying to figure out what we're gonna eat for dinner, that can sometimes create a long-standing conversation that nobody wants to be engaged in.

So so me being the strategic analytical one, uh, about a week ago, I said, you know what?

Because Caleb's schedule is different, Deanera's schedule, you just never know what she's eating on any given week.

So then you have Megan.

So I'm like, okay, here's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna be a good man, I'm gonna be a good father, I'm gonna send a group text out to everyone and say to them, hey, listen, okay, I'm about to go grocery shopping.

Um, I want to get the ingredients of the items that we're gonna be eating this week.

Here's my suggested menu for this week.

If anyone has any adjustments they would like to make, speak now or forever hold your peace.

If you want me to make something different, just let me know.

I send a text message out and immediately Deneira responds back, like, hey, I don't really care for too much for this dish.

I'm like, cool, I won't make that, I'll make something else.

And then I'm waiting for everybody else to respond.

Does anybody else?

Last call.

Does anybody have any adjustments or anything to what we have just agreed to?

Cool.

I go grocery shopping, I get the necessary ingredients, and I begin to implement the plan that had already discussed it.

I was going to implement.

I cook the first meal, it went across beautifully.

And now comes Friday.

Friday comes, I wake up in the morning, I'm like, hey, okay, so I already got the chicken marinated.

I I know it's gonna be amazing, but I wasn't quite sure of what sides I wanted to go with it.

So I come to my beloved wife and I say to her, hey, so you know I'm about to cook this chicken tonight.

What sides can I pair with this?

And she looks me in my face and says, I'm not in the mood for that tonight.

Father, in the name of Jesus, help me to understand.

We we we talked we talked about this, and she's looking at me like, yo, why is this such a big deal?

I'm like, that the chicken is already marinating.

That's a we're not coming back off the chicken at this point.

It's already out there.

And she's like, okay, like I well, I just won't eat it.

I'm like, no, you're you're missing the point.

I knew that this conversation was going to happen because we've had this conversation before.

We've talked about this.

And so, in an effort to get ahead of it, I laid out the game plan so that we could avoid this very conversation that we're having right now.

I need you to help me.

And she's looking at me like, bro, are you serious?

I'm like, I am absolutely serious.

I will die for this right now.

We had this conversation.

What is going on?

And she looked at me as like, have you forgotten how many times you have made adjustments to our plans and you didn't even notify me?

I'm like, name one.

Now, if I could be honest with you guys, real talk.

Most of the times when I say that to Megan, Megan is very, like, she's feelings-based, she's emotional, and she retains information, but she can't always cite the source.

So when she's like, hey, you know you do that all the time, I'm like, give me two instances.

Um, I can't, I'm like, if you can't quote it, then it didn't happen.

It's like, so you can't quote it, it didn't happen.

So she's like, so I know, maybe I did it, maybe I didn't, but I know I was gonna say something that she couldn't refer to.

I'm like, name one.

She's like, okay, when I made the lasagna, and you said you didn't want to.

And when I made the spaghetti, I'm like, she literally pulled out a list of items, like she was sitting on it, just waiting for her opportunity.

Like, Lord, just give me one chance, just give me an open door, and I will step into that door with fervency.

And she was just going and just going and just going.

I'm like, love keeps no record of wrong.

She said, but I do.

And now I was like, I was blown away, and I couldn't do nothing but laugh at the hypocrisy because I was complaining about her making adjustments, but here it is, I do it all the time.

Okay, okay.

So, so in front of everybody, this is two weeks in a row, I was wrong.

Husbands, I'm trying to help y'all.

Let me let me pastor y'all, let me show you how it's done.

Honey, I was wrong.

I made a mistake, and I apologize for that mistake.

See, an apology could you a long way, man.

Valentine's Day is coming up.

Okay.

I'm sorry, I was wrong.

But so were you because I did lay out the menu.

Okay.

There's room for both.

Two things can be true at the same time.

But but watch this.

See how simple that is?

But you see how quickly we can expect grace, but we don't extend grace.

We can do the very thing to somebody else and don't recognize it, but expect it of somebody else.

