Will I Be Forever Alone? | JD Rodgers

[Applause] [Music] so [Music] [Music] all right ladies and gentlemen let's go what is up to all of our friends tuning in live the porch houston porch indianapolis porch austin my special friends in the porch northwest arkansas and of course my friends here in the house tonight at the porch dallas how we doing we are kicking off our first series of 2021 together tonight and we are calling it fortune telling and for my extra spiritual people please save your emails don't freak out on us we are not by doing this series endorsing that you guys go visit visit fortune tellers uh please do not do that because let's face it after 2020 no one knows what the future is going to look like there is only one who knows what the future is going to look like and that's who we're going to talk to tonight and about tonight and his name is god he is the only one who knows our future and so what we're going to do with this series is our team has gathered around and we're like man if god's the only one who knows our future what do we think that young adults in their 20s and 30s navigating through their young adult years what do you think is the one thing that they would ask god if they got one question to say hey what is this about my future what do you think they'd ask and what we've dedicated ourselves to do this series is take words from the past aka god's word the bible that was written thousands of years ago and tell you how it applies to your present reality into your future reality because god's word doesn't change it does not return void it can be used today and there are so many things that so many questions that we're asking that god has already given us an answer to so before we get to the question that we're answering tonight speaking of words from the past uh i do this thing if we're friends on instagram shameless plug i do this thing where i do this thing where i kind of like self-deprecate and humiliate myself by sharing old facebook memories if you guys did not know you can go to facebook i don't know why anyone would like knowingly do this but you can go to facebook and go to what's called your memories and see statuses that you made from like years ago i'm talking like facebook doesn't let you forget anything it takes you back to like day one ten plus years ago and what i do is i screenshot those memories and then i go over to my instagram because only like my mom and my grandma are on facebook anymore and i go over and i take it to instagram and i post it on my story and i just kind of let people into a more angsty teenager useful jd and it's quite humiliating and i thought i would share some with you guys tonight that's okay this is a safe place this is a safe place so here we go 10 years ago on august 19th i let her know i can't go on without you not y-o-u just you i hope she saw it bro next one august 8th 10 years ago i said gosh i believe that a woman should be so lost in god that a man must seek him to find her i was that guy i was that guy i was the preacher's kid okay this is all i didn't know any better nine years ago on august 20th someone hurt jd i said when it comes down to it you just can't trust anyone these days you live you learn i mean like who hurt you like who hurt you that bad like to post about it on facebook and then i thought this one was interesting okay here we go nine years ago on february 2nd so this morning i'm checking it today's february 2nd right i said people stay busy this is deep okay i'm 18. people stay busy in order to not be alone because when you are alone it's quiet dot dot dot which allows time for your mind to think and then you start to focus on reality and what's so funny about that is i posted that nine years ago not knowing that today i'd be asking god for all of us will i be forever alone that's the question we're answering tonight is will i be forever alone if you got to ask god your one question we think that a lot of people would want to know hey is this it am i single as a pringle for the rest of my life is it just me or am i am i going to be forever alone and even jd at 18 knew everyone hates being alone no one likes being alone i've said you know you know why we want to be alone because when we're alone it gets quiet and we're forced to think and when we're forced to think we're forced to come to grips with reality about how much life actually sucks at times like think about 2020 think about is that a cricket ringtone what the all right if you're watching online someone's phone's going off up here but when you're sitting there and you're forced to be alone and think a lot of us don't like the thoughts that come to our mind one we're faced to realize one i'm alone that's scary or two man 2020 these things are really getting out of hand the political world is crazy everyone just seems so hateful on twitter and instagram everyone just seems to be blowing up all the time man quarantine has really hurt a lot of people the world has never been more in a wreck there are so many people who have lost jobs there are so many people who are sick we hate being alone and not only that when you think about it being alone is so bad that america we have literally made one of the worst punishment out there something called solitary confinement we literally force people to be around nobody because even our government knows hey people who go alone there is nothing worse than that you literally are drove insane like you go insane we hate being alone if you've had corona you know that yeah the body aches are bad the fever and the chills are bad but the worst part is having to literally be alone with no human contact for that many days in a row it's awful we hate being alone we hate being alone so much that we'll do anything to claw out of it we fill our time we fill our schedule we're always on instagram we're always snapchatting we're always facetiming we're always texting and calling and being around people and going out and filling our schedule and doing and doing and doing because we do not want to be alone but if busyness is the solution why does busyness not fix our loneliness why do we still feel so alone why do we not feel fully feel known why do we not fully feel trusted or loved why do we still feel so misunderstood like no one really gets us why do we