Transcription
Well, hey church. I hope you're doing well today. Another beautiful day in God's house. I'm so glad that you're here. And I am so excited to introduce to you our guest speaker for today, my friend, Pastor Gerald, all the way from Roswell, Georgia. Uh, he leads Planted and leads a church that I actually had the privilege of being at just a little while ago, uh, called Home Church. And, uh, I met Gerald, uh, actually, we did our masters, our, our degree program together over these past two and a bit years. And, uh, we became fast friends. Um, this man, I love his mind. Uh, I love his heart. He loves people, uh, dearly. Uh, he wants to see people thrive in their relationship with the Lord, grow in their relationship with God. Uh, his heart for his city and, uh, and how he's planted his church and his unique way of, of doing church life, uh, has been nothing but inspiring to me. Um, we've gotten to have deep conversations, hilarious conversations as we were students together. It almost felt like we were, we were back, back in the college days, kids again. And, uh, and so we've become fast friends. I cannot wait for you to hear from him today. I love his mind. He's a brilliant man. And I know that you're going to be both challenged and encouraged by Pastor Gerald today. So, if you do me a massive favor, would you stand to your feet? Would you give honor, uh, where honor is due? Would you put your hands together for my friend?
[cheering] [music]
Come on, church. Is anyone grateful to be in the house this morning? Come on. Anyone grateful that Jesus is still on his [music] throne? Come on. Anyone grateful that God is still at work? He's still moving. He's still active. He's still showing up. Come on. Anyone grateful? Anyone thankful? Come on. Has God been good to anybody in the room today? [music] So good. So good. Man, it is a gift to be with you this morning. Second service. Y'all got some catching up to do, 'cause first service was ready to roll.
>> It was good. Y'all stay standing for me. Uh, we're going to open up the scriptures in just a moment. But before we do, I just want to say how much I love your pastors. I love Pastor Jason, Pastor Erica. Uh, man, it's such a gift the last two years to get to do seminary together. Uh, we spent most of our time just telling our professors that they were wrong about pretty much everything, which was fun. Um, but what I love about your pastor is the person that you see on this platform is the same person that he is off the platform. He's a man of integrity and character. He loves his family. He loves your city. And he loves your church.
>> So much so that two weeks ago, he was preaching at our church in Atlanta. And, uh, in between services, I go into the green room and he's on his phone watching the services here. That's how much he loves y'all. Uh, and so I don't know if he's watching today, but if you will, will you help me thank your pastors? Pastor Jason, Pastor, [cheering] it's a beautiful church. [applause] Uh, this is, this will be a surprise to you. It's going to blow your mind. Um, today we're going to be looking at the book of Ephesians together.
>> I know, right? Uh, so if you have a Bible, you can turn with me. Ephesians chapter 3, uh, starting in verse 14. We'll read it together. It says this: "For this reason, I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and [music] deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses all knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."
Come on. Anyone want to be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God? Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would come, that you would meet us here today. [snorts] We don't want to attend another gathering. We don't want to do church. We don't want to check off the box. We want an encounter with the living Jesus today.
>> That we might be changed and transformed because we were in His presence.
The reality of the next few moments is I can say words, but I cannot change hearts. [music] And so my prayer is that for the next few moments, Holy Spirit, would you illuminate the scriptures to us? Would you soften our hearts? Would you open our ears that we might hear from you and that we might leave different than the way we came in? Would no one be impressed by a message today? Would they have an encounter with the living Jesus today?
>> We ask these things in your mighty and matchless name. And everyone said, "Amen." Amen. Hey, before you have a seat, why don't you turn to the person next to you and say, "You look good today." You look good today. Come on. I love it. All the single people, you're welcome. You've had your eye on her the whole service. You're like, "This is my chance." You look good today, girl. You look good today. Uh, for those of you who I haven't had a chance to meet, my name is Gerald Fedomi. I come to you today from Roswell, Georgia. Uh, a little suburb just north of Atlanta. Uh, and my family sends their wishes. They wish they could be with with you here today. But I wanted to introduce you to them, uh, just so you can get to know us a little bit better. This is my wife, Kylie. Uh, and our four little girls, uh, Wesley, Zoe, Trinity, and Lively. Wesley and Zoe are six-year-old identical twins. Trinity just turned five on Friday. She's the one with the wide mouth right there, just right in the middle. It's good. Uh, and then Lively is our youngest that my wife is holding. I keep telling her that we should have named her Serenity because she is living up to her name right now. She's wild. Uh, and I just brought one more picture just 'cause they're super cute. Look at this. I know. Come on, right? I love them. They're awesome. [applause]
I don't know why you're clapping. Kylie did all the work for that, by the way. Um, but can I just tell y'all, like, second to following Jesus and being a husband to Kylie, I love being their dad. Like, I love watching them grow up. I love watching them discover. I love watching them wrestle with things. I love watching them begin to figure out faith. We got a chance to pray with Zoe, uh, and lead her in a prayer to know the Lord just last year, and Wesley is asking to have that conversation now. And so, like, it's just, it's a beautiful thing to get to be their dad. Um, but is this a safe place this morning?
