1 00:00:01,560 --> 00:00:04,040 Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Inglewood 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:05,920 Baptist Church in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,119 Thank you so much for tuning into our podcast. 4 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:11,320 You're going to hear from God today as we share from his word 5 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,080 about important issues facing your life that can guide you 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:21,600 according to the Bible. Well, good morning, Inglewood. 7 00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:25,480 Good to see everybody here on this misty morning. 8 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,800 Appreciate you being here. I look forward to sharing with 9 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,200 you turn to Matthew chapter 22, if you will. 10 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:38,080 And I will catch up to you momentarily A few other things 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,440 we need to do. Let me just remind you this 12 00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:44,280 Wednesday night in our midweek study, our core training study, 13 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,360 I'm going to be talking about not just talking about spiritual 14 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,840 gifts, but talking about are all the gifts still active today? 15 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,840 What does that mean? And appreciate those of you 16 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:56,760 who've been coming have been having a good crowd on Wednesday 17 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,320 night. Also appreciate those of you in 18 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,920 your connect groups and the fact that reach got kicked off today. 19 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:07,200 So we'll see how our week goes. Appreciate you participating in 20 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,280 that. I once shared with you a while 21 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,200 back in African proverb. I've spent a lot of time in 22 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:16,360 Africa, especially sub-saharan East Africa. 23 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:24,000 But I had a tribal leader in one of my classes one time and he 24 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:26,200 shared this with me. He said that if you want to move 25 00:01:26,200 --> 00:01:30,960 a mountain tomorrow, you must move stones today. 26 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:36,040 I remember when Teresa and I lived in Northern Arizona, we 27 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,120 lived a Mile High up in the mountains and we were kind of 28 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:39,560 the hub of church planting out there. 29 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,080 And you don't have grass in Arizona in your yard. 30 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:46,160 You do decorative rock. In fact, there's a whole 31 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:51,360 industry out there of people who sell different colored rocks and 32 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,560 you cover your yard with some kind of base colour and then you 33 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:57,720 make little rivers out of River Walk and you have little fake 34 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,880 bridges because when it rains those two days out of the year, 35 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:02,480 you got to have somewhere for the water to go. 36 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:09,960 And so I moved 32 tons of rock 1/2 ton at a time in the back of 37 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:13,800 my old Chevrolet pickup truck and finally got that yard just 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,360 right in time for us to sell the house and move. 39 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,520 And so I, I think about moving stones. 40 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:24,280 Yesterday I was making a gravel patio in my backyard and was 41 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:26,640 moving rocks. And, and I don't know about you, 42 00:02:26,640 --> 00:02:28,560 but I'm ready to toss some rocks here at Inglewood. 43 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,600 So let's begin at the very center of it all. 44 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,160 I want you to pull out what's in your worship guide. 45 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:36,560 You should have two little things in there if they didn't 46 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:40,400 fall out already. You should have a magnet and a 47 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:43,640 large bookmark. Appreciate the work that Avery 48 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:46,680 has done and so many others on our staff to produce all these 49 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:48,960 things for us. You're going to see more and 50 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,800 more out in the hallways and office as well, because I want 51 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:56,800 us to talk about the fact that everything that we do, all that 52 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:02,760 we are, all that we have, must be used to join our King on 53 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:04,560 missions. I hope on his mission. 54 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,320 I hope that you remember our study in the book of Acts. 55 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:12,120 His mission is an unchanging biblical train track that is 56 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,760 already pre laid. We don't get to determine our 57 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:16,520 mission. We don't determine the church's 58 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:18,440 mission. It's already determined for us. 59 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:22,680 God has a pre laid plan for His church like train tracks that 60 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,280 the engineer nor the passengers get to put into place that are 61 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,080 already there. And So what we're recognizing is 62 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,120 that we need to join God's mission and obey it. 63 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:37,400 So God's mission very simply is to bring glory to Himself and 64 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:41,040 for us to join Him in redeeming the nation's. 65 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,920 You can see that on the pieces you have there. 66 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:48,280 That mission guides us. It's very important. 67 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:51,400 It guides us in One Direction with one heart, one mind, 1 68 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,560 Spirit, toward very vital destinations that we're seeking 69 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,520 to reach for Him. And now I want you to look at 70 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,800 the little logo. I want to explain this to you, 71 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,680 this piece of artwork that moves us a little more modern way into 72 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:08,600 the 21st century. And I want to talk about this 73 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,040 because this logo actually tells a story. 74 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,040 It's not just supposed to be some kind of artwork. 75 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:17,720 It's a story for you to tell. I hope people, I want people to 76 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,120 say, what is that symbol? Why is that on your 77 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,880 refrigerator? What does that mean at your 78 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:24,840 church? What is that thing, right? 79 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:26,800 I want you to understand what it is. 80 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:29,680 What I want you to look at is that arrow. 81 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:34,360 The arrow So if you ever look at your GPS, if you ever do GPS in 82 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,320 your car and you're driving along, you'll notice you have a 83 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,080 little arrow that shows this is where you are. 84 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:43,960 That same arrow it this is where you are, we are here there we 85 00:04:43,960 --> 00:04:45,920 are. The other thing that arrow would 86 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,080 represent, if you ever look at your e-mail boxes, your, your 87 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:54,440 sent item box is the same arrow. So this is an arrow indicator. 88 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:58,160 It's an indicator pin arrow. This is this is where you are 89 00:04:58,440 --> 00:05:01,840 and this is where you're going. So we are right here, Inglewood. 90 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:05,840 This is where we are constantly, those circles constantly 91 00:05:05,840 --> 00:05:11,200 impacting the world by making disciples and sending disciples 92 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,440 who join God's mission by serving him and redeeming the 93 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:16,320 nation's. And the whole time we're 94 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:20,240 pointing everyone to the cross. So that's a story. 95 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:22,240 That's not just a logo. That's who we are. 96 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:28,680 It's a way to define and it's a way to describe our identity, 97 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:30,920 and I pray that you will be able to do that. 98 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,680 That's our story. Use this symbol to share with 99 00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:35,400 everyone you know and you made that. 100 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,480 This is who we are at Englewood Baptist. 