Every Day Discipleship | Lucas DeVries

Welcome to Southeast Online. We are so glad you  have chosen to worship with us this morning. My   name is Kenisha and this is my good friend Joel.  How you doing? I'm doing great. How are you? I'm   doing great. Thanks for asking. We're glad you are  here. Make sure get in the chat. Let us know how   we can pray with you. Yes, absolutely. And if  you want to get more involved with our church,   you can text connect to 733733 where you'll find  uh a lot of resources on how to get involved um   and just how to be a bigger part of our church,  which is great. Getting involved is a huge thing.   We talk about it here all the time. It's called  finding your crew. And when you're finding your   crew, right now we are in a season of groups,  which is very important to your church life and   being able to find that crew and connectivity.  You can text the word groups to 733733. And that   will show you a wide range of both inerson and  online groups that you can join, be a part of,   and get to know people, develop friendships,  and really dive deeper into God's word together,   which is what we're hoping everyone gets  the opportunity to do. Yes. Absolutely. And   if you would stick around after service, uh we  have an interview with two of our online group   leaders and they're just going to be giving their  testimony on how groups has changed their lives   and how it's drawn them closer to the Lord.  Yes. Which is great. I I'm always excited to   hear how people are having that fellowship in SE  online because we know that it's not in person,   right? But it is a great opportunity to  really be together. And we have another   great opportunity to be together coming  up September 17th through the 19th. Yes,   it is our full force initiative. We are going to  be packing 2 million uh 2 million meals for people   all around the world. Um this is an in-person  event. All of our campuses are coming together  

um to pack these meals, not just for um people  around the world, but also people local to us   um families that are desperate um for things. We  are able to be the hands and feet of Jesus through   this initiative and we're so excited to be a part  of it. And this is a part of our move initiative,   something that we've really been working toward to  make sure that not only are they spiritually fed,   but physically fed at times. And so, as you  said, in person is important, being able to   sign up. And this is for every age group. There  are things for your children, things for full   families. You can bring your group. That's a  great way to get together as a group and and   be able to serve together. But most importantly,  if you can't participate in person, we want you to   be praying with and for us and praying over those  meals that are going to serve so many people in   our community. And as we talk about the community,  we know that you are able to have this unexpected   leader online. And this particular sermon series  has really caused people to look inward. How am I   being desperate for the Lord? How am I constantly  seeking out what it is he have h what he is has   for us? So, we wanted to know a little bit more  about what you've learned these last few weeks.

I think one thing that has really stood out to  me during this sermon series is that knowing that   good leadership doesn't always come with  like these instant blessings or us being   accepted by our peers. Uh but good leadership  really is not about being well-liked. It is   about being faithful to what God has called  us to do. I loved when Lucas Deere talked   about the holy burden that Moses had for the  Israelite people. And that may be a key to how   God reveals his calling on our lives. Our holy  burden, the thing that we cannot look away from,   may reveal the purpose that God has for us. And  I love that. with this past sermon series. Um,   I was reminded and it hit me when Bryson said  in week one, "What looks like a delay to us is   actually God working and preparing us." That  hit me hard because we've all faced delays   in our plans, but God's plans are always  right. I have really appreciated the series   on unexpected leader and diving into Exodus.  This past week, Bryson reminded us to be God   made instead of self-made. And I could relate to  that in that when I go it alone and feel like I   have to keep up with the Joneses, that's when  there's a false sense of insecurity and a fake   confidence. But when I let go and let God, he  has the opportunity to glorify and be glorified.

What a wonderful time we've had in this  series. Uh Lucas is closing it out to uh   for us today. Um and he's going to be talking  about everyday disciplehip. Um we're still in   the book of Exodus and we're talking about how  God provided mana every single day. Right? They   didn't have to keep anything for themselves.  God would provide every single day. And we're   using that to remind us that we just simply  need to be desperate for his presence and his   provision. What a great reminder cuz as you said,  mana was every day, but never an overage. And so,   how how often are we reminded to be able to really  look inward and say waiting for God the next day,   desperate for God's provision the next day.  And that's such a great lesson to have. So,   as you can see, it's starting to fill up here  in the sanctuary getting ready for service. So,   we are ready to go ahead and head into worship. Freeze in the valley. Freeze on the mountain.

When I'm sure when I'm doubting freeze when I'm freeze with surrounding freezes the waters my ene As long as I'm breathing, I got a reason to praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. I'll praise when  I feel it and I'll praise when I don't cuz I know he's feeling control.  Yes, he is. Our praise is a weapon as I'm brea I got a reason to praise the Lord. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Oh, I won't be quiet. My God is alive.  How could I keep it inside? Praise the Lord, oh my soul. Praise the Lord. Can we  give him a shout of praise this morning, church? Praise you. Praise cuz you praise cuz you rose  and defeated the grave. I'm praise cuz you're   faithful. Praise cuz you're true. Praise cuz  there's nobody gater than you. I'll praise   cuz you're strong. Praise cuz you're praise  cuz you rose and defeated that grave. I'll   praise cuz you're faithful. Grace cuz you're  true. Cuz there's nobody gater than you.

