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This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Hey, did anyone else wear their letter jackets to church? Just me today. Okay. I'm surprised by that. Hey, I'm glad you made it. If this is your first time ever with us, I just want to say welcome, and I hope this place can be a place where you take either your first or your next step with Jesus Christ. We believe God is here and that he wants to meet with us. So, the question is…_Do you want to hear from him today?_
I want to give you an opportunity to ask God to maximize the next amount of time we have together. Ask him to speak to you. So, if you would, say, "God, would you speak to me this morning?" Then, would you pray for the people around you and ask God to speak to them as well? Then, would you pray for me and ask God to speak through me to you?
Holy Spirit, I am asking for you to do a wonderful work in our hearts and in our minds. I pray that you would glorify Christ. Lord, my prayer is for every person in here, whether they have a relationship with Jesus or they don't. I pray that today everyone here would see Christ clearly, beholding his beauty. I pray, God, that we would hear from you, that our hearts would receive all you have for us and that our lives would be different, that this week would look different because of what you do during this time. So, we give it to you. In Jesus' name, amen.
Well, this is my letter jacket. I graduated from Highland Park High School in 1999. Does anyone else still _have_ their letter jacket from high school? Okay. More than the 9:00 service. That's good. Does anyone here still _wear_ their letter jacket? Okay. Here's the deal. When you have a letter jacket and you're in high school and you wear it, depending on your high school, it can be a good thing. It can be considered a cool thing, because you're able to look at patches and say, "Okay. Great things have happened, and you're kind of still in it."
But when you go to college and wear your letter jacket in college, that has a different vibe to it. It's different. People don't look and be like, "Man, you got it in high school." Then, if you become a 45-year-old man wearing a letter jacket, it's just different. People draw different conclusions about you if you're a 45-year-old man wearing a letter jacket. You become a little bit like Uncle Rico in _Napoleon Dynamite_.
If you know what I'm talking about, you know. "How much do you want to bet I can throw a pigskin over the mountains?" Do you remember that? "If Coach put me in, no doubt in my mind we would have won state." Like, that's what you become. You're communicating to the world, "I am stuck in the past, and because I'm stuck in the past, I'm not enjoying the present, and I'm not expectant for the future."
The reason I tell you this is that as I've been processing this week, here's what I've realized: it's possible for us to operate in a similar way within the church. If we're not careful, our church experience can be one where we, in a sense, are college students still wearing our letter jackets or 45-year-old men wearing our letter jackets. Let me explain to you what I mean.
It was just good for me to realize this week that when it comes to our church experiences, we can live in the past and not even realize it. It can look something like this. "You know what? I just miss our first Community Group. Our first Community Group was so special, but the new group we're in now…" It's not a new group; you've been in it for five years, but you're like, "It's not like _that_ group was. I wish I could get back to that."
Or, "You know what? I felt like the best time in my life with Jesus was when I was serving for those six or seven years in the student ministry, like, walking with students. The community was amazing, and I felt so deployed and used up." You haven't been leading in Students for three years now, but you wish you could get back to that, or serving in children's or serving as a re:gen leader, or whatever it might look like for you.
Or, if you've been around Watermark for a long time, maybe you remember the Lake Highlands days. I was an intern at Watermark during the Lake Highlands days. Those were special days. You can walk in here to all the complexity of this big space, and you can even think, "It would be sweet to get… I miss those days. I wish we could go back to that." Or the worship is different. The teaching is different.
What does it look like for us to have the letter jacket but not to wear it? To have it, to be able to look back at all God has done, whether it's in your Community Group or through serving in some ministry. What would it look like for us to look back and thank God for what he has done but be fully present now and fully expectant for the future? I tell you this to say, as your pastor, I genuinely believe God wants to do something very meaningful and significant in and through Watermark.
I'm not just saying that wearing rose-colored lenses, trying to pump you up when I don't really believe it. No. I genuinely believe the Spirit of the living God has amazing things he wants to do in and through our body. I truly believe God wants to invite us into a season in the life of our church that we would look back on the days we're in now and say, "We don't ever want to go back there, because what God is doing now is so meaningful and so significant."
But here's what it's going to take. It's going to take all of us saying, "We're so thankful for what God has done in different ways, but we are fully present and fully expectant for the future." So, if you have a Bible, I want to invite you to turn with me to Acts, chapter 13. Acts 13 is an invitation to take off the spiritual letter jackets. If you're just visiting today, what you need to know is we've been journeying through the book of Acts for the entire year so far.
