[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the message podcast of High Ridge Church, Longview, where our vision is to help you know God, find freedom, discover purpose, and ultimately make a difference. We are so glad that you're here and we pray that this message impacts your life as you apply the spiritual truths from God's word in practical ways. Let's listen in. Thank you so much. Put your hands together for Jesus this morning. Our king, our father, our friend.
He is the reason for the season. Amen.
In case nobody has told you yet, Merry Christmas. It is the Christmas season. I am so glad that you chose to spend today Sunday at High Ridge Church, Longview. I am glad that you are here. We also want to say a very special welcome to all of you who are watching online from your cell phone, from your computer. So come on, High Ridge family, welcome in. All our friends from all around the world.
Welcome, welcome, welcome. Grab your Bibles, if you wouldn't mind. Turn over to Luke chapter two.
We're going to start a brand new series today for the next three weeks called Legacy. Somebody say Legacy.
And as we turn there, I wanted to say it is full Christmas mode at the Ingraham House. I don't know if you know my story. I was raised not celebrating any holidays. That was kind of the religious background that we were raised up in. So I had no idea that, like, the extent that a person could go to. But God in his infinite wisdom, helped me to marry the most Christmas person that God has ever put on this planet. And I am learning you are the most Christmas. And so our house is completely decorated up. We even have Longview lights giving us amazing lights. So love you guys. We love our. Our house has like a. Like a big Christmas tree. Like, my parents would never have allowed that, but I'm a grown man.
[00:01:35] Speaker A: Sorry, Mom. She's watching right now. I'm sorry about that.
But in Luke Chapter two, we're gonna get into our series called Legacy, as we're dealing with the Christmas story and the legacy theme that's kind of running throughout the. The entire story of the birth of Jesus. And it's not just necessarily a story about Christmas, but it's a story about accountability and stewardship. It's a story about generosity. And as we're looking in Luke chapter two, we come upon.
[00:02:00] Speaker A: A man in scripture that doesn't really get the weight of other people in scripture. And his name is Simeon. So specifically deals with Simeon going to church and encountering Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus as they come to dedicate him to. To the Lord, many of you have seen, you know, child dedications, baby dedications, and this would have been the. The rite of passage for a child that was born into this family. One of the unique things it says before we get to. To verse 25 is it says, Mary and Joseph, as they were bringing the baby Jesus to be dedicated, they. They brought two turtle doves. It's kind of where we get that. You know the line in the song Two Turtle Doves, you remember that, it's gonna be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. You're welcome.
[00:02:38] Speaker A: But Leviticus chapter 12 specifically says, When a couple is to bring a newborn child and dedicate them to the Lord, they're supposed to bring a sp.
So that's kind of where we get Mary had a little lamb. I don't know if you knew that, but Jesus is the spotless lamb. Even if scripturally they're not able to bring a lamb. It says the only exception to them bringing a lamb is if. Is if people are very poor, then they would have to bring two turtle doves. So we see that Jesus's birth and then his dedication at the temple was coming from two people that were born underneath the poverty line. These would have been a young couple that didn't have much, but they're giving God the best of what they do have. They don't have a lamb to offer, but they're using the exception, saying, hey, we're super poor, but we're bringing two turtle doves as we dedicate our child. And that's a big deal. It helps us to see that Jesus's beginnings. Jesus's beginnings and his family here, that it wasn't rustic, it was poverty. Okay?
And it's easy for us to look at the Nativity scene, like, oh, so rustic. You know, this so homey. And so I just love how it's bare bones, like, no, no, no, no, no. Let's not glamorize this. Like, this is poverty. This is a couple that needed some real help. And it wasn't until the wise men come and they bring him extravagant gifts that Mary's blown away by their generosity. But in the meantime, they're struggling. The struggle is real. For those of us raised up in the struggle, some of us were blessed. You've never had to eat a mayonnaise sandwich. You've never had to eat an onion for three days. You've never had to walk through the struggles that other people have had to struggle with.
This helps us to see that Jesus came not in some palace but he came to the poor and he made his home with two people that were willing to risk it all to raise this child, to dedicate him, to do everything that they could to make sure that he becomes exactly what God has purposed him. Therefore, from the very beginning, and in the process of them dedicating this child to Jesus, we come upon a man named Simeon. And there's some important things about his life that we're to talk about when we, as we. As we deal specifically with the word legacy today. Pick it up. In verse 25 of Luke chapter 2, it says, now, there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon who was righteous and devout.
He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. I want you to notice the repetition of the word Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit, it says, was on him. It had been revealed to him by the what?
By the Holy Spirit, that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah. What a powerful promise, by the way, for those of us that are, that are. That were raised in the rapture culture and like Jesus, come back any second, you better, you know, this is what you want to be doing when Jesus comes back. Like, we understand, but he literally got the promise from Jesus that he would not see death until he was able to see the Messiah.
And this is the promise that he hangs on to as he's an old man going to church. And he finally gets to see that promise walk in the church doors.
