Ye gads. I'm usually sitting over here. I didn't realize there's so many of you out there.
Well, if you don't know, I'm Nathan's dad. And we'll get that out of the way real quick.
And the best of Nathan is who his mom is, and the worst of who Nathan is, is me.
And I got up 6.30 this morning, but I didn't look at any emails until about 8.15.
And lo and behold, Nathan's sick.
Well, that's not new news for our family. We kind of grew up that way.
And I remember when I was young, like most of you, you know, I could whip anything.
I could do anything. I could climb any tree.
One of my favorites of old is Mr. Muir. Remember Mr. Muir?
A Sierra Club come out of him.
And one of his famous antics, he wanted to experience a storm.
So in the Sierra Nevadas and California, he climbed to the top of the tallest tree he could find.
And lightning's flashing and thundering.
And the wind is blowing.
And he's on the top of this tree.
And the tree is swaying just to experience a storm.
Well, that's me growing up.
And that's who I was.
Strong, you know, ready to take on anything and anyone.
Strong, you know, I'm going to take on anything and anyone.
I'm going to be poached out of Okefenokee Swamp and had a brand new pickup truck.
Man, I was living.
I was living.
But then it began to just kind of crumble around me.
And for the first time in my life, I really began to notice that I was more fragile than I would have admitted.
And in fact, as time wore on, not too many years out of college,
I began to realize that the outside of me and the inside of me were not the same thing.
I was going through the motions of having a good time and having it together,
but miserable on the inside.
And I hated, I couldn't stand to use the word.
I certainly wasn't going to do it publicly, but I realized I was fragile.
And as time wore on, I began to see how fragile I was
and how many things in my life and around me was not in my control like they had been just a few years previously.
Now, I grew up down on the Mexican border.
That's a hard thing to grasp hold of, you know, to be a man's man and to be fragile.
But I wanted desperately for the inside of me and the outside of me to be the same person.
I didn't want to go through the motions of having a good time,
pretending, being a pretender all my life.
I wanted things to be together.
I wanted to be a whole person.
And I come to the realization that if it was ever going to happen in my life,
my job wasn't going to get it done.
My upbringing wasn't going to get it done.
And my relationships, because that stunk, it wasn't going to get done.
And so I was reaching for anything.
And finally, I come to realize and believe that Jesus Christ was the only way
to get the inside of me and the outside of me and to begin to handle my frailty.
But I thought, you know, my strength would be restored.
No, I just got more and more frail.
And then one day, Julie and I had been married a little over a year,
and we had this little thing called Jamie Lee come into our life.
He gads.
What an awesome thing.
Soft, fragile.
And it was in her frailty that I found more frailty on my own part.
I discovered more things about myself that I really didn't want to admit to,
but she had me.
Now, I've got to tell you,
even though soft and pliable and innocent as she was,
she could really stink.
Holy moly, I didn't know that anything that gentle could stink so bad.
And yet I'm reminded every day that I'm just a stinky old guy.
So are you.
God has unique ways of bringing us back to reality
and helping us to see again and again and again how frail we are.
Well, some years ago, a young friend of mine used the term irreducible minimums.
I've come to realize through all of my studying
that God has created the universe in circles.
And as you think you're going out through your life,
you are only going to understand that it's going to bring you back
sometime or another to the beginning.
And that beginning has to do with those irreducible minimums.
And as fragile as I am,
I realize I've got to have a good, strong foundation
under my life in order to live the kind of life
that would honor God.
For I didn't get saved in a church.
I didn't get saved because of a church.
I was saved in my home out of a home Bible study,
reading the Word of God and believing what it said.
So as far as I was concerned, Jesus is it.
He is the chief cornerstone, our Word tells us,
and shows us that the church is built on a strong foundation.
And what constitutes the items of that foundation
are these irreducible minimums.
1 Corinthians 13, verse 13 says,
Now faith, hope, and love.
These three.
But the greatest of these is love.
