Gifts and Gaps | The Kingdom Blueprint | Pastor Scott Thomas

Welcome to Free Life Chapel, where we

help you discover and live the free life

in Christ. My name is Bria, and I want

to invite you to come check us out in

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to learn more about who we are, what we

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let's get into what you've been waiting

for. Check out this message.

>> Cindy and I went this week after Pastors

Ed and Lisa were here last Sunday. They

are our pastors. And if you missed last

week's message, you need to go listen to

the podcast talking about getting

through ser seasons of pain. If you're

going through a struggle, I encourage

you to get that. Uh but but we we then

ran down to the Florida Keys and hung

out with them for a few days. How how

many you have have you have been to the

Florida Keys? You know, like it's

different world. How many of you have

not? You need a passport to go. You need

a passport. It's a It is a different

world down there. Uh I'm kidding. You

don't need a passport, but I'm I'm But

anyway, we got down there and um and and

Pastor Ed and Pastor Lisa are big fish.

Like they love to fish. Love to fish.

Pastor Ed especially loves fly fishing

and he fly fishes for everything in the

world. Um, and uh, so anyway, we got

down there and and we got out there and

and they had made plans for us uh, to go

out, Cindy, myself, Pastor Ed, Pastor

Lisa go out and go fishing in the

Florida Keys. And so we get up and we

get in the boat that day and we're

taking off and we're covered from head

to toe uh, like bucket hats and and and

and and got our faces covered, got

everything like you're hiding from the

sun because you're out there exposed. it

just it's just you and the sun and we're

riding for a solid hour. We get out

there and we're we're in what they call

the back country of the Everglades and

we're just kind of hanging out there and

and I'm talking to the captain once we

got out there and I said, "Hey, like the

water like it it's you can see for miles

and it's only like three and four feet

deep." And I'm like, "Well, bro, I just

wanted let me can I just jump out in the

water?" And he goes, "Oh, no, no, no,

no."

>> I'm like, "What's up?" He said, "Do you

understand that out here in this area, a

person might last 30 minutes in this

water?" I said, "What are you talking

about?" He said, "This place is

sharkinfested.

They're everywhere. Like, they are

everywhere out here." I said, "Are you

serious?" He said, "Yeah, they're

they're everywhere." So, we're like, "We

want to catch a shark."

Like, can can we do like, "Okay, let's

go." And so we we we jump in there and

and man, no sooner had we had the rods

out there. Got all the way down

like, "Oh, it's game time, baby." And so

grabbed that rod

and fought and played and man, it wasn't

long. And here here had a had a great

shark right up by the boat like, "You

got to be kidding me. It was amazing."

And then and then right after that,

we're like we had some more bait out

there and and then I did something that

she wasn't expecting. Cindy

It's your turn to catch a shark.

>> Now, y'all got to understand, Cindy's

never been fishing in her entire life.

>> This is Cindy wrapped from head to toe,

running from the sun because I mean, she

soaks the sun up like crazy. That is

Cindy in case you're wondering. And

that's not me with the white nose. That

is actually the the captain of the boat.

He's got a guard on his face. Anyway, so

so this is her and she is she's holding

on and she's she's fighting for a minute

and then this happened.

That girl did that right there. She

reeled in this five plus foot lemon

shark. Mine was over six because mine

has to be bigger. But anyway, she reeled

IN THIS SHARK LIKE, "ARE YOU GO GIRL?"

AND SHE WAS SO PROUD OF HERSELF. And so

now she's hooked. She's a professional

fisherman in case you're wondering. And

so that's that's how that runs. We had

the most amazing time and laughing. Uh

every one of us caught sharks on the

boat that day. It was it WAS NEXT LEVEL.

PASTOR ED and I went out fishing the

next day and we're just woo we're just

riding again out there in the back

country and we we did all kinds of

fishing. We're fishing uh for tarpon and

and we had a lot of encounters and no

catches. And so we're coming back in and

the boat is racing because we're ready

to get back to the ladies and get some

food. And man, we're just running and

I'm riding on the front. The the wind is

blowing and all of a sudden there went

my glasses.