God told him, you will not die before you've seen the Lord's Messiah. It says, moved by the. Say the word, by the Spirit. He went into the temple courts, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, Simeon took the baby in his arms and praised God, saying, lord, as you have promised, Lord, you kept your promise to me just as you've promised. You may now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation.
A light for revelation to the Gentiles, by the way, if you weren't born an Israelite, if you weren't born a Hebrew, it's speaking about you. It's saying, there's a light for people like me and people like you, Jesus, is that light, a light of revelation for the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.
And the child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Like, how, first of all, if you've ever brought a newborn baby to church, like, and some random stranger comes up, let me hold your baby. Like.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: That takes an act of faith. Like, I don't know you man Covid flu like. No, but remind yourself that the Holy Spirit is all over this.
And this person has waited his whole life and he gets to see, he understands the importance like, this is not just a normal baby. This is the baby that has come to deliver the world. He takes him, holds him in his arms, he blesses him. And then it says, simeon, bless the couple.
He blessed them, this young couple struggling in poverty. And he says this to Mary, says, this child is destined to cause the falling and the rising of many. Not only with Jesus destiny being to topple those in great positions of power and authority, which he did by the way, on the cross. It says the rising of many. By the way. That's speaking prophetically about me and you. There's a resurrection day that's coming where the grave isn't going to hold me because of Jesus Christ. I have hope that death is not the end. Oh, he says, this child is going to cause the falling and, and the resurrection of many. I love that. Here's the promise that he's speaking prophetically over the baby as he's in line with what the Holy Spirit is doing.
The falling and the rising of many. And it says, and to be a sign that will be spoken against. Here's the thing, here's what we know about Christ is there's not. Not everybody in the world agrees with Jesus. There's a whole, whole mess of people that would speak against it. How dare you believe that?
He said, that's okay. Jesus was destined to be spoken against.
It says this so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.
There's transparency that happens when it says they speak about Jesus. It tells you what's going on on the inside of people. And then he tells Mary, and a sword will pierce your own soul too.
That's a difficult thing, but it's also something that this young mother, this was not revelatory to her. She'd heard this before the angel when he prophesied that she would be pregnant, expecting this child. Jes. Jesus says, this is not an ordinary child. You don't get to have that with your. With your firstborn son. She would go on to have other children where she gets to be a normal mom, but not with Christ.
He's special because he wasn't just a gift to her to raise. He was a gift to be given away for the sins of the world. And it says that's going to pierce your soul to have to watch this happen to your child. But Simeon.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: On the last few years of his life gets to hold this promise and remind Mary, like, this child is special. He needs to be treated that way.
He's not the same. And remind yourself of the promise that God has given you. What an impactful legacy that we see of this, this man, Simeon, who is waiting at the temple courts and recognizes Jesus the moment he walks in. It shows us what a true legacy is, by the way. And so I want to give you three things really quickly as we're digging into God's word that are so important for us to remember. As we look at our own legacies, here's what we understand, is that most people don't think about your legacy until it's too late.
But if you don't live your life for something that is bigger than you, something that makes a difference in your world, then your Legacy lasts about 35 minutes after your funeral, when people gather around and start dividing up your stuff.
[00:09:30] Speaker A: Like, this is all that you think of me. Just who gets my lamp? You know, who gets my guns? Who gets my toys? Like, that's not a life. That's not a legacy. That's a joke.
But a legacy is something where we understand how important it is to be led by the Holy Spirit.
I'm going to show you how important that is. Number one, if you're a note taker, write this down. My legacy begins at home.
My legacy begins at home. So it says Simeon specifically recognized the baby Jesus brought into the temple courts immediately as he comes in there. How did he do that? And the repetition is very clear. He did that by being moved by the Holy Spirit, by being led by the Holy Spirit, by having the Holy Spirit all over him. Understand how important it is when you see that happen and repeated three times in Scripture, how God is emphasizing this through the writer, Luke, he said, it's important that you understand this was not just some crazy old man wanting to hold a baby. This was a Spirit moment.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: It's a Holy Spirit moment. He listened to the Spirit. The Spirit says, go.
And he responded immediately. He didn't miss the most important moment of his legacy. Here's what that tells us about our own legacy is that my job is to listen to the Holy Spirit and respond immediately to what he's doing.
It says Simeon was led by the Holy Spirit.
It's interesting because most believers don't realize that. Wait a minute. I thought the Holy Spirit came in. Acts, chapter two. Mm, mm, mm. You'll find the Holy Spirit, by the way, in the Old Testament, you'll find him right here at the birth of Christ. You know this, that. That Jesus had a cousin named John the Baptist. It says while he was still in his mother's womb, that baby was sleeping and full of the Spirit. So here are Old Testament believers living in New Testament realities. Why? Because the Holy Spirit's just like God. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. He has been there, he was there. He will be there. And for people that say, oh, the Holy Spirit, that's just for the book of Acts. And just for those like, mm, mm. It's right here before Acts, chapter two.
