1 00:00:00,680 --> 00:00:02,480 I don't know if you ever stopped to think about it while we're 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:04,080 singing those songs, especially that song. 3 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:06,400 I just think about the fact that, you know, you came to 4 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:09,200 church this morning, you probably came to worship, but I 5 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,240 don't know if you realize that you are coming to join with 6 00:00:12,320 --> 00:00:15,840 angels. You came to join with churches 7 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,080 and Christians, billions of Christians around the world 8 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:21,200 coming together to worship the holy mighty God. 9 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,000 Isn't that kind of incredible? So not blow your mind a little 10 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:25,040 bit. And here's the best part. 11 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:27,880 He's worthy of every single bit of it. 12 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:32,439 He, he is everything. And so today there is nothing 13 00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:35,280 that we could, that there's no amount of praise we could give 14 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:36,880 them that would be more than enough. 15 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:41,200 He, he is worthy of all of it. And so I hope it's one thing to 16 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:44,320 sing. It's, it's one thing to, to sing 17 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:46,360 at the top of your lungs, one thing to raise your hands, but 18 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,520 the other thing is just to surrender. 19 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:51,440 And that's where I hope we'll be this morning to take a position 20 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:56,160 of, of surrender and openness that God will speak to us and 21 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,640 lead us and guide us. We're, we're talking about the 22 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:00,840 love triangle. And in our world, love triangles 23 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,480 are messy. You know, when, when we have a 24 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,200 love triangle, that's typically not a good thing because in, in 25 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,880 our world's love triangles, if you're closer to one person than 26 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:13,920 that, it's going to be a problem with someone else. 27 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:15,920 But here's the good thing. We're talking about the love 28 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:20,360 triangle because God has created us to be in relationship with 29 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:22,360 him and relationship with each other. 30 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:26,560 And so we are created to to grow in relationship with each other. 31 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,960 And, and here's the thing, as we grow closer to God, we should 32 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:34,000 grow closer to each other. He should lead us to love each 33 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:37,080 other more. And if you really surround 34 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,880 yourself with people that love God, then as you grow closer 35 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,560 with them, they should help you grow closer with God. 36 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,120 And so we have this love triangle that we're talking 37 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,880 about. We were created for fellowship. 38 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,680 We were not created to lock ourselves away. 39 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,320 The Christian life is not one of seclusion. 40 00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:59,640 It's not one of trying, you know, locking yourself away and 41 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,120 trying to keep yourself away from all the terrible people. 42 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,600 The Christian life is meant to be a life that's lived in 43 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:08,759 relationship with God and with others. 44 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:11,880 And so we want to grow in our relationship with God and with 45 00:02:11,880 --> 00:02:14,760 others today. Last week, we talked about the 46 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:16,080 fact that we are called a fellowship. 47 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,800 First, John 1 talks a lot about fellowship that we are to share 48 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:25,160 in this life together, share in this faith, share in this love 49 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:29,280 that that God has for us and and we were created for fellowship 50 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,360 with God and others. And some of God's greatest gifts 51 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,280 are found in fellowship. Some of the best moments of your 52 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:38,760 life, probably all the best moments of your life involve 53 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,320 other people because you were created to share life. 54 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:45,680 And then last week we talked about the fact that God is light 55 00:02:45,680 --> 00:02:49,080 and that if you shine the light of God on your relationships, 56 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,120 then you will they will be at their best and you will honour 57 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:54,960 God and you will live in close fellowship with each other. 58 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:56,880 Today we're going to be in first John chapter 3. 59 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,760 We're going to read verse one and then verse 11 through 24. 60 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:02,200 So stand with me and honour God's word. 61 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:10,080 And some of this text is challenging, very challenging, 62 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,200 and if you just read over it and you really don't let it sink in, 63 00:03:14,200 --> 00:03:16,760 if you really don't come surrendered, then it won't 64 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:18,880 challenge you. But my prayer is that this will 65 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:23,040 really deeply challenge you and that you will be open to what 66 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:26,160 God has for you today and you allow Him to speak to you 67 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:27,760 through His Word. That's why we stand and honor 68 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:29,960 God's Word. So I'll read and you can follow 69 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:31,560 along. On the screen it says see what 70 00:03:31,560 --> 00:03:35,680 great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should 71 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:38,920 be called children of God and that's what we are. 72 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,360 The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know 73 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,600 him. Skipping down to verse 11 for 74 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:46,600 this is the message you heard from the beginning. 75 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:52,560 We should love one another. Do not be like Cain who belonged 76 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,280 to the evil 1 and murdered his brother. 