WEBVTT 00:00:01.840 --> 00:00:11.255 Thanks for tuning in to the Sandals Church podcast. Our vision as a church is to be real with ourselves, God, and others. We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy this message. 00:00:14.115 --> 00:00:25.980 Have you ever heard the slogan, maybe you can finish it, a diamond is forever. All the cheap people are like, no, never heard that. Never heard that at all. Listen. A diamond may outlast your marriage. 00:00:26.040 --> 00:00:43.140 Okay? But it is not forever. You know that slogan was developed by the De Beers family? Now the De Beers are de billionaires now because we all bought that. And so here's the thing is, man, it's wedding season, and I always look at the diamond because I'm like, wow. 00:00:43.140 --> 00:01:07.485 You love your wife more than I love mine, or you're broke now because of that. But we we've we've gotten caught up in all of these things that don't last. And oftentimes, young couples spend way too much money on the wedding that's a day and they don't spend enough money on the marriage that's a lifetime. And so what God's gonna reprogram for us today is what lasts forever. The De Beers said it's diamonds. 00:01:07.625 --> 00:01:09.645 The Bible says No. No. No. No. No. 00:01:09.705 --> 00:01:25.875 It's love. Love is what lasts forever. In 1st Corinthians 13:13, as the apostle Paul finishes his his ultimate climax to the end of what love is, listen what he says. He says, 3 things will last forever. Three things. 00:01:25.875 --> 00:01:54.120 And I want you to ask yourself, am I even working on these three things? Three things, Faith, hope, and love. Man, think about your life before it comes to the end of your life. And survey after survey, people at the end of their lives, on their deathbeds, have great regret because of all the things that they live for that did not matter. And the Bible wants to give you a head start before you meet God who gave you your start. 00:01:54.980 --> 00:02:29.310 He wants you to know that out of faith, out of hope, and out of love, that the greatest, even of the 3 that last forever, the greatest of these 3 is love. But when we talk about love, let's be honest, Love can be painful, because many of us have not had a positive experience with the word love. Maybe you, at one point in time in your life, you had love and you've lost it. 1 of my favorite Lakers of all time is Shaquille O'Neal, and it seems like every other interview he ever gives, he talks about his big house that he's all alone in. He said, I had love. 00:02:29.310 --> 00:02:45.470 He said, I had it twice, and I blew it both times. I don't know how many marriages or or weddings that I've been married one time just for the record. I don't know how many weddings I performed. You're like, who's this guy? But, I I mean, probably in the 1,000 over the years of of weddings that I performed. 00:02:45.470 --> 00:03:08.855 And every now and then, I'll run into a couple from 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years ago. And I'll say, how's it going? And so many times, man, a couple that was so in love, so committed to each other, they'll say something like, yeah, it didn't work out, or we grew apart. And why is that? They forgot the 3 greatest things, faith, hope, and love, and love. 00:03:08.855 --> 00:03:33.660 And all these other things that seem so important worked their way in the middle of what we stood together and said was the most important. Their love for each other and their love for God, and they forgot both of those things. But there are some of us, maybe you've never experienced love. Maybe you grew up in a home where you desperately needed love but you didn't get it. And you just, let's be honest. 00:03:33.720 --> 00:03:43.235 This just feels like a fairy tale. This is just a fantasy, right? This is a, this is a rom com movie. This isn't real. But what if it is? 00:03:44.495 --> 00:04:09.250 And then there's some of us that just are battling with self esteem issues. And and maybe you haven't experienced love because you just really, if you're honest, like our vision is to be real, you just really feel like you don't deserve it. And I gotta I'm gonna guess that there's been some people in our church who have just skipped this series. Y'all come back when we quit talking about love, because we don't believe yet. We don't trust God yet that we're worthy of love. 00:04:10.510 --> 00:04:22.025 Hey, Sandals Church. Thank you so much for joining us for today's message. I wanted to take a brief moment and invite you into the work that Sandals Church is doing. One way you can do that is by giving financially. You can head to give dotsc and give there. 