Please welcome Ken Kington. All right, we're gonna pray as uh we get started. So, Father, I just thank you so much for us being here and I thank you for Ken and what you're doing in his life and him being with us this morning. And uh God, we thank you for adopting us as your very own children. Holy Spirit, we thank you for being our teacher. I just ask that you teach each of us this morning that we can each leave with something that we know was meant for us and from you. And Jesus, we just thank you so much for loving us, uh showing us what our father is really like, and and uh just transforming us, changing us each from the inside out. So we praise you, we thank you, we trust you, and Jesus, it's in your name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Thanks, Steve. Wow. It is a privilege to be with you guys, and man, anytime I get to be around Steve, I'm always sharper. And I just I just love to watch everybody filter in. And I uh Susan today just she made me laugh as she was up here, and I just love, I'm gonna use this word now. She goes, God in your godness. I just love that phrase, God in your godness. That's just an adjective you can't use everywhere. But let me let me encourage you. I'm gonna challenge us this morning, and and challenge may be a bit of a tough or uh kind of a strong word, but in Romans chapter 12, if you've got a Bible, I want to strongly encourage you, go ahead and open up there. We'll have the verse on the screen in just a minute, but I want to really challenge us to memorize a verse because there's a direct correlation this year to how fulfilled we're gonna be by the end of the year versus where we are today, based on this one verse. And I want to I want to challenge you, it's an easy verse, and I want to challenge you and I to memorize this verse as we move forward, because in our world, we we really live. Let me get real personal for just a second. Last night I went to an event with my seven-year-old daughter, a daddy-daughter dance. And yes, it was just crazy. And if you're from a more traditional, maybe a little more stringent background spiritually, it was the daddy-daughter fellowship. Okay, so we go to this dance and we just had a blast, just an absolute blast. And in the midst of that, her daddy, can you dance again? And we're dancing and just having a great time. I just thought, how how cool is this moment? And then we did the hokey pokey. Do you remember the hokey pokey? I just, I thought, what a great timeless. They invented that song for guys like me who can't dance. We can at least be out there and do the, oh, I can do this, I can do this, yeah, I can do that. Okay, all right. But I know I'm getting older because about the fourth body part, I'm like, is anybody else dizzy? Okay, this is this is ridiculous. So I know I'm getting older, but it was just one of those moments is like, this really is what it's all about. Just the simplicity of being together. It's what it's all about. And we live in a world where I think we're we're trying to make it harder than it has to be. And we get so caught up in so many pieces. I'll give you one of my favorite examples this week. Uh, somebody had given me this coupon book, and I absolutely, my favorite food on the planet is pizza, and and I had a coupon in one of my favorite pizza restaurants, and I look for the disclaimer, like the expiration, and how it's a free pizza. Really, it can't be just free, so I look on it and it was really free, but they had one disclaimer. It said, for dine in or carry out only. What's the other option there? If you're thinking about eating your pizza in the doorway, this coupon does not apply. I guess it just we're getting too complex. So this verse, and it's gonna come across as very easy. But the reason why I want to challenge to memorize it, that is as I've memorized this verse, the simplicity of it, and as I let it play back in my mind and my heart, God really is transforming what this means. And if we want to have more fulfillment relationally in our world, it really is based on this. So here's the verse: Romans chapter 12, verse 15. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Very simple. There's a good chance that you'll be able to memorize that in less than five minutes, even by the end of today. But my challenge is that we would let it play back in our minds and our hearts. And I want to point out this morning, not only memorize the verse, but I want you to remember today two words. Two words that pop out of this particular verse. And one of them's not there, but it is as I've gone through it. And now, if you have a Bible, I want to encourage you, underline the word with. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. And the first word I want us to remember is there. Be there. That's one of the greatest steps towards fulfillment because relationally speaking, love is spelled and relationships developed by being there. We can't learn the real aspects and the dynamics of fulfillment unless we're there. And as he says, with twice there, both the highs and the lows, it is a with experience. Quick show of hands. How many of you are parents? Raise your hands, parents? Very good. One of those ways of just let that word get into our hearts and our lives, and I've made a commitment, and what God's challenged my heart with is to be there with my kids, especially. I have a 13, a 12, and a seven-year-old. And anytime they say, Dad, can you do this with me? Man, I try everything humanly possible to say yes. I want to be there. I want to be there. Now I know there's limitations. I know we have responsibilities. I know that we work and we have to keep things clean and we have to keep things up and the world is going. But I'm challenged with the idea that I don't need to miss this