The Mystery of Christ

Grace Ball: Hey, Porch. How are we doing tonight? If we haven't gotten the chance to meet, my name is Grace Ball, and on behalf of our staff team, we are so thankful that you've decided to trust us with your Tuesday night. I want to give a special shout-out to our Porch.Live locations. So, shout-out to Porch.Live Tulsa, Porch.Live Boise, and Porch.Live Springfield. We are so thankful for you guys. Let's give it up for them.

Hey, we're excited for tonight, because we get to hear from a special guest, a friend of The Porch. I have the joy of getting to introduce him. He is an illusionist, a pastor, a Bible teacher, and so much more, but what our team knows about him is he is someone who is faithful to know God's Word, to teach it, and to live it out. So, Porch, I need your help tonight. Okay? I need you to help me in welcoming our good friend of The Porch, Drew Worsham, to the stage.

Drew Worsham: Porch, how are we feeling tonight? You sound amazing. Like Grace said, my name is Drew. I live in San Antonio, Texas, with my amazing wife Jane, and we have two kiddos. I have a 5-year-old little girl named Matilda, whom we call Tilly, and then I have a 3-year-old son named Linden. They might be tuning in, but I'm hoping they're asleep, because it's bedtime.

It's a huge honor to get to be with you tonight. I love The Porch so much. I love this church. I love Kylen's vision for the young adults of Dallas and his heart. I'm so proud of him and Brooke in welcoming their son Kash into the world last week. It is a huge honor to get to step into this space so he can be home loving his family. I'm grateful for him.

I love your pastor, TA, here at Watermark. He's one of my closest friends in the world. Listen. I think I said this last time. I mean it. We have talked often about moving to this area just to be a part of The Porch and to be a part of Watermark. It's just the housing market, guys. It's crazy. So, if any of you know someone who has a house for free, let me know. We'll be into it.

Well, if you have a Bible tonight, I'd love for you to grab it and meet me in Colossians, chapter 1. Now, I know in the spring semester and going into the summer you guys did a walkthrough of Colossians. Watermark, you guys, as a church, are going through it, but as you guys have been in this space of looking at what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus and the secret sauce of it all, if you will, I don't know if there's a more potent few verses than from the apostle Paul in Colossians.

So, if you give me the permission, I want to go back, and I want us to look at a really impactful verse. My hope and my prayer for you tonight is however you walked into this space, wherever you are in the spiritual journey, that Jesus would invite you into deeper waters and maybe, just maybe, because of his Word and him speaking to you, you may walk out of this room forever changed.

As we look at Colossians, chapter 1, starting in verse 24, this is what Paul says. "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for his body, that is, the church." At first glance, you may read that verse and think what Paul is saying or trying to communicate is that what Jesus did was only half sufficient, that Jesus got the ball to the 50-yard line and now it's Paul's responsibility to get it the rest of the way. That is not what he's saying.

What Paul is saying is that Jesus' blood, his death and resurrection… That's all sufficient. There's nothing we could add to it. But what he's going to communicate is even though Jesus died on a cross, went to a tomb, and three days later walked out of the grave holding the receipts to sin and death, there were still people who had not yet heard this story, this life-changing story. So the fact that he's in prison, that he's suffering these afflictions, has actually been a catalyst for more people to get to hear this story. In verse 25 he says:

"I have become its servant, according to God's commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with his strength that works powerfully in me."

Jesus, in these next few moments, I just pray that you would speak to us. There's not a person in this space or this room who needs to hear anything I have to say. They don't need my thoughts or my opinions. Jesus, we need you. So, Father, I pray that you would speak to every single one of us in a way that we can understand, that you would whisper directly to our hearts and invite us into something unique, something special, something intimate. Jesus, remove all the noise, and tonight may we encounter you and, because of that encounter, leave forever changed. We love you and we trust you. It's in your name we pray, amen.

In March of 2014, I was dating Jane. We lived in Washington State where we both served on staff at a church. Jane had never gotten to see this side of my life, the touring performer side. We were doing an event, a conference in Nashville, so I invited Jane to fly out and meet me in Nashville for this two-day conference.

So she gets there. We have a lot of friends who live in Nashville. So, we're both there. We finish the conference. Sunday morning, we head to the airport early in the morning. I don't know if you've ever been to BNA, which is the Nashville airport. When you walk in, there's a huge sign, much like many airports, with all of the locations of where they're flying that day.

