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.
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First Love Church
Changing Your Mind: How the Holy Spirit Transforms Our Thoughts
The Holy Spirit wants access to your whole house—not just the tidy rooms you're comfortable sharing. Are you ready to surrender your thinking to God's transformative power?
When we enter the waters of baptism, we make a powerful declaration: "I surrender my life to God." But this surrender goes far beyond a one-time ritual. As Martin Luther beautifully expressed, we're called to "live wet"—to continually remember whose family we belong to and to allow the Spirit to transform our thinking patterns daily.
The decisions that protected us in childhood might be limiting us as adults. Those defensive mechanisms and fear-based perspectives that once kept us safe may now be preventing us from experiencing the fullness of God's love and wisdom. The Holy Spirit gently invites us to change our minds—to see the world through God's eyes rather than through the lens of our ego.
This spiritual transformation reveals itself in how we perceive our circumstances. Two people can experience the same hot Florida day completely differently—one cursing the heat, another marveling at the miracle of a life-sustaining star. Our mindset determines whether we notice the abundance or scarcity around us, whether we respond with joy or complaint to life's challenges.
Perhaps most challenging is how the Spirit reshapes our understanding of community. Our ego constantly pushes us toward separation—wanting to be special, different, recognized. Yet God's way is unity, family, and surrender. When we encounter difficult people or harmful ideas, the Spirit doesn't call us to confrontation but to compassion—not arguing on their level but bringing them to Jesus who can sort through their confusion and pain.
This journey requires profound humility. The wisdom of God (often portrayed as feminine in scripture) brings patience and clear sight where masculine energy might rush to judgment or control. Sometimes God speaks to us through unexpected voices—younger family members, children, or those we might otherwise dismiss. Are we humble enough to listen?
You are the light of the world—not waiting for someone else to illuminate the darkness but shining brightly yourself. Through the Spirit's power, you can extend radical inclusion, expand your table rather than build higher fences, and find ways to spread joy to everyone around you. Ready to surrender your thinking to the One who loves you most? The Spirit is waiting.
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. Thank you, so grateful for your presence here. The light in us greets the light in you. I remind you what Jesus said you are the light of the world. Sometimes we're waiting for someone else to be the light. It's you beloved. You are the light of the world. You are the bright, shiny one, and it doesn't serve the world for you to dim it down or play small one. We understand is that the light of Christ that is in us is for everyone, and there is joy when we remember that christ is with us well, happy baptism day we're.
Speaker 2:We'll be having a the baptism over at our house after um, after church today. Uh, we um usually will fill up a pool here, but it dawned on me just after three years that there's a pool filled up in my backyard every day, so we're going to have baptism over there today. Try that out. And so we're so happy to have three people that are willing and ready and made that decision, and so, whether you're here or not with them, I want you to celebrate in your hearts with us, because this is a big day.
Speaker 1:And what a beautiful. I ask you to remember your own baptism. What was it like when you said I am now a part of God's family? It's a beautiful way of remembering this is one of the sacraments of the church that Jesus himself offered his life into the baptism of John. And then we see this following that, the believers were baptized, and it reminds us, during the time of Pentecost, that baptism isn't only with water, but we are baptized with fire, we are baptized with the Spirit, and so we are to be continually living a life in the Spirit.
Speaker 1:It was Martin Luther who said live wet. Live like you remember your baptism. Live like you remember whose family you're a part of. Live like you remember. This is our Father's world, and so we're grateful for the opportunity to share in this really holy sacrament that we do together. When we invite people into the kingdom by participating and by watching their baptism, we also participate in holy communion at the end of every service. The climax of the service is always this invitation to follow the command take and eat, be a part of what God is doing.
Speaker 2:And so, again, we do this day, um, and we remind ourselves what it's like to live baptized you know, and in that baptism, you know, when you first climb out of that water, you're still wet. It was recent, you know, and so if we can kind of remember, uh, that decision that we made, and that decision is to to do some things different. I surrender my life to, uh, to god, and so I want to do things god's way, and so in order to do that, we have to be willing to change our mind about some things. Uh, and you know, you've made some decisions that were good for you and, and a lot of times, you, we make decisions as children just to keep ourselves alive, and the decisions you made protected you from abuse, protected you from a scary world, and as a child, you needed to make those choices and do those things. But sometimes, as an adult, those fears and those decisions, decisions, they're not serving you anymore and we need to change our mind. But we've agreed with those things and they've worked so far. So sometimes it's difficult, and so I, just like we're going into the waters of baptism saying I'm being washed from my past. I wonder if, every time we get into a church service, if we could have a baptism, as it were, uh and and allow god to change our minds, for let's plunge in his word and let's, uh, emerge out of that affected by that I.
