1 00:00:01,885 --> 00:00:04,888 Romans 10:9-15. 2 00:00:04,921 --> 00:00:09,175 Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe 3 00:00:09,175 --> 00:00:13,430 in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 4 00:00:14,147 --> 00:00:17,150 For with the heart one believes and is justified, 5 00:00:17,517 --> 00:00:20,520 and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 6 00:00:21,354 --> 00:00:25,909 For the Scripture says, everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame. 7 00:00:26,793 --> 00:00:29,779 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. 8 00:00:30,063 --> 00:00:32,665 For the same Lord is Lord of all. 9 00:00:32,665 --> 00:00:35,668 Bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 10 00:00:36,002 --> 00:00:40,673 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 11 00:00:42,092 --> 00:00:45,478 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? 12 00:00:46,346 --> 00:00:49,699 And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? 13 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,952 And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 14 00:00:53,903 --> 00:00:56,906 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? 15 00:00:56,973 --> 00:01:01,111 As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those 16 00:01:01,111 --> 00:01:04,097 who preach the good news. 17 00:01:07,917 --> 00:01:08,334 Well, hey, 18 00:01:08,334 --> 00:01:11,905 welcome to the weekend gathering of Christ Community Chapel. 19 00:01:11,905 --> 00:01:13,256 So great to see you this morning. 20 00:01:13,256 --> 00:01:15,091 If we've not met before. 21 00:01:15,091 --> 00:01:16,292 My name is Jimmy Kozy. 22 00:01:16,292 --> 00:01:18,962 I'm one of the pastors here as a part of my role 23 00:01:18,962 --> 00:01:20,330 I also have the privilege 24 00:01:20,330 --> 00:01:24,017 of leading Orchard NEO, which you just heard about on video. 25 00:01:24,300 --> 00:01:29,189 Orchard NEO is our church planting organization here at Christ Community 26 00:01:29,189 --> 00:01:29,456 Chapel. 27 00:01:29,456 --> 00:01:33,860 We started it in 2019 with the goal that by the year 2050, 28 00:01:34,227 --> 00:01:37,230 we would plant 60 churches in communities 29 00:01:37,464 --> 00:01:40,583 all around Northeast Ohio. And Jorge 30 00:01:40,583 --> 00:01:45,421 and Brandon, who you just met via video represent our 11th and 12th churches 31 00:01:45,421 --> 00:01:48,625 that Christ Community Chapel has planted in Northeast Ohio. 32 00:01:50,043 --> 00:01:50,460 And I 33 00:01:50,460 --> 00:01:53,813 was having a conversation with somebody in the community recently, 34 00:01:53,813 --> 00:01:56,132 a person who works in the school district I coach there. 35 00:01:56,132 --> 00:02:01,037 And, this person, she was asking me about my day to day here at CCC. 36 00:02:01,037 --> 00:02:02,222 And one of the things that I told her 37 00:02:02,222 --> 00:02:06,392 is that I'm involved in church planting, and I could tell that didn't 38 00:02:06,392 --> 00:02:10,079 really register with her because I don't I don't think she's a Christian. 39 00:02:10,079 --> 00:02:11,097 And so I said, well, 40 00:02:11,097 --> 00:02:15,201 we start new churches and communities all around Northeast Ohio. 41 00:02:15,201 --> 00:02:18,171 So we bring a guy in, we train him, we resource him, 42 00:02:18,171 --> 00:02:21,090 we find him, and after two years, he leaves our program, 43 00:02:21,090 --> 00:02:24,077 the pastor of a fully independent, autonomous church. 44 00:02:24,511 --> 00:02:28,081 And I could see the question on the tip of her tongue, why would you do that? 45 00:02:29,132 --> 00:02:30,450 With all the things that a 46 00:02:30,450 --> 00:02:33,837 church of our size and with our resources could be involved in? 47 00:02:33,837 --> 00:02:36,840 Why are we so engaged and invested 48 00:02:36,923 --> 00:02:39,926 in starting new churches all around Northeast Ohio? 49 00:02:40,610 --> 00:02:43,613 And the answer is found in Romans chapter ten. 50 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:46,983 In Romans chapter ten, I see there's a three part answer. 