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And the church said, Amen, you 
have your Bibles turned with me 

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this morning. 
Please to the book of first John

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chapter 4. 
God's love is amazing. 

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His love is amazing. 
Who else can love you 

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unconditionally? 
I want more. 

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That should be our anthem this 
morning. 

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Give honor to our pastor who is 
not here. 

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I always considered a high honor
to stand in this pulpit, 

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especially when he is not here. 
The trust that he gives I do not

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take lightly on our Bishop this 
morning, a youth pastor and all 

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the ministries of this church. 
My beautiful wife who is going 

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to accompany me this afternoon 
to Sullivan IN preach. 

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So you're in good hands tonight 
with Brother Alex. 

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He is the son in whom the Father
is well pleased and we are so 

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thankful for that. 
First John chapter 4 and verse 

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#8 the Bible says he that loveth
not knoweth not God, for God is 

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love. 
Everybody say that with me, God 

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is love. 
Today I want to introduce and 

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answer a question presented. 
This may be a little unorthodox.

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I don't want to make anybody 
uncomfortable today, but I've 

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never been one to back away from
a challenge. 

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I'm going to compare and 
contrast to a hip hop rock song.

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That said, what's love got to do
with it? 

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Some of you can hear the TuneIn 
your head now. 

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It's a good tune, just bad 
lyrics. 

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So that's my topic today. 
We sing about love, we preach 

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about love, but I believe many 
still quietly wonder what's love

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really got to do with it. 
Even in church, it's possible to

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know all the songs, all the 
verses, all of the the childhood

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Bible stories and still feel 
unsure that it's safe to believe

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in love. 
If we're honest with ourselves 

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today, if love always healed, 
the pews would not be filled 

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with people carrying hidden 
pain. 

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It's not just a song lyric, it's
a silent question in the hearts 

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of non believers and believers 
alike who have been hurt by 

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love. 
So I want to answer the question

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today. 
What's love got to do with it? 

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Would you lift your hands and 
ask the Lord to help us this 

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morning? 
Jesus, mighty God, in your name,

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today we come before you and we 
ask you to take this presence 

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that we feel and allow it to 
linger a little while longer 

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here this morning as we break 
bread and before the gates of 

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heaven, Lord. 
And we ask you to minister, 

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Lord, in ways that only you can 
do by the word and the power and

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the Spirit of Almighty God and 
will not fail to give you praise

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and glory and honor for today 
and Thanksgiving in Jesus name 

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in the church said Amen. 
You may be seated. 

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The Lord bless you for standing.
That is a courtesy and not a 

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command. 
The lyrics of this song suggests

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A skeptical and guarded attitude
toward love, especially in the 

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context of past emotional hurt 
or trauma. 

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Turner's narrator questions the 
role of love in a relationship 

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that appears to be primarily 
physical or based on simple 

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mutual convenience. 
What's love but a second hand 

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emotion? 
That's what the lyric says. 

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The third line says who needs a 
heart when a heart can be 

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broken? 
These lines reflect A 

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disillusionment with romantic 
ideals, possibly stemming from 

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personal experience of pain and 
betrayal. 

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Tina Turner is singing that 
love, once revered as the 

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central emotional bond, might 
actually be overrated, even 

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dangerous, because it can lead 
to emotional damage. 

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This song. 
I want to give you some 

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statistics on the reach of this 
song. 

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It was #1 on the Billboard Hot 
100 on September 1, 1984. 

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It stayed there for three weeks.
It was her first and only number

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one hit to hit the Hot 100. 
It hit number one in the country

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of Canada. 
It was also a top ten hit in the

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UK, Germany, Australia and 
multiple other countries. 

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At the 1985 Grammy Awards, it 
received Record of the Year, 

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Song of the Year and she 
received Pop Vocal Performer. 

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The song was inducted into the 
Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012. 

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It was certified gold, having 
sold over 500,000 copies in the 

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US and over 2 million copies 
worldwide. 

