The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
John 15Jesus calling his disciples friends and sharing everything the Father taught him
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the farmer.
2 Every branch in me that doesn’t bear fruit, he takes away. Every branch that bears fruit, he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already pruned clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Remain in me, and I in you. As the branch can’t bear fruit by itself, unless it remains in the vine, so neither can you, unless you remain in me.
5 I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 If you remain in me, and my words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.
8 “In this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; and so you will be my disciples.
9 Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.
11 I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full.
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends, if you do whatever I command you.
15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant doesn’t know what his lord does. But I have called you friends, for everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.
16 You didn’t choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you will ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
17 “I command these things to you, that you may love one another.
18 If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his lord.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
21 But all these things will they do to you for my name’s sake, because they don’t know him who sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He who hates me, hates my Father also.
24 If I hadn’t done among them the works which no one else did, they wouldn’t have had sin. But now have they seen and also hated both me and my Father.
25 But this happened so that the word may be fulfilled which was written in their law, ‘They hated me without a cause.’
26 “When the Counselor has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.
27 You will also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
warning against false humility, rules-based religion, and losing connection with Christ the head
17 which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.
18 Let no one rob you of your prize by a voluntary humility and worshiping of the angels, dwelling in the things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
19 and not holding firmly to the Head, from whom all the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints and ligaments, grows with God’s growth.
20 If you died with Christ from the elements of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to ordinances,
21 “Don’t handle, nor taste, nor touch”
22 (all of which perish with use), according to the precepts and doctrines of men?
23 Which things indeed appear like wisdom in self-imposed worship, and humility, and severity to the body; but aren’t of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.
offering bodies as living sacrifices and being transformed by the renewing of the mind rather than conforming to the world
1 Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.
2 Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
Pastor Michael preached on Graduation Sunday from Colossians 3, with Ray McDaniels away in North Carolina for his daughter Pascal's graduation. Drawing on his work with high schoolers, he walked the congregation through what it looks like to fix your eyes on eternal things rather than spending your life going all in on the temporary.
What was said
Michael opened by painting a picture of high school as a temporary world with its own rules, social currency, and pressures. He described the party culture at Jackson Hole High School, the nicotine and drug use, and the real harm it is doing to students. His point was not simply to warn about those behaviors but to name the deeper problem: when people do not know that high school is a passing phase, they invest everything in something that expires the moment the last school bell rings. He compared it to earning tickets at Chuck E. Cheese that mean nothing once you walk out the door.
From there he moved to Colossians 2 and 3, where Paul tells believers to set their minds on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Michael argued that this is not just advice for teenagers. It applies to anyone whose focus has drifted entirely onto what can be seen, touched, and felt. The passage in Colossians 2 that warns against rules like "do not handle, do not taste, do not touch" was his entry point into a bigger idea: those rules, on their own, have no power to actually change a person. They have an appearance of wisdom, Paul says, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgences.
What actually produces change, Michael said, is connection with the Father. The difference between white-knuckling your way through a religion of rules and genuine spiritual growth is whether you are maintaining that connection. He encouraged people to be honest with God about exactly where they are, even when that means admitting you would rather watch Netflix than read your Bible. He pointed to 1 John 1:8-10, where John says that if we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves, but if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness.
He then pressed on what he called comfort as a potential idol. He suggested that comfort might be the most common idol in a place like Jackson Hole, not a gold statue but a quiet, relentless focus on making life here as smooth and secure as possible. He referenced a parable from Luke about a wealthy man and a beggar named Lazarus, using it to underscore that heaven and hell are real places and that everyone spends eternity somewhere. The question is whether we are living this life in light of that reality.
Michael closed by returning to two questions he had raised at the start: what is a believer, and what is a disciple, and is there a difference? He said there will be people in heaven who never sat inside a church, and people who spent every Sunday of their life in a church who will hear the words "away from me, I never knew you." The cheat code, as he put it, is connection with the Father, honest confession, and a willingness to let God move you from where you are to where He has for you. He called the church to trade comfort for obedience, and to recognize that the kingdom of God grows through ordinary people who say yes to what God is prompting them to do.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
Michael talked about how high schoolers can go 'all in' on something temporary without realizing it will not last. Where in your own life, right now, do you think you might be investing heavily in something that is more temporary than you realize?