Heat. Heat. I won't be my How could I be quiet? Hey, Oh, I'm so grateful today.

There was no way until you made  one. And grace upon grace. Hallelu. Even though I don't deserve it, you did it. Even though I couldn't earn it, you give it.  Come on, let it rise, church. Who am I that   you keep me on your mind? I'm just grateful  for you. And I'm just grateful for you. All my   life you've been right here by my side. I'm just  grateful for you. I kind of just grateful for you. Holy holy one. I give you glory for all of  you. Even though I don't deserve it,   you feel it. Yes, you did. Heat. Heat.

I can't wait for I can't wait for my life. Am I really grateful? Oh yeah. Life is a testimony of the faithfulness  of God this morning. Amen. We've got your   story. Would you declare today? Would  you lift your hands and sing? Come on.

I'm g Heat. Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. Heat. I got all right if they say I'm my God. I'm just  grateful for you. God, I'm just grateful for you.

I could see your name for all my life.   I still find more to love each time.  Jesus be the name ever on my lips. It's sweeter every time that I call  on it. There's just something about   your day. There's just something about your day. There is no one name I know. There  is one name. There is Jesus. You are.   You have been the friend who never  let I won't forget your faithfulness.

Jesus be the name ever on my lips. It's sweeter every time that I call on. There's  just something about your name. There's just   something about your name. There's just something  about your name. It makes me cry. Holy. There is   no other name but yours. There is no other name.  There is no other name. Jesus, you're worthy.   This is something about your name. This is  something about your name. This is something   about your name that makes me cry when we cry  it out. There is no other name I know. There   is no other name. There is no other name.  Jesus, you're worthy. You are. You are.

You can have my heart. Oh, you can have your way in  my life. In my family. Who is   the Lord? Who is alive? The Lord in all the earth. Jesus, your name is the morning  light. The one the darkness can   deny the resurrection and the life. Jesus.  Jesus is your name. Your name can heal.   Your name can make the storm be  still. You never fail. You never will. Jesus the bread of life for us. The worthy one.   The first time to come Jesus. Jesus the  king. You can have it all. You can name Jesus.

Jesus beus. I can't stop Heat. Heat. I get you all. You can all you can you can your head.

There's just something about your name.  Let's sing together. There's just something   about your name. There's just something  about your name that makes us cry. We cry   today. There is no other name. There is no  other name. There is no other name. Jesus. Oh Lord, you are you're worthy God. All I  have to do is seek your name. Who is like the Lord? Who is  like the Lord in all the earth? No one like the name. Oh, the name of Jesus.

Jesus. The name of Jesus. Jesus. No sweet name but Jesus. Oh Jesus. Nothing like the name Jesus. Jesus. And death could not hold you.  The veil tore before you. You silence   the b of sin. And will you sing this if  you know it? Yes. The heavens are all sing. Death cannot hold you. Death to fall. Silence.

The heavens are all the praise of your glory.  For you are raised to life. You have no life.   You have no right. You have no forever. God, you is the kingom. Yours is the glory. Yours is   the name above. You have no You have no  right. You have no equal now and forever Yeah. Heat.

Oh, what a powerful name it is. What a powerful  name it is. The name of Jesus Christ might be standal. You are no equal now and forever. God, you reign.  Cuz yours is the king of yours is the glory. Yours   is the name above all. What a powerful name. What  a beautiful name. The name of Jesus Christ. Sing.   What a beautiful What a beautiful name it  is. And nothing compares to this. What a   beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus. What  a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus.

The name of Jesus. God, you're worthy. Lord, we declare today  that you're worthy, God. in anything that   we're bringing in here today, God. Lord,  you hold us in the palm of your hand,   God. There is no one like you. No one  greater, no one higher, no one stronger, Lord. God, you're the author and the perfector of our  faith, Lord. We come here today to worship you,   God. We're expecting for what  you have in store for us, God.   We praise you for who you are and we thank  you for what you've done in our lives. Lord,   we love you. And everybody said, "Amen."  Hey church, before you guys take a seat,   go ahead and turn to a neighbor and say, "I'm  so glad to be sitting next to you today."

