I'm Built To Move Forward | Chad Narayan

0:00 Hey, what's going on, everybody? Welcome back to another week of Zoe Church, and we are so honored that you join us. We are in part two today of our series on the mission of Zoe Church. But before that, I just want to take a moment to thank everybody who gives. We are so thankful for your generosity and your obedience to tithe. Now we're going to jump into the message. We're starting part two today of our mission here at Zoe, which is to help people discover their purpose and to make a difference. Here we go. We're picking up in this series that we started last week. It's a quick mini-series, and we're talking about the mission of our church, the mission of Zoe. And if you've never heard of the mission of Zoe, good news, we're going to put it on the screen. And you will be tested on this next week. We're going to pass out some paper. No, I'm just playing. Can you imagine?

0:52 but the mission of Zoe is for people to know God, find freedom, discover their purpose, and then make a difference. So we want people who come to our church to know God and not just know of God, but begin or continue on in a relationship with our creator, a relationship with the one true living God. We want you to come here and not just know of him, but to have a relationship with him, whether it's through Bible reading, being here at church, worship, prayer. We want you to grow in your faith, but we don't want you just to stop there. We want you to find freedom.

1:38 So this might be news to you. There is a real reality that you can be saved and still bound. you can be saved you could have given your life to Jesus but you are still stuck and not free from the patterns of past generations in your family you can be stuck in your old ways you can be saved and not kind you can you can love Jesus you can know Jesus but you may not be free you may still be bound. And so we talked about those two realities last week. And today we're going to be talking about discovering your purpose, discovering why God has you here on earth, discovering the calling that he's given to you, discovering just how he's created you, the skills, the talents, and everything that God has blessed you with to be able to then make a difference here on earth. For us at Zoe, we want to be able to provide a space for you to be able to do that, but not just so that you can serve the church, but so that you can serve your family, you can serve your friends, you can serve your neighborhood, you can serve your community. Amen?

2:54 So you get an opportunity here to discover what God has placed in you. so it's not an invitation to the mission but it is saying I'm going to live out this mission in my life I do want to grow in my faith I do want to know God more I do want to be sanctified and set free and I do want to receive that freedom from Jesus but I also want to discover how he's created me. I want to discover my purpose. The Bible says that you and I, we are created in the image of God, and we are created to partner with him in advancing his kingdom forward. To be able to do that, I've got to discover how God has created me so that I can walk in the mission that he has for me, and I can go make a difference. Amen? So today we're going to be in John chapter 9. And in John chapter 9, we're going to see a man who was born blind, and he is healed by Jesus.

3:57 But he's healed by Jesus in a very unconventional way. Very unconventional way. He receives this healing, and then he's sent out by God to make a difference in the people around him. John chapter 9, it says, as Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. Rabbi, his disciples asked him, why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins? It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins, Jesus answered. This happened so that the power of God could be seen in him. Quick side note here, the things that you experience in life, however tragic or horrific they are. The things that you have experienced, those are not things that I, you know, I understand those things were not fun. Those things were not a pleasant experience.

4:51 I know that you've gone through trials and tribulations in your life, but good news, God takes those things, not because you deserved them, but he takes those things and he uses them to not only restore you, but he uses them in other people's lives so that you can make a difference. Amen? And so those things that we've experienced, God will turn those things around and he will use them to be able to bless other people. Somebody say amen. So he says, this happened that the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man's eyes. He told him, go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.

5:48 Siloam means scent. So the man went and washed and came back seeing. His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, wait, wait, wait, isn't this the man we used to see sitting out here and begging? Some said yes, and others said, no, he just looks like him. But the man kept saying, yes, I am the same one. Verse 13, then they took the man, they didn't believe him, so they took him to the Pharisees because it was the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see. So they called in his parents. They asked them, is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see? His parents replied, we know that this is our son, and we are confident that he was born blind, but we don't know how he can see or who healed him.

6:42 Why don't you ask him? He's old enough to speak for himself. His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. So for the second time, they called in the man who had been blind and told him, God should get the glory for this. because we know this man Jesus is a sinner. And he replied, I do not know whether he is a sinner, but I know this, I was blind. I was blind. I was blind. And now I can see. Now I can see. The title of today's message is I'm built to move forward. I'm built to move forward. Turn to your neighbor and say, I'm built. No, you gotta say it with some authority. I'm built to move backwards. to the side, I'm built to move forward. Say it with some authority. I'm built to move forward. Sometimes you got to say things a couple times just to get it in your spirit.