So, I looked at Jane, and I was like, "Hey, just for fun, if you had to pick any city in the world that you see up there that you would like to fly to, which one would you pick?" She was like, "My favorite city is New York City." I was like, "Surprise! We're not going home to Washington. We're actually going to New York City where we're going to have lunch." She immediately started to tear up a little bit, which, as a guy, it's immediately like, "Cha-ching! We're on the right page."

So, we walk through security. We get on the plane, we sit down, we take off, and the moment we take off, I reach into my bag, pull out an envelope that has the number "1" written on it, and hand it to her. She opens it, and inside of it there is a postcard. What she didn't know was in every city I had visited and toured or performed at or spoken at over the course of our dating relationship, I bought a postcard, and on the back of it I would write a prayer, almost like a love letter of what I was processing and feeling about our relationship at that point in time.

I had about 30 of these in my bag. Every 15 minutes, I'd pull one out and give it to her. She would open it up and read it and we'd talk about it. We land in New York City, and I have a car waiting on us that picks us up and takes us into Manhattan where we grab a slice of pizza. I know Jane's favorite food in the world is pizza, and no one quite does it like New York City.

So, we grab a slice of pizza, and then we head to Central Park. I had reserved a hotel room right outside Central Park. Now, here's what's crazy. I wasn't trying to be shady. Here's the deal. We walk into the lobby, and I'm like, "Hey, the room is yours. I want you to go shower and get ready," because, ladies, here's the deal. You know that when you wake up super early for a flight, you're not always photo ready. You're rocking sweats and a side pony.

So I was like, "Hey, go get ready. Do your thing." I stayed in the lobby, and she made her way up. She goes into the room, and in the room there are flowers waiting on her along with a lot of these postcards I had sent ahead. So, she's getting ready, reading these postcards. She comes down all dressed up, and then we just walk through the city and grab coffee, the whole time talking about our relationship. The whole time, I'm giving her these postcards.

We find our way to Central Park and sit down on a park bench. I reach into my bag, and I'm like, "Hey, this is the last one." I hand it to her. She opens it up, and it's a postcard from Central Park. The picture was taken from where we were seated, the bridge and the ponds and overlooking the city. She flips it around, and it says, "This one is from all over the world." I hand her my phone. What I had done is I had had all of our friends and family from across the globe send in a video of speaking blessing over our relationship and what they saw God do with us together.

When the video was done, I put the phone into my pocket, pulled out a ring, and went down on one knee. For the very first time in our relationship, I told Jane I loved her. Those words meant something to me, and I wasn't going to say them until I could back them up with a promise. I asked her to spend the rest of her life with me. She obviously said yes or I wouldn't be telling that story.

True story. While we were in Central Park, when I went down on one knee, it immediately started snowing. At this point you're like, "Drew, I felt like I was tracking with you. Now I just feel like you're making all this up." The only reason I know that is some of our closest friends had flown to New York before us and were taking photos of the whole thing, so I have a photo of it. It's halfway snowing, coming down while I'm on one knee.

Now, why do I tell that story? First, it's an amazing story, and I earned every bit of it. Secondly, fellas, I'm just trying to raise the bar. Ladies, you're welcome. Listen. We immediately began to plan the wedding day, and a few months later, here in Dallas, Texas, I watched Jane walk down an aisle dressed in white. She earned every bit of that.

We stood at an altar and made promises "My life is no longer mine. I will use every heartbeat to serve you, to support you," and vice versa. Then we celebrated the night away with all of our closest friends and family. At the very end of the night, we ran through a hallway of sparklers that our friends were holding.

I want to pause, and I want you to imagine that as we walked through those sparklers, headed to the limousine, if once we got to the end of the sparklers, I looked at Jane and said, "You did amazing out there. High-five. Good game. I'll see you next week," and just walked away. I got in my car and drove to my apartment, and she got in her car and went to her apartment, and then I just saw her a couple of days later.

Immediately, something in you is like, "Ugh! No. Surely not." That's not how I pictured my story going. Here's why. I want you to not miss this. Every single one of us in this space and in this room or tuning in live… You know that no matter how amazing the engagement story is, no matter how beautiful the wedding is, neither of those are actually the point. The point is what you do after you say, "I do," and the life you begin to build together and live out together.

My fear is that so many of us in this space have a tendency to do this exact same thing with Jesus. We show up every Tuesday night, and we have an amazing experience. We sing the songs. We raise our hands at the appropriate time. We sing the Christian karaoke. We take notes. We lean in, we walk out, and we have this amazing feeling.

