“Having the Right Fire in You” by Caleb Cole

Pastor Caleb Cole launches the Through the Fire series with a message about having the right fire within us. Teaching from Matthew 6, he explains how seeking first the Kingdom, pursuing righteousness, and trusting God’s promises create a healthy foundation for every relationship. This message calls believers to find contentment in Christ and let Him be enough.

• (00:00) - Launching the Through the Fire series
• (02:03) - Why relationships feel harder than ever
• (03:18) - The fires burning inside us
• (06:08) - Your relationship with Jesus comes first
• (08:16) - Fire #1: More of Jesus
• (09:49) - Anxiety as a divided mind
• (11:21) - Daily connection, not Sunday faith
• (15:31) - Fire #2: Seek the Kingdom first
• (20:18) - Delighting in God changes your desires
• (24:05) - Fire #3: A passion for righteousness
• (31:56) - Righteousness produces peace
• (33:23) - Fire #4: Trusting God’s promises
• (38:50) - The secret of contentment in Christ
• (40:02) - Jesus is enough: salvation invitation

Creators and Guests

Host

Caleb Cole

Caleb, a Sacramento native, grew up in a pastor’s home and is a third generation minister. At the age of 12, after one of his grandfather’s sermons, he felt a call from God to be a pastor. He consistently pursued that call throughout high school and college. Caleb attended Central Bible College in Springfield, MO where he earned a B.A. in Biblical Studies and went on to the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary where he earned an M.A. in Theological Studies.

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00;00;00;00 - 00;00;05;25
Caleb Cole
if you're new here, I want to welcome you. My name is Caleb, one of the pastors here, and I'm actually kicking off a new series, so this is great.

00;00;05;25 - 00;00;23;09
Caleb Cole
If it's your first time, you are here for week one of an all new series called Through the Fire, where we're going to talk about relationships. We're going to talk about singleness, dating, whether you're engaged, married. I just believe this series is going to give you so much encourage you help build your life is going to be rooted in the scriptures.

00;00;23;12 - 00;00;39;20
Caleb Cole
And I'm excited for these five weeks. I want to show you what's going down over these five weeks. So here's a breakdown of the week. So today we're kicking off. You got to have the right fire in you. We're going to talk about the foundation of where you're at as a follower of God. Week two. Next week we're going to talk about fighting fire with fire.

00;00;39;27 - 00;00;56;03
Caleb Cole
How many know in marriage you will fight in relationships, but we got to fight fair. We got to fight well, we got to communicate. Well, week three is taming the fire of Desire. Yeah. Sometimes, you know, we avoid these topics. So I'm in the Bible talks about it. We need to talk about healthy sex when we talk about sexual purity.

00;00;56;10 - 00;01;12;15
Caleb Cole
And so we're going to dive in there. And week three week four we're going to keep the flame alive, man. We got people who've been married here a long time. And, how many? You know, it takes a lot of work to keep that flame alive. I'm coming up on 18 years of marriage, and I'm thankful the flame is still alive.

00;01;12;15 - 00;01;27;28
Caleb Cole
You know, for my wife and, blessed. But we want to encourage you and teach you, and just how to keep that flame. I actually, Christine, I'm going to tag team that week, so that'll be fun. And then week five is guarding the fire. So we're going to talk about faithfulness covenant, how to protect yourself in today's day and age.

00;01;27;28 - 00;01;46;06
Caleb Cole
And so the other thing because we're we're trying to help you right. We're going to try to help you grow, help you grow in your faith. And so we actually have a marriage course that's launching next Sunday night. It'll be every Sunday night for, I think, eight weeks. I may be wrong, but you can look it up, if you're interested.

00;01;46;06 - 00;02;03;10
Caleb Cole
Me and Christy actually went through this when we in a tough season a few years back, and this marriage course was incredible for us. So I encourage you, even if you're not in a tough season, but you just want to strengthen your relationship. You can sign up for this connection codes. It's a marriage course. If you go in the Church Center app right now, you can sign up.

00;02;03;10 - 00;02;22;27
Caleb Cole
It'll be Sunday nights, right here in the building. And so we'd love to have you be a part of it. But hey, I want to jump in today to week one as we talk about walking through the fire of relationships. How many? You know, it can be difficult out here in these streets. In 2026. It ain't easy, man.

00;02;22;27 - 00;02;39;26
Caleb Cole
It's harder to be married than ever before. I feel like it's harder to be single than ever before. It's harder to date than ever before. I met a couple this morning after the 830 service, and I had not I had not met him. And they're like, oh, we've only been dating for like three months. And so he just started coming with her.

00;02;39;26 - 00;02;58;21
Caleb Cole
She'd been coming here for years and I'm like, cool, where'd you guys meet? And they met on a dating app called Holy. I don't even know this existed. It's like a legit, like, you got to prove that you're a real Christian to go on this dating app. So I just thrown out some game for you single people. Okay, you may need to jump on.

