First Love Church
These podcasts are messages that were preached at First Love Church in Ocala, Florida. We hope that you are encouraged and inspired by what you hear. We are a non denominational, egalitarian church that practices a generous orthodoxy. Find out more about our local congregation online at firstlovechurch.org.
#firstlovechurchocala #firstlovechurch #ocalaflorida #egalitarian #Jesuschrist #jesus #nondenominational #pastor #spirituality #christian #eucharist #opentable #tableofthelord #communion #community #spirit #divine #femininedivine #creeds #orthodoxy #equality #welcome #followers #disciple #love #faith #hope #help #recovery #newlife #peopleofpresence #holy #holyspirit #sacred #Sophia #wisdom
First Love Church
Beyond Religious Rules: Becoming the Living Scripture
Have you ever found yourself trapped in a religious system built on fear rather than love? Most of us have been taught that spiritual growth means following rules and managing sin, but what if there's a radically different way to experience God?
In this transformative teaching, we explore the revolutionary concept of living in the flow of the Holy Spirit—a way of being that moves beyond religious obligation into genuine freedom. The journey begins with a fundamental shift in understanding: "the fear of the Lord" isn't about being afraid of divine punishment but standing in awe of love's infinite power. This reframing allows us to approach God with openness rather than anxiety.
At the heart of spiritual transformation lies the conflict between our ego (what scripture calls "self-life") and the Holy Spirit. Our ego constantly seeks control through noise, distraction, and self-protection. The Spirit, meanwhile, invites us into surrender through moments of silence and presence. This surrender isn't about weakness but about recognizing a greater power at work—one that changes us from the inside out rather than through external rules.
The most powerful evidence of this transformation appears in how we treat others. When we truly live in the Spirit, we begin to see ourselves as one with everyone—even the slow driver in traffic, the difficult colleague, or the political figure we strongly disagree with. This oneness doesn't mean condoning harmful behavior but approaching it with compassion rather than hatred. As one listener shared, "When I stopped seeing others as obstacles and started recognizing them as my brothers and sisters, everything changed."
Ready to experience this freedom for yourself? Start with five minutes of silence each day, intentionally surrendering your plans and ego to divine love. Watch how this small practice gradually transforms your relationships, your responses to challenges, and your understanding of what it means to follow the way of Jesus. The invitation stands: abandon the exhausting work of earning God's approval, and step into the liberating flow of the Spirit.
This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church you can donate at https://www.firstlovechurch.org/giving
In the service of LOVE,
Pastors Dennis and Heather Drake
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast. This is a collection of Sunday teachings inspired by the Revised Common Lectionary and recorded weekly in Ocala, florida. It's joy, it's all joy, it's all good, it's all God, it's all grace. I'm grateful that you're here this morning. The presence that you brought, the light that you brought. It is a gift to us as a congregation, and I'm very excited that we got to read those particular scriptures together this morning.
Speaker 1:One of the reasons why we read scriptures together is it reminds you you hear yourself saying that we are all dearly loved by God that we remind ourselves that there is a holiness that we are called to, there is a sacredness that we are to remember, and that we are to be trained, to be taught to put ourselves in a place where the full revelation of God can be revealed to us. And so I'm grateful for your presence, for your participation, for those of you online who are with us. Thank you so much, and we are terribly excited today to talk about this continuing practice of living in the spirit, living in the presence you know it was just as tom was talking about us uh, not, uh, wanting to, you know, add or subtract to scripture.
Speaker 2:Um, you know there's a verse in scripture I think many of you know that that you know kind of warns against adding, against it or whatever, and I think that, almost though, that could create kind of a fear because, though we're not going to add or subtract to it, we definitely need to understand it or interpret scriptures maybe better than we had in the past, or better even than generations had before us. You know that there's places in scriptures that instruct you how to take care of your slaves that should appall you, that absolutely should appall you, but we, we understand now and we've evolved as people to know that we cannot own other people and that god never intended
Speaker 2:and god never intended. Yes, but the people in in the bible, they were deal, that was their world, that they lived in, and so they're going. Well, you know, if that's going to be, at least do this and and that's not. That's not condoning or or saying that, well, because that's in there. Then that's the way it's got to be, that we've got to own people and but we've got to make sure we treat them this way, that, and so I think that there's a lot of things Like I remember growing up being taught you know the fear of the Lord, and then some people are like well, are you going to be afraid of God?
Speaker 2:Well, no, that just means a reverential respect, because basically what it means is that at any moment he can squash you like a june bug, but I'm not afraid he's a loving God, and Junebug, but I'm not afraid he's a loving God.
Speaker 2:And so I'm trying to understand, you know, what the fear of the Lord is, and I realized that you know a lot of the religion that I was handed was fear-based, and the whole thing, the whole scaffolding that held the thing up, was fear. And so that scripture, though that's in there for us to wrestle with, it's not a mandate that God wants a relationship with you that's based in fear. In fact, I believe God made tremendous efforts so that you and I could have a relationship with God that is based in love, and so we have to maybe build a new understanding. Amen, we need to. Even though those scriptures are there, we need to wrestle with them, we need to talk about them, we need to explore the idea of what God means you know by this and what spirit would say, and how many things in the Bible are just written by men in the Bible that really aren't for all times and for everyone and for every situation. I mean, did you bring a parchment and a robe for Paul today?
Speaker 1:Because it's in there.
Speaker 2:Because the scripture said before you come, bring the parchment and the robe.
Speaker 2:I have failed you, oh God, or do I understand? Maybe that was for a certain person for an individual time? Amen, and so maybe there's other things that God is wanting us to remove from religion in order for us to really have an understanding of love and relations. So we want you to have a stirred and ignited relationship with spirit that you would understand that God has given you a teacher, has given you someone to lead you, given you the ability to be comforted, and that is something that needs to be maybe developed a skill of learning how to follow and understand. And so, though it's the fourth week of Pentecost, why are you celebrating Pentecost again? Isn't that happened already? Well, maybe for you and I, coming into the Spirit isn't a one-time thing, maybe it's a practice, maybe it's something that we need to go over and talk about different aspects, talk about different uh ways that we can learn to surrender, and so that's really what we want to do uh during these weeks.
