Good morning everyone. My name is Jamie. I'm the lead pastor here at Ebenezer. Honored and blessed to be the lead pastor here of some of the best people on the face of the planet. I love you guys.

And I hope that you felt loved when you came in this room today. And I don't want to be anywhere else than where I am right now. Because I've got an hour and a half. I'm just kidding. If you're joining us online, thank you for taking time to tune in with us.

We'd love to hear from you. There's always that comment section, that chat section. Drop us a note. Let us know you're there. You know, sometimes we take for granted, and I'm telling you, you don't realize this.

In this room right now, there are people joining us from around the world. I don't know if you know that or not. If you get on that feed and you see some of the people that comment or you see that, I mean, we have people that connect with us around the world, and it's amazing what technology can do for us. I want to introduce you, reintroduce you to a couple of friends of mine this morning. Some key people in our church.

Josiah Hurt was up here on the keyboard. He's going to come back up and join us. And Mr. Brad Whitfield is going to come up at this time. And I just, I love good news. I love the good news.

I love the good news. I love the gospel. But I love good news when we can talk about, as Caleb said earlier, there's some great things happening in the life of our church. And just a couple of weeks ago, Josiah, we sat down with you and talked to you about, um, you taking on some more responsibility and becoming our director of worship and media. And so you're— it's an official— you were already on staff with us, but, but you've taken on a lot more responsibility.

And so you're going to see the fruit of that forthcoming in the next few weeks. And so I wanted to give you a chance to see Josiah this morning And in a few minutes, we're going to pray over both of these men. But Brad, my friend. Y'all know Brad retired a few months ago. He retired from teaching 30— was it 30 years or 31?

30 years. He— 30 to the mark. And whoo! Somebody got— you got a woo out of that. Coached for those 30 years.

Did you coach football? Did you coach anything else? He coached wrestling. I love wrestling. Not WCW wrestling.

I like real wrestling like you do in high school. But for years now, many of us recognize the giftedness that's in this man and the heart that he has for care and senior adults. And so today it is my honor to introduce to you, the church body, our new director of senior adults and care, Mr. Brad Whitfield. And, uh, Brandy, if you would come. I don't think we need to like just announce that we've got some guys that are joining our team or staying on our team, but that we need to commission them and pray for them.

So Randy, if you lay hands on Brad, I'm going to lay hands on Josiah. Church body, would y'all stand with us? Stretch your hands forward as we pray for the ministry of these 2, 2 men. Father, thank you for Josiah. Thank you for Brad.

Thank you for what this means in the life of our church, um, as we seek to excel in worship, to lift you up, to magnify you, To invite people to come along in that journey. And we know Josiah's gift and his passion and heart and gifts. His skill. God, we pray that You continue to bless and pour into him as he steps into that role. And Lord, we pray for Brad this morning, God.

That You would anoint him and give him favor with our congregation. Such a need that's been talked about for years. Now coming to fruition. And Lord, I pray that, Lord, that You would use him in the life of those that would They may not call themselves seniors. But they're in that category.

But they're young at heart. And we pray, Father, You use him to unify and to reach and to love and to care. Lord, as we step into this season. Lord, we love You. In Jesus' name.

And everybody said, amen. Guys, will you let them know how much you appreciate them this morning? Thank you so much. You can be seated. While I'm mentioning Brad to you.

I want to mention to you guys. We're having a senior adult lunch. On September 29th at noon. September 29th at noon. And you can sign up either if you know how to use the church app, go on the church app, sign up.

Or if you need to call the church office, get us to help you. Whichever way helps you best, get signed up. September 29th at noon. And we're going to be talking about the history of Toccoa. We have a special guest that's going to come.

Brad's going to be there. And I just want to encourage you, as you see Josiah and Brad out in the room today. Go by and tell them you're going to be praying for them as they step into these key and critical roles. So I want to ask you to turn in your Bible to Matthew 28. Put your finger there.

And I'm going to mix something up. I need you to go to 2 Peter 3. As I was sitting here listening to the music this morning. And we have been doing this since Friday evening. We've been in our breakaway weekend.

