WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.399 Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:06.959 Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:21.760 All right, this is our third weekend in a series that we call Pillars, and I'm gonna summon the biblical principles we're gonna look at today under the headline My Me and My We. 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:25.280 My Me and My We. 00:00:25.760 --> 00:00:29.760 And we're gonna start out today, church, in Genesis chapter 1. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.079 Why not start from the very beginning? 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:36.159 By the way, this is a very note-taking worthy message. 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:39.759 So if you normally take notes, then this is for you. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:43.679 And if you don't normally do that, just start today. 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:47.920 Genesis chapter 1, verse 26. 00:00:48.079 --> 00:00:51.759 This is the verse that precedes the creation of mankind. 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:58.640 And it says, then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:07.040 This is such a special verse, and also it's grammatically incorrect unless you understand the nature of God. 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:16.719 Because it starts by saying, Then God said, That's God in singular, one God, one person, one uh individual. 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:23.040 The whole creed of Israel reads, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 00:01:23.519 --> 00:01:30.799 But then it goes on to say, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:50.239 So in the very first chapter of the Bible, God introduces Himself as a me and a we, as an individual God, but also as a fellowship, a community of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 00:01:50.480 --> 00:01:55.599 And he says he creates us in his image, in his likeness. 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:01.680 So just like him, we have a me, but we also have a we. 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:21.280 God will always look at you partly as an individual, but also as a part of something that is larger than yourself, as a part of a fellowship, a community, a church, a part of his kingdom where you fit in like a piece in the puzzle. 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:33.599 And it's so important for us to understand that we have a me part, an individual perspective of our walk with Christ, but also a collective we that God will use. 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:46.400 Because there are some things that God will only and can only do from the me perspective of your life and your the me perspective of your walk with Christ. 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:54.319 There are something He can't, some things He can only do as He speaks to you and you respond individually. 00:02:54.479 --> 00:03:08.159 But then there are also other things that He can only and will only do from the we perspective, from the perspective of you being part of a community, you being part of a church. 00:03:08.319 --> 00:03:12.479 And if we don't have a proper balance between the two, we will miss out. 00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:18.000 And some Christians do, they over-emphasize one above the other. 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:24.159 So, for example, you might over-emphasize the me perspective of your walk with Jesus. 00:03:24.319 --> 00:03:32.080 Maybe you had church hurt, maybe you had negative experiences about your past we perspective. 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:38.080 So you say, Now, now it's just gonna be me reading my Bible and watching messages on YouTube. 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:39.599 That's it. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:52.719 Well, you're gonna get some uh things from the Lord for sure by doing that, but you're gonna miss out of all on all the blessings that He intended to give you in the we perspective. 00:03:52.960 --> 00:04:12.960 But then again, you can also overemphasize your we in the sense that you become a spiritual herd creature where God is only important when you surround yourself with other people who also think that God is important, but as soon as you're all by yourself, there's nothing there. 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:18.000 You don't even think about praying or reading the Bible or thinking about Jesus. 00:04:18.160 --> 00:04:26.959 That doesn't mean that you should spend less time in church, it just means that you need to build your me perspective stronger than it is. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:27.920 Amen. 00:04:28.480 --> 00:04:44.639 Because when we maintain a balance in between the two and realize again, there's some things that we need to receive from the Lord in our me, but also other things that we need to receive in our we, then we become healthy in our walk with Jesus Christ. 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:54.160 So let me just go through with you some of the things that is kind of connected to the me side, the individual side of your walk with Christ. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:59.519 And we're gonna start out with the most important one, and that is my salvation. 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:01.680 My salvation. 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:06.399 Salvation can only be received individually. 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:10.399 There is no such thing as collective salvation. 00:05:10.639 --> 00:05:19.279 You might have been born and raised in a Christian family, that's a great start, but you need to say your own personal yes to Jesus. 00:05:19.600 --> 00:05:24.480 You might have been going to church every single weekend for your life, that's a great start. 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:32.480 But you need to believe in your own heart sooner or later in order for you to become a child of God yourself. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:41.680 We're gonna read the verse in the New Testament that clearer than any other one talks about the way to receive salvation. 00:05:41.839 --> 00:05:45.680 That's Romans chapter 10 and verse 9. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:59.040 And how interesting is it that that verse that speaks about the road to accepting Christ as your Lord is also the most individualistic verse in the entire New Testament. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:02.240 Romans 10 verse 9. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:17.680 If you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:21.519 You, your, your, you. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:27.360 Your mother can't believe for you, your father can't confess for you. 00:06:27.600 --> 00:06:34.000 This is something that has to do completely with the me side of your walk with Christ. 00:06:34.240 --> 00:06:39.040 You have to obtain and accept salvation on an individual basis. 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:50.480 And as we move on, we find something else that we need to experience and explore within the me perspective of our faith, and that is my refining. 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:52.879 My refining. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:59.519 Now, refining has to do with sanctification, it has to do with the process of holiness. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:12.079 And if I would define refining, it would be like making what is a reality in your heart become a reality in your lifestyle. 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:16.000 Ooh, I heard some good stuff coming out of this Swedish mouth. 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:17.759 I'll say that again. 00:07:19.040 --> 00:07:29.759 Making what is already a reality in your heart become a reality in your lifestyle, in your thoughts, in your words, and in your actions. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.439 Here's the thing, Gateway. 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:45.439 When we accept salvation, when we receive Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, moves into your heart with all of his beauty, all of his splendor, all of his holiness. 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:48.560 You are already a carrier of God. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:08:07.920 Now, the rest of your life is going to be about making sure that what is already a reality inside of you, in the invisible part of you, also becomes a reality in the visible part of you, which is your words, what you say and do not say. 00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:12.399 Your actions, what you do and do not do. 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:18.639 Now, salvation that we just talked about is a once-in-a-lifetime decision. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:25.360 The refining process is a daily decision for the rest of your life. 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:36.320 It's about accepting and allowing the reality of your heart to penetrate your thought life and regulate your speech and your actions. 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:37.200 Amen. 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:39.039 And you know what? 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:42.080 That comes with a price to pay sometimes. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:46.080 If you haven't experienced that yet, I don't know where you've been. 00:08:46.799 --> 00:09:00.559 But you know, neither the devil nor the world around us will be specifically enthusiastic about you becoming more like Jesus in your words and in your lifestyle. 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:04.639 So there will be resistance against this process in your life. 00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:06.480 That's why you need to defend it. 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:14.799 There will be even persecution sometimes, because in this world it's not too popular to be a radical follower of Jesus. 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:18.879 But please, gateway, pay that price. 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:30.159 Pay that price on an individual basis, pay the price of your own refining process because if you do, God will reward you and He will bring you favor. 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:34.000 I've seen this so many times in my life. 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:44.320 Uh, I remember when preparing for this message, uh, an episode from when Maria and I were just married, and I actually served a season in the Swedish army at the time. 00:09:44.720 --> 00:09:55.200 Um, I was an army medic, that was my position, and um I was serving in a Swedish company, which is a Swedish military unit of about 200 soldiers. 00:09:55.360 --> 00:10:06.799 So I was in charge of health and health care for this group of 200 guys, and I was the only Christian out of the 200, and they made me pay for it. 00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:13.759 Oh man, they treated me so harshly, they they bullied me so bad. 00:10:14.799 --> 00:10:26.480 Oh, it's almost funny every single day, and it wasn't because I was like provocative or try to shove the Bible down anyone's throat. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:28.879 I just read my Bible in public. 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:32.399 I knelt by my bunk bed at night to say my prayers. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:37.759 That was it, and still they were so annoyed with the fact that I was a Christian. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:44.720 I try to make friends, I try to show love, they didn't accept it, I didn't make any friends whatsoever in the first few months. 00:10:44.879 --> 00:10:52.559 But then all of a sudden, our company was uh chosen to be part of a big military exercise up in the north of Sweden. 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:59.519 Thousands of people, of soldiers, and companies were coming together for this huge exercise up in the north. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:04.720 Guys, friends, if you ever come to Sweden, don't go up north. 