Thanks for listening to the His Hands Church podcast. If you're using the His Hands Church mobile app, please turn off the auto lock on your phone's general settings so that you can listen to the message uninterrupted. And thank you for being part of what God is doing at His Hands. It really is all about Jesus, right? In uh in our kids' church on Sundays, they they do this thing where they announce all the volunteers and everyone in there is Mr. or or Miss somebody, so you know I'm Mr. Justin or whatever. And uh and they'll go through and they'll say, Let's hear it from Mr. So-and-so, let's hear it from Miss So-and-so, and all the kids clap. And then at the very end, we've done this for years, they'll say, Let's let's hear it for Mr. Jesus, and all the kids just go nuts, right? They go crazy. And it's and it's amazing, but in reality, we are his kids. He is our daddy. And there is nothing like us getting together as a family and just telling him that it is all about him. He's the reason we have life. It's so wonderful. Uh so glad that you're here this morning. It's gonna be an amazing morning. Uh already is, but Ken Kington's with us this morning, and that is uh it's always good. I've got a few uh just a few quick announcements. Uh first off, uh, if you're in a small group, we just want to remind you, in case you weren't here last week, that all the discussion questions that go along with those groups are now online. You can just go to hishandschurch.com. You'll see a link to groups and it'll say discussion questions. So if you've got a group this week, you'll get all the verses that were used this morning as well as some questions that kind of help you prepare. You don't have to do that stuff to prepare if you don't have time, but it's a great way to just kind of get yourself there before the group time starts. If you'd like information about groups, you can go to the Connect Desk afterwards. Well, we also have some places you can sign up for teams there. We have amazing teams, amazing teams here at His Hands. Uh that's how I've actually got to know more people than through anything else, is helping alongside different people on different teams. And you can sign up for any team on any Sunday morning. We will take you because we need help. Uh, one of the teams that we're really focusing on for the next few weeks that definitely needs help is our nursery team. And that's the team that works through with our kindergartners down through our our babies. And uh and they have the honor and the privilege of being the ones that get to introduce Jesus to these kids for the first time. And it's it's an incredible thing. I've gotten to see my son over the last few years go from you know learning about it for the first time. I remember two years ago, I asked him what he learned, and he said, we learned about Jacob or Joseph or Jesus, I don't know. But all three of those were were I was impressed. That those were accurate options, at least. But in the last year, really, ever since he's been three, I've seen his eyes start to light up when he talks about Jesus. And I've seen him start to tell me things like, Dad, did you know that Jesus did this? And it's and as a dad, man, it it blows me away. And so for all of you that help with those young kids, first off, I want to say thank you uh personally, especially if you work in the Buds room. That's the room that my son is in. He's a bud. So those of you that are Buds volunteers, thank you. But everybody, thank you for doing that. And if you'd like to be part of that team, uh, it's a once-a-month commitment, and you can go to the Connect Desk and sign up, and we will be blessed to have you on that. Also want to say a thank you to everyone who gives financially. Uh, there's four columns at the back of the room you can do that through, or go to his handschurch.com. Uh, God is using it and we need it, but God's using it to do more than just bless us here at His Hands. He's using it for this community. Uh, and if you ever want to find out more about that, go to our website and go to His Hands Helps. There's a link about that, about some of the ministries that we support in this community. He's doing amazing things. Let's pray, and we'll bring Ken out this morning. Daddy, thank you so much for uh for giving us uh a place to worship you and a family to worship alongside. You say in your word that one day in your house is better than a thousand elsewhere. God, I know that that our hearts echo that and and we believe that you are with us this morning. Holy Spirit, you are here. We know that. We know that you're not just here to be with us, but you're here to speak to us. You're here to teach us. You're here to know us better, for us to know you better. And so, Lord, we ask that uh through canon, through your word, you would speak right to our hearts, that you would you would draw us closer to you, that we would leave this morning, more more ready for the life that you have for us than when we came. We ask all this in your name, Jesus. Amen.

