WEBVTT 00:00:04.040 --> 00:00:05.360 Well, I'll tell you, 00:00:05.510 --> 00:00:08.846 it's interesting to see some of the things that are going on. 00:00:08.846 --> 00:00:11.046 And last night, 00:00:11.078 --> 00:00:12.774 I got a phone call while I was. 00:00:12.774 --> 00:00:18.422 I was actually doing a celebration of life memorial service last night. 00:00:18.526 --> 00:00:19.598 Pray for that family. 00:00:19.598 --> 00:00:23.830 That's the 21 year old that passed away last Sunday evening. 00:00:23.870 --> 00:00:25.318 But actually, 00:00:25.374 --> 00:00:27.348 about seven years ago, 00:00:27.404 --> 00:00:30.480 I baptized him and his mom and his daddy. 00:00:30.900 --> 00:00:34.028 So just keep them in prayer because it was a difficult time last night. 00:00:34.028 --> 00:00:34.556 But during that, 00:00:34.556 --> 00:00:35.636 I got a phone call. 00:00:35.636 --> 00:00:37.956 And when I finally listened to the message, 00:00:37.956 --> 00:00:39.756 it was a guy I knew up in the mountains. 00:00:39.756 --> 00:00:42.116 And the first words out of his mouth were, 00:00:42.116 --> 00:00:43.960 I think I love you. 00:00:46.140 --> 00:00:46.924 But anyway, 00:00:46.972 --> 00:00:50.732 we had one of the gathering that donated a camper two weeks ago, 00:00:50.732 --> 00:00:55.244 and. And I called a young man that I had discipled years ago, 00:00:55.292 --> 00:00:57.602 who is now a pastor up there. 00:00:57.900 --> 00:00:58.548 And anyway, 00:00:58.548 --> 00:00:59.380 I called Nate, 00:00:59.380 --> 00:00:59.796 and I said, 00:00:59.796 --> 00:01:00.284 nate? I said, 00:01:00.284 --> 00:01:01.156 we got a camper. 00:01:01.156 --> 00:01:01.476 I said, 00:01:01.476 --> 00:01:02.484 you think you could use it? 00:01:02.372 --> 00:01:02.716 And he said, 00:01:02.716 --> 00:01:05.100 yeah, my neighbor needs a place to live. 00:01:05.100 --> 00:01:06.444 Her house was flooded. 00:01:06.572 --> 00:01:07.156 And I was like, 00:01:07.156 --> 00:01:09.868 wow. And so he told me her name, 00:01:09.924 --> 00:01:11.804 and I didn't think anything about it. 00:01:11.804 --> 00:01:14.860 And then when I was up there this week visiting with a couple of pastors 00:01:14.860 --> 00:01:15.640 on Tuesday, 00:01:16.460 --> 00:01:17.652 he pointed to the house. 00:01:17.548 --> 00:01:17.828 I went, 00:01:17.828 --> 00:01:19.298 well, I know her. 00:01:19.444 --> 00:01:21.198 I've known her for 20 years. 00:01:21.334 --> 00:01:26.038 So when they delivered the camper Friday evening, 00:01:26.094 --> 00:01:28.214 I think they were cleaning out her house. 00:01:28.214 --> 00:01:28.550 I mean, 00:01:28.550 --> 00:01:29.006 gutting it, 00:01:29.006 --> 00:01:29.350 you know, 00:01:29.350 --> 00:01:30.574 from the flood and everything. 00:01:30.574 --> 00:01:33.758 And so her brother called me and he said. 00:01:33.854 --> 00:01:34.238 He said, 00:01:34.238 --> 00:01:36.366 man, he said that thing showed up, 00:01:36.366 --> 00:01:40.358 right? Just like at the exact minute it needed to show up. 00:01:40.494 --> 00:01:42.334 So God connects dots, 00:01:42.502 --> 00:01:44.006 and that's exciting. 00:01:44.078 --> 00:01:49.286 So thank y'all for being loving and generous and all those kind of 00:01:49.318 --> 00:01:51.958 things. Because that's where we are right now. 00:01:52.350 --> 00:01:54.990 Obviously, we finished up going through the book of Hebrews. 00:01:54.990 --> 00:01:57.822 And so now we're talking about the gatherings priorities. 00:01:57.822 --> 00:01:59.294 And the idea of priorities, 00:01:59.294 --> 00:02:00.822 meaning those things which are important. 00:02:00.822 --> 00:02:03.230 And Jesus identifies these as important. 00:02:03.310 --> 00:02:05.190 So I want to read the text for you. 00:02:04.918 --> 00:02:05.550 From Matthew, 00:02:05.550 --> 00:02:06.414 chapter 22, 00:02:06.462 --> 00:02:11.420 verses 34 through verse 40. 00:02:11.590 --> 00:02:12.480 I don't know if I. 00:02:12.480 --> 00:02:13.608 It says 39, 00:02:13.664 --> 00:02:14.456 but I'm going to give you. 00:02:14.456 --> 00:02:15.096 From 34. 00:02:15.128 --> 00:02:15.472 It says, 00:02:15.472 --> 00:02:19.752 when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the sadducees, 00:02:19.936 --> 00:02:21.100 they came together. 00:02:21.640 --> 00:02:22.248 One of them, 00:02:22.248 --> 00:02:23.898 an expert in the law, 00:02:24.440 --> 00:02:26.488 asked a question to test him. 00:02:26.664 --> 00:02:29.440 Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest? 00:02:29.440 --> 00:02:30.984 And he said to them, 00:02:30.984 --> 00:02:32.912 love the Lord your God with all your heart, 00:02:32.912 --> 00:02:33.680 with all your soul, 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:35.832 with all your mind is the greatest, 00:02:35.832 --> 00:02:37.620 most important command? 00:02:38.020 --> 00:02:39.670 The second is like it. 00:02:39.692 --> 00:02:41.342 Love your neighbor as yourself. 00:02:41.284 --> 00:02:45.960 All the law and the prophets depend on these two commands. 