Don’t Quit Now: How to Keep Going When Family Gets Hard | Andy Wood

I want to say welcome to all of our campuses  spread across Southern California international   campuses. All of you who are joining us at  extensions online, our Norcco prison campus,   all of you spread out. God is moving in a powerful  way in the midst of this series we're doing called   fight for your family. And this is a vision series  for us as a church. It's really us lifting our   vision to say God has a bigger, better dream  for your family. Now, one of the things I've   been coming back to all throughout this series  is to recognize the reality that we're all at   different seasons. I love how our church is a  multi-generational church. We have singles. Last   week, we had the singles raise their hand so you  could find one another. And we have people from   singles to young married to grandparents, every  season of life. And one thing that is true about   you is that you have a home. You have a family.  Sometimes it's an extended family, but God wants   to use your life to build a stronger home, a  stronger family. So today, I have a message   that is burning in my heart for you. God has put  it deep in my heart. I'm so excited to get into it   in just a moment, but I do want to just call your  attention. I don't know if you know this or not,   but I climbed Half-D this last week with my wife  Stacy. And um if you don't know what Halfdme is,   let me just explain it to you. It's not for the  faint of heart. I'll show you a couple of pictures   here. Halfdome is like a 60% incline going up the  side of a mountain and it's at the end of a 10mi  

trek. Uh it's after climbing 5,000 ft altitude.  So, you're like already completely exhausted. And   I want you just to see this picture here of the  side of the mountain that we would climb up at the   end of this. I'm just almost straight up. Somebody  told my daughter at school um the day that we were   climbing it, she said, "Did you know that people  die at Half-Dome every year?" So, thank you for   that if you know who if that's your child. Thank  you very much. So, this is this last picture   though I want you to see is us on the top of the  mountain. Huge celebration and it was awesome. It   was like one of those bucket list things for the  two of us. Stacy loves adventures so we we had   a blast together. But what you might not know is  that's not the first time that we hiked in Yusede.   In fact, there was another moment that we went  on a hike in Yusede. And it wasn't us with two   adult friends. It was us with three young kids  with my parents, my siblings. It was a wonderful   vacation for my extended family who listens to my  sermons. But that moment where we went on a hike   in Yoseite, it was not the greatest moment. See,  we we woke up like late in the morning, 9:00. We   strolled out of bed and we're like, "What are we  going to do today? What what what are we going   to do in Yusede? This is our first time here.  We don't know what to do." So, we went over to   the visitor center and we're like, "Hey, we we've  never been to Yusede. Could you like tell us what   to do?" And they're like, "Yeah, there's a few  hikes in Yoseite and there's one like two or three   that go up to waterfall, so you could go and hike  up the waterfall." So, there was one called Verno  

Falls. And we're like, "Okay, we're going to go  hike Verno Falls. It's like a three-mile hike. 7,   five, and two. They could do it. Grandparents,  they could do it as well. So, we didn't plan like   we didn't pack any meals. We barely had water.  We had like flipflops on. I mean, it was it was   it was miserable. It was It was horrible. And  in fact, if you've ever heard me tell the story   about losing my son, Yoseite is where we lost my  son. And there were like these signs right next   to the river that showed kids having died in the  river like that summer. So we it was a crazy crazy   moment. It was not great. Okay, we did not finish.  We did not get to Half-D and it was just like this   haphazard hike trying to go up the side of the  mountain. Now I share all that to say this time   was different. So we prepared. We like for weeks  on end we're training. There were a couple days   we walked 30,000 plus steps and we had all of our  nutrition. We had like, you know, so many bags of   snacks and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and  like everything you could think of. Lots of water,   water filter. Uh I even went with like the most  outdoorsman person I'd ever met. And so I'm like,   we are going to be ready. We're going to make it  to the top of Half-D this time. It was different   this time. And I want you to think about these  two examples for just a moment. The one time we   didn't get up to the side of the mountain to the  mountain. And then the other time where we got all   the way up to the summit to radically different  stories from our lives. And I could imagine when   it comes to our families, there's a lot of us that  maybe we want to be in the summit. We want to be  

like on the mountaintop of our family experience.  But if we're honest with ourselves, we're just   kind of going through it. It's like, well, what  are we going to do today? How are we going to get   through family? How are we gonna get these kids  out of the house? And today I want to talk to you   about what do you do in those moments when you  realize the thing you're in is way harder than   you anticipated. Like maybe you got married and  you you like were in love like crazy and college   and you always wanted to be together and now you  always want to be apart 20 years later. And maybe   you had a vision in your mind of what it would be  like to have kids and it's so radically different.   Maybe some of you had a vision that you would  already be married by this point and you're still   praying that God would lead you to that right  spouse. What do you do when family is harder   than you expect? That's what I want to talk about.  If you have a Bible, you can open it to Galatians   6. And my message today is titled, "Don't quit."  Now, some of you today, the thing God wants to say   is there is something on the other side of that  quit inside of you that you're fighting against.   And today, I believe he wants to lift your  vision as we look at Galatians chapter 6. Now,   I love this passage of scripture. It's one of my  favorite chunks of scripture in the New Testament.   And the Apostle Paul is writing, he's writing this  at the end of a letter to the church in Galatia.   And I want to ask you as it comes on the screen,  all of our campuses, if you will read this aloud.  

