Latest / Bayside Davis Podcast / Ephesians 5:8-14 | A Spiritual Awakening

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Ephesians 5:8-14 | A Spiritual Awakening · Bayside Davis Podcast

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Basic Davis Podcast.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: You're listening to our current teaching series, Ephesians.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: In the 1700s, long time ago, there was the first great awakening in American history.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: God used a man named George Whitfield who used to travel by horse from city to city, and he would hold open-air preaching revivals.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And thousands upon thousands would come.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: And a major revival started in the 1700s through George Whitfield and others that brought Jesus to the forefront of the people living during that time in American history.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: In the 1800s, there was another great awakening.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: This time not by George Whitfield traveling around on a horse, but by a few different individuals, one named Charles Finney, who was a lawyer.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And as he was practicing law, he felt a call from God to become a preacher.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: He was arguing cases in the courts, and then he felt like God wanted him to preach the gospel to people.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: And he became a great evangelist alongside another individual in the 1800s named D.L.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Moody out of Chicago who used to go and preach all over the place at large stadiums and large gatherings, and thousands upon thousands were showing up to hear these two great evangelists lead an American revival to Jesus.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then in the 1900s, there was multiple spiritual awakenings, or we might say revivals.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: One of them was through an individual that most of us know their name, Billy Graham, who was one of the greatest preachers in history, and he in the 50s and 60s preached all over the world, including all over America, and over 200 million people heard the gospel through Billy Graham.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: At one time, he preached to one million people at one event on one day.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: The good news of Jesus Christ.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: And that started a multiple decade revival.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then in the 70s and 80s, you had a what was called the Jesus movement.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: It was a youth-led revival that started in Southern California at a church with no youth that invited a bunch of hippies who were on drugs and living a crazy lifestyle into the church.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: They were invited and welcomed into this church.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: The church had 25 people.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden they got connected with a few hippies.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the Jesus movement started in this place in Southern California, a church called Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, that was not on the map for anything.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: It was a baby church.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: And that revival for multiple decades spread through the entire nation.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Our nation.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: But it's been a while since we've seen a spiritual awakening, you might call it, or a revival, a return to God, something special that God is doing in a generation, not every generation, but in a generation occurs every once in a while.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: We might look at our current time and we say, what about now?
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a revival?
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a return to God?
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a spiritual awakening?
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there seems to be a spiritual awakening happening in Gen Z across the Western world.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these stats.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: According to Pew Research, 46% of Americans born in the 2000s identify as Christian.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: According to Barna Group, commitment to Jesus is up 12 points since 2021, from 54% to 66%.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And for the first time in American history, Gen Z men show a 15-point increase in their belief and faith in Jesus.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is the first time in American history that men are outpacing women in the youngest generation in returning to God in Christ.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now that shouldn't be a discouragement for the women.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: You guys are already doing it.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: But finally the men are waking up and returning to Jesus.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Gen Z attends church more than millennials.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's my generation.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm an OG millennial, an old millennial, with nearly 30 million more U.S.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: adults claiming to follow Jesus in our current moment.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Also, younger generations, Gen Z and millennials, I like that, now lead in church attendance, attending more services than their parents or grandparents.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: Bible sales have spiked, driven by first-time buyers.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Gen Z contributes to 50 to a 50% rise in church attendance over six years in some UK context.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So Gen Z in the UK, they're buying tons of Bibles and they're going to church.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: And another study said UK Bible sales doubled since 2019, fueled by young Christian buyers.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: There was a recent news headline saying a surprising reversal among Gen Z, once labeled the least religious generation in American history, has pastors and researchers talking about the possibility of a new revival.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: God is up to something.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: Something is happening in your generation, not mine, not boomers, not X, but we're coming along for the ride.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Something is happening here in the city of Davis.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: We're seeing this explosion.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is a really tough city.