Speaker 1: 0:00

Now, have you ever wondered if you were made for more, if you were made for more, if you were made for more than just the daily grind of life, that you were made for more than just the normal routines, just for getting by? Have you ever wondered if your life was made on purpose, for a purpose? A question I want to ask you today is this Do you like the person Well, the person you're becoming. Do you like the person you're becoming? Do you wonder if there's something else that you're supposed to be doing? How do you know that your life matters and that you are made on purpose?

Speaker 1: 0:44

I remember this one time that I was searching for purpose in my life, and the way I was trying to accomplish that purpose was by achieving this thing that I call hashtag HSB, which stands for hot summer body. Come on somebody. I've been on this journey for a long time. I haven't gotten there yet, but I remember when it started. I was 19 years old and I said it's time. I'm going to get me a hot summer body. Ok, and so I went to what my thought was I just need to get to the right gym, and if I get to the right gym, in a matter of weeks, I'll start looking like Dwayne Johnson. That was in weeks. That's what I was hoping.

Speaker 1: 1:21

So I went to a CrossFit gym. Come on, I don't know if you're familiar with that, but CrossFit gym is pretty intense. That's all I knew about it. Walking into it, I knew it was pretty intense, and I remember the first day I walked in. I walked in. Every single person in that gym was ripped, shredded and sweating confidence. And I walked in there, 19 years old, super skinny, with my bright red T-shirt that looked like I got it from my little brother I don't even have a little brother and a nice bright red headband to go with my shirt, because I was trying to be intimidating. That was my goal, and so the way CrossFit works is normally a bunch of big group workout type activities.

Speaker 1: 2:03

And so the instructor was standing on one of those box jump crates, looking like Zeus himself, and he was giving everyone order, and the thing that we had to do today was this thing called clean and jerks. Now, I don't know who names these things, but it sounded like I needed a permission slip to do that. And so here you go, a clean and jerk was you get this barbell in front of you, and you got to lift it, clean it, and then you put it over your head, all right, and that's the jerk. Ok, clean and jerk. And so I said clean and jerk, this is fitting to be a breeze. I got this. So here you go, I line up my barbell right in front of me and I get my hands all ready. I put some of that powder on there, like the brawn does, because that's what you just got to do. And so I grab the bar and here you go, I'm about to do it.

Speaker 1: 2:52

One, two, three Say okay, wait a minute, let me get a little bit more of that powder. Okay, one, two, three. Now let me try it one more time. One, two there must be glue on the pavement. That's what I started to say. So I try it one more time. One, two there must be glue on the pavement. That's what I started to say. So I tried one more time, can't get it.

Speaker 1: 3:08

And then all of a sudden, I hear this voice that says hey, jacob, I'm like God, is that you? Do you want me to leave this place and go get a Big Mac? It wasn't God, it was the instructor. He said hey, jacob, you with the bright red shirt, give your weight to the girl next to you. And so the girl next to me looked at me and she snatched my weight, put it down, put hers in front of me, and I just said to her what I felt like was the most was the best thing to say I warmed it up for you. That just seemed like the most appropriate thing to say OK. And so here you go. Now I get back in front of my weight, my new weight. Appropriate thing to say okay. And so here you go. Now I get back in front of my weight, my new weight. It's a lot lighter. She's crushing it over there and I go to get it. One, two, three. There must be magnets on the floor. I couldn't do it and I tried one more time. Then, after she was done with her weight, she went and helped me. Yes, she helped me do the weight.

Speaker 1: 4:01

Needless to say, in that moment I didn't feel like I was made for more. I didn't feel like I felt like my purpose was sitting on the sidelines cheering on the strong people. But here's the truth. Don't we all go through certain things in life that make us feel like am I really cut out for this? Can I really do this? The weight of life feels way too hard. Have you ever been wondering in life like man am I going to be the spouse that I want to be? Can I raise my kids the way I want them? Can I move forward in my career? Or will I always be dealing with insecurities and problems and wondering, man, can I do it? Can I do it? Here's the thing. Here's the thing that I want to tell you today. You are made for more. You are made for more, and it's not because you're the best or the brightest. You're made for more because there's a God who loves you and is for you and has good plans for your life. So here you go.