There's an irreducible minimum in it.
Faith and hope are irreducible minimums.
Well, I want to focus today on faith,
if you don't mind.
Y'all want to vote for it?
Because if we choose something else,
somebody else is going to have to preach it.
Faith is how we get into this life,
and faith is how we're to go on with this life.
Faith is how we get into this life.
Some folks just get in by faith and say,
Well, that part's done.
What's next?
And so we, like I was pursuing what's next,
we go from preacher to preacher,
church to church, you know,
version of the Bible to version of the Bible.
We jump all over the place.
Jesus said to the Pharisees,
he actually was kind of honoring them.
He said,
You diligently search the scriptures,
but you fail to come to me.
See, when it all boils down,
one of those irreducible minimums
is,
you with me?
When it all boils down,
one of those irreducible minimums,
is faith.
Faith is how we get in.
But do you know what faith is?
If we all had a moment,
and we'd go look to find out
a definition of faith,
some of us,
like Sid,
in his day and age,
he'd go to a dictionary.
His dictionary would be
some hard copy out there,
a Webster's,
a New Collegiate,
somewhere out there,
he'd go find a dictionary.
In most of your cases,
you'd just whip out your iPhone,
and I was asking Nathan the other day,
I said,
Where is there a good dictionary
that I can get in my iPhone?
And he said,
He said,
Give me your iPhone.
And he spoke into my iPhone
a memory thing for me to,
into my,
instead of texting it to me,
he just spoke it in there.
Dictionary.com.
I haven't done a thing with it since.
In fact,
I'm not sure what I'm supposed
to do with it next.
I could point,
tap something.
I don't know.
Today,
Nathan's,
again,
reminds me of how fragile
life can be.
I remember when Julie called me
and told me
at the office,
we'd had a vacation,
we'd gone to Disneyland
for the first time.
You know,
that's not in Florida.
Disneyland is in California.
That's,
this is pre-Disney World
for some of you.
There was a time
before Disney World.
And we went over there
and had a great time.
But he was feeling
kind of sick.
We thought he had a,
maybe a urinary
and tract infection.
And no,
he had diabetes.
And Julie calls and says,
You gotta get to the,
we gotta take him
to the hospital
right now.
I said,
Whoa,
whoa,
whoa.
Let's don't be in such a hurry.
I had no clue
what diabetes meant.
Nor why we needed
to get to the hospital
right now.
So I went home,
picked them up,
took them over to the doctor
and then had made him
explain it to me personally.
And then we went immediately
to the hospital.
Gosh,
I tell you,
his arm wasn't,
didn't seem like to me
any bigger than that finger.
Sticking needles in there,
which is what he had to have,
was hard for me.
I kept envisioning
hitting the bone.
And after a few days
in the hospital,
we got,
you know,
brought him home.
And I remember
that first Saturday,
you know,
thinking,
well,
let's sleep in.
Now with diabetes,
we had to get up,
we had to eat on time
and have the shot on time
and have the finger pokies
on time.
And on and on
and on it went.
And later on,
Jamie becomes a diabetic.
And this is not my family,
is it?
Yeah,
it was.
I want to say to you,
young'uns,
because calamity,
stress,
struggle,
storms come to your life,
doesn't mean
that you're doing
something wrong.
In fact,
it may mean
that you're doing
something very,
very right.
For the Father
brings these things,
allows these things
to come into our lives
in order to teach us,
to bring us
into the fullness
of who He is.
Nathan had to get
through all that
in order to be able
to stand up here
and speak to you.
There was a time
in Nathan's life
when he was very bitter
towards God.
Went through a lot
of high school,
college,
bitter,
because God
had done this thing
to him.
And it was getting
to know Clay
that made the difference
in his life.
God used Clay
to help him
overcome the bitterness
that he was
seething with.
That's what bitterness
does.
It causes you to,
I can't spell
seethe.
