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This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Good to see you. I'm so glad you made it. If this is your first time ever with us on a Sunday, my name is Timothy Ateek. I serve as the lead pastor here. I just want to welcome you. My genuine hope for every person in this room this morning, whether you are spiritually skeptical or spiritually strong, is you would take either your first or your next step with Jesus Christ, and I hope you leave here sensing that you have met with and heard from the living God. He's a God who speaks, and I believe he wants to speak to our hearts this morning.
So, just like we do every Sunday, I want to give you a moment really quickly to pray for yourself and ask God to speak to you. Would you just pray that really quickly for yourself? Say, "God, would you speak to me this morning?" Then, would you pray for the people around you and ask God to speak to them as well? Then, would you pray for me and ask God to speak through me to you?
Lord, we know you're already here because you are omnipresent. You are always here, yet we still welcome you, and we invite you to come and speak to our hearts. I pray, Holy Spirit, that you would take the Word of God this morning and lead and guide us into all truth. Lord, if there's anyone here today who does not have a genuine, saving relationship with you, I pray that you would introduce yourself to them in such a clear way that they would respond in faith and experience complete forgiveness. Lord, we give this time to you, and we pray that you would be glorified right here at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas. We need you. We love you, amen.
Well, I'm going to say something that will cause some of you to judge me. A little over two years ago, I was doing very little in the department of physical exercise. Very little. If I did anything, I would go for a run occasionally, and even less occasionally, I would get to the gym, but I was doing very little. Days would go by, _weeks_ could go by without me doing anything. Then we went on our annual summer family trip to Galveston, and I ate like the world was ending. I came home and had the realization, "Something needs to change." I don't know if you've ever had that moment where you're like, "Something needs to change."
There are some friends here. They own a gym, CrossFit Richardson. Some of you guys go there, and I decided I'd give it a try. So, I started going, and two years later into going regularly, here's what I can say: I actually feel better. I just feel better, and I can see some results. I'm not ready to preach in a tank top yet. My ultimate goal is a sweater vest with no undershirt, but I need just a little… Don't picture it. If you picture it, you won't be able to unsee it. You just won't be able to sleep at night. But that's kind of where we're headed.
I can see some results, and I feel like I'm getting stronger. A low point in the gym was when I was putting my weights back, and a woman who had been working out saw the weights I was putting back and said, "_There_ they are. I've been looking for those." At least I was there. Anyway, I feel like I'm getting stronger. I've loved the people I've met. There are so many great people there. Many of you are those people. I've gotten to pray with people and share my faith with people there.
What I found myself thinking recently is "I can't believe I settled for anything less previously." I hate that it took so long for me to get where I am now. I wish I could have gotten to this place sooner. I've even told my high school son, "Don't ever stop working out post high school." I'm just so glad to be experiencing what I'm experiencing now. I share this with you… This isn't a talk about physical exercise. I would encourage you to exercise physically, but this isn't a talk about physical exercise.
The reason I share this with you is because what I've experienced physically is what I hope we all experience spiritually this morning. Let me be clear on what I'm talking about. My hope is that over the next little time we're together, many people in this room will leave having a clear resolution, "Something needs to change," and I hope many other people will say, "I don't want to settle. I don't want to settle at all in life."
I want to guard many of you from getting to a point someday of looking back, saying, "It took me too long to experience fullness of joy in Christ. I wish I had found it sooner." So, what I want to do with my time I have with you this morning is to unpack for you and give you a picture for the normal Christian life. I use that phrasing very intentionally.
I call it the _normal Christian life_ for a couple of reasons. First, because we're just going to look at the life the Scriptures unpack in terms of what biblical Christianity looks like. We take our cues from the Bible. So, whatever picture Scripture paints of the Christian life, that's the normal Christian life. It's important for us to understand that, because there is a distorted version of Christianity that has been created by the American church.
There is a form of American Christianity that, when contrasted with biblical Christianity, would make biblical Christianity out to be radical, but what is radical is actually normal. The other reason I use the word _normal_ is because, today, we're not learning from the apostle Paul; we're actually going to learn from a married couple in Scripture.
