Have you ever had a plan? Have you ever had a vision in your head how you wanted something to go? And it did not go the way you hoped. It didn't go the way you planned it out. This is how I felt this summer of this summer. My wife, Erin, she had a work trip in California for a few days. So I said, I'm gonna take off work and I'm gonna have the funnest four days possible with my kids. And we're gonna have a blast. They're gonna know that I'm the best dad ever. You know, it's gonna be great. And so when it started, it started off pretty good. I took them to Busch Gardens, come on. We went to a couple parks nearby, took them to the smoke tree pool. Um, we did sleepovers in my room almost every night, had way too much candy. Come on, that's a good thing. And we were having a blast until the last day. Okay, the last day comes. The kids are missing mom. Everyone's a little grumpy, you know, things they're they're missing mom. And me being the overly positive person that I am, I said, I will not have my vision smashed this way. So I say, come on, kids, let's go outside, let's ride some bikes, let's shoot some hoops, let's have some fun. So I take them all, I take all the grumpy selves outside, and then and then we're playing. The joy's coming back, the energy's coming back. It's like, okay, yes, yes, my vision is back in play. It's good, this is good. Then I had this great idea, okay? I had this great idea. We had this thing called a crazy cart. I don't know if you've seen it. It's like a little goat cart for kids, and it's called Crazy Cart with two Ks because that makes it cooler. And so, so my great idea was let's race the coat, the crazy cart. And so one kid will drive it, the other kid will run and race each other. And so I said, this is gonna be great. So my son Jameson, he's four, he gets in the crazy cart. My daughter Kingsley, she's seven, she's gonna be the first one racing running. And so they go off, they run, he drives, she runs, and I'm watching like a proud dad. Like, look at them. This is so fun. And so, so Jameson gets way ahead of Kingsley, obviously, because he's in the goat cart. And then he does this crazy spin at the end because he was he's celebrating his victory. What he didn't know was that Kingsley was still right beside him, and so when he did the spin, her shins hit the crazy cart, she flies across the air, and I'm watching this, and then this trip, then this fun game ends like this. She broke her wrist. And so, and so when she breaks her wrist, and at this time, Aaron was actually flying from the West Coast to the East Coast, so when she landed in the East Coast, she texted me and she said, How are things going? And I said, I'll tell you if you promise not to be mad at me. Needless to say, it didn't go as planned. But here's the thing, man. We all have plans, we have vision for our life, we have hopes for our futures, but things happen. Life happens, circumstances happen, and it can take us on a detour. It can feel like we're stuck, it can feel like we're paused or we're stopped at a moment. And what I want to do today, LVC, is I want to encourage you. Can I encourage some people today? I want to encourage you. If you feel stuck, if you feel like man, life has not gone the way you hoped, or there's certain things in your life that you are struggling with. I know a life lived for Jesus, even though there are complications, it's a life that won't disappoint. That God has a plan for your life that is good and that he is faithful. And I'm so excited to encourage you in that, okay? Here you go. See, our our um the Bible says this real fast. The Bible says this in Proverbs 23, where there is no vision, the people perish. And and because of life circumstances, man, our vision can perish, our future hopes can perish, but where there's no vision, the people perish. And I don't want that for you today. And so, what happens when life hits us, when troubles hit us, how do we overcome? How do we make it apart? Life happens, pain happens, plans do fall, but life with Jesus never disappoints. But you may say, but how, Jacob? How? I love Jesus and I still have disappointments. Here you go. This is a good question. But it points to a bigger question that I want to present to us today. What is my purpose and what is God's vision for my life? And I think the Bible makes it clear. I think the Bible makes it clear what our purpose is, what the vision that God has for our life is. And it's kind of crazy, okay? It's so crazy because it's kind of simple, but it's not simple at the same time. And here you go. The scriptures say this. Scripture says this. Your purpose, your vision is found in this, is this. God's will for you is to be holy. Be holy. Like you're telling me, Jacob, my purpose is to be like Mother Teresa? Maybe. I'm not really, but maybe. Now, what now? What do you mean to be holy? That's that's my purpose. See, see, God, the vision that God has for your life is less about what you do, and it's more about who you are becoming. It's more about who you are becoming. See, our mission at LVC is to help everyday people like you and me learn how to become Jesus