Full transcript
0:00Hey, thanks for jumping on to our
0:01Radiant YouTube page. We are in a series
0:04called Radiant for Generations. Uh we
0:06are right now in a season at our church
0:08where we are believing God for the
0:10finances [music]
0:11uh to take care of our building to
0:13continue to reach Kansas City as well as
0:15to continue with our bold conference.
0:17And so uh we actually have millions of
0:19dollars of improvements that we need to
0:21do in order to uh have our building in
0:23tip-top shape. And so [music] um for
0:25those of you that have already given to
0:27be a part of that, thank you so much. Uh
0:29if you'd like to consider [music] giving
0:31and being a part of that, we'd love to
0:32invite you to. There's a digital
0:33connection card right here uh that you
0:35can find and if we can pray for you or
0:37if you'd like to be in contact with us
0:40uh if there's any way that we can serve
0:41you, we would love to do that. Thank you
0:43to all of you that are generously
0:45helping us uh prepare this building for
0:47generations [music] of ministry. I hope
0:49and I pray that this message will be a
0:51blessing to you and that you too will
0:53grow as a radiant [music] disciple of
0:55Jesus.
0:57Amen. And well, we're all so grateful
0:58for what God is doing and uh not just
1:01for the last 10 years, but the future 10
1:02years. Everybody said, "Amen."
1:04>> Amen.
1:04>> If you want to go ahead and get out the
1:05magazine that uh we've given to you,
1:07it's called Radiant for Generations. I
1:08want to just share with you a little bit
1:10about this next new season. Um as you
1:14know, a big part of this journey is
1:16trusting God and walking by faith. And
1:19so, I actually want to start a new
1:20sermon series today called uh Radiant
1:23for Generations. and I'm subtitling it a
1:26journey of faith. And we'll be in that
1:28for five weeks. And then we're going to
1:29be in this initiative uh called Radiant
1:32for Generations for the next 24 months.
1:34And one of the most fun things uh about
1:37this is that we get to see moments where
1:39we believe in faith and step out of the
1:42boat and then God does something
1:43supernatural. So uh for me, this has
1:46been a faith journey that's been
1:47exciting. When Renard and I believe that
1:50God put this in our heart, uh we
1:52actually went through church plant
1:54training and they gave us a grid that
1:56said, "Hey, uh if if if you want to like
1:59do this, here's the bottom floor of what
2:01you'll need, you know, you need $100,000
2:03to start a church." And they said, or
2:06you or the max was $250,000. And so I
2:09said to my bride, as a great man of
2:10faith, let's do the hundred,000. And uh
2:13she said, "Let's not listen to man's
2:15opinion. Let's listen to God." And I
2:17said, "I'm glad I married you, girl."
2:19And so, uh, we sat at our kitchen table
2:21and prayed and she and I wrote things
2:23out. And, uh, that number came out to be
2:26$318,000 of what was needed to get from
2:29Colorado Springs, uh, February of 2016
2:32to start day in Kansas City. And we had
2:34no idea where the location would be. Uh
2:37but from that day till uh in February
2:40till when we launched and began on the
2:42very first Sunday, would you believe me
2:45if I told you that to the dollar
2:47$318,000 came in during that season? Can
2:49you give God praise for that?
2:51>> Yeah. [applause]
2:54And it was just a moment where you just
2:56started to say the Lord is the Lord
2:58provides. The Lord is at work. And then
3:01um God provided a space. We could give
3:03all the different places that the Lord
3:05has given from the school to well for a
3:07season online during co to Fiorellas to
3:09this space believing God for 40,000
3:12square feet someplace on 135th and the
3:14Lord gave us 80,000 square feet. Can you
3:16say amen? Thank God. And uh we just
3:19watched the faithfulness of God. Uh and
3:21so it's a part of the journey just to
3:23watch God do it over and over and over
3:25again. And so uh we're beginning this
3:28new journey and I want to invite you
3:30just to get this out. um because the
3:32Lord's given us this incredible space
3:34and we're so glad to be in it. And I
3:37want to thank not just for the way that
3:38you guys have given to this uh but I
3:42want to thank you for the actual hours.
3:44There's been over 5,000 dream team hours
3:48going to paint to clean to transform
3:51this from a gym into a church. Can you
3:53give the dream teamers a big hand?
3:54That's pretty incredible. [applause]
3:58So, not only the dollars given, but I
4:00mean dollars saved because of so many of
4:02you serving is so incredible. And so,
4:04I'm just thanking God um for each one of
4:07you. And as we talk about this today,
4:09the vision of the church is not the
4:11building, but we need it as a tool to
4:12accomplish the vision. So, the vision is
4:14to lead people to become radiant
4:15disciples of Jesus, but the building is
4:18a tool uh to help us get there. Does
4:20that make sense to you?
4:22>> Uh only one of you guys. Listen, I was
4:24at a church recently where they were so
4:26loud. They talked even when even when
4:28the pastor was just pre they WOULD JUST
4:30SCREAM SAY THAT SAY THAT SOME MORE AND
4:32NONE OF Y'ALL SAY say that. Y'all don't
4:33yell at me but I'm inviting you to right
4:35now. Just be like just be a little bit
4:37more. Yeah. Thank you. Say that. Say
4:38that. Okay. So, um
4:42[laughter] I'm not kidding. Literally, I
4:44was seated on the front row next to
4:45another guy and the preacher said
4:47something good and the guy next to me
4:49stood up, walked towards him, which in
4:51our church security will come get you,
4:52but at that church that's how you prove
4:54that you were into what he was saying.
4:55Anyway, church culture. Um, but we're in
5:00uh we're we're believing God that he
5:03will continue uh to help us transform
5:06this space into the house where we can
5:08more effectively uh fulfill the vision
5:10to lead people to become radiant
5:11disciples of Jesus. And there was a
5:13season where it was a dream there uh
5:15just for to have a start. There was a
5:17dream where we would I remember when we
5:19were so excited to be able to buy the
5:21first trailers, everybody. Like we were
5:23like crying like we got trailers. Yes,
5:25God. And there was there was a a season
5:27where we're excited just to find a space
5:30uh that we could work with Blue Valley
5:31in and and just I mean every single
5:33step. So uh so this is just a part of
5:36the journey and we're so grateful that
5:39God's provided every step and we're not
5:42uptight. We're not in a hurry. We're
5:44just going to move at the speed of your
5:46generosity. So God's been good every
5:48step of the way. And I Renard and I
5:50actually put in here at the very back.
5:52So, don't look the best at the end. But
5:54we actually put in here render or some
5:56some um floor plans for the long-term
6:00vision. So, it's going to take a lot of
6:01years to get there, but who knows how
6:03quickly God will do it. Um, but I want
6:05you to be able to see all of those, but
6:07we're going to take the next 24 months
6:09to just take another step. So, if you'll
6:11go ahead and open this up. Are you with
6:14me? Say, "I am."
6:15>> I am.
6:15>> All right. Good. Yeah, that's way better
6:16than when we started. That's good. Um,
6:19let's start right here in verse or
6:20verse. Oh, geez.
6:23It is a verse. Page nine, Psalm 145,
6:27verse three right there. But here's
6:29here's the verse that I wanted to talk
6:31about. Says this, "God is magnificent.
6:34He can never be praised enough. There
6:36are no boundaries to his greatness.
6:39Generation after generation stands in
6:41awe of your work." Each one Each one
6:44tells of your mighty acts. Each one
6:47tells stories of your my acts. This is
6:48just kind of came out of my heart as I
6:50was praying for this next season because
6:53one of the things that I even loved
6:55about that last video is there's so much
6:56attention on the next generation. And
6:58it's actually you and I being faithful
7:01today where generations in the future
7:04will be impacted because we said yes.
