Civilian Or Soldier? | Heroes Week 4

Pick your favorite hero—Wonder Woman, Black Panther, the guy who canceled the meeting you hate. No matter which hero it is, we celebrate them because of what they do. Heroes act, while others sit on the sidelines. If we’re made to be heroes (and we are), then we have to get off the sidelines too. Join us today as Kyle talks about why—and how—God wants us to get into the fight.

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    - Do you know that there are
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    2 billion Christians in the world?
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    My question is then how come there are still
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    any problems like how come they're still any brokenness?
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    There's only 7 billion people in the world total,
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    2 billion seems like enough to help the rest.
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    The only explanation is that most Christ followers
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    are missing it, see they don't understand
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    who they were made to be.
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    Let me tell you the reason for that.
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    There's a war going on around you
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    that you're not supposed to know about.
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    A battle raging that they're banking
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    you'll passively accept like today's weather.
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    Looks like rain, but whatever, right?
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    The casualties are obvious, strewn across your feed
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    like bugs and a windshield.
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    But they're hoping you'll accept the splatter
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    as a normal part of normal life,
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    just colorful guts to wash out of your view.
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    A fleeting inconvenience.
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    Why?
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    Because if you did discover the war,
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    you might think to ask where all the soldiers are.
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    And that absolutely cannot happen.
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    So they'll do anything to get you
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    to keep your eyes closed and go back to sleep, please.
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    But if you do see the war, if the evidence
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    on your windshield is too much to ignore,
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    they have a plan,
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    one that's been working for thousands of years.
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    It goes like this.
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    If I were fighting a war, I'll tell you what I'd do.
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    I'd leverage my strengths.
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    And if my strength was lying,
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    like I was so good at it that my nickname
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    was the Father of Lies, I would lie like hell.
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    Not to my troops.
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    I'd try to convince the opposing soldiers
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    that they were actually civilians,
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    because if I could pull that off,
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    I'd win the war without a fight.
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    So when you ask where the soldiers are,
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    you never even think to look in the mirror
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    because you have already decided
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    you're a victim of the war, a simple civilian.
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    And that's how I'd win.
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    The question this week is simple:
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    Are you a civilian or are you a soldier?
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    The Heroes Journey is about your path to greatness.
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    And today is when it hits an uphill climb
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    that frankly few people ever make.
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    So here's a promise and a warning right up front.
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    The promise: if you're willing to watch
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    and really listen, you're going to hear
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    what I believe is second only to Jesus loving you
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    and saving you, the best news of your entire life.
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    See you are made for so much more than you know,
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    you're so much more significant than you understand.
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    And when that gets unlocked in you,
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    you will experience life in the fullest,
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    freshest, most invigorating way possible.
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    We've been using this word hero in this Journey
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    to describe that kind of life, the person that
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    each of us is meant to become
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    and the character we're meant to embody.
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    And while there are many kinds of heroes, you know,
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    from like reluctant heroes to accidental heroes,
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    we're actually made to be a very specific kind,
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    an intentionally enlisted hero.
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    Another name for that kind of hero is a soldier,
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    somebody who's sober mindedly signs on the dotted line
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    and dedicates their entire life to service.
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    Here's the warning: I'm giving you high octane today.
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    I'm not going to pull any punches.
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    Why?
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    Because we're at the fork in the trail
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    where too many people decided the path to greatness
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    is just too steep and they waste their life
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    looking at life instead of experiencing it.
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    Recently, Sarah and I got to go to the Grand Canyon.
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    It was our anniversary. We went there with no kids.
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    Fantastic, by the way,
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    highly recommend that part of the trip.
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    And when we got there, it was packed.
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    It was crowded.
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    There was so many people at the rim of the canyon
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    just looking down into it.
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    And you've never been there, you have to understand
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    it's like mind blowingly huge.
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    I mean, it's epic in its proportions
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    and everyone's just standing there looking at it.
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    There was hardly any room at the rail
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    to look down into it.
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    And then Sarah and I, because we're kind of crazy,
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    we decided what we wanted to do is
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    actually hike the entire thing,
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    which is 18 miles from rim to river and back in a day.
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    By the way, there's an elevation change of one mile
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    going down and back up.
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    It's like the reverse of mountain climbing, you know,
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    like in mountain climbing,
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    you do the hard part first
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    and then the easy part second.
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    In canyon hiking you do the easy part first,
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    the down and the hard part next.
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    It's nuts. It's insane.
