Chameleon Part 4 | Life in the Lions' Den with Chris Schlotterbeck

We are so glad you're here. Whether you're listening

on your morning commute. at the gym, or relaxing

with a cup of coffee. Thanks for spending part

of your day with us. If today's message encourages

you and you'd like to get connected with everything

happening at Hub City Vineyard, head over to

hcv .church slash connect. We'd love to meet

you and help you find your place here. Want to

know what's coming up? discover ways to serve,

or stay in the loop on upcoming events, check

out hcv .church slash what's up for everything

happening around HCV. Now turn it up, lean in,

and get ready for what God has for you today.

We hope this message encourages you, challenges

you, and reminds you that you are deeply loved.

Now, let's hear the message. Well, today we're

concluding our series, Chameleon, choosing conviction

over conformity. And we're gonna discuss one

of the most famous passages in the entire Bible.

If you were to walk into Walmart at some point

today and go up to some random people and say,

do you know any stories from the Bible? Chances

are, chances are they may know about a guy in

a boat with a bunch of animals. They may know

about a guy that defeated a giant with a slingshot.

And many people would say, wasn't there this

guy that was thrown into a pit of lions? And

see, there sure was. And his name was Daniel.

And quite often we take that story and we put

it into this context that it's for kids, that

it's for children. But the reality is it's for

all of us. Because we live our lives daily in

a lion's den. Now in Daniel chapter 6, Daniel

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

was at the end of his life. And this would actually

be the end of all that we learn from Daniel's

life regarding his personal story. And the book

of Daniel continues, however, in the following

chapters to record Daniel's visions that he received

from God and prophecies regarding the last days.

But this, what we're going to discuss today,

is the final piece of recorded history about

Daniel's life. Now many of you know we've been

discussing throughout this series that the book

of Daniel, is about two competing kingdoms, the

kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world.

And we've also been looking at how, in many real

ways, our lives are very similar to Daniel's,

even though he lived 2 ,600 years ago in the

ancient Near East. We must remember the Bible

is one story. It is made up of 66 books from

beginning to end, and there is one main character

it focuses on. Newsflash. It's not you, and it's

not me. We are not the main characters, even

though quite often we think we are. Now, to really

understand the story of Daniel, we must go all

the way back to the beginning of the Bible. And

in the beginning, God created the heavens and

the earth. He created humanity. Adam and Eve

in his image, which leads us to our first thought.

See, humanity believed the lie, and sin became

our captivity. In Genesis chapter one, we read,

then God said, let us make human beings in our

image to be like us. See, we can learn a lot

about who we are when we look in the mirror.

So when you look in the mirror, what do you see?

When you look in the mirror, maybe you see things

you like about yourself. Maybe you see things

you wish you could change. Maybe you see your

strengths, your weaknesses, your successes, your

failures. But here's the bigger question. When

you look at yourself, what do you believe about

yourself? Because the way you see yourself often

determines the way you live. So if you see yourself

as worthless, you're gonna live a worthless life.

If you see yourself as a failure, you're gonna

be afraid to try anything. If you see yourself

as unaccepted, you'll spend your entire life

trying to earn people's approval. If you see

yourself as a victim, you'll begin to believe

your circumstances define you. However, when

God created us in his image, we are now his image

bearers, which means we can learn a lot about

the characteristics of God by interacting with

other people who believe they were created in

his image, which is the church. See, when we

gather together, when we high five, when we smile,

when we pray for each other, we should be seeing

love, joy, peace. patience, kindness, goodness,

gentleness, and self -control. Because now we

are God's people. If you're in a relationship

with Jesus, you're filled with God's spirit.

You were created in his new image. But just like

every story, there's a plot twist. And what happens

next in creation introduces us to the kingdom

of the world. See, the serpent enters into God's

creation and has a conversation with Adam and

Eve. Remember, the Bible tells us Adam was standing

with her during the conversation, and the serpent

says, did God really say that? Did God really

say that? In Genesis 3 -1 and 3 -4, the serpent

was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the

Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman,

did God really say that? You must not eat from

the fruit of the trees in the garden. Did he

really say it? It's only from the fruit from

the tree in the middle of the garden that we

are not allowed to eat. God said, you must not

eat or even touch it. If you do, you will die.

