Two People You Need To Know

Aaron Dickinson shares a message from Colossians 1 entitled, "Two People You Need To Know."

What is Ridgecrest Baptist Church - Sermons?

Ridgecrest Baptist Church is located in Dothan, AL and exists to Reach the lost, Build the believer, and Connect people of God to the mission and purpose of God.

Well, good morning. Wow. Booming. Booming voice. So glad to have this opportunity to be here with you. I was talking to some of the guys that have been preaching over the course of this month, and some of you may not know me or have a past with me, but I came here from being a pastor, so I have been preaching about 48 Sundays a year. So 48 felt like 58 for my congregation, but 48 Sundays a year, and I opened my folder for Ridgecrest sermons over the past time since I've been back, and there were only two. So this is my third, and I just want to take a moment to say my mom over the past probably two months has been homebound due to some back-and-forths. So I'm going to take a moment to say my mom over the past probably two months back pain issues, and my mom worked with God and herself to get herself here today to hear her son preach, and she is here. Thank you, mom, for coming. I love you. And you know, the thing about mom is she said, I'm going to do everything I can do to get there, so it better be a good one, you know. No pressure. No pressure, right? But aren't we blessed to have the staff that we have here? You know, we're blessed to have the staff that we have here. We're blessed to have the staff that we have here. And yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I tell you, we're blessed when we have the opportunity to hear Chuck, to hear Chase, and to hear Lance. They've done a fantastic job over the past months and got the opportunity to run into Brother Ray and Miss Allison. He looks very refreshed and ready to go. So I'm going to take a moment to say thank you to them. And I'm going to take a moment to say he'll be back next week, and we're excited about that. But I'm glad that you're here today. Have you ever met someone who was famous? Have you ever met someone who was famous? You know, we see it all the time on social media, people who go nuts over meeting somebody, maybe their favorite musician or their favorite athlete, and some of them will do anything to get something signed, and they just go crazy over the person. And I'm going to take a moment to say thank you to the personality of the person they really enjoy being around. Well, Sharon and I kind of had that moment back in May. We had the opportunity to bring an NFL coach here for an FCA event, and Sharon and I got to fly to Jacksonville to pick him up and fly him over here to Dothan. And he and his wife, Doug and Jeannie Peterson, I would say are friends of ours. But I'm going to qualify that. Doug is the head coach of the Dothan NFL. He's a friend of ours. And he's a fan of Jacksonville Jaguars. And I got to know him because his wife, Jeannie, her parents, I was their pastor in Monroe, Louisiana. So I had an opportunity to get to know them when he was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles and won the Super Bowl. And his son was on a football team that I was chaplain for there in Monroe. And just a great family. But I'm sitting there on the plane and it dawns on me, I am sitting on a plane with my wife and an NFL coach. And I'm sitting there with my wife and an NFL head coach. And we're just talking about life. We're talking about kids. We're talking about all kinds of stuff. And it was kind of pinch myself moment that I'm thinking this little guy from East Texas that just grew up in a simple life is having the opportunity to share square footage with this guy. And even though I had all of these connections with him, and I would say that he's my friend, and I think he and Jeannie would say that he's mine and Sharon's friend. You know, I've been thinking about it. I've been thinking about it. I've been thinking about it. I've been thinking about what we do with people that maybe we know or we want to name drop that we know. Do we really know them? Do we really know them? Just because you've met someone and you know a little about them and they would say they know a little about you does not mean you really know them. So when I think about this concept, I think about the fact that in our culture, we're not culture. We've lost the idea of having an acquaintance and having somebody that we know. And that's an important thing because what we do in our social life, being on social media, I think we have 4,000 Facebook friends. I think we're up to 4,000 now. I don't know who half of these people are. I don't even know. Some of them, I don't even know how they became our friends because we didn't add them. I think there's something going on out there. But I'm like, are we really, now some of you are my friends, so don't get offended. I'm not talking about you. But I'm thinking, are we really friends? Do we really know these people that we're adding into our lives on Facebook? Well, you know, I've been thinking a lot about that lately. How many people, even in this room, now think about it. How many people, even in this room, you've gone to church here. This is my third time to go to church here. So I've gone over a number of different times. But I'm like, I see some of you every week, but do I know you? I might be acquainted with who you are, but do I know you? And that's an important thing because, as I said earlier, it begins to affect us in our spiritual life. What we do in our everyday life is the same way we will treat the God of the universe. We'll think we know him when we're really just acquainted with him. We'll think we know him when we're really just acquainted with him. We'll with him. So today, I want to talk to you about the two people you need to know. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Colossians chapter 1. There's a Bible there in front of you in the pew, and it will be from the same translation that I'm reading. It'll also be on the screen. It's Colossians chapter 1, beginning in verse 15. If you're physically able, stand with me. Paul is writing a letter from prison to a church, the church at Colossae. Paul is talking to them and saying, man, we've been praying about you. We've been praying for you. All the things that has been happening as you have continued to be obedient to God. And then he goes into bragging on Jesus and their common glue that holds them together. Why he's writing this letter, and we begin in verse 15. Read with me. He says, he is the image of the invisible God. This will be very familiar to you because we just sang it. The firstborn of all creation. For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things and in him, all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. Everything he might be preeminent. For in him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in earth, making peace by the blood of the cross. And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he is now reconciled in his body, in the flesh, in the blood of the cross. And you who once were alienated and by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. Let's pray together. Lord, again we come so thankful for the presence of God. We come so thankful for the presence of God. We come so thankful for the presence of God. We come so thankful for the praise and worship this morning to connect our hearts and our souls with your presence. So Lord, as we dive into your word, I pray that you will find us attentive. Attentive in our minds, attentive in our hearts, attentive with our ears to hear what your Holy Spirit wants to say. Speak to me, Lord Jesus. Speak to me. Teach me the way I should go that I may walk in it. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. You may be seated. You may be seated. Well, some of you have already figured out the two points today. The two people that we've got to get to know. And I'm talking about really knowing. And the first one is to know Jesus. Know Jesus. Paul's speaking here to the church and he says, listen, he is preeminent. This word means he is first and foremost. He's before all things. He's before all things. He's before all things. He's before all things. He's before all things. He holds all things together. He is it. Jesus is it. If you want to really know what really matters, it's Jesus. He is preeminent. He is before everything Jesus. Now that's important because if you're going to get to know him and if you're going to have a relationship with him and if your life is going to change to be more like what Christ wants you to do, you have to know that before every choice, every decision, every relationship, everything you do, Jesus. Because that will give you a balance. That will give you a foundation that we all desperately need. He says if you're taking notes that he was before all things. Let's get to know Jesus a little bit. He was before all things. Some people believe Jesus, his life started when he was born into a manger at Christmas. But no, the Bible teaches he was before all things. In fact, in this passage in verses 15 and 17, it teaches us that the first thing God did was make Jesus as a visible image of God. I picture it like this. God always was and God decided he wanted relationship with us. And the way that he shows himself in relationship, he's fully God, but he shows himself in relationship by being our father. He shows himself in relationship by what it means to be obedient. He shows himself in relationship by being our father. He shows himself obedient to an authority in the Son. He shows us relationship by giving us the Holy Spirit to abide in our lives until he comes again. So he was before all things and he, Jesus is the visible representation. You want to know what God is like? Get to know Jesus. So he's before all things. He's the firstborn. He's the picture of being the firstborn of everything that was created. I'm talking about before the sky. Before the oceans, before the mountains, before anything else, Jesus is the crowning preeminent premier, first and foremost, creation of God. John 1, 1 and 2, Jesus' best friend said, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Now, I love this because what John is teaching us, is everything you read from Genesis to Revelation is God. Everything. If you want to get to know Jesus and how Jesus relates to your life, read the Word, because the Word is God. The Word was God. Jesus is the Word. So when we say that he is the way, the truth, and the life, it's because Jesus' Word is made available to us. We see the tension of what it was like to be without Jesus, to need a Messiah in the Old Testament. Then we see him come to earth, and how he lived among men, and then how he died and sacrificed for us, and now how he's coming again. The Word of God gives us Jesus. He was before all things, but he also created and holds all things. He created and holds all things. When you look at verses 16 through 18, following down in this passage, we see if his hand was in it, and it was, then his hand was on it. I'm going to say that again. If his hand was in it, and it was, then his hand was on it. Listen, everything that was ever created. Now, this is important because when you look at this passage, look at verse 16. This is very important for us, especially in the time we're living in. It says, by him all things. Look at your friend and say, all things. All things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. All things were created in heaven and on earth, invisible. Whether you see it or not, Jesus was involved in that creation. Oh, but he keeps going, and he says, the dominions, the rulers, the authorities, everything that we're stressing about right now in our country, Jesus has got his hand on it. I need you to hear that today, and whether it's going the way you think it ought to go or not, it's either God's judgment or it's God's blessing, but his hand is on it. Nothing is going to take him by surprise. So some of us need to take a chill pill and stop putting stuff on Facebook. I'm just telling you. People today, they don't do so well with stressed out people. Have you noticed that? It's okay if they're stressed out, but it's not okay if you are, right? Some of you have learned that. You've learned your lesson on Facebook. You put something out there, and you can get blown up, and you're like, oh, erase, erase, erase. Delete. I thought y'all were all my friends on here. I didn't realize I touched a hot button, but we need to hear that. If you get to know Jesus, you're going to get to know that he created, and he holds all things. If we say that he is Lord, we need to start walking in that. He is Lord. He is over all things. That doesn't mean we take a blind eye to everything, sit at home, and act like nothing's happening, right? We're involved, but we're involved, and we're involved in the ways that Jesus wants us to be, and the problem is many of us as Christians, we've got a black eye in the way that we're handling things because we're not getting to know how Jesus would handle it. We're just going out there and saying, well, this is how I feel as a Christian, and I commend you for that, but we've got to get to know how Jesus handles things with people. Amen or oh me. Verse 17, it says that he holds it all, and he is the head of the church. Man, I love that. I love that. He is the head of all of God's people. He's teaching this church at Colossae that they're not out there all by themselves. Even though the Christians had been dispersed, and they were running for their lives from Jewish persecution at the time, he said, listen, Jesus is still with you. This Jesus that you've come to faith in, he is still over the church. He will still lead you. He will still guide you. If you allow him, he will still bless you in the way that he does. He will still guide you. He will still guide you. He will still lead you. He planted you to be blessed, and I think it's the same today. If you go on in John chapter 1, verses 3 and 4, down just below what I just read, it says, all things were made through him, and without him, not anything was made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. You see, everything comes from him, and in 1 Corinthians 8, 6, it says, for us, there is one God, the Father, from whom all things, and whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist. In other words, no Jesus, no you and me. Everything about your life has Jesus all over it, and that's why it's important for us to not get lost in the fruit of culture, but to keep zeroed in on the fact that every soul, every soul, every soul matters to God. Every soul was created with a God-shaped vacuum for Jesus to fill. Jesus did not make any mistakes in bringing anyone into the world, so we can't get lost in what the world wants us to get lost in. We need to get right about showing people the good news of Jesus Christ, his love for them, his opportunity for their forgiveness, for their hope, and for their lives to be changed. That's our focus. Oh, I'm getting some omis up here. You see, Jesus created and holds all things. He also reconciles all things. He reconciles all things. Man, you look at verse 19 and 20, and it says, in him all, man, this is worth underlining in your Bible, and if you wonder if that's a sin, let me just put you at ease, it's not. It's not a sin to underline or mark in your Bible. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. Man, that's a powerful statement right there that could take a whole series to unlock. You want to get to know God, get to know Jesus. That's what that's all about. Jesus is the fullness of God. He made peace between all things of God by his blood on the cross. You see, what Jesus did according to this passage, he's telling the church he made a way where there was no way. He made a way where there was no way for us. He wanted to reconcile all things to him, make peace. I want you to think about that in the world that we live in, the rhetoric that's all out there, the things that we see that blow our minds. And you know, I feel like I'm young, but I feel like I'm like that guy at the mall sitting on the bench wishing things were the way they used to be. Amen? Amen. I can't believe. I'm living in a time. I'm starting to say stuff that my grandparents used to say, and it scares me. I'm thinking, wow, I finally crossed over. The next thing I'm going to get is an AARP thing in the mail, and it's all going to be official. But you know what I'm talking about, right? We look at things out there and we say, wow, what's the answer? Jesus. He reconciles all things. He made the way. There was no way. He told the Ephesians in Ephesians 1, 7 through 10, in him, we have redemption. Talking about Jesus through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time. Unite all things to him, things in heaven and things on earth. You want to know the answer. The answer is Jesus. Jesus came to make peace. Charles Stanley said there is only one secure foundation, a genuine, deep relationship with Jesus Christ, which will carry you through any and all turmoil. No matter what storms are raging all around, you'll stand. You'll stand firm if you stand in his love. So I've got a question for you. What would change in your life if you had a deeper understanding of Jesus? Come on now. Some of you don't even read your Bibles. I'm just going to be honest. Some of you don't even read your Bibles. Some of you don't even know where your Bible is. Many of you don't even bring your Bible to church. And it may be because you have a Bible app. I get that. And hey, that's cool. I use those too. But for some of us, we come under the influence of Jesus. We don't even know where our Bible is. We don't unload it. We don't even bring our sword with us into the battle. I want you to be uncomfortable because I'm trying to help you shake up your