7:06Now my son Justice is 16 years old. He
7:09talks to me frequently about church
7:11revival. talks about different movements
7:13of God and he talks about his own
7:15inspiration on how to pray, how to
7:17gather people, what he's doing with
7:18young people at 16 and the inspiration
7:21comes from what people did a hundred
7:24years ago that inspire who knows the way
7:26that we give God our yes today and it
7:29impacts future generations that our
7:32faithfulness today can impact not just
7:33the now and it will impact the now it'll
7:35impact us for do for us to be more
7:37effective in reaching people today in
7:39Kansas City uh and in terms of what
7:41God's all to do with young people in the
7:43summers and but it'll also impact future
7:46generations and I just love this verse
7:48because this is the paraphrase in the
7:51message but there are no boundaries to
7:52his greatness and here's the phrase
7:54generation after generation
7:57stands in awe of your work
8:01in just a moment I'm going to invite you
8:02to stand and we're going to just going
8:03to practice that welcome to church where
8:05we don't just listen where we practice
8:07so I want us to just stand because we
8:09could look back and many of you would
8:11look back at the people that have gone
8:13before you and because they were
8:15faithful to God, it impacted your life.
8:18Churches, leaders, parents,
8:21grandparents, a friend that led you to
8:23Jesus. And we want to just say, God, we
8:28can't there's no boundaries. We can't
8:29even fathom your greatness. And we'll
8:31stand in awe. That's what we used to
8:33sing when I was a kid. I stand I stand
8:35in awe of you. We're going to stand in
8:37awe in a minute. I'm not going to sing,
8:38but I might. All right. Um, but let's
8:41keep going. All right, page 11. Uh, this
8:43just shows you when we were believing
8:44God for a building. Gives you a little
8:46bit of that breakdown and your
8:47faithfulness to give in that season. And
8:50then, uh, the next season where we just
8:52moved in and we we we just said we're
8:54going to just start fixing fixing this
8:56up a little bit just to get us to the
8:57place where we're able to, uh, have
8:59services and do Sundays. And you can see
9:02in there on pages 13 and 14, you can see
9:05some of the transformation of this
9:07space. Um, and then if you'll keep
9:10going, this is what the the big deal for
9:12today. It's called essentials. This page
9:14right here where it says essentials,
9:16page 17 and 18.
9:19And this is the next season that we're
9:20in. Um, we're going after really four
9:23different spaces to help upgrade. We're
9:26going to upgrade Radiant Kids. Um, we're
9:29going to upgrade our lobby bathrooms.
9:31We're going to upgrade this auditorium.
9:33And then the largest expense is just
9:35life safety. all the different things
9:37that we need to do to make this a safer
9:39building. It takes a whole lot of uh
9:41work to turn it from a gym into a house
9:43of worship. And so, we're going to do a
9:45whole lot of that work. So, that is um
9:47an exciting season that we get to enter
9:49into. We'll do this for 24 months and
9:51we'll just see what God will do. Are you
9:53with me?
9:55>> Are you with me? Say, "I am."
9:56>> I am.
9:57>> All right. Good. Good. Good. Okay. And
9:58then page 22, uh right after that, this
10:01we call it phase one add-on. Um because
10:04who knows what God might do. But in
10:06addition to that, the the next phase
10:08after that 2.6 is to replace the roof.
10:11Um this is a 27y old roof. And we're so
10:14grateful for uh this this in fact when
10:17Renard and I have been meeting with
10:18different builders, architects,
10:20different leaders. Um the we are saving
10:23so much by buying an older building and
10:25renovating as opposed to buying new land
10:27and doing a brand new build. I mean it's
10:30not even close. And so, uh, but a part
10:32of the process of a renovation is things
10:35like a 27y old roof that needs to be
10:37replaced. So, we'll do that and then go
10:40to page 23.
10:42This is just uh our timeline of what
10:43we're looking at over the next number of
10:45weeks. Uh, next week we'll have Pastor
10:46Lee Cummings here. It's going to be a
10:48great week. Uh, and so that'll be next
10:50Sunday. Yeah. And then we'll start a
10:52spiritual journey that I'll just give a
10:54little bit more of next week. We've got
10:55so much this week, including we have
10:57cupcakes and merch. Did y'all get some
10:59cupcakes and merch out there?
11:01>> All right, three of you here. All right,
11:02I like the people that talk. Um, but
11:04we'll start a spiritual journey next
11:05week where I'm going to invite you to
11:07pray and just ask God. So, the truth is
11:11Renad and I, the trustees, the elders,
11:13we're not asking you to do anything.
11:15We're just asking you to ask God and do
11:17whatever God says. And our faith is in
11:20him. And uh, God will be at work just
11:22like he has been before. But we'll start
11:24next week a 21-day prayer journey that
11:27will conclude on October 11th. And on
11:29that day, if you hold this up, um we
11:32have these this will be commitment
11:33Sunday. I want to invite you to take
11:34this home with you. Pray about this.
11:36Just turn this into a prayer piece. Um
11:40and pray over it and ask God what he
11:42might have you do. And uh and just be
11:45faithful with it. And so um that's what
11:47Renard and I are going to do. And we
11:49want to invite you to do the same. And
11:51then we placed in here in addition um
11:53it's just it's got a lot. We wanted to
11:54give you more information rather than
11:56less but if you look at page 27 you can
11:59see uh our future auditorium in here
12:01which is incredible everybody. And I
12:02just got to tell you something. I know
12:04you're going to sound this is going to
12:05sound crazy but is actually true that in
12:07our finished state even when this is
12:09exactly like we want it. We will have
12:11curtains in here. I'm I want to have
12:13curtains for the rest of my life. Here's
12:14why.
12:16I I love the way that we can turn this
12:18room into any size that we want. Right.
12:20And so this is probably never going to
12:22look like a Crystal Cathedral five-star
12:25space, everybody. I'm just letting you
12:27know right now. But it will be a space
12:30where we can open up the curtains and
12:32cram in here 2,000 young people every
12:34summer, everybody. [laughter]
12:35This will be a space where we can keep
12:37it flexible and it's like a it's going
12:39to be like a workhorse building, you
12:40know, where we can use it for so many
12:42different things. And so this final
12:44space I'm just uh when you've spent as
12:47much time trying to figure out how on
12:48earth you're going to do the vision that
12:50God's put in your heart and you stare at
12:52a vision and you stare at an
12:53impossibility of finances and it's going
12:56to cost, you know, $42 million to do the
12:59dreams in your heart. And then God
13:00provides, provides, provides, and gives
13:02you a miracle building for $4.5 million
13:05where you can fit 2,000 people. I'm just
13:07telling you there'd be a little there's
13:08a reason for a little bit of tears cuz
13:09God's given us a space where we get to
13:11do the things that he's put in our
13:12heart. [applause]
13:14And so and so the this space will always
13:17be we can have 500 people in here. We
13:19can open it up eventually to 800 and
13:21then we can open it all the way up and
13:23we can have a couple thousand uh for
13:25whatever God's called us to do. So I
13:27can't tell you how excited I am about
13:29this space. And then if you look on page
13:3128, um we have our future renovations
13:34for our radiant kids, which will go even
13:36beyond what we're going to do in this
13:37time, but our long-term vision. Um and
13:41then you have some of the support spaces
13:43in in uh 29 on page 29. And then our
13:46long-term outreach uh will Hey, we had
13:49six gyms when we bought this, everybody.
