WEBVTT 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:05.040 Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast. 00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:06.879 Thank you so much for listening today. 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:09.439 We hope it encourages you and inspires you. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:11.359 Here's today's message. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:14.560 Oh yeah. 00:00:14.720 --> 00:00:17.440 What's going on, Celebration Church Orlando? 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:19.199 Great to be here with you today. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:21.120 Awesome to see all your smiling faces. 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:22.399 Go ahead and have a seat. 00:00:22.879 --> 00:00:32.640 As you do that, I want you to get out your Bible or your smart device and open up your Bible to uh Psalm 119, verse 165. 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:35.840 Long Psalm find verse 165. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:38.880 As you go there, though, I do want to say hi to Pastor Keith and Megan. 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:39.679 We love you guys. 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:40.399 Awesome. 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:41.920 Thanks so much for having me here. 00:00:42.079 --> 00:00:48.079 And uh man, we just can't wait to hear what God has done in your hearts over these past few weeks. 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:57.840 So proud of you for getting away and getting refreshed in the Lord and getting fresh vision for this house and what God wants to do in the city of Orlando in and through us. 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:01.039 And thank you so much for shepherding this community so well. 00:01:01.280 --> 00:01:03.840 And uh I do want to thank the whole staff here, man. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:05.680 Do you love the staff that serves you here? 00:01:05.840 --> 00:01:07.280 Come on, put your hands together for them. 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:08.640 Love Pastor Nate. 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.280 Love uh let's see, Pastor Lindsay Brenner, man. 00:01:11.359 --> 00:01:12.480 She preached the paint off the walls. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:13.840 Anybody enjoy that last week? 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:14.640 Come on, man. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:16.959 Pastor Vinny and the team. 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:20.159 Um, man, uh Pastor Eileen, one of my favorite people. 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:21.439 I've known her when she was up in DC. 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:23.040 Now she's here with you in Orlando. 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:24.239 So great to see her. 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:31.280 And uh, we're just we're so glad that God has called shepherds and pastors to this house to serve you so well. 00:01:31.439 --> 00:01:38.159 I just I just want to thank all of our serving teams, all of our group leaders, every one of you that shepherds in some way. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:43.760 You know, I think over the years, over the decades, I've seen a kind of a trend in in church ministry. 00:01:43.840 --> 00:01:46.560 You know, it got to be kind of a spectator sport for a while. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:47.760 I don't know if you ever felt that. 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:51.519 But I really believe that God is restoring the shepherds in our community. 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:52.480 Have you sensed that? 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:57.519 How important it is, especially coming off a pandemic, how important it is to be together. 00:01:57.760 --> 00:01:58.959 Do you sense that? 00:01:59.120 --> 00:02:08.400 Uh do you sense how important it is for us to connect with one another and to be able to walk with one another and really make deep relationships with one another? 00:02:08.560 --> 00:02:11.120 And that's something that's happening here at Celebration Orlando. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:13.759 We couldn't be more proud of the people who serve this house. 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:14.719 Come on, Larry. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:15.919 I love the keys, man. 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:18.080 You make me sound so spiritual when you're up here. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:19.759 Oh, yeah, do you love Larry? 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:20.960 You love your worship team? 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:22.960 I love your worship team here, man. 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:26.879 Vinny gets me fired up, man, with that bass guitar too, man. 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:28.080 He's like going for it. 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:34.800 I was praying about how I could contribute to the songs, your playlist here, the songs of summer. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:38.000 And I labored long and hard in the word, to be honest, man. 00:02:38.080 --> 00:02:40.800 I was like, I kept going after God, going back and forth. 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:42.719 There's 150 psalms, you know what I'm saying? 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:45.199 I'm like, man, it should be easy to land one, right? 00:02:45.280 --> 00:02:46.319 I I couldn't. 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.439 I just kept going through it and through it with the Lord, kind of leading me. 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:56.719 Where I landed was I wanted to share with you, not just uh as some of the preachers have done in this series by unpacking an entire psalm. 00:02:56.879 --> 00:03:10.960 I wanted to share with you one of the things that I learned from the Psalms, a principle of God and his word and his ways that changed my life and has really helped shape my faith over the last 20 plus years following Jesus. 