Get Real With God Part 1 | Get RIGHT With God with Chris Schlotterbeck

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So cool.

Good morning everyone.

So good to see you.

If you're joining us from home, thank you for welcoming us into your space.

One thing I've noticed over the last six or eight months in my life, I just kind of want

to share with you what I've been going through.

I haven't been able to sleep real well.

And it's not anything that is troubling me.

It's not anything that's necessarily bad.

I find myself laying in bed at night before I fall asleep just staring at the ceiling

and listening to music.

And I'm reflecting on life.

Many of you know that I have six children.

Three of them no longer live in my house and are living their best life.

And I just kind of think about, am I a good dad?

Do I do enough?

Do I say the right thing?

Why did I get angry?

Why did I get mad?

What made me frustrated?

And it's like as I lay there and think and reflect and ponder, I'm really just thinking

about the things that matter most in this life.

I'm exploring if I'm focusing on the most important things.

That's all I'm doing.

I kind of just slowly and gradually fall asleep.

See, we have a tendency in our day and age and our culture that's so fast paced and schedule

focused to major on the minors.

Politics, social media, professional sports, whatever it may be for you.

It's like we get so distracted, we optimize the margins rather than focusing on what is

necessary, the most important things.

And when I think about the things that matter most in this life, I immediately go to the

way to the things that happen in my life and how I respond.

See, our response is truly ours.

It's not anybody else's.

Just think of the word responsibility, break it down.

It's our ability to respond.

Responsibility.

And that is what truly makes your life your own.

So it makes you you.

The way we respond to things.

And I think about that a lot and have been over the last few months because I have six

amazing children.

And I want to be the best example in their lives.

Just the other day, our youngest named Phoenix, many of you know them, him, he's four and

you know the different stories that I share about raising this blessing.

If you don't know him and would like to meet him after this gathering, just go out in the

cafe and look for the blur running around and introduce yourself.

His name is Phoenix.

Anyway, the other day I came down to the kitchen to find Phoenix eating butter straight from

the container.

And please understand, he had to work to get this butter.

It's on the top of the fridge.

So he had to get the high top chair and slide it over.

And I don't know who encouraged him to do this.

I don't know who taught him to do this, how he learned that it's okay to scoop a large

portion of butter out of the container onto his finger and then eat it.

But this is what is happening.

So when you come down the steps and you see that, how do you respond to your child who

is literally eating a container of butter?

Let's be honest, I can't look at him and be like, Hey, that's going to give you a heart

attack.

What are you thinking?

How do you respond?

How do you respond to a coworker, a family member, a friend, maybe someone that goes

to HTV that's just nasty and rude?

I mean, think about the way so many people get hurt by the church because of the ways

people respond and react negatively or judgmentally to them.

And when we start thinking about our responses, we realize it's our responses that makes us

truly human.

It's our personality.

It's, it's who we are.

Then as we gather on a Sunday morning and we think and reflect on who Jesus is, I mean,

that's why we gather together to worship him, to celebrate him.

His death on the cross, which conquered sin, his resurrection from the grave, which overcame

death.

See, this was God's response to the fact that his creation was lost.

God responded and God could have responded in any number of ways, but this was God's

chosen response to a rebellious group of people like you and me.

And I get it.

Some of you are thinking, Chris, are we really that rebellious?

Yes.

You are that rebellious.

I mean, we all know the story from the Garden of Eden.

Adam and Eve were in the garden.

God says, you can eat anything you want from the ripest fruit to the freshest vegetable,

but you can't eat from that one tree.

Of course, what is the only thing that Adam and Eve want to do?

Food from that one tree.

And if you think about your families and your kids, when you're raising children, you know,

Justin and his parents, you know, we don't eat this candy.

We don't eat this dessert and where do you eventually find them?

Hands full of candy and dessert.

It's just the way the humanity is.

It's the way we are.

It's part of the human condition.