All right. Thank you, Justin. That was incredible. I'm just curious if three-year-olds are the buds, or the two-year-olds the bud lights. Um I mean, just I was just curious about that. Um, that's the way my brain works. It's just, I can't help it. Well, I want to I want to open with a couple thank yous. One, thank you for not only letting me be here, but specifically this morning. God's timing is amazing. And every now and then, God will just heap how much he loves us intimately and individually. And this morning is kind of a culmination of a week where God is doing that for me. Um, for those of you who are my friends on Facebook or Twitter or wherever, you know that this week was one of those weeks, a once-in-a-lifetime week. My my father passed away on Tuesday this past week. And it was one of those weeks where it wasn't a shock, it wasn't an unexpected death. His his uh physical had declined over the past several months. So we've kind of had the blessing of being able to mourn over time a little bit and and to grieve, but uh then the day came and and it was it was just amazing because I look at my schedule over February, the busiest month of my year, and I literally would was waiting for that call that it could happen at any moment, and I was on two different tours, and I'm like, am I gonna be able to fly back and get there? And I don't want my mom to be alone, and God's just perfect timing. I finished my last tour, I landed on Monday, uh, got to see my mom, got to talk to her, my family got to see my dad, and and literally my mom said goodnight on uh on Monday night, kissed him on the head, said goodnight, and he died in his sleep. And and I think all of us would go, that's the way I want to go. You know, I just I I want to just wake up and go, Jesus, what are you doing here? You know, that's that's that's what we want. You know, that's where where we want to go. And and I I it has been a week of reflection and and in much grace, Justin and Steve, they said, Ken, I heard about your dad. You know, we don't expect you to be there Sunday. And literally something just left in me going, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. How about I I need to be there Sunday. I need to be. Who doesn't want to be around the people that love and appreciate them? And I've had it this week with family and friends, but even on a Sunday, this is just that kind of a special place for me to just, I just, I don't know how you are when you come here, but I just feel accepted and and loved with my junk and my failures and my hopes and and all that. And that is his hands to me. And uh, yes, you can applaud that. Good. I'm I'm glad you feel that same way. And uh this week, one of the terms, and I I think I may have shared this concept before, but I've been to some funerals in the past couple years, and I hear two phrases over and over. People usually don't go, you know, he died. They they they try to soften it, they passed away, or they passed on. And those two terms really hit me. And and God just challenged my heart after one of the funerals I was at and really just kind of brought the question like Ken, are you passing away or are you passing on? And I think about my dad. My dad was not perfect, and there are faults in all of us, but I think of what did he pass on to me and my family and my friends, and and I think of two good qualities. One was that he was committed, he was an unbelievably committed man, and and it came out through this week some of the details that blew my mind of this idea of commitment. My my mom shared with me, this was before technology, okay, when they were dating back in the 50s and 60s, that his father was killed in a train accident when he was eight. And so he was raised pretty much without a dad, and then came to the point where he's graduating high school, and there was enough money, his mom would set aside money from the insurance so that he could go to college. He got a four-year degree in a little over two years because that's all the money he had. And it was amazing at that. And then he was dating my mom long distance. My mom told me this. This blew my mind. Before technology, before phones, before texting, over a two-year period, the two years before the day they got married, those two years, they saw each other cumulatively two weeks' worth of time. Two weeks. And she said, every now and then, maybe two or three times a year, I would get a phone call because long distance was so expensive. Do you remember those times? If you do, you're old, okay? That's just wow. And I said, Well, how did you stay in touch? She said, We wrote letters. She said, I've got stacks of letters that we wrote back and forth. And I was just like, that's amazing. Two years, cumulatively two weeks, and they get married for 54 years. That commitment was incredible. I learned that from my dad, what commitment was like, even when it's not what you want, to be committed. I learned also what diligence looked like. He got that four-year degree in literally a little over two years. And uh that with diligence becomes human, though, also. My dad was an