Speaker 1: 0:00

Now, have you ever tried to do your best and things just did not work out the way you hoped? Like, have you ever tried to do something thoughtful for someone and it backfired on? You Tried to do something nice for your spouse but they didn't like what you did. You just tried. You tried to do your best, but things didn't work out the way you wanted. Okay, here you go.

Speaker 1: 0:19

With all the snowy weather that just happened, I was trying to be a responsible super dad, right? I was trying to tell my kids hey, you got to watch out with the snow, you got to be careful. So here you go. We had this ridiculously steep driveway at our house and so I decided we'll park all of our cars at the bottom, you know, because that's responsible. This seemed like a responsible thing to do, so I gave my kids the whole be careful speech. You know, watch out for the ice that you can't see. You know I'm a responsible dad, which means over explaining the obvious. You know that's what it means.

Speaker 1: 0:55

So here we are, we're walking down the driveway and I'm holding my youngest son, hayden's hand. He's three years old, his tiny little hand that trusts me and his whole life depends on me, and so I'm holding his hand, walking down, telling James hey, be careful. And as we're walking down the driveway, guess what happens to me? I slip, I slip. And when I slip I fall hard. And because I'm holding Hayden's hand, I drag him down with me. And not only do I drag my three-year-old down, I land on top of him. So he wasn't happy with me, he wasn't happy with me. I'm like, oh my God. So I put him in the car. We're on our way to get Kingsley from school. So we drive the Gordon, we get her, we come back and I say, okay, redo, I can try this again Now, because we parked below again. And so I go into the back of the car, I unbuckle Hayden from his car seat, I grab him. And as I'm grabbing Hayden out of the car seat, guess what I do? I slip again, and this time I just drop Hayden right on his face in the snow.

Speaker 1: 2:04

I don't think I was the best dad. I don't think I won the dad award right there. Right, he was looking at me like can I get a new one? But I was trying my best to be responsible. I was trying my best to be a good dad. Here's the thing. Sometimes, even when you're doing your best, life doesn't work out the way you plan. Can we get all amen on that one, right? But you know what? That's okay. Being a good dad, being a good human, isn't always about being perfect, but it's about showing up and trying again and even laughing at yourself sometimes along the way. Here you go. Haven't we all felt like that before? You're trying your best, but it doesn't work out.

Speaker 1: 2:45

So, as everyday people with our everyday ups and downs, what does it mean for us to give God our best? What does it mean to give God our excellence? Because Jesus says something. And sometimes, when you read the Bible, jesus says things and you're like why did he say that? Like, what's he trying to get with that? This is one of these things that Jesus says and you're like man, jesus, I don't know about that. This is what he says. Matthew 5 he says Be perfect. Therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect, like what? Like? How Does God expect us to be perfect? Is giving God our best, infused with this unrealistic level of perfectionism?

Speaker 1: 3:26

Now, I am not a perfectionist. However, I am married to one, and some of my closest friends are perfectionists. Now, if you're a perfectionist, raise your hand real fast. Okay, we all have to put up with you. I'm joking. We're thankful for you. We're thankful for you. But here you go, a perfectionist. They just don't measure twice. They measure twice from every single angle. And then when they cut, they cut slowly. To make sure, perfectionism is not something I deal with, but feeling like I need to prove myself, feeling like I'm not good enough at times, feeling like man, maybe I'm not the best dad if I drop my son in snow. Well, I can struggle with that, right, I struggle with that. So Jesus' words here can feel overwhelming or, honestly, not very encouraging.

Speaker 1: 4:20

And this verse is part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, specifically at the conclusion section, where he challenges his followers to live out radical standards of righteousness. In Matthew 5, jesus calls his disciples to love their enemies, to pray for those who persecute them and demonstrate the love that reflects God's character. I'm going to hit a little bit more of that in a moment, but the call to be perfect can sound overwhelming. But it is critical for us to understand this verse in its cultural and theological context, Because the Greek word here doesn't necessarily mean flawless. It's like kind of how we think of perfection. Instead, it carries the idea of completeness. Maturity carries the idea of completeness, maturity or wholeness.

