Skip to content Just Show Up: God Works with Your Weakness, but Not Your Absence Jul 8 · 36 min ...more
Just Show Up: God Works with Your Weakness, but Not Your Absence
July 8, 2025 · 36 min
Drawing from the story of Adam in Genesis, he explores how men often hide in moments of weakness. John Mark emphasizes that God is calling every one of us to step out of the shadows and show up.
Series "Men's Breakfast" with John Mark Caton July 8, 2025 · 36 min · "Men's Breakfast" with John Mark Caton
Drawing from the story of Adam in Genesis, he explores how men often hide in moments of weakness. John Mark emphasizes that God is calling every one of us to step out of the shadows and show up. ...more Show the full description Show less Drawing from the story of Adam in Genesis, he explores how men often hide in moments of weakness. John Mark emphasizes that God is calling every one of us to step out of the shadows and show up.
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John Mark is the Senior Pastor of the thriving Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where he has served since 1995.
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Just Show Up 0:02 Welcome to men's breakfast with John Mark Keaton. Join us as John Mark shares his insights with other men in his ministry rooted in the timeless truths of the gospel. Today's message will encourage you to0:13 inspire, inform, and invest in the lives of others. This is Men's Breakfast with your host, John Mark Caton.0:21 Hey. I wasn't sure if I'd ever get invited back, but I'm glad to be back. Hey. Doesn't Justin do a good job? Both Justins. Y'all give both Justins a hand.0:34 And we we do start a series today entitled Just Show Up. How many of you showed up for Easter? That was good. You know what? I don't know how many of y'all, get tracked or not. We have this Life0:46 3 60 app. Who who has this Life 3 60 where you can track your kids and stuff like that? I I don't like it, because, it truly tracks you. And my wife has0:58 alerts set up. And, so anytime I finish a drive, it will alert her that I finished the drive. And and and most of these drives are just they're1:10 just a drive. You know, John Mark finished a drive and then she'll see where is he. He's at the church or he's at the lake or he's there. But every once in a while, I'll get a text from her after I finish a1:21 drive, and it'll show me an image of something. And yesterday, I got this 1. Can you put that up? She sent me this 11:33 and just says risky question mark question mark question mark. And it says top speed 85 miles an hour. Now, context is everything. Now if I'm in a school1:45 zone, that's a problem. Right? But I was actually on the toll road, and I was going to a doctor's visit. And, as usual, I was late. And, so by the time I showed up, I1:57 go into the doctor, walk into the doctor, come out of the doctor, and, then I open pull my phone up. And the first thing that shows up risky question, question, question. Well, I didn't have my contact in. I thought2:09 she was saying frisky. I was like, I'm on my way. Right? And, so I went 95 home, rolled in the2:21 door and I said, here I am. And she goes, why were you driving so fast? And I said, what? And she goes, did you read the text? I said, yeah, it said frisky. She goes, no. Did you read the rest of the text? And, I go,2:33 oh, risky, not frisky. And so I started cooking dinner. But anyway, I, you know, it's just show up. Alright? That's the title of this message. Just showed up. We had a lot of people that showed up2:45 this last weekend. Just show up. You know, a lot of people show up through Easter, but and and and I never throw anybody under the bus because God does so many amazing things. But you also then ask yourself the question,2:56 do they show up the next week? Do they show up the next week? Do they show up the next week? Guys, I want you to know God can work with your weakness, but he can't work in your absence. Does that make sense?3:09 We all have to show up. Friday, I was over, Gina always wants how many of you noticed I wore a suit this weekend? How many of you noticed I wore a suit this weekend? I did. Some of you clap. I wish I'd do it more.3:21 So Gina always wants me to buy a suit for Easter. I always say I got this. I'll go out and then I'll wear my normal jeans and I'll I'll buy a new jacket. Right? That's typically what I do. But I go over to men's3:32 warehouse, and I I said, you know what? I'm gonna go ahead and get a suit, and I keep trying to get drawn over just to the clearance sports coats because that's I love a clearance. I love something cheap. And a lot of3:43 it, especially I'm not gonna wear it a bunch, but I kept getting drawn back over to the suit. So I'm trying on this suit and and I I really don't even know that I can't wait to meet the guy. But I'm putting on this suit.3:53 I walk out. If you've ever been men men's warehouse, they they have these mirrors that you kinda walk