We have had 3 times of worship and study since Friday night. Our students were challenged Friday night that if they didn't know Jesus, that they needed to grasp him. They needed to take hold of Jesus and make him theirs. That they needed to see how they have been grounded in Jesus. That they have roots to put down and to grow.

Last night we shared a message Where we challenge them that now that they've been grounded, they need to grow. They need to grow. Like, we are a plant. And plants are planted. In the case of spiritual life, to produce fruit.

Not just to exist. And I wanted you to hear the verse. Don't stand up yet. I want you to hear the verse that we shared last night. 2 Peter 3:17-18.

It says, you know therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on guard. In other words, there's something that's coming against you. There's something that's attacking you. And he points out that we are not to be carried away by the error of unprincipled men. Lawless men.

And fall away from your own steadfastness. What's he talking about there? Well, I believe it's important for us to realize that if we're going to grow in Christ, there's going to be voices of disillusionment, deception, distraction, discouragement that will attempt to pull the footing out from under us. But can I remind you, my friends, God is faithful.

I, I— that needs to linger and, and sit for a moment. God is faithful to you. When you are at your least faithful, God is still faithful. When you turn your back on God, God doesn't turn his back on you. When you are tempted to let go, he doesn't let go of you.

And that's why I can have confidence that he's grounded me He's given me support. He's building me up. As we talked about last week. So that I can walk in Him. And if I've grasped Him.

I've been grounded in Him. I'm growing in Him. Right now, they're over there talking about a lesson. Do I get Jesus? Like, not do I get Him?

Like, am I saved? Do I get Him? Do I— does my heart resonate with Him? Do I look at the people around me? And get moved in my gut that there's a problem and that there's a need and that God might actually call me to do something about it.

If I'm growing, then the next logical step is that I'm going. If I'm growing, then the next logical step is that I'm going. If I'm stagnant in my growth, maybe the next step for you and for me Is to ask God, God, what would you call me to go and do? So I want you to stand with me as we read this passage this morning. It's very familiar with you.

But I want to start back at verse 16. Matthew 28:16. Because I feel like I saw a couple little nuggets that we need to unpack. The command today. The explicit.

No argument. No vagueness. Is that God has called us to make disciples. To make disciples. There is no way of stepping around it.

The body of Christ, which includes every born-again believer, is called to make disciples. But I cannot make a disciple if I am not a disciple. Listen to what he said. But the 11— circle the number 11. But the 11 proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated.

When they saw Him, they worshiped Him. But some were doubtful. Or the word better might be used, hesitated. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples.

Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. Now listen. And lo, I am with you always. Somebody needs to hear today that God hasn't left you abandoned.

Even to the end of the age. Even to the end of your physical life here. All the way to the end. When Jesus busts that sky open and He returns. Father, speak to us this morning and challenge us.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Can I quiz you like I quizzed the students? How many times does the word Christian appear in the New Testament?

I heard zero. It's a little bit more. I heard one. I got one in the back. I would never make it as an auctioneer.

It's actually 3. Jesus didn't save you to put on a label. He saved you to give you a life to live. In fact, if you— I had a, I had a set of scales on this stage Friday night, and I asked the students, how many times does the word Christian appear? And we put 3 marbles on the scale.

And then I said, well, how many times does the word disciple appear? In the New Testament? It's 262 times. Before they were called Christians. In Acts 11:26, it says, the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Before they started going around calling themselves a Christian, they were disciples. Which means to be a learner. To be a student. To be a follower. And today this challenge.

This command is that we would make disciples. But I cannot make a disciple if I haven't committed myself to being made a disciple. Like, folks, listen. I don't care how old you are. You don't stop learning.

You don't stop growing till the day you leave this world. I'll never forget the image of Laura's grandmother at 93 sitting In the nursing home after she had suffered a stroke and had left her blind. Sitting in the corner. Praying.

