Have the Audacity to Be the Church

So much that seems to be in motion, moving in our world today. such uncertainty that's also become just common place to seem like there's always just unrest maybe is a better word that we always feel this unrest whether it's the news cycle going on or something happening in our town local government there just seems to always be something there that's just unsettling maybe is also another word I would use and I feel like it's the sign of the times that we're in I think we have to be careful in the day and age in which we live in that we don't allow oursel to become used to the noise that we're not keeping a good eye on where we are spiritually. We don't make sure our spiritual temperature doesn't grow cold. >> Amen. >> I mean, that's a whole sermon right there by itself. I could just say amen and we go home. No, don't get cold. It's easy to get lulled to sleep. And that's what I'm afraid of if we're not careful that we can be so used to being in the presence of God that we can allow our ability to feel him become confirmation that we're okay. Just because you can feel God doesn't mean you're okay. >> I'm thankful that we can feel him. But more than just feeling his presence, I want to be tuned in to what he's trying to say to me.

I want to be a spirit-ledd person. I hope that's your desire, too. I want to be spiritled in all that I do. I want to make sure I'm tuned into him. And here's what I've known in my life of serving God is he never will shout over the noise. He's always looking at an opportunity for you and I to purposely get away from the distractions and the noises that are around us so that we can tune in and listen to him. And I hope as we start this year off, I feel like we all have good ideas and good intentions and resolutions that are here because it seems to be a natural time. It's a start of a new year. Let's concentrate. Let's repurpose what we want to do to make sure we stay on track. And I think those are things are good as long as you put some more effort into it than just coming up with a good idea. Because if you're going to be different, then you have to change. Amen. >> Amen. Yeah. So, I'm going to be preaching about vision 26. I think ever since 2020, every pastor on the first Sunday of the year is a little nervous. For those of us that remember 2020 and I didn't do this here and I'm kind of thankful that I didn't and I was tempted to, but you know with 2020 it's like we're going to have 2020 vision.

>> God's going to do great things in 2020. Then all these proclamations were made and all these bold statements were made about 2020. Of course co happened and we're like boy did we miss the boat on that. Ever since then, I think pastors get up in the pull pit on the first Sunday of a new year and you're like, you know what? We're trusting in the Lord for a good year. >> Yeah. A little bit apprehensive maybe, but I will say this. I know who holds my tomorrow. I may not know what tomorrow brings. That's evident by living life. We don't always know what tomorrow brings. But I know who holds my tomorrow. And it's in that I place my trust. I put my hope. I anchor down in that. I may not know what's coming my way, but he promised not to put more on me than I can bear. I may bend a little bit, but he promised not to break me in the process. I trust that. I want to say that Maha, I know this is your last Sunday because you're heading to Oceanan. Still have mixed emotions, but we love you. We're praying for you. I want you to go and do great things for the kingdom of God. Amen. >> Amen. >> Amen. and Mahaya stand up. I'm embarrassing her right now.

You're probably my favorite man. We love you so much. Everybody be sure to give her a hug because she's heading off to college and going up to going up north in the winter time. What a crazy idea that is. But we love you. You can be seated. Two years ago on Vision Sunday 2024, I stood before you and shared what I believe the Lord had laid on my heart for the next five years of our church. And I stand here now in vision Sunday of 2026. And what God had placed in my spirit is still alive and well today. The vision has not changed. If anything, it has grown deeper. It has taken root. It has matured inside of me. The call of God on this church is still the same. We must be the church. Not occasionally, not selectively, but consistently. Not just on Sundays, but on Mondays and Tuesdays and Thursdays and Fridays and Saturday mornings. It's what God has called us to do. Not just when the music is playing or when the live stream is running. Those things are all good. But we are to be the church in our homes, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, in our conversations. We are to live out being the church every day of our life. >> Amen. Amen. My responsibility as pastor is to keep that vision alive and in front of us because vision leaks.

Amen. It leaks. If we're not constantly talking about it's not that we're trying to dismiss it. It's just it's not front and center. in our mind. Now, what I want you to know is that the kind of life that we should be living is that we are to be responsible for the vision that God gives us everywhere we go every day. There's not a day we don't wake up that vision doesn't apply to us. We are to be the church. Amen. >> Now, that kind of life requires obedience. It requires something powerful. And before we step into the scripture that I want to share with us today, I need to frame one word because it can be easily misunderstood. I told you last Sunday after Pastor Taylor got through preaching, did a masterful job. I'm so thankful for that anointed word that he gave us on the last Sunday of the year. I told you that God had placed a word inside of me as I had been preparing for this Sunday. It was a word that was a little bit different from what I had expected in preparing for a vision message. That word is audacity. For many people, audacity brings with it a negative connotation. It feels like arrogance. It sounds like something that's egodriven. It carries the idea of someone pushing themselves forward when maybe they shouldn't.