Galatians 6 7-9. Let's read it together with a  big hearty voice. Do not be deceived. God cannot   be mocked. A man reaps what he sws. Whoever sws  to please their flesh from the flesh will reap   destruction. Whoever sws to please the spirit  from the spirit will reap eternal life. Let us   not become weary in doing good, for at the proper  time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.   The these verses are are so packed and there's  enough in these two verses for like a whole   message series. But I I do believe there's some  things in here that God wants to say to us about   what do we do when family is harder than what we  expected it to be. Now, I got to just say this is   not a passage about family, but the application  is so very clear. And notice in this passage,   the Apostle Paul as he's writing, so he's writing  a letter to a church in Galatia. And this church,   this church is dealing with a lot of issues around  their understanding of salvation. We're going to   come to that in a moment. But I want you to notice  there are two things that Paul gives imperatively   for them to do. Watch this for just a moment. On  the front end, he says this. Do not be deceived.   So he gives them this very clear instruction  like there's a temptation in life to live in   deception. And he says God will not be mocked.  Like God is sovereign over the universe and there  

is no mocking him with how he has structured life  and the universe to work. God will not be mocked.   Do not be deceived. And then he gives us the  imperative. Let us not become weary in doing good.   So let us not get to a place where we are so  weary that we throw in the towel. But right in   the middle of that, he gives us a very important  image of how God has ordered the universe. How   God works in our lives. And I want you as you pull  out your notes, there's a couple of very important   components to what Paul is saying between these  two imperatives or instructions he gives us. And   the the the law of the harvest is one that maybe  you've heard of before. It's how life works. It's   how God has structured the world to work. And  the law of the harvest says this. First of all,   you reap what you sow. Secondly, you reap after  you sow. And thirdly, you reap more than you   sow. So, you reap what you sow. You reap after  you sow. And you reap more than you sow. So,   a couple weeks ago, I was like out in my driveway  and I was walking by the flower bush and I noticed   that there's like this bush that we didn't plant.  So, I like went down next to it and I realized it   was a strawberry bush in my flower garden. And I'm  like, "How in the world did a strawberry bush get   there?" It's because somebody at some point had  a strawberry. They ate like twothirds of it and   threw it into the ground and up comes a strawberry  bush. Now, we get what we sew. So, it was a   strawberry seed thrown into the ground and then  it comes up, but it's later. And this is often a  

part of the confusing reality with life. Like we  make decisions and sometimes we don't experience   the fruit of those decisions for a long time. Like  my daughter Caris, I've shared before, she loves   to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. And when  she makes oatmeal oatmeal chocolate chip cookies,   she makes like three batches of them, which means  that for like a full week, I need to eat oatmeal   chocolate chip cookies. And what I've noticed is  like one day doesn't really change much. I mean,   my stomach might hurt after four of them, but  one day doesn't really change much. Two days   doesn't really change much. But if you to play if  you're to play that out over the course of a year,   if I were just to eat one more chocolate chip  cookie, uh, oatmeal chocolate chip cookie every   day, you know how much weight I'd put on in one  year? I would put on 30 pounds in one year if I   sewed oatmeal chocolate chip cookies down into  my stomach over and over again. And what Paul is   saying is sometimes there's a disconnect in our  minds from what we do now to what we get later.   And the call is to lift our vision to realize like  there is there is urgency around what you do now   for what you will reap later. Now, some of you  as we've been walking through this whole series,   like you you you've gotten to this place  where maybe even in your heart, you're like,   "But my family is so jacked up. My story is so  messed up. How could God ever do anything in   my story?" And there's a lot of guilt that you  feel. Maybe some of you walked out on a spouse.  

