There Are No Ordinary People First B Jackson 2025-03-09 Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record. ---- Well, good morning, everybody. How are we doing? You lost an hour of sleep tonight, but you still look wonderful. You're like, uh-huh. Yeah. Whatever, Carl. Hey. Would you stand with me? We'll join together in song. Good word from Psalm 92. I'd like to sing the song together. It's good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to the most high. It's good to proclaim his unfailing love in the morning. Here we are proclaiming his unfailing love and his faithfulness that night. Would you join us in singing that song? Good. It is good to praise you, Lord, and make music to your name. Most I Sing that again. Lord, and make music to your name, oh, most high. To proclaim to proclaim your love in the morning, rise, old moans of stone. And it is good. Oh, it is good to praise you in the door and make music to your name, almost I. It is good Amen. What a great way to start a worship gathering. You can have a seat here for a moment. Nick's got a just a couple announcements to share. Okay. Glad you're all here today. Awana is on tomorrow. It's our kids program, 05:45 right here. This whole building gets filled up. VBS has been announced June twenty third through twenty sixth. You can sign up on our website to be a volunteer or to register your child in advance. We're gonna put this up for a couple weeks and take it off for a couple weeks, but it's still on. Okay? So know that. Carla, quick quick update on Ray and Tanya. So they are in Africa. They started in South Africa. This week, they made it to Uganda with missionary encouragement stops along the way. They've already met with three, four different missionaries. And, just yesterday, they got to visit, Jonathan and Elena. That's that couple they're standing with. Jonathan and Elena at Eagle's Wings Children's Village there in Uganda. And I mentioned a couple weeks ago that that organization was broken into. One of the guards was severely beaten. The guard is now on the mend, but has a long recovery of, ahead. And Ray and Tanya said this about their visit with these missionaries. He said it was a blessing to breathe the same air, to be in the same room. They were just overflowing yesterday, with their their their visit, to encourage one another. And he said, they're great. This mission is effective. It was a wonderful time, and it feels like friendships that will last forever were forged today. So the journey continues. They're they're continuing on. Ray will be preaching at Togoni Baptist Church in Lemuru, Kenya on March 23. And so if you would, can we pause just for a moment to pray for Ray and Tanya? Lord, we ask your blessing on Ray and Tanya today. God, I'm just so thankful for them, for their heart, for this little local body, but also Lord for, the capital c church, the worldwide church, the way that you've wired them God. Give them such a heart for missions. God, we we all want that heart for missions, the gospel to the world. And, Lord, as they go, would you divinely would you divinely direct their steps and every interaction? Lord, would you connect the dots? Would you superintend? Would you make those divine meetings as they go? As they encourage the church and they encourage the shepherds who lead those churches. Thank you Lord for the McDaniels and their call to this church, their love for you, love for the global church. We're grateful for our pastor. In Jesus' name. Amen. Excellent. And for more events and announcements, and if you wanna be in a small group, all the information is on the website. If you can't find it or need help, let me know. My name is Nick. I'm working the church office. We'd love to get you plugged in however we can. And in order to meet your neighbors, we're gonna have you all stand up and greet each other. But if you would, please also move into the center and not leave space between you. We're about to have a whole bunch more people come in. We'd love to make room for them. So stand up and greet your neighbors. We're glad you're all here. Let's get back to some music. Given. Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. Who brings our chaos the king above all kings. This is amazing grace. This is unfailing You would lay down your life, then I would be savory. Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. And let's sing of his worthiness. Worthy is the lamb who slay. You would lay down your life, and I would be savory. Oh, Jesus, I sing for all that you've done for me. How about from Ephesians two eight? It's God saved us by his grace when we believed, and we cannot take credit for for this. It is a gift from God. Lord, we wanna pause and and and not run through these these words of these songs without really focusing and concentrating and and meditating on on what they mean. Thank you, God, for your grace, your unmerited favor that you are always pouring out on us. Thank you, God, for your unfailing love. You're the source and supply of love. Thank you, Lord, that you have died in our place for our sin. God, you truly are worthy. And so we pause, we say thank you, you truly are worthy, and we continue to sing these gospel songs. Amen. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus' thunderstorm. And wonder Christ our firm foundation. Christ is my firm foundation. The rock on which I stand, where everything around me is shaken. No. He won't. He won't. He won't. I've still got joy and chaos. I've got peace that makes no sense. I won't be going under. I'm not held by my own strength because I've built my Amen. You can have a seat here for a moment. This is the worship through giving part of the service. I'll invite our ushers to come on forward. If you knew to first be, please don't feel obligated to to give. Let those plates pass. Second Corinthians nine seven, it's not to give reluctantly or under compulsion, but cheerfully from the heart. And may I pray here before we play play play another song? Lord God almighty, for this morning, for this body together, gathered in your name, for these gospel songs that we have sung. God, we believe in the power of the gospel. We believe that you will not fail. We believe that you are our firm foundation under our feet, Lord, that you will carry us through, that you will not fail. Thank you, God, for the gifts that you have blessed this church with. God, I am overwhelmed this week by the stories, person after person after person that comes in. And we can't share every story. Some of them are so very, very delicate and they're private, but God, we get to say yes, and we can pray, and we can give the resources God, and it's because the generosity of your people, because of your radical generosity toward us. Thank you Jesus for that. God we want to use these gifts wisely, and not just the financial resources, every spiritual gift that you have given and blessed us with. God, we don't want it to go dormant. Would you awaken those gifts, Lord, in us so that we can use them for your kingdom's advance, so that we can love people well right here in Jackson and to the ends of the earth. In Jesus' name. Amen. Oh, how sweet it is to be given love without it. Just to know and live in your goodness. Jesus, my savior and friend. I lost and alone. I was the rest of my day. Oh, how sweet it is to be given love without end, just to know and Jesus, my savior friend. Oh, king of all kings, walking with me, gives me my comfortings. Oh, Lord, of heaven and earth. Shows me my way. Jesus, my savior, and my friend. Know my savior and friend. Lord Jesus, my savior and friend. Amen. Children's Church Cavalcade. Here we go. And may may I pray for our children too as they as they go? Lord, we are so thankful for every child here at first b. We want to do just as you said, let these children come to you and don't get in their way to to not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Lord, would you give us a childlike faith to receive the message this morning? Lord, let the simplicity of the the gospel wash over us. And, Lord, would you move in power that your spirit would move through the scripture and and through Brad as he shares it? And thank you again, God, that we get to be the body of Christ. Your your greatest command is to love you and to love one another. That one that that's our that's our our our aim, our goal. Would you help us in Jesus' name? Amen. Good morning. So last week, we took a look at how in light of the great commandment and the Imago Dei, we were made for relationship with God. How do we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength? And it's mostly by correcting three things, our image of God, our image of self, and our definition of love. By recognizing that God is our creator and our redeemer, we can then properly live a life of gratitude and live out in love towards God. Now this week, we're going to take on the second half of the great commandment and look at what it means to love our neighbor as ourselves. Now for the purpose of our discussion today, Joshua, I'm a little issue with the slides here. For the purpose of our discussion today, we're going to look at four things. Who is our neighbor? We're going look at the sacrificial nature of agape love. We're going look at the perfect loving message of the gospel, and we're gonna look at the special relationship that we have with those that are inside of the church. And really, the summary of all four of these is that everyone was made in God's image. But because of our rebellion and in believing a lie and rejecting God, we cannot have reconciliation. We cannot have peace with God apart from Jesus Christ. But then we, as forgiven followers of Jesus, we then get to exist in our local context, in our community, to bring that good news to our neighbors. Here's Paul framing this same idea with with a text that, Carl just read for us actually. Probably my favorite memory verse in the entire Bible. It's Ephesians two eight through 10. For grace by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship. We are his handiwork is another way of saying it. Created in Christ Jesus for good works so that we might do the good works that he prepared in advance for us. And what are those good works that Paul's talking about here? In light of the Imago Dei, in light of the great commandment, in a word, it's love. Love is the greatest work. But as we saw last week, love is not some shallow well wishing, not with God and not with people. Instead, love, same definition we used last week, love in light of the gospel is a sacrificial, active outpouring of an inward desire to want the highest good for someone. And there are other types of love. Recall from last week that the Greek word we're using specifically here in the text is agape love. And as our definition says, love is active and it is sacrificial. It needs to be both of those things, active and sacrificial. This is the type of love that we are called to as Christians. So let's look at how Jesus put that into application and interpretation in our text for today. And everyone pay close attention because this lawyer is about to ask the most important question in the world, and Jesus is going to answer it. Here's our key text for today. Luke ten twenty five through 37. And behold, a lawyer stood up and put him to the test saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Most important question in the world right there. And Jesus said to the lawyer, what's written in the law? How does it read to you? The lawyer answered, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus said to him, you have answered correctly, do this and you will live. But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? That's smaller than I planned it on be. Jesus replied and said, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him and went away leaving him half dead. And by coincidence, a priest was going down on that road and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levi also, when he