00:11:05.759 --> 00:11:10.000 You would die because it's freezing. 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:15.679 We're talking below zero temperatures, five to six feet of snow. 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:18.000 It's just it's just horrible. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:28.879 It's like Elsa are coming in on a daily basis and just turning the whole north of Sweden into a frozen hell on earth, basically. 00:11:29.039 --> 00:11:35.120 So we were up there for three and a half weeks without any break whatsoever. 00:11:35.440 --> 00:11:48.480 So obviously, being in charge of health and health care, one of my concerns was to make sure that the guys, all of us, could stay clean or as clean as possible throughout this almost a month-long exercise. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:54.480 Because if you don't wash, if you can't clean yourself for a month, that's a that's a health hazard right there. 00:11:54.639 --> 00:12:01.279 But this is below zero temperature, so I couldn't work with water or some kind of temporary shower or something. 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:04.559 So what I did was I did a tent sauna. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:09.600 So I took a military tent and we covered it with snow for isolation. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:20.799 We brought three wood burners into the thing to get the temperature really, really high, and then the guys could take off their clothes, get in there, and sweat for half an hour. 00:12:21.519 --> 00:12:24.639 I know sauna is a foreign concept for Texans. 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:31.200 Your sauna, your equivalent of sauna, is called the outdoors. 00:12:31.840 --> 00:12:34.559 So, but actually it works. 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:38.559 Half an hour in a sauna, you're actually cleaner than if you would have taken a shower. 00:12:38.799 --> 00:12:40.399 So I did this on a regular basis. 00:12:40.480 --> 00:12:48.720 Now, one night when I did this, one of the guys, without me knowing it, had smuggled to the exercise a full bottle of vodka. 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:57.519 He drank the entire bottle himself in one night, and then he got into the sauna tent. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:03.679 Now his body temperature is rising, which emphasizes the effect of the alcohol. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:22.480 Now he's completely wasted, and in that state, he stumbles out of the sauna tent completely naked into below zero temperatures, and his body goes into shock and he collapses in a pile of snow, and no one was there to see it. 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:28.320 We found him a few minutes later, he was already turning blue, and he had almost no pulse. 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:33.919 And you have to understand, we had no officers, no professionals, it was just us out in the middle of nowhere. 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:37.200 All the officers were in a hotel 30 minutes away. 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:40.399 All we had was a truck, that was it. 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:46.480 So I just pointed at a guy, get in the truck and prepare to drive like you've never driven before. 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:53.759 And then I pointed at the two closest guys who happened to be those who made my life more miserable than anyone else in the group. 00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:59.519 And I said, Help me get him up on the on the what'd you say, the the the bed. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:02.399 You should know in Texas, you should know. 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:05.519 Help, help me get him up in the truck bed. 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:16.559 So we got him up in the truck bed, I got up there, the two of them got up there too, and then we just took off through the wilderness, the snow-covered dirt roads to try to get to the hotel as soon as possible. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:22.240 And we were on the truck bed and just trying to monitor his heartbeat, make sure he was still alive. 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:27.519 After a few minutes of driving recklessly, his heart stopped. 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.159 And I had to start doing CPR. 00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:35.919 And let me tell you, not only did I do CPR, but I prayed at the top of my lungs. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:39.440 I prayed for resurrection power in Jesus' name. 00:14:39.600 --> 00:14:42.720 I pray that the spirit of life would invade this body. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:45.600 I pray that God will rebuke the spirit of death. 00:14:45.840 --> 00:14:49.279 I pray for healing and restoration and life, life, life. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:51.600 I couldn't care less about these other two guys. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:15:01.679 And after a few minutes of me practicing CPR and the laying on of hands at the same time, I asked the two guys, check his pulse. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:03.759 They checked his he's got no pulse. 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:05.279 Keep praying, they said. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.320 And I'm doing CPR, praying my heart out. 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:14.480 After about five or six more minutes, I actually got his heart started. 00:15:14.639 --> 00:15:21.600 We we ended up at the hotel, they got an ambulance, they brought him to a hospital, they they fixed him, and the next morning he was fine. 00:15:21.759 --> 00:15:28.399 And the next day, myself and this guy was uh asked to report to the commander-in-chief. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:36.799 And this guy was sent to military prison, and I got a badge of honor and four days of leave so I could go back home to Maria. 