# Ready for Leadership

Sermon transcript from Cross Church Surprise.
Series: Rooted and Ready
Date: September 6, 2026
Watch: https://crosschurchcares.com/surprise/episodes/ready-for-leadership

## Summary

Are you ready to step into leadership? What if the measure of a leader isn't the crowd they gather, but the leaders they send? Discover how Epaphras, an often-overlooked figure, embodies true leadership. Are you prepared to influence those around you? Let's dive in together!

## Transcript

0:00 · A few different ways you can look at this.

0:01 · God has given you a mission field.

0:03 · Very obvious.

0:05 · You have the people in your home,

0:06 · you have them sitting at your table.

0:07 · They need to hear you pray.

0:09 · They need to see you open the word of God.

0:11 · They need to watch you repent when you're wrong.

0:13 · They need you to speak to them about the gospel.

0:15 · Don't just rely on someone at the church

0:17 · or someone to do it or a YouTube show.

0:21 · They need to hear it from you.

0:25 · Well, good morning.

0:26 · For those of you that I haven't met yet,

0:28 · my name is Josh Meyer.

0:30 · I am one of the elders here

0:31 · for the Cross Church Collective

0:32 · and I am blessed enough

0:34 · to get to share the word with you today.

0:36 · Something that is true to my heart,

0:38 · this topic that we're gonna go through.

0:40 · And as I was preparing for today,

0:43 · I was thinking of,

0:45 · let's figure out how Josh can convey this.

0:47 · How can I convey this to you guys?

0:49 · In going through this and preparing,

0:51 · I kept coming across as I was wrestling

0:54 · with this leadership,

0:55 · this concept that we've been going through

0:56 · and rooting already.

0:58 · And as I was preparing, looking at this,

1:00 · I kept thinking of someone that really I looked up to

1:04 · when I was a lot shorter.

1:07 · Speaking of which,

1:07 · I don't know where the rest of this podium went.

1:09 · I don't know.

1:10 · So we'll have to figure that out.

1:12 · So we'll have to get one of the elders

1:14 · and maybe get something taller.

1:15 · No, I think when I was preparing for this,

1:18 · I was looking through and examining

1:19 · kind of where I'm from,

1:21 · where my background is.

1:22 · And as Kyle mentioned, I'm in sports ministry.

1:24 · So you are gonna hear some sports,

1:25 · but I promise no Arizona sports,

1:27 · because let's be real,

1:28 · that's not anywhere we wanna go today.

1:32 · In the 90s, I grew up most of my life in the 90s.

1:36 · And those are kind of the memories that I have.

1:38 · How many of you have that same background?

1:40 · The 90s, 90s were the best.

1:44 · There's one kind of really recognizable commercial

1:47 · that we had that we got to watch

1:49 · and really see and live.

1:51 · And back then, commercials were on TV

1:53 · for some of you guys that didn't, you know,

1:55 · streaming back then.

1:56 · There were commercials, you had to sit through them

1:58 · and watch them and the whole thing.

2:00 · And the commercial focused on one of the larger

2:02 · cultural icons of the time or even today.

2:06 · And it's not Devin Booker, I promise.

2:09 · Michael Jordan.

2:10 · Michael Jordan was at the height of his career.

2:12 · Yep, let's give it for Michael.

2:15 · Michael Jordan was at the height of his career.

2:17 · I was a big Jordan fan, still am.

2:19 · He won all the NBA championships.

2:22 · He had his own sneakers.

2:25 · Everyone thought he could fly and defy gravity.

2:29 · I think it was really neat when we look at him.

2:31 · The things that he did on the court,

2:33 · even when we look back at it today

2:34 · and all the great athletes,

2:36 · still kind of just defies logic when we watch him.

2:40 · And when he was doing all these things,

2:42 · there was a brand that came alongside,

2:44 · a brand that's still very popular today.

2:47 · Gatorade.

2:47 · Gatorade came alongside and put together

2:50 · this amazing advertising campaign that still rings true

2:53 · and it still has a lot of meat to it today.

2:57 · And some of you probably already know

2:58 · where I'm going with it.

3:00 · The campaign was geared around Be Like Mike.

3:04 · I really think the commercial really showed

3:07 · a lot that we as humans and humanity

3:10 · kind of carry as we look at leaders.

