Well, good morning church family, both here in the room watching with us on the line. Today's message is entitled adjacent Possible. No, this isn't the name of the upcoming Mission Impossible movie and no, I am not Tom Cruise. Um He's way more adventurous, has no fear and I'm a little bit taller. So, you know, we each get a little different things in life. And uh no, what is the adjacent possible? The the term adjacent possible was first coined by a guy named Stuart Kaufman around 2002. And he actually used that term more in a biological type theory that he tried to go the angle almost of evolution. But really this concept of that, what's the thing before the thing? Like what is the, you know, if you think of h2o? OK, hydrogen and oxygen are the things or the components or the elements that then make up the other thing. Now, sometimes those are not directly connected because then another author, another writer took that idea or that phrase, his name was Steven Johnson. And in a book entitled Where good ideas come from, he actually argued that the best ideas and inventions often come from the adjacent possible, meaning that someone is created a or maybe your situation is b that then made possible. C an example, there was a company that created animation software that they tried to sell this software to production studios, but they weren't getting any takers. And so they decided they made a pivot that instead of selling the software, they would, and the programming, they would use the program and make their own movie. And so the production of that software and the rejection that they experience actually produced the adjacent possible, which ended up being their first movie in 1995 a little known movie called Toy Story and that company is Pixar. And if they hadn't been rejected in their programming software, they wouldn't have created the movie. If they don't create the movie, they don't watch the brand and that brand that ultimately sold to Disney for $7.4 billion. You know, there's three friends, Chad Hurley, Steven Chen and Jawad Kareem, who they created a video sharing platform that in April 2005, which is scary to think that that now is 18 years ago, right? When I think of 2005, it's like, oh, that's just a little bit ago. But no, it's almost two decades. Uh At this point, they create a little video sharing platform known as youtube. And in April 2005, their first video was called me at the zoo. I think if they would have known how big the platform would grow, I think they would choose a different video to launch with or zoos are way more popular than we realized. But the reality is, is that they could not have launched youtube in any other decade or time frame if they tried to launch youtube in the eighties. Well, there weren't really massive use of home computers and there really was no home internet in the nineties there, the data speeds and things just didn't happen. We were still, even in the late nineties, we were still going on to the internet and avoiding this sound. If you remember that and you had to decide, am I gonna make a phone call or the internet? Right? You had to choose one or the other. Uh It wasn't until the creation of video flash support matched with the increased data speeds that created the opportunity or possibility for what has become youtube becau. But because of those things coming together, separate items coming together at the right time that in just two years, they ended up selling youtube to Google for I believe $1.6 billion. See the adjacent possible, takes a current circumstance, maybe it's something planned, maybe it's something unplanned and out of that comes something greater. We see this all throughout history and all throughout our lives as well. For example, that at the time of Jesus, at the time of the disciples and the early launch of the church as we know it, there are some other things at play for, you know, just a few years before a few decades and even a couple of centuries before you have guys like Alexander, the great and the Greek empire that spread across the land that created a commonplace language that now the New Testament is mostly written in that could be spread quickly because even though different cultures, different countries had a shared language in Greek, but not only that nation, you also have the Roman Empire that along with persecuting the church and forcing the spread of early Christianity actually produced the road system that made transporting and spreading trade with, then also took with it messages and ideas like Christianity and the gospel again possible and faster. So God uses the rise and fall of nations to be timed with the production of the writing of the gospels. So the early church would be spread. This is the adjacent possible. We think of the reformation happening in the 15 hundreds where Martin Luther nailed the thesis to the wall protested really challenge. That's why we have protestantism. It really is a protest that started at that and really preached the value of scripture and the priesthood of all believers and how the everyday person should have access to scripture. That's a powerful idea, right? But you place that idea at the same time of this little known invention of the printing press. And now you see the spread