Speaker 2:I've been thinking this week and just really struggling, because I have two particular friends that walk with a severe cloud of just melancholy, to put it mildly, just a sadness, a depression. And life really proves them right. You know, it will find a way. There's a law of an attraction, and when you prophesy that kind of thing over yourself, it's bound to come back to you and, and anytime something good happens, you don't notice it. Anytime something bad happens, as we go, see, look, there's proof. And and I desperately see the pain that they're in daily.
Speaker 2:And then I think to myself. I sit around in my backyard and I feel the warmth of the sun and joy overwhelms me sometimes that I'm out in my backyard giggling, and so you might walk by and say, oh, there's a crazy one. But what's happened is my mind is being changed, the way that I think about things. Instead of miserable because it's so hot, I'm amused by the fact that there's a burning star close enough to me that it keeps me alive. That's a miracle, that is amazing. But we go oh, god's so freaking hot in florida. It's a mindset, isn't? It's a choice, it's a thing that we choose to think about and choose to believe. And so I really want to challenge you, because if there are some places where you walk in depression or you walk in fear, I know that there's an answer from god. I know there's a word, there's a promise, there's a thought, there's a way of thinking that that you are thinking.
Speaker 1:This is the life that Jesus invited everyone to, a life of repentance, and repentance means changing the way that you think, and I can't think of anything that is easier or harder at the same time than changing the way that you think, changing the way that you think about something. We were talking about baptism, and I remember my baptism. I was very young, I wasn't yet five, and I was going to be baptized, and we baptized in a big lake, and so my mom had an appropriate dress for me, and when I saw the dress that she picked out, I thought, oh no, I'm going to be baptized today. That's not the dress for me. I want the white dress with blue flowers and a crinoline, big, huge, puffy skirt, because it's a baptism day. That's what I want. And so I put that dress on, fastened that up, and my grandfather did my hair and braids like Heidi, over the top of my head because I was going to be baptized. I was very excited.
Speaker 1:I went to the edge of the river there and the elders were there and they said would you like to come and be baptized? And I said yes, because I already had the outfit on and, of course, I would be baptized with all the other grownups. And then the man said to me are you willing to give your whole life to God? And I thought to myself maybe, perhaps I think so, but I'm five, I've not experienced a whole lot. But I looked to my grandparents, who were standing right there, and they looked very old to me. It's very interesting now to be older than my grandparents were when they were watching the baptism. They looked very old to me and they served the Lord and I thought, well, if it's good for them, I can, I'll certainly do it. And so I remind you that your place as elders, your place as people who have followed Jesus for a long time, is not just for you, it's for those who will follow after you.
Speaker 1:And so I went into the waters of baptism and I came out with a scratchy crinoline. It was wet and it was so itchy on my thighs and I thought to myself it's probably why this dress wasn't appropriate, but I looked so cute and I knew that I did, and that's appropriate for baptism. So wear whatever it is that you feel wonderful in, but this idea of we wear this new life, this invitation. But it's hard to change our minds and that's why God gave us the Spirit and invited us to live in the Spirit, and the Spirit allows us to change the way that we think. But I was wondering, and I was asking Dennis this week I wonder how often we come to scripture or we come to a Moment with God, a moment, a very present moment.
Speaker 1:Just this week we had peaches at our house. Just this week we had peaches at our house. It's the summer time and if there's something that's going to help you, it is practicing the present, what is happening right now. And I went to grab peach and I thought I don't have the right shirt on for this because I expect the juice to run all the way down to my elbow, and then so I just rolled it right up and I ate that fruit and gave so much thanks. But what if you say you know what, I don't want? A mess of the Georgia peach. It's going to get all the way down. You miss the joy beloved. Sometimes the joy is in the complication, is in the mess, is in how we have to change what we're doing. And so, during this time of paying attention to life in the Spirit, we invite you, we invite you in this very moment, to invite the Holy Spirit to challenge the way that you think, to change the way that you think, to offer a new life.
Speaker 1:I am going to read to us a blessing during this particular time, over this service and over this week. It's from Hildegard of Bingen, a mystic, a beautiful Christian woman. She has so many wonderful things to say, but in particular this blessing Holy Spirit, comforting fire, life of all creation, anointing the sick, cleansing the body and soul. Fill these bodies, holy Spirit, sacred breath, fire of love, sweetest taste, beautiful aroma. Fill these hearts, holy Spirit, filling the world from the heights to the depth, raining from clouds, filling rivers in sea. Fill our minds, holy Spirit, forgiving and giving, uniting strangers, reconciling enemies, seeking the lost and enfolding us all together. Fill these gathered here, holy Spirit, bringer of light to dark places, igniting praise, greatest gift, our hope and our encourager.
