WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 Real joy is not dependent on circumstances. It 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:05.599 can be a steady source of strength, no matter 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:08.240 what you're facing. Discover how joy is more 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:10.900 than a feeling, it's a way of life. Order your 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:13.539 copy of The Strength of Joy by Dean and Jeffrey 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:16.600 Forrest. Now available on Amazon and Kindle. 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:21.399 Today we begin a brand new series that we've 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:26.140 entitled Spiritual Growth. Spiritual Growth. 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:32.070 How do you determine that? we're going to look 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:35.469 at those, everything surrounding spiritual growth. 00:00:36.429 --> 00:00:41.549 1 Corinthians 2 .14 says this, The natural man 00:00:41.549 --> 00:00:44.909 does not receive the things of the Spirit of 00:00:44.909 --> 00:00:50.350 God, for they are foolishness to him. Everybody 00:00:50.350 --> 00:00:55.149 say natural man. The natural man does not receive 00:00:55.149 --> 00:00:57.530 the things of the Spirit of God, for they are 00:00:57.530 --> 00:01:02.960 foolishness to him. nor can he know them because 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:08.959 they are spiritually discerned. Can't know them 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:13.400 because they're spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:19.700 3, 1 through 3. This is Paul speaking to believers 00:01:19.700 --> 00:01:23.299 in Corinth. He says, And I, brethren, could not 00:01:23.299 --> 00:01:28.989 speak to you as spiritual people. but as to carnal, 00:01:29.069 --> 00:01:39.010 as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and 00:01:39.010 --> 00:01:43.170 not with solid food, for until now you were not 00:01:43.170 --> 00:01:48.810 able to receive it, and even now you are still 00:01:48.810 --> 00:01:57.060 not able. For you are still carnal. For where 00:01:57.060 --> 00:02:01.659 there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, 00:02:01.739 --> 00:02:07.659 are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 00:02:10.060 --> 00:02:13.280 So in this text, we find three different types 00:02:13.280 --> 00:02:15.979 of people, right? Have you figured that out? 00:02:16.419 --> 00:02:20.319 The first one is natural, a natural man or woman. 00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:24.340 Everybody say natural. And then we have carnal. 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:28.000 Everybody say carnal. And then we have spiritual. 00:02:28.099 --> 00:02:32.879 Everybody say spiritual. So, we're going to talk 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:37.340 about that. How does that happen? What do these 00:02:37.340 --> 00:02:42.439 headings or labels, what are we describing by 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:46.240 that? According to the Word of God, a natural 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:50.460 person is a person who is unrenewed, a person 00:02:50.460 --> 00:02:53.599 who is not born again, a person who is not a 00:02:53.599 --> 00:02:59.539 Christian. One who is unrenewed and is led by 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:03.360 their sensual nature. Because a person without 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:06.240 Christ lives by, the only thing they have to 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:10.500 live by, is what feels good or what seems right 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:16.000 in their own eyes. Okay? Everybody's a natural 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:19.919 person. And then we talk about carnal people 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:24.259 because... Paul is talking to believers in Corinth 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:28.060 and he's calling them carnal. So a carnal person 00:03:28.060 --> 00:03:33.240 is a Christian who lives according to their flesh. 00:03:36.520 --> 00:03:39.900 We could call this an immature Christian who 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:45.280 lives on a childhood level. Remember he said, 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:47.460 I wanted to give you some meat, but all you can 00:03:47.460 --> 00:03:50.460 take is milk. And sometimes you throw that back 00:03:50.460 --> 00:03:54.759 up. If anybody's had a baby, they know what I'm 00:03:54.759 --> 00:03:58.240 talking about. An immaterial Christian who lives 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:00.180 on a childhood level, lives their whole life 00:04:00.180 --> 00:04:03.199 on a childhood level, because they refuse, they 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:08.460 will not feed on the Word of God and grow. Everybody 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:12.620 say carnal. Then we have a spiritual person. 00:04:13.819 --> 00:04:17.500 A spiritual person is a Christian. who is led 00:04:17.500 --> 00:04:22.339 by the Holy Spirit of God through the Word of 00:04:22.339 --> 00:04:27.839 God. This is a Christian who is always growing. 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:31.579 Look at the person beside you and say, I haven't 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:35.920 arrived. I haven't arrived. So it's a person 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.120 who's always growing, regularly receives the 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:43.000 Word of God, and walks with the Spirit, walks 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:49.339 in the Spirit. That's a spiritual. Now, where 00:04:49.339 --> 00:04:53.139 does this spiritual growth occur? The difference 00:04:53.139 --> 00:04:57.980 between a carnal Christian and a spiritual Christian, 00:04:58.220 --> 00:05:02.759 where's the difference happening at? Well, we've 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:06.899 talked about this before, but the Bible says 00:05:06.899 --> 00:05:09.939 in 1 Thessalonians 5 .23, Now may the God of 00:05:09.939 --> 00:05:16.779 peace make you holy in every way. May the God 00:05:16.779 --> 00:05:20.620 of peace basically set you apart. That's what 00:05:20.620 --> 00:05:23.540 the word holy means. It means set