Paradise Without Purpose Is Prison Tribe 2024-07-22 Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record. ---- Now worship can start. Okay. I'm gonna give you some instructions really quick. If you like it cold, you play. If you like it cold, sit in the middle section of the seats because the vents are blasting like 60 degree air to keep it cool in here. If you don't like it cold, come sit up here and join us in the front or sit in the booth. K? That's that's the situation. It'll feel like 20 degrees colder like where Nancy and Clay are. And then if you like it warmer, come sit up here in the front. Well, you just can't wait. We can't get the whole room the same temperature, which is totally fine. Good morning, everyone. And if you want to come sit closer, we'd love it. Nancy's like, nope. I'm in the cold section. This is what you just told me to do. Yeah. Connor, will you unmute Corey's guitar for us, please? Are you muted? We're getting it figured out. There we go. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Good morning, Jacob. Let's all stand together and pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you for today. We we just exhale. You know every intricate detail of even our morning today before we got here. We lay it down at your feet and we just ask that you would search our hearts today. If there's anything that we would need to repent of or ask for forgiveness for so that we can enter into your presence freely today. Lord, we say come have your way. Come have your way. Holy Spirit, come this morning. Bring your healing. Bring your freedom today. We trust you. We ask that we would leave here different than we came because we met with you. Just take a minute before we even sing a word and just invite his presence into your own space, into your own mind, into your own heart this morning. Yes, Jesus. Oh, Let's listen for his voice today. What's he speaking to you today? You. We need you to go. If you're new to tribe, we like this to be an old skate, you know, roller skating. It's alright, everybody. All skate. So we have a handheld mic in the room and maybe the Lord put some on your heart during worship. And we just wanna encourage you that, you know, Lord speaks to all of us, not just the people on the stage with the microphone. And Lee, do you have something on your heart? You do? Sarah, do you have the microphone? It's up here. It's right here. And if the Lord put something on your heart, just slip your hand up or get get my attention. If you sometimes the Lord speaks to us individually, obviously, like through worship, he's saying all kinds of things that are just for me. He's drawn out things, and sometimes they're for us corporately. So we just wanna encourage you. The Lord speaks to you. We were singing freedom and what I saw in the Psalms. The Psalmist talks about a thousand may fall by your side. 10,000 may fall around you. And the spirit said, these are not physically dead people. These are spiritually dead people. These are people in your country, in your community, even in your family that are hopeless. They have no home. So they grab on to whatever sounds good, whatever looks good. The lies of the enemy, it's so easy for them to say, that's me. That's where I'm going. And the spirit also says or the psalmist said that Jesus has given us authority and power to trample on, to crush the powers of darkness that are purposed against you individually, but purposed against your family, purposed against people in your community, purposed against people in in your nation. And he's reminding us that we can't be silent about this. The enemy can't read our mind. We need to speak with authority in the name of Jesus. That's right. I destroy the power of the adversary that's affecting this person or or that person. And I had another memory that came to me years ago. Colleen and I were traveling through Salt Lake City, and we were lost. It was dark. It was one, 02:00 in the morning, so we pulled into a Denny's. We got out of the car, and we're walking to Denny's. And this rough looking guy came up to us and said, this is my territory. You are out of your territory. And I said, the earth and everything is is the lord's. Right. And that dude, man, he he just he disappeared. But the reason I'm bringing this up is the Lord is telling us we have to speak the authority. And just like Jesus, when he was being tempted in the the desert, he just spoke truth. That's right. He spoke truth. So and right now, I'm I'm sensing that the spirit saying, fill your mind. Fill your hearts with my words, with my truth. Don't just read on the pages. Absorb it. Take it in. Let it penetrate deep into your hearts because my truth, my words bring life and radiant health to those who discover the meaning. Yeah. Jesus, thank you for speaking to us this morning. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. We agree with you. We step in with agreement to the truth of your words that you speak to us this morning. Amen. The beautiful name of Jesus today. Lord, we just speak in your name today, Jesus, who you are, the one that we worship. Oh, we just give you all the glory and all the praise today. It all belongs to you. You are so worthy today regardless of how we came in here, how we feel. You are worthy. We lift our mouth and praise to you today. And we believe that just like Lee said that the enemy must flee when we declare who you are Jesus. And that's what we're doing in this place today. Yes, Lord. We remind ourselves of the God that we serve, his greatness. King. What a beautiful name it is. Oh, nothing compares to this. What a beautiful name it is. The name of Jesus. It's that name that we sing and worship today. Are risen. Let's sing it to him. What a savior. Aren't you wonderful? For you are lord of all sing hallelujah you are risen Yes, Lord. Thank you you that these are not just words to a song. Lyrics that rhyme and are fun to sing, but this is actual truth. If we really grabbed a hold of the fact that the name of Jesus that we're crying out to today for healing and freedom actually died on a cross and rose from the dead and conquered death, hell, and the grave and is now seated at the right hand of the father leaving us with his very holy spirit for each one of us. Why would we doubt? Why would we doubt? Why would we doubt today that we are not forsaken, that we are not alone? Just be still for just another minute before we transition to the next kind of worship this morning. Just open your mouth just loud enough for your own ears to hear. Just tell them thank you. Lord, I trust you. I know you have not forsaken me, and though I may feel lonely or alone today or have questions, Lord, why have you not brought that person yet? Why have I not seen this breakthrough in the natural yet? He can handle all those questions. You are not alone this morning. Let's see every precious heart in this room gathered today. We know that your presence is here in this place, so all things are possible. All things are possible. Just as I say that, I just sense in the spirit that when I say that all things are possible, there is a voice that rises up in someone's mind or in their heart, and it is not your voice. It is not your doubt. It is the voice of the enemy today saying, I believe that for everybody else, but if only the Lord really knew. And he just says to you today, I know every single thing about you today. There is nothing hidden from the Lord today. He died on a cross to take care of all the stuff you did. He saw it from beginning to end and he still said, you are worth it. That's right. And I know you're gonna continue to mess up, but I'm right here. Let's do this together. So just know that the Lord sees you today. There's nothing that