This is a couple that had a normal eight-to-five, just like so many of you in the room. They were not W-2 employees of the church. They were just church members who fully understood they only had one life to live, and because of that, they wanted to leverage every second of their lives for the sake of the glory of Jesus Christ. It's that normal Christian life where fullness of joy is found. So, my hope for you is that you would get a picture for a life with Jesus Christ that is packed full of joy and that you wouldn't settle for anything less.
So, this morning, I want to invite you to learn from just normal church members. Their names were Priscilla and Aquila, and they're found in Acts, chapter 18. If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ, the life we're going to see Priscilla and Aquila living is the life Jesus Christ went to the cross, faithfully died, and then conquered the grave victoriously… He went and lived and died and rose from the dead to save you to this life, to the normal Christian life. So, I just want to do a flyover really quickly of when we see Priscilla and Aquila in Acts 18, and then we'll begin to learn from them. We're introduced to them in Acts 18:1-3.
**"After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade."**
So, here's what we learn about Priscilla and Aquila. These are followers of Jesus Christ. They were expelled from Rome because of their relationship with Jesus. They relocate to Corinth, and that's where they meet Paul. They have the same trade as Paul. Their eight-to-five is that they are tentmakers. Most likely, they work with leather.
These people, Priscilla and Aquila… This is a married couple that becomes very important to Paul. The way we know they're important to Paul is that Paul mentions them in his letters Romans, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Timothy. This is a very important couple. Not W-2 employees of the church, just normal church members.
The next time we see them is in Acts 18:18, so skip down. Here's what we learn about them. It says, **"After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila."** So, track with this. They meet Paul in Corinth, and the reason they're in Corinth is because they were expelled from Rome, so they've already uprooted once, but here, what do we see them doing again? We see them relocating. This time they are relocating to Ephesus with Paul. Then skip down to verse 24. This is the last time we see them in Acts 18.
**"Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."**
So, what do we see right here? We see them together, as a married couple, discipling a man named Apollos. They're helping him grow in his faith. Now, there's one more Scripture I'll take you to about Priscilla and Aquila. Listen to what Paul says about these two in Romans 16. He says, **"Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life…"**
So, what is that telling us? Paul calls them his _fellow workers_. They risked their lives for the sake of the gospel. **"…who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well."** So, for this normal, tent-making couple, there are churches all over the place that have heard of their faith, heard of their ministry, and are thankful for them. Watch this. Verse 5: **"Greet also the church in their house."** So, what do we find out about this normal couple? That they hosted the church in their home.
This is a power couple for the sake of the gospel, normal church members, like so many of you, who experience the joy of the normal Christian life. So, my hope this morning is that their example would encourage you to not settle for anything less, nothing different. I just want to invite you in. If you're looking for joy, I'll tell you this is where you find it. If you want rescue out of American Christianity into biblical Christianity, the life with Christ that is marked by abundant life, then this is it. So, let's just learn from them.
1\. _They were on mission together_. They were on mission together as a married couple. They're a husband and wife, and anytime they're mentioned, they are mentioned together. They moved with Paul together. They hosted the church in their home together. They discipled Apollos together. What this tells us is that Priscilla and Aquila understood the point and purpose for their marriage.
I want everyone's attention right now, whether you're married or hope to be married one day. Here's the question I want you to answer: _What is the ultimate point and purpose of your current or future marriage?_ Just answer that question to yourself. A lot of people live and operate like the ultimate point and purpose of marriage is happiness. "It's companionship. Marriage is a cure for loneliness." So, you get into marriage to be happy; you get out of your marriage because you _aren't_ happy and don't like your companion.
Other people live like the ultimate point and purpose of marriage is to have and raise kids. Some of you right now, the reason you stay married is for the sole purpose of raising your kids. God had a different understanding of marriage when he created it. Remember, God is the inventor of marriage. God created marriage for a very particular purpose. The ultimate point and purpose of marriage for which God has created it is he brings a man and woman together to show Christ to the world. That's why marriage exists.
