Beyond Offense and Defense: Finding Security as a Child of God

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:07:05] Pursuit Church family, we are so glad that you're joining us for church this morning, no matter where you find yourself this morning.
[00:07:12] We're glad you're here. We're glad you're worshiping with us. And my name's Emily.

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:07:15] And I'm Terri. And I've got to say, my sister and my daughter are here today from out of town.
[00:07:20] Because it was her birthday yesterday.
[00:07:22] It was my birthday. Surprise party. If they did that anymore, I'm over 60 now. I'm going to have a heart attack.
[00:07:27] But it was the best day ever. But go ahead.
[00:07:29] Oh, first thing you need to do. I'm still excited.
[00:07:33] It's Shared Church.
[00:07:36] People, look, I went back and looked and found my first time guests that went to a different place.
[00:07:41] There's the lady there from Georgia.
[00:07:43] There are people watching us from all over.
[00:07:45] And it's maybe because you shared church.
[00:07:47] So Share Church right now.

[00:07:50] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:07:50] It's easy.
[00:07:50] You really never know what a simple share could do.
[00:07:53] We've heard countless stories, testimonies of what a share does in someone's life just by simply inviting them to church, inviting them to midweek, inviting them to small groups.

[00:08:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:08:04] Did I say this?
[00:08:05] Wait, I interrupted.
[00:08:06] Last week, we talked about it.
[00:08:08] One of the people that God has worked in here, he didn't realize his mom was watching church every week and she's coming next month to get baptized.
[00:08:18] So anyway.
[00:08:18] Like, and their whole family has been.
[00:08:20] 26 people so far have been touched by this family giving their lives to Jesus.
[00:08:25] And the man told me this morning, Dustin, that somebody else was here just because they're curious about Jesus that he has been able to talk to.
[00:08:33] And it's all because, what,

[00:08:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:08:34] Alyssa's uncle invited her to church?

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:08:37] Yes, something like that.
[00:08:38] I mean, it's crazy.
[00:08:39] Yeah, so.

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:08:40] Aren't you glad we have our details?

[00:08:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:08:41] I know.

[00:08:42] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:08:42] We're all over the place this morning.
[00:08:44] But we wanted to give a special shout out to our Pursuit students, our seniors.
[00:08:49] They are in the mountains this morning.
[00:08:51] Hey, guys, wherever you are right now, ask Terri, I said, are they in the mountains?
[00:08:55] We don't know where y'all are.
[00:08:56] But we hope that y'all are having a great time.
[00:08:59] They have, like, what, Jen and John has like 30 seniors with them.
[00:09:01] At least, I think.

[00:09:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:09:02] And I just want to give a shout out to Jen Doggett and John Doggett.
[00:09:06] Like, I know them so personally.
[00:09:07] Jenny, you know how much I love you.
[00:09:11] What God is doing through those two and their leaders in student ministry, I don't even have words.
[00:09:19] It is incredible.
[00:09:20] If you have a student and they're not at Pursuit Students, what are you doing?
[00:09:24] You need to get them there.
[00:09:25] It's unreal.
[00:09:26] And I thank God for you all.
[00:09:27] I thank God for you.

[00:09:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:09:29] Yeah.
[00:09:29] So we just wanted to tell y'all that we're so excited.
[00:09:32] They're usually in our 11 a.m. service at the very front of the stage worshiping with us.
[00:09:37] And they're going to be worshiping with us from the mountains this morning.
[00:09:40] So we love you guys.
[00:09:41] And we hope you're having a great time.

[00:09:43] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:09:43] And you're getting to worship the Lord together.
[00:09:45] And we wanted to mention midweek.
[00:09:47] We launched last week.
[00:09:49] I'm going to tell you something.
[00:09:50] The men, there were a lot of women here, but there were 105 men.
[00:09:57] And I don't think it's just the food.
[00:09:58] No.
[00:09:59] But you guys, the way God is moving in midweek, it's just incredible.
[00:10:07] The brotherhood they have in there, the sisterhood in women's.
[00:10:11] We got third and fourth grade ministry, preteens, students, doors open for all of those at 630.
[00:10:17] Third and fourth graders and women's are here at the big church at Rock Springs campus are men's, preteens, and students.
[00:10:25] It's just, it's wonderful.
[00:10:26] We're so glad to be back.
[00:10:27] the excitement is over the top and people are having changed lives is the main thing.

[00:10:32] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:10:32] Yeah, it is absolutely incredible. When Kendrick, my husband, told me that the men's was basically popping out of the seams, I was like, that is insane.
[00:10:42] Because men don't share that much, let's be real.
[00:10:44] Yeah, they're not usually ones to be like, let's gather around the table and talk about our feelings like the women do. But apparently- It's working.
[00:10:52] Apparently it's working. And another thing that I was super excited about that started is our mom's group.
[00:10:59] We started back on Thursday and that's something that I get to go to because I can't attend midweek on Wednesday night.
[00:11:04] So if you're a mom with a little one like me, then you should join us on Thursday mornings.
[00:11:10] It's from 10 to 1130.
[00:11:12] We go, we hang out, there's childcare.
[00:11:14] They love on your kids.
[00:11:16] There's food.
[00:11:17] And we just get to have a little bit of time.
[00:11:19] And it was so cool.
[00:11:20] Last week, all the ladies shared a little bit about what they love about Mama Broom and just shared their stories because it was her birthday yesterday.
[00:11:30] But just to hear how God has worked in all of the women's lives and how a lot of them didn't wanna come or didn't have a space where they felt like they could come and didn't even come to church here.
[00:11:43] And someone invited them to mom's group and now they come and it's like completely changed their life.
[00:11:48] You just never know how God's gonna work through coming to a group and just feeling like you're not alone and you have someone there who's walking in the same season as you.
[00:11:58] It's a tired season.
[00:12:00] Tired, very tired season.
[00:12:03] And so if you're a mom and you feel like I could use a little bit of company, well, come join us on Thursday mornings because it is worth it and we think you'd love it.
[00:12:14] So definitely join us for that.
[00:12:16] And forgot, men's retreat.
[00:12:19] Oh, yes.
[00:12:20] Listen, we have a lot of guys already signed up, which I'm very proud of all the guys.
[00:12:24] Because usually y'all are last minute at things, according to Scott.
[00:12:29] I don't really know, but Scott gets it.
[00:12:31] So if you want to go to our men's retreat, it is coming up very, very soon.
[00:12:34] And we would love for you to sign up.
[00:12:36] It's on the website.
[00:12:37] It's on the app.
[00:12:39] Go sign up.
[00:12:40] It'll be here before you know it.