The reason we're looking at Acts is that it is a front-row seat to the explosion of the first-century church. The book of Acts invites us to look at the first-century church and evaluate how _we_ are doing as a church. While there are certain things that will always be unique to the first-century church, we have to remember it's the same gospel, it's the same King Jesus, we share the same salvation, we're filled by the same Spirit, and we're called to the same mission. So, a healthy Watermark Community Church will resemble the first-century church in the book of Acts.
In Acts, chapter 13, Luke, the author, focuses us on the church in Antioch. I've really enjoyed this week exploring the church in Antioch. What I came to realize is that the church in Antioch, besides the church in Jerusalem, might have been the most influential church in the first century. If you remember, we were introduced to the church in Antioch back in Acts, chapter 11. Antioch was the place where believers were first considered Christians.
The thing that really puts the church in Antioch on the map is that Antioch was the birthplace of foreign missions. Up to this point in the book of Acts, we've seen the evangelization of some Gentiles, but it's in Acts 13 that we see a concerted, Spirit-led, focused mission on reaching the unreached world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In the book of Acts, the apostle Paul is going to take three different missionary journeys, and the first one launches in Acts, chapter 13.
I look at the influence the church at Antioch had, and I can't help but think that Watermark has the opportunity to be such an influential church in our city and in our world. I do want to be clear. What I'm not saying right now is that we have the opportunity to be more influential than other churches. That's not what I'm saying.
I'm not trying to make a comparative statement, because we love so many churches in this city. God is doing amazing things in so many churches. I have friendships with several pastors in this town who are committed to exalting Christ and proclaiming the gospel. So, my prayer for them this week is that their churches right now are packed full of people hearing the gospel.
What I'm just talking about is I look at the church in Antioch, and I look at Watermark, and I look at the cities we're in. I look at the city of Antioch, and I look at the city of Dallas, and I see similarities. Antioch was the third largest city in the Roman Empire. It was a wealthy, cosmopolitan center with Greeks and Romans and Jews and Syrians and others, and it was a port center, which made it a hub for international trade, but it also provided access to cities across the Mediterranean. That's the city of Antioch.
Think about the city of Dallas. The Metroplex, DFW, is the fourth largest metroplex in the country. Dallas just ranked as the seventh most diverse city in the country among large cities. The nations are here in Dallas. You can literally reach the world by reaching the nations here in Dallas. Dallas is an economic center, being home to several major corporations.
DFW Airport is the second busiest airport in the United States. It's the fourth busiest airport in the world. Dallas is a major hub for both Southwest Airlines and American Airlines, which means you can easily access the world right here from Dallas. I'm telling you, we live in an influential city just as the church in Antioch did, and that opens the door to us being an influential church.
So, here's what I want to do today. I want to look at what was true of the church in Antioch, and I want to ask some questions to evaluate whether these things are true of us as well. So, look with me at Acts, chapter 13. We're going to start in verse 1. **"Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul."**
1\. _Are we a diverse group of people unified by the gospel?_ The reason I ask this is because of the five leaders mentioned in the church at Antioch, there is wide diversity. Barnabas was from Cyprus, and he was a faithful and trusted leader in the church. If you remember, Barnabas was one who advocated for Saul when no one believed that Saul had actually trusted in Christ.
Then you have Simeon, who was called Niger, which means he was probably of African descent. Then you have Lucius, who was most likely from northern Africa. Then you have Manaen, who was raised with Herod Antipas, which means he came from high social standing. Then you have Saul, who had been on track to becoming one of the most respected Pharisees and then had this dramatic conversion. There's wide diversity.
The church in Antioch was a very diverse group of people. There were people of different ethnicities and skin colors, different social statuses, and different conversion stories, yet they were all unified by the gospel. Why? Because that's what the gospel does. The gospel doesn't show partiality to those of a certain skin color or gender or those of a certain net worth. No, the gospel reaches into the lives of those who are dead.
When I talk about being dead, I'm talking about spiritually dead, separated from God. The gospel reaches into the lives of rich people who are dead and poor people who are dead. It reaches into the lives of white, brown, and black people who are dead. It reaches into the lives of elderly adults who are dead and children who are dead.
It reaches into the lives of religious people who are dead, atheists who are dead, rule followers who are dead, and addicts who are dead, and the gospel makes them alive supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is our common story. If you know Jesus Christ, our common story is we were dead and now we're alive, all because of Jesus Christ. That's what's true of us.
