August 2, 2025 • 51 mins
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
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala,
florida.
Thank you, so grateful for yourpresence here.
The light in us greets thelight in you.
I remind you what Jesus saidyou are the light of the world.
(00:23):
Sometimes we're waiting forsomeone 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 playsmall one.
We understand is that the lightof Christ that is in us is for
everyone, and there is joy whenwe remember that christ is with
(00:46):
us well, happy baptism day we're.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
We'll be having a the baptism over at our house after
um, after church today.
Uh, we um usually will fill upa pool here, but it dawned on me
just after three years thatthere's a pool filled up in my
backyard every day, so we'regoing to have baptism over there
(01:14):
today.
Try that out.
And so we're so happy to havethree people that are willing
and ready and made that decision, and so, whether you're here or
not with them, I want you tocelebrate in your hearts with us
, because this is a big day.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And what a beautiful.
I ask you to remember your ownbaptism.
What was it like when you saidI am now a part of God's family?
It's a beautiful way ofremembering this is one of the
sacraments of the church thatJesus himself offered his life
into the baptism of John.
And then we see this followingthat, the believers were
(01:53):
baptized, and it reminds us,during the time of Pentecost,
that baptism isn't only withwater, but we are baptized with
fire, we are baptized with theSpirit, and so we are to be
continually living a life in theSpirit.
It was Martin Luther who saidlive wet.
Live like you remember yourbaptism.
Live like you remember whosefamily you're a part of.
(02:16):
Live like you remember.
This is our Father's world, andso we're grateful for the
opportunity to share in thisreally holy sacrament that we do
together.
When we invite people into thekingdom by participating and by
watching their baptism, we alsoparticipate in holy communion at
the end of every service.
The climax of the service isalways this invitation to follow
(02:38):
the command take and eat, be apart of what God is doing.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
And so, again, we do this day, um, and we remind
ourselves what it's like to livebaptized you know, and in that
baptism, you know, when youfirst climb out of that water,
you're still wet.
It was recent, you know, and soif we can kind of remember, uh,
that decision that we made, andthat decision is to to do some
(03:05):
things different.
I surrender my life to, uh, togod, and so I want to do things
god's way, and so in order to dothat, we have to be willing to
change our mind about somethings.
Uh, and you know, you've madesome decisions that were good
for you and, and a lot of times,you, we make decisions as
(03:27):
children just to keep ourselvesalive, and the decisions you
made protected you from abuse,protected you from a scary world
, and as a child, you needed tomake those choices and do those
things.
But sometimes, as an adult,those fears and those decisions,
decisions, they're not servingyou anymore and we need to
change our mind.
But we've agreed with thosethings and they've worked so far
(03:50):
.
So sometimes it's difficult,and so I, just like we're going
into the waters of baptismsaying I'm being washed from my
past.
I wonder if, every time we getinto 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 inhis word and let's, uh, emerge
(04:16):
out of that affected by that I.
I've been thinking this week andjust really struggling, because
I have two particular friendsthat walk with a severe cloud of
just melancholy, to put itmildly, just a sadness, a
depression.
And life really proves themright.
(04:40):
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'sbound to come back to you and,
and anytime something goodhappens, you don't notice it.
Anytime something bad happens,as we go, see, look, there's
proof.
(05:00):
And and I desperately see thepain that they're in daily.
And then I think to myself.
I sit around in my backyard andI feel the warmth of the sun
and joy overwhelms me sometimesthat I'm out in my backyard
giggling, and so you might walkby and say, oh, there's a crazy
(05:25):
one.
But what's happened is my mindis being changed, the way that I
think about things.
Instead of miserable becauseit's so hot, I'm amused by the
fact that there's a burning starclose enough to me that it
keeps me alive.
That's a miracle, that isamazing.
(05:47):
But we go oh, god's so freakinghot in florida.
It's a mindset, isn't?
It's a choice, it's a thingthat we choose to think about
and choose to believe.
And so I really want tochallenge you, because if there
are some places where you walkin depression or you walk in
fear, I know that there's ananswer from god.
(06:09):
I know there's a word, there'sa promise, there's a thought,
there's a way of thinking thatthat you are thinking.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
This is the life that Jesus invited everyone to, a
life of repentance, andrepentance means changing the
way that you think, and I can'tthink of anything that is easier
or harder at the same time thanchanging the way that you think
, changing the way that youthink about something.
We were talking about baptism,and I remember my baptism.
(06:55):
I was very young, I wasn't yetfive, and I was going to be
baptized, and we baptized in abig lake, and so my mom had an
appropriate dress for me, andwhen 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 withblue flowers and a crinoline,
big, huge, puffy skirt, becauseit's a baptism day.
That's what I want.
And so I put that dress on,fastened that up, and my
(07:18):
grandfather did my hair andbraids like Heidi, over the top
of my head because I was goingto be baptized.
I was very excited.
I went to the edge of the riverthere and the elders were there
and they said would you like tocome and be baptized?
And I said yes, because Ialready had the outfit on and,
of course, I would be baptizedwith all the other grownups.
And then the man said to me areyou willing to give your whole
(07:38):
life to God?
And I thought to myself maybe,perhaps I think so, but I'm five
, I've not experienced a wholelot.
But I looked to my grandparents, who were standing right there,
and they looked very old to me.
It's very interesting now to beolder than my grandparents were
when they were watching thebaptism.
They looked very old to me andthey served the Lord and I
(07:59):
thought, well, if it's good forthem, I can, I'll certainly do
it.
And so I remind you that yourplace as elders, your place as
people who have followed Jesusfor a long time, is not just for
you, it's for those who willfollow after you.
And so I went into the waters ofbaptism and I came out with a
scratchy crinoline.
It was wet and it was so itchyon my thighs and I thought to
(08:20):
myself it's probably why thisdress wasn't appropriate, but I
looked so cute and I knew that Idid, and that's appropriate for
baptism.
So wear whatever it is that youfeel wonderful in, but this
idea of we wear this new life,this invitation.
But it's hard to change ourminds and that's why God gave us
the Spirit and invited us tolive in the Spirit, and the
(08:43):
Spirit allows us to change theway that we think.
But I was wondering, and I wasasking Dennis this week I wonder
how often we come to scriptureor we come to a Moment with God,
a moment, a very present moment.
Just this week we had peaches atour house.
(09:05):
Just this week we had peachesat our house.
It's the summer time and ifthere's something that's going
to help you, it is practicingthe present, what is happening
right now.
And I went to grab peach and Ithought I don't have the right
shirt on for this because Iexpect the juice to run all the
way down to my elbow, and thenso I just rolled it right up and
I ate that fruit and gave somuch thanks.
(09:25):
But what if you say you knowwhat, I don't want?
A mess of the Georgia peach.
It's going to get all the waydown.
You miss the joy beloved.
Sometimes the joy is in thecomplication, is in the mess, is
in how we have to change whatwe're doing.
And so, during this time ofpaying attention to life in the
Spirit, we invite you, we inviteyou in this very moment, to
(09:50):
invite the Holy Spirit tochallenge the way that you think
, to change the way that youthink, to offer a new life.
I am going to read to us ablessing during this particular
time, over this service and overthis week.
It's from Hildegard of Bingen,a mystic, a beautiful Christian
(10:12):
woman.
She has so many wonderfulthings 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,
(10:37):
sweetest taste, beautiful aroma.
Fill these hearts, holy Spirit,filling the world from the
heights to the depth, rainingfrom clouds, filling rivers in
sea.
Fill our minds, holy Spirit,forgiving and giving, uniting
(10:59):
strangers, reconciling enemies,seeking the lost and enfolding
us all together.
Fill these gathered here, holySpirit, bringer of light to dark
places, igniting praise,greatest gift, our hope and our
encourager.
Holy Spirit of Christ, we praiseyou.
(11:20):
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 aboutthings.
And I wonder what things youwill allow the Spirit to
challenge you on, because weusually have some areas and then
other areas we're like no, I'mgood, I know what I believe and
I am not willing to bechallenged on that, and so I
(11:41):
invite you this week, let theHoly Spirit in the whole house,
let the Holy Spirit in the wholehouse, let the Holy Spirit in
the whole thoughts, and just saycome in and bring your truth.
We read today from the book ofColossians this was to a church
and in Coloss and so we listenedto the Holy Spirit also making
this alive to us today.
(12:01):
Every time we pray for you, ourhearts overflow with
thanksgiving to Father, god, theFather of our Lord, jesus
Christ, for we've heard of yourdevoted lives of faith in Christ
Jesus and your tender lovetoward all his holy believers.
Now, again, we pay attention tothe fact that here is the truth
(12:24):
for us that love is alwaysgoing to be a mark of those who
believe.
Love is always going to be amark of those who follow.
Love is going to be somethingthat we, on a regular basis, are
known by, and so the HolySpirit is loving.
God is love.
The Holy Spirit's not going towrestle you down and make you do
(12:45):
anything.
The Holy Spirit is this gentlevoice inside of you telling you
which way to go.
We're waiting for the screensand it's going to come.
It'll just be a second.
(13:05):
We're so grateful for thisunderstanding that the hope of
Christ that is in us, the hopethat is near to us, bring the
joy of salvation.
