Title: The Wall
Speaker: Mike Casey
Text: Romans 5:1-5
[00:00:05] Thank you for listening to the Calvary Monterey Podcast. To learn more about our church, please visit calvary.com.
[00:00:11] And for additional resources from our lead pastor, Nate Holdridge, please visit nateholdridge.com.
[00:00:18] Teaching today is our recovery pastor, Mike Casey.
[00:00:27] It's good to be with you here this morning. And Riley, I don't know if you've ever sung that song before or not, but it was overwhelming me.
[00:00:37] I plead the blood. Isn't that amazing?
[00:00:42] For those of you that have never met me or don't know me, my name is Pastor Mike, and this may sound a little shocking,
[00:00:48] but I remember years ago, prior to becoming a Christian when I was arrested, I was going to court and the public defender told me,
[00:00:56] you have to plead guilty. Not, excuse me, not guilty. And I'm like, well, that's weird, I'm guilty.
[00:01:04] And then when I told my wife that I was pleading not guilty, she said, why? You're guilty.
[00:01:10] It didn't make a lot of sense. But this morning, listening to that song and going through what I went through
[00:01:20] and becoming a believer, as believers, we get to plead the blood.
[00:01:27] Because we are not guilty by the blood of Jesus. Amen?
[00:01:32] Amen.
[00:01:33] So let's go ahead and pray.
[00:01:36] Lord, thank you for 2024.
[00:01:41] Thank you for what you've done in the lives of so many.
[00:01:44] Thank you for what you've done here at Calvary Monterey.
[00:01:47] And just, Lord, we look forward to what you're going to do with expectation in 2025.
[00:01:54] So we just thank you for meeting us here today, Lord.
[00:01:58] And we just ask you, Lord, as we go through the word, Lord, that we are blessed that there is something for somebody
[00:02:03] that they needed to hear today.
[00:02:04] So we just pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:02:08] I remember Nate was sharing last week about the jail and it really inspired me.
[00:02:12] And I actually got to meet somebody this morning that is here today
[00:02:15] that just got out of prison after 24 years.
[00:02:17] It was a blessing to welcome him here because that's what we want.
[00:02:21] We want people coming. Amen.
[00:02:24] Amen.
[00:02:26] We want this church to be the church that people come to.
[00:02:30] You know, if you've got it all together and you're like perfect, maybe you're, I don't know,
[00:02:35] maybe you're in the wrong place, you know?
[00:02:37] But I certainly don't.
[00:02:40] But as we wind down 2024 and look to 2025,
[00:02:43] what's going to be super important is our perspective.
[00:02:46] You know, every year on Monday night at Regen,
[00:02:49] Ernst Van Egan, he comes up and does this little thing
[00:02:52] where he has everybody choose a word for the year.
[00:02:56] And he says it's going to be your word for the year.
[00:02:59] So when things get tough, think back about that word
[00:03:02] and be inspired by that word.
[00:03:04] So I was thinking about that this morning.
[00:03:06] I woke up really early, nervous about being up here.
[00:03:08] And for me, I am an optimist.
[00:03:14] So I really want this year for my optimism to be overflowing
[00:03:18] because I don't like the times when I am pessimistic.
[00:03:23] You know what I'm saying?
[00:03:24] I like to look at things positively
[00:03:26] because when we look at things positively, things seem to go better.
[00:03:29] But when we start out with that kind of pessimistic attitude,
[00:03:33] it kind of grinds on us, doesn't it?
[00:03:37] It's so much better to walk out of the house in this morning and look at,
[00:03:40] yeah, it's raining, but hey, it's a beautiful day.
[00:03:42] I'm alive.
[00:03:43] You know, I get to go to church, worship God.
[00:03:45] I have friends.
[00:03:47] I'm blessed.
[00:03:48] Amen.
[00:03:49] And that's what it's about.
[00:03:51] So this morning, we are going to be actually going through,
[00:03:55] we're going to be in Romans 5, verses 1 through 5.
[00:03:58] So I get sidetracked really easy, so I'm going to read the text.
[00:04:03] So I know that about myself.
[00:04:05] So I'm going to be optimistic and I'm going to read it up front
[00:04:08] and I'm going to get it done.
[00:04:09] And I'm going to be optimistic that we're going to get through all of it
[00:04:12] because the clock is ticking.
[00:04:14] Amen?
[00:04:16] And I've entitled this morning's teaching, The Wall.
[00:04:19] And you'll understand later what I mean.
[00:04:21] And if you know me, you might say, am I a Pink Floyd fan?
[00:04:24] I wrote a book called Comfortably Numb and now my teaching is The Wall.
[00:04:28] Yeah, you can say that.
[00:04:30] But it's a different wall.
[00:04:32] So it says,
[00:05:01] It says,
[00:05:02] You know,
[00:05:05] You know, we learn in that text and actually it starts out,
[00:05:08] Therefore.
[00:05:09] So we know that from Romans 4, it's talking about Abraham.
[00:05:12] Abraham was justified by faith.
[00:05:15] He was a man of faith, so he was justified.
[00:05:20] And when I am talking to somebody, if I read them just those two verses,
[00:05:25] it sounds pretty simple.
[00:05:27] If you're justified by faith, things are going to be different.
[00:05:30] Things are going to be better.
[00:05:31] Amen?
[00:05:31] I could sell that all day to somebody when I visit them in the jail.
[00:05:35] Hey, just be justified by faith.
[00:05:38] Things are going to be good.
[00:05:39] Your life is going to change.
[00:05:41] It's all going to be smiles and sunshine and rainbows.
[00:05:46] But when we get down a little bit further into verse 3,
[00:05:50] it's kind of where it's kind of a party crusher.
[00:05:53] It starts talking about trials.
[00:05:56] Who likes trials?
[00:05:59] You know, we just talked about being optimistic.
[00:06:02] So if we're optimistic, we're not going to be thinking about all the trials that may or may not come.
[00:06:06] Or we may.