Speaker 1: 5:08

A question I want to ask us today is this and this may be a question that you probably wouldn't expect to hear from a pastor, but here you go, I'm going to ask it Do you ever feel like Christianity isn't working? Do you ever feel like it isn't working? I told you that might not be a question you expect from a pastor, but maybe for you, you're not a Jesus follower, maybe you're exploring faith today. So the way you would phrase this question is more like this. Maybe you'll say is the way I'm living life working out Is the way I'm living life working out Today. I want to be real with you today and I wonder, if you're honest, how many of you would say something like this I'm just tired, I'm burnt out. Maybe it's the busyness of life you got work, family, you got all these different responsibilities or maybe you'll say something like this that we've all, I think we've all, felt before. You've been praying and trusting God for something. But you're wondering God, do you even hear my prayers? Do you hear my prayers? Because it seems like they're being blessed, but I'm not. Does it ever feel like Christianity isn't working? You might even say like I feel like I'm doing everything I know to do. I'm trying to be good, I'm trying to be faithful, but no matter how hard I try, things keep falling apart. You know this could play out in many different ways.

Speaker 1: 6:31

I used to be a youth pastor for a long time. I really enjoyed that, and when I was a youth pastor we would get these kids that would come in kind of from on-church homes and they would give their lives to Jesus and Jesus would just transform their lives. I mean, it was so cool to see they would start to love Jesus. They would start Bible studies at their school prayer circles and God would really be doing this great work in their lives. But every time they would go back home it was like they're going home to a different reality Parents arguing, absent fathers or mothers, different struggles, and they will pray, and I remember working with a lot of these kids.

Speaker 1: 7:05

They'd be praying God, will you move in my family? Would you change? Just as we do that? And still there would be this brokenness. Maybe parents end up getting divorced or something like that. And it would leave them wondering God, do you even care? Do you even care?

Speaker 1: 7:23

Another example of that is there's couples that USC they try to do everything right. They example of that is there's couples that, usc, they try to do everything right. They say I'm going to wait before marriage, I'm going to do the right things. And then they get married. And what happens? They discover well, marriage is hard, marriage is difficult. And then they wonder say God, I was so faithful to you in our singleness, why aren't you blessing the marriage? And then what would eventually happen? They would drift towards, you know, resentment towards each other, which would then could lead to a divorce and leave them asking the question God, did you even care? Now, those two examples may not be your example, it may not even be that dramatic, but would you?

Speaker 1: 7:57

It is safe to say that sometimes, that we try to do our best, try to go after God the best we can. We even try to do our thing. Where we might go to church, we try to read our Bible plan. You might even listen to K-Love that's my main radio station. You may have the cheesy Christian bumper sticker to let the person behind you know don't hit me. You may have a decent job, a decent place to live, a decent car, decent friends, even go on a decent vacation and you're serving God, but you're still not happy. You feel like something is missing, you're not fulfilled and you start to ask yourself does Christianity even work? Does this thing even work? Does following Jesus work? And if you've ever been there, if you've ever wondered that you are not alone, you're not alone. And even more than that, jesus says something that's very interesting to me. Okay, he says something and it's one of those things. Again, jesus be saying stuff sometimes and he says something that we can look over, glance over, but you've really got to listen to what he says. Check this out. Here you go. He's talking to his disciples and he says this take you to be with me that you may also go where I am going. You will know the way to the place where I am going. And here you go.

Speaker 1: 9:29

And Thomas, I love Thomas. Thomas gets a bad rep. People call him Doubt. He did, he doubted one time. That's like his name forever Doubt and Thomas. But I love Thomas because Thomas is the guy that says the thing that everyone's thinking, but no one's brave enough to say it.

Speaker 1: 9:45

And Thomas says this to him. He says he said Lord, we don't know where you're going. How can we know the way? Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. How many of you would agree with Thomas? You're like oh Jesus, actually I don't know the way you're taking me. Jesus, I actually am not sure if I am making the right decisions. Jesus, I actually don't understand why this thing is happening to me, when I felt like you were calling me to do that. Jesus, I actually don't know the way and if I'm going the right way. And that's Jesus followers, you know.