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:12:41] I'm looking at the time, so don't go over.
[00:12:43] Two minutes.
[00:12:44] If you're a first-time guest, please fill out the pinned link in the comment.
[00:12:49] Somebody did last week, because remember, all of them were going somewhere else.
[00:12:53] So I am slowly but surely going to call you all, whether you still want to have a call or not.
[00:12:58] But whoever it was last week, I tried to message you and the phone number's wrong.
[00:13:01] So message me again.
[00:13:02] But if you're new and you want to connect, please just fill that out.
[00:13:07] I would love to talk to you, find out how you found us, how we can minister to you.
[00:13:11] And really quickly, I shared this with volunteers.
[00:13:13] That's what I always do is come in here.
[00:13:15] We're at one minute and something.
[00:13:17] And I said, I'm in the book of Ruth this morning.
[00:13:19] And I said, does anybody know who Orpah was?
[00:13:21] And I said, don't say Oprah.
[00:13:22] It's not Oprah. It's Orpah. And only one person really knew who that was. And I said, it's because Orpah and Ruth were daughter-in-laws of Naomi. And a lot of tragedy happened in their lives.
[00:13:37] But Ruth chose to go with Naomi back to Israel. She was a Moabite. She chose to go with Naomi back to Israel. And it looked like a bleak existence. She had to glean for food. It was
[00:13:47] She's very poor, but she said, may God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates me and you because I'm going with you and your God's gonna be my God.
[00:13:57] And I said, you cannot out give God.
[00:13:59] She's flung everything on God.
[00:14:01] And there's the book of Bible written about her.
[00:14:04] And she's in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
[00:14:07] I'm teaching on surrender.
[00:14:08] There is no better life than one that jumps full in with Jesus Christ.
[00:14:12] You don't know what he will do if you give him everything.
[00:14:15] and we are excited because worship is going to start here in less than a minute. Get your hearts

[00:14:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:14:22] ready and let's worship our great king. Get our hearts ready for worship. This morning before we

[00:23:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:23:51] do I want to share something about each and every person that's getting baptized and I brought brought notes so I wouldn't forget but we have David, we have Travis, we have Marissa and we have Cody. One of the cool things about David's testimony he's a young man and it actually started
[00:24:10] with his great grandparents, that his great grandfather was raised in an abusive home and decided that he did not want to raise his family in the same environment he had grown up in.
[00:24:24] But he did his best for a while without the help of the Lord. And then somebody invited him to church. And then through that invite, he ended up giving his heart to the Lord. And then his wife
[00:24:35] gave her heart to the Lord. And now four generations later, that entire family is different and he wants to follow in the footsteps of his family. Next one's Travis. And he said that for a while, he said, my wife decided really to go all in for the Lord. And he said for a while
[00:24:59] I was half, you know what, you can fill in the blank. But he said there was one Sunday morning that I decided to lift my hands in worship and really give everything to the Lord because I
[00:25:11] knew for a long time, he said that I'd made everything about my wife rather than really serving God. And so he wants to go public with this faith today as a declaration that Jesus really is the King and the Lord of his life. And then Marissa, one of the things that she talked
[00:25:31] about in her testimony that I know a lot of us relate to, whether Will admitted or not, is that after she really started following the Lord, it felt like things got harder.
[00:25:42] It felt like the suffering, sometimes even the temptation was worse than it was before she was really following the Lord. But one of the things that she said in her testimony that really marked her was that she looked at how other Christian brothers and sisters have walked through suffering
[00:25:56] and how they had come alongside of her. And so the thing about her testimony that stood out to me is you never know, one, what a difference you're making in somebody else's life by just being
[00:26:08] faithful and loving people, even when they're going through hard things. And two, what a difference Christian community makes in somebody's walk with the Lord. And then finally we have Cody.
[00:26:18] Cody grew up in a very rough environment never really had any stability and when he was a later in his age teenage years he tried commit suicide twice and the second time he was actually going to 86 in a 45 and he passed two state troopers
[00:26:43] and he thought I can just end it now and it'll look like an accident and so he decided just to run into a tree he said he looked down at how fast he was going
[00:26:55] And before he crashed, he was going 120 miles an hour.
[00:26:58] And he walked away from the crash with a scratch on his knee.
[00:27:05] But that still wasn't the moment that he got saved.
[00:27:09] But when he started coming to church, he got invited through Genevieve, Ryan, and Irene.
[00:27:16] And then he encountered the presence of the Lord through them loving him.
[00:27:21] And now he's given his heart to the Lord.
[00:27:23] And now him and Genevieve are married, and they have a precious little baby.
[00:27:31] So what I want you to know is that for every single person that we see go through those baptismal waters, one, they have a story.
[00:27:38] They have a life.
[00:27:38] but everybody's different everybody's struggles are different the way God saved them is different what they've been through it's all different and it's all unique and God's moved in their heart and their ways their heart and their mind in the ways that he knows that he's needed to
[00:27:51] and so as we get to pray in just a minute and then celebrate with them we get to see God's redemptive work in action so let's pray Lord I thank you for how you've saved each and every
[00:28:04] one of these people Lord I'm thankful for their testimonies that show that you can keep us alive when we should have been dead for these testimonies that show that it's not all fantastic sometimes after we get saved but that the struggle still exists but that you're faithful in the struggle
[00:28:23] that you work with us that you work beside us through other people so lord i pray that this morning as they go through these waters that this moment would mark their life that they would feel
[00:28:36] your presence in this place that you would pour out your spirit on them lord if there's anybody in this room or anybody at home this morning, and they don't know you, I pray that you would save.
[00:28:50] And if they do know you and they know that you've been putting it on their heart to be baptized, I pray that this would give them the courage to do that. Lord, I pray that you'd be glorified

[00:29:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_09]
[00:29:00] in this place today. In Jesus' name, amen. But how great the Lamb of God. Thank you, Jesus,