[00:06:10] But rejoicing in suffering.
[00:06:12] You know, when I was at the jail with Nate and the staff when we were doing the event,
[00:06:17] and I was watching Pastor Nate teach up front,
[00:06:21] and I was sitting in the back, and it was a pretty beautiful sight.
[00:06:25] We have all of these men and women in their stripes, in their jumpsuits,
[00:06:30] and Nate up there teaching.
[00:06:32] There was no hiding what was going on.
[00:06:36] You could look at those people and say,
[00:06:38] those people are going through trials.
[00:06:41] They're in jail.
[00:06:43] Many of them probably just got done with a trial
[00:06:46] because those were all sentenced inmates.
[00:06:48] So they know what it's like,
[00:06:50] not only to go through trials in life,
[00:06:52] but actually to go through a legal trial.
[00:06:55] But they were there, hands in the air, praising Jesus.
[00:07:00] You know, worshiping God.
[00:07:03] It was an awesome thing.
[00:07:04] So they weren't hiding.
[00:07:06] You can't hide who you are in a jail jumpsuit.
[00:07:10] I remember when I was going to court for the first time,
[00:07:13] and you had to get off the bus, and you had the leg irons on,
[00:07:17] and you're walking.
[00:07:18] I was worried that there was going to be some mass murderer in jail with me,
[00:07:22] and the press was going to be there,
[00:07:24] and everybody was going to know what was going on with me.
[00:07:26] You know?
[00:07:28] There was no hiding what I was there for.
[00:07:32] I couldn't run into somebody and say I was just there visiting.
[00:07:34] I'm in a jumpsuit with stripes that says Monterey County Jail on the back.
[00:07:38] Amen?
[00:07:39] So there was no hiding that.
[00:07:42] Monday night's recovery meeting here in this room, 20 years.
[00:07:47] There's no hiding that the people that are coming into this meeting
[00:07:50] have been through struggles, been through trials, been through addiction,
[00:07:54] and whether they're in the bridge or they're at Teen Challenge
[00:07:57] or whatever, Genesis House, all of the different people that come,
[00:08:01] they're not here hiding who they are.
[00:08:05] They're up front raising their hands up like I have struggles.
[00:08:09] I'm going through it.
[00:08:11] They're not hiding it.
[00:08:14] Us as believers, we kind of can be, we can kind of hide.
[00:08:21] I remember my early time as a Christian, Michelle and I,
[00:08:25] we would get into these big, and I know this is some of you too,
[00:08:31] get into this big argument on the way to church.
[00:08:34] You know, big old like just, just arguing, just like, you know?
[00:08:39] And you're driving, and you know you're getting close to church.
[00:08:41] You're driving up that little driveway, and you're waving at the parking lot guy.
[00:08:47] Everything is good, you know?
[00:08:50] You're going to strangle her, but it's all good, you know?
[00:08:55] And then you park, and you get out, and you're like, praise the Lord!
[00:08:59] Right?
[00:09:01] Well, really, we need a little less of that.
[00:09:03] We really need to, like, be able to admit, I'm struggling.
[00:09:08] I'm having a hard time, whether it's in my marriage, or my job,
[00:09:12] or with faith, or with friends, or with family.
[00:09:16] But we can tend to come to church, and we can tend to kind of hide sometimes.
[00:09:20] You know what I mean?
[00:09:21] Like, everything is good, because we put on our Sunday face.
[00:09:25] Now, I don't want to come next Sunday and have everybody moping around
[00:09:28] saying, well, you said don't put on your Sunday face.
[00:09:31] It's not, I mean, I did and I didn't.
[00:09:33] What I said was, don't pretend.
[00:09:36] Reach out to somebody.
[00:09:37] Hey, I'm struggling, I'm having some issues.
[00:09:40] But when we pretend, we just act like everything is good,
[00:09:43] and it's not always that way.
[00:09:48] What I love, Christina, one of our ladies in the Ladies' Psalm,
[00:09:52] she has two things that she likes.
[00:09:53] She quotes Pastor Jeff all the time and says, thank you!
[00:09:57] All the time, thank you!
[00:09:58] Just nonstop.
[00:10:01] Pastor Jeff, you don't know what you started.
[00:10:04] Right?
[00:10:05] And her other saying that she likes to quote,
[00:10:07] she likes to quote Mike Tyson.
[00:10:09] Right?
[00:10:10] She likes to say, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.
[00:10:15] Isn't that true?
[00:10:17] We sit here and we think about, oh man,
[00:10:20] when I leave here my life is going to be different,
[00:10:22] I'm going to be different, I'm going to be nice,
[00:10:24] I'm going to have fun, I'm going to have joy.
[00:10:27] And then you go out and the world just smacks you in the face.
[00:10:31] It kind of changes your plan, doesn't it?
[00:10:33] So now let's go back to our word, perspective.
[00:10:36] Well we should know these things are going to happen.
[00:10:40] Many, many years ago, it wasn't my first marathon,
[00:10:43] I think it was my third marathon,
[00:10:45] I had trained about six, seven months for the Reading Marathon.
[00:10:48] I went up there, I actually over-trained and I had a strain.
[00:10:53] But hey, I trained for six months,
[00:10:55] I paid the money, drove five hours,
[00:10:58] got out of the car, got in line, started the race.
[00:11:03] And I was struggling.
[00:11:06] They talk about the wall.
[00:11:08] They say the wall you hit at about mile 20.
[00:11:10] I had run other marathons, I never really hit a wall.
[00:11:15] But this marathon, I'm telling you, I was just cruising along,
[00:11:19] maybe like mile 19.
[00:11:22] And I'm like, no, it's not going to happen to me.
[00:11:26] And boy, I tell you, I hit it so hard.
[00:11:29] I completely, it was like literally like hitting a wall.
[00:11:33] That's why they call it the wall.
[00:11:34] I just, boom, I was done.