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    Here's what we discovered:
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    despite the crowds at the top
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    peering into the canyon,
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    if you just go about a mile down the path,
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    no one is there.
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    See, most people who go there,
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    they pass on the real experience.
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    They just stand at the rim
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    and they spectate at the thing.
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    And this is life.
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    Most of us just stand at the edge
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    and we look at it
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    and God's invitation is to step into it.
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    See you were made for greatness. You were.
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    But you have to choose to go there.
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    The people decide to pass because
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    we have a very persuasive enemy
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    who's waging a kind of psychological warfare,
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    and it's been carefully crafting a lie
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    for millennia just to make sure,
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    just to make sure that you and me
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    unwittingly waste our lives
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    blindly strolling down the path to irrelevance.
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    In fact, your enemy's greatest fear
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    is you waking up to that reality.
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    In John 8, Jesus said, He, your enemy,
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    His chief and greatest lie to Christians,
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    and really anyone exploring faith,
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    it's that they're civilians, that their job
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    is just to sit at the top and wait for
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    the soldiers down below in the field
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    and cheer safely from the sidelines.
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    Now some of us recognize this isn't the call in our life.
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    In fact, if you're someone who's giving,
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    I know you've crossed through this barrier
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    in your life and on behalf of everyone
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    who's benefiting from your generosity
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    through experiencing this journey
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    and videos like this, I want to say thank you.
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    And if you want to become part of
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    that community of generosity, it's super easy.
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    Just go to Crossroads.net/give.
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    Now to get this, we have to start
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    at the beginning of your life.
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    See, according to the Bible,
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    you and me are born as prisoners of war.
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    It's a battle between the dominion of darkness
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    and the Kingdom of God.
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    And our natural pattern of living, called sin,
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    it comes from being born into
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    the evil side of the battle.
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    And on our own we're actually powerless
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    to overthrow its hold in our lives,
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    which is why Jesus, God Himself, came to rescue us.
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    Colossians 1 says:
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    No one's saved from the evil side then,
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    the defining question of our lives becomes this:
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    what now is my role in this great war?
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    And today you hit this exact
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    fork in the road to greatness.
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    It's a simple choice that God says you must make
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    that will determine the entire course
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    of your life from here on out.
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    It's this simple:
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    Are you going to enlist as a soldier
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    or are you going to stay a civilian?
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    Though you probably never thought about
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    the choice in those terms,
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    you intuitively understand the options, right?
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    I mean, the job of soldiers is
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    to jump into the cockpit, to take up arms
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    and to start to fight.
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    The job of civilians is to cheer on the soldiers
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    and support their efforts,
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    and maybe give some comforts they could
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    otherwise have to funnel more supplies
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    to the front lines.
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    The soldiers, they live on the front lines.
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    The civilians, they live on the sidelines.
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    See the soldiers sit in the cockpits.
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    The civilians sit in the bleachers.
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    And here's the thing, we think that
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    few are called to be soldiers, right?
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    The few, the proud, the Marines.
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    And most of us are called to be civilians, right?
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    That few are called to be pastors
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    and work on church staffs and be lead volunteers
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    and those sorts of things.
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    But most are just called
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    to cheer them on as civilians on the side
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    to sit in the stands and clap.
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    I used to think this.
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    I used to think that my job was to sit and cheer.
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    I don't have a Bible degree.
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    Still, don't, you know, not for me.
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    This kind of job is kind of what --
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    it must be for the pros.
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    Me, I'm just a civilian.
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    But here's the kick,
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    and I need you to lean in close here,
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    lean in close.
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    According to Jesus,
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    there are no civilians in the Kingdom of God.
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    There's just soldiers.
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    Do you know what would be
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    the most radical difference between Christianity
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    and every other world religion is
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    the absence of a special class of people.
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    See, most religions have this special class,
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    they're usually called the priests.
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    And priests have, one, special access to God,
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    and two, special powers and special responsibilities.
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    Metaphorically, they're the soldiers.
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    Chances are, even if you've been around church,
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    maybe especially if you've been around church,
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    you've missed this critical piece of understanding
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    because see, there are certain people
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    called pastors, right, or priests,
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    and everyone else is usually called the laity
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    or the laypeople.
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    Which regardless of the bad theology here,
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    can we just agree that's a terrible name.
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    We really need to rebrand that. It's awful.
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    But here's the thing, this two class system,
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    it's not found at all in the Bible.
