1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,880 Welcome to the River City Church podcast and a message by our 2 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:07,960 lead pastor Jason Powers. Our prayer is that this message 3 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:12,240 would inspire and encourage you build your faith and point you 4 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:14,680 to the life changing love of Jesus. 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:18,600 May you enjoy the goodness of God as you follow him today. 6 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:20,680 We. Begin with our confession. 7 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:22,880 Our confession just grounds us in the truth. 8 00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,280 Which is what we believe. Our confession is that we are 9 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,960 badly broken. Grace and peace to you. 10 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,920 We've been in Proverbs. We took, you know, Snowpocalypse 11 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,320 Part 2 week off last week. So I will probably refer to last 12 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,440 week, but it wasn't last week. It was the week before. 13 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:42,280 And we've been talking about wisdom as this, the illustration 14 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:46,840 is like a path that leads us. God has set this vision before 15 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,560 us, before his people of the life of you know, we find it in 16 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:51,640 Revelation, right? A place where every tear is 17 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:53,960 dried and where God comforts and meets His. 18 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,680 People, we won't experience that fully in this world and in this 19 00:00:56,680 --> 00:01:00,040 life right now, but we believe that His wisdom is what leads 20 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:01,200 us. Towards. 21 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,480 That and one of the things that the Proverbs assumes, but it 22 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,080 doesn't explicitly state, right? Like there's, there's not a 23 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:10,160 verse that specifically says that, but it's the assumption 24 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:13,280 behind, behind all of it, behind the way that it's formed and 25 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:15,200 structured. The, the assumption is that 26 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:19,760 wisdom is cumulative, right? It builds on itself and it 27 00:01:19,760 --> 00:01:22,760 starts, we saw that last week and kind of like the structure, 28 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:24,240 right? Like what we said is it starts 29 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,440 in a moment and each moment as I begin to choose the path of 30 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:28,960 wisdom or not the path of wisdom. 31 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:31,960 Last week, two weeks ago, we talked about speech, right? 32 00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:33,720 And in every moment there's the choice. 33 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:35,960 What am I going to say in this moment? 34 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:39,240 Am I going to choose wise speech or foolish speech? 35 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:43,000 And what the cumulative part is Then as we make those decisions, 36 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,920 choice by choice, moment by moment, word by word accumulates 37 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,200 to our character. We become the kind of people who 38 00:01:50,200 --> 00:01:54,160 either start fires, who either separate people who cause 39 00:01:54,360 --> 00:01:58,520 division and separation and anger and angst and fear, or 40 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:00,920 we're the kind of people who dial back from that. 41 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:02,640 And it's not about you telling me. 42 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:05,280 I'm the kind of person who we can see it. 43 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:08,240 We see the fruit in our lives. Jesus said that. 44 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,000 It says they will. It said you will. 45 00:02:10,120 --> 00:02:12,440 You don't get good fruit off of bad. 46 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:14,960 Trees. And he said you'll know by the 47 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:16,760 fruit. You'll know what kind of tree it 48 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,160 is by the kind of fruit. That they bear and then as that 49 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,160 accumulates and it builds we become the kind of people like 50 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,840 that and as I become that kind of person and my friend Aaron 51 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,080 becomes that kind of person and my friend Teresa becomes that 52 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,760 kind of person, what happens is then we. 53 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,160 Get formed. We become a. 54 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:39,120 Culture where wisdom is reflected in our speech. 55 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:43,920 To our time and our moments and our relationships and our and 56 00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:47,720 our context. It forms us and it shapes us. 57 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:51,040 And so we're going to kind of look at that form again, kind of 58 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,360 how it begins at a granular level, how it expands to our 59 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:55,560 character and what it looks like. 60 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,920 The idea that we do it that way is so that what we don't want to 61 00:02:59,920 --> 00:03:03,720 do is just flatten the proverbs to be like promises, right? 62 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:05,440 Like you've. Heard the promise, right? 63 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,920 Train up a child in the way that they go, and when they're older 64 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:13,080 they won't depart from it. It's hard because that's not an 65 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:15,560 ironclad promise, that if you make your kids go to church, 66 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:17,840 that they'll never make bad decisions, that they'll always 67 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:19,200 turn and they'll always come back. 68 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,640 As a general principle, the idea is the Lord watches over what's 69 00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:25,880 His and He develops what is in him. 70 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,520 That's my story. My story was a disaster, train 71 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:31,960 wreck, all that. The Lord was faithful and the 72 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:36,000 Lord honored the wisdom of my parents in making us go to 73 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:37,240 church. Did we want to go to church? 74 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:38,720 No. Are they good churches? 75 00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,680 No. But the Lord honored and was 76 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,360 faithful, however faithful this is. 77 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:49,800 So again, the idea is these proverbs, they're not, they're 78 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:52,280 not promises. They are paths and they're paths 79 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,920 in line with reality and the ultimate reality that this 80 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,600 wisdom leads us towards to the nature and the character of God. 81 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,640 Wisdom leads us to be like what God is like. 82 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:03,840 We see that in the New Testament. 83 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:06,240 It's called formation into Christ likeness, right? 84 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,040 And that's the idea, and it looks like. 85 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,600 This here's how the. Proverbs articulate that. 86 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:16,920 Proverbs chapter 13 verse 20 says this. 87 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,800 Walk with the wise and become wise. 88 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:24,800 Associate with fools and get in trouble. 89 00:04:24,920 --> 00:04:27,000 Now you may have a different translation that you're using 90 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:30,000 today. You may be using the CSB or the 91 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,160 NIV or the New American Standard or or ESV or whatever it is. 92 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:39,680 Your translation may say whoever associates with fools suffers 93 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,640 harm. It's the same kind of it's the 94 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,040 same kind of idea, right? Like there's there's trouble out 95 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,600 there, right and notice the connections notice what he's 96 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:53,520 saying, the ideas of walking right and associating with those 97 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,600 are proximity terms. Those are terms of relationship. 98 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,360 And when it's set, when I say relationship, I don't mean that 99 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:04,800 relationship means besties. Relationship is literally how 100 00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,760 people are aligned towards each other right now. 101 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,600 You and I are in relationship to each other, facing each other. 