“Made for Relationship” by Pastor Daniel Floyd

Welcome to Gateway Churches Podcast.

Wherever you're tuning in from, we hope you're encouraged by today's message.

Hey, good morning, everybody.

Welcome to church.

Come on, let's put our hands together for Jesus if we're gonna do it.

I'm so excited to take just a moment and share a little bit more and hear a little bit more about the kings and everything God is doing there.

So glad to have Dr.

Frambro, President, Dr.

Yes, all the things.

Hey, when you work that hard for it, you should get to use it.

Yeah, I'll tell my family when I go home to call meeting.

No, no, no, Dr.

Mom, please.

You know, put some respect on my mom, please.

I uh I love what we're doing in partnership with the kings.

I have a real passion for higher education, specifically around ministry training.

I know how much it impacted my life.

And the scripture says that the fields are wide under harvest.

Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the field so we don't have a harvest problem.

There are people that would accept Christ right now.

There are mission fields that need missionaries right now.

We have a laborer problem, and I love that the kings is supplying labors to the field.

So tell us a little bit why it's so important for the local church to be partnered in this way with the kings.

Absolutely.

Um yesterday when I was worshiping, I thought the Lord said something, and I was I asked him if we could have a few moments to talk it out, and he was like, No, I'm really saying it to you.

And he said, the the local church is the new mission field.

Uh we're seeing across the board, you're seeing it all around of what's going on and how much the um people are in other countries are sending people to America.

And so we're seeing more people leaving the church, um, and these are leaders, than we feel people see people called into ministry and have the laborers to fill it.

We have a labor shortage.

And we have clarified our mission to make sure that it isn't just getting any leader out there, it's actually getting a whole leader out there that follows Jesus, that serves his church, and serving his church is not your vocation.

That's what we're all called to do, and impacts their world.

And if their world happens to be the church, fantastic, wherever it is in marketplace and counseling and leadership in the church, but we really feel like it serves.

We want to not just point to the problem, we want to be about solving that problem.

That's right.

Tell us a little bit of what is the distinctive?

There are a lot of ministry schools out there.

What do you think is the distinctive of the kings?

It first I would like to say I'm not in competition with any other ministry school.

You can't have enough.

That's right.

You you really can.

To fix this problem, you can't have enough.

And so I just was um with a lot of other presidents um to discuss about you know this problem that we're having and how we can solve it.

Our distinctive that we feel like what God put us on this earth to do is to really walk in that spirit-formed mission.

Our our founder, Pastor Jack Cayford, really the uh what's so beautiful about it is he laid it out in front and said, hey, this is not this is not my university.

He didn't name it after himself.

He said it's the king's.

And so we believe that we're supposed to partner with the Lord to spirit-formed individuals, to help shape them, to whole leaders.

Um, and that to me is a huge missional distinction.

But other the other part is that we believe in biblical education and practical ministry.

I mean, you know, you can have a good idea, but if you haven't applied it, it's just a good idea.

All of us are smart until you try it.

Nobody ever had a good idea that they'd ever practiced it.

I tried it in parenting several times.

I read it in a book.

Why is this not working on you?

So we want to engage them in actually practically engaging in ministry to see so that they're not shocked when they get out there.

So anything that we can do, we see that dis art that distinctive for us, meaning so much for us.

Practicum, practical ministry is the laboratory.

Yeah.

Let's go test this out before I test it in kind of real life where Right.

You don't want your first test to be on a real person.

You know, you're like, oh, I'm sorry that didn't work on you.

I don't want to be the one the doctor practices on.

Yeah.

It's my first surgery.

I hope you're okay.

I'm a little nervous.

I'm praying I get it right.

Yeah.

All right, so tell us how can we be involved?

Well, there's several ways.

Um, some of you have been feeling a tugging.

I went up, we have an equip class that we've partnered with the Kings, and right now Dr.

Thompson teaches it um upstairs.

And there are 75 people that have already engaged in that.

It's a bridge to say, many of you stop because you think I could never go back to school.

I'm too well, you have we all have an excuse.

I'm too old.