opportunity of with. My job is very unusual. I'm gone most weekends. I tour all over the country, perform in 46 of the 50 states, and I'm all over. But I don't look at what I can't do, I look at what I can do. And a lot of times I think, you know what, I get to do what others can't. So I'm going to maximize that. I'll never forget when my middle son was in first grade. They did the Thanksgiving field trip. And it's the middle of the week, and most people can't do that, but I can, so I look at what I can, so I go on the field trip, and me and the other moms, we go there, and we went to the Thanksgiving special, and they drew the turkey around your hand, and they did that, and then they told the pilgrim story, and then they they asked these little first graders, they're like, What are you thankful for? And all the kids are raising their hands. So proud of Cody because he didn't just blurt out, he raises his hands like, oh, oh, he's on the front row, and she goes, How about you? The little boy right next to him. And he's like, Oh, the little boy goes, I'm thankful for God sending his son to die for the sins of the world. Wow. Whose kid is that? That's awesome. And then she goes, anybody else? And Cody's like, and she goes, How about you? The little girl right on the other side. I'm like, oh man, it's killing him. She goes, I'm thankful for my mom and dad and the love of our family. And I'm like, man, they are, yeah, they are teaching them the right things at this school. And finally she goes, Does anybody else have anything? And Cody's like, ha. She goes, Yes, you. What are you thankful for? And he, as soon as she points, he blurts out, TV and marshmallows! And he looks at me on the wall. And I look at the other moms, I'm like, I'm so proud. But it's that with. It's being there. It is that moment of going, you know what, this is it. And I don't want to miss that. And I've tried to instill in my kids and my wife, when you say with, I'm going to be there. I want to be there. I want them to know that even when I can't, I long to be there. My 13-year-old, he says, Dad, we're going on this three-day field trip with our school, and is there any way you can go with us? 13. And he asked me to go, and I don't care what I have to do to move heaven and earth. I want to be there. Because when we're with and we're there, it doesn't mean to just physically be there. But what I'm learning after 15 years of marriage, it means to be there beyond ourselves, to be there with them in their world for their deal. My wife, I realize that we are drastically different. I love my wife. I am better because of her. But I want God to teach me this idea of being with her. And learning, and some of you may have heard love languages and that type thing. I'll hit that in just a second. But in her world, it's different than my world. My wife leads, she listens with her heart. And that's not really natural. And a lot of guys I know, probably even the majority of guys, we listen with our head and logically. My wife's world is emotional. She listens first, foremost, and continually emotionally. And at some point in the distant future, she will think logically about that. We haven't reached that point yet, but it's out there somewhere. And I'm learning to listen more emotionally. I'm learning to realize, you know what? Her default mechanism is logic. It's not logic, it's emotion. And that's why we're balanced and that's why we're better together. But I need to learn to listen and validate. That's the part that God put on my heart. Can validate the feeling. Validate that feeling first. To be with her is to be emotional a little bit. So I started using the words. I feel and I and I long or I am frustrated. I start using feelings much more. And I and I'm I'm so on this being there piece that even when it's a challenge, I am committed to it. And it cost. It cost to be there. I'll never forget my my daughter had one of her first soccer games, and several of you know my daughter's situation. Um my daughter has overcome cancer. When she was three, she was diagnosed, and she's overcome it, and we're now a year and nine months past her last chemo, and she's doing great. And she said, Yes, you can applaud that. That's awesome. But she she wanted to play soccer, and one of the side effects or one of the remnants of chemo is that it it messes with her coordination and some of their fine motor skills. So for her to want to play is a tremendous and and I was there. I flew in from a show and I'd land, I go to the game, and and it's it's soccer, and she's out there, and and you know what? She she just kind of follows the herd everywhere, and I'm watching her trying to be encouraging. I'm sitting there going, wait a go, go get the ball. And she just kind of stays back from it, but runs with the herd, and and she only got like five or six opportunities. The first one she just swings and totally whiffs and almost falls down. Another time she's kind of running up and it kicks it and it bounces off her head and out of bounds, and she turned around with this almost crying. I'm like, You're okay, you're okay, good job, you know. She's like, Oh, okay, and she runs back down, and then they put her in goal, and I'm like, Why would you put her in goal? And she had the shirt on and she's out there just like this. I'm like, Yeah, you gotta get ready. She's like, and I'm like, here it comes, get ready, here comes the ball. She's like, ha. She sees it and she's watching it. I'm like, get it, get it, get it. She's ha. It's like, oh. And then she goes back and she goes another time, and the one time she does kick it, she kicks it the wrong direction, and then it's off another kid out of bounds, and I'm just like, oh. So after the game, I'm just I'm getting ready for the pep