>> Okay. I'm not sure if I believe you. Like, this half was like, "I think you're fine." This half was like, "No, we hate you." Is this a safe place this morning? Can I be honest? Okay. Um, as much as I love my kids, I do, there are moments where I want to drop kick them in the throat. You know what I'm saying? Where I'm like, I love you, but if you touch me one more time, get off me. You know what I mean, right? Like, I love my kids, but there's moments where they drive me nuts. Uh, Wesley, our oldest, who's our firstborn, right? And she, uh, is strong-willed. Any firstborns in the room this morning? Just curious. Okay. Yeah. Y'all are all the people who email us about our theology afterwards. I love it. Um, Wesley was our firstborn. Uh, the other night, we'd put all of our kids to bed, and she comes out of her room and she goes, "Dad, I can't fall asleep. My toe hurts." Hey, bub, I love you. Go get in your bed, please. Five minutes later. "Hey, Daddy. It hurts really bad." I'm so sorry, sweet girl. I'm gonna pray that the Lord heals your toe. Go get back in your bed. 5 minutes later, I'm now at the point where my sanctification has run out, you know? And she comes out of the room again and she's like, "Hey, Daddy, I can't sleep." And I just ignore her. She stands at the top of the stairs. "Dad, Dad, I know you hear me." "Bubby, go to your room. Go to bed." She walks back in her room, comes back out 5 minutes later. "Daddy, I, I can't." I said, "Oh, okay, bub, let me come up there with you." And so I walk up the stairs and I walk into her room and I go, "Go ahead and put your shoes on." She's like, "Sh, why?" I said, "Oh, 'cause we're going to the hospital. Well, it hurts so bad. We got to get to the doctor right now." She's like, "No, no, no. I don't need to go to the doctor." I was like, "Oh, no, no, yes, you do." And so I pick her up and I walk her down the stairs and I'm carrying her down the stairs and she's like grabbing onto all the railing, holding onto the wall. And I have this moment. Any parent in the room where you're like, "How did you get this strong?" Like, "Have you been crossfitting while I was sleeping? Like, what is going on right now?" Right? And we get to the stairs and I'm trying to put her shoes on. SHE GOES, "DADDY, [screaming] NO. I DON'T NEED TO GO. I CAN GO TO SLEEP. I CAN GO TO SLEEP." AND SHE JUMPS OUT OF MY ARMS, runs up to her bed, and she goes to sleep and does not come back out. And I'm like, what? Like, how did that happen? Like, there was this moment when she went from "I can't do it" to "I can do all things through [snorts] Him who gives me strength." This moment where she goes from weak to [laughter] strong. This moment where she goes from powerless to powerful.
>> And I'm looking at this moment and going, what happened? Like, what was the moment where it clicked that she went, "I can do this"? And I do have the strength to do this, and I am powerful, and I am not weak, and I am able. Where did the power come from? If you're taking notes, the title of this morning's message is "I've Got the Power." I've Got the Power. Now, when I say power, I'm not talking about physical strength. I'm not talking about influence. I'm not talking about authority. I'm not talking about followers. I'm not talking about success. When I say power, I'm talking about the strength to become who God has created you to become.
>> Let me say that again. When I say power, I'm talking about the strength to become who God has created you to ultimately become. And friends, we are living in interesting days because we have non-believers in our world who are powerless, but they think that they're powerful. They've built successful businesses. They've amassed wealth. They're in positions of leadership and authority and government and organizations. They've built platforms with fame and followers. And hear me, I'm not saying that any of those things are wrong innately. But what I am saying is that status does not give you power over sin.
>> And success cannot silence your conscience. Wealth does not make you valuable. And no matter how famous you become or successful you become, it does not make you immortal. You will stand before your Maker.
>> And hear me, the world will paint a picture and sell you a version of power that is actually just weakness.
