1 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:10,840 Say that again. Good morning. 2 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,040 My name is Jason Moore. I'm the student pastor here. 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:18,160 If you're visiting with us here in person or online, our pastor, 4 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:22,360 Kyle Walker, he is leading a revival down in Carrollton this 5 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:24,120 week. So he's preaching this morning 6 00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:26,560 and tonight and the next three nights. 7 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,560 I believe so if y'all could be praying for Kyle, he would much 8 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,440 appreciate it and and we look forward to him coming back next 9 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,280 week. This morning we get a chance as 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:38,960 I was speaking to get a chance to highlight a few of my 11 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:40,880 students. So during prayer time and I was 12 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,720 super excited for our three that came up and did the welcome. 13 00:00:44,200 --> 00:00:47,240 When you say, hey, I need some volunteers to to do the welcome 14 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,480 in front of everyone. You don't expect 3 introverts to 15 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:53,320 say, yeah, I want to do that. And I was so pumped. 16 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:55,000 So thank you all so much for doing that. 17 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,440 That that was that was exciting. So and then, yeah, give my hand. 18 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:06,560 And so my friend Sam James is going to read our passage that 19 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:10,360 we're going, we're continuing in first John, we're in chapter 3. 20 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:12,560 We start in verse 19. So if you want to find that in 21 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,600 your in your in your copy of God's word. 22 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:19,280 And then Sam is this is this is Stephen, this is Pastor 23 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,880 Stephen's son. Sam is going to read our passage 24 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:24,680 for us this morning. So go ahead, Sam. 25 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:36,960 First, John 319 through 24 says, By this we shall know that we 26 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:39,840 are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him. 27 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:43,920 For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our 28 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:48,920 heart, and He knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not 29 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:53,040 condemn us, we have confidence before God, and whatever we ask 30 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,480 we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do 31 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,280 what pleases Him. And this is His commandment, 32 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,480 that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love 33 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,040 one another just as He has commanded us. 34 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:09,840 Whoever keeps His commandments abides in God, and God in him, 35 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,080 and by this we know that He abides in us by the Spirit whom 36 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,080 He has given us. Awesome. 37 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,440 Thank you so much, Sam. So just a little trivia 38 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,240 knowledge for y'all. Sam feels called to the ministry 39 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:26,080 and oh, that's yours. I'm sorry. 40 00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:29,800 Yeah, take yours. And so Sam, Phil's called to the 41 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,720 ministry and so he's a senior this year and he is, they're 42 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:34,960 figuring out exactly where he's going to land for college. 43 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:38,000 But y'all can be praying for him and all that God has in store 44 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,160 for him. I'm sure that deep voice he has, 45 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:44,480 it's going to be it's going to be resonating and doing some 46 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:48,120 awesome things for the Kingdom. So excited to see what's coming 47 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:50,520 there. So there's a, if you were paying 48 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,200 attention, I hope you were. There's a lot of heart talk in 49 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:55,840 that passage. And so we're going to talk this, 50 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,280 I'm titled this sermon Heart Check, which really goes along 51 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:04,080 with our theme for first John. And I want to start with telling 52 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:06,800 you about a movie. So in the, in the 90s, in the 53 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:12,840 early 90s, a cinematic wonder piece was, was launched and, and 54 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,480 it's a, it's a juggernaut in the film industry, one of the ones 55 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,720 that I've seen many times. In fact, when I was a teacher, I 56 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:23,240 would find excuses to play this movie in my classroom and we'd, 57 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:25,520 we'd probably watch, I'd probably watch it 6-7 times a 58 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:29,240 year. So the, the movie has this one 59 00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:33,560 scene though, where what he's not the main character, but he 60 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:35,240 might as well because it's kind of his story. 61 00:03:35,600 --> 00:03:39,680 He is in a pickle and he's really struggling with something 62 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:45,480 and he has a dream and Babe Ruth comes and visits him in his room 63 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:49,560 and he basically says because this is it's a Sandlot because 64 00:03:49,720 --> 00:03:53,440 that's the that's the movie. So Benny the jet Rodriguez is 65 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:56,760 having this dream and because him and his buddies have messed 66 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,680 up with some baseball shenanigans and he has a stream 67 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:03,080 that Babe Ruth comes and visits him, the great Bambino, the king 68 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:07,320 of Crash and his dream and tells him what to do. 69 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,240 And he he wraps up with this tagline. 70 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,360 Follow your heart, kid, and you'll never go wrong. 71 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:16,399 Don't that sound good? And then they did the whole 72 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:17,959 thing with the dog. And if you've seen the movie, 73 00:04:17,959 --> 00:04:19,720 you know what's going on. If you haven't seen the movie, 74 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:23,720 it's a good one. So this this the sentiment of 75 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:25,840 follow your heart and you'll never go wrong. 76 00:04:25,840 --> 00:04:30,600 We hear that so much. And and I know when you hear a 77 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:32,600 preacher say something like this in church, you may roll your 78 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:34,200 eyes like, yeah, I've heard this before, but it's true. 79 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,200 We just we hear this. We are inundated with this. 80 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,000 If every children's show and children's movie just about will 81 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,640 say that at some point, sometimes advice that were given 82 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,000 to our kids, just follow your heart. 83 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,160 Just follow your heart. It won't steer you wrong. 