102 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:16,920 What's important to know is this doesn't necessarily require 103 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,040 intimacy. It is literally being in the 104 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:25,280 same place at the same time over time impacts us and affects us. 105 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,240 We notice in our culture we call it virality right? 106 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:34,320 You exposed to a TikTok and you pass it on and it goes viral. 107 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:37,720 At no point in my life have I woken up and said today I think 108 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,880 I'm going to go catch COVID. I am really looking for a good 109 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:43,760 case of the flu today. Right? 110 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,840 But what I have done in my foolishness is felt like I was 111 00:05:47,840 --> 00:05:52,600 bulletproof and lingered in spaces where people who have 112 00:05:52,600 --> 00:06:00,160 those illnesses are. And the reality is, to know that 113 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:04,800 a person has an illness and to stay in the place where they are 114 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:09,000 is to choose to get sick. There's no, I can't be in a room 115 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:10,880 with someone and say, oh, well, like I think I'm just going to 116 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:15,040 be exempted from this, right? Like, so it's true that my 117 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:20,680 family, I am unapologetically I am a music snob. 118 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:24,720 It's not that I like some, but it's just that I have better 119 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:26,680 taste than a lot of people, right? 120 00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:31,920 My family does not have the same gift that I have in this. 121 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:35,680 They are willing to just meditate on any old drivel that 122 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:40,080 they that they will. But an interesting thing happens 123 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:44,480 many times I'm sitting in the car and they're all just like, 124 00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:45,480 Hey, you gotta listen to this song. 125 00:06:45,480 --> 00:06:47,120 And I'd sit down and just, well, that's just terrible. 126 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,160 The Lord. Frowns on that like there's no 127 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:51,160 redeeming in that and that in anyway. 128 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,000 But what happens is like we'll just get again because I'm 129 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:55,480 humble, right and I'm like Jesus, right? 130 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:58,200 I like submit to them and it's like, well, you guys can listen 131 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,560 to whatever and the craziest thing happens over time. 132 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:03,880 I find myself just singing along a little bit, right? 133 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:09,000 Literally repeat. Rewires my brain and I find 134 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,800 myself tolerating all kinds of stuff that at once. 135 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:17,120 I thought was just terrible and they love to rub my face in that 136 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:19,760 when it when it happens, right, that I thought this was a 137 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,120 terrible song. It is a terrible song. 138 00:07:22,120 --> 00:07:25,720 I'm just growing, you know, in that it brings an important 139 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:27,440 point. And we've seen this, right? 140 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:30,920 How our preferences, how our tastes, our responses can change 141 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,040 and be transformed by the people of Rhiannon and important ideas. 142 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:38,440 That wisdom is contagious and so is foolishness. 143 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:46,120 We catch what we're around. We become what we associated 144 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,160 with the actions of the foolish. If you've got and if you look in 145 00:07:49,160 --> 00:07:51,120 the Proverbs and you go throughout Proverbs, they may 146 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:54,680 talk about it may use the word folly and folly is simply what 147 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,200 foolish people do. It is foolish behaviors of 148 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,640 foolish. Accents So we read this proverb 149 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,360 in 1320 and it says if we associate with fools, we will 150 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,440 get in trouble. And the dangerous part in this 151 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,880 is this kind of leads into a picture of God that some of us 152 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:11,120 have where he's up there just like waiting to spank us. 153 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,080 And the idea here isn't the idea that the proverb is trying to 154 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,720 communicate, isn't that if God doesn't like your friends, he's 155 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,920 going to ground you from wisdom, that he's going to somehow hold 156 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,760 back wisdom from you. The idea is this contagion 157 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,640 effect that you will become who you hang around with. 158 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,640 Your experience, your exposure will compound on you. 159 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,480 It's the natural consequences of the choices that we make. 160 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:36,720 It's the analogy. You've heard the analogy right? 161 00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:39,200 I've got to dig myself out of this hole. 162 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:43,080 If you pause and you think about it, that's foolishness. 163 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,440 You will never get out of a hole by digging. 164 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,440 The only way to get out of a hole is to stop digging and 165 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:56,360 start climbing. If your friends make bad 166 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:59,560 decisions and your associates make bad decisions, and the 167 00:08:59,560 --> 00:09:03,040 people that you hang around with if they're if the if your 168 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,480 closest network of. Associates, how they treat their 169 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:09,160 spouses over time will be how you treat your spouse. 170 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,360 How they respond with their finances will be how you respond 171 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:18,040 your finances, how they treat spiritual disciplines will be 172 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,160 how you treat spiritual disciplines. 173 00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:25,560 I have had some relationships in my life that I know and, and, 174 00:09:25,560 --> 00:09:29,560 and you know, even some, you know, extended family that you 175 00:09:29,560 --> 00:09:32,800 have to get around and that their approach on the world is 176 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,160 just heavy and, and kind of bitter. 177 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:37,960 And never have I woke up in the morning like, you know, what I 178 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:40,320 need today is a healthy dose of toxic anger. 179 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,280 Like I just, I just need to go get mad at somebody and want to 180 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,760 destroy something I've never. Said that, but what I. 181 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:50,400 Have done is over an extended period of time placed myself 182 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,880 into proximity in proximity to people who that's their 183 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:57,160 perspective and that's their worldview and without exception, 184 00:09:57,160 --> 00:10:02,120 without fail, I it leaks it gets on me and I find myself picking 185 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:06,320 up those habits picking up those those patterns of speech picking 186 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,840 up those world views and so in the same way that we used 187 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:13,760 talking about. Being sick, exposure to fearful, 188 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:21,160 angry, divisive people is choosing to be afraid and angry 189 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:24,840 and divisive. You cannot fill your head with 190 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:29,760 people who speak about anger and division and fear and not have 191 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,680 it impact you and not have it rub off on you and not have it 192 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:36,240 be part of how you respond. That's what it means when we say 193 00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,560 that wisdom forms us as we walk in it and as it gets in us and 194 00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:42,280 as it affects the way that we think. 195 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:45,400 We become that. We become what we watch on the 196 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:47,760 news. We become who we listen to in 197 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:50,320 social media. We become what our closest 198 00:10:50,320 --> 00:10:54,800 friends and associates do. Formation isn't abstract. 