13:50And even in its final state, we will
13:52have a gym. Just so you know, we're
13:53going to keep a gym, everybody. And so
13:54there we go. A pickle ball as it is in
13:57heaven. All right. So, um, we'll keep
14:00that. And then in the lower lobby, um,
14:03you you'll see those spaces. And then we
14:05put in here, this is this is just
14:07estimates on the master plan. Um, and
14:10that might look like a big number to
14:11you, but that does not look like a big
14:12number to God. Uh, God is so good and
14:15we're so grateful that he'll continue to
14:17provide. And we don't have to do all of
14:19this immediately. We're just going to
14:20take this step by step as the years go
14:22by. Renad and I plan to be here the rest
14:24of our lives. And so, uh, we're excited
14:26about just seeing God do this as the
14:28years go by. And I just want to
14:30encourage you just to ask God for your
14:32next step. If God is is asking you to be
14:34a part of this, we want to encourage you
14:36to. On page 34, we just gave you what I
14:39just call handles. Some of you are like,
14:40David, what do I do? I pray and I just
14:42ask for a number. Some people operate
14:44that way. That's that's great. Some
14:47people are like, I want to see it. your
14:48little you want and this gives you some
14:50handles on um if people were to give in
14:53these certain amounts then we would be
14:55able to accomplish that goal. And so uh
14:58then we have I mean we have loaded three
15:00pages worth of frequently asked
15:03questions to try to answer everything we
15:04possibly can. And so I'm uh excited um
15:08about this new season. At the conclusion
15:10of the message today, I've got uh Pastor
15:13Kyle and some of our senior team plus
15:15Renard and I and uh some of our trustees
15:17will be right over here where it says
15:19radiant for generations
15:21because we'd like to just be able to
15:23answer any of your questions. And so
15:24some of you you just like to read it and
15:25you're like I just I got my own and some
15:27of you like I'd like to talk face to
15:28face and we'd like to talk to you face
15:30to face. Can you stand with me? And I
15:32want to just take a moment and pray over
15:33this next 24-month season. And if you're
15:36willing, I am an expressive person. Some
15:38of you are not, but if you're willing,
15:40will you just hold us up and pray with
15:41me for this? I was just going to believe
15:43God for miracles. We've seen God do
15:45miracles before, and we're asking him to
15:46do it again.
15:49Father, we thank you, Lord Jesus. God,
15:52that you are the miracle working God. We
15:54thank you, Lord God, that you care about
15:56Kansas City. You care about people in
15:59this city that still don't know you. And
16:01so we may get weary and tired, but God,
16:04you are the rescuer that continues to
16:07want and desire for people to come in,
16:11people that are far from God to know
16:13you. And we ask, Lord Jesus, that you
16:15would over this next season, God, lead,
16:20guide, and provide so that we could do
16:23all that's in your heart. We want to be
16:24faithful. And I do pray this God that
16:27generation after generation will stand
16:29in awe. I pray Lord God that you would
16:31be so at work in us in this season God
16:35that our children and our grandchildren
16:37would look back and say look what the
16:39Lord did God is and our faithfulness and
16:40our yes today would impact future
16:43generations. That our yes today would
16:46impact Kansas City. God, I do ask that
16:48our yes today would impact young people
16:50all over the nation that we don't even
16:52know. God, I'm asking Lord Jesus. Lord,
16:56go. Lord, use this faithful church. God,
17:00lead us. Take care of us. Provide
17:03supernaturally. We read all through the
17:05Old Testament where how you love to
17:07provide. You provided meals from heaven.
17:10You provided light in the sky. You're a
17:12miracle working God. And we just say,
17:14God, do it in our house. God, we thank
17:16you that we get to be the people that
17:18just watch it happen. And just like
17:21intercessors that get to a front row
17:23seat to God at work, we just pray. God,
17:25would you lead us? Would you guide us?
17:27And we'll give you a fresh yes. We will
17:29obey in Jesus name. And Radian said,
17:32"Amen."
17:33>> Amen. You can be seated. If you're
17:35excited about that, say, "I am."
17:37>> I am.
17:38>> I love that. So am I.
17:41Hey, uh I want to give you uh just a few
17:44thoughts today um out of Matthew 14. And
17:49here's kind of the idea. I wanted to
17:50start a series that it'll be uh five
17:54weeks, four for me and one from Lee next
17:56week. And I've entitled Radiant for
17:59Generations. This will be our 24-month
18:00initiative.
18:03But here's what I'm believing God for.
18:05I'm believing for you and I to step into
18:07more faith than we ever have. I'm
18:10believing God that I, and we're not an
18:12I, will take a step of faith more than
18:16ever before. I'm believing that you'll
18:19take your steps of faith. And I'm
18:21talking in prayer. I'm talking about
18:24whatever God might invite you to.
18:27But I think that it's easy for you and I
18:30to just just the way just the way that
18:32our culture works. I think it's easy for
18:33you and I to say yes to Jesus and then
18:38get older, but not necessarily grow in
18:41our faith. So, we could say how many
18:43years we've been following Jesus, but
18:45maybe we haven't matured or grown in our
18:48faith as the years go by. Paul says in 2
18:51Thessalonians 1:3, "We ought always to
18:54thank God for you, brothers and sisters,
18:55and rightly so, because your faith is
18:58growing more and more." That's what I'm
19:00going after in these next number of
19:02weeks. That our faith would grow more
19:04and more. So that
19:07in this season you would look back and
19:10say God grew my faith. God was at work.
19:13Um
19:15when I was uh when I was actually in
19:18elementary school, I I stopped growing
19:21physically and it was a crisis in my
19:23life and it would be in anybody's life,
19:26right? Like all my peers were getting
19:28taller and I staying the same. And so I
19:30did what you could imagine. I freaked
19:32out. It was a crisis. go to the doctor,
19:35figure out what is wrong, why what do I
19:37got to do to grow physically?
19:39Imagine if we saw spiritual stagnation
19:42as a greater crisis than stopping
19:44growing physically. What if we wanted to
19:47grow spiritually and when we weren't,
19:50it's a crisis? Because eternity is
19:53forever and the temptation is to stop
19:55growing spiritually and not even
19:57recognize it. So, you've been maybe
19:59attending church for years or maybe
20:01you've been you've got some spiritual
20:03disciplines or something that embodies a
20:04disciplehip life. But when it comes to
20:07your faith, when it comes to you growing
20:09in your faith and looking back and say,
20:11"I've grown in trusting God. I've grown
20:13in putting more emphasis, more of my
20:16eyes on Jesus, more taking obedient
20:18steps than ever." You've actually grown
20:20your faith. That's what I'm going after.
20:23That we would actually consider a crisis
20:25when we're stale. that we would say,
20:27"No, it's not okay. I want to grow in my
20:30faith." When I look at Jesus, Jesus is
20:34growing his disciples in faith all
20:36throughout. Actually, there's five
20:37different times where Jesus says, "You
20:40of little faith." And he's not saying it
20:42to shame them. He's acknowledging what's
20:44REAL COMPARED TO WHAT'S AVAILABLE.
