INCREASE: Increasing The Reach Pt.2

Thank you, worship team. That was great. See, threw me a curveball. Sorry.

Sorry, luckily I played sports. I learned to sit on the curve. That's right. Listen, you only got to hit it at the park, bro.

Sometimes you just need to be RBI. That's it. Right? Man, I'm excited today.

Who else is excited? Right. That's all I need. You know what?

I enjoy that now. All I need is one person excited. That's all I need. I'm good to go.

Give me one. I say, God, give me one. That's excited to hear your word today. Yeah.

I know you are. So I just want to, I just got to clear something up. Anybody new in here? First time, guess?

Awesome. My name's Fred. Nice to meet you all. If you're watching, bro, from Canada, I love you.

We're happy to have you. We're excited for you to be here. Thank you for joining us. So if you were here last week, my wife tried to, I don't know what she tried to do.

She tried to put me on blast. Listen. Have you ever heard anyone like talk smack that's losing? Like, I'm only a little bit behind you.

You are never going to keep up. I told her, I took New Year's Day off. I was like, I'm not doing it. And she got me.

I'll give her that last week. She beat me. This week I got her. She, listen, y'all, she tried to, she really did.

She tried to play with me. She tried to work out this morning. I get a little thing on my watch when she works out. I'm like, you dirty dog.

You got up this morning and put a work up in to try to catch up. Yes, you are. It's all right. I still love you and I'm still going to beat you.

So we're in a series increase. And here last week, it was a super good message by Fred. I'm excited. We're going to be in this for a while because there's so much to talk about this.

And one thing God has just really revealed to me over this past year is how much he wants to increase our lives. Amen. And I hope you're open to that and partner with that because he wants to do so much in and through us. And if we are in him, we can only increase.

You guys don't understand what I'm saying. Listen, he can't do nothing but increase in every area. It don't matter what it is. If we're in him, it's growing.

It's increasing. So I am super excited about this. I'm super excited about this topic today because it's probably my favorite topic to talk about in the Bible, which is, can anyone guess it? Well, thank you.

Love. What'd you say? I know you didn't. So love is my favorite topic to talk about because when you think about it, everything was done because of love.

What's everyone's favorite verse for God so loved the world, right? Yeah, well, it's all because he so loved the world. And I was thinking about this the other day. I was kind of late on my heart that if we would just focus on allowing him to love us, all these secondary things really wouldn't start to pop up.

Like think about it. Like, he lives outside of time and space. Me and Freiburg talk to my friends. Like, he created an eternity.

I'm like, yeah, I can't write my brain around that. But what he does is he is love. Okay, we'll go this out. Hopefully, I'll wake up over there.

There is free coffee downstairs, guys. Listen, God is love. That's who he is. He's love.

And I'm telling you guys, we understand that we can grow every day. And love. And we should be growing every day in love. I got a lot to get through today.

So bear with me. Hope you brought your Bibles. We're going to be running through a lot of different things. My goal today is to show the demonstration of love.

We're going to read a letter from Paul to the Testilonians to start with. To just, hey, I want you to see the love that Paul has. And then I want you to see the love that the church, the Testilonian church has. And just what happens as they just abide and follow what they were taught and press into God.

And it's actually incredible. And then we're going to read a couple of other things. But it's going to be good. I guess if I had to pick a verse for what really stuck out to me, it's going to be 1st Testilonians 312.

Everybody good in their Bibles? Got a Bible? My wife's just open. Everybody good?

Alright, so verse 12, 1st Testilonians 3, verse 12, this is an Amplified Version. It says, and may the Lord cause you to, everybody say, increase and excel in overflow and love for who? That will be it again, for who? Just want to make sure you understand.

And for all people, all people, just as we also do for you. Oh, you hear that wind outside? We're talking about something, right? It's going crazy out there.

