I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Removing pain
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Lord, let my words
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Heal a heart that hurts
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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I want to spend my life
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Mending broken people
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Hello and welcome
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to another 3ABN
Today Family Worship.
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I'm Jason Bradley.
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And I'm so glad
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that you decided
to tune in tonight
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as you do each and
every Friday night.
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And if you don't already
have a pen and a piece of paper,
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I suggest that you grab one
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because we're going to
cover quite a few scriptures.
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We're going to be looking
at God's love for mankind,
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and how we can
demonstrate our love toward God.
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And here with me to
discuss this wonderful topic,
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we'll start with
our 3ABN president
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and my office
neighbor, Greg Morikone.
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It's great to have you.
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Great being your neighbor,
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our office is kind of
adjacent to each other.
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So yeah, happy
Sabbath to you, Jason.
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Happy Sabbath to you as well.
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Thank you for the
invitation to be here.
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It's a blessing to
spend time with family
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and open the Word of God.
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Amen. Amen.
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Amen.
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And then we transition over
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to who we call
the Sons of Thunder.
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Oh, I don't know about that.
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We've got Ryan Day,
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who is a part of
our 3ABN pastoral team.
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It's always
great to have you on.
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It's a blessing to be here.
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And I'm really,
really loving this subject.
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And I know that
God's going to shed
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a lot of light through us
and to us and to all of you.
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So praise the Lord. Amen.
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And then we've got Dakota Day.
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Amazing Facts,
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a full time Amazing
Facts ministry evangelist.
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Yeah, thank you
guys for the invitation.
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It's a blessing
to always be here
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and share God's Word
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and be able to just
to dive into scripture.
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Haven't been a
part of a program yet
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that I haven't
thoroughly enjoyed.
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So thank you guys so much. Yes.
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We thoroughly
enjoyed having you,
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so it's great to have you here.
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I want to hear
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how you've experienced
God's love in your own life.
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I want to, you know,
that's the go there as well.
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And then we've got
a bunch of scriptures.
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But before we
dive into all of that,
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I'd like for us to
have a word of prayer.
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And, Greg,
would you pray for us?
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Sure. Yeah, absolutely.
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Father in heaven,
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Lord, it's a
blessing to open Your Word.
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And, Lord, we just
invite Your Holy Spirit
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to be with us this evening.
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And with those that
are joining with us,
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as part of our
families, we open Your Word,
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thank You for the Sabbath.
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We thank You,
Father, for Your love for us.
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We thank You for
sending Your Son to die for us
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that we have the
gift of salvation.
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And, Lord, as we talk
about this subject of love,
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there's many people,
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maybe listening
and watching right now
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that don't feel
any love from anybody.
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And, Father, at the
end of this program,
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may they be
encouraged that You love them.
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We thank You. And
in Jesus' name we pray.
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Amen. Amen.
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Amen.
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So, how have you seen God's love
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displayed in your life?
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Let's start with you, Dakota.
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Oh, man, so many ways.
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I mean, just with
miracles in general happening,
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you know, things
that I never thought
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it would ever happen.
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I remember,
specifically growing up,
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being in a home where
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the Lord was a
big part of our home.
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But I never knew God personally,
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until I saw really God
working through my brother
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and changing my brother.
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And when, you know,
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by beholding you become changed.
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And I never really
knew that there was a God,
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I never really believed fully
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that there was a
God with all of my heart
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until I saw my
brother become changed
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and become more like Jesus.
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And when I saw his
love for me start to change,
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that's what really
helped me to realize,
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like, wow, I'm
experiencing the love of God
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because Ryan, growing up Ryan
used to be kind of mean to me.
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You know, we're
brothers, we've fight.
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Are you nodding your head, Ryan?
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It's sadly a truth.
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I was the bully at times.
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But he wasn't bad all the time.
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We had our moments
where we got along,
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but, you know,
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starting to
invite me out to places
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and hang out
with me and invite me,
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hey, let's go play ball together
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and stuff like that.
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And then when,
like, I would beat him,
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sometimes at different things.
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He would respond
with a great attitude
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and things like that.
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So there was lots
of different things
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that I've
experienced a love of God,
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but I'd say like, for me,
the pivotal point in my life
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was seeing God's
love change someone else.
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And then that then
becoming a part of my life
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where I'm
experiencing the love of God
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through someone else.
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So, yeah.
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Yeah, that, you just touched
on something that's huge,
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because, you know,
when you basically like
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when someone loves God,
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their relationship
with other people changes.
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That's right.
You experienced that.
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I mean, that's like
that genuine conversion
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experience and all that.
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What about you, Ryan?
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Oh, man, where do you start?
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It's like,
there's a list in my mind,
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you know, but I'm gonna,
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I'm gonna say
one that I think that
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many people
probably don't think about
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or don't give enough credit to.
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But, you know, I don't know
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that I'm necessarily
categorized as a good man.
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But the Bible says
and very much communicates
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in a roundabout way,
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that behind every man,
there's a good woman, right?
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And praise the Lord,
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I would not be where I am today
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if God had not gifted me
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and brought my wife
Stephanie into my life.
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Just seeing the love
of God worked through her,
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and to see that love of God
through her bestowed upon me
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has been life changing.
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In ministry, it
can be difficult,
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I know, Greg, all of
us here who have wives,
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you know, it can be
difficult in ministry,
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it can be a
challenge, you know, sometimes.
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You would think
that it wouldn't be,
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but, you know, the
demand upon your life,
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the time in ministry
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and the different
aspects of ministry
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can be demanding,
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it can be challenging at times,
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and it really helps to
have a good woman there,
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a good helpmeet,
someone who's encouraging,
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someone who makes it worth
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getting up and going
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and continuing
on through the day
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and through your ministry.
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And that's, you know,
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that kind of gives me
an opportunity to segue
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into the blessings
and the love of God
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that God has bestowed upon me
and showed me through ministry,
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through how he has
transformed other lives
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that I've been
able to be a part of,
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and been able to,
you know, participate in
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and helping
bring others to Christ
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and to see God take
people who were one way
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and then
completely transform them
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through the power of the gospel.
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And so those are just a few ways
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that throughout my life
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the love of God has
been evident in my life
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and working through my life.
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And then also being
able to be in a position
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where I can view,
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I can experience the love of God
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and the
transforming power of God
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in other people's lives as well.
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Absolutely. Well said.
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What about you, Greg?
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Well, like Ryan was saying,
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I mean, the list and
where do you start, right?
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So I mean, God
just been so good.
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You know, when
you think about ways,
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you know, when you
look back on your life,
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when you're looking ahead,
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you don't know
what's ahead of you.
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You have goals
and things in mind.
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But if I look back
on my life, I'm like,
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"Wow, thank you, God,
for taking care of me."
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You can see instances
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where you know, we
could have been killed
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or major injured.
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I think about situations
where a decision was made.
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And it's like,
well, I'm not sure
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which one I should take,
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but then you pray and God,
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okay, I feel You're
leading me this way.
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Looking back, it's
like, oh, wow, God,
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I saw Your hand
involved all the way through.
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So I think just as care for me,
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because when I
think about the universe,
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and all the people
that are in the universe,
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and how big we
think the world is,
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but it's actually very small
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in comparison to
the whole universe.
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And then to think
that He would die for me.
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Yeah. That's powerful.
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I think about God's love for me.
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I think that to me is
an overwhelming thought.
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So just to think
that He has offered me,
00:08:09.88\00:08:12.65
Greg Morikone the
gift of salvation,
00:08:12.69\00:08:14.26
that He even cares about
me that even knows my name.
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And He knows how many
hairs I have on my head
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and all those type of
details, why would He even care?
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Because He loves me.
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And I think that's
it's a phenomenal thing.
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Amen. Amen.
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Well said, you know,
as I just look at my life
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and reflect upon my life,
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as you were just stating,
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I mean, that seeing
how God has loved me
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throughout all
my crazy mistakes,
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issues and errors,
and all of that stuff.
00:08:39.75\00:08:42.32
And even in spite of
that, like He's loved me,
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He didn't love me
any less at that point.
00:08:44.99\00:08:48.16
He poured out that love for me,
00:08:48.19\00:08:50.53
and continued to listen
to my mother's prayers for me
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and drew me closer to Him.
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So as you guys are saying,
00:08:56.77\00:08:58.10
behind every good
man is a good woman.
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Well, I guess for me,
it's my mom in a different way
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'cause she was praying for
me to come back to the Lord.
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Praise the God for praying mom.
00:09:06.24\00:09:07.58
Yeah.
00:09:07.61\00:09:08.94
So that was a huge thing for me
00:09:08.98\00:09:10.38
and just seeing
how He spared my life
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in times where I
should have been dead
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and could have been dead.
00:09:14.65\00:09:16.69
Being misdiagnosed
with my appendix rupturing
00:09:16.72\00:09:19.25
inside of me and all of
that and had I died then,
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I would have been in trouble
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because I didn't
know the Lord then,
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I wasn't serving Him.
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So, yeah, God's
love is incredible
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even when we're
in the wilderness.
00:09:30.93\00:09:32.77
That's right.
00:09:32.80\00:09:34.14
His love that
He's pouring out on us
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is absolutely amazing.
00:09:36.30\00:09:37.97
So I'm looking forward
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to diving into these scriptures.
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Amen.
00:09:40.74\00:09:42.08
So, Ryan, you've
got our first scripture,
00:09:42.11\00:09:43.65
Isaiah 54:10.
00:09:43.68\00:09:45.48
Man, I love this text.
00:09:45.51\00:09:46.95
Isaiah 54:10 says,
00:09:46.98\00:09:49.58
"For the mountains shall
depart and the hills be removed,
00:09:49.62\00:09:53.82
but My kindness
shall not depart from you,
00:09:53.86\00:09:57.09
nor shall My
covenant of peace be removed,
00:09:57.13\00:10:00.50
' says the Lord,
who has mercy on you.'"
00:10:00.53\00:10:03.70
This is beautiful.
00:10:03.73\00:10:05.07
I love it because it's almost,
it's just so poetic, right?
00:10:05.10\00:10:07.80
But at the same
time, it's not poetry.
00:10:07.84\00:10:10.47
I mean, this is the
real word of the Lord
00:10:10.51\00:10:12.37
coming from the Lord's mouth.
00:10:12.41\00:10:13.74
He's basically
saying to us, you know what?
00:10:13.78\00:10:15.41
See that mountain over there,
00:10:15.44\00:10:16.78
see, all of this
stuff, you know what?
00:10:16.81\00:10:18.81
All of those
things can pass away
00:10:18.85\00:10:20.25
this world and
everything before you,
00:10:20.28\00:10:21.92
everything tangible
that you can see and feel,
00:10:21.95\00:10:24.42
hear, touch, smell,
all of that can pass away,
00:10:24.45\00:10:26.86
but My love, My
kindness, My compassion
00:10:26.89\00:10:29.52
will never ever pass away.
00:10:29.56\00:10:31.53
And so I love the fact that
00:10:31.56\00:10:33.13
we serve a God whom we can trust
00:10:33.16\00:10:35.43
and we can know
based on His promise,
00:10:35.46\00:10:37.37
based on His character,
00:10:37.40\00:10:39.03
that we can trust and know
00:10:39.07\00:10:40.44
that He's never gonna love us
00:10:40.47\00:10:42.14
the way that we love each other.
00:10:42.17\00:10:43.81
Okay?
00:10:43.84\00:10:45.17
In a human sense, in a
carnal sense, He's God.
00:10:45.21\00:10:48.51
And I heard someone once say,
00:10:48.54\00:10:49.88
and it's always stuck
with me that sin is the,
00:10:49.91\00:10:52.88
is basically the
results of a misunderstanding
00:10:52.91\00:10:57.19
and a misrepresentation
of God's character.
00:10:57.22\00:11:00.79
So if you think about
that, that's exactly what sin is
00:11:00.82\00:11:03.69
when we fully
comprehend and understand
00:11:03.73\00:11:05.59
that God is an
as a forever loving,
00:11:05.63\00:11:07.66
compassionate kind God
00:11:07.70\00:11:09.46
and He says, I want
to bestow My kindness
00:11:09.50\00:11:11.43
upon you at all times.
00:11:11.47\00:11:12.83
I love that,
oftentimes we don't think of,
00:11:12.87\00:11:14.84
I mean, we know kindness
00:11:14.87\00:11:16.20
is one of the fruits
of the Spirit, right?
00:11:16.24\00:11:17.57
But we don't often say
when we talk about God,
00:11:17.61\00:11:18.94
we don't often
say, oh, God's so kind,
00:11:18.97\00:11:20.61
you know, but yet He is.
00:11:20.64\00:11:21.98
He is kind. Right?
00:11:22.01\00:11:23.35
I love those words there.
00:11:23.38\00:11:24.71
But My kindness
shall not depart from you.
00:11:24.75\00:11:27.65
And so it's just awesome to know
00:11:27.68\00:11:29.72
that no matter
where I'm at in life,
00:11:29.75\00:11:32.02
no matter what
I'm going through,
00:11:32.05\00:11:33.39
no matter what
situation I'm involved in,
00:11:33.42\00:11:36.69
God is always
merciful. He's always kind.
00:11:36.73\00:11:38.99
He's always there
00:11:39.03\00:11:40.36
to share and to
bestow that love upon you
00:11:40.40\00:11:42.20
that you don't deserve.
00:11:42.23\00:11:43.57
It's powerful. Amen.
00:11:43.60\00:11:44.97
Man, that's great.
00:11:45.00\00:11:46.33
That's great
scripture, isn't it?
00:11:46.37\00:11:47.70
Yeah, yeah. It is fantastic.
00:11:47.74\00:11:49.07
Absolutely.
00:11:49.10\00:11:50.44
You know, what jumps out at me,
00:11:50.47\00:11:52.54
is the covenant of peace.
