Thank you for tuning into Life Mission Church. If you're interested in connecting with us, please visit our website at lifemission.church.connect. You can also watch sermons on the media tab of our Life Mission app, or by visiting lifemission.church.watch. We hope you enjoy this inspiring message.
Good morning, how's it by doing? You guys doing good? So glad you're here today. I have a real treat for you guys.
I get to bring the word in a few moments, but before I do, I want to introduce you to all my favorite people, my oldest child. She lives on the other side of the world, in Jerusalem, the city of the great king. She works for the ministry there that we support, and we're gonna be showing a video. She's gonna tell you about it tonight.
But I want to have her come and just greet you guys. Give a warm welcome to my daughter, Kayla. It's good to be home. It's good to be here in this home and seeing so many familiar faces in this room.
I just shared a story with the pastors during pre-service prayer, and this wasn't planned, but it was a really special moment, and I realized really all of you are a part of the story. So can I share it with you? Okay, so two years ago, I know many of you were here when I gave an update right when the war had begun after October 7th, 2023, and it's been heavy. And there's been a lot of darkness, and our hearts are grieved for everyone that's been suffering, Jews, Palestinians, on all sides of every border, but I've been called to serve in Jerusalem.
And while I've been doing that, I served with a nonprofit called Firm, which actually all of you are a part of, because 1% of the mission's budget, I believe, this is correct, is going to the gospel center to work there. And I just love this, because seeing lives and communities transformed by revealing God's presence and purpose, firm's mission is to see every life transformed by the love of Yeshua. So really, it's very, very similar, but personally, I've gotten to experience this in a really tangible way. So three days before the war began, I got a FaceTime call from a friend, and I was tired, I had had a long day, and she said, on the FaceTime call, I think I became a believer.
I was like, are you serious? I'm coming over right now. And it's different than now. I mean, I'm celebrating with all of you that just said yes to Jesus, where I live, it's very rare, and it's a lot more nuanced in how you can share your faith with people, because of a variety of things, but we had just been walking in relationships.
I went back up, and so I met her through a mutual friend that had invited her to a Shabbat dinner when the Ukraine-Russia war had started, which at that time, when the Ukraine-Russia war had started, it was the closest I had ever been to war in my life. I mean, I'm from here in Kansas. And so she FaceTimed her parents at that Shabbat dinner, and I remember us all as a community. We just met Rebecca praying for her parents, welcoming her parents when they got to immigrate from the Ukraine to Israel, and it was really beautiful to watch as we just started walking in friendship, a ministry that firm supports helped get furniture for them as they came, and you never think a couch, how can a couch transform a life?
How can a seed plant a forest or a wheat field? There's these little moments, and it wasn't that couch, or wasn't that specific gift, but it was every moment in conversation where we just walked together. And honestly, I have to give most of the credit to my friends, Rachel Aubrey-Melissa, who really walked with Rebecca through this process that she was experiencing war, and then fast forward to when the war in Israel began, her and I started getting closer, because many of them had to move away due to visa issues. And something really, really special about Rebecca is it's made my faith brand new, because as she's discovering Jesus, she's talking to Jesus about what outfits to wear, she's talking to Jesus about decisions to make at work, and I'm realizing because it's new, statistically Israel is an unreachnation.
Less than 1% believe in Jesus as Messiah. You would think, how is that possible? The very place he came and served in did miracles, they don't know him. And so in the most normal, everyday way, as she's been walking with Jesus, it's been quickening my own heart, and has just produced these really precious times of worshiping in our living rooms.
And then this past May, she wanted to get baptized. And so I have a few photos to show you over this moment where we got to baptize Rebecca in the Mediterranean Sea, and we had the most precious, beautiful beach day, talking about the goodness of God, and what it means to have your old men buried, and your new men resurrected, and to walk in new life with him. And this is the privilege of my life. I mean, this is what it's all about.
And it was during the season of first fruits. So from Passover to Shabbalah, it's seen as a season of first fruits. And so I'm really believing as I'm walking with Rebecca, but it's just the first fruits of many. And we're seeing so much openness in Jerusalem and throughout Israel in the last few years.
