We just thank you that you're here this morning. We thank you that no matter what we're going through, no matter what our community is going through,

no matter what these crazy United States are going through, what the world is going through, Lord, you're in control. It doesn't make any difference who's roaring, who's battling, whatever comes up, whatever fight's going on, whatever chaos is going on, Lord, you are always in control. Where sin abounds, grace abounds, all the more. And we just thank you, Lord, that you are there for us with new grace and new meaning.

mercy. Every single morning, and in the words of our society today, you've got this. You've got it all. You've got this. And we just thank you, Lord. We thank you, Lord, for that. And we ask that you bless our service. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Thank you, Rob. Thank you, team. Amen. Good morning, church. It is good to see you. It is good to be back. It is good to be back. It was quite a little bit of break that I had.

It was supposed to be vacation. It wasn't much of a vacation. It was a staycation, which means that you end up doing a lot of projects around the house and had to end up coming into work several times anyway.

But it's all good. It's all good. It's life, right? Life throws things at you.

Before we move on to this morning with our teaching and where we're going this morning, I want to take a few minutes to recognize a few people.

Angela, if you and Violet will come up, please, and come up here.

And this is the last Sunday for Angela and Violet, and we're going to have a time of prayer over them in a moment.

Taylor, if you'll just grab a mic and get one of these. Taylor's going to grab Jill Holmes' mic.

I want you guys to stand down here. I'll try to keep my social distancing the best I can.

But first off, we want to say thank you and we love you to a couple of folks this morning.

First off, Avery Henderson. Avery Henderson has been faithful in playing the drums for us for the last six years.

And Avery couldn't be here this morning. He's getting ready to ship off into the Army.

And so because of that, he has some bronchitis issues that can flare up,

and he didn't want to have to quarantine himself just before he goes to boot camp as well, too.

But Avery has been very, very faithful, he and his family, been very, very faithful.

I love Avery so much. He's been working very diligently and very hard to try to get to this place

where he's getting ready to go off into the Army.

And so it's a big change for him.

And so in a few minutes, I'm going to have Taylor have a prayer over Avery as well,

although he couldn't be here, and his family's not here this morning

because their little ones also suffer from respiratory issues.

And we happen to be wise these days.

That's just the world in which we live right now.

But we're so very grateful for Avery.

And I can still remember Avery and Cedric and James playing the buckets.

They were all on the floor playing the buckets.

When we had one Christmas service, we did the little drummer boy.

And we had someone in the cage, but those guys were playing the buckets.

And it was like, it was crazy good.

And so just remember Avery in your prayers as he gets ready to embark on this new adventure,

taking orders from folks.

And that doesn't always go as easy as you think.

But he's a dad that's trying to make things right with his family as well, too,

and just love on his little girl.

And so he's going to be separate from her for a while, too.

So that pulls on the heartstrings of a dad as well, too.

Pray for his mom and dad, Bobby and Sharice, who is going to be missing.

He's been under their roof for quite some time.

And so everything is different in the blink of an eye.

And so we want to remember them in our prayers as well, too,

as they adjust to the new normal.

And also we want to say this is going to be Angela and Violet's last Sunday as well, too,

because for some ungodly reason, she thinks God is calling her to go.

Ministry tremendously. And she's I'm sure she has touched your family in many different ways, whether you have a small child or not. She's just jumped in from day one and been a servant. And and Violet's been very active helping as well, too. And Violet's been active in our student ministry as well, too. And so you guys are just like Avery. You guys are leaving a huge void. And I'm trying not to be really mad at you for going. And that's the flesh in me welling up. But I'm excited for you because I know you're going to be a huge void.

I know that this is what was not an easy decision for you. Was there anything that you wanted to share this morning before we have a time of prayer for over you? You know, we love you so much and we can't thank you enough for just the way that you have invested in the lives here.

And you always have a home here, always have a home here. And if any of you want to go on vacation in Wisconsin, they will put you up. There you go. There you go.

So because we're trying to keep our distance and everything, if you would just simply pray from where you are, if you want to stand, if you want to extend a hand, that's great.

But I'm just going to ask Taylor if you'll just lift up a prayer for Avery and the Henderson family as he departs as well, too, and for Angela and Violet as well, please.

Amen. Let's pray. And just pray along with me, guys, as I pray out loud.

