WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.399 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:19.199 --> 00:00:24.960 If you were here this summer, uh some of my good friend one of my good friends, Carolyn Taketa, uh, she was a small groups. 00:00:25.359 --> 00:00:27.359 Yeah, see, I told you. 00:00:27.519 --> 00:00:33.679 Uh she was a small groups pastor uh at my previous church we worked together, um, and she really helped to mentor me. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:35.280 She's a big sister to me. 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:44.640 Uh, she also would not tutor on horn, but now she's a leadership development coach, and she specializes in uh coaching uh Christian women in the workplace, specifically women of color. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:47.119 So if you need some coaching, she's your girl. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:49.840 Um the other thing is I forgot what I was gonna say now. 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:50.640 So here's what we're gonna do. 00:00:50.719 --> 00:00:54.799 You're gonna stand up now, and you're gonna be really woman-friendly, and you're gonna welcome Carolyn Takeda. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:58.240 That was great. 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:00.399 Thank you. 00:01:01.759 --> 00:01:02.240 Thank you. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:03.600 Please be seated. 00:01:04.079 --> 00:01:05.920 Thank you for that plug, Robbie. 00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:12.000 Um, if you do remember, I was here last uh July, and uh, you guys were so kind and welcoming to me. 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:12.959 And it was so cool. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:20.079 I walked in this morning for the prep and I saw this slide for the teaching series, and the first one says Anya Lansa. 00:01:20.319 --> 00:01:23.439 So I'm like, oh, it's already greeting me in Korean, my language. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:25.439 I felt so welcome by that. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:28.239 Um I am a first generation Korean American. 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:29.519 I came here when I was seven. 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:44.239 My last name is um Japanese, or one thinks I'm Japanese, but that's because I married a third-generation Japanese American, and it's such a joy to be um with you in a congregation where I see so many um Asian Americans and just diversity. 00:01:44.319 --> 00:01:47.760 I don't get that in our former um church and our former place. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:49.439 So this is a joy to be here with you. 00:01:49.519 --> 00:02:02.400 I was thrilled when Pastor Ryan invited me to be part of this teaching series in the book of First John, where you guys have been doing a deep dive into what it looks like to live life that is truly life and to live in the light. 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:06.079 So let's pray and settle our hearts and get started. 00:02:06.719 --> 00:02:09.120 Oh Lord God, thank you for your goodness to us. 00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:11.120 Thank you for the life you offer. 00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:17.759 Um, thank you for every person here that's made their intention and their time to create space for you. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:21.599 Um God, we invite you, Holy Spirit, to meet us here. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:32.960 I pray you would breathe life into the words I speak, that you would mediate them as they reach people's hearts, that you would open our hearts, open our minds so that we hear exactly what it is you have for us today. 00:02:33.120 --> 00:02:35.360 Because God, we know you want to speak to us. 00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:43.039 And as we draw near to you, Lord, we invite you into our hearts to draw near to us and say exactly what it is that you want us to know. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:45.199 Okay, so open our hearts to you. 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:49.280 Help us to not be distracted by any of the worries maybe we brought in. 00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:51.759 Um God, whatever is occupying our minds. 00:02:51.840 --> 00:03:01.039 I just pray, Lord, that just in this next little bit of time that we'd be focused on you so that we become more like you, Jesus, which is our desire in Christ's name. 00:03:01.199 --> 00:03:01.840 Amen. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:02.719 Amen. 00:03:02.879 --> 00:03:04.479 All right, well, raise your hand. 00:03:04.719 --> 00:03:07.919 If you've ever heard the expression, you are what you eat. 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:08.560 Yes? 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:10.560 Yeah, everybody's heard this expression. 00:03:10.719 --> 00:03:15.039 So if we took this expression literally, um I don't know what you would be. 00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:16.879 I would be rice. 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.039 I rice has been a daily staple of my life growing up, of course. 00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:23.680 And then um, it's probably the food I eat most often. 00:03:23.840 --> 00:03:28.000 I love white rice, but because of health reasons, I now have to transition to brown rice. 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:29.039 Not as good. 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:34.719 But maybe for some of you, um you are what you eat means you're a burger or a salad. 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:38.080 Or here in San Jose, maybe you are um boba tea. 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:41.039 That might be closer to what you're used to consuming. 00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:51.439 So this phrase, you are what you eat, what it points to is that if you eat certain kinds of foods and you crave certain kinds of foods, you're gonna become a certain, have a certain kind of body. 00:03:51.680 --> 00:04:01.759 So, for example, if you love donuts and you crave donuts, your body's gonna look different than someone who loves kale smoothies and craves kale smoothies. 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:04.639 You're gonna have two different kinds of bodies. 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:09.599 So, similarly, this morning, I want you to consider the statement: you are what you love. 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:16.079 You are not what you know, you are not what you believe or profess to believe, but you are what you love. 00:04:16.399 --> 00:04:21.199 What we choose to love is foundational to who we are and who we become. 00:04:21.439 --> 00:04:37.040 So often in the church, and I was in vocational ministry for a long time, we assume that if we just know the right things, have the right theology, if we just understand the scriptures a certain way, that we would do the right thing and then we'd become like Jesus, and ta-da, it would happen. 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:39.120 But unfortunately, that is not the case. 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:43.199 Not everybody who knows the right thing or believes the right thing becomes more like Jesus. 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:45.519 So why doesn't it always work? 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:57.839 I think it's because we are not shaped so much by our thoughts or our beliefs as we are shaped by our loves, by our desires, our cravings, because God created us for love. 00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.519 We were designed this way. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:07.439 We were designed and created to seek after, to hunger and thirst after something and someone beyond ourselves. 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:12.079 As it turns out, Bruce Springsteen was right, everybody has a hungry heart. 