Go Therefore: Love Boldly, Do It Afraid

And here's the problem. You can't love them in action. Yeah. Does that make sense? You can't love them just in action. You've got to love them for real. Authentically and deeply. Because in your action, they'll sniff you out. They'll know if you're not authentic in it. If you don't really love them, you're just trying to get them to come to your church or your building or or whatever it is that you're doing and you just wanna gather people together so you can strip mine their resources and then deposit them all back to you when you're done with it. [00:40:23] (37 seconds)  #LoveAuthentically

Well, isn't that the truth of the New Testament as well? Actually, truth of the New Testament states those things and then says, but love covers a multitude of sin. See, in the New Testament, Jesus touches the leper and instead of becoming lepers, he heals the leper. He touches the blind man and the blind man is healed. He you reach out and you lay hands on people when you pray for them. Not scared of the germs and the bacteria and all the stuff that's going on. No. You step into their environment. [00:42:50] (34 seconds)  #StepIntoTheirWorld

to Well, know a science. No, but hey, you're god. You tell me I'm not gonna argue with you. I can see the setup here. I know you're gonna point to something different. Who is there in your life that you think there's no chance? Who is there in your life that you think there's no way they could ever accept Christ? I'll help you share the gospel with them. I'll go and meet with them. I'll talk with them because maybe you can't. Maybe you're too close. Jesus had very limited impact in Nazareth. A prophet is without honor in his own hometown. Right? [00:50:35] (36 seconds)  #IWillGoWithYou

Now it starts to sound a little bit more similar to us, isn't it? They were frozen in fear. And here's the thing we need to understand. Jesus knew they would be frozen in fear. He knew there were things to be worried about. He knew there were things to be scared of. Fear is real, and I'm not telling people not to be afraid. Here's the thing. Jesus said go. Two people that he knew were afraid. As we often said in our household growing up, do it afraid. [00:30:50] (33 seconds)  #GoEvenIfAfraid

I do that. I already have that. Why do I need Jesus? I I don't need anything. I can just exist the way I am. But we see the sin in the world at the same time and we recognize Christ is not in the midst of it. And so the church has historically taken two approaches to that. Let's see if either one of your approaches. One is accommodation. Accommodation is say, well, whatever it is that you have in your life, I'll just say that God loves it, blesses it, and that you're good with God. You need no change whatsoever. [00:35:44] (36 seconds)  #CallToChange

Amen. Christian is not about praying, singing, and worship anymore than being a baseball player is about going to bat and practice. Is bat and practice important for a baseball player? Absolutely. And you're not gonna be very good at it if you don't involve some practice. If you don't build those skills and that's what praying, worshiping, fellowshipping together, reading your scriptures, that's what that does so that it empowers you to be ready to be sent out. The Holy Spirit has been given to all Christians to empower you, but not to empower you to withdraw from society, but to empower you to go therefore into all the world. [00:38:58] (40 seconds)  #SentToServe

You have to make it an uncomfortable environment for people to have growth. We were talking this morning about going to the gym more often. We have gym memberships, half since we've been here. Please don't ask me how many times I've been. We have been, but I guarantee you I'll be counting for you. Because going to the gym, are you going to be comfortable? Not if you're doing it right. If you go to the gym and you're comfortable, you're doing it wrong. If you come to church and you're always comfortable, you're doing it wrong. If you try to share your live your life as a Christian and you're comfortable, you're doing it wrong. There has to be times of being uncomfortable. [00:45:13] (43 seconds)  #GrowThroughDiscomfort

Several years back, we were already in it. Some of us don't know we're there yet, but we're already in it. We're in a place where people know those concepts. Our society is built on the morality of Jesus Christ and what he offered our world. And people like that idea. They took that on for the Christian era. But now in a post Christian era, they like those ideas but without Jesus. So when you tell people, love your enemies, bless those who persecute you, and they're like, yeah, I do that. [00:35:14] (30 seconds)  #PostChristianReality