The Playbook and the Poison Pill: A Review of ‘Game On’

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER UNKNOWN]:
Let's pray.
[00:03:48] Thank you for watching!

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]:
Happy Sunday, Freedom House.
[00:05:15] We're coming right to your living room today.
[00:05:17] Come on, let's sing this.
[00:05:18] Fiery wind, come and do it again.

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]:
Open up the gates, let heaven on end.
[00:05:26] Come rest on us.
[00:05:29] Come rest on us.
[00:05:32] Fiery wind, come and do it again.
[00:05:35] Open up the gates, let heaven on end.
[00:05:39] Come rest on us.
[00:05:42] Come rest on us
[00:06:33] I'm here and I know You are moving I'm here and I know You will fill me We want more And Holy Spirit Come rest on us You're all we want
[00:07:02] You're all we want and Holy Spirit come rescue us
[00:08:42] Open up the gates and heaven on end Come rest on us Come rest on us I feel the fire and wind come do it again Open up the gates and heaven on end Come rest on us Come down Spirit when you move you make my heart pound
[00:09:10] When you fill the room You're here and I know You are moving I'm here and I know You are moving

[00:10:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We give you the highest praise, Lord.
[00:10:15] Come on, church, let's just continue to worship Him.

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
Oh, because He's worthy.
[00:10:26] Thank you, Jesus.
[00:10:27] Let's sing this together.
[00:10:30] A thousand generations Falling down in worship To sing the song of ages to the Lamb And all who've gone before us And all who will believe
[00:10:50] We'll sing the song of ages to the Lamb Sing your name Your name is the highest Your name is the greatest Your name
[00:11:09] All thrones and dominions and all powers and positions Your name stands above them all And the angels cry, Holy All creation cries, Holy
[00:11:41] Holy Father If you've been And if you've been forgiven And if you've been redeemed We'll sing a song forever to the Lamb And if you walk in freedom
[00:13:21] All thrones and dominions and all powers and positions your name

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Isaiah chapter 6 beginning in verse 1 it says in the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe was filled filled the temple and above it stood seraphim angels each one had six wings with two he covered his face and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew and one cried to another and said listen to this
[00:15:45] Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
[00:15:49] The whole earth is full of his glory.
[00:15:52] Let's pray together.
[00:15:53] Father, today we declare your holiness.
[00:15:58] Father, right in our homes we declare your holiness, that you are set apart.
[00:16:02] Father, we thank you that you are magnificent, you are wonderful.
[00:16:09] that you are above everything and today we join with the angels in crying out how holy you are and how wonderful you are and how magnificent you are and so Father we thank you so much for your grace and your presence
[00:16:26] We come into your presence with praise today.
[00:16:30] We come into your presence with thankfulness today.
[00:16:33] We come into your presence with gratitude, Lord.
[00:16:36] And we thank you that our homes and our living rooms and our life is filled with your holiness, filled
[00:16:44] Lord, we declare that no weapon formed against us shall prosper.
[00:16:50] Father, we declare that the name of Jesus is above every name.
[00:16:54] We declare that the name of Jesus is above pain and suffering and heartache and hurt and depression.
[00:17:02] We declare the name of Jesus, Lord.
[00:17:05] We thank you for your holiness, which we receive right now, Lord.
[00:17:09] we thank you for the suffering servant Jesus Christ who came and changed our lives forever ever father we thank you for that Lord we love you today we honor you today and we celebrate your goodness today in the name of Jesus and all God's people said
[00:17:28] Amen.

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Amen.
[00:17:30] Amen.
[00:17:30] I don't know where you're tuning in from today.
[00:17:33] I know we have people from all over the world that are joining in.
[00:17:37] But here in North Carolina, we've had a bit of a storm.
[00:17:40] Matter of fact, a lot of the eastern seaboard, we've got, it's hit the United States pretty heavy, particularly on the right side of the country.
[00:17:51] But what we wanted to do is, we don't stop church.
[00:17:56] We don't stop the gospel going forward because of a storm.
[00:18:01] As a matter of fact, we just sang, His name is holy.
[00:18:03] His name stands above them all.
[00:18:06] And even though our meteorologists, they name storms oftentimes.
[00:18:10] But what I know is that no matter what they name a storm, there's a name above all the storms.
[00:18:17] and I know that whatever our agony can be God can use it as an opportunity and I believe that if we take what is happening right now with this physical storm and and maybe take a look at what our life looks like I think some of us are going through some storms right now tough things you know some difficult difficult maybe you maybe you need healing in your body maybe financially you're struggling today maybe

[00:18:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
You're going through a bankruptcy or or maybe there's some problems in your marriage we don't know you know normally uh we have people come and pray for you but today we're coming right into your home and you can pray for what your situation is and we are believing with you today that God's gonna calm your storm that God is present that Jesus is right there
[00:19:05] and He wants to touch you.
[00:19:06] Will you pray, sweetheart?
[00:19:07] Will you just pray?

[00:19:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Yeah, here's what I want you to do.
[00:19:10] If you're believing God for healing in your body, put your hand, put your hand maybe on your stomach.
[00:19:15] Maybe you believe in God.
[00:19:17] Maybe your heart has been broken.
[00:19:19] Put your hand on your heart, just a point of contact.
[00:19:21] Grab your checkbook.

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Grab your phone.
[00:19:22] You know, pray.
[00:19:23] Let's believe God.

[00:19:24] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Absolutely.

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Grab your kids.
[00:19:26] Lay hands on your kids.

[00:19:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
That's a good one.
[00:19:28] Hey, maybe you've just been struggling in your mind.
[00:19:31] There's a battlefield sometimes that's going on in your mind.
[00:19:33] Just put your hand there.
[00:19:35] I saw a picture of blueprints, and I saw people laying hands on blueprints, whether it was for houses or for office buildings, just vision, things to come, and you feel like there's been some storms.
[00:19:48] I just see you laying hands on those right now.
[00:19:51] So let's do that.
[00:19:52] Let's just pray right now.
[00:19:53] Just put your hand wherever you need to.
[00:19:56] Father, we just thank you right now that no matter what storm we're facing, no matter what tried to take us out, no matter what tried to put us on the sidelines, God, we're getting back in the game.
[00:20:08] We are not letting a storm sideline us.
[00:20:11] We are not letting a storm dictate to us.
[00:20:14] God, we know that your name is above every single thing that we face.
[00:20:19] No principality, no power, no throne, no dominion is above the name of Jesus.
[00:20:26] And we declare your name right now over every storm that we are facing.
[00:20:32] We believe it, we decree it, and it doesn't matter if we are preaching right now from a physical storm, an internal storm,
[00:20:42] Whatever storm that is right now, we thank you that God, you are there in the midst of our storm.
[00:20:49] In Jesus' name.

[00:20:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Amen.