I think it'll be too expensive.

I never liked math.

And I understand we all had a bad experience with a math teacher.

You can do it.

Don't let that stop you.

And so there's somebody, you know, there's someone that knows that need to go.

Check out our booth afterwards.

Let's have a talk.

It could be you, it could be someone you know.

Maybe you just want to audit a class and just grow in it.

Um, I also want to challenge you over and above your tithes.

If you are frustrated with what you're seeing in churches, do something about it.

Don't just complain.

Maybe you need to make the kings a part of your monthly giving and your offerings.

You notice I said tithes, and then there's offerings.

Okay, settle that one down.

But there are things that you want to invest in.

You invest in a$13 cup of coffee every day.

Invest in the kingdom.

And so uh we need your continued prayers.

There's so many ways to get involved, and we would love to connect with you out in the booth.

There's actually two.

So there's one in the children's wing, and there's one also right outside.

Great.

Thank you so much.

Absolutely.

I'm honored to be here.

Yeah.

Come on.

Love you guys.

Thank God.

All right, we ready for the word today, church?

Let's get into it.

We're beginning a brand new series today called Made for More.

And uh we're theming it around this verse and this idea found in John chapter 10, verse 10.

John 10:10

You may know it says, the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.

So if the enemy had a mission statement, that is that's his mission statement.

That's what he's trying to do in your life and my life.

But Jesus said, I have come that you might have life, and that you might have it to the, what's that next word?

Everybody say it together, you might have it to the to the full.

God intends for you to live a full life, and that's what we're gonna be talking about.

And I don't propose to know exactly the details of that for your life, but I do know from Scripture some things that will make your life full that you need in it.

Um, and so we're gonna be talking about that the next four weeks.

Don't miss a Sunday.

Bring somebody with you, it's gonna be great.

Let's pray before we dive in.

Lord, our hearts and minds are open.

So speak to us today, Holy Spirit.

We believe your word has the power to change us.

We'll never be the same because of it.

It's in your name we pray.

Everybody said, Amen.

Amen.

Now, when some of you think about the word more, I think there's probably a couple of different reactions, right?

For some of you, you're you're thinking, Pastor, I don't need any more in my life right now.

Like my schedule is full, my time is overwhelmed.

Some of you, you know, you've you're on the go, you're doing your thing, you're leaving the car with 12 kids and backpacks and a Stanley and right, and coffee in another hand, and you're just like, I got plenty on my plate.

If you add any more to all this stuff I'm juggling, then something is gonna come crashing down, and some are just like, I'm good, I don't need any more.

But here's what I found out about humanity is that we like more of the things we like.

How many of you are opposed to more ice cream?

More toppings.

Anyone opposed to more money?

Okay, I didn't think so, right?

Like, we want more.

What we're saying though is I don't want more of the same.

I don't want more of what I'm maybe in right now.

I don't want more added onto the pile of what I'm experiencing right now because a lot of us we're experiencing it's just more of the same.

It's it's more emptiness, if we're honest.

It's more loneliness if we got transparent about it.

It's more of the routine of the nine to five, and I'm doing my thing, and I've got to get here, and it's more of the schedule, and it's more of the fast paced, and it's more of the never enough, and it's more of the running here and running there, and no real subtleness in our spirit, and we're like, I just don't want any more of that.

And I want to propose to you in this series this thought is that Jesus came to give you life and to give it to the full.

That there is this more life, if we could say it this way in Christ.

And I I want to maybe propose that I don't think that God, in his infinite mercy, before the creation of the world, because the Bible says the Lamb was slain before the creation of the world, so he saw down through time and eternity.

He knew in his foreknowledge what we would do and the sin we would be in.

And so he sent Jesus into the earth, and Jesus came, lived the perfect life, died, rose again three days later for the forgiveness of our sin.

And I don't think that he went, Man, I'm gonna do all that so they can live for another vacation.

I don't think he did all that to go so that the best part of their week is they closed another deal and they got through another day.

I just don't think that was the plan of God for our life.

And I'm not saying any of that is bad.