00;02;58;21 - 00;03;18;10
Caleb Cole
Holy. The dating app. This is not a paid advertisement. I just heard about it this morning. But, hey, you know, it's interesting. In this day and age, it's not easy to manage the fire that's even going on within us. I mean, you know, there's a lot of fires burning in you. There's the fire of your dreams and goals.

00;03;18;12 - 00;03;43;18
Caleb Cole
There's the fire of sexual desire. There's the fire of comparison. We're in a comparison culture. There's the fire of the family relationship, marriage that you always saw for yourself. And you're disappointed in right now. And so I was thinking back to when Christie and I got together. We actually went to college in Missouri. Both of us. And, we never dated.

00;03;43;21 - 00;04;07;22
Caleb Cole
You know how sometimes timing just doesn't work. And she was always dating other dudes when I was single, and I was always dating other girls when she was single. And yeah, we always had an affinity for each other. We knew who each other was. I actually saw her for the first time. She was playing powderpuff football against my current girlfriend at the time, and, I walked up to the field and they ran this play.

00;04;07;22 - 00;04;25;29
Caleb Cole
She was the quarterback, and she pitched it to the running back and then she rolled out and they threw her a pass like a deep pass. And she one hand caught it and I fell in love. You know I was like, okay. Like, how do I get her? But it didn't work in, in, in our time in Missouri, we just never connected.

00;04;26;02 - 00;04;49;04
Caleb Cole
And so I moved to Massachusetts. So if you don't know, I lived in Massachusetts for five years, so I have a reason to say I'm cheering for the Patriots today. But, I lived in Massachusetts for five years. And so halfway through that time, Christy and I reconnected. She was still living in Missouri, and she actually called our church because she was working for a nonprofit, and they were looking for services to raise money.

00;04;49;05 - 00;05;07;08
Caleb Cole
And so she reached out to me and said, hey, we're looking for services with your church. Have us. And so I, I sent her an email, and in my email I talked business like, hey, I think we could have you around this time. But at the end of it I was very forthright and forward and said, hey, but I would like your cell phone number because I want to get to know you better.

00;05;07;11 - 00;05;29;17
Caleb Cole
And on a scale of 1 to 5, how single are you? That was my question, and I thought it'd be kind of funny and cute, you know, like, I knew she was single, but I was just putting the feelers out there, and she responded and she said, well, currently I'm a three because I'm dating Jesus. Yeah, that's what she said.

00;05;29;17 - 00;05;45;20
Caleb Cole
She thought it was clever. I thought it was kind of weird, you know? I was like, wait, what? You're dating Jesus. What does that mean? But, isn't it funny? You know, I, it led to six months later, we got married, so. Hey, God is good. I don't recommend that for everyone, but I work for us. Okay?

00;05;45;20 - 00;06;08;02
Caleb Cole
Here we are. We're coming up on 18 years. It worked for us. So, but it's interesting, because today I want to talk to you about having the right fire in you. And ultimately, even though she was being facetious, I've heard single people say this. Oh, I'm dating Jesus. I think it's important to recognize that the core relationship we must have is with our Savior.

00;06;08;04 - 00;06;30;10
Caleb Cole
Because ultimately, you can't be a good spouse. You can't prepare yourself for the dating world. You can't you can't be a good husband wife if you don't have a good relationship with the Lord. And so this idea of dating Jesus is something that I think we all need to have that mindset that my relationship with Jesus comes first.

00;06;30;10 - 00;06;53;17
Caleb Cole
I have to have the right fire in me, and the right fire is knowing I'm connected to him. So I want to read. We're going to read from Jesus, our Savior, his own teaching. This is Matthew chapter six. Go to Matthew six. I'm going to read, starting in verse 25. This is the longest sermon we have in the scriptures from Jesus is the sermon on the Mount.

00;06;53;17 - 00;07;10;14
Caleb Cole
It's his most famous sermon. And so I'm going to read it starts verse 25, therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, or what you will drink, nor about your body. What you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air.

00;07;10;16 - 00;07;34;22
Caleb Cole
They neither so nor reap, nor gather into barns and yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than them? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his lifespan? I'm, you know, anxiety, being anxious. It doesn't add anything to your life, just takes away from it. And why are you anxious about clothing?

00;07;34;25 - 00;07;51;09
Caleb Cole
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither toil nor spin. Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so close the grass, the field which today is alive, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

00;07;51;12 - 00;08;16;16
Caleb Cole
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them all. How many know? God knows what you need, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

00;08;16;18 - 00;08;36;06
Caleb Cole
We have to start with the right fire in us. So I want to do I want to tell you, what I believe looking at this text are four of the right fires that you need to have with you if you're taking notes. The first is this. It's fire. For more of Jesus, I got to start here, don't I?