talk. You know what? She's just she's not good at this yet. And and and there's a reason why, and I'm just playing all this in my mind. And you know what? When we're there, we we get to feel that and we get to experience that. And she comes up and she's got her juice and her snack and she's got her head down and shuffling her feet, and I said, Hey, you did so good. And she goes, Daddy, I'm like, Yeah, baby. I said, You got your favorite color juice, and she's like, Yeah, Dad, can I can I tell you something, Daddy? And I'm like, Yeah, baby, you can tell me. And I'm braced, and my heart is about to break. And she looks up, she goes, Daddy, I am so good at soccer. Yes, you are. And I believe that God has blessed her with that, me, with that moment to realize, you know what? For her, she is great at soccer. For her to be out there is miraculous, and for her to be doing that is amazing, and that I got to be there and experience that with her. And my encouragement for you and I is not to add something to our plate. My encouragement is that we take this beautiful verse, rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, and say, God, help me, help me develop this radar with those around me that I am interacting with today, whether it's family or my kids, or family with my kids, or at work, or those I cross paths with. God, put up that radar that I can not only be there physically, but be there emotionally and be there spiritually, because God, you're working. And I want to be a part of that. I want to experience the fulfillment of seeing you move around me and through me. I I want that, Lord. And I want that experience. So I started asking the questions, what are we doing on a weekly basis? Well, we're real involved in basketball. My boys play, I help coach, and I'm like, who are those families who are around? Let's connect with them. Almost every day we eat at some point. Almost every day. And I'm I'm gonna be so bold to say, you eat at some point during your day. Ask the question are we taking the time to say, hey, why don't you come over and eat with us? Not going to be fancy, just or we're going out to grab a bite. Take a moment and pray, God, is there anybody that you want to bring to my mind that I need to call? And even if they don't go, let me just tell you, it is blowing my mind. Those who say, Thank you so much for asking us. That's amazing. And then to have people over, it's monumental. It's communicating that I care. Just because we're there and we want you to be there, and we want to be there with you. So take the time to be there. There's a great verse in Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, verses 9 through 12, that take this concept, and you've probably heard the concept before. It says, But two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if they fail, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And three cord is not quickly broken. Biblically, there is this principle that we were meant to be together. And the question I have for you and I are we not only open to that, but were we proactively being that other person there? Who are we there for? So the first word is there. I want you to say that word with me. The first word that we were learning today is what? It is there. The second one is also in this verse: rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Not only be there, but care. Get emotionally involved. Listen for that below the surface, care in the situation. If you've never memorized a verse before, I want to give you one to practice on, okay? It's the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11, 35. And you're gonna be able to memorize it right now. You ready? Jesus wept. There it is. Congratulations, you just memorized a verse. And the reason I bring this up is not only to memorize a verse, but to, we'll look more in depth in this next week, but why did Jesus cry? And I went back and looked at this. And it's a situation where Lazarus, his friend, has died. And I looked in this, and again, we'll look at it in depth next week, but he's died, and Jesus is going after he's finished some work to there. They run out of meeting, and Mary and Martha are weeping, and their friends are weeping. And Jesus knows what he's gonna do. He knows that Lazarus is gonna die. He knows he's gonna raise him from the dead. He knows. And if he is a man without being God, he would do what we would do. He'd go, hey, stop crying. Stop crying. I can fix this. I am a man. I fix things, and I can totally fix this, and I'm gonna fix this. Stop crying. But he doesn't. Jesus, in the complete man that he is, shows us men another level, and that is feel first. Feel first. This concept of he sees them, they're coming, they're weeping, and Jesus wept. He knew he could fix it, he knew he was gonna fix it, he knew that all of that, and yet he felt first, he validated that. And for many of you men here today, like me, as I had that revelation, I thought, Lord, help me not only be there when my wife is dealing with whatever, the frustrations or the worries, but help me feel first. Help me get there. Because when that happens, amazing opportunities to experience joy in the midst of pain, healing in the midst of hurt happens. One of the greatest examples I've ever come across was two weeks ago. I was in Birmingham, Alabama, for a corporate event where I was performing, met with the head of the company that I was going to be performing with, and I'll call her Beverly because that's her name. And Beverly, Beverly is just this wonderful woman that runs this company, and I said, Beverly, how are you doing? She goes, Well, you know what? I'm doing better. And I'm like, wait a minute. What I said, what's wrong? She goes, Well, my dad passed away a couple weeks ago, and I'm