Close all the deals you can and be faithful to tithe.

And then and take the best vacations you possibly can.

I am for all that.

I'm just saying, in all that, there's more.

I'm just wanting to get that deep in your heart.

That there's more than just making it through another week.

There's more than just getting to all the kids' events, do all that, be a great family person, but there's something more than that.

That that there's this aliveness that's supposed to be on the inside of this.

There's this full life that God has intended for us.

And you were made for more.

You were made for more.

You were made for more than what the culture's pulling you to.

You were made for more than just getting through another day and living life and going through the mundane and doing what you do.

You were made for more than that.

And I think God is saying to us, hey, I've come to give you a full life.

Why are you settling for less than your inheritance?

Why would you have this inheritance and not access everything that it has to offer?

And so in the series, I'm not trying to say you were made to do more.

I'm wanting to say you were made to more do of do more of the thing God wants you to do.

It's not to add something else on your plate, it's to say maybe.

Maybe something needs to be eliminated from your plate so that you can do more of the thing God designed you to do.

That maybe some of the more you're chasing isn't the more that God wants for you.

And so I want to begin this series with this thought is that you were made for relationship.

If you're the note-taking type, that's the title of the message.

You can write that down.

If you're not the note-taking type, go ahead and write it down anyways, right?

You'll never remember it.

You were made for relationship.

And I want to build this idea that we are in need of relationships and show you from the scripture.

And then I want to give you three things that every relationship needs, and then I want to give you three relationships every person needs.

If you're with me, say amen.

Some of you are like, you do quick math, that's six points.

Are we getting out before lunchtime?

Yes, you'll beat the Methodist to the buffet.

All right.

I'm kidding.

I want you to see this.

In the very beginning of creation, Genesis chapter 2, the Bible says this it is not good for man to be alone.

Genesis 2 · chapter mention

Genesis 2.18, it's not good for man to be alone.

Now, obviously, the context of this verse is whenever God created Eve, and he's talking about that relationship, but he's pointing something out to us that I want you to see is that our need for relationship was not the result of the fall.

So Genesis chapter 1, creation for six days, rest on the seventh day.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Are y'all tracking?

All right.

Is everybody with me?

You say?

Okay.

So seven, then chapter two of Genesis gives us commentary, a little more colorful look at the creation of man.

And so he in the creation of man, he says he from the dust of the earth and he breathes life into his nostrils, right?

And the breath of life came into man.

And then it tells us that he looked at him and said, It's not good for man to be alone.

So our need for connection with other humans was not a result of sin entering the world, and now we needed relationship.

It was a result of creation.

And so, in the original design of God and his original idea for you and creation in the DNA, your ethos is that you need other people.

We need each other.

You need me, whether you like it or not.

And I need you, and I'm happy to need you.

We need each other.

This is how God created us, He made us to need each other.

Matter of fact, in the New Testament, as it talks about the church, Paul wrote this in Romans 12, 5.

We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

So it takes it to another level, is that we belong to each other.

And so the the one, the people you like we belong to, and the the people you're kind of like, I don't know about them.

We all belong to each other.

If you're with me, say amen.

I want you to see this that we need each other.

Now, what happened in the garden?

Well, the fall of man sinered the world, and when sin entered the world, what is the first thing that Adam and Eve did?

The Bible says that they hid.

And this has been the problem of humanity since then.

We've been hiding.

And we've found more sophisticated way, more sophisticated ways to hide.

And so now we hide behind facades and we hide behind possessions, and we hide behind whatever it is that we can paint this picture of everything is good and everything is great in our life.

And so we hide, and when we hide, we isolate.

And one of the greatest tools of the enemy in the life of the believer is to get them isolating from other people because it is in community that we find strength, it's in connection that we find healing, it's in relationship that we get better because iron sharpens iron.

But I can't get better if I'm not in community with other people and if I'm not in relationship with other people.

If all I do is walk in and walk out and walk in and walk out, and that's all I ever get, then you're never going to become everything God designed you to be because he created this whole thing for you to need each other.

You need to be in community with one another.

