WEBVTT 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:04.240 Thanks for listening to the His Hands Church podcast. 00:00:04.400 --> 00:00:12.800 If you're using the His Hands Church mobile app, please turn off the auto lock on your phone's general settings so that you can listen to the message uninterrupted. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:16.079 And thank you for being part of what God is doing at His Hands. 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:18.640 Good morning. 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:21.519 Hope everyone's doing well this morning. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:22.800 Thank you so much for being here. 00:00:22.960 --> 00:00:25.600 If it's uh if it's your first time here, thanks, Nathan. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.320 If it's your first time here, we we love you. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:28.960 We really do. 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:32.960 And I was thinking about that as we sing that song, He is Love. 00:00:33.200 --> 00:00:37.679 There's a verse that says that we love one another, we love because He loved us first. 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:43.840 And so we love each other, we love everyone here, but it's it's just really because we know the person that is love, and that's Jesus. 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:45.520 And so we're so excited you're here this morning. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:53.280 If it is your first time and you want some more information about who we are, what's going on around here, head to the info desk and you will receive info. 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:56.479 And that is why there's a word, it says info. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:00.719 You'll you'll get all the info you can handle, so just head there and they'll help you out with that. 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:07.359 Once we're done this morning, there will be four people at the Connect Desk, and they're there to help you join a team if you'd like to help out. 00:01:07.599 --> 00:01:12.000 We have a ton of volunteers here, and we are really passionate about a few things with our volunteers. 00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:16.879 We don't like to waste people's time, so we never overschedule and put more people on than we need. 00:01:16.959 --> 00:01:19.040 Uh, and we also don't want people to get burned out. 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:25.439 We never want it to be that you choose to help instead of having the ability to just come and worship and connect with God. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:27.120 And so we're really passionate about that. 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:34.879 The only way to really make that happen is to always be adding new people to our teams so that we can schedule people in a way that's really manageable and workable. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:38.319 And so this month we're really focusing on our Sunday support teams. 00:01:38.400 --> 00:01:48.079 That's the welcome team, our coffee teams, the ushers, all the teams that really make sure that Sunday mornings can happen, which I think all of us are thankful for because you're here. 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:49.680 So you needed those people. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:52.879 You didn't you may not have known that this morning, but you needed those people. 00:01:53.120 --> 00:01:56.959 And so if you want to help out on those teams, head to the Connect Desk and they will get you signed up. 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.680 You will definitely enjoy it, and you'll meet some great people as well. 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:01.920 Want to thank everyone who's helping us out financially. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:08.080 We don't pass a plate or anything like that, but God is using every dime that is given here for a great purpose and it's worthwhile. 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:10.639 So you can do that at the four columns in the back or online. 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:16.319 High school students, I always look this way because you usually sit there, but if there are any high school students not there, I'm not excluding you. 00:02:16.479 --> 00:02:17.280 This is for all of you. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:18.639 Uh, we start back this Wednesday. 00:02:18.800 --> 00:02:22.639 This Wednesday night we're back, and there you are. 00:02:22.960 --> 00:02:24.639 We uh honestly, I've missed you guys. 00:02:24.719 --> 00:02:26.000 We're gonna have an amazing year together. 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:34.400 And if you are a high school student or you have one that has never been a part of our high school group, I cannot encourage you enough to be here on Wednesday nights at 7 o'clock. 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:38.960 Uh I can't promise you that you know the messages will blow you away or all that. 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:41.039 We have great worship and all that's good. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:51.919 Okay, but what I can promise you is you will have never been around a group of young people that will love you and accept you and just help you get it excited and passionate about Jesus like this group of students will. 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:52.800 I love these people. 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:54.319 They are some of the best people I know. 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:57.199 Uh, I hear a lot of you guys brag on them a lot, and it's for good reason. 00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:00.159 They are amazing and incredible, and you need them as your friends. 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:01.199 You don't know it yet, but you do. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:03.599 So come be here at 7 o'clock on Wednesdays. 00:03:03.759 --> 00:03:06.879 Let's go ahead and pray, and we'll uh we'll jump into what we're gonna talk about this morning. 