[00:21:11] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]:
I am an instrument of exaltation And I was born to lift the name above all names You hear the melody of all creation But there's a song of praise
[00:21:38] Who else is worthy?
[00:21:56] Who else is worthy?
[00:21:59] There is no one, only good Jesus Who else is worthy?
[00:22:00] Who else is worthy?
[00:22:00] There is no one, only good Jesus
[00:22:06] You are the infinite God of the ages And yet You chose to make my heart Your dwelling place You healed my brokenness Showed me Your glory So I have songs of thanks not even angels sing
[00:22:35] who else is worthy come on church who else is worthy there is no one who won't leave you Jesus who else is worthy no one else who else is worthy there is no
[00:23:28] Jesus there is no one like you God of ages oh we worship you we exalt you we put you in the rightful place Lord that there is no
[00:23:58] Sing this out!
[00:24:18] Lamb of God, Anointed One Who was and is and is to come Seated on the throne above Holy, Holy, Righteous One Who shed His blood To prove to us the Father

[00:25:44] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]:
We lift you up and exalt you today we praise you you are high and lifted up you are on your throne you are sovereign you're reigning over it all and you're taking care of us we're in the palm of your hand Lord we praise you today for your goodness for your faithfulness amen God is good amen
[00:26:10] Freedom House, we are so privileged to get to worship with you in your home today.
[00:26:18] God is good.
[00:26:19] Hey church, we've got some amazing things coming up.
[00:26:23] Let's see what's going on.

[00:26:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]:
All right, listen, I understand.
[00:26:27] It's so easy to isolate ourselves, to say things like, oh, I'm too busy.
[00:26:33] I don't have enough time.
[00:26:35] I need to spend more time working on my ant farm.
[00:26:38] I'm not really a people person.
[00:26:40] We only say these things because we don't recognize the importance of being around other people.
[00:26:45] Community is a gift from God because when we choose to surround ourselves with people that encourage us, that uplift us, that will walk alongside us, we end up growing both personally and spiritually.
[00:27:00] Here at Freedom House, the way that we take this step is by joining a life group.
[00:27:06] Simply by showing up for a Bible study, maybe going to a coffee shop, or connecting with someone at your local gym, each small step is a choice to refuse the lies that we can do life alone.
[00:27:18] Let's boldly take this step and watch just how much we can grow when we do life together.
[00:27:24] Men, come in here and listen to me.
[00:27:27] Valentine's Day is coming up, you know, the hallmark holiday, and I know that you're thinking, oh, I have plenty of time, but you don't.
[00:27:36] You need to start thinking about gifts and what you're getting her right now.
[00:27:40] Even if your wife says that she doesn't want anything,
[00:27:43] Listen to me, that is a lie from the pit of hell.
[00:27:47] So grab the flowers, right now, the chocolates, and those little hearts with the messages on them, the little love notes, and leave them all over the house.
[00:27:57] You can put one under her pillow, next to her toothbrush, maybe leave one in the seat of the car, and then while you're in the car, remember, you gotta bring her to church every single Sunday through our new February series, Candy Hearts.
[00:28:11] We're going to be taking a deeper dive into what it looks like to have a deep and meaningful relationship that is built on the firm foundation.
[00:28:20] No more of these superficial, cheap, sweet-talking relationships.
[00:28:25] We are taking time to create healthy and God-centered, long-lasting relationships.
[00:28:32] And remember, man, it will pay off benefits tenfold.
[00:28:35] I can promise.
[00:28:36] So whether you're married, dating, or waiting for a future partner, join us next week for Candy Hearts.

[00:28:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
For all this and more, download the Freedom House app or head to freedomhouse.cc slash connect.

[00:28:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]:
Hey church family my name is Michael Singer and I'm a pastor at our Lake Norman campus and today is a snow day at Freedom House.
[00:29:00] Now maybe you're like me I love coming together in person but I'm also thankful that with technology we can still all come together online that we can be together in each other's homes so I just want to tell you that I'm so grateful that you're here today.
[00:29:15] You know, you might not know this about Freedom House, but snow days have a special and significant importance in our lives.
[00:29:23] God did a lot on a snow day, something that this church will never forget and will always remember.
[00:29:30] You see, years ago, it was a snow day just like this one.
[00:29:33] We communicated out to everyone in the church and said, hey, everybody, stay home, be safe.
[00:29:39] We're going to join you in your homes today online.
[00:29:43] Do you know with all this technology and communication some people still didn't get the memo?
[00:29:48] So our staff and some volunteers showed up to our central campus to have our online service and these people that didn't get the memo they showed up to.
[00:29:57] There was one gentleman in the crowd.
[00:29:59] He was a businessman that had been coming to our church.
[00:30:01] And during Pastor Troy's message, he leaned over to Pastor Penny and he said, I feel like God is telling me to give Freedom House a building I have in South End.
[00:30:12] The service ended.
[00:30:14] A group of people found a restaurant that was open.
[00:30:16] They all went to just have a good lunch together.
[00:30:18] This gentleman wrote on a note, I want to give my South End building to Freedom House.
[00:30:25] He slid the note over to Pastor Troy.
[00:30:27] Pastor Troy looked at the note, slid it back to the man, and just kept talking.
[00:30:32] And Pastor Penny looked at Pastor Troy like he was crazy, as she should have.
[00:30:37] And she said, did you see what that said?
[00:30:39] It said he wants to give us a building.
[00:30:42] Do you know today, that is our South End building?
[00:30:47] That is not the only thing that happened on that snow day.
[00:30:50] There was a young man who happened to be driving the roads in the snow having fun.
[00:30:54] He passed by our central campus and he said, what are those cars doing in the parking lot?
[00:30:58] So he came in, checked out the service.
[00:31:01] That young man is now the son-in-law to our senior pastors, Troy and Penny Maxwell.
[00:31:08] We learned a valuable lesson as a church that day.
[00:31:11] We learned that no matter if everything else is shut down, God doesn't shut down.
[00:31:16] God keeps moving.
[00:31:17] And I love that he invites us to be involved.
[00:31:20] Just like that businessman who gave that building that day, all he did was he acted in obedience, connected with the vision and mission of what God was doing right here at Freedom House.
[00:31:29] And because of that, he had a kingdom impact.
[00:31:32] It wasn't just a building he gave.
[00:31:33] He was creating a space for families to come and worship, kids to hear about the Word of God, teenagers
[00:31:40] To experience the love of God and people who were far from God to hear about a God that loves them and to come back home.
[00:31:48] Jesus said it like this in Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 to 20.
[00:31:53] He said, Do not store for ourselves treasures on earth.
[00:31:57] Instead, store for ourselves treasures in heaven.
[00:32:01] That's what generosity is all about.
[00:32:03] it's about having a kingdom and eternal impact so when we act in obedience and give what we're doing is we're saying God I trust you I have faith in you and I trust that when everything in my life feels shut down that I still know that you're moving and I'm gonna be a part of building your kingdom so today Freedom House on this snow day let's do something significant again let's join God through our giving and connect to something bigger than us
[00:32:31] Do something eternal.
[00:32:32] Change lives and build His kingdom.
[00:32:35] There are relationships that have been restored.
[00:32:38] There are people that are finding hope.
[00:32:40] There are people that are getting healing.
[00:32:41] There are people that are finding purpose.
[00:32:43] There are people that are experiencing God's love for the first time.
[00:32:48] It's because of your giving.
[00:32:49] So I just want to say thank you.
[00:32:51] If you give at Freedom House, thank you, thank you.
[00:32:53] You are having a kingdom impact.
[00:32:55] You are touching people's lives and changing their lives forever.
[00:32:59] And if you're new to your generosity journey, I just want to invite you.
[00:33:02] Go to freedomhouse.cc slash give.
[00:33:05] We want to invite you to take a next step to being significant in building God's kingdom.
[00:33:11] Let's pray.
[00:33:12] God, we love you and we thank you.
[00:33:15] God, sometimes life feels like it's hard and it feels like it's stagnant and it feels like everything has shut down.
[00:33:21] And yet you're a God who moves.
[00:33:23] And you don't just move alone.
[00:33:25] You invite us to be a part of what you're doing.
[00:33:28] So God, my prayer today is that if we've been obedient, our giving will continue to give knowing that we're impacting lives.
[00:33:35] If we're new to that, God, I pray that today will be the step, the step that we take to understand that someone is finding hope because of our willingness to connect what you're doing at this church, the vision and the mission, and give and see lives changed.
[00:33:49] It's not just about the tangible thing that happens.
[00:33:52] It's about the eternal impact.
[00:33:53] So God, I thank you for people that are willing to honor you and serve you and connect with you to see lives change forever.
[00:34:00] In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
[00:34:03] Freedom House family, you be safe.
[00:34:05] And I want you to be encouraged, I want you to be in challenge, and I want you to find hope in this message, so enjoy.

