464: The Kingdom Is Breaking In | Quigg Lawrence

Logan's in route so why don't we start with prayer. I'm going to tell you what we're going to do so you know what's coming. Instead of just having a sermon, I was going to preach about what is the job of a shepherd, a pastor, a lead pastor. But they've already got a heavy dose of that at his ordination of the priesthood. And so I really thought what today is mainly about is not him or me. It's actually about the church.

And so after Logan and I have a back and forth—a little testimony—he's going to go get ready and Jack will get ready for baptism. And then I'm going to hopefully preach about seven minutes. If it goes to like 13, somebody please come up here and give me a wet willy, okay. That would be awesome.

Logan, come on brother. Give you some love, y'all. You can do whatever you want, buddy. Sit down, be awesome. That's for you, man. So we're just going to have a little conversation. What's your name?

Logan: Logan Hunter Durham.

Quigg: How old are you, boy?

Logan: I'm 17, but pretty much 18. I tried that with my mom too. You can call me an adult.

Quigg: Oh my gosh, I love Logan 2.0. It's great. So in order to get context for what we're celebrating, I'm going to give you the opportunity to tell as much or as little about what happened to you physically.

Logan: I was in a car wreck on March 1st of last year, and a month later I woke up in a hospital in Georgia because I was in a coma with a traumatic brain injury from the car crash. I've done a lot of therapy to even be able to come to church—whether it's in a wheelchair, walker, this cane, or hopefully by myself someday. But yeah, that's pretty much what happened to me. I'm actually kind of thankful because not only has it improved my status mentally, but it's helped me spiritually by bringing a closer relationship to God. So I'm thankful in some ways and trying to be thankful in others.

Quigg: Yeah, so I always exaggerate—that's what preachers do. We were talking yesterday and I said, "Logan, how long were you in a coma? Was it seven or eight weeks?" And I guess the right answer was a month. A month. But you guys, it felt like two years. Not moving an eyelash, not moving a finger, nothing. They'd remove a skull, and it was a tough look for a guy who's a D1 recruiting lacrosse player and really just such a stud of a man himself.

Logan: Yeah, and so honestly, saying I'm not a stud now.

Quigg: You are a stud. You are a stud.

Logan: Serve it up, baby. Serve it up. Yep.

Quigg: But while you were napping—while you were napping—yeah, Roanoke. People that didn't know you, they all gathered. We gathered outside the hospital and there are a couple hundred, three, four hundred people.

Logan: I've seen the videos.

Quigg: Oh, you see the videos.

Logan: Like all my friends. Like one of my friends said—he said I'm trying to think of what he said. Mom, what do you say?

Logan's Mom: Tough nails.

Logan: He's a pretty country guy. Yeah. So I'm always trying to keep that in mind. Tough nails.

Quigg: Dude, I just want to tell you—I've been a pastor 41 years and I don't know that I've ever seen this dramatic miracle.

Logan: Yeah. To be honest with you, like truth serum, I didn't think you were going to make it.

Quigg: Yeah, like I was in the hospital again a couple months ago because of an infection and an infectious disease doctor came in. We're talking about how my neurosurgeon was when I was in the coma. He was pretty serious, like, telling my mom all the stuff that could have happened to me that might happen to me and all this. And he's like, "The infectious disease doctor was like, yeah, doctors are typically like that when they have a patient on the verge of death." So yeah, I'm thankful just to be alive, let alone walking with the cane. And then it might not be normal, but it's a lot better than I thought. I thought about being in a wheelchair for years, so the physical healing is amazing.

Quigg: Yeah. And I'm not saying you weren't a Christian before—

Logan: Yeah, but maybe not your full heart. You were not a fully devoted follower of Jesus.

Logan: I obviously came to church sometimes. I was Christian and all that, but not only has this brain injury brought me an astronomical amount closer to God. And that's because of this church, it's because of Quigg, but it's because of Jesus Christ and God. So very thankful.

Quigg: 100%.

Logan: I read the Bible every night. I say prayer every night and every morning. Can I pull out my phone to tell all the chapters of the Bible I've read?

