Freedom | God’s Way

Well, good morning.

I want to welcome you.

Welcome to week three of our series, Freedom.

Uh, we've uh kicked this off just like I said a few weeks ago.

We're eager to jump back into it.

I especially want to welcome those of you that are here for the first time.

My name is Jason.

I get the privilege of being pastor here.

And like I said, especially on a Labor Day weekend, we're honored that you would spend some time with us and join us on a Sunday morning church.

Can we put our hands together and welcome everyone who's here for the first time with us this morning?

We're gonna do something a little different later at the end of the service.

We reserve the first Sunday of the month and we take communion together.

And so you should have gotten received communion elements on your way in.

At the end of the service, though, we're gonna we're gonna kind of take it toward the end, and I don't want any interruptions at that point.

And so we're gonna, if you did not get communion elements on your way in right now, would you raise your hand?

Our host team is ready to get to get you anybody not get some on the way in.

Awesome.

Way to go.

See, they're like they're back there fist pumping.

They're just like, we did it.

We got everybody way to go, you caught everybody.

Excellent.

Well, um as we dive into this series, we we said a few weeks ago that we are on a spiritual journey over the over the course of 10 weeks through this freedom series.

And and we started off this series sort of talking about the dilemma that humans found themselves back in the garden, stuck between two choices, their way or God's way.

And last week we spent some time talking about what our way looks like and and the tendency to wanna reject our own guilt, hide from our own guilt, embrace shame and and find our way, ourselves kind of wrapped in this like cycle of shame that really um keeps us at an arm's length from God, not necessarily God from us, but us keeping God away.

And and today we're gonna go a little different route.

We're gonna talk about God's way.

Our way, now, now God's way.

You know, when you think about Jesus walking around the earth, what that would have been like, I think sometimes we have some like really like fantastic ideas about what that would have been like watching Jesus walk the earth.

I mean, so we read stories in the Bible where obviously not everybody liked Jesus, not everybody was thrilled about his message, not everybody was ready to receive him.

And then sometimes when we read it, and usually because we get to read the ending of the story, we get to see the whole thing at the same time at one time.

We tell ourselves, like, oh, if I were there, if I had been there, I definitely would have been all in with Jesus.

I'm surely.

And I think we have this idea that somehow when he was walking around, like maybe he didn't even walk, maybe he just sort of levitated.

It's like, why wouldn't you have followed Jesus?

He was healing people and his teaching was amazing.

And it's like, and it's but in here's the thing.

I think that the majority of us would be would be wildly disappointed.

I really do, because he was, yes, God in the flesh, but it says that he set that to the side to take on humanity and not a little bit, like a hundred percent.

And I think some of us would probably be a little bit disappointed at just how like like human Jesus actually was, like really human.

Like, hey, we were gonna be there, but I gotta take a bathroom break, kind of human.

And it's just like, and this is the savior of the world, and I and I, and so, but but as much as as much as that is real, and there was a lot of people that were compelled, right?

There were a lot of people that were like, I am not the people you would have expected, right?

Not the not the quote religious people who knew scripture and were quote, you know, on the lookout for the coming Messiah for for whatever reason, they couldn't see it, they missed him entirely.

But then people, people who weren't even thinking about the Messiah, people who weren't even thinking, people who don't even know their scriptures.

They Jesus comes along and they're so excited.

What was that that's so compelling about Jesus?

This is one of the things he says, one of the most one of the most famous portions of scripture, Matthew 11, verse 28.

Matthew 11:28

He says, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

The the yoke, you know, if you don't know what that is, it's like a it's like an agrarian, you know, agricultural piece of equipment, right?

You you hook an animal into a yoke and they pull the plow, right?

And so that was kind of a language around a rabbi's set of teaching and his way of life.

They would call that a yoke.

And so what he's making a comparison, he's making a comparison to other religious teachers' yoke.

They're they're other religious teachers' way of life.

Other, when you when you got around other teachers, it was like the pathway to God and to make God happy was was was hard.

It was a hard life.

And Jesus comes along and he says, take my yoke, mine's easy.

And a yoke, by the way, I think sometimes this is what we think of, actually.

When we think about doing the church thing, when we think about doing, you know, I gotta get my I gotta get my religion stuff in order.

I gotta, I gotta, you know, I better go back to God.

We have this image of like getting in a yoke almost.

Maybe not a literal, not literally, but we have this idea that we're gonna take on a bunch of weight, and it's like, oh man, this is heavy.

Now I gotta, I'm committing to feeling guilty every week now, and I'm I'm committed to doing things I don't really want to do, but I gotta pretend because that's what good people do.

And it's just like there's a heaviness around it.

And the whole idea of a yoke, the yoke is actually intended to alleviate burden.

That's the whole point of a yoke.

A yoke is actually meant to lighten the load.