51 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:47,750 It goes like this. 52 00:02:47,750 --> 00:02:50,186 This will serve as our outline for this morning. 53 00:02:50,186 --> 00:02:52,438 Jesus gives clarity. 54 00:02:52,438 --> 00:02:54,257 Jesus gives us clarity. 55 00:02:54,257 --> 00:02:57,260 Clarity creates urgency. 56 00:02:57,527 --> 00:03:00,363 And then urgency drives action. 57 00:03:00,363 --> 00:03:01,948 Jesus gives us clarity. 58 00:03:01,948 --> 00:03:03,917 Clarity creates urgency. 59 00:03:03,917 --> 00:03:05,401 Urgency drives action. 60 00:03:05,401 --> 00:03:06,603 We'll start with that first point. 61 00:03:06,603 --> 00:03:08,388 Jesus gives us clarity. 62 00:03:08,388 --> 00:03:13,009 Let me read for you Romans chapter ten, verses nine and ten, which say this 63 00:03:14,060 --> 00:03:17,997 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe 64 00:03:17,997 --> 00:03:21,000 in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 65 00:03:21,651 --> 00:03:24,654 For with the heart one believes and is justified, 66 00:03:24,737 --> 00:03:27,807 and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 67 00:03:29,392 --> 00:03:32,395 Here's what I mean when I say that Jesus gives us clarity. 68 00:03:32,478 --> 00:03:35,515 Because of Jesus, we can know God. 69 00:03:36,266 --> 00:03:38,668 And if you're here today and you are not a Christian, 70 00:03:38,668 --> 00:03:41,004 or you would not identify yourself as a Christian 71 00:03:41,004 --> 00:03:44,624 if you don't hear anything else I say this morning, hear this. 72 00:03:44,641 --> 00:03:47,627 You can know God. 73 00:03:47,694 --> 00:03:49,529 You don't have to wonder about him. 74 00:03:49,529 --> 00:03:52,532 You don't have to wonder what he's like, what he's interested 75 00:03:52,532 --> 00:03:56,402 in, what his plan is for you, what he expects for you, what he expects 76 00:03:56,402 --> 00:03:59,389 from you, what it means for us to have a relationship with him. 77 00:03:59,389 --> 00:04:02,342 All of those things have been revealed to us 78 00:04:02,342 --> 00:04:05,979 through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 79 00:04:05,995 --> 00:04:09,349 What that means is that God is not ambivalent toward you. 80 00:04:09,799 --> 00:04:11,751 He's not standing at an arm's length. 81 00:04:11,751 --> 00:04:13,102 He's not hiding from you. 82 00:04:13,102 --> 00:04:18,775 He wants to have a personal relationship with you that is made possible 83 00:04:19,042 --> 00:04:22,045 through the blood of his son, Jesus Christ. 84 00:04:22,045 --> 00:04:24,347 You can know God. 85 00:04:24,347 --> 00:04:27,684 So if you ever wondered what is God like, look at Jesus. 86 00:04:28,134 --> 00:04:30,687 If you ever, ever wondered, what does God want from me? 87 00:04:30,687 --> 00:04:32,722 What does God want for me? 88 00:04:32,722 --> 00:04:33,439 Look at Jesus. 89 00:04:33,439 --> 00:04:36,442 Does God want to have a relationship with me? 90 00:04:36,659 --> 00:04:37,410 Look at Jesus. 91 00:04:37,410 --> 00:04:41,748 He sent his own son to die that he might have relationship with you. 92 00:04:41,781 --> 00:04:43,650 You can know God. 93 00:04:43,650 --> 00:04:47,420 Jesus gives us spiritual clarity, crystal clarity 94 00:04:47,420 --> 00:04:51,257 about what the nature of our relationship with God is like. 95 00:04:52,408 --> 00:04:55,428 But that clarity creates urgency. 96 00:04:55,561 --> 00:04:56,929 And that's my second point. 97 00:04:56,929 --> 00:04:58,698 Here's what I mean by that. 98 00:04:58,698 --> 00:05:01,050 Let me read for you again from Romans chapter ten. 99 00:05:01,050 --> 00:05:04,037 I'm going to read verse 13, which says this 100 00:05:05,004 --> 00:05:09,108 for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 101 00:05:10,259 --> 00:05:12,628 This verse is both amazing 102 00:05:12,628 --> 00:05:16,015 and terrifying simultaneously, and here's why I say that. 103 00:05:16,549 --> 00:05:20,103 It's amazing because of what it says about the goodness 104 00:05:20,103 --> 00:05:24,557 and grace of God that is available to you and I through Jesus Christ. 