Vision Sunday 2021

Let's talk shop a little bit. Let's talk about Salt Church. And it's always good to set aside a Sunday just to kind of get on the same page, see where we are. We have a motto around here. It's salt always makes a difference and a little bit of salt goes a long way.

Salt always makes a difference. It doesn't matter who you are, what place in life you are, where you are in your spiritual journey. Salt always makes a difference. And when we came up with the name for Salt Church, when God gave me the name Salt, it wasn't just this like cool hipster beach type theme that came up. It really had a lot of significant meaning.

In fact, Jesus taught on salt. And if you are with us today, if you want to go into the Bible app, pull up the event at Salt Church. And I have some scripture there. I don't have all the scripture there because I added some things last night. But you can write those down if you need to.

But you can go to the Bible.com app or YouVersion Bible app and look that up and download it and follow along with us. But in Matthew 5.13, Jesus is teaching to a group of people. Now, what's interesting about this moment, when Jesus came, he wasn't teaching to the kings.

He wasn't teaching to the rulers. He wasn't sharing this information with the Sanhedrin. He wasn't sharing this information with the Pharisees, the people who knew the law really well. He wasn't sharing this information with the people who knew their Bible well or went to Sunday school every week or attended church regularly. He wasn't talking to a people like that.

He was talking to the average Joe that was sitting on the side of the hill. If you're familiar with the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, this is where this takes place. Where he's showing these people something that's different and that's new and that's fresh and that has never been taught to them before. Because when they looked at themselves in society, they didn't feel like they had much influence. They didn't feel like they really had anywhere to go to make a difference.

They didn't think that they had the ability even to connect with this almighty God that Jesus himself was. And he's preaching this message. He says, you are the salt of the earth. He says, you are the salt of the earth. And he wasn't talking about table salt here, guys.

He wasn't talking about eating at a restaurant and grabbing a little bit of salt and putting it on your burger. He said, you are the salt of the earth. To them, that meant everything. Because salt in that day was not seen as primarily a flavor enhancer like we see it today. Salt was a preservative.

And salt had a huge industry in that day. People knew salt. It was a high commodity. And it was used to preserve meats and preserve things that needed to be refrigerated because there was not frigid air in that day. They didn't have that stuff.

And so this thing about salt, it meant something to them. You are the salt of the earth. You are the preservative of the entire world. And when we go back, we see that God is holding back his judgment, right? See, God's ready to come back, but he's holding back his judgment because of us.

Because of people who are preserving this world, who are reaching people in this world, building his kingdom. He is preserving the world. And a little bit of that goes a very, very long way. And he says, but if the salt loses its saltiness, if the salt loses its energy, if the salt loses its passion, if the salt loses its calling, if the salt doesn't know its calling, then what is it good for? But how can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown and trampled on by foot. See, God has a plan for everyone's life. God wants to build his kingdom and he wants to use the least of these to do it. It's not about being a professional theologian. It's not about being a polished pastor.

It's about what God wants to do and each individual to bring his kingdom. And when I saw that, it meant so much to me when I was called to plant a church here in the oceanfront area. What I saw was a people that were being overlooked. Not that anybody was doing anything wrong. I saw people falling through the cracks, people who needed to know God, who wanted to who needed to connect with God and needed to know that there was a plan for their life, that there was a there was more than just simply existing in this world, that this life isn't it.

There's so much more ready for them. And when I caught when I was called to do this, I was looking for those people. And and it's been, you know, a wild ride and I could share the stories. We started, you know, in a little workout center, moved over to a brewery and then we eventually launched in 2016 in a school. And and I mean, who would have thought that this would be the time to plant a church and start a church that we would in the next five years experience all kinds of things in this world and this year being probably the top of the list.

And but but God has been so faithful. He has been so good. We see people come to Christ. We've seen people made whole again spiritually and and physically even. We've just seen a lot of things happen.

And and and and we I know it kind of seems that, you know, during this season, a lot of churches and are kind of trying to figure out this new this new normal, so to speak, that that that people aren't coming back to church right now, that that the world is kind of shut down. And and and what better way for us to really tap into what God is doing during this time is that there is a a field that is white to harvest. There are many people who who need to know hope they have no hope because everything looks like when your world is taken away from you, when you're locked down, when when you're in fear, where else can we go? Well, we're here and we put up an online piece here that we've instituted and and and it's been a great springboard for us to really reach out to more people. We've seen people tap in from Louisiana, from Germany, from Georgia, from Tennessee, and they've been attending regularly.

