The Church of Eleven22 - Wk 1: One Name

Episode Date: October 14, 2018

When we get a vision of the ONE true God, then we must respond with our ONE and only life.

Amen and amen. How we do it, church? Everybody good? All right, I hope you're ready for this. If you got your Bible, grab them. We're going to be in Acts chapter four mostly. And then also grab this one journal that if you don't know you have one, you do. Just sit up.

It's under you. And so grab it. I need every person to put this in your hands. This is an all skate. Everybody on the dance floor here. Your notes are in it, all right? And you're going to need this over the next five weeks. If you open it up to page 19 right where the staple is, that's where we're going to be.

We put the sermon notes, the 10. text in there, et cetera. But I want to let you know how important this is going to be in our journey over the next five weeks. What we're about to do in kicking off this five-week teaching series kicks off a two-and-a-half year discipleship journey called the One Initiative that will change the landscape of our church for at least the next 10 years, and we have no idea all that God will do in us and through us and to us, not just right here in Jacksonville and the surrounding counties, but even to the ends of the earth. And so if you go back to the very beginning, there's a table of contents, just in case you don't memorize everything I say. Shame on

you. There is a letter from me. Men put that in the bathroom. You can read it later. Next, you'll see a two-page timeline that just lets you know that what we're doing is not new. It's just our turn. And there's a little bit about the story of 1122 and how it's really his story and it's just our turn. I'd love for you to look at that at some point. If you turn one more page over to page seven and eight, then you'll begin to see some of the details. of the one initiative that were spelled out in that video, but I know you can't remember everything in that video. And I just want to point out that we have two goals, two goals here in this one initiative. And the primary goal, this is very, very important. The primary goal is that everyone

that is a part of this 1122 movement would take a significant deepening faith step with the Lord over the next two years, beginning in these first five weeks. And that we would, as we wrestle with the Shama, which I'll unpack in just a little while, as we wrestle with the Lord our God, the Lord is one, then we would ask this fundamental question. What is the one thing in my life that drives everything in my life? And that is the primary goal. I want everyone that's a part of this movement. Now, quite honestly, we don't really know exactly how many everyone is. I know this is going to come as a shocker to you. You heard in the video about 10,000 people attend one of our services on the weekend, but I know this is news to all of you and at all of our locations.

Did you know that everyone, they don't go to church every weekend? Can you believe that? It's crazy. In fact, most people go to church, kind of like the Jags. Like, you show up one week, you don't show up one week. You show up one week, you don't show up week. It's kind of like that, all right? So we, even though there's 10,000 attendants, there's probably 14 or 15,000 people that have a sticker. You know, they're like, yep, that's my place. And in addition to that, We have about 4 million unique downloads of the sermons in 100 different countries right now. So what God is doing through this place is much bigger than any of us imagine. And the number one goal is that you would wrestle with what God is doing in your life.

Is he the one thing that drives everything? And then our secondary goal to accomplish all the things that we believe God is calling us to accomplish is that over the next two years, we're believing God for $52 million in research. sources to accomplish what he has called us to accomplish. Now, long-term what that means over the next 10 years, I believe God is calling us to plant 1,000 churches around the world, to send 100 missionaries long-term to other contexts, that means at least two years, and to plant at least 10, 1122 campuses all around Jacksonville, basically everywhere from St. Augustine to St. Mary's.

That's what God is calling us to over the next 10 years, and to get there where we're going in the next two years, if you'll turn the page, is the one initiative. And the next few pages here are just details of what this two and a half year disciple journey looks like in the life of our church. There are three major gospel-centered initiatives. Number one is that we are just one church. We're one church in many locations. We're one faith family.

And we are going to continue to be a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. And as you look on these couple of pages, you will see some of what God is doing. And look at me, folks, let me just tell you this. It's going real good. Like, God is doing exceedingly more than we ever hoped or imagined.

I mean, it's really kind of unbelievable. In fact, this year is the year of deepening, and we've grown as a church more this year than any other year in all six years of our existence. We've grown year over year almost 2,000 people, and here's what's crazy to me about this. as we've taught word by word through the book of Romans. Not exactly the feel-good hit of the century, right?

I mean, you people are crazy bringing everybody. You do need to hear about circumcision. My pastor's talking about that again. Why don't you come? Okay. That's what we just talked through the book of Romans. And even in this year of deepening, 1,220 people have surrendered their life to the Lordship of Christ.

Just this year. And this year alone, we have baptized 6,000. 40 people. Now let me tell you why those numbers matter like crazy. Because one of those 640 was my little girl. And every one of these numbers have a name and every one of these names have a story and every one of those stories is for God's glory. So the biggest part of what we'll be doing in this one initiative is just to continue to be a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ. If you turn the page, you'll see a whole page there on one more. I'm going to spend a whole week talking about the heart. beat of Jesus is to leave the 99 for the one more. If the next page over is one more generation.

