The Sermon In It To Win It by David McGee
Apr 26, 2015
In It To Win It (33:51)
Referenced Scriptures: 1 Peter 1:18-25; Acts 17:24-29
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The scriptures below are from the WEB Bible.
1 Peter 1:18-25
18) knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers,
19) but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot, the blood of Christ;
20) who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of times for your sake,
21) who through him are believers in God, that raised him from the dead, and gave him glory; so that your faith and hope might be in God.
22) Seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth through the Spirit in sincere brotherly affection, love one another from the heart fervently:
23) having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the word of God, which lives and remains forever.
24) For, "All flesh is like grass, And all of man‘s glory like the flower in the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls;
25) But the Lord‘s word endures forever." This is the word of good news which was preached to you.
Acts 17:24-29
24) The God who made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands,
25) neither is he served by men‘s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself gives to all life and breath, and all things.
26) He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation,
27) that they should seek the Lord, if perhaps they might reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
28) ‘For in him we live, and move, and have our being.‘ As some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.‘
29) Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold, or silver, or stone, engraved by art and device of man.
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Well today I want to speak to you about her. Talk to us about in it to win it. If that sounds familiar in it to win it well and on a T.V. show it's called a minute to win it but I was there given the contest of the context in it to win it. And whenever we are parti ting in something it and I know the compe ion factor is difficult because we think that there are winners and there are losers and we don't remember who the Super Bowl. Second place was third place was perhaps it's just hard enough for us to win. Wonder who was the Super Bowl champion or hockey. Hockey has been going on in the Pittsburgh Penguins have lost and they are no longer in the tournament so they're not going to be in it to win it. So baseball started and we've got the baseball teams going in. We have a long long long summer of baseball. But it's good that they're winning and we have rankings and we have this team beating that team and so we have all these different things going on but what about our Christian faith. What about the race that we are in in our faith in it to win it. Now we don't want to think of it in the context that only one wins. You see the context of Scripture is that when we cross the line or when we die and go out and our life is over we cross the line with Christ in our heart we have won the race. Paul says that I fought a good fight. I've kept the faith. So there's there's difficulty and in his scriptures there's a lot of ogies that are. Our brought out that we've fought we fought the good fight. The boxers we have completed competed and we have won the race that we are encomp ed about by so so great a crowd of witnesses. It's like all of the saints before us that are in heaven are in the arena and they're cheering us on and so there are a number of ogies given in the scriptures that talk about the soldier the soldier the the armor of The running the race that we compete in an earthly race to win the race that they would wear upon their heads only for it to die. But we compete against and we as Christians to compete for a heavenly reward that is eternal. So all of these things we're talking about in comparing our life to boxing to a soldier to running to completing. Well on first Peter chapter one beginning in verse eighteen it says Your life is a journey. So this ogy is not a race but a journey and the journey is something that we are beginning and where is that. Where does the journey begin while the journey has already begun. Some of you we need to know that we aren't we haven't we've already begun the race. OK we've already begun the journey and where the journey taking you the journey is taking you right here right here right now. You're on a journey you're on a path you're you're competing for a prize that is eternal. We are listening for how that is going to do a work in our lives and make a difference in this journey so your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of . It's a deep conscience of consciousness. Are you aware is with you every moment of every day. Every thought you know the Bible says we are to pray without ceasing to pray without ceasing. Well I you know that me would be on our knees and pray you know that we have every thought is a recognition of a consciousness of that is with me that we are never alone he is never so far away as to be just near us so that we are practicing a consciousness. We are developing a consciousness that is with me in the trials in the travels. If I'm walking next door or we're going halfway around the world. is with us is with me in every situation so I am to be consciously aware that is with me and I am in his hands in his presence that he is walking with me. Steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord that He is a light unto my path. Then he will make the crooked places straight he will bring them the valleys up in the mountains down he goes before us. He goes behind us he is the left the me here is to the right of me he's beneath me he's above me he is in me. We find that in each of the Scriptures and throughout the Scriptures there is this relational experience that we are to have with And so we are to have a conscious a deep consciousness of a deep consciousness of Most of the time we are aware