engineer, a bit of a reclusive personality. And uh, with that diligence, I don't know if you know somebody who's diligent, but also stubborn. My dad was stubborn, and I'll never for I'll give you one of my favorite examples. We went down to Hilton Head. My parents had a uh condo down there that they they had once a year, and it was my family, my sister's family, our kids, all that. And my dad never really liked to go out and do, he liked to sleep late and drink coffee and just kind of relax and never do a whole lot. And and so I just asked him one day, I'm like, Dad, what why do you like coming here? I mean, because you're not really doing a lot with the grandkids, you're not really going out and being a part. He's he said, I just I said, What are your favorite parts? And he goes, Well, my favorite is watching sunset. I'm like, really? He goes, I just love watching the sunset over the ocean. And I went, we're in Hilton Head. I said, You mean the sun rise? And he goes, No, I love watching the sunset over the ocean. This is how stubborn my dad was. I'm like, so God turns the entire planet backwards while you're here. And he's like, What do you mean? I'm like, the sun rises over the ocean down here. He goes, No, it sets too. And and he spent 20 minutes explaining to me in engineering terms how that was possible. And I just shook my head and went, okay, you know, I'm not gonna win this one. And uh, and I realized that we're all human. And with that in mind, I realized also, well, Lord, and I love this series that we're in the idea of I love the strange things Jesus said, because one of those that just stuck out in my mind this week was, honor your father and your mother. And I literally have prayed through that, going, God, how how am I gonna take what he passed on the good, filter that which was human, and be what you made me to be? I'm thankful for my father and his commitment and his diligence. But Lord, as a father, as a friend, as a husband, Lord, I want to know that I'm doing it right. I want to know that I'm here. And uh there's there's actually two of the sayings that Jesus had that I want us to kind of take a peek at this morning. One's in Matthew and one's in Acts, if you want to find those and put your fingers there. But to lead into that, I want us to see, ask a simple question. Who is the most spiritual person you know or have ever heard of? And I want to get them firmly in our minds. Would it be somebody like Billy Graham? Maybe it's the Pope. He gets paid to be perfect, you know, and he's that's his life. Who is the most perfect Christian? Maybe it's Mother Teresa. And I want you to get that person, that iconic person in your mind. Because the the strange words that Jesus is about to share with us in Matthew chapter 5 is really uh disturbing, if you will, when we think it in that term. Think of that person, and then here's what Jesus said. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Well, the Pharisees and the word, the teachers of the law in our time modernize that. It's the most perfect person you know. And what he's saying is, unless your righteousness surpasses theirs, you don't have a chance. Which, on the surface, my initial reaction is bummer. I'll never be that good. I'll never get there. So why would Jesus say this? Why would he go to that point of really doing that surpasses? And then I thought back to my dad, and and I thought, if our goal is to now, okay, tighten the belt, let's let's work at this, let's try to be righteous enough. I'm gonna take, okay, in my world, Billy Graham, and I'm gonna be better than Billy Graham, and I'm gonna spend the rest of my life trying to be better than Billy Graham, we missed the point. And and and to be honest, I really had that mindset. Reverse back about 27, 28 years, I got out of college, and I literally, my goal was my dad was an aeronautical engineer at Lockheed. My dad worked at Lockheed for 42 years as an engineer. That commitment thing kicked in, and and I remember getting out of college, and my goal was to surpass my dad in success. And the only measuring tool I had at the time was financially. So I worked incredibly hard for two or three years to surpass my dad, and I accomplished it. I remember hearing uh this is what he makes, and I was in sales and marketing for a top 10 company and uh the Fortune 500 growth companies, and I was in the top 10 in sales, and I had surpassed what my dad had made, and I thought that is it, I'm gonna surpass it. And I can tell you this, without any hesitation, once I got to that point, after about a year of living in that success, I can't remember ever being more empty and more, this is it? This is all there is, and I surpassed it. And the truth is that I surpassed what I had said in that left me only empty. And if you and I, in our walk, in our minds, said, okay, I'm gonna be more righteous than those who are the most righteous I know, if that is our goal, we will get there and we will find it completely empty. Because that is not the point of Jesus speaking here. The point of calling us to that