Marriage exists for a husband and a wife to put Christ on display to the world. If you don't believe me or think this is just my opinion, let me point you to the Scripture. Whether you're married or hope to be married one day, make sure you understand this. Let me take you all the way back to the creation of marriage. It says in Genesis 2:24, **"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."**
Do you know what marriage is? It is two separate people who come together, and in coming together, in God's eyes they become one. Marriage is the closest picture we get to a triune God. God is three coequal, coeternal persons that exist in one essence: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They're not three separate gods; they are three persons who exist in one essence.
From the beginning, marriage has existed to reflect God, but then we get more clarity. Listen to Ephesians 5. Paul says, **"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…"** Paul is saying that the love a husband is to have for his wife is meant to be an ad to the world of the love waiting for them in Jesus Christ.
Look. If you're here this morning, and you really don't understand Christianity… If you think Christianity is about voting a certain way or being very religious coming to church, that's not ultimately what it's about. Christianity is about you experiencing a supernatural love that can only come from Jesus Christ. It's about you coming to understand that there is one who loved you enough to leave heaven and come to earth, Jesus Christ, who laid his life down for you.
If you ever wonder if you matter, well, Christ died for you. Why did he die? He died to make payment for everything that separated you from God. He rose and conquered the grave to display that his payment for your sin and mine was sufficient. When you give your life to Jesus Christ, you are made right with your Maker, and he secures your presence with him for all of eternity. Marriage is supposed to reflect that love.
The point of marriage is to point to Jesus. It's to make much of Jesus together. Priscilla and Aquila got that. They moved together for the sake of the gospel. They hosted the church in their home for the sake of the gospel. They discipled Apollos together for the sake of the gospel. Priscilla and Aquila leveraged their lives together. They were on mission together for the glory of Christ. That's the point of marriage.
When Kat and I stood at the altar of First Baptist Church in Wichita Falls on October 14, 2006… When we said yes to one another, we were saying yes to being on mission together. We were saying yes to making much of Jesus together. Do you want to experience joy? Then be on mission together.
If you're single, let me encourage you _this_ way. If you're single, be on mission for Jesus now. Let's be clear. You don't need to be married to have a varsity-level impact for Jesus. The apostle Paul wasn't married. But if you're looking for a spouse, let me beg you…don't marry someone who _is_ a mission. The whole "I'm going to flirt to convert"? Don't do it. Marry someone with whom you can _be_ on mission.
If you're married and your marriage is mediocre at best, if your marriage doesn't display Christ in the way y'all communicate or care for one another and conflict with one another, then let me encourage you to check out re|engage this Wednesday night so you can begin to experience again the ultimate purpose of marriage.
For everyone else, I just want to encourage you to be on mission in your marriage. God brought you together for the purpose of making much of Jesus together. You can disciple others together. That's what we see Priscilla and Aquila do. I'm so encouraged by all of the couples that serve as Merge or Foundation or re|engage leaders.
I love that there are married couples that serve as student ministry leaders, or they're in classrooms right now in our Kids space. You can disciple your kids together. Engage the lost together. Anytime Kat and I have hosted unbelievers in our home, it has been so fun to feel like it's a team effort, being on mission together.
I would encourage you to pray together. Here's a challenge for every married couple in the room. Guys, I'm going to challenge you to take the lead on this. I want to challenge every married couple, for the next seven days, to pray together every day this week. When you pray, ask God to show you how you can be on mission together.
2\. _They lived with anchors and sails up_. We skip down to verse 18. It says, **"After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila."** Just think about it. Priscilla and Aquila were forced out of their homes in Rome because of their relationship with Jesus. They've already been relocated once. Now they establish roots in Corinth, they meet Paul, and we see them uprooting again. Now they move to Ephesus with Paul.
