WEBVTT 0 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:00.720 You. 1 00:00:04.690 --> 00:00:07.322 Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons podcast. 2 00:00:07.466 --> 00:00:11.150 This is where you can find audio from Sunday morning messages and more. 3 00:00:11.300 --> 00:00:14.442 Make sure you're subscribed so that you don't miss future episodes. 4 00:00:14.506 --> 00:00:15.950 And thanks for listening. 5 00:00:20.370 --> 00:00:21.440 Appreciate it. 6 00:00:22.770 --> 00:00:25.302 Well, if you're a visitor today, there's good news. 7 00:00:25.476 --> 00:00:26.760 I won't be back. 8 00:00:27.610 --> 00:00:29.702 You'll hear some good preaching maybe next week. 9 00:00:29.756 --> 00:00:34.130 And from my friend Bo Bradbray, who is the pastor here at Willow Ridge. 10 00:00:34.210 --> 00:00:36.120 And we go back a long way. 11 00:00:36.970 --> 00:00:43.946 And he is an incredible leader, not only in this church, you get to see him all the time, but also in our state. 12 00:00:44.048 --> 00:00:48.700 And so I know he probably doesn't let you know this, but he's kind of a big deal, okay? 13 00:00:49.230 --> 00:01:02.282 In fact, in our state, he provides some tremendous leadership among our pastors, really trying to help us be focused on really making disciples, and especially in the realm of missionary deployment. 14 00:01:02.346 --> 00:01:06.574 And you got an incredible reputation around the state of South Carolina. 15 00:01:06.702 --> 00:01:11.220 And that is a reputation where you care about those who are not yet here. 16 00:01:11.590 --> 00:01:22.194 You care about the broken, you care about those who are sometimes overlooked, and you also care about those who other people might not even know are in the state of South Carolina. 17 00:01:22.242 --> 00:01:25.462 People from other nationalities, people from other walks of life. 18 00:01:25.516 --> 00:01:30.634 And you're willing to go, you're willing to go on mission around the world to be able to do that. 19 00:01:30.832 --> 00:01:37.500 And I'm so thrilled and thankful that Bo is on vacation and that I get to come here and hang out with you. 20 00:01:38.830 --> 00:01:45.550 When I was thinking through what Willow Ridge has meant to me, there's been a lot of friends who have come through here. 21 00:01:45.620 --> 00:01:51.770 Personally, I've been able to engage with on the football fields here at River Bluff and the baseball fields at River Bluff. 22 00:01:51.850 --> 00:01:54.682 And so it's great to be here and a part of this family. 23 00:01:54.836 --> 00:02:00.050 I am one of your missionaries from the South Carolina Baptist Convention of Missionaries. 24 00:02:00.470 --> 00:02:08.706 And I just wanted to thank you, too, out of 2011 Baptist churches in the state of South Carolina that just voluntarily pull resources together. 25 00:02:08.808 --> 00:02:10.198 We're just a big family. 26 00:02:10.364 --> 00:02:12.834 And sometimes in families you got crazy uncles. 27 00:02:12.882 --> 00:02:15.510 You're not one of them, but you know who they are. 28 00:02:15.660 --> 00:02:22.262 But we're one big family that is just trying to pull resources together to send missionaries around the world to people like Kim. 29 00:02:22.326 --> 00:02:30.682 Kim was baptized in the ocean this past year because a new church, South Carolina Baptist Church, was started and they befriended her. 30 00:02:30.816 --> 00:02:35.342 Megan heard the gospel in a small group from a church that had pretty much dwindled down to nothing. 31 00:02:35.396 --> 00:02:41.200 But they made some dramatic steps in revitalization, had another church like a Willow Ridge come and help them out. 32 00:02:41.570 --> 00:02:49.134 And she was sitting in the floor at a person's house in a small group, heard the gospel and came to know Christ or Jamal from Bangladesh. 33 00:02:49.182 --> 00:02:58.280 He heard the gospel for the very first time at the University of South Carolina, through the Baptist Collegiate Ministries and through the international lunch that they do. 34 00:02:59.050 --> 00:03:06.598 And Lucy, she's the first of 100 Imbms to be launched in what they're calling Project 3000. 35 00:03:06.684 --> 00:03:13.654 I can't even tell you her real name because she's going to a place in the world where she could be persecuted if not killed for her faith. 36 00:03:13.782 --> 00:03:15.546 She landed last month. 37 00:03:15.648 --> 00:03:17.754 She took a bus 10 hours. 38 00:03:17.872 --> 00:03:23.558 And this Project 3000 is trying to go to the last 3000 unreached people groups in the world. 39 00:03:23.664 --> 00:03:28.026 She's got a book bag, she's got a journal, and she's got a translator. 40 00:03:28.138 --> 00:03:39.710 No church, no missionary to go to just to try to figure out who's in the area, what the languages are, what the culture is like so that she can come back and map maybe a way for us to be able to get the gospel to those individuals. 41 00:03:39.790 --> 00:03:47.266 These stories would be radically different without us cooperating together, actually be unified together. 