101 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,360 Use the magnet. Put that on your refrigerator 102 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:43,280 and everybody you have over you talk to him about that thing. 103 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:47,880 Use that bookmark in your Bible to remind you that we are here 104 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:55,000 to be sent constantly impacting our world as we join Him on His 105 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,200 mission and we point everyone to the cross. 106 00:05:58,560 --> 00:06:04,440 But we cannot do that and we can't touch lives effectively 107 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:09,120 until we truly know, until they we truly walk with our King on 108 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:11,040 mission. We've got to know Him first. 109 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:15,640 So he not only wants to save you, he wants to gift you, He 110 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,600 wants to equip you, He wants to fill you. 111 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,880 He wants to use you for his purpose and on his mission. 112 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:28,880 So the Bible commands that that part of that purpose is to make 113 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,640 real disciples to fulfil His mission. 114 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,840 So we need to know what one of those things are. 115 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:39,480 What is a real disciple? What does that look like? 116 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,640 Well, we hear this command in Matthew 28 and what we often 117 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,440 call the Great Commission passage in Matthew 28, verse 18. 118 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:51,640 It says, and Jesus came and said to them, all authority, Notice 119 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,200 that his power, here's his power, all authority in heaven 120 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,040 on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples. 121 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,920 Here are those things, disciples of all nations, baptizing them 122 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,120 in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, 123 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,680 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and 124 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:12,200 behold, I am with you always. There's His presence to the end 125 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,200 of the age there. Therefore, we recognize that 126 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:19,720 because of His power and because of his presence, Inglewood's 127 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:24,120 vision is determined to help us fulfil that mission. 128 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,200 So what we see is, is that our vision must be the contextual 129 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,960 plan that this local church is going to implement to seek to 130 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:35,280 join and fulfill the mission of God. 131 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:37,880 So very simply, nothing gimmicky, nothing clever, 132 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:39,560 nothing tricky about any of this. 133 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,520 Very simply, Inglewood's vision, you'll see it on the material 134 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:48,400 and on the screen, is to make disciples who love God, love 135 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:52,360 people, and join God's mission. Again, nothing bumper sticker 136 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:54,680 ish about that. And by the way, if you type that 137 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:56,920 word into a computer, it'll underline it in red. 138 00:07:57,360 --> 00:07:59,200 Nothing bumper sticker ish about that. 139 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,680 We want you to understand this very clearly. 140 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:06,520 We don't. There's there's no, no, no fancy 141 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,320 words, no gimmicky stuff, no weird slogans. 142 00:08:10,320 --> 00:08:14,680 We want you to get this because it can transform not only your 143 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,120 life, but others. So if we're to make disciples 144 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:20,080 who make disciples, who make disciples and make disciples, 145 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:24,880 how do we specifically define discipleship? 146 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,800 We need that to be understood. We need it to be valued. 147 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:33,200 We need it to be clear. So welcome to the new sermon 148 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,200 series where we talk about how to come live the church's 149 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:41,640 vision, and we're going to talk about the seven essentials of 150 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:43,679 discipleship. That doesn't mean there might 151 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:46,080 not be more, but we're going to talk about a base level of 152 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,960 foundational 7 that are going to help us. 153 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:51,160 Believe it or not. You've already talked about 154 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,000 these seven. You've already seen these 155 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:55,680 definitions again in our study of Acts. 156 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:58,080 I keep telling you everything that I'm doing on Sunday 157 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:00,400 mornings and Wednesday nights. Everything ties together. 158 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:05,080 I like building trains. And so in our study of Acts, 159 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,760 remember the church in Jerusalem, Acts chapter 2, verse 160 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:12,760 42, It'll be on the screen. And they devoted themselves to 161 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:17,160 the apostles, teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of 162 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:21,200 bread and the prayers, and all came upon every soul. 163 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,320 And many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles, 164 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,240 and all who believed were together and had all things in 165 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,000 common. And they were selling their 166 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,240 possessions and belongings, and distributing the proceeds to all 167 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:35,040 as any had need. And day by day, attending the 168 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,200 temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they 169 00:09:37,200 --> 00:09:40,400 received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising 170 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,080 God and having favour with all the people. 171 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,120 And the Lord added to their number day by day, those who are 172 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:49,160 being saved. So these early believers, the 173 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:51,320 words devoted in this translation, but they had a 174 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,000 single minded commitment. That's what that word means. 175 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,560 They were single mindedly focused upon these specific 176 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:03,000 disciplines and these specific practices. 177 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:07,480 They were essential to them. And then we looked at the church 178 00:10:07,480 --> 00:10:10,720 at Antioch at the end of our study in Acts and Acts 13 at 179 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,040 some of their leadership, and it reads like this in Acts 13. 180 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,520 Two, while they were worshiping the Lord in fasting, the Holy 181 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:21,280 Spirit said, set apart for me, Barnabas and Saul for the work 182 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:24,200 to which I've called them. Then after fasting and praying, 183 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:26,640 they laid their hands on them and sent them off. 184 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,320 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit. 185 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:31,480 And then we we begin to see where they're going. 186 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,600 And we're going to pick the story up there in November 187 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,760 during our missions month, talk about the mission trips that 188 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:38,720 they went on. But for now, what we're 189 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:43,400 observing is these two blessed biblical churches were 190 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:47,320 practicing many of the same essential disciplines as well as 191 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,440 sending members. Don't forget the the logo, that 192 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:54,080 symbolism, sending members out on mission. 193 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:56,360 So they were right there in their cities, they were in 194 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,840 Jerusalem, they're in Antioch walking with the Lord and then 195 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:05,560 sending people out, pointing to the cross impacting their 196 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:08,600 worlds. Now, months ago, your pastors 197 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:10,560 met together. We met all day long in a 198 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:13,520 workshop. We walked through these passages 199 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,680 and several more, and before drafting an initial list of 200 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,920 discipleship definitions and destinations. 