Father, we thank you that you are with us, that you are not against us, but that you are for us, that you made a way for us to be right with you, God.

And before we start praying for any of these people in this room, God, we just thank you for that, God.

We thank you for who you are. We thank you for your great love for us, God, that you manifested for us on the cross.

So, Lord, we just, we're so grateful that you've brought us together as a church family, unified under that,

under the grace of the Lord Jesus that you've extended to each one of us in this room.

Father, we just lift up Avery to you today.

God, go before him and grant him favor with his commanding officers in the military.

I pray that you would allow him to be a witness for you, that you would just fill him with your Holy Spirit in just a fresh way

where he is just empowered to share your goodness and your faithfulness with others around him.

God, we ask that there be Christian community.

He would get plugged into Christian community while he was in boot camp, while he was in the military,

that he would find brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage him.

Lord, we just pray that you would protect his family while he's gone, his little daughter, Ava, Lord,

that she would just continue to just grow, Lord, and you would just strengthen her as well.

And, Father, we pray you protect Avery's lungs as well as bronchitis, Lord,

that you have no sickness with that as well.

And we ask that in your name, Jesus.

And, Lord, I also want to lift up to you Angela and Violet Miller.

God, we praise you for your leading and your provision to lead them back to Wisconsin.

Lord, we know that's of you and your direction and guidance for them.

We praise you for providing Angela a job there already and a place to live, Lord.

That is your goodness, Lord.

And we just say that's all you, God.

Amen.

Amen.

Lord, strengthen Angela as a mother, Lord, as a sister, as a child to her family up there in Wisconsin, Lord.

I pray that her family would see Jesus through her.

Lord, that she would be a mighty witness for you to those in her community back in Wisconsin who don't know you, Lord.

And for her, the people around her that do know you, Lord, that she would just be an encouragement to them and just a breath of life, a breath of your presence, God, to those people around her.

Father, I just pray that you would strengthen her, Lord, that you quickly provide strong.

towards you. And Father, I just lift up Violet as well, God, as she goes into her senior year of high school. God, I ask that she would be a leader among her fellow students in the school, that she would be a witness for you, Jesus. Lord, we ask that you would just give her the grades she needs to graduate in her job as well, Lord. Let her just be an encouragement. I pray that you would provide friends for her.

for her up there as well. So, Father, we ask this all in your name, Jesus. May you be glorified in Avery's life, in Angela's life, in Violet's life, in these new seasons. Amen.

I want to give you a reminder here today and you're visiting. We have some visitor cards located in the chairs in front of you.

Love for you to take some time to fill that out and give us some information about you and put in one of the churches here.

Also, if you're watching on live today as well, too, I want to remind you, weather permitting, the students are going to have a cookout on Jekyll at 5.30 today at Great Dunes.

5.30 at Great Dunes.

They're asking you to bring your own chair so we can all social distance and all that good stuff.

And Casey has assured me she will be serving all the food so no one will touch it.

She will have gloves on. She will have a mask on.

No one will dip their hands in the ketchup or whatever.

So we're doing all that we can to be as safe as possible and to allow the students to have a time to connect with one another as well, too.

I know that before I was there anything else I was supposed to mention, Joe?

Got it all?

Oh, yeah.

This Sunday?

Next Sunday.

Next Sunday is the last Sunday for backpacks.

So we've got several in the box.

We need about how about 10 more?

How's that?

How's that sound?

10 more.

10 more.

And Joe can't afford it.

But he said if you if you don't bring it, he'll make it happen with the 10.

So don't make Joe have to bring it.

OK.

OK.

Saturday.

Yeah.

Saturday.

OK.

In the refuge.

We'll have some more information on Church Group Me and our website coming up this week about the promise keepers live simulcast that we're going to be doing from the refuge.

Thank you, Chris.

Thank you.

Before I left, we were just embarking in a series.

It was going to be a long series in John's gospel.

And so in light of all that and because I had some time off, we're going to put a pause on John's gospel just for a little bit because there's some there's some things going on.

And there's some I just think there's some things that we need to tackle as a people.

I think there's some things we need to deal with as a people.

And I'm going to start a new series.

I don't I don't know how long it's going to be.

Maybe two weeks.

It may be 20 weeks.

I'm not sure yet.

But we're we're we're in no hurry.

But this this series, I think we got we got we got we got a title up in here.

And this series is entitled.

Let's talk about one another.