7:50 I'm a stubborn person by nature. So people around me, they got to say things about 17 times just before I begin to hear them say I'm built to move forward. I'm saying that with faith. Those online, Zoe family, put it in the chat. I'm built to move forward. I'm built to move forward. I hate traffic.

8:13 I hate it. You hate traffic too? I hate traffic. I hate, you know, sometimes you get a good song and you get a good podcast, but you know, when you're just sitting there, man, I hate traffic. I don't like feeling stuck. Anybody, anybody not like feeling stuck, right? Why? Because we're built to move forward. We're built to move forward. Forward isn't an emotion. It's not an emotion. Forward is obedience on mission. It's obedience on mission. Forward doesn't mean I woke up today feeling great about myself. I had my coffee. I got an encouraging text from my friend and just all is great. No, forward is a decision to keep moving in the direction that God has put me in. It goes far beyond an emotion. Why? Because I can wake up and I can be in my feelings anybody else.

9:16 I can wake up and say, you know what? I don't want to move forward today. You know what? I just want to sit on the couch and watch Netflix all day. You know what? I do. You know, they just dropped the new season of The Bear. I just want to sit here and watch this. But God hasn't called us to stay stuck or to be sitting on our couch. He's asked us to get up and move where? Forward. I'm built to move forward. I'm not getting stuck in my past ways. You may be here today thinking, well, I'm not worthy enough. I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life. I feel inadequate to be able to move forward. I don't feel like I have the right skill set or the right gifts. And so I don't feel like I can move forward. I don't feel like I can discover my purpose. I don't feel like I can be used by God. The problem with that thinking is it's not how God views you.

10:14 So if you stay in that thinking, you won't walk in what God has you to walk in, not because God put you there, but because you put yourself there. And God is wanting to move you forward in his plan for your life. God is wanting to show you who he's created you to be. God is wanting you to walk in the purpose that you have for your life. God is ready to unlock those doors to be open. God is ready to put you in the path that he has for you. God is ready to send you as he sent the man to go and receive his healing and then be used to bring glory to Jesus. God is ready to send you. But if we stay stuck in our thinking, if we stay stuck in thinking, man, I'm not worthy enough. I can't do this. The reality is, no, you can't.

11:08 Neither can I. but the good news of Jesus is that he gives us the power to be able to do that and when we sit before him and he speaks we receive that purpose and we receive that power to go make a difference forward is not an emotion it's a decision it's obedience It's obedience on mission. I'm built to move forward. But it all starts in one place. Because sometimes the question that we're asking God is the wrong question. Sometimes the question we're asking is, God, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? And the first question that God must answer in our life is not, what do you want me to do, but who is it that you say that I am?

12:02 Point number one today, I want to encourage you with this, is you got to know whose you are before you know who you are. You got to know whose you are, who you belong to. Who you are is a child of God. You belong to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Nobody can take that away from you. Nobody can write that out of your story. You belong to who? belong to God. So I got to know whose I am before I know who I am, because when I know who I am, then I can walk in what God has for me. Look at what it says here in verse three. It says, neither this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. What you've experienced, what you've walked through, doesn't mean that's who you are, but I realize first that I'm a child of the most high God. Maybe you've seen this. Have you ever seen this? You ever walk out to your car and you see that flyer that's on your car, we buy junk cars. You ever seen this before? This is the most disrespectful thing, man.

13:17 Like, you could be having a great day. All of a sudden, you walk out, you see that on your car. You're like, I didn't know I had a junk car. I didn't realize it. Like, oil has changed, and it's clean, and I didn't realize I had a junk car. I thought I was keeping this. It's paid off. Like, what do you mean I have a junk car? God is in the business, actually, of buying junk cars. Why? Because God is in the business of taking back his sons and daughters from the clutches of sin and hell, restoring them, and then setting them on a path to walk in what he has for you. Right? I'm built to move forward. So God takes us and he restores us, but he doesn't restore us to put us in a museum. You ever been to the Peterson Museum? It's the car museum.