201 00:11:21,440 --> 00:11:24,760 Then your entire staff and the entire Deacon body met in 202 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,240 different workshops and they discussed those drafts and 203 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:32,280 provided feedback. Then finally, 114 of your church 204 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,080 lay leaders met in this room one night, broke into work groups to 205 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:38,600 discuss them and also give feedback. 206 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:41,400 And so your pastors then met again with all that written 207 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:43,800 feedback from all these leaders and servants and tweak the 208 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,400 wording that I'm going to be presenting to you over these 209 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:48,080 next several weeks. So. 210 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:50,640 But this is not just a list for some sermon series. 211 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,600 Don't, don't think like that. This is the new normal 212 00:11:54,600 --> 00:12:00,920 definition and expectation of a church member and a disciple at 213 00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:04,440 Inglewood Baptist Church. I'm not sure you understood the 214 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,920 weight of that sentence. This is the new normal 215 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:13,680 definition and expectation of church members and disciples at 216 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:17,080 Inglewood Baptist Church. This is also the new normal 217 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:21,440 framework around which we will schedule all of our ministries, 218 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:25,120 all of our programs, and all of our special events. 219 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:27,000 And that's how they're going to be plans, how they're going to 220 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:28,520 be evaluated. In just a couple weeks, we're 221 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:30,440 going to have an annual planning meeting where we're looking at 222 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:33,000 26 and and we're not going to begin with. 223 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:34,840 Here's my list of events I wish we would do. 224 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,080 We're going to begin with, how do we achieve this essential, 225 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,720 How do we help our people achieve this essential, how do 226 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:42,520 we help our families become this? 227 00:12:42,920 --> 00:12:45,280 And then we're going to figure out the programming we need to 228 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:46,880 have in order to achieve those things. 229 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:52,480 So we've been making changes already to our Connect Group 230 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:55,200 ministry. We've been already implementing 231 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:58,040 the Reach strategy because it helps us jump start this. 232 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,120 Because we want you to not only understand who you're supposed 233 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:03,800 to become and who you're supposed to help others become, 234 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,440 but we want you to understand and value exactly how this 235 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,760 church is specifically going to help you achieve this 236 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,240 discipleship under the authority of the Holy Spirit. 237 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,040 Because Inglewood, we're right here. 238 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:21,920 This is where we are. You are here constantly sending 239 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:25,880 people to the world, pointing people to the cross. 240 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,840 So your pastors and late teams are working together to evaluate 241 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:31,440 not only your planning and your program. 242 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,160 We're actually evaluating the budget right now. 243 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:35,800 Your finance team's been working hard, your X18 mission team been 244 00:13:35,800 --> 00:13:38,360 working hard and we're we're evaluating our budget, we're 245 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,440 evaluating our partnerships and, and all of these things are 246 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:44,080 going to be based upon the seven. 247 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,120 Your, your new discover Inglewood training course for 248 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:48,720 new members is geared around this. 249 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:52,160 So welcome to the new normal for Inglewood. 250 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:54,840 But again, you're going to notice there's nothing tricky, 251 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:02,320 nothing crazy, nothing gimmicky, nothing bumper sticker ish about 252 00:14:02,320 --> 00:14:04,920 any of this. Everything's straight from the 253 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:06,760 Bible and that's all it's ever going to be. 254 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:10,120 So what we need to see is we, we want to give you a basic 255 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:12,440 summary. You see a very basic summary on 256 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:15,000 those pieces that you have in your hand, on the backside of 257 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,080 the card and on your magnet. And I'm going to be expanding 258 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:20,920 because there's a lot more to each of these seven, obviously. 259 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:27,240 But for now, a disciple of Jesus engages the Bible with a humble 260 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:31,400 and teachable spirit. Notice these these adverbs and 261 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:34,960 adjectives. A disciple of Jesus unites in 262 00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,760 fellowship through hospitality and authenticity. 263 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,280 A disciple of Jesus abides in prayer with dependence and 264 00:14:42,280 --> 00:14:46,080 anticipation. A disciple of Jesus commits to 265 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:51,080 service with generosity and compassion, a disciple of Jesus 266 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:54,040 responds in worship with awe and surrender. 267 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,120 A disciple of Jesus lives out of evangelism with boldness and 268 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,160 love. And a disciple of Jesus 269 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,000 participates in missions with urgency and sacrifice. 270 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,760 Now again, there are many pieces to each one of these sub points 271 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:09,760 that you're going to be seeing. And we'll preach, be preaching 272 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:13,000 in depth about each of these essentials over the next several 273 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,520 weeks. We're actually even looking at 274 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:17,600 our midweek time later on this year and into next year and how 275 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:19,720 it's going to reinforce these things as well. 276 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:23,680 So it's not just the words you see, but it's also the ideas of 277 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:26,320 who must we be? What are those characteristics, 278 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:28,840 fruit of the spirit type language, who what are these 279 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:32,440 adverbs and adjectives that ought to describe us as 280 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,480 disciples? What must we know because 281 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,680 there's knowledge involved, but then also what must we be doing 282 00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,320 in each of these areas to be that fruit producing, 283 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:45,240 multiplying disciple joining God's mission to bring in glory 284 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:49,400 and to redeem the nation's? We want you to get it. 285 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:52,160 And so they're going to be several items within each of 286 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:53,600 these essentials. So we'll be talking about. 287 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:58,000 But first, this morning, to begin with, we need to go back 288 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:03,240 and examine more deeply Englewood's vision again. 289 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:10,000 We want to make disciples who love God, love people and join 290 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:12,360 God's mission. So turn to Matthew 22. 291 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:16,520 In Matthew 22, the religious leaders we're, we're, we're 292 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:18,480 confronting Jesus. They're actually trying to trick 293 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:23,320 him and, and they're asking him questions to, to trip him up. 294 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:27,120 In fact, if you go back into chapter 21, you'll see this, 295 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,800 that the chief priests come and the elders, then the Pharisees, 296 00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,320 then the Sadducees, and there's, there's just this kind of 297 00:16:33,320 --> 00:16:36,600 competition to see who can trip him up there. 