[00:35:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]:
Well, hello, Freedom House, man.
[00:35:04] So glad that you decided to join us today.
[00:35:07] I hope, like Pastor Michael said, that you are at home, that you are safe, that you are warm.
[00:35:12] I hope that you have power today.
[00:35:15] But to be honest, if you don't have power and yet you still chose to tune into church today, man, extra props to you.
[00:35:21] You get an extra jewel in your crown in heaven.
[00:35:24] I'm not the one giving them out, but I will put in a good word for you, all right?
[00:35:27] Man, it's exciting to be here with you today.
[00:35:29] If I haven't gotten the chance to meet you, my name is Adam.
[00:35:32] My wife and I have the honor and the privilege of being the youth and young adult pastors right here at Freedom House.
[00:35:38] We also have the honor of being part of our teaching team, which is why I even get to be up here speaking to you today, coming into your living room today.
[00:35:47] And that is really because of our senior pastors, Pastor Troy and Penny Maxwell.
[00:35:51] They are such amazing, humble, and confident leaders that they allow people like me to come and communicate at each one of our campuses every single Sunday.
[00:36:01] I love that about them.
[00:36:02] My wife and I have been under their leadership for over 13 years now,
[00:36:06] man they are just such amazing leaders and we are so thankful for them as i know many of you are as well now i'm not in my sunday best necessarily but i am rocking a georgia jersey and that's because we have been in this series called game on man it has been such a great series if you have been
[00:36:23] Tune in throughout the month or you've been joining us at any one of our campuses.
[00:36:27] Shout out South End, Central, Lake Norman, and the coming soon Ballantyne campus.
[00:36:32] Glad that we all get to be in one house today.
[00:36:35] It's exciting.
[00:36:36] But we've been in the series Game On, all about getting off of the bench, getting in the game, running your route that God has planned for you.
[00:36:44] It's been an amazing series and I'm honored to get to wrap up the series today.
[00:36:49] And before we dive into it, I gotta kinda out myself a little bit.
[00:36:52] And really, I wanna prop up my wife because the reason that I'm wearing the Georgia jersey today is because I'm married into a Georgia family.
[00:37:00] Now, it is a great family to be a part of, but I didn't really grow up watching a ton of football.
[00:37:06] We're Panthers fans, born and raised here in Charlotte, North Carolina, and so I gotta cheer for the Panthers, but to be honest, it's been a struggle some years, so I'm honored and excited to be getting to rock the Georgia jersey today.
[00:37:18] And now, if you know my wife, she is a football fan.
[00:37:23] Whenever we're watching college football or even the NFL,
[00:37:27] Man, we're sitting there and I'm always amazed because she will make a call on something that just happened on the field.
[00:37:34] It'll be like, man, that should have been pass interference.
[00:37:37] I can't believe they just made this call.
[00:37:39] Something to the effect of like, even when it comes down to clock management, like why did that coach not call a timeout right there?
[00:37:46] What is he thinking?
[00:37:47] and I will sit there on the other side of the couch and I'm gonna wait because in the next five to 10 seconds, the announcers who are paid to call the game are gonna say the exact same thing that my wife just said and I'm amazed.
[00:38:03] It's like she has the playbook.
[00:38:04] She knows football.
[00:38:06] She's been watching football for most of her life.
[00:38:08] Now me, again, I love football.
[00:38:10] I love watching football.
[00:38:12] I don't know as much as she does about football.
[00:38:15] and that's probably because I grew up as a swimmer.
[00:38:18] That was my sport.
[00:38:19] I played a lot of sports growing up, but the one that really stuck with me was swimming.
[00:38:23] Now, I'm also wearing the Georgia jersey because they wouldn't let me wear what I would normally wear as a swimmer.
[00:38:28] Something about it being distracting for you guys at home, but that's fine.
[00:38:32] I'm excited to rock the red and black today.
[00:38:35] and it's probably just better for everybody that I'm doing that.
[00:38:37] But as a swimmer, the playbook is actually pretty straightforward.
[00:38:43] The plays don't really change all that much.
[00:38:47] It's really you get in the water and you go as fast as you can.
[00:38:50] That's the play every single time.
[00:38:52] It doesn't really change a whole lot.
[00:38:55] Get in, go as fast as you can.
[00:38:57] But can we imagine for a moment if we had a playbook for our life
[00:39:03] Full of our plays, full of our team's plays.
[00:39:05] It had notes from the coach.
[00:39:08] It had interactions with him.
[00:39:09] We knew exactly what role we had, what route we were to run.
[00:39:14] And it also had the other team's plays.
[00:39:18] Can we imagine that if we had the opponent's plays?
[00:39:23] We knew what the opponent was gonna do before they did.
[00:39:27] We knew their strategy.
[00:39:28] We knew their tactics.
[00:39:29] We knew when they were gonna throw the ball.
[00:39:31] We knew when they were gonna run it right up the middle.
[00:39:34] Normally, that would be called cheating.
[00:39:37] And now, I'm not gonna get into if that has or hasn't happened in college football and or the NFL.
[00:39:44] I'm not here to discuss that.
[00:39:46] You can do that at home on your own time.
[00:39:48] But normally,
[00:39:50] That would 100% be called cheating in any sports game if we had the other team's plays.
[00:39:58] But I think it's important for us to realize that we do not have an opponent.
[00:40:04] We have an enemy who the Bible says is going around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
[00:40:12] We are not simply playing a game.
[00:40:14] This is life and death.
[00:40:18] But the good news is, I'm not here to scare you, I'm here to encourage you, the good news is that we have an unfair advantage.
[00:40:25] We have the playbook, we can learn our routes, we can talk to the coach, and we can even study the opponent's plays.
[00:40:33] See, that's why when it comes to the playbook for our life, when it comes to the Bible, it is so important to stay engaged.
[00:40:41] Now, there's so many people that I've talked to over the years that are struggling in their faith.
[00:40:46] They're maybe even full-on deconstructing, or they're even just beginning to drift in their relationship with God.
[00:40:53] And more often than not, this starts with questioning God's Word.
[00:40:58] See, we know that the Bible is under attack.
[00:41:02] In fact, it always has been.
[00:41:03] In the very beginning, when the devil approaches Eve, he approaches her and he tries to get her to question, did God really say?
[00:41:13] He tries to call the Word of God into question.
[00:41:17] Even when Jesus is out in the wilderness and he's being tempted by the devil, the devil takes the Bible, he takes Scripture, the Word of God, twists it in order to try to get Jesus to fall into sin.
[00:41:32] But the way that Jesus responds is important.
[00:41:34] He doesn't simply respond with a truth.
[00:41:37] He responds with the truth.
[00:41:38] He responds with the word of God in context with the full weight of God behind it.
[00:41:44] He responds with the scriptures.
[00:41:46] We know the enemy's tricks.
[00:41:49] They're the same today as they were in the past.
[00:41:51] He is trying to attack the word of God.
[00:41:56] In fact, people today are trying to make the Bible say something that it doesn't.
[00:42:01] Taking verses out of context, bending them to their thoughts or their emotions or their feelings, or even outright creating so-called Bibles that are not inspired by the Holy Spirit.
[00:42:14] See, we know that the Bible, the one true Bible, is the single greatest book and the most important book ever written.
