REWIND
The podcast "REWIND" features a collection of past sermons from Organic Church. Each episode takes listeners on a journey through the teachings and messages delivered during previous worship services. The content is a retrospective look at the spiritual guidance and insights shared by Pastor Michael and visiting guests!
Listeners can expect to revisit powerful sermons, meaningful scriptures, and impactful messages that have been shared in the past. The podcast aims to provide a convenient and accessible way for the church community and new audiences to engage with the timeless wisdom and spiritual teachings presented during earlier sermons.
Whether it's a reflection on a particular theme, a series of teachings, or a selection of sermons covering various topics, "REWIND" offers an opportunity for individuals to deepen their understanding of the faith and find inspiration in the timeless messages.
The podcast may also include commentary or reflections on the historical context of each sermon and how it continues to resonate with the present-day congregation.
REWIND
Do Unto Others (July 20, 2025)
Have you ever struggled to forgive someone who deeply hurt you? In this powerful message, we explore how Jesus—betrayed with a kiss—showed us the transformative path of forgiveness when retaliation would have been easier.
The world constantly pulls us toward distraction, bitterness, and revenge. When we're hurt or betrayed, our natural instinct is to fight back or harbor resentment. Yet Jesus demonstrates a radically different way. Even as Judas used a symbol of love to betray him, Jesus responded with compassion rather than condemnation. "He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered."
Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, we see how radical love crosses boundaries and heals wounds. A despised Samaritan cared for his cultural enemy, teaching us that compassion isn't reserved only for those we like. This challenges us to examine our own hearts—are we holding grudges against coworkers, family members, or strangers? Are we refusing to forgive because someone hasn't apologized?
Forgiveness isn't about freeing others from their debt—it's about freeing ourselves from the burden of bitterness. "I'm forgiving you of that debt, not so that you are free from it, but so that I am free from it." When we carry unforgiveness, we fill our hearts with negativity instead of Christ's love.
Remember that Jesus died for us "while we were still sinners." He didn't wait until we deserved grace—he extended it freely at our worst. If Christ could forgive those who crucified him, surely we can release those who've wounded us.
Who do you need to forgive today? Who needs to experience grace through you? Start there. Make that call. Send that text. Show up. Let the river of God's forgiveness flow through you, washing away everything that separates you from His presence.
Hallelujah, hallelujah. You are worthy of our praise, worthy of our praise. Father, we thank you and we praise you for anointed music that allows us to come into your presence, that allows us to focus our hearts and center our minds on you. Lord, father, I pray that we're not focused on the things that are happening around us, the people we're sitting next to Father, the noises that we might hear, but, father, I pray that we're not focused on the things that are happening around us, the people we're sitting next to Father, the noises that we might hear, but, father, that we are focused on you and your word today and that is all. Father, allow me to be your voice today in the wilderness. Lord, that these people, as I speak, that they will hear the words that are directly from you and not of me. Father, god and Lord, I pray that, as the children move from this place into their classrooms, that you bless them abundantly. We stand firm that we are raising the next generation of the church, lord, and we thank you for blessing us with all of your children. We thank you, we praise you. We us with all of your children. We thank you, we praise you, we give you all the honor and glory in the mighty name of Jesus, and the church says amen, amen, amen. We'll let the kids start about what God would have me speak about.
Speaker 1:And I know that so many of us this week have been faced with hardships, that there's been stress in our lives and a lot of things have happened to a lot of us this week and it has been seemingly incredibly upsetting to watch all of the things unfold. And I was thinking about some of the things I've seen on social media and you know people have been felt like they've been betrayed by a lot of things and you know life has been incredibly challenging. But I just in the young adult group, just speaking to the young adults, hearing the things that have happened to so many of us this week, and you realize that when you walk through life living for the Lord, when you walk through life focusing and centering your life on Jesus, that it is incredibly easy to become distracted by the things of the world, because the world wants you to be distracted by them. So they will say it louder Amen. The world will convince you that you shouldn't be listening to your spirit on the inside, that you should be listening to the world. And so, as I've watched the week unfold. You know, some people have been betrayed by friends, some people have been betrayed by people that they thought were friends. All of these things have happened and are like, hey, some people have even been betrayed by kiss cameras at Coldplay concerts, amen, amen. But hey, I just want to start this by saying there was somebody else, somebody else who was betrayed by a kiss, amen, amen.
Speaker 1:And that's where we're going to start this morning. Grab your Bibles. We're going to go to Luke 22, 47 and 48. And it says but even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the 12 disciples. Now, I want you to just, let's just sit in our senses for a minute and I want you to hear this Judas walked over to Jesus and greeted him with a kiss.