followers. And now our hope for you is that you learn and that you keep growing in your walk with Jesus. And that's why today I want to show you three aspects of God's vision for your life, for you and for me and for our church. So here you go. I'm gonna put a little title on this message, though. I'm gonna call it Pick Up Your Mat. That's gonna make sense in a little bit. You're like, what does that mean? It's gonna make sense in a little bit. Here you go. Here's the truth. All of us, all of us are becoming somebody. We're all becoming somebody. And I can prove it to you. Because unfortunately, we have all met that grumpy old lady who's sharp, bitter, and always angry, right? We've all met her, but we have all have also met Miss Betsy. And we love Miss Betsy because she's sweet as apple pie. And she has and she always has open butterscotch candy in her pocket ready to give to kids. You know, she's just so sweet. She's wonderful. We we all met the angry one, and we all met the nice one. Here's the thing: they didn't just overnight become angry and overnight become nice. It was a it was years of becoming the person who they turned out to be. It's years and decisions and responses and reactions to life circumstances that form us and shape us into the person that we end up becoming. So I don't want you to be the mean old person. I want you to have candy in your pocket for kids. That was really weird. I don't know why I said that. Okay. But here you go. But but and this is where sometimes in the church we get it wrong and it gets confusing because some people think, well, I'm gonna read my Bible and I'm gonna go to church every Sunday, and if they got a Wednesday service, I'm going to that. I'm gonna pay my tithes. And unfortunately, some of the meanest and judgmental people we met are Christians. Now, why is that? Why is that? Because religious duty can never take you to spiritual intimacy. Religious duty can never take you there. In other words, you can read the word, but you can't, but the word may not transform you. You can know the concepts of forgiveness, but still have bitterness. You can know about freedom, but yet still live a guarded life. But God's will for us, God's vision for us, is to be holy. And so this journey of holiness and wholeness, becoming a person like Jesus, I believe is found is what we call here the circular journey. The circular journey. It's a circular journey because you should constantly and consistently repeat this journey. And the circular journey is this it's to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus and do the stuff that Jesus did. And the reason why we call it, again, a circular journey because it's not, it's not lateral. It's not, okay, I'm gonna be with Jesus, now I'm gonna become Him, and now I do it, and I'm done. No, no, we're constantly finding ourselves in a place that we need to be with them. And the more I'm with them, the more I become like Him. And the more I become like Him, the more I want to do the stuff that He did. And so it's this beautiful circle of being with Jesus. And so, so if you ask me, well, how do I become a person who follows Jesus? I would say, don't overcomplicate it. Don't over-spiritualize it. Don't work too hard at it. Just set rhythms are the word I like to use. Set spiritual habits of doing these three things. Doing these things in your life. Okay, we're gonna use a Bible, we're gonna do a little Bible study today to help this, to help understand this, okay? Here you go. John 5, starting verse 1, says this. Afterwards, Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. Inside the city, near the sheep gate, was a pool with five covered porches. Crowds of sick people, blind, lame, or paralyzed, lie on these porches. Now, two things I want I want to highlight here, okay? First one, this is not a pretty sight. This is not a pretty sight. The sheep gate, that is where people will come. They will bring their sheep and clean them and give them ready for sacrifice. Now, I know in all the nursery rhymes, sheep, they're so beautiful. Bah. But sheep, they're pretty nasty animals. They they're they're their wool, carry so much dirt and other nasty parts that you know. And so so you they would bring them because they wanted to have, they didn't want to have a sacrifice at any blemish, so they would clean the sheep. And that's so you got all these dirty, stanked sheep being clean, and around them are unfortunately all these sick people who do not have care. And so you could paint the picture in your head. It's not, it's it's it's it smells bad, they can't bathe themselves. You know, this is this is not a good situation. And then there was a myth that the pool waters of the five cover pools would be stirred by angels. And if a person, if a if a if a if a sick person could get into the water first, they would be miraculously healed. And so there was a lot of schemers that would take advantage of these people. Okay, so there's a lot going on. Let's continue. One of the men lying there had been sick for 38 years. That's a long time. That's a long time. That's a long time to be in one condition. And he wasn't, we