When someone tells us not to do something or you can't do that, we get all excited about

trying it.

Well, that sounds fun.

I wonder why we can't do it.

I bet it would be great.

We're all rebels.

But see, God's response to our rebellion was to send Jesus on a rescue mission.

So I wanted to share with you today as we kick off our new series, Get Real with God,

what it looks like to live a life that matters.

Living a life that matters.

See what I love about the Bible and what I love about God who inspired these scriptures

is that God doesn't want to grade us in life.

He wants to show us how to get an A. God doesn't say, hey, good luck with life.

Hope you're successful.

God says, this is how I want you to live.

And this is how you get an A in life.

I mean, friends, that's the best.

And it actually happened to me while I was doing my undergraduate studies at Shepard

University.

I had to take this class called West Virginia History to graduate.

Everybody had to.

And the professor of this course had written a book on West Virginia history.

I mean, this guy knew everything about the history of West Virginia, which is kind of

intimidating because I knew absolutely nothing.

Nothing.

But the first day of class, he looks at us and he says out to the class, I'm going to

tell you how to get an A in my class.

I was like, oh, I need to pay attention.

And he said, take good notes and pay attention to my lecture because that's what you're going

to be tested on.

You don't have to worry about reading my book.

You don't have to worry about reading other books or other resources.

All the information you will be tested on comes from my lectures.

And I thought to myself, why would this guy lie to us?

Because he is West Virginia history.

I mean, he was the only professor that taught the class.

Like you had to get this class in to graduate and he's the only one who taught it, which

means he knows pretty much everything.

So I listened to him, did everything he said to do.

And you know what grade I received?

An A.

Easy to say, I forgot, I wasn't even interested in material.

But he was definitely one of the best professors I ever had because he told me how to be successful.

He didn't say, this is how I'm going to grade you on your work.

He told us how to ace his class.

And what that taught me and what the Bible teaches us is that God doesn't want to just

grade our life.

God wants to explain to each one of us how to get an A.

God says, this is a life well lived, focus on these actions and you will live a life

that matters.

And see, I believe everyone wants to live a life that matters.

They may be a little off course, they may be distracted, they may be searching, but

everyone wants to leave behind a legacy.

And the cool thing is the text that we're going to be focusing on over the next few

weeks is God's direction on how to get an A in life.

It's found in the book of Micah and Micah was a part of the 12 minor prophets.

And most of this book explores Micah's accusations and warnings of God's impending judgment on

Israel.

But Micah also had a message of hope that countered these warnings and told of the restoration

that God would one day bring about.

And these are the words in Micah 6, 8.

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good.

And this is what he requires of you to do what is right, to love mercy and to walk humbly

with your God.

And let me read that again and remember, this is how we get an A in this life.

O people, the Lord has told you what is good.

And this is what he requires of you.

Do what is right, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.

And notice it says, God has told you what is good.

So this is the difference between good and evil and what God requires for us.

In other words, live this way.

And God is saying there are three things that are good and that God wants to see all of

us living this way.

And my prayer is that as I share these truths this morning and over the next month, that

you allow the Spirit of God to help you take an inventory of your life and where you currently

stand.

Because see, the most important thing we can do as followers of Jesus is respond to the

Holy Spirit.

You can listen to a sermon.

You can raise your arms and worship and gratitude.

You can be a part of a Bible study.

But the real question is this, will you respond?

Let's open in prayer.

Holy Spirit come, search our hearts, clear our minds.

Open us up to receive from you this morning.

Make your truth real to us.

And may we respond in a closer walk with you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

See, all of us will learn things about ourselves if we simply reflect on how I am responding

to the different situations that are presented to me each and every day.

Today, this morning, you're being presented with Micah 6-8, which leads us to our first

thought.

See, what we do matters.

What you do matters.

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good and this is what he requires of you to

do what is right.

Now other translations use the word justly or do justice.