3:13 · And if you remember the commercial,

3:16 · showed Michael Jordan playing basketball

3:17 · with a bunch of kids and drinking Gatorade

3:19 · and having a lot of fun.

3:21 · And underneath all of that, there was a song.

3:24 · Sometimes I dream that he is me.

3:29 · I dream I groove like Mike.

3:31 · If I could be like Mike.

3:34 · And so the campaign really worked

3:36 · because not only kids latched onto that,

3:39 · but adults latched onto that.

3:42 · We all wore his shoes.

3:44 · Some of us even probably stuck our tongues out

3:46 · when we played different sports or basketball.

3:48 · I know I did.

3:50 · I know there was probably some people in the room

3:51 · that lowered the basketball hoop

3:53 · so they could try to dunk like him.

3:55 · I know, I was there.

3:57 · I had the shoes or I tried to have the shoes.

3:59 · My mom sitting in the room right now probably was like,

4:01 · yep, I tried to buy the shoes.

4:06 · The biggest thing that we could take away

4:07 · from drinking all the Gatorade

4:09 · is how we tried to emulate or imitate those people.

4:15 · But none of that was gonna make me

4:16 · more like Michael Jordan.

4:18 · I could do all these things.

4:21 · I was never gonna be Michael Jordan.

4:22 · We're both six foot six.

4:24 · That's where it stops.

4:26 · There's nothing else that we can really draw compare.

4:28 · That's it.

4:30 · But what I've learned in my world of sports,

4:32 · I've been in sports since I was little.

4:35 · Playing hockey at three years old.

4:37 · I've been in a career of sports, been in sports.

4:40 · And what I've learned is a lot of values

4:42 · regarding leadership.

4:44 · And through that, I've tried to aspire

4:46 · to be a better leader, whether it's being in the workplace

4:48 · or home or coaching, all these different things.

4:51 · I've listened to motivational speakers.

4:53 · I've read all the neat books.

4:56 · I've sought wisdom from leaders.

4:58 · I've sat in a room with one of the co-founders

5:00 · of Apple and absorbed all of that.

5:02 · I've had some great opportunities.

5:04 · I've led book studies for hundreds of people

5:06 · through our ministry.

5:08 · Learning about influential pastors.

5:11 · Learning about different coaches

5:13 · and people in the sports industry.

5:15 · Those motivational speakers, those self-help books.

5:17 · I've learned all of it.

5:18 · I've been around.

5:18 · I've seen it all.

5:21 · And many of those things have helped me.

5:24 · A lot of those things that I've taken

5:26 · and applied to life.

5:28 · But what they truly have taught me,

5:30 · through this search, searching everywhere,

5:34 · there is this model of leadership that we can discover

5:38 · that's been right under our nose this whole time.

5:41 · Right here.

5:42 · All the books that I have in my closet, in my office.

5:48 · Sadly, it's been a recent discovery for me.

5:52 · Something where I can turn to

5:53 · and find a lot of leadership qualities that we can emulate.

5:58 · And I think what's really neat about this

6:02 · is it's not something just for us as adults

6:05 · or for some grown-up kids.

6:07 · It's for everybody.

6:08 · It can apply everyone and everywhere.

6:11 · And so we're really gonna dive in today

6:13 · and really pull some good leadership qualities

6:16 · and some leadership tactics

6:17 · as we finish this series in Rooting and Ready.

6:22 · And I think as we go through this,

6:25 · there's a man in the New Testament.

6:28 · A man that probably most of us in the room

6:31 · probably don't recognize.

6:33 · He didn't write a book of the Bible.

6:36 · He wasn't one of the apostles.

6:38 · We don't have any scripture of him

6:40 · standing in front of thousands and preaching the word.

6:44 · His name was Epaphras.

6:47 · And we're gonna see him as we go through

6:49 · in Colossians today.

6:51 · And as a church, I want us to really examine

6:55 · the times that we may overlook things

6:57 · as we're reading through scriptures,

6:58 · we're learning through scripture,

6:59 · and find people like Epaphras,

7:01 · find stories like Epaphras

7:02 · that we can kind of come alongside,

7:04 · learn from, and put into our life on a daily basis.

7:08 · And to be like Epaphras means becoming the disciple Jesus

7:13 · that Jesus calls us to be.

7:16 · Disciples who are rooted in ready.

7:18 · We've heard that over and over the last few weeks,

7:20 · this rooted in ready.

