Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - Thank God, Part 1: Thank God

Episode Date: November 18, 2018

Have you ever thought about why God put you on this planet, right here, right now? Maybe so you can spread hope. Maybe He’s called you to meet needs. There’s one thing we know for sure: we can all Thank God He wants us to be part of the story He’s... Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, I want to welcome all of you today to church. I'm so glad that you took time out of your week to join together with other Christ followers, to worship our God and to celebrate the teaching of His Word. This is a very, very special weekend for us, and I want to announce to you some amazing news. On this weekend, we are honored to launch, believe it or not, the 32nd Life Church location. And this one is in West, Wichita, Kansas. It was only four years ago that we launched a brand new one in Wichita, Kansas. God has overwhelmed them with so many new people coming to faith in Christ.

We're launching the second one. And I would love it today at all of our churches. If you wouldn't mind just standing to your feet, what I want to do is I want to join our faith with those in West Wichita, believing that God is going to impact that community in a very significant way. Pastor Lucas and Joy, we love you. support your work, your leadership, your team. All of our churches join your faith with mine as we pray. Father, thank you so much for what is being born in a new community on this weekend.

God, we pray for the leadership. We pray for all the servants on the ground. God, we pray that your Holy Spirit would go before them to touch hearts to draw people into your family, that, God, they would know you, lift up your name, God, and make a difference in West Wichita and beyond. God, we pray that years from now, this community would be different because your light is shining brightly and is born on this day. God bless the work that you would be glorified through everything they do. We pray this in the name of Jesus and all God's people said, amen, amen. Would you guys remain standing today for the reading of God's word?

On this day, what I want to do is I want to help give you reasons to thank God. And I want to read to you from the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 9. We'll start in verse 10. The words of Paul really bless me. I pray they would bless you as well. Here's what Paul said. He said, for God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bred to eat.

In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then what's he going to do? When he gives you increase, he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched

in every way. Why? So you can have more, no. You'll be blessed by God in every way so that you can always be generous. We love to say at Life Church that we will lead the way in irrational generosity, if you know it, help me out, because we truly believe it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. God will bless you so you can always be a blessing to others. And then Paul says, and when we take the gifts to those who need them, help me out. What did he say? He said, they will do what? He said, they will do what? He said, they will thank God. Let's say it again. When we take the gifts to those who need them, what will they do? Say it with passion. They will Thank God. What I want you to do is fist bump about five people around you and say, people are thanking God for you. Fist bump, get after, show some love today. All over the world,

people are thanking God for you. What I want to do today is help give you some reasons to thank God because there are many reasons that people are thanking God for you. In fact, what I'm going to do today is I'm going to share with you a lot of different numbers. Now, if you've been around people who like to criticize churches, a lot of times, they say, well, churches are all about the numbers. They're all about the numbers. They're all about the numbers. I want to remind you, there is a book of the Bible called numbers. Numbers really matter because every number has a name and every name has a story and every

story matters to God. So when I tell you numbers today, I also want to tell you a few of the stories behind the numbers, because these stories really matter, and they matter to God, and I believe that they're going to matter to you. Let me tell you four different reasons why people are thanking God around the world on your behalf. The first reason, if you're taking notes, is this. People thank God because you are spreading His word. In fact, in the book of John, the first chapter and the first verse, John said this. He said, in the beginning was the what, somebody helped me out. He said, in the beginning was the word and the word, and the word was with God.

And the word was God. The author to the Hebrews said this, for the word of God is alive and active. It's sharper than any double-edged sword. What's incredibly significant to me is to note that years and years ago, when I was without Christ, when I was hurting, when I was broken, when I was full of guilt and full of shame, a gentleman from an organization known as the Gideans offered me God's Word, a free New Testament Bible one day at college, and through reading, this little Bible, the print is so small that I cannot read it today without glasses, to reading this little Bible, God's word touched my heart, changed my life, and brought me into a relationship with Jesus because someone gave me God's word and it impacted and changed my life. I never would have thought that years and years later, I would get to be a part of a church that created

the U-Version Bible app that gives this app away for free to anyone anywhere in the world, and that this gift from our church from you would now be on 348

million million devices all over the world. 348 million people are thanking God because of you. In fact, I want to introduce you to just two of them. I want you to meet Tina and Teddy Campbell. You may know Tina as the Grammy Award winner, one half of the group Mary Mary. You may know Teddy or may not know him, but you know of what he's

done. He's been the drummer for the Backstreet Boys, for Britney Spears, been on American Idol, and many other places. These are simply two. of 348 million people who are thanking God that you are spreading his word. Hey there, everybody. I am Tina Campbell, may be known as one half of Mary Mary the gospel group. Woo-hoo! Do you want to introduce yourself before I get into this? Because I'm about to go heavy on the people. Okay, I'm Teddy Campbell, and I am the drummer on American Idol, and most importantly, her husband.