You won't die, the serpent replied to the woman.

See, they heard the lie. But unfortunately, they

believed the lie. And they begin to think, well,

maybe we can do better than God. Maybe we need

that knowledge. So they ate the fruit and death

or captivity entered our world. And Adam and

Eve's image of themselves was now broken. And

when death entered our world, everything broke.

We feel that every day in our hearts, in our

minds, and in our lives. See, this brokenness

didn't allow for us to be in perfect relationship

with God. We can no longer live in a way we were

created to be. which is a perfect relationship

with a perfect and holy God. So God sent Adam

and Eve out of the garden into exile. See, they

were no longer where they were supposed to be.

We are no longer where we're supposed to be.

He sent them out into the world. Now their identity

was still to be image bearers of God. Their purpose,

of course, was to cultivate the world that is

now broken, but God also sent them out with a

promise. And he said this in Genesis 3, 15. And

I will cause hostility between you and the woman

and between your offspring and her offspring.

He will strike your head and you will strike

his heel. Someday, Adam and Eve, one of your

descendants is gonna battle that serpent. And

that serpent may bruise his heel, but that descendant

of yours will crush his head. And in Daniel chapter

six, we find Daniel living in exile from Jerusalem

and Babylon. And he was created in God's image.

And he had a job to do. And he knew that a promised

Messiah would one day come. But Daniel also had

a letter from a prophet that was living back

in Jerusalem. He wasn't taken to Babylon. And

this prophet recorded a letter from God to the

exiles. And his name was Jeremiah. Now we know

that Daniel read this letter. Because in Daniel

Daniel 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9. Daniel actually references that he

was reading from the prophet Jeremiah. And in

Jeremiah, he recorded these words in chapter

29, verses 5 through 7 and 11 through 12. He

tells the exiles, build homes and plan to stay.

Plant gardens and eat the fruit they produce.

Marry and have children, then find spouses for

them so they may have grandchildren. Multiply,

do not dwindle away, and work for the peace.

and prosperity of the city where I sent you into

exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare

will determine your welfare. For I know the plans

I have for you, says the Lord, they are plans

for good and not for disaster, to give you a

future and a hope. And in those days, when you

pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly,

you will find me. I will be found by you. Now

this verse was written directly to the exiles

living in Babylon. A very specific time and place.

Fast forward to today, we now get to read that

very same letter and apply it to our lives as

we live in exile from our current world and our

current culture. And notice what God said. We,

HTV, are to seek the welfare, peace, and prosperity

of the city which we are living. This is what

Daniel has been doing for more than 80 years

now. He was seeking the welfare of Babylon. You

and I, we are to seek the welfare of the tri

-state area. For Hagerstown, for Williamsport,

for Boonesburg. The welfare of Martinsburg and

Hedgesville and Greencastle. And we must remember,

Daniel has now lived his life under three different

kings with three different agendas. And at each

point in his life's journey, God has elevated

him into a place of power and authority. But

we must remember that this, of course, makes

all the other officials in the land jealous and

insecure because Daniel is always being promoted

up the ladder ahead of them. And just like the

earlier years in Daniel's life, these officials

plot to frame him and use his relationship with

God as a means of removing him from power, which

leads to our second thought. Culture wants you

and I to conform, but God calls us to faithfulness.

Let's jump into Daniel chapter six, verses three

through four. Then this Daniel became distinguished

above all the other high officials and satraps

because an excellent spirit was in him. Remember

that sentence. And the king planned to set him

over the whole kingdom. Then the other administrators

and high officials began searching for some fault

in the way Daniel was handling government affairs.

But they couldn't find anything to criticize

or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible,

and completely trustworthy. See, friends, the

kingdom of the world is going to try to turn

you from God, to turn us away from God through

the culture with which we live in. Daniel has

been living his life in exile. This entire time.