is echoed in Matthew chapter 5, verse 48. He says, Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect. Well, double crud. If I can't be better than Billy Graham, how am I supposed to be better than God? I mean, really? Perfect? And it's the point is to get us to that point of exasperation that realize you can't do it. It's not about you being perfect, it's about you turning to me and letting me be perfect through you, letting me with you. Perfect is not even possible, and that's really the first point. Perfect without God is impossible. But I want us to look at our mindset really quick. I don't know how you are, but if you live in our culture, we are bombarded with this idea to just be better. It's kind of the concept of the two little kids, and I love this story. It's definitely not original with me. The two little kids that came upon a bear in the woods, and the bear is sitting there, and it's a grizzly bear, and my parents are from Montana, and that's a real uh situation that can happen. And they said, uh, they said, Oh my gosh, it's a bear. And it's one little kid starts tying his shoes and stretching, and the other one goes, dude, you know you can't outrun a grizzly. They run 60 miles an hour. And he goes, I know, but I'm gonna outrun you. And that's that's that's the mindset. That's really kind of the mindset we have, and we've been bombarded with this idea of just be better than others. And they did it, I love this survey. They did a survey of compared to the rest of Americans, where do you fall in the idea for the rest of America's how do you rate yourself? And they did all these categories. You realize that over 90% of us consider ourselves above average. How? And it's why reality TV is so big. Because we oops, because we watch this, and I'm convinced we watch it, so that we can go, well, I'm not that bad. I watch the biggest loser. I start to watch it and go, I'm not that bad. When it gets the end of the season, I'm gonna turn it off because now they're better than I am. So I stop. We're in this comparison mode, and what God is trying to do through this is just obliterate it, hit the dynamite, blow it up, and go, okay, you want to compare yourself to something? Perfect. More perfect than the most perfect person you know, and if you happen to start getting there, more perfect than God. Are you done comparing yet? Because it's not about comparison. This strange, amazing, wonderful statement is so that we would realize our desperate need for Him. That it is about a personal, intimate relationship. It's going back to Philippians, and I would encourage you right out of the margins, Philippians 1, 6, where Paul is saying, I am confident that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. In other words, it's coming alongside and going, God, I can't. I can't be perfect. Will you help me? Will you help me in this? I'm gonna stop comparing, I'm gonna start looking. I wanna be everything you made me to be. I want to, I want that. And this is one of my favorite verses over the past couple months in Isaiah 41, 10. I was praying and just going, God, can I have this verse? I know you were writing it to Israel and that, and God really whispered in my heart, Ken, this is what it's all about. He says, Do not fear, for I am with you. That's my favorite word right now. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. I've not experienced that more than I have recently and specifically even this week. Of God going, I've got this. I'm with you. We're gonna do this together. Because, Ken, I made you. I have a plan, and you are part of my plan. And I can say that of every person in this room. God says, I have a plan, and you're part of it. And I want to work with you and on you until you become everything I made you to be. And that's why he says, be perfect. Because he knows we can't do it, but he knows, like a loving father, he longs to shape us and mold us and teach us and train us and lift us up and carry us until we are everything he made us to be. That's his desire. Perfection is impossible without God himself. But I know this, and I used to read this verse almost as a condemning verse, and I've heard it a thousand times. And it was always condemning. It was always, look what Jesus did for you. Now, do this. And it was simply this in Matthew 4, 17. It says, From this time on, Jesus began to preach, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is it is near. And I heard that that we're all sinners and walking this way, and repent is to turn from that sin, and that's what we need to do. And I'm not gonna ask you to raise your hands. But how many of you would be like me that would say, you know what, I there's there's this part of my life, it's just who I am. I was born this way, and I have this propensity towards this sin or fault or whatever you want to call it, and just drawn. And as much as I I long to turn, and as many times as I've turned, it's still there. I've heard it called a besetting sin or that natural, and everybody's is different, but everybody has one. And I believe that God