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Pass the Baton | Pastor Ben Butler | Faith Church · Faith Church Podcast

0:02
All right, we'll see if I can talk without blubbering
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this time. Isn't it awesome what God is doing?
0:11
And it sounds like, Lila, I was thinking of,
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I can do all things through Christ who strengthens
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me. Sounds like she's got that in her soul, in
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her spirit. We read the book, you are special.
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Well, I read the book, you listened. So, I want
0:32
you to repeat after me. Self. I am special. Self,
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I am special. All right, you got it? You are
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special. All right, I get to hold two things
0:51
at once. Can I do this? I do the pig sound, but
1:02
it hurts my throat. All right, I got to put my
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glasses on now so I can see what I wrote. Psalm
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78, verses 4 through 7. Let's pray. Father, we
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thank you, Lord God, for your word. And Lord,
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I thank you for this day. I pray, Lord, that
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you would give me the words that you want people
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to hear, and you would give us hearing and understanding
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in your word today, in Jesus' name. Amen. Psalm
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78, beginning with verse 4. We will not hide
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them from their children, telling to the generation
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to come praises of the Lord and his strength
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and his wonderful works that he has done. For
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he has established a testimony in Jacob and appointed
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the law of Israel, which he commanded our fathers,
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but they should make them known to their children
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that the generation to come might know them.
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The children who would be born, that they may
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arise and declare them to their children, that
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they may set their hope in God and not forget
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the works of God. Faith is generational. We're
2:21
to share our faith, not only with our children,
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but with other children. Here in church, we're
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to share our faith with all those around us.
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Anywhere that God puts us around other people,
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we are to share our faith. And I was thinking,
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you know, I'm in the student takeover thing.
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I'm an old student. But I guess we are all students.
2:50
And it never stops. We never stop being a disciple
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unless we purposely stop. But we never stop being
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a disciple. And I was thinking, well, maybe we
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stop being a disciple when we're in the casket
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or in the grave. We stop being a disciple. And
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then I thought of my parents. They're probably
3:16
still up in heaven. I know they're in heaven.
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But they're probably up there. Still praying
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for their children and their grandchildren and
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their great -grandchildren. They're just a little
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bit closer to the connection. And when my mom
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passed away, had no idea. Had no idea. We found
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in her Bible. They gave the minister that was
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doing the funeral her Bible, and they found inside
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her Bible a paper, handwritten, multiple -page
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paper of my whole family. There's names on it
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that she was praying for. And that's our job.
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That's our job. There's a country song called
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Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes? I think George
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Jones sang it. Who's gonna fill their shoes?
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Because all the country singers were dying. Now
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George Jones is dead. All these people were dying.
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Who's gonna sing their songs? Who's gonna carry
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on the tradition? Who's gonna do this? And I
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thought, Who's going to fill my mom's shoes?
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Who's going to pray for all these people? I don't
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even know all my cousins. Once my cousins started
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having kids, I lost track. So we are the ones
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that have to carry on. We are the ones that are
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going to fill the shoes of those before us. You
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read the history of the assemblies of God, it
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just didn't all of a sudden one day happen. prayer.
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It took work. It took getting into it. It took
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sharing from one person to another, not just
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holding it in. Oh man, look what God did in my
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life, and this is for me and me only, but it
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took sharing it with everyone. We go to Culver's
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quite often, and Jesse and I get a kid's meal.
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We can eat for, in Lincoln, we can eat for $14
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.99. And get ice cream. Well, custard. $14 .99
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a kid's meal. And you know, they'll put whatever
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you want on that cheeseburger. They'll fill it
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up. It comes out like this. Jesse holds the bags
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up, see which one's mine, because I get more
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stuff on mine. And then they give you the little
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sack with the little token to get the free ice
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cream. And sometimes if we've had something and
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we've ate too much that day, we skip the ice
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cream. And so I got this bank bag that we picked.
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Picked up somewhere. And I stick all the extra
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coupons in that bank bag. And then sometimes
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I'll stick the extra, because if you save the
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other token, you get, if you collect 10 of them,
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you get this little stuffed animals thing they
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got in that case out there. You been there? You
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can get one of those for 10 tokens. We went yesterday
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as a family. We went on an outing. And how many
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grandkids did we have there? 15? Seven? Eight.
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There was eight. I opened up that bag and Jesse
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started counting them out. Eight of the kids
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got to go up and get a little stuffed animal.
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And sometimes I'm just sitting there and there's
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a bunch of kids. There'll be two or three kids
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sitting there and the kid will look sad. So I'll
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go out in the car and I'll get that bag and I'll
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come in and I'll count out how many ever kids
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they got. I'll count out the tickets and I'll
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hand them to them. And I'll say, here, you take
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these up there and they'll give you a toy. Yes,
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I ask the parents first. I just don't go up like
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I'm some crazy guy coming up and going to steal
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your kid. Because, you know, I do resemble that
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look, I guess. And trust me, I bring them back.