20:46You're walking in little faith. And
20:48there's this moment where Jesus is
20:50talking to THE DISCIPLES WHILE PETER'S
20:52BEEN WALKING ON WATER and he says, "You
20:56of little faith." I just want to think
20:59about that moment. If you and I were
21:01walking on water, we'd be like, "Dude,
21:02we are faith walkers, baby." I mean, we
21:04we watering. We got faith. But Jesus is
21:07even communicating to Peter, hey, you
21:08started to sink. There's there's more
21:11faith, BIG FAITH. There's more available
21:14than what you're walking in. And I just
21:15wonder what he would say to us. I wonder
21:18if you and I if we I mean I just read
21:20Jesus in this phrase about you have
21:22little faith you have this is with the
21:23way that he talked to his disciples
21:25and he's not condemning them he's not
21:27shaming them he's forming them and he's
21:29growing them and my hope is that in this
21:32next season the same way that he would
21:35rebuke them like that moment where he
21:36said to Peter hey Satan I mean that was
21:39a tough rebuke but he's growing him
21:42there's moment where he teaches them
21:44he's growing them there's moments where
21:45he sends them out and brings them back
21:47so that they can do what he's been
21:48doing. He's growing them. There's
21:51moments where he teaches them how to
21:52pray. He's growing them. There's moments
21:55where he shows them. He This then is how
21:58you should pray and he models it and he
22:00teaches it. He's growing them. What
22:03would it look like if Jesus grew your
22:04faith in this next season? What would it
22:08look like if you grew mine? I mean, if
22:10all of us began to walk in a greater
22:12level of faith, it would impact your
22:14spiritual life. It would impact your
22:15marriage. It would impact your children.
22:16It would impact your family. It would
22:18certainly impact the place where you
22:19work. And what could happen if the
22:23hundreds that call Radiant home?
22:26If all of us went into a season where we
22:28walked in greater faith than we
22:30currently are, there would be spiritual
22:33impact that could impact our city, that
22:35could impact what God's called us to do
22:37in terms of touching the next generation
22:39and leading people to become radiant
22:41disciples of Jesus. And so I'm inviting
22:44you to go on a journey with me and to
22:48look at those I'm we're going to look at
22:49four of the moments where Jesus
22:52intentionally is growing their faith. So
22:55I'm just going to do like four scenes,
22:57you know, like four different kind of
22:59almost like a like a theater like where
23:01we open up the curtains and we look at
23:03Jesus forming his disciples. Here at
23:05Radiant, we love curtains. All right.
23:06And so we just got curtains curtains for
23:08generations. Just kidding. Um
23:11and but but but I I want to look at the
23:14way that Jesus did this because Jesus
23:15wasn't accidentally growing their faith.
23:17It wasn't just like you know an
23:18accidental journey. He's intentionally
23:20and what we have in the scriptures if
23:23we'll study them and apply them will
23:25grow. And so this first one that I want
23:28to highlight today starts in Matthew 14.
23:30in. It's the famous one and probably the
23:33most famous, but I just want to review
23:35it today because I think this is pivotal
23:38for you and I to grow our faith. And if
23:40Jesus grew the disciples faith in this
23:43storm, in this chaos, I don't know what
23:46storm you're in, but there's the
23:48possibility that God would grow your
23:49faith in the middle of whatever crisis
23:51you're in or whatever storm or whatever
23:54difficulty. I'm going to read out of
23:55Matthew chapter 14. Um, I've had you
23:58stand so many times. I'm just going to
23:59let you stay seated. Nope. Stand up.
24:02Matthew 14. Stand up. All right. We
24:04family around here. Let's do it. We
24:05stand for the reading of God's word. All
24:07right.
24:08>> All right. It says this. Matthew chapter
24:1014. I'll just read it. Says immediately
24:12Jesus made the disciples get into the
24:13boat. Intriguing idea right there. Later
24:15he's going to tell Peter to get out of
24:16the boat. But Jesus is the one that told
24:17him to get in the boat. Intriguing,
24:18isn't it? I mean, it's really
24:20interesting that they go into a storm
24:22and Jesus told them to get into the
24:24boat.
24:26Immediately Jesus made the disciples get
24:28into the boat and go on ahead of him to
24:30the other side. While he dismissed the
24:32crowd, after he dismissed him, he went
24:35up on a mountain side by himself to
24:37pray. Later that night, he was there
24:39alone, and the boat was already a
24:41considerable distance from land,
24:42buffeted by the waves because the wind
24:44was against it. Shortly before dawn,
24:47Jesus went out to them walking on the
24:49lake. Then his disciples saw him walking
24:52on the lake, and they were terrified.
24:54It's a ghost, they said, and cried out
24:57in fear. But Jesus immediately said to
25:00them, take courage. It is I. Don't be
25:03afraid. Lord, if it's you, Peter
25:04replied, tell me to come to you on the
25:07water. Come, he said. Then Peter got
25:11down out of the boat,
25:14walked on the water, and came toward
25:17Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was
25:20afraid and beginning to sink, cried out,
25:22Lord, save me. Immediately Jesus reached
25:25out his hand and caught him. "You have
25:28little faith," he said. "Why do you
25:30doubt?" And when they climbed into the
25:33boat, the wind died down. Then those who
25:36were in the boat worshiped him, saying,
25:38"Truly, you are the son of God."
25:43So this morning, this message title is
25:45faith follows. Would you just place your
25:47hand on your heart?
25:51Father, we ask that you would help us to
25:55walk by faith,
25:57to follow you,
25:59to listen, to obey in whatever storm and
26:03crisis we're in. I pray, Lord Jesus, for
26:07each person that's here today. I thank
26:09you for the gift that they are. I thank
26:11you for the kind of people that would
26:13show up on a Sunday morning to worship,
26:15to seek God, that there's a God at work
26:18in their hearts. And I pray that you
26:20would expand it. I pray, Lord God, that
26:22you would cause your word to open up our
26:25minds and our hearts today so that we
26:28would be different. Strengthen us. Grow
26:31us as a people of faith in Jesus name.
26:34Amen. You can be seated. I think every
26:36single person who's walked in here could
26:37probably verbalize
26:39some form of crisis or chaos or storm
26:43that you're currently walking in. Not
26:44just one that you've been in before, but
26:45one that you're currently in.
26:47This Greek word here that is buffeted,
26:51speaking of the waves, it's
26:55translated buffeted by the NIV. But in
26:58the ESV, speaking about the waves that
27:00come up against the boat, it's it's the
27:03word beaten. Uh the Old King James said
27:06has the word tossed. The Christian
27:09Standard Bible has the word battered.
27:12So it's this language of waves up
27:15against a boat. And the boat
27:16metaphorically would be like the
27:18circumstances that we're in. And here's
27:21the disciples and Jesus made them get in
27:24the boat according to the text,
27:25according to Matthew. They get in the
27:27boat. Jesus comes to them just before
27:30dawn. And so they have spent the evening
27:33out in the boat fighting against the
27:35waves.
27:37I mean beaten, battered, tossed, beaten,
27:41b it's almost the language of like a
27:43boxer where you're just getting hit. Uh
27:45uh
27:47and you and I would recognize probably
27:49in our own lives that you could say that
27:52the circumstances that you're facing
27:55sometimes feel like, can I just go on?
27:59Can I take another hit?
28:01There's the financial hit. There's the
28:03betrayal hit.
28:05There's just a weariness of just the
28:07responsibilities.
28:10There's the disappointment, not just in
28:11people, but each one of us could just
28:14verbalize, I can't believe this is going
28:16on with a child. There's just so much.
28:20And many times it's just feels like
28:22you're being like your circumstance are
28:24just like that boat, just the waves uh
28:26uh the wind blowing. And if you're the
28:29disciples and you're fighting against
28:31the waves all night long, just the mere
28:34exhaustion by the time it's almost dawn,
28:38you're not just fighting against the
28:40waves, you're physically tired. Like, I
28:43just don't know if I can keep going.
28:46This would have been the situation for
28:48the the disciples. And I just find it
28:50intriguing that Jesus told them to get
28:53in the boat. Many of you would say, "I'm
28:55doing the thing that Jesus told me to
28:57do." and I'm getting hit.
29:01Circumstances are so hard. I'm actually
29:04doing the thing that Jesus told me to
29:05do. I'm in the boat that he told me to
29:06get in.
29:08And I'm exhausted. I feel like I've been
29:10faithful.
