"The New Future and the New Human": A Sunday Conversation with Pastor Ross Stackhouse

Welcome to Heaven Earth Church.

My name is Ross Stackhouse.

I'm the founding pastor of Heaven Earth Church.

From the beginning, our heart was to be a church for people who

don't fit neatly into church.

Our heart is to meet people where they are, to learn their stories,

to honor their stories.

Because in every human story is God's story.

In this podcast you'll hear more about the people who now call

Heaven Earth Church home.

Their stories, in many cases of misfits who are discovering or

rediscovering faith.

If you want to know more about.

Us, you can go to heavenorthchurch.org Otherwise, we

invite you now into the story.

Hello good people.

Brad Miller here, the producer of the Heaven Earth Church podcast.

One of the main benefits of being a part of the Heaven Earth

Church community is our Sunday morning conversations taught by founding

pastor Ross Stackhouse.

You can watch and participate in the Sunday morning conversation

this Sunday morning, 9:30am Eastern time at YouTube.com heavenerthchurch.

The audio version of the Sunday morning conversation is available

here on the podcast, which you can find at Apple Podcasts, Spotify

and on the website, which is heaven earthchurch.org it's now time

to join Pastor Ross Stackhouse and the conversation with the Heaven

Earth Church community and the new future and the new human.

Lord.

Thank you for gathering us here.

Thank you that you are present with us as proven in the life of

Jesus and yet we may not feel that today, we may not believe it.

So help our unbelief and help us to see you, to know you and to

follow you in Jesus name.

Amen.

And this is the sermon for today.

Thank you, Angela.

Hey, I've asked you a question before that is going to come up in

a minute, but I'd love to hear from you.

What is the best surprise that you can remember in your life?

A time when you were surprised by something wonderful.

And maybe you're somebody who's like, I hate surprises.

So I'm not answering.

Well, that's fine.

You can just chill for a minute.

What's a time when you were surprised by something and it still

sticks with you?

Today when Valerie said yes to marrying Jim.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

What else?

Kara?

So Jason's parents threw a surprising.

Your parents threw a surprise engagement party.

Your sister's trying to get you wear makeup.

You're like, no, I'm not doing that.

You got in a fight before the surprise party.

Cool.

No clue.

Emma.

Yeah, so Emma was going to get engaged.

Her mom, mother in law and sister knew it and was like, trying

to get her to get her nails done.

Same thing.

Like mother, like daughter.

Okay.

Yeah.

Natalie.

Natalie got a surprise.

She got full tuition to her dream college.

Yeah.

That's awesome.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right, what else?

Surprise.

That still stays with you today, Jill?

Ellie, the queen of surprises.

Ann's showing up for people.

Yeah.

Ellie does not want us to look at her right now.

Hi, Ellie.

Good to see you.

Lucy, surprised by your son who's getting with flowers when he

was being promoted in the Air Force.

Yeah.

Online, people.

Come on, wake up.

What's a good one?

Adam, go ahead.

So your brother brought one cousin to surprise your kids, but

then brought another cousin in a duffel bag.

Is this a small.

Is this a small person?

I've shown a video in here when I went to Oklahoma to surprise

my family and I popped out of a box for my brother.

It's a fun thing to do.

Kathy, go ahead.

Yeah, yeah.

So 28 years ago, or at the time.

At the time, son had put up a baby for adoption.

Then you met the.

28 years later.

Wow.

Oh, Brad, go ahead.

Oh, I've seen this.

This is so good.

This picture is so good.

Everyone go to Brad after the.

After we're done and go check out this picture.

It's very good.

Huddy, what's up?

Stacy Langenfelter when she found out she was having twins.

Hi, Stacy.

Hi, Mike.

Yeah.

All right, that's it, guys.

We're done for today.

Thank you for sharing.

Don't answer.

Over there.

Not you, Kathy.

The people behind you.

Anybody know what that is?

It is.

Thank you.

Melissa Bryant said a landscape.

Where?

Where is that?

Did someone just say Wisconsin?

Close.

Closer.

Getting warmer.

That is the Sea of Galilee.