some people aren't aware of anything you know but we need to be aware that we need to be aware that is with us. has a plan and a purpose. Now it cost Plenty this is the script. You're just gonna this week just kind of jumped out at me so that's what we're working on today. It cost Plenty to get you out of that dead in he headed life. You grew up in and cost Plenty. You see if you've been watching the movie eighty I think it's a good it's been very pretty much on with its presentation of what happens in the in the Scriptures and then we've had the coming through the Easter season the The P ion of Christ. We had his death his burial his resurrection. It cost Plenty. She got paid everything to redeem us to bring us out of that dead end dead end empty headed life so if we're on a journey we're not going to a dead end. Well we're all going to die so therefore it's a dead end. No Christians live forever everybody lives forever some with Some without who are not on a dead end journey we are here we are on a journey that is taking us on the road of life and the giver of life is the one who's leading us and he's the one bringing into us the gift of life. If we didn't have a purpose we wouldn't be alive and has called us to be here and he has brought us to this place for such a time as this for this moment in time. And I mentioned it in Sunday school and I've been thinking about how that over the years how that has just arranged different things to come together to this very point in time you know divine appointments not interruptions. I was thinking of I told Ron I told this in Sunday school so it's about you. Thanks. And she wonders what is he telling now. Well whenever I was in high school I don't know why I'm think about this but I guess it's graduation. I don't know what it is but anyhow when I was in high school and I graduated in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven so these want to keep track I graduated in one thousand sixty seven but I wanted to go to college but I was only you know when I was when I was a senior in high school when I started to senior year I was sixteen years old. That's pretty young. My kids my family kick me out the house they couldn't stand me longer so they sent me to first grade now but anyhow somewhere around ninth grade tenth grade I decided I want to go to college because I want to play football. So my desire to play football took me to take the college courses. Well I was out of sync with the kids in my cl who were taking the college courses so I was taking I was the older guy in the back of the room taking having cl es with the younger groups that were on the college courses. So I mean I went through that graduated went to apply to one school went to the went to the guidance counselor and she said Well I think there's one school that might accept you. So I applied to that one school and I was accepted and I was accepted on a summer program. So you know I went to school that summer and I was going to play football in the fall but I was not eligible so I had to wait a year the next year one thousand nine hundred sixty nine fifty seven sixty nine sixty eight. Now I see you needed in one thousand sixty eight. Went back to school went early tried out for the football team made it and my friend and I were playing on the football team and we did very well. I thought so you know the guys who were supposed to be better than us just. Beat up on them and it was just it was great but then I went to ask them for a scholarship and I said not no money this year you're going to have to wait a year wait here. You know how hard this is you know in high school you would see stars maybe in you know you hit people need to see stars maybe once or twice a game. Well in college you would see stars about two or three times a practice or there's a whole different level whole different thing and I thought if I'm going to do this I want paid for. And anyhow my friend and I we were roommates and we quit went back to main campus and whenever we got there. Rhonda was there Madge met but rundown went to all of us and brought us and she was in a summer program not because she couldn't get in but because she wanted to take some cl es ahead of time that there were more advanced cl es. She's a smart when I did I had to get to get in. She was just doing it so she didn't have to take all the hard ones. Anyhow the only D. I think she got in her entire college career was in a summer school in your entire life. So the dad that went in there. The only D.E.C. ever got her entire life was in a summer school course which her almost brought us decided we can't keep her she's got a C. in A D. she's gotta leave but they didn't realize she wasn't there on a summer program to qualify to get in she was already and they told her she can come back and they she said Where am I going to go and her guidance counselor says go to Salem. And there she goes her first day at college and I'm an uppercl man and I took her beanie. First day she's at school the only only person I've ever dated in college was her and I took. Or reading and so here we are two people crossing. Because if I had made the football team I would have stayed out of main campus and but I was at the extension campus and come to find out later when she worked for the athletic department they said if she'd have just stayed we would give him a full scholarship. But that fall but that fall that same one thousand nine hundred eighty eight I went to church and we've got a church there in Clarksburg West Virginia and at the altar I felt that called me to the ministry. So in that brief period of time I had my dream come true I made the team the second dream was I met my wife and thirteen was the third thing was called me into the ministry. Within about a six week period of time maybe even four weeks my whole life changed. And on a four week period of time that brought in the intersections of different people in different places that would affect the rest of my life. So you see we are on a journey we are