[00:42:24] But if we're honest today, in church, because we're in church, if we're honest with ourselves, most of us don't spend as much time reading the playbook as we probably should.
[00:42:35] We don't spend enough time studying our routes.
[00:42:37] We don't spend enough time reading the notes from the coach.
[00:42:41] We don't spend enough time in the Word of God.
[00:42:46] And what's crazy is that the Bible is so impactful that even if someone didn't believe in Jesus, and yet they read the Bible and applied its principles, their life would be better.
[00:42:59] It would look different.
[00:43:00] That's how powerful the Word of God is.
[00:43:04] And my prayer today is to encourage you to read the Bible, to dive in to your playbook, maybe open the Bible for the first time in six hours, maybe ever.
[00:43:14] I encourage you to maybe download the Bible app, start a reading plan, begin sharing scriptures with somebody to engage with your heavenly father through his playbook that he has given to you.
[00:43:27] So the first question that I wanna talk about today is why?
[00:43:30] Why should I know the playbook?
[00:43:32] Why do I need to study the plays?
[00:43:35] Well, in 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 through 17, Paul is writing to his protege, his spiritual son named Timothy, and he is giving him instruction and encouragement, and he says this, again, 2 Timothy 3, 16 through 17.
[00:43:50] Paul says, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
[00:44:08] Why is it important to know the playbook?
[00:44:09] Well, first and foremost, it is God's Word.
[00:44:12] It is breathed out by God.
[00:44:14] That means everything in the Bible, from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, it is God's Word for you.
[00:44:20] We need to know what the Bible says.
[00:44:23] God wants to speak to you through His Word.
[00:44:26] And Paul is giving Timothy this overview of what the Scriptures, what the playbook, what the Bible will do for your life.
[00:44:35] He says, first and foremost, it is for teaching.
[00:44:37] It's for us to understand God.
[00:44:40] This is the doctrine, the foundation of what we believe.
[00:44:44] It brings reproof.
[00:44:45] This is conviction of sin, the times where we have missed the mark, where we've fallen short of the glory of God.
[00:44:52] It will convict us of the sin in our life, but it doesn't just leave us there.
[00:44:55] It will also bring correction, setting those things right, bringing us back in alignment with what God says.
[00:45:02] and then finally it will bring training.
[00:45:05] This is instruction, this is discipline, this is learning all of these things and these things are to sharpen you, to make you a better husband, to make you a better father, to make you a better son or daughter, make you a better employee, to make you a better Christ follower and that you will be a man of God, man and woman of God, born of God, no longer of this world but a Christian.
[00:45:28] and that as a Christian through the word of God that you will be complete.
[00:45:32] This word means that you will be thoroughly perfected so that you can go out and run the plays that God has for you.
[00:45:41] See, we have been given such an amazing gift in the Bible.
[00:45:45] We've been given such an amazing gift.
[00:45:46] God's Word is alive and it is active.
[00:45:49] He wants to speak to you through it, but we have to be the ones to open it up.
[00:45:54] We have to be the ones to pick up His Word, flip open the pages, and actually dive in to what He says.
[00:46:01] Now here at Freedom House, we talk a lot about what's in the Bible.
[00:46:06] And that's a good thing.
[00:46:07] Honestly, I'd be as bold to say that if you go to a church that is not preaching from the Bible, that you aren't going to a church.
[00:46:15] You're attending a lecture, you're attending a TED Talk, but you're not attending a church.
[00:46:20] See, here at Freedom House, we believe in the full counsel of Scripture.
[00:46:24] And what's funny is when I was writing this message and I was talking to some people, they were asking me what I was gonna be preaching on.
[00:46:30] And I didn't have a great response, I just kept saying, I'm gonna be talking about the Bible.
[00:46:35] And most times the response was,
[00:46:38] That's a good idea.
[00:46:39] You probably should talk about the Bible in church.
[00:46:42] And so I needed to clarify, so I'm gonna clarify for you today.
[00:46:45] Yes, I'm going to be talking about the Bible.
[00:46:49] But I wanna talk about what's in the Bible and about the Bible itself.
[00:46:54] So, what is the Bible?
[00:46:57] What is our playbook?
[00:47:00] Well, first we need to know what it is.
[00:47:02] It is not just one book, but it is actually a compilation or a coming together of 66 individual books with their own purposes, with their own audience, written by their own individual people.
[00:47:15] and they are consistent of history, poetry, prophecy, instruction, the life and the things that Jesus said in the gospels.
[00:47:24] So 66 books written by 40 different authors who are on three different continents spanning 1,500 years.
[00:47:36] It is the story of God.
[00:47:37] It is the story of his people's salvation through Jesus Christ alone in how we can live a Christian life.
[00:47:45] See, it's important to note that the Bible is a God book, not a man book.
[00:47:51] It was written by men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and we know this because 2 Peter 1 20-21 tells us this.
[00:47:59] The Apostle Peter writes this, he says, Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things.
[00:48:10] for prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
[00:48:22] The Bible is written by men through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
[00:48:27] It is a God book.
[00:48:28] It is not a man book.
[00:48:30] We can trust that it is God-breathed.
[00:48:31] It is the Word of God, alive and active, and it is for you.
[00:48:37] So that is what the Bible is.
[00:48:39] And when we start talking about the Bible, a lot of questions that we may get sometimes is, can I trust what it says?
[00:48:46] Can I even trust the Bible?
[00:48:48] I have this playbook.
[00:48:50] I see that it can be beneficial to my life, but can I really trust what it says?
[00:48:55] Wasn't it doctored?
[00:48:56] Wasn't it written by people?
[00:48:58] There's all these questions that can come up.
[00:49:00] And even as Christians who have been in the faith for a while, sometimes we can get tripped up if people ask us these things.
[00:49:07] And so I want us to have an assurance of why we can trust the Word of God.
[00:49:12] And I think it starts with knowing first and foremost what the Bible is and what it isn't.
[00:49:18] The Bible is about relationships.
[00:49:21] It's not a textbook.
[00:49:23] and this is why some people can get tripped up on whether or not the creation happened in seven 24-hour literal days or if it's a metaphor for seven billion years and they'll debate all of this and miss the fact that God was walking with Adam in the cool of the day in the Garden of Eden.
[00:49:40] They'll miss the relationship because of the debate around whether or not it's a textbook or not.
[00:49:45] The Bible's not a textbook, it's a relationship.
[00:49:48] It's God wanting to speak to you.
[00:49:51] And really, when it comes down to trusting the Bible, I think that it boils down to one main thing.
[00:49:57] Can I trust Jesus?
[00:49:59] Can I trust what the Bible says about him?
[00:50:01] Can I trust what he says?
[00:50:03] Can I trust what he did?
[00:50:04] If we can believe him, if we can believe in Jesus, what he said, what he did, that he was a real man who really died on the cross and was really raised from the dead, if we can believe that,
[00:50:14] Then the rest of it comes along with it.
[00:50:17] And so I wanna look at the authenticity of the Bible and start with something outside of the Bible.
[00:50:24] I wanna look at the historical authenticity of the Bible.