Speaker 1:Holy Spirit of Christ, we praise you. We invite the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, praise you. We invite the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, to challenge the way that we think about things. And I wonder what things you will allow the Spirit to challenge you on, because we usually have some areas and then other areas we're like no, I'm good, I know what I believe and I am not willing to be challenged on that, and so I invite you this week, let the Holy Spirit in the whole house, let the Holy Spirit in the whole house, let the Holy Spirit in the whole thoughts, and just say come in and bring your truth.
Speaker 1:We read today from the book of Colossians this was to a church and in Coloss and so we listened to the Holy Spirit also making this alive to us today. Every time we pray for you, our hearts overflow with thanksgiving to Father, god, the Father of our Lord, jesus Christ, for we've heard of your devoted lives of faith in Christ Jesus and your tender love toward all his holy believers. Now, again, we pay attention to the fact that here is the truth for us that love is always going to be a mark of those who believe. Love is always going to be a mark of those who follow. Love is going to be something that we, on a regular basis, are known by, and so the Holy Spirit is loving.
Speaker 1:God is love. The Holy Spirit's not going to wrestle you down and make you do anything. The Holy Spirit is this gentle voice inside of you telling you which way to go. We're waiting for the screens and it's going to come. It'll just be a second. We're so grateful for this understanding that the hope of Christ that is in us, the hope that is near to us, bring the joy of salvation. And the salvation that we're offered is not just for us, it's offered for the whole world.
Speaker 2:You know it's funny how heaven I get to travel all over, uh, the world. It's been a blessing for us, and anytime we're not here in the pulpit, uh, and we're somewhere in the world on a sunday morning, we always go to church wherever we are, and you know whether it was a few months ago we were in, uh, paris, france, or wherever we've been. And you know that every church service we ever sit in, something goes wrong with the program Either the sound system does something, or the video don't work, or the things. And Heather and I look at one another.
Speaker 2:I get so thrilled, I just get tickled and we're just so happy because there's a thing, there's a thing that goes inside your head and it goes. Our church is just, it's, it's hokey. Nothing works at our church. Why is our church? Why can't electronics work at our church? And then we go all over the world and we find out, and God will do that for you, he'll change your mind. Where you sit around and think your church is the only one that has mechanical, and then you go and you go. Oh, it's just what it means to be in the world. In the world there will be tribulations, and tribulations live inside of computer programs, apparently, and sound systems.
Speaker 1:And I am grateful for the hard copy in case those don't work. Your faith and love rise within you as you access all of the treasures of your inheritance stored up in the heavenly realm. For the revelation of the true gospel is as real today as the first you heard of our glorious hope, now that you have believed in the truth of the gospel. This is the wonderful message that is being spread everywhere, powerfully changing hearts throughout the earth, just like it has changed you. Every believer of this good news bears the fruit of eternal life as they experience the reality of God's grace. What is the fruit? The fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, all of the evidences of the Spirit, this unbelievable good fruit, this holy fruit. Spirit, this unbelievable good fruit, this holy fruit because we know we have eternal life through Christ.
Speaker 1:Our beloved co-worker Epaphras was there from the beginning to thoroughly teach you the astonishing revelation of the gospel, and he serves you faithfully as Christ's representative. I do want to remind you that it is astonishing that God took care of everything for us. We are very often confident that there is something we have to add to this, and it is astonishing. It is a free gift completed by the work of Christ and it's an invitation into the kingdom. Now he has informed us of the wonderful ways love is being demonstrated through your lives by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. I wonder if someone could bear witness of that in you too, that love is being demonstrated through your lives by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Wonderful ways that love is being demonstrated through your lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is an invitation to change the way that we think. This is an invitation to stay in the life of the spirit you know these scriptures.
Speaker 2:They speak over you and they speak of a truth that maybe you don't even know. But, uh, oftentimes we maybe just pass it by or we excuse it, as maybe that's not for me, that's someone else, and we miss the truth that the Holy Spirit is trying to get something to us and something through us. I've been really convicted and impressed by God that, starting in the fall, we're going to start doing a Wednesday night meeting again and we're going to meet on Wednesday nights for an hour and we're going to I'm just going to call it a table discussion because I'm going to be able to share some things. But then have you ask some questions and we want to explore some things. I want to explore some things about meditation, because we were just reading this scripture today when it says that sounds and groanings come out of you that you don't even understand, you know and, and oftentimes we look at meditation as being like some eastern uh religion, and then it turns out that christianity comes from the east. So, uh, that take with that whatever you want, but I I do believe that there's uh, there's something that uh meditation can do for you, and it is that you stop being driven by the pace of the world and your ego, and you stop and you learn to listen to the voice of the Spirit and say nothing.