We believe that in God's economy, success is not necessarily in what we do, but who we raise. We'll spend a whole bunch of time on that. The next page is a helpful tool for you. I hope you'll spend some time on it. It's called the journey of generosity, because we're inviting everybody to be a part of this. And there will be hundreds of you for the very first time in your life. You will trust God with a portion of your resources. And then there are some of you, and you have been tithing faithfully since you were in Sunday school with Moses.

Well, God bless you. And none of us are finished. God has steps for every single one of us to take, regardless of where we are on the journey. If you'll turn over one more page, you'll see a picture of this card. And if you go to the back of this little notebook, there is a little slot where this card is. And this is called a commitment card. Now, be careful. You're not even really ready to touch it yet.

You've got to have like five weeks of training in all of my stuff. sermons to get to this point, but I want you to take this commitment card, and I want you to put it in a place right now where you can start praying about what God would be calling you to do as an individual or a family over the next two years, that if we could see God for who he is, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, then we would respond by loving him with all, and this is a part of the all. And what I need you to do is not do what I tell you to do. I need you to start leaning in and praying and asking God what He is calling you to do, and you do what you do. what the Holy Spirit calls you to do.

And so in about four weeks from now, we will, as a church, we will be gathering in all of our locations to make a commitment and say this is what generosity and our family looks like over the next two years. And if you'll turn one more page, here is an invitation for you to join a disciple group because even if you're not in one now, I need you to get in a disciple group. I'll give you more information at the end. But if you're doing this Christianity thing alone, you're not doing it right. It's a team sport.

We are in this thing together. And so on Monday nights at all of our locations, we have one initiative, disciple groups, provide child care, take away all your excuses, you should show up and do this. And if you're like, I don't care, I ain't doing that. All right, well, then make up your own. Grab two or three people, get together, pray through this, read through this, complain on your own, do whatever you need to do. But get together because we need you to be in fellowship as we march through this.

And if you turn one more page, you're finally to the note section, which means you're almost ready to hear the sermon. But if you flip over one more page here, we went ahead and put your quiet time there. Do you know what a quiet time is? No problem. This is for you, after you hear to sermon, to spend some time along with God, to reflect on the text, to ask some of these questions, and then bring this to your disciple group, and you will have something to say, all right? And listen, I don't know if you know this, but the real preacher at 1122, his name is the Holy Spirit. And if you have never spent some time just opening the Word of God and meditating and thinking about

and maybe jotting down a couple of things that he would lead you to, then you are missing out on something pretty miraculous. So we would want you to do that. So now, find page 19. If you open it up, it's right where the staples are. That's so people like me could find it. And we are going to dig in on where we are going over the next two and a half years. If you ask, hey, so where do you go all this one stuff? Well, honestly, it's all over the scriptures you're going to see over the next five weeks.

The Bible starts out with the one true God in the beginning. God. If you look in John chapter 17, the high priestly prayer, Jesus prays that we would be one, just like he and the Father are one. And one of the most significant places is we put it in your notes on page 20. In Deuteronomy chapter 6 versus 4 and 5, we get this, what's, what's, called the most prayed prayer in the history of humanity. It's called the shema. That's the first word in it. Now, the shema comes from Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, and the word Deuteronomy means

second law. Not that there are two laws, but he is repeating the first law. The first law is found in Exodus chapter 20. You already know this. This is the Ten Commandments where Moses goes up on Mount Sinai and he gives the people the law. Then by the time you get to Deuteronomy chapter six, Moses knows that his time of leadership is about to be over, that Joshua is going to take over and take the people into the promised land. And so he repeats the law. He gives him the law again or Deuteronomy. Basically what he's saying is, listen, hey, pay attention to me.

Before you go into the promised land and start eating out of refrigerators that you didn't stock and living in homes that you didn't build, don't you forget this. So listen, that's what it means. That's Deuteronomy. That's the second law. Parents, this is what it is. You know that moment where you're dropping your kid off? at somebody's house, and you've gone over the law at your house, say, listen, you will say yes, ma'am,

you will say no, ma'am, you will brush your teeth, and you will, you better change your underwear, you know, those kind of things. But then when you're in the car, and right before they get out of the door, you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, look at me, look at me. That's Deuteronomy right there. That's what it is, okay? So, this is what Moses does. And so here's what he says.