like, I'm so sorry. She goes, No, he'd been ill for about three or four or five years, and we knew it was inevitable. It's just when it happens, it's a little difficult. I said, I totally understand. There's no way we can be prepared for that. And she goes, but I'm I'm doing better. And you know what? I'm thankful for the way it happened, I'm thankful for the time. And and you could just tell she had she was processing still, but it was a good piece. And and she went on, and her son-in-law, who was going to introduce me and is a friend of mine, he said, Hey, did she tell you about the plans? And I was like, For what? She goes, the he said, the funeral plans. And I was like, No, she didn't. He goes, Well, we're all in the room with with her dad, with with papa, and we're all in there, and he's in the corner with his oxygen mask on, and it was about a week and a half, two weeks before he passed away. And and he's just in the corner, and he says, I felt a bit weird because we're planning this funeral, and he's sitting right there, and it was just odd. And she would go over, Daddy, do you like that song? Do you want us to sing that song? And Daddy, well, we're thinking about this, and what are you thinking? And they're just asking him questions, and he's shaking his head, and she said, Finally, she said, Dad, I I I can't make this decision. Will you please help me? He's she says, Do you want do you want to be buried or do you want to be cremated? And my buddy Matt, he said to his dad in the corner, took these two deep breaths. And he took the mask away and he said, Surprise me. Isn't that awesome? I want to go that way. But that type level of just goodness only happens when we are there and we care. And to take the time to say, you know what? What is your world? I've introduced this uh acronym before, it's we, W-E. And to ask a simple question, if we want to not only be there but care, here's a very simple, simplistic way to do it without sounding weird. Just say, hey, when you're with that someone, whether it's a spouse, a child, or whatever, ask two questions, one of two questions. Hey, what are you worried about? What are you worried about right now? What's what's on your mind? What's your worry right now? Or ask, what are you Excited about? You see the acronym? W worried E excited. Do you get it? We, yeah. It's we time. It's when we get together and say, what are you worried about? What are you excited about? And it's to learn that person's worry and excitement. It's to learn how they process, what they process, and what they're going through. My wife, her love language, and those of you who don't know love languages, it's a book and it's really good. It's either gifts or acts of service, quality time or physical touch, and everybody has a primary love language. And uh, I have to add one though, my wife, although she is a uh a quality time person, her hers is another level. Her love language is coffee. That is her love language. And and getting that coffee means everything. Now, I I'm not a coffee guy. I love the smell, hate the taste. That's me. And and I love that our I got a quick aside. I love the way our relationship has morphed over the years because it used to be, you know, I'd I would say something about coffee, and she's just like, oh, you know, you just don't like it. I wish we could have this together. And I'm like, but I love to go. It's just I love the smell, I don't like the taste. And and really, if we're honest, honest with what? I said, you know, a coffee breath. Doesn't turn me on. I'm just saying. I'm just saying. And you know, years ago that would have been, oh, you hate me, you think I'm fat and ugly and all that. But you know, we're now at the point where I can give her coffee and a breath mint and she's not offended. Okay? I love that. My my world is why have they not come up with breath mint flavored coffee? Okay, just an idea. Uh so anyway, her love language is coffee, and I love to just spend that time with her and say, hey, let's go grab a cup of coffee. I'll get a hot chocolate or I'll get a water or whatever, but it's the time. It communicates I care about her. And going that extra step. Not only am I there, I care. Today, today, I guarantee you, at some point, if not multiple points, I'll be texting several of my friends. I've got a buddy who grew up in Pittsburgh. He grew up going to the home games of the Steelers, and I will be texting him today and going, hey man, I'm thinking about you. Did you see that play? What's going on? It's just, I care about you. And I'm not doing it out of some duty, I'm doing it because I really do love this. And I really do like him. And I really want him to know I care about what's important to you. And I love talking about that. This concept, it's Super Bowl Sunday. I want to throw this concept at you because I did a little bit of research. And I love this. I went on, I couldn't help it, I went on, I'm sitting at my computer, I go on to look up tickets for the Super Bowl. And there was this one ticket, one ticket for the Hall of Fame suite in Texas Stadium. Which means if there's an NFL player that's in the Hall of Fame, they go to this suite. The most famous players of all time, they're in the suite, and you can go, it's food, and it's the best seats, and it's the whole nine yards, and this suite of Hall of Fame players, and there was one ticket. Now, this was two weeks ago, I think it's gone up since you want to know what that one ticket. Anybody want to guess what that one ticket cost? One ticket. $75,000? $649,899. For one ticket. Now I also looked up, I looked on the chart, I looked for the worst seat in the building. Top row in the end zone in the corner. You want to guess how much that one was? $2,305. Now here's my question. Today, if