[00:11:31] Speaker A: And it starts with people being full of the Spirit, being led by the Spirit in a time, by the way, where God hadn't spoken through a prophet for 400 years.
Nobody was listening, but Simeon was still believing in a God that everybody says was just a legend. He's still holding on. He's faithful. It says faithful. Don't breeze past that word. He was faithful and devoted, even though everybody else said, oh, that's legends. That stuff that happened, that David and Goliath stuff, that Moses stuff, that Noah stuff, that's all for centuries past. We're not sure if that's all really made up or did that happen? He says, I still believe.
Why? Because I have the Holy Spirit inside of me. I'm still being led by the Spirit. And I'm one of those that gets to have a legacy. I get to see it with my own two eyes.
[00:12:13] Speaker A: Understand how important it is for us to be led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus, by the way, says this to his disciples right before he's captured away as. As his time on earth was coming to a close. In Acts, chapter one, verse eight, he says, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. By the way, that still happens today. You receive the power to do what? To live this life, to be led by the Spirit is a big deal.
And it says, what? What will you do with the power of the Holy Spirit? Are you going to hang around and have awesome church services? You're going to roll on the floor? He said, no, no, no. You're going to be my witnesses.
You are to be a witness. And where does he say you're supposed to do that? Notice the very first word was Jerusalem. Home.
Home. He says, you're to be a witness in this city before you go to Judea and Samaria and the outermost parts of the earth, right here in your home. Your legacy begins at home, when you are led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit cannot be something that you ignore and only. Only give him Any, any levity and any, any, any submission on Sundays.
[00:13:12] Speaker A: Your legacy starts in your home and how you are led by the power of the Holy Spirit. Here's what we know. The Holy Spirit is constantly nudging his people to be a blessing where they are, where they are.
God has placed you uniquely in this city. God has placed us as a church in this city. And one of the biggest mistakes that we see churches make all the time is that they will resource the entire world and, and they will neglect their own city. But God has specifically purposed us. We are in the city for the sake of the city.
God placed us here in Longview, Texas to meet the needs of Longview, Texas. And long before we go to the outermost parts of the earth, by the way, which we do, you need to understand that God has a call for us. Part of our legacy, part of the reason why we're here, why we gather as believers, is to pay attention to a city that needs the hands and feet of Jesus.
And here is Simeon being led by the Holy Spirit, being willing to do what he could do for two people that were raising a child below the poverty line. He was a blessing and encouragement, a reminder of the promises of God.
[00:14:16] Speaker A: He was a stopgap between the birth of Jesus and angels that came and visited and the wise men that were coming to bring a lot of money and resources to those young parents in between. They get discouraged.
God, all we've got is these two turtle tails. I'm trying to raise this kid on nothing.
He says, let me remind you of the purpose. Let me remind you of what God's called you to do. He's coming. Your deliverer's coming. You take care of this child. Keep pushing, keep persevering. Our legacy begins at home. Here's number two. My legacy will outlive me.
You need to know that. My legacy will outlive me. And it shows that it wasn't about what Simeon would do, but what God would do in the next generation.
And I love this about his heart. He's not sitting here getting angry and crusty about the next generation, which is what we see a lot. You know, as you get older, you're like, ah, these young whippersnappers. And what do they know? Back in my day, this is how we did church. Like, well, before you get there, that wasn't Simeon's legacy.
He was like, oh, Lord, use me in the time that I have left to be a blessing to those that are gonna carry the torch when I'm done.
And I Love that.
It shows us a very important principle that we need to remind ourselves of, and that's that the story of God is bigger than the chapter that we occupy. It's bigger than you. It was here before you came, and it would be here after you're gone. The only, the only thing that should help us, give us pause is for the simple fact that God wants to use me in my lifetime to make a difference. I get to be a part of his story.
But God's story is bigger than the chapter that we occupy. And here is Simeon as one of the few people we find in scripture that gets a chance to do something special. He finishes well.
[00:15:53] Speaker A: He finishes well. How many people can you recall that you've. You've read the stories about in scripture that started out really, really awesome? At the end of their life, they're like, not so good. The Bible is full of a lot of human beings that did really, really well at times. And other times it's like, hey, let's, let's just skip this chapter, move on to the next one. We don't want to think of this person like that because their legacy is shocked. We see this in our world today.
Incredible pastors and men and women of God that start out doing so much incredible things, and then right there at the end, they get about 65 or 70. It's like, hey, cut Papa off. That is enough.
Because the legacy falls apart at the end. He finishes well. Why? Because his attitude was one of, I'm here to bless them and to encourage the next generation that will be here long after I'm gone. He doesn't complain about the future. He doesn't fear the future. He blesses it.
And I love that about his heart. It shows us as a church how important that that is. Because true legacy is trusting that the seeds that we plant will bear fruit in generations after us.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: They'll do well. Why? Because we set them up for success.