And here comes Jesus, and he says, By the way, mine really is like that.

It's actually easy, and the burden is actually light when you get into the yoke with me.

And I think that right there, I think people were captivated by that.

Wait a second.

There is a way that's actually liberating.

Here's here's kind of four underpinning like ideas, things that you that that happen to us that we receive, that that that happen in our life when we find ourselves in Christ, when we find ourselves in the yoke with Jesus, we receive life.

This is one of the things you'll read through the Bible, we we receive life.

John 17 is really clear.

We get to know the author of life, and because we get to know the author of life, we get to receive life.

We get to know the Father and the Son whom he sent.

We receive power.

Acts is really clear about this.

We we see this in the book of John, we see this at the beginning throughout the book of Acts.

Really, we receive power, like power over in over our life.

There's there's there's something, a power for mission to live on purpose with our lives.

We produce fruit.

Like we can actually produce fruit, like things that were difficult to like we this is the stuff where we just go, man.

I used to, I used to, you know, and I people this when people are in Christ and they go, man, I don't even recognize you.

It's like, yeah, because there's fruit that's producing in your life that hasn't been there before.

We live free.

We live free.

This is the stuff where it's like I used to, I used to have an anger problem, and now I don't.

Why?

Because I'm free, right?

Now that's pretty attractive, isn't it?

Life, power, fruit, and freedom.

And and we're all like some of us, some of us are a little excited as I'm saying that.

They're like, Yeah, there's a others of you are like, yeah, yeah, that's yeah, that's the Jesus way.

Yeah, yeah, life, power, fruit, and freedom.

That sounds really great.

Really, though?

Is that is that your life?

Is that your life?

I mean, that's I mean, I know, I know that's what I keep being told is supposed to be in my life, but is that really in my life?

That's no wonder everyone's flocking to Jesus.

Life, power, fruit, and freedom.

Who doesn't want that?

That's that's amazing.

But there's a gap there, isn't there?

Because life's hard.

And I hear it a lot.

And in you know, in our church, there's a lot of you, I mean, there's a a large percentage of us that call Freedom Church home, and you are real you are either brand new to faith or you are relatively new to faith.

You've only been following Jesus for a few years, maybe.

Just a few years.

Or you maybe you're just a few years into actually being really serious about following Jesus.

You heard the gospel years ago, and you were kind of like, you know, kind of nominally in in a little bit.

You're like somebody asking you, like, sure, I'm a Christian, but it's really, it's really only been recent that you've been like, you know what, I'm all in with Jesus.

I don't really know what that means, but I'm all in with Jesus.

And that and that being that there's a lot, there's a lot that comes with that sometimes because you think you think, well, I've been following him for X amount of time.

I should be farther along, right?

I I've been, I should, why do I still struggle with this?

Because I should be because don't I get power?

I'm I barely get through my day, I'm exhausted.

Free?

I mean, I'm still trying not to blow up my kids every week, you know?

Free?

There's a gap here, and I want to I want to speak to the gap a little bit because one of the things I'm gonna teach you, by the way, and and and I'm gonna share a story at the end, but I I want to teach you, I I believe one of the most foundational understandings of your salvation, who you are in as a human being and who you are in Christ.

And I think if you can if you if you will listen, if you will come with open ears, I think this can transform your life.

You you're a three-dimensional being, you're a three-part being.

You're a spirit, you're a soul, and and you're you're a body, you're flesh.

And I want and I want to teach you what what that means and why that is significant.

Here's the first one you're a spirit.

You're a spirit.

The Bible is really actually pretty blatant about this, pretty clear.

You your spirit, when you when you commit your life to Jesus, when the spirit of God gets a hold of you and you in your humility relent and you say, I'm yours, Jesus.

The Bible is clear.

Your spirit is regenerated in that moment.

Like the old one's gone, there's a new spirit there.

You are in Christ, you're a new person.

Like it's it's brand, you're a brand new spirit.

This is John, John 5, verse 24.

John 5:24

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

By the way, the the past tense, present tense, future, that all matters in this.

And and theologians for centuries have recognized this as one of the most foundational verses for understanding that you and I live when we are in Christ.

The moment we are in Christ, we live with a regenerated spirit.

We have, we, the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged, but has crossed over, has crossed over from death to life.

Your spirit totally regenerated at the moment of salvation.

You are in Christ.

That's right.

But you're not just the spirit.

You're a spirit and you're a soul.

You're a soul or a mind.

Your soul, you got your spirit, and you got your mind, your soul, this is like your imagination, reasoning, your personality.

All of this is wrapped up in this.

And see, and and that is not regenerated at salvation.

And you're very aware of that.

We're all very aware of that.

That part is still ticking, very similar to the way it was yesterday, right?

Because that's that's the way it works.