apart. Make 00:05:23.540 --> 00:05:27.540 you holy in every way. And may your whole spirit 00:05:27.540 --> 00:05:35.560 and soul and body be kept blameless until our 00:05:35.560 --> 00:05:42.220 Lord Jesus Christ comes again. So here we find 00:05:42.220 --> 00:05:45.040 in this verse and other verses, we find that... 00:05:45.899 --> 00:05:51.220 Humans are three -part beings. We're three -part 00:05:51.220 --> 00:05:54.699 beings. Where it says, may your whole spirit 00:05:54.699 --> 00:06:00.620 and soul and body. So there's a separation in 00:06:00.620 --> 00:06:05.399 who we are. So man is a three -part being. We 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:12.339 are a spirit. We're created in the image of God, 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:16.199 and God is spirit. It's what the Bible tells 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:23.199 us. Everybody say, I am a spirit. That's who 00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:27.959 we are. That's our being. We are spirit beings. 00:06:29.500 --> 00:06:38.899 Right? So we are spirits. We have a soul. And 00:06:38.899 --> 00:06:46.209 we live in a body. One day this earth suit is 00:06:46.209 --> 00:06:48.069 going to lay down, but that doesn't mean that 00:06:48.069 --> 00:06:52.230 that's the end of you. You are a spirit being. 00:06:54.029 --> 00:06:59.069 People are spirit beings. Spirit beings do not 00:06:59.069 --> 00:07:06.389 cease to exist. Are you with me? They continue 00:07:06.389 --> 00:07:10.550 living past the time when they lay down this 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:19.100 earth suit. Who you are continues. Okay? So, 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:23.879 we are spirits, we have souls, and we live in 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:29.120 a body. Now, our spirit comes alive at salvation, 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:34.339 comes alive unto God at salvation. When our spirit 00:07:34.339 --> 00:07:38.800 is united with Christ. Everybody say, in Christ. 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:45.100 This takes place at salvation. We are born again. 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:49.100 We were spirit beings, but now we're born again 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:53.100 because we're alive unto God. Our spirit becomes 00:07:53.100 --> 00:07:55.360 alive at salvation. Our spirit is united with 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:59.420 Christ. Our spirit is right with God. Our spirit 00:07:59.420 --> 00:08:04.160 is righteous. Here's the deal. You will never 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:07.720 be any more right with God than you are right 00:08:07.720 --> 00:08:13.829 now if you are in Christ. You are the righteousness 00:08:13.829 --> 00:08:19.910 of God in Christ Jesus. In Christ. His righteousness 00:08:19.910 --> 00:08:23.170 is your righteousness. You don't stand before 00:08:23.170 --> 00:08:26.649 God based on your ability to perform anymore. 00:08:28.050 --> 00:08:33.090 You're clothed in His righteousness. So, in Christ, 00:08:33.090 --> 00:08:39.970 you are righteous. And you are complete. You 00:08:39.970 --> 00:08:45.309 have... Everything that is available in Christ 00:08:45.309 --> 00:08:51.269 becomes available to you at salvation. Now, it 00:08:51.269 --> 00:08:53.389 may not be manifest in your life if you don't 00:08:53.389 --> 00:08:56.549 know what that is. Because you don't know to 00:08:56.549 --> 00:09:01.029 walk in it if you don't know what it is. Are 00:09:01.029 --> 00:09:06.529 you with me? Now, your soul. You are a spirit. 00:09:06.649 --> 00:09:08.970 You have a soul. What is your soul comprised 00:09:08.970 --> 00:09:14.570 of? It's comprised of your mind, your will, and 00:09:14.570 --> 00:09:18.990 your emotions. So let's break it down. Your mind 00:09:18.990 --> 00:09:24.210 is your thought life. Everybody say thought life. 00:09:25.649 --> 00:09:32.289 Your will is your desires. And your emotions 00:09:32.289 --> 00:09:38.610 are your feelings. Okay? So all that together, 00:09:38.710 --> 00:09:42.649 those three things together, encompass your soul. 00:09:44.750 --> 00:09:49.269 So you are a spirit, but you have a soul. Now, 00:09:49.289 --> 00:09:51.549 you completely, before you came to Christ, you 00:09:51.549 --> 00:09:56.129 completely operated in this world from the soulish 00:09:56.129 --> 00:10:00.710 realm. Your mind, your will, and your emotions. 00:10:00.789 --> 00:10:03.230 Your thought life, your desires, your feelings. 00:10:05.769 --> 00:10:09.850 Becoming a spiritual person is when your spirit 00:10:09.850 --> 00:10:12.409 and the things that are available to your spirit 00:10:12.409 --> 00:10:16.350 begin to dominate your spirit. Who you are begins 00:10:16.350 --> 00:10:21.789 to dominate your soul. Begins to have priority 00:10:21.789 --> 00:10:26.090 in your soul, in your mind, in your thought life, 00:10:26.169 --> 00:10:28.090 in your will, in your desires, in your emotions, 00:10:28.190 --> 00:10:34.039 in your feelings. The difference between a carnal 00:10:34.039 --> 00:10:38.820 and a spiritual person is this, spiritual growth 00:10:38.820 --> 00:10:47.240 of the soul. That's the difference. I mean, those 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:52.100 carnal believers in Corinth, those baby believers 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:58.519 in Corinth, they were Christians. They were clothed 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:04.179 in the righteousness of Jesus. but they were 00:11:04.179 --> 00:11:09.480 still mainly living out of their soul instead 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:15.700 of living as spirit beings. So the difference 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:18.720 between carnal and spiritual is spiritual growth 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:23.860 of the soul or the lack of spiritual growth of 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:31.529 the soul. Unlike physical growth, Spiritual growth 00:11:31.529 --> 00:11:36.070 does not happen automatically over time. Physical 00:11:36.070 --> 00:11:40.690 growth does, right? A baby doesn't stay a baby. 00:11:40.769 --> 00:11:46.950 It grows up. We continue to grow. Physically, 00:11:47.049 --> 00:11:52.289 it just happens. Unless there's some major problem 00:11:52.289 --> 00:11:55.490 genetically or something like that. I mean, physical 00:11:55.490 --> 00:11:58.429 growth just happens over time. Spiritual growth 00:11:58.429 --> 00:12:02.539 does not just