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Faith | Dream Big | Week 4 · Life Community Church

0:02
SPEAKER_00: Hello, this is Jamie Bridges, and thank you so much for joining us for this week's podcast.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: All of our services are inspired and built straight from the Bible.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: Let's get into this week's message recorded at Life Community Church.
0:15
SPEAKER_01: Jesus, thank you for this day.
0:17
SPEAKER_01: God, this is a day that you've orchestrated.
0:19
SPEAKER_01: You've known February 1st, 2026.
0:22
SPEAKER_01: God, when we didn't know, you know.
0:25
SPEAKER_01: So, God, we continue to just say, God, we're open to what it is that you want to do, what it is that you're saying to us, and God, we acknowledge today we can't do this without you.
0:36
SPEAKER_01: We need you.
0:37
SPEAKER_01: And uh, Lord, thank you for all that you're doing in Jesus' name.
0:41
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
0:42
SPEAKER_01: Uh, if you are a first-time guest and you you were expecting to hear turn to page 218 in your hymnals, it's not happening.
0:50
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I've just throwing, I'm not against it, I'm not opposed to it, but uh the band did definitely did not want to do that uh to today.
0:59
SPEAKER_01: Uh so uh I'm sure that um that may have shocked some of you, especially with a certain denominational background.
1:07
SPEAKER_01: Um, and we can have conversations about that.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: But I also know the Bible is clear that Jesus came to seek and to save those that were lost.
1:16
SPEAKER_01: Like that's the mission and the purpose of Jesus.
1:20
SPEAKER_01: And so Jesus went to great lengths to love people.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: And from a cultural standpoint, this didn't sit well with a lot of people, including the religious, the spiritual, the leaders of the day, the Pharisees, the Sadducees.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: These were the men and women who had been raised in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and they knew the law.
1:44
SPEAKER_01: And because they knew the law, they thought they knew everything.
1:47
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever been around someone who knows everything?
1:51
SPEAKER_01: If your hand's not raised, you are that person.
1:55
SPEAKER_01: Just saying, like it's we're believing in honesty, right?
1:59
SPEAKER_01: And so the Bible is clear on that.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: Like that's why Jesus came.
2:03
SPEAKER_01: And so when Jesus was hanging out with people that religious people thought weren't good enough, they would criticize Jesus.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: And hear this today.
2:11
SPEAKER_01: Someone needs to hear this.
2:12
SPEAKER_01: Jesus was perfect and got criticized, which means you can be perfect all day long and people are still going to be people.
2:23
SPEAKER_01: That should be freeing to some of you in this room that'll that are people pleasers.
2:28
SPEAKER_01: You're trying everything you can to be liked, to be liked by others, to be liked by certain people.
2:35
SPEAKER_01: Just know this.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: You can go to great lengths and they could still hate you.
2:38
SPEAKER_01: That's Jesus' story.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: And because that's why Jesus came, it didn't make a lot of sense with the things that Jesus did because the expectation from people thought Jesus should look like this.
2:52
SPEAKER_01: And so when Jesus came looking like this, it did not make sense.
2:56
SPEAKER_01: We have a desire at Life Community Church to not just love Jesus, but to be family.
3:02
SPEAKER_01: Fifteen years ago in January of 2011, when we were planting Life Community Church, I was driving, and I really felt like the Lord said, I want this church to be like family.
3:12
SPEAKER_01: And I know that when we say the word family, some of you have mixed emotions because of your family or because of how you were raised.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: Here's what I mean when I say this.
3:24
SPEAKER_01: As a parent in this room, there's been a moment, if you're a student in this room, this has probably happened to you, where your parents sit down with you and they say, We have expectations for you living in this house.
3:36
SPEAKER_01: The expectations are clean your room.
3:40
SPEAKER_01: Don't let dishes sit in your room for 10 years.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: It smells in here.
3:45
SPEAKER_01: Let that be an indicator that you smelled at one point and you left the clothes in here anyway.
3:51
SPEAKER_01: Right?
3:52
SPEAKER_01: You do that and you don't end it with, and if you don't do it, we're no longer family.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: You don't end it that way because it's an expectation.
4:03
SPEAKER_01: And the expectation is we want to do life together, and there's some expectant things that I'm requiring of you, and I love you.
4:12
SPEAKER_01: Now, again, if you're in this room and you're like, listen, I'm just checking you out.
4:16
SPEAKER_01: You get to be in a family meeting today with no expectations.
4:20
SPEAKER_01: You're checking us out.
4:21
SPEAKER_01: You're like the best friend who showed up to your friend's house, and dad called a family meeting, and you're like, Why am I here?
4:28
SPEAKER_01: I'm hearing some things that necessarily I don't know about.
4:32
SPEAKER_01: Well, you got a seat at the table.
4:34
SPEAKER_01: Okay, and I'll say this: if you've had more than one kid, you realize at some point you're gonna say, How did these two people come from the same sperm and the same egg that makes zero sense?
4:52
SPEAKER_01: When we had Jake, my parents gave me a book by Dr.
4:55
SPEAKER_01: Dobson that was the strong-willed child.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: I never opened it because Jake was not a strong-willed child.
5:03
SPEAKER_01: He went with the flow.
5:05
SPEAKER_01: It was super easy to parent him.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: And then three and a half years later, Carson came and I tore that book apart.
5:13
SPEAKER_01: And then the Lord said, Hey, let me relieve you again and gave me Libby.
5:18
SPEAKER_01: And it was like, wow, I can put the book back on the shelf.
5:20
SPEAKER_01: And then God says, Oh, watch this.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: Three years later, he gave me another daughter and said, Get that book back out.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
5:33
SPEAKER_01: How you respond in that moment is important.