29:13And the amazing piece for us is that in
29:16our culture, our tendency is to think,
29:18how is it possible for Jesus to be real
29:22and this storm to be real at the same
29:25time?
29:26The temptation is to think if Jesus is
29:28real then my circumstance would be good.
29:31But in this story you have Jesus telling
29:34them to get in the boat and this this
29:38hard circumstance this storm is real and
29:41Jesus is real at the same time.
29:44So you got this dualistic dynamic where
29:46not only are the disciples and Jesus is
29:48forming them. Jesus is growing their
29:50faith. Jesus knows what's going to
29:52happen. Jesus is able to tell. Jesus
29:54tells him to get in the boat. But oh the
29:57disappointment when I'm obedient to
29:58Jesus and I'm facing difficult
30:00circumstance.
30:02I'm getting hit.
30:04You're rocking my boat.
30:06You're messing up. I just want a nice
30:09calm night on the water where I can look
30:12at the stars and sleep. But I've been up
30:14all night
30:17fighting against these waves and this
30:19wind. and I'm physically tired and it's
30:22almost morning and I'm exhausted.
30:26Many of us if we're if we're sitting in
30:29our house and there's a storm out, we're
30:32fine.
30:34But when you're out on the road in the
30:35middle of that storm and you're risking
30:38your life, you're in pain. There's
30:40people here that it's easy for us to not
30:42pay attention to the storm or the pain
30:44that you're in because we feel safe.
30:48But I want to invite you today
30:50in the middle of whatever storm you're
30:52in, not to have that be the deterrent
30:54for your walk with Jesus, but let Jesus
31:01become visible to you in the storm. He
31:03presents himself. He makes his presence
31:05known in this storm. He reveals himself
31:10in this storm. He speaks.
31:13And in the storm, I mean, hard, he
31:17invites
31:19to come close. That's my invitation to
31:21you today. Because here's Jesus. He
31:23comes walking out on the water.
31:26I don't know what your circumstance is,
31:28but what would happen if in the middle
31:30of whatever pain you're in, it wasn't
31:32the reason that you walked away from
31:34God? The storm, the chaos, the the the
31:38discouraging circumstance.
31:41This is basically what James is saying
31:42in James 1 where he says, "Consider it
31:44pure joy, my brothers and sisters,
31:45whenever you face trials of many kinds
31:47because you know that the testing of
31:48your faith produces perseverance."
31:53Well, I'm fine when it says it in James
31:55and I'm fine when Jesus does it with the
31:56disciples, but don't you dare do it to
31:57me.
32:00But what if your opportunity is much
32:02like the disciples opportunity where
32:04they're physically exhausted, they've
32:06been rowing all night, arms are tire,
32:08tired, mind is tired. I mean, just the
32:12whole process of fighting that storm and
32:15Jesus put us here. We're just obeying
32:17him. But in the middle of the storm
32:19where you're being faithful, the beauty
32:21is when Jesus comes and he reveals
32:23himself. This is a great moment because
32:25here's Jesus walking on the water. And I
32:27just want to encourage you that no
32:28matter what circumstance you're in,
32:30Jesus will walk towards you in the
32:32middle of your heartache, middle of your
32:34storm. He walked in a storm, then he'll
32:36walk towards you now. This is his
32:38character. He'll walk towards you in the
32:40middle of whatever pain, whatever chaos
32:42you're in. One of my biggest heartaches
32:44in my life, and I think I say it a lot
32:46when I preach. I was I was the guy that
32:50was going after Jesus in junior high in
32:51high school, in college, in my young
32:53adult years, in my 20s. And one of the
32:56most painful things of my life is to get
32:58so close to a brotherhood, small group,
33:01prayer meeting, sitting at Denny's,
33:03studying the whatever it is, and to
33:06watch so many of my peers from the '9s
33:10mostly that at one point said yes. But
33:12then when they hit a storm, they were so
33:15angry at God that they faced such pain
33:19that they checked out. And Jesus IS
33:22FORMING DISCIPLES. HIS DISCIPLES ARE
33:24ACTUALLY GOING TO END UP FACING
33:25PERSECUTION.
33:27His disciples ARE GOING TO ACTUALLY NEED
33:29TO GO DO THE THINGS that he did.
33:32So this formation, this growth of their
33:34faith, this is not just, hey, let's just
33:37have a little illustration and a
33:38coloring book for children about a
33:40storm. The future great commission.
33:43Jesus knows you're going to stand.
33:45You're gonna you're gonna face I mean
33:48persecution in the book of Acts.
33:51James, you're going to be beheaded. I
33:52MEAN, YOU GUYS GOT TO GET THIS. YOU'RE
33:54GOING TO BE KILLED by the sword. Peter,
33:56come on. I want you to CUZ YOU'RE GOING
33:57TO FACE SOME TRIALS AND SOME
34:00DIFFICULTIES.
34:01PAPOS might be tough, John. And I need
34:04you to I need you to persevere. And
34:06Jesus is teaching perseverance. He's
34:09teaching faith and he's using this
34:11little storm that seems so scary to
34:14them. And he'll do it for you right now.
34:17Many people, my heartache is many
34:19people. The storm is the reason why
34:20they're so angry AT GOD.
34:23BUT I WANT TO INVITE YOU, LOOK, OPEN up
34:26your eyes. Where is Jesus in the storm?
34:29Because he's there and he's walking
34:32towards you. Jesus reveals himself. So
34:35the waves are real.
34:37The wind is real. The storm is real. The
34:42disappointment THAT THIS HAS BEEN A LONG
34:43NIGHT IS REAL. But the storm is real.
34:46And Jesus is real.
34:49>> His love is real. Temptation. Well, if
34:51he's really loved, why he tell me get in
34:52the boat? You can't see like he sees.
34:55Well, if he has all power,
34:57why why doesn't he calm the storm?
35:00Why? I don't like that he's walking on
35:01water. I want him to end the storm cuz
35:02I'm out here ro
35:05has all power. Jesus has all love. Jesus
35:08is at work in ways that you can't see.
35:10Jesus is walking towards you.
35:14And I want I just imagine a people that
35:17are not always angry at God in the face
35:20of pain, but are humble and come before
35:22God and say, "Your ways are higher than
35:24my ways." And Jesus metaphorically,
35:27who's walking on the water, the very
35:29thing that's the waves for them, that's
35:31the crisis, are under his feet.
35:34>> So, he's got all power. He's going to
35:36calm the storm, but he's going to do it
35:37in his time. He's going to do it when he
35:40wants it. Here's the challenge for most
35:42people. They want to be God.
35:44and they just want God to do what they
35:45want God to do. And as long as God is a
35:46means to their end, they're okay with
35:47God. But the moment that God does
35:49something that's not the way that they
35:50want, the moment that God isn't just a
35:52system where they get to manipulate it
35:53and have God do what they want them to
35:54do, then they give up on God.
35:56>> But the great opportunity of a disciple
35:59is all right.
36:02I see Jesus walking towards me and it's
36:05this. Jesus,
36:08reveal yourself to me.
36:10He's not a ghost.
36:13He's Jesus. Okay, I can't see perfectly.
36:16Just help me see Jesus in the middle of
36:18what seems so hard. And this is what's
36:20great because then Jesus changes their
36:22perspective. And he'll change your
36:23perspective. When you can see Jesus in
36:25the midst of your pain, in the midst of
36:26your crisis, and you just can't
36:28understand the storm and you can't
36:29understand it, what's going to end and
36:30you don't know why you're in the pain,
36:32but you got your eyes fixed on Jesus and
36:34you're focused in on him, then he'll
36:37change your perspective. This is what he
36:38does for them. They're they're afraid.
