1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:15,860 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. How do we know where to find answers to the toughest 2 00:00:15,860 --> 00:00:21,060 questions in life? While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search 3 00:00:21,060 --> 00:00:27,300 and how do we discover this truth? Today, in this teaching podcast, John Meador, lead 4 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:32,440 pastor of Cross City Church, takes a specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth 5 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:43,920 for the life we're searching for. Please take your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 6 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:49,240 22 today as we continue our message series called Out of the Shadow. Today we're going 7 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:56,400 to talk about loving others well. Loving others well. This is really a relationship series 8 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,400 where we're talking about what it means to get out of the shallow end of relationships 9 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:05,920 and get into the deep end of relationships and love others well. I think that we would 10 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:12,440 all agree this is an incredibly important type of a message, an incredibly important 11 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:17,760 time for us to mirror what the world ought to see about relationships. In Matthew chapter 12 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:22,400 22, let's stand together. I'm going to read several verses beginning in verse 35. The 13 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:28,160 text we actually began last week, this is part two of what I started last week, where 14 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,280 Jesus is giving us what we know as the great commandment. Now you know the background behind 15 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:37,400 this, the Pharisees and the Sadducees are trying to trip Jesus up as it pertains to 16 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,960 the commandments. If they can get Jesus to say one commandment is more important than 17 00:01:41,960 --> 00:01:47,400 another, they can falsely accuse him of not being the Messiah, not being truly sent from 18 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:52,680 God. So they send this lawyer to try to trip him up. In verse 35 we pick it up. One of 19 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:58,320 them, a lawyer, asks him a question, testing him. Teacher, which is the great commandment 20 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:03,280 in the law? And he said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart 21 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:08,160 and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. 22 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:14,040 The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments 23 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:20,440 depend the whole law and the prophets. Jesus gives us profound answer that we quote to 24 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:25,320 this day that is such an important answer to the question that was asked. And it should 25 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:31,000 be one of the guiding verses of your life. Let's bow together. Father, in Jesus' name, 26 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:35,640 by the power of your Holy Spirit, illuminate this text for us today so that we might know 27 00:02:35,640 --> 00:02:42,580 exactly how to love well. We ask this in Jesus' name, all God's people said. Amen. Please 28 00:02:42,580 --> 00:02:48,480 be seated if you would. I absolutely love our graphic for out of the 29 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:53,400 shadow. It looks like the deep end of the ocean, right? It shows a mountain in the background. 30 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:59,200 It shows the water, a shallow side, and then it shows the deep side. And just in commemoration 31 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:04,320 of that graphic that I left so well, I've kind of been searching out ocean movies, deep 32 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:09,960 sea movies to watch. Have you ever noticed that every ocean movie is a disaster movie? 33 00:03:09,960 --> 00:03:15,000 It's always about a shipwreck. Think Titanic if you would. Or the perfect storm. It's always 34 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:21,560 something where things don't work out well, right? And so this last weekend, the last 35 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:26,400 couple of days, I decided to watch a movie that I've never seen before and it was a movie 36 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:32,400 made in Australia about a shipwreck of five young people whose boat capsized out off the 37 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:37,960 Australian coast. Really encouraging movie. Four out of the five die of shark attack. 38 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:44,480 Really encouraging movie. And it illustrates the fact that when you get into the deep end, 39 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:50,760 there are all kinds of dangers that are present. In the course of the movie, you not only see 40 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:55,440 these four that are striving to get to this little island about ten miles away that they're 41 00:03:55,440 --> 00:04:00,040 swimming to with a great white shark circling them all the way. And you know exactly what's 42 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,780 going to happen. At the same time, it goes from that shark to other great and beautiful 43 00:04:03,780 --> 00:04:09,640 places in the bottom of the ocean that you want to see, that you want to be around. And 44 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,680 it just perfectly illustrates the fact that wherever there is the deep, there is the beauty 45 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:18,840 as well as the risk. And that's true of relationships as well. Sometimes we don't want to go deeper 46 00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:24,160 in relationships because we're afraid of the sharks that lurk below the surface at the 47 00:04:24,160 --> 00:04:30,520 same time. Other beautiful, amazing things lurk beneath the surface. One of my great 48 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:36,200 experiences in life has been scuba diving and snorkeling off the coast of the Bahamas 49 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,080 where we were able to spend a week or so about fifteen years ago, something like that, even 50 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:46,160 longer ago. My friends and I were out snorkeling and we would go down thirty feet or below. 