Life.Church with Craig Groeschel - The Vow, Part 2: The Vow of Pursuit

Episode Date: June 18, 2017

Wedding vows are more than a declaration of love—they hold the keys to a strong, lasting marriage. Whether you hope to get married someday or you’ve already tied the knot, discover what The Vow can mean for the future. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thanks for joining us here at Life Church, where we are one church meeting in multiple locations and reaching around the world with what God is doing at Church online. If you ever have any questions or you want to learn more about us as a church, you can always check us out online simply by going to life.com. We'd love to stay connected throughout your week and everywhere you go with the Life Church app. It's available for free wherever you download your apps from. You know, we're in the middle of a message series that's helping us prepare for marriage and live out a God-honoring marriage.

And today, our senior pastor, Craig Rochelle, will help us see how closing the gap between I Should and I Do can be achieved by the constant pursuit of our spouse. And we'll see how in part two of The Vow. Hey, welcome everybody to week number two of the message series called The Vow. I'm excited to have all of our live churches with us, all of our open and network churches. We love you all so much. It's a great honor to partner with churches all over the world and our church online family. we're actually in part two of a four-part message series, and my big goal and prayer is that God would help those of you

that are not married today, but hope to be, that he would do a work in your heart to give you the tools to be prepared to have a marriage that truly honors God. And for those of you that are married, I believe that God's word is going to strengthen you, empower you, encourage you, give you the hope and the tools to have a marriage that would really be a blessing.

to you and to generations to come. So a little bit of fun, I'd like to ask a question, all of our different churches, how many of you have ever made a fool of yourself in the name of love? Anybody ever done something stupid and ridiculous? I got a little owl on the front row. Yeah, we all have at one point or another.

Sometimes people say, Craig, you really outpunted your coverage when you married Amy. I'll admit that. I married way, way, way up, and I made a fool out of myself pursuing this woman of God. The things I did was absolutely ridiculous, but man, I had my eyes on the target, and there was nothing going to stop me

from winning her into my family. In fact, when we were dating, we talked, you know, like we were kind of serious, and she's like, if we ever got married one day, but if we ever got married, did she just say that? You know, I'd like to have two kids. You see how bad we missed that? Two, six, we were off in our judgment.

And so she said, we'll call the boy Josh and we'll call the girl Joy. And we did have a joy. We forgot Josh somewhere along the way. But we were dating and I thought she wants to have a girl named Joy. So I was at a big box store and I actually saw a joy pillow. It was a Joy pillow. It was 50% off. Now, it was February and I wasn't smart enough to realize that it was actually a Christmas pillow.

and that's why it was on sale, but I just saw the joy. I also wasn't smart enough to realize that it wasn't a pillow. It was a pillow on the cover, but it was actually a latch hook rug that had to be made into a pillow. So thinking I was going to score big,

I bought this joy pillow for it. I said, I got something for you with the name of our future girl lunch. Oh, what is it? And I opened it up like, oh, it's a latch hook rug. And so for weeks, I don't know if you've ever made a latch hook rug,

but they're like 43 billion little threads and they're all different colors and I'm colorblind. And you have to fold them and then stick this thing in and pull it out and go around the little lever thing and pull it back out and that's one. And there's millions to go. And for week after week, I sat there and made for my girl a joy latch-hick rug.

If you do not believe my story, I actually have a picture of this rug to show you. There's my girl with big hair, there's my sofa that I found on the side of the road for absolutely free, and there is my joy, latch hook rug I made for the love of my life. All right, man, I pulled out the stops for this girl.

Our second date, I had greeters, Rich and Anna Dozier, my next door neighbors. They greeted her as she came in. I blindfolded her, I had a tent set up living room, I had stuffed animals that were like wild animals. We grilled out. We had like outdoor indoor camping thing. I made crafts. She loved crafts. I made crafts. Can you believe I made crafts? Because she loved crafts. Finally, I wouldn't sure if she liked me or not. And then for graduation, she actually spent all of her money and she bought me a dog. That's what I knew I was so in. When you

buy a dog, that's like a long-term pet. Here's Amy with a little dog. I'll show you the picture of it. This is her with her big hair and a little dog. And then I was so excited, this is me actually at graduation carrying the dog. Anybody ever make a fool out of their self or love. That was me all the way. If you're taking notes, we need to understand this big principle, and that is by nature, we pursue what we don't have. By nature, we tend to pursue what we don't have.