00:11:52.57\00:11:55.91
You know, with all of the things
00:11:55.94\00:11:57.35
that are going on in this world
00:11:57.38\00:11:58.98
with all of the things
that we're experiencing,
00:11:59.01\00:12:01.52
to be able to have that
peace in the midst of the storm,
00:12:01.55\00:12:05.42
that to me is just incredible.
00:12:05.45\00:12:07.59
And God gives us this peace
that passes all understanding.
00:12:07.62\00:12:11.49
Amen. Amen.
00:12:11.53\00:12:13.50
Praise the Lord. Dakota?
00:12:13.53\00:12:14.90
Yeah.
00:12:14.93\00:12:16.26
So, you know, there's a lot
00:12:16.30\00:12:18.20
that can be said
about the love of God.
00:12:18.23\00:12:19.57
I know one of the
things that I first think of
00:12:19.60\00:12:22.27
when I hear
about the love of God,
00:12:22.30\00:12:23.64
you know, I
think of the sacrifice
00:12:23.67\00:12:25.01
that was made from Jesus
00:12:25.04\00:12:27.21
and that while we
were yet still sinners,
00:12:27.24\00:12:29.31
and we're going
to get to that text,
00:12:29.34\00:12:30.75
you know, God died for us.
00:12:30.78\00:12:33.05
And, you know, I
think of you know,
00:12:33.08\00:12:34.82
there's lots of things
that that I can come to,
00:12:34.85\00:12:37.59
but I think one of
the greatest things
00:12:37.62\00:12:38.95
that I come to was the
scripture where it says
00:12:38.99\00:12:41.49
no greater love have this
00:12:41.52\00:12:42.96
than a man lay down
his life for his friends.
00:12:42.99\00:12:45.43
And in relation to that,
00:12:45.46\00:12:47.40
we see what happened
in the Garden of Eden
00:12:47.43\00:12:49.16
with Adam and Eve
from the very beginning.
00:12:49.20\00:12:51.43
Mankind totally lost,
00:12:51.47\00:12:53.80
separated from
God because of sin.
00:12:53.84\00:12:55.74
We see Jesus steps in there.
00:12:55.77\00:12:57.17
And He serves as
the Savior immediately.
00:12:57.21\00:13:00.74
As soon as there was
sin, there was a Savior.
00:13:00.78\00:13:02.88
And I love how
Jesus dealt with that.
00:13:02.91\00:13:05.58
How, just like a parent, right?
00:13:05.61\00:13:07.42
When you see your
child come to you,
00:13:07.45\00:13:10.19
and they've
messed up really bad.
00:13:10.22\00:13:12.72
You're not there to
try to condemn them.
00:13:12.75\00:13:14.62
You're there to
try to teach them
00:13:14.66\00:13:15.99
and save them
from that position,
00:13:16.02\00:13:18.06
from that disobedient position,
00:13:18.09\00:13:19.89
disobedient mind
that they've been in,
00:13:19.93\00:13:21.73
and to see how Jesus did
that for us is so powerful,
00:13:21.76\00:13:23.67
I think of, you know,
00:13:23.70\00:13:25.47
when Jesus was in the
Garden of Eden, for instance,
00:13:25.50\00:13:27.44
when He came walking
in the Garden of Eden,
00:13:27.47\00:13:29.60
you know, sin was
them taking from the tree,
00:13:29.64\00:13:32.61
them taking sin from the tree,
00:13:32.64\00:13:34.11
so to speak, and disobeying God.
00:13:34.14\00:13:35.91
And when they did that,
00:13:35.94\00:13:37.28
the Bible says in
2 Corinthians 5:21
00:13:37.31\00:13:38.98
that Jesus became
sin for us, right?
00:13:39.01\00:13:42.15
So He became sin for us.
00:13:42.18\00:13:43.52
So sin was
taking from this tree,
00:13:43.55\00:13:47.16
Jesus reverses the curse
now, and He says, Listen,
00:13:47.19\00:13:49.49
"I'm going to
become sin for you.
00:13:49.52\00:13:52.23
And then I'm going to
put sin back on the tree."
00:13:52.26\00:13:55.40
Right?
00:13:55.43\00:13:56.77
So when you see the
love that Jesus has for us
00:13:56.80\00:13:58.13
is so amazing.
00:13:58.17\00:13:59.50
It's like, wow,
why would He do that?
00:13:59.53\00:14:02.30
Like, what have I done?
00:14:02.34\00:14:03.87
We used to sing a song
at church, Ryan, called?
00:14:03.91\00:14:06.74
What? How did it go?
00:14:06.78\00:14:08.11
Is who am I.
00:14:08.14\00:14:09.58
Who am I,
remember that song? I do.
00:14:09.61\00:14:11.15
Who am I that the King
should bleed and die for?
00:14:11.18\00:14:14.55
Who am I that He should say
not my will but thine, Lord.
00:14:14.58\00:14:18.52
I just like wow, it's amazing.
00:14:18.55\00:14:20.52
It is an incredible
thought. Oh, it absolutely is.
00:14:20.56\00:14:23.06
Yeah.
00:14:23.09\00:14:24.93
Take us to Psalm 8:15.
00:14:24.96\00:14:27.43
I'm just, I'm still marinating
on what you all about,
00:14:27.46\00:14:30.37
what you just said,
I'm just taking it all in.
00:14:30.40\00:14:32.33
Just sharing them as
they come to me, Brother.
00:14:32.37\00:14:33.97
I think about Psalm 86
actually, verse 15, it says,
00:14:34.00\00:14:37.17
"But You, O Lord, are
a God full of compassion,
00:14:37.21\00:14:40.38
and gracious, longsuffering
00:14:40.41\00:14:42.01
and abundant in
mercy and truth."
00:14:42.04\00:14:44.58
Amen.
00:14:44.61\00:14:46.08
What a great scripture.
00:14:46.11\00:14:47.45
Absolutely. Praise the Lord.
00:14:47.48\00:14:48.82
There is a thought that
I want to share with you
00:14:48.85\00:14:53.19
and it is from the
Mount of Blessing, page 22.
00:14:53.22\00:14:58.76
And it says this,
00:14:58.79\00:15:00.16
"God does not ask if
we are worthy of His love
00:15:00.20\00:15:03.37
but He pours upon us
the riches of His love
00:15:03.40\00:15:06.37
to make us worthy.
00:15:06.40\00:15:08.30
He is not vindictive,
00:15:08.34\00:15:10.07
He seeks not to
punish, but to redeem.
00:15:10.11\00:15:12.74
Even the severity
00:15:12.77\00:15:14.31
which He manifests
through his providences
00:15:14.34\00:15:16.91
is manifested for the
salvation of the wayward.
00:15:16.95\00:15:20.42
It is true that
God will by no means
00:15:20.45\00:15:22.95
clear the guilty,
00:15:22.98\00:15:24.32
but He would
take away the guilt."
00:15:24.35\00:15:26.82
Wow. God is amazing.
00:15:26.86\00:15:28.59
Amen.
00:15:28.62\00:15:29.96
God is amazing.
00:15:29.99\00:15:32.13
Greg, you've got 1 John 2:1?
00:15:32.16\00:15:35.03
Yeah, 1 John 3:1, you
know, I just want to say, Jason,
00:15:35.06\00:15:38.83
I appreciate this
topic on God's love.
00:15:38.87\00:15:41.17
Because you think I know,
00:15:41.20\00:15:42.70
we know there
are a lot of people
00:15:42.74\00:15:44.17
that are
watching that don't feel
00:15:44.21\00:15:46.41
any love from anybody.
00:15:46.44\00:15:47.94
They feel hopeless.
00:15:47.98\00:15:50.01
And I know that before COVID,
00:15:50.05\00:15:51.38
you did a lot of
work in the prisons.
00:15:51.41\00:15:52.75
Yes.
00:15:52.78\00:15:54.12
And there's a lot of
people that no one loves me.
00:15:54.15\00:15:55.48
I'm in here, I've done wrong.
00:15:55.52\00:15:57.52
And there's no hope, no
one loves me whatsoever.
00:15:57.55\00:16:00.16
But then there's
people outside of prison
00:16:00.19\00:16:01.52
that are right now
probably watching, viewing,
00:16:01.56\00:16:03.79
and they're hopeless.
00:16:03.83\00:16:05.16
So thank you for this topic.
00:16:05.19\00:16:06.53
Because really, we're
talking about God's love.
00:16:06.56\00:16:08.13
But man, that's
incredible for someone,
00:16:08.16\00:16:10.07
their mother, their father,
they felt no love from them.
00:16:10.10\00:16:12.23
There is massive
abuse in their household.
00:16:12.27\00:16:14.24
And they're the only one
00:16:14.27\00:16:15.60
they feel alone that
no one cares for them.
00:16:15.64\00:16:17.11
So it's a fantastic topic,
00:16:17.14\00:16:20.14
because they feel
that God the Creator,
00:16:20.18\00:16:21.74
the one who
formed you loves you.
00:16:21.78\00:16:24.55
That's phenomenal,
00:16:24.58\00:16:25.91
so it's, to me it's encouraging,
00:16:25.95\00:16:27.28
very encouraging.
00:16:27.32\00:16:28.65
So thank you for this.
00:16:28.68\00:16:30.02
It's an
encouraging family worship.
00:16:30.05\00:16:31.39
1 John 3:1 says,
00:16:31.42\00:16:32.75
"Behold what manner of love
the Father has bestowed on us,
00:16:32.79\00:16:37.99
that we should be
called the children of God!
00:16:38.03\00:16:41.00
Therefore the
world does not know us,
00:16:41.03\00:16:42.93
because it did not know Him."
00:16:42.96\00:16:46.07
First word, behold.
00:16:46.10\00:16:48.20
That's right.
00:16:48.24\00:16:49.57
I don't even know how
you can behold that, right?
00:16:49.60\00:16:51.27
Because I don't even
understand the fullness of God.
00:16:51.31\00:16:53.17
It is a mystery. Yeah.
00:16:53.21\00:16:54.54
I'm thinking about trying
to behold the sun, sunshine,
00:16:54.58\00:16:56.48
I can't behold the sun.
00:16:56.51\00:16:57.85
If I look with the
naked eye at the sunshine,
00:16:57.88\00:16:59.65
I'd go blind is what they say.
00:16:59.68\00:17:01.18
I've never tried it.
00:17:01.22\00:17:02.68
And I've been
told never to try it.
00:17:02.72\00:17:04.29
I think about trying to
behold God, behold His love.
00:17:04.32\00:17:07.02
I mean, it's just incredible.
00:17:07.06\00:17:08.39
We know He loves
us. That's right.
00:17:08.42\00:17:09.76
Yeah, but to
behold the love of God.
00:17:09.79\00:17:12.49
And then it says,
00:17:12.53\00:17:14.10
"The Father has bestowed on us
00:17:14.13\00:17:15.46
that we should be
called the children of God."
00:17:15.50\00:17:17.93
I have here the children of God,
00:17:17.97\00:17:19.30
that is powerful.
00:17:19.33\00:17:21.40
I was blessed with
wonderful Christian parents,
00:17:21.44\00:17:23.77
but there's a lot of people
00:17:23.81\00:17:25.14
that their family
situation is all messed up.
00:17:25.17\00:17:27.81
It's terrible situation.
00:17:27.84\00:17:29.18
So to be called children,
that's awesome, of God.
00:17:29.21\00:17:34.22
I know.
00:17:34.25\00:17:35.58
growing up, it was always
such a great thing for me.
00:17:35.62\00:17:38.32
And again, I had great parents,
00:17:38.35\00:17:40.02
and I'm so blessed with that.
00:17:40.06\00:17:41.66
But when I'd be
out to say somewhere,
00:17:41.69\00:17:43.02
and my dad would say,
00:17:43.06\00:17:44.39
Oh, hey, that's
my son over there.
00:17:44.43\00:17:46.76
Yeah.
00:17:46.80\00:17:48.13
Man, you know, that
makes you feel so good,
00:17:48.16\00:17:49.50
like, oh, wow.
00:17:49.53\00:17:50.87
My dad's like,
oh, you know, that's,
00:17:50.90\00:17:52.23
I don't know who he is.
00:17:52.27\00:17:53.60
It's like, no, hey,
that's my son over there.
00:17:53.64\00:17:54.97
And like, or, you know,
hey, this is my children,
00:17:55.00\00:17:56.91
my sister and I.
00:17:56.94\00:17:58.27
Yeah, yeah.
00:17:58.31\00:17:59.64
It's awesome. Yeah.
00:17:59.67\00:18:01.01
That's an earthly
parent. That's true.
00:18:01.04\00:18:02.38
But to think of God in heaven
00:18:02.41\00:18:03.75
saying, hey, you're My
children and I love you.
00:18:03.78\00:18:05.98
Yeah. Wow.
00:18:06.01\00:18:07.78
That's an
incredible thought. Amen.
00:18:07.82\00:18:09.38
You were gonna
comment on that or no...
00:18:09.42\00:18:11.15
No, no.
00:18:11.19\00:18:12.52
I was just basking in
everything you were saying.
00:18:12.55\00:18:13.96
Oh, yeah. Okay.
00:18:13.99\00:18:15.36
Yeah, to be called
the children of God.
00:18:15.39\00:18:16.89
It's just, it's phenomenal.
I love the scripture.
00:18:16.93\00:18:18.93
It's very
encouraging to me, 1 John. 3:1.
00:18:18.96\00:18:21.66
Yes, absolutely.
00:18:21.70\00:18:23.13
I mean, you know,
you look at some things,
00:18:23.16\00:18:25.70
especially in the
realm of spirituality
00:18:25.73\00:18:28.27
and just God.
00:18:28.30\00:18:30.41
And some things just
aren't quantifiable like,
00:18:30.44\00:18:34.08
like you said,
00:18:34.11\00:18:35.44
how can you quantify God's love?