What I'm ultimately trying to help us to recognize is how quickly these things can creep into our relationships, and we're not extending the very thing that we want extended to us.

If we're talking about ways that we can truly begin to function in oneness with one another, let's begin to extend the grace that we want to receive.

Let's be patient with one another, let's have empathy for one another, let's have conversations with one another, and ultimately show mercy and grace to each other because you know what?

We all are in need of it.

Can we get a good amen?

Here's the second thing.

We're gonna move quickly through this.

The other thing that the Bible tells us to do is be a peacemaker.

Be a peacemaker.

Jesus says this in Matthew chapter number five, verse number nine.

He says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.

Now, I I want to I want to make a quick distinction between two different things.

Jesus says, be a peacemaker, not a peacekeeper.

Those are two completely different ideas.

They sound the same on the surface, but they're actually two completely different concepts.

What a peacekeeper does is they're looking to protect the status quo.

I just want to keep peace.

I I don't want to disrupt anything, I don't want to, I don't want to offend anyone.

Let's just keep things the way that they are.

That's what a peace, that is what a peacekeeper does.

However, a peacemaker, what they do is they're looking at the root issue and they're willing to proactively work on a solution so that we don't have to keep coming around this mountain over and over again.

The reality is this disagreements are uncomfortable.

When when we have different views, it's not comfortable.

And some of us are not oriented to be conflict-driven.

We don't we don't want to address things directly.

So in our effort to protect our peace, we never actually address the thing that's robbing us of it.

I just I just want to keep the peace.

I'm gonna put a boundaries in my life and I want to keep peace.

And and unfortunately, that may be good, but you're gonna find yourself walking around that same mountain over and over again because you're not addressing the root issue.

What what scripture is telling us and what Jesus is encouraging us to do, I don't want you to keep peace.

I want you to make peace.

And the only way that you can make peace is by proactively approaching things and addressing the root issue so that we can begin to move forward.

You can't be delivered from the thing you don't acknowledge.

You you can't walk in victory of the thing that continues to keep you at a standstill.

That when we are peacemakers, we're proactively going against the things that are standing against us so that we truly can have enduring peace.

It's about making sure that we understand that we have an outcome in mind that transcends just the moment.

See, in in Acts chapter number six, we see a beautiful display of what this looks like.

We see here is that we have this new idea of the church's birth.

It's brand new.

And what was so unique about the church is that it had all these different ethnicities and all these different cultures all together for the first time ever.

And they had their baggage with them and they they they had their previous religions in their mindset, they had their previous cultures with them, and so they're trying to find a way to coexist, but they also brought some of their disdain and some of their and some of their prejudice.

Because just because Jesus ascended into heaven, that didn't change people's hearts immediately.

But now here we are in this idea of the church, and so what was happening is groups of people were being discriminated against.

And so now here we are in Acts chapter number six, and there's a moment where they're like, hey, we're we're noticing that we're not being treated the same way as they're being treated.

And they brought this to the disciples.

And what the disciples had an opportunity to do is they could have just said, hey man, we just we just want to we just want to keep the peace, guys.

Like, man, it's y'all will be okay, and y'all will be okay, and let's just keep moving forward, man.

That stuff is so negative.

That is not what they did.

They acknowledged the differences, they addressed it, and then they attacked it.

Let's acknowledge the reality of what's going on.

Now let's address it, let's speak to it, and now let's attack it.

And the way that they attacked it is they put systems in place in order to make sure that equality was experienced for all people.

That is what it looks like when you are a peacemaker.

I'm looking at the differences and I want to acknowledge what's going on, but I also want to address it, but I also want to attack it.

I don't want to just leave it and hope that it goes away.

What Jesus is saying is that the thing that can creep into the church is us ignoring the thing that's dividing the church.

What Jesus is saying is that we have to be willing to acknowledge the things that are causing division amongst us.

And not only does this happen in all types of settings, but it happens in our relationship.

I can't be the only person that has found myself walking around the mountain of the same issues over and over again, even in my marriage.

I feel like we just argued about this.

I thought we were past this.

Why are we walking and talking about this again?

And what can happen is we can use our natural relationship to overcome it.

So for Megan and I, we have a great friendship.