I love that the text says they _set sail_. I know that's talking about what they were doing physically, but the reality is this is also what they were doing spiritually. They were setting sail. I think a sailboat is such a beautiful picture of the normal Christian life. The normal Christian life involves putting your sails up and being carried along by the Spirit of God. In the Bible, both in Hebrew and in Greek, the word for _spirit_ is the same word for _wind_.
So, just as the wind is carrying them along from Corinth to Ephesus, the wind of the Spirit of God is carrying them forward in mission. Priscilla and Aquila lived with their sails up to God. They wanted to go whenever and wherever his wind was blowing. They had no anchors that would hold them back. Normal Christianity…not _radical_ Christianity, _normal_ Christianity…is a sails-up, anchors-up Christianity.
What do I mean by _sails up_? I mean you position yourself before the Lord and say regularly, "God, my life is your life. Jesus Christ, you gave your life for me; I give my life to you. I will go wherever you want me to go, and I will do whatever you want me to do." That's what sails-up Christianity looks like. What do I mean by _anchors up_? I just mean there's nothing we would let hold us back from saying yes to Jesus.
I think it's worth thinking about. Let me ask you a question. What could Jesus ask you to do for the sake of the gospel that you don't think you could say yes to? Just think about that. Be honest with yourself. What could Jesus ask you to do for the sake of the gospel that you don't think you could say yes to? Maybe it's leaving the forever home you built. Maybe it's moving from Dallas to help plant a church. Maybe it's leaving the country to take the gospel to the nations. Maybe it's selling your company or taking a major pay cut or giving away a crazy amount of what you own or fostering or adopting.
I would encourage you to wrestle with your community this week. Just think about it. What could Jesus ask you to do for the sake of the gospel that you don't know if you could say yes to? Maybe shrink it down to a smaller size. What about sharing the gospel with a coworker or neighbor? What about forgiving someone who has hurt you? What about saying no to some good things to have more time to invest in your family, friends, or the church?
Normal Christianity is an anchors-up Christianity. I was talking to a friend of mine not too long ago who had gotten a new boat, and he was talking about the difficulty he was experiencing in figuring out how to truly drop and set the anchor. The reason you drop and set the anchor is so the family can get out and swim and the boat doesn't drift away. He was struggling to get the anchor dropped and also set so it wouldn't move.
That's normal Christianity. Normal Christianity is a Christianity where you have trouble dropping and setting the anchor to where you're unwilling or unable to move when Christ asks you to move. We always want to have trouble with the anchors in our lives that could keep us back from a resounding yes to the Lord.
I'm so encouraged by so many people in this church who live with their sails up. I think about people who have left incredible jobs and taken ridiculous pay cuts because of what God was calling them to, to leverage their lives for the sake of the gospel. I think about people who have fostered or adopted. I think about those in our church family who have sensed a call to leave Dallas and go to places where their lives are at risk because they feel like God has called them to take the gospel to those who have never heard it before.
I just want to invite you in. We reject American Christianity here at Watermark. We reject the notion that this type of Christianity is radical. No, it's normal. If you want to experience joy, the most joyful people are the people who have come to a time in their life where they have gotten on their knees and said, "My life is yours. I will go wherever you want me to go. I will do whatever you want me to do."
So, I want to encourage you this week. That prayer might feel incredibly dangerous. I'm telling you, there's joy waiting. Remember the one you're praying it to. This is the one who left heaven and came to earth for you. This is the one who laid down his life for you. This is the one who conquered sin and death for you, so you know he cares. You know he has your best in mind. He holds all things together. Surely he holds your life together.
3\. _They were all in with the church_. You know what's interesting? They moved from Corinth to Ephesus with Paul, but Paul ends up leaving Ephesus. So, Priscilla and Aquila have relocated with Paul. Paul has left Ephesus. What do Priscilla and Aquila do? They anchor down in Ephesus, and they host the church in their home. First Corinthians 16:19 says, **"The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house…"**
Do you know what's interesting? If you were to go and read Acts 20, you see that there are elders in the church in Ephesus, yet Priscilla and Aquila play a key role in the church being able to gather. They were all about the church. They ordered their lives around the church. This is so important for us to gain agreement and alignment on here at Watermark. There is not a divide between church staff and church members. Every church staff person is a church member. They have to go through membership. We're all members together, but there's not a divide between professional Christians and you guys.
