Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Take the Next Step | Find Your People, Love Your Neighbor | Part 1

Episode Date: October 8, 2023

Chances are, you’re dealing with something no one else knows about. You wish something was different, but you don’t know where to turn. In this message, we’re learning how to lean on one another so we can look forward to God’s plans together.Take a step today to find the community God has for you. LifeGroups create a space for people to intentionally share their lives with others, grow spiritually together, and encourage each other through the highs and lows of life. Find yours today: https://life.church/lifegroupsABOUT THIS MESSAGEGod created us to need and know each other. But what does that look like? How do you build lasting friendships that make life better? Let’s find out in our new series, Find Your People, Love Your Neighbor.NEXT STEPSHave you made a decision to follow Jesus? You may be wondering what’s next on your journey. We want to help! Let us guide you to your next steps in your walk with Christ: https://www.life.church/nextCONNECT WITH A PASTORDo you need prayer? Would you like to find out how you can get involved at Life.Church? One of our pastors would love to meet with you. Schedule a video call with a pastor: https://www.life.church/meetwithusABOUT LIFE.CHURCHWherever you are in life, you have a purpose. Life.Church wants to help you find your next step. Our hope is that your journey will include joining us at a Life.Church location throughout the United States or globally online at https://www.live.life.churchFind locations, videos, and more info about us at https://www.life.church or download the Life.Church app at https://www.life.church/appFIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIAFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/life.churchInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/life.churchTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifechurchYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LCNowCONNECT WITH PASTOR CRAIGYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/craiggroeschelFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/craiggroeschelInstagram: http://www.instagram.com/craiggroeschelTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@craiggroeschel#lifechurch #craiggroeschel #stepforward Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

To say I'm excited, thrilled over the moon to be with you today would be an understatement. Because I think God has some great things in store for us. We didn't show up today just to stay the same, did we? I mean, we want to grow, want to become all that God has called us to be. We want to step fully into the plans and purposes he has for us. If you have your Bible, I want you to open up with me to go to any verse you want to. No, just kidding, just kidding. We're going to go to the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Mark, the Gospel of Mark,

chapter 10, the Gospel of Mark chapter 10. If you did not bring your Bible, we're going to put the words on the screen so you can follow along with us. The Gospel of Mark chapter 10, beginning in verse 46. It says, Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples

together with a large crowd were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartamaus, which means son of Tamas, was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout. Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more.

Son of David, have mercy on me. Verse 49, Jesus stopped and said, call him. I love this passage of scripture. I actually love the whole Bible, but I love this passage of scripture. this man blind Bartimaeus, if you are new to faith, maybe you've never read this story, or maybe you've been in church for a period of time, and you have heard this story before. I'm hoping that all of us would have wide open eyes and hearts because God did not bring us to today just for us to stay the same. So here, Jesus has a large crowd. He is a Taylor Swift of his day, if you will. Everyone is around him. He's not singing song. like her, but he is walking.

There's a large crowd around him. They're coming into Jericho. Some texts might say he's leaving Jericho, but he's coming into Jericho here. And as he enters in, there's a blind man. And this guy, we get his name. You don't get the names of everyone who Jesus heals. But this guy, we get his name. Some theologians would say we have his name and even his dad's name because his dad was

influential. We're not totally sure on that. But at least we get his name, Bart. Now, I've got the name Earl. It's a terrible name, okay? I just want to put that out there real quick. Earl is too grown a name for a baby. You can't name a baby Earl.

And that's what my mom did to me. Earl, you've got a mortgage, you drive a truck, you do something, but you're not too with the name Earl. Bartameus is a similar name. Bart. Come on. It's just too heavy for a child. But regardless, this is his name. Bartamaas. He's a son. I want you to feel the story a little bit.

I want you to feel that this young man is someone's son. Just like you. you're someone's son or daughter. You have parents. That means there were dreams. You came into the world and there was hope and there was excitement. There was joy. There was anticipation.

And if there wasn't, and maybe that's part of your wound. Regardless, for most of us, we had around us some type of celebration saying, hey, I'm glad you're in the world. And if you didn't feel that growing up, just so you know, we feel that about you now. that you're at Life Church. We're glad that you are born. We are glad that you are here. But this young man comes into the world. The Bible does not tell us when. We don't know if he's born blind, but we know he is blind. Maybe he had a degenerative disease. Maybe things started off good, but then went bad. And now he finds himself, the son of Tameas, and he's at the road begging. I was trying to feel. I was trying to figure out, is it better when everybody knows the problem you have? Or is it better when you suffer in silence?