84 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,000 And that sounds so good. And then I was like, yeah, I 85 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:52,160 want to do that. That sounds really good. 86 00:04:52,160 --> 00:04:55,760 Then I read Jeremiah, Jeremiah 17 nine says the heart is 87 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,720 deceitful above all things. Desperately sick. 88 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:04,000 Who can understand it? Well, let goes all in Babe 89 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:05,520 Ruth's face, doesn't it? Right there. 90 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:08,680 I mean, good grief, what? And you know, the Bible is 91 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:10,080 actually the one I should listen to. 92 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:13,120 It is tricky. The heart of man. 93 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:14,960 We are fickle. We change. 94 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:18,360 Our heart is it goes with the whims and flows of society. 95 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,080 If you don't believe me, let me tell you about the walls I've 96 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:22,960 lived through. I've lived through wood paneling 97 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:25,720 and I've lived through wallpaper and I've lived through faux 98 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:29,560 painting and I've lived through all different types of taupe, 99 00:05:29,840 --> 00:05:33,720 whatever that is. So like our, and you know, when 100 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,560 those times came to redecorate the house, your heart was set on 101 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:38,440 that. And then it changes and you're 102 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:40,080 like, I can't stand these walls anymore. 103 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:42,240 Some of you may have just elbowed someone. 104 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:47,320 I'm sorry if, if that was you, but our heart can be fickle and 105 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,480 it can be very selfish. Like God said through Jeremiah, 106 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,360 it can be deceitful, desperately sick. 107 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:58,960 And so we need to do a heart check today because our our sick 108 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:02,280 heart, a sick heart can really, really hinder our, our 109 00:06:02,280 --> 00:06:06,760 involvement with Christ, our growth as a believer, our our 110 00:06:06,760 --> 00:06:09,920 punch in this whole world, like the impact that we have here. 111 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:13,520 And so we want to look at what the scripture says here. 112 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,200 It begins with, by this we shall know. 113 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:19,200 And we have to figure out what by this is. 114 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,360 And, and one of the you can look at it both ways. 115 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:24,920 You can look backwards and see that by this is referring to the 116 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,400 passage before Kyle talked last week about the one word that 117 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:30,360 defines a Christian. That word is what you might 118 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:35,200 remember love very good. He'll be glad to know so that 119 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,040 one word that defines Christians is love and we are supposed to 120 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,520 be loving one another. It should be a characteristic of 121 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:45,600 all that we do and and so by this and it wraps up that 122 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,200 section wraps up by this little children. 123 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,800 Let us not love and word or talk, but in deed and truth. 124 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,720 And so there's action to our our love. 125 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:57,960 There is truth to our love it there's an integrity to it. 126 00:06:58,280 --> 00:07:05,600 So by this we know that we are of the truth, but also by this 127 00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:09,040 to look forward at, at this heart issue that's going on 128 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,520 here. So it says again, by this we 129 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:14,720 shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our hearts 130 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:18,480 before him for whenever your heart, our heart condemns us. 131 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:21,080 God is greater than our heart and he knows everything. 132 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:26,240 Often times we can have some heart issues that go on. 133 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:31,480 I've seen, you've probably know many people who have had had to 134 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,480 deal with things regarding their heart. 135 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:35,400 Maybe they've had to wear a little friend, a little heart 136 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:37,600 monitor for a few weeks to see what was going on with their 137 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,640 heart. Maybe they were getting short of 138 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,800 breath when they shouldn't be. Maybe they were just kind of out 139 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:46,920 of shape and their heart would race way often too often than it 140 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:48,160 should. Something like that. 141 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:52,480 When our heart, when our heart is in trouble, the rest of us 142 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,720 are too. The rest of who we are gets in 143 00:07:54,720 --> 00:07:56,120 trouble too. And so I want to look at some 144 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:00,000 conditions that we may have to we, we, we go through just to 145 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:01,840 check them out. So let's do a heart check. 146 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,640 We're here real here. If you're having chest pains, a 147 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,040 spiritual in a spiritual sense, if you're having a physical 148 00:08:07,040 --> 00:08:09,640 chest pain, then you need to get that dealt with right now. 149 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:13,600 Not me, not, not, not with with what I'm going to give you here. 150 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,840 But if you're having spiritual chest pains, then we need to, we 151 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:18,960 need to correct and deal with that right now because it's, 152 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,000 it's, it is urgent. And so the first thing I want to 153 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:26,280 talk about is a heart that's heavy, a heavy hearted person, 154 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:30,360 11, who has a weight on their heart and this weight maybe look 155 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:33,360 like this. Maybe you're a believer, you 156 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:35,679 know, Christ as Lord and Savior, you're confident in that 157 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:38,880 relationship. But you, you are burdened with 158 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,919 sin. God has, has, has revealed sin 159 00:08:41,919 --> 00:08:45,360 in your life. You, it may even be habitual. 160 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,400 You have a sin that you just keep going back to, and the 161 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:53,320 shame and the guilt of that, it's sitting heavy on your 162 00:08:53,320 --> 00:08:57,560 heart. And while that's there, it has 163 00:08:57,600 --> 00:08:59,960 your attention and you feel ineffective. 164 00:08:59,960 --> 00:09:02,520 You feel like I can't because of this. 165 00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:05,080 I can't because this is pressing on me. 166 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:09,120 Or it may be even a sin from the past. 167 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:13,280 It may be I can't because I used to be this way. 168 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:19,680 Well, let me remind you that there's power in the blood. 