you could go to the Super Bowl and the money was not an option, it was not a uh not an option, uh, it's not an option. Um you could go to the Super Bowl and you could go to the Hall of Fame suite and sit in those seats and meet those guys and eat that food, and you could have that one ticket, or you could have two tickets to the Super Bowl in the worst seats in the building, which would you take? And I'll even go one even better than that. What if it were today? And you can't keep any of this, but you have a choice. You can have that one ticket to the Hall of Fame suite, or pick your favorite restaurant in all of Atlanta. And instead of that one ticket, that restaurant is gonna cater the Super Bowl at your house and bring in big screen TVs for every room. Now, after the Super Bowl, they're all gone, but it's one night, TVs everywhere, and your favorite food, and you can invite as many people as you want, and it's all completely paid for. Would you take the one ticket or would you take the catered party for everybody you know? See, within our hearts, within our hearts, most of us, now there's probably some that have some extenuating circumstances that would want the one ticket, but for me, it's what good is it if it's alone? This life was not meant to be alone. It was it was meant for us to say, wait a minute, there's something more than just me. And our fulfillment will be with how connected we are and how far we go. It was my buddy Stuart who were driving, and I just said, Hey, how's it going? Oh, it's going good. And I'm like, What are you excited about? And he said, You know, I I really haven't been able to tell anybody, but my company, we're about to merge with another company, and it's gonna move my position and this, that, and the other, but you can't say anything to anybody, and he just poured out what is great joy in his life. I've had a few buddies of mine that have asked me, you know, what are you excited about? I said, Well, we've been saving up for years, and now we're finishing our basement, and here's some pictures, and I was so excited. I I love this. My wife had a significant birthday this year, and she made me swear, she goes, do not throw me a party. She said it several times, threateningly several times. But I thought, you know what? She's got so many friends, she needs to know they're there, she needs to know they care, but I want to honor her, so I literally I prayed through it. God, how can I do this? And she left her laptop on one night. I went onto her Facebook, I hid my part and sent out an email to all her friends. I said, Hey, I'm she refuses to have a party, but I want her to know that you're there and you care, and she loves coffee. So here's what I'm asking that you send a birthday card, funny or personal or whatever, and put it in a coffee card for five bucks. And I'm trying to get 40 of them. Not that that's a hint as to which birthday, but that's what I'm trying to get. And it was so great because her friends really stepped up and we went to a movie and a massage and dinner and and we did all that, and then I was able to take this stack of cards and go, people care about you. And she just opened those for hours and reminisced, and I'm just like, that's it. We want you to know not only we're there, but we care. Two words. Am I there? Do I care? Those are the words, and if we memorize this verse and let us wash over us, I want to add the power pack to this. And the the band's gonna come up and do one more song. But as they come up, I want you to realize, and uh, I want us to really grasp the fact, the true power to recognize and to be able to make this happen and this verse to become real, is we first have to take a half a step back and realize that God is there and he cares about me. Not only is he there, he's here in every step and every place. And as much as I can try, I will not have that supernatural radar to be able to know when to go below the surface. The ability to be able to tell this is important until I have chosen to let God let me see how much He is there and how much He cares. Not only forgiveness for everything I've messed up with, but the power to recognize what's really important, prioritize. Recognize, prioritize, and fulfill and realize that He wants to use me as an answer in some of these situations, as imperfect as I am. So my closing question to you is twofold. One, has there ever been a point in your life where you've said, God, I want to let you. I want to let you love me. I know you're there, but I accept that love and forgiveness, because God is a gentleman. He will not force his love and forgiveness and power on us. He won't. He says, I stand at the door and knock. If you open the door, I will come in. But then, secondly, for those of us who do know God and we've made that decision before, to ask the question, am I letting God do that on my daily basis through my normal day? Am I letting him show me where I need to be and how much I need to care in these different areas? So, my my hope today was that we would literally think, Am I there? Do I care? Next week we'll look at how does that look in reality and how do I live that out. But let God this week take that verse, let it marinate and meditate in our hearts and souls, and it'll change who we are. Let me pray, and then the band's gonna lead us out. And I encourage you, challenge you, sing the words of this song from your heart, not your head. Father, thank you. Thank you so much for your truth. And Lord, your truth is the key that unlocks the fulfillment and abundant life that you talk about. So, Father, let us take that to heart and become the men and women you made us to be. And it really is only through the precious gift of your Son Jesus and the power of your spirit that we can pray. Amen.