00:02:47.900 --> 00:02:49.412 So that's Jesus talking, 00:02:49.516 --> 00:02:50.796 so we're going to pay attention to it. 00:02:50.796 --> 00:02:51.172 All right, 00:02:51.172 --> 00:02:51.832 let's pray. 00:02:51.844 --> 00:02:53.404 God, we thank you and we praise you again, 00:02:53.404 --> 00:02:55.188 that your word is true and faithful. 00:02:55.188 --> 00:02:55.548 And God, 00:02:55.548 --> 00:02:56.644 you've spoken to us. 00:02:56.524 --> 00:02:56.796 And so, 00:02:56.796 --> 00:03:01.840 God, it becomes our responsibility to listen. 00:03:02.140 --> 00:03:03.236 Not just to hear it, 00:03:03.236 --> 00:03:04.238 but to listen. 00:03:04.404 --> 00:03:05.470 To pay attention. 00:03:05.970 --> 00:03:10.026 God, that we might do the things that bring you glory, 00:03:10.098 --> 00:03:14.178 but that speak of you to the world around us. 00:03:14.234 --> 00:03:16.544 And we pray it in Jesus name. 00:03:15.778 --> 00:03:22.946 Amen. We started right toward the end of September with what I've 00:03:22.978 --> 00:03:25.082 referred to as the gatherings priorities. 00:03:25.146 --> 00:03:27.266 And the first thing we talked about was identity. 00:03:27.266 --> 00:03:28.186 Who are we? 00:03:28.186 --> 00:03:28.514 You know, 00:03:28.514 --> 00:03:32.910 we're a worship community of passionate people that we live out the 00:03:32.950 --> 00:03:34.270 gospel by loving God, 00:03:34.270 --> 00:03:35.920 living Jesus and walking together. 00:03:35.798 --> 00:03:38.606 And we spent a couple of weeks on be the. 00:03:38.606 --> 00:03:40.158 We spent one week on be the people, 00:03:40.158 --> 00:03:44.198 be that people that lives out those priorities. 00:03:44.374 --> 00:03:45.046 Next week, 00:03:45.078 --> 00:03:49.470 we spent that Sunday talking about be the gathering that lives out those 00:03:49.510 --> 00:03:53.662 priorities. Then we started dealing with the loving God part of it and 00:03:53.662 --> 00:03:55.054 what it means to love God, 00:03:55.054 --> 00:03:56.054 what it means to love. 00:03:56.054 --> 00:04:00.326 Kyle preached great on that Sunday on the definitions of love and how the 00:04:00.326 --> 00:04:03.646 Bible depicts love to the world. 00:04:03.718 --> 00:04:04.686 And then last week, 00:04:04.686 --> 00:04:05.774 as I was sharing with you, 00:04:05.774 --> 00:04:06.502 that love, 00:04:06.646 --> 00:04:07.518 you know, 00:04:07.694 --> 00:04:11.222 the strongest statement I made last week was the fact that you will 00:04:11.222 --> 00:04:13.170 worship that which you love, 00:04:13.990 --> 00:04:17.290 and you'll worship most that which you love most. 00:04:18.270 --> 00:04:22.150 So if there's something other than God that you love most, 00:04:22.190 --> 00:04:25.820 you're going to worship that more than you'll actually worship God. 00:04:25.966 --> 00:04:27.480 So when we're going to love God, 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:28.680 we're going to worship him. 00:04:28.680 --> 00:04:30.184 And if we're going to worship him, 00:04:30.184 --> 00:04:32.168 we need to love him most and best. 00:04:32.168 --> 00:04:35.168 And I've always said he loves us most and best. 00:04:34.880 --> 00:04:37.780 So we love him most and best back. 00:04:38.920 --> 00:04:41.056 So why are priorities. 00:04:41.128 --> 00:04:43.456 Priorities. I mean, 00:04:43.488 --> 00:04:47.160 why did Jesus name these as the two greatest commands? 00:04:47.200 --> 00:04:47.816 The first one, 00:04:47.816 --> 00:04:48.476 the greatest. 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:49.648 The second is, 00:04:49.704 --> 00:04:50.240 like it, 00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:51.776 love your neighbor as your. 00:04:51.776 --> 00:04:53.656 As. As you love yourself. 00:04:53.728 --> 00:04:57.984 And the idea being that these are those things that God has identified as 00:04:57.984 --> 00:05:00.208 the most important things that we can do. 00:05:00.208 --> 00:05:02.200 Because if we don't do the most important things, 00:05:02.200 --> 00:05:04.060 we don't follow the instructions, 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:07.620 we can't possibly get it right. 00:05:08.440 --> 00:05:09.864 So I'm going to tell you a parable. 00:05:09.864 --> 00:05:11.032 This is just a Bobby parable. 00:05:11.032 --> 00:05:12.360 It's not a Bible parable. 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:13.696 Bobby Bible kind of goes, 00:05:13.696 --> 00:05:14.184 but anyway, 00:05:14.184 --> 00:05:15.160 Bobby parable. 00:05:15.320 --> 00:05:18.620 Anybody ever heard of the restaurant called Ralph and Kakus? 00:05:18.376 --> 00:05:20.430 Who's heard of Ralph and Kakus? 00:05:21.010 --> 00:05:22.150 Couple of you. 00:05:22.890 --> 00:05:24.410 I am shocked. 00:05:24.570 --> 00:05:27.870 Well, this is a Ralph and Kaku's cookbook right here. 00:05:28.850 --> 00:05:33.550 Now, it appears that Ralph and Kaku Olindy were restaurateurs in 00:05:34.210 --> 00:05:35.390 Louisiana. 00:05:35.890 --> 00:05:39.554 Says their first restaurant was on a dead end road by a river called the 00:05:39.554 --> 00:05:40.510 False river. 00:05:40.890 --> 00:05:44.466 It was like a sort of a branch of the Mississippi. 00:05:44.466 --> 00:05:46.136 And they made Cajun food, 00:05:46.288 --> 00:05:47.504 and it got so popular. 