I'll explain it this way. I might have mentioned before I went to Texas A&M University for college. I know it drives some of y'all crazy that I mention it. Look. I love so many universities. Not _all_ universities, but I do love so many that y'all went to. Insert your name, wherever you went. It's great. Good for you. One of the traditions at A&M is that the student body stands for the entire football game, and there's a story behind it. Follow me on this. I'm not trying to brainwash anyone into loving A&M. I'm just stating the reality of a tradition. Okay?
The student body is called the _12th Man_, and the student body stands for the entire game. There's a story behind it. The student body standing represents that every single person standing is ready at any moment to go into the game if called upon. Now, here's the reality. Mike Elko, the head coach for the Texas A&M football team, does not want anyone standing in the stands in the game. That's the reality.
He has his couple dozen professionals whom he has entrusted and "scholarshipped" to show up and do the work while the other 100,000 watch. There is a clear divide. Out of the 100,000 people in the stands, a couple dozen do the work, and the rest watch. That divide does not exist in the church. Jesus Christ is the head coach. I'm not. The elders aren't. The head coach is Jesus, and he expects everyone on the field, everyone playing their part.
There is not this major divide between professional and laity. Have the elders been given a very specific responsibility? Absolutely, and we take our responsibility seriously, but one of our greatest responsibilities is ensuring that everyone on the team is in the game. We haven't been called to do ministry _to_ you; we've been called to do ministry _through_ you, to empower you, for every member to view themselves as a minister of the gospel.
This is actually rooted in a biblical concept known as the _priesthood of the believer_. When I say _priesthood of the believer_, what comes to mind? Do you have any idea what I'm talking about? It's such an important aspect of our identity. First Peter 2:9 says, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood." That's who we are as the church. This is our identity. Identity determines activity. We are a royal priesthood.
So, here's what I want you to realize. When Christ went to the cross, he went as a priest. He was offering a sacrifice for your sin and mine. Through his priestly activity, he has secured a new identity for everyone here in that you, in fact, are now a priest. Have you ever thought about yourself as a priest? Not by ordination but by redemption.
Look to the person next to you and say, "Hey, did you know you're a priest?" Just do that really quickly. "Hey, did you know you're a priest?" You're a priest, and you can just say out loud, "I'm a priest." Isn't that crazy? You didn't know it, but you're a priest. It's crazy stuff. What does it mean that you're a priest? It means three very clear things.
First, as a priest, you have direct access to God. You can just march right into the Holy of Holies. You can boldly approach the throne of grace. Isn't that incredible news? When we gather on Sundays, what do you think we're doing? We are walking straight into the Holy of Holies, straight up to the throne of God, and we are encountering his presence, because Christ, our High Priest, has secured our direct access. That's what we get to do as priests.
That's why church attendance 1.3 times a month is crazy. No, we're all in. We come back to town early for church on Sundays, not because we're religious people but because we have direct access. Yeah, we can enter the throne room on our own, and we should do that every day of the week, but we can walk in together, which is incredible. Reject this individualistic American Christianity that is such a distorted reality.
Normal Christianity is the church, the collective priesthood, all of the priests, walking into the throne room together. We have direct access. It also means daily sacrifice. Romans 12:1. Maybe you've memorized this verse, but you've never seen it through the lens of being a priest. Paul says, **"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."**
This is what we do as priests. We offer everything to God. Christ offered everything for us; we offer ourselves to God. Our thoughts, our words, our decisions, our aspirations, our appetites, our conversations, our talents, our gifts, and our actions are all to be presented to Christ. Nothing is to be withheld from him. Part of being a royal priesthood is us offering our time, our treasure, and our talents right here to the body of Christ.