>> And it will leave you empty. And there will be a moment where you realize, as strong as I think that I am, as powerful as I think that I am, as successful as I think that I am, something is still missing. It's not power at all. Can I give you the flip side, though? The flip side is we also live in a world, and in many of our churches, we have believers who have been filled with power, but they're living powerless. Like, there's a version of Christianity that's like, "Thank God, you know, He saved me because I'm just so weak and I'm so broken and I'm a sinner and I'm always going to be a sinner and there's nothing that I can do to change it and I'm just going to struggle with this for the rest of my life and like, I don't even know, like I'm supposed to lead my family, but how am I supposed to do that? I don't even know how to do that. Like, I didn't have a dad home. How am I supposed to be a dad? Like, this is way too hard and, you know, I just, I, I'm a victim and like things just keep happening to me and and I'm just waiting for Jesus to come back so it can all be better."
>> Church, can I say to you in love,
>> stop it.
>> We are sinners, >> deeply broken sinners. And because of Jesus, we have been saved by grace. And the last time I checked, Ephesians 1 said that the same power that rose Jesus from the dead is alive in us. The last time I checked, 2 Timothy 1 says that God did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. The last time I checked, 2 Peter 1 says this: "His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness."
>> Can I just say this to you? A powerless Christian is an oxymoron. It's like jumbo shrimp. It's like Utah Jazz. [applause and cheering]
So, here's my hope today. My hope is that the person in the room who has been white-knuckling your way through life, trying to be a better person, striving to succeed, that you might actually open yourself up to the power of God for your life today. My hope is that the person in the room who is weary and tired, that you might open yourself up to the power of God today. My hope is the person who is losing to the addiction, who is losing to the habit, that you might step into the power of God today. My hope is that the person who is anxious and depressed and ready to give up on life, that you might find the power of God today. That you would have a moment where you go from powerless to powerful. Amen.
>> And that you would experience His power in your life. Hear me. This is the prayer that Paul prays for the church in Ephesus.
>> And as we look at his prayer, he's going to show us three ways that we can experience the power of God in our lives. So, Ephesians chapter 3, starting in verse 14, he says, "For this reason, I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. And I pray that out of his glorious riches, he may strengthen you with power." Notice he didn't say, "And I pray that out of your self-reliance, out of your own effort, out of your own strength, out of your good behavior, out of your success, out of your wealth, out of your building." He goes, "No, no, no. Out of his glorious riches. I pray that He would strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
You've been studying the book of Ephesians. You know that Paul has been writing this letter to the church and he's unpacked some theology. He's talked about his own sufferings, but he takes a break in the middle of his letter to pray for the church. And he adds an interesting detail. He says, "I prayed on my knees. I kneel before the Father." Now, this is interesting because in the first century, Jewish people would often pray standing up with their eyes up. But Paul steps into this posture of kneeling because in Jewish culture, there were certain moments where it was appropriate to kneel or fall prostrate before the Lord. It often would be in moments of deep emotion, deep vulnerability, and it was often done in moments where you were showing your submission or your surrender to God. So Paul, on his knees, surrendered before God, pleads with the Father to give power and strength to His church. And he gives us the first way how. He says this: "I want you to strengthen them by your power through your Spirit."
>> That the first way that we experience the power of God in our life is through His Spirit. Now, I don't know if this is true here, but in the South, there's this expression, uh, "Father, Son, and Holy Bible, Holy Bible." That what's happened over the last few decades is that we've elevated the authority of scripture to a point that we've actually idolized it. That we've looked at scripture and said, "Oh, well, this is practical, and I can pull things out of it, and I can apply it to my life, and I can have order and structure around how I handle God, and I put Him in the box of my quiet time, and so I can control Him here." And what I want to say to you today, this morning, is that I love the scriptures. I love learning from the scriptures. I love wrestling with the scriptures. I love the impact that the scriptures have had on my life. But I also need you to hear me when I say this: These are the Holy Scriptures, not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God. This is not >> right. >> This reveals God to us. >> It's inspired by God. But without the Holy Spirit, hear me, you can't even understand this.
>> You can't apply it. >> And you cannot become who God has called you to be.
>> If we want to experience the power of God in our life, we have to experience the presence of the Spirit in our life. The Puritan pastor John Owen said this: "Without the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing. We are as ships without wind, branches without sap, like coals without fire. We are useless." Because the Spirit is the one who brings the power of God into our lives. He leads us when we don't know where to go. He comforts us when our heart is breaking. He convicts us when we're drifting. He teaches us what the word means. He reminds us that we are sons and daughters. He gives gifts. He produces fruit. He gives boldness. He brings healing. He prays for us when we don't have the words. He seals us. He sanctifies us. He transforms us. He is God, and He is living in us.