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:18.800 And in our culture, we talk about, you know, sometimes someone will say, Oh, the heart wants what the heart wants. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:29.199 And typically it's used to justify something not great for them, a relationship that may not be ideal, or something that they're craving that's not great for them. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:37.120 And everybody else can see it, but not the person who's experiencing that emotion because their heart is leading the way to their action. 00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:37.759 St. 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:44.399 Augustine, who's an African theologian and philosopher in the fourth century, he said that our desires are like gravity. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:48.800 They pull us to what we want, they orient our lives. 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:53.040 It's your lives, it's your loves that govern your actions and your behavior. 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:55.920 So we want to be people who love what God loves. 00:05:56.079 --> 00:05:58.800 Because we want that to be the orienting principle of our lives. 00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:03.839 So we want to do what God wants for us, not just for his glory, but also for our good. 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:06.240 But it's not easy, right? 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:14.079 There's so many obstacles in the way of us following Jesus, and a lot of these obstacles are within us. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:21.439 So as we turn to 1 John 2, you guys have been in this series, we're picking up right where you left off. 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:29.040 In 1 John 2, 12 to 17, Apostle John has a lot to say on this topic to help us love God more. 00:06:29.600 --> 00:06:31.920 Um, so who is John first writing to? 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:36.160 And so in 1 John 2, you can pull out your Bibles, you can read on the screens. 00:06:36.240 --> 00:06:38.480 I'm reading for the New Living Translation. 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:44.000 I'm writing to you who are God's children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:49.680 I'm writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:54.639 I'm writing to you who are young in the faith, because you have won your battle with the evil one. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.639 I have written to you who are God's children because you know the Father. 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:04.079 I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. 00:07:04.319 --> 00:07:11.759 I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong, and God's word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one. 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:16.639 Apostle John reminds us of this original intended audience. 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:20.560 It was intended for believers of all ages, all stages of faith. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:29.519 He's using this lyrical style with this poetic repetition of past tense and present tense to talk to the beloved children of God. 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:31.600 He commends them for their faith. 00:07:31.680 --> 00:07:36.879 Um, he tells them, reminds them of the spiritual victory that they've already experienced through Christ. 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:40.639 So this message in this letter is also for us. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:47.360 Whether you are a brand new believer, whether you're not even there yet, and you're just seeking and checking out Jesus, welcome. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:48.879 You're in the right place. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:54.800 Whether you've been following Jesus for a long time and you have some maturity and some years, welcome. 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:56.720 This message is also for you. 00:07:56.959 --> 00:08:02.959 It's for everyone, from the beginning to the elders and everyone that is on this journey of faith. 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:05.600 He's reminding us today of our identity. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.199 We are all beloved children of God because why? 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:10.560 We know the Father. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:13.680 That is the only qualification that matters. 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:18.720 We know Jesus was in the beginning with God, has victory over death and the evil one. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:24.639 And by extension, through Christ's victory, we also have won the battle for eternal life. 00:08:25.040 --> 00:08:29.360 John wants us to build on that truth and to continue to mature in Christ. 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:31.199 And so, how do we do that? 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:36.159 Well, the next section tells us we grow by paying attention to what we love. 00:08:36.399 --> 00:08:42.320 So, my question for you this morning that we're gonna circle around is where has your heart been leading you these days? 00:08:43.039 --> 00:08:48.480 The next section is the stern warning he has for all believers, all of us today. 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:51.039 So let's continue reading from verse 15. 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:57.679 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:05.279 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, pride in our achievements and possessions. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:08.159 These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 00:09:08.320 --> 00:09:12.480 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. 00:09:12.799 --> 00:09:16.720 But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:21.440 Notice that John's not saying, hey, here's a list of things to do and not do. 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:21.919 No. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:28.240 He's going to the heart of the issue: our motivations, our cravings, what inspires us, what moves us. 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:34.159 He's using the language of desire, of love, of longing, not of behavior modification. 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:39.519 So a couple decades ago, um, I have two daughters, and they're now in their mid-20s. 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:53.840 So this was a while back when I was a mom of preschoolers, and I had been a lawyer for a number of years and had taken a break to be a stay-home mom, and I had time, and I thought, oh, I'll go to this program and learn how to be a better mother, have more godly children. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:02.240 Um but after about three sessions, I actually dropped out because there was kind of a premise to this program that I just felt this tension with. 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:03.679 And here's what it was. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:08.799 Um, for example, the leader had shared that her kindergartner had used the cuss word. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:13.919 And so she promptly washed her his mouth out with soap and she took away his favorite toy. 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:17.360 And um I, you know, no judgment about her parenting. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:20.720 Maybe it works for him, it works for their um family. 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:24.000 But I think it just for me raised all these questions. 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:29.519 I thought, what was going on for this little boy that he felt like he had to use this word? 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:30.799 Where did he even learn this word? 