Remember, he was taken away as a teenager. So

this was nothing new for him. This culture has

been trying to tear down Daniel from the very

beginning. They tried to change his name. They

tried to change his diet. They changed his ability

to have a family. They set up pagan gods to worship.

They went after his friends. They threw him in

the furnace. In all these ways, through every

king, every empire, they were constantly trying

to change Daniel through culture. Yet at every

point in his life, Daniel, he was able to resist

and he was able to remain committed to God. How?

Remember verse 3? Daniel became distinguished

above all other high officials and satraps because

an excellent spirit was in him. Now it's interesting,

that word spirit is the same word used for Holy

Spirit back in Genesis 1 when we read about the

Spirit of the Lord hovering over the earth. Same

exact word. Now, the Holy Spirit isn't always

discussed in the Old Testament. There are not

many references to the Holy Spirit. But Daniel

was distinguished because of the spirit that

was living in him. Fast forward to us today,

how much more after Jesus has come? Remember,

fully God, fully human. He lived a life that

we can never live perfect. Dies, is resurrected,

overcame death, hell, and the grave. And then

he says, I'm going to send the spirit to fill

your life. John 14. And I will ask the father

and he will give you another advocate who will

never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads

you into all truth. The world cannot receive

him because he isn't looking for him and doesn't

recognize him. But you know him, church, because

he lives with you now and later will be in you.

See how much more. Should we be distinguished

because of an excellent spirit that is now alive

inside of us? Because here's the reality. Culture

is everywhere we go. And I mean everywhere. For

some of you, you'll get bored. Even in this gathering,

you'll hop on your phone and check your socials.

That's culture. You're going to leave here after

this gathering. Maybe you're going to grab lunch.

Maybe you're going to watch a football game.

Maybe you're going to check out a movie. Possibly

you'll do some shopping. That's culture. And

that culture is constantly whispering, did God

really say that? Did God really say that? We're

going to hear that lie being whispered from TikTok,

Instagram, Facebook, Netflix, movies, commercials,

our jobs. It's not going to tell us and whisper

at us. It's going to say, this is how you should

live. This is what you should wear. This is what

you should eat. This is where you should shop.

It never stops. And when we hear these lies being

whispered from all these different places, it

can begin to make us question. Maybe God didn't

say that. Maybe I do know what's best for my

life. And when we believe that lie, you know

what it does? It makes us work harder. It makes

us earn more money. It makes us gain more followers,

earn another degree, hit the gym harder, find

the right relationship, buy the perfect house,

have 2 .5 kids, and then what? Right? Culture

defines what a successful life is. But tell me,

why are there so many people saying, is this

all there is? See, culture doesn't ask and answer

the question. It whispers the lie. And when we

believe the lie, you know what it does? It turns

us away from God. It is with the Holy Spirit

that we can resist the culture. And it is only

through the Spirit that we're able to say, no.

God didn't say that. And I'm going to walk in

that truth. And when Daniel didn't give in to

the cultural trap, the kingdom of the world got

mad and frustrated. And when culture can't change

you, it leads us to our next thought. See, chaos

can make us question what we know about God.

Chaos can make us question what we know about

God. Daniel chapter 6, 6 verse 11 and 15. So

Daniel 6 · chapter mention

the administrators and high officers went to

the king and said, long live King Darius. We

are all in agreement. Now remember those five

words. We are all in agreement. The king should

make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give

orders that for the next 30 days, any person

who prays to anyone, divine or human, except

for you, your majesty, will be thrown into the

den of lions. And now your majesty. Issue and

sign this law so it cannot be changed. So King

Darius signed the law. Then the officials went

together to Daniel's house. They found him praying

and asking for God's help. In the evening, the

men, notice, went together to the king and said,

Your Majesty, you know that according to the

law of the Medes and the Persians, no law the

king signs can be changed. See, when the kingdom

of the world can't change you culturally, It

comes at us with chaos. Now, some of you are

thinking, Chris, where's the chaos in that story?

Well, in verses 6, 11, and 15, when we read that

the high officials went to the king in agreement,

which is recorded three different times, in agreement

is the modern translation. And the original word

used in this context was the word thronging.