42 00:03:47.448 --> 00:03:54.934 Not the division that we see on social media or in our country, but to be different than the other organizations and say, hey, you know what? 43 00:03:54.972 --> 00:04:07.770 Despite our differences, despite the things that we might disagree on, we rally around this one sacred effort of getting the Great Commission finished, that we could actually get the message of the gospel to all peoples around the earth. 44 00:04:08.190 --> 00:04:11.386 And because of churches like yours, we're able to do that. 45 00:04:11.408 --> 00:04:18.570 So I just want to tell you thank you right out the gate for your commitment to people outside the walls of this church. 46 00:04:18.730 --> 00:04:19.502 Let's pray together. 47 00:04:19.556 --> 00:04:22.062 Father, we just thank you so much for a time for us to get together. 48 00:04:22.116 --> 00:04:37.534 And just ask, Lord, that as you speak to us from your word today, that we might not just see this as a Sunday where we just are relaxed and are kind of in the middle of vacation season and just kind of checking it off the list and join fellowship and time with one another. 49 00:04:37.592 --> 00:04:48.450 But we might see it as a day where you want to speak to us from your word and father that we might be encouraged but also challenged to take a risk. 50 00:04:48.610 --> 00:04:50.198 In Jesus name we pray. 51 00:04:50.294 --> 00:04:51.238 Amen. 52 00:04:51.414 --> 00:04:53.286 Well, I'm just coming off a vacation. 53 00:04:53.398 --> 00:04:54.950 I don't know if you call it vacation. 54 00:04:55.030 --> 00:04:58.422 This is the extended family vacation. 55 00:04:58.566 --> 00:04:59.354 You know what I mean? 56 00:04:59.392 --> 00:05:08.222 That's where all your brothers, your aunts, your uncles, your sisters, your grandma, your grandfather, they all pile up into a beach house and they say, we're having a good time. 57 00:05:08.276 --> 00:05:09.102 Anybody do that? 58 00:05:09.156 --> 00:05:10.814 Still few of you? 59 00:05:10.932 --> 00:05:13.040 Okay, I called an endurance test. 60 00:05:13.490 --> 00:05:18.900 And if it wasn't for the fact that my brothers are all like me, I think we'd all get along. 61 00:05:19.510 --> 00:05:23.682 But we get in this house together, we have a blast, we talk, and then we get mad at one another. 62 00:05:23.736 --> 00:05:27.586 Bound Wednesday, then we separate for about a day. 63 00:05:27.688 --> 00:05:31.314 We try to rally back together to make it that final push to Saturday. 64 00:05:31.442 --> 00:05:33.366 And all the cousins are hanging out. 65 00:05:33.388 --> 00:05:36.342 They're all like piled up and just sleeping on top of one another. 66 00:05:36.476 --> 00:05:37.494 It's just a great time. 67 00:05:37.532 --> 00:05:38.402 They call it vacation. 68 00:05:38.466 --> 00:05:46.970 So I'm very refreshed now after loading up two cars full of stuff with chairs and tents and everything else that you would take if you go to the beach. 69 00:05:48.030 --> 00:05:49.450 And then I passed by a bo. 70 00:05:49.520 --> 00:05:50.934 He looked very refreshed. 71 00:05:51.062 --> 00:05:55.406 He was going to vacation and I think we were going near the same place. 72 00:05:55.588 --> 00:05:59.262 And he said he gave up extended vacation a long time ago with the family. 73 00:05:59.316 --> 00:06:01.246 So just his family is getting down there and do that. 74 00:06:01.268 --> 00:06:14.578 But we've got three or four boys in my family and I have a son who just graduated from high school at River Bluff High School and we're super proud of him. 75 00:06:14.744 --> 00:06:18.914 He was student body president at River Bluff and he's fixing go play football at Anderson University. 76 00:06:19.042 --> 00:06:20.774 But that's not what we're proud of him about. 77 00:06:20.892 --> 00:06:25.430 We're proud of him because this year he jumped in the pool without a swimming zone. 78 00:06:26.890 --> 00:06:33.382 It was just so encouraging to see him dive in and just enjoy the time in the swimming pool. 79 00:06:33.526 --> 00:06:35.660 Now he's been doing that for years, right? 80 00:06:36.030 --> 00:06:42.380 But there was a time where he had to have the swimmies on which were bigger than his entire body. 81 00:06:42.830 --> 00:06:45.450 You remember that if you got small kids, you remember that, right? 82 00:06:45.520 --> 00:06:56.706 They get right up to the edge of the pool and then they get their big toe just kind of dangling off the edge and then you're telling them to jump to you and you know that you're going to get out of the way and they know you're going to get out of the way too. 83 00:06:56.808 --> 00:06:59.650 And it's a bad trick you dads do, okay? 84 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:10.194 But we're trying to coax them into taking a risk because we don't want them as seniors in high school with a football scholarship, jumping off the diving board with swimmies on. 85 00:07:10.392 --> 00:07:13.222 It just totally ruins the girl game, you know what I mean? 86 00:07:13.356 --> 00:07:18.674 And so we want them as a four and five year old to take a risk and to actually take that leap of faith. 87 00:07:18.802 --> 00:07:21.000 Some of you will experience that this year. 88 00:07:21.610 --> 00:07:23.958 And they'll get to the edge and you'll let them see them jump. 89 00:07:23.974 --> 00:07:27.066 And then once they finally do it one time, you can't get them to stop, right? 