So may the Lord cause you to increase and excel in overflow with love for one another and for all people, just as we also do for you. So before we jump into 1st Testilonians, I want to just touch on, again, the letter that Paul is writing. So I'm going to read an Acts real quick, Acts 17. That's where I was at two weeks ago talking about how God increased the numbers, the disciples, how he increased all that good stuff, right?

So later in Acts 17, it says, they took the road south through Short Gap, West Virginia, and originally West Virginia to Cumberland, Maryland. Y'all with me? Y'all with me? Y'all with me?

And it says, where there was a community of Jews, Paul went to their meeting place as he usually did when he came to a town. Did you all hear that? Paul went where he usually goes when he goes into a town. Remember, what's Paul doing?

What's he doing though? He's spreading the gospel. He's going to town. He's going where they meet, and he's going into them places.

And it says that after he came into Cumberland, Maryland, where there was a community of Jews, Paul went to their meeting place as he usually did when he came to a town and for three Sabbaths running, he preached to them from the Scriptures. Where did he preach to them from? He opened up the text so they understood what they'd be reading all their lives. Did you hear that?

He said what they'd be reading all their lives. That the Messiah absolutely had to be put to death and raised from the dead. There were no other options in that this Jesus I'm introducing you to is the Messiah. Thank you, Father.

And then it goes on to say that some were one over, others were not. They got mad and then they send people out to try to find Paul and Silas and remove them from the town, from the city. And I don't have a lot of time to touch on this. I like to, but I want you to understand that these people, what they would have followed would have been your Greek, your Egyptian, you know what I mean?

Like your, your gods, not the God. They had a God for everything. And they followed, like they followed everything. And so starting on Paul's letter in 1 Thessalonians 1-9, I'm going to read the message translation.

Y'all don't have this, so bear with me. It says, do you know that all over the province of both Macedonia and I'm going to say, okay, I'm going to say, achia. I think right, but we're going to go with it. Believers look up to you.

The Word has gotten around. Your lives are echoing the Master's Word, not only in the Protestants, but over the place. The news of your faith in God is out. We don't even have to say anything anymore.

Y'all ready for this? You're the message. I want to let you guys know you're the message. People come up and tell us how you received us with open arms.

How you, how you deserted the dead idols of your old life so you can embrace and serve God. What did they do? They deserted the idols of their old life so they can embrace who? I'm just going to take just a brief second here.

I want you to hold on to this because as we go through, you're going to see how they increased and I want you to see where it started because it said they deserted their idols that they worship of their old life and what they always knew and they grabbed the hold of God. If y'all can get that right, if y'all leave right now and understand that, your life's going to increase. Because all that stuff that you're still believing in or holding on to or running to, all of those things, if you will leave that in turn to God, your life is going to change. You don't have to believe me, just read your word and try it.

So, how you deserve the dead idols of your old life so you can embrace and serve God, the true God. They marvel at how expectantly you await the arrival of the Son, who he raised from the dead Jesus who rescued us from doom. I just want to say thank you Jesus. Wow, I wish y'all got excited as I did about the word.

Because this is, this is, did y'all hear that it said other people, like other people are coming up and saying like, oh wow, look at Jay, look at him, look at how he deserted his referee skills and not just playing. Right? But how he deserted that now look at his life, look at it. And do y'all not want to see that happen?

Here's what I want in our city. I want people to come there, come on gosh, did you see the people of God over there on Brookfield Avenue? Did you, did you see what God did? They deserted everything and they grabbed a hold of him and look what's happening.

Man, get excited with me guys. We're going somewhere today and we're going somewhere fun. This Atlanta ain't going to be as fun as what you're going to get today. I'm believing that we're going to get to a place as a church where we're expecting.

Like if you could ask yourself right now, like are you excited for him to come back? You would say yes, but are you living that way? And I'm not trying to step on toes this morning or maybe I am. I don't know this is his word, but I'm asking are you excited for him to return?

Because guys, if we were that excited for him to return, I'm telling you, people would be getting saved left and right? We would start seeing things every day. I'm telling y'all, we got to get excited. Our words that we're speaking have to align up with our actions and I'm telling you, we're going to start seeing things just radically change.