Speaker 1:And greeted him with a kiss. Now, it was customary to greet people with a kiss when Jesus was walking the earth, and some people, in some cultures, they still do that. Right, you guys don't want to shake my hand because you know I don't wash my hands. I can't imagine any of you are going to walk up to me and try to kiss me on the cheek, and probably because I'm going to fight you, right, but it was customary to greet a friend or somebody that you cared about with a kiss.
Speaker 1:Judas chose to betray Jesus with a kiss. One of his closest friends handed him over to death with a symbol of love Amen. And today my heart is burdened because I watched so many people go through so many things and we just can't figure out how to still love through those things. Amen. I mean, we've all been hurt, right, we've been hurt by things that we never thought we would be hurt by. We feel like we've protected our hearts, guarded our hearts, and yet the enemy still finds a way to work inside of us and to take things from us that we feel like we are owed. Amen, jesus did not retaliate. How many of us can say we've done that, that we've been betrayed and we didn't retaliate? Not many of us, right.
Speaker 1:And even if you don't do it physically, you think about doing it. Amen, because, remember, when you think it, you might as well, but I'm not encouraging you to do it. Let's stop for a second. Some of us have thought some things that I am not encouraging us to go and do, but we think things and when we think them, god is already holding us accountable for those thoughts. Amen. If we think it, we have already done it in the presence of the Lord. See, the mind is the battlefield right and we get trapped inside of that battlefield and we think of all of the things that we could do in order to crush our enemy right. But the problem is is many times they are not our enemy. Oftentimes we think about or we treat people as if they are our enemy, when oftentimes they are not. Oftentimes they are not. They are somebody who was put in your way to grow you so that you could make it to the next level, the next place that God would have you be. Now, we don't always know what that is and we don't always like what it looks like. Amen. Sometimes it makes us nervous or apprehensive, but we can't blame God for what the world is allowing us to experience, or what the world is allowing us to experience or what the world is allowing us to feel. Amen.
Speaker 1:Instead of trying to retaliate, he showed restraint, compassion and love. He did not stop who he was, even when others failed him. Hear that Even when his friends failed him, he did not stop being who he had always been. I would like to remind you that Jesus had a group of friends that were committed to keeping him safe. Remember what Peter did Cut off the soldier's ear. Jesus told him to put the sword down and helps to heal the man's ear. Now, in all of the things that were happening in that moment, jesus took that time to be present and to still love even those who would only want to see him die. Our example should be found in 1 Peter 2, chapter 2, verse 23. Get it together here. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threatened revenge when he suffered.
Speaker 1:Now the world will not judge us fairly. As Christians, we will be held to a higher standard. We will not be judged fairly. That's okay. We should hold ourselves to a higher standard, but I know in the presence of God we will be judged fairly. The problem is is you don't understand what fair is right. We don't have a clear understanding of what the baseline for fair actually is. See, we think that we can go around and I don't want to say all of us, but there are a portion of society who thinks, as Christians, we can go around being kind and being nice and that's good enough. It is not good enough. Those things come from being in relationship with Christ, following his guidance and walking out the life that he walked out. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor did he threaten revenge when he suffered. He left the case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly.
Speaker 1:People think a whole lot of things about me. The world thinks a whole lot of things about me, dave. I bet the world thinks a whole lot of things about you, amen. There are people who think they know us, who don't know us and they wanna decide who you are or what you should be doing, and they treat you a certain way based on what they've decided you are. They can't judge you fairly because they don't have a baseline for judgment. Listen, if we put the baseline at Christ, that allows us to determine what is holy and what is not, amen, well, but if our baseline is not in Christ, so a lot of the world who are atheists or who don't believe in Jesus, they don't have a baseline. They don't understand how important it is. They think being kind is just not saying something insulting. Listen, it's not good enough unless you know Jesus right, because he is the example. He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor did he threaten revenge when he suffered.
Speaker 1:Listen, some of you can't get on social media without insulting people and then trying to defend yourself when they prove that you're wrong. Right, I told you guys once before listen, don't argue with me. It's a waste of your time. I knew I was wrong 10 minutes ago. I just want to see if I can make you mad right At some point.
Speaker 1:The goal isn't to be right. Sometimes the goal is that. That's not healthy. It's not okay. Listen, if you can be the bigger person and say I was wrong, I know that I shouldn't have allowed that to happen. You're much better off than the person sitting next to you who's always blaming someone else. You guys know a person like that. If you're not raising your hand, it's you right. You're probably the person that they're like. Yeah, that person's the one that always blames somebody else. Listen, if we claim to follow Jesus, what it's always Roger's fault? If we claim to follow Jesus, do we have the courage to respond like him when people do wrong to us, right? If we claim to follow Jesus, do we have the ability, when somebody does something that we don't like, to respond like Jesus responds? Sometimes, the best response is no response, right?