Like I didn't know you had to superglue

them things on to ride on a boat. Like

what the And I hear I hear the the the

captain down and and Pastor Ed is behind

me. He goes, "HEY, WHAT WAS THAT? IT

JUST HIT ME IN THE ARM." I said, "It was

my ability to see. That's what just

happened."

And the captain said, "They gone. You

ain't getting them back." I said, "I

don't need them. Go." And so for the

next for for that evening, I'm like in

the house like man, you know, I just

kind of

trying to figure things out like this is

so embarrassing. I would get a text

message. I had to screenshot it, run it

to the pictures on my photos, enlarge

it.

It's 58y old problems. It's 58 year old

problem. All my 50 uh plus you people

give me a shout out right now. You know

what I'm talking about. Yeah. Uhhuh.

That's what I'm saying.

So, I borrowed a pair of Pastor Lisa's

glasses while we were at the house, like

for real. And uh I even wore them to to

dinner that night because I could see

better with hers. Anyway, anyway, here

here's here's what here's what I want

you to understand. I I I lost my glasses

and my vision was blurred. I hard time

seeing, squinting, didn't didn't see

much. And quite honestly, it's so much

like the church. the we have a blurred

vision of salvation.

>> Come on.

>> And I want to go back and I want to hit

again because I can't get this out of my

out of my heart, out of my spirit. So,

it must be something for free life that

I got to keep leaning in here that we

need a greater understanding of what

salvation is.

We have limited salvation to just this

one-on-one prayer with Jesus and then we

run and we've missed the the next level

of what it's supposed to be if you're

going to get the total picture of

salvation. A couple of weeks ago, uh we

we read together, we mentioned Matthew

Matthew 6:33

6:33, which actually says this, "Seek

the kingdom of God above all else and

live righteously, and he will give you

everything you need."

seek the kingdom of God. Jesus spoke

about the kingdom of God. He didn't

speak about his death, burial,

resurrection when he was speaking

publicly. He did that privately. What he

really told us was seek the kingdom. And

and and salvation is how you enter the

kingdom. He was highlighting the kingdom

because that should be the experience.

This is why Jesus said in John 10:9,

John 10:9

again, kind of a little bit of a recap.

He said, "I am the door. I am the PTO. I

am the door like that. That's that's who

I am. And and but let me help you help

you understand Jesus is not a door to

nowhere,

>> right?

>> If he's a door, he's leading you

somewhere.

>> So if salvation is a door, what is it a

door to? Where does that door lead?

Where does salvation lead? And here's

what it is. It starts with personal

faith. That's where you pray, "Jesus,

come into my heart. Forgive me for my

sins. I can't believe I get to go know

you and experience you and go to

heaven." That's awesome. But number two,

locked into that just as much as your

personal faith is a community

experience.

You are brought into what's called the

body of Christ. You're one of us. Like

it or not, YOU'RE AS WHACKED out as we

are.

>> We all in this together. You joined a

family. You became a part of a

fraternity, a sorority. IT'S WHO WE ARE.

THAT'S WHAT BAPTISM IS ABOUT. I'M GOING

PUBLIC WITH MY FAITH. I am now a part of

this community, the body of Christ,

which is global. Billions of us around

the world. You have been brought into

the kingdom of God. Why? To connect and

to grow.

>> That's right.

>> That's why we're here. So, the true goal

of salvation

is to experience God's kingdom in our

lives right now.

God's activity in YOUR LIFE RIGHT NOW.

Salvation is what you put you in

relationship with God. But Jesus working

in your life is the play out of the

kingdom of God. And you and I need to be

thinking kingdom and begin to explore

what is that kingdom like. I want to get

past the door and move in. So So let me

just kind of put it in and and and give

you some handles. If you have no peace,

then the kingdom is not in operation

right now.

If you always feel like you're a victim

or you're always angry about something

or someone so easily triggered, then the

kingdom is not operating in you right

now.

>> No, that because Jesus don't live

triggered.

>> There's nothing about Holy Spirit that

lives angry and looking to bounce on

somebody. That's not how it rolls.