298 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,360 There was an ongoing debate among the rabbis and among the 299 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:41,680 religious leaders. They like to rank the laws. 300 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,360 They, the, some laws were more important than other laws in 301 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:46,440 their minds. And they like to rank them that 302 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:48,080 way. And, and they spend a lot of 303 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:51,960 their time prioritizing and arguing about those rankings. 304 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,560 They love to argue over those technicalities. 305 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,520 In fact, in their tradition, they had basically reduced the 306 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:04,319 law to 365 negative and 248 positive commandments. 307 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:08,680 I can tell you they were more negative than positive, and they 308 00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,640 would rather argue over those technicalities, frankly, than 309 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,520 understand their God on mission a lot of times. 310 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:19,040 And some of that hadn't changed. Sometimes I see that in church 311 00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:23,240 life, people who would rather argue over technicalities than 312 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,640 they would about whether or not we're really making disciples 313 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:30,000 and we're really obeying Christ. So they actually thought they 314 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,520 could trap the Lord of the law. I mean, think about that. 315 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:35,160 It wasn't much of A competition, as you'll see. 316 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:39,760 It kind of reminds me of UNC versus TCU last week. 317 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:42,840 But that's a whole nother story. I know many of you are thankful 318 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,440 for Charlotte and, and I just want to say Boomer sooner. 319 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,880 And they didn't laugh in the first service either, either. 320 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,240 And I appreciate the three of you who watched college football 321 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:55,680 yesterday. But one group after the next 322 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:58,680 comes. And those of you who are UNC 323 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,200 fans and are mad, just remember you can send those complaints to 324 00:18:02,200 --> 00:18:08,760 see taylor@englewoodbaptist.com. One group after the next come 325 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:11,560 and they're trying to trip him up and, and, and he literally 326 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,680 just flips the trap back on him. And he often does it with 327 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:16,760 parables in these in these chapters. 328 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:21,320 So their heads were full, but their hearts were empty, which 329 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:24,400 is sometimes a characteristic of too many. 330 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:29,080 So in Matthew 22, verse 34, it says this. 331 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:33,880 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the 332 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,920 Sadducees, first of all, they were probably happy because they 333 00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,480 didn't like each other, but they gathered together. 334 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,000 So they all huddle up. You can see how one common enemy 335 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:48,840 makes these verse 35. And one of them, a lawyer, asked 336 00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:51,840 him a question to test him. Notice why he's asking a 337 00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:52,920 question. He didn't. 338 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:54,200 He doesn't really want an answer. 339 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:56,040 He doesn't really want to learn anything. 340 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,000 He wants to test him. He wants to trick him. 341 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:03,880 He wants to trip him up. Teacher, which is the great 342 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,440 commandment in the law. So finally, this scribe, he'd be 343 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:10,280 a lawyer and he's also a Pharisee, he would be an expert 344 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:13,520 in the law, comes and asks this huge question. 345 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,000 Surely I can trap him with this one. 346 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,600 Surely I can test him and trip him up and he uses the word 347 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:23,120 great. The word in Greek is megas or 348 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:26,120 you can see mega there, right? And so the idea is it carries 349 00:19:26,120 --> 00:19:29,840 the meaning of the greatest. So some translations will just 350 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:33,880 say the greatest commandment. And Jesus responds verse 37 and 351 00:19:33,880 --> 00:19:36,720 he said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your 352 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:38,800 heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 353 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:41,400 This is the great and 1st commandment. 354 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:44,280 Now I just want to share about three things with you this 355 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:45,720 morning. Very complicated, hard to 356 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:50,240 understand outline point #1A true disciple must love God more 357 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,000 than anyone or anything else. Is that clear enough? 358 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:58,800 So, so we recognize it that that this is huge, but it needs, it 359 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,160 needs clarification in order for it to have the ramification that 360 00:20:02,160 --> 00:20:04,880 it's supposed to have. See, Jesus quotes the Old 361 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,360 Testament. He's quoting Deuteronomy chapter 362 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:09,320 6. He's quoting what's called the 363 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:12,560 Shema in verses four and five of Deuteronomy 6. 364 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,120 He says, hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is 1. 365 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:19,040 You shall love the the Lord your God with all your heart, with 366 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:21,640 all your soul, and with all your might. 367 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,760 He knows that last word. So twice a day a Jewish male was 368 00:20:26,760 --> 00:20:30,120 supposed to repeat the shemal. It was an obligated prayer for 369 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,040 the Jewish people. But the idea of the shemal was, 370 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,480 is that when I pray this, I'm in a sense committing myself to 371 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:38,680 obedience to all the commands of God. 372 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:43,880 So whatever God commands, I'm going to do by quoting this this 373 00:20:43,880 --> 00:20:48,040 phrase. And so Jesus replaces strength 374 00:20:49,080 --> 00:20:51,480 with mind, strength with understanding. 375 00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:54,840 He, he talks about loving him with all your mind, whereas the 376 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:59,160 Shema says with all your might. Because one of the things I 377 00:20:59,160 --> 00:21:01,240 think Jesus is trying to get across to is we're supposed to 378 00:21:01,240 --> 00:21:04,160 use our brains too. We're supposed to be wise. 379 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,240 We're supposed to think. Now you got to think about who 380 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,480 he was saying this to, though. He's saying this to the 381 00:21:10,480 --> 00:21:14,880 religious leaders who love to argue, who who love to argue 382 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:18,200 over the smallest technicalities of the law rather than apply it. 383 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:20,360 I mean, they thought they were intelligent. 384 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,760 They thought they were the intellectual elitist experts of 385 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,960 religion on their subject. But in reality, their brains, 386 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:31,880 their minds, their understanding were more focused on themselves, 387 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:36,040 upon their own personal status, upon their own fears than upon 388 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:39,960 God. Whose mission are you on? 389 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,480 Are you on God's mission or your own? 390 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:47,320 And that's a question we have to struggle with. 391 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:52,240 VA Carson, the theologian, says sterile religion, no matter how 392 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:56,240 disciplined, was never regarded as adequate in Scripture. 