Praying, folks. She didn't leave this world thinking that she didn't still have a purpose. She actually said she was praying for a pastor friend of mine. She was praying up to the moment she left this world and stepped into her eternal glory. And reward.

God's not finished with you yet.

Every person is needed in the body of Christ to impact the kingdom. And He's called us to do it. There is no plan B. Chuck Swindoll, when he preached this passage, he told a story. A fable. Let me make sure you hear.

This is a fable. Do you know what that means? It's not true. About the moment that Jesus stepped back into heaven.

He's leaving the earth. He has been crucified. He's been buried. He's been raised again. And now He's ascending back into heaven.

When He left before, He left in the perfection of His deity. And now He's returning with the scars that He bore on His body for paying for the sins of mankind.

The holes in His feet and His hands.

The scars on His back.

As He entered back into heaven, He didn't look the way that He did when He left it to come to earth. And so before He goes and takes His seat next to the Father, The angel Gabriel comes up to him and says, Lord, you must have suffered terribly.

And Gabriel asked, do you think they know how much you love them on earth? Do you think they know it? Do you think they know what you've done? And Jesus said with a hesitation, not yet. Just a few do.

And with a heavy sigh, he begins to point out, well, before I left to come back, I told Peter and Andrew and James and John. I told them that this was the plan. To take this good news to the end of the earth. I told them that they wouldn't be going alone. That my Holy Spirit, our Holy Spirit would come upon them.

And that that would be the mark of their believing.

But that the message would go through them to new believers. And through those new believers to some new people who would become believers. And so on and so on. The message would go forth. And Jesus said, if they do it, it'll be a beautiful thing.

He sits down.

But Gabriel was still troubled in this fable. And he says, well, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute, Lord. What if they get weary? What if they give up?

What if the people they tell don't take it serious? What if 2,000 years down the road there's a group of people who say that they believe. But they don't follow that commission to keep going and telling. And keep going and telling. What will happen?

What if their witness is silenced? Like, have you made other plans, Lord?

And Jesus looks at Gabriel and he says, no, there is no other plan. The one that I have set in motion is the plan. And it I will honor. And it I will bless. To go and make disciples is the plan.

He left it on the responsibility of those who would believe. God is sovereign. God is in control. God does the saving. But He has put weight and responsibility on you and me to go and to make disciples.

We want to complain about how bad the world is. The solution isn't to go and pick up a picket sign and tell them how bad it is. The solution is to accept the Great Commission of God. Living as a disciple. And wanting to multiply that in other people.

And He promised us. Folks, listen. This isn't a weight that you and I can carry. I cannot witness to billions of people on the face of this planet right now. There have been billions of people that have existed since the beginning of time.

Jesus called His church to go and make disciples, do you realize that if we want to make a difference in this world, we need to make it for the kingdom of God first? And that as people come to a place of faith and repentance, it will change this world. It did it once before. But 2,000 years later, is the church doing what it was called to do? This is Plan A.

There is the No other plan. God said he would go with us and be with us to the end of the age. Do you believe this morning God is with you? It's more than a feeling, guys.

It's not a spiritual high. I need to know that God is with me in my worst moment, in my darkest place, and that he can strengthen me. Remember last week? Build me up. Because I've been rooted in Him.

Overflowing with gratitude. And God can take that and He can move forward. That as I'm walking, I'm going. As I'm walking, I'm going. Back up with me to verse #16.

This is at the end of Matthew. Jesus has been buried. He's been crucified. Buried. Raised again.

He's made His appearances.

But there's some little phrases in 16 and 17 that bothered me. That when I thought about this idea of the mission of God and the Great Commission of going. I actually saw 4 things. If you want. This isn't in your study guide.

But if you want to write this down with little arrows. In the first verse in 16, I saw loss. In the second verse, I saw doubt. Wait a minute. You're telling me, God, plan A, the only plan you have is to give it to a whole bunch of people who've just gotten beat up, deserted, and left and discouraged.

And then some of them standing there seeing the risen Lord still hesitated. That's your plan?

But when the plan happens, it's beautiful.