Now, this is where it's really important to understand that part of coming to Jesus is there's a wholeness to this, and that Jesus wants to heal you and and heal you.

And yes, I we believe, we believe based on scripture, that he wants to heal you physically, but he also wants to heal you at a soul level.

He wants to heal your heal your your soul.

Um, years ago, I used to work at a telephone company a long time ago, and I would install internet and telephone service for homes and businesses.

And uh I went to this guy's home, and it was a pretty wealthy neighborhood.

So I always like going to that neighborhood because you know the home's really nice, and you know, it was just nice and it was fun.

And so I remember going to this neighborhood, and I was like, Oh, this is you know, it's pleasant, you know, and get to the house and big home.

And and this guy comes out there as I'm kind of working on the side of the house, it was the customer.

You know, he knew I was outside.

He comes out, I've been there for five minutes.

He's like, Hey, uh, you want something to drink?

And I was like, you know, thanks for offering, you know.

I'm I'm good, you know, that's great.

I'm I no no problem.

You know, so he's like, Are you sure?

I was like, Yeah, yeah, I'm sure.

Okay.

This guy comes back out like 10 minutes later, 15 minutes later, maybe.

And he's asking me the same question.

Hey, you sure you don't want something to drink?

I was like, I was like, you know, yeah, you know, I think I'm good, you know, thank you.

And uh I was like, Did he, you know, amnesia or something?

I don't know.

Like I was only it wasn't that long ago.

He comes back out again, the same thing, like 10-15 minutes later.

I was asking me the same question.

I'm like, man, this guy is pushy, you know.

And uh I was like, you know, twist my arm, sure, I'll take a drink, you know.

Sounds sounds good.

He said, Well, come on with me.

So I follow him into his house, and we're walking through there, and I was like, This is weird, you know.

And so, and so I go in the house.

I'm like, whatever, that's fine.

You know, I'm something to drink.

That sounds great.

He takes me to like his like man cave in this house.

I'm like, okay, this is and this guy, he comes over there and he's got like this, like it's like this bars thing set up in there, and it's just like it's a wall of every and he has these two giant refrigerators.

It's like it's every non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverage you could possibly imagine was in this guy.

I mean, it was just like it looked like this look like a cathedral, you know, on the wall, just of like every I was like, this is this is unbelievable, really.

He's like, Yeah, I got anything you want, man.

Whatever you want.

I'll mix it up.

Whether hey, I don't care what you drink.

I don't care, you're on the job, you're here, you can do whatever you want.

I was like, I was like, calm down, you know.

I was like, Coca-Cola, you know, I don't know.

So uh, so we're sitting there right, you know, we're we're having a drink, and of course he's over there, he's all excited.

He's I could tell he's in his like happy place, just showing me what he's built here, you know.

So I have to ask him, you know, why?

Why this, you know?

And he goes, he's like, he's like, you know, when I was a kid, he's like, I would always invite my friends over to the house.

And and whenever we would come over, he's like, we never had anything to eat, we never had anything to drink, and it just made me so mad.

And I asked my mom and dad, hey, can we get some?

Can we say I was like, no, because we never had enough money.

And he and I told myself that one day when I get a little bit of money, I'm always gonna make sure there's plenty around.

So whenever I get my friends over, he says, No, people are gonna want to be at my house when I get older.

And I was like, Well, I'm thankful for that, you know.

Thank you.

I kind of want to be here.

This is kind of fun, you know.

And uh, and um, do you know what that's called?

That's called iniquity.

You may not know that.

That's what that's called.

That's iniquity, that's an experience, that's an event.

That's what and it doesn't always have to be some some big moment of like sin.

It could just be something as simple as mom and dad going, we ain't spending money on snacks and drinks.

But then you tell yourself a story based on that, and the story you're t you tell yourself actually now distorts what's really true and best.

And in iniquity, it becomes the the Bible word for iniquity, the Bible picture for that is actually bent.

So if straight is what's true, then we then we believe lies and stories we tell ourselves, and it gets a little bit bent, and then that becomes our new reality.

And the Bible calls that iniquity.

And iniquity, when you have iniquity in your life, it makes you it creates extremes in those areas of your life, like a mountain of drinks on the wall in an entire room in your in your 5,000 square foot home just dedicated to drinks.

It makes you extreme, right?

Because there's a that's a that's a bent, there's a there's a reality twist, and it's not that he has to repent for having lots of drinks and providing drinks.

That's not that's not it.

It create it distorts reality.

This is why abuse is so damaging.

Because it distorts what you think is real and true, what's good, what's really trustworthy, what love really is.

It distorts it.

It gives you a twisted, a bent version, and now you have to spend your life either one of two things, either getting healed and unbending what's been bent, or you go about your life with a distorted version of reality.

See, that's what iniquity does to you.

See, humanity, human beings, from the very beginning of time, we have spent our whole existence trying to normalize our bents.