Speaker 2:Sometimes, our prayer life is just filled with words, words, words, and God can't get a word in edgewise. And so there's something about you know what? Do you want to call it Meditation or you want to call it contemplative prayer? It's been something that's practiced by the early church, as far back as we can go, and I want to talk about things like that, and I want us to practice them, because the truth is, I believe the Spirit of God is saying things to us, but we've not learned how to accept it or believe it, or time to even receive it, and so we, we want to talk to you about those things, and I just want you to to maybe consider uh, do you give time for god to to share these things, these wonderful truths about, about the way god sees you and what he's given you and what is already yours and what already exists within us?
Speaker 2:I was thinking and I just go real quickly uh, but I was thinking about, like, when we were all kids, uh, we were so driven by our ego, you know, uh, it was like, uh, well, I gotta wear these clothes because other kids are I gonna, you know, make sure I look like or I want to address this because I don't want to look like you. But we're so driven by our ego, what people perceive about us and what we do, and we carry that right into adulthood. I better get a car, like that person has, or do I have a boat? Do I have a jet ski? Do I have a house that's this big? Or do I do my job and make this much money? And so we were driven by this ego and uh, and I didn't realize how much of that ego had just been in the driver's seat and I allowed it my my whole life.
Speaker 2:Until relatively recently, I stopped and just would wait on the Holy Spirit and my ego's like don't do this, don't do this, don't do this. You got to go, you got stuff to do, you got to get, get, get. Why? Because the ego knows if you stop, it loses control. And if it loses control, who will begin to get control? The spirit of god, amen. So there is a force and we we oftentimes blame it on the devil, but it's it's. You don't have to look any further than right inside, between these two ears, that it's our own thought system, our own ego. It's the way that we're thinking, and god is offering a different way of thinking, amen. And so, uh, I'm asking you to consider, even even now and even in the days and weeks to come how are we going to be open to a new idea? Where do we have an opening, a shoehorn for God to cram that in? Amen.
Speaker 1:The invitation is to follow, to live life in the Spirit. Since we first heard about you, we've always kept you in our prayers that you would receive the perfect knowledge of God's pleasure over your lives, making you reservoirs of every kind of wisdom and spiritual understanding. This is the intention that you would be full of wisdom, that lady, wisdom would guide you. In fact, in the Proverbs it says in all of your getting, get wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is how God would do something. How does God relate to your co-workers? How does God relate to your neighbor? How does the love relate to the person that you're in the checkout line behind, not in front of? Sometimes we're nicer to the people that are behind us than the people that are in front of us, taking a long time, Disorganized, as they've made their way to the front. Lord bless. There's lots that we could learn in the checkout lines.
Speaker 2:I just think it's interesting too that Heather said lady wisdom. And do you understand? In Proverbs it calls wisdom her, and so there's an importance on that feminine. And I think just practically, let's be honest in here if something's lost in the house, who's going to find it? Because what happens in my house is a little sneaky Something's not in the refrigerator and Heather says it is in the refrigerator. I said you go in there, I promise you it's not in the refrigerator. And then she turns around and pulls it out of the refrigerator. So she's doing some kind of magic trick? I'm sure no, the reality is there's something like like last night.
Speaker 2:I knew my limit. We're down, we have two refrigerators and a freezer, but the one refrigerator's broken. They're not delivering our new one until tomorrow. So we're this giant family with extra people there living out of one refrigerator, and it's anarchy. You open the door and stuff just starts falling out at you, and so I was pushing it in just trying to get through to go to bed last night and I'm shutting the fridge and the fridge is popping open and I'm thinking should I get one of my guitars and wedge it towards the thing? And I wanted to go in there and just start busting. And I knew and I said, heather, would you mind I'm at my limit.
Speaker 2:And she went over there with a patience and with this spirit of peace that oftentimes escapes the masculine personality, but there's a wisdom in how she approaches that it is absolutely crucial to our household that that spirit be manifest. So how much more in my household and in yours that we allow that spirit, that feminine spirit of wisdom. And it's not effeminate, that feminine spirit of wisdom, and it's not effeminate, it's, but it is. There's a place where God really showed me that feminine side of God's self and it is a vulnerable but not weak, but gentle and continually serving. And I watch that sometimes and I think to myself with these boys, I love these men that live in our house, but really, are we going to do this again and again? And my wife goes yes, we are. Is it my wireless or hers?