00:05:47.504 --> 00:05:49.536 They opened one in Baton Rouge, 00:05:49.568 --> 00:05:51.000 and they opened one in Bossier City, 00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:52.248 and they opened one in Metairie, 00:05:52.248 --> 00:05:53.512 and they opened one in New Orleans, 00:05:53.512 --> 00:05:55.216 and they opened one in Houston. 00:05:55.216 --> 00:05:57.312 They opened one in Jackson, 00:05:57.496 --> 00:05:58.580 Mississippi. 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:00.664 Somewhere around 1996, 00:06:00.712 --> 00:06:02.584 I think there was a fatal era that took place. 00:06:02.584 --> 00:06:05.060 They sold out to Piccadilly cafeterias. 00:06:05.640 --> 00:06:07.744 Ralph and Kakuz wasn't the same after that. 00:06:07.744 --> 00:06:10.100 But listen to this. 00:06:10.740 --> 00:06:12.840 One pound crawfish tails, 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:15.870 one half cup of butter, 00:06:16.580 --> 00:06:18.188 two tablespoons of garlic, 00:06:18.284 --> 00:06:21.364 chopped, one half cups of onions, 00:06:21.452 --> 00:06:23.964 chopped one half cup of celery, 00:06:24.052 --> 00:06:27.400 chopped, half cup of bell pepper, 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:29.520 chopped. 00:06:30.820 --> 00:06:33.540 One can of rotel tomatoes and green chilies. 00:06:33.620 --> 00:06:34.960 And the juice, 00:06:36.110 --> 00:06:37.770 one teaspoon of salt, 00:06:38.150 --> 00:06:39.930 one teaspoon black pepper, 00:06:40.630 --> 00:06:45.170 half cup of parsley half cup of green onions, 00:06:45.870 --> 00:06:47.650 three cups of cooked rice. 00:06:48.470 --> 00:06:50.450 Somebody tell me what that is. 00:06:53.990 --> 00:06:56.398 Jambalaya. Thank you very much. 00:06:56.574 --> 00:06:59.070 That is crawfish jambalaya. 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:02.490 Now, some of you might not like crawfish, 00:07:02.870 --> 00:07:04.830 so what we would do then is we'd put, 00:07:04.830 --> 00:07:06.086 what? Shrimp in it, 00:07:06.086 --> 00:07:07.076 sausage in it, 00:07:07.102 --> 00:07:08.254 chicken in it, 00:07:08.422 --> 00:07:09.766 any number of other things. 00:07:09.598 --> 00:07:14.486 But you know what happens when you change out the first ingredient of 00:07:14.518 --> 00:07:15.610 that recipe? 00:07:15.990 --> 00:07:21.646 It's no longer crawfish jambalaya because you didn't follow the 00:07:21.678 --> 00:07:24.902 instructions, you didn't consider. 00:07:25.006 --> 00:07:27.710 Now, this is Kakua Lindi's personal recipe. 00:07:27.750 --> 00:07:29.400 It says so right there. 00:07:30.010 --> 00:07:32.550 If you don't follow the instructions, 00:07:32.930 --> 00:07:36.630 you don't make the dish that's on the page. 00:07:37.210 --> 00:07:41.002 It's a recipe to accomplish what's set out before you. 00:07:41.026 --> 00:07:45.386 Now, I'm not going to go into the instructions because that could get it 00:07:45.386 --> 00:07:48.310 confusing. Likewise, 00:07:49.770 --> 00:07:56.010 if you don't follow God's instruction for how to live the life that he 00:07:56.050 --> 00:07:57.700 set before us to live, 00:07:58.080 --> 00:08:00.040 it's not gonna come out right. 00:08:00.040 --> 00:08:03.024 It's not gonna be what God intended for it to be, 00:08:03.024 --> 00:08:04.120 and you're not gonna. 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:07.750 And I'm not gonna be who God intended us to be. 00:08:07.824 --> 00:08:09.500 We've gotta love God first. 00:08:10.200 --> 00:08:13.112 We gotta love him the most more than anything else. 00:08:13.112 --> 00:08:15.016 That's what we've talked about the last two weeks. 00:08:15.016 --> 00:08:15.504 So today, 00:08:15.504 --> 00:08:17.400 the title of the message is just living Jesus. 00:08:17.400 --> 00:08:20.040 Because that's kind of the way that over, 00:08:20.080 --> 00:08:20.456 you know, 00:08:20.456 --> 00:08:23.426 a little over 15 years ago now that I identified. 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:25.312 What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? 00:08:25.312 --> 00:08:27.384 We're gonna go out into this community, 00:08:27.384 --> 00:08:31.084 and we're just going to live Jesus in the community. 00:08:31.252 --> 00:08:33.036 We want people to see Jesus in us, 00:08:33.036 --> 00:08:34.444 so we're going to love the community. 00:08:34.444 --> 00:08:36.756 It was really interesting because when I first came here, 00:08:36.756 --> 00:08:42.684 the sunrise worship gathering that we have was held down at the welcome 00:08:42.732 --> 00:08:44.564 center right there next to Buddy's, 00:08:44.564 --> 00:08:47.204 next to the pier down in that area. 00:08:47.580 --> 00:08:50.676 And surf city Baptist Church had always rented that building for the 00:08:50.676 --> 00:08:52.724 sunrise worship gathering, 00:08:52.772 --> 00:08:53.360 right? 00:08:54.260 --> 00:08:55.532 And I didn't know. 00:08:55.532 --> 00:08:56.316 I showed up, 00:08:56.316 --> 00:08:56.724 and they said, 00:08:56.724 --> 00:08:57.572 yeah, that's where we do it. 00:08:57.572 --> 00:08:57.796 I said, 00:08:57.796 --> 00:09:01.924 okay. And we do the sunrise worship gathering. 