Man, we are so excited about what's happening in Stone County, and it is so good to see you. I need to say hello to the folks in Stone County that are watching right now. We've got Tyler with us today. Help me out, Lincoln Road, let's give them a hand for what they're doing.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You are building something so incredibly special, and we love that this is something we're doing together.
Now, this is our last week in this series. We've called it "We Are One Church," and we've tried to help maybe connect all the stories of what happens every Sunday because it can be misleading if you're sitting in Stone County or you're sitting in this room, to realize all that is happening at the same time at our other campuses. One of the things we want to do in this series is invite you to go and see. Listen, if you haven't been to Stone County yet or if you've got family in that area, would you point them towards our campus there?
You heard it in the video, one of the things that's different about that campus, for the last six years, they have three services every Sunday morning, 8:30, 10:00, and 11:30. And so we would love for you to be there and be a part of that. Now, another part of the series is we've hopefully connected you with some of the voices that lead our church, and Tyler has been with us for 10 years. Let's celebrate that.
That's faithfulness, right? That's it. Now, you got a little ways to go to catch Byron. Okay?
Yes. We celebrated him last- Just a couple years. 30. But man, the things that he's been able to see and do at Stone County have been really incredible, and Tyler's been a gift to me. He's an encourager.
I don't know if you have an encourager in your life, but ... Yeah, thanks, Brian. That was awkward. He liked it.
He's a little awkward at times. But man, he's a man of faith. Yes. And you go, "Yeah, I know.
He's a preacher." No, no, I mean, I don't know if you have someone in your life that you go, "And man, I'm praying that this would happen. I'm praying that this person comes to the Lord. I'm praying that God would provide a car. I'm praying that God would do the ..." Those are the kind of prayers that-- Tyler prays bold prayers, and it challenges me in the way that I pray for our church.
But I want you to meet his family, okay? Tell us a little bit about your family, bud. Yeah, man, so I've got my wife, Nancy, and my two kids, Jordan and Aubrey. Nancy and I, we've been married for 13 years.
High school sweethearts, that whole thing. Nancy keeps our family running and moving in the right direction. Every day I come home with a new idea, I'm like, "Babe, I cracked the code." She's like, "Okay. Let's listen and be encouraging to Tyler's crazy ideas." And then Jordan, he is our firstborn.
He's six years old, headed into first grade. He's a stud of an athlete. Like his father. Naturally.
Right. And- What an encourager, too. Yeah, thank you so much. And then my little girl, Aubrey, she's three, about to be four, and if she has a blankie and some applesauce, and can snuggle, her life is complete.
Yeah. And you guys have big news. Go ahead and share. Big news.
We got baby number three on the way. All right. Yeah. Super excited.
We're going zone coverage here. Yeah. Well, listen, tell us a little bit, many of you ... Still thinking about the zone coverage.
It took me a minute, but I got it. You guys know this. We've shared with you a lot, and many of you have given towards what we call Be Generous. And part of Be Generous, so much of those funds go towards expansion.
And so, as you've given towards that, we have broken new ground. Mm-hmm. And so I want Tyler to tell just a little bit about this season because over the last 10 years, this year's different, right? Yep.
You're seeing some new things. Yep. So we've never expanded like this before. Building a brand-new building, going to attach it to the old building and have a bigger atrium, bigger auditorium, more kid space.
And the reality is, like you said earlier, we're in three experiences- Mm ... and we're kind of capped on the ability to grow. So having some extra space is going to be so helpful. Student ministry's thriving, college is awesome. Kids ministry, all the stuff, right, it's just up and to the right, and it's really humbling to be a part of.
And then not to mention Stone High School is building right behind us, so we'll have all of these students and teacher and faculty driving by every day. It's a huge- And that school opens in- ... opportunity ... August or at the beginning of July? Yeah.
Yep. So here's what we want to do, y'all. Let's kind of start this message off in prayer. We want to ask God to speak to us.
Tyler's going to get a chance to teach, and you're going to love to hear him teach. We're going to be in the Book of Psalms, and so if you've got your Bible, you can go ahead and join us. Psalms 24- Yep ... is where we are today. If it's easier for you, you can just grab the app and you can open up the message notes and you'll see those to kind of follow along, okay?
Sure. But let's start today off, let's pray together. God, I thank you so much that we get to tell these stories, that we are one church. And that, God, you're at work in five different locations, but God, that's not it.
That's just the beginning. God, you're at work in all of our hearts. God, you're at work in these communities. God, you're at work because all of these students that are going to show up to go to school in Stone County are going to drive right by our church.
