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00:00:02
- Well, hey, welcome
to Crossroads.
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00:00:04
We are so glad that you're here.
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00:00:05
Now Crossroads is one
church with multiple sites
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00:00:08
around the country,
but we also know that
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00:00:10
churches are
people, not buildings.
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00:00:13
We also have our Crossroads
Anywhere community
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00:00:15
of people meeting online
in homes, coffee shops,
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00:00:17
bars, dorm rooms,
all over the place,
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00:00:19
running after Jesus
together across the globe.
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00:00:22
It actually reminds
me of people like Joan,
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00:00:24
who first found
Crossroads through music
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00:00:26
that our band recorded
and posted online.
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00:00:28
But then she experienced
not just content to watch
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00:00:31
or to listen to, but a
growing community.
-
00:00:34
And she since then has
traveled the world with us,
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00:00:36
going on Go Trips,
made great friends,
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00:00:38
and even started volunteering,
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00:00:40
helping other people get
connected and find community.
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00:00:43
I just love that
picture of a church
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00:00:45
that can't fit into a
single place on the map
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00:00:47
or slot on the calendar.
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00:00:49
Now we start off our
time together each week
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00:00:51
by singing songs that are
directly rooted in Scripture.
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00:00:54
Now, this might be
your favorite part,
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00:00:57
or it might feel
a little awkward
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00:00:58
singing to your computer
screen or your TV or whatever.
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00:01:01
But hey, whatever
you're feeling,
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00:01:03
I just encourage
you to stay tuned in
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00:01:05
to make the most of this
time to connect with God.
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00:01:08
So turn up the
volume, go full screen,
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00:01:10
and let's get started.
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00:20:30
- God, those aren't
easy words to say.
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00:20:32
It's not an easy prayer,
but I pray them honestly.
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00:20:36
I believe those words.
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00:20:39
You're a good Father,
you're a good friend,
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00:20:40
and you're a good King.
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00:20:42
We pray this all in
Your Son's name. Amen.
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00:20:46
- You need more
fun in your life.
-
00:20:48
Don't worry,
we've got you covered.
-
00:20:50
The 22nd annual
Super Bowl of Preaching
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00:20:55
is right around the corner.
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00:20:58
Don't let the word
preaching fool you.
-
00:21:00
This isn't for your
grandparents,
-
00:21:02
unless your grandparents
are into pyrotechnics.
-
00:21:05
No idea what the Super
Bowl of preaching is,
-
00:21:08
no problem.
-
00:21:09
Amazing tailgating
experience? Check.
-
00:21:12
Incredible event energy? Check.
-
00:21:15
Spectacular halftime
show? Check.
-
00:21:18
Hilarious Super Bowl
commercials? Check.
-
00:21:21
Questionable officiating? Check.
-
00:21:24
This is the most fun you'll
ever have in a church.
-
00:21:29
Join us for the Super
Bowl of Preaching.
-
00:21:31
Service times and
locations at crossroads.net.
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00:21:38
- Man, I love the Super
Bowl of Preaching.
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00:21:40
It's one of my favorite
weekends of the year
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00:21:42
and it is just
around the corner.
-
00:21:44
Now at Crossroads it basically
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00:21:46
has nothing to do with football,
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00:21:48
but the Super Bowl of
Preaching is all about
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00:21:50
throwing a party for
what has historically been
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00:21:53
one of the least attended church
weekends of the entire year.
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00:21:57
Now, if you live near
one of our physical sites,
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00:21:59
Columbus, Lexington,
Dayton, or Cincinnati,
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00:22:01
we'd love your help to
make this a great experience.
-
00:22:04
You can sign up to volunteer
at Crossroads.net/SuperBowl.
-
00:22:08
If you are not near one
of our physical locations
-
00:22:10
and consider yourself part
of our Anywhere community,
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00:22:12
hey, there's going to be
a great experience for you
-
00:22:15
beyond just watching
this crazy thing online.
-
00:22:17
You can actually sign up
to receive a free kit from us
-
00:22:20
that will help you host your
own experience at home.
-
00:22:23
So whether you want
to host a watch party
-
00:22:25
for the Super Bowl of Preaching,
-
00:22:26
or get together
with your friends
-
00:22:28
and throw a party for
the real football thing,
-
00:22:30
we'd love to help
make it happen.
-
00:22:32
Head to Crossroads.net/anywhere
to sign up
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00:22:34
for a Super Bowl kit,
and we'll mail it to you
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00:22:36
wherever you are.
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00:22:38
Now, Crossroads is
a movement of people
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00:22:40
meeting in person and
digitally, all over the country
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00:22:43
and all over the world.
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00:22:44
This is people who have
experienced life change
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00:22:46
through Jesus and His
teachings and His way of life.
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00:22:50
I want you to hear a
story from a real person
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00:22:52
in our community who's
experienced that life change,
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00:22:55
specifically from
the practice of giving.
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00:23:00
- I walked across the
country in my early 30s
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00:23:03
seeking God in Spain.
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00:23:04
I ended up finding
Him probably in
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00:23:07
the most unlikeliest of places
that I would have ever thought,
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00:23:09
which was was
here at Crossroads.
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00:23:11
My name is Erica.
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00:23:13
Four days after
leaving an abusive
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00:23:16
and dishonorable marriage,
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00:23:18
I heard His voice very
clearly on July 31st, 2019,
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00:23:23
saying that I
needed to follow Him
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00:23:25
or that would be --
That would be it for me.
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00:23:28
And I was, I was
dying at that point.
-
00:23:30
I actually looked
up and I knew that
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00:23:32
He had been calling
me for a long time.
-
00:23:35
I happened to have to go
to Kroger for some reason,
-
00:23:38
and I had seen
service was starting.
-
00:23:40
I looked up, I told Him, I
said, "Just so you know,
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00:23:42
I'm going to need you to show
me every step of the way here.
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00:23:46
I don't know what I'm doing.
-
00:23:47
I don't know how
to do any of this."
-
00:23:49
I had been struggling with
alcohol
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00:23:51
and substance for a while,
-
00:23:52
but that day He said,
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00:23:54
"Alcohol will not be
part of this equation.
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00:23:56
You will follow Me."
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00:23:57
I had already seen
such great growth
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00:23:59
in the few short months
that I had been here.
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00:24:02
We were challenged to
give 10% of our income
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00:24:07
back to God, which
is a biblical principle,
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00:24:09
and it's not something that
I was super familiar with.
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00:24:12
I had always considered
myself a generous person,
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00:24:15
but I always had my
own generosity agenda.
-
00:24:18
I mean, it was -- it was
what I wanted to give
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00:24:21
when I wanted to give,
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00:24:22
but I had no disciplined
record of giving.
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00:24:26
I had never looked at
what I was bringing in
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00:24:29
or what God was giving
me through my work.
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00:24:32
I had never looked
at that and looked at
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00:24:34
the portion that
He was due back.
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00:24:37
I work in the beauty industry,
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00:24:39
so I did have a
lot of tip income.
-
00:24:40
I then started setting
aside a cash envelope too.
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00:24:45
Throughout that time
God really covered me
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00:24:47
through the divorce
process and moving,
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00:24:50
you know, moving
away from my marriage.
