What's Really Important - Pt. 6 // Judah Smith

hey I'm so excited to share the story of Jesus with you in Scripture with you if this is your first time we always try to be really aware that so many people in environments like this this is like brand new little intimidating oh my word I'm coming to church I've heard about Church it's weird they sacrifice cats their stuff like that we're not doing that but if this is your very first time ever at our community welcome a couple of things we just want you to know first of all we're here to serve you in any way we can we're a lot more than a song and a sermon we are endeavoring to build relationships with each other and do life with each other every single day somebody say Amen cuz that's what we do in church so you can't know everybody in this room but we want to ensure that you know somebody that you are seeing heard loved cared for or a small church with a lot of people so what that means is at this location on our app at all the locations in Seattle there is someone to connect with at our actual locations there's next-step bars in every lobby and there are people waiting to pray with you talk with you connect give you more information about community how you can get involved here's what's gonna happen for the next few minutes I'm going to share the story of Jesus you're gonna figure out pretty quick I believe Jesus is God I believe he knew no sin and yet he became sin and he took my punishment for my err am I wrong and my sin so that by simply believing in him I can have a relationship with God which is ultimately what we're made for I can know my Creator my designer and I can have righteousness peace and joy no matter what's happening in this life so that's what I believe that's gonna be pretty obvious in the next few minutes that does not mean that's what you have to believe we do not exist as a church to try to persuade or convince people if God is God let God be God and so God will persuade people we don't have to do that but we're gonna share the story of Jesus with you I hope it's encouraging we are committed and have been for 27 years two good news in 1992 my mom and dad started this church my mom did come with me tonight but she's not anywhere she's back watching sports okay so that's my mom mom are you here she's single beautiful I love my mom and if you have money we'd love to talk you hi dude come on now she's never coming out but I love you mom so much so here's what we're gonna do tonight will be our concluding talk message sermon on the subject of what's really important this is week six what's really important we've been talking about what actually is deserving of your time your attention your energy your strength everybody talks about time management but obviously a new trend which I encourage is this concept of energy management how are you using your passion your zeal your energy you only have so much in a given day and what a tragedy it would be to give your energy and your passion to things that actually don't matter and if you're like me I find myself doing that a lot I get all worked up about stuff that actually doesn't matter now we should get worked up about things that do matter like the reffing job tonight at my son's game Amory was there for the first half I did get out of the stands and stand on the side two and try to tell myself to calm down but I was like yelling at the wrath but I was good I calmed down I calmed down didn't I calm down only only one time that I get a look from my wife like you're a poster ladies and gentleman speak of the woman this is my mom right here the one and only Jenny Smith you look great mom two guys hit on her last week in Palm Springs true story two guys asked her on a date she said no to both of them I'm like mom this is not what we're looking for we got to get out there and see if we can see what we can do oh man what a day all right we're gonna go to Luke chapter 17 Luke chapter 17 and what I'd like to do is I'd like to put a PS on last week's message a PS on last week's message so we're gonna go to the same passage Luke chapter 17 and we'll begin reading in verse 11 here it is you ready one person man I love this church you ready yeah one person thank you thank you it says on the way to Jerusalem Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee and as he entered a village he was met by ten lepers who stood at a distance he lifted up their they lifted up their voices collectively and they said Jesus master have have mercy on us have mercy on us when he saw them he saw that they had a skin disease actually it was a multiplicity of skin diseases that they used the term leprosy to kind of encompass a bunch of skin diseases and a skin disease that would eat your skin it would eat your fingers in your nose and and so their disfigured and they're yelling out for mercy and Jesus says this to them quoting now portions of the Torah the first five books of the Bible the Jewish Scripture he says go show yourselves to the priests and it says now as they went they were cleansed says now one of them so one out of the ten one says he sees that he's healed and when he saw that he he turned back he went the different direction from the rest of the group turned back and he got loud he starts praising God so he now believes Jesus to be who he claims to be which is not just a good man or a healer or a teacher but the god man he turns back praising God with a loud voice he falls on his face at Jesus feet over and over telling him thank you he's overwhelmed with gratitude and Thanksgiving and dr. Luke who's writing this account of the gospel says he was a Samaritan that's important because Samaritans were not seen as true Jews they were half Jews and they were berated belittled and overlooked by the Jews in this particular time Jesus being fully Jewish he says we're not ten cleansed where are the nine where are the other nine when no one was found to return it was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner this Samaritan and he said to the Samaritan rise go your way your faith has made you well now that word well nothing to do with his skin disease it has everything to do with his soul so Jesus is now saying your skin is healed but now your soul is healed it's an awesome little story and scene that we have and again we're gonna use this as a case study to try to decipher further what's really important and I'm gonna give you my impetus I'm gonna give you kind of the the premise that I'll be working from and this is it I want to talk about our motivations now this is a very difficult thing to talk about all kinds of motives flow through us on a given day but I want to talk about why you do what you do I want to talk about what gets you