Speaker 1:Yours.
Speaker 2:Mine, really, my beard's too long. You know how long are we going to be patient with this, this or that thing? And she goes as long as it takes. See, there's something there that there's a wisdom there that we need from God, and we're desperate without. We're desperate in the church if only a male voice is giving our perspective and and it's useful, but it's only part of the picture, amen, and so I'm glad that you're saying that and reminding us about that, because that wisdom is, it's essential, it's crucial, it's uh, uh, we's crucial. We're really in trouble without it.
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 1:We pray that you would walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing you do. Then you'll become fruit-bearing branches, yielding to his life and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in his fullness. And we pray that you would be energized with all his explosive power from the realm of his magnificent glory, filling you with great hope. Your hearts can soar with joyful gratitude when you think of how God made you worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to us by living in the light. He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved son. He is reminding us here that we have been given a new family, a new home. We are no longer lost or separate in an illusion. That is not true but we are brought into the truth, in the light by the power of the Holy Spirit that says we can think differently, we can be people full of love and full of good works, that we can be people rich in mercy because of the Holy Spirit. Not because we ourselves have figured things out, necessarily, but because we have come to obey the commands. I was thinking about this because I was considering how beautiful it is, every time that we get together, that we celebrate Holy Communion and it's not that we came up with that. We're simply obeying what we were told to do. But I was thinking about the command, and the command is take it and eat, and sometimes it feels like it should be take it and understand. I mean, we wrestle with the understanding of how the mystery of communion actually works, but we're not asked to do that. Take and eat. Let the mystery unfold in you, let the glory of God reminding us that this table has been heaped up like a feast. Just come and eat. Just come and take this food and be fed by love and then become love. And so this is the invitation that we would, as people who follow Jesus, filled with the life of God's own spirit, that we would be more loving, that we would have our thoughts expanded into who deserves love. Beloved, it's everyone. There's no one who is left out, it's the whole world. This is our father's world. In fact, in John it says for God so loved the cosmos.
Speaker 1:I wish all of us could have, like every day, a moment to look at the new images that the James Webb telescope brings us, and I know that a lot of just like astonished at how incredible it is. And who are we that we even get to see this? It's amazing, but not just far away Des was talking about this. In our backyard, right underneath our feet, bugs and creepy crawlies and the gardenia bush is blooming again and she's already bloomed and I was like look at you doing it again. It's just so exciting and to be able to look at things and go this is the summertime and we have sticky peach juice running down to our elbows. There is good still in the world. Now.
Speaker 1:This is not to in any way say that there is not grief. This week our hearts were broken for people in Texas, brothers and sisters, in a horror, but not just here in our country. All over the world, all over the world. This is our father's world and our father is inviting us to live in love. Our father is inviting us to be full of the spirit and to usher in the kingdom right now, not wait for the sweet by and by, but to say what does it look like for us to live in God's kingdom with our neighbors right now? What does it look like for us to mourn with families that buried children because they sent them to summer camp Beloved? Our hearts ache with the fact we're known. This is not how it's supposed to be.
Speaker 2:But in that same place that we hold grief, we hold joy in knowing that love has a plan to redeem the whole world when, um, when, I used to live in the suburbs of uh, chicago, uh, one day I got on my motorcycle and I started driving and I saw this kid standing over this other kid and I have a trauma. One time this older kid was beating me up in the street and cars were driving by and nobody would stop and stop that kid, you know. So when I saw this, I thought that so so I, I, you know, here I'm, I'm a beard, and I got my motorcycle and I go, hey, what's going on over there? You know, tell me, I'd scare the bully, you know. And the kid goes, he needs help. And the kid goes, I think I broke my arm and he lifted up his arm and it went bloop, from the elbow to there. Boom, it was a you should. I mean like not even a little, it was bloop. I never seen anything like it.
Speaker 2:He goes, I think I. I said, yeah, I think you do, you know, and I'm trying to be the tough guy on the bed, you know. And I go, uh, well, where do you live? And he goes uh, I live, you know, and we lived in this big neighborhood, you know, but it was like one entrance, big neighborhood, he goes, I live over, blah, blah, and I'm like, oh, yeah, yeah, it was like a half a mile, you know. And I'm like, uh, well, uh, you know, let let me, let me take you home. And he goes.