>> That's not kingdom there. If you have no

concern for others, if your world is

made up off of what makes you feel good,

I'm just loyal to me. Well, let me help

you. Uh the kingdom is not in control in

your life.

Jesus was was enamored, was was

concerned about all those that were

around him, moved with compassion,

love God, love people as yourself.

Right? If you view church as optional or

just an accessory to your faith, the

kingdom is not operating in your life.

>> Jesus died to birth the church.

We don't want to reduce his sacrifice to

an option.

>> He gave it all that we could be sitting

here in a body, in a community together.

And that's what this is about. Romans

Romans 12:5

12:5. Romans 12:5. Romans 12:5 says

Romans 12:5 Romans 12:5

this, "There are many of us, but we each

are part of the body of Christ as well

as part of one another." Oh man, THE

PERSON YOU'RE SITTING beside right now,

Y'ALL ARE HOOKED UP. Y'ALL ARE

CONNECTED. YOU ALL ARE ONE. IF you're in

Christ Jesus,

WE'RE FAMILY. WE'RE ROLLING TOGETHER

LIKE WE'RE DOING LIFE TOGETHER. WE

SHOULD BE LIFTING EACH OTHER,

ENCOURAGING EACH OTHER, a part of each

other's world. Again, salvation is

individual. I'm joined

to the body through salvation. But if

I'm in the body, then I'm also joined to

each other. This is how what the

scriptur is telling us. So, so you know

if if you took a hand and you cut the

hand off of a body like that would be

horrible. I I don't recommend anybody do

that. But if you if you if you cut the

hand off from THE BODY, IT'S STILL A

HAND. WATCH. IT'S still a hand. It just

can't function.

>> It's still a hand, but it has no more

purpose.

>> It's still a hand, but it has no more

life. It's still a hand, but it has no

more strength. It's done. It's over. You

see, the moment it's separated from the

body, the the supply, the life supply is

cut off from it. The power is gone. It

the hand dies when it's separated from

the body. I I I want you to understand

today, the hand desperately needs the

body.

>> That's right. a couple of weeks ago when

I showed you that video video of me

running that that dowel through my hand

when I turned the cake upside down.

Y'all remember that? If you if you've

never seen the video, don't do it. I

still get squeamish when I watch it

happen. But I slammed a cake upside down

and the dowel shot through the bottom of

the cake and it went through my hand. I

I didn't just look at it. I knew

something was wrong because that doesn't

belong there. So, you know what

happened? my other hand reached up and

yanked it out.

>> If I didn't have another hand to remove

the issue,

>> I would have been walking around. Man,

this is this is horrible. Can you

imagine? CAN YOU IMAGINE TRYING TO LIKE

like do life with something out of order

in your life? No. I needed THE REST OF

THE body to take out what was wrong and

bring healing to that area of my life.

If the hand is disconnected, it has no

one to help. And I'm here to tell you

right now, if you and I get disconnected

from God's house, we lose the power

source that helps pull things out of our

life that are causing pain or put things

into our life that bring healing and

joy. We need each other. Tell somebody

beside you, "I need you in my life."

Just tell them, "I need you."

>> Yes.

>> There's a broken mindset in the church.

Here's the mindset. Y'all watch it. Just

track with me. It's just me and God. You

ever heard someone think that way, talk

that way? It's just me and God. No, I'm

just following Holy Spirit.

That's usually your whacked out

Pentecostals. But that's all right. We

we'll we'll go down. I'm one of you, so

I can talk that way. My faith is

private. My faith. I don't need church.

>> All this foolishness,

>> all this all this stuff that's just

clamor that's just thrown out there,

that's not New Testament Christianity.

>> No. all those comments. Let me just be

real plain with you because that's how

we talk at Free Life.

>> It's a rejection of God's word and God's

order.

>> It's not of just a different opinion.

No, it's you. It's you jamming God.

>> Like, I don't need your opinion. Don't

Don't tell me how to run my life.

>> Don't tell me how to run my faith. I'll

do it on my own. Ladies and gentlemen,

we don't get to write the book.