Speaker 1:I don't have to justify my position in Christ. I don't have to justify what God has called into my life. I don't have to tell you what God wants from me. Listen, if you need to know something about my relationship with God, you need to go to him. Listen, if you need to know something about my relationship with God, you need to go to him. Lord, I want whatever it is that you've put in Pastor Michael's life. I'm telling you right now don't pray that prayer today. You don't want what God has put. Listen, I'm telling you, because God will drive tests into your life that you can't understand. He will put people in your path that you go.
Speaker 1:Lord, what did I do to deserve this? Both good and bad? Just so we're clear. I fellowship with some of the best people and I fellowship with some of the worst people, but I don't mean that I go and try to be bad. I don't mean that I go and try to act like them, but I witness to them and I spend time with them so they can understand the importance of being in the presence of God at all times, in all things. Amen.
Speaker 1:It is hard to do. There is a golden rule. In all things, ministry. There is a golden rule in all things ministry, and I have fallen short of this before, but I'll tell you. I want to share this with you. I'm going to give you the secret, okay, but you have to choose to use it. Let me take this drink so I can put this water down, because if I don't, they're going to start counting. I know you were. That's why I made sure I took a drink. Luke 6.31. You ready? Luke 6.31.
Speaker 1:It says do to others as you would like them to do to you. It's right there in the word. If you don't want people to treat you poorly, you shouldn't treat people poorly, right, because you will reap what you sow. Now, here's the thing. Sometimes we're like oh well, I'm not really sowing, if I'm this isn't gossip, if or whatever. Right, can I tell you something? If you're trying to convince yourself that this is an acceptable thing to do, it's probably not an acceptable thing to do. You shouldn't have to rationalize with the Holy Spirit, right? Because when God says no, the answer is no. No, it's maybe I'm kidding the answer is no. When God says yes, the answer is yes, and when the answer is wait, the answer is wait. These aren't negotiations with the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:Listen when I go before the Lord and I am pleading with him for something in my life, and sometimes it's small, sometimes it's big. It's the same prayer every time. Lord, you know what I need, but, lord, I trust you Allow your will to be done, not my will. Lord and Lord, I am going to do exactly what you lead me to do, but I need you to do something big because I need you to just show me. Right now, I'm in the valley and I don't know what this looks like. God, I need you to pull me out of this valley. I'm going to trust you regardless today and, lord, I know that you are going to do something great. Now here's the thing that something great might be six months later.
Speaker 1:I don't always know what great looks like, but what I do know is that he has not left me nor forsaken me, and I know that I'm gonna come out of that valley onto a hilltop and that sunshine is gonna be so much brighter it's gonna be brighter than the last hilltop I was on Amen. He is gonna continue to change me and transform me from glory to glory, from situation to situation, and every time that he does, I will be one step closer to eternal life. And, lord, I am looking forward to the day when I don't have to worry about this world, when I don't have to focus on all of the broken things that are happening here. I want to be able to focus on one thing and that is worship all the time Amen, I'm excited, are happening here. I wanna be able to focus on one thing and that is worship all the time. Amen, I'm excited for that day.
Speaker 1:I don't wanna go today. I don't think any of us do. But should the Lord tarry, we will all taste of death and when that happens, we will be in a place where we can worship all the time. We will be able to live in his presence. But you know, heaven is here on earth as well. We just have to learn how to worship during service, right, and sometimes what that means is you're going to work and you're working with the people you don't like to work with, and you're still worshiping. Through that, you're still able to say God, I don't know why you put me with these buffoons, but here I am and I'm going to give you glory for it. Amen, lord. I don't know why you put me with these buffoons. But here I am and I'm going to give you glory for it. Amen, lord, I don't know why I'm here. I don't like being here. Lord, whatever this valley is, I need you to understand that my flesh is uncomfortable, that my heart is nervous, that my body is not okay. Give me peace that passes understanding. Amen, because here's the thing If, instead, we go in and we're angry and we're frustrated, we start treating people poorly and then we end up reaping that and people treat us poorly and then we turn around and we blame God for allowing these people to speak that way into our lives, right?
Speaker 1:I always listen to the Wednesday night podcast and oftentimes they'll mention something that I say a lot. I will not take advice or I will not take criticism I'm sorry from somebody I will not seek advice from. So if Pastor Holly calls me and she says Pastor Michael, I heard you say this and I don't think it was quite right, I'm willing to hear that because she's somebody I would go to for advice, that's healthy. But when you go to the world and somebody starts to criticize you and you allow it to drag you down, that is not a healthy place to be, unless you are willing to take advice from that person. There are some people who will tell you things just to drag you into the valley, to get you to do things and say things that you wouldn't do in the spirit, because the world doesn't want you on the mountaintop, amen.
Speaker 1:So our goal is to do unto others as we would like them to do to us. It's a simple verse. It's soft but it's incredibly radical. Right? If you look at that verse and you go, I am gonna live my life this way. Everything should change for you. Everything should change for you because you can't look at somebody and be offended because you didn't get invited to a birthday party.