soul today. Understand, we can't think, and our pastor's preaching the word. There's no doubt about that. But you cannot think that one hour a week is going to be enough for you to be where you need to be for the battle that you're going to face out there in the world. And I get it. Some of you aren't readers. I'm not either. I have a bunch of books. In my office. Not as many as Brother Ray. Not even close. And people say, have you read those books? All of those books? I say, some of them. The others I started and I thought, no, I'm just going to put it on my shelf so I'll look smart. I struggle with reading. Some of you do too. I get it. But listen to me. You can download the YouVersion app for free. It's called YouVersion on your phone and it will read the word too. It's audio file. You can have it in any translation you want to. Any language in the world. It's on there. In audio files. So we don't have an excuse not to. We just don't. And we wonder why when the world hits us, we just, man, you've got friends. We're talking about your friends, not you, okay? Because that's easier. But you've got friends that every little wind blows them over. And it's because we're not, we don't know Jesus. There are people that you know today that if something happens in your life, you know because you know them, you could call them and they'll be on the way. Amen? Are y'all with me? Well, if we know Jesus, if we get to know Jesus, when things happen in the world that don't make sense, we'll go, okay, I expected that. But Jesus has had, he has his hand on it. My goal is to keep sharing. My faith. My goal is to keep loving on the unloved. My goal is to keep giving people hope that have no hope. I am centered on what Jesus would do because Jesus is who I hang out with all the time and that's what he did and that's what he wants me to do. Are you following me? But we've got people that say they're Christians. They've never even read what Jesus Christ did. Well, you're at a great disadvantage. Start reading about Jesus, what he did, how he lived. And then go on from that to find out why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Why did he pray to the Father? Well, get back in the Old Testament. Find out what the Father was doing. And then you get a relationship with God. How would it impact your relationship with him if you really dove deep into saying, I don't want to be acquainted with Jesus. I want to know him. Know him. I don't want to know a lot of Bible knowledge, even though that's commendable. I want to know Jesus, the source of the knowledge. I want him to be be my friend man when you get to know someone you discover their likes their dislikes mannerisms their go-to foods entertainment political views hello you get to know everything about them as you're getting to know them but see here's the thing i want to go back to what i said earlier most of us are acquainted with people we can go sit at a restaurant with them i did that this week and i was sitting there going i know what i'm preaching on today and they're in this room right now those two people are in this room right now and i'm wondering do they feel like they're getting to know me by spending time with me or do we are we just acquainted i'm not going to call you up here i see y'all back there i'm not going to call you up here but but i do wonder sometimes are we all just on the surface i think we are because that's exactly where the devil wants us to be and by the way some of you think you're connected by living with your phones in your hand all the time put those things up and find out there's a real world in the there's people that that need to look you in the eye and it's going to freak them out because nobody does it anymore but if you want relationships stop looking to people online and start finding that one person that you can start today investing in and getting to know them and asking them what's your start with what you say brother aaron i'm not very good at that i'm an introvert i am too believe it or not i start with crazy questions i did it at youth camp what's your favorite color why do you choose that color well i don't know well when did that color become your favorite i'm not really sure you see it's just questions just questions just get over the hump what's your favorite kind of music well why do you like that music what's the last movie you saw well maybe you don't want to tell me we're at church get to know them so if i know jesus it's important because when life hits me i'm gonna know exactly how to react because i've been spending time with the man and that's why the second person you really need to know is yourself know yourself know yourself benjamin franklin said there are three things that are extremely hard steel diamonds and to know yourself it's extremely hard to get honest with ourselves you know um most of us in this room probably know that the the great commandment is to love the lord your god with all your heart and soul mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself and you know for years when we were in student ministry it was always about love god love people love god love people but we never talked about loving yourself because that seemed kind of hedonistic we're trying to get away from that die to your flesh live to christ right but over the years i've learned boy that's a missing piece because you know people say that i don't have any problem loving myself well that's not always true that's not always true and i think because we don't know ourselves we don't know how to love our neighbor and i think you need to know yourself because i'm challenging you that if you get to know jesus knowing yourself you'll you'll make some changes and you know this in your own relationships that you have your friendships that you have there are things that probably you get in the car after spending time with some friends and you're there with your with your other friend that's in the car and they're like well did you hear what you just said and you're like has that happened to any of you did you hear what they said i don't know about that you know oh it's just me okay um all right well y'all pray for me but you know what i'm saying we all bend for the sake of the relationship doesn't mean we compromise our faith don't go there and send me emails i'm just saying that we do flex for people because we want to allow people to be themselves i don't want people to come around and they do people come around me and they think all i want to talk about is church no i go to church with you and i work at the church and i do church work but i have other things in my life that i like i have other things in my life that i do not a lot but i do have other things that that i like but it's it's almost like people the first time they spend time with me it's like boy they just seemed uptight didn't they baby and it's like well i was probably afraid to say anything i don't know what you're thinking you know they're kind of trying to read just how you know flexible you are and maybe how comfortable they can be and that's tough about being a minister it's hard to find friends when you're a minister because everybody thinks you're going to judge them but you know ministers can make great friends i'm just putting myself out there for anybody who wants to be my friend we make great friends because because you know we're real we see everybody's sin we get it we all We all struggle with the same stuff, and we get it. We see it on a daily basis. So it's exactly the opposite of what you think. And Paul wanted to get the church to understand that as they were being established. So he says, listen, I want you to know yourself. And the first thing he talks about is I was separated from God. I need to always remember that I was separated from God. And the reason we need to know that about ourselves is we need to quickly, quickly keep ourselves from going back to who we used to be. The key word there is was. I was separated from God. Paul wanted the church to know, verse 21, that they were once people who were opposed to God in their thinking and in their actions. They were alienated and hostile in their thinking. That just means they just didn't know. And there's a lot of things that you see around you in the world. That it's just people just don't know. They're alienated. They haven't experienced what you've experienced with grace and forgiveness. And our pastor talks about that all the time. But there's also this reality that if we're alienated and hostile in our minds, what's going to happen in our actions? We're going to be evil, sinful. So he says, you used to be those people. Now, I think that's important that he told the church that for two reasons. One, I've already established. So you don't go back. But I think number two, so you don't forget where you came from and help other people instead of throw stones at them. Oh, my goodness. Here we go. It's messy out there. It is messy out there.