and mass production of God's word. And even though the early translators of the Bible uh in that period were often persecuted, even killed because it was seen as sacrilegious for doing so, actually produced the spread of the Bible across nations that launched the reformation movement. And you have different items happening at the same time that produces something that they didn't even know was possible. Now, here we are in the two thousands in the middle of the digital revolution and digital age. Now with it comes a lot of issues and comes a lot of problems. But also there's so much that can come from the adjacent possible. Imagine how even just our church as one example, how would we have functioned if the pandemic hit before we had the technology to spread and connect as we did, right? We were a baby church. We had just launched and everything got shut down and we functioned as a church in small gatherings and communication and sharing and digital to spread. You know, we're gonna be opening up the word of God. You're gonna see verses on the screens and I'm guessing probably over half of you when I pull up the verse are gonna pull up your device. Why? Because it is possible. So yes, there's problems but yes, things are made possible. And so believing in the adjacent possible, believing in what can be can make the difference when we make that shift in our minds. I know I've experienced the adjacent possible in my own life. When I was in college, I was playing basketball and I wasn't that good, but I was good enough at least to make the team. Right. So I had got the jersey on to, to walk around and then I got right to that point of trying to break into that rotation. The same week that there was an opportunity to step into that spot was the same week that I had a freak accident where I just planted my leg, didn't step on anybody or anything. Something I've done 1000 times and my knee just the size of that moment. Snap, boom, torn ac L and I was mad at God and I was angry. It's like I work so hard for this. And right, the same week that I get the opportunity, I tear a ligament in my knee. But it's when you're sitting around and you can't do anything. There is a college student, you realize? Ok, well, what am I actually gonna do with my life? I love sports and I still love sports to this day, but I can't just, I can't just bank on that. I have to actually decide what I'm going to do. And it's in that forced reflection time that God brought to memory that I had the most joy when I was serving people or using creativity to share God's Word. I was like, well, maybe God might call me into this ministry thing. And it was also during that time that a good friend of mine felt bad for me and started hanging out with me because I couldn't go anywhere. And we started to connect at a little bit different level. And that friend turned to my girlfriend and now is my wife for these last 16 years. You see, I saw an ac L tear as devastating and God saw it as the adjacent possibility of my calling and my spouse. Right, a decade ago, I, I knew God was calling me to a different situation. I knew I was gonna be called something else. I had applied for a couple of different jobs, got rejected. I thought maybe God you're plan, you're calling me to plan a church. But it, it, I wasn't ready yet for that. So it was weird. It was weird to feel called to plan a church. But then no, it's not time yet. And then God opened up the door for the youth ministry position out here in Arizona. I said, ok, God, what are you doing here? Isn't what I thought, but not quite sure what I'm gonna do, right? But it was in that time that I realized that God was preparing me to plant, that I wasn't ready. And that through that I got to do things like baptize my brother-in-law or lead mission trips and, and preach and grow in my faith in my marriage, in my parenting, that if I wasn't in that spot in that exact time that I wouldn't have been in a place to ultimately foster and then adopt my own daughter. Right? To think how far would I go to be in that place to adopt my daughter? I would do anything. I didn't know that at the time. Right. That's the adjacent possible. I didn't know that while I was at that church leading a mission trip, that I would be up on a mountain top in the moon rim where I thought I went on the mission trip to serve. What God thought I went on that mission trip to be called the plant because it was from that moment in a devotion time there on the mountain top under the tree where God gave me, not an audible voice but a prompt in my heart that those two thoughts that gave the foundation to this very church, which was that no one tree makes a forest and I could see for hundreds of miles. But in looking at those hundreds of miles, realizing that that entire forest came from just one tree. I thought I was going up on a mission trip, God said, no, you're going up to plant Mission Grove church. So this is the adjacent possible how God uses the situations in your life. Some good, some bad and the reality of that to place you exactly where he wants you right now. And so the difference is our focus. So if you're taking notes, I want you to write this down. The adjacent possible means for us, it means this stop focusing on the problem and