51 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:50,080 We could see about fifty feet to the bottom. And I saw some of the most beautiful marine 52 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:55,360 life I've ever seen in my life. Manta rays, barracuda. At one point I saw a shark big 53 00:04:55,360 --> 00:04:59,600 enough to make me his breakfast or his lunch, but for some reason, thankfully he wasn't 54 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,560 interested in me in that day. But I saw all kinds of beauty at the same time I was captured 55 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:09,000 by the danger that was involved. And I have to tell you today, the reason we don't often 56 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:13,960 go deeper in relationships is because we're afraid of the danger that's involved. We could 57 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:21,780 be hurt. We could be in some way have trust violated. I began to think about relationships 58 00:05:21,780 --> 00:05:26,320 and how important it is to go deep and I realized that in my lifetime I've experienced a lot 59 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,360 when it comes to relationships. All the great things in life and all the rough things in 60 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:36,000 life usually happen through relationships. I've experienced all kinds of ridicule, all 61 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,560 kinds of mockery as a young boy growing up with hearing aids as being the only guy in 62 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:45,300 the classroom that was deaf and not able to keep up with everyone else. That's years and 63 00:05:45,300 --> 00:05:49,240 years ago. That doesn't affect me today, but it's one of those things that I kind of remember. 64 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:56,080 As an adult, I've weathered all kinds of criticism and slander and all kinds of conspiracies 65 00:05:56,080 --> 00:06:00,480 against me as an individual or as a pastor even. You might surprise you in the church, 66 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:05,040 some people don't like the pastor. It's hard to believe, isn't it? But on the other side 67 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:11,520 of that, I've experienced the best of relationships. Incredible loyalty, incredible love, incredible 68 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:19,000 amazing commitment to help bring out the best in me and that I see that in other relationships 69 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:23,840 as well. But until you go deep, you don't get to experience any of those things. This 70 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:29,480 whole series is about going deeper. It's about taking risks. It's about loving God in a deeper 71 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:35,320 way and loving those around you in a deeper way as well. So let me ask you some questions 72 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:41,280 as we get into Jesus' text here. What if we learn to love with more investment, more 73 00:06:41,280 --> 00:06:47,800 dedication, more depth? How would our lives change? How would the lives of those around 74 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:54,240 us change? What if we loved as a lifestyle, an expression of our faith? What if our faith 75 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:59,840 met, our faith in Christ met that we would love to the same level that He loved us? What 76 00:06:59,840 --> 00:07:05,960 if that became a hallmark of our lives? How would that change family? How would that change 77 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:11,840 personal relationships? How would that change culture if we were able to love the way Christ 78 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:20,440 called us to? How can we love our neighbor well? How can we love others well? 79 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:25,560 Well last week we began looking at Jesus' statement to the Pharisees and the lawyers 80 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:30,240 and He gave first of all the first part of that great commandment. Love the Lord your 81 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:35,360 God with all of your soul, with all your might, all your strength. And we focused on what 82 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:42,120 it meant to love God well. To realize that God's love for us is what initiates all this. 83 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:48,520 That we don't have the ability to love God well without God first loving us and we explore 84 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:53,280 that. We spend some time in that. Today is the second part of that where Jesus said the 85 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:58,560 second is likened to it that you love your neighbor as yourself. Today I'm going to use 86 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,680 the world's oldest illustration to talk about what it means to love God well and then love 87 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:07,960 others well. And it's what we call the vertical and the horizontal illustration. That is if 88 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:13,440 our vertical relationship with God is strong that means our horizontal relationship with 89 00:08:13,440 --> 00:08:18,460 other people is also going to be strong. But if we don't have a strong vertical neither 90 00:08:18,460 --> 00:08:24,200 will we have a strong horizontal. So let's talk about that vertical foundation first 91 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:29,280 of all. The vertical foundation begins there in verse 37. You shall love the Lord your 92 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:36,000 God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind. And as 93 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:40,920 you know Jesus is responding to these men trying to entrap them. And I just want you 94 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:46,040 to see here by way of remembering what we said last week that the highest value that 95 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:52,680 Jesus Christ put on his relationship with us is that it is a relationship characterized 96 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:59,680 by love. Not about religion. Not about good work. Not about having a perfect past. It's 97 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:07,280 about a relationship that we have with him. And when you read this response that Jesus 98 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:12,040 gave to the lawyers you come to the same conclusion that we all would have to come to. God desires 99 00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:17,080 for each of us to be in relationship with him and he makes it possible through Jesus 100 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:22,080 Christ. You and I it's possible for any of us in this room to have a relationship with 101 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:27,240 God through Jesus Christ. In fact if you leave today without a relationship with God through 102 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:32,280 