dear heavenly father. Just thank you that we can laugh that we can do unorthodox things like bringing in a christian comedian to reach out to our neighbors here in the community God and in all seriousness, we do pray for this community and the issues that people are facing and some for safety and health reasons are watching online at home. They're just as much a part of this service as the people gathered here this morning and so whether they're watching online or here at CB live, we just lift up whatever situations they're going through right now, we love you God, it's in your son's name, we pray. Amen June 13, 1995, the Chicago tribune published a story that went, we can't really say viral because it really wasn't a lot of internet Sharing in the mid 90s. But we'll say that it traveled across the headlines throughout the country because they wrote about a man named Russell Edward Herrmann and mr Herman was noted for his generosity, his extreme generosity. In fact, that's why they wrote the story and they entitled the story Willpower, which is the same name for our message this morning. And it's because in his living will, He decided to give $2.4 billion dollars to the small town called cave in rock Illinois. So cave in rock Illinois is a tiny town located right along the Ohio river in the southeastern edge of the state of Illinois. And I looked this up, I was curious the population of cave in rock right now, 278 people total. So if you do the math, Someone leaving them $2.4 billion, that's just shy of $10 million dollars per person in that town. That's quite an inheritance right for someone you didn't know. So everything man, I should have lived in caves and rock Illinois. And while Mr Herman gave away his money and his and was very generous and and he put other beneficiaries in his will to give out lots of money to give all his money away. There was just one problem with that and that was that Russell Edward Herman had no money. He just wrote the will And he promised $2.4 billion People of Cave in Rock. But he actually didn't own anything. He didn't have any money. In fact, the only asset that he had to his name at the time of his passing was partially owned. He actually shared that with somebody else partially owned 1983 Oldsmobile tornado vehicle. And so what made the headlines for his generous gift spread throughout the country because it was an unfulfilled promise, there was no power in his promise. He declared a gift, something that he would love to give this town. But he had no power to fulfill that promise. And I feel like in many ways that's the world for us today, that the world and satan himself that even one says that I can give you this or I promise you this and the world promises us something that it has no power to fulfill, it has no power to fulfill the meaning and purpose and love in our life. But thankfully we got a God that doesn't just simply write checks but can cash them. That God has the power to fulfill his promises. And it's in that power that he offers us this promise that's found in Ephesians chapter three paul was writing from prison to a church in Ephesus and he was writing to encourage them and I want you to see that when he prays what he prays for. Starting in verse 14, for this reason, I kneel before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. So you see the connection for inheritance and the connection for identity. He says, I pray out of his glorious riches, pause there for a moment, God has eternal wealth, eternal value. It's out of these riches that he's praying for, he says, out of his glorious riches, may he strengthen you with power through his spirit, in your inner being, so that christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and I pray that you being rooted and established in love may have power. Notice first that he prays for power for you individually so that you can have christ dwelling inside of your heart. But then secondly, he prays for power corporately, he says, I pray that you may have power together with all of the Lord's people Now if you're in prison and you're starting a movement known as the church or in those times known as the way and you have access to the power that just defeated death. They had sung and psalms and many songs about how God created the world, but they were living within one generation of the truth that jesus not only died to cover our sins, he rose again to conquer death itself and so out of the same power that created the world, out of the same power that conquered death, it's out of this that he prays not for military conquest, he doesn't pray for financial wealth, he doesn't pray for physical healing, he prays for this. That out of all of God's power, may you be able collectively as the church may you be able to grasp how wide and how long and how high and how deep is the love of christ and to know that this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of the all the fullness of God. See this power, you see his love, he says out of that power know that God loves you. In other words, God's love is so profound that it requires God's power for us to even grasp it. Think about that God's love is so profound that it requires God's power for us to even get a glimpse of just how much he loves you and me that there is nothing you can do right now in this moment to make God loves you more. But there is nothing that you can do to make God love you any less. God loves you