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So our faith is generational and we need to share
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our faith. Be willing to give it away. Don't
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just hold on to it. And our stories matter. Our
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stories matter. Some of our kids, yesterday we
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were in the car and one of them in particular
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said, I've heard that before. Mom, you've never
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said that. You have never ever told me that before.
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But our stories matter. They could probably quote
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some of our stories forward and backward, but
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we need to remind them of the stories of the
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time that God intervened, that God come in, that
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God moved in our life. Maybe even the time that
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Jesus came into our heart as my personal Savior.
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We need to be able to share these not just with
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our children, not just with our grandchildren,
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but with the children of the church. Sometimes
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it's easy to sit around and watch the kids be
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crazy and go crazy, you know, like kids do. And
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they'll get loud like Elise. And she is super
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loud. And they'll get loud. And I think, wow.
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And sometimes it's easy to go, would you just
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be quiet? Somebody over here is trying to hear.
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But then they're here. They're listening. They're
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hearing. We think they're not hearing. Why do
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we think they're not hearing? But they're hearing.
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I remember one time I was a children's pastor
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and I was teaching the kids and there was one
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kid that was just crazy nonsense and just going
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ballistic. And I said, I called him out. And
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I said, what did I just say? He repeated it.
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You just ruined it. They're listening. They're
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hearing. They're picking up. They're watching
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what we're doing. They're watching our response
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on things. Stories matter. Tell your stories.
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Tell your stories to your children. Tell your
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stories to your grandchildren. No, I can't read
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my writing. We as adults shape the trust in the
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next generation. We shape how they trust God.
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they respond, what builds in them, what grows
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in them. We are there to shape that and to mold
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that and to direct them to Jesus. And when I
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was thinking of, when I read this Scripture,
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the first Scripture that came to mind is one
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of my favorite Scriptures in Deuteronomy chapter
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6. Let's begin with verse 3. Therefore, hear,
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O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that
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it may be well with you, and that you may multiply
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greatly, as the Lord God of your fathers has
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promised you, a land flowing with milk and honey.
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Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is
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one. You shall love the Lord your God with all
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your heart, with all your soul, and with all
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your strength. And these words which I command
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you today shall be in your heart, and you shall
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teach them diligently, purposefully to your children,
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and shall talk of them when you sit in your house,
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when you walk by the way, when you lie down,
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and when you rise up. You shall bind them as
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a sign on your hand, and shall be as frontlets
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between your eyes. You shall write them on the
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doorpost of your house and on your gates. Always,
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always on our lips. Always before us. Always
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the Word of God coming forth from us. Always
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teaching. Always sharing. Our responsibility
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is to give it away. To share it. As we come into
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church together together, it's not about me or
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just I. What am I going to get out of church
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today? But what am I going to leave in someone
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else's life today? How am I going to impact someone
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else's life today? It's not the young versus
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the old or the old versus the young, but it's
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about sharing our faith from generation to generation.
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To generation. To generation. Whether that's
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in the breakfast tables or in church or in small
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groups or in kids' church or perhaps in the nursery.
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Sometimes sharing our faith may be putting on
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an apron and getting busy doing things and missing
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out a little bit on what's going on in here,
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but ministering in other areas of the church.
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It may be taking a student... Out for lunch.
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It may be wishing them a happy birthday. It may
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be just setting yourself on purpose. To think
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of others. To think of others. At work this week.
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One of our supervisors is out on surgery. And
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the one person that I work with. She is continually
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saying. Well Peter. His name was Peter. Still
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is Peter. He said. He said, well, Peter showed
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me to do this way. And I usually respond with,
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Peter lies. But he really doesn't. He really
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doesn't. But it's just, when I was taught to
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do things under this Peter in a different building,
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It was, there was, you always do it this way.
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You always use this part. You always do that.
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You always do that. And you always do this. And
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then I got moved into the actual plant building
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where everything's going crazy 100 mile an hour.
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And then you're doing this. And they said, I
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said, we don't have any more of this part. What
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do I do? They go, well, there's one just like
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it right there. It's a different color. Use it.
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I go, they said we can't ever mix colors. It's
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always got to be the same color, they said. They
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lied. So, we've got to be teachable. And we've
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got to be teachers. To be a disciple, we have
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to disciple. And we have to be discipled. And
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we have to disciple. And it's a continuous, continuous
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thing. And it never, ever stops. Never stop sharing
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your story. Never stop sharing your faith. Benjamin?