Jesus Christ it's because you want to leave without that relationship. He's made it possible 103 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:37,040 for you to have it no matter what your past is like. No matter what your present is like. 104 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:42,400 No matter how fearful you may be about having a deep relationship with God. Jesus has made 105 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:47,560 this possible for it to be real in your life. Don't leave without Jesus today. Don't leave 106 00:09:47,560 --> 00:09:54,560 without him. Because it is the foundation for every other kind of relationship. This 107 00:09:54,560 --> 00:10:00,080 vertical foundation that we have. Jesus Christ came to demonstrate that. In fact he came, 108 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:06,720 he revealed the Father to us, he redeemed us by paying for our sins on the cross. And 109 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:10,520 that's what the Gospel is all about. You know I love to talk about the Gospel. And the Gospel 110 00:10:10,520 --> 00:10:16,040 is fully involved here in Matthew chapter 22 verse 35 and following. When I share the 111 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:21,200 Gospel I love to share it out of Ephesians 2. The first ten verses of Ephesians 2 say 112 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:26,160 just about everything you need to know in a capsule form about the Gospel or the good 113 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:32,200 news of Jesus Christ. Some people think the Gospel is simply Jesus died, was buried, rose 114 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,040 again the third day. That's definitely in the center of the Gospel but there's more 115 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:40,400 to it. Let me spell the word Gospel for you. I love to do this. Most of you know how to 116 00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:46,720 do this yourself. The G of the Gospel has to do with God's character. God's character. 117 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:51,120 Ephesians 2 talks about the mercy of God, the love of God. God's character is that he's 118 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:55,040 a loving merciful God who doesn't want to punish us for our sin and at the same time 119 00:10:55,040 --> 00:11:01,360 the Bible reveals him as a just judge who will by no means let the guilty go unpunished. 120 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:05,760 And that's a problem. Why? It's a problem because of the offense of sin. I mean it's 121 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:11,240 not a problem that God loves us. It's a problem that God is a just judge because of the offense 122 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:16,160 of sin. You and I, the Bible says all of us have sinned and fall short of God's glory. 123 00:11:16,160 --> 00:11:21,920 And the Bible says in Ephesians 2 that we were dead in our trespasses and sin. So the 124 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:27,720 offense of sin is a wall between ourselves and this holy yet loving God. The only answer 125 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:33,080 to that is Christ, the sufficiency of Christ. When Jesus Christ came and lived on this earth 126 00:11:33,080 --> 00:11:39,640 he lived a perfect life and he laid his life down in sacrificial death so that our sins 127 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:45,680 would be paid for and we would have the possibility of a relationship with this holy and just 128 00:11:45,680 --> 00:11:50,680 God, the sufficiency of Christ. Not the sufficiency of religion, not the sufficiency of good works, 129 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:56,160 not the sufficiency of anything else. Jesus Christ was sufficient to give us the open 130 00:11:56,160 --> 00:12:00,880 door for a relationship with God. That's the S of the gospel. The P of the gospel involves 131 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:07,400 you personal response. See all that Jesus did on the cross made it possible for you 132 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:13,560 to turn from sin and put your faith and trust in Jesus as Lord and as Savior. But you have 133 00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:19,480 to do that on your own. None of us as Christians in this room were Christians because our family 134 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:26,160 was or because we attended a church or because we've done good things like other Christians 135 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:31,720 are supposed to do. We have to personally respond to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 136 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:38,120 Put our faith and trust in him. The E of the gospel is eternal urgency. This is forever. 137 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:43,080 It's life and death and eternal life and death. And that's why we're urgent about sharing 138 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:49,600 with you. Then the L of the gospel is life transformation. You know you can't have Jesus 139 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:54,480 Christ living inside of your life and still be the same person you were the day before, 140 00:12:54,480 --> 00:12:59,360 the week before, the year before. Jesus changes us from the inside out. That's good news and 141 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:04,320 that is the gospel. Now the reason I share the gospel with you here is because that's 142 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:09,880 the basis of our vertical relationship with God. Again it's not religion, it's not good 143 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:15,120 works, it's purely the good news that Jesus brings us by dying on the cross to give us 144 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:20,720 eternal life. And once you enter into that you are loved unconditionally by God and have 145 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:25,720 the capability of loving him in return, loving him with all of your heart, with all of your 146 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:31,200 soul and with all of your might. You know I came to Christ many, many years ago but 147 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:37,000 I've never ceased being grateful for it. There have been a day that I can recall that 148 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:42,240 I wasn't thankful that I'm forgiven, especially when I sin. When I sin I'm really glad that 149 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:47,280 I have the forgiveness of Jesus purchased on the cross for me and I know you are too. 150 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:51,240 I'm grateful for what he's done for me and that really establishes the relationship I 151 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:55,240 have whereby I can love other people. We'll see more of that in just a moment but that's 152 00:13:55,240 --> 00:14:00,920 the vertical. The