7:20 · We're gonna really drive this home.

7:22 · We've went in the rooted with worship.

7:24 · We were rooted in our community

7:25 · and what that meant for this room,

7:27 · those people outside these walls

7:29 · and bringing those people in.

7:30 · Rooted in discipleship.

7:31 · We talked about our discipleship program.

7:33 · Really excited to be doing that.

7:35 · We're gonna lead our men's ministry

7:36 · through that this year.

7:38 · Last week, Andrew talked about ready for mission

7:42 · and what that looks like in your life

7:43 · and you guys were able to pray for that.

7:46 · And this week, as we read through

7:48 · the book of Colossians again,

7:50 · we're gonna find Epaphras was ready for leadership.

7:54 · And this puts the focus on a foundational truth

7:56 · that I think is really important for us to examine today.

7:59 · This foundational truth is something

8:00 · that you can walk away from.

8:02 · If you're gonna walk away with anything today,

8:04 · walk away with this.

8:04 · The measure of a leader is not about the crowd

8:09 · that they gather, rather it's about the leaders they send.

8:15 · Think about that.

8:17 · The great leaders that we know

8:18 · aren't because they are so big and so powerful,

8:21 · it's about the leaders they've created.

8:24 · So as we go into this and we examine this,

8:27 · let's open up.

8:27 · If you've got a Bible in front of you,

8:29 · if you've got it on your phone,

8:30 · let's open it up and let's go through

8:31 · Colossians chapter one.

8:33 · I'm gonna read through the first section here,

8:35 · verses three through eight.

8:37 · So if you've got one, open it up, we'll read together.

8:40 · We always thank God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ,

8:43 · when we pray for you,

8:45 · for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus

8:48 · and the love you have for all the saints

8:50 · because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.

8:53 · You have already heard about this hope

8:55 · in the word of the truth,

8:56 · the gospel that has come to you.

8:59 · It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world,

9:01 · just as it is among you since the day you heard it

9:06 · and came to truly appreciate God's grace.

9:10 · You learned this from Epaphras,

9:11 · our dearly loved fellow servant.

9:14 · He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf

9:18 · and he has told us about your love in the spirit.

9:25 · There is so much to unpack.

9:27 · If you actually look at the Greek translation of that,

9:29 · that's the biggest run-on sentence ever.

9:32 · I would have been kicked out of English class

9:33 · a long time ago if that would have happened.

9:37 · We learned a few things here.

9:38 · The church in Colosseum had faith in Jesus.

9:42 · That's obvious.

9:43 · We've learned that for weeks in Colossians.

9:46 · We learned here that they loved each other.

9:49 · They truly loved each other.

9:51 · They possessed a hope of heaven.

9:55 · They understood what that concept meant.

9:58 · And the gospel we see here is just moving through them.

10:01 · It's spreading.

10:03 · But how did the gospel get to Colosseum?

10:06 · We learned that in verse seven.

10:08 · You learned this from Epaphras.

10:10 · Again, a man barely mentioned in the Bible

10:12 · becomes all of a sudden this immense leader

10:15 · in the church.

10:17 · And I think if you're going to understand this letter

10:20 · and we're gonna understand what it truly means for us

10:23 · as we sit here today,

10:25 · how we can be ready for leadership.

10:28 · I think this is a good thing to go through.

10:31 · A good letter to go through.

10:34 · Paul points to him in the early church

10:36 · and we're gonna examine what it's like

10:41 · or how to be like Epaphras.

10:43 · Just like be like Mike.

10:44 · We're gonna throw that out the window today.

10:46 · We're gonna go be like Epaphras.

10:49 · So let's ask ourselves, who is this guy Epaphras?

10:51 · I really wanna get into it and show.

10:53 · And again, we know a few things.

10:56 · We know he wasn't mentioned about being a gifted speaker.

11:00 · We know nothing about his education.

11:01 · We don't know what he does for work.

11:04 · But we know he was a leader.

11:06 · But why was he a leader?

11:08 · Let's examine that.

11:10 · And I think one of the things

11:12 · that I think we really get into

11:14 · when we do examine this

11:16 · is there's a few characteristics

11:18 · I'm gonna really point on and drive us to.

11:20 · And one of the reasons we can look to Epaphras

11:22 · as an example of a rooted leader, a ready leader,

11:27 · is because he was raised from within.