And the salvation that we'reoffered is not just for us, it's
offered for the whole world.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
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'resomewhere in the world on a
sunday morning, we always go tochurch wherever we are, and you
know whether it was a few monthsago we were in, uh, paris,
france, or wherever we've been.
And you know that every churchservice we ever sit in,
(13:50):
something goes wrong with theprogram Either the sound system
does something, or the videodon't work, or the things.
And Heather and I look at oneanother.
I get so thrilled, I just gettickled and we're just so happy
because there's a thing, there'sa thing that goes inside your
(14:12):
head and it goes.
Our church is just, it's, it'shokey.
Nothing works at our church.
Why is our church?
Why can't electronics work atour church?
And then we go all over theworld and we find out, and God
will do that for you, he'llchange your mind.
Where you sit around and thinkyour church is the only one that
has mechanical, and then you goand you go.
(14:33):
Oh, it's just what it means tobe in the world.
In the world there will betribulations, and tribulations
live inside of computer programs, apparently, and sound systems.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And I am grateful for the hard copy in case those
don't work.
Your faith and love rise withinyou as you access all of the
treasures of your inheritancestored up in the heavenly realm.
For the revelation of the truegospel is as real today as the
first you heard of our glorioushope, now that you have believed
(15:10):
in the truth of the gospel.
This is the wonderful messagethat is being spread everywhere,
powerfully changing heartsthroughout the earth, just like
it has changed you.
Every believer of this goodnews bears the fruit of eternal
life as they experience thereality of God's grace.
(15:30):
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 goodfruit, this holy fruit because
we know we have eternal lifethrough Christ.
Our beloved co-worker Epaphraswas there from the beginning to
(15:53):
thoroughly teach you theastonishing revelation of the
gospel, and he serves youfaithfully as Christ's
representative.
I do want to remind you that itis astonishing that God took
care of everything for us.
We are very often confidentthat there is something we have
(16:14):
to add to this, and it isastonishing.
It is a free gift completed bythe work of Christ and it's an
invitation into the kingdom.
Now he has informed us of thewonderful ways love is being
demonstrated through your livesby the empowerment of the Holy
Spirit.
I wonder if someone could bearwitness of that in you too, that
(16:39):
love is being demonstratedthrough your lives by the
empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Wonderful ways that love isbeing demonstrated through your
lives by the power of the HolySpirit.
This is an invitation to changethe way that we think.
(17:02):
This is an invitation to stayin the life of the spirit you
know these scriptures.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
They speak over you and they speak of a truth that
maybe you don't even know.
But, uh, oftentimes we maybejust 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 Spiritis trying to get something to us
(17:30):
and something through us.
I've been really convicted andimpressed by God that, starting
in the fall, we're going tostart doing a Wednesday night
meeting again and we're going tomeet on Wednesday nights for an
hour and we're going to I'mjust going to call it a table
discussion because I'm going tobe able to share some things.
(17:54):
But then have you ask somequestions and we want to explore
some things.
I want to explore some thingsabout meditation, because we
were just reading this scripturetoday when it says that sounds
and groanings come out of youthat you don't even understand,
you know and, and oftentimes welook at meditation as being like
some eastern uh religion, andthen it turns out that
(18:15):
christianity comes from the east.
So, uh, that take with thatwhatever you want, but I I do
believe that there's uh, there'ssomething that uh meditation
can do for you, and it is thatyou stop being driven by the
pace of the world and your ego,and you stop and you learn to
listen to the voice of theSpirit and say nothing.
(18:39):
Sometimes, our prayer life isjust filled with words, words,
words, and God can't get a wordin edgewise.
And so there's something aboutyou know what?
Do you want to call itMeditation or you want to call
it contemplative prayer?
It's been something that'spracticed by the early church,
as far back as we can go, and Iwant to talk about things like
that, and I want us to practicethem, because the truth is, I
believe the Spirit of God issaying things to us, but we've
(19:01):
not learned how to accept it orbelieve it, or time to even
receive it, and so we, we wantto talk to you about those
things, and I just want you toto maybe consider uh, do you
give time for god to to sharethese things, these wonderful
truths about, about the way godsees you and what he's given you
(19:25):
and what is already yours andwhat already exists within us?
I was thinking and I just goreal quickly uh, but I was
thinking about, like, when wewere all kids, uh, we were so
driven by our ego, you know, uh,it was like, uh, well, I gotta
wear these clothes because otherkids are I gonna, you know,
make sure I look like or I wantto address this because I don't
(19:45):
want to look like you.
But we're so driven by our ego,what people perceive about us
and what we do, and we carrythat right into adulthood.
I better get a car, like thatperson has, or do I have a boat?
Do I have a jet ski?
Do I have a house that's thisbig?
Or do I do my job and make thismuch money?
And so we were driven by thisego and uh, and I didn't realize
(20:08):
how much of that ego had justbeen in the driver's seat and I
allowed it my my whole life.
Until relatively recently, Istopped and just would wait on
the Holy Spirit and my ego'slike don't do this, don't do
this, don't do this.
You got to go, you got stuff todo, you got to get, get, get.
Why?
Because the ego knows if youstop, it loses control.
(20:29):
And if it loses control, whowill begin to get control?
The spirit of god, amen.
So there is a force and we weoftentimes blame it on the devil
, but it's it's.
You don't have to look anyfurther than right inside,
between these two ears, thatit's our own thought system, our
(20:50):
own ego.
It's the way that we'rethinking, and god is offering a
different way of thinking, amen.
And so, uh, I'm asking you toconsider, even even now and even
in the days and weeks to comehow are we going to be open to a
new idea?
Where do we have an opening, ashoehorn for God to cram that in
(21:17):
?
Amen.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
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 receivethe perfect knowledge of God's
pleasure over your lives, makingyou reservoirs of every kind of
wisdom and spiritualunderstanding.
This is the intention that youwould be full of wisdom, that
(21:41):
lady, wisdom would guide you.
In fact, in the Proverbs itsays in all of your getting, get
wisdom.
What is wisdom?
Wisdom is how God would dosomething.
How does God relate to yourco-workers?
How does God relate to yourneighbor?
How does the love relate to theperson that you're in the
checkout line behind, not infront of?
Sometimes we're nicer to thepeople that are behind us than
(22:05):
the people that are in front ofus, taking a long time,
Disorganized, as they've madetheir way to the front.
Lord bless.
There's lots that we couldlearn in the checkout lines.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
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 myhouse is a little sneaky
Something's not in therefrigerator and Heather says it
(22:40):
is in the refrigerator.
I said you go in there, Ipromise you it's not in the
refrigerator.
And then she turns around andpulls it out of the refrigerator
.
So she's doing some kind ofmagic trick?
I'm sure no, the reality isthere's something like like last
night.
I knew my limit.
We're down, we have tworefrigerators and a freezer, but
the one refrigerator's broken.
(23:01):
They're not delivering our newone until tomorrow.
So we're this giant family withextra people there living out
of one refrigerator, and it'sanarchy.
You open the door and stuffjust starts falling out at you,
and so I was pushing it in justtrying to get through to go to
bed last night and I'm shuttingthe fridge and the fridge is
popping open and I'm thinkingshould I get one of my guitars
(23:27):
and wedge it towards the thing?
And I wanted to go in there andjust start busting.
And I knew and I said, heather,would you mind I'm at my limit.
And she went over there with apatience and with this spirit of
peace that oftentimes escapesthe masculine personality, but
(23:52):
there's a wisdom in how sheapproaches that it is absolutely
crucial to our household thatthat spirit be manifest.
So how much more in myhousehold and in yours that we
(24:13):
allow that spirit, that femininespirit of wisdom.
And it's not effeminate, thatfeminine spirit of wisdom, and
it's not effeminate, it's, butit is.
There's a place where Godreally showed me that feminine
side of God's self and it is avulnerable but not weak, but
(24:36):
gentle and continually serving.
And I watch that sometimes andI think to myself with these
boys, I love these men that livein our house, but really, are
we going to do this again andagain?
And my wife goes yes, we are.
Is it my wireless or hers?
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Yours.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Mine, really, my beard's too long.
You know how long are we goingto be patient with this, this or
that thing?
And she goes as long as ittakes.
See, there's something therethat there's a wisdom there that
(25:19):
we need from God, and we'redesperate without.
We're desperate in the churchif only a male voice is giving
our perspective and and it'suseful, but it's only part of
the picture, amen, and so I'mglad that you're saying that and
reminding us about that,because that wisdom is, it's
(25:42):
essential, it's crucial, it's uh, uh, we's crucial.
We're really in trouble withoutit.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining
us today.
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with a friend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
(26:10):
firstlovechurchorg, remindingyou to like, follow and
subscribe.
We pray that you would walk inthe ways of true righteousness,
pleasing God in every good thingyou do.
Then you'll becomefruit-bearing branches, yielding
to his life and maturing in therich experience of knowing God
(26:30):
in his fullness.
And we pray that you would beenergized with all his explosive
power from the realm of hismagnificent glory, filling you
with great hope.
Your hearts can soar withjoyful gratitude when you think
of how God made you worthy toreceive the glorious inheritance
(26:52):
freely given to us by living inthe light.