It's like we walk out with Jesus, and we're like, "You were amazing out there, Jesus. Phenomenal. High-five. I'll see you next Tuesday. I'll see you next Sunday." Not realizing that this is beautiful, this is amazing, just like the engagement or the wedding, but this is not the point. If we make this the point, we may miss out on the beauty of the relationship Jesus is inviting you and me into.

I love that at The Porch you guys have been walking through this series all about discipleship and really growing in intimacy and relationship with Jesus. So, tonight, what I want to do is share with you the one thing that has changed my entire journey and walk with Jesus, the thing that I wish desperately I would have known when I was in your season and in your seat.

Paul just walks us through it. I want you to see this again. Jump down to verse 26. Paul is writing this letter to people who, honestly, if they were living today in 2024, would find themselves getting more of their theology from TikTok than Jesus. I'm glad none of us do that. For many of them, Jesus was just a supplement to their lives. "Life is good. We just sprinkle a little Jesus, and he makes it a little bit better," almost like he was a genie. But they found themselves stagnant and confused in the spiritual journey, begging the question, "Is there more?"

So, Paul says in verse 26, "…the mystery…" The mystery of all of this, this whole thing. "…hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints." That's you and me. Listen. Immediately, when we read that, that should beg the question, "Ooh, what's this mystery? Paul, please tell us more." He says in verse 27, "God wanted to make known among the Gentiles…" Which is the vast majority of us if we're not Jewish. "…the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

What Paul just said is the secret to all of this… If you want to know what it really boils down to, the heartbeat of Jesus' message and throughout the rest of the New Testament… If you want to know what it all centers around, here it is. It's the fact that Christ is in you. The God of the universe… The moment you and I say yes to him, for whatever reason, he chooses to take up residence inside of us.

What is so strange is for many of us in the Western church… You hear me read that or say it or repeat it, and for many of you, your default setting is "Big deal." So many of us in this room could be underwhelmed by that fact. You hear it, and you're like, "Yeah, Drew. Big deal. We know. Listen, man. This is not our first time at a church event. Many of us grew up in vacation Bible school. We know the songs. We even know the motions, that Jesus is deep, deep down in our hearts…spell it. We know, bro."

Porch, what I want you to hear tonight is that this is a really big deal. The moment you and I meet Jesus, the moment we surrender our lives to him… The Scripture says the very God who spoke the world into existence, for whatever reason, now lives and dwells inside of you. The very power that brought Jesus Christ out of the grave now courses through your veins. Let that sink in.

Can we be real for a second? If I were to take the average person who claims to be following Jesus, who claims to be a disciple of Jesus, and I were to hold them next to a person who's not yet a follower of Jesus, and I were to have us dissect and go, "What's the difference between these two people? What's the difference between you and the coworker who doesn't claim to know Jesus?" what many of us would find out is "Well, I cuss a little bit less. I party a little less hard. I watch a few less rated-R movies. I wait until date two to really make out hard. Then I have this, like, boring committee meeting thing I have to do on Sunday mornings and occasionally Tuesday nights. But other than that… That's about it."

Are you kidding me? Is that all there is, that we're just a little bit more moral than the world around us? Or could it be true that the mystery to this thing, the secret to this thing, the power in this thing is that Christ actually lives and dwells inside of us and so few of us are actually tapping into that?

I want you to think for a second to see the bigness of this. The entire Old Testament, if you want to sum it up tonight, was marked by three different words. The three words are God with us. You hear it repeated over and over again throughout the Old Testament. God was with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day in the garden. God was with Abraham. God was with Moses. God was with the Israelites…cloud by day, fire by night. God was with King David. God was with the prophets.

We're getting closer to Christmas. Jesus, God in the flesh, wraps himself in human flesh, and when he shows up at Christmastime we call him Immanuel. Does anybody know what that translates as? "God with us." Yeah. But then he ascends into heaven, and in this moment, everything shifts. From this moment forward, our identity is no longer marked simply by God with us. For us, Christ is in you. He's in me. He's in us. This is a really big deal.

For those of you who are more of a visual learner, I have something for you. It's not a magic trick. Don't get ahead of me. You'll be disappointed at the end. So, here's what we're going to do. Tonight, I want you to let the water in this bottle represent the manifest presence of God. In the garden of Eden, at the very beginning of the book, God speaks the world into existence, everything we know and the things we don't know. God uses his words like a paintbrush and creates all things.