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Why is this important, 
especially on a Sunday morning 

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church service? 
It is because this song reflects

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how many people feel from its 
release in 1984 until today. 

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Love hurts, love fails, and it's
easier to keep your distance. 

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That's the common worldly 
perspective, not just in 

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romantic relationships. 
People have been hurt by love in

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almost every area of life. 
Family, romance, friendship, in 

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church, work relationships, you 
name it. 

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It runs the gamut in our 
alphabet from A-Z. 

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If you can be hurt, people have 
been hurt. 

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When love is supposed to bring 
safety, belonging, and joy, but 

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instead brings rejection, 
confusion, and trauma, the 

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natural reaction is to say one 
of the following statements, if 

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not all of them. 
It's not worth the risk. 

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Keep your distance. 
I'll protect myself by never 

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letting anybody get close to me 
again. 

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These are statements often made 
from an emotional state, and 

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they are based on the person's 
feelings. 

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But here's the thing about love 
that we need to understand 

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today. 
Love, and this is both biblical 

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and it is scientific. 
I don't have time to get into 

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all the science of it today. 
But love, ladies and gentlemen, 

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is not a feeling. 
The confusion comes into play 

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because we have feelings. 
Does love accompany feelings? 

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Yes. 
But love is not a feeling. 

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Hate is a feeling. 
Hate is an emotion. 

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And love and hate are not 
opposites of each other. 

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We often think they are, but 
they're not. 

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Love is not a feeling. 
Love is a decision. 

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Love is a judgement. 
Love is a promise. 

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Love is a conscious choice. 
If you get married, let me go 

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into marriage Bible study one O 
1 here for about 45 seconds. 

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If you get married on the basis 
of believing that love is a 

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feeling, you will not stay 
married. 

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I promise you, because as much 
as I would love to stand here 

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and tell you that after almost 
32 years of marriage and nearly 

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40 years of relationship, Lord 
have mercy. 

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That sounds like a really long 
time when I say it out loud. 

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Yeah, I see you smiling back 
there. 

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I would love to tell you that 
every day of my relationship 

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walk with my my wife has been 
accompanied by the blissful 

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feelings of love. 
And perhaps this statement is 

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more so on her end than it is 
mine. 

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But it hasn't been because what 
happens in our human nature when

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we don't know each other, we're 
on our best behavior when we get

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to know each other a little 
better. 

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We start letting our guard down 
and the early morning bark comes

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out because I've not woke up 
yet. 

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I didn't mean it. 
It just kind of slipped because 

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she's been out of bed for 45 
seconds. 

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She's dressed, teeth brushed, 
hair done, and she's thinking 

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the world is great. 
You hear her back there, don't 

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you? 
And when I'm 30 minutes in, I'm 

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like a newborn pup. 
My eyes still aren't even open 

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yet. 
That's a time of life where 

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feelings are not appropriate for
me to judge my marital bliss. 

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Just an example. 
Love is not a feeling. 

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So it begs the question, what's 
love got to do with it? 

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Everything. 
That's the simple answer. 

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Because without love we remain 
guarded, empty and hurting. 

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But with the love of God, we are
healed, we are restored, and 

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we're made whole. 
That's the powerful fact of the 

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matter. 
The world's love is often 

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wounded and untrustworthy. 
Who needs a heart when a heart 

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can be broken? 
This lyric reflects how people 

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protect themselves after pain. 
Our culture often promotes 

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emotional detachment as a means 
to avoid vulnerability. 

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Emotional detachment is a 
defense mechanism. 

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It's a psychological skilled 
people often use, consciously or

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unconsciously, to avoid being 
vulnerable and therefore avoid 

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being hurt. 
Because in our humanity, after 

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you've been hurt once, you might
get hurt again and you just 

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might let your guard down one 
more time, but you get hurt 

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enough, your guards getting up, 
walls are going to be built and 

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you're going to start protecting
yourself. 

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And often times, emotional 
detachment is how we do that. 

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Because God forbid I ever allow 
you in. 