199 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:59,200 We don't wake up and suddenly find ourselves to be something 200 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:01,720 that we weren't before. What is happens is we wake up 201 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:05,160 and we find ourselves having become what we were always 202 00:11:05,160 --> 00:11:07,720 becoming. When I was in high school, I 203 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:10,000 love to play baseball, but I hated to do anything like 204 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,080 physical stuff. And so I would cut every corner 205 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:15,520 that I could. I would take every shortcut on 206 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:18,840 the running path that I could. And one day in my 30s, I had a 207 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,360 very clear reality that I had become the kind of person who 208 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:27,360 takes shortcuts. And that's a character issue. 209 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:32,200 Whether it's a fault or a flaw or whatever you want to call it, 210 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,800 it was a reality. I was that kind of person. 211 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:39,760 And that's what we read and we find in Proverbs 17, Chapter 9. 212 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:47,240 Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it 213 00:11:47,560 --> 00:11:55,160 separates close friends. Man, this can be heavy. 214 00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,760 We saw it last week, this idea about our words. 215 00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:59,960 Our words reveal the character of our heart. 216 00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:01,240 We already kind of mentioned it before. 217 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,560 And what I want to say, especially, what our words 218 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:07,440 reveal when we have been wounded, when we have been hurt, 219 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:09,960 when we have been wronged, and when we suffered. 220 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:15,240 How we respond to pain and suffering and rejection is an 221 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,080 indicator of how our heart has been formed. 222 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,080 And again, we began with the declaration that we're badly 223 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:22,160 broken. We understand and acknowledge 224 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:23,760 that there are things in us that are. 225 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:27,280 Unformed or misformed or, or or maladjusted. 226 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:29,880 And so the love of Jesus brings us back. 227 00:12:29,880 --> 00:12:32,200 But the point that we want to see is like the way that it 228 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,200 brings us back in the way that it heals us and restores us is 229 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:39,160 not by idolizing our pain and not by idolizing our wound, but 230 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:41,720 walking towards Jesus. And so I want to take a second 231 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:42,400 right here. I just want to. 232 00:12:42,400 --> 00:12:45,800 Pause and I want you to just, if you'll give me just a second of 233 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:50,480 like real focus and, and attention on this, because when 234 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:55,600 we start talking about forgiveness of defense, and then 235 00:12:55,600 --> 00:13:00,360 we start talking about broken relationships, we're standing on 236 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,440 holy ground. And what I mean by holy ground 237 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:07,040 doesn't mean that that our pain deserves worship. 238 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:10,640 It's like where Moses met God and he said, take your shoes off 239 00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:12,840 because the place where you're standing is holy ground. 240 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,240 What I want to say when I say that your pain and, and our 241 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,800 suffering in these broken relationships are our holy 242 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:22,480 places, What I mean is that God is standing in them, that he's 243 00:13:22,480 --> 00:13:28,920 waiting for you there. And so as we talked about this, 244 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:32,240 right, it's very important that I kind of set the stage for this 245 00:13:32,240 --> 00:13:37,280 and just acknowledge a reality. Not all wounds are the same. 246 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:44,320 Not all brokenness is equal. And the implication of that is 247 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:47,120 that not all forgiveness costs the same. 248 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:50,760 There are some people that have been wounded in a way and in a 249 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:55,800 place that is so deep that to forgive is to cost greatly, to 250 00:13:55,800 --> 00:14:00,840 seemingly cost everything. And there are some honest 251 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:04,240 wounds, right? To be the wound of being abused 252 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:10,120 by a parent, to have had power and authority misused, to wound 253 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:14,360 and to destroy and instead of give life is not the same wound 254 00:14:14,360 --> 00:14:18,600 as someone who gets passed over for a promotion or who doesn't 255 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,800 get invited to lunch. I'm not saying that your pain, 256 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,360 whatever it is, is invalid. What I'm saying is that the Lord 257 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:30,320 sees each pain specifically and individually and meets you in 258 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,600 that place. There are some wounds and some 259 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,200 pain that honestly, as your pastor, my the best advice I can 260 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:42,040 give you is humble yourself and forgive and move forward. 261 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,320 And there are some pains and wounds that I know are very are 262 00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:47,640 violations of your very humanity. 263 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,600 They seem to confront the image of God in you. 264 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:54,840 And maybe the best that you can do today is open up to the idea 265 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,360 that forgiveness would even be something that God wants for 266 00:14:58,360 --> 00:15:00,400 you. But what I want to say as we 267 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:04,000 talk about that is that Father again, Father sees your specific 268 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:08,480 unique pain. Your father sees how it has 269 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,080 affected the way that you respond to other people. 270 00:15:11,080 --> 00:15:13,800 They've seen what it has done to you and how it has formed you 271 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:15,720 and shaped you. And what I want to say is I want 272 00:15:15,720 --> 00:15:18,840 to both acknowledge that and because of how we have seen 273 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:21,760 that, I want to hold up a high value of forgiveness and say 274 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:25,560 that forgiveness is how we move from being defined by what they 275 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:29,120 have done from your identity being they have done this to me. 276 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,040 What he wants the the path of wisdom is for you to be able to 277 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:36,520 see this is how that pain has formed who I am becoming. 278 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,480 It takes the power away from what has been done to you to 279 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:47,080 what is being done in you. And so why is why is forgiveness 280 00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,800 that in light of some of the wounds that I know, I know some 281 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:53,280 of the wounds that are in this room in light of that woman, why 282 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:59,040 does God insist on forgiveness throughout the Scripture? 283 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,640 Forgiveness and love are inextricably linked. 284 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:07,560 To say it. Another way to forgive is to 285 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:12,560 love like Jesus. When Jesus says the great 286 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:16,160 commandments to love God and to love others, what he's talking 287 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,480 about is forgiveness. Because we find in 2nd 288 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,440 Corinthians 5 what what he says is that we have been forgiven. 289 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:24,960 We have been reconciled to Christ, and the forgiveness is 290 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:27,120 not counting their sins against them. 291 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:28,760 And we're going to talk about that in just a second. 292 00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:31,800 But what we have to identify and articulate is that. 293 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:34,480 Love and forgiveness go hand in hand. 294 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,440 To walk in the path of Jesus is to forgive. 295 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:41,040 And so we can make that choice to walk towards Jesus in this 296 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:45,600 area, however slowly it may need to be, however tenderly and 297 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:47,440 gently. And I want you to know the Lord 298 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:50,880 is not in a rush to heal and to unpack and to do all of these 299 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:52,600 things. He simply is looking for that 300 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:55,720 willingness to say, Jesus, I want to go and be where you are. 301 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,880 And so listen, I understand that some of you have been devastated 302 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:00,600 by a pain that is so big and so great. 