But I, well, I'm just going to tell you, we're all about to get uncomfortable here in just a minute. I'm just going to go ahead and get you ready for it. Because God is really doing a deep work in me as I'm watching what's happening in the world and how he would like me to respond as a father. We were alienated. We were hostile. Ephesians 2, 1 through 3 says, And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit now at work in the sons of disobedience among whom we all once lived. As I'm out there sharing my faith through FCA, I can tell you the number one thing that will help you in the world is to remember. Remember, you were there. Whatever you're seeing, you were there. Before Christ, you were there. And if somebody hadn't have been that person, now listen to me, if somebody hadn't have been that person to stand in the gap for you, you would still be where they are. Why am I telling you that? Because some of us in here need a big spoonful of mercy and compassion. We need to remember we are not Pharisees. And Jesus did not like those folks. Don't become the people Jesus didn't like. How do you find that out? You read your Bible and get to know Jesus. Who did Jesus not like? Who did Jesus not want to be friends with that I shouldn't be friends with? You'll be surprised if you go ask that question and find it in Scripture. He says we were once this way. Why? Why is that important? Because it helps you to be on. It helps you to have a conversation with people without them feeling you're judging them. Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind. And we're by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. We were separated. And we need to know that about ourselves. But we also need to know I am reconciled to God. God came to reconcile. Jesus came to reconcile us. And now I am reconciled to God. Verse 22 in this passage talks about being reconciled. In his body of flesh by his death he has reconciled us. This reconciled is a Greek compound word which basically means to bring back.