105 00:05:25,308 --> 00:05:27,377 Here's what it means to have a relationship with God. 106 00:05:27,377 --> 00:05:31,848 God sent His Son Jesus to die so that the barrier between us 107 00:05:31,848 --> 00:05:35,301 and him could be broken down so that we could be forgiven of our sins, 108 00:05:35,301 --> 00:05:39,389 so that we could be reconciled to him and have the opportunity to belong to him 109 00:05:39,622 --> 00:05:42,258 forever. Here's a test if you really understand this. 110 00:05:42,258 --> 00:05:45,812 One way to think about it is this if you stood before God today 111 00:05:46,729 --> 00:05:49,766 and the question was asked of you, why should God accept you? 112 00:05:50,550 --> 00:05:53,970 If your answer is anything other than the body 113 00:05:53,970 --> 00:05:57,206 and blood of Jesus Christ broken and shed on my behalf, 114 00:05:57,774 --> 00:06:01,044 then you may not understand fully what the Bible says 115 00:06:01,044 --> 00:06:04,047 about what it means to be a Christian, because what that says 116 00:06:04,097 --> 00:06:08,000 is that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. 117 00:06:08,034 --> 00:06:12,238 That means that everything that you think that you need to do to please God, 118 00:06:12,238 --> 00:06:16,259 every bit of religious performance, whether it's being a good person or 119 00:06:16,342 --> 00:06:19,712 being moral or being generous or attending church or reading your Bible, 120 00:06:19,712 --> 00:06:23,583 all of those things, while they are good things they don't accomplish for us. 121 00:06:23,750 --> 00:06:25,134 Our relationship with God. 122 00:06:25,134 --> 00:06:29,088 Our relationship with God is based solely on the performance 123 00:06:29,088 --> 00:06:33,843 of Jesus Christ on our behalf that is credited to us all we do 124 00:06:34,277 --> 00:06:37,797 is trust in him, call on his name and be saved. 125 00:06:37,830 --> 00:06:39,565 That is amazing. 126 00:06:39,565 --> 00:06:41,701 But it's also terrifying. 127 00:06:41,701 --> 00:06:45,421 It's terrifying because of the converse of that statement. 128 00:06:45,421 --> 00:06:49,308 Because if it's true that everyone who calls on 129 00:06:49,308 --> 00:06:53,246 the name of the Lord will be saved, then the logic must follow that. 130 00:06:53,246 --> 00:06:56,482 It must also be true that everyone who does not 131 00:06:56,482 --> 00:06:59,635 call on the name of the Lord will not be saved. 132 00:07:01,070 --> 00:07:01,737 This makes me 133 00:07:01,737 --> 00:07:05,691 think about Jurassic Park, and I know what you're thinking. 134 00:07:05,691 --> 00:07:09,228 I can't believe this guy is going to try to connect Jurassic Park to the Bible. 135 00:07:09,862 --> 00:07:11,097 That's a fair criticism. 136 00:07:11,097 --> 00:07:15,568 I guess it's possible I spent so much time thinking about whether I could, that 137 00:07:15,568 --> 00:07:19,789 I didn't stop to consider whether or not I should, but we're going anyway. 138 00:07:19,822 --> 00:07:21,207 I love Jurassic Park. 139 00:07:21,207 --> 00:07:23,392 If Jurassic Park is on, I'm in. 140 00:07:23,392 --> 00:07:24,827 Like if you held up an iPad 141 00:07:24,827 --> 00:07:26,813 in the middle of the service right now with Jurassic Park, 142 00:07:26,813 --> 00:07:29,816 I would be tempted to stop and just watch it play out. 143 00:07:31,217 --> 00:07:33,870 There are seven Jurassic parks by this point, I think. 144 00:07:33,870 --> 00:07:35,071 Seven. 145 00:07:35,071 --> 00:07:38,040 And I was watching the seventh one a couple of weeks ago, 146 00:07:38,040 --> 00:07:40,860 and I noticed something that maybe you already know, and it's this 147 00:07:40,860 --> 00:07:43,830 every Jurassic Park movie has essentially the same story. 148 00:07:43,830 --> 00:07:45,148 It goes like this. 149 00:07:45,148 --> 00:07:46,616 There's this guy over here. 150 00:07:46,616 --> 00:07:47,817 He's got dinosaurs. 151 00:07:47,817 --> 00:07:49,318 Dinosaurs are great. 152 00:07:49,318 --> 00:07:51,270 Check it out. Don't worry. 153 00:07:51,270 --> 00:07:52,788 The dinosaurs are under control. 154 00:07:52,788 --> 00:07:55,825 That's part one. Part two. Whoops. 