Michael drew a distinction between white-knuckling a set of religious rules and staying genuinely connected to the Father. What does that connection actually look like in your day-to-day life, and how do you know when you have lost it?
Michael DemetriusI guess I just this is somebody's phone here.
Speaker 2I think we're ready. Good morning, everybody. How are we doing? Fine. Okay.
Cool. Glad to have you this morning. And would you stand us, and we'll I'd love to worship in song together beginning with are you washed in the blood of the lamb, a toe tapper. Let's sing. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Are you fully trusting in his grace this time? Are you washed We'll follow that up with at Calvary. Beautiful. You can have a seat for a moment here, and welcome everybody.
It's good to see some folks that are seasonal and just folks we haven't seen for a while. I'm pointing over here. But I'm glad to see you. Nick's got a couple announcements.
Speaker 3Hey. There's always a lot going on here at First Baptist Church, and we hope you'd come and be involved as much as possible. Lots of good stuff. The First Baptist Church camp out is coming out. And if you don't wanna camp overnight and you just wanna come say hi to everybody, come have dinner and stuff, roll on down there and see us, would you?
That'd be great to have you. July nineteenth through twenty first and August twenty third through twenty fifth down at Palisades. For more information, contact Brian McCooey, or you can also check-in with Mike here. It's a blast. Last year, we upgraded to having an outhouse.
So it's gonna be there's a lot to talk about. Right? It's a big selling point around here. So would you come? Would you bring your friends?
It's a great place. You you do need to bring your own camping gear and your own food, but usually, there's plenty to share. If you don't have any, talk to us too, and we'll we'll take care of yours. Just come down for the day. First BBQ between services, out here, we're gonna have a big potluck.
June 23 is the next one coming up. Also, another great place to invite people to church. So would you invite them? And then come a little early for the second service, to enjoy the first BBQ. Sound booth volunteers are needed.
We had Jeff Davis in the sound booth during the first half, of today. And you're not too old to learn something new, right? It's good to build those neural pathways. We'd love to get you trained up on how to run the sound booth. Blake is a super friendly guy, and he'll even buy you a special prize if you come be a part of it.
So, donations are needed for VBS. If you're willing to help out, we would love to have you go on to our website and check out the link, for all the items, or you can come talk to me or Diane. We have a printed out list, and we can write we can show you which ones we need. Now there's an important caveat here. Certain items are needed.
So don't just bring in all the things that you remember from back in the day, that are needed. There's certain items that we would like to specifically have. And if you need help finding those, let me know. We also need volunteers, and do tell your neighbors and friends to bring their kids because it's a big joyous week. And that is all I have.
I think I'm gonna turn it over to Mike for graduation Sunday. Y'all have a great day.
Michael DemetriusThanks, Nick. Yes. So, this time of year marks another year just went around. Another wave of high schoolers are graduating. So, the students are not here in the room with us today, but I just wanted to mention, so that you guys know, these students have graduated.
So, David Brown has graduated. He's going to go right into the workforce and start working here locally. So, David graduated. We're super proud of him. Sam Sinclair, he has graduated and will be going to Montana State to study engineering.
Then, we've got Pascal Grace. Ray McDaniels is not here. This is Ray and Tanya's daughter, Pascal, she'll be headed off to Auburn to study biomedical and Latin as a double major. So, she's got that coming and someone's gotta study that stuff and it ain't gonna be me. You know what I'm talking about?
Those are big words and so, we're super proud of Pascal as well. And then, Ben Upton has graduated this year and he's working for the county and he's gonna continue working for the county right here locally, which is great. And then, I wanted to mention Tiernan Schultz. Now, Tiernan Schultz, he did pass away this year. But he was headed out to Oregon to go to college and even though he is not with us and has crossed over into eternity, I just wanted to honor him and respect him.
So, could we give it up for our graduates this year? We're so proud of them. And, even though we're not they're not here in the room with us, I know God hears our prayers. So, would you guys join me in praying for our high school seniors as they enter this next phase of life? Heavenly Father, we love you God, and we thank you for these students and all that you've done in their hearts and lives, and I pray you continue to guide and protect them as they take this next step in their journey.
Watch over them, keep them safe, bring them back to us with good stories of all that you're doing. God, we love you and bless these students in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Alright.