11:31 · He was raised from within.

11:32 · The gospel had reached him and he was raised within.

11:35 · He raised from within.

11:38 · It changed him.

11:39 · The gospel moved through him

11:41 · and then moved through him to others.

11:45 · It's such an important part of the gospel

11:48 · this message we get to read through today

11:50 · is it moved through him.

11:54 · Paul spent an extended time in Ephesus or Ephesus.

11:59 · Acts 19 really kind of goes into that

12:01 · and shares the full story of how the word

12:05 · and the story of Jesus was told

12:07 · and how many people came to know Christ through that.

12:11 · And Ephesus was, or Ephesus was one of those guys.

12:15 · He likely encountered Paul's ministry there.

12:18 · He heard the truth of Jesus.

12:21 · He became rooted in Christ.

12:24 · Then he carried the gospel

12:26 · a hundred miles east to Lycus Valley.

12:30 · Now that's a hundred miles.

12:31 · There's no Ubers, remember?

12:32 · Just put the things in context.

12:34 · He was walking that.

12:35 · He hoofed it.

12:38 · Where the lands of Colosseum, Laodicea, Herapolis,

12:43 · that's where he brought that.

12:44 · That's where his leadership went.

12:46 · That's where the gospel moved through him.

12:48 · He brought the gospel home.

12:50 · Once you remember that, brought the gospel home.

12:53 · Paul provided a lot of teaching.

12:55 · They were partners.

12:56 · As Paul's writing this letter,

12:57 · he's kind of talking about his partner in crime here.

13:01 · He's coming alongside with encouragement,

13:04 · that partnership, and Epaphras really carried that truth

13:08 · into his own community.

13:09 · Paul calls Epaphras in this section

13:12 · our dearly loved fellow servant

13:15 · and then continues to call him

13:16 · a faithful minister in Christ.

13:19 · Later on, he calls Epaphras

13:24 · his fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.

13:27 · Again, as they serve together,

13:30 · they recognize the need for it to continue to move.

13:36 · The need for someone within to carry the word.

13:41 · And being raised in a community from within

13:43 · also meant he's gonna carry out our next big topic,

13:47 · our next big section,

13:49 · as far as being ready for leadership.

13:56 · Epaphras labored for others.

13:59 · That sounds intense, laboring.

14:02 · What does that mean?

14:02 · What does that mean for us?

14:04 · What does it mean to labor?

14:06 · He found himself laboring for others.

14:09 · And if we look at chapter four,

14:11 · if you guys wanna flip over there with me,

14:13 · we're gonna be in chapter four, verse 12.

14:16 · I'm gonna read through 12 and 13.

14:19 · Epaphras, who is one of you,

14:21 · a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings.

14:25 · He's always wrestling for you in his prayers

14:28 · so that you can stay in mature and fully assured

14:32 · in everything God wills.

14:34 · For I testify about him that he works hard for you,

14:38 · for those in Laodicea and for those in Herapolis.

14:42 · Again, two verses unpacks a lot of information for us.

14:51 · A servant of Christ Jesus.

14:53 · Whew, love to have that.

14:55 · Someone, Kyle, remember that for second service.

14:59 · Wrestling in prayer.

15:02 · How many of you have wrestled in prayer before?

15:07 · Yeah, it's different.

15:09 · Takes a little bit.

15:11 · Working hard for you.

15:12 · These are the things that are described in this letter.

15:16 · Those are the descriptions that tell us

15:18 · what laboring for your people looks like.

15:22 · He knew whom he was praying for.

15:26 · And he knew who he was working hard for.

15:29 · And what scripture here is really pointing us to.

15:33 · If we're gonna be like Epaphras,

15:36 · then we need to be more just to appreciate

15:40 · his faithfulness.

15:40 · We can't just look at this and read the scripture

15:42 · and say, oh, wow, that guy's awesome.

15:44 · We gotta do more than that, church.

15:47 · We gotta really let that sink in

15:48 · of what it means to labor for people.

15:52 · Laboring for people, for me,

15:55 · has been something truly transformative over the past,

16:00 · let's say, a year to 18 months.

16:04 · And over the past year, in 2026,

16:08 · as I mentioned or was mentioned earlier,

16:09 · I work for a really neat ministry, a sports ministry.