Speaker 1:You shouldn't be able to look at somebody and be offended or upset or angry because they walked by you and didn't say good morning. You shouldn't be able to be offended by somebody who doesn't embrace you when they see you. You shouldn't be able to be offended by those. If you are treating others as you wish to be treated. And the reason is is because if you allow them to offend you, then you will inevitably offend others, and if we live a life constantly choosing to offend, we will never be able to inherit the kingdom of God. We will never be able to inherit the kingdom of God.
Speaker 1:Offense, being angry, being frustrated, those are not good things from God. If all good things come from God and we want to be in God, we should be able to only live in the good things. I'm not saying you're not gonna get frustrated. I'm not saying you're not gonna be upset, but you need to know what to do with that, and that's to lay it at the foot of the cross. That's to go before the Lord and say, lord, I can't change this, I'm giving it back, I can't fix this, I'm giving it back. Lord, I don't know what you want from me. I'm giving it back. Lord, please show me clearly what it is that you need from me today, because I want to serve you and only you. Because I want to serve you and only you, Not this world that wishes to see me broken. Amen, because it means treating people kindly, even when they don't deserve it, but especially when they don't deserve it. Amen, it means treating people kindly.
Speaker 1:Have you ever gone somewhere and somebody says something rude to you and you really want to give it back to them? You ever talk to a telemarketer on the phone? How many of you have handed your phone off to one of the kids and let the kids talk to them. How many of you just mash buttons on the keypad until they eventually hang up? Right? Isn't it easier for us to just say, hey, thanks for calling, but I'm not interested, or hey, can you please take me off of your call list? Right, we don't think that way, because we find those people irritating to our spirit, right? How many people do you walk by every day that you find irritating to your spirit, right? I don't want to begin to count them.
Speaker 1:There are some people that when I think about them, I immediately become irrational. Right? You say certain people's names to me and I'm like, please don't even talk to me about them. Like I don't want to think about them, I don't want to see them, I don't want to deal with them. But the Lord says I should treat them with kindness, especially then, because if I can't do it, then how will I ever actually do it? There will always be an excuse for treating people poorly. There will always be an excuse Luke 23, 34.
Speaker 1:Jesus said, father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing. And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice Hanging on the cross. Jesus is still asking God to forgive the people who have crucified him, who are continuing to embarrass him by throwing dice to gamble for his clothing, and he says forgive them, for they know not what they do. Listen, if Jesus, hanging on a cross can forgive those who are around him, I think we can do it, because I don't think any of us are in this room suffering the way that Jesus suffered on Mount Calvary. I don't believe that there are any of us. And if you think that you are suffering like that, come and see me, because we need to talk real bad, because something's not right in your spirit, if you feel like you are suffering. Jesus died a sinner's death. A blameless man died a sinner's death, still forgiving those who would do evil against him, and we sit in our seat and we can't forgive the Starbucks barista who made our coffee wrong. Amen, amen.
Speaker 1:One time I went to McDonald's and I ordered a large Coke, drove through the drive-thru, got my Coke and I pulled out and as soon as I took a sip it was a Diet Coke. Right, like I wish I could say that. Jesus consumed my body and I said you know what? This is fine. I wish I could say that, but what I really wanted to do, what my mind was, was drive back around, get in line and throw it back through the window, because I was immediately enraged. It was a Coke. It was a Coke. This wasn't life changing. I didn't die because I had a diet Coke, right, I didn't die, but my body, my flesh, said this isn't fair. I paid for this and I deserve this. Can I tell you something? Jesus paid the price and he didn't deserve it. Jesus paid. He didn't deserve to go to the cross, he was. He chose death so that we might be saved, and yet we can't figure out how simple it is to truly let go of the things that do not matter in our lives. Amen.
Speaker 1:Just for a second, take stock in the things that you're holding onto today the broken relationships, the frustration you have with other people, the anger that you're holding onto today, the broken relationships, the frustration you have with other people, the anger that you're holding onto from something that happened 15 years ago. Think about those things for just a moment. Think about them for just a moment and let me ask you a question Do they make up who you are today? Are they affecting your body today? The answer is likely no. The answer is very likely no. So why is it that when you think of that person, you are so angry? Why is it when you think listen, I'm preaching to myself this morning, guys, this isn't just for you.
Speaker 1:The Lord is telling me there are things that I've got to let go of today. It's not going to be easy, but I know that if I continue to walk and hold on to the frustration and the anger and the, I'm going to use the word hate that I feel in my heart sometime. That is not healthy for me, it's not healthy for you, because when I carry that, you hear it in my voice, right when I tell you a story, you might hear, you might catch wind, you might feel like I don't want to be that way, because those things do not make up who I am. Do you know what makes up who I am? Who Christ has called me to be? That's it. That is it. And when I focus on my spirit and not on the world, I can make a difference.