Chances are pretty good that most of you, you've got some kind of similar story. I don't know what it is. Maybe you drove overnight through the snow, risking your life for 20 minutes with your love bunches years and years ago. Maybe you spent your whole savings account on some ridiculous concert because that was their favorite concert. You know, maybe you used to sit on the phone back when they were like landlines years ago

and you would just breathe. Not heavy. You just breathe. I'm not being, you just breathe. Like, I'm not going to say goodbye. You say goodbye. I'm not going to say goodbye. Whatever it is, we've all got those stories.

We tend to pursue whatever we don't have. What happens years later when you wake up and you don't feel the love? What happens one day when suddenly you think, where'd the intimacy go? Where'd the adventure go? Where'd the romance go? Well, very simply, if we just look at the roots, somewhere along the way, we got the priorities out of line, and we stopped pursuing one another.

Think about this. Is there any other area in your life that you can be lazy and see improvement? Think about it. Can you be lazy in your body and get in better shape? No, you can't. Can you be lazy in your business, not lead it well, not manage the finances, and see it grow?

No, you can't. Can you be lazy in your yard, not water it, not fertilize it and see your yard get better? No, the weeds will grow. That's why I always like to say, speaking of yard, in your marriage. If the grass looks greener somewhere else, it's time to water your own yard. Let me say it again. If the grass ever looks greener somewhere else, it's time to water your own yard.

And that's what I want to talk about today. We are in the message series called the vowel. We are looking at four different vows that if we live these vows, they will help equip us and move us toward the marriage that truly honors God. If you were with us last week, we looked at vow number one. It's in your notes and you can say it aloud. What is our first vow? Our first vow is I promise that God will be my first priority and my spouse will be my second.

Why? God is our one. Our spouse is our two. We put God first in all that we do. Our second vow, if you're taking notes, is this. I promise to always pursue my two. God is my one. my spouse is my two, I promise to always pursue my two.

We took the first vow out of Genesis 2.24. We'll take the second vow out of Genesis 224. And this is what Scripture says. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is what? And is united to his wife and they become one flesh. A man leaves his father and mother. He prioritizes his relationships. God is now number one, his spouse is now number two,

and then he's united to his wife. The root word in the Hebrew language that's translated as united is the word debach, debak. And this word means to cling or adhere. It means to catch by pursuit, or it means to pursue hard with affection and devotion.

DeBak. They were united as one flesh. In fact, let me show you. you three different ways this Hebrew word, Da Bak, is translated because the Hebrew language is an amazing language. It's not like English. A word is almost like a picture or like a mini story. There's texture and action to so many of the Hebrew words. The today's living Bible in Psalm 63.8 translates debaq this way. I follow close behind you. I follow close behind you. That's also stalkers' favorite verse as well. But that's for

another message. Job 4117, the NIV translates debaq this way. They joined fast to one another. They cling together and cannot be parted. Judges 20 verse 45, the King James Version translates debaq this way. They pursued hard after them. They pursued hard. They were united. They were debaq. They pursued hard after one another and therefore they became one flesh. In fact, one of my favorite stories in the Bible in relationships is actually a story, a beautiful story of pursuit. If you go back in the Old Testament, there was the story of Jacob and his love for Rachel. It was interesting, the Bible's kind of funny. If you read it, this is literally what it says. There were two sisters. There was Leah, the older sister, and Rachel was the younger sister.

And the Bible says very literally that Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. and Leia had weak eyes. That's what it says. In the Hebrew, what that means is she had a great personality. That's what it means, okay? Sort of, right? I mean, how cruel is that? Rachel's lovely in form and figure,

and then she's got glasses, okay? You know, that's kind of, that's, but that's what it says. So Jacob loved the younger sister, and he said, hey, I want, I want to her. I want to, like to marry her. I'll do whatever it takes to merit. And the father Laban says, fair enough.