Well, hey everybody. My name is Lucas Cere and if  we haven't met yet, I get the privilege of serving   on staff here at Southeast as the uh Blankenbaker  campus pastor. I'm really excited because today   we're going to be jumping into the final week of  our unexpected leader series. Uh over the past few   weeks, we've been looking at the life of Moses  and seeing how God used an ordinary uh unlikely   person in some pretty extraordinary ways. And  today, we're going to finish that story together.   You know, one of the things that I love most about  our church is camp season. Uh by the end of this   summer, I'm excited to share with you, we will  have taken over 6,000 kids and students to camp,   which is such a wild number. Uh but the reason  we do that is simply this. We believe that life   change happens at camp. If you've ever been to  camp, you know exactly what I mean. Uh for a week,   students get pulled out of their normal rhythms.  No school, no sports, no running from thing to   thing, no staring at a phone for six straight  hours wondering where the day went. For a few   days, life slows down enough to actually pay  attention to what God might be saying. And   every year, without fail, God does nothing short  of miracles in students hearts. My favorite night   of the week is what we call decision night. It's  the night that we give students an opportunity   to respond to what God has been doing all  week. And every year it's by far the most   powerful night of the week. I actually call it  the ugly cry night. You've got students crying,   you've got leaders crying, everybody's crying.  It really is a beautiful thing to witness. And  

the reason it's so powerful isn't the emotion of  the moment. The reason it's powerful is because   it never gets old watching students experience the  grace of God in a way that becomes real to them.   And while that's entirely amazing, can I  tell you what rarely gets talked about,   rarely do we talk about what happens 3 weeks after  camp. Imagine with me that you went to camp. You   had an incredible week. God met you there. Uh  maybe you surrendered your life to Christ. Maybe   you finally dealt with something you've been  carrying for years. But now you're home. Three   weeks have gone by. Camp is over. The worship is  gone. The environment is gone. Uh the friends who   were encouraging you are back living their own  lives and now you're sitting alone in your room   wondering was that even real because what happened  at camp felt powerful? But now you're back in your   ordinary life with your ordinary responsibilities  and it just doesn't feel as exhilarating as the   ugly cry night at camp. And maybe for you it's  not camp. Maybe it was after your baptism. Uh   maybe it was after a powerful morning at church or  a a moment of breakthrough in your life. Like the   reality is that these moments with God are real.  They're so significant in our faith journey. Like   they are powerful. But it's important to know that  eventually the moment ends. And the question that   I want us to wrestle with today is simply this.  What do you do when the mountaintop fades and   you're left navigating ordinary life with God? You  see, we all love the big moments with God. Now,  

we love the breakthrough. We love the answered  prayer. We love the miracle in the mountaintop.   But eventually, eventually, the moment ends and  we pick back up and Moses's story. That's exactly   where Moses and the Israelites find themselves. Uh  last week, Bryson walked us through how God used   the plagues to break Pharaoh's grip on his people.  It was 10 demonstrations of God's power. uh 10   chances for Egypt to let them go and eventually  Pharaoh relents. But the story isn't over because   Pharaoh changes his mind and suddenly the most  liberated people on earth are standing at the   edge of the Red Sea with an army at their backs  and nowhere to go. Then God does what only God   can do. So we'll pick back up uh in verse 21. I'll  read for us. It says this, "Then Moses stretched   out his hand over the sea, and all that night the  Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind   and turned it to the dry land. Uh the waters were  divided, and the Israelites went through the sea   on dry ground with a wall of water on their right  and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and   all of Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen  followed them into the sea." And many of you know   how the story ends, right? like the waters come  crashing back down and in a matter of moments the   most powerful army in the world has been wiped  out and Israel is standing safely on the other   side of the sea watching it all happen. Uh listen  to how Exodus describes it in verse 30. It says  

the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of  the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on   the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the  Lord used against the Egyptians. And so the people   feared the Lord and they believed in the Lord and  in his servant Moses. Now, put yourself in Moses's   shoes for a second. I mean, as a leader, this is  the moment that you've been waiting for. Like,   God has shown up in a miraculous way. The  people have seen it with their own eyes. Like,   they are celebrating. They're worshiping. Uh Moses  finally has credibility. Everybody's bought in.   In fact, the text says that the Israelites broke  out in song. Uh some scholars actually believe   that this was the first worship song recorded  in all of scripture. And so, think about this.   The people who were slaves yesterday are singing  today. Moses is a hero. God is good. Everything   seems right. And if we were writing this story  in scripture, this is probably where we would   expect the momentum to carry them all the way  to the promised land. But if you know the story,   you know that that's not what happens at all  because almost immediately something shifts.   Uh something happens that reveals what's really  going on in their hearts. Uh look what happens.   Uh starting in verse 22, I'll read it for us.  It says, "Then Moses led Israel from the Red   Sea and they went into the wilderness of shore. Uh  they went three days in the wilderness and found   no water. When they came to Mara, they could not  drink the water of Mara because it was bitter. And  