Okay, I did not say thong in church. I said throng.

thronging. And for many of you, that's the first

time you use that or heard that word because

we're not English majors. And even if you're

an English major, chances are you don't know

it. It's defined as chaos or tumultuous. It's

actually the same word used in Psalm 2 .1 when

it says, why are the nations so angry and why

are they full of rage? Hmm, doesn't that sound

familiar in today's world? See, the officials

were coming at King Darius and they were stirring

the pot. They were stirring up rage, anger, and

fear. Sign this document, king. So you don't

lose power or authority. They were fearful of

how Daniel lived his life. And when emotions

get high, we begin to act in ways that are not

based in reality or grounded in truth. For example,

you get a text that reads, we need to talk. Before

you know anything, your mind immediately goes

to, I'm in trouble. They're mad at me. Something

terrible is going to happen. They're leaving

the church. Like emotion fills in the blanks

before you know the facts. Or you have an argument

with your spouse. And in the heat of the moment,

you may think, they don't care about me. They

don't love me. This relationship, it's never

going to work. Later, when emotions settle down,

you realize the problem was real, but the conclusions

you were making in your mind were much bigger

than the problem. See, when we're upset, we have

this tendency to let chaos take over, and we

act in ways that don't make sense. See, we quite

often allow our emotions to dictate truth, not

the reality. And this is what King Darius did.

He reacted or responded to the chaos. But how

does Daniel respond? Notice Daniel chapter six,

verse 10. But when Daniel learned the law had

been signed, he went home and knelt down as is

usual in his upstairs room with his windows open

toward Jerusalem. And he prayed three times a

day, just as he had always done, giving thanks

to his God. Notice how Daniel responded. He didn't

hop on social media and start an argument with

somebody. He just simply knelt down and began

to pray. And Daniel was praying because he made

prayer a spiritual discipline. And you see it

throughout the book of Daniel. Right in the first

six chapters, that's how he lived his life for

80 years. And when the chaos came his way, Daniel

had the spiritual discipline to get on his knees

and pray. Because he's been doing it for years.

And we can't turn, you and I, we can't turn to

a spiritual discipline if we're not doing it

right now. And we have to learn that. We have

to start now. And I'm constantly challenging

you. Every single day, church, we need to be

reading our Bible. We need to be praying. We

need to be connected into community. We need

to be serving. We need to be regularly making

it a point to attend HTV, not just when it's

convenient. It has to become a discipline in

our life because that's how our lives are changed.

As we develop spiritual disciplines and we put

them into practice, see, the kingdom of the world

then won't be able to change us through the culture

or the chaos. But it doesn't end there, unfortunately,

which leads us to our fourth thought. Our enemy

wants to steal. kill, and destroy. See, culture

will come at us. Chaos will come at us. And our

enemy is going to come at us just as hard. And

he wants to crush us. Remember, John 10 .10,

the thief's purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy.

Let's read what happened to Daniel. Continuing

on in chapter 6, verses 16 and 19 to 23. So at

last, the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested

and thrown into the den of lions. The king said

to him, may your God, whom you serve faithfully,

rescue you. It's interesting how Darius is constantly

pointing to hope in Daniel's God. Very early

in the next morning, the king got up and hurried

out to the lion's den. When he got there, he

called out in anguish, Daniel, servant of the

living God, was your God, whom you serve faithfully,

able to rescue from the lions? It's almost like

he knew Daniel was going to be alive. Daniel

answered, long live the king. May God, my God

sent his angel to shut the lion's mouth so that

they would not hurt me. For I have been found

innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged

you, your majesty. The king was overjoyed and

ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Notice

not a scratch was found on him for he had trusted

in his God. See the kingdom of the world, the

darkness tried to crush Daniel throughout his

entire life. I mean, if we really are honest,

even though Daniel is 80 now, he's been living

in a lion's den his whole life because he's living

in exile. And that's why it's so important for

us to realize daily we live in a lion's den.

And for more than 80 years, Daniel had been living

under kings, officials, and culture that was

set out on one mission, to destroy his life.