169 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:24,600 And if you are a believer, then Christ's blood has washed away 170 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:27,600 all of your sins. And I love to explain this 171 00:09:27,600 --> 00:09:30,000 because even adults sometimes get hung up on this. 172 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:33,480 Oftentimes when we come to Christ, maybe you were a child, 173 00:09:33,480 --> 00:09:35,440 maybe you're a teenager, maybe you're in your 20s, maybe it was 174 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:37,440 yesterday, I don't know. But whenever we come to Christ, 175 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:41,320 oftentimes we think, Lord Jesus, please forgive me of my sin. 176 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:46,600 And we think that like all the sins from birth till now, that's 177 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:48,680 kind of oftentimes how we're approaching this. 178 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,160 That's the ones you're aware of. And you're like, God, please 179 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:53,640 forgive me my sins. And he does. 180 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:58,480 He is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins, He 181 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:01,400 removes it far from you. But you got to understand. 182 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:03,440 He's like, yeah, you're asking me something that you don't know 183 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,920 what you're asking me. You're thinking it's just to 184 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:07,440 hear. But I see all of it. 185 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:13,160 Like from now until you die too. I know I am aware of the sins 186 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:15,120 that will come after this moment. 187 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:17,880 And I am forgiving you of all of it. 188 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,320 It is an awesome deal. Like God, Jesus, like I hear 189 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,040 your terms. I'm going to one up you and and 190 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:25,560 I'm going to give you something even greater. 191 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,840 So when he, he gives us salvation, we are saved from 192 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:32,440 sin, period. All of them. 193 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:38,240 And so now we have this flesh, this old self that keeps rising 194 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:40,920 up and ramping up. And we have these tendencies to 195 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,920 fall back into bad habits. And Jesus was aware of that. 196 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:48,160 So what we have to do as believers is to confess. 197 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:51,480 We have to go to Christ. We have to confess even we, we 198 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:53,840 go to him, we ask him, we repent, we ask him for 199 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,280 forgiveness. And he's like, yeah, all you did 200 00:10:56,280 --> 00:10:58,360 was just like, I'm, I'm just wiping it clean again. 201 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:00,440 Like there's you're, you're good. 202 00:11:01,200 --> 00:11:02,840 I'm just going to wipe the surface off again. 203 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,320 You're just seeing the surface. I'm seeing what's inside and 204 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,360 inside you're beautiful. You're forgiven, You're pure. 205 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:10,520 Let me wipe that off. You come to me asking for 206 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:11,920 forgiveness. You come to me for repentance 207 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:13,600 again. Let let's, let's get that out of 208 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:15,400 here. Let's remove that weight. 209 00:11:15,880 --> 00:11:19,680 Let's lighten your load. Know that you are forgiven. 210 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:25,720 Know that you are are are empowered to move beyond those 211 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:29,320 sins and that weight. And so he does. 212 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,240 We confess to him. James tells us and returns us to 213 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:34,920 confess to one another says, therefore confess your sins to 214 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:38,080 one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. 215 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,680 And so we want we want this weight of sin gone, this heavy 216 00:11:43,680 --> 00:11:46,920 heartedness, then turn to Jesus heavy heartedness. 217 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:49,600 Help get a brother or sister to help you confess. 218 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,000 This is what's going on. I need some accountability in 219 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,000 this. I don't want to be weighed down 220 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,400 by this anymore. I want to be free to move and 221 00:11:57,400 --> 00:11:59,800 not think about this weight again. 222 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:07,160 And so if you're heavy hearted, then then you should repent. 223 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:12,040 You should come and confess and and be be removed from that 224 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:14,880 again and free and accept the freedom that God has given you. 225 00:12:15,200 --> 00:12:19,120 Or perhaps you're half hearted someone who's half hearted as 226 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,680 someone who they've been doing OK for a while. 227 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:24,480 Maybe you're a believer. You've been a believer for a 228 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,960 while. You've done things like you've 229 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:30,280 been in church, you've been a participant in things, you've 230 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:33,320 LED in things. Leaders get get half hearted in 231 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,480 this too, but you get to a point that at some point you start 232 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:42,120 thinking, is it worth it? Am I making a difference? 233 00:12:42,480 --> 00:12:47,200 Is, is, is anything that I've done having any kind of impact? 234 00:12:47,920 --> 00:12:50,840 And so you get to this point where you really start losing 235 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:52,680 the vision. You start getting disillusioned 236 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,560 of the mission that God has given you the the passion he has 237 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:57,960 given you. And it starts to wane because 238 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:02,400 you really just start where I'm not seeing the connection here. 239 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:07,240 And what happens when we get that way is that we start, we 240 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,360 take our eyes off Christ and we start looking at us, We start 241 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,200 kind of having a little bit of a pity party. 242 00:13:12,680 --> 00:13:14,560 And like, well, I've done so much this way. 243 00:13:14,560 --> 00:13:19,920 And they still, I mean, I, I prepare and I teach and, and, 244 00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:23,560 and I, I listen to the things that, that they're saying and, 245 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,400 and I bring food to them. And middle schoolers still make 246 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,960 fun of me and they still call me bald and they still do all this 247 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,960 stuff to me all the time. And so, I mean, it's easy to get 248 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:37,240 in that trap, right? It can get it can get to where 249 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:42,720 we, we are very disillusioned and our our efforts, our our 250 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:47,520 ability to really be impactful as Kingdom workers, as as fellow 251 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:51,280 missionaries for the gospel and as fellow bodies of members of 252 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:54,960 the body of Christ. It just becomes half hearted, 253 00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:57,560 less effective because we're really focusing ourselves. 254 00:13:57,560 --> 00:13:59,040 We're focused on what our feelings are. 255 00:13:59,040 --> 00:14:01,960 We're focusing on, on what's going on with just me. 256 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,800 And we lose focus on that. That is Christ. 257 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:07,560 And so Jesus know that this was going to happen. 258 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:10,840 And when we're asking questions of does it matter? 259 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,640 What can I do? And Jesus is like, yeah, it does 260 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:18,120 matter. And So what he says is to not 261 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,000 grow weary and doing good. We find this in Galatians. 