It's how he designed the whole thing.

Matter of fact, in Ecclesiastes, Estes chapter 4, the scripture tells us this that two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.

If you've ever moved and you've had to move furniture, two are better than okay.

If either of them falls down, one can help the other up, but pity, listen to this, pity the one who falls and has no one to help them.

When you are struggling and have no one to help you, the Bible says, have pity on that person.

Because you need each other.

It goes on to say that also if two lie down together, they will keep warm.

But how can one keep warm alone?

The one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves, and a cord of three strands is not easily broken.

So we need each other.

Because there's gonna come moments where you fall, where you struggle, where pain enters your life.

And if you don't have people around you, I'm not talking about a crowd, I'm talking about a community.

If you don't have people around you that you're doing life with, that you're able to get real with, then the Bible says, have pity on you.

But if you have that, then you're gonna be strengthened by that.

And not only do we need it, but how many of you know our relationships shape us?

They form us.

They begin to shape how we see the world and how we think about things.

Matter of fact, the scripture says this in Proverbs, and we love to tell young people this: walk with the wise and you'll become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.

Man, we love to tell young people this verse, right?

Can I come on?

And then we think somewhere along the way we graduate from this.

All of a sudden I'm an adult now and I don't need to walk with the wise.

I told them that because they're immature and they're not at the point yet, wherever other people's opinions, if they stick around them long enough, begin to influence their thinking, and all of a sudden we begin to think that what we constantly put into our mind doesn't influence our thinking, it doesn't influence our perspective, and the people that we get around don't constantly influence us.

Jim Ron said this, the motivational coach and speaker, he said this.

He said, the five, you are the sum of the five closest people in your life.

You're the sum of the why?

Because if you walk with wisdom, then you get to, it kind of begins to rub off on you.

You get influence, you get peer pressure in the right direction.

Are y'all are y'all following me?

It begins to shape how you think and who you this is why it's so important for you to have relationship with people.

Matter of fact, I love this scripture.

It says this in the book of Proverbs a mirror reflects a man's face.

We all know that.

May not like what we see sometimes, but it's is what it is.

But what he's really like is what?

By the kind of friends he chooses.

So you can you can paint a picture that you want everybody to know about you, but if you really want to know someone, look at the people he lets into his inner circle.

Look at the people that she lets into their inner circle.

Why?

Because those relationships are the ones that really shape the person.

They develop things in you.

Why?

Because you get influence and you see the world and you begin to understand things.

What?

Through the perspective of the people that you put most closely in your life.

And so you were made for relationships and you need them in your life, and they influence.

And so here's what I would say to you is that because relationships are so important, we should be way more intentional about them than we currently are.

If this is true that we were created for them, which the Bible says we are, and if it is true that relationships shape how we think and how we see the world, which the Bible says it does, then we should be way more intentional about the relationships we have in our life than we often are.

So I'm gonna give you three things every relationship in your life needs.

And I'm gonna give you three relationships every person on the planet needs.

Alright.

Listen.

If you'll listen fast, I'll talk fast.

Number one, every relationship needs attention.

It needs attention.

The scripture says this.

Paul's writing to the church in Rome, and he says, love must be sincere.

Hate what is evil, cling to what is good, be devoted to one another in love, and honor one another above yourselves.

Let me write this down real quick.

He's saying this the word sincere means without hypocrisy.

So love must be without hypocrisy.

And we know what love is from 1 Corinthians 13.

Love isn't a feeling, it may produce feelings, but love isn't a feeling.

So when people are like, I fell out of love, I was like, love isn't a ditch that you fall in and out of, okay?

It's a choice you make.

It may produce feelings, but it's not at its core of feeling.

Can I get a better amen?

Okay.

But it's saying it must be without hypocrisy.

And not only does love have to be without hypocrisy, love has to have moral clarity.

So hate what is evil and cling to what is good.

So there's a moral clarity about love.

Then he says, be devoted to one another in love.

The word devoted there is this idea of familial connection, of in a healthy family relationship, that there is a level of commitment that you have to one another.

And this is what he's talking about.