Like this guy, people look at him and they say, he's blind. This is his issue. But many of us have issues that no one knows about. They are things that are quiet and we suffer in silence. And maybe neither one is better than the other. Both of them are incredibly hard weights to carry when you know you have something that you wish was different in your life. Can I just pause for a second? And I want you to breathe for me. I want you to breathe all of our locations. Just breathe. I know, I know it's church, and I know maybe you, you thought you had to come to church and be perfect. You thought you had to come to church and have it all together. You had to come to church and you had to have all your T's cross, all your eyes dotted,

and you needed to be strong and perfect. But the reality is, all of us have some type of blindness, some type of thing, some type of problem that we wish we didn't have. I don't have time, nor do I have the tissue to go through the problems that I have in my life. All of us are carrying some weights. Some of us are in therapy for them right now. Some of us are talking to lawyers about some of our problems right now. Some of us are navigating things with our kids or teenagers or a roommate or a coworker or friend at college.

And we're wearing these things and it's real. And maybe people know. And maybe no one knows. But what are we going to do with the problems that we are navigating? What are we going to do with the issues that we are facing? What are we going to do with the difficulties that are on our issues? shoulders. What are we going to do with the things that are on our mind? I think blind Bartimaeus, which is he's become known as, gives us a great roadmap on what steps we can take

forward to be who God has called us to be. One of the first things I see here in verse 46, it says he's begging. He's begging. Notice that all of his years of begging, and I'm assuming it's years of begging, did not bring him any freedom. His begging kept him bound. His begging kept him in the same spot. He continued to go to the same place in the same city, in the same area, time after time, after time. But him begging did not actually elevate him and take him to a place of getting out of his bondage. It kept him in his bondage.

This is where you and I sometimes think, nobody gets me. Nobody understands what I'm going through. No one understands the battles that I'm facing. And I know CEOs that think like this, teenagers that think like this, married people that think like this, teenagers that think like this, older people that think like this, younger people that think like this, nobody gets me. And as long as you live with that victim mindset, my friend, it does not bring you to a place of freedom. It keeps you. Suck. It keeps you stuck.

Well, that's my job. I mean, if everybody knew all that I was doing, I mean, I can't believe I work with all these other idiots. Come on, I know you don't say it out loud, but maybe in your heart. Oh, my goodness. I'll do it. I'll do it. Nobody gets me.

It's so hard for me. You don't know what it's like to be a man. You don't know what it's like to be a woman. You don't know what it's, fill in the blank. And this mindset does not push them forward. it keeps him stuck but there's a day there's a day that happens there's a day that happens when when in verse number 47 when he heard that it was Jesus of nazareth he began to shout so he's been stuck for a while does not want to stay where he is Jesus is coming to pass by and i don't know what it is in barthumas that clicked

I don't know what exactly changed. I don't know how everything turned around. But in this moment right here, this man said, I don't want to stay where I am. This man said, I don't want to stay stuck in the same cycle I have been in forever. This man said, I want to move from where I'm at right now to where I'm dreaming to be. And I want you to know that this is what I know. on the inside of you as well.

I feel like today is the day that you're saying, you know what? I don't want to be here forever. I don't want to be stuck in this spot forever. So what Blind Bartameas does is says, I'm going to shout to Jesus as he's walking by. And that was the thing that changed his life

forever. Can I call on the potential and the purpose and the destiny that God put on the life? inside of you because you didn't make you. God made you. You didn't decide for yourself to be born. God decided for you to be born. God's the one that puts you on this earth for such a time as this. God's the one that put those talents and gifts and abilities on the inside of you. And since he put them there, he did not put them there so you'd stay on the side of the road

begging your entire life. He put those on the inside of you so you would take a step forward and be all that he called you to be. There's a lion on the inside of you. There's a fighter on the inside of you. There's grace flowing through your veins that came to the death, barrel, and resurrection of Jesus. You're not here just to exist and take up space. You are here to make it on earth as it is in heaven in your generation. That's why you were put on the planet. Take a step forward. Forward. I know where you are right now in your mindset. I know where you are right now in your mindset. I know where you are right. now in your business. I know where you are right now in your relationships. Take a step forward. This is not self-help, friends. This is Jesus' help. He is not trying to go to Barnes and Noble.