Let's talk about one.

Does everybody like to talk about other people?

Yeah.

Like talk about one another.

Yeah.

Just just just check it.

Let's talk about one another.

OK, you know, I firmly believe that a lot of the problems that we have today in our society, in our community, in our church, in our lives is the fact that we are just disconnected.

We are disconnected.

I know that covid has had its way with some things and we are just disconnected.

And I believe that most of the ways that we stay connected with one another these days is through technology.

That's how we stay connected.

And when we're just staying connected with each other through technology, guess what happens?

That lends itself for a whole lot of junk to come up because you can misread.

You can misunderstand.

You can miss this.

You can miss that.

You can get that.

You can.

There's a whole lot of things that can be read into.

And besides that, you don't really when we only connect when we.

for that. OK, that's not what I'm saying at all. OK, but you know what? I see a whole lot of people beating the path to to Publix. OK, and I see a whole lot of people doing a whole bunch of other things. But but anyway, be wise, be smart. But what the thing about it is, is some of us. I was talking with Tom. Tom's like, well, it's Covid sometimes is a convenient excuse because I liked being at home in my pajamas watching the sermons. I was like, Tom, I get that now. But I want

to see you. So just come in your PJs if you have to. OK, it's OK. It's all right. Come in your PJs and wear your mask. All right. That's that's all good. OK. But in the scriptures, in the scriptures, if you depending on what version you look at and how you break it down, there are fifty nine different one another's. A lot of times we talk about this and the importance of one another.

The Greek word is translated a leil on a leil on. And it means one another in well, one another in well. And in studying these one another's, we want to create an atmosphere in the church and the Christian community to understand that we are members of one another.

We are members of one another. We are members of one another. There is no such thing as private Christianity.

It might be a there might be a great awakening for some of you. There is no such thing as private Christianity. OK, regrettably, I think our brand of Christianity here in the Western world is pretty hyper individualistic.

OK, it's me and my relationship with Jesus and me and God. OK, but as you read the scriptures, you begin to understand that salvation.

Yes, it is personal. But in terms of my growth and in terms of my relationship, I cannot grow and I cannot look like Jesus apart from community.

We were made for community. OK, we and when we we come to know Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, we are placed into the body of Christ.

We're placed into the body of Christ. Now, this is not to be just be taken to some spiritual sense, never to be lived out.

And although the fact is true, but the emphasis is placed is that we are placed in the body of Christ for one another.

There's a holy synergy that happens when we gather together, when we get together as the body of Christ.

And I'm not trying to sound unkind this morning, but Christians who are not connected with other Christians tend to have a very abnormal walk with God.

When you are not connected with other Christians, you will have a very abnormal walk with God.

We need the love of God to flow from one another to help us to be all that we're supposed to be.

We're designed to be. And so the question is this morning, as we start off, is why should we be concerned about living out these one another's?

OK, and take a breath. I promise that although there are 59, this will not be a 59 week series.

OK, I'm not going to cover all 59. OK, but why why are we so why should we be so concerned with living out these one another's?

I've talked about this in the past about how these one another's is so important.

First of all, the first thing why we should live it out is for our own personal growth, our own personal growth.

You can't grow apart from attachment. You can't grow. You can't grow properly apart from being related to one another.

One another. The second reason is that the corporate unity and the testimony of the body of Christ.

We are placed in the body of Christ, not just for us, but so that the the purpose, the whole purpose of the church in the world is to model to the watching world what the kingdom looks like.

We're supposed to be modeling what what a healthy relationship looks like.

That's what the church is to model. So it's not just about our brand of Christianity and what we get out of it, what we get out of it.

OK, we want to one another. Well, because we are concerned about the corporate testimony and the modeling of Jesus Christ in in in in the context.

the first one that we have to see and we have to get to is the one we're going to look out to today. This is this is paramount. We have to land here today. And that is this we have to love one another. Love one another. Paul says in Romans chapter 12 verse 10 that we are to love one another with brotherly affection. Love one another with brotherly affection. Now, there are some verses that I think

we all know very, very well, but I don't think we pay close enough attention to at times. But in these verses in first Corinthians chapter 13, Paul gets to the core nature and the priority of love. He deals again with the core nature and the priority of love. Listen very carefully. Paul says this. You've heard these verses before, but but listen this morning. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I have not love, I'm a noisy gong or clanging cymbal.