Because we showed them how important it is to think about something outside of yourself, to think about your home, to think about your family, your community, your city, and to recognize that God puts you here for a reason. And your legacy is going to outlive you. Here's the third and final point that we'll see today is that my legacy is built through serving and blessing others.
Through serving and blessing others. So Simeon used his gifts not for himself, but to empower the next movement of God, to encourage a couple of young believers to take the next step of faith.
He should remind them that they're doing the Right thing.
[00:17:41] Speaker A: Persevere, push on.
And so we, we meet the needs in our city to strengthen believers and to strengthen those and encourage those that need a lot of hope. And our city is full of people that need hope. God placed us here like Simeon, for a reason. To be led by the Holy Spirit, to be his hands and feet to those that are right in front of us.
[00:18:01] Speaker A: Here's what we know, is that our compassion and generosity become part of God's ongoing story.
How you treat people, your heart towards those that have less than you, your generosity, your willingness to say, lord, you've blessed me with more than enough. How do you want me to bless somebody else? Your heart that's going to outlive you. It becomes part of God's ongoing story. Your life is about more than just meeting your own needs, getting a few more toys before you die. God has called you to be his hands and feet. In order to know, how do we do that? You have to be filled with and led by, moved by the power of the Holy Spirit, period.
Otherwise you end up causing more problems when you get involved in things that the Spirit didn't lead you to do.
So as a church, we've been doing exactly that, by the way, blessing our city, blessing those that need strength and hope and encouragement right in front of us. And this year we've seen God move in some powerful ways. I want to give you. There's 15 different partnerships and things that we've been able to do in this city outside of the walls of this church.
So today I'm not going to talk about and celebrate things that are happening on the far reaches regions of the planet. We could do that. We're going to do that in a couple of. I'm not going to talk about what's happening in our country. We've done incredible things there that have already gone viral. And I can't wait to show you those things. I'm just going to show you what's happening outside of these walls, outside of men's and women's ministry, children's ministry, youth ministry, all the things that are happening right here, which is a lot.
It would be easy for us to get consumed with what is happening with just us and to ignore the needs of our city.
[00:19:30] Speaker A: But we see people like Simeon saying that's not our legacy to just take good care of ourselves.
It's about more than that. So I want to show you some of the things that we've partnered with, some of the events that we've been able to sponsor and people that we've been able to connect with and people that want to say thank you, by the way, for, for your generosity. I want to show you ways that we've been accountable to steward the generosity that you've given us. Just in our city alone, outside of the walls of the church, within the walls of this city.
Here's something that we've gotten involved in over the past two years, and that's. That's college church fairs, where we go onto college campuses and meet students that freshmen that are coming in for the very first time. We've done this at letourno. We've done it at etbu. And what we've seen is, is it might not seem like a lot to you, but you're not the one that has to stand in the lobby when you have parents that have just dropped off their kids at college for the first time and they're like, I am so grateful that my kids have found a church home, by the way. It's part of the DNA of our church. We have. We have multiple elders in our church services that, that lead and govern this church that would say that's our story. I came here to go to college and end up finding my spouse and I just lived here and just never left. And they've plugged in and served this place for 50 years. Why? Because this is their story. We want to keep that going because it's an important thing to be able to serve those that are coming to this city for the first time and needing a church. Let me share with you this statistic from LifeWay Research. It said 66% of American young adults who attend church regularly for at least a year, they dropped out of church at least for one year between the ages of 18 and 22. There's a major attack on that age gap. And so we specifically targeted that age gap and said we want more college students here to find a church, to find a family, to find mentors, to find a home, to find a group.
And we'll do whatever it takes to meet them. As a matter of fact, let me see. Would you raise your hand right now if you are currently in college? Let me see you. We got a bunch of you that are in this service. We see you. Come on, people.
[00:21:21] Speaker A: We can do better than that. Come on.
Welcome.
[00:21:26] Speaker A: We are glad that you are here.
Here's something else we've gotten involved in is we've gotten involved with our Longview Fire Department, also our police department. And I can't share with you a lot of specific stories because of dignity and you know, some of these people, and they've walked through some seriously traumatic events in their life, but we've been able to step in and meet some gaps, meet some needs, get some professional counseling and mental health stuff. They see things, by the way, that make a billy goat puke. Some of the things that they have to encounter on a daily, on a daily basis, you. You don't talk about at parties, and they're not okay.
And so we've been able to do things like adopt a cop. We also did some, some hand to hand combat training for those that weren't too confident in their combat skills. But I would just believe if you're really confident that you can kick somebody's tail, you don't have to shoot them.
[00:22:12] Speaker A: So let's get them some training. And so we had a police officer in the front said, you guys understand that's the blue mat. We get out, we go at it with each other, but we need to get confident in those things. And he said, thank you. They appreciate that. There's also some things that we've been able to do with our Homeless Resource Day. We've partnered with 70 other nonprofits, churches and organizations to help tackle one of the biggest problems in Longview today. This is a very controversial issue for how you treat the homeless of our city. And Longview has a major homelessness issue.