14:09 I got to go with Ballum a couple years ago. We got to go see the car museum, and it's incredible. And you're just sitting there, wow, look at all these cars. I'll never be able to drive one. I'll never, you know, and you're just like, man, this is incredible. You're not a museum car. God purchased you with his life, and then he sets you free, and he speaks purpose to you, and he sets you out on the plan and the purpose that he has for you. You may be a junk car, but he takes you back, and he restores you with this man. This man was born blind, but to be able to bring glory to Jesus, and Jesus heals him and then sets him out on his way, And he stands before three groups of people, his community, the religious leaders, and his family. And each time he says, yo, fam, I don't know. The dude spit on the ground. And then I just went and wiped my eyes, you know, some face cleaner and stuff like that. And now I'm here standing and I'm walking in the purpose that Jesus has for me.

15:11 You got to know whose you are before you know who you are. You got to walk in the plan that God has for you as he sets that in motion. Michelangelo said this when he was sculpting the sculpture of David. Check out what he says here. He says, I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free. Until I set him free.

15:40 And there is greatness that is in you. There is greatness that God has placed in you. Why? Because he designed you. The Bible says that while you and I were in our mother's womb, he knit me together. You are a masterpiece. God is shaping you every single day of your life. Why? Because you're built to move forward, and he's helping you discover your purpose. He's helping you discover his plan for your life. And he's saying, nope, we're going to get rid of this bitterness. And we're going to get rid of this unforgiveness. We're going to get rid of this identity crisis here. And we're going to get rid of this toxic relationship. We're going to continue forming and molding. Why?

16:32 Because he's put greatness in you. And he looks at you and he says, this is my son and my daughter. and I've got a plan and a purpose for your life. If you don't believe me from this story, let me show you two other verses that are in the Bible to just help clarify the point. First Peter 2, 9 says this, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession. Maybe that's a word for you today. You know you're God's special possession? You're God's special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness and into his wonderful light. Ephesians 2.10 says it like this, for we are God's handiwork created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. I got to know whose I am. I got to know I belong to God to be able to walk in the calling that he has for me. Amen. Come on, let's clap and thank the Lord for everything that he's spoken to us.

17:29 So first I got to know whose I am, but then I got to realize, I got to realize to be able to discover my purpose, what opens that door is obedience. Obedience is the door to clarity. It is the door to which God speaks to you and identifies those things that he has called you to in your life. He says here in verse seven, go, he told him, wash in the pool of Siloam. This word means sent. So the man went and washed and came home seeing. What an interesting healing.

18:10 Jesus spits in the dirt and then wipes it on the man's eyes. If I was the man, I'd be like, hey, come on, man. Come on. I know down the street, so-and-so got healed. I didn't hear about no spit. What are you talking about?

18:31 You also wonder, like, how much spit do you need to be able to create that much mud to put on your eyelids? Like, is Jesus just like, like, just a deep, you know? You're like, dang. Like, he hears it, and he's like, ah, man. Bummer. Wow. but obedience is the door to clarity. and so sometimes we want the opposite god i'll obey you if you give me clarity first but the way that god works is we obey him first and then he he gives us clarity he shows us what he's speaking he makes it make sense you ever you ever um get something from god and you're like, was that you?

19:23 Are you serious? And sometimes we gotta be obedient to his word. We gotta be obedient in prayer. We gotta be obedient to what the community of people that he's put us around who love us and wanna hold us accountable to walk in the calling. And so sometimes you're at a connect group and somebody will speak something and you're like, man, that was for me. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is speaking through community, and he'll speak in his word. Why do we do the Zoe Devo? It's not just so we can have it on the Bible app. It's so that you can be on a Wednesday or a Thursday or a Friday and get a word from God. And God will speak that to you, and then he will provide clarity as you begin to obey his word. For the man, the man was like, all right, here it is. Jesus puts it on his eyelids and he walks to the pool and he is healed after he washes in the pool obedience is the door to clarity why because your purpose is activated through your obedience it's activated through your obedience we we were just in the fourth on the fourth of July we were in Palm Desert and you know we go to the hotel room and what opens the hotel room the key you put that key right up against the sensor and then the door opens obedience is that key as you put that on the sensor god will begin to make it make sense he'll begin to provide clarity he'll begin to show you and give you wisdom and give you insight and open your eyes to what he is doing all around you but it all starts with obedience and as i begin to obey him and as I begin to follow him and as I begin to listen to the Holy Spirit guide me, he begins to make it make sense and show me the path that he has for me.

