1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,840 Morning church. 2 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:02,040 Morning. 3 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,960 Good morning to our online family. 4 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:06,380 Paul, and that's you this morning. 5 00:00:06,380 --> 00:00:08,260 I hope that you're eating breakfast 6 00:00:08,260 --> 00:00:10,880 and I hope that it's enjoyable. 7 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:13,140 That I really hope that you're just gathered around 8 00:00:13,140 --> 00:00:14,960 and enjoying each other, but welcome to you. 9 00:00:14,960 --> 00:00:15,960 Glad you're there. 10 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:17,960 Baghdad, I hope you guys are doing well 11 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:19,340 and glad you're there. 12 00:00:19,340 --> 00:00:21,800 Kyle, Pastor Kyle, those of you that know Pastor Kyle, 13 00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:25,180 his aunt Jackie is in Colorado online today. 14 00:00:25,180 --> 00:00:26,100 So welcome to you. 15 00:00:26,100 --> 00:00:27,460 We're glad you're with us. 16 00:00:27,460 --> 00:00:32,460 When we do this, just say welcome to our online fam. 17 00:00:32,460 --> 00:00:33,460 Welcome. 18 00:00:33,460 --> 00:00:34,960 There we go, there we go. 19 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:36,080 You got it, you got it. 20 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:37,080 Good job. 21 00:00:38,300 --> 00:00:39,300 Rams, huh? 22 00:00:40,460 --> 00:00:41,460 Yeah. 23 00:00:42,180 --> 00:00:44,800 What do you think about that cold weather? 24 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,340 No problem. 25 00:00:46,340 --> 00:00:47,720 What was that? 26 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:48,640 No problem. 27 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:50,100 No problem. 28 00:00:50,100 --> 00:00:50,840 Woo. 29 00:00:50,840 --> 00:00:52,760 Okay, how many Rams fans are in the room? 30 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:54,640 Woo. 31 00:00:54,640 --> 00:00:55,520 Okay. 32 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,520 Some of you still claiming Los Angeles. 33 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,100 Brave people in Prescott, Arizona, let me tell you. 34 00:01:02,100 --> 00:01:03,520 Woo. 35 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:05,860 What about, what about, who are they playing? 36 00:01:05,860 --> 00:01:06,700 Eagles. 37 00:01:08,700 --> 00:01:10,200 None? 38 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:10,940 None? 39 00:01:10,940 --> 00:01:12,440 Not one? 40 00:01:12,440 --> 00:01:13,660 Wow. 41 00:01:13,660 --> 00:01:14,740 Okay, one Eagles. 42 00:01:14,740 --> 00:01:15,660 Sorry, you're outnumbered. 43 00:01:15,660 --> 00:01:16,820 Go Rams, let's go. 44 00:01:17,980 --> 00:01:19,860 Any Lions fans? 45 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:22,980 You guys, you have my heart. 46 00:01:22,980 --> 00:01:24,660 I am so sorry. 47 00:01:24,660 --> 00:01:25,900 I am so sorry. 48 00:01:25,900 --> 00:01:28,900 Like, like you have been terrible for so long 49 00:01:28,900 --> 00:01:32,820 and you get the number one and we had such high hopes. 50 00:01:32,820 --> 00:01:34,160 I was going for, I was rooting Lions. 51 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:36,280 Once the Steelers were out, I'm like, Lions are my team 52 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:39,240 and, and nope, I gotta stop rooting for teams apparently 53 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:40,440 because they all lose. 54 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:42,280 So, but pretty amazing. 55 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:43,480 28 points in a quarter. 56 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:44,320 It's amazing. 57 00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:46,900 Anyways, football talks, good, fun, different. 58 00:01:46,900 --> 00:01:48,900 Those of you that love it, hate it, it's here. 59 00:01:48,900 --> 00:01:52,740 So, welcome if you're here and you're new. 60 00:01:52,740 --> 00:01:54,860 You picked a great time to be in church. 61 00:01:54,860 --> 00:01:55,820 And here's what I mean. 62 00:01:55,820 --> 00:01:58,980 You picked a time that we're talking about 63 00:01:58,980 --> 00:02:00,520 these things that we call values. 64 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,020 We're talking about the things that we are. 65 00:02:03,020 --> 00:02:05,160 And if you want to know if you have values, 66 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,900 I can guarantee you, you have values. 67 00:02:07,900 --> 00:02:08,900 Whether you know it or not, 68 00:02:08,900 --> 00:02:10,060 whether you've ever named them or not, 69 00:02:10,060 --> 00:02:12,940 you have values today in your life. 70 00:02:12,940 --> 00:02:14,360 Here's what I mean. 71 00:02:14,360 --> 00:02:18,860 What's something that makes you angry? 72 00:02:18,860 --> 00:02:19,860 Here's what I mean by that. 73 00:02:19,860 --> 00:02:21,560 I was watching a press conference recently 74 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:24,860 from California and they were talking about the fires 75 00:02:24,860 --> 00:02:28,320 and they began to talk about people looting. 76 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:30,900 And inside I'm just like, this is wrong. 77 00:02:30,900 --> 00:02:32,940 Like we got to do something to these people. 78 00:02:32,940 --> 00:02:34,860 Which then the person that was talking goes, 79 00:02:34,860 --> 00:02:36,980 and there's a special place in hell reserved 80 00:02:36,980 --> 00:02:37,900 for those people. 81 00:02:37,900 --> 00:02:40,060 And I was like, I don't know if I go that far, 82 00:02:40,060 --> 00:02:45,060 but like inside I've just got this like anger about, 83 00:02:45,940 --> 00:02:48,560 you can't mistreat people that way. 84 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:50,320 That's not okay. 85 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,020 Well, why am I having that emotion? 86 00:02:54,140 --> 00:02:57,520 My value of four people that we talked about 87 00:02:57,520 --> 00:02:59,860 a couple of weeks ago, my value for four people 88 00:02:59,860 --> 00:03:00,700 is being tripped. 89 00:03:00,700 --> 00:03:02,560 How we treat people matters, right? 90 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:04,980 All people matter to God, so they matter to us, right? 91 00:03:04,980 --> 00:03:05,820 What are we supposed to do? 92 00:03:05,820 --> 00:03:06,640 We're supposed to love them. 93 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:08,060 Looting is not loving, right? 94 00:03:08,060 --> 00:03:10,740 Like another way that you could say, 95 00:03:10,740 --> 00:03:12,020 like if that's on a grand scale, 96 00:03:12,020 --> 00:03:14,740 then maybe let's just pull it down to every day. 97 00:03:14,740 --> 00:03:16,400 You have values in your life. 98 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,740 I could look at your subscriptions 99 00:03:18,740 --> 00:03:19,980 and tell you what you value. 100 00:03:19,980 --> 00:03:20,820 Here's what I mean. 101 00:03:20,820 --> 00:03:21,900 If you came to mine, right, 102 00:03:21,900 --> 00:03:24,820 and you went and looked at my subscriptions, 103 00:03:24,820 --> 00:03:28,320 you would notice that I have a subscription for Peacock. 104 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:29,160 Right? 105 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:30,740 I don't know how you feel about Peacock. 106 00:03:30,740 --> 00:03:31,580 To be honest with you, 107 00:03:31,580 --> 00:03:33,580 I don't really care how you feel about Peacock, 108 00:03:33,580 --> 00:03:34,420 if I'm real honest, 109 00:03:34,420 --> 00:03:36,820 because I like it and here's why. 110 00:03:36,820 --> 00:03:39,620 It plays the English Premier League. 111 00:03:39,620 --> 00:03:41,620 Now, if you don't know what that is, 112 00:03:41,620 --> 00:03:42,820 that is real football. 113 00:03:42,820 --> 00:03:44,160 It's called soccer here, right? 114 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:48,780 Like, but every single game in the English Premier League, 115 00:03:48,780 --> 00:03:50,780 they put on Peacock, right? 116 00:03:50,780 --> 00:03:54,580 So I get more soccer here than I would 117 00:03:54,580 --> 00:03:57,240 if I lived in England, true story, right? 