And if I have prophetic powers and I understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have and offer and I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing because love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way.

It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things. Love believes all things. Love hopes all things. And it endures all things.

The foundation to authentic Christianity is love. The foundation. It's not giftedness. It's not our experience. It's not your ability to solve problems. It's not your ability to turn a phrase.

The heart and the core of authentic Christianity is love. It's love. And all these one another's are built upon this.

Built upon this. This is foundation. Warren Wiersbe says this. He says that love is a circulatory system of the spiritual body or the church,

which enables all members to function in a healthy and harmonious way.

Any church that is not saturated in love is not a good place to be.

It's not a good place to be. Any church that loves content, that loves the law, that loves all the rules,

more than it loves Jesus and more than it loves people is a dysfunctional place.

That's where revival was supposed to break out. I practiced this in my head.

You guys were supposed to start dancing and saying hallelujah.

Love is the centerpiece to all that we do. It's got to be the centerpiece.

There cannot be healthy resolution of conflict. There cannot be healthy growth or any of these issues that we face unless there is love.

Love is foundational. It's absolutely foundational.

So when Paul says in Romans 12, that let us love one another with brotherly affection,

we are to see ourselves as family.

We are members of the family of God.

And this is not theoretical.

And it's not a choice or a decision that we make.

We do not choose who our brothers and sisters are if you're in the family of God.

You don't get to choose.

You don't get to choose.

When we give our hearts and our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ and we come to know Him as Savior,

we are placed in a family.

And it's called the family of God.

It's the family of God.

No matter what color you are, no matter what your background is,

no matter what your socioeconomic status is,

none of us have the choice in the family of God not to love.

You don't get that choice.

Paul didn't give any qualifiers when he wrote to the church in Rome.

But he said, let us love one another with brotherly affection.

This is the centerpiece.

And as I read Romans 12, my mind quickly goes to 1 John.

And as I read Romans 12, my mind quickly goes to the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome and the church in Rome

John goes yeah but wait whoa wait a second John saying wait a second I get that but listen this is not cheap it's not easy it's not easy you know and he says here's the standard and as Christians we don't define what love looks like as Christians you and I don't get to define God defines what love looks like we don't get to define that okay and so we don't we don't get to

define how we don't get to define how we don't get to relate to someone else but in this in this standard there's an inherent warning as well too John gives us three commands in the passage that we're going to look at in 1st John chapter 3 and the first statement is this listen listen love is a command it's a command 1st John chapter 3 verse 11 for this is the message that you have heard from

from the beginning that we should love one another that we should love one another now what is what is the should here and I don't think the should is to be taken as a good suggestion okay that's that's not what is to be taken at that we ought to do this you know this should when he says this from the beginning remember he says from the beginning most scholars believe that he's going back to the upper room discourse back in John chapter 13 remember just before Jesus was crucified

he gathers his disciples he gathers his disciples together he washes their feet as a servant and he makes a statement he says and a new command I give you and a new command I give you and a new command I give you that you should love one another you should love one another so he's repeating in 1st John 3 11 that command it's not up to you you are commanded to love one another

to love one another to love one another and I know that Paul said that we ought to love one another with brotherly affection and that's a feeling okay but we and we do need to move toward people with compassion in our hearts but I have to say that love is so much more than an emotion it's so much more than an emotion and it rips my heart apart when I see people falling in and out of relationships

in the church over all kinds of secondary silly issues I see it happen all the time okay and you know I don't like that person I don't like what they said they made me mad they they they they they uh they uh I didn't like what they had to say and before you know it you sever that relationship

in the life of the church that relationship is is is severed in the scriptures love is not that cheap it's not it's not that cheap love is primarily first not an emotion it's a decision it's an act of the will to obey what God says obey what God says okay and it's not hypocrisy I'm not saying that you need to pretend but God is asking us to do what is right and love says I will

make the decision to do what is right for that other person toward that other person despite how I feel that's love that's love and by the way when when Jesus says a new commandment I give you that expression wasn't as if love had never been commanded up until this point hear me on this what he's saying is that this would now be the defining characteristic of his followers that's the statement that he's

make this would be the thing that they would be benchmarked by when people come in contact with Christians they don't just come in contact with our doctrinal paradigms and our insights and what differentiates us from from non-believers at a certain point that stuff might be all right but what they primarily come in contact with is people who love that's what changes everything that's what changes hearts that's what changes lives listen the world hears about