Maybe some some of you there there's a secret  habit inside that is just eating up your heart   and destroying your ability as men to lead your  family spiritually. And when you hear a call to   have a different kind of home, you're like, well,  not me, not my story. And I want to just make very   clear when Paul gives us these verses, we have to  ask the question, is Paul talking about our past   or is Paul talking about our future? Is he talking  about all the things that you didn't do that you   you shouldn't have done or the things you did do  that you shouldn't have done or the things that   you should have done that you didn't do? Like what  what is he talking about when he says you will   reap what you sow? Well, I want to make a case  for just a moment before we go on that what Paul   is talking about in in this particular passage of  scripture is not your past, it's your future. He's   wanting to lift our vision that there is a better,  bigger future that God has for us. In fact,   if you go all throughout the book of Galatians, in  Galatians chapter 2, I'm going to just give you a   couple of these verses and you might write them  down. 2:16, Paul is spending his whole letter to   cast vision for them that there's nothing that  they can do to earn their way to God. It's all   about what Jesus has done on their behalf. This  is such good news for us when it comes to our   salvation. When it comes to receiving grace from  God, there's nothing you could do to earn it. So   listen to what he says. Galatians 2:1 16. He says,  "Know that a person is not justified by the works  

of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ." So we  too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we   might be justified by faith in Christ and not by  the works of the law. Because by the works of the   law, no one will be justified. So he's saying you  stand holy and righteous before God, not based on   good deeds or religion, but based on what Jesus  has done on a cross that when he paid the price   and stretched out his arms, he was paying the  price for sin so that all who would come to him   by faith would receive forgiveness from God. So  the story that is written about our lives is not   about all the things that we didn't do or all  the things that we did do that were wrong. The   story of our life is based upon what Jesus did on  a cross on your behalf and your past. You the way   that you see your past. It's so crucial in this  moment to recognize Paul lifts our vision with   our future and helps us understand what Jesus did  in the past. See, God can rewrite a new story for   you. Galatians 3:13 says this. Look at this verse.  Says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the   law by becoming a curse for us." So when Jesus  hung on a cross, he took on sin, the curse of sin   on his physical body so that he could do away with  the power and penalty of sin over our lives. It   says, "For it is written, cursed is everyone who  is hung on a pole." Now, this next verse, I can't  

preach right now. I'm going to preach on it next  weekend. And this one verse changes everything for   family. Listen to what it says. He Jesus redeemed  us in order that the blessing given to Abraham   might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus  so that by faith we might receive the promise of   the spirit. What he's saying is that there's  a new story that God is wanting to write with   our lives that's not based upon the sins your dad  committed or your grandpa committed or the things   that you did do or you didn't do. It's based upon  the blessing of God and the same blessing that   God gave to Abraham in the Old Testament where  God says, "I'm going to raise you up that you   might be a blessing to the nations." that that  same blessing is available to those of us who   are in Christ and have put our trust in him. So  a new story is written about our lives. Friends,   this is good news. And it it is worth recognizing  before we go on to how do we look to the future,   we have to just stop and recognize for my past  with my family especially for my past, God gives   me redemption by his grace. He he redeems stories.  So this weekend when people are going down into   the water and they're being baptized, every one  of those is a life that Jesus has redeemed from   the power of sin and death and he's writing a new  story with their life. Aren't you grateful that  

God is a God who redeems our past that he rewrites  your story? Anybody thankful today at all of our   campuses that he is a God that can rewrite the  story of the past in the Old Testament in Joel   it says he he restores years that the locusts have  eaten. So God can shift our story when we put it   into his hands. But that past today maybe maybe  some of you it'll be that moment that you put your   past into God's hands. But Paul is not talking  about your past. He's actually in these few verses   talking about your future. And for your future,  for my future, what God gives is responsibility   with his resources. So he gives me the the weight  or the accountability of responsibility for my   choices, for your choices. And yet he does it  through his resources, especially by the power of   the spirit of the living God that comes and lives  on the inside of us. So God rewrites our story as   he gives grace to our past. But he also gives  us new power to write a different kind of story   moving into the future. And in this few verses,  in these few verses, I want you to see just three   really important practical components of what  God does to help us write a different story in   the future with our families and with our homes.  And the first one is this. It's first of all,   it's to get a vision for the harvest. So, how do  you how do you keep going when when family when   life when when relationships are difficult? How do  you stay in the game? You have to have a vision.  

And might I add in your notes, if you could just  put this, you need a clearer and a bigger vision   than what you are in right now to lift your eyes  to put hope in your soul to continue to take steps   into the future. Proverbs chapter 29:18, you may  have heard this verse before. where it says this,   where there is no vision, the people perish. And  and what Solomon is saying is where there is no   prophetic vision from God. This next version says  it this way, people cast off restraint. So there   there is chaos when there is no vision from God  into our lives. And what God does when it comes   to our future, he invites us into this journey to  lift our eyes to have a different kind of vision   for the future of our families and our homes. And  I want to give you a question to wrestle through.   What is possible in your home with God's help? I  mean, if you just stop for a moment and recognize   the same power that brought Jesus from death to  life lives inside of those who are followers of   his. If you recognize that there is all of this  scripture that speaks of the promises of God   spoken over our lives, what is possible with our  lives when it comes to God working in our homes.   Now, there's a cooperation there. There there's  me working with God. There's you working with him.   And I want for just a moment, if you will, last  week, you got this little card. I want to invite   you to pull this out for just a moment. And we  called this a family vision guide. And if you open  