77 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:57,640 And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were 78 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,800 evil and his brothers were righteous. 79 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:01,960 So do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the 80 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:05,560 world hates you. But we know that we have passed 81 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,320 from death to life because we love each other. 82 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:11,920 Anyone who does not love remains in death. 83 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,279 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you 84 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,160 know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 85 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:21,560 This is how we know what love is. 86 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:26,440 Jesus Christ laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down 87 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:27,840 our lives for our brothers and sisters. 88 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:30,920 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother 89 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:33,760 or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love 90 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:38,280 of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love 91 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:41,360 with words or speech, but with actions and truth. 92 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:44,680 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we 93 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:46,360 set our hearts at rest in His presence. 94 00:04:46,360 --> 00:04:48,720 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than 95 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,960 our hearts and He knows everything. 96 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:53,480 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have 97 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,200 confidence before God and receive from Him anything we 98 00:04:56,200 --> 00:04:59,160 ask, because we keep His commands and we do what pleases 99 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,480 Him. And this is His command, to 100 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:06,680 believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and to love one 101 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:10,280 another as He has commanded us. The one who keeps God's commands 102 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:13,280 lives in him and He in them, and this is how we know that He 103 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:16,640 lives in us. We know it by the Spirit He gave 104 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:18,120 us. Praise the Lord, you can have a 105 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,000 seat. The focal point of chapter 1 is 106 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,520 this fellowship that we are to share life together. 107 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,920 We're share faith together, to share love for each other. 108 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,840 This, this agape love. But I, I want you to understand 109 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:36,080 that it's more than just, Hey, we are a common group of people 110 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,840 that believe something together. It's more than just, hey, we're 111 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:43,000 a group of people that that join together at this church. 112 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,880 And so we have this bond. It's, it's more than that, guys. 113 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:48,880 We are a part of the family of God. 114 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:54,920 It starts in verse one and and guys, I, I want you to feel how 115 00:05:54,920 --> 00:06:00,440 incredible this is. See what great love the father 116 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:05,880 has lavished on us that we could be called children of God and 117 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:09,160 that is what we are. It's God's great love, guys, the 118 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,320 God that created the universe, the God that created all of us 119 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,680 loves you not just a little bit, but has this great love for you. 120 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:22,640 And it says that he lavishes this love on us, a lavished turn 121 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,840 to someone say God loves me. He lavishes his love on me. 122 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:29,360 Come on, tell him God loves you. He lavishes his love on you. 123 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:34,720 See the great love that the father has lavished on us that 124 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:36,880 we get to be called children of God. 125 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,880 Listen, I don't, I don't know what your, your family, you 126 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,880 know, earthly family situation is like, but, but I've got 127 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,480 really good news. No matter what. 128 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:51,360 That's like the God that created the universe loves you so much 129 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,520 that he lavishes his love on you and has allowed you to become a 130 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,520 child of God. Praise the Lord. 131 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:05,160 We had friends in South Carolina at our church and wonderful 132 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,640 people and they got a call. I don't know how all of this was 133 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,920 arranged, but they got a call from a hospital and they said, 134 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,600 Hey, we have a baby here and the baby's not going to make it. 135 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:21,080 And, and the baby has nobody to just hold, hold the baby, hold 136 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:23,080 him. They said, would you be willing 137 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:27,040 to come and just hold this baby until the baby dies and just 138 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:29,840 love the baby? And so our friend said yeah, 139 00:07:30,960 --> 00:07:34,160 and, and, and went and held the baby every day. 140 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:35,760 Went and held the baby, just loved it. 141 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:39,640 Not, not that they had any responsibility to, not that they 142 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,200 had to, not that there was anything that had earned that, 143 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,120 but just went to love and hold the baby and, and this 144 00:07:46,120 --> 00:07:50,480 incredible thing happened. The baby kept living and their 145 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:56,560 love grew and the baby kept living and got healthy and they 146 00:07:56,560 --> 00:08:02,520 adopted their son. And now today he's 25 years old 147 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:07,480 and he is a part of the family and live and well because of the 148 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:10,880 love that they showed. What an incredible thing, guys. 149 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:13,040 That's the picture we have from God. 150 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,320 It's not, it's not a chore. It's not a task that God has to 151 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:17,640 do. It doesn't say God loves you 152 00:08:17,800 --> 00:08:21,480 because he has to, you rotten, rotten person. 