don't know if he was in that spot for 38 years. Scriptures don't give us a lot of backstory about him. But what we do know is that he's crippled, he's in a situation that feels like hell on earth, and he's hoping for something to come so it that will make him whole, but the vision for his life is not very good. The vision for his life is at standstill and is stuck. And I don't know about you, but haven't you ever just felt stuck before? And the best way you would describe it, it feels like it's been a long time. Have you ever had marriage problems and it feels like these marriage problems have been here for a long time? Have you ever been dealing with insecurities that have felt like you've been dealing with these same insecurities for a long time? Have you ever had problems and challenges and obstacles? And the only way you can describe it is I've been dealing with this thing for a long time. I've been stuck in this spot, I've been stuck in this condition, I've been stuck with this bitterness and this trauma and this hurt, and it feels like a long time I've been here. Now, now it's hard to say, it's hard to have vision for your life when you feel like you are stuck. But here you go. The first step on this circular journey is this we want to be with Jesus because Jesus saw him. Let me look listen. I love the Bible, I just love the Bible so much, and I believe when you read the Bible, it will change your life. When you dive into the word of God, man, there's nothing better than that. Because check this part out. I love this. Here's this crippled man, 38 years. Verse 6 says this when Jesus saw him. Let's stop right there. When Jesus saw him, text doesn't say when the man who's been there for 38 years, having some hoop dreams to get into this pool, finally looked up and saw Jesus, he said, Oh, now my life's gonna get better. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. He wasn't reaching to Jesus, but Jesus was reaching to him. And the beautiful thing about the gospel is that God reached to us way before we reached to him. And so it says that Jesus saw him. Jesus saw him, Jesus sees the man. And the text just told us there were crowds of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, surrounding the pool. They're all hoping for a miracle. It's messy, it's chaotic, it's loud, it's people stacked on people, bodies everywhere. Let the bodies hit the floor. And what does Jesus do? He cuts through the noise, he cuts through the chaos, he cuts through the crowds, and he sees the man. And the principle, the spiritual principle I want you to see is this even when you feel stuck, unseen, and unsure of what's next, Jesus still has vision for your life. He still has vision for your life. Your circumstances don't change God's communion with you. See, being with Jesus doesn't start with my pursuit of him, it starts with him seeing me. See, following Jesus begins with his presence, not my performance. Let me say that one more time. It begins with his presence and not how good you can be or how hard you can try. But it begins with him and his presence. And this is where our discipleship begins, not with doing, but with being with him. And before Jesus asks this man a question, before he tells him to pick up his mat, before any miracle happens, they are together. His presence. And honestly, a lot of us, we were raised in Christianity, we were raised in Christian homes or churches that made it sound like the goal of following Jesus was just to do the right things for him. And if you do the right things for him, then you're good. If I serve, if I act right, try harder, stop sinning, read this, volunteer with the kids, even though I don't like kids. Fix this or fix that. But Jesus' first move is not do something for me. Jesus' first move is always be with me. Be with me, be near to me. And that's why our hope for you is to be with Jesus. And our Sunday services, our Sunday services are geared in a way that can help everyday people from all walks of life find a place to come to church and just be with Jesus. So that so we can sing together, that our kids are getting messages about Jesus so we can be with him. See, Jesus sees him. He comes up with what comes up to him. Verse continues. And Jesus knew he had been ill for a long time. He asked him, Would you like to get well? And you may say, Jesus, what kind of question is that? That's like asking if I want to win the mega millions. Yes. It's about almost a billion dollars again. You may say, What kind of question is that? The man had been disabled for 38 years. Of course he wants to get better. But here's the beauty of when we get into the spiritual habit of being with Jesus, we start to hear his voice. See, because the only voice that he voice that he heard was the myth of if you can get into that pool, you'll be healed. The voices that he heard were the schemers that were trying to get him in there, but really tricking them. But when he got into the presence of God, he heard that God cared if he wanted to be healed or not. See, when we're with Jesus, we can hear his voice. And I'm telling you, LVC, I believe God speaks today, just