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    Let's look at what the Bible actually says.
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    I'm going to read you a section of a letter
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    written by Peter.
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    He was one of the top three disciples of Jesus,
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    and he wrote this to pretty much all believers
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    all over the known world.
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    And now it's a book in the Bible called 1 Peter
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    because it was the first book he wrote.
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    That's really, that's all there is
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    to know about that one.
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    Anyway, he addresses it like this
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    in the very beginning, 1 Peter 1:1, it says:
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    God's elect means anyone who believes in Jesus.
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    And those places that he's talking about,
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    they're basically modern day Turkey,
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    plus the western Mediterranean coast.
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    If you were to overlay it on the U.S.,
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    we're talking an area the size of the East Coast
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    from Jacksonville, Florida, up to Hartford, Connecticut,
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    that stretches inland all the way to St. Louis.
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    So like a lot of people.
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    And to all of those people, Peter wrote:
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    Royal priesthood.
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    That means that everyone is royal and a priest.
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    Everyone.
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    Now, this is a critical understanding
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    of the family of God.
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    See, when you believe in Jesus,
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    you're actually adopted into God's family
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    and He's the King, which is the royal part.
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    Passages like 1 John 12, Romans 8, Galatians 5,
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    they make that crystal clear.
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    What that means is that you have a seat
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    at the royal family's table,
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    and nothing you ever do can change that. Nothing.
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    But here's the thing, you not only have
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    a seat at the table, you actually have battles
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    to fight as part of the army of God.
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    See, everyone is both a son and a soldier.
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    Everyone is both a daughter and a soldier.
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    And that's the priest part.
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    Have you ever wondered why I'm not Pastor Kyle,
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    I'm just Kyle?
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    And why Brian is Brian, not Pastor Bryan?
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    This is why.
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    Though relatively small,
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    that little qualifier would set us apart,
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    and it would tell everyone, new or otherwise,
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    that we have some kind of special access
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    or insight into God
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    that's probably not available to you.
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    That we have special powers
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    and special responsibility. that go beyond,
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    well, all of you people.
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    But see, Jesus warned against this directly
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    and explicitly in Matthew 23, he said:
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    That's Jesus.
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    It's clear, it's clear,
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    God's call to every believer,
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    you include it if you believe in Him,
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    is to be a soldier.
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    Ephesians 6 says:
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    God says, I have armor for you.
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    You're a soldier and He wants you dressed.
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    And can we just agree?
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    It's probably not so you can sit on the couch.
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    This isn't a dress up party. That's not--
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    It's not Halloween.
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    He wants you to spend your life fighting.
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    And see you have an enemy who doesn't want
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    you to know any of this stuff.
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    He wants you to think that you're an observer,
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    a fan, that you're doing and being the church
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    if you come to church or you watch church.
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    You know, one of the curses of my life
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    is being a Cincinnati Bengals fan.
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    It's tragic, tragic flaw.
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    I inherited it from my dad, and his dad before him
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    and now my children are suffering. It's awful.
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    They haven't won a playoff game in like 30 years.
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    I mean, I think we stop counting at some point.
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    It's been forever, forever.
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    And see, I logically know that choosing to root
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    for the Bengals is like picking a product,
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    any other product, right?
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    I mean, if I picked a toothpaste
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    that rotted my teeth
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    and made my breath smell like garbage,
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    I would just pick a different toothpaste.
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    But with the Bengals, even though they rot my teeth
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    and make my breath smell like garbage metaphorically,
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    I can't quit them. I can't change. Why?
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    It's because when I talk about the team,
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    I say we, even though I've never played
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    a down of football in my life.
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    I say stuff like, "Yeah, man, I mean,
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    I really like what we did in the draft this year.
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    I mean, that wide receiver, dang, is amazing."
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    Or I say, you know, as you're watching the game,
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    "We need to block better or we should throw more.
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    Wait, was that interception?
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    Man, like I've been saying,
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    I think we should stick to the run.
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    You know" I've been saying that the whole game."
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    By the way, if you're an actual Bengals player
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    and you're watching this,
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    I have a good feeling about us this year. I do.
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    I think I think we're going all the way.
  • 00:14:54
    I really do.
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    And even though you rot my teeth, I'm still in.
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    Let's go. Really, I love it.
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    I'm being honest. I can't quit it.
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    Now, here's why this happens.
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    It's because of I want to call the Sunday myth
  • 00:15:06
    that affects church and football.