Speaker 2Thank you. Thank you, Mike. And would you join us again by standing? We'll we'll worship in song again. And worthy is the lamb.
Can we sing this again together? You can have a a seat here for a moment. We're gonna enter the the worship through giving. I'm gonna step over to this mic because there was there was a verse that's been kind of on my mind all all week, and it's from John 15, and this is Jesus speaking to his disciples. And he says to them, I no longer call you servants because a servant doesn't know his master's business.
Instead, I've called you friends. And that really stood out to me this week, that, yes, we call him savior, master, and lord, but he also invites us to call him friends. For, he says, everything that I learned from my father, I've made known to you. And that's just such a beautiful thing that God wants to be known, and he does that by speaking to Jesus. And then Jesus, everything that he's taught from the father, he he then passes to us, which is just as a wonderful thing.
So would you pray with me? And we'll we'll give thanks here for these gifts. Lord Almighty, we do thank you that we can call you Lord and savior and master, but also, Lord, that we can call you friends. Someone we are we God, we are dearly loved and prized by you. And everything that you've learned from the father, you've been sure to share with us, Lord, that we would be listening.
And, God, that we would with a generous and loving spirit, just as you have a generous and loving spirit, that's that that's where this comes from, that we would offer our gifts to you, not just in these plates, but in our day to day lives, whatever gifts that you blessed us with, God, that we would be a blessing toward others and that your kingdom would advance. Would you use us? Would you use these gifts to advance your kingdom? We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
Alright. Judy, thank you. Can we let Judy know that we are very, very grateful for her, really, every week? Thank you, Judy. And Mike's up here, and you you know Mike is our is our youth pastor here.
And, of course, there's grad Sunday today, and so he had a message to share. It's been rattling around in his his heart and mind all week, and so now he gets to dump it on our lap. So may I may I pray for for Mike and just ask his blessing on on the word here given. God, we ask just that that for your blessing on the word through Colossians today that it would we would have open hearts and minds to receive what you have for us. Would you use Mike's personality, Lord, to convey, the message of truth and and his experience here, Lord, that it would given us an awareness of our teenagers in the valley, but, God, also how we can be actively, praying, how we can actively be a part of what's going on in the lives of young people.
Maybe we're not gonna be the ones that are are walking hand in hand with them in their day to day lives, but, God, we can be praying for them. So would you remind us? Would you remind us daily to be praying for our teenagers in the world that they are living in right now, Lord, and how how God, we can come alongside and love and pray and support and ask your good work. Pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Michael DemetriusAmen. Amen. Thank you, Carl. And, thank you to the the band and the people singing. This was wonderful.
Yeah. Let's give them around another round of applause. So thankful. And, as Carl said, my name is Michael Demetrius. I am the youth pastor here at First Bee and so honored and blessed to get to serve this community.
It truly is a joy and a challenge and and I just love it. So, thank you so much. You're probably realizing that I'm not Ray McDaniels. He's quite a bit taller than me. Ray's daughter, Pascal, is graduating in North Carolina this weekend.
So, they are there as a family watching Pascal graduate from high school. And, like I said, she's off to Auburn. So, love pastor Ray. He will be back next week. But, until then, you guys have got me.
So, I'm glad to be here. Today, we are gonna be in the book of Colossians. We'll be in Colossians three. So, if you wanna turn your bibles there, there's also a note card in the seat back in front of you and a little pencil. If God says something through me today and it sticks out to you, I invite you to write down any notes or thoughts that you have.
Our brains are fantastic for processing information, not so good at remembering it. So, a note card could help us with the memory part of that. As we begin our time together, I wanna start with a couple of questions. And, these questions come from a talk that Natalie Yates gave our high schoolers two weeks ago. We meet on Thursday nights and talk to about 25, 30 high schoolers each week, which has been awesome.
But, she gave a talk and right before we broke for summer, we wanted to take inventory and ask these students spiritually, where are you? Where are you at spiritually? Who is God to you? Where are you at with this? And, from that talk, I deduced a couple of questions.
One of one of them is, what is a believer? Like in the context of Christianity, what is a believer? So, I want you to begin thinking about that. And, the second question is biblically, what is a disciple? And, as you think about both those, I want you to kind of weigh it out.