118 00:03:57,240 --> 00:03:59,280 And so my subscription to Peacock tells you 119 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:02,780 that I really care about soccer. 120 00:04:02,780 --> 00:04:05,080 Now, what's interesting is it doesn't just stop there, 121 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:06,280 because if you talk to my kids, 122 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:08,080 what my kids are gonna tell you is, 123 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:09,780 yeah, on Saturday morning, 124 00:04:09,780 --> 00:04:11,280 somewhere in our house, 125 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:14,280 there is going to be a soccer game on, guaranteed, right? 126 00:04:14,280 --> 00:04:15,580 Like they just know it. 127 00:04:15,580 --> 00:04:18,580 It's part of the culture of our family. 128 00:04:18,580 --> 00:04:19,420 Why? 129 00:04:19,420 --> 00:04:20,780 Because what you value is what you do 130 00:04:20,780 --> 00:04:23,580 and what you do builds a culture, right? 131 00:04:23,580 --> 00:04:24,780 Like whether you like it or not, 132 00:04:24,780 --> 00:04:27,380 you're building a culture with your life. 133 00:04:27,380 --> 00:04:30,580 Another one in ours would be ESPN, right? 134 00:04:30,580 --> 00:04:32,080 I don't know how you feel about ESPN. 135 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:33,380 I don't know, you know, 136 00:04:33,380 --> 00:04:35,380 all the connections to whoever and whatever. 137 00:04:35,380 --> 00:04:38,580 And, but here's why ESPN has a subscription for me. 138 00:04:38,580 --> 00:04:41,080 They have Formula One, right? 139 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,980 Wow, we're gaining fans, people. 140 00:04:43,980 --> 00:04:46,180 I said that a couple of, like, I don't know, 141 00:04:46,180 --> 00:04:48,180 a year ago and there was like two people. 142 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:49,780 We're gaining fans, we're on the move. 143 00:04:49,780 --> 00:04:51,280 Richard, they're out here. 144 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:52,880 Richard's in California, by the way. 145 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:54,580 He holds down our online family. 146 00:04:54,580 --> 00:04:55,380 He's amazing. 147 00:04:55,380 --> 00:04:56,380 Could we give Richard a hand? 148 00:04:56,380 --> 00:04:57,180 He's phenomenal. 149 00:04:57,180 --> 00:05:01,880 But here's the thing. 150 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,080 What you value, what you value, you will do. 151 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:05,180 So I have a subscription 152 00:05:05,180 --> 00:05:07,380 because I have a value for these things. 153 00:05:08,380 --> 00:05:10,380 What you value, you will do 154 00:05:10,380 --> 00:05:12,180 and what you do will become culture. 155 00:05:13,380 --> 00:05:14,580 Now, as a church family, 156 00:05:14,580 --> 00:05:17,180 here's why this conversation is important. 157 00:05:17,180 --> 00:05:18,780 Because what we're defining, 158 00:05:18,780 --> 00:05:20,380 what we're holding a conversation about 159 00:05:20,380 --> 00:05:23,580 is these are our values. 160 00:05:23,580 --> 00:05:28,180 Meaning, what you value, you will do. 161 00:05:28,180 --> 00:05:32,480 So as a family, what we value determines what we do. 162 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:36,080 So when we say we are for Jesus, 163 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:37,680 that means we're gonna give everything 164 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,980 that we have for Jesus. 165 00:05:39,980 --> 00:05:43,280 That means that when it comes to how we live our lives, 166 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:44,580 it's gonna be for Jesus. 167 00:05:44,580 --> 00:05:46,280 When it comes to how we make decisions, 168 00:05:46,280 --> 00:05:47,780 it's gonna be for Jesus. 169 00:05:47,780 --> 00:05:50,580 If it doesn't matter to Jesus and make more of Jesus, 170 00:05:50,580 --> 00:05:52,180 we're not gonna do it. 171 00:05:52,180 --> 00:05:53,980 Right? Because what you value, you will do. 172 00:05:53,980 --> 00:05:55,280 And so we're for people. 173 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:56,880 So how we treat people really matters. 174 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:58,180 We're for the Holy Spirit. 175 00:05:58,180 --> 00:06:01,580 So we create moments in services for it. 176 00:06:01,580 --> 00:06:04,380 We create moments in our life to hear the Holy Spirit. 177 00:06:04,380 --> 00:06:07,180 As a family, we all lean in and go, 178 00:06:07,180 --> 00:06:08,380 this is what we're gonna do with our lives. 179 00:06:08,380 --> 00:06:11,380 I'm gonna take time to listen to the Holy Spirit. 180 00:06:11,380 --> 00:06:13,380 The Holy Spirit's gonna tell you 181 00:06:13,380 --> 00:06:15,480 that you should be for generosity. 182 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:17,380 Why? Because God is generous 183 00:06:17,380 --> 00:06:18,780 and we're supposed to mirror Him. 184 00:06:18,780 --> 00:06:20,380 And we talked about this last week, 185 00:06:20,380 --> 00:06:24,380 that our lives are lived to give away. 186 00:06:24,380 --> 00:06:27,480 And how we do that is we are for serving. 187 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:29,080 That we are serving other people. 188 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:30,480 Why? Because we love Jesus. 189 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:31,580 And what did Jesus do? 190 00:06:31,580 --> 00:06:35,380 Jesus served people, therefore we will serve people. 191 00:06:35,380 --> 00:06:37,180 Right? What you value, you will do. 192 00:06:37,180 --> 00:06:39,380 And here's why this is important. 193 00:06:39,380 --> 00:06:41,180 Because to be a part of this family, 194 00:06:41,180 --> 00:06:43,180 to be a part of this family, right? 195 00:06:43,180 --> 00:06:45,180 What we value, we what? 196 00:06:45,180 --> 00:06:46,780 We do. 197 00:06:46,780 --> 00:06:49,880 And if you go, hey John, I heard your values. 198 00:06:49,880 --> 00:06:51,880 I don't really like them. 199 00:06:51,880 --> 00:06:54,980 Right? This one, I don't like this one at all. 200 00:06:54,980 --> 00:06:55,980 That's okay. 201 00:06:55,980 --> 00:06:57,880 You're welcome to your opinion and your values. 202 00:06:57,880 --> 00:06:59,980 But here's what I know. 203 00:06:59,980 --> 00:07:02,280 When it comes to that area of your life, 204 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:05,580 you're gonna live as a me instead of a we. 205 00:07:05,580 --> 00:07:09,280 Right? So as a we, as a collective, 206 00:07:09,280 --> 00:07:11,280 we are saying we are for Jesus. 207 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,180 If you go, I'm not for Jesus, 208 00:07:13,180 --> 00:07:14,580 then you're gonna be a me 209 00:07:14,580 --> 00:07:17,680 and you're gonna live opposite of what we're gonna live. 210 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:19,080 You may hear these and go, 211 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:20,880 I don't agree with a couple of those. 212 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:22,480 I don't know if this church is for me. 213 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:23,280 That's okay. 214 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,680 That's why we establish values so that we know together. 215 00:07:26,680 --> 00:07:29,080 This is the direction we're moving. 216 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:31,180 This is what allows us to say yes to stuff 217 00:07:31,180 --> 00:07:32,580 and we say no to stuff. 218 00:07:32,580 --> 00:07:34,180 Because these are what we hold. 219 00:07:34,180 --> 00:07:38,180 They value, we value them, therefore we do them. 220 00:07:38,180 --> 00:07:40,980 And so we got, as we move forward, 221 00:07:40,980 --> 00:07:42,880 we've got two weeks left on values. 222 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:45,480 Next week, we will hit our value of four celebration. 223 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:46,880 It's baptism weekend. 224 00:07:46,880 --> 00:07:48,680 And so it's a celebration weekend. 225 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,180 We'll talk about that next week. 226 00:07:51,180 --> 00:07:52,580 This week, if you followed, 227 00:07:52,580 --> 00:07:54,180 if you were here last week, you followed that 228 00:07:54,180 --> 00:07:56,680 we create space for the Holy Spirit. 