And I don't want to just keep talking about it. We're going to talk about this later. I'm ready to start seeing it. If you're ready, say amen.

Alright, first test, first test, Alonians three starting verse one. I'm going to read through this says, so when we couldn't stand being separated from you any longer and could find no way to visit yourselves, we stayed in Athens and sent Timothy to get you up and about cheering you on so you wouldn't be discouraged by these hard times. Man, I want to, I got to stop listening guys. So when we couldn't stand being separated from you any longer and could find no way to visit yourselves, we stayed in Athens and sent Timothy.

Did y'all remember an axe I was telling you about how they were preaching and they started to come after him and they moved him out of the city? Yeah, he couldn't show his face back there. But guess what he did? Hey Timothy, come here bro.

I need you to undercover and go in here and get these people excited. Check on my people to make sure they're doing good. You're not hearing this. Listen guys, so when we couldn't stand being separated from you any longer and could find no way to visit yourselves.

So they tried. They didn't give up. Listen, Paul was determined to say I'm getting there and listen, he didn't get it says we make it find no way. It's I bet you he didn't just oh well it didn't work.

I tried that time. I tried to put a disguise on trying to send a message in a bottle. I tried to you know we have all these excuses to give up like now. It is easier.

Easier for what though if you're serving the wrong God because if my heart and desires to get his message where it needs to go. Guess what I'm giving up. If I can't get in I'm sending somebody else in. Right?

Yeah, listen, we're going to get in there because why? That's the most important thing. And look at Paul's love in the start of his letter. I mean it's incredible.

So when we couldn't stand being separated, he missed them. You know what he's saying? I need face to face with you. This over this long distance relationship ain't going to work for me.

We got to get to a point guys that we're ready to go in and face the face build relationships with people to start growing together so we can start moving together. And it's the only way it's going to work. Because if Paul is Paul saying this, what do we struggle so much about it for? Like I couldn't stand being separated from you.

I know it works the other way around. You want me to talk about that? That could stand being separated from you. Oh I can I'm going to do whatever I can to be separated from you.

And this is listen here my heart today. This is some of the problem because we're praising, posting Jesus all over Facebook. But then when it comes to try to reach and get the message across we'll do whatever we can to avoid that. My life's busy.

My schedule's this. My that. In there it says when there was we could find no way. And that's me.

No he spent a majority of his time trying to figure out a way to get this message across. So whose life is he more concerned about? There's than his other people. All right.

We're on the same page. We're moving good. We got a lot to cover them. And it says he sent Timothy.

Timothy, cheer you on. You wouldn't be discouraged by these hard times. He's a brother and companion in the faith. God's men.

God's man is spreading the message preaching Christ. Come on somebody. Now that the trouble should come, now that the trouble should come as any surprise to you. Not that.

Sorry. Because he warned him about this. You've always known that we are in for this kind of thing. It's part of our calling.

Do you all know what you signed up for? I just want to make sure before we go any further because it's really going to be challenging if you don't understand what you signed up for. It's part. Say it's part of my calling.

When we were with you, we made it quite clear that there was trouble ahead. And now that it's happened, you know what it's like. That's why I couldn't quit worrying. I had to know for myself how you were going in the faith.

I didn't want the temper getting you. The temps are getting you and tearing down everything we have built together. You ever had somebody try to reach out just checking on your faith? You ever had that?

Why people get so offended by that? If you don't let me, I'm just walking all up into your living room. Listen, why do you get offended by that? Can I ask?

What if we entered in to where we were so honest with ourselves? We were so full of love that we were like a sponge of love. We just focused on God's love to where that's all we're taking in. And that just by off chance that someone really cared about you.

Because I think that's a lot of the problem. We're like, I'm going to keep you at this distance because I don't really know. I don't know what you're about. I know what you're doing.

