Latest / Wesley at FSU & TSC / "A Lived Faith" | Sunday Service | April 21, 2024

Transcript

"A Lived Faith" | Sunday Service | April 21, 2024 · Wesley at FSU & TSC

0:58
SPEAKER_00: God, I pray that the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts would be acceptable in your sight and in your sight alone, oh God.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: God, we know that you are a rock, you are our redeemer, and we love you because you first loved us.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: We give you all honor, praise, glory, God, now and forever.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: I want to give a message this morning called A Lived Faith.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm gonna say?
1:26
SPEAKER_00: Turn to your neighbor and say, A lived faith.
1:29
SPEAKER_00: A lived faith, a lived faith.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna point us to a passage that's similar to what we did last week.
1:35
SPEAKER_00: If you weren't here last week, we talked about the thing that we love to talk about, which is sin.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: Everybody's saying oh yeah, yeah.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: We talked about sin last week, and we used uh a passage out of 1 John to guide our past, our path there.
1:47
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna do the same thing this week, but with a little bit different topic.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're gonna go to 1 John chapter 3.
1:53
SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be on the screen and on the TV and on your Bible if you have it uh in front of you.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: This is 1 John chapter 3.
2:00
SPEAKER_00: We start in verse 16.
2:03
SPEAKER_00: This is how we know love.
2:06
SPEAKER_00: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
2:14
SPEAKER_00: But if someone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but refuses to help, how can the love of God dwell in a person like that?
2:23
SPEAKER_00: Little children, let's not love with words or speech, but with action and truth.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts in God's presence.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: Dear friends, if our hearts don't condemn us, we have confidence and relationship to God.
2:45
SPEAKER_00: We receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of the Son of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other as he commanded us.
3:01
SPEAKER_00: Those who keep his commandments dwell in God, and God dwells in them.
3:08
SPEAKER_00: This is how we know that he dwells in us because of the spirit he has given us.
3:16
SPEAKER_00: In August of 2017, there was a hurricane, hurricane Harvey, that came through the Gulf and hit Texas.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: Now, we are Floridians.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: A lot of us grew up in Florida, we're very familiar with hurricanes.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: And when we think hurricanes, we think wind, right?
3:33
SPEAKER_00: We think destruction uh of the wind on the buildings, and that's the often the first thing we think of when we think hurricane, right?
3:41
SPEAKER_00: We gotta prep our windows, we're gonna prep our buildings, where's the wind?
3:44
SPEAKER_00: Now, listen, Amelia's uh does she does this professionally, and she's thinking, no, there's other things.
3:49
SPEAKER_00: We're getting there, Amelia.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: But that's what we that's what we often think in Florida.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: Uh but in in this case, we actually realize something that's actually more true about hurricanes, and that's water, right?
4:02
SPEAKER_00: That it brings in a crazy amount of water.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: See, I was getting there.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: A crazy amount of water that comes onto the land during a hurricane.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: And in Hurricane Harvey, that was the biggest problem because the place flooded.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: Here's here's just a picture uh of this of yeah, the flooding that happened.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: This is in Houston, Texas.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: In Houston, Texas.
4:23
SPEAKER_00: Now, there were lots of stories of people who were helping out in these situations because people were out of their homes.
4:30
SPEAKER_00: If you've ever been through a flood, it's it's an incredibly uh uh just massive experience.
4:36
SPEAKER_00: I mean, everything about your life has to shift almost immediately because you can no longer live where you currently were living.
4:42
SPEAKER_00: And uh, if you've ever been on a mission trip and tried to help out a uh a home that was maybe flooded or something, you probably realize that they they pull all the drywall down.
4:50
SPEAKER_00: Drywall is no longer usable, so they pull it right down to the studs.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: That means there's no insulation.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: It often means the electricity's been turned off.
4:56
SPEAKER_00: There's there's really nothing you can do to live in that space.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: There was this really cool guy who opened up his his furniture store because he just had a lot of beds.
5:06
SPEAKER_00: Brilliant.