And if that's what audacity meant biblically, then it wouldn't belong nowhere near the kingdom of God. But a biblical audacity is not pride. No center point. It's obedience. It's not about being self-confident. It's having confidence in the God who controls all things. He has called us to be the church. We did not call ourselves. He has proclaimed in his word and laid out exactly what it is. He expects for you and I to do every day of our life. To go and make disciples has always been the rally cry of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's what you and I should be about every day of our life. If we look in scripture, audacity rarely shows up loudly. It's not demanding a platform, but it's responding when God speaks. It doesn't announce itself, and it does not seek attention. Audacity shows up quietly. In moments when hesitation is felt, moments when people know what's right but struggle to act and move forward, moments when leadership is needed, but fear tries to stop you from stepping forward. Moments where obedience feels costly. and silence feels safer. That's where biblical audacity is born. Audacity is the courage to stand when others say you should keep your seat. Audacity is resolved to speak when silence would be easier. It's the willingness to obey God. When culture and comfort says this isn't your place or your responsibility, it shows up when someone decides that faithfulness matters more than approval and obedience matters more than being comfortable.

And that brings us to a moment in scripture where all of that was true. It's a moment in Israel's history when everyone knew something had to change. But there was nobody stepping up to the plate. Leadership was silent, fear was normal, and obedience was costly. And in that moment, God raised up someone unexpectedly, and her name was Deborah. I'm going to take you to Judges chapter 4 to one of the most unlikely heroes in scripture as I preach about vision 20:26. Judges chapter 4 verse number one. When Ehood was dead, the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord. So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaa, who reigned in Hazar. The commander of his army was Cesyia, who dwelt in those two names that I'm not going to pronounce because I'll butcher them. Verse number three. And the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord, for Jabin had 900 chariots of iron, and for 20 years he had harshly oppressed the children of Israel. It's hard to read through the book of Judges and not pick up on the darkness that is there. It was a difficult time. It's a hard read. It's hard because we see this cycle of disobedience and doing what they wanted to do and then getting themselves entrapped and enslaved and in trouble and crying out to God and God raising up someone who would lead them back out and onto the right path and they would no longer get things set straight in the way that they should be until that person died off.

And then here we go down that cycle of sin again. And this happened over and over and over. We see this is what's taking place here in this moment. that Israel had sinned again and they fallen into oppression. In fact, the scripture that we just read says, "The Lord sold them into the hand." What about that? What about God turning you over? I don't know about you, but that feels uncomfortable, doesn't it? Those are hard words to read, but it's the words that's in the book. He was so frustrated with what they were doing that God, maybe a better, more modern way to say it was he just basically turned them over and said, "Look, you're not going to be obedient. I'm just going to let you go. What a difficult place to find yourself in when God just says, "Look, that's what you want to do, then go do it." If that's who you want to follow after, that's what you want to chase after, then go have those things. Go get your fill of your desires and whatever you lust after and just consume it and see how well that works out for you. It's not that God didn't love them, but God is always a perfect gentleman. He's not going to compete to be first in your life. His desire is that you and I would choose him and place him rightfully so on the throne that's inside our heart.

But it's a choice that we all make. And we read about stories in thousands of years ago in the book of Judges. But I want you to know that the same things they faced are the same things we're facing today in our life. The enemy hasn't changed his tactics and humanity hasn't seemed to wisen up any better than they were in Judges chapter 4. They fell into depression. They cry out, "God raises a deliverer." But this time, it's someone different. This time, it was not a mighty warrior that steps up to the plate. There was no king rising to power. Instead, there is a woman who's sitting under a tree. We pick up in verse number four of Judges chapter 4. Now Deborah, a prophetus, the wife of La Ledoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Rama and Bethl and the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up for her judgment. Deborah did not campaign for leadership. She did not overtake a kingdom. She did not seize authority. She simply listened to God when nobody else was listening. I wonder, center point, are we still listening to God? >> There's a lot of things that we do well around here. There's a lot of programs we have. There's a lot of stuff that we can do at a high level.

But if we're not listening to God, >> it's all for not. >> It's all for nothing. Now, I'm not for throwing the programs away, but I'm simply here to tune our attention on this first Sunday of 2026 to remind us if we're not listening to God, we're going to fail. >> Man will fail every time. We may pull it off for a few weeks, but eventually we will fall apart following after flesh. We have to be spiritled in everything that we do. And the only way we can be spiritled is we have to listen TO THE VOICE OF GOD IN OUR LIFE. IF THERE'S ever been a day that we need the voice of God in our is today. It's 2026. with all the noise and the racket and the distractions and everything that's around us vying for our attention. It's difficult sometimes to remove oursel FROM THOSE SITUATIONS AND FIND A QUIET PLACE and tune in to what it IS THAT GOD HAS TO SAY TO US. BUT I'M TELLING YOU, IT'S VITALLY IMPORTANT IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE year that God wants us to have. If we want to see all THE THINGS THAT GOD HAS PROMISED US THAT ARE going to come to pass, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO HAPPEN IF YOU AND I ARE NOT WILLING TO LISTEN TO WHAT HE'S TRYING TO SAY TO US.

Nobody was paying attention, but Deborah was listening. She didn't have a throne. She didn't have an army, but she did have obedience. And sometimes that's all God needs. Center point. Listen to pastor today. Audacity is not loudness. Audacity is obedience when silence would be safer. Audacity speaks when culture says stay quiet. I wonder, are we willing to be audacious and be in the church? I wish somebody had the audacity in 2026 to step up and be the church God's called us to be. >> Not just in the building, not just in the programs, not just in the structure that is there, but to actually be the living, breathing church that God had always called us to be. It's much more than just coming in on Sundays and listening to somebody preach and singing a few worship songs. Those things are important. They're good. This is a point where we come in and we get re-energized and we get strength we need to go outside these church walls and to go be the church. But are we going to be audacious enough to take what we have inside these walls and walk out the front door and the side door and the back door and reach the lost world that's around us? If there's been a time to stand up and be the church, today is the hour.