And because we have a great friendship, we use our sense of humor.

We can get into a big debate, and at the end of it, we'll give ourselves some times.

And next thing you know, we're laughing about it, we're making fun of each other for like, man, you get on my nerves, you get on my nerves, and then what you want to eat.

And then we just move on.

It's it's a beautiful thing, but here's the problem: we're sweeping the main issues under the rug.

And before long, when you keep sweeping things under the rug, it gets lumpy and then it gets hard to walk on it.

What Jesus is saying, don't live a life where you keep sweeping things under the rug for the sake of the illusion of peace.

When you are truly a peacemaker, you're willing to address it, vacuum it up, and then dump it out of your home so you don't have to keep dealing with it anymore.

That's ultimately what Jesus is challenging us to do.

He's saying that I know that peace is available, but you have to acknowledge the things that divide you.

You have to address it, and we have to create systems to fix it.

We are more important than this, but we must be willing to deal with it if we don't before it deals with us.

Here, here's my third and final point I want to ask the worship team to come back out and join me.

Go the extra mile.

Go the extra mile.

Jesus says in Matthew 5 41 if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles instead.

That means going above and beyond.

Take the extra steps.

Go and do the thing beyond what they've asked for.

Jesus is challenging us because we all know that feeling of when someone doesn't go the extra mile.

We all know that feeling of when when when we're around people and it feels like the things we're asking of them is of such an inconvenience to them.

Anybody been to the DMV lately?

If you work there, we love you, and we're believing for where I won the DMV.

But but but watch this.

We all know that feeling of when we go into environments and and we feel like, man, like I know you're doing your job, but I I feel like you could go to extra, I feel like you could just be a little bit kinder, I feel like you could just be uh a little bit sympathetic, I feel like you could do a better job at communicating information.

This is my first time here, you live here.

Can you can you just help me a little bit more?

We all know that feeling of feeling so just desensitized and and and feeling unloved and unvalued.

But we also know that feeling of when someone goes above and beyond.

So if we are familiar with both feelings, why would we not go out of our way to create that feeling for the people we love?

I I know what it feels like to be cared for.

I know what it feels like to be loved.

I know what it feels like to see someone go the extra mile.

My parents came to visit us uh uh a couple of months ago and they were blown away at the hospitality of the people that were helping them.

When they got to the station, they they they took their bags and they went above and beyond.

They moved their stuff for them, they they literally walked them to their space and and they just raved about how that made them feel.

They raved about how how valued they felt because they were doing something they had never done.

They were traveling through a means they had never done before, and as a result of that, that that gave them joy, and now they want to travel that way all the time.

They they came to our house and they were like, Man, I I want to know who that guy is.

I want to send them a letter.

Like they were so filled with joy because he went the extra mile.

Like, man, we we know what that does for people, but we also know when people do things begrudgingly.

Like our our our our married folks know what that feels like.

Like Megan comes to me and is like, hey babe, can you give me something to drink?

I'm like, again?

Didn't you just drink something four hours ago?

Like again?

Like, you want me to get you something to drink again?

Or or or or when you give it to them, like, here you go.

Like, can you put some love in that?

Like, I mean, I don't want it now.

Like, I'm listening I know I'm not just a maybe I'm preaching to myself.

Where's my phone at?

Like, I we all know that feeling of when someone does something for you, but it doesn't seem like it's coming from an authentic place.

That that doesn't make any of us feel good.

Some people are saying, amen, a little too loud.

But I'm trying, I'm trying to help all of us.

I'm literally preaching to myself because for me, I'm like, look, you may not have wanted to do it, I don't need to know that.

The idea of you going the extra mile, the idea of knowing you take the extra step, that communicates to me love, that communicates to me intentionality, that communicates to me uh a desire to make sure that I'm well taken care of, and then it becomes this cyclical thing where you do that for me, I do that for you, and then our bond is being strengthened.

But if we're looking at this as a transaction, I did one, you do one, I did two, you do two.

We'll never actually begin to take up ground.

But if you do one and I do three, then that's going to compel you to want to do four, and then I'm gonna do eight.