in. And I've noticed this guy kinda watching me. And, eventually, as I'm standing there in the suit, I'm kinda going,4:03 alright. I'm gonna buy this suit. Am I not gonna buy this suit? This guy walks over and he goes, hey. We're not changing the dress code at Cottonwood Creek, are we? And I go4:15 just 1 day, just 1 day. And so Sunday, Gina's volunteered. She's passing out, Creek guides that that if you walked in, you saw her. She was passing on Creek guides. This guy walks by Gina and she goes, Hey, I saw John4:26 market men's warehouse the other day. And I wanted to make sure we weren't changing the dress code at Cottonwood Creek. So, I can't wait to meet him and say, hello, what's your name and stuff like that. But, you know,4:37 just showing up, as I thought about, this Bible study, almost 30 years ago, I came and preached in Buick Hall at the church,4:49 really small over at Fairview, and they did the old Baptist thing. And the old Baptist thing is you preach, they take you and your family, out to a side room, then everybody5:01 cast a physical ballot. Yes or no? Yes or no? And you sit in that room with your family, and at that point, it was just me and Gina and Jace, who was5:13 6 months old, and Gina was pregnant with Jordan, my daughter Jordan. And here's what happens. They count the vote. If you lose the vote, they just walk you out the back door, put you in your car, and send you on.5:23 Alright? That's that's truly how it goes. But they came back in. They said, we have good news. And I was like, hey. Y'all are lucky to have me. Right? And they weren't. Several of them didn't5:35 feel like they were. And so they said, hey. It wasn't unanimous. 3 people voted against you. Well, it was 3 out of not a lot. And so, but I I said, alright. They said, do you want the deal? And I go,5:47 well, you know, are they tithers? Right? I don't if they're the only 3 tithers in the in the church, we might as well say no to this thing. But so I started. I go ahead. I go back in. Everybody claps. They shake my5:58 hands. And I was pretty sure, pretty quickly, who who the 3 3 novos were. I mean, there were it felt like about half the church hated my guts. But, I was like, oh, but you're6:10 sitting there shaking people's hands, talking their wealth. You're like, you just can't help but say, I wonder if you were a no vote. Okay. Because you did that that. I wonder if you're a no vote. You're up there6:19 preaching on Sunday morning. You're looking out and go, there's at least 1. That's 1 of them right there. You can just tell. And, so then I saw I preached 2 weeks and, couple of the older men at the church, there6:31 were 3 of them. They had a little life group in the back, a little small room, and I don't know that there was much life in it. But, they they came up to me and said, now that you're our pastor, would you,6:43 you you need to come and start teaching our Tuesday morning Bible study. I said, Tuesday morning. Said, good. These guys were retired. I said, what time is this Tuesday morning Bible study? And I they said, 66:55 AM. I was like, oh. I'm still a night owl, by the way. I've I've never become a morning person, but I was like, you know they were like I was like, yeah, let me see. Because at that point, I'm preaching Sunday morning,7:07 Sunday night, and Wednesday night. That's when we had typical church. I mean, I'm preaching 3 different sermons. And, so I said, alright. I'll I'll I'll come on Tuesday morning. I walk in. It's the old style kitchen.7:19 You've seen the old church, 2 wings on the outside. And, I had never drank coffee in my life. And I walked into this little kitchen. These 3 guys are sitting over a Mr. Coffee. Remember the Mr.7:30 Coffee makers? And, it was this sludge coffee, but I was just walking in there, and I said they said, do you drink coffee? I said, no. And, they7:42 said, well, you know, would you like a cup of coffee? And I said, no. Stood there talking to them for a while, and they said, alright. We're gonna walk out here. We'll do a bible study. I had prepared something. And, so7:53 I I finally said, you know what? I think I'm gonna drink some coffee. And it was like battery acid. I mean, it was, oh, golly. So I started teaching that day. And let me tell you, I8:05 hated it. But it kept showing up. Kept showing up. And then all of a sudden, some visitors would show up, and we got a couple of construction guys that wake up early. And8:16 I said, hey. You're you're up early. Come come to this Bible study so at least I know if if they ever voted because I know at least 2 of the no votes were in the room. If they ever vote to kick me out, I would like8:28 someone vote for me. Right? And so then guys began to show a look. And that was the foundation of what we have right here. And I will tell you, there were a lot of years,8:40 guys, that all I did was show up. That as we begin to grow, then I would preach on 3 times on Sunday morning. We started a Saturday night