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I'm going to turn it over to Benjamin. I'm going
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to pass this baton. I pass this baton to him,
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not as God has done with me. Now it's his turn.
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But I pass this baton on to Benjamin, saying,
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Benjamin, I pass this baton. Here I go again.
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I pass this baton to you. Take it. Take the word
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of God. Places I cannot go. Places that I have
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not been, you will go. Take it. Share the gospel.
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Share the love of Jesus with those that I have
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never met, that I will never see. Share it, take
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it, and take care of God's word, sharing it and
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giving it away to each one you come in contact
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with. You had it, I got it. It's the way we say
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it in the Navy. So y 'all were maybe wondering
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why he was holding this big pink shiny thing
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up here this whole time. Dad, you took my notes.
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I had them on Lily's phone. You got the phone?
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It's Lily's phone, but yeah, it's my notes. So
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yeah, you might be wondering why we got this
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pink shiny thing and all these other shiny things
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up here. Who knows what this is? Baton. Who in
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here other than Pastor Darren loves running?
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Okay, a couple of us. All right, awesome. Anybody
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ever done a relay race? Okay, awesome. Quite
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a few of us, all right? Who in here is into like
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the Olympics and watching them do this stuff
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like for real, like legit stuff? Cool, awesome.
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I've never been into watching, but I have been
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getting into running. But anyways, what's awesome
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about the baton, right, is I started doing some
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research about the baton. A lot of the history
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comes from Olympic games and relay races and
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things like that. But the idea actually came
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from something much more The idea came that,
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because see, with the relay race, with the baton,
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it's not necessarily about speed, but it's about
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trust. Will they drop the baton? Will they drop
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the ball? Are they going to be able to hold on
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to this baton? And see, that came from the idea
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of, it really was kind of like a military idea.
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Even today in the Navy, we have 11 general orders
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of a century. Does anybody in here know the 11
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general orders of a century? Awesome. Cool. You're
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going to learn a couple of them today. So one
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of those general orders of a century that every
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sailor must know is that I'm going to repeat
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every call from any post more distant from the
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guardhouse than my own. So what that means, right,
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we have the ship on the pier, and then we have
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a guardhouse on the pier, and then we have the
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gate, the folks controlling the gate. And if
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something's going on, they're going to pass word
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from the gate to the guardhouse, from the guardhouse
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to the ship, and back and forth. Nowadays with
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electronics, I mean, we can also do it immediately
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because we have radios and phones and stuff.
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But again, the history behind it, the idea behind
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it was the same thing. They needed people to
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get an urgent message somewhere fast. And so
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they had stations, and they would relay the baton
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carrying the message to where it needed to go.
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And it wasn't about speed. It wasn't about accuracy.
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It wasn't about how fit they were. It was about
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how much faith they had that they would hold
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the baton and that they would run well with the
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baton, with the message. Is everybody tracking?
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Y 'all picking up what I'm putting down this
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morning? Every single generation must run their
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leg of this race. You can't just step back. It's
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not really like a non -participation kind of
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option for you. It's more so, are you going to
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step up and do what you're supposed to do, or
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are you going to be passing the wrong baton?
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Because if you don't pass them the right one,
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they're going to grab somebody's. They're going
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to grab on to something. They're going to latch
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on to somebody's message, even if it doesn't
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come from you, which takes me to another general
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order. I will receive and obey and then pass
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on to the sentry who relieves me. All orders
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from the commanding officer, from the command
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duty officer, from the officers of the deck and
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officers and petty officers of the watch only.
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That's a big law. It's like one of the longest
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ones. But I'm going to receive and I'm going
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to obey. That's what I'm supposed to do with
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God's word, right? My Bible's stuck in my notebook.
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Let's see if I can rip it. There we go. That's
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what we got to do with this. We got to receive
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and obey. Lily's really worried about her phone
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because I just dropped it. It's fine. It's fine.
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It didn't crack yet. We're supposed to receive
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it, but then we can't just hear it. We can't
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just listen to it. We gotta do something. We
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gotta obey it, right? That's how we show our
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love for Jesus. Those who hear his word and do
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it, those who hear it and obey his words are
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the ones who love him. And when I dropped it,
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that really scrolled really far down my notes.
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We have to receive and obey the orders ourselves.
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We have to receive and obey the word of God for
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ourselves. But then comes the part we gotta pass
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it on. Because it's not meant to be held. It's
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meant to be given away. But there's still more.
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I will obey them from the commanding officer,
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the command duty officer, and officers of the
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deck, officers of the petty, officers of the
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watch only. There are specific people who we
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are to take orders from. There are specific people
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in our life who we should take orders from. Why?
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Because the devil masquerades as an angel of
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light. And he will come and he will try and tell
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you, he will try and tell your children, oh,
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you just got to believe in yourself. You can
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be whatever you want to be. They could take that
20:52
ketchup on the apple song and spin it around.