on a journey that knows where we are going and he knows exactly what we're supposed to be doing and exactly where we're supposed to be and doing and learning and growing in this whole process of her. What's John. What relation is he to you. And who comes to to church here once in a while she lives in Florida and Wisconsin. Her son just this week got his Ph D. and from our University of Iowa it's on some physics or whatever. Plasma. That's it it's on the shadow of a plasma. OK. When I see people have skills people have abilities people have. But see is the one who has to put inside of us our skills and our abilities. And some people are going to be plasma people and some people are going to be educators and some people are going to be workers and some people are going to be preachers and teachers and people or you know whatever we are we are exactly suited for that purpose. That person and that place that we are and has given us the skills and the abilities if I would have been about six inches taller and at that time I wish I weighed a mere one hundred and seventy five pounds. Vicious powerful person I was. Yeah like you know deserves a cough. But that very time in place is exactly where I needed to be because that pastor of the church there in Clarksburg West Virginia had sent a number of people to Zion Bible College and that's the only place I went to apply to go to seminary to Bible school. I only played one place to go to college. Rhonda ends up there by mistake. Her best destiny is in front of her. Maybe she has other ways of saying that but. But we know those things happen and we look at our life. Where are the transitions where are the transactions where the crossroads and he see life is a journey. Where are we going. What is teaching us along the way. How are how is our heart open to what wants to say to us the things that we think we need. Sometimes aren't what we need. That was in our Sunday school lesson this morning when Peter is walk. Being into the the temple and the lame man is seated there on the floor can't walk a what he wants he wants a hand out and Peter says silver and gold have I none but what I have I give you and you see here is a chance that that man has an idea he needs money because he can't eat unless people put it into his life. Peter says look at me and see in our life Jesus wants us to see him. Jesus wants us to look upon him see his character see his image see who he is and we see that character and image as we study the Scripture we see that person of Jesus and how who he was and what he thought how he thought what he believed and what he wants us to believe and how that he wants us to put our faith in him and to look at him and to see him in the word and then that word comes alive in our hearts and minds and we are praying and we will be praying and continue to pray to I hear I am a lame person but what I need is money so I can survive. And Peter comes along and says silver and gold I have what you want is not what I've got but I've got something you need. That's what makes us different. That's what makes us as Christians as believers different than anyone else because has a way when we pray to you know what I need I need silver and gold. And the Spirit of comes and says You don't need silver and gold what you need is Jesus and when Jesus touches our lives He forgives us of our sins. He fills us with His Spirit. He gives us His word and he teaches us. Leads us along in our daily life. is about change touching our life so here we are in this journey and did everything we were on a dead end. Empty headed way. We were on a dead end. Empty headed way because we were lost without But now that is in our life we have a purpose. We still have problems we still have difficulties we still fall down but you see we have hope to get up. We have hope to change the world. I've always I've always felt you know down down deep you know I've had these grandiose dreams. Anybody have grandiose dreams grandiose dreams or change the world. So where does take me winter. OK there is a world changing place then. But guess what. From Wimber we have we can reach the world from Wimber we can reach the world. I never thought you know we think of our children I think David and Rachel. You know they're rich in the world. They would change in the world. DAVID He said they're like you. Tyler Tyler Dylan Dylan Tyler Perry I hope you get your all straight here. David sat there I had to listen to my dad every Sunday morning and Sunday night and Wednesday night we had church three times a week. There's the oh easy enough. And how that crowd was able to do what we put in his heart what was put in his heart here by you by the older individuals that were here and the ones he grew up with. You've changed his life and his life is changing the world touching the world but so are you. You see when you do things that we don't even know of and how that the snowball effect of those things has an impact has an impact as we do things is the one who takes what we do and multiplies it. Silver and gold it isn't the silver and gold it's going to change the life it's the touch of Jesus Christ from our lives to their lives. It's taking the five loaves and two fishes five flat pancakes and two sardines. It is taking what doesn't count. You see when the people sat down there were five thousand men plus women and children the people who didn't count are the ones who fed everybody because some mother who doesn't count packed a lunch for a little boy who was going to go listen to a preacher. And the people who didn't count the little boy in the mother are the ones who provided what needed as he touched it and multiplied it to touch other people's lives. So you cannot say what you have and what you give and what you do doesn't have a multiplying effect a contant compounding effect upon everything about people around us and the things that eternity will reveal the things that eternity will give us rewards for what you rewarded for it's what you've done you see and. We empty headed