5:37
SPEAKER_01: And you will have some that will go, I'm on it, mom, I'll take care of it.
5:41
SPEAKER_01: You will have some that you don't even have to sit down because they're really good at keeping their rooms clean.
5:48
SPEAKER_01: They've jumped in, they own it.
5:50
SPEAKER_01: That's their heart, all of those things.
5:52
SPEAKER_01: So when we have a family conversation, there are gonna be some things that you go, I agree with that.
5:57
SPEAKER_01: I'm doing that.
5:58
SPEAKER_01: We're already on the same page.
6:00
SPEAKER_01: And there's gonna be some things that you're like, ooh, that hurts a little bit.
6:04
SPEAKER_01: This is us coming from an angle where we want to find out am I following Jesus or am I living religious?
6:15
SPEAKER_01: Am I understanding that following Jesus may look completely different than how I thought it was?
6:23
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't mean we throw everything out, but I do want us to have an open mind to what Jesus is saying to us in 2026.
6:33
SPEAKER_01: Going back to August of 24, I was in this place where I was asking the Lord some things, and again, from this context, at this moment, we had put so much stock in 626 West Bottom.
6:49
SPEAKER_01: What we built here, what was happening here, and it was the Lord doing two things in my life correcting me and making me uncomfortable.
6:59
SPEAKER_01: Those two things were happening in August of 24.
7:02
SPEAKER_01: I felt the Lord like the Lord told me to put everything on the table, which was very difficult for me because I didn't want to put everything on the table.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: And so for two months I was kicking and screaming with the Lord.
7:14
SPEAKER_01: Like this to me was incredible.
7:16
SPEAKER_01: I loved what God had done in life community church up to this, but I was also frustrated, and thus the Lord was saying, Are you willing to put things on the table and let me do some things?
7:28
SPEAKER_01: Two months later, we said yes, we agreed.
7:31
SPEAKER_01: And last year, January of 25, we started this conversation of what does it look like for us as a church to potentially, and this was hard for me, potentially move from this location to another.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: We started having these conversations with our leaders.
7:46
SPEAKER_01: I mentioned it to you last January, and we just started having these conversations.
7:51
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
7:52
SPEAKER_01: We also, eight months ago, hired a company called Enjoy.
7:56
SPEAKER_01: And Enjoy has come in, and what Enjoy has done is they've come in and we've asked them to evaluate us, to examine us as a church, examine our books, how we do ministry, all of these misconceptions, all the things that we do right, the things that we do wrong, all of these things.
8:13
SPEAKER_01: And what we've come to a conclusion on is there's some things that we do really healthy, and there's some things that we need to work on.
8:21
SPEAKER_01: Which was no shock.
8:23
SPEAKER_01: Like I when people would say, like, hey, I got a couple questions about this, this, and this, I'd usually say, like, hey, listen, there's 10 things that I could point out right now that we need to be better on.
8:32
SPEAKER_01: The key is we need to be better on it.
8:34
SPEAKER_01: It's family conversation.
8:36
SPEAKER_01: It's not my way or the highway.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: It's not uh we do it right, you do it wrong.
8:40
SPEAKER_01: It's us in this together, right?
8:43
SPEAKER_01: And so we've discovered, like, we are a church that grew really fast numerically, but from a financial standpoint, statistically, okay, statistically, we were low income.
8:56
SPEAKER_01: Like we weren't where we should be as a church of that size.
9:00
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
9:01
SPEAKER_01: Again, I don't know.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: Everybody's got different definitions of generosity.
9:05
SPEAKER_01: I I can tell you, from a church standpoint, we have not been, and when I say we, I would say primarily me, has not been great at talking to you about money.
9:17
SPEAKER_01: And here's my realization over the last two years.
9:20
SPEAKER_01: Like it's wrong of me to not talk about the way that God could bless you from a financial standpoint when He's the one that's doing the blessing.
9:30
SPEAKER_01: He's the one that gives.
9:34
SPEAKER_01: He's the one that's giving.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: So I feel like that there's been things that you've missed out on, blessing-wise, jobs, financials, because we have not talked about that.
9:45
SPEAKER_01: And I'm primarily talking to a group of people that that are maybe new to the faith, that maybe have no concept of giving generously, or what it looks like to tithe, or what it looks like to bring your offerings.
9:58
SPEAKER_01: And so my first confession was I apologize to the Lord.
10:01
SPEAKER_01: I've sometimes been such a people pleaser that when I would hear people say things like, the church only cares about money, I would cower to that and we just wouldn't address it.
10:11
SPEAKER_01: We would talk about money, we would talk about, but we would skim through it, not necessarily exactly how the Bible says it.
10:18
SPEAKER_01: And for that up front, I apologize to you because I do feel like there are things that you miss out on.
10:24
SPEAKER_01: And I also know that Jesus, more than anything else, talked about money.
10:28
SPEAKER_01: And I bring that up because Jesus understood it's not about what we give, it's about our hearts.
10:34
SPEAKER_01: Everything Jesus talked about was always about where our heart was.
10:39
SPEAKER_01: So much that in Matthew chapter 23, he's correcting the religious leaders and he says this, you guys have thed.
10:46
SPEAKER_01: You guys have done it well, you've done it wrong, but you've done it.
10:49
SPEAKER_01: You've neglected mercy, justice, and faith.
10:53
SPEAKER_01: And then he looked at his disciples, he goes, You guys should tithe.
10:57
SPEAKER_01: Yes, but if you neglect these things, then what you're doing is you're saying you're believing something and it's not being carried out in life.
11:05
SPEAKER_01: He's correcting the religious people, saying, You guys are more concerned.
11:08
SPEAKER_01: And you can see this later in some of his.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: Hey, when you give, don't give like the Pharisees.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: How do they give?