90 00:07:27.168 --> 00:07:29.786 And they just keep going on and on and on and on. 91 00:07:29.888 --> 00:07:31.926 Now he still has a little bit of development. 92 00:07:32.038 --> 00:07:33.266 This son Connor of mine. 93 00:07:33.318 --> 00:07:40.160 I mean, he was putting the swimmies on one of his cousins, and they're four and five years old, three or four years old. 94 00:07:40.610 --> 00:07:44.014 And I looked over there and I said, are you trusting him to do that? 95 00:07:44.052 --> 00:07:47.074 I looked at one of my nephew, he was like, what? 96 00:07:47.112 --> 00:07:48.526 I said, look at the swimmies. 97 00:07:48.638 --> 00:07:57.362 He actually had the bar that's supposed to come across your chest was, like, almost around her head, so that when she went in, it actually flipped her upside down. 98 00:07:57.496 --> 00:07:59.350 You're like, she's up like this. 99 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:00.486 And I stopped him. 100 00:08:00.508 --> 00:08:02.262 I said, whoa, whoa, you got it all wrong, man. 101 00:08:02.316 --> 00:08:03.014 You got it all wrong. 102 00:08:03.052 --> 00:08:05.880 You got to button that the right way. 103 00:08:07.050 --> 00:08:11.850 Listen, Jesus did not die on a cross for us to play it safe. 104 00:08:13.150 --> 00:08:16.170 He did not die on a cross for you not to take a risk. 105 00:08:17.070 --> 00:08:27.760 If you want to live a comfortable, gutless, risk free life, then you need to, this summer, go buy you some swimmies and go paddle around in the shallow end. 106 00:08:28.450 --> 00:08:45.050 But if you want to join a risky business, if you are a part of the family of Jesus, then you better throw the swimmies off, because you're about to go into the deep end, and really, the only thing holding you back is the edge of that pool. 107 00:08:45.230 --> 00:08:47.400 Turn with me to Acts chapter five. 108 00:08:48.250 --> 00:08:53.800 I want to speak to you today from a passage that's maybe familiar to you. 109 00:08:54.410 --> 00:09:01.500 I want you to see this early church birthing up and what we're supposed to look like. 110 00:09:02.270 --> 00:09:12.030 I want you to see a group of individuals who were probably the closest to Jesus for three years and what they were willing to do. 111 00:09:12.100 --> 00:09:17.920 And then ask yourself, what's holding me back from jumping in the deep end? 112 00:09:18.930 --> 00:09:20.560 Acts chapter five. 113 00:09:21.810 --> 00:09:26.340 We see this group of disciples doing some incredible things. 114 00:09:27.510 --> 00:09:37.880 We see through this passage leading up to verse 17, the apostles are performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. 115 00:09:38.730 --> 00:09:42.694 People are starting to gravitate to them to try to figure out what's going on. 116 00:09:42.892 --> 00:09:52.730 It was taking some of, actually, the limelight off of the religious folks who were the leaders in the communities. 117 00:09:53.870 --> 00:09:58.646 And so there was some dissension that begins to build up and some jealousy. 118 00:09:58.678 --> 00:10:03.998 In verse 17, the high priest rose up and all who were with him. 119 00:10:04.084 --> 00:10:15.838 That is part of the Sadducees party of the Sadducees, which these are religious groups within this area, and it's filled with jealousy. 120 00:10:16.014 --> 00:10:20.450 They arrested the apostles, and they put them in the public prison. 121 00:10:21.430 --> 00:10:25.410 Following Jesus is uncomfortable. 122 00:10:26.810 --> 00:10:28.946 Following Jesus is uncomfortable. 123 00:10:29.138 --> 00:10:36.290 In fact, you're about to face probably the most extreme opposition that the church has ever faced. 124 00:10:36.370 --> 00:10:42.598 You will find in your lifetime that sin will become more and more normalized. 125 00:10:42.774 --> 00:10:50.220 And the more normal sin is, the more abnormal Jesus following will be. 126 00:10:50.990 --> 00:10:57.022 For the first time in American history, there are more people who do not go to any religious organization than who do. 127 00:10:57.076 --> 00:11:04.850 And the fastest growing religion in this state and in this country are the nuns. 128 00:11:06.310 --> 00:11:09.570 Not affiliated with any religious organization. 129 00:11:10.310 --> 00:11:13.998 And that's not to be confused with nondenominational. 130 00:11:14.174 --> 00:11:15.838 But I'm a Jesus follower. 131 00:11:15.934 --> 00:11:18.918 No, these are individuals that would say, no, I don't follow. 132 00:11:19.004 --> 00:11:27.650 Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, none of them the non affiliated in religion. 133 00:11:27.730 --> 00:11:28.662 Now, why is this important. 134 00:11:28.716 --> 00:11:34.058 It's important because you're in the land of democracy, the home of the brave, the land of the free. 135 00:11:34.224 --> 00:11:37.498 And in the midst of that, we do vote for things right. 136 00:11:37.664 --> 00:11:43.760 And a democracy works when the majority of people got sense. 137 00:11:47.520 --> 00:12:06.752 So here's what's going to happen if the church doesn't do their job in going into the world and sharing the gospel with people, seeing them cross over from death to life, to actually help them walk like Jesus would walk, and to actually do things like Jesus would do and actually consider policies and things that Jesus would consider. 