Today is the hour. There are hurt and broken and lonely people ALL AROUND US WHO NEED WHAT WE HAVE. SHAME ON US IF WE JUST COME INTO THIS BUILDING AND CONSUME IT INSIDE OURSELVES AND WE NEVER tell anybody else about the love of God and what he's done for us, our testimony, what God has done for our families, the restoration that took PLACE IN OUR LIVES. WE HAVE STORIES THAT ARE POWERFUL THAT CAN CHANGE LIVES. DON'T LET US FALL ASLEEP SITTING ON A CHURCH VIEW. IT'S TIME TO BE AUDACIOUSLY THE CHURCH. The story goes on. We see in verse number six, then she sent and called Barack. She says to him, "Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded to go and deploy the troops?" Deborah calls the commander out and says, "Has not the God of Israel commanded?" That's a bold sentence. She doesn't say, "I think maybe God's going to do this." But she speaks with conviction because she's been listening. Culture didn't expect her to lead. Tradition did not invite her to speak. But it was her obedience that compelled her to move forward and say what nobody else was saying. [panting] Obedience. I keep coming back to that word. It's stuck in my spirit just as strongly as audacity has to be obedient to what God has called us to do.

If you're willing or excuse me, if you're waiting for culture to validate what God wants you to do, you'll wait forever. >> Culture will never bend to God. The real church will always be countercultural. >> It won't make sense. >> Listen to me. Audacity does not come from approval. It comes from obedience. Because to be audacious is to stand and move when everybody else sits still. Judges 4:8. And Barack said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go with you. But if you will not go, I will not go." He responds, "Okay, I'll go." And she says, "Okay, but listen to me. If we go, there's going to be a victory because God has already said he's in this thing. And there's going to be some circumstances are going to play out because you're not willing to do this by yourself. Think about what you're trying to do here. This moment's a powerful moment for you. Now, I'm going to be obedient, but you're going to sell yourself short because you're not willing to do it the right way. She agrees with him. The victory will come, but not as you imagine. Here's the lesson. Obedience doesn't remove consequences, but obedience does reveal character. Audacious people don't move because it's easy. They move because it's right. I'm going to say that again. Audacious people don't move because it's easy.

They move because it's the right thing to do. >> There should be such a desire inside our heart. There should be such a hunger to see people's lives changed. We should not be satisfied when we walk out into our city, into our workplaces, into our schools that we don't realize that there are broken, hurting, lost people all around us. There should be something inside of us that cries out, "God, help me to reach those that are broken around me." Maybe it's because we haven't been broken enough that we don't realize the power that we possess inside ourselves. And I feel like there's a few people sitting on these church pews today who remember the time when somebody shed some light on their dark situation who found them when they were at the lowest point of their life and told them about the lifechanging gospel of Jesus Christ. Do you remember that day when you were lost and far away when God stepped down into the mess and brokenness of your life and how desperate you were and hungry for having some kind of hope in your life? And then WHY WOULD YOU SIT ON THAT SAME hope in this church VIEW WHEN YOU KNOW there's people outside these walls right now who need the same thing that you needed in your life?

HOW CAN YOU S HOW CAN WE IN GOOD CONSCIENCE NOT TELL PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT GOD CAN DO? WE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF OURSEL. THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING INSIDE that says I'm not going to be content until I'm able to walk somebody back in HERE NEXT SUNDAY. I'M NOT GOING TO COME BY MYSELF, but I'm going to do my dead level best to reach out to the brokenness around ME BECAUSE GOD WILL PURPOSELY PUT PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE. IF YOU'RE A PERSON WHO PRAYS GOD, OPEN A DOOR FOR ME TO MINISTER. I PROMISE YOU, IF YOU WANT AN ANSWERED PRAYER, THAT'S A PRAYER GOD WILL ANSWER EVERY TIME. GOD, SEND ME SOMEBODY THAT I CAN TELL ABOUT YOUR LOVE. LORD, >> I don't mean to sound angry. I don't mean to sound angry. If I come across angry, it's not anger. It's just I can't sleep anymore because I feel like we're nowhere near where we need to be and fulfilling our obligation and being obedient and being the church. I'm so thankful that we have the blessings in our life. I'm thankful for the home that I have and the cars I drive and the vacation I get to take. I am thankful for those things. But God, help me if I've gotten so wrapped up in those things that I don't remember. That there are people who are dying every day who've never been told about the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.

God, I should not be content just because I have things easy in my life. There should still be a discontentment inside of the church that says there's brokenness around us. How can we be happy? [panting] I'm not saying you can't have joy. There's joy living for the Lord. There is. God brings good things in our lives. But at the same time, there should also be an everpresent awareness of the broken world that's around us and not be so sheltered, not become so churched [panting] that we become insulated to what's going on around us. I'm telling you, THERE'S A DYING WORLD OUT THERE AND WE HAVE WHAT THEY NEED AND WE'RE SITTING ON IT AND WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT IT AND WE'RE NOT TRYING TO REACH THEM. YEAH. WE'LL come in here and we'll sing and we'll worship and we'll shout and we'll dance and we'll do all we're going to keep doing those things. But I promise you, WE'RE NOT IMPACTING the world inside here. WE'RE NOT CHANGING LIVES INSIDE of here. I'm telling you, we got to energize oursel, get strength, AND WE NEED TO GO OUTSIDE THOSE DOORS AND GRAB A HOLD OF SOMEBODY AND TELL THEM, "HEY, I'M PRAYING FOR YOU. DO YOU KNOW GOD?" >> AMEN. OH, maybe I'm all alone in this process, but I'm telling you, I'm planting my flag in this one.

