1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,160 Now, I don't know about you guys, but I got a little bit of 2 00:00:02,160 --> 00:00:03,920 a reminder as I came in here today. 3 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,280 Some of the stuff we're talking about today in the message, the 4 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,200 only answer that I could come up with is that I had no words. 5 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:13,400 But with God, you always have one word that you can always 6 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:14,480 give. And even when you have no 7 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:17,440 answers, when nothing makes sense, you always have praise 8 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,040 that you can offer your King. If you come away with any 9 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:21,440 reminder, let that be the reminder. 10 00:00:21,440 --> 00:00:23,520 Man. Thank you so much for everyone 11 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:24,600 being in here in the house today. 12 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:25,600 Can you give it up for yourselves? 13 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,760 Can you get up for the online crew and go ahead and take 30 14 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:31,280 seconds, greet anybody and everybody that's around you? 15 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:06,440 Man, I hate to break up conversation, but you guys can 16 00:01:06,440 --> 00:01:10,080 go ahead and take a seat. If you look up on the screen, we 17 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:11,560 have something called a connection card. 18 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:13,880 It's up here on the screen. You're going to find it on your 19 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:16,760 seat. If you're new here, this is for 20 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:19,520 you, but I'm going to ask you to fill out the top of this 21 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:23,360 connection card, not because we want something from you, but we 22 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:26,000 want something for you. We just want to get to know you. 23 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,000 We want you to come and introduce yourselves to us and 24 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,720 it filters everything that we do as a church filters through you. 25 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,440 You guys are our mission. Our mission as this church is to 26 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,080 see people discover their real life and purpose in Jesus. 27 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:41,080 This is what we pray about every week. 28 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:43,480 Every week that we have our message, we see hands raised and 29 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,560 people follow God. That is our win. 30 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,600 That is our North Star that guides. 31 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:51,040 So if you're new, go ahead and find that connection card, get 32 00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:53,400 that filled out and please get it turned in because I'll just 33 00:01:53,400 --> 00:01:55,480 reiterate, we really want to meet you. 34 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:01,080 That's why we do all that we do. And moving gears, I don't know 35 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:03,040 about you guys, but raise your hand in here. 36 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,360 If this series on heaven has been challenging for you, if 37 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:08,560 it's giving you the encouragement to look at life in 38 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,120 a different way, well, I'm going to the encouragement. 39 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:13,960 I've been working on a class right now. 40 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,640 I've been finishing a project on Acts and there's something that 41 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:19,160 I've never really noticed before or I haven't really put words to 42 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:20,840 it. But when you go through Acts and 43 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:25,200 you read Acts, something that sticks out is how different 44 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,360 everybody in the early church is from each other. 45 00:02:27,720 --> 00:02:31,400 You have Jews, you have Greeks, the gentiles, you have the 46 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,920 intellectual elites in Athens, you have the blue collar workers 47 00:02:34,920 --> 00:02:36,600 in live show. You have all these different 48 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:39,720 people from all walks of life from all different perspectives 49 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:42,400 with all different problems coming together and finding a 50 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,600 new identity, an identity in Jesus Christ and nothing else 51 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:47,800 alone. So as we get ready to jump into 52 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:50,280 this message with Barry, I'm going to give you guys the 53 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,320 encouragement and the challenge that what if thinking about 54 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,000 heaven, it changed not only the way you think about life, but 55 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,680 what if it changed the way you think about identity in the way 56 00:02:58,680 --> 00:03:00,720 you pursued relationships in love? 57 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,240 Go ahead and give up. A real warm welcome for Barry 58 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:04,680 Hardy, who's bringing our message on. 59 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:13,640 Heaven, What's up real life? If I know it feels weird, you 60 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:17,720 should be calling me Dad, right? Always. 61 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,520 I've got, I've got a cousin. He never called his dad by. 62 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:22,480 He never said dad. He always called him Larry. 63 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,320 And I'm just like, man, it's just it's always weird. 64 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,400 So man, did you guys have a good week? 65 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,880 Man, I don't know about you guys, but if you were in a live 66 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:32,840 group this week, man, what a great start. 67 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:34,000 How many of you guys are in live groups? 68 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:36,400 You've got it for live groups, man Awesome man. 69 00:03:36,400 --> 00:03:38,720 Thank you guys. Thank you Life Group leaders #1 70 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,040 for just giving some time and it's encouragement. 71 00:03:41,520 --> 00:03:43,480 I kind of give you this courage, but if you haven't found your 72 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:44,840 life group, there was one for you. 73 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:47,360 You'll find a life group, man. It is life giving. 74 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,560 We say all the time, but we gather here at Real Life on 75 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:55,000 Sundays at at Kentucky Trail and this isn't where it stops, man. 76 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,560 We go throughout the week and the people that you get to meet 77 00:03:57,760 --> 00:03:59,600 become your family. They honestly do. 78 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,120 They're the people you can call at 3:00 in the morning for 79 00:04:02,120 --> 00:04:05,240 whatever. Start with Sean and then you can 80 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:07,440 move to me, but then go to your life group, right? 81 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:09,760 I called him at 7 the other night. 82 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,760 He didn't answer for me. So I think he was, I think he 83 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:14,120 wasn't feeling he's a little under the weather. 84 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:16,399 But man, my courage for you guys is find your life group, man. 85 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:19,519 They are where you find life. Other awesome thing you guys can 86 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:21,959 hear about a little bit more. We are doing a welcome party 87 00:04:21,959 --> 00:04:24,520 today. So if you are new or newer, man, 88 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:26,960 our courage man is don't run out after this gathering. 89 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:29,160 Come hang out with us. We would love just to visit with 90 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:31,160 you hanging out. It's just right past the 91 00:04:31,160 --> 00:04:32,640 bathrooms. You'll see the signs for it 92 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:33,720 again. You'll hear a little bit more. 93 00:04:34,200 --> 00:04:36,720 I don't a little bit. So today is something a little 94 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,600 different in Kansas City than we normally have experienced in the 95 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:40,680 last several years. What's today? 96 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:44,760 You guys know Super Bowl, right? And you guys don't have the 97 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:46,680 passion that you guys have had the last couple years. 98 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:47,720 Why? I don't get it. 99 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,600 I don't understand. We'll be back next year. 100 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:54,200 I miss Tony or he he hope. Hope springs eternal with that 101 00:04:54,200 --> 00:04:57,480 young man. It's a little different because 102 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:01,320 we're not involved, right man, I can, I'm going to give you a 103 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:03,840 confession time. Like when I grew up up to 104 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:06,520 probably in my mid 20s and life destroyed me a little bit just 105 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,040 from work and just stuff. I love sports. 106 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:11,680 Not only do I love sports, I live for sports. 107 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:15,200 I'm the guy that had the stats. I'm the guy that just knew every 108 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:16,560 player that was going to get drafted. 109 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:18,280 My son's a little bit like that now. 110 00:05:18,280 --> 00:05:20,520 And here's the best thing. Here's what I really enjoyed 111 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,600 about sports. You could pick your team, right? 112 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,560 And in Kansas City, you know, there's a lot of different 113 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:28,320 places, you know, a lot of different teams we would fight 114 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:29,920 over. So there's some right and wrong 115 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:34,120 answers here. Are you guys MU or KUMU? 116 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,760 If you say K, you're wrong. K State's acceptable. 117 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,120 K State's acceptable. Enemy of my enemy is my friend, 118 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,760 right? You know who I was always You 119 00:05:42,760 --> 00:05:45,480 know who I was always impressed with when I'd go to Arrowhead 120 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,600 and I'd see that one Raiders guy in the bottom Mike. 121 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,880 That guy's either the stupidest guy in the world or he's just 122 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,720 man, he's all in. He doesn't care where he's at. 123 00:05:55,720 --> 00:05:58,160 He's going to represent. And I would see Chiefs fans do 124 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,640 the same thing where they're in Denver or wherever the Raiders 125 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:03,520 were were were playing at the time because they kept getting 126 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,400 kicked city to city, right. The best thing was just having 127 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,760 this identity, man. The, the, the I remember and 128 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:13,960 it's just like it happened yesterday, NCAA Final Four, 129 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,120 March Madness, and I live for it. 130 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,440 We would have, we used to bet in school, we bet our teachers, 131 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,640 we'd have pots going. I know that's not really 132 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:23,640 Christian, right? But that's what I we live for 133 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:25,360 it. And the one night that broke my 134 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:27,160 heart was when a Christian Leitner hit that turn around 135 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,360 because there's one team that I hate more than KU and it's a 136 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,320 Duke. And when they sunk that shot to 137 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,960 win, I was just devastated. So as I think about sports and 138 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:38,400 things like that, that's kind of gone for me a little bit, but I 139 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:41,720 still see how we all identify and we find our people. 