On the sixth day, God reaches into the dirt. It would be the very first thing God would ever touch in the Scriptures. He breathes life into humanity. Why? So we could have a deep, intimate relationship with the God of the universe, so we could experience his presence in its fullness in the garden…no distractions, no sin, no pain.

We make it three chapters into the book before we screw it all up. We looked at God and said, "Hey, kind of thank you, but no thanks. I want to do this my own way." We gave God the proverbial middle finger and said, "I want to do this on my own." In that moment, humanity committed treason against the High King, and it fractured the world as we know it. We all feel that. You don't scroll very long before you're like, "Yeah, it's pretty jacked up."

Or better yet… Maybe this is just me. Maybe you can't relate. I have a 3-year-old son. He hangs out with other 3-year-olds. I don't hang out with them very long before I back up and go, "Whoa! Those are the most evil creatures on planet earth right there." What's interesting is we don't have to pull my son aside and go, "Hey, buddy, when you don't get your way, bite them, punch them in the throat, grab what you want, yell, 'Mine!' and run." We don't have to rehearse that. It's his default setting.

But here's the deal. Even in that brokenness, God chooses to not give up on humanity. He wants to be with his people. He wants the intimacy restored. So, you see in the Scripture God's presence shifts. The first place you really see the manifestation is that of the mountain, Mount Sinai. If you think about Moses, he has the burning bush moment where he goes up there to the Ten Commandments.

Or even if you think about the woman at the well. She quizzes Jesus, and she says, "Okay. Some people say we worship on this mountain. You say we're supposed to on this mountain. Which one is it?" It's all this idea that the presence of God was found at the mountaintop. Now, when the Israelites are released from captivity and begin to wander through the desert, God's presence… Yes, cloud by day, fire by night, but he instructs the Israelites to build a tabernacle.

When the tabernacle is built, God's presence would descend into this place, and this is where the people of God could go and meet with him. When they make their way into the Promised Land, God gives Solomon the instructions to build a permanent tabernacle called the temple, and it moves from the tabernacle to the temple.

Then, when you move from Malachi into Matthew, the Old Testament to the New Testament, something crazy happens. The very presence of God chooses to leave its throne room and wrap itself in human flesh in the person of Jesus. Jesus walks on our planet for 33 perfect years, teaching you and me what it means to be fully human and fully alive. Then Jesus willingly lays his life down on a cross.

Don't miss this. Somehow I did. That was not Jesus' cross. That was your cross. That was your death penalty for your treason against the King. Jesus was willing to climb onto that cross, and all of the judgment due to the brokenness of the world was aimed at Jesus, and he absorbed it like a sponge. He goes into the grave and, three days later, walks out of the grave holding the keys to both sin and death. He walks on earth for a couple of weeks with his closest friends, and then he ascends back to heaven.

That begs the question…Where is the manifest presence of God now? We don't have a temple. We don't have a tabernacle. We don't worship at the top of a mountain. So where is the presence of God now? It's here. It's in us. This is why Paul would use language like, "We are the temple." The presence of the living God chooses to live and dwell inside of you. It courses through your veins. It's a really big deal, and I pray tonight that you begin to believe that, understand it, and walk in it.

So, tonight, let me put it this way. Whatever question you walked into this room with, whatever you were hoping for… Psychologists would say there's really just a handful of questions, like, seven questions you probably are asking in every scenario you step into. Here's the beauty of it: Christ answers all seven of those.

So, if the question that drives you is the question, "Am I safe? Am I safe physically, emotionally…?" Maybe you have a tendency to let fear creep in. Here's what I want you to see: Christ in you means you are never alone. No matter the chaos around you, you're held securely by the one who is in complete control. The Lion of Judah not only pads beside you; he dwells inside of you.

Maybe your question is, "Am I secure?" Maybe anxiety or worry is clouding your thoughts. Maybe it's fear of the future. Tonight, you can feel secure, knowing that the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills calls you son or daughter and that he is closer than your skin tonight.

Maybe you walk into this space and the question you're constantly asking of every environment and every relationship is "Am I loved? Am I truly loved? Am I worthy of love?" Tonight, may you hear that God's love for you is not conditional. Christ chose to live in you, so you're loved deeply, fully, and unconditionally even on your worst days.