[00:36:36] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:36:36] for the blood this morning. And praise God that we get to witness this miracle after miracle after miracle it's incredible we're so thankful for that this morning we're glad you're here today i also want to give a special shout out this morning we've got 29 seniors in our student
[00:36:56] ministry this morning that are in gatlinburg they're joining with us with pastor john his wife jen they're on a retreat up there with some student leaders i think that's absolutely incredible that we have 29 just seniors that are on a retreat so we want to welcome you guys this morning how
[00:37:15] incredible that young people are seeking God. We talked about this last week, but they're hungry.
[00:37:21] Oh Lord, they're in the Word. They're seeking God. They're worshiping Him. They're doing what we see in Acts. Acts 2.42, they're getting in God's Word together. They're fellowshipping together. They're breaking bread together. They're praying together. They're doing what we see in
[00:37:35] God's Word. It's absolutely incredible. So thankful for that. We're going to get in the Word this morning. I'm going to go ahead and pray, and then we'll go there together. Let's pray. Lord God, we do praise you this morning. How great the Lamb of God. We thank you for your love that you have
[00:37:55] not just given us, but you've lavished it upon us. Thank you. Thank you, Lord, this morning.
[00:38:02] We praise you. We thank you for what we get to be a part of here, God, seeing you move week after week after week, God, doing what only you can do, working in the hearts of people,
[00:38:16] Lord and you're drawing people unto yourself and we praise you for that this morning we give you thanks for that God I just pray today you continue to do that God that you work that you move that
[00:38:28] you speak again do what only you can do in this place I pray it is not wisdom from a man my understanding God I don't lean on that God I just pray Lord this is your words Lord you speak to us
[00:38:39] this morning God I pray for life change I pray as we get into your word we see that we are if we've placed our faith in jesus we are children of god we've been adopted as sons and daughters
[00:38:53] god we see that god and we walk in that freedom this morning god i pray lord in your name amen so we are going to be if you've got your bible this morning we're going to be in ephesians 4
[00:39:07] starting in verse 25 we're actually going to go through to ephesians uh 5 1 and 2 is where we're in today. So you can go ahead and turn there. And as you can see, we're getting fancy today
[00:39:19] using the screen here. We'll see if that's a good idea or not. I asked Pastor Scott on Thursday, I showed him what I wanted to do. I said, is this dumb? He said, I can say the screen is not what
[00:39:30] will make you look dumb this week. I'm like, I like that answer. That's a good answer, Scott.
[00:39:35] Right? He's like, there may be other, many other reasons that you look dumb, but it won't be that.
[00:39:39] But we're going to be in Ephesians four. And again, starting in verse five, or we'll be the beginning of verse five, excuse me.
[00:39:46] But as we go there today, I wanna ask you an interesting question and you may not know how to answer this at first, but do you go through life constantly feeling like you're playing offense or defense?
[00:39:57] Constantly feeling like you're on edge, that you are either somewhat offensive to people, right?
[00:40:04] You're the offender, or you feel like you are offended and you feel like you have to play defense.
[00:40:10] Do you go through your life that way?
[00:40:11] I felt like this time of year, I feel like I've been watching a lot of football.
[00:40:14] Maybe this is why this image has been so much in my mind, right?
[00:40:17] I know it's a little bit tough for us here close to Charlotte this time of year, but we've had hope for the first time in a decade, so be happy about that.
[00:40:25] But I want to look at that today.
[00:40:27] Are we constantly playing offense or defense?
[00:40:30] And if you look at being offensive, going on the offensive, or being offensive to somebody, the definition of that, just so we're on the same page, causing someone to feel hurt, upset, or angry, you could be aggressive or attacking can be used as an attacking military campaign you see the word
[00:40:49] offense used in football to sin against someone or transgress so do we do that for most of us i think we should say this morning yes right we do transgress against others or uh so that's that's
[00:41:02] kind of if you think about that as playing offense right you are the offender or do you play defense and are you easily offended?
[00:41:10] Now, I know what you're thinking right now.
[00:41:12] No, not me.
[00:41:13] You may even be offended right now that I would even say that you could be easily offended.
[00:41:18] There's your sign this morning, okay?
[00:41:19] You're like, not me, right?
[00:41:21] That's the other political party that I'm not a part of.
[00:41:24] That's the other people.
[00:41:25] That's the other people in my life.
[00:41:27] The guy at work, they're easily offended.
[00:41:29] But just being offended means feeling or expressing hurt, indignation, irritation because of a perceived wrong or insult.
[00:41:36] I think that's important.
[00:41:38] you feel like you've been done wrong, whether you actually have or not. Because most of the stuff, when we feel like we get offended and somebody's done something to us, it's right here, right?
[00:41:46] It's not in reality. We've made it up in our minds. Can I get an amen, right? Or is that just me?
[00:41:52] All right. But we feel like somebody's done us wrong. And again, the problem so often is many of us, we don't think either one of these are us oftentimes, but I want you to just keep an open
[00:42:01] mind this morning as we go through this. And if I came to you this morning and ask you, are you do you offend people are you easily offended again you probably say no but just keep an open mind and for me as I talked about a couple weeks ago my
[00:42:15] my son that I am this person or have been in the past especially is by the way I Drive right I don't know about anybody else I talked about going to the beach and and when I get in the car we go on vacation as a family I'm like
[00:42:26] everybody go to the bathroom three and a half hours no stops right kind of like we got four kids that's not possible I'm like it's possible I'm like everybody quiet we're going I'm putting my air pods in sometimes you know anybody else
[00:42:38] you're like we're hammered down and if somebody gets in the fast lane and there's there's two cars right there's one guy he's not doing anything wrong he's in the slow lane somebody gets in the fast lane and they're going the same
[00:42:49] speed as the guy in a slow lane I could lose my ever-loving mind right anybody else right I'm like this guy does not know that I've got a mission to beat this GPS right it says three and a half hours we're getting there in 315 and he
[00:43:04] is in my way and i'm offended right okay that's funny but it's true right now now we get irritated i mean that genuinely for most part of my life that makes me fight mad right like i'm so mad
[00:43:15] so upset who does this person think they are in the slow lane going two miles over the speed limit you go 12 right i mean everybody knows that who do they think they are now on the other side of it
[00:43:26] though what will happen is i'll get where i'm listening to a podcast or something i'm in a daze Next thing you know, I'm the guy in the fast lane.
[00:43:35] Kathy's like, hey, this guy's been following us.
[00:43:37] He's been on our butt for five minutes and you hadn't noticed and you're going two miles over the speed limit.
[00:43:41] You'd kill somebody if this was you.
[00:43:43] Now in that scenario, I pull over and I'm like, what's this guy think this is, a racetrack?
[00:43:48] You know, right?
[00:43:50] Isn't that us though, right?
[00:43:51] Isn't that life?
[00:43:52] You're like, I mean, dang, dude, come on.
[00:43:54] Why are you going so fast, right?
[00:43:56] But that's how we live our lives so often.
[00:43:58] I'm making light of it, but that's us, right?
[00:44:01] offense or defense always right it's always we feel like we're in a battle we feel like we're in a war so often and we've been studying in Scripture the Pharisees the religious leaders the scribes that Jesus addresses in
[00:44:14] Scripture you can go many many many instances he addresses these people and this is how you see them live their lives right with Jesus their interactions with him with with the disciples with tax collectors with sinners we see
[00:44:29] they're always offense or defense they're always either offended and this is typically how it starts right I can't believe so-and-so did this to me Jesus said this that he's eating with these people he he doesn't obey what we
[00:44:43] believe he should do and he's healing somebody on the Sabbath and they're offended which leads them to be defensive right that we see so often they're defensive with Jesus even in Luke 11 they just straight out say hey
[00:44:56] when you say these things, this insults us, right?
[00:44:58] This is an insult, right?
[00:45:00] And then you see later in that chapter, it says that they began to oppose him bitterly and apply him with questions about many things, waiting to catch him in something he might say.