And it's just awesome to see that. And we've actually had some salvations through our online service. So God does things in order to get us out. God does things in order to push us a little further from our comfort zone. And I believe that's what God is doing with Salt Church.

I think that God has amazing plans for Salt Church in this coming year. I'm ready to see God do some things. And, you know, it's no longer a time for us to sit and wait. Can I say. That we can't sit and wait for a pandemic to get over with.

We've got to get out there and we've got to do the work that God has called us to do. And we are going to do that as a church. We are out there. We are we're connecting with people in our community where we're going to do a lot this year. And I want you guys to get involved.

Don't live in fear because God's got great, crazy things because this this thing will pass. But the kingdom of God never passes away. So we've got a job to do. So let me just share with you some things that we were praying as we began this year back right before the pandemic was my last vision message, actually. And we were we were praying.

Leadership was praying. The church in general was praying. And we were we came up with a few ideas. We kind of rolled through some some greater levels of what we wanted to see. And one of those greater levels was generosity.

We wanted to see people us be a very, very generous church. And God spoke to me and says, well, if you want us to you want your people to be generous, then we need to be generous as a church. So we started just pouring money into into into things that we believed in. We gave more to international missions. We gave more to local missions.

We started connecting with different organizations and we started seeing God really move. And let me just show you some numbers this. So in in three years ago, 2018, our total giving was ninety three thousand three hundred and thirty one dollars and five cents. And these are all numbers. This is this is this is this is before administrative fees and all that stuff from the accounting numbers.

But that that's what we saw. 2019, we saw one hundred and seven thousand two hundred thirty eight dollars and seventy one cents. That's kind of where we were last year, right before the pandemic. Now, let me before I put the other number up. Everybody was saying every ministry was was talking about cash is key.

Put cash away, put cash away because there's going to be a drop in giving. There's going to be a lot of a lot of people that are going to be struggling this this year because of the pandemic. Well, you know what we did? We leaned into giving more away and we've been doing doing more. And we're like we're going to just trust God to in whatever we do.

And and so this year we saw a fifty five percent increase in giving one hundred and sixty five thousand nine hundred ninety nine thirty seven hundred sixty seven thousand dollars. And and it motivates me to want to do more, guys. We're going to increase our percentage of outreach two more percent this year. And we're going to do more than we've ever done before, because I believe this is this is about giving. And OK, we got our number up there too soon.

But anyway, another thing that we're so. So that's the actual number that that that we have surplus this year. Surplused. That's amazing, guys. I mean, I'm talking to other pastors who are in survival mode right now.

And we might not see the numbers in our church service. We might not see like a fast growing, you know, we're planting, you know, going to two or three services right now. In fact, we've kind of trimmed down a little bit. But this right here tells you that God is is we're not just surviving. We're thriving as a church and people are coming in.

And and and so many of you have have been a part of this church since even the pandemic started. And I would say like about 50 percent of the people in here right now that are out here in person were not here before the pandemic. So, I mean, it's just it's just amazing that God is still bringing in people. And and then there's a we also asked for higher levels of righteousness. And that's something that I wanted to tap in this year's holiness.

And and I think no better time to do that than than during this season where we were able to focus on prayer and focus on on strengthening our our our church. And this is and we've updated our bylaws and done a lot of things in our church since I've been I've been doing a lot of administrative stuff on the side. We've updated our values and I want to share some of the values here with you in a minute. Kind of kind of walk you through what that looks like from a biblical standpoint. But we have but but what we're going to do is this year we're going to institute another level of accountability in our church and eldership structure.

And I'm already talking to some of our some couples here that I would like to step up into eldership to help me with this spiritual accountability over our congregation to and just to strengthen our body so that we can grow to greater levels. These are people who are standout upright righteous living people who live privately what they live publicly and we're going to establish that this year. So I'm excited to do that. We'll be letting you know more about that up in the coming in the coming months and we'll do an official ceremony for that. So that's something that's coming as well.