21:17 Amen? So you've got to know whose you are, but you've got to realize that obedience starts, starts the whole process. And in obedience, then I receive clarity in discovering the purpose that God has for me. Purpose is activated by your obedience. Amen? Come on, let's clap and thank God for his grace. Thank you. The third thing I want to encourage you with today is your testimony gives credibility to your theology. It's not the other way around. What you believe about God doesn't give credibility to your testimony. It's your testimony that gives credibility to your theology. What you believe about God matters. And that's why we go back to perspective. The Bible says in 1 John, John is writing to a group of churches, and he's like, hey, you guys kind of got it backwards.

22:15 How can you say you love God and hate your brother? Those who say that they love God and hate their brother, check this out, have never seen God. So the way that I act and the way that I behave and the way that I treat others is a testimony to how I see and how I view God. It is a testimony to my actions. And that's why here at our church, we use this terminology, you can belong before you believe and you can believe before you become. Why? Because it's not on us to communicate to you behavior modification, but we want you to sit with Jesus and let Jesus begin to speak to you, begin to heal, begin to show you your purpose so that you can go love other people. You can go love other people.

23:14 Matthew says it like this, you are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

23:50 I love Wingstop. Thank you. to know me is to know I love wing stock I get about that honey barbecue that Korean barbecue that lemon pepper I might skip the 1215 just go get wing stop I love me some wing stop but what is it about the what is Jesus talking about he's talking about the flavor and there is a unique flavor that God has given you there is a unique flavor that he's wired you with and he's given you this so that you can walk in the calling that he has for your life, the purpose that he has for your life, to do the things, to love your family, to love your coworkers, to love your neighborhood and your community in the way that God has wired you to do it.

24:50 And sometimes you got lemon pepper trying to be honey barbecue. It's not gonna work. And sometimes we get caught in the trap of, well, you know, I wish I was like so-and-so and I wish I had their platform and I wish I had their gifting and I would love to sing like Nadine and Shane. I'd love to, I can't.

25:13 But would I just stop there? Oh man, I can't lead worship. No, because God has designed me in the calling that he's designed me for. And so as I walk in that, I walk in the calling that God has for my life. I want to ask you a couple questions today. I want to ask you a couple questions. What if your purpose has nothing to do with your job title and everything to do with your obedience? What if the place you're at right now needs your obedience more than your gift? What if the place you're at right now needs your story more than your talent?

26:00 What if your gift is just being purposeful, intentional, building others up? What if it's just going where you're supposed to go and telling your story and using the story that God has given you to be a blessing to other people? James says it like this Thus also faith by itself If it does not have works is dead Your life is the loudest sermon you will ever preach It is the loudest The way you treat others The way you love your family The way you stand up for your community The way that you serve other people The way that you send text messages And just send hey I was reading this verse just wanted to encourage you with this today. The way you lead a connect group, the way you serve other people, the way that you stop, look up from your phone, and notice those that are around you speaks to the testimony that you have.

27:05 But more so, it speaks to the theology and the way that you view God. If I view God as somebody that came and sent his son to die on a cross for my sins and to save me and to set me free, then I will no doubt in turn live and live to bless others. And I will live to make a difference in people's lives. And I will live to love others. Amen. The last thing I want to encourage you with today, point number four, is your platform is where you make a difference. Your platform is not a social media following per se. It's not a career per se, but it is wherever you make a difference in people's lives, that's your platform. a second time they summoned the man who had been blind give glory to god by telling the truth they said we know that this man is a sinner and he replied whether he is a sinner or not i do not know but one thing i do know i was blind but now i see your platform is wherever you make a difference. It's where you make a difference. I was in, um, Palm Desert, as I said, and I was sitting with a friend outside on the patio. And, um, all of a sudden while we're talking, the, uh, you ever heard of the cicadas? They start buzzing. Super loud, right? And so they start buzzing. So I asked him, I'm like, what is that buzzing? He's like, oh, it's the cicadas.

28:47 and I felt like the Holy Spirit spoke to me in that moment that the cicadas created by God are doing what they're created to do they're operating how God is created to operate they're functioning in the way that God has created them to function they're not trying to make a different noise they're making the noise that their creator embedded into them I felt like the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, worship is using what God has given you for his glory.

29:28 We worship God, not just in song here at church. We worship God when we function the way that he has created us to function. That's good. My friend Mark over here, Mark, he's in pre-med right now. And he's just the best guy if you ever get a chance to meet Mark. And I got a chance to meet him just earlier this year. And he's right now, he's studying in pre-med. And he's using the gift that God has given him. he's functioning in the way that God has created him to function right my friend Freddie here I've known Freddie since 2019 2018 yeah we used to have a location in the valley and that's where I met Freddie and his wife Carol and this man to know Freddie is to know that he loves God he loves people he loves this church he loves this city Thank you.