140 00:06:41,720 --> 00:06:44,440 And today we're going to talk a little bit about tribes and 141 00:06:44,440 --> 00:06:46,680 there's a lot of things we fight about and we and kind of it's 142 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:50,040 fun like sports. I know there was some car guys 143 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:51,360 in here, right? There's one at the back. 144 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:56,720 You guys like Ford or Chevy? Chevy got a Ford guy back here. 145 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:59,920 He loves his Mustangs, right? Or are you hiding? 146 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:00,960 You're supposed to be back there. 147 00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:04,400 You couldn't give him a Cam or a Camaro. 148 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,000 Well, you might give it to me. You sell them and get a Mustang, 149 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,760 right? But man, I grew up Ford versus 150 00:07:09,760 --> 00:07:12,240 Chevy there. What else do we fight about? 151 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,080 Stupid stuff, right? Toilet paper up, flipped up or 152 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,920 flipped down, right? There's a lot of silly things 153 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,280 like this. One of the things that I thought 154 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,560 about as Sean's been preaching, man, I've loved this series on 155 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,800 heaven. And the thing about heaven is 156 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:28,360 this is that we're going to spend eternity. 157 00:07:28,680 --> 00:07:30,480 And we've looked at that, what it looks like, you know, are we 158 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:32,160 going to know each other? What are we going to be doing? 159 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:36,720 But I'm going to be spending eternity with you guys and all 160 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,040 those little simple, silly things that we kind of fought 161 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:41,800 about or just teased each other about, we know that those things 162 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:45,360 are going to disappear, right? But there's a lot of things that 163 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:49,200 we tend to divide over in this world, man, that are a little 164 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:53,320 held a little closer, right? And so as we go through today, I 165 00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:55,920 want you guys to keep the idea of if, if we're going to spend 166 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:58,200 eternity with each other, if we're going to be in heaven. 167 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:02,040 Is there something that Jesus has to say about this time on 168 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:04,240 earth? He preached a lot about its 169 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,000 Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is coming and 170 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,560 is near and is at hand, and it is here. 171 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,840 And as Jesus gives us these these commands and Paul gives us 172 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,760 these, these, these exhortations, I'm challenged so 173 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,280 many times in my living the way that God has called me to live. 174 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:23,720 Because the things that really divide us, that we care about 175 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,680 and that we get upset about, a lot of times they come from our 176 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,360 values, things that we hold dear, things that we were raised 177 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,640 with, right? And then we see somebody else on 178 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:35,080 the other side and they're not in our tribe anymore because 179 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,200 they don't believe the way that we do or they don't live the way 180 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,679 that we want them to live. And there becomes this division 181 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,559 that I don't that I don't think God honors and God wants for us. 182 00:08:43,799 --> 00:08:48,000 And so today with the viewpoint of heaven, I really want to get 183 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:51,680 into the to, to, to the, the nitty gritty, the real life of 184 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:54,840 how we move day in and day out, because what are some of those 185 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:56,280 things that that divide the world? 186 00:08:57,480 --> 00:08:59,320 You guys are all have something on your mind right now. 187 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,760 And I'll list a few of them because they're probably the 188 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:04,960 ones that jump out at you. So many ways that we divide 189 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,200 ourselves. Some of the biggest ways is over 190 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:09,320 identification of what we look like, right? 191 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:13,520 It's black versus white, it's white versus Hispanic. 192 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,560 We have this idea of what race is and how it divides us and 193 00:09:16,560 --> 00:09:19,760 who's in our crew, who's on our clan, who's in our tribe and 194 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:24,440 who's not. And as the world moves, we see 195 00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:26,360 that happen across the world. It doesn't happen just in the 196 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,120 United States, right? You look at the the war between 197 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,240 Ukraine and Russia and they're basically, they're basically 198 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:33,320 brothers. They're cousins. 199 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,080 You look at the war in, in, in, in, in, in Israel between, in 200 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,280 Gaza, between between Israel and and the Palestinians, right? 201 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,320 These are things that divide us. What else divides us? 202 00:09:45,720 --> 00:09:48,720 Here's a good one, left versus right politics, right. 203 00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:52,040 Got a little more quiet on that one, didn't it? 204 00:09:53,520 --> 00:09:56,600 How do you vote? Because I want to know. 205 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,840 Because if you tell me how you vote, who you voted for, I know 206 00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:02,600 exactly who I'm dealing with right now. 207 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:05,080 I know how to size you up. I know what to think about you. 208 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:08,360 I know what you value. I really know what you're worth. 209 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:11,640 And that's what we do. And we're going to come back to 210 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,800 some of these male versus female, right? 211 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:21,400 Another great division point, the politics of how that breaks 212 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:26,280 out, whether it's college sports, who's in power, who we 213 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:29,680 allow it to be CEO, who he called to do different types of 214 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:32,040 jobs, right? These are things that have 215 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:34,720 divided this country for the last several 100 years. 216 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:36,760 And here's what I'm going to do today. 217 00:10:36,760 --> 00:10:39,360 And here's what I want to do. I'm not here to give you an 218 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:44,440 opinion, my thoughts, my values, really my goal for you guys is 219 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,160 this. I want to challenge you through 220 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:50,320 God's Word to look at these issues, how Jesus sees them. 221 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,240 And I don't have to guess and you don't have to guess because 222 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:57,560 he plainly tells us how we should value things because how 223 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:01,800 we look at each other is the core of the church, right? 224 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:06,280 It's the core of the gospel. So we're going to go, I'm not 225 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:07,920 much of A preacher. I'm more of a teacher. 226 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:10,160 So we're going to we're going to, we're going to teach today 227 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:11,160 and we're going to learn together. 228 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:12,680 OK. And so we're going to start with 229 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:13,840 some verses. I'm going to give you guys a 230 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,040 couple verses and I'm going to have you guys read, you read 231 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:18,280 them with me. And then we're going to revisit 232 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:20,640 some of these issues and we're going to read them in the 233 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:22,640 context of these verses. And I'm going to tell you some 234 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:24,520 stories from from from the Gospels. 235 00:11:24,920 --> 00:11:27,840 And I hope you guys tie this into how you guys move day in 236 00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:29,840 and day out. So the first verse that I want 237 00:11:29,840 --> 00:11:32,560 to give you guys is this. It's in Galatians, Galatians 238 00:11:32,560 --> 00:11:35,040 328. So I want you guys to read with 239 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:35,880 me. Can you guys do that? 240 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:42,720 All right, together there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither 241 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:50,440 slave nor free or is there male and female for you are all one 242 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,960 in Christ Jesus. How many of you have heard that 243 00:11:53,960 --> 00:11:55,000 verse? Can you raise your hands? 244 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,320 How many of you guys know what that verse means? 245 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:02,640 All right, we read those words in a lot of times. 246 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:05,520 We understand the, the, the just of Woody's what, what Paul's 247 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:07,480 getting at. But sometimes we miss the 248 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:10,280 context and, and, and what Logan was talking about was absolutely 249 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,560 true. I'll flesh this out a little bit 250 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:16,280 more in a minute, but these are the three main divisions of 251 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,240 people tribes that Paul would have been talking to. 252 00:12:20,040 --> 00:12:22,640 These are how people split themselves apart in his society, 253 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,920 in his culture, in his day. First one, Jew versus Gentiles. 254 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,200 If you were Jew, you were what you were the covenant people of 255 00:12:31,200 --> 00:12:32,640 God. You were the, you were the 256 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:34,520 people that the Old Testament was written to. 257 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:37,760 If you were a Gentile, you were outside of that. 258 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,520 Now, there were some Gentile believers that got pulled into 259 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,480 and into, into the Judaism, into into that faith. 260 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,480 But for the most part, there was a hard divide. 261 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,720 And when the church started, there was no Gentiles. 