153 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:28,000 It says that he has great love for you and he lavishes his love 154 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:32,520 on you. I just can't even, I can't even 155 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:35,919 begin to imagine how much God loves us. 156 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:38,280 And he wants you to know it today. 157 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:41,360 And he invites you into the family just as that friend of 158 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:45,360 ours held the baby and loved the baby and then eventually adopted 159 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,040 and it became a part of the family just as much as the rest 160 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:50,640 of the family, the other kids, this is a part of the family. 161 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:54,800 We are adopted because of God's great love for us. 162 00:08:55,200 --> 00:09:01,360 You today either are a child of God or can be a child of God if 163 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:06,440 you accept His grace and love. God loves you more than you will 164 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:11,240 ever know and he lavishes His love on you. 165 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:12,800 Go ahead and say lavish one more time. 166 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:15,720 All right, so you understand. I hope you understand. 167 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,160 I hope I did a good enough job explaining to you that God loves 168 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:21,440 you. Now I want to explain to you 169 00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:25,440 that God loves the person next to you and God loves the person 170 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,880 next to them and God loves the person at the other side of the 171 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:30,400 room. God loves this side of the room. 172 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:34,920 Go ahead, say lavished guys, God lavishes his love on on this 173 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:35,720 side. But guess what? 174 00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:39,520 God lavishes his love on the go and say lavished what about you 175 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:42,040 middle? What about you balcony? 176 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,080 It's it's not just that God loves me and lavishes love on me 177 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,160 and not just that he adopts me as a child of God, but but he 178 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,480 also loves the people next to me and the people around me and 179 00:09:52,480 --> 00:09:56,200 adopts them as children of God. Anyone who will accept his love 180 00:09:56,200 --> 00:09:58,480 and grace becomes a child of God. 181 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:04,600 And so as God's love makes us His children, it also brings us 182 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:09,440 together as family. We're brothers and sisters in 183 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,560 Christ. God doesn't just love me, He 184 00:10:13,560 --> 00:10:17,720 loves each one of you, which means that we are linked 185 00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:23,880 together by His love. He lavishes His love on us, and 186 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:28,080 we come together as a family in His love. 187 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:32,640 Praise the Lord, Say praise the Lord Theresa made fun of me this 188 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,200 week with the teens and and she did all she did was stood up 189 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:37,640 there and said say this, say this, I'm on fire today. 190 00:10:37,640 --> 00:10:38,840 We're going to keep doing it. You're going to keep 191 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:43,400 participating. God loves you and we are family. 192 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,600 It goes on it and it talks about loving each other. 193 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:50,160 Verse 11 says for this message you've heard from the beginning, 194 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:54,800 you should love one another. And then it gets into this, this 195 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:56,920 weird part talking about hate and murder. 196 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:00,360 Do not be like Cain who belonged to the evil 1 and murdered his 197 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:02,520 brother. Why did he murder him? 198 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:04,840 Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were 199 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,280 righteous. And then it goes on and says, do 200 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:09,880 not be surprised my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 201 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:15,200 But we know that we have passed from death to life because we 202 00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:22,440 don't curse, we don't drink, we don't smoke, we don't cut people 203 00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,480 off in traffic. No, because we love each other. 204 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,680 It's not a list of rules that tells us that we've passed from 205 00:11:29,680 --> 00:11:32,240 death to life. It's the love that we have for 206 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:35,120 each other. And anyone who does not love 207 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:38,680 remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or 208 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:41,600 sister is a murderer. And you know that no murderer 209 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:43,520 has eternal life residing in him. 210 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,240 But we're called to love. So it talks about this love and 211 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:48,560 hate first. John plays this back and forth 212 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:52,960 between love and hate. God has lavished his love on 213 00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:55,160 you. He's invited you into the 214 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:59,040 family, made you a child of God. Now you are supposed to be a 215 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:04,080 person of love, not hate. Now that we're a part of the 216 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:08,600 family of God, now that God has lavished his love on us, we are 217 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:14,040 to love others. It says anyone who does not love 218 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:16,040 remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or 219 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,000 sister is a murderer. You know that no murderer has 220 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:21,840 eternal life residing in him. Here's the deal. 221 00:12:21,840 --> 00:12:25,480 There is no room for hate or murder. 222 00:12:26,040 --> 00:12:31,080 Let's just make that clear. No, no room for hate and God's 223 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,320 family. I probably don't need to tell 224 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:35,760 you not to murder each other. I hope I don't need to tell you 225 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,440 that. But I do want to tell you that 226 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,080 you should not even hate each other. 