came to the place and saw him passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey came upon him, and when he saw him, he felt compassion. And came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, and he put him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, take care of him, and whatever more you spend when I return, I will repay you. Now, which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers hands? And he said, the one who showed compassion to him. Then Jesus said to him, go and do the same. So that's the famous parable of the good Samaritan. Who is our neighbor? When the lawyer asked Jesus this question, he is simultaneously putting Jesus to the test as someone who is skeptical, and he's asking him, who do I really have to love? And Jesus replies a brilliant way of saying, it's whoever you come in contact with and whoever needs it. That's who our neighbor is. Your neighbor is simply anyone you're in context with. Church, you were placed by your local context, each of you by God for a reason. The neighborhood you live in, the work you go to, kids sports, doesn't matter. You are an ambassador wherever you go for the kingdom of God. You don't have to leave the country to share the gospel. You meet unbelievers everywhere you go, just going through your day to day life. A friend of mine has this great prayer that he prays every single day before he walks out his front door. He says, God, help me to love the people that you have put in my path today. And really, that's that's what we're looking at today. God, help me love the people that you have put in my path today. Do the people that you interface with every day know that you're a Christian? Are you being a light where you go? Do the people around you know what it means to be a Christian? Do they find the idea appealing because of you? Because Jesus called us to be exactly that. A city on a hill, a light on a lampstand. This is Matthew five fourteen through 16. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. Now, I'm not trying to shame you if you're not doing this. There is no shame or condemnation in light of the gospel. As we talked about last week, God loves you just as you are, but he loves you too much to leave you there. The Christian life is this crazy paradox of radical acceptance and then just a continual call to growth. So in case you're new here, I want to be very clear. We want you to come as you are. Thank you for trusting us with your time. Everyone is welcome here. You do not have to clean your life up before you walk in the doors of this church or any other one. This is a hospital, not a country club. God will not strike you down for walking in the doors of his church. That's a terrible lie from the enemy. And anything that we as a church do to perpetuate that lie needs to be taken out back, shot, and buried. You are welcome here. Whoever you are, whatever you're going through, whatever you have done in your life, we want you here. Christ did not come to save the righteous, but sinners. But at the same time, if you've been hanging out with us here for a while, and you can't specifically point to how God has grown you over the last year, something needs to change. That's a problem for you, and it's probably a problem for us as a church as well. This is why God leaves you here on earth after you are reborn. When you are baptized, we don't hold you under the water until you stop blowing bubbles so that we can send you off to glory. No. We bring you up out of the water so that you can continue to grow to be more like Christ, so that you can do the works that God has appointed himself for you and you alone to do. And one of those good works is to love our neighbor, those that you're in context with. Our culture has some really confusing ideas about who our neighbor is and what it means to love them. And we can ignore the obviously flawed, impersonal ones like I love ice cream or I love the mountains. But even setting that aside, depending on the context, love in our culture can mean support and affirm, have sexual relations with, enjoy, spend time with or just be related to. And I'm not trying to take cheap shots at a straw man here when I say that. I just think it's really important for us to recognize the waters we swim in, the cultural assumptions that are around us. Because like it or not, we are influenced by them. Recent Nielsen data shows that the average American spends seven hours a day on their screens. Not for their work. Not per day or not per week, per day, apart from work, seven hours a day. So even if we gather for an hour or two on Sunday, even if you have a daily quiet time, even if you get together with community group every single week, if you do all those things, you are still looking at a really high ratio of cultural intake to eternal truth. And remember, Jesus said, the world will hate you. The cultural messages that we're absorbing or being exposed to constantly, they're not of Christ. Satan is the one that is described as the prince of this world. The world will hate that we call evil evil and promote what is good. That we say that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that there is no other way to God except through him. Satan is pretty clever. He knows that for most of us, he's not going to pull us off sides for a witchcraft convention. But can he make us ineffective as ministers of Christ by pacifying us with endless entertainment and distraction? The data shows that for many of us, he already has. Jesus instead gives us some really specific instructions here, not just who our neighbor is, but also clarifies what it means to love our neighbor. And that's such a crazy paradox. Because Jesus warns us that the world will hate us, and he tells us that we're to love each and every one of them individually anyway. We are not to love the world as a collective. We are to love each and every person in it, because each and every person was made in the image of God. And it also helps, as we recall from last