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:12.879 Is that okay if I share that with you today? 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:14.879 Now, I hope you're ready for a word. 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:19.280 It's ain't like like, you know, man, here's three fun things to do from the Psalms. 00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:20.960 Like it's actually a pretty strong word. 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:22.080 I hope you're ready to receive it. 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:23.759 If you're ready to receive it, I'm ready. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:24.639 You say that? 00:03:24.800 --> 00:03:25.280 I'm ready. 00:03:26.080 --> 00:03:27.199 A few of you, all right. 00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:30.240 We're gonna proceed forward and see how this goes. 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:33.039 Psalm 119, verse 165. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:35.520 I'm gonna read it in the King James version. 00:03:35.840 --> 00:03:37.120 Anybody love that King James? 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:38.719 It's so eloquent and so beautiful. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:39.199 I love it. 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:42.639 We don't read it much, but the Psalms are beautiful in the King James. 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:49.520 It says, Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:56.639 Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. 00:03:56.719 --> 00:04:05.599 Today I want to share with you some of the things I've learned from the scriptures and from my experience, following Jesus, about how to respond to offense. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:07.520 Let's pray, Father, we love you. 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:11.520 Open up our hearts and our minds to your word today, to your presence, to your spirit. 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:13.520 We thank you for your presence here, God. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:17.040 We thank you for what you're doing in us and through us as a church family. 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:30.879 That God, you are you're setting us up for when not just in our individual relationships with you, but how we come together as your family here in Orlando and serve the city, reach the city with the gospel and the love of Jesus. 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.839 So, Lord, thank you for these times together that we could worship freely, God, free from persecution. 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:36.399 Here we are. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:45.759 We're able to come together and worship, whether we're in person or tuning in online, and we can receive your word, and it can change and shape our lives forever. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:48.000 We open up our hearts and our minds to you. 00:04:48.639 --> 00:04:52.319 May the words of my mouth, the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight. 00:04:52.560 --> 00:04:53.839 In Jesus' name. 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:54.800 Amen. 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:56.079 Amen. 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:00.560 Well, I want to take you back real quick to the summer of 1998. 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:02.800 Wave at me if you were alive in 1998. 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:07.439 Uh, and a lot of you wave at you if you at me if you were not yet born in 1998. 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:10.560 Some of you, okay, looking around, trying to judge my crowd here, right? 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:12.000 1990s. 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:13.519 Oh man, the 90s were great. 00:05:13.680 --> 00:05:15.199 Kid and play, you know what I'm saying? 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:16.720 A little pearl jam. 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:18.399 Oh man, love the 90s. 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:22.560 But um, child of the 80s, but really my 20s were in the 90s. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:25.040 One of the things I love doing in the 90s, I love surfing. 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:27.680 I'm from Jacksonville, I'm from Ohio originally. 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:29.040 Who's the surfer guy from Ohio? 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:31.040 But I've been living in Jacksonville surfing. 00:05:31.199 --> 00:05:34.639 Uh, I learned to surf here in Melbourne and then eventually moved to Jacksonville. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:35.759 I love surfing. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:38.959 Uh, but I got saved as a young adult in 1996. 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:41.360 I immediately fell in with a few surfers. 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:44.079 We thought we were the only surfers on planet earth that loved Jesus. 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:44.639 We really did. 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:46.160 There was no internet to check. 00:05:46.399 --> 00:05:49.439 So we knew that we were the only surfers on planet earth that loved Jesus. 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:50.639 Turns out they're everywhere. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:57.360 But uh, we started doing these surf trips to Costa Rica where we'd go surfing in the mornings because the winds are just right. 00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:04.319 We go surfing in the mornings, and then the afternoons, uh, you know, we'd we'd uh go in and serve in the local churches. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:07.600 Like we'd find out if they had any projects or things we could help with or whatever. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:09.360 Like serve day kind of thing, you know? 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:13.920 And then at night we'd go to their services, and man, they're full Pentecostal in Costa Rica. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.000 They throw down, man, like every night. 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:18.240 It's like revival is hitting the city. 00:06:18.319 --> 00:06:19.439 They're like excited, man. 00:06:19.519 --> 00:06:20.639 They have these great services. 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:29.680 And so we were on this trip in 1998, and we had about 20 surfers, and we're in like, I don't know, six, six or eight, you know, Suzuki sidekicks, like going all through. 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.040 It was like it was like the Wild West back then. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:38.160 Like you can get on an interstate and get from San Jose out to the coast now in like 20 minutes or something like that. 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:43.279 It was like three hours on washboard gravel roads to get out to the waves back in the 90s. 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:44.480 It was totally different. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:46.879 And uh it was it was frustrating at times. 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:48.720 There's no signs, there's no cell phones. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:54.399 Cell phones hadn't even been in, you know, it's like a bag phone in your car from the 80s or something, still at that point. 00:06:54.480 --> 00:06:56.560 There's no cell service, there's not even payphones. 00:06:56.720 --> 00:06:57.360 You know what I'm saying? 00:06:57.439 --> 00:06:58.560 It was wild west. 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:05.199 And uh because of that, I mean you're riding around a bunch of stinky, sweaty, salty surfers riding around in these SUVs. 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:07.279 You know, it was a it was a diverse group. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:11.680 You know, we had some guys that were just surfers and wanted to go on a surf trip, they're not even saved. 00:07:11.839 --> 00:07:16.480 Then we had people that were Christians that didn't surf that wanted to go and minister in the churches. 00:07:16.639 --> 00:07:21.360 And uh, you know, tensions wouldn't always, everything wasn't a bunch of people just always, let's all get along. 00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:22.800 It's the Holy Spirit, man. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:24.480 Just, oh man, everything's so good. 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:29.600 There was a lot of tension would come up, and and we would get at each other on each other's nerves. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:31.040 And it was difficult, man. 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:41.199 A lot of us didn't even know each other, and um, you know, as we navigated through all that, it was funny how all of us as believers, like God kind of showed us some things about ourselves. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:44.560 And I'll never forget one night I was in the um in a room with my roommate. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:46.319 I was again in my 20s. 00:07:46.480 --> 00:07:51.360 This guy was a surfer in his 50s, and uh, he'd been following the Lord a while, and I was learning some things from him. 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:58.160 And he said, you know, we're talking about the tensions and kind of the fighting that was going on, and you know, this guy's mad at that guy, blah, blah, blah. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:05.680 And uh, he told me, he said, John, nothing can offend me or make me stumble because I love the law of the Lord. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:09.759 I was like, he rolled that back, what was that? 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:10.720 I'm like, what? 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:15.439 Nothing can offend me or make me stumble because I love the law of the Lord. 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:19.120 It like, it was one of those moments and it kind of shocked me a little bit. 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:24.399 You know, I was new to the Lord trying to figure out how to love Jesus and how to be a believer, especially as a kind of a surfer. 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:26.000 I was a bartender at the time, you know. 00:08:26.240 --> 00:08:27.360 I was trying to figure it out. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:43.279 And when he said that, it was like revelation went off in my heart about how the word of God, it's not just there for behavior modification to change our outward appearance of our lives, like, you know, hey, I don't kill nobody, I'm a Christian, I don't lie, I'm a Christian, whatever. 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:53.120 Like it there was something that clicked inside of me about how the word of God can get deep down inside of you and change you from the inside out. 00:08:53.279 --> 00:09:19.600 I suddenly had like a vision of being someone who just when the opportunities come to be offended or hurt or wounded by someone's words, that the word of God could protect me from that and could protect me on the inside from picking up roots of bitterness or things that would cause me not to love my neighbor or love God. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:24.720 There was something powerful that the word of God possessed that I needed to learn. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:32.399 And I I thought about like hurtful words that were spoken against me that I'd kind of internalized. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:33.600 Anybody ever done that? 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:42.720 You don't need to raise your hands, but like somebody says something mean or hurtful to you, and all of a sudden your opinion of that person changes and it sticks with you. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:45.120 Didn't Jesus say to love all people? 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:47.519 Oh my gosh, how am I gonna love that person, man? 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:50.000 That's so rude and offensive. 