Speaker 1: 5:09

In this context, jesus is calling his followers to reflect the completeness and fullness of God's love and character. Check this out Completeness and love. Just as God's love extends to all people, good or bad, friend or enemy, so must our love as Jesus followers. If you're not a Jesus follower, that's okay, but this doesn't apply to you. But as Jesus followers, this is what we got to do. And wouldn't it be safe to say that if more Jesus followers actually strive to represent the love of God to the world around us, we'll probably have a better world, wouldn't we? There'll probably be more churches filled with people, instead of people looking at the church and saying those hypocrites, those people didn't treat me well, so let's continue. So it's completeness of love.

Speaker 1: 5:51

But then there's spiritual maturity. Jesus is calling his disciples to grow in spiritual maturity, to live beyond a surface level of righteousness and reflect God's character in every aspect of life. And then there's alignment with God's will. To be perfect means to align our actions, attitudes and attentions with God's will and going after holiness and thought and deed. So this perfectionism you want to know this perfectionism is that Jesus is calling us to do. It's a call to dependence on God, call to dependence on God. It's a call for us to depend on God, to lean into God, to trust God and say God, I can't do it on my own, but with you, man, all things truly are possible. And so this high standard Jesus sets throughout the Sermon on the Mount is meant to feel impossible. That's the point of it, because it drives us to recognize our need for God's grace and the transformative work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to submission and surrender.

Speaker 1: 6:53

Perfection in this sense isn't something we achieve in our own strength. It's a process of growth as we depend on God and are transformed into the image of his son. This is how everyday people learn how to become Jesus followers. It's how we learn. It's a process of steps, of going after God. Often, our growth in God is found in life's tensions. It's found in the tension, the tension of denying myself and my natural wants or my desires, and seeking the desires God wants for me. It's found in the tension of not wanting to forgive but knowing God has called me to forgive. It's found in the tension of not eating that donut when you commit it to fast. It's a hard one, especially when your kids are eating them in front of you. Here you go. This is where spiritual habits come into play. Spiritual habits is not about being a perfect Christian who just prays, reads their Bible, checks all the marks no, no. Spiritual habits are tools to help us form into the likeness of Christ, to help us surrender our lives to Jesus.

Speaker 1: 8:03

So let me ask you a question what does it really look like to give God your best? Not flawless, not never making a mistake, but your best. Giving God your best isn't about having it all together. It's about bringing every part of who you are your past, your struggles, your heart, your mental health and your purpose and laying it at his feet. And so what we're going to do today, we're going to look at this word best, b-e-s-t and figure out, as everyday people who are trying to become everyday followers of Jesus, how can we give God our best? And the B baggage, baggage. Don't we all got baggage? We all have some baggage, don't we? And so the first way we give God our best is by giving him our baggage. Let's be honest, we all have some.

Speaker 1: 8:57

For some of you, some of the baggage you have is the baggage of past mistakes, things you wish you didn't do, things you wish you could take back. You wish you could do a takey-backy on that thing, which you can't. For some of us it hurts. It hurts that we've done to others what others have done to us, and it weighs on you, it weighs on your heart. Then there's those who are just carrying shame and bitterness or regret, whatever it is I want you to hear today. Then there's those who are just carrying shame and bitterness or regret, whatever it is. I want you to hear today God didn't create you to carry that weight and to live in that place With all this weight on you. Hebrews 12 says this Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the things that are holding us back. And to run, because it's kind of hard to run when you got a bunch of baggage, isn't it? You've seen the people at the airport do it right.

Speaker 1: 10:02

Speaking of the airport, I remember when Aaron and I first had our first kid, kingsley, we went on vacation, and so, being new parents, you know what we did. We packed everything in her nursery to go on this trip. And so here I was walking through the airport carrying two giant suitcases. I had my backpack and then I also had to bring her car seat. So there's this thing they make I don't know if you guys know this there's this thing they make that you can put a car seat in this bag and you can throw it over your shoulder. And so I'm carrying this car seat through the airport and it's just slamming against my ankles while I'm doing this and we had to bring her pack and play. So I'm carrying all this stuff through the airport and then Erin says are you doing all right, as she's pushing Kingsley in one of those little umbrella strollers. And I said I'm doing great, babe, I love my life, I'm doing wonderful.