And so, God, we just celebrate that. God, I thank you for the people before us that had vision to continue to plow new ground and to take chances to start a brand-new campus. But God, I pray that we would be faithful, that we would get to see more stories of life change, more baptisms, just like we celebrated today. More people show up on our campuses that can be healed and given hope.
That, God, we would point them not to Venture, but we would point them to Jesus. So, God, as we open up your Word today, would you speak to our hearts? God, show us things today, encourage us today. God, give Tyler strength and courage to share.
Father, we thank you for the gift he is to us. It's in your name we pray, amen. Amen. Awesome.
Well, hey, can you help me thank Craig for being an awesome pastor? Yeah. I'm really excited to be here with you today. Like Craig said, if you have your Bible, we're going to be in Psalm 24, and as we check out this psalm, we're going to answer two questions.
Number one, who is God? And then number two, who are we? Number one, who is God? Number two, who are we?
Why is this such an important question? Well, I would imagine that every single one of us in the room at all of our campuses, we want to live a life that matters. We want to live a life that counts. I believe that every single one of us, we were created on purpose, and we were created with a purpose.
And isn't it true that when you get to the end of your life, don't you want to look back and testify or tell the story of how good God has been in your life? That your life mattered, and your life counted, and you ran the race that was marked out for you. Well, I believe in order to do that, we've got to have answers to two questions. Who is God, and who are we?
John Calvin once said, "Nearly all the wisdom that we possess, that being true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves." So if you're taking notes today, title of the message is probably too simple, but it is God Is, We Are. God Is, We Are. So with that, if you give your neighbor a high five and tell them, "Let's get it." Let's get it, bro. Psalm chapter 24, starting in verse one.
We're going to look at five verses this morning. It says this, "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who live in it, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who may ascend onto the hill of the Lord, and who may stand in his holy place? Well, it is the one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted his soul to deceit and has not sworn deceitfully." Verse five, "He will receive a blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of salvation." I don't know if you were taught this growing up, but I was taught that the word of God is inspired, that it is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword.
That this isn't just something that we read, but it reads us, it gets us. And through God speaking through it, it has the power to change our lives. Do you believe that? Yes.
That God has the power to change your life. So this Psalm essentially breaks down a few things. It tells us that God is the creator, and as a result, we are the created. And not only is he just the creator, but he's good.
But it insinuates that we as people, humanity, we are not good. But in the end, he begins to tell us that we can be made good because God doesn't just want to be our creator, he wants to be our savior. So if you're taking notes, the first thing we're going to look at is point one: God is creator. God is creator.
We are the created. God is the creator. We are the created. And when you go back to the Book of Genesis, we see where God tells Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply.
Hello, baby number three. Sorry, babe. Work and subdue the land. To cultivate.
In other words, what he tells us is to take what is good in the garden and take it somewhere else. Multiply the goodness. Yes. And being here at Lincoln Road this morning and driving up this morning, I thought, "Man, this is what we as people are called to do." Take what is good in one location and then take it to The Hunt Club, and take it to Stone County, and then go to Jones County, and then go down to the coast.
We as people are created to create. So we are created in God's image. But then the flip side of that is this: we will all, at some time, our lives will come to an end. Right?
Do you know anybody that has ever lived forever? Since we are created, there is a timestamp on our lives. The shot clock is ticking, and one day, our lives will be but a vapor. We'll be no more, like grass that has come up and withered and is gone.
And that's why Byron taught last week in Psalm 90:12. Do you remember that verse? Teach us to do what? Teach us to number our days.
Why? So that we will gain a heart of wisdom. Teach me to number my days that I may gain a heart of wisdom. Or in other words, it would be wise for me, and it would be wise for you, and this is so hard for 18 to 22-year-old young men, it would be wise for us to realize that one day our lives will come to an end.
And so Andy told us first week of this series that we are to meditate on scripture. So after hearing Byron teach that word, I eventually made it to a little cemetery in Big Level. Big Level's a little community outside of Wiggins, and this is where my stepfather's buried. I'm going to try not to get into it because I don't know if y'all know this, but everybody in Stone County, y'all know your boy be crying too much.
But my stepfather was such a good man. And, ah, there it is. Told you I wasn't going to do it. Now here we are It was so good to me, and to my mom, and to my brother and my sister.
I don't usually go out to the cemetery. I rationalize it, right? He's not there. It's just his body.
To be absent with the body is to be present with the Lord. I know this, but then here I am on Father's Day trying to number my days. And I just sit there in silence, and then next thing I know, I'm telling him about my life and all the things that he's missed over the past 10 years. And then I think, "Man, one day I will be where he is, and my children will be standing where I am." Yeah.
And what do I want my legacy to be? Mm. Mm. What do I want their story to be?