262 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,720 In fact, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was a very, very 263 00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:57,880 alarming thing when Peter was called to bring the gospel to 264 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:00,040 the Gentiles and then Paul became the apostle to the 265 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:02,920 Gentiles. When that church started, that's 266 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:04,200 not what they thought was going to happen. 267 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:07,520 They thought this was the Messiah. 268 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:10,000 It was the Jewish Messiah. It was for them. 269 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:12,000 It wasn't for the rest of the world. 270 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:16,280 And so when Paul's reaching out and saying, hey, guys, I'm 271 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:17,880 writing to this church in Galatia, but it's for all the 272 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:19,720 churches. There's no more Jew. 273 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,680 There's no more gentile, neither slave nor free. 274 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,480 What a division. We don't have slavery anymore. 275 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:30,760 But when you think of slavery here in this country, it's 276 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:32,560 chattel slavery. It was based on race. 277 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,600 It was based on bringing other people in to make them do work. 278 00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,680 Well, in that time there was more of an indentured servitude, 279 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:42,640 but in in that society, you were a nobody. 280 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:48,120 If you were a slave, you had no rights, you had no power, you 281 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:50,440 had nothing. You couldn't vote. 282 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:53,200 You were less than the less right. 283 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:56,800 You read the stories of like the prodigal son coming back. 284 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:59,760 Hey, I want to come back and at least be a slave in in my dad's 285 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:02,080 household because at least they eat and that's the extent of 286 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,600 what they got right. Or if you want to read Philemon 287 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,040 in the story of Oneessimus and radically changed what the view 288 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,240 of a slave was going to be. But Can you imagine? 289 00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:14,560 We don't have slavery necessarily here today, but we 290 00:14:14,560 --> 00:14:16,880 have this division of economics in our country, right? 291 00:14:17,400 --> 00:14:19,360 So I'd like to say this. So we have the haves and the 292 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:21,400 have nots, you have the rich, the poor. 293 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,280 And what often times happens is that you put yourself in 294 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:28,440 whatever category that you think you belong and you look down on 295 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:32,880 the other group, right? Run in circles where people have 296 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:35,960 done very, very well financially and they look at anybody else 297 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:37,920 around them. They're like, well, they're, 298 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:41,200 they're poor because of XY and Z and they look down on them. 299 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,600 But then I've seen the opposite. Because I work in concrete and I 300 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:46,960 work around the guys. Nobody's a millionaire's doing 301 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:49,200 what I do. And I work around a lot of guys 302 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,600 that have like this, this, this attitude of, of, of, of greed. 303 00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:55,800 And they look up and they're like, those people don't deserve 304 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:56,760 it. I deserve it. 305 00:14:57,200 --> 00:14:59,840 And if I had it, I would do better with those resources than 306 00:14:59,840 --> 00:15:02,600 they do. So we split and we divide over 307 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,960 it. And then the last one is a is, 308 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:11,880 is just the idea of of, of of of, you know, the, the, the 309 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,440 politics, you know, all one in Christ and we'll and we'll visit 310 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:18,840 this when we take these divisions where there's male, 311 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:23,960 female, slave or free Jew or Gentile, and we allow these to 312 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,240 divide us. Paul saying you're missing the 313 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:30,720 point because what are we one in we one in this tribe or that 314 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:32,600 tribe? What does Paul, what does Paul 315 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:35,440 say that we're one in Christ Jesus, right? 316 00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:38,080 But so many times we missed that point. 317 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,680 Second verse I want you guys read with me is in John, John 318 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,320 chapter 13. This is 34 through 35. 319 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:47,640 Before we read it, I want to give you guys a little bit of 320 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:49,120 context of when this was happening. 321 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:53,200 This was at the Last Supper. This is one of the last things 322 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,640 that Jesus told his disciples. If you're getting ready to go 323 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,600 and die and be crucified, do you think you're sharing important 324 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,360 things or just like, Oh yeah, I forgot about this, Let me let 325 00:16:02,360 --> 00:16:04,920 you know about it, right? That's not what Jesus was doing. 326 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:07,680 Jesus was saying, hey, this is on my heart. 327 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:13,560 This is important. And even in that moment, the 328 00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:16,400 disciples, they missed it because you know what happens 329 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:18,120 right after this, this verse that we're going to read, 330 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:20,600 Peter's like, I'll go with you, I'll do anything. 331 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:23,600 And then Peter or Jesus predicts Peter's denial. 332 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:26,760 And so I want you guys to read with me because this is on 333 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:28,600 Jesus's heart, what he wants for us. 334 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,640 John 1334 read with me. You guys again, right? 335 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:38,440 A new command I give you love one another as I have loved you, 336 00:16:38,920 --> 00:16:43,720 so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that 337 00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:52,080 you are my disciples. If you love one another a new 338 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:57,400 command a lot of times how many guys that have siblings? 339 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,120 Very many of you guys, a lot of you do you guys ever get you 340 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:01,800 have to wear the buddy shirt? Did you ever get that? 341 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:04,839 You have to love your brother? You have to love your sister. 342 00:17:04,839 --> 00:17:08,720 I'm like, I'll say it, I don't mean it, right? 343 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,200 And a lot of times I would I, I would have, you know, 344 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,079 conversation with my friends like man, I have to love my 345 00:17:17,079 --> 00:17:18,839 brother, right? I don't really love him, but I 346 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:20,720 have to love him. And that's kind of how we would 347 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:22,440 take it. You know, that's my family, 348 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:24,040 that's my blood. I have to that's, that's the 349 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,160 family that I was given. It was the one I was born to. 350 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,200 It's not the one I chose, right? But the church is the one that 351 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,680 God chose. And I love how he frames this. 352 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,920 A new command. And you don't see Jesus giving 353 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:39,680 out very many commands, do you? He just doesn't do it. 354 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:42,240 He gives examples, he gives parables, he gives stories. 355 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:44,800 There's very few times that he gives us a command and this is 356 00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:47,720 one of them. Love one another. 357 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:52,560 How you ever thought about how Jesus loved you and that we're 358 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,040 commanded to love each other the way that Jesus loves us? 359 00:17:55,920 --> 00:17:59,440 How did Jesus love us? He loved us with everything. 360 00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:02,560 And in this moment, he's getting ready to get crucified. 361 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:06,400 He's getting ready to give up heaven, who he was. 362 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:08,640 He's getting ready to get mocked, beaten, destroyed, 363 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:11,240 broken down, scourged, humiliated. 364 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,280 And that's how he loved us. And it's a challenge for me to 365 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,960 think about. Do I I not only love my real 366 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:24,280 life family the way that Jesus loves me, but do I love other 367 00:18:24,280 --> 00:18:27,280 churches, other Christians, whether in this country or 368 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,960 across the world? Do I love them in a sacrificial 369 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:34,840 way that Jesus loves me? And in a moment of honesty, most 370 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,000 of the time I have to answer, I'm like, I don't know that I 371 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:38,320 do. I don't know that I live up to 372 00:18:38,320 --> 00:18:42,160 that standard, but I recognize it as a standard, something that 373 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:45,080 God's called us to. And I love this other part. 374 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,800 We are living as a church before a watching world. 375 00:18:48,960 --> 00:18:50,400 You guys ever feel like you're getting watched? 376 00:18:51,040 --> 00:18:52,000 Yeah, for sure. Right. 377 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:58,080 How many times do we let down the world because we act like 378 00:18:58,080 --> 00:19:01,080 they do? I'm not surprised when the world 379 00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:05,320 gets in fights over politics or over over gender or over 380 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:08,360 economics. But when the church does the 381 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:11,120 same thing, I think it's a black eye. 382 00:19:11,840 --> 00:19:14,000 And how can we keep the vision of what Pastor Sean's talked 383 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,400 about with heaven? How can we say that we believe 384 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:18,240 that and we're living for that. And that's what we're called to. 385 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:22,320 And that's what we're looking. That's our hope when we hold on 386 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,400 to the things of the earth. Man, growing up, I grew up in a 387 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:29,280 Baptist Church and I always heard if we ever talked about 388 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:32,600 heaven, we always heard it as a choice of of two, right? 389 00:19:33,040 --> 00:19:34,720 You'd picked either what heaven or what? 390 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,960 That's not how Jesus frames it. Now, he talks a lot about hell, 391 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,320 but most of the time when he talks about choosing the Kingdom 392 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:47,040 of God in heaven, the alternative is earth or heaven. 