life that we grew up he paid with Christ sacred blood our our life was purchased by the Blood of Jesus Christ our life was redeemed the evil and the mistakes and the failures of our life were completely erased by the Blood of Jesus Christ. And there's a brief things even though it was even though it has only lately at the end of the age become publicly public knowledge. always knew he was going to do this for you. That's what I love. always knew he was going to do this for you before the world began. knew you would be here and knew what he was going to do in your life to make a difference for you and everyone you touch because of what is about is not just about us it's about how he is going to touch our lives to touch others. I need some help. I need at least one two three four I need six people we picked up to the back. Come on down and his friend too for I need two more on the right who wants to be in Who Wants to be a victim. Who wants to be the sixt going wants to have it coming. Oh yeah. What I want you to do and it's just for this thing. You're around the altar here and I want you to kneel down and put your hand on the altar. OK Now there you go. Only giving you this and give you this. In this scenario in Rio and you have to get used to it I do this all the time. Right now here we are at the altar. Each of us what we've got what we've received. You didn't bring with you OK When we asked Christ into our heart in our lives he gives us something we didn't have himself. And that's just kind of figuratively in this in this il ration It's like a candle. Now I'm not . Case you get confused. I'm not OK All right I'm not got. But has given to each one of us different things different abilities. Now they all look the same. You know they all look like candles but inside you're different. Now I want to give you something. Please hold this so you don't burn yourself. Now this is like with the gifts of the Holy Spirit giving you life and hope and strength and he's going to help you. And this is the Light of . Alive in your hearts. This is the Light of alive in each one of our hearts. So here we are at an altar we've given our life to Christ and the light and the love of are now in our hearts. OK What I want you to do is stand up. Now are you going to run a race. OK And the race is all around and come back down and finish here but the candle can't go out. OK. And people along the way may try and get out. Right. Hopefully they don't have bad breath and out OK now but the emphasis is on finishing with the light on. OK So let's begin our race. Pete this isn't around though because people don't want to go out is a fan blown blow out I'm well I don't know. Protect the light. Don't let the like go out. Yeah. OK come on down. Why do people go on. OK what happens when you're like goes out. Yeah OK When it now. OK what happens when our Like what happens what I like goes out we go back to Christ who lights it up again take another trip. Stay stay here you finished your course that having you finished your course you finished your course. Yeah you see whenever we finish our course. The light must be lit. OK Remember now the goal is to finish with your light on the back come on down get it right perhaps byp them. Come on down. If your lights out. There you go. OK now. That's that they can't protect the light the light protector like protector like protect your light. We got one more to finish it was still that one. OK You know what. That's just like you see what happens is what happens in some people our friends sometimes our friends will be the ones who try to extinguish this slow down deliberate. Sometimes our friends will try and get our lights blown out. Sometimes people around us will try again and lights blown out family put it away. Here we go slow. No slow go slow go slow. Oh yeah. OK What happened is when we finished the course with our light lit idiocy no matter how many times it goes out we have to go back to the source which is to light our life and we can try and we can try and come from unexpected places people neighbors friends trying to blow it out unexpectedly. You did very well. Yeah it took a lot to get into it right. But you see what happens is I finished my course when life is over. We want our law. Right that is in Christ to be alive and burning brightly OK. And no matter what happens in our life always to protect the life that we have in Christ. Always protect that life that we have in Christ because will give us the strength and the ability the wisdom the knowledge and you found out in different ways how the people try to extinguish our lights. And sometimes people we didn't expect would blow out our light but always in Christ we are more than conquerors and we keep doing and we keep going and we keep returning to the light of Christ and He will help us finish our journey. Amen. OK Do you want to blow out your candy is what they call it. Well that's good. Thank you very much. Oh yeah. There we go. Trick candles I should add. That's are now better than I expected. So but what are we we are on a journey. Our journey you know it isn't about finishing. It's about taking the whole the whole life as a journey it's a journey that makes the difference. And as we go through each avenue of life there are surprises and there are things that we you know when you took when you started did you ever think you would be first who would be last because there wasn't a first and last there's only a finish. There's only a finish. You see we have to run the race to finish. I've kept the faith. I finished my course. That's what is doing in our lives. He's giving us the strength the wisdom the understand he's giving to us what we didn't have the candle. He is empowering us with the light that we didn't have the the power of the Holy Spirit. And as we go through life if we become too distracted by the light we run into things that we become too distracted by the people we let the flight of flame go out. So when people are so heavenly minded they can't communicate with people