If there's any one
rule I'd have
for us as a congregation
is don't ever use
a word you can't spell.
And everybody's up
to being challenged.
I've even been challenged
as I've been preaching.
Spell it preacher!
And I couldn't.
My vocabulary
went like this
and then
now that I'm a bus driver
of elementary kids
it's gone way,
way,
way down.
What is faith?
And the only place
for you and I
to go is to
the word of God.
Hebrews 11.1
is
the definition
for faith
for you and I.
That is
the definition.
Somebody
read it out loud
or if you've
got it memorized
spout it out for us.
Hebrews 11.1
page 1259.
Somebody,
anybody.
Now faith
is
the reality
of what's
hoped for.
When is
is.
Y'all ever
think about
when is
is?
I'm an English
teacher's nightmare
so.
But I know
this much
is
every time you
see it in the
English in the
New Testament
is is like
this.
It's not
like
once in a
while.
Faith
now
right now
where we're
at
where you're
sitting
where I'm
standing
faith
right now
this moment
is
and it
never
will
change.
Praise
God.
Get excited
about that.
Our
God doesn't
change.
Our
God made
up his
mind in the
beginning
and nothing
has
changed.
That's
worth
praising him
for.
That's not
that's
not
oh
me.
That's
an
amen.
Now
I'll be
the first
to admit
to you
I've
been one
of those
that if
I was
if we
were asked
you know
how many
of you
would like
to change
have God
change his
mind about
some stuff
I'd be
there.
How many
of you
would be
there?
A room
full of
liars.
If you
haven't been
there yet
you will
be.
I promise
you.
Now
fate is
the
assurance
the reality
of the
things you
hope for.
It takes
those things
that we
have hopes
about in
our future
and brings
them into
reality
where we're
at today.
I see
things in
my future
by my
faith.
I had
a dream
of being
the same
on the
inside as
I am on
the outside
and faith
brought it
into reality
but before
I saw it
in reality
I saw it
in reality
in my
head
and my
heart.
Faith is
an incredible
thing.
It's what
brings you
into this
life
but it's
what you
need to
go on
in this
life.
What else
is it?
It is the
conviction.
What's your
Bible say?
proof of
the things
look at
it.
If you're
looking at
me you're
not looking
at your
Bible look
at it.
Not
seen.
Circle
that word
not.
That's a
huge word.
Sooner or
later you're
going to
realize as
you're growing
in the
Lord Jesus
that the
little words
mean sometimes
more than
the big
words do.
Like when
is is.
I mean
that's
that's a
big word.
Not
means a
whole lot
and you can
skip over
that thing
and not
get it.
You cannot
be a good
Missourian.
You know
what it says
on the
Missouri
license plate?
Show me
state.
A lot
of us
say we're
acting and
we're living
out of faith
but we don't
really believe
anything until
we see it.
Until it's
tangible.
I guess that
thing isn't
on is it?
Could have
moved it.
Until it's
tangible.
Until you
can touch it.
See I say
well yes I
have faith but
here's my
faith.
No no.
The thing's
not seen.
I had
faith that
God was
going to
give me
a godly
family.
A godly
wife.
And godly
children.
Did that
say okay
well now
that's done
I don't
have to do
anything about
that?
No
absolutely
not.
Every day
of Jamie's
life.
Every day
of Nathan's
life.
Even before
they were
born.
Every day
of Jan
Lynn's
life.
Even before
she was
born I
prayed for
them.
Every single
day that
they would
grow up to
be men and
women of
God and
marry men
and women
of God.
But I
saw it in
the beginning
what it
could be
like.
And God
has brought
it to
pass.
I don't
feel the
need like
a lot of
preachers do
preaching
every Sunday.
I enjoy
sitting over
there and
listening to
my son
open the
word of
God.
Joy fills
my heart
when I
hear things
tumbling out
of him
that I
was in
my 40s
and 50s
before I
ever got
it and
could preach
it.
it is
true
that your
children can
truly stand
on your
shoulders
and get
to places
in the
relationship
with the
Lord Jesus
Christ and
with the
body of
Christ
that you
couldn't
have got
to until
you got
much,
much older.
