It's Time To Go Big

All right, well, we have been in Matthew chapter 6, verse 33. The verse that we have been walking through has been, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

I just realized, as I’ve been studying the phrase “seek first the kingdom of God,” or the idea of the kingdom of God — we could probably spend months on those words alone. If we’re only studying the kingdom of God on a Sunday morning, we could be here for months just studying that phrase. What does it mean? What does the kingdom of God look like? Because it’s never ending. And part of the idea of it being never ending is we will eventually be in heaven, and just think about the idea of eternity. It’s never ending. So we could spend months working through and contemplating and rereading about the kingdom of God.

And we really do feel like that verse — “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” — is a prophetic word for this time for our church. There is something there that the Lord is calling us to, an opportunity.

Knowing the real thing

A few weeks ago I spoke on how people work to identify counterfeits. The way the bank system helps tellers and people handling money identify counterfeits is actually by them continuing to handle real money. They actually focus less on the counterfeit aspect. They believe that if they can teach their tellers how to identify real money — how it feels, the texture, the watermarks, all the intricacies of money — the moment that a teller touches a counterfeit, they realize that it’s a counterfeit, because they’re so well versed in the real thing.

What I was talking about a few weeks ago was that I think the church has focused a little bit too much on the counterfeit, and we veered off from teaching and preaching the kingdom of God. And so now, one of the biggest things we hear around us that people struggle with is, “I don’t know that God is speaking to me.” They could read the Word: “I don’t know what God is saying.” Because I think for so long we’ve had our attention on all the varying counterfeits that are around us in the different kingdoms, and we’ve lost touch with understanding the real thing.

So as we’re going, I want to continue to encourage us — I’m going to be talking about the kingdom of God specifically today — but I would encourage you to take time and not let Sundays be the only day that you are studying these things, because this is nearly not enough. When you look at the time that Jesus met with His disciples, it wasn’t once a week. He was with them. He was living with them. He had hours upon hours so they could understand the intricacy of who He was, the relationship, all of those things. And so we cannot nearly get into the depths of the Kingdom on one day.

So I want to encourage you, if there are things or notes or whatever you have, take them, spend time, ask the Lord. Because if we could spend endless time on just the phrase “the kingdom of God,” how much more does He have for us? It’s great news. It really is. There’s no condemnation in that. There’s just so much available for us, and the Lord is calling us to that.

So let’s pray. Father God, we just thank you for today. We thank you for the words that you’ve already spoken to us. God, I pray that our hearts would be open to receive the Word. Lord, I pray that you would speak through me today, and that your Holy Spirit would be our teacher as we navigate through Scripture. And we just thank you for your goodness and your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Quit playing small

If you were here with us last week, I think somewhere in the beginning Pastor Jay shared a little bit about this Escalade that I rented when we were in Denver. So now here’s my picture with the Escalade, because I was so excited about it. See, that’s me with the Escalade.

Airplane mode was off, we landed in Denver, and I began to check in on Avis, because I use Avis for my car rental. As I’m checking in, it’s like, “Complimentary upgrade available.” And I’m scrolling, and it’s like minivan, minivan. I’m like, I drive a minivan — that is not an upgrade for me. And then right at the bottom there was this beautiful Escalade, and I was like, you know what? I’m getting the Escalade, because it was the same — it was a complimentary upgrade. Usually when I do my car rentals I’m like, mystery car, I don’t really care. A compact car is never going to work for us because Jay’s pretty tall. So I was just like, mystery car, let’s see. And then I got this upgrade to an Escalade.

Now here’s the deal. When I looked at Jay, he was like, “What are you thinking, getting an Escalade? An Escalade is not a mountain car.” We were in the mountains. We were in Denver. This was not a smart choice when you think about gas. There was no reason other than me being ridiculous about getting an Escalade — let’s just be real. But as I hit it, I just thought, Suzie, it’s time to quit playing small.

There was something in me — I know that sounds so ridiculous, people, but you have to understand the Lord is always talking and working with us, anywhere, through anything. If you realize that He is really walking with you, and you believe that He is in you and with you, then you begin to hear His voice in things that you might miss otherwise. So as simple as it was, as I was scrolling and decided to get this Escalade, the minute that I chose it I just felt something deep in my spirit that was like, “Quit playing small, Suzie.”