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:32.159 What did he think it meant? 00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:36.320 Um, what was he so frustrated that he couldn't figure out another way to say something? 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:39.840 Did he want his parents' attention so badly that he used this word? 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:40.480 I don't know. 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:44.639 I had all these questions about what was going on inside his heart. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:53.840 And when it came to parenting back then and even now, I'm much more concerned about what's going on in my kid's heart than necessarily what their behavior is. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:10:56.799 Of course, don't get me wrong, I'd like to see the correct behavior. 00:10:56.960 --> 00:10:58.080 That's really important. 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:04.080 However, I think I didn't just want my children to do the right things, I wanted them to love the right things. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:07.519 I wanted them to love Jesus and want to do what Jesus wanted to do. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:23.200 And I saw parenting as this partnership between me, my kid, however the way God made them, they came, you know, with their own desires and their own ways, and then with the Lord to shape our children to be who God created them already to become. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:34.399 And so, in focusing on their desires and who they were inside, I paid, I just felt like that that focus on the modification of their behavior, only God is part of the way there. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:37.360 And I was just hoping and praying that they would love the right things. 00:11:37.600 --> 00:11:40.559 And I think this is what God also desires for us. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:44.080 Um, God is after our hearts, not just our behavior. 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:54.159 So Psalm 51, 16, 17 says, God doesn't want our burnt offerings or our religious acts, he wants our hearts of repentance and love. 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:59.840 This is why God gives us freedom, so much freedom, so much choice, so much agency. 00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.320 Sometimes I wish God would just like zap me and then I just like do the right thing, right? 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:05.279 But he doesn't. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:06.960 What he's after is a relationship. 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:08.320 He doesn't want a robot. 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:12.159 He wants to be in relationship with his beloved child. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:17.120 God is never coercive, he's never gonna force you to do his bidding. 00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:28.960 He's always invitational, always engaging, he's wooing, he's always compelling us by his love, by his goodness, and his faithfulness and his kindness and all of the attributes that we know him to be. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:38.879 But we live in a world that is constantly competing for our hearts, it's constantly competing for our attention and our resources and our values and our time. 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:46.799 And so John gives us clear contrast in the next couple verses between the world and God and the different priorities, right? 00:12:46.960 --> 00:12:57.759 So the message paraphrase, which is so direct, Eugene Peterson's paraphrase, it puts it super bluntly, and he says, Don't love the world's ways, don't love the world's goods. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:01.279 Love of the world squeezes out the father, love for the father. 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:09.759 Practically everything that goes on in the world, wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important, has nothing to do with the father. 00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:11.840 It just isolates you from him. 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:16.960 The world and all of its wanting, wanting, wanting is on its way out. 00:13:17.120 --> 00:13:21.120 But whoever does what God wants is set for eternity. 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:33.200 In this passage, the word world doesn't just refer to the material goods or money, but it's about our attitudes, our values, our priorities, both external and internal. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:40.879 And so Apostle John isn't advocating that we just leave the world and go in a little commune or be in a monastery and reject the world. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:43.200 No, he's saying this is how you live with the world. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:45.759 This is how you battle the worldly cravings. 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:48.879 You center yourself on God's love for you. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:14:01.120 The world, the word world here is also the same Greek word that Jesus uses in Matthew 16, 26 when he said, um, what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul? 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:03.360 Is anything worth more than your soul? 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:09.519 Jesus points out that the stakes are incredibly high and has eternal consequences. 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:13.840 So John's warning us, don't just love, don't love the world, don't love the things of the world. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:14.399 Why? 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:15.519 For three reasons. 00:14:15.759 --> 00:14:16.960 It's not going to last. 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:18.639 You can't take it with you. 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:21.519 It separates us and isolates us from God. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:28.000 And third, it ultimately will not give you what your heart is most desperately longing for. 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:33.120 Pastor and writer Tim Keller said that the human heart is an idol factory. 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:44.639 And he defined an idol as anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you, what only God can give you. 00:14:44.879 --> 00:14:58.240 So it's when a good thing, a blessing, something good in our lives, our families, our relationships, uh, money, resources, our homes, our physical beauty, if you have that, you know, abilities, skills, brains, all the things. 00:14:58.399 --> 00:15:00.240 Everything we have comes from the Lord, right? 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:01.200 So all the things. 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:06.799 But it's when those things become the ultimate things that becomes hazardous to our souls. 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:17.919 We know from James 1:17 that every good and perfect gift is from above, that it comes down from us to from the Father of heavenly lights to us who does not change, like shifting shadows. 00:15:18.080 --> 00:15:21.840 So we want to be people who love the giver more than these good gifts. 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.840 And we know that God is so, so generous and so abundant with us. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:41.360 So we can be grateful, we can celebrate, we can enjoy the good stuff that He gives us, the blessings, but always with an awareness that it won't have the central place in our heart, and to guard ourselves against making the good thing the ultimate thing. 00:15:41.759 --> 00:15:47.360 So John identifies three types of cravings that are in danger of becoming ultimate things in us. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:58.639 The NIV translation calls them lusts, which kind of captures more of that raw kind of visceral greediness of the word that entangles us and entices us away from God. 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:04.159 So in our culture, I think this would come in the categories of sex, money, and power. 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:15.279 I mean, they kind of fit into the same three things that most people, if they're going to blow up their marriage or an institution or their political career or whatever, tends to come down to these three things. 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:19.919 And so the first is a craving for physical pleasure, the lust of the flesh. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:25.600 And this is about self-gratification, sexual desires, it's about comfort and luxury. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:29.360 It's the principle in our culture of, you know, if it feels good, do it. 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.200 If you want it, you go get it. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:37.440 Like there's just basically it's satiating whatever appetites, physical appetites we have. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:42.720 Um, and then the second one is for craving for accumulating material possessions. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:45.440 Um, the NIV calls it the lust of the eyes. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:47.679 It's when we see something and we want it. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:53.200 It's a materialism of coveting what we see and a jealousy for other people that have it. 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:55.440 And when we see it, we feel like we gotta have it. 00:16:55.519 --> 00:16:58.559 This is pretty much the Instagram of a life concept, right? 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:00.720 We see it, we see what they have, then we want it. 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:02.159 It's that comparison. 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:09.279 And so last summer for 4th of July, my husband and I were invited to a friend's house to watch the fireworks. 00:17:09.359 --> 00:17:12.480 And this friend lives in this huge house on top of a hill. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:14.559 Um, it's really more like a compound. 00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:15.839 It's just really fabulous. 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:20.960 And she had redone the whole place and it was beautiful, had 360 views of the fireworks, so it was stunning. 00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:31.039 Um and as we were driving away, I turned to my husband and I said, Wow, you know, I was a little green with envy, and I said, Wow, what would it be like to live in a house like that? 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:34.000 And he said, It'd be a lot to clean. 00:17:34.319 --> 00:17:43.599 And I was like, Yeah, true, but okay, he she probably has a cleaner, so I don't know how valid that is, but it burst the bubble for me, and I was like, You're right, I love our house. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:44.799 What was I thinking, right? 00:17:44.880 --> 00:18:00.799 You kind of almost kind of come to yourself, but it's that comparison, it's that it robs us of our contentment because we see somebody else that has more, they got the promotion, they have a nicer thing, whatever, they have a better relationship, whatever it is, it it draws us. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:04.160 Um, and that comparative mindset is that craving for more. 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:08.400 And the third one that John identifies is the pride in our achievements. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:18.240 Um, and Ivy calls it the pride of life, and this is the craving for status, for power, for admiration and control, for prestige, for impression management. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:20.319 We care a lot about what people think of us. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:23.359 And this one is a lot more subtle than the first two. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:36.079 I think for me as a first generation immigrant, as a Korean American, like this is almost embedded into my culture of um wanting to and being told that we must succeed. 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:45.599 Um, education is a super high value, achievement is a really high value, you keep climbing the ladder, and part of it is because we are trying to achieve, quote, the American dream, right? 00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:54.000 Um, to be at a certain place that doesn't feel like we've made it, but uh we know that that we've made it stage only lasts so long. 00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:55.920 Before then there's a next hill to climb. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:19:08.319 And you don't have to be an immigrant to know that there's always the next thing, the next thing, the next thing to go after, to hustle after, to control, to try to have people admire you for, and to be happy. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:14.160 And then there's just this constant drivenness towards more is so toxic to our soul. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:19.920 And uh here in the Silicon Valley, you know better than anyone else how these algorithms work. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:29.680 Like you guys create these things where you know this our social media feeds, our news, everything we see is constantly telling us what you have isn't enough. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:31.839 Who you are isn't enough. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:33.680 And that is just a lie. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.000 That is not what Jesus says. 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:48.160 Um, and we it keeps wanting us to compare our messy insides with people's perfect outsides, and we look like we're lacking, so then you know, it feeds us then here's what you need to you know match up, and it just keeps going on and on. 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:51.599 So, have you been struggling with any of these three cravings? 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:54.559 I know I have, and I do on a regular basis. 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:59.200 Um, and so if you also are struggling with these, then welcome to being human. 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:06.559 Since the beginning, since the beginning, our human nature has been tempted by cravings for the world's shiny things. 00:20:06.720 --> 00:20:10.240 This started with Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3:6. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:16.079 The woman saw that the tree was beautiful, its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:21.519 So she took the fruit, ate it, and then she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it too. 00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:23.279 Let's notice what happened here. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.960 One, she saw that the tree was beautiful, a craving for what she could see. 00:20:27.200 --> 00:20:30.559 Two, the fruit looked delicious, a craving for the physical appetite. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:31.839 It's a yummy treat. 00:20:32.160 --> 00:20:34.640 Three, oh, she wanted to be wise like God. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:39.599 She was craving the power and control and something to be something she was not. 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:47.920 This also then shows up in the New Testament really early in the book of Matthew, when we see Jesus being tempted by Satan in the wilderness. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:54.240 Jesus had been praying and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, so he's in a really vulnerable time, he's exhausted, he's starving. 