[00:45:12] So they get offended, right?
[00:45:14] Then they get defensive, which leads to offensive action.
[00:45:18] So we see that in scripture.
[00:45:19] Ultimately, that ultimately leads them all the way to having Jesus crucified, right?
[00:45:26] It's pretty crazy if you think about it that way.
[00:45:28] Like they get, he offends them and what they believe and who they are and he threatens them.
[00:45:33] That's an important word today.
[00:45:34] They feel threatened by him.
[00:45:35] So they go, they begin to become defensive and then they go on offense and they take care of Jesus and kill him.
[00:45:42] All right, that's how that ultimately ends up.
[00:45:44] They have these proactive attempts to discredit Jesus and all these things, constantly playing offense and defense.
[00:45:52] And so often, that's the same way we live.
[00:45:57] We live in that cycle.
[00:45:59] I'm offended.
[00:46:00] Something's irritated me, agitated me.
[00:46:02] Something somebody else did, I'm offended.
[00:46:05] Leads to me getting defensive.
[00:46:07] How often do we get defensive, feel like we need to defend ourselves?
[00:46:10] And it leads to now, I've transgressed and sinned against somebody else.
[00:46:13] I've been the offender.
[00:46:15] We play our lives like a football game, right?
[00:46:18] That's the way our lives look.
[00:46:20] And that's why I'm gonna use this screen.
[00:46:21] now listen i'm very visual so this may not help you today but this is the way my mind works it's a weird place in there so just get used to it if you come here for any amount of time that's
[00:46:29] how it's gonna be but but i want to show you something so the first thing and this is kind of a a side note i guess you could say but i think it's important we point this out in in
[00:46:39] psalm 100 verse 3 scripture says know the lord he is god he who whom it is he who made us excuse me and we are his we are his people sheep of his pasture we are his his people sheep of his
[00:46:54] pastor so the way we should live our life let's just say this is the lord's pasture right and i'm going to use x's and o's in a minute because we're going to go to a football analogy but let's just
[00:47:03] say that's how we live our lives i don't know if everybody can see this or not but let's just say we're sheep of his pasture we're in his pasture right this is us and i want to go ahead and
[00:47:12] apologize my artistic skills are not good so anything i write up here or draw is going to be rough but we're just we're just in there right doing our thing he's the shepherd we're the sheep
[00:47:25] we hang out in the pasture we're together now you look in scripture you see when we go to ephesians here in a minute verse 4 32 it says we're to be kind compassionate forgiving love each other be
[00:47:37] in unity this is how we're supposed to live our lives just together like like doing our thing you You look at the early church, Acts 2.42 summarizes this.
[00:47:44] You look at before and after that scripture.
[00:47:47] You see it says they had everything in common.
[00:47:50] They're together, they're one, they're all together.
[00:47:52] Everything's good.
[00:47:53] They share with each other.
[00:47:55] Everybody's happy.
[00:47:56] They're close together.
[00:47:57] It paints this beautiful picture, devoted to the apostles' teaching, breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayer.
[00:48:02] They're together.
[00:48:03] But the way we live our lives is we come in, and this is where I'm gonna draw, and we're gonna talk about living life like a football game, And I think this imagery is helpful.
[00:48:13] And I also wanna point out that I've never been good at football.
[00:48:16] So I played in middle school.
[00:48:18] I was terrible.
[00:48:19] There's some at-home footage my dad has somewhere.
[00:48:21] He's probably deleted it by now because it was hard to watch in the moment, probably even harder to watch now.
[00:48:26] But I remember my coach on a whiteboard drawing out plays.
[00:48:30] Now, I can't remember those plays.
[00:48:31] I couldn't remember them then, so I definitely can't remember them now.
[00:48:33] There's gonna be somebody, speaking of being offended, you're gonna be offended by the way I draw this play out, right, because you know football, right?
[00:48:40] I don't, right?
[00:48:41] Ryan, don't say anything to me, right?
[00:48:43] Keep your mouth shut.
[00:48:44] Tomorrow morning when we come to church, don't say a word.
[00:48:47] But the way we often live our lives, and maybe this will be helpful for you.
[00:48:51] Maybe it won't.
[00:48:51] We'll move on here in a minute.
[00:48:52] But we basically, we draw out a line of scrimmage, right?
[00:48:56] Like this is the line.
[00:48:58] Don't cross this line.
[00:48:59] Like we even use that terminology.
[00:49:00] People cross the line with us.
[00:49:02] They do something to us.
[00:49:03] So we've got, it's like a game of Madden.
[00:49:05] If anybody's ever played that on Xbox.
[00:49:07] My niece got a Xbox for Christmas.
[00:49:10] Listen, me and my brother, we spend a little time playing it, you know, kick the kids out of the room and all that stuff, even though it's theirs.
[00:49:15] But, so this is terrible.
[00:49:19] But you get the idea, right?
[00:49:21] We're on offense, and then you got defense, right?
[00:49:24] You got your linemen, you got, let's say, linebackers, you got safeties, you get the point, right?
[00:49:30] You get what I'm going at here.
[00:49:32] So this is the way we line up.
[00:49:34] All right, you get the idea.
[00:49:35] Again, that's terrible, but you get it.
[00:49:37] So this is the way, again, I want us to get this.
[00:49:39] This is the way we live our life.
[00:49:40] We see other people as a threat or potentially as the enemy.
[00:49:45] So this line of scrimmage, as long as you don't step into my world and do anything to me, we're good.
[00:49:50] As long as you don't get in the slow lane, I don't care how you drive, right?
[00:49:54] As long as it doesn't impact me, I'm good.
[00:49:56] But as soon as you cross this line, we got a problem, right?
[00:50:01] Because you've done something to me.
[00:50:03] And I see, we so often, we look at everything this way, everything through the lens of this is an attack, right?
[00:50:10] It's like survival mode.
[00:50:12] Everything's a battle, right?
[00:50:13] I wonder why they said what they said.
[00:50:15] I wonder why they did what they did.
[00:50:17] I wonder why they didn't tell me about a certain thing.
[00:50:20] I wonder why they, were they working an angle?
[00:50:23] What are they doing?
[00:50:24] We look at life this way.
[00:50:26] And again, as long as you don't cross this line, we're good.
[00:50:30] But if you do something, if it's perceived as an offense, we get defensive, which leads to us then playing offense, right?
[00:50:38] Doing the same thing to other people, right?
[00:50:40] And I hope that makes sense this morning and you get that.
[00:50:42] But that's how so often we live our lives.
[00:50:44] And for some people, this line of scrimmage, you've built a wall right there.
[00:50:49] You're like, hey, I don't wanna be offended and I don't wanna offend anybody else.
[00:50:53] So I just try to stay in my bubble the best that I can.
[00:50:56] I would rather, you look at the first thing, I would rather be just kind of me, a lone sheep, by myself or with a couple other people and take that risk than I would the risk
[00:51:05] of being offended or offended somebody else.
[00:51:07] We just do our own thing.
[00:51:09] But again, just like that game of Madden I was talking about, so often this is what our life looks like.
[00:51:15] Always trying to gain an advantage or feeling like somebody gained an advantage on us.
[00:51:19] There's kind of an own edge, being a little bit aggressive and we play offense and defense.
[00:51:24] Again, this is the way of the Pharisees.
[00:51:26] You want another great example of this?
[00:51:28] Go study the life of King Saul.
[00:51:30] Look at how he reacts and acts to David, right?
[00:51:34] David, David didn't, he never did anything.
[00:51:38] he never really actually offended saul it was all in saul's mind it was all in his head he kept thinking he was paranoid and he was jealous of david people sang the songs about david and and
[00:51:49] they did all these things he's thinking david's come at me he gets offended he thinks this is what's happening so the whole time he before he dies this is how he lives his life offense defense
[00:52:02] against david being defensive right being offended right that's the way he lived his life he's a the poster child for this. And we see this right here in Ephesians four, as we get into scripture
[00:52:12] today, we're going to go kind of verse by verse through this. And I'll try to go through this as quickly as possible. But, but we see that at the beginning of Ephesians four, verse 17, basically
[00:52:22] Paul comes out and he says that no longer walk as the Gentiles do, right? This is the way of the world. This is be the way of the Gentiles. I got to get mine. I got to be aggressive. I got to
[00:52:33] protect myself. I got to take care of me. I got to look out for number one. How many times do we hear people say stuff like that? He says, this is the way they walk. And then he goes on, starting