it up, I want to just walk through what it might  look like for us practically to cast a different   vision or have a different kind of vision for  the future of our homes. Now, this week in my   small group, I I have an awesome small group. It's  a it's a bunch of business guys and we're talking   about leadership together. And this week, one  of the things that we talked about in particular   pertaining to this is there's a lot of people that  have vision for every area of their life, but not   their family. I mean, you'd be surprised how many  business owners have a mission statement, vision   statements for their businesses, but nothing  for their homes. And so, the challenge is what   what would it look like to envision a different  kind of future for our homes? I want you just to   look for a moment. What would it look like if God  showed up in your family? And I'm going to just   read you a couple of examples of what I mean when  I say you can envision a different kind of future   with God's help. And I tried to pull together  some different seasons of life. All of these   I'm going to like stop and pause at the end so you  can take a picture on the screens. So don't don't   try to write them all down. You're just going to  be really mad at me if you are trying to write   it down. You're going to say it's going too fast.  So just just listen to some of these. And this is   the vision of of what does it look like when God  shows up? What's a vision into the future that   I can move towards with my life? First of all, we  envision a family that loves Jesus above all else   with him at the center of our home. At the end of  the day, this for for me and for Stacy personally,  

this this is the most important aspect of our  vision for our home that our family above all else   loves Jesus. Now, we're also really we really care  about marriage. So, we envision a strong, healthy,   fun marriage built on a covenant before God. So,  we want to enjoy our marriage and we also want to   recognize it's a covenant relationship before  us. We envision our marriage as an example for   our kids to choose their future spouses, not a  negative example, a positive example. What is it   what does it look like for mom and dad to love one  another? We envision a family that laughs, plays,   and shares together life together with joy and  honesty. I'll give you one for grandparents. Um,   we envision having a great relationship with  our grown adult children and their children   where we pass on a legacy of faith. So, what  would it look like for you as a grandparent,   many grandparents in our church, to have a vision  for the kind of relationship that you have with   your adult kids and your grandkids? See, the  reason why this is so very important is you and   I are moving in the direction of our vision with  our lives. When the kids were young, one time we   had taken them out east to South Carolina where  Stacy's family lives. And we were we were driving   in the middle of the summer and there was a rain  that came down that was so it was so bad that we   had to pull over to the side of the road and  park on the side of the road. And Cadman said,   "Hey dad, why is it raining in the summer?"  Because he had lived in California his whole  

life. He didn't know it rains out there in the  summer. And sometimes our vision is so bad that   we're like pulled over to the side of the road.  And what we're doing when we're getting a new,   fresh vision, a clearer, bigger vision, is we're  cleaning the windshield of our lives to see into   the future. So I've got a couple more here. Um,  one for singles. This is not mine, by the way,   just to clearly state this. I envision being  married to someone I am attracted to. Just I   think you should feel complete freedom with that.  If you're single, if you're looking to the future,   envision it. They also love God first. They love  people well. They live with faithfulness, care   about the local church, and take responsibility  for their lives. So, for my sons who are 18 and   16, we're having a lot of conversations about  their future spouse. And we're saying, "What are   those character traits?" And then as they write  those character traits down, we also have to say,   "Would the person you want to marry also want  to marry you?" So, we need to work on that.   But that vision moves moves them forward. Um,  we envision a family devoted to prayer, boldly   seeking God, regularly seeing him do miracles. We  envision a family that works hard and rests well,   living with wisdom. We envision a generous family  that delights in giving and blessing others. We   envision a home that honors God with our tithes  and offerings, trusting in him as our provider. We   envision a family rooted in the Bible and deeply  committed to the local church. We also envision or  

our aim, this is kind of a mission statement  that we've written. Our aim is a family that   raises and releases responsible men and women who  passionately love God, care for one another, build   strong families, and engage with the local church  to advance God's kingdom and bless the world. So,   these are some vision statements. you yours might  look different, but I want to give you just models   and ideas that you can wrap your mind around  that come up with 10 to 15 of your own. If you're   married, do it with your spouse or if you're a  single parent, like pull out a notebook and say,   "What what would it look like if God showed up in  our family?" So, I want to just put these on the   screen for a moment. And if you want, you can pull  out your phone. You can take a picture of these.   Don't go shopping. Don't don't don't start sending  texts to other people, but just for a moment,   just you can take a snapshot of these. We'll  go to the next one as well, and we'll also um   post these online this week so that you can grab  them. But my challenge, my encouragement for you   is to get a bigger vision for your life. To get  a bigger vision that calls you into the future.   And I I love this line. And one of my mentors says  this, to get a bigger vision, you need the right   models and you need the right mentors. So we we  need different people that we're getting around.   Listen, this is why small groups is so important  that in the context of a community, we're getting   around other people that we can see the examples  of of what it might look like for God to show up   in our families. that when you're around a couple  that's maybe 5 10 15 years down the road from you  