262 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:23,520 It says don't grow weary and doing good, but keep it up. 263 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:31,000 And so then it says, and let us not grow weary for doing good, 264 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,920 for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. 265 00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,160 So if you are doing a heart check, if you're heavy hearted, 266 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:39,520 then you need to ask for forgiveness and confess sin. 267 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:44,480 If you're half hearted, then you need to really confess the sin 268 00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:47,040 of selfishness. And just don't be weary. 269 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:51,000 Like find someone else that's in in the same service as you. 270 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000 Find someone else that's in in the walk with Christ as you 271 00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:57,880 build each other up. Encourage one another. 272 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:00,280 If you're encouraging someone else, most likely you're going 273 00:15:00,280 --> 00:15:01,600 to start getting the encouragement you need. 274 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,280 Ask God. I think this is OK Ask God for a 275 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,000 God wink. Ask God every now and then say 276 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,320 God is it. If it's if it would be your 277 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,040 will. I would love to see some fruit 278 00:15:14,040 --> 00:15:16,360 from this. I don't think that's that's 279 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:18,040 still looking at him. That's still talking to him 280 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:21,120 first and that's still giving him the option because sometimes 281 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:23,240 we do and sometimes we don't. Jeremiah another, another 282 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,040 reference to him. He had a very successful 283 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,720 ministry that we know of. But in his day and age, he was a 284 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:32,800 failure. No converts, no one listened to 285 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:34,440 him. They, in fact, they threw him in 286 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:36,840 a in a mud hole and left him there hoping he'd die. 287 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,200 I mean, he, he would have seen as a failure. 288 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,640 And yet we know that he was a great success for the Lord and a 289 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:48,240 champion for the Lord. So ask God to be involved, look 290 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,080 to him, not yourself. Remember why you started serving 291 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:52,640 to begin with. Remember why you started 292 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:53,600 following the Lord to begin with. 293 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:56,240 Remember why you sought him out in quiet times. 294 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:00,280 Why you why you pray Remember that it's he is the reason and 295 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:02,360 not you. And it will it will lighten your 296 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:05,840 heart and you will not grow weary and doing those good 297 00:16:05,840 --> 00:16:08,800 things now. So if we're heavy hearted, we 298 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:11,680 need to confess. If we're, if we're half hearted, 299 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:16,720 we just need to reengage and not grow grow weary to, to get 300 00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,000 pumped up for, for the service the Lord has for us. 301 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,160 Well, what if we're heart aching? 302 00:16:21,960 --> 00:16:25,880 What if we have a heartache now a heartache is someone who 303 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:31,160 perhaps you've done well, yet it seems to all go back in your 304 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:35,280 face again, a reference to Jeremiah, someone who was doing 305 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:36,760 exactly what God wanted them to do. 306 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:39,440 But the the reaction was not a great revival. 307 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:41,320 The reaction was not aha moments from people. 308 00:16:41,320 --> 00:16:44,240 The reaction was like, what are you talking about? 309 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:47,760 Mockery, things like this. You know, I realized that when I 310 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:50,960 asked my teenagers to be a witness in their schools and I 311 00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:53,560 asked them to show the light of Christ in the hallways, in the 312 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:56,960 classrooms of their schools. I know that they are, and they 313 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,040 know that there are some people who would be against that. 314 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:05,440 There are people who would irrationally or try to be 315 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:09,200 rational, speak against their faith, try to squash them. 316 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:11,359 Sometimes that's other students, sometimes it's adults. 317 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:13,800 But there are people in their lives that would try to dissuade 318 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,920 them from living the life that the Lord has for them. 319 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:20,240 You and your workplaces, you and your, sometimes even in your 320 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,000 family circles, there are people that if you are shining the 321 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,359 light of Price, then then there's going to be an attack 322 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:28,840 come your way. And it hurts like you know 323 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:31,320 you're doing the right thing. You know, you're all in, you 324 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,600 know, you're engaged and yet still there's some hurt that 325 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,320 comes that way. And it it will, it will happen. 326 00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:43,480 And but God does not want us to not be discouraged by that. 327 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:45,000 He doesn't want us to stop doing good. 328 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:47,920 There are times and seasons where there's a there's a plan 329 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:52,240 and it involves some kickback. And he said, look, when those 330 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:54,960 people, when there, when there's heartache from other people and 331 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:58,000 what they've said and their words sing, then love them. 332 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:00,800 I mean, Jesus said, love your enemy. 333 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,080 He's definitely going to say to to love those who you're 334 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,200 serving. And this whole book is about 335 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:07,680 love one another, love one another. 336 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,240 Love is mentioned over and over and over again in first John and 337 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:14,800 it is and it is mentioned in a way of command. 338 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:17,000 Often, even in this passage we're looking at, we're reminded 339 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,200 again, it is a command to love. And so Jesus is like, Yep, that 340 00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,160 happened to love them. Don't talk about them. 341 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,080 Don't be passive aggressive on Facebook saying what you what 342 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,960 you wish had happened. Don't don't just ignore them. 343 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:32,920 Like love them. Well, how do I do that? 344 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:36,040 That doesn't seem fair. It doesn't feel good right now. 345 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:38,520 It it doesn't. But this is one of those passes. 