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God made you just like that. You just do whatever
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you want to do. No, we can only take orders from
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the commanding officer and then from the officers
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of the deck and petty officers of the watch,
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the men and women that God has placed in our
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lives who are chasing after this. Because there
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are things that will be taught to us. There are
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things that our students will be taught that
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don't line up with God's word. Every generation
21:25
runs their leg. Every generation carries a message.
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Every generation must decide, will you pass the
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baton or are you going to drop it? 1 Corinthians
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chapter 10. Now that I ripped this out of my
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notebook, it pulled all my little markings out
21:44
of there. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, we're going
21:50
to start at verse 32. Nevertheless, when we,
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oh, I'm sorry, I'm in the wrong chapter. Chapter
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10, verse 32. That was verse, that's chapter
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11. Chapter 10, verse 32. Do not cause anyone
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to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks, or the church
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of God, even as I try to please everyone in every
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way, for I am not seeking my own good, but the
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good of many. so that they may be saved. Chapter
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11, verse 1, follow my example as I follow the
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example of Christ. Paul was saying, I am doing
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everything in such a way to give the baton to
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as many people as I can that they might have
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the message of hope, of salvation, of love, of
22:43
mercy, and of grace in their lives that they
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too can run with it because they can follow me
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because I'm following him. Actually, the verse
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before all that, verse 31, so whether you eat
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or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the
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glory of God. Why? Because you should be imitatable.
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Somebody should be able to follow you. Somebody
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should be able to follow you because here's the
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thing, our students, they already have enough
23:11
barriers in their life. They're dealing with
23:15
anxiety. They're dealing with loneliness in a
23:18
world where they're more connected than anybody's
23:20
ever been. touch of a button on their screen,
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they can be in touch with all of these people,
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but yet they're the loneliest generation this
23:30
world has ever seen. They're dealing with identity
23:34
confusion. They're dealing with peer pressure.
23:37
They're dealing with all of these barriers, all
23:40
of these obstacles in their life. They don't
23:41
need another one from us. They don't need more
23:46
barriers. They need more people who will remove
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barriers. Lily is going to come up. and take
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the next leg of this message. So I pass the baton.
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I had it. You got it. Okay, so speaking of needing
24:15
more people to remove barriers, let's turn to
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John 4, verses 4 through 26, and see how Jesus
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removed barriers. Jesus knew the Pharisees had
24:27
heard that he had to go through Samaria on the
24:30
way. Eventually, he came to the Samaritan village
24:33
of Sychar, near the village that Jacob gave to
24:36
his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus,
24:39
tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside
24:42
the well about noontime. Soon, a Samaritan woman
24:45
came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, Please
24:48
give me a drink. He was alone at the time because
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his disciples had gone into the village to buy
24:52
some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews
24:56
refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.
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She said to Jesus, You are a Jew, and I am a
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Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a
25:04
drink? Jesus replied, If you only knew the gift
25:07
God has for you and who you are speaking to,
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you would ask me, and I would give you the living
25:13
water. But sir, you don't have a rope or a bucket,
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she said, and this well is very deep. Where would
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you get this living water? And besides, do you
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think you're greater than our ancestor Jacob,
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who gave us this well? How can you offer better
25:27
water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?
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Jesus replied, Anyone who drinks this water will
25:33
soon become thirsty again, but those who drink
25:35
the water I give will never be thirsty again.
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It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them,
25:40
giving them eternal life. Please, sir, the woman
25:43
said, give me this water. Then I'll never be
25:45
thirsty again, and I won't have to come here
25:47
to get water. Go and get your husband, Jesus
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told her. I don't have a husband, the woman replied.
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Jesus said, you're right, you don't have a husband,
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for you have had five husbands, and you aren't
25:59
even married to the man you're living with now.
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You certainly spoke the truth. Sir, the woman
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said, you must be a prophet. So tell me, why
26:06
is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is
26:09
the only place of worship, while we Samaritans
26:11
claim it's here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors
26:13
worshipped? Jesus replied, Believe me, dear woman,
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the time is coming when it will no longer matter
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whether you worship the Father on this mountain
26:23
or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little
26:27
about the one you worship, while we Jews know
26:29
all about him, for salvation comes through the
26:32
Jews. But the time is coming. Indeed, it's here
26:35
now. when true worshipers will worship the Father
26:38
in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking
26:41
for those who will worship him that way. For
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God is spirit, so those who worship him must
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worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman
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said, I know the Messiah is coming, the one who
26:51
is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain
26:53
everything to us. Then Jesus told her, I am the
26:56
Messiah. And then later in John... John 4, 39
27:04
through 42, many Samaritans from the village
27:07
believed in Jesus because the woman had said,
27:09
he told me everything I ever did. When they came
27:13
out to see him, they begged him to stay in their
27:15
village. So he stayed for two days, long enough
27:18
for many more to hear his message and believe.