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:48.000 But I remember after the four days of leave, they sent a card to bring me out into the middle of nowhere again, into the exercise. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:16:01.120 And I thought to myself, okay, these guys have made my life a miserable for already, and now they've heard me pray for resurrection power and the spirit of life, and rumors would have spread. 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:03.919 So I'm just wondering what will happen now. 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:12.559 But as I got out of the car, my whole company had lined up in two lines, and they gave me a standing ovation for saving this guy's life. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:22.639 And I can tell you, Gateway, that was the turning point because all of a sudden I became the pastor of the entire company, basically. 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:34.320 Almost every single day, soldiers came up to me saying, Uh Lundquist, um, I've been thinking about God lately, and I have some questions, and everything completely turned around. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:48.159 My whole principle to come through to you is this pay the price of refining, pay the price, even of persecution, because if you do, God will reward you and he will turn it around to your favor. 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:51.279 Can we say amen in the house of the Lord? 00:16:53.360 --> 00:17:03.600 1 Corinthians 11, 21 28 says, everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:05.759 That's all about the refining process. 00:17:06.000 --> 00:17:14.400 Examine themselves, which clearly puts the refining process on the me side of my walk with Christ. 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:24.559 A third thing that is specifically connected to your me, the individual side of your walk with Jesus, has to do with my gifts. 00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.799 My gifts. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:37.599 In Matthew 25, there is a well-known parable about a rich man who would go abroad and he uh distributed his wealth to his three servants. 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:43.519 One got five talents, one got two talents, one got one talent, and then he left. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:50.799 Then eventually he came back, and they all had to be accountable for what they had done with the gifts they had been given. 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:55.839 Now, what is interesting to me is that these gifts are given individually. 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:06.240 The three servants didn't get one pile, they got individual gifts, and they were also accountable for the gifts they had been given. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:10.160 Again, this is something that falls on the me side of you. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:20.960 You are given individual gifts, and you also personally have to account for what you did with the gifts and talents that God placed in your life. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:38.640 Basically, what we need to remind ourselves of is that God has given us gifts, resources, talents, not for our own glory, or not even primarily to raise our own fortune, but to glorify the name of Jesus and build the kingdom of God on this earth. 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:39.519 Amen. 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:51.920 And now some people have I've noticed that these three people got different gifts, they got like different amounts of money, and you go, hey, is that really fair? 00:18:52.480 --> 00:18:59.920 But here's what we need to understand that better, sorry, bigger is not necessarily better. 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.079 And I want to illustrate this. 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:08.160 Give it up for Adeline. 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:11.920 Hey, bro. 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:14.240 Excellent, thanks so much. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:17.599 Okay, we have two tools here. 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:20.880 We have one bolt cutter, and all the men said, ooh. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:22.079 Yeah. 00:19:22.559 --> 00:19:26.960 And then and then we have a precision screwdriver. 00:19:27.279 --> 00:19:39.119 Now, if I would ask which one of these tools is the better one, the only true answer would be it depends on the task. 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:40.799 Right? 00:19:41.440 --> 00:19:48.960 Because if the task is to cut a chain or cut a locker, then obviously this is the better one. 00:19:49.599 --> 00:20:04.559 But if the task is to open up a cell phone case or some other small part of delicate electric electric uh appliance, then I would never trust this guy with that task. 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:07.920 Yeah, just get it over here, I'll take care of it. 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:10.400 No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 00:20:10.640 --> 00:20:13.200 We need another kind of instrument. 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:17.119 So again, bigger is not necessarily better. 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:38.799 As a church, we are called to uh, and we have some people among us, praise God, that are like bold-cutter gifted, maybe pastors, leaders, politicians, people who declare the gospel to nations, people who stand up and defend uh our our countries and our churches against secularism. 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:43.680 But we're also called to sit down with the individual broken heart. 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:51.279 We're also called to sit down and bring healing to that single marriage that is struggling right now. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:20:58.000 And we need the delicate precision screwdriver, the exact right word at the exact right time. 00:20:58.640 --> 00:21:06.079 So we cannot say that one is better than the other, they're different because the needs of the kingdom of God is different. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:18.000 So if you're more like a precision screwdriver in the kingdom of God, never ever look at the bold-cuttered Christian and say, Because I'm not like you, I'm insignificant. 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:25.200 Church, we need to remind ourselves we're not called to compete, but to complete one another. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:28.000 Can we say amen in the house of the Lord? 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.039 Thank you. 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:40.720 And this is really the perfect bridge over to the we side of our uh our talk or the we side of our walk with Christ. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:53.119 Because even if you have to receive and accept the gifts on an individual basis, the gifts will only make sense in the collective walk of your life. 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:57.519 In the immortal words of Jerry McGuire. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.119 You complete me. 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:08.240 And if you didn't get that, ask your parents when you come home. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:13.680 Paul writes in First Corinthians 14, verse 26. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:19.359 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters, when you come together? 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:21.279 Can we say those words together? 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:30.720 When you come together, each of you has a hymn, a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:39.839 Again, your gift has to be accepted and received individually, but it will only make sense when we come together. 00:22:40.240 --> 00:22:42.319 It's like Big Mac sauce. 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:46.880 We're going really deep today, aren't we? 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:50.640 Or insert your favorite fast food restaurant. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:53.680 Every one of them has got a signature sauce, right? 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:59.680 And you know when you take the first bite of a burger from that place, you can taste that signature sauce. 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:01.680 And you might like it so much. 00:23:01.759 --> 00:23:10.880 But still, you would never go into a McDonald's and say, Can I have a big cup of Big Mac sauce and a straw? 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:13.759 Why? 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:24.319 It's a great sauce, yes, but it only works in combination with the patty and the salad and the onion and the ketchup and the bread. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:26.559 That's exactly like your gift. 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:29.200 All alone, it's not gonna work. 00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:32.160 It's not gonna become everything it can be. 00:23:32.400 --> 00:23:37.759 But when we come together, everything starts to make sense. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:42.960 Let's talk a little bit about the we perspective of our walk with Christ. 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:47.119 The fellowship, the community, the church perspective. 00:23:47.359 --> 00:23:57.279 And the first thing that definitely comes on this side, the fellowship side of our walk with Christ, is our perspective. 00:23:57.680 --> 00:23:59.519 Our perspective. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:30.240 He says, I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the Lord's holy people, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:36.400 I cannot grasp how wide and long and high and deep the love of Christ is myself. 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:38.400 I'll see a fraction of it. 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:53.359 But when we come together, together with all the Lord's holy people, we see more, we see a better perspective, a wider perspective that allows us to be filled to the whole fullness of God. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:25:05.440 And also, so many times in my life, I realize how I need my we, my church, my friends, my community from my own for my own perspective in life. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:09.599 That there is a story about the prophet Elijah that I love. 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:22.400 In 1 Kings 18, Elijah is boldly calling down fire on Mount Carmel, and all the people in Israel falls down and declare, The Lord is God, the Lord is God. 00:25:22.640 --> 00:25:24.079 He's the man of the hour. 00:25:24.319 --> 00:25:33.119 But in the very next chapter, 1 Kings 19, the same Elijah receives a message from Queen Jezebel. 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:36.720 She says, You know what, Elijah, I'm gonna kill you. 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:47.359 And on hearing this, on reading this, it says that Elijah left his servants and walked out into the desert all alone. 00:25:48.240 --> 00:25:50.000 Major mistake. 00:25:50.319 --> 00:26:02.160 This was a time where Elijah should have been with his we, with his servants, have been in a setting where people could have spoken faith and life and strength into him. 00:26:02.559 --> 00:26:14.400 Instead, he withdraws to his me in a position where he shouldn't have, and he's all alone, and his perspective starts to be twisted, and he says to God, it's enough. 00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:18.160 Everyone has uh left you, Lord, it's only me left. 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:19.759 Take my life. 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:37.759 And I've not been at that radical point, but I've surely come into situations where there's so much pressure and there's so much resistance and there's so much spiritual oppositions, opposition against me that I've struggled to see the path. 