and they're living life in a way that you you  want to model and pattern your life after that   happens in the context of community. Now I might  also add chat GPT can help with some of this and   um I asked chat to like help me know what I might  look like when I'm 65. Do you want to see? Okay,   let's just look at this together. That that is  what I might look like at 65. I gave it a few   more prompts than just 65. But um and then you  can see Stacy and me right here. This is this   is our vision. A yeah, that's really fake. But uh  all of that to say, God, when he puts a vision in   our hearts, it it moves us into the future. And  I'm I'm like smack in the middle of a decade that   I am watching so many of my peers train wreck  their lives. I mean it it it wrecks me. And I   believe at the core of it is because there are so  many men that I know that they lost a vision for   the future of their lives. They had a vision for  their career. They had a vision for the kind of   home that they wanted to to build like a physical  home maybe even for their hobbies. but they did   not have a multi-generational vision for a legacy  of faith that they would pass on to their kids and   grandkids. And I cannot overstate the significance  of what Paul is saying. There is a harvest of  

righteousness on the other side of the pain, on  the other side of temptation. And what God wants   for you is a bigger, clearer vision for your life.  There are some of you men that are just sleeping   through life. You're flirting with temptation.  There's a soul apathy around your relationship   with God. And God is saying to you today there  there is more in store for your future. I   want to wake you up to a bigger vision for the  future of your life. We need to get a clearer,   bigger vision for the harvest in our homes. Amen.  I'll say amen. All right. Let me let me state one   more thing and then um there's also in this book  values. I'm not going to spend much time in this,   but I do want to give you just one question to  wrestle through that ties into the vision of our   homes. What are the what are the character traits  from the Bible that we want to define our values   like our family as a whole? And if you don't have  a list, just go to the fruit of the spirit. That   always works. Like just take that list and let  that be what defines our home. So we need a vision   for the harvest. Second, we secondly we need to  build a plan to do good. So I need a vision and a   plan. And what I've discovered in in my journey is  that if I have a vision but I don't have a plan,   I'm very discouraged. So I need a path forward to  know how do I do th these things in my home. And I   want you for just a moment to look at this farmer.  Okay? So this is also an AI created farmer. He's  

he is working hard. And I want you to consider  this farmer for a moment. What he understands   about farming. He's a good farmer. And he knows  that there there is so much that goes into reaping   a harvest. He understands that he has to work the  soil and prepare it for the seed. He understands   that he plants a seed, the kind of seed that  he wants to come up and bear fruit later in   the season. He recognizes that the soil as the  seed is planted needs to be watered throughout   the course of the season. He understands that  there are seasons of the year that he works with,   not against. He recognizes that at the end of all  of that, there's a harvest that he brings in and   his family is going to eat as a result of that.  So, he has a plan for how he's going to bring in   the harvest. He has a plan for good. And a lot  of times in our lives, we we live with vision,   but no plan. So, we need a plan of how do we  do the good that God is asking us to do. Now,   if you'll pull this book out for just a moment  again, I want to I just want to walk through how   how do we do this in our home? Like what what does  it look like in our family and many others that we   deeply respect? We have rhythms that we live by.  So those rhythms we we see them in the course of   the day, the week, the month, the quarter, and the  year. So those rhythms, we structure our life. God   God has made the universe with rhythms. There's  daily rhythms, there's weekly rhythms, there's   there's a month that we experience with the lunar  calendar and now our calendar is structured around  

that and ultimately leading to quarters and years.  So with the rhythms of life, if we work with them   with a plan, we bear more fruit instead of working  against the rhythm of life. Now, if we notice very   clearly in our culture, there's so much that  wars against God's rhythms. Like there's so   much activity pulls families apart. So we have to  be one step ahead. We have to ask the question,   okay, how are we going to structure our families,  our lives on a on a on a daily, weekly, monthly,   quarterly, annually basis for a different  result. So if we do what everybody else does,   we're going to get what everybody else gets.  So if we want a different kind of fruit,   we got to ask the question like what what are the  people that are models for us? How do they pattern   their lives and learn from them? So I'll just  walk through a couple of these like daily. I think   about daily. I want to pray with my wife every  single day. I want to pray with and for my kids   every day. And we had this routine in our family.  I would drive the boys to school before they got   cars. And every morning, it didn't ma matter  like how chaotic it was getting out the house,   how chaotic it was on the way to the school, right  before we would pull into the parking lot, slow   down and pray a prayer of blessing over my sons.  And I think about how many moments in their life,   just those seeds that stacked up. I would pray,  "Oh God, pour your spirit onto my sons. Give them   soft and tender hearts towards you. Give them a  hunger and a fire in their soul to know you and  