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: I planted a church in a much larger city, and in three years we grew to 2,500 people.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that was my first church plant back in the day before some of you were born.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And planting in a city like this, it's really small, so there's not a lot of people, and then it's highly progressive, which I love.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be in a place like that where people don't know God and everybody's not a Christian because it's an opportunity to share hope and the love of Jesus.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you see something like hat like this happening here in a city like Davis, it's quite remarkable what God is doing.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: I know uh Davis Christian Fellowship saw their largest gathering ever in their 20-something year history, which is incredible.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we as a church, we're a four-year-old church, we're still a church plant in the city of Davis.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: We started with 20 people, like 20 people on a Sunday.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and now we're the second largest church in the city of Davis, which is quite remarkable.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: And the largest church in the city of Davis has been here like, I think like 60 years.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: So God is up to something, and I just want you to be aware.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't have to be my generation, it doesn't have to be your generation, boomers, it doesn't have to be your generation Gen X, it just has to be a generation that we are spiritually aware that God is up to something special in our moment.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: This text in Ephesians is a text about a spiritual awakening.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's highlighting how light begins to expose darkness and how people turn to the light of Jesus.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's a contrast between light and darkness, these two incredible metaphors that thread their way through the Bible.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to notice there's really two movements here.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Movement number one in this context is verses eight through ten, and you could just title this light.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want a further explanation, you could write Living in the Light.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: Verses eight through ten.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: These are two major biblical images that are contrasted, light and darkness, in this passage.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I think it would be really appropriate to spend a few minutes painting the picture of what these two images represent in our Bibles.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: First of all, the image darkness.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Notice what he says here in verse 8.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: He says, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: Live as children of the light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, and find out what pleases the Lord.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Both of these metaphors he uses in verses eight through ten, and he'll use in the following verses when we get to it in a few minutes.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Darkness is an image that's used about 200 times in the Bible, which is a lot.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, you guys are all brilliant.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know what darkness is, it's the absence of light.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: But throughout the Bible, darkness is a metaphor that signifies some really important things.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: God made a distinction between light and darkness in the early stages of creation.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: God produced light, the Bible says, and separated it from darkness.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Darkness is used in the Bible as a metaphor for the concealment of evil.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can do evil and then hide in darkness so that nobody sees you.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Darkness represents evil in the Bible, it represents being spiritually lost, and it is the antithesis in the Bible of truth.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Darkness is often associated with Satan and the spiritual battle between good and evil.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: This reality that some of us may not be aware of, but you can see in everyday life.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: You can just get on TikTok, get on Instagram, get on X if you want to just watch everybody fight and try to, you know, malign each other over and over again.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: I don't recommend it, but if you want that, you can get on.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: And you see so much good, but so much evil.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Darkness essentially, if you're gonna write this down, darkness is the opposite of God.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: One writer said, considered in itself, darkness is thus a strongly negative image in the human experience.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is physically oppressive, it is the natural environment for a host of evil happenings.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it is associated with death, imprisonment, and ultimate evil.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: Darkness is the principle associated with evil, opposed to God's purposes of order and goodness in the universe and in human society.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: So darkness, major theme.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: In the Bible, there's also, now we're transitioning to light, there's also almost 200 references to light, which is phenomenal.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: You've got 200 references to darkness, about 200 references to light.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Light illuminates, allowing us to see.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: How many of you have got up in the middle of the night?
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: You need to get a drink of water, you need to use the restroom, and it's pitch black, and you trip over something because you failed to use your light on your phone or turn on the lights in your house.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Anybody clumsy like me?
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: I've done it so many times.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Only a few of us.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, don't be serious.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Come on now.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_00: Anybody ever tripped over something in the middle of the night?