5:07
SPEAKER_00: And so he just let people live in his furniture store until they could get back on their feet and get all their stuff.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: That was pretty amazing.
5:13
SPEAKER_00: You heard all these stories about people helping out, but there was one story where that didn't happen, and it was at this guy's church.
5:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
5:23
SPEAKER_00: I made him red and yellow on purpose.
5:26
SPEAKER_00: Um this is somebody tell me who this is?
5:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay.
5:30
SPEAKER_00: Joel Joel Osteen, and I don't want to talk bad about him, but I do want to talk about the situation, okay?
5:34
SPEAKER_00: Joel Joel Osteen uh is the mega church pastor of mega church pastors.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: If there is the definition of a mega church pastor, if you look that up in the dictionary, it would probably be a picture of Joel Osteen because his church bought an arena to house themselves in.
5:48
SPEAKER_00: An arena.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: Kind of side story.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: I was once doing a lighting seminar, like stage lighting seminar, and the guy leading it was the dude who did lighting for Joel Osteen's church.
5:59
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, bro, tell me everything you know, you know?
6:01
SPEAKER_00: And uh it was amazing.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: He told me that in the back of the of the sanctuary, I guess you could call that, in the arena, they have a lighting console where they can control all the lights, right?
6:11
SPEAKER_00: Pretty cool.
6:12
SPEAKER_00: And uh they could control every single light in the building, including the bathrooms and the outside sconces on the side of the on the side of the building.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: They control every single light from that lighting console, which is both really cool and way too much power for one person, right?
6:31
SPEAKER_00: Like they could black out the entire space in one button.
6:33
SPEAKER_00: That's pretty that's pretty wild.
6:35
SPEAKER_00: But anyway, they they have an arena in Houston and and and they worship there weekly.
6:42
SPEAKER_00: And Houston was one of the biggest hit cities from Hurricane Harvey.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: So you would think if you had an arena and people needed a place to go where they could sleep, then maybe an arena would open up.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: In fact, we had been through this in Hurricane Katrina when the Superdome in New Orleans opened up and people were living there and doing all kinds of things there.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: So what happened is you would think that the church that owns the arena would open up the arena, right?
7:12
SPEAKER_00: But did it?
7:14
SPEAKER_00: No, no, it didn't.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: Not at first, at least.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: And so all of these stories are coming out in the press about you know these people who are helping out their neighbors and they're they're providing things that they can.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: And then the church, the like the big church that's known in the entire over the entire world as existing in Houston that has, let's just say, plenty of space for people to be, didn't open their space.
7:38
SPEAKER_00: And it got a lot of criticism.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say it caused significant damage to let's say the reputation of Joel Osteen and also the church.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: And I I think if it teaches one thing, it teaches us this.
7:52
SPEAKER_00: It teaches us that the church is always held to a higher standard.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: The church is always held to a higher standard.
7:58
SPEAKER_00: Say that to yourself.
7:59
SPEAKER_00: The church is always held to a higher standard.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: And if you follow different accounts on Instagram or TikTok or whatever, you'll see that this is mostly true, right?
8:10
SPEAKER_00: That people are very critical of the church because the church is held to a higher standard.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: Can I show you one of my favorite accounts?
8:19
SPEAKER_00: This is from Preachers and Sneakers.
8:21
SPEAKER_00: That's uh Steven Furtick, and he chose to wear that.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: That was a choice he made.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: And Preachers and Sneakers does, I know these aren't sneakers, but I'll get to that in a second.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: Preachers and Sneakers does is they find pictures of famous pastors, and they then go and research their clothing, which nowadays is getting a lot easier with AI because you just draw the little circle around it, right?
8:44
SPEAKER_00: And uh it'll find it.
8:45
SPEAKER_00: But the this sweater, do we call that?
8:48
SPEAKER_00: Sweater, men's oversized holy sweater, but not the holy you're thinking of.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Holy sweater uh runs for$2,000, which is let's just say that's a lot of money, right?