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    See, we think watching makes us part of the team.
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    Listen to what I'm going to say very carefully.
  • 00:15:15
    Listen very carefully.
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    I want you to pay attention.
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    You watching church no more makes you
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    a Christ follower than you watching football
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    makes you a football player.
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    Maybe the greatest mistake the church ever made
  • 00:15:28
    is we built what looked like bleachers,
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    and you thought that your job was to sit in them.
  • 00:15:33
    And it seemed that, just like the NFL,
  • 00:15:35
    we're just inviting you to be fans,
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    to follow us then like, comment, and subscribe,
  • 00:15:39
    you know, buy the logo T-shirt,
  • 00:15:41
    root for your favorite pastor, celebrate the killer sermons,
  • 00:15:43
    and then tune in for more next week.
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    It's a tragedy that has to stop.
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    It has to stop because the world is too broken
  • 00:15:52
    for the majority of God's Church
  • 00:15:54
    to just sit and watch.
  • 00:15:56
    So you have to understand, by default,
  • 00:15:58
    the culture you live is shaped
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    to get your life to curve to the norm.
  • 00:16:03
    And that norm is not just being a civilian,
  • 00:16:05
    but the most passive, harmless to
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    the kingdom of darkness kind of civilian, a consumer.
  • 00:16:10
    La, la, la, living my life.
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    There are Christians who believe
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    their primary role is to be pastor watchers
  • 00:16:16
    or worship listeners fall into this category.
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    I'm supposed to watch, to listen, to consume.
  • 00:16:21
    How would you know if that's affected you?
  • 00:16:23
    Simple question: What do you talk about
  • 00:16:26
    after a message like this?
  • 00:16:28
    Do you talk about God's Word
  • 00:16:29
    and how it's changing you
  • 00:16:31
    or you talk about the teacher's performance?
  • 00:16:33
    I mean, it was OK, you know, it was OK.
  • 00:16:35
    It wasn't Brian's best, though.
  • 00:16:36
    See, too much time is spent evaluating and talking
  • 00:16:40
    about churches the way we talk about pants.
  • 00:16:43
    It just wasn't a good fit.
  • 00:16:45
    Hear me clearly, I'd love you
  • 00:16:47
    to follow me on Instagram.
  • 00:16:49
    I'd love you to follow Brian.
  • 00:16:50
    But we're not posting so you can be our fans.
  • 00:16:53
    This isn't a show.
  • 00:16:55
    This is a pep rally. It's a mission briefing.
  • 00:16:57
    We're not performing.
  • 00:16:58
    We're coaches aiming to equip you for the fight.
  • 00:17:03
    Please hear me, please.
  • 00:17:05
    Please don't waste your life
  • 00:17:08
    attending and evaluating church.
  • 00:17:10
    Be the church.
  • 00:17:11
    Don't waste your life sitting on the sidelines.
  • 00:17:14
    Don't waste your life watching other people fight.
  • 00:17:16
    This idea that you're made to be a civilian
  • 00:17:19
    while the pros handle the heavy lifting,
  • 00:17:20
    it's a lie.
  • 00:17:22
    It wants to take your dreams
  • 00:17:23
    and make them so microscopically small
  • 00:17:27
    that when you stare into the future of your life,
  • 00:17:30
    what you imagine is a nice lawn.
  • 00:17:33
    Really, I did a little bit of research
  • 00:17:35
    this week on like, what are the --
  • 00:17:36
    what's the advice to have a great life
  • 00:17:38
    and I found this this blog post on the AARP website.
  • 00:17:43
    It's the American Association of Retired People.
  • 00:17:47
    And the title was: Want to Live Longer?
  • 00:17:49
    Mowing the lawn helps.
  • 00:17:53
    Stare into your future, imagine a great lawn.
  • 00:17:58
    Now, can you imagine getting to
  • 00:18:00
    the very end of your life, the whole thing,
  • 00:18:03
    standing before God and saying,
  • 00:18:05
    "Look, Lord, at my lawn.
  • 00:18:09
    I mowed it in a perfect checkerboard pattern, Lord.
  • 00:18:12
    I aerated I overseeded.
  • 00:18:14
    It was so much greater than Todd's lawn next door.
  • 00:18:17
    Lord, so much greater.
  • 00:18:19
    Have mercy on him, Lord,
  • 00:18:20
    he knew not what he was doing,
  • 00:18:22
    I mean, with his lawn, Lord."