Eugene Peterson wrote these words in the message paraphrase, Micah 6-8, but he's already made

it plain how to live, what to do, and what God is looking for in men and women.

It's quite simple.

Do what is fair and just to your neighbor.

See, this idea of justice is actionable.

Now if you think about the way we respond to things, one of the ways that God responds

to each one of us is with justice.

The simple definition of justice is giving somebody what they deserve.

Justice simply stated says, this is what you did and this is what you deserve because of

your actions.

Now in the case of Phoenix, eating from the container of butter, he knows he is not supposed

to scoop out butter onto his finger and then eat the whole container.

In our house, that is called disobedience and disobedience has consequences.

We have a timeout chair for Phoenix to sit in, so when he makes a bad choice, he goes

to sit in the timeout chair.

Has anyone ever sat in a timeout chair?

Anyone?

Few of you.

If you're an adult, you want the timeout chair.

Please put me in it.

Right?

Please.

When I have the timeout chair, I probably would have spent most of my childhood in the

timeout chair if my parents would have used the timeout chair in my house.

Phoenix, because of your choices, you have to sit in the timeout chair that is justice.

Justice is acting in a way that is fair.

Justice is a way of generating strong community.

Justice is what brings social obligations and responsibility to us.

We talk about injustice culturally a lot because as Americans, we have a strong sense of justice.

There are things that are right and wrong, and this is the way you should live.

Now when it comes to the justice of God in terms of humanity's rebellion, what would

God's justice be towards those who rebel?

Well the Bible tells us in Romans 6.3, for the wages of sin is death.

It's pretty clear.

God's justice for our wages of sin is death, but notice the next word, but.

But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus the Lord.

And each one of us, because of our acts of rebellion against God, deserves death.

But if you think about Jesus and his actions, one quickly realizes that he took on our punishment.

And this is why Jesus is so important.

And I get it for some of you gathered here this morning, and every time we gather, you

may not be following Jesus.

You may not be in a relationship with him.

This is why Jesus is so important.

Jesus chose to take the punishment that you and I deserve.

God is just.

And one of the ways that God responds to us is with justice.

But God's justice requires someone needing to be responsible for that which was broken.

When sin came into the world, humanity was broken and lost.

Jesus says, I want to do that for them.

And friends, this is why Jesus is so important.

What we do matters.

Would you characterize the way you live your life as just?

Do you make our society better?

Do you help people flourish?

Because that's what living in a community, living in a society is all about.

It's about adding value to help people flourish.

It's the reason we as a community of faith just gave away thousands of backpacks.

Because we want to make our community better.

It's the reason we have scheduled a tie-dye run for freedom.

Why?

Because it can help children that are struggling in poverty and don't have anything.

Because I guarantee you, if you were in the same situation, your hope is that someone

would treat you fairly and take care of you by meeting your needs.

It's a simple act of justice.

Psalm 106 verse 3, there is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do

Psalms 106:3

what is right.

You know what a beautiful verse to live by, but yet within our culture, within the church,

there's so many people struggling with depression, anxiety, you're overwhelmed with your work

schedules and raising your children, friends.

There's joy for those who live justly and do what is right.

The way we live matters.

The content of your life matters, which leads us to our next thought.

Not only is what we do matters, but what we love matters.

Continuing in Michael 6, 8, know the people the Lord has told you what is good and what

he requires of you to do what is right and to love mercy.

See, it's not just what we do, but it's also what our hearts embrace.

Eugene Peterson writes it this way, but he's already made it plain how to live, what to

do, what God is looking for in men and women.

It's quite simple.

Do what is fair and just to your neighbor.

Be compassionate and loyal in your love.

See, love is the effect that something has on our hearts.

It's what our hearts grab a hold of, what embraces what we love matters.

And friends, we must remember what we love leads to what we do and how we live.

And God challenges us to what?

To love mercy.

Now this is the Hebrew word hesed, where we get the words covenant, faithfulness.