Speaker 1:Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.
Speaker 1:Listen, say it, repeat it. Lord. Forgive them. Lord, just forgive them. Father, forgive them. Allow me to forgive them. Lord, allow me to walk away from this. Lord, allow me to walk away from this, not carrying that burden in my heart anymore. Listen, my heart is only so big. I can only hold so much inside of it. And I'll tell you, I want to fill as much of that with Jesus as I can. Amen, I want to fill as much of that with Jesus as I can. You learn at some point in your life that there are things more important than a grudge. There are things more important than money, and it is having a great relationship with Christ, having a strong family and being able to love people unconditionally.
Speaker 1:Listen, some of us in this room, we all know each other. As a matter of fact, I need to tell a quick story. I'm going to pause for just a second. I'm going off script. Okay, I got a call the other day. I was in my car and I get this call and somebody said that their daughter was in Walmart and they were shopping and some guy had come up and told them a Christian joke and while they told the joke, they introduced themselves and told them where they went to church. All the while they had no idea that who they were talking to was the daughter of somebody in our congregation. So they tell the joke, introduce themselves, tell them about our church, invite them to church. And when the person says, when the lady who's being ministered to says, oh, my mom goes to that church, kind of took the person aback, right? They immediately respond with I don't know who she is. But the interesting part is I guarantee they know who she is.
Speaker 1:Joe was the one who did that Stopped a random person in Walmart to minister to them. I'm sure it's not the first time you've done it. I'm sure it won't be the last time you've done it. Beth is sitting right back there. Joe, that was Beth's daughter. She called Beth and spoke so highly of that interaction that Beth felt the need to call me and tell me that that is what we should be doing. Right? He didn't look at her and go oh, she needs Jesus. He said I want to share the gospel, right? See, that is the difference in living a Christ-centered life and looking at people and judging them by the way that they appear. Right?
Speaker 1:Listen, god loves each and every one of you and I love each and every one. There are some of you in this building that may not have a close relationship with me that don't get to call me every day, and there are some of you that have slightly better access to me, and then there are some of you who I see regularly and talk to. Let me tell you something it doesn't mean that I don't love you if we don't talk on the phone every day. It doesn't mean that. What it means is that we have a different relationship, but I care about you deeply and I want nothing but God's best in your life, and that is my prayer for you every single day.
Speaker 1:The problem is, oftentimes we feel like we're not worthy right, or that we're on the outside because of. I promise you this when you are in a church family, I don't just mean this church, but when you are in a church family you are loved unconditionally in this building. You are loved unconditionally, not by all of the people in the building, by Jesus Christ himself. And I'll tell you, a lot of these people here will fall short of the glory of God before lunchtime today, right, but we will love them through it. But more than that, jesus will love them unconditionally. If Jesus can do it, why can't we? If Jesus can do it, why can't we?
Speaker 1:So I want to turn to Luke, chapter 10. I'm going to start in verse 30. Did I miss one? You don't have that one, I'm sorry. Get it real fast, because this is the most important part of the message. I guess somebody should have checked my work today. It's a good thing we got somebody seasoned in that seat today, because we would have been in trouble. Is that 30 through 37? Yes, no, maybe. Okay, that's fine, got it All right.
Speaker 1:Jesus replied with a story. A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho and he was attacked by bandits. Now that sounds like a pretty wild story for Jesus to be telling right Now. There's a whole backstory here. The road that he specifically speaks of is known to be treacherous and there's a whole backstory to this, but we're going to stick with the basics today, to Jericho. He was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and left him for dead beside the road.
Speaker 1:All right, how many of us have ever woken up on the side of the road butt naked and bleeding? Stephanie, put your hand down. I was kidding, this wasn't a hand-raised moment. All right, you all know something about Stephanie now that you didn't want to know. All right, about Stephanie. Now that you didn't want to know, all right, but there's always one. In every group folks, there's always one, and it's almost always Stephanie if she's around.
Speaker 1:So, by chance, a priest came along. Now we all know that a priest cares for everybody, right? Well, by chance a priest came along, but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed on the other side of the road and passed him by. A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but also passed by on the other side. Then a despised Samaritan came along and when he saw the man, he felt compassion in his heart. And now we know, most of us know, and if you don't know, I'll share with you Samaritans and Jews despised one another, right. This Samaritan saw this Jewish man naked and bleeding on the side of the road and he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him take care of this man. If the bill runs higher than this, I will pay you the next time that I am here. Now which of these would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by the bandits? Jesus asked Hallelujah, hallelujah. Somebody who despised the Jewish man went out of his way to not just make sure that his wounds he could have bandaged his wounds and left him lay there. Instead, the man put him on his own donkey, walked that donkey to an inn, put him up and covered the cost of that bill. Thank you, jesus.