We spend all a lot of energy trying to convince ourselves and other people that the way we see life, the bent ways, that's the that's the normal way.

That's the that's the best way.

In fact, we live in a moment where we even will celebrate our bents.

It's iniquity.

Imagine if you broke your your arm.

In fact, I think this is an example for those of you that are in freedom groups.

I think this is in your book.

If you broke a limb in your body and then we did not heal it, and we just sort of like let it do its own thing, what happens?

It's not gonna grow back correctly.

You may even live with pain for the rest of your life, right?

There's a process to that.

If I broke my arm, and especially if it's a severe break, right, I would need to get it set, and then I would need to, and then I would probably depending on what you know the bones in my body that I break, I may even require some physical therapy as to go with that, right?

Because there's a process to that.

And if you don't do the process, it doesn't grow back correctly.

If it doesn't grow back correctly, now you got a new normal and it's not the best.

Side God's best for you.

That's a picture of iniquity.

You know you have iniquity in your life because it usually comes with some inner vows, right?

There's things that have happened in your life, and you just go, When I grow up, I will never.

I will never this is classic.

I will never be like my dad when I grow up.

And then you turn 40 and you start contemplating, you're like, wow, I'm very similar to my father.

Welcome to reality.

Why?

Because inner vows are the quickest way to become the very thing that you don't want to become.

When you make inner vows, whether it's something as deep as I don't want to be like one of my parents, or as noble as when I grow up, I want to make tons of money and fund the gospel.

You tell yourself these things, and these are inner vows, and those are connected to bents and iniquities that God wants to heal you from.

Some of us, we are in Christ, you're born again, your spirit's been regenerated.

You've been told that, you believed that, you prayed prayers, you you come to church, you're trying to do your life.

And here's the thing you're going, why can't I get a hold of the life that you keep telling me is available to me in Christ?

And I'm gonna tell you why.

Because the Bible uses this language, born again.

I love the language.

I know it's a little bit uncomfortable.

I know sometimes we think about the word language of being born again.

We don't really want to say that to our unsaved friends and family because it feels a little bit kind of churchy and kind of odd to be quote born again.

But the idea is that you start over, you relearn how to walk, how to talk, how to think.

You relearn what is right and good and normal.

You are born again.

And here's the struggle for a lot of us.

We're trying to build a life in Jesus on foundations that we built when we were not in Jesus.

We're trying to make sense of the Jesus way on foundations that were laid when we were never in Jesus.

Are you seeing this?

We're trying, we're trying to make sense of this.

Hold on, iniquity bents.

It's time to embrace the fact that when we're regenerated, we're born again.

It's time to start over again.

It's time to relearn.

So you're a spirit, completely regenerated, you're a soul, 2 Corinthians 5.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come, the old has gone, the new is here.

You're a spirit, you're a soul, and the third one is your flesh.

You're made up of a body, you're a body.

This is your desires, this is your inclinations, this is your habits, this is the out of order portion of your life.

This is the this is the part of us where our brain tells us one thing, pastors telling us the Jesus way, my brain says, I agree with that, and then everything in you goes, I don't want to do that.

That's your flesh.

There it is.

So you're a spirit, you're a soul, and you're flesh.

And see, sometimes, especially if you've been doing the like the church thing for a period of time, we kind of get this like religion, really religiosity perspective toward our faith, and we start thinking like we're this is where all the good people are, and all the bad, polluted world is out there.

And if don't spend too much time out there, because then it'll get in you and it'll corrupt you, you know.

It's like, oh my goodness, I'm we're great, we're in Christ.

Oh, now we gotta go into the world.

Try not to try not to lose our faith this week, you know.

Well, I don't know about that.

Let's see.

This is James.

James chapter one.

Verse 13 When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me.

We say that more than we realize.

I don't know why.

God's trying to do in this moment.

It's like, I don't know why.

I don't know why.

It's just like every time I see that lady, and I'm just I'm tempted, and it's like, uh, that ain't God, brother.

Come on.

Um, um, take a different route.

Stop taking a break every day with that lady.

You know what I'm saying?

Like, um, uh, do something different.

That ain't the Lord.

Stop saying, God, what's God trying to show me?

He's trying to tell you you're an idiot and you need to do something different.

That's he's right there.

I don't know.

I'm I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I don't know.

Sometimes that's the voice in my head.

I'm like, how does God talk to me?

Sometimes that's what he says.

And I anyway, and then it comes out of me like that.

I'm sorry.

That's not very pastoral.

I know, but I gotta I gotta repent of that.

I can do better.

I need to do better.

Okay, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.

Here it is.

But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.

Oh, wait a doesn't come from out there.

No, it comes from in here.

Then after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it's full grown, gives way and birth to death.

Galatians 5 says it this way for the flesh desires what is contrary to the spirit.