303 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:03,440 And I'm not saying you have to cross this bridge today, but 304 00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:06,839 what I do want to say is that to experience that the love that 305 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:11,160 Jesus wants for you. Is to walk towards forgiveness, 306 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:16,839 because that's the way that Jesus walks and it may not 307 00:17:16,839 --> 00:17:20,680 affect your feelings for a very, very long time. 308 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,000 Call us to forgive whether we feel like it or not. 309 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:28,319 And when we say I can't because I don't feel like that, what 310 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:31,360 we're doing is saying I will obey my feelings more than I 311 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:35,920 will obey anything else. And danger in that is is 312 00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,720 manifest. It's easy to see what happens if 313 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:41,840 we become a people driven by our feelings. 314 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:45,280 And so how do So what does that? What does that mean, right? 315 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:48,600 It says to to forgive is to what does he say? 316 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,040 Love prospers when a when a fault is forgiven, right 317 00:17:53,840 --> 00:17:58,360 contrast to forgiveness here is to dwell on things, right And so 318 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:02,280 here we see a picture of what of what forgiveness is it's not to 319 00:18:02,360 --> 00:18:04,320 say that didn't hurt me. It's not to. 320 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,200 Say, oh, it's OK that you hurt me. 321 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,080 It's not to. It's not to say it's not 322 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:12,280 anything like that. It's not that it didn't happen. 323 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:13,840 It's not that I never think about it. 324 00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,600 It's not that I don't ever feel about it again. 325 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:19,920 It's not that they have to apologize before I can do that. 326 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:22,640 The opposite. To forgive is to just say I'm 327 00:18:22,640 --> 00:18:26,480 not going to take them to court every single day until they bow 328 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,360 and bend the knee. You'll never get that 329 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:30,960 satisfaction. You'll never get that. 330 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:35,040 What to forgive, then, is to give it to Jesus and to begin 331 00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:38,680 walking your life out. Into the future. 332 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,680 The opposite of forgiveness here is to to dwell on it, to 333 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,640 constantly rehash it. And I want you to know like I'm 334 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,800 in the middle of this process in formation, just like, just like 335 00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:49,840 you are. There was a night this. 336 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:52,840 Week I woke up at 2:00 in the morning with an anger fantasy 337 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:55,960 running through my head that was so strong my heart was beating 338 00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:58,040 fast was flood of the. Endorphins. 339 00:18:58,040 --> 00:19:00,760 And I said all of the things. You wouldn't believe how 340 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:04,720 convincing I was cutting them. Aw man, I was like a ninja 341 00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:06,400 getting them to it. And guess what? 342 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:08,600 The more I did it, guess what happened? 343 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:12,600 The more I wanted to do it, the angrier I got. 344 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:16,560 The more I wanted to be angry. The more I meditated on how they 345 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,840 had hurt me, the more that I wanted to hurt them and I wanted 346 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,880 to get over that, the more I wanted to seek vengeance. 347 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,400 More, I wanted to have the final say and the problem is in that 348 00:19:26,400 --> 00:19:30,520 moment what I did was make my wound ultimate reality. 349 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,440 And what Jesus says is I have a better reality for you. 350 00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:38,000 I have something that's. Good for you beyond that wound. 351 00:19:39,120 --> 00:19:41,240 Now again I want. To be so careful, I want to be 352 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:45,560 so tender and gentle to say abuse. 353 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:48,320 Physical and. Emotional and psychological 354 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:53,000 abuse these gross violations of personhood that assault the 355 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:58,800 image of God in your heart. They can and should result in 356 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,640 termination of relationship. I am not. 357 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,560 Saying that you have to stay in bed with your abuser. 358 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:10,800 What I'm saying is that forgiveness softens my 359 00:20:10,800 --> 00:20:13,760 bitterness. Even if it may not. 360 00:20:13,760 --> 00:20:17,680 Restore their access. It may not give them proximity, 361 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:20,760 and it may not require me to trust them. 362 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:27,760 Forgiveness says I will not be defined by what others have done 363 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,840 to me, but by what Jesus is doing in me. 364 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,400 It's not to. Be to forgive is not to be a 365 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:39,240 completed work, it is to walk towards a completion that we can 366 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:44,840 only imagine. And as I look around the. 367 00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,360 Room. I know some of the wounds. 368 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,040 And I want to. Give you this as you're going. 369 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:57,200 I couldn't possibly forgive the father who dehumanized you. 370 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:02,200 It's not to forget, not to. To accept the path that the 371 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:08,400 spouse who ignored your every need and every humanity, to 372 00:21:08,400 --> 00:21:10,760 forgive that father, To forgive that spouse. 373 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:14,880 To forgive that church told you that you weren't. 374 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:17,840 Acceptable. To God because you didn't fit 375 00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,480 their package of what it was supposed to do. 376 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:22,840 It is not to let them off the hook. 377 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:26,560 You got to hear me when I say that it's not to let them off 378 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:28,120 the hook. It's. 379 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:30,120 What it is? Is to acknowledge the fact that 380 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:33,120 I need forgiveness too. What it is? 381 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:35,000 To say is. That I'm not just in this. 382 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,640 The problem is the reason that we live in the world that we 383 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:40,760 live in is because if we don't choose the path of forgiveness, 384 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:44,040 if we choose the path of rest of, of what's the word 385 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,880 retribution? If we choose that path, it 386 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,240 always escalates. I'm always going to give out 387 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:51,360 more than I received and then they're going to get more than I 388 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:53,080 received. And what I want to say is if 389 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,000 we're going to step back from that, there has to be the real 390 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,640 assurance that justice exists, that there is a God who is 391 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:03,520 righteous and just and who says I won't just excuse. 392 00:22:03,520 --> 00:22:06,240 I don't just turn a blind eye to to abuse. 393 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:08,240 And I want you to know it's in there. 394 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:11,280 Here's the reason that we forgive the apostle Paul writing 395 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,040 to the church in Rome, people who were people just like us. 396 00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:20,320 He said this Romans chapter 12, verse 19, Dear friends, never 397 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:22,400 take revenge. Stop. 398 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:25,720 Never. Take revenge. 399 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,760 I know your wound was defining. I know it was unjust. 400 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,280 I know it hurt you. I know it feels like it 401 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,320 destroyed you. Never take revenge. 