You see, it's important for us to think about this because your days are numbered. My days are numbered. God, on the other hand, 1 Peter 6:16 says, "Immortality belongs to God alone. He is the only one who always was, is, and is to come." Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ was the same yesterday, today, and forever." We are created, however, God is the creator.
In Romans chapter 1, verse 20, it says this right here. Man, I can't see because I got tears in my eyes. Hold up. Give me a second.
Romans chapter 1, verse 20 says this: "For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse." Or in other words, in English, every time you walk outside, every time you sit on a beach and see the sun set, or you wake up early and you see the sun rise, or you eat a good bowl of ice cream, every time you see the birth of a child or see the wonder in a child's eyes, that screams, "There is a God." And this invisible God who we cannot see, we see Him through His creation. Right. The buildings that we are in today were built by a builder. This world got here by a builder.
It did not just get here. It did not just happen. There is a divine authority. And scripture says that we, deep down in our hearts, we know that there's a God.
Whether we want to accept that or not, we know that because all of creation screams, "God is real." Yes. Amen. But Psalms 14:1 tells us, "A fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" A fool says in his heart, there is no God. Because if we can say there is no God, then that means that's who we get to be.
We don't have to answer to nobody. And that leads us into this next idea right here, and it's that God is good, but you and I, we are not good. Listen to the language from David. Verse three, "Who may ascend onto the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?" Notice the language right there. Who may ascend, not descend. Who may ascend to get to a place where God is? Who can stand in His holy place?
Holy is set apart, so other than. There is a ladder that you cannot climb high enough to get to God. He is on another level than every single person ever created. He is holy.
He is good. So who may stand in His holy place? Anything you have experienced in this life that is good is a byproduct of God. If it is good, it is from the Lord.
But as people, if we're honest with ourselves, a lot of us, we deny that God is good. Have you ever went through a difficult time? Have you ever lost somebody close to you or received a diagnosis? Doesn't that news challenge you?
God, if you are good, why would you let that happen? I don't have all the answers to that. But we do know that scripture says all things work to the good of those who love God and are called according to His promises, and that God can work all things for His good. And scripture never tells us that life is going to be easy, but what He does promise us is His Spirit, that He will walk with you and be with you through it all.
So if that's something that you're going through, we just want to say, as a church, we want to be here for you and to support you, and walk through a difficult season with you. Another reason why we doubt if God is good, and this one is not as deep as that, but it is that we don't like the consequences of our actions, and we don't like the consequences of other people's actions when they negatively affect us Have you ever done something just dumb, ignorant, ignant? Oh, yeah. And then you start experiencing the consequences, and all of a sudden, it's God's fault?
Oh. Why would God let this happen to me? He's like, "I was trying to save you from it." I'll give you an example. This is a toss-up.
Dealing with finances, Proverbs says that the borrower is what? Do you know it? The borrower is slave to the lender. What he tells us is, don't go out and get a bunch of debt.
So, what do we do? Graduate college, we get a mortgage, we get a vehicle, and another vehicle, and then we get the side by side. And now here we are, paycheck to paycheck, AC goes out, and what do we say? "Man, if it would happen to anybody, it would happen to your boy." "It would happen to me.
This is just my life. I don't know why God lets these things happen to me. I guess he chooses the soldiers for the hardest battles." It's like, nah, man. You did that to yourself.
It's not God's-- God is not bad because you make bad decisions. Or maybe you grew up in a home that was just ridiculously dysfunctional, and you have a lot of trauma from that, and it's like, "God, why would you let me grow up here?" Well, it's not God's fault that your parents made bad decisions. It is difficult, yes, but God is not the author of that pain. However, he wants to be with you and get through it.
God is good. Yes, he is. We got a saying in church, God is good all the time, and all the time- Is good. Ah, man.
I like you all. This is a good time. This is a good time. Amen.
God is good all the time. All the time. But we have a heart that is anti-God. We have a heart that runs from God because at our core, we are not good.
And you know what's crazy? Our heart wants to be deceived. John 8:44, Jesus says, "You belong to your father, the devil, and he has been a liar since the start. And the truth is not in him." You see, friends, every problem that plagues the world is a result of a man's wicked heart.
Poverty, whatever world issue, sex trafficking, child porn, you name it, you think God authored that? That's in the heart of man. Greed and pride and wickedness drew that out. That's why Jesus teaches on the heart in Matthew chapter 20-- Ah, what is it?
Matthew 5, starting in verse 27. I want to read this to you. Says this, and before I read this, let me preface, Jesus is talking about lust. This is an example, but he is getting at the problem with the human heart.
Now, men in the room, when we say lust, you know what we're talking about. You all know, 99.99% of us, we know what we're talking about. Women, for you, I honestly don't know. You remain a mystery to me.