the people grumbled against Moses, saying, "What  shall we drink?" My wife and I have four-year-old   twin boys, which means our house can feel a  little bit like an emotional roller coaster.   One minute they can be as sweet as can be. They're  listening, they're sharing, they're getting along,   and then the very next minute they're convinced  that we've ruined their lives because we told   them that it was bedtime. And honestly,  when you read through the book of Exodus,   Israel isn't acting all that differently. Listen  to what it it says uh here. It says, "Then Moses   led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the  desert of shore. Uh for three days they traveled   in the desert without finding water. When they  came to Mara, they could not drink it uh because   it was bitter." And that's why the place is called  Mara. So the people grumbled against Moses saying,   "What are we to drink?" Now I know that this is  such a a simple observation, but don't miss this.   It only took three days to complain. Like that's  it. Three days ago, God parted the Red Sea. Like   three days ago, they watched the most powerful  army in the world disappear beneath the water.   Three days ago, they were singing songs about  God's faithfulness. But now, three days later,   they're thirsty. Now they're uncomfortable.  And now they're scared. And all of a sudden,   Moses goes from hero to villain in three days.  And if I'm honest, one of the things nobody   really tells you about following Jesus is just how  quickly the big God moments can fade. You can have  

an incredible experience with God on Sunday and  be discouraged by Wednesday. You can leave camp,   maybe a retreat, a conference, or a mission trip  completely on fire for Jesus, then just a few days   later find yourself struggling with the same fears  and doubts that you thought that you left behind.   I think for many of us, we imagine following  Jesus as moving from miracle to miracle or   mountaintop to mountaintop. But the Bible paints  a very different picture. You see, the Christian   life is often less like skipping from victory to  victory and more like learning to trust in the   normal everyday life of the wilderness. And that's  exactly what God is teaching Israel. And so as we   continue following Moses and the Israelites, they  keep finding themselves in situations where they   need God's help. Uh first there's the bitter  water at Mara and then there's hunger in the   wilderness and then there's thirst again over and  over. God allows them to face circumstances that   they cannot solve on their own. And for nearly a  month, God is teaching his people a lesson that   they desperately need to learn. And honestly, I  think it's a lesson that we need to learn, too.   And it's simply this. God didn't rescue Israel  so that they could become independent. He rescued   them so that they could become dependent on him.  And trust me, I know that that sounds backwards   because when we think about freedom, we usually  think freedom means nobody gets to tell me what   to do. Like nobody has authority over me. Nobody  gets to lead me. I get to do whatever I want. But  

that's not how the Bible talks about freedom.  Listen to how Paul puts it in Romans chapter 6.   But now that you have been set free from sin and  have become slaves of God. And so Paul goes on   to unpack what that means for Christians. Uh but  here's what I want you to notice. He doesn't say   you've been set free from sin. Now you belong  to nobody. He says you've been set free from   sin and have become slaves of God. In other  words, the Exodus wasn't a move from slavery   to independence. It was a move from Pharaoh's  rule to God's rule. And the same is true for us.   Like God didn't save you so that you could become  self-sufficient. He didn't rescue you so that you   could live however you wanted to and never need  him again. He saved you so that you could walk   with him. So that you could trust in him. So that  you could depend on him and follow him. You see,   the Israelites were about to learn a lesson  that every believer eventually has to learn.   Here's what it is. Freedom isn't the absence of a  master. Freedom is being led by a good master. And   the good news for us is that master is Jesus. And  so where we're at right now, Israel is continuing   in their journey through the wilderness. God  is teaching them what it means to depend on   him. One of the clearest ways we see this is  when God provides mana uh every day in Exodus   chapter 16. Let's pick up in in verse two. says  this, "And the whole congregation of the people  

of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the  wilderness. And the people of Israel said to them,   would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in  the land of Egypt when we sat by the meat pots and   ate bread to the full, for you have brought us  out into this wilderness to kill uh this whole   assembly with hunger." And so yet again, the same  cycle ensues. God's people complain and cynicism   begins to set in. But listen to how God responds.  Says this. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Behold,   I'm about to rain bread from heaven for you, and  the people shall go out and gather a day's portion   every day that I may test them whether they walk  in my law or not." Now, the food spoken of here   was a bread-like substance that God provided  for his people every morning. Uh the name of   this bread was what God called mana. Numbers 11:7  says this, "Now the mana was like coriander seed   and its appearance like that of delium." The  literal meaning of the word mana is essentially   the phrase, "What is it?" Which is funny because  it's exactly what they said when they saw it. Look   at how scripture describes it in verse 14. And  when the dew had gone up, there was on the face   of the wilderness a fine flake-like thing,  fine as frost on the ground. Now watch this.   When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one  another, "What is it?" For they did not know what   it was. And Moses said to them, "It's the bread  that the Lord has given you to eat." I want you  