11:14
SPEAKER_01: They give publicly so that everybody can go, oh, look at these guys.
11:19
SPEAKER_01: When you pray, don't pray like them.
11:20
SPEAKER_01: Don't pray outside where you're like, Lord, and and everybody hears, what's he say?
11:24
SPEAKER_01: Go inside to your prayer closet, pray there.
11:27
SPEAKER_01: When you fast, don't fast so that every he even says, like, don't throw water on your face so everyone will be like, look how spiritual they are.
11:33
SPEAKER_01: They're fasting, they're so great.
11:35
SPEAKER_01: And he says, when you get this applause, that's all you'll get.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: People will be impressed, but I know what's going on on the inside.
11:43
SPEAKER_01: What's he addressing?
11:44
SPEAKER_01: He's always addressing the heart.
11:46
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
11:47
SPEAKER_01: Now I've had conversations hundreds, hundreds, over this year will be 30 years that I that I've been in full-time ministry.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: Hundreds of conversations with people who have come and said, when the Bible talks about tithing, does it really mean 10%?
12:06
SPEAKER_01: Does it really mean I gotta give, like, it's talking about farming and it's talking about herbs and it's talking about the grain?
12:12
SPEAKER_01: Like, is he really asking me to give 10%?
12:16
SPEAKER_01: Can it be flexible?
12:18
SPEAKER_01: And I'll be like, yeah.
12:19
SPEAKER_01: But guess what?
12:20
SPEAKER_01: We never, what what's never addressed?
12:22
SPEAKER_01: Someone's not saying, like, can I give 12 instead of 10?
12:26
SPEAKER_01: I mean, can it be 15?
12:29
SPEAKER_01: It's always the other way, right?
12:31
SPEAKER_01: It's always like, I mean, did he mean 10?
12:33
SPEAKER_01: Could it be more like five?
12:34
SPEAKER_01: Could it be more like eight?
12:36
SPEAKER_01: What are we trying to do?
12:37
SPEAKER_01: We're walking this line again.
12:39
SPEAKER_01: Life Community Church, Jamie Bridges is not telling you to test him in this.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: God said, test me in this.
12:47
SPEAKER_01: Watch.
12:48
SPEAKER_01: When I started tithing as a young believer, what was said to me, Jamie, do it for 30 days and watch what the Lord will do.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: That's what I did.
12:58
SPEAKER_01: And after 30 days, I was convinced none of it was mine anyway.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: None of it was mine.
13:04
SPEAKER_01: None of it, like everything that I got.
13:07
SPEAKER_01: When you have a perspective and an understanding that I didn't save myself, I didn't heal myself, I didn't forgive myself, and I'm not the one that's in control when it comes to all of these things.
13:18
SPEAKER_01: Instead of going like this, it's usually more like this.
13:22
SPEAKER_01: When Casey's even saying, like, guys, let's lift our hands, we're not doing it like this.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: We're doing it like this.
13:29
SPEAKER_01: God, here I am, a sinner, in need of mercy and grace.
13:35
SPEAKER_01: So again, here's why else I like to enjoy.
13:38
SPEAKER_01: Enjoy says, Jamie, we're doing a spiritual journey where money is third, fourth on the list.
13:45
SPEAKER_01: We're more talking about where are we spiritually?
13:47
SPEAKER_01: What is God doing in?
13:49
SPEAKER_01: What is God doing through?
13:51
SPEAKER_01: He's ultimately saying, This organization is saying, like, we want to know, are we just saying what we believe?
13:57
SPEAKER_01: Are we actually living this thing out?
14:00
SPEAKER_01: So when we ask you to fill out a fasting card to go on this spiritual journey, it's to say, like, hey, this is what family does.
14:08
SPEAKER_01: We do this together.
14:09
SPEAKER_01: They've also thrown out that, hey, 60% of the people that fill this spiritual journey card out, 60% of them will follow through.
14:20
SPEAKER_01: Statistically, nationwide, this company's raised over a billion dollars.
14:24
SPEAKER_01: They've watched a lot of people go through a spiritual journey.
14:27
SPEAKER_01: They say statistically across the board, 60% of the people will fill this out.
14:33
SPEAKER_01: 600's in.
14:34
SPEAKER_01: They're with you.
14:36
SPEAKER_01: 400 is not.
14:38
SPEAKER_01: And this is what I looked at, Jeff, and this is what I said.
14:41
SPEAKER_01: You've not met the people of Life Community Church.
14:44
SPEAKER_01: That's what I said.
14:45
SPEAKER_01: Was I saying it by faith?
14:46
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
14:47
SPEAKER_01: You haven't filled this card out yet.
14:50
SPEAKER_01: I was coming from an expected standpoint.
14:53
SPEAKER_01: This is a journey that I'm asking you to go on because Jesus was clear when he looked at his disciples, and they came to him and said, We're not seeing the stuff.
15:04
SPEAKER_01: We're not seeing what we've what we've heard, what we've what we've talked about.
15:08
SPEAKER_01: Like we're not seeing what you do, we're not seeing it ourselves.
15:11
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus looked at him and said, guys, there's some things that only happen by prayer and fasting.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: What's he saying?
15:19
SPEAKER_01: He's saying, Listen, there are some things that you can pray about and God will show up.
15:25
SPEAKER_01: But there are some things that I'm asking you to sacrifice for.
15:29
SPEAKER_01: And when you sacrifice, when you bring, when you say, I'm giving up this thing of my flesh, so something some of you in this room, you've been praying for a family member, a friend, and you've been praying and praying, and you would acknowledge this person is really hard to reach.
15:48
SPEAKER_01: That person is not someone you should just be praying for.