up in the morning what gets you going in the afternoon what keeps you going late into the night why do you do what you do what is your motivation what is your passion what energizes you I'm gonna use the word energy for those of you that have been around Christianity and you're very afraid of the word energy you need to relax okay some of you are like oh my word that's new-age okay but we're gonna use a word that's it's okay to use we're gonna talk about that where we use our energy and why and what kind of energy that we're using every day to keep us moving and keep us going I'm so excited to be completely candid this is something I recently taught our staff a couple of days ago and I just felt like I was supposed to bring it here so I'm really excited I'm even have some points tonight you could actually take notes most sermons I see some of you trying to take notes and you're like forget it there's no points here he just talks in circles okay you can join me in prayer if you want to free country God thank you for the moments we share I pray you bless the moments that we do have helped us to Lord just really experience you what we don't need is a talk in a speech what we do need is the real God of the universe to meet us exactly where we find ourselves on earth we thank you for that thank you for your strength in your grace god I do think today Lord of all of the families that were affected by the helicopter crash and I do pray that your peace would surround them keep them watch over them thank you for your grace and your love for each and every one of us Jesus name and everybody said amen amen amen learning to do things right follow through get up in the morning do what you do is very admirable and so before we go any further than I don't want to say this for those of you that are here tonight for those of you that are watching any of our locations in Seattle you're watching on the app right now first of all you should be commended and we don't do this enough in church someone who's actually taken time to grow spiritually you deserve a hand you deserve some credit you are here you're in the space you're watching on the app you're at a location and that alone is admirable so you know what we're gonna start this little sermon off with a round of applause for yourself yeah okay so all right you should feel encouraged now the next question I want to ask is why are you here what was your motivation for being here okay if your motivation is because you are single and you are ready to mingle like Julia don't start with these cliches well not a bad reason certainly one of the reasons my mom is here like shoot it don't come on bro she hates me she hates me I'm 41 still making these jokes I grow up you grow up so I want to be the first person in line in your fanclub to say it's amazing that you're doing extraordinary things that you're here to work on yourself that you're here to learn more about faith to learn more about Jesus to learn more about what it is to trust God or who is God and make sense of the complexities of the universe in the earth that we live but we're going to look under the hood tonight we're going to take it a step further we're gonna take it a little bit deeper why do we do what we do because I would like to suggest to you right now in this moment that why you do what you do is more important than what you do now again there's a level of applause that should be given to just doing stuff right if you grew up with a mom or a dad or both however you grew up those moments when your kids just do what you tell them to do frankly as a parent can I just say it feels like a big win you're like I don't know why you cleaned your room you probably did it because you were afraid of me I'm just glad you clean your room right there's a point in parenting where you're like you know what I don't want to talk about motive right now I just want to talk about my kids actually doing something productive in society okay so there is a place where it's just like just do it bro okay just just just listen to Nike just do it okay and and and I applaud that and I recognize that I would just like to suggest in this moment that why you do what you do speaking of importance it's far more important than just doing what you do now why why is it the case that's that's an important question why is doing what you do why is why you do what you do more important than doing what you do are you following me why is let me clarify something like is he normally this unclear yeah but your motive for the steps you take decisions you make and actions you take I think is more important than the action itself why is that because your motive your passion your desire and energy to do what you do reveals what you put your hope in it reveals what you put your hope in right it's amazing it considers for a moment it let's just kind of press pause and exhale for a moment can you imagine the multiplicities of motivations in just this room tonight of why people are here wouldn't it be awesome if suddenly it just popped up in a little bubble above everybody's head why each person is here right it would be like oh that's a mess Oh imagine I just oh look at the balcony creeps you know like all of a sudden the single number one reason I showed up tonight or today on the app or in a location or here in LA is this is my reason now the reason I'm suggesting that's important is because it suggests what you are hoping in we're all here hoping for something we're all here hoping for something and here's where it gets a little slippery is we think motives are not important until what is motivating you and moving you is realized and when what you're hoping for what's you're wishing for what you're what is moving you through life you get suddenly hopelessness can settle in let me explain it like this a Luke chapter nine words of Jesus now and I quote Luke chapter 9 I think it guys it's verse 23 there it is Jesus says if anyone would come after me Jesus now let him deny himself oh that sounds fun take up his cross even more fun every single day and follow me next verse for whoever would hold on to his own life is going to lose it but whoever loses his life lets go of his life lets go of control dictatorship leadership gives it to me you're gonna save it and then Jesus makes one of the most provocative statements he has ever ever made for what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but he loses or forfeits his essence his soul so Jesus reveals that you can have all of these desires right I'm gonna do this I'm gonna accomplish this I'm succeed here it's gonna be amazing and what he's saying is what your motive may be is to have renown right the Bible talks about the pride of life talks