There is no greater miracle on this side of heaven than when a sinner is born again.

You don't have to do behavior modification in someone who has been born again. You know why? We told the students last night, who are you becoming? Folks, I'm asking you today. Who are you?

Who are you becoming? I know you probably, when you sat in a room like this, maybe as a student, a kid, or at a conference, or whoever, wherever it was. If you're a believer, somebody shared the gospel with you. And you said, oh, I believe. I believe in Jesus.

And you were saved. My sins are forgiven. Man, that's great. Oh yeah, by the way, now that you're saved, you're a part of the body of Christ. And His plan is for you to go and tell other people.

What? Yeah. Well, I'm an introvert. Well, I believe the Holy Spirit of God can give you the confidence and the power you need to share. Well, you know what?

I can't keep two— I can't keep a strain of thought together enough to put a sentence together. God can speak through you. You realize God can work through you and do the impossible when we just release ourselves and are faithful to Him. You're a mouthpiece. You're a medium.

Our Wednesday night, we've been talking a lot about sharing our faith without freaking out. And one of the things that hit me hard again this week was this idea. There's a lot of people Who have right knowledge about Jesus. But they don't have saving knowledge. You know the difference?

Right knowledge is, I know all the things. Saving knowledge is, I have a relationship with Him. See, I know a lot of facts about Abraham Lincoln. But I don't have a relationship with him. Do you see the difference?

Some of you in this room. You could probably answer every Sunday school question. But do you have a relationship with Him? If you do, that means you've grabbed ahold of Him. That means you've been grounded in him.

That means that you're growing in him. That means I get his heart. And if I get his heart, I want to go. There's nothing that would hold me back. Nothing.

So let me— let's look and make some observations about this text. The first 2 points are a little bit on the negative side. It's on the negative side, but I want to use it as an encouragement to get us to the place where the last 2 points Hopefully will inspire. First point is this. In going, we may experience loss and disillusionment.

But don't quit moving forward. Go back to the text. And I want you to look. I told you to circle the number 11. Why do you think I told you to circle the number 11?

Because up to this point, that group was called the 12.

Somebody fell away. Somebody quit. Somebody gave up. We hear in 10— chapter 10, verse number 1 of Matthew. Jesus summoned His 12 and He gave them authority over unclean spirits.

To cast them out and to heal. And then in verse number 4.

As Matthew is writing these words after all of this, he didn't leave out Judas. Jesus called them one by one. Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Then came Philip, Thomas too, Matthew, and Bartholomew. James the one they called the Less.

Simon also Thaddeus. And I never can remember the last 2 lines of that song. But it goes to Judas. And he's known as the betrayer.

In John 13:2, Satan put it in his heart to betray Jesus. Luke says it a little stronger in Luke 22:3, that Satan entered into him.

I don't know about you, but if you're playing on a football team and you got one guy on the team that ain't picking up his weight, it's hard to play the game. I don't know about you, but if you're in a group of people and you always got a nagging naysayer in the room, it's really hard to pick up steam and go anywhere. If you've ever worked on a team at work and you've got one guy who doesn't pull their weight. That's always discouraging everybody else. It's a hard thing to do.

You just want to lay down and you want to quit.

Judas. After he realizes what his actions had done. I kind of believe Satan left him. Satan used him. Satan left him.

But in Matthew 27:3-5. He's so moved. By the guilt. He goes and tries to give the money back to the high priests. And they refuse to take it.

And he takes his life.

The disciples, because Jesus was arrested, have scattered themselves. And one of theirs has fallen by the wayside. I'm pretty sure. We all think we would be better than the disciples. I don't know that we would be.

They were tempted to give up. Their leader had died. One of their team members had taken his life. What purpose is there to keep going? And then Jesus comes back to life.

He comes back to life. See, listen guys. In your life, you will experience loss. You will experience disillusionment. But don't quit moving forward.

It says, the 11 proceeded to Galilee. Jesus had to appear to them. Thomas doubted that He came back. They were ready to throw in the towel. But this verse starts out with negativity and ends with positivity.