15:51
SPEAKER_01: You should be fasting on their behalf.
15:54
SPEAKER_01: So when the Bible says one could put a thousand to flight, two could put ten thousand.
16:03
SPEAKER_01: For the intellects in the room, for the analytical people, you understand mathematically that makes zero sense, right?
16:11
SPEAKER_01: To the people that aren't analytical, you're like, uh, I don't understand what the question was.
16:17
SPEAKER_01: GC math, what's up, right?
16:20
SPEAKER_01: One, putting a thousand to flight is what I can do with God's giftings, with what what is how God has gifted me, how he's wired.
16:28
SPEAKER_01: But he says, if you want to see more and you invite the Lord mathematically, it makes zero sense.
16:36
SPEAKER_01: One, a thousand, two, ten thousand, that doesn't make sense.
16:40
SPEAKER_01: That is what happens when the Lord gets involved.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: That's what we're believing for.
16:45
SPEAKER_01: We're believing that God is gonna do something big that will blow our minds, that will blow our minds.
16:53
SPEAKER_01: And so in September of 25, we felt like a door opened to purchase this 57 acres.
17:02
SPEAKER_01: And there's been three words that I've said more than any other word since September of 25.
17:10
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
17:13
SPEAKER_01: Because you know, the questions come flying, right?
17:16
SPEAKER_01: What's the building gonna be?
17:18
SPEAKER_01: What's it gonna look like?
17:19
SPEAKER_01: Do you got any drawings yet?
17:20
SPEAKER_01: You got an architect?
17:21
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's like, oh my gosh, I don't know.
17:24
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
17:25
SPEAKER_01: We're walking through one door at a time and we're dreaming.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: We're dreaming about what God wants to do.
17:31
SPEAKER_01: Now, I I do know this.
17:33
SPEAKER_01: This is a big why.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: And some of you have heard this.
17:36
SPEAKER_01: So there's two things that Enjoy asked of us.
17:39
SPEAKER_01: First and foremost, by taking our books, they identified people who had given a certain amount to life community church, which is what they are invested in life community church, and they asked that I meet with all those people, and that's what we did over the last two months during November and December.
17:54
SPEAKER_01: I've met with over 120 people that were just invested in life community church, they're financial leaders.
17:59
SPEAKER_01: The biggest question I asked them is why do you give to life community church?
18:03
SPEAKER_01: Why are you so invested in life community church?
18:05
SPEAKER_01: A lot of it was this is what we believe the Bible says.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: They talked about the good things that were happening, all these kind of things.
18:11
SPEAKER_01: That's why they're giving.
18:12
SPEAKER_01: It's important for us to know that.
18:13
SPEAKER_01: They did that, okay?
18:15
SPEAKER_01: And then secondly, we identified there's three places that we look when it talks about we have to do something.
18:23
SPEAKER_01: One, what's your sanctuary space like, which is an easy fix?
18:26
SPEAKER_01: You add services.
18:28
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we've done that.
18:29
SPEAKER_01: We're at three services.
18:31
SPEAKER_01: Secondly, what's your parking situation like?
18:34
SPEAKER_01: It's horrific.
18:37
SPEAKER_01: Right?
18:38
SPEAKER_01: And third, what's your kids' space like?
18:41
SPEAKER_01: Also, not great.
18:43
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so when you have one of those three, you gotta make a little change.
18:46
SPEAKER_01: You have two of those three, you have to do something drastic.
18:49
SPEAKER_01: You have three of those things, you're at a very you're at a very tough spot.
18:54
SPEAKER_01: And the tough spot is at some point, it's really awesome.
18:57
SPEAKER_01: And it's it's it's got a lot of momentum until it doesn't.
19:01
SPEAKER_01: And here's what it is you drive on the parking lot and you drive around and you go, wow, it's full.
19:07
SPEAKER_01: This is amazing.
19:08
SPEAKER_01: And then you drive around again, you're like, this stinks.
19:12
SPEAKER_01: I cannot find a spot.
19:13
SPEAKER_01: Now you're like, oh my gosh, I'm parking illegally.
19:16
SPEAKER_01: I feel bad that I'm parking in a handicapped spot.
19:18
SPEAKER_01: I feel bad that I'm parking down the street.
19:20
SPEAKER_01: It's cold, I'm done, I'm going home.
19:23
SPEAKER_01: Like that's the progression.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: So when you have three of those three, enjoy will tell you, you're in a dangerous spot.
19:31
SPEAKER_01: And the dangerous spot is we have to do something.
19:34
SPEAKER_01: The Lord knows all those things.
19:36
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
19:37
SPEAKER_01: So so that's that's where we're at.
19:39
SPEAKER_01: This 57 acres is not about square footage, it's about stewardship, mission, and obedience.
19:47
SPEAKER_01: We're simply asking, Lord, what do you want to do with this land that you have provided for us?
19:54
SPEAKER_01: And if you didn't know this, you need to open your eyes.
19:56
SPEAKER_01: But we're calling this season Dream Big.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you guys got that at all.
20:01
SPEAKER_01: Okay, and we're calling it Dream Big because my story, you guys, is I'm a I'm a dreamer.
20:08
SPEAKER_01: I'm a guy that dreams.
20:10
SPEAKER_01: And because I'm a dreamer, I'm also that guy that wants to prove people wrong.
20:15
SPEAKER_01: I live by, listen, you you've put limitations, I'm gonna I'm gonna do everything I can to prove you wrong.
20:22
SPEAKER_01: And whether that's on a field, whether that's in the kingdom, I just believe in the heart of what God wants to do.
20:28
SPEAKER_01: And God does not require small faith, he requires big faith.
20:33
SPEAKER_01: In fact, I would tell you if your dream doesn't require faith, it's probably too small.