>> For those of us who believe in Jesus, the presence of God resides in us. That power doesn't happen to you. The power of God lives in you.
>> So, Christian in the room, can I just say this to you for a second? One of my pet peeves, for the love. Can we stop saying, "Something told me"? Something didn't tell you not to go to that party.
>> Something didn't tell you to break up with them.
>> Something didn't tell you to change careers. Something didn't tell you to move. It was not something.
>> It was someone. It's the presence of God, the Spirit of God living in [applause] you, guiding you, molding you, shaping you, transforming you, empowering you to be all that God has called you to be.
>> It's the Spirit in you. So, how do we experience the power of God? We rely on His Spirit. Which sounds good in church, but some of y'all in the room are like, "Yeah, that's like the good preacher thing to say, but Gerald, I have to go to work on Monday. So, how am I supposed to do that? Like, what does that even mean?" Well, nobody knows what it means. It's provocative. It gets to people. No, I'm just kidding. What does it mean? You ever have a moment where you're like, "I'm supposed to pray for them"? You ever have that moment where you're like, "I, I think I, I think I should call them right now"? You ever have a moment where you wake up in the middle of the night and you think about the same person over and over and over again? You ever have a moment where you feel compelled to give to a person that you don't want to give to?
>> Those are the promptings of the Spirit.
>> And the way we experience the power of God is that we rely on and we live in obedience to the Spirit. So when He says pray, here's a crazy idea: Pray. When He says give, even if you don't want to give. When He says don't go, don't go. When He says go, go. And as you listen to the Spirit, you begin to experience the power of God in your life. So Paul says, "Powerless Christian? Not an option." If you want to experience the power of God, here's my prayer: that the Spirit would take residence in your heart. That Christ would dwell in you, which means to make Himself at home, which means He gets access to every area of your being, every area of your life. And when you give Him that access, He fills you with power to be who He called you to be.
>> The first way that we experience the power of God is by His Spirit. Because the Christian life, hear me, is not about self-discipline. It's not about trying harder or being better. Do you know what that is? It's self-help. The Christian life is relying on the Spirit of God >> who lives in you.
>> But Paul doesn't end there. He continues on. Look at what he says in verse 17: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power." There's our word again. "Together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge." Which is wild when you think about what Paul is writing here because he's going, "I want you to comprehend a love that you cannot comprehend." That's kind of crazy to think about. And then he says, "That you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." How in the world can we comprehend a love that cannot be fully comprehended? How is that supposed to happen? Paul tells us how. He says, "Together." That's how. How do you experience the height, the depth, the width, the longness of God's love? It is actually when we do it together. Because you cannot fully comprehend Christ's love on your own. Let me say it this way: The second way that we experience God's power is God's power through His church. God's power through His church. How does this work? Well, my experience of God's love is different than your experience of God's love. And my story is different than your story. And the sin that God saved me from is different than the sin that God rescued you from. And so when we have our individual experiences, we get to know a facet of God's love. But God's love did not show up in my story the same way that He showed up in your story. Yeah.
>> So something happens when we get together and I hear God's love in your life, and you hear God's love in my life, that, watch this, it expands our understanding of God's love.
>> How do you comprehend a love that is beyond comprehension? It is when the people of God get together and we share our experience of God's love through testimony. This is why your doing praise reports matters >> because something happens when you hear God's faithfulness to them that makes you believe God's faithfulness to you. Something happens when they hear God's love to you that makes you believe that God could love them. I'll tell you what it looks like in my life. I grew up where my dad left in the third grade and my mom went to jail at 16 years old. So, the love of God showed up in my life as a parent. My kids, God willing, will never have to experience that.
>> But there is an experience of God's love that they get growing up in a Christian home that I never got to have. And so together, we get a wider and larger and deeper and bigger picture of God's love. And when we get that picture, it's powerful. When we understand God's love for us, and when we live out of that love, the church becomes a powerful place. But there's a question because if the love of God is the key for how we experience the power of God in the church, the question that we have to wrestle with is, what is love?
>> [snorts]
>> Like, what is love really? Like, how would you define it? Because if we could, can we just be honest for a minute? Culture has co-opted this word that we don't even know what love means anymore. We don't know what to do with the idea. We don't know how to wrap our minds around it. What is love? Because if the love of God and love for each other is the key that unlocks the power in the church, we have to understand what love is. Can I tell you what one of the greatest theologians of all time says in response to this question? No, I'm asking you. Can I tell you what one of the greatest theologians? The theologian Haddaway says this: "What is love?"