not by who you should be, not by who you can be, but who you are right now in this moment. Those watching online on your phone, on your tv listening in your car, driving somewhere. No this that God's love is so profound that we need his power, the same power that conquered the grave, the same power that created the world. We need his power simply to grasp it because when you know that God loves you, everything changes. But I don't want you just to hear my word for it. We're in this series entitled whisper and we're learning how to hear the voice of God. Well today I don't want to just you to hear how to hear the voice of God, but I want you to listen to what is it exactly that God is saying? He said he loves you and so let's share that to apply that and in music and in story and song, I want to invite back up to stage my friend Isaac Pittman, let's give him a round of applause and as Isaac is is gonna share, let me just tell you a little bit about him if you if you have not met him or heard his stuff Isaac has just an incredible heart for God. And you'll find out in just a moment. But really he's an artist living in Nashville. He's written and sung songs that's been downloaded over five million times on Spotify and most importantly He is a graduate from the summer camp at Saudi Hills Christian camp where he and I met in 6th grade. Yeah and so yeah we can clap for our side of the hills and camp. That's good. So Isaac and I became friends as kids but so cool as you grow up to see him living out his dream and his heart and God using his gifts to to really talk and share the love of christ with people that he meets with and so writes with a lot of artists and different things there. But uh enough of me talking, let's give it up one more time for Isaac Pittman. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Hi event wider than the chasm that separated us, bigger than the mountains, deeper than the sea, stronger than the struggle that made a mess of me. How high How long? How deep is your love? How? That's how strong. How deep is your love Lord? How deep is your love for love? Beyond what I can find be on the galaxy. Reaching past the thorns and pierce savior like a shepherd. Keep on beating beating You left a 99 to come and rescue me. You came to rescue me. How high how long? How deep is your love? How deep is your love? How fast how strong How deep is your love? Lord? How deep is your love? And I'm Ronnie can't escape the grace. Your point over me. It's will's bond and now I see and I can't ignore it. It's a broken man. You can't pick. Don't you keep reminding me how high, how deep is your love? How deep is your love? How strong how deep is your love Lord? How deep is you look? How high? How long How deep is your love? How deep is your love? How that how long How deep is your love? Lord? How deep is your love for? How deep is your love for? Mm hmm. And then thank you so much. Um Mr girl for having me back. I have loved every minute of being here with you guys and again, uh there's so many more faces and people haven't met yet. So I'm Isaac. Hello? Um it's really good to be here. And uh john thank you for having me and can we give it up for john, he's just an incredible incredible person, incredible pastor. Even pastors me from all the way in Nashville and every every time we talk I hang up the phone. Either convicted or I hang up the phone. Just overwhelmed by his friendship to me. I'm not gonna cry, I'm gonna do it. I'm not but there's something sweet that, that when you have friendships that that last time and distance? you know And even go back to 6th grade. Um And so that's a that's a big deal and that's that's very special. Mr john thank you. I love you. Um Yeah, I'm just here to share a little bit of my story and we don't have all the time in the world, but outside of music, I I work with young life and not paid just as volunteer and um I absolutely love it. I know that young life is big here too. And let me tell you teenagers are the worst. They're the worst. I'm kidding. I'm kind of kidding. They're they're amazing. They really I'm not I'm not a I'm not a dad. Yeah, but I parents I'm sorry for what you go through after being with them. I've apologized to my my dad over and over again. Um I work with sophomore guys mostly and then I've also got some senior guys who are a little better but um I really just a little better. Not not much but um I I love that we're talking about God's love and you know how the Lord whispers to us and how he you know what is he saying? Um to you and me and it is about his love and that's what I've learned that these these these kids, these guys they don't need me to change them. They don't need um a word from me, they just need to know God loves him and that's literally that's literally all they need. Um And that's literally what you know I try to instill in them by doing life with them um literally going to their games, going out to eat, answering their phone calls um I have them answer a note card for me again like they have the attention span of a fly and so when we get together um called campaigners it's where we have club and then leave, campaigners and campaigners is um we go deeper into the gospel we it's a bible study and they don't have to come to that. They don't come to any of it but they can choose to if they want to go deeper into God's word and um every week 19 of them show up um and that's it's it's I thank God every