WEBVTT 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:11.759 You're listening to the road with Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:00:12.880 --> 00:00:21.519 Loving God with our heart emotionally doesn't happen until we discover that God loves us. 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:39.520 Until we discover, as I talked about last week, especially from John 17, 23, that that love by which the Father loved Jesus, Jesus is now placed in us that we might experience the same love that he experienced from his father. 00:00:39.600 --> 00:00:40.479 Isn't that radical? 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:42.719 I mean, that's fantastic stuff. 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:48.560 At The Road, our vision is to raise up wholehearted disciples of Jesus Christ. 00:00:48.799 --> 00:00:53.119 For more information on The Road, visit theroad.org. 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:58.479 We hope you are encouraged by today's message from Pastor Teacher Steve Holt. 00:01:02.159 --> 00:01:12.719 Last week I talked about what I believe is contending for the most important thing all of Scripture teaches, and that's to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:16.879 And so we've got a graph that I want you to see. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:26.079 And this was this is something that we put together to describe what we see in the passage we just read. 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:27.680 And you might want to jot it down. 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:31.840 And you'll see parenthetically what I believe each section represents. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:36.879 And so we started with the first commandment last week, but I want to read it again. 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:39.599 So if you have your Bibles, Mark chapter 12. 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:46.719 What you read was the Matthew 22 passage here in the Antiphonal reading, but I like Mark 12, it's a little more succinct. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:54.239 Matthew has the ending about the summation of all the prophets in Scripture, and that's why I wanted that in our Antiphanal reading. 00:01:54.319 --> 00:02:00.239 But Mark 12, 28, Jesus is asked this question, and he answers it. 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:05.519 And I want to begin by just giving you the phrase that I gave you last week. 00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:11.919 The greatest man who ever lived gave us the greatest command ever given that we might experience the greatest life ever offered. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:12.800 Let me say that again. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:23.919 The greatest man who ever lived gave us the greatest command ever given that we might experience the greatest life ever offered. 00:02:24.240 --> 00:02:26.479 All in one statement. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.360 The greatest statement in the Bible. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:32.719 If you're going to memorize the Bible verse, I'd say memorize this one. 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:37.919 If you want to contend for something in the Christian life, for many, it's the great commission. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.800 For others, it's experiencing God's love. 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:45.439 For probably most of it, it was John 3.16, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:47.680 Beautiful passages, so many great passages. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:53.840 But if we were to contend for, memorize, set our heart on, it would be this one. 00:02:54.080 --> 00:02:55.199 So let me read it. 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:04.960 Then one of the scribes came and heard him reasoning together, perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, which is the first commandment of all. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:07.360 Matthew says, the greatest commandment of all. 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:08.560 Jesus answered him. 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:09.520 Verse 29. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:22.159 The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, with all of your mind, with all of your strength. 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:25.280 This is the first and the greatest commandment. 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:33.599 So, men and women, this is the stirring of our hearts this year for this church. 00:03:33.919 --> 00:03:38.400 It is my conviction that this is what revival looks like. 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:52.479 There's all kinds of definitions of revival, and I've read numerous books on revival and awakening, and everybody's got a different definition, but no one's ever used this as a definition that I've read among historians and theologians. 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:55.840 But this to me is really what revival is. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:58.639 It's a stirring of our hearts. 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:02.400 It is a new contending in our spirits. 00:04:02.639 --> 00:04:08.159 Oh God, this year I want to love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:20.000 It's dropping other issues that cloud our memory of the past, that cause us to be caught up in lust and fear and ambition. 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:32.480 And it's being able to say, maybe to start each day is a great way to start each day with a revival of the spirit, to say, Lord, I want to love you today with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:41.839 Stir my heart with a contending spirit, with a fighting spirit, that God, you would show me how to do that this year. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.839 That I would focus my life. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:46.319 There's a lot of things we can focus our life on. 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.600 And in our messages, we talked about vision. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:51.759 We talked about mission. 00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:58.720 We talked about intimacy with Christ, and we talked about contending for your inheritance from Joshua chapter 1. 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:02.720 But the reality is, all of it is summed up right here, right? 