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00:24:51
He covered me. He
covered my children.
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00:24:54
And it was scary for
me. I was a single mom.
-
00:24:56
I mean, at that point,
really trying to figure out
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00:24:58
what is all of this
going to look like.
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00:25:01
But I had a sense of peace
knowing that I was really --
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00:25:05
I was orienting my life to Him.
-
00:25:08
I was putting my money where
my mouth and my heart was,
-
00:25:11
for all intents and purposes.
-
00:25:13
I was giving Him
everything of me because
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00:25:16
this was one of the
rockiest times of my life.
-
00:25:18
And I was basically
saying, "You can have it.
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00:25:23
The pandemic
happened, and so I was --
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00:25:26
Basically a work
stoppage for me,
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00:25:29
again in the
middle of a divorce,
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00:25:30
two young children,
work stoppage.
-
00:25:33
I knew that God
would take care of me.
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00:25:35
I was continuing to pray
throughout this whole time,
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00:25:37
"God, what's my next direction?
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00:25:39
What do You want me to do?"
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00:25:40
Throughout my
generosity journey,
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00:25:43
I have just noticed
that when I pray,
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00:25:45
my answers from God
seem to come very clear
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00:25:50
and very quick, which
is important for me
-
00:25:52
because I'm not
great at waiting.
-
00:25:54
And through that prayer,
very quickly the answer came
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00:25:57
that, you know, I was
going to go out on my own,
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00:25:59
which seemed crazy to
me. I didn't have a plan.
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00:26:02
However, I knew
I had to obey Him.
-
00:26:04
I gave notice at my job.
-
00:26:06
I decided I'm going
to go out on my own
-
00:26:09
on the heels of a pandemic.
-
00:26:10
I was able to build my clientele
-
00:26:13
and I am busier now than ever.
-
00:26:16
Also, throughout that time,
I started immersing myself
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00:26:21
in the Crossroads community
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00:26:22
and to various healing groups
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00:26:24
and serving opportunities.
-
00:26:25
I was then introduced to
my now husband, Russell,
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00:26:29
and we then started an
amazing journey together.
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00:26:33
I've also remained alcohol free
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00:26:35
going on over four
and a half years now.
-
00:26:38
My husband Russell
and I laugh all the time
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00:26:40
on how many -- how
many nevers I'm now doing.
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00:26:43
I mean all the never, I'll never
do this, and I'm now doing.
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00:26:47
The Erica five years ago
wouldn't recognize this Erica.
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00:26:58
- At Crossroads we give
because God asks us to.
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00:27:01
We believe that
God owns everything,
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00:27:03
that He created the
earth and everything in it,
-
00:27:06
including you and me.
-
00:27:07
So we use what God gives
us in ways that honor Him.
-
00:27:11
In doing so, we just
operate more in line
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00:27:14
with how we were
created, and we experience
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00:27:16
rewards in our
lives that reflect that.
-
00:27:18
Now, this isn't like a
prosperity gospel thing,
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00:27:21
but it's just operating
how we were created.
-
00:27:24
Scripture is really
clear, and it says that
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00:27:26
every good and perfect
gift is from above.
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00:27:29
That's James 1:17.
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00:27:31
Now Crossroads is a tithing
church, which just means
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00:27:34
that we give the first
10% of our income
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00:27:37
to our local church, and
you might just immediately
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00:27:41
have all kinds of red flags
and you just need to hear,
-
00:27:43
we are not about your
money, we are about people
-
00:27:48
and the money that I
give every paycheck
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00:27:51
and that lots of other
people give, man,
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00:27:53
goes to helping people
around the country,
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00:27:55
around the world,
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00:27:56
and directly to
this church and its ministries.
-
00:27:59
Whether it's investing
in technology like this
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00:28:02
so that people can
access content about Jesus
-
00:28:04
in a language they
can understand,
-
00:28:05
or how we partner with
on the ground organizations
-
00:28:09
across the globe
and provide support
-
00:28:12
and manpower to lift
up our mission of being
-
00:28:14
a community of
growing Christ followers
-
00:28:16
who are changing the world.
-
00:28:17
Those things, or 100 other that
-
00:28:19
I just don't have
time to tell you about.
-
00:28:20
Man, I believe in what
we're doing as a church,
-
00:28:23
and I joyfully, gladly give
10% every, every paycheck
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00:28:27
because I know God
can do more with 10%
-
00:28:30
than I can do with 100.
-
00:28:33
We believe that God
recognizes and blesses people
-
00:28:36
who are good stewards,
people who are faithful.
-
00:28:38
And if you've heard
anything I've said,
-
00:28:40
and maybe you're
like, "I have questions."
-
00:28:43
Okay, that's good,
that's a good place to be.
-
00:28:45
Head to Crossroads.net/give
for information
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00:28:48
on what kind of decisions or
practices we have around money.
-
00:28:52
Or maybe you're
like, you know what?
-
00:28:53
I think I need to take
a step in the direction
-
00:28:57
of trusting God
with my finances.
-
00:28:59
We actually have a thing
called The Tithe Test.
-
00:29:01
It's a 90 day experiment
where, risk free,
-
00:29:05
we just say, "Hey, try
it for 90 days and see,
-
00:29:08
see how God shows
up over that time.
-
00:29:11
And if He doesn't,
hey, we'll make it right.
-
00:29:14
We'll give it all back."
-
00:29:15
And if you've maybe
been on this journey
-
00:29:17
for a long time, you
just need to know
-
00:29:18
we have a thing around
here called the Blue Team.
-
00:29:21
This is for self-proclaimed
people who are tithing,
-
00:29:24
who are in that spiritual
discipline and practice.
-
00:29:27
Man, we'd love
for you to sign up
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00:29:29
at crossroads.net/give
for The Tithe Test,
-
00:29:32
for more information on
giving or to join the Blue Team.
-
00:29:36
Man, I just know from
personal experience
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00:29:38
interacting with tons of
people in our community
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00:29:40
that anyone who willingly
gives up 10% of their income
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00:29:44
wants to build something,
build something that lasts.
-
00:29:47
Over the last three weeks,
-
00:29:49
we've been looking at
the book of Nehemiah
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00:29:50
and how we can build
something that lasts,
-
00:29:53
how we can make
a vision a reality.
-
00:29:55
This week, we're
specifically diving into
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00:29:58
how we can push back
when there's pushback.
-
00:30:22
- This is week number
four of Nehemiah is what
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00:30:27
we're looking at week by
week, by week by week.
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00:30:29
Uh, here's a little recap,
-
00:30:30
and then we'll pray
and we'll get going.
-
00:30:32
First, we noticed
in the very first week
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00:30:34
that the walls were
down in Jerusalem.
-
00:30:37
The walls were the
sign of national identity
-
00:30:40
for the nation of Israel.
-
00:30:42
But they had been attacked
and they were defeated.
-
00:30:45
And they were separated in exile
-
00:30:46
all over the place
under Persian rule.
-
00:30:49
Nehemiah is at
the top of his game
-
00:30:51
in the Persian
household of Artaxerxes.
-
00:30:53
He's a Jew, and he hears
about the walls being down,
-
00:30:57
and he grips his
heart and he weeps
-
00:30:59
and he's broken about it.