still feel alone even though we're always around people what's up with that we hate it and so that's why i think we would ask god hey will i be forever alone because i don't want to be and i know you don't want to be because that's why when you feel alone you run to pornography because even if it means that i have to interact with someone sexually through a screen it's better than sitting here alone i'm bored i'm lonely might as well or you'll run into a dating app or hook up with a stranger that you barely know because you want to fill some void you want to feel some kind of intimacy and you will lower your standards if it just means that you don't have to sit in your loneliness that's why on the weekends you're like man i know i should actually go to church but yup yet again i got invited to go out and i'll go out and i'll get high and i'll get drunk and i'll get the stuff i know i shouldn't be getting into because at least it makes me feel like i have friends i don't have to just sit alone i can't really find church friends it's kind of hard to find you know start a new life and do this community thing in this church thing in the midst of a pandemic and so as an escape we run to the world but that is not going to fix your loneliness and i think tonight god has something to say from his words from the past the word the bible about the reality of our loneliness and so while we're kicking off this series you can go ahead and write down for your notetakers will i be forever alone will i be forever alone god what do you have to say to that and the first answer is no why this is deep ready because god is with you god is with you duh it's simple right did everyone here know that god was with him yes yeah i don't think so like i really don't think i even fully can comprehend what it means to know that the god the creator of the universe the maker of everything we see the bible says that he just spoke it into existence the god that has never been defeated has gone before and won wars who has done everything that you know has created who you are he is literally with you and i think that if i understood that reality fully it would change a lot about the way that i live and view my life i think if i heard the words and the reminder that hey god is with me i would have no choice to be like what let's go god is with me that's the greatest news i've ever heard but we have just we just forgot or we've normalized it or we've let what society tells us what movies tell us what church in the past has told us that person told you your parents the way they talk about god the traditional catholic church you're raised in all the different things you let those things dictate your view of god therefore when you hear reminders like hey you'll never be alone because god is with you you're like but come on will i ever be married that's what i really want to know but god is looking at you and you come to him and you ask the question hey is this the way it's going to be well i always feel lonely he's like what do you mean no because i am with you and that's the greatest news that we can start 2021 off with saying tonight is gonna seem like i'm kind of telling you the does of christianity like the come on bro we knew that but if you knew that if you believed that god was with you why does your life look the way it does like think about it if i put your life right now on these screens do they declare god is with that man or that woman or does it declare fear is with them worry doubt anxiety depression loneliness addiction is that what it declares because god tonight wants you to know that those things were never meant to define you but he was because he's with you and in you and goes before you and so what did he do what did god do to make sure that you and i could be secure to know that god was with us he gave us the greatest story of all time it's like a movie i'm about to take y'all and i i hope that everyone in this room has heard this story but i'm about to tell you what we as the church call the good news the gospel because i think there's no better way to start off 2021 than just laying out the story that we based our whole life on as christians y'all agree with that y'all even reminded of the gospel do y'all love to be reminded of the gospel of the good news i know i need it every single day and so we thought hey what a better way than to show people the extent that god went for them to show them hey i am with you wake up because there's an enemy out there and his name is satan and since the very beginning of time he has had the same play he is not crafty he is not creative he has the same play and is to convince you that you are alone even worse to convince you that you're forever alone and he wants to tell you hey because god is not with you because god is not for you everything else around you is that person is that drug is that alcohol is that party is those things are for you and with you go do those things that's where true life is found he tried to tell you that god is not with you and he will try to do everything right now to distract you from this moment but i am about to tell you the greatest story that is true that this is history this reset the calendar this is in the bible that has never been proven wrong that has stayed the same has stayed consistent this is the narrative this is the whole bible right here that god the links that he went through for you and i to show you that he is with you and he loves you and he is for you and he is never going anywhere this is it in the beginning genesis 1 1 the first verse of your bible it says that god created the heavens and the earth and he filled it everything you see the mountains the oceans the grass the trees he created it all in six days and said that it was good and on the last day he made something really special man and woman he created man and woman but these people he didn't just say they were good he said they were very good because he made them in relationship with himself he made them to know him and to make himself known and all he asked of them was hey would you love me and would you trust me i'm going to give you everything that you could have it's going to be called the garden of eden it's going to be have all the fruit all the shelter all the animals everything you need to