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Well, As for today, y'all can go
to John 17. 

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John 17, we're going to talk 
about unity. 

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This is the first one on several
weeks that we're going to talk 

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about different ways to actually
build unity. 

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But not only are we going to 
talk about unity, but if you 

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know about the four gospels, 
John is the really emotional 1. 

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So maybe, you know, you're in 
for it. 

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Here's the thing, unity is 
something we all agree on. 

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If you were to take a poll 
amongst every Christian in here,

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do you think unity is important?
It would probably be a rare vote

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that said no. 
But what does it look like? 

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You, you've heard me mention 
this before, but back when I was

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a youth pastor, we had a 
teenager that was always trying 

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to give people counsel and just 
kept saying, hey, you just need 

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to give it to God. 
And finally I was like, hey, 

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stop doing that unless you can 
tell them what it looks like to 

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give it to God because I said, 
what do you do? 

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You just take it. 
And then just there you go, it's

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yours. 
Now, what is what does that 

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mean? 
Sometimes we say things in 

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church and it sounds good and 
maybe is even right. 

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But unless the person who hears 
it knows what you mean, it 

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really doesn't do anything. 
And So what does it mean to be 

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unified? 
A lot of times when I put a 

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video up or I talk about this, I
get questions where people will 

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say, well, how do you stay 
unified with the world? 

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Well, here's the reality. 
You're not supposed to be 

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unified with the world, but you 
are supposed to be in the world 

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and to love the world in order 
to have the strength to do that 

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properly. 
You are supposed to be unified 

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with the church. 
And by the church I don't mean 

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Liberty or First Baptist or 
whatever else is out there by 

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the church, I mean those who 
love Jesus. 

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But how many of y'all have 
gotten saved and realized it is 

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harder to be unified with 
Christians than you thought it 

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would be? 
Yeah, it's just me. 

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I might just up here with an 
extra grind. 

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OK, good. 
In John 17, we're going to see 

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that Jesus is is praying. 
And it's not unique to see Jesus

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praying, but it's unique because
amongst all of the things that 

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Jesus has prayed, I would submit
to you today that we're going to

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cover a prayer of his that we 
can answer. 

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And to me that's unique and 
powerful because I think about 

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how many times I've prayed and 
asked Him to answer my prayers. 

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And I wonder if He's sitting up 
there waiting for me to answer 

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his before we get there. 
Because I'm going to challenge 

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y'all today and probably for a 
month and a half. 

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I want to try to make you guys 
feel at ease before I hit you 

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with a challenge. 
So let's talk about racial 

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segregation. 
When the Marine Corps Air 

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Station known as Cherry Point 
was established during World War

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Two, it brought together 
thousands of young men from 

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every corner of the country. 
And a lot of them had grown up 

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in places where segregation was 
not just cultural. 

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It was enforced. 
It was mandated. 

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It had to happen, right? 
So then in 1948, when President 

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Truman signed the Executive 
Order 9981, the United States 

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military began the process of 
integration. 

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And of course, this process was 
not smooth. 

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If you've read through history 
or lived through history, it was

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not smooth and didn't happen 
overnight, but it had to begin. 

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There were men that were raised 
apart that were now training 

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side by side in the military. 
They were eating at the same 

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tables for the first time, and 
they were flying the same 

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missions and in some cases, 
trusting each other with their 

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lives. 
And this is something that they 

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would not have done previously 
because they would have been 

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afraid of blowback from cultural
stigma or from things being 

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legally enforced in a way that 
was not fair but was legal. 

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Isn't it crazy that happens 
sometimes? 

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And So what mattered to them 
wasn't their background or their

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race at this point. 
What mattered to them was 

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whether or not the man beside 
them could hold the line. 

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The question that they were 
asking was, can I trust them to 

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help me accomplish the mission? 
In other words, they were united

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because they had the same 
mission, and that superseded 

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anything else that they had been
raised in. 

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So over time, there was this 
sort of shared experience that 

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started to chip away at the 
assumptions a lot of people had 

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about people that were 
different. 

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One historian who studied the 
history of integration in the 

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armed forces wrote that the 
military became, quote, one of 

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the few places in American life 
where integration was not 

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optional, but required. 
And so when those Marines came 

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home here to Havelock, they 
didn't leave that experience 

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behind. 
They had shared missions out 

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there and trusted other people 
with their life. 

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And when they got back here, 
that didn't just disappear and 

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go away. 
So this was something that they 

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now felt more comfortable doing,
which made Havelock a very 

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unique place amongst this time 
in history. 

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But not every area in the 
community had integrated 

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different people of different 
racial backgrounds in the same 

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way. 
And unfortunately, Sunday 

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morning was one of those places.
All week long, people in the 

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military lived integrated lives.
They worked together, served 

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together, trusted one another, 
started to live in the same 

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neighborhoods. 
They started to integrate in 

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some ways that ran so much 
deeper than a casual 

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acquaintance. 
And then on Sunday, they would 

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all go to their separate 
buildings. 

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And there's a lot of reasons for
this, but sadly, one of the 

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reasons is because the church 
was afraid to offend people. 

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And so they were afraid to 
change things and afraid to 

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welcome in people that were 
different. 

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And I want you to know it's one 
of the greatest tragedies of the

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American church. 
Why do I show that today? 

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The question that I would ask 
you is this, How do you stand 

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shoulder to shoulder with 
someone in real life and then 

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turn around and pretend that you
don't belong together in the 

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presence of God? 
How is it that you can trust 

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somebody with your life in 
another country, but you can't 

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trust them with your soul in the
same Chapel? 

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The change in churches didn't 
come in a dramatic moment 

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either. 
There wasn't 1, you know, hey, 

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let's have Integration Sunday 
and all the churches just 

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decided to be different. 
It's something that had to 

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change over time. 
But here's the problem. 

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The people that pushed back 
against it, they weren't people 

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who didn't believe in Jesus. 
All of these people read the 

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same scriptures, sang the same 
songs, confessed the same 

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truths, and still for a long 
time, unity was missing, which 

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means believing the same things 
is not the same thing as living 

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as one. 
So if today, and I am preaching 

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about unity pretty hard, if you 
think that this message is for 

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somebody else, if somebody else 
keeps popping into your mind and

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you're like, man, I hope they 
hear this message, buddy. 

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I got to tell you, this message 
is for you and probably them. 

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I only know that because it was 
for me first. 

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But I do want to tell you before
we move on to John 17, something

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I'm really proud of. 
In our little town of Havelock, 

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about a year before a lot of 
towns in North Carolina were 

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even considering integration, 
there was something crazy that 

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happened right here on August 
28th, 1959. 

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There were three African 
American children, Alfonso 

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Roland and Margaret Scott, and 
they walked into Havelock 

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Elementary School for the first 
time, escorted past a line of 

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United States Marines standing 
guard with rifles. 

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They were not alone for long 
because that same week, eight 

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other African American children 
enrolled across the town's 

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schools. 
And within days, the number grew

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to 17. 
Now here's why I'm so proud of 

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Havelock. 
These weren't random families. 

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These were the children of black
Marine Station at Marine Corps 

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Air Station known as Cherry 
Point. 

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Men that were already serving in
an integrated environment wanted

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to make sure that the same 
future was in the future for 

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their children, and most of 
North Carolina stayed firmly 

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segregated. 
These children stepped to the 

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classrooms. 
A lot of people don't realize 

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this, but at the beginning of 
1959, listen to this only 11 

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black students in all of North 
Carolina attended students with 

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white students the entire state,
and they were located hundreds 

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of miles away in bigger cities. 
But by the following year, 

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Havelock Elementary had more 
integrated students than any 

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other public school in the 
state. 

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Havelock. 
Think about that the next time 

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you walk through Walmart and you
see that shirt that says, where 

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the heck is Havelock, NC? 
While integration across the 

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state had stalled, Havelock kept
moving forward. 

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And it wasn't perfect and it 
wasn't without problems. 

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There were sure plenty of people
that didn't want to invite new 

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people into their church home. 
There were also people that 

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didn't want to go to a new 
church home because they did not

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feel like they would be welcome.
There was division on both 

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sides, but it's got to start 
somewhere. 

