WEBVTT 00:00:00.850 --> 00:00:04.070 What's up, church? How we doing? Good, good, 00:00:04.129 --> 00:00:06.769 good. Welcome this morning. Welcome to everybody 00:00:06.769 --> 00:00:08.929 online, wherever you find yourself watching. 00:00:09.070 --> 00:00:11.669 We are so glad that we're here today. And this 00:00:11.669 --> 00:00:14.609 might not be a shock to you, but I am entertained 00:00:14.609 --> 00:00:18.089 by simple things. It doesn't take much, man. 00:00:18.149 --> 00:00:20.629 There's not a lot going on up here. I remember 00:00:20.629 --> 00:00:23.550 as a kid just staring at a window when it was 00:00:23.550 --> 00:00:25.410 raining or there was water on it, right? And 00:00:25.410 --> 00:00:27.089 I would watch the water droplets. And you got 00:00:27.089 --> 00:00:29.460 to find your favorite water droplet. You know, 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:31.120 and you like watch it collect the others as it 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:32.700 goes down and it's a race. You're like, man, 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:34.460 are we going to win? Are we not? It gets to the 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:36.799 bottom. You're like, yes, I won. All right. I 00:00:36.799 --> 00:00:40.439 remember as a kid watching a movie when the movie 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:43.079 was over, the DVD sign would just bounce around 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:45.259 the screen. All right. I could watch that for 00:00:45.259 --> 00:00:46.560 hours because you're like, man, is it going to 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:48.939 hit the corner? I like it's going. You're like, 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:50.000 it's going to do it. It's going to do it. And 00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:52.179 it's like, you're like, no, it didn't do it. 00:00:52.840 --> 00:00:55.700 I remember reflections. I love reflections are 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:57.240 very entertaining. I told you it doesn't take 00:00:57.240 --> 00:00:59.420 much. Remember when I first realized that when 00:00:59.420 --> 00:01:02.000 the sun reflects off of my watch, it's really 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:05.359 fun. I was at a baseball game and I saw the reflection 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:08.879 and my team was the one that was pitching. And 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:10.879 so I had this intrusive thought that was like, 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.099 man, if I reflect it right in the batter's eyes 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:18.159 right now, I can help. I did not let the intrusive 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:21.219 thought win. OK, I didn't do it. But yeah, they 00:01:21.219 --> 00:01:23.680 happen, man. Reflections are cool. The thing 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:25.079 about reflections, though, is sometimes they 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:28.400 trick you. Years ago, I was at the gym, and I 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:30.000 don't know why I felt it necessary to tell you 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:31.680 years ago. That's pretty obvious. It was years 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.359 ago I was at the gym. But I was there, and I 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:36.159 was working out, and there was this room like 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:37.599 right here where I would work out, and then there 00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:39.379 was a room around the corner that had more weights 00:01:39.379 --> 00:01:41.299 and more things in it. So one day I was like, 00:01:41.319 --> 00:01:43.180 I want to check out this other room. And I walk 00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:44.819 over to go in that other room, and I walk straight 00:01:44.819 --> 00:01:47.879 into the mirror. There was no other room, okay? 00:01:47.939 --> 00:01:51.819 It was reflecting the weights and everything 00:01:51.819 --> 00:01:56.689 else that was there. Listen, a mirror's job is 00:01:56.689 --> 00:01:59.290 to reflect. It's not about the mirror. It's about 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:02.750 what it reflects. So the question I want to ask 00:02:02.750 --> 00:02:05.010 today of us is this. If your life is a mirror, 00:02:05.189 --> 00:02:10.210 what are you reflecting? If your life is a mirror, 00:02:10.289 --> 00:02:12.590 what are you reflecting to the world around you? 00:02:12.629 --> 00:02:14.509 Because the mirror's job, it's not about the 00:02:14.509 --> 00:02:17.509 mirror. It's about reflecting. What is it that 00:02:17.509 --> 00:02:20.110 you reflect? We're in Galatians, like Pastor 00:02:20.110 --> 00:02:22.729 David said, we're in Galatians and we've been 00:02:22.729 --> 00:02:24.930 going through this book. We only have two weeks 00:02:24.930 --> 00:02:27.030 left of going through Galatians. And the thing 00:02:27.030 --> 00:02:29.530 about the Galatian church is that they are living 00:02:29.530 --> 00:02:32.430 after Jesus was already here on the earth. They 00:02:32.430 --> 00:02:34.310 are living in a world where Jesus already showed 00:02:34.310 --> 00:02:37.169 up and already said things that now change the 00:02:37.169 --> 00:02:38.590 course of how they're supposed to live, right? 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:40.590 They grew up in this Jewish culture where it 00:02:40.590 --> 00:02:42.430 was like, man, there's this old law, but then 00:02:42.430 --> 00:02:45.120 Jesus came and he changed this. And now they're 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:46.740 having to live by what Jesus says. So they're 00:02:46.740 --> 00:02:48.719 living in a world where Jesus already said things 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:52.259 like he did in John 13, 34, where Jesus said, 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:55.879 a new command I give you. Not the old law that 00:02:55.879 --> 00:02:57.419 we used to do. Here's a new law. It's coming 00:02:57.419 --> 00:03:01.000 to you. Ready? Love one another. As I have loved 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:05.439 you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone 00:03:05.439 --> 00:03:07.060 will know that you are my disciples if you love 00:03:07.060 --> 00:03:09.569 one another. This is the identifying factor. 00:03:09.610 --> 00:03:11.610 It's following the new law of Christ, which is 00:03:11.610 --> 00:03:14.210 loving others, right? But this Galatian church, 00:03:14.370 --> 00:03:18.069 they insisted that people would know them by 00:03:18.069 --> 00:03:20.389 their religiosity, know them by the religious 00:03:20.389 --> 00:03:23.430 acts that they did. They insisted, man, people 00:03:23.430 --> 00:03:25.150 will know us not by our love, but will know us 00:03:25.150 --> 00:03:27.569 by our Jewishness. If we uphold the law and do 00:03:27.569 --> 00:03:29.030 all the right things that we're supposed to do 00:03:29.030 --> 00:03:31.770 according to Judaism, then we'll be good. And 00:03:31.770 --> 00:03:33.789 so Paul is writing this letter of correction 00:03:33.789 --> 00:03:36.759 to them going, hey, you missed it. It's not about 00:03:36.759 --> 00:03:38.360 the old law, it's about the new law, and the 00:03:38.360 --> 00:03:40.759 new law is following what Jesus said in the law 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:44.319 of love. I have an observation when it comes 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:46.560 to church, when it comes to religion, and this 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.259 isn't backed up by theologians, this isn't backed 00:03:49.259 --> 00:03:51.199 up by science, this is just my theory here, is 00:03:51.199 --> 00:03:53.740 I think the more religious you get, the more 00:03:53.740 --> 00:03:57.080 you focus on the individual, but the more real 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:00.500 you get, the more you focus on community. It's 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:02.259 kind of the difference between an individual 00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:04.330 sport or a team sport. All right, when you're 00:04:04.330 --> 00:04:06.389 on a team, it's like, man, everything I do has 00:04:06.389 --> 00:04:07.930 to do with the team. So I wanna make sure that 00:04:07.930 --> 00:04:09.349 I support the team. I wanna make sure that my 00:04:09.349 --> 00:04:12.169 decisions are ones that are affecting the team 00:04:12.169 --> 00:04:13.710 in a positive way. I wanna make sure I'm there 00:04:13.710 --> 00:04:16.149 for other people. It's not all about me. But 00:04:16.149 --> 00:04:18.029 when it's an individual sport, it's like, I got 00:04:18.029 --> 00:04:19.930 a goal, I'm heading towards it. I don't care, 00:04:20.009 --> 00:04:23.029 because it's all about me. Listen, church, you 00:04:23.029 --> 00:04:25.269 need to know that Christianity is a team sport. 