[00:52:42] in verse 25. Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. So when we lie and we deceive, we're playing this game.
[00:52:56] I'm trying, by lying, I'm trying to gain an advantage over you. I'm trying to work something behind the scenes, to be sneaky, to deceive. And that's an offensive action. And it's also a way to play defense, right? We get backed in a corner. What do we do? To protect ourselves, to protect
[00:53:13] our reputation, we lie. Or we stretch the truth. We give half truths. We lie and deceive when we feel backed in a corner. So he says, don't do this, right? Don't play this game. Deception.
[00:53:29] don't lie and deceive he goes on to say verse 26 through 27 be angry yet do not sin do not let the sun set upon your anger and do not give the devil a foothold how often just like me riding on the
[00:53:45] road do i feel like i've been wronged and i'll lose my temper because how dare somebody do something like that to me how dare somebody say you know or try to correct me how dare somebody
[00:53:56] again, get in that left lane when I'm trying to do my thing? How often do we lose our temper? How often do I get offended and then I go on defense? How often do I do this with my spouse, right?
[00:54:09] Or somebody I love or people I work with? We get angry. And now I've been angry and I've been the offender, right? I've transgressed against somebody else. And how often when I feel like this happens, you cross the line with me, do I just not say anything and I'm angry and
[00:54:31] I stew on it, right? How often do I continue just to think about it later? I've said it many times, how often do I have a fake argument while I'm getting a shower, right? And I'm just letting
[00:54:42] somebody have it or riding on the road, this phantom argument that never really happened, but I'm stewing on it and I'm holding on to it. He says, you're giving the devil a foothold in your life, when you're stewing on these things. I love this quote. I've quoted it many times, but
[00:54:56] unforgiveness and doing this and holding on to things is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die, right? It's poison to us. We're giving the devil a foothold in our life, but we feel like we've got an offense and we hold on to that offense. We don't forget it.
[00:55:11] We remember it and it stays right here and leads to bitterness. And then that bitterness, bitter root leads to bitter fruit in our life that's how we live our lives so often he says you're giving the devil a foothold verse 28 he who has been
[00:55:25] stealing must still no longer but must work doing good with his own hands that he may have something to share with the one in need now most of us I would hope don't physically steal hopefully you're not putting a ski mask on and going to
[00:55:38] the local bank right hope that's true I think that it is but how often what there are things that i believe again thinking about stealing from the government stealing from things that work or we do actually steal but also as i was praying through this this week he's
[00:55:51] talking about interactions with others and and all these things and obviously he's talking about physically stealing but how often do it because this points to operating in secret being stealthy how often do i take from people behind the scenes how often do i do i steal and get information and
[00:56:08] withhold information right if if ryan hands me a hundred dollars and says give it to terry right give this hundred dollars to terry how often do i take the hundred and give her 75 with information
[00:56:19] right that example i i take a little information and i give it to somebody else because i'm playing this game right and it's all about me and working an angle and it's all about like what can i get
[00:56:30] how often do i sneak and hide and try to get information or try to get it out of somebody or gossip and you know and I'm taking things that aren't mine how often do we
[00:56:39] do that verse 29 he says let no unwholesome this word unwholesome means rotten corrupting or worthless talk come out of your mouth but only what is helpful for building up or edifying some versions say the one in need and
[00:56:53] bringing grace to those who listen he talks about later he talks about foolish talk and crude joking and this could be a part of that but this this corrupting talk he's he's saying there's there's corrupting talk there's unwholesome talk it tears down
[00:57:08] and there's other talk he's saying versus talk that builds up right there you can either tear down or build up right and look at your life take an audit right now this morning i had to do this
[00:57:18] in mind how often do i actually build other people up right typically what we do and what we're great at is we're playing the game trying to gain an advantage i'm trying to tear somebody down so i
[00:57:29] can feel better about myself i feel like i gain an advantage it's the opposite of this scripture tearing down gossiping he talks about slander here in a minute not not not fully not really building people up and when we do it's it's flattery we're working an angle to make us still
[00:57:46] look better right oh great job this morning you did so well this and this we're actually it's selfish game so often we do that going to verse 30 we're going to come right back to this one
[00:57:57] because this one i want to spend a little time on but we'll go to verse 31 this is where he's kind of getting to the end of this point he says get rid of all bitterness rage and anger outcry and
[00:58:08] slander along with every form of malice i'm going to give you just some quick definitions of these words because i think this really matters so just hang with me just for a moment this word
[00:58:18] bitterness he says get rid of all bitterness it designates the sour sharp disposition that settles in the human spirit when grace is resisted and anger is nursed how often as we said earlier do we nurse our anger scripture treats this inner bitterness not as merely as an unpleasant emotion
[00:58:34] but as a moral get this toxin that corrodes relationship quenches the spirit and imperils fellowship with god right it's a toxin this bitterness he says when you nurse your anger right you you hold on to this offense playing this game i'm going to hold on to it and keep it
[00:58:54] and it we nurse it and it's a toxin that corrodes from the inside we've been talking about the inside versus the outside and there are people in this room this morning like you know this is you
[00:59:05] you've held on to things and again as i said there's going to be if there's a bitter root there'll be bitter fruit and it may just be a perceived defense something somebody thinks they you they've done to you you think they've done to you you've held on to it they've probably moved
[00:59:20] on right there's a really good chance that person hadn't ever even thought about it but you've held on to it again i said it's like drinking the poison expecting them to die they might not even
[00:59:30] know anything's happening while you hold on to this offense you nurse this anger right you're the one that's poisoned not them and it comes out this bitterness begins to come out of us and then you look at this word rage or anger some versions say anger anger is used
[00:59:46] in different ways here the translation excuse me it translates anger but this this word consistently signals an inward ferment that soon finds expression right it's a heated intense emotion right we see this in scripture this this this inward thing again going back to what we talked
[01:00:06] about week one we clean the outside of the cup but on the inside we see things like this soon though it says finds expression another word it talks about is wrath anger or wrath is
[01:00:16] is the way it's translated, proceeds from, again, internal disposition, which steadfastly opposes someone or something based on extended personal exposure.
[01:00:25] We think we've been offended, solidifying what the beholders consider wrong.
[01:00:28] The key word there is opposition, right?
[01:00:32] Because we live this way, always in opposition, always a battle, there's always an enemy, right?
[01:00:37] If you look back over some of us, we look at our life, we've always had an enemy.
[01:00:41] We've always had somebody somewhere that we're fighting with, and it's always everybody else.
[01:00:45] It's always them, but we live our life so often this way.
[01:00:49] Next thing is shouting or clamor, some versions say.
[01:00:52] It really is shouting or yelling.
[01:00:53] This may be your home life or your life.
[01:00:56] Then it goes on to say slander.
[01:00:58] It gathers, this is every form of speech that reviles the character, reputation, or majesty of God.
[01:01:04] Get this, and by extension, defames or slanders fellow image bearers, right?
[01:01:10] Your speech is injurious to another person's name, right?
[01:01:14] Another image bearer.
[01:01:15] So all that to say, that's just a brief overview of that, especially that one scripture.
[01:01:21] This is not the way that we're called to live.
[01:01:24] He's saying, do not do this.
[01:01:26] You don't have to live your life this way.
[01:01:28] Offense, defense, always a battle, always feeling like it's survival, always feeling like I have to protect myself.
[01:01:35] I have to control situations.
[01:01:37] I have to manipulate, always feeling like there's something to be upset about, right?