He has rescued us completelyfrom the tyrannical rule of
darkness and has translated usinto the kingdom realm of his
beloved son.
He is reminding us here that wehave been given a new family, a
(27:13):
new home.
We are no longer lost orseparate in an illusion.
That is not true but we arebrought into the truth, in the
light by the power of the HolySpirit that says we can think
differently, we can be peoplefull of love and full of good
works, that we can be peoplerich in mercy because of the
(27:34):
Holy Spirit.
Not because we ourselves havefigured things out, necessarily,
but because we have come toobey the commands.
I was thinking about thisbecause I was considering how
beautiful it is, every time thatwe get together, that we
celebrate Holy Communion andit's not that we came up with
that.
We're simply obeying what wewere told to do.
But I was thinking about thecommand, and the command is take
(27:56):
it and eat, and sometimes itfeels like it should be take it
and understand.
I mean, we wrestle with theunderstanding 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 beenheaped up like a feast.
Just come and eat.
(28:17):
Just come and take this foodand be fed by love and then
become love.
And so this is the invitationthat we would, as people who
follow Jesus, filled with thelife of God's own spirit, that
we would be more loving, that wewould have our thoughts
expanded into who deserves love.
Beloved, it's everyone.
(28:38):
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 forGod so loved the cosmos.
I wish all of us could have,like every day, a moment to look
at the new images that theJames Webb telescope brings us,
(28:59):
and I know that a lot of justlike astonished at how
incredible it is.
And who are we that we even getto see this?
It's amazing, but not just faraway Des was talking about this.
In our backyard, rightunderneath our feet, bugs and
creepy crawlies and the gardeniabush is blooming again and
(29:20):
she's already bloomed and I waslike look at you doing it again.
It's just so exciting and to beable to look at things and go
this is the summertime and wehave sticky peach juice running
down to our elbows.
There is good still in theworld.
Now.
This is not to in any way saythat there is not grief.
This week our hearts werebroken for people in Texas,
(29:43):
brothers and sisters, in ahorror, but not just here in our
country.
All over the world, all overthe world.
This is our father's world andour father is inviting us to
live in love.
Our father is inviting us to befull of the spirit and to usher
in the kingdom right now, notwait for the sweet by and by,
(30:05):
but to say what does it looklike for us to live in God's
kingdom with our neighbors rightnow?
What does it look like for usto mourn with families that
buried children because theysent them to summer camp Beloved
?
Our hearts ache with the factwe're known.
This is not how it's supposedto be.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
But in that same place that we hold grief, we
hold joy in knowing that lovehas a plan to redeem the whole
world when, um, when, I used tolive in the suburbs of uh,
chicago, uh, one day I got on mymotorcycle and I started
driving and I saw this kidstanding over this other kid and
(30:44):
I have a trauma.
One time this older kid wasbeating me up in the street and
cars were driving by and nobodywould stop and stop that kid,
you know.
So when I saw this, I thoughtthat so so I, I, you know, here
I'm, I'm a beard, and I got mymotorcycle and I go, hey, what's
going on over there?
You know, tell me, I'd scarethe bully, you know.
And the kid goes, he needs help.
(31:07):
And the kid goes, I think Ibroke my arm and he lifted up
his arm and it went bloop, fromthe 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.
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, youknow.
And I go, uh, well, where doyou live?
(31:28):
And he goes uh, I live, youknow, and we lived in this big
neighborhood, you know, but itwas like one entrance, big
neighborhood, he goes, I liveover, blah, blah, and I'm like,
oh, yeah, yeah, it was like ahalf a mile, you know.
And I'm like, uh, well, uh, youknow, let let me, let me take
you home.
And he goes.
Well, my parents, you know, saidI should never, you know, get
(31:50):
in a car with a stranger.
And I said, well, this is amotorcycle, 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 knowknow, hop on the back here and
and we'll head towards yourhouse, 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
(32:12):
my motorcycle and he clings onto me and tell me where to go,
and he's kind of whisperingaround and turn here, turn here.
And uh, we pull up and he seeslike house, and all of a sudden
I hear him just start weepingand bawling, you know.
And then his mom was out frontof the house, so she hears her
(32:33):
son crying and some weird guy ona motorcycle that she's never
seen before.
So she runs up and snatchesthat kid off the bike and he
goes.
Mom, I think I broke my arm.
She chunks him into theirminivan and just drives off and
snatches that kid off the bikeand he goes.
Mom, I think I broke my arm.
She, you know, chunks him intotheir minivan and just drives
off and she didn't say anythingto me and I'm like that's weird
(32:53):
and so, but yeah, I mean I don'tblame her.
I mean, you know, staying withher kid.
So I don't know, it's like maybetwo weeks later or something,
we get a knock on the door andit's the little kid and the mom
and she goes.
I never got to thank you.
And he wants you to sign hiscast, you know, and he's a big
old cat, you know.
And she goes.
(33:15):
You know.
That really scared me becausemy kid was crying and I don't
know who you are, I don't knowwhat you did to him, and so he
explained to me and everything.
So thank are.
I don't know what you did tohim, and so he explained to me
and everything, and so thank you, but she goes out.
The problem is my husband and Ihave always trained our kids
never talk to strangers.
If people got problems, that'stheir problems.
You leave them alone?
You don't, and so we've beenhaving a dilemma in our house
(33:39):
because what you did we're sograteful 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 aboutmy relationship with Christ, and
before they left, the boy andthe woman had asked to have a
(33:59):
relationship with Christ.
So it was really an amazingsituation.
But I bring that story up forthis reason that through my
choices and my behaviors on thatparticular moment which I've
done, a lot of other behaviorsand choices that have caused
people to have other thoughts,but this particular day was a
good one In that it was able tocause their thinking to change
(34:24):
in a way that would be moregodly.
Now there's been a lot ofexperiences and a lot of reasons
why you need to hold up at yourhouse, you need to stay away
and you can't trust people, andpeople are wicked and people are
evil.
Or we can begin this.
We can begin to let our mindsbe changed to there is good, and
(34:45):
good will overwhelm evil and webegin to see, because what
happened is my and heather'sinfluence changed that family
and I'm convinced of this,christians, if we would really
allow our minds to be changedabout humanity, about people,
(35:07):
about god's ability, about love,about the power of the holy
spirit to come in and fix, thenwe wouldn't have.
You know, well, how do youexplain?
You know human trafficking.
How do you explain?
You know deaths of thesechildren?
Well, you know all this stuffwhere, again, if you spiral into
that, you become fearful andselfish and cynical.
(35:29):
None of those things are fruitsof the Spirit of God.
Now can I explain to you howthis is going to happen?
No, but you and I both know bythe sound of my voice what I'm
saying is right.
No, but you and I both know bythe sound of my voice what I'm
saying is right, that if we willallow our minds to be changed
(35:50):
and allow love to really takeover, then I believe the
collective can really changehumanity, that really the Spirit
of God can begin to move in away.
But if the people that claim toknow the Spirit of God won't
surrender to Spirit, then howmuch more do you suspect the
people that lost will Amen.
(36:11):
And so there has to be a placewhere you and I will go, and for
me it's a practice, and it's apractice, you know.
Last week it was about trafficand I shared with you, you know,
because if I'm going tostruggle with it I'm going to
throw it on you, and so nowyou're all going to have to be
nice to people in traffic, if Igot to, you know.
But it's like all those thingsare practices I can begin to see
(36:34):
these people as my brothers andsisters and not my enemy, and
begin to see people as one andbegin to to understand.
I mean, you know how the nevertime about that last week, you
know, you, you, certainpoliticians, you're like, oh,
can't stand that.
And then we're in the light andHeather goes.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
So I'm one with that those are my brothers delusional
, yes, but they are brothers andthey are sisters, and and we
have to come my brother yes, yes, and you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
But in truth, yes, they, they are, and then once we
begin to see in that we beginto have mercy, we can ask god
for mercy for their choices thatare clearly hurting themselves
and others, and clearly there'sthere's something.
But when we separate andisolate, I just I just realized
what that, that spirit, was.
Since the time I was a littlekid, I wanted to be, I wanted to
(37:29):
be somebody, I wanted to berecognized 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, allthat I want is me wanting to
pull away from God and wantingto be single.
(37:52):
And God is about community,god's about family, god's about
oneness, god's aboutsurrendering those differences
and accepting them and lovingthem anyway.
And so I'm beginning to seethat, you know, that whole
desire to be, you know, thesuccessful for all that stuff,
all that is a drive really formy ego just just to pull away
(38:17):
from God.
And God is offering this placeof surrender and love, and it
doesn't mean that you give upyour individuality, it doesn't
mean that you actually even givein to hate and evil.
It's in fact the opposite, thatwhen we can find a place to
love there, we win.
(38:39):
Amen and God, then what we'redoing is we're going.
Okay, I'm not going to controlthis anymore.
I'm really surrendering to thespirit of god, which turns out,
is the only spirit that's goingto really change things.
It isn't my will, it isn't myway, it isn't my uniqueness, it
isn't my clever.
You know it's going to be.
(38:59):
God's working in your family,you taking that humble road of
serving.
That's what we do instead offighting the way it is.
Can I just serve god in themidst of it?
That's for somebody, isn't it?