00:09:01.972 --> 00:09:03.780 And every year, 00:09:03.940 --> 00:09:05.964 people would come up to me and they'd go, 00:09:05.964 --> 00:09:07.614 you didn't take an offering? 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:09.000 I'd go, 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:11.220 so, right. 00:09:11.260 --> 00:09:11.920 I mean, 00:09:11.972 --> 00:09:13.252 well, where's the offering plate? 00:09:13.252 --> 00:09:14.924 Well, there's not one. 00:09:15.092 --> 00:09:16.356 Well, where do we. 00:09:16.356 --> 00:09:16.844 And I was like, 00:09:16.844 --> 00:09:17.532 no, look, 00:09:17.676 --> 00:09:23.628 this was something that we do and did and we still do as a gift to the 00:09:23.644 --> 00:09:27.124 community, because we want to tell the community about God's love. 00:09:26.908 --> 00:09:29.636 We want to tell the community about the resurrection of Christ. 00:09:29.636 --> 00:09:32.724 We want to tell the community that we love them. 00:09:32.724 --> 00:09:36.700 That's why we're giving this to you as a worship gathering. 00:09:36.740 --> 00:09:40.036 Right. That's how we wanted to get out into the community. 00:09:39.820 --> 00:09:43.116 And one of the things I used to say quite often is that if we love the 00:09:43.116 --> 00:09:45.760 community, then the community will respond. 00:09:47.540 --> 00:09:48.828 And so when I look at this, 00:09:48.828 --> 00:09:49.220 I'm like, 00:09:49.220 --> 00:09:52.068 wow, loving God is something that we do. 00:09:52.124 --> 00:09:53.692 Yes, between us and God, 00:09:53.692 --> 00:09:58.940 but it's also something that we do that the world needs to see in us. 00:09:59.320 --> 00:10:03.380 Do we behave as if we love God? 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:05.850 Do we act like it? 00:10:05.776 --> 00:10:09.088 Secondly, do we behave as we love our neighbors, 00:10:09.144 --> 00:10:10.928 others? That kind of idea, 00:10:11.024 --> 00:10:12.416 because the priorities are, 00:10:12.448 --> 00:10:13.248 is that we, 00:10:13.248 --> 00:10:14.744 as the body of Christ, 00:10:14.744 --> 00:10:15.824 we love God first. 00:10:15.824 --> 00:10:16.980 We love others. 00:10:18.160 --> 00:10:19.968 We walk together in that. 00:10:20.024 --> 00:10:20.684 You know, 00:10:20.784 --> 00:10:23.754 the idea of the body of Christ coming together. 00:10:24.150 --> 00:10:24.534 You know, 00:10:24.534 --> 00:10:25.358 when I do a wedding, 00:10:25.358 --> 00:10:27.374 it's interesting because everybody, 00:10:27.422 --> 00:10:29.350 nobody knows how to stand in a wedding. 00:10:29.350 --> 00:10:29.718 You know, 00:10:29.718 --> 00:10:32.990 you got all the ladies on this side and all the men on that side, 00:10:32.990 --> 00:10:33.854 and they're all standing out. 00:10:33.854 --> 00:10:35.086 Well, what do we do with our hands? 00:10:35.086 --> 00:10:36.870 Do we put them in our pockets? 00:10:36.870 --> 00:10:38.102 You can put them behind you. 00:10:38.014 --> 00:10:40.470 You can put them in front of you. 00:10:40.470 --> 00:10:42.558 Somebody's got to give them some instructions. 00:10:42.558 --> 00:10:44.582 One of the instructions I always say is that, 00:10:44.582 --> 00:10:44.966 you know what? 00:10:44.966 --> 00:10:48.590 If you want to know where to face when you're standing up here? 00:10:48.590 --> 00:10:50.770 It's always eyes on the bridegest, 00:10:51.540 --> 00:10:53.916 eyes on the bride all the time. 00:10:54.068 --> 00:10:57.620 And you just rotate with the bride as she comes down. 00:10:57.620 --> 00:10:59.600 Can I tell you all something? 00:10:59.860 --> 00:11:00.836 For us, 00:11:00.948 --> 00:11:02.812 as the bride of Christ, 00:11:02.996 --> 00:11:05.306 ours is always eyes on the groom. 00:11:05.940 --> 00:11:10.520 Right. Fix your eyes on Jesus and don't take them off. 00:11:11.220 --> 00:11:12.396 So, as I was looking at this, 00:11:12.396 --> 00:11:13.612 to live like Jesus, 00:11:13.612 --> 00:11:17.732 to live Jesus in the culture and the community around us is to love other 00:11:17.732 --> 00:11:19.796 people. And where does that start? 00:11:19.988 --> 00:11:20.428 You know, 00:11:20.428 --> 00:11:21.996 Jesus told us to love our neighbors. 00:11:21.996 --> 00:11:23.520 And any defined neighbor, 00:11:23.860 --> 00:11:26.780 he said the Samaritan and the Jew to each other were neighbors. 00:11:26.780 --> 00:11:29.628 The Samaritan loved the jew. 00:11:29.684 --> 00:11:30.556 As if a neighbor said, 00:11:30.556 --> 00:11:31.708 which one act more neighborly, 00:11:31.708 --> 00:11:32.600 the priest, 00:11:33.020 --> 00:11:34.280 the scribe, 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:36.756 or the Samaritan? 00:11:36.948 --> 00:11:41.036 Right. Are there neighbors that you love? 00:11:41.108 --> 00:11:44.480 Are there neighbors that you don't love as much? 00:11:44.940 --> 00:11:45.582 Right. 00:11:45.716 --> 00:11:46.510 You see? 00:11:46.970 --> 00:11:48.066 So when I look at this, 00:11:48.066 --> 00:11:49.258 I start to think to myself, 00:11:49.258 --> 00:11:49.498 all right, 00:11:49.498 --> 00:11:51.390 who are my closest neighbors? 