-
00:31:01
That's what
happens with a vision.
-
00:31:03
When you feel something
that's the sign of vision
-
00:31:07
or a resolution or a
goal needs to be made.
-
00:31:09
I'm using those three
things interchangeably,
-
00:31:11
though there are definitely
are differences in those,
-
00:31:13
but I'm using them synonymously
-
00:31:15
in the midst of this
whole Nehemiah thing.
-
00:31:17
Then he plans about it, right?
-
00:31:19
And then they work
about it and he uses it
-
00:31:22
because it's about people.
-
00:31:23
It's not about just the
tactical thing of the wall.
-
00:31:26
It as we looked at last week,
-
00:31:28
it's the wall is for the people.
-
00:31:30
God cares vision about people.
-
00:31:32
Now, the thing about
people, the thing
-
00:31:34
about people is that
people are annoying.
-
00:31:36
That's the problem.
-
00:31:37
The thing about people
is that people hurt you.
-
00:31:40
People hurt you more
than the weather patterns
-
00:31:42
are going to hurt you,
-
00:31:43
more than the government's
going to hurt you,
-
00:31:45
more than anybody can.
People suck sometimes, right?
-
00:31:51
Because we say hurtful
words to each other,
-
00:31:53
we criticize one another,
we devalue one another,
-
00:31:56
we are negative.
-
00:31:58
And this is what will
happen whenever you decide
-
00:32:01
you're going to do something,
do something different,
-
00:32:04
a vision, a resolution, a goal.
-
00:32:06
Get ready for the critics.
-
00:32:08
That's what Nehemiah dealt with.
-
00:32:10
And we're going to
look at that today.
-
00:32:13
So let's pray about
that right now.
-
00:32:14
God, I'm thankful
for our time together.
-
00:32:17
And I'm asking that You
would help us to see You,
-
00:32:21
understand You,
embrace You and, God,
-
00:32:23
to see a vision that
You may have for us,
-
00:32:26
a goal that we
need to hold on to,
-
00:32:29
a resolution we need to make.
-
00:32:32
I just want to be helpful
for your people, God.
-
00:32:34
And I'm asking You
help me be clear, clear,
-
00:32:37
and most importantly, in
alignment with Your truth.
-
00:32:40
I pray these things
according to the character
-
00:32:41
and identity of Jesus. Amen.
-
00:32:47
Man, I don't know if you've
ever had anything happen
-
00:32:51
in your life that you never
thought would happen.
-
00:32:54
We saw with Erica
just a little bit ago, yeah,
-
00:32:56
never saw a bunch of
those things happening.
-
00:32:59
When that happens,
it's probably a sign
-
00:33:01
of two things have happened.
-
00:33:03
One, God is at
work in your life,
-
00:33:06
and you may have a vision
to do something different.
-
00:33:10
And when someone does
something different, it, um,
-
00:33:13
it always erupts
with sparks because
-
00:33:17
different things bring
different feelings.
-
00:33:19
When my friend I
mentioned before
-
00:33:22
said he was going to
go on an eating plan,
-
00:33:23
I was a bit threatened by that.
-
00:33:25
Like, oh, I'm not going
on an eating plan.
-
00:33:27
I was tempted to discourage him.
-
00:33:30
If you're going to
go on an eating plan,
-
00:33:31
if you're going
to say, set a goal
-
00:33:33
to be whatever it is,
under 200 pounds,
-
00:33:35
under 300, under whatever
it is, you're going to find
-
00:33:38
people around you who weigh
about your weight right now
-
00:33:41
are not going to like it.
-
00:33:44
They're going to want
you to keep keep eating.
-
00:33:47
It's a vision that's going
to bring some sparks.
-
00:33:51
If you come from a
family that actually
-
00:33:54
has not been married,
divorce is a normal thing.
-
00:33:57
When you choose to get married,
-
00:33:59
if you choose to get married,
-
00:34:00
there's going to
be a lot of eye rolls,
-
00:34:02
because that's going
to be a vision, a goal
-
00:34:04
that a lot of people
and some families
-
00:34:06
just don't understand.
-
00:34:08
When you start having an
idea and doing something
-
00:34:12
like a menu and a food truck,
other people are going to,
-
00:34:15
"You're going to --
You're going to do what?"
-
00:34:17
And they'll do all they can
to try to be encouraging,
-
00:34:19
but it's going to
be really hard.
-
00:34:22
When the walls are down, no
one is discouraging anybody.
-
00:34:28
But as the walls start to go up,
-
00:34:30
as things start to get
built, the crazies come out
-
00:34:35
and they are not happy.
-
00:34:36
Let's let's read
about it right now.
-
00:34:38
Nehemiah 4:1, here's where we
go as they're making progress.
-
00:34:41
Here's what it says:
-
00:35:10
Tobiah the Ammonite was
beside him, and he said,
-
00:35:12
"Yeah, yeah, yeah,
what they're building --
-
00:35:16
If the fox goes on it he will
break it down their stone wall."
-
00:35:19
He-he-he! It's like
Myron and Spike
-
00:35:23
or Skut Farkus,
Grover Dill. You know?
-
00:35:27
That's a Christmas Story.
I know it's past Christmas.
-
00:35:29
Come on, Scut Farcus.
How can you not know him?
-
00:35:32
Oh, yeah. Yeah, him.
-
00:35:33
There's always,
like, a big protagonist
-
00:35:35
and then a little guy is
like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
-
00:35:38
It's always -- that's
the way it is on that,
-
00:35:40
a guy is taking
charge on criticism.
-
00:35:42
And the next guy says,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.
-
00:35:45
You you can't do this."
-
00:35:46
Look how discouraging
he is to them
-
00:35:49
saying "You're
building the wall?'
-
00:35:51
What he says things like, "What,
are you going to sacrifice?
-
00:35:55
You're not going to sacrifice.
-
00:35:57
You're not going to be
able to push yourself out.
-
00:36:00
That's going to
be a lot of work.
-
00:36:01
You think you have that?
-
00:36:02
You're not going to
be able to do that."
-
00:36:04
He also says, "You're
going to finish up in a day?
-
00:36:06
What, because you don't
have the stick-to-itiveness
-
00:36:08
to go past a day, you're
going to do it in a day?"
-
00:36:11
That's what your
critics will say to you,
-
00:36:14
"Oh, maybe start it
real fast, but what,
-
00:36:17
you really think
you're going to do that?
-
00:36:19
You really think you're
going to follow through?"
-
00:36:21
Here's another one, "Will
they restored for themselves?"
-
00:36:24
Inferring motive.
-
00:36:25
You're not doing this
for the good of anybody.
-
00:36:28
This isn't honorable. You're
getting something weird
-
00:36:30
and sick out of it for yourself.
-
00:36:32
Man, anybody who doesn't
like something you're doing
-
00:36:36
is going to find
some good reason
-
00:36:38
why you should be discouraged.
-
00:36:40
It's the human way.
-
00:36:43
As I mentioned with my friend
who is going on an eating plan,
-
00:36:46
I had to check
myself. Stop, stop.