[00:50:28] So first and foremost, we have a man named Josephus who lived in the first century.
[00:50:32] He lived from 37 to 100 AD.
[00:50:35] And Josephus is a Jewish historian who wrote about Jesus, John the Baptist, and even James, the brother of Jesus.
[00:50:44] In his history book called Antiquities of the Jews, he mentions Jesus, referring to him as a quote, wise man, and acknowledges his crucifixion under Pontius Pilate.
[00:50:56] He even references John the Baptist and James, calling James the brother of Jesus who was called the Christ.
[00:51:03] So we have one extra biblical account, an account outside of the Bible, that Jesus was a real man who was really put to death.
[00:51:12] But it goes further than that.
[00:51:13] There's a Roman historian named Tacitus.
[00:51:15] He lived from 56 to 120 AD.
[00:51:18] And in his book, he also references Jesus and his execution under Pontius Pilate during the reign of Emperor Tiberius.
[00:51:26] In both of these accounts and throughout history, we see that the Bible lines up exactly with what history tells us.
[00:51:34] And both of these men, they are historians.
[00:51:36] They are not Christ followers.
[00:51:37] They are simply looking at the facts, and their accounts line up exactly with what we find in the Gospels.
[00:51:45] In fact, most people would not argue the fact that Jesus was a real man who really lived, who was really put to death by crucifixion by the Romans.
[00:51:55] Most people will not argue that, but we don't simply believe that Jesus was a, quote, wise man.
[00:52:03] or that he was just a good moral teacher.
[00:52:05] No, we believe so much more than that.
[00:52:07] We believe that he is God in the flesh, that he came and he lived a perfect life and that he died not just on a cross, but died for our sins so that we could spend eternity with him in heaven.
[00:52:19] We know that the Bible is historically accurate.
[00:52:21] In fact, it is the most historically accurate book ever written.
[00:52:26] But the Bible has a lot to say about itself as well.
[00:52:29] We don't have to just trust sources outside the Bible.
[00:52:31] Let's look at what the Bible says.
[00:52:34] This is what we would call the inherent authenticity of the Bible.
[00:52:39] The Bible makes a lot of claims about itself and about Jesus.
[00:52:42] And remember, this is 40 different authors, 66 books that most of the authors didn't even know each other, and it spans 1500 years from beginning to end.
[00:52:53] In the Old Testament, there are about 300 prophecies or foretellings about Jesus that he ended up accomplishing while he was here on earth.
[00:53:03] And somebody wanted to see the probability that this was even possible.
[00:53:10] And so in 1952, a man named Peter Stoner, the Chairman of Mathematics and Astronomy at Pasadena City College, he published a book called Science Speaks, showing the mathematical probability of Jesus fulfilling all of the prophecies that he fulfilled about himself.
[00:53:29] And so even just taking a conservative look at this, not taking all 300 prophecies, but boiling it down to just eight of them, they wanted to see what are the odds that Jesus was able to do all of these things.
[00:53:43] So the eight prophecies that they pulled are Christ will be born in Bethlehem, which comes from Micah 5, 2.
[00:53:48] Someone will go before and prepare the way for him, Malachi 3, verse 1.
[00:53:54] He will ride in on a docky, Zechariah 9.9.
[00:53:57] Betrayed by a friend and his hands will be wounded, Zechariah 13.6.
[00:54:01] And I'm glad this is being recorded because you can go back and you can get all these references and you can do a deep dive for yourself.
[00:54:07] The fifth one, he'll be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, Zechariah 11.12.
[00:54:12] Those 30 pieces of silver will be used to buy a potter's field, Zechariah 11.13.
[00:54:17] that when arrested and tried he will make no defense for himself Isaiah 53 7 and finally Psalm 22 16 foretells that he will be crucified and I want to pause right there for a second because I love the scripture I love God's word because it's so amazing when we dive in and we see what it's saying because when David writes Psalm 22
[00:54:39] He perfectly describes how the Messiah would be put to death.
[00:54:43] He perfectly describes crucifixion.
[00:54:46] And what's fascinating about this is that that form of torture and execution had not yet even been invented.
[00:54:54] The first recorded crucifixion wouldn't happen for hundreds of years after David pins Psalm 22 through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
[00:55:04] And yet, somehow, someway, he's able to perfectly describe a form of torture and punishment that had not even happened.
[00:55:13] So,
[00:55:14] What are the odds?
[00:55:16] What are the odds?
[00:55:16] Peter Stoner and his team, they took these eight prophecies, they ran all the math, they crunched all the numbers, people way smarter than I am, they looked at this and they said, what are the odds that Jesus was able to do just these eight things, just those eight prophecies?
[00:55:32] Well, the number comes out and it is an astounding number.
[00:55:36] The odds are one in 100 quadrillion.
[00:55:42] Now, that sounds like a number that your three-year-old made up, but I'm telling you, it's a real number.
[00:55:46] It's actually one followed by 17 zeros.
[00:55:51] Now, this number is so large, it's hard to really wrap my head around, and so I wanted to kinda give us an example of what this looked like, because none of us are gonna place a bet on one in 100 quadrillion chances.
[00:56:06] Now, I know none of you place bets on sports.
[00:56:10] I know none of you are sports bettors, but we know that there's people out there that do.
[00:56:14] And so, let's imagine for a second that someone was going to place a bet or make a wager that the Panthers were gonna win a game on any given Sunday.
[00:56:24] Now, if you don't like the Panthers, that's fine.
[00:56:27] Insert whatever team you want.
[00:56:28] What are the odds that the Panthers are gonna win a game on Sunday?
[00:56:33] Now, somebody placing this bet, there may be different odds.
[00:56:37] We know there's different analytics and strategists and all these people who are looking at this, but basically, it boils down to 50-50.
[00:56:43] They're either gonna win or they're gonna lose.
[00:56:47] Now, as the predictions get more specific, the odds of winning get less and less.
[00:56:55] So now we go, all right, what are the odds that the Panthers are gonna win the game?
[00:56:58] Okay, that's a pretty safe bet.
[00:57:00] But what are the odds that they're gonna win by a touchdown?
[00:57:03] Now we're getting more specific.
[00:57:05] But what if the final touchdown is a run play?
[00:57:11] Now the odds may be one in 50,000.
[00:57:14] But what if we went super crazy with it?
[00:57:16] What if we went super granular?
[00:57:17] Not only are we gonna place a bet that the Panthers are gonna win the game, that they're gonna win by a touchdown, that that touchdown is gonna be a run play, but that the running back is gonna be a five foot eight left-handed runner who graduated from the University of Hawaii.
[00:57:32] Oh, and by the way, when he runs across the goal line, the ball is gonna be exactly two and a half feet from the pylon.
[00:57:39] What are the odds that that's gonna happen?
[00:57:41] What are the odds that that is gonna happen?
[00:57:44] Now, I took some liberties here.
[00:57:46] Again, I'm not a mathematician, but I threw it in chat GPT.
[00:57:51] These exact parameters, I said, hey, what are the odds?
[00:57:54] Chat basically said, don't do this, but,
[00:57:58] They crunched the numbers.
[00:57:59] I don't know who they is.
[00:58:00] Chat crunched the numbers, and they came up with the odds that the Panthers are gonna win a game, that they're gonna win by a touchdown, that they're gonna win a touchdown off of a run play, and the running back is going to be a five foot eight left-handed college graduate from the University of Hawaii, and the ball is gonna be two and a half feet from the play on.