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I just want you to know that 
when people are, they're already

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living life side by side. 
It's harder to justify staying 

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divided. 
So when you open up John 17, you

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don't find Jesus casually 
mentioning unity. 

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You find Him praying over it 
intentionally. 

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This is an urgent prayer. 
He is passionate and it is 

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personal to Him. 
So have you ever thought about 

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that before? 
What is personal to Jesus and 

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what isn't? 
We say that a lot, right? 

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Don't take it personally. 
This is personal to Him. 

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Listen to this John 17. 
We'll start in verse 13. 

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This is the words Jesus is 
praying to the Father. 

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He says, now I'm coming to you. 
I told them many things while I 

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was with them in this world so 
they would be filled with my 

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joy. 
I've given them your word and 

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the world hates them because 
they do not belong to the world,

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just as I do not belong to the 
world. 

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I'm not asking you to take them 
out of the world, but to keep 

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them safe from the evil one. 
They do not belong to this world

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any more than I do. 
Is that not a refreshing thing 

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to know? 
If you belong to Jesus, you do 

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not belong to the world any more
than Jesus belongs to the world.

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Those are his words, and you can
take that to the bank. 

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Is that good? 
All right, Make them holy by 

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your truth. 
Teach them your word, which is 

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truth. 
And just as you've sent me into 

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the world, I'm sending them into
the world, and I give myself as 

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a holy sacrifice for them so 
that they can be made holy by 

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your truth. 
We just commemorated that with 

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communion. 
Yes. 

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And then he said, I am praying 
not only for these disciples, 

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but also for all who will ever 
believe in me through their 

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message. 
Is that not what this room is 

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full of today? 
I pray that they will all be 

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one, just as you and I are one 
as you are in me, Father, and I 

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am in you, and may they be in 
us, so that the world will 

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believe you sent me. 
And he says this. 

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I've given them the glory you 
gave me, so that they may be one

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as we are one. 
I am in them and you are in me. 

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May they experience such perfect
unity that the world will know 

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that you sent me and that you 
love them as much as you love 

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me. 
Jesus wants you to know that God

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loves you as much as he loves 
Jesus. 

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In my mind I'm like, well, that 
ought not be, and here we are. 

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Father, I want these whom you 
have given me to be with me 

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where I am. 
Then they can see the glory that

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you gave me because you loved me
even before the world began. 

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When you sit with this prayer 
for a moment, does that not feel

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important? 
I was talking to a few people 

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this week. 
I I feel so blessed to be a part

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of Liberty Church. 
I feel like this church has more

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unity than many a church. 
And yet I can't help but also 

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think we have so far to go 
still. 

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We just do. 
And if it's this important to 

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Jesus, it can't be a side issue 
for us. 

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Why has it ever been a side 
issue for us? 

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Well, I'm saved. 
They're saved. 

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I hate them, but they're going 
to heaven. 

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That's God's problem. 
Friend of this church, Jason 

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Gray, he was here, he sold 
shirts. 

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Many of us have them where it 
says, you know, Jesus loves you,

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I'm trying, right? 
I mean, why has this never been 

229
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so important to us? 
Meanwhile, here we are saying, 

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00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,040
hey, why don't you come try out 
my church? 

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00:11:35,320 --> 00:11:36,840
You should come and try out my 
church. 

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00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:38,800
And then, you know, of course, 
then I get the, you know, hey, 

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00:11:38,800 --> 00:11:40,840
make it really good, My friends 
finally coming to church, like, 

234
00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,400
well, what did you think of last
week's message? 

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00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:46,600
But come to church, you know, 
because they really need Jesus. 

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00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:49,600
But you're the one hanging out 
with them, avoiding somebody in 

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00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:52,120
Walmart because I hate that guy.
Oh, how do you know? 

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00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:57,440
We go to the same church? 
But I can only do so much in an 

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00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:01,400
hour, Right. 
OK, why did we never look at 

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00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:02,800
this and say that it's 
important? 

241
00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,200
Here's a truth bomb. 
There are Christians in this 

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00:12:06,200 --> 00:12:10,920
community that I don't care for 
personally, and yet I will find 

243
00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:13,400
a way to be united with them any
way that I can. 

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00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:17,200
If they're serving the same 
Kingdom, it is my responsibility

245
00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,040
and not just that, it's my joy 
to also serve the same Kingdom 

246
00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,960
with them. 
I don't have to like them. 

247
00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:25,800
Marines. 
Oh, I thought I was going to 

248
00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:26,760
hear a sound. 
Marines. 

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00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:31,640
There we go. 
OK, has there ever been somebody

250
00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:33,760
that you trusted your life with,
but you wouldn't trust them to 

251
00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:40,160
babysit your kids? 
Is there ever somebody that you 

252
00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:42,440
trust with your life, but you 
wouldn't trust their music 

253
00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:46,160
recommendations? 
OK, you do not have to be 

254
00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:52,080
unified in every single area to 
be unified under a mission, but 

255
00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,880
the mission matters. 
How much more the mission that 

256
00:12:54,880 --> 00:13:00,720
God has laid out for His church 
for us, We have to remember that

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00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,040
unity is not automatic. 
And I'm afraid that a lot of 

258
00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,320
times I've heard this in other 
teachings, we get it confused 

259
00:13:05,320 --> 00:13:07,880
with uniformity. 
And So what happens is we bring 

260
00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:09,520
them into the church. 
In fact, we're big on saying 

261
00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:11,400
like, come as you are, just 
don't stay as you are. 

262
00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,560
I I agree with that, but I'll 
let the Lord change you more 

263
00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:23,480
than I will try to change you. 
Some people are weird, and I 

264
00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,120
talked about this not long ago. 
I don't remember if it was a 

265
00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:29,800
Wednesday or Sunday. 
God generally doesn't take your 

266
00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:33,480
weird away. 
When you get saved, you're still

267
00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:35,160
going to be weird. 
You're just going to be weird 

268
00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:39,240
for Jesus. 
Autumn, write that down. 

269
00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:44,520
That's a shirt. 
All right, listen, you still get

270
00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,040
to be who you are, and there's a
freedom in knowing that you 

271
00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:49,520
don't have to turn them into 
you. 

272
00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:51,720
Why would you want to do that? 
You don't even like yourself 

273
00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,440
that much. 
Let them be who God created them

274
00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,800
to be, and let God change what 
He needs to change about them. 

275
00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:01,280
And by the way, are you 
listening to Him to change what 

276
00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:04,800
He wants you to change in you? 
We have a common mission, but we

277
00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:06,560
don't have a common wardrobe, 
right? 

278
00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:09,920
So there's two things we're 
going to talk about today that 

279
00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:12,600
are very simple, but they are 
crucial to you being an 

280
00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:14,520
effective Christian in your 
faith walk. 

281
00:14:14,520 --> 00:14:17,400
And what we're going to talk 
about today is the fact that we 

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00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:22,400
are one and also that we're His.
And I want you to know why both 

283
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,200
of these matter. 
The early church had no strategy

284
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:26,800
for what this was supposed to 
look like. 

285
00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:28,600
When you read through the early 
church, we're going to be in 

286
00:14:28,600 --> 00:14:31,280
Acts chapter 2 in a moment. 
When you read through the early 

287
00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,880
church, they do not operate the 
way that the synagogues of the 

288
00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,800
day did. 
They didn't say, well, we'll 

289
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,400
just keep all of the all of the 
things we did in Jewish 

290
00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,880
synagogue service and we'll 
just, we'll slap Jesus on it 

291
00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:44,280
instead. 
No, no, no. 

292
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:46,400
They were figuring it out as 
they went. 

293
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,120
How beautiful because the one 
who we call the creator of the 

294
00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,960
universe created you in his 
image, which makes you a smaller

295
00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,120
creator, so you have a lot of 
freedom. 

296
00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,040
I bet we don't all parent our 
children the same way. 

297
00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,400
I bet we don't all have the same
standards. 

298
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,560
I bet we don't all use the same 
words behind closed doors. 

299
00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,160
I bet there are different things
and you are accountable to the 

300
00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:13,800
Lord for every word that you 
say, but it doesn't mean that in

301
00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:16,760
every single incident that He's 
going to hold you to the same 

302
00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:18,600
standard that He holds this 
person. 