00:11:51.970 --> 00:11:53.778 Cause Jesus says the second is like it. 00:11:53.778 --> 00:11:55.346 Love your neighbor as yourself. 00:11:55.346 --> 00:11:56.666 Who's your closest neighbor? 00:11:56.570 --> 00:11:59.346 Jennifer. Tom. 00:11:59.418 --> 00:12:01.470 Right. Exactly. 00:12:02.450 --> 00:12:03.050 Right. 00:12:03.170 --> 00:12:04.778 That person closest to you, 00:12:04.778 --> 00:12:09.398 that person that God's put into your life as the closest one to you, 00:12:09.450 --> 00:12:10.362 who's your next? 00:12:10.362 --> 00:12:10.954 I'll tell you. 00:12:10.954 --> 00:12:12.710 My closest neighbor's Angie. 00:12:13.380 --> 00:12:15.964 My second closest neighbor is Eli and Lillian, 00:12:15.964 --> 00:12:17.120 soon to be. 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:19.884 What about beyond that? 00:12:20.052 --> 00:12:21.702 Who do we keep loving? 00:12:22.220 --> 00:12:24.140 Right. I tell folks all the time, 00:12:24.140 --> 00:12:24.588 you know what? 00:12:24.588 --> 00:12:27.436 You run into people all day long that need to know that God loves them. 00:12:27.436 --> 00:12:29.444 How are you going to show them that? 00:12:29.140 --> 00:12:32.652 How are you going to show people that God loves them if you don't show 00:12:32.652 --> 00:12:34.000 them God's love? 00:12:35.140 --> 00:12:35.900 You see, 00:12:36.020 --> 00:12:38.748 that's what it means to live Jesus in the culture and the community 00:12:38.748 --> 00:12:39.460 around us. 00:12:39.540 --> 00:12:43.414 Why is loving your neighbor as yourself the second most important 00:12:43.502 --> 00:12:45.582 command? I mean, 00:12:45.606 --> 00:12:46.798 we live in a world now that say, 00:12:46.798 --> 00:12:47.926 oh, God's all about love. 00:12:47.926 --> 00:12:48.318 Well, yes, 00:12:48.318 --> 00:12:49.130 he is, 00:12:50.030 --> 00:12:50.390 but. 00:12:50.430 --> 00:12:55.398 But our love for him gives us definition and identity. 00:12:55.494 --> 00:12:58.464 And then as we show his love to others, 00:12:58.790 --> 00:13:03.630 that's how the world becomes aware of a God who loves them. 00:13:03.670 --> 00:13:03.958 I mean, 00:13:03.958 --> 00:13:04.870 John said in one, 00:13:04.870 --> 00:13:05.398 John 19, 00:13:05.454 --> 00:13:05.822 he says, 00:13:05.822 --> 00:13:06.678 we love. 00:13:06.854 --> 00:13:11.770 Our capacity to love is because God loved us first. 00:13:12.590 --> 00:13:13.878 So what does that mean? 00:13:13.670 --> 00:13:19.022 That means that God's love for us shows us characteristics of what we 00:13:19.046 --> 00:13:22.086 call love that we're supposed to, 00:13:22.118 --> 00:13:22.710 in turn, 00:13:22.710 --> 00:13:24.130 emulate to others. 00:13:24.590 --> 00:13:26.570 God's love is an unselfish love. 00:13:26.582 --> 00:13:28.454 God's love's a sacrificial love. 00:13:28.542 --> 00:13:30.126 God's love is always giving, 00:13:30.126 --> 00:13:30.878 giving, giving, 00:13:30.934 --> 00:13:33.062 and so God expects for us, 00:13:33.166 --> 00:13:35.146 if we're going to love others, 00:13:35.262 --> 00:13:38.590 then we've got to give of ourselves to others. 00:13:38.930 --> 00:13:40.580 That's the whole command there. 00:13:40.474 --> 00:13:42.950 Love your neighbor as yourself. 00:13:43.890 --> 00:13:45.130 So who do we love? 00:13:45.130 --> 00:13:46.150 We love people, 00:13:46.530 --> 00:13:52.110 right? I know some folks love non people more than they love people. 00:13:52.890 --> 00:13:54.110 Y'all know that. 00:13:55.770 --> 00:14:00.230 I know some folks love animals more than they love people. 00:14:01.100 --> 00:14:04.324 I came through the seventies and eighties when some people loved trees 00:14:04.324 --> 00:14:05.974 more than they loved people. 00:14:06.660 --> 00:14:07.476 They hugged them. 00:14:07.476 --> 00:14:08.780 I think I heard. 00:14:08.780 --> 00:14:09.840 I don't know, 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:11.172 you know, 00:14:11.276 --> 00:14:12.148 but that goes. 00:14:11.924 --> 00:14:12.584 Guess what? 00:14:12.636 --> 00:14:14.396 I started again this week. 00:14:14.428 --> 00:14:16.076 I've been working on it for quite a while. 00:14:16.076 --> 00:14:20.316 But we start the second Sunday of January in the book of Romans. 00:14:20.316 --> 00:14:20.976 You know, 00:14:21.036 --> 00:14:22.228 in chapter one of Romans, 00:14:22.228 --> 00:14:27.930 it says that people started loving the creation more than the creator, 00:14:28.950 --> 00:14:29.550 right? 00:14:29.670 --> 00:14:33.300 We see that in our culture and in our society today. 00:14:33.750 --> 00:14:34.758 So who do we love? 00:14:34.758 --> 00:14:35.614 We love one another. 00:14:35.614 --> 00:14:36.550 We love our neighbors. 00:14:36.550 --> 00:14:38.860 We love within the body of Christ. 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:41.070 I remember a preacher saying one time, 00:14:41.070 --> 00:14:41.926 look across the room. 00:14:41.926 --> 00:14:44.150 If you see anybody in the room, 00:14:44.150 --> 00:14:46.430 pick the one that you love the least. 