[01:01:42] Constantly irritated at something.
[01:01:44] and there may be breaks, just like a football game.
[01:01:46] There may be times where there's some timeouts and you feel at peace, but you still know it's coming and you're looking for it, right?
[01:01:52] Like in a football game, you can kind of rest during a timeout but the game's still going on.
[01:01:56] And that's how so many times we live our life.
[01:01:59] So often we live like this, constantly playing the game.
[01:02:03] And today it may be so normal, you don't even know anything else.
[01:02:06] Like this is all you know.
[01:02:08] It's just survival, just taking care of yourself.
[01:02:11] But in verse 30, he says, and do not grieve the holy spirit of god in whom you are sealed for the day of redemption you can grieve the holy spirit scripture says another another scripture that's the beginning of this
[01:02:27] verse or excuse excuse me chapter starting in verse one verse through verse three as a prisoner in the lord then i urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received with all
[01:02:38] humility and gentleness with patience bearing another with one another in love and with diligence to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace what is on this screen is not that and he's saying you can grieve the holy spirit like this is so serious living our
[01:02:57] life this way is so serious it's so dangerous it's so deadly for us as believers in jesus christ to live our life this way always playing offense and defense this is not god's will for your life but
[01:03:10] But we get to see, as we go into verse 32, God's will and what he commands us to do.
[01:03:17] He says, be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as Christ in God forgave you.
[01:03:25] Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
[01:03:31] That's not being offensive, you know, being offensive or being easily offended, right?
[01:03:38] He says, be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, loving each other, just as Christ and God forgave you.
[01:03:44] That's the way he's called us to live, not this.
[01:03:46] This is the way, again, of the Pharisee.
[01:03:48] This is the way we see Saul with David.
[01:03:51] Again, if you want to go study this, I've read through that this week.
[01:03:54] In the last couple weeks, it's how he operates.
[01:03:58] Always on edge, always offense, defense.
[01:04:01] And this is the way, as he says before this, this is the way of the world.
[01:04:04] This is what we see in the world around us.
[01:04:07] right? Take care of yourself. It's all about me. It's all about what I can gain, gain an advantage of other people over other people, always being offended about something, right? Just get on Facebook this afternoon. You'll get to see this to be true. Always offended about
[01:04:21] something. Somebody's, we're offended about how easily offended people are, right? I'm like, it just doesn't make any sense, but it's how we live and it's the way of the world. And it's, it's survival. It's just, it's just survival. Like I have to, I have to get mine. I have to
[01:04:35] take care of me and my people. I have to look out for number one. I have to be in control. I have to gain an advantage. I have to fight. Everyone's always out to get me, right? So many times we feel
[01:04:45] that way. We play the victim. Everybody's always out to get me. I got to take up for myself. I got to defend myself constantly on edge, feeling like I have to defend and attack. Again, it's just like
[01:04:56] this football game. And this can become so normal. We don't even realize this is what we do because again it's the way of the world it it can become so normal because what we see
[01:05:05] all around us but we look at Ephesians 5 this is where it gets good I believe Ephesians 5 1 through 2 the imitators of God therefore as beloved children and walk in love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant
[01:05:25] sacrificial offering to God. The imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children, beloved children. This, if you look at this and you start thinking about this, this always on edge, offense, defense, always a battle. I've got to take up for myself. I've got
[01:05:46] to survive because nobody else will. That's the way of the orphan. This is how orphans have to live their life. And in my life, I've been able to experience and come in contact with people who
[01:06:02] have been adopted, people who have adopted. And then I think I shared a couple of weeks ago, we had a young man that came from Belarus that stayed with us over the summer and he was in an
[01:06:11] orphanage. He was an orphan. And I've had a couple instances where two in particular, where people were really, really close to me, adopted a young man or a young woman and it didn't go well, right?
[01:06:23] the the the kid lashed out and they struggled and and they always felt like they had to protect themselves and they would hoard food we when we had this young man from Belarus that came to our house they make you go through these
[01:06:36] classes and I remember a little bit about them because they want you to know what to expect right this this young man's been in an orphanage like he there's no foster care system over there he's been in an
[01:06:45] orphanage and all he knows is fighting for his life right all he knows is just getting what he can whatever foods given out if he's gonna get as much as he can for him he's not worried about the guy next to him right he he's just that's
[01:06:57] all he knows survival nobody's looking out for me I gotta look out for myself that's important we know that we remember that nobody's looking out for me and so often what can happen and they talk about this is when you take one of
[01:07:11] these orphans into your home and you love them and and you're my dad being a good father to him so often they can reject it because they don't know what do with it and they continue even though they've been adopted they continue to live like an orphan
[01:07:25] and they continue to feel like they have to fight and survive and they feel like they have to get everything for themselves and they feel like nobody cares about them nobody's going to take up for them and what i believe the lord's been speaking to my heart this week is that's how so
[01:07:38] many of us live our lives we we've been adopted as believers we've placed our faith in jesus christ scripture says we've been adopted as sons and daughters of the king but how often do we live
[01:07:50] like orphans how often do we do we live like i gotta take care of me and nobody else will and i gotta do my thing and that's why we live this way i gotta battle i gotta fight i gotta play
[01:08:01] the game i gotta i gotta get offense defense because nobody else will do it for me we live like we're orphans whenever we've been adopted as sons and daughters of the king like that's how
[01:08:13] how we're supposed to live our lives scripture says in romans 8 15 for you have not received a spirit of bondage again to fear but you have received the spirit of divine adoption as sons
[01:08:25] whom we cry out abba father when we live in this way we we don't we don't live like this like we just said like we've been adopted we don't live like we've been we have a loving father who will
[01:08:39] provide for us we don't live like we have a loving father who will take care of us who will lead and guide and direct who will love us, who will fight for us. We live like we're on our own. We live
[01:08:51] like it's me against the world so often. I got to be on offense or defense. I got to take up for myself, fight for myself, prove myself, earn this love. I've got to do all these things. I'm on my
[01:09:01] own. And the band can go ahead and join me this morning. As we think about this, a couple weeks ago, I took my kids. We went down to Charlotte. Kathy and I did. Took my three boys. The girl
[01:09:11] didn't go but she's too little for this event but um i took my boys down to watch monster trucks in charlotte and um if you're anything like my wife like kathy she's when somebody has a birthday we
[01:09:22] celebrate their birthday for like a month so rhett's birthday hasn't even happened yet but two weeks ago we're watching monster trucks in charlotte she's like it's fred's birthday and then there'll be another thing this is fred's birthday then she'll get something from amazon
[01:09:33] this is fred's birthday right i don't know if it was like that but but we went down there and watched monster trucks and had a great time but we were leaving as we're leaving the stadium it
[01:09:44] was down at um the spectrum center i think's what it's called we were down there we're leaving and there's you know thousands of people everywhere right you've been there it's just chaos when you leave thousands of people everybody's trying to leave everybody's got kids everybody's trying to
[01:09:57] go to the bathroom everybody's trying to get something to eat on the way out or or grab a monster truck toy or whatever it is so we come down the stairs first mistake i should have went
[01:10:05] down the escalator but we go down the stairs and it's just people everywhere so as a father like what's my response in that moment i got i got four people here i got to take care of