Wait, who goes to Barnes & Noble anymore? He's not just trying to Google. How do I get out of a stuck situation? Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. His eyes are on Jesus. And I'm sure someone invited a friend today or you were doing some Google searching. God brought you to this place, brought you to this moment, brought you to Life Church, and he brought you here because he knew the questions you were asking, and he knew the answers that you needed were found in. Jesus, and that's who we offer you today. We don't offer you just a better version of you. We offer you Jesus and Him crucified, and when we present Him to you, I'm telling you he's the one that makes all the difference in all of our lives. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. So keep on going here, keep on going, okay? We're just walking through the Bible. Let's walk into the Bible here. Look, look, look, look, look. Verse 48, many rebates. Many He rebuke him and told him to be quiet.

They told him to, shh. Because whenever you begin to take a step forward, you have to expect that there will be some opposition. You have to expect that someone or something is going to try to keep you where you used to be. Something or someone, some mindset, some thought. Maybe it's a person will try to keep you where you used to be. and they rebuked him. Now, how mean are these people?

They're yelling at a blind guy, okay? I got some ratchet family members. I mean, I got some wonderful. I got some ratchet ones too. Even the most ratchet, I don't think they're yelling at somebody who's blind. Get out the way, blind guy. I mean, come on. How rude and disrespectful.

But in this day, blind people don't get any respect. And maybe you feel like you're a person that hasn't gotten any respect. People don't respect your work ethic, don't respect the talents that you bring, then respect maybe the pain that you've walked through. And you can have these little voices in your head saying,

you know what? If you keep trying to move forward, someone else is just going to push you down. Just stay where you are. it's safe. It's good. My wife and I, like I said, we've been married these 26 years, and I remember when we first moved to the suburbs. It's nice. The burbs are nice. I mean, playgrounds clean. You just, you drive into it, okay? All the houses kind of look the same. You're like,

There's just a piece that can come over here. Soccer games on Saturdays with kids that can't play soccer. Baseball games with the parents, everyone's sitting on their chair. Go, Johnny, go. Susie, go for it. Sometimes when you're in the suburbs or you're in the city, it doesn't matter. You can get in a spot where you feel like I'm talking. comfortable here, but there's still something else on the inside of you.

That's saying, I think there's more. I think there's more. I mean, I'm used to this and I'm happy for this. And I'm thankful for the life that God has given me. But I think there's more. I appreciate the blessings and the 2.3 kids and the dog. We got a dog now too. I never thought I have a dog. We've got a kava poo. Who got a little? Who got a little? Look at what brother do you know has a kovapoo? But I love my little kawapoo. You've got your dog, you've got your kids, you've got your minivan. No, no, you got your suburban because we don't want to drive a minivan.

We got our suburban. But still something in you. Say, take a step forward. There's more. There's something more. They're rebuking him. Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet. Your boy, Bart, he's a fighter. He says, you know what? I know they're telling me to shut up. I'm not shutting up. He shouts all the more loudly.

Read the text. He shouts all the more loudly. He's like, nope, you're not going to get me to shut up. Verse 49. Jesus stopped. Said to him. Call him. Here's what's interesting about this, you know, the people that were telling them to shut up. Now they're like, oh, no, Jesus wants you now. Hey, cheer up on your feet. So they switch real quick. So you've got to be careful of the crowd. Okay, you got to be careful. You got to be careful. So they switch. Verse 50, throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. Why would he throw his cloak aside? I mean, he, he's, he's, Is he, I don't know, how about someone?

Is he Bruno Mars? Is this WWE? Is this for dramatics right here? No. Why would he throw his cloak aside? Some scholars say that when an individual was a beggar, that they would actually put on a particular garment. And the garment that you were wearing would help people know the state that you were in. so his cloak when people looked at him they knew that's what you are it's the identity that he's wearing

i'm a CEO i'm a student i'm a single person i don't want to be i'm mad about it lord how come you haven't brought me my man yet i am this i am that but in this moment right here this man says I'm going to throw aside what I have been known for, and I want to step into what God has for me in this moment. So he throws his cloak aside. I feel like God is wanting to do in all of us today. I want you to throw away your old identity. I want you to throw away. This is what I'm known for.