What if we began to outserve one another instead of keeping account of what little we can do to keep each other silent?

What Jesus is saying is it's possible for us to have a life of oneness with others if we are willing to go the extra mile.

I think ultimately what I'm saying is it's important for us to be intentional so that we can win at the things that matter the most.

This past week, um, I had an opportunity with uh with Caleb, my youngest, uh, to watch LeBron James break the all-time scoring record.

Okay, okay.

We got some LeBron lovers and uh a bunch of LeBron haters, and um there's room at the altar for everyone.

Um but but as I was watching this, and I I mean I grew up in the Jordan era.

So so for me, like two things can exist at the same time.

So it's not an issue for me.

Um, but but I do understand the the tension and and and and who's the goat, who's the greatest of all time, what's the metric that we use to do that?

And and I get all that.

Um and so so for me, I'm I'm I'm sitting there with Caleb and we're watching this moment, and and then we're celebrating after it's done, and and then I begin to watch what takes place on the court afterwards.

He's there, he's with his family, um, and then in the days that followed, his each of his kids had shot a video talking about how much they appreciate him, not just as an athlete, but as a dad.

Thank you so much, dad, for just being an example of perseverance.

His wife with a video, his mother-in-law with a video, his mother-in-law, think about that, in-laws sometimes have tension.

His mother-in-law had nothing but good things to say.

And I'm not here to talk about background things I don't see, but what I love to see was that in spite of this individual success that he has, he actually is still winning it what matters most, and that's his family.

I I think that that should be inspiration and a challenge for some of us because it would be a terrible thing to have the scoring record, but you don't have the love at home.

It would be it would be a terrible thing to have all these accolades and all these successes, but it's not even acknowledged or embraced or accepted at home.

There's moments where our ambition can outpace the place that God has put us in.

And what I believe is important for us when we're looking at our relationships is man that above all else, I just want to be a person that wins where it matters most.

I I would certainly not want to be known as an amazing pastor but a terrible husband.

I want to win where it matters most.

I don't want to be seen as an incredible friend but a terrible father.

I I want to I want to win where it matters most.

What that means is yes, I understand the importance of the complexity and the duality of life, but but if I'm not winning at the things that matters the most, then I'm losing the most influence.

So so instead of us elevating our differences, instead of us pursuing things that that may have a good accolades on the surface, but it doesn't have any lasting effect because the legacy that we're trying to create with our family, it doesn't go beyond us.

What if we could begin to be people that say, I'm going to win at what matters most?

Yes, I want to have a great paycheck, but I want to have dividends in my family that will transcend anything I can buy with that paycheck.

I want to win at what matters most.

I want to be a person that says that I want to win when it comes to showing compassion.

I don't want to be a critical person.

I don't want to be a person that always finds a negative in things.

I don't want to be a person that ignores the suffering of my family members and of others.

So I want to win at what matters most by showing compassion to those who are suffering.

I I want to be a person that's not seen as being impatient.

And there are moments where I struggle with it, as we've seen in Exhibit A, when I laid out the menu for my family.

But then when things changed, I began to lose my patience.

And in my own mind, I was right.

But what good is it if I have all these good things?

I have an amazing menu, but my wife doesn't want to eat it.

Which, on a side note, she did eat the chicken twice and had the leftovers last night.

So I still was right.

But you guys are catching what I'm saying.

You guys are catching what I'm saying.

What I'm saying is, what does it profit a man to gain the world but lose what matters the most?

You're losing the influence at home, you're losing the influence with your neighbors, you're standing on a foundation of what's right and not realizing that your life is all wrong.

I want to be a person that can extend patience because I want to win where it matters most.

I want to be a person that can look at the pain and suffering of others, and I can win at what matters most by showing empathy and by showing care and by showing love.

I want to be a person that wins at what matters most when I see that people are suffering and I can say, Lord, I am praying for them.

I'm going to intercede for them instead of talking about them.

I just want to be a person that wins where it matters most in a world that is so filled with hate.

My voice doesn't need to contribute to that.

My perspective doesn't add any value to that.

But what I can be is a person that says, Lord, I know that they are made in your image.

I don't agree with what's going on right now.