time they walk through those doors are they loud? Absolutely. Do they smell terrible? Yes they do. Um And I I have to remind myself Isaac God's word will not return void God's word will not want to avoid even when they I don't think that they're not listening. And um I had them fill out a note card for like I was like I was given five minutes to just fill out and answer these two questions. One um what would you say to jesus if he was right here in front of you, what question would you ask him? What would you want to tell him, what would you want to say? Um and then also give me something to pray about. Give me something that's weighing heavy on your heart. No one else is gonna see these, it's just for me, You know me. No one else is gonna see these and thinking they're gonna not take this seriously at all because it took like 10 minutes and they were they were still writing and I was like, okay, I'm gonna get some kind of weird story or Fart story. I don't know anything that boys do. And um what I got back was was some really heartbreaking things. Some can God loved me, even though I've already lost my virginity at 15. Um does God does God love me? How can God love me and say that he loves me, even though I'm getting hit by my dad. Um does God love me, even though I'm addicted to drugs, Does God love me? Can he loved me because I've gone too far? Um a lot of shame, a lot of guilt, a lot of speaking condemnation over themselves and what that reminded me is that um they are, I think, I think all of us kind of fall into this, sometimes we get distracted. We look for other loves elsewhere and all these other loves fail us, including our parents at times, including some of our best friends, um no kind of drug or alcohol or um intimacy that they look for on this side of heaven is ever going to fill them And um that's what I kind of I try to remind myself every day and that's the kind of life I try to lead. Um and so I'm gonna encourage us like even in the songs I'm choosing to sing today, I kind of have my young life guys in mind. I'm gonna be honest. I told john I was like, these guys have kind of captured my heart and every song that I'm writing recently has had to deal with. Um what would I want to say to them? What would I want to say to my younger self. Um And music is powerful. These guys listen to music and I feel like their phones distract them so much. But the song is called only the dirty And it's just a reminder of God. He came to seek and save the sinner. That's you and me. Only the dirty. But I think sometimes we can think there's this perfection. We have to live out before he can love us. There's this, we've got to get it before he can invite us in and and welcome us to the table. No, he died while we were sinners while we were still stuck in our mess. He used rehab a prostitute. She is in his lineage. He used fishermen. He was paul who was killing Saul who was killing sinners or killing christians to further his kingdom. So he can use you and me and his love goes farther than we can ever imagine. Mm hmm. Mhm Only the sinner. Only the weak only the man who lies and steals and she's only the woman who runs around. Only the child with the selfish mouth. Only prostitutes and murderers, crooked bears and asks man only those who have no alibi, only those who cannot hide their sins on me the dirty air and never only the beggar man. Never or me the master. Mhm And never not me only the sinner, jesus said Mhm Never the righteous. No never the good never the man who does all the things he should never the rich. No, never the song never the woman never breaks a law. Never the healthy never the wise never the man who claims to have some alibi only me the dirty and never ever clean homie the beggar man and never came. Yeah. Mhm. On the semester. Never never made made. Oh the sinner. Yeah Jesus says it's only the dirty never it's only bigger. Never the case. Only the messed up. Mhm. Never ever made me. Only the jesus says this song I'm putting out in the uh in the spring. Another artist already did it. It's called S. O. S. Um by we we the kingdom and um everyone can becoming one of my favorite people to write with and um this song we do a lot in young life. Um and it's just kind of a cry of desperation. It's kinda answers. Um the questions that they always ask and so I want to end with this today. And I think we've all been there at one point. Um God can you save me? Am I too far gone? Can you really forgive me for what I've done? Um It's questions I've answered. I wrestled with a long time and when I lean into his love and I see just how far his love went to death on the cross paying a price I never could. Um That's what I'm reminded. I can come just as I am. No fear. No shame because his love prove that to me through death on the cross. It's called S. O. S. I've been belong did by in secularity. All the pain I feel. It could be the death of me. I'm surrounded by feel down, let go. If there's a way out someone let me know. Yeah, because I'm reaching now one last please is hope all gone. Somebody save me. S always I'm lost at sea is hope all gone. Somebody save me. I've seen Tracy. Mm hmm. Joy never. Yes, but it seems so far away. Is it even real? Oh there must be more than this. Come on. Change me. It's true God if you are for real. Help me for because I'm reaching now one of the last is hope all gone. Somebody Sydney long is hope, somebody save me. Why do I do the things I