walk with you." And there was a day last year,  both my boys got licensed like in two weeks,   and I knew that this was like going to be the  last moment. And there was a part of me that was   like really excited. My calendar is going to be a  little bit more free. And I dropped the boys off,   went around the corner, pulled over on the side of  the road, and I just I just started weeping. I'm   like, "God, thank you. Thank you for the privilege  of parenting these two boys and every day having   the the opportunity to pray for them." And some of  you parents like the just the simple act of before   a kid goes to bed, praying over them and blessing  them. I also think about daily the reality of   opening the word of God in our home. So what I  want is I want my kids to see me in our living   room with my Bible and journal open going after  the heart of God, worship music filling our home.   That that's the pattern of our home. Like what  what better thing for a son or a daughter to come   down and see dad singing a song. What a beautiful  name it is. I should I'm not going to get in the   band at Saddleback, but but like just that reality  of of that cadence of your home like there there   there's something so beautiful and powerful about  your daily habits being a rhythm based on God's   word and his and praying and seeking him weekly.  I think about decisions like being in church every   single week. I remember getting a call one time  from a parent whose kid was a teenager and they're   like, "I can't get my kid to go to church." And  I'm like, yes, you can. Like you you lit you have  

so much leverage that you have not accessed. You  have technology, you have car, you have so much.   But the problem is they had not built a pattern  their whole life of being in church every single   weekend. And so now the kid's a teenager and  got like a stronger will and they're fighting   against. So, I would just encourage you. There's  something so beautiful about a family pattern of   being in church every single weekend seeking the  heart of God. There's something so powerful about   being in a small group that your family in our  home, everybody in our family is in a small group   and that that small group is setting a rhythm for  our home. Now, we could go on about this. I could   keep preaching. I could keep talking. My clock is  ticking and it's almost over. I'm supposed to be   done and I still have a lot of content. So, let me  just say what what I believe moves this forward on   a personal level is to take those habits and then  turn those habits into goals. So, to say, okay,   what what are we going to try to accomplish in our  home? You can do this if you're single. You can do   it if you're married. You can do it with your  family if you have kids. So, one of the things   that I do regularly, Stacy and I do with our kids  is we sit down and say, "What are some goals that   you have that mom that dad and mom can help you  with?" So, we want we want to walk alongside you   and help you with this. So, both of our boys  wanted to get cars and I love whiteboards. So,   I got a big whiteboard and I said, "Let's just  write those goals on a big whiteboard." So, Sammy,  

he had this like goal of getting a car and we're  like writing down all the actionable items that   he can do. save a th get a job. Save $1,000,  look online for seven examples of car. I mean,   it's like so specific. And he's like almost all  the way there. And there was a moment in the midst   of all of this that Sammy makes a decision to put  his full trust in Jesus and gets baptized. And   so he's like now in this newfound journey with  Jesus. And we've got this whiteboard in in the   office at home. And I walk by and I look at it.  I'm like, "Oh, he's checking all of these off."   And there's one on there that says, "Pray pray  that God would would lead you and guide you." So,   this is a Sunday night. I say to Sammy, "Hey,  Sammy, um, we can bring God into this." Like,   we we can ask God to provide and to help you  as you're being faithful to do your part. So,   let's pray. So, he starts praying. And like 2 days  later, I'm running and I get a text from a friend   and he says, "Hey, um, God put it on our family's  heart that we need to give our car away to your   son, Sammy." And so I wanted that friend to let  Sammy know. So he messages him. And I have never   seen a smile like the smile on Sammy's face. I  want you to see this picture of him holding up his   board as he is like he's he's got his new car. And  so the encouragement is like what what does that  

look like in our home? So let me give you a couple  examples. You can take pictures of these. We will   have everyone in our home get in a small group  this quarter. Like we're going to get everyone   connected into a small group in our family this  quarter. Uh maybe another one might be we'll have   a grand camp with our grandkids next summer. So  it's a very clear goal that's that's really moving   that rhythm forward. Um I will write down this is  not me again just to clarify. I will write down a   list of the character traits I'm looking for in  a future spouse. Uh we will be consistently in   church. I put in parenthesis almost every weekend  this quarter. So we're going to be we're going to   build a habit this quarter. uh we will we will  actively engage in church by serving together   as a family. Now, I'm not putting all of these on  you. I'm just giving examples because I feel like   sometimes the challenge for us is that we want to  do it, but we don't know how. So, we're breaking   it down to say this is what it could look like in  your home. Let me give you a couple more examples.   We'll take a trip to visit my mom and dad this  year before it's too late. Some of you are like,   I'm going to get around to it before it's too  late. Take the trip. Maybe it's we'll eat together   as a family three times, three dinners a week, and  we can track that and know if we're doing it. Uh,   we'll save $1,500 a month. This for young couples.  We'll save $1,500 a month. In California, it's   going to be way more than that. Probably should  be like $15,000 a month, but we'll save $1,500 a   month for a down payment on a future home. How  about this? There's so much about honoring God   with your money. We'll honor God with money by  living on a budget this year and getting into a  