00:20:54.400 --> 00:20:57.920 And here Satan appears to offer these three worldly cravings. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:21:01.759 He offers him bread to satisfy his hunger, physical comfort. 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:05.839 He offers a material wealth, everything you can see, this all can be yours, he says. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:10.319 Um and then third, he offers him an exercise of power. 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:13.200 Have the angels come down and save you, he says. 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:20.160 And Satan tries to tempt Jesus with the same three types of things that he uses on us, especially when we're vulnerable. 00:21:20.400 --> 00:21:22.720 So Jesus understands our struggles. 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:31.920 If you ever think, oh well, Jesus doesn't know, because you know he's God, no, he has also experienced and didn't give into temptation, but he's experienced the struggles of being human. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:38.160 It is part of our human condition that we get, bless you, that we get drawn into the lies about God. 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:47.359 Um and I think the bigger problem isn't just that we like the worldly things, is that we get drawn into these lies, these false narratives about what the quote good life looks like. 00:21:47.599 --> 00:21:53.839 Satan, who the Bible calls the father of lies and the deceiver, he's not just dangling these goodies in front of you. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:56.079 Um, he's planting seeds of doubt. 00:21:56.400 --> 00:21:59.759 He is trafficking in lies about the father and giving. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:03.440 You false narratives that isolate you away from God's love. 00:22:03.680 --> 00:22:08.000 Satan's lies to Eve is the same essential whispers that he uses on us. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:11.440 And maybe you've heard some of these whispers in some of your dark moments. 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:16.400 It's things like him saying, Hey, God doesn't really care about you. 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:18.480 He doesn't really love you. 00:22:18.799 --> 00:22:20.960 That thing you did, that is really awful. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:22.960 He's not gonna forgive you. 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:24.559 God's not enough. 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:27.200 You need to go get more for yourself. 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:29.119 Or you can't trust God. 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:31.440 Look at what he's not giving you. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:34.559 Or you can control your own life. 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:36.319 You can have what you want. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:39.119 Um you can biohack the whole thing. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:43.200 And ultimately, the lie is that you don't need God. 00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.920 So, what is the message the world has been telling you these days? 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:50.480 They're all versions of this. 00:22:50.720 --> 00:22:54.240 If I have X blank, I will be happy. 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:56.880 You can fill in what that blank is for you. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:58.880 But here's a few to try on. 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:01.440 If I have lots of money, I'll be happy. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:05.279 If I have the cool job and career I want, I'll be happy. 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:07.440 If I'm married, I'll be happy. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:11.920 Or if for those of you who are married, if my spouse changes, I'll be happy. 00:23:12.160 --> 00:23:15.519 You know, if people admire me and envy me, I'll be happy. 00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:20.640 If I can do whatever I want, however I want, wherever I want, then I will be happy. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:22.000 That is the lie. 00:23:22.319 --> 00:23:24.880 And so if I have blank, I'll be happy. 00:23:25.119 --> 00:23:28.160 This is this is the lie, but it's underneath our craving. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:29.680 The craving is just layer one. 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:34.400 Layer two is underneath what is the version of the good life you have bought into. 00:23:35.119 --> 00:23:44.319 Recently, um, I'm currently working as a leadership coach now, and recently I was coaching an Asian American woman, and she was struggling with overwork and burnout. 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:53.839 Um, and she we focused initially on a work-life balance, how to have better communication and boundaries with her supervisor, you know, things like that, important skills. 00:23:54.000 --> 00:24:04.000 But as we continued to coach and be with her, it was clear that there was something else going on underneath behind the hustle and the overwork and all of that. 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:05.519 There was this anxiety and stuff. 00:24:05.680 --> 00:24:13.599 So as I continued to work with her, eventually what came out was that she had put all this emotional weight attached to her work. 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:31.359 Um the work was representing status and her self-image and how she saw herself, how she wanted other people to see her as a successful professional, how she wanted her parents to feel glad about the American dream that she was living out for them to make their sacrifices worth it. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:35.920 Like it had a lot of emotional weight that had nothing to do with her job per se. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:44.799 So once she was able to identify the craving underneath the actual issue, she was able to have the courage to let go and to choose. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:55.920 Okay, I can have this kind of life, this hustle, the nonstop, the overwork, the exhaustion, um, or I can have this life, which is sustainable and I have time for myself and for my family and for the things that matter most. 00:24:56.160 --> 00:25:04.799 And I think it comes down to these choices, and we have to become really clear and honest with ourselves about what is the craving underneath the craving? 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:08.880 What is the lie that the world is telling about the good life? 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:12.079 Because we know everything in life is temporary. 00:25:12.160 --> 00:25:21.039 So if you get a new job, new car, whatever, it'll just satisfy you just for a little bit, and then there'll be that hunger for more, and then you'll go on more and more. 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:30.880 And so verse 18 reminds us that you can stop that, that whole craving lust, because anyone who does the what pleases God will live forever. 00:25:31.039 --> 00:25:32.000 That is the answer. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:34.400 Um, so how is it that he's calling us to live? 00:25:34.640 --> 00:25:43.599 When Jesus was asked what is the most important thing, he replied, The most important commandment is this listen, O Israel, the Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:48.799 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. 00:25:49.039 --> 00:25:52.000 The second is equally important: love your neighbor as yourself. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:54.559 No other commandment is greater than these. 00:25:54.880 --> 00:25:56.319 We were made to love God. 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:58.640 This is our gravity, this is our true north. 