Thirdly, being a royal priesthood means outward proclamation. First Peter 2:9 says we're a royal priesthood…why? **"…that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."** The priesthood exists to declare and proclaim the excellencies of Christ. We proclaim Christ's excellencies to one another and to an unbelieving world.
So, what's the point? If you're a priest, get on the field. Stop watching. You need to know the elders and I don't measure success by attendance. We could snap a picture of this room right now. By the way, hello to everyone in overflow in the Chapel right now. Isn't that incredible? We're in overflow this morning. I appreciate you celebrating that. It kind of goes against my point, because here's the reality.
We could snap a picture of this, and we could be like, "Do you know how many people we had at church on Sunday?" Look. Attendance only tells you how many people showed up; it doesn't tell you at all who left here changed. If everyone slept through this message… I know some of y'all listen with your eyes closed. I get it. Like, is that a win for thousands of people to be here sleeping? No, it's not a win.
What's success? Success is you realizing, "I am a priest. That's my identity, and my identity determines my activity." Why would you just attend when you have direct access? Part of being a priest is offering daily sacrifice. It's outward proclamation, declaring Christ to one another. Get in the game. Jesus has saved you into his presence to offer yourself completely and to declare his excellencies with your fellow priests.
Before I move on to the last one, I just want to point out… I don't know if you noticed it, but Priscilla is usually mentioned before Aquila, which is interesting, because Priscilla is the wife, and the norm in the first century was for the man's name to be mentioned first. The fact that Priscilla's name is mentioned before Aquila's name is an indication that Paul viewed Priscilla's contribution as very significant. That was one of the ways Paul communicated the significance of Priscilla's contribution.
She wasn't just Aquila's wife. It wasn't that Aquila was really doing the ministry, and then Priscilla was just the support. No. She was a key player in God's kingdom work. In fact, what you're about to see is Priscilla played an important role in discipling a man alongside her husband. So, let me make sure this is abundantly clear here at Watermark. Women in the room, you're priests too. Like, not JV priests. You're priests, and you are an important part of the royal priesthood here at Watermark.
I just want to say this to some of you in the room. It is not unbiblical to be a strong, driven, ambitious woman. Priestly living, fully surrendered to Jesus, takes different forms. Barna put out a study indicating that women's attendance at church is declining. So, I just want to make sure you hear me say you don't have to go outside the church to maximize your impact for the kingdom of God. We need you _here_.
4\. _They made disciples_. This guy Apollos comes to the church, and Apollos is skilled. He loves Jesus. He's passionately talking about Jesus, but listen to verse 26. It says, **"He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."**
Isn't that interesting? They notice some deficiencies in Apollos' beliefs, and what do they do? They take him aside. They don't correct him publicly and embarrass him. They pull him aside, and they help him grow. If you were to track with Apollos… If you were to go and read 1 Corinthians, you see Apollos mentioned a lot. He went to Corinth. Who had been in Corinth previously? Priscilla and Aquila.
So, most likely, Priscilla and Aquila told Apollos about Corinth and actually stoked his desire to go and make an impact in Corinth. If you go and read 1 Corinthians, you know what? People are so amazed by Apollos they're actually name-dropping him more than Paul, and it's causing issues because of what an impact he has for the sake of the gospel. Priscilla and Aquila played a key role in his impact because of the way they discipled him. They made disciples.
Look. I'm telling you, the normal Christian life is a life where you disciple others. You get discipled, and you make disciples. If you want to experience joy, make disciples. That's what we're about here. If you want to know what we're about, it is plastered on the walls right on the other side of that wall. "Abiding in Jesus, we are making disciples together." That's what we're about here. We are about making disciples.
So, my question for you is…_Is there at least one person in your life who you are helping know Jesus and become more like him?_ If not, I'm not mad at you. I just want to tell you you're missing out. You've been made to make disciples. Christ has saved you to become one of his disciples so that you can make disciples.
I think about watching one of my boys learn how to ride a bike. It took him a little bit longer than others because he has some balance issues, yet we worked at it. We really worked. We went to this open parking lot, and we just worked and worked. I'm telling you, when I saw him finally riding… If you've ever experienced that… Something inside of you is just like, "Mm!" You want to fist pump. You're full of excitement and joy, and you can almost tear up, because you see progress. You see growth.