9:01
SPEAKER_00: Tax-free.
9:02
SPEAKER_00: No.
9:04
SPEAKER_00: Too far.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: So that but that's that's Stephen Fur.
9:07
SPEAKER_00: So that's what they do.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: They they find preachers that are wearing very inexpensive clothes, and they uh decide to basically call it out on Instagram.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: There's one more.
9:16
SPEAKER_00: This is Mike Todd at a transformation church.
9:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh and those are sick-looking shoes, don't get me wrong, but they go for$1,500, which I my computer didn't cost$1,500, right?
9:27
SPEAKER_00: Like, that's a significant amount of money, but they they call it out.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: And if you're interested in this, if it's just, I don't know, Derek was like, I love that.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: I love that channel or that uh account.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh go watch, go look at preachers and sneakers or prophets and watches.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: Which is a nice, nice, okay.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: No response.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: So here's my question though.
9:47
SPEAKER_00: Why is it that if the why is it that we call that out?
9:51
SPEAKER_00: If the church is held to a higher standard, why is it that the world gets so much entertainment out of calling that out?
9:57
SPEAKER_00: Any qu any thoughts?
9:59
SPEAKER_00: Why?
10:04
SPEAKER_00: Does it bother you?
10:08
SPEAKER_00: Why does it bother you?
10:14
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so there's certainly definitely something with money there.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: Okay, because you use the word term rich man.
10:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what else?
10:23
SPEAKER_00: What else?
10:23
SPEAKER_00: Why?
10:24
SPEAKER_00: What else?
10:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
10:34
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so if you have a lot and you're called to give to other people and you don't, there's a problem there.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: It's probably why Joel Osteen got in trouble for the church not opening their building, right?
10:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, or Stephen Furtick wears those clothes and then they call it out, or Mike Todd wears those shoes and then they call it out.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: Could we say that it could be wrapped up in the word hypocrisy?
10:56
SPEAKER_00: Could we use that term?
10:57
SPEAKER_00: Can we use that term?
10:58
SPEAKER_00: Christians get called out for being hypocritical all the time.
11:01
SPEAKER_00: Probably rightly so, right?
11:03
SPEAKER_00: Because we need a little bit of uh a little bit of pushback, but that's that's something we get called out for.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: I I I actually think the reason that hypocrisy speaks so loudly here is because the entire premise of our story, the entire premise of our story is one of love and self-sacrifice.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: The entire premise to the story of Christianity is one of love and self-sacrifice.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: So when you find a world in which we don't necessarily self-sacrifice or we choose to be self-focused or self-centered, that's a problem.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: Let me show you what he says here at the beginning of 1 John 3 and verse 16.
11:44
SPEAKER_00: This is how we know love.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: Now, I think this is interesting too.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: Many of us who grew up in the church could quote John 3.16.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: Anybody want to quote it right now?
12:01
SPEAKER_00: John 3.16, not first John 3.16.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Yes, for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, so that he ever believes in Him may have eternal life.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: That's John 3.16.
12:19
SPEAKER_00: John chapter 3, verse 16.
12:21
SPEAKER_00: This is probably the same author, 1 John, but he's writing his letter.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: 1 John in chapter 3, verse 16.
12:28
SPEAKER_00: So this is how we know what love is.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
12:35
SPEAKER_00: Now the chapters and verses were added later.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: That's not so that's just something magical that happened, but I think it's interesting.
12:41
SPEAKER_00: Okay, that this is how we know what love is.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: But if someone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need, but refuses to help, how can the love of God dwell within a person like that?
13:02
SPEAKER_00: The entire premise to our story is one of self-sacrifice.
13:07
SPEAKER_00: We're not sitting in this room today unless Jesus gives of himself.
13:13
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't happen.
13:15
SPEAKER_00: And so then the people who follow after him, if we don't give of ourselves, the first thing we respond with is hypocrisy.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: The first thing we respond with is like, well, why aren't you following the thing you believe?
13:28
SPEAKER_00: Why aren't you behaving like the guy who did it?