Is there a difference between a believer and a disciple? So, be thinking about those things. And, like I said, we will be in Colossians three. But, before we dive into that, as youth pastor, I get a good glimpse into the world of middle school and high school. And today, I wanna look at the world of high schoolers.
And I wanna ask you, do you remember what it was like when you were in high school? Do you remember those concerns that you had when you were in high school as you're growing up and the worries that you had and the things that were on your mind? What were your goals? What were you focused on at that stage and phase of life? And, I ask that because I have a theory that maybe, just maybe, the high school world is a little bit different than the real world.
Would anyone agree with me on that theory? They're a little bit different. Right? One of the main goals we have as we spend time with high schoolers is to help them understand that high school is a temporary phase of life. That it's not forever.
I know that when I was in high school, was really focused on fitting in and being popular and gaining popularity in my friend group. I spent a lot of time focused on that. But what I didn't know was that the minute that last school bell rang, none of that stuff mattered. I graduated and no one cared about who and what Michael Demetrius was. That next year, they didn't hang my jersey in the rafters or talk about me when I was gone.
All my relational equity or my social capital, it was done, right? I almost equate it to like if you've ever been to like Chuck E. Cheese's or somewhere and you play all these games and you get all these tickets and it's such a big deal while you're there. Like kids, they want to earn all these tickets and it's such a big deal. You stole my ticket.
Need this machine didn't give me the right amount of tickets. I need another one. And before you leave, you can go and buy a 50¢ little like, I don't know, rubber thing. It doesn't even really matter. Right?
But, if you were to try to take those tickets and leave there, no one cares about those tickets outside of that place, right? And, I almost feel like that's kind of how it is in high school. But, if you don't know that, you can go all in. These tickets could become a big deal. This relational or social equity could become a very big deal.
And over my years of serving as youth pastor here, I've learned what it takes to be popular at Jackson Hole High School. And unfortunately, it's not good. We have got a party culture here. I'm going to deviate from my message for just a minute to bring a little bit of public awareness and then we'll come right back on. But to become popular at Jackson Hole High School, some of the behavior that you need to do is not good.
Nicotine use, whether that's the Zen pouches or vaping, it's a big deal. Drug and alcohol use is very prevalent at our high school. And I wouldn't bring it up if it wasn't having devastating effects on our students, but I see students that are coming out of high school, some of them are going into rehab through current Sealy. Some of them have developed addictions that it takes years to break and to get off of. So, try to warn them, I say, hey, look, this is a temporary phase of your life.
Please don't go all in on this. And I say that for two reasons. One, if we get students and they feel like they don't fit in, they're not the most popular, the coolest, maybe they're not the most handsome or the best looking girl, and it's hard for them to fit in. And, I don't want them to start thinking that the whole world is like this, and then deduce it, well, maybe there's not a place for me. Maybe this world doesn't care about me.
I don't want them to go with that understanding. So, we come in and we say, woah, woah, woah, woah, know, I know, it's hard here. But, trust me, this is a short phase, and it's going to end. And all the rules, all the standards change. And maybe it's the other side of the spectrum where someone fits in really well.
They're very popular and they're doing the things they need to become popular and they go, just be careful cause the whole world doesn't operate like this. And you got your whole life to look at. So please don't go all in on the temporary. Get a longer perspective. And I started thinking about that.
And as I read Colossians three, which I wanna share with you guys today, I believe God has something for us in this. So, we're gonna get right back on course. But, I hope you can see from from what I've just told you as we get back on the message that going all in on the temporary is unwise and can have harmful effects. So, wanna look at Colossians three. He says here, since then you have been raised with Christ.
Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated. Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. For when you died and your life for you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
It's this idea of fixing our eyes on God. Let me ask you guys, what problems in your life melt away if you were to look and you see Christ seated at the right hand of the father as our risen savior. What questions does that answer? What problems melt in the presence of us thinking about our heavenly father with Christ at his right the right hand of his throne? So, I think Colossians is calling us to not look at the short term, but to look at the big picture.
The reality is this, guys, that each one of us here in this room, there will be an end to this life here on earth. Every single person you've ever met or every single person you'll ever meet will pass away. We can't be fit enough. We can't drink enough juice. We can't eat enough salads.