Now the reality is, when I got in this Escalade, the first thing that I did was I found one of my favorite songs from high school that has just a good mix of bass and all this stuff, and I rolled down the windows. I didn’t even figure out how to open the trunk, which was a necessary thing to learn. But I did know how to open the sunroof. I rolled down the windows. It was beautiful. It was a perfect day in Denver. And I got lost at the airport, probably because I was half distracted. There are a few reasons why I got lost, but that’s not the point. I kept going in circles for like 30 minutes. It was the GPS and Suzie and where Jay was, all combined. And I only almost cried once. But the reason I didn’t cry was because I was in this Escalade. So even though I was lost for 30 minutes and we were hungry, I was in this Escalade with the windows down and my favorite songs playing, and I just had this deep sense in me. It was a moment where I just felt it: quit playing small.

I think oftentimes we reduce ourselves and our situations, and even more so God, because it’s easier to play small. The Escalade, like I said, was not a sensible choice. But when we think about the kingdom of God, there is nothing sensible about the kingdom of God. As I was saying, we can endlessly talk about this, but we have begun to play small with the kingdom of God, and I believe He’s telling us it’s time for us to play big. It’s time to play big.

What does that mean? That means that in the kingdom of God there are going to be moments and things where we find ourselves where we can just do what we always know to do. I had a complimentary upgrade. I know what a minivan is. That’s easy in and out for Jay. I can press the button. I know what a minivan is. But there was this moment with this car that I just thought, I’m going for it.

A kingdom reflects its king

You know, a kingdom reflects its king. Just think about that. A kingdom will always reflect its king. And we serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Now that phrase means that there are other kings and there are other lords. So what does it mean to be about the kingdom of God? We serve the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and I believe that we’ve made the kingdom of God small. We’ve tried to make it in a way that makes sense to people — and all with good intention — we’ve made it in a way that it fits so pretty in this box that we can just say, “This is what we’re calling you to.” And I believe if we are serving the King of kings and the Lord of lords, it’s time to stop playing small.

See, number one: our King is a merciful King. Just think about this. Our King is a merciful King. I think we struggle with the idea of a merciful God because we’ve not come to understand the totality of who He is as a king. So when we think of mercy, sometimes we think of where it makes sense in our mind — that our God is merciful to the things that make sense in our mind. But that’s not the totality of who He is as a king. There was nothing small about God’s plan to have Jesus come, and none of that makes any sense. Why would Jesus leave the heavens? Why would He leave any of those things to come and be fully human, to come and deal with humanity?

I was asking someone how their job was. They had switched jobs, and they said to me, “Well, it’d be really good if I didn’t have to deal with the people. This job is a great job, but if I didn’t have to deal with the people, it’d be even better.” They’re not in ministry. This is not anything like that. And I just thought, yeah, because people are messy. We’re complicated. We have our own nuances.

So sometimes I think we struggle with it because when we look with our own eyes and our own understanding at serving a God who’s merciful, there’s a limit to our own mercy. Does anyone have a limit to your own mercy? Or is that just me? I will admit and say I have a limit to my mercy, to my patience, to my grace, to my love, to my joy. I am a limited person, and that’s kind of the point. The point is that we serve a God who is beyond limits, who is limitless, who says, “In exchange for your weaknesses I’m going to give you my strength, because my strength and who I am is everlasting. It’s without an end.” And we have come to a place where it just is nice and comfortable for God to fit in this box. But we have a God who is filled with mercy.

“I did not come to judge the world”

John chapter 12 — if you have your Bibles, you can turn with me — John chapter 12, verse 42. In here we see something about Jesus that was profound in explaining His mercy. It says: “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me’” —

Whoever believes in Me. I think we will be shocked when we get to heaven to see who’s in heaven, because we have a God who says “whoever believes in Me.” I lost where I was. “‘Whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe’” — here’s the part of mercy — “‘I do not judge him.’”

Here is Jesus here on earth, and He’s saying, “I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” But here’s where it seems a little bit complicated, because then Jesus goes on to say: “‘He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.’”

