Crossing Over - Week 3

God calls His people to help the next generation win, and that next generation is anybody who comes after them, whether they are twelve, eighty, or ninety. The world says the one with the most wins, but Jesus gives a better definition: a win raises the standard for living, not merely the standard of living. The church becomes strong when it does not stop taking risks, stop praying, or forget the mission to reach lost people.

God works supernaturally when His people begin doing supernatural things. Faith does not maintain, faith multiplies. A capital campaign is not just giving money away; it is investing time, energy, experience, and resources into people who need a place to meet Christ, grow as disciples, and find help in their hardest moments.

David’s question in Saul’s camp puts the issue right on the table: “Who will go down into the camp with me?” Ahimelech was qualified, trusted, and capable, but Abishai said, “I’ll go.” God calls people not simply to be present in a room, but to show up for a dream, a need, a risk, and a person. The miraculous work belongs to God, even when His people step forward in faith. God stands as the architect behind doors opening, buildings fitting, lives changing, and impossible things coming together.

Empathy begins when a person presses pause on personal thoughts and feelings long enough to imagine another person’s pain. The woman from Nigeria was not merely a clumsy server; she was a Christian refugee afraid for her family’s lives. Faith becomes dead when it remains detached from action, but faith becomes alive when it imagines, interacts, and invests.

Christ gives eternal weight to the checkbook, the livestream, the hospital room, the funeral, and the altar. Kurt’s investment in livestreaming became part of a dying man’s path to heaven. A grieving mother found someone willing to press pause, enter her pain, and simply show up. God sees every risk taken for another person, and He calls His church to move beyond self-driven living into an others-driven life. God invites those needing miracles to take steps of faith, trusting that no pit is too deep for Him to reach.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Show up when God calls David’s camp was full of capable men, but only one man said, “I’ll go.” God does not merely look for talent, credentials, or good intentions. Faith becomes visible when someone steps into the risk and trusts God with the outcome. [24:18]
• 2. Faith multiplies through costly investment Investment carries a return that simple giving does not fully express. Kurt’s checkbook helped put the gospel into a Montana home, where a husband came to Christ shortly before death. Eternity reveals what mattered most about resources placed in God’s hands. [41:38]
• 3. Empathy presses pause for people Empathy refuses to judge a person by the mess visible on the surface. The woman from Nigeria carried fear, displacement, grief, and faith that others never bothered to see. Christlike love slows down long enough to imagine what another person may be carrying. [35:20]
• 4. Faith must become real action Faith without action remains dead because it never enters the places where need is real. God calls His people to interact with lonely pastors, hurting families, struggling neighbors, and people far from Christ. Action does not earn God’s power, but it places obedience where God can work through it. [39:07]
• 5. God meets desperate needs with power God sees tears, brokenness, and needs too deep for human strength. A step toward the altar becomes a step of faith, not because people can force a miracle, but because God is bigger than every pit. God calls His people to expect testimonies when they move into supernatural obedience.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [08:18] - Encouragement for Saint Francis
• [14:17] - Supernatural Things Take Place
• [16:06] - Why Churches Stop Growing
• [19:13] - Helping the Next Generation Win
• [22:20] - The Call to Show Up
• [24:18] - David and Abishai Take the Risk
• [30:50] - Showing Up for Other People
• [33:16] - Press Pause to Imagine
• [36:33] - Press Pause to Interact
• [39:30] - Press Pause to Invest
• [42:25] - A Checkbook and a Changed Eternity
• [45:39] - Showing Up in Grief
• [48:46] - Prayer for Miracles

1. In 1 Samuel 26:6–7, what question does David ask, who responds, and what risky action do David and Abishai take?
2. What three patterns were identified as reasons churches stop growing or close? [16:33]
3. According to Proverbs 11:25, what two results are connected with generosity and refreshing others? [31:12]
4. In James 2:17, what is faith called when it is not accompanied by action, and what examples of action were connected with faith? [39:07]

1. David had more than one capable person around him, but Abishai was the one who said, “I’ll go.” What does this reveal about the difference between being qualified and being willing to step into a need? [27:56]
2. Proverbs 11:25 connects refreshing others with being refreshed. How might empathy—slowing down to understand another person’s pain—be one way believers “refresh others”? [31:22]
3. James 2:17 does not teach that action earns salvation, but it does say faith without action is dead. What kinds of actions show that someone’s faith is alive when a neighbor, family, or church community is hurting? [39:18]
4. The goal is not simply to improve the standard of living but to raise the standard for living. How does investing in people’s relationship with Christ give resources, time, and service an eternal purpose? [22:20]

1. Where might God be asking you to “show up” right now—not just to be present, but to help a person, meet a need, take a risk, or support a kingdom dream? What would a first step look like? [22:46]
2. Is there someone you have been tempted to judge by what is visible on the surface—their attitude, mistakes, mess, or need? What might change if you pressed pause and tried to imagine what they may be carrying? [36:18]
3. Think about your time, energy, experience, and resources. Which one of these is God inviting you to invest more intentionally in people who need Christ, care, or discipleship? [39:36]
4. Who has “showed up” for you during a difficult season? How could remembering their presence help you become more others-driven this week? [30:50]
5. What is one practical action you can take this week to move your faith beyond good intentions—such as making a call, sharing a meal, offering prayer, serving, giving, or checking on someone? [39:18]
6. Is there an area of your life where you need a miracle from God? What step of faith can you take while trusting that God, not your effort, is the one who brings the breakthrough? [49:16]