  • 00:18:26
    What a tragedy, what a waste of life.
  • 00:18:30
    Every single spiritual great
  • 00:18:33
    had a different vision for their life.
  • 00:18:35
    So rather than die with full barns and lush lawns,
  • 00:18:39
    they dreamed of dying empty,
  • 00:18:42
    of spending everything on the most and the highest
  • 00:18:45
    and the only worthy cause in the universe,
  • 00:18:47
    The advancement of the Kingdom of God.
  • 00:18:51
    Jesus's call on your life
  • 00:18:53
    is that you would do the same.
  • 00:18:56
    You weren't created to be a civilian.
  • 00:18:57
    You were made to be a soldier.
  • 00:18:59
    See, if you want to be great, that means
  • 00:19:00
    you have to take commands from the commanding officer.
  • 00:19:05
    What is His command? It's pretty simple.
  • 00:19:08
    Here's what He said in John 15:
  • 00:19:30
    Jesus is your commanding officer, and He's saying,
  • 00:19:33
    "Don't waste your life being a civilian.
  • 00:19:36
    Don't waste your life consuming and consuming
  • 00:19:39
    and consuming, even church stuff, until you die.
  • 00:19:42
    No, take up your sword and fight.
  • 00:19:45
    Find your place, jump into a roll."
  • 00:19:47
    And you fight by rolling up your sleeves
  • 00:19:48
    and by serving, by giving up your life,
  • 00:19:50
    something that's precious to you,
  • 00:19:52
    your time, and serving.
  • 00:19:55
    This doesn't mean quit your job.
  • 00:19:57
    We don't need more professional pastors.
  • 00:20:00
    All I am is the army chaplain.
  • 00:20:03
    We need more warriors on the front lines,
  • 00:20:05
    in schools and in businesses
  • 00:20:07
    and city squares and hospitals.
  • 00:20:08
    We need servants serving with the power of God
  • 00:20:12
    in every sector across our country.
  • 00:20:15
    We need you in your unique lane
  • 00:20:16
    using your unique gifts.
  • 00:20:19
    I know it may be hard to believe, but do you know
  • 00:20:22
    the world is literally waiting for you on this?
  • 00:20:26
    Literally waiting.
  • 00:20:27
    Romans 8 says, "for the creation waits," for what?
  • 00:20:32
    In eager expectation
  • 00:20:34
    for the children of God to be revealed.
  • 00:20:39
    That means step into their destiny.
  • 00:20:41
    The creation itself will be liberated
  • 00:20:43
    from its bondage to decay
  • 00:20:44
    and brought under the freedom and the glory
  • 00:20:47
    of the children of God.
  • 00:20:49
    You were born to be a soldier,
  • 00:20:51
    to fight victoriously in the war
  • 00:20:53
    that's going to end all war.
  • 00:20:54
    It's your destiny and it's your choice.
  • 00:20:58
    You know, I know even if you want
  • 00:20:59
    to make that choice, even if you're going,
  • 00:21:01
    "Yes, I want to step into it.
  • 00:21:02
    I don't want to live my life,
  • 00:21:03
    waste my life as a civilian, as a consumer.
  • 00:21:05
    I want to step into it as a soldier."
  • 00:21:07
    There may be a resistance in you.
  • 00:21:09
    First, maybe you don't feel qualified
  • 00:21:11
    in the sense of having gifts and talents.
  • 00:21:13
    Some people have gifts. Some people have talents.
  • 00:21:16
    I don't have anything. Not me, I got skipped.
  • 00:21:19
    Here's what 1 Corinthians 12 says:
  • 00:21:58
    That means when God thought of you,
  • 00:22:00
    when He imagined you, He thought of
  • 00:22:03
    what He wanted to gift you with.
  • 00:22:06
    And see, each one means everyone
  • 00:22:09
    and everyone means you.
  • 00:22:13
    Here's good news, you don't have to figure out
  • 00:22:15
    how to use your gifts on your own.
  • 00:22:17
    This Journey is designed to help you
  • 00:22:19
    step into the fact that God has gifted you,
  • 00:22:21
    that He has called you.
  • 00:22:22
    This isn't just a thing for special people,
  • 00:22:24
    for some of us. No, it's for all of us.
  • 00:22:26
    But you don't have to figure it all out on your own.
  • 00:22:28
    We've got your back.
  • 00:22:29
    See, next week you're going to have
  • 00:22:31
    an opportunity to sign up to serve in a role
  • 00:22:33
    that puts some of those gifts to work,
  • 00:22:34
    and we'll help you find that spot for you.