He's saying within the body of Christ, we should have this level of devotion to one another that is like you would have to a family member.

You know how it's like in a family, even if it's not the most healthy family, if someone comes after your family, you're like, you mess with them, you mess with me.

You know how like something rises up on the inside of like, I will cut you in the name of Jesus.

So we say, you can't say that.

Go read the Apostle Peter.

He carried a knife, it's a whole thing.

When they go to arrest Jesus, I'm just saying, just trying to be like Bible characters.

Y'all know what I'm talking about, though?

Like that thing that rises up, especially like, like, come on, mother.

Someone, some other kid messes with your child, or another parent tries to parent your children.

Oh Lord.

You want to get Tammy Floyd going?

Try to parent one of our kids.

Or try to tell her how to anyway, it's okay.

This is something in the Bible, this is what he's this is what this word devoted means.

This means that, like, no, they're my family.

Like, you mess with them, I'm I'm gonna mess with you.

Paul said, This is the kind of relationships that we need in the body of Christ.

This is the commitment that we have to one another, and then he says, honor.

Others above yourself, which just means that I put more value on you than I'm gonna put on me.

I'm gonna think of myself second and of you first.

That's the best way to think about honor.

I'm gonna treat you as not common in my life.

And how many relationships in our life become common because they're always there?

So we just we begin to unintentionally dishonor them.

But every relationship needs attention.

And I would propose this: that it's the people that are often the closest to us that get the worst of us.

Isn't that true?

I don't think it's something we we don't wake up in the morning and go, man, I'm gonna give my spouse the worst of me today.

I'm gonna give my kids the it's not something we do intentionally, it's just we we go through the day and we had school and we had work and we got home and we're depleted and then we give them what's left.

And we're just like, they'll be there tomorrow.

But you've got to be intentional, you've got to be intentional with godly friendships in your life.

They don't just happen.

This word devoted is not a passive posture.

You'll never build great friendships passively.

You'll never get, this will never happen if you just sit back.

This is in a passive, it's in a it's I'm gonna be in, I'm gonna be intentional with the words I speak, the gratitude I give, the friends that God has put in my mind.

I'm not gonna neglect those relationships.

I'm gonna make time for them.

How about your marriage relationship if you're married?

It's so easy, especially when you're in the thrust of parenting and raising little ones.

And I get it.

I'm I'm still doing bedtime routines, everybody.

I'm 49 doing bedtime routines.

What were we thinking?

But I get it, it's to let that date night slip, and then we don't give intentionality, and people, you know the old saying, people are like, well, we just kind of fell out of no, no, you just you you stopped being intentional and giving attention to and then the grass looked greener on the other side.

Can I tell you the grass isn't greener on the other side?

And if it is, the water bill's higher.

Just saying.

Decide what you want to pay.

There's a cost either way.

How about with our kids?

Intentional in conversations, giving it attention.

How about this, parents?

Being intentional about asking for forgiveness.

How many times have I had to go to my kids and go, hey, I'm so sorry I said it that way.

Hey, I'm sorry I brought that tone to it.

Hey, I think I made the wrong decision on this thing.

I need you to forgive me.

How intentional are we with the relationships that matter most?

Every relationship has to have attention.

Number two, every relationship is going to have moments where it needs restoring.

Scripture says this.

Paul's writing to the church in Corinth, and he says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old is gone, the new is here.

How many of you are thankful for that today?

Come on, better amen than that.

Aren't you thankful that in Christ your new creation?

And he says, goes on to say, all of this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

So you have a ministry, it's called reconciliation.

That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

So let's talk through this for a moment.

So you and I in sin, we're separated from God.

You know that, right?

If you're here and you're like, that's great, I didn't come to be condemned today.

And that's just the reality of the human condition.

We're all sinners, we're born with it.

I always say if you don't think you're born with it, raise a toddler.

Then you'll be convinced.

Sin is hardwired.

We're not mistakers that make mistakes, we're sinners that sin.

It's hardwired into our DNA.

And because of that, we are at enmity with God.

In other words, we just weren't like ignoring God, we were in opposition to God.

