WEBVTT 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:34.479 Morning, Church of the Grove. 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:39.119 I want to say welcome to everybody that's in the room with us this morning at Walnut Grove. 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:43.920 Would y'all help me welcome everybody that's watching online this morning? 00:00:44.320 --> 00:00:45.439 Appreciate them. 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:52.320 Now you're going to help me welcome the Social Circle Campus. 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:56.880 We're broadcasting live down the social circle for the sermon this morning. 00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:58.399 And so would y'all join me again? 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:01.039 Let's give it up big time for social circle. 00:01:03.840 --> 00:01:14.480 And listen, I want to say to those of you that are in social circle that were expecting to hear Pastor Nathan speak to you this morning, I am so sorry that you have me. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:16.400 He'll be back next week, I promise. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:22.239 I know many of you are partial to him, as you should be, because he's your pastor and he's incredible. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:27.359 And so excited about what God is going to do in this brand new series this morning. 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:46.319 I was with a leader that leads a group of churches that I'm a part of, and he was complimenting our church and how we were able to pivot and what we've been able to do with our online services, our online gatherings, and being able to connect with people digitally. 00:01:46.799 --> 00:01:52.480 And so for a second, I thought, well, yeah, yeah, we've we've got it going on. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:55.840 And then I was reminded that I had nothing to do with it. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:02:12.800 That it was it was it was people like Pastor Nathan and Brandon and people like Keith and Robin and Jackie and Everett and and Jeff and those guys that are back there, Dwayne, that have made it possible. 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:19.360 The people that have worked so hard and had the creativity and had the ability to do. 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:21.840 And here's here's the lesson. 00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:31.520 Anything that you've uh that you've attained in life, when you start thinking it's all about you and that you had the ability, you are sadly mistaken. 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:33.919 It's all about the people that are around you. 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:41.199 First of all, it's all about God and what He has provided, but but it's all about the people that are around you. 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:58.319 I think about the things that that have the people and the things that have influenced my life, and it's and it's people that have come around me, it's people that have that have supported me, and it's the people that I have put myself in community with, and I owe it to those people. 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:06.319 Anything that I've attained, anything that is good in my life is because God has put people around me. 00:03:07.120 --> 00:03:17.919 Jesus said in Matthew 18, 20, he said, listen, he said, where two or three people are gathered, I am there with them in their midst. 00:03:18.159 --> 00:03:23.919 Where two or three people are gathered in my name, there I am among them. 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:37.520 We begin a brand new series today, Finding Freedom about biblical community and about what happens when we as a community gather together in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:43.199 He promises to be with us and he promises to do something that's amazing. 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:44.479 He does. 00:03:44.960 --> 00:03:50.400 And some of us might think and might push back, well, what if I'm, isn't God with me when I'm alone? 00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:52.639 Isn't God with me individually? 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:53.840 And yes, he is. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:57.199 He promises he will never leave you nor forsake you. 00:03:57.360 --> 00:04:15.680 But he also, listen, he when he saves us, when Jesus saved you, he saved you from sin, he saved you from death, he saved you from the grave, he saved you from eternal separation from your heavenly father. 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:19.040 But he also saved you for something. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:22.800 He saved you for to be an influence in this world. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:37.519 He saved you for community, he saved you for expanding the gospel, he saved you for pushing back darkness, he saved you for things, and some of those things that he saved you for only happen in biblical community. 00:04:38.480 --> 00:04:56.000 And so that's what we want to do over the next four weeks is emphasize this concept of biblical community, what God has saved us for and what he wants to accomplish through not just us individually, but through us as a community and collectively. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:04:58.480 He wants to save us for things. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:04.240 And so one of the things that we do to facilitate biblical community is we we do community groups. 00:05:04.399 --> 00:05:09.199 We also we also have biblical community in our serve teams. 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:14.959 There's multiple ways that you embrace biblical community, but it all comes down to this framework. 00:05:15.360 --> 00:05:18.079 And we use the ESPN, right? 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:20.160 The ESPN is there's no sports. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:22.160 It's not good for sports right now. 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:26.000 But it is good for a framework for community. 00:05:26.480 --> 00:05:27.600 Encouragement. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:34.160 When I came across this, I stopped with encouragement, but I added another E-word, eating. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:35.920 Encouragement and eating. 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:41.439 I was hanging out with a couple of guys from my community group Friday night, and one of them was really honest. 00:05:41.600 --> 00:05:43.839 He said, I can tell you why I come to community group. 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:45.120 He said, for the food. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:48.000 He said, I love you guys, but I come to eat. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:50.160 Encouragement and eating. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:52.319 We also open up scripture. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:56.079 We invest and pour the word of God in each other's lives. 00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:56.959 We pray together. 00:05:57.040 --> 00:05:57.920 We pray for one another. 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:00.000 We pray for the mission that God's called us to. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:04.399 But we also are there for taking next steps. 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:07.040 That's the framework for biblical community. 00:06:07.199 --> 00:06:11.439 Encouragement and eating, scripture, prayer, and next steps. 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:14.480 God wants to do something amazing in our lives. 00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:15.360 Here's what I believe. 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:23.680 I believe that God has put something within each of you, and within each of us that is beyond what we could do alone. 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:26.319 It is vision and it is ministry. 00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:34.720 It is something that will expand the kingdom, take the gospel beyond us, and it's something bigger than us. 00:06:34.879 --> 00:06:41.920 And it will only happen when we engage in the kind of community that God leads us to. 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:55.439 He wants to change our marriages, he wants to change our family, he wants to impact our neighborhoods, he wants to impact our city, our community, our nation, ultimately in the world. 00:06:55.600 --> 00:06:59.279 And listen, and he you you think, here's what we think. 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:02.319 God can't use little low-me. 00:07:03.839 --> 00:07:04.720 Let me tell you something. 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:09.519 God can not only use you, He wants to use you. 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:13.920 But here's here there's one thing missing for many of us. 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:19.839 One thing that's missing for us to have the kind of influence that God wants us to have. 00:07:20.720 --> 00:07:24.560 And it's the right relationships around you. 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:32.560 One thing missing for God to accomplish the dream that He's put within your heart. 00:07:32.879 --> 00:07:39.680 The one thing that God wants to use to give you the vision that He's put within your heart. 00:07:39.839 --> 00:07:48.639 Sometimes when you lay your head down on your pillow and you stare at the ceiling fan, you dream about things and God puts things in your mind and in your heart. 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:55.519 The one thing missing is the people that He wants to put around you that you need to step into. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:08:06.480 And here's what I want you to understand this over the next four weeks and this morning is you'll never do all God wants you to do without the right people around you. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:11.360 And when I was praying over this morning, praying over this this morning, I also wrote the word become. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:17.040 You'll never become all God wants you to become without the right people around you. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:17.920 We go back. 00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:19.040 I know you're gonna push back. 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.360 Well, don't rush, don't all I need is God. 00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:25.759 I mean, I mean, we even sing songs that say Christ is enough. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:29.120 Yes, Christ is enough for your salvation. 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:36.480 Remember, you're saved from sin, from death, from eternal separation, but you're saved for things. 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:41.759 And some of those things happen when you have the right relationships around you. 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:45.039 As a matter of fact, God exists in community. 00:08:45.279 --> 00:08:47.360 We just sang about it. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:54.559 God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, He exists in community. 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:58.159 And he's created us for community. 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:02.559 He wants us to realize our potential and what he and what he wants to accomplish. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:07.600 And we talk about that a lot around here at Church at the Grove, that what we are a family. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:09.279 We are a family. 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:11.679 We are connected to one another. 