to imagine every morning you wake up and there's  a gas card sitting on your kitchen table. There's   enough money on it for exactly one day's worth of  gas. Not enough for the week, not enough for the   the month, just for every single day. Okay. And so  you take the card, you go, you fill up your tank,   you go to work, you come home, and you have  just enough gas to get in the driveway,   and then the next morning, to your surprise, there  it is again. Another gas card. Like, it's it's the   same amount. It's the same routine. And honestly,  at first, it sounds pretty awesome, right? I mean,   free gas every day sounds pretty good in this  market. Every morning, there's exactly what you   need waiting for you. But after a while, your  curiosity gets the best of you. Eventually,   you start asking anxious questions like what would  happen uh if it doesn't show up tomorrow? Like   what what if I need more than I've been given?  Like what if there's an emergency and what if I   have somewhere unexpected that I need to go? Like  what if tomorrow is different than today? After a   few weeks, maybe a few months, you're lying in bed  and you come up with what feels like the greatest   idea you've ever had. You think, I know exactly  how to solve this problem. So you go to Walmart,   you go and buy every gas can that they have, and  the next morning instead of filling up one tank,   you fill up 25 gas cans. And with great pride, you  line all 25 gas cans up in your garage. You step   back, you you cross your arms, you admire your  work because now you finally solved the problem,  

and you end up having the greatest night's sleep  uh that you've ever had in weeks. But the only   problem is is that when you wake up the next  morning, you awaken to this awful smell. You can   smell it even before you get out of bed. You walk  over to the garage, you open the door, and you   realize that somehow every single gas can has gone  completely bad overnight. And all the extra work   that you put in has come to nothing. I know that  that sounds pretty ridiculous, but this is exactly   what Israel did with mana. I mean, it was the same  instinct. It was it was the same plan and somewhat   of the same result. And if we're honest, if we're  God, we would probably write this story completely   differently. We build a giant storehouse. We we'd  have unlimited amount of mana. We we'd uh make   rules that say you can come whenever you're hungry  and take as much as you want. I think if the whole   point was simply to get Israel fed, God would  probably do that. But that's not at all what's   happening here. Listen to what God says again. He  says,"I will rain down bread from heaven for you.   The people are to go out each day and gather  enough for that day. In this way, watch this.   I will test them." And there's the key statement.  You see, the mana wasn't just provision. It was a   test. The question was never, "Can God provide?"  The Red Sea already answered that. The question   was this. Will they trust him one day at a time?  Now I think that the same offer is on the table  

for us. I mean so much of our lives are built  around one question. How do I control tomorrow?   Like we save for tomorrow. We plan for tomorrow.  We lose sleep over it. We refresh our bank account   at midnight. We run the numbers one more time. We  rehearse the conversation in our head before it   even happens. And the reality is none of those  things are bad. But somewhere underneath all   of it is this quiet fear. If I don't figure it  out, nobody else will. If I don't stockpile the   gas cans, we're eventually going to run out. And  what God was doing in the wilderness was exposing   that fear. Because here's the truth. You cannot  trust someone you're trying to replace. Every time   Israel grabbed extra mana, they were saying, "I  believe in you, God. I'm just not sure I believe   you'll show up tomorrow." And I get it. like being  hungry in the wilderness probably isn't your test   today. But maybe your test is your children. Maybe  you keep trying to secure a future only God can   guarantee. Uh maybe it's your finances. Maybe you  fall into the trap of thinking one more raise,   uh one more investment, or or maybe uh then  you'll finally feel safe. Maybe it's your   health. Maybe you spend more time fearing what  might happen than trusting the God who holds your   entire life. Maybe it's a marriage. Maybe it's  a diagnosis. Maybe it's a career. I don't know   what your struggle is today. But here's what I do  know. Every single test is an invitation to stop  

stockpiling and start trusting. What that looks  like in real life isn't one big dramatic moment   of surrender. It's everyday disciplehip. It's  the quiet, unglamorous daily rhythms of actually   walking with Jesus. Jesus taught his disciples  exactly this. He said it this way. He said,   "Pray like this. Our Father in heaven, hallowed  be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done   on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our  daily bread." And I want you to see this. It's not   weekly. It's not every Christmas and Easter. It's  daily bread. You see, Jesus was pointing back to   Exodus and he was teaching his disciples to return  to God every single day. And it's not because he's   stingy. It's not because he's making you earn it.  It's because daily dependence is the whole point.   The details are different for all of us, but the  test is always the same. You know, I I love that   God told Israel to go out into the morning and  to gather mana. I I think that there's something   really intentional about that. I'm a firm believer  that God's uh grace is opposed to earning,   but I don't think that it's opposed to effort. The  provision is already there. God has provided it.   Like, you just need to go out and gather it. So,  here's my challenge for you today. What if you set   aside 20 to 30 minutes every morning and made that  your time to gather the grace that you'll need for  