[01:10:16] right a good father does that hopefully that's the way you live your life if you got kids but i got some little ones i got to make sure they're cared for and there's chaos happening
[01:10:24] all around there's kids screaming there's things like your brain's like in overdrive but i'm like i got to take care of these kids so i'll pick one up and then i got my hands on the other two right
[01:10:33] right? One's holding onto my neck and I'm making sure, and my head's on a swivel. Now, Kathy gets a little irritated by this because I get this way, right? I'm just like, everybody's a threat. I've watched too many movies. I've seen too many crime shows. I know what's about to
[01:10:44] happen, but I'm going to protect my kids, right? You know, a guy gets close, comes close to my kids. You do the old hand on the chest. If you're a man in the room, you know what that means.
[01:10:55] You're moved, bro, right? You might take me, but this says like, it's going to be a fight, you know right and my kids know that but but that's how so we go through we leave the stadium
[01:11:06] walking through the streets of Charlotte we never go to the city I'm a country boy so we're never down there so I'm a little on edge anyway but I got them I got my kids but they're like they're
[01:11:15] jumping over squares in the road right and there's all the little squares they're they're having a time of their life there was a like a some kind of robot thing that was in the show Rhett's imitating
[01:11:24] it you know like walking super slow and I'm like bro dude this is not the time for that like this is chaos. And he's like, but I'm a robot. I can't go fast. And I'm like, well, buddy, you're about
[01:11:33] to get a little motivation when I, you know, but they're like, they're completely at peace.
[01:11:40] They got so much joy. They just got to watch monster trucks. They're like, daddy, can we have a monster truck toy? I'm like, no, we're, we're getting out of here. Daddy, can we have ice cream?
[01:11:48] I'm like, no, we're on the move. You know, they're, they're just like joking with each other, laughing, not a care in the world. Why? Because they know me and those kids. One thing my kids
[01:12:01] know is their dad's going to take care of them, right? They might not know much else about me and I might have all my flaws, but they do know that. They know I'm going to take care of them.
[01:12:12] They know I'm going to protect them. They know I'm going to lead them, guide them. Rhett's not wondering where the car was parked, right? He's not trying to remember, oh, we were in 14A. He
[01:12:21] don't have to worry about it. How weird would it be if my kids, they're walking with their father and they're doing what I'm doing. They're like, oh man, on edge. Where are we going? What's next?
[01:12:33] What's this threat? What's this? You know, what's going to happen? Oh, that's an enemy over there.
[01:12:37] Oh, this person, they're getting too close. What if they lived their life that way? At four years old, six years old and eight years old, it doesn't make any sense because children don't operate that
[01:12:47] way. When children have a loving, good father, they don't live their lives that way. When children have a good, loving, and kind, protecting father, they don't do this. They're not playing offense or defense. They're not living their life on edge. They're not worried always about tomorrow
[01:13:06] and what's coming and where are we going and what's going to happen. They don't live that way.
[01:13:10] This is the way orphans live.
[01:13:12] We as believers have been adopted as sons and daughters of the King of Kings.
[01:13:19] Do we believe that this morning?
[01:13:23] We don't have to live our lives this way.
[01:13:25] We don't have to always be offense or defense because my God's gonna fight for me, amen?
[01:13:31] My God's gonna take care of me.
[01:13:32] My God's gonna lead and guide me.
[01:13:34] No matter what tomorrow holds, my God is gonna be with me.
[01:13:38] My Father is gonna protect me.
[01:13:40] My Father is gonna provide for me.
[01:13:42] I got a father that loves me and he's proven it.
[01:13:46] So why in the world would I live like this?
[01:13:50] Why in the world would I go back to living like I'm on my own?
[01:13:53] Like I'm an orphan?
[01:13:55] No matter what comes, I can have peace.
[01:13:58] I can be like my kids walking down the sidewalk with joy.
[01:14:03] So often we've been adopted, but we live like orphans.
[01:14:07] We've been adopted sons and daughters.
[01:14:12] We don't have to live this way.
[01:14:14] this is the way of an unbelieving world we don't have to live this way we don't have to fear he's with us i don't have to be insecure i'm safe and secure in his love i don't have to live like this
[01:14:27] my kids they're not insecure when they're around me they don't give a dang they don't have they don't care how stupid they look on the streets of charlotte they're with their father i love them i'll take care of them i'll provide for them they're doing something stupid i'll tell them
[01:14:41] but they don't they don't have to live that way i'm safe and secure because of my father Like, I don't have to always be fighting for myself.
[01:14:51] Listen to me this morning.
[01:14:52] I don't always have to be fighting and protecting and defending because the scripture says, my God will fight for me.
[01:14:59] I don't have to always be afraid.
[01:15:00] He says, you've given up this spirit of fear.
[01:15:02] Don't go back to it.
[01:15:04] Quit being afraid of everything.
[01:15:07] My kids, they're not afraid like that.
[01:15:09] They know.
[01:15:10] They believe I'll take care of them.
[01:15:11] It's fine.
[01:15:12] We're good.
[01:15:13] We don't have to always be in control because he's in control.
[01:15:18] We don't have to always stress and worry about what's next because he holds the future.
[01:15:23] We don't have to live this way.
[01:15:24] I don't have to have constant conflict with people.
[01:15:27] Hear me this morning, church.
[01:15:29] You don't have to live that way.
[01:15:31] You don't have to be constantly in conflict with somebody, constantly feeling offended.
[01:15:36] We don't have to live that way.
[01:15:38] We can have peace.
[01:15:39] We can have joy instead of this paranoia that we so often live with.
[01:15:44] We can have freedom instead of living in this bondage.
[01:15:48] Why?
[01:15:50] He says, because you're dearly loved children.
[01:15:54] We've got a good, good father.
[01:15:57] And we need to believe it.
[01:15:58] My kids, man, you don't have to tell them.
[01:16:01] They'll tell you I'm the best dad in the world.
[01:16:03] I hope your kids say the same about you.
[01:16:05] You're the best dad in the world.
[01:16:06] They believe it.
[01:16:08] Why?
[01:16:09] Because they know me.
[01:16:12] Because they've seen me protect them.
[01:16:14] They've seen me be that guy that puts the hand on the chest and is like, hey, not right, ain't happening.
[01:16:19] Not with my kids.
[01:16:19] I'll die right here in this stadium before you touch my kids.
[01:16:23] They know that to be true.
[01:16:26] They know me.
[01:16:28] They spent time with me.
[01:16:29] We got to know that he's good.
[01:16:34] We got to begin to trust him.
[01:16:36] As we're going to sing here in a minute, it's so sweet to trust in Jesus.
[01:16:42] We begin to just obey, to spend time with him, to get in his book, to get to know him.
[01:16:48] The more you know him, the more you love him.
[01:16:50] and the more you love him, the more you're gonna trust him and you're gonna wanna be with him and you're gonna feel safe in his presence and you're gonna feel safe.
[01:16:57] You're not gonna worry about tomorrow.
[01:16:59] You're gonna feel safe and secure in the love of Jesus.
[01:17:06] So in closing, it's not this morning that we need to figure out somehow to do this better, to somehow learn some new plays, figure the game out.
[01:17:18] It's that we need to erase this and completely quit playing this altogether.
[01:17:23] and we rest safe and secure in the love of our Father.
[01:17:30] And we just spend our time with Him, getting to know Him, spending time in His Word, focused on Him, who He is, spending time in prayer.
[01:17:42] We don't have to live this way.
[01:17:45] We can live safe and secure with our Father.
[01:17:47] Amen?
[01:17:52] Let's stand together and pray this morning.
[01:17:57] Lord God, we love You.
[01:17:59] You are a good, good Father.
[01:18:01] We believe that today.
[01:18:02] Lord, I just pray today maybe for the first time in this room today, maybe someone has not given their life to you for the first time, they see you for who you are, that you are a good, good father,
[01:18:13] that they can be safe and secure in the love of Jesus this morning.
[01:18:17] God, so I pray for salvation today, Lord.
[01:18:19] If there's somebody in this room or in house church that does not know you, I pray they put their trust, their faith in you today.
[01:18:27] God, and for us as a church, Lord, I pray that we no longer live like orphans.
[01:18:31] God, we don't have to live this way.
[01:18:33] We are children of the King.
[01:18:36] We are dearly loved children.
[01:18:38] You have lavished your love upon us, God.
[01:18:41] I pray we see that today, God.
[01:18:42] We seek you.
[01:18:43] We go after you, God.
[01:18:45] We hunger and thirst just for you, just to know who you are and to be with our Father, Lord.
[01:18:52] In your name, amen.