allowed that for a couple reasons. One, for us to have a choice. For true love to exist, there has to be a choice. For us to all see that I have to choose to have that relationship. But even within that relationship, God I have to choose to let Him work within me and His power to overcome that area. That idea of repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. I don't believe it's a condemning. I don't believe God is saying, turn from your sin now. It's not a condemning tone. It's Jesus walking with us. The best way I can describe it is this idea of the kingdom of heaven is near, is that Jesus is right with us, going, I know who you are, and I know who I made you to be. You walk in the wrong direction here, but the kingdom's right near you. And I want to show it to you, but you get to choose. Keep going down that path. Do the best you can, but I just want you to just turn because it's right here. It's so near, you can feel it. I got to see this first hand. I've shared this example. I'm gonna share a short version of it. When my boys were three and four, we took them to Disney, and it was this process, and I'm not gonna go through the whole process, but I'll never forget that we were at breakfast and they saw Mickey and they're like, Well, this is great. And we're like, there's a train, and we get on the train and we go to the front entrance of Disney World. And it was not, it was not the Kodak moment I had in mind because both of my boys were going, I want to go back to the train, and I want to go see Mickey Mouse. I'm like, you don't understand, Disney World is right here. And I'm dragging two children to the front gates of Disney World. We're going to, we spent all our savings. You're going to Disney World. We're going to have a good time. And just, it was, it was not it. And they're literally weeping, and I'm leaning down and I'm saying, look at me. And I said, Would you at least look at the castle? And they went, I want to go back to the train. Whoa. And they see the castle. And they see Disney. And it's just like, just turn. Just turn. I want you to see why we're here. I don't want you to hold on what you know. I want you to see what you don't know in your potential. And there's this world you cannot imagine. It is literally mind-blowing if we will just let God. That is this repent, for the kingdom of God is near. And if you're here this morning, and it appears like most of you are that struggle, that besetting sin, that whatever it is, maybe it's even the relationship. I've heard about God, but I've never heard him this intimate and this personal. That is where God is saying, just turn. I'm right here with you. Turn. I promise it's for your good. Because I want to work on you, work with you. Don't fear because I'm with you. I'm going to help you. I'm going to teach you. I'm going to carry you with my righteous right hand. That is that impossibility that God longs for us to encourage us with. I want to give you one personal example here recently. I shared a few weeks ago at another church. I was walking through 1 Corinthians 13. You know what that chapter is? If you've been to a wedding, you've heard it. 13 of Corinthians is what? The what chapter? The love chapter. The love chapter. And I just talk about how we know where it is and we say we want love. We know we need love, and love is just love and we want it, and yet we know where it is, and we don't really spend much time there. There are 15 qualities of love, and I shared that we can't give what we don't have, and that we need to let God, this is the way God loves us, and it's the way he longs for us to love others, and that is true. And I said, but we can't give what we don't have. And I challenged that group that day. I said, every day, take one of these qualities and say, God, let me understand how you love me this way and help me live this to someone else. Now I will say this, I've said it a thousand times, especially when I was single. The first word in that, does anybody know what that is? Love is patient. I hate that. I hate that love is patient. I don't want to be patient. I just want love. I just I just hate that. And I literally have said that for decades. I hate that love is patient. And then I got to taking my own medicine. The Monday came and I said, God, I want you to love me this way. So, Lord, love is patient. Thank you that you're patient. Now, Lord, help me to be patient. And literally, it was like God in my soul is going, stop. Stop. Well, Lord, you are patient. Thank you for being patient with me because I know that I've struggled, and thank you for that. Help me to be stop. I am patient. I am ultimately patient. I have an infinite ability to endure. And then he brought to my mind the struggle that I had, my besetting sin. I'm not sharing it with the one that I struggle with for years and decades. And God said, Can I am patient there? I'm not surprised. I have no wrath. That was all poured out on Christ. I'm perfecting you in that area. And every time you turn, every time you fall short, every time you struggle, I'm