The gospel takes those who are dead and makes them alive, but that's not all. What the gospel does is it unifies those people who normally should be divided, and the gospel brings people into one family under God and makes us brothers and sisters. So, right now, this right here is a family reunion. Everyone who knows Jesus, you are my brother or my sister.
The reason I tell you this is because if you prefer a church full of people who kind of look like you, have the same skin color as you, think just like you, share all of the same opinions as you, watch the same news stations as you do, have the same music preferences as you, and share the same social status as you, then I don't know how much you're going to like heaven.
I'm just letting you know heaven is going to take some getting used to for you. You're going to get there and be like, "I don't know what I think about this place. Jesus, you're just going to need to give me some time. I need to kind of get my bearings, because you're doing some stuff here that I wouldn't normally agree with. It doesn't really fit into my preferences." See, the gospel unifies a diverse group of people.
I love that in this room we have people with very dramatic testimonies and people with very boring testimonies. Now, to be clear, there actually _are_ no boring testimonies. There are just really boring ways to _share_ those testimonies. But we have people… Just look around right now. I want you to actually look around. Just look at the people around you. Don't make eye contact for too long with a stranger. That'll just get weird. But look around. There are people in this room with all different testimonies of the grace of God in their lives.
In this room, there are people living paycheck to paycheck and others who are set for life financially. There are people of different ethnicities, different first languages, different skin colors, different relationship statuses, and all different ages represented in this room. I love that. I love that right now up in the Loft, Watermark en Español is meeting with hundreds of brothers and sisters from the Spanish-speaking community gathered together, worshiping alongside us.
I love that this week I heard a story of a Watermark member who's from Japan who feels called to take the Women's Bible Study curriculum and translate portions of the curriculum into Japanese to then lead a women's Bible study to Japanese-speaking women. I love that. You look around at what's happening in this room and in our church, and we have to realize the fact that this group of people is all in the same room, all pointed toward the same King. That's supernatural. That is only possible because of the work of the Holy Spirit.
At the same time, here's what I want to ask: Who wouldn't feel welcome here at Watermark Community Church? Let me ask a different question. Who would you struggle to welcome to Watermark Community Church? Could you see anyone in the Town Center that you'd be like, "What are they doing here? I don't know what I think about them being here." How does the Spirit want to work through us to make Watermark look even more like heaven?
See, that's the goal. If you know Jesus, we're moving toward heaven. As we move toward heaven as a church, we should seek to look as much like heaven as possible _now_ so that when we get to heaven it's just a monumental trade-up from what we're experiencing now, but it doesn't feel like a radical shift in direction.
2\. _Are we a people marked by a simple and expectant devotion?_ I'm talking about you individually and us collectively. Are we a people marked by a simple and expectant devotion? Here's why I ask that. Look back at the text. Verse 2: **"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting…"** When you see _they_, that _they_ isn't just referring to the five leaders who were mentioned in the first verse; that _they_ is a reference to the entire church.
So, look back at it. While the entire church, all of the members of the church, were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said… Isn't that awesome? The Holy Spirit speaks. **"…the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then after fasting and praying…"** The whole church was fasting and praying. **"…they laid their hands on them and sent them off."**
Don't miss this. Why was the church in Antioch influential? Was it because it was a bunch of really strategic, high-capacity, hard-charging men and women? I'm sure they _had_ those people in the church, but that's not what made them influential. What made them influential was that the Spirit of the living God was moving in them and through them. And what preceded the Holy Spirit directing them? What preceded the Holy Spirit speaking? There was a simple and expectant church-wide devotion.
The entire church… No one was exempt. No one was sitting on the sidelines. The entire church was worshiping, praying, and fasting together. You get the sense that the entire church, every member, was leaning in the same direction to the Lord. The entire church was expectant for God to speak and to lead. Every member in the church was positioning himself or herself for a move of the Spirit.
As I was preparing this week, I pictured a church consultant podcast, like, having the leaders of the Antioch church on the podcast, and just saying, "Man, we've heard what's happening in Antioch. We've heard about the explosive growth and the foreign mission strategy. What's your secret? What are y'all doing? What have y'all tapped into that other churches haven't realized yet? Like, what's happening in y'all's whiteboard sessions? Y'all must have some really creative and innovative people. What's your secret, church in Antioch?"