you could keep hidden from him as if, like, if he knew, then he maybe he wouldn't love me. If he only knew this is why I feel lonely today is because if he only knew and the Lord just says to you today, are you kidding me? Like, I know every hair on your head, there's nothing hidden, no secrets from me. Let's just clear the air and move on today. The only thing holding you back from your healing today is you and your trust in the Lord today. Jesus, thank you that you've already paid it all. You've already paid it all, every stupid thing, every poor choice, everything that separated me from you, Lord. You already went before, and you paid the price for it. Thank you. What a savior. You are wonderful. Come meet us in this place, each one of us, right where we are individually today. Prepare our hearts for your word today. For whoever this word is for today, I ask right now to remove name pray you name Jesus. Pray Amen. Alright. Turn around and say that good morning to someone. Say you will are not alone. You are loved. Fill up your coffee and get out your bible. Yes. Totally. Good idea. It can come out a little further. So what? It can come out so I can stand behind it. And Lisa. Yeah. Good morning. Good morning. So great to see all of you here this morning. I'm always torn during this moment because, like a proud dad, I love to see the banter and the hugs and the conversation and to see the house full of laughter and joy and hugs. So I love to see that. It's great to see new faces. It's great to see familiar faces. Couple of things that I really like to see this morning. One of the things that I really like to see this morning are the fact that the Lacks are back. They've been in Tulsa. So, Lacks, we missed you. You couldn't get back here soon enough. Something else that I really like to see is this couple right here in church together. Yep. Jacob's out of prison. I'm just kidding. Just kidding. He kind of he's off of night shift prison, and so so he gets to be here on Sundays with his beautiful wife, Gretchen. Yeah. And if you're just out of prison or if you broke out of prison, like, it's yeah. No no no judgment. Oh, connect card. If you're out on parole or just visiting, I gotta like, don't let that joke continue on throughout the rest of the day. That's dumb, Brian. We would love to have a record of your visit. Just fill this out. Use your ink blotter to roll your feet. See, I'm doing it again. Stop, Brian. If there's a prayer request, just let it go. No. Hits too close to home. So, we would love to have a record of your visit. If there's a prayer request that you have, you can you can fill that out and there's also a little box that you can check. We have a vibrant young adults group here in Jackson that are making the I mean, all of us try to make the most of this summer, but our young adult crew really gets after it. And so if you'd like to be added to the tribe text, we send out a weekly text blast to let you know of different things that are going on around the town and with our tribe fam. So it doesn't matter if you came from across the street or all the way from Kentucky. We're glad that you're here today. And if you noticed, we are meeting in a bar, and so that's that's one uniqueness about our tribe fam. There we also like to have a conversation. And so instead of just a monologue, I really would like this to be a dialogue and so as we get into today's content, I would love to hear your questions, comments, connections. You've already seen a little bit of that today during worship when Lissa, my beautiful wife, opened it up for if anybody felt like the lord put a word on their heart and then we heard from Lee and so, as we get into today's conversation, if you have a question, a comment, or a connection, if you just raise your hand, we'll get the mic to you. And the reason why we use a mic, we probably could hear your voice just fine in the room. But for all of our families that watch the livestream, when you use the mic, it helps all of our livestream families to stay engaged and to be able to hear what's going on. With that in mind, we're gonna take just a brief departure from where we've been, and have a, what I would call, like, a one off conversation. We have been in a series of conversations, and next week, we're going to wrap that up. Last week, Jay preached. Didn't he do a great job? Jay, are you out greeting, or are you in the room? Hey. There he is. Alright. Now now stay right there so everybody can see you. Now turn around and clap for Jay. Great job. Great job. Great job last week. Thank you, Jay. So we're going to wrap up this series of conversations that we've been having, but we're going to we're going to do that next week. This week, I feel like the lord put something on my heart timely and maybe not poignant but targeted and and directed at at maybe just one person in the room today or on the livestream. And so as we get into today's content, you might be feeling like, I was the person that he was talking about and so just allow the lord to speak directly to your heart through the conversation that we're going to have today. With that in mind, if you have your Bible with you this morning, would you please turn to John chapter 21? John chapter 21. Normally, we take turns in the room with the mic reading of you know, somebody will read a few verses and then we'll pass it on but why don't I just go ahead and read this today and we're going to read, we're going to read all of John chapter 21 and so, settle in. We have a slide. We do not have a slide because I have no keynote because the Lord, like, switched it up on me at the last minute. Yeah. So if he gives me a longer runway, then I can put together a keynote. It's his fault. Sorry. Just kidding. He's like, if you'd listened better, you would have known last week. What's the sponsor? John chapter 21. I'll start reading. Later, Jesus appeared again to the disciples beside the Sea Of Galilee. This is how it happened. Several of the disciples were there. Simon, Peter, Thomas, nicknamed the twin, Nathaniel from Canaan in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and the two and two other disciples. Simon Peter said, I'm going fishing. I can almost hear the tone in which he says that. You know, he's he's resigned. He's he's doesn't know what else to do. I don't know. I'm just going fishing. He's going back to his old habits. And then they said, we'll come too. They all said. So they went out on the boat, but they caught nothing all night. At dawn, Jesus was standing on the beach but the disciples couldn't see who he was. He called out, hey, guys. Have you caught any fish? No. They replied. Then he said, throw your nets on the right hand side of the boat. I bet you'll get some. So, they did and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. Then, the disciple, Jesus loved, said to Peter, now, who is the disciple whom Jesus loved? John. John, who is the author of this gospel. Oh my gosh. You guys are like, whoo. You had your coffee this morning. It's interesting how John, the author of this autobiography, Jesus, chooses to describe himself as the disciple that Jesus loved. He was clear. The one he loved the most, a subtle flex. Because he outran Peter to the tomb. He likes to keep it humble. Then, the disciple, Jesus loved, said to Peter, it's the lord. When Simon Peter heard that it was the lord, he put on his tunic for he had stripped for work. He jumped into the water and headed for shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to shore for there were only about 100 yards from shore. When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them. Fish cooking over a charcoal fire and some bread. Bring some of the fish you've just caught, Jesus said. So, Simon Peter went aboard, dragged the net to shore. There were a 153 large fish and yet, net hadn't broken. Torn. Now, come and have some breakfast. Jesus said, none of the disciples dared to ask him, who are you? For they knew that it was the lord. Then, Jesus served them the bread and the fish. This was the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples since he had been raised from the dead. After breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter. Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? Yes, Lord. Peter replied, you know that I love you. Then, feed my lambs, Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question. Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, lord. Peter said, you know that I love you. Then, take care of my sheep, Jesus said. A third time, Jesus asked him, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time and he said, lord, you know everything. You know that I love you. Jesus said, then feed my sheep. I tell you the truth. When you were young, you were able to do as you like. You dressed yourself and you went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and others will dress you and take you where you don't want to go. Jesus said this, to let him know what kind of death he would, what kind, by what kind of death he would glorify god. Then, Jesus told him, one more time, follow me. Peter turned around and saw behind them the disciple whom Jesus loved, the one who had leaned over to Jesus during supper and asked, lord, who will betray you? And Peter asked Jesus, what about this guy? Lord, and then Jesus replied, if I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, Peter, keep your eyes on me. Peter, just follow me. So, the rumors spread among the community of believers that this disciple wouldn't die but that's not what Jesus said at all. He only said, if I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? This disciple is the one who testifies to these events and has recorded them here and we know that this account of these things is accurate. What an amazing verse, verse 25. Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. If every man on earth were a scribe and every stock or reed and the sky was stretched out like a scroll, the scroll could not contain the hole, though stretched from sky to sky. We're going to talk about loneliness this morning. Loneliness. And I don't have a title for this morning's message because you might want to title this morning's message in your notes. A message for and then just maybe put your name down. We're gonna talk for just a few moments about loneliness. This past week, I was in Estes Park, Colorado. How many of you have ever been to Estes? Pretty cool place. Not as cool as Jackson, but it's a good stepping stone on your way to Jackson. I lived there for a a number of years when I was younger. This past week was the first time that I had really been back to Estes for oh my gosh. Almost twenty five. Twenty five years or or so. And I lived in Estes Park as as, like, a young adult. And while I was, like like, taking some notes for this, I I went back into the archives. I found a couple of pictures of me from my Estes Park days, so I thought it'd be you could get a kick out of some of these pictures. Yeah. There I am looking pensive for some reason. And I was also, just as I am today, very handsome, very stylish on the dance floor with my mousse. That's a buddy of mine. Stay Velas engaged in some riveting conversation. Hold on to that picture. For you for you climbers out there, we used to have to, like, like, bring the guidebooks with us, and they weren't on our phones. And so we were we were climbing a route and getting ready to get started. So I was like, wait. Where are we going again? So I'm studying the guidebook there on a on a route. And then I don't know if that was it. That was it? Okay. Okay. So so that that was me back in the Estes Park days. And as I was in Estes this past week, I was flooded with memories of of my days back in Estes Park. And I had a lot of fun in Estes. The friends that I met, some of those people I'm still friends with today, I had a lot of adventures, a lot of silliness, a lot of laughs. I love to laugh. I love to be silly. And as I was driving around through town and seeing some of these different places that I remember from, like, my early twenties, I was reminded of all the fun that I had, but I was also remembering that I spent a lot of time feeling really lonely. I had all kinds of friends. I went on all kinds of adventures, but there was an undercurrent of loneliness that constantly gnawed at my soul. I didn't feel like like it wasn't seasonal depression. It wasn't depression. It wasn't, like, just feeling gray. You know, as in our normal human experience, we experience a wide range and variety of emotions, and it's not that loneliness is necessarily a negative emotion, but I think we all know that it could be on the edge of a slippery slope to some negative emotions. Right? But loneliness, in of itself, not necessarily bad. It's an indicator that something's going on. But as I drove around through Estes, I thought a lot about why why do I remember feeling so lonely so much of the time in Estes? So, thought about it, thought about, thought about, and then eventually, I was like, oh, maybe I should just ask the lord about that. So, we're we're talking. I'm driving in my truck from one place to another around town and I said, Lord, I feel like as I see these familiar places and I kind of revisit my my, you know, old stomping grounds, I remember feeling, like, really lonely. Why did I feel so lonely? And it was maybe half an hour, sometime later, that he began to whisper to my heart and speak to me. And he said, son, the reason why you felt so lonely during those years is because you were not yet aware of your purpose and your identity. And I was like, what what is that what does that mean? How could a lack of purpose and identity, like, correlate to loneliness? And then and then he was quiet. And it wasn't until several days later when I was driving home that I was listening to an audio bible in my truck. Oh, and this is such a great way to, like, get the word down in there. This is so if you have Spotify or whatever you listen to music on, this is the audio Bible New Testament and yes, I know that like an audio Bible is not new but this is called streetlights, streetlights. How many of you are familiar with that version of the audio Bible? It is, it's so good. Okay, here. Listen. We'll see if this will come through. Matthew chapter one. The ancestors of Jesus the Messiah. Can you hear that already? This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the the father of Jacob. Jacob is to the Messiah. Give us something here. Search for the child to kill them. That night, Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, and they stayed there until Herod's death. Have you ever heard the bible like that? Like a little ambient beat underneath it? Oh, I could I could track with that for hours. I could put a lot of miles listening to listening to that on the skin track or on the trail. And they use different voices for different people speaking. So helpful. Yeah. Yeah. So there are different characters and voices, but it really resonated with me. You do you. But I was listening to to John, and it got to John chapter 21, the portion that we just read it, and God said, connect the dots. And I was like, oh, that makes so much sense. So we're going to see what I experienced in loneliness through this story in John chapter 21, and here's how it relates to you. Maybe somebody in here today under the sound of my voice will be able to relate to what Peter goes through, what