We were talking about that onthe way here today, weren't we?
Speaker 1 (39:20):
this invitation?
yes, we were talking about itthe invitation is not just to be
angry about things.
Anger doesn't produce anythingother than a motivation to do
something else, and that couldbe good.
Sometimes anger fuels you to dodifferent things.
But just to repeat the samepatterns, to be mean to people
who are mean.
That never works.
Beloved God is love and theinvitation is to have a higher
(39:44):
thought and the invitation forus to live in Christ is to allow
this.
In fact, one of the apostlessaid this let the same mind be
in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
I want that.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
How does God think about things, how does love
think about this situation?
And when you are strugglingwith somebody, and there are
people to struggle with becausethey have ideas that are harming
others, that are harming ourworld, that are harming the
planet?
This is our Father's world,beloved.
I think about that all the time, that particular song, maybe
(40:17):
because I've sang it since I wasa little bitty thing.
But when I see some of the waysthat people are behaving toward
the earth, I'm like you knowwhose house like this is the
father's world, right, you know,this is God's Like.
The way we behave toward theearth is a reflection of how we
feel about God, and we're hereto be caretakers of the earth.
And so this invitation intomore, this invitation to life in
(40:42):
the spirit, is to learn how tolove people that we would say
are different than us or don'tdeserve our love.
In fact, the role of living alife filled with spirit is to
show everyone love and not todecide whether they're worthy or
not.
That's not our responsibility.
Our responsibility is to livein love.
(41:04):
Now, what do you do whensomebody is doing something that
you absolutely feeldiametrically 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 lastweek and I still feel it's so
true.
If you see a toddler and theyare acting up and they're doing
something to hurt someone elseor others, you do not have to
intervene on their level andtalk with them with their
(41:26):
gibberish, you just simply routethem to their parent.
Here, look at your mom, here,look at your dad.
I feel like we have to do thesame thing with Christ.
Someone has missed me and we'relike let's find Jesus for you,
let's show up with Jesus for you, because he will change.
The Spirit empowers us tochange thoughts Beloved,
(41:48):
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 knowwhere we live over there, if you
come to my house you'll comedown these winding roads and
they're so beautiful withcanopied, but they're always
littered with trash.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
It's kind of one of the first times when you kind of
get out of town where you can'tsee 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 soI want to do something about it.
And a while back there was acar pulled over the side of the
road and I just saw garbagecoming out of the window, and so
(42:31):
I pulled up and I was going togive this person a piece of my
mind.
And they were down cleaning uptheir floorboards so that all
you see was just you know.
So I didn't know it was araccoon, was shuffled and stuff.
I don't know what's going on.
And so I go, hey, and this oldman pops up and he goes hey, how
you doing?
And he just keeps on chunkingtrash, and all at once I was
(42:53):
going to give this guy a pieceof my mind.
But then I realized something.
You know, his mind said he hadno idea what he was doing was
out of line as far as he wasconcerned.
That was where you dump garbage, that's the place you put it.
And so I just said are youdoing all right?
Yeah, your car broken down oranything?
(43:15):
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 Ihad just started yelling this
old man, it would escalate himbecause his mind needs to be
changed, and so confrontationisn't going to change that.
The, the spirit of god, isprayer.
You know now, if I had built arelationship with that man, if I
(43:37):
knew him, I'd be like, hey, youknow, let me tell you what it's
like to live in thisneighborhood For him to begin
that.
But there wasn't a time for meto preach a sermon or build a
relationship or whatever, and soat that point the best thing I
can do is what I believe.
What I did Was not say anythingand just be kind and go on.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
And then clean up the trash Exactly that somebody
else made a mess of.
And so what we?
Speaker 2 (43:58):
do is we go back and we go on the road and if the
prisoners aren't there in a fewweeks which they are oftentimes
on our road over there then wego pick it up ourselves.
And on the side of my housethere's always something out
there.
I'll go out and get it, for thelawn guy mows it and it's a
million pieces.
But my point really for that isthat old guy is me, except for
(44:23):
I'm much younger, I'm morehandsome.
No, that old guy is me becausethere are so many places in my
life where I just am ignorantlychunking garbage out of the
window.
And I'm grateful that I haveyounger men in my life, because
there are so many times when mykids will pull me aside and
(44:44):
they'll say hey, dad, that wascringe, or something like that.
What do you mean?
I was just doing it, yeah, butdid you think that?
And there's always somethingrising in me and I want to say
shut up, boys, I'm your, yourfather.
But then there's a voice thatrises up in me.
(45:04):
It's like do you know everything?
Could there be a perspectivethat these young people have
that could actually betransformative if you would
allow an old dog to be taught anew trick, and and I wonder how
the spirit of the lord wouldspeak to you only through holy
moments of visitation as you'restudying in your study, or could
you walk out in the living roomand the spirit of the Lord
(45:26):
clearly be speaking through you,through these vessels of the
Lord?
And so there has to be ahumility if you're going to have
a mind change.
You have to recognize that theold dog does need to learn some
new tricks and that it is goingto come probably through a place
of humility.
(45:49):
An insubordinate member of yourfamily that's younger than you,
that hasn't lived in theexperience and doesn't know
everything, and while you do allthis for them and how could I
yeah, that's the perfect personfor you to get rid of all that
arrogant thought that somehowyou're the one that's provided
anything, or that you are havesome great place in this world
that's not been given to you bythe grace of God.
(46:10):
Come on now.
I'm preaching real good, I'mstarting to lose them.
Heather, get the car started.
But I really believe that if webegin to see that the change
that we need might come througha place of humility, might come
from a place you didn't expectit to, and that's probably the
(46:32):
grace of God, and we fight it,don't we?
Sometimes Not you?
I'm talking about people,hypothetically.
Speaker 1 (46:41):
You started talking about old dogs and I was
thinking about our Luna.
We have a dog and she's old andshe knows zero tricks.
Speaker 2 (46:47):
Zero.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
Absolutely zero, and she's beloved.
And so if you don't know anytricks, that's okay.
I just want to tell you, andmaybe you don't have to learn a
new trick.
Maybe you just have to learn anew trick, maybe you just have
to keep your eye on the peoplethat love you.
That's what our Luna does.
She gets all her needs metbecause 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 sheneeds.
(47:08):
And, I remind you, beloved.
This is our father's world andour father is a part of
everything and he has his eye onyou, he is watching.
You.
Do not have any needs that theFather does not already see and
he's already providing for.
There is abundance in this world, and the Spirit would teach us
how to keep our eye, our innereye, on the love of Christ, on
(47:30):
the abundance that is all aroundus, for through the Son,
everything was created, both inthe heavenly realm and on the
earth, all that is seen and allthat is unseen, every seat of
power, realm of government,principality and authority.
It was created through him, forhis purpose.
He existed before anything wasmade and now everything finds
(47:52):
completion in him, he is thehead of his body, which is the
church, and since he is thebeginning and the firstborn heir
in the resurrection, he is themost exalted one, holding first
place in everything.
For God is satisfied to haveall of his fullness dwelling in
Christ and by the blood of hiscross.
(48:13):
Everything in heaven and earthis brought back to himself, back
to its original intent, andrestored to innocence again.
Beloved, the mind of Christwill allow you to see innocence
in everything.
The mind of love will allow youto see the original intent in
(48:35):
everything.
It won't be that we're ignorantto the things around that cause
harm, but it invites us intothe 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 uptrash on the side of the
highway if that's what it needsto be.
You are the one who can sitwith someone who grieves and
(48:56):
bring a presence for them.
You are the one who can dobetter, who can expand the table
to be able to say everyone isinvited to this table, that this
is the way of God, that ourminds would expand, that we
would see more love, moreliberation and more ways to
radical inclusion when we findthe ways that the Spirit is
(49:19):
teaching us how to live inChrist.
We're grateful for this moment.
We're gonna go to the, to thissacrament, to the Holy Communion
, and ask that the Spirit wouldliberate our minds even during
communion, even during thissacrament, that the Holy Spirit
would open our hearts.
Beloved, who needs to beinvited to your table?
(49:42):
How do we not put up morefences, but make longer tables?
How do we say, how do I invitea neighbor?
How do I live in love so that Iallow the mind of Christ to be
experienced in those around me?
I am grateful for thisopportunity to hold, together
(50:03):
with you, the sacred, topractice this invitation into
fullness, into obedience.
This is what Jesus said to us,and he invited us to participate
in these things that we wouldbe changed, that together we
practice things like baptism andwe practice things like holy
communion and giving to the poorand taking care of each other
(50:26):
and celebrating the good that'sin the world around us.
Publix has buy one, get one onthe 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 ofpeaches.
And so find ways to spread joythat's what the Spirit does.
(50:48):
Find ways to be loving that'show the Spirit does things.
Find ways to uplift thethoughts of the people around
you and find ways to surrenderto love that is everywhere.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at firstlovechurchorg.
Welcome to the First Love Church podcast.
This is a collection of Sundayteachings inspired by the
Revised Common Lectionary andrecorded weekly in Ocala,
florida.
Thank you, so grateful for yourpresence here.
The light in us greets thelight in you.
I remind you what Jesus saidyou are the light of the world.
(00:23):
Sometimes we're waiting forsomeone 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 playsmall one.