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:17.519 We are more than just a group of people that gather together on Sunday mornings. 00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:26.399 There's a whole nother 167 hours in the week, and God has created us to experience family and community. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:29.039 Genesis 2.18. 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:37.440 I mean, we go all the way back to creation, where God began everything and he creates Adam in the garden. 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:45.919 And Genesis 2.18 says that the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone. 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:49.120 I will make a helper fit for him. 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:53.360 Why is it not good for man to be alone? 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.720 Because he will never find his car keys. 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:01.360 Or load the dishwasher correctly. 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:07.279 Or find his way to where he's going without help. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:09.120 He needs help, right? 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:11.759 Ecclesiastes, Solomon says this. 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:18.320 Ecclesiastes 4, 9 and 10, two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.960 For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:26.159 But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up. 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:40.399 Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 32, 30, he says, How could one have chased a thousand and two have put 10,000 to flight unless their rock has sold them and the Lord has given them up? 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:46.320 He says, two is not just better than one, two is ten times as good as one. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:48.960 But the opposite is also true. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.240 It's not about having the right people around you. 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:58.960 It's understanding if you don't have the right people around you and you have the wrong people around you, they will pull you down. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:04.080 The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, 33, he says, Do not be deceived. 00:11:04.240 --> 00:11:07.840 Bad company ruins good morals. 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:11.919 That's a verse for you to memorize with your kids, right? 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:16.720 Proverbs 13, 20, back to the wisdom of Solomon. 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:22.639 Whoever walks with the wise grows wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:26.000 That's one that we have preached our kids a lot. 00:11:26.320 --> 00:11:30.080 And so there's this key principle I learned years ago. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:34.480 I went to Promise Keepers in 1994 and I heard a guy by the name of John Maxwell. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:39.120 He said the two things that will shape the trajectory of your life more than anything else. 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:46.080 It's the people that you surround yourself and what you read, what you invest in your life. 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:49.600 And so listen, you think about it. 00:11:50.399 --> 00:12:03.519 If you want to look at where you are, and maybe why you've gotten there, how you ended up there, and you want to look forward to where you want to be, you need to think about the five key relationships around you in your life. 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:06.159 And you need to make sure they're the right people. 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:19.519 And regardless of your age, I'll think about young people, but if you if you want to have a downward trajectory, then you surround yourself with the five people that will drag you down and influence you in a wrong direction. 00:12:19.840 --> 00:12:39.200 You want you want to be encouraged in your marriage and in your family and your key relationships, then you surround yourself with five couples that will encourage you, that will lift you up in prayer, open up the word of God with you, speak truth into your life, and help you take the next steps that you need to take in your life. 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:46.879 And if you want to self-destruct and you want to fall apart, then you just pay no attention to who you allow in your inner circle. 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:49.840 And here's the big idea for this morning. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:51.840 Here's what you need to understand. 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:59.360 When the right people gather for the right reasons, God is there and he will do the right things. 00:12:59.840 --> 00:13:01.360 I'm gonna say it again. 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:08.720 When the right people gather together for the right reasons, God is there and he does the right things. 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:16.639 And if you're gonna follow along in scripture with me this morning, we're gonna be in 1 Samuel 14 for our primary text. 00:13:17.840 --> 00:13:22.080 Let me talk about the context of this section of scripture. 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:27.039 God's people has been delivered out of Egypt. 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:39.120 They've gone through a period where they were led by what were called judges and just ungodly leadership, and they are begging for a king. 00:13:39.279 --> 00:13:50.399 And God wants to set up a different type of kingdom, a different type of community, a different type of family where he can be their king. 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:56.080 But he finally gives in to their demand and he says, okay, I'm gonna give you a king. 