This is a heel I'll die on. That we have to be radical about being the church. We got to have the audacity to not just do it in here through the motions and go through the things and just sing the songs. Those things are all good, but I'm telling you, it's not just for here. It's not just for here. It's to go out there. I've been saying this for three years now to get uncomfortable because of what I feel in HERE THAT I GOT TO TAKE IT OUT THERE. >> I CAN'T JUST SIT AND BE HAPPY THAT I CAN FEEL GOD HERE, BUT I'M GOING TO TAKE WHAT I FEEL WITH ME AND I'M GOING TO GO OUT THERE AND I'M GOING TO FIND ONE PERSON. OH, IF WE CAN GET RADICAL ABOUT WINNING ONE PERSON IN 26. OH, LET THAT BE OUR PRAYER. IF WE ALL prayed that prayer, if we all prayed that prayer, God help me win one. Help me. Look, it's not dependent on me. I can't save anybody. >> But it's not about me. But I can tell what God did for me. >> I can tell what God changed in my life. And I can take that to somebody else. I can pray with them. I can point out into the scriptures what God is asking of them. I can pray with them.

I can show them IN SCRIPTURES THE TRUTH. I CAN DO THAT. AND YOU CAN, TOO. You don't have to have a Bible degree on the wall. I don't have one. I got a piece of paper in there that says I'm ordained. I can print one off online. It'll make me any better than anybody else. But I'm telling you, this thing is eating me up. It's eating me up. I'm tired. I'm tired of just doing through the motions of church. And I'm tired of just getting up here and preaching on Sundays and going out to eat with a few of you afterwards and going home and pat myself on the back and said, "Oh, Kevin, you did a GOOD JOB." I'M TIRED OF THAT WHEN THERE'S PEOPLE WHO ARE BROKEN AND lost everywhere. Look, EVERYWHERE I GO IN THIS TOWN, I LOOK AROUND AND GOD SHOWING ME PEOPLE WHO NEED THE LIFECHANGING MESSAGE THAT YOU AND I HAVE. WHAT ARE WE DOING? ARE WE GOING TO BE AUDACIOUS enough to take what GOD HAS GIVEN US, WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US, AND WALK OUTSIDE AND FIND SOMEBODY TO BRING IT TO the house of God. >> Before Deborah led a nation, she listened under a tree. No microphone, no stage, no applause, just a sermon. Listen to me. Those of you who are in ministry development around here, look, I'm going to tell you right now, what I'm doing right now is it's important, okay?

Preaching the word of God is important, but the foolishness of preaching. That's what he chose for they to be saved. I'm going to tell you what you want some pullpit time. Like, yeah, you want it. You want some pulpit time. I'll tell you what. I'll give you some pullpit time. You go out there and find somebody. Go out there and find somebody out in this world and you teach them a Bible study and you pray them through the Holy Ghost and you baptize them in Jesus name. I'll give you some pullpit time. That's the requirement. Now you want to preach, go win somebody. >> Go find somebody out there. If you got to preach it so bad, if it's just, oh pastor, I just feel like God's giving me all these messages. I just need a pullpit. Then find if he's GIVING YOU, GO FIND SOMEBODY AND PREACH IT TO THEM ONE on one. >> Win them to God. Bring them in. And then you and I talk about I'll get you in that pullpit. >> But if all you're looking for is a pullpit, >> you're not going to do anything for the kingdom of God. the word of God. >> Find somebody. >> Be hungry. When you see people that are hurting and broken all around you, they're hurting. And you and I, we have that same resurrection power inside of us and we're not doing anything with it.

Those days are done. We got to be audacious in what we do. I'm so thankful for who who's leading a P7 club. Raise your hand high. Stand up if you're leading a P7 club. Keep standing. Y'all don't stand on just stand. Just stand. Keep standing. Let me tell you what these guys and gals are doing. These are missionaries right here. >> These are missionaries. They're taking this life-changing message into their schools. There's over 200 of them that are meeting on a weekly basis because these guys decided to be radical, to be audacious, to live outside the cultural norms. And because of that, they're helping us be a church of a thousand. Remember, I told you guys can be seen. I told you we're going to be a church of a thousand. You may not see it yet because I wasn't worried about putting a thousand people in this room. First of all, I don't have a thousand seats in this room. 764 of them in this room. But I told you I wanted us to be able to reach a,000 people on a week. They don't have to be in this room. This room is great. I love this room. I'm so thankful that we have it. But look, it's not about getting them into this room. >> I'm so thankful that now we're running over 800 people a week that we're impacting 800 individuals.