27:21
Then they said to the woman, now we believe,
27:23
not just because of what. you told us, but because
27:26
of what we had heard him ourselves. Now we know
27:29
that he indeed is the savior of the world. Jesus
27:32
removed her barriers, cultural, gender, and racial.
27:37
Back then, the Jews viewed Samaritans as impure
27:41
and didn't want to really say anything to them
27:44
or do anything with them. Jesus broke down the
27:49
barriers so he could speak the truth to her,
27:51
not so that he could tell her what she wanted
27:53
to hear, but so he could tell her what she needed
27:56
to hear. And instead of keeping that truth to
27:58
herself, she told others about it. Also, the
28:03
woman chose to listen and accept the truth instead
28:06
of being insulted by it. How many times do we
28:08
get insulted by the truth, God's truth, instead
28:11
of allowing it to help and guide us? And breaking
28:14
down barriers doesn't mean withholding truth
28:16
to make people comfortable. You can break down
28:18
barriers using the truth. Jesus broke down barriers
28:22
to allow people to worship and unite in his name.
28:25
This reminds me of PK camp, which I go to every
28:28
year during the winter. It's a bunch of teenagers
28:31
and preteens stuck inside because it's too cold
28:33
to go outside. And so lots of drama and lots
28:36
of arguments that happen. But during worship
28:39
and service and everything, you wouldn't know.
28:42
Like, you see that person you were about to have
28:43
a brawl with earlier? No, that's your best friend.
28:46
That rando next to you during worship? No, you
28:50
guys go way back. And this is why Jesus broke
28:53
down barriers, so we can worship him and so we
28:57
can get along with each other and worship him
29:00
united as one body. Jesus broke down barriers
29:03
because we are his bride. Jesus meeting the woman
29:08
at the well was symbolic of him coming for his
29:10
bride because we see... Because in Moses, Isaac
29:17
and Jacob also met their wives at wells. In Exodus
29:20
and Genesis. Jesus was meeting his bride. We
29:24
are his bride. And he tears down every barrier
29:27
for us. Thank you. Thank you, Lily. Yes, he tears
29:43
down those barriers. Here's the thing. The baton
29:47
was never meant to be held lightly. The baton
29:53
was meant to be. passed off. Let me grab my phone.
29:57
I'm going to read a couple more scriptures, but
29:59
I need them in different translations, so I need
30:01
my phone for this one. We're going to look at
30:05
Proverbs chapter 11. Phone's still waking up
30:14
now. All right, Proverbs chapter 11, verses 24
30:30
and 25, and we're going to read first in the
30:34
New Living translation. This is what it says
30:38
in the New Living. Give freely and become more
30:42
wealthy. Be stingy and lose everything. The generous
30:49
will prosper. Those who refresh others will themselves
30:54
be refreshed. And we're going to read it again
30:58
in the Passion translation, verses 24 and 25.
31:04
Generosity brings prosperity, but withholding
31:09
from charity brings poverty. Those who live to
31:12
bless others will have blessings heaped upon
31:16
them, and the one who pours out his life to pour
31:20
out blessings will be saturated with favor. That
31:26
sounds pretty good to me. But it requires me
31:29
to live not tight -fisted onto what I'm holding
31:33
onto, but open -handed. Open -handed living.
31:39
An open -handed lifestyle. Now, Deuteronomy.
31:44
We're going to go to Deuteronomy chapter 15,
31:46
and I'm going to read this one out of the message.
31:52
Chapter 15, Deuteronomy in verses 4 through 11.
31:57
There should be no poor among you, for the Lord
32:01
your God will greatly bless you in the land he
32:03
is giving you as a special possession. Does anybody
32:05
notice a hyperlink in the very opening statement
32:08
of that? There should be no poor among you. Where
32:10
else do we read a phrase very similar to that?
32:14
I think I heard it over here. In Acts. That there
32:18
was no needy among them. It happened. It happened.