[00:11:37] There was nothing left in the tank
[00:11:41] until this little old lady annoyed the heck out of me.
[00:11:45] She comes jogging up to me like she's 15 years old.
[00:11:49] Well, come on, honey, I'm 89 and I've run 40 marathons.
[00:11:52] Let's go.
[00:11:55] Shut up.
[00:12:00] Like, I was super annoyed.
[00:12:03] Like, you don't understand, I'm struggling.
[00:12:08] Now, did I do anything wrong?
[00:12:10] No, I trained right, I did everything right,
[00:12:12] I ate right, I got the sleep that I needed.
[00:12:15] So how does this relate to us?
[00:12:17] As believers, we, we, trials will hit us.
[00:12:23] It doesn't mean we're bad, something's wrong,
[00:12:25] we did something wrong, it happens.
[00:12:31] So, the embarrassing part was you have seven hours
[00:12:34] to run a marathon.
[00:12:35] I crossed the finish line and my family was there.
[00:12:41] The, the guy sitting at the table looked kind of annoyed.
[00:12:44] He entered my bib number and he hit enter
[00:12:46] and he closed his computer.
[00:12:48] Oh, was that?
[00:12:50] Oh, six hours, 59 minutes and 53 seconds.
[00:12:55] Wow, that's a record.
[00:12:56] Yeah.
[00:12:58] And then they usually come out with bikes and say,
[00:13:00] hey, let's go clear the course.
[00:13:01] And the guy says, oh no, he was the last one.
[00:13:07] But did I quit?
[00:13:08] No.
[00:13:09] I said, okay, well what could I do differently next time?
[00:13:14] How can I train for the next one?
[00:13:16] How could I do it better when I do it again?
[00:13:20] And as believers, when a trial hits us
[00:13:24] or when we hit that wall, we have to say, okay,
[00:13:26] now what did I learn from this?
[00:13:28] Why, why, why am I going through this particular lesson?
[00:13:33] Is there something I could learn from it?
[00:13:35] You know, I wrote, actually I wrote here that,
[00:13:42] I wrote, I don't know quite who would think about rejoice in suffering,
[00:13:48] but I don't like it.
[00:13:49] But then this morning when I got up and I was coming here,
[00:13:53] I thought, you know, it's the trials and the suffering
[00:13:56] that me personally, that I have gone through,
[00:13:58] that have shaped me into the person I am today.
[00:14:02] So as I look back, I'm grateful for the many trials that God has put me through.
[00:14:08] Are they fun when they're happening?
[00:14:11] Absolutely not.
[00:14:12] Do we rejoice in them?
[00:14:14] I mean, it sounds good on a coffee mug, right?
[00:14:18] Or on a plaque, I rejoice in my sufferings.
[00:14:23] It sounds good, doesn't it?
[00:14:25] But in reality, we just kind of, we kind of like complain, right?
[00:14:29] Oh, you know what I'm going through?
[00:14:32] And that's good, we should share with that.
[00:14:35] Tim Keller says,
[00:14:40] While suffering is difficult, it can lead to a greater understanding of grace,
[00:14:45] resilience, and the transformative power of God's love.
[00:14:49] He encourages believers to view trials as part of their spiritual journey,
[00:14:53] helping them grow closer to God and develop compassion for others who are suffering.
[00:15:00] You know?
[00:15:01] You know?
[00:15:01] So when somebody comes to this church that maybe just got out of jail,
[00:15:06] or maybe just got out of prison, I can have compassion for them.
[00:15:11] I spent many, many years going to Salinas Valley State Prison,
[00:15:15] Soledad Prison, spent seven years teaching at the Monterey County Jail.
[00:15:19] So I have compassion for those people,
[00:15:23] A, because they're people and God calls us to,
[00:15:26] and B, because I was there, I was in their shoes.
[00:15:29] I was somebody who made bad choices and went through trials.
[00:15:34] Now, were all the trials I went through related to what I did?
[00:15:37] No.
[00:15:37] There were lots of other trials, and we were like,
[00:15:39] well, why am I going through that?
[00:15:41] We should be thinking, what is God trying to show me?
[00:15:44] How can God use that?
[00:15:48] What is that going to be used for?
[00:15:50] How will that bless somebody else?
[00:15:51] Instead of, I think at times we can get into these like maybe pity parties.
[00:15:57] You know, like poor me.
[00:15:59] You know, do you know what I'm going through?
[00:16:05] I empathize with you.
[00:16:06] But the bigger question is, what is God doing?
[00:16:10] Is God doing something in me?
[00:16:12] Is there something I need to learn from this?
[00:16:15] I just got punched in the face.
[00:16:16] You know, maybe it's time to slow down, take a deep breath and say, okay, God, you must be speaking to me.
[00:16:26] And what can I learn from this?
[00:16:28] And how can I take this?
[00:16:29] And how can I move forward?
[00:16:31] Because at times we make it all about ourselves, right?
[00:16:35] It's all about me.
[00:16:36] Instead of looking and taking the perspective and saying, now if God is using this for this, how is he going to use it in the future?
[00:16:45] What blessing can it be to somebody?
[00:16:47] You know what I mean?
[00:16:48] How can it help somebody else?
[00:16:49] When I look at my life, man, there was just so many tragic things that happened to me in my upbringing, molestation, and just on and on and on.
[00:16:59] Well, I could just say, well, that was just horrible stuff.
[00:17:01] But now fast forward all these years later, I look back and I say, what a blessing.
[00:17:06] What a blessing.
[00:17:08] Was it fun at the time?
[00:17:09] No.
[00:17:10] But what a blessing because I get to talk to people that are going through those things and I could say, there is hope on the other side.
[00:17:20] We can get through this.
[00:17:22] We can get through it together.
[00:17:24] That's what's beautiful about this body of believers.
[00:17:27] You guys are so great at welcoming and loving people that are coming to this church that are different from you.
[00:17:34] You know, not many churches welcome recovery programs, right?