Work seven years for me. And so the imagery is beautiful. Jacob works seven years. And scripture says, time passed quickly because he was so in love with her. Time just flew by. It's like, I'm doing this because I love her. Well, the father pulled a little switcheroo.

And instead of the younger form one, he gave her the older, me glasses one. And Jake was like, I wanted racial. And the father said, well, in our culture, it's proper to give the older daughter first. He's like, well, I was asking for the other one.

And so a lot of people think that Jacob had to work seven years and then he got Rachel. Actually, what happened is the father went ahead and gave him, I gave Rachel to him and then said, you still owe me another seven years. The imagery that I love is this, that Jacob worked for Rachel after he already had her. I love that.

For seven more years, he gladly worked for her even though he'd already received the gift. He worked for her after he already had her. And in so many ways, that's the heart of what I believe God wants us to do in our marriage, is God wants us to continue to work for our number two after we already have them. I will always pursue my number two.

They were united and they became one flesh. What happens is when you're not married, you maybe start dating and you do pursue each other. You do everything, you buy them little stuff, Walrus, and you dedicate their favorite song. And my first date with Amy, I made the perfect mixtape. I mean, it was amazing. It was a mixtape.

I mean, it was so perfect. It was Christian song, followed by Christian song, followed by love song, followed by Christian song, followed by Christian song, followed by love song. Love song, Christian song, a little air supply, a little Chicago, we're breaking it down, okay? And so, you know, I'm going for this. because I'm pursuing her and I want to get her.

And I always do this. What happens though is if you don't continue to pursue in your marriage, things tend to go down. Now, if I can talk to those of you that are not yet married, I want to just give a little bit of advice. If you're dating someone right now and there is not mutual pursuit, I would just warn you to reevaluate the relationship

because we tend to work for what we don't have. And if he's not doing anything that looks like a date, and if he's not ever dressing up and dropping some change on you, if he's not ever buying you something special, ladies, you are worth pursuing. You are worth pursuing. You are worth pursuing. And while hopefully you're not throwing yourself at him,

if you're not writing him a little love note every now and then, telling him he's kind of cute, you know, making some cookies. When Amy made some cookies, they're like kissing and there's cookies, and those are kind of in the same category. You know, if you're not doing something to show interest in him, then you really want to look at this and pay attention to it because typically when you get married,

the pursuit usually doesn't go up. In most cases, it goes down. If you're not seeing it while you're dating, I would really encourage you to reevaluate. You are worth pursuing. Let's talk about how we live this out, and let's be real practical. What happens?

Almost no one gets married and thinks I want to have a bad marriage. I want to lose intimacy. I want to give this a go, and seven years later, I want to split up everything and have the kids on the weekends. Almost no one does this. We have good intentions.

We love each other, but life just wears us down. And so often we get tired, we get worn out, we get overwhelmed. We want to show the love that we feel, but we simply don't do it. I want to talk to you about three simple principles

about closing the gap between our intentions and our actions. Three simple scripturally based rules that will help us to always pursue our two. The first thing if you're taking notes is this. A rule that I honestly try to live by is this. When you think something good, say it. Every time you think something good of your spouse, say it. Why would I ever rob my bride

of a blessing of positive thought without giving it life and saying it to her. The writer to the Hebrews said this in Hebrews 313. But what are we to do? Let's all say it aloud. We are to encourage one another daily as long as it's called today so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

If you want to keep the deceitfulness of sin out of your marriage, one of the ways you can do it is you can encourage one another daily every time you think something good, you say it. And Amy, I think you can nod. I mean, I literally try to live this. I tell you every single day, something different. I love you.

I'm so glad you married me. You're my dream girl. Today when you walked in, I said, whoa, man, I thank God for that. That's what I said, just saying. I tell you that I would marry you all over again. There's no one more perfect for me than you. I thank God every single day. And over and over and over and over and over, I honestly try to do this.

Every time I think something good, I try to say it. Every time I think something good, I never want her to be star. of verbal affection every time I think something good, I try to say it. A couple pieces of advice. Let me talk first to the men and then I want to talk to the ladies. Gentlemen, when you pursue her with words, pursue her with words of affection.