financial peace small group. We're going to honor  God there or we'll we'll put God first with with   giving by tithing first this year when we get our  paycheck. We're going to do that and it's going   to be a goal. Now, you can't do everything, but  you can do something. You you can make a choice   right now that you're going to do something this  quarter. Like right now, you're going to say,   "I'm going to get a vision. I'm going to write  new rhythms, and I'm going to translate it   into action in my life with a very clear goal."  So, let me put these on the screen one moment.   And I want you, if you if you if you'd like to  just take a picture, you can take these home with   you and begin to work on your own very focused,  clear goals for your family. You're partnering   with God when you do this. You're working with the  resources of the Holy Spirit. You're you're you're   going into a vision that God has in his heart for  your family. But there's one last thing I want to   say and I want to finish with this because I think  it's perhaps the thing that many people need to   hear today. I want to look back at Galatians 6:9.  If you could pull it up before we go to the point.   Let me read this verse one more time. Paul says  this, "Let us not become weary in doing good."   Don't grow weary in your doing good and building  your home and investing in your future. For at the   proper time we will reap a harvest. Now, some of  us would like the verse to stop right there. Like  

it it would be nice if that was just a God's going  to give you a harvest. But Paul says very clearly,   what does he say next? If we do not give up, if we  persevere, there is a harvest of righteousness on   the other side of that perseverance. So the third  point I want to finish with is make a commitment   to endure. I want to I want to encourage you.  Some of you have not settled in your heart that   you will endure with your family. I remember this  moment when the kids were young. They were like 7,   five, and one about the time we went to Yoseite.  And it was a really difficult season of life. It   was like our daughter wasn't sleeping through  the night. We were going through some things at   home with the with the boys that I can't get into,  but it was it was the hardest season I personally   remember. In our home, it was like constant chaos.  We're trying to figure it out. We can't get to   solutions. We're we're going back and forth. the  counselor appointments. I mean, it was it was   exhausting. And then on top of that, the church  that we had planted in the San Francisco Bay area,   it was like year five of the church, and people  say oftentimes year five is the hardest year.   And it was like everything was coming undone with  the church. And I was getting hit at both ends.   And there was one night Stacy and I were sitting  on the couch. We would like binge Netflix shows   together. That was like our pastime in that  season. And one night after the show went off,  

Stacy said,"Andy, I I know you walk with God. I I  trust your integrity, but there there's something   inside of me. There's like a fear. I just need to  tell you." And in my heart, there's a fear that at   some point you're going to walk away. Like at some  point, you're just going to leave me. And I said,   "Babe, if I leave you, you're if I leave, you're  coming with me. There is like there there is no   me leaving this home. Where else would I go? But  where where else could I go other than here with   you? And what I want to encourage you today, some  of you, you have not settled in your heart. You   won't leave. Some of you are playing around with  the reality, it's really, really hard right now.   And I want to just so clearly say from the word  of God, one of the most defining traits of the   character of God that we see show up over and  over and over again in scripture, a promise   that God makes more than any other promise. It's  God saying, "I will be with you. I'm not going to   leave you or forsake you. I will be with you." And  in Deuteronomy chapter 31:8, I want to read this   verse. It says, 'The Lord himself goes before you  and will be with you. He will never leave you nor   forsake you. Isn't that just such a great truth  to land the reality of all of us hit those moments  

that we want to quit and we want to throw in the  towel, but we have a God who has promised to never   leave and never forsake us. And if you are in  Christ, the spirit of the living God, the hope   of glory is on the inside of you to give you the  power to keep taking that next step in your home,   next step in your family. And God says, "I will be  with you. I will give you the power that you need,   the wisdom that you need." Zechariah 4:6, and  we're going to finish on this verse, says this.   This is what the Lord said to Zerubbabel.  It is not by force. It's not by strength,   but it's by my spirit, says the Lord of heaven's  armies. So, the invitation from God is to put our   lives wholeheartedly into his hands. Is to put  our past and the things we need redemption with   into his hands. And it's to put our future into  his hands and recognize that we need his spirit   at work on the inside of us. Some of you listening  to my voice, you you've not settled in your heart   yet. That moment of surrender to God where where  you've not put the past into his hands. And I'm   going to give you a challenge right now before we  walk out of this room at all of our campuses or   close up the service online that you would open  your heart to God and put your life into Jesus'  