346 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,320 It tells us, tells us that if we were practicing love, stuff 347 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:43,800 starts to happen. Like there is a growing 348 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:45,800 confidence that comes in practicing love. 349 00:18:46,640 --> 00:18:49,640 First Corinthians 13 reminds us how to do that. 350 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:51,720 Love is patient. Love is kind. 351 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:54,960 That's that first one. There are times that you just 352 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:57,280 have to be patient with people. They're not where you want them 353 00:18:57,280 --> 00:19:01,040 to be yet. And it may take a while, but be 354 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:02,880 patient with them and continue to love. 355 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:04,520 Love is patient. Love is kind. 356 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,480 Love does not envy your bows. It does not arrogant or rude. 357 00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:09,960 It does not insist on its own way. 358 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,120 It is not irritable or resentful. 359 00:19:12,400 --> 00:19:14,880 It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with 360 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:17,000 the truth. Love bears all things, believes 361 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,200 all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 362 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,280 Love never ends. And so when you're experiencing 363 00:19:23,280 --> 00:19:28,240 heartache in this heart check and you feel like you're just 364 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,320 stuck, then, then just love them. 365 00:19:32,240 --> 00:19:36,240 I know that sounds easy to say, but you trust the Lord God, How 366 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:39,200 can I be patient with them? How, how do I be kind to them? 367 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,640 What is something I can do to show kindness to them? 368 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:43,680 Lord, I don't want to be irritable with them. 369 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:47,440 Lord, I want to be better. I want to be, I want to treat 370 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:49,440 them the way you see them and treat them. 371 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,280 I, I want to embrace them the way you would. 372 00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:55,280 And so he will, he will guide you and, and strengthen you for 373 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,160 that. And then there's another, 374 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:03,440 there's heartbroken and heartbroken is, is a hard one. 375 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,360 That is where there's been loss. That is where there has been a 376 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:12,200 great bill deal of sorrow. Something has been removed from 377 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:16,360 your life, something that, that your heart was very attached to 378 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:22,120 and, and it's been broken. And I, I, I, I understood this 379 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:24,160 when, when my daughter passed away, that's the first time I 380 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:28,160 understood heartbreaking. I I I I had experienced ache. 381 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,120 I'd experienced heavy hearted, I'd expense experience some some 382 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:34,640 of these other things, but heartbroken. 383 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:37,240 That's when you just don't know if things will ever be right 384 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,760 again. And I love that the Lord loves 385 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:44,440 us. And there's a one, one verse 386 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:49,680 that has helped me and I hope will help many of you if you're 387 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:52,920 ever in that spot, as the Lord is near to the broken hearted 388 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:58,600 and saves the crust and spirit. God has not given up on you. 389 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,880 And you can hand him that broken heart as many times as you need 390 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,800 to and he will fix it. Just keep handing it to him. 391 00:21:06,360 --> 00:21:10,760 Do not hold that hold the pieces and and be still with it. 392 00:21:10,760 --> 00:21:14,320 Just keep handing it to him. And every time he fixes it, 393 00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:16,080 you'll gain a little bit more strength. 394 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:17,920 You'll give me a little bit better for it. 395 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:22,240 So do a heart check. How are you right now? 396 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:24,240 What does it look like in your life? 397 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:26,240 Because this is this is, this is what it may look like. 398 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:30,800 Often times if we're sick, we may not know we're sick. 399 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,440 And what happens is we sit in it. 400 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:37,200 And if you sit in the sick, then you're stuck. 401 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,440 So check yourself right now. Is there a sin that is weighing 402 00:21:43,440 --> 00:21:46,400 you down that is telling you, you're telling yourself, I'm not 403 00:21:46,400 --> 00:21:49,400 capable of doing what God wants me to do because I did this or 404 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:51,400 I'm in the middle of this. If it's something you're in the 405 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,280 middle of, repent, confess, move on. 406 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:55,960 If it's something that God's already forgiven you about 407 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:59,200 something that you already gave to him, then then don't let 408 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,960 Satan keep bringing that up. You are you are the victory in 409 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,080 this situation. Now you have victory over it. 410 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:07,320 Walk that way, but do not let your heart be heavy. 411 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:12,680 If you are, if you are a heavy hearted, I mean, if you are have 412 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:17,600 half hearted, I mean, then and and you're just like it doesn't 413 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:21,080 matter anymore. Well, pep up buddy, like it's 414 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,360 OK, Get back in the game. You know, you, you started this, 415 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:26,480 you started following the Lord for the right reasons. 416 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,520 Remember those reasons. Come back to Christ. 417 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:31,640 Come back to the to the bare essentials, back to 418 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:33,320 fundamentals. That's what we always hear 419 00:22:33,320 --> 00:22:36,000 around sports and activities. Come back to the fundamentals of 420 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:38,440 what it means to be a follower of Christ and keep going. 421 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:40,960 You've got this. Put your whole heart back into 422 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:45,040 it again and see what God does. If your heart aching, then love 423 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,400 the people who who threw those darts at you. 424 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,400 Love the people who were throwing those stones at you. 425 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,200 Keep stay in there and show love. 426 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:54,720 And it's going to drive them nuts because that is not the 427 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:56,840 reaction that they're expecting. And you were going to see some 428 00:22:56,840 --> 00:22:59,720 awesome fruit from that. And if you are heartbroken, then 429 00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:01,320 continue to hand that heart to the Lord. 430 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:04,040 He is there to heal and to save you. 431 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:10,560 You are not you are not at the end of your life and he is He is 432 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:14,600 there to repair and keep you moving on now so if we have our 433 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,960 heart fixed, which is really the point of this whole passage. 