303
00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,720
There are some things that are 
non negotiable in scripture and 

304
00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,680
there's also just a lot of room 
for you to be who you are as 

305
00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,640
long as you are submitted to the
King of Kings and the Lord of 

306
00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:31,680
Lords. 
No framework, no scripture to 

307
00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:33,760
tell it how to operate. 
What I'm about to read to you 

308
00:15:33,760 --> 00:15:36,840
from Acts chapter 2 is something
that has been tried to be 

309
00:15:36,840 --> 00:15:39,960
mandated to churches. 
We need to make our church look 

310
00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:41,360
like this. 
They didn't even have that 

311
00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:44,440
advantage and they were just 
figuring it out. 

312
00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:45,960
What's that? 
We're just out here trusting 

313
00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:51,960
God, OK, Winging it. 
Lord, I hope you're pleased. 

314
00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,360
If you're not, tell me. 
Think about how radical this 

315
00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,040
would have been in those very 
formal days of Judaism. 

316
00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:00,600
I want you to think about how 
radical it would have been, and 

317
00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:02,320
it would have rubbed some people
the wrong way. 

318
00:16:02,960 --> 00:16:05,120
Everybody wants to see the 
Kingdom of God flooded with 

319
00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:07,800
people until they see the people
that come flooding into the 

320
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:12,200
Kingdom of God. 
Listen, it was not that they 

321
00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,120
suddenly agreed on everything. 
That wasn't anything like that. 

322
00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:17,200
It wasn't that their differences
sort of disappeared. 

323
00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:18,600
It wasn't like, Nah, I hate that
guy. 

324
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:20,920
And then you get saved. 
I love everything about you. 

325
00:16:21,840 --> 00:16:24,080
If you've ever felt guilty, like
I just feel like I should like 

326
00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,200
some of these people more. 
No, you still have things that 

327
00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,080
irk you. 
It's part of your weird. 

328
00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:30,640
You just don't let it in the 
driver's seat anymore. 

329
00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:35,240
Big difference. 
So in Acts chapter 2, what we're

330
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,800
going to see here, that what 
they shared became greater than 

331
00:16:37,800 --> 00:16:40,800
what they came from. 
They ended up with a mission 

332
00:16:40,800 --> 00:16:43,080
that superseded all of their 
preferences. 

333
00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,720
Verse 42, all the believers 
devoted themselves to the 

334
00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:51,200
apostles teaching and to 
fellowship and to sharing in 

335
00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:54,000
meals, including the Lord's 
Supper and to prayer. 

336
00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:57,040
There was one time I preached A 
sermon just on that one verse. 

337
00:16:57,040 --> 00:17:04,280
Basically devoted, didn't sign 
up on a on a sign up sheet, not 

338
00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:08,920
a six week study course. 
They devoted their lives to 

339
00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,319
these things. 
If somebody were to ask you, 

340
00:17:12,319 --> 00:17:14,040
what is your life in Christ look
like? 

341
00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:16,920
Is it deep enough that you would
say I am devoted to his 

342
00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,480
teaching? 
Would you say I'm devoted to 

343
00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:21,720
prayer? 
Would you say I'm devoted to 

344
00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:26,319
fellowship with other believers?
And would you say I'm devoted to

345
00:17:26,319 --> 00:17:29,440
sharing meals with them? 
It says including the Lord's 

346
00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,000
Supper. 
So we had communion. 

347
00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:32,560
You can't even check that one 
off your list. 

348
00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:36,240
That's just part of it. 
Most of us wouldn't do it and 

349
00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:38,760
there's lots of seasons, plenty 
of seasons that I'd be just as 

350
00:17:38,760 --> 00:17:41,360
guilty. 
Listen to the rest of it. 

351
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,920
A deep sense of awe came over 
them all and the apostles 

352
00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:46,720
performed many miraculous signs 
and wonders. 

353
00:17:46,720 --> 00:17:50,160
This is not disconnected. 
The fact that they were sharing 

354
00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:52,600
in all these things, the fact 
that they were worried, like 

355
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:55,400
committed to, to making sure 
that they were pursuing the same

356
00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,600
thing, that they were honouring 
God together, opened up a 

357
00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,040
doorway for there to be a deep 
sense of awe and reverence, 

358
00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:03,080
which guess what? 
That opens the doorway for 

359
00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:06,520
miracles, for his spirit to be 
poured out in a different way 

360
00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:08,040
because they were unified under 
him. 

361
00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,320
And I'll prove it. 
Listen, all of the believers met

362
00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,480
together in one place and shared
everything they had. 

363
00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:16,000
They sold their property and 
possessions and shared the money

364
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,280
with those in need. 
They worshiped together at the 

365
00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:21,720
temple each day, met in homes 
for the Lord's Supper and shared

366
00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,880
their meals with great joy and 
generosity, all the while 

367
00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:27,440
praising God and enjoying the 
goodwill of all the people. 

368
00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:31,120
And each day the Lord added 
their fellowship to their 

369
00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:32,480
fellowship. 
Those who are being saved. 

370
00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:35,200
How many of y'all have ever gone
through an evangelism course or 

371
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:37,200
a small group? 
You know 6 great ways to share 

372
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,680
your faith. 
Ever been taught a method, 

373
00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:41,480
something you memorize, 
something you walk them through 

374
00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,480
scripture by scripture to try to
get them into the Kingdom. 

375
00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:46,720
All they did was love people. 
That's all they did. 

376
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:48,840
All they did was say, do you 
want to get lunch? 

377
00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:51,080
All they did was say, I can tell
you're hurting. 

378
00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:54,160
I want to pray for you. 
All they did was I need to learn

379
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:56,320
more about Jesus. 
I need to learn more about the 

380
00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:59,920
Kingdom, and you are welcome to 
learn alongside me because I 

381
00:18:59,920 --> 00:19:01,960
don't have all the answers. 
That's all they did. 

382
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,800
How's that for a method? 
It's called being genuine. 

383
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,120
It's called when somebody says, 
you know, here's a hard question

384
00:19:08,120 --> 00:19:10,000
they ask you and you go, that's 
a great question. 

385
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,840
I have no clue. 
Let's discover it together. 

386
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:18,720
When I read through that, what 
stands out is not just what they

387
00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:20,000
believed. 
It's just how they lived. 

388
00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:24,560
Their unity is tangible. 
Now, I'll also give you right 

389
00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:26,720
caveat here. 
There was not a lot of travel 

390
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:28,120
then. 
Even the fact that we're at a 

391
00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:30,320
military base, which I covered 
at the beginning, means people 

392
00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:33,560
come and go so quickly. 
Turnover happens in churches in 

393
00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,400
this area faster than average 
churches across America because 

394
00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,720
duty stations happen, new 
deployments happen, all sorts of

395
00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:42,320
stuff happens. 
That is why that Where the heck 

396
00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:46,120
is Havelock NC? 
Sure, it exists there. 

397
00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:48,000
They weren't going to travel a 
lot and they were in the same 

398
00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,880
regional area. 
But do you think that this 

399
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:51,960
modern society has surprised 
God? 

400
00:19:52,880 --> 00:19:56,120
It is not what it means if you 
ask me. 

401
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,320
In fact, I'll just, I'll walk 
over here for this. 

402
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:02,240
My opinion. 
I think it makes it all the more

403
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:05,480
important to devote ourselves to
fellowship and sharing meals and

404
00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:08,120
loving one another genuinely and
being in prayer for one another.

405
00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:10,360
Because it's not just the 
pastors and the church staff 

406
00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:12,440
that have a three-year window 
with some people because of the 

407
00:20:12,440 --> 00:20:14,360
military. 
You've got a three-year window 

408
00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:16,800
with somebody to leave an impact
on their life. 

409
00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,920
You've got a two year window 
when you meet somebody to see 

410
00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,360
what they can add to your life 
because they've got experiences 

411
00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:25,760
you don't have. 
You've got a limited opportunity

412
00:20:26,040 --> 00:20:27,600
and they blow by us all the 
time. 