I picture them leaning into the microphone, like, "Well, um, hmm. How would I answer that? Well, we've been worshiping, we've been praying, and we've been fasting. Is that what you're looking for?"
"Well, no. That's great. Of course, every church does that. No, what I'm talking about… What are you doing differently? Like, did y'all bring in some consultants to run a SWOT analysis and develop some KPIs? Is someone now implementing EOS into the church in Antioch?"
"Well, I don't know what you just said, but if it's helpful… I mean, we've worshiped, we've prayed, and we've fasted. Maybe the unique thing is that it hasn't just been a few of us. It hasn't just been the leaders or the elders. It's the whole church. It's not just the church staff. Every member has been all in, worshiping, praying, and fasting."
As your pastor, I just want to tell you I think God is doing such a great work here at Watermark. I celebrate it, but I truly do think there's so much more he wants to do in and through us. I believe… I've already said this. I'm going to say it again. I believe the Spirit of the living God could move in such an overwhelming way in our church that we would look back on the days we're in now and say, "We don't want to go back _there_. That was sweet. God was doing a great work, but what he's doing now is nothing short of supernatural, and we want more of it."
I believe that's possible, but I do believe supernatural days here at Watermark will be preceded by a simple and expectant church-wide devotion. That's where we, as a church, have to be careful of complacency, because you won't even see it coming. It was interesting. I'll explain it this way. Back at the beginning of May, Kat and I got to sneak away to Florida for a few days. We went specifically to WaterColor, and we loved it. We absolutely loved our time in WaterColor.
This past week, we were having dinner with some friends who have spent a lot of time in WaterColor, so we were talking about WaterColor. As we were talking about WaterColor, these friends said, "Oh, did you go to _this_ restaurant?" I was like, "No, we didn't. No, we didn't go to that one. But you know what? Multiple people have asked me if we went to that restaurant. We've actually never been to that restaurant."
They were like, "Oh, and did you see the water park there?" I was like, "No, we didn't see it." They were like, "Did y'all play pickleball? You've seen those pickleball courts. Did y'all play…?" "No, we didn't. We sure didn't." Do you know what I told them? I said, "You know, we just have our routine there." In the course of conversation, I realized… I love our routine. Our routine is great. We had a great time because of our routine. At the same time, clearly, there's so much more for us to enjoy and experience.
I just wonder. If we're not careful, we'll find ourselves saying, "We've got a good routine. We show up two and a half Sundays a month, which is far better than the national average, so way to go. We're enjoying it, and the Acts series is good. We've kind of got our thing going. Community Group is just kind of settled, and we're kind of in motion. That's a good thing. My kids enjoy going," or "I go to The Porch. The Porch is awesome. We've got our routine."
Routines are good. That's great. Good things are happening. But let me define complacency for you. Do you know what church complacency is? Here's church complacency. It might surprise you, but church complacency is growing content with our experience of a limitless God. That's what complacency is. It's becoming content with our routine when our God is a limitless God who's constantly on the move, constantly wanting to move and work in even greater ways.
So, I'm telling you, I do believe amazing days ahead will be preceded by a simple and expectant church-wide devotion, and I think that'll show up in the most basic of ways that we see in Antioch: worshiping, praying, and fasting. Let's talk about those three things really quickly, and you just evaluate for yourself. I want to remind you, when you come here on Sundays… We call this _worship_, but let me remind you it is possible to sing without worshiping.
Just because you sang today doesn't mean you worshiped today. So, look back and evaluate. During those three songs we sang and taking Communion, have you worshiped yet today? Because there is a difference between singing and worshiping. Even listening right now, as you're hearing the Word of God taught, there is a big difference between casually listening and worshipfully listening.
Are you listening worshipfully or are you listening half-heartedly and casually? Those are two different things. Have you come here to worship? So many people around the nation go to church and leave without ever worshiping. So, I'm just asking you… Do you come on Sundays and meet with God? Do you hear from God? Do you express to God your gratitude and praise for who he is and what he has done in your life?
Now let's talk about prayer and fasting. Let's make sure we're all on the same page about prayer and fasting. Here's what Jesus says about prayer in Matthew 6:6. **"But when you pray…"** He doesn't say, "But _if_ you pray"; he says, "But _when_ you pray," assuming that prayer is a normal part of the Christian life.
**"But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."** That sounds nice, doesn't it? God wants to give you a reward. He wants to give you a reward for seeking him in prayer. What's the reward? It's more of himself. You might hear that and be like, "Oh. Is there something else?"