Now that's interesting, isn't it? I want you to think about that. To bring back.

Well, if he's having to bring us back, it means that at one point we were not with sin. Hmm.

Man, I really had to think through that. To bring back.

Do you realize that the Bible teaches God has your storybook already written? Do you realize that? And do you realize he has a perfect novel of what your life will be if you live according to his will? So when you were thought of, listen, the Bible teaches that you were God's idea before your parents got together. And it was a perfect idea.

You. God knew you before you were even born. He had a perfect representation of what you would be for the world. Man, let that sink deep because you are not junk. And some of you are wasting your life instead of living in the purpose God has given you.

He's reconciling us back to the original plan he had for you and me. Through what Jesus Christ did on the cross. When we're born, we are sinful. When we come into this world, we come in and we're sinful. We're selfish. But when we were being formed, it was a perfect, a perfect creation that God did. And when we receive Jesus Christ into our lives, he is bringing us back to that perfect representation of what we should be. I don't know if that's hitting you, but it's hitting me. Jesus paid the ultimate price for my sin so that I wouldn't have to. Why? He says, He says, He says, He says, He says, God, holy, blameless, and above reproach. Now, you and I, we're sitting in this going, but I am not holy. I am, but I don't act it all the time. I'm not blameless. I walked in here today. Some of you walked in here today because you feel blame. And you're like, man, I need to get close to Jesus and fix some things in my life. And we're glad you're here. No better place to come to work out your problems than to come here. I think it's a great start.

Above reproach. That means nobody can say anything negative about you. When they hear the name Aaron Dickinson, there's not anybody in the room that would go, oh, well, you know. So we all know those three words. We're not doing very well with them. So here's why it's important that you know Jesus and you know yourself. Even though you're not bringing everything to the relationship, Jesus has already brought it all to the relationship. picks up the tab every time. Don't you love it when your friend does that? Hey, I've got this. Oh, thank you. You sure? Y'all know what you do. You sure? I was going to get it this time.

Right? Oh, man, I'm too honest. Nobody's ever going to take me out to lunch.

You notice how I said that? Take me out to lunch.

Just think about that. Jesus. Jesus brings his all all the time. You are holy because of who you hang out with, Jesus. Because of what he's done for you. You are blameless, not because of you, but because of your friend, Jesus. You are above reproach, not because of you, but because every reproach you had, Jesus took to the cross on your behalf. And died in your place so that every single sin and everything that anybody says about you, anything in your past, all of that, Jesus says, hey, you're my friend. I've got it. You need to know that. Because if you truly live in that, it's going to make you want to live for Jesus. And not live for what this world's handing you. It's going to make you want to run out of affairs. Hello? And addictions. Run from sin. Run from being inappropriate on social media and texting people that you're not. Married to run from pornography, run from evil speech and racism. Why? Because, man, Jesus, I went to meet with Jesus and Jesus said, watch what I'm going to do. I'm going to go to the cross and I'm going to die for you. That's what I'm going to do for you. So every time you meet with me, it's always paid because I took care of it for you. And we have to know that about Jesus so that we can know ourselves. And. Know that we have peace with him. Because of what he's done. Ephesians 2, 4 and 5. I hope you're still with me. Says, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us.