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:28.980 Christianity is a team sport. It's one in which 00:04:28.980 --> 00:04:32.060 we come alongside one another when we're going 00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:33.740 through things. We say, yeah, I'm there for you. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:39.279 It's said this way in Galatians chapter six, 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:40.980 verse one. He says this, brothers and sisters, 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:45.639 if someone is caught in a sin, if someone is 00:04:45.639 --> 00:04:48.720 doing something they shouldn't, you who live 00:04:48.720 --> 00:04:51.459 by the spirit should restore that person gently, 00:04:51.480 --> 00:04:55.620 but watch yourself so you also, or else you also 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:59.430 may be tempted. Sin will happen. What he's saying 00:04:59.430 --> 00:05:01.009 is sin is going to happen and you're going to 00:05:01.009 --> 00:05:03.769 need a team. Sin is going to happen and you're 00:05:03.769 --> 00:05:06.689 going to need a team around you. Because what 00:05:06.689 --> 00:05:09.029 teammates do is teammates pick each other up. 00:05:10.110 --> 00:05:11.610 And they don't just pick each other up, they 00:05:11.610 --> 00:05:15.189 pick each other up gently. Some of you already 00:05:15.189 --> 00:05:17.329 know this. Some of you have been counting down, 00:05:17.430 --> 00:05:20.850 you know, but in 19 days, college football is 00:05:20.850 --> 00:05:24.509 back. And in 32 days, the NFL is back, right? 00:05:25.129 --> 00:05:26.810 You guys are like, heck yeah, baby, let's go, 00:05:26.949 --> 00:05:29.209 right? Some of you are about to embark on a journey 00:05:29.209 --> 00:05:31.970 that leads in utter disappointment, right? You're 00:05:31.970 --> 00:05:33.949 like, you're gonna follow that team. I'm preparing 00:05:33.949 --> 00:05:36.009 myself, I already know. I don't care though, 00:05:36.110 --> 00:05:38.089 even if there's no disappointment, go Niners, 00:05:38.129 --> 00:05:39.790 okay? I'm saying it, go Niners, there we go. 00:05:40.250 --> 00:05:42.069 Yes, there's a Christian in here, I heard you. 00:05:42.170 --> 00:05:45.110 That's awesome. Praise the Lord, I'm glad you're 00:05:45.110 --> 00:05:47.370 here today. All right, someone last night, when 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:49.129 I said that, they yelled, they're like, go Cardinals. 00:05:49.230 --> 00:05:51.029 And I was like, wow, you really are asking God 00:05:51.029 --> 00:05:53.720 for big things, that's amazing. A lot of faith 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:56.939 in this man, all right? All right, but here's 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:58.399 the thing about football. When you watch football, 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:00.759 if you see the quarterback gets knocked down 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:03.620 because the defense is trying to knock the quarterback 00:06:03.620 --> 00:06:06.540 down, I always love watching the linemen, all 00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:09.579 right? The biggest, strongest, meanest guys on 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:12.259 the field. The way that they go over and they 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:14.939 pick up their quarterback so gently, right? They're 00:06:14.939 --> 00:06:16.540 just like, oh my gosh, you're gonna kiss him? 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:19.370 This is so sweet, what are you doing? But it's 00:06:19.370 --> 00:06:20.990 so gentle and they pick him up and they're like, 00:06:21.029 --> 00:06:22.430 I'm going to care for you. I'm going to pick 00:06:22.430 --> 00:06:25.129 you up. See, I think we need to start acting 00:06:25.129 --> 00:06:26.610 like linemen when it comes to the church and 00:06:26.610 --> 00:06:28.550 we need to start gently picking each other up. 00:06:29.350 --> 00:06:31.509 But I think our first response in the church 00:06:31.509 --> 00:06:33.389 is not that, right? If we're honest, the church 00:06:33.389 --> 00:06:35.829 oftentimes is known for condemnation, not gentleness. 00:06:37.029 --> 00:06:40.050 Oh, shouldn't have done that. They deserve it. 00:06:40.069 --> 00:06:42.069 They shouldn't have done that. Oh, if you're 00:06:42.069 --> 00:06:43.269 going to act that way, you don't belong in a 00:06:43.269 --> 00:06:45.910 church. Get out of here. Oh, who are you? You 00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:48.120 shouldn't be doing that. Why do we come down 00:06:48.120 --> 00:06:51.519 with condemnation? And even if we do restore 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:53.720 someone, right, Paul's saying, hey, restore them 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:55.439 gently. If we do, usually it's from a distance. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:58.500 Usually it's like, oh yeah, you can come in, 00:06:58.560 --> 00:07:00.180 that's fine, but just stay away from me because 00:07:00.180 --> 00:07:03.560 you're unclean. I know what you've done. What 00:07:03.560 --> 00:07:04.980 Paul is saying here is he's saying, hey, you 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:07.220 restore them closely. All right, how do I know 00:07:07.220 --> 00:07:09.100 that he's saying closely? Because he says, if 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:12.019 you're gonna walk with them, be careful that 00:07:12.019 --> 00:07:13.639 you don't fall into the temptation that they 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:16.519 fell into. How would you fall into it if you 00:07:16.519 --> 00:07:18.720 weren't walking closely with them? It's not from 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.259 a distance. It's walking closely with somebody. 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:25.600 If we are living in the spirit, which is what 00:07:25.600 --> 00:07:27.459 we talked about last week is living in the spirit, 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:30.220 then we produce something called the fruit of 00:07:30.220 --> 00:07:31.420 the spirit. And one of the fruit of the spirit 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:34.939 is gentleness. Gentleness is a fruit of the spirit. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:38.439 But we like doling out justice instead of gentleness. 00:07:39.480 --> 00:07:41.060 Oh, we're gonna fight for justice. That's just 00:07:41.060 --> 00:07:43.899 not right. That's what we like to fight for. 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:47.160 It's the difference between myself and my wife. 