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:04.160 It's all summed up right here. 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:08.240 Loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:11.439 And church, it lines everything up when we do this. 00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:14.000 I mean, it makes complete sense, doesn't it? 00:05:14.160 --> 00:05:22.800 That some of you are architects, some of you are carpenters, some of you are missionaries, some of you are worship leaders, some of you are lawyers. 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:30.160 We all have these different jobs we have, and the reality is the God who created you to do that. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:32.079 That's your mission feel. 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:41.600 What you do during the week is your mission feel, that as you grow deeper in loving God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and spirit, you're going to be better at what you do. 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:44.399 You'll be a better entrepreneur. 00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:46.000 You'll be a better doctor. 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:47.360 You'll be a better nurse. 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:50.959 You'll be a better mechanic because you're doing your work hardly. 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:55.279 Colossians 3, 23, do everything you do for the glory of God. 00:05:55.439 --> 00:05:57.839 Do everything you do with all of your might. 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:07.120 That happens when our heart, our mind, our strength, and our soul is engaged and lined up with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lord. 00:06:07.279 --> 00:06:08.240 Isn't that awesome? 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:10.160 So Jesus summed it up. 00:06:10.240 --> 00:06:12.079 That's revival, folks. 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:33.680 And so to redefine our purpose and to redefine our vision and say, Lord, I may not be great at this, or I may not be great at that, or I may not be an eloquent speaker, or I don't know about this other stuff, but I know I can love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength because you've given me, as we talked about last week, a new heart. 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:35.759 You realize you can't do this? 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:38.879 Some of you are going, there's no way I can do that. 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:41.519 If you only knew how messed up my life is. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:47.759 Well, the reality is, is that when you got saved, now if you're not saved, then you don't have a new heart. 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:48.800 You still got your old heart. 00:06:49.279 --> 00:06:50.160 That's really bad. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:52.079 I mean, that's gonna be really rough. 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:55.120 Trying to love God with all your heart when you got your old heart. 00:06:55.279 --> 00:06:56.560 I mean, that stinks. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:58.639 I mean, that's like the worst. 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:01.839 And some of you are in that place, so get saved today. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:04.800 You know, come to Christ before we take communion. 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:06.480 Give your heart to Christ. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.959 Because God gives you a new heart. 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:15.920 Spirit comes in, and you get a new heart, you get a new spirit, and you can do it. 00:07:16.399 --> 00:07:21.839 And I described that more last week when I was describing what it means to have a new heart. 00:07:22.079 --> 00:07:30.879 So last week we talked about the first focused way, because there's four focused ways to redefine our vision of loving God. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:32.800 And the first was to love God with your heart. 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:37.040 And so last week I talked about loving God emotionally. 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:53.279 Not emotionalism, not becoming a holy roller, not some emotional experience that you have to have all the time, but loving God with your emotions. 00:07:53.439 --> 00:08:02.720 Not just intellectually saying, I love God, but actually from our heart and with our emotions, beginning to ask God, God, I want to emotionally love you. 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:09.680 Because when we emotionally love someone, we really get radically changed if you've ever fallen in love. 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:12.639 You know, you do stupid things when you get fall in love. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:14.720 I mean, it's weird. 00:08:14.800 --> 00:08:20.240 Like you tell your kid to, you know, take out the trash. 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:33.120 You know, it's 50 feet from the house and they put it there, and it's like, oh, you know, you remind him like a hundred times to take out the trash because the trash comes today or the trash comes tomorrow. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:44.799 But then they fall in love and they'll drive all the way across town to see this girl or this guy. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:47.279 Weird, so weird, you know. 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:51.200 And then you can't even get them to respond to a text. 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:55.919 All you want them to do is, you know, have you done your homework? 00:08:56.159 --> 00:08:57.200 Yes or no? 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:03.919 But then they're texting all the time with this other person, and it's dumb things like, what are you doing right now? 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:06.000 I'm just sitting here. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:09.919 What TV program are you going to watch tonight? 00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:10.960 It's like. 00:09:12.960 --> 00:09:19.200 So when we emotionally love, we do weird stuff and we become weird. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:26.480 And I believe loving God with our heart is loving God emotionally, and it's it's asking God, God, I want to emotionally love you. 00:09:26.559 --> 00:09:28.720 And I believe worship's the key, folks. 00:09:28.960 --> 00:09:36.159 I want to challenge you to set aside time every day to worship the Lord. 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:43.360 Even if it's just one song on your iPod or, you know, or you listen to uh you listen to two songs or whatever. 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:47.120 Maybe it's when you're working out, but I'm just saying, here's what I think works. 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:51.360 It's just to set aside, like on me, I've got my speakers right next to my laptop. 00:09:51.440 --> 00:09:55.360 I plug it in, I can, and I can fill my office with worship. 00:09:55.519 --> 00:10:05.840 But it's just taking maybe one song a day where no one's around and closing your eyes and starting out with say, Lord, I'm gonna love you with all my heart through this worship song. 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.759 God, as I worship you right now, touch my emotions. 00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:12.720 I want to learn to emotionally love you. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:15.039 My emotions are dead. 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:21.519 Some of us, our emotions are dead, and what you're doing is we're reviving our emotions and we're asking God. 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:25.279 I think worship's the very best way to do that. 00:10:25.519 --> 00:10:27.519 Maybe you're like me and you go on prayer walks. 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:30.320 Well, you know, put them, put it in the earphones as you're walking. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:31.519 Don't close your eyes, you know. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:37.679 But you know, you're walking and this and just say, Lord, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:39.679 That's engaging our emotions. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:41.039 So that's loving God with our heart. 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:42.799 We covered that really last week. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:52.320 Well, secondly, let's look at this today, and we're gonna go as far as we can until we run out of time, because I got a lot to say today, and I'll just we'll just do it next week if I don't get it all in. 00:10:52.480 --> 00:10:56.960 But this is loving God in a focused way with your soul. 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:58.639 So last week we talked about the heart. 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:01.840 Today I want to talk about the soul, and we're gonna get to the mind of strength if we can. 00:11:02.000 --> 00:11:10.000 But the soul, and listen to what I'm gonna say, I believe the soul is the place of identity. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:13.679 It's the place of your identity. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:18.720 And so the question is: what do I mean by identity? 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:21.120 Here's the way I would define identity. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:29.840 Those are our deeply held values of how we measure success. 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:38.639 Your identity are those deeply held values of how you measure success. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:50.480 What it is in your heart that causes you to feel like you're successful or unsuccessful with your life. 00:11:50.639 --> 00:11:57.759 That's the sole area is the imprint of this identity that we battle with. 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:10.159 And Satan, from day one of our birth, has been impressing upon our hearts and wiring our mind toward an identity that he wants you to believe. 00:12:10.480 --> 00:12:23.840 And that identity is that through accomplishments, through achievements, through popularity, through how big your bank account is, or what kind of car you drive, or what kind of friends you have, that's success. 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:27.120 That's your value system, that's your identity. 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:29.519 And all of us struggle with it. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:30.639 I don't anymore. 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:33.440 I mean, I got I never struggle with that anymore. 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.639 But we all struggle with it, right? 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:49.440 Because here's what Satan does: he wants to define your identity through achievements and accomplishments, but he also wants to define love for us, what love really is. 00:12:50.559 --> 00:13:02.720 And the association of love with relationships, usually related to physical pleasure, is the way Satan defines our identity. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:05.120 So here's the challenge. 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:08.240 The challenge is Jesus says, love me with your soul. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:13.759 He didn't say with part of your soul, or sometimes with your soul, or Sunday morning soul. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:16.399 Love me with all of your soul all of the time. 00:13:16.480 --> 00:13:18.240 You know, uh-oh, wow. 00:13:18.559 --> 00:13:19.360 What is that? 00:13:19.440 --> 00:13:21.360 It's a redefinition, church. 00:13:21.600 --> 00:13:25.200 We have got to redefine our identity. 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:28.639 We have to redefine what success is. 00:13:28.720 --> 00:13:31.600 And I alluded to this last week, and I'll just say it again. 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:38.000 That, and again, listen to the message, go back and listen to the message because I don't want to go through it all, but I kind of want to, but I can't. 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:49.840 But but here's the thing is that loving God with our heart emotionally doesn't happen until we discover that God loves us. 00:13:50.879 --> 00:14:07.919 Until we discover, as I talked about last week, especially from John 17, 23, that that love by which the Father loved Jesus, Jesus has now placed in us that we might experience the same love that he experienced from his father. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:08.879 Isn't that radical? 