I had.

I was obsessed with the Bible from a young age, even when I was

acting like a fool as a teenager.

And then I studied the Bible.

Angela knows this.

When we started dating, she thought I was some partying fool,

which is somewhat right.

But I was like, hey.

She thought, yeah.

So I was like, hey, I read my Bible every day.

As if one thing cancels out the other.

Like, I'd read.

I've read the Bible, loved the Bible.

My whole life.

I've studied it in a academic setting, you know, intensely.

And yet when I stood here, when I walked here, I was, like,

shocked.

I was so surprised at how rugged was, like, the topography

somehow.

I had read the Bible and it was always describing this.

Like, Jesus is always on a mountain or in a valley or they're

going up to Jerusalem, even though Jerusalem is south well, it's

because Jerusalem is this elevation.

Like, when you're here, you're either like, on a mountain coming

down from a mountain or in a valley or on a hillside.

Like, it's just up and, like, fertile like that.

And I was like, how did I not, like, catch this?

When I read.

I've read this a lot.

And it was so, so beautiful and haunting, though, because the

other thing was, like, this is Jerusalem, and this is the path that

Jesus walked in the midst of his criminal proceedings.

Like, his.

The bottom of his sandals were right on that.

And I've told you, like, I'm.

There's.

There's.

There's a contingent of folks who, like, say, well, Jesus never

existed.

Listen, again, I'm telling you as an historian, like, first, this

guy existed historically.

There's no doubt about it.

But what haunted me is, like, that was a theory in my head for

years.

Like, I believed in Jesus, but, like, when I was here, it's

like, there is a guy who walked here, walked this ground,

and there are people who staked their lives on the belief

that he was the anointed one of God.

They were willing to die for it.

And that haunted me.

Like, I left this trip never the same, because it's kind of like

Jesus asked of Peter.

I felt the question being asked me, who do you say I am?

And I'm still living that today.

And I remember I was dunked in the Jordan river to reaffirm my baptism.

And that was a literally watershed moment, I think.

Heather, is that the right use of literal there?

Don't act like you don't care about grammar now.

Okay, thank you.

Love you.

I love you, Heather.

Like, I took my place all over again, and maybe for the first time

and in, like, the new creation of Jesus.

Can you clear the background there, Hudson?

If you know how to do that, Maybe you haven't learned that before.

Oh, hey, look at this guy.

He's an expert.

What am I talking about?

My bad, bro.

You know what you're doing?

I experience all over again.

If we give ourselves to a whole life of companionship with.

With Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and we're humble, hungry

and willing, we're going to be surprised by the goodness of Jesus.

We're going to be surprised of, like, by the joy of being a part

of this new creation or new harvest.

Really quick a pointing back to last week, that first phrase,

a whole life of companionship.

Our first discipleship, essential here at Heaven Earth Church,

is that we want to be shaped from the inside out by Continuous

companionship with God.

We talked about the opposite of that last week is the compartmentalized

life.

So even if we're the best prayers in the world.

So we.

So, like, we spend an hour in meditation and scripture and prayer,

like all of you do every day.

Right?

Right.

Yeah, of course you do.

But if we then, like, go, okay, now I'm done, Jesus, my time

was well spent with you now.

And we just go put him in the container and we set him aside.

And then we go about the rest of our day.

And then we.

That's the rest of our day.

We've had our time with God, now we go do our stuff.

Well, that means for the rest of that day, we're being taught by

everybody else besides Jesus.

But if we give ourselves to a continuous companionship with Jesus,

and this second thing we'll talk about today, more humble and

hungry willing as we do it, we are going to feel this incredible

joy of being a part of this new harvest.

We're going to talk about, like, what.

What harvest?

We're in a series called Growing what is Good.

I want to talk with you about that today.

And what I think about is I've often described in some of my classes

and stuff the first 48 hours.

No, I don't mean like the crime show.

How many of you love true crime?

Were you a little bit disappointed that, oh, my gosh, he's

going to talk about true crime now?

No, I'm not.

Sorry.

The first 48 hours of following Jesus, like Peter and John

and James and Andrew, they said yes to following Jesus.