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:58.080 What about what about when somebody, maybe in the course of your work, you know, people have authority at jobs, you know, all of us are under authority in some way. 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:02.639 When somebody in authority has to make a tough call and you're the one with the short end of the stick. 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:04.159 What about when that happens? 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:09.679 These are opportunities for us to pick up wounds and offense, you know, even if it's a part of like normal things. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:13.120 This is just the work world, it's the corporate world, here's how it goes. 00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:16.960 What about when life just throws you a curveball with a health issue? 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:18.879 And you can get offended at God. 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:19.840 Am I right? 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:20.799 This thing's happened. 00:10:20.879 --> 00:10:22.399 This is the real world, friends. 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:33.440 So, how can we be Christians in the real world and how can we experience what it's like to be unoffendable in a world where I'm sure there's people in this room where people have been mistreated? 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:34.799 Raise your hand. 00:10:34.960 --> 00:10:38.639 You know, I know you're probably sitting next to the person that might have offended you, maybe in this room. 00:10:38.799 --> 00:10:39.440 You know what I'm saying? 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.919 Don't raise your hands on this stuff, hands down. 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:44.639 But man, you've probably been mistreated. 00:10:44.799 --> 00:11:01.600 I would be willing to roll the dice and say that you've been misrepresented, slandered, hurt, wounded, wrongfully accused, accused of something doing something, or upholding something, or being something that you're not. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:07.440 It's terrible, man, when we we cry out for justice, but nothing seems to get done. 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:10.480 Nothing seems to change in the heavenly realm. 00:11:11.519 --> 00:11:13.919 We all have these opportunities to be offended. 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:18.080 And if we do, it keeps us from making wise choices. 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:24.240 You can make choices based on your wounds and your heart as opposed to on the word of God. 00:11:24.399 --> 00:11:25.039 Am I right? 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:39.120 You and I have some offense, might have some offenses lingering and running in the background like an operating system that we're not even aware of, and they're changing the way that we perceive others and relate to others and build relationships. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:42.960 But the word of God is not external to us. 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:46.399 The word of God gets down deep on the inside of us. 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:57.039 The New Testament goes on to describe it as something that divides, even as joints and marrow, and it gets down into the nitty-gritty of our lives, and it can change us from the inside out. 00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:03.600 I hope I'm in a room full of people, man, that have experienced the life-changing, life-transforming power of God. 00:12:03.840 --> 00:12:07.360 Can somebody shout amen if you've experienced this in some areas of your life? 00:12:07.519 --> 00:12:08.559 Right, okay, got it, man. 00:12:08.639 --> 00:12:09.120 Just making sure. 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:10.799 Celebration Orlando, right? 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:12.480 This is not the art museum crowd. 00:12:12.799 --> 00:12:13.840 No, you're not here for art? 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:15.039 No, okay, good. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:24.879 I want to just share a few things that I've learned from my life and experiences today that have helped me pass on opportunities to get offended. 00:12:25.120 --> 00:12:25.759 Are you with me? 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:30.639 All right, let me just share a few things, though, initially about what God says about this. 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.399 And that's why we go to the scriptures, right? 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:35.600 We learn from God straight out of the word of God. 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:40.399 What does it mean in this passage, in this verse, to love God's law? 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:45.679 What does that mean to the New Testament believer in 2022 in Central Florida? 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:52.159 Love God's law, is that something the law, isn't that like Old Testament, Old Covenant? 00:12:52.399 --> 00:12:55.919 Well, Psalm 119 helps us understand this a little bit better. 00:12:56.080 --> 00:12:59.360 Pastor Nate did a great job of pulling apart 119. 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.320 It's a long, long chapter of the Bible. 00:13:02.480 --> 00:13:07.279 But there's a few great verses in there that help us understand what it means to love God's law. 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:11.360 First 140 says we accept it as the very words of God. 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:15.360 That's what it means to love God's law is you say, Hey, this is God's word. 00:13:15.600 --> 00:13:16.960 I'm gonna treat it as holy. 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:20.960 I'm gonna receive it not as just something that I read in a self-help book. 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:25.279 This is the word of God, and I need to reverence it as such. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:29.759 That's what it means to love God's law, is that you treat it as God's word. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:39.039 Psalm 119, verse 113, it teaches us that we choose it above the vain thoughts and lying of this world. 