Even when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together with Christ. By grace, you have been saved. And that's why sinning doesn't make sense. I am responsible to God. I am responsible. I am responsible to God. After what Jesus Christ has done for me, the way that he has fulfilled things through his death on the cross, through his resurrection power, I'm responsible to him. Paul uses a great word in the English Standard Version here. It says, if we are these things, if we are steadfast, we are steady, all of these things. That's the important thing is if we continue in the faith.

He says, being stable, being steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel. He says, you have all of these things, the reconciliation, the peace with God. You continue in his peace. You are truly saved. It's a genuine salvation if you continue to walk in it. But he says, if you don't, you've missed it. Wow. The choice is ours to continue in the faith. Many of you are doing Acts chapter 8 today. In connection groups. And it gave us a passage about the Ethiopian eunuch. But I hope you'll look before that at Simon, the magician, and how he was handled in the early church. You see, it makes no sense to continue to sin if we know what Jesus Christ is bringing to the table in the relationship.

How do we do it? The scripture says in verse 23, By being stable. By being steadfast. Oh, I love this word. Let me tell you something about the word steadfast. I was reading it in the Greek. You know what steadfast means? Some of y'all are going to love this. Steadfast is trying to get your kid to get up from their table or their couch or their chair playing video games all day long. It's trying to. To motivate the unmotivated. It's the picture here. It's somebody that is vegging out on watching television. You've just been watching the loop on Fox all day long. And it's this idea of you continuing, regardless of what anybody else says, doing what you want to do. Steadfast is that picture. I am unmoved. I am unmoved. It was amazing. We had five kids to do a project to see if we could actually survive it. And then to see how they would handle things in life and how they would grow up to be the Christian that God wants them to be. And the amazing thing is we could show them where the trash can was. We could show them how to get the bag out. We could tell them where the other trash can was. That was on wheels to run it down to the street. We could tell them the day. We could map it all out for them. We could even get the trash bag out so it's smelling in the kitchen so you know it's trash day. And somehow my boys would make it to school on trash day and I would realize they got out of this house without getting the trash. So who got the trash? Me. So I made a video about that and it went viral on social media. I was just amazed. But that's what Steadfast is. Steadfast is taking a position and sticking to it.

And that's what they did.

The third thing is not shifting. Not shifting. I like to say swerving. Sharon is always getting on to me for swerving into the other lane. I'm really not trying to. I'm just looking at stuff on the circle and wherever my eyes go, that's where my eyes I know some of y'all know that. You've seen me. Well, that was Brother Aaron that ran me off the road.

How do we? How do we? How do we live stable, steadfast, and not shifting? I'm glad you asked. In John chapter 15, verse 4, it says, Abide in me. This is Jesus talking. He says, Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. Abide. Abide. This word is a word we don't use all the time, but it is to stay saturated with the presence of Jesus in your life. Stick with him. That's what it means. All day long, every day. You know, I love that verse. And I love, you know, Master Life, we taught this, that the center of everything of the disciple's life is to abide in Christ.

So there's times that I find myself saying, Jesus, are you with me? And he's going, yes, I'm with you. I'm always with you. But I do that to myself to remind myself that Jesus is here. Jesus, are you with me in this?

He is. He is with you at all times. But a lot of times we don't, we don't invite ourselves into his presence. We want him with us. had the opportunity this year to go back to youth camp. Never thought that would ever happen again. But Auburn came to me, wanted me to drive. It was a bait and switch. He's in here and I'm going to make fun of him. was a bait and switch. I have a CDL, so he wanted me to drive. And I thought, oh, yeah, I'll go do that. And I'll go do some studying and some things that I want to do and go to worship and all that. He comes in about a couple weeks before camp and he hands me a binder. And I'm like, well, what is that? And he's like, it's a Bible study. And I'm thinking, I don't really need that because I'm just a driver. He said, no, you're leading the Bible study. I was like, oh, okay. But man, was it a God thing. It was a God thing. We went with our middle schoolers and they're an awesome bunch. If you're a parent of one of those middle schoolers that went, you should be proud. Great, great group. But if you've ever been to camp, some of you need to go. You say, I'm 80 years old. Go anyways. Just go. Just sign up. Go to camp. The theme was total surrender. So everything we did was about surrender, total surrender. The Bible study was about surrender. The devotions were about surrender. The worship was about surrender. The prayer gathering is about total surrender. Everything is about surrender, surrender, surrender. Surrender. Everything we did. Right? At the end of the session, it said, what would you surrender to God today? And I'm thinking, I did it yesterday. Three times I surrendered things to God.