But what if someone's genuinely just like, hey, I feel for you right now. Like how are you doing without instant offense being taken? Because there's a genuine, listen, this is the love that I'm trying to open our eyes up to today that it goes beyond what we've experienced. But we've been taught what we learned.

That there's actually a love that says, I care about you. Why? Because I care about God and who He is. And that's what I said yes to.

So that's why I'm asking if you want to know. I'll tell you. I ain't trying to get up in your business. I care.

We got to start getting to a place to realize and love and what we're reading in some of these letters that are being sent to these churches to say, hey, bring them for encouragement. This one says, check on your faith to see how you're doing. None of that said that you're doing bad. So that's why I sent somebody.

It said, hey, I'm sending just to check to make sure you're alright. And man, when I'm learning more than anything is I'm thankful for those people that are just like, hey, I care about you. Okay. Because guess what?

If I can be honest with you? No, I'm not always okay. I'm not always doing alright. I need some encouragement for someone to be like, hey, bro, come on.

Like I said, get in there so he can encourage you so we can say, come on. We all need downcare. Who you are sitting in here. So verse six, but now that Timothy is back bringing this terrific report on your faith and love, we feel a lot better.

Y'all read that? So now that he sent him, he got news, he came back. He said, we, we are feeling good. How incredible is that?

Like that's something super special, y'all. Like y'all didn't look at the fact that listen, he couldn't get in. So he had to disguise somebody, send them in. That's how much he cared to try to get to make sure that you're alright.

Sometimes people do that. He says, bringing this terrific report of your faith and love, we feel a lot better. It's especially gratifying to know that you continue to think well of us and that you want to see us as much as we want to see you. In the middle of our trouble and hard times here, just knowing how you're doing keeps us going, knowing that your faith is alive keeps us alive.

Oh, I don't know if y'all knew this or not. But yup, how many of you know that your faith helps other people? He just said that in my hard time, I see your faith, that encourages me and now I'm in a better place. And listen, I'm telling you, I'm starting to love people.

People are just so annoying me. I'm serious. Certain people used to really get to me. I'm just like, man, I heard some spakers can be.

But I tell you what, I'm starting to just look at people totally different and I'm realizing that my life is getting so much happier, so much better. It's no more looking at this person like, why is that happening to them and not me? It's like, hey, bro, let me get some of that. Come here.

Like, rub on me. I don't know. Do something because I need what you have right now. And I think a lot of the problem is, is because we always feel like we have to have it figured out.

Or we always got to be in the best place. And if I'm not in the best place, then yeah, then something's really wrong with me. But hey, how about this? What if something really is wrong with you?

Because life happens to everybody. Because it just, Paul's right now this letter and he said, you know, this is the great Paul, but in the middle of our trouble and hard times here. Real quick, write this down if you didn't know. You are going to have hard times.

Yeah, it's surprising, right? If you're super saved in here, this message isn't for you. But I'm telling you, you're going to have hard times and it's going to come out of nowhere. We don't ever get to it.

Here's what I'm learning. We don't get to choose where it comes from. But I do get to choose how to respond. Every single time I get to choose how to respond.

Do we get used to it? What? Listen, I'd imagine that we got to start getting used to it. Here's what I'm getting used to.

Hard times come, but my God makes a way. What I stopped doing is I stopped putting him in a box and I started listening to be like, he said, hey, that way is going to be a little different than last time. So I'm going to need you to put a little more in over here because how you're going to get there isn't the way you're going to get there last time. So I got to listen.

And that's what we got to start doing is we got to start listening to him as he's making those ways for us. Alright, so verse 9 says, what would be adequate thanksgiving to offer God for all the joy we experienced before him because of you? We do what we can praying away night and day asking for the bonus of seeing your faces again and doing what we can to help when your faith falters. I just want to remind you again, we're going to read a little bit more here, but this is, we're going to find that this church is actually going really well.

It has some struggles, but you're going to find that they're actually in a good place. So I want you to keep some of these things in mind that we're reading and I want you to know that listen, he is like, please, please read this with me and help me. It says, we do what we can praying away night and day asking for the bonus of seeing your face again and doing what we can to help when your faith falters. Guys, listen, there's a desire to get to them.