00;08;36;08 - 00;08;58;27
Caleb Cole
Like, we need a fire in us to know Jesus more, to have deeper relationship with him, to be more connected to him. Here's the problem. Most of us are too distracted by the cares of this world to be prioritizing relationship with Jesus. So we wake up in the morning and we do what Jesus told them not to do.

00;08;59;00 - 00;09;17;10
Caleb Cole
We wake up in the morning and we're full of anxiety. We're full of worry. We're thinking about all the things we need to do, all the things we need to accomplish, all the things we need to build. And what Jesus said is, don't be anxious. Don't be anxious about all of that. No, no, you need to seek first the kingdom.

00;09;17;13 - 00;09;49;07
Caleb Cole
That means in the morning I give those things to God and I go to Jesus in prayer. I start my life. I start my day. I create my foundation by going, Jesus, I need more of you. I want a fire for more of you. Well, here's what's interesting about the word so. So I looked it up in the Greek in the original language, this word anxiety is a Greek word, merriam, not a, which has a, a, a a core word within it, which is moreso now the word moreso.

00;09;49;09 - 00;10;14;18
Caleb Cole
The root word is to divide or pull apart. So what I would say to you is anxiety isn't just worry, because that's how we we describe it. Soft. Oh I'm worried anxiety isn't just worry, it's a divided mind. It's where my mind is divided. Well, how is it divided? You see, you are trusting God or part of you trust God.

00;10;14;21 - 00;10;42;08
Caleb Cole
But the other part of your mind is trying to control the situation. The other part of your mind is trying to figure out how to fix this thing. The other part of your mind goes, I gotta take hold of this and make it happen. And so there's too many Christians that are living this same way, like the Gentiles live about the things they need about the basic necessities, about whatever it is they want to accomplish in life, the dreams they have.

00;10;42;11 - 00;11;04;02
Caleb Cole
And they're going, yeah, I trust you, God, but not enough to put it fully in your hands. And so I gotta take the reins here in this moment. And so what I would challenge us with today is that if we're gonna have a desire for more Jesus, we gotta trust Jesus with every single thing. We're trusting him, knowing that there are things in our life that are lacking.

00;11;04;06 - 00;11;21;09
Caleb Cole
But I go, no, I'm trusting that he's going to take care of me. He's going to provide for me. He's going to meet my needs. He's going to be in my corner. He's got my back. Luke 923 Jesus is speaking. He says, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.

00;11;21;12 - 00;11;50;26
Caleb Cole
You see, having this fire for Jesus is a daily connection. Yeah. The problem I see is we've categorized God and categorized Jesus and categorized church. So he's like a Sunday relationship, but not a Monday through Saturday relationship. So I do Jesus on on Sunday, but Monday through Saturday, like I got all these other relationships I got to worry about.

00;11;50;28 - 00;12;12;29
Caleb Cole
No, no, the fire for more of Jesus is what we must have at the core foundation. That means I'm going after him every single day. We have to have the right foundation. Who you are in Christ comes before who you have in this life. And I think most of our identity is rooted in who we have. Some of y'all, you're not married, but you're a dog parent.

00;12;12;29 - 00;12;35;09
Caleb Cole
You know, say, hey, I got I got little Buster. That's my identity. All right. Then he said, who I have, I got my I got my cat, right. I got my husband, I got my kids. No, no, it's not who you have. That's not the foundation. The marriage, the the the dating relationship, the kids. You. That's not your foundation.

00;12;35;12 - 00;12;59;15
Caleb Cole
You steward those relationships, but the foundation is who you are in Christ. And it that every other relationship, everyone you have and how you operate in those relationships flows out of who you are in him. Now, I talk to single people all the time, and, I talk to them about, you know, single people come to me. I've been a pastor a long time.

00;12;59;15 - 00;13;14;03
Caleb Cole
I was a young adult pastor before this, youth pastor back in the day. And single people come to me, especially. I was a young adult pastor. And even still. And they they say, how do I know when I'm ready to date? You know, how do I know? How do I know how to write a date? I'm thinking about dating.

00;13;14;06 - 00;13;46;07
Caleb Cole
I'm just not sure I'm ready. And I've always said the same thing. I think that you're, you know, when you're ready to date, when no person could pull you away from Jesus. When I'm in a place where I go. Nobody. No relationship, no person. No, no. You know, girl Bay, whatever you want to say, right? No matter how pretty she is, no matter what about her, like she couldn't pull me away from Jesus.

00;13;46;09 - 00;14;03;24
Caleb Cole
And so this is my encouragement to you, too, that you would be in relationships as you start to date, that you would say, you know, I see missionary dating work don't get don't get it twisted. I know a few people do this. Are you dude? And she was like, I see, I see potential in them. And and I'm gonna bring them to church.