They said yes to not quite yet.

A continuous companionship of being disciples of Jesus.

But boy, did they regret it for a minute.

Ever done that where you're like, yes, I'm all in on this.

This is for me.

And then you were about 24 to 48 hours in.

You're like, man, I want to go back and say no now.

This was a bad idea.

Well, this was them.

Because when they said yes to Jesus, it wasn't like, okay, we'll

see you in a month.

We'll have an orientation period that will help you on board

and feel comfortable about what we're doing.

And then we'll have another week of rest where you can process

it.

Cause it's a lot to process.

And then we'll hit the ground.

When they said yes, I kind of picture it being like, Jesus, like,

all right, come on.

And they're like, still hanging around, doing their thing.

He's like, hey, like, now it's like, me with my kids, I, I have

to ask him five times to come along.

And I'm like, I didn't mean like next week, I mean now.

Well, that was Jesus right now.

Mark, chapter one.

It's like an action film, the first 48 hours.

Like, boom, boom, boom, boom.

They're going in the synagogue and typically they're used to being

quiet in the synagogue while all the important people talk.

But then here this Jesus fella comes, who's an artisan, kind of

blue collar type who's not very well educated according to everybody

else.

And this fellow thinks he can talk and he heals somebody on the

Sabbath, which is, you don't do that.

And then after that they go, and Jesus cares about Simon's mother

in law and goes and heals her from a fever.

It's just one thing after another.

Then chapter two, Jesus like, hey, we're gonna have a dinner party

with tax collectors and sinners.

You guys ready?

But yet what they caught was this.

Like, they saw like very early on that something entirely new had

begun.

There was a new kind of human on the earth and there was a new

humanity that was beginning.

They just kept being shocked by this.

One more scene, one time in John chapter four.

That's early on in that gospel.

It's high noon and Jesus disciples walk up and Jesus is sitting

at a well with a what?

With a who?

One of those cockroach Samaritans.

And a woman, no less.

A woman who's been like married five times.

What is this guy doing?

I'll tell you what he's doing.

He's starting a new creation where everybody has a place at the

table.

Throughout the Bible, Jesus is referred to.

There's these parts where I want to point out some scriptures

that get, get.

You remember we talked about how for whatever reason, I don't

know, do we know who decide this?

That dandelions are from Satan and they need to be eradicated at

all cost?

Who decided that in history?

Okay.

Okay.

Yeah.

So it was a marketing ploy.

Like these things will kill you when actually like, you can,

you can eat them.

Right, Joanna?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Okay.

Well, you know though, when you see one of these evil demons

of Satan, what is, what do you know?

If you see one, does it mean that you're, you're, you're not going

to see any more, you're going to keep on going, right?

That's what the Bible describes.

Jesus is like.

Jesus is like the first dandelion.

Beautiful, abundant, radiant.

He is the firstborn from the dead.

So, you know, like you thought when.

Winter.

It was a hard winter.

Dark, short days, long nights, maybe seasonal affective disorder.

Cold.

And you thought maybe you were under the illusion that the dandelions

weren't coming back.

And then one day you walked out in the yard, you took a drink,

your coffee, and then all of a sudden you're like, oh, my God, there's

one of Satan's children right there.

Well, when Jesus that.

From Friday and Saturday.

Good Friday, he's crucified.

Saturday, when everybody's waiting, it's like that long winter.

But then on Sunday, that first dandelion of the new creation popped

up.

He's called the firstborn among the dead, or the first crop

of the harvest.

Watch, I'll show you.

I'm not just making this up.

Look right here.

Yeah, go for it again.

Look at this guy.

I don't even tell him he's on top of it.

From Colossians, chapter one.

He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning

of the one, who is the one who is from among the dead.

He's the first dandelion after a long winter.

And he's not the only one.

So that he might occupy the first place in everything.

Look at this.

Revelation 1.

And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness the.

From among the dead.

Firstborn says that he's not the lastborn.

You're next.

We're next.

Elsewhere it said that he's like the.

He's the first born.

Born are the first fruits of a new harvest.