155 00:07:56,993 --> 00:07:59,428 We made a mistake. 156 00:07:59,428 --> 00:08:02,448 The dinosaurs are loose and people are getting eaten. 157 00:08:03,900 --> 00:08:06,269 And we need to get out of here. 158 00:08:06,269 --> 00:08:09,088 That's what I mean when I say clarity creates urgency 159 00:08:09,088 --> 00:08:11,057 in every Jurassic Park movie. 160 00:08:11,057 --> 00:08:12,592 Whatever the side story is, 161 00:08:12,592 --> 00:08:16,562 if it's about genetically engineering crops or building a theme park 162 00:08:16,562 --> 00:08:20,299 or creating new species of dinosaurs, there's this side story that's going on. 163 00:08:20,299 --> 00:08:25,488 But there's a moment in the movie where you realize, oh, the dinosaurs are loose, 164 00:08:26,189 --> 00:08:29,959 and that that clarity creates urgency because everything else 165 00:08:29,959 --> 00:08:32,428 that you were thinking about at that point in time for the characters 166 00:08:32,428 --> 00:08:35,431 in that movie, it's over that the movie just becomes about, 167 00:08:35,515 --> 00:08:38,301 we have got to get out of here because the dinosaurs are loose, 168 00:08:38,301 --> 00:08:42,121 because there's a piece of information that raises the stakes and clarifies 169 00:08:42,121 --> 00:08:44,957 things such that you can't think about anything else. 170 00:08:44,957 --> 00:08:46,409 You just got it. You just got to move. 171 00:08:47,393 --> 00:08:49,195 Listen, people 172 00:08:49,195 --> 00:08:52,398 who do not trust in Jesus go to hell. 173 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:55,618 That's what the Bible teaches. 174 00:08:55,618 --> 00:09:00,389 In John 14 six, Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 175 00:09:00,590 --> 00:09:03,593 Nobody comes to the father except by me. 176 00:09:03,776 --> 00:09:07,430 And I know that depending on your spiritual or religious background, 177 00:09:07,847 --> 00:09:10,883 the idea of judgment and hell can be uncomfortable. 178 00:09:10,883 --> 00:09:13,286 But it's what Jesus teaches. 179 00:09:13,286 --> 00:09:16,672 And so if we're going to follow him, then we need to follow everything 180 00:09:16,672 --> 00:09:20,426 that he's teaching and not pick and choose things based on their comfort level. 181 00:09:20,459 --> 00:09:23,963 Because if we do that, it flips it upside down, then we're not following Jesus. 182 00:09:24,230 --> 00:09:26,332 We're asking Jesus to follow us. 183 00:09:26,332 --> 00:09:28,668 He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 184 00:09:28,668 --> 00:09:30,803 Nobody comes to the father except by me. 185 00:09:30,803 --> 00:09:35,508 And this creates incredible urgency for us because of what's going on around us. 186 00:09:36,809 --> 00:09:39,962 Northeast Ohio has 4.5 million people. 187 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:44,100 I saw some data from a survey that was held in 2024. 188 00:09:44,100 --> 00:09:47,870 The most recent thing I could find estimated that about 40% 189 00:09:47,870 --> 00:09:52,158 at most of people in Northeast Ohio would consider themselves Christians. 190 00:09:53,209 --> 00:09:56,212 If you think about what that means, that means that right now, 191 00:09:56,312 --> 00:09:59,365 there are 2.5 million or more people 192 00:09:59,365 --> 00:10:03,919 within driving distance of where we are who have not called 193 00:10:03,919 --> 00:10:06,922 on the name of the Lord and will not be saved. 194 00:10:07,607 --> 00:10:10,376 That's urgency, but it's personal. 195 00:10:10,376 --> 00:10:12,261 It's more than just big numbers. 196 00:10:12,261 --> 00:10:13,863 It's about you and I. 197 00:10:13,863 --> 00:10:18,267 Every one of us has people in our sphere of influence friends, neighbors, 198 00:10:18,467 --> 00:10:22,371 kids on our our or parents of kids on our other, our kids sports teams, 199 00:10:22,371 --> 00:10:26,208 people who play golf with people we see on a day to day basis, 200 00:10:26,575 --> 00:10:31,280 who we know are not Christians, have not placed their faith in Jesus. 