This church from service in here and from P7 Club meetings and for ladies prayer group meetings and men's prayer group meetings and connect groups that are going on. And something else I'm going to talk about in just a minute I'm very passionate about because the thousand's not far away because it's not it does nothing for me to see a thousand people just sitting in this room. >> Come on. >> But when there's a thousand people that are being touched with a life-changing message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they're going to do it. You and Carson are going to see it out there. These kids are doing powerful things because you guys are pouring into them because Taylor Mariah poured into him. I can't tell you how happy it makes me, how happy it makes pastor when you guys are bringing your friends because it's an opportunity for somebody's life to be changed forever. You guys know, look, your mom and dad don't think y'all know everything, but I know y'all know a lot. I know you face a lot when you go in those schools. There's a lot of situations that you deal with, a lot of stuff that I can't even get my head around anymore. But you guys are there. You're facing it. But listen to me. He's filled you with his spirit. That same spirit that got him up out of the grave, it's in you.

>> You don't have to cower down. You don't have to back down. You don't have to be afraid. >> You go in there and you boldly proclaim, Sterling, what you've been doing. You boldly proclaim the life-changing message that is there. And we're going to see >> families change. >> Amen. >> Not just people, families are going to be changed because you're going to take light and hope into a situation where there was nothing but darkness. You have the ability to change generations. You do. So don't ever discount the day of small things. You may not think what you're doing is insignificant. You're just giving us some sugar cookies and donuts. But I'm telling you are planting seeds. >> Seeds that in time will bear fruit. >> Shame on us. Shame on us. If we're allowing them to do the work and we're just sitting back trying to reap the reward, shame on us, church. This is bigger than the student ministry. Every adult in this room ought to feel conviction today if you have not talked to somebody about what God has done for you in your life. Shame on us. >> This isn't their burden to carry alone. >> Jesus, >> we need to be audacious because audacity surrenders. We have to because we'll become arrogant. Boldness without prayer becomes recklessness. If we want to lead well, we're going to have to learn to lead our families well.

Listen to me every man that's in this room. I know there's a lot of circumstance. Yeah. Yeah. I'm good. I don't really care about the clock anyway. But yeah, can I just get you comfortable right now? >> Come on now. >> I'm going to take off my coat of many colors. >> Listen to me, man. I know there's a lot of that. I'm fixing to say something and I mean absolutely no disrespect by what I'm about to say cuz there's a lot of blended and broken homes in our world today. and there's nothing wrong if it's blended and broken because God walks into the middle of the mess that we create in our lives and he'll take the brokenness there and he'll make something beautiful when we give it to him. But can I just speak for just a minute without anybody being upset or offended? >> [panting] >> If you are a man and you have a family, I want you to stand. Now, keep standing, man. It is time for you to stand up and be the man of God that the scripture asked you to be. It is time for you to be the spiritual leader in your home. It's time for you to be the one who leads your family in prayer, who leads your family in study the word, who leads your family in devotion, who leads your family in setting the example of what it means to tell somebody about Jesus.

This world is looking for you. I know culture has a way of demeaning us and putting us down and Hollywood has a way of making us the big dumb dumb on every show that is there that the dad doesn't know what's going on. I'm here to tell you, quit paying attention to that. It's time to stand up and be a man of God. >> And that's not sexist. >> It's just what God has asked in his word. I don't know how you read the word of God and walk away with any other feeling that God has called you to be a man and be a leader. >> So be the leader. >> Stand up. It's a new year. It's a new day. I don't care what you have done. I don't care the mistakes and the failures of the past. I don't even care what condition in this moment your family's in. Make your mind up today to be what God has called you to be. Ask for his help and you lead your family to where it is they're SUPPOSED TO BE. GOD WILL HELP YOU. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS BY YOURSELF. >> Thank you, men. Ladies in the room, if you're a lady in this room and you have a family, will you stand? Jesus, >> man. If it's proof positive anywhere that the enemy loves to attack, he loves to go to you.

The enemy loves to get in your head. He loves to twist the truth. He loves to take half truths and half things that God has said and to just turn them just enough to cause you to doubt, to cause you to question because he knows that there may be a spiritual leader in your home. There may but he also understands if he can get to the second. Come here. I hope you still love me after this. He knows if he can't get to me, if he can get through to her, eventually it gets through to me. I'm telling you ladies, you don't understand how important it is that you also step up and take the rightful role that God has given you. If you have kids, thank you, baby. I love you. Give her a hand. Isn't she beautiful? Ladies, you can be seated. But listen to me. The enemy is coming after you because we got to be good stewards what God has given us. He's entrusted you. Those of you who have kids or those of you who are going to have kids and listen to me, as long as your as long as your children are alive, even if they're 80 and you're 96, it's a safe age maybe for that generation. 98. They're 80. 90. Yeah, there we go.

Thank you. They're still your kids and you still have the ability to have influence. You still need to be modeling in front of them the things you're supposed to be modeling in front of them. You're still there to be leading in prayer and guiding them. As long as you're breathing, you're still have an obligation and a responsibility to be obedient because we have to steward. >> Let me tell you about something. And I'm going to come back to stewardship in just a second, but I got something I need to tell you about that I'm really excited. I want to take a moment to talk about something that we've been praying towards and something I believe is a major part where God's taking center point in 26. This past fall, we quietly tested something. No big banners, no hype, no noise about it, just obedience and faith. We launched out a pilot run of life groups. And here's what we did. Every Sunday, somebody stands in this pullpit and preaches. Often it's me, but there are others who who minister from this pullpit. This word's being preached. And during the week, that same message was carried into living rooms. We had eight couples who opened up their homes, not to preach new sermons, but to talk about the one we'd already heard, to ask questions, to wrestle with it, to apply it, to live it out.