There's one less person on the team. But when Jesus said, go to that mountain. Guess what they did? They went to the mountain. They picked right back up where they went.

Doing what? Obeying what He said. In our time of loss and disillusionment. Is a great opportunity for us to exercise steadfastness. I'm not going to quit.

Have you ever seen the cartoon of the frog being swallowed by the heron? And the frog's in this heron's mouth and it's got the heron by the throat. I'm not gonna give up. You're not gonna swallow me. It's the same thing.

But here's another thing I want you to consider. In our lives. There will be people that Satan tries to pull down, discourage, distract, and keep them from reaching their potential. We don't leave people behind.

Never left behind. The military has coined this phrase that no soldier left behind. Can I ask you today, when you look around this room, there are people that have passed and gone on to their reward. There's people that have decided, you know what? I just— I can't do this anymore.

Maybe there's some people in your life that you know that have just kind of thrown in the towel. Said, I can't do this faith thing anymore. What if? What if God's calling you to go and help them realize, don't quit. There's a purpose in your life.

Let's keep on going. Because in the next verse, we see something similar but different. In going, We may experience doubt and hesitation. But don't stop believing. No, I'm not going to sing.

Some of you know what I'm talking about. There's a song called Don't Stop Believing. Verse 17 said, when they saw Him, they worshiped Him. Now stop there. When you truly see the risen Lord.

When you truly get an image of who He is. You don't start asking questions. You don't start pondering things. You worship. Up to this point, we don't see any evidence that when the disciples were with Jesus that they were falling down at His feet.

Now they've seen Him risen from the dead. They realize that He is the Son of God. Worthy of praise. But now listen to the next part. It says, but some were doubtful.

Who? Who was doubtful? Was it the 11?

Well, let's go down that route for a moment. Let's say that the they there was the 11. They've just been through the most horrible thing in their life. They watched their leader die a most cruel death. Now they're standing here and you're just like, is this real?

Is he really standing here? Like, wow, this is awesome. Like the only response that they could have was was to worship Him.

But there was a moment of hesitation. Just like Peter. When they're on the boat in Matthew 14. And they see the waves. They see the storm.

They're scared to death. And then they see something moving. And the Bible in the original calls it a phantasma. Like a phantom. They didn't know what it was walking on the water.

And they realized it was Jesus. And Peter, of course, says, well, if it's you, beckon me to come out on the water. And he stepped out. He walked on the water and he came toward Jesus. But did you notice before he came to Jesus, Jesus came to him?

And the waves were the steps that he took to get to Peter.

He's coming to you too. In your disillusionment. In your discouragement. In your distractions. Jesus comes to you.

Now notice this. It says, but seeing the wind. I've never seen wind before. Have you? How do you see wind?

He saw the debris. He saw the water being whipped up off the surface. I don't know that he took his eyes off Jesus. Stuff began to blindside him. And he started remembering where he was.

And he became frightened. And he began to sink. And he cried out, Lord, save me. If he had given up on his faith, why did he cry out to the Lord? 'Cause listen to the next verse.

Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand. Took hold of him and said, you of little faith. Why did you doubt? Why did you hesitate?

Pressures in life are gonna come. Discouragement's gonna come. But can I tell you what the greatest thing you can do in your life? It's not to sit down. It's not to quit.

It's to take your foot. And you take one big step toward Jesus. You take a step toward Jesus. Sometimes it's a step of faith. You don't even know where your foot's gonna land.

You take that step of faith. And you trust that wherever your foot lands, God's got you by His hand. Do you believe that today? Because if you believe that God's gonna help you to not quit. If you believe that He's gonna be there when you're in the midst of trouble.

And sorrow and heartache and loss, then the going makes all sense in the world. Look at verse 18. Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Remember, he gave authority to them in Matthew 10 to do ministry. Now he's given them authority to go on the mission.

He says, go therefore And make disciples of all the nations. Baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Mark 16:15, a parallel passage, says, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Listen folks. We evangelize to disciple.