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:07.599 Jesus. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:17.919 Thank you so much for being loved, for loving us in a way that that is unimaginable, in a way that we know we could not earn if we tried. 00:03:18.400 --> 00:03:24.000 And I pray this morning, Lord, that we would just receive that love and that your word would speak to us. 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:37.039 Holy Spirit, speak through every word that we're gonna speak over this whole group of people today, and just remind us of the incredible love you have for us and the friendships that we can have together as a result. 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:38.639 And we ask all this in your name, Jesus. 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:39.520 Amen. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:47.759 Well, we are beginning 2014 by basically laying out the direction we believe God wants us to go this year as a church. 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:54.080 We're basically saying that this year for us, this is what we really believe God is doing with us, is He wants us to come together. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:56.800 He wants us to follow Jesus together this year. 00:03:56.960 --> 00:03:58.639 And so we want to grow closer together. 00:03:58.719 --> 00:04:00.240 We want to get to know each other. 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:03.199 I was talking with a friend of mine about how we always say we're a family, right? 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:04.319 We are a church family. 00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:09.919 And it's just that this year we want to go from more being a family of distant cousins to a family of brothers and sisters. 00:04:10.159 --> 00:04:11.680 We want to know each other. 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:14.400 There are so many amazing people in this room. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:22.800 Every single Sunday, just having the chance to walk around and talk to people, I'm blown away by the quality of the people that are in this room right now. 00:04:23.360 --> 00:04:35.839 And it can be hard in a group this size to just meet people, to just connect and to know each other, but there is a different level of relationship and a different level of connecting with God that we experience through having close friendships around us. 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:37.360 I mentioned the high school students a minute ago. 00:04:37.600 --> 00:04:41.439 I get people tell me all the time that they love how the high school students worship. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:43.839 They see how passionate they are when they worship. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:49.120 And I can say this from experience that that would not exist apart from the relationships that they have with one another. 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:58.560 It's the fact that they know each other so well, they are so comfortable with one another, that if they want to worship God all out and just raise their hands and get into it, they don't worry about the people around them. 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.199 If they just want to sit and take it in, they have that freedom. 00:05:01.279 --> 00:05:07.839 It's the relationship and the closeness they have that gives them the freedom to worship God like they do. 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:09.439 So relationships are important. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:16.240 We we started last week off by talking about friends, mainly the one where Joey gets his head stuck in a turkey and then Ross and Chandler come. 00:05:16.399 --> 00:05:16.879 I'm just joking. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:28.319 You know, I used to watch that show when I was younger, and uh and I realized the other day that my parents did not have very strict guidelines on what I watched when I was younger. 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:35.360 Because that show came out in like 1994 or something like that, and I was saying I was like, I was in the sixth grade, seventh grade, I should not have been watching that show. 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:36.959 But I did, so there it is. 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:44.160 Um, we talked about the importance of friends in our lives, and more specifically, the need that we have for relationships. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:51.600 We have a need for friends in our lives, for having amazing, godly friends, people that love Jesus and that are listening to his wisdom. 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:53.920 And God will bring those people around us. 00:05:54.160 --> 00:06:01.439 And if you're sitting here this morning, God has brought those people around you, but it's always our choice to choose those people as our friends. 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:07.360 And that can be tough because the criteria that we use oftentimes for our friends are things like, who have I known the longest? 00:06:07.439 --> 00:06:09.199 You know, I go way back with this person. 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:14.319 Or who do I just interact with naturally day by day because I work with them or I'm near them. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:16.160 But God has higher standards for us. 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:20.560 We're his kids, and we all love our kids, and we have high standards for them and for the relationships they choose. 00:06:20.639 --> 00:06:25.279 And he encourages us and implores us in his word to choose amazing friends. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:29.439 The book of Proverbs is the wisest collection of sayings that has ever existed in this world. 00:06:29.519 --> 00:06:32.000 It is God's wisdom, not man's wisdom. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:36.800 And it spends a lot of time talking about our need for the right kinds of friends. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.959 And so last week was about us choosing those people. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:46.079 And it's always interesting when you have a group of friends, the kind of dynamic that forms with that group. 00:06:46.240 --> 00:06:48.800 And it can be very different from one group of friends to another. 00:06:48.959 --> 00:06:55.199 You might have a group of friends at work, and your dynamic with them is very different than a group of friends you have outside of work. 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:58.720 In some groups of friends, you might talk about one or two topics exclusively. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:03.279 Maybe it's it's sports or politics or something that kind of bonds all of you together. 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:07.680 In other groups of friends, anything and everything under the sun is fair game. 00:07:07.759 --> 00:07:09.360 There is no topic that is off limits. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:11.759 You can talk about anything, you can just be yourself. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:18.480 Some groups have a dynamic that's more formal, some it's completely informal, and it just really depends on what group of friends you're with. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:22.639 It's a lot of fun to watch those dynamics form over time. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:30.160 And it's not so much that we change when we go from one group of friends to another, it's that the group's dynamic changes and we just sort of fit in with that. 00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:33.199 And that is the case in every group of friends that we have. 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:40.720 This morning, we want to sort of define what the dynamic is gonna be in the small groups that we're about to launch in mid-February. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:48.639 On February 2nd, we're gonna be kicking off a brand new approach to small groups here at His Hands, something we've never done before in the way that we're going to do it. 00:07:48.879 --> 00:07:50.480 And we're really excited about it. 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:56.639 We know it's gonna change the whole culture here in a really amazing way, because like I said, we're gonna grow close together. 00:07:56.879 --> 00:08:07.680 And last week we we kind of talked about the need for that, but this morning, it's about defining what that dynamic is gonna look like so that those of us that are thinking about being a part of that can say, okay, well, what am I getting myself into? 00:08:07.839 --> 00:08:10.160 That's always a good question to ask. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:16.079 And so the good thing about defining this dynamic is that Jesus has kind of already done it for us. 00:08:16.160 --> 00:08:22.639 When we read the New Testament, we have this incredible opportunity to look into Jesus' life and see how he lived his life. 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.959 And the book of Hebrews says Jesus is the exact representation of God. 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:31.360 So if we want to know what God is like, we look at Jesus. 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:33.919 Jesus is our mirror image of God. 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:38.240 If we want to see how God would interact with people, we look at how Jesus interacts with people. 00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:45.440 If we want to see what God would be like hanging out with his friends, we look at how Jesus was hanging out with his friends. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:53.120 And as you look at the Gospels, you see this developing dynamic between Jesus and his disciples, the people he called friends. 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:57.440 And it was a very great dynamic, and it's one that the disciples didn't really expect. 00:08:57.519 --> 00:09:00.320 They didn't see it coming, and that's kind of always how it is with Jesus. 00:09:00.480 --> 00:09:03.279 He is not what we expect so often. 00:09:03.600 --> 00:09:14.240 There's this amazing moment early in Jesus' ministry where the disciples of John the Baptist come to Jesus and they just ask him, point blank, are you the Messiah that we have been expecting? 00:09:15.039 --> 00:09:16.960 And Jesus doesn't answer that question directly. 00:09:17.039 --> 00:09:18.080 He does that a lot. 00:09:19.360 --> 00:09:21.120 It would be frustrating to have someone do that. 00:09:21.200 --> 00:09:24.799 Every time you ask a question, they ask another question, or they just, but that's just how Jesus was. 00:09:24.879 --> 00:09:25.600 He liked that. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:28.559 He doesn't answer it directly, but you could see how he would say this. 00:09:28.799 --> 00:09:31.039 You know, are you the Messiah we've been expecting? 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:32.159 No, I'm not. 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:34.240 But I am the Messiah. 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:47.120 He spent a lot of his time trying to help people let go of the expectations they had of God and who God really is to help them really unlearn what they thought they knew about God so they could see him for who he really was. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:52.720 So Jesus definitely was not the Messiah that the people were expecting, but he was the Messiah. 00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:59.840 And we get to see this relationship develop between Jesus and his friends, and it's definitely not the relationship they had in mind. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:03.679 We get these little windows into that developing dynamic, and they're really interesting. 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:05.919 One of them happens in Matthew chapter 20. 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.519 In Matthew chapter 20, the disciples are a little frustrated with one another. 00:10:09.679 --> 00:10:15.919 And they're all friends, they know each other well, they walked over 3,000 miles on foot during the three years they were following Jesus. 