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Because if I allow you in, see, 
it's a trust issue. 

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If I allow you in, then I'm 
trusting you. 

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And I can't trust you because 
I've been, I've trusted before 

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and I got burned. 
So here's how emotional 

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detachment works. 
It reduces the risk of rejection

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or disappointment because 
vulnerability requires opening 

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your heart. 
But if I don't get too close, I 

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can't get, I can't get let down.
It blunts emotional pain. 

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Detachment numbs feelings. 
If I don't feel deeply, I won't 

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hurt deeply. 
That's the thinking. 

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It maintains control. 
Vulnerability often means 

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surrendering control, but 
emotional detachment keeps 

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things on the surface. 
No one can hurt me if I don't 

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let them in. 
It protects fragile self worth. 

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People with wounded identities 
may fear that being truly known 

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will lead to rejection. 
If they really knew me, they 

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might walk away. 
So I better not let them in. 

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Last but not least, emotional 
detachment preserves 

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predictability. 
Vulnerable relationships are 

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uncertain, but detachment brings
a certain emotional 

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predictability. 
It's lonely, but at least I know

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what to expect because I'm not 
going to get hurt. 

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It may feel like strength, but 
it's often protection dressed in

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silence. 
It keeps pain out, but it also 

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keeps healing away. 
You will never heal in an 

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emotionally detached state. 
You cannot heal until you allow 

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there to be trust and you become
vulnerable again to allow God to

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help you. 
The Bible acknowledges the 

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brokenness of of humanity in 
Jeremiah 17 and 9. 

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He says the heart is deceitful 
above all things and desperately

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wicked. 
Who can know it? 

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That's what the Bible says about
the heart. 

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That's why we don't lead our 
life based on how we feel. 

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That's why we don't serve God 
simply from an emotional state. 

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Emotions and serving God are 
great, but I do not serve Him 

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for the emotion. 
If you serve God only for the 

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00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,760
emotion and the euphoria and the
hype that you feel when the Holy

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00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:24,320
Ghost falls, when he doesn't 
show up, you're going to start 

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00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:29,520
questioning God. 
I love the power of the Holy 

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00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,000
Ghost that we feel. 
I love the fact that we 

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00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:37,160
celebrate. 
We serve a real live God and I 

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00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:40,160
love the fact that He shows up 
in our services when we start 

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00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:45,640
talking about Him. 
But there are times. 

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00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,960
There are times in singing, 
There are times in playing. 

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There are times in worship. 
I feel Him differently than 

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00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:59,600
others. 
Let me say it just a bit 

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00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:01,880
clearer. 
There are times I don't feel 

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00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:08,520
Him. 
And sometimes, if I'm going to 

200
00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:12,440
admit it to you today, sometimes
they are the most inconvenient 

201
00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,680
times for me not to feel him 
because I need to feel him. 

202
00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:22,480
But for whatever reason, in the 
power of divinity, I don't. 

203
00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,680
I'm playing Brother Fred. 
I'm worshipping, hands are 

204
00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,800
lifted, vocals are up, I'm 
singing. 

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00:15:28,960 --> 00:15:31,280
I'm doing all the things that 
I'm supposed to do. 

206
00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:40,080
I don't feel you. 
That's why the Bible says we 

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00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:47,960
walk by. 
We walk by faith, not by the 

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00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:53,000
things I see, not by my sensory 
developments, not by the things 

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00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,360
that I feel. 
Because there are days there are

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00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,360
church services, there are 
Sunday mornings, there are 

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00:15:58,360 --> 00:16:00,360
Sunday nights, there are 
Wednesday nights, there are 

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00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,920
revival services, even that I 
can come to the House of God 

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00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,880
with the weight of the world on 
my shoulders and I just simply 

214
00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:09,360
can't feel him. 
But I've got to put a stake in 

215
00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,680
the ground that says God, I 
believe your word. 

