Kenny Luck on Sunday Service
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Let us pray. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Matthew 16.24 Father, it is my joy and great honor to submit all I am and all I have to you. It's not much in comparison to what you have given me, but it is all I have. There is nothing that I want in this world more than to know you,

and to be pleasing in your sight. I want to decrease and surrender my expectations and desires to your purifying fires. As you purify my heart and mold me into your purposes, you are fashioning a new person in me. You are restoring my dignity and teaching me how to rule over the works of the enemy, that I might have the power to set captives free. When I deny myself

I'm exchanging my life for yours. Your life is far more than I could ever hope to be. As I cast off the old nature and put on the new life in Christ, I'm filled with joy and confidence. I sense your presence within me at all times. I hear your words flowing through me, and I watch you move through my hands as I pray for the sick and oppressed. You have given me purpose and meaning in my life.

I will take up my cross and follow you into the darkest dungeons for you are with me. I know you will protect me and I fear no evil for thou art with me. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to today's daily prayer. For more inspiration and an incredible message from our feature pastor, stay tuned to Pray.com's Sunday service.

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You're in the midst of a movement. Can you feel it? You know, the first movement sounded a little like this. Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. What did we learn about the movement? At its very beginning, we learned that it involved a simple invitation. Everybody say invitation. Yeah, simple invitation. Come. What else did the movement involve? Imitation. Follow me. Right? Everybody say imitation.

Come follow me and I will make you everybody say impartation Impartation. Yeah, you were gonna get some new character you follow Jesus He was gonna get inside of you and he was gonna make you someone different and he says I will make you fishers of men Everybody say impact impact right? So this movement that Jesus started at its very beginning started with an invitation to

And then it went to imitation. Men started becoming like the man that they were following. And then there was this impartation. As men started to follow Jesus, all of a sudden they were changing from the inside out. And then all of a sudden, they have resurrection power and they change the world. Everybody say, three years, 12 guys, 21 centuries. 21 centuries.

And we're still a part of that movement right now. It's still going on. It's still going on. And you see, that's what we have to know about movements. My good friend, Dr. Damon Friedman, he's an expert on movement.

And he says, "You need four things." This guy was an Air Force combat controller, got his master's at Harvard. He understands what movements are. And he said, "You gotta have activating agents. "That's pillar number one. "Pillar number two, you gotta have a shared identity "and shared convictions.

So you got people who are activated and they share an identity and they share convictions. He goes, but that's not enough. You got to have some kind of internal organization and community in order for that movement to happen. And he says, that's not enough either. You need a fourth pillar. You need external expression.

Activating agent, identity and convictions, internal network, and then outward expression. Everybody say outward expression. Outward expression. That's right. You know, Jesus' movement, he started planting seeds. It sounded a little like this. Whoever believes will do the works that I've been doing.

And greater works than these will they do. He planted some more seeds. He would say the kingdom of God is advancing forcefully. And forceful men lay hold of it. But then instead of planting seeds, he just got right to it in Matthew 16. He said, and I also call you Peter. I say to you that you are Peter and that upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overpower it.

I am handing you the keys to the kingdom. And what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Remember when your dad gave you the keys to the car? Right? Pretty exciting feeling. But this was the keys to the kingdom. Something that's forcefully advancing. And Jesus says, forceful men, lay hold of it. But then, right before he left earth, he said, you're going to receive power. Everybody say, receive power.

Yeah, you're going to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you're going to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and all over the world. But how and where would Jesus ignite the power that would get inside his men? Answer, he would turn them loose on a city, the city of Jerusalem. So get this.

In a specific city, in a specific cultural and global moment, there was a planned eruption of his spirit in and through a group of called men. Everybody say called men. I believe God's called you to this space. The Bible says that the mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. You are in this space because you're called by God to worship God and

and to receive a word of God that is going to change you forever. So what happens? They show up to the assigned space. Forceful winds begin to blow upon those men who showed up in that specific space, in that specific moment, in that specific city, and now God starts to fan the embers of their commitment, and it starts rising and turning into wildfires.

of expression. What did the city of Jerusalem see? They saw men experiencing their truest identity. Say truest identity. Truest identity. Yeah, people saw men who knew that they had a way to be, they had a way to believe, they had a way to behave, and they were living it out in public in front of their whole city. What else did they see? They saw men expressing spirit-empowered bravery.

walking into the spaces and places where they lived and where they prayed and where they worked. And all of a sudden, this city began to notice their new identity, their new identity and community and a new bravery. What did the people of Jerusalem experience themselves? What did they get out of this movement? Well, they experienced God's love.

and through these men empowered by the Spirit of Jesus. They experienced justice in and through these men who were filled with the Spirit of Jesus. And here's the great thing about this story.

What did they say about these men who were so transformed, the men who showed up to the specific space in a specific city, in a specific cultural moment and time after these guys started expressing their life in God before people. They said, "That's God."

Because they were this way before and now they're not anymore. They used to say these things, now they don't say these things. They used to act this way, they're not acting this way. They used to not love and be harsh, now they're loving and compassionate and they're strong. Amen? That's God. And what do we witness? An eruption of the Holy Spirit among the people. We see an eruption of salvation among the people. We see an eruption of the greater works of Jesus. Where?