like in the Bible times. The problem is we have so many distractions that we can barely hear the voice of God. But when we get to a place to be with him, we can hear him. And that leads us to our second step. The second step is we want to become like Jesus. We want to become like Jesus. Notice the man's request, notice the man's response to Jesus' question. Do you want to get well? He says, I can't, sir, the sick man said, for I have no one to put me into the pool when water bubbles up. Someone else gets there ahead of me. Now, the funny part about this is for the longest time, I always read this text as Jesus is asking him a question, and he comes up with an excuse. And there's some excuses there for sure, but I think something different is actually happening here. Jesus asked the question, do you want to get well? And the man replies back with what the scriptures, scripture writers would call confession. He responds with a confession. And of all the spiritual habits, confession is the hardest. Because here's the thing with confession. Confession is the doorway to transformation. And so our spiritual enemy, because we do have a spiritual enemy, would love to do everything to keep you from entering that doorway so that you won't experience the life transformation that God has for you. Because confession is the doorway to transformation. And I'm not just talking about confession of secret sins, which is hard and can be scary, but confession of doubt, confession of fear, confession of disappointment, of discouragement. Here the man has a confession of what I thought would heal me, what I thought would restore me, what I thought would fix me, has constantly left me disappointed. I can't get into the water. So do I want to get well? Yes, but my vision for my life isn't working out the way I hoped. He got let me give you two ways. Two ways to become like Jesus. And the first one is this we must spend daily time with God. We got to get into the habit of spending daily time with God. And I do believe in the principle of first things. I think how you start your day can set in motion your whole day. So I do believe starting your day with God is the best way to start your day. Because the best part of waking up is Jesus in your cup. That was also really weird. I don't know why I did that too. Okay. But it's not folders either, though, because there's better coffee. Okay, anyways. But in your morning time or your daily time with God, confess to God. I love this. I love this. Did you notice you can confess your sins to God? And He knows and He cares. We confess to the Lord. And we confess. We confess what's troubling our hearts and get practical. Write a journal, write them out. Get into the silence and tell God what's going on in your heart. Because the more you hang out with God, the more you'll become like Him. The second way is this: get good Jesus followers around you. Now, I think small groups is a great way to do that. And I love our small groups here at LVC. Our groups only do have a few more weeks before we go on break, but you can still join a group anytime. But but it's but you don't gotta wait for us to organize small groups to get good Jesus followers around you. I love when I hear stories of people on Sunday, they go and have lunch together after church. Come on. I love it. I love when I hear stories of people hanging out. Just get people around you who can encourage you. And here you go. Let me say something. I'm gonna say I'm gonna say something. Because this is what it looks like to get good Jesus followers around you. Say you're a mom, right? Say you're a mom and you're struggling with your snot-nosed kids. You just struggling. They they they got snot everywhere, they talking back, they you struggling. And so you this is what I want you to do. I want you to call another mom who's a Jesus follower. And I want you just to say, hey man, I'm struggling. They're driving me crazy. I got this stress going on, I got this thing. And what I want you to do, person on the other on the other line of phone, I don't want you to give them a summary of the last parenting book that you read. I don't want you to give them the advice on how to fix their snot no skid. What I want you to do is say, I hear that. And can I pray for you? Can I pray for you? Because sometimes we don't confess because people give us arm wanted advice. Sometimes we don't confess because we think people are gonna judge us when we're really feeling low or down. But LVC, let's have a culture where we can confess, where we can talk, where we can share what's going on, and the person on the other line or the person we're talking to says, Well, can I pray for you? Can I help you in that area? Because ultimately, getting good Jesus followers, people around you are there to help point you to Jesus. That making sense, LVC? So the Bible says this confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. Not give your best tips to somebody, but pray for each other that you may be healed. And again, that word sin may freak people out. And we do need time to confess the heavy things, but I'm also just talking about