393 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:51,680 Because he knew that it was easy for us to say that we wanted 394 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,080 heaven, but then we choose earthly things. 395 00:19:54,600 --> 00:20:00,080 And so many of his stories, like the rich young ruler, it's not a 396 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:03,160 choice of heaven and hell, which ultimately it is, but it's a 397 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:07,440 choice of what do I put first? My wants, my needs, my identity, 398 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,040 who I am, how I'm valued. Because that's the idea of what 399 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:13,400 a tribe is, right? What is a tribe? 400 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:18,880 A tribe is people that look like me, that think like me, that 401 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:22,120 believe like me. And, and for so many ways that 402 00:20:22,120 --> 00:20:24,800 you think that it is a very pragmatic way to do it. 403 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:28,200 I had an uncle that he loved Native American history, man. 404 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:31,360 He would just take me to places and we would read books and I 405 00:20:31,360 --> 00:20:33,840 would read about Sitting Bull and I would read about Geronimo 406 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:38,000 and I would read about how these tribes identified and, and how 407 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,240 they warred against each other. And some were peaceful and some, 408 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,840 some were more warlike if they all had an identity, right, that 409 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:48,960 you were the Apache or Lakota or Cherokee. 410 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,480 And it was interesting to see how these tribes worked. 411 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,600 But by nature, a lot of humanity is tribe, tribal. 412 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:01,080 And so when we identify, we do it because we want to hold the 413 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:03,120 other people out because they can't be trusted. 414 00:21:04,520 --> 00:21:07,240 We can't love them because they're not like us, right? 415 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:10,800 And whatever we use as a division, whatever uses a tribe 416 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:13,760 to separate and hold each other out. 417 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:16,320 And that's not what Jesus has called us to. 418 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,160 That's not what Jesus has called this church to or the church 419 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:23,520 universal. And so I've shared with you guys 420 00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:24,800 2 verses. I want to share with you guys 421 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:27,360 three quick stories from from the life of Jesus. 422 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:30,480 One's a story that he told, and two are examples of how he 423 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:32,680 lived. And I want you guys to think of 424 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:36,360 the things that divide you guys. Maybe you have a divided family. 425 00:21:36,360 --> 00:21:39,640 Maybe you have a divided workplace, maybe you have a 426 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,200 division, maybe even within the walls of this of, of real life 427 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:47,040 of how you see the world different than they do. 428 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,280 And then as you read these stories, I want you to let 429 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:53,960 Jesus's words in his example. I want you to let that feed into 430 00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:59,080 your heart and let us as as as as a church grow together in 431 00:21:59,080 --> 00:22:03,560 what God's called us to. So race is one of the first 432 00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,840 things I mentioned. And honestly, if you read 433 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:08,800 Genesis, I don't think race is a real thing. 434 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:13,120 I think it's a construct. When God created humans, who do 435 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:15,240 you create? Adam and Eve. 436 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,400 Now, how we all changed over time. 437 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,600 We still have the same parents, we're all still the same people. 438 00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:26,920 We are one human race. But for us, how we look, how 439 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:29,880 we're shaped, how we're built, we divide over that because, 440 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,360 well, they look that way. So they go to that church or 441 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:34,920 they go to this society. In fact, one of the most famous 442 00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,240 quotes is do you guys know what the most segregated hour in 443 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:41,840 America has historically been church hour Sunday morning. 444 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,280 Why some of us just because our communities who we just tend to 445 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:48,960 be around, but some of its culture. 446 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:52,120 But to me, I don't know that it's always the best thing. 447 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,560 I know it's not the best thing, but how we navigate that is 448 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:57,720 that's just that's kind of a growing thing. 449 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:00,400 That's how how, how, how Christ missed the church, right? 450 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,720 But when we look at race, I think a lot of times we we miss 451 00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:05,840 it and we don't understand what's really going on. 452 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:07,840 I'm going to tell a story of one of my kids. 453 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,160 I probably shouldn't do this, but you guys are going to like 454 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:12,800 it. You guys remember the movie Lone 455 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:16,680 Survivor Marcus Luttrell, right? I think that's his name. 456 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:19,800 Great movie. I had AI had a little bit of a 457 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:23,640 moral dilemma when it came out. My two boys, I think Coleman was 458 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:27,160 8 and Logan would have been like 8 or 9 and and Logan would have 459 00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:28,880 been 10/11/12 somewhere in there. 460 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:33,640 So I've tried to raise my kids and protect them from things 461 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:37,320 that hurt them, but I want to expose them to things of how the 462 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:39,640 world really is. So I remember talking to Christy 463 00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,520 and some of our friends. I had some other friends I was 464 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,960 going to church with, like, hey, I'm going to take my kids and 465 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:47,320 show them this movie, not to glorify war, but show them how 466 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,960 war really is. Because the promos were is like, 467 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,240 you know, this is how things are actually happened and what's 468 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,640 going on. And I'm like, all right, are 469 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:56,040 they too young? I don't know. 470 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:58,360 And I made the decision to go ahead and take the boys. 471 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,720 And so if you've seen the movie, if you've, you know how violent 472 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,400 it is, what everything that he went through as he was getting 473 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,520 pursued and, and, and, and almost taken. 474 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:10,240 And you get to the end of the movie, if you haven't seen it, 475 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,120 I'll just kind of set up the last little scene. 476 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,080 So the guy's trying to get out. He's got a village where they've 477 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:17,360 protected him. And the Taliban's coming. 478 00:24:17,360 --> 00:24:20,440 This is in Afghanistan. So they are completely 479 00:24:20,440 --> 00:24:22,800 surrounded. They're outnumbered, and the 480 00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:24,920 Taliban's overrunning this village, right? 481 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:28,200 And it's full of drama, full of tents, you know, just, it's just 482 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:30,280 just, it's just, oh, man, what's going to happen? 483 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:32,320 And all of a sudden, what happens? 484 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,280 You see these gunships come in the Apaches, right? 485 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:38,400 And then the AC130 gunships, and they come in and they just 486 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:41,640 decimate the Taliban army. And they get Marcus out. 487 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:43,680 And everybody's like, oh, yeah, it's a great ending. 488 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,600 So we get done and we come out. And so I'm asking the boys. 489 00:24:48,600 --> 00:24:49,960 I'm trying to see if I traumatize them. 490 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,120 Right. I said, Logan, what'd you think 491 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:54,840 about the movie? He's like, man, he goes, I 492 00:24:54,840 --> 00:24:57,680 can't, man. I didn't realize anybody would 493 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:01,240 ever have to go through that. I'm like, yeah, war's war's 494 00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:03,120 ugly. He's like, yeah, he goes, I 495 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:04,240 don't think I could have made that. 496 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,520 And I'm like, that's good, you know, to realize that, you know, 497 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:10,360 life is short. Life's brief and violent 498 00:25:10,360 --> 00:25:12,600 sometimes, and that's not how we were meant to live. 499 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:15,080 So look at Coleman. I'm like, Coleman. 500 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:17,560 What did you think about the movie? 501 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:22,240 And if you know Coleman at all, Coleman's, Coleman's Coleman, if 502 00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:23,280 he's in here, he's going to shoot me. 503 00:25:24,560 --> 00:25:26,600 So he thinks about it for a minute, and then he looks at me. 504 00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:30,400 He's like, he goes, He goes. Remember when those when those 505 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:32,880 gunships came? I'm like, yeah, he goes, I 506 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:34,840 really liked it when he killed all those Mexicans. 507 00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:41,360 Like what? What I'm like, where did that 508 00:25:41,360 --> 00:25:44,240 come from? I'm like, all right, I screwed 509 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:45,120 up. I shouldn't have brought this 510 00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:47,360 one. He didn't know the difference 511 00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:49,920 between Afghanis and Mexicans. I'm like, come on. 512 00:25:50,360 --> 00:25:53,520 And what's funny is he speaks more Spanish now than anybody in 513 00:25:53,520 --> 00:25:56,320 our family and he just moves in that culture very easily. 514 00:25:57,440 --> 00:25:59,800 But I tell you to tell you tell you that story to tell you this 515 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,720 is that in the same way that cold didn't know the difference 516 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:04,840 between a Mexican and and somebody from Afghanistan. 517 00:26:04,840 --> 00:26:08,360 A lot of times we screw race up. We don't get it right. 518 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:11,800 We mess this up. We have these these ideas of 519 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:13,920 what it is. And, and, and and and I don't 520 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,360 think it's helpful. I don't think it's really what 521 00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:18,120 we're called to to have in the church. 