And I can't disciple without preaching the good news. They go hand in hand. In fact, every one of you this morning. You know the greatest thing you can hear today? Is Jesus Christ loves you.

And he came to this earth and put on human flesh so that he could die in the place of sinful mankind and pay the sin debt that we owe. And he was crucified by evil men and, and hung on a cross. And he was buried. But 3 days later, he was raised again by the power of God. And he lives forevermore.

And he's seated at the right hand of God making intercession for you. And he's coming back someday to judge the quick and the dead. And those who are his will receive an eternal reward, but for those who do not will live in eternal damnation. Today, that's the good news. It's the best news.

That's the news that gives you life. That's the greatest thing that you could hear today. Preach the gospel to yourself every day so that then you can turn around and be ready to share that gospel with somebody else. Because before you can make a disciple, they've got to be saved. But once they're saved, their life depends on that gospel.

It depends on that gospel. We make disciples of others by sharing the gospel and baptizing them. We've already talked about the command to be baptized. But it hinges right here. The command was to the disciples to do it.

I'm not in obedience to God if I'm not preaching the gospel and making disciples of it. And there's 2 ways that that looks. Look at the first one. Baptizing and teaching. Baptizing and teaching.

That's what we're commanded to do. If I'm making disciples, those 2 things are part of what that looks like. And in the translation it says, go therefore. Go is a participle. It's not the main verb.

The main verb is make. But I can't make if I don't go.

And I can't go if I'm not being made. I have really no motivation to want to go anywhere for Jesus if I'm not a disciple myself. R.T. France says this, the commission here is expressed not in the terms of the means to proclaim the good news. But the end to make disciples. In other words, the gospel is the means to the end.

Which is to make disciples. It's not enough that the nations hear the message. They must also respond with the same wholehearted commitment which was required of those who became His disciples. Of Jesus during His own ministry. This sentence structure is of a main verb in the imperative.

Make disciples. With 2 supporting participles. Baptizing and teaching. Which is the process. We have a process.

We gather. We gather. We gather. Our Wednesday night is our primary gathering. We gather to come and learn about Jesus and learn what He's commanded.

We grow. We grow in our short-term groups that are happening right now. And we grow in our Sunday morning groups and other small groups. I need to connect with others so that I can grow in my faith. So I can take what I've learned and I can apply it in following.

And the third one is go. The reason we have go in that strategy is because we are called to make disciples. If you're sitting in a class just absorbing information and you never do anything with it, you're not fulfilling the Great Commission. It's time to get out of your student desk and go. That might mean for you to go across the street.

That might mean you go to your mailman. That may mean you go to the To the clerk at Walmart. That might mean you go. Maybe this is our Jerusalem. Maybe that means you go somewhere in the state of Georgia to connect and to share.

Maybe that means you go to the racetrack and you set up a booth. Whatever it is. And it might mean somebody in this room might be called to be a missionary. Like Josh Carpenter. God might be calling you to go to the ends of the earth.

But wherever you go, I promise you. God's promised. He will be with you. Last point. In going, we teach.

In going, we teach. We teach disciples to obey the commands of Christ grounded in the promises of God. He said, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you. And lo, I'm with you always. Even to the end of the age.

I know I'm letting the cat out of the bag. Kevin will have to forgive me. But the material he's been working on now for 2 years. And showing it to a small group of people. Our go material is based on the commands of Christ from the Gospels.

I mean, if we're going to literally do what He said to do, then we need to know what He commanded us to do. But as I go, I preach. We baptize. And we teach.

When I was a math teacher, The greatest way I knew that a student was grasping algebra is I'd get them to work the problem on the board.

And you're the same way. Like, if you're an electrician, the greatest way for somebody to know if you are good at what you do is you do it, right? Now, you may not verbally be able to get up and orate like the greatest speakers on the face of the planet, but that does not mean you can't teach. I learned more from my grandfather about mechanicking By watching him more than him just sitting in a chair telling me what to do. I had a truck one time and I blew the pinion bearing out.