00:18:35.48\00:18:37.28
Like there's,
yeah, there's no words
00:18:37.31\00:18:40.98
in the English
language, or any language
00:18:41.02\00:18:43.22
that can really fully convey
00:18:43.25\00:18:46.92
the splendor of God and His love
00:18:46.96\00:18:50.33
like it's,
it's, He's incredible.
00:18:50.36\00:18:52.93
So we've got Deuteronomy 7:9,
00:18:52.96\00:18:58.50
"Therefore know
that the Lord your God,
00:18:58.53\00:19:02.30
He is God, the faithful God
who keeps covenant and mercy
00:19:02.34\00:19:06.94
for a thousand generations
with those who love Him,
00:19:06.98\00:19:11.38
and keep His commandments."
00:19:11.41\00:19:13.88
And then I want us to go
00:19:13.92\00:19:15.25
to 1 Corinthians 1:9.
00:19:15.28\00:19:21.46
1 Corinthians 1:9, and it says,
00:19:21.49\00:19:24.89
"God is faithful,
00:19:24.93\00:19:27.03
by whom you were called
into the fellowship of His Son,
00:19:27.06\00:19:31.43
Jesus Christ, our Lord."
00:19:31.47\00:19:34.77
Then we have John 15:4-5.
00:19:34.80\00:19:41.21
And it's
interesting because, you know,
00:19:41.24\00:19:44.38
as we're going to
get to that point,
00:19:44.41\00:19:46.68
possibly later on,
00:19:46.72\00:19:48.88
in this
program, we'll get there.
00:19:48.92\00:19:51.99
But where we kind of look
00:19:52.02\00:19:53.36
at how we
demonstrate our love toward God.
00:19:53.39\00:19:57.26
But in here in John 15:4-5,
00:19:57.29\00:20:04.03
we've got, it says,
00:20:04.07\00:20:05.40
"Abide in Me, and I in you.
00:20:05.43\00:20:07.47
As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself,
00:20:07.50\00:20:09.74
unless it abides in the vine,
00:20:09.77\00:20:11.57
neither can you,
unless you abide in Me.
00:20:11.61\00:20:14.88
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
00:20:14.91\00:20:17.21
He who abides in Me, and
I in him, bears much fruit,
00:20:17.25\00:20:20.78
for without Me
you can do nothing."
00:20:20.82\00:20:23.65
So when we think
about loving God,
00:20:23.69\00:20:25.39
and all of that,
00:20:25.42\00:20:26.76
like we can't even love God,
00:20:26.79\00:20:29.12
without Him
instilling that in us,
00:20:29.16\00:20:31.63
and you know we
are to abide in Him.
00:20:31.66\00:20:34.73
And then in verse 9 and 10,
00:20:34.76\00:20:36.80
"As the Father loved
Me, I also have loved you,
00:20:36.83\00:20:40.57
abide in My love."
00:20:40.60\00:20:42.00
He wants us to
abide in His love.
00:20:42.04\00:20:44.04
"If you keep My commandments,
you will abide in My love,
00:20:44.07\00:20:47.18
just as I have kept
My Father's commandments
00:20:47.21\00:20:49.88
and abide in His love."
00:20:49.91\00:20:51.48
And that kind of
goes into our other area
00:20:51.51\00:20:54.58
that's kind of
jumping ahead a little bit.
00:20:54.62\00:20:57.65
But yes, I think
that's so incredible
00:20:57.69\00:21:01.72
like, you know,
when we love something
00:21:01.76\00:21:04.33
we seek after
it, we go after it,
00:21:04.36\00:21:06.66
we pursue it, you know.
00:21:06.70\00:21:08.86
You guys are married, right?
00:21:08.90\00:21:11.43
Well, it's
something worked out for you.
00:21:11.47\00:21:15.30
Did you?
00:21:15.34\00:21:16.67
Did you pursue your wife?
00:21:16.71\00:21:18.11
Like how did...
00:21:18.14\00:21:19.47
Let's talk about
that for a second?
00:21:19.51\00:21:21.34
Absolutely.
Yeah, I'd be happy to.
00:21:21.38\00:21:26.51
No, that's great. Absolutely.
00:21:26.55\00:21:27.88
Yeah, you do. I
mean, I did pursue my wife.
00:21:27.92\00:21:29.92
Yeah, we communicated
00:21:29.95\00:21:31.35
and that relationship
00:21:31.39\00:21:32.72
was started out as a friendship.
00:21:32.75\00:21:34.26
Then after a while,
00:21:34.29\00:21:35.62
when I moved here as an intern,
00:21:35.66\00:21:36.99
you know, she was somewhere else
00:21:37.03\00:21:38.36
doing her internship.
00:21:38.39\00:21:39.73
And then after we graduated,
00:21:39.76\00:21:41.10
you know, I was here working,
00:21:41.13\00:21:42.46
I'm like, boy, you know what?
00:21:42.50\00:21:43.83
This friendship with
my, well, she was a friend,
00:21:43.87\00:21:46.53
I was gonna say, my
wife, she wasn't my wife then.
00:21:46.57\00:21:48.34
You know, I want to
go to the next level.
00:21:48.37\00:21:49.84
So then the friendship
moved to courting or dating
00:21:49.87\00:21:51.87
and then into marriage.
00:21:51.91\00:21:53.24
So yeah, I did pursue
relationship with her.
00:21:53.27\00:21:55.28
And it got deeper and deeper.
00:21:55.31\00:21:56.64
Yeah. And that love grew.
00:21:56.68\00:21:58.48
How did you build
that relationship?
00:21:58.51\00:22:00.18
Uh-ah. Communication.
00:22:00.22\00:22:02.38
We actually did
actually handwritten letters
00:22:02.42\00:22:03.95
back in the day, Jason.
00:22:03.99\00:22:05.32
Wow.
00:22:05.35\00:22:06.69
We've been
married that many years.
00:22:06.72\00:22:08.36
But we still
had snail mail then.
00:22:08.39\00:22:10.83
I had a little
email account too,
00:22:10.86\00:22:12.29
I didn't even have a
cell phone then at that point.
00:22:12.33\00:22:14.46
But we did a
lot of communicating
00:22:14.50\00:22:15.83
through letters,
of course, and cards.
00:22:15.86\00:22:17.43
And I knew
things that she liked.
00:22:17.47\00:22:19.43
And so, you know,
I get little gifts
00:22:19.47\00:22:20.80
and send her presents.
00:22:20.84\00:22:22.17
And yeah, yeah, we grew that,
00:22:22.20\00:22:23.54
but communication was the key.
00:22:23.57\00:22:24.91
Did it take time?
00:22:24.94\00:22:26.27
It did take time. Oh, yeah.
It didn't happen overnight.
00:22:26.31\00:22:28.34
Yeah, 'cause we were
great friends in college
00:22:28.38\00:22:29.94
for about four years.
00:22:29.98\00:22:31.31
And then, of course,
afterwards for a year or so
00:22:31.35\00:22:32.68
and then got married.
00:22:32.71\00:22:34.05
But yeah, just grew over time.
00:22:34.08\00:22:35.92
Absolutely.
Communication, though.
00:22:35.95\00:22:37.42
And you know, the thing is, too,
00:22:37.45\00:22:38.79
is not just one
way communication.
00:22:38.82\00:22:40.66
Yeah.
00:22:40.69\00:22:42.02
So I didn't, she didn't
just write me all that letters.
00:22:42.06\00:22:43.73
I would write her
back. It was back and forth.
00:22:43.76\00:22:45.49
That's right. Yeah.
00:22:45.53\00:22:47.23
That's great comparison, Jason.
00:22:47.26\00:22:48.86
To dialogue among
all of that. Thank you.
00:22:48.90\00:22:50.53
That's right.
00:22:50.57\00:22:51.90
I love that, Ryan. You're right.
00:22:51.93\00:22:54.50
And this way is
where our relationship
00:22:54.54\00:22:55.90
with God has worked, right?
00:22:55.94\00:22:57.27
It's got to be a dialogue,
not necessarily a monologue.
00:22:57.31\00:22:58.97
Amen.
00:22:59.01\00:23:00.34
You know, God
wants to speak to us.
00:23:00.38\00:23:01.71
He wants to
bestow that love upon us.
00:23:01.74\00:23:03.08
And that's a communicable effort
00:23:03.11\00:23:06.01
in the sense that we
have to be able to receive
00:23:06.05\00:23:07.95
as much as we give,
00:23:07.98\00:23:09.32
you know, speaking of that...
00:23:09.35\00:23:10.69
I like that.
00:23:10.72\00:23:12.05
Yeah, me and my wife,
00:23:12.09\00:23:13.42
you know, we were
high school sweethearts,
00:23:13.46\00:23:14.96
she was a freshman, I
was a junior in high school.
00:23:14.99\00:23:17.43
And, you know, it's interesting,
00:23:17.46\00:23:20.13
because when you have that,
00:23:20.16\00:23:23.20
when you first comprehend
00:23:23.23\00:23:26.03
that someone is
interested in you,
00:23:26.07\00:23:27.60
that feels great.
00:23:27.64\00:23:28.97
It does feel
great. It feels great.
00:23:29.00\00:23:30.34
And the Bible is
flooded with text
00:23:30.37\00:23:33.04
that communicates to us
that God is interested in us,
00:23:33.07\00:23:36.34
that He's constantly
pursuing us trying to woo us.
00:23:36.38\00:23:39.21
And that's the thing, you know,
00:23:39.25\00:23:40.58
when you first get
that first love with your,
00:23:40.62\00:23:43.08
with your, the person
that you're trying to,
00:23:43.12\00:23:45.05
you know, be with or
create a relationship with.
00:23:45.09\00:23:47.32
You won't, you can't,
00:23:47.36\00:23:48.69
you can't not be
enough around them, right?
00:23:48.72\00:23:51.96
You've to spend as much
time around them as possible.
00:23:51.99\00:23:53.90
And so I remember,
you know, growing up
00:23:53.93\00:23:55.86
and a lot of people would
probably call it puppy love,
00:23:55.90\00:23:57.77
you know, is that, you
know, it's not anything,
00:23:57.80\00:24:00.54
but yet, you know,
00:24:00.57\00:24:01.94
I grew up in a home
00:24:01.97\00:24:03.30
where my parents taught me
00:24:03.34\00:24:04.67
like, you don't just,
00:24:04.71\00:24:06.04
you don't just
play the game, right?
00:24:06.07\00:24:07.41
You don't play the
world game of relationships
00:24:07.44\00:24:08.78
where you get together
and you break up the next week
00:24:08.81\00:24:10.55
and get together with somebody,
00:24:10.58\00:24:11.91
and break up
with them next week.
00:24:11.95\00:24:13.28
My parents bestowed within me
00:24:13.31\00:24:14.65
that if you know,
if you're going to have
00:24:14.68\00:24:16.02
a relationship with someone,
00:24:16.05\00:24:17.39
you're going to do it right,
00:24:17.42\00:24:18.75
you're going to treat
this girl with respect,
00:24:18.79\00:24:20.12
you're going to
pursue it in the right way.
00:24:20.16\00:24:21.82
So that, so the longevity
of the relationship exists
00:24:21.86\00:24:25.16
that there's a
long lastingness there.
00:24:25.19\00:24:26.90
And the same thing
00:24:26.93\00:24:28.26
that was bestowed
upon us in marriage,
00:24:28.30\00:24:29.63
my parents before my mom passed
00:24:29.66\00:24:31.20
was together for 37 years.
00:24:31.23\00:24:32.87
They were actually
together longer than that
00:24:32.90\00:24:35.50
they were married for 37 years.
00:24:35.54\00:24:36.87
Wow.
00:24:36.91\00:24:38.24
So in my home, it was,
you do everything you can
00:24:38.27\00:24:40.78
to protect and establish
00:24:40.81\00:24:42.34
and continue
that relationship on.
00:24:42.38\00:24:44.38
And so, you know, same thing
with me and my wife, Stephanie
00:24:44.41\00:24:47.02
is we have always,
00:24:47.05\00:24:48.75
you know, through the ups
and the downs and all that,
00:24:48.78\00:24:50.69
you know, as Greg
said, communication is key.
00:24:50.72\00:24:53.39
If you're not in
open communication
00:24:53.42\00:24:55.16
with that person,
00:24:55.19\00:24:56.52
if you're not willing to
take the time to iron out,
00:24:56.56\00:25:00.63
to talk through, to converse,
and to have that dialogue,
00:25:00.66\00:25:04.70
that special dialogue,
00:25:04.73\00:25:06.07
that special time
that you spend together.
00:25:06.10\00:25:07.74
That's key.
00:25:07.77\00:25:09.10
And the same thing goes
with our relationship with God.
00:25:09.14\00:25:11.01
God loves us. That's clear.
00:25:11.04\00:25:12.87
But He also wants us
to understand that love.
00:25:12.91\00:25:15.48
And we're gonna get
into a text in just a moment,
00:25:15.51\00:25:17.11
I think you
might be reading them,
00:25:17.15\00:25:18.58
I'm not sure.
00:25:18.61\00:25:19.95
Where it talks about,
you know, God is love.
00:25:19.98\00:25:21.65
And I don't know
who's reading that.
00:25:21.68\00:25:23.02
I think it's maybe actually
I think you are reading it.
00:25:23.05\00:25:25.25
Yeah, 1 John Chapter 4,
where we get in a second.
00:25:25.29\00:25:27.62
So I'll save my
comment on this point.
00:25:27.66\00:25:29.36
But the fact that
God it's very clear
00:25:29.39\00:25:31.73
that God loves us,
00:25:31.76\00:25:33.09
He's done everything
He can to show that love.
00:25:33.13\00:25:36.50
But, you know,
there's another scripture
00:25:36.53\00:25:37.87
that says that we love Him
00:25:37.90\00:25:39.23
because He
first loved us, right?
00:25:39.27\00:25:40.90
And so we have to
understand that it's a,
00:25:40.94\00:25:43.71
it's a kind of a two way street,
00:25:43.74\00:25:45.44
in which you have to pretty much
00:25:45.47\00:25:47.18
be able to be willing to give
just as much as you receive.