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of us.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like you can be an athlete and clumsy.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: I was always clumsy as an athlete.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: I was a good athlete, but I was really clumsy.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_00: In the everyday stuff.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: When I first came to Davis to pastor this church and plant this church, uh, over a two-year period, at night, tripping over things in the house at night, I broke three toes and I broke my foot.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's what happens in darkness.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: You break your toes and you break your feet.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a good thing.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: In Genesis chapter 1, verses 3 and 4, God's light springs forth in the creation story.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: Immediately, God speaks light into existence.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, God removes all darkness from creation.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: And his presence emanates light in a redeemed creation.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: So the beginning of the Bible starts in light, and the end of the Bible starts in light.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Light signifies some really important things.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's the antithesis and conqueror of darkness.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: Light is given a life-giving and protective quality in the Bible.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: It gives life and it protects.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Light represents goodness, holiness, spiritual life, truth, and living for God.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, if you're going to write one definition down amongst all that stuff I just said, light in the Bible is associated with the presence of God.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Darkness is the opposite of God.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: Light in the Bible is associated with the presence of God.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Even our great American poet Taylor Swift often uses the metaphors of light and darkness.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, I had to give her a shout-out because on my social media feeds this week, it was just like everybody's posting about Taylor Swift.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Any Swifties in here?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Be brave.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Come on now.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: She's the number one best-selling artist, and you tell me nobody listens to Taylor Swift in here.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, if you don't listen to her, here's a few lyrics she has.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: But you pulled me from the dark like dawn breaking slow.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is a man, of course, not Jesus.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: You dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: Your love hit me like the spotlight on a summer night.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: You got darkness, you got light.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Then she writes in another lyric, I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night, which meant she had lots of breakups.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: And now I see daylight, daylight, daylight.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_00: Even the great writers, the great poets, the great musicians often contrast light and darkness.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm sorry, our church, nobody loves you, Taylor Swift.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: But nevertheless, nevertheless, notice what God says here.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_00: All of us.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: We were once in darkness, we were spiritually dead.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: We were doing things that were contrary to God's good design for our lives.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: We were lost spiritually.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: We were trying to navigate life and meaning and identity without God and his truth.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: But now God says, You are light.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not you, you are light in the Lord.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: He's the source of the light, and he shines into your light, and he shines into my light.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't say you give off light.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: He says, you are light.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is who God says you are.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's an identity statement.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is an identity statement.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: You're not about light, you just don't have light.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: You are light.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is your identity in the Lord.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 9, verse 2.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: On those living in the land of deep darkness, a light has dawned in Jesus.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: John 8, verse 12, I am the light of the world, Jesus said.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Colossians 1 12 through 14, and giving joyful thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people, in the kingdom of light.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his son, whom he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: First Peter chapter 2, verse 9, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew chapter 5, verse 14, you, each one of us, are the light of the world.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: That is who we are.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: That is our identity, that's our reality because of Jesus' work in our life.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: And notice what he says in verse 9 for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: Light produces spiritual fruit in your life.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: The more that you walk in the light, the more that you live in the light of Jesus, the more you allow Jesus to shape your identity as light in this world.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: The more that Jesus shines in you and through you, all of a sudden all of this spiritual fruit is produced in your life.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: Notice these three things.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: You might want to write them down.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, the fruit of light is goodness.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: Goodness.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: What does that mean?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: It means God changes who you are.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_00: He changes your conviction, your values, your morality.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: We don't get to God through morality.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: God changes our morality when we come to Him.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: Religion says, be good enough, do this, do that.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: You're not good enough.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: You should feel condemned and judged.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's what religion says.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: The gospel says, you're not good enough, and I love you despite all your failures.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Come to me, and then when you have a relationship with me, I'll change you from the inside out.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_00: In love, not in condemnation.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: Goodness, second, righteousness.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is right living.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is being transformed by God's truth.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is representative of this.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: God changes how we live.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: God changes who we are, and God changes how we live.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: All of a sudden, we didn't know how to live right.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as we follow Jesus, the light of the world, and he shines on us in and through our life, all of a sudden we're living our life in a different atmosphere, a different sphere.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: We're not doing the same things as we did previously.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: And as we do that, God changes how we live.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: Don't try to change how you live in and of yourself.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's not how God works.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: God's not asking that from you.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: He is the change agent in our lives.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Let him change you.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then the third fruit of light is truth.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: This is speaking the truth in love.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is truthfulness.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: God changes how we talk.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: Don't you find that to be true?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: As we live more and more in the light, as we are the light in the Lord, God changes who we are, God changes how we live, God changes how we talk.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: And then verse 10 says, as we walk in the light, we learn through a relationship with Him what pleases Him.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: What His will is.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: People are like, I want to know the will of God.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: What is the will of God?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Just start walking in the light of Jesus day by day by day, step by step by step.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: And over time and through experience, you will see what pleases God.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: You will see what his will is.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's a day-by-day, step-by-step relationship reality that is unveiled to us as we follow Jesus.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: At Bayside, all ten of our churches, all 20 some thousand people who go to Bayside collectively.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: Our heart at Bayside, at Davis, at Granite Bay, at Adventure, at Blue Oaks, at OC, all of our churches, we want to be light in this world.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want to just be a religious club of people that are like, you know, we're good and we're righteous.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: No, we're a bunch of normal people who know we're not good and we're not righteous, that we need God's goodness and forgiveness.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to make a difference in this world.