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:49.480 For me, if someone makes a mistake, if someone 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:51.500 does something, I love to cancel someone. I love 00:07:51.500 --> 00:07:54.660 a good cancel. You're done. Cut them off. Cancel 00:07:54.660 --> 00:07:58.339 them. They messed up. My wife is the other side. 00:07:58.420 --> 00:07:59.920 She's like, man, why don't we just love them 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:01.680 and we act with gentleness and we restore them 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:03.139 and we do all these things. I'm like, what? You're 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:06.139 acting like Jesus over there? Come on. She's 00:08:06.139 --> 00:08:08.180 like, yeah, that's the point. That's kind of 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:12.079 what it's about. We need to restore people gently. 00:08:12.139 --> 00:08:14.790 What does that look like? Verse two. It says 00:08:14.790 --> 00:08:18.389 this, carry each other's burdens and in this 00:08:18.389 --> 00:08:22.610 way, you will fulfill the law of Christ. When 00:08:22.610 --> 00:08:25.430 you restore someone gently, you carry their burdens. 00:08:25.709 --> 00:08:28.129 You carry the oppressive load that they're feeling, 00:08:28.269 --> 00:08:30.509 the thing that drew them away, the difficulty 00:08:30.509 --> 00:08:32.549 that they're going through, the pain in their 00:08:32.549 --> 00:08:34.149 life. You come alongside and say, hey, I wanna 00:08:34.149 --> 00:08:37.169 carry this burden with you. And I remember about 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:39.350 11 years ago, I found myself in a place where 00:08:39.350 --> 00:08:40.750 I didn't have a job. I didn't have any way to 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:43.679 provide for my family. And I had a friend named 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:47.399 John Fuller who said, hey, I know you won't just 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:49.279 take money if I give it to you, but I have yard 00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:51.159 work that needs to be done. Would you come over 00:08:51.159 --> 00:08:53.299 and do some yard work for me? And I'm like, yeah, 00:08:53.379 --> 00:08:55.740 I can work for it. So I go over to his house 00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:57.720 and he takes me out in the yard and he shows 00:08:57.720 --> 00:08:59.419 me and he says, hey, the leaves are just out 00:08:59.419 --> 00:09:01.620 of control. Can you pick up the leaves? And I 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:04.240 look over there and I'm like, the 12 leaves that 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:06.059 are on the ground over there? And he's like, 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:07.580 ah, it's just terrible, man. And this bush over 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:09.600 here, it needs to be trimmed. It's just, it's 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:11.360 out of control. And I'm like, you mean the perfectly 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:13.740 manicured bush with like one branch out of place? 00:09:14.759 --> 00:09:17.159 He's like, and then the weeds. Weeds are, oh 00:09:17.159 --> 00:09:20.740 man, like weed. I'm like, the 10 weeds I see? 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.519 Like, what is happening? He goes, this should 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:24.720 take you about four hours. I have to leave and 00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:27.679 I'll be back to pay you after four hours. He 00:09:27.679 --> 00:09:29.659 didn't need yard work done, but he was bearing 00:09:29.659 --> 00:09:31.639 my burdens. He's going, hey, I know what you're 00:09:31.639 --> 00:09:33.799 going through. I know this is a difficult time 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:36.139 for you. And I wanna come alongside you because 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:38.059 this is what community does. This is what teammates 00:09:38.059 --> 00:09:40.600 do. This is what the church does is we come alongside 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:42.679 one another. We bear each other's burdens. We 00:09:42.679 --> 00:09:44.960 walk with one another. Why do we do this? Because 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:48.059 this is how we fulfill the law of Christ. What 00:09:48.059 --> 00:09:52.259 is Christ's law? That we would love. This is 00:09:52.259 --> 00:09:56.820 how we fulfill his law. They will know you by 00:09:56.820 --> 00:10:00.340 your love. That's what being a teammate is about. 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:03.659 And here's why being a teammate is so important. 00:10:04.859 --> 00:10:08.320 because you're gonna need a teammate. See, I 00:10:08.320 --> 00:10:09.580 think a lot of times we think, yeah, I'll be 00:10:09.580 --> 00:10:10.980 the teammate, I'll be the one that's supporting 00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:12.860 everyone else. You're gonna find yourself in 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:15.200 a place where you're gonna need a teammate, because 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.039 you're a sinner too. You're a sinner saved by 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:19.559 grace. You're gonna sin, you're gonna fall, you're 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:21.039 gonna have brokenness, you're gonna have things 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:22.740 happen in your life, and you're gonna need a 00:10:22.740 --> 00:10:25.679 teammate to come alongside you in that moment. 00:10:26.539 --> 00:10:28.759 All right, you're no better than anyone else. 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:30.700 You are a sinner too. Verse three says this, 00:10:30.779 --> 00:10:33.379 if anyone thinks that they are something when 00:10:33.379 --> 00:10:37.700 they're not, They deceive themselves. They lie 00:10:37.700 --> 00:10:39.700 to themselves. That's a lie that you tell yourself 00:10:39.700 --> 00:10:41.500 when you think you're something when you're not. 00:10:41.539 --> 00:10:43.139 But the truth is, is that when we start doing 00:10:43.139 --> 00:10:45.860 well in something, when things start going good, 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:49.620 we're like, I got this. I'm good. I think I'm 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:52.200 a little better than I am. And we're lying to 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:55.139 ourselves. About five years ago, my friend and 00:10:55.139 --> 00:10:57.759 I got really into playing cornhole in the backyard. 00:10:58.419 --> 00:10:59.980 We were really good. Corn, you know the game? 00:11:00.019 --> 00:11:01.659 You throw the... beanbags and you make it on 00:11:01.659 --> 00:11:03.620 the board and in the hole, right? And we got 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:05.320 real good. And so I'm like, man, we're so good 00:11:05.320 --> 00:11:07.679 that we're going to enter into a tournament. 00:11:08.480 --> 00:11:12.240 And so we entered into a tournament. You already 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:13.700 know your boy won the tournament. All right, 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:15.159 we won it. All right, we just straight up, we 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:16.759 dominated. It was awesome. We were awesome. And 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:17.720 so we're like, we're going to go for another 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:19.600 one. So we signed up for another tournament. 