And he goes, here, Shima, Israel. Elohenu, Adanae, Elohanu, Akha. Shemah. It gets translated here. Now, there's a bunch of places where English has a really hard time capturing the richness of the Hebrew language. Because the word shemah, it doesn't just mean like here. It's not like, hey, pay attention, I'm about to say words, and do you understand what the words are coming out of my mouth? It's not that at all. It's more like when your daddy would say, boy, listen to me.

that means not only am I to listen but I'm also to obey it's like hear and heed he's sort of saying like if you could just get a picture of what I'm about to lay out here if you could get a picture of the glory of God if you could get your mind around God in all his infinite glory then it would change everything about everything about your entire life Shima 1122 The Lord our God The Lord is And the English word here is one The Hebrew word is Echad

Say Echad Okay you didn't have enough in it, all right So I mean Seriously man Hebrew's got it I mean it's a guttural language All right

If you say it right Then your neighbor in front of you should know It should get on him a little bit All right Say Echad All right you nailed it All right it's perfect So this word

It doesn't just mean like one because when we hear the word one as Westerners, we think two, three, four, five. And for the Lord our God, the Lord to be Achad, it doesn't just mean he's like number one on my list. It's more like God is the paper on which I would write my list. Like everything about my life would bring him glory. My family, my finances, my faith, the things I do for fun, everything in my life would be all about him. and when we see him for who he is, when we see him in his glory, then here's our response, you shall love the Lord of your God with all,

with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might, and these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You see, the reality is that God has given us one and only life, and when we see the one true God for who he is, then we owe him our one and only life. As Americans, most often, though, we live some pretty compartmentalized lives. I mean, we think we have like a work life and a family life and a hobby life and an online life. And this comes like if you've ever been hanging out somewhere and like your work friends and your church friends that are in the same place, you're like,

I just feel so weird, all right? It shouldn't because we really don't have a bunch of different lives. We really just have this one life. In fact, the word integrity comes from the word integer, which just means. one. And that when we see God for who he is, we are to love him with our one and only life. And so over the next two and a half years, we will be wrestling with the shema. Here, oh, 1122, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And we're going to ask these questions over and over and over. Is God the one thing that drives everything in my life? And if you would say to that, yes,

then what would it look like in my life if I loved God with all? So I want to go to Acts chapter 4. In Acts chapter 4 we have this account, this historical account, of these two men that got a glimpse of the glory of God, they got a glimpse of the one true God, and it changed everything about all of their life, and they began to love him with a reckless abandon regardless of what it costs. Acts chapter 4 beginning in verse 1 it says and as they the they there are Peter and John as they were speaking to the people Peter's preaching again in the book of Acts every time a crowd shows up Peter's like oh I'll preach and he's only got one sermon and he just puts it on repeat all right makes me feel a lot better as a preacher because I kind of only

have one sermon too so here you go and as they were speaking to the people the priests and the captain of the temple and the sadducees came upon them Verse two, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. Now, here's why they were greatly annoyed. There's two reasons. First of all, the Sadducees, they didn't even believe in a resurrection. That's why they were sad, you see. Now, I know it's dumb, but you'll remember that for the rest of your life.

You're going to be in some Bible study 18 years from now, and even like, you know, the Sadducees don't even believe in the resurrection. People would be like, you were so smart. You're like, yep, you're right, I am, okay? But here's the reason they're really greatly annoyed. Every time the gospel is preached and lives are changed, religious people get annoyed. Religious people get annoyed. Because life change is costly. Life change is messy.

And God rarely does it in such a way that fits within this religious context that we have created. You see, religious people, man, they love things tidy and efficient. And God is neither tidy nor efficient. He lavishes his love upon us. And when you lavish something, man, it gets all over the place and religious people get annoyed. I'm telling you, man, things like the one initiative, they'll root out some religious folks, they will because people will get annoyed. What do you mean we're going to prisons? Right, not tidy, not efficient.

Just Jesus told us to. And so the religious people greatly annoyed. Verse three, and they arrested them and they put them in custody until the next day, for it was already even. evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed and the number of the men came to about 5,000. Man, the church is booming. Do you know why? Because the gospel works. And by the way, if you're one of the folks and you're like, I don't like big church, you would have hated the first one. There are two services in and they're at 8,000 people. I mean, there are beach baptisms. You couldn't get a parking spot anywhere. It was unbelievable. All right. People taking each other seats. I don't know how

they made it. Anyway, verse 5. On the next day, there are rulers and elders and scribes. Gather together in Jerusalem with Anas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all who were of the high priestly family. And when they set them in the midst, this is how the Sadducees would put people on trial. They would get in a big circle around them and they would put the accused in the middle and they would hurl questions at them. And so they inquired, here's their question. By what power or by what name did you do this?