That's most importantly. Come on, Jesus. Well, listen, let me talk to y'all. Thank you all for what you do. I live on this app in the morning when I wake up, on the airplane, when I'm chilling, when I'm happy, when I'm sad. Like, all parts of my life include me and this app. I encourage everybody that I meet to get the app like, oh, you know, I don't have a Bible and I don't really know. Listen, everything that you need to know about the Lord is on that app.

It's a major part of my life and my life would be null and void without it. So thank you. We want to give you a big hug. Right there. We're going to take that. Thank you. Again, I have to echo what she said. I never read the Bible in its entirety in my entire life as a believer.

And because of the app, I did that. I took the six-month reading plan, and I did it. I finished it. It just jumped-started me on this absolute hunger for more of God's work. What you guys are doing is helping people in every aspect of their life. So thank you, Uversion. Thank you, Life. church. We pray all God's blessings on you and your families and your labor is not in vain.

That's right. We absolutely positively appreciate you. Peace. I hope you feel it. Feel the joy that people are thanking God because you're spreading his word. In fact, Amy and I were in L.A. last week at a conference and they introduced us as the pastors of the church that created the U Virgin Bible app. And people stood and applauded not for who we are. are, but for what you've done by giving the Bible, and I tell you, every city, every country we go to, people say thank you, thank you, thank you, because you are spreading his word. People thank God because of your generosity. In fact, we believe with all of our hearts, this is a calling. This is what we do as followers of Christ to spread God's word, but there is a very significant problem in the world

today. Of the 6,000 vital languages, in fact, around the world, there's 6,000. There's 6,000 major languages. Of those 6,000, there's 2,000 languages that do not have a single verse of the Bible translated into their heart or native language. This is a massive problem, and we believe that God is calling us to be a part of the solution to that problem. What I want to announce to you, from the depths of our souls, we believe that God has called us to be the generation that eradicates Bible poverty. By the year, 2003, partnering with other Bible translators, we have a goal to see 99.996% of the world's languages have a New Testament available to them, and 100% of the languages on planet Earth have access to some portion of God's word in their language. It is a goal. God will empower it. He will use you,

We will do it. We will be the generation that eradicate Bible poverty on this planet. In fact, a few of our pastors had the most amazing privilege. Pastor Tim Duremus from Life Church, Wichita, was one of them that got to present God's word to a people group that had never had the word in their language before. And here's when he and others got to go to the amazing people of Gabon, Africa, and say, here is God's word in your language. Imagine hearing the scriptures read to you in a language you couldn't fully understand.

That's the problem facing over one billion people in the world today. As a church, we're passionate about ending Bible poverty and have committed $1 million to Bible translation efforts around the world. On July of 2018, Life Church had the opportunity to witness your generosity in action, as the Obamba and Teke people groups in Gabon, Africa, received their very first portion of scripture written in a language they can truly understand. The second chapter of the Gospel of Luke, The Christmas Story. In the community of my mother tongue, if he didn't seek my language, he's the god of other people, not my

God. That's why it's very important to translate Bible. We think God, thank you for Life Church, because many people in our mother tongues know Jesus, accept Jesus, and we are very, very, very, very beautiful. Thank you, Love, Church. Feel it. Can you feel it? People are thanking God because you are spreading his word. Would you say we're spreading his word? People are also thanking God because you are equipping churches. Say we're equipping churches. The Apostle Paul said this in Ephesians chapter 4, verses 11 and 12.

He said there are different gifts. These are the gifts that Christ gave to his church. There's apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. That's what we all are. We have these different gifts. Their responsibility is to do what? Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do God's work. We equip people to do God's work and to build up the church, the body of Christ.

God is empowering us to equip churches. In fact, years ago, there were churches across the world that started to ask, could we purchase the resources that Life Church creates? Because that's what churches often do. They create and they sell to other churches. They wanted to by sermons and graphics and videos and kid curriculum and small group curriculum and such. In January of 2006, we asked ourselves the question, what if we gave all the resources away to churches that we possibly could? We didn't know if we could even afford to do it, to meet the demand, and to continue it. And we felt like God called us to say yes and to start giving.