Check it out again.

I'm not making it up, but in fact, this is First Corinthians 15.

Paul closes this letter First Corinthians 13.

He's like, hey, you guys have to believe in the resurrection.

It's the most important thing.

It means death has been destroyed.

Evil's been put.

Put to death.

Jesus has dealt with the things that keep us from this new

life.

In fact, he has been raised from the dead.

He's the first of the harvest of those who have died.

He's that first dandelion.

Which means there are more coming.

Not making it up.

Romans 8.

It's not only the creation, we ourselves who have the spirit as

the first.

Oh, you see that little switcheroo Paul did.

Who's the first crop now?

You, me, them.

We are all part of this new harvest that has begun.

That's our calling in life, my friends, is to, like, follow behind

this firstborn from the dead Jesus, this first crop, and then

work that new harvest with him.

Like we.

We talked about it, like Evan has a beautiful, wonderful, like,

farmer giddy up that he wears at every costume party that I've

ever seen him at.

Like, he's gonna wear it next week as an illustration.

So we're reminded that all of us are farmers, okay?

All of us.

That's why Galatians says this.

Make no mistake, God is not.

Mark mocked a personal harvest, what they plant.

You know that phrase, you'll reap what you sow?

That's where it came from.

What's Paul saying to these people?

Like, join the harvest.

Don't waste your time planting stuff that ain't worth planting.

Plant the good stuff with Jesus.

Be a part of the new harvest here on Earth.

He started something new.

He's the first crop you follow next.

Don't.

Don't, like, give in to all your selfish cravings and stuff.

Don't just think it's about you.

Plant something.

Be a part of something bigger.

Don't get tired of doing good.

Because in time we'll have a harvest if we don't give up.

But let's pause right there.

How many of you been feeling like giving up lately, huh?

Go on, show your hands.

How many of you feel like giving up lately, huh?

That's why I asked you a question.

Somebody asked me.

I asked you at the very beginning about surprises.

How many of you just hate surprises?

Come on, let's hear it.

Let's see.

You just don't want to be surprised.

Look at all you people.

What, is it because you like control?

Is that it, Debbie?

It makes you nervous, okay?

Causes you anxiety.

Yeah.

And Brad likes to surprise her.

Translation, Brad likes to make you nervous and anxious.

Okay?

Hey, guys, let's.

Hey, let's meet sometime this week, okay?

I'm concerned.

No, I'm just kidding.

Do you have capacity to be surprised anymore?

I know that part of what makes it so difficult.

You know, honestly, part of the group of people who will have

the hardest time with being surprised by Jesus anymore are all

the people who have heard of him already, are all the people who

have been in church for a long time.

It's going to be hard for us to be excited about being a part

of this new harvest because nothing of it feels new.

It feels old and jaded and decaying and not worth it.

Am I right?

Or maybe you're like, no, Ross, I had my time where I went

all in with that farming business with Jesus.

I tried to plant what is good and I got burned.

I gave myself to a group of people.

I put in sweat, tears, blood.

I tilled the soil I planted and I kept showing up.

I kept working the ground, I tried to grow fruit, and all I got

in the end was I got burned.

Anybody feel that way?

It's tough, isn't it?

Good thing the world's not hard too.

Good thing the world's easy to deal with.

It's hard to be surprised anymore by good.

Well, shoot, it's hard to be anymore.

It's like, are you surprised by the evil either?

It just keeps happening.

Doggone it.

Human beings, we're good at that.

It's hard.

We become like the.

The writer of Ecclesiastes who, like, grew jaded and he said,

there's nothing new under the sun.

Everything is meaningless.

Some of you, that's the only part of the Bible you're like, now

there, that person gets me everything.

There's nothing new under the sun.

Everything is meaningless.

I'm just going to eat, drink and marry, be married till I drop

dead.

And that doesn't work either.

You try to escape into things that just make you feel better, give

in to your selfish cravings or go into substance use or whatever.

Whatever you use to numb or escape, you just feel worse than

when you started.

You know why?

Because you're made to be a part of this harvest.

That's your entire purpose in life, is to be a part of this new

creation that began with Jesus.