Speaker 1: 10:21

I don't know if you noticed this, but generally, when we think of the way, the truth and the life, when we think of that statement that Jesus says, we tend to generally focus on the truth, part of it. We often talk about the truth of Jesus, but we rarely talk about the way of Jesus, the way of Jesus. Yes, jesus is the only way to the Father, but I also believe that living the way that Jesus lived reflects the truth that Jesus taught. Here you go. We often talk about the truth of what he said, but we often overlook the way he lived. And the more, the more that you might be looking for, the more that is in your heart and in your soul that craves for purpose, the more you're looking for might not be that promotion, it might not be that new car, it might not be that new thing, but the more you're looking for might be more of the way of Jesus, might be more of the way of Jesus, the way of Jesus, in my everyday life. Let me put it this way to you when you look at the way Jesus lived compared to the way we often live, there's a big difference. There's a big difference, I would even say, the reason why people often distrust God and distrust the church has nothing to do with Jesus, but has everything to do with the way Jesus followers live. See, think about it this way the way that Jesus lived.

Speaker 1: 11:55

When Jesus interacted with people, he was full of joy. Most of us were full of stress. We're full of anxiety. You didn't see Jesus going around saying the economy is falling apart. What is Roman government doing? Let me post about it on Facebook, because that makes a difference. No, he told us not to worry and not to worry about tomorrow. Most of us, we're freaking out all the time and some would even say this is the most anxious generation in history, would even say this is the most anxious generation in history.

Speaker 1: 12:29

Jesus, as he walked along when he saw someone, when he saw someone in need, he would stop and spend time with them. Maybe this is just me and you can pray for me. Sometimes, when I go into Starbucks to get my extremely expensive $10 latte, I try not to make eye contact with anybody. Sometimes I might even mobile order it so I can just go pick it up and leave because I'm in a rush. But it's just me, right? See, he was consumed. Jesus was consumed with the ongoing intimate fellowship with his father, and sometimes I can't pray for three minutes without someone texting me or thinking about what I want to eat for dinner.

Speaker 1: 13:13

See, imagine if Jesus were like most of us. Just picture that Jesus lived in today's world. Imagine that. Imagine if he lived in today's world. Imagine him all around his buddies being depressed. You know saying, hey man, matthew, man, these sandals I got Just dirt and sand keeps getting all up in my toes. Man, only if I had some Yeezys. Oh man, then my life would be better. Imagine Jesus just scrolling through social media is scrolling JTB, jtb. John the Baptist, how does he have more followers than me? He's not even fit to untie my Yeezys, or this one.

Speaker 1: 14:08

Imagine, jesus, he just got back from work. Man, say whew, man, I cast out four demons today. Man, that last one is breath stunk, dang man, I just need to sit back and bust me open a cold brewski. You can't picture it, can you? You can't picture Jesus complaining, being like that. See if you'll notice, if you'll notice every time you read in Scripture how did Jesus get somewhere? How did he get somewhere? He was always walking along. He wasn't rushed. You never read Jesus scurried from one town to the next. There's no verse in the Bible that says Jesus was riding on his camel 80 miles per hour while putting on makeup. He seemed unhurried.

Speaker 1: 14:56

And I don't know about you, but I think our world is constantly putting us in a hurry. We're constantly in a rush, constantly trying to get there wherever there is. We're so fast to trying to get there. We're not even living right here. But you don't see this with Jesus. You don't see this For me. For me, you know, for me, the scariest part was I used to be a person always in the rush and the scariest part was I was rushing and rushing to become someone I didn't even like, always on a rush, always anxious, always stressed. Push harder, do more, go faster, be better, be bigger. And for me, everything changed during COVID, and this is a lot of people's stories. Long story short for me, we just moved up here to Richmond, virginia, to start the church and we planted on January 26, 2020. Today is our five year anniversary, which is pretty cool, it's pretty cool.