Jesus from our words but they only see Jesus through the demonstration of our love for one another that's how they see Christ and that's the reason why so many

and they see a people who fall more in love with what they believe than the Savior who delivered them love is a command people it's a command and I know you may not want to hear this into these definitive authoritative terms but it's not that we should love we have to we have to

because this love tells the story about our great God the way you and I love one another tells the story about our great God and when the love of Christ comes in your life in your heart in your life are changed forever you love no matter what we'll get into some more of this but guess what's not in your heart when you have that love you don't have hate you don't have hate

hate and when you really love you love you love God's people you love the imago Dei men and women created in the image of love you you love then you then you know what you'll you'll hate slavery if you love people and you understand you love life you will hate abortion if you love life and you understand the value of life and you see what's happened happened to the Jewish nation you will hate the Holocaust

it's simple

and you cry out this is an injustice this is an injustice and this is wrong

I'm telling you I'm telling you if pulpits would not have been so quiet so many years ago we wouldn't have gone through a lot of the things that we've gone through in this country in this nation because far too many pastors

preachers preachers teachers whatever bishops whatever you want to call them okay have been have closed their mouths and turn their eyes from the things that were wrong if it's wrong it's wrong

love says this isn't right

where were we the second standard is this love listen love is the evidence of our salvation

it's the evidence of our salvation and you can't be more descriptive than this in 1st John chapter 3 verse 14

we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers we love the brothers we love the brothers pay attention here the expression we love the brothers is in present tense

we love the brothers our demonstration for for an hour of the love that we have for our brothers and sisters in Christ John says is the evidence that we have had an experience with him

that's the evidence of our salvation it is a dangerous thing to choose not to love someone who is a believer

you hear me it is a dangerous thing to choose not to love someone who is a believer because what we are saying in that is that we may not have a relationship with the God of this universe

love is core to God's nature

it's core to God's nature and you might think I'm being a bit severe here but I'm not being severe because

love is core to God's nature skip over to 1st John chapter 4 look in verse 7 beloved

let us love one another for love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God

anyone who does not love does not know God because God is what love come on people

this is the significance here is that if we have a relationship with the God of the universe

Peter tells us that what we are partakers in his divine nature

if we know we've trusted in the God of the universe we are partakers in his divine nature

and and core to God's divine nature is this love

love and so we when we come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

part of that conversion experience is that new divine capacity

you

get that though but i think sometimes we we play a little bit too loose with our relationships and

we don't see the seriousness of it you know i can't hate people if i'm a follower of the lord

jesus christ i i can't okay now love does not mean that you tolerate injustices love does not mean

that you tolerate bad behavior love does not mean that you endorse evil okay if you if if you've done

something wrong or you have offended me because i love you i i take courage to help you to confront

you but not because i want to get even with you but because i want to do right by god i want to do

right by god it tells the truth about our salvation because see here's the flip side verse 17 of first

john 3 everyone who hates his brother is a murderer holy cow he said that and you know that no murderer

has eternal life abiding in him bam i mean that's that that's a ufc is that what it is ufc punch right

there that that's that's a full-on right there right when the bible uses the term hatred it's the idea of

wishing to do someone harm whether it's whether it's whether it's verbally physically wishing to do

entertaining those thoughts and if we are consumed with those intentions to harm john says we don't have

eternal life abiding in us and there's a warning here listen

if revenge is your motivation you might need to check your salvation

if revenge is your motivation you might need to check your salvation do you have a consistent

problem that whenever somebody has offended you you automatically put them on the bad list write them

off john says be careful of that because it just could might be a indicator that you are not a

follower of the god of this universe now i'll get to this in the conclusion in just a second but

it's not that we can do this this love thing on our own strength we can't it's impossible

it's impossible but calvary in the empty tomb gives us the us the capacity to do that which is not

natural for us to do

and this brings us to the third and final standard love is always marked by sacrifice always marked by

sacrifice first john 3 16

by this we know love that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for

the brothers john here is connecting the sacrifice that jesus laid down his life for us and we ought to

lay down our lives for for the brothers now that does that does that mean that we're going to

be called to literally die for our brothers and sisters in christ it's it's possible but that would

that if that's what it ultimately takes but he gives us two illustrations and he tells us what it

means beginning in verse 17 but if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need

yet closes his heart against him how does god's love abide in him wow you see a need out there

and you have resources but you you don't respond to that need

how does god's love abide abide in you how can you walk past that that's what john's saying

how can you just walk past that and not be not be affected and and he's talking about sacrifice

continuing in verse 18 little children let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth

love is not just something that you feel it is something that you do it is sacrifice

jesus laid down his life for us i mean john 15 13 says the greater love has no no man than this than

he who lays his life down for his friend and jesus did lay his life down for the world but in context

he put a weird influence against that but and he knows the order to defend himself and there are many things that he said

he remains in the state of his father'sthere!