00:25:58.720 --> 00:26:07.519 And the further we're to get away from that center, the more we're gonna feel disconnected and distracted and struggle, chasing after the things that will never satisfy us. 00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:17.039 But when we use, when we allow Jesus' love to compel us, when we experience and taste and see his goodness, we'll be captured more and more by his love. 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:19.519 And everything else kind of will fall into place. 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:24.720 You seek the kingdom first, and then everything else falls into its rifle, rifle place. 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:28.079 So here's an example of what this might look like. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:35.599 And my daughter Sarah works from home in the city, and earlier this year she announced that she was gonna adopt a cat. 00:26:35.920 --> 00:26:37.119 And we said, What? 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:38.319 We are dog people. 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:40.000 Okay, dog people, yes. 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:41.200 Yes, thank you. 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:42.559 All right, cat people? 00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:45.119 Okay, we have some cat people, okay. 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:50.240 So, yeah, all right, so not to cause a uh you know a pet war, but we've always been dog people. 00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:52.079 We have a dog we love, best dog in the world. 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:52.880 And I was like, What? 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:53.839 You're allergic to cats. 00:26:54.000 --> 00:26:54.799 I'm allergic to cats. 00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:56.240 Why would you be getting a cat? 00:26:56.559 --> 00:26:58.480 She decided she's getting a cat. 00:26:58.640 --> 00:27:00.799 So meet Jojo, her cat. 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:02.400 Okay, yes. 00:27:02.480 --> 00:27:04.960 So the yes, she is cute. 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:07.440 Um, so but here's what I found fascinating. 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:12.480 In the six months that my daughter has had this cat, everything has changed about her life. 00:27:12.720 --> 00:27:16.079 She has now spending money on this cat, not on other things. 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:18.319 Um, this cat has everything. 00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:26.079 Um, it has, you know, this premium food, pet insurance, heating pads, it even has a bubbling water fountain with a sensor on it. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:29.119 I mean, it's kind of ridiculous, but also kind of cool. 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:31.440 Um she spends her time differently. 00:27:31.519 --> 00:27:37.119 In between meetings, she would be scrolling, and now she said, I don't scroll on social media much or on TikTok. 00:27:37.279 --> 00:27:38.640 I just want to be with Jojo. 00:27:38.720 --> 00:27:40.640 So I play with Jojo in between meetings. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:45.039 She doesn't go out at night, she hangs out with Jojo at night. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:50.960 Um, she's just reoriented her life towards this cat because she doesn't want to leave this cat alone. 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:54.799 Um so we see more pics of this cat than we do of our daughter. 00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:58.960 Um, and I was visiting her last month, and Sarah likes her room neat and clean. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:02.799 This there's cat fur everywhere, and she is okay with it. 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:05.519 I'm like, wow, this is such a transformation. 00:28:05.599 --> 00:28:07.279 It's changed her relationships. 00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:12.000 Um she now is bonded with coworkers, they also share cat pics, it's a thing. 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:17.279 And then she now, when friends visit her, she tells them, I have a cat, you're gonna have to love my cat. 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:20.079 So look at this picture, how much she loves her cat. 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:22.319 So, yeah, so she provides. 00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:26.799 I I did ask her permission for the picture, but this is this is their relationship. 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:28.000 She loves this cat. 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:30.079 She's become a cat evangelist. 00:28:30.240 --> 00:28:32.880 Several of her friends now want cats of their own. 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:40.319 And so basically, my daughter's love for Jojo has transformed her from a dog person to a cat person. 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:51.680 Because her love is like it's a magnet, it's pulling her away from these other things, the other priorities, into something that she wants more than TikTok or other things. 00:28:51.759 --> 00:29:04.880 And so I think in a similar way, because we are what we love, um, we will consciously and subconsciously orient our lives toward you know what makes us what pleases our souls, what satisfies us. 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:06.960 So, what makes us want to love God more? 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:08.480 I mean, you guys can give a million reasons. 00:29:08.559 --> 00:29:10.799 We have a million reasons, but here's just a few. 00:29:11.039 --> 00:29:12.960 We love God because he first loved us. 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:18.720 He died for us, he saved us, he chose us from the very beginning of time before you were even created. 00:29:18.960 --> 00:29:21.200 He adopted us as his sons and daughters. 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:25.200 He is our creator, our provider of everything we are and everything we have. 00:29:25.279 --> 00:29:28.720 And I think in summation it would be Acts 17, 28. 00:29:28.960 --> 00:29:32.079 In him we live and move and have our being. 00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:33.839 He is everything. 00:29:34.079 --> 00:29:38.799 So, how do we then orient ourselves toward this love and have this become our center? 00:29:39.359 --> 00:29:45.039 Well, one of the first questions I ask new coaching client is what is your here and what is your there? 00:29:45.200 --> 00:29:47.920 And this question gets at where are they stuck? 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:50.720 Where are they not being able to move forward? 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:54.160 Um, and what is the issue they need to work on to get to there. 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:56.640 The there is the life they envision for themselves. 00:29:56.720 --> 00:30:00.400 It's the vision of the good life they have for what they want. 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:02.559 And here's the gap in between, right? 00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:06.000 And so I want to ask you today, where is your here with God? 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:08.960 And where's the there that you'd like to be at? 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:14.079 I'd like to propose that the there is that we put God at the center and we make him our anchor. 00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:17.359 So here's some self-examination questions for you to consider. 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:21.440 Um, and these are on your sermon notes so you can look at them later as well. 00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:22.880 What are your loves? 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:24.720 Um, and where's God on that list? 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:27.359 What's the worldly things that you've been craving lately? 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:29.039 And what lies about the good life? 00:30:29.200 --> 00:30:31.039 Are you tempted to believe? 