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.360 I mean, that's fantastic stuff. 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:14.159 Buddhists don't say stuff like that. 00:14:14.720 --> 00:14:16.879 Muslims don't say stuff like that. 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:19.360 Taoism doesn't teach that. 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:21.679 Sikhism doesn't teach that. 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:30.559 Only in Christianity do we have this relationship of love and intimacy with God the Father and God the Son and God the Spirit. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:40.639 And so Jesus, in his last high priestly prayer, saying, Lord, I pray that they would experience the love you've had for me that I've now placed in them because I live in them. 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:43.519 That's radical stuff. 00:14:44.000 --> 00:14:50.000 It's saying that our identity, church, is that you're loved by God and you get to love God. 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:52.960 You're loved by God and you get to love God. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:56.960 He loves you, you love him, you're successful. 00:14:57.919 --> 00:15:01.120 He loves you, you love him, you're successful. 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:12.799 And so loving God with all of our soul is that breakthrough moment in our hearts, and I don't think it's a one-time thing. 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:24.240 I think it starts with a one-time thing, but I think it's, I think it's something that grows with us of saying each day, especially when, and don't miss this, shame comes up. 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:39.200 When the shame comes, because it's at the soul identity level that shame has its deepest impact upon our hearts and our minds and our strength, because shame is basically saying I'm not worthy. 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.480 And everybody here struggles with shame. 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:55.200 Everybody here has stuff in their life that has happened to you, that's been done to you, that you say to yourself, sometimes, you say it's probably subconscious, but you say to yourself, if people knew that about me, they would disconnect. 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:59.919 They would not want a relationship with me, they would not think highly of me, they would not value me. 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:03.279 And for many, it's sexual abuse. 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:16.000 Could be an addiction, could be a relationship broken, gone awry, that has broken your heart, and you've not really ever gotten over it, and it's and it's created bitterness in your life. 00:16:16.159 --> 00:16:28.799 And so if anybody knew that, even our closest spouse sometimes doesn't know some of the stuff from our past, and we have this shame area, this dark area, and it becomes a barrier to loving God with our soul. 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:41.600 I really believe you can have an emotional relationship with God to a certain extent, but you can also have this big stronghold of the enemy in our identity area because of shame. 00:16:42.399 --> 00:16:46.879 Because here's the deal: we were all born for connection. 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:52.799 All the studies of babies show how important breastfeeding is with a baby or cuddling is the baby. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:56.559 That skin-to-skin contact between mother and child. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:02.480 And why that's important is because that baby, even physiologically, needs to connect. 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:05.279 Needs to connect. 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:07.680 And so God put that in there. 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:09.680 God put that connection in us. 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.480 And so what shame does is shame breaks that. 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:26.559 That's a satanic, demonic tool of the enemy to break your connection with people or to break the value you have on yourself of being loved by God, that if people knew that about you, you would be disconnected. 00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:27.839 And so you live in that shame. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:30.160 And you know what the reality is, it's true. 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:32.799 I mean, I wish you, well, it's not true. 00:17:32.960 --> 00:17:34.319 We'll still love you. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:36.000 No, we won't. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:38.720 Because we have our own shame. 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:41.680 And so the reality is that's true. 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:49.839 And it's not just a theory, but people actually disconnect because they realize we did this or we were a part of that. 00:17:50.720 --> 00:17:52.079 Well, how do we break that? 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:53.279 How do we break out of that? 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:55.119 How do we love God with our soul? 00:17:55.440 --> 00:18:01.680 Well, there's this wonderful passage that God has used mightily over the years in my own life. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:06.559 Turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4, 1 through 6. 00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:09.359 2 Corinthians 4, 1 through 6. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:14.079 And uh if you're if you got the notes from the app, it's on your notes. 00:18:14.400 --> 00:18:26.400 But this passage by Paul, it's almost like Paul saying, look, I'm gonna give you a tutorial, a lesson on how to break the power of shame in your life. 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.519 And I'm sure the Corinthians had a lot of shame. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:35.519 And he put it in a form that all of us can easily understand. 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:42.559 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:46.319 Because here's what shame does: it causes you to lose heart. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:50.319 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:55.039 So he's admitting that there's these hidden things of shame in all of our lives. 