522 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,880 I wish I was blind in the same way that he was where we don't 523 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:25,600 always see race and and and cultures in in that way as 524 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:28,800 something outside of who we are. And one of my favorite stories, 525 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,360 the story I'll share you with this is the story of the Good 526 00:26:31,360 --> 00:26:34,520 Samaritan. And if you know this story, 527 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:37,520 Jesus had just been asked what are what are the two most 528 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,720 important things? What are the two most important 529 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:42,760 laws because the Jews had over 600 laws they had to follow and 530 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:44,920 Jesus distilled it down to two love God with all your heart, 531 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:48,480 all your soul and all your mind. And the second is like this, I 532 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,480 love your neighbor as yourself. So what's the follow up 533 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:56,160 question? Who is my neighbor? 534 00:26:56,800 --> 00:26:58,880 And that's what the Pharisees were asking, who's my neighbor? 535 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:00,240 That's what the disciples were asking. 536 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:01,840 Who's my neighbor? Who do I have to love? 537 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:05,400 Because do I really have to love somebody outside of my tribe, 538 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:06,800 somebody that doesn't look like me? 539 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,560 And Jesus tells this beautiful story of the Good Samaritan. 540 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,480 And the short version is this is there's a guy that gets beaten 541 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:17,400 up on on a journey and he gets thrown in a ditch and you have 542 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:22,200 two religious real leaders walk by and they don't help because 543 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,680 it would defile them or it would detain them. 544 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:27,120 And they had some place they needed to be. 545 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:29,440 And this was Jewish guy in the ditch. 546 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,760 So who is the person that stopped to help the Jewish guy? 547 00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:35,760 A Samaritan. And if you don't know what a 548 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,040 Samaritan is, a Samaritan was considered, this sounds rude, 549 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:40,480 but they were considered to be 1/2 breed. 550 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,160 They weren't worthy of going to the temple to worship God. 551 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:47,360 They weren't worthy of even being talked to. 552 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:51,920 They were below the Jew. They were a nobody. 553 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:56,240 And so when Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan, he 554 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,560 wrecks their worldview. He wrecks the narrative. 555 00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:01,640 And when he gets done the telling the story, Jesus asked a 556 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:03,640 simple question. So let me ask you this. 557 00:28:04,280 --> 00:28:06,920 Who was the neighbor to the man in the ditch? 558 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,320 And they had no choice to but to answer the it's the Samaritan. 559 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:16,200 It's the one that helped. Jesus tells this story to break 560 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:19,280 down these racial divides that we put in because they're not 561 00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,400 real. We are one. 562 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,920 We are a human race, Paul says, neither Jew nor Gentile. 563 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:28,720 And in the church, the moment that we let race divide us, 564 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:34,000 we've let the enemy win. Race is a division that we don't 565 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,800 have in heaven. You go to Revelation every 566 00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:42,000 tongue, every time tribe, every people, every nation are going 567 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,720 to be represented. We're going to spend eternity 568 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,600 worship within with people that don't look like us. 569 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,320 And guess what, it's a beautiful thing. 570 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:56,120 And if it's true in heaven tomorrow and in eternity, Paul 571 00:28:56,120 --> 00:29:00,320 calls us to live that way today. The second division that often 572 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:07,440 times divides and hurts our church is, is one of and, and 573 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:10,320 we're not the same way that Paul dealt with, but I see, I still 574 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,120 see the division between male and female. 575 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:14,560 Well, you're not qualified to do this. 576 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,520 I'm stronger. Or we throw men away or we throw 577 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,760 women away. And that's not, that's not how 578 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:22,560 the church is. Because I am so blessed to be in 579 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:26,200 a church where I get to serve alongside men and women that are 580 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:30,360 so gifted in so many ways. And they do things that I can 581 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:34,360 never, ever do. And it's not defined by their 582 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:35,920 sex. It's not defined by their 583 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:41,080 gender, right? So many times I still see, I 584 00:29:41,080 --> 00:29:43,840 still see this attitude of like, well, they're not qualified to 585 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,160 do that. I grew up in a church where if 586 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,360 you were a female, you weren't qualified to be up here. 587 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:52,320 And I think it's so many times where there was so many women 588 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:57,520 that raised me in Sunday school that has so much wisdom that 589 00:29:57,520 --> 00:30:01,880 they got from the scriptures. They probably prayed more than 590 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:05,680 anybody else in that church and yet they weren't qualified in 591 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,840 somebody else's eyes. And I'm so glad that I I'm in a 592 00:30:08,840 --> 00:30:10,880 community where we don't do that. 593 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:14,680 But it is still a temptation for the church as a whole to divide 594 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:19,520 over that issue, to not see to see everybody as as as a child 595 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:22,640 of God, somebody that is worthy to worship their king. 596 00:30:23,080 --> 00:30:26,240 And the story that I'm going to share with you. 597 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:29,280 And, and I think Sean preached about it not that long ago. 598 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:32,600 The woman at the well, and if you know the story about the 599 00:30:32,600 --> 00:30:35,000 woman with the well, Jesus in the is, is at the well in the 600 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:37,080 middle of the day. And this woman shows up at a 601 00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,080 time where she shouldn't have been there because most women 602 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:42,360 would come either in the early morning or in the evening where 603 00:30:42,360 --> 00:30:45,720 it was nice and cool, right? So this woman was there for a 604 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:50,440 reason, because she was ostracized and she was a 605 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:51,920 Samaritan. We already talked about 606 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:54,000 Samaritans. She had so many strikes against 607 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,520 her. She was less than a nobody. 608 00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,680 Even in her own society, she was a nobody, a less than. 609 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:05,520 And so Jesus initiates this conversation with her and and 610 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:07,680 she's amazed. She's like, why are you even 611 00:31:07,680 --> 00:31:10,520 talking to me? You're a Jew, you're a man. 612 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:15,200 And Jesus lays out for the truth of what he knows about her life. 613 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:19,640 And it cuts her to the heart. And she goes, I perceive that 614 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,840 you're a prophet. And she goes, I know that. 615 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,240 I know the Jews talk about this Messiah that's coming, the 616 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:30,440 savior of Israel. And the greatest part of that 617 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:34,800 story is this is that Jesus reveals to her and she's the 618 00:31:34,800 --> 00:31:38,560 first person that he reveals that he's the Messiah, a less 619 00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:42,200 than a nobody in so many ways in that culture. 620 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:45,680 And when Paul talks about there's neither male nor female 621 00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:48,720 in that world, there was still that major division. 622 00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,400 And Paul is wrecking those divisions. 623 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,400 He's erasing them. He said in this church, in this 624 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:59,200 body, this distinction, though it is real, it doesn't mean 625 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,800 anything anymore in the eyes of God because we all stand on 626 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:08,320 equal footing in front of the cross in this church, in the 627 00:32:08,320 --> 00:32:12,080 eyes of Jesus, we all have the same standing before God. 628 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:16,120 And so I love the idea of how Jesus and Paul wrecked that 629 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,200 division that was so important then in some way still divides a 630 00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:22,560 church today. The last, the last Division I 631 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,880 want to share with you and Pastor Sean. 632 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:26,680 If I make somebody mad and they charge the stage, you got to 633 00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:27,720 come up here and protect me, right? 634 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:31,000 Politics, right, politics and economics. 635 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,560 And what I'm going to share with you isn't from a position of 636 00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:39,320 authority. It's hopefully from a position 637 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:42,480 of, of experience. I'm the type of person, and 638 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:45,720 especially in this world, I, I, I like to learn from other 639 00:32:45,720 --> 00:32:49,320 people's mistakes, right? I didn't do drugs because I saw 640 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:52,920 what it did to people. I don't need that in my life. 641 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,640 But when it comes to this and might have Jason play me some 642 00:32:57,640 --> 00:33:02,920 funeral music here in a minute. When it came to this issue, I 643 00:33:02,920 --> 00:33:05,880 had to learn hard, hard lessons. I had to learn from my own 644 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:08,640 mistakes, from my own experiences of how I screwed up. 645 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:11,320 Because I'm just going to lay my cards on the table so you know 646 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:14,000 where I stand or where where I've been and who I am or where 647 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,240 I was from. I was raised in a very, very, 648 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,920 very conservative family, right? Anybody else like here like 649 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:24,200 that? In my family, if you voted 650 00:33:24,200 --> 00:33:27,240 right, you were right. If you voted left, you were 651 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:30,240 wrong. And that's how it was. 652 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,640 I mean, if you voted, I remember the very first election that I 653 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:39,000 could vote in was Bill Clinton. And, and when I remember having 654 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,320 a family member that said that he was voting for him and he got 655 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:44,720 ostracized, he got yelled at, he got demeaned. 