Now, on one side of it, it's, hey, these are people, they're homeless people. Give them all the resources that they need. But there's another controversial side of it that says, yeah, but now we've become the place where all the homeless send all their people and they stay here and use up all the resources of the city. And both of those sides have very strong opinions about what you should do about homeless people. In the middle of that is 70 organizations saying, can we just be reasonable? Can we find a way to resource these people and get them what they really need?
And so we created these 70 other partnerships. We created Homeless Resource Day, which has brought people food boxes, haircuts, hygiene bags, helped them to do application and what's it called, like, interview training. Those things help them to get their IDs, which is a big problem, and lots of benefits to them. But 70 agencies working together to do that. And there's some pictures that will show you, but that's a big deal.
We're not the ones that know all the answers. And let me just make that very clear. We're not a soup kitchen. We don't have a major place where we can give them all the things that they need.
But we have some incredible partners that can do that. And when you put 70 different organizations in the same room, we'll say, hey, let's not duplicate the resources, resources. But if you do this well and I do that well, then you shut that down and bring that over here to me, and I'll shut this down and bring that over here to you. You guys are better at this. And when you start getting them into the same room and working together, that's a beautiful thing. It starts to getting real answers to real time problems in our city. Understand this. We are not the experts, but we will resource and partner with those who are.
I'm not the expert, but I will find a lot of friends that know what they're doing and say, what do you need?
How can we help you? Because I have a generous church. We want to solve real button issues, real hot button issues, as the Holy Spirit leads us. And here's another thing. I spoke to a CPS officer this morning that has to do a lot of cases. They said, thank you so much for getting involved with cps. That is a traumatic event when children have to get taken out of a home. That is not easy on anybody. And so they contacted us. We have five families that have children that have been removed from homes. These families need five basic needs kits.
Here's the thing. I did not have to come that Sunday and take up an offering. I could just say yes because they don't need to wait two weeks for us to release some funds for them to be able to do that. They need help within about 15 minutes. And because you are a generous church, we can say absolutely, yes. What do you need? We'll have it there within the hour. And I love that about you. When I say thank you for your generosity. I can't share specific families and names and kids that were taken out of homes. I can't share with you the abusive situation, the accusation. But I can say there's a lot of people that are grateful and there's some kids that had enough to eat one night because of you. And we appreciate what's happening with our partnership with cps. Here's something else called Connect Longview. This is our new mayor's initiative to help bring volunteers and nonprofits together to meet those who might be elderly or disabled in one way that can't mow their lawns or fix their fences. And the city keeps giving them citation after citation after citation. And that becomes a problem because they can't pay it and they can't Find, fix it. So she said, can we come up with a better idea? And so many of us have been able to get together and start volunteering and helping these people take care of their yards. And so there's someone here that just wanted to say thank you.
[00:25:52] Speaker A: I can't do my yard.
[00:25:58] Speaker A: I just can't. I can't express how thrilled and blessed I feel for y' all being here.
Because with all this rain we've had, my yard is growing up.
Connect Longview is a wonderful program. I don't know about other cities, but I tell you, here in Longview with Ingrid and other people at work, it is so essential for older people handicapped.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: I'm so glad y' all are.
[00:26:33] Speaker A: So let's connect Longview for those that can't get out, take care of their own needs. I love that we are a generous church and can support them. By the way, if you want to get involved in any of these things, all of their contact information is going to be after every single one that we're talking about. We want you to get involved. If you're. If you're like, hey, I can do that.
Take a screenshot. We'd be happy to connect you with those people that are doing those specific things. In your heart, by the way, is being led by the Holy Spirit right now to get involved. You should be. Here's some other things that I want to share with you. And that's what we're doing at Highway 80 Rescue Mission. This is men's and women's facility and also the children in there with the women. But we have Kevin and Julie Richardson that were in our first service and they're leading a once a month chapel service. By the way, there's a lot of people at Highway 80 Rescue Mission getting saved.
A lot of people that are receiving Christ. So this is an intake center for those that are struggling with alcoholism, maybe drug stuff, maybe behavioral issues, maybe homelessness issue. Those are in an abusive situation and need to have some help. Highway 80 has become a place where they can find real solutions. And so they've partnered with us, allow us to bring Jesus every single, every single month on the first Friday of that month. And so Pam Martin is leading the women's side and Kevin Richardson is leading the men's side. We've also had several people that have learned how to preach and how to teach how to bring the gospel on those Friday nights because they're getting a chance to speak in front of those people. Let me just tell you, there's some fantastic things that are happening. And so the interest of time, let me just tell you, the biggest and greatest number is this year. We had 184 men get saved at Highway 80. Rescue business. That's a pretty awesome thing.
[00:28:04] Speaker A: 40 women saved on the women's side on their chapel service. And I love that.