hands. Jesus died on a cross for your sins. He  paid the price by going to the cross and then   going into a grave. And on the third day, he rose  again from the dead and made a way so that you   can be forgiven and have the hope of eternal life  in your heart. And what he asks of you is for you   to put your faith in him to surrender and yield  your heart to him. And today for many of you,   it's the day of salvation that you would open your  heart to God and say, "God, I'm putting my whole   story into your hand. I need your power. I need  your presence. I need your forgiveness. My life is   yours. And right now, in this moment, you can do  it." I want to challenge you. There is no decision   that you will ever make that has more significance  than the decision to open your heart and your life   to Jesus. And right now in this moment, I want  to invite you to close your eyes and bow your   heads at all of our campuses. And if you've never  made that decision to put your trust in Jesus,   your your whole life has been leading towards this  moment right now that you would by faith put your   trust in him. The Bible says to all who believe  in their heart and confess with their lips that   Jesus is Lord, salvation is their theirs. They  have a new story. And today, by faith in Jesus   and what he's done and yielding your heart to  God, you can begin a new relationship with Jesus,   you can do it right now. And as the spirit of God  is stirring in your heart, I want to encourage   you very, very, very much in this moment to  just say, "God, I I need you." And to repeat  

this very simple prayer after me to say, "Dear  Jesus, I believe you died on a cross for my sin.   I believe you rose again from the dead. I want  to put my life into your hands today. I ask you   to forgive me for my past. I'm choosing to  follow you in this moment. Now, with nobody   looking around at all of our campuses today, if  you're praying that prayer to put your trust in   Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, I'm going  to count to three. I'm gonna ask you lift your   hands up high to say, "Today, I'm receiving the  gift of salvation. I'm choosing to put my trust   in Jesus." On a count of three. One, two, don't be  shy. Boldly proclaim it. Put your hand up. Three,   just saying, "Today, I'm making a decision today  to put my trust in Jesus." Anybody else? I see   several here across our campuses. Anybody saying,  "Today, I am putting my trust in Jesus for the   forgiveness of my sins." Father, we thank you in  this moment that you redeem our stories and Lord   that you change us from the inside out. Thank you  for new life. We pray these things in Jesus name.   Amen. Amen. If you just if you just made that  decision, you made the most important decision   of your entire life. And we want to celebrate with  you. If you will text decision to 83,000 and that   will let us know that you made that decision.  Some of you right now, what God is doing in  

your heart is to seal in you that you're not going  to give up, that you're not going to quit on your   family. And we're going to sing one more song.  I want to invite you to stand to your feet and   in this moment just to declare before God that we  we are calling on the God who does miracles to do   a miracle. Right now, in this moment, it might  be for you just taking your past and putting it   into the hands of God. You might already be  a follower of Jesus, but you're just saying,   "God, I'm I'm trusting in you to move mountains  in my home. I'm trusting you to do miracles that   only can happen by your power." So, let's worship  together and declare that God is a God who moves.   He's done it before and he can do it again.  Let's sing together. I've seen you move. You   move the mountains and I believe. I'll see you do  it again. You made a way where there was no way.   And I believe I see you do it again. I've seen  you move. Let's sing it together. You move the   mountains and I believe. I see you do it again.  You made a way when there was no way. And finally,   I see you do it again. I see you move. You move  the mountains and me. I see you doing nothing. You  

made a way when there was no way. And let's sing  it one more time. I see you move. I've seen you   move. You move the mountain and me. I've seen you  do it again. You made away when there was no way. I see you do it again. I see you do it again. I see you do it again.  Yes, you will. I'll see you do it again. [Music] Well, what a powerful and a practical message  from Pastor Andy today. And hey, before you go,   before you turn this off and go about the rest of  your day, I just want to remind you that there is   a God who loves you. There is a God who sees  you, that sees what you're walking through,   that promises to be with you and to never leave  you and never forsake you. And if you made that   decision today to follow Jesus for the very  first time, I just want to congratulate you   on that decision, this is the biggest and the  most significant decision you will ever make in  

your life. And we would love to know about it  and help walk you through what this looks like   to live a life with Jesus. So you can let us  know by clicking the link in the description   or opening the Saddleback app and letting us know  that way. And if there's anything that you might   need prayer for, whether it's prayer over your  marriage, prayer over your family or your kids,   or just vision for your life and vision for your  family like Pastor Andy was talking about. Well,   you can let us know through the app or clicking  the link in the description as well. Church   family, we love you so much. We want to encourage  you to sit down as a family or sit down today,   this week, to go over that vision guide and  to dream about God's dreams for your life.   We love you so much and we hope  to see you again next weekend.

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