656 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:46,720 And I was like, yeah, go get him, grandma. 657 00:33:49,680 --> 00:33:53,720 Show him who's boss. But here's what I noticed. 658 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:57,240 I had a lot of friends that I consider to be very, very strong 659 00:33:57,240 --> 00:33:59,960 Christians. And they were raised in families 660 00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:01,280 that were completely different than mine. 661 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:05,760 They were the other side. They voted the other way. 662 00:34:05,760 --> 00:34:10,480 And it was hard for me to understand how could they be a 663 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,560 Christian and vote like that? Because when I was raised, like, 664 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:16,360 if you believe the Bible and you follow Jesus, you had to vote 665 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:20,120 this way, right? And it was very, very well 666 00:34:20,120 --> 00:34:22,280 founded in the sense of like, hey, here's a verse, here's a 667 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,480 verse, here's a verse. And a lot of those values I 668 00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:26,679 still hold. I'm not going to tell you that I 669 00:34:26,679 --> 00:34:30,800 don't. But what I often did, and here's 670 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:35,000 my mistake, is I would take somebody from the other side and 671 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:42,560 I would say at best you're wrong and at worst, maybe you're not 672 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,520 even really a Christian. You know what? 673 00:34:45,520 --> 00:34:48,719 I'd have the discussions really more like debates or fights. 674 00:34:49,440 --> 00:34:51,360 They would, they would look at me the same way that I was 675 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:53,719 looking at them. And there was never this 676 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:56,400 connection. There was never this unity that 677 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:01,800 I see in Paul and in Jesus. And it took me so long to figure 678 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:07,240 out this is a trap. This is alive from the enemy. 679 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:09,840 And I'm not telling you, here's what I don't want you guys to 680 00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,680 hear me say. I'm not telling you not to have 681 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:14,840 values. I'm not telling you not to vote. 682 00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:17,120 I'm not telling you not to vote your conscience. 683 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:20,400 I think you guys should and I think you really should derive 684 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:22,440 your values from what God's word tells you. 685 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:29,120 Here's what I am telling you in this church, in this body, what 686 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,920 God has called us to is something bigger than a politic, 687 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:36,360 something bigger than an economic system almost. 688 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:39,840 There's I'm going to nerd out on you guys a little bit, right? 689 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:45,480 I love, love studying history, philosophy, theology, and I 690 00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:49,240 heard, I heard a pastor tell me one time he goes, every form of 691 00:35:49,240 --> 00:35:53,760 government that sets themselves above the church, it's really a 692 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,280 cult because what they're trying to do is they're trying to 693 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:58,720 promise you if you get the right laws and you vote for the right 694 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:00,800 person, you're going to have heaven on earth. 695 00:36:02,160 --> 00:36:03,520 And this guy was pretty far right. 696 00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:05,760 He goes, I'm going to tell you right now, that's a lie from 697 00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:10,080 Satan. You will never vote heaven into 698 00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:13,960 the United States in this world anywhere He was, as much as you 699 00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:16,680 might like a candidate, that's not their role. 700 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:18,280 That's not what God's called them to do. 701 00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:22,280 God's given a role for the government to restrain evil and 702 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:25,080 enact justice if they do it very imperfectly. 703 00:36:25,920 --> 00:36:27,720 Think about the hot button issues of today. 704 00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:29,520 This is where I might get in trouble. 705 00:36:29,560 --> 00:36:31,680 I'm not going to take a stand on either one of them, but 706 00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:33,960 everybody in this room probably has a position that they care 707 00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:36,640 about deeply. You think about the issues of 708 00:36:36,640 --> 00:36:39,040 Jeffrey Epstein. Who was he really involved with? 709 00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:41,480 Which side can I tell you it was both? 710 00:36:43,320 --> 00:36:45,080 Both sides are dirty and both sides are corrupt. 711 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:49,040 What about economics? Whose fault was it? 712 00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:51,920 The government shut down again and it wasn't as long this time. 713 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:57,920 But who holds your your economic futures with this much power? 714 00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,120 And they don't really consider what you what you, it's good for 715 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:02,000 you. And you're going to get in a 716 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:04,800 fight about like, well, if we would vote this person and they 717 00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:06,680 would do this. No, no, no, no, we should vote 718 00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:08,120 this person and they're going to do that. 719 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:11,840 We make this mistake that they're going to fix our 720 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:14,560 problems. We're the biggest hot button 721 00:37:14,560 --> 00:37:16,360 today, right now is immigration and ICE, right? 722 00:37:17,360 --> 00:37:19,680 My friend Scott, we talked about this one time in a small group. 723 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:21,680 He said I'd live on the line and I live very dangerously. 724 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:23,880 So it's OK. I like to live a little 725 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:28,360 dangerously. Do the do the gospels inform 726 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:30,000 that situation? Absolutely. 727 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:34,680 But here's what breaks my heart is that I peruse Facebook or 728 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:38,440 TikTok or Instagram or even random conversations here or 729 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:41,440 other places and we find somebody that doesn't look at 730 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:43,120 the world exactly the way that we do. 731 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:49,200 And then I put them in another tribe and I cast them away and I 732 00:37:49,200 --> 00:37:51,760 say they're less than and they're not worthy. 733 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:56,680 But then I come back to the words of Jesus. 734 00:37:57,640 --> 00:37:59,120 I want you guys to read this with me again. 735 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:01,760 Let's actually start with the words of of Paul. 736 00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:06,240 Is that as I look at the issues, does this verse inform my heart? 737 00:38:07,040 --> 00:38:09,160 Is it inform who I am? Galatians 328. 738 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:10,520 Can you throw that back up there one more time? 739 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:17,800 There's neither Jew nor Gentile, there's neither slave nor free, 740 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:22,480 nor is there a male or female. For you are all one. 741 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:31,680 You are all one in Christ Jesus, one. 742 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:35,680 What is a tribe is a place where we find identity. 743 00:38:36,520 --> 00:38:39,760 What is identity? Identity is how we look at 744 00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:42,560 ourselves. It's how we value ourselves. 745 00:38:44,240 --> 00:38:48,040 That's what we think that other people find valuable in US and 746 00:38:48,040 --> 00:38:52,120 that's why we fight. That's why I take this position 747 00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:55,760 and I can't be budged. Can I tell you that I've had 748 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:59,280 some of the most awesome learning experiences talking to 749 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:01,440 people that that that I don't agree with. 750 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:04,280 They've given me something that I've missed. 751 00:39:04,280 --> 00:39:07,120 Sometimes now I may not even change my position, but I'm 752 00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:11,080 like, OK, now I see. Now I know where you're coming 753 00:39:11,080 --> 00:39:14,280 from. We're not coming from a position 754 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,800 of evil. We just disagree on on how we 755 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,320 should interpret this. And I think that makes this 756 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:24,320 church stronger when we have differences, that we still find 757 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:27,480 a bond in the unity of being one in Christ. 758 00:39:28,280 --> 00:39:30,080 Because my identity isn't who I am. 759 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:32,400 It's not what I look like, It's not even what I believe. 760 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:37,960 It's what Jesus says about me. Your identity is what Jesus says 761 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:40,800 about you. Our identity as a church. 762 00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:47,760 It's how we do this. John, One more time, 1334, a new 763 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:52,040 command I give you love one another. 764 00:39:52,320 --> 00:39:56,040 As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 765 00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:58,600 And by this everyone will know that you are my disciples. 766 00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:05,200 If what if you love one another? Here's my check. 767 00:40:05,200 --> 00:40:07,520 Here's where I learned. And here's my courage for you. 768 00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,200 If you feel like I've been kicking your teeth, it's not my 769 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:13,160 intention. My intention is to call you to 770 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:17,640 something that is greater, something that is bigger, 771 00:40:17,640 --> 00:40:21,560 something that is beautiful. This vision of heaven begins 772 00:40:21,560 --> 00:40:25,520 with a following of Jesus. There's two choices in this 773 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:30,360 world, and we haven't talked much about hell yet, but I love 774 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:35,320 this quote from CS Lewis. Hell is a prison that's locked 775 00:40:35,320 --> 00:40:39,360 from the inside, and when we choose anything other than 776 00:40:39,360 --> 00:40:44,600 identity in Christ or our love for each other, we may be 777 00:40:44,600 --> 00:40:46,320 thinking that we're going to bring heaven to earth. 778 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:53,680 But we unleash hell because the division, the hate, the anger, 779 00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:55,640 these aren't the fruits of the Spirit. 780 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:57,640 These aren't the things that Jesus called us to. 781 00:40:57,840 --> 00:40:59,680 These aren't the things that Paul have called us to. 782 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:04,160 And how these things work out, man, that's the rub, right? 783 00:41:06,120 --> 00:41:08,800 I was at a funeral on Saturday and there was a huge fight in 784 00:41:08,800 --> 00:41:11,840 the family, even in the moment of burying somebody. 