Praise
God.
Faith
does
remarkable
things.
It leads
us into
remarkable
prayer times
with the
Father.
Faith does
things for
us that
we would
have never
believed.
There was
a time
in this
auditorium
when it
looked like
there would
never be
a time
at all
where every
chair would
be filled
to overflowing.
thing.
I remember
when we
were a
little
circle
right here
and in
those days
I did
all the
talking
but
believing
that one
day it
would be
like this
and beyond
and that
it would
be about
family.
So much
so that
in the
beginning
we didn't
even add
the name
church.
Because in
my opinion
I've been
a church
planner and
an apostolic
ministry for
a long
time and
in my
mind the
word church
has almost
become a
dirty word
in our
culture.
Almost
completely
meaningless.
people without
faith think
terrible things
when they
hear the
word church.
What is
church?
It should
be family.
And who
does it
belong to?
Jerry?
Nathan?
Elders?
It belongs
to Christ
Jesus.
It's
His
church.
This isn't
mine.
I don't
believe in
ministries.
There's only
one ministry
and it
belongs to
the Father.
And we
get to be
part of
it.
Praise
God.
Can you
get excited
about that?
He's got
an invitation
for you to
come join
Him in
your future.
We don't
know where
that's going
to be.
When I
gave my
heart to
Jesus I
said anything
you want
God.
And I
told friends
over and
over again
if I
thought that
meant being
a Baptist
preacher
maybe we
would have
negotiated this
a little bit.
Because that
was the
farthest
thing from
my mind.
I thought
I was going
to become
a rancher.
Surely
God wants
me to be
happy and
He would
agree with
me about
that.
Wouldn't
He?
He showed
me the
opportunity and
then He
went nope
I'm going
to send
you to
seminary
instead.
And He
expected me
to be happy
about that.
When I
got out of
college I
determined I
was never
going back to
school again
for any
reason.
I dare you
to tell that
to God.
He'll prove
you wrong
every time.
how do
you get
faith?
Well I've
heard people
pray for
faith.
I've heard
that people
do that.
I remember
one time
years ago
there was
this TV
evangelist
and he
said if
you'd send
me 1995
he said I've
got this
handkerchief
that I've
touched
and you
just touched
that handkerchief
I'll send
it to you.
Your faith
will increase.
He made a
great case
for it but
it was more
about the
1995 than
it was about
faith.
Romans 10
17
says faith
comes by
hearing and
hearing by
the word
of God.
You're not
going to
increase your
faith by
praying for
it.
asking God
for it.
God's given
you one way
and one way
only for
your faith
to be bigger
tomorrow than
it is today
and that's
by getting
your nose
into the
word of
God and
taking your
eyes and
setting them
on him
the word
of God
and letting
him connect
those two
together in
the relationship
that you have
with him
and then
allow his
leadership
to prevail
for he's
not the
Lord who
said on
the mount
y'all do
your best
I'll see
you later
our God is
still at work
on this
planet
and he's
not left
us on
our own
but instead
what he's
doing is
inviting us
into his
activities
and that's
what excites
me when I
hear about
some of you
going to
literally the
ends of the
earth
but it's
even most
important if
I hear about
what God's
doing and
ministering
through you
right here
in the
Lamiga
they're both
exciting to
me
you're my
joy
when I see
your bright
and smiling
faces when I
see the
fellowship that
you're having
with one
another before
we start and
after we
finish
God takes
delight
in your
relationships
with one
another
faith comes
by hearing
and hearing
by the
word of
God
you get
faith
but here's
the problem
Christianity
today
has fallen
back on a
position that
says the
faith I have
today is
enough for
tomorrow
and the
day after
that and
the day
after that
and the
day after
that
well that
might be
true if
if your
life is
just going