about the lust of our eyes these desires and you want stuff and you want things and we'll talk about this for a moment and Jesus warns he says be careful now you might actually get all the things you've been working so hard for only to realize when you get it the motive for which you were doing all of these things you have now received I want to be I want to be a big deal I want people to think I'm great and successful and amazing and sexy and then you get it and you're like wait what wait I still gotta wake up tomorrow and like be nice to people and I don't I don't float now I thought if you made enough money in the world you just get to float I thought if you made enough money in the world you don't have to work out anymore still what I'm looking for but our motives reveal what we put our what we put our put our hope in I'm really captured by this one guy this this X leper this former man who was afflicted with leprosy he because watch what happens Bible says there were 10 they were all in a group right there's a little bit of security in a group right you're like all ten of us come on let's all lift up our voice right I mean there's a little bit of camaraderie like and the Bible says they all kind of set it at the same time Jesus Jesus Jesus I think this whole group they're like yeah right I mean it's amazing what you'll do in a group come on ever been to the mall with your buddies when you're in junior high somebody like it we do this in college you know but you like bro go say hi to her okay you know and the only reason you're doing is cuz you got 10 dumb friends at the mall right by yourself at the ball you don't do that stuff but it's like power in numbers right so you like this group of 10 and they're like mercy right I understand that but the Bible says they go to do what the miracle healer told him to do and one of the ten goes hey guys look we're healed and they're like yeah I know but we SATA we got to keep doing what we're doing we got to follow the rules if we don't follow the rules maybe it'll come back maybe we'll get the leprosy again we can't do that we got to keep going and he goes no I am so excited let's go thank the guy you're like no no we're gonna go this way here's what moves me about this story one guy leaves his whole pack to go thank Jesus now it occurs to me when it comes to following Jesus there is gonna be days where you feel like you are the one out of the ten who are moving in the direction of Jesus there's gonna be days now not every day somebody say Amen not every day but there's gonna be days where you're like I wish Jesus teaching went something like this whatever you want to do do it as long as you don't hurt anybody right back net that'd be kind of nice you know hey listen just float through life hope for the best thanks Jesus it sounds like a nice Saturday right instead Jesus teachings go like you want to find your life lose it Jesus it's Friday night I'm exhausted follow me I'd rather follow my urges trust me what - right now right and it's sometimes it feels like it's the abnormal life it's the unusual life you know let's you don't have to agree with me but have you ever like watched a movie or something and seen somebody who just like they just kind of do whatever they want and then at the Moot the movie like works out for him at the end it's like oh my word and and there's like this little thing inside you that you can't tell anyone cuz you're like a preacher of Jesus but you're like that'd be so cool if I could do that you know like just kind of go through life like I don't wanna do that I want to do that and no one do that and I want to do that and I want it's what I want to do and at the end of your life everyone's like you're the bass thank you what was your seat I did whatever I want to do exactly when I wanted to do it I love you guys god bless right like wish we could all do that except the Bible says our heart is wicked it's deceitful and it gets us into a world of trouble doing what you want to do when you want to do it when that starts working I will attend that seminar I'll be the first one in line it just never does momentarily sure you could argue but never long-term so Jesus presents us with the lifestyle at times that feels like it's against the grain it feels like one leaving nine so I look at this story and I go alright if I'm gonna follow Jesus I'm gonna need whatever motivated this one Samaritan X leper that's the kind of energy motivation and passion I'm gonna need in my life let me be abundantly clear here tonight I am more interested in speaking to your long-term earthly existence than your one off Wednesday or Sunday anybody can have a good weekend I'm talking about following Jesus for the long haul one of my favorite compliments that people give me how convenient is this it's my own sermon and I'm telling you how people compliment me it's my favorite one and they say hey thanks for doing this for the long haul I've been preaching out for twenty years and it's a thank you and it's it's a and so far I haven't totally screwed it up it eventually the older you get you see people that have been doing something for a long time and you're like a respect you just spend every day doing it that's my dream for you my dream for you is your life wouldn't culminate in one great weekend but it would be daily every day some days making really hard decisions to follow Jesus I'm gonna tell you what you're gonna need you are gonna need the right kind of passion motivation in energy so what motivation and energy did this one loan X leper have well it's an energy called gratitude it's an energy called gratefulness now before we decipher and kind of discern understand more of what grateful desire grateful motivation grateful energy looks like I want to talk about what I call the three primary energies we use on a daily basis simply by default in other words if you don't determine every day to be a grateful person one of these three motivations are probably what's going to get you up in the morning if you get up at all okay the first one is ego energy now before I go any further of these three energies can I just say lest you get discouraged these are only natural and these are only normal the first one is ego energy what is ego energy we can say how bad egos are but God gave us egos egos is where we get self-confidence and we feel assured of ourselves and ego energy goes something like this I'm gonna get up today I'm gonna move forward today I'm gonna do these things today because I'm gonna look good I'm gonna look good people are gonna love me right do you don't even think for a second that I haven't walked on this stage and oftentimes the number one thing that's motivating me I'm tired I'm weary but