00:14:46.430 --> 00:14:52.124 That's as much as you have any love for goddess. 00:14:52.282 --> 00:14:55.780 The fact that if you love less in the body, 00:14:56.640 --> 00:14:59.610 that's the limit of your love back to God. 00:15:00.040 --> 00:15:03.670 Because God expects us to love one another with his love, 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:04.780 you see? 00:15:04.680 --> 00:15:06.512 So we love within the body of Christ, 00:15:06.512 --> 00:15:07.872 but then we love everyone else, 00:15:07.872 --> 00:15:11.440 too. Now here's kind of a defining thing for us. 00:15:11.520 --> 00:15:13.100 That doesn't mean agreement, 00:15:13.800 --> 00:15:16.616 okay, I love people in the world around me, 00:15:16.616 --> 00:15:18.336 but I don't agree with them all. 00:15:18.336 --> 00:15:19.422 I promise you, 00:15:19.526 --> 00:15:21.890 I'll even hug people I disagree with. 00:15:23.190 --> 00:15:23.606 I mean, 00:15:23.606 --> 00:15:24.930 I hug people that, 00:15:26.950 --> 00:15:29.246 is there a differentiation between love and, 00:15:29.246 --> 00:15:32.038 like, you know, 00:15:32.054 --> 00:15:32.742 I've always, 00:15:32.886 --> 00:15:34.022 I've heard people say, 00:15:34.022 --> 00:15:35.334 and I think I've probably said it, 00:15:35.334 --> 00:15:36.654 too, I love everybody. 00:15:36.734 --> 00:15:38.384 I don't like them all. 00:15:39.670 --> 00:15:42.782 I think that's a difficult differentiation right there. 00:15:42.846 --> 00:15:46.260 But I can love people that I disagree with. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:53.940 Do you know that it's a loving thing to tell people what God's word says? 00:15:55.320 --> 00:16:01.232 Do you know it's loving to tell people that they're wrong about what God 00:16:01.336 --> 00:16:01.980 says? 00:16:03.040 --> 00:16:03.700 You know, 00:16:03.776 --> 00:16:04.920 I spent a whole year, 00:16:04.920 --> 00:16:05.808 remember, talking about, 00:16:05.808 --> 00:16:08.980 God didn't call us to be editors and redactors. 00:16:09.450 --> 00:16:14.530 You don't get to throw out of the Bible that which you don't like or that 00:16:14.530 --> 00:16:18.490 which doesn't meet your identity or whatever you want to call it. 00:16:18.610 --> 00:16:21.818 We're supposed to pay attention to what God said and listen to him and 00:16:21.818 --> 00:16:23.070 live that out. 00:16:23.370 --> 00:16:25.010 So when I look at this and I'm thinking, 00:16:25.010 --> 00:16:25.258 all right, 00:16:25.258 --> 00:16:26.290 we've got to love God. 00:16:26.290 --> 00:16:26.770 All right, 00:16:26.770 --> 00:16:28.018 so I asked you last week, 00:16:28.018 --> 00:16:30.106 how many of you took your own test this week? 00:16:29.906 --> 00:16:30.450 When I said, 00:16:30.450 --> 00:16:33.390 what does your worship look like? 00:16:33.930 --> 00:16:36.030 What does your love look like? 00:16:36.770 --> 00:16:37.430 You know, 00:16:37.514 --> 00:16:40.346 how do you show someone else love? 00:16:40.498 --> 00:16:43.922 Because loving like God's love is that unselfish, 00:16:43.986 --> 00:16:45.602 sacrificial, giving love. 00:16:45.706 --> 00:16:48.698 How do you give of yourself to others? 00:16:48.834 --> 00:16:51.474 How do you give of yourself to God? 00:16:52.130 --> 00:16:56.150 Yesterday we had this wonderful women's conference here. 00:16:56.970 --> 00:16:57.874 It was wild. 00:16:57.874 --> 00:17:02.060 I came over early to say good morning and I, 00:17:02.130 --> 00:17:03.020 and left. 00:17:04.120 --> 00:17:05.770 After I said good morning, 00:17:06.800 --> 00:17:10.536 I came back to say goodbye as they were all leaving, 00:17:10.608 --> 00:17:11.928 that kind of thing. 00:17:11.944 --> 00:17:12.604 But they, 00:17:12.672 --> 00:17:14.536 everyone, everybody I talked to said, 00:17:14.536 --> 00:17:15.448 oh, it was wonderful. 00:17:15.448 --> 00:17:16.264 Oh, it was great. 00:17:16.264 --> 00:17:17.392 Because guess what? 00:17:17.576 --> 00:17:24.312 There was this open door for people to come in and be exposed to the love 00:17:24.336 --> 00:17:25.220 of God, 00:17:26.120 --> 00:17:29.090 that people wanted to share God's love with others. 00:17:29.096 --> 00:17:30.882 And the theme of the, 00:17:30.976 --> 00:17:34.806 the conference was praise him in the storm. 00:17:34.998 --> 00:17:38.326 And so there was a lot of speaking and a lot of stuff about the storms 00:17:38.326 --> 00:17:41.646 that we go through in life and that in the midst of the storm, 00:17:41.646 --> 00:17:44.290 we still just praise God, 00:17:44.870 --> 00:17:45.770 you see, 00:17:47.110 --> 00:17:50.010 and how God takes us through storms. 00:17:50.950 --> 00:17:53.590 So how much do we love our neighbor? 00:17:53.790 --> 00:17:57.382 With your whole self as you love yourself, 00:17:57.446 --> 00:17:59.756 how much do you love your neighborhood? 00:17:59.852 --> 00:18:01.630 Right? What does that mean? 00:18:03.770 --> 00:18:05.786 Here's the question that I've asked myself. 00:18:05.786 --> 00:18:08.756 What are you willing to do for a neighbor? 00:18:11.690 --> 00:18:15.378 What are you willing to do for the person? 