But, you know, you go to camp as an adult and you think you're going to give the students a great experience, you know. But if you're, anytime you spend time in God's presence, it doesn't matter how old you are. If you're open to it, he's going to speak to you. It was a rough week for me and Sharon. There were some things going on back home. We had one child getting ready. Well, she had a baby while I was at camp. And had some other decisions that were being made that we just didn't have control over. And I was praying about that. And the Lord told me, surrender it.

Surrender it. And here's what it is. I've got four married children. Four married children. I can't believe that. And God told me to surrender trying to control their decisions.

Just give it up.

Because what I was trying to do is I'm trying to, you know. Oh, I know somebody I can call about that. I was going to. I was going to cash in something, you know, to help my kids, you know, with their lives.

They weren't really wanting that. If I would have done it, it wouldn't have been appreciated by some because they want to do it themselves.

And I finally got to a point where I was just tense. Have you ever been there when you're not in control but you want to be in control? Is there anybody else that does this or is this just me? We're about to have the invitation. I'm going to be the first at the altar.

I would talk to you about your decision. But I've got some things to work out.

I surrendered it. And I said, Lord, I'm just. My kids, when they were born, Sharon and I gave our kids back to the Lord. We knew they are not ours. They are his. And they are on loan to us. And we also know that we didn't want to be helicopter parents. We didn't want to be lawnmower parents. If you don't know what that is, just look it up on Google.

But we wanted. We wanted to be very intentional to raise disciples of Christ for a culture that was not Christian. So we knew that in the time that we had them in our home, we did not want to hold them away from the world. We wanted to expose them to the world. Now, that may be different from your philosophy, and that's okay. But I didn't want an 18-year-old to leave our house and not have dealt with some things and been hit in the mouth with some failures. All of that when we could coach them, when we could still coach them about life, about what's going on out there in the world. We wanted that, and we were intentional about that. And we talked to them about that, being in the world but not of the world. We are in it.

And, you know, your kids leave your house, and amazing things happen. They decide they want to have their own life.

And I'm like, well, that's not really how we set this up. I really wanted to still have authority to speak. Anybody feeling me? I am still your daddy.

So, yeah. You raised me to be independent and to love Jesus and to make my own decisions. Leave me alone. So here I am with the middle schoolers at camp, and they're all praising the Lord, and I'm over there crying. They're probably thinking something's happened to Brother Aaron. I don't know. I mean, I tried to hide myself, get on my knees before the Lord, and I said, I get it, Lord. We raised them. For you to lead them, not us.

You've led us so faithfully.

So I'm in your way to do what you want to do. And I am so sorry. I surrender.

Now, why do I tell you that? Because if you get to know yourself, you'll work on yourself. If you're close to Jesus and you know yourself, do you get what I'm saying? There will be a sanctification and a refining process. It happens in you if you get honest with yourself. I've got a long way to go, as do you. But if I don't take time to know myself and to know how I react in certain situations now, I have a great life coach in my wife. She tells me. She tells me.

And I love you for it, Sharon. Thank you. I love you for it.

And thankfully, I'm doubly blessed, because when she lets up, my mom speaks.

I want to ask you, what responsibility are you taking to know yourself and grow yourself? It's not enough to just know who you are. It's to grow. And if you know Jesus, you're going to grow, because he's going to bring that out of you. What are you doing? So know Jesus and know yourself. This week, I'm going to ask you to ask questions. Ask questions. Ask questions. Ask questions. Of yourself and of Jesus. You know, how would Jesus handle this situation? If Jesus were in my circle of friends, who would he be friends with? Would he be friends with these people? Yes, he would, because Jesus loved everybody. But he also, there were some people that he stood away from. How would Jesus handle this financial decision? How would Jesus want me to think about this certain thing? You know what's amazing about the Bible? If you'll dig in and you'll ask those questions of Jesus, there will be answers. How does Jesus want us to look at the government? It's in the Bible. How does Jesus want us to deal with different addictions in our life and struggle? It's in there. You just need to ask questions. And then you need to ask yourself. You need to say, self, if I don't have any friends, there's a reason. What is it? Jesus, show me. What is it? Is it because I'm not putting myself out there? Or is it because there's nobody else? As awesome as me? I mean, what is it? then you get back in the Word and you get to know Jesus. And Jesus helps you to grow yourself. And whatever the Lord teaches you, apply that truth. Apply truth. Not lies, but truth.

We speak to ourselves based on what the Word of God says. You apply the truth. Don't just listen to yourself. Speak to yourself the truth. So you may be here today. You say, wow, this is really good. And I want to be reconciled. I see these things. And I feel like I'm more in the list of the people who are separated from God. I don't know that I have really been committed to Christ. There's four things I want to tell you. First one is this. Well, there's five things I want to tell you. Here's the first thing. Please do not move.