And what I wanted to share with you specifically is just a few weeks ago, you all that were here on November 2nd, were a part of her first communion. So it was very casual. I went over after work. We had both kind of had hard days.
We processed our days. And then she said, I miss when we worshiped together. And so it's interesting that in the intensity of war, we would turn on worship out of desperation. And it'd only been a few weeks into the current ceasefire.
And that rhythm had not been forgotten, but it's interesting in times of peace. I don't know if you guys relate, but it's easier to be a little bit more reserved or apathetic and so I was like, oh, let's worship now. And I was gonna turn on Spotify. And then she said, no, I really like the YouTube.
We had listened to the Silah, Silah, Seth, Zac, and different members. And so I was like, oh, I'll go on YouTube. It just so happens, you all were in this room live on a Sunday, because it's evening there and it's morning here. And we just start worshiping together.
And it was this convergence of lives where my dear friend Rebecca is worshiping in her living room and my family is leading us in worship. And then my dad gets up and starts leading communion. I don't know about you or for any of you that are newer in your faith or didn't grow up in church, but communion can seem a little weird. Like we're singing about blood.
Why are we eating a body? Like it's a, you know, and Rebecca and I had conversations but there was no rush. It's been just conversation and wrestling through this. And something clicked when my dad and pastor Clint shared what communion was.
And she just so matter of fact, I think I'm ready. I was like, amazing. Okay, so she grabs a piece of bread from her kitchen from the coffee shop that morning and we're sitting there. And there's this moment where I was just in tears thinking about how all of you, yes, in a percentage of your giving, but also in your very heart and your very expression here in Olathe, Kansas, we're with me in Jerusalem.
While my dear friend Rebecca was able to commune with God, with each other, with all of us. And so I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you, praise God. So it's been heavy the last few years and there's been a lot of darkness and there's been a lot of conflict and a lot of violence and a lot of pain.
And one of my favorite authors says there's not a pain on earth that doesn't crave a benevolent witness. And we've seen an uproar of different opinions on many sides of the political spectrum. For some of you, the fact that I live in Israel, just saying Israel can feel offensive. For some of you, you're super pro-Israel and you've been praying for Israel.
And the reality is it doesn't matter. It does, but it doesn't matter because at the end of the day, we're called to have a heart for humanity. And I want to share with you something we've been working on for the last two years called beauty for ashes. And even in the midst of something very difficult.
Like I just shared, the last two years have been really heavy. Yeah, there's been this beautiful story God's writing in my life, in Rebecca's life, and that's just one. It would have been worth it if I moved there for one, but he's doing so much more. And really, there's a lot of misinformation.
And I want to invite you tonight to come and hear stories from my friends. I want you to know that our team has really wrestled and grappled and prayed and wept for the Palestinian children in Gaza, for the Jewish babies that were burned on October 7th. That we want our hearts to continue to be broken and weep with those who weep. And I feel a very clear assignment from the Lord to bring clarity in the midst of all of the confusion.
And the truth is, as believers, we're called to something higher. We're called to something higher than politics, then different opinions. We're called to have his heart for humanity. And so beauty for ashes is a documentary that follows multiple people, but mostly through the eyes of believers in the land.
A Palestinian pastor in the West Bank, Pastor Vassum, a friend of mine, a Jewish pastor in Storot, which is right on the Gaza envelope. Nikhayel, a friend of mine. Some of my friends were in his church in his congregation. The day the attack happened, a Jewish mother of who was a hostage, an idea of soldier that's a dad, and helps lead in his congregation.
And the reason we want to bring all of these stories to you is because it's really hard to know what to think, or what to believe, or what to feel. And we need help from the Holy Spirit. And I just want to invite you to come tonight to beauty for ashes, to hear some of their stories, to be prayerful, and to really say, God, not my will, not my way, but yours. I want my heart to break for what yours breaks for.
And we are seeing beauty. We're seeing stories like Rebecca's rising in the ashes and seeing people gather together, communities that didn't talk, communities of believers that were really, I wouldn't call it full on persecution, because I know what's happening in neighboring countries, but there is a lot of prejudice against Jewish people that become believers, because they're seen as traitors. And so we've actually seen a lot of open doors in practical government ways and communities. We're seeing God open the doors, and you're a part of bringing the life-saving, transformational love and message of Jesus, of Yeshua, back to the place where it all began, and I'm so grateful.