13:30
SPEAKER_00: If you have something and you can give it to somebody else, why don't you?
13:36
SPEAKER_00: Why don't you?
13:37
SPEAKER_00: It's interesting too.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: This is John writing in 1 John, but Philippians, we if you were in a Bible study this week, we we went over this in Philippians 2.
13:45
SPEAKER_00: This is one of the most important chapters in all of Scripture.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: This is what they call the Christ hem, and I just want you to hear it.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort and love, any sharing in the same spirit, any sympathy, complete my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, being united and agreeing with each other.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Don't do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: Though he was in the form of God, he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.
14:27
SPEAKER_00: But he emptied himself by taking the form of a slave and by becoming like human beings.
14:32
SPEAKER_00: And when he found himself in the form of a human, he humbled himself by being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
14:47
SPEAKER_00: The danger of not following the premise for all of us, Joel Osteen and me.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: Joel Osteen and you, Stephen Furtick and you, Mike Todd and you.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: So, Steph, you get it.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: You lose credibility immediately.
15:31
SPEAKER_00: You lose the opportunity immediately to have followed through on what you said.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: And so is the case with us in the church.
15:40
SPEAKER_00: The other thing is that a Christianity is supposed to have a moral basic and an ethic.
15:45
SPEAKER_00: Somebody define ethic for me.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: It's a big word.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so a metric by which we judge someone's actions or ours or a metric, it's kind of the framework in which we believe uh that we that we behave, that we do things.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: That's that's kind of the definition of an ethic.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is interesting.
16:08
SPEAKER_00: When John's writing this, he's actually writing to the early church, okay?
16:13
SPEAKER_00: And you're probably familiar with this because I've talked about it a lot, but he's writing to the early church.
16:17
SPEAKER_00: And something you gotta get in your mind about the early church.
16:20
SPEAKER_00: Yes, they're persecuted, yes, they're brand new to the faith, that sort of thing.
16:24
SPEAKER_00: But also, they didn't really know what direction to go.
16:28
SPEAKER_00: This book that we read, it doesn't show up for another 300 years.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: So he they're right, or maybe 250 at this point.
16:33
SPEAKER_00: They're writing, he's writing to the early church, and they don't even know who to follow.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: In fact, there's a lot of controversy within the scriptures about like, well, who are the people we're supposed to follow?
16:43
SPEAKER_00: What is the thing that we're supposed to do?
16:45
SPEAKER_00: Who has the right Christianity?
16:47
SPEAKER_00: Right?
16:47
SPEAKER_00: Who has the right faith?
16:50
SPEAKER_00: And there's people who are trying to lead just like they do today, where they're looking for power.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: They're not looking to lead a faithful group, they're looking for power, they're looking for money, they're looking for influence, they're looking for all of those things, and he's trying to write to say, hey, you're don't forget the premise is that the guy gave his life.
17:11
SPEAKER_00: Don't forget that the purpose from the beginning was selflessness from the beginning.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: Because there's all these people who are trying to get attention, they're trying to get influence, they're trying to get power, they're trying to get money.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: And he's saying, Don't follow those people.
17:29
SPEAKER_00: Don't forget.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: I want to show you what he says in verse 17.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: Little children, let's not love with words or speech, but with action and truth.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: But if someone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need, but refuses to help, how can the love of God dwell in a person like that?
17:54
SPEAKER_00: This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts in God's presence.
18:02
SPEAKER_00: Hear that again?
18:03
SPEAKER_00: This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and reassure our hearts in God's presence.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: How?
18:11
SPEAKER_00: With action and with truth.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: With action.
18:16
SPEAKER_00: So all those things that we we often focus on in the church, are we believing the right thing?
18:22
SPEAKER_00: Are we are we he says, with action is how you'll know that you're in the truth.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: With action, the behavior, that's how you will know.
18:33
SPEAKER_00: And here's here's another point.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: As he goes on in verse 23, I want you to see that this is not a suggestion, it's a commandment.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: This is his commandment that we believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love each other as he commanded us.