We just follow the instructions.

>> You and I got to lean in differently

here. And I need you to understand New

Testament Christianity is relational.

It's community. It's interconnected. We

need each other in this. And I want to

get into get in a minute what that's all

about. But I I I need to just give you

the raw reality upfront. I God created

you with gifts and with gaps.

You got both. I got both.

I got I got very few on the front end,

the gifts, and I got a whole lot on the

back end. I got a lot of gaps.

But but all of us, YES, YOU'RE GIFTED.

OF COURSE YOU ARE. YOU GOT SOME AMAZING

TALENT. THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT YOU

JUST CRUSH. AND YOU'RE THE TOP OF THE

LOT, MAN. When it comes to that your

gifting, HOW IT OPERATE. BOOM. YOU DO

THAT LIKE NOBODY'S BUSINESS. BUT SOME OF

THE MOST gifted people are also some of

the most blinded people because they

only see their gift and they don't see

their gap.

>> And you and I need to realize that all

of us have blind spots in our life.

>> Every one of us. Anybody ever been

merging into a lane when there was a car

coming there? They're laying on the horn

AND Y RIGHT. WE ALL HAVE BLIND spots and

your rear view mirrors. You can't do it

all alone. YOU CAN BE DRIVING ALONE,

have an accident because you had a blind

spot you didn't see. But put someone in

the car with you and they SCREAMING YOUR

NAME. OH, DO IT. YEAH. YEAH. YEAH. I'M

JUST SAYING.

>> YOU GOT GIFTS, BUT YOU ALSO GOT GAPS.

>> YOUR GIFTS ARE, WATCH, NOT TO SERVE YOU.

THEY'RE TO SERVE OTHERS.

>> Your gifts ARE TO SERVE OTHER PEOPLE.

THAT'S WHY YOU GOT THE GIFTS. AND YOUR

GAPS ARE there so that you realize you

need to receive from others.

>> If you're not receiving from anybody,

you got some empty gaps in your life.

>> And they're deep, deep, and wide. deep

and wide.

>> These these gaps

these gaps become deficits and cavities

that swallow up stuff that should not be

disappearing in my life

>> and we got to put it in order. Let me in

fact let me give you some Bible. 1

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

Corinthians chapter 12. A bunch of

verses here. I DON'T EVER READ THIS THIS

much in in in Bible in the church at one

time, but I got to go through this and

when we hit the red spots, you read

those or the highlighted spots. Let's go

here. Ready? Here it is. 1 Corinthians

12. The human body has many parts,

>> but the many parts make up one whole

body. So it is with the body of Christ.

Our bodies have many parts, and God has

put each part just where he wants it.

How strange a body would be if it only

had one part.

>> Yes, there are many parts, but only one

body. The eye can never say to the hand,

"I don't need you." The head can't say

to the feet, "I don't need you." This

makes for harmony among the members so

that all the members care for each

other. If one part suffers,

>> all the parts suffer with it. And if one

part is honored,

>> all the parts are glad. All of you

together are Christ's body.

>> And each of you is a part.

>> The whole body takes care of each part.

>> We need each other. You're talented, but

you still need the church.

>> You're educated, but you still need the

church.

You got money in all them accounts and

you still have gaps and you need the

church in your life.

>> You're never going to hit a place that

you have outgrown your need for the

church. We all need to step into this

kingdom perspective that Jesus died to

give us that we can become better. The

kingdom is where God established for you

and I to step into that changes our

life. Because a Christian that's

detached from the church cannot listen

to me carefully because it's going to

rub some of you wrong, but just listen

to me. A Christian that is detached from

the church cannot fully live or fully

experience the Christian life.

>> Oh yeah. Yeah. You you you you you can

be a Christian and flop and and kick and

twist and go through all kinds of hell

and headache and pain and and and get to

heaven. Absolutely. But that's not what

the kingdom is about.

>> The kingdom is where you're living

strong and victorious and growing and

advancing. That's what Jesus said. So

here's what I'm trying to tell you. Stop

settling for halfbaked Christianity.