434 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:22,560 Let's look at the the word again beloved, if our heart this is 435 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,160 verse 21 if our heart does not condemn us. 436 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,400 So if we're if our hearts good and we're and we're in this with 437 00:23:29,400 --> 00:23:32,760 the Lord, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence 438 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,760 before God. This changes things like I can 439 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,320 come to God knowing that he is here, knowing that he is hearing 440 00:23:38,320 --> 00:23:40,720 me. I am actively involved in the 441 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:43,680 deeds and truths that show love that God has led me to do. 442 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:47,520 If we come to the Lord with confidence, then that changes 443 00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:49,720 the whole ball game when we come to the Lord with confidence. 444 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,400 One of the things that, and it's like I put in your in your 445 00:23:52,480 --> 00:23:55,880 program, that's like cardio. It's healthy for your heart. 446 00:23:56,040 --> 00:23:57,840 It's something to get your heart stronger and stronger. 447 00:23:57,840 --> 00:23:59,360 And one of the things you do is you pray. 448 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,960 Like if you are confident in in your ability to approach God, 449 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,120 then you will approach God and you will pray. 450 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:07,560 And we want prayers that are potent. 451 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:11,000 We want prayers that have punched that, that that move and 452 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,440 do things. And in order to do that, we have 453 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,680 to pray. William Faulkner is a author, 454 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,840 and one of the things he's quoted as saying is that read 455 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:22,520 everything. He was encouraging about 456 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:24,880 children reading, like read everything, read junk, read good 457 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:28,640 things, but read everything. And his, his point was to to get 458 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:30,120 them reading and things like this. 459 00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:32,080 When it comes to prayer, especially with kids, I'm like, 460 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,520 pray, pray about whatever comes to mind. 461 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:37,160 Just pray. Even even if it's simple 462 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,160 prayers, even if it's prayers that are just just an exercise, 463 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:42,080 What you're doing is you're exercising faith. 464 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,000 And so just pray. And, but as you grow in your, in 465 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,920 your walk with Christ, and as you mature in your walk with 466 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,080 Christ, as that heart gets healthier and as you're praying 467 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:52,320 more and more and more, that heart is getting stronger and 468 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,320 stronger. And your prayers not weighed 469 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:58,120 down by, by, by heart issues, those prayers driven by a 470 00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:00,760 healthy heart that's growing in its faith and understanding with 471 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:03,160 Christ become potent, They become powerful. 472 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,720 And so don't, if you're a sick heart, don't, don't sit in the 473 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:12,040 sick or you'll be stuck, but move, get moving with the Lord. 474 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,080 And one of the ways you move is to pray. 475 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,840 How is your prayer life? We are praying more at our 476 00:25:17,840 --> 00:25:21,240 church now than we did when I first got here and I love it. 477 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:23,240 And tonight we're going to pray some more. 478 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,080 How many of you are like, yes, let's pray together. 479 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,200 How many of you are like, Nah, I'm not coming that like, I 480 00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:31,920 don't want to pray. Like where is prayer in your 481 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,080 life? Are you exercising this amazing 482 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:37,200 privilege we have? Because it's a privilege that we 483 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,840 get to come to God's presence and he hears us. 484 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,840 Are you exercising this privilege? 485 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,160 If your heart is healthy when you come to him and you are 486 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,560 following the command to love, your prayer is becoming more and 487 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:53,320 more powerful. Your prayer is the kind of 488 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:55,160 prayer that you're not wondering if it's just bouncing off the 489 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,240 ceiling. You know you have an audience 490 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,000 with your Creator. You know you have an audience 491 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,880 with your Savior and you know that this conversation is not 492 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:04,440 futile. This conversation is not a waste 493 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:05,920 of time. This conversation is something 494 00:26:05,920 --> 00:26:08,960 that I have to I've got to go God like I got to. 495 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,600 We'll keep talking in the car like this is something that you 496 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,800 want to stay engaged in throughout your day. 497 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:15,320 In fact, we're supposed to do that. 498 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:17,360 Thessalonians says that we're supposed to pray without 499 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:19,200 ceasing. This conversation with the Lord 500 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,040 should always be happening. And there's a sometimes used to 501 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:25,840 be more more focused, but your prayers will be more powerful 502 00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,320 when your heart is good and you know your heart's good before 503 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:31,240 the Lord. You will feel empowered and 504 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:35,120 confident to approach him and in that you will feel power and 505 00:26:35,120 --> 00:26:38,440 confident to approach what he has for you as you move forward 506 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,280 because your prayers are potent and have impact. 507 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:47,840 The other part of this cardio is to to is to in practicing your 508 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,560 faith is is to be a a champion Lord. 509 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,880 Lord wants us to, to champion his causes to champion what he 510 00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,640 has for us. And what he has for us is to is 511 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:01,160 to champion this love for one another. 512 00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:04,440 Like to show the world that there's a group of people that 513 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:08,280 come from all walks of life that God brings together and it 514 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:09,920 becomes this family that's amazing. 515 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:12,120 And we're in and we're accepting applications. 516 00:27:12,640 --> 00:27:14,520 We're accepting other people to come in. 517 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:16,440 We want people to come and know our Savior. 