[00:17:39] Not many churches say, yes, send us your poor and your weak and your broken.
[00:17:43] But isn't that what it says in the Bible?
[00:17:44] Isn't that what Jesus said?
[00:17:46] Right?
[00:17:47] Send me those people.
[00:17:49] This church is like the book of Acts.
[00:17:51] It's like the early church.
[00:17:53] We're doing things, we're moving forward and we're blessing people.
[00:17:57] That's what it's about.
[00:17:58] That's what Jesus called us.
[00:18:00] He came to seek and save that which was lost.
[00:18:04] And I know that when I came here, I was so lost.
[00:18:08] So I'm still lost, right?
[00:18:10] I'm still lost.
[00:18:11] I don't want to stand up here and have anybody think, well, Mike's got it all together.
[00:18:14] Mike does not have it all together.
[00:18:16] Not even close.
[00:18:18] But what I do have, and I'm going to go back to the beginning, is I have a different perspective.
[00:18:22] I believe that whatever God throws at me or throws at you, you can, with the right attitude, work through that and use that.
[00:18:33] What was meant for evil, what does the Bible say?
[00:18:36] God uses for good.
[00:18:38] God uses for his glory.
[00:18:40] You know, there's some great people coming out of jail and prison that go on to preach the gospel.
[00:18:46] There are great people that started their life in tragedy that become mighty men and women of God.
[00:18:53] You know, mighty men of valor.
[00:18:55] Amen?
[00:18:57] And that's what it's about.
[00:18:59] You know, so I wrote down some points that I wanted to talk about where we can relate.
[00:19:06] I looked up in the Bible, you know, the Bible talks about running so many times compared to scripture.
[00:19:12] And I think the reason that it uses that analogy so many times in the Bible, there was too many to even put down,
[00:19:19] is because it's about you.
[00:19:24] It's about endurance.
[00:19:25] It's about getting in shape.
[00:19:27] It's about failing and using that failure or that lesson to become better.
[00:19:32] It's about endurance.
[00:19:33] It's about patience.
[00:19:35] You know, when you're out there running for seven hours, 59 minutes and 50 some odd seconds, that's a lot of time to think.
[00:19:46] It's a lot of perspective, right?
[00:19:49] Sometimes, maybe that's why these elite athletes do it so they don't want to think.
[00:19:54] You know, they just boom.
[00:19:57] It's, you know, I remember what I, earlier marathon I did, I was like, not even to the halfway mark,
[00:20:03] and the leaders were already coming back like, man, I am not, I'm not trying to be a winner.
[00:20:10] I was trying to be a finisher.
[00:20:12] Amen?
[00:20:14] I was trying to learn how to do something and do it no matter how hard it got and finish it.
[00:20:22] That's what it's about.
[00:20:24] Do I have what it takes to finish what I started?
[00:20:29] You know, Michelle would say, why do you have to do a whole, do a half?
[00:20:32] And I said, I've never done half of anything in my life.
[00:20:35] You know what I mean?
[00:20:36] Amen?
[00:20:37] Right?
[00:20:38] If you're going to do it, do it all the way.
[00:20:40] Right?
[00:20:40] That's the problem with addiction.
[00:20:41] You don't just do it a little, you're not a little bit addicted.
[00:20:45] You know, it's all or nothing.
[00:20:47] You're right?
[00:20:48] One's too many and a thousand's not enough.
[00:20:53] So, we can relate a lot of what we're doing to the analogy of running.
[00:20:59] The Bible uses it so many different times.
[00:21:03] Struggles in endurance.
[00:21:04] Running a marathon requires great physical and mental endurance to overcome fatigue, doubt, and pain.
[00:21:10] And that doubt is there.
[00:21:12] Because you tell yourself, I've gone far enough.
[00:21:20] I've gone enough distance that people are not going to look down on me.
[00:21:26] I've done it long enough that people are going to say, oh, well, you did a good job.
[00:21:31] You almost finished.
[00:21:33] Right?
[00:21:33] Good job.
[00:21:34] Good job.
[00:21:35] So, it's almost like you're running.
[00:21:36] You're like, you know you're going to quit.
[00:21:39] But you're like, I'm going to go just far enough that it's not going to be like a bummer.
[00:21:43] Everybody's going to go, oh, you did a really good job.
[00:21:45] You went six miles.
[00:21:46] You know what I mean?
[00:21:49] No.
[00:21:50] It's about committing to something.
[00:21:52] It's about committing to this Christian walk and finishing it.
[00:21:57] Because so many people come to church because this sounds good.
[00:22:02] This looks good.
[00:22:04] But then when it gets tough, they're like, well, it didn't work.
[00:22:07] Right?
[00:22:08] It must not have either I didn't do it right or it's just not, it just didn't work.
[00:22:13] So, maybe I'll go try something else.
[00:22:15] I'll do something different.
[00:22:19] No.
[00:22:19] If you have made a commitment to yourself, if you made a commitment to Jesus Christ, stick
[00:22:26] it out.
[00:22:27] Finish it.
[00:22:29] One step at a time.
[00:22:32] Maybe that 80-year-old lady will come up and encourage you.
[00:22:35] Right?
[00:22:36] And say, no, you can do this.
[00:22:39] I know it's tough right now, but you can do this.
[00:22:42] Get back in it.
[00:22:44] But you know what?
[00:22:45] When you do it and you finish, it's exciting.
[00:22:49] It's exciting.
[00:22:50] You know, it wasn't pretty.
[00:22:52] It's pretty, right?
[00:22:54] Because when you're done running 26 miles, there's nothing pretty about the way you look.
[00:23:00] Right?
[00:23:00] There is nothing.
[00:23:01] You are just, you just look like you got beat up.
[00:23:06] It's funny because the follow-up marathon to this one, I wanted to do another one because
[00:23:11] I was so embarrassed.
[00:23:13] And so, Michelle trained with me.
[00:23:15] And we trained for six, seven months.
[00:23:18] Long time.