they're no earthly good. But when we're so earthly minded we lose perspective of our like it goes out so it's a balance between keeping the light and the love of alive inside of us and in our heart and walking our life gives us wisdom guidance and understanding and what we are up to is living for and then amen. It's all stand. We thank you father. Thank you Lord for your blessings in our life. Thank you Lord for your divine provision and as we are about this journey it is cost you everything to give us something you've given us yourself. We ask for your wisdom your guidance. We ask for your strength your power as we keep your light alive inside of us by our prayers and by our belief and by our knowledge we will not let others get us off course. Thank you for giving us your light your love in Jesus Christ. These things we ask in the name of our savior Jesus and everybody says amen. bless you. In It To Win It Well today I want to speak to you about her. Talk to us about in it to win it. If that sounds familiar in it to win it well and on a T.V. show it's called a minute to win it but I was there given the contest of the context in it to win it. And whenever we are parti ting in something it and I know the compe ion factor is difficult because we think that there are winners and there are losers and we don't remember who the Super Bowl. Second place was third place was perhaps it's just hard enough for us to win. Wonder who was the Super Bowl champion or hockey. Hockey has been going on in the Pittsburgh Penguins have lost and they are no longer in the tournament so they're not going to be in it to win it. So baseball started and we've got the baseball teams going in. We have a long long long summer of baseball. But it's good that they're winning and we have rankings and we have this team beating that team and so we have all these different things going on but what about our Christian faith. What about the race that we are in in our faith in it to win it. Now we don't want to think of it in the context that only one wins. You see the context of Scripture is that when we cross the line or when we die and go out and our life is over we cross the line with Christ in our heart we have won the race. Paul says that I fought a good fight. I've kept the faith. So there's there's difficulty and in his scriptures there's a lot of ogies that are. Our brought out that we've fought we fought the good fight. The boxers we have completed competed and we have won the race that we are encomp ed about by so so great a crowd of witnesses. It's like all of the saints before us that are in heaven are in the arena and they're cheering us on and so there are a number of ogies given in the scriptures that talk about the soldier the soldier the the armor of The running the race that we compete in an earthly race to win the race that they would wear upon their heads only for it to die. But we compete against and we as Christians to compete for a heavenly reward that is eternal. So all of these things we're talking about in comparing our life to boxing to a soldier to running to completing. Well on first Peter chapter one beginning in verse eighteen it says Your life is a journey. So this ogy is not a race but a journey and the journey is something that we are beginning and where is that. Where does the journey begin while the journey has already begun. Some of you we need to know that we aren't we haven't we've already begun the race. OK we've already begun the journey and where the journey taking you the journey is taking you right here right here right now. You're on a journey you're on a path you're you're competing for a prize that is eternal. We are listening for how that is going to do a work in our lives and make a difference in this journey so your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of . It's a deep conscience of consciousness. Are you aware is with you every moment of every day. Every thought you know the Bible says we are to pray without ceasing to pray without ceasing. Well I you know that me would be on our knees and pray you know that we have every thought is a recognition of a consciousness of that is with me that we are never alone he is never so far away as to be just near us so that we are practicing a consciousness. We are developing a consciousness that is with me in the trials in the travels. If I'm walking next door or we're going halfway around the world. is with us is with me in every situation so I am to be consciously aware that is with me and I am in his hands in his presence that he is walking with me. Steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord that He is a light unto my path. Then he will make the crooked places straight he will bring them the valleys up in the mountains down he goes before us. He goes behind us he is the left the me here is to the right of me he's beneath me he's above me he is in me. We find that in each of the Scriptures and throughout the Scriptures there is this relational experience that we are to have with And so we are to have a conscious a deep consciousness of a deep consciousness of Most of the time we are aware some people aren't aware of anything you know but we need to be aware that we need to be aware that is with us. has a plan and a purpose. Now it cost Plenty this is the script. You're just gonna this week just kind of jumped out at me so that's what we're working on today. It cost Plenty to get you out of that dead in he headed life. You grew up in and cost Plenty. You see if you've been watching the movie eighty I think it's a good it's been very pretty much on with its presentation of what happens in the in the Scriptures and then we've had the coming through the Easter season the The P ion of Christ. We had his death his burial his resurrection. It cost Plenty. She got paid everything to redeem us to bring us out of that dead end dead end empty headed life so if we're on a journey we're not going to a dead end. Well we're all going to die so therefore it's a dead end. No Christians