00;14;03;24 - 00;14;30;18
Caleb Cole
He's going to get saved, and they're going to have the greatest life. You know what I'm saying? I seen at work, actually, but that's an exception more of the time. I've actually seen the person that didn't have relationship with God pulled the person that did have relationship with God away from God. I'm not saying it always happens, but I always caution people against that because I think that there's a I should give you this warning because I'm a big believer that I don't follow potential.

00;14;30;18 - 00;14;55;26
Caleb Cole
I follow patterns, the patterns of the life of the people around me. That's an indicator of how they're going to perform and act in the future. If you want to have, a healthy marriage one day, single people, you got to start with the fire for more of Jesus. And that means finding someone else who loves Jesus. You're finding someone else who's pursuing Jesus.

00;14;55;28 - 00;15;05;16
Caleb Cole
If Chrissy had sent that to me dating Jesus, I wasn't a follower of God. I would have been like peace.

00;15;05;19 - 00;15;24;02
Caleb Cole
But in that moment, I said, no. This is someone that prioritizes God, prioritizes Jesus. That's someone I want in my life. But it all starts it all flows from your identity in him. You prioritize him. The second fires the fire for the heavenly kingdom. I'm gonna grab my water. I've been battling a little sickness. How's everybody doing? You guys good?

00;15;24;02 - 00;15;31;23
Caleb Cole
Yeah. Okay. Is that all right? It's the third service, so I gotta make it.

00;15;31;25 - 00;15;40;01
Caleb Cole
Talk amongst yourselves.

00;15;40;03 - 00;16;13;24
Caleb Cole
We got to have number two. The fire for the heavenly kingdom. What did Jesus say? He said seek first the kingdom of God. I started to get into this a little bit, but when Jesus said, seek first the kingdom of God. This isn't a first task on a task list. That's not what Jesus was saying. He wasn't saying, oh yeah, seek the kingdom before breakfast and then go about your day.

00;16;13;26 - 00;16;39;03
Caleb Cole
No, no. Hear me when Jesus said, seek first the heavenly kingdom. Seek first the kingdom of God. What he was saying is, the kingdom of God is the lens through which I pursue everything else in my life. So I see everything else through the lens of kingdom building, kingdom seeking. What does that mean? I see it through the lens of everything I do.

00;16;39;06 - 00;16;59;06
Caleb Cole
I work as unto the Lord. I talked about it last week. Not for men, not for myself. No, I'm doing this unto the Lord. Does not mean you won't get benefit from it. Of course you will, right? There's benefit to the job you have. There's benefit to you pursuing the the dream that you have. There's benefit to the purpose that you feel for your life.

00;16;59;11 - 00;17;19;26
Caleb Cole
There's benefit for you in the relationship, the dating relationship, eventually the marriage relationship, the parenting relation. Right. There's benefits for you. I'm not saying there isn't, but what I am saying is all of those relationships, all of those connections, I see them through the lens of Kingdom building.

00;17;19;29 - 00;17;52;06
Caleb Cole
The job I'm pursuing in the money I'm making, I'm seeing it through the lens of I'm doing this unto God. This is worship to the Lord. This is meant to bring him glory, right? I'm not doing this just for me. I'm doing it ultimately for him. This is what, kingdom seeking looks like. Now. Jesus goes on and he actually says, or before this, he says, the Gentiles seek after these things.

00;17;52;08 - 00;18;15;09
Caleb Cole
He says, don't say, what am I going to wear? What I'm going to eat, what am I going to drink? The Gentiles seek after these things. What was Jesus saying? He was saying the Gentiles are those who don't know God. In this day in their culture, he's speaking to Jews primarily. He says they prioritize superficial matters. They prioritize earthly treasures.

00;18;15;11 - 00;18;39;23
Caleb Cole
They prioritize the car and the house. Right. And the money and the bank account and the retirement account. And that is all for them. While as followers of God, we seek first the kingdom, meaning it doesn't mean we don't have all those things, we don't go after all those things. We still seek after those things, but we do it through the lens of this is for him.

00;18;39;25 - 00;19;05;09
Caleb Cole
It's literally just a mindset shift. This is how we live different. It's the perspective of everything I'm doing, everything I'm building, I'm seeking his kingdom. He's actually not even condemning seeking because I think sometimes I've seen this where people will be like, I'm just waiting on God. I'm waiting for the job. Are you apply? Nope. Just waiting on God.

00;19;05;14 - 00;19;26;13
Caleb Cole
It doesn't work like that. You know, say like jobs don't just show up on your doorstep like, oh, hey, I got a job. Like some guy showed up and handed it to me. No, no. We still seek knowing single people. You still seek relationships. I think too many people in the church. Like I'm just waiting on God to bring me the right one.