And the same is true for us. This world can feel

like a dark and crushing place. A place that

we need to break free from. And this world is

hard because it's broken. And we heard about

that brokenness back at the original design and

creation when we chose to feel like we needed

to be in control. And when everything is broken

in this world, everything comes at us and tries

to tear us down as we live in exile. I mean,

here's the reality. It's just truth. Tomorrow

is Monday. Some of you may receive a promotion,

while others of you may be fired or laid off.

Some of you have signed up for the tie -dyed

running rock. You're excited to run. You want

to get in shape. You're going to walk in a mile.

You're going to jog, you know, three miles or

six miles or whatever it may be, while others

of you have friends and family members that have

a cancer diagnosis. Some of you have a marriage

that's alive and thriving, while others of you

are contemplating divorce right now. Some of

you have children who are learning and growing,

shining examples of what it means to be in a

relationship with God, while others of you have

children who are struggling. Right? This world

is hard. And as we live in exile, we have to

realize it's not easy because of the brokenness.

But it doesn't have to remain that way, which

leads us to our fifth and final thought. Humanity

wasn't created to live. In captivity. Daniel

Daniel 6:16

chapter 6 verse 16. So at last the king gave

orders for Daniel to be arrested. And thrown

into the den of lions. The king said to him.

May your God whom you serve faithfully. Rescue

you. And it's interesting. As I was praying and

reading through this verse. God took me to the

national zoo. Now not physically. I didn't go

and visit it. But in my mind. And as I began

to contemplate. I began to reflect on the lion

that lives in the lion's den at the National

Zoo. And that lion is living in captivity. And

domestication is not a natural phenomenon for

the lion. See, inside the lion is a wild nature.

And within him, he is not comfortable in that

cage. And even though his instincts are for the

wild, The lion needs to overcome the abusive

background that has been his home. Now, of course,

you and I, we don't think it's abusive because

we aren't lions. From a spectator's perspective,

we go and watch the lion and we take pictures

of the lion for entertainment. But our entertainment

is his incarceration. See, most domesticated

lions have been raised in captivity, which means

their abuse is real. But it has become so natural

because abuse has become the lion's norm. That's

all he knows. And here's the reality that God

highlighted for me. There's so many Jesus followers

that have become domesticated. You're living

in captivity. You've learned to live in captivity.

You've learned to accept the abuse and the pain

of this world and you consider it normal. But

God calls us to so much more. And just because

something has become familiar doesn't mean it's

right. And the lion's natural instinct is to

live in the wild, to be free, to be confident,

to be powerful. And listen to me. I've been on

a safari in Africa with three wild lions, and

you're full of fear when you're around them.

I literally was 10 feet from one. And the other

pastors who were with me were laughing that I

was leaning away from it. I'm like, bro, you

sit in that seat. Like you see their instincts

in their eyes. And I'm dinner. See, the lion's

natural instinct, again, is to live in the wild,

to be free, to be confident, and to be powerful.

But because of his experiences, the lion is now

confined, powerless, vulnerable, and hopeless.

Sound familiar? And in the same way, our experiences

contradict our instincts. How do I know that?

Because we gather here at HCV weekly and I watch

you. I stand in the back and worship with you

and watch you. And your God -given instincts

begin to come out. And for some of you, you experience

freedom and you raise your arms and you cry out

to God. Right? You allow the lion that's inside

of you to come out and you declare that you want

to be free. But unfortunately, our experiences

say, but that's not for you. You can't change.

You can't overcome. You'll never break free.

See, every single one of us have a cage. Now,

we might not want to admit it. and we might ignore

it, and we might pretend it's not there, but

every single one of us have a cage. It may be

a spiritual cage that you want to deny that the

Holy Spirit even exists. It may be a physical

cage that your body's just broken, and you're

not able to walk in the authority that you've

been given. It may be a moral cage that you're

compromising. It may be a cage of addiction.

There are cages in all of our lives, and every

single one of us has one. David even said, Every

single one of us was born into captivity, into

sin. And the crazy thing is, how do I respond

when all of these experiences that I've had throughout

life validate captivity? Yet deep within me,

there's these instincts that point me there's

something more. I want it to come out. I want

that lion to come out. But we're constantly looking

back and we're constantly running to our captivity

because it's comfortable. The cage is comfortable.