Pursue her with words of affection. And what I want to do is I want to encourage you, pursue her with non-sexual affection. Okay, non-sexual affection. Now, some of you, some of you right now are saying, What is that? Let me explain to you what it is. And I'll say it really slowly.

It is non-sexual affection. Some of you are still confused. It's affection that's non-sexual. It's non-sexual. Because a guy can make anything sexual, right? It's a spiritual gift. She says, we need to get the tires rotate. He's like, I'll rotate your tires.

You know, you know, we load the dishes. I'll load your dishes. And a guy can do, it's a gift. It's just, he's not a pervert, he's a guy. It's just how he is. It's just how he is. Any guy can do it. Anything, you know, I can't wait to hear you preach.

I'll preach for you. It's just, it's just what you do. And so what we want to do is pursue with, say it with me guys, non-sexual affection. and you probably never hold those words together and you've never come out of your mouth. And so one of the things that's a real simple tool and this is practical and it's powerful

is when you say I love you, add the word because and change the ending every time. I love you because you are my best friend. I love you because for all these years you've been faithful. I love you because you're one of the most amazing moms that I've ever known. I love you because you put God first

and you pursue him above anything else. I love you because you're my absolute best friend. I love you because even though we're in a difficult time right now, we're standing together. I love you because. Pursue her with words of affection. She needs it and it brings tremendous value. When you think something good, say it.

Set it free and bless her. Ladies, I would say this to you. Pursue him with words of affirmation. Pursue him with words of affirmation. because he is becoming who you see him as. Affirmation. One of the things, the most meaningful moments of the week for me is this.

I preach on Saturdays generally, then Sundays. So Saturdays, Amy's at the service with me, and I preach on Saturday, and I walk off and I go right to where she sits, and then I sit down next to her, and my campus pastor comes up and does the ending part, and I just hold my breath, and I wait for her to lean over and say,

that was amazing. That was a home run. Wow. that was fantastic. I can't believe I'm married to you. And I just wait for it. I wait for it. And if she forgets, I'm just like, because if she thinks I did good, she thinks I'm valuable, if she thinks I brought a contribution, it ain't matter what you all think. You can say whatever you want. My wife thought I hit a home run and I'll hit another home run before the day's over. But anyway, I just can't believe I just said that. It just happened and it just happened. I just can't take it

back, you know. And so this is so important. And I just want to encourage you ladies, try not to tell him what he's not, because that is so defeating for a man. When you say you're not and you're not, he wants to take his ball and go home, I don't want to play anymore. Even if he's not quite there, when you build him up, he'll grow into the man that you hope that he'll become, especially spiritually. And if I can just be honest from a pastor's perspective, one of the most common Some of complaints I hear from women is, well, my husband's not a spiritual leader. Well, if he was like Pastor Craig, you don't know, you don't live with Pastor Craig. He ain't all that, okay?

But, you know, he's not a spiritual leader. Well, when you say that, there's nothing to him that wants to lead spiritually because he recognizes you don't look up into this area. So if you take whatever he does that's even remotely spiritual and applaud him for it, like he says, let's go to church. You're like, oh, I felt so close to you whenever you said go to church. Really? You know, he may have never prayed before, but it's Thanksgiving.

And he's like, God is great. God is good. Thank you for this food or whatever. Afterwards, you go up to him and say, hey, when you prayed, like that was, that was, oh, wow. And just whisper in his ear, I like that, then breathe heavy or something like that, you know. And I'm kind of joking, but I'm not really. That if you start to say, wow, you know, that was like special. He's like, oh, well, next time I'll pray longer, you know, and louder and all this kind of.

and stuff. So build him up with words of affirmation because the way you see him really helps determine who he becomes. When there's a confident man, almost every time there's someone who believes in that one. Any man who battles with insecurity, sometimes it comes out in false pride. Look how great I am because he's not getting that affirmation. It means so much. And I just thank you for the way that you affirm me. It helps me to do what I'm doing. Pursue him with words of affirmation. A couple thoughts if you're taking notes is this. Men, she wants to know, do you love me today? Do you love me today?