229 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:58,180 He leads us to generosity. 230 00:07:58,180 --> 00:07:59,480 He leads us to serve. 231 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,180 The next one has to do with how we serve. 232 00:08:03,180 --> 00:08:06,380 And it is for our best. 233 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:08,280 What does that mean? 234 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:09,880 That we create space. 235 00:08:09,880 --> 00:08:14,580 We create space for our best. 236 00:08:14,580 --> 00:08:15,480 Why? 237 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,280 Because God gave his best. 238 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:19,480 So what are we doing? 239 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,980 Because God gave his best, we will give our best. 240 00:08:23,980 --> 00:08:25,680 Right, when it comes to how we serve, 241 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:27,880 how we love people, how we love Jesus, 242 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:30,880 we are going to give our best. 243 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:32,880 We're gonna give everything we've got. 244 00:08:32,880 --> 00:08:35,480 We're not giving the leftovers, so to speak. 245 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:38,580 We're giving out of the plenty. 246 00:08:38,580 --> 00:08:42,280 And the idea of this, if you look at John 3.16, 247 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:45,180 we read this last week, 248 00:08:45,180 --> 00:08:46,480 but John 3.16 says, 249 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,780 for God so loved the world, 250 00:08:48,780 --> 00:08:52,880 so God loved every ethnicity that he gave, 251 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:57,580 that he gave his one and only. 252 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:02,180 For God so loved that he what? 253 00:09:02,180 --> 00:09:03,980 He gave his what? 254 00:09:03,980 --> 00:09:08,080 One and only son. 255 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:10,280 That whoever believes in him shall not perish, 256 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:11,380 but have eternal life. 257 00:09:11,380 --> 00:09:14,580 Okay, this is staggering. 258 00:09:14,580 --> 00:09:19,080 That the God of the universe that created everything 259 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,980 could have created something else. 260 00:09:21,980 --> 00:09:23,180 Right, like he could have gone, 261 00:09:23,180 --> 00:09:25,880 hey, I need a savior for those humans 262 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:27,980 that are running wild. 263 00:09:27,980 --> 00:09:29,080 I know what we'll do. 264 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,280 We'll create a savior. 265 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:34,880 God could have created a savior. 266 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:35,680 You realize that, right? 267 00:09:35,680 --> 00:09:37,580 Like God didn't have to send his son. 268 00:09:37,580 --> 00:09:39,880 He could have created a savior. 269 00:09:39,880 --> 00:09:42,780 He could have created a substitute. 270 00:09:42,780 --> 00:09:44,880 He could have, he could have, think about it. 271 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:45,980 There's angels, right? 272 00:09:45,980 --> 00:09:48,280 Legions of angels that God has created. 273 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:50,080 God could have taken an angel, 274 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,580 put skin and bone on an angel and gone, 275 00:09:52,580 --> 00:09:53,580 hey, you're gonna go 276 00:09:53,580 --> 00:09:55,280 and you're gonna be my representative 277 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,380 and you're gonna go save humanity. 278 00:09:58,380 --> 00:09:59,080 He didn't do that. 279 00:09:59,080 --> 00:10:00,180 God sent what? 280 00:10:00,180 --> 00:10:05,780 His one and only, his priceless, his very best. 281 00:10:05,780 --> 00:10:06,580 Why? 282 00:10:06,580 --> 00:10:09,580 So that you would know right here, right now, 283 00:10:09,580 --> 00:10:17,280 on a cold January that you are loved by God Almighty. 284 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,080 Right, like he would send his very best. 285 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:24,880 He would send himself for you. 286 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,280 That's how valuable you are. 287 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:32,980 That he would give his very, very best for you. 288 00:10:32,980 --> 00:10:37,580 Which then to us as his people, we go, 289 00:10:37,580 --> 00:10:39,780 okay, if I'm gonna live this life for Jesus, 290 00:10:39,780 --> 00:10:43,280 I'm gonna give my very best. 291 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:44,380 Well, so what does that look like? 292 00:10:44,380 --> 00:10:45,680 Well, if you follow through scripture 293 00:10:45,680 --> 00:10:47,380 all the way through the narrative, 294 00:10:47,380 --> 00:10:51,880 what you find is God's people bring sacrifices, right? 295 00:10:51,880 --> 00:10:56,880 God's people are encouraged to bring and give to him. 296 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,080 And the language that's used with that 297 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:01,480 is this thing of firstfruits. 298 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:04,980 Now firstfruits, the idea of that is if you had a garden 299 00:11:04,980 --> 00:11:06,980 and you were like, okay, out of my garden, 300 00:11:06,980 --> 00:11:10,180 I'm going to give back to God. 301 00:11:10,180 --> 00:11:12,180 Then what would happen is you would plant your garden. 302 00:11:12,180 --> 00:11:13,280 When it came to harvest time, 303 00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:14,580 you would look at your harvest 304 00:11:14,580 --> 00:11:17,780 and you would go my first and best, 305 00:11:17,780 --> 00:11:18,680 I'm going to give to God. 306 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:20,680 That's what firstfruits were. 307 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:22,580 When it speaks about Jesus in the Bible, 308 00:11:22,580 --> 00:11:25,880 it refers to him as the firstfruits, right? 309 00:11:25,880 --> 00:11:28,180 And so what we're told is when we come in, 310 00:11:28,180 --> 00:11:30,480 if we're gonna give, give to God, 311 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,080 and remember from last week, 312 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:33,280 when we talk about giving to God, 313 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,980 we're talking about your time, your talent, your energy, 314 00:11:35,980 --> 00:11:40,080 your relationships, your resources, all of life. 315 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:41,080 And so when I come to God 316 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:44,180 and I'm gonna give my best back to God, 317 00:11:44,180 --> 00:11:46,580 what it should be is God, this is, 318 00:11:46,580 --> 00:11:48,180 I've thought of you first 319 00:11:48,180 --> 00:11:50,380 and this is the best that I have to offer. 320 00:11:50,380 --> 00:11:52,080 Now, if we just take finances 321 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:54,280 because that's an easy one to talk about, right? 322 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:56,480 When it comes to giving to God out of my finances, 323 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:00,380 the way it should work is that I receive my paycheck 324 00:12:00,380 --> 00:12:02,180 in whatever form and I go, 325 00:12:02,180 --> 00:12:05,580 I'm going to give an offering of worship back to God. 326 00:12:05,580 --> 00:12:08,280 I'm gonna give out of my finances to God. 327 00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:10,280 Then what should happen is this, 328 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:11,880 that when you receive that check, 329 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:13,480 you give your what? 330 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:15,280 First and your best. 331 00:12:15,280 --> 00:12:16,180 God, what do you want? 332 00:12:16,180 --> 00:12:19,380 Now, if you're anything like I used to be, right? 