Also because of the surplus and giving and here's kind of rewinding back another thing that we prayed for and Keisha you're part of that. We met in a group out in Prince George and over near Petersburg in this retreat center. And we just kind of really hashed out a lot of things about our church and where we were and where we were going and this is before we even knew a pandemic was coming. And one of those things we all agreed on is like we needed a new place. You know where we were just wasn't working.

It was a lot of work. We weren't able to grow there. We kind of stifled in growth and we were just praying. But we knew we didn't want to necessarily leave the oceanfront. We didn't feel called to leave the oceanfront yet.

And we prayed and prayed and prayed. And then we we found a place over near Hilltop and we were aiming for that. And it was going to be a big effort. We're gonna have to raise a lot of money to do it. And and it was a cool place and everything.

I thought I thought it would work. I was praying. And I felt well God's leading us here. And it's funny how God works right. Right when you think you're going his direction.

He says no that's not the right direction. And and and out of nowhere like like right before the pandemic right before everything happened out of nowhere I got a call from the Museum of Contemporary Art. Which I've been asking for two three years like calling over and over and over again to ask them when is their place available. Because we knew that that was the place that God wanted us. And or I felt in my spirit that that was the place that God wanted us to be.

And they called us up and they gave us the opportunity and they wanted us there. And we were. Able to acquire that place so God did honor that that was one of the first things and we and obviously you know we right when we were launching we're gonna launch last Easter and we were we're planning some big things to launch there we were excited about it and bam everything shut down so we've been organically kind of connecting back together at mocha for this whole season really and what we noticed is the church was filling up and the place was filling up we were we were talking about doing two services and then here we are again and mocha had to shut down for three months so we're here at the hotel so but but here's the deal I just kind of give you that kind of up-and-down story to let you know that we haven't gone anywhere because what we're doing what this has helped me see is not only is mocha a great spot for us and we will be back at mocha and we're gonna grow there and God's gonna do some awesome things at the Museum of Contemporary Art we've been a because of our surplus my board has has challenged us to put aside money for our building fund so we have so we would yeah so we're we're gonna think real like so we're gonna be aiming towards building our own building okay we know that we don't want to have to bounce around and be homeless like this and so we really want our own home and we've determined that we're probably gonna need about two hundred and fifty thousand dollars cash cash as a church to even begin thinking and acquiring and looking so right now we've put we were at we have sixty thousand dollars put away in our building fund which is a good start for us a good cushion to start building on and if you're interested in donating above your ties and offering that building fund will be available for you to pour directly in so if you feel led to give towards that and we're gonna we're gonna put together a building fund plan our fundraiser and begin to aim towards that building I believe God's got a perfect place for us and we want to see that so that's something to pray about this year to consider this year and and to continue to move forward in but regardless of everything that's going on I did I I what I love is is is changed lives is changed lives and what God is doing what God is doing in our church despite uh everything that's going on it's hard to to really focus on what's really going on when you're focused on the world right and everything that's going on around you that what's going on with the people here so I asked a few people uh uh to to share some stories I asked the congregation to share some stories and I pulled out some of these stories about people during this time who have um been affected by salt church and uh here's one person's story we pray daily really for God to help us find our church home and for God to bring other believers into our lives so that we could have some kind of fellowship on September 2020 we call it a literal sign advertising salt church for those of you who don't like putting out signs there you go the signs work we called a literal sign advertising salt church and after our first visit we knew we had found our home through salt church we have grown in Christian fellowship we have made friends with people whom we discussed and spread the gospel we discussed and we discussed and spread the gospel with hey hallelujah they're excited about sharing the gospel and now we have a place to bring our new believers uh we've ministered to God answered our prayers and then some and we love salt church so much not just for the security and fellowship it has provided us but for what we have learned from Pastor Leon sermons thank you thank you a little bit of salt a little bit of salt makes a difference and we are so grateful and proud to be a part of that difference here's another note uh when I moved back to Virginia in 2016 I struggled to find a church I really liked I bounced around from church to church I was missing the powerful sermons I used to hear and I was deeply desiring a church family again well God is good I saw a sign for salt there it is again guys a sign for salt church and check and check them out immediately immediately I felt accepted and welcomed and when they did their worship music I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit right the sermon was biblically sound and the message was so relevant and now I know that this church is on fire for God it has been helpful in my walk with God nobody should walk their faith alone hey hear that out there nobody should walk their faith alone I praise God that I have finally found a home and thank you to salt church to salt church here's another note here's another note I got a lot of them I couldn't share all of them but this one's a good one salt church was like a lighthouse to my family in the midst of all the chaos in the world this year salt has been a beacon of light leading us home leading us home welcome home welcome home every Sunday when we come together with our church family we are made whole our teenagers are engaged and can't wait wait wait to attend service so much so that they can't wait to attend service so much so that they are willing to get up at 630 on Sunday mornings to get there early so that they can be a part of everything salt is doing and we are grateful for this incredible group of people who embraced us on the first Sunday we came and they continue to inspire us to be the best people we can be and I hope that everyone finds a church home that can give them what salt has given our family a home where you can come home a home where you can come broken scared afraid and find Jesus and people love you the final story I want to share is there's there is this this one individual there's something special about this place I've never been a part of a church and much less known God but salt helped me find God I get Pastor Leon I get Pastor Leon thank you I can relate to him and his messages and the people are incredible I don't know if I could handle some of the things I've even been through recently without this church this is what's going on in the background and there's other stories too and I would love to get some of these stories on video and share them with you in the future and we will but there's bigger things going on than the challenges of actually doing church the way we've always done it that God is still moving that God is still healing that God is still working and we've designed our church in such a way that we want to lead people into a growing relationship with Christ that's kind of our vision statement leading people into a growing relationship with Christ so our Our old statement was God Community Mission for our values. We're still using them somewhat. I've kind of revamped them a little so that you can better understand why we do what we do and how we do it.