Quigg: Whatever you want to do, buddy. You got the mind. Hold on—I have it in my notes.

Logan: I've read Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, Romans, Acts, Colossians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, 1 and 2 Peter, and 1 and 2 Corinthians. So yeah, man. Hopefully I'll read some more.

Quigg: And it's not like Logan's just gotten religious. So I actually, you know, I creep your Instagram, okay? I see your Instagram, and he always has like a lacrosse video, which I really love, because you're the stud player I wanted to be. And your brother Jack is a D1 recruit, and so that's always cool to see lacrosse videos, but—

Right after that there'll be a Christian video. It's not just like butterflies and kind of weird Christianity—my boy here, I think he's gonna be an apologist for the faith. Like, he has a discernment between those who bring the gospel and those who do religion. So I want to say a prayer for you, and then you're gonna make your way to the baptistry.

I got to speak to these guys. You're making me sound like I'm a saint or something, but like, obviously I'm a human being, so I'm a sinner. I'm not some saint. Can I tell you a little secret? It's the same for pastors. We are counted holy, set apart, and God calls us to a task to follow him. But yeah, we all mess up. That's why the Bible says:

If we claim that we don't sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. — 1 John 1:8

But I love the fact that you can come boldly to God's throne of grace and say, "Here I am, but I'm washed by the blood of Jesus." That's awesome.

All right, let me pray for you. And whoever's gonna help—no, no, you keep that, but just don't take it in the baptistry with you, okay?

Father, I thank you for Logan. I love what you're doing in him. I love his humor, I love his faith. I think if I had to go through what he did and lose some things, I would've just been a self-pity party. But God, you have done an amazing thing in him. You've been the lifter of his head. You've put his eyes on Christ. How can we thank you, Lord? Saving this man from death, but also saving his soul and making him a lover of God. We praise your name, and all God's people said amen.

All right, brother. Come on up. Good job, buddy. Make sure to keep your shorts on, okay? All right, so the double willy wet willy timing is starting right now, so I got to hit it fast and hard.

A Shepherd's Calling

All right, it's a big day for you, Dave. You're taking the mantle the Lord has trusted you with. I also want to say thank you to Melissa, because she's not working for free, but there's no doubt—she's your counselor. The Holy Spirit's gonna work through your wife more than anyone else, hands down.

So I was gonna go to 1 Timothy, Titus, and Acts to see what it is that he's actually called to do. We just spent a second there summarizing it so the sermon wouldn't be that long. In 1 Timothy, Titus, and Acts, it says this about somebody who's gonna be a shepherd under the Great Shepherd:

First, they have to aspire to want to be that, right? We're not holding you at gunpoint. That's the first thing. Husband of one wife—are you the husband of one wife? That's awesome. That's great. Sober-minded—you're way more sober-minded than I am. I appreciate that. Not a drunkard. Self-controlled. Respectable. Hospitable. Who knew that being a shepherd involves hospitality? We didn't really know that when we came into this calling, but the Lord has opened that up, and I think you're gonna see the same thing. The Lord will open your home and your lives up for hospitality.

It says he's not quarrelsome. I've given him every reason to be quarreling with me, but he's just smooth. He's like a pilot at 18,000 feet. He's great that way. He's not a lover of money. He likes Bitcoin, but he's not a lover of money, Dave.

Guardian of the Faith

One of your sacred responsibilities is to be a guardian of the faith. Everybody says, "Oh yeah, sign up for that," but walking that out practically is not always so much fun, because sometimes you have to say no, that's not true. I had a former senior warden who got into some weird theology, and I had to take him on. I've had some really tough conversations with people.

The thing from Galatians says:

Are you seeking the approval of men or of God? If you're seeking the approval of men, you're no longer a servant of Christ. — Galatians 1:10

So our prayer for you is that you will always seek the approval of God, not men. Now, men and women may speak into you. You may have a word from the Lord, but always test that and always be humble. If you have an idea or a spiritual thought, just say, "Dave, here's what I think the Lord's doing," but let him test it. Let him search the word.