00:25:47.21\00:25:50.18
And it goes both ways.
00:25:50.21\00:25:51.55
Absolutely. It's
powerful. I love that.
00:25:51.58\00:25:53.82
And so you have to
initiate that love?
00:25:53.85\00:25:55.58
Yeah. And you want
to spend as much time.
00:25:55.62\00:25:57.52
And I remember, I
drove my parents crazy.
00:25:57.55\00:25:59.55
Hey, I'm gonna go over
to Stephanie, isn't it?
00:25:59.59\00:26:01.99
It came to the
point where they're like,
00:26:02.02\00:26:03.36
look, you've been spending
too much time with this girl.
00:26:03.39\00:26:06.23
You're about to
drive her parents crazy.
00:26:06.26\00:26:07.93
And what are you thinking about?
00:26:07.96\00:26:09.30
You know, you gotta
stay home for the weekend.
00:26:09.33\00:26:10.73
And I'm sure her
parents did the same thing.
00:26:10.77\00:26:12.57
But yet, that's the thing
00:26:12.60\00:26:13.94
about the beautiful
thing about God's love,
00:26:13.97\00:26:15.90
and the
relationship you have with God,
00:26:15.94\00:26:17.41
God's not putting you on,
00:26:17.44\00:26:18.77
you know, He's not
putting you on the spot
00:26:18.81\00:26:21.21
or He's not
pressing the pause button
00:26:21.24\00:26:22.58
and saying, look, whoo,
00:26:22.61\00:26:23.95
you've been
spending way too much time
00:26:23.98\00:26:25.31
with me lately.
00:26:25.35\00:26:26.68
You gotta slow this thing down.
00:26:26.72\00:26:28.05
Give me some time
to breathe up in here.
00:26:28.08\00:26:29.42
That's not what
God's saying, right?
00:26:29.45\00:26:30.79
God, His line of communication,
00:26:30.82\00:26:32.99
His time you want
to spend with Him.
00:26:33.02\00:26:34.72
It's open 24/7.
00:26:34.76\00:26:36.62
And He says, the more
time you spend with Me,
00:26:36.66\00:26:38.43
the more you're open with Me,
00:26:38.46\00:26:39.79
the more you
communicate with Me,
00:26:39.83\00:26:41.16
the more I'm going
to be able to replicate
00:26:41.20\00:26:43.57
this loving
character in your life.
00:26:43.60\00:26:45.93
Beautiful. That is beautiful.
00:26:45.97\00:26:47.80
You can never wear
out your love with God.
00:26:47.84\00:26:50.21
Yes, yes.
00:26:50.24\00:26:51.81
Now, Dakota, how
did you woo your wife?
00:26:51.84\00:26:55.78
Well, we were also
high school sweethearts.
00:26:55.81\00:26:57.45
Ann and I were
and I'll never forget,
00:26:57.48\00:26:59.95
you know, when we first,
00:26:59.98\00:27:01.32
when I first went
to the high school,
00:27:01.35\00:27:02.68
I moved to her high
school, my junior year.
00:27:02.72\00:27:04.79
And I was kind of the new guy.
00:27:04.82\00:27:06.15
And all the
girls were interested
00:27:06.19\00:27:07.52
in the new guy,
00:27:07.56\00:27:08.89
because this was a small school,
00:27:08.92\00:27:10.26
only had like 20 kids
in my graduating class,
00:27:10.29\00:27:11.63
so very small school.
00:27:11.66\00:27:12.99
But everybody knew
who the new guy was.
00:27:13.03\00:27:14.73
But all the girls had
talked to me except my wife
00:27:14.76\00:27:17.40
at the time.
00:27:17.43\00:27:18.77
Again she wasn't my wife then,
we were still in high school.
00:27:18.80\00:27:20.14
But I was just
like, who is this girl?
00:27:20.17\00:27:22.97
Why is she not talking to me?
00:27:23.00\00:27:24.34
You know, everybody
else would come up to me
00:27:24.37\00:27:25.71
and would talk to me.
00:27:25.74\00:27:27.28
And so I was interested
00:27:27.31\00:27:28.64
in having a
relationship with her.
00:27:28.68\00:27:30.41
But I didn't know who she was,
00:27:30.45\00:27:31.85
I didn't know
anything about her.
00:27:31.88\00:27:33.21
And I found out
she had a boyfriend.
00:27:33.25\00:27:34.85
So that's why she
wasn't talking to me
00:27:34.88\00:27:36.22
because she was loyal.
00:27:36.25\00:27:37.59
But I was like, I
liked that quality.
00:27:37.62\00:27:38.95
I like that.
00:27:38.99\00:27:40.32
I like that
characteristic, she's loyal.
00:27:40.36\00:27:41.79
And she's not just talking
00:27:41.82\00:27:43.16
to flirt with
all these other guys.
00:27:43.19\00:27:44.53
And all these other
girls would have boyfriends,
00:27:44.56\00:27:45.89
but they'd be flirting
with other guys too at school.
00:27:45.93\00:27:48.60
And I'm like, I
don't wanna do that.
00:27:48.63\00:27:49.96
Now I guess Ryan said
00:27:50.00\00:27:51.33
our parents
raised us differently.
00:27:51.37\00:27:52.70
And so, I just
remember being respectful.
00:27:52.73\00:27:55.04
And always, you know,
trying to do my best to,
00:27:55.07\00:27:57.37
you know, show the
love of God when I could.
00:27:57.41\00:27:59.97
And she saw that.
00:28:00.01\00:28:01.44
And then one day
00:28:01.48\00:28:02.81
when her boyfriend her broke up,
00:28:02.84\00:28:04.75
she messaged me on
Facebook, and she's like,
00:28:04.78\00:28:07.25
"Hey, I'm sorry that I
never, you know, talk to you."
00:28:07.28\00:28:09.95
And she's like,
00:28:09.98\00:28:11.32
"I would like to get to
know you a little bit more."
00:28:11.35\00:28:12.69
And I remember like jumping
up and doing like this dance.
00:28:12.72\00:28:15.59
Like, I started like dancing.
00:28:15.62\00:28:16.96
I was like, oh, man,
00:28:16.99\00:28:18.33
this girl like wants to
have something to do with me.
00:28:18.36\00:28:19.89
Uh-huh.
00:28:19.93\00:28:21.26
And so we started
talking and I'll never forget,
00:28:21.30\00:28:23.77
you know, you while I
fell in love with her looks
00:28:23.80\00:28:26.57
like I looked at
her and I thought,
00:28:26.60\00:28:27.94
you know, this
is a beautiful girl.
00:28:27.97\00:28:29.30
I could not give her my
heart and my affections.
00:28:29.34\00:28:31.61
Right?
00:28:31.64\00:28:32.97
And so, you know, the
Bible says in John 3:16,
00:28:33.01\00:28:36.24
"For God so loved the world,
00:28:36.28\00:28:38.31
that He gave His
only begotten Son
00:28:38.35\00:28:39.75
that whosoever believeth in Him
00:28:39.78\00:28:41.48
should not perish but
have everlasting life."
00:28:41.52\00:28:43.39
But that word believeth is what
a lot of people misunderstand,
00:28:43.42\00:28:45.59
that word believeth
means to trust in God.
00:28:45.62\00:28:48.22
We see, that's the thing.
00:28:48.26\00:28:49.59
That's why I couldn't
get my affections to Anna
00:28:49.62\00:28:51.19
at the time
00:28:51.23\00:28:52.56
was because I didn't
know her well enough.
00:28:52.59\00:28:54.66
There was not a
relationship established for me
00:28:54.70\00:28:56.16
to give her my affection.
00:28:56.20\00:28:57.90
So the thing is, listen,
00:28:57.93\00:28:59.33
you can't trust
someone you do not know.
00:28:59.37\00:29:02.84
So I had to get to know her.
I had to spend time with her.
00:29:02.87\00:29:05.11
I had to create a relationship.
00:29:05.14\00:29:06.47
And I remember is that
00:29:06.51\00:29:08.28
the more time I spent with her,
00:29:08.31\00:29:09.64
the more I fell
in love with her.
00:29:09.68\00:29:11.01
And it's still the same today.
00:29:11.05\00:29:12.38
Same situation, the
more time I spend with her,
00:29:12.41\00:29:13.98
the more I fall
in love with her.
00:29:14.02\00:29:15.35
And I'll never forget,
00:29:15.38\00:29:16.95
going to like
00:29:16.99\00:29:18.32
she would write me
notes in the class, right?
00:29:18.35\00:29:20.39
And I would write
her notes in class.
00:29:20.42\00:29:21.92
And I never, I couldn't,
00:29:21.96\00:29:23.29
I just, I couldn't help
00:29:23.32\00:29:24.66
but to read the
note even in class.
00:29:24.69\00:29:26.93
Now, where these
the handwritten notes?
00:29:26.96\00:29:28.56
Yeah, these are
the handwritten notes.
00:29:28.60\00:29:30.27
Okay, yeah.
00:29:30.30\00:29:31.63
We still have all the notes too,
00:29:31.67\00:29:33.17
all the notes that we
ever wrote each other.
00:29:33.20\00:29:34.67
We kept up with
every one of them.
00:29:34.70\00:29:36.14
And I'll never forget.
00:29:36.17\00:29:38.91
I would go, she
would write me a note
00:29:38.94\00:29:40.28
and I would be so
excited to read it,
00:29:40.31\00:29:41.64
because it was like
00:29:41.68\00:29:43.01
her love letter to me, you know.
00:29:43.04\00:29:44.38
I'd be so excited to read it.
00:29:44.41\00:29:45.75
I would go to
the boys' restroom.
00:29:45.78\00:29:47.22
You know, if you get
caught reading in the class,
00:29:47.25\00:29:49.02
you know, the
teacher make you read
00:29:49.05\00:29:50.39
in front of everybody.
00:29:50.42\00:29:51.75
And so that
would be embarrassing.
00:29:51.79\00:29:54.69
So we would, we would go,
00:29:54.72\00:29:56.39
I would go to the
boys' restroom, right?
00:29:56.42\00:29:58.16
And I put the note in my pocket
and I would say sit there,
00:29:58.19\00:30:00.40
and I will just endure the smell
00:30:00.43\00:30:02.30
and all the stinks
of the boys' restroom.
00:30:02.33\00:30:04.37
And I would sit there
and just read the note
00:30:04.40\00:30:05.77
and hold on to every word,
you know, that she wrote me.
00:30:05.80\00:30:08.44
Because you fall
in love with someone,
00:30:08.47\00:30:10.01
the more time
you spend with them.
00:30:10.04\00:30:11.37
It's the same way with Jesus.
00:30:11.41\00:30:12.74
Jesus has already
loved us immeasurably, right?
00:30:12.77\00:30:17.18
We can't even
measure God's love for us.
00:30:17.21\00:30:19.35
But the question
is do we love Him?
00:30:19.38\00:30:21.98
And how we fall in love with Him
00:30:22.02\00:30:23.35
and spending time with Him?
00:30:23.39\00:30:24.72
Absolutely. So yeah.
00:30:24.75\00:30:26.09
Amen. Amen.
00:30:26.12\00:30:27.46
Excellent illustrations.
00:30:27.49\00:30:28.82
Were you going to pick up?
00:30:28.86\00:30:30.19
Well, I was, there's some
interesting points brought up
00:30:30.23\00:30:31.56
and I think it's,
it's something good
00:30:31.59\00:30:32.93
and important for
people to remember
00:30:32.96\00:30:34.30
that you're talking about
the ups and the downs, right?
00:30:34.33\00:30:35.66
The save relationship,
but the love doesn't change.
00:30:35.70\00:30:38.53
Amen.
00:30:38.57\00:30:39.90
You know, so when we go back,
00:30:39.93\00:30:41.27
I'm thinking of the 1 John
3, behold what manner of love,
00:30:41.30\00:30:43.84
you know, talking about
being the children of God,
00:30:43.87\00:30:45.54
it's not like
you're only my children
00:30:45.57\00:30:46.91
if you're only good
or do certain things.
00:30:46.94\00:30:49.54
We're God's children,
00:30:49.58\00:30:50.91
you know, so like,
we're talking about to say
00:30:50.95\00:30:52.41
someone that feels like
they've done so much wrong.
00:30:52.45\00:30:53.78
Yeah.
00:30:53.82\00:30:55.15
There's no way
God could love me.
00:30:55.18\00:30:56.52
You know what?
You're still God's child.
00:30:56.55\00:30:57.99
He wants to do better
00:30:58.02\00:30:59.35
and you know,
learn and then grow.
00:30:59.39\00:31:00.72
Yeah. But
still, that's powerful.
00:31:00.76\00:31:02.09
Because, okay, just to say
the ups and downs relationship
00:31:02.12\00:31:03.69
doesn't mean okay,
00:31:03.73\00:31:05.06
yeah, we're done,
there's no love there.
00:31:05.09\00:31:06.43
No, it's just the ups and downs,
00:31:06.46\00:31:07.80
but we're still, you know, like,
00:31:07.83\00:31:09.16
husband and wife,
we're still a couple.
00:31:09.20\00:31:10.53
Absolutely.
00:31:10.57\00:31:11.90
You know, as we're
talking about all this,
00:31:11.93\00:31:13.27
you know, kind of
making the analogy
00:31:13.30\00:31:14.64
of our own
relationships with our spouses,
00:31:14.67\00:31:16.60
in connection,
00:31:16.64\00:31:17.97
you know, in correlation
with our relationship with God.
00:31:18.01\00:31:20.88
When you're in that
special relationship,
00:31:20.91\00:31:22.51
you can't, you
can't give them enough
00:31:22.54\00:31:25.58
as far as you can't...