16:14 · One of the things we do every year

16:16 · is we have a word of the year,

16:18 · something that we pray on, very intentional.

16:20 · We labor over this, if you will.

16:22 · And this year, God had it on my heart

16:26 · of trying to figure out how to be different,

16:29 · how to have a different year in my spiritual walk.

16:33 · And I came across this word, it's on my bracelet.

16:35 · It's called metron.

16:38 · Metron in Greek means a couple different things

16:41 · if you look through translations.

16:44 · It can revert a measure or a boundary

16:46 · or God-assigned sphere of influence.

16:49 · That's what hit home for me.

16:52 · I was wrestling with,

16:53 · who is my God-assigned sphere of influence?

16:57 · Who are my people?

16:58 · Who are the people that I'm gonna wrestle with?

17:00 · Who are the people that I'm going to labor for?

17:05 · And Paul uses that same idea,

17:07 · this idea of metron in 2 Corinthians

17:09 · when he speaks of the area of ministry

17:11 · God has assigned to him.

17:15 · And I really think, when I look back and say,

17:18 · who has he given me an opportunity to encourage?

17:22 · Who has he called me to help follow Jesus?

17:27 · And the more and more I think about my metron,

17:32 · and man, I was wrestling with it.

17:33 · I was like, oh, I gotta get out in the community more

17:35 · and I gotta do this and more and real more I realized

17:40 · God had already surrounded me with people

17:43 · that I could have influence on.

17:48 · This church is an answer to that prayer.

17:53 · I'd say 18 months ago, I was one of you.

17:58 · I was sitting there taking in the word.

18:00 · I would leave for the weekend and go

18:01 · and do sports ministry stuff

18:03 · and my family would come here and we'd get plugged in.

18:06 · I was one of you.

18:08 · Begin praying through this.

18:10 · I really could see that my people

18:12 · were already right in front of me.

18:16 · My mother, she's in the room.

18:17 · She's grilling burgers out there.

18:20 · My mother-in-law's up here playing

18:22 · whatever that thing is over there.

18:25 · Keyboard.

18:30 · The important part is we have all these things

18:34 · that we really can rely on.

18:36 · We have all these ideas,

18:37 · but sometimes God puts it right in front of you

18:39 · and for me, that's what happened to me.

18:42 · All three of my kids have been baptized in this church.

18:45 · My people were here.

18:47 · This community has helped shape the spiritual life

18:50 · for me and my family right in front of me

18:52 · and within my Metron,

18:54 · God has really given us other things

18:56 · like our Bible group.

18:58 · Our Bible group is amazing.

18:59 · We love each other.

19:00 · We share the word.

19:01 · Amen, Bible group.

19:04 · We challenge each other.

19:06 · There's text messages.

19:07 · It's probably the greatest group text

19:09 · you've ever seen with the prayer requests

19:11 · and the pictures and the amens and all of that thing.

19:15 · I think I look at this church.

19:18 · I've got pastors and leaders

19:20 · that I've been able to reflect on and learn from.

19:23 · Our men's ministry,

19:24 · there's just some God-honoring men

19:26 · that I can just rely on for great advice.

19:31 · Last year, I was able to go through the Rooted series

19:33 · with a group of men

19:34 · and we were just talking about it earlier,

19:37 · has really led to me to be here today

19:39 · through that last fall.

19:43 · And again, your Metron isn't just this group of people

19:47 · that you enjoy being around.

19:48 · I think that's one thing that we get confused with.

19:50 · The people that you want to reach,

19:51 · those aren't people always that,

19:53 · oh, they make me happy.

19:54 · Those are people who are gonna challenge you.

19:57 · Those are people that God has called you

19:59 · to accept spiritual responsibility for.

20:04 · It's not a territory control situation.

20:08 · It's not like those are my people.

20:12 · It's people for us to encourage.

20:15 · People for us to challenge.

20:19 · I have some great people in this church

20:21 · that have challenged me to do more.

20:25 · Have challenged my family to do more.

20:28 · People we get to walk alongside.

20:31 · How many of you, just a quick show of hands,

20:33 · how many of you walked by yourself

20:34 · through a difficult time?

20:36 · I have.

20:38 · Don't let that happen.

20:40 · You've got people.

20:42 · Walk alongside other brothers and sisters in Christ.

20:47 · Because the question really is not about,

20:49 · is not only who are my people,

20:52 · the deeper question is how I am laboring for my people.