785 00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:16,080 And I had the conversation with my cousin and she said families 786 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:19,320 are messy. There's probably not a more true 787 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:21,720 statement. And if that's true of a physical 788 00:41:21,720 --> 00:41:24,840 family of blood, it can be true of a spiritual family in a 789 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:28,680 church. But I love you guys and I hope 790 00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:34,320 you guys love each other. And the application for this is 791 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,440 to move forward and examine your lives. 792 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:39,960 How would you change how you move in this world? 793 00:41:40,080 --> 00:41:43,840 Who you have conflict with when you have these two verses at the 794 00:41:43,840 --> 00:41:49,400 forefront, Who you are in Christ and how do we live? 795 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:53,960 We love one another. Because for me, I went from 796 00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:57,840 leaving post on Facebook about how stupid somebody was picking 797 00:41:57,840 --> 00:42:00,600 up a phone. Can you help me understand? 798 00:42:00,600 --> 00:42:03,960 Because I love you. I don't think you're a bad 799 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:05,640 person. But I'm missing something here, 800 00:42:06,200 --> 00:42:07,120 man. I've had some great 801 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:11,280 conversations because not only did I put Christ first, they put 802 00:42:11,280 --> 00:42:14,280 Christ first. Not only did I love them, they 803 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:17,760 loved me. And here's where I'll leave you 804 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:22,720 guys with If as a church we can live these two simple verses, 805 00:42:23,600 --> 00:42:26,360 there's going to be something so radically different about us 806 00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:32,640 that the world can't help but to see that there's something 807 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:35,840 different. Whether it's the school district 808 00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:39,400 that lets us use this building or whether it's the people that 809 00:42:39,400 --> 00:42:43,960 we serve in a life group or are the homeless, or throughout this 810 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:47,560 week of somebody that shows up randomly in this door, how do we 811 00:42:47,560 --> 00:42:50,440 treat them? Because we'll be different. 812 00:42:50,960 --> 00:42:52,560 We won't look like the world anymore. 813 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:57,880 And maybe, just maybe, the light that God gave us in our hearts 814 00:42:57,880 --> 00:43:02,080 will shine out to a broken, lost, hurting world and they'll 815 00:43:02,080 --> 00:43:05,720 have the hope of of Jesus. They'll have the hope of heaven 816 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,840 that that Pastor Sean has just preached on so beautifully. 817 00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:13,560 My prayer for you guys is to hold these two truths so close 818 00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:16,840 that you are that light that can't be hid. 819 00:43:17,320 --> 00:43:21,560 Would you guys pray with me? Father, we come before you, God 820 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:26,520 in a moment of thinking about the things that have divided 821 00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:29,640 this world and the things that as a church we've allowed to 822 00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:34,480 divide ourselves. God, I pray for just a humility 823 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:37,760 to hold our identity only in you. 824 00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:41,600 So God, I want to pray for two groups of people. 825 00:43:41,840 --> 00:43:44,520 The first group I want to pray for this church for Christians 826 00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:47,920 in here then maybe have allowed things to divide them and hurt 827 00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:54,080 their heart and in a taking a stand against something that 828 00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:57,560 they disagree with, which is OK. And maybe they maybe they 829 00:43:57,560 --> 00:44:01,120 destroyed a relationship. Maybe they destroyed another 830 00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:05,480 person. So if that's you today, there's 831 00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:09,600 nothing past in our past and anything that we have done that 832 00:44:09,600 --> 00:44:14,560 can't be they can't be fixed. They can't be brought underneath 833 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:18,440 the authority of the cross. And so my challenge for you, if 834 00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,960 you're a Christian here today, if you're a follower of Christ, 835 00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:26,360 if you're my brother and sister, just to hold the truths that 836 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:28,160 Jesus has given you so beautifully today. 837 00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:32,680 His words love one another, hold the truths of Paul. 838 00:44:33,320 --> 00:44:35,120 And there's no division that is important. 839 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:39,000 Not one of race, not one of economics, not one of gender, 840 00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:44,000 but we are A1 in Christ. So Jesus, I pray for the your 841 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,560 church today. Got to pray that we that we live 842 00:44:47,560 --> 00:44:50,960 lives that are worthy of the callings you have on us. 843 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:53,240 Now. I pray that we're a light into 844 00:44:53,240 --> 00:44:56,880 the darkness. That I love the fact that you 845 00:44:56,880 --> 00:44:59,120 said that the gates of hell won't prevail against the 846 00:44:59,120 --> 00:45:01,680 church. The church is an offensive 847 00:45:02,040 --> 00:45:05,720 machine that you've called to redeem this world, this 848 00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:08,520 creation. Want to pray for one more group? 849 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:12,000 Maybe you're here today. You walked in, You don't know 850 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:15,600 why you're here and you're not part of the family of God. 851 00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:19,560 Jesus has never been anything to you. 852 00:45:19,960 --> 00:45:22,680 You've never called on his name. You're not part of the family of 853 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:27,240 God, but something in this moment, something in your life, 854 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:30,760 you know, is missing. And and you feel there's there's 855 00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:32,680 something that that that you've been called to. 856 00:45:32,880 --> 00:45:35,680 We talked about as a church. We're on a mission to see people 857 00:45:35,680 --> 00:45:37,480 far from God, discover the real life on purpose. 858 00:45:37,480 --> 00:45:39,680 And you're here today without purpose, without meaning. 859 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:44,320 And you've taken the fights of the world and you've taken a 860 00:45:44,320 --> 00:45:48,000 righteous stand, and you still feel empty. 861 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:52,960 You don't have to stay in that spot today. 862 00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:57,080 Is there anybody in the house today that has never named the 863 00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:58,680 name of Jesus? Can I pray for you? 864 00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:02,160 If you would raise your hand, I would love to pray for you if 865 00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:05,600 you're in the house today. And that's you, and you're ready 866 00:46:05,600 --> 00:46:09,040 to be part of a family, to be part of the only tribe that 867 00:46:09,040 --> 00:46:11,440 really counts, and that's the family of God. 868 00:46:11,440 --> 00:46:14,360 I'm going to encourage you to pray a prayer along with me. 869 00:46:14,640 --> 00:46:16,800 Now, this prayer isn't magic. It doesn't save you. 870 00:46:17,480 --> 00:46:20,160 But what it does is it reveals your heart before the creator of 871 00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:23,280 the universe that you're going to line your will with his. 872 00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:26,600 And so if that's you today and you want to be a part of 873 00:46:26,600 --> 00:46:30,280 something that will secure your forever, your eternity and also 874 00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,680 your today, pray something along this lines with me. 875 00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:38,040 Father, I've walked in here today, lost, broken, hopeless. 876 00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:41,560 God have taken the cares of the world and I fought for him. 877 00:46:42,520 --> 00:46:45,120 And they don't mean anything. Ultimately, I haven't fixed 878 00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:48,800 anything. So God, today I come before you, 879 00:46:50,760 --> 00:46:54,440 I want to give my life to you Jesus, because I can't fix my 880 00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:57,360 life. I've sinned, I've come short and 881 00:46:57,360 --> 00:47:00,440 I can't fix this world. And God, I give both of those 882 00:47:00,440 --> 00:47:02,280 awesome responsibilities back to you. 883 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:05,880 So God accept me where I'm at today. 884 00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:10,600 God call me and make me a part of the family of God in Jesus 885 00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:13,640 name, Amen. Man, can we give up? 886 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:15,800 For anybody that prayed that prayer, whether online or in 887 00:47:15,800 --> 00:47:23,760 person today, I want you guys to know ultimately that as a church 888 00:47:23,760 --> 00:47:27,000 we are going someplace through the generosity in the building 889 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:29,480 fund. I don't know what God's got for 890 00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:34,040 us next, but here's what I do know, that for the enemy to win, 891 00:47:34,040 --> 00:47:37,360 all he has to do is hurt us. And the best way that he hurts 892 00:47:37,360 --> 00:47:42,120 us is to divide us. And moving forward, we close 893 00:47:42,120 --> 00:47:45,120 ranks under the banner of what God's called us to do. 894 00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:48,920 And man, I can't wait just to continue to be in a body that 895 00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:51,640 continually to love each other. And I can't wait to see what God 896 00:47:51,640 --> 00:47:54,000 does through your guys's dedication and your love for 897 00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:58,400 Him. Amen. 898 00:47:58,400 --> 00:48:01,120 Well, man, what just an amazing Sunday this morning, man, I love 899 00:48:01,120 --> 00:48:02,960 that. Just reframing and living our 900 00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:05,560 life on the truth that Jesus calls us to live in the way that 901 00:48:05,560 --> 00:48:09,040 he has set that example for us in the Bible, man, really to 902 00:48:09,040 --> 00:48:12,800 shine the light of Jesus through us out into the world today. 903 00:48:12,800 --> 00:48:15,680 Awesome job this morning, Barry. And hey, maybe some of you 904 00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:18,680 recognize this morning that you need Jesus in your life, that 905 00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:21,480 you've maybe been living in division and disunity and all 906 00:48:21,480 --> 00:48:23,760 the things that separate us from God. 907 00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:25,920 And you recognize that this morning and you prayed that 908 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:28,560 prayer and you accepted Jesus this morning. 909 00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:32,440 Man, if that is you, we are so excited for you as you take 910 00:48:32,440 --> 00:48:34,480 these next steps with Jesus. And we would love to walk 911 00:48:34,480 --> 00:48:37,720 alongside you to resource you as you take these next steps. 912 00:48:37,720 --> 00:48:40,040 So if you would grab that connection card that is on your 913 00:48:40,040 --> 00:48:42,640 seat, you can fill out the information there on the top, 914 00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:45,320 but make sure and check that box that says I committed my life to 915 00:48:45,320 --> 00:48:47,080 Jesus. And you can drop that in the 916 00:48:47,080 --> 00:48:49,880 giving buckets as they pass here in just a few minutes. 917 00:48:50,040 --> 00:48:52,520 Just by doing that allows us to get you a free book in the mail 918 00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:54,280 this week. It's a short read, but man, it 919 00:48:54,280 --> 00:48:56,600 really is packed full of some goodness. 920 00:48:56,600 --> 00:48:58,920 It's called begin. I really will help you give you 921 00:48:58,920 --> 00:49:01,960 some resources on what it looks like to walk out this journey 922 00:49:01,960 --> 00:49:03,520 with Jesus. And hey, if you're in the house 923 00:49:03,520 --> 00:49:06,240 this morning and you prayed that prayer as you exit the worship 924 00:49:06,240 --> 00:49:08,760 center, there is a table with some red bags inside. 925 00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:11,800 It's a free Bible and a few other resources just for you. 926 00:49:12,120 --> 00:49:15,160 So please grab that as well as you leave. 927 00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:18,080 And hey, this is for those of you who are newer with us today. 