next thing I want to point out of this text though is what I call the 153 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:07,480 important interpretation. Kind of a warning. And here's what you find in verse 39. Jesus 154 00:14:07,480 --> 00:14:14,080 says the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Now I want to pause 155 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:20,280 and just look at those two words as yourself for just a second. Many people read this verse 156 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:26,440 and they say, oh okay so before I can practice neighbor love I have to practice self love. 157 00:14:26,440 --> 00:14:30,960 Before I can really love anyone else I have to love myself well but that's not what the 158 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:36,440 verse actually says. Some people read this and they take that approach and they go out 159 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:41,560 and they try to love themselves really, really, really well. But in my experience and according 160 00:14:41,560 --> 00:14:48,000 to the scripture we already love ourselves really, really well. In fact we may love ourselves 161 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:56,840 too well, right? We have to deny ourselves in order to love other people well. I've noticed 162 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:01,480 that with each of our kids as they were growing up they loved themselves really, really well 163 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:06,600 early on. Have you ever been around a two year old that didn't love themselves more 164 00:15:06,600 --> 00:15:10,680 than everybody else? That didn't want everything directed their way? You know what happens 165 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:15,680 when we see an adult that's really, really immature we say they're being a baby. Now 166 00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,920 why do we say they're being a baby? Because they're acting like a selfish baby, like a 167 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:24,960 two year old. I say all about this, I say this, you do not have to learn self love before 168 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:31,680 you love other people. As a matter of fact you need to learn to deny yourself before 169 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:35,360 you love other people. And I'm going to tell you what that exactly means in just a moment 170 00:15:35,360 --> 00:15:40,640 but first let me just say that the Bible warns us that in the worst of days, that the worst 171 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:47,320 of times, that the biggest problem will be that people are lovers of self. Paul actually 172 00:15:47,320 --> 00:15:52,440 said this to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, but realize this, that in the last days difficult times 173 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:59,800 will come for men will be lovers of self, unloving, irreconcilable, lovers of pleasure 174 00:15:59,800 --> 00:16:03,960 rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness even though they have denied 175 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:08,280 its power. Now we're not supposed to hate ourselves but neither are we supposed to cultivate 176 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:15,280 even more self love. So what's Jesus saying? Instead of that, here's what he's saying, 177 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:22,680 elevate your love for others to the same level of care you have for yourself. Would you feed 178 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:28,640 your neighbor when he or she is hungry? You feed yourself. Would you take care of them 179 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:33,440 if they're heartbroken and bleeding? You take care of yourself. And here's the key behind 180 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:40,280 it all, others are just as important in the eyes of God as you are. And aren't you thankful 181 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:45,760 they are? I mean that's the whole basis for why God sent his son Jesus to die for the 182 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:50,560 sins of the whole world. God so loved the whole world that he gave his only begotten 183 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:57,080 son. So the important interpretation we need to have in this verse here is we do not have 184 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:02,920 to pause and learn to love ourselves before we love others. Experience the love of God, 185 00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,400 love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind. The second is like unto it, 186 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:13,200 love your neighbor with that same vertical love that you have with God and experience 187 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,400 with God. So let's get to that place now. That place, that's what it means to have the 188 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:25,960 horizontal application there in verse 39. Love your neighbor. So this is based on everything 189 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:31,640 we have in the way of love from God. When you and I experience the love of God, we can 190 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:37,760 live life loving others well. I want you to take a moment and think about the life of 191 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:44,140 Jesus and how he interacted with people, how he loved people. Think about his selflessness, 192 00:17:44,140 --> 00:17:48,900 think about his compassion, think about his service, he served everyone. Think about his 193 00:17:48,900 --> 00:17:54,960 ultimate sacrifice and laying his life down on the cross. This is how Jesus lived it out. 194 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:59,760 And then Jesus gave these amazing commands to his disciples that were destined to follow 195 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:04,320 him, determined to follow him, and he gave these commands of love. John 13 is one of 196 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:10,160 the greatest. Listen to these words. A new commandment I give you that you love one another. 