[00:23:19] And like, this is redemption.
[00:23:22] I was so excited.
[00:23:24] We drove to Reading.
[00:23:26] Probably the Reading Marathon is on January like 2nd.
[00:23:29] If you've ever been to Reading, it's like cold and wet.
[00:23:32] We get up there and it was like, it had never rained in a million years and every bit of
[00:23:37] rain was coming down on the earth in that moment.
[00:23:41] We got garbage bags, cut holes in them, stuck them over our head.
[00:23:45] And it was an absolute torrential downpour for six hours.
[00:23:53] At about mile 10 or 11, Michelle said, ah, this is your battle.
[00:24:02] Right?
[00:24:03] She said, the battle belongs to you.
[00:24:05] Right?
[00:24:08] I'm going to quit at the halfway mark because our kids were there with like bananas and Gatorades.
[00:24:14] And I said, I'm going to quit.
[00:24:16] I have nothing to prove.
[00:24:19] And I said, then you go ahead and, and I said, kind of, you know, like a husband says
[00:24:23] to a wife, you know, the guilt thing, you know?
[00:24:26] Oh, go ahead and quit.
[00:24:27] I'll finish by myself.
[00:24:33] And she didn't quit.
[00:24:35] She ended up finishing.
[00:24:39] But this was my redemption and it, and I hit another trial.
[00:24:44] It was like, yet again, the first time I'm injured, hit the wall.
[00:24:48] Second time it's pouring down rain.
[00:24:49] That means, guess what?
[00:24:51] There's got to be a number three.
[00:24:53] Right?
[00:24:54] There was, there was a number three.
[00:24:59] But I didn't want to quit.
[00:25:01] I didn't want her to quit.
[00:25:02] You know, you guys, because sometimes we give up on stuff we regret it.
[00:25:06] You know, I, maybe if I adjust, or adjust a little bit longer, or just a little bit more.
[00:25:14] You know, sometimes we give up on things too quickly.
[00:25:18] And there's regret.
[00:25:20] There's regret.
[00:25:22] And regret feels horrible.
[00:25:26] I would rather have defeat than regret.
[00:25:29] You know what I mean?
[00:25:29] I was defeated by the wall.
[00:25:31] I was almost defeated by the rain.
[00:25:33] I was almost defeated by a pulled muscle.
[00:25:35] I didn't want to be defeated by myself.
[00:25:39] I didn't want to give up on myself.
[00:25:42] I pled the blood.
[00:25:44] You know what I mean?
[00:25:45] I'm going to keep in this race.
[00:25:46] God, you got me.
[00:25:49] And now I'm talking about the race in life.
[00:25:52] It's not easy.
[00:25:54] Things happen.
[00:25:55] They do.
[00:25:59] It's just a matter of continue to going.
[00:26:03] James 1 says,
[00:26:05] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, knowing the test in your faith produces steadfastness.
[00:26:10] And let steadfastness have its perfect and full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
[00:26:17] Keep at it.
[00:26:18] Keep training.
[00:26:19] Get back into the race.
[00:26:21] You know, what do I need to do this time?
[00:26:23] What do I need to do differently?
[00:26:24] Or how can I do it differently this time so that next time I can be more successful?
[00:26:30] Because that's what it's about.
[00:26:31] We want to, as we're doing this Christian walk, maybe it's not always pretty.
[00:26:36] Maybe, you know, maybe we're not always dignified.
[00:26:40] Maybe we, maybe the problem's with us.
[00:26:44] You know?
[00:26:44] Has anybody ever been in a bad mood or done something or regret?
[00:26:47] Said something they shouldn't have?
[00:26:49] That's not the end of it.
[00:26:51] That's not the end of your walk with Christ.
[00:26:53] It's a lesson.
[00:26:55] Like, okay, I know maybe this is going to, situation's going to make me mad or upset.
[00:26:59] I need to do something differently this time because I learned from last time.
[00:27:05] Because I don't want to feel like I felt before.
[00:27:08] I want to be able to walk away from the situation and go, oh, that felt pretty good.
[00:27:13] You know?
[00:27:14] I think I did okay in that one.
[00:27:17] You know?
[00:27:18] Shared experiences and community.
[00:27:20] Every marathon runner, every marathoner and every Christian faces their own unique challenges during the race.
[00:27:27] Whether you're literally running a race or just living life.
[00:27:30] Romans 3 highlights that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
[00:27:35] Shared experience connects runners and each person experiences their own trials or difficulties.
[00:27:42] You know?
[00:27:43] You know?
[00:27:44] When, for one of my birthdays, I don't remember which time, I said, I, like, but what do you want?
[00:27:51] I said, I want an entry for the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon.
[00:27:55] 30,000 runners.
[00:27:59] But thinking about what I just said, shared experience and community, I wanted to experience, I didn't want to just show up.
[00:28:06] Get out of the car, run to the start line and go.
[00:28:08] So I wanted the whole experience.
[00:28:11] I wanted to go up before.
[00:28:13] So we got a hotel.
[00:28:16] I think Michelle's mom gave us her vacation rental or whatever.
[00:28:21] I wanted to get up there early.
[00:28:23] I wanted to go to the packet pickup.
[00:28:25] I wanted to go to the spaghetti feed.
[00:28:27] I wanted to go to the after party the night before the race because I wanted to be with all the other runners.
[00:28:34] I wanted to experience it to its fullest.
[00:28:37] I wanted to be a part of everything, the joy and the camaraderie and just the enthusiasm of everybody else and the excitement.
[00:28:46] And then the run and then the after party.
[00:28:48] I wanted the full experience.
[00:28:52] You know, I used to come to this church as a nonbeliever.
[00:28:54] But when I became a Christian, I wanted the full experience.
[00:29:00] I wanted to not only come to church on Sundays.
[00:29:06] And the funny thing is because when I reluctantly prior to my salvation started coming to the church, I made an agreement with my wife.
[00:29:13] I said, I'll come to church, but only on Sundays.