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:34.880 What are how are your desires shaping your heart and your values, your time? 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:35.359 You know what? 00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:47.440 A kind of an interesting little exercise you can do next time you watch, you know, any media piece, you can look at and ask yourself, hmm, what is this thing telling, saying is defining a good life? 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:50.799 Like what is this thing trying to say about what the good life looks like? 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:54.799 If you start doing that little exercise, the lies will start becoming obvious. 00:30:54.960 --> 00:31:00.400 It's gonna be mostly about stuff we have, stuff we can own, stuff we can step over with people to get. 00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:07.200 I mean, it's it's going to be obvious that's not gonna sound very godly or things that Jesus wants to orient our lives towards. 00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:16.240 We're gonna be spending a little time in communion in a few minutes, and I want you to use this time to do that self-reflection and to think, okay, where am I at? 00:31:16.400 --> 00:31:18.559 Where is my here with God and where is the there? 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:25.039 And allow your desire to start pulling you, allow God to start pulling you toward the life that he envisions for you. 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:28.799 So it's like Google Maps, when you make a wrong turn, what does it say? 00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:33.200 It says, recalibrating now, make a U-turn if possible, right? 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:37.599 Well, with the Holy Spirit, the U-turn is always possible in your life. 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:40.319 We call this repentance and confession. 00:31:40.799 --> 00:31:44.799 And God welcomes this, invites us to always make this turn. 00:31:44.960 --> 00:31:49.039 When we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us of all unrighteousness. 00:31:49.200 --> 00:31:50.319 1 John 1 9. 00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:52.079 You guys studied that the first week. 00:31:52.400 --> 00:32:04.079 God will always meet us exactly where we are, where you are right now, with his grace, with his forgiveness, with his love, with his delight, no shame, no judgment, no blame, just where you are now. 00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:07.680 Um and we know that he wants to be with us. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:17.359 Best-selling author James Clear wrote Atomic Habits on the premise that every action you take is a vote for the type of person you want to become. 00:32:17.599 --> 00:32:26.799 So if you want to become someone who loves God and loves people, then you're gonna need to orient your habits and your life towards that goal. 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:28.960 So here are some practical steps. 00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:37.279 And I apologize, I don't have them on a slide, but um, hopefully one of these will pop at you and you'll go, okay, that's the one I want to do, and want to start here. 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:38.400 These are bite-sized. 00:32:38.480 --> 00:32:39.680 We start with bite-sized habits. 00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:46.319 We always want to do things that we can do, not set ourselves up for failure to try to do a lot more that we can't do. 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:47.920 So let's start here with bite size. 00:32:48.079 --> 00:32:51.759 Remember, what you feed will grow in your life, and what you starve will die. 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:57.759 So habits you don't want to indulge in and stop craving, it will die if you stop feeding it, right? 00:32:57.920 --> 00:33:02.400 So we so first habit, it would be to ask God to increase our love for Him. 00:33:02.880 --> 00:33:04.000 We need God's help. 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:05.200 It's kind of ironic. 00:33:05.279 --> 00:33:07.839 We can't even love God without God's help. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.839 Like it is a gift of faith, it's a gift from the Holy Spirit, right? 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:14.160 So if we want to love God more, tell him. 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:16.079 Tell him I want to love you more. 00:33:16.319 --> 00:33:22.160 Or maybe in my really, really honest moments, I may even be like, God, I want to want to love you more. 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:26.000 Like I'm not even there yet, but I want to want to surrender more. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:29.519 And you can have those very honest conversations with God. 00:33:29.759 --> 00:33:33.200 The second thing is to pay attention to your triggers for your cravings. 00:33:33.440 --> 00:33:49.440 Sometimes when I'm, you know, when I'm extra hungry, where you're tired, where you're lonely, where, you know, something really bad has happened, we're gonna be more vulnerable to those subtle whispers from Satan telling us of what things to crave and what things to chase. 00:33:49.599 --> 00:33:51.119 So just be aware of what those things are. 00:33:51.279 --> 00:33:55.119 Make your unconscious stuff a little more conscious, surface those things. 00:33:55.200 --> 00:33:57.279 Um, and understand like what is the craving? 00:33:57.440 --> 00:33:58.720 Why am I having this craving? 00:33:58.799 --> 00:33:59.839 Get curious about it. 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:00.720 Don't judge it. 00:34:00.880 --> 00:34:02.240 Go, okay, I'm having this craving. 00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:03.519 Okay, what is that about? 00:34:03.680 --> 00:34:11.920 And and as you explore it, you'll see there's a message underneath, a message that says what's gonna bring you life, and it's and then you can pivot. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:13.679 Oh, that message, not true. 00:34:13.840 --> 00:34:17.199 I know God loves me, I know he has my best interest, I know he's for me. 00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:21.039 Then you start doing the third thing, which is to marinate in God's word. 00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:22.639 God's word is truth. 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:27.760 And Jesus battled the temptations when Satan came at him, he battled it with the word of God. 00:34:27.920 --> 00:34:32.800 So start memorizing really simple verses, like the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. 00:34:32.960 --> 00:34:33.840 Psalm 23. 00:34:34.000 --> 00:34:37.119 Or there's therefore no condemnation in Christ, Romans 8. 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:44.320 Whatever verses speak to you, write them down, put in your phone, put it on a pretty picture somewhere, um, just to remind yourself. 00:34:44.480 --> 00:34:52.559 We need these constant messages because the world is relentless with their messages, so we need to dial up the messages that we hear from the Lord. 00:34:52.639 --> 00:34:55.199 And I use the word marinade in scripture because it's what it's like. 00:34:55.280 --> 00:34:57.840 You need to tenderize our hearts. 00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:01.280 Um, on my homepage, this is a little bit silly, but it helps me. 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:06.880 I have a plug-in that opens up every time and it greets you, and you're supposed to put in, you know, hello Carolyn. 00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:11.519 But I I changed Carolyn to um hello, beloved child of God. 00:35:11.760 --> 00:35:23.360 And I have this message there, it it pops up all the time because I'm on my computer, and I need to be reminded that before I am anything else, I am a beloved child of God. 00:35:23.519 --> 00:35:30.480 And that informs then how I answer emails, it informs my anxieties about any number of things. 