Speaker 2:Well, my parents, you know, said I should never, you know, get in a car with a stranger. And I said, well, this is a motorcycle, and does it say anything about that? And I said, well, I get that, but you know, I got kids too and you need your mom right now. And so can you just, you know know, hop on the back here and and we'll head towards your house, away from the exit, you know, and we'll just go. And he goes, all right, and uh, so he, he hops on the back of my motorcycle and he clings on to me and tell me where to go, and he's kind of whispering around and turn here, turn here. And uh, we pull up and he sees like house, and all of a sudden I hear him just start weeping and bawling, you know. And then his mom was out front of the house, so she hears her son crying and some weird guy on a motorcycle that she's never seen before. So she runs up and snatches that kid off the bike and he goes. Mom, I think I broke my arm. She chunks him into their minivan and just drives off and snatches that kid off the bike and he goes. Mom, I think I broke my arm. She, you know, chunks him into their minivan and just drives off and she didn't say anything to me and I'm like that's weird and so, but yeah, I mean I don't blame her. I mean, you know, staying with her kid.
Speaker 2:So I don't know, it's like maybe two weeks later or something, we get a knock on the door and it's the little kid and the mom and she goes. I never got to thank you. And he wants you to sign his cast, you know, and he's a big old cat, you know. And she goes. You know. That really scared me because my kid was crying and I don't know who you are, I don't know what you did to him, and so he explained to me and everything. So thank are. I don't know what you did to him, and so he explained to me and everything, and so thank you, but she goes out.
Speaker 2:The problem is my husband and I have always trained our kids never talk to strangers. If people got problems, that's their problems. You leave them alone? You don't, and so we've been having a dilemma in our house because what you did we're so grateful for, but it's just not how we believe, not how we act. Why would you do that? Help us understand? So I began to tell them about my relationship with Christ, and before they left, the boy and the woman had asked to have a relationship with Christ. So it was really an amazing situation. But I bring that story up for this reason that through my choices and my behaviors on that particular moment which I've done, a lot of other behaviors and choices that have caused people to have other thoughts, but this particular day was a good one In that it was able to cause their thinking to change in a way that would be more godly.
Speaker 2:Now there's been a lot of experiences and a lot of reasons why you need to hold up at your house, you need to stay away and you can't trust people, and people are wicked and people are evil. Or we can begin this. We can begin to let our minds be changed to there is good, and good will overwhelm evil and we begin to see, because what happened is my and heather's influence changed that family and I'm convinced of this, christians, if we would really allow our minds to be changed about humanity, about people, about god's ability, about love, about the power of the holy spirit to come in and fix, then we wouldn't have. You know, well, how do you explain? You know human trafficking. How do you explain? You know deaths of these children? Well, you know all this stuff where, again, if you spiral into that, you become fearful and selfish and cynical. None of those things are fruits of the Spirit of God.
Speaker 2:Now can I explain to you how this is going to happen? No, but you and I both know by the sound of my voice what I'm saying is right. No, but you and I both know by the sound of my voice what I'm saying is right, that if we will allow our minds to be changed and allow love to really take over, then I believe the collective can really change humanity, that really the Spirit of God can begin to move in a way. But if the people that claim to know the Spirit of God won't surrender to Spirit, then how much more do you suspect the people that lost will Amen. And so there has to be a place where you and I will go, and for me it's a practice, and it's a practice, you know.
Speaker 2:Last week it was about traffic and I shared with you, you know, because if I'm going to struggle with it I'm going to throw it on you, and so now you're all going to have to be nice to people in traffic, if I got to, you know. But it's like all those things are practices I can begin to see these people as my brothers and sisters and not my enemy, and begin to see people as one and begin to to understand. I mean, you know how the never time about that last week, you know, you, you, certain politicians, you're like, oh, can't stand that. And then we're in the light and Heather goes.
Speaker 1:So I'm one with that those are my brothers delusional, yes, but they are brothers and they are sisters, and and we have to come my brother yes, yes, and you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:But in truth, yes, they, they are, and then once we begin to see in that we begin to have mercy, we can ask god for mercy for their choices that are clearly hurting themselves and others, and clearly there's there's something. But when we separate and isolate, I just I just realized what that, that spirit, was. Since the time I was a little kid, I wanted to be, I wanted to be somebody, I wanted to be recognized as different, I wanted to be known as special, and I know I'm the only person that ever had these thoughts. But all that's special, all that I want is me wanting to pull away from God and wanting to be single. And God is about community, god's about family, god's about oneness, god's about surrendering those differences and accepting them and loving them anyway. And so I'm beginning to see that, you know, that whole desire to be, you know, the successful for all that stuff, all that is a drive really for my ego just just to pull away from God. And God is offering this place of surrender and love, and it doesn't mean that you give up your individuality, it doesn't mean that you actually even give in to hate and evil. It's in fact the opposite, that when we can find a place to love there, we win.