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:02.879 And the first king that God gives Israel is named Saul. 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:05.200 His name is Saul. 00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:09.440 And I'm just gonna tell you straight up that Saul really didn't have it together. 00:14:09.679 --> 00:14:14.960 I mean, on the outside he looked like what a leader should look like. 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:35.679 I mean, he was handsome, he he had a probably uh an enthusiastic personality, he had some leadership gifts in his life, but he lacked the inner character and the godliness to lead God's people the way that God wanted to lead them. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:49.759 Listen, to the point that we find them in this story in 1 Samuel 14, they are hiding in caves, afraid and fearful, because of the Philistine army. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:59.279 They are defeated, and it's not the way that God created his people to live, he created his people for victory. 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:01.919 As a matter of fact, he promised them victory. 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:09.440 If you will obey me, you will be blessed and you will live victorious. 00:15:09.919 --> 00:15:20.480 But here's God's people hiding in caves, defeated, while the Philistine army lords over them and oppresses them. 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.440 It's not how God meant for them to live. 00:15:25.600 --> 00:15:31.600 And so here we find ourselves in the story with three main characters in this part. 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:44.159 One is King Saul, the second is his son Jonathan, and the third is a nameless young man that is just simply known as the armor bearer in the story. 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:45.200 Let's read. 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:45.919 Verse one. 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:56.000 It says, One day Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who carried his armor, Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:58.480 But he did not tell his father. 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:00.720 Why did Jonathan not tell his father? 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.879 Because he knew that his father would not respond. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:14.480 He knew, listen, Jonathan knew that his dad lacked the moral integrity and the character to lead his people. 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:16.720 And Jonathan was not satisfied. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:22.000 See, we know if you read the whole story, you know that Saul is not necessarily a good king. 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:23.840 He's not a good guy. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:26.080 He's not the best father. 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:31.279 And so Jonathan had something that was missing from Saul. 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:41.440 He had this understanding that God had his back, that he was created for something more, that God was good to his word and his promises were true. 00:16:41.919 --> 00:16:50.559 And so Jonathan said, I will not spend my life hiding in a cave when I know that God gives us the victory. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:52.799 He said, I'm not going to live in fear. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.279 I'm not going to live with anxiety. 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:56.720 I'm not going to hide. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:00.960 I know that God has something better in store for our people. 00:17:01.200 --> 00:17:05.279 We cannot continue to cower in fear and anxiety. 00:17:06.480 --> 00:17:11.359 And for some of us today, we're faced with the same thing. 00:17:13.119 --> 00:17:18.240 We're struggling, not with just the circumstances of our present world. 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:24.319 We're struggling with the generational issues that Jonathan struggled with. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:32.160 We're struggling with the dysfunction of our family and generational sin that we've inherited. 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:35.200 Let me give you some news. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:37.440 Here's the good news and the bad news. 00:17:38.319 --> 00:17:39.680 All in one sentence. 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:43.279 There is no such thing as a perfect family. 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:45.440 There's not. 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:48.400 There's no such thing as a perfect family. 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:55.759 Now, when you see a perfect family behaving as if they are perfect, they are simply putting on a big act. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:03.599 Because behind the scenes, there's some hurts, there's some habits, and there's some hang-ups. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:31.519 And there's something that this broken world couldn't fix, and was inherited because of sin and because of this broken world, and because even in the best families, if you sit down and get to know people in the kind of community we're talking about, you will hear stories of their family and brokenness that has led to hurts and habits and hangups and fear and some anxiety and some issues. 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:38.960 And so that's why many of us are in need of finding freedom. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:44.079 And the reality is we won't find freedom just isolated. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:55.119 We will find freedom that God wants us to live in and walk in and expand his gospel in in the kind of community that we're talking about over these four weeks. 