And then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers of the people and elders. If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man by what means this man has been healed. All right now, stop right there. So what he's talking about are the events of Acts chapter 3. Now, he knew what they were talking about, and they knew what he was talking about, but you might not know what he was talking about. So if you got your Bibles, go back to Acts chapter 3, because I want you to see the context that he is in trouble for. So Acts chapter 3, verse 1, it says, now Peter and John, we're going.

up to the temple at the hour of prayer. One of the things, if you were around a couple years ago, six years ago with us, we studied the Book of Acts when we first started as a church, in the beginning of the book of Acts where God's doing all of these miracles, you will see that things were bathed in prayer. And here, Peter and John, this miracle is going to happen, and they are on their way to pray. You see, prayer is always a setup for God to do great things. And so they are on their way to the hour of prayer, the night's hour, and a man, lame from birth being carried whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the beautiful gate

to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. This is a great time to ask for money. As people are going to church, they think God will like me better if I do nice stuff. So he knows what he's doing. Verse four. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, look at us. This is like when your dad or your coach or your teacher says, hey, hey, look at me. Like what I'm about to say, is going to be very, very important. Now, you've got to think that this poor man asking for alms at this point thinks this is going go good for me, okay?

Because he doesn't get ignored. He says, look at us. And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, I have no silver and gold. You know why? Because he's a preacher. All right. I have no silver and gold.

But what I do have, I give to you. Now, hold on one second. What do you think the man, the crippled man, is feeling at this point? He's probably like, oh, man, what's you got from me, advice? I don't care about your advice. I don't care about your prayer. Here's what I need. I need some money.

I need you to give me some money. How many of you know that oftentimes the things that we're asking for are not the things that we need? How many of you know that oftentimes it's God's grace in your life to answer that prayer request with no way? I mean, honestly, thank God Almighty. He did not answer my prayers when I was like 16 years old. I'd be driving a Lamborghini married to crazy. I sure wouldn't have been here, man. I'm telling you what.

How many of you know the great 20th century theologian, Garth Brooks, said it right when he said, some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers? This is why God created the 20-year high school reunion. I'm telling you, listen, students, young folks, you wait. You go to your 20th, and you will see God. sovereign hand of grace in your life. The people that you cared about so much will be so old and unrecognizable that you have to do name tags so you can be like, what is?

That's going to be happening. Okay, so it's just true. But how many of you know, oftentimes the thing we ask for is not the thing we need? See, our problem is not that we dream too big. Our problem is we satisfy with so little. This man wants help. and God has healing for him. You see, some of you are just begging God for a boyfriend.

And what you need is intimacy. Some of you are begging God for just a little more cash and prizes. But what you really need is contentment. Some of you show up to church just hoping to be entertained. And what you really need is an encounter with the living God that would change everything. I mean, how many of you know that God is such a good dad that, that he loves us enough to not just give us the stuff that we won't, but to always provide everything we need for life and godliness.

And so, Peter says, I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. That's what this brother needed. He needed healing. Now, notice what Peter doesn't do. I mean, look at the faith, the bold fate that Peter has.

Peter sees this man in knee, the Spirit of God nudges this thing in him, and out loud, he says, rise up and walk. Do you have that kind of bold faith, the prayer, these kind of bold prayers? Because you know what Peter could have done? Peter could have said, you know what? You caught me in a good time. I'm going to the prayer meeting. What's your name? I'll put you on the prayer list, all right?

Ted walking. All right. See you later, Ted. He says it out loud. We're going to find out in a minute. The brother gets up. I'm going to tell you, do you pray that kind of bold prayer? Because I'm going to tell you, I pray for people at the end of every service,

and I pray with all the Jesus I can muster up every time. And you ever see the brothers on TV praying? You ever see those guys? I don't know if you watch TV preaching. It's my profession. So, like, if you were a pro-fisherman and you went by a fishing channel, you'd be like, oh, let's see this how this guy does it. So I do today when I'm flipping between games, and I see one of these guys,

They got like, you know, makeup and hair and watches and they're kind of there into it, man. I've seen some of these brothers. They pray so much, like where people fall out. I saw this one time this brother. The spirit got on him so much. He took his coat off and the spirit somehow was into coat. And he threw it like a grenade into the crowd and let the bodies hit the floor. And everybody fell down.

That's a thing, man. I'm just going to say that's not been my experience thus far. Typically when I pray, somebody comes up. Pastor, you pray for me. And I put my hand on. I pray in the name of Jesus. in your life. And then at the end, I go, thank you. I see you next week. Okay, that's it. We don't have a catching ministry. None of that. None of that. I don't, you know, I don't know.

But I think sometimes, I think sometimes what we would be tempted to do here is just be like, I'll just, I'll pray for peace and just have a blessed heart, all right? I'm going to be honest, man. If I'm in this kind of need, my family is this kind of need, let me tell you I'm not asking me to pray. I'm not going to find a seminary and Presbyterian to pray for me. I'm going to get one of you cucky charismatic around here, okay? You banner-waving people. You know who you are. You got a tambourine in your purse. Don't lie. You know who you are. And you weird me out when we're singing because I can't

can't even pay attention. You over there. It's just glory, all right? But I'm telling you what, man. You let me have a need. I'm coming to you. I want you to like anoint all the place up in there, you know? This is how Peter's praying. And he doesn't do the quick fix of giving money so the guy I'll leave him alone. The spirit of God moves in him. And he says, He says, get up and walk. Now here's what, oh, this part blows me away. Verse seven.