I tell myself man it's gonna be great tonight I love people but if I'm really honest oftentimes what gets me out on stage is ego energy right it's like well it's gonna go good I love to talk people are here this is amazing right and ego energy again the problem is be careful what you put your hope in if ego energy is moving you every day what that means is you're looking for praise you're looking for compliments what I found about ego energy is it has a huge upside but it has a super downside right the day you're you're banking on ego energy which feeds on people going you're amazing you're incredible oh my gosh Wow Wow oh wow right you're like oh thanks what you say say it again yeah you know like becomes a vortex becomes a black hole and you can't get enough well I don't use ego energy gee that's not important to me here's another energy economic energy we're just being honest economic energy economic energy says I'm gonna get a lot of stuff I'm gonna make some money I'm gonna get mine while the getting's good I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do I'm hey god helps those who help themselves okay I'm out here on the grind I'm out here I'm out working everybody right don't think that I got paid on this is not accident right and this is a whole thing this is a whole identity this is a whole mantra that we're told and we hear it all the time for people we look up to and I'm not saying it's wrong I'm just saying this is how a lot of people get themselves moving in this thing called life okay I got out in the ego and economics they're there they're like kissing cousins for sure but the economics is like man I got I worked for every dime I have and you're like well I mean I don't want to be that guy in the interview who's like well that's scientifically not true what do you mean I'm just curious um what was it like when you know did you help your mom when she birthed you like what was that did you guys were you guys like working together or how did that go did you choose the day you were born was that you Congrats on your eyes you really chose wisely that's good it's good what so your first breath what was it like you take a big breath it wasn't like a little one like wow I man for you we're hearing all this rhetoric in the streets where people are telling us I work for everything did it what hold on you didn't even work for your inception you can't even take credit for the day you were born furthermore like I appreciate all these incredible athletes who I look up to so so much and and these athletes that I adore keep telling me that I can do anything and be anything that I want to be except that I am six one and a hundred and seventy two pounds my brothers and sisters I can I can desperately want to be a linebacker in the NFL but somebody who's a good friend needs to grab me and go it's not in the cards bro God just didn't give you that I am NOT here to discourage people from hard work we just need to put hard work where it belongs in the order of importance okay so economic energy is one and then after economic energy see if I can remember the last one we have ego energy I can remember escape energy it's one of my favorites to be honest but escape energy is like vacation getaway now bake now Escape Energy says this i'ma work all week for the weekend right and there's hole there's millions and billions of people who live with this motivation hey man why are you going to work do you love what you do what it's a job bro okay why do you why do you do it so I can do what I want on the weekend I mean this is like this is like Americana 101 it really is this is like what we do we just like we work for the weekend come on tgd so Mike what does that stand for it was the thing when I was a kid thank God it's Friday right like here we go and escape energy says I'm gonna live my fantasy I'm gonna scape and of course I want to say this there's a there's some truth to ego and economics and escape you should take a vacation you should build in Marge and you should enjoy your weekends all of these things I'm not saying these are inherently wrong I'm just saying they don't deliver they just don't deliver right ego energy kept telling you you're gonna look good you're gonna look good what happens when you look bad right economic energy kept son you're gonna have so much cool stuff you're gonna have so much cool stuff what if you never get that stuff or worse you get all that stuff and you're like I think I need more stuff and somewhere along the line you have somebody in your life who loves you and says bro if you get more stuff I'm gonna scream how many more toys to uni well what I need whiny well I'm just gonna get away for the weekend I'm just gonna get away I'm go to capo I'm just gonna get away I'm just gonna I'm gonna and if you think about these three motives and passions for living they are so paramount everywhere you turn you see ads and telling us you're gonna look good you gonna make a lot of money you going to Cabo right and we're like yeah this is the life isn't it do you feel fulfilled I don't know let's not think about it right like I mean honestly this turn the lights lower let's get the beat higher none of those things are inherently wrong I'm just saying it's like let's not think about whether or not the very motivation we have for going through another day is not fulfilling it's not fulfilling now if you're wondering hey I don't know if those particular motivations apply to me here's three signs that those kinds of motivations are working in your life and if this doesn't relate to you you are mother Teresa okay but for the rest of us this is called normal number one you compare you compare number two you complain and number three you crave Thanks you crave things you crave things that other people have these three things will give it away every time comparing just why do they get everything which leads right into complaining god honestly I would believe in God if he gave me everything I wanted right I mean I would and then you're just like God God God God God God God God please give me that car God please please please please please please please please PLEASE right and our prayer life turns into craving and again if you haven't participated in any of these things like you haven't been living on this planet this is normally how many my prayers have been a convenient way of complaining and craving God please write and we we strive and we stress things like worry and fear fear of failure begin to torment us and and here we are what are we doing or just live in life what if there was another energy that was available to you what if there was another motivation and passion that I would like to go on record and promise you it always