201 00:10:31,314 --> 00:10:35,368 That's what I mean when I say clarity creates urgency, 202 00:10:36,652 --> 00:10:37,019 and that 203 00:10:37,019 --> 00:10:40,489 leads to a feeling of somebody needs to do something. 204 00:10:40,489 --> 00:10:41,957 We need to do something. 205 00:10:41,957 --> 00:10:44,844 So the question is, what are we going to do about it? 206 00:10:44,844 --> 00:10:49,532 And that leads to my third point, which is urgency drives action. 207 00:10:49,548 --> 00:10:53,185 You can see that logic, by the way, play out in this passage. 208 00:10:53,602 --> 00:10:56,756 You know, it starts with if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord 209 00:10:57,056 --> 00:10:59,442 and believe in your heart, God raised him from the dead, you'll be saved. 210 00:10:59,442 --> 00:11:00,543 That's clarity. 211 00:11:00,543 --> 00:11:03,112 Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Urgency. 212 00:11:03,112 --> 00:11:07,717 And then he moves immediately into a cascade of action oriented questions. 213 00:11:07,733 --> 00:11:10,736 Listen to this in verse 14 and 15. 214 00:11:10,820 --> 00:11:13,823 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? 215 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,276 And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? 216 00:11:17,727 --> 00:11:20,396 And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 217 00:11:20,396 --> 00:11:23,883 And how are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written? 218 00:11:24,350 --> 00:11:28,187 How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news? 219 00:11:29,689 --> 00:11:30,806 Urgency drives 220 00:11:30,806 --> 00:11:33,809 action, and that's what Orchard is. 221 00:11:34,110 --> 00:11:37,229 Orchard is action driven by urgency, 222 00:11:37,496 --> 00:11:40,549 created by clarity given by Jesus. 223 00:11:41,033 --> 00:11:43,619 Because Orchard, know at its fundamental 224 00:11:43,619 --> 00:11:47,089 core, is not a church starting organization. 225 00:11:47,656 --> 00:11:51,227 Orchard NGO exists so that people in Northeast Ohio 226 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:55,131 who do not currently have a relationship with Jesus, who have not called 227 00:11:55,314 --> 00:11:58,017 on the name of the Lord and therefore would not be saved, 228 00:11:58,017 --> 00:12:01,821 have an opportunity to hear about Jesus, the goodness 229 00:12:01,821 --> 00:12:05,508 and grace of God that is available to all of us through him. 230 00:12:06,358 --> 00:12:09,061 Church planting is a means to an end. 231 00:12:09,061 --> 00:12:12,898 The end being that people would be able to come to faith in 232 00:12:12,898 --> 00:12:14,567 Jesus because they heard, 233 00:12:14,567 --> 00:12:17,570 because they believed, because they heard, because someone preached, 234 00:12:17,570 --> 00:12:21,390 because someone sent the exact order that plays out in that passage. 235 00:12:21,407 --> 00:12:23,943 That is the mission that we are on. 236 00:12:23,943 --> 00:12:26,612 And it's a mission for us as followers of Jesus 237 00:12:26,612 --> 00:12:29,665 that is driven by personal transformation. 238 00:12:30,900 --> 00:12:33,552 A few weeks ago, I stayed at a Ritz-Carlton. 239 00:12:33,552 --> 00:12:35,671 I don't if you don't know me very well. 240 00:12:35,671 --> 00:12:38,124 I'm not really a Ritz-Carlton kind of guy. 241 00:12:38,124 --> 00:12:39,959 That's not really my vibe or my scene. 242 00:12:39,959 --> 00:12:44,280 I'm more of a a Frontier Airlines kind of guy, which we'll get to in a minute. 243 00:12:44,814 --> 00:12:47,099 But I was at the Ritz-Carlton for a conference, 244 00:12:47,099 --> 00:12:50,870 and as a part of this conference, they gave you a room at the Ritz-Carlton. 245 00:12:50,903 --> 00:12:53,906 I know I said, tough job, but I'll take this assignment. 246 00:12:54,089 --> 00:12:54,840 It's going to be hard. 247 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:56,392 So I'm at the Ritz-Carlton, 248 00:12:56,392 --> 00:12:58,644 and it was the day that we were supposed to leave, 249 00:12:58,644 --> 00:13:00,863 and our flight wasn't until later in the evening. 