413
00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:30,640
They're gone. 
And before you know it, ask me 

414
00:20:30,640 --> 00:20:32,760
how I know this. 
I've been at this church since 

415
00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:35,720
the end of 2004. 
Before you know it, you look at 

416
00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:38,960
somebody's like photo memory on 
Facebook and go, I didn't 

417
00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:42,880
realize that was 13 years ago 
because time flies. 

418
00:20:44,360 --> 00:20:49,440
You are surrounded by tangible, 
God-given moments and it's up to

419
00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,240
you whether or not you see them.
So what we miss a lot of times, 

420
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:55,320
we try to build unity by 
adjusting our actions. 

421
00:20:55,320 --> 00:20:57,440
Well, I mean to love people 
more, so I'll just fill up my 

422
00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,120
calendar more. 
Don't do that. 

423
00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:04,080
That's not what I'm saying. 
I'm not saying fill up your 

424
00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:06,080
calendar more. 
I don't want you to become 

425
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:08,000
bitter at me or worse at the 
Lord. 

426
00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:12,520
But if you are open hearted 
towards the Lord and towards the

427
00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,160
people that He brings to your 
life, you will find that you 

428
00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,040
have enough focus and energy for
those people. 

429
00:21:19,360 --> 00:21:22,120
Look around this room. 
Literally, literally look around

430
00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:23,520
this room. 
How many of y'all think you 

431
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,400
could find time to hang out with
everybody here this month? 

432
00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:32,680
Stupid, right? 
But a lot of times we look at 

433
00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,640
the big thing, we look at the 
big picture, and it feels 

434
00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:37,120
overwhelming. 
Well, I need to be unified with 

435
00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:38,520
this many people. 
I don't know how to do it. 

436
00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:41,560
Stop trying to do something that
God didn't exactly ask you to 

437
00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,960
do. 
But I bet he's put like 3 or 4 

438
00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:47,120
in front of you. 
Numbers negotiable. 

439
00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:53,160
Love them, serve them. 
Be sensitive to a spirit when 

440
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:56,120
you can tell somebody is down 
who is normally up, Be the 

441
00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:58,480
person that goes over there and 
says you doing all right. 

442
00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,160
Don't be the person that's like,
well, if I ask them if they're 

443
00:22:02,160 --> 00:22:03,200
doing all right, they're going 
to tell me. 

444
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:07,960
That's the point. 
That's the point. 

445
00:22:08,120 --> 00:22:10,640
I haven't said it a long time, 
but how are you doing? 

446
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:12,680
Is what I call the second. 
Anybody remember? 

447
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:14,120
It's the second. 
Hello. 

448
00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:15,520
That's all it is in this 
culture. 

449
00:22:16,000 --> 00:22:18,760
We say hey, and you say hey, and
then I say, how are you doing? 

450
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:20,160
And you say good. 
How are you? 

451
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:21,400
And I say good? 
Isn't it crazy? 

452
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:26,040
We're always both good. 
That's our way of saying, dear 

453
00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:30,440
God, don't go deeper than that. 
Go deeper than that. 

454
00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:34,680
Go deeper than that. 
Not in every single 

455
00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:36,560
conversation. 
And yes, there are times you 

456
00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:38,480
have to get in and out of 
Walmart in 15 minutes or 

457
00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,000
whatever. 
I understand life, but it's not 

458
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,680
every moment. 
It is not every single moment. 

459
00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:46,120
And you know it and I know it. 
And we have both avoided people 

460
00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:47,800
that are actually divine 
missions before. 

461
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:54,920
If our primary identity is found
in preferences or opinions or 

462
00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:56,960
our backgrounds, then unity is 
always going to feel like 

463
00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:58,640
something that's fragile. 
It's going to depend on 

464
00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:04,280
circumstances going our way. 
But it also tells us that we 

465
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:07,440
will only answer Jesus's prayer 
if his prayer meets our 

466
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,440
preferences. 
What I have learned is this. 

467
00:23:12,120 --> 00:23:14,920
In the early church, they woke 
up every day knowing that the 

468
00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,520
church was their people. 
These are my people. 

469
00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:20,040
These are my people. 
That's a saying even today. 

470
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:22,800
But who are we talking about 
when we say those are my people?

471
00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:25,520
We're talking about the people 
that we can trust, the people we

472
00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:27,800
feel comfortable around, the 
people where we feel safe. 

473
00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:29,800
And guess what? 
The common denominator is there.

474
00:23:32,480 --> 00:23:35,200
It's me. 
These are the people that make 

475
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:36,960
me feel good. 
These are the people that bring 

476
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:38,520
me life. 
These are the people that bring 

477
00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:42,000
me joy. 
OK, first of all, let me say 

478
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,160
this before I move on. 
Those are important. 

479
00:23:44,880 --> 00:23:47,120
A lot of times that's kind of 
what I'm talking about. 

480
00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:50,280
Those 3-4 people or whatever, 
those people are important 

481
00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,920
because God placed them there so
that like iron sharpens iron, 

482
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:54,040
y'all can make each other 
better. 

483
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,720
But whoever said that the 
mission stopped there. 

484
00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:03,000
I have seen over my time in the 
church people divide because 

485
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:04,640
they said, well we were we were 
friends. 

486
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:09,680
But then I realized they were a 
Democrat or we were friends. 

487
00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:13,800
But then I realized they voted 
for Donald Trump or we were 

488
00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:15,760
friends. 
But then they posted something 

489
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:17,920
and it was a really negative 
opinion about something that I 

490
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,800
feel the opposite way about. 
May I gently submit to you. 

491
00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:26,920
Who cares? 
Who are you to criticize another

492
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:31,960
God's servant? 
They have the right to disagree 

493
00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:34,560
with you. 
They have the right to have 

494
00:24:34,560 --> 00:24:39,040
their own set of opinions, and 
if their opinions are harmful, 

495
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:45,360
the Lord will judge them. 
By the way, when the Lord brings

496
00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:48,200
judgement on somebody, it does 
not bring joy in a genuine 

497
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,120
Christian. 
I'm never happy when I hear 

498
00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:53,160
about death. 
I don't care if it's somebody on

499
00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:55,800
the right, the left, Muslim, 
another country. 

500
00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:57,320
I'm never excited to hear about 
death. 

501
00:24:57,320 --> 00:24:59,840
You may feel relief that a 
problem is maybe changed or 

502
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:01,720
something. 
I never celebrate death. 

503
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:04,120
Death was not part of the 
original vision. 

504
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:09,480
Amen. 
Now, if our primary identity is 

505
00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,840
found in those preferences or 
opinions or backgrounds, we're 

506
00:25:12,840 --> 00:25:14,120
going to feel like unity's 
fragile. 

507
00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:16,080
We're not going to try to help 
other people, and we're going to

508
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:17,360
withdraw. 
We're going to isolate. 

509
00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,120
In 2010, you all remember when 
there was a group of miners in 

510
00:25:22,120 --> 00:25:24,240
Chile. 
Anybody remember this? 

511
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:28,280
They were trapped under about a 
half a mile underground. 

512
00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:31,760
There was a collapse at the 
entrance of a mine, and 33 

513
00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:33,640
people were suddenly cut off 
from the world. 

514
00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,080
The entrance was sealed, and so 
there was no guarantee that the 

515
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,000
people were even alive. 
And so for days, there was 

516
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,520
silence. 
And when contact was finally 

517
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,080
made with them, what followed 
was like one of the greatest 

518
00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:46,120
rescue attempts in all of 
history because there were 

519
00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:49,680
engineers and drill operators 
and medical teams, and there 

520
00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:52,080
were government leaders and 
specialists from around the 

521
00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,360
world that all came together to 
try to figure out how to get 

522
00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:56,160
these guys home. 
And it wasn't. 

523
00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,560
Well, before we sign up to do 
this with you, are you a 

524
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:04,960
Christian drill operator? 
Before we use your communication

525
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:07,560
technology to reach out to these
men trapped under half a mile of

526
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,080
dirt, I'd like to see your 
voting record. 

527
00:26:12,440 --> 00:26:13,960
No, they said you have the 
ability to help. 

528
00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:16,120
Come on, bring it. 
Let's do this together. 