[00:28:12] Speaker A: We'Re privileged and honored to be a part of what's happening at Highway 80. Let's move on to Longview Community Ministries. This is one of our biggest partners for people that. An organization that helps people with their utilities, with their rent, with their medications when they can't afford those. They gave away, by the way, 63,000 grocery bags, which is up 60% from last year.
[00:28:34] Speaker A: That. That's a big deal.
[00:28:40] Speaker A: Let me just say we're not experts of knowing, like, which person really needs help and which people are scamming you, but they know.
Let's partner with you. What do you need to make sure that you can. You can reach people's needs and get them exactly what they need? You can do the. You can be the expert in the field. I don't know how to do that, but you do. And Longview Community Ministries has become a great. A great partner. 11,800 food boxes. They did 532 meals of love to people that are shut in. Disabled elderly that can't get out.
532 meals to those people that they can't get out to go get something to eat. We brought it to them. I love that.
[00:29:15] Speaker A: And when we asked them, like, how many people are you serving a day? He said, on an average year, every day, we have 75 people that are asking for food or for medication or for help.
This past year, by the way, was 250 a day.
And so when our government shuts down, when SNAP benefits are excluded, when those things happen, this is. This is.
This is a real issue, by the way, in Longview, Texas, of people being hungry. And by the way, you answered that bell. We didn't have to come and take up an offering. We could just say, yes, we support them all the time to get people exactly what they need, because times are tough. Let me show you this. Our national average for people that are below the poverty line in America is 12.4%. But not in Longview.
Longview is 18.2% of people living below the poverty line.
That's an issue. That's a problem here. Not many people understand that you've been blessed, that God has taken really good care of you, and there is a city that has real needs. I could talk about that for forever, but let's continue to move on. We love our partnership with Hope Road Counseling and also several other counselors and therapists that we've been able to send people to on some of the worst days of their life. I can't give you a lot of details and of course, about the things that people are walking through, but it's traumatic and it's dark and it's bad and I'm thankful that we have real answers. When people are walking through suicidal things and the things that are the darkest moments of life, they need more than a pat on the back. Come on, somebody.
They need more than. I'll be praying for you. You're in my thoughts and prayers. That's not going to cut it. We need real help with real experts that can get them the attention and the care that they need. And I'm thankful that we have a partnership with a lot of counselors and great people like Hope Road that can bring them stuff. So we sponsored events for them, we've done fundraisers for them to make sure that they stay in business and that they continue to do the good work that God has called them to do. And I love our heart with them and our partnership. Let's move on to Expectant Heart. If you remember, a few years ago, we used to have a house that we had some single moms that lived in and it's the beginning of Expectant Heart Ministries. But you guys kept flooding this place and we needed more room for parking. So we had to find them another house that they could move to. But Expectant Heart would. They'll call us from time to time and say, we have this emergency. Can you help? This last time was they were out of diapers and wipes for a bunch of expectant mothers. They said, we've, we depleted all of our resources. Can you help us? I didn't come and take up an offering. I didn't ask you for help. Would you please be generous? I simply said, look, we already said yes, and in about 10 minutes, here comes a lot of diapers and wipes. And so I love that we're able to just do that. Why? Because you're generous. That's part of our legacy.
[00:31:46] Speaker A: I love our relationship that we have with many schools. We've always been closely connected with lcs. We love what's happening there with Ben and Virginia. We love you guys so much. Many of you are LCS graduates, LCS teachers, LCS alumni. We also have relationship between them and the Longview Independent School District, Judson Middle School, Foster Middle School. We've got a lot of people that are praying in halls, sponsoring events, buying food for teachers and teachers in service. Teachers don't make a lot of money, but they eat a lot of chicken tendies. I'm just telling you a lot of breakfasts because we want to show that we love those that are willing to serve our children. We believe that we can invest in the next generation. We have hopes, high hopes for you. We want you to see that the church cares about you.
[00:32:29] Speaker A: We do. That's a big deal.
I could spend some more time talking about that. Let's move on to Young Life, which is a Christian mentorship program led by Joe Lane and his amazing team.
Those guys, we were able to buy them over 1500 slices of pizza this year. 1800 plus chicken tendies. Like, they eat a lot of Chick fil A as well. We also bought them a nine square game. If you're interested in getting involved in Young Life, you would love that incredible mentorship program. There's some information there for you. There's also my pet project, which is Unite. And this is getting pastors and churches to start working together, not to be in competition with each other. And this year we did something very special that we hadn't done before. We. We thought we'd experiment with getting church staffs from different churches into the same room to try to figure out, like, how do you guys do this and how do you do that? How do you use? Who do you use for this? Who's your resource for that? And so we tried to have just a one, one hour lunch that we would pay for. Bring them in Chick Fil A and see if they would talk to each other because that spirit of competition is nuts. In Longview, we put all the people like, I can't believe you are over there. You go to Second Baptist, I go to First Baptist. Like, calm down, you're both Baptists.