Speaker 1: 11:00

But this was me pushing through all this stuff, trying not to drop stuff through the airport, trying to get to my destination, carrying all this baggage, carrying all this stuff. And I want you to get the image in your head, because some of you this is how you are on the inside Trying to make it through life, make it to your destination, carrying all this baggage Baggage from your past, baggage from hurts. And some of you, some of you are carrying other people's baggage. You're carrying baggage that's not even your baggage to carry. You're staying up late thinking about people who aren't thinking about you, and God never designed you to live like that. And so what I want to tell people today, this is where the principle of responsibility comes into play, Because there's things we're concerned about but we're not responsible for them. But there's things we're responsible for that we're not doing properly because we're so caught up in the concerns.

Speaker 1: 12:12

For me, my example and I shared this before. I'll share it again, the list of my responsibilities, and each one builds up on each other is this I'm responsible for my relationship with God first and foremost. No one can love Jesus for me but me. I can't live through anyone else's faith. I can't live through anyone else's faith. I can't live through anyone else's first. I got to have my personal relationship with God first, so I got to have that. I got to prioritize that. That means me waking up early because I got a lot of kids. So I wake up at 4.30 and I pray, not because 4.30 is a special time to pray, it's just my special time to pray. It's just my special time to pray and I wake up early to do that. So I got to take care of my relationship with Jesus, then my relationship with myself.

Speaker 1: 12:48

And some of you are like isn't that selfish Yourself? Next, Isn't joy, spelled Jesus others, yourself? I don't think that's the best advice, because how can you be joyful if you're unhealthy? How can you be joyful if your cup is empty? And so I got to take care of myself, my mental health. No one is let me say something real fast Ain't no one going to resolve my mental health, my physical health? No one can do it for me. I got to do it myself. I got to take responsibility. I'm not saying you can't have people who help you. Of course that's what the church is for. That's why we have small groups to get people to rally around you. But at the end of the day, this is what I believe people are going to do, whatever they want to do.

Speaker 1: 13:36

And if you want to have, if you want to take a step and to be healthy, to be the person God has called you to be, then you got to take ownership of yourself. You got to lead. You want to know the hardest person to lead Yourself? You got to lead yourself. So I got to take responsibility. I got to be responsible for my relationship with God for myself, then my relationship with my wife, then I'm responsible for that Then with my kids, then with my close friends and friends and family, and then my relationship with the church.

Speaker 1: 14:02

See, and it goes in that order, because I could do this, I could say, as I'm dropping my top, I could say, oh well, I put church number one, because that's like my relationship with God, wrong, wrong. You want to know what happens, and we see this. You want to know what happens if you put church first, where God's supposed to be, all your actions become a religious act and not out of an overflow, of a loving relationship with Jesus, and the people will sniff you out. And so I have to be able to put God first. Hold on, all right, but myself, take care of myself, my mental health, and here's the thing, even with my wife, I have to put my wife first above my kids, because ultimately, when I send them out God willing, one day come on in Jesus' name when I send them out, one of the best things I can do is show them what a healthy marriage looks like.

Speaker 1: 15:00

And so you can carry, and here's the thing for some of us we carry the baggage, we carry the weight, and you can carry it for a while until you can't run the race God marked out for you. And you're so concerned about someone else's race, man, I want to let that hit there for a second. We got to hand God our baggage. The things that we don't want, the things that the mistakes we made, god, I hand them to you, and here's the good news, here's the hope that we have. Jesus lived a life we couldn't. He died a death we deserve, but three days later he rose again, not so that you can walk through life carrying all the baggage, but so that you can have freedom, the freedom that he offers, the hope that he offers. He says come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. It's about union and connection with Jesus.