[00:29:17] Don't be asking for no Wednesday night.
[00:29:19] Don't be asking for no special speakers.
[00:29:22] Not Sunday.
[00:29:24] I will be a Sunday only Christian.
[00:29:27] But now I want the whole experience.
[00:29:29] You know, I want the life group.
[00:29:33] I want the group.
[00:29:35] I want to be around you guys.
[00:29:37] I want to see you at the coffee cart and ask you how things are going.
[00:29:40] I want to come to worship in the round.
[00:29:42] I want to come to all the speakers, all the special people that come and share.
[00:29:47] I want the whole experience that God has for us.
[00:29:51] You know, not just why settle just for a little bit, you know.
[00:29:55] You know, I don't want to run the 5K or the 3K.
[00:30:00] You know, I want the full experience.
[00:30:03] You know, I was so excited to be a part of that full marathon.
[00:30:07] It was good.
[00:30:08] It was like the whole package.
[00:30:10] So as a believer, don't just come on Sunday, get your coffee, sit down in the same seat you sit at.
[00:30:17] Every week, listen to Nate's message and then get up and run towards your car.
[00:30:23] Meet somebody.
[00:30:24] Talk to somebody.
[00:30:26] Learn something about somebody.
[00:30:29] Ask somebody how they're doing.
[00:30:31] But also be prepared to maybe not get a fine.
[00:30:34] You know, I was at the front door one day and Pastor Jess said,
[00:30:38] Well, you need to watch people.
[00:30:40] You need to look at them and see how they're doing.
[00:30:42] And so I was like, okay.
[00:30:44] You know, this lady walked in.
[00:30:45] She's usually really smiling and happy and she looked kind of sad.
[00:30:48] I said, How are you?
[00:30:49] She said, My mom just died this morning.
[00:30:52] Oh.
[00:30:53] So I talked to her.
[00:30:55] But had I not been willing to jump into that, that conversation would have never happened.
[00:31:01] That shared experience would have never happened.
[00:31:04] It was a really cool thing.
[00:31:05] I still see her.
[00:31:08] But be a part of it.
[00:31:10] Experience the whole thing.
[00:31:12] If you're not in a life group, and Janine didn't pay me to say any of these things,
[00:31:16] because I know she's the life group fanatic around here.
[00:31:20] But I love my life group.
[00:31:22] I do.
[00:31:23] I love it.
[00:31:24] I love everything.
[00:31:25] I love gathering with people.
[00:31:26] I love eating with people.
[00:31:29] Right?
[00:31:30] All the good food people bring and the snacks and the fellowship and just the camaraderie,
[00:31:36] just the talking about the message.
[00:31:38] I want everything that God has to offer.
[00:31:41] I want the full experience, you guys.
[00:31:43] And you should too.
[00:31:45] Don't just settle for a little bit of what God has to offer.
[00:31:49] You know, when you buy a lottery ticket, you don't buy a lottery ticket hoping, man, I hope I win a dollar.
[00:31:56] Right?
[00:31:57] When you buy a lottery ticket, you're like, well, because I know I just saw it on the news, it was like $1.2 billion.
[00:32:04] I promise you that person didn't say, well, I, gosh, I would have won a, I wish I would have just won a dollar.
[00:32:12] No.
[00:32:13] I won $1.2 billion.
[00:32:15] Are you kidding me?
[00:32:16] You know?
[00:32:18] So, what I'm trying to say is, this is life.
[00:32:23] This is an experience.
[00:32:25] Believers together, doing life together, learning together, suffering together, rejoicing together.
[00:32:31] We're all in the race together.
[00:32:33] Amen?
[00:32:34] And that's what it's about.
[00:32:37] It's about just being a part of everything.
[00:32:41] You know?
[00:32:41] Training and discipleship.
[00:32:43] Runners undergo a vigorous training schedule that prepare, as they prepare for their faith as believers, we prepare in a different way.
[00:32:51] With many trials that come around, we must learn to cultivate our faith and understand God's grace and navigate life's trials.
[00:32:58] We need to be willing to continually learn and more, be willing to share what we have learned with others.
[00:33:07] You know?
[00:33:08] Because it's about, it's about giving back.
[00:33:12] What God freely gave to you, we need to be willing to give back.
[00:33:17] Amen?
[00:33:18] You don't just get it and keep it.
[00:33:21] You know?
[00:33:22] It's not just like a present for you.
[00:33:24] It's a present that you open.
[00:33:25] It's that gift that you open and that you share.
[00:33:29] You know?
[00:33:29] It's like when you get a gift card, you get to take, you know, I just got a gift card for the chart house.
[00:33:36] I didn't open it and go, man, I can't wait to take myself to the chart house.
[00:33:41] You know, I'm going to have a great dinner.
[00:33:44] No, I can't wait to go out to dinner with my wife.
[00:33:47] You know?
[00:33:48] Or take some friends out to eat.
[00:33:50] Because it's not about just me.
[00:33:52] It's about the community.
[00:33:53] It's about the body of believers.
[00:33:55] And that's what we are.
[00:33:56] You know?
[00:33:57] If I'm having a down day or a bad day, or I'm like, oh man, you know, it's just like, you know, it's another Sunday.
[00:34:03] It's raining.
[00:34:03] I got to be early.
[00:34:04] And I may have that attitude when I leave my house.
[00:34:07] And then when I drive up the driveway, I smile because I remember all those bad drives I had.
[00:34:12] And then I get out of the car and I see you guys and your faces and your smiles and your welcomes and your hellos.
[00:34:18] And I'm like, this is the shared experience.
[00:34:21] This is what I love.
[00:34:22] This is what I like being a part of.
[00:34:24] And that's God's community.
[00:34:26] Amen?
[00:34:30] Many years ago when I was training for my first marathon, it reminded me of my early days of being a Christian.
[00:34:35] I needed to learn how to slow down and be intentional.
[00:34:39] I sought advice from other runners, did a lot of research, read many books, articles.