Do you realize the greatest gift God could give you would be more of himself? Like, more understanding. Not just more understanding…more spiritual sight to where you see Jesus and you're like, "Jesus Christ is the most beautiful, precious person I have ever encountered." That's what it means. That's the reward. It's for God to give you more of himself. Jesus goes on in verse 17 of Matthew 6 and says, **"But when you fast…"** He doesn't say, "But _if_ you fast"; he says, "But _when_ you fast," assuming that fasting would be a normal part of the Christian life.
He says, **"But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret."** Watch the reward. **"And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."** It's the same exact wording. What's the reward for fasting? It's more of God. Prayer and fasting exist for the same reason: to get more of God. So, if you want to get as much of God as possible, then the best thing you can do is pair prayer with fasting.
I just want you to think. Imagine what would be true of our church… I'm especially talking to the Watermark members right now. This is for everyone, but I say "Watermark members" just because you've signed a covenant saying, "I'm in. This is my church home. I am in. I'm not just an attender; I am a committed member." Imagine what would be true of our church, what we would experience, if we were all wanting more of God together, that we were all together seeking that same reward of God giving us fuller hearts in his presence. Imagine what would be true.
I want to talk for a moment about fasting, because I would imagine that fasting is one of the spiritual disciplines that people understand the least, practice the least, and are nervous about most. So, let's talk about fasting. What do I mean by fasting? Let me define it for you. Fasting is a Christian's voluntary abstinence from something good for a predetermined amount of time _and_ for a spiritual purpose. That is essential.
When I say _fasting_, I'm not just talking about not eating. Just not eating for a period of time is called _dieting_, and I don't recommend that form of dieting consistently. There are other ways to do it. It is not eating for a spiritual purpose. That's essential. So, don't miss what I'm telling you. Please don't ever fast without first identifying the spiritual purpose for which you are fasting.
Like, if you've ever had an experience where you decided to fast and it was miserable every single minute… It was like, "Just six more hours till I can eat. Just 5 hours and 55 minutes till I can eat." If that was your experience, where you were just looking at the clock and were like, "I'm glad I did this this one time so I could say I've fasted, but never again in the name of Jesus."
If that has been your experience, let me tell you what the problem was. The problem was you were just not eating. I wouldn't say you were spiritually fasting. There's a huge difference. The reason you didn't enjoy it was because not only were you physically empty but you were spiritually empty. The goal of spiritual fasting is to go physically empty so you can be full spiritually. That's the goal.
So, let me give you five reasons to fast this week. Let me tell you why you can fast, giving you specific spiritual purposes. First, you can fast to _intensify your prayers_. That's what fasting will do. It'll put some heat on your prayers. You feel that physical hunger, and it drives the spiritual hunger. It creates more urgency in you, greater dependence, and you express prayers of desperation to God. So, you can fast, and you can tell God, "God, I'm fasting because I want you to hear me. This is how strongly I am asking you for this."
Secondly, you can fast for _clarity_. If you need to make a big decision, if you're trying to discern God's will, fasting positions you better to listen for God's voice of leading. Thirdly, you can fast because of _your_ _sin_. Do you know what fasting does? It expresses how serious you are about your sin. You're saying, "God, I'm hungry for change. I'm hungry for freedom." Fourthly, you can fast for _God's_ _movement_. Fasting is a way for us to express to God our hunger for him to do what only he can do in and through our church.
You can fast as a _display of love to God_. Fasting is a simple way of declaring to Jesus that he's better. It's your way of saying, "Jesus, I like food, but I don't need physical food most. You're the Bread of Life. You're more satisfying. You are who I need most." Think about it. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness, but in an even greater way, Jesus fasted from heaven for a period of time to move into our reality, to live the life we couldn't live, die the death we deserve to die, and rise and conquer the grave so that we, through faith, can be raised to walk in newness of life.
He did all of that so we, too, can fast and pray and experience deep intimacy with God. The church at Antioch experienced the Spirit's movement and direction through a simple, expectant, church-wide devotion. So, this is an invitation. This is me saying let's seek to get more of God together. Let me make it really practical for you. I want to invite you, this coming Thursday, to fast, pray, and worship.
I want to invite you to fast from either breakfast or lunch, and if you want, fast from both. If you want to text _PRAY_ to 40585, for this Thursday, we will send you prayer prompts every hour between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. so we, as a church, can all be praying about the same things, and that gives us our spiritual purpose for fasting. Finally, Thursday night at 7:00 p.m., we're going to have a Night of Prayer and Worship in this room, and you're invited to come.