Among the people because they see Jesus in you. Men called to a specific space. Men filled with the Holy Spirit. Men sent into their city as Jesus predicted. That seed he had planted, whoever believes in me will do the works that I've been doing, but greater works than these will they do. You know what that's called in football terms? A handoff.

He handed it off. He handed the movement off to a group of 12 guys that he had spent some time with. A forceful wind blew, embers turned into wildfires, called men in a specific place in a specific city. But guess what? You're called men, you're in a specific space, and you're in a specific city. The city of Austin, Texas. I don't know why, I tell you. From the left coast,

You can look at that any way you want. I don't know why God selected Austin, but we knew early on as we prayed, Lord, where do you want to start the dangerous good global movement? Where do you want to release men into their city? Where are the men who come where they're going to respond and respond and say yes to you and change their city?

All I know is this. I don't know why, but I know this. God's not mistaken in selecting Austin, Texas. But I also know this. Look up here. God's not playing nickel poker either. He's serious about what he wants to do. How do I know that? Because of the space he has created for you right here. Because of the people he has assembled for you.

because of the resources that have been dedicated to this moment in time for you. And I believe right now, I believe because of what we've talked about,

Because we prayed because we're here because we've seen that this is the model and pattern of Scripture I believe that the embers of your love for Jesus are going to turn into wildfires I believe that God is handing each man in this room the keys to the kingdom I believe God is igniting a movement where people around you are going to experience you in spaces and places living out your truest identity and

and expressing bravery that they have never seen. I believe all of the people coming out of this conference that will bump into you, what they're going to collide with is a man who is spirit empowered and they're going to change. I believe tens of thousands of people are going to see your life and they're just going to say something's different, something's going on,

and they're gonna put their faith and they're gonna put their trust in Jesus. You know what they're gonna say? That's God because only God could do that to him and through him. There's gonna be an eruption of the Holy Spirit among them. There's gonna be an eruption of salvation just like there was in the city of Jerusalem through you. Say with me, I am in this space. I am alive at this moment. I live in this city.

to fulfill God's intentions. Now when you came in, you got a workbook. I want you to take that out right now. It's probably under your seat somewhere. We've been worshiping. Now we do this intentionally. Everything that you're gonna experience in this conference is intentional. Worship prepares the way for the word. As you worship and you get a vision of God, and as you begin to go, well, there's him and I'm not him, you become humble before God. And when you become humble, you become teachable. Amen?

So what we're going to do in session one is we're going to let God's word loose in this space. We're going to let God's son tell us by his own life what is happening in this space. And then we're going to let God's spirit form us into powerful community. Everybody say powerful community. Powerful community. That's right. You've been hearing that theme from the beginning and the opening story. I

Isolation kills. You need community. So worship is preparation for the word and then we're gonna create a space for you to make some choices. But for now, I want you to open your workbook to session one and we're gonna talk about identity in community. Get ready to write. This has also been studied by Everyman Ministries. Men learn when they hear with their ears, see with their eyes, write with their hands, and talk with their mouths, and then they go do what they've just learned.

And they give away what they possess, and that's our prayer. And the model God has given in Scripture is that he calls men into community to give them, the best word I can come up with is like a reset. You know when you reset stuff? It's kind of, you go back to the yard. All right, let's get back to the beginning. Well, God in the Bible, he resets the identity of his men. And you can tell that he's talking to men in Jeremiah chapter four, verses three and four. Let's read that together. Ready? Ready?

He's not talking to the ladies.

He's talking to the guys. What is happening? There's language here that you have to understand. When you're talking to a bunch of farmers, they get breaking up your unplowed ground. Unplowed ground is unproductive ground, right? So there's some spots in their lives, there's some places in their lives, there's some attitudes, there's some behaviors that are unproductive.

And how do we know they're unproductive? Because those men are sowing among thorns. And thorns in the Bible is a representation of the culture. They're trying to blend their identities. An identity in God and then an identity in culture. And it's not working. And some of you are here and you're trying to do the same thing.

You're trying to be God's man and you're trying to be the world's man at the same time and you're hoping and praying that somehow this life will come together the way you want it to come together. But we have a real famous story. It's, you know, one of those lion stories. So since our logo is the lion, you got to talk about Simba, son of the king, right? So Simba is the son of the king. Simba has some bad things happen to him.

And then he runs away in fear to kind of build this life that isn't consistent with his identity and his responsibility to his identity. And then he grows from a cub into an adolescent, and then he grows into a full-blown lion. But he's being irresponsible with his identity until that baboon finds him, Rafiki. And he whacks him on the head and he says, I know who you are.

And he goes, "Really?" He goes, "You're Mufasa's boy." And all of a sudden he tries to run from this voice that is telling him who he really is. And he gets to the water's edge and he starts looking into the water. And that voice comes and it says, "Look closer." And now he begins to see the king, his dad, Mufasa, as a reflection in the water. And then he has a little conversation, a little spiritual conversation.

with his father. And the key line from the conversation is, remember, can you remember? Remember who you are. Remember who you are. Remember who you are. And then Simba's head comes up and he's got this big lion face and he says, I am Simba, son of Mufasa. And then he runs to go confront evil. It's a great story. Why do I tell it? Because many of us as sons of the king

We're out of place in the world. We're not living out our truest identity. We're dabbling, we're playing around with things, we're trying to be the material man or the pleasure man or the power man, and we think that that's our identity. It's not an identity, it's not a purpose, and you don't know how you know? Your character isn't growing.