And I want you to step fully, take a step forward into who God has called you to be. So he throws his cloak aside. He comes there, Jesus asked him a crazy question. Jesus says, what do you want? He's like, bruh, I want to see. He heals him, go, your faith has made you whole. But I was reading the story. We're reading the story. And this will pop into my head for Life Church, because we're in this new series. I'm so excited about this new series. Right? We find your people. Love your neighbor. I mean, we're a church here, but we're not a church that just wants to like, attend on the weekends.

We're not a church. It goes, okay, I hope Pastor Craig or whoever's speaking today has got a really good message from me. I just want to consume the message and then I'm an off off. No, no, no, no, no. There's something in us that's saying, I think there's more. I'm thankful for all this teaching. I'm thankful for the church that God has put me in. But I have something on the inside of me that's saying there's more.

And I'm telling you, there is more because many of us in this church, we have been content staying maybe like blind Bartimaeus on the side of the road, stuck in a spot that we have been in forever. And you know you have this sneaking suspicion in you that I want something greater and more. And we are offering that to you today. And it is found in Jesus. and in Jesus Christ alone. But when it's found in Jesus, I noticed this.

Amos ends up face to face with the physical, real Jesus. You and I don't. I mean, Jesus ascended into heaven. So I was like, I love this. But like, do I got to die in order to have that connection? Then I realized Blind Bartamaeus is face to face with the body of Jesus.

Well, what's the church? The church is the blind Bartameas and his story obviously pointing us to Jesus. But also now is giving us a little bit of a road map that you don't stay isolated by yourself on the side of the road just begging and doing what you want to do. That you begin to interact with the body of Christ.

And as you begin to interact with the body of Christ, that's actually, you'll find what you are looking for by connecting with the body, not by staying on the side of the road, begging. So I saw, I saw for me and for you. Now, those you Bible scholars, wait, wait, body of Christ, body of Christ. Colossius chapter 1, verse 18. We'll put it on the screen for you. He is the head. Jesus. Jesus is the head. He is the head of the body. He's the head of the what?

Of the body. He's the head of the body. The church. The body is the church. That's why you and I don't just consume church. We are church. We are. And since we are, the desire you have in you for more. And you're like, Jesus, I want more from you. He says, I've got more for you, but it flows through my body. I got to say that again. You and I want to have a prayer time and go, Jesus, I love you.

I give him my heart, give him my life, fill me with your presence, and he totally does that. I pray. I'm like, I'm on my knees. I'm not trying to be over religious right here, but I got to be on my knees. Like every day, I'm desperate for his presence. And it's not like an hour, and I don't pray for three hours every day. Lord, I know, I mean, sometimes you don't get in there, got to get out. But I'm on my knee. I'm all full praying.

But what I have found when I'm praying for breakthrough, Jesus many times does not just give me the answer to my prayers in my prayer time. He gives me my answers to my prayers through his body. It's a person and a relationship that I get connected with. So you and I can think, it's just me and Jesus all on our own. And I say, that's actually not the way it is. Yes, he's your personal Lord and Savior. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

And today, if you don't know him, today it's going to be a great opportunity for you to give your heart and your life over to him. But when you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you get grafted into he was accustomed to begging. But his begging didn't bring him freedom. You know what's going to bring you freedom? Belonging. Belonging. It's another step that you have to take. It's another step for you to go,

I'm not just going to sit on the sidelines. There's many of us who are part of life church and we love you. We are for you. We're in your corner. We don't shame people here. We don't beat people over there. We don't do that here at the church.

So wherever you are, we love you exactly where you are. We also love you too much to keep you that way because we know that God has more on the inside of you that he wants to accomplish in and through your life. So, friends, since there's more of the inside of you. We got to say, we can't let you just stay on the sideline. and you might be content coming to church, watch it online, your cup and your bathrobe,

when you come in for your service, and you leave. But if you left this church, we wouldn't know because you're not connected. And that's not our dream for you. Our dream for you is that you belong. So what are we doing here? We're trying to say, hey, let's, let's create another on-ramp. This is why we're doing our fall fest and all this stuff. It's another on-ramp. But why do we have our life groups? It's another on-ramp. It's an opportunity for you to say, I don't want to

just do life on my own. I want to belong. It's when you get connected to the body. We see this with Bartimaeus. That's where his breakthrough comes. His breakthrough comes being connected to the body. His breakthrough does not come. Him being disconnected from the body. It's being connected to the body. So your dream, the relationship, the open door, the opportunity of the thing that you believe in God for, my friends, it's not just found in you, in your prayer closet all by yourself. It is found being connected to the body. Your best friends are here. Your future spouse is here. And not just somebody for you, but you for someone else. to bring hope and life and strength to them.