518 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:18,440 We want people to be a part of who we are. 519 00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:24,320 And we we practice and live out our faith by following his 520 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,200 commandment. And that commandment again is 521 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:28,320 given to us here. And this is the commandment, 522 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:34,040 verse 23 that we believe in the name of of his Son Jesus Christ 523 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:37,640 and love one another as he has commanded us. 524 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:42,520 And so as we believe in the Lord, believing in the in the 525 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:46,120 Lord Jesus Christ that is accepting all of who he is. 526 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:49,040 That is knowing that he is not some Jesus that I get control 527 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:50,960 over. He is not some Jesus that I get 528 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,440 control. He is not like, OK, Lord, please 529 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:57,400 do this for me. This Jesus that we we call on 530 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,840 to, to just satisfy needs and things like this. 531 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,160 This is the Lord. This is the Lord we stand in awe 532 00:28:03,160 --> 00:28:04,400 of. This is the Lord that we sing 533 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:08,440 and know that all of glory worships and adores and we 534 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:12,640 believe in the name of Jesus Christ and we get to approach 535 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:16,760 his throne. Our prayers are powerful. 11 536 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:21,080 scholar said it this way about prayer and approaching God so on 537 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:22,320 believing in the name of the Lord Jesus. 538 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:26,240 He said not because keeping his commandments earns answers to 539 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:28,720 prayer, but because prayer is designed to give power in the 540 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:31,920 path of obedience. Prayer is God's way of making 541 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:34,920 Himself available for us when we are pouring ourselves out in 542 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:39,040 love for others. Prayer is the power to love. 543 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:44,320 Therefore we do not aim to love. If we do not aim to love, we 544 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:48,800 pray in vain. Prayer is not designed to 545 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:54,320 compound hoarded pleasures, and so we were supposed to have 546 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:57,760 potent prayer that reflects our practicing faith. 547 00:28:57,760 --> 00:29:00,400 That practicing faith is is trusting and knowing that the 548 00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,480 Lord Jesus is who he is the Son of God. 549 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,120 We're supposed to live victoriously as champion, 550 00:29:05,120 --> 00:29:08,120 championing the idea of loving one another, championing the 551 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:12,560 idea that God is here to to raise us up as a people to do 552 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:14,760 mighty, mighty things. You see, John is talking to a 553 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,520 people who were desperate for some encouragement, who were 554 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,840 desperate to know that God was still with them because their 555 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,440 lives have been turned upside down because of things that the 556 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:25,840 government had done, because of things within the church, people 557 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:27,760 backbiting and and false teachers. 558 00:29:27,960 --> 00:29:30,840 There have been a lot of attacks on these people and John is 559 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,360 coming in and he is loving. They say you can, We know that 560 00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:34,960 you were gods because of all these tests. 561 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:39,480 And one of these tests is, are you practicing the faith? 562 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,160 Are you practicing potent prayer? 563 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,320 Are you lifting up things to Lord? 564 00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:48,160 Are you aiming at love when you pray or are you just trying to 565 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:51,240 get stuff from God? You see, recognizing Jesus 566 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:54,520 Christ, then we follow His commandments and when we follow 567 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,240 His commandments and that is important to us, our prayer 568 00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:59,960 requests will be on track with what He is all about. 569 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:02,640 And he is going to be granting those prayer requests because we 570 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:04,960 are, we are praying about the exact same thing that he's 571 00:30:04,960 --> 00:30:07,080 thinking about. We are praying about the exact 572 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,240 same thing that he is wanting us to be all about. 573 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:16,880 South for your cardio, pray, see Jesus for who he is, the Lord of 574 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:21,920 all and talk to him. Aim at love for one another. 575 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:24,880 Pray about what it means to follow the commandment, to love 576 00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:27,520 one another and see what he does with that. 577 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:33,160 And then he, he wraps up with more confidence for us about 578 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:37,160 abiding as, as whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and 579 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:39,400 God in him. And by this we know that he 580 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,360 abides in us by the Spirit whom he has given us. 581 00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:45,320 This is the first time in this letter that John explicitly 582 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:49,000 mentions the Holy Spirit. And so I think it's really a 583 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:51,200 great time. Now this is John who told us 584 00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,440 some characteristics of the Spirit that he's the helper, 585 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:57,240 he's the comforter, he's there. He he he was the one coming that 586 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,280 got that Jesus was sending in his absence. 587 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:02,680 And so the the Holy Spirit, God living within us. 588 00:31:02,680 --> 00:31:05,640 This is something that John definitely is is aware of and 589 00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:07,920 knows and this is the first time he's mentioning it and I think 590 00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:10,480 it's awesome. And he's like, you know what do 591 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:13,200 the things God has you for you to do work that love. 592 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:14,520 There should be a working of this. 593 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:15,840 There should be a following commandment. 594 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,840 There should be an exercise going on like I God told me to 595 00:31:18,840 --> 00:31:22,440 love others. God help me to love others and 596 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,640 then do it. That is the truth and that is 597 00:31:24,640 --> 00:31:25,880 the deeds. That is the working out. 598 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,960 And the more you do that, the more confident you are of the 599 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:30,360 presence of God working in your life. 600 00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:32,480 You're all of a sudden you're like, I'm not the person I was a 601 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:35,080 while ago. I am not the person who was 602 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:37,680 stuck woe was me. I'm not the person who was 603 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:41,600 blaming past sins. I'm not the person who was was 604 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:44,840 blaming others for not being. I am just following the Lord. 605 00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,240 I'm seeking him out. Stuff happens, but you know 606 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:49,760 what, He's still in charge. I know I'm aiming at love. 607 00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:52,680 I'm asking him to help me love and he's doing it. 608 00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:55,440 I have affection for people that I would not have before. 