service. Then when I'd teach a discipleship on Wednesday on Sunday night, then I'd8:51 teach a Wednesday night. And on Tuesday morning, I just show up. And then many of the gather, several guys in this room that remember we relocated. We didn't have this facility here. We would just meet in a room9:03 upstairs on Tuesday morning. And at that point, I'm preaching Saturday night, Sunday morning, Wednesday night, a lot of different places. And, there are a bunch of guys who remember all I had on Tuesday morning9:15 was I would say we're gonna start reading through the book of first Samuel. Are we gonna read through first Kings? We just show up. There's some guys in this room. Remember that9:27 because let me tell you that's yeah. That's all I had. If we wanna show up and we're gonna read the Bible. And let me tell you what, I'm still so glad that it kept showing up because9:39 there's nothing that gives me greater joy. I still hate 6 AM. But then to see you guys every Tuesday morning, to see Justin or Justin or Jake preaching God's word9:51 to you. And I want you to know there was nothing special, and there were many times that I didn't wanna be there. I I was their pastor. I didn't wanna be there, but all I did was show up. And here's what I found, just10:02 exactly what I shared, is that God can overcome your weakness, but he won't overcome your absence. And so I wanna encourage you guys, be men that show up for God.10:14 Because when we show up for God, God will show off for you. Does that make sense? When we show up for God, God will show off for you just because your faithfulness, just because of your encouragement. And so I I also10:26 that's where I developed my spiritual gift. Alright? My spiritual gift now, I realize, from this Tuesday morning bible study is showing up late and needing a cup of coffee. That's my spiritual gift. Alright? Especially10:38 6 AM on Tuesday morning, I just learned to show up late. People used to laugh. I'd show up at 6 0 5, 6 10. I was like, listen. Just be glad I showed up. Right? And that's when I developed that spiritual gift. I'm gonna10:48 be here a few minutes late, and I'm gonna need some coffee immediately, and then we're gonna get after it. And so, guys, if that's you, I wanna encourage you, keep showing up because God will do something in your life11:00 and the lives of people around you. And so, man, I'm just excited to be back here. So let me just, encourage let's go to Genesis chapter 3. When we think about when did dude stop showing11:11 up? Alright? Goes all the way back to the garden. Goes all the way back to the garden that the guys begin to pull out our natural thing, especially when we have a failure in our life and we have a sin in our life and we11:23 have an addiction in our life. The first thing that men have a tendency to do is to go hide. How many of us know that? Right? We don't want people to know, or we don't feel worthy, we don't feel this. That is11:35 as natural as the day is long, that a man has a tendency when he fails to hide, to put it in reverse, to walk away. And it goes all the way back to the11:47 garden. It goes all the way back to sin. Pick it up in Genesis chapter 3, verse 1. So God's created everything. Everything's good. Everything's great. Everything's beautiful. Everything's perfect. God says eat from11:57 anything in the garden except for 1 tree. And so here's what happens. Satan shows up, Genesis chapter 3 verse 1. It says, now the serpent was more crafty than any other any of the other wild animals,12:09 the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman, did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? Well, that's not what God had said. God had said you can eat from any tree in the garden, not12:20 that tree. Alright? And guys, God Satan will show up in your mind, in your heart when you're in bed or by yourself at night, and Satan will lie to you just like he lied to her. And so look at it.12:32 Verse 2. The woman said to the serpent, no, we can eat from any of the fruit of the trees in the garden. But God did say you must not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden and you must not touch12:43 it or you will die. And then he says, certainly you will not die. The serpent said to the woman, for God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing what is good and knowing12:55 what is evil. When the woman saw the fruit of the tree and saw that it was good for food. Now let me just stop you. Let's, sin in its season is good. Do you understand that? Sin in its season is pleasurable.13:07 Sin in its season season will make you feel like, alright, this is okay. And so she understood, look look, the fruit looked good. It's gonna taste good. It's gonna be okay. But let me tell you13:19 what, the fruit of the fruit is not that good. Alright? The fruit of the sin is not that good. And so pick it up. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable13:29 for gaining wisdom, she took some of it and she ate it. And she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened. They realized they were naked. So they, sewed13:41 fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the coolant of the day, and they hid13:53 from the Lord God among the trees. But the Lord God called who did he call to? Him. The man. God didn't show up and said, Eve, where are you?14:06 He called to the man. They hid. God called for him. I want you to know, man, God is still calling for men for us to show up. Even if you're hiding14:18 from God, even hiding from God, even if you're sending from God, God is calling your name for your kids, for your family, for your church, for your14:30 community. God doesn't care about your last failure. What God cares about is your honesty. God can overcome your weakness, but he won't overcome your absence.14:42 And so guys, if you are hiding from something, I want to encourage you. This morning, God is calling your name. Those of you who are online, God is calling your name. Those of you who will listen, on podcast later,14:54 I want you to know God is gonna call your name and he's calling out to the man. And I love that. They hid from the Lord God among the trees, verse 9, but the Lord called to the man.15:06 Where are you? Guys, if God walked through here right now and could somehow, some way, instead of loudly talking to each, but individually15:18 talking to everyone, if he was whispering in your ear and he said, where are you right now? Where are you in your spiritual journey? Where are you in your daily devotion? Where are you in your15:30 commitment to worship? Where are you in your commitment to serve others? Where are you here? Where are you there? And, some of us might have the answer. Well, well, God, you know of the sin that I have, the secret sin I15:41 have in my life that that so I'm I'm kinda hiding until I fix it. God's got a response. I got an idea. Why don't you stop hiding? Start showing up15:54 And God says, let me fix it. Because when we start showing up for God, God will start fixing our weeks weaknesses. God will start filling in the gaps. He'll he'll fix those crack those cracks in our16:05 lives and those those struggles that we have. And so God said, where are you to the man? Look at verse 10. And he answered. So Adam knew he was talk God16:17 was talking to him. He he didn't Adam's response wasn't, hey, you mean Eve? But it says, he said and he answered, I heard you in the garden and I was afraid16:30 because I was naked. Notice that Adam is answering the question for him. At this point, he hadn't blamed his wife yet. He's gonna get to16:41 that. But right now, Adam knows God is talking to the man. Where are you? I wanna know where you are. And Adam says, I was naked, I was afraid,16:53 and I hid. That's how God created us, guys. He he calls us to be the leader of our home, the leader of our church, leader of our community. That's the way God does it. And so he says, where are17:05 you? And he says, I heard you. So I hid. Yes. She hid with him. Yes. She sinned along with him. But God's talking to him and I think17:17 God's talking to us today. And so notice as we continue to read on verse 11. And he said, who told you you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat? Now here's where he goes17:29 into full, spiritual shuffle right back. He starts backtracking. He goes, the man said, the woman you put here with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the17:40 tree and I ate it. And that's kind of funny. Right? And then, then he goes to the woman and the woman who blames the serpent. Right? So everybody's blaming somebody, but notice God says,17:52 where are you? And did you eat? And he says, that woman. Guys, the best thing we can do if we're gonna show up for God, if we're gonna be some sort of Superman for God, we gotta start showing up and we gotta own18:04 up. We gotta own up to our failures, own up to our mistakes. We can't blame somebody else. We gotta say, man, yes, I I screwed this marriage up. I messed this up. I have this addiction. I have this problem.18:16 I have this struggle. This is me and I can't blame somebody else. We live in a blame blame blame society. Right? Everybody will tell you, walk in first thing that they wanna do, and sometimes I'll have a cup of coffee.18:26 I've met a bunch of you guys over a lifetime that, man, they're just trying to build their life back. We'll go have a cup of coffee. And they've just learned in their mind that that that they're gonna start back, here's18:37 the house I grew up in. Here's the family I grew up in. Here's what happened to me in my first marriage. Does that make sense? They're trying to paint this history that leads to an excuse. And God is saying, Listen,18:50 I realize you have your history. How many of you know we all have a history? Some of you have a great history. You know what I've noticed? I've probably sat in that office right there a number of