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_00: The vision of Bayside has remained the same since it started originally at Bayside Granite Bay with Pastor Ray many, many, many years ago when two high schoolers committed suicide in Roseville.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: And there was a group of old women, grandmas that had been praying for years that God would raise up a movement that reaches youth in that city, and they had no idea that.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Those prayers would turn into one of the largest churches in America.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: Never underestimate the prayers that we have.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_00: And the vision of Bayside has remained the same.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: Here it is.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: Write these three things down.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, reach wide.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, teach deep.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: Number three, unleash compassion.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, reach wide.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_00: We want to tell people about the hope of Jesus.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: And we're going to do it every Sunday.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: It is the greatest message in human history that the God of heaven and earth has given us hope to be forgiven and loved and set free and redeemed and changed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ because he loved us.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: Second, teach deep.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: We want to teach the Bible and make disciples of Jesus.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: So if you come to Bayside, we got our Bibles.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't have a Bible, that's okay.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: You're still welcome.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: We got Bibles for you.
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: We're going to teach the Bible and we're going to make disciples of Jesus.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's what rooted is.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_00: Rooted is an opportunity to get in a small group of people over 10 weeks and say, I want to be a disciple of Jesus.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_00: Whether I'm 40 years in the faith or 10 weeks in the faith, I want to grow in community and encourage one another in community to follow the Lord Jesus and learn spiritual disciplines and rhythms.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: And then number three, we want to unleash compassion.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: We want to do good and we want to love people who are broken, who are hurting, who need hope in this world.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: Our world is a fractured, broken world, and people need Jesus.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us on a Sunday morning, we don't walk into church and we're like, oh yeah, my life's perfect.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: My emotions feel great.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so encouraged.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: Everything's going perfectly.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Most of us come in on Sunday morning and we're like, oh my goodness, life is hard, and I'm struggling with this and I'm failing in this and I'm in scourged about this, and not all my family or relationships are going great, or whatever it is.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: We come in here with that spirit because we come here and know we need God in our life.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: You can't do it on your own.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to be a church where people who are broken, hurting, and need hope feel safe and welcomed.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_00: And we want to go into the world and we want to change the world in any way we can through generosity and through a deep compassion and love for people in this world.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: We want to reach them in our churches and we want to reach them outside of our churches.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: You might be new to Bayside, you might be deciding to become a member of Bayside Davis and wondering who we are.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: This is who we are.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: This is our mission, this is our values, this is what we believe the Bible represents in a conceptual way.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: You might be new to Bayside, you might be debating whether you're gonna start giving to Bayside Davis.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: By the way, when we say 10%, we only say that because we didn't just make up that term arbitrarily.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's the most consistent term used for giving throughout the Bible.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Tithe.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: It means 10%.
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: We're not, first of all, you don't have to give.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're a follower of Jesus, you're wondering if you're you should be investing your tithe into a church to further the kingdom.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: Here's who we are: we want to be people that come to Jesus, that tell people about Jesus, that teach the Bible, that make disciples, that love broken people in a broken world, and your generosity can help fuel the mission to change people's lives for eternity.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: We go to coffee shops and we give them 20% tips for a great coffee.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: We come to church and it's not a tip.
• 26:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's an act of worship that invests in the future of eternity in cities and people's lives.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: That's why we give.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's not legalistic, it's not weird, it makes sense.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know we pay$120,000 a year just on rent?
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: $120, that's$10,000 a month just on rent.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's not staffing cost, that's not ministry cost, that's just rent.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: It costs money to provide a spiritual home for people to grow and to thrive and to hear the gospel in Jesus.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like a family, everybody contributes so that we can see this city change for the Lord.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're wondering, is this a place that God is working and should we invest in this?
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, I can't answer that for you.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: But I can say we want to reach wide, we want to teach deep, and we want to unleash compassion.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: And if you feel like that sparks your heart and you want to start giving to our church, throw up that slide once again.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: There's it's a really easy thing to do, the give slide.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: You could just put it up back there.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can you can give on a Sunday if you carry cash.
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: I don't ever carry cash.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: You can scan the QR code or give to 56316.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure to choose Davis or also go to another base side and we need it.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um and so uh you can give in any of those ways and even set up reoccurring giving, which helps.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, it's like a family, you know, you produce a budget in your family, and you're like, we know this much is coming in, and so we can spend this much, and you can't overspend.