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.320 All right, so this think worldview here. 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:44.799 Culture will teach you a worldview. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:14:05.840 You may have a worldview formed, that you've formed your own opinions about things, maybe you've taken on impressions and different things as you've grown, maybe from your family of origin, things that you are taught about, life in general that you've taken as true and you've built this worldview, but there are times when the our humanistic worldview does not align with the worldview of the Lord. 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:06.480 Amen. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:08.960 You know, there's a tension there. 00:14:09.200 --> 00:14:19.600 And to love the law of the Lord means when my worldview is out of alignment with God's worldview, I'm gonna choose his view above my own. 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:23.360 Think, Jesus, not my will be done, but yours. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:24.159 Right? 00:14:24.320 --> 00:14:27.039 That's what it means to love the law of the Lord. 00:14:27.200 --> 00:14:39.759 Uh, verse 127, we choose it above the gold of this world, above the gold of the world, the things that are treasured in this world, the things that are valuable in this world, the things that can help us capitalize in this world. 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:42.639 We choose God's word even above those things. 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:44.720 That's what it means to love the law of the Lord. 00:14:44.960 --> 00:14:54.960 The psalmist would have thought more than just, you know, this is the law, like the the 613, you know, uh restrictions or laws in the Deuteronomical canon, right? 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:56.559 Like he would have thought more than that. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:01.279 He's thinking law, prophets, and even the ways of mankind. 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:07.440 This was this was common in the ancient Near East, uh, is common in Roman thought, is common in Greek Hellenistic thought. 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:09.519 It's even common amongst us today. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:12.320 We think about our walk with God. 00:15:12.480 --> 00:15:13.840 That's our ways. 00:15:14.240 --> 00:15:19.679 When our walk does not align with God's standards for our walk, right? 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.000 To love the law of the Lord means not my will be done, but yours. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:24.720 Are you with me? 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:25.279 Right? 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:27.279 That's what it means to love the law of the Lord. 00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:34.799 And Jesus fulfilled, he didn't do away with the Old Testament, he fulfilled the law, and he makes it simple. 00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:36.320 Even a surfer can understand it. 00:15:36.399 --> 00:15:37.360 It's fantastic. 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.200 Matthew 22, check this out. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:44.879 He says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:50.879 This is the great and first commandment, and the second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself. 00:15:51.120 --> 00:15:53.600 On these two commandments depend all. 00:15:53.840 --> 00:15:54.720 Everybody say all. 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:57.279 All the law and the prophets. 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:03.279 So you see that it's less about, you know, following step-by-step instructions, and that's how you love the law of the Lord. 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:07.919 It's more like we say here in Orlando we love God, we love people. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:08.720 Right? 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:10.399 We love God, we love people. 00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:11.519 I love Jesus, man. 00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:14.080 He summarizes things so succinctly, doesn't he? 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:18.240 Love God, love people, and in this you will obey all the law of God. 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:21.360 You'll be walking in the will of the Lord. 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:29.279 The second thing it means to love God's law is to have great peace. 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:31.279 What does it mean to have great peace? 00:16:31.519 --> 00:16:34.399 Great peace have those who love your law. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:35.279 Great peace. 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:36.320 What does that look like? 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:45.279 Isaiah 26, 3 says this you keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:59.679 To love the Lord God and the law of the Lord means to trust the Lord, even when his ways are above our ways, even when the boundaries he sets in place might not be comfortable. 00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:02.399 Who loves boundaries and limits in their life? 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:03.120 Anybody? 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:05.119 Who loves budgets? 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:11.519 I love running out of money at the end of the month because I have a limit on how much I can spend. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:17.359 Who loves just running out of time or energy in your week because the next day is already here? 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:21.759 There are limits that realistically we have to deal with, right? 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:29.519 God sets those limits in place for us by his law, and to love his law means to love his limits. 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:33.519 Ooh, the limitations that God sets on us. 