times with just as many19:01 guys who are messed up, who grew up in a great home, as guys who are messed up, who grew up in a bad home. Because every dude has their own choices to make. I mean,19:13 think about Adam right here. He's got it all. He gets to hang out with God every evening. How many of you would like to do that? Right? I you're like, well, I really don't know that that would be a good thing because he19:25 would say, now what were you doing at 3 o'clock this afternoon? Yeah. But you're already hanging out with god. It just may not be that physical presence like they had.19:38 But even with god right there in the garden with everything right, men have a tendency to fail. You say, pastor, I feel like anything but Superman.19:50 Clark Kent still showed up for work. How many of you know? So maybe you feel like spiritually you're poor the Clark Kent. Just show up. See if God20:02 can make you into Superman for your wife, for your kids, for your family. Just show up. Man, if you're sitting here and you're hiding,20:14 man, God still wants to show up for you and he wants you to show up for him. So let me give you a couple of thoughts as we think through this. Thought number 1, when men hide,20:26 homes, churches, and communities hurt. We hurt. When men hide, homes, churches, and communities hurt. Your wife20:37 hurts. Your kids hurt. Your family hurts. Your church hurt. You, you, everybody hurts when men hide, man, I will tell you when we show up and we ask for forgiveness, God20:49 gives us that forgiveness. I love what, Paul told Timothy. He says, don't let anyone look down on you, in first Timothy chapter 4 verse 12. Don't let anyone look down on you because you're young. But21:01 set an example for believers in speech and conduct and love and faith and impurity. Alright. So so Paul is talking to literally a young pastor named tenant Timothy,21:13 a young pastor that didn't have a great home. It says his his mom and his grandmother were full of faith, but his father was a Gentile. Alright? His father was a gentile. He didn't21:25 grow up in a great home. But because of God's work in his life, now he's grown, he's been on mission trips, now he's a pastor in Ephesus, and Paul says don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but21:37 set an example for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. So as you think about it, there are some young believers in here. There are some men that you are just on your way.21:49 And you might think everybody's gonna look down on you because of your past, because you rolled through a divorce, or because you've done this, or you because you have this sin in your life. And I wanna encourage you22:00 exactly what Paul said. Don't let anyone look down on you. Now don't be boastful, don't be haughty, don't be proud. Be Timothy, where Paul will encourage you, Listen, don't22:12 let anyone look down on you because of your past sins. Say, How do I deal with those? I go to God, I confess them. I ask forgiveness. I repent. What does repentance mean? That I'm gonna stop22:24 doing this and I'm gonna start doing this. And then once you've made that change, every guy in this room, every guy on Zoom, every guy on podcast, you can start becoming an example to others. And22:36 what? The exact list he gave here. He says, in your speech, clean up the way you talk. Clean up the way you talk.22:48 He says, not only speak in your conduct, what is it in your life that you need to change, some behaviors in your life that you need to change, some some behaviors perhaps that no 1 knows about but you,23:00 Or maybe no 1 knows about but you and your wife. Or you, your wife, and your kids. Or just a couple of buddies that you have. Man, change your conduct. Change your speech. He says, in love.23:12 Man, have you learned to become a a person that truly loves others and truly cares for others, and you really want their success? Man, and if you know of a brother or somebody that's in in23:24 the middle of a struggle or a hurt or a heart, man, go be their appalled. And encourage them. Don't let anyone look back look down on you. Man, ask for forgiveness. Come back. Let's show up for23:35 God and let God forgive you, but also grow you along the way. And then he says in faith. You sit here and you say, man, I kinda got a weak faith. Well, show up23:48 and God will grow your faith. God will change your heart. God will change your life. And then notice that last word, purity. So thought number 1 on this is when men hide,24:01 homes, churches, communities hurt. So guys don't hide. Here's thought number 2. Your presence is greater than your performance. Your presence24:13 is greater than your performance. When you show up, God can do some powerful things. See, a lot of times we think, well, I I need to go get better before I show up. God24:25 says, hey, you show up and I'll help you get better. Does that make sense? Your presence matters. Your presence matters to your