00;19;26;13 - 00;19;47;22
Caleb Cole
I'm like, well, what are you doing? Are you in the dating world or are you on the dating apps? Or are you going to small groups and talking to other believers like, nope, just me and Jesus waiting on him. He's going to send me my spouse like, no, no, you gotta seek, you gotta go. You gotta do. Jesus isn't condemning seeking.

00;19;47;26 - 00;20;08;08
Caleb Cole
He's redirecting it. Do you hear me? That we seek like the Gentiles were seeking? The problem was they were seeking after earthly treasures without a heavenly mindset? No, we still seek, but we seek with an earthly with a heavenly perspective.

00;20;08;10 - 00;20;18;14
Caleb Cole
This is what God has for you. This is what he's calling us to. Psalm 37 four says, delight yourself.

00;20;18;17 - 00;20;35;24
Caleb Cole
In the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. How do you want the desires of your heart? I'm gonna raise my hand because I want the desires of my heart, man. I got some desires. I don't tell everybody about them all. I'll talk to you about it. You know what I'm saying? There's some things I want to do.

00;20;35;27 - 00;20;43;22
Caleb Cole
Desires of my heart. How do I get those? How do I get the desires of my heart?

00;20;43;24 - 00;20;55;13
Caleb Cole
By working harder, accomplishing more, grinding? No, it actually says. It says delight yourself in the Lord.

00;20;55;15 - 00;21;08;14
Caleb Cole
Here's what happens when I delight myself in the Lord. You know, when I found the desires of my heart actually change.

00;21;08;17 - 00;21;29;09
Caleb Cole
And I think so often we're waiting on God to give us the desires of our heart, but we don't delight ourselves in him. We don't prioritize him. We don't have relationship with him. We don't ever talk to him. We don't ever open his word and read about him. We don't get in prayer and say, God, I just I want to get to know you more.

00;21;29;12 - 00;21;52;04
Caleb Cole
And then we're mad that he's not giving us the desires of our heart. Well, the Bible said, delight yourself in the Lord, and then he will give you the desires of your heart. We got a lot of Christians that expect the desires of their heart, with no relationship with their Savior, or very little or superficial. You see, as you delight yourself in the Lord more.

00;21;52;04 - 00;22;06;00
Caleb Cole
I seen it over and over in my life and the desires of my heart. They've changed through the years because the more I delight myself in him, the more actually he becomes enough.

00;22;06;02 - 00;22;32;11
Caleb Cole
He's enough. That doesn't mean there aren't still desires in my heart. And when he gives it to me, I'm like, dang God, you really did that for me. How dope is that? Honestly, I was good with just you. You were enough. But now you've given me some of the other desires and I'm even more thankful. But I think so often we're not getting what we've actually desired because we have not made him enough.

00;22;32;14 - 00;23;03;01
Caleb Cole
Philippians three eight through ten. Paul's writing to the church in Philippi. He says, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. This is what I'm talking about. The the things of this world, like all that stuff, all the things the world tells you and culture tells you to go after. It's a loss compared to the surpassing riches of knowing Jesus, because the things of this earth are temporary.

00;23;03;04 - 00;23;42;14
Caleb Cole
It's why you got that new pair of shoes. And, a few weeks later, you were over them. You need a new pair, that new car. A couple months later, you're like, dang, I need an upgrade, right? Because because these things, it's temporary happiness. But there's no satisfaction. And Paul's telling the church, he says, look, all the things of this world, meaningless compared to the surpassing riches of knowing Jesus, because that's something that's eternal and that's something that isn't about stuff or something temporary.

00;23;42;14 - 00;24;05;08
Caleb Cole
It's something that changes my heart. There's a peace that surpasses all understanding that comes from the riches of knowing him. We need that fire for the heavenly kingdom. We need a fire also for righteousness.

00;24;05;10 - 00;24;32;03
Caleb Cole
You know, we don't talk about this enough in the church. We got a lot of great Ted talks in the church, you know, seven ways to live Your best life. We we, we share a lot of great messages on five steps to be the best. You. But what we don't talk about enough is the call to holiness. Listen, I'm talking to Christians today.

00;24;32;06 - 00;25;02;25
Caleb Cole
Right now. This one's for you. There's a call to righteousness. There's a call to holiness. What? What did Jesus right here seek first the kingdom. And his righteousness. That's what he wrote to them. That's what he preached to them that you would seek first the kingdom of God. The kingdom is the lens through which I see every part of my life, and I will seek his righteousness.

00;25;02;28 - 00;25;31;26
Caleb Cole
What is righteousness? It's right living. It's a holy disposition. It's saying, I don't want the sin that this culture pushes upon me, that this culture actually celebrates and advocates for. This culture says, do whatever makes you feel happy knowing that how often I've done things that made me feel happy in a moment that led to my destruction in the long term.