So I hope to see you tonight. Amen. Thank you. She's obviously my daughter, right?
She's a, I'm so proud of her, and just so honored to have her here. I would encourage you today. I shared this last week, but this documentary, it's pretty intense. It's in the midst of war, and there's a lot of pain, and there's a lot of loss, and it's really not for children.
Okay, so if you have children, really, I would say anyone younger than teenagers, I wouldn't bring them. I do think teenagers, this is, you know, I mean, they were careful in the midst of making it, but war is war, right? And so there's a lot there, but I encourage you to come. Also, I'm really grateful for her team, because they've really looked at all the angles, all the sides, and there's a lot of pain across the board.
And so, as she said, we're gonna hear from a Palestinian pastor, we're gonna hear from people that are in all different dynamics, and so I encourage you to come and be a part of that with us, it'd be such an honor to have you guys be here with us at six o'clock. Let's pray together, and we'll have a short word. Lord, I thank you for your word, that it's true. I thank you that you wanna speak to us today, so I invite you to have your way in Jesus' name.
Amen. All right, so we've been in a series called, We're Thankful Hearts, and to be completely candid, I was gonna lay on the plane last week, and then I really felt like this week, and we needed to do this, and if you were here last week, I got to a point, and I had to just stop, and I had a story, so I'm gonna start with the story today. You guys ready for that? So, back in 1987, I'm guys were alive in 1987, okay.
In 1987, I spent five months on a ranch, a horse ranch in the middle of Washington State. I mean, like this horse ranch was over 100 years old, the world were 80 head of horse on this ranch, it was about a little over 800 acres that they had, and I just remind you guys, for context, I surrendered my life to Jesus in May of 1986. So I was less than a year in the Lord, I'd actually come back to Kansas City, was going to church, was growing in my faith, and the man who led me to Jesus, that you've heard about a lot, he's with Jesus now, hey, Lynn, what's up, and he sent me a brochure in the mail, you guys remember brochures, and I know they still exist, but anyway, he sent me this brochure, and it was about this boy's ranch in Washington State, and it was working with at-risk kids, and had pictures of horses and mountains, which I love mountains, and I talked to other, we're gonna administer the kids and all that kind of thing, and they were just looking for volunteers to come and serve, and if you come and work there for the summer or longer, then you know, you give me room and board and all those type of things, and he thought I'd be a great candidate for that. So he was a part of this ministry called Cowboys for Christ, and he'd met these guys at this event, and then he sent me this brochure, and so I prayed about it, and he encouraged me, and I was struggling with a lot of temptations here, and a lot of issues here, I'd been walking with the Lord less than a year, and I was growing, and he felt like, and he was my mentor, he felt like it'd be really good to see, and for me to do that.
So I prayed about it, shared it with my home group that I was a part of, pastors that I knew, and decided to go, so less than a year into my faith, I had bought this van, okay, a conversion van. I called it, I would drive it around, and people would come to the Lord, and I'd say that's my conversion van. But anyway, and I had this van, and so I loaded up my van, and I drove from Shawnee, Kansas, all the way to when Dan Shee Washington, right in the middle of the state, a little community called Malaga, right at the bottom of the mountains there, and I pulled on the property, and I was excited about this ranch, and I pulled up, and this place was a disaster, it was a mess, it was like, it was not anything like the brochure. As a matter of fact, there were no at-risk boys there, as a matter of fact, there was no one there, except one 80-year-old man, and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and he said, you're the one, huh?
You're the one, they're say, set, right? And that was the beginning. So I followed him around the ranch, he showed me around, he's like, this is what we're gonna do here, this is what we're gonna do there, and none of it had been done. And then I got late in the day, and I thought, where am I gonna sleep?
And he said, why don't I have anywhere for you sleep? So I slept in my van for five months, down by the barn, no, not the river. And it was the most transformative experiences in my life. I was on this ranch for five months.