Speaker 2:Amen and God, then what we're doing is we're going. Okay, I'm not going to control this anymore. I'm really surrendering to the spirit of god, which turns out, is the only spirit that's going to really change things. It isn't my will, it isn't my way, it isn't my uniqueness, it isn't my clever. You know it's going to be. God's working in your family, you taking that humble road of serving. That's what we do instead of fighting the way it is. Can I just serve god in the midst of it? That's for somebody, isn't it? We were talking about that on the way here today, weren't we?
Speaker 1:this invitation?
Speaker 1:yes, we were talking about it the invitation is not just to be angry about things. Anger doesn't produce anything other than a motivation to do something else, and that could be good. Sometimes anger fuels you to do different things. But just to repeat the same patterns, to be mean to people who are mean. That never works. Beloved God is love and the invitation is to have a higher thought and the invitation for us to live in Christ is to allow this. In fact, one of the apostles said this let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 2:I want that.
Speaker 1:How does God think about things, how does love think about this situation? And when you are struggling with somebody, and there are people to struggle with because they have ideas that are harming others, that are harming our world, that are harming the planet? This is our Father's world, beloved. I think about that all the time, that particular song, maybe because I've sang it since I was a little bitty thing. But when I see some of the ways that people are behaving toward the earth, I'm like you know whose house like this is the father's world, right, you know, this is God's Like. The way we behave toward the earth is a reflection of how we feel about God, and we're here to be caretakers of the earth. And so this invitation into more, this invitation to life in the spirit, is to learn how to love people that we would say are different than us or don't deserve our love. In fact, the role of living a life filled with spirit is to show everyone love and not to decide whether they're worthy or not. That's not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to live in love.
Speaker 1:Now, what do you do when somebody is doing something that you absolutely feel diametrically opposed to? Bring them to Jesus, beloved, because he can sort it all out. It's the same thing. I was telling you about it last week and I still feel it's so true. If you see a toddler and they are acting up and they're doing something to hurt someone else or others, you do not have to intervene on their level and talk with them with their gibberish, you just simply route them to their parent.
Speaker 1:Here, look at your mom, here, look at your dad. I feel like we have to do the same thing with Christ. Someone has missed me and we're like let's find Jesus for you, let's show up with Jesus for you, because he will change. The Spirit empowers us to change thoughts Beloved, surrendering our minds to this, and the scripture tells us this Whatever things are lovely, whatever things are true, whatever things are good, meditate, consider, think on these things, things you know where we live over there, if you come to my house you'll come down these winding roads and they're so beautiful with canopied, but they're always littered with trash.
Speaker 2:It's kind of one of the first times when you kind of get out of town where you can't see a house and people find that the time to dump garbage, and so it's really bothers me, is, you know, living there. It's just, oh, that garbage, you know, and so it really bothers me living there, and so I want to do something about it. And a while back there was a car pulled over the side of the road and I just saw garbage coming out of the window, and so I pulled up and I was going to give this person a piece of my mind. And they were down cleaning up their floorboards so that all you see was just you know. So I didn't know it was a raccoon, was shuffled and stuff. I don't know what's going on. And so I go, hey, and this old man pops up and he goes hey, how you doing? And he just keeps on chunking trash, and all at once I was going to give this guy a piece of my mind.
Speaker 2:But then I realized something. You know, his mind said he had no idea what he was doing was out of line as far as he was concerned. That was where you dump garbage, that's the place you put it. And so I just said are you doing all right? Yeah, your car broken down or anything? No, it's all fine, all right. And I said, all right, well, you know, I'll see you later. Because I realized that if I had just started yelling this old man, it would escalate him because his mind needs to be changed, and so confrontation isn't going to change that. The, the spirit of god, is prayer. You know now, if I had built a relationship with that man, if I knew him, I'd be like, hey, you know, let me tell you what it's like to live in this neighborhood For him to begin that. But there wasn't a time for me to preach a sermon or build a relationship or whatever, and so at that point the best thing I can do is what I believe. What I did Was not say anything and just be kind and go on.
Speaker 1:And then clean up the trash Exactly that somebody else made a mess of. And so what we?
Speaker 2:do is we go back and we go on the road and if the prisoners aren't there in a few weeks which they are oftentimes on our road over there then we go pick it up ourselves. And on the side of my house there's always something out there. I'll go out and get it, for the lawn guy mows it and it's a million pieces. But my point really for that is that old guy is me, except for I'm much younger, I'm more handsome. No, that old guy is me because there are so many places in my life where I just am ignorantly chunking garbage out of the window. And I'm grateful that I have younger men in my life, because there are so many times when my kids will pull me aside and they'll say hey, dad, that was cringe, or something like that. What do you mean? I was just doing it, yeah, but did you think that? And there's always something rising in me and I want to say shut up, boys, I'm your, your father. But then there's a voice that rises up in me.