It almost seems like Jesus is contradicting Himself here a little bit. He says, “I have not come to judge,” but “the word that I have spoken will judge you in the last day.” Just think about that. We serve a merciful God who was in the presence of people and their complexities of life, and He says, “Look, I have not come to judge who you are and where you are.” But He came to speak truth. When we see Jesus proclaiming the gospel and the good news, He continued to speak truth. And He said, in effect, “You will be judged on that which you heard.”

But Jesus did not come to judge, but to proclaim truth. And He allowed the truth which He spoke on the authority of His Father to be the very thing that would be the last impression in the person’s heart. He would sow the word, and those who responded and had ears to hear, they heard and they responded and received. And then there were those who ignored, and He said, “I’m not even worried about that, because by the word which I spoke you will be judged in the last day. Therefore I don’t need to judge.”

We serve a merciful God, for whom it was more important that people would hear the truth than that their behavior be corrected. We serve a merciful God. Our King, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, is merciful beyond explanation. He’s merciful not because we deserve it. He’s merciful because of who He is.

Living in the tension

See, Jesus lived with the tension of being merciful yet watching people reject the truth. And He lived in the tension of the kingdom of now and the kingdom of not yet. This is what Jesus walked in every day. He walked and lived in this tension of being fully God and fully man, and He never let one overtake the other. He never let the man part of Him ever consume who He was. He didn’t let the fact that He was fully God overtake any situation. And yet He was merciful and walked out mercy with every person that was set before Him. He never compromised on the truth. He never compromised on who He was. And He never compromised on the mercy and grace He extended to people.

And the problem is, we’re living in a tension that’s a little bit different than that. We’re not fully God. Can we just talk about that for a moment? We are fully human. We are people who are being redeemed, who have been redeemed, who have been restored into relationship. And yet we have the tension every day that we’re living in an unredeemed world.

Just think about that. I had this revelation recently. I was in a situation, and I just thought, why would I expect anything different? They don’t know Jesus. And it wasn’t even a place of criticism. It was a place to just let them off the hook and say, but I can bring Jesus to the situation. I don’t need them to change their behavior. I need to release that and walk in the tension of God’s mercy and grace in a situation.

Because we do have Scripture — because we are people here who are getting the revelation of truth — sometimes it can put us in this place of judgment rather than understanding the mercy we should operate in. The truth of God isn’t to put us up on a higher platform. It’s actually so we can come down and be with people. And we have a security that no matter where we find ourselves, the truth and the Word of God is our anchor and our hope. Therefore, if I’m anchored into something, then when I get down low with people, when I begin to get myself into the dark place — guess what? When I’m anchored, I don’t need them to be anchored. My job is to come and bring the Word of God and bring the mercy of God to people.

The kingdom of God, I realize, is more about a both-and rather than an either-or. The kingdom of God is about a both-and: “I’ve come and I’m going to speak truth, and what you hear you’ll also be judged upon.” There’s a both-and. And I think we’ve come to the either-or because it’s easier, right? If we just know the right thing to do and the wrong thing to do and the correct answer — isn’t that just easier? Who likes to live in the tension between anything?

I think I’m growing in a greater appreciation of tension as I walk through things with my dad. I realize I can be both joyful and mourning. I can do both. On Park Street, on one of the restaurants, there’s a sign that says, “Hold on to hope.” I would always take my dad to his appointments, so I would go up and down Park Street, up and down Park Street, and I always thought, I just want a picture by myself there. So one day I went to drop him off at his appointment, and I’m like, oh, it’s kind of cold, but I’m going to go. And I ran over there. Because the idea that we can hold on to hope and still live in a time that is treacherous is a tension that we have to live in.

Most people do not get this easy, free, scot-free, no-issue life. No, we need to learn how to hold on to hope and have faith while walking out the practicalities of the tensions of real life. So the kingdom of God, I believe, is a both-and. Now hear me: I’m not saying that the truth of God is negotiable. There are no negotiables to the truth. This is the truth. But how we live it out — there is a tension.

Mercy that calls us to the Father

Number two: in His mercy, Jesus always called people to His Father. In His mercy He always called people to His Father, and He also addressed the issues at hand. We go back to that tension.

