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Welcome to Global Harvest Calgaries Podcast, where faith becomes real and purpose comes alive. We pray that today's message helps you recognize the hand of God in your everyday life and discover the unique purpose He has placed inside you. Our heart is that you don't just hear a sermon, but truly experience his presence, his guidance, and his love in a personal way. Whether you're in a season of searching, rebuilding, or stepping into something new, you're not here by accident. God is closer than you think, and your purpose is greater than you imagine. Enjoy the message.

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Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for your spirit that is already moving in our midst. Thank you for the hearts that you are touching and healing. Thank you for your grace and your mercy. Thank you for your faithfulness. As we go into your word today, I pray that you make my pen like the your my mouth like the pen of a ready writer, that I speak from your spirit, and I minister to your people. That you give me the right words to say, you give me utterance. And at the end of the sermon, at the end of the service, we are all blessed in the name of Jesus. So this month we've been talking about Kingdom Sense. We've talked about Kingdom Sense for finances, for stewardship, for a productive life. And today we're talking about Kingdom Sense for relationships. Yeah. This is exciting. It's not a new topic. We've all probably heard one sermon or the other about relationships. And even just last month, we learned about love. And when Pastor Adeconley thought on love, he mentioned the three kinds of love in the world storage, errors, and failure. And for a little refresher in case you forgot, because I also had to go check my notes. Storage is family love, eros is um romantic love, and failure is friendly, brotherly love. And then he also mentioned the fourth one that we have in God, which is agape, the God kind of love. So today I'm focusing on eros, which is romantic love. Though I would say that what I want to um talk about also applies to failure love to a certain extent. And beyond that, I want to talk about how agape reflects in all kinds of relationships. Because as Christians, agape love that we have is an extra advantage. I think it's um Kenneth Yagan that talks about how um he has um Eris love for his wife, but because he's a Christian, he can also add agape love to it. So as Christians, agape love is an extra love that we have to add to our relationships, and it should reflect in all our relationships. So to start us off, I want to um I would like for us to read 1 Corinthians 13, verse 4 to 8. It's a very popular passage, I'm sure we all know it. Um, in um the Amplified Classic, if you have that. Um Thank you. Love endures long and is patient and kind. Love is never envious, never boils over with jealousy, it is not boastful or inglorious, it does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited, arrogant, or inflated with pride, it is not rude, unmannerly, and does not act unbecomingly. God's loving us does not insist on its own right or its own way, for it is not self-seeking, it is not touchy or fretful or resentful, it takes no account of the evil done to it, it pays no attention to it suffered wrong. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes. It is ever ready to believe the best of every person. Its hopes are faithless under all circumstances and endures everything without weakening. Love never fails, never fades out, or becomes obsolete or comes to an end. I won't stop there. I just want to remind us of what love looks like in detail. And every time I read this passage, it always pricks my heart because there's always a part of it that is like I've not been doing this. And so it's always good to remind ourselves of the law of love because 1 Corinthians tells us that law is the fulfilling of all law. And as believers in this dispensation of grace, law is our love. Love is our law. So we we walk in love, that's what we're supposed to do. And Romans 5 5 tells us that the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, so we have the capacity to love. Amen. Yeah, God help us, yes. Having said all that, my direction today is to look at what is normal and standard for relationships in the world and to hold them up to the light of the word. Um, because for a lot of these things, when you hear them and when you hear them over and over again, they start to sound like they make sense. But it's important that we look at the Bible and look at the principles and ask ourselves, what does the Bible say? And is it actually biblical? Because when we talk about kingdom sense, it's Bible sense. Sorry, when we talk about kingdom sense, it's Bible sense. So is it in the Bible and does it make sense according to the Bible? My first point is um cancel culture. I feel like this is a buzzword that many of us might be familiar with. It's um it's this um behavior, this trend of um cutting people off when they upset you or offend you. In the um way it's used in media discourse, it's often like, oh, um, this like popular celebrity does something that people don't like, so they just collectively gang up against them and like we're not associating with you anymore. And it has um bled into personal relationships. So people have the behavior of like, oh, I cut this person off, they did something I didn't like. And it's just like a common thing, is oh, they added to the um idea of I put myself first, I protect my peace. And it makes sense. Like, I find that I listen to these videos, I watch these things, I hear these things, and it's like, yeah, that makes sense. Why should you not cut someone off for offending you or upsetting you? But like we just read, the Bible says that love does not insist on its own right or its own way. Love does not take account of the evil done to it or keep it. Sorry, I forgot it. Pay attention to a suffered drunk, thank you. And of course, that means that that doesn't mean that you should keep toxic relationships. I think that there's kingdom sense in knowing when to walk away from a relationship. But the Bible teaches us that relationships require effort and forgiveness, and so it's important that before you jump to cutting off a relationship, you ask yourself, you think about, and then you communicate because another part of that cancer culture is not even explaining yourself, not even having a discussion, just oh, they offended me, so I'm gone. But love tells us that we should work on our relationships, that we should put in the effort, and we should be quick to forgive more than we are quick to move away and just cut people off. So that's what the Bible says, and that's what we should do. My second point is body or spirit. I found it hard to find a point for this, but it'll make sense when I explain it. So in relationships, people often talk about the emotional, the physical, the mental, all these aspects of man. And in the world, the emphasis is always on the body and the emotions. So people always talk about how they feel, what they want, and they act on it. So um people are led by their bodies and their feelings, they put emphasis on their feelings, they put emphasis on what they feel and what they want, and they just act on it. But the Bible the Bible tells us that spirits first. Um in 3 John 1, 2, it's a prayer, but it