20:58 · Am I wrestling for them with prayer?

21:01 · Am I working for their spiritual good?

21:05 · Am I available?

21:07 · When they need encouragement,

21:09 · or you're just gonna ignore that call or that text message.

21:12 · Oh, I didn't get it.

21:13 · Eh, it doesn't work like that.

21:15 · Text messages always come through.

21:18 · Am I preparing them to help someone else follow Jesus?

21:25 · Am I preparing someone else?

21:29 · And I think laboring for others looks like that.

21:32 · The gospel reached Epaphras.

21:36 · It took root in him.

21:38 · But it was never supposed to end with him.

21:40 · He labored with it, but it wasn't supposed to end there.

21:43 · And I really think that brings us

21:45 · to the final way we need to be like Epaphras.

21:48 · It's a really fun way to see it.

21:50 · This is the true meaning of leadership

21:53 · when we look at it.

21:55 · Near the end of this letter

21:56 · that we're reading through in Colossians,

21:58 · so turn to chapter four again,

22:00 · we're gonna be in verse 17,

22:02 · finishes as one simple verse

22:04 · that really points out something so obvious

22:06 · that I'm sure many of you probably read through this

22:08 · and are like, oh, I never thought of it that way.

22:11 · Verse 17, and tell Archipas,

22:14 · pay attention to the ministry

22:15 · you have received in the Lord

22:17 · so that you can accomplish it.

22:20 · What does that tell us?

22:22 · Who's this fellow Archipas out of the way

22:23 · besides giving Josh a bunch of names

22:25 · that he's trying his best to pronounce?

22:31 · Notice Paul is bringing this new guy up.

22:35 · And I believe the appearance of a new name here

22:38 · really means something true to us.

22:40 · It's another person that the gospel's reached.

22:46 · It's gone through Epaphras to Archipas,

22:51 · and now it's with him.

22:54 · That is the definition of multiplication.

22:56 · That's the definition of true Christ-centered leadership.

23:01 · I would say that would check the box

23:04 · as far as being ready for leadership.

23:09 · A multiplying leader doesn't lead a ministry

23:11 · that ends when they leave.

23:13 · That is the definition of this church.

23:15 · We don't wanna just be a church.

23:17 · We wanna be churches all over the place

23:20 · to bring the word of the Lord,

23:22 · save people, give people community

23:24 · just like what we have in this room.

23:27 · And a multiplying leader does not only ask,

23:28 · what can I accomplish?

23:31 · They also ask, who am I preparing

23:35 · to run this ministry after me?

23:38 · Who are you preparing to run your own little ministry,

23:42 · whether it be in your home?

23:43 · I think of me and my family.

23:47 · Who am I preparing or how am I preparing them

23:50 · to be better than what I had done?

23:54 · How am I leading my son to lead his family

23:57 · like we lead ours now?

24:00 · Giving them every video game

24:02 · and taking them all over the place

24:03 · and putting them in every club sport

24:04 · isn't gonna answer that question.

24:08 · Having a rooted home in Christ that he can emulate

24:11 · is what's gonna lead that.

24:15 · So I think that really drives home

24:17 · to this foundational message that we have for today

24:20 · that truly matters.

24:22 · Again, the measure of a leader

24:25 · is not the crowd that they gather,

24:27 · but the leaders they send.

24:31 · And I think that is the important part.

24:33 · He received it from the Lord

24:35 · and his responsibility was not to compare the ministry

24:37 · with someone else,

24:39 · his responsibility was to recognize

24:40 · what God had entrusted to him,

24:43 · hand it off to archipelago and let him run with it.

24:45 · The same is true to us.

24:48 · Being sent is not just a destination, it's a posture.

24:55 · It's a posture, it's a way of thinking.

24:58 · It's a posture that says, God, my life belongs to you.

25:02 · How many of you are saying that right now?

25:05 · God, my life really belongs to you.

25:07 · Not once in a while,

25:08 · or not when it's convenient, always.

25:10 · My home belongs to you.

25:13 · My wife and I have really taken that on.

25:15 · Our home belongs to you.

25:16 · How can we use our home?

25:17 · My work belongs to you.

25:19 · My giftings belong to you.

25:21 · My time belongs to you.

25:23 · Probably the most precious thing we have

25:25 · is our time.