be fully satisfied in me you're also going to have my presence god walked with adam and eve man and woman in the garden we see that in the beginning of genesis he walked with them they had everything their heart could desire he said but would you trust me the only thing i ask for you to do is not to eat from boop he planted this tree called the tree of knowledge of good and evil because he knew what was best he knew what man would do with that kind of knowledge so he said would you just trust me i got this i'm god do not eat from that tree everything else have your way just don't touch that guy so not even three chapters into our bible man and woman adam and eve do exactly what you and i would have done the serpent satan he comes down and like i said he begins to twist god's word and convince adam and eve hey did god actually say like you guys what he might say to you is hey is did god actually say that he will always be with you because hello have you looked around at 2020 when's the last time that you heard from god all these christians talk about hearing from god do you ever hear the voice of god would you even know what it sounded like does god actually speak is god actually here are your prayers actually just hitting the ceiling when's the last time you felt god how have you been feeling really alone lately hasn't god seemed to be withholding from you is he good does he actually know what's best and he lies to you he says no but i do trust me and back in genesis 3 satan looks at adam and eve and says he doesn't want you to eat that tree because it's bad for you he wants you to eat it because it's good for you and he knows that if you eat it you'll be like him so go ahead try it and it says when eve looked at this fruit and saw that it was desirable to make one wise she took of it and she ate of it and then she gave it to adam and he ate from it and that was boom when everything changed light turned to darkness sin entered the world and plagued humanity for the rest of the bible sin came and but the beauty of that is when you flip over to the new testament and see in romans chapter 5 it says that romans 5 8 says that god demonstrated his love for us that while we were still sinners that when adam and eve all the way to you and i today and that every sin that we commit moving forward while we were sinners he made a plan to send christ to die for us not when we got perfect not when we got things figured out not when we started going to church that while we were in our sin god made a plan to send jesus to die for us and he made that plan from the very beginning god set a plan in motion in genesis chapter 3 he said that through eve through you i'm gonna send a messiah another word for that is savior he's gonna come into the world and save the world from sin because god knew at that point men and women or men and women were doomed that sin because he was holy separated man from god and that sin when we choose ourselves would separate us further and further and further and further and mankind just got further and further away from god and so god chose this people by the nation of israel the jews to represent his glory to the world and here's what the uh here's what you need to know about the entire old testament the old testament is just tracking the story of that people group known as the israelites the jews and god said hey if you would just trust me like he asked adam and eve like he asked us today if you would just trust me you would see that i am with you and i am for you and i love you but man did not trust god man wanted to be lord of their own lives like we do today and they chose their own way in their sin took them further and further and further away from god therefore they felt alone and god said man if you want to be alone if you really want to live life like you're alone then have your way taste what it's like without me and for 400 years at the end of your old testament in the bible god was silent it's understandable for the israelites to think that they were alone because god was silent not leave but he was silent for 400 years but the story is not in there because when you open up to matthew chapter 1 the first page in your new testament here is what we read guys this is life-changing romans 1 23 you want to ask the question if god is with you if you're alone here's what it says look the virgin mary will conceive a child she will give birth to a son and they will call him immanuel which means what god is with us what does it mean god is with us say one more time god is with us that is the best news ever that god said hey i love you so much that i'm going to take on bodily form through my son jesus and we're going to send him down and to make sure that i secure that you know that you know in 2021 that i am for you and that i love you i'm going to send my son and would you just because i'm i'm so wildly crazy god said i'm going to name him emmanuel another name for jesus which means god is with us what did god do to secure his love for you to make sure that you knew that he was with you he sent his one and only son to die for you and that's how the story continues god knew that we would need a sacrifice for our separation between us and god and so jesus christ came down you've heard the story he came down to carry our sins he knew there was nothing that we could do so he bore every sin on the cross the bible says that he who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of god and jesus lived alive for 33 years he was a young adult but he did something that you and i could not do he lived a perfect life making him the perfect sacrifice and they beat him because of it they mocked him for calling himself jesus the jews made fun of him they pulled out his beard they beat his flesh they put a robe on him and took it off and on and off and then they made him carry his own cross up a hill and then they nailed him to the cross and on that cross he said i know i know in 2021 they're going to be people who don't believe that i am with them but look at me i don't care i love them i love them emmanuel god with us jesus on the cross to remind you today hey i know that the world seems hard i know that your sin seems great i know that you feel alone but i'm with you and how much do i want you to know that i'm willing to