[00:33:35] Speaker A: Let's eat the Lord's chicken and break bread together. Like, we can be fine. And so we had this one hour lunch. And by the way, at the two hour mark, they wouldn't leave because they're like, oh, I'm so glad I met you. And you're doing this and you're doing this. And what if I sent these people to you and you sent those people to me? And like, I love that spirit of partnership. It's amazing thing happening. Because of Unite, we also had our pastors collab. We're getting now 31 pastors working together. I'm not your competition.
We have the same enemy. Come on, baby. We have the same enemy.
And when you have a common enemy, we can find some common solutions to defeating the same issues that we have in our city. We can work together. That's a beautiful thing. We also hosted our big Unite event with over 1200 people coming. Tarn Wells himself bringing the worship music, which was fantastic. I can't tell you who we're reaching out to for next year, but you're going to love it. And if this person says yes, I can't wait to tell you. But we're not quite there yet, so let me just hold my taters.
[00:34:28] Speaker A: But it's been a beautiful thing, rallying around one burning question that brings us all together as Unite. And that's what could we accomplish if we didn't care who got the credit?
What could we do? If it wasn't about, oh, I'm better than you, what could we do? If that spirit of competition just went away?
[00:34:47] Speaker A: Then we can dream big.
[00:34:50] Speaker A: And so, by the way, because of all the things that we've been doing and how we're getting involved in our city, the. The legacy that we have here is so strong, our Chamber of commerce nominated us as their. As their nonprofit of the Year. We received a fantastic award, our Community Impact Award. And instead of saying, this is all about us at High Ridge, we just said, you know, let's make this video about our partnerships with amazing people once again. We're not the experts, but we partner with a lot of amazing people that are doing great things, and we resource and partner with them to make sure that it's done right.
So they want to say thank you. We put this video together to kind of show you some of those things. Check it out.
[00:35:29] Speaker B: Psalm133 reminds us, when brothers dwell in unity, God commands a blessing. Unity is more than just a concept. It's a powerful force that transforms communities.
At High Ridge Church, our mission to help people to be the very real and practical hands and feet of Jesus would only be realized if we could work together.
[00:35:56] Speaker B: We sought out partners who were already making a difference in East Texas and Long Beach. We understood that together we could amplify our impact and extend our reach every step of the way. We have found that with the cooperation and collaboration of the organizations and people already flourishing in serving our city, not only did we reach our goals, we exceeded our highest expectations.
Through Unite and Transformation Longview, we have seen what is possible when we drop our defenses and let our differences fade into the background.
We've seen how effectively a body can operate when hands are joined together to accomplish a singular and common goal.
[00:36:43] Speaker B: We have witnessed what's possible when we agree wholeheartedly that something must be done and that we will do it together.
[00:36:54] Speaker B: Thank you to our partners for seeing the ones that others had overlooked. For holding the hands that only you could hold. For giving with generosity, for serving with love, for joining with us.
[00:37:08] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:37:15] Speaker A: How about that?
[00:37:18] Speaker A: So congratulations, High Ridge Longview. You are the Community Impact Partner of the Year. What an incredible thing to be a part of a group of people that are generous, that truly care about their city and what is happening in the world around us. You are the hands and feet of Jesus, and it's important that we look back on our year and say, you know what? Just like the Father looked back on creation on day seven and said, it's good, it's good. What we're doing is good.
I want to leave you with one parting thought, and that's simply this. We give thanks not because we're impressive, but because God trusted us with the people in this community and we will answer for how we steward that trust.
You will stand before the Lord at the end of your life and you will answer for how you stewarded the trust that he's given you, for how you've been his hands and feet in the time that you have left on this planet. You have a legacy, and it starts in your homes and being led by the Holy Spirit.
As we finish off the year, I want to give you a couple of opportunities and that's to challenge you on your generosity. We'd love to finish out the year having a strong surplus of being able to say, we're going to start January with a ton of monies. We don't have to ask anybody for anything. And so I'm going to ask you to not be moved by my words or by my pictures, simply to be led by the Holy Spirit.
I'm going to ask you just to pray and ask the Lord, what would you like me to do? So I'm going to give you an opportunity to do that over the next few weeks as we show you more and more ways that we've taken what you've given and we've been accountable to that in just this past calendar year. I want to show you the pictures and the videos of a lot of people that want to say thank you, things that you've not seen before, things that you're going to be shocked that we've been able to do because you are incredibly generous.
So there's a couple of different ways that you can give. If you want to give on your phone, you can go to highridgelv.com give, you can give on our app. We have our own High Ridge Longview app. We also have the church center app. It's easy one to download and give through that. All of those, by the way, are to a non profit. This is a 501C3, which means you don't pay taxes on that. That's a tax write off. So if you're looking for a good tax write off at the end of the year, pick us, choose us.