00;25;31;28 - 00;26;01;03
Caleb Cole
And Jesus is telling them, you, you seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, that you would be wholly set apart. Different. Do you have a fire in you to honor God? Because what the Bible tells us is that sin actually breaks God's heart, that sin brings the divide and separation between us and God. Now, thank you for the gospel, because the good news of the gospel says you would have been separated from God forever after breaking his heart because of your sin.

00;26;01;08 - 00;26;18;22
Caleb Cole
But Jesus came, took your place, took all your sin, made you right, made you holy, and now you can step into the presence of God, imperfect, messed up, broken, and you can walk into his presence. And he says, this is my son. This is my daughter. That's the gospel.

00;26;18;24 - 00;26;48;18
Caleb Cole
Yeah, I love it. But what we can't forget is there's still a call. Knowing we're saved and set apart. There's still a call that we would pursue righteousness and holiness in this life, not to get his blessing, not to earn his salvation or our salvation, but because out of thanksgiving I want to please him, out of thanksgiving, of knowing I'm already saved, set apart and sanctified.

00;26;48;25 - 00;27;15;08
Caleb Cole
Out of thanksgiving I go, God, I have to do what's right. You've given me so much, how can I not give you back the fight against sin? What if Christian's just got serious about fighting sin in their life? Like, man, I'm fighting against the sin, of sexual impurity. I'm fighting against the sin of lust. I'm fighting against the sin of gluttony.

00;27;15;12 - 00;27;43;07
Caleb Cole
I'm fighting against the sin of of comparison and covetousness. I'm fighting against the sin of hate and anger towards others. I'm fighting against the sin. Why? We need a fire for righteousness? Because Jesus told us to seek for it, to work at it, that we would do the right thing. Man. My my, my kids, they played middle school basketball.

00;27;43;08 - 00;28;06;28
Caleb Cole
Their season just ended yesterday. And, they, they they go to a public middle school here in town. And they went to this public middle school. And my boys love basketball, so they're really excited. They're on one was on the seventh grade team and one was on the eighth grade team. And I was excited for the season. And then about halfway through the season, I realized that they weren't going to play at all.

00;28;07;01 - 00;28;26;22
Caleb Cole
They were benchwarmers. You know, they had like and, you know, like, it's funny because I think they felt like they were disappointing me. And I'm like, you're not disappointing me at all. Like, I want you to play because I know you want to. But halfway through the season, they came to me and they're like, dad, this is a waste of our time.

00;28;26;24 - 00;28;44;10
Caleb Cole
If we go to practice five days a week, two games a week, we don't ever play. We just sit there. My son was like, dad, I lead the team going, let's goes and oh, yes, and and and and stomping my feet. He's like, I lead the team in that stat sheet. And I was like, but that is a waste of our time.

00;28;44;10 - 00;28;53;03
Caleb Cole
And they both came to me like, we want to quit. And my flesh was like, yeah, you should quit.

00;28;53;05 - 00;29;09;27
Caleb Cole
I'm like, these coaches are tripping and they're trash, you know, say like it was all going through my head. And so, you know, I was a basketball player myself, am I, what am I what? And so, so I was frustrated of course. And but I didn't say any of this to them. So they told me I want to quit.

00;29;10;00 - 00;29;26;26
Caleb Cole
I was like, I hear you, I hear you. Like we could be training on our own and getting more reps in, and they're give me all the reasons, you know? And so I went to my wife and I. Chris, what do you think? Maybe we just let them quit. And you know, how many are thankful for wives that, they want to live with righteousness?

00;29;26;29 - 00;29;50;14
Caleb Cole
She was like Caleb. They made a commitment. Regardless of playing time. Caleb. They they committed to be good teammates, right? They committed to be a part of this. And they're halfway through and they need to finish. And so I went to him. I'm like, listen, guys, me and your mom talked. I don't agree with her. No, I'm just getting out.

00;29;50;16 - 00;30;07;04
Caleb Cole
I was like, listen, me and your mom talked and, no, you got to finish the season. You made a commitment. You're going to follow through on it. This is what leaders do. This is what people of God do. And so I you know, I made it spiritual. Of course. And I was like, you know, this is going to be hard.

00;30;07;06 - 00;30;26;17
Caleb Cole
And and so they went the whole season and I said, no more complaining. You just do it. You you work, you work hard, you do your best. And, and yes, sir, the season ended, and I'm not going to lie, they lost. I was I was super happy they lost the championship on my year. But you lost by two someone who scored four points.

00;30;26;17 - 00;30;38;23
Caleb Cole
You would have won, but okay. Keep him on the bench for 17 games. That's my flesh speaking, okay? That's not inspired by the Spirit of God, but.

00;30;38;26 - 00;31;04;11
Caleb Cole
But, man, I think they learned a very valuable lesson, right? That righteousness is hard. Doing the right thing, being a person of honor, character, integrity, being respectful of your leaders and your coaches and those that have been put in authority over you, even if you disagree with them, even if you think it's unfair. No, no, no, you do the right thing because that's what God's people do not just want to tell you.