402 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,360 What do we do in response then? Leave that. 403 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:44,720 To the righteous anger of of God, for Scripture says I will 404 00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:49,320 take revenge, I will pay them back, says the. 405 00:22:49,320 --> 00:22:53,400 Lord, you serve a God. Who is just and who sees your 406 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:56,440 wound? And he has promised to respond 407 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,280 appropriately. And the reason we do that is we 408 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,320 can now, you can now take that abuser and you can say your 409 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:07,040 influence in my life is over. I will not. 410 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:11,280 Give you one more day, and by the way, the Lord is better. 411 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:15,640 At it than you are. The reason that those. 412 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,080 Wounds come is because they don't care that much what you 413 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:21,440 think. So your. 414 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:24,520 Retribution is not going to be that painful. 415 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:30,880 Instead you hand them to the living God who loves you and 416 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:36,280 loves them and trust him to bring about his way and his path 417 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:43,800 and his life. That kind of response when we 418 00:23:43,800 --> 00:23:47,840 become the kind of people who say I have suffered great wrong. 419 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:51,560 He's given me a. Love and righteousness. 420 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:53,800 It doesn't mean that I invite him over for dinner. 421 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,240 It doesn't mean that I pretend. Nothing ever happened. 422 00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:59,000 It doesn't mean. That I go, hey, I'm. 423 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,040 OK, you're OK. I know it wasn't that big of a 424 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,080 deal it. Just. 425 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:06,640 Means I give them to the Lord and I trust his justice and his 426 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,440 righteousness more than I and see what happens is as you do 427 00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:15,040 that and the person next to you does that, what happens is we. 428 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:18,000 Become kind of place. That does that and I want to 429 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,240 pause right here and say very clearly River City. 430 00:24:21,360 --> 00:24:26,360 This is one of my favorite things about you when Brian a 40 431 00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:32,680 year old executive pastor Brian Schneider when he first came 432 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,240 here at River City and I'm always interesting what the new 433 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,720 what the new guy thinks right like as he gets in and see in 434 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,040 the 1st place that he went had access was our men's ministry. 435 00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:42,720 He went to our Wednesday night men's ministry and there's, 436 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:44,720 listen, there's something of a revival going on there. 437 00:24:44,720 --> 00:24:47,640 There are guys that are that are just finding the Lord and 438 00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:50,520 falling and walking them from the most unbelievable places and 439 00:24:50,520 --> 00:24:54,040 circumstances. And Brian's take was what makes 440 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:56,800 the men's ministry such a such a unique and a special places. 441 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,600 Lots of people talk about being authentic and vulnerable. 442 00:25:00,760 --> 00:25:05,360 Those guys actually do it. They share their. 443 00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:07,880 Struggles and they share their pain and they share their fears. 444 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,160 And I want to say is the only reason that that this is a place 445 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:13,400 that can do that is because this is a place that does it. 446 00:25:14,680 --> 00:25:18,880 We understand that to be badly broken doesn't mean to be 447 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,880 excluded from the love of God. And if we're not excluded from 448 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,720 the love of God, we can't be excluded from the love of each 449 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,600 other. See, that's what happens. 450 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:33,040 When we choose over and over again, at great cost to 451 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,680 ourselves and to our pride, to walk in that and so. 452 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,360 The choices that we make. Affect the atmosphere, they 453 00:25:40,360 --> 00:25:44,200 affect who we become. And so the reality is we, you 454 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:45,960 know, remember I said that to my kids every week. 455 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:47,920 You have to live in the world that you create. 456 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,320 And so we are. Either creating and living in a 457 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:57,160 world of entrenched warfare. Or. 458 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:02,200 We are living in a world of growth and grace and redemption 459 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:07,160 and restitution or and and restoration cannot live in both. 460 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:12,600 And the messages and the people that tell us that those people 461 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:16,320 out there are our enemies. It's not the voice that leads to 462 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:19,440 redemption and restitution. That's the voice that further 463 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:24,280 deepens the divide and the gap. It's not to pretend that every 464 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:28,880 idea is equal, It is to acknowledge that every human 465 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,880 being on this planet bears the image of God. 466 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:36,480 And is in some. Measure being called out and 467 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:40,160 redeemed and restored again. And so our words and our 468 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:43,880 relationships and our responses are either furthering. 469 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:47,600 That. Or they're hindering it cannot 470 00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,160 do both We. Cannot make people. 471 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:54,600 Our enemy and pray for their restitution to the Lord. 472 00:26:55,200 --> 00:26:59,240 It's one or the other. That's what Psalm 27 says this 473 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,520 is like the is like the the charter verse for every men's 474 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:07,320 ministry in the country and it's wonderful right Proverbs 2717 as 475 00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:12,720 iron sharpens iron so a friend sharpens a friend Imagine the 476 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,680 picture is you have an axe and you're out cutting a tree right. 477 00:27:15,800 --> 00:27:18,840 If you cut a tree for long enough, the axe blade is going 478 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:21,880 to get dull, and So what happens at the point about this is that. 479 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:26,360 Sharpening isn't. Accidental, it doesn't just 480 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:28,800 happen. It isn't automatic. 481 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:31,640 It is also not easy the way this is set up. 482 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,000 So I'm a language guy like my training is in, I'm a literature 483 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:36,320 guy. I read, when I read the 484 00:27:36,320 --> 00:27:39,960 scripture, I read them as letters, I read them as, as you 485 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:41,560 know, all of these genres as history. 486 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:44,360 And you look at it and you read it and words are important. 487 00:27:44,360 --> 00:27:47,720 The way that the words these are communicated means something. 488 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,440 And so some of you are going to remember freshman English, some 489 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:52,480 of you are actually probably in freshman English. 490 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:53,800 And that's great, and that's wonderful. 491 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:54,960 Right. And so you'll know. 492 00:27:55,040 --> 00:28:00,080 So a comparison, a metaphor that uses the word like or as is 493 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:06,120 called a simile woo, right? And so when we find the 494 00:28:06,120 --> 00:28:10,560 scripture as iron sharpens iron, what we're being given here is a 495 00:28:10,560 --> 00:28:12,440 simile. And what it should do is it 496 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:16,720 should force us to ask how is iron sharpened? 497 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:20,520 If we can understand how iron is sharpened, then we will 498 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:23,280 understand how friendships sharpen each other. 499 00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:28,240 So how are how is iron sharpened by great friction? 500 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:34,560 There are often sparks, there is heat, it is loud and there is 501 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:39,160 stuff that gets knocked off. There are edges. 502 00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:45,800 That are worn smooth by friction over time in the same direction. 503 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:51,800 Friends sharpen. Friends when they are willing to 504 00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:56,800 go beyond politeness. Friends. 