delivers I'm not saying every day will be great but it always delivers this this one guy breaks off from the pack from the crowd from the norm from the usual from what everybody else is doing and the reason is what is motivating him and moving him which is an overwhelming sensation of gratefulness and thankfulness now now that we got through all of the some of your like this is a really negative sermon do you think it's gonna get positive yes it's gonna get better here we go are you ready here we go cuz some of your like I think all of those things apply oh no you know it's okay it's okay we're all in this together alright it's gonna get good mom stay with me stay with me she gets a little distracted sometimes so kidding here we go what if every day we could start to utilize grateful energy and here's what I want to say I would like to suggest for anyone considering following Jesus or currently following Jesus oh how you are going to need grateful energy and motivation oh you're gonna need it and I don't I don't I'm not saying we look for it I'm not saying we pray for it or ask for it but tough days are going to happen to us all we always talk about why the good things happen to bad people well why do good thing why do bad things happen to good people the Bible says it rains on the just and the unjust there's gonna be days where you're like really god there's gonna be days where it's like you can't catch a break nothing is working out your friends are going through the same stuff you're going through everybody seems stretched everybody seems stressed everybody seems tired like right now the season I'm in it honestly it feels like all of my friends and in my circle of friends who I love on a door it's like we're all have huge expectation but it's like every single one of us seems to be going through is stretching difficult challenge you mean but rewarding an amazing difficult hard time and it's like in those days your motivation for looking good or getting stuff or getting away for the weekend it's not what's gonna get you through this life in fact those things might add to your disillusionment one of the reasons in my opinion a lot of people have grown disillusioned with the church is because the church has colluded with the culture and the culture and the church collude and they come up with similar messaging and the messaging is this like anything else in this culture if you do the right thing you'll get the right outcome that is not what we are here propagating celebrating or declaring some you're like but that's why I came our message does not do good get good do bad get bad our message is that we have done bad we've all erred been selfish hurt somebody and done wrong and Jesus took all of the penalty of all of our air are wrong in our sin upon himself so that we can get the rewards of relationship with our Creator we can be accepted and loved forever and we can be assured of that our message is do bad and get good by simply receiving the free gift of Jesus now we'll talk about this in a moment as I come to a close short a sermon I preached in 2020 so far our message that we're celebrating is not that if you attend church read your Bible and pray every day that everything will be perfect in your life in fact if you look at church history a lot of people the day they decided to Jesus decided to follow Jesus their life got significantly worse I didn't say their soul got worse but their circumstance scenario job some of them lost their job were excommunicated removed from their family one of my close friends decided to accept Jesus as God and his dad kicked him out of his home when he was a senior in high school said if you're gonna become a Jesus follower you're out of here well where does that fit in some of our sermons hey trust Jesus and your dad will hate you for the rest of your life you're like wait wait wait we'll wait what so our message tonight we're not here to collude with culture and say that if you trust Jesus now I said Judah how do you know this because I learned the hard way now I went to my son's high school basketball game it was like yesterday I played on my high school basketball team and one of the ways a bunch of the players decided to follow Jesus on my team and I would get him to come to church and sometimes I would do some speaking when I was in high school or something like guys I'm speaking out I want all of you to come so they would come but portions of my message wreaked of hey if you trust Jesus things will just get better and so I remember we baptized my big six foot nine guy his name was Jason he was really really big great athlete and we couldn't really fit him in the dunk tank because we're like trying to baptize him like Jesus and we're like all right bro you're gonna have to kind of like fold into the baptismal and right before we baptize homes like Jason do you trust Jesus I was like bro God's gonna bless you he's gonna take care of you your life's gonna be so great and of course Jason decided to follow Jesus and then his whole family fell apart so the point is I'll learn the hard way I thought our message was similar it was like trust Jesus and like your job will get better your body will be so good looking everyone I love you there'll be a line out the door of your condo for people to date you it's gonna be the best and yet often times that that that that's not the case Jesus says what does it profit a man to get the whole world but in the process lose his soul ie what does Jesus focused on the state of your so the man who wrote it is well it is well it is well with my soul he wrote that on a boat shut up he wrote that I doing that like Judah were cheering for you bro I love people yeah anyways I'm not gonna get it okay so stay focused stay focused stay focused he wrote it as well on a boat from one continent to the next where he had just learned that his wife and daughters had died on the boat he wrote the song it is well with my soul how is it well with your soul bruh when you've lost your wife and your daughters because it is well not with his brain not with his emotions not with his family not with the circumstance and not with his job it is only well with my soul my soul so if you'd allow me for a moment I would like to speak to the prosperity of your soul right third John says my brothers and sisters I wish that you would prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers so I can't guarantee that your body or your job or your bank account will prosper but I can make this promise you put your trust in Jesus and your soul will prosper your inner man will be buoyant and alive and it will begin to be moved and motivated not by temporal things that only satisfy momentarily but eventually you