It's one of the many things I love about life church. We got gray-haired people, no-haired people, and we got brand-new babies coming into this world. It's all of us together being the family of God, the body of Christ. I do not promise you perfection. I do not promise you when you get connected to the body, all your problems go away.

That's not even biblical. They're people just like you and just like me. and we're broken people in need of the grace and the forgiveness that comes from Jesus. But can I make this clear? I'm going to challenge you to take a step forward. I'm going to challenge you. Matter of fact, I'm going to challenge you for one year to jump into a life group. I'm going to challenge you for one year.

Yeah, I know schedule, I know travel, I know kids, I know, I know, I know. everybody's got it. All of us have it. But I'm challenging you for one year, because you know there's more the inside of you. It's found in Jesus, yes, but connected to his body. Lord, I pray a grace and a favor over this entire church. And I pray that what would try to hold us back would not, that we would silence those voices or push through them. And we would be the men and women that you called us to be.

And we would live our lives for your glory and your fame. I pray for divine connections. I pray for healthy relationships. And I pray that your church would flourish as we seek to honor you and glorify you in all that we say, in all that we do. In Jesus' thing, we pray. Amen. And amen.

Love you so much, family. Come on, church. Tell Pastor all, thank you. I wonder how many of you would say that you know there's probably more. Raise your hands. Yeah. There is. There's more.

That we were not created to do life alone. And yet everything in culture kind of celebrates this isolated mindset. And I know that we're all busy. Every single one of us are. But if there's something missing, the very thing that might be missing is your relationship with the body of Christ. real genuine community, people that know you, accepts you, love you, need you. You need them, and they need you. And this is something that not only do I want for you, but God wants for you.

We call them life groups here. They meet every day of the week at every campus. Some of you need to join one. Some of you might need to start one. There's a QR code that will come up on the screen that you can take a picture of and get information of how to be a part of a life group. Your campus pastor will give you this again and more information as well. But is there something missing? Maybe what it is is your connection to the body of Christ. Father, I pray that you would lead us to take a step into real community centered around you where we know and we're known and we give and we receive and we're a blessing.

And we don't just have an individual relationship with Jesus, but more scripturally we have a shared relationship with Jesus. So I pray God for people to take a step toward you, toward your body, toward real community, and we'll see the breakthrough in your body as we love one another. As you keep praying today, I've got really good news. I grew up thinking like Christianity was one of many religions. I didn't realize that Christianity is way more than a religion that God intended it to be a relationship.

Not a religion with a bunch of rules, but a relationship. God is a relational God. The first thing he did was he spoke and he created humankind to love them. He created a man, a man needed help. And so he created a woman so a man wouldn't be alone. He's a relational God. And he wants to be in a relationship with you. You might believe in God, you might have been around church, you might be really far from God,

but something is drawing you toward him right now? What is that? That's him. That's his love. That's His Holy Spirit drawing you and you're not watching by accident. You know there's more. And it's not you conforming to a bunch of rules. It's you surrendering to a relationship with a God who loves you, who loved you so much

that he sent his one and only son, Jesus, who was perfect and died. so our sins could be forgiven. So today, wherever you're watching from, if you'd say, yeah, I don't have a relationship, we're going to step away from our old life, we're going to step away from our sins. We're going to surrender to Jesus when you call on him, the son of God.

He hears your prayers, he forgives your sins, and it'll make you brand new. There's something more, there is something more, and it's a relationship with a God who loved you through his son, Jesus, wherever you are today. If you'd say, I need that, I want that, I step away from my sins.

I surrender to Jesus. Jesus, I give you my whole life that you lift your hands high right now. At all of our churches say, yes, that right now all over the place, people say, I surrender to him. I surrender Jesus to the Lord and Savior of my life online. You can just type in the comment section, I'm surrendering my life to Jesus. Just type that in right now. And today, wherever you're watching from, let's just take a step forward. a spiritual step forward into a relationship with a God who loves you.

Pray a lot. Pray Heavenly Father, I step toward you to give you my life. Jesus, forgive all of my sins. Be my Savior, be my friend. Fill me with your spirit so I could know you. And walk in your ways and show your love. Thank you for new life. I give you all of mine.

In Jesus' name, I pray. I need the body of Christ to celebrate with new members of the body of Christ. We love you and praise you. Welcome those morning to God's family.