Speaker 1:Oftentimes we look at people that we don't like, or people look at us and they don't like us and they write us off. We're not important to them, amen. We don't have value to them. Let me tell you, those are not your people, the people who see value in you and are willing to bind your wounds. I don't mean physical wounds, I don't mean, you know, we don't pick you up off the side of this your emotional wounds, right, right, our spiritual wounds. You know, sometimes I just need people to pray for me, like my heart is heavy, it hurts, it's broken, I felt betrayed. But I know when I'm being lifted up in prayer because those things are lifted from my heart, amen. And when I can focus on Christ and say this isn't who you want me to be, lord. I just need you to show me more of you and less of this world, Because when I look at the world, I see broken and damaged and I see hurtful people, but when I look at the spirit, I see this body of Christ and I see people who want to lift up one another. Amen.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you, I put out a call last week to do a meal train for a family in need, and I know that at this point we didn't get a single response. And I know that sometimes it's hard whenever I'm vague because you're like well, what's he talking about? This is what it boils down to. For me, there has never been once when I've been called upon to give or to support and I haven't done it. And here's what I mean by that. Sometimes the call comes at three o'clock in the morning. Sometimes the call comes at, you know, four o'clock in the afternoon. I've performed funerals for people that I don't necessarily know. I have done a lot of things in the name of ministry, in the name of Jesus, and it's always shocking to me how we have to have an explanation for what we're doing. Right, if I come to you and I say, hey, I really need you to just help me out with this, can you please? Just whatever.
Speaker 1:And Vicki Hickey, I'm going to talk about you again. Okay, listen, I'm going to tell you guys, I love that woman with my whole heart. I do, and the reason that I do is she is the kindest, most caring person that I've ever met in my entire life. She has a friend who has a critter living in her basement. Okay, this critter won't die with rat poison. It eats it, but it doesn't die. That's a critter now, right. So she sends me a text message and she asks to rent, not borrow, to rent the live trap that we have at the church to catch groundhogs in. And I said absolutely not, we will loan it to you.
Speaker 1:She was so compassionate that her friend was living in fear that she was willing to go the extra mile to help her. That's impressive. She was willing to cross the street, amen. But many of us would have looked at her and go. I don't really know how I'm going to help. I don't have a lot.
Speaker 1:She went to her resources and she dug in and she said how can I make a difference in this person's life today, right Now? Sometimes people want more than is realistic, right? Like I said to somebody the other day. I said, if you really want to do something nice for me, you can raise $350,000 and pay off my house. You guys want to start that fundraiser today? Just skip the building fund, move straight into that.
Speaker 1:Listen, people sometimes expect churches to be able to do that. Right, our goal is to love you spiritually and provide for you physically when possible. Right, I don't believe that any church should ever have a surplus of money so big that they can build a whole new building without ever having to blank, because that's scary to me. Right? Because now I'm asking what is your ministry doing to bear fruit? Right, you might have a big congregation and you might have bucket loads of money, but what are you doing to support the community that you're in? Right, you learn to do much with little, but you can't ever do little with much. The more you have, the more you should do. And can I tell you that I have been blessed abundantly spiritually, financially, emotionally. God has really blessed me, and when I look at that, I want to bless the world. Right, but sometimes, financially blessing the world isn't the way to go. Sometimes I need to bless the world with forgiveness, with peace, with patience, with understanding.
Speaker 1:Any of you ever met a drug addict and you're like they're just a junkie. Any of us ever met somebody. Listen, I know that might have sounded insensitive, but I promise you, most of us in this room have thought that at some point About somebody in our lives, about somebody that we know. Listen, I promise you, god did not call that person to that lifestyle. I promise you, that is not what God wanted for them. But somehow, somehow, the enemy got in their lives and took control of something that they never wanted to have. The enemy have control of. But I'm going to tell you, in salvation, through prayer, through intercession, those people can be released from those things. If we write them off, they will never be freed.
Speaker 1:Listen, praying moms do the most work in their children's lives and sometimes it's work they never see. They pray and they pray and they pray, lord, just continue to move in their life and that is what makes the difference in a child's life. I feel bad for every kid that doesn't have a praying mom. I feel bad because I'm going to tell you, moms care all the way to the end. Moms don't give up. Sometimes us dads. We're like, yeah, that's not my problem anymore, right, they're 18. They're gone day.
Speaker 1:It has been a hard lesson to learn that that is not how life works and that is not how ministry works and that is not how God works. God has never looked at me and said you have fallen short, therefore I'm casting you aside. God has always said I'll be right here when you're ready. I will be right here when you are ready. And sometimes being ready is getting through the part where I got to be mad at God for a second, like I think about Job a lot and how Job would. Just, I just want to die. And I'll remind you that Job's wife wanted Job to die, right, she's like, well, you just shut up and die already. And God said not today. And Job got stronger and was able to continue to praise the Lord. Do you remember he was covered in boils and he was scraping it off with a clay pot? Right, that's nasty.