Speaker 1:Uh, pentecost is for us to to learn uh spirit and to understand what god uh is offering to us I remind you during these weeks when jesus said to the people who were following him it's really much better for you that I leave. I would have struggled with that.
Speaker 1:I would have said absolutely not. I can see how things are going to go. Do not leave, stay here with us. And Jesus said it's better for you that I leave, because I am going to send you a comforter, I am going to send you an advocate. I am going to have a spirit that is sent to you. You will not even need a teacher, because the spirit of truth will tell you and I remind you, in the very beginnings of our Christian faith, in the very beginnings of the work and the following of Jesus, there was no scripture, but everyone had the spirit, and our responsibility is to be the living scripture. Our responsibility is to allow the spirit to change the way that we think. I mean one of the first jobs of the Holy Spirit, one of the first ideas that we have, is the Holy Spirit is the thought adjuster that we would be people who, on a regular basis, expand our ideas about everything about God, about love, about the world.
Speaker 1:You were saying, reminding us of a scripture that says that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and I want to tell you that this text that we have has been translated into many different languages and we get it after a translation and a translation and a mistranslation and a translation, but I really feel like, if you look at the word, the word that was intended, it is the awe of God. I mean, have you ever stood in front of a mountain and looked at that thing and your smallness in front of it? Have you ever stood at the ocean and looked at it? Have you ever seen the ocean when she's angry? Have you ever looked at nature and said incredible. And if none of those things have ever inspired you, look at the pictures that the James Webb telescope is showing us. Look at the cosmos and see this infinite plan that love is inviting us into. Be inspired, beloved, have awe. Be what leads you into wisdom. Someone just said to me this week I really need to know, I need to get with you because I need to know what's right and what's wrong. And I said beloved, beloved. This is the hope for all of us. Give that up, because that was the wrong part of the garden to be involved with.
Speaker 1:The scripture says follow the spirit. So what we need to know is what wisdom is and what is foolishness, and foolishness is not for any of us. We just leave that on the side. But wisdom, where is wisdom leading us?
Speaker 1:The scripture tells us that the spirit of God is wisdom, that it looks like following after the wisdom that we have. But how do we know what wisdom is and what she is creating? We look to the scriptures for a witness of who Jesus is. And Jesus, who lived in harmony with the spirit, who said this is how I'm able to do these things, to live life fully connected to himself and also to God, is through the spirit. And so, good news, beloved, you are full of God's own Spirit.
Speaker 1:The scripture tells us that what happened is when God's Spirit came upon you, when the love of God was in you. God's Spirit is in you, and so we're so grateful to go to the scriptures today and to look at what it looks like to be a people who are filled with Spirit, who know the voice of the Holy Spirit, who understand that there are things even that Spirit will do for us that we cannot do for ourselves, like change our minds about things or pray. In fact, the scripture tells us that when we don't know how to pray, that the Holy Spirit will intercede for us with groanings that even cannot be uttered, like with language, when you don't know what to do about this situation. You don't know what to do about this situation. You don't know what to do about that person.
Speaker 2:Holy spirit, I thank you that you are interceding for us you know, I want to just you know, in the precursor to us, get moving here today into the scriptures that you know, we talk about the power of the holy spirit to move in in our lives and to do a work in us and sometimes there's a disconnect of what God would do through us and what God is going to do, and I think a lot of times we have the idea well, you know, god will just take care of all that. You know there's hurting people around. Oh Lord, do something about it. Well, he intends to do something about it through us. But that's going to take the power of the Holy Spirit working through you, for you to discern when I'm to do, whatever it is that I'm to do, and how I'm to do that. Because I've also seen people that just go out and try to help everybody all the time and they end up getting burned out and exhausted because you got ahead of the Spirit all the time and they end up getting burned out and exhausted because you gotta you head of the spirit. So there's a real place in in learning. But but I I also want you to kind of maybe I want to rattle your mindset on some things.
Speaker 2:I I think that we really look at this thing and go well, jesus did this for us. He sat down and said it's finished, so everything that needs to be done is done. So I'm just going to sit around and wait for the rapture, which is a man-made doctrine, so I'm not so sure that that you. You got a lot of confidence there and, and I want you to maybe consider, did jesus live the life in the spirit to set an example to you and I of how you could live?
Speaker 2:You know, I think that we go. Well, jesus is God, so he can do all that, and I am not. So, therefore, good luck with God, whatever you get out of me. But Jesus said some strange things like greater works will you do than me, and so I think the church has a real problem and that we underestimate the power of the spirit of god through us and we forget that jesus is not, uh, the one who fixed and go and just does what we can't do, but he's the example of what we're called to be. Now, if that's going to happen in my life, you better believe it's going to have to be by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:And the invitation is for all of us that we would be apprentices of Jesus, that we would be people who follow the rabbi, that follow our teacher, follow so much that we would be covered in the dust of our rabbi that we would follow the way of Jesus. Jesus said I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. And so he's offering himself to us as a path for us to understand what it is like to live and to have life to the fullest. In Galatians, chapter 5, paul is writing to the church at Galatia and there's not a whole lot of good things that he tells them. He's really frustrated with them. He's like you got this incredible gift, the salvation of Jesus Christ, and now you're adding a bunch of rules to it. And now you're saying that people have to come in this particular door, they have to do that particular thing, and he's just frustrated for them. And so I encourage you.
Speaker 1:You can read, you know the beginning of the chapter two, but this particular time we're looking at Ephesians, chapter five. Beloved ones, galatians, chapter five. Beloved ones, galatians, chapter 5. Beloved ones, god has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. This is the invitation Come live in the Spirit, come live in communion with God, come live and be a part of the moving and breathing. In fact, the scripture also reminds us that God holds everything together and in God we live and move and have our being Beloved ones.