confessing the regular things. I want you to catch this becoming like Jesus is not our attempt to do more to be like Jesus, it's receiving the invitation he extends to us. This man, he's confessing. My plan didn't work. I've been stuck for 38 years. The vision for my life hasn't played out. I keep trying the same thing over and over again, but it keeps leaving me disappointed. And watch this. Jesus can heal what you're willing to confess. He can heal it if you're willing to confess it. He won't transform you when you pretend like, oh, everything's fine. Everything's good. I'm good. I'm fine. You're only lying to yourself. And this is the second movement in this circular journey. Become like Jesus. You don't become like Jesus by pretending you're okay. You become like Jesus by bringing the real you to the real Him. Confession is how that's how Jesus forms us. Confession is how the Spirit reshapes us. Confession is how we stop clinging to broken hopes and start grabbing onto healing. Confession is the moment where transformation begins. And so Jesus meets this man right where he is. Jesus sees him and he confesses. But listen, confession is not the finish line. Confession is the doorway. Because the story doesn't stop with, I can't, I can't do this. And Jesus, like, oh I'm sorry, Billy. I know you tried for 38 years. Sorry. No, no, that's not how the story ends. The story is he's stuck for 38 years, and then Jesus speaks the words that change everything. Jesus told him, stand up, pick up your mat and walk. Instantly, the Bible says, the man was healed. He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking. And this miracle happened on the Sabbath. See, see, you've been honest about where you are. Now let me lead you to who you can become. And this is the third movement and this circular journey. We want to be with Jesus, become like Jesus. And now we want to do the stuff that Jesus did. We want to do the stuff because Jesus doesn't just, Jesus doesn't just change how you feel, he changes how you move. He doesn't just change your belief, he changes your behaviors. He doesn't just heal your heart, he activates your life. Jesus didn't heal this man. Look at this. So he could stay laying down by the pool. Hey, you're healed. Thanks, Jesus. I don't keep laying here though. It's kind of comfortable. It smells bad. But I'm used to it. I'm used to it. See, Jesus heals the man to activate the man. To move the man, to move him from where he was. He doesn't just restore him, he gives him a step, he gives him direction, he gives him a way forward. And this is important because following Jesus always requires movement from information to application, from formation to activation, from being with Jesus to living like Jesus. And Jesus always invites healed people into a new way of living. And I want you to notice something very intentional in the text. Because Jesus didn't heal this man and he just stayed by the pool. He healed him so he can walk into a new future. In other words, healing leads to calling. And Jesus gives him three simple instructions. He says, get up. That's about your identity. You are not that same person anymore. It's time to get up. Then he says, pick up your mat. That's about your responsibility and your story. Then he says, walk. And he says, that's about your activity. And this is the pattern of discipleship. Jesus restores us, he forms us, and then he activates us. And this is why the third part of our vision, do the stuff that Jesus did. It's not out of pressure, it's not out of performance, but it's out of overflow of what Jesus has done in our lives. I do not because it makes me better or not because it makes God love me more. I do because my heart has been radically changed by the loving hand of a Savior that found me when I was down and gave me new life. And I can't help but live for Him. It's a response to His love. But here's the other part. This part always gets me. Why in the world does Jesus tell him to grab that stinky mat? He'd been laying on that mat for who knows how long. Jesus said, grab, he said, grab it, roll it, and pick up and walk with it. Why would Jesus want him walking around with that thing? Isn't he a new creation? Are all things new in Christ? Isn't he a new creation? Why would he walk around with that? I'm gonna tell you why he wants you to walk around with that mat. Why he wants you to pick up your mat and why he wants you to walk around with your mat. We find it in Revelation, it says this. It says they triumphed over him, and that him is your spiritual enemy. It is the sin, it is the devil. He is how to steal, kill, and destroy. How do we triumph over this spiritual enemy? By the blood of the Lamb, that's Jesus sacrificed for us. That's when he defeated the enemy on the cross and rose again. But here's the best part by the blood of the Lamb and by the power of your testimony. See, that broke that road of mat is letting the world know this is where I was, but this is not who I am. This is what I've been through, but God has something more for me. See, I've been through some stuff. I've been through some pain. I've been stuck in