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00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:15,560
I believe you're real. 
I believe you're for me, and I 

217
00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,320
believe just because I don't 
feel you right now, that doesn't

218
00:16:18,320 --> 00:16:21,720
mean you're not real. 
And I will walk even though I 

219
00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:28,040
can't see you. 
Because love is a choice. 

220
00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,120
And the same love that is a 
choice for me, for my wife, is 

221
00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:35,960
the same love that I've got to 
make a choice in my relationship

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00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:39,760
with God. 
I don't love Him because of what

223
00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:42,560
He's doing for me. 
I love Him according to the 

224
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:51,520
Bible because He first loved me.
Proverbs 14 and 12 says there is

225
00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:57,960
a way which seemeth right unto 
man, but the end thereof are the

226
00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:02,440
ways of death. 
There is a way. 

227
00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:14,760
It's kind of popular, might even
be attractive if it if it wasn't

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00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:16,480
seeming right to man, it may 
not. 

229
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:18,880
It may be pretty ugly, but if 
it's seeming right to me, it's 

230
00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:24,200
probably pretty attractive. 
It probably looks good, and on 

231
00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,680
certain days of the week it 
might actually feel good. 

232
00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:38,520
But if it's not the way, the end
thereof are the ways of death. 

233
00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:44,560
God's love is the original. 
God's love is not second hand. 

234
00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,600
The song says what's love, but a
second hand emotion. 

235
00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,560
The song minimizes. 
Understand this now. 

236
00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:02,720
It is minimizing love. 
It's minimizing. 

237
00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:07,400
It's reducing its value by 
questioning what's love. 

238
00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:09,680
It's nothing but a second hand 
emotion. 

239
00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:16,280
Second hand. 
If we define second hand, I'm 

240
00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:21,600
going to I'm going to define it 
the way that way that I see it 

241
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,320
now, my wife and sister McGee 
and some others, they like, they

242
00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,440
like thrift shopping. 
That's that's God bless them. 

243
00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:30,800
I never find anything except 
books. 

244
00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:35,320
Now I do enjoy that. 
Now you can call that a good a 

245
00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,160
good bargain. 
You can call it a good buy, but 

246
00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:44,200
what you can't call it is a good
value because it's being sold at

247
00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:50,520
a reduced rate. 
You get a Bishop. 

248
00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,800
I know you have better luck than
I do and you like those things. 

249
00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,240
It's got the stickers on them 
and they're brand spanking new, 

250
00:18:56,240 --> 00:19:04,120
never wore and you get you a 
$3540 shirt for $3. 

251
00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:12,160
It's a good bargain, but it's 
being sold at that rate because 

252
00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:17,880
somewhere it lost its value. 
That's what second hand is. 

253
00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,200
You'd never get second hand for 
first hand value. 

254
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,320
So if, if, if somebody is 
referring to love as second 

255
00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,000
hand, they are simply devaluing 
it. 

256
00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:36,720
God's love is the original 
design. 

257
00:19:37,120 --> 00:19:41,800
It's the first hand. 
It's not a flawed version where 

258
00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:46,920
human love often fails. 
God's love remains constant and 

259
00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:53,240
true despite our feelings, 
despite our grievances, despite 

260
00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:57,360
our complaints, despite the 
things that we're sad about, 

261
00:19:57,360 --> 00:19:59,920
we're mad about. 
We've got all the feels about. 

262
00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:04,120
God's love remains constant and 
true. 

263
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:07,960
Turning to 1st Corinthians 
chapter 13, it's a bit of a 

264
00:20:07,960 --> 00:20:10,320
lengthy reading, but I'm going 
to read the entire chapter 

265
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:13,320
because it's just that good. 
It says though I speak with the 

266
00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:17,080
tongues of men and angels and 
have not charity, charity is 

267
00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:21,840
defined as love. 
I am become as sounding brass, 

268
00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,960
or a tinkling symbol. 
And though I have the gift of 

269
00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:28,000
prophecy, and understand all 
mysteries and all knowledge, and

270
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,360
though I have all faith, so that
I could remove mountains and 

271
00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:35,240
have not charity, I am nothing. 
And though I bestow all my goods

272
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,080
to feed the poor, and though I 
give my body to be burned, and 

273
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,520
have not charity, it profiteth 
me nothing. 