36:41And he says, "Take courage. It is I.
36:44Don't be afraid because I'm with you in
36:47the storm. Don't have fear."
36:51Even this it is I points back to the
36:54great I am. This is the same idea where
36:57he says, "I am God." And so God with you
37:01in the storm.
37:04And so before Jesus ever changes the
37:06circumstance, he reveals his presence.
37:10And we always just say, "If you really
37:11love me, change my circumstance." He
37:13goes, "I'm going to be with you right
37:15here in this for a little while."
37:17He's walking on water. You feel like if
37:20you really love me, he'd do it my way.
37:23He's just right there.
37:25That tension is so hard for so many. But
37:28here's what Jesus is doing. Hey guys,
37:32I'm I'm forming your faith.
37:35Peter, you're going to walk on water in
37:36a minute.
37:38There's going to be a day in Acts three,
37:40you're going to look at a lame man and
37:41say, "Silver and gold I do not have, but
37:43what I have in the name of Jesus, stand
37:44up and walk.
37:46I got a future vision." I don't know
37:49that Peter looked at the lame man and
37:50said, "Hey, baby, I've been walking on
37:51water and now I I believe God can heal
37:52you, too." But there are things that
37:54they walked in in the book of Acts
37:56because they were being formed in the
37:57Gospels.
37:59And Jesus has a plan for us. Jesus is at
38:01work in our church right now. And we are
38:04having stories right now where we give
38:07our little tiny yes and our little yes
38:09looks almost silly and dumb. Why would I
38:12get out of a boat and walk on water?
38:14Well, Peter, one day, Acts 2, I got
38:17Pentecost come. Peter, you know what?
38:19One day you're going to you're going to
38:20die for the gospel and we got a long and
38:22I'm forming faith in you. I'm working on
38:25you. And if you can see this little
38:29season where Jesus is working on you,
38:32he's helping your faith grow so that you
38:34persevere instead of quit
38:38instead of say ah.
38:40So I want to just encourage you.
38:43Jesus will reveal himself to you. I want
38:46to invite you try to open up your eyes.
38:48Jesus, where are you in the midst of
38:49this storm? Reveal yourself to me. I
38:52want to see it and change my
38:54perspective.
38:56Just you're with me. I want to have
38:58courage instead of fear. I want to know
39:01I am before the power and the presence
39:04of the great I am. Yeah. The great I am.
39:07He's right there with you.
39:10The same way that we read about him in
39:12the Old Testament. Same one that comes
39:14walking on the waves in the Gospels. It
39:17is the responsibility of the 21st
39:19century disciple to say he's with me and
39:22I don't like these waves and I've been
39:24out here so long and I'm nearly
39:26exhausted but my eyes are fixed on him.
39:29I'm looking for him out on the water.
39:31He's coming. He's with us. And when I
39:34when WHEN I KNOW THAT HE'S WITH ME, I
39:37can have courage. This is the command
39:38that he has.
39:41Take heart. Take courage. Don't be
39:43afraid.
39:45And so this moment where Peter jumps on
39:48out of the boat, it's because Jesus
39:50[clears throat]
39:51calls him. And I think sometimes we
39:53think this is like a miraculous story of
39:55Peter, but this isn't Peter's miracle.
39:56This is Jesus's miracle.
39:59This Peter Peter didn't love walking on
40:02water. Peter wanted to be close to
40:03Jesus. When Jesus says, "Come," it's not
40:07Peter being like, "Hey, what's up
40:08everybody? They're going to name
40:09churches after me. Watch this. I'm going
40:10to walk on water."
40:12Right? It's not Peter's miracle. The
40:15proximity to be close to Jesus and to do
40:18what Jesus did.
40:20>> Oh, he invited me to follow him. There
40:22was a day I I've heard this. Come and
40:24follow me. Now he's saying it again.
40:25Come and follow me. Not too long ago, he
40:28told me to get in the boat. Now he told
40:29me to get out of the boat. Whatever you
40:31say, I'll do.
40:33>> We as disciples, we have to say, "Well,
40:34Jesus told me to do in the boat, and I
40:35like it in this boat, and I did hear him
40:37tell me to get in the boat, so I'm
40:38certainly not stepping out again in
40:39faith." And he says, "No, the heart of
40:40the disciple is to keep getting out of
40:42the boat over and over and over again."
40:45>> If he tells you get in the boat, get in
40:46the boat. He tells you get out of the
40:47boat, get out of the boat. Yeah, but
40:48there's wind and there's waves and
40:49there's like no dock.
40:53Get out of the boat. Come to me. This is
40:56Jesus still calls. He still asks people
41:00to come to him, to get close to him and
41:03do what he did even in that gap where we
41:06can't see. Where's the bridge? Where? I
41:10can't. I WILL GET OUT. JESUS, USE YOUR
41:12POWER. MAKE ME A BRIDGE. I'LL COME to
41:14you, baby. No, no, no. Do what I'm
41:17doing.
41:21And I think many of us think that this
41:22step when we when he when he calls us
41:24and we like for me, I told you in that
41:26video, it was a burden that I couldn't
41:28shake. That's what happens for me over
41:29and over again. I It's not like this
41:32audible voice. It's not like it's just I
41:34just get this
41:36I got this burden. I just it's like a
41:38sense and I don't know what other people
41:40say. Kind of tired of all the preachers
41:42that give these grandiose stories where
41:44they like hear audible voices and stuff
41:47cuz it's never been my story. Here's my
41:50story. I'm 80% sure that's God.
41:54But I got a burden that I can't shake
41:56and I'm going to trust God. I'm going to
41:58step out in faith.
41:59>> Amen. I believe. God, help me with my
42:02unbelief. I trust you. Even though this
42:06looks crazy,
42:08this is your story.
42:10>> This is my story. I'll step out. And
42:12it's not that we're in love with
42:14miracles. We're in love with Jesus.
42:17It's not that we're in love with water
42:19walking.
42:20Peter Peter didn't love walking on
42:22water. Peter loved Jesus.
42:26My uh my daughter Olivia recently got
42:29engaged to Landon who lives in Kalamazoo
42:31and there's quite a few months where
42:32Landon lived in Kazoo. Olivia lived in
42:34Kansas City and Landon would get up at
42:363:00 a.m. to drive 10 hours to Kansas
42:39City so that he could take her to a late
42:41lunch and Landon found so much of his
42:44time being driving across Illinois. So
42:48much time in his car. Landon didn't
42:51suddenly love time in the car or time
42:52driving on a US freeway. He was in love
42:56with Liv. He wanted to be close to her.
42:58Here's what we do. I want to be close to
43:00Jesus.
43:02I want to be where he's at. I want to
43:04obey what he says. And he says, "Come."
43:09So, I step out of that boat again. And I
43:11think sometimes, you know, and I would
43:13say church has kind of heard this next
43:16step phrase because it's we we hear it
43:18so much. I think that sometimes we
43:20think, oh, okay, you know, Pastor
43:23David's always telling me to take my
43:24next step. So, we kind of think, take
43:25your next step, and it's like little
43:27step, a little step, a little step, a
43:28little step. But I would say that this
43:29step for Peter was this was this was a
43:32big step. This was this was not step
43:35out. This was, are you? This was like
43:41boost me over. What are you doing? I'm
43:44going over. Are you crazy? Uh, I'm just
43:47going to obey. And it's this I mean over
43:51this massive
43:54I mean just I mean I've been on the Sea
43:56of Galilee what they call the Jesus boat
43:58and this is no like short I this is like
44:01this is a this is a massive step to get
44:04over the side.
44:08And I think this is what the Lord still
44:09tells us to do.
44:12He's still saying come to me obey.