529
00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:19,320
Because what was happening there
was more important than the 

530
00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,320
other things. 
And these people were trapped 

531
00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:25,360
for a long time. 
For 69 days, that operation 

532
00:26:25,360 --> 00:26:27,560
continued. 
And everybody had different 

533
00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,840
roles, different expertise, 
different backgrounds, in some 

534
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,960
cases different languages, but 
they all had one mission. 

535
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,960
And because of that, all 33 men 
were brought safely to the 

536
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,440
surface. 
What you can see in the early 

537
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:45,000
church and in this mission from 
Chile is they really committed 

538
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:46,480
themselves to what the mission 
was. 

539
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,880
I'm afraid that as his church, 
we've committed ourselves to him

540
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,760
being our personal Lord and 
Savior. 

541
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:55,800
But Lord is sort of like 
lowercase. 

542
00:26:56,560 --> 00:27:00,000
We like the Savior part. 
Save me, Jesus, save me from 

543
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,880
those who hate me. 
Save me from myself, save me 

544
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,960
from my sin. 
Do you know what Lord means? 

545
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:11,320
Any guesses? 
He's the boss, the hefe. 

546
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:14,480
He's the guy that calls the 
shots. 

547
00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:17,840
So when he says forgive them, 
you're like, it's not a good 

548
00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:21,760
time for me. 
It's a great time for you, but I

549
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:26,320
don't want to Even better when 
he tells you to go be kind to 

550
00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:27,960
someone. 
When he tells you to pray for 

551
00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:30,520
somebody, you don't avoid it 
because you don't like that 

552
00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:32,600
person. 
Maybe he's asking you to pray 

553
00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:34,240
for them because you don't like 
them. 

554
00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:37,560
A lot of times I have found that
my prayers have changed me more 

555
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:39,720
than I've ever been able to tell
that they've changed other 

556
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:42,280
people. 
I'm going to give you a couple 

557
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:44,360
steps here. 
If you really want to act like 1

558
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,960
if you want to become one. 
And let me say this because it 

559
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:51,760
is popular to talk about today, 
although the the the catch words

560
00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:55,920
in modern personal therapy and 
psychology, narcissists and 

561
00:27:55,920 --> 00:27:57,960
boundaries and all of this. 
I'm not saying that stuff isn't 

562
00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,040
important, but what I am saying 
is the mission is more 

563
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:02,880
important. 
Jesus is not going to lead you 

564
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,920
into something that is 
personally harmful to you in 

565
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:10,400
order to carry out what he's 
asked you to do OK, Focus on 

566
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,880
what you have in common first, 
especially Jesus, rather than 

567
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,040
what divides you. 
One of my favorite things about 

568
00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,400
a believer, I can talk to them 
about Jesus. 

569
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:24,440
Sounds simple, right? 
One time I was I was, I was in a

570
00:28:24,440 --> 00:28:27,200
tank top over at a local pizza 
place here in town. 

571
00:28:27,760 --> 00:28:29,600
And somebody walked up to me and
you might find this hard to 

572
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:31,760
believe, but I have tattoos up 
here, OK. 

573
00:28:32,720 --> 00:28:34,520
And they have Christian stuff on
them. 

574
00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:36,080
And somebody said, oh, you're 
tattooed. 

575
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,000
They said, are, are you, are you
a believer? 

576
00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:40,240
And I said, I am. 
And they said, that's really 

577
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:42,000
great. 
I'm glad to see you're proud of 

578
00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,560
your faith. 
And he said, I'm a local pastor.

579
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:49,640
Do you have a church home? 
I said, I do. 

580
00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:54,120
Tell me about yours. 
And we're friends to this day. 

581
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:58,960
Do you know that is like, that's
the same thing as you running 

582
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:03,280
into somebody who has your 
sports team, but it's better. 

583
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,680
It's so much better. 
I look at somebody who loves the

584
00:29:09,680 --> 00:29:12,200
Lord and I'm like, man, I'm 
spending forever with that guy 

585
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,720
whether I want to or not, right?
It's all right. 

586
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:17,080
They're going to be perfected up
there. 

587
00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:18,840
I'll be perfected up there. 
I'm sure we'll get along 

588
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:23,360
swimmingly, but instead of being
like, yeah, you know, like I, I,

589
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:25,720
you know, feel bad for like, 
Dallas Cowboy fans or like, 

590
00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:27,000
yeah, we used to have a great 
team. 

591
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,200
Instead of uniting over the 
past, Christians unite over the 

592
00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,360
future. 
Sorry to Cowboys fans. 

593
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,880
I'm just picking on people who 
have a different team than me. 

594
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:40,160
Isn't that what we do, even as 
Christians? 

595
00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,800
So focus on what you have in 
common rather than what divides 

596
00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:46,480
you. 
I'll tell you what, as a youth 

597
00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,960
pastor, Cassie and I, we would 
try to find all sorts of things 

598
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:51,960
that would help us unite. 
We would read the books that 

599
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:53,840
they would read. 
We would listen to the music. 

600
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:56,600
They would listen to if we were 
visiting at somebody's house. 

601
00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:58,400
And they were like, we went 
shopping. 

602
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,480
Do you want to see what we got? 
In my head, I'm like, no, I 

603
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:05,480
don't want to see what you got. 
But my mouth would say, yeah, I 

604
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:07,720
do. 
Show me what you got. 

605
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:13,320
You're important to me, right? 
Have you ever considered that? 

606
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,040
How's your week been? 
What's one thing that you're 

607
00:30:16,040 --> 00:30:17,520
really excited about in the last
month? 

608
00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:19,600
What's one really good thing 
that's happened to you in the 

609
00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:21,800
past year? 
You have to know everything 

610
00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:24,040
about them. 
What's one thing that's really 

611
00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:26,680
stressing you out? 
Now, here's the tricky part. 

612
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:32,040
Remember it, write it down, Do 
whatever you got to #2 get 

613
00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:34,240
close. 
I know, I know, it's scary, but 

614
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:37,360
you can do this. 
Get close to somebody. 

615
00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:41,320
And I'm not saying that they are
your most intimate BFF of all 

616
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:43,720
time. 
Get close enough to know 

617
00:30:43,720 --> 00:30:46,480
something about them. 
Most of us have had a moment 

618
00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:48,400
where we've run into somebody 
out in public who goes to the 

619
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:51,560
same church and we kind of do 
this nod and maybe we recognize 

620
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:53,000
them from church. 
Or maybe we're just like I know 

621
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,640
them from somewhere. 
We go to the same church, don't 

622
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:57,520
we? 
Yeah, we do. 

623
00:30:57,520 --> 00:30:58,320
What's your name? 
Gary. 

624
00:30:58,320 --> 00:30:59,280
Gary. 
All right, I'm going to type 

625
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:00,760
that down if I forget it. 
Don't get mad at me. 

626
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,800
It's not that hard. 
Let them feel seen. 

627
00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,080
You want to feel like we're one,
act like one. 

628
00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,560
Our responsibility is to pay 
attention. 

629
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,040
And as much as I love it when 
y'all pay attention when I'm 

630
00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,760
preaching, I love it when I hear
you all pay attention to one 

631
00:31:16,760 --> 00:31:19,760
another. 
I love it when I say, hey, 

632
00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:21,800
you're going through fill in the
blank. 

633
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:23,800
Do you need some meals? 
And they're like, no, actually, 

634
00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:26,160
we've you know, we already got 
people from group or people from

635
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:27,240
the church are taking care of 
it. 

636
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:30,720
Oh well, but do you need blah, 
blah, blah. 

637
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:32,680
No, that's good too. 
But I'll take your prayers. 

638
00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:35,040
Fine. 
I wanted to offer more than 

639
00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,640
prayers, but how do you get to 
that place? 

640
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,280
Find a place, find a place and 
listen. 

641
00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:43,160
Liberty Church does not have all
the answers for you. 

642
00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:44,920
As a matter of fact, more 
people, more problems. 

643
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:49,920
But groups, ministries, service 
like serving in a church or 

644
00:31:49,920 --> 00:31:51,280
serving in the community 
somewhere. 

645
00:31:51,520 --> 00:31:53,800
Just be genuinely curious about 
people. 

646
00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:57,680
When you get involved with a 
group of people, just become 

647
00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:00,560
curious about them. 
I try to hop around different, 

648
00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:02,360
different table just about every
time. 