Maybe your question is "Am I wanted?" Then tonight you need to hear that because of Christ in you, you are not tolerated; you are wanted. Christ in you is a constant reminder that you belong, that you were chosen before the foundations of the earth by God himself, and that he wants to be near you in the most intimate way.

Or maybe tonight your question is "Am I successful?" You find yourself constantly trying to prove that you're enough in this, that you're successful. Then tonight you need to be reminded that you have nothing to prove, that God is already so proud of you because he finds you worthy enough to dwell inside of. Let that sink in. Who are you trying to prove what to? The God of the universe finds you worthy and says, "That one is mine. I'll take residence inside of that one."

Or maybe tonight you step into this space wondering, "Am I good enough?" With Christ in you, you are complete. You don't have to prove your worth, because he fills every gap and calls you worthy. You can stop performing for his approval, and you can learn to just enjoy Christ in you. Or maybe your question is, "Do I have purpose?" Christ in you gives your life meaning. He's guiding you to impact the lives of others and to live with purpose every single day.

These truths remind you that with Christ in you, your worth, security, and purpose are already established. You can live free. Porch, this is huge, and it changes everything. It's not like an app or it's not just something you download. This is not an accessory or an update. No, this is a whole new operating system, and it changes everything in us and around us.

Here, can I give you just a few tonight? Think about it this way. So many of us, if we think about prayer… For those of us who recognize that Christ is in us, prayer moves from being us just talking to an imaginary friend and listing out all of our wants or needs or hopes that we say like it's some type of incantation, that we just write to make God do what we need or want… Prayer moves into a regular, heartfelt practice that helps us cultivate deeper intimacy with Jesus by allowing us to share our deepest needs, to seek guidance, and most importantly, just experience his presence. Your prayer life alone will shift and change if you really believe Christ is in you.

Or take Scripture reading. Both of these things, prayer and Scripture reading… Many of us are like, "Ugh! I know I should. I just don't want to." Scripture reading moves from being something we check off our list, some spiritual to-do list, or cramming for some spiritual pop quiz or making ourselves feel better because we're jumping through some religious hoop to engaging a 66-book love letter written to show us who we are, who he is, and how we get to live life to the fullest. Dang. That'll get you up early in the morning.

Or maybe it's obedience. When Christ is in you, obedience moves from somehow trying to earn God's approval to actually trusting Jesus and aligning our lives to his perfect will. Or maybe it's worship. I joked earlier. It moves from being this feel-good Christian karaoke to actually deepening our connection and intimacy with Christ, helping us focus on his greatness and draw strength from his presence.

Or maybe it's community. Community moves from an obligation or a solution to loneliness to stepping into relationship with other brothers and sisters in the journey to offer and gain support, encouragement, and reminders of who we really are when we get distracted, and getting to experience Christ's power collectively.

Or maybe it's how we view serving or even giving. These things move from being a duty, something we feel like we should do, to an opportunity to let the love and power of Jesus Christ flow through your hands and feet in order to make places that we live, work, and play look and feel more like heaven.

This is a really big deal, church. My hope and my prayer is that tonight you feel the invitation to step toward Jesus. The number-one question I get when having this conversation is like, "Drew, this is cool, but okay. How do we tap into this? What do we do?" Tonight, I want you to hear, if you know and love Jesus…there has been this moment where you've pushed all of the chips in, Texas Hold'em style, and your life is his…then there's nothing you do. Christ is already in you.

For example, a little over 10 years ago, I stood at that altar with my wife and made huge promises. I am no more married today than I was 10 years ago, but I am more deeply in love with Jane than I was 10 years ago. I'm closer to her. She has legitimately become my best friend. I really feel like in many situations I can tell exactly what she's thinking before she even says what's on her mind.

How does that happen? Hear me, church, please. Not because of performance or pretending. It has everything to do with proximity and time. That's it. So tonight, may you feel the invitation of Jesus to just be with him, and in his presence you will become more and more aware of his presence in you, and that's what changes everything.

Father, I pray that you have spoken clearly to your people. I pray that every single person in this room feels zero condemnation but instead, Father, they feel your loving-kindness drawing them closer and closer to you. Jesus, whatever you have spoken over your people, I pray that they would have the courage and the boldness to say, "Yes," believing that you really are trustworthy, that you really are good. Jesus, may we live in this life-changing truth of Christ in us. We love you, and we are learning to trust you. It's in your name we pray, amen.