happen over time. Spiritual growth 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:10.919 does not come by doing time in church. I've been 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:15.120 a Christian for 40 years. Well, you can still 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:22.139 be a baby. I've been a Christian for 20 years, 00:12:22.179 --> 00:12:24.279 30 years. Well, you can still be a spiritual 00:12:24.279 --> 00:12:31.820 teenager. I've met some spiritual teenagers in 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:36.620 their 80s before. You know what a spiritual teenager 00:12:36.620 --> 00:12:40.899 is, don't you? If you remember what you were 00:12:40.899 --> 00:12:42.600 when you were a teenager, all of a sudden you 00:12:42.600 --> 00:12:44.440 came to a point where you thought you knew everything 00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:46.580 about everything and your parents didn't really 00:12:46.580 --> 00:12:49.820 know a whole lot. You knew a whole lot more than 00:12:49.820 --> 00:12:54.279 they knew. Right? Anybody with me? Anybody know 00:12:54.279 --> 00:12:57.169 what I'm talking about? And the older you get, 00:12:57.250 --> 00:12:58.830 the more you look back and you say, well, my 00:12:58.830 --> 00:13:00.929 parents knew a lot more than I thought they knew. 00:13:01.889 --> 00:13:07.909 Right? So spiritual growth does not happen automatically. 00:13:10.169 --> 00:13:15.850 How is spiritual growth measured? How is spiritual 00:13:15.850 --> 00:13:20.370 growth measured? Is it measured in your knowledge? 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:29.000 Is it measured in your knowledge? Could we go 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:30.840 up and down each aisle with a microphone and 00:13:30.840 --> 00:13:32.700 ask you how many Bible verses you know and get 00:13:32.700 --> 00:13:36.200 you to start repeating your memorized Bible verses 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:39.259 and the person who spit out the most Bible verses 00:13:39.259 --> 00:13:42.720 would be the most spiritual one? Is that the 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:47.039 way it works? By knowledge? Does it work by church 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:52.840 attendance? No. That's not how you measure spiritual 00:13:52.840 --> 00:14:02.899 growth. Luke 6 verses 43 and 44 says this. For 00:14:02.899 --> 00:14:08.279 a good tree does not bear bad fruit. Nor does 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:14.399 a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:21.159 known by its fruit. How many of you know Jesus 00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:24.590 wasn't just talking about fruit trees? He's not 00:14:24.590 --> 00:14:27.029 giving us an agricultural lesson right here. 00:14:27.809 --> 00:14:31.710 He's talking about people. He's talking about 00:14:31.710 --> 00:14:39.049 people. And we can look at the fruit of a person's 00:14:39.049 --> 00:14:43.970 life and see whether that person is spiritual 00:14:43.970 --> 00:14:48.029 or carnal by looking at the fruit they produce. 00:14:48.649 --> 00:14:51.210 Spiritual growth is measured by spiritual fruit. 00:14:52.950 --> 00:14:57.549 And none of us have arrived. So if we're going 00:14:57.549 --> 00:14:59.370 to measure our spiritual growth, we're going 00:14:59.370 --> 00:15:02.889 to measure it by how much is our spiritual fruit 00:15:02.889 --> 00:15:08.570 increasing? Is it continually increasing? Is 00:15:08.570 --> 00:15:13.710 it always evident in our lives? Everybody say 00:15:13.710 --> 00:15:20.629 spiritual fruit. Matthew 7, 3 through 5 says 00:15:20.629 --> 00:15:23.710 this. Why worry about a speck in your friend's 00:15:23.710 --> 00:15:30.669 eye when you have a log in your own? How can 00:15:30.669 --> 00:15:33.330 you think of saying to your friend, let me help 00:15:33.330 --> 00:15:36.730 you get rid of that speck in your eye when you 00:15:36.730 --> 00:15:41.690 can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite? 00:15:43.590 --> 00:15:47.490 Play actor? We had this in our Bible study this 00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:52.539 week. Play actor? saying one thing and living 00:15:52.539 --> 00:15:57.299 a different way? That's what that word hypocrite 00:15:57.299 --> 00:15:59.419 means in the Greek. It's like you've seen the 00:15:59.419 --> 00:16:02.159 masks, the drama masks, right? One of them's 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:04.460 smiling, one of them looks like he's crying. 00:16:05.419 --> 00:16:07.980 Well, back in these days, they would have plays 00:16:07.980 --> 00:16:11.480 and they would have one person would play three 00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:12.980 or four different characters and they'd just 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:15.940 put on a different mask. Sometimes they even 00:16:15.940 --> 00:16:18.919 talked to themselves back and forth by putting 00:16:18.919 --> 00:16:26.250 on a different mask. So you say one thing, or 00:16:26.250 --> 00:16:29.549 you are one thing, but you're acting like something 00:16:29.549 --> 00:16:35.370 else. First, get rid of the log in your own eye. 00:16:36.730 --> 00:16:39.090 Then you will see well enough to deal with the 00:16:39.090 --> 00:16:43.289 speck in your friend's eye. Now, this series 00:16:43.289 --> 00:16:47.070 on spiritual growth, you may have been thinking, 00:16:47.190 --> 00:16:49.970 well, I'm going to be able to tell how spiritual 00:16:49.970 --> 00:16:52.919 my neighbor is. I'm going to be able to tell 00:16:52.919 --> 00:16:56.440 how spiritual my spouse is. I'm going to be able 00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:59.100 to tell how spiritual my dad is or my kids are. 00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:05.940 But that's not what's happening. This whole series 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:09.500 on spiritual growth is a series in self -examination. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:15.759 Because we're all a work in progress. We're all 00:17:15.759 --> 00:17:20.339 a work in progress. And it's good to know... 