00:18:15.514 --> 00:18:17.546 Now, I'm going to get kind of specific here, 00:18:17.546 --> 00:18:21.270 and I kind of made this point to myself. 00:18:22.810 --> 00:18:26.114 What are you willing to do for the neighbor whose dog likes your yard 00:18:26.114 --> 00:18:27.190 better than his? 00:18:30.010 --> 00:18:33.138 Right. You know the point I'm making here? 00:18:33.314 --> 00:18:34.842 I've told y'all the story. 00:18:34.842 --> 00:18:36.354 For a time up in Maryland, 00:18:36.354 --> 00:18:38.658 we lived in a row house, 00:18:38.714 --> 00:18:39.910 a townhouse. 00:18:40.610 --> 00:18:44.570 Ours was wider than some of the other ones on the row. 00:18:44.386 --> 00:18:50.962 And so we actually had three parking spaces in front of our house that 00:18:50.986 --> 00:18:52.550 our neighbor enjoyed. 00:18:56.740 --> 00:18:58.640 God was testing me. 00:18:59.900 --> 00:19:02.028 Right? See, 00:19:02.084 --> 00:19:06.374 sometimes those that live closest to us or those that are within reach 00:19:06.780 --> 00:19:09.900 are not the ones that are the easiest to love. 00:19:09.900 --> 00:19:12.604 And yet God says, 00:19:12.652 --> 00:19:13.892 love your neighbor as yourself. 00:19:13.892 --> 00:19:15.542 So here's the other question. 00:19:16.100 --> 00:19:18.080 How easy are you to love? 00:19:20.350 --> 00:19:21.010 And God, 00:19:21.030 --> 00:19:21.862 who is perfect, 00:19:21.862 --> 00:19:22.478 and Christ, 00:19:22.478 --> 00:19:25.770 who walked this earth and died in our place? 00:19:26.830 --> 00:19:31.730 Right. How easy were we for him to love? 00:19:34.350 --> 00:19:38.170 Love your neighbor with your whole self as yourself. 00:19:38.910 --> 00:19:40.650 Love your neighbor. 00:19:40.950 --> 00:19:42.570 See, these are priorities. 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:46.270 If you take the first ingredient out, 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:50.576 you're not going to end up with what God intended you to end up if you 00:19:50.576 --> 00:19:52.556 take any of those ingredients out, 00:19:52.584 --> 00:19:56.744 you're not going to end up with what God intended for us to end up with. 00:19:56.744 --> 00:19:57.584 Okay? 00:19:57.752 --> 00:19:59.460 So I call them priorities. 00:20:00.320 --> 00:20:01.224 God's purpose, 00:20:01.272 --> 00:20:02.024 God's plan, 00:20:02.112 --> 00:20:03.340 our identity. 00:20:04.360 --> 00:20:06.670 Might as well call it a recipe, 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:13.178 right? And you got to put the stuff in the recipe if you want to see what 00:20:13.178 --> 00:20:14.110 God intended. 00:20:15.250 --> 00:20:16.642 It all starts with Jesus, 00:20:16.642 --> 00:20:17.310 folks. 00:20:18.530 --> 00:20:19.722 If you don't know Jesus, 00:20:19.722 --> 00:20:20.830 you need Jesus. 00:20:21.730 --> 00:20:23.218 You might have come this morning. 00:20:23.218 --> 00:20:24.550 And I always. 00:20:25.970 --> 00:20:31.018 It intrigues me throughout the morning that there are folks who show up 00:20:31.034 --> 00:20:32.746 for the very first time ever at the gathering, 00:20:32.746 --> 00:20:33.066 and I go, 00:20:33.066 --> 00:20:33.658 you know what? 00:20:33.658 --> 00:20:35.638 I don't know why you're here. 00:20:35.480 --> 00:20:35.864 I mean, 00:20:35.864 --> 00:20:37.168 I love it that we're having worship, 00:20:37.168 --> 00:20:39.328 and I love it that we do worship well, 00:20:39.328 --> 00:20:41.000 because that's a priority for us. 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:41.990 Right? Loving God, 00:20:42.024 --> 00:20:43.820 our worship is a priority. 00:20:45.120 --> 00:20:46.770 But why are you here? 00:20:47.520 --> 00:20:48.260 Right? 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:53.940 What motivated you to get up and make this a priority? 00:20:54.600 --> 00:20:57.520 See, I'm glad. 00:20:57.640 --> 00:20:59.120 I love it that you're here. 00:20:59.120 --> 00:21:01.408 I love it when vacationers show up for worship. 00:21:01.408 --> 00:21:03.388 I think that's a cool thing. 00:21:03.120 --> 00:21:05.472 You're on vacation and you make worship a priority. 00:21:05.472 --> 00:21:08.112 Yay. It's a great thing. 00:21:08.296 --> 00:21:09.680 But here's the challenge. 00:21:09.720 --> 00:21:13.912 Here's the challenge is that if we want to be the people that God called 00:21:13.912 --> 00:21:14.936 us to be, 00:21:15.128 --> 00:21:19.418 then we got to do the things that God told us to do. 00:21:19.080 --> 00:21:21.688 Okay? So if you're here this morning, 00:21:21.744 --> 00:21:22.560 you don't know Jesus. 00:21:22.560 --> 00:21:23.220 Guess what? 00:21:23.232 --> 00:21:25.220 God loved you that much. 00:21:25.880 --> 00:21:27.136 He loved you first. 00:21:26.920 --> 00:21:28.240 He loved you most. 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:29.560 He loves you best. 00:21:31.250 --> 00:21:32.370 He gave his son. 00:21:32.370 --> 00:21:33.650 Jesus died on the cross, 00:21:33.650 --> 00:21:35.300 that we might be saved. 00:21:35.346 --> 00:21:38.186 He rose again to give us victory over sin, 00:21:38.186 --> 00:21:39.310 death and hell. 00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:42.970 If you don't know Jesus, 00:21:42.970 --> 00:21:43.658 you need Jesus. 