tells us that it's spirit, soul, and then body. And um, we've heard this um phrase a lot of times as you know, man is a spirit, he has a soul, and he lives in a body. But the important thing here is that it is spirit first. Man and all of us, especially as Christians, as spirit beings, we are first of all spirit beings. Even in the world, it is easy to forget that it is spirit first because we interact, we associate with people, with our bodies, we use them, we touch, we it's physical. But that doesn't mean that we should forget that we are first and foremost spirit beings, and so we should be spirit rolled. The Bible talks about in um, I think Romans 8 14, that um those that are led by the spirit of God are the sons. I'm not sure that I'm quoting that right, but thank you. Um we should be led by the spirit, and that was led by spirit um means that we're children of God. So your body and your soul should be subject to your spirit. So your feelings matter, your will matters, your emotions matter, but it is subject to your spirit and the leading of the spirit in your spirit. My final point is the center of the relationship. Um, and so the question here is what is the goal that holds this relationship together? And for many people, like if you ask them, especially in the world, that oh, why do you like this person or what is like what draws you to this person is often um common interests, they'll say chemistry, good conversation, vibes, and stuff like that. And all those things, it makes sense, it's important really, but it's not the most important thing. Because all these things, they um it's not enough to make a relationship work, right? And so all these things are good and they are great, and it's good to have this, like um there's a word for this. Um I forget. Uh what? Yes, yes, it's good to have this quality, it's good to have that um compatibility. But beyond that, as believers, God should be the center of your relationship, the center and the foundation of your relationship. Second Corinthians 6 14 tells us that we should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Um, we can read it. Okay, thank you. Do not be unequally yoked with together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness, and what communion has light with darkness. And I've heard people try to argue out of this that, oh, what if they're a good person? What if, but the Bible is clear. There's no argument. That is the bare minimum, the actual bare minimum. Because when I um when I wrote this, I remember that there's like a lot of bare minimum is a buzzword. Like people talk about, oh, this is the bare minimum, that he does this, that she does this, the bare minimum. As Christians, the bare minimum is that they are a child of God. So it is important that they know God, they love God, they are in a church, they have a personal relationship with God. That is the very basic top, bare minimum, very basic first thing, and that God is in your relationship. Because beyond that, that they are a Christian does not mean that automatically the relationship is sound and solid. And so, beyond that they are a Christian, is God in your relationship? Are you led by God and are you listening to the leading of his spirit? Because, like I said, that they are Christians and they check all your boxes does not automatically mean that they are right for you. And so it's important to be sensitive to the spirits and to pray about your relationships. And this is where I feel it applies to more than just errors. Because even in your friendships, it's really the your really close friendships, because the kind of relationships you have with people, it's up to you how you define them and how close they are to you. But the people that are truly close to you, your close circle, you should pray about your relationships and you should know that God is in your relationships. So it is important to be sensitive to the spirit and his leadings concerning who you associate yourself with, who you keep close. And if God says you should walk away, walk away. I feel like this is very important because when coming back to the second point about body versus spirit, if you're not sensitive to the spirit, it's easy to be led by your emotions, led by the feelings, led by what you see and the way they check your boxes. But if you sense in your spirit that the relationship is not right, it's very important to walk away. And the thing about listening to the spirit of God is that he often doesn't give us instructions. Sorry, it gives us instructions, but it doesn't give us all the um the details. Yes, thank you. The picture is not often clear, it's just the instruction to move. The example I had for this was um when he led Abraham, he just told him that leave your family, leave that place, and come to the land that I will show you. He didn't tell him where he was going, he just said, Come with me. And he had to trust that God knew what he was doing and follow God. And then eventually he saw that God had an amazing plan for him. And when God gives us instructions that seem painful or unclear, it's hard to listen, but it's very important that you listen because God knows what he's doing and he sees it more than you see it. So if God says you should walk away, please walk away. So as I wrap up, as we wrap up, I want us to remember Romans 8.28 and Jeremiah 29.11. I want to read Romans 8.28. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called, to those who are the called according to his purpose. And Jeremiah 29.11, I think we all know that. Um we read it. Oh yeah, thank you. But I know the thoughts that I think towards you says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. And so I end with this because I want to remind us that God knows what he's doing, God has a plan for every single one of us. And whatever your relationship needs are, whether it is that you need friends or you're seeking um a romantic partner, the most important thing is to keep your eyes on God. Having a relationship with God, a personal relationship with God is the first and most important relationship you will ever have in your life. So all those other relationships are important, and it's good to know how to do it, how to navigate, but it is most important to know God and follow God. And we don't have to worry about the future. I think it was Pastor Femi that said this that we don't have to worry about the future because we know the one who holds it. So you can focus on God and put your trust in him, and he will definitely work it all out. Thank you, Lord. Let's pray. Thank you, Lord, for this word that you have brought to your people. Thank you, Lord, for giving me the words and the utterance. I pray that this word has reached the hearts of your saints and that um you'll help us to walk in the light of this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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Thank you for joining us today. We pray this message didn't just speak to your mind but truly ministered to your heart. May the word take root in your life, producing faith, clarity, and boldness as you walk out the purpose God has for you. If this message encouraged you, be sure to share it with someone who might need it. And we'd love to connect with you, join us in person, and become part of what God is doing here at Global Harvest Calgary. Until next time, keep experiencing God and walking confidently in your purpose.