don't want to do I don't wanna do when all they do is hurt me. Why do I do the things I don't wanna do, I don't wanna do and all they do is hurt me. What do I do? The things I don't want to do, no, I don't want to do. And all they do is why do I do the things I don't want to do, I don't want to do is home somebody one of us please is home. Somebody save me. Somebody says don't you say okay away my nothing but of jesus working be whole again. The thing burned the blood of jesus. Oh it is love that makes me wide as no, no jesus. Mm hmm. So I'm reaching one last plea is hope on on somebody said I'm lost and is hoping somebody say me mm hmm. Thanks. As we finish this morning. Mm hmm. I want to finish our passage that we were reading from Ephesians and he's talking about God's power. And when he gets to the end of this prayer I want you to notice that we actually get included in the prayer. It says now to him who is able to do a measurably more other translations say abundantly more measuring more than all that we can ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in christ jesus throughout all generations forever and ever amen. That means you and me. That means that the power that he was praying about, the love that he was writing about that is available to you and to me. And so if you have never taking time to receive that love, if you're watching online right now, maybe a friend just shared it on social and you were just checking it out or you're just scrolling and just happened to come by. If you want to know what it is, have a personal relationship with God to have that same power that conquered the gray living inside of you. No, God loves you. Not as you should be. Not as you can be, not as you will be, but as you are right now in this moment. No, no, no. I wanna give you the opportunity to pray and receive that power that love in your life right now. If you have a loved one who seems far off from God, I want you to be praying for that person that's on your heart, that's on your mind because again, God can do more than anything we could ask. They might seem out of your reach, but they're not out of God's reach. Not when his power gives us just even a glimpse to grasp what he has for us. Yeah, if you would bow your heads and close your eyes, if you've never prayed to receive jesus into your life right now, I want to encourage you to pray with dear God. I can't make it on my own. Gotta received a check from the world that I just cannot cash. Mhm And I want more. Mm hmm. Thank you, jesus for dying on the cross to not only pay for my sins but by rising again. You conquered death. It's only and believing in you that we can be saved. I believe in you jesus and I commit my life to you. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me. Just as I am commit my life to you. It's in your son's name. We pray amen if you prayed that prayer with me just now, I want you whether on the physical, your next step card here or the digital, your next step card found at mission Grove dot info. Mm hmm There's a link online in the description of this live stream. If you're watching right now, I want you to mark down where you are in your spiritual journey. Mm hmm. Here's your first experience with Christianity and it's like it but it's kind of weird. I don't really understand it. It's okay. We want to have a conversation with you wanna grab lunch or coffee or something and just answer any questions you might have or maybe you've prayed with me just now to commit your life to God to mark that down. Maybe you believe in your heart. But you've never taken your faith public. You wanna get baptized or at least hear what that's all about. Mark that down wherever you are in your journey. We want to come alongside and help you take that next step and we do that because God loves you. And if God loves you, we do too. That it's okay to not be okay, but we love you too much to just let you stay that way and know that paul could have prayed for anything in that moment. And what he prayed for it was the power to grasp God's love as you go into this week. It's probably gonna be filled with challenges and meetings and chaos, whatever that is for. You know that the most important thing that you can take with you when you walk into this week is the truth that God loves you sure enough. But you don't have to strive for something that you already have in your possession while love doesn't require you to change love from God always changes you. So let God's love change you today. Be encouraged to know that we love you that we want you to have the best week and we're here to support and come alongside your family. Anyway, we can thank you for joining us today. Thank you for tuning in online. We want you to have an incredible week And right before we dismiss can we just thank Isaac one more time for sharing his heart and his music with us. Mm hmm. He's got a lot of new music coming out here in the spring. He's got a lot of awesome stuff. You can find them on ITunes or Spotify Isaac Pittman. You can also find him right here. We're hanging out after service. So come up, talk to him. I'll be outside or at the info table on the patio. Let us know how we can help your family. If you filled out one of those cards, you can drop it off at the info table. Or we got two boxes on the way out. You can just drop them in. Thank you so much for joining us today. God bless. Have an incredible week. See you next sunday.