And it literally means the faithfulness and fidelity that comes when a covenant is made.

That God is making a covenant with his people.

It also speaks to marriage.

When two people are married together, there is an implied faithfulness that comes along

to make the marriage work.

We should love the covenant that God has made for us through Jesus.

And God wants us to learn how to love who he is and what he has done for us.

If we think about the word mercy, just as justice is getting what we deserve, it's been

said that mercy is not getting what we deserve.

If you've ever seen the movie Braveheart.

William Wallace at the end of the movie is being tortured for his actions and the people

gathered watching him being tortured scream out, mercy, it's enough.

It's finished.

In the case of Phoenix, when he gets caught eating a container of butter, mercy sounds

something like this.

Don't eat the butter, son.

It's not good for you.

I love you and you don't have to go to time out because I know you learned that from your

mother.

Now some of you think I'm kidding.

He deserves a timeout, right?

That is the punishment for being disobedient.

But I give him a kiss on the forehead and I say, just don't do it again, son.

What does that mean?

That's being merciful.

And God says we should love mercy.

This is what God desires for us.

We should love not giving people what they deserve, but our culture doesn't value mercy

very much.

Our culture loves to tear people down, tear people apart and point fingers at one another.

But this is not from God, church.

We're not called to be a part of the culture.

We're called to be different, to be set apart.

Ephesians chapter two, but God so rich in mercy and he loved us so much that even though

we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead.

See God poured out his justice on Jesus.

He didn't pour it out on you and me and friends.

That's an act of what?

Mercy.

God doesn't just say, I'm no longer holding your sins against you.

Now I am welcoming you into my family where we become sons and daughters of the King.

What an incredible blessing.

This is powerful.

This can change your life.

Do we love mercy?

Do we love not giving people what they deserve?

Do we love doing something special for another as a means of showing God's mercy?

David says it this way in Psalm 51, have mercy on me, oh God, because of your unfailing love,

because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins, wash me clean from my

guilt, purify me from my sin.

And notice have mercy on me God because of your unfailing love.

For each one of us, when we fail, when we leave someone down, what should we say to

the other person?

I'm sorry.

I failed.

I messed up.

Will you forgive me?

And see when we ask for forgiveness is now up to the other person to respond.

They now have the responsibility.

And God, he challenges us to love in a way that shows mercy, not just giving people what

they deserve, rather saying, I'm going to give them what they deserve.

I'm going to release them instead.

I'm not going to hold this over them.

I'm not going to be judgmental.

I'm not going to point fingers.

No, I'm going to release them.

Do you love being merciful like God does for us?

And when you reflect on the beating, the torture of the cross, the empty tomb, right?

That's what it's all about.

That's why we gather.

So what we do matters.

We should live justly.

What we love matters.

We should love mercy.

And there's one more thought.

How we walk matters.

No, people.

The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you to do what is right,

to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

We should walk humbly with our God every day.

Eugene Peterson writes it this way, but he's already made it plain how to live, what to

do, what God is looking for in men and women.

It's quite simple.

Do what is fair and just to your neighbor.

Be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don't take yourself too seriously.

Take God seriously.

See there are two pieces to this.

First is the act of humility.

In light of the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

Jesus dying on a cross for our sins and being risen from the grave, conquering death.

We come before God saying, God forgive me.

I realized the reason Jesus had to die was for my sins, my mistakes, my failings.

And that causes us to be what?

Humble.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself.

It's thinking about yourself less.

Humility is allowing Jesus to separate us from the love or the obsession with ourselves.

And if we're honest, isn't that one of the hardest things to do in this life?

We're self consumed.

We're selfish.

We only care about what is happening to us.

We are focused on ourselves.

And for so many people, they struggle with relationships because they can't understand

why somebody doesn't focus on me.

There are people that we are in relationship with that say to us, I know you've been thinking

about this issue in my life for a long time.