393 00:21:57,040 --> 00:21:59,880 So you can know everything and you can do everything, but that 394 00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,560 doesn't mean everything. There's more to it than that, 395 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:06,880 and we're going to see the depth of discipleship as we walk 396 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,320 through these things together. Listen, I come out of academia 397 00:22:10,480 --> 00:22:12,320 to a large degree. I still am teaching doctoral 398 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:16,000 seminars. And I know perpetual studiers, I 399 00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:19,840 mean, they're lifetime students who contribute very little. 400 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,880 They come and soak. They attend another class and 401 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,680 come and soak. But I also know people in church 402 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:30,760 like that. They're here for everything and 403 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,120 they come and learn. They sit and soak, they sit and 404 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:36,680 soak, they sit and soak. But they don't do anything 405 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,880 right. So knowing's not enough. 406 00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:44,640 It's time to move stones. It's time to live out a mission. 407 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,600 So to honor Yahweh is the one true God is to love Him 408 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:50,560 exclusively with our entire being. 409 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:56,640 Again, heart, soul, and mind are not separated compartments, not 410 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:59,120 in, not in that culture, not in his teaching. 411 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:01,120 They're not separate compartments of the human 412 00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:03,600 existence. They reflect the entire person, 413 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,680 giving the entire person to God. That's the idea here. 414 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:09,760 So just knowing about him is not enough. 415 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:11,320 How many testimonies have we heard? 416 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:14,720 We'll hear some more next week, baptism again next week. 417 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:18,800 But how many have we heard in baptism where somebody will say 418 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,760 rightfully, wonderfully, I grew up and I heard all about God. 419 00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:25,480 I knew about God, but I didn't know God. 420 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:29,800 I knew all the stories I knew. I knew about Jesus, I knew about 421 00:23:29,800 --> 00:23:32,280 the cross, I knew about the resurrection, but it wasn't 422 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,560 having an impact on my life because I entrusted in Him. 423 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:38,840 So just knowing about Him is not enough. 424 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:42,200 Just learning about the next verse is incomplete. 425 00:23:43,080 --> 00:23:46,320 We must not only know Him, we must live for Him. 426 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,440 So discipleship is not some simply some intellectual 427 00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,600 experience, It's also not simply some emotional experience. 428 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,520 It's not some emotional attachment to God. 429 00:23:56,720 --> 00:24:00,400 It's not just how you feel today about God. 430 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:04,240 You will ride a spiritual roller coaster your entire life. 431 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,240 If that's who you are. Listen. 432 00:24:07,360 --> 00:24:10,760 Nor is it just about what you do works. 433 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:15,000 Righteousness has never, never been the way and still not the 434 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,240 way to true salvation. It's also not the way to true 435 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,800 sanctification. So what we see here, and this is 436 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,040 important, this is vital for our whole study because in each one 437 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,040 of these seven, we're going to be looking at all these 438 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:28,360 different aspects. There is an intentional 439 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,040 prescribed balance given here, right? 440 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,640 And this balance is what will guide you to spiritual maturity. 441 00:24:37,120 --> 00:24:39,120 That's sort of going to get you to mature discipleship. 442 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:41,400 And so we want to teach you that balance. 443 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:44,320 We want that balance in your life. 444 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:47,040 So not only when are we going to preach sermons, we're going to 445 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,040 produce podcasts to help you, we're going to be teaching 446 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,520 midweek to help you. We want every Connect group and 447 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:55,080 every family ministry department to reinforce these same 448 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,600 definitions and these destinations with their 449 00:24:57,600 --> 00:24:59,280 teaching, with their illustration, and with their 450 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:01,160 application. So your children are going to be 451 00:25:01,160 --> 00:25:04,840 learning about this. You're going to hear them often. 452 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:10,560 A true disciple must love God more than anyone or anything 453 00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,600 else with their whole being. You give yourself in its 454 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,960 entirety to Him. In fact, Jesus said His 455 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,960 disciples in John 15. He says by this my Father is 456 00:25:20,960 --> 00:25:23,840 glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My 457 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,440 disciples. As the Father has loved me, so 458 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,120 have I loved you. Abide in My love. 459 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:33,680 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I 460 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:36,240 have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His 461 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:38,480 love. Look at these verbs, Abide and 462 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:42,000 keep. So you're abiding in living, in 463 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:46,640 dwelling, in tabernacling, in tenting with and keeping the 464 00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:50,120 law. You see position and activity. 465 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:53,000 They go together. It's your host self. 466 00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:56,560 It's being, knowing and doing. And we're going to break down 467 00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:01,000 all 7 into being, knowing and doing categories for you each 468 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:05,560 week and then all that we teach. But Jesus wasn't done, He 469 00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:09,200 continued. Look at verse 39 of Matthew 22. 470 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:15,080 And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as 471 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:17,960 yourself. Now listen to point #2 it's real 472 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:22,040 clever. A true disciple must love others 473 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:26,040 as much as themselves. In that in that earth 474 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:30,320 shattering, Jesus is still quoting the Old Testament. 475 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,520 This time he quotes Leviticus. You might not know this one as 476 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:35,040 well. Leviticus 19. 477 00:26:35,040 --> 00:26:37,320 He says you shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge 478 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,040 against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your 479 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:44,400 neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. 480 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:50,640 Now you think that maybe Jesus, the Lord of the law, knew how to 481 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:53,680 kind of put it back on these legal eagles who were trying to 482 00:26:53,680 --> 00:26:58,080 trap him. Love in this passage indicates A 483 00:26:58,360 --> 00:27:01,720 practical responsibility. This isn't just a feeling. 484 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:05,320 This is an act of actually being useful to your neighbor. 485 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:07,720 I'm actually doing something that's helpful. 486 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,600 I'm actually doing something that helps another person. 487 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:16,280 OK, now we know and some people teach from these passages that 488 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,960 this is just talking about within the church and we know 489 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:22,120 for certain that we are to love one another within the body of 490 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:23,480 Christ. There's no question about that 491 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:25,840 part. In fact, Jesus says in John 13, 492 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,320 he says a new commandment I give to you that you love one another 493 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:32,680 just as I have loved you, but you also are to love one 494 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,240 another. By this all people will know 495 00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:40,400 that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. 