00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:58.160 Finding freedom. 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:04.400 When the right people gather together for the right reasons, God is there and he does the right things. 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:11.279 And see, there's there's a few relational principles I want you to understand as we read this story. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:16.319 And the first one is this the right people help us navigate obstacles and temptation. 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:20.559 The right people help us navigate obstacles and temptations. 00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:23.920 Look at what it says in verse 4, this chapter 14, 1 Samuel. 00:19:24.079 --> 00:19:34.640 Within the passage by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag, circle that on one side, and a rocky crag on the other side. 00:19:34.720 --> 00:19:37.359 Now I'm reading out of the English Standard Version. 00:19:37.440 --> 00:19:46.720 And in the English Standard Version, they both, both of these phrases say rocky crag, but they are two separate Hebrew words. 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:54.880 One is bozez, which means slippery, and the other one is senna, which means rocky or thorny. 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.359 And here's what Samuel finds out. 00:19:59.519 --> 00:20:09.039 Hey, when I am obeying God, when I am trusting God, there is still going to be obstacles and temptations thrown in my path. 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:11.839 There are going to be slippery slopes. 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:16.960 There's going to be rocky paths that we have to navigate in our life. 00:20:17.200 --> 00:20:18.880 It's not going to be easy. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:21.680 We live in a broken world. 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.599 It's never going to be easy. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:26.799 Think about what you had to endure in your life. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:28.160 Think about what's happened. 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:31.519 Maybe for you it's generational issues. 00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:33.359 There's been temptations. 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:34.559 There's been addiction. 00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:37.519 There's been sin issues in your life. 00:20:37.920 --> 00:20:40.640 There's been dysfunction in your family. 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:42.480 And you've inherited some things. 00:20:42.559 --> 00:20:46.640 And maybe it's not activity or behavior. 00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:48.960 Maybe it's just a broken heart. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.359 And there's pain and there's hurt. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:21:07.680 Let me tell you, the enemy wants to take the rocky pathways and the slippery slopes and to use them to enslave you to those generational sins, those addictions, and those dysfunctions. 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:14.880 You just think about 2,000 and 20. 00:21:15.920 --> 00:21:29.440 Matter of fact, one of my friends, one of those guys that's been in my life that's an encourager and keeps me accountable, and we for 30 years, we talk on a regular basis and we ask each other questions like, hey, how's your time with God going? 00:21:30.559 --> 00:21:35.519 How are you guarding what goes into your mind and what you look at and what you see? 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:37.039 And we've kept each other accountable. 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:38.079 He knows everything about me. 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:39.200 I know everything about him. 00:21:39.359 --> 00:21:41.200 He texted me just a few weeks ago. 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:43.599 He said, Man, how are you doing with all this COVID stuff? 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:45.359 And I sent him this picture. 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:53.519 There it is. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:55.599 I sent him this picture. 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:59.839 Your pastor in 2019, and you're pastor in 2019. 00:22:01.839 --> 00:22:05.599 I thought it was gonna be way funnier than it than it is. 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:08.480 But you know what we could insert? 00:22:09.039 --> 00:22:14.400 We could insert parenting, healthcare workers, first responders, anybody else. 00:22:14.559 --> 00:22:16.240 That's how we feel about this year. 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:18.799 You think of what the enemy's thrown at us this year. 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:28.720 You think of COVID-19 and racial tension and the issues we have and all of that intellectual year. 00:22:29.119 --> 00:22:38.000 The enemy wants to dictate our lives according to his plan. 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:46.000 And he wants to divide us and distract us and disrupt us from his mission. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:55.119 The right person the right leader place. 00:22:55.599 --> 00:22:58.480 And all your problems are gonna be solved. 00:23:07.440 --> 00:23:16.559 It's about dependence on God and dependence on people that will help us navigate the obstacles and the difficulties and the temptations. 00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:22.319 And listen, the enemy will throw slipper slippery slopes and rocky paths in your way. 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:25.119 And here's something I want you to know this morning. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:31.200 Quote a pastor named Chris Hodges, who says this. 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:37.440 He said, Life change happens through a process with the right relationship. 