[01:18:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:18:54] First, divorce care and grief share

[01:21:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:21:57] starting here at the church.
[01:21:58] And Ms. Linda McNally, who helps run that, will be out at the Connect area to give you information on that.
[01:22:03] but I want you to know our heart for that because you're like, we just celebrated baptisms.
[01:22:07] We're talking about a good, good father.
[01:22:09] And then you also come up and talk about divorce and grief.
[01:22:12] But here's the thing, is we live in this fallen and broken world.
[01:22:18] And we're well aware that in the very same Sunday that we can celebrate new life in Christ and baptisms.
[01:22:23] We know there's people that are going through grief and the loss of a loved one.
[01:22:26] We know that there's people that are experiencing divorce and the pain of that.
[01:22:30] And so we want to be a body of Christ that walks with you through every single part of your life and the real world.
[01:22:36] And so if that's you, if you're going through that, you don't need to go through that alone.
[01:22:41] And so please see the Connect area for Linda and she'll be able to help you get involved and be a part of that and really allow God to begin to heal those parts of us that we're so scared,
[01:22:52] I think, to open up about.
[01:22:54] And then if you're in this room or you're at home and you've never given your heart to the Lord and you know he's really not king of your life or for any other reason, you need prayer,
[01:23:04] you need somebody to talk to, we'll have our elders and our prayer team down here at the front.
[01:23:07] Please come see them or send us a message, connect at pursuitchurch.org.
[01:23:12] We'd love to get in contact with you guys.
[01:23:14] I'll pray and then we'll be dismissed.
[01:23:16] Lord, I thank you that you really are the perfect father.
[01:23:24] Lord, that you do everything exactly right.
[01:23:27] Lord, that we can trust you, that when you say that you'll never leave us nor forsake us, you meant it.
[01:23:34] That you're with us in every single season, in every single circumstance, whether it's the highs or the lows or the mundane of life, that you're with us. And so Lord, I pray that you would give
[01:23:45] us a greater awareness today of your presence, a greater awareness of the fact that we can always trust in you, a greater awareness of the fact that you love us, that you really, really love us,
[01:23:56] that you really, really care about us, that we're not a nuisance to you, but that you died so that we can be back in relationship with you.
[01:24:03] I thank you for who you are.
[01:24:05] In Jesus' name, amen.
[01:24:07] See you guys next week.