There's a desire to reach these people. Like Paul's heart is saying, man, this is how much this means to me. The message I received is so important to me. I want to get to you.

This is the message I delivered to you. This is how much it's important to me. I want to get to you. Hey, what would happen if you just like, if you knew how much I wanted to get to you to give you something that I wasn't benefiting from?

Like I would do whatever to get to you to make sure you understood that, hey, I want you to receive this thing, God, and I want this to be a part of your life, and I want to see you for that reason only. Could you imagine how much I would change things in our lives? Right? I'm not going to go, don't worry.

I know some people are like, oh God, he's going to talk about the people that want something from you. I'm not going to go down there, but I'm trying to give you a picture of Paul writing the letter. We probably read this a lot, but I want to give you the perspective of the amount of love that's coming from this letter that he can't personally get there. He's doing whatever you can to make sure this gets to your hands to know this is how much I love you.

This is how real this is to me. Says, this is the verse. In verse 11, may God our Father himself and our Master Jesus clear the road to you. May the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over when everyone around you.

Just as it does from us to you, may you be infused with strength and purity filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers. Did you read that at the end? What this is all about? He just prayed a prayer of increase over them, but they would continue to grow in this stuff.

And then he said at the very end, said that you'd be filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers. See, it's all for a reason guys. The reason we do this is for a reason. It's not for selfish gain.

It's not for any of that stuff. It's so somebody else gets the opportunity to receive Christ. And it blew my mind this week just how much Paul. This is just one church guys.

This is one of the churches that he went to and started. It's just one of them how much he loves them and what he's trying to make sure they get and they receive and they understand and that his prayer for them is that they would increase. They would continue to grow. Right?

Like continue to grow. So you can go to the next slide. Did I put this in there? Okay.

Like Paul's love for the Tesalonians, our love for one another should be increasing. You say, man, I'm going to read through these are just a couple scriptures. I'm going to read through because like I told you at the beginning, I'm showing you the example and demonstration of love. And these are some scriptures throughout the word that I'm going to run through real quick.

First Corinthians 13, 13, the message translation says this, but for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us towards the consummation. Trust steadily in God. Hope unswervingly. Love extravagantly.

And the best of these three is love. Everyone say the best of these three is love. We learned that the other week. So it's all about love.

First John 3, 14 says, I'm going to read 15 as well. It says the way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters. Read that with me. The way that we know we've been transferred.

Amen. Anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer. And you know very well that eternal life and murderer don't go together.

Guys listen, this is so simple. Like we've read this a bunch of times and I'm sorry for giving me, but you're going to hear 1 Corinthians 13. You're probably going to hear me talk about it a lot. I just love love.

It's helped set me free. It's changed my life. So I like I love it. And I hope that we understand that when it talks like this, that we got to get to a place of getting honest with ourselves and it's saying anyone who doesn't love is as good as dead.

Anyone who hates a brother or sister. Is a murderer. Listen, I'm not here to talk about who wrong do, how they wrong do what they did, what's unforgivable, any of that stuff. You're wasting your time.

We are to forgive. We didn't pay for it so we don't get to hold it over anybody. We are choosing to follow him. So what that means is that's what we do.

And if you're not doing that, I want to help you. Here's the first place to start. Start to forgive. Start to do that.

Start to forgive yourself. Start to get into this process of reading your word so it can help you get to the place where he's calling us to be so that we can then spread his word and really glorify him through to everybody. And it's going to, listen, it's going to draw people. But if we're not doing some of it, it ain't going to work.

We don't get to pick and choose. Why? Listen, yeah, it ain't about what you want. It's about what you said yes to and committed to.

Why is that so hard? We say yes to this, but anyone comes out and we're like, mm-mm. I'll do it later. And then we're sitting here and saying, God Wayne, just work it.