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:38.079 To love and embrace those, it gives us peace. 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:39.680 Do you see it? 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:45.119 To stay within the guardrails of God is gonna bring you peace. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:53.519 Now, we might like to say, hey, when I get to control my life, oh man, oh yeah, I'll give you one right there. 00:17:53.839 --> 00:17:56.559 Man, life is good when I'm in control. 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:03.279 What about when that comes into conflict with the will of God for your life? 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:11.279 Are you willing to let go of control in some area of your life and let God's word take control? 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:16.000 This is what it means to love the Lord, the law of the Lord. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:18.640 And when you do, you'll have great peace. 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:26.559 It does not make any sense whatsoever to return the first 10% of what you earn to the Lord. 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:28.559 No sense whatsoever. 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:30.960 100% better than 90. 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:32.000 You know what I'm saying? 00:18:32.160 --> 00:18:35.839 When it comes to money, I would rather have 100% of my money than 90. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.039 It makes no sense. 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:43.279 But when you follow the law of the Lord, right, it releases peace. 00:18:43.519 --> 00:18:44.960 I started tithing for the first time. 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:46.559 I don't know why I'm going off a tinge on this. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:49.200 I really want to share this with you after what Pastor Nate said, though. 00:18:49.359 --> 00:18:50.400 Um, you know, we got saved. 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:52.079 Me and my wife Carrie, she's here with me today. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:52.799 I love you, baby. 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:53.599 Oh yeah. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:55.440 The source of the all yeah. 00:18:55.680 --> 00:18:56.799 We got saved as adults. 00:18:56.880 --> 00:19:00.640 We first generation Christians, never been, you know, didn't grow up in church or anything. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:06.319 And somebody, you know, we're like, every time I got radically saved first, and she kind of just like, man, you're crazy. 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.480 But she was along with the journey with me, man. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:12.799 And every time we'd step putting a church, man, I'd throw everything in my wallet into the bucket, man. 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:14.559 I'm like, oh, I love you, God, this much. 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:15.680 You've done so much for me. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:16.480 I can't believe it. 00:19:16.559 --> 00:19:18.640 Oh, she's like, man, you just put a written there. 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:19.920 What are you doing? 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:26.640 And we we finally we found a church got planted and stuff, and some I just asked somebody, how much are you supposed to put in the bucket? 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:28.640 You know, is five dollars too little? 00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:29.519 All of it? 00:19:29.759 --> 00:19:30.480 How much? 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:32.799 And uh they're like, well, you start with 10%. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:36.319 Like, just start there and you know, just start going from there, you know? 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:41.039 And eventually, man, you pretty much are giving 100% of your life to the Lord, but start at 10%. 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:42.319 I'm like, oh, thanks. 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:44.720 Now I can save like my rent money. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:46.160 I was so happy. 00:19:46.240 --> 00:19:53.599 So we we started when we had nothing, we started tithing and giving and budgeting more and more and more for offerings and mission trips and all that kind of stuff. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:55.279 So I just want to encourage you in that. 00:19:55.680 --> 00:20:01.359 The the law of the Lord, it defines the areas where we fight against ourselves. 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:09.920 Like, I don't want to let go of my money, but God says to do it, and there's great peace that's released in knowing that our finances are in the hands of the Lord. 00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:10.960 You know what I'm saying? 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:12.480 It's another example of this. 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:14.480 What does it mean to have great peace? 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:19.839 This peace comes from loving the law of the Lord, man, loving his ways above my ways. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:22.960 Great peace have those who love your law. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:25.599 Nothing can offend them or make them stumble. 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:27.920 What does it mean that nothing shall offend them? 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:30.079 You know, we think of offensive things, man. 00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:33.519 I think of like the Jaguar's offense was offensive. 00:20:34.480 --> 00:20:35.279 Smelly. 00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:36.480 It's getting better though. 00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:37.440 We like Trevor, man. 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:38.400 Trevor's been to the church. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:40.240 He came on Easter, man, him and Marissa. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:41.359 We were pretty stoked. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:44.480 But uh yeah, sidebar. 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:45.920 I'm not going down that road, baby. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:46.640 It's okay. 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:58.799 But um, offensive, man, like something smelly, like uh it's best described in in our modern language, I think, with a just a look like that's a oh, I can't believe you said that. 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:06.960 Oh it's a little bit wider in the Hebrew, in the original Hebrew, and even in the beautiful phrasing of the King James. 00:21:07.119 --> 00:21:14.240 To be offended, to be off-ended, to be tripped up, to stumble, to miss the mark, to sin. 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:19.920 Great peace have those who love your law, nothing shall trip them up and cause them to fail. 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:20.799 How about that? 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:23.920 Beautiful artistic language in the original Hebrew here. 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:26.079 And that's why I think my friend said it that way. 00:21:26.240 --> 00:21:30.720 Nothing can offend me or make me stumble, because I love your law, Lord. 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:32.000 How about that? 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.240 So nothing shall offend them. 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:38.079 What causes us to trip up and stumble more than offense? 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:42.640 Unforgiveness, unresolved conflict in our relationships. 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:54.079 Proverb 18, uh, verse 19 says this A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle. 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.359 A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:01.359 City won't give up its people. 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:02.960 It's fortified. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:03.920 How about that? 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.240 And quarreling like the bars of a castle. 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:12.480 Man, bars on a castle are probably just as effective as keeping people out and keeping people in. 00:22:13.200 --> 00:22:17.759 Offense and quarreling forms a prison that we choose to be in. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:20.079 As believers, we don't have to. 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:24.880 It's an option for us to let things go. 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:27.759 Embrace the love and the law of the Lord. 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:35.680 Experience his great peace by letting offense just go by like clouds in the sky on a beautiful summer day. 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:39.039 There's an opportunity for offense. 00:22:39.599 --> 00:22:41.279 I'm not going to engage that. 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:50.559 We have that kind of power inside of us because we have the word of God and the spirit of God to enable us to do it. 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:51.440 Are you with me? 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.599 In these last few moments, I'm going to share with you some practical points. 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:57.599 I'm a practical points preacher at heart. 00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:58.799 I love the law of the Lord. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:02.319 I love to preach the word of God, but please somebody tell me how to change my life. 00:23:02.480 --> 00:23:05.359 You know, man, I'll just 10% goes in the bucket. 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:06.240 Okay, thank you so much. 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:07.039 You know what I'm saying? 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:08.640 Like somebody just make it plain. 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:10.240 Somebody shout, make it plain. 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:12.160 Make it plain, preacher. 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:13.119 All right, man. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:16.160 As believers, uh oh man. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:18.559 Whew, just a couple minutes left. 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:20.400 We have decisions to make. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:22.480 We have decisions to make. 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:28.160 In order to operate in the power and the presence of God, we have decisions that we have to make. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:32.400 The first decision when it comes to offense, we have to decide to let it go. 00:23:32.640 --> 00:23:39.200 We have to decide to let it go like those clouds in the sky, just floating on by. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:41.359 I'll buy a lake of popcod. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:46.079 Oh man, that could offend me if I thought about it. 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:47.440 How about that? 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:51.359 Can you imagine the word of God can make you like that, make that possible for you? 00:23:51.519 --> 00:23:52.720 Proverbs 19, 11. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:55.359 It says a man's wisdom gives him patience. 00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:59.119 It is to his glory to overlook an offense. 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:00.240 How about that? 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:01.519 Doesn't God get all the glory? 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:02.480 What are you talking about? 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:03.680 Doesn't God get all the glory? 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:04.480