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:19.200 So these were men that were well acquainted with one another. 00:10:19.440 --> 00:10:22.960 And they have this moment where they're frustrated, and here's basically why this happened. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:26.480 A little bit earlier, Peter had asked Jesus a very bold question. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:31.039 He just asked Jesus, what are we going to get out of following you? 00:10:32.320 --> 00:10:34.080 What is in it for us? 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:41.200 And that's a pretty bold question to ask God, but I guess it was a fair one because the disciples had left everything. 00:10:41.440 --> 00:10:47.759 They had left their homes, their friends, their jobs, they had left everything they had behind to follow Jesus. 00:10:47.840 --> 00:10:52.000 So Peter comes to Jesus and says, Look, just tell us what we're gonna get out of this. 00:10:52.559 --> 00:10:57.039 And Jesus says, Well, I'm gonna set up my kingdom on this earth, and I'm gonna reign. 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:00.320 And you're gonna reign alongside me, you're gonna rule with me. 00:11:00.480 --> 00:11:05.919 Now, Jesus didn't quite tell them yet that his kingdom was gonna work very differently than the kingdoms of this world. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:09.440 And so they start to develop these images in their minds of what all of us would expect. 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:14.399 You know, Jesus is on a throne, a physical throne, and he is reigning, and they are gonna reign with him. 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:24.720 So now there's these other little thrones, six to one side, six to the other, and they're all gonna get to sit on those thrones and rule with Jesus, and they're like, yes, that is what we're in this for. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:32.480 And two of the disciples, James and John, who are two of Jesus' three closest friends, come to Jesus with a request, with a favor. 00:11:32.879 --> 00:11:34.960 Actually, their mom came in their stead. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:38.879 I don't know if they put their mom up to it or if their mom just did it either way, that's never cool. 00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:49.919 But they come to Jesus and they have this request, Jesus, when you're reigning, can John be on your left side, right next to you? 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:52.240 And can James be on the right side? 00:11:53.279 --> 00:11:58.000 Their mother say, Can my sons just be the ones that are the closest to you, right at your left and at your right? 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:01.759 This is the first historical example I have ever found of someone calling shotgun. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:03.600 That is exactly what's going on. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:15.759 And you know, it's it's funny because you can have a really good close group of friends, and when it's time to get in one car together and someone calls shotgun, that is always divisive. 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:20.080 You know, all of a sudden you're like, wait, I I I thought I was the front seat friend. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:21.519 I'm I guess I'm in the back. 00:12:21.759 --> 00:12:26.240 I've got a friend named Zach who's six foot four, and so he always gets shotgun for that purpose. 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:28.879 Uh, but all my other friends, you know, it just it's a it's a defining moment. 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:29.840 Who gets to sit up front? 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:31.120 And that's what's going on here. 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:33.120 These guys are calling spiritual shotgun. 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:36.240 They want to be the ones sitting the closest to Jesus. 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:39.759 And it's divisive 2,000 years ago as well. 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:42.000 So they start to argue, they have this fight. 00:12:42.159 --> 00:12:44.799 They're talking about who should be the one closest to Jesus. 00:12:44.960 --> 00:12:47.919 And Jesus interrupts them in Matthew 20, verse 25. 00:12:48.159 --> 00:13:00.000 It says, But Jesus called them together and said, You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them, but among you it will be different. 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:13.679 Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be the first among you must become your slave, for even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:18.000 Jesus is saying, look, guys, that's not gonna be our dynamic. 00:13:18.320 --> 00:13:20.159 As friends, this is not competitive. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:21.840 This is not about one-upping one another. 00:13:21.919 --> 00:13:24.559 It's not about who's got shotgun, who sits in the front seat. 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:26.159 This is about serving one another. 00:13:26.320 --> 00:13:32.720 If any of you are gonna be focused on who's greater, it should be focused on who you can serve. 00:13:33.120 --> 00:13:34.399 About putting yourself last. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:38.320 Jesus says our dynamic together is gonna be one where we serve each other. 00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:42.080 John chapter 15, it's one of the most important chapters in the Bible. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:50.799 Obviously, every chapter is important, but this is one where Jesus just sort of lays out his desire for relationship with us in a way that is so clear. 00:13:51.200 --> 00:13:56.480 It's the same chapter we looked at last week where he says, I don't call you servants anymore, I call you my friends. 00:13:56.639 --> 00:14:03.759 And in John chapter 15, he he kind of defines that dynamic again that's going to exist between his friends, his followers. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:08.639 What he says is, I have loved you even as the Father has loved me, remain in my love. 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:16.399 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my father's commandments and remain in his love. 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:22.000 Now, when Jesus is telling his friends this, the word commandments is a pretty loaded word in their culture. 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:27.200 If we've grown up in church, we hear the word commandment, we probably think the ten commandments, so we start rattling off a list. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:30.639 Okay, don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal, I forgot the other seven. 00:14:30.879 --> 00:14:31.919 Either way. 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:34.320 That's what we think. 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:35.519 Commandments. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:36.639 It brings up those thoughts. 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.759 Now, in Jesus' day, it was very different in the Jewish community. 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:43.200 They had over 600 commandments they were expected to follow. 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:48.080 And there really wasn't any agreement as to which commandments were the most important. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:53.519 So the common prevailing thought of the day was just follow all of them as if they were all equally important. 00:14:53.679 --> 00:14:57.039 Washing your hands the right way, just as important as not killing someone. 00:14:57.759 --> 00:14:58.720 And that's really true. 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:03.120 In a lot of the way that they thought, in fact, the Pharisees came to Jesus to try to trip him up. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:07.440 They tried to trip Jesus up by asking him, what is the most important commandment? 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:08.559 No one could agree on that. 00:15:08.639 --> 00:15:17.360 There were debates, there were arguments, and they said, Jesus, if you're who you say you are, or at least two people think you are, just go ahead and tell us what's the most important commandment. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:20.799 And Jesus says, Okay, love God with everything you've got. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:23.679 Love him with all your heart, your soul, your mind, your spirit. 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:25.840 Just love God intensely. 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:30.559 And there's another one that's just as important: love your neighbor as yourself. 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.639 And the Pharisees walked away because they couldn't find any fault with what Jesus said. 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:36.720 And it's so amazing when you look at that answer, too. 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:38.000 It's really love God, love people. 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:40.639 If you look at the Ten Commandments, that sums all of them up. 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:45.360 Some of them are about how we should love God, the rest are about how we should love each other. 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:48.399 And Jesus just answered that question for them. 00:15:48.879 --> 00:16:00.000 But when he said the word commandments, the things that would have popped into his disciples' mind, it wasn't a list of ten, it was a list of six hundred, and maybe they're thinking he's gonna add to that list, and they're excited about that because that's what everyone wants, is more rules. 00:16:00.159 --> 00:16:03.759 And so Jesus is going in this direction. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:05.840 He says the word commandments, and then he goes on. 00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:10.559 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. 00:16:10.720 --> 00:16:12.960 Yes, your joy will overflow. 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:14.799 This is my commandment. 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:16.159 Singular. 00:16:16.639 --> 00:16:19.200 Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:21.600 He kind of pulls the rug out from under the disciples. 00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:22.960 They're thinking commandments. 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:26.480 Their mind is going, the gears are turning, they're thinking all these different things. 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:27.759 I gotta do this, I gotta do that. 00:16:27.840 --> 00:16:29.039 That's how I show God that I love them. 00:16:29.120 --> 00:16:31.519 But then Jesus says, no, no, here is my commandment. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:33.039 Let me simplify this for you. 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.919 Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:37.039 Love intensely. 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:40.879 That's the dynamic that I want to exist between us as friends. 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:44.480 Intense love, sacrificial love. 00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:48.639 It's about serving one another, it's about loving one another. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:58.080 Just a few chapters earlier in John chapter 13, Jesus said that your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. 00:16:58.799 --> 00:17:05.519 It's your love for one another that's gonna show this world how much you love me, that you belong to me. 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:06.960 And that is so interesting, right? 00:17:07.119 --> 00:17:13.920 Because religion teaches us that the world's gonna know that we are Jesus followers based on what we do and what we don't do. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:21.759 So the world's gonna know that I belong to Jesus because I will not listen to this band, I will not watch this show on TV, I refuse to go see these types of movies. 