32:22
And it can happen again. There should be no poor
32:27
among you for the Lord your God will greatly
32:28
bless you in the land he is giving you as a special
32:31
possession. You will receive this blessing if
32:34
you are careful to obey all the commands the
32:37
Lord your God I'm giving you today. The Lord
32:40
your God will bless you as he has promised. You
32:42
will lend money to many nations but will never
32:44
need to borrow. You will rule many nations, but
32:47
they will not rule over you. But if there are
32:50
any poor Israelites in your towns, when you arrive
32:52
in the land the Lord your God has given you,
32:54
do not be hard -hearted or tight -fisted towards
32:57
them. Instead, be generous and lend them whatever
33:00
they need. Don't be mean -spirited and refuse
33:03
someone a loan because the year for canceling
33:07
debt is close at hand. If you refuse to make
33:10
the loan and the needy person cries out to the
33:12
Lord, you will be considered guilty of sin. Give
33:16
generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the
33:19
Lord your God will bless you in everything you
33:21
do. There will always be some in the land who
33:22
are poor. That is why I am commanding you to
33:26
share freely with the poor and with the other
33:28
Israelites in need. And I realized like halfway
33:30
through that was still new living. It didn't
33:32
change the message. We're going to read that
33:33
one more time in the message. But it was still
33:35
good that no tight -fisted living. We can't live
33:38
tight -fisted. And expect God's blessing and
33:42
favor upon our life. He calls us to open -handed
33:45
living. All right, so one more time. Deuteronomy
33:50
15, 4 through 11. This one's the message. There
33:52
must be no poor people among you because God
33:55
is going to bless you lavishly in this land that
33:58
God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance,
34:01
your very own land. But only if you listen obediently
34:06
to the voice of God, your God. diligently observing
34:10
every commandment that I command you today. Oh
34:13
yes, God, your God will bless you just as he
34:16
promised. You will lend to many nations, but
34:18
won't borrow for many. You'll rule over many
34:21
nations, but none will rule over you. When you
34:24
happen on someone who's in trouble or needs help
34:26
among your people with whom you live in this
34:29
land that God, your God is giving you, don't
34:31
look the other way pretending you don't see him.
34:33
How many times y 'all done that at the stoplight
34:35
before? I'm guilty. don't keep a tight grip on
34:39
your purse no look at him look at her open your
34:44
purse lend whatever and as much as they need
34:47
don't count the cost don't listen to that selfish
34:51
voice saying it's almost the seventh year the
34:53
year of all debts are canceled and turn aside
34:55
and leave your needy neighbor in the lurch refusing
34:59
to help him he will call god's attention to you
35:02
in your blatant sin Give freely and spontaneously.
35:07
Don't have a stingy heart. The way you handle
35:10
matters like this triggers God, your God's blessing
35:13
in everything you do, all your work and ventures.
35:16
There are always going to be poor and needy people
35:18
among you, so I command you, always be generous,
35:21
open purse and open hands. Give to your neighbor
35:25
in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors.
35:30
God calls us to open -handed lifestyle. In giving,
35:34
we always think about money, but it's not just
35:37
money. Yes, treasure is part of it, but it's
35:40
our time, our talent, our treasure, and our testimony.
35:44
The stories, like Pastor Tim was talking about,
35:46
sharing your story, sharing of your heart, sharing
35:49
of what God has placed within you and upon you
35:52
with those around you. It's still giving. What
35:57
everybody needs isn't always. The green stuff.
36:06
Money I have not, but what I have I will give
36:09
you. Open -handed living, which goes back to
36:16
the passage we read in Corinthians. Do everything,
36:18
everything you do, whether you eat, whether you
36:21
drink, whether you're driving down the road,
36:23
whether you're at work, right? Sounds also a
36:26
lot like Deuteronomy. Teach it to them in the
36:29
highways and the byways when you're going to
36:31
work, when you're going to the field, when you're
36:32
doing all these things. You're going to remind
36:33
them moment by moment, day by day, who God is.
36:39
The Lord our God is one. We will serve the Lord
36:41
our God. We will love him with all our heart,
36:43
with all our soul, with all our strength. And
36:46
because of that, we will do every single thing
36:48
that we do for God's glory. Then when you start
36:51
living that way, when you start living your life
36:53
in such a way that you're living an open -handed
36:56
lifestyle, Where you're not just trying to hoard
36:59
everything God's blessed you with. You're saying,
37:01
no, God has blessed me, so I am going to bless
37:03
others. And when you are doing everything as
37:07
if you were doing it for God himself, then you
37:12
are somebody who can be imitated. Then you are
37:16
somebody who can pass the baton and say, follow
37:19
me. Follow me as I follow Christ. Take this message
37:24
and carry it where you go. Here's the thing,
37:28
students are reaching for the baton. Students
37:32
are reaching for the message. Students are reaching
37:35
for hope and love and peace and everything that
37:38
they cannot find in this world. But they're looking
37:43
for people that are willing to step up and share
37:47
it with them. They will have open hearts and
37:49
open hands and that will live their life on purpose
37:53
in such a way that they can be imitated. That's
37:58
another thing too, right? So many times, Students
38:01
have somebody in their life who will tell them
38:03
they can, hey, yeah, follow me. But they aren't
38:05
receiving and obeying the message. They aren't
38:08
living it out. They aren't living everything
38:11
for God's glory. They aren't living open -handed
38:13
lifestyle. Students are reaching for the baton.