00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:55.920 We're gonna renounce that. 00:18:56.079 --> 00:18:57.839 Well, then he's gonna show us how to renounce it. 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:05.359 Not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, that means church being dishonest. 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:07.279 And that's where most of the church is. 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:08.079 Let's be honest. 00:19:08.240 --> 00:19:16.960 That's where most of the evangelical church is today, that we are deceitful in our handling of the word because we we're not authentic. 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:17.839 We're not real. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:20.480 We all have the thing, always everything's going great. 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:21.759 And it just really stinks. 00:19:21.839 --> 00:19:22.720 It's not going great. 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:26.160 Now, I'm not saying we have to, you know, tell everybody, all of our stuff. 00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:28.000 People drive you crazy, you know. 00:19:28.079 --> 00:19:29.599 You start running from them. 00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:33.920 Don't you need a cup of coffee, you know, go somewhere else, haunt someone else. 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:39.839 But so I am talking about, we're gonna talk about strategic people, strategic people in our lives. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:45.599 Not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:47.119 What do we know about the truth? 00:19:47.279 --> 00:19:48.720 The truth sets us free. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:54.000 Commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:57.920 What he's saying here, parenthetically, is vulnerability. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:00.079 We've got to get this out. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:01.599 We have got to have someone. 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:03.920 Around here we call him bloodstained ally. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:12.079 That's why for many of you men, you may not, you know, care a hill of beans about shooting a shotgun, and that's fine. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:16.319 But you really need to be at the armory next Saturday. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:18.400 Because you need to be with some guys. 00:20:18.559 --> 00:20:22.000 And I'm gonna be talking about becoming a worshiper and a warrior. 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:24.880 How do you become a worshiper and warrior this year? 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:28.160 Well, that's how you break shame, and I'll explain in just a moment. 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:32.079 So he says, here, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:39.279 I don't think it means every man, but it means you need certain men, you need some men in your life that you can commend yourself to. 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:43.599 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:46.720 Whose minds the God of this age is blinded. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:47.440 So here we go. 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:55.759 This is what the demons do, this is what demons do, this is what Satan does, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:58.880 So what happens is that's what the enemy does. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:04.880 He doesn't want you to come to Christ, he doesn't want you to have an intimate relationship with him, because guess what God will do? 00:21:05.039 --> 00:21:09.440 He'll shine in to these shame areas and start setting you free. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:12.400 And you will really become dangerous for the kingdom of God. 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:17.839 Satan does not want you dangerous, he wants you anemic. 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:21.359 He wants you sleepy. 00:21:22.400 --> 00:21:24.640 Some of you are sleepy. 00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:32.720 I'm talking about spiritually asleep, and God wants to just wake you up and rouse you and say, Come on, man. 00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:35.359 Come on, woman. 00:21:35.839 --> 00:21:37.440 Get into the fight. 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:38.799 This is it. 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:40.880 This is your life. 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.359 It's not gonna happen tomorrow. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:44.960 This is it. 00:21:45.599 --> 00:21:46.720 Let's go. 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:49.759 And then I love this part. 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:56.240 Verse 5 for we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus' sake. 00:21:56.319 --> 00:21:59.599 For it is the God who commanded light to shine. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:00.720 Out of darkness. 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:03.119 You raise light can shine out of darkness. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:08.319 Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ? 00:22:08.480 --> 00:22:09.039 Two things. 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:12.480 I see two things here to break the power of shame. 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:13.200 Here's the first. 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:19.359 The first is this become vulnerable with some brothers or sisters in your life. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:24.240 You need some bloodstained allies that you can share your shame with. 00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:29.519 I'm talking about trustworthy, bloodstained allies. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:32.720 If you do not share it, it will continue to be a strong alliance. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:34.160 I promise you that. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:49.440 If you're not willing to share with someone in a beautiful way, in a way in which you've built trust with that person, say, look, this happened in my life, and I want to get set free because I want to love God with all my soul this year. 00:22:49.519 --> 00:22:50.559 And will you help me? 