00;31;04;11 - 00;31;28;21
Caleb Cole
You've been through things. You've been betrayed. You've been hurt. You had bosses who've taken advantage of you. You've had people who've stabbed you in the back. And yet God's people have to stand above all that say, I'm going to live with righteousness, honor, integrity, holiness. I'm going to fight against the sin within me that rises up every single day.

00;31;28;24 - 00;31;56;28
Caleb Cole
I want a fire for righteousness. Why is this? Why is this important? There's actually a scripture that we always share with every wedding we do. I've done like 100 weddings. Now I'm a pro, you know, I say, I got this whole thing memorized, but there's a scripture in the Psalms and it says righteousness and peace. Kiss each other, love the imagery of that.

00;31;57;01 - 00;32;39;01
Caleb Cole
Now we share it with all the weddings I do. Why do I share that? Because ultimately God wants us to be peacemakers. He wants us to carry peace wherever we go. And the Scripture Scripture is clear what brings peace to every circumstance, every space you walk in, is your right. Living. So the reason that I would encourage you today to say, man, have a fire for righteousness, because when you walk right, living righteous, living holy living, the Bible says you're a peculiar people set apart when you live different than the world, different than your friends who don't know God.

00;32;39;01 - 00;32;58;27
Caleb Cole
You talk different, you act different. You flow different. You manage your money different. When you do that, you know what happens. Peace. Peace will reign in your relationships. It will reign in your marriages. It will reign in your dating relationships because you are choosing the right thing. When people ask me, Taylor, how do I know the will of God?

00;32;58;27 - 00;33;12;25
Caleb Cole
Because I get this question a lot all the time. Caleb. How do I know the will of God for my life? You know what? I tell him the same thing I've been telling them for 20 years of pastoral ministry. Just do the next right thing. You want to know the will of God for your life. Do the next right thing.

00;33;12;28 - 00;33;23;06
Caleb Cole
You got two choices. What seems more right before God do that thing, peace will come. And finally, if the keys will come back.

00;33;23;09 - 00;33;41;29
Caleb Cole
We need the fire. Oh, he was right here. All right, give it up for Sam. Come on. I'm thankful for musicians that actually sit and listen to me preach. We got some diva musicians. You know what I'm saying? Like in the church world, not in our church, but in the church world where they're just in the back in the green room, eating snacks, not Sam.

00;33;42;01 - 00;34;05;01
Caleb Cole
Sam comes to the front row. He receives the Word of God. Come on. His marriage, which is one year in. Of course, what almost a year? It is going to be blessed because he's like, I want the Word of God on me. Come on, give it up for Sam one more time. Oh. We didn't do that in any of the other services, but that was fun.

00;34;05;03 - 00;34;27;12
Caleb Cole
I know we need a fire to trust in God's promises. Listen, I know not everything has gone the way you thought it would go. I know you may not have the marriage you thought you would have. You may still be single and you thought you'd be married by now. I know that maybe your relationships with your family feels broken, dysfunctional.

00;34;27;19 - 00;34;51;23
Caleb Cole
I know that there are dreams that you've had and desires you've had that have not come to fruition, that have not been fulfilled. But here's what the word tells us. Seek first. This is what Jesus said in verse 33, but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. And what happens? All these things will be added to you.

00;34;51;26 - 00;34;59;15
Caleb Cole
What's he talking about? All my dreams are gonna be added to me. Actually, no.

00;34;59;18 - 00;35;13;18
Caleb Cole
What Jesus is talking about here. He said all the necessities of your life. I'm going to take care of you. Food, clothes, something to drink. I got you.

00;35;13;20 - 00;35;32;05
Caleb Cole
You see, I think so often we equate desires in our heart with promises from God. So I just want to set the baseline here that just because you want something doesn't mean God promised you something.

00;35;32;08 - 00;35;50;27
Caleb Cole
And so here's what I want to challenge us with. And this is going to be a hard truth to receive. Okay, I do believe God is a God of promises. And I believe there are promises that you felt like he gave you beyond your basic necessities that you're still waiting on. I want to tell you, keep waiting on it because I believe that God gave it to you.

00;35;51;04 - 00;36;12;22
Caleb Cole
He will bring it to fruition. It just may not be in your timing. Listen, it's been rare that God gave me the things I asked for in my timing, but I want to show you something. I want to go to Philippians 411 through 13, the probably the second most famous verse in all of the Bible. Right? John 316 is number one, but Philippians 413 is number two.

00;36;12;25 - 00;36;20;28
Caleb Cole
You guys know Philippians 413. I can do all things through him who gives me strength right?