You're not living out your truest identity. Well now, here you're being called to this space and God's saying, remember who you are. So we're going to look at Jesus. Can't lose when you look at Jesus, amen? Because he is the model given for powerfully living out our truest identity. And there's going to be some things that are going to come into your mind that are going to call you out. Don't be afraid of that voice.

Because you're the son of the king. The first thing that we learn from Jesus, write this down, is my truest identity gives me the greatest integrity. My truest identity gives me the greatest integrity. Let's read Mark 12, 14 together. Ready? Ready?

The word integrity comes from the word integer. It means whole. Everybody say undivided. Undivided. Yeah, when you have integrity, you're undivided between what you believe and how you actually live.

That's when you know. In man culture, we say, that dude's the real deal. That dude walks the walk. He talks the talk. He walks the walk. He lives out what he believes. You want to know what kind of man Jesus was? He lived out his truest identity, not some rip-off version of what it means to be a man. Amen?

As a son of God, he lived out his true identity. And the scripture warns us, men. It says, the fear of man will bring a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted. Many seek the ruler's favor, but justice for man comes from the Lord. Audience of one. Say that with me. Audience of one. So Jesus lived for an audience of one.

His truest identity gave him the greatest integrity. What did that mean practically? Write this down. This means I will be fearless. Write that down. I'll be fearless. You know what God is calling us to on this day? A singular allegiance. Singular allegiance. Because we all know that when you have multiple allegiances, there is this principle that kicks in. It's called dilution.

You dilute your commitment when you have lots of allegiances, but your allegiance grows strong when you have a singular allegiance. The second thing we learn from Jesus is that my truest identity gives me the strongest liberty. You know who the freest guy on the planet was? It was Jesus. Why? Why?

Because he knew who he was. He knew what to do. He knew he was accountable to one person. Let's read Matthew 11, 19 together. Ready? The son of man came eating and drinking and they say, here is a glutton and a drunkard and a friend of tax collectors and sinners, but wisdom is proved right by her deeds. Jesus would have made a great country song. He had friends in low places.

He really did, but he was free. He didn't care what other people thought about him going into certain spaces and places where broken male culture wouldn't go because it wasn't cool, it wasn't right, it wasn't religious. You don't go in there. Jesus went there. He was a rule breaker, right? So when you live out your truest identity, it gives you great integrity. It gives you strong liberty, which means that I will be free. Write that down.

It means you'll be free. You can stop caring about what other men think and think more about what God thinks. Amen? Because in the end, you're not going to be face to face with those people that you don't even like trying to please them. You're going to be standing before your maker, the king. That's who you are. You see, Jesus was free to do what? Break the rules. I don't know about you, but I grew up a rapscallion man. I was a rule breaker, but I wasn't breaking the right rules.

Certainly not for God, but when you become a man of God and you have a singular allegiance and you're free, man, you start doing things other guys aren't fit to do. Jesus broke ethnic rules. Jesus broke moral rules. Jesus broke religious rules to do what? To bring God's love to people. To show up in their lives and just say, hey, I know you feel far from God, but you're not far from God. I'm God and I'm in this space.

You know, the dangerous good revolution is a movement of men who are free like Jesus. I want you to watch this. I was driving to meet with somebody to sell a bunch of cocaine and three guys got out of their car. They had guns drawn on me. One of them hit me in the head with the butt of his pistol. They took everything in my car. I was in complete and total fear for my life.

And the only thing I could think about was how I just lost a bunch of things. I remember during that time I had called some family members and told them that I was kind of in a bind and nobody wanted anything to do with me. It's probably the first time that I ever truly felt alone and it was a catalyst that threw me into even more

even more pain. It just continued to feel like I was completely and totally alone. I had been pretty heavily dosed with a large amount of acid and I had pretty much fried my brain. And I was sitting alone outside, had hardly any cell phone connection and tried to call

Everybody in my family and nobody answered and I finally got through to my dad and said, "I think I need help. I don't know what I'm doing. I just feel like it's gonna keep getting worse." And he said, "Good luck," and hung up. I ended up calling my mom after not speaking with her for a long time and I said, "I need help," and she said, "Just get to my house." And I showed up at her doorstep with absolutely nothing.

I couldn't put 10 words together. I just knew that I needed to ask for help. I sat down in a pew way in the back and as soon as I heard this pastor speak, I was overwhelmed with the fact that I had chosen to sit as far away from him as humanly possible and it felt like he was speaking right next to me. It felt like he was speaking right into my heart. He was talking about

The freedom and surrender and the acceptance of Christ, I had such a small understanding of who God was.

But I was completely committed to jumping off that cliff and going, "This is the step I need to take in my life." When I finally surrendered and when I finally accepted Christ into my life and started to develop that relationship with Him, it was the first time that I could

look to somebody for answers and to find a true authority in my life. Like there would never be a time that I couldn't call to him and that he wouldn't answer. Feeling like there was this unsevered connection between myself and God was the peace that I had longed for my entire life. Even to the point of feeling like I hadn't

earthly father and feeling like that connection was just not there and longing for that. Through God's hand on my life and through his convictions and helping me to see his purpose for my life I was able to

to minister to my dad and to talk to him about faith and to ask him questions that people asked me. Having that desire to bring my dad to Christ and to show him the kind of freedom that I've received and that I know so many others received is one of the greatest things that I could ever offer to anybody. Being able to watch people find the freedom that I found is just unbelievable.