right there with you. Every time you cry for help, I'm with you. And I'm committed until the day I come back to walk with you through this. And Ken, I'm not, I'm not disappointed. I'm patient. I'm ultimately patient. You cannot do anything today that's gonna stun me or cause me to shun you. I'm patient. And I sat there in that moment and I just I couldn't take it in. But God, what a what about this? What what about what about the year? I'm patient. I'm with you. I'm gonna hold you up with my righteous right hand. I'm gonna carry you every time you turn, I'm gonna remind you it's already forgiven. Every time that you struggle, I'm gonna remind you that I have the strength to carry you through it. All you have to do is ask. I am patient. I can tell you that I never got to the point of trying to be patient that day. All I wanted to do was just ask. And God's ultimate patience. And by the next Sunday, I had to confess, I said, guys, I love patience. Because I need patience. And it's just this juxtaposition when God says, be perfect, for I am perfect. He's saying, Let me just overwhelm and flood you with my perfection. My perfect patience. Let me overwhelm you. And then you will naturally not be able to get over it. And you'll show it to others. And I'm just like, whoa. For God calls us in this crazy statement to be perfect as He is perfect, so that we would experience His perfection. There's another incredible gift that He gives us, and it's really highlighted in Acts chapter 20, verse 35. And it this concept of giving. And I want to share the verse with you, but it's it's simple. And if you've been in church for a while, it's obvious. Well, sure, that sounds spiritual. That's good. It says simply this the Lord Jesus Himself said, it is more blessed to give than receive. Well, that sounds spiritual. That's awesome. That's good. I agree with that. No, we don't. We don't agree with that. Because everything within our being, let me ask you this. If I was gonna say, okay, everybody put your name in a hat, and out of these two hats, I'm gonna draw a name. In one hat, you get to give a million dollars. You have to give a million dollars. You have to work the rest of your life to give it. In the other one, you get a million dollars. But you can only put your name in one hat. Which hat are you gonna put that one? Why? Because this idea of getting, we'd rather get it. If you don't think it's natural, if you have children, ask your children, do you want to go give a present at a birthday party, or do you want a birthday party where people bring you presents? We want it. It's not natural. It's weird, it's strange. And yet, why would God do that? Why would He say it's more blessed to give than receive? I want to just share one story in Scripture. If you want to go back this week and read it, it's in Mark chapter 2. And I think I've even shared it. I know Steve shared on it before. It's the Jesus is in a town, and this group of guys hears about it. Their friend is paralyzed. He didn't want to be paralyzed. I know that for sure. We don't know how he was paralyzed. We don't know if it was when he was young or he'd always been or there was an accident, but I know he didn't want it. And he was paralyzed. And they heard Jesus was there. They're like, God, Jesus is here. I hear he is people. Let's take our buddy. Let's get him on the pallet. Let's take him to him. They get there. House is packed. People are outside. They're like, dog, gone. But they didn't stop there. They climb up on the roof. I got a shovel. I got a shovel. We'll get it. They dig a hole through the roof. And then they lower his buddy down. Now, just think of that setting. I mean, think about right now. If we started seeing tiles fall out, that would just be weird. And then his body just kind of lows down. Can you imagine being the paralyzed guy? You can't move. You just sit there and everybody's staring at you. Hey, how's it going? You know, I'm paralyzed, you know. It's just amazing. And then Jesus, Jesus says something a bit strange there. And he says, Brother, your sins are forgiven. Everybody's like, What? And it seems like Jesus missed the obvious. Okay, Jesus, thanks for that, but he's paralyzed. It's not why they brought him here. And he says, Yeah, but I see beyond what you want, so I see what you need. But so that you know that I have the authority of all, that I am God, get up and walk. Really? Yeah, stand up. My arms. And he takes his mat and walks out. How incredible is that. But I learned this idea of giving, this concept of it's more blessed to give than receive through this. And I want to share where my heart is and where I wanted to be, and yet where God taught me where I was missing it. And it's kind of the same answer as the first one. It's impossible. It's impossible. Perfection without God. It's the same concept, and I'll tie them together. One, his friends were, here's the first step, willing to help. They were willing to say, we're going to help you out. We know you're paralyzed. We're going to take you to Jesus. They're willing to