I have been through, and what you may currently be experiencing around this emotion of loneliness. Did I set it up okay for where we're gonna go? Yes. Are you all with me? Yes. Say, I'm with you. I'm with you. Here we go. Verse three from chapter 21, Peter says, I'm going fishing. And if you know the backstory of Peter, Peter was raised as a fisherman. He was fishing the Sea Of Galilee when Jesus said, hey, let's go let's go out fishing. And Peter was like, dude, who are you? Like, I've seen you around. You got a little bit of a reputation, but, like like, this is a working fishing boat. Like like, if you wanna go, like, on a, like, a sightseeing tour, like, that's another boat down the shore. Like, I'm working here. Jesus, let let's just go out on your boat. So they go out on the boat. Remember, Peter pulls in this big catch of fish, and then Peter gets down on his knees in front of Jesus and is like like, you're not like, I'm not worthy to have you on my boat. Then, Jesus tells Peter from, like, come and follow me, and I will make you a fisher of men, right? You you all remember that story? And thus begins the three year whirlwind of Peter getting his life turned upside down as he follows the master, Jesus. And we know how the story goes. Jesus on the night that he was betrayed, Jesus explained to his disciples what was going to play out. And Peter says, I'll follow you anywhere. And Jesus like, hey, bud. Actually, what's going to happen is you're going to deny me three times. I'll never do it and Jesus is like, we'll see. We know that Peter denies Jesus each time more vehemently. And on the third time, he says, I swear to god, I don't know that man. Which was The rooster crows. Peter and Jesus walk eyes. Jeter, jeter. Peter knows that Jesus was right. Peter is confronted with his own weakness and is shattered in that moment. And he runs out crying. Now, from the story, we know that Jesus has appeared in the upper room before. So, so Peter has most likely seen Jesus but then we get this specific occasion. We're not exactly sure how much time had lapsed, but we know from reading the story that Peter and his crew have just been through, not only an a an emotional three years, but a very, very emotional week or two weeks with Peter's best friend and a spiritual leader, the messiah of Israel, and the savior of the world, going through what he had gone through. Peter has these images permanently embossed on his memory of not only his best friend alive and well, but being brutally tortured and then crucified like a common criminal, naked on a cross. He can't get these images out of his mind. The man who was leading them has now, like, poofed out of existence, but yet can poof back into existence at times? How unnervingly how unnerving, how unsettling is that? Peter is like a ship adrift without a rudder or an anchor. And so, he goes back to what is familiar and comfortable. I'm going fishing. That's not too unsimilar to what I did. I found myself in Estes Park, Colorado, and I thought, I'll just climb and ski and party. We tend to fall back on what's comfortable and familiar to us when we are without purpose or direction. How fruitful was Peter's fishing expedition? How many fish did he catch? Show me. Zero. Fruitless. All of that effort, all of that expenditure of energy came to nothing. I quote it all the time. Jay quoted it last week, but a famous quote from CS Lewis says that all that is not eternal is what? Eternally worthless. You're both right. You both get credit. All that is not eternal is eternally worthless. Now just take that little quote and hold your life up against it. I had a lot of fun, made a lot of friends. I wasn't necessarily doing anything wicked or horrible, but it was not it had any type of eternal nutritional value at all. Peter spinning his wheels all night long and he caught nothing. Look at verse six. Right in the midst of Peter's fruitlessness, Jesus arrives on the scene. And Jesus, he's tricky like that, that Jesus He doesn't say, hey, guys. It's me, Jesus. Thank you, P. He just calls out, and I imagine it kind of like in that, like, alpine light, that predawn light, you know, maybe a hood on his little cloak is up. You know, he's kinda looking like a Jedi silhouetted on the on the shore there, and he just calls out to him. How easy would it have been for Peter to be like, no, you're never gonna try the boat. Shut up, dude. But I hear fishing all night. Jesus just calls out. He it's an invitation. Hey. Similar to Moses in the burning bush. God didn't call to Moses and say, hey, I'm in the burning bush. Turn aside and come look. It's just a burning bush. It was Moses that had to make a a a choice. He had to exercise his volitional will, and the text says, I'll turn aside and see what this curious sight is. Don't miss the invitation of Jesus by just dismissing it as a distraction. He's looking to see. Will you set aside all that you are preoccupied with to even consider what I have to say? So Peter is like, I don't know, maybe his spidey sense was tingling. Like, he he he doesn't know that it's Jesus, but he's like, I feel like I've been here before. Is is the hair standing up on the back of his net? Okay. As he casts his net on the other side of the boat. We don't know. But in verse six, right in the midst of Peter's resignation, right in the midst of Peter's pursuit of trying to fill that void in his soul, Jesus arrives with just a suggestion or an opportunity. I think that today, and maybe even this message, the conversation is not much of a conversation right now. Sorry. Is a not a Kronos moment, Kronos, the advancement of time, but a kairos, a god ordained moment of time for you in this particular season and how cool would it be if god had to arrange all of these circumstances to get you and your spouse and your kids to have the same time off, a break between football camp and soccer camp and reunion and planning this trip to Jackson Hole and to sacrifice a Sunday for you to be here, sit in this room so that god could get your attention and say, hey, cast your net on the other side of the boat. That one small act of obedience that Peter performs in the midst of his fruitless endeavors and things begin to shift. The net was so full. They could hardly pull it up but there's an interesting detail that the net doesn't break. Peter's like, oh, know. I know who is behind these circumstances and events. Doesn't even wait for the boat to come to shore, jumps in the water, swims to shore, but it is kind of interesting in the flow of details. Peter comes to shore, but we don't see that Peter, like, comes up to Jesus. It's kind of hard to tell exactly what's going on. Jesus obviously has some fish because he tells the disciples, go get some more fish. Does Peter come up to Jesus? And then goes back to the boat to pull in that. It's it's a little bit foggy but in this particular instance, it's okay. All of the imagery that we need is provided for us. Verse six, we see even one small act of obedience to Jesus results in fullness. That's the takeaway. Fullness, the nets were full. And then in verse seven, we see how Jesus feeds the boys. Every single time you turn to or come to Jesus, he will feed you like a good old southern mama. He will feed you. He will provide nourishment for you if you come to him. Then there's a million series, countless books, much more eloquent sermons that you would ever hear come out of this mouth preached about what happens between verse fifteen and seventeen. But I'm only me and I'll share with you what the lord is speaking to me. It is these few verses that Jesus speaks identity and purpose over Peter. Identity and purpose over Peter. And in a way, Jesus does it is a little bit of spice to