die for you so you don't have to let your sin separate you from god but so that you can be with him forever so that god with us can be a reality and so that one day we could die because jesus died and he didn't just stay dead he was buried in a tomb for three days but on the third day he rose in victory defeating sin defeating our sin defeating death once and for all and because when he rose we now one day get to rise from our death and be with god not only is god with us in the form of jesus through his death burial and resurrection but now we get to go and be with god in heaven because jesus said it is done it is finished no more separation no more feeling alone no more wondering am i ever i'm going to find someone do i am i ever going to fulfill this need because no you have all you need in jesus that was what he did that's what god went through to make sure that when you ask the question man am i going to be forever alone he's like no remember i sent my son god was with us in the form of man and he died so that you would never have to be alone you get to be with god and guys that is why we call it the good news it's not just the good news it's the best news it is what we stake our life on it's if someone walks in here right now i guarantee you guys someone watching here right now we're like hey are you a christian do you believe that jesus christ came to earth and died and rose again for you and he held a gun to my head i would say yes i do believe that and you can take me because i'm gonna go be with god because he came to be with me god is with me guys that is great news and if you don't have that in your life you're missing out you are missing out and you are being sold a counterfeit life a life that promises joy and happiness but you'll always be searching because that is the only place that life is found it's in jesus and the best part is it still doesn't end there look at this jesus before he dies look at his disciples he looks at his christ followers and this is what he tells them in john 14 verses 16 through 18. and i will ask the father and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you he is the holy spirit who leads into all truth the world cannot receive him because it isn't even looking for him and it doesn't recognize him but you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you no i will not abandon you as orphans i will come to you jesus is looking at his disciples and he's like hey i'm gonna die and i'm gonna raise again from the dead from the dead three days later and then i'm going to ascend i'm going to go up you know all like mystical like i'm going to go up to heaven but then the holy spirit is going to come down and he's going to be in you for those that are in christ he's going to literally come and dwell inside of your body and how does that happen how do we become in christ how do we know that god has saved us romans 10 9 says that if you confess with your mouth that jesus is lord and believe in your heart that god raised him from the dead you will be saved it's that simple if there's someone here tonight that has never heard the story that i just told and said yep i'm putting all my chips in i believe that story if you would confess and say i believe that jesus died for me and believe that in your heart the bible says that you will be saved but guys it isn't just words from your mouth it is a life that you surrender it is a call on your life and the bible says jesus says right here if you would do that confess with your mouth and believe in your heart you will be saved and then when you are saved here's what ephesians 1 says it's a lot of bible listen up okay here we go god's purpose was that the jews who were the first to trust in christ that's what i was talking about in the old testament the nation of israel they would bring praise and glory to god and now you gentiles that's us gentiles is just a word for a non-jew and now you gentiles have also heard the truth that's what you just heard when i shared the good news the truth the good news that god saves you and when you believed in christ like i just read when you believe in your heart that christ saved you he identified you as his own by giving you the holy spirit whom he promised long ago the word holy spirit kind of has this like weird aura about it it's like is this like some like ghost that like do i feel it does it hurt when it comes inside of me like i think a lot of people have a lot of questions about the holy spirit it kind of freaks people out it's like can i be like and like the holy spirit can like do power stuff now that i have him like what does it mean to have the holy spirit and it just means that it's a it's the way of saying that god comes and dwells in you through the holy spirit he is in you through the holy spirit and here's what the holy spirit does he does a lot of things for the believer but the holy spirit one of the things he does is he convicts you you know that voice that like you know when you start to try to like follow god and you start to like dive into your bible and start living for god for the first time the things that you used to do that were really sinful and wrong it was kind of like ah but then once you gave your life to christ suddenly you felt really guilty after you did them anyone ever experienced that it's like why do i suddenly feel so bad about this that's the holy spirit he does this thing called convicts you it's your conscience he tells you hey hey hey light and darkness cannot coexist light is in you now so get that darkness out of here that's what that conviction is he encourages you he speaks to you when you read god's word he helps you understand god's word he gives you discernment he helps you make choices of what god's will is for your life he guides you in god's ways he helps you when you need to fight temptation you think you don't have the power the holy spirit gives you the power you don't have the power but the holy spirit in you has plenty of power to help you fight temptation and that holy spirit is in you and it says right here in that verse in john that it will never leave you that it's in you and so when you ask the question man will i be forever alone the answer is no if you are in christ it is impossible because the holy spirit is in you god is dwelling in you