00:11:20.460 --> 00:11:22.279 We won that one too. All right, some of you are 00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:24.299 waiting for it. Okay, here it comes. So then 00:11:24.299 --> 00:11:26.509 we signed up for the next tournament. And we 00:11:26.509 --> 00:11:27.909 go through the first couple games, and we win, 00:11:27.970 --> 00:11:29.509 and then we get this next game that we're going 00:11:29.509 --> 00:11:31.009 to play, this next partner that we have to go 00:11:31.009 --> 00:11:33.990 against. And we're kind of small talking, and 00:11:33.990 --> 00:11:35.789 they say, hey, do you guys play here often? And 00:11:35.789 --> 00:11:36.909 we're like, no, this is our first time. What 00:11:36.909 --> 00:11:39.230 about you? So we're pretty much here every week 00:11:39.230 --> 00:11:41.169 except for last week. And I said, well, where 00:11:41.169 --> 00:11:42.950 were you last week? They said, we were playing 00:11:42.950 --> 00:11:44.929 in another tournament. I said, well, where was 00:11:44.929 --> 00:11:50.450 that? And they said, on ESPN. And I was like, 00:11:50.450 --> 00:11:53.590 like the sports network on TV, ESPN? And they're 00:11:53.590 --> 00:11:55.269 like, yeah. And I'm like, oh, this will be fun, 00:11:55.289 --> 00:11:58.210 right? Listen, we got absolutely crushed, all 00:11:58.210 --> 00:12:00.590 right? We got crushed. And I was like, man, this 00:12:00.590 --> 00:12:02.049 is crazy because we thought that we were doing 00:12:02.049 --> 00:12:03.730 good. And we thought that we were something when 00:12:03.730 --> 00:12:05.250 we were not. And the truth is, that's exactly 00:12:05.250 --> 00:12:07.370 what happens in my spiritual life. I'm praising 00:12:07.370 --> 00:12:10.210 you, Jesus. I'm reading my Bible. I'm praying. 00:12:10.289 --> 00:12:12.909 I'm in a good place with you, God. So I'm awesome. 00:12:13.350 --> 00:12:14.990 And then the next thing I know, I get hit with 00:12:14.990 --> 00:12:18.370 temptation that I fall right into. I go, man, 00:12:18.509 --> 00:12:21.580 I thought I was something when I'm not. He's 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:23.419 saying, don't deceive yourself. Don't lie to 00:12:23.419 --> 00:12:25.460 yourself and think that you're something when 00:12:25.460 --> 00:12:29.419 you're not. Instead, verse four, each one of 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:33.419 you should test your own actions. Then they can 00:12:33.419 --> 00:12:35.980 take pride in themselves alone without comparing 00:12:35.980 --> 00:12:39.139 themselves to someone else. For each one should 00:12:39.139 --> 00:12:42.620 carry their own load. Nevertheless, the one who 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:44.840 receives instruction in the word should share 00:12:44.840 --> 00:12:47.070 all good things with their instructor. All right, 00:12:47.070 --> 00:12:49.210 what Paul is saying here, if you have more than 00:12:49.210 --> 00:12:51.149 one kid, you know exactly what he's saying. He's 00:12:51.149 --> 00:12:54.049 saying this, worry about yourself. Worry about 00:12:54.049 --> 00:12:57.070 yourself. I don't care if it's not fair. I don't 00:12:57.070 --> 00:13:01.149 care what they did. Worry about yourself. Worry 00:13:01.149 --> 00:13:02.929 about yourself. But a lot of times we like to 00:13:02.929 --> 00:13:06.009 compare to everyone else. And we like to judge 00:13:06.009 --> 00:13:07.830 other people's lives going, man, if I was in 00:13:07.830 --> 00:13:10.169 that situation, I would have done this because 00:13:10.169 --> 00:13:13.440 I'm so much better. We like to compare to what 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:15.320 everyone else is doing. The truth is you don't 00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:16.639 know their life. You don't know what's actually 00:13:16.639 --> 00:13:19.659 going on. You have no clue what's going on in 00:13:19.659 --> 00:13:23.480 someone else's life. I hate to even admit this. 00:13:23.539 --> 00:13:25.120 I was at the grocery store the other day and 00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:27.620 I was in the parking lot and I saw this guy drive 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:30.279 in. I saw through the window, through his windshield, 00:13:30.340 --> 00:13:34.320 very athletic, very built guy, good shape. And 00:13:34.320 --> 00:13:36.279 he pulls in and he pulls right into the handicapped 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:38.340 spot. And I'm going, what is this guy doing? 00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:40.840 What a jerk. Why would he take up this spot? 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:42.929 I need to tell him. I need to give him a piece 00:13:42.929 --> 00:13:44.269 of my mind and let him know what's wrong with 00:13:44.269 --> 00:13:46.970 this situation. And as I'm walking towards it, 00:13:47.029 --> 00:13:50.610 he opens the door and he sets out his wheelchair 00:13:50.610 --> 00:13:52.250 and he slides into his wheelchair and he rolls 00:13:52.250 --> 00:13:53.750 into the store and I'm sitting there going, man, 00:13:53.769 --> 00:13:57.889 I'm such an idiot. Because I saw a little piece 00:13:57.889 --> 00:13:59.789 of his life and I wanted to make a bunch of assumptions 00:13:59.789 --> 00:14:03.009 and judge everything in his life. And that's 00:14:03.009 --> 00:14:05.350 what we do, man. We look at someone else's life 00:14:05.350 --> 00:14:07.070 and we go, man, I'm gonna compare myself to you 00:14:07.070 --> 00:14:09.029 and I'm gonna judge you. And when the truth is, 00:14:09.049 --> 00:14:10.450 is that's comparing apples to oranges because 00:14:10.450 --> 00:14:12.730 you don't know their life. You don't know what 00:14:12.730 --> 00:14:14.809 they're going through. You don't know the situations. 00:14:16.309 --> 00:14:18.110 You don't know how hard it is for them. And listen, 00:14:18.169 --> 00:14:19.809 what he's saying is he's saying, hey, worry about 00:14:19.809 --> 00:14:23.169 yourself. Quit worrying about everyone else. 00:14:23.190 --> 00:14:26.169 Worry about yourself. You can't compare to someone 00:14:26.169 --> 00:14:29.190 else. And some of you have caught on already, 00:14:29.309 --> 00:14:31.690 right? You're reading through this passage. And 00:14:31.690 --> 00:14:33.269 you're going, wait a second, verse two, it said, 00:14:33.289 --> 00:14:36.429 bear each other's burdens. But this one says, 00:14:36.570 --> 00:14:39.429 everyone should carry their own load. And you're 00:14:39.429 --> 00:14:40.889 like, is the Bible contradicting itself? Is it 00:14:40.889 --> 00:14:42.690 wrong? Do we cancel it? Nope, nope, hold on, 00:14:42.730 --> 00:14:46.090 hold on. Okay, in verse two, the word that's 00:14:46.090 --> 00:14:49.769 used for this, the word means a heavy oppressive 00:14:49.769 --> 00:14:52.230 load. And when somebody is going through a heavy 00:14:52.230 --> 00:14:53.769 oppressive load, when someone is dealing with 00:14:53.769 --> 00:14:56.549 an issue, yes, we are to come alongside them. 00:14:57.330 --> 00:14:59.570 But the word that is used in verse five is a 00:14:59.570 --> 00:15:02.309 soldier's pack or an individual's responsibility. 00:15:04.090 --> 00:15:06.590 There's a difference here. And what he's saying 00:15:06.590 --> 00:15:09.549 is this, is this load is meant for them. What 00:15:09.549 --> 00:15:11.330 he's saying is so many of you are so into the 00:15:11.330 --> 00:15:15.029 gossip around you. You love the drama. And so 00:15:15.029 --> 00:15:17.129 you go around collecting the problems of everything 00:15:17.129 --> 00:15:19.470 around you and you start dealing with things 00:15:19.470 --> 00:15:22.370 that you were never meant to deal with. Well, 00:15:22.389 --> 00:15:23.409 I'm gonna say that again because some of you 00:15:23.409 --> 00:15:25.299 need to write it down. You need to highlight 00:15:25.299 --> 00:15:26.919 it, you need to circle it, and you need to tattoo 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:29.320 it on your forehead, all right? Listen to me, 00:15:29.379 --> 00:15:31.340 some of you are so into the gossip around you. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:34.259 You love the drama, and so you go around collecting 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:37.639 problems that you were never meant to deal with. 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:43.159 Worry about yourself. Worry about yourself. That's 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:44.940 not for you to take on. It's not for you to judge 00:15:44.940 --> 00:15:46.500 other people. It's not for you to take on their 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:49.440 issues. You were never meant to deal with those. 