Turn with me to John chapter 8, just a few chapters back. This might be a familiar story to you. “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’”

Here’s what I’m talking about. Here are people who knew Scripture, who knew the commands, who knew everything. And in a moment, instead of extending mercy — I always try to picture what that must have been like, the humiliation that she was caught. If you think about it, it says she was caught in the very act. When you’re caught in the very act of adultery, there is nothing more vulnerable than that. You can use your imagination to whatever end. It is not someone who is covered. It is not someone who is prepared. And here they come, and what do they use? They use the Word. And they’re saying, “Hey, look, here’s this woman. What do you say? The law says this.”

Man, how many times has that been me, where I’ve gotten the Word of God and I’ve put me on a pedestal over someone instead of extending mercy to them? We have a lost generation of people. We have people who are searching for truth. I’m still navigating what God’s Word says. But we have people who are looking for healing, who are looking for hope, who are looking for answers. And sometimes I think we get on the pedestal and say, “Well, God’s Word says this.” And our hearts can be so conflicted, because we see them in the very act that is the sin, and we maybe want to address the act of the sin. But listen to what Jesus does instead.

“This they said, testing Him” — man, how many times have — yeah, okay — “testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest” — think about that. Because I think when we get a little bit older, we learn a thing or two. Beginning with the oldest — “even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’ Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’”

We see here that the kingdom of God is filled with mercy. The kingdom of God is filled with mercy that calls us back to Jesus, that leads us back to the Father, that says, “In Me there will be no darkness. There is only light. There is only life.”

And what I love about this picture is we see Jesus getting dirty just a little bit. It says He leans down with her. He doesn’t try to save face. You know those people who get up, and you’ll see someone confidently walk like, “I’m ready to take you on.” No, He takes this place of humility, and He leans down. He gets before her. He gets dirty on her behalf. And yet no one is left, because we serve a God whose kingdom is filled with mercy.

The kingdom of God is filled with mercy, and we cannot be threatened — we don’t need to be threatened — by where people are. We can call them to the mercy of God and allow them to be convicted of their sin, and then walk them through it. Because Jesus then says when people are with Me they will not walk in darkness. They will walk exposed in light. Light exposes. And He’s saying, “When they are with Me, My kingdom is about mercy and being exposed in a very different way.” Because here’s the thing: she just was literally exposed. She was pulled out of her sin. And then Jesus is saying, “My exposure is different than what you just encountered. My exposure is different than what the world says. With Me there will be no darkness. There will only be life.” The kingdom of God is filled with mercy.

A kingdom of others and action

And then lastly, the kingdom of God is about others and action. The kingdom of God is about others and action.

John chapter 1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

From the beginning of time, the kingdom of God has been about action and other people. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” But “in Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” The kingdom of God is about other people.

I was just thinking, what if we were a place where people came when they were sick? Obviously we just came off a very heightened sensitivity to situations, and this is neither a criticism nor a complaint. But I was just thinking, what would it take, Lord, for our faith to grow, to be a place where people would come here because they knew that they could encounter Jesus, and the life and light of men? It’s about other people.

When I think about the complexities of that, there’s a lot of myself I have to put aside. We were reading Scripture this week at our home group, and it was saying that they were together daily and that they all had what they needed. We were talking in our group, and I just thought, okay, if it says they gathered daily, what is the implication there? What does that look like? Because that’s going to cost me something, to gather daily. But it’s in Scripture. When it talks about them all being without need, and that they were selling their possessions for each other — that was the kingdom of God in action. That’s going to cost me something.

So we have to remember the kingdom of God was never about us. In fact, when we see Jesus’ question, He says, like, what good is someone if they’re well? It’s those in need of a physician — that’s the people I ought to be going to. And that is the call and the commission for each one of us: that we would be people who would bring the kingdom of God, who would bring the light and the life of Christ to our situations — not just on a Sunday morning. Because all of a sudden I was thinking, what’s the point of a Sunday if we’re not doing it Monday through Saturday? What does that begin to look like? And it’s not a criticism. I just don’t want to leave this life doing the same thing because that’s just what I know. I want to all of a sudden see, oh, there’s an opportunity for an upgrade here.

And I’m going to tell you, in my own experience, most spiritual upgrades are not as easy as the Escalade. Most of my spiritual upgrades come with a lot of pain, a lot of dying. Let me tell you about this Escalade. If it was cold in the car, my seats were on heated. If it was hot in the car — because we went up to Red Rocks — my seats were on cool. I would start the car and it would be like, “Oh, it’s hot in here, let me put the cooling seats on for you. Oh, it’s cold in here, let me put the hot seats on for you.” This car did everything for me. Most of my spiritual upgrades are not that easy. Most of my spiritual upgrades cost me something.