the condition for way too long. But God, He healed my marriage and He gave me hope. He healed my finances and gave me a future. He took me out of a dark place and brought me into His light. So I walk around on my mat because I want you to know by the blood of the Lamb and by the power of my testimony that God is for me and not against me. It's letting your healing be visible. When you serve, when you give, when you pray, when you invite someone to church, when you show kindness, when you forgive, when you love someone who you want to uppercut. That's you picking up your mat. That's you walking out the miracle of the changed life that God has given you. And here's what we see. As soon as a man starts walking, people notice. People notice, and at first the negative people, they always want to notice something. How you healed? It's a Sabbath. You ain't supposed to be walking around with your mat on the Sabbath. You healed. What you doing? And I love this. The man says, Yeah, I don't know who healed me because he slipped away. That's what scripture says. Jesus healed him and did the slip. I don't know. But I know is this. I was in this condition for 38 years. And the religious duty didn't heal me, but being with him, becoming like him, and doing what he told me to do did heal me. And so I'm going to walk with him. I'm going to stand up when he tells me to stand up. And I love that it took place on the Sabbath. I love that it took place on the Sabbath. You want to know why I love that it took place on the Sabbath? I'm sweating. I need a handkerchief up here today. I need to bag down. I love that they be healed on the Sabbath. Because Sabbath is a day of rest. And our healing comes when we rest in God. Come on, somebody. Our healing comes not when we try to do more and be more and act like we got it all together. But it's when we rest in God, when we're with him, and we become like him and we do what he wants us to do. And so, friends, my hope for you today is this that you will become an everyday person. When you already are an everyday person, but that you will become someone who follows Jesus in your everyday, and that you will go through this motion of being with Jesus and becoming like him and doing what he does. And this is my hope. This is my hope for LVC. My hope for LVC is our church continues to grow. That next year we break that 200 barrier. I pray that we see over 200 people in this auditorium and when God decides to bless us with our own permanent location in Jesus' name. My prayer is not that it happens through us doing crazy events, through us just doing, oh, look at these crazy things at the church. No, no, no. My prayer is that our church grows because everyday people are learning how to be with Jesus, to become like Jesus and do the stuff that Jesus did. And so when they see LVC people at the gym, when they see LVC people at the workplace, and God knows when they see LVC people at Walmart, come on, because they need their lives. People say, I want what those people have. By the blood of the Lamb. And by the word of your testimony. By the blood of the Lamb, meaning He did it all. And the word of our testimony. Look what He did in me. I can't explain it all, but I know I was blind and now I can see. I know I was stuck in a situation for 38 years, but He saw me and He invited me into confession and then He healed my sin. And I have a new life. So God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, we thank you for vocal cords in Jesus' name. We thank you. That the power of your gospel can surpass any voice that I'm losing. Because it's not about the words, it's about your gospel message. That you saw us. You see us right now. You see every person in this room who has been stuck in this spot. And whatever that spot is for you, Jesus sees you. And he cuts through the crowd to get to you today. So Holy Spirit. We confess is right where you are. You can whisper it out loud. You can say it in your heart. You can do whatever you want. Begin to confess. I feel discouraged. I have some struggles. I feel right now there's someone in here. Your confession is, I feel like I'm not a great parent. I feel like I'm letting people down. Holy Spirit, come. I feel like someone's saying, You just have this thought. Am I making the right decision? I don't know what that is. And I don't even know if you're making the wrong decision. That's like the Holy Spirit is saying, confess it to the Lord because He wants to hear it. He wants to hear it. He wants to talk to you. He wants to be with you. Come, Holy Spirit. I feel like the Holy Spirit is saying to someone today, you've been laying healed on your broken mat. It's time to walk out the healing that God has for you. It's time to stop second guessing all your decisions. A double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways. Scripture tells us. Come, Holy Spirit. We love you, Jesus. We say more of you. More of you, Lord. Help us today to be with you, to become like you. And then do the stuff that you did, Jesus. We love you in this place. And the church says, Amen. Amen. Come on, let's give God some praise in here today.