Jesus says it this way in John 16, 33. I have

told you all this, church, so that you may have

peace in me. Here on earth, you're gonna have

trials and sorrows. Culture's gonna come at you.

Chaos is gonna be all around you. The enemy's

trying to destroy you. But take heart. Release

the lion because I have overcome the world. See,

we weren't created. to live in the captivity

of this culture. We were created to live free

and wild, to live a life on the edge, believing

that God is going to change lives. Because in

Jesus, when we're in a relationship with him,

our spirit comes to life. And my challenge to

you is, if you're in a relationship with him,

stop living in the cage and break free. Which

leads us to our action step, breaking free from

the world. See, friends, Jesus invites us to

daily walk in abundance. Right? This isn't at

the end of our life. No, this is daily. He wants

us to daily be out and about serving, praying,

meeting people right where they are, going into

nursing homes where they're forgotten are and

just crying and weeping with them because that's

what Jesus did. Now, to walk in abundance, we

have to remember, remember the Bible is one story

from beginning to end. It's not about you. It's

not about me. It's about one individual. And

because the Bible is one story from beginning

to end, it's interesting that the book of Daniel

lands right in the middle, like almost literally

directly in the middle. And we read this in Daniel

6, 17, a stone was brought and placed over the

mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with

his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles

so that no one could rescue Daniel. Oh, did you

know that there would be another stone that was

sealed and was to be the place of death? We read

in Matthew 27, he placed it in his own new tomb,

which had been carved out of the rock, that he

rolled a great stone across the entrance and

left. Pilate replied, take guards and secure

it. as best as you can. So they noticed, sealed

the tomb, and posted guards to protect it. There

were two morning walks. Daniel 6, 19. Very early

the next morning, the king got up and hurried

to the lion's den. In Matthew 28, early on Sunday

morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene

and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.

But we know that when the women got to the tomb,

the angel said, Why are you looking for the dead

among the living? Darius recognizes this same

truth in Daniel 6, 26 and 27. I decree that everyone

throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear

before the God of Daniel. For he is the living

God and he will endure forever. His kingdom will

never be destroyed and his rule will never end.

He rescues and saves his people. He performs

miraculous signs and wonders in the heavens and

on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the

power of the lions. Now listen to the angel's

words in Matthew 28. Then the angel spoke to

the women. Don't be afraid, he said. I know you

were looking for Jesus who was crucified. He

isn't here. He is risen from the dead, just as

he said would happen. Come, see where his body

was lying. See, friends, the kingdom of God will

never end. And when you're in a relationship

with Jesus, he desires that we overcome the world.

Because of sin, there's death everywhere we go

and in everything we do, right? There's no hope

in it. We can get excited about the football

game today. We can pump our hands and yes, my

team won, but eventually by six o 'clock, chances

are a problem's gonna come our way. It doesn't

matter if it's our money, our government, the

culture, there's nothing but death everywhere

we go. But Jesus is the promise to freedom, John

10, 10. Remember, the thief's purpose is to tear

us down and destroy us. But Jesus, my purpose

is to give them. A rich and satisfying life.

And church, I get it. Life's hard. Jesus promised

us that it was going to be that way. But Jesus

has overcome the world. And he desires that we

live free from negativity and doubt and frustration.

He desires that we become ambassadors to God's

kingdom everywhere we go. Many of you know I

used to... Be a server. That was my main job.

I used to work at Red Lobster for years. Love

my Red Lobster peeps. Haven't been there in years.

Maybe I should go back. And it's interesting.