Speaker 1: 15:57

And then, six weeks later, what? No in-person services. I mean, they have an in-person service for almost over a year, but I remember when that first started. Suddenly, I was at home every day watching my two-year-old daughter at the time, and I went from this driven, ambitious guy working 50 hours a week constantly on the go to sitting on the floor playing with my two-year-old, with little baby bum on in the background, and it was weird at first. At first I felt like I was stuck, like I was wasting time, but in that stillness God did something to me.

Speaker 1: 16:33

I got to slow down long enough to see that God wanted to work on my heart, that God wanted to do something, and in that process I realized something that changed my life forever that I was made for more. And the more that I was made for was not more success, bigger things, more achievements. The more I was made things, more achievements, the more I was made for was more of God's presence. It was more of God. I was made for, more of God that my life is actually made to worship God, to love God, see that he was. The more I needed. I discovered that there was a God who loved me more than any achievement I can make. There was a God that loved me not just because I could achieve something. There's a God that loved me just because I was Jacob, more than I can ever think, dream or imagine. And in that season I rediscovered my joy for God. I learned how to eliminate hurry and how to follow the way of Jesus.

Speaker 1: 17:41

And maybe for some of you, god's inviting you to do the same to slow down, to see that the more you've been chasing isn't the more that you need, but the more that you need is more of God. What I discovered was this the way you've been doing the work of God might be destroying the work of God in you. The way you've been doing the work of God might be destroying the work of God in you. And again, if you're not a church person, if you're not a Jesus follower, you may say something like this I'm so focused on success, but it's starting to cost me something who I am at my core. You know there's something going on there.

Speaker 1: 18:23

Or maybe it's not just about you're doing the work of God. Maybe it's your schedule, your pace. You're living your life in a way that's robbing you of intimacy with God. It could be your insecurities, those deep, unolved hurts, or maybe it's those fears that you don't like to talk about. Whatever it is, it's distracting you and pulling you away from what the Holy Spirit wants to do. Because here's the truth. The Spirit of God wants to strengthen you, to draw you closer to Him. Use your life not just to survive but to make a difference. And maybe today is the day you stop and you ask what is getting in the way of the more God has for me? Jesus tells us like this he said it is necessary for him to increase and for me to decrease. He must increase and I must decrease. What is that verse saying? It's necessary for me to slow down long enough to see if the way I'm living my life is the way Jesus lived his life.

Speaker 1: 19:22

And the truth is we're all living a way of life. We all have a way of life. You may not use that term, but you all have a way of life. And that way of life could be being overly ambitious. That way of life could be living in that depression. That way of life that you choose could be constantly anxious. The way of life you could be choosing is living in the regret of the past and worried about the future, in the regret of the past and worried about the future. The way you could be living is I'm going to try to achieve things, to prove to people, to prove to someone really that I'm valuable and that way? Well, that way of life, that way of life can rob you.

Speaker 1: 20:14

Jesus tells us this story in the gospel about a father who had two sons, and the youngest one goes up to the father and says give me my share of the inheritance, which basically what he does is. He goes up to the father and says dad, I wish you would die and just give me what's mine. And Jesus tells this story as the father representing father God. And the response to the father, to this son, with his son asking of this horrendous thing, is the father says sure, if that's the way you want to go, if that's what you want to do, do it. And that's what the youngest son does. He says I want to go and do things my way. And maybe for you, like I said, you've tried it God's way and you didn't feel like it worked out. You felt like this Christianity thing was not working out for me. Maybe you got hit by life. Unexpected things happen and cause you to say I can't trust God, I can't trust others. I got to do this on my own, I got to do it my way.

Speaker 1: 21:15

And the Proverbs writer? He says something so interesting. He says there is a way that appears to be right but in the end leads to death. He says we all have these different ways that we choose, that we think this is the right way, but it's a dead end. It can lead to a dead end, and so the son goes off. And this is what Jesus says. He says Not long after that, the younger son got together.

Speaker 1: 21:40

All he had set off for a distant country and there wasted his wealth and wild living. He was doing the stinky leg too much. Don't make me make it stinky up in here. After he spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country and he began to be in need. The sun went off. He did it his way, did it his way for a little bit. Then things went bad and the things went from bad to worse. Who has ever been in a life situation where things go bad and then things you think they're going to go up but they get worse. It went from bad to worse for this guy. And maybe you've gone your way and that has happened. Maybe things that, maybe the things that the way that you wanted to go haven't gone the way you have planned or hoped.