But I have to realize: am I here to play it small? Am I here to create this perfect life so that everyone agrees and likes it and thinks, “Oh, Jay and Suzie, they have such lovely kids. Oh, look at their family. Oh, look, they even have a dog, and their house — they don’t have a fence, but it’s brick, and it just looks glorious”? Is that what it’s for? Or am I willing to say, “Lord, I want your will in my life. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?

I’m telling you, when we look at the kingdom of God and we really begin to study Scripture, it’s going to mess you up, because it’s about mercy and things people don’t deserve, including myself. And yet that’s the gospel and the good news that we are to be seeking every day. We remind ourselves it’s not just about the mercy for me. It’s about the mercy being extended to you. And it’s not just about the mercy being extended to you. It’s so that you can go extend the mercy to someone else. Because we have a world of people who are looking for an upgrade, and they’re looking in the wrong spots, and they’re finding the upgrade they think that they need. The kingdom of God is not about us and our comfort. The kingdom of God is about others and being moved into action.

I was having a conversation with someone about life in Christ and Jesus and church, and do people even know that they need to go to church? Most people are just like, it’s just another thing to do, because the church has become like everything else. We can be real about this, right? I don’t mind talking about this. It’s not fun. But I don’t want to just do this to do it. I love that we’re here together and gathered. My heart and my hope is that you would leave here encouraged to walk out the next thing the Lord has asked you to do — that you could say, “Okay, Lord, this is going to cost me something. I was encouraged by Suzie, who was saying this, so help me walk in obedience right now.” That’s the purpose of this: that we would be people of action, because the kingdom of God is one of other people and action.

“I must be about My Father’s business.” That’s Jesus at twelve. What is that? That’s action. And we will not see the things we want to see, those deep desires, until we’re moved to action. I don’t want to just wait it out until Jesus comes. Man, He’s gifted each one of you guys in this place and online. He speaks to us. You are a unique perspective of the creation and image of God. You matter. Your voice matters. We have to learn how to steward our voice. We need to learn how to practice these things, because the kingdom of God is about other people and action.

It’s not just so that our church can be big. I think it would almost be easier if it was about that: let’s just fill the pews, let’s just do this. No, no, no. Jesus continually was where the people were. He was continually where people who needed Him were — not to be like them.

When I think about the picture of Him in front of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery — in my mind, whatever Jesus looks like to you, I see Him just kneeling down in this toga-ish wrap and sandals. I see Him there just getting dirty. That’s what I see. I see Him getting dirty with her, because she wasn’t standing up. She was probably lying on the floor in a fetal position. Have you ever felt exposed, and you just want to curl up and hide? And here she was. In my mind I see her there, broken, already broken. And He just gets down and covers her and just starts getting dirty with her. He wasn’t worried about, “I hope she knows.” No. He covers her first in mercy and then says, “Now go and sin no more.”

So many people are like the woman, and they don’t even know it. And we have had the luxury — I call it a luxury — we are a wealthy people who have encountered the presence of God. I don’t say this to toot my own horn, but I called us to a moment where we would say, “Hey, Jesus is speaking to you right now. What is He saying?” That’s a luxury. That’s a luxury. And the practice of it is so that we could go and say, all right, the kingdom of God is about action.

You know, John thought Jesus was going to be one thing, didn’t he? When he proclaimed who Jesus was, He was going to come with fire. And here comes Jesus, gentle like a lamb, being crucified. Jesus isn’t this mean person. And this is where we need to begin to proclaim the kingdom of God, because we have a lot of people who think that our God is angry at them, shouting at them. We went through a movement where you would see people — that’s not how I evangelize — people put up signs, “You’re going to hell.” And then we have people who are like, “Grace, grace, grace, grace, grace — oh no, it’s fine.” And it’s like, no. He’s just calling us to get with people one by one. He goes after the one. He goes after the one. He goes after the one.