25:29 · Send me wherever you want me.

25:32 · For parents, I think there's a few different ways

25:35 · you can look at this.

25:35 · God has given you a mission field, very obvious.

25:40 · You have people in your home,

25:42 · you have them sitting at your table.

25:44 · They need a ride to church,

25:46 · but they need more than that.

25:48 · They need to hear you pray.

25:51 · They need to see you open the word of God.

25:54 · They need to watch you repent when you're wrong.

25:58 · Something that's super hard to do with kids.

26:01 · I've got a six to nine year old.

26:02 · Boy, that looks weird.

26:04 · But it is awesome to recognize.

26:08 · They need you to speak to them about the gospel.

26:10 · Don't just rely on someone at the church

26:12 · or someone to do it or a YouTube show.

26:16 · They need to hear it from you.

26:20 · It is on you to help them know Jesus.

26:24 · So don't become so focused

26:26 · in giving your children the world

26:28 · that you forget about the truth.

26:31 · You neglect their greatest need.

26:34 · Make yourself available.

26:36 · Pay attention to the ministry you have

26:38 · right in front of you like I am trying.

26:40 · It's sitting right in front of you.

26:43 · For some of you, it might be something different.

26:47 · Maybe it's in the workplace.

26:49 · I think the workplace is,

26:51 · you might have a coworker that's lost.

26:53 · You might have someone.

26:56 · It might be someone that has never been to church before,

26:58 · never heard the gospel before.

27:00 · Maybe they don't trust the right people.

27:03 · They're gonna come and ask you about it.

27:05 · Be open.

27:08 · Live with integrity.

27:10 · Allow them to see Jesus in you.

27:13 · It means being willing to let Jesus flow through you

27:18 · in those situations.

27:20 · And sometimes God's gonna send you across the room.

27:25 · It doesn't always have to be behind the pulpit

27:27 · or in a ministry.

27:30 · Sometimes he might just send you across the dinner table.

27:38 · I think of some of you,

27:39 · your next step might be serving in the church.

27:42 · And I met some new people that have been serving

27:46 · and that's amazing to see that.

27:48 · Maybe God calling you to become a part of a ministry.

27:52 · Maybe it's time to stop just attending

27:55 · and saying I'll show up on Sundays.

27:57 · And maybe it's time to pass it along

28:00 · and start serving others so you can receive.

28:04 · Maybe God wants to use you in one of the ministries

28:06 · here.

28:08 · Maybe you're already serving.

28:10 · And this is the challenge that is unique.

28:12 · Maybe you're already serving.

28:15 · God's calling on you to bring someone else alongside you.

28:20 · We need more people like that in the church,

28:22 · the American church.

28:25 · Teach others to do what you're doing.

28:26 · Give them the opportunity, encourage them

28:28 · and help them prepare to serve without you.

28:31 · That's how ministry multiplies church.

28:33 · That's how we can multiply.

28:35 · Not just the people in this room

28:36 · but the people serving this church.

28:40 · And for me, making myself available to God

28:44 · has also meant being willing to help plant the church.

28:47 · My wife and I put our hat in the ring

28:50 · and we are leading that out

28:53 · and there is a lot of unknown in that.

28:55 · Don't know where, don't know when.

28:57 · There's a lot of things we need to prepare.

29:01 · But it began with availability.

29:03 · It began with an open heart.

29:05 · And the biggest thing is having that posture

29:09 · that I talked about.

29:11 · Here I am, God.

29:13 · Here I am.

29:15 · I am ready when you want me to use you

29:18 · or you want to use me for your kingdom.

29:21 · Helping plant a church is not more important

29:23 · than anything else that I mentioned earlier.

29:27 · Seeing a coworker in a visible area of your work

29:31 · and providing them good counsel

29:34 · is not any less important.

29:37 · These assignments may all look different

29:39 · and the locations may look different

29:41 · and the responsibilities might look different

29:44 · but the number of people might be different.

29:47 · But the requirement for all of us is the same.

29:50 · We need to be available.

29:53 · We need to make ourselves available.

29:54 · We need to pay attention.

29:57 · Take your eyes up off those devices

29:59 · and look around and pay attention.

30:02 · And we need to remain faithful

30:04 · and accomplish the ministry

30:06 · that you already have in front of you.

30:11 · A fancy word like metron

30:12 · doesn't have to be something hard.