Speaker 1: 22:24

And check out what Jesus says. Jesus says this he says come to me, come to me, all who are weary, all who are burdened, and I will give you rest. I love this verse. Oh, I love this verse because I got three kids. I love this verse. I need some rest. Rest is a good thing, but then Jesus keeps doing Jesus things and he adds something to this verse that makes this verse kind of weird to me. This is what he says. He says. He says this he says take my yoke upon you and learn from me. Take my yoke. What the heck is he talking about? For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. He says take my yoke. I don't even know what a yoke is when I first read this. Here you go. Here's a picture. Here's a picture of a yoke. Jesus, what are you talking about? Take my yoke upon you.

Speaker 1: 23:22

And a yoke is a wooden cross piece that joined two animals together to work together to accomplish more. To accomplish more. When they were joined together, they could work at the same pace. Jesus is saying come to me and I'll give you a work tool. If you're exhausted, I'm going to put a work tool around your neck. That's just weird. That's weird when I'm exhausted. I don't want a work tool, I want a massage. I want a nice glass of red wine with a charcuterie boy, with little cheeses and meats on it. I want to go on vacation. I don't want another work tool, I don't want a burden around my neck.

Speaker 1: 24:07

What's interesting about the yoke is there is no such thing as a single yoke. Anytime there was a yoke, it was for two animals to join together. And so what is Jesus saying? Jesus is saying if you're tired of doing it your way, you're tired of doing it the way that you think you're supposed to do it. If you're tired and burned out, if that way of life has left you dry, has left you wanting more, come tie it up to me, come join up with me, walk in pace with me, walk in step with me, do it my way. And when you do it my way, here's the best part. Here's the best part. You don't have to do it alone. When you do it my way, I'm not just going to send you out and say figure it out, Go to college, get a bunch of debt, figure it out. No, come close to me, walk in pace with me, because the more you want is the more that comes with me.

Speaker 1: 25:19

Here's a son, here's his son. He wasted all of his money on wild living. Like I say, he was doing a stinky lay in the club doing his thing. Famine comes, he's down and out, he starts working for a pig farmer. He's a a Jewish man. They didn't associate with pigs. So now, not only has he lost his favor with his father, he's lost his self-esteem and he's lost his religion. He's now doing something that his belief systems don't even agree with, and so he's lost it all. And so here he goes. He comes to his senses, like the Bible says that he comes to his senses and he says even my father's hired servants live better than this. I'm going to go back home and I'm going to say, father, I sin against you and sin against heaven. Make me one of your hired servants. He comes up with a little plan and check this out, jesus.

Speaker 1: 26:01

Jesus, the master storyteller, Jesus, tells us this story to demonstrate the Father's heart for you, the Father's heart for me and the Father's heart for this world. So now, while this son is coming home, check out what the scriptures say? It says he got up and went to his father, but while he still was a long way off, his father saw him. So how can you see someone who's a long way off unless you're constantly looking for them? You're not going to see someone who's a long way off if you're just doing your own thing. The Father's heart is constantly looking for you and no matter if you go on your way or no matter if the ways of life drifted you away from the Father's heart, the Father is always looking to you. And not only does he look to you, he doesn't look to you because he's like oh, I'm going to get him when he comes back. I'm about to be the mighty smiter and smite this guy. No, no, no, the Father sees him. What does Scripture say? What does Jesus say? What does the way of Jesus say about the father's heart for the son? It says he was filled with anger, filled with rage, filled with. He was dissatisfied with him, angry with him. No, the father was filled with compassion for him, compassion for him, and he ran to his son and threw his arms around him and kissed him. The Father, our God, he runs to you. He runs to you and he embraces you. He's not mad, but he was looking for you. He was looking for you.