00:04:22.025 --> 00:04:36.975 For now, let's get back into our message. Here's the good news. No matter how far you run, no matter how much you doubt that you are worthy of love, number 1 on your outlines, God's love will never give up on me. Ever. Ever. 00:04:37.595 --> 00:04:54.605 God's love will chase you to the day you die. God's love will be with you on your deathbed. Come on, all the angels shouting, come on, come on, come on. One last chance. Now years ago, when Tammy and I went to marriage counseling, she was always wants to be defined for you guys, years ago. 00:04:55.225 --> 00:05:06.375 Not like last week, not like Tuesday. We were told as a couple never to use the word never and always. Like you never do this. You always do that. Like that's free. 00:05:06.375 --> 00:05:21.890 All of my therapy for you for free. But I want you to notice that when God talks about his love, he uses both those words. Love never gives up. Love never loses faith. Listen to this. 00:05:21.890 --> 00:05:39.350 Love is always hopeful. Wow. Not not your love, not my love, but God's love. God's love endures through every circumstance. Now I don't know who's gonna die first, me or Tammy. 00:05:39.350 --> 00:05:52.040 But if it's Tammy, here's what I plan on saying. When we got married, I told her I loved her. And if she passes, I'm gonna tell her I did. I did. I loved you to the end. 00:05:53.060 --> 00:06:08.570 Because love, real love, not a feeling, not an emotion, not a sexual attraction, real love lasts. It never gives up. Never loses faith. It always hopes. It always endures. 00:06:08.630 --> 00:06:31.845 Right? Now wouldn't that be awesome if you could experience love like that? Think about how different your life would be every morning if you woke up feeling loved like that. Like, I woke up, looked at myself in the mirror, and I was like, I lost a fight last night. You know, I don't know if while I was sleeping, Tammy's just like, You know, I can't be boxing anymore. 00:06:31.845 --> 00:06:37.545 I'm Mike Tyson's age. Pray for him. You know what I'm saying? Pray for him. Somebody needs to tell him you're 57. 00:06:37.925 --> 00:06:54.735 You know, you were powerful in the eighties, but your time has passed. Your time has passed. But but some of us don't know this. You are loved like that. Whether you believe it or not, whether you've experienced it or not, whether you've seen it or not, you are loved like that. 00:06:56.140 --> 00:07:09.755 Psalms 100 verses 3 through 5. And this is where some of you are. You're you're you're you're not sure whether you're gonna begin your faith journey. And some of you are not sure if you're gonna complete your faith journey. You're struggling. 00:07:10.775 --> 00:07:49.730 And I want you to know that in survey after survey, because America is battling an unhappiness epidemic, the people that are the most happy are people who attend church weekly and feel a deep sense of love from God. And I believe there's a direct correlation between our country's abandonment of the local church and a personal relationship with God and our invitation to depression and anxiety and being overwhelmed. So listen to what God's recipe for happiness and security is. Psalms 100 verses 3 through 5, acknowledge. Just acknowledge that the Lord is God. 00:07:51.215 --> 00:07:56.035 You're him. I'm not. You wanna know why so many of you are miserable? You got it backwards. You think you're God. 00:07:57.460 --> 00:08:03.780 And I don't know about you, but I can't even get my dog to obey. Okay? I am not God. Like I call my dog. She's been in my house 10 years. 00:08:03.780 --> 00:08:12.355 She thinks about it. You know? Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us. You are not an accident. 00:08:13.210 --> 00:08:22.805 You are not an accident. Listen, we are his. That's where my identity comes from. Think about all of the issues that young people are struggling with today. Who am I? 00:08:22.805 --> 00:08:29.520 What am I? Where did I come from? The scripture says, look look look. Let me tell you where you came from. You came from God, your father in heaven who loves you. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:49.250 He is your God and you are his. Listen, we are his people. Now we're gonna come back to this sentence in just a second, but we are the sheep of his pasture. 212 times in the Bible, God's people are referenced as sheep, and it's not an insult. So listen to this. 00:08:49.250 --> 00:09:06.160 God loves you, God made you, God cares for you, you are his, so stop being depressed, stop being overwhelmed, stop being anxious, enter his gates with thanksgiving. You don't know what that is, church? Go into his courts. You know what that is? A campus with praise. 00:09:06.380 --> 00:09:18.060 Why are we singing? Because you need it. No, I don't. Your face says you do. I mean, I wish we could just put GoPros on all of our worship leaders as they led you in worship. 