250 00:13:00,863 --> 00:13:03,866 And so you have meetings all day, and then you got to try to 251 00:13:03,933 --> 00:13:05,301 get to your flight and get out of there. 252 00:13:05,301 --> 00:13:08,521 And I had a I had a situation because I needed to check out of the room, 253 00:13:08,521 --> 00:13:10,189 but my flight wasn't until later that evening. 254 00:13:10,189 --> 00:13:14,343 So I went to the desk at the Ritz-Carlton and I said, hey, help me out. 255 00:13:15,027 --> 00:13:18,147 I have to check out of my room, but my flight's not till 5 or 6 tonight. 256 00:13:18,414 --> 00:13:19,582 Is there anything you can do? 257 00:13:19,582 --> 00:13:20,633 What are my options? 258 00:13:20,633 --> 00:13:24,720 And, the Ritz Carlton is known for its hospitality. 259 00:13:24,737 --> 00:13:27,690 They're supposed to be the pinnacle of guest experience and hospitality. 260 00:13:27,690 --> 00:13:30,693 So I had high expectations going into this conversation. 261 00:13:31,043 --> 00:13:33,662 So I went to the desk, and the first thing the person says to me 262 00:13:33,662 --> 00:13:36,649 is, are you a Bonvoy member? 263 00:13:36,715 --> 00:13:38,250 And I said, no, I'm not a Bonvoy member. 264 00:13:38,250 --> 00:13:41,220 And so they said to me, well, I can't really do much for you. 265 00:13:41,220 --> 00:13:43,823 The room is available, so you could pay for another night 266 00:13:43,823 --> 00:13:47,726 if you want, but all I can really do for you is give you another hour. 267 00:13:48,911 --> 00:13:50,930 You fast forward to later that evening. 268 00:13:50,930 --> 00:13:53,065 We're trying to get home. My wife was with me. 269 00:13:53,065 --> 00:13:57,603 This was on the weekend, a few weeks back when the FAA reduced all the flights. 270 00:13:57,603 --> 00:14:00,139 And so trying to go anywhere in an airport was an absolute nightmare. 271 00:14:00,139 --> 00:14:00,756 It was chaos. 272 00:14:00,756 --> 00:14:04,310 And so we're in Sarasota, Florida, trying to get back home to Cleveland. 273 00:14:04,443 --> 00:14:07,580 So our flights were supposed to be Sarasota to Atlanta, Atlanta to Cleveland. 274 00:14:07,580 --> 00:14:09,949 We're sitting in the airport and everything gets canceled. 275 00:14:09,949 --> 00:14:12,351 And so we're just sitting there trying to figure out, I run, 276 00:14:12,351 --> 00:14:13,202 you know, to the line 277 00:14:13,202 --> 00:14:16,188 to rebook, to try to figure out how are we going to get home tonight. 278 00:14:16,322 --> 00:14:19,191 And as I'm waiting in line, my wife, Emily, who is a charter 279 00:14:19,191 --> 00:14:23,812 member of the Frontier Discount Den, gives me a call and says, hey, 280 00:14:24,363 --> 00:14:27,950 frontier has a direct flight to Cleveland tonight from Tampa, 281 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:30,986 which is about an hour away in about four hours. 282 00:14:30,986 --> 00:14:32,972 Should I book it? And I said, yeah, I booked a flight. 283 00:14:32,972 --> 00:14:34,173 So she booked the flight. 284 00:14:34,173 --> 00:14:35,991 We hustled to the Tampa airport. 285 00:14:35,991 --> 00:14:37,593 You know, we get there and it's just chaos. 286 00:14:37,593 --> 00:14:40,195 You look on the screen, everything is red, yellow, blinking. 287 00:14:40,195 --> 00:14:42,631 Every flight's delayed, every flight is canceled. 288 00:14:42,631 --> 00:14:44,483 And so we run through the airport, we get to our gate. 289 00:14:44,483 --> 00:14:46,852 Our flight is supposed take off at, like, 8:20 p.m.. 290 00:14:48,137 --> 00:14:50,189 So we're sitting at the gate having an experience 291 00:14:50,189 --> 00:14:53,242 that's probably a universal experience for anybody who's ever flown. 292 00:14:53,492 --> 00:14:54,610 Says 820. 293 00:14:54,610 --> 00:14:58,764 Then the time changes to 850, then it changes to 930, 294 00:14:59,131 --> 00:15:03,619 then it's 1010, then it's 1050 finally settles at 11:06 p.m. 295 00:15:03,619 --> 00:15:05,905 that they say this flight is going to take off. 296 00:15:05,905 --> 00:15:08,457 My wife and I are just sitting there saying, there's no way, 297 00:15:08,457 --> 00:15:10,075 you know, there's no way we're getting out here tonight. 