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:46.880 It's like uh, have you ever noticed that sometimes you know you you just come up to a place where you can't see clearly. 00:26:47.119 --> 00:26:50.319 You look around and all you see is this mess. 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:54.799 You don't see any structure, you don't see any motive, you don't see the way ahead. 00:26:54.960 --> 00:27:16.720 And so many times where I've been at that place, I've had my we step in, my friends, my church, the people that I trust and do life together with, and they started to speak faith into my life, spoken the word of God over my life, and they helped me to take a few steps back, and all of a sudden, as I did, I started getting another perspective. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:29.279 It was not just a mess, a blur, but I realized that hey, this whole thing, what I saw was just a little tiny fraction of what is actually a beautiful masterpiece. 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:39.119 But I needed my we to back away and get the perspective that I would not have been able to see on the me side of my walk with Christ. 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:40.319 You understand? 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:42.799 This is so, so important. 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:51.519 Another thing that is so important and has to do with our our we side, our collective side, it's also our formation. 00:27:52.559 --> 00:27:54.079 Our formation. 00:27:54.960 --> 00:28:00.000 Proverbs 27 says, iron sharpens iron. 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:04.559 It means there need to be at least two pieces of iron. 00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:07.039 Iron doesn't sharp itself. 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:20.000 We need our we, and we need to have that element in our lives fresh on a daily basis in order for us to get as sharp as we need to be in this time and in this season. 00:28:20.319 --> 00:28:36.640 And the thing I want to close with, the thing that also is so important and so dominant in the we side and can never really be accomplished in the same way on the me side of our walk with Christ, has to do with our strength. 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:44.319 The strength that can be released by the people of God praying together in unity. 00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:48.319 I bet you have shared my experience many times. 00:28:48.640 --> 00:29:16.880 You prayed and you felt your words just went straight to the floor after they came out of your mouth, but then you came together with your we, and all of a sudden there was a different level of strength, there was a different level of faith, there was a different element of power because the body of Christ, the local church, is able to release a strength in prayer that you can never do on an individual basis, regardless of who you are. 00:29:17.599 --> 00:29:19.279 And we see this so many times. 00:29:19.440 --> 00:29:26.400 Obviously, we see it's we see this as the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the early church on the day of Pentecost. 00:29:26.559 --> 00:29:30.559 That happened when they were all together in one accord. 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:38.480 That was a me element that happened, they came together, they had committed their hearts to one another. 00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:44.559 There was a unity among them, and in that unity, strength was released. 00:29:44.799 --> 00:29:54.559 And then just two chapters further down in the book of Acts, that church experiences their first element of persecution. 00:29:54.960 --> 00:30:03.039 Peter and John has just faced a high court who has told them, You can no longer speak in the name of Jesus. 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:13.119 And in verse 23, Acts 4, it says, On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people. 00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:17.920 I don't know about you, but I love those three words so much. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:21.759 They went back to their own people. 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:27.759 You need to have a group of people that you call your own people. 00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:33.839 It's not enough to go around visiting just different churches throughout your entire life. 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:40.480 For me, our family, we love to visit other families and spend time in their homes. 00:30:40.799 --> 00:30:45.200 But when we come back to our own people, our own house, it's a different thing. 00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:50.000 We relax deeper, we grow more open and honest. 00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:53.519 And when something is broken, we fix it. 00:30:54.160 --> 00:30:54.720 Why? 00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:59.759 Because this is our holy, and we are among our own people. 00:31:00.799 --> 00:31:04.000 And can I just pause here, Gateway, for a second? 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:41.119 Um because I just want to say on behalf of Maria and myself that we love this house so much, and even if we're here temporarily, we have just fallen in love with this house, and I want to say thank you, Gateway, because you guys have become part of our own people, and we love to meet you before service, and we love to see you in the lobby after service, and we love when you when you spot us somewhere out and about in the region, and you come up and say hi. 00:31:41.359 --> 00:31:45.440 I don't know where that always keeps happening at Walmart, but it does. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:55.519 I don't know what it is, but almost every single time I'm grocery shopping at Walmart, there will be a family from Gateway, one of the campuses come up to me. 00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:57.200 And they always say the same thing. 00:31:57.359 --> 00:32:08.559 They say, We've been circling you for a while, and we've been saying to one another, that looks like Pastor Joachim, but Pastor Joachim would never shop at Walmart. 