family. It matters to your church. It matters to your home. And that's exactly what you24:35 wanna be. Man, God will tell you this, your greatest ability and your faith is just being available. That's your greatest ability, is I'm gonna show up,24:47 I'm gonna hear God's word, I'm gonna read God's word, I'm gonna have a devotion, I'm gonna worship, I'm gonna serve, and God will do something powerful in your life. Look at Romans chapter 5 verse 12. You wanna talk24:58 about how your how God dealt with your sin? He said, listen. Therefore, just as sin entered the into the world through 1 man. What is he doing? He's going all the way back to the garden. He's He's not blaming25:10 Eve, he's blaming Adam. Right? That's where we are. Remember what God, he walked through the garden, he goes, Adam, where are you? Where are you? And so fast forward, Paul in the New Testament25:22 is talking about how sin showed up and how sin disappeared. So here it is. He says, therefore, just as sin entered into the world through 1 man, everybody say 1 man.25:34 And death through sin. And in this way, death came to all people. Why? Because a man sinned, because all have sinned. He says, to be sure, here's some theological underpinnings of all that we talk about. To be25:46 sure, sin was in the world before the law was ever given. Why was the law given? Because there was sin in the world. Right? Because that's why when they rolled in,25:58 before they even went into the promised land, they came out of slavery. God said, here are 10 commandments that'll help you overcome some of the sin in your life to remind you that sin is pervasive with everybody. Look26:09 at verse 14. He says, nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses even over those who did not sin by breaking the command. There were some people who didn't even have the commands.26:22 As did Adam, back to the man who is a pattern of the 1 to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died, by the trespass of that26:34 1 man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came through grace of that 1 man, Jesus Christ, overflow to many. So sin came, infected us all.26:45 Jesus shows up and God brings grace to all. So it doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter where you've been, that God wants you to show up because he showed up for you. That's what this last weekend was all26:57 about. Is God looking at everyone and saying, listen. There is no way you can be good enough to earn your way to heaven. You say, how do I if you wanna be good enough, here it is. Matthew chapter 5, verse 48,27:09 and I'm gonna put it up there. Jesus says, if you wanna be good enough for God, here's 1 requirement, be perfect. Be perfect.27:21 How many of you know somebody that's perfect? How many of you are perfect? None of us are perfect. So guys, don't be comparing yourself to other people Because27:33 Easter is all about God loving us so much that in our weakness, in our imperfection, he says, you can't do it by yourself, but I'm going to do it for you through my son, Jesus27:45 Christ. So that's why God sent Jesus is because he looked at us, he looked at the first man, and he looked at every man since then. None of us are perfect. None of us can truly be all that God27:56 wants us to be. So look at this as we just roll down, jump down to verse 18. Consequently, just as 1 trespass resulted in the condemnation for all people, so also28:08 righteous the righteous act resulted in the justification and life for all people. What does that word justification mean? It just means just as if I've never sinned. Then when we trust Jesus28:20 Christ as savior and lord, all of our sins are bundled up, they're paid for, and we are in a courtroom of God with God, and God says you are completely righteous, you are completely forgiven, not because of28:32 what you did, but because of what Jesus did. And so guys, if you're thinking, well, I can't show up until I fix it. God's fixed it. Have you ever come to that place in your28:43 life where you said, man, I want Jesus to be my savior and my lord. And if so, God says, great. That's exactly why why I sent him to you. You know, God showed up in the28:55 garden right after Adam and Eve sent. And God is still showing up today. You say yesterday wasn't a great day for me,29:07 pastor. God was there. God showed up, said let me help you with that. Let me make you a better husband. Let me make you a better father. Let me make you a better servant in your29:19 church. Let me make you this. God wants to show up. He showed up in the garden. He showed up yesterday in your life. He shows up today in your life. God showed up at the cross. When Jesus's29:31 first words from the cross, after being beaten and spat upon, having a crown of thorns put in his head, Jesus' first words from the cross, Father, forgive them. Well, they don't know29:43 what they're doing. Kinda interesting. They knew exactly what they were doing. How many of