We understand is that the lightof Christ that is in us is for
everyone, and there is joy whenwe remember that christ is with
(00:46):
us well, happy baptism day we're.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
We'll be having a the baptism over at our house after
um, after church today.
Uh, we um usually will fill upa pool here, but it dawned on me
just after three years thatthere's a pool filled up in my
backyard every day, so we'regoing to have baptism over there
(01:14):
today.
Try that out.
And so we're so happy to havethree people that are willing
and ready and made that decision, and so, whether you're here or
not with them, I want you tocelebrate in your hearts with us
, because this is a big day.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
And what a beautiful.
I ask you to remember your ownbaptism.
What was it like when you saidI am now a part of God's family?
It's a beautiful way ofremembering this is one of the
sacraments of the church thatJesus himself offered his life
into the baptism of John.
And then we see this followingthat, the believers were
(01:53):
baptized, and it reminds us,during the time of Pentecost,
that baptism isn't only withwater, but we are baptized with
fire, we are baptized with theSpirit, and so we are to be
continually living a life in theSpirit.
It was Martin Luther who saidlive wet.
Live like you remember yourbaptism.
Live like you remember whosefamily you're a part of.
(02:16):
Live like you remember.
This is our Father's world, andso we're grateful for the
opportunity to share in thisreally holy sacrament that we do
together.
When we invite people into thekingdom by participating and by
watching their baptism, we alsoparticipate in holy communion at
the end of every service.
The climax of the service isalways this invitation to follow
(02:38):
the command take and eat, be apart of what God is doing.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
And so, again, we do this day, um, and we remind
ourselves what it's like to livebaptized you know, and in that
baptism, you know, when youfirst climb out of that water,
you're still wet.
It was recent, you know, and soif we can kind of remember, uh,
that decision that we made, andthat decision is to to do some
(03:05):
things different.
I surrender my life to, uh, togod, and so I want to do things
god's way, and so in order to dothat, we have to be willing to
change our mind about somethings.
Uh, and you know, you've madesome decisions that were good
for you and, and a lot of times,you, we make decisions as
(03:27):
children just to keep ourselvesalive, and the decisions you
made protected you from abuse,protected you from a scary world
, and as a child, you needed tomake those choices and do those
things.
But sometimes, as an adult,those fears and those decisions,
decisions, they're not servingyou anymore and we need to
change our mind.
But we've agreed with thosethings and they've worked so far
(03:50):
.
So sometimes it's difficult,and so I, just like we're going
into the waters of baptismsaying I'm being washed from my
past.
I wonder if, every time we getinto 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 inhis word and let's, uh, emerge
(04:16):
out of that affected by that I.
I've been thinking this week andjust really struggling, because
I have two particular friendsthat walk with a severe cloud of
just melancholy, to put itmildly, just a sadness, a
depression.
And life really proves themright.
(04:40):
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'sbound to come back to you and,
and anytime something goodhappens, you don't notice it.
Anytime something bad happens,as we go, see, look, there's
proof.
(05:00):
And and I desperately see thepain that they're in daily.
And then I think to myself.
I sit around in my backyard andI feel the warmth of the sun
and joy overwhelms me sometimesthat I'm out in my backyard
giggling, and so you might walkby and say, oh, there's a crazy
(05:25):
one.
But what's happened is my mindis being changed, the way that I
think about things.
Instead of miserable becauseit's so hot, I'm amused by the
fact that there's a burning starclose enough to me that it
keeps me alive.
That's a miracle, that isamazing.
(05:47):
But we go oh, god's so freakinghot in florida.
It's a mindset, isn't?
It's a choice, it's a thingthat we choose to think about
and choose to believe.
And so I really want tochallenge you, because if there
are some places where you walkin depression or you walk in
fear, I know that there's ananswer from god.
(06:09):
I know there's a word, there'sa promise, there's a thought,
there's a way of thinking thatthat you are thinking.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
This is the life that Jesus invited everyone to, a
life of repentance, andrepentance means changing the
way that you think, and I can'tthink of anything that is easier
or harder at the same time thanchanging the way that you think
, changing the way that youthink about something.
We were talking about baptism,and I remember my baptism.
(06:55):
I was very young, I wasn't yetfive, and I was going to be
baptized, and we baptized in abig lake, and so my mom had an
appropriate dress for me, andwhen 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 withblue flowers and a crinoline,
big, huge, puffy skirt, becauseit's a baptism day.
That's what I want.
And so I put that dress on,fastened that up, and my
(07:18):
grandfather did my hair andbraids like Heidi, over the top
of my head because I was goingto be baptized.
I was very excited.
I went to the edge of the riverthere and the elders were there
and they said would you like tocome and be baptized?
And I said yes, because Ialready had the outfit on and,
of course, I would be baptizedwith all the other grownups.
And then the man said to me areyou willing to give your whole
(07:38):
life to God?
And I thought to myself maybe,perhaps I think so, but I'm five
, I've not experienced a wholelot.
But I looked to my grandparents, who were standing right there,
and they looked very old to me.
It's very interesting now to beolder than my grandparents were
when they were watching thebaptism.
They looked very old to me andthey served the Lord and I
(07:59):
thought, well, if it's good forthem, I can, I'll certainly do
it.
And so I remind you that yourplace as elders, your place as
people who have followed Jesusfor a long time, is not just for
you, it's for those who willfollow after you.
And so I went into the waters ofbaptism and I came out with a
scratchy crinoline.
It was wet and it was so itchyon my thighs and I thought to
(08:20):
myself it's probably why thisdress wasn't appropriate, but I
looked so cute and I knew that Idid, and that's appropriate for
baptism.
So wear whatever it is that youfeel wonderful in, but this
idea of we wear this new life,this invitation.
But it's hard to change ourminds and that's why God gave us
the Spirit and invited us tolive in the Spirit, and the
(08:43):
Spirit allows us to change theway that we think.
But I was wondering, and I wasasking Dennis this week I wonder
how often we come to scriptureor we come to a Moment with God,
a moment, a very present moment.
Just this week we had peaches atour house.
(09:05):
Just this week we had peachesat our house.
It's the summer time and ifthere's something that's going
to help you, it is practicingthe present, what is happening
right now.
And I went to grab peach and Ithought I don't have the right
shirt on for this because Iexpect the juice to run all the
way down to my elbow, and thenso I just rolled it right up and
I ate that fruit and gave somuch thanks.
(09:25):
But what if you say you knowwhat, I don't want?
A mess of the Georgia peach.
It's going to get all the waydown.
You miss the joy beloved.
Sometimes the joy is in thecomplication, is in the mess, is
in how we have to change whatwe're doing.
And so, during this time ofpaying attention to life in the
Spirit, we invite you, we inviteyou in this very moment, to
(09:50):
invite the Holy Spirit tochallenge the way that you think
, to change the way that youthink, to offer a new life.
I am going to read to us ablessing during this particular
time, over this service and overthis week.
It's from Hildegard of Bingen,a mystic, a beautiful Christian
(10:12):
woman.
She has so many wonderfulthings 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,
(10:37):
sweetest taste, beautiful aroma.
Fill these hearts, holy Spirit,filling the world from the
heights to the depth, rainingfrom clouds, filling rivers in
sea.
Fill our minds, holy Spirit,forgiving and giving, uniting
(10:59):
strangers, reconciling enemies,seeking the lost and enfolding
us all together.
Fill these gathered here, holySpirit, bringer of light to dark
places, igniting praise,greatest gift, our hope and our
encourager.
Holy Spirit of Christ, we praiseyou.
(11:20):
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 aboutthings.
And I wonder what things youwill allow the Spirit to
challenge you on, because weusually have some areas and then
other areas we're like no, I'mgood, I know what I believe and
I am not willing to bechallenged on that, and so I
(11:41):
invite you this week, let theHoly Spirit in the whole house,
let the Holy Spirit in the wholehouse, let the Holy Spirit in
the whole thoughts, and just saycome in and bring your truth.
We read today from the book ofColossians this was to a church
and in Coloss and so we listenedto the Holy Spirit also making
this alive to us today.
(12:01):
Every time we pray for you, ourhearts overflow with
thanksgiving to Father, god, theFather of our Lord, jesus
Christ, for we've heard of yourdevoted lives of faith in Christ
Jesus and your tender lovetoward all his holy believers.
Now, again, we pay attention tothe fact that here is the truth
(12:24):
for us that love is alwaysgoing to be a mark of those who
believe.
Love is always going to be amark of those who follow.
Love is going to be somethingthat we, on a regular basis, are
known by, and so the HolySpirit is loving.
God is love.
The Holy Spirit's not going towrestle you down and make you do
(12:45):
anything.
The Holy Spirit is this gentlevoice inside of you telling you
which way to go.
We're waiting for the screensand it's going to come.
It'll just be a second.
(13:05):
We're so grateful for thisunderstanding that the hope of
Christ that is in us, the hopethat is near to us, bring the
joy of salvation.
And the salvation that we'reoffered is not just for us, it's
offered for the whole world.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
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'resomewhere in the world on a
sunday morning, we always go tochurch wherever we are, and you
know whether it was a few monthsago we were in, uh, paris,
france, or wherever we've been.