00:09:18.540 --> 00:09:32.125 And we just posted your face. I love God so much. I mean, you've not seen yourself. Our poor worship leaders see you. As they're trying to see God, they're distracted by you. 00:09:34.990 --> 00:09:43.065 Give thanks to him and praise his name. Why? For the Lord is good. Listen to this. His unfailing love. 00:09:44.565 --> 00:10:03.105 Your marriage may have given up on you. Your kids may have given up on you. Your mama may have given up on you, but God will never give up on you. His unfailing love continues forever. And his faithfulness, listen to this, continues to each generation, to each generation. 00:10:04.285 --> 00:10:22.015 Man, if I could just borrow your grandma's faith for a second. Man, if you just knew what she knew. If I could just borrow your grandfather's faith. If you could just know what he knows, your life would be different. From each generation, listen to me, families, you don't need to pass on to your kids' travel ball. 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:45.030 Matter of fact, in statistic after statistic, in survey after survey, it's one of the number one issues damaging families is they're always gone. They're never home. God wants to bring you home, bring your family home. Tammy and I, we just went to England last week on vacation, and we celebrated her 50th birthday, and it was super exciting. This is where she wanted to go. 00:10:45.030 --> 00:10:53.525 I never heard of the Cotswolds. I didn't know, you know, if it was the Griswolds. I didn't know who it was. It's so embarrassing. People say, are you excited about going to England? 00:10:53.525 --> 00:10:58.165 I'm like, yeah. They're like, where are you going? I'm like, I don't know. England. It's an island. 00:10:58.165 --> 00:11:31.625 Somewhere on the island. I'll be there. But the Cotswolds are world renowned for their sheep. So about 200 years ago, the world said that the best wool on the planet came from England, and the best wool in England came from the Cotswolds. And so what happened 2000 years ago is the Romans conquered England, and they brought their sheep with them, and their sheep merged with the English sheep and created created the greatest wealth on earth, the greatest wool on earth. 00:11:33.060 --> 00:11:46.685 And then we walk through these fields. We walk through these fields. And I gotta tell you, I wasn't into sheep before I am now. This is like my new it's like my new favorite animal. If you've never seen a beautiful sheep, it looks like a cloud walking through a field. 00:11:49.610 --> 00:12:10.420 It is so beautiful, so absolutely beautiful. I just wanted to reach out and touch them, and the mama sheep would just, like, stomp their foot, like, you better back up. Because, literally, the baby sheep are just, like, just I cannot describe to you how now I know why Mary had a little lamb. Now I know. Now I know. 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:20.185 I didn't know before. And I want a lamb like Mary. You know what I'm saying? Whose fleece was what? White as snow. 00:12:21.045 --> 00:12:35.495 And we're walking through that field and everyone in my group, you know, that we gotta walk 12 miles and they're not enjoying Jesus. You know, it's just me. And I'm walking through the field and I I'm literally having a moment with God. And I go, oh, I got it. I got it. 00:12:35.575 --> 00:12:52.615 I'm your sheep and I'm safe with you. But some of us man, we we just feel like, oh, oh, yeah. God doesn't want me. He doesn't want me as a part of his fold. And some of us in here, we feel like the black sheep. 00:12:53.175 --> 00:13:15.415 Now you're like, woah, that feels racist. Hold on. Hold on. Let's step back 200 years and let me tell you what a black sheep means, and let me tell you why that became synonymous with feeling worthless, with feeling left out. Do you wanna know why English cotswold wool was so valuable? 00:13:16.595 --> 00:13:28.040 Because it was so white it could be dyed into any color. What color can you dye black wool? Black. If you didn't know, black. That's what you got. 00:13:28.515 --> 00:13:44.770 So it was considered, listen to this, worthless. And I'm walking through the fields, these beautiful white sheep. But if I'm honest with you, I don't feel like God's beautiful white sheep. I've always felt like God's black sheep. And then I see this picture, man. 00:13:45.310 --> 00:14:05.680 Not this picture, I took this picture. Look at the little brothers right there, little black sheep, little white sheep, and I just felt the Holy Spirit say I see you. I love you. There's room for you in my pen. And it's funny because I asked everybody, I said, do you guys see the black sheep? 00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:19.060 They're like, no. I was like, it's black. You could see him. Nobody else saw him, but I know he was there because I took the picture. And So here's the thing, even if you feel like you've messed up your life, even if you feel like you're worthless, here's the thing I want you to know. 00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:31.230 God loves all of his sheep. Right? Red, yellow, black, and white, they are all precious in his sight. Man, the Lord loves us. Psalm 6:4, return to the Lord and rescue me. 00:14:31.470 --> 00:14:44.555 Save me because of your unfailing love. One of my favorite videos right now that's going around on TikTok, it's on Instagram, it's all over the place. It's this shepherd rescuing a sheep. Have you seen this? He's pulling the sheep out of the ditch. 