We can't work out enough to avoid this. We can't earn enough money to make it go away. Each and every one of us will pass from this life to the next and everyone spends eternity somewhere. It's I wish I had different advice for us. I wish I was like, guys, can be good enough.
Don't worry about it. Everything is going to be fine. It's just not the Bible I read. It's not the Bible I read. So, we have to go off what's truth.
And if this is truth, then we need to know it. So, we begin with the end in mind. We look and go, we know we're going to stand before a perfect and holy God one day, with all our life laid out before Him. The one that created us, the one that knows all. And in that moment, what makes us okay?
And, let me give you a hint. Good people don't make it into heaven. Here in our valley, we get a lot of this. Well, I'm a good enough person. I think, you know, I'm probably 80% good here.
If I look around, I'm doing pretty good. I'm not as bad as him, but I'm not as good as her. I'm somewhere in the middle. Right? Good people don't make it to heaven.
Forgiven people do. Forgiven people make it to heaven. Those that when we stand before perfect and holy God, Jesus goes, that one's mine. That one's mine. I died in their place for the forgiveness of their sins.
And, when God looks at us, he sees the righteousness of Christ. Forgiven people make it to heaven. This is a big deal. That's why it's important for us to look like Colossians says, to look at eternal things, to see Christ seated at the right hand of the father as our risen victorious savior. So as I prepped for this, I started thinking, I thought, well, let me go back a little bit in Colossians, and just see kinda where we're at in this message.
What's been going on? What have we learned before this? So, I wanna go back and I wanna pick up in Colossians two, we'll say verse, let's go 18. Well, let's go 17. Okay?
He says, things, these are the shadow of the things that were to come. The reality however, is found in Christ. Follow me on this. He says, do not let anyone who delights in false humility or the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person goes to great detail about what they've seen.
They are puffed up with idle notions about their unspiritual mind. Listen to this, verse 19. They have lost connection with the head from whom the whole body supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews grows as God causes it to grow. What's he saying here? He's saying there's a connection with our father.
That when we're connected, God can cause us to grow. He says here, verse 20, since you died with Christ to the elemental forces, the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belong to the world, do you submit to its rules? Now, you can relate to rules. Right? He says, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch.
These rules which have which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use are based merely are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations have an appearance of wisdom with their self imposed worship and their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body. Listen to this, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgences. So what does this say? Let me just cliff note that for you.
I love self help books. Okay? I mean, Stephen Covey, you give me some Peter Drucker, like I love it when someone could go, are you busy? Here's four ways where you're gonna get an extra two hours a day. I'm in.
Okay? I like this style of thinking. I like it. Here's how to make your house clean in seven easy steps. I love it.
I'm in. Let me read that book. Let me figure out how to clean up my space. I like these ideas. But, I think the greatest self help book on this planet is God's word.
And I read a lot of self help books, okay? And I I just realized that all the action wasn't necessarily progress. And I say that for one reason, and I think he just hit it on it right here in Colossians. He says that we need to be connected to the head. That action without connection to who God is, it doesn't yield the fruit, it doesn't yield change.
And he goes on here and he says, you guys set up these rules like don't touch. What rules do we have? Don't touch that, don't look at that, don't do that. Make sure you're tithing, show up to church, all of these rules and we can white knuckle our way into a pretty good looking religion, if we're honest. But, I don't think that's the faith that God's calling us to.
I think God has something very different and it starts with connection to our father. It's very different if I go, well, I better not look at that. Don't watch too much TV today. Make sure you read your Bible. I gotta do all these things and then I'll be good enough.
It's not the faith we have. Faith we have says maintain the connection with the Father. And rather than me going, no, don't look at that. Don't watch that show. Don't listen to that person.
Don't do go, hey God, I just need to let you know right now. I got a heart that wants to look at something I shouldn't. Hey God, you know what? It's early on a Sunday morning, I don't wanna go to church. Can I just let you know I don't wanna get up and I don't wanna come and hear your word?
God, don't want to pray. God, I don't want to read your word. Sometimes I feel like I don't even need you or want you. Question for you, do we have a God that can handle a conversation like that? We do have a God that can handle.
And I think this is where real spiritual growth takes place. I don't know how it crept in that we could not approach our heavenly Father with the real needs and desires in our heart. God, I'm bored. I don't want to read your word. God, I don't want to show up.