Because truth is only heard on Sunday and never discussed on Monday rarely changes Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday. Let's be honest with you. If I did a pop quiz, most of you probably wouldn't remember what Pastor Taylor preached last Sunday. You may remember the title. You'd be better than me because I don't even remember the title, right? So, what we decided is there's powerful anointed word that gets preached. How can that word live on further than just Sunday? So, we've been working on this. I'll be honest with you, I didn't know what was going to happen. We hoped for good conversations. We prayed that there was going to be connections, but what God did was beyond what we planned. Over 12 weeks, we didn't just see attendance, we saw growth. We didn't just see people show up. We saw revelations form. We didn't just see Bible study. We saw life change. People began to open up and faith moved from sanctuary into the week. Scripture stopped being abstract and started becoming personal. And suddenly, church wasn't a place we attended. It became a community we belong to. Because here's the reality. Sunday can inspire you. But disciplehip usually happens in circles and not pews. The early church understood this. They understood that they gathered in temple, but they grew in homes. Acts 2:46. So continuing daily in one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all people.

And the Lord added to the church daily. Daily. Everybody say daily. >> Daily. >> That's how we become a daily church. Praise God. >> That's where we're headed. Now, next Sunday, I got more I'm going to say about life groups. I'm telling you, this is something that I know that God has placed on us to help us grow the way he wants us to grow with each other, doing life together. And I'm super, super excited about. So, be here next Sunday as I reveal more about what's going on in that area. We need to have the audacity to be good stewards. I kept my word. I went back to stewardship. We need to be good stewards of what God's already given us. Moms and dads, listen to me. Aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpa, everybody in this room, we need to be good stewards of what God has given us. Luke 11, Jesus is telling a parable, and his disciples were having a hard time struggling with it. So, here's what he says. And I talked about this a couple of months ago, just briefly on a Wednesday night. Luke 19:11. Now, as they heard these things, he spoke another parable because he was near Jerusalem, and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore, he said, "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.

So, he called 10 of his servants, and delivered them 10 minutes. And he said unto them, "Do business till I come." [cough] Here we go. And I talked about this on that Wednesday night. He gives each of them a sum of money to each of them his trust. It's about a 100 days wages. How would you like it if I walked up to you today and said, "This is a new year. I So Carson, if I came to you said, Carson, I want to give you a 100 days worth of salary today." Carson, would you take a lap? >> Yes, sir, I would. >> Yes, sir. He would. How many else would take a lap if I gave you that, right? Feel pretty good, wouldn't you? It'd be great. So, need in the moment, a 100 days worth of pay at one time is what he gave them. Everybody got 100 days worth of pay. And he said he gave them instructions. Did you pick up on the instructions that was there? He said what? Do business till I come. Those were the instructions. That's it. Just do business. Now, it wasn't a suggestion. That command was a commission. The parable is not about money. It was about faithfulness. And you miss the story if you make it about money. It has nothing to do with money.

The question is not how much do you have. The question is, what are you doing with what God has already given you? So, centerpoint, this has been burning in me for a couple of months. And God was orchestrating this whole sermon together over the course of several months to piece it inside my heart, inside my mind about stewardship. What are we doing with what God has given us? Center point. What are we doing? Are we just sitting on it, consuming it ourselves? What are we doing? What God has given us. Faithfulness precedes fruitfulness. There's a handout outside. They put it together called top 10 events. Can I just tell you since it's the first Sunday of the month and I figured this is a great time, first Sunday of the year, great time to just kind of set some expectations. It is one of the most frustrating things when you pastor a church, when you put together a great big Sunday and you talk about it for months and you plan it all out and it's an opportunity for people to bring someone to the house of God. you go through great links to advertise it and to be all and then the day of the big event. There are like 30% of the people who call us home that don't show up.

So this has happened over the last four or five years. I've noticed we've had a decline on important Sundays. You know things like Easter. Feel like that's a good one. I mean we have people we have total heathens that show up at this church on Easter. They call them C and E Christians. Christmas and Easter only. They show up, but some of you don't. So, I decided, you know what? I'm going to help you guys out. So, I put together a top 10 Sunday list. I am going to personally be upset if you miss one of these Sundays. I'm on public record. They are recording me right now. >> >> that if you miss one of these Sundays, I am not going to be happy with you. I possibly may pray a wart on the end of your nose so that when you walk in, we'll know, haha, you missed. Somebody gets a word on their nose. It's going to be awful, isn't it? Could be funny, though. Could be. Can we be faithful with what God has already given us? Verse 15 of Luke 19. And so it was when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, "Master, your men has earned 10 minutes." And he said to him, "Well done, good servant, because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over 10 cities." Did you catch that?

He called a 100 days wages what little. Isn't it interesting how we put a lot of value on things that God's like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What have we done with what God has given us?" Because here's the truth. I'm going to say it word for word the way I wrote it down. If you're a notetaker, you want to take these notes, listen to me. The reward for faithfulness is responsibility. Did you catch that? The reward for faithfulness is responsibility. God does not reward obedience with ease. He rewards it with influence. See, we want like God, I want the blessings. I want your favor in my life. God, I want to have these things here because I want to live on Easy Street. Let's be honest, we are very self-centered, selfish, self-focused people. the best of us that applies to. And then we come in and we need to take what God has given us and do something with it. And what does he do? He doesn't give you a 10-fold blessing. Instead, he gives you more responsibility. >> He gives you the ability to have more influence. So, I'm here to tell this first. First of all, I'm here to tell some young preachers. You keep desiring to have a pull pit. What are you doing what little God's given you?