298 00:15:10,075 --> 00:15:11,577 We're gonna spend the night on a bench 299 00:15:11,577 --> 00:15:14,213 in the Tampa airport because it's too late to go find a hotel, 300 00:15:14,213 --> 00:15:16,999 because we have to get back for an early flight the next day. 301 00:15:16,999 --> 00:15:19,702 And so we're sitting there and it's about 1058. 302 00:15:19,702 --> 00:15:24,023 And I see this frontier crew in green polo 303 00:15:24,023 --> 00:15:28,193 shirts come sprinting through the airport, run up to the gate. 304 00:15:28,527 --> 00:15:31,196 And I'm telling you, I have never seen a flight crew move 305 00:15:31,196 --> 00:15:32,932 with such urgency in my entire life. 306 00:15:32,932 --> 00:15:35,401 They got us on the plane in minutes. 307 00:15:35,401 --> 00:15:36,752 They were doing it was like they were going to do 308 00:15:36,752 --> 00:15:39,054 whatever they could to get us out of there. That night. 309 00:15:39,054 --> 00:15:42,925 They were moving so quickly, like the guy got up to do the whole safety thing. 310 00:15:42,925 --> 00:15:46,679 He said, look, this seatbelt is not going to do anything for you if 311 00:15:46,679 --> 00:15:47,663 this plane crashes, 312 00:15:49,531 --> 00:15:49,732 I can. 313 00:15:49,732 --> 00:15:52,468 Would you please just put it on so we can push back from the gate? 314 00:15:52,468 --> 00:15:55,254 So, so we can get out of here. 315 00:15:55,254 --> 00:15:56,839 I mean, it was it was amazing. 316 00:15:56,839 --> 00:16:00,175 They were moving incredibly fast and doing whatever they could. 317 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,196 So as we were flying home, I was juxtaposing these two experiences 318 00:16:04,196 --> 00:16:04,980 against one another. 319 00:16:04,980 --> 00:16:05,965 On one hand, 320 00:16:05,965 --> 00:16:08,634 you had the Ritz-Carlton, who's supposed to be known for their hospitality, 321 00:16:08,634 --> 00:16:11,637 and they were relatively ambivalent to the situation that we were in. 322 00:16:12,471 --> 00:16:14,606 On the other hand, you have frontier, which is a budget 323 00:16:14,606 --> 00:16:17,793 airline and often lives up to their reputation as such. 324 00:16:17,793 --> 00:16:20,779 But it seemed like they were going to do whatever they could do 325 00:16:20,779 --> 00:16:23,749 to get us to Cleveland that night, and it didn't make sense to me. 326 00:16:23,749 --> 00:16:26,101 I was puzzled by this, and I was trying to figure out, 327 00:16:26,101 --> 00:16:28,854 and it didn't make sense to me until I walked off the airplane 328 00:16:29,838 --> 00:16:30,923 because Emily and I walked. 329 00:16:30,923 --> 00:16:32,658 We were among the last off the plane. 330 00:16:32,658 --> 00:16:35,160 We walked down the jetway with the crew, 331 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,680 and as we're walking, the crew is laughing. 332 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:41,600 They're joking, they're celebrating, and I see they've all got big bags on. 333 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,670 And I realized in that moment, every person on 334 00:16:44,670 --> 00:16:47,673 that crew was from Cleveland. 335 00:16:47,690 --> 00:16:50,943 So for them, this flight was not about doing their job. 336 00:16:51,410 --> 00:16:54,229 This flight was about getting home. 337 00:16:54,229 --> 00:16:56,031 They needed to get home just as badly 338 00:16:56,031 --> 00:16:59,034 as anybody else on that plane. 339 00:16:59,334 --> 00:17:02,337 And that is the heart behind Orchard now. 340 00:17:02,755 --> 00:17:06,325 That's why we do what we do because of what Jesus has done for us. 341 00:17:06,658 --> 00:17:10,129 Because of him, we have the opportunity to have relationship 342 00:17:10,129 --> 00:17:14,817 with the God of the universe, who loves us and wants us to belong to him. 343 00:17:15,951 --> 00:17:16,618 And so we want 344 00:17:16,618 --> 00:17:19,638 to take as many people with us as we can. 345 00:17:19,671 --> 00:17:21,890 That's why we plant churches. 346 00:17:21,890 --> 00:17:25,677 This weekend at CTC, we are going to baptize 36 people. 