He's like, you can't be skipping steps, man. I made it clear and simple for you. This is what we do. If you're still doing that, then guess what you ain't doing?

And listen, my heart is not to sit here and beat you up. My heart today is to help you. And if the word gets stern in you and it causes you to, you know, to get in your feelings or something and press in, it's going to be the thing that's going to set you free. The reason you're stern is because you're saying one thing and doing another thing and you can't figure out why you're like, oh man, this is weird.

So when we align and match with the word, it, it, listen, it's a living word. Yes, it's not going to change. I don't know if you know how long it's been around, but it ain't changed. Some people try to change it, but listen, this thing is not changing.

Two thousand plus years, it ain't changed. So, yeah, I'm just going to let you know now. MOS will just start listening to it and let's start really figuring out honestly what we're saying yes to. And that's going to help in this whole process because anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer.

And you know that very well, that eternal life and murder don't go together. I don't even have nothing else to say. John 1334 to 35 says, let me give you a new command. Love one another in the same way I loved you.

You love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples. When they see the love you have for each other. Did y'all read that?

It didn't say when you, when you, when you can quote 30 scriptures to them. It didn't say when you know you can act like everything's great and awesome on Facebook and then they see and it looks completely different. And then they say, listen, it says in the same way I loved you. That's the key right there.

So, if you want to know how we're supposed to love, just look at your example and who demonstrated love and follow that. And I promise you, it's going to work out. It says, this is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples when they see the love you have for one another. First on 3 18 through 20 says, my dear children, let's not just talk about love.

Let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. Do y'all know that that's what we're trying to do? Yeah, heaven coming to earth.

That's what this is all about. And we can play a part in that. It says, this is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. Why do we walk around acting like we don't have the answers right in front of us?

It says, this is how we'll know. For some reason we're still like, I don't know. Is this, am I doing this right? Am I not doing this thing right?

It's like, you're going to know living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism. Even when there is something to it, for God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. Guys, this is why we run to him.

He created us. He knows things about us that we don't know ourselves. He knows how to put the pieces, align the things up to where if we will go to him, all this stuff we struggle with, he has the answers to it. He's the way maker.

These things we just sing about, and it's all good, but then when we're struggling, guys listen, we got to start putting this into practice like this is saying. I would much rather someone show me love than tell me about it. I'm telling you, I would much rather any of this stuff is that you would show me what he's speaking to you than tell me about it. Because guess what?

That's going to do so much more. That's going to draw people. That's going to impact people. Because guess what?

You're doing it. Guess what? Never brought people. You can shout, hey, come over here.

God loves you. Then they come over here and they're like, where's the God? Where's the love of God at? And they're like, oh, it's coming.

Just hang out here. We'll stay here and it's coming. And guess what? People are like, it's stupid.

I ain't doing this. Because guess what? We would so much rather be able to talk about it and put these nice words together in this vocabulary that sounds great rather than doing the act of loving somebody, even though that's more challenging. But did you read with me?

Paul said, when I could not figure out a way, I didn't stop. I sent somebody else. So we found a way. Are you getting this?

Are you with me? Just say, are you with me? Luke 1027 says, he said that you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence. And that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.

Here's the problem. You're stopping. Listen guys, if you just take that and you don't take the whole thing, then you took nothing away from it. It says that you do all of that and you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.

And don't be upset with me. I'm just the messenger. You're the message. I'm just delivering what his word is saying.

And this is my heart. My heart's like, Paul's, I want to make sure you get it. I'm here to make sure it gets into your hands so your life can be changed. So then you can go help change somebody else's life, but it has to get into your hands.

And we can't do that if this is just every time we come in here, it's just this big encouragement thing. No, it's got to get to a place where it says, hey, listen, I love you enough. This is what this says. This is what we got to do.

And this is how stuff's going to actually transform and change because he's the one that's going to be getting to you. That's the only way. And listen, I'm not here for anything else. I'm not interested in anything.