44:16And if you want to walk on water, you
44:18got to get out of the boat.
44:20And you get out of the boat and then the
44:22shock and awe is Jesus.
44:25I want to invite you. Faith steps toward
44:29Jesus. That's your step. It's just
44:32toward Jesus. Jesus is out on the water.
44:35I want to do what Jesus is doing. So,
44:37I'm going to take this massive faith
44:38step and go towards him. That's what
44:40verse 29 says. Then Peter got down out
44:44of the boat, walked on the water and
44:46came toward Jesus. Just take that step
44:49toward Jesus. The text says Jesus is
44:51walking towards them and then Peter
44:54walks toward him. It's a relational
44:56text. I mean, we turn it into so many
44:58other things, but it's a relationship.
45:00It's memories. Oh yeah. JESUS, THERE WAS
45:04A DAY JESUS GOT INTO PETER'S BOAT IN
45:06LUKE 5 and sat in there. Now Jesus
45:09SAYING, "COME OUT OF YOUR BOAT." WHAT?
45:11This is Jesus. He's always building
45:14relationship. Say, "Come on, KEEP I'M
45:16ACTUALLY INVITING YOU NOW TO STEP OUT,
45:18walk on water. You, the great fisherman
45:20who knows that knows drowning. This is
45:24an industry that you know and I, Jesus,
45:26I'm inviting you to step out of the
45:28boat. Come near me."
45:30And it's on the other side stepping out
45:32of the boat that not only closer to
45:34Jesus, but you see, you do what Jesus
45:36does. Jesus is walking on water.
45:39This is our challenge.
45:42It's that first step out of the boat
45:43that's hard, but then you get to see
45:45Jesus at work. I took this picture uh
45:47you can throw it up there. And uh 10
45:49years ago when we were about to move
45:51here, and I this was just my prayer on
45:53the day that we left town. And I just
45:55put the caption on there, time to walk
45:57on water. Because what this is is this
46:00is and I put this in the phrase, it's
46:02the burden that you can't shake.
46:04And the only means to accomplish what
46:07God's put on your heart is if he
46:10provides. Is if God does the miracle.
46:13And I want to invite us to this.
46:15Whatever it is, if it's your prayer
46:17life, if it's your family,
46:19go fix your eyes. Be with him. And when
46:23he says come, WHEN HE SAYS TAKE THAT
46:24STEP, I just think our tendency in
46:28American church is to be like, I'll stay
46:29in the boat. I'll sing about Jesus from
46:32the boat.
46:33I'll
46:35I'll read about Jesus from the boat.
46:39I'll even clap for other people. WAY TO
46:41GO, PETY BOY. You're the man. But I
46:43ain't getting out of this boat.
46:46But if Jesus is on the water, then it's
46:48where we want to be. If Jesus is saying,
46:50"Come to me." We want to come. And if
46:53Jesus is walking on water, the only
46:55place to be is walking on water.
46:58And I believe that comfort is the idol
47:01in our country. One of the blessings I
47:03have of being able to go see other
47:06places around the world and comfort
47:08isn't an idol everywhere like it is
47:10here. It looks different in different
47:11places. But this is one of the most
47:14challenging things for us in America is
47:17because we have so much comfort. And
47:18this is what's always what we're
47:20consumers of. We're always told that
47:22life should be more comfortable.
47:24And so it's really challenging us for us
47:26to get out of our comfort zone. And I'm
47:28going to ask you
47:30in this season to ask God
47:34and let him call you,
47:37ask you, invite you, and you just obey.
47:42And it's on the other side of that, yes,
47:44that you'll begin to see God working
47:45supernaturally. One of the other things
47:47that I love about this text is the way
47:49that the disciples worship when they get
47:51in the boat.
47:54It's a great moment because the
47:55disciples,
47:57they say, "Truly, you are the son of
47:59God." This is adoration in the hearts of
48:02others. They weren't looking and saying,
48:04"Peter, you're amazing. Way to go,
48:07Pete."
48:09No, they're looking at Jesus and they
48:10go, "Jesus, this was your miracle. Jesus
48:12came to us on the water.
48:14Jesus invited Peter. Jesus helped Peter
48:18walk on water. Jesus got in the boat and
48:22the wind and the waves stopped. Who it?
48:24Jesus is the one that said, "It is I,
48:27the great I am." And it's wow and marvel
48:30and awe at who Jesus is.
48:34It's on the other side of many of us
48:36taking steps
48:38in our prayer lives, in how we disciple
48:40our children, not just in how we do
48:42finances, although that's part of what
48:44we were talking about today, but how we
48:46cons continue to say, God, whatever you
48:48tell me to do, I'll give my yes. And it
48:51is a giant step to say yes. It's no
48:54small thing. Each one of you, as you
48:57begin to contextualize what God is
48:59inviting you to, none of us feel like,
49:01"Oh, this is like a cute little step."
49:02And if it is, it might not be God.
49:05It might be God saying, "No, no, no. I'm
49:07inviting you to take leaps, to walk
49:10supernaturally, to live a supernatural
49:12life where you see God powerfully."
49:18And I don't know what your journey is. I
49:20think many of us, if I'm honest,
49:23might be like Peter, where there was a
49:26day you were walking on water.
49:29Like you could actually verbalize the
49:30season in your 20s where you had some
49:32faith or your 30s,
49:36but the wind and the waves got long.
49:40You got beaten up and you took your eyes
49:44off Jesus,
49:47fixed them on the wind and the waves,
49:50decided, well, I got to I got to get
49:52practical and I got to get real.
49:55Jesus is real. Storm's real, too.
49:59Jesus is real.
50:02And Jesus takes Peter who was walking on
50:06water but then sinks. Starts to sink.
50:10And this is the beauty of this text is
50:13the mercy and the grace
50:16of Jesus who does call, hey, take risk
50:20and walk by faith. But then we see the
50:22mercy, the kindness, the love of Jesus
50:26who lifts his friend up out of the water
50:29and says, "I'll rescue you.
50:32Ain't no chance I'm going to let you
50:33sink." And I think there's some of us
50:35today that there is a season in your
50:36life where he said, "I have big faith."
50:39But now you would know, I feel like I
50:40have little faith. And Jesus would not
50:44rebuke you, but he will rescue you. That
50:47you have little faith. It's got a little
50:49edge to it, but it's preparation. I'm
50:52preparing you. I I won't let you fall.
50:56Peter, Lord, save me, Jesus. I got you.
51:00I got you.
51:03And I want to pray for you today. Those
51:05of you that say, "I feel like I'm
51:07seeking.
51:09I feel like if you're like me, this
51:12faith thing, it's a cycle. It's not just
51:15a one-time deal. It's like around and
51:17around and around we go. Jesus says go
51:20get in the boat. Okay, the storm's come
51:25and I want to be mad at God. I'm just
51:27trying to obey.
51:29But no, I'm going to look for Jesus in
51:31the storm. Is he out there? Is he
51:34speaking? Come to me.
51:39If I come, it's like uncomfortable
51:41again. Yeah.
51:43I'm forming you into something.
51:47I'm preparing you. Yeah, but I just
51:49rather stay in the boat.
51:52No, you'd rather be with me.
51:56You got eternity with me. And you get
51:59eternity.
52:01Hold me. See me. You got one little
52:04window of time on planet Earth.
52:07Step out of your comfort zone.
52:10Follow me. Follow me to reach people.
52:14Follow me to serve the poor.
52:17Follow me to take the gospel around the
52:18world. Follow me. Reach the cubicle.
52:21Person next to you in the cubicle next
52:23to you.
52:24All of these are so uncomfortable.
52:27I just want to stay comfortable. No, you
52:29don't. Why? Cuz what's compelling in the
52:32story [music] is Jesus himself.