Guardian of the faith—banish false teachers and wolves. Now, you may look around and go, "They're not here." Well, there may not be this morning, but there will be. We have had false teachers, wolves. And wolves always look like sheep. The devil rarely comes in a red suit with a pitchfork. In fact, I've never seen the devil in a red suit with a pitchfork. He always slithers his way in looking like an angel of light. Your job is to banish false teachers and the wolves, to be a good steward, upright and holy. Who is up for that?

No one is naturally equipped for this task. Paul said he was the chief of sinners, but God has called you to this. The Bible says those whom God has called, he has equipped, and he will equip. He says, "I'll never leave you or forsake you," and so we have great comfort in that.

The Job of the Church

Now let's go to the job of the church. I might or might not have used AI to find these verses—AI is just a tool like Google—but I want to find scripture that really says, "Hey, what is the job of the body of Christ, the sheep?" I got three scriptures. I'm just going to read them and they will land the plane.

Hebrews 13:17

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give an account. — Hebrews 13:17

This is God speaking to the body, and I guess now, actually, to me because I'm going to be a part of this church as well. Obey your leaders. Obey and submit—that means to place yourself in a position of humility under them. For they are keeping watch over your souls. Did you know that? I mean, this is a mind-blowing thing. God has called you in his power to keep watch over their souls.

What will happen is everybody wants you to be a concierge. I have people call me, "Hey, where in the Bible is that?" I'm like, "You're a doctor. Go to Google and look it up." People ask me for restaurant recommendations. I mean, so many things. And I don't mind it because I love to talk and engage people, but at the end of the day, you have to watch out for their souls.

As we obey and submit to the pastor God has placed, it says do this with joy, not with groaning. Parents of teenagers—sorry, teenagers—I'll just speak from experience. When I was a teenager, my mom would tell me to do something I didn't want to do, and then I would do it but I would grumble the whole way. Right in front. You know, like that. The scripture says in Hebrews, don't do that. This man is placed by God to watch over your soul. So don't grumble. Don't gossip behind his back. If you got an issue, be a man, be a woman—come humbly and have a conversation.

And it says if you're groaning and complaining and not obeying and not submitting, this will be of no advantage to you. So ultimately, by doing what Jesus says, you get the advantage.

1 Thessalonians 5:12–13

We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. — 1 Thessalonians 5:12–13

Paul says, respect those who labor. Esteem them very highly in love. I don't know about you, but I don't like false praise. I don't like people kissing the backside, but I do love respect. And I think most of you do as well. The Bible here is saying show that same respect, or even greater, to the shepherd that watches over your soul, because it'll be an advantage to you. Respect. Esteem. Love.

1 Timothy 5:17

Let the elders who rule be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. — 1 Timothy 5:17

Friends, I can tell you this: Dave labors in preaching and teaching. You may think, "Well, he goes well. He's just born that way. He can just talk off the top of his head." Maybe. But I've seen him in his office—hours and hours and hours—laboring over God's word so he can bring you God's word faithfully.

So we're not here, Dave, to put you on a throne or pedestal. You never want to be on a pedestal. You know why? There's only one place to go down. But we are here to love you, to esteem you, to give you double honor, and to pray for you.

I want to tell you this: if you pray for Dave, Melissa, and the girls, do it regularly. Just like brushing your teeth, you know? When you brush your teeth, pray for the Loops. That's the way the Lord intended this. Because as he is healthy, and as their family is healthy and they grow in the Lord and they're prospering—not so much financially, but prospering in the Lord—then he will be able to share with you, and you will be healthier in the Lord.

Closing

Friends, we're going to close with this. As we go to the baptism: God has given you this man and this family. This is a gift to you. Now, you could just go, "Hey, thanks for the gumball." But maybe the better response would be, "Lord, who are we that you would bless us with such a church family? Who am I that you would bless me with a pastor who watches over my soul?"

And if you love, respect, and esteem him properly, this will be a healthy body of Christ. Not just for a year, but for a long time to come.

Now it's time, friends. We're going to go baptize Jack and Logan.