274
00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:42,960
Charity suffereth long and is 
kind. 

275
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:46,360
Charity envieth not. 
Charity vaunteth not itself, is 

276
00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:50,480
not puffed up, does not behave 
itself unseemly, seeketh not her

277
00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:55,480
own, and is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not 

278
00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:58,880
in iniquity, but rejoiceth in 
the truth, beareth all things, 

279
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:02,120
believeth all things, hope with 
all things, endureth all things.

280
00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,120
Charity never fails, but whether
there be prophecies they shall 

281
00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:07,520
fail. 
Whether there be tongues they 

282
00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:09,880
shall cease. 
Whether there be knowledge, it 

283
00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,200
shall vanish away. 
For we know in part, and we 

284
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,160
prophecy in part. 
But when that which is perfect 

285
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,080
is come, then that which is in 
part shall be done away. 

286
00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,160
When I was a child I spake as a 
child. 

287
00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,240
I understood as a child, I 
thought as a child, But when I 

288
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,920
became a man I put away childish
things. 

289
00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,920
For now we see through a glass 
darkly, but then face to face. 

290
00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:35,720
Now I know in part, but then 
shall I know even also as I am 

291
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:39,960
known and now abide of faith, 
hope, charity, these three. 

292
00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:45,120
But the greatest of these is 
love. 

293
00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:56,240
Like counterfeit money, worldly 
love may have a luster. 

294
00:21:57,360 --> 00:22:00,760
It may look good, it may look 
original, but it completely 

295
00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:08,680
lacks value. 
Love does have everything to do 

296
00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,320
with it. 
The gospel is grounded in love. 

297
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,760
Jesus didn't just come to show 
power, but to show love that 

298
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:21,160
redeems and love that restores, 
John 316 tells us. 

299
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:24,240
For God so loved the world 
first. 

300
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:28,320
John 419 tells us we love 
because He first loved us. 

301
00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:32,840
Psalm 3418 tells us the Lord is 
close to the broken hearted. 

302
00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:37,440
Psalm 147 and three tells us 
that He heals the broken hearted

303
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:41,680
and binds up their wounds. 
It's not a matter of if your 

304
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:46,160
broken heart was caused by 
someone's actions to you, or if 

305
00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:50,920
it's a result of things even 
done by you, because sometimes 

306
00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:54,680
our broken heart is because of 
things we've done, not because 

307
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:59,080
of things done to us. 
The restoration power of God is 

308
00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:03,800
still real, and it is not 
contingent on the purpose of 

309
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:10,480
original failure of the heart, 
of the hurt, or the heart. 

310
00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:14,680
God's love addresses the very 
pain. 

311
00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:19,160
This song talks about betrayal, 
heartache, and the fear of 

312
00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:24,760
intimacy. 
So I would say to you today, if 

313
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:27,720
you've been guarded or skeptical
like the narrator in this song, 

314
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:31,040
consider this. 
God's love is not second handed.

315
00:23:40,050 --> 00:23:46,250
It's very difficult for some 
people to develop a relationship

316
00:23:46,250 --> 00:23:49,490
with God when they have been 
hurt in the world. 

317
00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:54,760
And the very reason why is what 
I'm talking about this morning. 

318
00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,160
They've been hurt and now 
they're guarded. 

319
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:10,800
May come to church, but we need 
to understand today that God's 

320
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:18,160
love is redemptive, it is 
restorative, it is healing, and 

321
00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,320
it is eternal. 
It doesn't fade, it doesn't 

322
00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,520
stop, it doesn't give up, it 
doesn't quit waiting for you. 

323
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,080
Once God starts running after 
you, He doesn't stop running. 

324
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:32,240
He's waiting on you to stop 
running so He can catch you. 