So what do we do? One, we confess. We talk to God. How can I be so bold as to say, we can talk to God like this? How could God handle this?
This is a perfect and holy God. Well, in first John one eight, he says this, let me read it to you. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Let me read that one more time. If we claim that we're without sin, we deceive ourself and God's truth is not in us.
God knows that we missed the mark. Who are we to hide it from him? Rather, confess. So he says this, verse nine, if we confess our sins, he being God, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from this word is so good, all unrighteousness. If we'll confess our sins, he will purify us from all unrighteousness.
And then he goes on again, he says it again. Verse 10, if we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. Guys, can God handle our honesty? Do you think God's surprised if we go, God, you know what? I'd rather watch Netflix than read your word.
God, I'd rather go do my hobby than spend time inside your building with your people. I think God can handle that, you guys. I don't think he's surprised by that. I think he'll go, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know, I know. That's why I said I'm going to give you a Psalm fifty one ten, a new heart.
I'm going create a new spirit inside you. But, we have a role to play. So let me ask you, what's your surrender look like lately? I had a conversation. I got a call from a parent here in this valley, phenomenal family.
And they said, hey, look, can you be watching out for my son? The drugs have gotten out of control and we had to put him out of the house. If you see him, would you go talk to him? I said, absolutely. So I saw him and I went and talked to him, and I was assured that I got everything all figured out.
Yeah, everything's great. Everything's great in my world. I just went, how are we doing with our surrender? As long as we're okay, God's not going to step in. He's not gonna kick down the door of our heart and come in and start changing things around.
We have to open up that door and just say, alright God, here's who I am, will you come and help me? I think that God, this is me, deducing what I understand the Bible to be, so please take it for what it's worth. I think God is more concerned with our direction than he is with our perfection. I don't think we have to be perfect, but I know that we've got a God that regardless of where you are, if you say, hey God, here I am. He can go, oh, that's where you are?
Perfect. I know exactly how to move you back. But, if we never check-in, if we never say, God, would you take me from where I am into something that's useful in your hands? God, would you take my life and do something with it? Like I prayed many, many years ago, God, if you do anything with this mess, I'll give it to you.
But it doesn't look like it's worth very much. And God goes, as long as you show me where you are, I can help you. I can help you. I have a path, have a plan for you. Just come to me.
You don't, please, please, please, don't don't think you're gonna clean yourself up before you come to me. Would you just tell me where you are and let me help you? And God is so, so, so faithful. So let me ask you, what do we do? Maybe you're like me and you're here and you go, well, I'm not in high school anymore.
I don't really know how this applies to me. Well, I think here in this life, it's very easy to get sucked into what we can see, what we touch, taste, feel, the surroundings that we have. And the Bible tells us to be careful about setting up idols or anything before God. And if you're like me, many of us, we don't have a shrine. There's no gold statue, no wooden things set up in our house that we're worshiping.
But, if I had to pick one thing, I would just say, how are we doing with comfort? Is comfort so big? Our goal for comfort so big that is he eclipsed God and his kingdom. That we're so focused on our own comfort, security, things being right in our own life. That we're no longer focused on, alright God, what do you have for me to do?
Who do you want me to reach out to today? My own personal belief, think that comfort can become an enemy of the kingdom. It could stop the kingdom growth here on earth. Not because God's not good, but because we're looking at how our life can be better and how our life right here on this earth can be more comfortable. And Luke, gosh, there's this.
I didn't share this with the first service, but since we're all such good friends, I wanna share it with you guys here. There's this one part where we had, I think he's like a ruler, and then we had this Lazarus, and Lazarus, there's a guy no, hold on. I'm gonna get this. Okay. There's a ruler and he's having his good days, and then there is a beggar.
Right? And, the beggar is having a real bad time. Okay. Now, eternity comes, both of them are there. Now, this ruler finds himself in Hades And he calls out, I think he calls out to Moses and he says, hey, would you send Lazarus to go and dip his finger in the water and come and cool my tongue?
Because I am in a real bad spot here in hell. To which God says, no one can go from here to there. He goes, then send Lazarus to tell my family. Tell my family like they do not want to come here. Tell them to change.
And he says, they have the prophets. If they won't listen to them, they won't listen to him. And it's like, there's a line. He says, no one goes from here to there. We live in a world that might think heaven and hell is just this idea.