496 00:27:40,960 --> 00:27:44,160 So we know that inside the church this is definitely the 497 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:45,600 way we should respond to one another. 498 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:50,160 But what Jesus was actually quoting to the leaders goes 499 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,680 beyond that. It goes beyond simply being 500 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:55,280 about brothers and sisters in Christ. 501 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,680 And one of the reasons we know that is because in Luke's 502 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:02,600 Gospel, in Luke's version of this story, he also records the 503 00:28:02,600 --> 00:28:06,120 fact that the lawyer comes back with another question after 504 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,440 Jesus had proclaimed the two great commandments. 505 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:11,720 The lawyer comes back with a third question, another question 506 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:17,120 in Luke 10/29, he says, but he desiring to justify himself. 507 00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:18,640 Now notice again the motivation here. 508 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:21,440 This is not to really find an answer. 509 00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:22,800 This isn't because I really want to know. 510 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:26,600 This is because I'm trying now to justify myself said to Jesus, 511 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:31,240 and who is my neighbor and Jesus replied, a man was going down 512 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,360 from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers who stripped 513 00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:37,960 him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 514 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:43,840 Now all the way through through about verse 37, Jesus is telling 515 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:47,120 the story of the Good Samaritan sake of time. 516 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,640 We won't read the whole story, but in verse 36 he comes back 517 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,360 and says, which of these three do you think proved to be a 518 00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:56,160 neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? 519 00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:59,680 And the lawyer had to answer and he said the one who showed him 520 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:04,720 mercy, which was the Samaritan. And Jesus said to him, you go 521 00:29:05,720 --> 00:29:09,600 and do likewise. So our neighbor is also not just 522 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:13,160 somebody within the church, not just somebody that we're like 523 00:29:13,160 --> 00:29:17,440 and we like, but it's also somebody from outside our normal 524 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:21,600 circle, not just within the church body, not just within our 525 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:23,840 physical neighborhood, even, not necessarily even within our 526 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:27,680 workplace or our team or our band or our class is. 527 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:29,720 It's more than that. Your neighbor might be someone 528 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,600 very different than you who has a real need and who really needs 529 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,760 help. So a measure, a measure, a 530 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:45,800 measure from Oklahoma, a measure, a measure by which we 531 00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:51,800 know if we are truly loving people is whether we love them 532 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:56,280 as much as we love ourselves. So this is an active love. 533 00:29:56,280 --> 00:29:59,000 So you can understand this is not just some, this is something 534 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,160 that's demonstrated. This is a love demonstrated. 535 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:03,440 This isn't just an attitude of the mind or heart. 536 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:05,480 This is something that can be seen. 537 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:07,480 This is something that can be felt. 538 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:10,800 So Englewood Baptist Church, we're right here. 539 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:12,440 Here's where we are, we're right here. 540 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,680 Here's a we're pointing, here's our location. 541 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:21,640 But we are sent to continuously reach our world by loving them 542 00:30:22,040 --> 00:30:28,400 and pointing them to the cross. And then a Third Point. 543 00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:35,520 This gets real tricky. A true disciple must apply this 544 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:38,640 love. It's not enough just to know it 545 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:42,680 got to do something with it. Verse 40 says this. 546 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:46,160 On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. 547 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:48,720 Matthew 22. How do all the law and the 548 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:50,240 prophets hang on these two commandments? 549 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:54,120 Because nothing in them can be truly obeyed. 550 00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:57,480 Nothing in the prophets, nothing in the law can be truly obeyed. 551 00:30:57,720 --> 00:31:00,400 Nothing in the Old Testament, frankly, because that was what 552 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,840 the Bible at that point, can be truly obeyed unless these two 553 00:31:03,840 --> 00:31:08,880 are observed. These two commandments allow us, 554 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,880 empower us to apply and display what it means to be created in 555 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:18,000 the image of God and to truly know, to truly love, to truly 556 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,280 abide in, to truly keep His word. 557 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,960 So the first commandment's impossible without the 2nd and 558 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:28,200 the 2nd commandment cannot stand all alone without the first. 559 00:31:28,200 --> 00:31:30,880 These two commandments are connected to one another. 560 00:31:32,080 --> 00:31:35,200 John wrote in First John 4/20. He said if anyone says I love 561 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:36,960 God and hates his brother, he's a liar. 562 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:40,320 For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, 563 00:31:40,560 --> 00:31:42,880 cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 564 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:48,000 There's a practicality to this. So to make disciples who love 565 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:52,400 God, love people, and join God's mission, we must be engaged in 566 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:54,720 two very intentional relationships that I've 567 00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:59,120 mentioned to many of you before. But everything ties together 568 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:02,280 like a train. We've got to understand these 569 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:03,840 pieces that we're putting together. 570 00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:07,160 See, we have to be engaged in these two relationships first. 571 00:32:07,160 --> 00:32:10,520 We must engage in a very intentional relationship with 572 00:32:10,520 --> 00:32:13,120 God and His people. You need to be a part of the 573 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:15,360 church and you need to be a part of His mission. 574 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:20,800 And then, and only then will we be ready and able to engage in a 575 00:32:20,800 --> 00:32:24,040 very intentional relationship with the world and its people. 576 00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:26,640 But we have to do the first one first. 577 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:31,840 Relationship number one must define and drive relationship #2 578 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:38,160 in fact, our greatest love for others will be an overflow of 579 00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:45,360 our passionate love for God. I must, I must, I must allow Him 580 00:32:45,360 --> 00:32:50,240 to fill us, to overflow continually, continuously #1 581 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:55,600 must flow out of us into #2 So if I'm not in #1 the right way, 582 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:56,520 I'm not. I'm not going to be 583 00:32:56,520 --> 00:32:58,200 evangelistic. I'm not going to be missional. 584 00:32:58,200 --> 00:32:59,600 I'm not going to be ministry oriented. 585 00:33:00,440 --> 00:33:05,720 I need to be in love with Jesus. So we must be so intentionally 586 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:10,480 full of God and constantly being being refilled with God that the 587 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:15,120 overflow becomes this never ending stream that impacts our 588 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:17,960 world. When I lived in the Philippines, 589 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:21,920 we used to do retreats at a campground that the Baptist 590 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,160 owned right on the beach. It was on a Cliff over the 591 00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:27,480 ocean, really beautiful spot. And they had built this very 592 00:33:27,480 --> 00:33:32,440 natural swimming pool at a rock. It was a really large pool, 593 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,240 bigger than this stage probably. But anyway, the way the whole 594 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,120 thing worked was there's a stream, it was a spring that 595 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,600 flowed down the hill and on its way to the ocean. 