333 00:12:19,380 --> 00:12:21,480 I used to live this way, 334 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:23,880 that I would do everything I wanted to do. 335 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:25,180 So I gotta play golf this week, 336 00:12:25,180 --> 00:12:26,280 I gotta do this this week, 337 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:27,380 I gotta do this, right? 338 00:12:27,380 --> 00:12:29,280 And I've gotta pay these bills, I gotta do that. 339 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:30,680 And I would get to the end of the week and I go, 340 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:33,180 I got three bucks, here you go, God. 341 00:12:33,180 --> 00:12:35,180 You're gonna have this. 342 00:12:35,180 --> 00:12:36,680 But that's not what it talks about 343 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:37,680 all the way through Scripture. 344 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:40,880 It talks about honoring God with your best. 345 00:12:40,880 --> 00:12:42,680 So when it comes to my time, 346 00:12:43,580 --> 00:12:46,980 God, you get my first, not my last. 347 00:12:46,980 --> 00:12:49,080 God, I don't fit you in, I give it. 348 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:49,920 Why? 349 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:51,980 Because I'm giving my best to you. 350 00:12:51,980 --> 00:12:53,680 But why are we giving our best? 351 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:55,880 What is the idea behind giving our best? 352 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:57,480 One of the things as a church, 353 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:00,280 we don't strive for excellence anymore, right? 354 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:02,380 Excellence used to be, if you talked about a value, 355 00:13:02,380 --> 00:13:04,380 excellence was a value. 356 00:13:04,380 --> 00:13:06,280 But the reason we don't strive for excellence anymore 357 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:08,080 is because nowhere in Scripture do you find 358 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,280 that God says, hey, make everything excellent. 359 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:13,280 He says, no, honor me with your gifts. 360 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:15,380 Honor me with your talents, honor me. 361 00:13:15,380 --> 00:13:16,380 How do we honor Him? 362 00:13:16,380 --> 00:13:17,280 With our best. 363 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,980 And so then in Colossians, Colossians chapter three, 364 00:13:20,980 --> 00:13:24,180 and verse 23, it says this, whatever you do, 365 00:13:24,180 --> 00:13:26,580 how much is left out in that, by the way? 366 00:13:26,580 --> 00:13:30,780 Like whatever you do, that's like all of life, right? 367 00:13:30,780 --> 00:13:33,180 Work at it with all your heart. 368 00:13:33,180 --> 00:13:36,380 So heart being what you love, what you care about, 369 00:13:36,380 --> 00:13:38,180 the center of who you are, right? 370 00:13:38,180 --> 00:13:41,180 So whatever you do, work at it with everything 371 00:13:41,180 --> 00:13:43,980 as the center of you in your heart, 372 00:13:43,980 --> 00:13:46,780 as working for the Lord, as working for the Lord. 373 00:13:46,780 --> 00:13:48,980 So whatever you do, work at it with everything 374 00:13:48,980 --> 00:13:52,180 as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 375 00:13:52,180 --> 00:13:55,580 since you know that you will receive an inheritance 376 00:13:55,580 --> 00:13:57,580 from the Lord as reward. 377 00:13:57,580 --> 00:14:01,980 It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 378 00:14:01,980 --> 00:14:04,580 So now it goes full circle, right? 379 00:14:04,580 --> 00:14:06,580 Because we're for serving last week. 380 00:14:06,580 --> 00:14:07,780 How do we serve? 381 00:14:07,780 --> 00:14:10,180 We serve with our best. 382 00:14:10,180 --> 00:14:11,180 Why? 383 00:14:11,180 --> 00:14:13,380 Because all the way back at the beginning of our values, 384 00:14:13,380 --> 00:14:15,580 we are for Jesus, right? 385 00:14:15,580 --> 00:14:17,980 We, out of our love for Jesus, what are we doing? 386 00:14:17,980 --> 00:14:19,580 We're taking our very best and going, 387 00:14:19,580 --> 00:14:21,580 I will give it back to who? 388 00:14:21,580 --> 00:14:22,380 Back to Jesus. 389 00:14:22,380 --> 00:14:24,180 So when it comes to your life, 390 00:14:24,180 --> 00:14:26,580 when it comes to you living out your faith, 391 00:14:26,580 --> 00:14:28,380 the value of living out your faith is that 392 00:14:28,380 --> 00:14:31,180 God gets your very best. 393 00:14:31,180 --> 00:14:33,180 So when you look at life, right? 394 00:14:33,180 --> 00:14:35,180 When you look at the worship team, 395 00:14:35,180 --> 00:14:36,580 we're not asking the worship team 396 00:14:36,580 --> 00:14:37,780 to show up and be excellent. 397 00:14:37,780 --> 00:14:39,580 We're asking them to show up and what? 398 00:14:39,580 --> 00:14:42,980 Take the talent and give God your best out of it, right? 399 00:14:42,980 --> 00:14:47,580 We're not looking to take the gifts that God's given us. 400 00:14:47,580 --> 00:14:51,980 It would be really easy for a couple of us on staff 401 00:14:51,980 --> 00:14:54,580 who are extremely talented 402 00:14:54,580 --> 00:14:57,980 to run off and do something separate, right? 403 00:14:57,980 --> 00:15:00,180 We have a guy on staff named David Bleckley. 404 00:15:00,180 --> 00:15:01,780 I don't know if any of you know David. 405 00:15:01,780 --> 00:15:05,180 We call him the beard if you've listened to the podcast, right? 406 00:15:05,180 --> 00:15:06,180 Yeah, we can clap for David. 407 00:15:06,180 --> 00:15:07,780 He's phenomenal, you guys. 408 00:15:07,780 --> 00:15:12,380 He is a gift to our family. 409 00:15:12,380 --> 00:15:14,180 If you've seen anything visual, 410 00:15:14,180 --> 00:15:16,980 David has been a part of creating it, right? 411 00:15:16,980 --> 00:15:18,580 He's either had eyes on it or something. 412 00:15:18,580 --> 00:15:21,580 If it's a video, if it's, he's amazing. 413 00:15:21,580 --> 00:15:24,180 David could easily, easily go, 414 00:15:24,180 --> 00:15:25,980 I'm kind of done with this whole church thing. 415 00:15:25,980 --> 00:15:28,380 I'm just gonna go over here and do this, right? 416 00:15:28,380 --> 00:15:29,980 He could easily do that, 417 00:15:29,980 --> 00:15:32,180 but God hasn't called him to that. 418 00:15:32,180 --> 00:15:34,980 And so where God's called him is to use his best 419 00:15:34,980 --> 00:15:40,180 for this community, to make Jesus known, to tell stories. 420 00:15:40,180 --> 00:15:41,380 Right, and that's how this works. 421 00:15:41,380 --> 00:15:42,580 You gotta wrestle with God. 422 00:15:42,580 --> 00:15:44,380 God, what talents have you given me? 423 00:15:44,380 --> 00:15:46,780 And how do you wanna use them in the kingdom? 424 00:15:46,780 --> 00:15:48,780 How do I give my best? 425 00:15:48,780 --> 00:15:53,980 So if that's a role in a specific job, how do I do that? 426 00:15:53,980 --> 00:15:56,780 If that's a, hey, God, you put me in this family 427 00:15:56,780 --> 00:15:59,980 with these kiddos that drive me crazy, 428 00:15:59,980 --> 00:16:02,780 how do I give them my best as a parent, right? 429 00:16:02,780 --> 00:16:04,980 Like instead of striving for excellence, 430 00:16:04,980 --> 00:16:07,380 it's no, we take our best and we use it. 431 00:16:07,380 --> 00:16:08,220 Why? 432 00:16:08,220 --> 00:16:09,180 Because we're serving who? 433 00:16:09,180 --> 00:16:10,980 We're serving Jesus, not ourselves. 434 00:16:10,980 --> 00:16:13,580 So how do I serve Jesus in raising my kids? 435 00:16:13,580 --> 00:16:15,780 How do I serve Jesus at work? 436 00:16:15,780 --> 00:16:18,180 How do I serve the people around me? 437 00:16:18,180 --> 00:16:19,980 And that's how this flows out. 438 00:16:19,980 --> 00:16:23,180 Now, it'd be one thing if you do it, 439 00:16:24,180 --> 00:16:27,380 but you know you were never called to do it in isolation. 440 00:16:28,180 --> 00:16:31,180 You know it was never called to, like anywhere in scripture, 441 00:16:31,180 --> 00:16:32,980 you look at the narrative of scripture, 442 00:16:32,980 --> 00:16:34,980 it's never about the individual. 443 00:16:35,780 --> 00:16:37,180 And here's what's interesting. 444 00:16:37,180 --> 00:16:40,380 The next value that we hold as a church is this, 445 00:16:40,380 --> 00:16:43,980 that we are four together, right? 446 00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:45,180 And it's out of the belief. 447 00:16:45,180 --> 00:16:47,780 It's out of the belief that we are better together. 