You might hear that and say, "Y'all always do it on Thursdays at 7:00, and that doesn't work for us. We've got kids." Well, I totally understand. If you can't get a babysitter, bring your kids. And if you can only come for 15 or 20 minutes, awesome. Come and expose your children to the church gathering together for the purpose of worship and prayer. If you can't be here in the room, we're going to livestream it so as many people as possible can be in with us. But let's take a step of simple and intentional or expectant devotion.
3\. _Are we a people committed to sending and being sent?_ Verse 3. Watch the wording. It says, **"Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off."** So, you see the church sending. Verse 4: **"So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit…"** The church is sending, and Paul and Barnabas are experiencing being sent. **"…they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus."** My hope is that every Watermark member is actively sending and actively being sent. Let me flesh out what this looks like.
Last week, as a church, we had the privilege of commissioning the _F_ family, and we had the honor of sending them out to the Middle East. We are a sending church. We are committed to sending people to the nations. My hope is that every Watermark member would play a part in sending, whether it's through prayer or financial support. I was so encouraged this week to hear multiple stories of Watermark members just showing up for people, completing their financial needs so they can go. It's awesome. I hope everyone experiences that joy.
At the same time, I want to ask _you_ to consider… I want to ask you as a single individual, you as a married person, you as a mom or dad of kids… I want to ask you to consider if the Lord might be calling you to be sent from Dallas to take the gospel to those in the world who still need to hear about Jesus. If you want more information about how you can be about sending or being sent, I encourage you to go to [watermark.org/missions](https://www.watermark.org/international-missions/missionaries).
I also want you to know the elders and I have been talking a lot about church planting, and I genuinely believe that in the next two to three years, we're going to be sending out people from our church to developing areas in our Metroplex or other cities in the US that need a healthy church. So, you might not realize it now, but a day might come where you might be leaving Dallas or leaving right here and going up north of the Metroplex or to some other city to go and help plant a church for the gospel to go out.
I think about the church in Antioch. You realize that by sending out Paul and Barnabas, the church lost two of their best people. They lost the apostle Paul. I'm telling you, the elders and I are okay losing some of our best people, because we don't view it as losing you; we view it as launching you, sending you out with the gospel. That's a beautiful thing. Yet, what I want you to hear is for every Christian in the room, when we gather on Sundays, the elders and I believe this is a commissioning service.
Every single Sunday, we are sending you. We are commissioning you. When we say, "Go and have a great week of worship," that is us saying, "You're sent." We are sending you out into your workplaces. We're sending you out into your neighborhoods. We're sending you into your gym with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We're sending you to your campuses and your sport teams. The question is…_Do you believe you're sent?_
I think it's interesting. If you look back at verse 3, it's the church that's sending, but in verse 4, it's the Holy Spirit who's sending. Yeah. That's how it works. Yeah, the church is sending you out at the end of the service, but even more than that, do you sense that the Holy Spirit is at work in you, sending you out, so that every day this week you can be on mission with the Holy Spirit?
No telling what the Holy Spirit wants to do through us this week. Some of us this week are going to have the privilege of leading people to Christ. Like, you're going to pray with someone to trust in Christ. Do you believe that could be you? Some of us are going to have the privilege of praying for and caring for those who are hurting or oppressed. Do you believe that could be you? The Holy Spirit wants to use you. We are sending you out. Watermark is not just a place for attending; it is a place for sending and being sent.
If you're looking for a church where all you can do or all you want to do is just attend, bare minimum involvement, then could we please help you find another church? We want to be a place where people are all in, sending and being sent. The final question I want to ask us is this. Look. I'm just going to tell you this is a pretty wordy question. So, if you don't take notes and you're like, "It's all up _here_. Steel trap," it's really not. You're going to forget this one. But all of the words in it are important.
4\. _Are we a Spirit-filled people who stand for truth for the sake of the lost?_ The question isn't just whether we are a Spirit-filled people, and the question isn't just whether we are a Spirit-filled people who stand for truth. I hope we _are_ those things, but are we a Spirit-filled people who stand for truth for the sake of the lost?