And he took him by the right hand and raised him up. And immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. Now, pop quiz. When was the guy healed? It wasn't healed when he said it. It was healed when he reached out his hand. This is what it says. I'm just reading it.

Okay. So he says, rise up and walk. Ain't nobody walking. He reaches out his hand and he grabs. him and he pulls him up. Let me tell you what bold faith is. Bold faith is behaving as if you actually believe. He's reaching down and picking this brother up like he can walk just because he believes the Spirit of God is going to do a miracle. Let me tell you why this freaks me out. It just makes me think if the miracle happened when by faith Peter reaches out his hand,

how many miracles are still sitting on the sidewalk? Because we chose fear over faith. And it might not be people walking, man, but you know, you've got this relationship. It's been busted up a long time. And you know that you know that you know one day, the Spirit of God in your soul said, you need to call her and you need to reconcile.

And you believed and you came down here and you prayed. The problem is you didn't get your phone and actually made the call and the miracle's still sitting on the sidewalk. Or maybe you got a one more that you've been praying for like crazy, but you kind of quit. Because they said no, and they said no, and they said no.

And the reason that the chair next to you is empty is because the miracle is still sitting on the sidewalk. Listen, let me tell you a big part of what the one initiative is about. You lean into God. You lean, I dare you. James 4-8 says, draw near to me. I will draw near to you. And you have no idea what God might use you to do in your family at work, through this church, around the world. You have no idea.

But I can promise you this, man, the Spirit speaks to those that will listen. And the Spirit of God is going to tell you to do something. and it's going to be so intimidating to you. And I promise you, if your prayers are not intimidating to you, they're insulting to God. And then you will have a choice to make. Do you reach out your hand in faith or do you retract in fear? I mean, I talk about it all the time, man. The opposite of faith is not doubt.

The opposite of faith is fear. Because faith produces action and fear paralyzes. And so how many miracles are still sitting on the sidewalk? because we were just afraid. Listen, it's easy to talk about now, but one of the things I thought about us are celebrating all the things that God has done through 1122 is this.

What if, what if we were too afraid to plant 1122? Because I'm telling you, I mean, now looking back, it looks easy, but when we were about to launch, we had this great team of people around us. They were awesome, but fundamentally, it came down to me and Gretchen sitting at our kitchen table saying, are we going to do this or not?

And I ain't go lie, I was afraid. I mean, we had a bunch of options on the table, and this one had the most uncertainty. This one required the most of us. I signed a paper. I signed everything that I had, put it on the line to get things going. If it didn't go good, I could have been out dozens of dollars. You understand what I'm saying? I mean, it's easy to risk it all when you've got nothing, but whatever.

And so we went for it. Not because of the questions, what happened? What if it doesn't work? the driving force for me was this. What if this is God's idea? What if this is God's idea? And this is our opportunity to reach out our hand by faith. I'm telling you, if you will draw near to him, he will draw near to you,

and you will get some kind of opportunity to reach your hand of faith out. And it will scare you to death. And if you feel scared to death, you are probably perfectly positioned to be used by God in a miraculous way. So this is what he does. He took him by the right hand, and he raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk, and he entered into the temple with him, walking and leaping and praising God, and all the people saw him walking and praising God.

And they recognized him as the one who sat at the beautiful gate of the temple, asking for alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Listen, when God does miracles, when God changes the life, he is worship and people are filled with all. So now, I give you all of that just because Peter is saying, is that the thing we're talking about? In verse 9, he goes, if I am being called here today about a cripple man that I healed, if that's what we're talking about, and they're like, yep, that's what we're talking about. Verse 10 of chapter 4, Peter says, well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel. My bad, I am so sorry. I didn't know that'd be offensive to you.

I will just try to keep it down. That is not what he does. That is not what he does at all. Look at what the brother does. Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, man, you want to talk about poking somebody in the eye. You think I'm offensive.

Ha! Look at this brother. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing here before you well this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you the builders which has become the cornerstone and there is salvation and no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved mic drop boom that's peter's sermon now here's what peter wants the folks to know they say by what name are you doing this peter first and

foremost is saying, hey, listen, it's not about us. It ain't about the name of Peter. It ain't about the name of John. It is only about the name of Jesus. There is one name under heaven whereby we must be saved. Church of 1122, this one initiative is about the one name under heaven whereby we must be saved. I promise it it's not about my name. I got a dumb name. Joby. It's a dumb name. Let's be honest. You know what it means? Afflicted. Thanks, Dad. It's not about the church of 1122's name. The dumbest church's name in the history of church. I know it makes sense to us because we're like in it and we live here and it's like 1122. Man, when I travel around the country and world and they're like, so what's your name mean? We're like, it's what time we started.