00:15:50.240 --> 00:15:54.279 Worry about yourself. Let me ask you this. Have 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:56.100 you ever seen a scary mirror before? You ever 00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:58.539 looked at it, seen something scary? That happens 00:15:58.539 --> 00:16:00.360 to me sometimes. It's kind of a lot. I look in 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:02.840 the mirror and I'm like, who is that old man 00:16:02.840 --> 00:16:05.580 looking back at me right now? I'm like, that 00:16:05.580 --> 00:16:07.600 guy's got a lot of wrinkles. That guy's gray. 00:16:08.019 --> 00:16:10.379 Guy lost his hair a long time ago. It's kind 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:14.059 of scary. Here's the thing. A mirror's job is 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:17.360 to reflect whatever it's pointing at. That's 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:19.620 its job. It's just to reflect whatever it is 00:16:19.620 --> 00:16:20.940 that it's pointing at. Listen, what are you pointing 00:16:20.940 --> 00:16:24.629 at? Are you pointing at gossip? Are you pointing 00:16:24.629 --> 00:16:28.470 at sin? Are you pointing at lies? Are you pointing 00:16:28.470 --> 00:16:32.009 at yourself? Or are you pointing at Jesus? Because 00:16:32.009 --> 00:16:33.750 what you're pointing at is what you will reflect. 00:16:35.990 --> 00:16:37.470 What is it that you are pointing at? Because 00:16:37.470 --> 00:16:39.190 whatever you are pointing at, that's what will 00:16:39.190 --> 00:16:43.529 happen. That's what you will reflect. Verse seven 00:16:43.529 --> 00:16:47.309 says this, do not be deceived. Again, don't lie 00:16:47.309 --> 00:16:49.309 to yourself. Do not be deceived. God cannot be 00:16:49.309 --> 00:16:53.870 mocked. A man reaps what he sows. What you sow 00:16:53.870 --> 00:16:57.529 is what you will reap. And you're not gonna fool 00:16:57.529 --> 00:16:59.230 God. What he's saying is it doesn't matter how 00:16:59.230 --> 00:17:02.590 hard you fake it, you're not fooling God. It 00:17:02.590 --> 00:17:04.630 doesn't matter how hard you fake it, how good 00:17:04.630 --> 00:17:08.150 you look on the outside, God knows what's truly 00:17:08.150 --> 00:17:10.950 going on on the inside. About a year and a half 00:17:10.950 --> 00:17:13.009 ago, my wife and I started praying that God would 00:17:13.009 --> 00:17:16.289 provide for us a 15 -passenger van. We have five 00:17:16.289 --> 00:17:18.950 kids. We're inviting tons of friends to church. 00:17:19.710 --> 00:17:21.470 sports, all the things that we do, it's usually 00:17:21.470 --> 00:17:23.369 we have triple buckle going on in the back seat. 00:17:23.990 --> 00:17:25.529 So we're like, man, we need this. God, would 00:17:25.529 --> 00:17:28.829 you provide? And we saw God do something amazing. 00:17:28.890 --> 00:17:30.630 We saw God provide it in a way that we could 00:17:30.630 --> 00:17:32.750 never have afforded. And he gave us a price that 00:17:32.750 --> 00:17:34.730 was only from God. And we were able to buy this 00:17:34.730 --> 00:17:36.869 15 passenger van and we were so blessed by it. 00:17:36.890 --> 00:17:38.930 And one of the things that was so amazing when 00:17:38.930 --> 00:17:41.309 we bought this is the tires, the tread on the 00:17:41.309 --> 00:17:42.849 tires were like perfect. And we're like, this 00:17:42.849 --> 00:17:44.589 is amazing. We don't need to replace these tires 00:17:44.589 --> 00:17:46.329 because they're perfect. The tread is really 00:17:46.329 --> 00:17:49.380 good. It looks amazing. And so we were able to 00:17:49.380 --> 00:17:50.700 drive it all summer, and we drove it to many 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:52.259 different places. And one of the trips that we 00:17:52.259 --> 00:17:54.420 went on was to California. And as we were driving 00:17:54.420 --> 00:17:58.440 it to California, our tire absolutely blew. And 00:17:58.440 --> 00:18:00.440 when I say blow, I mean like for real, for real. 00:18:00.460 --> 00:18:02.079 It looked like this, okay? This is what it was. 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:06.079 Like it really blew, okay? I didn't even know 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:08.539 tires could do that, right? This thing blew, 00:18:08.880 --> 00:18:10.559 and we're on the way. We're outside of this beautiful 00:18:10.559 --> 00:18:12.700 little city called Needles. I don't know if you've 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:15.539 ever been to Needles before. Why are you laughing? 00:18:16.940 --> 00:18:18.400 It's a beautiful little place. I don't know if 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:20.660 you're from there. If you're from there, I am 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:23.799 sorry. Okay, I am sorry. But you're probably 00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:25.140 closer to the Lord because you know what hell 00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:27.640 is like. I'm just saying, I'm just saying. Come 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:28.980 on, don't laugh at that. That's dumb. That's 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:31.920 not nice. That's not nice. It was 110 degrees. 00:18:32.059 --> 00:18:33.519 We're on the side of the freeway. We're waiting 00:18:33.519 --> 00:18:35.779 for this tow truck to pick us up and they take 00:18:35.779 --> 00:18:38.440 us to this tire place and we get there. And as 00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:40.519 we're there, we're just like, man, what is going 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:42.380 on? The tread looked amazing. And the tire guy, 00:18:42.480 --> 00:18:43.940 he looks at it and he gets into it and he goes, 00:18:43.940 --> 00:18:45.539 the problem is, is yes, it looked great on the 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:47.680 outside, but the age of the tire shows that on 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:49.839 the inside, it was rotting on the inside and 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:51.640 it was baking on the inside and it was ready 00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:53.960 to blow at any moment. And I think the truth 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:55.740 is that a lot of us are like that. The tread 00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:57.799 looks great, and we have everyone faked out in 00:18:57.799 --> 00:18:59.539 our life because we act a certain way, and we 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:01.619 look the right part when we come to church, and 00:19:01.619 --> 00:19:03.059 we show up when we're supposed to, and everything 00:19:03.059 --> 00:19:04.680 looks good on the outside, but on the inside, 00:19:04.799 --> 00:19:06.920 you are baking, you are broken, you are rotten, 00:19:06.940 --> 00:19:10.319 and you are ready to explode. And the crazy thing 00:19:10.319 --> 00:19:12.180 is we go to people to confirm our ideas. Man, 00:19:12.220 --> 00:19:13.900 we took it to a tire place when we first got 00:19:13.900 --> 00:19:15.359 it, and the guy just looked at it from afar, 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:16.819 and he goes, the tread looks great, you're good. 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:19.079 We're like, we got an expert opinion, we're good. 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:21.380 We come to church around church people and we 00:19:21.380 --> 00:19:23.019 go around religious people that said, I look 00:19:23.019 --> 00:19:27.339 good. I'm fine. But you're not fooling God because 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:29.180 on the inside, you are rotting. On the inside, 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.119 you are broken. It is not about how well you 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.559 can fake it. Some of you can fake it really well. 00:19:33.640 --> 00:19:35.200 You can play the part. You can look a certain 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:36.960 way. You can act a certain way. You can show 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.680 up and wear the right clothes. And God's going, 00:19:39.740 --> 00:19:42.279 you're not fooling me. You're not fooling me. 00:19:43.440 --> 00:19:47.380 Verse eight, whoever sows to please their flesh. 