the day? If you're new to reading the Bible, let  me give you a really simple tool that's helped a   lot of people. It's called SOAP. Uh it stands for  scripture, observation, application, and prayer.   And so for scripture, just start by reading a  chapter of the Bible every morning. That's it.   Like maybe it's the passage that we're talking  about today. Maybe it's a chapter in Proverbs.   Maybe it's one of the Gospels. Uh the goal isn't  to over complicate it. Just open God's word and   read. And then move to observation. As you're  reading, just ask, "What stood out to me?" Like,   "What grabbed my attention? What did I learn  about God today? Was there a verse that I kept   coming back to? And simply write down a few things  that stuck out to you. And then application. Ask   yourself, okay, what am I supposed to do with  this? How does this affect my life? Is there   something God is asking me to start doing? Is  there something he's asking me to stop doing?   Or is there something that I need to trust in him  for? And then the last thing is this. It's prayer.   Just talk to God about what you read. Thank him  for what he showed you. Ask him to help you live   it out. Bring him what's on your heart and then  go start your day. Now, I always tell people   like this isn't the only way to spend time with  God. Like, there are a lot of ways to meet with   him. But I can tell you from experience, this one  works. And so, I want to challenge you to try it.   In fact, I'm going to make a pretty big ask. I  I want to encourage you to try this for 30 days.   Set aside 20 or 30 minutes every morning and just  see what happens. Because here here's what I've  

learned. It's usually not the big dramatic moments  that change us the most. It's the ordinary ones.   It's not the camps or the retreats or the big  mountaintop moments. Like those are all real   and they certainly have their place. But it's  the random Tuesday morning when you're tired   and you don't feel inspired and honestly you'd  rather go do something else. But you open your   Bible anyways. Then over time something starts  to happen. You begin to hear God's voice more   clearly. You start noticing uh God throughout your  day. Your trust grows and your faith deepens. You   see, the true mature faith is usually built  when you keep showing up day after day after   day. And you discover that every time you do, God  is already there waiting for you. You know, as we   wrap up today, I think it's important to remember  that while God's people woke up every morning   to mana, miraculously provided by God, the mana  itself was never the point. It was always leading   to the day when Jesus in one of the most powerful  passages in scripture stands before a crowd and   he makes the claim that only the son of God could  say. He said in front of everyone in attendance,   I am the bread that came down from heaven. What  I love is that in one statement, Jesus lets us   know that mana was never about food. It was always  pointing to something else or better yet someone   greater. You see, Jesus is the fulfillment of  everything the wilderness was trying to teach.   He's the provision that never runs out. He's the  grace that's there every single morning. He's the  

bread that actually satisfies. And because of his  life, death, and resurrection, we have been given   something far greater than mana in the desert.  And so, as you go about your day today, hold on   to this. The same God who showed up every single  morning for a grumbling, doubting, mana hoarding   people is the same God who shows up for you. He's  not going to run out. He's not going to forget   about you. And he will be there tomorrow. And  so trust him with your kids. Trust him with your   finances. Trust him with your health. Trust him  with whatever wilderness you're walking through   right now. Because here's what I know. Jesus is  the bread of life and he has everything you need   for today. Let's pray. Father, thank you uh God  that your word uh is sharper than any two-edged   sword. God, it discerns our lives. It shows us  truth. And God, today we are so thankful. Uh God,   we are thankful for the Red Sea moments. We're  thankful for the extraordinary ways that you   have moved in our lives. But God, I am especially  grateful, Lord, for the everyday rhythms of grace.   God, I'm thankful that you have placed grace  in front of us, the opportunity to find it   every single morning. And Lord, I just pray, God,  that we would take that small step of obedience   to trust you at your word. God, we believe  that you have everything for us, everything   that we need for life and godliness. Lord, we  honor you. We love you in Jesus name. Amen.