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:26.799 I'm not saying there's not wisdom in making those choices, but that's not what Jesus said would define us. 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:31.920 That's not what he said would be the signal to the rest of the world that we belong to Jesus. 00:17:32.240 --> 00:17:36.799 And he didn't say that the world would know we belong to him based on how we love the world. 00:17:37.039 --> 00:17:41.920 Obviously, we're called to love everyone, regardless of whether or not those people know and love Jesus or not. 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:46.799 In fact, the more we fall in love with Jesus and get to know him, loving people should just get easier, right? 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:57.039 If you live knowing that you are forgiven for everything you have ever done and everything you will ever do, it should at least help put you in a better mood. 00:17:57.440 --> 00:17:59.200 Love should become more natural. 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:07.119 That's why sometimes if you see groups of cranky Christians complaining about things, you just want to be like, guys, we should be the ones that are happy and we're saved, right? 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:08.000 We're going to heaven. 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:10.000 We should have smiles on our faces. 00:18:10.319 --> 00:18:14.400 But he doesn't say that the world's gonna know that we're his based on the way that we love the world. 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:15.519 And this is what's really crazy. 00:18:15.680 --> 00:18:18.160 My wife pointed this out this week, kind of blew my mind. 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:22.720 He doesn't even say that the world will know you belong to me based on how you love me. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.799 There are a lot of us that that think that way naturally. 00:18:26.880 --> 00:18:27.119 I do. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:31.279 I want the world to know that I love Jesus because I am so passionate about loving Jesus. 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:32.240 I love Jesus. 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:40.799 And I can tell people that I love Jesus, I can put bumper stickers on my car that say I love Jesus, I can wear t-shirts that just display to the world that I love Jesus, and there is nothing wrong with that. 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:46.079 That's great, but that is not what Jesus says will prove to the world that I love Jesus. 00:18:47.359 --> 00:18:53.200 He says it's the way you love each other, it's the way we love one another. 00:18:53.920 --> 00:19:01.119 Fellow Jesus followers, brothers and sisters in God's family, that is what's gonna show the world that we belong to God. 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:08.160 It's the dynamic that's going to exist between us where we love one another intensely and where we serve one another. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:11.759 That is what's gonna show the world that we belong to Him. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:16.960 It's that dynamic, and that cannot exist if we don't know each other. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.160 It just can't exist if we don't know each other. 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:28.960 When Jesus is talking about this kind of love, he's not talking about walking past one another and waving our hands or shaking hands and saying hi and little trite things like that. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:30.720 He he's not talking about those small things. 00:19:30.799 --> 00:19:31.279 Those are good. 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:32.400 I love being friendly. 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.279 I like it when people are friendly to me, especially if they're not paid to be. 00:19:35.359 --> 00:19:36.160 I love that. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:37.119 Right? 00:19:38.400 --> 00:19:40.640 Friendly is good, but it's not love. 00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:46.559 And it's really easy in a large group to stop at friendly. 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:50.079 But Jesus is calling us to love. 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.880 You see, we we read this stuff that Jesus is saying and doing. 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:58.079 Friendship with one another is not just this convenient, nice thing that we can have that enhances all of our lives. 00:19:58.240 --> 00:19:59.920 This is something we are called for. 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:05.359 We are called to be close, loving friends with one another. 00:20:06.559 --> 00:20:07.599 We're called to it. 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:09.759 And it can't happen if we don't know each other. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:13.440 The only way for us to love each other like that is if we work together, right? 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:14.640 That's gonna need to be a team effort. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:20.000 I don't know if anyone else can admit that, but I'm gonna I'm gonna need some help if I'm gonna love everyone like that. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:21.759 We need to help one another out. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:23.519 We've got to know each other to do that. 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:25.920 The the leaders of the early church understood this. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:36.720 It was side, it was kind of their job to take the dynamic that Jesus had established, the culture he created with his friends, and apply that to the early churches. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:39.839 And these were usually really small groups of people. 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:46.880 And so in Hebrews chapter 10, we get a little bit of a look into this dynamic that's forming in this church. 