live forever everybody lives forever some with Some without who are not on a dead end journey we are here we are on a journey that is taking us on the road of life and the giver of life is the one who's leading us and he's the one bringing into us the gift of life. If we didn't have a purpose we wouldn't be alive and has called us to be here and he has brought us to this place for such a time as this for this moment in time. And I mentioned it in Sunday school and I've been thinking about how that over the years how that has just arranged different things to come together to this very point in time you know divine appointments not interruptions. I was thinking of I told Ron I told this in Sunday school so it's about you. Thanks. And she wonders what is he telling now. Well whenever I was in high school I don't know why I'm think about this but I guess it's graduation. I don't know what it is but anyhow when I was in high school and I graduated in one thousand nine hundred sixty seven so these want to keep track I graduated in one thousand sixty seven but I wanted to go to college but I was only you know when I was when I was a senior in high school when I started to senior year I was sixteen years old. That's pretty young. My kids my family kick me out the house they couldn't stand me longer so they sent me to first grade now but anyhow somewhere around ninth grade tenth grade I decided I want to go to college because I want to play football. So my desire to play football took me to take the college courses. Well I was out of sync with the kids in my cl who were taking the college courses so I was taking I was the older guy in the back of the room taking having cl es with the younger groups that were on the college courses. So I mean I went through that graduated went to apply to one school went to the went to the guidance counselor and she said Well I think there's one school that might accept you. So I applied to that one school and I was accepted and I was accepted on a summer program. So you know I went to school that summer and I was going to play football in the fall but I was not eligible so I had to wait a year the next year one thousand nine hundred sixty nine fifty seven sixty nine sixty eight. Now I see you needed in one thousand sixty eight. Went back to school went early tried out for the football team made it and my friend and I were playing on the football team and we did very well. I thought so you know the guys who were supposed to be better than us just. Beat up on them and it was just it was great but then I went to ask them for a scholarship and I said not no money this year you're going to have to wait a year wait here. You know how hard this is you know in high school you would see stars maybe in you know you hit people need to see stars maybe once or twice a game. Well in college you would see stars about two or three times a practice or there's a whole different level whole different thing and I thought if I'm going to do this I want paid for. And anyhow my friend and I we were roommates and we quit went back to main campus and whenever we got there. Rhonda was there Madge met but rundown went to all of us and brought us and she was in a summer program not because she couldn't get in but because she wanted to take some cl es ahead of time that there were more advanced cl es. She's a smart when I did I had to get to get in. She was just doing it so she didn't have to take all the hard ones. Anyhow the only D. I think she got in her entire college career was in a summer school in your entire life. So the dad that went in there. The only D.E.C. ever got her entire life was in a summer school course which her almost brought us decided we can't keep her she's got a C. in A D. she's gotta leave but they didn't realize she wasn't there on a summer program to qualify to get in she was already and they told her she can come back and they she said Where am I going to go and her guidance counselor says go to Salem. And there she goes her first day at college and I'm an uppercl man and I took her beanie. First day she's at school the only only person I've ever dated in college was her and I took. Or reading and so here we are two people crossing. Because if I had made the football team I would have stayed out of main campus and but I was at the extension campus and come to find out later when she worked for the athletic department they said if she'd have just stayed we would give him a full scholarship. But that fall but that fall that same one thousand nine hundred eighty eight I went to church and we've got a church there in Clarksburg West Virginia and at the altar I felt that called me to the ministry. So in that brief period of time I had my dream come true I made the team the second dream was I met my wife and thirteen was the third thing was called me into the ministry. Within about a six week period of time maybe even four weeks my whole life changed. And on a four week period of time that brought in the intersections of different people in different places that would affect the rest of my life. So you see we are on a journey we are on a journey that knows where we are going and he knows exactly what we're supposed to be doing and exactly where we're supposed to be and doing and learning and growing in this whole process of her. What's John. What relation is he to you. And who comes to to church here once in a while she lives in Florida and Wisconsin. Her son just this week got his Ph D. and from our University of Iowa it's on some physics or whatever. Plasma. That's it it's on the shadow of a plasma. OK. When I see people have skills people have abilities people have. But see is the one who has to put inside of us our skills and our abilities. And some people are going to be plasma people and some people are going to be educators and some people are going to be workers and some people are going to be preachers and teachers and people or you know whatever we are we are exactly suited for that purpose. That person and that place that we