This man woke up before the sun, and he expected me to do the same, and we worked, and I never, I grew up, I'm a city slicker man, and he reminded me of that all the time. I didn't know how to do anything, I didn't know how to, I still don't know how to do much, but we get up with the crack-a-dawn, and he beat on my van, let's go. I'd go out and we'd go and dig holes, and put in fence posts, and run, just do the stuff. We were feeding all these horses, and all this stuff, and so we would do that all day, and he would just ridicule me, and make fun of me, and he was just a rugged, hard, old man.
And then we would have, I don't know why I'm crying, quit that. And we'd have dinner, and funny thing about dinner, is we would eat whatever he bought at the store that week, every meal. So like, if ham was on sale, then we had ham breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then the next week, whatever he got. And so that's what we did, and we'd eat dinner, and then he would go to bed, right?
The sun went down, he went down. And so the evening, so let me just go back and say, there was, it was hard for me, and I made mistakes, and then he kicked me off the ranch multiple times, and we got in fights, and not fist fights, I mean he was 80, but he could take me easy. And he's just this big old man with monster hands, and bucking hay, and doing all the things, and I remember one time I was putting these fence posts in, and he told me where they were supposed to go, and I'd gotten two or three, and he had gone to town, and he'd never let me go to town. And he was embarrassed by me.
I said, you know what, I know I'm here, do you? And so I put these fence posts in, and I got off a little bit, and he came in, he was like, you're off, pull him, fill him, move him. I spent all day on that, you know? And we got in fights, and I'd cuss him out, and he kicked me off the ranch multiple times.
And our relationship got really tense and continuous, and then there were times that were sweet and good, and I tried to get him to talk about his story, and he told me stories over dinner, and he was a bitter old man, he was bitter at God, his wife had died, his kids had left, and one of his kids took part of his money and house, and all this bitterness and pain, and he didn't trust me, he thought I was there to steal something or whatever, and so he just had all these dynamics going on for five months, and every time I wanted to leave, I would say, okay, you know, he kicked me off the ranch, and I'd be fine, I'm out, right? I'd blown up all my stuff, I had a black lab named Big Guy, I'd be like, oh, Big Guy, let's go, we get in the van, and I started driving off, and where he lived, some of you guys can Google Map this if you'd like, he was outside of Malaga, Washington, and there was no way to go east unless you drove all the way up to Wenanshi and went across the, because of the Columbia Rivers right there to go across, and so several times I got in my van, and I drove up toward Wenanshi, and as I would get close to the city, the Lord would say to me, where are you going? Not like audibly, but like everything in me knew, you are about to fail, you are making a mistake, and I'd be like, yeah, but he just told me to leave, and he'd be like, I didn't tell you to leave, you need to go back and apologize. So I, there was a dam there, and I had conversations with the Lord at that dam, and the Lord understood my language, which was a lot rougher than it is now, and then I would go back, and I would humble myself, I was wrong, I'm sorry, and he let me stay, and that went on for five months, and one of the keys to the story, and this reason I was gonna tell it to you, I wasn't gonna tell so much detail last week, but I'd have fun today.
Night time, the evening was my time with Jesus. I was in the middle of nowhere, we didn't have these, right, and we didn't have television, and my radio, I could get two stations, and we were on the middle of nowhere, but I had a cassette recorder, you guys remember those, they're about the sides of this Bible, and it popped up, and you put cassette tapes in there, kids, it was like a podcast, okay? But, so I had all these teaching tapes from my church, and I'd gotten some other teachers that I really liked, and I had worship tapes, and I would spend time with Jesus every night, I didn't have anything else to do, and it was really the Lord discipling me in that season, I mean, it was just so sweet, and I would journal, I would just talk to the Lord, and he would minister to me, and I remember, I was 18, I don't want to do Christian lesson of the year, and one of the tapes that I had, but long before, there was all the worship stuff you got, now we had integrity, hosing and the music, you guys remember this? And I had this tape called gift thanks, and so it was gift thanks with a grateful heart, gift thanks to the holy one, and I would sing these songs to the Lord, just me and the Lord, and the Lord was just, he was just working in my life, just cleansing me, and I realized how broken I was, and how rebellious I was, and how lost I was, and the Lord discipled me.