One of my favorite things Lucas said in his  message today was that God didn't rescue Israel so   they could become independent of him. He rescued  them so they would actually be dependent upon him.   And the reason I loved that line is because that  holds true for each and every one of us today. He   didn't come to simply forgive us and leave us  to figure out this Christian life on our own.   He didn't come so that we would go through the  religious motions while really only relying on   ourselves. He came to save us, to change us, and  to teach us to abide in him. And in John 15:5,   Jesus was speaking with his disciples. And he was  teaching them. He said that I am the vine and you   are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in  him, he will bear much fruit. for apart from me,   you can do nothing." And Israel continually  forgot this truth. And if I were to be honest   with you today, I forget that far too often  as well. But this is why I love that we get   to take communion every single week at church  together. It's a consistent reminder of our   dependence and our reliance on the Lord.  It's a reminder that apart from Christ,   we can truly do nothing. that apart from the  vine, we are a withered branch on the ground,   incapable of producing fruit. But in Christ, we  find that he is able to do more with our lives  

than we could possibly hope, dream, or imagine.  So, as we take the bread and the cup together,   let's repent for the moments when we have  tried to live apart from the vine and thank   him for the new mercies that he gives us every  morning as he invites us back into his presence. Oh, how guilty

sin had made me. How I wish I take it all back. Oh, how perfect life of Jesus. How he enjoyed it. Laying it down. His death my death. His life my  life that I be born again. His   cross my cross is great my grave. So  I will rise within. Thank you Jesus. You died in my place.

I'm not down. You broke off those chains. I don't my s Thank you Jesus for my empty. Oh, how heavy shame I car. How I wish I could leave it behind. Oh, I'm free to walk with Jesus.

No turning around. Thank you Jesus. I'm not you don't change. Heat. Heat. Heat. Thank you Jesus. He's still my death. My death, his life, my  life. I be born again. His cross, my cross,   his grave, my grave. So I will rise with him. Oh,  his death, my death, his life, my life, that I be.

Oh, his cross my cross is great. I will. Thank you Jesus. Heat. Heat. Thank you Jesus. Heat. Heat.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you for my We lift you high, King Jesus. Oh, when I think of the father sending us his son so   we could all inherit the riches  of his love. I can't help but when I think of the power held in his hand.   Impossible is nothing according  to his plan. I can't help but Oh, I can't help but

not to him. to give so much more than we could ask. Glory to him in the bride in  Jesus throughout generations forever and ever. Glory to him. Oh, all glory to the cross. For all eternity. Oh, I can't help but it will be a holy moment when we walk away.   He will be behind us and there will  be no more. Oh, I can't help but my crown before him.

So much more than we could. Glory to him in the Jesus through all generations forever and ever. Glory to him,  all power, all glory to him. Let's sing of his love this  morning. How deep, how high,   how fast, let it rise. How deep, how high the love I worship forever. I know. Oh my god.

Yeah. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Amen. All glory to him this morning. Yeah,  church. Well, happy Sunday, Essie Online.   We're so grateful to be with you today here at  Southeast Christian Church. My name is Derek. This   is Sarah. Hey guys. We're part of our online team  and we would love to connect with you this week.   We have a lot of different things going on here  at Southeast. And so for you to connect with us,   we'd love for you to text that word connect to  733733. Yes, absolutely. Because next Sunday,   Derek, big week for us at Southeast. We have group  launch starting not only at all of our different   campuses, really across our Kentucky, Tennessee,  and Indiana area, but online specifically. We   are so excited about our online groups starting  next Sunday. And what better way to talk about  

our online groups than bringing in two people  who have experienced it for themselves and are   now stepping into being online leaders. So Joel  and Pam are with us today. Joel and Pam, how are   you guys doing? Morning. Doing well. We're doing  well. Thank you. Honored to be here. Thanks for   having us. Yeah, we love getting to have uh real  people a part of our online community whenever we   get the chance. And so Joel and Pam, it's such  an honor, like Sarah mentioned, to have you on   here. and we're curious just right away to know  where are you from and how did you first decide   to get connected to an online group? Okay. Well,  we are both originally from Louisville, believe   it or not. Um, so knew of South Christian, grew up  differently. Uh, went to high school together. So,   sorry about that. That's all right. Um, and  then, uh, but now we are in and have been Oh   my goodness. and have been for the last uh 25  years in Gulf, Florida, little town in between   Pensacola and Pensacola Beach. So, we are not  local to Kentucky any longer, but we are in Sorry   about that. Hey, that's real life, isn't it? That  is real life groups. That's right. You have dogs   barking, kids crying in the background. Like,  that's how online groups are. We love it. Well,   anyway, um just like a whole lot of people, COVID  is is what uh kind of got us to the online format  