But, the reality is the Bible tells us heaven and hell is a very real place, and everyone spends eternity somewhere. Everyone spends eternity somewhere. Are we living this life in light of eternity? Are we looking going? I'm going home one day to be with my father.
Are we going? I hope for the best. Three things I want to encourage us to do regardless of where you're at. It's easy to get sucked into this world. God warns us about it.
I don't think he's surprised if we've got a little bit concerned with our life here on this earth. I don't think that's gonna God's gonna, I can't believe you would do such a thing. I think we just have to be honest about what it is and God can help us. So the first thing would be, just reach out to God and say, God, here's where I'm at. Confess our sins, tell God, hey, I've gotten a little bit focused on my own comforts here.
Where are you at? Can we get together for a meeting? Can we grab coffee this week? So, one, pray. Course correct, please don't double down.
When I met with that student this week, they doubled down. Now, I got it all figured out. My life's good. I was like, okay. Okay.
Two, know that this life is temporary. We will not live forever here on this life. For those of us that are believers, I believe there is eternity. Everyone has eternity, but I believe we will get eternity with our heavenly father. But know this life is temporary.
This world is not our home. Let's live like that's a reality. Three, ask God regardless of where you are, what's my next step? Alright, God, from where I am right now, what do you want me to do? And I think God will begin to help us.
I long to see this church activated with every member being exactly who God called them to be. So, Ray shared a story last week. Does anyone remember this story about him getting in this fight and it was kind of like a one-sided fight, really got punched in the nose and then after that, that was part of the story, but the real part of the story is what I believe we're called to as Christians. And, it's that obedience aspect, where Ray felt burdened by this and he felt like God was calling him to go to this man and forgive him. Even though the guy had done the wrong, Ray held animosity against him and he said, I had to call this guy to work it out with him.
Not because the Bible says so, but because God was laying it on his heart. So my question church is, are we walking in obedience to God's Holy Spirit, to what he's prompting us to do? I think the kingdom of God grows like this. So I don't know where everyone's at. For some of you, maybe your next step is just to pick up the Bible.
I'd recommend the book of John. Just start reading that whenever you can. For some of you, it's to pray. We talk a lot to our students and I just ask them, do you know how you grow spiritually? Like you specifically, like I could tell them, well, you need to read your Bible for fifteen minutes a day, you need to make sure you're praying for fifteen, and then on your way to work, make sure you're listening to worship music.
It's like, that's a formula. I don't think God wants formulas, He wants our heart. How do you find yourself growing close to God? What are you doing when you feel connected and close to God? Do you know what that is?
I don't need to know what it is for you, but you do. How do you grow close with God? How do you find yourself drawing near? Whatever that looks like, I wanna encourage you to take those steps of obedience, to grow your relationship with God this week. I think the main thing, what I'm trying to emphasize now, cause we're not in high school, but from where we're at right now, I think if we can look and see that comfort can become an idol, let's shift our focus.
So okay, let's keep our mind on eternal things and let's know that obedience is what we need to be focused on. Obedience, not comfort, not the self, but like, alright God, what are you calling me to today? What do you have for me? What can I do? Colossians aims us towards the eternal.
I asked you guys, where are you at spiritually? We talked about from Colossians two, how it's not about don't do this, don't do that, but staying connected with the Father and asking him, like confessing where we're at and asking God to change our hearts. So, we could end up with that Psalm fifty one ten, new heart. I can't go back to high school and redo it. But if I could, if I could go back knowing what I know now, I would use my relational equity, my social capital to grow the kingdom of God.
I would use it to benefit other people. If I saw a student sitting by himself at a lunch room, rather than me sitting with my friends being so awesome, I would go to that person. Rather than holding grudges, I would offer forgiveness. And it would have changed the environment there. I can't go back to high school.
You guys can't either. But there's also an end of our days here. And if we were standing at the end of our days here, looking back, what would we wish we had done? Been more comfortable? Gotten a new La Z Boy?Boatnew truck?
Fill in the blank. Whatever it is that's in your focus right now that would make your life more comfortable, What would you change? What would happen if we focused more on obedience and grow in the kingdom of God? Do you know that the kingdom of God grows through people just like you and me? Do you know that we're standing in a church building of a church that's 112 years old because of the saints and people that went before us?