• 27:46
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes reoccurring giving helps so that you can budget accurately and well and be a great steward.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say thank you for all of the people who've been fueling this mission and seeing now 350, sometimes plus people on a Sunday.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_00: It is so encouraging what God is doing, and all of you, thank you for investing in what God is doing.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's worthy of an applause.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you guys so much.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, listen, I'm 30 minutes in, I only have 10 minutes left, so let's go to the second part: darkness.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Verses 11 through 14.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Verse 11, have nothing to do with the fruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is shameful even to mention what is disobedient to do in secret, but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_00: This is why it is said, wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's some misunderstandings in this context, so let me break it down to you.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: It says, Have nothing to do with darkness.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: Some people read that and they're like, Okay, um, I come to Jesus and now I'm not supposed to sin.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_00: Let me just say, take a deep breath.
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_00: That is an impossible ideal.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: This is not an exhortation to not sin.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: God knows that all of us are imperfect and all of us are a work in progress.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been following Jesus for 10 days or 40 years, you are still a work in progress.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody who's been following Jesus for 20 years or more, give me an amen.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: We're still a work in progress.
• 29:32
  SPEAKER_00: And everybody who's been following Jesus for 20 years or less, say, Amen.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's still a work in progress.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to what 1 John 1.8 says.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: If we claim to be without sin, if any of us say, Oh, I'm perfect, I'm without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth of God is not in us.
• 29:52
  SPEAKER_00: We're just a bunch of sinful people that are being changed by God.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: Imperfect, flawed, welcome to a space where we can be real and honest, we don't have to fake it, we don't have to be like, oh yeah, everything's great in my life all the time.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's just not a reality for any human being.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody feels like that perpetually.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: This is an exhortation not to partner in a habitual lifestyle with darkness.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: Not an exhortation not to sin, an exhortation not to partner in a habitual lifestyle with darkness.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Darkness is unfruitful.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: It will have no good positive benefits in your life.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_00: And those of us who have been following Jesus for a long time, we know that to be true.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because we've interacted with darkness throughout our story, and we know that it will produce no good things for you and for me.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: We have a new orientation.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's not toward darkness, it's toward light.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: And so he says in here, notice what he says, rather expose them.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: Everything exposed by the light becomes visible, and everything that is illuminated becomes a light.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Expose what does that mean?
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: Think of it this way: in darkness.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: A surgeon does not do surgery in darkness.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: Correct?
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: A painter does not paint a canvas in pitch black darkness.
• 31:29
  SPEAKER_00: An NBA basketball player does not play an NBA game in darkness.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: You need light to do what you do effectively.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: To be a surgeon, you need light.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: To be a great painter, you need light.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: To be a great basketball player, you need light.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: You also need light to live for Jesus with spiritual fruitfulness.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Exposing darkness does not mean we go around condemning people for their lifestyle.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: I just want to say that, because if you're that type of Christian, you should repent.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't mean that we are mean, that we're judgmental, that we're harsh as Christians.
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_00: If we're mean, we're judgmental, and we're harsh as Christians, guess what?
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: That will never change the world.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: And everyone should say, Amen.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: Exposing darkness does not mean we go around condemning people for their lifestyle.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: That is the wrong way to change the world.
• 32:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's why the gospel is called good news, not bad news.
• 32:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's why those people at Disneyland, you've heard me talk about it before, when you go to Disneyland, they're out, and these little kids, first time in their life, they're so joyful.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: They're coming to Disneyland, they're so excited.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: Mom and Dad, they've got all their Mickey Mouse and Minnie outfits on.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: And the first people that they see at Disneyland are those mean, harsh, judgmental Christians telling them they're going to hell.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: That's all.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_00: I guarantee you, no little kid's gonna be like, mommy, I need to get saved today.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: I need to know more about God.
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's not gonna change somebody's life.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_00: Exposing darkness is done by simply walking in the light and being the light.
• 33:23
  SPEAKER_00: The word expose can also mean convince in the original language.