  • 00:22:37
    In fact, even this week,
  • 00:22:39
    we'd love to help you change the world.
  • 00:22:40
    We have a summit to help you do that.
  • 00:22:42
    It's called a World Changing Summit.
  • 00:22:44
    If you're interested in that,
  • 00:22:45
    you can go to online.crossroads.net
  • 00:22:47
    to get an early start on it, honestly.
  • 00:22:49
    And here's the thing, serving doesn't just
  • 00:22:52
    have to be a Crossroads official role.
  • 00:22:55
    Those are just the ones that we have to offer.
  • 00:22:57
    They're easiest for us to plug you into.
  • 00:23:00
    The main thing here is that you
  • 00:23:02
    jump into the fight and serve.
  • 00:23:05
    God has gifted you for that reason.
  • 00:23:08
    The second resistance you might feel is
  • 00:23:10
    you feel like you've messed up so bad,
  • 00:23:12
    so bad that you've missed it.
  • 00:23:14
    And messed up can mean like screw ups,
  • 00:23:16
    or it can just be like maybe I've waited too long,
  • 00:23:18
    it's too late in my life.
  • 00:23:20
    No, you know, the record we have of Abraham,
  • 00:23:24
    like father of the Nation of Israel
  • 00:23:26
    and him following God begins
  • 00:23:29
    when Abraham's 75 years old.
  • 00:23:32
    It's not too late for you.
  • 00:23:34
    And on messing up, you aren't qualified
  • 00:23:37
    because of the study that you've done
  • 00:23:39
    or your good behavior
  • 00:23:40
    or your super smarts, or whatever.
  • 00:23:42
    You're qualified by one means only: Jesus.
  • 00:23:46
    It's a one point resume.
  • 00:23:47
    It says, Jesus saved me. That's it.
  • 00:23:50
    And that means that you're expected to fight.
  • 00:23:53
    You know, this week and your guide
  • 00:23:55
    you'll be putting all of these pieces together,
  • 00:23:58
    and it's going to help you see
  • 00:23:59
    how God has wired you to serve
  • 00:24:01
    in preparation for next week.
  • 00:24:03
    Now I want you to know, being a hero will cost you,
  • 00:24:06
    not monetarily, but for sure in time.
  • 00:24:09
    There is a cost to it
  • 00:24:11
    that you're going to work through.
  • 00:24:12
    But I want you to know the secret.
  • 00:24:15
    The secret is this: when you lose,
  • 00:24:17
    when you give things up,
  • 00:24:19
    when you pay the cost of being a soldier,
  • 00:24:23
    you actually win
  • 00:24:24
    and you actually gain way more than you give up.
  • 00:24:28
    Luke 9:24 says:
  • 00:24:30
    But all who lose their lives in
  • 00:24:33
    the service of God because of Me will save them.
  • 00:24:39
    The best view of the game,
  • 00:24:40
    it's not from the bleachers,
  • 00:24:42
    it's from the middle of the action.
  • 00:24:44
    And the best life, it's not lived
  • 00:24:46
    watching other people fight.
  • 00:24:48
    It's actually taking up arms.
  • 00:24:49
    It's joining the eternal brotherhood
  • 00:24:51
    and sisterhood that stretches back, back,
  • 00:24:53
    back, back generations
  • 00:24:55
    and putting the full weight of your life
  • 00:24:57
    into serving as a soldier
  • 00:24:59
    in the world redeeming army of God.
  • 00:25:03
    When you do that, this is the amazing part,
  • 00:25:05
    the victories, they become your victories.
  • 00:25:09
    And the soldiers, they become your brothers
  • 00:25:12
    and your sisters.
  • 00:25:13
    And the captain, he becomes your captain.
  • 00:25:17
    You know, in a minute I want to share with you
  • 00:25:19
    what I think is the most powerful thing
  • 00:25:21
    Jesus ever said to His soldiers.
  • 00:25:24
    But before we do that, we need to pause
  • 00:25:26
    for just a minute and spend a few minutes
  • 00:25:28
    talking to God, who's calling us to step forward.
  • 00:25:32
    He's calling us to move.
  • 00:25:34
    And I want us to say to Him right now together,
  • 00:25:37
    "When you tell us to move, we will move."
  • 00:30:11
    - The most powerful thing
  • 00:30:12
    Jesus ever said to his soldiers,
  • 00:30:15
    it's a parable about the end of our lives.