00:14:44.855 --> 00:14:55.185 Have you seen it? If you haven't seen it, don't do it right now. Keep Finish the sermon. But immediately after the sermon, go and watch this video. The sheep is fighting the shepherd as he's pulling him out of the ditch. 00:14:55.345 --> 00:15:10.530 He pulls him out of the ditch. The sheep runs and jumps right back into the ditch head first. That's you. That's me. And the Lord Jesus looks at our lives like, really? 00:15:10.530 --> 00:15:15.765 I go, okay. Really? And he's he's pulling us out again. But here's the good news. You know what he does? 00:15:15.765 --> 00:15:31.205 He pulls us out again. And again and again and again. You know the story the Lord Jesus said? He said if a shepherd has a 100 sheep and 99 are safe, but he loses 1, do you know what he does? He leaves the 99 to go and find the 1. 00:15:32.305 --> 00:15:52.930 You matter to God even if you're the one lost sheep. And oh, by the way, Jesus says when the shepherd returns with the sheep on his shoulders, he says let's throw a party. Let's throw a party. Next, number 2 on your outlines. God's love already gave everything for me. 00:15:53.150 --> 00:16:06.005 So God's love will never give up on me and God's love already gave everything for me. You're like, and this is where some of us are. Prove to me that the Lord loves me. Okay. We gotta go back in time 2000 years. 00:16:07.670 --> 00:16:31.545 2000 years ago on a cross in Jerusalem, Romans crucified a Jewish prophet named Jesus who died for you, who died in your place. John 3 16, the most famous verse in the Bible, for this is how God loved the world. A lot of people have told you, hey, I love you. A lot of people told you, hey, I care about you. This is when God says he loves you. 00:16:31.545 --> 00:16:53.740 This is what he does. He gave his one and only son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. God sent his son into the world, not to judge the world, listen to this, but to save the world through him. Years ago, we took a family vacation. It was a dream vacation. 00:16:53.740 --> 00:17:03.695 I'd never been to Florida. Okay. And if you go to Florida, don't go in summer because it feels more like hell than a vacation. I'm just saying I'm just saying. I don't know why people move there in the summertime. 00:17:03.695 --> 00:17:15.360 It is brutal. And if the heat's not enough, the insects look like the devil when they come for you. But we we we went to Florida, and we'd saved a lot of money, and our kids were excited about it. We're gonna go to Disney World. We're gonna do all these things. 00:17:15.360 --> 00:17:24.195 You know, we're gonna do all these things. We're gonna spend all of our money on kids who could care less. You know what I'm saying? And so when you're a parent you know, raise your hand if you're a parent. Raise your hand if you're a parent. 00:17:24.195 --> 00:17:32.080 K? If you take kids with you on vacation, you are on vacation. You are at the vacation. You are at the vacation. You pay for it. 00:17:32.080 --> 00:17:41.025 You're not on it. Okay? And so I'm not on vacation. I'm at the vacation. And so we're going to the beach ride, and what does that mean? 00:17:41.025 --> 00:17:47.330 My kids are responsible for nothing. They're gonna get to the ocean naked. Like, no sunscreen. You know what I'm saying? When you're a parent, you understand this. 00:17:47.330 --> 00:17:57.085 You go snowboarding, skiing. Did you bring a jacket? I didn't know I was supposed to. That's why I put it on you in the car. Where did the jacket go? 00:17:57.085 --> 00:18:10.090 I don't know. What's your problem, dad? So we're on vacate We're at vacation. I got 6 lawn chairs in my arms because nobody else's arms work. Right? 00:18:11.205 --> 00:18:27.875 I got umbrellas, sunscreen, boogie boards, and we're headed to the beach. And my son is so excited. We've been on a plane all day. We've been telling him about how he's gonna get to jump in the ocean. He runs out in front of me and I have no hands to catch him. 00:18:29.075 --> 00:18:51.165 And he crosses the main street just outside of Miami. So it's just like RPCH. It's like a freeway right next to the ocean. And I see my son running and I see a bunch of college kids in a convertible Mustang doing about 80. And some of the girls in the back seat see my son running and they can see what I see. 00:18:52.105 --> 00:19:17.100 We're headed for a car crash. And in that moment, what did I do with all that stuff? I dropped it and I got him at the last possible second by the collar. And the Mustang went by with a girl screaming because they thought for sure. Now the boys in the front seat never saw him, but the girls in the back seat did. 00:19:18.565 --> 00:19:36.265 And I was reminded of this story by a church member 2 weeks ago. I I'd forgotten about this story. And she said, one Easter, you came back and you shared that story and here's what you said. You said, Sandals Church, I love you. I will never give my son for you ever. 00:19:37.765 --> 00:20:00.330 But god did. I have one son. God had one son, and he gave his one son for you. When the car was headed for Jesus, our father stepped back and he let it hit him head on. First John 4:10. 