18:47
SPEAKER_00: Those who keep his commandments dwell in God, and God dwells in them.
18:51
SPEAKER_00: This is how we know that he dwells in us because of the spirit he has given us.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: I want to read it again.
18:57
SPEAKER_00: This is his commandment that we believe in the Son of the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other as He commanded us, and love each other as He commanded us.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: Those who keep His commandments dwell in God, and God dwells in them.
19:11
SPEAKER_00: This is how we know that He dwells in us because of the Spirit that He has given us.
19:21
SPEAKER_00: Trying to figure out how is it that I'm supposed to behave?
19:24
SPEAKER_00: What is my moral?
19:25
SPEAKER_00: Where is my ethic?
19:27
SPEAKER_00: Am I behaving in the right way?
19:28
SPEAKER_00: Am I making the right decision?
19:30
SPEAKER_00: Am I choosing to go the right path?
19:32
SPEAKER_00: If you're trying to figure that out, find the words in the commandment that he says to love each other.
19:39
SPEAKER_00: Not a suggestion, not a half-end thing.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: It's a commandment.
19:45
SPEAKER_00: Many of you have heard me say a thousand times that the problem with American Christianity is that it's just a side hustle.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: It's just a thing we do on the side.
19:53
SPEAKER_00: It's like a thing I could check off on a box, on a thing, but it's just a thing that sits here.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: Oh yes, I'm a Christian when it comes to the election.
20:01
SPEAKER_00: Oh yes, I'm a Christian when it comes to wanting to converse with another Christian, but if I am having to converse with somebody else or I'm in a different situation, it's just a side thing.
20:12
SPEAKER_00: Hear me very clearly.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: Christianity is not a thing you do, it's who you are.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: It's not a thing that you do, it's who you are.
20:23
SPEAKER_00: It's not laxadaisical, it's not this thing that I'm just gonna do when it's convenient, it's not this thing that I'm just gonna let sit here.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: It's who you are.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: The entire framework, as we're talking about with the ethic, the entire framework is there and it's premised by somebody who gave his own life.
20:45
SPEAKER_00: Somebody who gave his own life for you.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: That's the premise to living in this faith.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: When you leave in a couple weeks, and this is my last sermon for the year because we're gonna do senior setting off next week and we're gonna pray over the mission chip.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: We got a lot of stuff going on next week.
21:15
SPEAKER_00: Communion.
21:18
SPEAKER_00: But when when you leave in a couple weeks to go on to whatever you're gonna do this summer, it's you get out of the the routine, you get out of the habit.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: We often say this to kids that when they leave camp, like you had this camp high, and now you have to take the next step out in faith, right?
21:37
SPEAKER_00: But what do we all do?
21:37
SPEAKER_00: We like went to camp, we had a really fun time, we met that person we had a huge crush on, and then we we snuck out, you know, and then we took the step out when we get back in the earth and we go right back to our lives.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: Camp didn't change anything about us, and that's so true about life and community here.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: It's so true about life in Christianity in general.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: If you don't believe that, just give it a few weeks, don't go to church and get a sense of like what's changed in your life.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: It happens all the time because Christianity for so many of us is just a thing we do, it's not who we are.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: But going out this summer and into the future, it's got to be who you are.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: If you have the ability to help somebody, help them.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: I want to close with a story about a friend of ours that comes by this place a lot.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: And you probably met him, his name is Mario.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: And uh, first time I met Mario, he came in here and the band was practicing for something, and so I'm sitting here and we're, you know, doing our thing, trying to get everything situated.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: And he's just kind of he comes in, sits, he's very clearly unhoused, and he sits down in one of the chairs and he just starts jamming his head.
22:49
SPEAKER_00: And so I kind of look over and I walk over and I say, Hey man, I'm Bryant.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: He says, I'm Mario.
22:55
SPEAKER_00: And immediately he has he has a story.