138 00:12:06.886 --> 00:12:09.860 And by the way, it wouldn't be Republican or Democrat. 139 00:12:10.680 --> 00:12:17.216 At the end of the day, what's going to happen is they're going to begin to vote for their own selfishness. 140 00:12:17.248 --> 00:12:25.290 And I believe it was Ben Franklin that said, whenever the democracy realizes they can vote money into their pockets, the democracy will fall. 141 00:12:26.540 --> 00:12:38.350 So the reason I'm telling you this is because you should not be surprised that you're slowly seeing opposition in your life based upon what the scripture says. 142 00:12:39.040 --> 00:12:47.040 So at the end of the day, for you, your role is not necessarily in government and politics. 143 00:12:47.540 --> 00:12:54.130 Your role is to make disciples of Jesus and then you will begin to see what happens around you. 144 00:12:54.740 --> 00:13:00.716 But the Bible tells us that when we follow Jesus, it will get uncomfortable as they go into the prison. 145 00:13:00.748 --> 00:13:09.908 In verse 19, during the night, an angel of Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out and said, go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. 146 00:13:10.074 --> 00:13:18.280 And when they heard this, they argued with the angel and they said, no, don't you know that just got us beat and thrown into prison? 147 00:13:18.700 --> 00:13:20.680 No, that's not what your scripture says. 148 00:13:20.830 --> 00:13:24.084 That's what we would do, by the way, because I'm praying for comfort. 149 00:13:24.132 --> 00:13:27.196 If I'm in the prison, I'm trying to get out, you know what I mean? 150 00:13:27.378 --> 00:13:36.764 But no, they get their prayers answered, they get out of prison, and then he says, no, go stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life. 151 00:13:36.802 --> 00:13:42.450 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and they began to teach the next morning. 152 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:50.576 As soon as the sun's coming up, they're being obedient to go put themselves back in the position that made them uncomfortable at the very beginning. 153 00:13:50.688 --> 00:13:56.420 Now, God is more interested in rescuing the lost than catering to your comfort. 154 00:13:59.180 --> 00:14:08.040 God is more interested in seeing the broken come to Him than catering to your comfort. 155 00:14:09.820 --> 00:14:11.720 Yet that's all we pray about, isn't it? 156 00:14:11.790 --> 00:14:13.660 Lord, heal me of this ailment. 157 00:14:14.400 --> 00:14:18.510 Lord, would you just help me get a good grade on this test that I didn't study for? 158 00:14:19.920 --> 00:14:22.220 Lord, will you just give me a girlfriend? 159 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.320 Lord, will you please get rid of my current boyfriend? 160 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:35.010 Lord, just give me a job so I can make a lot of money and be comfortable, lord, will you just bless me? 161 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:39.220 We're constantly craving this comfort. 162 00:14:39.560 --> 00:14:46.324 We want Jesus's stuff more than we want Jesus, and that's a dangerous place to be. 163 00:14:46.362 --> 00:14:49.110 It's the same spot that the prodigal son was in. 164 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:55.112 The religious leaders show up, though, and realize that they're gone and they're preaching and teaching again. 165 00:14:55.166 --> 00:15:00.010 And then they go and they bring them back under the trial in verses 21 through 26. 166 00:15:00.780 --> 00:15:04.536 And when they had brought them back in for trial, they set them before the council. 167 00:15:04.568 --> 00:15:07.784 And the high priest questioned them, saying, we strictly charged. 168 00:15:07.832 --> 00:15:09.852 You not to teach in his name. 169 00:15:09.906 --> 00:15:16.688 Yet here you are and have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. 170 00:15:16.774 --> 00:15:22.850 But the Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men. 171 00:15:24.020 --> 00:15:27.750 We must obey God rather than men. 172 00:15:29.400 --> 00:15:33.684 Following Jesus is uncomfortable, but following Jesus is gutsy too. 173 00:15:33.882 --> 00:15:38.100 It takes guts intestinal fortitude. 174 00:15:39.500 --> 00:16:01.470 And for some of you, you are shy to speak up about the faith in your circles of family, circles of friends, or even in your workplace for fear of what it would do to you, not hope for what it would do for them. 175 00:16:03.520 --> 00:16:05.600 Following jesus Takes guts. 176 00:16:06.180 --> 00:16:11.232 When was the last time you said to yourself, I must obey God rather than men? 177 00:16:11.366 --> 00:16:13.730 And I'm going to make this decision today. 178 00:16:14.820 --> 00:16:16.210 Just think about it. 179 00:16:17.640 --> 00:16:19.590 Just think of the last two weeks. 180 00:16:20.040 --> 00:16:29.370 What have you done other than come to this church today that separates you from those who say they don't follow any God? 181 00:16:32.160 --> 00:16:38.540 And I guess my question is, who are you following more than God himself? 