20:38
SPEAKER_01: It requires that.
20:40
SPEAKER_01: And this is the heart of this project.
20:42
SPEAKER_01: It's not a place where it will be a place that is a launching pad.
20:46
SPEAKER_01: This will be a place where a movement happens.
20:49
SPEAKER_01: This is a place where we want people to meet Jesus.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: This is a place where we want people, we're leaders.
20:54
SPEAKER_01: This is a place where we want to continue to do what we're already doing.
20:59
SPEAKER_01: Okay?
20:59
SPEAKER_01: This is it.
21:01
SPEAKER_01: This is not again about equal gifts, it's about equal sacrifice.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: Not everyone will give the same, but we're asking everyone to do something.
21:10
SPEAKER_01: Mark chapter 2.
21:13
SPEAKER_01: Perhaps, I want to be dramatic with this, perhaps my my favorite passage in scripture about Jesus.
21:19
SPEAKER_01: I say that loosely because I don't want to say it's my favorite.
21:22
SPEAKER_01: It's like looking at your kid and be like, You're my favorite child.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: That's tough.
21:27
SPEAKER_01: That's difficult to do.
21:28
SPEAKER_01: Though you probably have one.
21:30
SPEAKER_01: Verse 1 says, A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home, and they gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, and not even outside the door.
21:42
SPEAKER_01: And he preached the word to them, and some men came bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.
21:50
SPEAKER_01: And since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening of the roof above Jesus by digging through it, and then lowered the mat the man was laying on.
22:00
SPEAKER_01: Jesus saw their faith.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: He said to the paralyzed man, Son, your sins are forgiven.
22:04
SPEAKER_01: Now some teachers of the religious law were sitting there and they were thinking to themselves, why does this fellow talk like that?
22:13
SPEAKER_01: He's blasphemy.
22:14
SPEAKER_01: Who can forgive sins but God alone?
22:16
SPEAKER_01: Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts.
22:22
SPEAKER_01: This is also a moment to be reminded that you can hide from people, but God knows exactly where you are and what you're thinking.
22:30
SPEAKER_01: Which is easier to say to the paralyzed man, your sins are forgiven, or to say, get up, take your mat and walk.
22:35
SPEAKER_01: But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
22:40
SPEAKER_01: So he said to the man, I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home.
22:44
SPEAKER_01: He got up, took his mat, walked out in full view of them all.
22:47
SPEAKER_01: This amazed everyone, and they praised God, saying, We have never seen anything like this.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: This is the situation.
22:55
SPEAKER_01: Okay, a home in this time had a den, had a kitchen, had a bedroom, had outside stairs that went up to a roof that was made of mud.
23:03
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says Jesus is doing miracles, people are being healed, people are being set free, blind people are seeing, deaf people are hearing.
23:10
SPEAKER_01: It's incredible.
23:11
SPEAKER_01: All this crowd came.
23:12
SPEAKER_01: Literally, every part of the main level was crowded.
23:20
SPEAKER_01: Understand that this man brought friends that could not get himself to Jesus.
23:29
SPEAKER_01: The history, again, of Life Community Church is we have a legacy of dream big builders.
23:36
SPEAKER_01: From the very beginning, January 23rd, 2011, when we gathered in our home and we started talking about Life Community Church and was given a building, and people not just paid for 310 South Rap, but a year and a half later said, This is not big enough.
23:54
SPEAKER_01: We need to go somewhere else.
23:55
SPEAKER_01: And we began to save up for 626 West Bottom.
24:00
SPEAKER_01: I'll never forget the day that I looked at Jonathan Peter and said, We want to buy your building, it's just gonna be in 18 months.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: But we know this is where God wants us to go.
24:09
SPEAKER_01: And we started making the payment that day so much that when we bought this place, I mean, it's gonna be crazy what I'm about to tell you because the housing market, whoo! It's tough to live here.
24:21
SPEAKER_01: We bought this whole place before we built for$700,000.
24:25
SPEAKER_01: And that 18 months, we put aside$200,000.
24:29
SPEAKER_01: So we bought this for$500,000.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: Someone literally paid for you to be here today.
24:34
SPEAKER_01: 250 people when we moved.
24:36
SPEAKER_01: And First Baptist, not only did we buy it from them, they said, we'll be your bank because no bank would even look at us two years in.
24:42
SPEAKER_01: You had to be three years in.
24:43
SPEAKER_01: So they looked at us and said, Well, Pastor, we think you might still fail.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: First Baptist said, We got you.
24:49
SPEAKER_01: We moved in here in 2014, began to renovate every room because every room needed renovation.
24:56
SPEAKER_01: Okay, we began to renovate a couple years later.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: We're about 450 people, and we decide in 2020, in the middle of the world going nuts.
25:08
SPEAKER_01: Let's make room.
25:09
SPEAKER_01: And 450 people said, We believe in this.
25:13
SPEAKER_01: You're sitting here today, and 650 to 700 people don't know Life Community Church outside of this room.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: You don't know 310 South Rat.
25:27
SPEAKER_01: You didn't walk into that little space that sat 100 people and a bathroom and a coffee bar was literally in the same spot.
25:35
SPEAKER_01: You don't understand that you don't understand that the kids had to meet in the building next to us that we had to rent because we didn't have enough room for kids' space?
25:44
SPEAKER_01: Three services, potentially going to a fourth, and then this building opened up.
25:49
SPEAKER_01: That room, I mean, I still will be in there on Sunday nights with students and going, we used to do church in here.
25:55
SPEAKER_01: That's crazy.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: You ever walk in that space?
25:58
SPEAKER_01: Anyone that's that was here and go, we did church in this room.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: We basically left it and just came over here.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: Somebody bought this spot for you to be sitting here today.