Don't settle for half of your

inheritance. Stop hiding in your room

and join the party. This thing is called

the kingdom of God and we can do this

together.

This was Jesus's plan from the

beginning.

>> I'm not saying I'm Hold on. Just pump

your brakes before I go getting misqued,

end up on some goofy Instagram site out

there. Hold on. I'm not saying that

salvation depends on church membership.

But I am saying that Jesus is both the

head of the individual believer and he's

also head of the church which is his

body.

>> So just listen to me. I can't love the

head and reject the body.

>> I'm coming.

You can't love the head and say, "But I

don't really care about the body."

>> No. Jesus died for the body. So if you

don't love what he died for, if you

don't love what he loved, then do you

really love the head?

I can't reject pick and choose in this.

This is not a multiplechoice option.

This ain't Burger King. You can't have

it the way you want it. Do you

understand what I'm trying to tell you

in here? There's a parable. There's a

parable in Matthew and Luke where Jesus

is telling the story and he says that

there's a shepherd who had a bunch of

sheep and one of them ran off. Anybody

ever been that one? Right here. that

that one runs off and the Bible says he

left the 99 to go find the one. And it's

it's it's a beautiful parable about the

love, the reach, the the the the the

engagement of the shepherd that whatever

it takes to go find the one because

thank God all of us were that one at

some time in our life. So grateful. But

but but in in in the parable, just think

he left the 99 to go find the one.

Who where do you think the one was

before he got lost?

He was connected to the flock.

>> He was a part of the There was a hundred

>> that the shepherd was enjoying. One of

them ran off. I don't need the flock.

The shepherd had to leave the flock, go

find the one. But when he found the one,

what do you think the shepherd did with

the one,

brought him back to the flock, because

the flock is where you're safe. The

flock is where the shepherd can keep his

eye on you. The f the the flock is where

you're going to be fed with everybody

else. We're together. You're not alone.

Out there alone, you get chewed up by

the wolf. But together, if we're here

together, I'm safer. I'm stronger. I'm

growing. I'm healthy. I'm watched over

by the shepherd. You've heard me say it

before, but it bears repeating right

now. The banana that gets away from the

bunch gets peeled.

Some of y'all going to understand that

tomorrow when you start to eat your

banana, but that's okay. That's all

right.

Outside of the community,

I'm lost. Inside of the community, I'm

safe. So the normal Christian life is

not Christ and me. The normal Christian

life is Christ and we.

>> It's all of us. If you're hurting that

needs to bother me.

>> If you're struggling, I have an issue

that I need to deal with. What's your

issue? Making sure you're good. I want

to make sure you're strong. You don't

feel alone or isolated in this situation

you're going through. It's called the

kingdom of God. the body of Christ. I

promise you, whenever that that dowel

went through my hand, the rest of my

body wasn't going, "Ignore it. It's no

big deal. Are you kidding me? My pinky

toe wanted that thing out of my hand.

Everything in the body stops to run to

the area that's been injured, hurting,

and we take care of ourselves." So,

salvation isn't just getting right with

God. No, no, no, no. Salvation is being

successfully grafted

into the body of Christ. Let me just let

me just kind of throw this at you real

quick and we're going to start to wrap

this up.

When we isolate from the church, we find

it actually harder to experience the

full weight of some of God's greatest

promises in the Bible. In other words,

we're really we're really good at

reading a promise and thinking, "I, me,

I, me, I, me." When God's word put back

into context is talking about us, we us

we us, WE,

>> JESUS, HOW SHOULD WE PRAY? Our Father,

>> which are in heaven,

>> not my father,

>> our father.

>> Oh. No, no, no. Let's go here. Uh, the

promise of God's presence is greater in

the community than you can ever

experience one-on-one. The Bible says in

Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three

Matthew 18:20

are gathered in my name, there I am in

the midst of them. It takes two or

three." Let me help you, baby. You can't

be two and you can't be three.

>> I know sometimes you're beside yourself.

Okay, you two, but you can't be three.

No, no, no. We we we gain access to

another aspect of God's presence that is

unavailable in isolation.

