what will you do with your one extraordinary life? This is the opening line to bob Goff's book, Dream Big. Actually, we have a free copy of this book to give every family in our church. If you join us next Sunday, when we meet back in person, January 10 at CB Live. Also, if you're watching online and you'd like a copy of this book for your family, just comment below, let us know and we will do our best to get you a copy so that you can go deeper and to dream big here in 2021. Back to that question, what will you do with your one extraordinary life? I love so many words in that question. First, I love that. He says, what will you do? Because it's personal. Today, I want to talk about what is it exactly that God has called you to do and who has God called you to be You are responsible for you? Yes, it's true that we need the help of others. And yes, it's true many of us are responsible for helping others and kids and employees and family and friends. But today I want to focus and make this message personal to you. What are you going to do with your one extraordinary life? Another word I like in that question is one you see life doesn't include a dress rehearsal. This is it. This is our one chance. This is our moment. This is our little span in human history that God has called us and positioned us to do what he's called us to do? And so what are you gonna do with your one life and the last word I love? And that question is the word extraordinary. Even the most mundane things can be incredible when you have the right mindset. I believe life is a gift. Life is extraordinary, but awesomeness isn't in a job title, it's really a mindset. Do you believe that God has called you to something great? Do you believe that God has a plan and a purpose for your life? I do. I believe if we lean into that, that 2021 could be a year like none other when we walk in the ways and the works that God has called us to. You see Paul writes in a letter to the Church of Ephesus in the fees in chapter two verse 10, he says that for we are God's workmanship created by God for good works, which he has prepared for us in advance so that we can walk in them, wow, you are created on purpose and with a purpose. That same writer, paul also writes to his God son timothy. And the letter that's in in your bible is found in first timothy chapter six verse 12 and he says fight the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you've been called and of which you've made the good confession in public in front of many witnesses. I love that impassioned plea and challenge. It's almost like a Braveheart type moment like freedom. Like he's getting towards the end of his life? And so he wants to instill this passion, this boldness into his God sent timothy and so he says fight the good fight of faith, notice that faith is both the location of the battle as well as the weapon used to have victory in the battle. So fight the good fight of faith. And then I love that phrase, take hold of the eternal life to which you've been called. That's an act of faith. You see salvation is a gift from God. It really is the only thing we contributed in Salvation is the sin that required jesus death on the cross. And so everything that we have directly comes from jesus. We have been saved by grace through faith, but I also believe that salvation with it comes an incredible life that God has called us to. I don't think salvation is just us living in on earth as a waiting room to get entrance into heaven. But instead I believe that saving faith is active faith and we can experience little bits and pieces of heaven right now and we can have a personal relationship with God right now and we can experience who God has called us to be right now. So take hold of the faith that God has called you to and to walk in the good works that God has prepared you for? Are you ready and willing to live your one extraordinary life, are you ready to take hold of this eternal life that God has called you to and are you ready to walk in the Good works that God has prepared you for? These are the questions that we want to try to tackle as a church family as we get ready to try to move into this new season, this new chapter, this new year dreaming big Now some of you might be thinking ourselves, john that's nice that you want me to live an extraordinary life to take hold of the eternal life and to walk in the Good Works that God has called me to. But the reality is I'm not feeling very motivated right now that I barely survived 2020 and so I don't even know where to begin in 2021. you might be thinking, how am I supposed to take hold of the eternal life that God's called me to when I'm watching this video in sweatpants, hey, that's okay that you're watching this video and sweatpants for all you know, I might be preaching in sweatpants right now, you don't know wherever you're coming from as you move into this new year, I want to share with you a story that might give you a starting place. It comes from page 16 here in a book, Dream big and it's bob Gough shares about how he used to fear talking to air traffic controllers? You see a new york times best selling author and he would speak to thousands of people every year, but as a licensed pilot, he always got nervous when he would radio into the air traffic controller because he didn't want to say the wrong thing and end up in the wrong place. So to conquer his fears. One time he visited an air traffic control control tower and he got permission to talk with some of the controllers themselves. On page 16 in the book, one of the controllers told Bob, he said, Mom, I know it can be a fearful thing to talk to controllers and I know you can be more than just a little bit intimidated when having those conversations, but when you get nervous, just just do this when you get on the radio, say who you are, where you are, what you want and then listen closely who you are, where you are, what you want. And then listen closely now some of you feared speaking to God or chasing after your ambitions, just like bob feared talking to air traffic controllers. But those same words, the controller gave bob, I want to share with you because I think they can give us a chance to move forward. Many of us are up in the air right now and we are just fearful of ending up in the wrong place or we don't want to crash or we don't want to bump into somebody else, but what God has called you to do and who God has called you to be can be simplified with just those four phrases. Who are you? Where are you? What do you want? And listen closely? So that's what I want you to do today. Is that if we move into this new year, I want to challenge you to focus in on those four phrases. First, who are you? Well, that is a question of identity more than just your identity, physically. Who are you emotionally and spiritually? Do you believe that you are enough? Do you believe that you are loved? Do you believe that God has a purpose for your life more than just your description that you might find on your idea or your license? Who are you at your core? Like if you met you for the first time or you were introducing yourself to yourself? How would you describe that person? Who are you as a starting point and a place of identity? The second question where are you? Is less about geography and more about biography. What is the season of life that you're in right now or what is the chapter in your life story that you're in? Be honest and be real? Are are you in debt? Are are you in a successful job? Are you without a job? Are you in relationship? Are you out of a broken relationship? Are are you hurting? Are you healthy? What wherever you are just be honest and up front and and acknowledge the reality of that. This