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:26.640 And I always say, Well, there are times when I take off my Superman outfits and I descend among the mortals, and I walk the aisles of Walmart like a regular human being. 00:32:27.839 --> 00:32:31.039 Can we just lose the whole ministry superhero thing? 00:32:31.119 --> 00:32:34.000 That has never done anything good for anyone. 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:37.039 We're all in this together with a family. 00:32:41.680 --> 00:32:52.240 But so many times when we meet you, you're saying things like, Thank you for coming, thank you for being here, thank you for not canceling on us when the going got rough, and that really ministers to our heart. 00:32:52.319 --> 00:32:54.000 It's so beautiful to hear. 00:32:54.319 --> 00:32:59.599 But again, from the perspective of Marie and myself, we want to say thank you for having us. 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:05.680 Because having you becoming part of our own people has been such a blessing. 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:06.640 Thank you, Gateway. 00:33:06.720 --> 00:33:08.319 We really love you so much. 00:33:09.440 --> 00:33:22.000 Um they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God, and then they pray. 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:34.400 And verse 31 says, After they pray, the place where they were meeting was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:41.200 This is the effect of having a strong we element in your walk with God. 00:33:41.359 --> 00:33:52.559 There will be a level of strength, a level of breakthrough, a level of power that we cannot and are not called to generate on the me side of that same walk. 00:33:52.880 --> 00:34:02.720 And I just want to give you a very short opportunity to adjust, if needed, the balance in between your me and your we right now. 00:34:02.880 --> 00:34:08.400 Could we just stand to our feet all over this church in the presence of the Lord? 00:34:10.320 --> 00:34:16.320 God spoke to me as I was preparing and said this would be an important moment for so many people. 00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:24.159 And only you know your heart, and that is why the word of God says that we need to examine ourselves. 00:34:25.440 --> 00:34:30.880 It's a tragedy that so many Christians tend to examine everyone but themselves. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:35.679 But our true calling is to examine our own hearts. 00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:42.320 So would you just for a little while close your eyes and look inside your own heart? 00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:54.000 And maybe you come to the conclusion that I haven't really developed the me side on my walk with Christ. 00:34:55.440 --> 00:35:02.960 I haven't really stayed in the refining process the way I should do. 00:35:03.599 --> 00:35:04.800 And I need to step up. 00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:10.559 I haven't really dedicated my gifts to the Lord the way I should have. 00:35:10.639 --> 00:35:15.199 Or maybe you haven't even accepted Christ on a personal basis. 00:35:16.559 --> 00:35:26.639 And you can make that adjustment right here and right now and say, God, I'm gonna develop the me perspective of my walk in a new way. 00:35:26.719 --> 00:35:30.000 And I will be honored to lead you in a prayer in just a few seconds. 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:38.960 Or maybe you need to step up in regards to the we element, the we perspective of our faith. 00:35:39.599 --> 00:35:45.519 Maybe you need to allow your roots to dig deeper than they have. 00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:51.599 Maybe you need to step back into serving, maybe you need to step up in giving. 00:35:52.719 --> 00:36:11.519 Maybe you need to just allow your hearts to sink down deep into the soil of this house or whatever house you belong to, if you're a guest with us today, and just said, This is my house, this is my family, these are my own people. 00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:23.360 Father, we pray right now that by the presence of the Holy Spirit in this house that you will help us adjust and come back into balance. 00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:28.159 Father, we pray, we thank you for the me perspective. 00:36:28.239 --> 00:36:32.960 We thank you that we, our names, our individual names are written in the book of life. 00:36:33.199 --> 00:36:36.320 You've already breathed your spirit into our hearts. 00:36:36.480 --> 00:36:49.119 We pray now, as we leave this church, as we go into this upcoming week, that we will allow what is already a reality in our hearts to become a reality in our lifestyle, in our words, in our in our um actions. 00:36:49.840 --> 00:36:58.239 And Father, again, we rededicate our gifts, our talents into your hands, and we say, not for our glory, but for yours. 00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:04.800 Father, we pray that we will you will allow our roots to go deep into the we of Gateway Church. 00:37:04.960 --> 00:37:07.360 Father, we commit ourselves to one another. 00:37:07.599 --> 00:37:10.880 We need the perspective of every single one of us. 00:37:11.039 --> 00:37:17.599 We need the variety of gifts and talents and and blessings that you have poured out upon this house. 00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:24.079 And Father, we pray for the strength that can only be released when we come together in unity. 00:37:24.239 --> 00:37:26.800 Would you just lift up your hands where you stand right now? 00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:29.920 And let's go to pray, Father, in Jesus' name. 00:37:30.159 --> 00:37:40.880 Father, we join our hearts in prayer this moment for our church, for the future of gateway, for our we for everything that you have done, but also for everything that you will do. 00:37:42.079 --> 00:37:51.039 Have your way! Your kingdom come! Your will be done! In Jesus' name, and all custom people said amen. 00:37:54.000 --> 00:37:55.519 Thanks for joining us today. 00:37:55.679 --> 00:38:01.039 If you'd like to connect with us, text connect to 71010 or visit gatewaypeople.com. 00:38:01.199 --> 00:38:02.719 We hope you have a great week.