I don't have time for anything else. So he told me this week, he said, listen, your job? Because I asked him, he's like, what do you want me to really focus on this week? He said, just be loved by me, son.

And I'm like, enough said. Because I know my wife's going to have something slick to say about she beat me in exercising. So I'm going to need to be that sponge of love, right? The splashes on her.

So you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself. If our love is increasing, we should have a heart for the loss like Jesus. We're going to read quickly through some of this. I'm not going to keep you here.

I'm actually doing pretty good. I'm going to get through the rest of this. But we're going to turn to Luke 15 because I told you I want to show you some demonstrations of love. These are popular stories that we talk about all the time.

But there's some things that I want you guys to see because it's important. And like I said, if our love is increasing, we should be becoming more like Jesus. Do you all know that's the goal? Everything is to draw you closer to him.

Every single day, everything that we do should be drawing you closer to him. If it's not looking more like him, I don't know who. I don't know who you're talking to or what you're reading. I'll say this again.

My book is really good. You want to borrow it, I will give it to you. But we have to start becoming and looking more like him, having his heart. I'm telling you guys, this is my heart today.

Is that we leave here looking a little bit more like him, having a little bit better understanding of what it looks to look like him. Not about what I want. Not about what's convenient for me. Not about sitting here thinking that, oh man, the game comes on a little bit.

It's lunch time. I'm hungry. I'm hoping we get to a place where we want to spend time together in here. That this is so important to you guys that you're like, man, thank you God.

I want to learn. I want to get your word. I need to get your word inside of me. That's how much it's important to me.

So this is a story of the law sheet. It says by this time, a lot of men and women question, reputation where hanging, sorry, men and women of questionable reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. That excites me so much. Did y'all read that?

It said, I'm going to personalize it just for myself, okay? But this time, a lot of men and women of questionable reputation like Seth were hanging around Jesus. Hey, I had a questionable reputation at one point in time. Y'all, y'all didn't know.

We can have coffee. I'll be glad to share my story with you. Jesus radically changed my life. But I had a questionable reputation.

But guess who they were intently listening to? Who? Why were they listening to him? Why were they listening to him though?

Why were they that close to him? He's loving. That's what he came for, y'all. He came for the laws.

If y'all ain't going to get excited, I'm going to get so I'm hoping my excitement gets in you so you get excited. Listen, anybody can come close to Jesus. It don't matter who you are, what's wrong with you, what disease you have, what sickness you have, what you've done to other people and what you're currently still doing. This said people that had questionable were listening to Jesus.

That is so mind-blowing to me how this man who I can only imagine if half of us would see him. Like, they felt comfortable enough to come listen to this man. He's the Savior. Oh man, like they're standing by the one.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you that we serve a God that I don't care what is going on in your life. You can come stamp aside him. Because he said, I'm the one you need to stamp aside.

I don't care what they say. I don't care what other people are saying to you. Sometimes some of you in here who knows if you have Jesus inside of you, who's standing around you? Huh?

Who are you allowing to tell you that person probably shouldn't be around you, man? You should watch yourself. Because you don't know what could happen. You just don't know, right?

And here's what we'll do. We'll get so sidetracked. But if my heart and my love is increasing and I'm becoming more like him, guess where I'm going to be more drawn to? The lost.

Why? Because he was. That's who I'm following. That's where he's leading me because that's who we're here to rescue, to give opportunity to.

So we need to open ourselves up, y'all. We need to know how the father to lead us where he's trying to lead us to so we can get his message across. And if you're speaking his word, because it's, I'm telling you, that's all I need. You don't need to do anything.

Don't try to do anything, actually. I'm going to help you. You're a messes word up. His word is good.

It don't have people listening. You just read it. That's it. That's all you got to do.

So it said they were hanging around Jesus, listening. The Pharisees and religious scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled. He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends.

They're grumbling triggered this story. Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and lost one. Wouldn't you leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? Wouldn't you leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?

Hey, wouldn't you leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it? Do you know how important the sheep are? Now listen, do you understand how important the sheep are? Hey, first he knew one was lost.