00:21:43.658 --> 00:21:45.282 And we're going to sing one more song, 00:21:45.282 --> 00:21:47.850 give you the opportunity to respond to God, 00:21:47.850 --> 00:21:51.330 whatever it is God might have said to you this morning, 00:21:51.330 --> 00:21:53.786 one of the things in preparing these priority messages, 00:21:53.786 --> 00:21:54.786 I'm going to go ahead and tell you. 00:21:54.786 --> 00:21:55.506 I look at it and I go, 00:21:55.506 --> 00:21:56.826 I've already said that. 00:21:57.320 --> 00:21:58.660 I've already said that. 00:21:58.960 --> 00:22:01.860 I've been saying this for 15 years. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:03.584 I've been saying these exact. 00:22:03.584 --> 00:22:06.384 Well, we didn't have the walking together about five years ago. 00:22:06.384 --> 00:22:08.904 I've been saying these same things for 15 years. 00:22:08.904 --> 00:22:10.600 But here's what I want you to know. 00:22:10.600 --> 00:22:12.910 There was a new pastor in town, 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:14.168 got to his new church, 00:22:14.168 --> 00:22:16.148 and he got up and preached. 00:22:16.120 --> 00:22:16.688 And, man, 00:22:16.688 --> 00:22:18.338 it was a good message. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:20.400 If you've already heard this joke, 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:22.112 just put your fingers in your ears. 00:22:22.112 --> 00:22:23.956 Anyway, it's a good message. 00:22:23.988 --> 00:22:25.324 And people went out the door going, 00:22:25.324 --> 00:22:27.284 preacher, that was such a good message, 00:22:27.284 --> 00:22:28.204 man. I tell you what. 00:22:28.076 --> 00:22:28.868 I don't know. 00:22:28.868 --> 00:22:31.676 That might be the best message I've ever heard. 00:22:31.676 --> 00:22:32.324 Thank you. 00:22:32.324 --> 00:22:33.160 Thank you. 00:22:33.580 --> 00:22:34.196 Next week, 00:22:34.196 --> 00:22:39.556 he comes in and he preaches the exact same message exactly like he 00:22:39.588 --> 00:22:41.238 preached it the week before. 00:22:41.300 --> 00:22:42.290 And people said, 00:22:42.300 --> 00:22:44.236 preacher, I told you last week, 00:22:44.236 --> 00:22:46.180 man, that was a great message. 00:22:46.180 --> 00:22:48.028 Loved that message, 00:22:48.204 --> 00:22:49.524 man, that's a good message. 00:22:49.524 --> 00:22:52.494 Probably one of the best messages I've ever heard. 00:22:52.636 --> 00:22:53.964 He came back the third Sunday, 00:22:53.964 --> 00:22:56.480 he preached the exact same message again. 00:22:56.900 --> 00:22:57.804 Same guy goes, 00:22:57.804 --> 00:22:58.740 preacher, you know, 00:22:58.740 --> 00:22:59.940 love the message. 00:23:00.100 --> 00:23:00.940 Gotta admit, 00:23:01.020 --> 00:23:03.316 one of the best messages I've ever heard. 00:23:03.316 --> 00:23:06.188 But are you ever gonna move on to a new one? 00:23:06.188 --> 00:23:06.972 He said, 00:23:07.156 --> 00:23:09.136 when you start doing that one, 00:23:14.330 --> 00:23:16.202 folks, I just want to encourage you. 00:23:16.202 --> 00:23:18.182 God has given us our priorities. 00:23:18.218 --> 00:23:20.270 God has given us the recipe. 00:23:20.610 --> 00:23:22.162 Now we have to go do it. 00:23:22.162 --> 00:23:23.386 Alrighty. Pray with me. 00:23:23.386 --> 00:23:25.036 Father, thank you for today. 00:23:25.090 --> 00:23:26.740 Thank you for your love. 00:23:26.970 --> 00:23:27.474 Thank you. 00:23:27.474 --> 00:23:28.010 That indeed, 00:23:28.010 --> 00:23:29.018 you loved us first. 00:23:29.018 --> 00:23:29.986 You love us most. 00:23:29.986 --> 00:23:31.250 You love us best now. 00:23:31.250 --> 00:23:33.890 God, help us to go and love others. 00:23:34.570 --> 00:23:40.682 God, I would challenge myself and us to pick the person that's hardest to 00:23:40.706 --> 00:23:47.436 love and find a way to love that person this week and then take the 00:23:47.468 --> 00:23:49.320 opportunity to explain why. 00:23:51.060 --> 00:23:53.132 Cause you loved us so. 00:23:53.156 --> 00:23:54.108 God, I thank you. 00:23:54.108 --> 00:23:56.340 I thank you that you've given us priorities. 00:23:56.340 --> 00:23:58.012 That you've given us opportunity. 00:23:58.076 --> 00:23:58.996 And, God, 00:23:59.028 --> 00:24:03.252 it's indeed a privilege for us to be, 00:24:03.436 --> 00:24:05.164 as Diana said in the video, 00:24:05.164 --> 00:24:07.144 the hands and feet of Jesus. 00:24:07.190 --> 00:24:07.686 Thank you, 00:24:07.686 --> 00:24:11.430 God, that we've been able to love our neighbors up in the mountains. 00:24:11.430 --> 00:24:12.070 Thank you. 00:24:12.070 --> 00:24:14.686 That there's a camper that somebody gets to live in. 00:24:14.686 --> 00:24:15.694 Because somebody said, 00:24:15.742 --> 00:24:17.392 I want to give it. 00:24:17.230 --> 00:24:18.880 God, help us to give. 00:24:19.270 --> 00:24:20.920 Help us to give love. 00:24:21.550 --> 00:24:24.134 God, help us to give Jesus to those around us. 00:24:24.134 --> 00:24:25.606 And we pray it in Jesus name. 00:24:25.606 --> 00:24:25.830 Amen.