I don't know what you lust after. I would imagine, I don't know. I learned this not too long ago, that when you get dressed, you're not thinking about impressing men, but impressing other women. That blows my mind.
Yeah. And here's why it blows my mind, because I have never gotten dressed in the morning- ... looked in the mirror, and thought, "I wonder if Craig likes my top." Not one time. Yeah. Ain't that truth?
Yes. Anyways. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his..." What's the word? Heart.
Heart. Gulf Coast, what's the word? Heart. "Now, if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
And if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off, throw it away from you, for it's better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." What is the point of all of that? Are we just supposed to go around plucking our eyeballs out and cutting off our hands? I was at the jail not too long ago, on good behavior, doing prison ministry. And, sorry.
At our church, we've been doing that for about five years now. And there was this guy, I'm pretty sure he had a rough week, and there were some illicits involved, but he's sitting across from me, literally with one eyeball. And I said, "Bro, what happened?" And he said, "Well, Jesus told me to tear it out." And so he literally tore it out. Is that what Jesus is telling us to do?
No, not at all. What is he getting at? If your eyes are the problem, cut them out. If your hands are the problem, cut them off.
But what was the word he said before eyes and hand? Heart, because you and I, we can't cut out our heart. Instead, we need God to do a miracle. My friend Brooke was teaching at Camp Venture this past week, and she told the kids a miracle is simply God doing what we cannot do.
That's right. And this is not about behavior modification or just becoming a better person. As Gray taught us two weeks ago, our heart is deceitful, and we have disordered and distorted desires. The last idea right here is God is savior, and we are made righteous.
Here's why. Let's look at this. He says, after he says in verse three, "Who may ascend onto the hill of the Lord and who may stand in his holy place?" He says, "It is the one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted his soul to deceit and has not sworn deceitfully." So we would all agree that we do not, by nature, have clean hands and a pure heart. That you and I, we cannot even keep the rules that we make for ourselves.
But he says, "For those who have clean hands and a pure heart, they will receive a blessing from the Lord, and they will receive righteousness from the God of salvation." What does righteousness mean? It means to be made right with God. That not only is God your creator, but God wants to be your savior. And not just savior, but God wants to be your heavenly Father.
And what did Jesus say about our heavenly Father? He said that "My Father gives good gifts." Yes. He gives good gifts. And what is the best gift that he can give?
Righteousness. That we don't have to live a perfect life and hope that one day we're good enough to get in. That Jesus was good enough to get me in. Yes.
And that if I put my faith in Jesus, I am now made right with God. And friends, this is the point of this chapter. That there's an all-powerful creator, but he don't have an ego problem, and he's not tripping over pride, because this all-powerful creator will let you be in his presence. The you.
You've done all the stuff. You've made all the mistakes. You've brought all this baggage onto yourself. You have broken your own rules.
You've lied, you've stole, you've cheated. You've done all the things, and God is saying, "I still want you." Yes. That's right. Praise be to God.
Yes. That he would send his Son, that for whoever would believe, would not perish, but have everlasting life. The next verse after that, John 3:17, do you know it? "For the Son of Man did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." Friends, I want you to know that you have a good God.
Yes. And any good you've ever experienced is because of him. And he has a plan for your life, and he loves you deeply. He doesn't just want to be your creator.
He wants to be your savior. He wants to be your heavenly Father. So at all of our campuses, if you would bow your head and close your eyes for a moment. I want to speak to the believer in the room.
What does your life look like today? What is the posture of your heart? As you have followed Jesus, are you more like him today? Do you have the fruits of the Spirit?
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. Is that in you? Or have you become more bitter, more cynical, always complaining, with unforgiveness in your heart? I want to challenge you to evaluate your heart this morning.
Spend time in prayer this morning. Not rushing to beat the traffic this morning, but living in the presence of your heavenly Father. And to the unbelievers, so glad that you are here today. And I believe that the reason that you are here today is because God has been in pursuit of you.
And I don't know what your reasoning is for not putting your faith in him, but I got to tell you, it's not intellect. It's not rationale. It's not reasoning. It's not hurt.
You have a heart that is anti-God, and you will use anything to justify being your own person. But I want to submit to you today that God has a better plan for your life, and God wants you to come into a relationship with him. That you can be forgiven, and that you can be made new, and God can do a miracle in you to take your heart of stone and turn it into a heart of flesh. To give you eternal life, to make you brand new.
So Father in heaven, it is my prayer this morning, that for every single one of us that's hearing this message, that we would bend our knees in submission to you, to put our faith in you. Because Father, you have been so good to us. So God, we love you. We honor you.
We praise you. It's in Jesus' name, and everybody said? Amen. Amen.