Your regenerated spirit.

What your flesh wants is contrary to that, and the spirit, what is contrary to the flesh.

They are in conflict with each other, so they're not able.

You're not actually supposed to do whatever you want to do.

There it is.

Because when especially when you're new to faith, especially when you're trying to, it's like there's a lot of bents, there's a lot of inequity, there's a lot of healing that needs to be placed, a lot of rewiring, a lot of new foundations that need to be laid.

Look at this.

This is Romans chapter 8, verse 5.

Romans 8:5

Says, those who live according to the flesh, by the way, you're gonna notice here, you're gonna notice spirit, mind, body, flesh, you're gonna notice all this right here in this scripture.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires, but those who live in accordance with the spirit have their minds set on what the spirit desires.

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the spirit is life and peace.

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God, it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.

Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You're a spirit, you're a soul and a mind, and you're a body, and you have your flesh.

And so here's the question.

The question isn't why am I not farther along than I should be, you know, in my faith?

Why don't why do I still do that?

I shouldn't, I should be in a different place, I should be better, I should, I shouldn't struggle.

No, no, no.

Here's the real question.

The question is, is are you feeding your flesh or are you walking in the spirit?

That's the real question.

Are you feeding your flesh or are you walking in the spirit?

Now that even the question though, I mean, that walking in the spirit, that sounds good.

Definitely some churchy language again, right?

And that's a little bit, doesn't really feel very practical.

So, what does that really mean to walk in the spirit?

You can tell.

I don't like it when we say churchy things, and then we walk out and we all pretend like we know what we're talking about, and then I have a conversation with you later.

I'm like, what does that mean to you?

You're like, you know what?

Now that I think about it, I have no idea.

It's like, yeah, we should probably fix that, you know.

So anyway, there you go.

That's that's some of my pet peeves coming out right now.

So we're gonna talk about what that means.

What does it mean to walk in the spirit?

Okay, walk in the spirit, don't feed your flesh.

Okay, so John 15, 5.

I am the vine, you are the branches.

This is Jesus.

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.

For apart from me, you can do nothing.

You can, you know that when you're in Christ, we're gonna go somewhere.

Stay with me.

I'm gonna go, I'm gonna tie this together for you.

When you're in Christ, you can bear much fruit.

What does that mean?

Bear much fruit.

He he's not talking about this.

Isn't like if you stay in me, all your wildest dreams are gonna come true.

If you stay in me, you will accomplish greatness with your life.

No, no, no.

You will bear much fruit.

See, and this is this is confusing because a lot of us we don't we don't know how to distinguish between what's works and what's fruit.

So, so fruit in our life is things where where you actually gain the respect of your kids completely independent of whether you actually accomplish any greatness with your career or not.

See, fruit will do that for you.

Fruit in your life is what is what keeps your marriage healthy for the long term, completely independent of what the world, the family, and everything else throws at you.

Fruit can do that.

Fruit is things like love and joy and peace, kindness, goodness, just like a sense of goodness in your life.

Like that's fruit.

We're talking about works.

This is confusing because some of us we get really excited about works.

I mean, don't get me wrong, you're made for good works.

Let's not pretend like works don't matter, they matter.

And God designed you to accomplish great things and do good works to other people around you.

We are not minimizing that one bit.

But it's really important that you understand the difference because people come with a silver tongue, and and really attractive people will come along your way and they'll say great things, and and they got great works, and they go, look at what we've done, look what we're building.

Great and talented people come along in your life, and we'll confuse that great work with great fruit.

And we wonder why.

Why is it all falling apart?

Why is it see this is how people find themselves trying to carry a responsibility that their character and their integrity is incapable of sustaining fruit versus works, and here's what Jesus is saying the fruit that I've designed you, the life I've designed you to live is found.

Look how he says it, when you remain in me.

Some of your versions in your Bible might say, Abide in me.

Let me give you the let me give you another way to say it.

Make your home in him.

Make your home in Jesus.

You don't make it so Airbnb.

I go on a little trip, I get a little Airbnb.

Maybe do that a couple times once a year, twice a year, three times a year.

I don't know.

You find a little place.

Is that your home?

No, you're just there temporarily, you're kind of in and then you're out.

You don't make your home on vacation that you hope to get to once a year, twice a year.

No, you make your home homes where you go at the end of the day.

Home's the home's the place you you wake up at most days.

You should.

Home is the place that you go to when you're exhausted and everything's like all the pressures on you, and you go, I just gotta get home.

Home is the place where your vocabulary changes.

Come on now.

Home is the place where you stop pretending.

The the mask comes off.

Home is the place where you with your kids, and you're just like, now, kids, this is a home thing, not a public thing, right?

This is us here because that's home.

That's home.

And Jesus is going, Whatever that is, make your home in me.

Make your home in me.