Because we're leading people closer to God. Everybody is in a different place in their spiritual life. And we as a church are doing everything we can to connect people closer to God so that they become more. More like him. And they ultimately change the world.

So we have four things that that we've laid out that our church, our values for our church. I've designed these values in bringing people closer to God. And the first one is to know God. We want people to know God. To know God in your heart, not just in your mind.

To know God as a personal savior, not just to know God. In a Bible that that seems too far for you to connect with. To know God in a way that that is more than just rules and religion. To know God. To know him as a friend.

To know him as a God who cares about you. To know him that he's a God that can go to you. And this isn't in your notes. But 1 Timothy 6.21 says it like this.

Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life. They don't know God. The most important thing in life is for people to know God. So as a church, we build these environments. We build this place.

We do this. The reason our crews come early and they set up and they put things together. The reason I put messages the way. And I don't want you to miss this. The reason we do this, the way we do it, is so that somebody who is far from God can know God.

And those who are trying to search for God down that path can connect with him in some way. We as a church do everything we can from our giving and our serving and our praying to help people know God. That's why we exist as a church. So people can go to God. Because if they can't get this part right, they won't get the rest.

Because this part, knowing God, is the first thing. If we can get that right, if we know who God is, it compels us to take the rest of the path, to grow in him and to become more like him. So the first stage is to know God. In fact, Acts 4.12 says it like this, Salvation comes no other way.

No other name has been given to us by which we are saved. Only one God. So salvation is the key to this place. If you'll look at 2 Corinthians, it says this, We build off of this firm foundation. This is the foundation we've laid.

Our firm decision is to work from this focus center. One man died for everyone. One man died for you, you, you, you, you. Every economic situation, every intellectual ability. He died for everyone.

That puts everyone in the same boat. He included everyone in his death so that everyone could also be included in his life. A resurrection life. And get this, this is why I love this paraphrase. A far better life than people ever lived on their own.

That's why we do what we do. Because God has such a better life for people. He's got purpose for people. So we design our services this way. And just real quick, we do celebration.

We celebrate. I was glad when I came into the house of the Lord said to Psalmist. And that's why I encourage us in worship to celebrate. It's about just loving God, dancing, celebrating, raising our hands, clapping, stomping. Whatever you want to do.

Maybe yours is just wiggle back and forth. I don't know what it is. But if that's your celebration language, we want to be a people that celebrate. Celebrate. Yeah, some of you are just, you know, like this or whatever.

But I could tell you the story of a young man who came to our church years ago. And he came in. He gave his life to Christ. But he was not sure about Christ. But because of the environment he was in, I watched him go from spectator to this, to this, to this, to this, to this, you know.