will mature and grow into the realization there is a God he's alive forevermore he defeated death hell in the grave he had me in mind he paid my penalty he welcomes me into his family I am loved I'm accepted I'm seen I'm heard and I'm gonna spend eternity with him in a place called paradise trust me if you like Cabo you're gonna love eternity so new heaven and the new earth the Bible says we're gonna reenact it the earth okay some of you think of chubby chubby little babies in diapers with plucking harps singing weird songs no precious moments it's a different kind of eternity okay so we're like what is that never mind all right what is what is it what is grateful energy what is a grateful passion and desire cuz this is this is what I want you to thank you bro love you so much I thought I saw you come on in he's like he needs me I'm going out there all right come and do it close here I can I can prove to I don't hear any kids it's like white noise to me I've had too many okay but um I want to give you a little little proof how powerful grateful motivation is grateful energy next time you are secretly involved in that vice you can't shake don't look around just stay right here okay if you start doing this everyone will know that you got some vices okay so just be like I don't know what he'd be talking about went down my friend told Bishop TD jakes I don't have secrets of Bishop Jake says yeah you do it was a great moment anyways so we all have secrets that's just the way it is we all have things that like I hope no one ever really knows that I still struggle with this and of course the more people who are like you're amazing and you're like if you only knew what do you think about that one secret that one device that one thing you just keep saying I thought I'd be over that by now next time you're either involved with that vice you're being tempted by that vice or you're just getting done participating with that vice here's what I want you to do I want you to open your mouth and say this thank you God thank you Jesus god you're so good and I want you to watch how your emotional disposition alters towards that vice it is really hard to do that secrets in while thanking God oh god I want to thank you so much God as I'm cheating on my taxes I just want to say thank you so much for these offshore accounts you know I mean like it's gonna be super hard god is I cheat on my girlfriend or my boyfriend right now is I'm away from them I just want to say thank you for the energy and the strength to cheat on the person I love the most thank you lord you know like you do that you probably gonna call it off you probably gonna be like imma pay my taxes cuz gratefulness is this the foundation of worship it's just like thank you oh my word thank you I don't know when gratitude became this noble attribute because that's not what it is in an essence thankfulness is called reality running people like dude I love how thankful you are it's such a good quality you've developed or they figured out they weren't responsible for their birth they didn't invent oxygen they didn't give themselves their own body and they kind of looked at the stats of the universe and said thank you think about it it's called reality saying thank you to your Creator is one of the most authentic real things a created being can do you know the bible tells us that we cannot hear them that creation itself understands where they came from in fact jesus warned one time he said you better not tell those people to stop praising me because if they do these rocks will grow lips gums and tongues and they'll start singing my praises now everyone's like oh that's crazy except he was being serious the rocks were like we're ready if you're not we're ready because we know where we came from and those rocks we're gonna say thank you thank you the whales the Dolphins the puppies the Clydesdales now what is Clydesdales come from Budweiser commercials but they all say thank you they all say thank you thankful energy here's here's what here's what thankful energy says here's what grateful energy says this is this is the form it takes number one it says Jesus changes everything Jesus changes everything Jesus changes everything Jesus changes everything Jesus changes my definition of beauty Jesus changes my definition of hard work Jesus changes my definition of relationships Jesus changes my definition of a day Jesus change Gee's changes everything he changes everything he life is no longer you get out what you put in life is now grace life is now gift life is now scandalous life is now unconditional love I have received from my Creator I did nothing I deserve nothing but he gave me everything Jesus changes everything my whole worldview begins to warp and begin to change I can no longer take credit for myself I no longer I'm like yeah that's me I'm now going I don't even know how I got here I don't even know I mean I bet iiiii didn't choose my name my parents chose my name probably God chose my name the Bible says he knew me before I was ever even formed in my mother's womb and so III I'm gifts I'm a walking talking living breathing gift I got here I don't know how I'm God chose this time I don't know why I wasn't born in the 20s or some other century or some of that I don't know I I just was born now and God put me here and so I'm here and I'm like wow thank you God another day and then I don't know I don't know I I don't know exactly what I thought about when I slept last night for six hours or eight hours and four hours or two hours I don't even remember waking myself up I think God woke me up but I woke up when I woke up now old Saints you know what I was talking about we used to gather in church talk about I don't know about you but I woke up in my right mind the people would stand up and start cheering because eventually you realize in all of our aspirations and desires for greatness and God put that in you and that's awesome but back in the day some old Saints learn to wake up in the morning and go I still got oxygen I'm still here and I got a lot of stuff outside of my control but Jesus changes everything he changes everything so the second thing this grateful energy that can get you up in the morning and get you moving through life I'm telling you this is how I fight discouragement this is how I fight days that move from discouragement to battling mental health and these things that seem to absolutely imprison us to these hopeless helpless feelings so god help me to see the world for what it actually is so number two life is a gift it's just bonus please hear me it's just bonus it's just bonus we live in on extended time I don't deserve this you don't deserve this I'm telling you this this entitlement that