Are y'all tracking with me?

And so the Bible says, this is what Paul's trying to tell him, but God came in Jesus, perfect Son of God, fully man, fully God, lived the perfect life, so that he could reconcile us.

Now the idea of reconcile is this: it's not just like a ceasefire.

It's not like us and God are good.

That's not the idea of the word at all.

The idea of the word is that there was an exchange that was made.

In other words, you went from being at enmity with God to being favored child of God.

It wasn't like God goes, I'm gonna provide salvation and I'll put up with you.

You were an enemy, now I'll tolerate you.

That isn't the idea of reconciliation at all.

The idea of reconciliation is that you were in enmity with God, and now God says, I'm gonna embrace you as favored child of God with all the rights, privileges appertaining thereunto.

Come on, anybody's been to a graduation?

Like, I'm gonna give you all the blessing that comes with that.

First Colossians 1.21 tells us, once you were alienated from God, and you were enemies in your own mind, because of why?

Because of your evil behavior.

And we don't always attach strong words like that, like evil behavior.

We think about someone that does something really bad.

And I just I need to break it to you.

Any sin is evil in the sight of God.

And he's saying, in your own mind you were enemies of God.

Paul tells us in Romans that we were enemies of God.

That that's the that's the mental picture that he wants to give you.

Not that God saw you as an enemy, but we were in opposition.

Are y'all tracking with me?

He's just trying to give us some very strong language to help us see.

We weren't just like not good with God.

We were in opposition to God.

And God, out of his rich mercy and grace, came and he reconciled us to himself and said, I'm not just gonna tolerate you.

I'm just not gonna let you move into my house, but you gotta live out in the corner.

No, I'm gonna embrace you as favored child of God.

And then he says, and now I've given you the ministry of reconciliation.

And I've also given you the message of reconciliation.

And so Paul tells us in Colossians in chapter three, he goes on to say, Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with these things.

Man, this would do good for us in this day and age with compassion, kindness, come on, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Man, if we only obeyed that one verse, how much of a light would we be in a dark world?

Bear with each other and forgive one another.

If any of you have a grievance against someone, here's how you forgive.

Well, how should I forgive them?

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Listen to this.

God will never ask you to forgive someone more than what he's already forgiven you.

And if you're in any relationship long enough, there's gonna be moments where you're gonna have to do some restoring.

And it could be on a very small end, where maybe you got into a disagreement and you didn't see things the same way, but the way you communicated it was hurtful, and what you said and the words you chose were not the best words, and you're gonna have to come back and go.

As much as God has forgiven me, I'm gonna forgive you, and I need you to forgive me.

Are y'all tracking with me?

Can I just encourage you, church?

Keep short accounts in your relationships.

It is not worth it.

Holding bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart is like drinking poison and asking them to die.

You're only killing yourself.

And I get that there are some things in life where maybe you went through such trauma that it would not even be wise to engage in a conversation.

I understand that.

But you can release forgiveness in your heart.

You can make it right in here so that you're not being infected by this disease of unforgiveness which leads to bitterness.

That's not what God has for you.

I love the way C.S.

Lewis said it.

He said, to be Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.

Some of you may be thinking, well, Pastor, what if it's a scenario where I can't, the person doesn't even live and even alive anymore, or it would not be wise or safe for me to even engage in that relationship anymore.

And Paul gives us instructions in Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

He says, do not repay evil for evil.

Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.

And if it's possible, if it's possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everybody.

Can I set you free for a moment?

You cannot control anyone.

Man, that'll set you free if you get that in your head.

You can't control your spouse.

You have the illusion of control over your children.

You have the illusion of control over your life.

You can't control anybody, but you know who you can control?

The one you look at in the mirror every day.

And as far as it depends on you, make sure your heart's right.

As far as it depends on you, you do what you can to make sure your heart is right.

If you're with me, say amen.

All right, number three, listen a little faster.

Every relationship needs to be evaluated.

Needs to be evaluated.

And here's the thought: 1 Corinthians 15.

Don't be misled.

Bad company corrupts good character.