Jesus's words because what name was written on Peter's birth certificate? Simon. And then, Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter but in this particular instance, he refer Jesus refers to Peter as what? Simon. Simon, Peter. Like, what are you, bro? There's a little bit of spice but the spice is meant to draw out the flavor of the potency of this moment. Jesus is like, are you going to be Simon? Or are you going to be Peter? Simon Peter? Simon Peter? Are you going to be Simon? Or are you going to be Peter? Jesus speaks purpose and identity. Your identity is Peter, the rock. The one who loves me. I know that you love me. I've seen it in those quiet moments. I've seen it when you're driving past the Tetons in an incredible sunset, and you cast your gaze to the mountain range. And instead of worshiping the creation like a ding dong, you say, wow, god. You're amazing. He's like, I see that and out of the just the innocence of your heart, you just say, wow, I love you, Jesus. That is amazing. He sees that. He sees that when you're on a drive to some type of difficult circumstance with work or relational or something and you're like, Jesus, help me. He's heard your voice. He knows that you love him. And your identity is as his god's beloved son or daughter. That's your identity. Don't ever mix up your identity with your occupation. Because what happens when you don't have that occupation anymore? There goes your identity. Don't ever confuse your identity with your ability. What happens when you lose your ability? These these mountains will last way longer than your knees will. Boy, do I know. I can't even go up there. I don't have a meniscus. I just have a thin layer of Advil these days. But if your identity is in your ability, what happens when your ability disintegrates? You're lonely and lost. Thank you for helping reconnect those dots. Thank you, Amanda. Come bring a chair up here. Peter was like, I'll just go back to what I knew, what he thought his identity was. I guess I'm just a fisherman. And then as the sun is beginning to rise, he's like, this is a terrible identity because I haven't even caught a fish, not even one. How many of you know who and I'm sure he's more than just my friend, but how many of you know my friend Brad Wolf that lives here in town? Yeah. A lot of us do. So quick story about Brad Wolf. Brad Wolf owns a used car dealership in town, and he is probably, objectively looking at volume and sales wise, probably like the best vehicle dealership in all of Teton County. At least, I think so. Why is he so good at selling cars? It's because he knows his identity and purpose. And if you've ever been around Brad, he is humble and he's sharing and caring, and he's a great guy to be around, and his personality is encouraging, but he exudes something. There's something about him like that guy. And even if you you might not even be able to articulate it in that way. That guy knows his purpose and identity. His identity is a precious blood bought child of the king, and he knows that he is his daddy's favorite. And he knows his purpose. What would you guess Brad Wolf's purpose is? You can just say it. If you were to say selling cars, you'd be wrong. That's not his purpose. His purpose is not to sell cars, and he knows that's not his purpose. His he knows that his purpose is you're you're super close and and just it can't it comes out of my brain and out of my mouth a little bit differently, but you're right. His purpose is to help people. He loves to help people. That's what he was put on this earth to do, to help people. Well, what's his occupation? Selling cars. It's just a great fit. I can help you with your need to buy a used car. That's why he's so great at it. If you were to take away selling cars, he'd find some other way to help people because that's who he is and what he does. That is his purpose. In a similar way, if we don't know our identity or our purpose, or we have temporarily, through amnesia, lost connection with those things, a a gauge on our dashboard could light up. And the light that sometimes lights up and starts blinking is the loneliness light. Now, we've all Put that right on our gauges to, like, hide the gas gauge, right? Like, I gotta get back over the Oh, wait, who else does that? Oh, great, it's just me. Well, my motto in high school was, Ignore a problem long enough, and it will go away. Like, I just get stressed out. Like, it's it's like it's like that far away to get, or like the check engine light comes on. Check engine light? Okay, check engine light? Anybody? Oh, my gosh, okay. I'm just you guys are really learning a lot about me. So think of your emotions, the wide range of human emotions that you have, are like a dashboard of gauges. And when you feel hungry, that that light comes on, and it means something that you need to eat. Right? When we feel sad, it means that something else is going on. When we feel happy, bling, bling, bling, that means that something else is going on, and our emotions reflect or are gauges for for something else that's going on inside. And as as one of our members of our leadership team has said from the stage before that she probably read somewhere, but it's so great. She gets credit for it. That our emotions can be great passengers, but we should never give them the driver's seat and let them drive. Nor do we want to completely ignore them and, like, shove them in the trunk. Like kids, they make great passengers. Not a good idea to have them in the trunk even if we would want them to, but nor do we wanna put them in the driver's seat. There could maybe it's just one person. And who knows? Maybe it's for nobody in this room, but somebody will watching the livestream or listening to the podcast sometime later. This will be speaking to them. But right now, your loneliness light is just blinking, glaring, dominating all of the other gauges on your dashboard. And you feel incredibly lonely, whether or not you are conscious enough to realize it. When I was in Estes, I had a lot of friends. I had so much fun, and that's great. Friends are great. Having fun is great. I did a lot of I had a lot of adventures. It's great. The mountains were there, climbing and skiing. That's great. It has their place. But there was this glaring undercurrent of loneliness that pervaded and colored my whole time there. That as soon as I wasn't with friends and I I had no problem spending time alone. I'm quite comfortable alone. I enjoy being by myself. But but there was this undercurrent of loneliness that was just, like, eating at me. And I thought, oh, I feel lonely. So I would call up friends. What are you doing? I would make plans. I would plan adventures. I would go on adventures, and it was great and fun. And then when I was done with that, the loneliness would creep back up. I was not frenetic in my activity, like, I gotta be doing something. But I was just like, oh, I'm lonely. Let me just fix it. And, really, what I was doing was just putting something to cover over the the the blinky light on my emotional dashboard. I feel like the lord would have me sit here today to tell you to invite you to consider that the loneliness light that is blinking on your emotional dashboard is not actually because you're just lonely, but it is a symptom, just like Peter was experiencing, of your lack of identity and purpose. And until you plug into and receive from God your identity and your purpose, you will continue to experience dissatisfaction, unfulfillment, and you may even be plagued by loneliness, even if you're the most popular person in the room. Okay. Verse 20 Peter looks at John, the disciple whom Jesus loved And Peter says to Jesus, but but what about him? John, I need you for just