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:39.680 Let me say that again. 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:42.480 Matter of fact, let's read that out loud together. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:44.559 I don't want you to miss this. 00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:48.799 I want us to make sure we don't just gloss over what we're talking about here. 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:50.000 Let's let's let's read it together. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:51.119 One, two, three. 00:23:51.359 --> 00:23:55.599 Life change happens through a process with the right relationship. 00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:57.359 Hey, listen, social circle. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:58.960 I didn't hear them, okay? 00:23:59.119 --> 00:24:00.079 So we're gonna do it again. 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:02.880 Both campuses together, all of Walton County's gonna hear it. 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:04.079 Surrounding counties. 00:24:04.240 --> 00:24:04.960 Let's say it again. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:09.279 Life change happens through a process with the right relationship. 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:14.640 I want you to, I want you to just kind of rest on this for a second. 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:16.640 Because I know the pushback. 00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.200 The pushback is hey, I'm I'm I'm okay. 00:24:19.680 --> 00:24:21.519 I'm putting my faith in Jesus Christ. 00:24:21.759 --> 00:24:23.519 I have trusted in him. 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:30.160 I've received the gift of salvation and rush. 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:31.119 I'm free. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:32.880 I've put my faith in Jesus. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:42.480 1 John 1 9 says, when you confess your sin, he is faithful and just to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:44.880 And here's what he's talking about in that verse. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:51.519 He's talking about this vertical need that you have to make things right with your heavenly Father. 00:24:53.440 --> 00:25:06.640 And your eternal destiny is set when you confess your sins to God and put your faith in what He has provided through Jesus' life and death and resurrection. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:11.200 He's faithful to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 00:25:11.279 --> 00:25:32.640 But here's what we forget: we forget in this life on earth we still have to deal with the horizontal issues and the relational baggage and the dysfunctional sin issues, the generational problems, the hurts, the habits, and the hang-ups. 00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:40.240 And so, yes, I've got eternal freedom, but what do I need to find freedom in this life? 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:46.240 And James tells us, 5.16, James says, therefore, confess your sins. 00:25:46.400 --> 00:25:52.960 It sounds very similar to how 1 John starts out, but it changes directions. 00:25:53.200 --> 00:26:00.160 Confess your sins one to another and pray for one another that you may be what? 00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:02.960 You may be healed. 00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:05.359 You want to find freedom? 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:08.240 Yes, you trust Jesus. 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:18.000 You put your faith in him and you confess your sins to the Heavenly Father, but you also confess your sins one to another and you may that you may be healed. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:21.920 The prayer of a righteous person has great power and it is working. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:29.200 And when you listen, when you have the right people gathered together for the right reasons, God is with you and the right things happen. 00:26:29.279 --> 00:26:34.160 Here's the second principle we see the right people help us overcome a wavering faith. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:40.720 Sometimes our faith is strong, and sometimes we can handle things on our own, but sometimes our faith is weak. 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:42.079 Look at what verse 6 says. 00:26:42.240 --> 00:26:49.599 Jonathan said to the young man, this armor bearer who carried his armor, come let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:51.279 Here's what he says. 00:26:51.759 --> 00:26:56.319 It may be that the Lord will work for us. 00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:59.920 It may be that Jonathan stepped out on faith. 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:01.119 He trusted God. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:08.640 He was a young man of courage, a young man that had the ability to overcome fear. 00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:11.680 But he still had doubts. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:17.759 Because it says right those three words, it may be that the Lord will work for us. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:21.920 For nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:31.279 Jonathan is obviously courageous, but he's also dealing with what all of us deal with, which is a bit of uncertainty and doubt at times in our life. 00:27:34.720 --> 00:27:37.200 And we need the right people around us. 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:40.240 We need the community of faith around us. 00:27:41.920 --> 00:27:46.079 And for God to accomplish what he wants to accomplish, listen. 00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:58.000 The vision he puts within you, the neighbors he wants to reach through you, the family that he wants to see transformed because of your testimony. 