197 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:15,280 Even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know you 198 00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:21,480 are my disciples if you have love for one another. If you remember last week we talked 199 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:25,720 about the four different words in the New Testament for love and the one that's in 200 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:30,360 this verse and all the verses I share today is agape love. This love is not friendship 201 00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:35,760 love based on common interests. It's not erotic love based on sexual attraction. It's 202 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:42,200 not family love based on biological connection. It's unconditional love. Unconditional love 203 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:49,640 is love with no guarantee of response. It means that I'm called to love my neighbor 204 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:56,000 in spite of what my neighbor says or does to me, for me or against me. It means it's 205 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:01,800 not predicated on that. It's predicated on the fact that I'm already in a love relationship 206 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:07,640 with God himself. It's the kind of love that Christ has for me and the kind of love 207 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:12,920 Christ has for you and when we show it, when we demonstrate it, we stand out in a very 208 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:21,800 broken world and that's what Christ intended. In the Luke account of this great commandment, 209 00:19:21,800 --> 00:19:27,000 Jesus follows the statements that we've been looking at today. Love the Lord your God with 210 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:30,560 all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. The second is like a good love your 211 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:37,640 neighbor as yourself with a parable and it's the parable of the good Samaritan. And in 212 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:42,000 that parable Jesus pointed out a man who was robbed and left for dead on the side of the 213 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:47,400 road and two religious leaders passed him by and didn't stop to help him at all. And 214 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:52,560 then finally the Samaritan stopped and the Samaritan was not of the same ethnicity, didn't 215 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:56,160 have anything in common with the guy on the side of the road. He wasn't the same religion 216 00:19:56,160 --> 00:20:05,440 but he showed compassion. And Jesus told this story, this parable in response to the question 217 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:13,000 who is my neighbor? Love your neighbor as yourself but who's my neighbor? And then you 218 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:21,640 have this parable. And after Jesus tells this amazing parable, he says go and do the same. 219 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:26,800 You want to know how to love your neighbor? You do what the man in this story did. He 220 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:34,040 loved without any hope of return, without any expectation of response at all. He just 221 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:39,400 loved. He just loved. I think that's a pretty powerful illustration and a pretty timely 222 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:46,320 response after Jesus teaches that. So show mercy on those, not just in your family or 223 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:51,400 in your circles but show mercy and compassion on the neighbor in every direction you can 224 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:56,680 possibly imagine. And one of those great conversations about love in the Bible, and there are a lot 225 00:20:56,680 --> 00:21:01,160 of great conversations about love in the Bible folks, I mean go to the book of 1 John and 226 00:21:01,160 --> 00:21:09,160 look at all the references to love. I'm going to pull up 1 John chapter 4 for just a moment 227 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:15,000 and read several verses in 1 John chapter 4, verse 7 and 8 and then verse 11. That's 228 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,760 1 John. And I want you to notice how many times the word love is used. And each time 229 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:26,120 it's used, it's used in the agape form of love. Beloved, let us love one another for 230 00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:31,440 love is from God. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does 231 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:39,280 not love does not know God, for God is love. And then beloved, if God so loved us, we also 232 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:46,560 ought to love one another. You don't have to wonder why John called himself the disciple 233 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:51,200 whom Jesus loved, right? I mean he's all about love. Seven times in those three verses he 234 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,320 uses the word love, agape love, agape love, agape love, agape love. And once the word 235 00:21:56,320 --> 00:22:01,060 beloved, which means I know that I'm beloved, I know that you're loved with that same kind 236 00:22:01,060 --> 00:22:07,040 of love. So John's reflecting everything that Jesus said as he gives those verses. So the 237 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:13,920 obvious question after you read that is how do we do that? How are we supposed to love 238 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:19,600 with that kind of love? That's hard, that's difficult, how do we do that? And he answers 239 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:24,560 in verse 19 of 1 John, and I want you to see it on the screen and I want you to say it 240 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:34,160 with me. Are you ready? We love because he first loved us. You talk about simple, profound 241 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:40,240 truth. We love. After all those commands to love, seven times he says love, love, love, 242 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:46,960 love, love. We love because he first loved us. I want you to let that settle in on you 243 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:55,200 for just a few minutes. We don't love because we have learned the psychology of it. We don't 244 00:22:55,200 --> 00:23:00,600 love because we've got great experience at it. We don't love because we want to love 245 00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:06,720 necessarily. We don't love because just we're supposed to love necessarily. We love because 246 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:12,920 we've been loved. The way you know how to love is look at how you are loved by Jesus 247 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:17,600 Christ. Now that's why it's so important for us to begin this with a vertical relationship 248 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,720 because once you know how much you are loved by God, you are able to love others. So let's 249 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:27,840 listen to the practical application of this. Just bear with me for a minute. We love God 250 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:35,720 because he first loved us. Amen? We love others because he first loved us. We love our family 251 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:41,320 because he first loved us. We love our neighbors because he first loved us. We love the church 252 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:46,920 because