>> "Baby, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me no more." Everybody laughing right now is older. All the young people in the room are like, "Who's Haddaway? What denomination is he from? I've, I've never heard of said Haddaway before. Did he hang out with Charles Spurgeon and C.S. Lewis? Who's Haddaway?" Silly as this is, this is how many of us define love. What is love? Well, it's anyone who doesn't hurt me. It's anyone who doesn't inconvenience me. It's anything that doesn't get in the way of my preference. It's anyone who will affirm me. It's anyone who will make me feel more comfortable. Like, if you love me, you will never hurt me. If you love me, you won't challenge me. If you love me, you won't inconvenience me. If you love me, you will make my life as easy and comfortable as possible. For many of us, we've adopted a version of love that is not how scripture defines love.
>> Can I tell you what scripture says about love?
>> John the Beloved, which is wild. He gave himself that name. Which I don't know why. Like, part of me wonders if he gave himself the name "the Beloved" because he wanted Peter to know for all of eternity, like, "Jesus loves me more than you, bro. Sorry about it." Or maybe he gave himself the nickname "the Beloved" because he had an experience of the love of Jesus that shaped him so much that it became the identity he lived out of.
>> And John the Beloved, in 1 John, says this about love. He says, "This is love." Here's our definition: "Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." If you're taking notes or highlighting or underlining your Bible, circle that word "sacrifice" because there is no real love without sacrifice. Then verse 11: "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." John says, "This is love." That the God of the universe stepped into the pages of humanity, lived 33 perfect years that you and I could not live, never sinning, never falling short, never missing the mark. That He would go to a cross, not for His sin, but for yours and mine.
>> That He would die the most excruciating death of all time for your sin.
>> He would go to a grave, and then three days later, He would resurrect in order to make you right with God. That He would look at your brokenness and choose to sacrifice Himself for you >> and for me. And He goes, "That's love.
>> That's love." That for some of us, we can't understand this idea of love because if we're honest, we don't really believe in sin. You're like, "Oh, I make mistakes. I mess up every now and then." Which, can I just, I didn't say this in the first service, but I feel like I need to say it now: We have to stop sugar-coating the things that God calls >> what they are.
>> You didn't have an affair. You committed adultery.
>> You didn't make a mistake. You sinned against God.
>> Let's call it what it is. Because when you call it what it is, then you can actually deal with the weight of what it is.
>> So, what is sin? It is missing the mark. God has a standard. We all fall short of His standard. Now, if you're in the room and you're like, "Well, I don't know that anyone can live up to God's standard." THAT'S THE POINT.
>> But can I take it a step further? Not only do you not live up to God's standard, you don't even live up to your own.
>> Come on. How many of us in the room has said, "I'm going to do something different this year," and we haven't done it?
>> All of us sin. All of us fall short. All of us miss the mark. But God, in His love, does not hold it against us. He actually takes it on to Himself. This is the good news of the gospel. This is the love of God, that He would pay the price for your sin and mine >> sacrifice. And then John says, "If you have received that love, then you have a responsibility to give that love."
>> So, what is love? Love is a sacrificial commitment to desire and seek another person's good, even at personal cost. That's love. It's a commitment. Hey, I'm in, and I don't care what it costs me. I'm going to do what's good for you.
>> If that means having a hard conversation, I'll do it.
>> If that means holding you accountable, I'll do it.
>> If it means forgiving you, I'll do it. If it means picking you back up for the 15th time, I'll do it. Love is the decision that I'm going to sacrifice for you because God has sacrificed for me. And when the church gets this right, friends, oh man, it's powerful. Like, when love leads us to give sacrificially to someone who has need, it is powerful. When love leads you to show up in the hospital for a family who's hurting, it's powerful. When love leads you to forgive someone who hurt you and they never apologized for it, it's powerful. When love leads you to run into the mess and not away from it. 260 AD, there was a plague that hit Rome. People would abandon their children and the elderly and leave them to rot to death in the middle of the street for their own self-preservation. Everybody fled the city, and millions of people died. But historians write this about the Christians from 260 AD: "Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Regardless of danger, they took care of the sick, attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ. And with them departed this life serenely happy, for they were infected by others with the disease. Watch this. Drawing on themselves the sickness of their neighbor and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many in nursing and curing others transferred death to themselves and died in their stead." This is the description of Christians in 260 AD. I wonder if it's the same description of Christians in 2026 >> because the description that we have of Christians from then sounds a whole lot like Jesus, doesn't it?
>> That they took on their disease onto themselves and died so that they might live. It seems like the early church understood the love of God given to them, and so they gave that love in response. When we get this right, y'all, it's powerful. And that's why it matters that you are rooted and connected to your church.