This is what we talked about last week.

Stop hiding.

Stop trying to like trying to like pacify your own guilt and just embrace the fact that you're guilty.

Don't turn it into shame.

Stop hiding.

Go to him, take the mask off, be honest.

He already knows anyway.

You're not fooling anybody.

Like that's what he's this is so make your home in Jesus.

Because when you make your home in Jesus, that's actually the pathway to produce the fruit that you actually long to produce in your life.

What do you think of when you see a couple people kind of spending time together?

You say, I've noticed, you know, I I've I've been out mowing my lawn before, and I've seen a couple people like drive by every now and then they like honk and they wave at me, and I look in there, and there's a couple people in the car, and I see that I see the two of them hanging out, like, oh, you know, and I just assume there must be like a friendship there, right?

They must be like, I noticed them hanging out quite a bit.

They must be forming like a friendship.

That's you know, that's great.

You know, you see, you see two single people, male and a female, and they're kind of hanging out together, and you're like, you notice, you're like, I noticed the first time, but then I noticed the second, the third time, you're like, I think there's like a there's kind of a budding romance in the works here, you know.

That's what you that's where your mind goes, you know.

You see two, do you see a husband and a wife?

They spend a lot of time together.

You're like, man, they're together all the time.

You think surely they like each other, right?

They must that's not always true, but you know, that's what I must look together a lot.

But okay.

Then you see a married man with a woman who's not his wife, and then you see that over again, you see it again, you think that's problematic, isn't it?

Why?

I'll tell you why.

All of those scenarios are true because time and and and experiences and communication together has a way of knitting your hearts together.

And Jesus is in is inviting you to make your home in him to be with him.

Are you seeing this?

Time, communication, and experiences together.

Together.

Bible says that we're to be like trees planted by streams of water that were intended to flourish.

I mean, even Jesus, he said, I'm the vine, you're the you're the branches, bear fruit, grow, flourish.

In order to flourish, your roots got to be in the soil.

And and and not just dipped into the soil two or three times a year.

They have to make their home in the soil.

They have to live in the soil, they have to remain in the soil always.

So, what is it?

What's the soil that our roots and our life is meant to make we're meant to make our home in?

Instead of just saying walk in the spirit, what does that really mean to put our roots into the soil, to walk in the spirit always?

What does that mean to remain in Him?

Well, I'm gonna tell you what it what it means, but I'm gonna, but I'm also gonna tell you this.

Some of you, you might be a little bit disappointed to find out because you're waiting for the secret sauce right now.

You're just like, here it is, drop it on me, Pastor.

What is it?

I've been missing this the whole time.

You probably have been missing it because you've been you've probably just been underestimating what it's actually intended to do in your life.

But it's nothing, not a whole lot new under the sun.

You ready?

Here's the first one to be in the soil.

You have to be in his word.

It's right here.

You got to be in his word.

He's talking to you.

Some of us were running around waiting for God to speak to us.

God, I need a vision, I need a sign.

God, show me what to do.

God, where are my take the job, date her, date him, get married, don't get married.

What do I do?

How do I handle that?

It's like, first of all, I've been talking to you for a long time.

Can we start with the things I'm trying to say to you?

We gotta be in his word.

We gotta be in his be in his word.

John 6.

The spirit gives life, the flesh counts for nothing.

The words I've spoken to you, they are full of the spirit and life.

You gotta be, oh, by the way, here's the way it looks too.

Go back to my previous slide.

This is the way it looks.

This is what we do as a church.

We talk about the slow reading of scripture and prayer.

This is a really important part of this.

In fact, in your message notes on the app, every week at the bottom, there's always a portion that says the slow read for the week.

If you don't read anything the whole week, if that's all you read every single day, was what we put in there.

I promise you.

I promise you, you're in his word.

That's good.

Keep going.

Do the slow read.

Prayer.

Prayer.

He's speaking to you.

You speak to him.

You got to be in his word.

All right, here's the next one.

You have to be with his people.

You got to be with his people.

For us, this looks like we call it spiritual family.

That's the language we use here.

You have to be with your spiritual family.

That's that's this gathering, but it's also, it's uh, it's not just this gathering, it's also the gathering during the week when you actually like are in a group, in a community group, and you're you're around other people.

I know a lot of you're in freedom groups.

Good job.

Really, good job.

You're putting to practice this spiritual habit of spiritual family.

You're making that a habit in your life.

And if you want to be in the soil, you need to, you need to be in his word, but you also need to make a habit of continuously being with his people.

Colossians 3.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs of the Spirit, singing to God and gratitude with gratitude in your heart.

So you've got to be in his word, you have to be with his people.

And the throne is you have to be led by his spirit.

Led by his spirit.

This is John 14.

Jesus says this, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate.

Advocate.

We got one word for that.

We call it advocate.