505 00:28:56,800 --> 00:29:00,760 Sharpen friends when they are unwilling to let silence 506 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:05,520 masquerade as peace. This happened in my. 507 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,440 Life. When we started River City and I 508 00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:10,880 came over and I was a mess. So you think this is messy? 509 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:13,960 You're right, it was worse, way worse back then. 510 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:17,960 We started and the elders, we started with a three man elder 511 00:29:17,960 --> 00:29:20,240 board. It was me and a guy, Henry 512 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:23,400 Spindle, who's no longer with us, and Greg Grieman, who 513 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,600 continues to be an elder with us today. 514 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:29,360 And at the time, you know, I was 35 years old, and I knew 515 00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:32,840 everything of all of the things I thought I did. 516 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:38,160 But really, I was angry and I was tired and I was worn out, 517 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,040 and I hadn't sufficiently taken care of my heart. 518 00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,360 I hadn't done the work that I needed to do. 519 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:48,760 And so I had a tendency to respond sharply and pointedly 520 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,320 and directly. And I hurt a lot of feelings my 521 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:56,640 first year, two years Now here's the other thing about this, 522 00:29:56,640 --> 00:30:01,360 about my gift. I know a lot of words and I'm 523 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:06,320 really good at at apologies. And so I remember sitting in an 524 00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:08,640 elders meeting one day with Greg, and I was recounting the 525 00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:11,040 latest, like, I had this conversation and I did this and 526 00:30:11,040 --> 00:30:15,920 it was the 3rd or 4th or 50th time and heard it in Greg at the 527 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,960 elders table, lean across from me and said, you are so good at 528 00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,520 apologies. Wouldn't it be better to not 529 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:32,960 have to do it so much? Yeah, it's better in the moment, 530 00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:35,120 man. It felt good to just let it fly. 531 00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:38,280 But I'm so grateful. I had a friend who would sit 532 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:41,920 across the table from me and not whether not worry about whether 533 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:46,000 or not that hurt my feelings, not whether worry about whether 534 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:49,240 I would misunderstand it. In that moment, I had a choice. 535 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:51,480 I could get my feelings hurt. I could get offended, I could 536 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:53,400 get defensive and make my own way. 537 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,960 But I sat across from this guy and I knew that he cared more 538 00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:58,880 about me than about being comfortable. 539 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:02,080 And I knew that he cared more about this than about that, 540 00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:04,880 making everything just peace over and smooth over. 541 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:09,760 And so in that moment, you know, again, I'm all butt backwards 542 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:13,440 into a lot of stuff. God gave me the grace to accept 543 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:16,600 that wisdom and to start working on being a person who doesn't 544 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:19,280 need to ask for forgiveness so much. 545 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,200 However I'm doing I don't, I don't know about that. 546 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:26,880 But I know that the. More often I'm willing to submit 547 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,840 to that kind of friction, the more often that I'm willing to 548 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,080 let somebody speak hard truth to me, even though it hurts, the 549 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,600 less frequently I need to happen, it needs to happen, and 550 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,640 the less traumatic it is. If I'll sharpen my axe every 551 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:40,360 single day, it only takes 3 minutes. 552 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:43,000 If I take if. If I do it once a month, it 553 00:31:43,000 --> 00:31:45,600 takes all day and different equipment and I got to send it 554 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:48,040 off and I got to go get it. It's better to just moment by 555 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:52,000 moment, to submit to the person who loves me and who cares about 556 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,160 me, and to let them sharpen the rough edges off of me. 557 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:58,000 Now let me say a word about mutuality. 558 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,880 Because we cannot. Be fully formed by wisdom apart 559 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:10,560 from mutual submission. In your prayer for it so. 560 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:12,840 First of all, like there's a verse in James that says if you 561 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,200 ask for wisdom, God will give it to you. 562 00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:17,600 He will give you wisdom. You just got to believe that 563 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,000 he's going to give you that and start and start walking in it, 564 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:22,160 right? And so as you start praying for 565 00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,560 wisdom, God very well may drop a sign on your head. 566 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,720 You may walk out the door and there are flashing. 567 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:31,640 Bright. Neon lights that like quit your 568 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:34,360 job right? Like submit to your right. 569 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,280 It may happen. The. 570 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:40,800 Overwhelming evidence of scripture and personal 571 00:32:40,800 --> 00:32:43,800 experience in my life is that he's going to send somebody to 572 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,800 you to tell you the truth. That's why we do small. 573 00:32:47,800 --> 00:32:50,840 Groups not as. Organized so we. 574 00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,160 Can count whatever. The idea behind a small group is 575 00:32:53,160 --> 00:32:55,320 that you will go to small group and it will be the place where 576 00:32:55,320 --> 00:33:00,360 you just go. I am angry at everything, not to 577 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:02,560 defend. My position and not to just say 578 00:33:02,760 --> 00:33:05,920 I'm angry because all those people out there have told me, 579 00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:07,960 right? We go to just say I'm angry and 580 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:11,160 I don't believe that this is what God is of what God has for 581 00:33:11,160 --> 00:33:12,680 me. And the idea would be in the 582 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:15,680 context of your small group, somebody could even say, man, 583 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:18,560 you show up angry a lot. Is there a chance that you're 584 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:23,680 watching the news too much? And you have a choice. 585 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:27,880 To accept wisdom. Or not. 586 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:32,240 But what we expose ourselves to, is there a chance? 587 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:36,040 That you watch too much social media Is there a chance that 588 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:39,000 that's the. Idea behind community. 589 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:41,840 And so now a couple words of caution. 590 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,640 Beware of the echo chamber. And what I mean is that our 591 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:50,240 entire world is designed to tell you exactly what you already 592 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:52,640 believe. And not only to tell. 593 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:54,400 You what you. Already believe, but to tell you 594 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:57,600 that the people who don't believe like you are scary and 595 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:02,400 bad and to mischaracterize them and they do it for a reason they 596 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,000 tell you that so that you can feel justified and keep tuning 597 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:07,960 in and. Then when you. 598 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,080 TuneIn Now you're watching their advertising, you're subscribing 599 00:34:12,080 --> 00:34:15,239 to their podcasts. You're just, you're doing their 600 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:18,639 thing. Our entire world. 601 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:21,040 Is an echo chamber and you will not. 602 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:25,320 We will not accidentally find ourselves not in an echo change 603 00:34:25,400 --> 00:34:27,560 chamber. We must decide. 604 00:34:27,679 --> 00:34:30,080 That we would rather. Have a different direction and 605 00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,560 choose it day after day, moment after moment. 606 00:34:33,679 --> 00:34:35,960 And that first 20 minutes that you do it, you're going to feel 607 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:37,159 like the whole world's going to fall apart. 