>> You'll never experience parts of God and

the fullness of his power downloading

inside the community. When we show up

here on Sunday mornings, there is

something special about the presence of

God here that you will never experience

at your house. You'll never experience

one-on-one. This is what I'M I'M TELLING

YOU BIBLE RIGHT NOW. I'm not saying

God's limited. He's omniresent. He can

be everywhere. But he said, "When I find

my kids willing to get together, I'm

showing up different there." And so that

they will learn to celebrate and cherish

this differently than what they

understand they need to come together to

experience more of me. Spiritual

authority, the promise OF SPIRITUAL

AUTHORITY. I LIKE THE IDEA OF having

prayers that rock heaven and hell. I

love that. But Matthew 16 18-19 actually

tells us on THIS ROCK I'LL BUILD MY

CHURCH, MY CHURCH, my church, MY

KINGDOM. ON THIS ROCK I'LL BUILD my

church and I will give you the keys of

the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind

on earth will be bound in heaven. In

other words, authority in the kingdom is

not given to lone rangers. IT'S NOT

GIVEN TO individuals to RUN AROUND AND

DO WHATEVER YOU WANTED TO DO. THAT'S

CALLED CHAOS.

NO, the authority was given to the

church

that as the church stands united and we

pray and seek God according to his word,

we have authority through him to push

back, to call down. Things are

different. Watch in the church. We got a

bunch of Christians today running around

saying, "I got the keys of the kingdom.

I can I can bind what I want. I can

loose what I want." No, that's not what

the Bible says.

I know you are a part of the church, but

the collective church is who this

promise is made to. Don't take it out of

order. Don't take it out of context.

>> What about this promise for spiritual

maturity? Proverb uh I'm sorry,

Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11 through

Ephesians 4:11–12

12, he says, I I've given you five

different giftings inside the church in

order to make you stronger to equip the

people for the work of the service so

that the body of Christ may be built up

until we all reach unity and become

mature. In other words, you cannot

mature alone.

>> You need someone knocking the edges off

of your life to see how you respond.

>> You need someone getting on your nerves.

You you need to be able to attend a

church where you're not sure you like

what what was said there and you don't

decide, I'm bouncing this week because

of what they did.

>> You're not that there's no commitment

there. This is a family. How anybody

ever been mad at your family?

>> Anybody ever not want to put a table

out, play it out for them at the dinner

table because they on my nerves right

now? You're going to eat out there in

the garage. That's where YOU'RE GOING.

LIKE WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE. Me too. Me

too.

>> But you KNOW WHAT? WE KEEP showing up

because we we are family. Come on,

SISTER SLED. WE WE'RE FAMILY IN this

thing and WE'RE GOING TO WALK IT OUT

TOGETHER AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK IT OUT

TOGETHER AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE

CONVERSATIONS THAT BECAUSE WE'RE FAMILY.

WE HAVE DIFFERENT LEVEL OF CONVERS.

WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT JUST

ACQUAINTANCE CONVERSATIONS. We can

disagree and love and hug it out and WE

WALK WITH DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. BUT I

love you. It's not uniformity. It's the

ability for us to step into unity into a

harmony and walk life out together. We

need each other. We need to hear

different opinions than just our own.

>> Oh yeah. Have you read social media

recently?

>> Those are people spewing their opinions

AND THEY DIDN'T GET ANYTHING CHECKED.

>> We got to be really careful. We need to

hear. We need to grow. The Bible says

that spiritual maturity is promised when

we come together and we're growing right

there. What about the promise of

spiritual blessing?

Psalm 133:1,

Psalms 133:1

we love this one. I love this one. Verse

1 and three. How wonderful and pleasant

it is where brothers live together in

>> harmony. There where inside of that

unity, inside of that harmony, the Lord

has pronounced his blessing, even life

everlasting.

He literally says it's wonderful and

pleasant when everybody gets together in

harmony. Not all playing the same

instrument and playing the same part.