And he was on his knees and he was just crying out to God. And it was because we were in an environment where we made it comfortable to celebrate Jesus. And that's what we do. We want to be a place of celebration. We also want to be a place of inspiration.

That the word of God inspires us and convicts us and wants us to be more like him. Wants us to clean our act up. Wants us to move towards him. The word of God reveals our sin. And when that person that's far from God comes in by that inspired word of God, they realize that they need God.

And it's the hope that they needed. They've always needed. So we live for inspiration. We have an environment of inspiration and an environment of preparation. We're preparing people to reach the kingdom.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip his people to work for works of service so that the body of Christ might be built up until we all reach unity in the faith. So we're in a place of preparation. This is a this is a first step to preparation that when somebody comes to know God, they're being prepared in this foundation. And then it's a place of salvation. It's a place of salvation.

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And that's why every time I end this service, I give people an opportunity. I will do it again today because this is the time. This is the place for salvation. So we intentionally design our Sunday mornings to look like this.

And as we develop and as we grow as a church, we never want to get away from allowing this to be a moment where somebody can know God. Where somebody can connect with God. And then the second place we go to the second piece of the the voyage, if you want to call it that, is to live in community, to live in community. It's building meaningful and lasting relationships with other believers. See, you can know God.

But you can also know him and be deserted and not ever grow. This is the place where we find freedom in our relationships. Acts 2.42 says that all the believers devoted themselves to the apostles teaching. Acts 2.

42 says that all the believers are in community. Acts 2.42 says that all the believers are in community. Acts 2.42 says that all the believers are in community.

And to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, including the Last Supper, and to prayer. So they got together in homes, and we believe that circles are better than rows. That by getting together, by being together, by working out our difficulties in life, by working to become more like Christ, we need to do it with other people. We cannot do it alone. Show me a person who doesn't connect with a group of people or other believers that say they're a believer.

I'll show you somebody who's struggling. I'll show you somebody who's still broken. I'll show you somebody who's not found the fullness of life that they can possibly find yet. You have to do it with other believers. This is the prescription that God put together, not Leon.

This is what God required when he built the church, when Jesus instructed the church. This is how it was put in place. See, salvation happens in a moment of time. It happens at that moment when you confess your sin to Jesus. The moment it can happen this morning.

But there's another piece called sanctification. And sanctification is when God takes you through a process of making you whole again. He's redeeming you back to that person that you have always... He's always created you to be that sin stole. And you do that through relationships.

Salvation happens at a moment, but sanctification happens over time. And we found that the best way for healing and growth to take place is in the context of people who love you. A God who loves you. And people who are willing to grow with you. A God who loves you, people who love you, and people who are willing to grow with you.

In fact, that's why James 5, 16 says it like this. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be what? Healed. Healing happens in the context of relationships. See, you can get...

I can tell you a number of stories. People who have given their lives and had that experience with God. I know God now. But they never took the next step. Your immediate next step needs to be to get in community with other believers.

Or you will be out there still trying to figure out this life. I'm a Christian, but oh, I just feel so miserable. Because you're not in relationship with people, with other believers. And they want to help you. And we want to help you.

And God uses people to do that together. The third step is, and kind of tags along to this, is to grow in maturity. By helping everyone take the next step on that journey so that they can know why they are here. Why I exist. See, we can be saved.

And we can even be healed. But there's more to that. That we don't just simply exist as healed, saved people. Right? We don't just simply be...

See, people want more than that. You're still missing something. That's why you're probably... You can be saved and healed. There's saved and healed people here.

But they're like, there's still something missing in my life. It's because you haven't found your purpose. And that happens through maturing in Christ. Becoming more like Him through walking out these things. And that's why we help people take those next steps.

And here's what Ephesians 4 says. It says, This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son. So that we be mature in the Lord. Measuring up to the full and complete standard in Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children.

We don't want to be children. We don't want to stay where we are. We don't want to just be new Christians forever. Right? I have to question you.

You know, if you've been saved for five years since Salt Church started. And you haven't done anything else with that. And you still kind of live in the same way. It's because you haven't done the next thing. Get plugged in community.