We had no idea just how far reaching and just how many churches this would impact all over the world. And I wanted you to hear from just one pastor who is thanking God because of what you all give. The Bronx and specifically the area where I live, we have the poorest congressional district in all of the United States. And we're talking about large families that are in desperate need. And it drove me to start a church in the Bronx, New York. It's very challenging doing ministry here in the Bronx. It's one thing to have a big dream, and then you see the resources,

and you find yourself in a gap. So the live church open network literally fills that gap. I'm talking about children's church material. I'm talking about the graphics, the videos, the life-impacting messages. The open network is literally touching life. touching lives in parts of the roughest neighborhood in all of New York City. It's changing that drug addict. It's changing that broken up family that is coming through our church. Those resources that we're getting is giving us the tools that we need to bring about a life-changing church.

So, life church, thank you from the bottom of my heart, on the bottom of our church heart. you truly, truly are making a difference right here in the Bronx, New York. Pastor Fernando, we love you. We love your ministry. I hope you all will recognize that Pastor Fernando in the Bronx, New York is one of 557,000 pastors and church leaders who have downloaded over 13 million resources, absolutely free. are thanking God because you gave. Every number has a name. Every name has a story. Every story matters to God. When I get to serve pastors at conferences I meet,

and they tell me the free resources sometimes save their marriage, helped build their church. They literally cry and will tell me, thank you, you have no idea. I want you to feel that people are thanking God because we are equipping churches. In fact, the story has blown me away just a couple of weeks ago. I was running to a meeting. Some team members stopped me and said, you've got to come in and meet Frederick.

I said, I don't know, I'll meet Frederick. I walked in, and I met Frederick in his story made me fight back the tears. Let me tell you about Frederick. Years ago, he was not a Christian. He was invited to go to an open network church. That's a church that uses our weekend resources and others. He walked into a church in Gold Coast Australia as a non-Christian, heard our weekend message, was touched by the Spirit of God,

surrendered his life to Christ. Years went by. This new Christian moved to Montreal, Canada. He plugged into a new church called La Chappelle Church, which is blowing up. A few years later, he felt called to full-time ministry. Now, this guy who met Christ at an open network church is now helping lead a huge vision to start 100 French-speaking churches all over the world. This is the work of God.

one story because of your faithfulness. People are thanking God because you're spreading his word. People are thanking God because you are equipping churches. People are thanking God because you are meeting needs. Say we're meeting needs. This is what Paul said. He said, we're called, Romans chapter 12. He said, we're called to share with the Lord's people who are in need. We as the body of Christ meet needs. Now, when it comes to doing missions or to serving those in need to helping people around the world, our strategy is pretty simple. What we don't want to do is we don't want to recreate what gifted and talented people are already doing around the world.

What we want to do is we want to come alongside of them, partner with them, because we believe we can do infinitely more together than we can apart. Let me give you some examples. globally, we partner with many mission organizations for a variety of purposes, like relief and restoration, a hurricane hits, a tornado hits, an earthquake hits, fire hits, people are in need because of some type of disaster. We partner with them to meet needs on the ground. We partner with those doing microfinancing, giving out small loans to business people who need just a little bit to build their way out of poverty, helping rescue children from poverty, get them plugged in local churches, kids that would not survive otherwise. And because of what you do, here's simply one example of why people thank God for what you give. Hey, Life Church, I want to bring greetings from Puerto Rico.

We're actually standing inside of the warehouse of one of our global relief partners, Convoy of Hope, who have been here over the last year helping with the hurricane relief. Jeff NeNeenie is with convoy, and we've seen a lot since we've been here. Well, that is so true, as we've traveled around the island this week, We have seen so many homes being built, so many lives being put back together, that there's still so much to do. Life Church, we give to Convoy of Hope because they are some of the best in the world at responding to disasters. We don't necessarily give when there is a disaster.

We give ongoing. What is it like? And what's the benefit of having resources just ready to go so you guys can respond? That's one of the huge benefits of our partnership with Life Church. A lot of churches will come on board when something has happened. Well, by the time they do that, we're already in action. we're a week or two weeks or a month into it already. So the partnership with Life Church really equips us to be ready to go at a moment's notice.