I made a decision, I was gonna read through the Bible, so I was reading through, and I had someone give me a commentary, I didn't know what that was, and so I literally was in Bible college, I was in a ranch on the same thing, and I began to learn to thank God for his promises, and I would declare the promises of God under the stars, and I would talk to the horses, and they understood everything I said, and talked to a big guy, one of my jobs was I had the 800 acres, I had to walk the perimeter every other day, and that was good, and so just to watch and make sure the fences were good and all that stuff, and so I just hear that story, I don't have a lot of time to preach today, but I am, there's power in gratitude, and that's what we've been looking at in this series, we've looked at a lot of things I had notes that I'm not gonna get to, but gratitude, we started the series in Colossians 3, it says, let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts, for as members of one body, you were called to live in peace, and always be thankful, let the message of Christ and all its richness fill your lives, and he goes on to there and he says, well thankful hearts, and so we looked at that a few weeks ago, and what I can tell you is when I was on that ranch, and all my friends were back here smoking weed and getting in trouble and doing all the things, and one of my friends went off to the Navy, and everybody's doing their thing, I'm on this ranch, and I'm just like, what am I gonna do in my life, and what I learned was, it's not about what you do, it's about who you do it with, it's not about what you're doing, it's really about why you're doing it, right, and so when I was digging holes and bucking hay, and walking fence lines, and doing those things that really I am not wired for, that is not my DNA, I love people, I like people, I had one people, and he did not like me at all. But God was breaking me, and he was really bringing me to a place that I'm gonna tell you, I look back on it all the time. Whenever I see a rancher or a fence, I think of, I mean, there's lessons I learned, and it was the ability to thank God for who he is, not where I am, to thank God for what he's done in my life, what he's doing in me, embrace that, and out of that place is incredible strength. We've talked in this series, I'll just go over my points with you guys, we learned seven things over the last few weeks, we saw that I thankful heart opens our eyes to what God has done, and what God is doing, and I learned that lesson as a new believer, I began to proclaim the promises of God over my life, I was listening to teachers who spoke about the power of the Word, my first pastor, he used to say all the time, don't take my word for it, you have to know the Word for yourself, I took that seriously, I was so grateful that in the earliest days of my walk, I went, I got an early morning prayer meeting that he led, and it really set the tone for me, that I'm gonna be a man of the Word, and I'm not just gonna read it, I'm gonna declare it, and so I begin to declare the Word of God over my life.
The second thing we learned is that I thankful hearts, shapes our attitudes and actions, and the third thing was to thank for our alters, our perspective and our priorities, and that really was what began to happen in my life, and that gets to where we were last week, which is a thankful heart experiences piece. When I first got there, I was so angst, I was super-strilled, I was like, what am I doing here, this is stupid, that brochure lied to me, you said all the things, right? And so often that's how we feel, you said this, and I thought you were gonna do that, what about this, and I'm gonna fight for my rights and all those things, but in the midst of those months that I was there, I began to experience a piece that surpasses understanding, a piece that doesn't make sense, that's what that means, and an ability to have peace, and you know, obviously I've since then I've read a lot and learned a lot, and you know what I found, and you know, Paul and Silas, remember that next 16 week, I go there today, but remember they got arrested, and they got put in the pit of the dungeon, and what do they do, they praise the Lord, why can't they do that, they shouted praises to God, knowing that they could die in the morning, how could they do that, because they experienced true peace, a piece that doesn't make sense. The next thing that we learned is that a thankful heart has content, we've been singing a lot about contentment, and I learned to be content regardless of what I eat, regardless of where I sleep, regardless of how many blisters I have on my hands, regardless of how old I feel, even when I was young, all the things, and then we learned that a thankful heart is generous, generosity is an overflow, peace and contentment, we talked about that last week, and then the final thing that we saw is that a thankful heart trusts God.