Are you serious? Yeah. And then he says, it's the name of Jesus whom you crucified, whom God raised from the death. By him this man is standing before you. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. What Peter is saying here is this, don't miss Jesus. How do you miss Jesus? I mean, come on, Pharisees and Sadducees. You had such a good head start. God gave you the prophets. God gave you the law. God gave you the Psalms. God gave you the sacrificial system. You had all the head start that you could ever need. And you were, you literally were like two feet away from the word who had become flesh, from the almighty sovereign son of God. You could smell God's breath, and you missed him because he didn't fit in your religious context.

And now he is the cornerstone of everything God is doing. Church of 1122, don't miss Jesus in this one initiative. That's what it's all about. A thousand churches are awesome. Sitting in 100 missionaries, that's cool. Doing 10, 1122 campuses around the city, rock and roll. But it's all about one name under heaven whereby we must be saved. We're going to do some really cool stuff in this initiative. I mean, we're going to do, some of our campuses are going to be in prisons. That, that smells like Jesus to me. Some of the stuff that we're going to do is we are going to roll out the red carpet for every family in Jacksonville that has a child, regardless of the age, with special needs. Why? Because all means all, and Jesus died for all. That's some really

cool stuff. We're going to put campuses everywhere from St. Augustine to St. Mary's in your neighborhood. Why? Because the word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood. All that stuff is cool, but all of that stuff is just a means to an end, and the end is the glory of God. Don't ever confuse the mission of God with the glory of God, because the mission of God is the glory of God. And Peter is saying, there's one name under heaven whereby we must be saved. Now, let me tell you what name won't save you. We're not saved in religion's name.

Like being a Baptist won't save you. Being a Methodist won't save you. Being a Presbyterian won't save you. That is not how it works. Now, make no mistake about it. Religion, it will make you a better human. The problem is you're still a dead one. You can wear a little perfume on a dead body.

How's that going to work? For a minute, it's more okay to be around. And that is your condition if you think that your religion saves you. Let me tell you what else won't save you. Your parents' name won't save you. Your parents' name won't save you. There's a lot of people that believe I'm going to heaven because my grandma was a Methodist.

There are no grandchildren in the kingdom of God. There's only firsthand faith, no secondhand faith. You don't inherit faith. I tell you this all the time. Sitting in church does not make you a Christian anymore than putting your head in the oven makes you a biscuit. That is just not how it works. It ain't outside in, man.

It's inside out. Jesus only saves first names. Maybe that's why nobody in the Bible has the last name. Let me tell you what else won't save you. Your name won't save you. your name won't save you no matter how much you try to fix you you being a better version of you

still does nothing to pay the sin debt that you owe against the holy and almighty God therefore there is one name under heaven whereby we must be saved you see Moses says Shama Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength the command of God is to love him with all

and we can't so Jesus did it for us. This is what Peter is preaching. There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Verse 13. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, hold on now. If you do Bible study, what you have to understand is that if you just back up into, if you just go left from the book of Acts, you get into the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and every time, like, every time Peter and John are talked about, boldness is not the term.

Bravery is not the term. Courage is not the term. In fact, about six weeks before this, Peter is full of fear. He's a coward. He denies his fate three times after being warned that he was going to do it, and he said, not on my watch, I would die for you. And Jesus is like, yeah, right, before the alarm clock sounds tomorrow, bro. strike one, two, three, you're out.

And so how in the world does he go from full of fear to full of faith in about six weeks? I mean, you see, he's praying in the garden of Gassimony. You can't stay awake. So, by the way, if you have a hard time staying awake in church, you can make a great disciple, hang in there, okay? And Jesus comes, like, come on here they come. And the people come to arrest Jesus. He chops the dude's ear off. Peter does.

Jesus puts the brother's ear on, and the guy still arrest him. That always baffles me, okay? Then Peter starts following Jesus around to see what's going to happen, I guess. And three times somebody comes up to Peter and says, are you one of those? And he's like, nope. The second time, it's a servant girl. Here's why that matters. She can't even turn him in.

Like, her testimony is not admissible in a court of law. And he's like, that wasn't me. And then on the third time, the Bible says he curses and says no. So whatever curse word you want to, right? All right? No. Somebody need to repent right now. Some of you are like, son of a biscuit.

Okay, whatever. But no. And then the rooster crows, and then Peter weeps bitterly because he felt like a failure. You know why? Because he's a failure. And then Jesus is tried, crucified, dead, buried, resurrected on the third day. By the time you get to John chapter 21, Peter is fishing, not as a hobby, because he's a fisherman. That's what he does.