Your greatest joy is found in that.

And yes, there's pain in it too.

So I have two questions for you.

Can I ask you?

This is a space to be honest with yourself and with God.

Have you given up on it?

If you have, it's okay.

It's okay to just say it.

Jesus disciples gave up.

They went back home.

All of them.

They left him for dead.

Well, except for a couple of ladies.

They didn't give up.

That's why we're sitting here.

It's because they didn't give up.

But all the dudes, they gave up.

Good job, guys.

They all gave up and went home.

And luckily gracefully, this Jesus fella showed back up to them

and basically said like, hey, you still in?

Because I am.

So here's my next question for you, is what is your next yes?

What is your next yes?

Maybe is a big, big giant yes that you're being called to.

So, like, I know we have some people who are considering baptism.

That is a giant big yes, and it's worth it.

It's a big yes.

It's a yes to being born again from above.

You're saying I'm joining in with this new Humanity.

With Jesus, I'm in.

I want to be born again from above.

I want to start working this new creation with J.

And I'm going to seek his help to be in continuous companionship

with him.

So I'm a part of this.

Maybe you've got a big yes that's coming, but hey, full stop

on that.

If you've got a big yes that you're considering, let's talk.

I'll be honest with you.

I have found that in faith, a lot of it comes down to very little

yeses.

And like, that's when we don't give up.

So I'm just going to let this breathe for a couple more seconds.

Let you sit on it.

Sit with it.

What is your next yes?

Don't give up.

As Galatians says, don't.

Don't quit.

You have.

You maybe have good reason to.

Maybe you do.

And then I'll read you this, and then I'm done for today.

Okay?

Deal.

Perhaps today is actually the day to give up.

What?

Didn't you just say, don't give up?

I said, this is someone in seeking recovery, recent, recently.

Maybe it's time to give up in a good way.

Maybe it's time to give in.

What's your next yes?

I'm not trying to sell you something here.

Many of you gave up because you were in a church or in Christian

circles with a lot of salespeople.

I'm bearing witness today, guys, to something that utterly changed

my life.

If I didn't ask you to consider this, I would be betraying

myself.

Something deeply true to me.

Saying yes to Jesus once and saying yes to him over and again

after a bunch of no's has utterly changed my life in the best

way.

So if I invite you to consider baptism, for example, I'm not trying

to sell you something.

I'm inviting you to become part of something.

Someone who has started a new creation, a new harvest that we are

destined by God to be a part of right here and right now for all

of eternity.

This new creation is the reality.

Everything else is the illusion.

Everything else is.

I'm not trying to sell you something, guys.

I just bearing witness to something that is the most important

capital T.

Truth.

I know.

And I'm just in a long line of people experience it also and bore

witness to it again.

I know you've been subject to a lot of salesmen and sales women

and conquerors and kings and celebrities who are selling you something

and treated you as a means to an end.

Please don't let them fool you.

Please don't let them deter you.

Don't let them define Jesus for you.

Don't let them keep you from becoming new in Jesus and working

the harvest.

You are made and saved to work with Him.

What is your next yes, let's pray.

Help us find the answer to that Lord.

Not by our own strength, but by being humble, hungry and willing

for the yes that you might show to us for the ways we've been

proud, satisfied and stubborn.

Forgive us for the ways that we've just chosen self protection

and self justification.

Forgive us.

Help us to turn back to you as you have drawn near to us.

In the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Thank you for participating in the conversation happening at Heaven

Earth Church.

Your next opportunity to do so live is this Sunday morning, 9:30am

Eastern Time, either at the main campus at 309 East Main in Whiteland,

Indiana or online at YouTube Live.

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You can always find out more by going to the church website heavenearthchurch.org

we.

Want to thank you for spending time with us today.

My name is Ross Stackhouse, the pastor to Heaven Earth Church,

and you may think out there that your story is over, but in fact

your faith story may just be beginning.

If you want more information about our church or you're interested

in a next step, you can go to heavenearthchurch.org otherwise we

look forward to being with you next time at the Heaven Earth Church

Podcast.