00:31:25.61\00:31:26.95
I love giving gifts to my wife,
00:31:26.98\00:31:28.98
I love, you know,
00:31:29.02\00:31:30.35
one of the ways
that I show that love
00:31:30.39\00:31:31.89
is not just by
spending time but on occasion,
00:31:31.92\00:31:34.82
I will go out and I will,
00:31:34.86\00:31:36.19
you know, buy a
special gift for her
00:31:36.22\00:31:37.83
and bring it to
her and give it to her
00:31:37.86\00:31:39.19
when she's not expecting it.
00:31:39.23\00:31:40.56
And those are the little moments
00:31:40.60\00:31:41.93
that says it that
you're now showing,
00:31:41.96\00:31:43.70
you're showing that love.
00:31:43.73\00:31:45.13
Well, God, you know,
He's the best gift giver,
00:31:45.17\00:31:48.00
you can't outgive God, right?
00:31:48.04\00:31:49.54
There's not a best
better gift giver in the world.
00:31:49.57\00:31:52.14
But God bestowed the
greatest gift of all,
00:31:52.17\00:31:54.44
by giving what most of us
would never be able to get,
00:31:54.48\00:31:58.11
and that's His own Son.
00:31:58.15\00:31:59.61
Notice, 1 John 4:9-10.
00:31:59.65\00:32:02.28
It says here,
00:32:02.32\00:32:03.65
"In this the love of God
was manifested toward us,
00:32:03.69\00:32:06.22
that God has sent
00:32:06.25\00:32:07.59
His only begotten
Son into the world."
00:32:07.62\00:32:09.22
So this is going along
00:32:09.26\00:32:10.59
with what Dakota
referenced John 316,
00:32:10.63\00:32:12.29
that famous chapter,
for God so loved, right?
00:32:12.33\00:32:14.86
That He gave His only Son.
00:32:14.90\00:32:16.23
But notice it goes on to say,
00:32:16.26\00:32:17.90
His only begotten
Son into the world
00:32:17.93\00:32:19.27
that we might live through Him.
00:32:19.30\00:32:20.74
Verse 10, this is 1 John 4:10,
00:32:20.77\00:32:23.57
"In this is love,
not that we loved God,
00:32:23.61\00:32:27.48
but that He loved
us and sent His Son
00:32:27.51\00:32:30.05
to be the
propitiation for our sins."
00:32:30.08\00:32:32.95
So not only is God
giving His perfect, sinless Son,
00:32:32.98\00:32:37.65
but yet He's saying,
I'm giving them to you
00:32:37.69\00:32:39.42
so that you might be saved,
00:32:39.45\00:32:41.16
so that you might
have an opportunity
00:32:41.19\00:32:43.06
and a redemption from sin,
00:32:43.09\00:32:45.49
to be able to have eternal life.
00:32:45.53\00:32:47.06
That's the greatest gift
00:32:47.10\00:32:48.43
that you can bestow upon anyone.
00:32:48.46\00:32:49.86
And I have to say, you know,
00:32:49.90\00:32:51.73
a lot of people kind
of play off the idea that,
00:32:51.77\00:32:53.90
well, you know, the Father knew
00:32:53.94\00:32:55.27
He was going to resurrect Jesus,
00:32:55.30\00:32:56.64
you know, it wasn't going to be,
00:32:56.67\00:32:58.01
but yet, in Christ, human state,
00:32:58.04\00:33:00.21
when all the sin of the world
00:33:00.24\00:33:01.58
had been brought
upon Him at that moment,
00:33:01.61\00:33:03.81
Jesus made, still made
the conscious decision to say,
00:33:03.85\00:33:05.95
"Not My will, but
Yours Father be done."
00:33:05.98\00:33:08.05
At that moment,
when the sin of the world
00:33:08.08\00:33:10.05
was bearing upon Him,
00:33:10.09\00:33:11.65
He lost that
connection with His Father,
00:33:11.69\00:33:14.62
that connection was severed,
00:33:14.66\00:33:15.99
and the full wrath of
God was poured out upon Him,
00:33:16.02\00:33:18.43
to the point that
00:33:18.46\00:33:19.79
now He's
hanging up on that tree,
00:33:19.83\00:33:21.16
but fully believing that
00:33:21.20\00:33:22.53
this was an eternal death.
00:33:22.56\00:33:23.90
You wanna talk about a love,
00:33:23.93\00:33:25.33
a love beyond that
anyone could possibly...
00:33:25.37\00:33:27.20
In my mind, I'm
sitting here thinking about it.
00:33:27.24\00:33:29.17
And I can't begin to
even fathom that love.
00:33:29.20\00:33:32.17
The love was so
deep and so strong,
00:33:32.21\00:33:34.24
that Christ was
willing to put upon,
00:33:34.28\00:33:36.34
He was willing
to lay down and say,
00:33:36.38\00:33:37.85
there's a chance,
there's a possibility
00:33:37.88\00:33:40.32
that I'll forever be severed
00:33:40.35\00:33:41.88
and disconnected from My Father.
00:33:41.92\00:33:44.05
Wow!
00:33:44.09\00:33:45.42
But He was
willing to do that for us.
00:33:45.45\00:33:46.79
He was willing
to do that for us.
00:33:46.82\00:33:48.16
What great gift, right?
Yeah, that's incredible.
00:33:48.19\00:33:49.82
You said something
that's really powerful, too,
00:33:49.86\00:33:51.56
that really goes along
with everything we're studying
00:33:51.59\00:33:53.66
is that you talked
about how, you know,
00:33:53.70\00:33:55.36
people think
they're not good enough.
00:33:55.40\00:33:56.93
You know, and
sometimes they feel like,
00:33:56.97\00:33:58.30
I'm not good
enough for God's love.
00:33:58.33\00:33:59.67
Yeah, a lot of people.
00:33:59.70\00:34:01.04
You know, the devil
would love us to believe
00:34:01.07\00:34:02.40
that we're greater of a
sinner than Jesus is a savior.
00:34:02.44\00:34:03.77
Right.
00:34:03.81\00:34:05.14
He really would
love us to believe that.
00:34:05.17\00:34:06.51
And one of the things that,
00:34:06.54\00:34:07.88
one of the things I've noticed
in my own relationship to God,
00:34:07.91\00:34:10.45
in my own walk is that,
00:34:10.48\00:34:12.31
you know, when you
sin and you commit sin,
00:34:12.35\00:34:14.08
just like Adam and Eve
did in the Garden of Eden,
00:34:14.12\00:34:16.05
the devil wants you to think
the way you feel about yourself
00:34:16.08\00:34:19.12
is the way God feels about you.
00:34:19.15\00:34:21.09
Right? That's really good.
00:34:21.12\00:34:22.46
Yeah, it really is,
what he wants you to think
00:34:22.49\00:34:23.93
and so that you
don't run to God,
00:34:23.96\00:34:25.39
but you hide from God
just like Adam and Eve did,
00:34:25.43\00:34:27.26
you know, you hide
from Him, you don't want to,
00:34:27.30\00:34:28.63
you know, run to Him.
00:34:28.66\00:34:30.13
And, you know,
this made me think about
00:34:30.17\00:34:32.43
what all of this in lines
that made me think about quote,
00:34:32.47\00:34:35.00
that I heard it years ago,
00:34:35.04\00:34:36.37
I don't even know
who said this quote.
00:34:36.40\00:34:37.74
But it says that
there's nothing you can do
00:34:37.77\00:34:39.91
to cause God to love you more.
00:34:39.94\00:34:42.18
And there's nothing you can do
to cause God to love you less.
00:34:42.21\00:34:44.81
Yes.
00:34:44.85\00:34:46.18
God's love for
you never changes.
00:34:46.21\00:34:47.55
Amen. Right?
00:34:47.58\00:34:48.92
And I think that's so profound.
00:34:48.95\00:34:50.29
And this scripture
is where I thought of,
00:34:50.32\00:34:51.65
Ryan, you were talking
about what you're saying,
00:34:51.69\00:34:53.46
is that in Matthew 13:44-46,
00:34:53.49\00:34:56.52
it's the parable of
the hidden treasure,
00:34:56.56\00:34:59.59
and the pearl of great price.
00:34:59.63\00:35:01.56
And listen to what
it says here, it says,
00:35:01.60\00:35:02.93
"Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like
00:35:02.96\00:35:04.30
unto treasure hid in a field,
00:35:04.33\00:35:06.23
the which when a man hath found,
00:35:06.27\00:35:07.60
he hideth, and for joy thereof
go and sells all that he hath,
00:35:07.64\00:35:10.27
and buyeth that field.
00:35:10.31\00:35:11.91
And again, the kingdom of heaven
00:35:11.94\00:35:13.27
is like unto a merchant man,
00:35:13.31\00:35:14.64
seeking goodly pearls:
00:35:14.68\00:35:16.01
Who, when he had found
one pearl of great price,
00:35:16.04\00:35:17.45
went and sold all that
he had, and bought it."
00:35:17.48\00:35:20.15
Now, a lot of the times
we read passages like this,
00:35:20.18\00:35:22.15
we tend to kind
of internalize them
00:35:22.18\00:35:23.75
and we make them about ourself.
00:35:23.79\00:35:25.75
But God's love,
it's not about us.
00:35:25.79\00:35:29.06
It's about Him, right?
00:35:29.09\00:35:30.56
It's His love that
we're talking about.
00:35:30.59\00:35:32.39
So let's, when
we read this text,
00:35:32.43\00:35:33.76
like it's so powerful,
00:35:33.80\00:35:35.13
because notice that the man
00:35:35.16\00:35:37.83
who finds the
treasure in the field
00:35:37.87\00:35:39.20
and the pearl of great price,
00:35:39.23\00:35:41.44
the man who finds it
he sells all that he have
00:35:41.47\00:35:44.54
that he might obtain it.
00:35:44.57\00:35:45.91
Yes.
00:35:45.94\00:35:47.28
Do we really give up
00:35:47.31\00:35:48.64
all that we
have that we might...
00:35:48.68\00:35:50.18
Can you buy Jesus?
00:35:50.21\00:35:52.28
You're dropping some spirits...
00:35:52.31\00:35:53.75
No, can you buy the
treasure in the field?
00:35:53.78\00:35:56.25
Right, or can you buy it?
Can you buy Jesus so to speak?
00:35:56.28\00:35:58.45
Can you buy the salvation?
00:35:58.49\00:36:00.16
You can't buy it and so,
00:36:00.19\00:36:01.62
you can't buy Jesus and
you can't buy salvation.
00:36:01.66\00:36:03.76
So I would like to submit
00:36:03.79\00:36:05.79
that while there is a
obviously a connection
00:36:05.83\00:36:08.90
and I believe this is
a dual application for
00:36:08.93\00:36:11.13
we, yes, have to
give up, you know,
00:36:11.17\00:36:12.80
things that are
precious to us to have heaven.
00:36:12.83\00:36:15.80
I think that we need to focus on
00:36:15.84\00:36:17.41
not what we give up
but what God gave up.
00:36:17.44\00:36:19.17
Yeah. That's right.
00:36:19.21\00:36:20.54
And so when we read this,
00:36:20.58\00:36:22.51
"The kingdom of
heaven is likened
00:36:22.54\00:36:23.88
to a treasure hidden field,
00:36:23.91\00:36:25.25
the which when a man,
right, have found, he hideth,
00:36:25.28\00:36:28.82
and for the joy thereof goeth
and selleth all that he hath,
00:36:28.85\00:36:30.69
and buyeth that field."
00:36:30.72\00:36:32.05
And the same thing with a pearl,
00:36:32.09\00:36:33.42
he finds that
pearl of great price,
00:36:33.46\00:36:34.79
and for the joy thereof
he sells all that he has
00:36:34.82\00:36:36.49
and he buys that field.
00:36:36.52\00:36:37.89
In other words, notice
it's a treasure hid in a field.
00:36:37.93\00:36:40.60
Matthew 13 is the
passage this is in.
00:36:40.63\00:36:43.03
The field symbolizes the world.
00:36:43.06\00:36:46.00
So he finds a
treasure in the world.
00:36:46.03\00:36:48.47
Yes.
00:36:48.50\00:36:49.84
Right? Yeah.
00:36:49.87\00:36:51.21
And he gives
away all that he has.
00:36:51.24\00:36:52.64
So this is talking
about Jesus' sacrifice,
00:36:52.67\00:36:54.54
you know, in heaven.
00:36:54.58\00:36:55.91
He gave up all that He had,
all His, you know, omniscience,
00:36:55.94\00:36:59.61
His
omnipresence, His omnipotence,
00:36:59.65\00:37:01.98
He gave up all of His attributes
00:37:02.02\00:37:03.35
that the Son of God
might become the Son of Man,
00:37:03.39\00:37:05.62
and literally make the
greatest sacrifice of all.
00:37:05.65\00:37:09.32
And when we think
about it that way,
00:37:09.36\00:37:10.69
it's like, well,
and it's a goodly pearl.
00:37:10.73\00:37:12.19
Right? It is.
00:37:12.23\00:37:13.56
It's a pearl of
great price, right?
00:37:13.60\00:37:16.46
There's no
greater price than Jesus.
00:37:16.50\00:37:18.13
No, that's
right. It's beautiful.
00:37:18.17\00:37:19.57
Amen. That's deep.
00:37:19.60\00:37:20.94
The love of God.
00:37:20.97\00:37:22.30
That is really deep.
00:37:22.34\00:37:23.67
Yeah, like, you know,
and I think another thing is
00:37:23.71\00:37:26.34
don't necessarily think
about just what we're giving up.
00:37:26.37\00:37:29.98
But what are we
gaining? That's right.
00:37:30.01\00:37:32.41
What are we gaining
by accepting Christ?
00:37:32.45\00:37:35.48
Okay, so I got to put
these cigarettes down, right?
00:37:35.52\00:37:38.45
So basically, I'm
trying not to get cancer now.
00:37:38.49\00:37:41.32
So you know, I'm
caring for my health.
00:37:41.36\00:37:43.96
Oh, so I got to put
this bottle of alcohol down.