to be
absolutely
the same
day in
and day
out and
it's never
going to
change
that could
be the
truth
but I
guarantee
you right
here now
the old
guy is
telling you
it's going
to change
we live
in a world
of change
but even
if we
didn't live
in a world
of change
things would
change
new things
would come
storms will
happen
earthquakes
will happen
floods
will happen
droughts
will happen
all kinds
of things
good and
bad will
come and
cross the
path of
your life
and you
cannot
lean back
on yesterday's
fate
to stand
up
and walk
through
tomorrow's
challenges
you can't
do it
the only
way
which is
the position
of much
of Christianity
today the
only way
that people
attempt to
escape it
is by
doing
nothing
there's
nothing that
breaks the
heart of
God more
in my
opinion
than a
believer
who will
not
stand up
and walk
by faith
but merely
spends their
life sitting
in a pew
listening to
sermons
and going
out and
saying well
I got that
part of my
life done
for the week
now what's
next
there can't
be a more
miserable
person we
think the
person without
Jesus in
their life is
the most
miserable person
on the face
of the planet
but I don't
think it is
I think it's
the person
that has
Jesus in
their life
has Christ
as their
savior
has a
Lord to
give them
leadership
and everything
and just
ignores it
now that's
got to be
misery
in my
humble
opinion
for you've
by now
decided I'm
not God
and so I
have no
God almighty
statements to
make to you
except to
offer to
you
40 some
odd years
of walking
with the
Lord Jesus
so we
get faith
but how
do you put
your faith
into motion
here's a
good example
I like
this one
Mark
chapter 5
see I
got you
back to
Mark
so if
Nathan
asks and
I'm not
here for
any reason
you can
say yeah
we were
in Mark
Jesus is
healing
Jesus is
talking in
parables
he's
gone across
the sea of
Galilee
once again
to get
away from
this huge
crowd
following him
yet to
just discover
another huge
crowd on
the other
side of
the bank
and a
leader of
the synagogue
comes up to
him
Jairus
and says
my daughter
is sick
will you
come
and in
Mark
5
there
he starts
going
and there's
all these
people around
him
all these
people following
along with
him
look what it
says there
in verse
25
Mark
5
25
page
1032
and he
went off
with him
a great
multitude
following
him
pressing
in on
him
and a
woman
who had
had a
hemorrhage
for 12
years
and endured
much at the
hands of many
physicians
and had spent
all that she
had and was
not helped at
all but rather
had grown worse
after hearing
about Jesus
came up in the
crowd behind
him and
touched his
cloak for
she thought
if I just
touch his
garments
I shall get
well
and immediately
the flow of
her blood
was dried up
and she felt
in her body
that she
was healed
of her
affliction
and immediately
Jesus perceiving
in himself
that the power
proceeding from
him had gone
forth
turned around
in the crowd
and said
who touched
my garments
I can just
imagine
the disciples
at this
time
they're still
babies
I can
just imagine
them saying
what are you
talking about
are you
nuts
everybody's
touching you
everybody's
pushing in
on you
we're in a
crowd
don't you
see the
crowd
we're
trying to
get to
Jairus'
house
but look
at everybody
they're in
our way
they're touching
you and
they're touching
you and
what do you
mean who
touched me
if you don't
remember another
thing I say
you remember
what I'm
saying right
now
Jesus
always
knows the
difference
between a
touch of
sincerity
and a
touch of
insincerity
the crowd
was wanting
wanting
gimme gimme
gimme
I'm hungry
feed me
but this
woman
when she
touched him
it was
saying to
him
something
much
different
this
woman
had
fate
and by
this time
in her
life
that's
about
all
she
had
a lot
of the
women
who've
come
to us
and set
free
were just
like
this
woman
I
remember
Linda
coming
Linda
was so
weak
she could
no longer