325
00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:40,720
The hurt of the world does not 
stop nor deny God's grace. 

326
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,120
The hurt of your past mistakes 
does not stop God from loving 

327
00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:49,280
you, or caring enough about you 
to restore you and to heal you 

328
00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:56,480
to a place of greater height. 
Romans 838 says, For I am 

329
00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,880
persuaded that neither death, 
nor life, nor angels, nor 

330
00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:03,360
principalities, nor powers, nor 
things present, nor things to 

331
00:25:03,360 --> 00:25:07,400
come, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other creature shall be able

332
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:14,400
to separate us from what the 
love of God, which is in Christ 

333
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:18,080
Jesus our Lord. 
Nothing can stop God's love. 

334
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:23,760
I'll go as far to be blunt this 
morning, to say it doesn't 

335
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:29,400
matter how stupid you can be 
Now, pardon me today, but 

336
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:31,400
sometimes we do some stupid 
stuff. 

337
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:40,000
It doesn't matter. 
He still loves. 

338
00:25:46,840 --> 00:25:51,680
I've done some stupid stuff. 
You don't need to know what this

339
00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:56,640
I'm thankful today that his love
is still real. 

340
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:01,600
His abiding love is still ever 
present. 

341
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:04,760
He still redeems, He still 
restores. 

342
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:09,520
He still heals. 
He is worth taking the risk. 

343
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:21,840
Pastor often says one of his one
of his isms. 

344
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:30,920
God's a gentleman. 
Oh, how true that is. 

345
00:26:32,360 --> 00:26:39,080
He won't embarrass you. 
He won't trick you. 

346
00:26:40,880 --> 00:26:44,000
He won't surprise you other than
to surprise you how good he is. 

347
00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:54,720
He won't leave you. 
He won't hurt you the way people

348
00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,720
hurt you. 
Because allow me to give you a 

349
00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:00,680
little commercial break this 
morning, people. 

350
00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:03,320
If people haven't hurt you yet, 
they're going to. 

351
00:27:06,040 --> 00:27:09,800
If people haven't disappointed 
you yet, hang around people a 

352
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:11,880
little bit longer. 
They will. 

353
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:20,440
And can I be as colorful this 
morning as to say there's people

354
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,320
in this church that's going to 
disappoint you? 

355
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:30,840
We don't have to be 1000 member 
congregation to say that there's

356
00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:32,800
people in this church that's 
going to disappoint you. 

357
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:35,120
There may even be people in this
church that's going to hurt you.

358
00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:53,600
That's not a reason to stop 
worshipping God because let me 

359
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,480
say this, and I say this with 
all the love that I can muster, 

360
00:27:58,120 --> 00:27:59,800
even if it doesn't look like it,
it's there. 

361
00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,120
I just, my face just doesn't 
always show it. 

362
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:10,400
I'm not here for you in my 
person. 

363
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:13,200
I'm here for you right now in my
personal walk with God. 

364
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:23,680
I don't attend church because of
you, so I'm not. 

365
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:32,520
I refuse to allow you to allow 
me to make a decision to not 

366
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:37,240
come to church. 
I'm not giving you that much 

367
00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:43,200
power over my life. 
Why do I come to church? 

368
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,080
I'm I'm personalizing this right
now so nobody can get offended. 

369
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:52,240
Why do I come to church? 
I come to church because of him.

370
00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:58,960
That's it. 
Now, as a minister and as a 

371
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:01,040
leader, am I here for people? 
Yes. 

372
00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:02,560
Please don't. 
I don't. 

373
00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:04,680
I don't have time to qualify 
everything I'm saying this 

374
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,240
morning, so I hope you 
understand that. 

375
00:29:07,960 --> 00:29:11,280
But I'm talking in my personal 
walk with God when I'm not in 

376
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:14,200
the pulpit and I'm not on this 
platform, whenever it's just 

377
00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:18,720
Jerry Mason. 
I am here for God and God only. 