00;36;21;00 - 00;36;43;29
Caleb Cole
Football players, they'll probably have it on their I black today, on their cleats, on their helmet, and they'll be like, I can do all things to him who gives me strength. We're going to win this game. I'm going to make these tackles right. People say it. I can do all things. Who through him, who gives me strength. Imma get this job.

00;36;44;01 - 00;36;58;20
Caleb Cole
And I think it's funny how often we use this verse for all these areas of our life, but we don't understand the context of what Paul was actually talking about when he wrote to the church of Philippi. So I got to read a couple verses before. Okay, so I'm going to give you the truth of this verse properly.

00;36;58;22 - 00;37;05;22
Caleb Cole
A verse has been misused for most of modern Christianity.

00;37;05;24 - 00;37;35;21
Caleb Cole
Paul, two verses before I'm going to read all the way up to 13. Watch this, he says, not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Everybody say content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

00;37;35;22 - 00;38;01;06
Caleb Cole
What's the secret and what is this all about? He's learned the secret. The secret is contentment. Then he goes on, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. So what Paul is writing about here. This verse, which we've quoted for years and years.

00;38;01;08 - 00;38;06;07
Caleb Cole
He's saying contentment is hard.

00;38;06;09 - 00;38;36;00
Caleb Cole
Being content in your marriage, being content with the relationships you've been given, being content in your singleness, being content that is just you dating Jesus. Being content in the dysfunction of your family. Being content, being content with with the job you have with the money in your bank. Right. It's the hardest thing in this life. So Paul says, but I learned the secret to be to be, to be low, to be high.

00;38;36;03 - 00;38;50;18
Caleb Cole
It's contentment. But it's so hard. I can't do it in my own strength. But I can do all things through him who gives me strength.

00;38;50;21 - 00;39;18;28
Caleb Cole
Why am I sharing this with you today? Because ultimately, I believe that if we're going to have the fire, the foundational fire, we gotta learn to be thankful and content with what God has given us right now, where he's placed us right now. The season we find ourselves in right now. And I think if we can learn this secret contentment, knowing that in my strength I can't be content, but I can do all things.

00;39;18;28 - 00;39;43;28
Caleb Cole
I can be content through him who gives me strength. That foundation will lead you to the new seasons, and that in every season there's a Thanksgiving that rises up in your hearts. So today, I know that there's some of you in this room. You're like, Caleb, I haven't received the promise. I haven't received the dream. I haven't received the thing I've been asking for.

00;39;44;00 - 00;39;54;04
Caleb Cole
You see, the ultimate promise isn't a spouse. It isn't clothes. It isn't food. The ultimate promise is him.

00;39;54;06 - 00;40;02;18
Caleb Cole
That I would be content to say Jesus is enough.

00;40;02;20 - 00;40;20;01
Caleb Cole
I want to live in that. So, with heads bowed, eyes closed in this room. If you're here, you say, Caleb, honestly, I've been running from God. I've turned my back on God. I tried to do this life in my strengths. I've been caught up in sin. Maybe. Maybe you. You walked away from the Lord. You had relationship with him.

00;40;20;01 - 00;40;35;10
Caleb Cole
You were close with him. But you tried the things of this world. And maybe you're here today. You say, okay, I just need to reconnect with God. I need to invite Jesus to be enough for me once again. I need to give my life to Jesus for the first time. Maybe in this room. If that's you, would you do me a favor right now?

00;40;35;10 - 00;41;05;03
Caleb Cole
Just respond to this by raising your hand. Just shoot it up. Say that's me, that's me. Yeah. 12345678. Nine. Ten. 11. 12. Amazing, amazing. Can we pray this together? You can put your hands down. Everybody say this with me. Everyone in the room say Jesus. Today I confess my sin, my discontent. But I ask you to be enough, I choose you, you are enough.

00;41;05;03 - 00;41;29;05
Caleb Cole
Jesus. You're my savior. You're my Lord. And today I surrender wholeheartedly to you. Give me that fire for more of you in your name. Amen. Amen. Come on, let's give God some praise for all these people that raise their hands today.

00;41;29;08 - 00;41;32;17
Chrissy Cole
Thank you for being a part of our online community here at Project Church.

00;41;32;18 - 00;41;35;29
Chrissy Cole
We hope that this message and the whole service bless your life.

00;41;36;02 - 00;41;52;07
Caleb Cole
Yeah. And if it did, we want to ask that you would do something for us. First of all, if you're not already subscribed to our YouTube channel, be sure to subscribe. Like this video. But also, we would ask that you would consider financially supporting what God is doing through Project Church. You can give in a variety of ways.

00;41;52;10 - 00;42;07;18
Caleb Cole
You can text project to 97,000. Right now. You can give to our Church Center app, or you can give on our website project church.com/give. Thanks so much for being a part of our online community. And once again God bless you guys. We'll see you soon.