Yeah, yeah. Will you say this with me? When you know who you are, you know what to do. Jake didn't know who he was. Do you know who you are? Do you know what to do? It's an identity issue, guys. And when you are living out your truest identity in Christ, it gives you that integrity. Jake is living with integrity. When you know who you are, you start living out free, freely choosing the right things. What a concept.

Then when you live out your truest identity write this down. It should get your best energy Write that down and we see this in Jesus living out his truest identity Let's read John 4:34 together ready My food said Jesus is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work You're made by God

You're made for God. And one day you'll go to God, but between now and then, you're going to do the work that God created you to do. Amen?

This city needs you to be the man that he created you to be and to do the work that he's called you uniquely to do. Let's read John 9, 4 together. Ready? As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no man can work. Where's the urgency come from? It's because he knows who he is.

He knows he's made by God. He knows he came from God. He knows he's going to God. And he knows that he has limited time to get the work done that God has assigned him. Everybody say this with me. Limited time, unknown ending, scheduled meeting. Let that sink in for a second. All of us in this room have limited time. We have an unknown ending. You don't know what's going to happen when you pull out of the parking lot here at Celebration. You think you do, but you don't.

Then when your heart stops either you go to God or God comes for you You're gonna be standing face to face with your king. So when you live out your truest identity, what does it mean? Write this down This means I will be focused I will be focused when you know the clock is ticking you're focused when there's two minutes on the clock and you got to drive the length of the field you are focused when you realize there's a deadline you are focused and

We are not guaranteed tomorrow. Jesus said as long as it is day, that means we have a little bit of time, just a little bit.

Because day is going to end and it's going to turn to night when no man can work. God put you on earth to fulfill his purpose through your life. The Bible says that you are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Everybody say do good works. Do good works, which God has prepared in advance for you to do. God's got works for you to do that only you can do.

The question is, are you doing them? Are you focused? Lastly, what Jesus teaches us about living out our truest identity is it reflects our ultimate destiny. And here we find the connection in Jesus between his discipline on earth and his hope of going back to heaven. And we see it

In John chapter 17, Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your son that your son may glorify you for you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to

all those you have given him." Let's finish it together. "Now this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began." Wow. How did he bring glad glory on earth?

By finishing the work God gave him to do. If you're alive and your heart is beating, work for you to do. Do you know what it is? And are you doing it? That's why we're here, man. God's resetting our identity. He wants us to live out our truest identity. So if Jesus' truest identity reflects his ultimate destiny, what does it mean for him in this short time that we have on earth? Write this down. This means I will be faithful.

I will be faithful. So let's say it together. Everybody say fearless. Everybody say free. Everybody say focused. Everybody say faithful. Now write this down. This is Jesus. Now write this down. Jesus is in me. And now write this down. This is me. If Jesus is fearless, if Jesus is free, if Jesus is focused, and Jesus is faithful with the time that he had on earth, and Jesus lives in you, then this is

is you through the power of the Holy Spirit. Can I get an amen on that one, please? This is why you're here. You're here to hear this. Jesus wants you to know, I live in you. This is me, and I live in you, which means this is you.

the spaces and places where I have put you in the families where I have put you in the marriages where I have put you in the workplaces I have put you in the cars I have put you on the athletic fields I have put you in the high schools I have put you in the colleges I have put you in the in the entrepreneurial space that I have put you this is me and I live in you this is you into identity is so important

Identity commands energy. What's commanding your energy? How would we know? Just look at your behavior. What's commanding a person's identity always commands their energy and leads to an expression. That's why the Bible is so big on identity. Let's read 1 Timothy 6, 11 and 12. Ready?

But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. And there we see identity. What's his identity? Man of God. Around my church, I call every man a man of God if he knows Jesus. Why? Because that's who he really is.

and I want him to live out that identity versus money man or pleasure man or thrill man or porn man or whatever. You're a man of God. So what does the man of God do? Wow. He flees from culture and he pursues God. We live in the culture, but we're not of the culture. What else does he pursue? Godliness, faith, love, righteousness, gentleness, endurance. He fights. He fights for his faith.

A lot of us just roll over. It's like, well, that's not popular. Well, you know, we're not real popular in the media. Uh-oh, somebody might call me a bigot. I don't know what it is that causes men to retreat, but you don't have to retreat. Jesus didn't. This is Jesus. Jesus is in you. This is you. Amen? Living out my truest identity means, and you look at that language, fight the good fight of the faith. We're in a fight.

Living out my truest identity means, write this down, I am dangerous with goodness. Want to know why? Because Jesus was the original dangerous good guy. You know, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, anybody been to a Marvel movie, right? What do you got? You got people who have special power, special gifts, they get to stick it to the bad guy.

Right? They get to defend the weak. They get to deliver justice. That is fantasy. You want to live in the reality that God has called you to? You come to know Christ as your Savior. He will call you a son of the king, and you'll start advancing the kingdom, and you'll start doing what God has called you to do in reality. In reality, not fantasy. Why are we giving billions of dollars to the entertainment industry to vicariously feel something that God has hardwired into every man? Amen.

To be great and to do great things. That's why God created you. But then there's that rip-off thing. Well, I can't really experience that. Well, that's why you're called to this space. God says, you are my son. You are a part of my kingdom. You can experience that. Stop getting ripped off. It's important. That's why you're here. You're here to hear that message.