And you know that every churchservice we ever sit in,
(13:50):
something goes wrong with theprogram Either the sound system
does something, or the videodon't work, or the things.
And Heather and I look at oneanother.
I get so thrilled, I just gettickled and we're just so happy
because there's a thing, there'sa thing that goes inside your
(14:12):
head and it goes.
Our church is just, it's, it'shokey.
Nothing works at our church.
Why is our church?
Why can't electronics work atour church?
And then we go all over theworld and we find out, and God
will do that for you, he'llchange your mind.
Where you sit around and thinkyour church is the only one that
has mechanical, and then you goand you go.
(14:33):
Oh, it's just what it means tobe in the world.
In the world there will betribulations, and tribulations
live inside of computer programs, apparently, and sound systems.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
And I am grateful for the hard copy in case those
don't work.
Your faith and love rise withinyou as you access all of the
treasures of your inheritancestored up in the heavenly realm.
For the revelation of the truegospel is as real today as the
first you heard of our glorioushope, now that you have believed
(15:10):
in the truth of the gospel.
This is the wonderful messagethat is being spread everywhere,
powerfully changing heartsthroughout the earth, just like
it has changed you.
Every believer of this goodnews bears the fruit of eternal
life as they experience thereality of God's grace.
(15:30):
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 goodfruit, this holy fruit because
we know we have eternal lifethrough Christ.
Our beloved co-worker Epaphraswas there from the beginning to
(15:53):
thoroughly teach you theastonishing revelation of the
gospel, and he serves youfaithfully as Christ's
representative.
I do want to remind you that itis astonishing that God took
care of everything for us.
We are very often confidentthat there is something we have
(16:14):
to add to this, and it isastonishing.
It is a free gift completed bythe work of Christ and it's an
invitation into the kingdom.
Now he has informed us of thewonderful ways love is being
demonstrated through your livesby the empowerment of the Holy
Spirit.
I wonder if someone could bearwitness of that in you too, that
(16:39):
love is being demonstratedthrough your lives by the
empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
Wonderful ways that love isbeing demonstrated through your
lives by the power of the HolySpirit.
This is an invitation to changethe way that we think.
(17:02):
This is an invitation to stayin the life of the spirit you
know these scriptures.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
They speak over you and they speak of a truth that
maybe you don't even know.
But, uh, oftentimes we maybejust 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 Spiritis trying to get something to us
(17:30):
and something through us.
I've been really convicted andimpressed by God that, starting
in the fall, we're going tostart doing a Wednesday night
meeting again and we're going tomeet on Wednesday nights for an
hour and we're going to I'mjust going to call it a table
discussion because I'm going tobe able to share some things.
(17:54):
But then have you ask somequestions and we want to explore
some things.
I want to explore some thingsabout meditation, because we
were just reading this scripturetoday when it says that sounds
and groanings come out of youthat you don't even understand,
you know and, and oftentimes welook at meditation as being like
some eastern uh religion, andthen it turns out that
(18:15):
christianity comes from the east.
So, uh, that take with thatwhatever you want, but I I do
believe that there's uh, there'ssomething that uh meditation
can do for you, and it is thatyou stop being driven by the
pace of the world and your ego,and you stop and you learn to
listen to the voice of theSpirit and say nothing.
(18:39):
Sometimes, our prayer life isjust filled with words, words,
words, and God can't get a wordin edgewise.
And so there's something aboutyou know what?
Do you want to call itMeditation or you want to call
it contemplative prayer?
It's been something that'spracticed by the early church,
as far back as we can go, and Iwant to talk about things like
that, and I want us to practicethem, because the truth is, I
believe the Spirit of God issaying things to us, but we've
(19:01):
not learned how to accept it orbelieve it, or time to even
receive it, and so we, we wantto talk to you about those
things, and I just want you toto maybe consider uh, do you
give time for god to to sharethese things, these wonderful
truths about, about the way godsees you and what he's given you
(19:25):
and what is already yours andwhat already exists within us?
I was thinking and I just goreal quickly uh, but I was
thinking about, like, when wewere all kids, uh, we were so
driven by our ego, you know, uh,it was like, uh, well, I gotta
wear these clothes because otherkids are I gonna, you know,
make sure I look like or I wantto address this because I don't
(19:45):
want to look like you.
But we're so driven by our ego,what people perceive about us
and what we do, and we carrythat right into adulthood.
I better get a car, like thatperson has, or do I have a boat?
Do I have a jet ski?
Do I have a house that's thisbig?
Or do I do my job and make thismuch money?
And so we were driven by thisego and uh, and I didn't realize
(20:08):
how much of that ego had justbeen in the driver's seat and I
allowed it my my whole life.
Until relatively recently, Istopped and just would wait on
the Holy Spirit and my ego'slike don't do this, don't do
this, don't do this.
You got to go, you got stuff todo, you got to get, get, get.
Why?
Because the ego knows if youstop, it loses control.
(20:29):
And if it loses control, whowill begin to get control?
The spirit of god, amen.
So there is a force and we weoftentimes blame it on the devil
, but it's it's.
You don't have to look anyfurther than right inside,
between these two ears, thatit's our own thought system, our
(20:50):
own ego.
It's the way that we'rethinking, and god is offering a
different way of thinking, amen.
And so, uh, I'm asking you toconsider, even even now and even
in the days and weeks to comehow are we going to be open to a
new idea?
Where do we have an opening, ashoehorn for God to cram that in
(21:17):
?
Amen.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
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 receivethe perfect knowledge of God's
pleasure over your lives, makingyou reservoirs of every kind of
wisdom and spiritualunderstanding.
This is the intention that youwould be full of wisdom, that
(21:41):
lady, wisdom would guide you.
In fact, in the Proverbs itsays in all of your getting, get
wisdom.
What is wisdom?
Wisdom is how God would dosomething.
How does God relate to yourco-workers?
How does God relate to yourneighbor?
How does the love relate to theperson that you're in the
checkout line behind, not infront of?
Sometimes we're nicer to thepeople that are behind us than
(22:05):
the people that are in front ofus, taking a long time,
Disorganized, as they've madetheir way to the front.
Lord bless.
There's lots that we couldlearn in the checkout lines.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
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 myhouse is a little sneaky
Something's not in therefrigerator and Heather says it
(22:40):
is in the refrigerator.
I said you go in there, Ipromise you it's not in the
refrigerator.
And then she turns around andpulls it out of the refrigerator
.
So she's doing some kind ofmagic trick?
I'm sure no, the reality isthere's something like like last
night.
I knew my limit.
We're down, we have tworefrigerators and a freezer, but
the one refrigerator's broken.
(23:01):
They're not delivering our newone until tomorrow.
So we're this giant family withextra people there living out
of one refrigerator, and it'sanarchy.
You open the door and stuffjust starts falling out at you,
and so I was pushing it in justtrying to get through to go to
bed last night and I'm shuttingthe fridge and the fridge is
popping open and I'm thinkingshould I get one of my guitars
(23:27):
and wedge it towards the thing?
And I wanted to go in there andjust start busting.
And I knew and I said, heather,would you mind I'm at my limit.
And she went over there with apatience and with this spirit of
peace that oftentimes escapesthe masculine personality, but
(23:52):
there's a wisdom in how sheapproaches that it is absolutely
crucial to our household thatthat spirit be manifest.
So how much more in myhousehold and in yours that we
(24:13):
allow that spirit, that femininespirit of wisdom.
And it's not effeminate, thatfeminine spirit of wisdom, and
it's not effeminate, it's, butit is.
There's a place where Godreally showed me that feminine
side of God's self and it is avulnerable but not weak, but
(24:36):
gentle and continually serving.
And I watch that sometimes andI think to myself with these
boys, I love these men that livein our house, but really, are
we going to do this again andagain?
And my wife goes yes, we are.
Is it my wireless or hers?
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Yours.
Speaker 2 (24:59):
Mine, really, my beard's too long.
You know how long are we goingto be patient with this, this or
that thing?
And she goes as long as ittakes.
See, there's something therethat there's a wisdom there that
(25:19):
we need from God, and we'redesperate without.
We're desperate in the churchif only a male voice is giving
our perspective and and it'suseful, but it's only part of
the picture, amen, and so I'mglad that you're saying that and
reminding us about that,because that wisdom is, it's
(25:42):
essential, it's crucial, it's uh, uh, we's crucial.
We're really in trouble withoutit.
Speaker 1 (25:47):
We pause here for a moment to thank you for joining
us today.
If you're finding this episodemeaningful, would you take a
moment to share it with a friend?
This podcast is made possiblethanks to the generosity of
people just like you.
If you would like to supportthe ongoing work of First Love
Church and the continued work ofour podcast, visit us online at
(26:10):
firstlovechurchorg, remindingyou to like, follow and
subscribe.
We pray that you would walk inthe ways of true righteousness,
pleasing God in every good thingyou do.
Then you'll becomefruit-bearing branches, yielding
to his life and maturing in therich experience of knowing God
(26:30):
in his fullness.
And we pray that you would beenergized with all his explosive
power from the realm of hismagnificent glory, filling you
with great hope.
Your hearts can soar withjoyful gratitude when you think
of how God made you worthy toreceive the glorious inheritance
(26:52):
freely given to us by living inthe light.