often times we are given and again the culture begins to tell us and I love the culture I'm not against the culture but it's not perfect and it tells us you deserve this you are owed this your and what nobody owes me anything certainly not God turned my back on him couldn't care less about him he never gave up on me life it's a gift this life is a gift thank you God for another day what a bonus I got today life is a gift roulette number two done with number three great for energy says relationship is my purpose not my job not my occupation relationship is purpose this is my purpose we called the four fold function of man I won't go through all of them but the number one first function for which we were created was called relationship not work not perception not status relationship relationship relationship our mission in life is not to use each other to get the careers we want for you might get the career you wanted and you walked over the real gold the real gold is people so you got the deal but you missed relationship right that's what we're taught whatever it takes you get it you got to run people over that's what it's about that's not what we're about that's not what we're about people are the point people are the purpose the most valuable thing on this planet other than God himself is the human being he is and she is the centerpiece of all creation the Bible tells us at the beginning of time God made man in His image man is the image bearer of God in man he put an eternal soul and spirit for in man you see a reflection of God you my friend are the centerpiece of his creation we're talking about people we're talking about human beings tell me what's more important than that and if you do I'll tell you you're wrong four people are of eternal and infinite value we're still wondering we're still wondering if people are valuable my brothers and sisters creation has its place but at the center of creation is the human being with the eternal soul and that is so valuable to God that he put on the created form of man and he walked among the centerpiece of his creation and when he allowed the created beings he made to be hang on a tree he designed he said Father forgive them they really don't understand what they're doing but I do and we do and he paid the ultimate price because people are the point and people are the purpose people are the point and people are the purpose people are the point and people of the purpose what if every day that grateful energy told us it's about people it's about stopping and saying things thank you for being who you are thank you for being my friend I love you I hope that you know that what does it profit a man to gain the whole world but in the process pay alone and not have relationship you've got to understand that one of the impetus of our community is not sermons and songs it's at sermons and songs would lead to connection and connection would lead to authentic relationship for that it's why you exist like busy bees we run through this life don't we I got to get to work I've got to do this gonna do that and you're right meanwhile the gold of the earth known as the human being are all around us and gratefulness slows you down so you can say hey nice to meet you at your hands great to meet you they have the best text a few friends on a given day I'm praying for you thinking about you who that's now that success that's wealth relationship this this grateful motivation tells us that work is an honor work is a privilege you know that God gave man his first job before there was ever sin your job is not a result of something you've done wrong it's a result of God's goodness God's from God's goodness came relationship and a job first thing we did is we took care of a garden landscaping God says trim it up real nice make everything look good and Adam was thrilled to do it Eve felt blessed to work with their hands be innovative and creative in shape the bushes and trimmed the grass and this would be awesome so thank you God your job as simple as it may be and I understand I understand I understand you're saying this is my ultimate job no I'm trying to move on from this child but listen to me you blessed barista there's no rules to say you can't thank God every time you make a latte or a cappuccino that you got a job what a privilege instead of walking around good work you know when has that ever helped anybody I mean if we're honest where are you going work sounds like you're gonna have a great day what if this life is a gift Jesus changes everything all the sudden I can't think thanks I got a job in fact god I wonder if the reason you gave me this job is really difficult as it is it's because there's some people there then I'm working around then I could add value to work is a privilege and an honor I'm done I'm done I'm done lastly after work is a privilege and an honor number five says this is great for energy and I'm Donna there's more we talked about it today is enough today is enough and I end with this today is enough do you know Jesus taught this we don't talk about this a lot he said don't worry about all these days ahead of you there's gonna be enough stuff in a day that's deserving of your attention it's funny now we've popularized this concept of being in the now be present man he stole that from Jesus oh you know who I'm talking about I'm talking about the guy who came to save the world but still had time to hold babies that's called being present now if you told me dude I'm here to save them I'm here to save the world I would be like well then there's a lot of things you don't have time for and one of them is probably kissing babies and that's exactly how the disciples felt they were like hey parents it's not a preschool for saving the world Jesus like stop doing that I want to I want to meet these families I want to kiss their babies I want to bless the families and the guys are like wait okay today's enough today's enough here's what the scripture says I'm done right the whole band can come now cuz that'll really make sure I'm God today's enough Solomon said this ancient wise King Solomon wealthiest man who ever lived he said this he says man is the planner man plans his way but Solomon says what I've learned is God is the director and here's what happens we give God plans and we become the director and we're like Lord I'm gonna direct my life and God's like no no no your job is make plans those are and your plans are as cute as the little coloring things you did for your parents when you were a you make the plans I'm gonna be the director all you have is right now I'm not trying to insult your intelligence you've heard this before nobody lives tomorrow and not a single person gets to live yesterday it's