00:37:43.99\00:37:46.70
Oh, so my liver is
going to be healthy.
00:37:46.73\00:37:49.66
You know, so I'm
getting healthy liver.
00:37:49.70\00:37:52.73
You know, all of
these different things.
00:37:52.77\00:37:54.40
Like God is not a God
00:37:54.44\00:37:56.91
that wants to take away
a bunch of things from us.
00:37:56.94\00:38:00.81
He came to give us life
00:38:00.84\00:38:02.18
and give it to
them more abundantly.
00:38:02.21\00:38:04.25
That's right. And so
that's, that is huge.
00:38:04.28\00:38:07.18
I love that point.
00:38:07.22\00:38:08.55
I can't imagine,
00:38:08.58\00:38:09.92
I know this
illustration may be silly,
00:38:09.95\00:38:11.29
but I can't imagine,
00:38:11.32\00:38:12.65
you know, salvation,
00:38:12.69\00:38:14.02
eternal life is similar to this.
00:38:14.06\00:38:16.29
It's like God's saying,
00:38:16.32\00:38:17.66
"Give me your dollar,
and I'll give you a million."
00:38:17.69\00:38:22.50
You know, I know it
maybe a silly illustration,
00:38:22.53\00:38:24.77
but certainly if
you think about it.
00:38:24.80\00:38:26.13
I like that. Yeah.
00:38:26.17\00:38:27.50
And yet, but
yeah, we white-knuckle
00:38:27.54\00:38:28.87
and hold on to
that to that dollar.
00:38:28.90\00:38:30.27
And we're just like, you know,
00:38:30.31\00:38:31.64
we don't want to
give up that one dollar
00:38:31.67\00:38:33.07
when God is saying, like,
look up, but I have a million.
00:38:33.11\00:38:34.94
I've so much more
than I want to give you.
00:38:34.98\00:38:36.85
You know, of course,
we know that, you know,
00:38:36.88\00:38:38.85
God's gift is eternal. Right?
00:38:38.88\00:38:40.22
You can't just equate
it to a million dollars.
00:38:40.25\00:38:41.78
That's a great illustration.
00:38:41.82\00:38:43.15
But nonetheless, I think
I loved what you said there.
00:38:43.18\00:38:45.25
We have, we look up, you
know, just consider the fact
00:38:45.29\00:38:48.22
that what we're giving up
00:38:48.26\00:38:49.86
in connection
what we're gaining.
00:38:49.89\00:38:51.29
What we're
gaining is so much far
00:38:51.33\00:38:53.60
beyond what the
human mind can comprehend
00:38:53.63\00:38:55.93
in connection with
what we're sacrificing
00:38:55.96\00:38:57.67
in these moments
00:38:57.70\00:38:59.03
for this one
little blink of a life
00:38:59.07\00:39:00.40
that we're going to be living
00:39:00.44\00:39:01.77
in connection to
eternal eternity.
00:39:01.80\00:39:05.17
Yeah. Okay.
00:39:05.21\00:39:06.54
They say that the
average man lives,
00:39:06.57\00:39:07.94
what, 70, 75 years,
something like that.
00:39:07.98\00:39:10.11
I don't know what it is now,
maybe 75 for the average man.
00:39:10.15\00:39:12.81
Okay, what's 75
years to eternity?
00:39:12.85\00:39:16.52
Oh, it's nothing.
00:39:16.55\00:39:18.72
It's like I can imagine
when we get into heaven,
00:39:18.75\00:39:21.22
and we're there all
because of the love of God,
00:39:21.26\00:39:23.56
we're talking
about the love of God,
00:39:23.59\00:39:24.93
that you can look back
00:39:24.96\00:39:26.56
on this little blink
of a memory that you had
00:39:26.59\00:39:30.07
your 75 or 80 years
here on this planet,
00:39:30.10\00:39:33.30
or whatever it may be.
00:39:33.34\00:39:34.77
And you could
probably say to yourself in
00:39:34.80\00:39:36.87
when I'm
considering the eternal time,
00:39:36.91\00:39:39.47
that I have to just be
00:39:39.51\00:39:41.14
in the very
loving presence of God,
00:39:41.18\00:39:43.68
I would go through
that a thousand more times
00:39:43.71\00:39:46.51
if it meant, you know,
00:39:46.55\00:39:47.92
having these
moments with the Lord
00:39:47.95\00:39:49.28
and so, but all of that,
00:39:49.32\00:39:51.09
I say all of that
within the context,
00:39:51.12\00:39:52.75
that it's all about God's love.
00:39:52.79\00:39:54.36
If it wasn't for God's love,
00:39:54.39\00:39:55.72
we wouldn't even be
having the conversation.
00:39:55.76\00:39:57.39
But it's all, the epicenter
of this whole conversation
00:39:57.43\00:40:00.30
of eternity and sacrifice
00:40:00.33\00:40:03.13
is God's love
makes the difference.
00:40:03.16\00:40:05.53
It's kind of the
common denominator
00:40:05.57\00:40:07.67
for the whole conversation.
00:40:07.70\00:40:09.04
Yeah. Absolutely.
00:40:09.07\00:40:10.41
And that's the motivating factor
00:40:10.44\00:40:12.14
is why He does what He
does is out of His love.
00:40:12.17\00:40:15.18
You know, I heard
somebody say this,
00:40:15.21\00:40:16.88
this came from a police officer.
00:40:16.91\00:40:18.55
He said,
00:40:18.58\00:40:19.91
"We don't treat, you know,
these people as professionals,
00:40:19.95\00:40:25.72
because they're professional,
00:40:25.75\00:40:27.32
we treat them professional
00:40:27.36\00:40:28.82
because professionally
because we're professionals."
00:40:28.86\00:40:33.76
And so when you
think about that,
00:40:33.80\00:40:36.36
it's really deep,
00:40:36.40\00:40:37.73
like how do we treat
people as Christians?
00:40:37.77\00:40:39.63
Yeah.
00:40:39.67\00:40:41.00
You know, what is our response
as you pointed out earlier,
00:40:41.04\00:40:43.87
like you really
saw the love of Christ,
00:40:43.91\00:40:46.34
when you saw how
the love of Christ
00:40:46.37\00:40:48.01
changed your brother.
00:40:48.04\00:40:49.38
That's right. Yeah.
00:40:49.41\00:40:50.75
And that spoke to you.
00:40:50.78\00:40:52.15
And he treated you,
00:40:52.18\00:40:53.55
maybe you treated him bad
when you were younger, right?
00:40:53.58\00:40:56.58
But he didn't.
00:40:56.62\00:40:58.02
But he didn't respond
in once he got Christ.
00:40:58.05\00:41:02.26
He didn't respond, you know,
00:41:02.29\00:41:03.76
in a way that was
contrary, you know.
00:41:03.79\00:41:06.49
So I think that's, that's huge.
00:41:06.53\00:41:09.23
Like, once we have that
relationship with Christ,
00:41:09.26\00:41:11.80
and we're Christians,
00:41:11.83\00:41:13.57
we need to treat people
the way that Christ loves us,
00:41:13.60\00:41:18.41
treats us, speaks
to us, deals with us.
00:41:18.44\00:41:21.64
We need to treat
them in that manner.
00:41:21.68\00:41:23.61
Amen.
00:41:23.65\00:41:24.98
One of the things I
was thinking about too
00:41:25.01\00:41:26.35
with the love of God, you know,
00:41:26.38\00:41:27.72
I was, I really just
learned this recently,
00:41:27.75\00:41:29.08
not too long ago.
00:41:29.12\00:41:30.45
And I thought this was so cool.
00:41:30.49\00:41:31.82
I was like, man, this
is the coolest thing ever.
00:41:31.85\00:41:33.19
And it's in 1 Timothy 2:14.
00:41:33.22\00:41:34.82
This is a powerful scripture
00:41:34.86\00:41:36.36
that if I was to
summarize the gospel,
00:41:36.39\00:41:38.89
I would really summarize
it in this one scripture,
00:41:38.93\00:41:41.13
and it's the most
bizarre scripture.
00:41:41.16\00:41:43.10
If you read it,
when you read it,
00:41:43.13\00:41:44.47
and we're gonna
read it in just a bit
00:41:44.50\00:41:45.83
wait would you
guys to turn there.
00:41:45.87\00:41:47.20
What was it again?
00:41:47.24\00:41:48.57
It's 1 Timothy 2:14,
00:41:48.60\00:41:50.84
and notice what
it says here? says,
00:41:50.87\00:41:52.37
"And Adam was not deceived,
00:41:52.41\00:41:54.54
but the woman being deceived,
was in the transgression."
00:41:54.58\00:41:58.41
And you might be thinking,
00:41:58.45\00:41:59.78
well, how is that
the gospel, Dakota?
00:41:59.81\00:42:01.15
Like, why do you get
good news out of that?
00:42:01.18\00:42:03.28
It's that we have to understand
00:42:03.32\00:42:05.05
the types and
antitypes of Scripture, right?
00:42:05.09\00:42:08.32
What Christ represents
00:42:08.36\00:42:09.69
and who He
represents in the scripture.
00:42:09.72\00:42:11.23
And the Bible says
here that 1 Timothy 2:14,
00:42:11.26\00:42:13.23
that Adam was not deceived.
00:42:13.26\00:42:15.80
Well, if Adam was not deceived.
00:42:15.83\00:42:18.03
It says, but the
woman being deceived.
00:42:18.07\00:42:19.40
In other words, Eve was deceived
00:42:19.43\00:42:20.77
in eating the fruit.
00:42:20.80\00:42:22.14
If Adam was not
deceived in eating the fruit,
00:42:22.17\00:42:24.04
and what does
that therefore tell us?
00:42:24.07\00:42:25.87
He partook of
the fruit willingly.
00:42:25.91\00:42:28.61
Right?
00:42:28.64\00:42:29.98
And so, the Bible
says in Romans 514,
00:42:30.01\00:42:31.78
that Jesus is the second Adam.
00:42:31.81\00:42:33.45
Yeah.
00:42:33.48\00:42:34.82
So then it begs the question,
00:42:34.85\00:42:36.22
why did Adam partake
of the fruit willingly?
00:42:36.25\00:42:39.59
It's because of the love
that he had for his bride.
00:42:39.62\00:42:41.82
Yes.
00:42:41.86\00:42:43.19
So like his love for Eve,
00:42:43.22\00:42:44.69
check this out, his love for Eve
00:42:44.73\00:42:47.20
far exceeded his own existence.
00:42:47.23\00:42:49.16
Wow.
00:42:49.20\00:42:50.53
He said,
00:42:50.57\00:42:51.90
"If I can't have her, I
don't want to live myself.
00:42:51.93\00:42:55.30
And so he ate.
00:42:55.34\00:42:56.67
And so Jesus, likewise,
00:42:56.71\00:42:58.04
He saw His bride Adam
and Eve in the garden,
00:42:58.07\00:43:00.28
foolishly making decisions.
00:43:00.31\00:43:01.84
And He said, you
know what Father.
00:43:01.88\00:43:03.38
Jesus said,
00:43:03.41\00:43:04.75
"If I can't have My bride,
00:43:04.78\00:43:06.61
then I don't even want to live."
00:43:06.65\00:43:08.28
Right?
00:43:08.32\00:43:09.65
And it's so beautiful
to think about it that way
00:43:09.68\00:43:11.02
that God was willing to give up
His very own life to redeem us,
00:43:11.05\00:43:15.86
so that we can be redeemed
from that fallen position,
00:43:15.89\00:43:19.49
and have life again,
it's really powerful.
00:43:19.53\00:43:21.16
That is powerful. Amen.
00:43:21.20\00:43:23.53
You know, Jason, I was thinking
about your thought about,
00:43:23.57\00:43:25.50
you know, far as how
much love God's given to us.
00:43:25.53\00:43:28.24
And then it's
sad to see the world
00:43:28.27\00:43:30.24
because we've all
been extended this love,
00:43:30.27\00:43:32.07
but then you talk
about loving each other,
00:43:32.11\00:43:34.48
that you're referring to.
00:43:34.51\00:43:36.28
And, I know, unfortunately,
00:43:36.31\00:43:38.55
I haven't loved
everyone like I should.
00:43:38.58\00:43:40.12
How God has loved me,
00:43:40.15\00:43:41.48
I'm surely not
extending that to other people.
00:43:41.52\00:43:42.98
Judgmental, I'll
say, you know what?
00:43:43.02\00:43:45.59
I got a little issue about this.
00:43:45.62\00:43:46.96
Well, okay.
00:43:46.99\00:43:48.32
So God may, could say,
00:43:48.36\00:43:49.69
well, I have a little
issue with you to Greg.
00:43:49.72\00:43:51.13
But He still loves me, right?
00:43:51.16\00:43:52.49
But I'm not extending
that love to other people,
00:43:52.53\00:43:54.90
I could...
00:43:54.93\00:43:56.26
Yeah, unfortunately,
00:43:56.30\00:43:57.63
I haven't always
been Christ-like.
00:43:57.67\00:43:59.00
Yeah, and that's
a daily struggle.
00:43:59.03\00:44:00.57
It is a daily struggle.
00:44:00.60\00:44:01.97
And so, you know,
when you think about
00:44:02.00\00:44:03.34
all the strife and
the chaos in the world,
00:44:03.37\00:44:05.67
there's definitely
not love being extended
00:44:05.71\00:44:07.58
as Christ extends His love.
00:44:07.61\00:44:09.08
So it's really, it's sad.
00:44:09.11\00:44:10.65
It really is a sad
state that we're in for sure.
00:44:10.68\00:44:14.02
Amen.
00:44:14.05\00:44:15.38
Ryan, you've got Ephesians?
00:44:15.42\00:44:17.42
Ephesians, yes.
00:44:17.45\00:44:19.52
So we are going
to Ephesians 3:17-19.