He has rescued us completelyfrom the tyrannical rule of
darkness and has translated usinto the kingdom realm of his
beloved son.
He is reminding us here that wehave been given a new family, a
(27:13):
new home.
We are no longer lost orseparate in an illusion.
That is not true but we arebrought into the truth, in the
light by the power of the HolySpirit that says we can think
differently, we can be peoplefull of love and full of good
works, that we can be peoplerich in mercy because of the
(27:34):
Holy Spirit.
Not because we ourselves havefigured things out, necessarily,
but because we have come toobey the commands.
I was thinking about thisbecause I was considering how
beautiful it is, every time thatwe get together, that we
celebrate Holy Communion andit's not that we came up with
that.
We're simply obeying what wewere told to do.
But I was thinking about thecommand, and the command is take
(27:56):
it and eat, and sometimes itfeels like it should be take it
and understand.
I mean, we wrestle with theunderstanding 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 beenheaped up like a feast.
Just come and eat.
(28:17):
Just come and take this foodand be fed by love and then
become love.
And so this is the invitationthat we would, as people who
follow Jesus, filled with thelife of God's own spirit, that
we would be more loving, that wewould have our thoughts
expanded into who deserves love.
Beloved, it's everyone.
(28:38):
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 forGod so loved the cosmos.
I wish all of us could have,like every day, a moment to look
at the new images that theJames Webb telescope brings us,
(28:59):
and I know that a lot of justlike astonished at how
incredible it is.
And who are we that we even getto see this?
It's amazing, but not just faraway Des was talking about this.
In our backyard, rightunderneath our feet, bugs and
creepy crawlies and the gardeniabush is blooming again and
(29:20):
she's already bloomed and I waslike look at you doing it again.
It's just so exciting and to beable to look at things and go
this is the summertime and wehave sticky peach juice running
down to our elbows.
There is good still in theworld.
Now.
This is not to in any way saythat there is not grief.
This week our hearts werebroken for people in Texas,
(29:43):
brothers and sisters, in ahorror, but not just here in our
country.
All over the world, all overthe world.
This is our father's world andour father is inviting us to
live in love.
Our father is inviting us to befull of the spirit and to usher
in the kingdom right now, notwait for the sweet by and by,
(30:05):
but to say what does it looklike for us to live in God's
kingdom with our neighbors rightnow?
What does it look like for usto mourn with families that
buried children because theysent them to summer camp Beloved
?
Our hearts ache with the factwe're known.
This is not how it's supposedto be.
Speaker 2 (30:22):
But in that same place that we hold grief, we
hold joy in knowing that lovehas a plan to redeem the whole
world when, um, when, I used tolive in the suburbs of uh,
chicago, uh, one day I got on mymotorcycle and I started
driving and I saw this kidstanding over this other kid and
(30:44):
I have a trauma.
One time this older kid wasbeating me up in the street and
cars were driving by and nobodywould stop and stop that kid,
you know.
So when I saw this, I thoughtthat so so I, I, you know, here
I'm, I'm a beard, and I got mymotorcycle and I go, hey, what's
going on over there?
You know, tell me, I'd scarethe bully, you know.
And the kid goes, he needs help.
(31:07):
And the kid goes, I think Ibroke my arm and he lifted up
his arm and it went bloop, fromthe 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.
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, youknow.
And I go, uh, well, where doyou live?
(31:28):
And he goes uh, I live, youknow, and we lived in this big
neighborhood, you know, but itwas like one entrance, big
neighborhood, he goes, I liveover, blah, blah, and I'm like,
oh, yeah, yeah, it was like ahalf a mile, you know.
And I'm like, uh, well, uh, youknow, let let me, let me take
you home.
And he goes.
Well, my parents, you know, saidI should never, you know, get
(31:50):
in a car with a stranger.
And I said, well, this is amotorcycle, 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 knowknow, hop on the back here and
and we'll head towards yourhouse, 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
(32:12):
my motorcycle and he clings onto me and tell me where to go,
and he's kind of whisperingaround and turn here, turn here.
And uh, we pull up and he seeslike house, and all of a sudden
I hear him just start weepingand bawling, you know.
And then his mom was out frontof the house, so she hears her
(32:33):
son crying and some weird guy ona motorcycle that she's never
seen before.
So she runs up and snatchesthat kid off the bike and he
goes.
Mom, I think I broke my arm.
She chunks him into theirminivan and just drives off and
snatches that kid off the bikeand he goes.
Mom, I think I broke my arm.
She, you know, chunks him intotheir minivan and just drives
off and she didn't say anythingto me and I'm like that's weird
(32:53):
and so, but yeah, I mean I don'tblame her.
I mean, you know, staying withher kid.
So I don't know, it's like maybetwo weeks later or something,
we get a knock on the door andit's the little kid and the mom
and she goes.
I never got to thank you.
And he wants you to sign hiscast, you know, and he's a big
old cat, you know.
And she goes.
(33:15):
You know.
That really scared me becausemy kid was crying and I don't
know who you are, I don't knowwhat you did to him, and so he
explained to me and everything.
So thank are.
I don't know what you did tohim, and so he explained to me
and everything, and so thank you, but she goes out.
The problem is my husband and Ihave always trained our kids
never talk to strangers.
If people got problems, that'stheir problems.
You leave them alone?
You don't, and so we've beenhaving a dilemma in our house
(33:39):
because what you did we're sograteful 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 aboutmy relationship with Christ, and
before they left, the boy andthe woman had asked to have a
(33:59):
relationship with Christ.
So it was really an amazingsituation.
But I bring that story up forthis reason that through my
choices and my behaviors on thatparticular moment which I've
done, a lot of other behaviorsand choices that have caused
people to have other thoughts,but this particular day was a
good one In that it was able tocause their thinking to change
(34:24):
in a way that would be moregodly.
Now there's been a lot ofexperiences and a lot of reasons
why you need to hold up at yourhouse, you need to stay away
and you can't trust people, andpeople are wicked and people are
evil.
Or we can begin this.
We can begin to let our mindsbe changed to there is good, and
(34:45):
good will overwhelm evil and webegin to see, because what
happened is my and heather'sinfluence changed that family
and I'm convinced of this,christians, if we would really
allow our minds to be changedabout humanity, about people,
(35:07):
about god's ability, about love,about the power of the holy
spirit to come in and fix, thenwe wouldn't have.
You know, well, how do youexplain?
You know human trafficking.
How do you explain?
You know deaths of thesechildren?
Well, you know all this stuffwhere, again, if you spiral into
that, you become fearful andselfish and cynical.
(35:29):
None of those things are fruitsof the Spirit of God.
Now can I explain to you howthis is going to happen?
No, but you and I both know bythe sound of my voice what I'm
saying is right.
No, but you and I both know bythe sound of my voice what I'm
saying is right, that if we willallow our minds to be changed
(35:50):
and allow love to really takeover, then I believe the
collective can really changehumanity, that really the Spirit
of God can begin to move in away.
But if the people that claim toknow the Spirit of God won't
surrender to Spirit, then howmuch more do you suspect the
people that lost will Amen.
(36:11):
And so there has to be a placewhere you and I will go, and for
me it's a practice, and it's apractice, you know.
Last week it was about trafficand I shared with you, you know,
because if I'm going tostruggle with it I'm going to
throw it on you, and so nowyou're all going to have to be
nice to people in traffic, if Igot to, you know.
But it's like all those thingsare practices I can begin to see
(36:34):
these people as my brothers andsisters and not my enemy, and
begin to see people as one andbegin to to understand.
I mean, you know how the nevertime about that last week, you
know, you, you, certainpoliticians, you're like, oh,
can't stand that.
And then we're in the light andHeather goes.
Speaker 1 (36:52):
So I'm one with that those are my brothers delusional
, yes, but they are brothers andthey are sisters, and and we
have to come my brother yes, yes, and you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (37:05):
But in truth, yes, they, they are, and then once we
begin to see in that we beginto have mercy, we can ask god
for mercy for their choices thatare clearly hurting themselves
and others, and clearly there'sthere's something.
But when we separate andisolate, I just I just realized
what that, that spirit, was.
Since the time I was a littlekid, I wanted to be, I wanted to
(37:29):
be somebody, I wanted to berecognized 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, allthat I want is me wanting to
pull away from God and wantingto be single.
(37:52):
And God is about community,god's about family, god's about
oneness, god's aboutsurrendering those differences
and accepting them and lovingthem anyway.
And so I'm beginning to seethat, you know, that whole
desire to be, you know, thesuccessful for all that stuff,
all that is a drive really formy ego just just to pull away
(38:17):
from God.
And God is offering this placeof surrender and love, and it
doesn't mean that you give upyour individuality, it doesn't
mean that you actually even givein to hate and evil.
It's in fact the opposite, thatwhen we can find a place to
love there, we win.
(38:39):
Amen and God, then what we'redoing is we're going.
Okay, I'm not going to controlthis anymore.
I'm really surrendering to thespirit of god, which turns out,
is the only spirit that's goingto really change things.
It isn't my will, it isn't myway, it isn't my uniqueness, it
isn't my clever.
You know it's going to be.