Y'all don't even know what a pinion bearing is. And my 75-year-old grandfather sat on his walker in his dust-filled, dirt floor garage as I rebuilt the rear end of my Silverado.

He told me what to do and I did it. Folks, are you in a place where you've been planted to grow as a disciple? If you are, what's your next step? I hope that you see that your next step. Even if you don't know what your next step is.

Your next step is you're stepping towards somebody else that needs their faith deepened. When you come in on Sunday morning. Maybe you've had a bad week. I'm sorry. I hate that.

We need to be encouraging one another. If you had a bad week, go share it with somebody. Pray over it. Release it to the Lord. Put a smile on your face and say, you know what?

It's been a bad week and God's got this. I wasn't gonna do this. Let me back up. I want to read something to you. Y'all okay with this?

It's only 9:57. Look. Deuteronomy 31:6, he will not fail you or forsake you. Joshua 1:5, I will not fail you or forsake you. Isaiah 41:10, do not fear.

I am with you. I will strengthen you. Psalm 23:4, I will fear no evil. You are with me. John 14:18, I will not leave you as orphans.

I will come to you. Romans 8:38-39, nothing will separate you from the love of God. 2 Timothy 4:17, but the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. Hebrews 13:5, I will not leave you. I will not forsake you.

Hebrews 13:6, the Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What's holding you back today? You feel like you're ill-equipped? Well, God promised He'd equip you.

Do you feel like you just can't talk? He'll give you the words to say. What He's asking you to do is be willing.

Are you willing to step out and to go? Isaiah 6:6-8, then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send and who will go for us? And he said, here I am. Send me. That's a dangerous prayer to pray, ladies and gentlemen.

But God's beckoning us to come. Don't you close up your Bibles, your notes. I just want to spend a moment. Just, I want to pastor you for a moment.

I want you to answer the question, am I still a learner?

Am I still a learner? Until you leave this world, to receive your glorified body, you have not arrived.

Don't give up. Don't quit. Don't hesitate. Like, step into that. Have you been saved?

Have you been saved? Have you been baptized by immersion? Dipped? Am I continuing to learn how to follow and to obey? You cannot go If you are not growing.

Second thing is, are you in a group? Listen, I'm challenging you. Whether it's these short-term Grow Groups or it's one of our groups on Sunday morning. You need a group. Maybe it's a ministry group.

Whatever it is. You need to group with people. You need to herd with people. Why? Because the herd protects itself.

The herd guides itself. The herd flocks together. You need people in your life. And maybe today what you resonate with is like, I'm ready to just throw in the towel. I'm ready to quit.

Maybe on one side it's that, you know, somebody might say, well, the church has hurt me. Folks, church doesn't hurt you. People hurt you. And I hate that people's hurt you. That breaks my heart to know that somebody's hurt you.

But the first step of being able to heal from the hurt is to say, Lord, help me to forgive the person that's offended me. You set a healthy boundary with that person so that they may not hurt you again. Can't promise that. But don't focus on one person when you got hundreds of others in the room. Go find somebody who will take you by the hand and walk with you to help you to be the most and the best that God intended for your life.

He has a plan for you. Don't let discouragement, disillusionment, distraction, deception keep you from being all that God's called you to be? What's the step that he's put in front of you today? This altar will be open anytime you want to come pray. For whatever reason, this altar is always open.

But today I'll be down here, Randy will be down here, and if you're, if you're lost, come talk to us about being saved. Get that right. Have peace with God. But if there's another step, maybe you need to be baptized, come and talk to us. We're not going to baptize you till we hear your testimony.

But you can't take a big step in your discipleship until you do.

What's God speaking to you this morning? Father, we love you. We ask as we worship you this morning, God, lead us, direct us, mold us, make us, guide us, direct us. Lord, we want to go, but some of us are scared. Give us courage.

We want to go, but we don't know what. God, give us direction. God, lead us. Because we're unable. We're incapable.

God, we need Your power. Your strength. And Your might. In Jesus' name. Amen.