I don't understand the dynamics, but Lord, I choose love above all else.

Let us be inspired by Jesus when he said, Lord, forgive them.

They do not know what they are doing.

I want to be a person that wins where it matters most.

I don't care about likes.

I don't care about followers if my family does not follow me.

It doesn't matter anything else.

I want to win at what matters most.

I want to win at being kind.

Right now, it seems like an accolade or an award if you can be rude and mean-spirited.

But literally, kindness is an exhibition of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

I don't want to be known for my clapbacks.

I don't want to be known for being sharp.

I don't want to be known for cussing people out.

I want to be known as a person who is just kind.

He is a kind man, he exhibits the character of Christ.

I want to win at what matters most.

Can we begin to celebrate kingdom ideas instead of worldly influence?

I want to win at what matters the most.

Let's win at what matters most.

There's a lot of things that are that are rising up and a lot of things that are coming against us.

There's a lot of hotly debated things in the world, in our families, and if we're not careful, we'll win at arguments and lose our families.

We'll win at being right and not recognizing that we're missing the mark.

This is why when Paul is talking about the qualifications of what does it mean to be a person of influence in the church, he said, these are people who have a strong relationship with God, they have a strong relationship with their family, and they have a strong relationship with others.

He said, This is how you win it, what matters most is by stewarding all of these things with a kingdom mindset.

With every head bowed and with every eye closed, I simply want to encourage us with this.

Here's what I want to challenge us with.

Maybe you're in here right now, and as you evaluate your relationships and you look at where you are, maybe the first thing you need to do is get your relationship right with God.

It's because it's from that place everything will flow from it.

It's from that place that you'll experience the peace and the strength that you need in order to move forward.

What I want to do is I want to ask this question.

Those who are joining us online, we want you to participate in this moment.

But if you want to win it, what matters most, it starts first with your relationship with God.

If you're away from God right now and you know that it's time for me to come home, it's time for me to get in the right relationship with God.

On a count of three, I want you to boldly lift your hands up so I can include you in a prayer.

One, two, three, saying yes to Jesus.

Amen.

God bless you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

See the hands in the back.

Amen.

Those are joining us online.

God bless you guys.

Church, can we put our hands together for every single person that's in here saying yes to Jesus?

Come on, can we really celebrate?

People are saying that I'm gonna put Jesus first.

I'm gonna win in what matters most.

What I want to invite us to do is I want to invite us to stand on our feet.

We're gonna wrap up in in just a moment.

But I want to pray over us before before I do that.

Because I also recognize that with the prayer requests and all the different things that I've heard over the past couple of weeks about the tensions that are existing at home.

Maybe, maybe you're in here right now and you need an area of your relationships to be healed.

It could be with children, it could be with parents, it it could be spouses, it could be couples.

There could be some things that we just need the hand of God to move in.

If that's you, if you just want prayer, just right where you are.

I just want to take a moment to acknowledge the tension that we feel with relationships.

And when we talk about putting these things into practice, it's not easy because what happens when you're the only one doing it and they're not reciprocating it?

When do you put boundaries in place?

When do you begin to move forward and you just call that relationship a seasonal necessary ending?

I know it's messy and it's challenging.

I want to pray for us.

So if you're in here and you're just praying for God to give you grace and wisdom in relationships that you're dealing with right now, would you be bold enough to lift your hands up?

Amen.

Amen.

God bless you guys.

Amen.

Heavenly Father, you see every hand that's lifted up here.

And Lord, you know the pain behind those hands being lifted up.

You know the tensions.

You know the stories behind every hand that's lifted up.

And God, I just pray in the name of Jesus that there's a fresh grace that begins to come into reality for these individuals.

Lord, I'm praying in the name of Jesus for every person.

I feel led to pray for people that are dealing with tension with their parents.

God, I pray, Father, in the name of Jesus, that you bring unity, that you bring peace, that you bring wholeness, that you bring restoration, Father.

The life that we live is so short.

And God, we don't want to miss any moments to bring reconciliation and wholeness and back into union, Father.

Lord, I pray for forgiveness between parents and children and children and parents, Father, helping us all to move forward.