Speaker 1:God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. If that is your calling, if God has said come live in the Spirit, then what are we doing to say yes to that answer? But don't view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. And so this is a beautiful understanding for us that this spirit realm is for us an understanding that there is so much more. I mean, you've known this since you were little, since you were tiny. You knew that there was something and energy, that there was God, that there was something bigger than your language had that, your understanding had that there was an invitation into oneness. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do, and I thank you for that.
Speaker 1:The wisdom reminds us freedom means it's not going to be about you. Freedom means it's going to be you don't express yourself in all the ways that you wanted to. That it is a service to one another in love. If we looked at Jesus, we could look at the path that Jesus has for us, and it was this it has always been. We look at the testimony of how Jesus lived To the hungry. Jesus brought food To the sick. He was the healer To those who were oppressed. He spoke liberty to them, and this is an invitation for us.
Speaker 2:I want to stay there just for a second. You know Jesus is referred to as the door, and so Jesus has made this doorway and invited you into freedom. He's given you a path, given us freedom that, uh, we're free in christ jesus. Uh, end of story.
Speaker 2:Good night everybody yes, that's it and the thing is, our minds will really wrestle with that. No, that's let me tell you, pastor, why. That's not true, not yet, and I want it to be and I'm I'm agreeing with it, but I'm gonna have to figure out how I can lay down, you know, my smokes, or I gotta lay down my cussing or or my soap operas, whatever it is that you feel like is the thing. And I'm being silly because the the truth is, god has made you free, but there's something in you that wants to say yeah, but not yet, and I want to call to mind what that is. That is our ego. Our ego wants to do it, I want to, and that's really the problem with religion.
Speaker 2:Religion is yeah, god, look what I can do for you, look how I can earn your approval, and God has made you free. There's a humility and not a yeah, but he said it, it's true, I accept it and I surrender. I stop resisting, I stop fighting, I'm free to, I stop resisting, I stop fighting, I, I'm free. So, if I'm free, I'm, I'm no longer a slave to to sin, I'm no longer a slave to to my mind's arguments or whatever. And now I'm free to what? Free to serve, serve and that's what I'm freed for and to. That's our, our purpose, our calling our joy, because love gives, because love prefers another person, love cares, and that's what you've been made free so I don't have all the these distractions and stuff I need to do. I can just serve, and the power of the Spirit gives me the strength to do that, because sometimes I don't want to.
Speaker 2:Just recently there was some rustling on our front porch and it was just yesterday, and I got a 57-year-old body and it's a body that I can get up, thank you Jesus. But I feel every get up and get down and there was rustling on the front porch and I knew the front door was locked and I thought to myself somebody needs to unlock this door, but not me, because it's going to cost me some pain and discomfort. Who can I yell for? What young blood can I find in the home and delegate this wonderful opportunity for them to learn how to serve? You get where I'm going. Right, there's this. I have been made free for the opportunity to go. Holy Spirit, give me the strength, the will, the love to get up and open the door for one of my sons that was wrestling with his keys and, sure enough, an arm load of stuff. You know, I was so glad that I didn't choose myself, and many times I have.
Speaker 2:And so, because of that shame and that sorrow, how can I be free? I must pay penance. There I go back into my ego trying to figure out how I can earn this thing. Wait a minute, god has made me free. Amen. Can I accept that? Can I learn to walk in that? That is the real offer of spirituality, that I'll learn to surrender, because on any given day I don't know about you, but I mess up on it quite a few times, but it's opportunity to learn to surrender. And how quickly can I get back into service? And or, how much do I have to deal with this penance or this guilt or this? How much shame should I carry? How bad should I feel? For how long? Where's the? Where's the exact amount that I can feel like I've earned it? Or can I just recognize I have been made free? Can you accept that? Because if you can accept that, your spirituality would be completely different. Somebody say amen.
Speaker 1:For love completes the laws of God. That's good news, too, beloved. All of the law can be summarized in one grand statement Demonstrate love to your neighbor even as you care for and love yourself. This is how it is evidenced that we care for each other, and that we care in ways that are helpful and genuine and full of God's spirit.
Speaker 2:Oh, I want to just interject here. Love completes the laws of God, but you know that fear cauterizes us from from moving forward, and and I think that if we had that fear-based relationship with God and not that love-based relationship like, I'm just convinced that any minute I'm going to be squashed, I tell you there's a reason why I need to push past. That that's not well. Hey, I'm just showing God, I'm respectful and I'm afraid. Well, the the, he really even says Jesus tries to explain that to us. You know what? There was a, there was a servant that was given a talent and it was like well, I knew you to be a, a judgeful, you know. So I buried that thing because I and I'll give you back what you, what you gave me. You know what? We've been given something so that we can multiply it. Amen that God has has given us grace upon grace, and then and then, just in that freedom of knowing I've been made free, causes me to be able to step out.
Speaker 2:But fear causes me to hold back. And have you ever been so afraid? You literally were paralyzed.
Speaker 2:One time I was in the streets of chicago and a semi truck was rolling over the front of my friend's car and it was just getting crunched under and sucked under and I was in the passenger side. All I would have had to do is open the door we were at a dead stop and climb out of the car. I scratched at that doorknob like a cat. I had no idea how to work a door. I was so afraid. The only thing I worked up is the courage to yell out oh shh.
Speaker 2:Something I can't remember exactly, and in the dead silence my pastor, who was driving, looked at me and you said what God help us. But sometimes we get so paralyzed with fear, you know, and God's reminding us no, I'm free, and so that's a process. I learned to exchange that fear for his love, that grace. Yeah, I deserve all kinds of consequence, but look at God, who chooses to make us free, to choose to love us anyway, and that should cause us to fully fulfill all of the things that we need to do, and the strength and the power to do it he gives.