182 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:42.108 You'll know this by just the time you spend. 183 00:16:42.194 --> 00:16:44.320 Just look at your time, how you spend your time. 184 00:16:44.390 --> 00:16:46.828 You'll also know this by your money, your talents. 185 00:16:46.924 --> 00:16:48.076 See how much you're spending. 186 00:16:48.108 --> 00:16:50.752 That is God really? 187 00:16:50.806 --> 00:16:51.730 Your God? 188 00:16:53.380 --> 00:16:59.328 So in verse 30, they just lay the Gospel out when they said, we must obey God rather than men. 189 00:16:59.414 --> 00:17:08.560 They just have a straight, flat Gospel conversation in a few sentences, and they just lay it out knowing that they could potentially be killed on the spot because this is what they said. 190 00:17:08.730 --> 00:17:14.760 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 191 00:17:15.340 --> 00:17:26.940 First of all, you need to understand that every single one of you killed Jesus with your sin because of your personal sin. 192 00:17:27.840 --> 00:17:36.930 It drove Jesus to the cross to pay the punishment on his own shoulders that you should have had to pay. 193 00:17:38.820 --> 00:17:43.440 Every single person outside of these walls nailed Jesus to a cross. 194 00:17:44.260 --> 00:17:51.830 It's offensive if you don't realize that your sin is separating you from God. 195 00:17:54.360 --> 00:17:59.560 The God of our fathers raised Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 196 00:18:00.300 --> 00:18:05.640 This resurrection is what separates Jesus from all other religious leaders. 197 00:18:07.740 --> 00:18:13.976 So in essence, a Gospel conversation could almost be wrapped up in that one verse. 198 00:18:14.008 --> 00:18:17.288 Verse 30 if you just wanted to underline it in your Bible. 199 00:18:17.384 --> 00:18:20.220 Because here's what the gospel is. 200 00:18:20.290 --> 00:18:29.264 The gospel is the good news of the saving, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 201 00:18:29.462 --> 00:18:36.852 The gospel is the good news of the saving, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 202 00:18:36.986 --> 00:18:44.992 A gospel conversation is simply a dialogue or a conversation where the gospel is presented. 203 00:18:45.136 --> 00:18:49.860 Hey, this Jesus died on a cross because of your sin. 204 00:18:50.020 --> 00:18:51.320 He was buried. 205 00:18:51.820 --> 00:18:55.764 He took the full punishment on his shoulders and he was resurrected. 206 00:18:55.812 --> 00:18:58.868 Defeating death and giving you away to follow Jesus. 207 00:18:58.964 --> 00:19:00.680 It's not that complicated. 208 00:19:01.520 --> 00:19:05.790 Yet for some reason, we talk ourselves out of gospel conversations all the time. 209 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:17.084 God exalted him in verse 31 at his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 210 00:19:17.212 --> 00:19:19.424 And we are witnesses to these things. 211 00:19:19.542 --> 00:19:24.290 And so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. 212 00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:34.612 Listen, 100 college grads are being employed right now by the IMB to go to the last 3000 unreached people groups in this project. 213 00:19:34.666 --> 00:19:35.460 3000. 214 00:19:35.610 --> 00:19:43.640 The very first one was a female from South Carolina that was in the Palmetta Collective. 215 00:19:46.140 --> 00:19:49.016 Boldness to say, I'm willing to go. 216 00:19:49.198 --> 00:19:50.584 Why not you? 217 00:19:50.782 --> 00:19:57.736 For some of you who are in college or about to go to college, maybe God wants you to be pressed to go to the foreign mission field. 218 00:19:57.838 --> 00:20:02.380 I guess my question is, are you bold with the gospel or bored with the gospel? 219 00:20:02.500 --> 00:20:06.624 It and I know that we got a really bored generation right now, right? 220 00:20:06.662 --> 00:20:08.720 You know that because you can watch on the cell phones, right? 221 00:20:08.790 --> 00:20:14.284 I mean, you're constantly, if there's ever a minute of boredom, you look at your cell phone so you can see all the people looking at their cell phones. 222 00:20:14.332 --> 00:20:14.988 They're bored. 223 00:20:15.084 --> 00:20:27.780 And this is how I know the top two viewed TikToks of 2022 was a giant chocolate giraffe and a squishy chipmunk stuff in its face with nuts. 224 00:20:28.380 --> 00:20:32.090 And we've watched those videos over and over again. 225 00:20:32.780 --> 00:20:34.410 What are we doing, man? 226 00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:36.890 What are we doing? 227 00:20:37.580 --> 00:20:39.476 We're bored out of our minds. 228 00:20:39.588 --> 00:21:00.050 And instead of filling our lives up with the things that Jesus wants us to fill our lives up with or actually, like putting the phone down and going and talking to somebody about Jesus or just hanging out and becoming a friend with somebody who's far from God, we end up filling up that boredom just with a scrolling screen just to kind of numb it to get us through the day. 229 00:21:02.340 --> 00:21:06.400 What if you leverage the power of your digital space to be bold? 230 00:21:07.140 --> 00:21:16.672 What if instead of scrolling, you begin to actually send messages to people that are your friends on those digital spaces to begin to start conversations about Jesus? 