448 00:16:47,780 --> 00:16:50,580 We are designed to be together. 449 00:16:50,580 --> 00:16:52,380 That God has put us together. 450 00:16:52,380 --> 00:16:53,220 Why? 451 00:16:53,220 --> 00:16:55,780 Because at the center, at the center, 452 00:16:55,780 --> 00:17:00,380 and I don't wanna say universe, because universe is ours. 453 00:17:00,380 --> 00:17:01,980 At the center of it all, 454 00:17:01,980 --> 00:17:06,180 there is a God who is in community with himself. 455 00:17:06,180 --> 00:17:07,020 Here's what I mean. 456 00:17:07,020 --> 00:17:08,780 If you look at Genesis chapter one, 457 00:17:09,980 --> 00:17:13,980 Genesis chapter one, verse 26, 458 00:17:13,980 --> 00:17:17,980 it says, then God said, let, 459 00:17:17,980 --> 00:17:20,780 you'll notice that next word, us, 460 00:17:22,180 --> 00:17:27,180 make mankind, make humanity in our image, 461 00:17:27,580 --> 00:17:31,580 in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish 462 00:17:31,580 --> 00:17:32,980 in the sea and the birds in the sky, 463 00:17:32,980 --> 00:17:35,380 over the livestock and all the wild animals, 464 00:17:35,380 --> 00:17:39,180 and over all the creatures that move along the ground. 465 00:17:39,180 --> 00:17:41,180 So God created mankind in his own image. 466 00:17:41,180 --> 00:17:44,380 In the image of God, he created them, male and female, 467 00:17:44,380 --> 00:17:45,780 he created them. 468 00:17:45,780 --> 00:17:47,980 God blessed them and said to them, 469 00:17:47,980 --> 00:17:51,380 be fruitful and increase in number. 470 00:17:51,380 --> 00:17:53,580 Fill the earth and subdue it. 471 00:17:53,580 --> 00:17:56,380 Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the, 472 00:17:56,380 --> 00:17:58,580 and the birds in the sky and over every living creature 473 00:17:58,580 --> 00:17:59,780 that moves along the ground. 474 00:17:59,780 --> 00:18:03,380 So in the creation narrative, what we're told 475 00:18:03,380 --> 00:18:05,780 is that God who created everything, 476 00:18:05,780 --> 00:18:09,980 that God is in relationship, in community, 477 00:18:09,980 --> 00:18:13,980 working together with himself. 478 00:18:13,980 --> 00:18:16,180 Right, so you've got the father involved, 479 00:18:16,180 --> 00:18:18,780 you've got the son involved, and you've got the Holy Spirit, 480 00:18:18,780 --> 00:18:20,380 which we call the Trinity. 481 00:18:20,380 --> 00:18:23,780 So in the very first chapter of the very first book 482 00:18:23,780 --> 00:18:27,380 of God's story, what he wants us to know is at the center 483 00:18:27,380 --> 00:18:30,180 of everything, it is about community 484 00:18:30,180 --> 00:18:31,980 and it is about working together, 485 00:18:32,980 --> 00:18:37,980 which is staggering to a group of people who live in one 486 00:18:37,980 --> 00:18:41,380 of the most individualistic cultures on the planet. 487 00:18:42,380 --> 00:18:45,580 You realize that what you live in right now is designed 488 00:18:45,580 --> 00:18:48,780 to be all about you, everything about it. 489 00:18:48,780 --> 00:18:51,580 Right, you are designed that everything is built 490 00:18:51,580 --> 00:18:54,380 for you to be an island, for you to be able to survive 491 00:18:54,380 --> 00:18:57,180 on your own, for you to be able to live on your own, 492 00:18:57,180 --> 00:18:59,580 for you to be able to not need anybody else. 493 00:18:59,580 --> 00:19:02,580 One of the biggest things about having a cast, 494 00:19:02,580 --> 00:19:06,180 that God's working through me, it's a four-letter word. 495 00:19:06,180 --> 00:19:07,980 It's not the one you're thinking of. 496 00:19:09,780 --> 00:19:10,580 Help. 497 00:19:12,180 --> 00:19:15,980 I learned real quick, I am not good at asking for help. 498 00:19:16,980 --> 00:19:19,580 I like to do things on my own, thank you very much. 499 00:19:19,580 --> 00:19:22,980 I can tie my own shoelaces, so my wife tells me I can't. 500 00:19:22,980 --> 00:19:26,780 Right, and so it's interesting, it's interesting 501 00:19:26,780 --> 00:19:30,180 that in an individualistic culture, right, 502 00:19:30,180 --> 00:19:32,780 let's just finish the slogan for a second. 503 00:19:32,780 --> 00:19:35,980 If you go to Burger King, you can have it what? 504 00:19:35,980 --> 00:19:39,180 Your way, they did phenomenal marketing, you know that. 505 00:19:39,180 --> 00:19:42,180 Right, that in an individualistic culture, 506 00:19:42,180 --> 00:19:45,380 it's all about you, you do you, bro. 507 00:19:45,380 --> 00:19:49,780 You live your life, don't worry about the haters. 508 00:19:49,780 --> 00:19:52,180 Right, and essentially what happens is, 509 00:19:52,180 --> 00:19:54,380 is you create an island that you live on, 510 00:19:54,380 --> 00:19:57,180 that if you create enough money for yourself, 511 00:19:57,180 --> 00:20:01,780 you can take care of yourself, which across the planet, 512 00:20:01,780 --> 00:20:03,780 if you sat down and told them that story, 513 00:20:03,780 --> 00:20:06,780 they look at you and go, why would you ever wanna do that? 514 00:20:06,780 --> 00:20:09,780 Why wouldn't you want to be with your family? 515 00:20:09,780 --> 00:20:12,580 Why wouldn't you want your family to take care of you? 516 00:20:12,580 --> 00:20:13,580 Why wouldn't you, right? 517 00:20:13,580 --> 00:20:15,980 So we're in this individualistic culture, 518 00:20:16,980 --> 00:20:20,380 but that works against the story of God, 519 00:20:20,380 --> 00:20:23,380 because the story of God is not about individuals, 520 00:20:23,380 --> 00:20:25,580 it's about community. 521 00:20:25,580 --> 00:20:27,780 I love our teaching team. 522 00:20:27,780 --> 00:20:29,980 This week, especially one of the things 523 00:20:29,980 --> 00:20:31,980 that they kind of highlighted for me, 524 00:20:31,980 --> 00:20:34,380 is on a Tuesday, our teaching team gets together. 525 00:20:34,380 --> 00:20:36,980 And whoever's up here communicating, 526 00:20:36,980 --> 00:20:38,980 they'll go in there and they'll talk about, 527 00:20:38,980 --> 00:20:40,380 hey, this is where I think I'm going, 528 00:20:40,380 --> 00:20:41,980 and then everybody kind of breathes in. 529 00:20:41,980 --> 00:20:45,980 It's a community, it's a communal activity 530 00:20:45,980 --> 00:20:47,780 building the message. 531 00:20:47,780 --> 00:20:49,580 And this week, what I loved about it was, 532 00:20:49,580 --> 00:20:50,780 is as we're sitting there, 533 00:20:50,780 --> 00:20:53,380 and what this gets us out from you guys, 534 00:20:53,380 --> 00:20:55,780 is there's no one person that comes here 535 00:20:55,780 --> 00:20:57,580 and they've been in the ivory tower and come down 536 00:20:57,580 --> 00:21:00,980 and go, thus saith the Lord, type thing, right? 537 00:21:00,980 --> 00:21:02,980 Like it's a community that have interpreted 538 00:21:02,980 --> 00:21:05,380 Scripture together and felt what, 539 00:21:05,380 --> 00:21:06,980 and remember, creating space for the Holy Spirit. 540 00:21:06,980 --> 00:21:10,380 What does the Holy Spirit want for our family this weekend? 541 00:21:10,380 --> 00:21:12,180 And so this week, as we're talking about this, 542 00:21:12,180 --> 00:21:15,980 what was highlighted for me and stood out was this, 543 00:21:15,980 --> 00:21:17,980 that all the way through Scripture, 544 00:21:18,980 --> 00:21:22,380 the language is communal, right? 545 00:21:22,380 --> 00:21:23,580 Think about it for a second. 546 00:21:23,580 --> 00:21:24,980 When God speaks about Israel, 547 00:21:24,980 --> 00:21:25,980 what does He call them? 548 00:21:25,980 --> 00:21:29,780 God's people, right? 549 00:21:29,780 --> 00:21:33,980 When you read into, the disciples go to Jesus, 550 00:21:33,980 --> 00:21:35,380 go, hey, teach us how to pray. 551 00:21:35,380 --> 00:21:37,580 And so Jesus goes, hey, I'll teach you how to pray. 552 00:21:37,580 --> 00:21:41,580 It starts like this, our Father. 553 00:21:43,180 --> 00:21:45,980 Wait, wait, He didn't say to the person that asked, 554 00:21:45,980 --> 00:21:48,980 your Father, He goes, I'll teach you how to pray. 555 00:21:48,980 --> 00:21:53,580 It's our, our, because it's communal, our Father. 556 00:21:54,580 --> 00:21:58,180 You look at the letters that are written to the church. 557 00:21:58,180 --> 00:22:00,980 You know how those letters were to be received? 558 00:22:00,980 --> 00:22:04,180 Stand up and read it to everyone. 559 00:22:04,180 --> 00:22:06,180 It wasn't an individualistic letter. 560 00:22:06,180 --> 00:22:08,380 It's a letter that went to everyone, 561 00:22:08,380 --> 00:22:09,980 that everybody got a part. 562 00:22:09,980 --> 00:22:12,580 Everybody, the idea was that God is building 563 00:22:12,580 --> 00:22:15,580 something together, that we work together. 