I wasn't in a relationship with Jesus when I

worked at Red Lobster. And the one day I dreaded

working was Sunday. I actually requested off

every Sunday. They wouldn't always give it to

me. But it was always on my request list. Not

because I wanted to go to church. because I wanted

to sleep in because I had a hangover. But the

real reason I didn't want to work at Red Lobster

on Sundays was because of all the church people

that rolled out after church. That's why. They

were negative. They were judgmental. They were

abusive. They were never happy. It doesn't matter

how many times you fix their plates, it wasn't

right. And I got hundreds, hundreds of paper

$100 bills that said turn or burn. And we laugh,

but that's what I thought a Christian was. Why

would I ever want to go to church? I would want

to run from church. We need to be different.

We need to be set apart. We need to get out of

our cages. We need to get out of our judgment.

And we need to be a people of his presence. We

need to be a people that allow the Holy Spirit,

the very living Spirit of God, which is already

in us, to come out of us. We need to become a

people that are living natural, supernatural

lives everywhere we go. We need to be willing

to pray for people no matter where we are. We

need to be willing to serve people no matter

where we go. We need to be willing to shake hands,

high five, hug, whatever it takes so that people

see Jesus inside of us. I desire to pastor a

church filled with people that are different

from the rest of the church. I don't want to

blend in. Now, I had the opportunity this past

week to lead. A high school retreat up in Pennsylvania

for 60 high school students. I was invited and

I was excited about going, just to be honest.

But then when I got there, I realized, wow, I'm

old. I'm not a youth pastor anymore. There's

a reason I'm a lead pastor now. I'm a little

disconnected from culture. So it was a little

rough at the start, just being honest. It was

a little rough at the start. But by the end,

by the last night, I had students weeping. crying

out to God, recommitting their lives, giving

their lives to Jesus, seeing knees healed, feet

healed, people set free. And what I learned was

though we all come from different churches, the

one unifying substance is the Holy Spirit. Because

I taught on the Holy Spirit. I didn't care because

that's who I am. I believe in it. I embrace it.

And I want it to be how I live. If Jesus promised

he's inside of us, I believe it. And I don't

want to just believe it, it's there. I want it

to come out. And see, when you step out in faith,

he comes out. But you got to be willing to take

a risk. And it was hard, but we got there. And

I challenged all of them to take a risk. And

that last night, I must have prayed for 30 or

40 teenagers. There was this huge line. I wanted

to leave by 8 .30, didn't leave till 10. But

that's okay because that's how God works. Now

I was challenged and I want to challenge all

of you. Last year, I did a Sunday night class

for a month on the Holy Spirit. It's a great

class. Starting next Sunday night in October

for four weeks, I'm going to teach a class called

Naturally Supernatural. How to live a naturally

supernatural life. Rick's gonna help me. Jeff

France is gonna help me. It starts at six. I

don't know when it ends. Because what we learned

with the Holy Spirit class was it starts at six,

but it quite often didn't end until 7 .30 or

8 or even 8 .30 because once you start praying,

it's all over, okay? So there is no end time

scheduled, but if you show up at six, we're gonna

learn how to live naturally supernatural lives.

And I believe all of us need it. Because that's

what God's calling us to do as far as his people

that are living in exile. Amen? Will you stand

with me? Let me check my time. Okay. So this

is how we're going to close. I'm going to get

right to the point. This is how we're going to

close. I'm going to get right to the point. I'm

going to invite you to please put your hands

like this. Many of you know all this means is,

God, I want to receive from you. I'm going to

ask the Holy Spirit to come. And I'm going to

ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to all of you what

cage you're living in. Because we're all living

in a cage. It could be a cage of comfortability.

It could be a cage of addiction. It could be

a cage of insecurity. It could be a cage of doubt.

It could be a physical cage that you feel like

you can't get past. But God wants to heal you.

Whatever cage God shows you, I want to challenge

you. When you have the opportunity, break free.

Open that door and embrace all that God has for

you because he wants to give it to you. So Holy

Spirit come. reveal to each and every individual

their cage today. We were not created to live

in a cage. We are not created to be domesticated.

We were created to live free and wild with you.

And I want to lead a church, God, where people

are free and wild. They don't care about what

people say about them, what they think about

them, but they only care about bringing glory

to you. So I speak freedom over this room now

in Jesus' name. I speak against anger and rage

and negativity and judgment in Jesus' name. You

have no place here. Get out. And I ask God that

your presence now comes. Now all throughout the

book of Acts, we read about different fillings

of the Holy Spirit. During the first gathering,

I felt led to pray for anybody that needed a

fresh filling of the Spirit. It's not weird.