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:54.960 It's this very small church in Italy, and the writer of Hebrews says, let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 00:20:55.519 --> 00:20:56.240 I love that. 00:20:56.480 --> 00:21:00.799 Let us think of ways to motivate each other to acts of love and good works. 00:21:00.960 --> 00:21:06.720 The message version of the Bible says, let's let's get inventive about the ways we can help each other love one another. 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:09.599 When I when I read that, actually, I thought of Nathan Fowler this week. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:23.839 I've been working with Nathan for several months, and he's the one that's gonna be leading up our small groups here, and Nathan has been so creative and just thinking about all the different ways that we can help each other connect, because not all of us have the same schedules, not all of us have the same needs. 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:28.240 There's not gonna be one night a week that all of us just magically have free, like, oh wow, what a coincidence. 00:21:28.319 --> 00:21:29.519 We all have Wednesday free. 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:30.400 How did that happen? 00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:31.599 That doesn't work. 00:21:32.079 --> 00:21:37.680 And so the only way we can have all these relationships happening is if we get a little creative and get kind of inventive. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:39.599 And it's been really cool to watch Nathan do that. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:41.759 On November, or November, that's a long way off. 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:48.480 On February 2nd, there must be something important in November that I'm not thinking about right now, but there's a reason I must have said that. 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:53.680 Okay, so February 2nd, Nathan's gonna be sharing some of that passion in his heart for small groups here. 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:57.440 And we'll be talking about exactly how we're gonna kind of roll that out. 00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:59.680 I really encourage all of us to be here on February 2nd. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.480 But that's us being inventive about ways to love one another. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:03.839 Then it goes on. 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:09.119 Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do. 00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:16.240 But encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:20.319 And if the day of his return was drawing near, then it's a lot nearer now. 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:23.599 It says, encourage one another. 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:25.920 That's a very powerful word. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:29.599 In fact, they couldn't have thought of a better word to use than encourage. 00:22:29.759 --> 00:22:31.920 We hear that word and we might think compliment. 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:33.759 Compliment one another. 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:36.160 You see someone, they look nice, say, hey, you look nice today. 00:22:36.319 --> 00:22:37.519 That's encouragement. 00:22:37.759 --> 00:22:39.279 Or it might be affirming one another. 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:44.000 You know, you're at work with someone, they do a presentation, they do a great job, and you say, hey, you nailed that. 00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:45.599 That's encouragement. 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:54.079 And that's true to some degree, but the biblical understanding of this word that we translate encouragement was a lot deeper than that. 00:22:54.240 --> 00:22:57.680 In fact, it's a word that's impossible without relationship. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:01.200 It's absolutely impossible without knowing someone. 00:23:01.680 --> 00:23:06.079 A couple years ago, I rolled my left ankle playing basketball, because I'm such a gifted athlete. 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:10.319 And I uh I rolled it, I knew it was bad. 00:23:10.559 --> 00:23:12.880 The absolute second that it happened, I knew it was bad. 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:19.680 I heard a pop, I went to the ground, I was experiencing uh intense pain, and I'm just writhing on the floor. 00:23:19.839 --> 00:23:21.759 And my wife was close by, which is great. 00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:25.039 And so she came by and she's like, Justin, are you okay? 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:27.440 I'm like, No, it's my ankle, it's bad, it's bad. 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:28.640 We gotta go to the emergency room. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:29.519 I broke my ankle. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:33.759 And so uh she helps me up and and helps me to the car. 00:23:33.920 --> 00:23:44.400 She comes right next to me, comes by my side, and I put my arm around her, I was able to lift my left foot off the ground, and I hopped all the way to the car on my right foot, but it was really Megan doing the work. 00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:47.680 I was leaning on Megan, she was right by my side, and we did that to the car. 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:56.240 She drove me to Kenistone Hospital, she helped me hop all the way to the reception area, then to my seat in the emergency room, and then all the way to the room where I was gonna see the doctor. 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:59.200 And the doctor came in and he starts talking about what they're gonna do. 00:23:59.279 --> 00:24:04.799 They're gonna do an x-ray, they're gonna look at this, and and I'm already thinking, look, do your x-ray, but I know what's going on. 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:08.000 I'm trying to figure out how I'm gonna get around for the next few months. 