When you're living out your truest identity, it makes you fearless. It makes you free. It makes you focused. It makes you faithful. You start fighting the good fight of faith. But the context of us making that commitment to identity is community. Everybody say community. Now, you might understand that team, fraternity, community, my bros, my homies, whatever you want to call your group of friends. All right? You become like the people you hang out with.

there's a way to be believe and behave when you're in a group of dudes in fact i look at how many guys are here right now and i'm like either something really bad's gonna happen or something really good's gonna happen because we're all just one bad idea away amen when you're with this many guys just like hey i got a good idea it's not so much a good idea we should do that sure but we understand the power of community and you know what you're going to connect somewhere maybe you didn't connect in your family so you went and found a whole group outside your family you connected there

Maybe you connect in a social way or an academic way or an athletic way or a hobby way. You're gonna connect. We're built for connection. But you know what God says? Write this down. My truest identity requires His strongest community. And we're gonna unpack what dangerous good community is gonna involve because this room is getting back together. And we're gonna be in community and we're gonna tell you about that. But let's just read some of God's word. What does God have to say?

About his strongest community. Let's read 2 Timothy 2, 22 together. Ready? Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. The fuel cell of identity is being in a community that powers it. For a long time in my life, I didn't have a community that supported my identity in Christ, but I had to find it.

And you know what the devil doesn't want to come out of this conference? For you to be in community with some other men that are hard after God, that are fully committed. Listen, you're going to be around some guys and maybe they have a sort of commitment to Jesus. You want to be around guys that have a full commitment to Jesus. Amen?

Let's read 1 Corinthians 12, 21. Ready? The eye cannot say to the hand, I don't need you. And the head cannot say to the feet, I don't need you. You see, God built us to be tightly connected. We're a body. We need each other. And men become men in the company of other men, for better or for worse. It's true around the world. They become like the male culture they immerse themselves in.

And when you're a follower of Jesus, God says your truest identity in Christ requires his strongest community. So what does dangerous good community look like and involve? Write this down. Dangerous good community involves unity. The word unity is in the word community. Did you notice that?

It requires unity. Let's let God tell us what that looks like. Psalm 133 says this, how good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in what?

Unity. It's like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron's beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. Let's finish it together. For there the Lord commands his blessing, even life forevermore. Wow. You know what that's a picture of? It's two guys. It's two guys. It's Aaron and it's Moses.

And they're consecrating each other in God to serve God. And there is this precious oil that was poured over the head of the man who was consecrating himself to God. It's the oil of the presence. Everybody say oil of the presence. Oil of the presence. And so the psalmist is building this picture and he's watching. He's looking at these two guys and they're consecrating themselves before the Lord. And it's like oil. Oil.

And he's thinking about, wow, there's a moment in Israel's culture where a man commits himself to God and to serving God. And there's the oil of the presence and it's poured over the man by another man. And in that space, look what happens. For there, the Lord does what?

commands his blessings even life forevermore. You're in a space of blessing. Say, I'm in a space of blessing. I'm in a space of, yeah, you're in a space of blessing right now, but guess what? The space of blessing doesn't end here. It's going to continue after this conference, and we're going to be together. This group is going to be together after this conference. So dangerous good community involves unity. Second, dangerous good community involves proximity.

Everybody say proximity. Proximity, right, that just means close. All right, when you think of close, just think quarterback under center, think singer and audio engineer, right? Think about sniper and spotter, just think about proximity. They're helping each other accomplish the goal in each other's mission.

Right? One is deeply connected to the other. One helps the other. One blocks for the other. One enhances the other. The Bible says this, Proverbs 27, 17. Let's say it together. Ready? As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. It's not two swords coming like this. The image is of a piece of metal, a blade on a grinding stone.

How many people hunt? We're in Texas. Anybody hunt? Who has a buck knife? Anybody have a buck knife? Usually they sell it with this little rock. It's diamond-plated steel, right? It's just got something. It's sharper than the edge, right? So when you rub the metal up on the edge, you get to shape the blade. That's the picture. You know, when you rub up against, when you do that, metal on sharpening stone, hot or cold?

Hot, right? A little friction, right? Gets a little warm on that blade. Might even see sparks if the grinding wheel is spinning and you're moving the blade across that way. That's the picture. Guys, you're going to be dull unless you're up against a man who will make you sharper. Some of you are here today and there are faces coming into your minds. They're dulling your blade. And can I just tell you, the city of Austin needs you sharp.

You need to cut, you need to slice, you need to perform, you need to dice. Maybe you'll even make some julienned fries, I don't know. But God wants you sharp. Ask somebody who uses a blade and then when they go to use it, it's dull. What's the emotion that goes with that? Frustration. Can't cut, can't cut here. Landscapers' blades are dull, hair stylists' scissors are not sharp. They have to keep them sharp on a continuous basis. Why? Because they have to perform.

God has called us a blade in his hand and he needs us sharp, sharp for his purposes, sharp to love, sharp to step into spaces, to deliver, slice through the injustices of culture, to bring the kingdom of God into these spaces, but not if you're dull, not if you're hanging around people who dull your commitment and identity to God.

Let's read Psalm 101 verses 6 and 7. Ready? "My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me. The one whose walk is blameless will minister to me." That's the man after God's own heart. That's the man. He's looking for a certain quality in a friend. Who are his eyes on? The faithful. Remember we talked about that when we're talking about Jesus's identity?