And you haven't done this. You haven't grown in maturity. But we realize that everybody is at different places. So we're going to do this. We're going to offer what I call a salt life track.

We're going to do this twice a year. And this will just be a stepping stone to entering into that next level. Just understanding, you know, the basic Christian life and how to live out our lives. And that's going to happen after Easter, the third week in April. And I'd love for you, if you've already gone to lunch with Leon, our guest lunch.

Which our guest lunch, by the way, is next week. So if you want to come to lunch with Leon, you can sign up online. I'd love to have you to learn more about the church and how to get plugged in and where we're going a little more. But this will be a little more in-depth. And this will help you.

What this track is designed to do is to help you identify your spiritual gifts, your personality type, and your passion. And let that work together so that you really know who God created you to be. And to give you an opportunity to take that next step. See, Paul understood this very well. He understood what it was like to live for purpose.

In Acts 20, he says, I consider my life worth nothing to me. My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. The task of testifying the good news of God's grace. See, Paul had his fair share of issues. Paul had his fair share of burdens.

But he says this in 2 Corinthians 4, 16. He says, therefore, we do not lose heart, okay? Though we are outwardly wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is seen.

Or not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. Since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. See, he had a laser sharp focus on his purpose. He knew who he was. And he was shipwrecked.

He was abandoned. His best friends left him. He was stoned. He was rich. He was poor.

He's been everything. But yet, he says, that's not really important to me because I know who I am. And that's where true joy taps into our lives. That's where true joy comes into our lives. Which leads me to my last point.

My last point. Because you can know God. You can find freedom through community. You can grow in maturity and really discover who you are. But where true joy comes into play is when you go out and start making a difference in your world.

When you start making a difference. For instance. In your world, that's where joy comes in. By leading others to Jesus Christ, we we work and we play where we work. We play.

We whatever we're doing, we're leading people to Christ Jesus. This is where true joy comes in. And we all want to use what we are called to do to make an eternal difference. That that's how we're designed. That's how we live.

In fact, John says it like this. John chapter 15 verse 8. This is to my father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. See, he desires for you to bear much fruit. It's good for you to bear fruit.

We don't want to be dead fruit. We don't want to be dying fruit on the vine. We want to be flourishing fruit. And he says this and go down to verse 11. I have told you this so that what?

My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. See, Jesus says, I want you to bear fruit so that you can live joyfully. It's not just a command from the Lord. It it's a recipe for lasting joy. It's a it's a recipe for eternal joy.

Real joy doesn't come from making money, having a nice job, having a perfect family. You know, the to the dog and the and the kids and the and the and the house and all that. That's not really where joy comes from. Those are just blessings from God. But true joy is when you know that you're making eternal difference.

That that that through the blessings that God has given me or whether he hasn't allowed those blessings into my life as of yet, that that that that joy doesn't really depend on those things. It doesn't depend on my paycheck. It doesn't depend on on even my health. It really just depends on am I really making a difference? This is just a random thought.

There's a story. And I'm a surfer, so I got a lot of surfer stories. All right, we got what's got a surfer in here. We got a couple of surfers in here. We always have a handful.

Some of them are online right now watching. But I think of the Chris O'Rourke story and how his life was changed by Jesus. But soon after it was changed by Jesus, he developed cancer and had an inoperable brain tumor. And you would have thought, you know, somebody just receiving Jesus and going through all of that, find out that they have this. They wouldn't have kept going.

But he had such a passion and excitement in him. He wanted to see everybody. His life changed. And there was a story that they shared that he gave them when they wrote this story. He was in the plane with this guy named Joey Brand.

And Joey Brand was a world-class surfer, won the Pipe Masters during that season, was really just a hot shot, the best, tough little kid. And Joey shares this story. He says, I walked on the plane and I sat down by the only seat that was available. I had to sit right by Chris O'Rourke. And I knew this dude was a Jesus freak and he's also dying of cancer.

So it was kind of like he was just not in good shape and I just didn't want to have anything to do it. And he sat beside him. He says, He said, Joey, What's your life going to be like when all of this is done? Are you going to be happy? He said, I didn't really want to hear it.

And he says, dude, Chris says, dude, I'm worried about you. And Joey's like, Why are you worried about me? You're the one dying of cancer. And he's like, I'm okay. I'm all right.