227 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,680 In fact, this goes pretty far. It's it's pretty harsh. 228 00:12:43,680 --> 00:12:48,560 It says anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer. 229 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:55,560 You see, love lavishing love gives life, but when we hate, we 230 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:58,600 take away life. And it says you, you may as well 231 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:02,120 be a murderer. There's no room for hate in 232 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,800 God's family. If you are a child of God and 233 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,440 you accept His grace and His love, then you cannot have 234 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,880 hatred for someone else. If you have hatred for someone 235 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:16,920 else in your heart, you're not loving God with your heart. 236 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:19,360 Those two things are incompatible. 237 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:25,720 So #1 don't hate #2 don't murder, but but #3 don't be 238 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:30,040 surprised if people who don't follow Jesus are hateful to you. 239 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:35,640 They're not of the love of God. So, so don't hate. 240 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,600 But then it goes on and in verse 16 it says this is how we know 241 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,280 what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life 242 00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,920 for us. Now we ought to lay down our 243 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:48,200 lives for our brothers and sisters. 244 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,200 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother 245 00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:54,520 or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love 246 00:13:54,520 --> 00:13:58,360 of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love 247 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:02,920 with words or speech, but with actions and truth. 248 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,200 The first thing I want you to know it today is that God 249 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,880 lavishes His love on you. He invites you into the family, 250 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,600 adopts you as a son or daughter and his family. 251 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:18,440 But the second thing is we are called to a crazy love for each 252 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:23,960 other. Just feel the gravity of this. 253 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,040 This is how we know what love is. 254 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,480 That Jesus Christ laid down his life for you. 255 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,760 Now you need to lay down your life for each other. 256 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:36,800 Guys, do you not feel the heaviness of that? 257 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:39,800 Am I the only one that feels the heaviness that we just 258 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:43,200 celebrated Easter and before that Good Friday and we, we 259 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:45,600 understood that Jesus died on a cross. 260 00:14:45,720 --> 00:14:49,440 He was, his body was broken, he bled, his bones were broken. 261 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,480 He, he died on a cross for our sins. 262 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:54,080 He gave his life so that we could have freedom and 263 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:59,400 salvation. And it says in the same way we 264 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:04,240 should love each other. God's love is not just lavished 265 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:05,800 on us. We're not just linked together 266 00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:10,040 by love, but we're called to live love out for each other. 267 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,520 God's sacrificial love is a calling that we are called to. 268 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:19,240 Just as Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for us, we should 269 00:15:19,240 --> 00:15:22,880 sacrifice for others. What does this look like? 270 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:27,120 Most of you have probably never had an opportunity to give your 271 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:31,160 life to die for somebody else. Maybe you have. 272 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,080 I, I, I remember several years ago, I talked about this in 273 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,280 sermons, but the house down the street caught on fire. 274 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:40,960 It was right after I picked up one of my kids from the bus stop 275 00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:44,640 and we got back to our house about 3 or 4 houses away. 276 00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:47,680 And we heard yelling and turned around and saw smoke coming out 277 00:15:47,680 --> 00:15:50,640 of the windows. And, and so I took off and ran 278 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:52,360 down there. And by the time I got down 279 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:55,960 there, I'm a slow runner, there were flames shooting out the 280 00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,600 windows. The front door had blown off. 281 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,680 I mean, this place was just a blaze. 282 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:04,800 And I didn't, I mean, it was a panicked moment. 283 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:05,920 I got there. I didn't know what to do. 284 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,880 So I ran into the garage and I opened the garage door and there 285 00:16:08,880 --> 00:16:12,080 was smoke from ceiling to floor. I couldn't see a thing. 286 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:14,760 I'd never been in that house. But but the kids were yelling, 287 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,080 Grandpa, grandpa. And I thought, what, what am I 288 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:18,480 going to do when I got to that door? 289 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,280 And I opened the door and the dogs came out and I thought, 290 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,080 what am I going to do? Have you ever been in that 291 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,480 position where you were tempted? You were thinking, will I give 292 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:32,040 my life for someone else? And I started to call out, Hey, 293 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:36,480 hello, Is anyone there? And nobody answered. 294 00:16:37,680 --> 00:16:39,840 And, and I didn't have that opportunity. 295 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,800 But I, I, in that moment, I mean, that was one of those 296 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:47,600 moments that I thought, am I willing to lay down my life for 297 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,200 someone else? Have you ever wondered that? 298 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:50,520 Have you ever thought about that? 299 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:55,600 Maybe you won't ever get a chance to die for somebody else, 300 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:01,160 but I got to tell you have the opportunity to sacrifice and 301 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:03,240 live your life for others every single day. 302 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:07,480 We, we may not be able to give the ultimate sacrifice, but we 303 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:10,920 can live in a way that we give our lives to others, that we 304 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:16,200 live as a sacrifice for others, that we put others first, that 305 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,359 that, that we think of others first, that we listen to people. 