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:09.039 It's about trusting through the doubts, knowing that God is going to accomplish what he can accomplish. 00:28:09.200 --> 00:28:18.240 Listen, when I think back to the days when planting a church was just a dream. 00:28:19.680 --> 00:28:47.519 Desire to reach unreached people like myself, that grew up in an unchurched family, a desire to see a church planted that would be a multiplying church, the church that was planted that would help other churches be planted, a church that would impact the community, a church that would that would bring that that would combat religion and make the gospel simple and understandable for all people. 00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:53.039 Listen, I it could not have happened without the right people around us. 00:28:53.200 --> 00:29:01.200 It couldn't happen without without people like Craig Story, who said, you know what, that's crazy, but let's let's step out on faith and let's do it. 00:29:01.279 --> 00:29:15.839 It wouldn't happen without people like Craig Calhoun and Tanya Calhoun and Donald and Sandy Bowen and Jeff and Patty Baker and the people that were willing to step out on faith to see this church become a reality. 00:29:15.920 --> 00:29:30.160 It wouldn't happen without a high schooler named Nathan Boyd that was willing to leave the comfort of high school and college ministry where he was and to step out on faith and now leading a campus and social circle. 00:29:30.319 --> 00:29:33.119 It wouldn't have happened without those families and the people. 00:29:33.279 --> 00:29:42.640 It wouldn't happen without Jill Butcher that came alongside and said, you know what, um what about the salary that you have and what about the health benefits? 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:50.079 Do you remember that we have two kids and now we have three and and we've got to take care of them and feed them? 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:53.839 And before she could even get that out of her mouth, she said, you know what? 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:54.880 Let's go. 00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:58.160 Let's see what God has in store. 00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:00.799 And I think about all the challenges that we've had. 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:18.400 I think about the difficulty of planting a church and the energy that it took and the slippery slopes and the temptations and the attacks of the enemy and how hard nobody told me that planting a church and raising teenagers at the same time was a bad idea. 00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:29.359 And I remember getting in the middle of trying to raise my kids and realizing I don't have a clue. 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:38.079 I mean, youth ministry and parenting has are completely not the same thing. 00:30:38.480 --> 00:30:50.240 And if it hadn't been for some other people that would come alongside and help parent my kids, like Craig and Tanya Calhoun, and invest in my children. 00:30:50.880 --> 00:30:55.119 And where, I mean, you think about where my two older kids are right now. 00:30:56.400 --> 00:30:58.079 And the grace of God. 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:10.559 And Tanya Calhoun screaming in my son's face, telling him things, and he would come home and say, Mom and Daddy, you won't believe what Miss Tanya said. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:21.920 God will bring you the people around you. 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:34.799 And if you gather together with the right people to do the right things, God is there and He will accomplish the mission and the vision He's put in your life. 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:41.200 And the final thing I want you to understand is this the right people will be with you heart and soul. 00:31:41.839 --> 00:31:44.799 The right people are with you heart and soul. 00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:55.680 These are people that are not Facebook friends, they are heart and soul companions that walk with you in life. 00:31:56.640 --> 00:32:00.400 Verses 7 through 10, and his armor bearer said to him, Remember what? 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:01.680 Remember what Jonathan said? 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:03.440 He said, It may be, it may be. 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:06.000 And here's what the armor bearer says to him Do all. 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:07.200 We don't even know his name. 00:32:07.359 --> 00:32:10.000 Do all that is in your heart, do as you wish. 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:13.599 Behold, I am with you, heart and soul. 00:32:14.000 --> 00:32:18.000 That Jonathan said, Behold, we will cross over to the men and we will show ourselves to them. 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:23.440 If they say to us, wait until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place and we will not go up to them. 00:32:23.599 --> 00:32:30.880 But if they say, Come up to us, then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hand, and this shall be a sign to us. 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:55.920 Listen, you need people that are heart and soul people in your life, people that will surround you, people that that will come alongside of you when you feel overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, people that will come around you when your marriage is struggling, people that will come around you when you figure out that parenting is not as easy as what you thought it would be, and it's heart and soul people. 00:32:57.599 --> 00:33:05.440 Fast forward to chapter 18, verses 1 through 3, and I'm gonna come back to this friendship uh later in the series. 00:33:05.680 --> 00:33:09.119 But but I want you to read this verses 1 through 3 of 1 Samuel 18. 