I know where I'm going. I have no issues. And I'm worried about you, man, because I know that there's not a place for you after this life. This is it for you. And you're just not going to experience what I have.

And I want to give you what I have. And although Joey wasn't changed by Christ on that plane flight that day by Chris, who is dying of cancer, who had all these hardships and all these things, but had this excitement because he knew who he was, Joey ended up giving his life to Christ not too long after that. And that story, that Chris's seed was planted. Joey now is a pastor in California and has planted three or four different churches and is in the surf community and changing lives there. And it's an amazing story.

We just don't know what we're able to do with our story, with our life change. We all have our story and we all want to make a difference. Proverbs 11 says it like this, a generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. So why do we exist?

To refresh others. Because a little bit of salt goes a long way. So this season, even though we're not meeting like normal, we're not in our normal facility, heck, we don't even know where we're going to be in March, guys. There's a couple of weeks, the hotel's not going to be available. We're like, we don't even know if we'll be back at Mocha in April.

We just don't know. But if we follow this path, if we stay focused on our eternal purpose, it doesn't matter where we meet or how we meet, whether it's all online or it's on campus or whatever, lives will be changed. Hearts will change because a little bit of salt goes a long way. Salt always makes a difference. And we are salting the city.

We are salting the city. So I challenge you, I challenge you to take heart, pick up where you are who are in this process and move forward. Don't move backwards because God's got big plans for your life. And we would love for you to be a part of the ride called Salt Church because God's got big things in store for us. It's no mistaking these numbers that God wants us and needs us to move forward in his kingdom purpose and his mission.

And we're going to do some amazing things here in the future. Just get ready because you're going to be blown away. If we give God an opportunity to blow our minds, he will do it. We just got to give him that. Opportunity.

We've got to step out and believe. We've got to receive, you know. We've got to know that God's up to something bigger than us in our current situation, right? Amen. And God wants that for you.

He wants you to experience so much joy, an overflowing joy that permeates from you that you just can't get over it and it's everlasting into heaven. And who knows what's going to happen after this life, the next life. God's got big plans even then. So why not start it now? Let's go roll and do this thing called being salt.

And we deserve the world for the greater glory of Jesus Christ. So all heads bowed, no eyes closed. Let's just pray together. God, we receive what you have for us this year. We believe in God.

You've got a lot of things, a lot of assets waiting for us. We believe that you've got a building in the future for us. We believe we've got a lot of more opportunities to connect with people. I'm so thankful, God, that you've given us the opportunity to launch into an online environment where we can reach more people. But I'm believing that online environment is going to grow as we learn to do it better.

We're going to reach so many more people. I believe that everyone in this place is going to be endowed with so much greater of a purpose, even where they are right now, God. We're believing that we'll see lots of baptisms, people who make that open confession of their faith before everyone for the Lord. We're believing that this year. But we know that we have to make a decision.

The first decision is this. Wherever we are in our walk with you, God, we take that step of just simply knowing you. And with all heads bowed and eyes closed, if there is anybody in here, maybe God is convicting you right now. I've never really made that decision. Well, guess what?

I've got good news. Because the reason that Salt Church is here is so that you can connect with Jesus. Maybe you've never connected with Jesus or maybe you've walked away from Jesus. It doesn't matter. He's available for you.

And he says, I'm knocking on your heart's door. If you hear my voice and let me in, I will come. He says, he who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. It's simply calling on his name. And in this moment, if that's you today, with all heads bowed and eyes closed, if you just want to just kind of surrender by lifting your hand this morning, say, Pastor, I'm not going to embarrass you.

I'm not going to call you to the front. Just say it. Pastor, I'm in. I'm ready to make that decision. I'm making it happen today.

Pray this with me. Father, in the name of Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God and you died on the cross for my sin. Today, I give my life to you. I give 100% to you, God. I don't want to be halfway in.

I want to be all the way in. So come. I know that you positionally made yourself or made me righteous before God. So I place the blood of Jesus over my life so that I know you. Come into my heart.

Make me a new creation. Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Can y'all give God a hand clap of praise today?

If you guys would just stand with me for a minute. And Miranda's going to come up and just share, you know, giving with you in just a second. But let me just commission you as Jesus commissioned. We'll be right back.