He's out there fishing. him and some of the other disciples, they don't catch anything. They wake up in the morning, and there's a man standing on the Sea of Galilee, not on it. He can do that too. He's standing on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and he says, y'all catch any fish? Because he's jacking around with him. He knows they ain't got no fish. And they're like, nah, pro-fisherman, right?

And the brother from the seashore says, well, we'll try the other side of the boat. And you know what they're thinking, does this brother know under the boat? Ain't no sides. It's just all lake. So, like, whatever. So they throw it over. Boom, 153 fish. Peter is basically like, well, that smells like Jesus.

Puts on his shirt and swims over to the seashore. And there is Jesus grilling them up some fish for breakfast. And they sit down. Eventually, the other boys make it in. And they have a little fish sandwich for breakfast. And then Jesus is like, yo, Peter, Rocky, come over here for a second. I've got to talk to you. Peter's like, what's up, boss?

He goes, do you love me? Mm-hmm. Totally. Love you so much. Okay, cool, feed my lambs. Then he asked him a second time, Peter, do you love me? He's like, totally, all the way. I'm all in.

Love you. Now, Peter's a little slow in the uptake, okay? So by the way, if you have a hard time comprehending biblical and theological concepts, I've got a good news. You can make a great disciple. Then he asked him a third time, Peter, do you love me? And that's when it hits him. He's like, oh, okay, I see what you're doing here. I denied you three times and now you are going to ask me three times, do I love you.

I know I'm so sorry, Jesus. I know I've screwed this thing up forever. And what Jesus offers to him is not advice, but what he offers to him is unmerited favor. He offers him grace. What he's telling him here is, no matter how much you sin, my grace is more than sufficient for you. Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?

Then feed my lambs, feed my sheep, feed my sheep. And then he tells him this. Peter, when you were young, you dressed however you wanted. You went wherever you wanted to go. But there will come a day in your life where other men will dress you and they will lead you where you do not want to go. And then in parentheses in your Bible it says, this was told to prophesy the type of death that Peter would die. Peter was crucified upside down. Jesus is saying this, it would be better for you to live for me and die a brutal death than to live without me and live a brutal eternity.

And then he says these words. This is mind-blowing stuff. He looks at Peter after he's restored him, and he says this, follow me. If you go to the very beginning of the Gospels, where Jesus meets Peter on that same seashore, the first words Jesus ever says to Peter is this, follow me. Peter's like, God, I'm a screw up. Jesus is going, I knew. I knew it when I called you, and I didn't expect you to be perfect tomorrow.

So come on, let's give this thing another try. And in fact, he's not really offering Peter a second chance. He's offered him a brand new life. Because you don't need just a second chance. We'll just fail some more. He says, I will live the perfect life for you. And so what happened in those six weeks from the time Peter denied even knowing Jesus to now? He's standing in front of a group of people that could kill him.

And they are saying, whoa, look how bold this is. He had breakfast with the resurrected Jesus. He experienced the grace of Jesus in his life. And then he watched Jesus ascend to the right hand of God, the Father. and the Holy Spirit fell upon him and he was filled with the Spirit. And when that happens, it changes everything about everything. Let me tell you what happened to Peter. Shema, Peter, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

And you will love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That's what happened here. And now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men, can I get a witness? That's like dudes from Dylan. That's what that is. You know why God is so glorified in this church?

Part of the reason is the jackknife that runs it. You understand what I'm saying? People around the world are like, they hear these amazing things about our church, and then they meet the staff and elders, and they go, oh, the Lord must be at work. That's what happens, okay? They perceived they were uneducated, common men.

They were astonished, and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. Church of 1122, may this be said about us. May this be said about us more than anything else. Not that our church is big and growing fast, not that preaching is amazing, not that the music is pretty good, but that we have been with Jesus.

The only way it could be said of us is if we actually be with Jesus. That's what this one initiative is. Would you just lean in? Would you just lean in? Be with him in worship, man. And when we get together and make much of him in worship, it's not a spectator sport. Be with him in fellowship.

Be a part of the body of Christ. Be with him as we serve the least of these. As we go into the prisons, the reason is because Jesus said I was in prison and you visited me. We're going to do that. Be with him in the scriptures. Like we've given you this really cool tool, this book, I dare you to go home with it and spend a little less time on television and a little more in this. And maybe it will be said of you. and the people will be astonished because you've been with Jesus.

First 14. But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. What are you going to do? The brothers in the temple doing Jesus jumping jacks right there and he used to couldn't walk. How do you argue with the change of life? You can't.