00:19:48.300 --> 00:19:51.180 from the flesh will reap destruction. Whoever 00:19:51.180 --> 00:19:54.359 sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:57.259 reap eternal life. Some of you are putting in 00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:59.339 a bunch of bad stuff, expecting good to come 00:19:59.339 --> 00:20:03.480 out. You ever made a healthy shake before? Put 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:05.259 in a bunch of nasty stuff and expect it to taste 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:07.240 good? You know what I'm saying? You put in all 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:09.359 the gross stuff and you're like, oh, it's gonna 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:10.980 taste good. Some of you out there still believe 00:20:10.980 --> 00:20:12.420 that. And you're like, no, I actually make a 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:15.259 pretty good one. No, you don't, it's nasty. Unless 00:20:15.259 --> 00:20:16.859 you put ice cream in it, that thing's nasty. 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:18.700 I'm telling you right now. You're lying to yourself. 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:22.440 But we do that with our lives, man. We want to 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:24.880 sew in a bunch of bad stuff and we expect good 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:28.559 to come out of it. We sew in pornography in our 00:20:28.559 --> 00:20:33.200 life and expect true fulfillment. We sew in anger 00:20:33.200 --> 00:20:36.380 and we expect healthy relationships. We sew in 00:20:36.380 --> 00:20:39.759 alcohol and we expect peace. We start sewing 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:42.079 in gossip, expecting a drama -free life. It's 00:20:42.079 --> 00:20:47.140 not happening. Are we so in all these self -centered 00:20:47.140 --> 00:20:49.660 things and we expect to start loving others? 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:51.819 It's not gonna happen because what you're doing 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:54.640 is you're sowing in the flesh, expecting something 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:56.440 else. And I'm telling you right now, when you 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:58.779 sow from the flesh, you will reap from the flesh. 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:04.000 Paul says this instead, sow to please the spirit. 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:08.279 Instead, sow to please the spirit. What does 00:21:08.279 --> 00:21:10.160 that mean? What does that look like? First is 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:12.609 this, if you're taking notes. It's prioritizing 00:21:12.609 --> 00:21:17.309 time with God. It's prioritizing time with God. 00:21:18.390 --> 00:21:20.210 And here's the thing about time with God. I understand 00:21:20.210 --> 00:21:22.410 this. You don't have time. I know you don't because 00:21:22.410 --> 00:21:25.630 I don't have time. I got five kids. I got two 00:21:25.630 --> 00:21:27.230 jobs. I got so many things going on. I don't 00:21:27.230 --> 00:21:31.309 have time. That's why you can't try to find time. 00:21:31.390 --> 00:21:34.119 You have to make time. Because that's what a 00:21:34.119 --> 00:21:36.099 priority is. When you prioritize something, you 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:38.220 say, I don't care what I have to do. I'm going 00:21:38.220 --> 00:21:40.079 to make it a priority to have time with God. 00:21:40.140 --> 00:21:41.779 I'm going to make it a priority to get into God's 00:21:41.779 --> 00:21:43.619 word. I'm going to make it a priority to spend 00:21:43.619 --> 00:21:45.660 time in prayer. I'm going to make it a priority 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:47.839 to think about God and invite him into my day. 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:49.440 Because if you don't prioritize your time with 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:51.000 God, guess what? God's not going to be showing 00:21:51.000 --> 00:21:53.099 up in your day because you never invited him 00:21:53.099 --> 00:21:56.019 in. And some of you are like, how come I don't 00:21:56.019 --> 00:21:57.619 hear God? Well, guess what? You never even asked 00:21:57.619 --> 00:22:01.440 him in. You never prioritize time in your life 00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:03.480 to spend it with God. And I get that time is 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:06.519 hard, but I can't think of a better thing to 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:09.059 do with your time than to prioritize spending 00:22:09.059 --> 00:22:11.180 time with God. Because when you do that, what 00:22:11.180 --> 00:22:12.900 you're doing is you're sowing to please the Spirit. 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:14.960 And when you sow the right thing, you reap the 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:19.240 right thing. All right, next is this. It's selflessly 00:22:19.240 --> 00:22:22.480 serving others. Sowing to please the Spirit is 00:22:22.480 --> 00:22:24.819 selflessly serving others. And we are so bad 00:22:24.819 --> 00:22:27.220 at this because we are all about serving ourself. 00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:30.559 All right, back to the time thing. You're like, 00:22:30.619 --> 00:22:32.339 I can't serve anyone else. I don't have the time 00:22:32.339 --> 00:22:35.819 for it because I don't want to sacrifice my time. 00:22:35.900 --> 00:22:37.920 Hold on, how many me's and my's did you say there? 00:22:38.740 --> 00:22:40.660 I just can't do it because I don't want to give 00:22:40.660 --> 00:22:43.619 up my time. It's not about you. It's about selflessly 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:45.480 serving others. It's about showing up and saying, 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:47.579 listen, I know I don't have time for this. This 00:22:47.579 --> 00:22:49.359 isn't what I want to do, but it's not about me. 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:51.539 It's about serving others selflessly because 00:22:51.539 --> 00:22:54.059 when I do that, I'm sowing to please the spirit, 00:22:54.119 --> 00:22:55.819 not to please myself because it's not about you. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:00.359 Our youth and kids programs start midweek this 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:03.720 week. We have them back on Wednesday at our Prescott 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:05.519 location and Thursday at our Prescott Valley 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:09.220 location. Kids ministry, middle school ministry, 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:10.839 high school ministry. And listen, I'm telling 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:12.579 you right now, the only way that that happens 00:23:12.579 --> 00:23:15.299 is when people step up to serve selflessly and 00:23:15.299 --> 00:23:17.880 say, hey, I want to be a part of this. And all 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:19.279 of you right now are going, man, I hope the person 00:23:19.279 --> 00:23:22.359 next to me is listening right now. No, that means 00:23:22.359 --> 00:23:27.190 you. That means you. I don't have time. I know 00:23:27.190 --> 00:23:29.869 you don't. I just don't want to do it. I know 00:23:29.869 --> 00:23:34.069 you don't. It's not about you. It's about serving 00:23:34.069 --> 00:23:36.809 selflessly. I'm just going to tell you a very 00:23:36.809 --> 00:23:38.410 real need that we have with that right now at 00:23:38.410 --> 00:23:40.150 our Prescott location for our high school ministry 00:23:40.150 --> 00:23:42.329 right now. We're going to launch this thing. 