It reflects his ultimate destiny. And because he knows where he's going, he's faithful in the present. That's who you're looking for. You're looking for a person who knows who they are. They know what to do. They know they have limited time and unknown ending and a scheduled meeting with Jesus. That's the guy you want to hang out with. And that's the dangerous good fellowships that we're going to be forming out of this conference. Number three, the dangerous good community involves transparency. Oh, no. There are some guys here right now that are just like, oh, no. I knew he was going to talk about it.

I knew he was talking about getting honest, you know, telling everybody what's going on in your life, your struggles, all that stuff. You know, I've been doing men's ministry for over 30 years. Men are like icebergs. You only see the tip.

but you know who crashes on the jagged edges of their lack of transparency and honesty with God's self and others their families their wives because they won't tell people how they're really doing and when they can't tell people how they're really doing in the moment they can't get help and when they don't get kelp they feel more isolated and the wall to ask for help gets higher and higher and higher because when you ask a guy how he's doing he goes Saul good who's this person Saul good who's this person Saul good

right? It can't be all good because it's earth, right? Jesus said, in this world, you'll have tribulation, but take courage. I've overcome the world. So when it's good, it can't be all good. But when it's bad, it can never be all bad. There's blessings even when things aren't going good. Chris Kilala, our speaker, right? Worshiping in the midst of loss, finding God's goodness, even when he doesn't feel like it.

Let's read the scripture. Proverbs 28, 13. Ready? He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. You know, I've ministered to millions of men. I've gotten hundreds and hundreds of thousands of feedback. And you know what the number one comment was? It certainly wasn't Kenny Lux, the best speaker. That's not what the comment is. It's, I didn't realize I wasn't alone.

And that sets men free. When you realize you're not alone, but you know who tells you you're alone? The devil. Because if he can tell you, hey, you're alone, you're weird, you're a freak, no one else has your problems. You pull up to a stoplight and you look at the guy in the other car and you're like, he has his life all together. Why? Because he drives a Mercedes? Somehow like the brand of the car he drives is infused mystically into his character? No. He's just as bad off as you are. It's just that he's driving maybe a nicer, faster car.

But we compare and we look and we're like, oh my gosh, I compare how I'm feeling on the inside about myself to everybody's outside. And when I do that, I get depressed and I get sad. And then when I get depressed and sad, I want to feel better. And then I do stupid things to feel better that make me feel like a boy and not a man. Can I get a witness? I've been there. I know exactly how that cycle goes, you know? But you're not alone. That's the response. And when you look at scripture, it's like, hey, it is stupid.

If you're a man of God, not to tell another man what's really going on in your life, who can pray for you, who might have been through what you went through, or who might have help for you and wisdom and advice to get you out of that pit. Amen? But you've got to, in faith, be real. Only a fool would give up on that, but that's the lie from the devil. Don't do that. Don't share that. Oh, then your image will blow up. What, your Instagram image? I mean, is that a real thing?

It's just an image, right? We look at the scripture and it says this in James 5, 16. Let's read it together, ready? Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. I cannot tell you how many slimy pits I've been in, how many cul-de-sacs of life, how many uncontrollable situations when men in my life showed up

they started to lay their hands on me and pray over me powerfully and they began to call down the kingdom of God into my life when I didn't even have the faith to pray because I was so broken and then there was a shift he realized that your life can change in a second but you know what God can change it even faster God can move supernatural forces God can start shifting the atmosphere he's shifting it right now because you're realizing hey I

Yeah, I got to decide who I'm going to be so I know what to do. And I need to do it with other people. You know, transparency is the lifestyle of the dangerous good and a hallmark of our community and this movement worldwide. I want you to watch this. ♪

From an inappropriate relationship to a business deal gone bad to a number of times my wife in particular saying, I just can't take the hits anymore, Martin. I just was so prideful. I was so bent on it being everybody else's problem.

and nothing had to do with me. More than five years ago now, my wife lovingly told me that her plan was to leave when our youngest daughter was going to college. That gave me a heads up, thank God, to really assess what I wanted and who I wanted to be as a man. Marriage and family

are everything to me and knowing that I could lose all of that, I distinctly remember saying, "Okay Lord, I'm finally going to be the man that you want me to be." And I just pressed into that. I did whatever I needed to do to be that man. And the big, big thing that helped me was being a part of men's group. I heard said that you're only as sick as a secret you keep.

And man, was that true for me. And as I told my secrets, other men told their secrets. And it was amazing how similar we were in the things that we struggle with and think and battle.

and let occupy our minds. That started a journey of just becoming a part of a band of brothers, a fraternity of men of God that want to sharpen each other. Proverbs talks about sharpening iron, sharpening iron. I heard that so often. I never really knew what it was until now. It's giving up everything that you think is not going to be loved

and bringing it to the light, bringing it to a group of trusted men and letting them say, "Man, we love you and we're here for you." And that's huge, knowing you're not alone. Image, being right, being in control, being comfortable were all what drove me.

Today, what drives me is whatever God wants me to be and do, I'm all in. My wife sees the changes, my kids see the changes in me. They don't often know quite what to do because it's still new for them.