Speaker 1: 16:01

And so the first way that we can give God our best is man. We got to give him our baggage. We got to give him our baggage. The second way we give God our best man, we got to give him our enemies. We got to give him our enemies. We got to love and forgive others.

Speaker 1: 16:16

For some of you, you're like well, I don't got any enemies, so I guess I'm good for this one. Stop lying to yourself. Now, I know, I know let's be honest for a second, because maybe you don't think of people as enemies, but we all have people in our lives that are difficult to love, and that's a nice way of saying it. We have a co-worker who drives you crazy, a friend who betrays your trust, maybe a family member, a loved one who hurt you deeply, maybe bad church experiences, whoever it is. Here's the truth. Holding on to bitterness doesn't hurt them. It only hurts you, and we all know that.

Speaker 1: 16:53

Going back to the verse that I said earlier be perfect, Therefore, as your father in heaven is perfect. Jesus says this to conclude his point on loving difficult people. Check this out. He says this you have heard the law that says love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say anytime Jesus says but I say you better listen. But I say love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, and that way you will be acting as true children of your father in heaven.

Speaker 1: 17:23

Hold on, come on, let's get real, let's get honest today that way, in that way, not if you go to church all the time, not if you act like oh, I got all my Bible degrees and I got no. No. How do we become children of God? How do we display that it's by loving those who hurt us. I mean, this is a challenge, this is a challenge for us, and so, and then pray for them. And the prayer we pray for the people that hurt us isn't the prayer God get them. That ain't a prayer. No, we pray blessing and peace for them. Because when we pray for difficult people, it brings down the temperature in our hearts.

Speaker 1: 18:08

Jesus continues he says if you love only those who love you, what is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors and Eagles fans do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even the pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. I think it's safe to say Jesus is saying it is in difficult relationships that God can move us towards completeness and wholeness in him. We can give God our best by giving the people who deflate us and allow God to move in us.

Speaker 1: 18:52

When you hold on to bitterness, it doesn't punish the other person, it just imprisons you. But we forgive. Forgiveness sets free. Colossians 3. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Think about this. God didn't wait for us to deserve forgiveness. He gave it to us freely, and when we choose to forgive and not letting the hurt set in, you're stepping into the freedom that God gives you. Here you go.

Speaker 1: 19:19

Paul says like this he says for, since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his son, check this out. While we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his son. Listen, I know, loving and forgiving your enemies isn't easy, but loving difficult people is one of the best ways to become more like Jesus. And I'm going to be honest with you. I'm more concerned about becoming more like Jesus than holding on to a grudge, and I hope for you, you'll be more concerned about becoming like Jesus than holding on to that hurt. So let's continue. So we got to give God our best. We give him our baggage, we trust him with difficult people. And the next thing we do how do we do that? Here's some practical steps for you S we surrender, we surrender, and this is about union with God. Union with God and I've hit on this many times.

Speaker 1: 20:13

I know our culture doesn't love the word surrender, unless it's, you know, buying their brand. Then they want you to be surrendered to that. But when it comes to that, surrender is one of the hardest things to do because, deep down, we like to be in control. We like to be in control, we want to figure things out, handle things our way, keep our hands on the steering wheel, and our morning prayer is during 21 days of prayer and fasting, which I encourage you to join us. 14 days of prayer and fasting is great too, so join us in the morning, but the theme I would say from this past week has been this word submission to God and obedience to his leading, and I want to highlight two things about this kind of surrender life that Jesus tells us.

Speaker 1: 20:58

John 15,. Jesus says this he says, yes, I am the vine and you are the branches. Check this out. Those who remain in me surrender to me. Those who remain in me and I in them, will produce much fruit, much fruit, much. For apart from me this is Jesus saying you can do nothing. Did you catch that last part? Apart from me, you can do nothing, not a little bit, not maybe get by, but nothing. And yet so often we live like life depends on us, and yet so often we live like life depends on us. We lead like life depends on us. We serve like it all depends on us. But let me give you an example, because I got a confession.