00:20:01.430 --> 00:20:14.010 You wanna know what love is? This is real love. Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. And that's real love. Anybody been to England? 00:20:14.010 --> 00:20:21.230 Raise your hand if you've been to England. In England, when you buy something, we gotta start this in America. Like I'm gonna start it today. We're gonna start a fad today. Put this on TikTok. 00:20:21.290 --> 00:20:37.770 We're gonna change America. K? In America, when you buy something and you pay, the person behind the counter says this, thank you my love. Like at first, I was like, I'm married, but okay. You know? 00:20:38.790 --> 00:20:48.670 Okay. You know? I didn't know the British were so loving. Thank you, my love. And it felt so good. 00:20:48.670 --> 00:21:10.550 I walked back to the to the, you know, the diner with my wife and friends and I was kind of floating. I'm like, Oh, I think that's sin, but I don't know. You know? But, like, when you go to Britain, they're speaking the same language we speak, but you have to, like, interpret because you're not sure. You know what the word means, but you don't know how they're using the word. 00:21:11.250 --> 00:21:21.275 You know? And they ask you, would you like salad on your sandwich? I'm like, We say lettuce, tomato, and onion. You know what I'm saying? That's why America's the best because we get it. 00:21:21.275 --> 00:21:32.925 We get it. I don't want a salad on my sandwich. And so then this happened a couple of times, and I I got super excited to buy things. I'll go pay the bill. I just want someone to say they love me. 00:21:32.925 --> 00:21:46.380 You know? But can we be honest? That that's not real love. There's just something they're saying. You see, real love doesn't just say thank you. 00:21:46.380 --> 00:21:59.670 Real love sacrifices. It's sacrifices. Isaiah 536, all of us like sheep. All of us. You, me, your favorite Christian author. 00:22:01.090 --> 00:22:17.270 I caught somebody from Sandals Church watching another famous pastor online. I said, you're cheating in front of me. He didn't even try to hide it. He didn't even put the computer down. He just kept listening. 00:22:21.085 --> 00:22:32.970 He's a sinner. You know what I'm saying? All of us like sheep have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow what? Our own. 00:22:34.390 --> 00:22:50.040 Here's the problem with liberalized Christianity, and I don't mean liberalized in democrat, republican. Here's what liberal Christianity says. You get to choose your own path. Here's what the Bible says. That's always the wrong path. 00:22:51.725 --> 00:23:16.815 That's always the wrong path. And if you don't know what kind of church you're sitting in, we're a church that's trying to conserve, that's where the word conservative comes from, to conserve what God intended the path to be. We don't vote. We don't go to a conference and decide what the path is. God decides the path. 00:23:17.570 --> 00:23:40.600 We have left God's paths to follow our own, yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. Do you know Isaiah was talking about Jesus 100 of years before he was ever born? Man. And some of you are like, pastor, I don't get it. Yeah, me neither. 00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:50.195 Me neither. Because if I was God, I'd zap half of you like yesterday. You know? Yeah. Especially the guy listening to somebody else on his computer. 00:23:51.535 --> 00:24:00.090 You know? Here's the thing. I don't get God's love. You don't get God's love. That's why we're in this series. 00:24:00.945 --> 00:24:22.245 My understanding of God's love will get better with time. Some of you and and let me tell you why I love Sandals Church, because Sandals Church is a place for people to discover God. It's a place for people who've given up on church, who've given up on God, who have no history, and they're discovering. Let me tell you something. This is why we need to do what we do. 00:24:22.245 --> 00:24:46.520 This is why we work with kids. This is why we get kids to youth camp because we're changing generations, one person at a time when they discover God's love, because so many people have never experienced it. You know, oftentimes, not all the times, I end my messages with, I love you, Sandals Church. And I don't know why I started saying that. I mean, I do love you, but I I never sat down. 00:24:46.520 --> 00:24:58.690 I was like, you know, I'm gonna say this. I just started saying that. And then for whatever reason, I stopped, and I had a woman in the lobby at the Hunter Park campus one time. She said, why did you stop saying you love us? And I said, I don't know. 00:24:58.690 --> 00:25:11.335 You know what she said? This is the only place I hear that. It's the only place. Here's the thing. Stay in church. 