Ladies, he wants to know, do you believe in me today? Anytime you think something good, say it. The second thought is this. When you think something special, do it. Every time. Anytime you think something special, do it. James 417, if we can loosely apply this to marriage, it should be convicting. If anyone then knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, what is it?

It is sin for them. It's sin for them. Any time that you know something good that you should do to be a blessing, do it. You know, come home early one day from work. Grab some takeout. Say, hey, let's just go out in the park. It's a beautiful day and go for a walk. Or let's buy the tickets to the game and I want to take you to wherever you want to do.

Guys, what I understand is if you've got little babies at home, one of the most romantic things you can do is give those little dirty kids a bath, wash them up, load the dishes, help get them to bed. That's actually a very romantic thing. Sinder flowers, if you can't afford to send them, pick them. I used to always pick them now, I can send them. And just a thing, if there's ever any other ladies around, send them when other ladies are around. The points multiply when other women see it.

I always send them to Amy's life group. Oh, life group again. Why are there? I don't know, I don't know. You know, it's just, when you think something good, bless them with it. I remember one time I was just worn out, and I was exhausted and hurting. And Amy came up to the office about 3 o'clock on a Thursday afternoon, had arranged everything with my assistant.

She said, come on, get in the car. I said, no, you don't. The kids are at a babysitter. I got a hotel book. The bags are packed. Come on, big boy. I'm like, glory to God, I can just quit the church. What happened is, my...

In the moment of my lowest point, my wife organized it, planned it all out, picked me up, and took me out for something amazing. Be creative. Fill the gas with, fill a car with gas, write a little love note, put sticky notes all over. They pulled the, you know, you're on a trip, open up the bed and I'm thinking about you, you know, watch a chick flick instead of a shoot-em-up, you know, or vice versa, if you want to, you know, whatever it is. Join them in their interest. If you think something special, do it. Whenever you think something amazing, say it. If you think something special, do it. And then number three, this is important. When you want something different, be it. When you want something different, be it. And let me just kind of meddle a little bit

because there's a lot of you can go, well, if you don't want to do it, Pastor Craig said, you know, if you quit you, if you just be that person, then I'd be, you know, whatever. And you so often point your finger at the other person. do not gripe about what your spouse is not. You become who God wants you to become. Let me say it again.

Do not gripe about what your spouse is not. You become who God wants you to become. You want something different, be it. Want something different, be it. Want something different, be it. One of the best examples in my marriage of this was when Amy was getting really frustrated with the amount of time that I was working in the evenings and always on my phone.

Biggest mistakes she could have made would be to gripe about me always being on my phone. But you know what she did is instead of pointing this out, she decided to be something radically different. And that is, her phone would go completely aside, all the time away. And what I noticed was she was engaged in conversations, she was having time with the kids, there wasn't any interruptions. And when she became something different,

all of a sudden I realized, I was disengaged, she was engaged. Her example led me to change my behavior, not her nagging. Not her nagging, not her tearing me down. Her becoming something different actually sparked something. We don't criticize our way into a better marriage. We can't change anybody else. We're responsible for ourselves. The moment you go home and you start trying to apply this message to your spouse, you miss the entire point of it. You want something different. You become something. different. And to make this message full and complete, I'd love for Amy to give her perspective on this subject. So to be totally honest, Craig is so great at this. And I wish all husbands

pursued their wives the way that he pursues me. It's fantastic. But I love the way that I get to pursue him back. And that is just looking for ways to build him up, encourage him. He always wants feedback on his messages. He just wants someone that will understand what he's going through. And so I want to be there for him, be available for him, be that voice of encouragement for him. He is the type of husband that loves to have quality time and have that time together is so good for our relationship. And so me clearing my schedule and having the time for him is huge. saying no to some things that I might get invited to do so that I can be with him. It's the way I serve him, but it's what we enjoy, and it's really how we pursue one another

is committing to have that time together. Well, if we really want to add value to our relationships, we have to start by knowing what we're adding value to. And I think if we want to figure that out, we've got to ask good questions. Greg and I have often asked each other, hey, how can I better support you? can I be a better spouse and better love you? And honestly, we don't always want to hear the answers we receive because it means we've got stuff to work on.