306 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:22,760 Maybe you won't have to die for somebody, but maybe it's, it's 307 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:25,440 inconveniently taking time to listen to someone. 308 00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:28,560 Maybe it's giving something. Maybe it's getting out of your 309 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:32,040 comfort zone and serving in a way that's uncomfortable for 310 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:34,640 you. We have the opportunity. 311 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:38,160 It says that we should, we should love others the way that 312 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:41,040 Jesus loved us. That's not saying you have to go 313 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:43,360 die on a cross. He's already paid for people's 314 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:46,440 sins. But that does mean that we need 315 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,080 to live a life of sacrificial love for the people around us. 316 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:53,640 We need to lay down our lives every day for others. 317 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:55,520 And here's the deal. This isn't a suggestion. 318 00:17:56,440 --> 00:17:58,680 It doesn't say, hey, if you love Jesus and you're a part of the 319 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:02,040 family of God, then maybe if you're feeling right, if you've 320 00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,160 had your coffee, if everything's going well, if you've got a 321 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,400 little extra money, if you got a little extra time, if you got a 322 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:10,120 little extra energy, then you can give. 323 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:14,800 It doesn't say that. It says we should love others 324 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:20,760 the way that Jesus loved us. We should lay down our lives for 325 00:18:20,760 --> 00:18:21,640 others. It goes on. 326 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:23,960 It gets even more challenging. If anyone has material 327 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,720 possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no 328 00:18:27,720 --> 00:18:31,080 pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 329 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:36,760 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech, but with 330 00:18:36,760 --> 00:18:42,080 actions and truth. We are invited into the family. 331 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:45,120 God's love is lavished on us. We are linked together by love. 332 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:48,720 We are called to live out our love, and that is a thing of 333 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:51,320 action. We're not called to just love. 334 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,200 And we're hey, I love you. Hey, I'll pray for you. 335 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:57,000 Hey, I'm thinking of you. Hey, I'm there for you. 336 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:01,120 It's not just about speech. It's not just about words. 337 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:07,520 We're called to actually love and to put our love into action. 338 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:13,920 Now, this is where it gets really tricky because it's not 339 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:16,520 always easy to know what that looks like to love others. 340 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:18,480 Is it? How many of you have ever been 341 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,840 in a a tough situation where you didn't know exactly what loving 342 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:26,240 somebody else looked like? Just two of us. 343 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:28,440 OK, cool. Hey, good to have you. 344 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:33,800 Thanks for being here. Listen, if you, if you live for 345 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:36,720 very long and if you do your best to honor God, I promise 346 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,240 you, you're going to be put into some situations where it's tough 347 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,480 to know what the loving thing to do is. 348 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:44,640 I mean, we're, we're a church here. 349 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:48,920 We have people come here all the time asking for help, asking for 350 00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:50,880 money, asking for different things. 351 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,720 And, and every time someone comes here, we have an 352 00:19:53,720 --> 00:20:00,920 opportunity to see them, to love them. 353 00:20:01,560 --> 00:20:05,440 Now that love doesn't always mean giving them exactly what 354 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:09,280 they asked for. Sometimes it is really tricky. 355 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:13,600 There have been people that I have invested months and years 356 00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:17,280 into and I've asked myself the question, am I really loving 357 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:19,560 them right? Am I really doing the right 358 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:23,120 thing or am I just enabling? Am I just, you know, making 359 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:26,480 things worse and worse? And it is a tricky thing. 360 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,120 It says if anyone has material possessions and sees a brother 361 00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:31,800 and sister in need but has no pity on them, how and the love 362 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,760 of God be in that person. This doesn't mean that every 363 00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:37,760 person that walks by you and says I need this, you have to 364 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:42,440 give it to him. What it does mean is this we 365 00:20:42,440 --> 00:20:45,520 need to learn to see other people the way that God sees 366 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:49,600 them and we need to learn to put our love into action. 367 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,960 I love this it. It says not just words and 368 00:20:52,960 --> 00:21:00,320 speech, but action and truth. Sometimes the loving thing is 369 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:05,240 speaking truth, but the right thing to do is never to cast 370 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:10,640 someone away and to not see them or love them. 371 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:14,200 We're called to love, to lay down our lives for other people. 372 00:21:14,200 --> 00:21:18,200 I was thinking about this. My son Jack loves chicken minis 373 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:19,960 from Chick-fil-A. Sorry to bring it up. 374 00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:22,480 You can't get it today. I apologize. 