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:26.559 where we are. I'm going to say that again. It's 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:32.559 good to know where we are. Because if I'm being 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:38.299 real honest with you, most of the time, I think 00:17:38.299 --> 00:17:43.140 that I'm more spiritual than I actually am. I 00:17:43.140 --> 00:17:47.180 know you never deal with that. You're always 00:17:47.180 --> 00:17:51.430 way more spiritual than you think you are. But 00:17:51.430 --> 00:17:54.710 most of the time when we look at ourselves, you 00:17:54.710 --> 00:17:56.549 know, we think that we're doing pretty good. 00:17:58.289 --> 00:18:00.130 Especially if we're coming to church on Sunday 00:18:00.130 --> 00:18:01.769 morning, we think we're doing pretty good, right? 00:18:04.349 --> 00:18:08.809 We're all a work in progress. Everybody say spiritual 00:18:08.809 --> 00:18:13.230 fruit. Galatians 5 .22. If you spend any time 00:18:13.230 --> 00:18:15.269 in church or going to vacation Bible school or 00:18:15.269 --> 00:18:17.470 anything like that, you've heard these verses 00:18:17.470 --> 00:18:21.819 before. Galatians 5 .22, but the fruit of the 00:18:21.819 --> 00:18:25.400 Spirit, everybody say spiritual fruit. The fruit 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:31.859 of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, 00:18:31.940 --> 00:18:42.799 kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:52.960 and self -control. That's spiritual fruit. And 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:58.059 spiritual maturity or spiritual growth is evidenced 00:18:58.059 --> 00:19:05.099 in the spiritual fruit. Let's talk about the 00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:08.440 first one. Fruit of the Spirit is love. Everybody 00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:14.220 say love. The love that the Spirit produces. 00:19:15.950 --> 00:19:19.109 The Greek word is agape. Everybody say agape. 00:19:19.910 --> 00:19:22.089 Now, in your New Testament, the word love is 00:19:22.089 --> 00:19:24.569 there several times in several different ways. 00:19:25.869 --> 00:19:29.309 Okay? There's also a Greek word phileo, which 00:19:29.309 --> 00:19:33.829 is translated love. So you need to know which 00:19:33.829 --> 00:19:37.630 one it is. And that's easy to find out. It used 00:19:37.630 --> 00:19:39.589 to be a big, strong concordance. Now you can 00:19:39.589 --> 00:19:42.609 find that on your phone. Just look up interlinear 00:19:42.609 --> 00:19:44.890 on the verse that you want to look at the word. 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:49.000 And look at those words. But the fruit of the 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:52.339 Spirit is not phileo. It's not brotherly love, 00:19:52.420 --> 00:19:55.220 where Philadelphia got its name from. It's not 00:19:55.220 --> 00:20:01.000 brotherly love. It's agape. And this is a definition 00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:03.259 every time you see. When you read the verse, 00:20:03.380 --> 00:20:11.099 God is love. It's saying God is agape. God is 00:20:11.099 --> 00:20:17.750 love. God is also good. That's just who He is. 00:20:17.930 --> 00:20:23.450 He's love and He's good. He does a lot of other 00:20:23.450 --> 00:20:32.809 things, but He is love and He is good. See, if 00:20:32.809 --> 00:20:35.250 you ever have an interpretation that doesn't 00:20:35.250 --> 00:20:37.549 take you in that direction, you're taking the 00:20:37.549 --> 00:20:42.390 wrong interpretation. Because God is love and 00:20:42.390 --> 00:20:46.740 God is good. The love that the Spirit produces 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:50.839 in you and me, because the Holy Spirit moves 00:20:50.839 --> 00:20:54.140 in, He takes up residence in us when we move 00:20:54.140 --> 00:20:58.920 from being in sin to in Christ. He comes to live 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:05.220 in us. And the love that He produces is agape. 00:21:06.539 --> 00:21:09.119 Here's the definition, threefold. Affection. 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:15.400 Everybody say affection. That means you like 00:21:15.400 --> 00:21:20.000 the person. You like people. If you're in love, 00:21:20.140 --> 00:21:23.559 if you're demonstrating love and growing in love, 00:21:23.660 --> 00:21:25.960 the more you grow, the more you're going to like 00:21:25.960 --> 00:21:32.039 people. How many of you have said, well, I love 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:35.000 you, but I don't like you right now. Anybody 00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:38.140 ever said that? Anybody ever heard that? I've 00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:40.480 said it a few times. Probably shouldn't have. 00:21:41.240 --> 00:21:46.269 Because that meant I was not agape -ing. Because 00:21:46.269 --> 00:21:48.349 you can't say, I love you, but I don't like you. 00:21:48.410 --> 00:21:54.829 That's not agape. So affection is liking. Benevolence. 00:21:55.950 --> 00:22:01.390 That means you care. Everybody say care. And 00:22:01.390 --> 00:22:07.150 then it means love feast. Love feast. Herb likes 00:22:07.150 --> 00:22:09.349 to eat. He's saying glory back there. Anyway. 00:22:12.289 --> 00:22:16.000 Everybody say fellowship. That's how we break 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:20.500 it down. The love of God, who God is, He don't 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:25.799 just say He loves you, He likes you. He always 00:22:25.799 --> 00:22:32.680 likes you. Agape is being concerned and acting 00:22:32.680 --> 00:22:38.859 towards other people's well -being. It means 00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:42.500 fellowship. It means... Having life together. 00:22:42.619 --> 00:22:46.400 It means worshiping together. Communion together. 00:22:46.500 --> 00:22:53.920 Love feast. The big picture is our life groups. 