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:51.839 Will you stand with me? 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:56.559 And if you're called out to be that person, then you drop judgment at the door. 00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:00.240 I mean, that takes tremendous courage. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:04.960 That's why so many believers never get set free because they don't have the courage to do it. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:06.559 So that's the first thing. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:13.279 Number two, is invite the light of Jesus to shine in our hearts. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:16.799 Invite the light of Jesus to shine on our shame. 00:23:17.440 --> 00:23:28.160 My big shame area two years ago, when I went through all that devastation and stuff in my life that you guys know about, and all the stuff that I was struggling with, was fear of man. 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:34.960 Fear of man, fear of what people think of me and creating this facade that wasn't authentic and it wasn't. 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:44.000 I mean, it was, yeah, I mean it was authentic and real to a certain degree, probably more than most, but the reality is there were still these areas, these pockets in my life of fear of man. 00:23:44.160 --> 00:23:46.400 And man, I need to let God's light shine on. 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:48.079 I need some blood-stained allies. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:51.920 And some of you guys in this room were part of being around the fire pit with me. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:58.880 And you had this blubbering pastor crying all the time. 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:04.559 And I'd be talking to some of you, and I'd start to cry, and I didn't think for a year and a half I was crying all the time. 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:09.200 But I'll tell you, every tear was healing. 00:24:10.160 --> 00:24:12.240 Every tear was really healing. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:15.759 And then there's a point where you kind of you're healed. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:17.279 I mean, you know you're healed. 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:18.400 It's really cool. 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:25.440 And it's like, I remember waking up one morning, probably about a year ago, I think it took about two years, and I was like, I'm free. 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:29.519 Yeah, I'm free, you know? 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:33.440 And uh, and I didn't know I was free the night before, but I was free the next morning. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:35.039 It was super cool. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:39.039 But it was a battle, and it was contending. 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:41.920 And so, and so loving God with our soul. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:43.920 I want to love God with my soul, you know? 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:48.240 And um, and that and I think that's the that's what breaks the power of porn. 00:24:48.400 --> 00:25:01.119 That's what breaks the power of adultery, that's what breaks the power of uh of the selfishness that comes with, you know, uh wanting to create this persona around ourselves of how successful we are. 00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:05.039 Because we start to have a new identity when when shame areas get broken. 00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:06.079 And we'll do this our whole life. 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:09.839 I mean, it's not like one time and it's like you're working and walking in perfection from that point on. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:10.640 I'm not saying that. 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:22.720 I'm saying it's a process, but in the journey, one of the things that gives you spiritual confidence, and I'm not talking about self-confidence, I'm talking about God confidence, spiritual confidence, is to see God break shame areas. 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:25.519 Like he did it. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:33.680 And you just keep going at it, you go at it, you keep, you know, you tell you, you share with folks, you know, and that's why a D group, a discipleship group is so important. 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:42.640 Being in a D group, you can go to our website, learn how to get in a D group, but you get in this group of three or four people, and you start getting real with each other. 00:25:44.240 --> 00:25:51.279 Because it's a mutual pack, it's a mutual, um, that's the reason I like the word ally rather than friendship. 00:25:51.519 --> 00:25:57.519 Um, an ally is shoulder to shoulder on a mission, an ally. 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:02.480 And most men don't have blood-stained allies, and so most men are just living in their shame. 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:07.519 And here I'll just say this: if you want to live a half-hearted Christian life, then stay where you're at. 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:09.039 That's great. 00:26:09.599 --> 00:26:19.119 Because you'll get to experience half of God's love and half of his power and half of his joy, and that's okay, because that's what you want. 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:20.960 Great. 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:23.440 I guess it's better than nothing. 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:25.279 I want it all. 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:27.200 How about you? 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:28.960 I want it all. 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:30.319 I want all of it. 00:26:30.559 --> 00:26:32.799 Go for it, be wholehearted. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:39.279 And yeah, it won't be perfect, but I can tell you this, man, it's way better than before. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:41.359 Just go a little bit. 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:44.240 I mean, just a little bit's better than before. 00:26:44.400 --> 00:26:45.599 I mean, you're here. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:47.440 You're here right now. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:49.680 Some of you are going nowhere. 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:50.720 That's great. 00:26:50.960 --> 00:26:52.640 That's actually loving God with your strength. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:53.759 You showed up here. 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:55.359 And some of you have kids. 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:57.839 You got your kids dressed. 00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:03.200 You cleaned out poopy diapers like three times this morning. 00:27:04.960 --> 00:27:06.319 That's amazing. 00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:08.720 I'm getting ahead of myself. 00:27:08.799 --> 00:27:10.880 That's loving God with your strength. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:14.559 And ask any parent who's got a baby. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:17.440 They did love God with their strength to be here this morning. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:20.799 So loving God with our heart is with our emotions. 00:27:21.039 --> 00:27:24.400 Loving God with our soul is our identity and our shame. 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:26.400 But then thirdly, loving God with our mind. 00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:27.680 He says, Love God with our mind. 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:32.799 I put vision up there because I think it's with our mind that we read books. 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:35.519 It's with our mind that we open God's word. 00:27:35.839 --> 00:27:39.279 It's with our mind that we have a vision for our life. 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:40.880 It's setting goals. 00:27:40.960 --> 00:27:42.559 I believe goal setting is so important. 00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:47.119 I already covered that last week last couple weeks, but goal setting's important. 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:52.559 That's why I started the noonday revival in the Rockies prayer time. 00:27:52.960 --> 00:27:55.039 Because if I didn't do it, it wasn't gonna happen. 00:27:55.200 --> 00:27:57.119 I had to set aside that time. 00:27:57.279 --> 00:27:59.200 It was for me as much as for anyone else. 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:04.240 So on noon to one, I'm gonna focus out of 168 hours a week. 00:28:04.319 --> 00:28:11.680 I'm gonna focus that one hour on revival and awakening in our city and in our churches because I needed that. 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:15.200 And then I'm asking you guys to come too if you feel like you're led to do that. 00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:16.559 But it's a powerful time. 00:28:16.720 --> 00:28:18.079 We had to set that goal. 00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:19.279 We had to set that goal. 00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:23.039 We had to set the goal of how we wanted worship each week. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:28.319 We had to set a goal of how God was raising up this church to be used by him. 00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:42.160 And then what happens is when we start setting goals of where we're going and that vision that God gives us, watch out, because God, if he's a part of the goal setting, if he's part of the vision, he'll start to line things up in amazing ways. 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:44.559 You've experienced that, I hope. 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:46.559 And it's really strengthening. 00:28:47.279 --> 00:29:05.359 Romans 12 says this I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:06.960 And I like what it says next. 00:29:07.119 --> 00:29:13.440 If you renew your mind, he says, that you may prove what is the good, acceptable, perfect will of God. 00:29:13.599 --> 00:29:16.799 And I think that's progressive when Paul wrote this. 00:29:16.960 --> 00:29:21.920 There's a good will of God, there's an acceptable will of God, and then there's the perfect will of God. 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:25.359 Another way to say it maybe in our vernacular is good, better, best. 00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:32.319 And you know that good can be the greatest enemy of the better, and better can be the greatest enemy of the best. 00:29:32.640 --> 00:29:33.920 Go for the best. 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:35.599 God, renew my mind. 00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:50.480 Loving God with your mind is opening God's word, spending time in his word, listening to great sermons, renewing your mind, because if you're if your mind's not renewed, your feet don't know where to go. 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:53.920 If your mind's not renewed, your feet don't know where to go. 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:54.880 You'll go anywhere. 00:29:55.039 --> 00:29:58.079 Uh-oh, there's some there's a fox over there. 00:29:59.839 --> 00:30:02.079 There's a movie I gotta go see over here. 00:30:02.240 --> 00:30:03.279 And then there's something. 00:30:03.599 --> 00:30:10.000 What is it that holds us back, and we start putting boundaries around our wholehearted life? 00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:13.279 That's the vision of a renewed mind that transforms us. 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:19.599 Because I'm getting older, and I don't want regrets. 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:23.440 I've already got a few, but I don't want any more. 00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:26.000 And the only way I know it is be wholehearted. 00:30:26.160 --> 00:30:29.200 And the way you become wholehearted is you have boundaries. 00:30:29.359 --> 00:30:38.480 Well, those boundaries are taught in Scripture, and so as I read God's word through our prayer Bible and journal, our PB and J, our bookmark, if you don't have one, get one as you're leaving. 00:30:38.799 --> 00:30:39.759 Start there. 00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:45.200 Um you begin to have a renewed mind in a powerful way. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:50.640 And then lastly, men and women, fourthly, and I'll conclude with this: love God with your strength. 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:51.359 Love God. 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:52.880