push
the
cart
with her
stuff in
it
the
typical
bag lady
thing
that we
think
about
she was
curled up
in a ball
in a
dark alley
in Atlanta
and a
couple of
our guys
found her
in that
alley
and she
couldn't
walk
her
dress
was so
thin
that you
just hardly
touch it
and it
wanted to
fall off
of her
she had
been
abused
she
probably
weighed
no more
than
I don't
know
she weighed
85 pounds
time they
got her
to Gainesville
and called
me I'd
come to
get her
to take
her
to our
women's
house
and set
free
and all
she could
do
they carried
her out
she got
in the
front seat
of my
pickup truck
and curled
up in a
ball
and never
moved
she stunk
so bad
that I
had to run
for days
with the
windows down
in my
truck
just to
get the
smell of
her off
those seats
and when
she got to
the women's
house
they carefully
picked her
up
and these
women who
picked her
up were
women who
just a couple
months earlier
had been in
the same
position
and they
carried her
in
and they
told me her
clothes just
fell off of
her and they
hand bathed
her very
very carefully
fearing she
would die
on them
I guess
we would have
been smarter
if we had
taken her
to a
hospital
but I've
never been
known for
intelligence
unlike my
children
today Linda
probably weighs
200 pounds
got the
prettiest
smile of
any woman
I've ever
seen
who's come
through set
free or
otherwise
how her
teeth got so
pearly
they were
pearly
and she
married a
fine Christian
man
and she's
in a
vivacious
Bible
believing
Jesus
loving
church
in
Gainesville
where a
group of
women just
got around
her
and loved
her and
loved her
and loved
her
become the
woman that
God always
wanted her
to be
starts with
a dream
this lady
here had a
dream
she spent all
of her money
trying to see
that dream
come true
she was doing
everything
and had
given up on
physicians
and everything
else
nobody
was in
her life
any
longer
she's
standing
there on
the side
of the
road
in a
weakened
state
and yet
one more
ray of
hope
comes to
her
if I
just
touch
the
hem
of his
garment
that'll make
me well
she not only
dreamed it
but she
said it
she said
it
she confessed
with her
mouth
what she
was beginning
to believe
in her
heart
and odds
against odds
with this
crowd all
wanting Jesus
attention
she worked
her way
into that
crowd
I mean
she could
have been
the person
who got
knocked down
in that
crowd
and trampled
under their
feet
to only
die there
she was
risking her
very life
to do
what she
said she
would do
to do
and carry
out what
she was
dreaming
would happen
I just
touch the
hem of
his
garment
most
preachers
at this
point would
tell you
tons and
tons about
the hem
of his
garment
and it
makes
absolutely
no
difference
what his
hem
was
or where
it was
but she
got to
it
and
immediately
Jesus
knew
here
is
someone
something
different
and he
turns around
and he
says
who
touched
my
garment
here goes
the
disciples
again
what do
you mean
everybody's
touching
you
and he
could have
said
no
this is
a different
touch
this is
a real
touch
this is
a touch
birthed
out of
hopelessness
with one
just ray
of hope
left in
their lives
this is
a touch
of
faith
and he
required
her
to tell
it
she
had
a
dream
she
confessed
it
she
said
it
she
did
it
and he
required
her
to
tell
it
see
I
don't
think
your
faith
and
mine
are
whole
until
we
tell
it
because
a lot
of
times
what
we
want
to
do
is
we
want
to
take
this
act
of
God
and
keep
it
quiet
because
what
it
will
do
remember
the
circle
it
will
reveal
how
frail
we
have
been
how
in
need
we
really
are
of
someone
bigger
than
we
are
a
godly
daddy
who
will
take
us
in
his
arms
and
pick
us
up
get
us
through
the
crowd
let
us
touch
that
garment
and
allow
us
to
be
whole
in
our
lives
that's
my
hope
and
prayer
for
you
is
that
you'll
see
faith
as
a
dynamic
activity
in
your
life
something
to
attain
to
daily
something
to
work
for
forever
I
pray
for
you
now
a