start focusing on what's possible. No, I don't wanna just ignore the problem. Like problems are very real. Issues are very real when you have a health scare, when you have a financial loss, when you have a relationship, betrayal, those things are very painful, but just because something is painful, doesn't mean that God is not present with you, right? If you've gone with a, a child to a doctor's office or to a surgery, right? You don't just send the kid in. Well, good luck. I'll be your parent again when you get better. No, it's actually in the very moment of sickness or illness or preparation or when you're gonna get the shot or you're gonna get the treatment that they want mom or dad there. Right? So I'm not saying that pain's not real or what I am saying is that we don't have to focus on it. We don't have to focus on our problem. Instead, we can look around and pray for and dream of what's possible. You might be in a situation right now. That feels very much like a setback. But in reality, God say no, it's a setup. I can't give you that promotion you want, you don't need to be in that relationship that you think you need. You don't need that house or that place or that thing that you think you need because I need you over here for something you don't even know exists yet. If God can move pieces at a galactic scale, then I promise you he can work and is present with you in this moment in the last week. And this week, we're talking about what it means to make disciples. And we shared that jesus' last words should be our first priority. That he's, he's leaving the earth, he's going up and he gives one last message to his disciples. And he says, go and make disciples. And we shared that a disciple simply put as a follower of Jesus. And the word disciples used over 270 times in the gospels where the word Christians only used three times and they don't contradict each other. But rather we have to understand that it's not like, OK, I'm a Christian. And then, and then if I get serious, then I'll be a disciple like no, what you're called to is to follow him like there's not like different levels. OK? This is what you're called to verses like Matthew 419, describe what does it mean to be a disciple? And we shared this last week where it says that he said to them follow me and I will make you fishers of men. And from this verse we saw three components of being a disciple of Jesus. Number one, it follows Jesus. You're not just acknowledging him from a distance, but you are following him and following his way of life. Then second, we talked about fellowship with believers that you need each other, that we need community. And then third, it's about fishing for people. So he's not telling everybody you have to fish except the outdoorsman. He's like, hey, man, OK, you know, going into the weekend. What are you doing? I'm following Jesus. I'll be back on Monday, right? No, he used that analogy because he was talking to fishermen, right? Like I'm gonna give you a new purpose, right? You're gonna, this message is for you, but it's not meant for you alone, right? Don't make your life the cul de sac in the neighborhood of Jesus. OK? It needs to keep going. OK? Don't let it stop. Right? Ever as kids play telephone, right? You pass it down, right? Don't be the one that doesn't pay attention, right? What was that? OK. Uh I have no idea. And then they get generations to come like turn away no pressure. Um Do you know what I'm saying though? Like, don't, don't just stop. It's, it's not just for you. Like following Jesus is life transformational and it goes well beyond us. But see this description of a disciple isn't just something as an individual. This is what we do as a church. This is our organization. This is our structure as a church. See, our vision is to help every man, woman and child experience Jesus and our mission or what we do to accomplish that is to plant, grow and multiply. And it comes from this, I want you to see this, see, following Jesus equals planting the gospel in your life. And we talked last week, why are you a follower of Jesus or why aren't you? Can you identify that? Right? But then second to fellowship with believers means you need other people. And that's why we say to grow in community, find people to hold you accountable that you can hold accountable, that you can lift up, that you can encourage, that can encourage you because life is too difficult to go through alone. And third, when it comes to fishing for people or fishing for unbelievers, we think that the best way to do that do that is the way that Jesus did, which he led with love and service. That's why we multiply through service plant, grow multiply church. This is how you make you multiply disciples. You don't have to be an expert. You don't have to be a quote unquote professional. If you believe Jesus, you're in the game, even if you just know one thing, take that one thing and tell someone who doesn't know that one, you're making a disciple, right? And if you don't know, look for somebody who's just one step ahead of you. Hey, you know where you're going? I don't know. All right, I'm gonna follow you. OK. Like you're just on this journey on this path, you just need someone one step ahead or one step behind, even one step with, right? If