Now, this isn't some excuse to be like, see, honey, I'm out.

You've been nagging me for 10 years, and this is that is not biblical.

Hear me, everybody?

Our care team will counsel you and work with you.

Here's the question you gotta ask.

Does this relationship still cause me to pursue Jesus?

Or is there relationships in my life that are pulling me back from growing deeper and deeper and deeper in love with the Lord?

And if they are, listen to me, you don't shut them out.

We don't cancel people in the body of Christ.

We don't, we don't kick people to the no, but you may have to redefine it.

You may have to go, I can't let, I can't go those places anymore.

I don't do those things anymore.

I'm not gonna be influenced by, are y'all tracking with me?

Is this relationship still pushing me towards Jesus?

And if it's not, then I may have to give it different definition and different boundaries in my life.

Alright.

Three relationships everybody needs.

Three relationships everybody needs.

Everybody on the planet needs these three.

Number one is this you need a relationship with your church.

Everybody needs one of these.

In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul writes, consequently, you're no longer foreigners or strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

So when you place your faith in Jesus, you are a member of the household of God.

All right?

But then you need to find a place where you connect.

You need to find a church.

And if it's not this one, I think it's a great one.

But find one where you'll commit.

Are you with me?

Like where you'll plug your life into.

Where it's not just like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna kind of check it out.

No, no, no.

I'm gonna commit my life to the local church.

It's the thing Jesus is building.

He said, I'll build the church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

You need to connect and commit to a local church.

If it's not this one, find one, but get committed to the local church.

It's the greatest thing.

It's God's plan A.

And when it's mobilized, it's the hope of the world.

Are y'all with me?

You need to be a member of the local church.

And whenever you become a member, understand this.

It doesn't come with rights, it comes with responsibilities.

I thought membership had its privileges.

It does.

The privilege of tithing, and the privilege of serving, and the privilege of protecting the unity of the body of Christ, and the privilege of being on mission around.

Come on, not everybody's clapping.

Membership has privileges, everybody.

You get to give your life away.

Welcome to the family.

You get to follow the model of Jesus who laid his life down.

The Bible says this in Psalms, it's one of my favorite verses.

I love it, especially for young people.

Those who are planted in the house of the Lord will flourish in the courts of our God.

I'm gonna challenge you, okay?

You can't flourish if you keep uprooting the plant.

I'm gonna get planted at this church.

I didn't like that message.

I didn't like how they did the lights.

I'm gonna uproot and get planted at another church.

I didn't like the kids' ministry in that one, so I'm gonna get uprooted and planted at another church.

I'm gonna, but that one didn't make me feel right.

I'm gonna get uprooted and planted.

Well, that one's too charismatic, so I'm gonna get uprooted and plant.

Are y'all tracking with me?

You can't grow a flourishing plant if you keep getting uprooted and planted and uprooted and planted.

No place is perfect because it's led by imperfect people.

Get planted in the house of God.

This is the bride of Christ.

This isn't target, everybody.

We don't come here to see like who's got the best deal and who does the right thing.

This is the bride of Christ.

Jesus hung naked on a cross to purchase it.

This ain't some game we're playing.

This isn't a cruise ship where you just kind of sit by the pool and serve me and bless me and love me.

No, this is the battleship.

We're manning our stations and we're advancing the gospel of Jesus and we're pushing back darkness.

Can I get a better amen in the house of God?

That's what we're doing.

We're not playing games.

And you need a relationship with your church.

Number two, you need a relationship with a group.

It's what they did in the New Testament.

Acts chapter 2 says they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer, and everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And all the believers were together and had everything in common, and they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.

And every day, we only ask you to come on the weekend.

Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.

They broke bread in their homes and they ate because since the beginning of Christianity, for some reason, we like food.

It's right there in the Bible.

They ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.

And the Lord added to their number on Sunday.

No, daily.

Daily, those who are being saved.

You need a group.

You need a place where you take the mask off.

You need a place where you can open up your heart.

Where you take the facade and you get rid of the churchy language, and you're able to go, this is me.