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:09.119 I've got to work. 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:14.079 I work with the youth a lot in this building, their area is over there, the offices are over there. 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:16.400 That's a long walk. 00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:18.240 How am I gonna do this on a broken ankle? 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:19.200 I mean, I'm already at that point. 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:24.799 I'm thinking about planning for the amazing disability that I'm experiencing. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:26.720 And so they do the x-ray. 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:28.559 Megan's with me the whole time. 00:24:28.799 --> 00:24:33.519 They come back in the room after the x-ray, and the doctor, uh, right with Megan in there, says, uh, Mr. 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:37.599 McTear, you have a very slight sprain on your left ankle. 00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:43.359 Just ice it and stay off it for about two days, you should be fine. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:46.000 Now, that that's good news. 00:24:46.079 --> 00:24:48.720 I should have been pleased when he said that. 00:24:49.440 --> 00:24:53.200 But I wasn't for about 25 minutes because my wife is right there. 00:24:53.359 --> 00:24:55.599 I've been, I mean, I've basically been crying. 00:24:55.759 --> 00:25:03.359 She practically carried me to the hospital for a slight sprain. 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:08.000 This is a woman who's given birth. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:10.240 Okay. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:18.240 So, as a man, how do you come back from that? 00:25:18.640 --> 00:25:19.599 What do you do? 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:22.480 Two years later, I hurt that same ankle. 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:28.640 And because of what had happened the time before, I waited about a month to go to the doctor because I'm like, I'm not gonna do this again. 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:31.920 I'm just gonna show my wife that I am a man, I am strong. 00:25:32.160 --> 00:25:37.200 And the whole time I had two torn ligaments and I was walking around on it for like a month because I wouldn't go to the doctor. 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:38.720 I wouldn't go. 00:25:40.160 --> 00:25:46.160 And the reason I share that story is because the whole time, Megan didn't mind. 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:56.400 She was happy to help me to the car, she was happy to help me to the doctor, she didn't complain about the bill, she didn't complain about the work, and she was really pleased when it was good news. 00:25:56.640 --> 00:25:57.599 She didn't mind at all. 00:25:57.680 --> 00:26:02.079 I was the one that was that was much more upset about how that had all gone down. 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:06.240 That is the biblical understanding of the word encouragement. 00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:12.640 There's a Greek word that gets translated encourage when we read it, and it's the word paraclete. 00:26:13.200 --> 00:26:17.759 And what it literally means is coming alongside to help. 00:26:19.119 --> 00:26:22.160 Coming alongside to aid someone. 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:30.720 And so when we read that, when we read encourage one another, what they're seeing is come alongside one another and do what's needed. 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:33.519 It was a word used often in legal proceedings. 00:26:33.680 --> 00:26:39.839 If you were accused of something and you had to go and defend yourself in court, you would find a paraclete. 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:44.799 Someone that would come alongside you, a friend, and they would vouch for your character. 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:47.920 In the New Testament, that word's used over a hundred times. 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:59.920 There's even a few instances where the Holy Spirit is called paraclete, meaning that the Holy Spirit comes alongside us and lives life day by day with us to guide us and to help us. 00:27:01.440 --> 00:27:05.119 There's an amazing biblical picture of that in Exodus 17. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:08.480 The nation of Israel is at war with a king named Amalek. 00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:13.920 And it says in verse 10, Joshua did what Moses ordered in order to fight Amalek. 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:18.240 And Moses, Aaron, and her went to the top of the hill. 00:27:18.559 --> 00:27:21.839 It turned out that whenever Moses raised his hands, Israel was winning. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:25.519 But whenever he lowered his hands, Amalek was winning. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:27.759 But Moses' hands got tired. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:30.319 So they got a stone and they set it under him. 00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:35.039 He sat on it, and Aaron and her held up his hands, one on each side. 00:27:35.359 --> 00:27:37.759 So his hands remained steady until the sun went down. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:40.880 Joshua defeated Amalek and its army in battle. 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:44.880 That was a battle that was not determined by the strength of Israel's army. 00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:54.559 It was a battle that was determined by that word we looked at, by Paraclete, someone coming alongside someone else and giving them what's needed. 00:27:55.200 --> 00:28:02.319 And here's what's really interesting about that is sometimes that word gets translated encourage, like we just read it in Hebrews chapter 10. 00:28:02.640 --> 00:28:07.359 Spur somebody on, motivate them, help them stay the course. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:11.039 Sometimes that same word gets translated comfort. 00:28:11.839 --> 00:28:12.640