But those are really the things that we need to hear and that we need to apply because once we apply them, we are going to be seeing our marriage improve. We're going to see the value come and the relationship grow and be healthier and stronger. But you have to be really willing to get there to follow up with the, with a good response to what you hear.

I want to just say thank you for the way you pursue me. Both verbally and in every way. And our second vow is this. I promise to always pursue my, let's all say it loud, I promise to always pursue my two. One more time, I promise to always pursue my two. Gentlemen, if I can talk for you for a moment, you take the lead, you take the lead.

Women are responders. Women tend to multiply. I hope this doesn't come across in any way that's insulting. It's actually ordained by God, and it's a beautiful thing. Women multiply. When I got married to Amy, I gave her a house. She came in, she multiplied it. She made it into a home.

When we got married, we said I do, and we did. I gave her my love, and she multiplied it. And she gave me kids. Women are multipliers. What you give them, they tend to multiply. Gentlemen, you know it. You give them a hard time. they're multipliers.

And everybody said, amen. You give them a hard time. They'll give you H-E double hockey sticks, right? You know, they're going to give it back. And so what I always love to say to my brothers is this. If you don't like what you're getting, look at what you're giving. If you don't like what you're getting back, look at what you're giving. And instead of complaining about what you're not getting, ask yourself, what can you give to the marriage

to always pursue the two. There was a time when you did it. You were in love and you did stupid things. Why? Because you were crazy about this person. And years later, you wonder why you're not. Somewhere along the way, you stop pursuing. Very, very simple principles would be these.

To get what you've never had, you must do what you've never done. You already had something special because you did something special. The second principle is this. To get what you once had, you must do what? You must do what you once did. You had it before you can get it again.

You had it before you can get it again. You know what to do, you know how to do it, you did it before. You look back and suddenly you reach out and you show some romance and some tenderness and some affection, and you pursued the person for who they are. Over time, a heart softens. The romance comes. Suddenly you're playful. Then they're a little snuggly, snuggly, snuggly, snuggly,

and then they get snuggly, snuggly, do the funny, blah, blah, no. Why? See, a little bit goes a long way. And then it snowballs to get what you once had. Do what you once did. If it was ever special, it can be special again. If God is your one, your spouse is your two,

and you remember to always pursue the two. When Jesus was talking to the church in Ephesus who fell away, he said it very simply, different contexts, but apply this to your marriage loosely from Scripture. Revelation 2.5, remember the height from which you were fallen. Repent and do the things you did at first. You know how to pursue. Don't waste the gift that God has given you through all these years.

Fall in love all over again. If the grass looks greener somewhere else, Put some fertilizer down. Water your own yard. Mow that grass. I'll mow your grass. I'll bag that grass. I'll trim your trees.

And you can have the marriage God wants you to have. And all God's people said, amen and amen. I'll amen that. Let's all pray all of our churches. Father, thank you so much that you're a God that pursues us. that through your son, Jesus, you pursued us with your love. And God, in a reflection of the love that you have for our church, we pursue one another. God, pursuing you first.

You are our king, you are our God. Help us always to pursue our number two. All of our churches, as you're reflecting in prayer, those who are not yet married and hope to be one day, it's my prayer for you, that you would truly put God first, that you would recognize you are worthy of pursuit. And as you pursue your Heavenly Father, one day you'll look up to the right of the left,

there'll be someone else pursuing him just as fast as you are. And if they're really cute and you're really attracted, you might just pursue him together, serving the one as you're becoming who he wants you to be. Those of you who are married today, I pray that God would make your marriage even more intimate than it ever has been before. If at one point you had it,

and now you realize you lost it, you know how to get it back again, you do what you once did. All of our churches, those who would say, one day when I am married, this will be my vow. I am married now. God help me to live this out. I will always pursue my two.

If you want that to be true of you now or in a future marriage, would you lift your hands right now, just all of our churches. Father, thank you so much for people who want to put you first. And as you are a God who pursues us, we are people who want to pursue you.