And as they're saying it to us, you're thinking to yourself, I haven't focused on that my

whole life.

In fact, I haven't even noticed that was happening that you were struggling because we're focused

on ourselves.

We can't see past ourselves.

And the crazy thing is the person who thinks the other person is thinking about them shows

a lack of humility.

And the person that is thinking about themselves shows a lack of humility.

And you know what that results in?

A broken, messy relationship.

But God challenges us to walk humbly with him.

Now if justice is getting what you deserve and mercy is not getting what you deserve,

walking humbly with God comes from something called grace.

And grace is receiving what we don't deserve.

Back to Phoenix.

I catch him eating butter directly from the container.

Grace would be me like saying, Oh, Phoenix, don't eat that butter, putting the lid on

and putting it away quickly opening up the freezer while I grab for him a juicy cherry

ice pop and say, this is much better.

That's grace.

Grace is how we walk humbly with our God.

And for those in relationship with Jesus, our experience with God is everyday grace.

The ability to go to him humbly seeking forgiveness for our mistakes, which we make every single

day.

It's not giving God what he deserves.

I mean, if we had a revelation of the pain, the suffering, the anguish and the death that

Jesus went through, we would be gratitude worshiping God every single day.

But for so many people were distracted.

Well, we have a fantasy football team to draft.

And again, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that.

But if you're distracted by it and it becomes the means to your life, friends, it doesn't

matter.

I don't care if you're going to make a hundred bucks.

It doesn't matter.

God put Jesus on a cross for you and me.

So that we can experience this grace.

God is merciful to us, not giving us what we deserve, rather offering us abundant life,

which we don't deserve.

Look at Ephesians chapter two, verses eight through 10.

God saved you by his grace when you believed.

And you can't take credit for this.

It's a gift from God.

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done so that none of us can boast

about it.

For we are now God's masterpiece.

You think about that, your life is a beautiful work of art.

He has created us a new in Christ Jesus so we can do the good things he's planned for

us to do long ago.

Friends, the fact that Jesus came and lived and died and rose again, what that means is

that God is inviting us into our brand new life and abundant life.

And he invites us to be a part of his family and then he empowers us to be overcomers,

to be difference makers, to be world changers.

Look at Romans eight 11.

The spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you.

And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies

by the same spirit living within you.

You think about that.

Jesus was crucified.

He buried him in a tomb and he walked out of said tomb.

You know, during Easter, you know, you see these images and people making a big deal

about the stone being rolled away.

Jesus didn't need that stone rolled away.

He didn't need that stone rolled away so he could get out.

The stone was rolled away so that we can get in.

And see and believe and experience all that God has for us.

The same power.

Now think about that.

At work and raising Jesus from the dead is inside those who believe.

And that's an invitation for all of humanity.

Which is God giving us what we never deserved, which is not only life, an abundant life,

because we rebelled against them.

Right?

He says, no, I know you're, but I have a rescue mission.

I'm bringing you back.

And not only am I bringing you back, but you're a part of my family now.

I'm going to place my Holy Spirit inside of you.

So matter where you go, no matter where you are, it doesn't matter what you're going through.

I will be with you every step of the way.

I mean, what an incredible gift.

And we're invited into this gift every single day.

If you're here and you're in a relationship with Jesus, friends, what we do matters.

We should live justly.

What we love matters.

We should love mercy.

And how we walk matters.

We should all walk humbly with our God every single day and extend His grace to everyone.

Now I want to go on a little side tangent here that God kind of downloaded to me this

morning and you're going to sound like it's a little off, but it's got a point.

So about a week ago, no, it's about two weeks ago, I started using the Poo-per-ree in our

bathroom.

Okay, and you guys know what that is, right?

You spray it in.

Yeah, you know what it is.

And this morning as I walked in, used the Poo-per-ree, I sat there thinking, why have

I never used this before?

This is wonderful.