week, that we remember that we too were once enemies of God. All of us. That makes it easier then to have compassion upon anyone that we come across, just like the Samaritan. When he saw him, he felt compassion. Came up to him, bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, and he put him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and take took care of him. The Samaritan came upon somebody that would be his natural enemy and felt compassion. There is an obvious and compelling tenderness in the way that Jesus tells this parable that we can often neglect. In those days, you didn't linger on the roads any longer than you had to. Everyone knew that. The roads and travel were dangerous. Checking out an injured person on the road put you at risk for being attacked yourself. Whoever did that attack, whoever injured this man, could come back for seconds at any point. But the Samaritan puts the injured man on his own animal and goes out of his way to take care of him and spends money on him without limit, and we're called to do the same. Now keep in mind also that to a Jew, a Samaritan was the worst of the worst. Not just a political enemy, a heretic, somebody that had traded the truth of God for a lie. For our consideration, we can substitute Samaritan for somebody that we might think of as an enemy group. ISIS, an atheist, political enemy, an RV with Texas plates trying to make the turn at town square in the summer. Anyone that means ill for us as a group. But this isn't a one time teaching. Jesus talked about this idea constantly. This is just two chapters, Luke six and seven. Pulling out four things to look at the word agape used in these two chapters. But I say to you who hear love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. If you love those who love you, what benefit is it to you for even sinners love those who love them? But love your enemies and do good and lend expecting nothing in return. Her sins which are forgiven are many, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. Hopefully, you see a pattern here. Agape love, the love that we are called to have towards God and towards our neighbors, is at its core sacrificial and selfless and out of great depth of gratitude. If it doesn't cost you something, it is an agape love. That's a decent rule of thumb. If it doesn't cost you something, it isn't agape love. And you can think about how that contrasts with our cultural definitions that we just looked at, which are inherently transactional and short term in perspective. Instead, we can remember that this life is not all that there is, that our truest life actually begins at death. If you give everything away that you have in this world, Jesus says you will paradoxically not have nothing, you will have everything that truly matters. You store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. And maybe if you do give away everything, maybe God will replenish your financial gifts so that you can give more, Or maybe he won't. God is not a formula. It's up to him. But we can trust him, and we can obey his commands, and we are commanded to be generous in light of the kingdom. And that really is our key point here. Love is sacrificial. It has to be costly or it isn't love. And you can't expect to be paid back either. And that's true of money, that's true of service, and it's true of what might be most our most precious commodity, time. For a simple illustration, whether you have kids or you just were one, kids do not want a nicer house, a nicer car, or more stuff. Their deepest desire, a kid's deepest desire, is you. Their deepest need is more of you. And not just you with them in proximity while you're on your phone or your laptop or computer or or phone or TV. But talking with them, playing with them, interacting with them, asking them intentional questions. And the same thing is really true of all people. It's most obvious with kids because of their vulnerability. But the same thing is true of me. I can tell how someone cares for me by their willingness to set aside other demands on their life and spend intentional time either with me or working on something for me. And that's true for everyone around you. Here's where it ties back to the Imago Dei, because we have to remember that everyone around you was made in the image of God. Not just the people we like, not just the people we agree with, and not just the people that call themselves Christians. Everyone was made in the image of God. And I've used this quote before, but it's been almost a year since I used it, so we'll dust it off here. This is CS Lewis from the Weight of Glory. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses. To remember that the dullest, most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship. Or else a horror and a corruption such as if you saw it now, only in a nightmare. All day long, we are in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization, these are mortal. And each of those is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals with whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit, either immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. There are no ordinary people. And borrowing from last week, we can do this. We can see people this way because God first loved us. It's out of gratitude, not willpower. And so all that is to say that we need to reset our mind frame for a bit. We need to use the idea that people are made in the image of God and that they are eternal. And if people are eternal, the best way to care for them is to take care of them now, yes, but also in light of eternity. A key test if you're living out the truth of the kingdom of God is are you using people to get stuff? Or are you using the material things, the stuff in your life to get people for the kingdom of God? Think of the parable of the shrewd man manager in Luke 16. The manager gets it. He's about to lose his material influence, just as we will. Now for him, in the parable, he's going to lose his