(38:59):
God's working in your family,you taking that humble road of
serving.
That's what we do instead offighting the way it is.
Can I just serve god in themidst of it?
That's for somebody, isn't it?
We were talking about that onthe way here today, weren't we?
Speaker 1 (39:20):
this invitation?
yes, we were talking about itthe invitation is not just to be
angry about things.
Anger doesn't produce anythingother than a motivation to do
something else, and that couldbe good.
Sometimes anger fuels you to dodifferent things.
But just to repeat the samepatterns, to be mean to people
who are mean.
That never works.
Beloved God is love and theinvitation is to have a higher
(39:44):
thought and the invitation forus to live in Christ is to allow
this.
In fact, one of the apostlessaid this let the same mind be
in you that was in Christ Jesus.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
I want that.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
How does God think about things, how does love
think about this situation?
And when you are strugglingwith somebody, and there are
people to struggle with becausethey have ideas that are harming
others, that are harming ourworld, that are harming the
planet?
This is our Father's world,beloved.
I think about that all the time, that particular song, maybe
(40:17):
because I've sang it since I wasa little bitty thing.
But when I see some of the waysthat people are behaving toward
the earth, I'm like you knowwhose house like this is the
father's world, right, you know,this is God's Like.
The way we behave toward theearth is a reflection of how we
feel about God, and we're hereto be caretakers of the earth.
And so this invitation intomore, this invitation to life in
(40:42):
the spirit, is to learn how tolove people that we would say
are different than us or don'tdeserve our love.
In fact, the role of living alife filled with spirit is to
show everyone love and not todecide whether they're worthy or
not.
That's not our responsibility.
Our responsibility is to livein love.
(41:04):
Now, what do you do whensomebody is doing something that
you absolutely feeldiametrically 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 lastweek and I still feel it's so
true.
If you see a toddler and theyare acting up and they're doing
something to hurt someone elseor others, you do not have to
intervene on their level andtalk with them with their
(41:26):
gibberish, you just simply routethem to their parent.
Here, look at your mom, here,look at your dad.
I feel like we have to do thesame thing with Christ.
Someone has missed me and we'relike let's find Jesus for you,
let's show up with Jesus for you, because he will change.
The Spirit empowers us tochange thoughts Beloved,
(41:48):
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 knowwhere we live over there, if you
come to my house you'll comedown these winding roads and
they're so beautiful withcanopied, but they're always
littered with trash.
Speaker 2 (42:08):
It's kind of one of the first times when you kind of
get out of town where you can'tsee 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 soI want to do something about it.
And a while back there was acar pulled over the side of the
road and I just saw garbagecoming out of the window, and so
(42:31):
I pulled up and I was going togive this person a piece of my
mind.
And they were down cleaning uptheir floorboards so that all
you see was just you know.
So I didn't know it was araccoon, was shuffled and stuff.
I don't know what's going on.
And so I go, hey, and this oldman pops up and he goes hey, how
you doing?
And he just keeps on chunkingtrash, and all at once I was
(42:53):
going to give this guy a pieceof my mind.
But then I realized something.
You know, his mind said he hadno idea what he was doing was
out of line as far as he wasconcerned.
That was where you dump garbage, that's the place you put it.
And so I just said are youdoing all right?
Yeah, your car broken down oranything?
(43:15):
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 Ihad just started yelling this
old man, it would escalate himbecause his mind needs to be
changed, and so confrontationisn't going to change that.
The, the spirit of god, isprayer.
You know now, if I had built arelationship with that man, if I
(43:37):
knew him, I'd be like, hey, youknow, let me tell you what it's
like to live in thisneighborhood For him to begin
that.
But there wasn't a time for meto preach a sermon or build a
relationship or whatever, and soat that point the best thing I
can do is what I believe.
What I did Was not say anythingand just be kind and go on.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
And then clean up the trash Exactly that somebody
else made a mess of.
And so what we?
Speaker 2 (43:58):
do is we go back and we go on the road and if the
prisoners aren't there in a fewweeks which they are oftentimes
on our road over there then wego pick it up ourselves.
And on the side of my housethere's always something out
there.
I'll go out and get it, for thelawn guy mows it and it's a
million pieces.
But my point really for that isthat old guy is me, except for
(44:23):
I'm much younger, I'm morehandsome.
No, that old guy is me becausethere are so many places in my
life where I just am ignorantlychunking garbage out of the
window.
And I'm grateful that I haveyounger men in my life, because
there are so many times when mykids will pull me aside and
(44:44):
they'll say hey, dad, that wascringe, or something like that.
What do you mean?
I was just doing it, yeah, butdid you think that?
And there's always somethingrising in me and I want to say
shut up, boys, I'm your, yourfather.
But then there's a voice thatrises up in me.
(45:04):
It's like do you know everything?
Could there be a perspectivethat these young people have
that could actually betransformative if you would
allow an old dog to be taught anew trick, and and I wonder how
the spirit of the lord wouldspeak to you only through holy
moments of visitation as you'restudying in your study, or could
you walk out in the living roomand the spirit of the Lord
(45:26):
clearly be speaking through you,through these vessels of the
Lord?
And so there has to be ahumility if you're going to have
a mind change.
You have to recognize that theold dog does need to learn some
new tricks and that it is goingto come probably through a place
of humility.
(45:49):
An insubordinate member of yourfamily that's younger than you,
that hasn't lived in theexperience and doesn't know
everything, and while you do allthis for them and how could I
yeah, that's the perfect personfor you to get rid of all that
arrogant thought that somehowyou're the one that's provided
anything, or that you are havesome great place in this world
that's not been given to you bythe grace of God.
(46:10):
Come on now.
I'm preaching real good, I'mstarting to lose them.
Heather, get the car started.
But I really believe that if webegin to see that the change
that we need might come througha place of humility, might come
from a place you didn't expectit to, and that's probably the
(46:32):
grace of God, and we fight it,don't we?
Sometimes Not you?
I'm talking about people,hypothetically.
Speaker 1 (46:41):
You started talking about old dogs and I was
thinking about our Luna.
We have a dog and she's old andshe knows zero tricks.
Speaker 2 (46:47):
Zero.
Speaker 1 (46:48):
Absolutely zero, and she's beloved.
And so if you don't know anytricks, that's okay.
I just want to tell you, andmaybe you don't have to learn a
new trick.
Maybe you just have to learn anew trick, maybe you just have
to keep your eye on the peoplethat love you.
That's what our Luna does.
She gets all her needs metbecause 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 sheneeds.
(47:08):
And, I remind you, beloved.
This is our father's world andour father is a part of
everything and he has his eye onyou, he is watching.
You.
Do not have any needs that theFather does not already see and
he's already providing for.
There is abundance in this world, and the Spirit would teach us
how to keep our eye, our innereye, on the love of Christ, on
(47:30):
the abundance that is all aroundus, for through the Son,
everything was created, both inthe heavenly realm and on the
earth, all that is seen and allthat is unseen, every seat of
power, realm of government,principality and authority.
It was created through him, forhis purpose.
He existed before anything wasmade and now everything finds
(47:52):
completion in him, he is thehead of his body, which is the
church, and since he is thebeginning and the firstborn heir
in the resurrection, he is themost exalted one, holding first
place in everything.
For God is satisfied to haveall of his fullness dwelling in
Christ and by the blood of hiscross.
(48:13):
Everything in heaven and earthis brought back to himself, back
to its original intent, andrestored to innocence again.
Beloved, the mind of Christwill allow you to see innocence
in everything.
The mind of love will allow youto see the original intent in
(48:35):
everything.
It won't be that we're ignorantto the things around that cause
harm, but it invites us intothe 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 uptrash on the side of the
highway if that's what it needsto be.
You are the one who can sitwith someone who grieves and
(48:56):
bring a presence for them.
You are the one who can dobetter, who can expand the table
to be able to say everyone isinvited to this table, that this
is the way of God, that ourminds would expand, that we
would see more love, moreliberation and more ways to
radical inclusion when we findthe ways that the Spirit is
(49:19):
teaching us how to live inChrist.
We're grateful for this moment.
We're gonna go to the, to thissacrament, to the Holy Communion
, and ask that the Spirit wouldliberate our minds even during
communion, even during thissacrament, that the Holy Spirit
would open our hearts.
Beloved, who needs to beinvited to your table?
(49:42):
How do we not put up morefences, but make longer tables?
How do we say, how do I invitea neighbor?
How do I live in love so that Iallow the mind of Christ to be
experienced in those around me?
I am grateful for thisopportunity to hold, together
(50:03):
with you, the sacred, topractice this invitation into
fullness, into obedience.
This is what Jesus said to us,and he invited us to participate
in these things that we wouldbe changed, that together we
practice things like baptism andwe practice things like holy
communion and giving to the poorand taking care of each other
(50:26):
and celebrating the good that'sin the world around us.
Publix has buy one, get one onthe 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 ofpeaches.
And so find ways to spread joythat's what the Spirit does.
(50:48):
Find ways to be loving that'show the Spirit does things.
Find ways to uplift thethoughts of the people around
you and find ways to surrenderto love that is everywhere.
We hope you've enjoyed thisweek's sermon.
If you would like moreinformation about us, visit us
online at firstlovechurchorg.
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