It's not scary, but you got to take a risk and

step out. So if you're at a place in your life

where you feel like, hey, I need a little help

in breaking this cage open, I'm going to invite

you to come up here now because I want to pray

for anybody that needs a fresh filling of the

Holy Spirit. So if that's you, take a risk and

walk up front. Yes, God. Yes, God. Yes, God.

Yes, God. Jesus. Yes, God. When did I start to

forget all of the great things you did? When

did I throw away faith for the impossible? How

did I start to believe you weren't sufficient

for me? Why do I talk myself out of seeing miracles?

Familiar passage to the song God is able. And

if those words radiated with you, get up here.

Stop doubting the miraculous. And start embracing

the impossible because that's what God wants

for you. Come Holy Spirit. God, I am grateful

for individuals that took a risk. And I ask you

to fall in this place now. Fill them afresh in

Jesus' name. Wash over them, God. I cut off shame,

insecurity, doubt, frustration, negativity, and

sin in Jesus' name. And I ask, God, that their

spirits come to life and they break free from

the cages that they've put themselves in and

they become a people of your presence. They become

a people that's making a difference in the lives

of others. And I just pray, God, that their hands,

their words become a beacon of light to those

in their sphere of influence. Shine through them,

God, and fill them fresh now. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Now, before we go, you guys don't leave.

Stay up here. You got an assignment. There were

several words of knowledge I need to share with

you. Many of you know that I receive words of

knowledge from our prayer team through the week.

If these radiate with you, I'm going to ask you

to come up and get prayer. You're struggling

with a stomach virus. Your nerves are causing

you anxiety. You have muscle spasms between your

neck and shoulder. You're struggling with intestinal

issues. You have tennis elbow. You have weakness

in your right quad. You have a stiff neck that

never seems to stop hurting. You have a rotator

cuff that is painful. You have pain in the right

side of your buttocks. You're struggling with

a hernia. You have kidney issues. So if those

are you or you have any other need, these people

right here are going to pray for you. Because

see, here's the reality. When we get filled with

the Spirit, if we don't give it out, we don't

do anything with it. It becomes dormant. And

then we put ourselves back in a cage. We need

to start stepping out in faith and praying for

people and encouraging people and being bold

in who we are. It's okay to be bold, church.

It's okay to stand up for Jesus. It's okay. Just

like Daniel. Because when we stand up for Jesus,

guess what? We get elevated. God lifts us up.

and cares for us. So if you have any of those

needs or you need any other prayer requests,

I got a whole prayer team up here that's gonna

pray for you. Amen? All right, now, we're gonna

pray a simple prayer because here's the reality.

There's not a Sunday that goes by that there's

people not in here that don't believe in Jesus.

And my response to that is this. Why? Why? We

live in a broken world full of brokenness. Why

not put a little hope in our life? Amen? And

that's why we pray every single Sunday at every

single gathering. So before we go, let's pray

that simple prayer. Jesus, I'm broken. I'm full

of doubt, shame, regret, sin. Change me. Forgive

me. I believe you're God's son. I believe you

died for me. I believe. You're alive today. Make

me new. Set me free. Fill me with your spirit.

Help me, God, to serve others. In Jesus' name,

amen. Now listen, if you prayed that prayer,

see me, see Rudy, see somebody go to the Welcome

Hub. Don't leave yet, because we gotta give you

some next steps on how to walk out that relationship

with Jesus. We kick off a new series next week

called Bloodlines, and we're gonna be looking

at the life of King David. It's going to be a

challenging talk. It's going to involve a mirror.

So come expectant for life change. Now, I want

to go to that door and say goodbye. Goodbye,

everyone online. We love you. God bless you.

We're praying for you. So please hold that door

so I can say goodbye to everyone. Amen? I got

a new dynamic here. I got to figure out how to

get to my door. So work with me. I love you guys.

Have an incredible week.