never happened it's never happened the only thing we've ever been privileged to live in is this thing called today and gratefulness doesn't moan and groan about what shoulda coulda happened yesterday oh what you're owed tomorrow gratefulness says I got today I got today I got today I got today and if I could end in and it's the whole band out here yet I feel like if the singers will get out here I'll end you know God is a lot more proud of you than you could ever imagine and this is just how I'm gonna end and gonna call it but uh on my way here for my son's blowout loss in his playoff game I just nobody listens to me around here nobody wants to come out you're here today you know you here right now and I don't know who I'm talking to you ha but I'm gonna try not to cry um but I felt like uh hey guys finally um kidding I felt like God said I want you to tell some people tonight then I'm proud that they're still here and um hold there yesterday against them and they don't have to get all caught up but they're gonna make it in the future I want you to tell them and I'm proud today you're here you can't even imagine how much your Heavenly Father loves you he loves you so much Bible says you earthly fathers you know how to give good gifts to your children but your heavenly father how much more will he give good things to those who ask me my god you're here have you stopped for a moment to realize it's you're a miracle you're a miracle and you're here today so all we got is right now all we have is today and more specifically tonight so let us just for a moment would you allow yourself just just to kind of move from this space of worship and just be like wow I don't even listen even if you don't even believe in Jesus who I profess your here and you're like I don't know if I we can all agree it's a lot of reasons we shouldn't have been here tonight we shouldn't be here today but you hear God so proud of you I'm so proud of you and I got a sense moving forward man this gratefulness I want to ask God to give us more gratitude I'm gonna ask God that we would be surrounded with people in this community who will together we will feed each other with gratitude man were blessed what a great day here we get another day too hard and be diligent man we're blessed are we still here we're still here all we got is today let's live it to the fullest and let me tell you something there's some people near you are so overwhelmed with the future I know the one who holds your future so for now he invites you to enjoy today that's it you'll never control tomorrow and you will never please hear me you'll never control your future God is in control you can exhale and enjoy right now man I'm telling you I don't know who I'm talking to but I'm talking to some body and your heavenly Father loves you so much man sometimes I'm sitting up here and it's like it's like it's like a liquid like at the top of my head the sole of my feet also I just feel this overwhelming sense of God's love for people and it is crazy and I just feel it right now uh-huh God loves you so much he's not mad at you you know we use all these motives sometimes just just to get out of bed you know and the Bible warned us that this planet would be would be plagued and it would be difficult and it would be painful and I'm not here to lessen anybody's trials or tribulations or challenges but I'm gonna tell you in the middle of it all is a God who loves you and he forgives you and he accepts you exactly the way that you are and you are his and you are the apple of his eye you are his daughter you are his son you are his special child you are come on let's pray Jesus I thank you for your love in this room and I just sense your presence right now and um I just want to say thank you this church is it is absolutely yours and we're yours I don't know god I just feel at times out man and overwhelmed when we think about this life and how we gonna have to have motivation to keep going so we're asking that you would fill our hearts and our souls with the same Thanksgiving and gratitude that that man who was healed 2,000 years ago experienced we have so much to be thankful for so much to be grateful for I don't know who I'm talking to and I'm not trying to be weird but there's somebody here and it could be more than one person but I just feel like God's telling me um and again I'm not trying I'm not trying to manipulate anyone's emotions bear with me here this is gonna apply to somebody you you have not talked to your dad in years and the reason for that is because your dad hurt you and he failed you and I really believe that God's asking me to tell you that he is healing that space in your heart and listen to me he's gonna give you the energy in the strength and the courage to forgive your father and heal that part of your soul he's gonna heal you like only he can he's gonna heal you I'm telling you he's coming he's gonna do it you don't earn it you don't deserve it you won't make it happen he's gonna do it for you there's gonna be a miracle in your family I'm telling you I don't know who I'm talking to but I believe I'm talking to somebody God we thank you for these moments you're a miracle worker and you know what we have need of when we need it most with every head bowed and every eye closed if you're here and you said Judah I would like to receive the forgiveness that only Jesus offers but the Bible says God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life if you'd like that life that only Jesus offers that forgiveness that only Jesus offers you just accept it you just receive it if you'd like to do that right now on the count of three I'm gonna ask people to lift their hand even if you're watching on the app or any location and see how to lift up your hand put it right back down you know who you are believe when you respond on the outside to what's happening on the inside just becomes more real to you you know who you are 1 2 3 that you just shoot up your hand all over the auditorium thank you thank you God you see these hands and oh God you see our soul you see the heart of us and you forgive and you heal and you restore and we trust you and we love you and we thank you for that

Channel: Churchome

Views: 14,251

Rating: 4.9142857 out of 5

Keywords: Churchome, Judah, Judah smith, church, message, anxiety, depression, how to, elevation, Steven, Hillsong, oceans, sermon, the city church, church home, Chelsea smith, bobby Houston, td jakes, pastor, pastor preaching, carl lentz, Jesus, conference, guest speaker, sermon jam, worship, Justin Bieber, la Hillsong, Selena, preaching, Judah message, performance

Id: 1rdf3AuYDug

Length: 63min 38sec (3818 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 21 2020