608 00:34:37,159 --> 00:34:40,760 You know how I because I deleted Instagram off my phone and I was 609 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:42,560 just like, like for a week I was like, Oh my God. 610 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:43,480 Well. How do I? 611 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:44,679 Even know how am I even going to? 612 00:34:44,679 --> 00:34:49,480 Minister to people, Lord, if I'm not angry and afraid and upset 613 00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,960 and scared, how can I possibly tell your truth, Lord, if I 614 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,760 don't know who the enemy is? And he says the enemy is that 615 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:57,800 voice that tells you that you have to be scared of other 616 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:00,080 people. If that's the enemy. 617 00:35:00,680 --> 00:35:03,040 Will you delete it or will you walk in it? 618 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:07,480 Beware of the echo chamber. And if we're going to live free 619 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:09,760 of the echo chamber, we will have to choose it intentionally 620 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,800 every single day. Another thing to be careful of, 621 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:17,960 beware of trying to get biblical advice from non biblical people. 622 00:35:19,240 --> 00:35:21,120 Because Jesus is. Going to tell you. 623 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,400 To honor your. Wife, your friends going to tell 624 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:27,080 you drop an old ball and chain, let's go. 625 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:28,760 Let's get an apartment. We do it together, right? 626 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:34,360 One of those ways is wisdom. One of those ways is not that 627 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,200 brings to the this last thing that kind of goes together. 628 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:41,440 Beware of the wolves. You are of the wolves, that. 629 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:44,120 Would be the prophets among you that would come in without a 630 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:47,480 hint of submission in their own life and tell you what you need 631 00:35:47,480 --> 00:35:51,000 to do with your life. People come in all the. 632 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,240 Time and they love to tell me you need to do this Lord and 633 00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:56,400 God, you're not doing this. My question is some person that 634 00:35:56,400 --> 00:36:00,000 comes and my question is who gets to tell you no? 635 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:04,880 Who gets to? Tell you what to do. 636 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:08,120 Now, here's the scary part. My high school baseball coach 637 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:09,840 had a saying. It's not he didn't make it up or 638 00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:15,080 anything like that, but he would say even blind hogs find acorns 639 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:17,920 every now and then, right? Like you heard that right. 640 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:23,320 So here's the deal. That unsubmitted person playing 641 00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:26,520 the role of prophet, when they come, they may have a nugget of 642 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:29,680 truth that I need to hear. So when somebody comes and says 643 00:36:29,680 --> 00:36:33,200 you're not doing not enough, my response is to take that and 644 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:34,640 just go, Lord, is there truth in that? 645 00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,920 Am I that am I overbearing? Am I unkind? 646 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:42,880 Do I lack compassion? Lord am I like, like whatever, 647 00:36:42,880 --> 00:36:47,520 whatever this the situation is, I can receive that as from the 648 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:52,840 Lord without submitting myself to unsubmitted, unaccountable 649 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:55,480 people. Listen, I believe within the 650 00:36:55,480 --> 00:36:58,040 context of this that we read about in Ephesians. 651 00:36:58,040 --> 00:37:00,520 I believe in the context of this congregation, the Lord will 652 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:04,520 raise up all kinds of people, apostles, prophets, evangelists, 653 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,920 shepherds, teachers. And I want to know. 654 00:37:07,920 --> 00:37:11,080 That after the meeting, somebody came up to me afterward and, 655 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:13,840 and, and talked about something that God has called them to walk 656 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:15,960 in and it was and it walk in and it was something. 657 00:37:16,080 --> 00:37:19,440 That we need and we experienced and I said, yes, I see that and 658 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:21,280 you, I see that as a need for us walk. 659 00:37:21,280 --> 00:37:23,080 And I introduce some of the people so that there can be 660 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:24,800 mutual submission and accountability. 661 00:37:24,800 --> 00:37:26,600 And I think that's how God does it. 662 00:37:26,600 --> 00:37:29,160 God has a role and a part for you to play within the 663 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:32,600 congregation, but it's within the context of the congregation 664 00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:35,160 and this congregation within the context of the church in New 665 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,120 Braunfels. No person is an island unto 666 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:41,240 themselves. No person only answers and 667 00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:45,480 subjects and submits to Jesus because Jesus has placed us as 668 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,840 the body we walk together. So beware when. 669 00:37:49,840 --> 00:37:53,760 People demand submission from you without being willing to 670 00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:57,080 submit to anyone else, and. As we. 671 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:00,520 Walk in this the kind of people who capture the moments, the 672 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:04,720 people who become forgiving, not because we feel like it, not 673 00:38:04,720 --> 00:38:07,640 because we we think it's, it's neat, but because we believe 674 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:10,240 that as we walk in that that's how we're going to get to the 675 00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:13,320 end, where every tear is dried and every sad thing comes 676 00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:15,560 untrue. As we walk in that and as we get 677 00:38:15,880 --> 00:38:18,520 shaped in that, and as our community gets formed into that, 678 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:22,440 we become like Jesus. This isn't just this whole idea 679 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:26,120 of redemptive community, of iron sharpening iron, of forgiveness 680 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:28,640 and peace with other. This isn't just Old Testament 681 00:38:28,640 --> 00:38:31,080 talk. This is the very methodology 682 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:33,080 that Jesus employed in his ministry. 683 00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:36,600 Jesus came to start something that would live past him and 684 00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:38,360 what he did was he called people together. 685 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:42,040 Mark chapter 3, verse 13. Afterwards, Jesus went up on a 686 00:38:42,040 --> 00:38:45,240 mountain and he called out the ones that he wanted to go with 687 00:38:45,240 --> 00:38:48,800 him and they came to him. Then he appointed 12 of them. 688 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:51,480 These weren't the only 12 people following Jesus. 689 00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:54,960 There were hundreds of people in Jesus's circle, but he called 12 690 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:57,840 people to him and it says he appointed them apostles. 691 00:38:58,040 --> 00:39:01,400 And they were to accompany. Him and he would send them out 692 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:03,320 to the people. Now, here's the interesting 693 00:39:03,320 --> 00:39:05,560 thing about that. First of all, Jesus could have 694 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:08,160 done anything that he wanted. Jesus could have gone to Rome 695 00:39:08,240 --> 00:39:10,360 and he could have thrown Caesar out, and he could have 696 00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:12,640 established a feeding land, and he could have done all of those 697 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:13,600 things. But he didn't. 698 00:39:13,720 --> 00:39:17,560 He called 12 ordinary people to himself, and he taught them what 699 00:39:17,560 --> 00:39:21,360 it's like to be like him. And here's my favorite part. 2 700 00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:23,280 of my favorite disciples go together. 701 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:25,480 The first one is called Simon the Zealot. 702 00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:28,160 Simon Zealotes. He was a part of a political 703 00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:32,080 party that was seeking, not just praying, for actively walking 704 00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:34,320 out the violent overthrow of Rome. 705 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:39,440 They loved to kill Romans. And right next to Simon, we find 706 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:43,680 Levi the tax collector who the Jewish people saw as race 707 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:45,800 traitors. They sold out the people of 708 00:39:45,800 --> 00:39:51,000 Israel to Rome for filthy lucre. You're trying to get rich at the 709 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:55,000 hands of your own people and Jesus, said Simon. 710 00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:58,720 Meet Matthew You. Guys are going to be roommates. 