[00:58:18] The odds of that happening are one in 100 billion.
[00:58:25] Basically,
[00:58:27] You have a better chance of winning that bet than one man in the first century accomplishing all the things that Jesus did.
[00:58:38] And yet what's amazing is that Jesus did not just fulfill those eight prophecies.
[00:58:42] He did not just fulfill 50 prophecies, but through his life, death, and resurrection, he perfectly fulfilled 300 prophecies that were made about him in the Old Testament.
[00:58:52] When I think about this, the word amazing is not a strong enough word to describe the Word of God.
[00:58:59] It is astounding.
[00:59:01] And so if we look at this, if we look at how the Bible comes together perfectly, if that it was written by 40 different people over the span of 1500 years on three different continents, and they didn't know each other, if all of that can happen, if all of it can come together seamlessly, then maybe, just maybe, God has something he wants to say to you through his word.
[00:59:23] Why are we not spending more time with God?
[00:59:26] Why are we not studying the playbook?
[00:59:28] Why are we not opening it up and allowing it to speak to us and allowing us to understand more about who God is?
[00:59:35] Maybe you're sitting there at home and you're like, man, I get it.
[00:59:38] I understand the importance of the Bible.
[00:59:39] I understand the importance of the playbook.
[00:59:41] I believe in what the Word of God says, but I simply don't understand what's going on.
[00:59:48] I don't understand what's happening, and I gotta level with you.
[00:59:51] I see where you're coming from.
[00:59:53] That's tough.
[00:59:54] That is a difficult place to be in, but I wanna encourage you today.
[00:59:58] You don't have to do this alone.
[01:00:01] Having someone come alongside you to help you understand what the Bible says is a game changer.
[01:00:07] Now for me, it's like I know next to nothing about hockey.
[01:00:13] I basically know that it happens on ice and that when the puck goes into the net, that's a good thing.
[01:00:18] That's basically it.
[01:00:20] Now if I were to sit down and watch a hockey game on my own, I'm not gonna know what's going on.
[01:00:26] At some point, the goalie is out of the goal.
[01:00:28] What is happening in this game?
[01:00:30] But if I were to sit down with my friend Brian Watson, who is a big hockey fan, he would be able to explain to me what's happening.
[01:00:38] He would be able to break down what's going on, why this is happening.
[01:00:41] Oh, why is he in the penalty box?
[01:00:42] What was the call that was just made?
[01:00:44] Oh, see where this guy's going?
[01:00:45] He's actually trying to do this.
[01:00:46] He would be able to help me understand what is happening.
[01:00:50] And I want to encourage us today that we don't have to do this alone.
[01:00:54] We don't have to go at the Bible just by ourselves.
[01:00:58] We have a lot of amazing life groups with leaders who would love nothing more than to help you understand the Bible.
[01:01:04] Be involved in a life group.
[01:01:06] Get plugged in to the church.
[01:01:08] Ask questions and expect to get an answer.
[01:01:11] And maybe go to the Word of God together and see what He's saying.
[01:01:15] Because the way we read the Bible and how we read the Bible is important.
[01:01:20] It's important how we read and understand the Word of God because we read Romans differently than we read Revelation.
[01:01:28] We read 1 Chronicles differently than we would read 1 Corinthians.
[01:01:32] It's like you wouldn't go and read a cookbook, you wouldn't go read Pastor Penny's amazing cookbook and be like, man, the plot is terrible.
[01:01:38] There is absolutely no character development whatsoever.
[01:01:42] Like we wouldn't do that.
[01:01:43] And so we have to understand what we're reading.
[01:01:46] In fact, when I was a kid, I thought that we would just read the Bible from page one all the way to the end.
[01:01:52] And if you're doing the Bible in a year, you're probably doing that.
[01:01:54] But if you just start there, you may get confused along the way.
[01:01:58] You may not understand exactly what you're reading.
[01:02:01] And so it's helpful to have somebody come alongside to help guide and lead and help you to understand what's happening.
[01:02:07] Getting involved in life groups is huge.
[01:02:09] And as we look at the Word of God, it is important to remember that the Bible was written for you, but it wasn't written to you.
[01:02:17] And I know that it can seem daunting, and even as a seasoned Christian, this can seem overwhelming sometimes, but since you have been so kind as to invite me into your home today, we are gonna take some time and we're gonna dive into the Word of God together.
[01:02:32] We're gonna take a moment and look at the playbook and see the who, the what, the when, and the why, and what does it mean for me.
[01:02:41] So, first and foremost, when we go to the Bible, when we open up the playbook, invite God in.
[01:02:49] Ask Him to be a part of it.
[01:02:50] Ask Him to speak through His Word.
[01:02:52] It is an amazing thing.
[01:02:53] We get to read the Word of God with the author.
[01:02:58] With the author of the book alongside us, the Holy Spirit brings light and understanding to things that would otherwise be dark and confusing.
[01:03:06] So when we go to the Bible, ask Him to speak because He wants to.
[01:03:10] A simple prayer every time we open the word.
[01:03:12] Lord, your word is living and active.
[01:03:15] Speak to me today.
[01:03:18] So we invite God in.
[01:03:19] We open the word of God and we read what it says.
[01:03:22] And so we're gonna do this together.
[01:03:23] We're gonna read Luke 24, verses 44 through 49.
[01:03:26] We're gonna read this passage of scripture and see what it says.
[01:03:30] So we look at these verses and it says, then he said to them, first, right there, we gotta stop.
[01:03:35] We gotta read a little bit more to understand who's even talking.
[01:03:38] Who are we talking to?
[01:03:40] So if you read the paragraph prior, you find that Jesus is speaking to his disciples.
[01:03:46] So right there we go.
[01:03:47] Then he, Jesus, said to them, the disciples, these are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
[01:04:02] Then he opened their minds to understand the scripture.
[01:04:05] And he said to them, thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that the repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
[01:04:20] You are witnesses of these things, and behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you.
[01:04:25] But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.
[01:04:30] So we've invited God in, we've opened up his word, we've read what he says, and now we're looking for clarity.
[01:04:39] The context of this is important.
[01:04:41] Are we in the Old Testament or are we in the New Testament?
[01:04:43] All right, we're in the book of Luke, so we know we're in the New Testament.
[01:04:46] Now we need to know what kind of book this is.
[01:04:48] Again, is it a cookbook?
[01:04:50] Is it a novel?
[01:04:51] Is this for reference?
[01:04:52] Is this a relational story?
[01:04:54] We know that Luke is a gospel.
[01:04:56] It's one of the four gospels in the New Testament.
[01:04:58] And so we know that we are reading the gospels, the story of Jesus.
[01:05:03] We look at the context and this helps keep us on the right track.
[01:05:05] It helps keep us from taking verses out of context and then misconstruing them or making them mean something that they don't.
[01:05:13] Context is important.
[01:05:14] Remember, the Bible is primarily about God, secondarily about you.
[01:05:20] So what do these verses mean?
[01:05:21] What are these verses trying to tell us?
[01:05:24] All right, so first, the who.
[01:05:26] Who wrote this book?
[01:05:27] Well, it's the Gospel of Luke, so we know that Luke is writing it, giving a detailed and thoroughly researched account of Jesus by eyewitnesses.
[01:05:37] The what?