job. But for us, one day, this life will come to an end. Each and every one of us are going to die, and everyone you know. And if this is your first time at First Beat, welcome here. But the ancients lived in view of this, and they called it the Memento Mori. It's a popular philosophy, both with the early church and with the stoics. James four fourteen talks about this. He says, what is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. So our mission, while we still live on this earth, is to actively pursue the best for the people around us. Because you know what the one thing you won't be able to do in heaven is? You won't be able to share the gospel with the lost. The gospel will be a reality in front of your face and there won't be any lost people there, only those that have bowed the knee to Jesus. Now, one quick note that I need to make on evangelism is that while we need to have the courage to share our faith, we are not fulfilling our commandment from today if we see people as projects or chits or something to be accomplished. The best evangelism happens in the context of relationships. And in order for people to trust Christ, generally, they have to trust the Christian first. Your life is a witness and a testimony to the goodness of God, whether you want it to be or not. So you live differently. You love them with agape love. But then, you have to tell people why, because people aren't going to ask you why you live differently. You have to tell them. And if it feels scary, you can start the conversation really simply. Because we all think that we need to be great at apologetics, that we need to start YouTube videos of us defeating wrong ideologies. But the best way in light of that people are made in the image of God, the best way to love the person in front of you is to ask them a simple question. Do you know how much God loves you? Do you know what the central message of the Bible is? What do you think happens when we die? Do you think we can be sure about it? Or my favorite, the least dangerous one of all. Hey, how can I be praying for you? If we can leave here and go throughout our week, and just every time we talk to somebody at the office that's having a hard time, every time you have a server at a restaurant and you're gonna pray to bless the food, hey, we're about to pray. My friends and I, we're gonna pray here. How can we be praying for you? No one has ever gotten offended at that question. And they will love it, and you will end up in more intentional conversations than you've ever thought possible. And the difference between asking those questions and starting a debate is seeing people in the image of God. And it makes clear that evangelism is not a chore, it's not a task, it's not a strategy, it is love. It is an outward reflection of an inward desire for the best for that person. And while we might be convinced that the outside world is hostile to the message of God, and as a collective, it is. But individually, the stats are something that, like, nine out of 10 Americans already own a Bible even if they don't read it. 75% of Americans when surveyed want to grow spiritually this year. Most of the people you see in any given day, they want to know more of God and that is an opportunity for us to walk in. So that's how we love those that are outside the church. We serve them sacrificially, never thinking of ourselves, but instead thinking about them in love in view of the kingdom of God. Now keep in mind that the Greek word that is used most commonly for this gathering is the ecclesia. So we love people outside the church sacrificially. We love people inside the church sacrificially. And the ecclesia, the called out ones, we are inextricably a part of the day to day world. You are in your local context for a reason, as I said. And yet, we're also set apart. So we have a special relationship with the family of God that is unlike anything else in the world. There is a bond within those that are in Christ that is unique and that is powerful. And Jesus gives us special instructions in our interactions. Well, remember from last week that there are three things that we're thinking about. God is inherently relational. We are made in God's image. Therefore, we are inherently relational. I'll say it again as review. God is inherently relational because he is triune. We were made in God's image. Therefore, we are inherently relational. And as that applies to our relationships within the church, there is this phrase that has been haunting me ever since I first heard it from my friends at the Eden Project. It is that the quality of our lives is the quality of our relationships. Full stop. The quality of our lives is the quality of our relationships. And if we think on this for a bit, I think we know it to be true, but we can also simultaneously be afraid of it. Because this is why everybody you know that's gone on like a third world mission trip comes back and they remark on how genuinely happy the people they met were. And it's not because poverty or a simple life is in and of itself inherently better for us. It is because basically every other culture in the world is aware of the fact that the quality of our lives is the quality of our relationships. And we in the modern West have forgotten at its core what it means to be human, that we were made in the image of God, that we were made for relationships. We are the richest, most comfortable nation in the history of the world, and yet we are miserable, and isolation is rampant. In 2023, The US Surgeon General Vivek Murphey issued this advisory and opened with this line. He was calling loneliness the new national health crisis. He said the mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity. As a nation, we have forgotten that the quality of our lives is the quality of our relationships. And yet, think about all of the things that we do to attain the good life, the American dream. We spend too much time away from our families trying to provide a standard of living that