He's the Holy Spirit.

Other words for that in that exact that same Greek word is he's your comforter, he's your advocate, he's your intercessor, he's your counselor, he's the one that strengthens you, he's the one on standby.

Like he's on standby.

How about that?

Who wouldn't want a wealthy benefactor just on standby as you go about your life?

You're like, things are tight.

Ring the bell.

You know, it's like, hey, need more, right?

I need some money, I need some direction.

That sounds good.

You got the Holy Spirit.

He's your advocate, he's the one on standby.

You're not meant to do this by yourself.

You're in his word, you're with his people, you're in his spirit.

He's there to help you and be with you forever.

The spirit of truth.

The world cannot accept him because it neither sees him or knows him, but you know him.

For he lives with you and will be in you.

And I think for a lot of us, we we it's too simple.

Yeah, but if Jesus was walking the earth, I'd be all in with him.

I don't know.

It might be a little bit too human for you.

Yeah, I don't know, Pastor.

I this is just it feels like this is the same thing I've always heard.

He might be speaking to you about that.

It's a little bit human.

Be in his word, be with his people, be led by his spirit.

And our job, church, is not to be our job is to be led by him, not to dictate to him every step that we're supposed to take in our own spiritual life.

I can't, I it always blows my mind.

How many, how many conversations over the years I've had with people who have utterly wrecked their lives.

I mean, I mean, have have dropped the proverbial bomb inside of their family and have blown up their marriages, their relationship with their kids.

And then I go to have a conversation with them, and it's amazing to me how quickly they'll go, Oh, I know what I did wrong, and I know what I need to do moving forward.

Like, brother, you don't know anything.

You don't know anything.

But we but it's amazing how we become the perpetrator and the hero in the same breath.

Our job is to be led by the spirit, not to dictate to him what's next in our life all the time.

Some of us are just like, you just can't, some of us, we it's like we get born again, like I'm in Christ, and suddenly, three weeks later, we're theologians.

Pastor, I've been reading.

I don't know how I feel about this.

Brother, get low, like low, humility.

Like get some humility in you.

You you you ain't a father, you're a child, you're an infant.

You need a spiritual father in your life.

You're not ready to be a spiritual father.

We gotta get low.

Our job is to be led by the spirit, not dictate to him every step of the way.

It's quieter than you realize, but I promise you it's way deeper than than you realize, too.

I'll end with this little story.

This this teaching has been there's a few teachings that I do that I do that are really close to my heart.

This is one of them.

Um I was 22, and I had just joined the Navy.

I'd been in the Navy for a little bit, about a year or so.

And I had a friend of mine um from high school.

His life, my life, we kind of went in in different directions.

He got married really early on, like right out of high school, and had a him and his girlfriend had a had a baby, and then they got and they ended up getting married.

And so our lives, you know, I and I and I went to college for a little bit, then I went to the Navy.

So our lives just kind of went in different directions, but we stayed connected.

And and I remember he he called me and he had just had his second baby, and and and I was coming home for Christmas, and he's like, Hey, you gotta come when you get here, I'd love to hang out with you, and I'd love to introduce you to my second, my second son.

And I was like, You bet, you know, that sounds amazing.

And and so I got I got there and and uh had a little bit of time off, and and and so I go to his house um that morning, and he and I are gonna just kind of hang out at the house.

His wife had left early that morning with her mom.

She was gonna go out of town and I don't know, do some shopping somewhere.

I don't I don't know.

And and so I'm there at the house, and it was, you know, uh it was time to get his six-month-old or seven-month-old up out of out of bed, and we went in there and uh he was dead in the crib.

I still remember it like it was yesterday, because in that month, you know, I'm 22 years old.

I've got my friend.

I mean, we were we're like kids, you know.

This is his second, and it was just you, you it was so disorienting what happened in that moment.

Just I still it's it's amazing how it was disorienting, and yet I feel like I can probably recall every detail of that week to you all at the same time.

And I just remember in that moment, you know, just you know, I'm trying to navigate it for myself, but you know, I'm not even the parent, so I can't even imagine the disorientation that they were that he was experiencing at that time.

And so I'm in the middle, I'm his friend, and I'm there, and I'm trying to like, what do I do?

I'm a Christian, I'm I'm a Jesus follower, I'm I'm excited about my faith.

I'm like, you know, I'm I'm I think that I know some things, you know, and and then in those, and in that moment, here's my friend, and it's his, and it's his son, and I still remember Paramexa whisking that baby out of there, and just like that was the last time.

I think I'm probably one of the last ones to ever see him before he left the house, and there he goes.

And mom didn't even get there till like 45 minutes later, and never got to see him again until the funeral.

Just devastation.

And I and my friend is just he's saying things and doing things that are just incoherent.