• 33:28
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, as we walk with Jesus, the light of the world, as we walk making spiritually wise decisions more and more as we live for the Lord, as we live in the light, as we walk according to scriptures, following the light of scripture, we start being light in the Lord, and his light begins to shine through us.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_00: That's how you expose darkness, not by pointing fingers or condemning people or being mean or harsh or religious or I'm better than you.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: That is not how we change the world.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: You change the world and expose darkness by simply walking in light and being light.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_00: Are you with me?
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: Are you listening?
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_00: Write these four things down.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_00: This does not lead to condemnation.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is not you're good and I'm bad.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: You deserve God because you're good and I deserve judgment because I'm bad.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_00: That is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: This does not lead to condemnation.
• 34:34
  SPEAKER_00: This leads to illumination.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_00: Where you see somebody that's following Jesus.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like me as a senior in high school, I used to carry my basketball around every day, and I started carrying my Bible around.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden the Lord started using my life because I was the last person that would ever have followed Jesus.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: And people would say, Oh my goodness, there's something different.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's something maybe better that I don't have that I'm not living for.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden, people are like, Wow, for the first time I see how important Jesus is, and that there's a better way of life.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_00: You might be sitting here this morning, and I just want to encourage you, there's a better way of life.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not condemnation, illumination.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: You're seeing for the first time there's a better way to live, there's a better person to follow.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's Jesus Christ, the Bible calls him the Son of God, the Lord of all, and the Savior of the world.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: This leads to conviction.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: As you're just being light, you're just light in dark places.
• 35:41
  SPEAKER_00: It leads to conviction where it's like you see somebody following Jesus.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's a friend, maybe it's a teammate, maybe it's a classmate, maybe it's somebody at your workplace, and all of a sudden they're following Jesus, and you're like, oh my goodness, they're living a different way, and I feel a little bit of conviction.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good thing.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: Conviction turns your heart to God, and you realize I need Jesus.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: And you realize in Jesus, this is where I can find forgiveness of sins and freedom.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: Conviction leads to forgiveness and freedom, and then you're you're you've got this person in your life, and they're just shining light, and you feel conviction, and then you're like, I need Jesus too, I need forgiveness too.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: This leads to conversion.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's illumination, there's conviction in the soul, and then there's conversion where you're like, this person's spiritually alive, I want to be spiritually alive.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_00: This person's life is redeemed by the Lord, I want to be redeemed by the Lord.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: This person is forgiven and saved, I want to be forgiven and saved.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: This person has a relationship with God of heaven and earth.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: I want a relationship with the God of heaven and earth.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then you turn your heart to Jesus.
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_00: You put your faith in him, and you are saved.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: You are redeemed, you're made spiritually alive because you turn your heart to the God who created you through his son Jesus Christ, who came to this earth, lived a perfect life, died a perfect death for the forgiveness of our sin.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_00: He sacrificed his life that we could be forgiven, past, present, and future, all of your wrongdoings, all of your waywardness, all of your failings, all of your shame, all of your guilt.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: Forgiven because the God of heaven and earth loves you and wants you.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: And wants to have a relationship with you and set you free.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_00: Notice this last verse.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is why it is said, wake up, sleeper.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_00: If anybody's sleeping in here, wake up.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is possibly a paraphrase from Isaiah chapter 60, verse 1, where it says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
• 38:12
  SPEAKER_00: Some believe that this was an early Christian song that they would sing in community as they gathered together, and others believe this was possibly an early Christian prophecy that was given that started traveling around to the churches as a way to turn people's hearts to God.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: What this represents and symbolizes is a spiritual awakening to God.
• 38:37
  SPEAKER_00: This is being made alive spiritually through Jesus Christ.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_00: God is doing something in this generation.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: You didn't just come to church just because it's a religious thing, you wanted to feel good this morning.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: You came to church today because God wants to do something in your life.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is a moment for spiritual awakening.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_00: This is a moment for you to be made alive through Jesus Christ spiritually.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_00: This is a moment where you can say, I've turned my heart and my life to Jesus.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_00: I am forgiven, I'm being changed, and my life will never be the same.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: This is your spiritual moment.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: And you know who you are.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord is impressing on your heart right now for you to turn to the light, Jesus, to put your faith in Jesus today, and to begin to live in the light and start following Jesus today, and your life will never be the same in the best way possible.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: Can I encourage us in two things?
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: First, let us pray for what God is doing in our world today.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: Turn your heart and faith to Jesus right in this moment today.