Speaker 1:Can you imagine being at the lowest point in your life and still being able to give praise to God? Lord, I am blessing you through this right now. Father, the valley that I am in is nothing, is nothing compared to the blessings that you're going to provide in my life. Today, lord, I just thank you for blessing my life, for blessing my family, lord, blessing the people around me, father. I want to celebrate with them and their blessings, even when I'm not being blessed, because, God, you are good in all things. And what might feel like a hiccup to me, lord, you are going to walk through it, opening doors that I have never even seen before. Father, I thank you for being generous in my life, for continuing to give me all of your blessings. Thank you, jesus. Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus.
Speaker 1:Jesus has to redefine our relationships. He teaches us to love not just our friends, but our enemies, and that is hard. That is hard. I'm going to skip around. I'm going to Matthew 5, 44 through 45. But I say love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.
Speaker 1:What does that mean? What does persecution mean? It doesn't mean those who throw you in jail, right, it's just. It's anybody who is doing something adverse to what God would have in your life, the people who talk about you, the people who say mean things to you. You're being persecuted in all of those things, but you should not turn around and hate them, but you should turn around and bless them. Right, god. Bless their lives, open their hearts, soften their hearts, father. Allow them to see what it means to live in your glory. It means to be kind to difficult co -workers. Anybody. Have one of those in their lives right.
Speaker 1:Reach out to estranged family members. Lord, allow us to do that. Jesus is coming soon. Folks, right? Do you want to go to heaven holding on to that unforgiveness, so that when you arrive he looks at you and says depart from me, for I never knew you? That is not what I want for myself or any of you. Estranged family members. That is such an easy thing. It doesn't mean that you have to let everything just roll off your back. Sometimes you love them at an arm's distance, but you can't hold on to the hate or the anger that you're feeling any longer. This is not the day for that. Today is a day for salvation, amen. Today is a day to be saved and to be walking in the glory of God.
Speaker 1:Forgive the person who hurt you years ago, even if they never apologized, I told you I'm forgiving you of that debt, not so that you are free from it, but so that I am free from it, amen. I don't want to be tied to that debt any longer. I don't want to be angry, I don't want to be hurt. I don't want to look at you and dislike you. I want to be able to go. God is good in all things and I've blessed this person abundantly and God has blessed me in return Amen. It doesn't mean you ignore boundaries or enable abuse, but it means that you choose love over bitterness and peace over pride. And here's this one Restoration over revenge. Vengeance is mine. Thus saith the Lord. I don't have to get revenge for the things that people do to me, because God has my back.
Speaker 1:I'm not saying I'm trying to sit God on anybody right, like I'm not praying God. You just smite them. That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying Lord, thank you for being in my corner. Lord bless them abundantly, and sometimes that blessing is a revelation that they should have done things differently. Right Now I'm going to tell you sometimes, when people hurt you, you can never expect an apology. You just have to let it go. You have to be able to forgive them and just say God is good, he will bless them. I don't need to worry about whatever it is that they're holding onto, and a lot of times you live rent-free in their space because they're constantly thinking about how they treated you or what they did. It is not a healthy place for them to live and you should be praying God's blessings over them. Amen.
Speaker 1:Jesus treated us far better than we ever deserved, and if Jesus can do that for us, we should be able and willing to do it for others. Amen. Jesus treated us far better than we ever deserved. Romans 5.8, it says. But God showed his great love for us while we were still sinners. He didn't die after we became sin-free. Right, because if he would have waited to die until we were all sin-free, jesus would still be hanging out here, right? This world, our flesh, will never be sin-free. Jesus went to the cross to die for us while we were still sinners so that we might have everlasting life. So long as we choose to accept him as our Lord and savior. He laid down his life to give us grace and mercy, and we are called to carry that same grace into every space that we go into.
Speaker 1:When I walk into a room full of people that I don't like, I have to have grace, amen. You know how hard that is To be able to look at somebody and smile and pretend like I don't dislike them. Lord, help my heart, let me get rid of it, lord, because I don't dislike them. Lord, help my heart, let me get rid of it, lord, because I don't want to dislike these people. Lord, I want my heart debt-free. Amen. You know I love Dave Ramsey and all things debt-free. Financially debt-free is probably a great feeling, but spiritually debt-free is even better. Amen, because I might be debt-free and still broke, but if I'm spiritually free, I have all the riches in heaven. If I am spiritually free, I don't have to worry about the world because I can center myself on Christ in heaven.