But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another saying, what shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants. of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it, but in order that it may spread no further among the people. Let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name. So they called them and they charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

Very, very p.C. of them, right? I mean, who doesn't love a good miracle, but can you keep the Jesus stuff out of it? And here's how Peter responds. Peter and John answer them, whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you, Rather than God, you must judge. Verse 20, for we cannot but speak of what we had seen and heard. And what they saw and heard is they saw Jesus come out of the grave. They saw the Spirit of God fall on them.

What they saw is what Moses was talking about back in Deuteronomy, chapter 6. Shama. Shima. Pay attention. Open your eyes. Open your ears. Open your hearts. The Lord our God.

The Lord is Ahad. He is everything. He is infinite glory. He is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Dead, buried, resurrected. And the spirit of him lives in you. And when you get a picture of that, it changes everything. And when they had further threatened them, they let them go.

Finding no way to punish them because the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. You see, Peter and John, were never. never to the point. The point was that everybody would be pointed to the glory of God. I put it in your notes this way. When we get a vision of the one true God, then we must respond with our one and only life. When we get a vision of the one true God, then we must respond with our one and only life. And Colossians tells us this, that God was pleased that in Jesus, the fullness of God would dwell. So let me ask you,

Have you seen and heard Jesus? Like in a personal way, have you seen and heard and somehow believe that when Jesus died on the cross, that counted for you? And if you would say, yeah, yeah, yeah, he's the one thing that drives everything. Well, then let me ask you this. If that's true, if he's your Lord and Savior, then what does it look like in your life to love him with all? So here's what I'm asking you of you over the next few weeks, okay? Number one, I need you to start praying. I mean, with an intensity that is just different.

I need you to pray for this church, this movement. I need you to pray for me, the staff, the elders, the pastors of our church. I need you to start praying and saying, God, would you reveal to me my role in your story? Secondly, I need you to lean in. I need you to lean in. And here's a bunch of ways. I want you to commit to be here for all five. weeks. Now I know many of you haven't been to church five weeks in a row since

vacation Bible school, okay? That's all right. You got another chance today. I need you to come for it's five weeks. And again, a lot of people treat church like a workout, kind of like two on, one off, you know, that kind of thing. But we're going to be walking through what it looks like for us as a church to say, God, are you the one thing that drives everything? I want you to be here for all of them. If you're not in a disciple group, at least over the next few weeks, I want you to join one of our disciple groups. I want you to use this booklet to lean into him. And I need you to start asking this question. This is the third thing. What is the one thing in my life that drives everything? Now listen, if you're a Christian, you know the answer with your

lips. Like, of course God is. And I know you're just like me. Come in here, get all fired up. I'm fired up right now, okay? And I'm like, Lord, I love you. Yes, I do. I'll give everything to you. And then by Tuesday, I'm like, oh, look at this shiny thing. I'm prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Remember when we were in Romans 12, verse 1, says, therefore offer your body as a living sacrifice unto the Lord? You know what a problem with a living sacrifice is? It won't stay on the altar.

It just keeps crawling off the altar. And every single one of us or in Christ are living sacrifices, and every time I look up, I find myself crawling off the altar. I find myself transferring my affections instead of God being the one thing that drives everything to money or pride or family or fear or production. Here's a tricky one. I begin to fall in love with the blessings instead of the blesser. And so what this is, the one initiative, it's a Deuteronomy. It's a reminder to draw us back to the one true God.

because I need a reminder just like you do. And I want you to grab these cards and start praying for them, start praying about them, start saying, God, if I really got a glimpse of your glory, what will my life look like to love you with all? Then let me promise you what's going to happen. The Spirit of God will speak to you. The Spirit of God is going to talk about your family and your finances and what you do with your time and where you're serving. And I'm telling you, if you're not careful, man, you're going to be walking down the street. in a spirit of prayer like Peter and John were, and God's going to put a thing right in front of you. For a bunch of us, this card represents a part of it, but it is not the totality of it.

It could be a reconciled relationship. It could be a commitment. It could be for the first time you obey the thing God called you to do 10 years ago. And you'll have an opportunity to either stretch out your hand in faith and watch God do a miracle or shrink back in fear. Here, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And may we love the Lord our God with all. Would you please stand and pray with me. Our good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, I thank you so much that we can love you because you first loved us.

God, I also thank you that therefore now there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Lord, when we talk about things like all, there's so much negative self-talk that happens in our minds. Lord, I pray against the Father of Lies. It speaks lies into our head. That speaks doubt. That speaks fear. For God, you did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-discipline. And, Lord, I pray.

I really do pray that these next five weeks set us on a trajectory of the next two and a half years that send us into the next decade that changes the landscape. not just of our church, but our entire city, and may you use us for the glory of your name to the ends of the earth. And, Father, not to us, but to your name and your name alone be the glory, for there is one name under heaven whereby we must be saved. And so, God, we look forward to all that you will do in us and through us and to us for your namesake. We pray it in Jesus' name.

Amen.