375 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,000 Jack loves chicken minis. Sometimes in the morning I'll 376 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:28,400 take Sam to school. Sorry, Sam. 377 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,720 I'll take Sam to school and then on the way back I'll grab 378 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:33,760 chicken minis for the boys I owe. 379 00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:35,000 Yes. No, I don't. 380 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,080 I've got plenty of stuff. But but the other day a couple 381 00:21:39,080 --> 00:21:43,080 weeks ago, I I grabbed A10 count because when I get back, Eli's 382 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:44,560 still asleep, but the other two boys are there. 383 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,600 It's just the three of us. So 10 counts kind of perfect. 384 00:21:46,600 --> 00:21:49,720 They can each eat 4, all eat 2 and maybe some of the hash 385 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:52,160 Browns and it's perfect. So I got a 10 count and hash 386 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,040 Browns and I took him home and that day Charlie didn't feel 387 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,040 like eating. So he said I don't need any. 388 00:21:57,320 --> 00:21:59,720 And to be honest, I didn't really want any. 389 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:06,240 Jack crushed 10 chicken minis and the hash Browns like this 390 00:22:06,240 --> 00:22:10,080 boy can put it down. He loves them. 391 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:11,880 And the next day he'll he'll ask again. 392 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,200 Hey, can I get chicken minis? Hey, Dad, every day. 393 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,200 Hey, he would ask me every single day. 394 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:18,960 Can I get chicken minis? Now listen, the loving thing to 395 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,600 do as a father. Listen, I I want to bless him. 396 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,720 I want to lavish love on him. I would love to get him chicken 397 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,120 minis every day. But it's not the right thing. 398 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:30,280 It wouldn't actually be good for him, would it? 399 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,240 And so sometimes there's this really tricky thing it says if 400 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:37,560 anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in 401 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,280 need but does not have pity on them, how can the love of God be 402 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:43,840 in that person? Let us love with actions and 403 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:47,000 truth. It's messy, it's tricky. 404 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:51,040 Sometimes people hurt you, sometimes people are in the 405 00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:52,960 wrong. How do we behave? 406 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:59,400 How do we love someone in a way that is action and truth, not 407 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,520 just words? Well, I like the third part of 408 00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:04,040 this. Number one, we're linked by 409 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:05,960 love. We're lavished love. 410 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:08,480 We're a part of the family #2 we're called to live out that 411 00:23:08,480 --> 00:23:10,680 love with actions. But that's messy. 412 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,040 I love this last part, verse 23. And this is his command to 413 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:18,760 believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one 414 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,720 another as He has commanded us. The One who keeps God's commands 415 00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:26,720 lives in Him, and He and them. And this is how we know that He 416 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:32,120 lives in us. We know it by the Spirit he gave 417 00:23:32,120 --> 00:23:34,320 us. Here's the beautiful thing. 418 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:36,160 You are invited into the family of God. 419 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:37,840 God has lavished His love on you. 420 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:41,440 You are a child of God. If you accept His grace and His 421 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,080 love, and He is your Father. You are a child of God. 422 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,600 We are linked together. We are called to love the way 423 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:53,320 Jesus loves, which is messy and tricky and sometimes really 424 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,520 hard. Sometimes it's hard just to 425 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:58,160 know. Here's the good news. 426 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,920 His command is to believe in his Son Jesus Christ, to love one 427 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,040 another. And listen to this next part. 428 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:10,320 The one who keeps God's commands lives in him and he in them. 429 00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:12,760 And this is how we know that he lives in us. 430 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,720 We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 431 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:18,840 See, God didn't just say, hey, I love you. 432 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,320 You're a part of my family. Now go love each other the way I 433 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,480 love you. Good luck with that. 434 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:29,240 No, when we accept Him as our Saviour, He fills us with His 435 00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:33,560 Spirit and we have the very Spirit of God living in US, 436 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,440 leading us. See, loving others is difficult 437 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,160 and messy, but God has given us His Spirit to lead us in love. 438 00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:43,200 So not only are we linked by love, not only are we to live 439 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:47,600 love out, but we are led to love by the Spirit of God. 440 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:50,320 It's not supposed to be a mystery. 441 00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:54,080 He doesn't leave us on our own. He wants to not just command us 442 00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:57,880 to love, but He wants to show us how to love each other. 