-
00:36:48
I got to encourage him
because I was actually
-
00:36:50
starting to discourage
him because I thought,
-
00:36:52
"Well, I'm not going
on an eating plan.
-
00:36:55
Am I a loser? I'm not
going on an eating plan."
-
00:36:58
We're threatened when people
have visions that we don't have.
-
00:37:01
We're threatened when people
-
00:37:02
make resolutions we
don't want to make.
-
00:37:04
We're threatened when
people are doing things
-
00:37:06
that we don't want
to do, we shouldn't be.
-
00:37:07
It's what they're doing.
Doesn't mean you have to do it.
-
00:37:10
But we don't have to
be negative about it.
-
00:37:12
Some of us don't
understand someone
-
00:37:15
who decides not to
drink all of January,
-
00:37:17
or have sober October
or stop drinking altogether.
-
00:37:22
Like there's some of us like,
"You'll stop drinking. What?"
-
00:37:25
Like, [explosion FX]
-
00:37:27
"Whoa, how would
you possibly have fun?
-
00:37:30
You're going to go to a sporting
event and not drink. What?"
-
00:37:35
A lot of people
discourage people
-
00:37:38
who make drinking
elimination goals
-
00:37:41
because they
themselves are threatened,
-
00:37:43
and they can't imagine
that vision for themselves.
-
00:37:46
Well, fine, you
don't have to do that.
-
00:37:47
But why do we have to
be so negative on people
-
00:37:50
doing something
that we don't do?
-
00:37:52
Many people in the
corporate environment look at
-
00:37:55
somebody who's going
to start their own business
-
00:37:57
and they're like,
"What are you talking --"
-
00:37:59
Can't imagine, like, needing
the structure of everything.
-
00:38:01
What? And inversely,
many people who come from
-
00:38:05
a family where you're
eat what you kill,
-
00:38:07
start your own business
when you maybe see
-
00:38:09
a family member has a vision
to go into corporate America.
-
00:38:11
Like, "What? What
are you doing? Why?"
-
00:38:13
We're all threatened by
something we don't know.
-
00:38:16
We're all threatened by
something we don't like.
-
00:38:19
We're all threatened by
somebody else's decision.
-
00:38:21
And I don't know why that is.
Well, I do know why it is.
-
00:38:23
It's called sin.
That's why it is.
-
00:38:25
But it's really sinister
when it gets in the way
-
00:38:28
of somebody doing something
that would be good for people,
-
00:38:32
that is themselves
and that is other people.
-
00:38:36
There's these
things in the Bible
-
00:38:38
called spiritual Gifts, and
there's a bunch of them
-
00:38:40
that are freaky, really
freaky, like gifts of tongues,
-
00:38:43
gift of interpreting
tongues, prophecy,
-
00:38:46
these kind of things.
-
00:38:47
And I went to a cemetery,
or I mean, seminary
-
00:38:49
when I was in -- when
I was in seminary,
-
00:38:52
I was taught and I
believed in seminary
-
00:38:54
that all those
crazy, freaky things,
-
00:38:56
when the apostles died,
all those things went away.
-
00:39:00
And they had their
reasons for that,
-
00:39:02
and I did way back when.
-
00:39:03
But I realized the
reason why many people
-
00:39:05
don't believe that those
things exist is because
-
00:39:08
we're threatened by
something we don't understand.
-
00:39:10
We're freaked out that
you can do something
-
00:39:12
that I can't. Well, there's
things that everyone does
-
00:39:15
that somebody else doesn't do.
-
00:39:16
It's not that different gifts
are more important than others.
-
00:39:19
But when we see
somebody that has something
-
00:39:22
or is doing something
that we're not doing,
-
00:39:24
all of us are threatened
and we discourage
-
00:39:27
or we create a whole
theology that comes down on it.
-
00:39:29
Here's the thing.
-
00:39:31
It's easier to crack on
someone who has a vision
-
00:39:34
than it is to actually
have a vision yourself.
-
00:39:37
It's easier to crack on
somebody who has a vision
-
00:39:40
than to have a vision yourself.
-
00:39:44
I got some burn here on this.
-
00:39:46
I've made a lot of mistakes.
-
00:39:47
I've deserved a
lot of criticism, a lot.
-
00:39:51
I deserve a lot of criticism,
I have in my history.
-
00:39:54
But I've also been blessed
by God to be very faithful
-
00:39:58
in going after a number
of visions He's had for me.
-
00:40:00
And I want to share with
you some of them today,
-
00:40:02
not because I'm trying
to pump myself up,
-
00:40:04
just to go, because
I want to say,
-
00:40:05
if you're feeling
this, I get it,
-
00:40:07
I get it, I've been there.
-
00:40:08
When we first started
Crossroads 1996 or so,
-
00:40:13
about '98, '99, 1999,
something like that,
-
00:40:17
I went to a wedding, and at
that wedding there was some --
-
00:40:21
A bunch of people I didn't
know at that wedding.
-
00:40:23
And Crossroads in
Cincinnati at that point
-
00:40:26
was this like bright
light, it was just taking off.
-
00:40:29
It was everyone's talking about.
-
00:40:31
We're getting front,
literally front page headlines
-
00:40:33
or news stories, all this stuff.
-
00:40:35
Because it was like,
this church is doing
-
00:40:36
so many weird
things, unusual things,
-
00:40:38
there's a bunch of
young people coming.
-
00:40:40
Really, really crazy.
-
00:40:41
And so I went to this wedding
and someone I knew was there
-
00:40:47
and knew someone else
who I didn't know and said,
-
00:40:49
"Oh, hey. So and so is at
Brian who started Crossroads."
-
00:40:52
And this guy went
to another church.
-
00:40:54
He didn't think very
highly of our church.
-
00:40:56
And he said, he just
said this, I'll never forget.
-
00:40:59
He said he said, he
said it just like this too.
-
00:41:01
He said, "I hope God's
in it," is what he said.
-
00:41:06
And me and my very godly manner,
-
00:41:09
the way I always
operate, [laughter] I said --
-
00:41:13
I said, "You know,
He's not. He's not.
-
00:41:17
We're just really hard workers
and it's all by our own might."
-
00:41:23
End of conversation. [laughter]
-
00:41:26
I didn't even know what to say.
-
00:41:27
It was just, like, he was
discouraging. He was.
-
00:41:30
I don't know why he was
discouraged, I don't know,
-
00:41:32
did he think we were a
threat to whatever his church?
-
00:41:34
Do he think we were
a threat? I don't know.
-
00:41:36
But that's the way we all are
-
00:41:38
when someone's doing
something we don't understand,
-
00:41:40
we're negative and critical,
-
00:41:42
and we get them off their game.
-
00:41:43
And woe to us, woe to us who
get somebody off their game
-
00:41:47
when God's giving
them a vision or a goal
-
00:41:49
or a resolution.
-
00:41:51
At any point, you
can say Amen to that,
-
00:41:53
at any point you
can. Yeah, good.
-
00:41:56
We've all been on
both sides of this.
-
00:41:58
Now, let's go down
to Nehemiah 4:11
-
00:42:01
to see how this
continues to unfold.
-
00:42:04
Let's do 14, verse 14.
-
00:42:18
He says, "Don't be
afraid of them. Don't do it.