30:14 · Just look around.

30:18 · So here's the challenge I have for us today, church.

30:21 · Where is God sending you?

30:24 · Where is he sending you?

30:26 · You've heard us talk for weeks now

30:27 · about being rooted and ready.

30:29 · Where is he sending you?

30:32 · The question's not about what your assignment looks like

30:36 · and how it looks to someone else.

30:37 · The question is, are you gonna be faithful

30:39 · to that assignment?

30:40 · Are you gonna listen to what God is speaking to you

30:42 · as you sat in these chairs,

30:44 · as you've read scripture,

30:45 · and as you've prayed through this?

30:47 · Are you gonna listen

30:50 · or are you gonna just push that off to another day?

30:55 · The kingdom does not grow

30:57 · because a few gifted people come along

30:59 · and decide to spread the ministry.

31:01 · This is a perfect example today of the word.

31:04 · Paphros, if he had more and more,

31:07 · we could probably read about him through the gospel.

31:09 · It was simple.

31:12 · He was rooted within.

31:16 · He labored for others.

31:20 · And he let that ministry carry through him.

31:24 · He was reached, he was rooted, and he labored.

31:27 · And I think, again, when we look at that,

31:31 · do we wanna simply be being content and being reached?

31:37 · Or will you be raised up to reach others?

31:39 · And don't wait for an impressive assignment.

31:41 · Make yourself available, be willing to be sent.

31:44 · So before we close,

31:48 · I believe there might be a few people here

31:50 · that are probably sitting there listening to me

31:52 · and heard about this leadership

31:55 · and maybe you've heard about faithfulness

31:57 · and you've heard about the way we prayed

31:59 · and served and carried the gospel.

32:01 · Maybe inside you're saying, I want that kind of faith.

32:07 · I wanna do some of the things that he's doing.

32:10 · Maybe you look over at someone else sitting next to you

32:12 · and say, well, they look like they got it together.

32:14 · I wanna be more like them.

32:16 · I want that kind of leadership.

32:17 · I want that kind of purpose in my life.

32:21 · And maybe today's not,

32:22 · your first step might not be looking at this

32:24 · and saying, I wanna be more like Paphros.

32:25 · Maybe that's not your first step.

32:29 · Maybe your first step today is to meet the Jesus

32:33 · that Paul and Epaphras know of, that we know of.

32:38 · This is the same Jesus who transformed Paul.

32:41 · The same Jesus that Epaphras built his ministry off of.

32:46 · The Jesus that took ordinary people

32:48 · like people in this room, like me,

32:51 · forgave their sins, gave them new life

32:55 · and sent them out.

32:57 · Sent them out with eternal purpose.

33:00 · Eternal purpose.

33:02 · Not just a trip to the grocery store, eternal purpose.

33:06 · So maybe you've spent all your life

33:09 · allowing other things lead you.

33:11 · Maybe pain has led you, your career is leading you.

33:15 · Maybe you've told yourself, hey, I'm a good person.

33:17 · I'm not doing anything bad,

33:19 · or at least not that often.

33:21 · Maybe I'll try to do the right thing.

33:24 · I think I'm doing enough.

33:27 · But being a person cannot save us.

33:31 · Cannot save us from sin.

33:34 · It can't rescue that relationship we have with God.

33:38 · And the things of this world

33:39 · will continue to disappoint you.

33:45 · Will continue.

33:48 · So today can be your day to stop searching

33:50 · for things in life.

33:52 · Things in life that will not give you what you need.

33:55 · Today can be that day where you stop

33:56 · allowing everything else to lead you.

33:58 · Today can be that day where you surrender

34:00 · and surrender your life to Jesus Christ.

34:03 · So today, the Bible tells us

34:06 · that all of us that have sinned

34:08 · and fallen short of the glory of God,

34:09 · our sin separates us from him,

34:11 · but God did not leave us there.

34:14 · It's not a cliffhanger, guys.

34:16 · Jesus Christ, the sinless son of God,

34:18 · died on the cross for our sins.

34:20 · He was buried, He rose again,

34:22 · and He offers forgiveness for our life.

34:24 · A new life.

34:25 · We cannot earn that.

34:28 · You receive it by grace through Him.

34:32 · He is the Lord who will forgive you and restore you,

34:37 · fill you with the Spirit, and lead you.