30:33 but he's a business owner and and and i've had conversations with him and you can tell he just he's comfortable in the way that god has created him and he functions in that and i had a conversation with him one time on the phone we were just talking and he's like i take the things that i learn in church and i apply them with the guys that i work with and that's that's taking the mission of our church and applying that with my family, applying that in my daily life, applying that with my coworkers, applying that with our children, right? And so you begin to see, man, God can really use what I have to offer.

31:21 God can use what I have to offer. Down here in the front row, my friend Refukio, put your hand of Refukio, the coolest name in the church. He typically, he typically serves at our West Adams location. I've seen this guy move chairs, move signage. I've seen this guy move, do whatever is asked of him. And then, and then what he does is after he's done all this setup, he goes and he stands at the front doors and he welcomes people to church and he helps them find a seat. Why? he'll stand in the back all of service right and he's standing in the back all service and I see him I'll look over there sometimes and I'll just see him while he's standing in the back worshiping he's standing in the back worshiping and then somebody will come and he'll help them find a seat and he helps them find a seat and then he goes back and he's just he's locked in he's worshiping he's listening to the message why because he's had a revelation he's had an understanding that God saved him that God set him free and now he's here to serve others Thank you.

32:25 he's here to serve other people and it doesn't matter what what what what the task may be at hand it's all about discovering how God has created me so that I can make a difference I can make a difference my friend Jill down here in the front I've known Jill since the end of 2018 and I've seen Jill serve in probably every department, every capacity, anything, works staff member hours, but is a volunteer. And I've seen her give her life to the church. Seasons of saying, I'm putting other people before me. Tough conversations, pastoring people, leading connect groups, being with people in their darkest moments while she, her family lives in New Jersey.

33:23 And while her family is on the other side of the country, she's here in LA sitting with coworkers, sitting with people in our church, sitting with people, pastoring people, encouraging people and loving other people. Your platform is where you make a difference. It's where you make a difference. So I want to encourage you with this today. Remember, you've got to know whose you are.

33:55 For this man, he said, look, I don't know. All I know is that I was blind, and now I can see. You're not disqualified. God is deploying you. He's deploying you to your family. He's deploying you to your workplace. He's deploying you to not make this rocket science, but a text can change somebody's day. Buying somebody a coffee can change somebody's week. Just being there to say, hey, how can I pray for you? I remember I used to work for a car dealership way back in the day, and I was in the wash bay, and I would just sit there washing cars after they got serviced, and I'd just be back there just washing cars, right? Just washing cars. And there was this guy that I worked with that had grown up in church, but he was very against God. Didn't want anything to do with God.

34:49 Wanted to go his own way. And so I would just, he'd ask me, hey, what are you doing tonight? Ah, well, we got this church function or going to this small group. Or we just washing cars in the wash bag. Just washing cars every single day. And about seven, eight months in, I'm just back there. He's on one side of the car. I'm on the other side. Just washing cars, right? We're just washing cars. Wax on, wax off. We're just washing cars. And he says this to me one day. He stops and he goes, will you pray for me?

35:16 Will you pray for me? And that began a journey of welcoming him into church. He would come to church and then he would do the internship program that we had at the church at that time. And then from there he graduated and from there he would become a kids pastor. And he would get married. And that was the testimony of what God was doing in his life. life, but he realized that that's just my platform. And for me, I realized wherever I'm at, wherever I'm at, you may be, you may be the only pastor that's at your job. there's nobody else that could be in your workplace that's saying I'm saying yes to the call of what God is doing in my life and giving people encouragement so this week as you head out to your family to your friends to your community maybe stopping I had this really awkward interaction yesterday with a with a neighbor I was like getting out of my car and and I get out of my car and he's walking across the street to his truck and and I just felt like the Lord was like say hi to him so it's like awkward because you're waiting to make eye contact and so i'm walking and oh he didn't look at me now now we're on both sides of the car so i can't see him so then i walk and i look back and he looks at me and i was like what's up man good to see you good to see you too just kept walking it's not it's not rocket science it's obedience it's discovering how God has created you and choosing to make a difference in people's lives amen come on let's clap and thank the Lord stand to our feet Thank you again for joining us this week for our message.

37:15 And if you're looking to get involved here at Zoe, you can go to our website, zoechurch.org. We love you, Zoe.