00:22:54.839 --> 00:22:57.339 You know, we don't eat every Sunday. We eat every 00:22:57.339 --> 00:23:00.460 once in a while, but when we have life group, 00:23:00.519 --> 00:23:02.720 we have food and fellowship and we're together 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:07.279 and we look at the Word of God together. That's 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:12.549 in... That's a demonstration of love when we 00:23:12.549 --> 00:23:17.049 gather together like that. And that's the love 00:23:17.049 --> 00:23:20.630 that the Spirit produces. That's the love that 00:23:20.630 --> 00:23:26.309 God has toward you and for you and for us. Let's 00:23:26.309 --> 00:23:28.210 take a look at some verses. Romans 5 .5. You 00:23:28.210 --> 00:23:29.789 better write these down fast because I'm not 00:23:29.789 --> 00:23:32.369 going to spend a whole lot of time on them. Romans 00:23:32.369 --> 00:23:37.440 5 .5. Now, hope does not disappoint. Our confident 00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:42.180 expectation does not disappoint because the love 00:23:42.180 --> 00:23:48.779 of God has been poured out in our hearts by the 00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:59.220 Holy Spirit who was given to us. God's love has 00:23:59.220 --> 00:24:03.880 been poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit. 00:24:06.509 --> 00:24:10.950 And you might say, well, I don't feel it. That's 00:24:10.950 --> 00:24:15.829 because you're focused on everything else. That's 00:24:15.829 --> 00:24:18.490 because you're concerned about everything else. 00:24:18.549 --> 00:24:21.170 If you don't feel the love of God, then your 00:24:21.170 --> 00:24:25.309 concerns are in the wrong place. Your focus is 00:24:25.309 --> 00:24:30.529 in the wrong place. The Ephesians 3 prayer, during 00:24:30.529 --> 00:24:32.750 our last series, the door, talking about our 00:24:32.750 --> 00:24:40.869 mind being the door, The power of God to flow 00:24:40.869 --> 00:24:45.329 through. Ephesians 3 prayer talks about love. 00:24:46.609 --> 00:24:49.930 Start in verse 17. That Christ may dwell in your 00:24:49.930 --> 00:24:54.029 hearts through faith. That you being rooted and 00:24:54.029 --> 00:24:58.829 grounded in love. We're supposed to be rooted 00:24:58.829 --> 00:25:10.200 and grounded in agape. What does rooted and grounded 00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:14.700 mean? If you're rooted and grounded, you're growing, 00:25:14.859 --> 00:25:20.619 but you're also stable. Roots stabilize the plants 00:25:20.619 --> 00:25:26.480 and draw nourishment. We're supposed to be rooted 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:33.039 and grounded in love, in God's love. And Paul 00:25:33.039 --> 00:25:36.420 prays that we may be able to comprehend with 00:25:36.420 --> 00:25:40.660 all the saints, What is the width, the length, 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:45.579 the depth, and the height of God's love? To know 00:25:45.579 --> 00:25:52.099 the love of Christ. It says, which passes knowledge. 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:57.819 So what does that tell us? It's always bigger. 00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:05.920 We get a handle on it. We know it. But there's 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:12.849 always more. There's always more. It's always 00:26:12.849 --> 00:26:19.069 bigger than our minds can comprehend. The love 00:26:19.069 --> 00:26:27.569 of God for us. To know the love of Christ which 00:26:27.569 --> 00:26:30.049 passes knowledge that you may be filled with 00:26:30.049 --> 00:26:34.829 all the fullness of God. The more you're filled 00:26:34.829 --> 00:26:36.650 with the fullness of God, the more you're filled 00:26:36.650 --> 00:26:41.450 with love because God is love. 1 John 4, 11. 00:26:42.930 --> 00:26:50.089 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to 00:26:50.089 --> 00:26:57.069 love one another. So when we receive His love, 00:26:58.160 --> 00:27:01.500 It's not just for us. It's supposed to be in 00:27:01.500 --> 00:27:06.299 us and working through us to display God's love. 00:27:06.380 --> 00:27:12.299 God wants to display His love through you. So 00:27:12.299 --> 00:27:17.440 how can we grow in love? How's that fruit going 00:27:17.440 --> 00:27:19.839 to grow? How's it going to mature? How's it going 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:24.039 to be evident? Ephesians 5, 1 and 2 says this, 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:28.299 Therefore be imitators of God. as dear children. 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:35.559 Be imitators of God as dear children. Did any 00:27:35.559 --> 00:27:38.920 of you ever get, when you were little, did you 00:27:38.920 --> 00:27:43.220 get in your parents' shoes? They're way too big 00:27:43.220 --> 00:27:47.359 for you. But you put your feet in their shoes 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:51.480 and try to walk in their shoes. Because you want 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:53.759 to be like them. You want to grow up. You want 00:27:53.759 --> 00:27:57.319 to, you know. I remember having my dad's, shoes 00:27:57.319 --> 00:27:59.339 on, trying to hold them on, keep them from falling 00:27:59.339 --> 00:28:02.420 off because my foot was so short in my dad's 00:28:02.420 --> 00:28:08.759 big shoe. But I wanted to be like him. I wanted 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:13.259 to be like him. And we need to want to be like 00:28:13.259 --> 00:28:22.640 God. Listen, the more time you spend with someone, 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:27.799 the more you're going to, talk like them, and 00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:35.339 act like them. Is that right? Now, it's easier 00:28:35.339 --> 00:28:38.500 for us to see that in other people than it is 00:28:38.500 --> 00:28:41.660 for us to see in ourselves. But the more time 00:28:41.660 --> 00:28:46.339 you spend, the more you look alike. The more 00:28:46.339 --> 00:28:48.740 you start to think alike. The more you start 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:51.579 to talk alike. The more you start to act alike. 00:28:53.980 --> 00:28:59.549 Ephesians 5, 1 and 2. Or verse 2. And walk in 00:28:59.549 --> 00:29:02.549 love. Everybody say walk in love. Everybody say 00:29:02.549 --> 00:29:10.230 imitate God. Everybody say walk in love. That's 00:29:10.230 --> 00:29:16.069 how we live our lives. This doesn't say if you 00:29:16.069 --> 00:29:22.690 feel like it. It's kind of a command. Walk in 00:29:22.690 --> 00:29:26.829 love. We're supposed to walk in love. As Christ 00:29:26.829 --> 00:29:30.190 also has loved us, we're supposed to walk in 00:29:30.190 --> 00:29:33.569 love just like Christ walks in love towards us. 00:29:33.710 --> 00:29:37.269 And He gave Himself for us, an offering and a 00:29:37.269 --> 00:29:39.890 sacrifice to God for a sweet -smelling aroma. 00:29:41.750 --> 00:29:46.009 Everybody say, walk in love. Colossians 3 .14 00:29:46.009 --> 00:29:53.579 But above all these things, put on love. Which 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:56.220 is the bond of perfection. Everybody say, put 00:29:56.220 --> 00:30:02.619 on love. So we imitate God. Right? We imitate 00:30:02.619 --> 00:30:11.640 God. We walk in love. And we put on love. So 00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:14.819 every day before you face the world, you need 00:30:14.819 --> 00:30:18.579 to consciously put on love like you put on your 00:30:18.579 --> 00:30:30.450 clothes. Intentionally. Consciously. Stand in 00:30:30.450 --> 00:30:32.289 front of the mirror and say, I put on the love 00:30:32.289 --> 00:30:35.910 of God. I know I'm going to face some challenges 00:30:35.910 --> 00:30:40.269 today to walk in love. Hello? Do we have some 00:30:40.269 --> 00:30:42.130 challenges to walk in love every once in a while? 