Speaker 2:It's like do you know everything? Could there be a perspective that these young people have that could actually be transformative if you would allow an old dog to be taught a new trick, and and I wonder how the spirit of the lord would speak to you only through holy moments of visitation as you're studying in your study, or could you walk out in the living room and the spirit of the Lord clearly be speaking through you, through these vessels of the Lord? And so there has to be a humility if you're going to have a mind change. You have to recognize that the old dog does need to learn some new tricks and that it is going to come probably through a place of humility.
Speaker 2:An insubordinate member of your family that's younger than you, that hasn't lived in the experience and doesn't know everything, and while you do all this for them and how could I yeah, that's the perfect person for you to get rid of all that arrogant thought that somehow you're the one that's provided anything, or that you are have some great place in this world that's not been given to you by the grace of God. Come on now. I'm preaching real good, I'm starting to lose them. Heather, get the car started. But I really believe that if we begin to see that the change that we need might come through a place of humility, might come from a place you didn't expect it to, and that's probably the grace of God, and we fight it, don't we? Sometimes Not you? I'm talking about people, hypothetically.
Speaker 1:You started talking about old dogs and I was thinking about our Luna. We have a dog and she's old and she knows zero tricks.
Speaker 2:Zero.
Speaker 1:Absolutely zero, and she's beloved. And so if you don't know any tricks, that's okay. I just want to tell you, and maybe you don't have to learn a new trick. Maybe you just have to learn a new trick, maybe you just have to keep your eye on the people that love you. That's what our Luna does. She gets all her needs met because she keeps her eye on us and while she's looking at us, we are aware of her and we are anticipating the things that she needs. And, I remind you, beloved. This is our father's world and our father is a part of everything and he has his eye on you, he is watching. You. Do not have any needs that the Father does not already see and he's already providing for.
Speaker 1:There is abundance in this world, and the Spirit would teach us how to keep our eye, our inner eye, on the love of Christ, on the abundance that is all around us, for through the Son, everything was created, both in the heavenly realm and on the earth, all that is seen and all that is unseen, every seat of power, realm of government, principality and authority. It was created through him, for his purpose. He existed before anything was made and now everything finds completion in him, he is the head of his body, which is the church, and since he is the beginning and the firstborn heir in the resurrection, he is the most exalted one, holding first place in everything. For God is satisfied to have all of his fullness dwelling in Christ and by the blood of his cross. Everything in heaven and earth is brought back to himself, back to its original intent, and restored to innocence again. Beloved, the mind of Christ will allow you to see innocence in everything. The mind of love will allow you to see the original intent in everything. It won't be that we're ignorant to the things around that cause harm, but it invites us into the thoughts of God and how God has a plan. The plan is you, beloved. You are the light of the world. You are the one who can pick up trash on the side of the highway if that's what it needs to be. You are the one who can sit with someone who grieves and bring a presence for them. You are the one who can do better, who can expand the table to be able to say everyone is invited to this table, that this is the way of God, that our minds would expand, that we would see more love, more liberation and more ways to radical inclusion when we find the ways that the Spirit is teaching us how to live in Christ. We're grateful for this moment. We're gonna go to the, to this sacrament, to the Holy Communion, and ask that the Spirit would liberate our minds even during communion, even during this sacrament, that the Holy Spirit would open our hearts. Beloved, who needs to be invited to your table? How do we not put up more fences, but make longer tables? How do we say, how do I invite a neighbor? How do I live in love so that I allow the mind of Christ to be experienced in those around me? I am grateful for this opportunity to hold, together with you, the sacred, to practice this invitation into fullness, into obedience. This is what Jesus said to us, and he invited us to participate in these things that we would be changed, that together we practice things like baptism and we practice things like holy communion and giving to the poor and taking care of each other and celebrating the good that's in the world around us.
Speaker 1:Publix has buy one, get one on the peaches this week. I just I don't work for Publix, but it's good. So if you think to yourself, that's too many peaches for me, beloved. There's neighbors. Get one for your neighbor. What a gift. That would be a little bag of peaches. And so find ways to spread joy that's what the Spirit does. Find ways to be loving that's how the Spirit does things. Find ways to uplift the thoughts of the people around you and find ways to surrender to love that is everywhere. We hope you've enjoyed this week's sermon. If you would like more information about us, visit us online at firstlovechurchorg.