1 John 1.9 says, I confess my sins to God for forgiveness.

But James 5.16 says I must confess them to somebody else for healing.

The healing comes whenever I open my heart to somebody.

I think a theology of confession is something we really lost in the Protestant Reformation in the Protestant church.

We lost this thing of going, here's my issues.

I need someone to pray with me, talk with me, walk with me.

I'm confused, I'm doubting, I'm hurting.

We need some people that celebrate on the mountaintops.

I'm full of faith.

I'm seeing the fruit of my prayers.

I'm watching the goodness of God.

You need both.

That's why you need to get in a small group.

That's why you need to come to community night.

You're never gonna make a big church feel small if you passively come in and out every week.

You've got to get in community.

A dear, dear mentor of mine when I was in high school, pastored a church in Nashville, Tennessee, and he his wife was named Katrina, and Katrina was Norwegian and very blunt.

And I grew up in East Tennessee where everyone is blessed your heart.

I wasn't used to very blunt.

And I went to college in Nashville for my first year, and I remember going over their house one day, and I was complaining about how I had no friends my freshman year.

And Katrina goes, Well, the Bible says if you want friends, be friendly.

I was like, I wanted like compassion.

So I say to you, if you walk in and out every week and say it's hard to get connected, if you want friends, be friendly.

You gotta take a step towards community.

You gotta take steps towards a community night.

So you can build relationships, last thoughts.

Everybody needs a relationship with Jesus.

Revelation chapter 3, verse 20, last verse.

Revelation 3:20

Here I am, I stand at the door and knock.

And if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

Every one of you need a relationship with Jesus, and no doubt some of you here today don't have it.

You've never surrendered your life to Jesus.

I'm not asking you, I'm not even asking you if your church is on the name at a membership role.

That will make zero value one day when you stand before God.

What will matter is your name written in the Lamb's book of life.

That's the book that matters.

I'm not asking you if you know all the church language and done all the church things.

And I'm asking you, do you know Jesus?

Has there ever come a moment where you surrendered your life to him, where you realized I'm a sinner, I'm in need of a savior?

Is there a before meeting Jesus you and an after meeting Jesus U?

If there's not, then he stands at your the door of your heart and he knocks.

And he said, if you'll open it, I'll come in.

That's without question.

And so I'm gonna give you the opportunity to open the door of your heart right now.

If you would bow your head and close your eyes.

All across the room, even online if you can.

If you're here today and you've never said yes to Jesus, you the Bible says if anybody's in Christ, you're a new creation.

Maybe you're here and you've never become a new creation and you need that fresh start today.

Then just a moment, we're gonna pray together.

There's nothing special about the prayer, it's just me helping you communicate by faith your heart to God's and on the authority of God's word.

Today will be a day of brand new beginnings for you.

We're gonna confess Him as Lord, meaning He's calling the shots, you're surrendering.

We're gonna tell Him that you believe in your heart God raised Jesus from the dead.

On the authority of God's word, you will be saved.

Before we pray, I just want to know who I'm praying with.

So when I count to three, if you would be so bold, just to shoot your hand up high enough and long enough for me to see.

No one's gonna come to you or embarrass you.

And then we're gonna pray together.

But you say, God is speaking to me, that's me, Pastor.

I want to know that heaven is my home, my sins are forgiven.

I need a fresh start today.

If that's you on three, hands already up, you shoot it up.

One, two, three.

You just shoot it up all over the room.

God bless you.

God bless you.

Keep it up.

I see in the balcony in the very back.

God bless you.

Incredible.

You can put it down, church.

Let's pray this out loud for the benefit of those who just slip their hand up, just say, Jesus, I need you.

I ask you to forgive me of all my sin.

I believe you died for me.

I believe God raised you from the dead.

Today I make you my Lord and Savior.

Thank you for a brand new beginning.

In Jesus' name.

Everybody said, Amen.

Amen.

Can we celebrate those who made that decision?

Thanks for joining us today.

If you'd like to connect with us, text Connect to 71010 or visit gatewaypeople.com.

We hope you have a great week.