378
00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:27,040
So I cannot allow someone who is
not God hear me well this 

379
00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:28,920
morning. 
We've got to get this into our 

380
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:31,880
spirit today because this is 
part of our decision for 

381
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:34,440
following Him. 
It's got to be a rooted decision

382
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:38,520
that's down deep in the ground 
because if you've got a shallow 

383
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,320
walk with God, anything is going
to trip you up and it's going to

384
00:29:41,320 --> 00:29:44,520
keep you from coming to church. 
They made me mad. 

385
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:46,840
I don't like what they said. 
I don't like how they dressed. 

386
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:48,480
I don't know why. 
I don't like what they looked. 

387
00:29:48,480 --> 00:29:49,680
I don't like what song they 
sang. 

388
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:52,560
You just get your notepad out 
and sharpen your pencil real 

389
00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:54,440
good. 
You can make a list of plenty of

390
00:29:54,440 --> 00:29:57,600
things that you're not going to 
like, I promise you. 

391
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:04,920
And guess what? 
If I allow myself Bishop when 

392
00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:09,440
I'm sitting on this nice, 
comfortable, cushy seat, can't 

393
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:15,240
say Pew anymore, I love it. 
If I allow myself when I'm 

394
00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:18,960
sitting here, I can get my 
notebook of complaints out too, 

395
00:30:23,040 --> 00:30:25,200
and I can write up all the 
things that I see that I don't 

396
00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:27,240
like and that I don't like 
hearing. 

397
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:28,960
And the songs I don't like? 
Listen, I've told you this 

398
00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:30,320
before. 
There are songs we sing that I 

399
00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:35,120
absolutely hate because we don't
pick songs based on just what we

400
00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:38,120
like. 
We pick songs based on what we 

401
00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,440
think the demographic likes and 
what God's going to be pleased 

402
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:45,640
with. 
Just because I think that's the 

403
00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,920
right thing to do. 
I've got a choice to make. 

404
00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:52,680
I can. 
I can write my notebook of 

405
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:54,320
complaints of things that I 
don't like. 

406
00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:57,840
And I can say there, you see 
there that one right there #9 on

407
00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:00,960
my list of 32, I'm going to put 
a big Gold Star beside that. 

408
00:31:01,200 --> 00:31:06,640
That's why I'm not going back to
that church and what you're not 

409
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:08,080
understanding. 
This isn't in my notes this 

410
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:09,320
morning. 
I'm just trying to follow after 

411
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:10,920
what I feel like God has 
prompted me for. 

412
00:31:10,920 --> 00:31:12,640
So I hope this helps somebody. 
Today. 

413
00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:18,360
You walk away from the church. 
You aren't recognizing you are 

414
00:31:18,360 --> 00:31:22,520
walking away from God. 
You're not walking away from the

415
00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,960
person that made you mad. 
You're not hurting them in the 

416
00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,720
least unless they just grieve 
over your lost spirit. 

417
00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,840
So we asked the question, what's
love got to do with everything? 

418
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:40,400
But there, there is a time in 
your decision making process 

419
00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:43,400
that that love, you've got to 
first start with loving 

420
00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:47,400
yourself. 
I can't do that. 

421
00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,280
I've made too many mistakes. 
If it's under the blood, come 

422
00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:00,480
on, come on. 
If those mistakes are under the 

423
00:32:00,480 --> 00:32:05,440
blood, if you've repented and 
you've been baptized and you've 

424
00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:09,160
allowed God to wash you clean, 
the Bible declares that when we 

425
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:13,040
come up out of a watery grave of
baptism that we walk in newness 

426
00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:18,320
of life. 
All that spiritual dirt and 

427
00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:23,880
filth and baggage that was all 
over us when we repented, it all

428
00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:25,480
died. 
But now we're carrying around a 

429
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:32,400
lot of death, and then we bury 
all of that dead stuff. 

430
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:38,040
We bury it in baptism, and when 
we come up, we're washed clean. 

431
00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:42,720
All that stuff is gone. 
I'm lighter, I feel better. 