-
00:42:22
When someone's
coming down on you,
-
00:42:23
there's no reason
to be afraid of them.
-
00:42:28
They are not understanding
what God is asking you to do.
-
00:42:32
That's between you and God.
-
00:42:33
It's not between them and God.
-
00:42:35
And don't allow them to
get between you and God."
-
00:42:38
D.L. Moody, who's one of
the most respected preachers
-
00:42:41
in Christian history from a
century or so ago, he said this:
-
00:42:52
There will be bitter enemies.
-
00:42:56
And this is why Nehemiah
actually has to divide up
-
00:42:59
his forces with spears
and arrows and swords
-
00:43:02
just to protect them,
because these guys
-
00:43:05
aren't just giving physical
taunts or verbal taunts,
-
00:43:08
they're actually
threatening physical harm.
-
00:43:11
Now, Sanballat, Sanballat
is a Samaritan official,
-
00:43:15
and he's negative
because he's got
-
00:43:17
a certain piece of
authority pie, and he's afraid
-
00:43:21
that Nehemiah is
doing all of this because
-
00:43:25
Nehemiah is trying to
worm in on his authority,
-
00:43:28
worm in on his action, take
maybe taxes away from him,
-
00:43:32
take glory away from him.
-
00:43:33
He's not -- He's not
liking it at all, not at all.
-
00:43:37
So let's see what
it says in 6:2.
-
00:43:47
Which is where Yoko
was born. [laughter]
-
00:44:04
They're trying to
get him to come
-
00:44:06
and they're sending
messages and he's not having it.
-
00:44:10
They're sending messages.
-
00:44:11
They want to get
him off his game.
-
00:44:12
They want to take his life.
-
00:44:14
They want to stop
this whole thing.
-
00:44:15
I love what Nehemiah says,
"Why should I get off the wall?
-
00:44:19
I'm on the wall.
I'm on vision here.
-
00:44:22
I've got a plan. I'm working.
-
00:44:24
You're not going to get
me to get off my wall."
-
00:44:26
Hey, friends, let me
tell you something.
-
00:44:28
There are people in here,
you're on a wall right now,
-
00:44:30
and there's a bunch of
people in a cultural rift
-
00:44:32
in society that wants
to get you off your wall,
-
00:44:35
wants to get you off your game.
-
00:44:37
And your game, your wall is
anything that you're feeling.
-
00:44:42
It's anything that you
think causes God to smile.
-
00:44:46
It's anything that you
think needs to get done
-
00:44:48
and you see it in your mind
and others don't just see it,
-
00:44:52
but when they see
you, they're threatened.
-
00:44:54
Don't get off your wall.
Don't get off your wall.
-
00:44:58
Stay your points.
-
00:45:00
There's very few
people who are faithful
-
00:45:04
who can stay at the
task until it's done
-
00:45:06
when nobody likes
what they believe
-
00:45:09
and nobody likes what
they say, let alone do.
-
00:45:13
But you, if you want
to walk close with God
-
00:45:15
and you want to have a
full heart towards people
-
00:45:17
and life that's unusually
powerful in 2024,
-
00:45:21
you have to learn
to stay on the wall.
-
00:45:25
Stay where you are,
keep pushing, keep going.
-
00:45:33
The reason why there
is so much criticism
-
00:45:36
around visions is
because they mean
-
00:45:40
there's a new move,
something's moving,
-
00:45:42
someone is doing something new,
-
00:45:44
and new moves create chaos
-
00:45:47
because they haven't
been experienced before.
-
00:45:51
It's a vision in your mind,
-
00:45:53
but it hasn't been
experienced before.
-
00:45:57
It's a first of a kind thing,
maybe for you and your circle.
-
00:46:00
And whenever something
is a first of a kind thing,
-
00:46:03
this is friction.
-
00:46:05
You know that automobile
right now, no big deal.
-
00:46:08
We whiz around with
automobiles 90 miles an hour,
-
00:46:10
going opposite ways,
passing each other.
-
00:46:12
No stress at all, right?
-
00:46:14
Well, that's because
we're used to it.
-
00:46:15
When the car first came
out, it was utter chaos.
-
00:46:17
Everybody with horses and
carriages like, "What are you?"
-
00:46:20
This is stress, like wars.
It was -- It was horrible.
-
00:46:22
It was awful. How do
we get this whole thing?"
-
00:46:24
It was chaos.
-
00:46:25
It was a vision that
people didn't understand.
-
00:46:28
Now we understand
it and it's really simple.
-
00:46:29
There's things that
you will be shocked that
-
00:46:32
at some point you're going
to become very proficient
-
00:46:35
and there will be no stress.
-
00:46:36
But right now it's chaos because
-
00:46:38
you're doing something
you've never done before.
-
00:46:40
And to make it worse,
you're doing something
-
00:46:42
maybe your inner circle
has never seen you do before
-
00:46:45
and they're threatened
-
00:46:47
and they're not
going to support you.
-
00:46:50
Don't take it personally.
-
00:46:52
It's part of the
human condition.
-
00:46:55
It's part of just who
we are and what we do.
-
00:46:58
I think part of it is
because it's something
-
00:47:01
that we haven't experienced
-
00:47:03
and things that we haven't
experienced freak us out.
-
00:47:08
Like snakes. How
many of us love snakes?
-
00:47:13
Raise your hand. How
many? How many love snakes?
-
00:47:15
A few sickos in here.
Just a few sickos. [laughter]
-
00:47:20
Most of us are
freaked about snakes.
-
00:47:22
We don't like snakes.
-
00:47:24
I've got two theories for that.
-
00:47:25
One reason is
because it was a curse
-
00:47:29
that we're all living under,
-
00:47:31
so says the Bible in
the book of Genesis,
-
00:47:32
that when God takes the evil one
-
00:47:34
who comes in the
form of a serpent,
-
00:47:36
and he causes or enables
Adam and Eve to sin,
-
00:47:39
He knocks his legs
out from under him
-
00:47:41
and has him squirm
on the ground.
-
00:47:42
There's this natural animosity
with most of us and snakes.
-
00:47:46
We don't process it this way,
-
00:47:48
but it's actually happening
on a spiritual level.
-
00:47:50
That's one theory,
-
00:47:51
and that's definitely
part of what's happening.
-
00:47:53
The second thing is, and
I've thought a lot about this,
-
00:47:55
I don't have a great,
great love for snakes.
-
00:47:57
The second is when
you're seeing a snake,
-
00:48:00
you haven't
experienced it before
-
00:48:02
so it creates chaos
in your emotions.
-
00:48:04
Like, it's the only thing
that moves that way.
-
00:48:07
It's just weird, right?
-
00:48:09
I mean, worms
don't, they have --
-
00:48:10
They don't have any legs either,
-
00:48:12
but worms don't move in
such a way that's strange.
-
00:48:14
It's it's odd. It's
it's really, really.
-
00:48:16
And so that's why I think
a lot of us just freak out,
-
00:48:19
like, "I don't, I don't
understand, I don't know."
-
00:48:21
And so we don't understand it
-
00:48:22
and it creates chaos
and it freaks us out.