you ever run, it's these running groups are popular because you can go further together than you can alone. All right, you can encourage your width, you're spurring each other on this is what it means to disciple. OK. So what does this have to do with the adjacent possible? Well, we're gonna look at a great example of this. See, Paul gets saved in the, in the New Testament here. He's planting all these churches. He's developing all these leaders when all of a sudden a problem enters, he's arrested. Now he was arrested multiple times. You can read about it in the Book of Acts. Sometimes he was placed on house arrest where he could have guests sometimes later in life. It got more intense his imprisonment. In fact, we have friends here in the room who actually just went to Italy purely for this illustration. So thank you guys. Uh No, actually they went and visited Rome and there's so much history there. They actually got to see potentially as tradition holds where Paul might have been put in prison when he wrote. Second Timothy. Isn't that cool? It's a real place. Now, even if this wasn't the exact location prison, these were the prisons that they were placed into in that era in that time. And so imagine being Paul, you're planting churches, you're leading literally thousands of people to Christ and everything's taken away from you. Now, it would be very easy to focus on the problem, right. But instead he focuses on what's possible. What can he do? What does he have at his disposal? He can write a letter and in that letter, he pours out his heart. It's seen as some of the last words of Paul. Even still he's, he's chained in that, in that case to the imperial guard. And I love this mindset switch because most of most people, including myself, when you enter a situation and if you're chained to a guard, you're thinking, oh man unchained to this guard, do you know what Paul's perspective was? This guard's chained to me? He can't go anywhere. He got a captive, Audie. Oh OK. That was bad. I'm sorry. Think about it though. He actually says in another letter he says because of my imprisonment, the entire Roman Imperial Imperial Guard heard the Gospel. Let me ask you what situation in your life do you think you are chained to right now? What if you switched that and said no, actually they're chained to me and yes, I have a problem, but I'm going to focus on what is possible because when you do that, it can change things and it's in this moment in this prison. In this letter, we see what's possible and how we can actually make disciples. He gives us the game plan here. Don't just take my word for it. Let's read it together though. It says there in verse one of Timothy chapter two, if you read Timothy chapter one, it's pretty cool. He gives a shout out to Timothy's uh grandmother Lois and mother Eunice. They were the ones who led Timothy to Christ. So shout out for the powerful women in our lives, right? And he says, don't be ashamed of the gospel. And he comes here to chapter two and he says, you, then my child be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ. Jesus. Notice the phrasing of that be strengthened, meaning that it's God's grace that actually strengthens us. It's God's power, it's God's grace is what makes what we're about to read the adjacent possible. Jesus did the impossible. So that for us, all things are possible. Think about that Jesus did, the impossible, died on the cross, was buried, rose again on the third day, Jesus did the impossible. So that for us, all things are possible, there is no problem in your life that God cannot overcome. And it starts with Him working through us. So he starts there. He says, you then my child be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ, Jesus verse two. And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses and trust to faithful men who will be able to teach others. Also, I love this. This is the basis and the process for discipleship. If you were here last week, we saw that video of the Timothy initiative that's called the Timothy initiative. Because of this verse, you have four generations of believers in one verse. The things you've heard from me, Paul to Timothy entrust the faithful men, Timothy to these leaders who will teach others also leaders to others. He's saying, don't be the cul de sac there in the neighborhood of God's grace. Like don't let it stop with you. Pass that on because it changes everything. And now he's gonna give examples and he's a preacher. I love it. He's gonna give you five examples of what he's talking about. Three of them are illustrations, two of them are personal and my only beef is with Paul is that he didn't illiterate. OK? Like it's OK, we'll give him some grace. But he gives the stories of what he's talking about. He's saying pass this on make disciples. I shared with you. Now you share with others who will then share with others. So let me tell you what it looks like. Verse three, it says, share and suffering. Look, it's gonna be hard. Says as a good soldier for Christ Jesus says, no soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him, we are enlisted to then go and entrust this message to others. Something tells me that for soldiers on the battlefield in war, in the trenches that the petting