609 00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,800 I have affections for people that that it doesn't matter what 610 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:00,560 they do. I'm committed to love them 611 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:04,040 because God has given me this and you start seeing the power 612 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:06,920 of the Spirit working through your life and you were amazed. 613 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:08,800 You're not, it's not a brag on yourself thing. 614 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,720 You were like, wow, God, I didn't know that could come out 615 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:14,640 of my mouth. God, I did not know I could be 616 00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:16,800 that loving. I did not know I could have this 617 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:18,560 much joy no matter the circumstances. 618 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:21,720 I did not know that peace was something that I can embrace 619 00:32:21,960 --> 00:32:23,520 despite the circumstances of life. 620 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:25,960 God, I did not know this. And it's all the fruit of the 621 00:32:25,960 --> 00:32:30,000 Spirit coming out because you are committed to see in Christ 622 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:33,480 who He is, checking your heart, making sure you're not sitting 623 00:32:33,480 --> 00:32:36,800 in the sick and you're moving. There's a progression, there's a 624 00:32:36,800 --> 00:32:41,680 movement to it, and you are loving His people and it's 625 00:32:41,680 --> 00:32:45,200 awesome. By this, you know that you abide 626 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:49,200 in us. So if you go in the sun, 627 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:53,280 summer's waning and it's gone now it's actually falling out. 628 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:58,280 But if you go into the sun and you stand there in the sun, the 629 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:03,960 light is there, but and by the light you can move and see and 630 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:08,480 do a lot of things, but also the warmth is there. 631 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:12,080 If you stand and bask in the sun, you can feel the warmth 632 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:16,080 hitting you. Often times as Christians, what 633 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:19,320 we do, we know that we're supposed to shine the light of 634 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:22,520 love, that God has given us a commandment to love one another. 635 00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:27,480 And, and, and, and in that there's this effectual light 636 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:30,760 that happens that the world sees like what is going on with those 637 00:33:30,760 --> 00:33:32,960 people that have such affection for one another. 638 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:34,680 They come from all walks of life. 639 00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:38,320 There's teenagers and there's, and there's professionals and 640 00:33:38,320 --> 00:33:41,520 there's, there's all these different walks of life 641 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:43,680 intermingled together and they love one another. 642 00:33:43,760 --> 00:33:46,840 What is that? It shines the light of love. 643 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:51,800 And with that, it really highlights Christ, but as as an 644 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:55,080 individual, if we're in the light, we're feet, we're we're 645 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,560 seeing the light, we're experiencing the light, we're 646 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,080 feeling the warmth of it. That would be the kind of like 647 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:03,120 the spirit just warming us in the sunlight. 648 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:09,199 But if we get out of the light, if we, if we take a break, if 649 00:34:09,199 --> 00:34:14,440 we, you know, take it, take some time off, not be as engaged as 650 00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:19,080 as we start looking at more excuses like, well, I don't have 651 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:21,360 to show love to everyone all the time. 652 00:34:21,440 --> 00:34:23,760 I mean, that's a Sunday thing, maybe a Wednesday thing. 653 00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,080 Or if I go on a church trip, then I need to be up my game 654 00:34:26,080 --> 00:34:29,360 there, something like that. And we start making excuses for 655 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:30,639 not following the command to love. 656 00:34:30,639 --> 00:34:33,400 We start making excuses for, for, for. 657 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:35,600 Well, what we're doing is we're starting to go back to sit in 658 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:38,480 the sick and we're going to find ourselves stuck in what we step 659 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:41,920 out of the light and for a little bit we still feel the 660 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:45,760 warmth that was there, but we get cold real quick. 661 00:34:47,440 --> 00:34:49,800 We get cold real quick and we know about the light and we can 662 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:53,639 even see what's going on in the light, but we have abandoned we 663 00:34:53,639 --> 00:34:57,360 have abandoned our part in it. What's cool is that God's like 664 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,520 just come back. Just come right back. 665 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:03,840 Come right back and and get back involved. 666 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:08,240 Don't be hard hearted over and over again. 667 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:10,480 The Bible warns against the hard heartedness. 668 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:15,320 Hard A hard heart is one that that is rejected the Lord A hard 669 00:35:15,320 --> 00:35:18,240 heart is one who has turned everything off to God. 670 00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:24,080 They've stopped seeking It's it's it's stone dead and Jesus 671 00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:27,360 is like don't get there. Stay with me. 672 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:31,280 Check your heart. Are you heavy hearted? 673 00:35:31,720 --> 00:35:34,000 Are you half hearted? Are you heart aching? 674 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,000 Are you heartbroken? Don't be hard hearted. 675 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:41,280 Turn to the Lord and see what he has for you. 676 00:35:41,280 --> 00:35:46,080 I'm going to here's our invitation today. 677 00:35:47,120 --> 00:35:51,120 Perhaps you have a dead heart in a way that you've never known 678 00:35:51,120 --> 00:35:54,840 the Lord so spiritually, there's no vitality there at all. 679 00:35:55,880 --> 00:35:59,560 You you don't have a relationship with Christ and but 680 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:00,760 he wants the relationship with you. 681 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,200 Today's your your time to come and have a relationship with 682 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:04,880 him. And that the way you do that is 683 00:36:04,880 --> 00:36:07,520 you just ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins, be your Lord 684 00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:08,960 forever and commit your life to him. 685 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:13,640 It's a free, it's a free prayer with a forever salvation. 686 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,280 I invite you to do that. Perhaps you need to do a heart 687 00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,840 check if if any of those things hits you, but that's where you 688 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,000 are, then I would ask you to take the steps necessary to 689 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,200 repent and get back on track with the Lord. 690 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:27,440 Will you stand as we worship and pray? 691 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:30,120 God, we love you. Thank you so much for today. 692 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:35,080 Lord, check our hearts. Help them to beat for you. 693 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:39,920 I pray God that we do not sit in the sick and stay stuck. 694 00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:45,600 The God that you will heal our hearts and help us to move and 695 00:36:45,600 --> 00:36:48,600 have our being in you. God, if there's anyone here who 696 00:36:48,600 --> 00:36:51,160 needs to to deal with you Lord, that needs their heart 697 00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,280 corrected, who needs to find salvation for the first time. 698 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:57,680 Lord, I pray you'll convict them and that they will do their do 699 00:36:57,680 --> 00:36:59,280 business with you and we will celebrate with them. 700 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:01,400 We love you in Jesus name, Amen.