00:30:42.569 --> 00:30:46.509 Anybody? I know I'm going to face some challenges 00:30:46.509 --> 00:30:49.009 for me walking in love, so I'm putting on the 00:30:49.009 --> 00:30:53.269 love of God. I'm putting on agape. If we started 00:30:53.269 --> 00:30:55.769 our lives like that, how big of a difference 00:30:55.769 --> 00:31:00.829 would it make when those challenges come? Above 00:31:00.829 --> 00:31:04.589 all these things, put on love. And then back 00:31:04.589 --> 00:31:08.450 to our first, Galatians 5, 22 and 23. The fruit 00:31:08.450 --> 00:31:11.109 of the Spirit is love. So how are we going to 00:31:11.109 --> 00:31:13.369 put it on? We've got to be connected to the Holy 00:31:13.369 --> 00:31:16.630 Spirit of God. We have to acknowledge Him. We 00:31:16.630 --> 00:31:22.609 have to walk in Him and walk with Him. For the 00:31:22.609 --> 00:31:28.549 love of God to grow, to be increasingly growing 00:31:28.549 --> 00:31:33.829 in our lives. It's the fruit of the Spirit. It's 00:31:33.829 --> 00:31:39.450 spiritual fruit. The work in us is going to come 00:31:39.450 --> 00:31:45.430 through Him. Now, who am I supposed to love like 00:31:45.430 --> 00:31:49.150 that? Who am I supposed to like? Who am I supposed 00:31:49.150 --> 00:31:51.700 to be? Concerned about their well -being. Who 00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:57.539 am I supposed to want to fellowship with? 1 Peter 00:31:57.539 --> 00:32:01.119 1 .22 Since you have purified your souls and 00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:04.480 obeyed the truth through the Spirit in sincere 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:10.039 love of the brethren, love one another fervently 00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:18.740 with a pure heart. The right motivation. A pure 00:32:18.740 --> 00:32:25.720 heart. Because some people try to use love to 00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:29.700 manipulate. Has anybody ever been manipulated 00:32:29.700 --> 00:32:33.880 by someone using the concept of love? They've 00:32:33.880 --> 00:32:37.059 used it to manipulate you. But this is saying, 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:40.319 look, now that you've been purified and obeying 00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:43.660 the truth through the Spirit, in sincere love 00:32:43.660 --> 00:32:47.099 of the brethren, love one another. So I want 00:32:47.099 --> 00:32:49.150 you to take a look to your right. Take a look 00:32:49.150 --> 00:32:51.630 to your left. Take a look in front of you. Take 00:32:51.630 --> 00:32:57.509 a look behind you. Whether today's your first 00:32:57.509 --> 00:33:03.230 time here or not, the Bible is telling you that 00:33:03.230 --> 00:33:08.170 you're supposed to love the brother. Whether 00:33:08.170 --> 00:33:09.750 you've been here a long time and like to pick 00:33:09.750 --> 00:33:13.450 on each other or not, I saw y 'all picking during 00:33:13.450 --> 00:33:21.420 that. You're supposed to love the brethren. Love 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:25.500 other believers. That's why it's so terrible 00:33:25.500 --> 00:33:28.960 when there's division and fighting and strife 00:33:28.960 --> 00:33:37.039 in churches. Because the love of God is not there. 00:33:37.099 --> 00:33:43.460 They're being carnal. In carnal. I knew a church 00:33:43.460 --> 00:33:46.930 in Seneca, South Carolina. They had to call multiple 00:33:46.930 --> 00:33:49.710 ambulances and the police after a business meeting. 00:33:50.529 --> 00:33:55.170 Took people to the hospital. All in the name 00:33:55.170 --> 00:34:00.470 of church. Just people mad, divisive, fighting, 00:34:00.710 --> 00:34:05.450 hate. Paul called out those people in Corinth. 00:34:05.509 --> 00:34:09.190 He said, you're just carnal. Nothing spiritual 00:34:09.190 --> 00:34:13.929 about that when there's division and strife in 00:34:13.929 --> 00:34:19.030 a church. Nothing spiritual at all. 1 John 4, 00:34:19.110 --> 00:34:23.329 7. Dear friends, let us continue to love one 00:34:23.329 --> 00:34:29.929 another, for love comes from God. So we love 00:34:29.929 --> 00:34:34.530 each other. We love each other. John 13, 34. 00:34:36.110 --> 00:34:40.190 Just as I have loved you, Jesus says, you should 00:34:40.190 --> 00:34:42.269 love each other. Just like the way I love you, 00:34:42.309 --> 00:34:45.400 you should love each other. Your love for one 00:34:45.400 --> 00:34:50.039 another will prove to the world that you are 00:34:50.039 --> 00:34:55.480 my disciples. So if we're not walking in love, 00:34:55.599 --> 00:35:05.320 we're not acting like Jesus' disciples. We're 00:35:05.320 --> 00:35:07.900 not demonstrating to the world that we are Christ's 00:35:07.900 --> 00:35:13.690 followers if we're not walking in love. Am I 00:35:13.690 --> 00:35:15.449 supposed to love anyone else like that? I mean, 00:35:15.469 --> 00:35:18.449 we talked about loving people, brothers and sisters 00:35:18.449 --> 00:35:21.909 in Christ and showing the love of Christ in a 00:35:21.909 --> 00:35:25.369 local body. Am I supposed to love anyone else 00:35:25.369 --> 00:35:32.929 like that? I'm glad you asked. This is where 00:35:32.929 --> 00:35:39.050 it gets serious, right? Matthew 5, 43. Jesus 00:35:39.050 --> 00:35:43.030 said, you've heard the law. That says love your 00:35:43.030 --> 00:35:50.510 neighbor. And hate your enemy. But I say. Love 00:35:50.510 --> 00:35:55.389 your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. 00:35:56.409 --> 00:36:01.909 In that way. You will be acting as true children. 00:36:02.909 --> 00:36:09.130 Of your father in heaven. Everybody say spiritual 00:36:09.130 --> 00:36:13.110 fruit. I mean, it's kind of easy to love your 00:36:13.110 --> 00:36:15.949 neighbor and hate your enemy, right? But Jesus 00:36:15.949 --> 00:36:21.150 says love your enemies. Those people that don't 00:36:21.150 --> 00:36:24.090 act right. Those people that don't do right. 00:36:25.070 --> 00:36:27.769 Those people that crawl under your skin. You 00:36:27.769 --> 00:36:32.170 know what I'm talking about? Jesus said love 00:36:32.170 --> 00:36:34.130 your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. 00:36:34.190 --> 00:36:37.809 And that way, you'll be acting like a real Christian. 