a second. Come stand here. Okay. So we're we're talking and having a conversation. You doing okay this morning? I'm doing great. Okay. Good. Good. Good. You and I are talking. We're having a conversation, but you get distracted over there, and you say, but what about him while you're talking to me? Yeah. What about him? Jesus just goes like this. Over here. Right here. You're like, was was that was there gonna be a tender moment there? I did feel a little bit weird. Jesus says, Peter, Peter, I'm over here. Keep your eyes here. Don't worry about John. Don't worry about John. Don't worry about the purpose that you thinks is good for your life. Don't worry about the identity that the world has tried to put on you, that you have tried to put on, like, fighting like, you're David fighting Goliath in Saul's armor, it's just not a good fit. Don't worry about John and the race that I have for him. Son, I want you to stay in your lane in the race that I have for you. So I moved from Estes to Jackson. I got married to Lisa. We were in Jackson for almost ten years. Then we moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma for me to go to school for several years. While we were in Tulsa, my heart never left Jackson, and we got to come up to Jackson on a vacation with the kids. And we were invited to stay at the Bronx property. How many of you remember or know Don and Joe Brunk? Even if you don't know them personally, if you're a part of our tribe family, then then they would be like our great grandparents, some of the the the founders of the charismatic movement here in in Jackson and in this valley that we get to to continue to carry the torch for. And they said, y'all stay with us. And so we stayed out at the Bronx property, and it was restorative and wonderful and refreshing. And one afternoon, Selah and Kai, when they were little, they were riding their bikes on that little that little roundabout bark pathway, and Lissa and I are sitting on the back deck there looking at the Tetons. Our friends Matt and Heidi had brought up bison steaks to cook on the grill and eat, and I was like, this is it. This is life. We wanted to come back to Jackson so bad, and we had people that we never left fellowship with that were telling us, dude, stay with us. You can have our little like, apartment. We had people offering us jobs, and we're like, is this you, Lord? Like, providing a way for us to come back to Jackson? Have we finished, like, our assignment in Tulsa? Like, is this it? Are you opening the door? But it just didn't feel quite right. And so Lisa and I left with our tanks full in Jackson back to Tulsa, and we're like, we could make this happen. Is this is this you, Lord? And then the lord just whispered a simple phrase to me and he said, paradise without purpose is prison. And I was like, that's good. What does it mean? And he just goes, Have you ever had the Lord say that to you? You ask him a question, and he goes, what does that mean from the lord? If you've ever heard that or felt that from the lord. What is he saying when he does that? I think you know. I think you know or You gotta discover it. You gotta work it out, son. Maybe for one person, this message is hitting home. For it is the glory of god to conceal a matter. It is for the glory of a king to search it out. God doesn't hide stuff from us, but he hides stuff for us. And when he said, paradise without purpose is a prison, but then didn't explain to me what it meant. I had to figure it out. And what he was saying to me in that particular instance is the current assignment that I have for you is Tulsa, Oklahoma. And when you are fulfilling your purpose and you know your identity, it doesn't matter where you are, it is paradise. Sure, you could come back to Jackson. The mountains and the friends and the activities, your people. I kinda I just didn't fit in with a lot of but in Jackson, I did. But it would have been a prison. And here's what I feel like, if I may be so bold. Some of you, you might need to pack up your bags before the summer is over and leave Jackson Hole. Quit trying to make this town and this life work. That's why you feel so lonely. Even though you've got friends and you're crushing it in the mountains, You don't belong here. That's why you feel so lonely. That's why you feel un you feel so unsettled, why you feel so unsatiated. You don't belong here. And I'm not saying that as a local to you, like, you're not one of us. Are you picking up what I'm putting down? I could have I I could have belonged in Estes, but I thought Estes was the thing. I thought my friends were the thing. I thought my pursuits were the thing. They they they weren't the thing. The thing was I was anemic or had amnesia for my purpose and identity. But once I turned aside to Jesus, Lord, you know that I love you. It was then that he spoke purpose and identity over my life. My identity is as a son. I am my father's son. I grew up without a dad. Never got a letter. Never got a call. Never met him. The world would try to put on me the identity of Peter Pan, a boy that never grew up not knowing his father. That's not my identity, even though that may have been my circumstance. That is not my identity. My identity is the son of a king, of a warrior, a competitor, a winner. I'm a winner. I will crush you. That's my identity. And when you beat me, it doesn't change my identity. I love to compete. And my dad is a winner, and his blood runs through my veins. And when I crush you, it's not about me defeating you. It's just who I am. And I'd like to think that I'm a good loser. Right? I'm learning. From the people that know me second best. My purpose is to lead, love, and shepherd people. That's what I was made to do. Right now, my particular assignment is that of a pastor. But being a pastor is not my identity. And if you if you are new and I've introduced myself to you, I introduce myself to you as Brian. And maybe it's a cultural thing. Maybe it's a regional thing. But some of you feel comfortable calling me pastor Brian. If you wanna call me pastor Brian, that's fine. If you don't call me pastor Brian, doesn't affect me at all. In fact, a lot of people call me PB. That's fine. It doesn't matter what you call me. I've had people that, like, get offended for me. It's pastor Brian. That's not on my birth certificate. Because being a pastor is not my identity. It happens to be this particular assignment. I don't know how long I will have the assignment of being a pastor. I really enjoy it, and I love it. I don't get my identity from it, and I hope that it's a long time but I even use the word specifically assignment because assignments, by nature, they. Start. End. They start, they end, and they change. I might have another assignment. This might be my last assignment until Jesus comes back. I don't know. But my identity is different. I still feel times of like, I would love to be around friends and where are my friends? And hey, friends. And I feel the the emotion of loneliness. It's not like I'm immune to that, but it is not related to my lack of purpose and identity. Yours very well could be tied to that. And as long as you stay in Jackson, as long as you stay in this current trajectory thinking that if you just do more mountain adventures, if you just buy and sell one more house, if you just do this, if you just do that, if you can just get here, if you could just that it's going to assuage those feelings of loneliness, it will only perpetuate the feelings of loneliness. Perhaps the best thing you can do is put in your seasonal notice and go home. It was not until those mountains and those activities was was removed for me or that I got into a different environment, even though I moved from one mountain town to another town, like like it was all new here. It was removed from those things that were familiar, were for that were comfortable. Just like Peter saying, I'm going fishing. I thought I could fix those feelings of loneliness by just going to a new mountain town and doing what I was always doing. But it was that interruption that God was able to grab a hold of my heart and say and and turn just like I turned John's attention and gaze. John Micah says, Jesus says to Peter, stop worrying about what John is doing. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me. It was after the Lord I began to realize and discover my purpose and identity that these mountains and these activities that I still love to do could find their right place. Boy, I sure would miss the mountains, and I would miss all of my adventure friends if I had a new assignment, but it wouldn't change who I am. And so to land the plane and then transition to to just a few more things that we're gonna do this morning. Perhaps you're here in this seat because God is inviting you to quit fishing. It's fruitless when you are looking for your purpose and identity in those things. It doesn't matter it doesn't matter how big your net is, doesn't matter. You can fish all night long. You're not gonna catch any fish. Stop it. Listen to the voice of the lord that happens to be coming out of this ski bum dirtbag climber's mouth. It's fruitless. And you feel lonely because you think that by filling it with activities and stuff and things that it's going to provide the deep answers to the questions in your heart of purpose and identity. They just can't. Today, will you listen to the voice of Jesus as he stands on the on the lakeshore of your heart inviting you to set your nets down for a second and come into shore and let him feed you. Boy, that was said really good. Jesus, good job connecting sea dots. Not Brian, Jesus. Now how as a practical and tangible way, for us to let go of that iron grip on our fishing nets, even if for just a moment, how can we practically, tangibly let go of that death grip we have on the nets. We're going to transition from our conversation. Sorry, you didn't get to talk much today. We're going to transition to receiving communion together. And as we receive communion together, I think the Lord is going to speak to you if you'll let him. Okay? Is that handheld mic nearby? Might need it. Sarah, can you bring it? So, the Bible records that on the night that Jesus was betrayed, he met in an upper room with his disciples to share and celebrate a long standing feast of the lord called the feast of Passover. And during the meal, a meal that all of the members of Jesus' leadership team had celebrated year after year after year after year religiously and historically, Jesus flipped the script, and we have recorded for us in scripture that during the meal, Jesus took bread and he broke it. First, he broke it and then he blessed it. He gave it to his disciples and he said, take and eat. For this bread that you've been eating as Jews for centuries actually was a foreshadowing of me. He said, take and eat for this bread represents my life's body which is given for you. Then the Bible records that after the meal, Jesus took another cup and he said, take and drink. For this cup represents my life's blood, which is poured out for you, and it ratifies or confirms a new covenant that I am making with you in my life's blood. Then he says, I'll not drink again of this fruit of the vine until I drink it with you at the coming of my kingdom on our wedding day. And oh what a wedding that will be. Behold the cup of salvation, the cup of redemption, the cup of eternal life. God, I ask that you would perform a miracle right here and that you would transform these simple common elements into a sacrament which is simply a means of grace where we can touch you by faith. So that as we partake in the mystery of this meal, you would whisper deep into our hearts about identifying loneliness and that you would feed us with purpose and identity. As people partake of the bread and people partake of the cup, feed them with purpose and identity and remind them the great price that you paid for them to have purpose and identity. Well, I'm just thinking of like, I feel like the Holy Spirit is speaking to me right now Think about Gideon as he was threshing wheat down in a wine press. God speaks to him and says, mighty man of valor. And Gideon's like, looks around, who are you talking about? I know that we're in the middle of praying, but look at me for just a second. God will always speak and address you with the potential that he sees in you, even if you don't see it in yourself. He will always address the potential that he sees in you. Not the failure that you have seen in yourself or may currently be experiencing. And you walk in the fullness of your purpose and identity, the smaller that gap gets between the way that you see yourself and walking in how he sees you. He called Simon Peter, the rock. He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. He sees the things that you might not even see in yourself. And so, Lord, meet with us as we partake of communion together this morning. In Jesus' name, amen. Now, here's how we do communion at at Tribe. Our communion is open to anyone who calls on the name of the lord to be saved. Here's what that means. If you've invited Jesus into your heart and he is the leader of your life, you are qualified to receive communion. If you've not invited Jesus into your heart, if he's not the leader of your life, this is not my role, this is not tribe's role, this is Jesus' role, this is his feast and this particular moment of service is exclusive. It is not inclusive. But it doesn't mean that you still can't participate. All you gots to do is just invite Jesus in your heart real quick. I'm wracked with loneliness and I'm realizing it's because I've not invited you into my heart. Jesus, forgive me of my sin. Come into my heart. Wash me clean with your blood and he'll be like, I got you. And then you can jump in on communion. One other thing that disqualifies us from communion and that is unforgiveness in our heart. So, take care of accounts with you and the lord before you come up and receive communion because the Bible says that if we don't do those two things, if we take communion with with with unsettled accounts between us and the lord, if we take communion without being a Christian, being born again, being saved, Paul says that we actually eat and drink judgment on our ourselves and you don't want that. Especially when the mercy of god is freely, abundantly available. Don't drink the judgment of god on your life. And here's how we partake of communion at Tribe. In in just a moment, I'm going to stand here with the bread and we will invite you from the back starting from the back to walk down the front. I I yes, you can, like, pick up the bread from the plate, but it's one of the joys of my job to be able to serve you, to feed you, and so I'm not gonna like Catholic style, like, put it in there. But if you just hold your hand out, it is a joy in my heart to serve you communion. You receive the bread and then you step this way. Bob is going to serve you from the cup and you take the bread, you dip it into the cup, and then you can take communion and work your way back around this way. Okay? I think I've used all of my words and I will invite you starting from the back to come forward and receive communion this morning. Jesus You bore my forgiveness with your blood. Oh, your precious blood. With your blood. Oh, your precious blood. Just sing that with me. You bought my forgiveness. Just thank him. You bought my forgiveness. Yes, you did. You bought my