38:20
Will you place it in their hand? Because here's
38:24
the thing. Every single adult has something to
38:27
share. Every single adult has something to give.
38:33
Remember, live open -handed. You've got some
38:36
wisdom. Maybe you've got patience. Maybe you've
38:40
got a word of encouragement. Maybe you can share
38:43
your story. Maybe you can simply share your presence,
38:47
just being there, just listening. Maybe you can
38:54
share prayer, praying for somebody. I watched
38:57
an interview. Lily watches these podcasts with
39:00
Bryce Crawford. Anybody in here watch Bryce Crawford?
39:03
A couple of you, okay. and it was with Howie
39:07
Mandel. Everybody know who Howie Mandel is? I
39:09
think it was AGT, or I think it's AGT, yeah.
39:13
America's Got Talent. And he's doing this interview
39:16
with him, and at the end, he says, Howie, has
39:19
anybody ever asked if they can pray for you?
39:22
He's like, no. He's like, what, are you serious?
39:24
He's like, I've had people tell me that they
39:26
will pray for me, but I've never had somebody
39:28
actually ask me, can I pray for you? And so he
39:31
did, right there on the show. He's like, can
39:32
I pray for you? He's like, yeah, absolutely,
39:34
I'd be honored. And he prayed for him. How many
39:37
times do we do the same thing that happens to
39:40
Howie? We tell him, I'm going to pray for you.
39:42
I'll lift up your family in prayer. But how many
39:44
times do we actually stop and say, hey, I'm going
39:46
to pray right now. Even if they don't believe,
39:49
they don't care. Everybody wants prayer. Everybody's
39:54
looking for hope and peace and love. They just
39:56
don't know that we serve the God who brings it.
40:00
They're waiting for somebody to pass them the
40:02
baton because it's not about speed. It's not
40:06
about agility. It's about faithfulness. It's
40:10
about urgency. When's the last time you had a
40:13
sense of urgency about sharing the gospel? The
40:16
sense of urgency to not see others live their
40:19
life without Jesus. Yeah, we don't want to see
40:23
people die and go to hell, but I don't want to
40:24
see people live hell on earth either. Because
40:28
we are called to carry heaven with us everywhere
40:30
we go. The baton was about faithfulness, urgency,
40:35
and responsibility. They carried a message worth
40:39
protecting, a mission worth continuing, and a
40:45
responsibility that was worth passing on. If
40:48
I can have the worship team come back up here
40:50
with me. Getting ready to wrap up here. But God
40:55
is calling on generations to step up with open
40:59
hearts and open hands to help pass the baton.
41:05
Show your students. Even if they're not your
41:08
students. If you come to Faith Church and they're
41:10
students here, guess what? They're your students.
41:12
Show your students who Jesus is. Share your story.
41:17
Be the Christ follower that they can imitate.
41:20
Live your life on purpose for God's glory. Run
41:23
with courage. I don't care how fast you run.
41:27
I don't care how good you look while you're running.
41:30
but run with faithfulness and urgency and responsibility
41:34
to the message of the good news of Jesus Christ.
41:41
So this morning, we're gonna do something a little
41:42
different for our response time. For one, we're
41:46
gonna have a QR code that I believe is gonna
41:48
be going up. That'll go up later when our drummer's
41:51
not busy. When that QR code goes up, that's a
41:55
practical way for you to step up to the plate,
41:57
okay? So... After we're done with service here,
42:01
we're all going to go over to the fellowship
42:02
hall. As Pastor Darren mentioned, we're going
42:04
to have lunch. We got some lunch, and then we
42:06
also got a bunch of baked goods, and they're
42:08
going to be lemonade. So it's donation only.
42:11
We're going to have a Speed the Light bucket
42:13
out there. That's for the youth, for the teenagers,
42:18
to raise funds for Speed the Light that Pastor
42:20
Darren had mentioned earlier. One of our very
42:22
own missionaries, Shannon and Becky Bale, actually
42:25
have a Speed the Light vehicle, Tacoma, I think.
42:28
Yeah, Toyota Tacoma that they use to get the
42:32
word of God and the supplies that they need up
42:34
into the mountainous region that they're in.
42:36
Pastor Darren got a ride in it. It is the only
42:41
way we can get vehicles to our missionaries is
42:43
through Speed the Light. That's why our Illinois
42:47
student director has commissioned us, has called
42:50
us. I want each youth group to bring at least
42:54
$1 ,000 to Momentum this year because we want
42:57
to shine a light in the very dark corners of
42:59
this world. Because we get wrapped up in our
43:02
own life. We get wrapped up in our own problems.