711 00:40:01,640 --> 00:40:03,840 We can't even watch. The news channel of the 712 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:08,400 opposition without our heads popping off. 713 00:40:11,240 --> 00:40:15,320 This is the way that Jesus called us to walk with his 714 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:20,640 people, submitted, not abandoning our our humanity, not 715 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:24,160 abandoning the image of God and each other, but walking towards 716 00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:29,240 something that he has done. We read about Pentecost. 717 00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:33,240 It was a group of about 120 people in the upper room 718 00:40:33,240 --> 00:40:36,520 praying. Simon was there, Matthew was 719 00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:41,320 there. That's where the Holy Spirit 720 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:45,280 came, and it fell on them all equally. 721 00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:50,520 Jesus spent time. With his disciples He spent 722 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:54,720 time, with the people he didn't. Just give them truth. 723 00:40:55,080 --> 00:40:56,960 He didn't. Just preach at them. 724 00:40:57,040 --> 00:41:02,880 He didn't just write a book. He gave them himself, He gave 725 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:05,720 them his example. And what's his example as they 726 00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:07,760 nail him on the cross? Father what? 727 00:41:08,720 --> 00:41:12,200 Forgive them because they don't know what they're doing? 728 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:16,240 Sure looks like it bro. Seems like there was an order. 729 00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:19,960 Seems like there was a trial. It all seemed pretty conscripted 730 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:22,920 to me. Jesus knew something. 731 00:41:22,920 --> 00:41:26,440 That we don't know. He saw the big picture and Jesus 732 00:41:26,440 --> 00:41:30,600 extended grace. He gave himself. 733 00:41:30,800 --> 00:41:32,200 And then he gave them each other. 734 00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:35,600 And then he trusted. His Holy Spirit to form them 735 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:37,600 faithfully. That's what's happening in this 736 00:41:37,840 --> 00:41:40,440 place, that's what's happening in your small group, that's 737 00:41:40,440 --> 00:41:42,000 what's happening on your ministry team. 738 00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:44,880 That's what happens when you read your scripture and you call 739 00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:47,240 somebody and ask them to help you walk it out. 740 00:41:47,680 --> 00:41:50,360 So how can we tell if we're staying on track with that? 741 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:53,320 With that wisdom, had a couple questions last week. 742 00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:56,600 I wanna here's a couple more. The first one, whose voice am I 743 00:41:56,600 --> 00:42:00,120 regularly or voices, whose voice am I regularly and repeatedly 744 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:04,600 exposing myself to overtime? And what is that exposure 745 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:13,440 actually forming in me? Who's on repeat is listen, be 746 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:14,880 careful. You'll end up liking Taylor 747 00:42:14,880 --> 00:42:17,560 Swift over and over and over in your head, right? 748 00:42:19,560 --> 00:42:21,680 If we listen to the. Angry voices of doom and 749 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,920 destruction. We will become angry, 750 00:42:25,080 --> 00:42:31,160 destructive people. Second, what kind of world am I 751 00:42:31,160 --> 00:42:33,920 helping to create with the relationships that are closest 752 00:42:33,920 --> 00:42:36,360 to me? A world of. 753 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:39,080 Hope. A world that. 754 00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:43,360 Believes that the end is good. Listen, I've read the end of the 755 00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:44,560 book. I read it. 756 00:42:44,680 --> 00:42:46,600 It's good. It's good news. 757 00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:51,720 We get to be. Saved from this kind of world 758 00:42:51,720 --> 00:42:56,240 where our relationships are are heavy and burdensome, we get to 759 00:42:56,240 --> 00:42:59,280 save from that. For a world that lifts each 760 00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:03,920 other up, encourages each other, that blesses and listen, you 761 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:05,640 don't have to solve all of this today. 762 00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:08,160 You don't have to solve. All of this today. 763 00:43:08,160 --> 00:43:14,280 Just begin by observing and acknowledging and seeing what 764 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:16,080 it's doing and bearing in your life. 765 00:43:16,520 --> 00:43:18,280 Remember that wisdom is cumulative. 766 00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:21,240 It builds up. And so if your. 767 00:43:21,240 --> 00:43:26,800 Desire is to walk in wisdom, and it's worth slowing down and 768 00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:30,120 taking an honest look at the trajectory of our lives. 769 00:43:30,920 --> 00:43:32,840 Jesus, I just pray that you. Would help us see that. 770 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:37,760 Holy Spirit. You're in US like you are the 771 00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:40,360 very wisdom of God resident in us. 772 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:42,960 That means that you will speak in our thoughts, you will speak 773 00:43:42,960 --> 00:43:45,560 in our ears and in our insecurities. 774 00:43:45,560 --> 00:43:49,080 You'll speak in those places and you always point us to Jesus. 775 00:43:49,080 --> 00:43:52,200 And so I just pray that as we go through this week that you'll 776 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:55,920 help us see the areas where our relationships, our relation to 777 00:43:55,920 --> 00:44:00,560 other people, our relation to to fear our relation, to control 778 00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:03,800 our relation to the forgiveness and and wisdom. 779 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:05,800 Lord, I just pray that you would help us to see that. 780 00:44:07,680 --> 00:44:09,640 And I know that everything. In US is going to want to solve 781 00:44:09,640 --> 00:44:13,440 everything all at once. We want to be productive, but I 782 00:44:13,440 --> 00:44:16,120 pray that we would just walk with you, that we would just be 783 00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:20,560 in your presence. And Lord, the hope that we. 784 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:25,640 Have is that you form us minute by minute, over time into 785 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:29,160 something truly beautiful. Or do you set us? 786 00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:32,720 Free from fear. You set us free. 787 00:44:32,720 --> 00:44:36,200 From anxiety. You set us free. 788 00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:38,760 From the things that undermine and destroy. 789 00:44:38,760 --> 00:44:47,360 And you set us into a world of goodness and hope as an example, 790 00:44:47,360 --> 00:44:51,000 as a beacon in this world. So Lord, I pray that. 791 00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:54,520 Your church would be that, and I thank you for River City. 792 00:44:55,840 --> 00:44:58,200 I thank you for the truth that our brokenness is. 793 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:02,360 I mean, we don't celebrate. Brokenness, but we thank you 794 00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:05,000 that it is the very context where we experience your love. 795 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:08,120 I pray that that would be in so ingrained on us that it would 796 00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:09,840 never go away, that it would continue to grow. 797 00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:12,920 And I pray that broken people would continue to find their way 798 00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:16,040 here to be set free and delivered, to be welcomed and 799 00:45:16,040 --> 00:45:19,720 loved in your name and Lord. We don't condone sin. 800 00:45:19,720 --> 00:45:23,360 We don't wink at it, we don't acknowledge it, but we don't see 801 00:45:23,640 --> 00:45:27,040 sin as a condition for withholding love. 802 00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:33,240 And that's hard, and it's awkward and it's uncomfortable, 803 00:45:33,960 --> 00:45:37,200 and I don't like it. So I pray that you would shake 804 00:45:37,200 --> 00:45:39,720 my heart. Help me to be like you. 805 00:45:40,680 --> 00:45:43,400 We thank you for your love and Your grace, and we ask these 806 00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:45,480 things. In your name and for your glory, 807 00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:47,960 Amen. Thank you for joining us today. 808 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:51,200 River City Church is all about experiencing and expressing 809 00:45:51,200 --> 00:45:53,880 God's love and our lives and community, and we hope that 810 00:45:53,880 --> 00:45:55,920 you've been able to experience that today. 811 00:45:56,600 --> 00:45:59,120 As grateful as I am that you've spent this time listening in 812 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:02,160 this morning, this podcast is no substitute for full 813 00:46:02,160 --> 00:46:06,080 participation in a local church. I love it when River City people 814 00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:09,400 listen to other pastors, but it is those who show up week after 815 00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:12,320 week, faithfully giving their support and time and resources 816 00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:15,720 that make all of this possible. If we can help you get connected 817 00:46:15,720 --> 00:46:19,680 to a local church, pray for you, or support you in any way, click 818 00:46:19,680 --> 00:46:21,360 the link in the description and let us know. 819 00:46:21,920 --> 00:46:24,000 If you'd like to financially support the ministry of River 820 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:26,880 City, click the give link on our website in the description. 821 00:46:27,440 --> 00:46:30,080 Don't forget to subscribe and don't forget to share this with 822 00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:31,200 your friends. Thanks. 823 00:46:31,200 --> 00:46:33,080 So much for. Listening, may the Lord bless 824 00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:35,280 and keep you in all grace and peace.