Don't discount it because you think it's little. And if you're going to gain more, what you gain more is influence when he can trust you with what he's already given you. If he can't trust you with what he's already given you're not going to get anymore. >> You need to learn to plant and to grow where you're being planted right now. And God will raise you. Because if you try to force it yourself, I promise you'll get yourself in a situation where it'll be something that will overwhelm you. Many people want promotion without preparation. But God's watching how we steward what we already have been given. your time, your influence, your family, your attitude, your finances, your calling. What are you doing with what God's already given you? Listen to me, center point. I know I kind of went from preaching to teaching a little bit because I couldn't get past this. What God has for us is to be able to steward what he's already entrusted to our care now. And the danger of hiding what God has given us is played out in verse number 20. Then another came saying, "Master, here's your minnow which I have kept put away in a handkerchief." What? God, you gave it to me and I put it and I tucked it nicely and I tucked it neatly and I put it away for safekeeping.

And what was his response? Right? For I feared you. You collect what you did not deposit. You reap what you didn't sow. And the tragedy isn't that he lost his money. The tragedy is that he lost his opportunity. God isn't asking for perfection. He's asking for participation. And I wish more people at Centerpoint had the audacity to jump in and be the church. Because here's what happens. Okay? The same parable is being told. Matthew records it this way. Matthew, same parable. We're going to go from Luke 19 to Matthew 25. It's the same parable, but somebody else is writing from their perspective of what they heard. This is what he says. Verse number 21. And the Lord said to him, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You are faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord." See, joy is not escape, Rick Span. We want to get out of this world, right? Who doesn't? We want to I want I'm ready to go to heaven. Never been a time in my life am I more ready to go. God, let it be now. I'm ready to go. Now, some of these young people like, I ain't married yet. Yeah. I got one in my house probably saying that right now. Like we wait two weeks.

No. If the Lord wants to come now, let him come now. But it's not about escaping. All right. Sometimes I feel like, and that's just please, I feel God's anointing laying on me right now. Sometimes I feel like too many of us are only living for God out of a get out of hell escape plan. Is that how you're living? Because that's not the joy of the Lord is that you're just escaping hell. If that's all you're doing, you're missing so much. That's not what he called you to. He didn't fill you with his spirit. That's so you escaped hell. God's joy is creation, restoration, multiplication. It's engagement with him. And we partner with him. We experience this joy. Joy comes when we steward what he's given us. Well, I'm looking for radical commitment for you and I to go out and be the church every day. We're an apostolic church growing apostolic families every day. We do it together. Let's be audacious in all that we do. Not comfortable, not out of convenience, but let's be courageous because God has already placed his word inside of us and his spirit goes with us everywhere we go. Why would we be afraid? Why would we not be willing to say, you know what, I'm excited about what God's going to do. He's going to give me an opportunity to go outside and tell somebody about him.

WHY WOULD WE NOT want to participate in watching lives be changed? Why would we not be excited about that? Why would we not want to start this year off with that audacious calling that God's placed on us? As we get ready to close today, the musicians are going to come. People aren't looking for feelood. People are starved to death for truth. There's a lot of places you can go to feel good. There's a lot of churches you can go if you just want to feel better about yourself. You can go there. They'll make you feel better about yourself. But it's not about that. It's about what is true. And I and I got a sermon I'm working on and it and it's a tough one and I haven't got my head around it yet because God's kind of opening me up and revealing some stuff to I got a message coming about artificial intelligence. Now, I'm just going to let you know it's not going anywhere. Okay? It's here. It's here to stay. So, I feel like we need to have an understanding of what God wants us to process about artificial intention. That's coming. You give me a few more weeks to work through it. And I'm going to deliver what God's laid on my heart to get my head around it.

But listen to me. in the world where we're living at where there's so much in flux and so much stuff being questioned and so many people confused, so many people misunderstood and so many people wrapped up in feelings and wrapped up in emotions. There's never been a day where we need the truth more than right now. >> We need truth. We need to grab a hold of something that is forever settled and doesn't move and say, "God, I'm hanging on to this because the world around me has gone crazy >> and I may not know where to turn because it feels like I'm being blown this way and I'm being blown that way. And I'm here to tell you, grab a hold of this. It has stood the test of time. And I know there may be people that are walking away. And listen, I'm going to speak to some apostolics in this room. There may be some people that we know that seem to be departing ways. But I'm here to tell you, I'm not budging off what the word says. >> I'm going to audaciously I'm going to have the audacity to preach the word unfiltered in this place. Not from hatred, not out of meanness, but out of love in everything I do. Cuz I love you enough to tell you what the word says.