I mean, this is like the best creation, invention ever.

It's better than duct tape.

Better.

And if you've never used it, go to Walmart or Target right after this, buy some and use

it today.

It'll change your life.

And as I'm sitting there early in the wee hours of the morning pondering this, you're

like, wow, Chris, you have deep thoughts at night, in the morning.

It's like this light bulb came on and I heard God's voice say to me, yeah, you used it.

You actually used it and now you realize, and here's the reality, God gave us the directions,

the action steps on how to live an abundant life.

But there's so many people in the church, so many Jesus, what do I do?

Where do I go?

How do I do this?

Here it is.

You just got to use it.

You just got to put it into action and your life will be completely different.

It will be a sweet smelling aroma going up to heaven.

So how do we get an A in life?

Now please notice, I'm going to reverse these a little bit because I believe if we reverse

them, we actually are empowered to live them out.

Number one, daily walk with God.

Every single day, you got to make it a point to be walking with God.

There isn't any reason you're waking up and opening up CNN or Fox News.

And if you're doing it, stop it.

Just stop it.

Like if you wake up tomorrow morning and you run out to get your newspaper and start reading

that first, stop it.

Open up your Bible app, open up your paper Bible, start reading and praying.

That's where you need to begin.

We are called in Micah 6, 8 to walk humbly with our God.

Don't take yourself too seriously, take God seriously.

And you say, Chris, well, why would I do that?

Why would I do that, Chris?

Because it's a daily reminder that you're not alone.

Doesn't matter what you're going through, your struggles, your trauma, your stress,

your work.

God is always with us.

And remember what humility is.

It's not putting yourself down.

It's recognize your dependence on God.

It's thinking of yourself less.

Put God and others first.

Serve as an example of Jesus by humbling yourself to lift others up.

And that means you've got to get rid of your pride.

You got to get rid of your selfishness and you got to carry yourself in a way that reflects

this love what?

Love others.

That is walking humbly with your God.

Number two, love what God loves.

Do what is right.

Love mercy.

Right?

Be compassionate and loyal in your love.

You know, you got to show love.

You got to extend grace.

You got to be the first to forgive others every single day, even in small ways.

Because it's in the small ways of forgiving others that doesn't allow for a buildup and

an explosion over time.

In a world that's biased towards being harsh, just be kind.

Dear heavens, be nice.

Did you realize that being nice is radical in our culture?

Be nice.

I got a message this week.

You remember the little Jesuses we put on our Easter cards that you guys gave out to

invite people to come to our Easter things?

This little Jesus.

Anyway, I did a wedding last Saturday and the couple bought little Jesuses and I hid

them all in the cafe and there are people that came to the wedding and were trying to

find them and stuff.

Anyway, there was a bunch left over on Sunday and it just so happened that a lady found

one and took it and went and found her niece who was having medical issues and will for

some time now and gave it to her.

And said, oh well, at HTV we give these out as a reminder of God's love for you.

She took the time to send me a message and say, you know, that changed my life.

I'm going to put that with me and take that with me everywhere I go as a reminder that

Jesus has got me through this sickness.

You heard Q talk about souls for souls.

Do you realize that your used shoes that you haven't worn for a year can change a person's

life?

In September we're collecting used shoes.

Like, like shoes that you haven't worn.

If you haven't worn a pair of shoes in a year, give them away.

Everyone hear that?

If you haven't worn your pair of shoes, in fact, six months.

All right, I'll give you a year, ladies.

I get it.

I get it.

I get it.

That's a ladies thing.

Yeah.

If you haven't worn a pair of shoes in a year, give them away.

We're collecting them all this month.

We're going to set boxes up out there, just as organizing souls for souls.

And we're going to give them away to third world countries where kids don't have shoes.

Right?

What is that?

That's just give them away.

This week I was at a volleyball game.

Had a lady come up to me, introduce herself.

She goes, I don't go to your church.

I go, okay.