is my starting point. So who are you? Where are you? The third question is real interesting. What do you want now? If you just answer the phone or the door that way that would come across as very rude because it's kind of abrupt, right? It's kind of blunt and just right out in your face. Imagine just getting a phone call and saying what do you want? But at the sake of being a little weird right now, I want you to repeat that phrase after me. Here we go. What do I want? Did you say it? Come on, come on. Do it, try it right now. What do I want? I want to encourage you that after this video to take some time and just create a list and just write down anything that comes to mind for things that you want in 2021 no item is too small and no desire is too big. Will filter out this list a little bit later in this series. But for right now I just want you to create that list to write down all the desires of your heart and and listen, it could be real tiny. It could be a way larger than anything you ever thought you could do or accomplish. But I just want you to get it all out there and see what comes to the surface. And if I can give you one encouragement when you create your list is don't settle for trail mix. Don't settle for trail mix. Here's what I mean. 14 years ago when my wife and I were getting ready to get married, we had the honor and privilege to fill out one of those things called the wedding registry and what this is you get to go to a store in our case. We went to bed bath and beyond and we filled out this list of items that we would desire to have early on in our marriage and people who would like to bless us, we get to go purchase one of those gifts and give it to us on our wedding day. What's awesome is they give you this gun, this like laser that you get to walk through the store and go pew pew pew. Okay. So I added those effects but sound effects, but you would go throughout the store Pew pew and you would scan the items that you would like. Now what was interesting when my wife and I were walking through bed bath and beyond doing this was also almost dinnertime. And so this process was starting to take a really long time and I was getting tired and I was getting hungry and so I started scanning things that I was hungry for. So we're, yes, we're scanning for plates and dishes and bedding and all this stuff and then I would scan stuff like this. I saw this bucket of trail mix like O. M and M's raisins, nuts. That looks good. And so we just moved on. Well, fast forward to our, our wedding day or when we got back and we were actually opening wedding gifts were going through and we're getting these great gifts, great gifts. And my wife's opens up to find none other than trail mix. She looks at me and she's like, did you scan this? And I was like, yeah, I was hungry. It looked great. And so I grabbed the trail mix, popped it open and start eating right in that moment. I was like, this is awesome. He said, no. Someone gave us a gift of trail mix, which if they didn't give us trail mix, they could have given us something else that would have much longer use in our marriage. Now, fast forward to today. We still have many of the plates and dishes and bedding and stuff that people gave us there on our wedding. But you know, we don't have trail mix. You see, my wife was thinking long term, what's gonna help us long term in our marriage, What's going to help us make a turn a house into a home? And I was just wanting some M and m's So in your list of desires and your list of longings. Yes. Put them out there. The little things that you want. But when you go back through the list, go beyond the trail mix go beyond the little things that you hunger for and see what comes to the surface of the deep desires in your heart? What is it that God might be creating you to do? What breaks your heart? What gets you fired up and excited? What are your passions and skill sets and things that maybe God has nudged on your shoulder said, Hey, usually consider this or these repeated themes that come up in your life? It's those desires, those deep longings, those passions that you have that I really want to focus in on and help you to dream big. So the three questions that we said are who are you? That's your identity? Where are you? That's being honest about your stage and chapter in life and what do you want? Are you willing to be open and upfront with the desires of your heart? And are you willing to go through the list and see? Are there some in there that are really from God? Is there something that God's called me to do? And is and is there something that helps me helps shape who I'm supposed to become? It's those desires that will help you dream big And Experience The Awesomeness, Extraordinary 2021. So who are you? Where are you? And what do you want? That last phrase? Listen closely is connected directly to prayer. And so here's what I want to do. I want to end our time together with a free gift or a tool that I'm gonna share with you. We as a church Mission Grove, we are part of a national network of churches called Converge. And every January thousands of people, hundreds of churches decide to commit the first month of the year to prayer. And so that's what I want to do as a church. Is that over the next 21 days, the next three weeks we want to move forward and we want to pray together and we want to give these desires the things that we want up to God and ask him God, what do you want me to do? And who do you want me to be? And so on our website right there. On our homepage mission Grove church dot com. You can download a free prayer journal and I want to challenge you to listen closely to the voice of God, spend the next three weeks every single day, bring in your desires what you want before God and asking him God, what are you calling me to do? And who are you calling me to be? What are you going to do with your one extraordinary life? Are you willing to take hold of the eternal life to which God has called you to? And are you ready to walk in the good works that God has created you for? If you don't know where to begin to start? By asking some alignment questions, Who are you, where are you and what do you want if you ask those questions and then you listen closely to what God is telling you, I believe 2021, it can be a year like never before will you pray with me? Dear heavenly father, just thank you, thank you that we have the opportunity to worship even digitally with you God, I pray for those who are going through difficult circumstances. I pray that you would bring them healing God. I pray for those who are struggling financially or in broken relationships. God I pray that you would give them hope. But God as we move into this new year, this new chapter of this new season, I pray that we can experience an extraordinary life, the life that you have called us to and the good works that you've called us to walk in, help us take hold of the eternal life to which you've called us, Help us to dream big to know who we are to know where we are and to be honest about what we really want in this life may our hearts and our Will align with your heart and your will God. We commit these next 21 days to you, help us to move forward in prayer and to listen closely to what you have for us, we love you God in your son's name, we pray Amen. Look, I know things aren't perfect, I mean just during that prayer I had a plane flying overhead. I got a dog barking in the background. But that's life, That's life and that's reality. And so whatever is around you right now, wherever you're watching this, I encourage you to lean into God and start off the new year by praying to God, listening up and together we can dream big for 2021. Have a great day. God bless.