Bringing your voice, bringing your life,

your perspective, what you've been

through. Bringing your gifts and your

gaps, but we lock them together and we

start walking life out together. And I'm

made better because of your perspective.

And you're made better because of my

perspective. And we strengthen each

other. But we do it together, guarding

each other's back. And God said, "When I

see that right there, I command a

blessing. It's not optional." In other

words, you want to experience the

blessing of God, he said, "It's on my

church." You can show up here every week

and you can step into a place that God

says, "I'm commanding blessing where

there's unity and order and where people

are coming together in harmony and

understanding we're different, but we're

good. I like you. I love you. We're

going to work it out." He said, "I will

command blessings on your life." THAT'S

NOT OPTIONAL, Y'ALL. THAT is coming

because God has decreed it. And then he

says, "And life everlasting."

He connects

salvation to it. Do you see what I'm

talking about? This is why the enemy is

working so hard in disunityity.

>> He did it with Adam and Eve from the

very beginning. Divide

and conquer.

>> Divide and conquer. Let it implode. It

doesn't need to explode. Just let

dissension happen inside.

>> Keep people arguing, taking sides,

having silent conversations about others

in the church that no one knows about.

And it be they take on each other's

offense. I didn't even know they did

that. I didn't know they said that to

you. Oh my god. And now you walk around

with a chip on your shoulder over

somebody you never had any contact with,

but you thinking a certain way about

them now. And all of it, all of it, all

of it, ALL OF IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU TAKING

SIDES. ALL OF IT IS TO DIVIDE YOU from

the church. Get you outside the kingdom.

Let you be that lone ranger standing

alone. That one sheep wandering off from

the flock when now Jesus is coming. And

I'm so grateful FOR HIS LOVE. HE'S HAD

TO COME FIND ME, TOO. I'VE BOUNCED. I've

blown it. I've jumped. But he's going

wants to bring us back inside the flock.

And I'm telling you right now, every

flock stinks.

>> No. Every flock you stepping in

something in that flock. I promise you.

I promise you. Every flock. There's a

sheep or two that need a wool cut right

now. They like you looking hairy and

burly. Y'all need to GET THAT THING. WE

ALL HAVE IT.

>> BOY, do we need each other.

>> Especially in the day we're living in

right now.

We need to come to a place that we can

be challenged with God's word,

challenged by his spirit, have his

blessing and his love flowing in our

life. So, let me finish with this.

Here's my main question for you.

If you're thinking individually about

your life, then you're thinking this,

what do I get from God?

That's me focused salvation. I'm a

consumer.

Community salvation

says this. How do we represent God to

this world?

>> Those are two different worlds.

>> Oh, it it it's different. I'm living on

mission and purpose. When I start

thinking us, we not me. Here, here's a

regarding the church. If I'm if I'm

indiv if I'm thinking individually THAT

SALVATION IS ALL just about me, then the

church is just a service provider.

It's just like going to the gym.

If I if I don't like how they have

things arranged or I don't like the

music, I'll just jump and go to another

gym. There's no commitment there. I'm

not bought in there. I'm a consumer and

as long as it sounds good, feels good,

they treat me a certain way, then I'll

hang. But if I don't, I'll bounce and go

somewhere else. And we got plants that

have been put in the ground, uprooted,

put in the ground, uprooted, put in the

ground, uprooted, and they're wondering

why the plant's not growing.

>> Those that are planted in the house of

the Lord, they will flourish in the

kingdoms of our Lord. It's the word. So,

an individual says it's a service

provider in the community. It says,

"We're a family. We're a house. And we

got some issues that we have issues, but

it's my family. Don't turn on them.

Don't talk about them. We're going to

work it out together. I got your back.

I'm serving you. I love you. We're going

to make it happen. When it comes to sin

with an individual mindset, it's my

personal guilt that I'm dealing with.

It's just me. It affects me. I'll talk

to God one-on-one and deal with it. But

if we put it back into biblical context

that we are family in this and think

community based on what God's kingdom

says, then actually my sin creates a

breach of peace inside the community.

I didn't just violate me. I violated you

when I sinned.