26:11
SPEAKER_01: So we have a legacy of people going, man, we want to dream big.
26:15
SPEAKER_01: This is this is what is happening.
26:18
SPEAKER_01: They grab the mat so you and I could sit here today.
26:22
SPEAKER_01: This is what's happening in Mark chapter 2.
26:24
SPEAKER_01: This is what's going on.
26:25
SPEAKER_01: And not just that.
26:26
SPEAKER_01: You know, there's 11,000 people in Columbia, over 11,000 in Waterloo.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: Then you get into Red Bud and you get into Cahokia and you get into Dupo, you get into St.
26:34
SPEAKER_01: Louis, you get into Belleville, you get into Millside, you get in Freebird, don't forget Hecker.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: You get all these spots, you go a 20-mile radius around 626 West Bottom, and there's 650,000 people.
26:47
SPEAKER_01: 650,000 people.
26:50
SPEAKER_01: So we're not dreaming big for Columbia, we're dreaming big for the things that are happening around us.
26:56
SPEAKER_01: Because I believe that when God puts a miracle in your heart, small thinking and crowded spaces can't stop it.
27:04
SPEAKER_01: That's what I believe.
27:06
SPEAKER_01: Dream big faith starts with the need.
27:09
SPEAKER_01: There's a paralyzed man, he's in the room, and the man couldn't make himself get there.
27:17
SPEAKER_01: Someone had to look at him.
27:19
SPEAKER_01: He couldn't try harder, he couldn't muster up the courage, he couldn't think about it, he couldn't just be have positive or or good vibes.
27:27
SPEAKER_01: Someone literally had to pick this man up because this is what God does.
27:32
SPEAKER_01: God-sized dreams begin where our ability ends.
27:37
SPEAKER_01: He couldn't do it.
27:40
SPEAKER_01: Nobody could do what he was being asked to do.
27:44
SPEAKER_01: This wasn't convenient, this wasn't manageable, this was a desperate situation.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: Dream big isn't about ambition, it's about obedience to the need God has placed in front of you.
27:57
SPEAKER_01: Not just about here, but about your own personal life and the need that God has put in front of you and says, listen, I'm not looking for someone else.
28:06
SPEAKER_01: I'm looking to you.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: In fact, if you want to know who the killer is in most churches, all churches, it's this individual that's known as someone else.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: That's what we've named him.
28:20
SPEAKER_01: We've named him someone else because we've made the excuse that I don't need to do it, someone else can do it.
28:27
SPEAKER_01: That's not what he's talking about.
28:29
SPEAKER_01: He had friends that said, It's us.
28:31
SPEAKER_01: We're not gonna take no for an answer.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna get you there.
28:34
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna get you there.
28:35
SPEAKER_01: This is this is the dream big faith.
28:37
SPEAKER_01: They refuse to stop at obstacles.
28:41
SPEAKER_01: The crowd didn't hate them, the crowd just didn't move.
28:46
SPEAKER_01: Crowds and danger are dangerous because they're neutral.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: They don't stop faith, they slow it down.
28:53
SPEAKER_01: They slow it down.
28:55
SPEAKER_01: They say things like, now's not the right time.
28:58
SPEAKER_01: That's unrealistic.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: Just be thankful for what you already have.
29:03
SPEAKER_01: Why mess with what's working?
29:08
SPEAKER_01: These friends looked and said, Nope.
29:11
SPEAKER_01: Different problem, same Jesus.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: Different problem, same Jesus.
29:17
SPEAKER_01: Hope is essential.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: Hope only works if it gets there in time.
29:21
SPEAKER_01: This was the whatever it takes attitude.
29:24
SPEAKER_01: This is what they were demonstrating.
29:26
SPEAKER_01: Whatever it takes.
29:27
SPEAKER_01: We're willing to do whatever it takes because they're willing to tear the roof off.
29:31
SPEAKER_01: They made an opening.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: This is where faith gets messy.
29:34
SPEAKER_01: Why?
29:34
SPEAKER_01: Because roof costs money, and it wasn't their roof.
29:40
SPEAKER_01: It's not theirs.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: Roof represents comfort, tradition, what's always been, how we've always done it.
29:47
SPEAKER_01: Dream big moments always require bold faith, public obedience, risk that feels uncomfortable.
29:54
SPEAKER_01: This is why we baptize.
29:56
SPEAKER_01: We baptize because this is public.
29:59
SPEAKER_01: This is you declaring to the world, I am no longer the same person.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: So people have asked, like, do I have to get baptized to go to heaven?
30:08
SPEAKER_01: No.
30:09
SPEAKER_01: But when you read the Bible and you see about people getting saved, the first thing they did was get baptized.
30:13
SPEAKER_01: Well, what about the thief on the cross?
30:15
SPEAKER_01: Different situation.
30:16
SPEAKER_01: It shows how big God's grace is.
30:19
SPEAKER_01: It shows that you don't have to be baptized, you don't have to go to discover life, you don't have to go to a new people gathering, you don't have to get in a circle to go to heaven.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: That's how big God's grace is.
30:28
SPEAKER_01: But most of us aren't going to be like the thief on the cross.
30:31
SPEAKER_01: So stop making that as an excuse.
30:33
SPEAKER_01: Usually when someone's like, Well, what about the thief on the cross?
30:35
SPEAKER_01: You're being lazy.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: You're being insecure.
30:40
SPEAKER_01: Well, I don't like to be in front of people.
30:43
SPEAKER_01: Said your flesh.
30:44
SPEAKER_01: But we're killing the flesh.
30:48
SPEAKER_01: When people say, How do I get involved?
30:50
SPEAKER_01: Come to the new people gathering.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: Go to discover life.