-
00:48:25
This is the way it
is with any vision,
-
00:48:27
anything that God is doing,
anything He wants you to do.
-
00:48:31
And when this happens,
there's always going to be
-
00:48:33
some room for misunderstanding.
-
00:48:36
In Nehemiah 6:6 it says:
-
00:48:51
This is the chaos
and the criticism.
-
00:48:53
They think the
criticism is justified.
-
00:48:55
"Oh, I know what
happened. No. Yeah.
-
00:48:56
You don't really care
about rebuilding the wall.
-
00:48:59
You're worried about
getting your own kingdom.
-
00:49:01
It's really all about you.
-
00:49:03
You don't -- you're not
altruistic in the goal here.
-
00:49:06
You're just trying
to exalt yourself."
-
00:49:11
This is why on week
one of this I talked about
-
00:49:15
when you have a vision,
you have to crockpot it.
-
00:49:18
You have to keep it
inside for a while, because
-
00:49:21
you need to allow a
right amount of time
-
00:49:24
to think about it, pray
about it, plan about it,
-
00:49:28
and you need to be
really solidified because
-
00:49:30
as soon as you bring
it out in the light of day,
-
00:49:33
get ready, the
freaks will come out.
-
00:49:36
And if you're not
settled in your spirit
-
00:49:38
what it is you're
supposed to do,
-
00:49:40
you will crumble immediately.
-
00:49:42
It needs time to crockpot.
-
00:49:45
One of the things we'll
talk about at some point,
-
00:49:48
not ready yet because
it's still crockpotting.
-
00:49:49
I'll give you a little,
little hint on this
-
00:49:51
or a little, little
snippet on this is
-
00:49:53
we're going to make
-
00:49:55
a major, massive, massive,
massive investment in tech.
-
00:50:00
We are going to elevate
our game and our sites
-
00:50:02
and especially our
online community with a --
-
00:50:05
With -- I don't even want --
-
00:50:07
I was going to show you
pictures of renderings.
-
00:50:09
It wouldn't make
sense. It's not worth it.
-
00:50:11
It's the only thing
like it in the world.
-
00:50:13
The only thing close
is the sphere in Vegas.
-
00:50:17
The same computing
power, actually,
-
00:50:19
as the sphere in Vegas has.
-
00:50:20
And it's a lot of
money, a lot, a lot, a lot.
-
00:50:23
I'll tell you eventually, as
soon as we figure it all out.
-
00:50:26
But I'll tell you right now
it's creating massive chaos
-
00:50:28
because there's
only like six people
-
00:50:30
in the world who understand it.
-
00:50:31
And we've gone through
about three of them
-
00:50:33
who can't figure out to
do what we want to do,
-
00:50:35
or two of them, rather.
-
00:50:36
And it's chaos and
staff and everybody.
-
00:50:38
It's really hard.
It's really, really --
-
00:50:40
And I'm not going to
tell you anything more
-
00:50:42
because I can't afford
any more blowback.
-
00:50:44
Just trust me, we've
prayed a lot about this,
-
00:50:47
and this is the direction
that we're going.
-
00:50:48
But as I was wrestling
with this, I thought,
-
00:50:50
"Well, I don't know,
maybe this is -- maybe.
-
00:50:53
Maybe there's a
sign here from God.
-
00:50:54
Maybe that is because we
prayed a lot about it before,
-
00:50:56
and these are some of the
things we were concerned.
-
00:50:58
Is it too complicated?
-
00:50:59
Do we have the right
infrastructure?" All this stuff.
-
00:51:02
And now we're seeing
after we pulled the trigger,
-
00:51:06
maybe that's true.
-
00:51:08
And I love what Kyle said.
-
00:51:11
Kyle said, who's our new
Lead Pastor, by the way,
-
00:51:13
who reports to me
as Senior Pastor.
-
00:51:20
We have the best story,
it demands the best tools.
-
00:51:22
The story of
Jesus's love for you,
-
00:51:26
God has a purpose for you.
-
00:51:28
The story of redemption,
the story of forgiveness,
-
00:51:31
the story of a vision and
how God uses you and I.
-
00:51:35
And all the stories that
move us in Hollywood,
-
00:51:37
they're all, whether
they tried to or not,
-
00:51:39
they're all based on the
story that's in the Bible.
-
00:51:42
It is the story. It's the
quintessential story.
-
00:51:44
It's the best story,
and that's who we are.
-
00:51:47
We get people into
the story of God.
-
00:51:49
We need the best tools for that.
-
00:51:52
You guys have been very
supportive, by the way,
-
00:51:54
since we announced that
Kyle is going to be Lead Pastor,
-
00:51:57
doing a lot of things I was
doing before reporting to me.
-
00:51:59
For most people, it's
going to look the same,
-
00:52:01
but you've been
very, very supportive.
-
00:52:06
Also not quite right
about some things, like,
-
00:52:09
some of you have congratulated
me because I'm semi-retired.
-
00:52:12
I am not semi-retired,
not semi-retired.
-
00:52:14
I am not slowing down.
-
00:52:16
Believe it or not, I'm
speeding up. Okay.
-
00:52:20
But it's understandable
that, you know,
-
00:52:23
there would be
misperceptions because
-
00:52:24
it's not something that's
ever been seen before.
-
00:52:26
I know people who've
become founding pastor
-
00:52:29
and have really cranked
down their workload,
-
00:52:31
have someone else
be senior pastor.
-
00:52:32
Other people have
done co-senior pastors.
-
00:52:34
I've never known anybody
to have a senior pastor
-
00:52:37
and lead pastor
in the same thing.
-
00:52:38
It's a new thing we're trying.
It's a vision that we have.
-
00:52:41
I haven't seen it happen before.
-
00:52:42
I've researched, I've
been looking at years.
-
00:52:44
And so it's understandable that
it wouldn't be understandable.
-
00:52:48
And to understandable
there could be some criticism,
-
00:52:51
though there's not.
-
00:52:52
And so well done
church, thank you so much
-
00:52:53
for being so encouraging
for us as we try new things
-
00:52:55
to keep ourselves
sharp and on the edge.
-
00:52:57
It's really good.
-
00:52:59
Nehemiah 6:15:
-
00:53:17
You see that? They
fell in their own esteem.
-
00:53:20
That's what criticism is about,
-
00:53:22
it's about me and
my own self esteem
-
00:53:23
and I'm going to be threatened
-
00:53:24
if you do something I can't
do. And what do you know?
-
00:53:27
They fell on their own
self esteem because
-
00:53:29
they realized that it
wasn't just that Nehemiah
-
00:53:31
was a gifted and
just voracious leader
-
00:53:36
who just was like
a dog with a bone
-
00:53:37
with vision and
wouldn't let it drop.
-
00:53:39
But they realized the
God was on their side.
-
00:53:42
There was the X factor
of the presence of God.
-
00:53:46
The vision that God
cares about isn't the vision
-
00:53:48
that makes you
feel like, "Yeah, see,
-
00:53:50
when I say something,
I get it done."
-
00:53:52
He doesn't care
about that vision.
-
00:53:53
The vision He cares
about is not the one
-
00:53:55
where you get to add to your
accolades and you think about,
-
00:53:58
"Oh, they'll be able to
say this at my eulogy."