god dwells in you spiritually through the holy spirit until you go to be with god physically in heaven and that holy spirit is how you can know i am not alone god sent his son so i can know that i'm never alone it's like so what jd i've heard that story my whole life i've heard that story so many times and it's just like why do i still feel so alone then like why is this so hard and the reality is is the bible says that in this world you will have suffering god does tell us that hard times will come loneliness will come a desire for a different way of life will come and so what do we do it's really practical guys and i think this is why we're starting 2021 off this way because i know that i need a reboot every year of reminding myself how to remember that god is with me the first one just spend time with god like look at your schedule and ask yourself do i just spend time with god like not just give him a little devo a day a five minute little like jesus calling journal i read in the morning and post about on my instagram with my latte and be like jesus things like what what does it actually look like to spend time with god it means knowing his word reading it not being okay with the status quo when you read something and it's like really a big name and all that and you're like uh skip forward okay jesus loves you and you're like there it is no like take time knowing god's word and guys i know it's tough i know sometimes when i'm reading the old testament to this day i'm like reading through leviticus and it's like and don't eat pork and don't get tattoos and i'm like what does that mean and i'm just like so it can be hard i get it it's a big book i for one don't like reading but i'll tell you this i am learning to love the word of god and i believe that you can too but you have to spend time with him just some really helpful just easy hand holds pick a time pick a place have a plan pick a time for me it's the mornings if i don't do in the morning i'm probably not doing it i'm just being honest pick a place that might be your little like nook in your kitchen it might be in your bed it might be while you're driving in your car audiobook i don't know for me i like going to a coffee shop i'm basic like that pick your place and then have a plan watermark if you don't have a church that gives you a bible reading plan we have a great one called jointhejourney.com i would highly encourage you to write that down and this year we are reading through the bible together it's really simple like all i have is this it's online though and it just has the entire bible to read in a year and i just go through and i cross it out every day and if you can see right now i miss some days i'll catch up okay but i have a plan and this is going to guide me to read the entire bible in a year and so ask yourself do i have a plan in 2021 to devote myself to spend time with god to really learn about him and study his word and as you study his word second thing pray pray and talk to him how do you expect to know anyone deeper on a deeper level if you do not communicate god gave us the ability because we have the holy spirit that we just talked about he gave us the ability to communicate with him through the holy spirit we get to talk to god and so take time if you don't know how to pray grab some people around you say hey how do i pray it's that simple but what i've learned a great place to start is this right here open up these hands and say god here here i don't know what i'm doing i need you i need you today life is hard temptation will come that computer is waiting for me when i get home that girl is going to text me tonight that guy is going to hit me up tonight and snapchat me the the worries and the anxieties and the job and the daddy issues and all those different things are going to be waiting for me that toxic relationship is waiting for me so here and you see what god will do with this kind of posture you see what god will do with that kind of prayer he loves it when his sons and daughters come to him and say here father he loves to provide for his children test me on it i am sure of this i've seen it in my friend's life in my life personally all around me that you cannot start with the simple two basic principles of reading your bible and praying in your life not radically changed try me try me start tomorrow read your bible pray and email me and let me know how your life starts to change and then thirdly remind yourself of the gospel every day you want to be able to fight that lie that tells you that you're forever alone remind yourself of the message i just proclaimed it's this simple i was dead in my sin separated from god but he loved me so much he said i want to be with you so he sent his son down to earth to die for me and he rose from his death and i believe in that therefore i don't have to fear loneliness because the gospel is true for me and i believe it and god is with me and guys i need that reminder every single day every day when my sin comes crouching when the enemy reminds me of my mistakes and tried to tell me that i am damaged good or that i'm not even worthy to be up here right now or he tried to tell me that i don't know what i'm doing and i need to take control of my life because i start freaking out i have to remind myself of the gospel every single day and you do too you want to know that you are not alone remind yourself of the story of the extent that god went to prove that he is with you and the beauty of this heading into answer number two god did not just leave us here just like drop us off to figure all this out on our own he's not just like hey so now go in your room and like sit indian style and be like god no like he wants you to have a way to be surrounded with people to remind you that you're not alone which leads to answer number two will i be forever alone no because god did not create you to be alone how do i know this genesis 1 talking back to when god created man and woman in verse 26 it says then god said let us make human beings in our image to be like us verse 27 so god created human beings in in his own image in the image of god he created them male and female he created them notice that language in our image to be like us what that tells me is that god exists in community in we in us in our god is