30:53
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna show you how to do these things.
30:56
SPEAKER_01: This is the public, this is publicly us declaring, guys.
31:00
SPEAKER_01: I cannot do this on my own.
31:02
SPEAKER_01: This is what this is what dream big faith looks like.
31:06
SPEAKER_01: It's uncomfortable.
31:08
SPEAKER_01: This is the moment where God is not just doing something internal, it's moving to the external.
31:14
SPEAKER_01: This is why the Bible says faith without works is stupid, foolish, foolish.
31:21
SPEAKER_01: He's saying if if it's only about what we say and it doesn't translate into what we do, then what we say should be voided.
31:30
SPEAKER_01: What did Jesus call the religious leaders?
31:33
SPEAKER_01: A majority of the time, hypocrites.
31:36
SPEAKER_01: You care more about how the outside looks than what is going on in here.
31:41
SPEAKER_01: You think outside in, I'm saying inside out.
31:45
SPEAKER_01: Right?
31:46
SPEAKER_01: Because we have a problem with who?
31:49
SPEAKER_01: People.
31:50
SPEAKER_01: People are our problem.
31:53
SPEAKER_01: I thought you could handle it.
31:55
SPEAKER_01: Some of your face has shown me otherwise.
31:59
SPEAKER_01: You're like, move on.
32:01
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to 9 a.m.
32:02
SPEAKER_01: next week.
32:02
SPEAKER_01: No, could you go to 7:30?
32:06
SPEAKER_01: Could you possibly just get up a little earlier?
32:08
SPEAKER_01: No parking problem there.
32:12
SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, I couldn't find a spot.
32:13
SPEAKER_01: I can tell you when.
32:16
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said, it says, when Jesus saw their faith, this will blow your theological mind.
32:24
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you guys think it's oh man.
32:28
SPEAKER_01: It says.
32:31
SPEAKER_01: Didn't say his faith.
32:33
SPEAKER_01: He didn't have any.
32:35
SPEAKER_01: He didn't even want to be there.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: You think because he didn't want to be there and he was kicking and screaming, nothing good could happen.
32:43
SPEAKER_01: Well, he wasn't kicking.
32:43
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: I apologize.
32:44
SPEAKER_01: He's paralyzed.
32:52
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
32:55
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: That's fun.
33:00
SPEAKER_01: Well, maybe we're using the 9 a.m.
33:02
SPEAKER_01: Anyway.
33:04
SPEAKER_01: That's why this journey isn't about me.
33:06
SPEAKER_01: This is about we.
33:08
SPEAKER_01: This has to be a we moment.
33:10
SPEAKER_01: This cannot be a you moment, a me moment.
33:13
SPEAKER_01: It has to be we.
33:14
SPEAKER_01: We have to fast together.
33:16
SPEAKER_01: We have to pray together.
33:17
SPEAKER_01: We have to agree in this together.
33:19
SPEAKER_01: Again, I want that 60% to go to 100%.
33:24
SPEAKER_01: Because the greatest need in our community is still forgiveness.
33:27
SPEAKER_01: It's the reason when Jesus saw the paralyzed man, he didn't touch his physical need.
33:31
SPEAKER_01: He said, Your sins are forgiven.
33:33
SPEAKER_01: Because Jesus cares more about your soul than he does your actual need.
33:37
SPEAKER_01: You thought you came with this expectation?
33:40
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said, it's still about forgiveness.
33:43
SPEAKER_01: Why did Jesus come?
33:44
SPEAKER_01: Let's go back to the beginning.
33:46
SPEAKER_01: To seek and to save those that were lost.
33:48
SPEAKER_01: Why?
33:48
SPEAKER_01: So they could be found.
33:50
SPEAKER_01: That's still the number one need.
33:51
SPEAKER_01: He cares about, he will go to great lengths to get your attention because he cares first and foremost about that.
33:59
SPEAKER_01: And what happened?
34:00
SPEAKER_01: It freaked him out.
34:02
SPEAKER_01: It freaked him out that Jesus was about to forgive him.
34:06
SPEAKER_01: Listen to me.
34:06
SPEAKER_01: I don't want to be a part of something where people give their lives to Jesus and people freak out about it in a negative way.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if that's real or not.
34:19
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
34:20
SPEAKER_01: Justin Bieber's done a lot of things.
34:22
SPEAKER_01: Is he a believer?
34:23
SPEAKER_01: Is he not?
34:23
SPEAKER_01: Oh, the Kardashians are doing.
34:25
SPEAKER_01: Who gives a rip?
34:27
SPEAKER_01: Who cares?
34:29
SPEAKER_01: If now Justin Bieber's singing worship songs, let's go.
34:32
SPEAKER_01: He's got an incredible voice.
34:33
SPEAKER_01: I want to hear it.
34:34
SPEAKER_01: I'm a believer.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: Like I want to, I want to hear him sing about those things.
34:40
SPEAKER_01: I'm not here to be the guy that goes, I don't know, was it genuine or not?
34:44
SPEAKER_01: Is he trying to make money?
34:45
SPEAKER_01: Stop it.
34:46
SPEAKER_01: That's what these guys were doing.
34:48
SPEAKER_01: I God, he's forgiving sins.
34:50
SPEAKER_01: Did he not see that he's paralyzed?
34:53
SPEAKER_01: That's probably the bigger need.
34:54
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus goes, that's not the bigger need.
34:56
SPEAKER_01: The bigger need is salvation.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: It's salvation.
35:01
SPEAKER_01: And then what?
35:02
SPEAKER_01: The religious people are going, I don't know.
35:04
SPEAKER_01: Who is this guy?
35:06
SPEAKER_01: That's not how we expected him to come.