So when that earthquake happens or when that hurricane hits, we're in motion. We're on the ground immediately. And Life Church, thank you to those of you that give, those of you that pray for all the work that goes on, not just here in Puerto Rico, but around the world. You have a global impact. Whether you feel it or not, you truly do. And you are making a difference, all because we believe whoever finds God. find slight. I hope you feel it that whenever you give offerings above your tithe to what we call

relief and restoration, God is using you to make a difference all over the world. In fact, not only are we making a difference globally, but at all of our life search locations, we're incredibly passionate about transforming the communities locally. In fact, every single one of our life search locations have mission partners in the communities. These are mission groups that specifically in reaching out, building up, helping certain groups of people that are in need, and we support them financially, and we support them with tens of thousands of you who are on the ground using your gifts, serving in the name of Jesus to make a big difference. I want to show you just one of the many mission partners we have. This one is dear to my heart. It's called Hope is alive.

Hope is alive, is passionate about radically changing the lives of addicts and those. who love them. And I want you to meet Tierra because she is thanking God because of you. My name's Tierra Mithin. I'm 23 and I'm an eight-time felon and a recovering drug addict. My addiction, it started out really slow, but it quickly progressed to taking four to six ecstasy pills a day. I didn't know who I had become. I did things that I never wanted to do and I went places that I never wanted to go. It was dark and it was scary, but I saw the light at the end of the tunnel,

and that's what I came to, Hope is Alive. Hope is alive. Set the foundation for me to have a relationship with Christ. They introduced me to Life Church. Life Church is my home church. I said, on the front row with my brothers and sisters, I go there every weekend. I can't wait to go every weekend.

I got baptized two days before my year of sobriety. I started a Life group. It's amazing. So thank God for Hope is Alive and their partnership with Life Church. How good is that? Tierra, I thank God for you. We love you.

We praise God for his work in your life. You're a special part of our family. God doesn't have favorites, but I might. We praise God for his work in your life. People are thanking God. because you're spreading his word. People are thanking God because you're equipping churches, the bride of Christ.

People are thanking God because you're meeting needs in love and in the name of Jesus. People are thanking God because you are changing lives. You're changing lives. Paul said this, he said, if anyone is in Christ, he's a new creation. The old is gone. The new is here.

If anyone meets Christ, it's not about our righteousness. It's about his righteousness. It's not about our goodness. It's about his goodness. And every weekend because you pray, every weekend because you serve, every weekend because you give, every weekend because you invite, people are being born into the family of God. I want you to feel this last weekend alone. If you can wrap your mind around it because I cannot.

Last weekend alone, I asked people to publicly declare their need for faith in Christ. We had 2,976 people publicly say that I needed Christ. 2,976, do you realize the goodness of God? If there had only been 24 more, we could have had Pentecost. And this happens week after week, after week. People are thanking God for what you do as they're made new in Christ. I want to introduce you to one of our Life Church pastors, Pastor Ronnie Brumley, and he's going to tell you about one of my favorite most recent life change stories.

My name is Ronnie Brumley. I'm the pastor at Life Church Northwest Oklahoma City, and I've been in the ministry for over 30 years, and I've seen God do some crazy, powerful, incredible things in people's lives. But during that 30 years, I had a relationship with my dad that was severely broken. But because of my church, God has done a redemptive work.

And here's how it really started. I got a text one morning from Rob Beckley, who's pastor at our Life Church Katusa location. He said, my dad walked up to him that morning because he found himself at Life Church, and he said to Rob. He said, you know, today I feel like I understand for the first time what the gospel is really all about. And I want to be baptized.

And I'll never forget breaking down in tears when I got that text from him. And this past baptism, my brothers and I had the opportunity together to baptize my dad. And God completely restored and healed a relationship that's been broken for over 30. years. I thank God for Life Church and I thank God for the gospel that brought a family that was broken back together. Pastor Ronnie, I thank God for you, for your family. I thank God for his miraculous work, his healing, and I believe God's going to do even more of that. I want you to feel it. I want you to embrace it. That people around the world are thanking God because of what you give. or not, meaning maybe they're thanking God for what the person next to you gives,

because you haven't yet joined in the blessing of making a difference for the glory of Jesus. We believe it's way more blessed to give than it is to receive. And there may be some of you that have yet to experience the great blessing. of being a part of something so special, touching so many lives around the world. At our church, we're unapologetic about being generous. It's a call of our hearts. We will lead the way with irrational generosity.

We start with the tithe. We believe with all of our hearts that the first 10% of what God blesses to us belongs to him. We worship him. We return it to him. We give it joyfully. We give it hilariously. We see it as an act of worship.