Speaker 1:Question what if every one of us lived this way? If every one of us lived this way? If every one of us lived this way, what if our marriages were built on mutual honor? Amen, that's one thing I can pride myself on. I just in the car the other day with my wife, I said to her I said I'm sorry and she goes. You didn't do anything. And I said well, I feel like I did right. I honor who she is in my life and she honors me for who I. She doesn't just look at me as a husband. I'm recovering, right. So when Father's Day rolled around, she had gotten me a card and it was a beautiful card and she'd written all of these wonderful things. And as I walked into this past week in my life, I felt like everything that she had written I had just given up on that. I had failed in every one of those ways, and I realized that she had such grace for me in that moment and I was so thankful that God had put me in that place. Because what would life be without mutual grace and favor and honor in your partner, amen.
Speaker 1:What if every marriage was built on mutual honor? What if every church was filled with forgiveness? Whoa, what a place. This would be right, because I'm going to tell you there are people sitting in their chairs right now who can't let go of some things, right? Because I'm going to tell you there are people sitting in their chairs right now who can't let go of some things, right, stephanie's like why'd you look at me like that? There are some people who can't let go of how they've been made to feel. There are some people who look for ways to be made to feel like that. Right, I'm hurt because of this and it's their own fault, because they've chosen to pick up the offense and carry it with them. Listen, the church has to be filled with grace and mercy. Forgiveness should flow through this sanctuary like nothing else. Amen, because we cannot hold on to those things as the body of Christ and expect to enter into heaven.
Speaker 1:What if our communities looked out for the vulnerable, for the hurting and the forgotten? What if we looked for the people who needed Jesus more than ever and we gave it to them? Instead, we look at them and we say they're not worthy of our time, they're not worth my energy, there's nothing that's ever going to change them, amen. We look at people and we say there is no hope for them. I promise you, if God gave you favor, he will give them favor. Just the same. He is no respecter of persons. Listen. If he can bring me to where I am today, he can bring anybody out of anything, and I'm thankful that he did it for me and I'm believing he can do it for anybody else.
Speaker 1:I've been put in some positions where I'm talking to people. God, I don't know why you've got them in front of me, I don't know what you want from me, and usually I just need you to tell them who I am. They're lost, they don't know, they have no hope. And all of the hope in this world can be summed up in Jesus Christ All of the hope. There is nothing in this world that will give somebody better hope and a more solid footing than Jesus Christ. Amen. Colossians 3, 12 through 14. I promise I'm landing the plane. I'm not going for a marathon. Like Nick, I know some of you need to go to the bathroom.
Speaker 1:Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Make allowances for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourself with love, which binds us together in perfect harmony. Ask yourself right now, in this moment, who do I need to forgive? Right now, in this moment, who do I need to forgive? Who have I ignored or mistreated? Who needs to hear kindness, who needs to feel love or who needs to experience grace from me? And my challenge is start there this week. Start there, ask yourself those questions and start there. Make a phone call, stop in and see somebody Listen.
Speaker 1:We can do so many things through our lives. We can touch people that have never been touched. We can love on people that don't feel like they are lovely. I promise you, I've felt that way. I have felt that way this past week. I have felt like I'm not worthy of love. I promise you, with your words, with your presence, you can do just that. Amen, amen. Let's pray together. Yeah, certainly, pastor Holly's going to share something real quick. I'd give you a microphone, but it's dead when we was in the prayer room this morning the.
Speaker 2:Lord showed me the absolute, most beautiful revelation and it goes right with your message. And so there were banners. The word was Jehovah Nisi, the banner of Ruby. And so there were banners, and they were pink, and they were on gold rods with rubies at the tops of them, and it was just like they would go either side straight down through here. And then there was a piece of blue satin, iridescent, and it rolled out and the Spirit of the Lord said to me that that is the river of God flowing directly from his throne, and it was raging Like it was flowing so forcefully and it was splashing up on the banks, and he said that that is the river of forgiveness.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:That is the river of God that wants forgiveness to flow to you and through you.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And today is the day the song started.
Speaker 1:Today is the day the song started. Today is the day Amen, so if you are holding, unforgiveness for anybody search your heart right now. Search your heart, Father. Thank you that you are Jehovah in the sea.
Speaker 2:That you are the banner of love. Love covers everything, absolutely everything. You are the banner of love that covers, and let that rushing river from the throne of God come flowing straight into your life and it will wash you clean. Yes, amen, amen, because, unforgiveness, it don't hurt that person that you're holding all that anger for.
Speaker 1:Amen, it hurts you yes.
Speaker 2:It causes you to be sick. It causes you to be sick, it causes you to be out of sorts. So just allow that river, just think about it. Just stop what you're doing and think about it. Father, let that river flow through me right now.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Let it wash away anything that's separating me from you. Let it wash away, father. I choose to forgive, I choose to release and I choose, father, to let your love be my banner. Amen.
Speaker 1:Amen, amen, amen, amen, father, amen.