He's out of his mind, and I'm like, and I'm trying to help, and I'm his and I want to be his friend, and and and so I'm there, and I remember I spent the whole week with him.

When we did the funeral, and we did the whole thing, and and and I was and I remembered I would come to the end of the day, and I and there was I remember it's like day two or three, and I just remember I finally just started weeping because I just like it was all in me, and I was just trying to like do the best I could.

And you want to know what I realized because I'm 22 years old, I've been following Jesus since I was a young teenager.

I remember being 12 years old and 13 years old, and I remember those ages crying out to God and I'm all in Jesus and I'm committed to you.

I remember that.

I was all in.

I loved him, I was learning, I was even reading his word, and you want to know what I realized in that moment?

I knew nothing.

I didn't know anything.

I don't have I don't know how to answer this, I don't know how to make sense of this, I don't know, I don't know what to do.

I'm over here, I believe that Jesus raises people from the dead, and I'm over here walking by and going, why didn't I just like lay my hands on that baby and just pray over the baby?

Why didn't I do that?

And I just and I get all tore up inside.

I just start I have all these feelings and the guilt, some shame starts creeping in because it's a lot to admit when you're 22 and you feel like you got everybody fooled that you're just really you really got it together.

You gotta go, I know nothing.

I don't know anything.

And I remember the next few months, I got a hold of this teaching probably two or three months after that event.

That I was a spirit, I was a soul, and I was a body.

Yeah, we could talk about why the bad things happen and evil things, and sin is disorienting, and it doesn't make sense.

And some of that you just can't avoid.

There's no way to make sense of a baby dying like that.

There isn't a way to make sense of that.

But I remember getting a hold of this teaching and realizing, oh no, no, no, it's not that I'm not in Christ.

I was in Christ.

It wasn't that I didn't, it wasn't that I just wasn't in Jesus, and it's like, well, if I was really wasn't Jesus, why didn't I do this or that?

No, no, no, I was in Jesus.

The problem was that I didn't understand that my mind and my flesh were in a position where they were warrying against the regenerated spirit that God put in me, that there was a level of responsibility that I could put my mind on the things of God and feed my spirit in me and actually have a role in my own level of maturity because I'm not just a singular person, I'm a spirit and I'm a soul, I'm a mind, and I'm a body.

And in that moment, what I realized was like it was time to grow up.

I needed to grow up, and it wasn't again, it wasn't that I needed to.

Go and get reborn again.

I've been born again for a long time.

I just didn't know what it meant to grow up.

And I'm telling you, this is Jesus' invitation to you to get in the yoke.

It's slow, it doesn't feel like anything's happening.

You feel like I'm but I'm just telling you, when you keep your your roots in the soil, when you keep your roots in the soil and you you stay in his word and you stay with his people and you continue to be committed to be led by his spirit, you will begin to see things like life and power and fruit and freedom develop in your life.

It does happen.

It does happen.

This doesn't happen overnight.

It happens over time.

There's a better way for you.

There's a better way.

Life, power, fruit, and freedom.

Let's pray.

Jesus, we need your help.

We need your help.

As we think about the reality of how of how you made us, for some of us, we we're very aware that we are not where we think we ought to be.

And so would you we repent of hiding from you?

We repent.

We're sorry, we don't want to hide from you anymore.

So we choose to stop hiding.

And we just acknowledge that.

We've come up short, and so we just and we we bring that to you.

And we thank you that that you're yet you've regenerated our spirit, that we're in you.

We thank you for for saving us.

We thank you that for the work that you did on the cross for those of us that are that are in you, and we've maybe we've been following Jesus for years, maybe maybe just for a few weeks now.

We thank you that you've made us new, but we also recognize that we're a mind and that we're a that we're made up of a body.

And so would you help us this week?

Make us aware of those things that we're setting our mind to.

Make us aware of those things where we're when we're setting our mind according to what our flesh desires versus what it is that you desire for our life.

Help us to identify those moments, be cognitive of those moments, and and actually, and actually make decisions to put our attention on you.

Make us new.

Make us new.

Help us to bring our flesh in alignment with the spirit that you've made new on the inside of us.

For some of you, you've never even committed your life to Jesus.

Your spirit has not been regenerated.

You are not in Christ right now, but you can be.

And Jesus is inviting you to get into the yoke with him, to live his way, and to be reborn and live your life with him.

And if you've never done that, you need to do that right now.

Just make you that commitment to him.

Just tell him in your own way, Jesus, I give you my life.

I believe you died on the cross for my sins, that you rose again on the third day.

And then you ascended to the right hand of the Father.

You sent your Holy Spirit, and I sense him right now that you are leading me and calling me to follow you.

And so I choose to get low, to get humble, and I choose to follow you.

I don't understand all of it, but I'm committed to following you, to do the slow path, to walk your way.

Thank you.

Thank you for changing me from the inside out, from the inside out.