Unadvantaging ourselves and inconveniencing ourselves for someone else. For someone else. It's almost like I hurt myself in order to help you. And if you're a parent you know what that means because it happens all the time. Your child gets some news. They get to go to college. This is great. I don't have we don't have all the funds to make this happen for our child. So what do you do is you as a parent you go and get an

another gig on top of another gig on top of the gig you already got. You find some ways in your budget to cut some things to skinny some things up to make it work. That's what you do. Why? Because you love them. You are going to sacrificially do what it takes to do to provide for them. Whatever it takes. It's on the table. I'm going to do that. You know and I guess you know Paul says in Philippians 2 that we are to treat others

more important than we are. More important than ourselves. It's all through the scriptures. Listen. Biblical love. Biblical love is expensive. True biblical love is expensive. It's not a series of contributions but it's ultimately sacrifice. That's why we don't have offering plates here that we hand around and pass down so everybody can look and see who dropped the check in there. I dropped something in there. We do all that.

And giving your offering is a part of worship. It's part of obedience to God. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay? I'm not belittling that.

But true biblical love, you cannot bring enough contributions to the table to prove your love for God.

By the same token, by the same token, you can't out give God.

Because God's called us to sacrificially give in our whole life.

Not just our wallets.

Our whole life is to be sacrificial offering unto the Lord.

You know, Jesus laid his life down.

Now, what are we willing to do to help our brothers and sisters around us?

How are we using the privileges that God has given us to help someone else?

That doesn't have the things that they need or has a need sometimes.

And sometimes people just need you to be there.

And that's one of the problems why I wanted to talk about this is because we're so disconnected with each other,

we can't even be there for someone.

Because we don't have a pulse for really what's going on in somebody's world.

You know, I guess the early church had a little bit greater advantage to us

because they were under persecution.

Not theoretical persecution.

Real persecution.

And the early church, they needed each other.

For the early church, they understood,

we're not going to make it if we don't have one another.

Are you like that in your walk with the Lord?

With the church?

I'm just not going to make it if I don't have you with me, Wesley.

Just not going to grow unless you're with me there, Jeremiah.

Man, Pauline, if you're not with me,

I'm just not going to be encouraged like I would be if you're with me on this.

And I want to be there with you as well.

Where's that sense of urgency?

We've lost that urgency as a church.

I'm not going to make it without the connection of one another.

We need to do one another well.

Do it well.

Look, live and love beyond ourselves.

That's doing one another well.

That's all part of it.

It's not just some sort of tagline.

So what are we doing to inconvenience ourselves for someone else?

I think that's a question we need to answer in our hearts today.

What are we doing to inconvenience ourselves for someone else today?

And when I say I love someone,

what am I doing to inconvenience myself

in order to address a point or a need in their life?

And some of us are so distant and so busy,

we don't have the spiritual eyes to see.

We don't have the spiritual eyes to see.

cannot be seen in the energy of the flesh. It is done by the Spirit of the power of the Holy Spirit. It is done by the power of the Holy Spirit. You know, there are, there are folks out there that I don't like. And if I'm not walking in the Spirit, I'm walking in the flesh, it's not going to go well for them and it's not going to go well for me. If I operate in that, in that mindset, okay, we do this, we do that. I mean, there are all kinds of situations and all kinds of situations and all kinds of situations.

of things that we have to deal with, with other people. I get that. But we're able to love like this through the power of the Holy Ghost, through the power of the Holy Spirit. He enables us to do that which is not natural on our own.

You know, in that, in that, in that, in that upper room, that same discourse, that we were talking about earlier, Jesus says three times, I'm going to send to you a comforter, the parakletos, who will come alongside of you, and empower you, and will help you. And he's, he, you know, he's saying, you're not going to make it on your own.