649
00:32:03,320 --> 00:32:05,040
Then I'm at a men's ministry 
meeting. 

650
00:32:05,040 --> 00:32:07,760
We meet, you know, on one 
Saturday morning a month here at

651
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,160
the church. 
And I try to sit at a different 

652
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:11,040
table each time. 
And I just try to see what the 

653
00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,200
different dynamics are. 
Pastor Tom, who was my pastor 

654
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,360
before me, he'll be here in two 
weeks to share a message with 

655
00:32:16,360 --> 00:32:20,120
us. 
He, he used to, he used to do 

656
00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:22,560
this thing every so often where 
he would be like seat change 

657
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:26,280
Sunday and at some point in the 
service, he would say, OK, now 

658
00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:30,640
get up and change your seat. 
It was always very interesting 

659
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:32,680
to see the people that got up 
and moved all the way to the 

660
00:32:32,680 --> 00:32:34,360
other, to the other side of the 
sanctuary. 

661
00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,800
I'm like, oh, that's a Peter 
because he's like, you don't 

662
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:38,680
wash my feet. 
Jesus. 

663
00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:41,000
And he's like, well, I have to. 
And he's like, OK, then wash my 

664
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,840
head in my arms. 
Calm down, psycho. 

665
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,920
OK. 
And then there's always somebody

666
00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:51,840
when he would say change their 
seat and they were like, 

667
00:32:55,840 --> 00:32:59,400
technically I followed the 
rules. 

668
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,840
Are there not Christians of both
varieties there? 

669
00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,080
I'm all out for Jesus. 
I threw away my cassettes from 

670
00:33:06,080 --> 00:33:08,680
1984 because they didn't glorify
God. 

671
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,760
And then you have somebody over 
here that's like, I bought the 

672
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:14,760
edited version of Lil Wayne 
because I love Jesus. 

673
00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:28,640
If you want to become one, major
in the majors, minor and the 

674
00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:31,560
miners. 
Don't try to change people into 

675
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,680
a version of you that you feel 
more comfortable with. 

676
00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:36,880
Make sure they're connected to 
the Lord, and pray for the Lord 

677
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:39,680
to change them as often as you 
pray for the Lord to change you.

678
00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:43,480
Why do we do that? 
Because we are one. 

679
00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:45,920
Unity cannot exist at a 
distance. 

680
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:47,480
It's impossible. 
Think about it. 

681
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,560
Unity grows when identity is 
reinforced on purpose and we 

682
00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:54,720
don't just assume it. 
And the last thing I'll say 

683
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,720
before we talk about how we 
really belong to the Lord is we 

684
00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:00,840
have to change from saying 
that's not my problem to that's 

685
00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:03,680
my family. 
I understand family's a trigger 

686
00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:06,120
word in a lot of cases just 
because of family. 

687
00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:11,080
God's the originator of family. 
He gets to define it. 

688
00:34:12,199 --> 00:34:13,880
I'm going to turn to first Peter
chapter 2. 

689
00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:15,920
Let's talk about the fact that 
we really do belong to the Lord.

690
00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:19,639
We are His. 
Have you ever considered that 

691
00:34:19,639 --> 00:34:22,880
our connection to each other is 
only as strong as our connection

692
00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:26,120
to Him? 
Oh, I wrote Ouch there on the 

693
00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:28,679
notes. 
That must have been my inside 

694
00:34:28,679 --> 00:34:31,520
voice coming out. 
Here's what I mean by that. 

695
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:36,239
What I have found is in seasons 
where I withdraw completely from

696
00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:38,960
people, and I have had these 
seasons, I try to get distance 

697
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:40,560
from the people that care about 
me the most. 

698
00:34:42,159 --> 00:34:44,639
Well, these are normally the 
seasons where I'm not as 

699
00:34:44,639 --> 00:34:48,440
connected to him. 
And I don't mean this as an 

700
00:34:48,440 --> 00:34:50,159
insult. 
I think a lot of you will 

701
00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:52,719
actually breathe a fresh breath 
of air when I say this. 

702
00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:58,080
I don't have the energy to deal 
with people in the way that I'm 

703
00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:00,280
supposed to if I don't have the 
Lord in my life. 

704
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:05,080
Another to you, you may say, 
well, I'm an extrovert. 

705
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:07,080
I love hanging out with people. 
I'm not talking about going out 

706
00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:08,600
and having fun. 
I'm talking about the deep 

707
00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:11,120
connections that we're talking 
about that marked the early 

708
00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:13,080
church and are supposed to mark 
the Church of today. 

709
00:35:15,120 --> 00:35:17,440
I don't have the energy unless 
I'm connected to the Lord. 

710
00:35:17,440 --> 00:35:19,880
And so I have to stay connected 
to the Lord. 

711
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:21,800
It's not a matter of loving 
somebody. 

712
00:35:21,800 --> 00:35:23,960
It's a matter of being able to 
do the right things at the right

713
00:35:23,960 --> 00:35:25,680
times because otherwise we don't
know this. 

714
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,800
The truth is, whether you 
believe in God or not, every 

715
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,640
single person carries a sense 
that their life is meant for 

716
00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:36,560
something. 
Even people who don't know Jesus

717
00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:40,040
wrestle with questions of 
purpose or meaning or identity. 

718
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,760
And that's not an accident. 
It's not something that culture 

719
00:35:42,760 --> 00:35:45,720
has has created and and shoved 
into our lives. 

720
00:35:45,720 --> 00:35:47,640
It's something that God placed 
inside of us. 

721
00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:51,800
Scripture tells us that we were 
made in His image, which means 

722
00:35:52,080 --> 00:35:54,960
every single person reflects 
something of God, whether they 

723
00:35:54,960 --> 00:35:59,200
acknowledge Him or not. 
You can deny God, you can ignore

724
00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:02,280
Him, or you can try to redefine 
yourself apart from Him, but 

725
00:36:02,280 --> 00:36:04,840
you'll never fully escape from 
the reality that your life was 

726
00:36:04,840 --> 00:36:09,200
designed by Him and for Him. 
That's why identity is such a 

727
00:36:09,960 --> 00:36:12,840
struggle in our culture today. 
When people lose their 

728
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:15,360
connection to the one who 
created them, they don't stop 

729
00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:17,360
searching for identity. 
They just start trying to build 

730
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:19,680
it from things that were never 
meant to carry that weight. 

731
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:22,720
Instead of recognizing that we 
were made in His image, we start

732
00:36:22,720 --> 00:36:24,560
trying to remake ourselves in 
our own image. 

733
00:36:24,800 --> 00:36:26,920
And if we're really dangerous 
and sloppy about it, we start 

734
00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:29,280
trying to remake God in the 
image that we would prefer. 

735
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:32,680
But when you come back to 
Christ, there is something that 

736
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:34,440
settles. 
Identity is no longer something 

737
00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:36,040
that you have to create. 
It's just something that you 

738
00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:39,960
receive from God in first Peter 
chapter 2, starting in verse 4. 

739
00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:44,000
Here's what this stubborn 
knucklehead for Jesus Peter 

740
00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:46,960
says. 
He says you are coming to Christ

741
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:49,200
who is the living cornerstone of
God's temple. 

742
00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:54,280
He was rejected by people, but 
he was chosen by God for great 

743
00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:55,960
honour. 
Isn't that crazy? 

744
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,160
You can be rejected by people 
and still chosen for great 

745
00:36:58,160 --> 00:37:01,640
honour too. 
And you are the living stones 

746
00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,640
that God is building into His 
spiritual temple. 

747
00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:06,520
What's more, you are His holy 
priests. 

748
00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,280
Through the mediation of Jesus 
Christ, you offer spiritual 

749
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:14,400
sacrifices that please God. 
And as the scriptures say, I am 

750
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:17,240
placing a cornerstone in 
Jerusalem chosen for great 

751
00:37:17,240 --> 00:37:19,040
honor. 
And anyone who trusts in Him 

752
00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:23,840
will never be disgraced. 
Yes, you who trust Him recognize

753
00:37:23,840 --> 00:37:27,360
the honor God has given him. 
But for those who reject Him, 

754
00:37:27,400 --> 00:37:29,840
the stone that the builders 
rejected has now become the 

755
00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:32,920
cornerstone. 
Last two verses here. 