00:25:11.555 --> 00:25:22.755 Stick it out. Don't give up, because your understanding of God's love will get better with time. But let me tell you, not all love gets better with time. Anybody met an old grumpy couple? Mhmm. 00:25:24.015 --> 00:25:34.680 So Tammy and I were in the Cotswold, super romantic, beautiful, right, amazing place. Love is in the air. It's everywhere. Even when you buy things, my love, it's everywhere. Love is floating. 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:45.195 The sheep are flying. You know what I'm saying? It's fantastic. And then there's this old couple. And they get out of their car and they're both on walkers. 00:25:45.575 --> 00:26:08.280 And the husband, he doesn't help her out of the car. He's just going. He sees the seat, and she just just gets so mad and so angry and she says, Ray Ray, I don't want to go that way. And she's screaming, Larry, Larry, Larry. And I thought, oh my gosh. 00:26:08.280 --> 00:26:36.955 I never wanna end up like that. And then I'm like, Tammy, let's go. But later that night, because God is so good, Tammy and I and some friends of ours from Sandals are sitting around a fire. Because in England, you can have a fire at night in May because it's cold. And we're sitting around the fire, and in comes that old guy, and he sits down. 00:26:37.415 --> 00:26:46.370 No wife, just him. And then she comes in, sits next to me. We start talking. They're not fighting. She's not yelling, Larry. 00:26:47.790 --> 00:27:13.825 But we start talking, and you know why they're there? To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. I'm like, I don't think it's working. That's why we need this series, because you can be in love and lose it if you don't find God's love. 1st Corinthians 138 through 10, but love will last forever, unless you're Larry. 00:27:14.365 --> 00:27:38.850 Right? This is one of the most important parts of this text. You know, we we go to weddings, and we hear love is patient, love is kind, and we hear all the beautiful parts, but we don't listen to everything God has to say. As God begins to wrap up what we so desperately need to know about love, listen to what he says. He says, now our knowledge is partial and incomplete. 00:27:40.190 --> 00:28:01.935 It's partial and incomplete. And even if the gift of prophecy, right, that's the gift of preaching, prophetically preaching the word of God. Even the gift of prophecy only reveals part of the whole picture. I could preach on love every single week until the day you and I die, and we still aren't gonna get it. But there's hope. 00:28:01.935 --> 00:28:17.780 Remember, these three things remain, faith, hope, and love. But when the time of perfection comes, Listen to me. There's something better coming. There's something better coming. There's something powerful coming. 00:28:20.185 --> 00:28:41.715 When that time of perfection comes, the partial things will become useless. And some of you men, you spent your whole life living for the partial things. One of the reasons I picked this series, you know, the last 4 years has been brutal. I literally sat down like with our creative team and we were talking about topics. I said let's pick something that's not controversial. 00:28:43.190 --> 00:28:56.905 Let's do it. You know, and it's not like they were responsible for all the controversy. I'm the one who picked the sermons, but I'm like, you guys help me be less controversial. What could be possibly be controversial about love? Oh, you should read by emails. 00:28:58.645 --> 00:29:12.095 Let me just give you a few of them. How dare you define love? You're attacking the gay community when you say you can't define love is love. No. I'm not attacking anyone. 00:29:12.095 --> 00:29:24.730 I'm defining what the Bible says love is. And whether you're gay or straight, we all need to know what God's definition of love is. But I've been attacked on the others the other side. You've sold out. You've compromised. 00:29:24.730 --> 00:29:36.615 You've gone liberal. You're woke. Let me tell you something. When you're centered on God's love, you're never gonna be left or right for anyone. And we gotta learn to do this. 00:29:37.360 --> 00:29:54.200 First Corinthians 13 12, now we see things imperfectly, like a puzzling reflection in a mirror. Kinda like me looking at myself this morning when I woke up. What happened? What happened? All the young kids in our church take selfies. 