564 00:22:15,580 --> 00:22:17,380 Why? Because at the center of it all, 565 00:22:17,380 --> 00:22:19,380 there is a God who is working together. 566 00:22:19,380 --> 00:22:22,380 We are four together. 567 00:22:22,380 --> 00:22:23,980 You see it in the early church. 568 00:22:23,980 --> 00:22:28,980 In Acts chapter two, Acts chapter two, verse 42, 569 00:22:29,980 --> 00:22:34,980 they, they, doesn't say Peter, doesn't say John, 570 00:22:35,980 --> 00:22:40,380 doesn't say Luke, it says they devoted themselves 571 00:22:40,380 --> 00:22:42,980 to the apostles, the apostles. 572 00:22:42,980 --> 00:22:45,380 It doesn't say that they went, man, I really like it 573 00:22:45,380 --> 00:22:47,380 when Thaddeus gets up and speaks. 574 00:22:47,380 --> 00:22:49,380 Thaddeus is amazing. 575 00:22:49,380 --> 00:22:50,380 It doesn't say that. 576 00:22:50,380 --> 00:22:51,980 It doesn't say when Peter gets up and speaks, 577 00:22:51,980 --> 00:22:54,180 oh man, I follow, I'm devoted to Peter. 578 00:22:54,180 --> 00:22:56,580 No, it says I'm devoted to what? 579 00:22:56,580 --> 00:23:01,580 The apostles, the apostles' communal teaching 580 00:23:01,580 --> 00:23:03,180 and to fellowship. 581 00:23:03,180 --> 00:23:05,380 Fellowship is being with people, right? 582 00:23:05,380 --> 00:23:08,380 Having in common, the breaking of bread into prayer. 583 00:23:08,380 --> 00:23:10,780 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders 584 00:23:10,780 --> 00:23:13,180 and signs performed by the apostles. 585 00:23:13,180 --> 00:23:14,980 There's that plurality again. 586 00:23:14,980 --> 00:23:18,180 All believers, all believers were together 587 00:23:18,180 --> 00:23:19,980 and they had everything in common. 588 00:23:19,980 --> 00:23:22,180 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone 589 00:23:22,180 --> 00:23:22,980 who had need. 590 00:23:22,980 --> 00:23:25,180 Every day they continued to meet together 591 00:23:25,180 --> 00:23:26,180 in the temple courts. 592 00:23:26,180 --> 00:23:28,380 They broke bread in their homes and ate together 593 00:23:28,380 --> 00:23:30,380 with glad and sincere hearts, praising God 594 00:23:30,380 --> 00:23:33,180 and enjoying the favor of all the people. 595 00:23:33,180 --> 00:23:35,980 And the Lord added to their number, 596 00:23:35,980 --> 00:23:37,380 they're not a specific church. 597 00:23:37,380 --> 00:23:39,580 It doesn't state that it was the church of Jerusalem. 598 00:23:39,580 --> 00:23:42,180 Doesn't state that it was the church of whatever street. 599 00:23:42,180 --> 00:23:44,980 It says that the Lord added to their number daily, 600 00:23:44,980 --> 00:23:46,380 those who were being saved. 601 00:23:46,380 --> 00:23:48,380 What you see all the way through scripture 602 00:23:48,380 --> 00:23:50,380 is that God is building community. 603 00:23:50,380 --> 00:23:51,980 What you see all the way through scripture 604 00:23:51,980 --> 00:23:54,180 is that what really matters to God, 605 00:23:54,180 --> 00:23:56,180 that if I am going to be for Jesus 606 00:23:56,180 --> 00:23:58,180 and I am going to be for people 607 00:23:58,180 --> 00:24:00,580 and I'm gonna create space for the Holy Spirit 608 00:24:00,580 --> 00:24:02,980 and He's gonna lead me into generosity, 609 00:24:02,980 --> 00:24:04,580 serving and giving my best, 610 00:24:04,580 --> 00:24:07,180 then it's going to be something that is done together, 611 00:24:07,180 --> 00:24:08,180 not in isolation. 612 00:24:09,580 --> 00:24:10,980 We're four together. 613 00:24:12,380 --> 00:24:14,180 We need one another. 614 00:24:14,180 --> 00:24:15,580 It was built that way. 615 00:24:15,580 --> 00:24:16,980 It was built that way. 616 00:24:18,180 --> 00:24:20,580 You follow this through to Hebrews. 617 00:24:21,780 --> 00:24:25,780 And the writer of Hebrews says this, chapter 10, verse 24. 618 00:24:25,780 --> 00:24:29,780 And let us consider how we may spur one another on 619 00:24:29,780 --> 00:24:32,180 toward love and good deeds, 620 00:24:32,180 --> 00:24:33,780 not giving up the meeting together 621 00:24:33,780 --> 00:24:35,580 as some are in the habit of doing, 622 00:24:35,580 --> 00:24:38,780 but encouraging one another and all the more 623 00:24:38,780 --> 00:24:40,580 as you see the day approaching. 624 00:24:40,580 --> 00:24:41,580 Here's what it's saying. 625 00:24:41,580 --> 00:24:43,580 It says, let us, right? 626 00:24:43,580 --> 00:24:44,580 Let us. 627 00:24:44,580 --> 00:24:47,580 That's not let you, that's all of us. 628 00:24:47,580 --> 00:24:49,380 What should all of us be doing? 629 00:24:49,380 --> 00:24:51,580 Let us consider. 630 00:24:51,580 --> 00:24:54,180 That word consider, we like that one. 631 00:24:54,180 --> 00:24:57,180 You could frame it this way, contemplate, right? 632 00:24:57,180 --> 00:24:59,780 And so when it comes often to church, 633 00:24:59,780 --> 00:25:03,980 we make it a very individualistic, easy to say, 634 00:25:03,980 --> 00:25:05,380 faith, right? 635 00:25:05,380 --> 00:25:07,580 We make it all about your faith. 636 00:25:07,580 --> 00:25:08,980 So you know what you need to do? 637 00:25:08,980 --> 00:25:11,180 You need to go have your time with God 638 00:25:11,180 --> 00:25:13,180 and you contemplate you in God. 639 00:25:13,180 --> 00:25:16,780 And so we make it and please hear me. 640 00:25:16,780 --> 00:25:18,780 There's nothing wrong with that. 641 00:25:18,780 --> 00:25:19,780 But if that's where it ends, 642 00:25:19,780 --> 00:25:22,380 we've completely missed the whole point. 643 00:25:22,380 --> 00:25:25,580 Because the idea of me spending time with God 644 00:25:25,580 --> 00:25:28,980 and me contemplating, guess what I'm supposed to contemplate? 645 00:25:28,980 --> 00:25:33,980 How to provoke you, how to bring the best out of you 646 00:25:35,780 --> 00:25:39,380 and what your love for God and your good deeds for God, 647 00:25:39,380 --> 00:25:41,180 your good works for God. 648 00:25:41,180 --> 00:25:44,980 That my life, right, that we are so together 649 00:25:44,980 --> 00:25:47,780 that even in my time with God contemplating, 650 00:25:47,780 --> 00:25:49,580 He is gonna put you on my mind. 651 00:25:49,580 --> 00:25:51,980 The Holy Spirit is gonna lead me your direction. 652 00:25:51,980 --> 00:25:54,780 I'm gonna take my best and use it for you. 653 00:25:54,780 --> 00:25:55,620 Why? 654 00:25:55,620 --> 00:25:57,180 So that it would provoke you to grow 655 00:25:57,180 --> 00:26:00,580 and for you to move forward in your love 656 00:26:00,580 --> 00:26:02,980 and good deeds with God, to be encouraged. 657 00:26:04,380 --> 00:26:05,780 But we've taken it in God, no, no, no, 658 00:26:05,780 --> 00:26:07,780 this moment's all about you, right? 659 00:26:07,780 --> 00:26:08,780 And God's going, no, no, no, 660 00:26:08,780 --> 00:26:11,180 this moment's all about what I'm building 661 00:26:11,180 --> 00:26:13,580 because you're a part of it. 662 00:26:13,580 --> 00:26:15,580 And so it's this beautiful thing that what should happen 663 00:26:15,580 --> 00:26:18,580 is that I should be provoking you to love and good works 664 00:26:18,580 --> 00:26:20,980 and you should be provoking me to love and good works. 665 00:26:20,980 --> 00:26:23,780 And together we're growing in the faith 666 00:26:23,780 --> 00:26:25,780 because that's how God designed it. 667 00:26:26,980 --> 00:26:30,380 Can I get a little personal, maybe get in your business? 668 00:26:32,580 --> 00:26:33,780 Is that okay? 669 00:26:33,780 --> 00:26:34,980 Okay, I just wanted your permission 670 00:26:34,980 --> 00:26:39,980 so you can't be mad at me later, okay? 671 00:26:40,180 --> 00:26:43,980 Some of you are living isolated right now. 672 00:26:46,380 --> 00:26:50,980 Some of you are living outside of community. 673 00:26:52,380 --> 00:26:55,780 And by community, I mean the body, the family. 674 00:26:58,780 --> 00:27:02,580 And you're frustrated because you feel alone, 675 00:27:02,580 --> 00:27:04,980 you feel isolated. 676 00:27:07,380 --> 00:27:10,780 But if I'm gonna be honest with you, it's your fault. 677 00:27:10,780 --> 00:27:12,380 And here's what I mean by that. 678 00:27:13,380 --> 00:27:15,380 Two weeks ago, someone stood here 679 00:27:15,380 --> 00:27:17,580 and talked about this thing called life groups. 680 00:27:17,580 --> 00:27:20,780 Last week, someone stood here and people stood out there 681 00:27:20,780 --> 00:27:22,980 and people stood at the park 682 00:27:22,980 --> 00:27:26,380 and they invited you into community. 