not just one being we actually call him what is known as the trinity three in one it's really confusing actually i still don't understand it but what it means is father son and holy spirit god is three in one being but it says that he made us in his image which means that he created us to also not want to be alone to live and exist with one another's in our mentality in we mentality in us mentality that's why it feels so good to come here and be encouraged together because god never designed for you to be alone he made you in his image just like he sees you see just like god gets angry you get angry the only problem is is you get sinfully angry he gets righteously angry but we won't go into that god just like he loves you have the ability to love because he made you in his image everything you are god made in his image and one of those things that is so unique is he said let us make man and woman in our image you are designed to want to be with others and so what did he do to ensure that you will not have to live life alone he instituted two things that i want to remind you of this is the fun stuff to talk about this kind of might start to answer what you're actually wondering tonight the first thing that god gave us to remind us that he is with us is the gift that we call marriage let's go marriage yeah who's ready to get married one day yeah okay okay who's afraid who's like terrified of marriage one day okay yeah that's right it's all you people who are over here like am i going to be forever alone but anyways we'll talk about that god gave us this gift he didn't have to do this but he gave us this gift called marriage let's read about it in the beginning of genesis it says in genesis 2 verse 18 then the lord god said it is not good for the man to be alone even god knew it is not good for man to be alone look at him he just looks so pathetic right there so what did he do he knew what to do it says i will make a helper which ladies by the way that does not mean that you just belong in the kitchen and cleaning the house and helping the man can i get it amen that is not that is not what that means god even calls the holy spirit our helper all right with a woman comes power all right that's what he means in a helper and so he says not good for man to be alone i will make a helper who is just right for him who is just right for him and he calls her his wife it says in verse 22 and the rib that the lord god made had taken from the man he made him to a woman and brought her to the man he brought her to the man and then he said the man said this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh kind of weird but she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife and they shall become one flesh y'all this shows me that we serve a good good father because he knew i mean can you imagine the world right now if it was just a bunch of men lord he knew it was not good that man should be alone and so out of man he created woman and then he instituted this beautiful thing to forever remind each other hey you're not alone i am with you and i'm even going to remind you that through the gift that is marriage and some of you right now when i hear when you hear the word marriage you're like man i don't know about all that like i'm riding solo that's me like i got this thing i'm climbing the ladder of success i'm good on my own i don't know about marriage let's just be honest you're just hurt like you're just hurt and hey hey i'm being serious something happened to you that told you hey hey that's not for me and maybe some of you there is the caveat that god could be calling to singleness and others of you who have elevated marriage and made it some idol in your life you need to look at the other side of the coin and go would i be okay with submitting to god's call in my life if it were singleness and you need to stop running from that both people have to stop running the person who's afraid of marriage because of their hurt the person who's afraid of being single because they don't believe that god is enough but god gave us marriage and if he's called you to marriage then he's called you to participate in a gift but i know a lot of times the world paints marriage as a thing that's not a gift from god we have distorted the institute that is marriage and what god always intended to be the rom-coms have distorted it the bachelor has distorted it your parents divorce distorted it that person who hurt you and abused you and cheated on you made you believe that a good marriage never was possible for you because you look at your parents marriage and you're like i don't want nothing to do with that but that's not god's design for marriage marriage is a gift and i for one i for one cannot wait and i pray that god would allow me to partake in that gift i'm saying lord please bring it in 20 21. let me be married i'm just prophesying it and the statistics would say that most people in this room are gonna one day be married you know that right we are young adults now like it's time like it's time all right guys it's time to put your big points big boy pants on you better start providing for a woman women it's not to start knowing how to be the helper that god called you to for a man it's time to start committing and if you're not ready to partake in this gift of marriage we always say this here why are you even in the game because god wasn't here to play games he was here to design marriage for a purpose and that purpose is that that husband and wife can look each other and go hey this institution here is to point us to a god that just like we are one with each other he is one with us and just like we are with each other until death do us part he is with us always that's what marriage was supposed to do and so god and his goodness said hey i don't want to leave you alone i'm going to give you this thing called marriage and the reality is like i said a lot of us will get to partake in that but what if we don't what if you don't get married what if god has called you to singleness he still did not leave you out to dry the second thing that he gave us the second institution that he gave us to remind us that god is with us is his church his church marriage is even supposed to point you to the church and in the same way the church is supposed to point