We thank him that he can do more with 90% that he blesses than if we keep 100% for ourselves. We give a tithe to God as an act of worship. We give offerings above the tithe. We believe that God blesses those who are generous. We believe he gives us seed. We plant seed in good soil.

I believe this is good soil that will reap a harvest because God is using you to spread his word. God is using you to impact churches all over the world. God is using you to meet needs. God is using you to change lives. We give God the glory that people around the world are thanking God

for the way that you give if you're not currently engaged, if you're not serving, if you're not praying, if you're not inviting, if you're not giving, may I invite you to join so many others on the blessings of making a difference in this world. You may say I can't give a lot. There's a poor widow who just put two little coins in, and because it was all she had,

Jesus said she gave more than anybody else. You may give something very small, and God may use it in a big way. Just like in the life of Dana, who walked into church hurting, broken, desperate, and alone, walked out, not knowing where to turn, and saw a host team volunteer named Amy, who smiled. who smiled at Dana. And Dana said that smile caused me to pause to go back

and to ask her just for some help. And Amy ministered to Dana ended up leading her into a relationship with Jesus. And here is a picture of Amy actually baptizing Dana celebrating new life in Christ. And guess what it is that God

used. God transformed a life when someone offered a smile. A smile. What may seem small to you can be incredibly big to God. People are thanking God because of what you do. So Father, empower us to do even more. Because of your radical love for us through Jesus that while we were still sinners, you sent your son to die for us.

Our only reasonable response, God, is to offer you all of our lives. As you pray today at all of our different life churches, those of you who are followers of Christ, this is your church home, who would say, yeah, I am giving, I'm serving, but I really believe God would stir me, empower me, to do even more.

Would you lift up your hands right now and say, yes, God, move me to do even more? There may be those of you who would say, I've been around for a long time or even a little while and I'm not doing anything yet. I want the blessing of doing something. I want to serve. I want to give. I want to pray. Would you lift up every hand for?

Now, just be bold and lift them up all of our church and say, yes, that's me. Father, I thank you that you've given us good soil to plant seeds to bring about a harvest. God, I thank you that with a harvest of generosity, you give us even more to be more generous with to make a difference around the world. God, I thank you for those who will tithe for the very first. first time today, worshiping you, honoring you. God, I think you will speak to hearts to give beyond the tithe in an act of worship. God, I thank you that you will move people to serve, to use their gifts, God, to invite, to pray. God, I thank you that you may even use someone today who simply offers a smile to minister to someone to bring about changed lives. God, thank you for blessing us that we could

bless others that people around the world would thank you because of what your church gets to do. As you keep praying today at all of our different churches, it's amazing to think about all the lives that are changed. Why are they changed? It's not because we're good. It's not because the church is good. It's not because we try really hard. It's not because we do good things. It's because God is good. It's His goodness. It's His loving kindness that draws people. It's His grace. What is the problem? The problem is we've all sinned. You know it. You feel guilty at times, you feel ashamed, you know you've done things that are wrong, you wonder where do you stand with God?

On our own, we are never good enough for God. When a Gideon gave me a free Bible years ago, it was Ephesians chapter 2 where I read about the grace of God, that I could only be made right with God, not by my good works, but by grace through faith, believing in Jesus, the perfect son of God, who never sinned, who died on a cross in our place as the perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. Three days later, though, he wasn't there. He was not in the tomb. The stone was rolled away. He was raised from the dead so that anyone, and this includes you, who calls on his name, would be forgiven, would be changed, would be made completely new. In all of our churches, there are those of you, guess what? You're about to

thank God. You're going to thank God for what somebody did, for somebody who prayed, for a Jesus who gave this life for you because your life is about to be changed. Not because you're good because he's good. Not because you're righteous because he's righteous. And all of our churches, those who say, I need his grace. I turn from my sins. I give my life to him. That's your prayer. Lift your hands high right now. All over the place. Lift them up and say, yes, I surrender my life to Christ. As we have hands going up at all of our different churches, those of you at church online, you click right below me. Tell someone in the chat, I'm giving my life to Christ. As we have hundreds and hundreds of people at churches across the world, surrendering their lives to Christ,

would you join your faith and your heart with those around you? Let's all pray together. Pray Heavenly Father, I surrender my life to Jesus. Jesus save me, forgive me, make me new. Holy Spirit fill me that I could follow Jesus and serve him every day of my life. life, use me to make a difference so people will thank you. Use me to lift up your name so people will know you. My life is not my own. I give it to you. In Jesus' name I pray.

Would you guys celebrate big today? Welcome those born into God's family.