231 00:21:16.816 --> 00:21:24.810 And here's what I know that many times, even in today's culture, you'll start a digital conversation before you'll start a face to face. 232 00:21:25.340 --> 00:21:34.156 So go ahead and start the digital conversation and then say hey, let's get together for lunch or coffee or hang out and let's talk about it some more. 233 00:21:34.258 --> 00:21:36.910 You'll be surprised at how many people are open to do it. 234 00:21:37.920 --> 00:21:40.264 Jesus following Jesus is uncomfortable. 235 00:21:40.312 --> 00:21:42.520 Following Jesus takes guts to do that. 236 00:21:42.610 --> 00:21:45.276 And finally following Jesus is dangerous. 237 00:21:45.468 --> 00:21:47.120 It's very dangerous. 238 00:21:49.060 --> 00:21:58.150 Jesus said in this world you will find trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. 239 00:21:59.080 --> 00:22:06.340 Those who were closest to Jesus, of the twelve disciples, one of them killed himself. 240 00:22:07.500 --> 00:22:09.160 There were eleven left. 241 00:22:09.310 --> 00:22:10.600 Of the eleven. 242 00:22:11.980 --> 00:22:16.810 They did not live rosy, peachy comfortable lives. 243 00:22:17.740 --> 00:22:21.080 They were about as close as you could get to following Jesus. 244 00:22:22.300 --> 00:22:31.260 And so you would think that if they were the closest that you could get to following Jesus that their lives would be awesome, but not by the world standards. 245 00:22:31.760 --> 00:22:38.572 No, their awesomeness was they were able to go down in history as the first martyrs for the faith. 246 00:22:38.716 --> 00:22:48.020 In fact, ten of the eleven disciples historically if you go and look at it, ten of the eleven died a martyr's death for their faith. 247 00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:56.736 One of them was banned to the island of Patmos, but he was also bold with bowling ole. 248 00:22:56.768 --> 00:22:58.070 It just didn't kill him. 249 00:23:00.140 --> 00:23:02.244 Following Jesus is dangerous. 250 00:23:02.292 --> 00:23:08.312 And we get in verse 33 when they heard this they were enraged and they wanted to kill them. 251 00:23:08.446 --> 00:23:21.320 And if it wasn't for one of the leaders, gamilial, they may have been put to death right then, but they prolonged it, which allowed the church to multiply before they were put to death. 252 00:23:21.480 --> 00:23:32.748 Instead in verse 40 it says when they called the apostles in they beat them or flogged them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus. 253 00:23:32.844 --> 00:23:34.352 And then they let them go. 254 00:23:34.486 --> 00:23:43.216 So they let them know if you speak the name of Jesus you're going to get beaten here's, your beaten with rods to the point of death. 255 00:23:43.248 --> 00:23:45.830 And then they let them go and put them to the test. 256 00:23:46.360 --> 00:23:53.796 The apostles would have known that moving back to the temple courts to preach about Jesus would result in this type of punishment. 257 00:23:53.908 --> 00:23:58.440 And they also saw the eventual end, which was what they did to Jesus. 258 00:23:59.920 --> 00:24:04.140 But they were courageous instead of cautious. 259 00:24:05.360 --> 00:24:11.710 They ran towards danger like some of the first responders that we would see even in this own community. 260 00:24:12.800 --> 00:24:16.770 They moved towards danger because they knew they were part of a risky business. 261 00:24:19.800 --> 00:24:26.652 We've been through this pandemic the last couple of years that has put this phrase as a normal phrase. 262 00:24:26.816 --> 00:24:31.960 When we speak, you ready for the phrase in an abundance of caution. 263 00:24:33.340 --> 00:24:35.050 We never used to say that before. 264 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:37.530 We never said that before. 265 00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:49.420 Think about it, those of you who are over the age of 45, 50, you remember a day when you did not wear a bike helmet. 266 00:24:50.800 --> 00:24:54.850 You remember, I mean did your mama not care about you? 267 00:24:55.220 --> 00:25:01.324 Did they not have items of helmets we had football helmets, never a bike helmet. 268 00:25:01.452 --> 00:25:02.544 I mean, I'd ride around. 269 00:25:02.582 --> 00:25:07.990 I mean, we'd jump in hills that were, like, this tall, just praying to God in the air that we would land. 270 00:25:09.320 --> 00:25:12.356 Now, every little kid I see has a bike helmet on. 271 00:25:12.458 --> 00:25:21.696 Now, I'm not, hey, listen, I put a bike helmet on my kid because I know my kid, and I saw the things on social media of people that got hurt on a bike. 272 00:25:21.728 --> 00:25:25.304 It'd be like one person out of, like, 2 million, but it gets shared 100,000 times. 273 00:25:25.342 --> 00:25:27.764 So it looks like everybody got hurt on a bike. 274 00:25:27.892 --> 00:25:32.600 I was in the other day, I was speaking up there in the upstate, and I saw five kids on a bike. 275 00:25:32.680 --> 00:25:37.150 They all had on bike helmets and one kid pushing his bike with a bike helmet on. 276 00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:39.740 I thought to myself, you pushing your bike. 277 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:41.710 Take a risk, man. 278 00:25:42.260 --> 00:25:43.760 Take off the helmet. 