683 00:27:27,580 --> 00:27:29,180 And for whatever reason, however it works, 684 00:27:29,180 --> 00:27:32,780 you just chose not to step into it. 685 00:27:32,780 --> 00:27:36,180 But according to Scripture, if you're outside of community, 686 00:27:36,180 --> 00:27:38,580 you're outside of what God's building 687 00:27:38,580 --> 00:27:41,580 because you were never meant to do this alone. 688 00:27:41,580 --> 00:27:42,780 We are better together. 689 00:27:44,180 --> 00:27:45,580 And so one of our values that we hold 690 00:27:45,580 --> 00:27:46,980 that we have to remind ourselves 691 00:27:46,980 --> 00:27:48,980 because we live in an individualistic culture 692 00:27:48,980 --> 00:27:50,380 that would love to make this, 693 00:27:50,380 --> 00:27:54,380 you guys, every single one of us has a preference on music. 694 00:27:55,780 --> 00:27:57,380 Right, it would be easy to make it about us. 695 00:27:57,380 --> 00:27:59,580 Every single one of us has a preference about 696 00:27:59,580 --> 00:28:00,580 what a life group should be. 697 00:28:00,580 --> 00:28:02,580 Can I encourage you that if you go, 698 00:28:02,580 --> 00:28:04,980 hey, I missed the life group sign up and it's full, 699 00:28:04,980 --> 00:28:07,780 like, can I encourage you to talk to our team and start one? 700 00:28:08,780 --> 00:28:11,580 Right, like don't live isolated 701 00:28:11,580 --> 00:28:13,980 because we are designed to do this life together. 702 00:28:13,980 --> 00:28:16,580 We're designed to walk together. 703 00:28:16,580 --> 00:28:19,580 Why does God want us to walk together? 704 00:28:19,580 --> 00:28:21,580 Because I don't know if you know this or not, 705 00:28:21,580 --> 00:28:23,180 He's for the future. 706 00:28:23,980 --> 00:28:26,380 Right, and so our last one that we'll cover today 707 00:28:26,380 --> 00:28:27,780 or maybe touch it next week 708 00:28:27,780 --> 00:28:31,780 is the value that we are for forward. 709 00:28:31,780 --> 00:28:32,580 For forward. 710 00:28:32,580 --> 00:28:33,380 What does that mean? 711 00:28:33,380 --> 00:28:36,180 That together, together we are moving forward, 712 00:28:36,180 --> 00:28:38,180 taking our best because we're serving, 713 00:28:38,180 --> 00:28:39,780 go all the way back because we love Jesus, right? 714 00:28:39,780 --> 00:28:42,380 So all the way down that we are taking our best, 715 00:28:42,380 --> 00:28:43,780 we're doing it together, 716 00:28:43,780 --> 00:28:45,580 and we are stepping into the future. 717 00:28:45,580 --> 00:28:46,580 We are for forward. 718 00:28:46,580 --> 00:28:48,380 What that means is this is a church. 719 00:28:48,380 --> 00:28:50,780 We won't get stuck here. 720 00:28:51,780 --> 00:28:54,380 If you look at the church history down through the past, 721 00:28:54,380 --> 00:28:55,980 what happens to the church 722 00:28:55,980 --> 00:28:58,980 as the church gets real comfortable here? 723 00:28:58,980 --> 00:29:00,780 Right, the church gets real comfortable with, 724 00:29:00,780 --> 00:29:02,980 I got my friends that I do church with, 725 00:29:02,980 --> 00:29:06,380 but when those people show up, that's not comfortable. 726 00:29:06,380 --> 00:29:08,580 Right, and so what we do is we begin to close the doors, 727 00:29:08,580 --> 00:29:10,380 tighter and tighter and tighter, 728 00:29:10,380 --> 00:29:12,580 which is why our value of four people is so important 729 00:29:12,580 --> 00:29:14,380 because we're gonna keep opening the doors 730 00:29:14,380 --> 00:29:16,980 wider and wider and wider. 731 00:29:16,980 --> 00:29:19,580 Why? Because the gospel is moving forward. 732 00:29:19,580 --> 00:29:21,980 God's future is moving forward. 733 00:29:21,980 --> 00:29:23,980 You wanna know what he writes as his future? 734 00:29:23,980 --> 00:29:25,380 I'm glad you asked. 735 00:29:25,380 --> 00:29:26,380 Ready? 736 00:29:26,380 --> 00:29:27,580 Revelation 21, 737 00:29:29,980 --> 00:29:32,580 verse two, I saw the holy city, 738 00:29:32,580 --> 00:29:34,380 the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven. 739 00:29:34,380 --> 00:29:35,180 So this is the end. 740 00:29:35,180 --> 00:29:37,180 This is God's future, right? 741 00:29:37,180 --> 00:29:40,780 I saw the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven 742 00:29:40,780 --> 00:29:42,380 from God prepared as a bride, 743 00:29:42,380 --> 00:29:44,180 beautifully dressed for her husband. 744 00:29:44,180 --> 00:29:46,580 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 745 00:29:46,580 --> 00:29:51,580 look, God's dwelling place is now among the people. 746 00:29:51,580 --> 00:29:54,980 That word would be better translated, peoples, right? 747 00:29:54,980 --> 00:29:57,780 All peoples, all ethnicity. 748 00:29:57,780 --> 00:29:59,780 And he will dwell with them. 749 00:29:59,780 --> 00:30:01,780 They will be his peoples, 750 00:30:01,780 --> 00:30:06,780 and he and God himself will be with them and be their God. 751 00:30:07,580 --> 00:30:09,380 So four together ties in, 752 00:30:09,380 --> 00:30:12,580 but that is the future that is already written. 753 00:30:13,380 --> 00:30:15,180 Okay, so that doesn't change. 754 00:30:15,180 --> 00:30:17,980 No matter what you do in your life, that doesn't change. 755 00:30:18,780 --> 00:30:21,380 No matter what kind of future you think you're gonna have, 756 00:30:21,380 --> 00:30:24,580 what you think you can create, that doesn't change. 757 00:30:24,580 --> 00:30:25,980 And so you have a choice. 758 00:30:25,980 --> 00:30:27,980 We have a choice as a church family. 759 00:30:27,980 --> 00:30:31,980 We either get in line with God's future, 760 00:30:31,980 --> 00:30:33,780 or we try and build our own future. 761 00:30:35,180 --> 00:30:38,780 But to me, if we love Jesus and we're for Jesus, 762 00:30:38,780 --> 00:30:40,380 then we're going to build the future 763 00:30:40,380 --> 00:30:43,380 that Jesus tells us is the future. 764 00:30:43,380 --> 00:30:45,980 And so what four forward does is a value 765 00:30:45,980 --> 00:30:47,980 in our church family in your life 766 00:30:47,980 --> 00:30:50,380 is it allows you to not settle for something 767 00:30:50,380 --> 00:30:52,580 that is the future that I'm creating 768 00:30:52,580 --> 00:30:54,980 versus the future that God's creating. 769 00:30:54,980 --> 00:30:58,080 Is your life today aligned with the future 770 00:30:58,080 --> 00:30:59,680 that God is creating? 771 00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:03,780 Where he is King, where he is God, 772 00:31:03,780 --> 00:31:06,080 where my life is about serving him. 773 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:07,780 Go back through all the things we've talked about, 774 00:31:07,780 --> 00:31:09,580 where my best is for him, 775 00:31:09,580 --> 00:31:12,180 where my serving, my generosity, all the talents, 776 00:31:12,180 --> 00:31:14,980 all the gifts, all the resources, 777 00:31:14,980 --> 00:31:18,080 all the relationships are all for his glory, 778 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,880 because that's what they will be forever in eternity. 779 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,680 And so is the future you're building for you, 780 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,680 your family as part of this together, 781 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:30,380 are you moving towards that? 782 00:31:32,580 --> 00:31:36,680 One last story that kind of sums it all up. 783 00:31:37,580 --> 00:31:40,780 It's one of my favorites because of how it's captured. 784 00:31:40,780 --> 00:31:45,780 John chapter 12, verse one, 785 00:31:45,780 --> 00:31:50,780 six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, 786 00:31:51,780 --> 00:31:55,980 where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 787 00:31:55,980 --> 00:31:59,180 Okay, so there's this gathering at a house, 788 00:32:00,180 --> 00:32:02,380 and in the house is Lazarus. 789 00:32:02,380 --> 00:32:03,980 Now, if you don't know who Lazarus is, 790 00:32:03,980 --> 00:32:07,980 Lazarus one chapter before was a guy who was dead, right? 791 00:32:07,980 --> 00:32:09,780 So much so that the language that was used 792 00:32:09,780 --> 00:32:13,180 is he stinketh, that's how dead he was, right? 