forgiveness What a gift it is to just be in the tender presence of the Holy Spirit, which is perhaps what you're feeling or not feeling right now, but he's here. He's present in his very tender spirit. What a gift it is for that. We've worshiped the Lord today corporately coming to church on a Sunday morning. We've worshiped him through song, through the reading of his word, through our conversation, and then we and through communion, and we have the opportunity corporately one more time to worship him together, and that's through the bringing of our tithe and our offering. And what a great opportunity. Speaking of a gift, it really is a gift to be able to do that because practically speaking, when you give to your local church, it helps go and do the work of the ministry, ministry. What local churches are supposed to do, love on people. Do the work of the ministry. But then spiritually speaking, it keeps us calibrated and in tune to the Holy Spirit. Because when you give a portion of your money, and let's be honest, we all work very hard for that. Right? We don't just go to even if you love your job, you don't just do it for fun. You do it to provide for your family, to pay for things. And so when we give something like money, that's kind of a big deal, can be a big deal to the Lord with open hands and heart and just say, God, I surrender a portion of my finances to you. It may feel easy. It may it may feel really hard or you feel like you don't have it to give. But there's something supernatural when you have your heart surrendered to Lord and you bring your tithe and your offering, which is above and beyond the tithe, to him, where you're just saying, God, I love and trust you so much. It doesn't matter how much remember, feelings are terrible drivers. It doesn't matter how much I feel like I need this, and I just wanna, like, hang on to it. Not to not to gamble, but, like, pay my bills. You know, it feels like you need that, but God's like, I got you. The God of the universe doesn't need our US dollars to do work, but he does need our hearts surrendered to him. And this is just the avenue that we use here at the local church. So whether you're giving now or another time, we're gonna pray together. But before we pray, just practically speaking, we don't we're meeting at a bar, so we don't pass buckets. We do things differently here at Drive. But if you see on the screen here, this is the easiest way to give. You just open up a new text to the number 84321, and you can type in the amount you wanna give and do it that way anytime. We also if you have a cash or check, something tangible, there's a bucket with the tribe logo right by the saloon doors as you pass, and then always on our website, tribejh.com. There's a giving tab. So let's close our eyes and pray together while we're here as a tribe fan. Heavenly father, thank you so much that you not only give us opportunities to calibrate our heart with yours, but you're just right there like we've been talking about today. If we feel off track or if we feel lonely or something just feels off, it's not because you're far away. The Bible says that. You're always right here. It's because we're off, and we need to recalibrate our hearts with yours. And so thank you for the opportunity to not only do that through prayer and through worship and through time spent, but we do it by loving other people and by bringing our tithe and our offering, just all these things that attune our heart posture to you. The best place to be, God, is in your will. Wherever that is geographically, wherever that is emotionally, your will is where we wanna be. So we just thank you for this opportunity to give to you. And, Lord, I just pray that the money given here today will just do the work of the ministry in the ways that you see fit. Pray that the leadership team will just use use it wisely to exactly what you want to do. We wanna draw people to you, Jesus. That's why we're here. We get to be your hands and your feet and your mouthpiece, and what an honor it is. So help us be good stewards of what you've given to us. Thank you so much in Jesus' name. Amen. Just a couple quick announcements, and we'll get you guys out of here on this beautiful Jackson Sunday. If you have something that's heavy on your heart and you would like us to agree in prayer with you before you leave today, please go back to the booths. We have John and Kate will be back there and Lanisha, and we can pray for you there. Just meet you where you're at, agree with you in prayer like you hear us say, there's nothing too small and nothing too big, and if that that you can pray for. And today, if you were stirred by what Brian was talking about, you're like, need someone to help me work this out because the Holy Spirit kinda dropped something. Please don't leave without that prayer. So go back to the back, those little booths, we can pray together however short or long it needs to take. And then finally, if you have a hankering for adventure and you've never climbed to Disappointment Peak or you have because it's a really good one, we're gonna be climbing that this Saturday. Are you leading that, Brian? Yeah. Okay. He won't crush you. He promised us. Now we're all scared. Yeah. Disappointment Peak is a great hike, and I've been on one that you fled, and you did a great job. He said he won't crush anyone? Is that what said? Because you ended the sermon with, I am a competitor and I will crush you. So you were just remedied. Yeah. He'll be gentle and sweet. He's gonna guide us. Yes. He shall guide. Disappointment Peak is what about 13 miles, about a 4,800 elevation gain. It's solid. And Brian won't let you fall when you come through that crag in the middle. Very disappoint. You will not be disappointed. I believe the origin of the name of that is the guy climbing it thought it was the grand. He got up there, and when you get up there, the grand is in your face, and he was like, no. It's you. Now I'm disappointed. That's the historical accuracy for sure. Alright. We're gonna pray pray and get out of here. Brian, please come. Save me from myself. Can I just say one thing really quick? I just feel like this is on my heart. Brian said something in his message and I just feel like reiterating this so someone didn't hear what he wasn't saying. What he wasn't saying was if you feel lonely, Don't just go back to that last place because I feel like that's what Peter did. He didn't know what to do so he just went back to his old way and I think it's attention to manage. And when you said that, I knew what you meant. The home that we need to go to is Jesus. Mhmm. It's not just run home to a geographical place. I just wanted to make sure that because I know a lot of young adults in here are trying to decide, do I just go back home? You know, but really it's dig into Jesus, like that's where you find your home. For some of you, you may need to go home and sublease your apartment or put your house for sale and get here. Alright. Now that you thoroughly can do stand up. Holy Spirit, please sort this out. I don't know. Do I stay here? I go. Lord Jesus, thank you so much that you are the only one qualified and capable to speak purpose and identity over our life. I command a blessing over each and every person here today. Lord, reveal their purpose, whisper their purpose, whisper their identity over them. As they go throughout their week cause the work of their hands to be so successful and like Eric little help them to experience your pleasure in them as they go throughout their work week this week. We pray these things in Jesus' name, the strong son of God. And everybody said, amen. Amen. I love you so very much. I want you to have a great week. And remember, you got this.