And so I just share all those things with you guys today, and I've made a list here, we're thankful hearts, our eyes are open, we're thankful hearts, our attitudes and actions change, we're thankful hearts, our perspective and priorities change, we're thankful hearts, we experience God's peace, we're thankful hearts, we embrace contentment, we're thankful hearts, we become generous, and we're thankful hearts, we trust God. And we've talked about this a lot, if you missed the sermons on this, that actually had Bible in verse and all that, go back and watch them. Today's really more just me sharing with you guys a little bit, but what I wanted to do today is I wanted to make space, because the world's so busy and we're so distracted, I wanted to make a little space for us to connect with God, and so I've one final point for you note-taker to have been paying attention in this series, I've one final point and it's this, we're thankful hearts, we enter into God's presence. And I found that on the backside of a mountain in the middle of Washington state, living in my van down by the barn, doing all the things, I found that in his presence, there's fullness of joy, that in his presence, there's peace, that surpasses understanding, that in his presence we have all that we need.
And I learned the secret sauce of life, and that is that anywhere I am, no matter what I'm enduring, no matter what people are saying about me, no matter what people are doing to me, no matter what I'm missing out on, no matter if I've been wronged, I have access to the perfect one. I have access to him today, tomorrow. I have access, and you do too. And how we get there, the Bible says, is through the portal of Thanksgiving.
The Psalmist said it this way, Psalm 100, he said shout to the Lord, all the earth, worship the Lord with gladness, come before him with singing of joy, acknowledge that the Lord is good, that he made us, that we are his. See, I would declare, here's how I would do this, and I did this this week. I get along with the Lord and I say, acknowledge God, I acknowledge today that you are God, and that you made me, and that I am yours, I am your possession, you paid the price for me. So I declare those truths.
And he says, and then it says, enter his gates with Thanksgiving in his courts with praise. I'm gonna give you a little bit of meat here today, so just gonna give you a definition of two words. Gates here literally means entrance, doorway, or portal. It means that it's the access point.
So what do we just learn? We enter into the presence of God through Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is the doorway into his presence. And courts is the village town or dwelling place.
It's where God lives. It's his presence. And so the Bible says that we literally enter into his presence with Thanksgiving, and we dwell in his courts with praise. We dwell in his presence by remembering and declaring how good he is, amen?
And so I've invited, I ask Zach, if we could just take a little bit of time today, and just finish in worship. And so what I wanna do is I wanna just, I want you to think about your life. Are you living on the gratitude sort side of life, or are you a little more gritty, a little more frustrated? I don't have time to go into one of the things that happened with my friend, his name was Bill, by the way.
He was about six foot three, 200 some pounds, his hands were looked like this, and he was bitter. His wife had died, his kids had fought over his property. His son lived on the property right next door, and he turned into a cherry and apple orchard. He was waiting on his dad to die for the rest of it.
He doesn't hold on the store. And he was bitter. And he got it every day, and he did what he knew to do, what he'd always done. And he did it with bitterness and frustration.
He complained about this, he complained about that. And then there was me, this kid from Johnny Kansas, and grew up in government housing, eating. Anyway, I looked at his life and I thought, you know, I don't wanna end up like that. I don't wanna live in regret.
I don't wanna live in fear. I don't wanna live in frustration. And I found a secret sauce. Top secret information.
We can have joy no matter what. We can have peace no matter what. It's in him. And someone asked you today, are you living in the gratitude side of life?
I mean, if you're not, just begin to thank him for who he is. If you can't thank him for your circumstances, I get that. But you can at least thank him that this is not all there is, and that his promises are true. You can begin to thank him for what he's already done in your life, from your heart.
So Zach's gonna lead us today in a song. We're gonna close with this. And the service isn't over. Like, if this is like, oh, okay, we're done.
I can leave now. We're gonna just worship for the next few minutes. And I wanna encourage you to go all in, okay? Go all in.
So you can stand, sit, kneel, come to the altar if you like. But we're gonna thank God for who he is and how he is. Your goodness in our lives, thank you that you don't give up on us. We have so much to be thankful for God.
Let I pray that this seed of truth will take root in our hearts, that never again, never again would we be defined by a lack of gratitude. That Lord, our default would be to live lives of gratitude for your grace, for your faithfulness. And we know it's the door into your presence, and that's where all the good stuff is. We'd be people of your presence, God.
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