279 00:25:45.460 --> 00:25:49.730 Or some of you guys used to play BB Gun War. 280 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:51.410 You remember that? 281 00:25:52.340 --> 00:25:53.824 Yeah, you remember that? 282 00:25:54.022 --> 00:26:02.244 Your friend pumping the BB gun and you had a rule like, you couldn't go over five pumps, and if they had a lever action, no big deal. 283 00:26:02.282 --> 00:26:04.630 I mean, we didn't wear eye protection for that. 284 00:26:05.320 --> 00:26:07.770 But you were in BB Gun Wars back in the day. 285 00:26:08.540 --> 00:26:13.320 Now, if your kids are playing Nerf Gun War, they've got on goggles. 286 00:26:13.980 --> 00:26:15.610 It happens in my house. 287 00:26:16.780 --> 00:26:19.000 My dad made me drink out of a hose. 288 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:23.870 Y'all been drinking out of a water bottle all your life? 289 00:26:25.520 --> 00:26:31.340 My mom let me lick the spoon, knowing full well that there were raw eggs in the cake batter. 290 00:26:32.580 --> 00:26:33.810 What's she doing? 291 00:26:35.860 --> 00:26:39.424 Your mom has you on a gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, taste free life. 292 00:26:39.462 --> 00:26:40.450 And that's okay. 293 00:26:41.060 --> 00:26:42.176 That's okay. 294 00:26:42.358 --> 00:26:43.516 Some of you got allergies. 295 00:26:43.548 --> 00:26:44.450 I get it. 296 00:26:45.860 --> 00:26:51.940 When I left the yard to go play all day, I never had a cell phone, and my mom never knew where I was. 297 00:26:52.090 --> 00:26:54.630 In fact, I'm not sure if she cared if I came home. 298 00:26:55.560 --> 00:26:57.252 There were so many boys in my house. 299 00:26:57.306 --> 00:27:00.264 It'd free up some space right now. 300 00:27:00.302 --> 00:27:01.108 Teenagers. 301 00:27:01.204 --> 00:27:03.610 Your mom is tracking you on Life 360. 302 00:27:04.620 --> 00:27:08.490 That way she knows if you go to the bathroom right now that you're not lingering around. 303 00:27:11.040 --> 00:27:19.340 Evil has a way of invoking fear, but the church should be on the offensive, not the defensive. 304 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:26.370 Never before in the history of humanity has the tolerance for risk been so incredibly low. 305 00:27:26.820 --> 00:27:30.396 We are in desperate need of risk takers. 306 00:27:30.588 --> 00:27:35.860 And so what is the Lord urging you to do that might be dangerous? 307 00:27:38.360 --> 00:27:40.870 Maybe loving somebody that's different than you. 308 00:27:41.800 --> 00:27:45.110 Maybe befriending somebody that has different values than you. 309 00:27:46.460 --> 00:27:50.276 Maybe messaging a friend today and starting a gospel conversation. 310 00:27:50.468 --> 00:27:53.400 Maybe changing your major, your career path. 311 00:27:53.740 --> 00:27:58.040 Maybe accepting a call to vocational or full time missions. 312 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:02.350 For some of you, listen. 313 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:06.060 For some of you, it's just stopping being a chameleon. 314 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:13.128 You know what a chameleon is it's a lizard that changes with its environment. 315 00:28:13.304 --> 00:28:16.770 And so you've learned that when you come here, you act one way. 316 00:28:17.380 --> 00:28:26.230 When you leave and you're around some other friends, in the friend groups or whatever on the weekend, you act a different way and you talk about things there that you don't talk about things here. 317 00:28:26.600 --> 00:28:41.880 And for some of you, maybe taking a risk is just shedding your skin and actually going public with your decision to follow Jesus ultimately to the waters of baptism. 318 00:28:44.810 --> 00:28:49.270 In verse 41, these apostles left the presence of the council. 319 00:28:49.850 --> 00:28:55.610 They rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus. 320 00:28:56.430 --> 00:29:15.500 And every day in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus running towards danger. 321 00:29:18.880 --> 00:29:22.544 I want to close and let you tell you about a story this past month. 322 00:29:22.662 --> 00:29:28.396 Two months ago, I took a group of our Palmetta Collective college students to Los Angeles. 323 00:29:28.588 --> 00:29:33.300 And when we were there, we went down into the sewer subway. 324 00:29:33.880 --> 00:29:54.490 We went down the steps into the subway to try to share the gospel with homeless people in addicts and try to pull them out of the subway, give them an opportunity to actually go to a rehab center for two months that was funded by Sin Relief, which is funded by the North American Mission Board, which is funded by you. 325 00:29:55.740 --> 00:30:01.420 And so we go down in this area and there's this guy, and his name ironically, is Christian. 326 00:30:02.320 --> 00:30:11.310 He's kind of shivering and he's huddled up and he's humped over and they go up to him and these missionaries begin to talk to him about Jesus and why he's there. 