432
00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:46,000
The world is new, the world is 
fresh. 

433
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:49,000
And at that moment in time, 
you've got to make a decision. 

434
00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:53,120
I'm not going back to the grave 
that I just came out of. 

435
00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:59,880
The restoration power of God is 
not contingent on my past. 

436
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:02,440
He loves you in spite of your 
past. 

437
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,160
Staying with me this morning, 
I'll, I'll hasten to a close 

438
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:21,240
Today We began. 
We began with the question that 

439
00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:25,480
the world keeps asking in song. 
What's love got to do with it? 

440
00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:32,280
But we've seen over the last 30 
minutes or so that love that 

441
00:33:32,280 --> 00:33:34,160
this song is not just a song 
lyric. 

442
00:33:34,160 --> 00:33:38,880
It's the echo of hearts that 
have been let down, shut out and

443
00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,840
left behind by what people call 
love in the world today. 

444
00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:46,560
And the truth is, love has 
everything to do with it. 

445
00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:50,160
Not the shallow kind of love 
that fades. 

446
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,280
Not the not the the lust that's 
labeled as love. 

447
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:59,280
I'm talking real love. 
Not the emotion, but the 

448
00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,560
decision. 
Not the conditional kind that 

449
00:34:02,560 --> 00:34:05,840
says you prove yourself first, 
then I love you. 

450
00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,080
Not the broken kind that leaves 
scars instead of healing, but 

451
00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:15,920
the kind of love found in first.
John 418 of our texts says 

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perfect love casteth out fear. 
God's love is different. 

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God's love does not demand that 
you be perfect. 

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I know, I know that there's a 
verse in the Bible that says we 

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strive for the mark of 
perfection. 

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But there is nowhere that I read
that the Bible says that if 

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you're not perfect, the first 
mistake you make, you're done. 

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That denies the very essence of 
grace. 

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For by grace are we saved, and 
that not of ourselves. 

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It is the gift of God. 
He doesn't demand that you be 

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perfect. 
He just asks you to be open, 

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vulnerable, transparent. 
It doesn't wound. 

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His love restores. 
His love never walks away. 

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It always stays right where you 
found Him. 

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And if you ever find yourself 
without the love of God, retrace

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your steps back to where you 
left Him and you will find Him 

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there. 
Some of us have been guarding 

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our hearts and our lives for so 
long, we don't even remember 

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what it feels like to trust real
love. 

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But today God may be whispering 
in your heart. 

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Today let me in. 
My love can reach the even the 

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even the part of you that you've
kept hidden. 

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So maybe the better question 
today isn't what's love got to 

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do with it? 
Maybe the better question today 

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is, am I ready to believe in a 
love that never fails? 

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This altar is open this morning.
If this is you or if you, if you

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just want to pray, if this is 
not you, I'm not trying to to, 

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to, to advertise anything here 
today. 

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But if you just want to come 
around the altar this morning 

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and worship and pray and draw 
closer to God, this altar is 

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open and here for you today. 
Maybe, maybe as I spoke today, 

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there's something that stirred 
in your heart. 

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Maybe you've been carrying the 
weight of disappointment. 

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00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:21,160
Maybe you've been protecting 
yourself behind walls because 

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love has let you down. 
Or maybe you let love down. 

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00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:28,760
Maybe you've even struggled to 
believe that God's love is any 

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different, or that it could ever
be different for you. 

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00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:36,680
But here's the truth. 
His love doesn't give up on you.

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His love doesn't manipulate. 
It never fails. 

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00:36:40,400 --> 00:36:43,840
It heals, it restores, and it 
saves. 

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00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:48,080
And this morning, God, he's 
calling you out from behind your

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walls, not to shame you, but he 
wants to set you free today. 

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This altar is open today for 
prayer, for healing, for 

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surrender. 
It's open for you. 

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00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,400
Could we pray as we sing and we 
worship this morning? 

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Just allow your heart to draw 
closer to Him today.