help. Not only willing to help, they were willing to do whatever it takes. Whatever it takes. We get there, it's not possible. We're digging a hole through the roof. We're going to make this happen. And those who are, I see, that have the most joy are those who really do take the time to say, you know, I'm not only willing to give, I'd love to be a part, but I want to go deeper. I'm going to do whatever it takes to meet a real need. I want to be a part of that. Quick aside, that's one of the reasons I when I'm here, I give here. These columns, I go by a column, and I'm like, God, thank you for this place. And I'm thankful for it. And I'm also thankful that the different areas of the community, I don't know if you're new here, that part of that giving, literally, like I think it's 10, 15%, goes to community, to several different community ministries that meet real needs. And I just, I'm so thankful I get to be a small part of that. That's awesome. But this idea of giving, but then there's this last step. And that was not only being willing to do what it takes, but this is the part I miss too often. Because I don't know, there's something in me, I want to do it. And that was they brought him to Jesus. To be willing to say, okay, God, I don't have a lot, or I don't have much, or I don't know what this little bit does, but will you take it? And because when you when you do it, crazy cool things happen. So then I'm bringing it to you. I want to give you a very real-life situation. I was literally praying with this passage open, Mark chapter 2, in the corner at my booth at Waffle House. I'm a Waffle House guy. And I'm sitting there and I'm just kind of reading through it and praying through it, and I get a phone call. Which is not unusual. I get phone calls, but it was a phone call from somebody I don't normally get a phone call from, as a couple that goes to the little church where I've been helping out. And I said, Well, hey, I said, How's it going? She was a she's pregnant, she's uh a month away from their third child, and I was thinking, oh my goodness, this why is she calling me? Why is her husband not calling me? And and and she goes, Hey, I I my Corey just told me I had to call you. And I'm like, Cool, what's going on? She goes, I had to tell you this situation that popped up. I'm like, really? Now I'm reading this passage, I've got these points, they're in my mind, and I'm like, God, teach me what you want to teach me through this. And she shares with me. She says, Ken, we have a couple down the street in our little neighborhood. She lives in the neighborhood where my parents live that I grew up in. And just down the street, she said, we have some friends. They're a couple, they have three kids, they're also expecting. And she said, we were talking, and they asked us about our another couple who is also a couple kids. And she says, We're just all three couples are friends. She said, they told us this past week that, oh my goodness, life just doesn't get harder. This guy was in ministry. He was in a youth ministry, and they said, hey, we've got to cut back, things aren't going well, you gotta, you gotta go. And he lost his passion. His passion was to be with students, and he lost that job. He gets a part-time job at a restaurant to be able to provide for his family. They're living in a little townhouse. And he's just making it, scraping by. And the landlord said, Hey, um, we're having to get rid of our house. We can't afford it anymore. We're selling it. You have to move out because we've got to move in. If that's not bad enough, that I've lost my job. I'm now just trying to scrape by. Now we're barely able to afford this barely small townhouse, and now we can't even live there. And they said, we're gonna pray for them. In other words, they said, you know what? We're we're willing to help. She said, Ken, our friends, they have three kids, they have one on the way. She's as pregnant as I am. It's coming soon. They live in an 1,100 square foot house, one bathroom. She said, We got to do something. Now, here's the next step of that, where he says, do whatever it takes. She says, you know what? I had to share this with you because those friends said we invited them to live with us. They said, I don't know how we're gonna do it, but you come live with us. And think about that. 1,100 square feet, two adults, five little bitty kids, one on the way. And she said, You know what? We just knew it was the right thing to do. I asked my husband and they're like, Wow, that's amazing. She goes, then we prayed about it. And she said, My friend said that God laid on her heart, you need to confirm that it's okay with the landlord. So she calls the landlord and she said, I just want you to know what's going on here. Um, I know it's your house. We're renting from you. We have a friend, they're in dire straits. We're gonna invite them to live with us. And I just wanted to make sure that was okay. If we need to make any adjustments in the rent or whatever, I just wanted to be above board. And the lady was like, Tell me this again