You're not going to make it on your own. And Jesus is saying, all these commandments that I'm giving you, the Spirit of God is going to bring all these things back into remembrance.

But not only is he going to do that, to help them bring him back into remembrance, he's going to give you the supernatural ability to do what you are not naturally able to do.

And he is going to give you the ability to love one another.

To love one another. In fact, in, in, did you know that in Galatians chapter 5, when it starts to talk about the fruits of the Spirit, what's the first fruit that's mentioned?

Love. Love. And a lot of theologians believe that all the other fruit, you know, love, gentleness, patience, gentleness, self-control, all, all kindness, all those things, all those things flow from love.

Love. A lot of, a lot of theologians teach that, that all, that all these things are, are, flow from, from love.

It extends from love. And in context of that passage in Galatians 5, he's talking about walking in the power of the Spirit of God.

Walking in the power of the Spirit of God. When we yield to the Spirit of God, he enables us to do what we would not normally do.

So if you're having a difficult time loving someone, you're having a difficult time embracing someone, excuse me, you're having a difficult time forgiving someone,

you're having a difficult time letting something go from that someone, you're having that, that, that, that difficult time with that issue.

Maybe the issue is not the issue. Maybe the issue is not the issue. Maybe the real issue is, who am I really looking to, to help me?

Who am I really leaning on to help me in this situation? Because if you're looking for, to yourself, to get through it, all you're going to look for is revenge.

When someone hurts you, harms you, wrongs you, if you lean on yourself, you're only going to look for, you're only going to obtain revenge on this.

That's what you're going to be seeking, is revenge.

But if you're looking to the power, the Spirit of God that dwells inside of you, and you say, Spirit of the living God, Spirit of the living God, I am struggling with this person.

And I yield to you. And I yield to you. And not only do I yield to you in my mind, and I give you my mind, and Lord, I want you to control my body and everything.

But would you please feel and sense and correct my heart that I may be able to move toward them?

And help me to understand what that would look like to move toward them.

And when you are controlled by the Spirit of God, He will do that.

And you know what? I would encourage you, I would encourage you to never, ever, ever, ever say these words.

I would encourage you to never let these words come out of your mouth.

There are just some people I can't love.

Don't say that.

Don't let those words exit your mouth.

is found in the demonstration of this supernatural love that we've just talked about. This supernatural love. And when the world looks at us and sees people who should not be getting along, but we're not just, it's not just that we are getting along, but we're thriving. We're blessing. We're encouraging. We're involved in each other's lives.

We care. We care. It adds to the depth and the credibility. Hear me? It adds to the depth and the credibility of who we are called to be, and it tells the story of our great God. Amen? So we're going to deal with one another for a few weeks.

And I'm not going to recap a whole bunch of stuff because I think enough has been said. So Rob, why don't you come on up and lead us as we close out this morning. And I simply want to say this morning, maybe you need to come before the Lord this morning and ask the Lord to fix your one another.

Maybe you're sideways with somebody that you shouldn't be sideways with. Maybe you're operating in the flesh and you know it. And this has been a wake-up call for you.

If we can't get it right within the walls of this church, I mean, my goodness, how are we going to get it right out there when the world continues to just bash?

I mean, I'm not going to get into all that because I'll get into a whole other sermon and we're done.

God, my prayer is that we would love one another well and love it. True biblical love is no respecter of where you came from, what you got on, how much money you got in the bank, what color is your skin, what's your past?

Jesus says, come to me, all of you who are weary and feeling, and I will give you rest. I will give you peace, a peace that passes all understanding.

And I'll also give you a love for someone you thought you could never love because you will begin to see them as I see them.

They are my creation, created in my image, the Imago Dei.

We don't get to define what God's love looks like through us.

God makes that definition. God is love.

And if the God of this universe dwells in your heart, you should love one another with brotherly affection. Amen?

Let's stand. Let's stand.

Father, we just thank you so much for your incredible love.

And God, you showed that love as you sent your son, Jesus Christ, to pay a price that we could never pay, to live a life that we could never live,

and to lead us in a path of repentance that we may come to know the one true loving God.

God, may your name be glorified today in all that we have studied and talked about today.

And may the name of Jesus be lifted high in all that we do.

And may our testimony tell a story about our great God, our great loving God,

and all God's people say,