347 00:17:26,428 --> 00:17:29,515 That means that year to date, in the year 2025, 348 00:17:29,515 --> 00:17:32,518 we will have baptized 265 people 349 00:17:32,668 --> 00:17:35,671 at Christ Community Chapel. 350 00:17:38,791 --> 00:17:41,660 And if you think about what that means when somebody gets baptized, 351 00:17:41,660 --> 00:17:45,831 they're saying, I have called on the name of the Lord and been saved. 352 00:17:45,831 --> 00:17:48,801 And this is a symbol for all of you to see. 353 00:17:48,801 --> 00:17:51,086 That's 265 lives 354 00:17:51,086 --> 00:17:54,690 that have been transformed by the goodness and grace of Jesus Christ. 355 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:58,794 That's why we celebrate, because baptism is not a bonvoy membership. 356 00:17:59,211 --> 00:18:04,349 Baptism is a plane landing in the middle of the night, in the cold, in the rain, 357 00:18:04,466 --> 00:18:07,519 at home, when you never thought that you'd get there. 358 00:18:07,519 --> 00:18:11,306 And we want to take as many people with us as we can. 359 00:18:11,940 --> 00:18:15,511 Chad Young this year one of our church planters in Ravenna planted 360 00:18:15,511 --> 00:18:18,497 Upward City Church they launched on Easter just eight months ago, 361 00:18:19,164 --> 00:18:22,167 and on their launch Sunday, they baptized 13 people. 362 00:18:22,818 --> 00:18:25,821 They've baptized 14 people now, and they have 363 00:18:26,371 --> 00:18:29,358 six more who are in the queue to get baptized. 364 00:18:29,424 --> 00:18:33,412 That's 20 people in Ravenna who had the opportunity 365 00:18:33,412 --> 00:18:36,598 to hear of the goodness and grace of Jesus available to us. 366 00:18:37,916 --> 00:18:39,835 Jorge Alvarado is headed to Latin 367 00:18:39,835 --> 00:18:42,888 American immigrants, which are flocking to the Canton and Akron area. 368 00:18:43,255 --> 00:18:45,958 And when I met Jorge, we could not find a single 369 00:18:45,958 --> 00:18:48,961 Spanish speaking church in that area. 370 00:18:49,311 --> 00:18:51,029 So Jorge is going to go. 371 00:18:51,029 --> 00:18:55,217 He's been sent to preach so that they might hear and believe 372 00:18:55,217 --> 00:18:57,202 and call in the name of the Lord and be saved. 373 00:18:57,202 --> 00:19:00,422 Brandon Stubbs headed to Chagrin Falls Park, a neighborhood 374 00:19:00,422 --> 00:19:04,676 I'm guessing you didn't even know existed until 20 minutes ago. 375 00:19:05,477 --> 00:19:09,047 So the people there might call on the name of the Lord 376 00:19:09,047 --> 00:19:13,068 because they believed, because they heard, because Brandon was sent to preach 377 00:19:13,068 --> 00:19:13,402 to them. 378 00:19:13,402 --> 00:19:16,405 That is why we do Orchard now. 379 00:19:17,272 --> 00:19:21,109 It's so that every community in Northeast Ohio, 2.5 million people, 380 00:19:21,109 --> 00:19:25,581 might have the opportunity to hear of the goodness and grace of God 381 00:19:25,881 --> 00:19:28,951 that is available to every one of us through Jesus. 382 00:19:29,551 --> 00:19:30,269 Let's pray together. 383 00:19:32,004 --> 00:19:34,173 Father in Heaven, we thank you for the goodness 384 00:19:34,173 --> 00:19:37,192 and grace that you've made available to us through your Son, Jesus. 385 00:19:37,192 --> 00:19:38,360 The first and foremost. 386 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:41,730 If we've trusted in him, we have been made new. 387 00:19:41,747 --> 00:19:43,615 We've been forgiven. We've been redeemed. 388 00:19:43,615 --> 00:19:46,618 We've been given new life, and we belong to you. 389 00:19:46,969 --> 00:19:49,171 We pray for our orchard church planters. 390 00:19:49,171 --> 00:19:51,557 We pray that you would send them with power, 391 00:19:51,557 --> 00:19:53,725 that you would give them favor, that you would help them 392 00:19:53,725 --> 00:19:57,980 to have success in their communities, not so that they would grow an organization, 393 00:19:57,980 --> 00:20:01,884 but so that people would come to faith in Jesus Christ, your son, 394 00:20:01,884 --> 00:20:05,153 who you sent to die for us, your son, in whose name we pray. 395 00:20:05,787 --> 00:20:06,171 Amen.