you to the reminder that hey god is with you because god's people are with you another way for saying the church is god's people or what we say a lot here is community living life with the people of god that those last two words are really important people of god because i think a lot of times the reason why we are surrounded by people and yet still feel so alone is because they're not people of god they're people who are living for themself and when everyone's sitting around living for themselves that means that no one is pouring into one another which means that every single person in that group feels alone because they're all so self-absorbed but god's people are other people focused here's what the book of hebrews says hebrews 10 24-25 let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do but let's encourage one another especially now that the day of his return is drawing near that is the mission of the church that we're supposed to meet together remind each other a truth encourage one another until we see the day of jesus drawing near until he comes back and takes the church home that's our job when you see someone going man i just feel alone i've been praying for marriage for like three years it seems there's no light at the end of the tunnel i can't find a job i'm miserable i'm depressed i'm full of anxiety it is the job of the people of god to encourage one another and say hey hey hey god is with you just like god has always been with us since the beginning of time he is with you and when you cannot see past your own self it is the people of god's job to remind you of who you are in christ and it's your job to do that for other people and sure the church can be messy life on life this kind of life signing up for this kind of life living this authentically and doing this kind of live with people is gonna get messy you know i know why because it's imperfect people helping imperfect people but the beauty of that is it's imperfect people helping imperfect people be reminded that they serve a perfect savior and he is the one that we look to that we remind each other of and so right now again if i put your life on the screen how are you doing are you a part of the church of god are you a member of a local church what i mean by that is have you gone through a membership class and signed a covenant and said hey i'm going to go all in and invest with this church and be the body of christ and serve the mission of this city with the body of christ and use my gifts to help the church have you taken that next step or is church to something that you go and consume it's like a buffet you're like i'll take the worship over here i'll take the teaching over here i'll take the aesthetic over here i'll take the instagram story over here and is that how you view church because that's not god's church i am calling you tonight to take that step deeper and be a part of the church we have an amazing opportunity every tuesday at this thing called first step up in the loft right up the stairs across the town center where you get to go and sit in a circle and you get to take that next step of faith of saying hey i'm done just going to church on easter and christmas i'm going all in i am serving as a member of the body of christ sign me up and you can do that tonight after this service and i would encourage you be the church and when you become the church you start to live with members of the church you start to do life on life this thing that we call community how are you doing with community do people fully know you because you can never feel fully loved until you are fully known i am convinced of that there were things in my life that before i came to this church i was convinced i was taken to the grave sins riddled with sexual immorality pride decisions i had made in my past moments of abuse secrets insecurities that riddled me i didn't want people to know that i thought less of myself than everyone else did i didn't want people to know that i didn't think i was that manly or worthy i didn't want people to know that i didn't think that women found me attractive i had all these insecurities that i never talked about i just walked around with this image going yeah i'm just the perfect christian guy that's what i thought it meant to follow god that's not living authentically and i came here and i started seeing people actually do life on life and spend time together and love each other and be fully known therefore they were fully loved and i sat down with one of my best friends here tonight and i said hey i am not fully known and i let him have it and some of you guys y'all wouldn't even know where to begin you'd be like uh so sometimes i'm afraid of the dark like you just wouldn't even know what to like say and that's okay but what i'm telling you is it is up to the people of god to remind you of the things of god and there is one thing that the enemy is going to convince you that's not true of god is that you cannot be fully known and fully loved but i'm here to tell you that you can god fully knows you and fully loves you and so grab people ladies grab some ladies of god men grab some men of god and take them aside and go man i've never been fully known i've never had that kind of friendship i know how to talk sports sure i know how to talk about hookups sure or ladies i know how to talk about the bachelor or that boy drama or that girl drama but i've never actually experienced life on life like that but that's why god gave us his people that's why he gave us the church to remind us hey you are never alone i'll close with this um because i can say all these things and i can be up here on the stage and be like yeah so go like god is with us believe it preach the gospel to yourself read the bible pray more and you're like man i've tried that and i know there are some really really dark times represented in this room tonight and it can be really hard to believe maybe because of what you've done in your past what you're doing currently that god actually desires to want to be with you and that you're not alone and today when i was scrolling through my facebook memories i was reminded of a time where i was reminded that i wouldn't be alone because today is february 2nd and out of all days i was asked to teach tonight and i'm scrolling through