We have people who think God is really mad at them. We have a lot of people who think that our heavenly Father speaks in condemnation and shame and guilt. We have a lot of people who hear God through the filters of their own experiences, of their own abuse, of their own mishandling from places that they’ve been in church. That’s the voice of God to them. And we are called to be a people who get to say, “No, no, no. Let me tell you about my Father. He’s a merciful God. He would rather have mercy over judgment.” That’s why He waits — so He doesn’t have to have judgment on humanity. I know some of us are like, “Take me home, I’m ready.” But He’s saying, “No, no, there’s some work to be done. There are some people who need to know about my mercy and my grace. There are some people who need to actually know who I am for them today.”

See, the kingdom of God is not about us. And in the process of it, we get to have beautiful moments where we get to encounter Him and we’re reassured. So I just want to tell you, if you think God is mad at you, or you think He’s angry — yes, our Father, it does say He corrects those He loves. I’m not saying any of those things aren’t true. Don’t make me say that. Jay and I had this conversation last night. He said, “That’s not what I said. Don’t make me say that.” And I was like, well, I don’t know. Because sometimes we do that — we make someone say something they’re not saying by implying what they are saying. You know what I’m talking about? Did that make sense? I think so.

But let’s be a people who vocalize the kingdom of God being one of mercy. We don’t need to be afraid of His mercy and grace, because here’s one thing I do know for absolute sure: every person who’s hungry and has come into relationship with the Lord, the Lord captures their heart. There is time, and all of that is intended to be within relationship. But just like the woman who was caught in the act — He turned back and addressed her: don’t go and sin anymore. He knows what to do with us.

And all He’s saying is, “Would you come and learn of my mercy? Would you allow my voice to be my voice and not the voice and echoes of others? Would you be a people who would extend my mercy and grace to people? And you don’t need to worry about it. I love them more than you love them.” He desires their freedom and our freedom more than we desire our own freedom and other people’s freedom. He can be trusted. He’s a faithful God. He never changes. But He is calling us to be a people who would stop playing it small with the kingdom of God, because in our smallness we’re minimizing who He is.

It’s time to play big

He’s calling us to be a people who play it big, who are going to be extravagant and not be worried about, “Oh, well, I hope they don’t think He loves them too much” — or whatever we’re afraid of.

So I rolled up in my Escalade, and I even reverse parked just to be obnoxious. I reverse parked everywhere I could — and mostly, too, because I had a little bit of a hard time seeing sometimes, even though I had cameras everywhere. But I reverse parked, and then Jay told me I couldn’t reverse park, so then I was even more reverse parking everywhere. Just tell me I can’t do something and I’ll figure out how to get it done anyway. So I reverse parked, and this person looked at me and she goes, “Really big car.” And I was like, “Yeah, I know.” She said it kind of snooty, because it was after I reverse parked and I was trying to fix it. But I’m just like, I’m done playing small for people. I’m done. Yeah, I’m driving a big car, and it’s cool.

Yeah, I serve a big God who has mercy and goodness to no end. Let’s be a people who play it big with our faith. Let’s play it big. And if, like me, you have somehow shrunk God into our world where we need Him to fit, He’s saying, “No more, Chapel Valley. It’s time to begin to play big.” Let’s play big with believing and stepping out in faith. Let’s play big and believe and pray for that person. Let’s play it big — not so we can show off, but so that God can get the glory, so that people can come to know Him. Because it’s the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. It’s the goodness of God that leads people to repentance. And the kingdom of God is good news. That’s why it’s called the good news. It’s the gospel. It’s the good news.

He’s partnering with us, and He’s calling us: would you just play it big with Me? Don’t worry about the other stuff. I was just listening to Scripture, where He talks about the wheat and the tares. The enemy comes and he plants seeds, and then the tares begin to come up, and He says, “Don’t worry about the tares. Just leave it be. I’ll take care of it.” That’s what the parable ends up saying. And I’m here to say He’s taking care of it. Let’s be people who proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God wherever we go.

All right, I’m going to pray for us. Would you all bow your heads?

Father God, we just thank you for who you are. We thank you for your goodness. Lord, as we respond through worship, God, I pray that as we clearly hear you speak, we would be people of action for your kingdom. Lord, it is an uncomfortable place to be, but Lord, we thank you that you can be trusted, that you’re faithful, and that you’re good. And Lord, we pray that your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We thank you for these things. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.