00:44:19.55\00:44:23.43
And the Bible says,
00:44:23.46\00:44:24.79
"That Christ may
dwell in your hearts
00:44:24.83\00:44:26.83
through faith,
00:44:26.86\00:44:28.33
that you, being
rooted and grounded in love,"
00:44:28.36\00:44:30.93
I love that,
00:44:30.97\00:44:32.30
"may be able to
comprehend with all the saints
00:44:32.33\00:44:35.60
what is the width, the
length, the depth and height,
00:44:35.64\00:44:39.14
to know the love of
Christ which passes knowledge, "
00:44:39.17\00:44:42.18
I love that,
00:44:42.21\00:44:43.55
"that you may be filled
with all the fullness of God."
00:44:43.58\00:44:47.52
Man, what a mouthful.
00:44:47.55\00:44:49.38
There's a lot there in
those two or three verses.
00:44:49.42\00:44:52.15
You know, this kind
of actually goes back
00:44:52.19\00:44:53.66
to what we were
talking about earlier, Greg,
00:44:53.69\00:44:55.29
when you were talking
about the beholding aspect.
00:44:55.32\00:44:56.96
Oh, yeah.
00:44:56.99\00:44:58.33
Behold what manner of love
00:44:58.36\00:44:59.69
the Father has bestowed upon us.
00:44:59.73\00:45:01.06
Is that even possible?
00:45:01.10\00:45:02.43
Not for me.
00:45:02.46\00:45:03.80
Is it really
possible to fully comprehend
00:45:03.83\00:45:05.17
the width, the
length, the depth,
00:45:05.20\00:45:06.53
the height of God's love, right?
00:45:06.57\00:45:07.90
I can't.
00:45:07.94\00:45:09.27
I'm an analytical
thinker. I like to think deep.
00:45:09.30\00:45:11.24
And sometimes I'll just daydream
00:45:11.27\00:45:12.61
and go into
pondering about things.
00:45:12.64\00:45:14.51
And I've often
thought about this very simple
00:45:14.54\00:45:16.34
but to me profound.
00:45:16.38\00:45:19.95
I think the fact that
God created other beings,
00:45:19.98\00:45:25.59
in and of them in and
of that whole situation
00:45:25.62\00:45:28.32
and of itself,
00:45:28.36\00:45:29.69
to me says
something about God's love.
00:45:29.72\00:45:32.39
Because you know, there,
I mean, God has always been,
00:45:32.43\00:45:35.96
but there had
to have been a time
00:45:36.00\00:45:38.10
when there was no one else.
00:45:38.13\00:45:39.90
We don't know how long that was.
00:45:39.93\00:45:41.27
We don't know when that,
00:45:41.30\00:45:42.64
but God made the
conscious decision,
00:45:42.67\00:45:44.01
go with me on, this is powerful.
00:45:44.04\00:45:45.91
God made the
conscious decision to say
00:45:45.94\00:45:47.58
I'm going to create others.
00:45:47.61\00:45:50.11
In this case, we
would have been the angels,
00:45:50.15\00:45:52.71
the people from
the unfallen worlds,
00:45:52.75\00:45:55.18
however long that may have been.
00:45:55.22\00:45:56.95
But nonetheless,
00:45:56.99\00:45:58.32
at the very
moment that He decided
00:45:58.35\00:45:59.69
He was going to
create those other beings,
00:45:59.72\00:46:02.02
He immediately subjected Himself
00:46:02.06\00:46:04.33
to certain conditions
00:46:04.36\00:46:05.89
that was
irreversible in the sense that
00:46:05.93\00:46:08.46
if He was going to be who He is,
00:46:08.50\00:46:09.96
God is love.
00:46:10.00\00:46:11.33
In fact, Brother, can we
read that text real quick?
00:46:11.37\00:46:13.23
I've been trying
to gravitate to this.
00:46:13.27\00:46:15.00
So 1 John Chapter 4.
00:46:15.04\00:46:16.71
Oh, yeah, go for it. Yeah.
00:46:16.74\00:46:18.07
Well, it was your text.
00:46:18.11\00:46:19.44
Go ahead and
read it 1 John 4:7-8,
00:46:19.47\00:46:20.91
read those texts there,
and then I'll make a point.
00:46:20.94\00:46:22.34
Sure. Yeah.
00:46:22.38\00:46:23.71
"Beloved, let us
love one another,
00:46:23.75\00:46:25.68
for love is of God,
00:46:25.71\00:46:27.05
and everyone who loves is
born of God and knows God."
00:46:27.08\00:46:29.92
Verse 8 says,
00:46:29.95\00:46:31.29
"He who does not
love does not know God,
00:46:31.32\00:46:33.72
for God is love."
00:46:33.76\00:46:35.09
Okay. God is love.
00:46:35.12\00:46:36.46
Not that God is
just mere loving,
00:46:36.49\00:46:37.96
but He is love that
is, that's His character,
00:46:37.99\00:46:41.96
that's His nature,
that's who He is, right?
00:46:42.00\00:46:44.03
So the moment that
God created these beings,
00:46:44.07\00:46:48.54
for Him to be love, for
true God enough to exist,
00:46:48.57\00:46:52.07
He immediately created them,
00:46:52.11\00:46:54.34
where He placed
Himself in a situation
00:46:54.38\00:46:57.05
where He's limited,
00:46:57.08\00:46:58.41
He's limited to
a certain extent.
00:46:58.45\00:46:59.91
This is powerful,
00:46:59.95\00:47:01.28
because at the
moment He created them,
00:47:01.32\00:47:03.82
He created them
with the freedom,
00:47:03.85\00:47:05.19
and I think it's a...
00:47:05.22\00:47:06.55
I heard a minister
bring this out one time that
00:47:06.59\00:47:08.69
I think it was CS Lewis,
00:47:08.72\00:47:10.09
who said and one of the
greatest mysteries of all
00:47:10.13\00:47:12.69
is that God...
00:47:12.73\00:47:14.06
And you can help me
out if I'm misquoting this.
00:47:14.10\00:47:16.10
CS Lewis basically said that
00:47:16.13\00:47:17.70
one of the
greatest mysteries of all
00:47:17.73\00:47:19.43
then that a loving perfect God
00:47:19.47\00:47:21.54
would create the
created, His creation
00:47:21.57\00:47:26.01
with the full ability
to reject the Creator.
00:47:26.04\00:47:29.98
Yeah. That's profound.
00:47:30.01\00:47:31.51
That is profound. Wow!
00:47:31.55\00:47:33.82
That God would, you know,
00:47:33.85\00:47:35.22
He's omniscient,
He knows everything,
00:47:35.25\00:47:37.89
before He even thought...
00:47:37.92\00:47:39.25
I mean, at the moment
the thought came to His mind,
00:47:39.29\00:47:40.72
I'm gonna create some angels,
I'm gonna create these people.
00:47:40.76\00:47:44.96
But at that very moment,
00:47:44.99\00:47:46.33
the moment He
does that, He's now
00:47:46.36\00:47:48.13
He is subjecting Himself
00:47:48.16\00:47:49.80
to fully at all
times be on display,
00:47:49.83\00:47:52.63
because He's created
them with the freedom
00:47:52.67\00:47:55.14
and the ability to choose
00:47:55.17\00:47:56.57
to either accept
Him or reject Him.
00:47:56.60\00:47:57.94
Wow.
00:47:57.97\00:47:59.31
In other words, at the moment
that one, just one of them.
00:47:59.34\00:48:01.38
In this case, Lucifer was
the first who rejected Him,
00:48:01.41\00:48:04.48
now it launches us,
00:48:04.51\00:48:06.05
it launches God
and us into this never,
00:48:06.08\00:48:09.28
it seems like never
ending battle of sin,
00:48:09.32\00:48:11.72
this great
controversy battle of sin.
00:48:11.75\00:48:13.36
God knew all of that,
00:48:13.39\00:48:14.72
but was willing
to take the risk,
00:48:14.76\00:48:17.43
because of what?
00:48:17.46\00:48:18.79
What was the foundation?
00:48:18.83\00:48:20.16
Because of
love. Because of love.
00:48:20.20\00:48:21.63
He went into this
full thing saying,
00:48:21.66\00:48:23.20
you know what?
00:48:23.23\00:48:24.57
Even if it does happen,
00:48:24.60\00:48:25.93
even if one of
them does reject Me,
00:48:25.97\00:48:28.30
and now the whole universe
00:48:28.34\00:48:29.70
is going to be
looking at Me and saying,
00:48:29.74\00:48:31.07
"Okay, how is He
going to respond to this?"
00:48:31.11\00:48:33.11
You know, we look at
all of the results of sin,
00:48:33.14\00:48:34.94
and it's horrible,
00:48:34.98\00:48:36.31
I think of how horrible sin,
00:48:36.34\00:48:37.68
but really, it's all about
00:48:37.71\00:48:39.05
a misrepresentation
of God's character.
00:48:39.08\00:48:40.82
God is now put on the stands
before all of the universe,
00:48:40.85\00:48:44.79
because this one
angel, fallen angel,
00:48:44.82\00:48:47.42
Lucifer now launches us
into this thing called sin,
00:48:47.46\00:48:50.86
where God is now being put
on the stands in the world,
00:48:50.89\00:48:53.50
the universe is
looking and saying,
00:48:53.53\00:48:55.40
"Is He who He says He is?
Is He really a God of love?"
00:48:55.43\00:48:58.27
Because think about it,
00:48:58.30\00:48:59.63
God immediately when
that would have happened,
00:48:59.67\00:49:01.00
God could have said,
00:49:01.04\00:49:02.37
with a snap of a
finger with the word,
00:49:02.40\00:49:04.24
and He could
have just completely
00:49:04.27\00:49:05.61
wiped the slate clean and go
00:49:05.64\00:49:06.98
every creation
just started over,
00:49:07.01\00:49:09.08
because He wouldn't
want to continue on.
00:49:09.11\00:49:10.55
But He's
subjected Himself to that.
00:49:10.58\00:49:12.21
To me, that's love. God is love.
00:49:12.25\00:49:14.58
It requires freedom.
00:49:14.62\00:49:15.95
And that freedom
involves risk, risk of what?
00:49:15.98\00:49:18.39
Risk of losing those
people that you love so much.
00:49:18.42\00:49:21.56
That's godly love,
00:49:21.59\00:49:22.92
that's powerful
when you really just,
00:49:22.96\00:49:24.29
and there's so much more
00:49:24.33\00:49:25.66
you can think of and talk about,
00:49:25.69\00:49:27.03
but that goes deep,
that rabbit hole goes deep
00:49:27.06\00:49:28.50
to bestow, to really
behold the love of God,
00:49:28.53\00:49:32.53
the width, the
depth, the height, the...
00:49:32.57\00:49:37.04
You know, it's like
mind-blowing, right?
00:49:37.07\00:49:38.64
How do you really
comprehend the love of God?
00:49:38.67\00:49:40.48
It's a mystery.
It's powerful though.
00:49:40.51\00:49:42.24
Amen. Amen.
00:49:42.28\00:49:44.15
You know, as we've been
talking about the love of God,
00:49:44.18\00:49:46.78
and how God loves us,
00:49:46.82\00:49:48.15
and just how huge
00:49:48.18\00:49:50.29
and magnificent
His love for us is.
00:49:50.32\00:49:53.82
What can we do
00:49:53.86\00:49:55.42
to demonstrate
our love toward God?
00:49:55.46\00:49:58.96
I'm just gonna
throw that one out there.
00:49:58.99\00:50:00.66
And anybody who
wants to jump in there
00:50:00.70\00:50:02.96
can answer that.
00:50:03.00\00:50:04.33
Now go back to the text
that Ryan was talking about
00:50:04.37\00:50:06.94
that I just read
is 1 John 4:7, says,
00:50:06.97\00:50:09.80
"Beloved, let us
love one another."
00:50:09.84\00:50:13.34
So I think that
kind of answers that,
00:50:13.38\00:50:14.91
you know, Jason, for
us to demonstrate that
00:50:14.94\00:50:16.68
we need to love others.
00:50:16.71\00:50:18.05
And that's
unfortunately we don't see.
00:50:18.08\00:50:20.08
We can look at everyone and say,
00:50:20.12\00:50:21.45
"Man, people
don't love each other."
00:50:21.48\00:50:22.82
You know what, it
can start with us.
00:50:22.85\00:50:24.19
Okay, then all right, I
can look out there and say,
00:50:24.22\00:50:25.55
"Man, people aren't
loving each other." Right?
00:50:25.59\00:50:26.92
You know, why don't you,
Greg, just start yourself then."
00:50:26.96\00:50:28.82
That's right. So
it starts with us.
00:50:28.86\00:50:30.59
It starts with you,
you know, to love others,
00:50:30.63\00:50:32.36
that be encouraging
others, you know, people need,
00:50:32.39\00:50:35.23
whatever you see,
that's loving others.
00:50:35.26\00:50:37.40
And I think that's a
demonstration of God's love.
00:50:37.43\00:50:38.97
That's an excellent point.
00:50:39.00\00:50:40.34
So it starts with us? Should.
00:50:40.37\00:50:41.70
Yes. Yeah, absolutely.
00:50:41.74\00:50:43.07
It's always easy
to blame someone else
00:50:43.10\00:50:44.44
but, man, I need
to look at myself.
00:50:44.47\00:50:45.81
Absolutely.
00:50:45.84\00:50:47.18
3ABN wouldn't be started
00:50:47.21\00:50:48.54
if we just said why
don't they have this
00:50:48.58\00:50:50.05
and then don't do anything.
00:50:50.08\00:50:51.41
That's a good point. Yeah.
00:50:51.45\00:50:52.91
So that's great.
00:50:52.95\00:50:55.48
What about you, Dakota,
00:50:55.52\00:50:56.85
you look like you
had spinning up there?
00:50:56.89\00:50:58.25
John 14:15.
00:50:58.29\00:50:59.62
Man, that's, that's where the,
00:50:59.65\00:51:00.99
I think how we
demonstrate our love to God.