We will happily be your charitable donations because we believe that we can show you where that money goes and we believe that you're going to see it. It's making a difference. This is our legacy. It's what we do together.
So if you're giving online, if you're giving on the app, if you notice you have a little envelope in the seat back pocket right in front of you and then we have some giving stations at the back. But I'm not here to pass buckets. I don't do that stuff. I'm not here making you do a pledge or raise your hands like, no, no, no. I'm just going to ask you to pray because this is what the Bible tells us to do. Be led by the Holy Spirit. Whatever he's telling you to do, please hear me, do it.
Be led by the Holy Spirit. Why? Because that's your legacy and that will far outlive what we do here today.
Amen. As we finish up right there, I want to give you a chance to maybe put away your phones and bow your head and close your eyes. I want to pray for you as we finish up.
[00:40:10] Speaker A: Father, I thank you for an incredible year. I thank you for what you're doing in this city. I thank you that we can respond and be your hands and feet.
I thank you that we're leaving a legacy that's good, that we're reaching people, Lord, that need your help. Lord, we're not the experts. We don't have all the answers.
We don't know what's right and what's wrong. We only know you. We want to be led by your spirit and say, lord, if you lead us, our answer is yes. We give you our preemptive yes. We want to be led by your spirit so we can accomplish the most good in the time that we have here.
But I pray for a spirit of generosity on this place to increase that we would continue, Lord, to be trustworthy, to walk with integrity and character in our finances.
Would you bless these people's homes? Would you bless their families? Would you bless their finances, bless their jobs, bless their marriages, Lord, as they continue to seek you and to be led by your spirit.
And now, with heads bowed and eyes closed, maybe you came here today and you're saying, pastor, if I'm going to be honest with you, I don't have a relationship with Jesus. I'm so far from him. I don't have what you guys have. My friend, you can and you are in the right place.
[00:41:20] Speaker A: For others. You might say, pastor, I was raised in church, I did Sunday school, I did all the things. But I've gotten so far from God, I have walked away from him. I need to come home. My friend, you're right.
You need to come home.
You may not know how to do that, but I want to help you. Just like somebody helped me one time. I want to lead you in a prayer. And if you are far away from God and need to come home, if you've never had a relationship with Jesus, I want you to pray this prayer out loud with me. I'll tell you what to say. And as a matter of fact, all of us in this service are going to say it out loud together so that you don't feel embarrassed or singled out in any way. But you need this moment. You need to meet with Jesus. You need to come home.
So high, rich family, join me in this prayer. Let's all say it together. Jesus, I believe you're the son of God.
I believe that you came and died.
And I believe you rose from the grave.
[00:42:08] Speaker A: So that I could have life and forgiveness for all of my sin.
[00:42:14] Speaker A: Please forgive me.
[00:42:17] Speaker A: Save me and I'll give my life to you.
[00:42:22] Speaker A: In Jesus name and with heads bowed and eyes closed with no one else looking around. If that was you and you say, pastor, I prayed that prayer. I meant that prayer. That was me. Can I just see your hand all across this place? Would you lift it up nice and high and proud. Nobody else looking around. I see you. Yes, sir. Yes, ma'. Am. Good for you. Good for you.
Several of you here, you can put your hands down. I want you to know that if that was you and you raised your hands, I have something special for you. There's a phone number appearing behind me on a screen. If you're watching online, that number is appearing on your screen as well.
Text me, text the words I prayed to that number and I'll send you back some things that will help you understand what to do and tell you what your next steps are. It's our gift to you and it's a big deal when you trust us with that. Thank you, High Ridge Family. Go ahead and stand up with me if you wouldn't mind.
As we prepare to end our service today, we're going to bring our elders forward to pray for my Dallas Cowboys who have not gone on the run that I thought they were going to go on.
No, they're here to pray about you and any issues that you might have. Also, if you're watching online and you enjoyed what you heard today, if you believe people need to see this, they need to see the hands and feet of Jesus working in practical ways in the city. Share this video with your family and friends. People need to see it. It brings a lot of encouragement. Other believers need to see it. The lost people need to see it and so that's a big deal when you do that. Thank you so much for trusting us with your social media. Then for everyone else, let me just pray for you. Let me bless you as you go. Father, would you bless my friends with an incredible week? Would you watch over them? Would you lead them by the power of your Holy Spirit? Would you accomplish your purpose in their lives so they could leave a legacy of being led by your Spirit in Jesus mighty name and all of us said together, Amen. God bless you as you go. I hope you have an awesome week.
Thank you so much for listening in today. Our prayer is that you are encouraged and strengthened by the message. If you haven't done so yet, be sure to subscribe to this podcast and leave us a review wherever you're listening. If you want to be a part of our online community, connect with us through Facebook or Instagram with the handle hyridgelv or you can check out our
[email protected] lastly, if this ministry has impacted your life and you'd like to support its work, visit highridgelv.com give we appreciate your support and we're believing with you today for God's best in your life. Have an incredible week and we will see you next time.