you know that? They were taking this guy, Jesus, who had been sentenced to death.29:55 They were beaten him. They were mocking him. They were laughing at him. They knew exactly what they were doing. They took him, laid him down, nailed him to a cross, lifted that cross,30:06 dropped it in the hole so it'd create as much agony as they knew exactly what they were doing. But Jesus says, father, they don't know what they're doing. What do you mean by that? They know exactly what they were doing.30:18 They were nailing this guy to the cross. Here's what they didn't know, that this was the fulfillment of God's plan from the first sin till then. Does that make sense? See, they didn't get30:30 it. They just knew we're just gonna get to have some fun and these guys these guys were sadists. They said we want this guy to suffer as much as possible. I mean some of these guys, they loved what they were30:41 doing. They had done it to others. They did it to 2 that were on the right and the left of Jesus. Right? Remember, 1 of those guys was a sinner and needed to be there. And30:53 what did he do? He mocked Jesus. The other guy looked at him and says we deserve to be here, you don't deserve to be here. And he goes would you remember me? And Jesus said what? Join a31:05 church. Get baptized. Work with Dave for those 12 hours in Vacation Bible School and maybe we'll see if we can get you there.31:17 No. Jesus looked over at him and said, today you will be with me in paradise. That dude showed up with all he had left and sure enough can you imagine that? Then all of a sudden he wakes up and he's31:29 in heaven. What have you done? Nothing. Nothing. But, guys you and I just need to cry out. He deserved to be on that cross. Jesus didn't, but Jesus hung there and says, They31:41 don't have any idea what they're doing. Father, forgive them. A little later, He says, It is finished. That means He He paid the debt for all of the sins. So God showed up in the garden.31:53 He'll show up for you. He showed up at the cross and he'll show up today. And here's the third thought and here's a final thought, when we think about just show up. God can work with your weakness, but not your32:05 excuse. I've already said he won't work through your absence. But guys, we need to stop making excuses. God can overcome your failure and your weakness,32:17 but don't make excuses. What was the first thing Adam did in the garden with that woman? You know what he should have said? That man.32:30 That man who you wanted more from, I blew it. Yes. I ate of the drink. I let her down, and I let you down,32:42 God. I wish I could undo it, but I can't. But instead, he blamed and made excuses for her, and she blamed the serpent. And, guys, we wanna32:53 be the kind of men that we own it. You say, my failure? I don't know about you, but in my life, I've realized this. I'm always the first33:05 1 to the scene of the accident. My accident, my sin, my failure, and I'm usually driving the bus.33:18 So that's part of what we wanna do. God doesn't want your excuse, guys. He wants your honesty. Because when we were honest, that's when he steps in with his grace and his forgiveness and his33:30 love. It's been stated over and over again. God doesn't call those who are qualified. He qualifies those he calls.33:42 Guys, none of us in this room, I will promise you, 30 years ago when 3 people voted against me, way more people should have voted against me. There's no doubt after 30 years, if we had a33:53 vote today, it would be way more than 3. I wasn't qualified then to be their pastor. But over the years, God qualified34:06 me. There were many times that I just showed up to share God's word. There were many times on Tuesday morning That alarm go off, and I would say,34:18 God, I don't let go. But I showed up. And there's no greater testimony, encouragement for me each and every Tuesday morning. Then get to look out here and see y'all.34:30 Yes. I believe God wants to start today and build that same legacy in your life with your family and your marriage, your community and your church. Yes.34:42 You'll just show up. Let's pray. God, thank you so much for this day. God, thank you for every 1 of these men in the room. God, thank you for the opportunity to share your word. God, as we leave here today, my34:54 prayer is that the overwhelming theme that that that earworm that we would say all day is, God, I'm going to show up for you. I'm gonna stop making excuses. In Jesus'35:06 name we pray. Amen and amen. Glad you're at Tuesday morning Bible study this morning. God bless you. You all have a great day.35:14 Thank you for tuning in to Men's Breakfast with John Mark Caton. For more information on John Mark's ministry and resources, please visit john markayton dot com. Until next time, remember, we're35:26 on this journey of life together.In this video 0:00 Just Show Up28:49
Blessed: Be a Peacemaker John Mark Caton
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