35:08
SPEAKER_01: And I love what Jesus did.
35:11
SPEAKER_01: Man, this is the greatest mic drop in all the parables.
35:15
SPEAKER_01: Oh, you think that's hard?
35:18
SPEAKER_01: You think it would be better or more difficult for me to say?
35:22
SPEAKER_01: Get up and walk?
35:24
SPEAKER_01: Watch this.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: Get up and walk.
35:29
SPEAKER_01: And then what did Jesus say to him?
35:31
SPEAKER_01: Now I need you to take this story and this testimony to the streets.
35:38
SPEAKER_01: And you don't even have to say a word.
35:41
SPEAKER_01: Where did Jesus say that?
35:42
SPEAKER_01: When Jesus looked at him, he said, Grab your mat and walk out in full view of them all.
35:51
SPEAKER_01: Jesus said, People know you by that mat, but now they're gonna know you by the way you walk.
35:59
SPEAKER_01: By the way you talk, the confidence that you now have.
36:02
SPEAKER_01: This is your story.
36:04
SPEAKER_01: This is this is the moment that you get to see this is the old me.
36:08
SPEAKER_01: I walked in, someone carried me.
36:10
SPEAKER_01: I'm walking out, I'm standing on my own.
36:12
SPEAKER_01: And now I gotta deal with all the other excuses that I've made my whole life and why I've begged and why I've done all these things.
36:19
SPEAKER_01: I have all these limitations.
36:20
SPEAKER_01: And Jesus says, No more excuses.
36:22
SPEAKER_01: Now you're walking.
36:24
SPEAKER_01: He says that to us today as well.
36:27
SPEAKER_01: Hey, you're saved, you're following Jesus.
36:30
SPEAKER_01: You said yes to him.
36:31
SPEAKER_01: When are you gonna stop using your past limitations and make that part of your story and not the excuse not to serve?
36:38
SPEAKER_01: Some of you in this room, you had you are an addict, you are addicted, and God has set you free, and you've not shared that with anyone.
36:46
SPEAKER_01: You're not even talking about it.
36:48
SPEAKER_01: Some of you are divorced, some of you are have been cheated on, some of you have cheated on other people, and you're so ashamed by it, you're so you're so mad about it, you're so old these things about it.
36:57
SPEAKER_01: And God says, that is your story of who you used to be.
37:00
SPEAKER_01: Pick up that mat and let's walk out.
37:03
SPEAKER_01: And the Bible says every single one of them were blown away by what Jesus had done just done, that they've never seen anything like that before.
37:13
SPEAKER_01: I want to be that kind of church.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: Not so people be like, life community church, they're so cool, they got coffee.
37:25
SPEAKER_01: I want people to say, I don't know, I showed up.
37:28
SPEAKER_01: I showed up, and there's only 10 people there in a small group, and as we are praying, someone prayed, and next thing I know, I was healed.
37:35
SPEAKER_01: Guys, we're on this journey so that we can talk about all that God's gonna do the next 21 days.
37:45
SPEAKER_01: It's not that we're just putting a dollar amount on that screen.
37:49
SPEAKER_01: We want to put up there how many people got saved, how many people are getting baptized, how many people are in small groups, how many people are being discipled, how many people are showing up on Sunday nights, how many people are coming to kids.
37:59
SPEAKER_01: That's what we want to show.
38:02
SPEAKER_01: The money is the byproducts.
38:05
SPEAKER_01: We all know we need money.
38:08
SPEAKER_01: We all know that.
38:08
SPEAKER_01: This is not a oh my gosh, they're talking about money.
38:12
SPEAKER_01: Just like you don't walk into West County Mall and be like, you know, this place, all they want is my money.
38:18
SPEAKER_01: Chick fil A, they want me to order as much fruit.
38:20
SPEAKER_01: All Chick fil A cares about, except on Sunday, is my money.
38:24
SPEAKER_01: That's all they care about.
38:26
SPEAKER_01: When we walk into church and you say one thing, you're like, yep, they just want my money.
38:30
SPEAKER_01: Did you not hear the 99.9 other things that we said?
38:34
SPEAKER_01: Right?
38:35
SPEAKER_01: What is that?
38:37
SPEAKER_01: This is the excuse because Jesus trusted the outcome of what he was doing.
38:44
SPEAKER_01: Jesus was the one.
38:46
SPEAKER_01: And people were blown away.
38:48
SPEAKER_01: Are we tired of just doing life how we've always done it?
38:54
SPEAKER_01: I want to be blown away by what Jesus does.
38:58
SPEAKER_01: I want to be blown away.
39:01
SPEAKER_01: Why?
39:01
SPEAKER_01: Because this life is so quick, you guys.
39:05
SPEAKER_01: And this is this is just a quick, there's got to be an urgency, a warning about what's happening.
39:13
SPEAKER_01: I'm ready.
39:15
SPEAKER_01: You ready?
39:17
SPEAKER_01: Because listen, I say this all the time.
39:19
SPEAKER_01: I only coach the people that are there.
39:23
SPEAKER_01: I can't coach the people that aren't.
39:26
SPEAKER_01: If someone comes to me and says, hey, I don't want to be on the team, I can't worry about that.
39:30
SPEAKER_01: I can't be like, well, I really wish I had you.
39:34
SPEAKER_01: It's great, you're not there.
39:36
SPEAKER_01: I can't coach someone that's not there.
39:39
SPEAKER_01: We can't, as a family, move forward if we're not showing up.
39:45
SPEAKER_01: If we're not doing what we're supposed to be doing.
39:47
SPEAKER_01: This is a we thing, not a someone else's thing.
39:51
SPEAKER_01: We gotta do this together.
39:54
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
39:55
SPEAKER_01: Would you stand with me right now?