443 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:03,680 It is messy, it is tricky. The church can be a tricky 444 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:06,440 place. It is hard to love each other 445 00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:10,880 sometimes. But praise the Lord, Not only 446 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:15,040 does he lavish his love on us and invite us in, but he fills 447 00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:21,000 us with his very spirit that teaches us how to love. 448 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:29,120 You know, I've, I've never once followed God's leading and then 449 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:33,600 regretted what I did. I've never once felt God leading 450 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,600 me to love or to give or to serve and then thought 451 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,640 afterwards, oh, I wish I hadn't done that. 452 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:43,480 God was wrong on that one. Not one time in my life, but 453 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,080 there have been lots of times where I did it my way and I 454 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:51,440 thought, man, I wish I could go back and I wish I could listen 455 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:54,760 to God. Had a moment this week. 456 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,120 I need your help with this. I'm going to talk about one of 457 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:02,400 my kids and I need you to do me a favor and not ever go talk to 458 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,840 this kid about it, OK? Can you nod your head if you're 459 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:06,800 with me? If not, if one of you doesn't 460 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:09,080 nod your head, I can't do it. Everybody nod your head. 461 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:14,120 Tuesday night we had a basketball game. 462 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,000 I won't tell you which kid, but he's not in this room. 463 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:23,840 And that only leaves 25050. But my son had a basketball 464 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:29,000 game, I went to the game and he had by far his worst basketball 465 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,480 game ever. I mean, I'm not just talking 466 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,880 about the way he played, although that was the worst he's 467 00:26:35,880 --> 00:26:38,760 ever played. I mean, missing layups, like 468 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,640 that's not like him. I mean, he's just missing wide 469 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:43,400 open layups. Hitting the bottom of the 470 00:26:43,400 --> 00:26:45,360 backboard like this is not like him. 471 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,040 He couldn't hit a shot. He was, he would have a fast 472 00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:50,000 break and would just lose the ball out of bounds. 473 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,320 I mean, he was just a mess. And and that's, that's hard 474 00:26:55,320 --> 00:27:00,480 because as a dad, I love him and I want him to be at his best and 475 00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:02,880 I want him to be happy and I don't want, I knew he was 476 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,880 hurting. Then this thing happened and 477 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,160 this is where it really turned even worse. 478 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,080 He was dribbling up the floor and a guy stole the ball from 479 00:27:11,080 --> 00:27:12,520 him. And, and I knew he was hurting 480 00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,080 and I knew he was upset and I knew he was embarrassed. 481 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,440 The guy stole the ball from him and dribbled down. 482 00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:20,960 He chased the guy down, jumped up and had a really awesome 483 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,600 block on the guy. But instead of turning around 484 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:27,040 and walking back to his team, he ran up and got in the guy's face 485 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,320 and was just, I mean, it was ugly. 486 00:27:30,880 --> 00:27:34,560 Got a technical foul. All right, let me flashback 25 487 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:36,720 years. That might not be long enough. 488 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:42,200 27 years, I was in high school, I got a technical foul. 489 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:48,960 My dad is near perfect. I got a technical foul. 490 00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:50,480 It wasn't, I didn't get anyone's face. 491 00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:53,680 I wasn't nasty. I just a ref called a foul and 492 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:56,640 they literally walked over and looked at me and another guy and 493 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,920 said you and I said, oh, come on, you got to know who you're 494 00:27:59,920 --> 00:28:02,280 calling it on. And they teed me up. 495 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,200 They gave me a technical. Guys, if you thought there was 496 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:09,320 an earthquake that day, it wasn't an earthquake. 497 00:28:09,320 --> 00:28:14,280 It was my dad in the car after the game getting on to me about 498 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:16,120 the technical. My dad was near perfect, but 499 00:28:16,120 --> 00:28:21,120 man, I got it that day. And here, here my son's having 500 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:25,600 the worst game of his life and he's not reacting well to it. 501 00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:28,920 The worst part is I can't stop it. 502 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:32,440 And he goes over and he gets in this kids face and he gets a 503 00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:34,840 technical and they have to pull him out of the game and the rest 504 00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:36,480 of the game. I mean there's nothing I can do. 505 00:28:36,480 --> 00:28:40,560 He's just back and forth with people and just losing his mind. 506 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,280 A couple people in the stands when when he got that technical 507 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:49,040 file were like, that's OK. I said no it's not because I 508 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:52,400 know what my dad felt that day and I was sitting there in the 509 00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:54,880 stands and I was thinking it's OK to not be good. 510 00:28:55,560 --> 00:28:59,080 It's OK to miss shots. It's never OK. 511 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:03,840 It's never OK to lose your mind and take it out on others. 512 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:08,920 And I was angry and Megan said, you know what, I'll bet he's 513 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:11,200 glad he doesn't have to ride home with you today. 514 00:29:13,360 --> 00:29:17,800 And I said, he's riding home with me today and we're going to 515 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:21,640 talk about this. More stuff happened in the game. 516 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:24,560 The other coach, you know, was whatever. 517 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,240 I got more and more upset at the end of the game. 518 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,640 I didn't know what to do. I was so frustrated. 519 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:31,360 I was so mad. I was mad at my son. 520 00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:34,280 I was mad at the other coach. I got in my car after and I 521 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:38,520 thought I might just go back in, not to fight, but I need to say 522 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:43,640 something, you know, and I just really had to stop cuz see, I'm 523 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:52,680 called, I'm called to love others the way that God loves 524 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:58,360 me. That means my son when he's 525 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:04,080 having his worst moments, I need to love him the way that God 526 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:07,560 loves me. That means the other coach. 527 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,480 So we got to the end of the game and I just thought, you know 528 00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:13,760 what? I, I just don't think that I'm 529 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:17,000 ready for that right now. I said, Megan, why don't you 530 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,360 take him home? I had board meeting. 