I love you enough to tell you that, hey, hey, I think you're a little clue. You're a little too close to the edge or you're a little too close to the edge. No, I can't tell you that if you do that, you're going to go to hell. Is this all we are? It's avoiding hell. >> I always get a little nervous when people say, does that mean I'm going to go to hell if I do that? Are you telling me, pastor, if I do that, I'm going to go to hell? I don't like that question. >> And you've heard me say this many times. When you start asking questions like that, in my mind, all you're asking is what is the minimum I have to do? And I've explained this many, many times. When I gave my vow to my wife, I didn't ask her on that stage when we were committing our lives to each other. Hey babe, how many kisses do you need every day? How many I love yous do you need? How many times do I need to hug you? Maybe more realistic. How many shoes do I need to buy for you? >> >> How often do I need to get a nice purse? Cuz she wouldn't like that because you know what that says is I need to know what the minimum is to get by.

Cuz if I can do the minimum, then I'm just going to slide into heaven. This if you read this and you come away with you only have to live a minimal life, he didn't go to Calvary with one leg. That's right. >> >> He didn't just put his hand over there. No, he showed you what he was looking for because that's what God always does. He always shows us first. And he says, "What I'm looking for is this. I will give my >> >> all." And all he asked in return, it says, "If any man come after me, let him >> deny himself, take up his cross >> and follow." You go to a church that teaches you anything less, they are out of the word >> of God. Cuz with him, it's all or nothing. As I say often times around here, he's either Lord of all or he's not Lord at all. Just because you can feel him doesn't mean you're near you need to be. And I wonder in this new year as we go to live out being in the church, I wonder, can we do it with audacity? Center point, do you have the audacity to trust God when it's uncomfortable? Center point, do you have the audacity to lead when it's inconvenient? Center point, do you have the audacity to believe when others doubt?

See, Deborah rose and she stood up when others hesitated and remained quiet. And because she did what she did, a nation was changed. And now God is calling us not to comfort, not to convenience, but to courage. And the voice that God has placed in you was never meant to be silent. It was meant to rise up in this hour and say, "There's a God who loves you and who's working his best to change your life." And when this happens, when walls fall and faith arises, the church moves forward. We will be the church when we live the mission. When we carry the vision outside these walls, not someday, not occasionally, but every day. Will we have the audacity to be the church every day? >> Amen. >> It requires audacity. Audacity to rise when others remain silent. I was running. I'm closing. In fact, stand with me if you don't mind. If you do that, it helps me finish quicker. I was on a jog just a few days ago. I was running. I was up here on Middle Tennessee Boulevard passing the elementary school that was right there. And I was just listening to some music and I was caught in my own thoughts and I was thinking about this service and was thinking about what God had laid on my heart. and then I got to pay attention to the words, the song that was playing.

And I just come undone. And if you'd have passed me by, you'd have probably thought, "Pastor is in some kind of pain because I was just balling my eyes out." I didn't stop running. I was a little bit embarrassed that I was lost my composure as much as I did, but I became overwhelmed when I listened to these words. Here's a song. Bless God in the sanctuary. Bless God in the fields of plenty. Bless God in the darkest valley. Every chance I get, I'll bless your name. Bless God when my hands are empty. And bless God with praise that calls me. Bless God when nobody's watching. Every chance I get, I'll bless your name. Bless God when the weapons forming. Bless God when the walls are falling. Bless God cuz he goes before me. Every chance I get, I'll bless your name. Bless God, he holds the victory. Bless God, he is always with me. Bless God. He is always worthy. Every chance I get, I'll bless your name. I don't deserve him. And neither do you, but he is worthy of my life and he is worthy of my devotion. He is worthy of your life and he is worthy of your devotion. And I don't know maybe where you are. you may be in a field of plenty right now. And if you are, you should be praising God, but you may be in the darkest valley.

I want to tell you should bless him. You should worship him in those dark hours. You may have your hands empty right now. You should still praise him because he's worthy. >> You should not give him praise that doesn't cost you something. >> You should praise him when nobody's watching. Look, you may be feeling the enemy is forming weapons against you right now. But hey, praise God. Praise God because no weapon formed against me shall prosper. Bless God when the walls are falling down all around you. Every chance you get, you should bless his name. I don't know where you are, but I want you to know he holds the victory. He holds the victory. He is always with you and he is always worthy. Every chance we get, we should praise God who doesn't leave us and doesn't forsake us. He is in this room right now. And I'm going encourage you with this last little little push. Center point. Will you have the audacity to be the church? 2026 could be a year like we have never experienced here. It's not for a lack of harvest. The harvest is plenty. But God, will we be good stewards of what you have given us to take and go outside these walls and find someone to bring in. Jesus, I love you. I'm so thankful, God, that you walk alongside us, Lord.

That you have given us and entrusted us with so much. We have so much to be thankful for, but God, I don't want to be satisfied with just feeling you. I want to be obedient to where you're calling me to. God, I know there's a hurt and a broken and a dying world all around me. God, I pray that you would open our eyes to see. God, give us the ability to realize there are people around us that you put in our life every day that we can tell about you. God, I pray for restoration in 26. I pray for restorations of relationships. I pray for restorations of marriages. I pray for restorations of families. I pray for restorations of ministry. Oh God, bring us into this year with a full understanding and comprehension of all that you desire to do through us. And God, help us be the church audaciously in Jesus name. Church, it's prayer time. I feel strongly in my spirit. God desires to do something special today. So, I don't know what your need is in this room, but if it's salvation, I invite you to come. Today is the day of salvation. I don't know if you need restoration. If you do, I invite you to come. But most importantly, I invite you to come so that God could reignite the burden for lost souls around you.

center point. It is time for us to go live in a bold and audacious way in Jesus name.