You think about seeing a kid take his first steps and what it will do for you. We're just talking about someone taking steps or riding a bike. Imagine being used by God and getting to watch a marriage heal. Imagine getting to watch a child in our kids' ministry under your leadership grasp the gospel for the first time. Like, you get to watch it make sense for the first time.
Imagine getting to be used by God and getting to watch someone break free from addiction. Imagine being used by God and getting to watch a high school student experience the joy of sharing their faith. Imagine watching someone reorient their entire company around glorifying Jesus. This is what you get to be a part of. Get in the game. Make disciples.
The reason a lot of people in this church don't make disciples is for one of a few reasons. First, you don't want to. If you don't want to, I would just say talk to God about it. I mean, I don't know what to do with that. What does Jesus say in Matthew 28? He says, "Go and make disciples." That's the call. People don't want to.
Secondly, people don't have time to. You want to, but you don't have time to. I would just say ask God, "What does it look like in this season?" Maybe it's a once-a-month investment. I don't know, but ask God to clarify time. It might be that you're saying yes to some things that you think are nonnegotiable, and those commitments might need to be renegotiated.
Thirdly, people don't make disciples because they don't know how to. We're committed to helping you with that. You can jump into serving and leading in any of our ministries, and you have leaders who will help you make disciples. I'll just tell you, I was talking with some of our kids' directors this week, and they are thin on leaders. I'm just going to tell you, church family, I long for the day when there is never a lack of leaders because people are pounding down the doors, wanting to raise up and disciple the next generation. It's never babysitting. You are helping people take a step with Jesus.
This week, I had lunch with a guy named Kent Lawrence. Kent Lawrence was a guy who discipled me when I was in junior high. It was a chance for me to get with him and buy him lunch and say, "This is a thank you for investing in my life." I'll never forget him. I'll never forget Billy Miller, Josh Wimberley, Brian Mountjoy, Brian Fisher, Brad Thomas, Gregg Matte, and Reese Graves…all of these people, many of whom are just guys with a normal eight-to-five who have said, "I understand my calling is to make disciples." So, I just want to invite you: get in the game.
I'll close by saying this. My journey with the gym that started a couple of years ago… The reason it started was, honestly, because I was talking with a friend, and I was just like, "Man, something needs to change." He was like, "You know what? You should try this type of gym." It started with a friend saying, "You should just try this."
So, I want to encourage you today. Would you allow Priscilla and Aquila, who are a brother and sister in Christ who have gone before you and me, just normal people with a normal eight-to-five as tentmakers… Would you allow them to be friends to you this morning who say, "Would you give it a try?" Would you give the normal Christian life a try?
Would you go on mission together in your marriage? Would you go all in with the church? Would you raise your sails? Would you raise up your anchors? Would you put your life before Jesus and say, "It's yours anyway. Wherever you want me to go, whatever you want me to do, I'm in"? Would you make disciples? Why? Because there's joy waiting for you. Jesus said, "I came that you might have life and have it to the full." I pray that you'd step into it today.
Lord Jesus, that's my hope and prayer for all of us. I pray that every single person in this room would take a step with you. God, if there's anyone in this room who doesn't know you in a personal way, I pray right now they would invite you into their lives.
If that's you, you can just pray with me. You can say, "Lord Jesus, would you come into my life today? Thank you that you died on the cross for me. Thank you that you rose from the dead for me. Would you come into my life? Would you forgive me of my sins? Would you lead me in a new life?" Wherever you're at right now, maybe you need to pray, "God, have your way in my life. I'll go wherever you want. I'll do whatever you want." Maybe you need to surrender your marriage to him. Maybe you need to ask him who he wants you to invest in. Do business with the Lord.
God, we want to be your church. We reject American Christianity. We embrace normal, biblical Christianity. We want to be on mission with you. We love you, God.