00:36:41.289 --> 00:36:45.409 Luke 10, verse 25. One day, an expert in religious 00:36:45.409 --> 00:36:48.849 law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this 00:36:48.849 --> 00:36:52.869 question. Teacher, what should I do to inherit 00:36:52.869 --> 00:36:56.750 eternal life? Jesus replied, what does the law 00:36:56.750 --> 00:36:59.230 of Moses say? Everybody say 10 commandments. 00:37:00.070 --> 00:37:03.050 What does the law of Moses say? How do you read 00:37:03.050 --> 00:37:06.190 it? How do you interpret it? How do you understand 00:37:06.190 --> 00:37:11.750 it? The man answered. You must love the Lord 00:37:11.750 --> 00:37:15.449 your God with all your heart, all your soul, 00:37:15.630 --> 00:37:21.510 and all your strength, and all your mind. And 00:37:21.510 --> 00:37:30.210 love your neighbor as yourself. Right, Jesus 00:37:30.210 --> 00:37:33.590 told him. Because Ten Commandments is summed 00:37:33.590 --> 00:37:36.550 up in love, right? Part of it talks about loving 00:37:36.550 --> 00:37:40.179 God. And the rest of it talks about loving other 00:37:40.179 --> 00:37:46.360 people correctly. Right, Jesus told him. Do this 00:37:46.360 --> 00:37:50.039 and you will live. The man wanted to justify 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:54.300 his actions. So he asked Jesus. You know, I got 00:37:54.300 --> 00:38:01.699 that down, but who is my neighbor? Who is my 00:38:01.699 --> 00:38:08.380 neighbor? Is that my friend? Is that the person 00:38:08.380 --> 00:38:13.760 that I enjoy being around? Come on now, don't 00:38:13.760 --> 00:38:19.679 check out. Jesus replied with a story. A Jewish 00:38:19.679 --> 00:38:23.099 man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, 00:38:23.179 --> 00:38:28.280 and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped 00:38:28.280 --> 00:38:31.239 him of his clothes, beat him up, left him half 00:38:31.239 --> 00:38:34.760 dead. I don't know how you get half dead, but 00:38:34.760 --> 00:38:39.010 they left him. They left him half dead beside 00:38:39.010 --> 00:38:44.190 the road. By chance, a priest came along. When 00:38:44.190 --> 00:38:47.110 he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the 00:38:47.110 --> 00:38:52.650 other side of the road and passed him by. A temple 00:38:52.650 --> 00:38:55.130 assistant walked over and looked at him lying 00:38:55.130 --> 00:38:59.510 there, but he also passed by on the other side. 00:39:01.329 --> 00:39:06.639 Then... A despised Samaritan. Everybody say despised. 00:39:06.840 --> 00:39:11.380 A despised Samaritan came along. And when he 00:39:11.380 --> 00:39:17.059 saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going 00:39:17.059 --> 00:39:19.860 over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds 00:39:19.860 --> 00:39:23.300 with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then 00:39:23.300 --> 00:39:26.679 he put the man on his own donkey and took him 00:39:26.679 --> 00:39:31.000 to an inn where he took care of him. The next 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:34.480 day, he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, 00:39:34.659 --> 00:39:38.260 telling him, take care of this man. If his bill 00:39:38.260 --> 00:39:41.320 runs higher than this, I'll pay you next time 00:39:41.320 --> 00:39:49.519 I'm here. And then Jesus looked at this Pharisee 00:39:49.519 --> 00:39:55.199 and said, now, which one of these three would 00:39:55.199 --> 00:39:57.480 you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked 00:39:57.480 --> 00:40:05.519 by bandits? Which one was the neighbor? The man 00:40:05.519 --> 00:40:11.219 replied, the one who showed him mercy. Then Jesus 00:40:11.219 --> 00:40:15.900 says, yes, now go and do that. Go and do the 00:40:15.900 --> 00:40:21.340 same. Go and do that. Be that person. Be that 00:40:21.340 --> 00:40:27.199 person. You don't really get the full impact 00:40:27.199 --> 00:40:29.920 of this story without knowing something. Most 00:40:29.920 --> 00:40:34.360 religious leaders, most Pharisees in this day 00:40:34.360 --> 00:40:44.219 hated Samaritans. The Jews hated the Samaritans. 00:40:44.940 --> 00:40:49.480 Hated them. If people talked to God every day, 00:40:49.539 --> 00:40:51.619 most of them would have in their prayer in the 00:40:51.619 --> 00:40:54.599 morning, they would say, God... Let me have a 00:40:54.599 --> 00:40:58.199 good day today by not even seeing one of those 00:40:58.199 --> 00:41:05.820 dog Samaritans. That's how bad it was. And now 00:41:05.820 --> 00:41:10.840 Jesus is talking to a Jew. And then he gives 00:41:10.840 --> 00:41:14.619 him, he says, who's my neighbor? And where does 00:41:14.619 --> 00:41:21.860 Jesus go? Because this guy that he's talking 00:41:21.860 --> 00:41:27.219 to hates Samaritans. He's all happy about all 00:41:27.219 --> 00:41:29.800 the religious people and the Pharisees and the 00:41:29.800 --> 00:41:33.519 religious leaders, and Jesus shows that those 00:41:33.519 --> 00:41:40.579 people weren't walking in God's love. But this 00:41:40.579 --> 00:41:49.110 despised Samaritan was walking in agape. Here's 00:41:49.110 --> 00:41:52.969 your example. And boy, did this guy have to swallow 00:41:52.969 --> 00:41:58.409 real big before he said, I guess the neighbor's 00:41:58.409 --> 00:42:03.190 the one that showed mercy. Because he was just 00:42:03.190 --> 00:42:05.809 wound up in that. I mean, that was their culture. 00:42:07.329 --> 00:42:13.989 Jews hated Samaritans. I'm just going to remind 00:42:13.989 --> 00:42:17.880 us. No matter who we are or where we're from 00:42:17.880 --> 00:42:22.440 or how we were brought up, all of us are conditioned 00:42:22.440 --> 00:42:25.679 by society to have prejudices in one way or another. 00:42:28.400 --> 00:42:34.980 All of us. None of us are immune to that. None 00:42:34.980 --> 00:42:37.920 of us. Some of you are looking at me real holy 00:42:37.920 --> 00:42:41.800 right now, but I'm saying none of us. None of 00:42:41.800 --> 00:42:47.139 us are completely immune to this. Some prejudices 00:42:47.139 --> 00:42:49.619 cause you to think and act like you're superior 00:42:49.619 --> 00:42:53.199 to other people. You're better than other people. 00:42:56.360 --> 00:43:01.719 Some prejudices cause you to hate other people. 