[00:34:44] I was willing to learn, realizing I did not have all the answers.
[00:34:48] As I was getting stronger and faster, I realized the same practice would apply to my walk with Christ.
[00:34:57] I desired to strengthen my relationship with him, so I applied the same process.
[00:35:01] I was on a journey to learn as much as possible.
[00:35:04] I sought discipleship and fellowship, sought conversations, relationships, and friendships with as many believers as possible.
[00:35:16] Because sometimes we spend a lot of time learning things, you know, learning how to do things.
[00:35:24] But we don't spend the same amount of time or the same amount of processes to develop relationships, to develop friendships.
[00:35:32] You know, I can go to YouTube and I can watch, recently I wanted to, I want to bake sourdough bread.
[00:35:39] So I went to YouTube and boy, I watched a bunch of videos and I bake sourdough bread every weekend.
[00:35:44] I wanted yogurt.
[00:35:45] Now I make yogurt all the time.
[00:35:46] I want to learn how to make butter, so now I make butter.
[00:35:48] You can't go to YouTube and say, how do I become a better person?
[00:35:55] There's going to be a lot of people selling you a lot of ideas.
[00:36:00] There's going to be a lot of people telling you a lot of things.
[00:36:02] You watch all these good things, hey, this is really good, and you get to the end and they're trying to sell you something.
[00:36:07] There's always a price tag.
[00:36:10] Michelle will say, hey, I sent you a link to a video, did you watch them?
[00:36:13] Like, what are they selling?
[00:36:15] You know, I'm skeptical.
[00:36:19] I'm still optimistic, so I'm going to stick with that theme.
[00:36:22] But I'm a little skeptical at times of what is somebody, what is really the bottom line?
[00:36:27] I never come here and listen to Nate or anybody teach and say, what are they trying to sell me?
[00:36:34] You know, what can I go to the Welcome Center and buy?
[00:36:39] Well, you can buy today's message and all the other messages for $49.95.
[00:36:44] You know, it's like those commercials, but wait, there's more.
[00:36:47] You know, I never feel that way.
[00:36:50] I never feel like, I feel like I'm coming home to a family.
[00:36:55] I feel like I'm with my family.
[00:36:58] I feel like we're here together.
[00:37:00] We're learning.
[00:37:00] We're all on the same journey, you guys.
[00:37:02] We've all come from different places, different families, different backgrounds, different histories.
[00:37:09] Before I was a believer, I used to stand in the back of the sanctuary.
[00:37:13] And honestly, I would look around, and I didn't believe in God then.
[00:37:17] My wife did.
[00:37:18] She betrayed me and became a Christian.
[00:37:20] She wasn't a Christian when we got married, but how dare you do that to me?
[00:37:25] And I would stand in the back of the sanctuary, and I would look, and I would say, how can all of these people be so foolish?
[00:37:33] I know that guy's a doctor.
[00:37:35] John, I would see you.
[00:37:36] You're a lawyer.
[00:37:38] You know, not holding that against you.
[00:37:41] I would say, how can all of these super smart people be buying into all of this?
[00:37:47] Because then they pass the bag and they collect the money.
[00:37:49] That's why they're here!
[00:37:51] Right?
[00:37:54] But when then God revealed himself to me, it was like, no.
[00:37:58] They're here to worship.
[00:38:00] They're here to fellowship.
[00:38:02] These people actually care about each other.
[00:38:05] And I knew that because people knew what a dirtbag I was, and they were still inviting me into their homes.
[00:38:13] You know, hey, would you like to come over to our house for dinner?
[00:38:17] Like, I don't think you want to do that.
[00:38:20] You don't know me very well.
[00:38:22] I'm not a good guy.
[00:38:23] You know, make sure you lock up your stuff.
[00:38:29] But I was amazed.
[00:38:30] I would tell Michelle, I mean, like, this guy and this guy, and they invited me over.
[00:38:35] Do they not know who I am?
[00:38:37] Do they not know what a terrible person I am?
[00:38:40] And she would say, no, they do.
[00:38:42] That's why they're inviting you.
[00:38:44] Like, oh.
[00:38:46] Well, how does this make sense?
[00:38:48] Right?
[00:38:50] But you know what?
[00:38:51] It does.
[00:38:51] It does.
[00:38:52] It does.
[00:38:53] Because, not because of what we have done, but because of God's grace.
[00:38:58] Because, like the song that Riley sang, and I love that song.
[00:39:03] I mean, I plead the blood.
[00:39:06] How many times?
[00:39:08] I'm going to be thinking that all the time now.
[00:39:10] Because that reminds me of the bargain.
[00:39:15] It's like the transaction that happens in court.
[00:39:18] You know, you go to court.
[00:39:20] You plead not guilty.
[00:39:21] Even if you're guilty as a sin, you plead not guilty.
[00:39:23] That's because when you plead guilty, they don't know what to do.
[00:39:27] Everybody is like...
[00:39:28] It's funny, because I've been going to court for about 20 years now, off and on, with men
[00:39:33] and women of the bridge.
[00:39:34] And when somebody that has a serious charge pleads guilty, nobody knows what to do.
[00:39:40] Well, does he know what he's doing?
[00:39:41] Or does she know what she's doing?
[00:39:42] Like the public defenders get together.
[00:39:44] They go up to the bench.
[00:39:45] They have a little conference.
[00:39:46] They turn on the white noise.
[00:39:48] Shhh.
[00:39:49] And they're like talking.
[00:39:50] And like, are you sure you want to plead guilty?
[00:39:52] This could have serious consequences.
[00:39:54] But sometimes somebody is just trying to say, yeah, I did something wrong.
[00:39:57] I've changed my life.
[00:39:59] I did it.
[00:40:00] I want to move on.
[00:40:01] Pay the consequence and do something different.
[00:40:06] But for those that have gone on and meet Christ, the blood has already been pledged.
[00:40:15] That transaction has already happened long before we came around.