00:23:42.329 --> 00:23:43.930 We're going to have over 150 high schoolers showing 00:23:43.930 --> 00:23:46.190 up on Wednesday. It's going to be amazing. And 00:23:46.190 --> 00:23:48.289 we're in need of about, yeah, go ahead. It's 00:23:48.289 --> 00:23:49.750 awesome. I'm glad that we're going to have those 00:23:49.750 --> 00:23:54.509 students here. We're in need of about 10 to 15 00:23:54.509 --> 00:23:56.190 leaders that are willing to say, I want to step 00:23:56.190 --> 00:23:59.970 up to make this thing happen. 10 to 15 people. 00:24:01.390 --> 00:24:03.210 Men and women that are saying, hey, I want to 00:24:03.210 --> 00:24:05.230 show up and I want to walk alongside a student 00:24:05.230 --> 00:24:06.829 and I want to be in their life because it's not 00:24:06.829 --> 00:24:08.809 about me, it's about serving selflessly. Because 00:24:08.809 --> 00:24:10.769 when I serve selflessly, what am I doing? I'm 00:24:10.769 --> 00:24:12.890 sowing into the Spirit. I'm sowing to please 00:24:12.890 --> 00:24:16.450 the Spirit. Next is this. It's staying in community. 00:24:17.509 --> 00:24:20.420 It's staying in community. Community, I'm gonna 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:22.519 rattle some of your worlds right now. Community 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:26.619 is not just showing up on a Sunday. It's having 00:24:26.619 --> 00:24:28.960 Christian community in your life that you can 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.900 walk with those people, that you can go to those 00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:33.480 people, that can come alongside of you when you're 00:24:33.480 --> 00:24:37.119 wrestling with things in your life. Pastor David 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:38.799 was over at my house on Friday night and for 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:40.480 about two hours, he just sat on my couch and 00:24:40.480 --> 00:24:42.460 talked to me about this faith journey that I'm 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:43.940 wrestling with. And I'm going, God, how do I 00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:45.740 step out in faith and make it not about me, but 00:24:45.740 --> 00:24:47.099 about you? I don't even know what this looks 00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:49.059 like. And David comes and sits on my couch and 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:52.319 goes, hey, let's just talk, man. This is what 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:54.220 community does. And for some of you, you've been 00:24:54.220 --> 00:24:56.119 running from community again because you don't 00:24:56.119 --> 00:24:57.700 have the time for it. And again, because you 00:24:57.700 --> 00:24:59.019 don't want to get vulnerable with people. But 00:24:59.019 --> 00:25:00.980 I'm telling you right now, you need to live in 00:25:00.980 --> 00:25:03.500 community. Why? Because we are on a team and 00:25:03.500 --> 00:25:06.170 teammates. means that you have to be in community. 00:25:08.490 --> 00:25:11.769 You often hear us talk about life groups, and 00:25:11.769 --> 00:25:13.430 maybe you've been putting off this life group 00:25:13.430 --> 00:25:15.069 because you're like, I don't need it. But I'm 00:25:15.069 --> 00:25:16.410 telling you right now, life groups, sign -ups 00:25:16.410 --> 00:25:19.710 are happening within the next couple weeks. And 00:25:19.710 --> 00:25:21.410 some of you right now need to make the decision 00:25:21.410 --> 00:25:24.009 that you are going to sow into pleasing the Spirit 00:25:24.009 --> 00:25:26.089 by getting yourself in community, even when it 00:25:26.089 --> 00:25:29.730 might be uncomfortable for you. And I'm going 00:25:29.730 --> 00:25:31.069 to step out right now and say that God is going 00:25:31.069 --> 00:25:34.660 to bless you for that. I'm not telling you you're 00:25:34.660 --> 00:25:35.980 gonna win the lottery. I'm not telling you you're 00:25:35.980 --> 00:25:37.400 getting that Lamborghini you got your eye on. 00:25:38.039 --> 00:25:39.619 But I'm telling you that there will be a blessing 00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:41.599 in your life because you step out to say, hey, 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:44.160 I wanna sow into this to please the spirit and 00:25:44.160 --> 00:25:47.460 step into community. Next is this, is using your 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:51.200 gifts for the kingdom. Your gifts, your talents, 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:52.980 the things that you are good at, the things that 00:25:52.980 --> 00:25:54.539 you are passionate about, the things that you 00:25:54.539 --> 00:25:57.700 have, those are things that God has given you 00:25:57.700 --> 00:26:00.990 to use for him. We talk about it when it comes 00:26:00.990 --> 00:26:02.809 to generosity on this stage. We say, listen, 00:26:02.910 --> 00:26:04.930 God has given you all of this stuff. It's all 00:26:04.930 --> 00:26:07.990 his anyway. So we're asking that you would step 00:26:07.990 --> 00:26:09.509 out in faith and say, hey, I want to give back 00:26:09.509 --> 00:26:11.990 to God. But it's not just financial. It's everything 00:26:11.990 --> 00:26:14.190 that you have in your life. God has given you, 00:26:14.309 --> 00:26:17.809 not for you. He's given it to you to bless others. 00:26:18.930 --> 00:26:21.750 He's given it to you to serve others. He's given 00:26:21.750 --> 00:26:23.849 it to you to use for his kingdom. It's not about 00:26:23.849 --> 00:26:28.799 you. None of this is about us. What is it about? 00:26:28.900 --> 00:26:31.680 It's about reflecting to the world something 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:36.500 different. That's how we reflect. That's how 00:26:36.500 --> 00:26:41.119 we reflect to the world. Not the law of religiosity, 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:46.500 but the law of love. Jesus' law of love. Listen, 00:26:46.579 --> 00:26:48.960 I get it. It's not easy. It's not easy to do 00:26:48.960 --> 00:26:52.160 that. It says in Galatians 6, verse 9, let us 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:56.690 not become weary in doing good. Don't get tired 00:26:56.690 --> 00:26:58.509 of doing good for at the proper time, we will 00:26:58.509 --> 00:27:01.569 reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, 00:27:01.710 --> 00:27:04.289 as we have opportunity, let us do good to all 00:27:04.289 --> 00:27:06.829 people, especially to those who belong to the 00:27:06.829 --> 00:27:09.089 family of believers. Don't get tired of doing 00:27:09.089 --> 00:27:12.349 good. All right, what is good? Good is Christ's 00:27:12.349 --> 00:27:16.490 law of love. That's what it is. It's loving people. 00:27:16.569 --> 00:27:20.890 It's Christ's law of love in our life. We should 00:27:20.890 --> 00:27:26.690 be reflecting Christ's law of love. This passage 00:27:26.690 --> 00:27:29.190 is coming out of the end of Galatians 5 is that 00:27:29.190 --> 00:27:30.750 list of the thing that we call the fruit of the 00:27:30.750 --> 00:27:32.930 spirit. And then Paul goes right into writing 00:27:32.930 --> 00:27:34.809 this one of saying, hey, this is how you live 00:27:34.809 --> 00:27:36.789 it out. This is how you live it out and bury 00:27:36.789 --> 00:27:38.130 each other's burdens. This is how you live it 00:27:38.130 --> 00:27:39.950 out and not judge one another. This is how you 00:27:39.950 --> 00:27:42.470 live it out and sow into pleasing the spirit, 00:27:42.569 --> 00:27:44.170 not pleasing into the flesh. What he's saying 00:27:44.170 --> 00:27:47.430 is it's the fruit of the spirit. So let me ask 00:27:47.430 --> 00:27:54.089 you, what are you reflecting? What are you reflecting? 