are and has given us the skills and the abilities if I would have been about six inches taller and at that time I wish I weighed a mere one hundred and seventy five pounds. Vicious powerful person I was. Yeah like you know deserves a cough. But that very time in place is exactly where I needed to be because that pastor of the church there in Clarksburg West Virginia had sent a number of people to Zion Bible College and that's the only place I went to apply to go to seminary to Bible school. I only played one place to go to college. Rhonda ends up there by mistake. Her best destiny is in front of her. Maybe she has other ways of saying that but. But we know those things happen and we look at our life. Where are the transitions where are the transactions where the crossroads and he see life is a journey. Where are we going. What is teaching us along the way. How are how is our heart open to what wants to say to us the things that we think we need. Sometimes aren't what we need. That was in our Sunday school lesson this morning when Peter is walk. Being into the the temple and the lame man is seated there on the floor can't walk a what he wants he wants a hand out and Peter says silver and gold have I none but what I have I give you and you see here is a chance that that man has an idea he needs money because he can't eat unless people put it into his life. Peter says look at me and see in our life Jesus wants us to see him. Jesus wants us to look upon him see his character see his image see who he is and we see that character and image as we study the Scripture we see that person of Jesus and how who he was and what he thought how he thought what he believed and what he wants us to believe and how that he wants us to put our faith in him and to look at him and to see him in the word and then that word comes alive in our hearts and minds and we are praying and we will be praying and continue to pray to I hear I am a lame person but what I need is money so I can survive. And Peter comes along and says silver and gold I have what you want is not what I've got but I've got something you need. That's what makes us different. That's what makes us as Christians as believers different than anyone else because has a way when we pray to you know what I need I need silver and gold. And the Spirit of comes and says You don't need silver and gold what you need is Jesus and when Jesus touches our lives He forgives us of our sins. He fills us with His Spirit. He gives us His word and he teaches us. Leads us along in our daily life. is about change touching our life so here we are in this journey and did everything we were on a dead end. Empty headed way. We were on a dead end. Empty headed way because we were lost without But now that is in our life we have a purpose. We still have problems we still have difficulties we still fall down but you see we have hope to get up. We have hope to change the world. I've always I've always felt you know down down deep you know I've had these grandiose dreams. Anybody have grandiose dreams grandiose dreams or change the world. So where does take me winter. OK there is a world changing place then. But guess what. From Wimber we have we can reach the world from Wimber we can reach the world. I never thought you know we think of our children I think David and Rachel. You know they're rich in the world. They would change in the world. DAVID He said they're like you. Tyler Tyler Dylan Dylan Tyler Perry I hope you get your all straight here. David sat there I had to listen to my dad every Sunday morning and Sunday night and Wednesday night we had church three times a week. There's the oh easy enough. And how that crowd was able to do what we put in his heart what was put in his heart here by you by the older individuals that were here and the ones he grew up with. You've changed his life and his life is changing the world touching the world but so are you. You see when you do things that we don't even know of and how that the snowball effect of those things has an impact has an impact as we do things is the one who takes what we do and multiplies it. Silver and gold it isn't the silver and gold it's going to change the life it's the touch of Jesus Christ from our lives to their lives. It's taking the five loaves and two fishes five flat pancakes and two sardines. It is taking what doesn't count. You see when the people sat down there were five thousand men plus women and children the people who didn't count are the ones who fed everybody because some mother who doesn't count packed a lunch for a little boy who was going to go listen to a preacher. And the people who didn't count the little boy in the mother are the ones who provided what needed as he touched it and multiplied it to touch other people's lives. So you cannot say what you have and what you give and what you do doesn't have a multiplying effect a contant compounding effect upon everything about people around us and the things that eternity will reveal the things that eternity will give us rewards for what you rewarded for it's what you've done you see and. We empty headed life that we grew up he paid with Christ sacred blood our our life was purchased by the Blood of Jesus Christ our life was redeemed the evil and the mistakes and the failures of our life were completely erased by the Blood of Jesus Christ. And there's a brief things even though it was even though it has only lately at the end of the age become publicly public knowledge. always knew he was going to do this for you. That's what I love. always knew he was going to do this for you before the world began. knew you would be here and knew what he was going to do in your life to make a difference for you and everyone you touch because of what is about is not just about us it's about how he is going to touch our lives to touch others. I need some help. I need at least one two three four I need six people we picked up to the back. Come on down and his friend too for I need two more on the right who wants to be in Who