-
00:54:00
The vision God
cares about is the one
-
00:54:02
that He approves of that's about
people,
-
00:54:05
that's about His Kingdom.
-
00:54:06
And you are a person and
you are about His Kingdom,
-
00:54:08
so something that blesses
you personally, that's okay,
-
00:54:12
but it's under the direction of
God, under the grace of God.
-
00:54:17
Pushback is normal.
-
00:54:19
I'm going to give you
some clues in just a moment
-
00:54:22
about when you're
getting criticized,
-
00:54:23
when someone isn't supporting
you, how to deal with it.
-
00:54:26
Just recognize it's normal.
-
00:54:29
Nehemiah dealt with it.
-
00:54:30
You and I are
going to deal with it.
-
00:54:33
Sometimes, by the way,
sometimes by the way
-
00:54:35
you get pushback because
it's warranted and you're wrong.
-
00:54:39
Sometimes I've gotten pushback
-
00:54:40
because it's warranted
and I was wrong.
-
00:54:42
None of us are God.
None of us are inerrant.
-
00:54:44
None of us are the Bible.
-
00:54:45
So we just have to
have that on our mind
-
00:54:48
while simultaneously saying,
-
00:54:49
"No, I'm going to
stay on the wall."
-
00:54:51
We've also got to
have a level of humility
-
00:54:54
to receive criticism
in the right way
-
00:54:56
and at the right time.
-
00:54:59
Here's some of the
criticism that I've experienced
-
00:55:02
in my life and how I've
seen it and lived through it.
-
00:55:05
When Lib and I left Pittsburgh
to come to Cincinnati,
-
00:55:10
when we left a football team
-
00:55:12
that was in deep in the
playoffs every single year
-
00:55:14
to come to Cincinnati,
and thankful to do so.
-
00:55:19
We are Bengals fans above and
beyond the Steelers, for sure.
-
00:55:22
Friends of mine,
lifelong friends said,
-
00:55:23
"You're -- wait,
you got 11 people
-
00:55:25
are going to pay
your salary for a year.
-
00:55:26
No denominational support,
no mother church support.
-
00:55:28
They're going to tap into
their home equity credit lines,
-
00:55:31
their savings or whatever and
they're like all 30 year olds?"
-
00:55:33
I said, yeah, and they
said, "That's a bad idea.
-
00:55:36
That's really a bad idea."
-
00:55:38
And I know it was a bad
idea, but it was God's idea.
-
00:55:41
But I had people close to me
-
00:55:42
who were very,
very discouraging.
-
00:55:44
When we in Cincinnati wanted
to start the Citylink Center,
-
00:55:47
which was to bring the
working poor out of poverty,
-
00:55:49
to not just give a
handout, but give a hand up
-
00:55:51
and have services with
linked communication
-
00:55:55
under the same roof,
a lot of people thought
-
00:55:57
it was a good idea until
they saw where it was.
-
00:56:00
And then they got really upset.
-
00:56:01
And people couldn't understand
it because it was a vision
-
00:56:03
that had literally never
been seen before.
-
00:56:06
Just like 11 people
funding a pastor
-
00:56:09
of their own thing and scraping,
draining all their savings.
-
00:56:13
That's just not done very often.
-
00:56:14
And people were upset and livid.
-
00:56:16
Massive protests
outside of our church.
-
00:56:19
We had city council
members voting against it
-
00:56:22
when it wasn't even supposed
to be part of the agenda.
-
00:56:24
One of the city council
members got together
-
00:56:26
with Tim Seneff, who
was running it on our end.
-
00:56:28
He's now the Mason
Community Pastor.
-
00:56:29
And the city council
member said, let me tell you,
-
00:56:31
doing everything they
can to get it to stop.
-
00:56:33
He said, "This is
separation of church
-
00:56:35
and let me tell you something,
-
00:56:36
if I hear so much as
a Bible open there,
-
00:56:39
we will be after you with
all the way of the law."
-
00:56:42
Exact quote: So much
as a Bible being opened.
-
00:56:46
So happy to tell you he got --
-
00:56:47
He lost election the next
time. It was wonderful.
-
00:56:51
In fact, every council
member that voted against it,
-
00:56:53
they all lost the next election.
-
00:56:55
Interesting how those
things happen sometimes.
-
00:56:57
The first motorcycle that I had,
-
00:56:59
the first motorcycle I had
that I wanted to rebuild
-
00:57:02
and I wanted to customize,
-
00:57:03
I had ripped all the wiring out.
-
00:57:05
I had it in pieces.
-
00:57:06
And a friend of mine
comes over and goes, "Ha!"
-
00:57:08
He said, he laughs, "Ha!
-
00:57:10
You're never going to
get that started again."
-
00:57:13
And then I won a
bike competition with it
-
00:57:15
about a half a year later.
-
00:57:17
But it was admirable
what he said.
-
00:57:19
I'd never done
anything like that before,
-
00:57:21
but it was a goal. It
was a goal that I had.
-
00:57:24
The idea of we're
going to have land
-
00:57:27
and people from all over
the country and world
-
00:57:29
are actually going to come,
they'll poop in the woods
-
00:57:32
and we're not going to
build bathrooms and showers.
-
00:57:34
We want to get people
primitive off the grid.
-
00:57:37
And tens of thousands
of people have come
-
00:57:39
and had their lives
changed and, people,
-
00:57:41
it was a vision, it
had never been seen.
-
00:57:42
It still hasn't
been seen before.
-
00:57:45
And it's no glory to
us, it's glory to God
-
00:57:47
for giving us the vision
and us just being on the wall.
-
00:57:50
So here's the thing,
pushback never surprises God.
-
00:57:54
When we put it up, because we
push back on God all the time.
-
00:57:58
God tells us to do something,
-
00:58:00
"Oh, I don't know, I
don't want to do that."
-
00:58:03
It says something in the Bible,
-
00:58:04
"Oh, no, that was Old Testament.
-
00:58:05
That's not today.
No, no no, no."
-
00:58:07
You know, we push
back on God all the time.
-
00:58:10
It's just everything
we don't want to do,
-
00:58:12
whatever we don't
want to do, we push back
-
00:58:14
either aggressively
or passive aggressive,
-
00:58:17
which we just don't do it.
-
00:58:18
He can take it. He can, He
can take it. And that's okay.
-
00:58:22
Nehemiah 4:15 says:
-
00:58:31
And there were armed
guards that were there.
-
00:58:33
God knows you're
going to need help
-
00:58:35
because pain and difficulty
is coming. Jesus told us that.
-
00:58:38
In John 16:33 says, "I
said these things to you,
-
00:58:41
that in Me you may have peace.
-
00:58:43
In the world you
will have tribulation."
-
00:58:45
That's a promise from Jesus:
-
00:58:54
I've gotten, I've taken grief
and I've overcome the world.
-
00:58:57
Now, when you're
getting all this problem,
-
00:59:00
how do you handle this chaos?
-
00:59:02
Let me give you three
really easy bank shots.
-
00:59:04
Three things to think about
if you're getting it right now.
-
00:59:07
How do you get through
the criticism and the chaos?
-
00:59:09
One, walk in higher joy
than other people's negativity.