43:05
And we're like, man, my world's really dark.
43:06
I need some light. Well, guess what? If you got
43:08
Jesus, you got the light. And yes, there are
43:12
dark corners in Lincoln. There are dark corners
43:14
in Mount Pulaski, wherever you live, that you
43:17
need to shine the light. But God has also called
43:20
us to support missionaries to go take it where
43:22
we never will. Just like when my dad passed me
43:25
the baton. Take it where places that I'm never
43:28
going to go. I know most of you in here know
43:33
that I made the next rank. In the Navy, I'm an
43:36
E7. I'm a chief now. But that also means I'm
43:39
probably going to be leaving in the next year.
43:43
It means I'm probably going to be going back
43:45
to sea duty. Probably on a ship. The last time
43:50
I was on a ship, my ship did not have a chaplain.
43:55
And so one of the very first things anybody talked
43:57
to me about when I got there, hey, will you be
43:58
a lay leader? I saw you on Facebook. You're a
44:00
religious guy. Will you be a lay leader? I'm
44:02
like, what's that? Like, well, we don't have
44:04
a chaplain, so we need somebody to represent
44:06
your faith group to the crew. And so every Sunday
44:09
that we were out to sea, I got to conduct Christian
44:11
church services on board our ship. Every single
44:15
night that we were out to sea, I got to get on
44:17
the ship's announcing system and pray over the
44:20
entire crew. I even had a chaplain at one point.
44:24
For the most part, they all loved what we were
44:26
doing because it was me and there was another
44:28
licensed minister on board and we tag -teamed.
44:30
We'd take turns. And most of the chaplains were
44:33
like, oh, you guys are killing it. You're doing
44:34
great things. Keep it up. And then near my end
44:36
of my time there, I had another chaplain show
44:38
up and he's like, no, no, no, no, you guys aren't
44:40
chaplains. You can't be doing this. You can't
44:42
be doing this. And my captain came to me. I was
44:45
at E5 at the time. I'm a little nobody compared
44:48
to the captain of our worship. And he comes to
44:51
me and he says, FC2, what are we going to do?
44:54
Because the crew need this. And I said, well,
44:58
here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna stop saying
44:59
amen at the end, but I'm gonna keep doing the
45:01
exact same thing. We'll just call it a motivational
45:03
minute. Now, there were some Christians that
45:05
kind of got upset about that. Like, oh, why can't
45:08
we call it a prayer? I'm like, why does it matter?
45:10
My message didn't change. I'm saying the same
45:12
things. I'm just, now I'm able to do it. Would
45:15
you rather me not do anything? What do you think
45:16
our missionaries are doing overseas? We gotta
45:19
shine a light everywhere we go. You have a responsibility
45:21
to the baton, to the message. Are you gonna pass
45:27
it off or are you gonna drop it? So this morning,
45:30
there's a whole bunch of batons up here. But
45:32
before I call anybody up to grab them, I want
45:35
to call everybody who has, if you're in this
45:38
room this morning and you have children, students,
45:41
teenagers, whatever, in the house, I would like
45:43
you to come forward. If your kids are with you,
45:45
bring them up too. And I just want you to stand.
45:47
I don't want you to come all the way up to the
45:48
altar. I want you to stand right in front of
45:50
the front rows. If you've got kids, teenagers
45:52
in the home, I would like you to come forward
45:55
and stand in front of the front row of chairs
45:57
here. All right, for everybody else that's still
46:23
sitting out there, if you have felt challenged
46:29
by God's word this morning, if you have felt
46:33
called to step up and pass off the baton, I would
46:38
ask that you come up here this morning and you
46:41
grab a baton. If you're still in your seat, you
46:46
don't have students in the home, I want you to
46:48
come up here and grab a baton. I want you to
46:53
just hold on to it for a moment. Don't do anything
46:55
with it yet. Just come on up here, pick a baton.
47:02
And we're going to do something just a little
47:03
bit different. I heard a worship leader, front
47:09
runner of a band, Christian band, talk about
47:13
this song that we're about to do one time. And
47:16
he talked about how he realized that worship
47:20
isn't always vertical. Now, you might think that's
47:27
like heresy, right? Like, oh, worship is only
47:29
to God, only to Jesus. But we just spent this
47:32
whole morning talking about how important it
47:34
is to share. the message with the next generation,
47:38
with other generations, to share it with other
47:41
people. So there's actually moments where worship
47:56
can be horizontal. Okay, so if you've got a baton
48:00
in your hand as we sing this song, I would like
48:03
you to find one of these families, one of these
48:05
young folks, and I want you to pray this song,
48:09
sing this song over that family, over the next
48:14
generation.