Lord, we are called to be peacemakers and not peacekeepers, Father.

So Lord, I'm praying for restoration and reconciliation.

God, I'm praying over every marriage in the name of Jesus.

We know that marriages glorify God.

We know that marriages are a reflection of our relationship with you, Jesus.

The enemy hates our marriage.

He's going to oppose it in every way.

And Father, I pray for every married couple that they can declare that we are more important than it.

We have some differences.

We have a different view on so many different things, but we are more important than it.

So we're going to work through it.

We're going to talk about it.

We're going to pray about it.

We're going to persevere through it because what God has joined together, let no man, no thing put asunder, let it not separate.

Father, I pray for every single person in here in the name of Jesus, that they recognize their value is not found in the way that they will fill out an application on whether they're single or divorced.

Father, I pray for total wholeness in Jesus' name, that they are good where they are.

They are content where they are, Father, that this is a great season for them to pursue you, God, and to be strengthened in you.

But Lord, I also pray for everyone who is looking for that significant other.

Father, I pray in the name of Jesus, in the way that they are preparing, they also have their spouses on the other side who are preparing so they can come together in wholeness and strength and not bring in the baggage of previous relationships and pain.

So, Father, I pray a blessing over every single person, over every dating person, Father, in Jesus' name.

Father, I pray for sibling tensions, Father, that you bring healing and restoration to every single relationship that we're connected to in family.

Father, I pray for the tensions that we feel at our jobs because sometimes they can carry such weight and it keeps us from moving forward.

We spend so much time in our workplaces and when we don't get along with others and when we have oversight that we may not agree with.

Father, I just pray for peace.

Help us to navigate through these seasons with wisdom and with grace and with poise in a way that honors you, Father.

And Lord, I also pray that you give us wisdom on where to place boundaries.

I pray that you give us the strength to implement those boundaries, Father.

That we understand that yes, we are called to make peace, but we are also called to be people who move forward with peace.

So, Father, I pray for wisdom on the areas that we need to disconnect from.

I pray for discernment on the necessary endings for the prunings that you're bringing into our lives.

That's not feeling based, but it's kingdom-based.

So, Father, I pray a blessing over your people.

I pray healing over your people.

I pray restoration over your people.

I pray wholeness over your people.

I pray strategy over your people.

I pray favor over your people.

I pray breakthrough over your people.

I pray miracle over your people.

I pray restoration over your people.

I pray provision over your people.

I pray testimonies amongst your people in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

And amen.

In the name of church, we put our hands together for the goodness of God and the power of God.

Man, I am I'm so glad that we had an opportunity to gather here today.

We're gonna go ahead and dismiss you in in just a second, but I do want to take a moment to highlight a couple of things.

You know, we're all better together.

And so my hope is that if you're not connected to a kingdom community, maybe you have that in a bunch of other spaces.

But if you're not, I want to invite you to consider getting involved in one of our groups.

We have so many different groups and different distinctions that it's still plenty of time for you to get connected to community that can help us to become better.

The other thing I want to share with us is that, man, this is a great opportunity for us to invite you.

Like if you want to get involved in serving, that's its own community here at Celebration.

This is Team Sunday, and we want to invite you, man, consider joining the team.

Maybe you have a gift that you're sitting on, and one of the things that I don't want is to get to the end of my life and I'm not empty.

Pastor Tim says this I want to live my life full and die empty.

That means I want to die knowing I'm pouring out the gifts that God has given me to other people.

I know that there's people that are sitting in this room that have many gifts.

Maybe you have a gift with communication, maybe you have a gift with singing, a gift with playing, a lot of different things the way that God has wired you that can add value.

This is an opportunity to just pray about God.

I want to make sure that I'm using my gifts and stewarding them well in the context of your kingdom.

I want to invite you to join us outside if that's God nudging you.

And if you have those gifts and you're not using them, this is God saying, I'm nudging you.

So yes, it is time for you to get involved.

And then the third and final thing I want to say to you guys is go eagles.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

May He make His face to shine upon you and give you peace in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Love you guys.

Make sure you guys hang out outside, get connected to some of that stuff, and we'll see you later on this week.

Thanks again for listening.

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