Speaker 1: 21:51

I am a backseat driver. I don't like to drive. Aaron drives everywhere, but I'm that guy, slow down. You see that car, there's a duck that went across the road. You know I'm always, but I'm that guy, slow down. You see that car, there's a duck that went across the road. You know I'm always like, I'm always and Aaron's like. Would you like keep to yourself? You know I'm like when she's driving, holding on to the handle. You know the whole thing. You want to know why I do that. And if you're a backseat driver, you, even though I'm not in control, I want control. Even though I'm not in control, I feel like I need control. And don't we do this with God? God, I give you control, I trust you. Fear is not my future, but I just hold on to this one thing, but I just hold on to this. I trust, I kind of trust you with that. Actually, let me do it. We do this with that. Actually, let me do it. We do this for God. We live with this place of. Yeah, god, I trust you, but not really. But here's the reality. You can't halfway surrender to God. You just can't do it. Surrender means taking your hands off the wheel and saying God, I trust you to take me where you want to take me.

Speaker 1: 22:57

Jesus highlights this union with God a little bit more. He says this. He says I am praying not only for these disciples, but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. That's you and I. He's talking about us right here. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one, as you are in me, father, I am in you. Check this out. So they may be one as we are one.

Speaker 1: 23:29

What Jesus is talking about is this If you put your hands together and then you lace them together, that's union with God. See, god wants to be united with us. Not just serve God but not know him. Not like know about him in your head but not know him in your heart. He wants you to know him, to be involved with him, to serve, because he's leading you to serve to lead, because he's leading you to lead to love, because he's leading you to serve to lead, because he's leading you to lead to love because he's leading you. There's a union there with God that he is with me and I am with him and there's this intimacy there. Did you know that you can be intimate with your Father God, that he hears your prayers and that he speaks to you and that he cares about you and that, like the Apostle Paul, he says I pray without ceasing, meaning that I just can't stop being in union with God. I'm just thinking about God.

Speaker 1: 24:25

Dallas Willard once said the goal that we want to get as Jesus followers is that our minds are constantly going back to God throughout our day. That when I'm having a hard time, I think about God. When I'm having a good time, I think about God. When I'm having a good time, I think about God. When I'm going through a challenge, my mind is going back to God. Do you want to know how you can have mental resilience, how you can be mentally strong? You think about God, you let your mind go back to the things of God and there's a union there that he is with me and for me and he loves me and I love him and so I surrender to him.

Speaker 1: 25:05

This isn't just an activity that we do on a Sunday, it is a way to live life in union with God and surrender to him. And so friends, so friends. It's about staying connected to the vine, spending time with him in prayer, not just talking, but listening, meditating on his word and letting it shape how we think and live. See, here's the problem If your God is more like you rather than you becoming more like your God. There's a problem there. Rather than you becoming more like your God, there's a problem there. If your God just votes like you and thinks like you and acts like you, is it really God you're following or you're just following your created person? But you should allow the Word of God to shape you. And it happens in union, it happens in surrender, and I'm telling you this you will always feel a little half off if you're halfway surrendered to God.

Speaker 1: 26:04

And so how do we surrender? How do we remain in Him? We invite Him into every area of our lives. We pray God, I want you to be a part of my decisions, my relationships, my struggles, my everything, and we choose dependence daily. A prayer that I pray every single day, and I've been praying it there in our 21 days, is this God, I give you everyone and everything. God, I give you everyone and everything, because I cast my cares upon the Lord because he cares about me. You can cast your cares upon the Lord because he cares, and so I'm going to give my God my surrender. And here's the best thing about surrender Surrender isn't about losing, it's about gaining. It's not about giving up, it's about giving in to what God has for you. It's not about giving up, it's about giving in to what God has for you. So, last way, last way, so we give God our best, our baggage, our enemies, our surrender, and then our toes, our toes, the feet of the gospel. We got to give God our toes.