Now, I love you. This is my third time to serve here. But can I tell you something? The most important time in a worship service is the decision time. So I know in our hearts, we're ready when that outline is over to head to connection group. I'm passionate about connection groups. I lead one. There is nothing more important than if God's Holy Spirit is speaking to the person next to you. Okay, so that's the first thing. I just want to say that respectfully. Let's let the Holy Spirit speak to us in this moment. The first thing is God loves you. Listen, friend. God loves you. God loves you. The Bible says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that if you would believe in Him, you would not perish but you would have eternal life. God loves you.

But sin divides you. Sin is our problem. Doing what I want to do. Thinking the way I want to think. Not living under the Lordship of Christ. Not taking His sacrifices seriously. That's the problem. I miss the mark every time. And the Bible says that all have sinned. And fall short of the glory of God. And the wages of that sin is death. Sin separates us from God. And if we remain that way, we will not be in heaven. We will be in hell with the demons.

So this is serious. Friend, this is serious. Your soul is in the balance.

So the third thing I want to tell you is Jesus came to rescue you. He came to rescue you from that separation. The Bible says that God demonstrates His own love for us. And while that was. We were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He didn't wait until I could clean myself up. You never could if you wanted to. And even if you could, Jesus has got to get the glory. Because He's the only way to the Father.

And the last thing I want to say is a question. Will you trust Him? Will you trust Him? Will you trust Him with your life? The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead. You will be saved. It's with your heart that you believe and you're justified. It's with your mouth that you confess and you're saved. So it's really believing in your heart. And that's a work of the Holy Spirit of God. God brings that to you at just the right time for you. I don't understand all that. It's a mystery of His will. But He will tug at your heart and show you. I want a relationship with you. But your sin is in the way.

So the way you have that relationship is you say, Jesus. I want you to be Lord of my life. I want you to take it all. Now if you're here and you want to trust Him. Would you come? When we stand in just a moment. Would you come and say, I want to make Jesus Lord of my life. But maybe you're here and you're a Christian and you say, boy, Jesus is Lord of my life. And I need a hunger. I need a hunger. Man, there's no better time than Awesome August to saturate yourself with the presence of God. And to just come ready. I know it's on Monday night. Ugh. But come ready to be revived and have awakening in your heart. But start today in this invitation to say, God, I'm ashamed to say it. But give me a hunger for your word. Give me a hunger for you. Lord Jesus, we come. And we just pray today that we would know you and know ourselves so that we will become more like you. Know who we need to be in Christ. And Lord, I pray for the person that's here and they heard those four things and they know this is the day they need to respond to you. I pray in the powerful name of Jesus they would come. Make that commitment public and say, Jesus is Lord of my life. I'm not ashamed of the gospel. I want to follow Jesus. But there are others in here that God, maybe it's like me, just giving up control of some things that were burned. Lord, if that's it, may today be a day that we set ourselves free. God, you have freed me up. There is joy in my heart because I obeyed you. And Lord, I put you back on the place where you need to be over my children. And that is Lord. Not daddy being Lord, but you being Lord. So maybe there's people in this room that have all kinds of issues like that. I pray today they would be set free by you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Will you stand with me? Don't wait if God's spoken to you. I'm so glad that you have tuned in to the broadcast today. I hope you've been encouraged by God's word. It sure has been a joy to share it with you. And even now, people at Ridgecrest are making decisions for Christ. Perhaps as you've watched this broadcast, you've recognized the need for your own decision for Christ. The prompting of the Spirit has caused you to recognize that you need Christ as your Savior. And the good news is you can receive Him right where you are. The Bible says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Right where you are, you can call on Him. Say something like this from your heart to Him. Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. I know I'm a sinner, and I know that you came into this world and died on the cross for my sins. And right now, I invite you to come into my life. Forgive me and be my Savior. I can assure you if you'll call on Him, based on what God has already told us in the Bible, that He'll hear that prayer and He'll answer that. And He wants to begin this new journey in your life with you, transforming you into His image. Amen. Amen. Amen. We'd love to help you with that decision as well. You'll see a QR code on your screen. And if you would scan that, or you'll see contact information, or if you'll contact us about your decision today, we'd love to help you take next steps. There are no strings attached, no fees involved. We'd just like to help you begin that journey with Christ. You may be watching this broadcast today and say, I need a church family to belong to. I already know Christ as my Savior, and I'd like to be a part of the Ridgecrest family. Also, if you will, scan that QR code, that'll take you to a location, and we'll be able to help you make those kinds of decisions like becoming a member here, or if you've never been scripturally baptized, those kinds of things. So contact us through that QR code or through the contact information on the screen. Well, again, it's been a joy to have you with us today, and I hope you've been encouraged by God's word. Whatever decision we can help you with, by all means, contact us. May the Lord bless you.