928 00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:20,440 I mean, we're so glad that you chose to spend your morning with 929 00:49:20,440 --> 00:49:21,800 us. Maybe this is even your first 930 00:49:21,800 --> 00:49:24,080 time here. Thank you so much for coming. 931 00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:26,800 And we hope you heard from God this morning that you felt 932 00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:28,960 welcome. And we don't want anything from 933 00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:31,320 you today except for this. And it's just simply to 934 00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:34,240 introduce yourself to us. And you could do that simply 935 00:49:34,240 --> 00:49:36,560 just by grabbing that same card, filling out your information 936 00:49:36,560 --> 00:49:40,280 there on the top and then check that first time here box. 937 00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:43,080 You can take that with you as you exit the worship center. 938 00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:45,000 Just to your right, there's a new here booth. 939 00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:48,080 Somebody would be there, love to take that card from you, say hi, 940 00:49:48,360 --> 00:49:51,440 get you a free gift and we would love to see you back with us 941 00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:55,080 right here next week. And man, last Sunday was such a 942 00:49:55,080 --> 00:49:57,120 big Sunday. It was our life groups kick off 943 00:49:57,120 --> 00:49:59,080 and tailgate party. Did you guys enjoy that? 944 00:49:59,800 --> 00:50:01,040 There we go. That's right. 945 00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:03,880 It was, it was a blast. Maybe we had some good food, 946 00:50:03,880 --> 00:50:07,160 some great conversation. I saw so many conversations and 947 00:50:07,160 --> 00:50:10,600 connections happening here in right here in the worship 948 00:50:10,600 --> 00:50:12,080 center. And it was just such an awesome 949 00:50:12,080 --> 00:50:13,360 time. I mean, when I think through 950 00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:17,120 life groups and community, man, I'm actually thinking of the 951 00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:19,160 opposite of that. That kind of we live in this 952 00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:21,240 culture where independence is celebrated. 953 00:50:21,240 --> 00:50:25,440 Like I can do this by myself. I'm strong, me, myself, and I 954 00:50:25,720 --> 00:50:29,640 like we got this, but independence, it feels safe. 955 00:50:30,360 --> 00:50:32,800 I feel like it feels safe. It feels strong. 956 00:50:33,240 --> 00:50:35,320 I mean, on the opposite of that is isolation. 957 00:50:35,600 --> 00:50:38,360 And in isolation truly is where your faith weakens. 958 00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:42,040 When there's nobody around to challenge you, to encourage you, 959 00:50:42,040 --> 00:50:45,160 to lift you up, It almost becomes this echo chamber where 960 00:50:45,160 --> 00:50:48,440 it's just you. And isolation does feel safe 961 00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:52,320 until life gets heavy and there's nobody there to call at 962 00:50:52,320 --> 00:50:55,680 3:00 AM when things are just kind of going wrong, when life 963 00:50:55,680 --> 00:50:57,800 is lifing. Maybe you're in a season where 964 00:50:57,800 --> 00:51:00,240 you need to borrow the faith of somebody around you and there's 965 00:51:00,240 --> 00:51:03,480 nobody there. And so God doesn't call us to 966 00:51:03,480 --> 00:51:07,040 maturity in isolation. He calls us to maturity together 967 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:09,760 in relationships. And that's truly where community 968 00:51:09,760 --> 00:51:12,520 and life groups comes into play. We have the people that are 969 00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:15,680 around you that you can call, like Barry said at 3:00 AM, when 970 00:51:15,680 --> 00:51:18,000 something, when there's something you need or people 971 00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:21,320 that can encourage you and just walk alongside you through this. 972 00:51:21,320 --> 00:51:24,080 And so that is just my encouragement for you is to take 973 00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:25,720 that step. Maybe you're living this life of 974 00:51:25,720 --> 00:51:28,560 independence where it's just you and you're strong and you are 975 00:51:28,560 --> 00:51:30,720 strong and you feel like you've got it together. 976 00:51:30,720 --> 00:51:33,880 But God doesn't call us to relationship just on our own, 977 00:51:33,880 --> 00:51:35,440 but in community with other people. 978 00:51:35,680 --> 00:51:38,480 And so take that step today. Love to see you in a life group. 979 00:51:38,480 --> 00:51:40,800 There's so many. They meet all over the city, all 980 00:51:40,800 --> 00:51:42,600 different types of groups as well. 981 00:51:42,600 --> 00:51:44,960 We also are doing something new this semester and offering the 982 00:51:44,960 --> 00:51:46,600 way groups. So if you're looking for 983 00:51:46,600 --> 00:51:48,640 something a little bit more, maybe to dive a little bit 984 00:51:48,920 --> 00:51:51,920 deeper into your walk with God, we would love to have you in one 985 00:51:51,920 --> 00:51:54,120 of those. Our leaders are so excited to 986 00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:56,800 lead these groups and would love to have you join as well. 987 00:51:56,880 --> 00:51:59,000 So you can scan that QR code and check them all out. 988 00:51:59,000 --> 00:52:01,560 You can see them out in the hub as well on the Lifegrove swab, 989 00:52:01,560 --> 00:52:04,240 but we would love to have you get connected that way. 990 00:52:04,720 --> 00:52:06,640 And hey, this Sunday is a special Sunday as well. 991 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:09,560 It is our welcome party today right after this gathering. 992 00:52:09,960 --> 00:52:12,760 As you exit, it's actually we're meeting in a room just past the 993 00:52:12,760 --> 00:52:14,200 bathrooms. You'll see some signage out 994 00:52:14,200 --> 00:52:15,560 there. But if maybe you've been 995 00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:19,200 attending real life for the last few months, this is for you. 996 00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:21,000 We would love to have you come and hang out with us. 997 00:52:21,160 --> 00:52:23,440 It's a casual 30 minute gathering. 998 00:52:23,440 --> 00:52:26,000 It's pretty relaxed. We'll have some food, some 999 00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:28,360 drinks, some snacks. Your kiddos, if you have kids, 1000 00:52:28,360 --> 00:52:31,560 are welcome to hang out in Real Life Kids while we gather there. 1001 00:52:31,560 --> 00:52:34,120 But I mean, this is an awesome opportunity to really hear who 1002 00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:36,400 we are, who is Real Life Church, where'd we come from, kind of 1003 00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:39,120 where we're going, the vision for the future there, meet some 1004 00:52:39,120 --> 00:52:42,600 of our leadership and ultimately just get connected and find some 1005 00:52:42,600 --> 00:52:44,880 people here at Real Life Church to call your church family. 1006 00:52:44,880 --> 00:52:47,320 And so we would love for you to hang out with us once again. 1007 00:52:47,320 --> 00:52:49,800 It's just right after this gathering, just down the hall 1008 00:52:49,800 --> 00:52:52,280 past the bathrooms. We would love to hang out with 1009 00:52:52,280 --> 00:52:54,480 you there. I mean, I'm thinking about 1010 00:52:54,640 --> 00:52:57,840 community When I think about giving here, it's so much more 1011 00:52:57,840 --> 00:53:01,800 than just giving without a return on investment. 1012 00:53:01,800 --> 00:53:04,160 When I think about that, where else can I give where there 1013 00:53:04,160 --> 00:53:07,600 truly is an eternal return on investment, where people week in 1014 00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:10,480 and week out are accepting Jesus, are coming to a saving 1015 00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:13,440 faith through Jesus Christ. And they take that step from 1016 00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:17,120 living in isolation and living a life of independence into a life 1017 00:53:17,120 --> 00:53:20,200 of true freedom and into a life of community. 1018 00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:23,120 And so when you give here, I mean, it truly is to see more 1019 00:53:23,120 --> 00:53:27,240 soul saved, to know Jesus, more people stepping into community 1020 00:53:27,240 --> 00:53:29,800 to do life together where their faith is strengthened. 1021 00:53:29,800 --> 00:53:32,120 And so if you call real life church home, and we would love 1022 00:53:32,120 --> 00:53:34,320 for you to partner with us on mission with that. 1023 00:53:34,320 --> 00:53:35,800 There are so many ways you can do that. 1024 00:53:35,800 --> 00:53:37,080 You can check out the screen there. 1025 00:53:37,080 --> 00:53:39,000 You can scan the QR for text to give. 1026 00:53:39,320 --> 00:53:42,320 You can drop cash or check in the giving buckets as they pass 1027 00:53:42,320 --> 00:53:44,960 here in just a few minutes. There's also a giving box in the 1028 00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:47,080 back you can drop cash or check in as well if that's more 1029 00:53:47,080 --> 00:53:50,160 convenient for you. And as always, if you or your 1030 00:53:50,160 --> 00:53:53,680 family, you find yourself in some kind of immediate need this 1031 00:53:53,680 --> 00:53:56,600 week, it's food or shelter or clothing or just whatever that 1032 00:53:56,600 --> 00:53:59,400 looks like for you as these buckets pass in just a minute or 1033 00:53:59,400 --> 00:54:01,000 two. Would you please reach in there, 1034 00:54:01,240 --> 00:54:02,880 grab any loose cash that you see? 1035 00:54:03,160 --> 00:54:06,240 We really do want to be a blessing to you and your family 1036 00:54:06,240 --> 00:54:09,520 this week. Let's pray, Father, thank you, 1037 00:54:10,040 --> 00:54:13,320 God, you're so good to us. And so, Father, I pray that you 1038 00:54:13,320 --> 00:54:17,880 would just, God, help us to live our life through the truth of 1039 00:54:17,880 --> 00:54:19,640 who you are. God, that you call us to unity 1040 00:54:19,640 --> 00:54:21,920 and not division. God, that you call us to truth 1041 00:54:21,920 --> 00:54:25,040 and to shine your light through us to the world that needs you 1042 00:54:25,040 --> 00:54:26,720 so desperately. And so God, I just pray that 1043 00:54:26,720 --> 00:54:28,800 you, Father, would you bless what's given today? 1044 00:54:28,800 --> 00:54:32,040 God, would you bless it to move beyond these four walls, God, 1045 00:54:32,040 --> 00:54:34,280 into the community so that more people can come to know you. 1046 00:54:34,720 --> 00:54:37,440 And God, ultimately, we give the rest of this day back to you, 1047 00:54:37,440 --> 00:54:40,800 God, it's all for your glory. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. 1048 00:54:42,400 --> 00:54:43,480 Amen. What a good day, right? 1049 00:54:44,160 --> 00:54:46,360 Super strong message, super challenging message. 1050 00:54:46,360 --> 00:54:48,320 I want to give you guys an encouragement before we get on 1051 00:54:48,320 --> 00:54:50,960 out of here to keep your mind focused on heaven. 1052 00:54:51,320 --> 00:54:54,640 Philippians says our citizenship is in heaven and we are eagerly 1053 00:54:54,640 --> 00:54:58,040 await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. 1054 00:54:58,040 --> 00:55:00,920 That should be a reminder in your lives every single day. 1055 00:55:00,920 --> 00:55:03,240 That should be the shoreline that you're swimming to. 1056 00:55:03,480 --> 00:55:06,200 It should affect how you think about life, how you think about 1057 00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:09,720 your identity and how you think about relationships and that's a 1058 00:55:09,720 --> 00:55:13,080 shameless plug. Transition to Real life Youth is 1059 00:55:13,080 --> 00:55:16,240 going to be having a Valentine Valentine's party this upcoming 1060 00:55:16,240 --> 00:55:18,720 Wednesday and we are going to want any. 1061 00:55:18,720 --> 00:55:20,640 If you have any students in here, 6th or 12th grade, that 1062 00:55:20,640 --> 00:55:23,240 would be awesome for you to send them out that QR code. 1063 00:55:23,240 --> 00:55:25,240 That's not a registration necessarily. 1064 00:55:25,240 --> 00:55:26,960 That's just the information what we're going to be doing. 1065 00:55:27,120 --> 00:55:29,480 We're going to be doing some karaoke challenges. 1066 00:55:29,480 --> 00:55:31,520 We're going to have a candy bar to be a good time. 1067 00:55:31,520 --> 00:55:33,480 If you have AU student, please send them on out here. 1068 00:55:33,800 --> 00:55:37,120 Remember guys, as you get out of here, keep your mind on heaven. 1069 00:55:37,760 --> 00:55:40,360 Think about how that changes the way you view your identity and 1070 00:55:40,360 --> 00:55:42,760 how you view your relationships, and just let the sacrifice of 1071 00:55:42,800 --> 00:55:44,640 Jesus permeate every aspect of your life. 1072 00:55:44,880 --> 00:55:46,800 If you need prayer or somebody to talk to, we'll have somebody 1073 00:55:46,800 --> 00:55:48,800 down here for you. And otherwise, I'll see you all 1074 00:55:48,800 --> 00:55:52,240 again next year, next week at 9:00 or 10:45. 1075 00:55:52,240 --> 00:55:55,280 Please come back before the next year and remember, whoever finds 1076 00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:57,200 Jesus discovers real life and purpose. 1077 00:55:57,240 --> 00:56:02,760 See you guys next week. This is the end of this podcast. 1078 00:56:02,760 --> 00:56:05,440 We hope you've enjoyed it. If you have, be sure to hit the 1079 00:56:05,440 --> 00:56:07,840 subscribe button so you don't miss another inspirational 1080 00:56:07,840 --> 00:56:09,840 podcast. For more great content and 1081 00:56:09,840 --> 00:56:12,720 updates, visit reallifechurchkc.com.