531 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:22,880 That's the best part of this. I'm oh man, I'm so angry. 532 00:30:23,640 --> 00:30:28,440 I have to go to board meeting. The whole way to board meeting, 533 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:32,920 I prayed, Lord, isn't it amazing how when I'm preaching 534 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:34,880 something, it always comes up in my life. 535 00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:40,360 I said, Lord, I need you. I want to love my son. 536 00:30:40,360 --> 00:30:44,680 Well, I want to not just, I don't want, I don't want to 537 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,160 enable, I don't want to condone something that's clearly wrong, 538 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:52,120 but I also never want to communicate anything but love. 539 00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:57,520 And by the way, Lord, I'm going to board me. 540 00:30:57,520 --> 00:30:59,680 Can you help me out here? Can you bring it down a little 541 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:05,000 bit? And so I waited and I prayed and 542 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:08,720 I got to tell you, God doesn't just call me to love my son. 543 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:14,480 God doesn't just call me into this mess, but he gave me a 544 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:22,960 spirit to lead me and guide me. And I didn't know what to do, so 545 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:29,080 I stopped and I prayed and God led me. 546 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:32,360 And I don't know if I did it perfectly, but I do know that I 547 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:37,480 did it obediently to Him. Worship team, come on up, stand 548 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,240 with me. Here's the deal. 549 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,560 God has lavished His love on you today. 550 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:45,160 I hope you know just how much God loves you. 551 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,120 And maybe there are some of you here today who have never 552 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:52,520 accepted his love and grace. You've never become a part of 553 00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:54,480 his family. You've never said, Lord, I want 554 00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,360 you to be my Savior today. I want you to know that he has 555 00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:01,200 given everything for you that that Jesus came and died on a 556 00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:04,320 cross to give you forgiveness for your sins, but also to give 557 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,360 you life. And all it takes today to 558 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:10,680 receive that, to be a child of God is just to say, God, forgive 559 00:32:10,680 --> 00:32:14,480 me. I want you to be my father, and 560 00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,920 it's here He lavishes His love for some of you today. 561 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:22,200 Maybe you need to respond and receive the love. 562 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:25,360 Maybe you've never received that kind of love. 563 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:29,120 Today God is here. He loves you, and He wants to 564 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,440 pour that love out and adopt you as a child of God. 565 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,200 We're called to live out that love, to love each other. 566 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,600 And guys, that can be really, really hard. 567 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:45,600 That can be really, really hard. Love is messy. 568 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:50,000 It's really hard to know how to love sometimes and people that 569 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:53,840 hurt you, people, people that are, are in great need that it 570 00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:57,720 is hard to know today. You are called to love others 571 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:03,280 the way that God loves you. The good news is this, He gives 572 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:06,440 us His Spirit. So maybe some of you need to 573 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:08,560 accept His love and come into the family. 574 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:10,800 Maybe some of you are in the family and you're dealing with 575 00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:14,720 some messy situations. I know that some of you are, I 576 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:17,360 got good news. His Spirit is here and wants to 577 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:21,760 lead you and guide you, show you how to love each other well. 578 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:23,840 So we're going to respond to God's word. 579 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:26,480 We're going to respond. And, and this is where I want us 580 00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,560 to take a position of worship and surrender. 581 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:30,600 And today I just want you to search your heart. 582 00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,240 And if there's something that that you need to give to God, if 583 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:35,600 there's something you need his guidance on, I want to invite 584 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:36,840 you. You can always come pray in an 585 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:39,080 altar. You can pray where you are, but 586 00:33:39,080 --> 00:33:40,640 there's something great about coming down here. 587 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,040 It's not a place of shame or embarrassment. 588 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,960 It's a place of surrender. And God's spirit and God's power 589 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:50,560 is here and wants to work and lead you and guide you today. 590 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:52,840 If you've never accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, there's no 591 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:56,640 greater choice you can make today than to accept His gift of 592 00:33:56,640 --> 00:33:59,960 love and grace. Lord, I pray you lead us and 593 00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:02,720 guide us. We're going to sing. 594 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:04,840 I will make room. Lord, today, maybe some of us 595 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:08,320 need to make room. We need to allow you to come 596 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:10,040 into our heart and lead us and guide us. 597 00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:13,600 Maybe some of us need to pause and step back. 598 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:16,280 Maybe there's a situation that's happening and we just don't know 599 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:19,600 what to do. Lord, I pray today we would come 600 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:22,440 to You. We would lay it down, lead us 601 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:24,120 and guide us. Help us to respond to Your word 602 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:27,639 now in Jesus name, Amen. If you need to come pray, you 603 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:30,560 can pray. If you need to sit, sit, but 604 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:32,040 respond to God's Word and worship.