The Journey Begins // 6.7.26

And along with that, a principle that we're gonna run across when it comes to any journey, but in particular, a principle that I think is so relevant when it comes to the journey of faith, and I'm not gonna bury the lead here. Here's the principle. What we're called to do is more important than where we're called to go. What we are called as people of faith to do, the invitation from Jesus to go into the world and do is far more is about the doing and what's gonna happen along the way and the ways God is gonna reveal himself and meet us along the way, it is far more about that than it will ever be about the destination. [00:37:43] (50 seconds)  #PurposeOverDestination

And then we add God into the mix, and you're like, okay. Well, then the way this should work is is if I just pray and tell God what I need to happen, then he puts a stamp on it, and it moves into the execution line. Right? Anyone who's been on this journey for a while knows that ain't how it happens. And instead, the way this works is we get to obey God. We get to decide, I'm moving this direction. I'm trusting you. I'm learning to trust you, and I'm gonna do the things you ask me, but then the outcomes are entirely up to you. Where this goes and how this plays out is out of my hands. All I can do all I can do is the next thing that you have asked me to do. Obey God and trust him with the outcomes. [00:55:31] (57 seconds)  #ObeyAndTrust

It starts with the desire to say, I am curious enough to know what this is all about. I am curious enough to know that if God, who you say became and walked among us, and when he could have done anything and he could have saved himself and he could have changed the whole narrative, He allowed himself to be taken to a cross to die for us, and then he came back to life, and a bunch of people saw it. I am curious enough. And now I'm watching these people who are willing to be stoned to death like Stephen, that was the last person Saul directly got to oversee the persecution before he had this encounter. If there are people that are so convinced because of what they've seen and experienced, I would like to know more. This is worth investigating. [00:47:57] (58 seconds)  #CuriousAboutJesus

Saul was asked to obey first. And too many times, we wanna understand everything and have all of the answers before we take a first step of faith. And any of y'all been there? Maybe you're there right now. Maybe you're you're here in church and still trying to figure out if any of this makes sense to you, and that's good. This is a good place to be in this space to ask those questions. But I wanna go ahead and and give you the assurance that none of us have figured it all out. None of us. There are some of us in this room who have been following Jesus for decades, and if anything, I have more questions than when I started. [00:46:35] (42 seconds)  #ObeyBeforeAnswers