596 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:46,440 And so the water would constantly come in one end of 597 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,680 the pool, and then the wall on the other end was just lower. 598 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:51,840 So there was a constant waterfall on the other side of 599 00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:53,640 the pool. Water was constantly flowing out 600 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:57,080 of the pool as water flowed into the pool from the stream. 601 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:01,080 So there was a natural flow through the pool and then an 602 00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:05,680 overflow out into the vastness of the ocean. 603 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,800 So we need to be that way. Our connect groups partnered 604 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,760 with our Reach strategy will give you an outlet for these 605 00:34:13,760 --> 00:34:17,360 things as we fall even deeper in love with God's Word and and 606 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:20,280 with his people and these small group communities, which is why 607 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:21,840 you've heard me talk so much about it. 608 00:34:22,159 --> 00:34:26,000 Then we can be set out to reach out and to love our community in 609 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:29,360 a world with outreach and ministry and missions, pointing 610 00:34:29,360 --> 00:34:34,199 them all to the cross. So the person who loves God with 611 00:34:34,199 --> 00:34:40,440 all their being, heart, soul, mind, will understand God's 612 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:42,840 mission for their lives and they'll join it because they 613 00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:46,360 know in doing so, they're living the life that God had created 614 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:49,280 for them, had planned for them. He has a purpose for us. 615 00:34:50,639 --> 00:34:52,840 Theologian Michael Wilkins once said this. 616 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,400 He said our obedience to God will transform our entire being, 617 00:34:57,400 --> 00:35:00,800 heart, soul, mind, into the image of God so that we become 618 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:04,240 more like what God has intended us to be like. 619 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,040 So loving others as ourselves means we serve others to help 620 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:11,680 them live as God designed life for them to be lived. 621 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:16,320 We help them with the transformation and the overflow 622 00:35:16,320 --> 00:35:18,880 that God intends. We make other disciples who make 623 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:20,600 other disciples who make of the disciples. 624 00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:22,520 And the cycle never ends. And it doesn't depend upon us. 625 00:35:22,520 --> 00:35:23,920 It doesn't depend upon whether I'm here. 626 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:25,520 It doesn't depend on whether we're even alive. 627 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:29,200 That cycle never stops, and it impacts an entire world. 628 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:33,560 So we're going to help you define exactly what that means 629 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:37,280 and understand where you really are in your own personal 630 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,680 discipleship journey. I want you to understand that. 631 00:35:39,680 --> 00:35:41,200 I want you to understand it in value. 632 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:43,960 Here is my next step. I know what I need to do next. 633 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:47,000 Here's what my child, my student needs to do next. 634 00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:51,200 And here's how this church is going to help me do that. 635 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:56,480 Because ultimate obedience to God occurs when our entire 636 00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:58,680 beings directed toward loving Him and loving others. 637 00:35:58,680 --> 00:36:04,920 So make disciples first yourself, then others, but begin 638 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:11,760 this morning by using this time to define and to refine your 639 00:36:11,760 --> 00:36:14,560 love for God. Do you really know Him? 640 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:16,920 Because see, for some of you, the first step of discipleship, 641 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:18,480 salvation, you don't know Christ. 642 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,920 You've never trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 643 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:22,320 None of this is going to make sense. 644 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,680 None of this is going to be something that you can achieve 645 00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:27,320 in your life because because you don't have him, you've got to 646 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:30,760 have him first. So salvation's your next step. 647 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:35,480 Do you love him more than anyone or anything else? 648 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:37,880 Be certain about that. And then come each and every 649 00:36:37,880 --> 00:36:39,520 week to learn. How am I going to deepen that in 650 00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:41,120 this area? How am I going to deepen that in 651 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,080 this area? You can also use this time to 652 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,120 define and refine your love for others. 653 00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:49,120 Do you love others as much as yourself? 654 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,560 How are you applying that? How can they see that? 655 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:53,960 How are you living that out? Who are you pointing to? 656 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,680 The gospel? Who are you disciple and are you 657 00:36:57,680 --> 00:37:00,240 supporting each other in small groups and Connect group 658 00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:02,280 ministries? What members are you reaching 659 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:05,360 out to and contacting to encourage maybe, maybe not just 660 00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:07,880 the ones who are active, but maybe some inactives who haven't 661 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,120 been here in a while? How are you checking in on them 662 00:37:10,120 --> 00:37:11,880 and loving them as part of the flock? 663 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:14,800 For who are you meeting real need? 664 00:37:14,800 --> 00:37:18,240 How are you serving here? What new neighbor can you meet 665 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:21,040 and minister to? Because Inglewood, we're on a 666 00:37:21,040 --> 00:37:27,440 mission, not ours, but God's, to bring glory to God and to join 667 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:30,640 him in redeeming the nations. And we're going to do that by 668 00:37:30,640 --> 00:37:37,440 making disciples who love God, love people, and join God's 669 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,600 mission. And that means that a disciple 670 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,320 is somebody that engages the Bible with a humble and 671 00:37:44,320 --> 00:37:47,560 teachable spirit. It's somebody who unites in 672 00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,160 fellowship through hospitality and authenticity. 673 00:37:50,920 --> 00:37:53,440 It's somebody who abides in prayer with dependence and 674 00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:55,920 anticipation. It's somebody who commits to 675 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:58,280 service with generosity and compassion. 676 00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:02,760 It's somebody who responds in worship with awe and surrender. 677 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,600 It's somebody who lives out evangelism with boldness and 678 00:38:06,600 --> 00:38:08,800 love. It's somebody who participates 679 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:13,240 in missions with urgency and sacrifice. 680 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:18,600 Please be here as we break each of these down and help you and 681 00:38:18,600 --> 00:38:20,840 your family grow in each of these essentials. 682 00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:25,240 Everything we will be doing here will be designed and planned to 683 00:38:25,240 --> 00:38:29,520 help you on that journey. I can't think of a more exciting 684 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:30,880 time to be at Inglewood than now. 685 00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:34,640 I don't know that anybody would ever know this. 686 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:36,360 I don't know even why I know this. 687 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:40,880 I just happened to see this. But this week marks the fact 688 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:45,400 that I've been with you 6 months and I think about what God has 689 00:38:45,400 --> 00:38:49,000 done in those six months and I'm so thankful. 690 00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:53,360 I know for some of you it seems like 60 years, but it's only 691 00:38:53,360 --> 00:38:57,040 been six months. It gets worse, not better. 692 00:38:57,040 --> 00:39:02,320 So, but I'm thankful for the direction that God's giving us. 693 00:39:02,520 --> 00:39:07,200 My dear, sweet, incredible, godly wife knows that I use a 694 00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:10,320 lot of symbolism when I teach, when I write there in books and 695 00:39:11,240 --> 00:39:13,800 classes, and people get kind of tired of them. 696 00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,440 People make fun of them after a while, but they remember them, I 697 00:39:16,440 --> 00:39:19,120 hope. And one of the symbols I use is 698 00:39:19,120 --> 00:39:21,200 a compass. She gave me this compass. 