[00:40:20] But the beauty is that that transaction occurred with the knowledge of how bad you were going
[00:40:28] to be.
[00:40:29] Right?
[00:40:30] I think we all know people that maybe we don't like so much.
[00:40:34] Right?
[00:40:34] They maybe aren't our favorite people.
[00:40:36] You're like, well, how could have you died for them?
[00:40:40] You know?
[00:40:40] Yes, even them.
[00:40:42] Especially you.
[00:40:43] Especially me.
[00:40:45] You know?
[00:40:46] We all want to stand there in court and we want to hear not guilty.
[00:40:52] That's why we're there.
[00:40:53] That's why there's public defenders and attorneys and the alternate defender and all of these
[00:40:57] people because the ultimate goal is to reach a reconciliation, a resolve to that case.
[00:41:05] Whether that person is going to go to jail or do community service and end up working,
[00:41:10] volunteering at Second Chance or they're going to be sentenced to the bridge.
[00:41:13] There's a lot of worse places to be sentenced to than the bridge, I promise you.
[00:41:19] But the idea of the whole court thing is that case being resolved.
[00:41:26] And that's what it is with us, is that transactional relationship has been resolved because the blood
[00:41:36] blood was pledged, the blood was accepted, and we were found not guilty.
[00:41:43] And we walked out of that courtroom saying, yeah, I'm going to do things differently now.
[00:41:49] I always tell people when you get out of jail, come to church.
[00:41:53] Reach out.
[00:41:55] Do something different.
[00:41:57] Don't keep doing what you've always done because then you're always going to get what you've always gotten.
[00:42:03] Amen?
[00:42:08] 2 Corinthians 4.8 and 4.9, I'm going to wrap it up with this.
[00:42:12] It says, we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed.
[00:42:17] Perplexed, but not driven to despair.
[00:42:19] Persecuted, but not forsaken.
[00:42:21] Struck down, but not destroyed.
[00:42:24] Amen?
[00:42:25] Isn't that a beautiful thing?
[00:42:27] You may feel like you're going to die.
[00:42:29] You may feel like it's the end of the world, but it's not.
[00:42:33] And it's not.
[00:42:36] Maybe God is just giving you a tune-up, right?
[00:42:41] I know when I go to an amusement park, I appreciate the fact that they have run that roller coaster
[00:42:48] through trial after trial after trial after trial after trial after trial.
[00:42:57] Because I don't want to fall off.
[00:42:59] The car is going to go flying.
[00:43:01] Many years ago, Michelle, in fact, it was shortly after I got out of the hospital after I suffered a stroke,
[00:43:08] and we went to Great America, and I got on the ride, and I'm screaming to Michelle,
[00:43:17] wow, they didn't lock my little lap bar.
[00:43:24] And she's trying to get their attention that my lap bar is not locked,
[00:43:28] and this thing has got like a corkscrew thing.
[00:43:31] I'm like, okay, this is it.
[00:43:34] This is it.
[00:43:36] I'm a believer now, hey!
[00:43:42] But I latched my arm on it, and I held on, and I was being flung around like a rag doll.
[00:43:48] But by God's grace and the Holy Spirit, that ride stopped with me white as a ghost,
[00:43:57] panicking, sweating, but grateful to be alive.
[00:44:00] Amen?
[00:44:02] But I appreciate testing.
[00:44:04] I appreciate trials.
[00:44:06] If you're going to take a medication, you've known it's been through clinical trials.
[00:44:10] You know, that you're not, you know, the pharmacist isn't going to say, oh, I'm really glad the doctor prescribed you this,
[00:44:16] because nobody's ever taken it before, and I'm really anxious to see what happens.
[00:44:19] You know?
[00:44:22] Thank God that's not what happens.
[00:44:24] Amen?
[00:44:26] But I'm going to encourage you like Ernst is going to encourage everybody on Monday.
[00:44:31] Pick a word for the new year.
[00:44:33] Maybe pick something that'll inspire you.
[00:44:36] Pick something that'll encourage you.
[00:44:37] Pick something that you can think back on, and say, this is my word for the year.
[00:44:43] I know tomorrow he's going to tell me I stole it, and that's okay.
[00:44:45] I did.
[00:44:46] I plagiarized it, and that's okay.
[00:44:48] I think he'll forgive me.
[00:44:50] But it's super important.
[00:44:54] Because it's something you can draw on, something you can think back on,
[00:44:58] something that maybe provides you some encouragement.
[00:45:00] Like, no, I said at the beginning of the year that I'm going to be optimistic.
[00:45:04] You know?
[00:45:05] I always regret sometimes telling my wife, because if I'm, she'll go, well, you said you were going to be optimistic.
[00:45:10] I'm like, shut up.
[00:45:11] No.
[00:45:12] No.
[00:45:13] No.
[00:45:15] No.
[00:45:15] I'm not going to actually tell her to shut up, but.
[00:45:19] But, but, it kind of, it's kind of, I guess, annoying, I guess, when somebody reminds you of what you said.
[00:45:24] Right?
[00:45:25] Like, oh, that's right.
[00:45:26] I did.
[00:45:26] I did.
[00:45:27] So, I'm sorry.
[00:45:28] I'm going to be optimistic.
[00:45:30] But it kind of resets you.
[00:45:32] It gives you an opportunity to say, you know what?
[00:45:33] You're right.
[00:45:34] I'm going to look at this differently.
[00:45:36] I'm going to think about things differently.
[00:45:39] And I'm going to move on with my day with a better outlook.
[00:45:41] Amen.
[00:45:44] Thank you for listening.
[00:45:45] If you would like more teachings and information about Calvary Monterey, please visit calvary.com.
[00:45:51] You can also find books, teachings through the Bible, and articles from our lead pastor at nateholdridge.com.
[00:45:59] Thanks again for tuning in.
[00:46:00] We'll see you next week.
[00:46:01] Bye.
[00:46:02] Bye.