This hard-driving, not vulnerable guy that they've seen and grown up with is changing, softer, vulnerable, honest. And so now I'm a sharpened tool to be used by God for whatever His purpose is. And there's nothing better than being in His hand and being used however He wants to use me. Amen. Amen. Amen.

It's stupid to keep secrets, but you know what? Satan loves your secrets because the more you keep a secret, then he has power over you. He's a liar. And when you have secrets and you hold them inside, you're giving Satan the power of the lie. He can control you because then it changes the way you talk with people. And you could get help, but no, I got the secret. But that's what's so great about that testimony.

Is that transparency as a lifestyle not only liberates you to get help but it hits Satan in the mouth because the power of the lie no longer has control over you. Now you have the help of God. You're walking in the light. You're getting counsel from other men and now you're getting free. That is the lifestyle of the dangerous good right there. The fourth thing that dangerous good community involves is accountability.

Accountability.

The Bible talks about that in Proverbs 27. Very straightforward. Let's read it together. Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. Man, I've been doing this for a long time. And I see guys with friends and they just say, oh, you're great. You're wonderful. Do what you feel like. Do what your heart says. Do what's best for you. You do you. Really? Really?

At the expense of it maybe being wrong or maybe it harming their relationship with God or at the expense of maybe harming their relationships with their wives or their children or their legacy, really? The Bible says that wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. My brother-in-law has done over 25,000 surgeries. He's the chief of surgery at Mercy Hospital in Sacramento.

And when Christian cuts on people and then he closes them up and maybe he takes out a cancer, maybe he takes out a ruptured appendix, maybe he repairs a lower intestine, right? Does it leave a mark on their body? Yes or no? Yes, it does. Was it a stab to kill? Yes or no? Was it a cut to heal? Yes, it was. When you're honest with a buddy, you can love somebody, but sometimes you've got to love them with the truth. Amen? Amen.

You don't tell them what they want to hear. You've got to tell them what they need to hear because you're being unloving if you're one of those friends who just says, hey, man, I'm your biggest fan. A fan is not a friend.

A fan multiplies kisses, right? Look at what the Bible says in Psalm 141.5. Let's read it together. In other words, David is saying...

You know what? If you have a hard truth and you need to speak it to me, I want you to speak it to me. I'm giving you permission to speak truth to me because I'm a man of God. And in the end, I may not like what you're going to say, especially if the topic of discussion is me. I may not like it, right? You may wound me. It's going to leave a mark.

but my character is going to be intact, my relationship with God is going to stay intact, my relationship with other people is going to stay intact, and I'm going to go from boy to man. Amen? See, toddlers can't control their impulses. Oswald Chambers said, "Impulse is okay in a child, but it's disastrous in a man." Impulse must be trained, right? Trained into intuition through discipline, the discipline of accountability.

The fifth thing that dangerous good community involves is frequency. Frequency, and we all know what that means. Another word for frequency is consistency. Can you get good at anything if you're not consistent? Yes or no?

No, how? There's other people who will get really consistent and they practice it and they show up and they show up the next week and they go to the gym or they go to practice or they go to a training and they keep showing up and they keep getting good. They keep taking their swings in whatever area of life they're trying to get better at and they have this frequency about it. Why? Because it matters to them. If your identity in Christ matters to you,

You will frequently get together with other men who share that identity and your beliefs. You'll get together. Look at what the scripture says. Let's read it together.

Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching. Pretty straightforward. You can't encourage one another and sharpen and spur one another on if you're giving up meeting.

And that's where some of you feel a little bit convicted right now. That's okay. God's got you. We got you. Got you covered. Because this room is going to be getting back together. But let's get to the main point. Everybody say unity, proximity, transparency, accountability, and frequency. You get into a group of men who practice those things, you will become so dangerous with goodness, you're not going to believe the things that you start doing.

So what's God saying to us, men, when he's talking to us about living out our truest identity in community? All right, write this down. God is saying to his sons in Austin, Texas, isolation kills, but connection conquers. Isolation kills, but connection conquers. You heard Pastor Jason talk about a lion. You know how lions hunt, right? They get whatever they want for lunch panicked.

and running and in a hurry and busy and they get them running until some poor whatever zebra antelope just kind of starts tacking away from the herd and then whatever moves away that's the one they focus on they attack in numbers the bible says that satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to what devour

to have you for lunch. You know what? You were never intended as a man of God to live like that. And God is saying to us, sons of the King, connection is not a consideration. Sorry, I know we live in a sort of democracy.

Where it's just like, no, I can choose. I can choose who my mortgage guy is, my barista, my mechanic, the phone guy. I can open, you know, get online and go to Angie's List and pick who I want, when I want. And it's like we have this endless accessories. It's a consumer culture. You can't have consumer culture in your walk with Christ.

Connection is not a consideration. Connection is a command for sons of the king. God wants you to hear that word. And it comes with the promise of God, and it's right there in your workbook.

Proverbs 2, 20 to 22, let's read that together. So you will walk in the way of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous, for the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the treacherous will be uprooted from it. You see, in community,

you keep your identity in community the land you live in experiences victory you want to know why cities are suffering you want to know why injustices happen all the time you want to know why there's 42 million women who are sexually trafficked and used every day you want to know why there's 173 million orphans on planet earth right now and there's 700

million men who named the name of Jesus is because Satan does not have us connected in community. Because if we were in community, if we were a band of brothers, if we were together and we were moving and encouraging one another, we'd be experiencing victory. And when you experience victory, the people around you experience victory. When you experience victory, your marriage experiences victory. When you experience victory,

Your community, your block, experiences victory, but we're not together. So do you think that Satan's strategy in this room right now is to keep you from connecting to other men of God? Yes or no? Yes, 100% yes. That's why we've got you. You see, identity and community is what is coming, I believe, for every man here because that's a prophetic word for this space.