-
00:59:14
Nehemiah 8:10 says:
-
00:59:17
Getting ready for
this talk, I was playing
-
00:59:19
an old school song
from decades ago
-
00:59:21
by a woman named Twila Paris.
-
00:59:23
It was [singing]
the joy of the Lord
-
00:59:26
will be my strength, I will --
-
00:59:29
It's wonderful. It's
a fantastic song.
-
00:59:31
And it's this verse and it
says, joy is not happiness.
-
00:59:35
Happiness is when
everything is happening is good.
-
00:59:37
And I love happiness, and I love
having things that are good.
-
00:59:39
But joy is when
you make a decision
-
00:59:41
that you're good with
God no matter what.
-
00:59:44
Joy is when you
choose your attitude.
-
00:59:46
When Lib and I got
married and the banner
-
00:59:47
behind our altar and
everything was "Choose Joy"
-
00:59:49
because we knew
there was going to be
-
00:59:51
a lot of days that we were
unhappy in our marriage.
-
00:59:53
And there has been a
lot, thanks to me. [laughter]
-
00:59:56
But we were going to choose joy.
-
00:59:58
So you have to resolve
that you're going to have
-
01:00:01
more joy than others
negativity, that's the strength.
-
01:00:05
No, I know I'm doing
what God wants me to do,
-
01:00:07
I know it, I can sense it.
-
01:00:09
I'm going to keep erring
on the side of aggression.
-
01:00:11
I'm sensing He
wants me to do this.
-
01:00:13
I'm going to assume
He wants me to do this
-
01:00:15
because I saw this,
since I saw it, I'm the one.
-
01:00:17
You've got to keep your
joy high, really, really high.
-
01:00:21
Number two, process your
anger and fear with God.
-
01:00:27
Tell Him about it.
-
01:00:29
This is really interesting
when Nehemiah
-
01:00:31
talks with God in
Nehemiah 4:4 and following.
-
01:00:37
Here's what he says:
-
01:00:57
He's like, "Get them!
Give them hell, God!
-
01:00:59
Come on, go get
them!" So he's praying.
-
01:01:03
God's good with that.
-
01:01:04
There's a lot of things
I pray that are wrong,
-
01:01:06
but some things I
pray, I pray just because
-
01:01:09
I need to get off my chest,
and God's a safe place.
-
01:01:11
The Book of Psalms
talks about this,
-
01:01:13
has a verse about
let their babies heads
-
01:01:16
be smashed against the rocks.
-
01:01:18
That's a horrible prayer.
It's a horrible prayer.
-
01:01:22
It's a prayer God
will always say no to.
-
01:01:25
But it's a beautiful prayer
in that that was a person
-
01:01:27
who said, "This is what I feel.
I just got to get this out, God,
-
01:01:30
in a safe place
between You and me."
-
01:01:31
And this is what
Nehemiah is doing.
-
01:01:33
He's hurt. Criticism affects us.
-
01:01:36
Whenever someone says, "Ah,
criticism doesn't affect me,"
-
01:01:38
that's a bad thing.
One, either you're lying,
-
01:01:41
or number two, you
got a really hard heart.
-
01:01:44
It hurts. It always hurts.
-
01:01:47
And when it does, we
process our anger with God.
-
01:01:49
And then number three,
-
01:01:50
keep working while
you're being criticized.
-
01:01:55
Keep working on it.
Keep working on it.
-
01:01:57
Keep going while
you're being criticized.
-
01:01:59
You got to get on your wall.
-
01:02:01
You got to get on your wall.
-
01:02:03
And while you're
being criticized,
-
01:02:04
while people are
hurling insults, you go,
-
01:02:06
"I'm on my wall, baby.
I'm not going anywhere.
-
01:02:09
I'm on my wall. I've got
a vision to get a degree.
-
01:02:13
I got a vision to get a degree,
-
01:02:15
and I am going to get a degree.
-
01:02:17
No matter how much
you don't understand that.
-
01:02:19
I'm not getting off the wall."
-
01:02:21
Stay on the wall.
-
01:02:23
You decide to have kids.
-
01:02:25
You decide to parent
kids differently because
-
01:02:27
you're going to
have to parent kids
-
01:02:28
the way everybody
else does. Guess what?
-
01:02:30
It doesn't work.
It's not working.
-
01:02:33
Societal indicators show that.
-
01:02:34
So if you're going to be
someone who operates
-
01:02:36
high in love and
high in discipline,
-
01:02:38
get ready for people
not to understand.
-
01:02:39
You got to stay on your
wall, if that's your vision.
-
01:02:42
You got to stay there.
-
01:02:43
It used to be that if
you were just a good --
-
01:02:45
If you were a
Christian, you were just
-
01:02:48
a basic, average moral
American and everyone like that.
-
01:02:50
Not anymore. Not anymore.
-
01:02:52
Because if you're a Christian,
-
01:02:54
you actually are in Christ,
you're following Him.
-
01:02:56
You're doing things in
the Bible, which people
-
01:02:58
in our culture
increasingly think are crazy
-
01:03:00
and stupid and only haters do.
-
01:03:03
You got to choose am I
going to stand on my wall,
-
01:03:06
sit on my wall? I'm not
coming down. I'm not.
-
01:03:09
What is it you're
on your wall about?
-
01:03:11
What is it you're
going to God for?
-
01:03:12
What is it that you're
needing your joy to propel you?
-
01:03:16
Let the joy of the Lord
keep you at your post.
-
01:03:18
God needs you on that wall.
-
01:03:20
He gave you a vision
because He wants that done,
-
01:03:23
and you may be the
answer to it and you need it.
-
01:03:27
Nehemiah needed this task
as much as anybody else did.
-
01:03:30
He needed to
stay fresh with God.
-
01:03:32
And God's looking
to see who is fresh,
-
01:03:35
who wants to be fresh
with Me, who wants to be,
-
01:03:37
who wants to stand
out from the crowd,
-
01:03:39
who wants to create a
little chaos accidentally,
-
01:03:43
and who wants to cast a
vision that people don't get?
-
01:03:47
But God says, "But I get it.
-
01:03:49
I get it because I'm in it."
-
01:03:52
Lord, I thank you
for being patient
-
01:03:55
and the example of Nehemiah.
-
01:03:57
May may we be
more like him today.
-
01:04:01
Empower us, fill us in a
powerful and profound way
-
01:04:05
to go about the things
You want us to do.
-
01:04:06
And we pray these things
in the name of Jesus. Amen.
-
01:04:11
- Hey, thanks for joining
us today, and as always,
-
01:04:13
your experience
doesn't have to stop here.
-
01:04:15
After every weekend
there are actually
-
01:04:17
follow up questions
in the Crossroads app.
-
01:04:19
They're designed to
help you dive deeper
-
01:04:21
into the message and learn
how to apply it in your life.
-
01:04:23
Now, you can process
the service by yourself
-
01:04:25
or with other people, and
take something into your week
-
01:04:29
that will help you and push
you in the right direction.
-
01:04:32
And as always, if you've
missed any week in the series,
-
01:04:34
you can catch up
at crossroads.net.
-
01:04:37
Thanks for watching. We'll
see you back next week.