fighting, the petty fighting doesn't happen while bombs are going off. Right. I wonder if God ever looks down and sees the churches and Christians in the trenches of spiritual warfare arguing over preferences. Well, we do it like this. You're wrong. I was like, oh, yeah. Well, we do. You like guys, we're at war right? There is bigger things at play here. Don't like, don't get caught up in the little things when eternity is at stake. It's the first picture. Second picture in here. It says an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. All right. Went to a Suns game last night finally won. All right. Awesome. That's great. We've been on a losing streak. It's been a struggle. But you know what makes part of watching the Suns game? Fun is knowing the rules because, you know, when to cheer, you know, when to scream at the ref like, oh, why do you get happy or why do you get mad because you scored or you didn't score or you can see it or you know what's at play? Like, I, I cannot cheer watching a cricket match because I have no idea what's going on. You know, I don't know if it's a wicked, wicked googly or something. I don't know, like something like I don't know, they're swinging stuff. It kind of looks like baseball, but they're running every which way and there's like pegs and some of them are falling down and, and then the points are like way higher than any other American sports that are seeing. And I'm like, what is going on? I've, when, you know, the standard, it makes sense. Every one of you has a standard too, by the way. But it's hard, right? When, when we live in a culture that says there is no standard. Like imagine being in school and the teacher says, hey, you got a 85. No teach I didn't in my rubric, I got a 98. So and you got an 85. OK. Detention. OK? No, don't do that, right? It doesn't work like that. Like life doesn't work like that. Culturally speaking, we're like believe whatever you want, do whatever you want. There are no rules that doesn't function in any area of life, right? You can't go to the drive through all I will be 1125. No, it won't. I'm gonna give you this bag of rice. We're gonna barter, you're gonna be that cheeseburger, right? If you have eggs at your house, you are living a good life right now, right? Rules matter, right? Pick your sport, pick your activity like you have to follow some type of standard as believers. We have a standard to live by too. So he calls a soldier, he calls a athlete. Then he goes to the farmer. He says it is the hard working farmer who ought to have the first share of crops. No one's accidentally farming. No one's going into New Year. Well, let's see what 2023 brings. You have to be intentional behind it. Right? And it's hard. But then in verse seven, it says, now think over what I say for the Lord will give you in to our understanding into everything. Grace makes everything possible. We're called to be soldiers, athletes, farmers, look, I know this is hard, but God's gonna give you insight to this. And then he gets personal. He says, hey, if you don't connect with the illustrations here, let me just get personal and give you two real pictures of this first one. Verse nine here. Um or verse eight, it says, remember Jesus Jesus did this says Jesus risen from the dead, the offspring of David as preached in my gospel. Then verse nine, it says for which I am suffering. He's literally in prison that potentially you saw the very image of where he was writing from. He's writing this letter. But notice this perspective change, bound with chains as a criminal. But I love this phrase underline it. If you got a physical Bible, if you got a digital one, highlight that thing, but highlight it with some intensity, you know, I don't know. And uh but notice this phrase here, it says, but the word of God is not bound. I wonder if you realize that that verse right there is not only powerful, it was prophetic because here we are 2000 years later as local gatherings of believers all around the world in remote villages and in places like right here in Desert Ridge are reading the word of God because yes, Paul was facing a problem, but he chose to focus on what's possible. Those guards, he was not chained to the guards. Those guards were chained to him. I might not be able to do this, but I sure can do this. And wouldn't you know it that God used those letters to make up much of our Bible that now is impacting so many more lives, exponent more lives than if he had never been put in prison in the first place. Church. We are the adjacent possible. You are the adjacent possible of somebody who invested in your life who walked through a difficult situation or place. I don't know what brought you here today. I don't know if it was an online ad. I don't know if it was an A frame that was placed out. I don't know if you had questions prompted in your heart, a difficult, in a difficulty in a relationship, but whatever brought you here. God wants to show you what is possible in verse 10. It says therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ, Jesus with eternal glory church. It is God's grace that makes discipleship possible. It's grace that makes everything possible. And here's the reality that Jesus Christ himself says this in Luke 18 verse 27. And he