the face of memories and i was triggered by this picture it's a picture of me and my dad at this event called finish strong on february 2nd you can see it up there february 2nd 2015. six years ago today and one of my favorite things to do up here when i get the chance to speak is to talk about this man because my dad changed my life my dad reminded me of truth he was the church to me he was community to me he's one of my best friends but in college i've told this before i got the news hey your dad's gonna die in seven months of cancer of cancer and so what we did is he came to me like he always did and was like man i want to go out reminding people that god is with them that they're not alone and so we plan this event finish strong on my college campus and in 2015 on february 2nd 2 000 students came into this room that seated 900 and we packed inside of this room and my dad shared his story of the day that the gospel intersected with his life at the age of 33. and he told this story and all of a sudden he asked people hey if you want to believe and put your faith in christ come down to the front and i just remember all these students coming down coming down coming down we had to open up the door because the line went out the door and so music is playing emotions are high people are crying and i walk up on the stage just to soak it all in it was kind of like this and i just start weeping and my dad on this day six years ago walks up to me he just gave the message of his life he put his arm around me and i'm just like this is amazing but why do you have to die why god why does he have to die this is a good man why does he have to die and my dad looked at me was like hey god is going to use this in your life god is going to be with you god has got you and i'm like man i don't want god i want my dad and he's like god is going to be a father to you more than i ever could be and he sat there and he tried to remind me of truth in that moment and i didn't want to hear it and i didn't want to hear it for six months after that i went off the deep end i went to partying i left my church i left my friend group i went drinking and i went to chase and guess what i didn't i started to do life on my own because i didn't believe that god was actually with me because if he was with me then he would care about me if he cared about me then he would have saved my dad from cancer my dad died a few months after that night and i believed that i was alone it was miserable but i'll never forget it new year's eve after i pushed everyone away from me and i literally was alone bringing in the new year i laid there and i begged god to show himself to me and i did that prayer where i said i'm afraid i don't know what i'm doing but will you be my father will you help me see that i'm never alone and guys i wish i could tell you that it has just been fun and i felt the presence of god in my life in a mighty way but that's not true every holiday my mom is happily remarried she's with his family on the holidays my siblings they're all married they're with their in-laws and i'm sometimes stuck here in dallas and yeah i have luckily god's church around me and people around me to remind me that i'm not alone but it doesn't help the feeling that when i lay there on christmas eve that i sure do feel alone and i think the solution is a dad or the solution is marriage but guys the solution is that i choose to believe that god is with me and tonight you have a choice you can keep taking control and trying to do life on your own but you have a choice to believe the lie that you'll be forever alone or that your life can radically change if you would start to live like god is with you and in return you want to be with him and so choose that life choose to be with the god who longs to be with you i don't know what your future holds as we talk about the future a lot in this series i don't know if you're going to be married i don't know if you're gonna make more friends or grow your instagram following i don't know if you're gonna get that fixed to make you convinced that you're not alone i don't know but one thing i do know is that god will never leave you that god is with you and he is everything you need and i just bet he is waiting for young adults in dallas texas to actually believe and live a life that says i am not alone god is with me and if you would live like that let's see what he will do with the futures represented in this room tonight let's pray father i know that there are circumstances like mine where there has been death or cheating or sickness anxiety depression job loss cancer there are so many things represented here tonight that have convinced your people that maybe they will be forever alone or maybe marriage just isn't actually for them and that sounds awful or man why does no one pick me why have i not been chosen for a date and they sit they feel so alone and god i wish that right now i could snap my finger and everything would change and that we would actually be fully convinced and i know until we are in heaven and we are actually physically with you we will spend our life learning what it means more and more to live like we are not alone but until then would you give us patience would you give us grace would you give us steadfastness would you give us endurance as we learn what it means to be sons and daughters of a father who will never leave us or forsake us help us to remember the gospel the good news every single day to learn more about your word and what it says for us to pray and talk to you more and open up our hands to you to spend time with god's people in god's church being god's church and living life being fully known and fully loved by each other and more importantly by you and would you take that obedience and change our futures forever with it your name that i pray amen

Channel: The Porch

Views: 8,155

Rating: 4.9361701 out of 5

Keywords: the, porch, dallas, watermark, community, church, christian, christianity, ministry, movement, fort, worth, faith, sermon, dating, truth, bible, advice, biblical, counsel, jonathan pokluda, the porch, watermark community church, young adults, fort worth, david marvin, todd wagner, the bible

Id: QO0Fl8uRlLg

Length: 59min 15sec (3555 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 03 2021