793 00:32:14,180 --> 00:32:16,780 He's gone, he was beyond the time 794 00:32:16,780 --> 00:32:19,180 that they thought you could come back to life. 795 00:32:20,580 --> 00:32:24,580 Jesus shows up and he raises Lazarus to life. 796 00:32:24,580 --> 00:32:27,780 Don't miss the monumental moment of this, 797 00:32:27,780 --> 00:32:29,380 that this is someone who is dead, 798 00:32:29,380 --> 00:32:31,180 who is alive because of Jesus, 799 00:32:31,180 --> 00:32:33,380 and he's sitting and the next word it says, 800 00:32:33,380 --> 00:32:36,780 the next verse it says, here a dinner was given, 801 00:32:36,780 --> 00:32:40,380 so Lazarus is sitting having dinner, 802 00:32:40,380 --> 00:32:42,580 but the dinner was given in Jesus' honor, 803 00:32:42,580 --> 00:32:45,780 Martha served while Lazarus was among those reclining 804 00:32:45,780 --> 00:32:48,380 at the table with him. 805 00:32:48,380 --> 00:32:52,580 So the context we're given is that Jesus is what? 806 00:32:52,580 --> 00:32:57,580 He is together, he is together around the table with people. 807 00:32:59,780 --> 00:33:02,780 That's that four together language, he is in community. 808 00:33:02,780 --> 00:33:04,780 In those days, if you shared food, 809 00:33:04,780 --> 00:33:07,180 it was to call someone your friend. 810 00:33:08,780 --> 00:33:11,380 And if you follow this story in other places, 811 00:33:11,380 --> 00:33:14,780 it's that it's captured within the narrative. 812 00:33:14,780 --> 00:33:17,180 Like the people around the table aren't all nice, 813 00:33:17,180 --> 00:33:19,580 the people around the table aren't all people that he goes, 814 00:33:19,580 --> 00:33:21,580 oh, this is my best friend right here. 815 00:33:21,580 --> 00:33:23,980 They're like talking about how they're gonna kill him 816 00:33:23,980 --> 00:33:28,780 after this, but he's around the table, he's four together, 817 00:33:28,780 --> 00:33:31,180 and in the midst of that context, it says verse three, 818 00:33:31,180 --> 00:33:33,980 then Mary took about a pint of Purinard 819 00:33:33,980 --> 00:33:35,580 and expensive perfume. 820 00:33:36,780 --> 00:33:41,780 She poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair 821 00:33:42,780 --> 00:33:47,780 and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 822 00:33:49,580 --> 00:33:51,980 So Jesus is at the table. 823 00:33:51,980 --> 00:33:55,580 Now, to understand the context, they reclined at the table 824 00:33:55,580 --> 00:33:58,380 so their feet were away from the table, it was low, 825 00:33:58,380 --> 00:34:00,380 and you had person, person, person, 826 00:34:00,380 --> 00:34:02,580 and it went around like that. 827 00:34:02,580 --> 00:34:07,580 Mary, who if you follow Mary's story, one chapter before, 828 00:34:07,780 --> 00:34:09,780 she's a little mad at Jesus. 829 00:34:10,780 --> 00:34:12,180 She's a little disappointed 830 00:34:12,180 --> 00:34:14,780 because her brother is dead and Jesus delayed. 831 00:34:16,980 --> 00:34:19,980 Jesus raises a brother to life and in this moment, 832 00:34:19,980 --> 00:34:22,380 in this moment, because she's recognized who he is, 833 00:34:22,380 --> 00:34:25,180 in this moment, she's had a life altering interaction 834 00:34:25,180 --> 00:34:27,380 with God and it's changed everything about her. 835 00:34:27,380 --> 00:34:31,780 She comes to this meal and in the context, culturally, 836 00:34:31,780 --> 00:34:36,780 to touch the feet of someone was the role that a slave took. 837 00:34:38,580 --> 00:34:41,380 You were told to do it, you didn't volunteer to do it 838 00:34:41,380 --> 00:34:44,580 and she comes around the table and it says that she, 839 00:34:44,580 --> 00:34:47,180 she takes this perfume. 840 00:34:49,380 --> 00:34:51,980 Now, we may not think much of that because in our culture, 841 00:34:51,980 --> 00:34:53,580 you can pick up perfume anywhere. 842 00:34:53,580 --> 00:34:56,780 But this perfume was worth a year's wages. 843 00:34:58,380 --> 00:34:59,980 It was her future. 844 00:34:59,980 --> 00:35:03,380 It was her very, very best. 845 00:35:04,780 --> 00:35:05,780 And what does she do? 846 00:35:05,780 --> 00:35:09,380 She takes it and in an act of honor, 847 00:35:10,380 --> 00:35:13,980 because she is for Jesus, she puts it on his feet 848 00:35:13,980 --> 00:35:15,580 and begins to take something else 849 00:35:15,580 --> 00:35:18,580 that's very valuable to her, her hair. 850 00:35:18,580 --> 00:35:24,180 And she starts to wash his feet with the perfume and her hair. 851 00:35:25,580 --> 00:35:27,580 It's a beautiful act of love. 852 00:35:30,180 --> 00:35:31,780 But notice what happens. 853 00:35:33,780 --> 00:35:41,180 The whole house, the whole house smells, it says, 854 00:35:41,180 --> 00:35:42,780 of the perfume. 855 00:35:42,780 --> 00:35:47,380 What that's happening is the whole house smells 856 00:35:47,380 --> 00:35:48,780 of the perfume. 857 00:35:48,780 --> 00:35:51,980 What that tells me is everybody who is together 858 00:35:51,980 --> 00:35:57,180 was affected by her bringing her best to Jesus. 859 00:35:57,180 --> 00:35:59,580 That the whole house was affected. 860 00:36:00,980 --> 00:36:06,580 That you couldn't be there and not know what she had done. 861 00:36:06,580 --> 00:36:10,180 You couldn't be there and not be impacted by what she had done. 862 00:36:11,380 --> 00:36:15,180 In this beautiful moment of giving her best to Jesus, 863 00:36:15,180 --> 00:36:19,580 everybody who were four together in that space. 864 00:36:19,580 --> 00:36:20,980 But it didn't stop there. 865 00:36:22,580 --> 00:36:24,180 Verse four says, but one of his disciples, 866 00:36:24,180 --> 00:36:27,580 Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected. 867 00:36:27,580 --> 00:36:29,580 Why wasn't this perfume sold 868 00:36:29,580 --> 00:36:32,980 and the money given to the poor, it was worth a year's wages. 869 00:36:32,980 --> 00:36:36,180 He did not say this because he cared about the poor, 870 00:36:36,180 --> 00:36:37,980 but because he was a thief. 871 00:36:37,980 --> 00:36:41,580 As keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself 872 00:36:41,580 --> 00:36:42,580 to what was put into it. 873 00:36:42,580 --> 00:36:43,780 He's acting as a me. 874 00:36:43,780 --> 00:36:44,980 He's not about the community. 875 00:36:44,980 --> 00:36:46,580 He's not about what's happening. 876 00:36:46,580 --> 00:36:49,980 Notice what Jesus says, leave her alone. 877 00:36:49,980 --> 00:36:53,380 Jesus replied, it was intended that she should save 878 00:36:53,380 --> 00:36:56,380 this perfume for the day of my burial. 879 00:36:56,380 --> 00:36:57,980 You will always have the poor among you, 880 00:36:57,980 --> 00:37:00,380 but you will not always have me. 881 00:37:00,380 --> 00:37:02,780 Another place that captures the same story. 882 00:37:02,780 --> 00:37:06,380 It says that everywhere the gospel of Jesus is told, 883 00:37:06,380 --> 00:37:09,380 what she has done will be told. 884 00:37:10,580 --> 00:37:13,180 She brought her best. 885 00:37:13,180 --> 00:37:15,780 It impacted everybody else. 886 00:37:16,580 --> 00:37:19,180 And the future that God's writing, he goes, 887 00:37:19,180 --> 00:37:22,180 you didn't know that your best was a part 888 00:37:22,180 --> 00:37:23,980 of the future I'm writing. 889 00:37:23,980 --> 00:37:28,980 But let me tell you, for generations upon generations, 890 00:37:28,980 --> 00:37:33,580 and in Prescott, Arizona today, we are talking about what? 891 00:37:33,580 --> 00:37:37,780 The act of her bringing her best to Jesus. 892 00:37:37,780 --> 00:37:40,780 I wonder, church, I wonder, I wonder. 893 00:37:40,780 --> 00:37:43,780 On a Monday and an average Wednesday, 894 00:37:45,380 --> 00:37:50,380 whatever your mundane day is, when you bring your best 895 00:37:50,380 --> 00:37:55,380 for Jesus, I wonder how the house, the people 896 00:37:55,780 --> 00:37:58,180 will be impacted because you showed up and you go, 897 00:37:58,180 --> 00:38:00,980 I'm gonna give my best because he's worth it, 898 00:38:00,980 --> 00:38:03,180 because he gave his best. 899 00:38:03,180 --> 00:38:08,180 I wonder what it will be like for a family to do that, 900 00:38:08,180 --> 00:38:09,980 for generations to come. 901 00:38:09,980 --> 00:38:13,180 I wonder what the testimony will be of this group of people, 902 00:38:13,180 --> 00:38:16,780 because we chose to take our values and to do it. 903 00:38:16,780 --> 00:38:19,380 We chose to walk forward and go, I will give my best 904 00:38:19,380 --> 00:38:20,980 because he has given his best. 905 00:38:20,980 --> 00:38:23,180 I will do it in community together. 906 00:38:23,180 --> 00:38:23,980 Why? 907 00:38:23,980 --> 00:38:25,780 Because we are moving towards the future 908 00:38:25,780 --> 00:38:26,980 that God has written. 909 00:38:27,980 --> 00:38:29,580 So you have an opportunity. 910 00:38:30,380 --> 00:38:31,380 Would you stand? 911 00:38:32,580 --> 00:38:35,380 And would you take your breath and would you give 912 00:38:35,380 --> 00:38:38,580 your best together in worship 913 00:38:38,580 --> 00:38:40,180 to the future God's writing?