52:35No, you called me.
52:38You're forming me.
52:43All right, I'm coming again. Get out of
52:47this boat,
52:48walk on water,
52:50and believe Jesus again.
52:53And I would invite the tired, weary,
52:57exhausted, beaten up by life
52:59circumstances today
53:02to let him rescue you. He's not going to
53:04let you sink, pull you up.
53:10Trust him again. Let him grow your
53:12faith. Bow your heads with me.
53:18Would you just ask the Holy Spirit to
53:19speak to you? What's he inviting you to?
53:23He said to Peter, "Come." What's he
53:25saying to you? [snorts]
53:35Maybe you're in the room today and you
53:37need Jesus to save you.
53:40>> [snorts]
53:40>> from separation from God.
53:43Just like he saves Peter, he'll save
53:45you. He'll give you new life. Here's
53:48your prayer. Same as Peter's. Lord, save
53:51me.
53:54Maybe that's your step today. Lord, save
53:57me. I need you.
54:00I give you my life.
54:03I trust in you. My faith is in you, not
54:07that boat.
54:09Not myself, [clears throat]
54:11God.
54:15I trust in you,
54:19God. We give our lives,
54:22Father. I pray that you'd grow us in
54:23faith,
54:25God, not only for what you want to do
54:27right now, but a decade from now. In
54:29order to get where you've called us to
54:30go, we got to say yes today. Form us,
54:34[snorts]
54:35train us, mold us.
54:38I don't want to live off of yesterday
54:40year's miracles.
54:42I want to say yes today and be close.
54:47I want to experience those moments where
54:49I'm doing what you're doing. I don't
54:50know that there's any greater joy on
54:52earth than to feel like I'm close to
54:53Jesus and I'm with him doing what he's
54:56doing. If you're walking on water, we
54:58want to walk on water. If you're healing
55:00the sick, we want to heal the sick. If
55:03you're preaching, we want to preach.
55:05We just want to be with you. We want to
55:07do what you do,
55:10form us,
55:12mold us,
55:14grow our faith, God, in Jesus name.
55:19Amen. I would invite you to stand with
55:21me and uh if you said yes to Jesus
55:23today, I'd love for you to let us know.
55:25We want to go with you on the journey.
55:27Right back here where it says, "I have
55:29decided to follow Jesus," we'd love to
55:31resource you. We've got a bag for you
55:32there and you can pick that up. I want
55:35to invite us uh to take just one last
55:38moment. And I know this is new, but I I
55:42I kind of want us to just um
55:45instead of doing all the prayer team and
55:46all that stuff, um I'm just believing
55:50God for a season of faith. And so I know
55:54this is weird, but listen, I was
55:58we we don't have to always do the same
55:59thing,
56:01but I just want to take a moment and I'm
56:03going to close this down. Nobody else is
56:04coming up here. I'm going to I promise
56:05you I won't be long, but if you would
56:08just say, I need fresh faith today and
56:11[music] I want to just come forward. I'm
56:12just going to pray with those of you
56:13that would just say, I want God to mark
56:15my life with faith and I want to just
56:17spend 45 seconds pray. If you would say,
56:20that's me. I want fresh faith. I want to
56:23I want that in my life today. I want to
56:25grow in my faith. I want to just invite
56:26you to just come forward. The storm
56:28[music] that you're in, the pain that
56:29you're in, but you're want to go into a
56:30season of fresh faith. And I just want
56:32to pray with you that you just come
56:34forward and just hold out your hands
56:36just [music] like this.
56:39I'm going to pray this for our church.
56:40[music]
56:42I'm praying that we would go into a
56:43season where we see God at work like
56:45never before.
56:50Father in Jesus name, we come before you
56:53as radiant church and we're so grateful
56:54for the last decade. My what the Lord
56:57has done,
56:58but God, we are so desperate to do what
57:02you're doing in the little window of
57:04time we have on planet earth. [music]
57:07Just these precious years,
57:10we want to stand before you and get that
57:11well done.
57:14And so we thank you, Lord God, that
57:16you're forming us and training us. And
57:18God, we want to give our fresh yes.
57:20[music]
57:22Mold us into a people of faith.
57:24God, help us to get out of the regular
57:28normal customary [music] thing where we
57:30do what's comfortable. And God, reveal
57:33yourself to us. Open up our eyes to see
57:35Jesus.
57:37Let us hear your word. Open up our
57:40hearts that we could hear
57:43what you're calling us to. And God, I
57:45[music] pray Lord that you would give us
57:47your strength for a fresh yes
57:51to obey. I pray Lord God that we would
57:54experience
57:55miracles and water walking like never
57:57before.
57:59That we would experience where God does
58:02physical miracles in order that the
58:04agenda that God has for this time in our
58:06generation takes place. So God, we align
58:09ourselves. We [music] don't ask for
58:11miracles merely for our own comfort. No,
58:14he asked for miracles so that [music] it
58:17would be in Kansas City as it is in
58:19heaven. So that people here in this city
58:22would come to know God.
58:25Oh God, do a fresh work. [music] Make us
58:28an authentic people. And God, I pray
58:31this dream,
58:33Lord God, of this house being a tool for
58:35generations would happen. I pray that
58:37even as we just take this next step that
58:38we look back and say, look what the Lord
58:40how how oh how he did it. I pray Lord
58:43God that you make us a people of faith.
58:46Grow our faith God. [music]
58:48May it be true as in first
58:49Thessalonians. May our faith grow more
58:51and more [music] in Jesus name. I lift
58:55up these people that have come forward.
58:56God, I pray that their faith would grow.
58:58[music]
58:59Holy Spirit, let this be a fresh season
59:02where we've got the stories one
59:04generation tells the next of the stories
59:06of what God has done. Oh God, I don't
59:10want to just hear stories of yester
59:12year's revivals.
59:14God, I want [music] to be a part of
59:15something fresh. I want to see God at
59:17work in my generation 2026 in Overland
59:21Park. Your kingdom come, your will be
59:23done. Let's sing this together [music]
59:24before we go.
59:32Oh, [music]
59:34heat, heat.
59:40[music]
59:44Yeah. Heat.
59:47[music]
59:52[music]
59:55Yeah.
1:00:01[music]
1:00:06[music]
1:00:12[music] Heat.
1:00:20I feel [music]
1:00:30[music]
1:00:38[music]
1:00:43[music]
1:00:45this.
1:00:49>> [music]
1:00:54>> be gone. So be it
1:00:56in my generation and future [music]
1:00:58generations.
1:01:02I don't know where
1:01:06[music]
1:01:15[music]
1:01:16your finger behind this house.
1:01:21[music]
1:01:27[music]
1:01:31Heat. Heat.
1:01:33[music]
1:01:43[music]
1:01:46[singing]
1:01:46Heat.
1:01:48Heat.
1:01:54[music]
1:02:00>> [music]
1:02:08[music]
1:02:10>> Jesus, we thank you that you will
1:02:12continue to build your church. [music]
1:02:14Thank you for your faithfulness in the
1:02:15past. We have great faith for the
1:02:18future. [music] We give you honor and we
1:02:20give you praise in Jesus' name. Amen.
1:02:22Let's give King Jesus a shout out before
1:02:24we go.
1:02:26Feel [music]
1:02:27[applause]
1:02:31[music]
1:02:32[applause]
1:02:34free to stay up here and pray as long as
1:02:36you want. Go party as long as you want
1:02:38with cupcakes [music] and merch. Get to
1:02:40know somebody. We love you. Thanks for
1:02:42coming to church today. I'm so grateful
1:02:44for each one of you. Have a great
1:02:46Sunday.