Speaker 1:In verse 16, as you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and the power of the Holy Spirit Beloved. The power of the Holy Spirit is what allowed Jesus to live again. It is the power of the Spirit that brought the dead to life. There is nothing that the power of the Spirit cannot do, and we are asked to fully yield to that dynamic power that would live in us. As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and the power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life and this is such a beautiful hope for us, because it is the more of the good that you have. Those other things will be evident to you that it is foolishness and you will walk away from the foolishness for the things that are good and that are life and that are holy and that are merciful because that is who God is you will abandon the cravings of your self-life.
Speaker 2:The first part of my spiritual walk I spent in sin management and I felt like, well, if I could confess or pray or do something and I could deal with this. And then I found myself just focusing on sin all the time. Uh, as a result of that, I stayed in that and that made me a very angry, uh, person, and that anger was, you know, was really at myself. But if you, but how you treat yourself, it's how you're going to treat others, and I had this judgment and standard for myself. And then then, as as realized wait a minute, at some point I've just got to accept the completed work of Christ. And if God says I'm free, I'm free. And now let me focus on what freedom does and go back to that verse, because I really like how it says that you abandon the cravings of your self-life. If you're so busy focusing on sin, you're going to be distracted and the cravings and those things are going to be what is before your eyes. But when you look towards God and that freedom he's given you, next thing you know we're just following after good and all of a sudden the spirit begins to do. It's not like oh, today I got to follow the spirit. Today I get to see what the spirit's gonna do in my life. Just the other day, heather and I went I'm gonna brag on Heather for a minute the way that she lives her life and just kind of flows in the spirit. We've adopted this language where we're like you know what? What is, what is my job today? Holy Spirit like, yeah, we've got our stuff to do and we're gonna do that, but it's a mindset. What's God going to do?
Speaker 2:We walked into this place we like, this restaurant. I'm not going to say the name because you might know the person, but we walked into this restaurant we like and Heather just looked at the lady and said what's wrong and she just kind of shook it off. Before Heather even sat down, the lady was taking us to our favorite seat. She looked at her, she said something's wrong and the woman said my mom just died. She lives in, we're from another country and there's no way that I'm going to be able to be there. And Heather just went, like this, and that woman fell in Heather's arms. At work at a restaurant with customers around and food going. She fell into Heather's arms, heather held her as she wept for the the longest time and and Heather just held her. And a little tip on that you don't let go until they let go, don't you do the? My family had what we used to call the Drake Pat me and Heather named it. You get a hug and then a pat on the back and it's like we're done now. Okay, move along.
Speaker 2:But I'm talking about a surrender to the holy spirit in the middle of a restaurant, where that woman just fell in heather's arm and there was nothing more holy. I've never seen a church service with a better anointing or a moment in time where that woman received love, acceptance, comfort. The Holy Spirit showed up and answered things and gave her because I'm sure there's all kinds of thoughts what kind of a daughter are you? How do you? You know all this stuff? You know there's no money, how do we? You know? And just to be held by love. And Heather was love and Heather is love. But we all are love. That not heather's job today. It's all of our job and many of you do it and I encourage you to continue. But I gotta tell you we've got to get out of the way of our. I love that verse, that that you know our self-life. Oh, it's about me. What do I got to get when I realize I'm free? What is there to get? So now I can just trust.
Speaker 1:Come on now. Your self-life craves the things that the Holy Spirit for your self-life craves, the things that the Holy Spirit for your self-life craves. The things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder the Spirit from living free within you. And the Holy Spirit's intense cravings hinder your self-life from dominating.
Speaker 2:Come on.
Speaker 1:That's a good news. So, then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit. This is the good news that the spirit of God lives in you. When someone, you ask them and they say nothing is wrong. But you could look in their eyes, at least as people who are paying attention, and you could see something is wrong. You don't need an outside voice to come and say I would like for you to do this.
Speaker 1:Your own heart, your own compassion moves toward that thing, and we again have a witness in scripture where we're told to weep with those who weep. Weep with those who weep. What if you loved someone and you could not be there for them when they were dying? That would cause you to weep, your own weeping. And so there are tears, are holy, beloved, and I think a lot of things in this world could be changed if we would do a lot more crying, if it could break our hearts when we see mothers not able to feed their children. It should break our hearts when we see mothers and fathers receiving back their dead sons, because we are still a people who love violence. God forgive us, mercy, break us and say how do we live differently?
Speaker 1:This is why paying attention, learning to live in the spirit is so much hopeful of it. This is how the world changes. In fact, in the very beginning in the book of Genesis, there is a story that tells us that the earth was formless, it was void, it was a wreck, it was darkness, and then the Spirit of God hovered over the chaos. When I look around and see chaos and you could do that you could look, you could be aware and see chaos all around us. This is our job. Holy Spirit, how are you making all things new and how can I get in on what you're doing? I want to be a part of the goodness that is happening in the world. I want to be a part of what love is creating here. This is the promise that God said to us. I am making all things new. That's hopeful. He is making us new, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, god said to us, I am making all things new.
Speaker 2:That's hopeful. He is making us new, but by the power of the Holy Spirit. I just want to look at this verse for a minute because it talks about the old self and the move of the Spirit, and I think that old self it really could also be. You could use the language of your ego, and your ego is going to fight against the spirit, because the ego wants to take care of you. It wants to take past experiences and deduce how future things might play out and how it would be best for you if this happened. And so it's always scheming and that's our mind, that's running and it's a computer and it was given to us by god and it's good. I mean, it was good for those people that lived in the baltic states at one point to go we better pack up some grain in the summer because it's going to get winter. And when that winter was really long and they were, they canned foods and they had grains, they were like thankfully. So I'm not saying that you abandon that. You just don't have that voice control you. You allow the Holy Spirit to control us and we don't allow that constant.
Speaker 2:For many of us we're in a constant. I got to take care of myself, I got to do this, I got to do this, and we're in a constant I've got to take care of myself, I've got to do this, I've got to do this and we've got a list. So long there's no room for the Holy Spirit. And I'm telling you that this is why they conflict, because there's rarely a spot in a life of someone in Western civilization that is quiet. We fill it up with social media, with entertainment, with TV, with talk, with whatever. Got to listen to music. Some people you know, a lot of people I know, and not judge you or whatever but you got to watch TV. Even when you go to bed, it's got to be playing, something's got to be going Because God forbid we have silence, and silence is that place where the ego can't control anymore and the spirit gets to it and we're very uncomfortable with that place.