00:35:30.639 --> 00:35:37.199 Um, it informs my perfectionism that thank God I'm in a recovery for, but it still informs that sense of not enough. 00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:39.519 I remember, oh no, I'm a beloved child of God. 00:35:39.679 --> 00:35:42.400 I'm not enough, but God is more than enough. 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:49.440 Um, so whatever helps you, that's a little tool that helps me, but whatever helps you, immerse yourself in God's word and God's truth. 00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:52.559 The fourth is to practice gratitude and contentment. 00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:58.639 If you dial down the comparison with the world and with other things, you can dial up your gratitude. 00:35:58.880 --> 00:36:02.159 They really kind of um balance out each other, right? 00:36:02.239 --> 00:36:08.960 So the anecdote to uh having being having comparison and competitiveness is actually to just dial up your gratitude. 00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:12.159 Thank God for all the things, so many good things God's given you. 00:36:12.320 --> 00:36:18.480 Put it, have a gratitude journal, put in a note, but just rest your heart on all that God is and what he's given. 00:36:18.639 --> 00:36:22.400 And the fifth thing is to invite the Holy Spirit into every part of your life. 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:23.679 And that is about prayer. 00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:26.960 Prayer isn't so much because God needs our information. 00:36:27.119 --> 00:36:29.440 He already knows, he knows all of it, right? 00:36:29.599 --> 00:36:30.639 He's omniscient. 00:36:30.719 --> 00:36:31.840 Um, so he knows it. 00:36:31.920 --> 00:36:36.639 But it's really, prayer is really about giving God access to your heart and to your mind. 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:49.840 So invite the Holy Spirit all day long, as you drive to work, as you hang out, as you take breaks, as you um play, whatever it is you do, invite God in to do that thing with you and to notice when God shows up. 00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:51.920 So you just show up and God will meet you there. 00:36:52.000 --> 00:36:57.519 You will you will get to taste more of God as you become more and more aware of God's presence in your life. 00:36:57.599 --> 00:36:59.360 So we invite him in and show up. 00:36:59.440 --> 00:37:01.920 And then finally, ask a friend to help you. 00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:03.840 Stay centered on Jesus. 00:37:04.159 --> 00:37:09.599 As a former small groups pastor for a long time, I just have to say, you know, we need relationships. 00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:11.920 We cannot follow Jesus alone. 00:37:12.079 --> 00:37:20.159 So hopefully, in your small group or in a trusted Christian friend, you have someone who knows you and is known by you, where you can share the struggles. 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:22.880 Hey, I'm really wrestling with craving this. 00:37:23.039 --> 00:37:29.119 And I know it's not good for me, but this, you know, help me, pray for me, uh, remind me, hold me accountable. 00:37:29.440 --> 00:37:32.159 We need those kinds of relationships in our lives. 00:37:32.239 --> 00:37:35.760 And so hopefully you have people that kind of stir that up in you. 00:37:36.000 --> 00:37:44.880 Um, and we know emotions are contagious, so if you're with someone who's praising God and who's living in a similar way that you want to go, you're gonna be influenced by that. 00:37:45.039 --> 00:37:46.800 And conversely, the other thing. 00:37:46.960 --> 00:37:51.679 So we want to make sure that you have a community around you that centers you on Christ. 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:57.920 And I'm gonna invite the worship team back up as we prepare for a time of worship and communion. 00:37:58.079 --> 00:38:07.199 And communion is such a great physical, tangible way for us to engage in this time of confession and repentance. 00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:20.639 So wherever you are with God, whatever your here is today, in this moment, I want to invite you to take time as you take the bread and the wine, as you remember Christ's sacrifice on the cross for us and the life he offers us. 00:38:20.880 --> 00:38:39.039 I hope you'll take a moment to confess the things that are tangling you up right now, that are have kind of pushed God off-center and reorient yourself back to your true north, to God's love, to the love that nothing can take away, and to the life that is eternal forever. 00:38:39.199 --> 00:38:47.280 And if you would like to confess to someone else, there's a prayer team in the back that I invite you to go and be prayed for and be prayed with. 00:38:47.440 --> 00:38:52.800 Um, and to just allow God's presence to minister to you as we sing these songs and these words. 00:38:53.039 --> 00:38:56.800 If you feel like I want this to be true for me, then sing them out loud. 00:38:57.039 --> 00:38:58.800 If you're not quite there yet, it's okay. 00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:01.840 You can just, I don't, you can that's all say, give me Jesus, right? 00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:05.199 And then you kind of go, Yes, I do want that. 00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:06.079 I'm not there yet. 00:39:06.239 --> 00:39:07.039 God help me. 00:39:07.199 --> 00:39:08.079 Help me, help me. 00:39:08.239 --> 00:39:09.119 Like that is the prayer. 00:39:09.280 --> 00:39:12.239 That is a prayer that God will always, always answer. 00:39:12.400 --> 00:39:13.679 So I'll close. 00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:15.360 Um, oh, one last thing. 00:39:15.519 --> 00:39:20.480 I just want you to know, reorienting your life to God's love is not a one and done. 00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:22.000 That would be much easier. 00:39:22.159 --> 00:39:35.039 It is a daily, daily act of picking up our cross, of following Jesus, of battling our cravings, and choosing, choosing to set our hearts, our intention, our desire on the only one who can satisfy us. 00:39:35.280 --> 00:39:36.719 So this final quote from St. 00:39:36.880 --> 00:39:43.360 Augustine says, We were made for you, God, and our hearts are restless until we find our rest in you. 00:39:43.599 --> 00:39:44.880 Let's pray. 00:39:46.800 --> 00:39:55.840 Lord Jesus, may we find our rest, our peace, our hope, our joy, our love, our freedom, all the things, Lord, that make life worth living. 00:39:56.000 --> 00:40:01.440 May we find all those things in you who never changes, who are faithful through all time. 00:40:01.840 --> 00:40:03.519 God, we honor you. 00:40:03.679 --> 00:40:06.960 We want to give you glory, but Lord, we get in the way sometimes. 00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:10.320 And you know our hearts, you know each and every heart here. 00:40:10.480 --> 00:40:14.400 You know what entangles us, you know how messy our insights are. 00:40:14.639 --> 00:40:19.280 And yet, and yet, Jesus, you call us your own, you call us beloved. 00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:22.719 So, Lord, meet us in this space in the next few moments. 00:40:22.880 --> 00:40:26.239 God, thank you for the cross, thank you for your sacrifice. 00:40:26.719 --> 00:40:37.760 God, change us, change our hearts, reorient us back to center, to back to being anchored in your love and knowing that that is the most important thing about us and about our lives. 00:40:37.920 --> 00:40:40.000 So, God, work in our hearts. 00:40:40.239 --> 00:40:42.719 We need you, we want more of you, Lord. 00:40:42.880 --> 00:40:44.719 And we submit ourselves to you. 00:40:44.800 --> 00:40:46.159 In Christ's name we pray. 00:40:46.400 --> 00:40:47.039 Amen. 00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:50.239 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:40:50.400 --> 00:40:54.800 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:40:55.039 --> 00:40:57.119 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:40:57.280 --> 00:41:03.199 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.