says, but he said, what is impossible with man is possible with God. God did the impossible. So that for us, all things are possible, which then allows us to not focus on the problem, but instead focus what's possible. You might be walking through a very difficult season right now. And I want you to know that God is with you in this and that even if you would never choose this situation, God is with you in this situation and God can work in this situation. And at some point in the future, there will be an adjacent possible for you. It might be for your kids, it might be for your spouse. It might be for a coworker or friend. I don't know what I do know is that Jesus conquered death itself. So if Jesus conquered death itself and then gave us that very power, then church, what are we scared of? What problem is bigger? Then God, I don't know. It's in the very suffering and issues of Christians and believers because the Bible is filled with suffering. It doesn't say believe in Jesus and a happy angel fairy will Sprinkle you with blessing dust and you'll never have any arguments ever again. That's great to sign up for. But it's not reality. And so let me do this to end here. I know k we're kind of jumping around there in the back, but let me do this here. Here's what keeps people from making disciples. OK. Let's get real practical here. Number one is disobedience, disobedience. Like when you, when God tells us to do something or tells you to do something, you just don't do it right. I mean, we our kids do it, we do it with God, right? I want you to do this. No. OK. But God is offering something better. We have to choose to do that. I can't help you with the disobedience part. You have to decide this right? But then even our well meaning people like nice Godly, they sing songs and worship whatnot. We struggle with making disciples to plan and girl multiply. And I think for two reasons. Number one is fear. We're afraid. What am I gonna, what am I gonna say? Am I gonna mess it up? What if they don't respond to me? All right? And we're just afraid of anything and everything. But then another thing that keeps us is some of us just don't feel equipped. I don't know how here's the reality. Now, I can't necessarily help you with the first one because that's got to be a choice of your own. But I do want to help you with the other two. So that's why here in the next two weeks, we're actually gonna roll out a new mobile based discipleship curriculum to help reduce the fear and then also to equip you. So and the purpose of this training in these short little 3 to 5 minute videos and, and devotionals and writings that are gonna go with that is not for you to get through and go. Oh that was nice, but rather for you to be trained. So now you can go and actually train others. And even if you just remember one thing, right? Go take that one thing and then tell someone who doesn't know that one thing. But if you do that, we can make and multiply disciples don't let fear stop you. Don't let feeling un unprepared stop you. We want to help you with that. That's, that's the role of pastors by the way from Ephesians four to equip the Saints for the work of the ministry. So we want to help you, but it's gonna take two things you ready for it. And it's these two things, soldier, athlete, farmer, Jesus Paul, all five of them had in common. Number one, it's gonna take commitment. She's gonna take commitment. You have to, to go for it. There are no accidentally good soldiers or athletes or farmers. Jesus didn't accidentally go to the cross. Paul didn't realize he was gonna be put in prison, but he had the commitment to work through it. The second thing, it's going to take the sacrifice and sacrifice means giving up something temporary to get something eternal. Are you willing to give up something that you can't control anyway? That doesn't last? It might be, time might be, talent might be treasure. Are you willing to make the commitment and to sacrifice for something greater? Something powerful? Something eternal? Something that is based in the grace of God. God used. It's 12 disciples. OK. 11, we're committed and willing to sacrifice. They changed the world church. And if we can be that, if I can be that, if you can be that not perfect, are we? But if we can take that commitment, that sacrifice and start praying for and asking God what is possible. I'm willing to be obedient. That's that there is no relationship that can't be healed. There is no financial situation that cannot change. There is not any circumstance that cannot be overcome by the power of God. Do you believe that I do? Will you pray with me, dear father? We just thank you for your time. God for those that are experiencing difficulties right now. I pray that you would give them grace and encouragement and peace right now, remind them that you are present with them right now and let us go and make disciples to plant the gospel in our hearts, to be in community with other people, to multiply through loving and serving others and just simply taking a step forward all in your name, all in your glory God, we love you. Thank you for saving us God. We are the adjacent possible because you already did the impossible. Let us change the world for you and your son and we pray amen.