00:33:09.279 --> 00:33:22.400 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul, and Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:30.559 Then Jonathan made, listen, here's the word, a covenant with David because he loved him as his own soul. 00:33:30.720 --> 00:33:36.319 I want to just land on that word covenant for a second because this is important. 00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:41.680 Covenant relationships are what make the difference. 00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:52.319 Covenant friendship, covenant marriage, covenant family of faith. 00:33:53.119 --> 00:34:00.240 That word covenant is the word that describes our relationship with the Heavenly Father when we put our faith in Jesus Christ. 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:01.839 It's a covenant love. 00:34:02.400 --> 00:34:16.239 And it's distinguished from the word contract, where the word contract is something you you sign or you agree to to protect yourself in case the other party does not live up to the agreement. 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:24.159 A covenant relationship is when you enter into a relationship that seeks the best interest of the other party. 00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:27.599 And it's the relationship that Jonathan had with David. 00:34:27.760 --> 00:34:32.320 It's the friendship that God gave him, a covenant friendship. 00:34:32.400 --> 00:34:41.920 It describes the relationship that we have with our Heavenly Father when Jesus died on the cross and he took upon himself all the sin of humanity. 00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:46.239 And when we put our faith in Jesus, it is a covenant relationship. 00:34:46.480 --> 00:34:59.280 And God calls us to enter into covenant relationships in the family of God that are soul-to-soul relationships and friendships that are only described by family. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:19.280 Now, here's what some of you have yet to take even the first step in your relationship with God, which is to put your faith in Jesus and to establish and receive the covenant promise of eternal life that comes through Christ. 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:21.679 That's your next step for today. 00:35:22.320 --> 00:35:28.480 For some of you, your next step is to fight for community. 00:35:29.440 --> 00:35:30.639 You fight for it. 00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:34.639 We facilitate it through community groups. 00:35:34.960 --> 00:35:39.199 We try to make sure you have opportunities, but you've got to decide. 00:35:39.360 --> 00:35:42.000 Community groups don't create community. 00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:43.840 You fight for community. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:59.599 Sometimes it happens in community groups, but there's something about this covenant relationship that transcends organized groups and it happens in a way that over years you will see how God shows up to work. 00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:07.599 When the right people gather together for the right reasons, God is there and he does the right things. 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:11.440 Would you pray with me this morning? 00:36:11.679 --> 00:36:14.000 Let's just pray together for a second. 00:36:17.119 --> 00:36:21.440 Whether you are here in Walnut Grove or you're in social circle or you're at home online. 00:36:28.239 --> 00:36:36.000 I want to just let what we have discussed, what we have heard from God's Word, let it let it sit. 00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:43.039 Let it dive deep. 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:47.199 Let it rest. 00:36:48.639 --> 00:37:01.840 Let it impact your anxiety, your fear, your obstacles, your temptations, your rocky paths, your slippery slopes. 00:37:02.880 --> 00:37:12.000 And you trust in the covenant love that God has provided through Christ. 00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:21.280 And then you make a decision to take your next step in covenant community and covenant family. 00:37:21.519 --> 00:37:25.679 We're going to talk about how you do that over the next three weeks. 00:37:25.920 --> 00:37:30.880 Practical ways that you embrace covenant community, covenant family. 00:37:31.360 --> 00:37:40.639 But this morning I'm just saying, hey, you jump on and you show up next week, online or in person, as Nathan and I continue in this series. 00:37:40.960 --> 00:37:42.880 Father, we want to glorify you. 00:37:43.039 --> 00:37:44.159 We want to lift you up. 00:37:44.320 --> 00:37:54.960 We want to acknowledge that you are the one who provides for our covenant, eternal life and our covenant family. 00:37:55.440 --> 00:38:22.320 Lord, would you give us courage, give us the power of the Holy Spirit to take the steps that we need to take over the next few weeks and into this fall, God, where we will not be shaken by the circumstances of our world, we will be supported by your spirit and your family and the relationships that you provide around us, Father. 00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:28.960 We trust that you'll be with us as we gather in your name. 00:38:29.280 --> 00:38:36.880 Knowing that when the right people gather together for the right reasons, that you are there and you will do the right things and accomplish your will. 00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:40.079 It's in Jesus' name we pray. 00:38:40.320 --> 00:38:42.400 And everybody said together. 00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:43.679 Amen. 00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:54.400 Listen, you come back next week and listen, you make sure you don't miss what God has to say to us as we continue to take next steps. 00:38:54.559 --> 00:38:57.920 Listen, I can't wait till the next hour. 00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:06.880 And if you're if you're seeing this at a later time, at the 11 o'clock service, we're going to baptize five people that God has reached down and touched. 00:39:07.119 --> 00:39:10.239 And as a family, you have influenced that. 00:39:10.559 --> 00:39:17.199 And so let's just give God a round of applause and give him all the glory that is due to him.