699 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:24,720 You know, how does a compass work? 700 00:39:24,720 --> 00:39:27,800 It's really interesting because no matter where you are on the 701 00:39:27,800 --> 00:39:30,880 planet, it points to magnetic north. 702 00:39:32,280 --> 00:39:37,000 And, and the only thing a person must possess for a compass to 703 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:42,320 work is a belief that there really is a true magnetic north. 704 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:44,600 I mean, you got to believe that it's actually pointing in the 705 00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:47,680 right direction and that there actually is a N that it points 706 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:52,000 to, right? So, so what's our true north? 707 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:56,520 No matter where you are, no matter what you're confronted 708 00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:59,440 with, no matter what you're facing in your life, where will 709 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:02,520 you look? What's your direction? 710 00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:06,360 Why do you believe what you believe and act the way you do? 711 00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:08,160 There's a reason why I'm teaching what I'm teaching in 712 00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,200 midweek. Because your answer is going to 713 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:13,280 determine your direction. It's going to determine your 714 00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:14,920 definitions. It's going to determine your 715 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,240 destinations. And if the true source of 716 00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:21,960 authority in your life is based more upon your personal 717 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:25,920 opinions, or more upon what this world says out there, or on old 718 00:40:25,920 --> 00:40:30,080 fears or on old loves, rather than the truth of God's Word, 719 00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:32,560 you're never going to end up in the right place. 720 00:40:34,520 --> 00:40:38,280 You will drift and you'll be tossed by every wind, as James 721 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:41,240 warns. So we must establish our 722 00:40:41,240 --> 00:40:46,640 definition of true north. People say they believe 723 00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:50,200 something, but then they live their lives and make decisions 724 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:53,280 or reject decisions as as if they don't. 725 00:40:55,680 --> 00:41:03,400 Are we convinced of the truth of God's inerrant, infallible, 726 00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:09,760 inspired word or not? Following Christ is not just 727 00:41:09,760 --> 00:41:13,080 someone time event where you walk and I'll get dunked in some 728 00:41:13,080 --> 00:41:17,440 water and join a church. It's a life of continual 729 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:19,880 dependence. It's a it's a life where you 730 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:26,200 depend upon and you obey Christ our King who's on mission. 731 00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:31,440 It's true discipleship and we want to help you understand 732 00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:35,120 exactly what that means. I can't think of anything more 733 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:40,960 important for me to spend my time on than that because it's 734 00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:43,880 true discipleship and we want to help you understand and embrace 735 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,840 that in your life. It's a call for both belief and 736 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:51,240 action. So I pray you'll join us on that 737 00:41:51,240 --> 00:41:54,120 journey because we're right here. 738 00:41:55,480 --> 00:42:01,360 We're right here constantly impacting our world, sending out 739 00:42:02,520 --> 00:42:09,560 people and ourselves to impact this world by pointing to the 740 00:42:09,560 --> 00:42:13,360 cross. I pray that you will join us on 741 00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:15,880 this journey. Father, thank you. 742 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:22,040 Thank you for not just creating us and leaving us alone. 743 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:25,880 Thank you, Father, that you are intimately involved in our lives 744 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:29,800 and in our very next steps, our very next breath, what we think 745 00:42:29,800 --> 00:42:34,000 next. So, Father, I pray this morning 746 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,240 for those who need to take a next step. 747 00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:40,280 What is that, Father? For some in this room, those 748 00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:42,320 listening online, perhaps it's salvation. 749 00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:44,160 That would make sense. I would believe that with a 750 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:47,360 number of people here, Father, there's probably somebody here 751 00:42:47,360 --> 00:42:50,240 who's never truly trusted in Jesus Christ as our Lord and 752 00:42:50,240 --> 00:42:52,320 Savior. I thank you for the testimonies 753 00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:55,760 of in recent days of friends who have trusted in you for the 754 00:42:55,760 --> 00:43:00,920 first time. Thank you for that, Father. 755 00:43:00,920 --> 00:43:04,200 I pray that if there's somebody here who, who hasn't done that, 756 00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:06,720 Lord, that, that, that right now that you would just Pierce their 757 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:10,000 heart with the very truth that you are so real and you have an 758 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:13,680 incredible plan and purpose for them for which you created them. 759 00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:17,360 But Father, we fail you, we fall short, we sin. 760 00:43:17,600 --> 00:43:21,520 So you had to send Jesus the the Christ to die on the cross for 761 00:43:21,520 --> 00:43:25,040 us to make a perfect sacrifice, a perfect payment for our sin. 762 00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:28,840 And that's the only way we can be saved, by trusting, by faith 763 00:43:28,840 --> 00:43:35,040 ING in that, believing in that. For many of us here, it's just a 764 00:43:35,040 --> 00:43:37,400 next step of spiritual growth and maturity. 765 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:39,800 We want our children to do that. We want our students to do that. 766 00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,320 We need to do that. Our marriages need to do that. 767 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:46,040 Our lives need this. So Father, how are we taking the 768 00:43:46,040 --> 00:43:49,040 next step? What is the next step for me, 769 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:52,360 for my family? For some, it might be church 770 00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:54,400 membership. For some it might be baptism. 771 00:43:55,040 --> 00:43:56,600 They've seen this over these weeks. 772 00:43:58,040 --> 00:44:02,120 For others, it might be a recommitment or a new focus or 773 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:05,560 just a commitment to be here every week, to learn and to grow 774 00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:09,560 and to serve. So, Father, I pray that you'll 775 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:14,920 take each of us on our next step, that Father, we would obey 776 00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:20,880 you and we would do that without hesitation, without reservation, 777 00:44:21,440 --> 00:44:27,040 without any, without any, any sense of denial or rejection. 778 00:44:28,480 --> 00:44:29,880 So Father, be with us as we sing. 779 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:32,760 I pray, Father, as we sing, that people would come, that the 780 00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:35,400 Father, they would come and talk to a pastor, or that they would 781 00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:39,400 just go to our next steps room and have a private, discreet 782 00:44:39,400 --> 00:44:41,800 conversation with people who are going to love them and pray with 783 00:44:41,800 --> 00:44:45,440 them. So Father, however we need to 784 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:48,560 respond, I pray that we won't wait, that we won't put it off. 785 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:54,440 But Father, as soon as we begin to sing, we'll step out and do 786 00:44:54,440 --> 00:44:58,160 what you tell us to do in Christ's name, Amen. 787 00:44:58,720 --> 00:45:00,840 Well, stand with me. We're going to sing together. 788 00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:04,280 There'll be some pastors here, but we also have a next steps 789 00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:06,680 room right over there. And you don't need to come and 790 00:45:06,680 --> 00:45:08,480 talk to one of us. You don't have to do that. 791 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:10,800 You can go straight to that room and there are people there who 792 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:13,240 are going to love you. Have private conversations. 793 00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:16,200 We had more than one person go to that room in the first 794 00:45:16,200 --> 00:45:17,680 service. We're so thankful for that. 795 00:45:18,320 --> 00:45:19,800 Maybe you just need to come and pray. 796 00:45:20,360 --> 00:45:21,640 Maybe you'd like us to pray with you. 797 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:24,240 Whatever you need to do, you take that next step right now as 798 00:45:24,240 --> 00:45:25,520 we begin to sing. Don't wait. 799 00:45:25,840 --> 00:45:30,960 Do it right now as we begin. Thank you so much for listening 800 00:45:30,960 --> 00:45:32,640 today, and I also hope that you'll go to 801 00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:36,440 ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com as well as our app and find many 802 00:45:36,440 --> 00:45:38,800 other resources that will bless you and your families. 803 00:45:38,960 --> 00:45:40,040 Thank you once again.