>> Can I just say this? Um, a couple years ago, maybe 2020-ish is when it started, but this phrase became really popular: "I don't have to go to church to be a Christian."
>> Someone told me after the first service, maybe in Utah, it's like, "The church is my, are the mountains. Like, I go to the mountains and experience God." Which I get it. I played golf on the mountains yesterday and I experienced the presence of God fully and totally. [laughter] But can I say this? You don't have to go to church to be a Christian. That is 100% true. And I don't have to live with my wife to be her husband.
>> But I doubt that any of you would look at me and go, "That's a healthy marriage."
>> And so I think I have the right to look at you and say, "I don't think that's healthy Christianity."
>> [applause]
>> I'm just saying that that, like, if the love of God is the key to the power of God in the church, in what other context do you get to work out love?
>> 'Cause last time I checked, you can sit in the mountains and experience the love of God for yourself, but you can't love anyone else if you're the only one there.
>> You can't love someone in your room by yourself, >> right? You can't love someone scrolling through social media. Like, you actually have to get connected to other people. So, going to church does not make you a Christian. You are right. But Christianity is about accountability to God and others. It is about submitting to leaders who have been entrusted to care for the flock. It is about offering your gifts for the benefit of others. It is about helping others become all that God intends for them to become. It is about submitting to the scriptures. It is about experiencing the power of God together by showing up for one another. If you want to experience the length, the width, the height, and the depth of God's love, if you want to experience the power of God, hear me, you cannot do it on your own.
>> Christianity is an individual decision, but it's a team sport.
>> So, how do we experience the power of God? It's the Spirit in us. It's love in His church. And then Paul closes with, I would argue, the greatest doxology of all time. Verse 20: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to his..." There's our word again, "...power that is at work within us. To him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Often times when we quote this scripture, Ephesians 3:20 and 21, we quote it in reference to what we want God to do for us. "God, I'm praying for this house. Would you do immeasurably more?" "Come on, God. I've been single for too long. I need you to do immeasurably more." "I'm not just looking for a husband. I need a husband who's 6'5 with a six-pack, who loves the Lord and doesn't party on the weekend." Come on. "I need you to do immeasurably..." Some of y'all laughing too hard. You've been praying that prayer. [laughter]
>> Could I submit to you today that this "immeasurably more" is not actually about what God does for you, >> but this "immeasurably more" is about what God wants to do in you and through you.
>> Last thing I want us to see about how we experience God's power is this: Is God's power is at work in and only in surrendered people. Surrendered people. I could give you example after example. We could start with Abraham. We could look at Moses. We could look at David. We could, I mean, we could look all throughout the scripture of people who surrendered themselves to the Lord and experienced the power of God. But let me just give you one. Let's look at the disciples for a minute. Like, I don't know if you've ever thought about this. I think sometimes we like idolize the people in scripture and we put them on a pedestal. And we've often done that with the disciples. We're like, "Oh, I can't wait to get to heaven to meet like Peter and John and like, what is that going to be like? That's going to be insane. Like, I can't wait to ask them what it's like to have gotten to hang out with Jesus." I don't know. I kind of think that maybe when we get there, they're going to ask you like, "Hey, you got, we got to hang out with Jesus, but like, what was it like to have the Spirit of God living in you? Like, we got to help pioneer the church, but what was it like to be a part of the movement of God of two billion people in the world?" Like, sometimes we put the disciples on a pedestal, but we like forget who they actually were. Like, y'all realize that Jesus was a youth pastor, right? He had a bunch of teenagers and one small group leader named Peter. [laughter] And here's what's wild. The God of the universe, like, really think about this for a minute. The God of the universe who has the plan for the salvation and redemption of the world, shows up on the planet, picks a bunch of teen. Is this my teenager section right here? Picks a bunch of 14, 15, 16, 17-year-olds and goes, "The future of the world is in your hands. Go spread the news while y'all are on TikTok doing all this stuff." Are you serious right now?
>> Can I just say this? Don't you dare for a second think that there is a junior Holy Spirit and you have less of a calling than an adult in this room. [applause] God used teenagers. Then He will use teenagers. Now, you are not the next generation. You're the now generation. You have influence and the ability to lead people to know God right now. He has called you with a purpose today.
>> He used teenagers then, 14, 15, 16-year-olds, and Peter. That's what He had. Ordinary dudes. So much so that when they begin to spread the movement, the religious leaders get frustrated. They arrest them. Say, "Hey, stop talking about God." And as they spend time with them, this is their account. Acts 4:13: "When they saw the courage of Peter and John, small group leader and one of his kids, and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished. And they took note that these men had successful careers. And they took note that these men had insane work ethic."