Speaker 2:And so I'm challenging you. I'm not if, if that's one of these things where it's like you're just not ready to shut off your tv and go to sleep at night. I'm not criticizing you, but do you, but I am challenging you. You better figure out some time where you can have five minutes, 10 minutes, let it lead to 30 minutes. Imagine that that you could just trust God in silence for 30 minutes. See your ego. Stop running, stop controlling, because the you is not that ego. The you is not the one who's planning and scheming stuff. The you is the one who decides whether you should do that or follow God, and that you never gets to run the show, and that one needs to learn to surrender to God. Amen.
Speaker 1:We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining us today. If you're finding this episode meaningful, would you take a moment to share it with a friend? This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of people just like you. If you would like to support the ongoing work of First Love Church and the continued work of our podcast, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg, reminding you to like, follow and subscribe.
Speaker 2:Where we get it all focused on sin. God's mad at you because you're sinning. Well, no, just that life is distracting you from a life of love and service, where you don't have to hurt your family anymore, you don't have to bring that stuff. Why did you cheat? Well, I cheated because I just needed to fulfill something empty inside of me, something that's never going to be empty because the ego is never going to be satisfied. Well, I just had to do this. I just had to drink because I need to quiet these voices. Well, because we haven't learned that, surrendered to the Holy Spirit. So God's not up there mad because you did this sin or that sin. God is just. I'm offering a way free from it. I made you free. I might just preach, I don't know.
Speaker 1:It's exciting. I told you we were excited to talk about the Holy.
Speaker 1:Spirit.
Speaker 1:We're using words and I want to be really clear about some of the language because I'm aware that people come from different places but we're saying it would be so good for you to sit in stillness, for you to sit saying nothing in front of God. But let me tell you that is not good news if you feel like God is angry with you. That is not good news if you feel like God is disappointed with you. We're talking about sitting in the presence of love, who is already enamored with you, love, who is already. You are faultless, the scripture tells us, in God's eyes, and so coming before the presence of God becomes a different thing when we're not worried that we're not living up to things. When you are brought into the full freedom of the spirit of grace, you will no longer be living under the domination of the law, but soaring above it. So it's this idea that the things that mean to shackle us or keep us down. I really want to talk to you about the fact that we're talking about caring for ourselves and loving and living in freedom. And if it's freedom for you but means not freedom for someone else, that's not freedom. Beloved, that is called something else. It's not freedom. Freedom is when you are free. Everyone is free. Jesus paid the price for us and gave it to all of us and said everyone is welcomed to come home to the Father. Fruit or evidence produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all of its varied expressions. We just need to really contemplate this on a regular basis. What is an evidence of God's Spirit in you? What is an evidence of you being led by the Spirit? It's going to be love, and it's going to be love for all people. It's going to be peace Peace for all people. This is not you and yours. This is the invitation into what God is doing, what God is bringing us to. In fact, I was in our devotion and in our paying attention to what the season is, this season after Pentecost, which is this entire beautiful part, till we get to Advent again this practice of living in the Holy Spirit, living with mind attuned to the Spirit and paying attention to that.
Speaker 1:You've used a word today over and over again surrender, and when I was growing up, surrender was what someone said when they were in an arm wrestling match. I mean, we did a lot of arm wrestling because there were some strong people in our lives and they like to show how strong they were. So they would take anybody like let's wrestle, you know. And then you were the young, tiny person and they look like Popeye arms and they're like, let's wrestle. I'm like, all right, and you know. And then bam, surrender. And it's like I'm hurting. I don't want to surrender, I just don't want to die. And that's not surrender, beloved. That's not what God is asking, that's not what we're asking.
Speaker 1:Surrender is leaning into love. Surrender is what you do when you close your eyes and lean in for a kiss. That's a different kind of place where, with God, you're saying I'm going to surrender and I'm going to lean into the love that you have for me and for the world and I'm going to give up my proclivity toward fighting for things, my resisting of how things are and how I think that they should be and how we need to get ahead. And this invitation is into love, is into returning back. The scripture tells us, john tells us, that God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God. Beloved, you can live in love today and that's so incredibly helpful. You can live in God and it is through the spirit of God changing, expanding, bringing us a different thought and allowing us to live differently together.
Speaker 2:I just love that verse where it says that you'll no longer you'll soar above the law. If you think about it with your little kids, they needed the rules Don't put a fork in the light socket. We want to keep you around, but there became a point and I'm grateful now that, as a pastor, I don't have to walk around each one of you and make sure that you don't stick a fork in a light socket Because you've gotten to a point where you soar above that law. You're not going to do that, you're not even considering that, because there's so much more in this life that you can do and you can experience that. I don't need to experience a fork in a light socket.
Speaker 2:I already know that's a bad idea and so much of the time, you know, I've had pastors corner me and say you don't talk about sin enough and I think, no, you don't talk about freedom enough. No, you don't talk about freedom enough because sin, if we talk about sin and we just talk about the rules and the law and all this, and then you're like, yeah, I can't do this, can't do that, but but really your spirit tells you don't put the fork in the light socket. Amen, I'm not saying that you're free to stick forks and light sockets. That's what we're talking about here. The Spirit offers freedom for all.
Speaker 2:Forks in light sockets, brethren. That's what I teach. That's insanity. But I want to live in the Spirit which is above just talking about sin and talking about rules, and I'm telling you there's a place that scripture talks about it. But most religion accidentally realized that we kind of got to navigate people and control them and hurt them a little bit I mean, they're sheep after all. So we just got to tell them don't do the light socket thing, give in the offering box or you're all going to be punished with poverty.
Speaker 1:This is not the word of the Lord beloved.