00:29:54.200 --> 00:30:28.360 I can't do it. It's too painful to look at the it's just it's just no filter can fix this. But it it's like looking at puzzling reflections in a mirror. But we don't have to give up because there will be a time when we will see everything with perfect clarity. Remember, this is how Paul ends his sermon, his letter to the church at Corinth who thinks they know everything about love and they know nothing of love. 00:30:29.940 --> 00:30:43.660 He says this. Now that I now I know, everything I know is partial and incomplete. This is the guy writing scripture. He's saying he he doesn't get the full picture. What does that mean for you? 00:30:45.000 --> 00:31:16.640 What does that mean for these self appointed know it alls who are telling us their version of scripture. The guy who wrote scripture is saying, look, I don't get it all. I don't see it all. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely. When the Lord Jesus returns, we're all gonna let out a collective, oh, just as God knows me completely. 00:31:19.340 --> 00:31:45.925 Look, God knows everything about you. You and I know almost nothing about him even with his word. Even with his word. That's part of the reason most of the Jewish people 2000 years ago couldn't get Jesus because they're looking at the word and they're looking at him and they're like, I don't see the same thing. You see, we only see love from our perspective as children. 00:31:45.985 --> 00:31:56.280 Now, if you have kids, you know their love is selfish. You know it is. And if you don't believe me, just tell them no once and see what happens. You know what, mother? Thank you so much. 00:31:56.280 --> 00:32:08.395 You've been so gracious lately. That's how British children sound. Everything they sound sounds so polite. You know, it's like just being on a cruise on the Chronicles of Narnia. That's what it feels like. 00:32:10.760 --> 00:32:20.895 Just tell your kid no one time. No. You can't have another Snickers bar. Right? But one day we will see love like God sees love. 00:32:20.895 --> 00:32:32.130 We will see it from his perspective. When my oldest daughter became a teenager anybody raising teenagers? K. Let me just tell you. She didn't know how to be 1. 00:32:33.225 --> 00:32:41.560 Teenagers don't know how to be a teenager, and I didn't know how to raise 1. Like, she was my practice child. You know what I'm saying? That's what your oldest child is. It's just oops their whole life. 00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:52.585 You're just like, my bad. Didn't know what I was doing. Just tell your oldest child's a lab rat. You're just poking them, trying to figure it out. Hope this doesn't kill you. 00:32:52.585 --> 00:33:12.695 Okay. But she was in trouble like teenagers do. You know what I'm saying? And I know this is gonna be hard for you to believe because I'm so wise and such an incredible leader, but she did not agree with how I disciplined her. Like she, you know, as a 13 year old felt like she knew how she should be disciplined, and she felt unloved because of my decision. 00:33:13.715 --> 00:33:21.620 And she was, I know, mad at me. I know. Just try to envision it. And many of you've heard this story. I've shared this many, many times. 00:33:21.620 --> 00:33:40.770 And I said to her, Madison, I will always love you, because she felt unloved. And she replied like a 13 year old girl can, but what if I don't love you, dad? And I said, my love for you is not dependent on your love for me. Now here's the thing. As an adult, she hates that story. 00:33:42.165 --> 00:34:03.245 The last time I shared that story, she actually came up to me and she said, dad, I'm so sorry for what happened. Now she didn't she didn't owe me an apology, but what's happened? What's changed? Time happened. She has grown, and all of us need to grow in love, every single one of us. 00:34:03.245 --> 00:34:28.560 Some of you have been a Christian your whole life, but you're still a 13 year old brat going, daddy, no. And you're awful, and you're self centered, and you're demanding, and you fail to realize that God knows best. I don't always get it. He doesn't ask me to get it. He asked me to trust it. 00:34:31.020 --> 00:34:45.450 So here's what I wanna challenge you as we get ready to wrap up this series on love next week. I want you to realize that we will never, and I mean never, fully grasp God's love in this life. Try. Work at it. Some of you are tired. 00:34:45.450 --> 00:34:58.275 Are we gonna talk about love again? Clearly, we need to talk about it all over again for you. Like, we just need to go back to the first. Ephesians 318. This is this is another letter that the apostle Paul writes. 