God, I pray for healing in marriages that are hurting. I pray for restoration where there is brokenness. God, I pray for forgiveness and repentance wherever there has been sin and betrayal. And God, just as at one time we pursued one another, give us a heart to do what we did at first. God, I pray that you will restore what's been lost and you'd restore it seven times over

that we would be blessed with even more intimacy than we've ever had before. God, help us as you have pursued us to always pursue our two. God, may every conversation that takes place be full of grace, no condemnation, no criticizing, no pointing. When we think something good, we say it.

We think something special, we do it. When we want something different, God, help us become it, conform us to the image of your son that we could love each other purely. As you keep praying today, at all of our different churches. Here's what I hope you'll understand,

is that God is a God that pursues you. So much so that when we were separated from God by our sin, God became one of us in the person of Jesus. Jesus even told a story about it. If a good shepherd has a hundred sheep and one wanders away, the good shepherd pursues the one who is lost. There are those of you today, you need to recognize, you are the one that God is pursuing.

He wants to be first in your life. He wants to be your Savior and he wants to be your Lord. Who is Jesus, the Son of God, who was perfect in every way, who never ever sinned, who died on the cross and rose again. Why? So that anyone who calls on his name

would be forgiven and made completely new. And all of our churches, there are those of you, if you were honest, you'd recognize you're not walking intimately in fellowship with God, but you might recognize he's pursuing. You, something's happening, something's drawing you close to him. What is that? That is the power of His Holy Spirit doing what he does.

God draws you to him as he pursues you, and it's your day to say, yes, I need his grace. Yes, I need his forgiveness. Yes, I give my life to him. At all of our churches, those who would say, I am a sinner who needs a Savior. Jesus, I call on you. Take my life and make me new. That's your prayer today. Lift your hands high now.

At all of our churches say, yes, I surrender. to Jesus. As there are hands going up at all of our different churches, those of you at church online, you simply click right below me. Someone will pray with you, and we're all going to pray together, celebrating new life in Christ. Join your voices with those around you and pray, Heavenly Father, forgive me of all of my sins. Change me and make me new. I believe Jesus died for me. and he rose again so I could live for you. Fill me with your spirit so I could serve you for the rest of my life.

Thank you for new life. I give you mine. In Jesus name, I pray. Life Church, would you celebrate big worship our God who makes all things new? You know, here at Life Church, we are honored to play a small part in all that God is doing in and through your life.

And we would love to continue with you on that journey. After a message like this, I think back to my own life and my own marriage, and one of the biggest blessings in my marriage has been when I surround myself with people to build me up and walk through life each and every day. We call them life groups, and that's exactly what we want for you. You know, your life is not meant to be lived alone. It's meant to be lived with others in biblical community. And one of the coolest life groups I've had a chance to see firsthand an experience comes to us from Tulsa, Oklahoma. It's a group of guys that look completely different after they took their faith on the field.

Being in church, it is awesome. But, you know, sometimes when you lead church, it's kind of hard. So when you're around great people, you know, it just keeps you motivated for Christ, keep your blood pumping for Christ. We started this to get men out here. We needed a way to reach them, and this was the best way. Most guys, if they've never gone to church, they're not involved in the church, they won't ever step foot in a church, but yet they will step foot on a football field.

and this is a great place to get them connected with a bunch of Christian guys. We start every week, you know, with prayer and a devotional. If we want to teach these guys, you need to start your day with God. The scriptures say, as surely as I live, says the Lord. It gives us a stage right here on this football field that we're able to minister to guys.

Guys are being in biblical community because without it, you're an individual. You always leave from love, You always leave full of wanted and knowing that you can come here anytime. The church is us. We're the church. And when we're out there together, you've got people that you can count on, you can lean on. If you're not in a life group, you are missing out on a community and a relationship that you can build with other.

Ready, one, two, three, go on the bank of fellowship. To get plugged into a life group in your area or join one of our life group, at church online, all you have to do is go to life.church slash life groups. It's that easy. You know, our mission here at life church is to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. That statement drives everything we do. And it's why we believe in life groups. And it's why we believe in you. Because we truly believe whoever finds God, finds life.