756
00:37:33,440 --> 00:37:37,200
And He is the stone that makes 
people stumble, the rock that 

757
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,640
makes them fall. 
That sounds weird for gentle 

758
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:42,880
Jesus, doesn't it? 
But he says they stumble because

759
00:37:42,880 --> 00:37:45,440
they do not obey God's word, and
so they meet the fate that was 

760
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:49,640
planned for them. 
But you, he says, you're not 

761
00:37:49,640 --> 00:37:52,360
like that. 
You are a chosen people. 

762
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:57,120
You are royal priests, a holy 
nation, God's very own 

763
00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,880
possession. 
As a result, you can show others

764
00:37:59,880 --> 00:38:03,520
the goodness of God, for he 
called you out of the darkness 

765
00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,440
and into his wonderful light. 
We sing about being called out 

766
00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:08,320
of the darkness and into the 
wonderful light. 

767
00:38:08,720 --> 00:38:11,920
This says it was so that you 
could show others about God. 

768
00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:15,680
Well, I do it. 
I just do it from a distance. 

769
00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:21,520
Good luck. 
When you hear that scripture, 

770
00:38:21,800 --> 00:38:25,200
can you see how comprehensive 
that identity really is? 

771
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:28,320
He's the cornerstone and every 
single other stone that builds 

772
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:30,520
what God is building is you and 
I. 

773
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,040
How do you build something? 
If you take that stone out, it 

774
00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:38,640
collapses at some point, right? 
You're chosen is what it says. 

775
00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:40,480
And do you know what that means?
That means that your life isn't 

776
00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:43,360
random. 
You don't just have a random 

777
00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:45,600
deck of cards and you have to 
play the hand that you've been 

778
00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:49,400
dealt. 
No, God chose you, and your 

779
00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:51,360
purpose is so much more than 
where you work. 

780
00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:54,280
It's so much more than what you 
wear, so much more than your 

781
00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:56,960
body type. 
It's everything that's 

782
00:38:56,960 --> 00:38:59,240
intangible that is the most 
valuable to him. 

783
00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:02,480
And if you truly belong to him, 
you don't really get to define 

784
00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:05,360
yourselves independently of 
other people either. 

785
00:39:06,480 --> 00:39:09,080
You think about this. 
Characters don't get to choose 

786
00:39:09,480 --> 00:39:11,080
what they do in their story, do 
they? 

787
00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:16,840
They do what the author says. 
And we are not the individual 

788
00:39:16,840 --> 00:39:19,760
pieces trying to build separate 
lives that occasionally overlap.

789
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,240
We're being built together into 
something that is supposed to 

790
00:39:22,240 --> 00:39:26,560
reflect Jesus. 
Which means that unity is not 

791
00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:29,200
just a good idea, it's actually 
a reflection of ownership. 

792
00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:35,080
The people that I know who love 
the Lord the most, that I can 

793
00:39:35,080 --> 00:39:37,800
tell, are generally people that 
are willing to work together 

794
00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:41,480
with people who act differently,
irk them sometimes, but they 

795
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:44,880
have a sense of a greater 
mission, a greater call. 

796
00:39:46,720 --> 00:39:49,200
So when that settles in your 
heart, I think it'll change the 

797
00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:51,080
way that you approach literally 
everything. 

798
00:39:51,920 --> 00:39:53,520
Instead of asking, well, what do
I want? 

799
00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:55,120
You start to ask, what does he 
want? 

800
00:39:55,640 --> 00:39:57,160
What does he want to build 
through us? 

801
00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:59,520
It's not just what do you want 
to build in my life, God, but 

802
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:03,760
what do you want us to build? 
There was a man in the early 

803
00:40:03,760 --> 00:40:05,960
church. 
I I shared a different story 

804
00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:08,080
about him, I don't know, 
probably 2-3 months ago. 

805
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:11,080
His name was Saint Augustine of 
Hippo, nothing to do with the 

806
00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:15,400
animal. 
So I always see a cartoon 

807
00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:17,600
version of him when I say it. 
So I assume I'm not the only one

808
00:40:17,600 --> 00:40:20,400
and it's a hippo. 
But say Augustine of Hippo. 

809
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:22,960
He was just one of these like 
rank heathen sinners. 

810
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:26,200
He just, he tasted and saw what 
the world had and he was fine 

811
00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:27,800
with it. 
And how he came to the Lord is 

812
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:31,000
not the point today. 
He came to the Lord and I saw 

813
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:34,240
somebody write one time this 
quote from Saint Augustine of 

814
00:40:34,240 --> 00:40:37,960
Hippo. 
When he came to the Lord, it 

815
00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:40,040
really rocked a lot of people 
because he was one of those guys

816
00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:41,880
where they were like, oh, he'll 
never live for the Lord. 

817
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:48,000
Well, he did and he wrote this. 
You were within me, but I was 

818
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:52,920
outside. 
I read this to my wife this 

819
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:57,600
morning and cried because the 
whole time that I was looking 

820
00:40:57,600 --> 00:40:59,560
for identity. 
God, what do you want me to 

821
00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:01,320
build? 
What church do you want me to 

822
00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:03,000
attend? 
Whose advice do you want me to 

823
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:04,680
take? 
Who is supposed to be my friend?

824
00:41:04,920 --> 00:41:08,840
Which small group should I have?
I was looking all outside of me 

825
00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:12,720
and the whole time he was here. 
So I did this thing because I 

826
00:41:12,720 --> 00:41:14,880
don't know if you know this. 
It's not all the time, right? 

827
00:41:14,880 --> 00:41:20,920
But sometimes the Internet lies.
So I go to the Internet and I 

828
00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:22,400
want to see, is this really his 
quote? 

829
00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:26,160
It's not exactly his quote. 
It was already powerful. 

830
00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:29,440
I'm going to read you this quote
that comes from a book that he 

831
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:30,560
wrote. 
You could buy it. 

832
00:41:30,880 --> 00:41:34,160
It's from it's from a writing 
that he wrote called Confessions

833
00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:35,720
as he decided to live for the 
Lord. 

834
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:37,400
Here's the full thing that he 
wrote. 

835
00:41:37,640 --> 00:41:40,160
And if you're familiar with 
Christian songs and writings, 

836
00:41:40,160 --> 00:41:41,880
you'll probably recognize some 
of this terminology. 

837
00:41:41,880 --> 00:41:46,520
You'll listen to this. 
He says Late have I loved you, 

838
00:41:47,880 --> 00:41:53,280
beauty, so old and so new. 
Late have I loved you and see 

839
00:41:53,280 --> 00:41:56,480
you were within, and I was in 
the external world and sought 

840
00:41:56,480 --> 00:42:02,080
you there and in my unlovely 
state I plunged into those 

841
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:03,840
lovely created things which you 
made. 

842
00:42:04,560 --> 00:42:07,520
You were with me and I was not 
with you. 

843
00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:11,920
The lovely things kept me far 
from you, though. 

844
00:42:11,920 --> 00:42:14,040
If they did not have their 
existence in you, they had no 

845
00:42:14,040 --> 00:42:19,080
existence at all. 
He says You called and cried out

846
00:42:19,080 --> 00:42:22,680
loud and shattered my deafness. 
You were radiant and 

847
00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:26,720
resplendent, and you put to 
flight my blindness. 

848
00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:32,760
You were fragrant and I drew in 
my breath and now pant after 

849
00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:36,120
you. 
I tasted you, and I feel about 

850
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:41,240
hunger and thirst for you. 
You touched me and I am set on 

851
00:42:41,240 --> 00:42:43,280
fire to attain the peace which 
is yours. 

852
00:42:44,800 --> 00:42:49,360
That is deep in any culture, any
language, any time in history. 

853
00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:52,560
That is somebody who has had a 
genuine interaction with the 

854
00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:56,200
Lord and said, I am willing to 
be completely different if that 

855
00:42:56,200 --> 00:43:01,320
is your will. 
How many times have we looked 

856
00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:03,800
for Him outside and He was 
within all along? 

857
00:43:06,160 --> 00:43:08,760
If that's true, I just want you 
to know this. 

858
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:11,440
This cannot be a theological 
idea that we agree with. 