[01:05:37] From context, we see that in this particular passage, Jesus is speaking with his disciples.
[01:05:44] When is it taking place?
[01:05:45] Again, reading around what we just read, we know that this is directly following Jesus being raised from the dead.
[01:05:52] So now we have the who, what, and the when.
[01:05:55] We know it's Luke who has thoroughly researched this by eyewitnesses, we know it's Jesus speaking to his disciples, and it's Jesus directly after his resurrection from the dead.
[01:06:04] That gives us context and understanding to what we're reading.
[01:06:08] Now, what does it actually say?
[01:06:11] Verse 44, everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
[01:06:17] What is Jesus trying to convey here?
[01:06:18] He's saying that the Bible is all about him.
[01:06:22] The Bible is pointing out Jesus, and that from the very beginning, in the law, in the prophets, even in the Psalms, it's all pointing to what the disciples are seeing right there.
[01:06:32] The whole Bible points to Jesus.
[01:06:34] What else do we see?
[01:06:35] Verse 46, thus it is written that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead and that for the repentance and the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all the nations.
[01:06:47] Jesus gives us a snapshot of what the gospel is and he gives us instruction of what our mission is.
[01:06:53] It's not just that we receive and believe it, but that we are to go out and tell other people about him.
[01:06:59] And finally, we see that he tells us, you are a witness of these things and that there is a promise from the Father that is coming soon.
[01:07:07] We know that this is the Holy Spirit and that he will give you, the Holy Spirit will give you the power to tell others about Jesus.
[01:07:14] There's a promise in this passage as well.
[01:07:16] We see from the context who's speaking, what he's saying.
[01:07:19] We understand what it says.
[01:07:21] Now finally we go, what does this mean for me?
[01:07:24] Not what does it mean to me?
[01:07:25] What does this mean for me?
[01:07:28] When I read through this, when I read the words of Jesus, when I dive in a little bit deeper and as we look at what the Bible says in the context of what we're reading, we see that the Bible points to Jesus.
[01:07:38] And through the Bible, I could learn more about him.
[01:07:41] And so when I would read something like this, I would be inspired to go, man, where can I find Jesus
[01:07:46] in the Old Testament.
[01:07:47] Where can I find him throughout the Psalms, throughout the Law, throughout the Prophets?
[01:07:51] Where is Jesus in the Old Testament?
[01:07:52] Because Jesus is saying he's in there.
[01:07:55] I wanna go find it.
[01:07:56] Maybe we read that my job as a Christian isn't just to sit back, but it's to get off of the bench and to get in the game, to go and share the gospel with people.
[01:08:05] He says, you're supposed to go out.
[01:08:07] The Holy Spirit is going to help you go and tell other people about me.
[01:08:11] When we read this, maybe we're convicted.
[01:08:13] We're like, man, I haven't been sharing my relationship with Jesus with other people.
[01:08:17] I haven't been telling my neighbors about what God has done in my life.
[01:08:20] Maybe that's the conviction that Paul talks about in 2 Timothy.
[01:08:25] Or maybe we're inspired.
[01:08:26] Maybe we're inspired that the promise of the Holy Spirit is from God for Christ's followers.
[01:08:32] and that we're empowered to do His work while we're here on earth, that God has good gifts for you, that He has a plan for you, that He isn't just gonna set you off to the side, but He wants to use you in the game.
[01:08:44] When we read this, it may be something different for you because the Holy Spirit is prompting you, but when we open the Word of God, it is sharp, it is active, it is alive, and it is for you.
[01:08:55] God wants to speak to you today.
[01:08:57] He wants to speak to you through His Word.
[01:09:01] And I want us to know that God did not give us a book of random stories or a rule book in order for you to have a hard time.
[01:09:08] No, He gave us a playbook for our life because He loves you.
[01:09:13] He wants to speak to us.
[01:09:15] He wants us to open this book and spend time with our Heavenly Father and learn more about Him and allow Him to reveal things about ourself and allow Him to reveal things about Himself.
[01:09:26] As Proverbs says, it says, do not lean on your own understanding, but in all ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path.
[01:09:36] And as you spend time reading, you'll discover that the word of God is about relationship.
[01:09:43] It is all about God wanting to be with his creation, that he loves you, that he cares for you, that he has good plans for you, and that 2,000 years ago, he sent his one and only son, Jesus Christ, to come to this earth, to live a perfect life, to die a brutal death on the cross, and then be raised again on the third day, so that you and I no longer have to live broken, no longer have to live in our sin,
[01:10:10] No longer have to live separated from our Heavenly Father, but that we can come back into right standing and relationship with Him who loves us.
[01:10:19] That's what the Bible is about.
[01:10:21] That's what the whole scripture is pointing to.
[01:10:24] It's the story of God and His Son, Jesus, and it's for you.
[01:10:28] Maybe you're sitting there at home and you've never made Jesus the Lord of your life.
[01:10:32] You've never accepted him into your life.
[01:10:35] Today can be that day.
[01:10:36] Today could be the day that you make the best decision of your life, making Jesus the Lord of your life.
[01:10:41] And so if that's you, if you're at home right now and you say, hey, Pastor Adam, that's me.
[01:10:46] I wanna begin to follow Jesus.
[01:10:47] I know that I've messed up.
[01:10:48] I know that I've made mistakes, but I understand now that there is a God who loves me, who cares for me, who wants me to get off of the bench, get in the game, and he has a plan and a play
[01:10:58] that I need to run.
[01:10:59] So if that's you and you're at home, you wanna say this prayer, you wanna make Jesus the Lord of your life.
[01:11:05] I'm gonna say a prayer and wherever you're at, if it's your kitchen table, if it's your couch, if you're driving, keep your eyes open, but we're gonna say this prayer.
[01:11:12] I'm gonna ask you to just repeat it after me wherever you're at.
[01:11:16] We're gonna pray together and say, Heavenly Father, come into my life.
[01:11:22] I make you the Lord of my life.
[01:11:24] I choose to follow you.
[01:11:27] Today, tomorrow, and forever, lead me and guide me in your ways.
[01:11:36] And Father, I pray for each and every single person who is tuning in right now who is within earshot of my voice right now.
[01:11:41] Father, I pray that as we open up your word that you begin to reveal yourself to us even more, Father.
[01:11:47] I pray you begin to convict us of the things in our life that are not of you, that you begin to reveal things about us, Father, and that we recognize the depth of relationship that you desire for each one of us, God.
[01:11:59] I pray for the people that are struggling to believe the Bible.
[01:12:02] I pray that they will have the faith and the trust to know that you love and you care for them and that you have given them a great gift through your word, Father.
[01:12:10] I pray for those of us that have maybe been a Christian for a while, that we've maybe read the whole word.
[01:12:15] I pray that, Holy Spirit, you'll begin to reveal new things to us through your spirit, through your word.
[01:12:20] Father, that we can spend time with you in what you have said to us, God.
[01:12:25] I pray that this year, 2026, will be the year that we fall more in love with your word.
[01:12:29] We dive deeper into what you have to say to us.
[01:12:32] God, and that maybe we'll get off the bench, we'll get in the game, and we'll run the plays that you have for each of us.
[01:12:39] Father, we love you, we thank you, and it's in Jesus' name I pray, amen.