because it's a small house and there's all these people. She's like, Really? And she goes, yes. She goes, Okay, well, can I call you back in a minute? She's like, sure. She hung up, she's fearful. There's the lady's gonna go, no, you can't do this and all this. She gets a call back. Now, here's the bring it to Jesus part. She probably would have asked forgiveness, not permission, had she not prayed through that. She said, Ken, we prayed about it, and we're just like, Lord, what do you want to do here? This guy's been faithful and he's he's lost his job, and now he's lost his house and this family. Lord, what do you want to do? The landlord calls back. This is the good part. She said, Hey, it is your house. You rent it, you can do whatever you want, it's the same rent, it's no problem. She said, But I have a friend. And my friend is an actor, and he's about to go out to California, and he just asked me this week, do you know anybody that can kind of rent my house for six months? Because I'm not going to be here for six months, I'm on location. She said, I called him, and he said, Well, absolutely, what are they paying? He said, Well, they're paying like 900 bucks a month. And he said, You know what? Utilities included, tell them if they're willing to move in for six months, they can stay in my house for 900, pay what they were paying, utilities included, and I'd love for them to be there for six months. She said, Can we call this family? He said, Absolutely, we'll take it sight unseen. We're there. That's amazing. Look at God's provision. They went by to see the house. Over 5,700 square feet. It's got a theater and a pool and an elevator, and they're just like $900 a month. Not only that, we don't have to pay utilities. I believe with all my heart, when God says it's more blessed to give than receive, when we say I'm willing to do it, I'm willing to sacrifice, and I bring it to Jesus and say, God, look how little we have. We have a little bitty house, and there's only 1,100 square feet, and Lord, there's gonna be a lot of us in here, but we're willing to do that. God, what do you want to do with it? I uh for God to go, I got this really big house I want to do. But if you don't ask, I can't provide that for you. And when you're committed to doing what's right, I'm gonna blow your mind. It may not be immediate, it may not be big, but it will be intimate and it will be personal, and you will know that I care about you. And I can tell you this week, that has been the number one piece that has come through for me, is that God has overwhelmed me with how intimate and personal He is. I hope that those two crazy phrases, be perfect, for I am perfect. I pray that you will let God overwhelm you as He has overwhelmed me with how His perfect patience, perfect kindness, perfect peace comes only from Him. I pray that we would realize even today a small piece of going, God, it is more blessed to give than receive. And Lord, will you just show me an opportunity? And maybe it is, maybe you're here today and just say, you know what, I'm gonna put something in there and say, God, I just want to give so that I know that you're a part of this place. Maybe it's walking down the street and seeing a need and just going, God, I want to give there. I don't know what it is, but God will show us. And and to go through that, Lord, I'm willing to give, I'm willing to sacrifice, but Lord, I'm I want to bring it to you. And Lord, will you just blow my mind or their mind with what you want to do in this situation? Because that's not natural. It's super natural. And I want to tap into that. Pray with me if you would, please. Father, thank you for these amazing truths that make absolutely no sense apart from you. But Lord, with them, we just we just thank you that you want to do that with us. That you've got this amazing plan and you want to include us in it. And Lord, I just I thank you for your love and just who you are. In Christ's name. Amen. They're gonna sing a song to kind of let us reflect. I want you to put a date on your calendar, though, and this is totally selfish. Uh Mother's Day weekend is in May. May 9th, that Friday. We're working out the details now. I'll share it for there later, but I am filming a new comedy project. And um we're gonna do it here because I am just, yes. Well, thank you. I want you, it's it's May 9th. And uh again, we'll have the total details, but here's the deal. I want you to be thinking about who in your world needs encouragement. And you can bring them before then, absolutely. But if it's that edge person that's maybe not even a church, think about bringing them that night. It will be one of the most cool nights. I've been working on it, it's gonna be awesome. So just put May 9th in your mind, and we'll have more details later. But guys, I want to just uh I'm gonna ramble for 30 seconds more. I need it this morning, and I want to thank you for letting me be here because it is a uh a gift to my soul just to see your faces and and just feel your heart. So God bless you. Thanks for letting me be here.