Speaker 1: 27:16

Let's talk about feet for a second. Not the most glamorous topic, and trust me, feet to me are just nasty. I don't like feet. Big toes, bunions, I don't like toes. No one wakes up thinking, man, I got some beautiful feet. Maybe you do, maybe you do. But here's the thing your feet, your steps, they matter to God. When Paul talks about the armor of God, check out what he says. He says with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. See, that means everywhere you go, your steps should carry the love, peace and power of Jesus with you. But here's the problem Too many of us, our feet are either standing still or our feet are walking backwards with our baggage. Our feet are taking us to places that we still hate those who hurt us. Our feet are still taking us to places where we don't truly surrender. But where are your feet taking you? Where are you going See church? Can I be honest with you?

Speaker 1: 28:28

Sometimes we get so focused on our own problems, our own challenges and our own world that we completely miss the people that God has placed all around us. I remember a little over a year ago, I was feeling pretty discouraged. I was feeling discouraged about church and we weren't hitting the numbers I was hoping we were going to hit and different things like that, and I was frustrated. And I was frustrated and I started praying. I said God, what am I missing? What am I doing wrong as a leader? What am I missing? And I'll never forget what God whispered back to me so gently, clearly. He said to me Jacob, you're missing the people I put in front of you every single day. And it hit me because here I was, I was focused on what wasn't working and God was pointing me to the people he already placed in my path. So no joke. The very next day I was walking my daughter to school and as I was walking, I was just praying a simple prayer in my heart God, give me eyes to see the people you see. Give me eyes to see the people you see.

Speaker 1: 29:20

I dropped off Kingsley and then I started talking to one of the other dads whose daughter went to the same class as Kingsley and we chatted for a bit and got his number and invited him over to watch some football with us. Nothing complicated, just hanging out, building a relationship. And here's what ended up happening After a few hangouts, this man and his family ended up coming to church. I wasn't, I didn't hang out with him and say, hey, you know about my church, you know it wasn't like that. Just getting to know him, to do a relationship, and what God has done in his life and his family life since man, it's been incredible. It's been incredible.

Speaker 1: 29:51

And it's one of those moments where where I look back and I think, god, only you could have done that, only you could have done that Because I'm telling you and I'm telling this story not because, oh, look how great, but I'm telling you this story because, honestly, I wasn't looking for it. I was discouraged and God had to remind me to lift my eyes and see the people around me. And I'm telling you this story because there's people all around you that God wants you to love, that God wants you to encourage, that wants you to love, that God wants you to encourage, that you might be the only Jesus that that person sees in their daily life. You don't even know the struggles they're going through, but you might be the hope bringer to them. But if we're so consumed with our own problems and our own worries and our own stuff, man, we're going to miss it guys. We're going to miss the people. The scriptures even tell us that we're refreshed when we refresh others. There's something to this that we got to see that when I'm living not just for myself but for the people God has put around me, life changes. I'm ready. I'm ready for something.

Speaker 1: 30:54

Paul says this. He says how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Now, I don't know about you, but I never thought of feet as beautiful. But Paul isn't talking about pedicures here. That was funny. He's talking about purpose. Your steps become beautiful when they're carrying the hope of Jesus to a broken world. Your feet become beautiful when they're moving towards the people God is calling you to reach.

Speaker 1: 31:23

Here's the thing. Like I said, your feet are always moving you somewhere. You're always moving somewhere, lvc. Are your feet moving you towards your baggage? Are your feet moving you back to those places of resentment? Are they moving you to a false idea that I can control things, when you really can't? Are they moving you towards the plan and purpose that God has for you? Because here's the thing you are made on purpose for a purpose, and it's a good one, it's a beautiful one. And so the question I ask you today are you moving in the direction of your best? Are you taking steps towards a healthy marriage where love and grace defines your home? Are your steps moving you towards healing and recovery from the things that have held you back for far too long? Are your steps moving you towards forgiveness and letting go of the pain and bitterness that have held you back for far too long? Are your steps moving you towards forgiveness and letting go of the pain and bitterness that's weighing you down? Are your steps moving you towards being the light to the world, carrying the hope and love of Jesus wherever you go, are your steps moving you towards justice and freedom for people who need to know that they are seen and valued and loved by God?