Wants to be a victim. Who wants to be the sixt going wants to have it coming. Oh yeah. What I want you to do and it's just for this thing. You're around the altar here and I want you to kneel down and put your hand on the altar. OK Now there you go. Only giving you this and give you this. In this scenario in Rio and you have to get used to it I do this all the time. Right now here we are at the altar. Each of us what we've got what we've received. You didn't bring with you OK When we asked Christ into our heart in our lives he gives us something we didn't have himself. And that's just kind of figuratively in this in this il ration It's like a candle. Now I'm not . Case you get confused. I'm not OK All right I'm not got. But has given to each one of us different things different abilities. Now they all look the same. You know they all look like candles but inside you're different. Now I want to give you something. Please hold this so you don't burn yourself. Now this is like with the gifts of the Holy Spirit giving you life and hope and strength and he's going to help you. And this is the Light of . Alive in your hearts. This is the Light of alive in each one of our hearts. So here we are at an altar we've given our life to Christ and the light and the love of are now in our hearts. OK What I want you to do is stand up. Now are you going to run a race. OK And the race is all around and come back down and finish here but the candle can't go out. OK. And people along the way may try and get out. Right. Hopefully they don't have bad breath and out OK now but the emphasis is on finishing with the light on. OK So let's begin our race. Pete this isn't around though because people don't want to go out is a fan blown blow out I'm well I don't know. Protect the light. Don't let the like go out. Yeah. OK come on down. Why do people go on. OK what happens when you're like goes out. Yeah OK When it now. OK what happens when our Like what happens what I like goes out we go back to Christ who lights it up again take another trip. Stay stay here you finished your course that having you finished your course you finished your course. Yeah you see whenever we finish our course. The light must be lit. OK Remember now the goal is to finish with your light on the back come on down get it right perhaps byp them. Come on down. If your lights out. There you go. OK now. That's that they can't protect the light the light protector like protector like protect your light. We got one more to finish it was still that one. OK You know what. That's just like you see what happens is what happens in some people our friends sometimes our friends will be the ones who try to extinguish this slow down deliberate. Sometimes our friends will try and get our lights blown out. Sometimes people around us will try again and lights blown out family put it away. Here we go slow. No slow go slow go slow. Oh yeah. OK What happened is when we finished the course with our light lit idiocy no matter how many times it goes out we have to go back to the source which is to light our life and we can try and we can try and come from unexpected places people neighbors friends trying to blow it out unexpectedly. You did very well. Yeah it took a lot to get into it right. But you see what happens is I finished my course when life is over. We want our law. Right that is in Christ to be alive and burning brightly OK. And no matter what happens in our life always to protect the life that we have in Christ. Always protect that life that we have in Christ because will give us the strength and the ability the wisdom the knowledge and you found out in different ways how the people try to extinguish our lights. And sometimes people we didn't expect would blow out our light but always in Christ we are more than conquerors and we keep doing and we keep going and we keep returning to the light of Christ and He will help us finish our journey. Amen. OK Do you want to blow out your candy is what they call it. Well that's good. Thank you very much. Oh yeah. There we go. Trick candles I should add. That's are now better than I expected. So but what are we we are on a journey. Our journey you know it isn't about finishing. It's about taking the whole the whole life as a journey it's a journey that makes the difference. And as we go through each avenue of life there are surprises and there are things that we you know when you took when you started did you ever think you would be first who would be last because there wasn't a first and last there's only a finish. There's only a finish. You see we have to run the race to finish. I've kept the faith. I finished my course. That's what is doing in our lives. He's giving us the strength the wisdom the understand he's giving to us what we didn't have the candle. He is empowering us with the light that we didn't have the the power of the Holy Spirit. And as we go through life if we become too distracted by the light we run into things that we become too distracted by the people we let the flight of flame go out. So when people are so heavenly minded they can't communicate with people they're no earthly good. But when we're so earthly minded we lose perspective of our like it goes out so it's a balance between keeping the light and the love of alive inside of us and in our heart and walking our life gives us wisdom guidance and understanding and what we are up to is living for and then amen. It's all stand. We thank you father. Thank you Lord for your blessings in our life. Thank you Lord for your divine provision and as we are about this journey it is cost you everything to give us something you've given us yourself. We ask for your wisdom your guidance. We ask for your strength your power as we keep your light alive inside of us by our prayers and by our belief and by our knowledge we will not let others get us off course. Thank you for giving us your light your love in Jesus Christ. These things we ask in the name of our savior Jesus and everybody says amen. bless you. In It To Win It