Speaker 1: 28:05

And maybe you find yourself in church today, unsure. If you like the person you're becoming unsure if your life decisions are reflecting the way of Jesus. You're not sure of your purpose and maybe you're fed up with the pace. Maybe you're fed up with the stress, the anxiety, the fear. Maybe you're sick of going back and making the same promises that you've made for the last seven years and breaking those same promises over and over again. You're sick of it. Divorce once, divorce twice, the third one in sight, and you're wondering is there more? Dealing with same insecurities you've had since middle school and wondering when will I love myself? When will I stop comparing myself the more?

Speaker 1: 28:51

The more you are looking for will not be found in this message alone. It won't be found in this message alone. So I'm going to say something to you. I don't normally do this. I want to invite you back. I want to invite you back because what I learned was that I couldn't hurry my way to finding the more that God had for me. I had to walk and step and pace with Him. And so I want to invite you back, because here's the truth. I can't fix you in one message and it's not my job to fix you. It's not my job. I know what my job is To point you to Jesus. To point you to Jesus Because Jesus is the one that can heal you, restore you and give you a hope and a future. And here you go. And this is what I want to do Because, as everyday people who are learning how to become Jesus followers, most of us are rushed, stressed and overwhelmed.

Speaker 1: 29:52

So next week we're going to talk about the unhurried rhythms of grace. Most Jesus followers I know are overcome by temptation. They feel far from God, they feel spiritually dry. So we're going to talk about union with God. What does it look like to be close with God? Most people today are unfocused and preoccupied and distracted by all this stuff. So we're going to talk about, in the next few weeks, the uncluttered pursuit of God's mission for my life. How do we stay on task, grow, become more like Him and often people are present physically but they're somewhere else mentally and we're going to talk about how to give God an undivided attention in the moment, watching as Jesus is always present and learning from Him.

Speaker 1: 30:39

So if you're tired of the grind, tired of the stress, if you don't like the direction your life is going. Too many problems to solve, too much weight to carry, too much pain to bear. There is a better way. There is a life full of more. And, like the 24th Psalm says, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures.

Speaker 1: 31:14

And what I discovered is in Scripture. The Bible never says be busy and know that I am God. Be rushed and know I am God. Be hurried and anxious and overwhelmed and know that I am God. Scripture tells us to be still. Be still, to be still, long enough to see. It is that Jesus who rules and reigns, and he wants to do that in your life, that he is for you and not against you, and he invites you. Amen, yoke up with me, because my way, my way, leads to the life of more, because you are made for more. You are made on purpose, for a purpose and man, it's a beautiful life.

Speaker 1: 32:14

So we say God, jesus, holy Spirit, we need more of you. We need more of you. Come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit. Even right now I can feel the Holy Spirit, the Father's love. There's some people in here you need to experience him. Run into you, just run into you, embrace into you, just run into you, embracing you. You have your script all made up. He doesn't even have time to listen to your script, he's just embracing you. It's like the Holy Spirit saying to someone you are more valuable than the things you produce. You are more valuable than the things that you produce, because Scripture tells us he knew you while you were in your mother's womb. He knows every single hair on your head. He is intimately involved with you. I feel like the Holy Spirit is saying God's not disappointed at you. He's not Come. Holy Spirit, fill us with the Father's love today. Good and faithful, you are Lord, powerful and trustworthy. You are Lord, powerful and trustworthy. You are Lord. So we say more of you, more of you, Jesus.

Speaker 1: 34:22

If you're in here today and you're like this Jesus sounds pretty good, but I don't know him, I don't know him. Or maybe you have lived for Jesus at one point but life hit hard and you walked away. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life or trust him again, I want to lead you in a prayer. I want to lead you in a prayer and what I want you to do so I can see who I'm praying for. I just want you to shoot a hand up in the air. I'm going to count to three and I just want you to shoot a hand up in the air. Here you go. I want you to know. I'm not going to call you out or have you come up front or take you to some room, nothing like that. I just want to see who I'm praying for. So if you want to make a decision, I trust them with your life.

Speaker 1: 35:10

Again On three, just toss your hand up in the air. One, two, three. Bless you. Bless you All across this room. Bless you. You can just say this prayer with me. You can say it in your heart or you can say it out loud, if you want. Just say Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new Today. I follow you Today. I trust you In Jesus' name. Amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.