Speaker 2:We threaten people with, dangle them over hell Instead of offer, prop it up. You know what I want you to give an offering today, don't get me wrong. But guess what You're going to be. An offering today, don't get me wrong, but guess what. You're going to be just as blessed if you walk past those boxes. God is not going to punish you. He's done away with that kind of law. You're living above it. But if I'm really living in the spirit, then generosity causes me to go. Well, the lights do have to be on, and that chubby guy does need to eat. Have to be on, and that chubby guy does need to eat. So you know, what I will give, I will support, but that's between you and love and in generosity, not out of fear of punishment or anger of god, because you and I are called to live above that. But above it doesn't mean that I live now in the flesh and in the carnal paul said certainly not but that I'd live in the spirit in a place where I could just know that this person needs a hug, this person needs to be served.
Speaker 2:It was funny just the other day. Heather's going, what are you doing today? I go, I have no idea very shortly after I got a text and someone said I need you to drive me somewhere, pick up a certain thing. And I said well, today I'm delivery guy and I got to go be with somebody for a couple hours and just love on a minute and I thought, well, this is my day and I'm looking around and all of a sudden, the the person's neighbor came over and he goes hey, this is my pastor. He came over to help me and he goes you're a pastor and you did this for him. And all of a sudden, this guy's going.
Speaker 2:I didn't think pastors were like that. And I'm out in the yard and all I want to do is leave, because it's 9,000 degrees outside and the guy wants to have a theological discussion and instead of me going, you need to get to church I go no, this is my pulpit, this is my moment, and so I can discard personal discomfort and I can just choose for the big 20 minutes I suffered on the cross of hot Florida sun. Poor me, right? We feel so sorry for ourselves and and it's like we get an opportunity to love somebody and and that's I mean. It's just. It's just. We're living in a, you know, whole different opportunity here freedom in god, or do we live bound by fear and the law?
Speaker 1:And it's freedom through the power of the Holy Spirit, through the power of God's Spirit, through entering into that eternal current of what God is up to Beloved. God is up to good. God is up to beauty.
Speaker 1:God is up to more love, and so our invitation is to be a part of what God is doing. Our invitation is to enter that current, to look at these things. Fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions Joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue. Faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, strength of spirit never set the law above these qualities. They are meant to be limitless can I interject just quickly?
Speaker 2:I apologize just so quickly, when I saved.
Speaker 1:We're not going to get to the good part beloved. I'm just teasing. We are, it's all good, it's all good.
Speaker 2:When I first got saved, I was hanging around with my friends and my friends started to get saved and all of a sudden we'd be around and we might be acting all carnal or something, but something would happen and the Spirit of the Lord would just show up. The spirit of the Lord would just show up and I remember a couple of times like one of my friends, he goes, he goes. I don't know why that kid that causes so much trouble. I just think there's good in him. And my other friend goes. I think that's a gift from God. I think God has something like that where he gives that to you, where you know things and we're like really, and so and the next day he goes. I found it. It's in the Bible. It says you know the gift of discernment and and now he goes you had it, you had it we had it and we're like all excited.
Speaker 2:And then I think that I went to Bible school and we studied the list, you know, and we go. Well, if I'm going to be in the spirit, I got to be patient and be kind. Know, I gotta, I gotta make sure that I, that I, you know, if I have a tongue, I have interpretation of tongue, or or if I all right, you know. And so we get all like in the head instead of, wouldn't it be fun just to go to surrender to god and then go, oh, there's that thing. I believe that's what he's offered to us, that you stop planning it out and we surrender. And then we find out, oh, that thing's happening where God is just, you know, pouring out his spirit upon all flesh, that God is just accepting people that felt that they didn't deserve it or they didn't earn it, or they felt they were unaccepted by everyone else. Every other people grew. They are feeling the love of God. Oh, I want to be part of this.
Speaker 2:And then let someone else point it out yeah, that's a thing in the Bible that's cool, but we've gotten so cerebral that we know all those scriptures but we don't live any of them. I want to just surrender to that kiss and surrender to what God might do with the rest of my life, because I want to stop making it about me. And that means a thousand times between the the time I take my last breath. I need to die. I need to die to myself. No, I wanted to stay on that couch and for somebody else to unlock that front door, but I died in that moment. And I died when the alarm went off this morning and I think I'll die a thousand or maybe a million times before I actually die, and then, by the time I get there, I'll be good at it, amen.
Speaker 1:Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus, the anointed one, have already experienced death. That's good news. We have experienced death to death, death to self cravings, death to selfishness, death to hatred. Let me just be very clear about this beloved, those who are in the spirit abide no hatred. The Spirit of God is love, and hatred is not a part of God's spirit, and so whenever you find any kind of hatred, you need to look at that and go.
Speaker 1:I'm inviting the Holy Spirit to come in and remove that and find a way to listen to the witness of Mary Magdalene, who said it is our job to return to love. As fast as you can identify hatred, return to love, make that repentance, change that everything connected with our self-life was put to death on the cross and crucified with the Messiah. We must live in and follow the Holy Spirit. This is the invitation for all of us. Jesus said I came, that you would have life and have it to the full, and I want you to be connected to the same spirit that I'm connected to, the same way that I hear the Father speak. I want you to hear the Father speak and remind you of your belovedness and your place in all things, but we choose to live in the Spirit and we choose to follow the Spirit. It is our choice. It is what love gives us. You can choose hatred, but why, when you could choose love? The power of love is the greatest power that has ever and will ever exist.
Speaker 2:God is all love you know this, this word here, that we must live in the flow of the Holy Spirit. You know, I can just feel pushback from people. Yeah, pastor, but you don't understand what it's like to live at my house or you don't understand what it's like at my work and what they demand of me and how things go. And I'm telling you that we as a people need to stop giving ourselves an excuse not to do something, instead of rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to actually do what we can't do in our own strength. Because I've been at meetings before and I've been strongly impressed to say to a group of people listen, we need to start living right. To a group of people, listen, we need to start living right.