00:27:55.179 --> 00:27:58.380 Because you reflect what you're pointing at. 00:28:00.680 --> 00:28:03.720 We need to be pointing at Christ. When you're 00:28:03.720 --> 00:28:05.779 pointing at Christ, that is what you were reflecting 00:28:05.779 --> 00:28:08.619 to the world around you. Some of you, you walked 00:28:08.619 --> 00:28:10.539 in here today and you've never said yes to Jesus. 00:28:11.579 --> 00:28:13.900 You've never put your faith and trust in Jesus 00:28:13.900 --> 00:28:15.980 for the very first time. You've never said, I 00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:18.099 trust that Jesus died on a cross for my sins, 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:21.000 that he rose from the grave. And that through 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:23.079 putting my trust in him, I can have a relationship 00:28:23.079 --> 00:28:24.779 with God. And if you've never done that, you've 00:28:24.779 --> 00:28:26.819 never pointed the mirror that is your life at 00:28:26.819 --> 00:28:29.940 Jesus for the very first time. And today is the 00:28:29.940 --> 00:28:31.440 day that you need to surrender and say, I give 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:32.880 it up to you because I want to point the mirror 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:35.859 that is my life at you. So I reflect Jesus to 00:28:35.859 --> 00:28:38.640 the world. And for some of you, you've done that, 00:28:38.680 --> 00:28:40.220 but your mirror has gotten a little bit off. 00:28:41.420 --> 00:28:44.119 And you need to repoint it at Jesus. You need 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:45.839 to focus back in and say, man, I've been pointing 00:28:45.839 --> 00:28:47.180 at all these other things, but I need to point 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:49.339 the mirror of my life at Jesus so that is what 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:53.039 I am reflecting to the world. It means reflecting 00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:56.920 the Holy Spirit. And how do we do this is this, 00:28:56.980 --> 00:28:58.680 is we have to start by inviting the Holy Spirit 00:28:58.680 --> 00:29:00.680 in. I would challenge all of you to start your 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:02.900 day just by inviting the Holy Spirit in. Holy 00:29:02.900 --> 00:29:04.460 Spirit, guide me. Holy Spirit, I want to learn 00:29:04.460 --> 00:29:07.019 from you. Holy Spirit, teach me. Holy Spirit, 00:29:07.099 --> 00:29:10.809 speak to me today. Again, some of you are expecting, 00:29:10.930 --> 00:29:12.650 man, how come I'm not hearing from God and you're 00:29:12.650 --> 00:29:14.349 expecting to hear from him, but you never invited 00:29:14.349 --> 00:29:17.710 him in? Ask the Holy Spirit in and don't just 00:29:17.710 --> 00:29:22.630 ask him in. Okay, what if we as a church took 00:29:22.630 --> 00:29:24.890 the next step? Don't just ask him to show up, 00:29:24.930 --> 00:29:28.049 ask him to show off. Because I think God wants 00:29:28.049 --> 00:29:30.069 to do something so much bigger in your life than 00:29:30.069 --> 00:29:33.269 you even are expecting. Don't say, don't just 00:29:33.269 --> 00:29:35.630 show up, but man, show off. Blow the box of who 00:29:35.630 --> 00:29:37.670 I put you in out of my mind because I don't want 00:29:37.670 --> 00:29:39.250 you to stay in a box. I want you to do something 00:29:39.250 --> 00:29:43.210 big. I want it to be amazing. But here's the 00:29:43.210 --> 00:29:45.089 thing, if you're gonna ask the Holy Spirit in 00:29:45.089 --> 00:29:47.950 to guide you, to speak to you, you gotta listen. 00:29:49.329 --> 00:29:54.049 When you feel that nudge to serve, when you feel 00:29:54.049 --> 00:29:58.950 that nudge to talk to somebody, when you feel 00:29:58.950 --> 00:30:00.549 that thing inside of you that's saying, man, 00:30:00.569 --> 00:30:03.759 I need to apologize. And you feel that thing 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:05.140 inside you that's saying, man, I need to give. 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:08.319 And you feel like, man, I gotta step out in faith 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:14.920 right here. Do it. Do it. Because when you ask 00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:17.279 the Holy Spirit to speak to you and then he speaks 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:19.220 and you don't listen, what you're doing is you're 00:30:19.220 --> 00:30:22.319 turning down the volume on the Holy Spirit. You 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:28.220 say, man, I spoke, but you didn't listen. Listen 00:30:28.220 --> 00:30:34.710 to me, church. Our job is to reflect him. And 00:30:34.710 --> 00:30:38.069 how we reflect him is by remembering what he 00:30:38.069 --> 00:30:42.470 did for us. When you came in today, you received 00:30:42.470 --> 00:30:45.990 a cup. And what this is, is in the church world, 00:30:46.049 --> 00:30:49.269 we call this communion. And communion was what 00:30:49.269 --> 00:30:51.130 Jesus said in motion when he was in the upper 00:30:51.130 --> 00:30:53.650 room with his disciples. And he was about to 00:30:53.650 --> 00:30:56.569 go to a cross. And he explained to them what 00:30:56.569 --> 00:30:58.109 this meant. And what the role of communion is 00:30:58.109 --> 00:31:00.430 in our life right now is to remember what God 00:31:00.430 --> 00:31:03.730 has done for us, to recenter on the fact. that 00:31:03.730 --> 00:31:08.109 he died on the cross for you, for you, that he 00:31:08.109 --> 00:31:10.250 loves you. He's not angry at you, he loves you. 00:31:12.630 --> 00:31:14.569 It's a time for us to confess, God, this is how 00:31:14.569 --> 00:31:17.390 I have not lived for you. I wanna put that behind 00:31:17.390 --> 00:31:19.250 me. I wanna repent of that. And I wanna focus 00:31:19.250 --> 00:31:21.109 on what you did on the cross because you paid 00:31:21.109 --> 00:31:24.789 for it all. And so for the next few moments, 00:31:24.930 --> 00:31:28.750 these are yours to just think, to remember. Think 00:31:28.750 --> 00:31:30.670 about what it meant that God gave his only son 00:31:30.670 --> 00:31:36.829 for you. For you personally, he loved you enough 00:31:36.829 --> 00:31:39.710 to die for you. Take a few moments and think. 00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:47.519 As Jesus took the bread, he said, this is my 00:32:47.519 --> 00:32:50.799 body that was broken for you. Eat this in remembrance 00:32:50.799 --> 00:33:05.259 of me. It says that in the same way he took the 00:33:05.259 --> 00:33:09.539 cup, he said, this represents my blood that was 00:33:09.539 --> 00:33:13.319 spilled out on your behalf. Drink this in remembrance 00:33:13.319 --> 00:33:22.720 of me. Lord God, we praise you. God, we are so 00:33:22.720 --> 00:33:24.799 humbled and grateful for what you have done for 00:33:24.799 --> 00:33:28.980 us on the cross. God, I pray that you would give 00:33:28.980 --> 00:33:31.200 us the strength and the power to walk in that 00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:34.480 this week, that we would reflect you to the world 00:33:34.480 --> 00:33:37.440 around us, God. We would not think more of ourselves 00:33:37.440 --> 00:33:40.559 than we should. God, that we would humble ourself 00:33:40.559 --> 00:33:45.599 to gently walk alongside people. God, that we 00:33:45.599 --> 00:33:48.579 would sow into what pleases the spirit, not so 00:33:48.579 --> 00:33:50.359 into what pleases the flesh, God, that we would, 00:33:50.440 --> 00:33:53.440 in what we decide to do and the decisions that 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:55.359 we make and the situations that we encounter, 00:33:55.500 --> 00:33:58.420 that we would reflect you to the world around 00:33:58.420 --> 00:34:02.980 us in love, that we would keep your law of love. 00:34:05.160 --> 00:34:10.139 We're grateful for you, God. We're so thankful 00:34:10.139 --> 00:34:13.320 for all the blessings that you've given us. We 00:34:13.320 --> 00:34:16.480 love you, Jesus. We pray this in your name. Amen.