We're sitting inside here. None of us in this building hoisted one single one of these big things, whatever they're called. Other people did it. What will we hoist for them? How will we stand in the gap for the next people that don't know?
Maybe it's a coworker, maybe it's a family member, maybe it's a guy on the street that the Holy Spirit just goes, them, talk to them now. And you go, I would, but that's uncomfortable. That's uncomfortable. But, if we could decide here and now, today, that comfort will no longer be our idol. It will no longer be our God.
That we have got a God that's worthy of our worship, worthy of our respect, worthy of our adoration. And, we're going to choose what he says over what we think and feel, over what is convenient. We decide today that we'll no longer let culture decide the boundaries of our faith. Oh, don't talk about that in this restaurant. Here in this town, people don't like the Christianity thing.
No, don't say it too loud, here comes the server. Are we gonna let our culture determine the boundaries of our faith? Or are we gonna let God in our obedience determine what that is? If we will, the kingdom of God will grow and we play a part. To be honest, comfort's kind of boring.
It's predictable. We walk in obedience, we have no idea what's coming. And it's scary and it's life giving. So, I want to encourage us to walk in obedience, to set aside comfort, to go big, to invest in the kingdom of God, because it's worth it. It is worth it.
Now, I wanna leave us with actually, me see, I might have one. I think you guys get it. Let me leave you with this one verse though. This is first John two fifteen. Listen to this.
Do not love the world or the things of this world of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life. It's not from the Father, but it's from the world. And, the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
This is God's word. I mean, as I look through it this week, I learned a ton. I learned a ton. And, I think there's a lot of congruency in God's word, and I had a thought. So, what I just shared was the Bible.
What I'm gonna share is just a thought that I had. And, I think there's some truth to it, so I'm gonna share it. Again, me, not the Bible. Are we clear? I think there will be people that never There's gonna be some, now we could debate the amount of people, but I think there might be people, no I'm gonna say there are, that there are gonna be people in heaven that never set foot inside a church.
I think there will be people that make it into the kingdom of heaven. They spend eternity with their creator, with their heavenly father that never set foot inside a church. And, I think there's people that spend every Sunday of their entire life inside a church that will hear the words away from me. I never knew you, and they will spend an eternity in hell. Eternity is a long time.
Cheat code, how do we beat this? Connection with the Father. Confession of where we're at. God's not surprised by our shortcomings, our failure is not final, unless we hold onto it tightly. But if we're willing to tell God about where we're at, he's willing to move us from where we are to where he has for us.
I'll leave you with two questions. Is there a difference between a believer and a disciple? Is there a difference between a believer and a disciple? Think about that this week. Which one does Christ call us to in his word?
Guys, thank you for being here in church today. Thank you for being part of this local body. I wanna pray for us and I'll invite the band back up. Heavenly Father, God, I thank you that you love us, God. I thank you that you see us as we are.
God, there's times we try to do this life on our own and we just wanna let you know that right now. God, I thank you that you see us and you know us and you still love us. God, I thank you that you say in your word that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us, the ungodly. And, I thank you God that forgiveness is part of your nature, that faithfulness is who you are. And I thank you God for Christ's finished work on that cross.
To make our relationship with you possible again. God, would you be with us, this as your local body here? Would you help us, God, to shift our hearts and our minds away from comfort and the idols of our land, whatever they are, towards obedience to you, and being focused on who you are and what you've called us to. God, we love you. We know we can't earn our salvation, but we love you God.
We pray all this in Jesus name, and everyone said, amen.
Speaker 2Amen. Thank you, Mike. Would you stand and join us? One last song here. We're gonna sing, holy, holy.
Oh, wow. That that's that is a fantastic closing song, isn't it? Holy holy gracious father, precious Jesus, Holy Spirit. I mean, look the resources that are available to do this right here. I wanna end with this in Romans 12.
It's one and two. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, and he has given us mercy. He has not given us what we do deserve. Offer your bodies as living sacrifice. Lord, help us that they are holy and pleasing to him.
This is our spiritual act of worship. It's not to conform to the pattern of this world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Who does that? The Holy Spirit does that in us. God, would you do that, really?
As we yield ourselves to you, would you conform us into your your image, the pattern of life that you desire for us in Jesus' name. Amen.