22:58
SPEAKER_00: To tell me about where's where he's at in his life.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: And uh I didn't have a dollar of cash because I never carry cash on me.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: It's stupid, but I don't.
23:07
SPEAKER_00: And so I said, Man, I because he asked for he asked me for$23.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: I remember that very clearly.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: And I said, I don't have any cash on me.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: And he goes, Do you have Venmo?
23:15
SPEAKER_00: I was like, Yeah, I got Venmo.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: So I Venmoed him$23.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: And then uh he left.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: Three or four weeks go by and he comes back.
23:28
SPEAKER_00: And he had another story and he wanted$21 or something like that.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: And I talked to him for about 30 minutes or so, and then I sent him$21.
23:41
SPEAKER_00: And then slowly, over the course of time, he's made a regular appearance in this facility.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: He knows exactly where to find me.
23:50
SPEAKER_00: And if he can't, if he comes by and he can't find me, which is kind of common, he'll send me a Venmo request.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: And there's a couple other pastors who are on his Venmo.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: You know, you can see the history.
24:02
SPEAKER_00: So there's a couple other pastors that are on the Venmo.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: And so I start texting them.
24:07
SPEAKER_00: I know half of them.
24:08
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm texting them like, hey, do you know this story with Mario?
24:11
SPEAKER_00: He always comes in with a very specific amount of money.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: And you know, I just want to know if that's valid, if it's something I need to work on.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: He seems to come come around a lot, starting to cost my Venmo, you know.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, which comes out of your bank account, it's not fake money, right?
24:23
SPEAKER_00: So I was trying to ask, and a few people, a few pastors, said, Hey, yeah, he's he's a professional homeless person.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: That's just what he does.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: Some of his stories are like half true, some of them aren't.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: And then I texted my friend Matt over at Eukirk.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: And I saw Matt was on his list, and you know, he would always say, you know, just a little help here or whatever.
24:50
SPEAKER_00: He might give him$10 or 15 or something like that.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: And I said, hey man, what's the deal with Mario?
24:57
SPEAKER_00: He's like, you know what?
24:58
SPEAKER_00: I'm just reminded about the cyclical nature of homelessness.
25:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm just reminded about how hard it is to get out of it.
25:08
SPEAKER_00: And I said, Oh, you're not worried about the truthfulness of the story?
25:14
SPEAKER_00: He said, Man, not really.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: Because if you have the resources and you can help him, then do it.
25:27
SPEAKER_00: And I think in certain circumstances, that may not always make sense.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: But John seems to think that it's a fruit of being a follower of Jesus.
25:39
SPEAKER_00: John seems to think that if you have the ability to help, do.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: So people ask me all the time, when are you gonna stop giving to Mario?
25:53
SPEAKER_00: Because he's gonna keep going around.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: I don't know the answer.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: I hope we can get him such situated where he doesn't need that anymore.
26:02
SPEAKER_00: But until then, if we have the resources, I don't want to sit in a three million dollar building that we just paid off with a giant check and say to somebody, sorry man, we don't have any money.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: When you go out from this place, let Christianity be who you are.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: A follower of Jesus be who you are.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: Live your faith.
26:39
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
26:49
SPEAKER_00: God, it is so hard to follow you sometimes.
26:54
SPEAKER_00: Because you call us to do things that don't make a lot of sense.
27:03
SPEAKER_00: God, help us to live the faith that you've given us.
27:09
SPEAKER_00: Help us to sacrifice ourselves, to not be hypocritical, to be able to give when we can.
27:21
SPEAKER_00: God, remind us as we leave from this place that uh, you know, we're gonna be tempted just to take faith.
27:28
SPEAKER_00: Christianity is kind of a side project.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: It's like a thing we do when it's convenient, when it makes sense, when we don't have to get up in the morning.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: Remind us, God, that that's not what you outlined in your scriptures.
27:45
SPEAKER_00: Instead, you point us to a way, a better way, where we can see you, where we can experience you, where we can know you, and that we can live who you are and who you were through your son, Jesus Christ.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: God, we pray this in your holy name.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: Amen.