859
00:43:11,480 --> 00:43:13,400
It has to shape the way that we 
actually live. 

860
00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:17,720
I would just tell you the first 
step is surrendering the right 

861
00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:19,480
to define yourself on your own 
terms. 

862
00:43:19,880 --> 00:43:24,320
It's harder than you think, but 
Scripture's full of statements 

863
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:26,520
like this, isn't it? 
It's no longer I who live, but 

864
00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:32,760
Christ who lives within me. 
God, is this all right? 

865
00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:38,000
God, what do you want me to do? 
If we belong to Him, then our 

866
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,240
identities are not something 
that we're going to be trying to

867
00:43:40,240 --> 00:43:41,520
figure out. 
Who do we want to be? 

868
00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:44,800
It's who were we made to be? 
What I found is every time I 

869
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:47,000
became who I wanted to be, I was
disappointed. 

870
00:43:48,720 --> 00:43:51,680
From there, the next step is to 
let it change how you see other 

871
00:43:51,680 --> 00:43:52,960
people. 
And here's why. 

872
00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:58,800
If I'm his and you are his, I 
don't have the option of 

873
00:43:58,800 --> 00:44:02,400
reducing you to a label or a 
preference or a difference. 

874
00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:06,360
I might not understand you fully
in many cases, I don't. 

875
00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:11,160
I may not naturally connect with
you, but I have to recognize 

876
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:14,320
something deeper that you bear 
his image and you belong to him.

877
00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:16,920
And so this week, I want to 
challenge you guys to 

878
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:19,320
intentionally honor somebody 
that you might normally 

879
00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:22,200
overlook. 
Yes, you just got homework. 

880
00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:27,560
You don't have to report to me. 
That's between you and the Lord.

881
00:44:27,560 --> 00:44:29,960
But I am challenging you to go 
and honor somebody that you 

882
00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:31,440
normally would have looked right
past. 

883
00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:38,600
The last thing is it's going to 
shape the way that you live with

884
00:44:38,600 --> 00:44:40,240
your sense of purpose. 
And here's why. 

885
00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:43,600
Because if you do belong to Him,
then your life is not primarily 

886
00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:45,840
about what you can build. 
It's about what He wants to 

887
00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:47,560
build. 
And here's the coolest thing 

888
00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:49,840
about God's will. 
He can build it anywhere. 

889
00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:58,400
I've got just one tiny three 
verse scripture that I'm going 

890
00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:03,440
to share in just a moment and 
I've been praying over this all 

891
00:45:03,440 --> 00:45:05,280
morning because I didn't know if
it was of him or not. 

892
00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:09,720
How many of you all think it is 
difficult to unite with people 

893
00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:15,360
sometimes? 
OK, a lot of times we do an 

894
00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:17,240
altar call or something and we 
have you come to the front and 

895
00:45:17,240 --> 00:45:19,840
we pray with you. 
But since we're talking about 

896
00:45:19,840 --> 00:45:23,760
unity, this is the first one. 
If you want God to Rock You and 

897
00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:25,920
do a bigger work, I'm just going
to ask for you to come up here 

898
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:29,160
with me. 
I don't care how full the stage 

899
00:45:29,160 --> 00:45:31,400
gets. 
I don't care if it's two of us. 

900
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:32,840
At least my wife will do it, 
right? 

901
00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:34,640
I'm just kidding. 
No, I'm just kidding. 

902
00:45:34,640 --> 00:45:38,240
I'm just kidding. 
If you want God to reshape your 

903
00:45:38,240 --> 00:45:41,840
heart and to bring a spark back 
to life for people that you used

904
00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:45,080
to have never had, If you think 
God needs to do something, I 

905
00:45:45,080 --> 00:45:47,360
just want to pray with you up 
here and we'll do it as one. 

906
00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:52,240
I'm going to go and read this 
verse to you while you walk up. 

907
00:45:52,680 --> 00:45:57,880
First Peter chapter 2, just 
finishing it says this. 

908
00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:04,480
Once you had no identity as a 
people, but now you're God's 

909
00:46:04,480 --> 00:46:10,840
people. 
Once you received no mercy, but 

910
00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:19,120
now you've received God's mercy.
Dear friends, I warn you as 

911
00:46:19,120 --> 00:46:21,520
temporary residents and 
foreigners to keep away from 

912
00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:24,320
worldly desires that wage war 
against your very souls. 

913
00:46:26,280 --> 00:46:28,840
And the last verse says, be 
careful to live properly among 

914
00:46:28,840 --> 00:46:31,920
your unbelieving neighbors. 
Then even if they accuse you of 

915
00:46:31,920 --> 00:46:36,200
doing wrong, they'll see your 
honourable behaviour and they 

916
00:46:36,200 --> 00:46:38,200
will give honour to God when He 
judges the world. 

917
00:46:41,720 --> 00:46:43,920
I'm going to turn around in a 
second, but I want you to know 

918
00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:46,360
this is my nightmare looking out
this way. 

919
00:46:54,280 --> 00:47:01,280
If you're up here, you hold each
other accountable in love and 

920
00:47:01,280 --> 00:47:06,200
that goes for me too. 
The mission that God has laid 

921
00:47:06,200 --> 00:47:11,000
out for us matters so much more.
If you are up here, I want you 

922
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,680
to know you have a personal 
commitment from me to help you 

923
00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:15,840
carry your pain, even if I can't
solve it. 

924
00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:18,920
But I expect you to help me 
carry my pain. 

925
00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:22,440
I commit to help carry your 
burdens. 

926
00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:24,360
What was the saying yesterday 
from the men's meeting? 

927
00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:26,840
I forget who said it. 
God gave us burdens, but He also

928
00:47:26,840 --> 00:47:30,320
gave us shoulders. 
I'll share my shoulders with you

929
00:47:30,320 --> 00:47:38,480
if you share yours with me. 
God, would you just bless us 

930
00:47:38,480 --> 00:47:40,280
with unity? 
Would you just give us a heart 

931
00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:43,080
that beats for what your heart 
beats for? 

932
00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:50,640
We want to honour you and we 
want to honour your mission. 

933
00:47:51,360 --> 00:47:54,240
So as this week goes on, as you 
start to reflect in our heart 

934
00:47:54,240 --> 00:47:56,880
people that we need to honour 
and add value to, would you just

935
00:47:56,880 --> 00:47:59,480
correct us in areas that we have
spoken out of turn? 

936
00:47:59,920 --> 00:48:03,160
Would you correct us in places 
that we've acted in a way that 

937
00:48:03,160 --> 00:48:05,520
didn't reflect you? 
For the areas that we carry 

938
00:48:05,520 --> 00:48:08,560
shame, we ask for you to be true
to your word and take it off of 

939
00:48:08,560 --> 00:48:11,640
us and give us your yoke. 
Instead, we release our burdens 

940
00:48:11,640 --> 00:48:14,440
to you and God. 
Would you give us the courage to

941
00:48:14,440 --> 00:48:16,920
open up to the people we need so
that we can carry it better? 

942
00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:21,240
Let us be yours and let us be 
one in the name of Jesus. 

943
00:48:22,040 --> 00:48:23,720
Amen. 
Amen. 

944
00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:25,480
Hey, thank you guys for being up
here. 

945
00:48:29,960 --> 00:48:32,400
Y'all can go back to your seats,
but don't sit down because we're

946
00:48:32,400 --> 00:48:34,760
going to sing. 
But I want you to know where 

947
00:48:34,760 --> 00:48:37,400
we're going because unity is 
such an important thing. 

948
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:43,000
Over the next six weeks, we're 
going to talk about being built 

949
00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:46,160
by honor, how what we say about 
each other can either strengthen

950
00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:48,960
or destroy unity. 
We're going to talk about being 

951
00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:51,920
built by generations when Pastor
Tom is here and we talk about 

952
00:48:51,920 --> 00:48:56,080
the value in every generation. 
We'll talk about humility and 

953
00:48:56,080 --> 00:48:59,480
forgiveness and about fighting a
common enemy. 

954
00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:03,440
But today we'll start by 
worshipping the same God 

955
00:49:03,440 --> 00:49:05,440
together with one voice and of 
one of court. 

956
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:05,800
Amen.