Speaker 2:I've had groups of people and I gathered together just with anger problems, because I have struggled most of my adult life with a horrendous anger problem and actually I didn't struggle with it, I surrendered to it. It was very natural for me. Everybody that was in my life struggled with my anger problem. It's the truth and that's the sad truth. We giggle, but it is a terrifying truth that those are the people that suffer with your anger problem. But I'm with a group of people and I'm saying we cannot allow ourselves the privilege to act however we want. We cannot just surrender to that. Every time we just feel hurt, feel wounded, feel embarrassed. Because that's kind of been my thing. I have the standard for myself, and when I don't mean it, I get mad, and when I get mad I get mean. And when I get mad and mean it myself, then that's how I'm to everyone else. And so I'm telling you that in this place of surrender, it really starts out with us not allowing ourselves the excuse.
Speaker 2:And I sit in front of that group of people, anger, and I said we cannot do that. And they said yeah, I agree with you, but you know, once at work, you know three times, they asked me the same thing and they're in my face. What am I supposed to do? I punched them, you know, and it's like, and everybody in the room is like yeah, you know, it's like. And everybody in the room's like yeah, you know he's right. I mean it's three times. Come on, come on, pastor. I mean three whole times. I mean really, I mean I thought he was being so good. You know, I was surrendering to god those first two times. You know, I totally surrendered, then god didn't do it, so I had to take matter of the moment, you know.
Speaker 2:And then, and I find that in a large group of people we end up cutting each other this break because we want this break cut to us. And I'm saying how about? The break that was cut to you was by god giving you the holy spirit and the grace. Is that the power to do what you can't do in your own strength. And so if we would stop surrendering to what we can't do and agreeing there's no way I could be like Christ, because he's deity I'm just over here, you know instead of going, no, he is, he is the path. Christ, uh, dwells in me and and I and I'm, and I'm following after this new life, and I can't. Does anyone tracking with me here that we actually can do these if we would? And and I love how the author here is saying we must surrender to the flow of the Spirit, because if not, what else are you surrendering to my flesh, my will, my ego, to anger, to fear, which cauterizes, which holds me back, which, oh, come on, church, I don't even. Oh.
Speaker 1:So may we never be arrogant or look down on another, on any other. May we never be arrogant and look down on another, for each of us is an original made in the image of God. We must forsake all that diminishes the value of others. That is our job. God made us with value, made us beloved, and we, as people, must forsake anything that diminishes the value of others. We must be people who raise the value of all people, who raise the value of all people, who raise the value of all thoughts and be able to say this is what the Spirit is calling us into, this incredible hope. And while we say this, we're talking about the power of the Holy Spirit and the power of goodness.
Speaker 1:And what do you do when you encounter someone or when you experience someone's hate? What do you do when you're on the other side of this? What do you do when you're watching the news and you feel anger? Beloved, you should feel anger If you're paying attention. There is a reason that injustice is around us and there are things to do. But with the feelings that we have, the human emotions of anger, then we get to have a choice on how we will offer those to the world.
Speaker 1:Recently I've been horrified, as I'm sure you have, and I know that we are called to pray for all people, that we are called to wish and to pay attention to the thoughts that we have for all people. When I look at what some people are doing to our brothers and sisters, don't for one minute think it's someone else. It is our brothers and sisters. This is why Jesus taught us to pray Our Father, who art in heaven. This is why Jesus, when he's praying for us, says to the Father oh Holy Father, I am praying for these that you have given me, that you would protect them. Good news Jesus is praying for us to be protected From what Jesus says. Protect them from anything that would divide them. Make them one, like you and I are one.
Speaker 1:Jesus is praying for us to be one. And how do we do that? When we see, or when we are the recipients of someone's hatred or someone's violence toward us, what is our place then? If we respond back with the same violence, then the scripture tells us that we are the same person, but to do something greater. Here is the invitation. Sometimes I don't know what to do with people who are hurting me. I don't know what to do with people who hurt people that I love, people that I know, people that I share life with, and that's a frustrating place for all of us. What do we do? What do we do? Beloved Jesus is our answer, has always been our answer, and one of the ways that we pray for each other is we hold that person who is in the illusion that they're in, and we bring them before Jesus and we picture Jesus embracing them.
Speaker 2:Yes, that's a tough one.
Speaker 1:Yes, but it's holy. Think of someone right now who has harmed you, and then picture our loving.
Speaker 1:Jesus holding that person. Not so they get away with anything, but I do want to tell you, I'm confident, that our loving Jesus is whispering something into their ear, healing whatever broken place is in them that makes them behave in that way. I can't think of a better place for anyone, a place that is more prize, and a place that you should go if you are misbehaving, if you are in your illusion and harming others. To me, it is very much like having a very naughty toddler and you lifting them up and returning them to their parent. I will not allow you to harm these, and so it feels to me. That's what I'm doing when I bring someone into the loving presence of Jesus.
Speaker 1:I remind you of a story account in the scripture of a man named Saul who is breathing hate. I don't know if you can imagine this, but there are people who literally breathe in hate. Everything about them is hate. This is how he's described to us. He has no interest in turning and doing anything different. He enjoys his hate and he knows that he's right and he abides this hatred. He did not pray and ask God for help. He, in that hatred, went on his way to do harm, and Jesus met with him, a great light in illumination came to him and stopped him and from that moment on, from that time, in the presence of Jesus, he was completely changed, beloved, that is the story of Saul for us. And then the scripture tells us that people had been praying. People had been praying saying love, come to this person. So that's our beautiful job is to say when and again.