of things and um we uh were uh of course a  lot of church groups were closed down. So,   so on and so forth. So, we were watching sermons  from our home church here in Pensacola as well as   Southeast Christian. And um that kind of led us  to um uh try to be a little bit more connected so quickly. And and the the other way that we  got connected was after COVID we went out and   uh we got hit by Hurricane Sally. And Sally when  it when it happened when hurricane happened it   knocked barges into the bridge and Gul Breeze is  that little spot like Pam was saying and and we   were isolated. We were hour plus from everything.  So we had we were no longer able to go to church   and we were no longer to have a small group. So  uh we were fortunate enough to find Joe and Mary   Dit that was our group leaders and um just it was  a great thing. Wow. You know I love that you know   CO was such a connecting part for so many of us  but for you guys not only did you have CO to deal   with but you had to like all of a sudden travel  over an hour to your church. And I'm so grateful   that something that kind of made you get connected  and say, "Hey, we need a part of this community   back in our lives." And so Joel, I wanted to ask  you specifically from that moment from you saying,   "Hey, we need community. We need to reach out  and join a group. How have your lives changed   spiritually and how have you seen growth in  your life from that moment?" Right. Well,  

we were going through spiritual growth. I mean,  we have a life story obviously, but um as we got   into small group, we started gaining knowledge  and and that connection with people. And then   I just was my life as I've been walking through, I  I kind of got to the point where the gospel is not   just forgiving and and getting a pass to heaven.  It's about transforming your life and and living   living it today and picking up your cross and  following Jesus. So, um, it it all fit together,   you know, it all just kind of came together.  And then when we were offered this opportunity,   that's kind of going to be our focus is where  is that encouragement and and your identity,   you know, what who God tells you, who you  are, not who the world is. And then, you know,   and then get encouraged about that. And let's  be happy today. I mean heaven's great but but   let's be happy today and and very relational. Um I  myself have found the relationship with with Jesus   with God um has become much much more important  and with that relationship you have to seek   other relationships. It's it's um it's not just  reading the Bible and and having the knowledge.   of having that relationship with Christ. I love  that, guys. And I'm curious because you are   starting to lead an online group that starts  here in just a couple weeks. With everything  

that you've shared, I could probably guess,  but I want you all to share with our online   community that may be looking for a group right  now that they're like, "Man, I I I hear you. I   I'm interested. But why are you guys specifically  stepping into this stepping into leading a group   uh really starting the next couple of weeks? I  mean uh well just it it's a God thing. I mean we   we prayed about it. The opportunity I mean we  weren't even thinking about doing this. Yeah,   we we were looking for another year of uh riding  on Joe and Mary's class on Wednesdays and and   then when this when Joe and Mary recommended us  and and then we talked to Derek and you know it   just it it suddenly became a um a very exciting  and I think it's just where where we're supposed   to be. I think you know God we're just following  where he tells us to go. Um, are we comfortable uh   with our leadership group? It's going to be fun.  We're going to be in it together, but uh you know,   we're going to all learn and grow together. That's  that that's how we're going in and we're going to   put God first, Christc centered, and then we're  going to go for it. I love that. Joel and Pam,   thank you all so much for just sharing a little  bit of your story. And I love that you guys got   like voluntto by Joe and Mary like, "Hey, you guys  are going to lead a group." But I think it's just   a testament that we need people like that in our  lives to encourage us to grow in our leadership.   And if you're out there and you're thinking Joel  and Pam seem fun. I want to join their group. You   can do that right now. You can text SE online  to 733733. Click on that little link that says  

groups. And their group's going to be starting  next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. And   so if you're out there, you need a group, join  Joel and Pam. We're going to love You're going   to love it for sure. Yes. Joel and Pam, thank you  so much. We're grateful for you guys. Thank you.   you and also online family. We want to remind you  we have our Kyle large group coming up this next   Thursday. You're going to get to hear from Kyle  and talk about uh some of the things that he's   been super grateful to see over the past year  part of our church. But even more importantly,   you're going to get to hear his thoughts on  our upcoming sermon series uh because we are   going to be back uh with the the rest of the  Inerson church talking about the same things,   same sermons of the weekend. So, we want to make  sure that you are a part of that y'all. Also to   be a part of that, all you have to do is text  essie online to 733733. Yeah, it's always fun   getting to hang out with Kyle. And for you parents  out there, we have a really special resource for   you that kind of goes along with our in-person  at the movie series. Our Southeast Kids ministry   has really created this awesome opportunity for  you to be discipling your kids at home through f   through familyfriendly movies, which is so fun.  And so you can text at home to 733733 to be a   part of that and to walk through those movies with  your kids. I know you guys have gone through it,   right? Yeah, we've loved it. We love that our kids  ministry here at Southeast does such a great job   helping us as parents disciple our children. Uh  and y'all, we're grateful for you. We're grateful   that each week you are so faithful to worship  with us online to be in groups together, y'all,   because it's a community full of real people just  like you, just like Joel and Pam Swan that makes  

SE online what it is. Y'all, we pray that you have  an awesome week and we will see you next time.