00:34:58.275 --> 00:35:19.740 This is even to Corinth. Listen to what he says. He says, and may you have the power to understand, to understand as all God's people should. He wants every child of God to know this. Know what, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep, listen to this, his love is. 00:35:21.880 --> 00:35:44.575 And then listen to what he says. May you experience the love of Christ, comma, though it is too great to fully understand. You're never gonna get it. Just when you think you got it, you don't got it. Understanding God's love is trying is like trying to empty the ocean with your coffee mug. 00:35:44.575 --> 00:36:02.305 Work your whole life. The tide's not gonna lower because of your effort. Listen to what he says. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life, listen to this, and the power that comes from God. Man, that's what love can do. 00:36:04.365 --> 00:36:31.260 That's what love can do. Whatever the gap is between where you are and where God wants you is love. So I want you to know as your pastor, I will fall short of God's love for you. I'll be irritable, not patient, unkind. I'm keeping a record of wrongs. 00:36:31.260 --> 00:36:50.505 You know what I'm saying? Amen? I mean, the truth is, man, a lot of us, you know, we don't feel like an archeologist, but we are when it comes to offense. Amen. We dig for those things. 00:36:50.985 --> 00:37:00.050 Wait a minute. I think one time pastor Matt said. And unfortunately, in my life, there's evidence. It's online. You know? 00:37:02.750 --> 00:37:14.805 So I'm gonna fall short. People at this church are gonna fall short. Sandals Church is not a perfect church. And if it was, it would have been ruined the day you came. So just just get over it. 00:37:14.805 --> 00:37:24.940 You know, like when couples fall in love, he's perfect for me. Just wait. Just wait. You get in small group. All these people love Jesus. 00:37:25.295 --> 00:37:35.680 It's just like the sheep in the cotswolds. Just wait. Just wait. So I'm gonna fall short of God's love. You're gonna fall short of God's love. 00:37:35.680 --> 00:37:56.050 People at Sandals Church to Sandals Church are gonna fall short of God's love, and so what do we do to experience God's love? We realize that real love requires lots of grace, and that's the only relation reason you have a relationship with God, because of lots and lots of grace. Why? Because we, like sheep, have gone astray. But what did God do? 00:37:56.050 --> 00:38:11.650 Judge you? Nope. He judged his own son in your place, and he gave you grace. So here's how we're gonna end today with this challenge, first Peter 48. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other. 00:38:12.510 --> 00:38:24.610 Why? For love covers a multitude of sins. Here's the problem. You know what we do with most relationships where we really love somebody? We focus on their sins. 00:38:25.790 --> 00:38:33.735 We focus on them. We point them out rather than just saying, you know what? I'm gonna overlook that. No. I'm not I'm not talking about abusive relationships. 00:38:33.955 --> 00:39:09.245 I'm not I'm not talking about, like, criminal behavior. I'm talking about simple stuff, the stuff that just kinda bothers us because we've forgotten that love needs to cover those sins. So I want you to think about and pray about as we close right now. Who's somebody in this church that you have lacked love for and you need to give grace because they've offended you, they've hurt you, they've wounded you, and you need to let it go to grow in love? You say, oh, but pastor Matt, you know what? 00:39:09.245 --> 00:39:35.780 They're just on their journey of brokenness trying to discover God's love and maybe they're a couple laps behind you. Pray for them that they catch up, but you'll never move forward until you can release them to where they are, and this is what we gotta do. Realize love covers a multitude of sins. You need this in your marriage, in your friendships. You need this at church. 00:39:36.720 --> 00:40:15.995 Let's pray right now and ask God to help us become like him and let our love cover the sins of the people that are around us that have wounded us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just pray that in the name of Jesus we would just celebrate that real love lasts forever, and God I pray that that real love would work in our lives and that we would allow it to be given to those we claim to love. God, I know that there's marriages at Sentil's Church that are focused on the sins of one another, and they will never heal until their love can cover those sins. God, there are friendships that are broken. 00:40:15.995 --> 00:40:40.125 Lord, there are working relationships that are busted. God, there there there are issues even amongst families at this church where what we need to do is just, in the name of love, say, you know what, I'm gonna let that go. I'm gonna let that go and I'm gonna let love cover that. Heavenly father, help us to be like your son, Jesus, and help us to have a love that can cover sins. We pray this in Christ's name. 00:40:40.560 --> 00:40:42.340 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.