This room is going to get back together and here's a preview of the group experience that you are going to be asked to join for the next five weeks. Let's roll this.

I don't know about you, but I'm done choking on the bad news that comes on the news cycle every day about broken male culture, men who have been given strength, power, influence, position, and then men using all of that power and strength and influence to abuse or hurt other people.

I'm tired of 27 million women around the world who wake up every day with a job. They're called prostitutes and sex slaves. I'm tired of seeing the orphan epidemic. I'm tired of seeing fatherlessness that's creating cycles of chaos and dysfunction. Especially when I know that there are hundreds of millions of men walking the planet right now who claim an affiliation with Jesus Christ.

Now, those guys need to stop being affiliated and start getting activated and join what I'm calling a new wave of masculinity that doesn't mind being strong but pairs character and compassion with that strength called the Dangerous Good Movement.

As this movement grows from the grassroots in cities and countries and communities and villages all over the world to have men rise up in the spirit of Christ to bring what he brought to broken male culture.

which is to turn it on its head. To start raising the value in protecting and defending women. Raising the value in protecting and defending children. Making a commitment to the family and to doing good. And then to confronting injustice and evil right where it starts. In their neighborhood, on their block, in their city, and not standing for it in the name of Jesus and to God's glory. So catch the vision.

and join the dangerous good movement. Amen. All right, say this with me. Identity in community. Say bravery in community. You see, the big wheels of your life, the major shifts in your life, the big wheels of your life, the shifts, the big changes, they turn on the small axles of choice.

Single choices set in motion massive shifts. If you don't believe that, in the Bible it says, just as through the disobedience of the one man, say one man, one man, many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, say one man,

Many were made righteous. Two guys, two gardens of temptation, two different choices. One choice brings death and the other brings life. Big wheels turn on the small axles of your choices under pressure. And the big wheel for this space is the city of Austin and the transformation of that city. The small axle that puts in that in motion is the individual. Listen, look up here.

the individual choice and the collective choice that we are going to make right now. And the choice is this. This room is going to reassemble. Say how? For five weeks. Here on the Celebration Campus, here at their other campus, in your church, if you came with another church, you're going to assemble at your campus.

And it's all in preparation for an eruption of the dangerous good being sent into the city of Austin to do good. Now, usually in a room like this, for me, 80% of the guys will go, you know what? I hear the word of God talking to me. I want to be a part of that. But I believe...

that we can get to close to 100%. Turn to the back of your workbook right now. We're just going to do one thing and then the worship team is going to lead us in another set and we're going to seal our commitment in worship. But in the back of your workbook, there's this page. It's called Making My Connection. If you're hearing the voice of God and you're ready to get connected in community, if you believe that isolation kills and connection, all I want you to do is to take your pen and

and just say, right? The third box, it says, I'm going to be starting or participating in a dangerous good fellowship. That's all I want you to do. Just cross that, cross that box, cross that box, and then close it back up because we're going to collect that a little later.

But I want to seal this decision in worship. Father, thank you for speaking so clearly through the life of your son. Thank you that when we are living out our truest identity, we're fearless, we're free, we're focused, and we're faithful. Because we know that one day we're going to end up standing in front of you face to face. And we want that moment to be filled with joy and as little regret as possible.

And God, we can do it, but we have to have community. We have to be connected. And this city is dying for a movement of men who know who they are, who know what to do, and they're doing it together in community. And so, Father, I declare identity, the identity that they have in Christ over this room. I declare the community of God, that these men would get together and that they would not suffer from isolation anymore.

but that they would connect and that they would conquer in the name of Jesus. And God's men said, amen. Hi, PrayFam. It's Kenny Luck here. I want you to just imagine with me for a second, the 700 million men on planet earth right now that name the name of Jesus, living out their truest identity in Christ and doing that in a community of men.

all over the world. Imagine God's sons worldwide, Spirit-empowered, activated, making new choices. Billions of collective choices as a group every day that show love for God and love for people in the spaces and places that they uniquely occupy across cultures and countries. Okay? Imagine that. Then imagine the impact

on the hundreds of millions of women and children connected to that same 700 million men and the delivery of God's love to them, the delivery of God's justice, the delivery of God's blessing in Jesus' name through

God's sons who are living out their truest identity and community. Now that right there, that's a movement the world is waiting for. That is a movement the devil fears deeply. It's also a movement that you can be a part of whether you're a man or a woman. You can participate in that movement. You could support it, be a part of it. But more importantly, I want you to see something. It's a movement that connects masculinity to eternity.

and an identity in Jesus. And if you want to see how that movement rolls out, simply click the link below and watch session two of this message. The podcast, The Bible in a Year with Jack Graham, is a moving and inspiring biblical audio experience that will help you master wisdom from the world's greatest book. In each episode, you'll learn to apply biblical principles to everyday life.

Each cinematic episode is a journey through the Bible's most profound stories that will strengthen your appreciation of the Word and inspire you to keep learning. Listen to The Bible in a Year with Jack Graham on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

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