>> And they took note that they were filthy rich.
>> They took note that they had been with Jesus.
>> And 2,000 years later, we're still talking about Him. Come on.
>> I don't know.
>> Sounds like to me. [applause] God did immeasurably more than they could ask or imagine, according to His power at work in them.
>> But can I also just tell you that this isn't just stories from a book? These are the stories that God is still writing >> today. Few years ago, I was a youth pastor and, um, before we planted our church. And after we would do camp, small groups would often ask me to come and like, just spend time answering questions for them, and we'd like process the sermons and stuff. And, uh, this year, a group of junior girls had invited me to come with their small group leaders and kind of wrestle through some of the things from the message. And so we're sitting in the room, and they're asking questions, and I'm like, nailing the answers to these questions, y'all. Like, there's just moments where you're in a pocket and you're like, "Yep, got it. Boom. Got it. Yep, got the scripture for that. Yep, nailed it." I'm crushing it right now. And then Mary, sitting in the corner of the room, says, "Hey, Gerald, I have a question. I like drinking. I like smoking. I like hooking up with my boyfriend. And I also like coming to church. What's the problem?" And some people would hate that. But y'all, I loved it because she was real.
>> And can I just tell you, God is only interested in dealing with the real you, not the version that you're pretending to be. Amen.
>> Like, He has no interest in working with your persona, but He will work with your person.
>> And so she, she says that this is, this is the reality. And I try to give her an answer, and she's just kind of glazed over. She's checked out. She's not interested. And I walk out of the room, and, and the rooms had these like really big doors that closed really hard behind us. And so I walk out, and I expected to hear the door slam, but it didn't. So I turn around, and I see Mary coming out of the room, tears streaming down her face. She goes, "Can we talk?" Go, "Yeah, absolutely." And so we sit down, and we chat for a little while, and she says this to me. She goes, "Gerald, my dad is drinking himself to death. Doctors have told him if he doesn't stop, he's going to die, and he won't stop. My mom hates my dad because of his drinking. So she's divorced him, and the only way that she knows how to cope with his drinking is by drinking herself." And she said, "So I know I said I like doing all those things, but here's my reality. I have one parent who's an alcoholic and doesn't care. And I have another parent who's an alcoholic and doesn't know it. So the only way I know to cope is to do what I've seen them do. So I drink, and I smoke, and I hook up with my boyfriend, and it takes away the pain for a moment. But then I come here, and it feels like everyone else is having this experience with God that I'm missing out on." And I just went in on it. What she was saying is she wanted to experience the power of God for her own life. And I looked at her and I said two things, Mary. Number one, I am so sorry. Said, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that that's been your experience. I'm sorry that your parents showed up that way. I'm, I'm sorry that you had to navigate things as a 15, 16-year-old that you should have never had to navigate. I am so sorry." For some of you in the room, can I just say to you what you've been waiting for someone to say to you for a long time? I am so sorry.
>> I'm sorry that at 58, you are still dealing with wounds that were inflicted on you when you were 8 years old.
>> I am sorry that people took advantage of you and used you and abused you. I'm sorry that you had family members that you thought you could trust who hurt you, and you're still carrying the wounds today. I am so sorry. But can I also say to you what I said to Mary? God can still use that for good.
>> He still can. Second thing I said to her is this: "Mary, you have like a God-shaped hole that you're trying to fill with all of these other things, and it's never going to work. You want the power of God, you actually have to make space for Him." Said, "So, what would it look like if you took the next 30 days, no drugs, no drinking, no boys, read the Gospel of John, and I just want you to text me a verse that stands out to you every day?" She was like, she's like, "I mean, I would, but I, but all of my friends drink." And I said, "Oh, really? Well, who do you drink with?" And she goes, "Oh, some of the girls in my small group." I said, "Awesome. Go get them." Awkward. They walk out. And I look at them and say, "Hey, I don't even know you, but here's what I know about you. Y'all love her, don't you?" They're like, "Yeah." I said, "Well, Mary just told me that she wants to change and she wants to experience the power of God in her life, but she can't do it without you because your community actually matters."