we've been sold by a marketing department. We work hard at jobs we don't like to buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't even like or know. And many of us bury ourselves in debt or we hoard our money like we'll never be able to earn another penny, and it's usually out of fear or out of keeping up appearances. And men, I'm going to pick on us for a minute, partially because it's the only perspective I know, but also partially because I think our tendencies are worse on this. And I think as leaders, can handle it. Because we have a greater tendency as men to be more oriented towardly productivity and less towards relationship. I know so many men that work hard during the week, maybe they do kids sports or a family activity on Saturdays, and then Sunday, whether they attend church or not, is their day. The vast majority of us never carve out regular time to have intentional conversations around Jesus. We can even be too busy with productivity for God to engage relationally. And that's a shame because we were made by God for relationships. Not just the surface level dad joke at sports practice, not just the, hey, how are you at the trailhead or on the skin track or at the office, but intentional time asking questions that matter and listening for the answers. And I get it. We're busy. We have to do a lot of work to get by in this special place. And we didn't move here primarily for the people. Most of us moved here, firstly, for outdoor activities. And most of our outdoor hobbies are either solitary or highly aerobic, and it's really hard to have a long intentional conversation when you're out of breath. But that's why we started the Thursday men's lunch study. It's half study, it's half connecting with other men. But if you aren't being intentional with your time in some way and making room for those conversations, either as you go about your life or setting aside regular time, then you're living as if this life has all the adventure that you're ever going to get, and you're living as if adventure is the most important thing. I know lots of guys here that have great hobbies, that go on great vacations. They've got cool stuff. But when you really ask them how they are doing, when you peel back the layers and ask them about their marriage, about their children, about their walk with Jesus, it is hollow. Because fun hobbies are the equivalent of a dopamine hit or a sugar rush. There's nothing wrong with it, but it cannot be your primary fuel source. It cannot be what sustains you. Instead, we can compare how that feels to having a great dinner with close friends, where you know them and you are fully known. Research has shown that intentional eye contact during deep conversation has the same effect on the brain as antidepressants, but without any of the nasty side effects. And it doesn't have to be fancy. I know we're Baptist, but a homemade margarita on the back porch with friends and some good tacos. That has become a greater joy for me than skiing any of the exciting lines in the park. It's a life that is actually well lived. That is the core truth, living life in the core truth that we are made for relationships. And people are complicated. Don't get me wrong. Those deep relationships, they don't come without work, without commitment, and they come with a lot of mess. Proverbs fourteen four is great for this because it says, where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox. Guys, the Bible's kind of funny. You get what it's calling you there. Right? Bulls, and bulls make stuff. But this is where we arrive at our best summary for life at the church. As I said earlier, there's a special relationship for those that are within the church. These are called famously the one anothers of scripture, and you probably might you might not be able to read this. There's about 45 of them. I only did a survey here. There's about 45 of them in the New Testament depending on how you how you count it. Just Google the one anothers of the New Testament. But look at some of them here. Just as I have loved you, so you are to love one another. Love one another as I have loved you. Outdo one another in showing honor. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Live in such harmony with one another in accord with Christ Jesus. Forgive one another. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Confess your sins to one another. Pray for one another so that you might be healed. Stir one another up to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. Teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Through love, serve one another. Submit to one another. Do not speak evil against one another. And the list goes on and on. But you see the thread here. Love, gather, encourage, serve, pray for, confess your sins to. Remind each other of the truth while avoiding gossip, slander, and grumpiness. You want to know God's will for your life, Christian? It's this. These are the things that radically push against the grain of our humanity, and they can only really be done truly in the context of a vulnerable community. Now, as a personal illustration on this, for the last three, four years, I've been struggling with some pretty nasty health stuff, and many of you are aware of this. And I know I'm not alone in that, and so I'm not trying to compare or anything, but my hope is that sharing this will encourage you. Because like many in our community, I used to take a certain pride in physical capacity. I like being able to do a lot of different things, and I like being able to do them well and probably quicker. In fact, to put it in light of our discussion last week, I probably based some of my identity in it. Too much so. But I was also at the same time praying to God to grow independence and in relationship with him. And God hasn't told me specifically what he's doing in this, but it does seem like he is allowing this thorn in my side so that I would grow more humble and more dependent upon him. And thankfully, so far, I