She goes, but, it's almost like she was embarrassed.

It was weird.

She goes, but I hurt my foot a couple months ago and I couldn't get out of the house.

I couldn't go to church.

Couldn't be around people because I couldn't move.

She goes, your live streams got me through that pain.

I was like, oh.

Gave her a high five and a hug.

I said, that's awesome.

Thanks for the encouragement.

You know, I don't even know how live streams work and they're changing lives.

Right?

And then I say to you guys, if God spoke to you through a message, share it.

Share it with people.

All you gotta do is hit share and send it to them.

And guess what?

They'll watch it.

They'll watch it.

And I have no idea why they'll watch me.

I'm still blown away by that.

People are watching me.

But God uses it and lives are being changed through the internet.

We do servant evangelism around here.

We give away flowers and waters and coffees and little Jesus's and backpacks, thousands

of backpacks and donuts.

Who doesn't love a Crumpy?

Chris, why do you do that?

Show mercy.

Because that's what God would do.

You know, if you're new to our church, I'm going to start with why today.

You want to learn about our church?

I'll tell you all about it.

And I'll cry.

I promise.

I cried during the first service when I shared it.

Because I tell you why.

Standing in a church is the hardest thing a person could ever do.

And to see what God has done in 18 years, it's humbling, man.

I mean, I stood in the back and listened to you all sing gratitude just with tears flowing

down my face.

I don't sing.

I just listen.

Because when you listen to the church sing, that's what it's all about.

Does that make sense?

The point is we have to be involved.

We have to be plugged in.

We have to be part of the family so we can encourage to show this mercy and we can continue

to make a difference in this world.

And finally, we act justly.

Do what is right.

I mean, there's a difference between right and wrong.

It's in the Bible.

Read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Well, Chris, that's not all the Bible.

I don't care.

Start there.

Don't start in lamentations.

You'll be confused.

Okay.

I'm going through Chronicles right now and I'm banging my head against the wall like,

yep, I know there's names.

Yeah, I know.

Ezra.

Yeah, yeah.

It happens.

But act justly.

Do what is right.

I mean, look what Peterson says.

Do what is fair and just to your neighbor.

Just treat people fairly and with respect.

Right?

Just be nice.

Like you want to blow someone's mind the next time or today when you go out to the store,

you go to Walmart or Target or Sam's or wherever it is you shop, you go to Martin's.

Just walk by someone that looks a little depressed and be like, Hey, and give them a high five

like, Hey, give them a high five.

Don't be like, what in the world just happened to me?

I guarantee that.

They'll be like, what just happened to me?

That person was nice.

Try it.

But not only we just to be nice, but worth to set the oppressed free.

We're called as a church to set the oppressed free.

I'm still humble.

Think about this.

We're in the process.

We are in Hagerstown, Maryland.

We are in the process.

Our church is in the process of building a kitchen in Kenya.

I mean, it's amazing.

Isn't that cool?

And we'll have pictures soon, but they've already started building it.

And they're on the other side of the world.

Believe me, I flew there and I hated every minute of it.

Why are we doing the run for freedom?

I took those flyers out to several businesses this week and just said, man, we're just,

why are you doing this?

I was told them to raise awareness.

It said kids free from poverty, to raise awareness about human trafficking.

It's real.

It's happening.

There's more slaves in the world today than there was during the civil war.

And they're like, what are you going to do with all the money?

Give it away.

You're going to give it away.

Yeah, it's not for our church.

It's not for our community faith.

It's to give away because we want to see the oppressed set free.

That's why we do these things.

And listen, God encourages people to seek justice peacefully.

Like if someone did you wrong, don't go to social media and post about it.

You don't have to be vengeful because social media is tearing people apart.

It's dividing our country.

It's dividing churches.

It's dividing.

It's division.

And that's not what God's about.

God's about unity and bringing families together.

I believe that you are working now to pour it out, oh, pour it out.