  • 00:30:17
    This is Matthew 25, Jesus said:
  • 00:30:51
    In this parable, everyone looked around.
  • 00:30:53
    They were like, "Hey, cool, cool, cool.
  • 00:30:55
    Time out, though. When exactly did we do that?"
  • 00:30:58
    Then Jesus continued:
  • 00:31:10
    Serving looks like, often times, serving the least,
  • 00:31:14
    doing things that feel beneath us,
  • 00:31:17
    holding a door, making coffee.
  • 00:31:19
    These little acts of service
  • 00:31:21
    that honestly cost us time
  • 00:31:23
    and can just feel like a waste of time.
  • 00:31:26
    But Jesus says when you do that,
  • 00:31:29
    when you serve in the least way,
  • 00:31:31
    the least people,
  • 00:31:33
    that's what I notice the most about your life.
  • 00:31:37
    In fact, that's the thing that let me know
  • 00:31:39
    that I have your heart.
  • 00:31:40
    It's the thing that let me know
  • 00:31:42
    I need to build you a room in my kingdom
  • 00:31:44
    because I want you with me forever.
  • 00:31:46
    That's it. that's it.
  • 00:31:48
    My prayer for you this week is that
  • 00:31:50
    you would have the courage
  • 00:31:52
    to step off the path of irrelevance
  • 00:31:54
    that your life begins on
  • 00:31:56
    and to get on the path to greatness.
  • 00:31:59
    And say, "God, if you need a soldier,
  • 00:32:01
    here I am, You can send me, send me."
  • 00:32:04
    I'm going to pray a blessing for you this week
  • 00:32:06
    as you interact with your guide
  • 00:32:08
    and your dialog with God, here's a blessing for you.
  • 00:32:10
    God, thank you for everyone watching.
  • 00:32:12
    Thank you for everybody listening.
  • 00:32:14
    I pray that You would show up powerfully to them,
  • 00:32:17
    that as we take one small step forward, God,
  • 00:32:19
    You would meet us, that You would show us our gifts
  • 00:32:21
    and that You would get us to the right spot.
  • 00:32:23
    God, this is an army and it's a big war.
  • 00:32:27
    And I ask that every single person
  • 00:32:29
    would get placed in the exact right spot
  • 00:32:32
    to most use their gifts
  • 00:32:34
    for the advancement of Your Kingdom.
  • 00:32:37
    You're so good to invite us into this. Amen.
  • 00:32:40
    Hey, like I said, next week you'll have
  • 00:32:42
    an opportunity to sign up to serve,
  • 00:32:45
    and many people have done this at Crossroads.
  • 00:32:46
    Here's just one person's story
  • 00:32:48
    I want you to check out, and I'll see you next week.
  • 00:32:52
    - My name is Sarah Wilkie, and I serve in Kids' Club.
  • 00:32:55
    So I knew God in a way that I grew up
  • 00:33:01
    going to the Catholic Church.
  • 00:33:02
    And I prayed. I prayed when I needed things.
  • 00:33:05
    I prayed when I felt sad.
  • 00:33:08
    And then I just went through this time
  • 00:33:10
    in my life that things weren't looking the best.
  • 00:33:14
    And that's when I came to this just empty circle.
  • 00:33:18
    So I would wake up and I would just
  • 00:33:19
    relive the same day over and over.
  • 00:33:22
    And I knew that I was meant for something
  • 00:33:25
    so much bigger than that life that I was living.
  • 00:33:28
    I joined a group at Crossroads
  • 00:33:30
    back in January of 2020, and I was exposed
  • 00:33:37
    to volunteering and getting involved.
  • 00:33:40
    And I've always had a passion for working with kids,
  • 00:33:42
    and I knew that serving in Kids' Club
  • 00:33:44
    would definitely be something that I could pursue.
  • 00:33:48
    Learning from kids has always been something
  • 00:33:51
    that speaks to me.
  • 00:33:54
    Kids ask questions that adults don't ask
  • 00:33:57
    and they challenge you.
  • 00:33:59
    Hearing questions, a lot of the times
  • 00:34:01
    I don't have answers and it challenges me
  • 00:34:04
    to go home and reread that story in the Bible.
  • 00:34:07
    It makes me think like, how can I come back
  • 00:34:11
    to them next Sunday with a better answer?
  • 00:34:13
    The things that happened in my life
  • 00:34:15
    that have changed are endless.