he first loved us. We love the lost because he first loved us. We love people 253 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:52,000 who are different because he first loved us. We love the difficult people in our life, 254 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:57,000 the annoying people in our life because he first loved us. We love our enemies because 255 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:04,580 he first loved us. Are you with me? Say amen if you're with me. We love because he first 256 00:24:04,580 --> 00:24:10,860 loved us. How many in this room are loved by God but you just register your 257 00:24:10,860 --> 00:24:19,680 understanding that you're loved by God? You're part of the we. We love because 258 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:28,060 He first loved us. If this is true then that means I can love you regardless of 259 00:24:28,060 --> 00:24:32,540 your response because He first loved me and you can love me regardless of my 260 00:24:32,540 --> 00:24:37,300 response because He first loves you. So how do you love people who can hurt you 261 00:24:37,300 --> 00:24:44,300 or who do fame you or who lie about you? You love them because they first loved 262 00:24:44,300 --> 00:24:49,540 you. How do you love people who ignore you or ghost you or slam slander you? You 263 00:24:49,540 --> 00:24:55,220 can love them because He first loved you. We love because He first loved us. I 264 00:24:55,220 --> 00:25:00,140 want to tell you friends you can do this in the power of Christ. You may not want 265 00:25:00,140 --> 00:25:03,820 to do this. It may not be easy for you to do this but you can do this in the 266 00:25:03,820 --> 00:25:08,660 power of Christ and we can transcend this eye for eye, life for life kind of 267 00:25:08,660 --> 00:25:12,100 culture we're in. This cancel culture where if you say something or do 268 00:25:12,100 --> 00:25:16,420 something wrong against me you are out of my life buddy. You're completely out. We 269 00:25:16,420 --> 00:25:21,140 can transcend that by loving even when they do something to us that's hurtful 270 00:25:21,140 --> 00:25:26,500 and painful. Now you may need boundaries and you may need extra grace and you may 271 00:25:26,500 --> 00:25:31,180 need time in order to do that but you can love in spite of it all. 272 00:25:31,180 --> 00:25:36,300 That means we turn on that big light. If we can let that illustration of a big 273 00:25:36,300 --> 00:25:40,700 light called love get turned on because we are first loved by God and you shine 274 00:25:40,700 --> 00:25:45,180 it without blinking to everyone no matter how they respond to you that's 275 00:25:45,180 --> 00:25:51,580 what it means to love because you were first loved in spite of whatever anybody 276 00:25:51,580 --> 00:25:58,660 else does for you. What an incredibly weighty and yet amazing command. Love the 277 00:25:58,660 --> 00:26:01,860 God the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your 278 00:26:01,860 --> 00:26:06,980 mind love your neighbor as yourself. Now verse 20 is the last verse of this 279 00:26:06,980 --> 00:26:09,780 section we've been looking at and I want to take just another moment and look at 280 00:26:09,780 --> 00:26:14,080 this again. Notice what it says in verse 20 on these two commandments depend the 281 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:21,300 whole law and the prophets. So I wonder how many of you have heard a message that 282 00:26:21,300 --> 00:26:25,460 talks about that verse right there or read a book that talks about that verse 283 00:26:25,460 --> 00:26:32,220 right there on these two depend all of the law and the prophets. Why would Jesus 284 00:26:32,220 --> 00:26:40,180 say that? Why would Jesus say that the 10 commandments are really dependent upon 285 00:26:40,180 --> 00:26:45,220 loving God and loving others. They're built on loving God and loving others. 286 00:26:45,220 --> 00:26:49,900 When we see the 10 commandments we don't see them that way do we? We see the 10 287 00:26:49,900 --> 00:26:53,500 commandments as being pretty black and white, pretty harsh, pretty 288 00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:57,660 prohibitive and if you get into the theology behind the 10 commandments you 289 00:26:57,660 --> 00:27:01,580 know they're an expression of God's character. They're an example of how God 290 00:27:01,580 --> 00:27:05,420 wanted his people to live and also evidence that we need a Savior because 291 00:27:05,420 --> 00:27:10,460 we can't keep those 10 commandments on our own and the legalist looks at the 292 00:27:10,460 --> 00:27:15,300 10 commandments given in the scripture and says oh man that means that that I've 293 00:27:15,300 --> 00:27:19,660 got to keep these commands or I don't love God and if I don't love God then 294 00:27:19,660 --> 00:27:23,860 thunder will come and start crashing and lightning will strike me and and I'll 295 00:27:23,860 --> 00:27:29,580 perish. That's kind of the way we look at the 10 commandments but as you look at 296 00:27:29,580 --> 00:27:36,860 what Jesus said in verse 20 keep in mind he's quoting back the Shema of Deuteronomy 297 00:27:36,860 --> 00:27:41,900 chapter 6 verse 4. Hear O Israel the Lord I God is one God you shall love the 298 00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:44,900 Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind love 299 00:27:44,900 --> 00:27:48,460 your neighbor as yourself. He's quoting a thousands and thousands of year old 300 00:27:48,460 --> 00:27:54,500 tech that is based on the 10 commandments given in Deuteronomy 6 and 301 00:27:54,500 --> 00:28:01,540 Exodus 20. There's a connection between loving God well, loving others well and 302 00:28:01,540 --> 00:28:06,060 those 10 commandments. So I summarized the first four of those commandments last 303 00:28:06,060 --> 00:28:10,660 week and the first four of those commandments are all about the vertical 304 00:28:10,660 --> 00:28:14,700 relationship our interaction with God. I'll go over them very very quickly with 305 00:28:14,700 --> 00:28:19,500 you for just a moment. Those first 10 are by the way before I do this let me just 306 00:28:19,500 --> 00:28:23,540 keep in mind that even though the 10 commandments are so prohibitive in 307 00:28:23,540 --> 00:28:32,100 nature thou shalt not they are for us. Now you know this is true when our kids 308 00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:35,620 were growing up they were always on bikes and trikes and running around in 309 00:28:35,620 --> 00:28:40,460 the yard and and whenever I would see a child moving towards the street then I 310 00:28:40,460 --> 00:28:46,460 would go all commandment on them right I would say don't go in the road. Now if our 311 00:28:46,460 --> 00:28:49,500 child had stopped and said why are you being so negative why are you being so 312 00:28:49,500 --> 00:28:55,940 harsh? My answer would have been I want to save your life I want you to live to 313 00:28:55,940 --> 00:29:01,740 tomorrow stay out of the road. Now I was giving them a commandment that was good 314 00:29:01,740 --> 00:29:06,860 for them that was prohibitive and sounded very negative. All of God's 315 00:29:06,860 --> 00:29:11,300 commandments are for us they're for our benefit they're for the benefit of all 316 00:29:11,300 --> 00:29:16,860 around us. So