>> Said, "So, would you be willing for the next 30 days, no drugs, no alcohol, alcohol? 30 days in scripture. Are you in?" Every single one of them said, "Yes." Day six, I get a phone call from Mary. "Hey, Pastor Jordan. I'm so sorry. I haven't, I haven't sent my scripture in for the day, but I just wanted to tell you what happened when I got home from camp. I walked in, and normally I tell my mom. My mom asked me how camp was, and I go, 'Oh, it was fine. Keep moving.' She goes, 'But for some reason, this time, I felt like I was supposed to tell her about this, this thing that we were doing.' Back then, the whole 30 was popular. We
Called it the Holy 30, right? So she's like, "The Holy 30." I wanted to tell her and she goes, "You're not going to believe what happened." She goes, "My mom looked at me and said, 'Can I do it with you?'" And [snorts] she goes, "It's the first time in my life for the last 6 days that I've seen one of my parents sober. A 16-year-old girl leads her mom to sobriety. Why? Because when we live surrendered and the presence of God meets us, it never stays with us.
I'll end with this. When we put ourselves in a posture of surrender, we put ourselves in position to experience the power of God. Now, how do we do that practically when we leave here? There's a number of ways to put yourself in that posture, but I just want to give you one so you walk out of here with something to do. And it's the same posture that Paul actually started his prayer with. It's this. For this reason, I kneel before the father >> and I contend with him for power for his people. [snorts] Can I just tell you in culture this is a position of weakness? Oh, but in the kingdom this is a power position. >>
So if you need God's power to show up in your marriage, could I submit to you right here? >> You need God's power to show up in one of your kids' life right here. You need God's power to get free from addiction right here. You need God's power to change you from the inside out right here. You need God's power to break some habits right here. You need God's power for healing right here. This is the posture where we make ourselves available to the power of God. And if we would put ourselves in a posture of surrender, here's what I wholeheartedly believe. The same thing he did with the disciples, the same thing he did with Mary is the same thing he'll do with you.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than you could ever ask or imagine according to his power at work in you. Would you put yourself in a posture to receive his power today? For some of you, the power that you need God to do in your life is the greatest miracle that could ever happen is to go from death to life. For him to save your soul. For him to fill you with his spirit. For him to lead your life. For some of you, you've never had a moment where you've said yes to a relationship with Jesus. And you realize today, I need the power of God in my life. I need him to show up and change me. I'm a sinner who needs a savior. I want to choose him today. And if that's you, I'm going to give you about 15 seconds right now. If you want to say yes to Jesus, we're going to celebrate you like crazy. But I want to invite you to put yourself in a posture for him to move right now. And so, if that's you, I'm going to count down from three to one. When I get to one, I'm going to give you a 15-second window. If you want to say yes to a relationship with Jesus, you want his power in your life, you can just get on your knees right where you're at. And I'm going to lead you in a prayer for God to meet you there. So, ready, go. If that's you, if there's anyone in the room. Yeah. Come on. Is there anyone in the room? We're going to wait for you and give you a minute. Yes. So, good. Yeah.
If you're kneeling in the room right now, you can just repeat after me. You can say, "Today, Jesus, I choose you. I recognize that I'm a sinner and I see you as my savior. Would you forgive my sin? Would you save my soul? Would you fill me with your spirit? Would you teach me from your word?"
Second group of people, you're in the room and you need God to show up in your marriage right now. I want to invite you. Get in the power position. Don't wait. Let's do it right now. On your knees. If you're in the room, you need God's power to show up in your finances. Come on, let's invite him to show up. Invite his power in our life. If you're in the room and you need God's power to show up in your kids' life, come on right now. Let's get in the power position. Come on. If you're in the room and you need God's power to heal you right now, let's invite God to do what only he could do. If you're in the room and you need the love of God to show up in your life right now, let's invite his power to show up in our lives. This is the power position and this is where God meets us.
And so for the next 30 seconds, I just want to invite you to cry out to the Lord, to ask him for what you need, to invite his power into your life, to ask him to show up and to move in a supernatural way. And then we'll close out our service. So right now, just right where you are out loud, come on. Let's start inviting God. Let's invite his power. Let's invite his healing. Let's invite his help. Come on. Let's invite his miracles into our life right now. Let's invite the power of God to do what only he can do. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for your power. Thank you, Jesus, for your love. Thank you, Jesus, for your strength. Thank you, Jesus, for your healing. Thank you for marriages that you're restoring right now. Thank you for children who you're tugging on to bring them back home right now. Thank you for diagnosis that are going to change right now in the name of Jesus. Thank you for strength that is coming in the name of Jesus. Thank you for power that is coming right now. Thank you for a fresh filling of your spirit in the room. Thank you for healing, for miracles, for signs, for wonders. Thank you Jesus that you are doing a work in this room for salvation that took place in this room today. We thank you Jesus and we invite your power. We pray these things in your mighty and matchless name.