don't experience much in the way of pain, but I have experienced significant enough atrophy and loss of strength in my upper body that I can't do a push up or a pull up anymore, and I can't even hold more than about I get more of a tremor, and I can't hold more than about five pounds in my hand like this. But in experiencing this weakness, I've drawn nearer to God and nearer to my brothers and sisters in Christ in a way that I had never previously experienced. I'm experiencing the love of the one another's on a deeper level, and it is beautiful. Now, I still pray for healing every day. I would love to experience a miracle, but I also know that one day God is going to heal me and completely. And because of who he is, I can trust in him and his timing. Because he's not just a genie that blindly grants wishes. He is the good, good father. God only wants and knows and provides for me the very best. Romans eight twenty eight can definitely get misused, and we never want to use it to bludgeon people. But I have seen it in my own life time and time again of late, that we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. It's Romans eight twenty eight, and I love that verse. I cling to that verse right now. But it isn't on our timeline that everything works out for our good. It's on God's timing. This isn't like a rom com where you get hit by a car or you lose your job so that you can meet the love of your life the next day. This is like being refined in a fire so that you can better reflect the glory of God's love. I don't want to grow weaker. I want my strength back. But if my ultimate identity is as a child of God, I am more a child of God now than I have ever been before. Or as God told Paul in second Corinthians 12, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. I hate that verse, but I am learning firsthand and painfully that the quality of our lives is the quality of our relationships. There is a massive difference between being around people and being known. You can be in this big room every week, where even people know your name, and still be utterly alone. Or you can choose to be intentional and be vulnerable and experience the joy of being truly known. While I was prepping this message, Patrick Allman texted me, if you guys remember him. They're doing well. They say hi from Texas. But he's gotten into a new community group at his church there. And he was just remarking to me how there's it's just amazing. You get in the community and everything's fine. And then there's a moment where basically everybody in the community group at the same time reveals that everybody's got stuff going on in their life. Whether it's marriage, whether it's ministry, whether it's sin struggles, whatever it is, everybody has something that they're struggling with right now. It's universal. And if you're not experiencing that right now, you're probably in your twenties. But it's common. But it's such a relief when you experience that moment. And that's why Jesus called us into the one another's. We share one another's burdens. We confess our sins to one another. We pray for one another. We encourage one another towards love and good deeds. And that's why we gather not just on Sundays, but throughout the week. And together, we are on a mission that cannot fail, that the kingdom of God has already secured the victory that we so desperately crave. And thank God it's not on us because Jesus already did it. Not through military, economic, or political conquest, though. Jesus won through losing. He prevailed through dying and sacrificing, called us to do the same. Matthew sixteen twenty four, whoever would be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. I'll invite the band back up, and we'll close with that because we get eternal life through dying. We win by losing. We gain by giving it away. It's been called the upside down kingdom for a reason. But are we brave enough to live in that truth? Because if so, God is inviting us into so much more than we would ever imagine. And it is so much fun to live in your calling. The joy that comes from good table fellowship, from breaking bread with your brothers and sisters in Christ on a regular basis and in full knowledge of each other. We get our best life not by trying to get ahead and taking care of number one, but by doing the two things that our Lord and Savior called us to do. We love our Lord, our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, strength, and we love our neighbor as our self. Church, this is your purpose. This is what you were made for. This is what you were called out of your sin for, to advance the kingdom of God and the gates of hell will not stand against the kingdom. The kingdom's already moving. Aslan is on the move. Look at what's going on in The Middle East right now. Look at what's going on in American college campuses. The two places that are supposed to be the end of the world, The Middle East and an American college campus. And they're experiencing revival. And it's not just there, it's here too. Bible sales are going up everywhere around the world and we get to participate in that. It's a call for you to love your neighbor. If you want to know what to do with your life just this week, it's love. Thank you, church. Have a great week of worship. Let's sing. Hey, Connor. Thanks, buddy. Thank you. Hey. You guys did a good job All praise to the father for the few come. And all praise to Christ Jesus, his only son. And all praise to the spirit who's made us one. And Lord, would you help us as we go this week that we would be carriers of your brand of love, your sacrificial, self giving, others focused love. We need you. We truly need you to be able to do this. God, would you bring us close together as a body of Christ? Would you knit us together? In Jesus' name, amen. And I wanna send you with this little benediction here as we go. Dear friends, since God so loved us, let's love one another. No one's ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us. Amen.