expressing the 10 commandments relationally because that's 317 00:29:16,860 --> 00:29:21,260 what we're talking about loving God and loving others how do they sound? How do 318 00:29:21,260 --> 00:29:24,300 they reflect love for God? Last week we looked at commandment number one you 319 00:29:24,300 --> 00:29:27,540 should have no other gods and we talked about what it means to love God 320 00:29:27,540 --> 00:29:33,100 exclusively. If you want to love God well with all your heart soul and mind don't 321 00:29:33,100 --> 00:29:38,020 love anything else in the way of God love God exclusively. Commandment two love 322 00:29:38,020 --> 00:29:43,820 God personally not in a graven image don't try to reduce God down to a sad 323 00:29:43,820 --> 00:29:47,580 answer a pet answer or a visual of some kind. Love him personally for his 324 00:29:47,580 --> 00:29:51,180 character for who he is. Commandment number three don't take his name in vain 325 00:29:51,180 --> 00:29:56,780 love God honorably. Command number four observe the Sabbath that simply means 326 00:29:56,780 --> 00:30:01,100 love God by being with him spend time with him move away rest from your 327 00:30:01,100 --> 00:30:06,020 labors take the labors and put them aside and spend time with God. That's how 328 00:30:06,020 --> 00:30:10,900 you love God well. But the next six commandments the second set of 329 00:30:10,900 --> 00:30:16,620 commandments here talk about what happens when we love others well respect 330 00:30:16,620 --> 00:30:22,420 others well. Now before I give you these next six I want I want your attention 331 00:30:22,420 --> 00:30:25,940 for just a moment I don't I don't think I've lost it but when you dive into the 332 00:30:25,940 --> 00:30:29,060 ten commandments you kind of wonder ah somebody wandered off on commandment 333 00:30:29,060 --> 00:30:35,580 number three or four. I want you to listen real carefully here's why I think 334 00:30:35,580 --> 00:30:41,740 this is significant I think it's unique that these commandments are about 335 00:30:41,740 --> 00:30:45,940 loving people beyond friendships most of the time we think of our neighbor as our 336 00:30:45,940 --> 00:30:51,540 buddy our friend my neighbor next door or maybe somebody that lives on my 337 00:30:51,540 --> 00:30:55,580 cul-de-sac or somebody I see in the grocery store or somebody I see at the 338 00:30:55,580 --> 00:31:00,180 workplace but neighbors remember anybody most particularly those that are not 339 00:31:00,180 --> 00:31:04,460 like you not like you at all not around you at all think beyond friendships 340 00:31:04,460 --> 00:31:08,900 think beyond your neighborhood think beyond your workplace think of culture 341 00:31:08,900 --> 00:31:14,260 think of society think of the world when you see the word others think of all 342 00:31:14,260 --> 00:31:22,460 others how can I live and how can I love but benefits all others that I possibly 343 00:31:22,460 --> 00:31:26,180 might come into contact with I may never speak to them I may never be around them 344 00:31:26,180 --> 00:31:31,820 but how do I love them well after all again Jesus loved the whole world and 345 00:31:31,820 --> 00:31:39,700 gave his life for them how do we do that so having said all that I want to look 346 00:31:39,700 --> 00:31:44,460 at this next six commandments very briefly about how do these commandments 347 00:31:44,460 --> 00:31:49,300 reflect love for others commandment number five it's the commandment that 348 00:31:49,300 --> 00:31:53,460 says honor your mother and father I love the little catch at the end of that 349 00:31:53,460 --> 00:31:57,380 says that your days may be long upon the earth I used to stress that part of that 350 00:31:57,380 --> 00:32:01,220 to my kids by the way when they learned the Ten Commandments but here's the 351 00:32:01,220 --> 00:32:05,780 relational expression of that love others by honoring your family do you 352 00:32:05,780 --> 00:32:10,180 know what happens when the family breaks down you know what happens when no honor 353 00:32:10,180 --> 00:32:15,920 is given in the family you have a culture that doesn't have roots it 354 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:20,780 doesn't have direction love others by honoring your family commandment number 355 00:32:20,780 --> 00:32:25,420 six love others by valuing every life the Ten Commandment there number six is 356 00:32:25,420 --> 00:32:30,580 thou shalt not murder well we see that's pretty black and white but basically 357 00:32:30,580 --> 00:32:36,260 it's emphasizing the sanctity of life as a whole it means that we care about 358 00:32:36,260 --> 00:32:42,900 everyone from conception to the grave God values every life and love values 359 00:32:42,900 --> 00:32:48,060 every life as well you cannot advocate taking innocent lives and still love 360 00:32:48,060 --> 00:32:53,940 people commandment number seven thou shalt not commit adultery let me just 361 00:32:53,940 --> 00:32:59,180 phrase this relationally love others by respecting vows that's a commandment 362 00:32:59,180 --> 00:33:02,940 against committing adultery and loving people means we keep our vows to each 363 00:33:02,940 --> 00:33:08,060 other and we respect others vows to the people that they've made vows to and 364 00:33:08,060 --> 00:33:13,700 that's how you interact and love people well by honoring and respecting vows 365 00:33:13,700 --> 00:33:20,540 commitment number eight do not steal love honors by honoring their possessions 366 00:33:20,540 --> 00:33:25,780 by not trying to get their possessions from them honoring them as their 367 00:33:25,780 --> 00:33:31,020 possessions what God has blessed them with not what you want to have and then 368 00:33:31,020 --> 00:33:36,100 number nine love others by being honest that is thou shalt not lie living with a 369 00:33:36,100 --> 00:33:40,420 sense of integrity to build up the trust that we actually have with each other 370 00:33:40,420 --> 00:33:46,660 and the trust that should be in culture it calls us to the honesty expressed by 371 00:33:46,660 --> 00:33:50,920 loving people with truth and then commandment number ten love others by 372 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:55,300 learning contentment don't covet your neighbor's wife the commandment says or 373 00:33:55,300 --> 00:33:59,420 his donkey which I confess I've never confessed or coveted anybody's donkey 374 00:33:59,420 --> 00:34:02,980 that I can remember in my lifetime but these are practical applications for 375 00:34:02,980 --> 00:34:08,860 that day and that time love others by learning contentment so having walked 376 00:34:08,860 --> 00:34:13,140 through those six let me just ask you let me challenge you what would happen 377 00:34:13,140 --> 00:34:18,940 if we loved others in these ways what would happen if we loved in such a way 378 00:34:18,940 --> 00:34:24,300 honored God's values honored people around us lived in such a way that says 379 00:34:24,300 --> 00:34:30,500 how I live matters because I left God with all my heart and I love all those 380 00:34:30,500 --> 00:34:38,340 around me how I live my life matters I would say this when we live this way the 381 00:34:38,340 --> 00:34:44,460 gospel has credibility light is shining salt has been taken out of the salt 382 00:34:44,460 --> 00:34:49,220 shaker and is sprinkled in our culture and we have a chance to point to Christ 383 