  • 00:34:18
    I started serving in Kids' Club.
  • 00:34:20
    I said yes to Jesus.
  • 00:34:21
    I ended up getting baptized.
  • 00:34:23
    I had friends in the Christian community.
  • 00:34:26
    I met my best friend.
  • 00:34:27
    I cannot be more thankful for just the way
  • 00:34:31
    that God has moved in my life.
  • 00:34:33
    It's been unreal.
  • 00:34:34
    It's been a snowball effect because this has
  • 00:34:36
    like been the most amazing spiritual journey ever.
  • 00:34:42
    - For our 25th anniversary, we wanted to bless
  • 00:34:44
    a number of our reachout partners
  • 00:34:46
    by giving away 2.5 million dollars over 25 weeks.
  • 00:34:51
    We want to bless as we've been blessed.
  • 00:34:56
    - Nelson Mandela said:
  • 00:34:57
    education is the most powerful weapon,
  • 00:34:59
    which you can use to change the world.
  • 00:35:01
    We've been partnering with Build the Future
  • 00:35:03
    in South Africa for the last 15 years,
  • 00:35:06
    where their focus is providing educational services
  • 00:35:08
    and nutrition to children
  • 00:35:10
    in impoverished communities.
  • 00:35:12
    One of the largest problems
  • 00:35:13
    the communities face is a lack of resources.
  • 00:35:16
    Build the Future helps the people they serve
  • 00:35:18
    get the most out of the land around them.
  • 00:35:20
    You'll find Build the Future
  • 00:35:22
    where the streets have no names
  • 00:35:23
    and the people are forgotten.
  • 00:35:28
    - In 2014, we put our first school here
  • 00:35:32
    and we started with seven kids in a small container.
  • 00:35:36
    And it was always about taking
  • 00:35:39
    as many kids off the streets
  • 00:35:41
    and putting them in an environment like this
  • 00:35:44
    where they were going to be
  • 00:35:45
    fed, healthy, nutritious meals,
  • 00:35:48
    where they were going to be protected,
  • 00:35:50
    where they were going to get really good education.
  • 00:35:53
    And it was going to be a place where
  • 00:35:56
    from that foundation they would be
  • 00:36:00
    launched into primary school.
  • 00:36:02
    And right from the beginning
  • 00:36:04
    when I first got involved in community work,
  • 00:36:06
    it was always the kids that suffer
  • 00:36:08
    and it was how can we make an impact in these kids?
  • 00:36:12
    How do we get these kids off the streets?
  • 00:36:13
    And that was the reason for the school.
  • 00:36:16
    It was how do we get the kids off the street,
  • 00:36:19
    educated and fed and the two come together
  • 00:36:22
    and make the difference?
  • 00:36:24
    - It is the relationship with the teachers
  • 00:36:26
    and their stories, how they are lives that
  • 00:36:29
    have come out of this community started out
  • 00:36:31
    as just a helper, you know, became a teacher,
  • 00:36:35
    now she's the principal.
  • 00:36:36
    That's Elizabeth's story, right?
  • 00:36:38
    And so it is about the relationships.
  • 00:36:41
    - From Kya Sand in Johannesburg to [indiscernable],
  • 00:36:45
    one of the big things,
  • 00:36:46
    apart from the financial aid,
  • 00:36:48
    is the groups that come out
  • 00:36:49
    and the trips that come to South Africa.
  • 00:36:53
    The folks on the trips are blessed
  • 00:36:56
    and they take away something
  • 00:36:58
    and the people here are blessed.
  • 00:36:59
    Simply put, as you know, the scripture,
  • 00:37:03
    the fields are waiting to harvest
  • 00:37:05
    and the laborers are few.
  • 00:37:06
    If that wasn't the case,
  • 00:37:07
    I'd see more vehicles like mine doing stuff.
  • 00:37:10
    And that's the bottom line.
  • 00:37:11
    It changes your life.
  • 00:37:12
    And this is more than a vacation.
  • 00:37:15
    It's more of a calling than anything else.
  • 00:37:17
    There's nothing like planting a seed
  • 00:37:20
    and seeing it grow and watering and nurturing it.
  • 00:37:24
    And when you get the response from the children,
  • 00:37:26
    that's ridiculous.
  • 00:37:27
    Small steps and you look back
  • 00:37:29
    and we've made quite an impact, I would say.

Oct 15, 2021 37 mins 40 sec

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