Speaker 1: 32:35

Back to the story I shared last week about the young, rich man who had it all. He was wealthy, successful, doing all the right things. And he runs up to Jesus and he asks him what must I do to inherit eternal life? He says how do I go all out for God? How do I give God my best? And I love what Jesus says. Jesus looked at him and loved him. I love that because when Jesus challenges us, it's always from a place of love and encouragement. Jesus says one thing you lack. Go, sow everything you have, give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.

Speaker 1: 33:12

And the Bible says the man's face fell. He went away sad because he had great wealth and his toes, his feet, took him away from God, moved him away from the purpose God had for him. And Jesus wasn't trying to take something from him, he was trying to give him something better. And for this young man, his wealth was the thing standing in between him and Jesus. So let me ask what's standing in between you and Jesus, is it your baggage? Is it your unresolved conflict? Is it your preferred control over surrender?

Speaker 1: 33:45

And Jesus gives this man the same invitation he gives to us today. Will you come follow? Will you come follow? Will you give me your baggage, give me those relationships? Will you surrender? And then, when you do that, will you believe that I will put you on the adventure of a lifetime and I will use your life for significance, for purpose, to make a difference? And so two questions I want to leave us with today is this what is one piece of luggage, one piece of baggage from your past that you need to let go of this week so you can move forward? There's one, just one. You don't got to pick all of them. There's one. And question number two what is one area of my life I can surrender to God this week? Trust in him fully.

Speaker 1: 34:43

Come on, let's pray. God, jesus, Holy Spirit, thank you so much for your love, thank you for your goodness, Thank you that you want to be one with us, as you are one with the Father. Come, holy Spirit. Be in this place. Lord. Touch hearts today. Lord. Yep, for some of you, that imagery of walking around carrying a bunch of baggage. On the outside you look fine, you smile, man, but on the inside, man, you are heavy. You are heavy. So, holy Spirit, I pray relief right now, relief from the heaviness, even begin to visualize yourself taking off weight off of you and laying it at the feet of Jesus, laying it at the cross. Yeah, I even feel the Holy Spirit saying there's people that you see that you're taking them off of your heart and laying them in front of the cross, and that's a little weird, but this is what I feel the Holy Spirit doing. There's people and you're like taking them off, saying God, I give you that person Finances. Yep, Trust in God with your finances. Come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit, lord, I pray where people take steps of faith that you will bless them, that you will move in their lives. Come Holy Spirit. Hmm, come Holy Spirit In union with God, intimacy with God.

Speaker 1: 36:45

I just feel like the Holy Spirit is saying maybe you grew up in a perfectionist household. It was just this high level of perfectionism in your upbringing, in your household, maybe from a parent or both or whatever. There's just this high level of like man we have to be the best, our family's the best, whatever it is. I just feel like the Holy Spirit wants to release you from that, and because it causes you to compare yourself, it causes you to feel like you're never amounting to the person that you're supposed to be. There's just this level of perfectionism that's not from the Lord, it's man-made perfectionism. Come Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit. Total dependence on you, lord, total dependence on you.

Speaker 1: 37:35

If you're in here today and you don't know this Jesus I'm talking about or maybe you have, but you kind of walked away from your faith.

Speaker 1: 37:43

If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life again, I just want to pray with you.

Speaker 1: 37:47

What I want to do? I just want to, so I can see who I'm praying for. If that's you, if you want to make a decision to trust Jesus again, or trust him again, or trust him for the first time, on three, I just want you to shoot your hand up in the air so I can see who I'm praying for. I'm not going to call you out or have you come up front, nothing like that. I just want to see who I'm praying for. So if that's you, I'm going to count to three and, on three, just toss your hand up in the air. One, two, three. Bless you, bless you all across this room. Bless you, bless you, bless you. Just, you can repeat after me, you can say it out loud or say it in your heart. You're going to say Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new Today. I surrender to you. I trust in you, in Jesus' name, amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.