[01:12:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
fantastic so proud of you hey listen if you made that decision right where you are here's what i want you to do i want you to get your phone it's probably in your hand right now i want you to go to freedomhouse.cc freedomhouse.cc and we want to help you take that decision make it real connect with god connect with community and let me tell you the best way for you to do that we're in our life group launch
[01:13:11] So what you can do is just, I've got my life group t-shirt on.

[01:13:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
What is a life group?

[01:13:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
A life group is a small group where a group of people get together.
[01:13:19] Sometimes they study the Bible.
[01:13:22] Sometimes they just hang out together.
[01:13:23] They go to get coffee or maybe it's a mom's group.
[01:13:27] We have these amazing men's group that meet every single week.
[01:13:31] They go through, actually go through the Bible verse by verse.
[01:13:35] We have women's groups that meet.

[01:13:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
There's 13 for Ballantyne already.

[01:13:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
That's fantastic.

[01:13:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
13 life groups.
[01:13:41] So if you live in the Fort Mill Ballantyne area, there's 13 small groups where you can get connected.

[01:13:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
And hundreds of them all over the city that you can get connected to.
[01:13:51] So just get, again, take your phone out, get it out right now.
[01:13:54] I know you've been posting about this amazing service today and where you're going to maybe do some sledding and whatever you're going to do with your friends, but be safe.

[01:14:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Sliding.

[01:14:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
Yeah, exactly.
[01:14:06] Get your phone out.
[01:14:07] Go to freedomhouse.cc.
[01:14:09] Everything you need to get connected is right there.
[01:14:13] So what's coming up next week?

[01:14:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]:
Okay, we want you to be here next Sunday.
[01:14:17] Next Sunday, in person, live, we want you to be here because we are kicking off our Candy Heart series.
[01:14:26] We are diving deep into relationships.
[01:14:29] No more surface level stuff.
[01:14:31] We are going deep into relationships.
[01:14:34] We're talking about marriages.
[01:14:36] We are getting in deep.
[01:14:37] How to bring intimacy back if you've lost intimacy.
[01:14:40] I can't wait.
[01:14:41] How to communicate if there's been breakdowns in your marriage.
[01:14:44] Man, we...

[01:14:45] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_10]:
are going in deep so make sure you show up bring your family we loved being in your home today god bless you guys have a wonderful sunday we'll see you next sunday