327 00:30:12.000 --> 00:30:17.360 He said a week before he was in Arizona and he was just going to try to make it big and just get away from some problems. 328 00:30:17.430 --> 00:30:23.620 And so he comes to Los Angeles, runs out of money, finds himself down in the subway, and now is just destitute. 329 00:30:24.440 --> 00:30:29.190 And so they asked him, do you want to get out of here? 330 00:30:30.120 --> 00:30:32.310 And he said, yes, I do. 331 00:30:33.400 --> 00:30:36.084 And so they said, Here, stand up and follow me. 332 00:30:36.122 --> 00:30:43.464 And so they started walking towards the subway because we had a van that was there and a church that was waiting on them that we could actually take them to. 333 00:30:43.502 --> 00:30:47.048 And there was going to be a dryout center where they would go and have three meals a day. 334 00:30:47.134 --> 00:30:54.190 They'd sleep on a cot, and they'd have six to 8 hours of Bible study conversation with people for two solid months. 335 00:30:55.760 --> 00:31:04.044 And so as they start to approach the subway, we were already on the subway and the doors began to close and we pulled the emergency and it started sounding the alarm. 336 00:31:04.172 --> 00:31:07.136 And the missionary looked at him and said, Run, man, run. 337 00:31:07.238 --> 00:31:13.296 And so they're running through the subway and they jump onto the car as soon as the doors go to shut and. 338 00:31:13.318 --> 00:31:16.708 That guy Christian looked at him and said, we're in Hollywood, by the way. 339 00:31:16.794 --> 00:31:19.460 And he said, Am I in a movie? 340 00:31:20.040 --> 00:31:21.616 Is this a movie? 341 00:31:21.808 --> 00:31:23.990 They said, no, man, this is real life. 342 00:31:24.440 --> 00:31:30.996 And we get to the top of the subway, and when we did, we put him on the van and we drive him to this church. 343 00:31:31.028 --> 00:31:37.352 And we get to the church, these guys that they don't look like you and I, they have on these vests and bunch of patches all over them. 344 00:31:37.486 --> 00:31:39.668 Some of them had purple hair, some of them had shaved heads. 345 00:31:39.684 --> 00:31:42.472 They had tattoos all over their face, many of them. 346 00:31:42.606 --> 00:31:45.944 And all of them had been on the street and actually had gotten off. 347 00:31:46.062 --> 00:31:47.880 It's called set free church. 348 00:31:48.460 --> 00:31:54.576 And and they get out, and the guys embraced him and said, hey, man, he said, what are you here for? 349 00:31:54.598 --> 00:31:58.140 And they told him, they said, okay, well, listen, you come back in the morning and we'll get you processed. 350 00:31:58.220 --> 00:31:59.776 The guys will be here to be able to do that. 351 00:31:59.798 --> 00:32:01.056 We'll make sure you got a bed. 352 00:32:01.158 --> 00:32:03.410 And the guy said, well, what am I supposed to do now? 353 00:32:04.020 --> 00:32:10.340 And the missionary said, well, with all due respect, what were you planning to do before I sat down next to you in the middle of the subway? 354 00:32:11.240 --> 00:32:12.656 And it just got real silent. 355 00:32:12.688 --> 00:32:16.440 And the guy looked down and then he looked back up and he said, you want to know what I was going to do? 356 00:32:16.590 --> 00:32:18.024 And he said yes. 357 00:32:18.222 --> 00:32:21.240 He said, I was planning to kill myself tonight. 358 00:32:24.120 --> 00:32:25.670 In just a few minutes. 359 00:32:26.040 --> 00:32:27.632 They had him a cot. 360 00:32:27.776 --> 00:32:30.100 They had somebody that would stay with him overnight. 361 00:32:30.600 --> 00:32:34.420 And when we left at the end of that week, he was still in rehab. 362 00:32:34.580 --> 00:32:50.556 He had had more Bible study than you'll go through in an entire year, all because there were people that cared enough about him to live a little dangerously, to not be comfortable, to take a risk, and to go after him. 363 00:32:50.658 --> 00:32:54.370 Hey, listen, that guy, he's got a mom. 364 00:32:56.020 --> 00:33:01.010 That guy, he's got a grandmom, probably praying for him. 365 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:10.480 These people are real people, and so they're worth our risk. 366 00:33:10.820 --> 00:33:31.960 Father, we come before you and ask as we go into a time of worship that if there's something that's on the heart of the individual here in this congregation that you want them to do, to make a gutsy call or to step out in faith and follow Jesus even to the point of the waters of baptism. 367 00:33:32.540 --> 00:33:43.560 Or maybe they are sensing that you might be calling them to have a conversation with a friend or maybe full time ministry or missions. 368 00:33:44.540 --> 00:33:56.510 Lord, I pray during this time of worship that they seek out someone from this church and they're able to have a conversation with them, for them to be able to pray for them. 369 00:33:57.220 --> 00:33:59.040 In Jesus name we pray. 370 00:34:04.100 --> 00:34:08.604 Thanks again for listening and be sure to check back next week for another episode. 371 00:34:08.732 --> 00:34:16.880 In the meantime, you can visit us@willeridgechurch.org or by searching for Willowridge Church on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.