If we're just a Spirit-filled people who stand for the truth, then all we'll care about is people knowing our stances. But we don't just care about people knowing our stances; we care about the lost being found and the dead being raised to life. So, let me read you the rest of this passage. I don't have the time to go into all of the intricacies of the story, but I do want to read you the story and share briefly. Verse 5:
**"When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.**
**But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Saul, who was also called Paul…"** That's the first time that happens. **"…filled with the Holy Spirit…"** There it is. **"…looked intently at him and said, 'You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?'"**
Paul and Barnabas were filled with the Holy Spirit, and in being filled, they confronted a false teacher who was making crooked the straight paths of the Lord. They stood for truth. Why? For the sake of the proconsul's salvation. That's why in verse 12 it says, **"Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord."**
What I'm talking about right now requires us to be Spirit-filled, because we want to be a people who are bold and courageous, yet at the same time, we want to be gracious, loving, compassionate, and kind in order to clarify what is true and what isn't for the sake of the lost. There are a lot of people in our world right now who are promoting ideologies that are keeping people from Jesus. There are a lot of people who are making crooked the straight path of the Lord.
There's a lot we could talk about for today. I just want to focus on one, and I hope you'll hear it. This month, many in our nation are celebrating Pride Month. Driving out of my neighborhood this morning, the church on the corner's marquee read, "Happy Pride Month." What I want to say is that church and many other churches that would share the same message… What they're doing is they are making crooked the straight path of the Lord.
Here's why I say that. If you're here from the LGBTQ community, what I want you to hear from me is I'm glad you're here and I believe you belong here. What I don't want you to hear right now is condemnation. What I want you to hear is a clarification of what is true. So, here's what I want you to know. We live in a world that consistently communicates that your sexuality is what defines you and it's the most important thing about you, but I believe that we, you and I, are so much more than our sexual orientations.
Here's why I say that. I don't believe the truest thing about me is that I'm a heterosexual male, and I don't believe the truest thing about me is that I'm married to Kathryn Ateek. The truest thing about me, my ultimate identity, is that I am an image bearer of God, and as a follower of Jesus Christ, I am a child of God. Those are the truest things about me. Those are the things that ultimately define me.
The truest thing about you is that you also are an image bearer, which gives you incredible value and dignity, but it also means that you and I were, first and foremost, made for relationship with God. You and I were made to find our ultimate wholeness and completeness in God, specifically in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lived fully surrendered to God. He lived, died for our sins, and rose from the dead to make a way for you and me, through faith, to be called children of God.
So, this is how you and I are in the same boat. If you and I are both made first and foremost for God, then God's aim for both of our lives isn't ultimately heterosexuality; God's ultimate aim for both of our lives is a holy sexuality, a life not surrendered to our desires but a life, for both of us, surrendered to God's desires for us as his children. Ultimate fulfillment isn't found in you and me saying yes to ourselves but in saying yes to Jesus.
I believe that fullness of joy is waiting for you and me in the same place, that fullness of joy is ultimately found solely in the person of Jesus Christ, the one who takes the dead and raises them to life, the one who makes a way when there was no way for 1 John 3:1 to be true of all of those who put their faith in Jesus. First John 3:1 says, **"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God…"** That's what's available to all who know Jesus Christ.
So, I want to end today by saying what I said at the beginning. I really do believe God wants to do an amazing work in and through our church. I believe. My question is…_Do you believe that too?_ I'm really asking you. Do you believe that? Are you with me? Because it's going to take more than just me. It's going to take more than just the elders and me. It's going to take more than just a dozen or a few hundred of us. It's going to take a church-wide desire for more of God.
But in order for that to happen, we might need to take off the letter jacket and hang it up and look at it from time to time and just thank God for all he has done, but then we have to fix our eyes ahead. We have to enjoy the present, and we have to be fully expectant for the future. I hope you're with me. Let's pray together.
If you want to be a child of God…if you don't know Jesus Christ, and you want to become a part of God's family today…if you want to be forgiven by Jesus, made new by Jesus, and made right with God right now, then I invite you to pray and say, "Lord Jesus, would you come into my life right now? Would you forgive me of all of my sins and make me new? I say yes to you." Just turn away from sin. That's called _repentance_. Turn to Christ in faith and say, "Jesus, I want you to be my Savior and Lord."
God, would you have your way in our lives? Would you have your way in our church? Holy Spirit, I pray that you would operate here without us seeking to get in the way. I pray that we would hear from you and be led by you, strengthened by you, empowered by you, and sent by you, God, on mission with you for the sake of the glorious name of Christ. We love you, Lord, amen.