I've read this a thousand times. This isn't profound, but I'm just telling you, he really drew me in to say, hey, one is lost. That was the first thing that really pulled me in. Because he knew it was lost.

And it says, go after the lost one until you found it. I want to help some people today, because there's a lot of things that I think are questionable. And here's a lot of places where people hit. Hey, when's enough enough?

When am I supposed to stop? Like, I've tried, I've tried, they don't want it. When do I stop? And listen, here's what I want you to do.

I want you to talk to God. I know there's people right now that's trying to find scripture to go against this. Again, God is love, right? And we can't force people, but we can love people.

I can example Christ's love. And it said that people, if they're questionable, guess what? They drew near enough to listen intently. So if my life is an example in him and fallen after him, then my heart should be all about the lost.

Then I don't have to, I don't have to answer, you're trying to answer what Fred said one time? You're trying to answer questions and no one's asking the question, how when's enough enough? I don't know, are they still lost? Because if they're still lost, then guess what?

You gotta find them. Because that's what it says. Go after the lost one until you found it. When you found, you can be sure you have put it across your shoulders rejoicing.

And when you get home, call your friends and neighbors saying, celebrate with me. I've found my lost sheep. Listen, here's what I want to encourage you with. He was so excited to find his sheep.

He threw that thing up on his shoulders. Listen, y'all, I want to encourage you today that if you have the heart to go after people like Jesus, you'll have the strength to carry them away from where they were lost. Because that's your focus. He said, then you'll rejoice.

You're excited. You're happy. Unfortunately, I come from a world that people were excited that when I stayed where I was at. You don't want to talk about it, but I'm going to, because people were excited for me to stay where I was at.

Thank God I had some people that were like, come on. I'm going to pull you out. Come on, you're coming with me. I don't care.

I relapsed. I don't care. Come on, you're coming with me. That's the type of love that we need, church, in here, out there.

Not saying this. Oh, it's not a, he's gone. Just leave him. And I'm so grateful for the people that were like, that's the Son of God.

And I'm not just going to pick him up. I'm going to throw. I'm going to help carrying. And then we're going to party about it.

Why? Because that's exciting. That's because you only get excited when you love people, when you love God so you can love people. That's when you get excited about it.

You don't be like, oh, look at me. I'm saving people. What? No, it ain't about you.

And guess what? So many people are quick to pick up at telephones. You see, so and so, dead and again. Yeah, can you believe that?

How many times are they going to keep doing this? How many times? And listen, we're all guilty, y'all. I don't care what anyone says.

We're all guilty of that. But listen, nobody's picking up the phone. Say, keep going. You did this thing.

I'm excited. Let's come together. We'll make time out for the negative, but we won't make time out for the positive. It's because our love is in the wrong places.

We're not giving it to him. So we're giving away false things. We're actually kicking people while they're down. But then we want to be like, oh, yeah, Jesus.

Oh, let's just hold you there. And we go about our life. But that's not the heart. It's not the heart at all that God had for the lost.

It's my king to restore that which was lost. Thank you, Father, that you did that. Thank you that that's your heart. Because I know there's a lot of people sitting in this room.

If it wasn't for that love, it wouldn't be sitting in this room. He said, I found my lost sheep. You're important to me, he said. I'm telling y'all, when I realized I was so important to him, I was the one at one point in time.

But when he found me, guess what? I'm like, all right, where's the one? Where's the one? I'm going to find that one.

Because when you're found by him, man, now you can go find. Now you know when people are lost. And now that's your main focus, is that you want to restore them to Christ. And you're excited about it.

I'm telling you, you are getting together with people in your excitement, right? But I haven't been invited to one of those parties yet. I haven't had one phone call about finding the lost sheep. Says there's more joy in heaven over one sinner's rescued life than over 99 good people.

And listen, guys, you know what's wrong? If we would be excited about that right there, says there's more joy in heaven. What's the goal? Remember what I said earlier?