00:43:03.139 --> 00:43:07.219 So some prejudices make you look down on other 00:43:07.219 --> 00:43:11.380 people. Other prejudices make you hate other 00:43:11.380 --> 00:43:17.210 people and despise other people. Sometimes they 00:43:17.210 --> 00:43:21.150 do both. It can be over gender. It can be over 00:43:21.150 --> 00:43:24.670 status. It can be over belief. You know, religious 00:43:24.670 --> 00:43:29.210 belief, political belief. Can anybody see that 00:43:29.210 --> 00:43:34.489 there's a lot of prejudice in politics? I don't 00:43:34.489 --> 00:43:37.349 preach politics. I don't say people's... I don't 00:43:37.349 --> 00:43:42.829 even care what side you're on. But on both sides, 00:43:42.989 --> 00:43:48.679 there's a whole lot of hate. A whole lot of hate. 00:43:50.539 --> 00:43:57.699 Division. Stirring. All the time stirring. Race. 00:43:58.960 --> 00:44:04.860 Being stirred up. I mean, it's okay to talk about 00:44:04.860 --> 00:44:08.079 these things in church, right? It's okay to talk 00:44:08.079 --> 00:44:12.840 about it. As far as God's concerned, there's 00:44:12.840 --> 00:44:22.150 only one race. Humanity is one race. According 00:44:22.150 --> 00:44:25.010 to the world, there are multiple races, but according 00:44:25.010 --> 00:44:34.469 to the Bible, there's only one race. 1 Corinthians 00:44:34.469 --> 00:44:39.230 16, 14. Here's what it boils down to. Let all 00:44:39.230 --> 00:44:44.110 that you do. Somebody say everything. Let all 00:44:44.110 --> 00:44:52.619 that you do. Be done with love. Agape. Every 00:44:52.619 --> 00:44:54.719 time, every verse that I've used the word love, 00:44:54.820 --> 00:44:57.679 none of them were phileo. Every single one of 00:44:57.679 --> 00:45:07.340 them were agape. We like. We don't say we love 00:45:07.340 --> 00:45:09.059 you, but we don't like you right now because 00:45:09.059 --> 00:45:13.280 then we've stepped out of agape. We're concerned 00:45:13.280 --> 00:45:17.550 about the well -being of others. Not just a mental 00:45:17.550 --> 00:45:26.329 concern, but a willingness to act. We want to 00:45:26.329 --> 00:45:31.090 share life with other people. Now, some people 00:45:31.090 --> 00:45:34.269 will refuse, obviously. Some people refuse to 00:45:34.269 --> 00:45:37.489 share life and fellowship with you. And some 00:45:37.489 --> 00:45:41.190 people would refuse to worship with us. But as 00:45:41.190 --> 00:45:49.860 far as we're concerned, We walk in low. We walk 00:45:49.860 --> 00:45:58.739 in low. And in this series, we're taking a measure 00:45:58.739 --> 00:46:03.639 for our personal benefit. Remember, not for your 00:46:03.639 --> 00:46:09.159 spouse, your kids, your parents, your, you know. 00:46:11.000 --> 00:46:14.980 We're taking a look on the inside. Personal measurement. 00:46:16.880 --> 00:46:23.320 Personal fruit inspection. The measure of your 00:46:23.320 --> 00:46:29.239 love for others. The measure that it is increasing 00:46:29.239 --> 00:46:34.420 or not. The measure that it is evidenced in your 00:46:34.420 --> 00:46:40.340 life on a daily basis or not. That's a good measure 00:46:40.340 --> 00:46:45.469 of your spiritual growth. and the level of your 00:46:45.469 --> 00:46:55.789 spiritual maturity. So, how many of you would 00:46:55.789 --> 00:47:01.530 say, well, I can see that God is working. Come 00:47:01.530 --> 00:47:06.210 on. I can see that God is working. I can see 00:47:06.210 --> 00:47:09.530 that God is talking to me right now, telling 00:47:09.530 --> 00:47:15.650 me that I could be... More walking in love and 00:47:15.650 --> 00:47:20.730 more putting on love. I've got some growth that 00:47:20.730 --> 00:47:27.050 needs to take place. Anybody? I hope nobody in 00:47:27.050 --> 00:47:29.690 the room says, I'm arrived at love, man. I'm 00:47:29.690 --> 00:47:35.650 a love person. I just exude the love of God 24 00:47:35.650 --> 00:47:45.019 -7. That should be where we're headed. That should 00:47:45.019 --> 00:47:52.559 be the goal. That we'll never be as developed 00:47:52.559 --> 00:47:55.619 in the love of God as God is fully developed 00:47:55.619 --> 00:48:03.619 in His love. We need to be moving forward. Because 00:48:03.619 --> 00:48:08.139 ultimately, when your co -workers look at you, 00:48:08.179 --> 00:48:10.519 when your neighbors look at you, when your family 00:48:10.519 --> 00:48:18.800 looks at you, And some of us have people that, 00:48:18.820 --> 00:48:23.619 you know, they know that we're Christians, but 00:48:23.619 --> 00:48:26.179 they're not Christians. And they know that we 00:48:26.179 --> 00:48:33.280 go to church, but they don't go to church. But 00:48:33.280 --> 00:48:38.619 they're watching. Always watching. Those co -workers 00:48:38.619 --> 00:48:44.989 are always watching. Gayna has heard two co -workers 00:48:44.989 --> 00:48:47.710 talking about another co -worker that was always 00:48:47.710 --> 00:48:50.969 talking about Jesus and church, and she heard 00:48:50.969 --> 00:48:52.869 them talking about that other co -worker and 00:48:52.869 --> 00:48:55.309 said, and she says it, she's a Christian. And 00:48:55.309 --> 00:49:00.289 these are people who aren't Christians, but they're 00:49:00.289 --> 00:49:03.190 looking at the life of this other co -worker 00:49:03.190 --> 00:49:08.070 and saying, she ain't much of a Christian if 00:49:08.070 --> 00:49:16.800 she's a Christian. Hello? The Bible says that 00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:19.500 the world will know, our neighbors will know, 00:49:19.599 --> 00:49:23.960 our family will know that we are Christians, 00:49:24.139 --> 00:49:31.900 Christ followers, by our love. By our love. Let's 00:49:31.900 --> 00:49:35.400 pray together. God, I thank you for today. I 00:49:35.400 --> 00:49:37.119 thank you for your word. I pray that it will 00:49:37.119 --> 00:49:42.360 be planted in our hearts. God, we know that your 00:49:42.360 --> 00:49:47.340 word does not bring condemnation. By Your Spirit 00:49:47.340 --> 00:49:51.199 speaking Your Word to us and bringing Your Word 00:49:51.199 --> 00:49:53.460 to us, You're just calling us up higher from 00:49:53.460 --> 00:49:58.519 where we are. You're not beating us down. So 00:49:58.519 --> 00:50:01.820 I thank You for that. Thank You for loving us 00:50:01.820 --> 00:50:05.179 in such a way that You do want to call us up 00:50:05.179 --> 00:50:10.500 higher and You do want the fruit, the spiritual 00:50:10.500 --> 00:50:14.869 fruit that You give us to increase in us. You 00:50:14.869 --> 00:50:16.969 want to work with us and cooperate with us in 00:50:16.969 --> 00:50:23.309 that. So we yield to you. We yield to your truth. 00:50:23.409 --> 00:50:28.449 We yield to your word. May it be planted in our 00:50:28.449 --> 00:50:35.570 hearts and produce an overflowing harvest of 00:50:35.570 --> 00:50:41.760 love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. This online 00:50:41.760 --> 00:50:44.380 worship experience was brought to you by the 00:50:44.380 --> 00:50:46.239 friends and partners of Elation Church.