00:34:49,220 --> 00:34:53,340 this by chance someone would say how is it that you live your life the way you 384 00:34:53,340 --> 00:34:59,300 do how is it that you love me even though I've been spiteful to you we have 385 00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:07,100 an opportunity to say we love because he first loved us how is it you weather 386 00:35:07,100 --> 00:35:12,660 these storms how is it you handle all this with patience we love because he 387 00:35:12,660 --> 00:35:17,700 first loved us see that ought to be the testimony of the church and Jesus said 388 00:35:17,700 --> 00:35:21,980 that should be the testimony of the disciples they'll know that you follow 389 00:35:21,980 --> 00:35:29,420 me and that I came because of your love here's what I want you to do today I 390 00:35:29,420 --> 00:35:33,140 want you to dive into the deep end of your relationships with those things in 391 00:35:33,140 --> 00:35:40,020 mine and not fear the sharks and not fear all the things that you anticipate 392 00:35:40,020 --> 00:35:45,460 might happen and look at the beauty of deep relationships and look at what you 393 00:35:45,460 --> 00:35:50,100 can invest in others in the way of relationship by loving them well in 394 00:35:50,100 --> 00:35:55,020 spite of how they respond to you you should love the Lord your God with all 395 00:35:55,020 --> 00:35:58,500 your heart with all your soul with all your mind and the second is like unto 396 00:35:58,500 --> 00:36:05,540 it Jesus said you shall love your neighbor as yourself today when you leave 397 00:36:05,540 --> 00:36:13,620 I want you to leave with the idea of I'm gonna align my life with this vertical 398 00:36:13,620 --> 00:36:20,860 and the horizontal and I'm going to do it in the power of Christ not just 399 00:36:20,860 --> 00:36:28,540 because I ought to but because he first loved me just a moment I'm gonna give 400 00:36:28,540 --> 00:36:32,260 you an invitation to I'm gonna invite you first of all on your way out to 401 00:36:32,260 --> 00:36:37,580 stop by the decision station they're lit up back here and these are places 402 00:36:37,580 --> 00:36:42,100 where people are there they're present to talk to you about any decisions you 403 00:36:42,100 --> 00:36:46,540 may want to make to follow Christ and that decision to follow the gospel by 404 00:36:46,540 --> 00:36:50,300 putting your faith and trust in Jesus is so incredibly important and we will man 405 00:36:50,300 --> 00:36:53,460 those stations before we have this closing word of prayer just a moment 406 00:36:53,460 --> 00:36:56,820 secondly I invite you to our guest reception room right outside the center 407 00:36:56,820 --> 00:37:00,260 exit door and across the hallway I'd love to meet you if you're a guest here 408 00:37:00,260 --> 00:37:03,940 today tell you just a little bit about our church takes about ten minutes and 409 00:37:03,940 --> 00:37:07,940 have a little gift for you love for you to stop by third I want to invite you 410 00:37:07,940 --> 00:37:13,620 to come back next week next week we're gonna talk about marriage and how this 411 00:37:13,620 --> 00:37:17,780 diving deep into marriage will be such an important thing for us and following 412 00:37:17,780 --> 00:37:21,540 week another aspect of relationships and so forth for these next six or seven 413 00:37:21,540 --> 00:37:25,460 weeks but before we do all that before I close you in prayer I want to introduce 414 00:37:25,460 --> 00:37:29,940 a special couple to you today and many of you may have already received this 415 00:37:29,940 --> 00:37:34,020 little brochure little flyer that introduces Alex and Morgan far I'm gonna 416 00:37:34,020 --> 00:37:37,460 ask him to stand right now if you would right where you are and come on up here 417 00:37:37,460 --> 00:37:42,420 if you went on the stage so people can see you this is Alex and Morgan far I 418 00:37:42,420 --> 00:37:46,540 want you to give them a welcome while they're coming out by the way 419 00:37:47,580 --> 00:37:53,180 thank you Alex and Morgan and our little brochure here tells about their lives 420 00:37:53,180 --> 00:37:56,900 and we tell us that they they have two children this has been a long process 421 00:37:56,900 --> 00:38:01,880 that we've been in and talking to them about coming as our 81 pastor that 422 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:05,900 we're calling Alex to do but it's also been a little delayed because five weeks 423 00:38:05,900 --> 00:38:10,620 ago you had your most recent child and so we kind of didn't want to rush the 424 00:38:10,620 --> 00:38:14,820 thing you know and we spent some time doing that the way we call people to our 425 00:38:14,820 --> 00:38:18,940 church is through the process of searching and then putting them before a 426 00:38:18,940 --> 00:38:21,860 personnel committee and our personnel committee is a great group of 427 00:38:21,860 --> 00:38:26,440 individuals that had the opportunity to interview both of you and came back with 428 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:29,940 the unanimous recommendation that we present you to the church and so in just 429 00:38:29,940 --> 00:38:32,820 a few moments we're gonna do that but I wanted just you to be on the stage 430 00:38:32,820 --> 00:38:36,980 they're gonna go out to the guest reception area guest central area and 431 00:38:36,980 --> 00:38:40,980 we'll see you right after the service okay would you one more time let them 432 00:38:40,980 --> 00:38:44,460 know how much you appreciate them being here today 433 00:38:46,820 --> 00:38:54,580 now the way we call ministers on staff is is this way we we meet them we vet 434 00:38:54,580 --> 00:38:59,380 potential leaders who would come to be interviewed and we spend time with them 435 00:38:59,380 --> 00:39:03,300 and then we bring a recommendation to our personnel committees I've shared 436 00:39:03,300 --> 00:39:07,900 and that's what we've done with Alex and his wife and again it was unanimous from 437 00:39:07,900 --> 00:39:10,820 them then we introduced him to the congregation and we asked the 438 00:39:10,820 --> 00:39:14,700 congregations to simply affirm them so I'm gonna do that here in just a moment 439 00:39:14,700 --> 00:39:20,460 and we have this information I hope that you'll take the opportunity to meet them 440 00:39:20,460 --> 00:39:25,900 out at guest central at the end of this prayer but if you today will join us in 441 00:39:25,900 --> 00:39:31,060 inviting them to come as a one pastor and why then I would you indicate that 442 00:39:31,060 --> 00:39:35,140 by standing with us right now if you would join with us in that this is time 443 00:39:35,140 --> 00:39:41,140 to affirm that and we thank you for doing that and I want to lead us in a 444 00:39:41,140 --> 00:39:45,260 closing word of prayer and then you're dismissed please get to know them today 445 00:39:45,260 --> 00:39:50,980 if you will father in Jesus name today as we move out of this building into the 446 00:39:50,980 --> 00:39:56,220 world I pray for the light and the salt that you've called us to be to be in 447 00:39:56,220 --> 00:40:00,500 operation today because of the love that you've given us Lord today help us to 448 00:40:00,500 --> 00:40:06,300 love because we have been loved by you I ask this in Jesus name amen God bless 449 00:40:06,300 --> 00:40:21,740 you have a wonderful Lord's Day