Speaker 1:Scripture tells us and we know this in our heart that wisdom does not ask us to stay in abusive relationships or to stay where we are being harmed. In fact, wisdom tells us that only a fool sees danger coming and doesn't run from it. So the idea is we don't stay in harm's way. But what do we do with ourselves after we have removed ourselves from the presence of that person or from that thing? That we bring them to the presence of a loving Jesus. And I am confident, beloved, that love changes everything. When whoever it is that has harmed you is in the embrace of Jesus, things will change. And you might have to bring them. Many times We've done that with toddlers, and they just scoot off their parents' lap and do the same thing, and we just bring them back. And so this invitation to come back into the presence of divine love. So we come back to this practice of forsaking anything that diminishes the value of others. That we practice this, paying attention and to the sacredness of all things, for us to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and for us to learn how to enter the flow of this eternal current that has been from the very beginning of time.
Speaker 1:In the book of Ephesians, the writer says this to us before the world was formed, god had you in mind. Before the world was formed, you were in the thoughts of God. Before the world was formed, god had you in mind and God had already decided that you were going to be the one that he loved. This is settled, you're loved. That doesn't change anything. And God said that he intended to lavish you with his love so that you would be made whole and holy by that love. Wholeness is always a part of what God is doing. In things that are fractured and broken, in things that have been smashed by angry people, god is coming to bring wholeness, hope, new life to us you know, part of this wholeness, uh, and if you're going to be whole, uh, we're going to have to be one.
Speaker 2:Do you understand that they're synonymous and a oneness is really? We have to change the dualistic mindset that we've gathered when we were children and it helps you develop. Like you know, someone hands you a ball, but I thought that was a ball. Well, no, this is a red ball, this is a blue ball, some is a basketball or something. You just start to be different.
Speaker 2:And then we look at well, you know, there's a woman, I'm a man, ball or something. You just start to be different. And then we look at well, you know, there's a woman, I'm a man, you know she's a girl, he's a dude, he's an old dude and, uh, you know I'm tall. He's not telling, you know. And so we make all this different. And then, all of a sudden, we're like now we got preferences. I, I prefer the tall ones, I prefer the short ones, I don't like the brown ones, I like this and I don't like the ones that have this sexual preference, but I like the, you know. And so then, all of a sudden, we start all this stuff, and so beginning to be healed is that we're beginning to be one and that means we have to be one with everyone. I was talking to a friend. We were laughing because they disagree with a particular politician and in fact I would say hate that politician as much as a Christian can hate.
Speaker 1:No, we cannot. We cannot abide any hatred. We cannot abide any Christian can hate this person. No, we cannot. This person has godly.
Speaker 2:Christian hate for this politician, and, uh, and, and. And Heather said uh, well, you know, I see myself as one with this politician, and. And the person just had such pushback, oh, I'm not one with it, you know. And it's like where, where do we? Wherever we draw that line, you start to see, okay, there's something in here that the spirit of God needs to get out, because that oneness is going to change something.
Speaker 2:If I begin to recognize everybody is my brother and my sister, we're one, then it changes. It's changed the way I drive, because I used to be like I was confident that it was my job to teach. If it says in 500 feet that the right lane ends, then why drive up to the blinker and try to turn in my lane? No, I will use my car as a ram. If I have to, I will drive you off the road. You're not getting in front of me, you're not going to do this.
Speaker 2:But when I started to realize that I'm one with that, that's, that's me. I make those mistakes. Sometimes I choose myself over someone else, or or I didn't recognize things and I want to break. I started letting people in, and I'm telling you what it's a slippery slope once you start letting people in, then you stop getting mad at this jerk in front of me. He's driving so slow like the only person on the road that's not a jerk is me, because I know the exact tempo to drive at all times, and so I. So then I'm starting to go. Well, now it's my job just to.
Speaker 2:In fact, the other the other day, I just yesterday, I was driving and I just immediately I'm like all the lanes were going fast except for my guy in front of me, and I'm like, well, you know, it's my pleasure just to let my brother that I'm one with, go whatever speed. And so that means wherever I was going is going to change, you know. And so you have to prepare. If you're going to live in the spirit, you have to leave five minutes early, it's all. It takes A little preparation because that guy's going to set a new tempo. And then, as soon as I relaxed it because I was tailgating them, and as soon as I said, no, no, they get to drive however fast they want, and I'm not going to immediately, as soon as I did that and just said, spirit of the Lord, that's my brother, then they turned over as if the Red Sea parted and I and I go. There is a peace in living. That doesn't have to be you, son of a.
Speaker 2:Why are you driving? He was just driving. He has no idea. I'm behind him and now I'm like I'm going to ride the back of this guy because he won't speed up. Now I know I'm the only person that does this. So stretch your hands out towards the weirdo up here.
Speaker 2:Or maybe all of us are in our heads and in our egos so much that we forget that, that that oneness is going to bring me unity, and and in that unity I can find that that they're, they're um, they deserve a break, they deserve love, they deserve to not be tailgated. You know, and I'm telling you just like, when we decided we were going to put five you know a stack of fives in our car every month for when we saw people on the side Instead of going look at these weirdos begging, they're probably going to buy drugs we just decided I'm going to bless them. I'd like to give 20s, but financially I'm a fiver right now. But you know what? We never run out of those fives in a month's time and we're always able to just smile and say we love you and give those away.
Speaker 2:And it costs us something. It costs a little preparation and planning, but God always provides, and I believe in that same way. If we'll decide to leave this parking lot with a little preparation, I'm going to be one with everyone I come in contact with. I was sharing with my brother and he goes. Sure enough, as soon as I talked to him about it, he started telling me he goes. I'm one with this idiot. How true is that statement? We are that idiot. We are that idiot.
Speaker 1:We are beloved of God.
Speaker 2:When we act like that, we are we're still beloved by God. But God's inviting us to live beloved.
Speaker 1:Yes to live holy truly beloved. And before you say to somebody because my friend did say I can't be one with that person because of the harm they're doing. And I understand that that person is not in their general life, there's nothing physically they can do about that. But we do all have a right to speak up for the harm that people are doing to others.
Speaker 2:Amen.
Speaker 1:But shunning people and being hateful towards someone else is not going to bring the life in the spirit. Bringing them the light. You being the light, you being love, you bringing someone into the presence of Jesus, that is how beloved the world changes your love. We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg.