00:51:01.02\00:51:02.42
The Bible says, if you love
Me, Jesus Himself said this,
00:51:02.46\00:51:05.06
If you love Me,
keep My commandments.
00:51:05.09\00:51:07.73
And so, we don't keep
00:51:07.76\00:51:09.50
God's
commandments for salvation,
00:51:09.53\00:51:11.30
but we keep God's commandments
because we're in love with Him.
00:51:11.33\00:51:13.27
Right?
00:51:13.30\00:51:14.64
I mean, that's the thing,
00:51:14.67\00:51:16.00
I think a lot of
people get confused
00:51:16.04\00:51:17.37
when they start
talking about obedience
00:51:17.41\00:51:18.84
versus legalism and
all of these other things,
00:51:18.87\00:51:20.78
is that we understand that,
00:51:20.81\00:51:22.28
you know, like, for
I'll give an example,
00:51:22.31\00:51:23.65
perfect example.
00:51:23.68\00:51:25.01
We talked about
relationships, right?
00:51:25.05\00:51:26.38
Our wives and our, the people
we've fallen in love with even.
00:51:26.41\00:51:30.32
And I remember that, you know,
00:51:30.35\00:51:33.09
when we first...
00:51:33.12\00:51:34.46
When Ann and I
first got married,
00:51:34.49\00:51:35.82
she would ask me, you know,
00:51:35.86\00:51:37.33
it really late
times in the night
00:51:37.36\00:51:39.26
when I would be so
exhausted and so tired,
00:51:39.29\00:51:40.96
she would say, you know,
00:51:41.00\00:51:42.43
Dakota, will you
please rub my back?
00:51:42.46\00:51:44.10
It's hurting, you know,
00:51:44.13\00:51:45.57
and I'm like,
yeah, I'll rub for you.
00:51:45.60\00:51:48.74
You know, I'm,
I'm kind of tired,
00:51:48.77\00:51:50.11
you know, but I'll rub it
for you know, and I do it.
00:51:50.14\00:51:51.57
And it's kind of
like a, yeah, I'll do it,
00:51:51.61\00:51:54.08
but I really
don't want to right now.
00:51:54.11\00:51:55.44
You know what I mean?
00:51:55.48\00:51:56.81
I'm just being
honest, I'm vulnerable.
00:51:56.85\00:51:58.18
Sometimes that happens.
00:51:58.21\00:51:59.55
I'm sure many people
in the program can relate.
00:51:59.58\00:52:01.72
But nevertheless, I noticed
as I spent more time with Anna,
00:52:01.75\00:52:06.42
even in our marriage,
00:52:06.45\00:52:08.16
and she'll tell
you this is true,
00:52:08.19\00:52:10.39
I'm not lying here.
00:52:10.43\00:52:11.89
It's gonna sound
like a lie, but it's not.
00:52:11.93\00:52:13.90
Now on her, on my own,
00:52:13.93\00:52:16.83
after falling in love with
her more and more and more,
00:52:16.87\00:52:18.80
I've gotten to where
I'll come to her and say,
00:52:18.83\00:52:20.84
you know, Ann, I'm
going to rub your back
00:52:20.87\00:52:22.20
tonight for you.
00:52:22.24\00:52:23.57
Because I know you've
been, you know, struggling
00:52:23.61\00:52:24.94
and had not
having good night's rest.
00:52:24.97\00:52:26.31
I'm going to do that for you.
00:52:26.34\00:52:27.68
And now it's like, she
doesn't even have to ask me
00:52:27.71\00:52:29.38
because I want to do it for her.
00:52:29.41\00:52:30.95
And it's when you
fall in love with someone.
00:52:30.98\00:52:32.75
That's how it is
when God says, listen,
00:52:32.78\00:52:34.88
this is what I'm like,
00:52:34.92\00:52:36.25
this is what I
want you to be like,
00:52:36.28\00:52:38.35
it's just like, oh,
well, God, I love you.
00:52:38.39\00:52:39.75
So, of course,
I'm going to do that.
00:52:39.79\00:52:41.32
You know, it's not something
you feel like you have to do
00:52:41.36\00:52:43.49
in order to have salvation.
00:52:43.53\00:52:44.86
And it's very important
00:52:44.89\00:52:46.23
we understand the
difference between the two.
00:52:46.26\00:52:48.06
I really like that.
00:52:48.10\00:52:50.10
You become
proactive instead of reactive.
00:52:50.13\00:52:52.50
That's right. That's right.
00:52:52.53\00:52:53.87
Amen. That's good.
00:52:53.90\00:52:55.37
That is good.
00:52:55.40\00:52:56.74
You know, I think
about Galatians 2:20,
00:52:56.77\00:53:00.28
"I have been
crucified with Christ,
00:53:00.31\00:53:02.48
it is no longer I who
live, but Christ lives in me,
00:53:02.51\00:53:06.28
and the life which I
now live in the flesh
00:53:06.31\00:53:08.38
I live by faith
in the Son of God,
00:53:08.42\00:53:11.35
who loved me and
gave Himself for me."
00:53:11.39\00:53:13.82
So when we love
God, we live for Him.
00:53:13.86\00:53:16.59
That's right.
Amen. That's right.
00:53:16.62\00:53:18.03
It's really Him, He's
doing the heavy lifting.
00:53:18.06\00:53:20.33
Amen. That's right.
00:53:20.36\00:53:21.70
You know, He does the
heavy lifting for us, so.
00:53:21.73\00:53:23.70
His burden is light, right?
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
00:53:23.73\00:53:27.37
So, yeah.
00:53:27.40\00:53:28.94
You know, on the
same note, Luke 10:27,
00:53:28.97\00:53:32.41
really kind of
ties it all together.
00:53:32.44\00:53:33.94
It's kind of a
summation, it says,
00:53:33.98\00:53:35.41
"So he answered and said,
00:53:35.44\00:53:36.78
' You shall love
the Lord your God
00:53:36.81\00:53:38.15
with all your heart,
00:53:38.18\00:53:39.51
with all your soul,
with all your strength,
00:53:39.55\00:53:40.88
and with all your mind, '
00:53:40.92\00:53:42.25
and 'your
neighbor as yourself.'"
00:53:42.28\00:53:43.95
And I love that
00:53:43.99\00:53:45.32
we're bringing up this fact
00:53:45.35\00:53:46.69
that in order to
have the love of God,
00:53:46.72\00:53:48.29
we can't just be a
recipient of God's love,
00:53:48.32\00:53:50.96
and think that we're in
full relationship with Him
00:53:50.99\00:53:52.79
that somehow that just
makes everything right.
00:53:52.83\00:53:55.16
In other words, many
of us were so focused
00:53:55.20\00:53:56.97
on the vertical.
00:53:57.00\00:53:58.33
We've got this
vertical thing going on
00:53:58.37\00:53:59.97
which is just me and God,
me and God, me and the Lord,
00:54:00.00\00:54:02.50
just me in my
relationship with Jesus,
00:54:02.54\00:54:04.07
which is fantastic, right?
00:54:04.11\00:54:05.44
It all starts there.
00:54:05.47\00:54:06.81
And we got to
have a love for God
00:54:06.84\00:54:08.18
because again, we love
Him because He first loved us.
00:54:08.21\00:54:11.01
But in receiving
00:54:11.05\00:54:12.61
and being a
recipient of the love of God,
00:54:12.65\00:54:14.65
that vertical
relationship, if that's right,
00:54:14.68\00:54:17.85
then now there's going
to be a horizontal recipient
00:54:17.89\00:54:21.19
and reciprocation of that love,
00:54:21.22\00:54:23.93
in which now we give
the love to our brethren
00:54:23.96\00:54:27.10
as God has given to us.
00:54:27.13\00:54:28.70
And so I love that text,
00:54:28.73\00:54:30.07
because it kind of
ties everything together.
00:54:30.10\00:54:31.60
It's me, God and
my brother, right?
00:54:31.63\00:54:33.94
Just as when God
created Adam and Eve,
00:54:33.97\00:54:36.47
you know, He created
him in His image, right?
00:54:36.50\00:54:38.21
And, you know, we know that
00:54:38.24\00:54:39.57
the Godhead consists of
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
00:54:39.61\00:54:41.88
Notice, it's not
just two, it's three,
00:54:41.91\00:54:43.81
because two kind of,
00:54:43.85\00:54:45.28
you kind of can
get a selfish love,
00:54:45.31\00:54:46.65
I think of I think of
a husband and wife love,
00:54:46.68\00:54:48.68
you know this, you
guys don't have children,
00:54:48.72\00:54:50.65
me and Stephanie
don't have children.
00:54:50.69\00:54:52.02
Sometimes that love can kind of
be a little selfish in nature.
00:54:52.05\00:54:55.29
This is like,
just me and Stephanie.
00:54:55.32\00:54:58.39
But yet, you know, when
God did give that command
00:54:58.43\00:55:00.43
to go make another,
00:55:00.46\00:55:02.00
that that was the completion
of the family of God, right?
00:55:02.03\00:55:04.70
And that's the same thing with.
00:55:04.73\00:55:06.13
And I'm not, certainly
not saying that it has to be
00:55:06.17\00:55:08.00
that way if you do
or don't have kids.
00:55:08.04\00:55:09.37
I'm saying just in general,
00:55:09.40\00:55:10.91
God wants us to have
that all inclusive love,
00:55:10.94\00:55:14.24
where it's not just
about ourselves and God,
00:55:14.28\00:55:16.48
it's about God's love to us.
00:55:16.51\00:55:18.78
And when we receive that now
00:55:18.81\00:55:20.38
we're giving out
to everyone around us,
00:55:20.42\00:55:22.88
because that's who God is,
00:55:22.92\00:55:24.45
He has given to the whole world
00:55:24.49\00:55:25.92
and we should
also give it as well.
00:55:25.95\00:55:27.96
Yeah, I love that.
00:55:27.99\00:55:29.32
You know, and I really
want to bring out to this point.
00:55:29.36\00:55:32.09
In Revelation 3:19, it says,
00:55:32.13\00:55:35.46
"As many as I love,
this is Jesus speaking,
00:55:35.50\00:55:38.40
as many as I love,
I rebuke and chaste.
00:55:38.43\00:55:40.24
Therefore be
zealous and repent."
00:55:40.27\00:55:42.60
You know, I think
we're living in a day and age
00:55:42.64\00:55:44.57
and where people believe that
00:55:44.61\00:55:47.64
if you love them,
00:55:47.68\00:55:49.01
then you gotta you have to
condone their bad behavior.
00:55:49.04\00:55:50.98
If you love them,
00:55:51.01\00:55:52.35
then you have to
become their enabler.
00:55:52.38\00:55:54.05
And that is not the
case because God loves Us.
00:55:54.08\00:55:58.35
And he doesn't want
to see us hurt ourselves,
00:55:58.39\00:56:00.72
you know,
you're not going to let
00:56:00.76\00:56:02.09
your little
toddler go over there
00:56:02.12\00:56:04.46
and touch the hot stove,
00:56:04.49\00:56:05.96
you're going to say, don't,
you know, don't touch that,
00:56:05.99\00:56:07.76
don't do that.
00:56:07.80\00:56:09.13
You're going to
try and protect them
00:56:09.16\00:56:10.50
from that danger.
00:56:10.53\00:56:11.87
And so God tries to protect
us from danger, and He loves us.
00:56:11.90\00:56:15.47
And so when we love people,
00:56:15.50\00:56:17.51
and we see them walking down
00:56:17.54\00:56:19.04
and heading down the wrong path,
00:56:19.07\00:56:21.38
we have a duty to say something.
00:56:21.41\00:56:22.88
Now, it needs to be
done and motivated by love.
00:56:22.91\00:56:27.08
Yes, yes.
00:56:27.12\00:56:28.48
Love is the motivating factor.
00:56:28.52\00:56:30.09
That's right. Amen.
00:56:30.12\00:56:31.45
Praise the Lord. Time is flying.
00:56:31.49\00:56:33.02
I know it, man. Yeah, yeah.
00:56:33.05\00:56:34.86
Now, you quoted Revelation 3:19,
00:56:34.89\00:56:36.93
"As many as I love
I rebuke and chasten.
00:56:36.96\00:56:38.76
Therefore be zealous and" what?
00:56:38.79\00:56:40.26
"Repent." Yes.
00:56:40.30\00:56:41.76
Romans 2:4 it tell us,
00:56:41.80\00:56:43.47
what our study
is about God's love.
00:56:43.50\00:56:45.70
The goodness of God
leads us to repentance.
00:56:45.73\00:56:48.54
We cannot change
00:56:48.57\00:56:49.90
unless we look and
behold God's goodness.
00:56:49.94\00:56:52.41
It's only then that
we can become like Him.
00:56:52.44\00:56:54.98
Amen. Yeah, that's huge.
00:56:55.01\00:56:56.91
Thank you guys so much
00:56:56.95\00:56:58.28
for your
wonderful contributions.
00:56:58.31\00:57:00.98
You've all dropped some
serious spiritual nuggets,
00:57:01.02\00:57:05.35
serious spiritual nuggets.
00:57:05.39\00:57:06.72
Glory to God. Praise the Lord.
00:57:06.76\00:57:08.32
We've seen just
how much God loves
00:57:08.36\00:57:11.49
each and every one of us.
00:57:11.53\00:57:13.36
And hopefully you've
seen it tonight as well
00:57:13.40\00:57:15.66
on how much God loves you
00:57:15.70\00:57:17.73
and even if it were
just you on this earth,
00:57:17.77\00:57:21.20
Jesus would have come down
00:57:21.24\00:57:22.64
and He would have
died for your sins.
00:57:22.67\00:57:25.04
No matter what
you've done, repent, repent.
00:57:25.07\00:57:28.71
God wants you to come to Him.
00:57:28.74\00:57:31.38
He loves you. We love you.
00:57:31.41\00:57:33.72
God bless you.
00:57:33.75\00:57:35.08