And I have broken down. I've opened a

door for the enemy to come in and begin

to mess with and lose this hope,

strength, joy, encouragement that could

be flowing because I broke it down. You

don't believe me? I wish I had time to

go into Joshua fighting the battle of

Jericho and Achen, one man inside of the

of the story, stole stuff that God said,

"Leave it alone." And it caused 3,000

men to die in the next battle.

>> You you never just sin your on your own.

When you sin, when I sin, we sin against

this entire body.

>> You hurt the house. I hurt the house

when I sin. We got to begin to think

bigger. Let mom or dad go sideways

inside the house. Does it affect the

kids?

>> You better believe it does. Welcome to

the family.

>> One of us goes sideways, it hurts the

house. We need each other. That's why we

have to care for each other, love each

other, cover each other, encourage each

other. with the individual. Going to

heaven is the goal. When we're in

community, restoring God's kingdom right

here, right now is everything. Would you

stand to your feet, please?

So, is anybody like me like when you go

somewhere like, you know, you go to

you go to Publix,

you about to you're like pulling in the

parking lot like, "Oh, good. There's a

space." and you go to pull in and

someone left the shopping cart.

Does that irritate anybody other than

me? Is that Oh. Oh, good. Good. I'm glad

glad I'm not the Some of y'all said,

"No, I'm the one that left it there."

Well, let me just talk to you real

quick.

Another 15 steps, you could have had

that thing where it belongs.

Yeah, I know. But my car is here. And

that's what I'm talking about right now.

Don't be so consumed with you that you

don't care about the rest of us.

>> When you put your cart back, it's

obvious and it's proof that you're

considering others that are outside of

you

>> because I'm going to keep order in the

parking lot so that when somebody else

comes in, they can enjoy what I was able

to enjoy. Yes, sir.

>> Ladies and gentlemen, the simple thing

like putting your cart back is proof

that I think of more than just myself.

>> I'm thinking community.

If we will do that at Publix or Wind

Dixie or Walmart or wherever you go,

Tar,

if we can be responsible with our

parking with with our with our shopping

cart, we need to change our mind about

what it means to be inside the community

of the kingdom of God. Because here's

the goal. For everybody outside of the

church, church at large, capital C

church, everybody that's worshiping,

people that are not believers yet, they

we want them to look at the church and

go, "Man, I didn't know life could be

that good."

>> They cover each other. They love each

other. They serve each other. They help

each other. They laugh with each other.

They cry with each other. They lift each

other up. They're not like sticking

knives in each other's back. Like, man,

this is a fam. LIKE WHERE DO YOU FIND

THAT? MY OWN BLOOD DON'T HAVE THAT.

>> AND you will find real quickly that

family of choice can be stronger than

family of origin.

>> And this is exactly what Jesus meant by

the body of Christ, united under the

banner of what he has done for all of

our lives. My faith brought me through

the door personally. But when he brought

me the door, he said, "Scott, put the

servants towel on. Get on your knees and

start serving everybody you can and show

them my love and my compassion. We can

live this life. We just got to do it his

way.

Father, today

I'm asking for you to drive this deep

into our spirit.

I pray that you would help us to see

your church differently and understand

that we don't just come and attend to

hit a check mark or or to or to knock an

option off. That it was just a good idea

to go to church that day. No, this was

essential for the believer. This is not

an option for me. This is what I This is

why I got saved. To to meet with others

inside of a place where your presence is

different. It's special. Your promises

are made here. Jesus. You died to birth

THIS. I I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THIS for

granted. IT'S THE GATHERING of

believers. WE'RE A BODY THAT'S GOING TO

DO ETERNITY TOGETHER. SO, HELP US TO DO

TIME TOGETHER. WELL, LORD, help me to be

get connected, to be a part, not to be

an outlier, not to just run in and run

out, not not to dismiss it, not to see

it as a place that I'm just a consumer

and I don't also produce. I'm here to

serve. I'm here to contribute. I've got

giftings that could BE A BLESSING, BUT

I'VE got gaps. I NEED PRAYER. I NEED

ENCOURAGEMENT. I need others in my life

that can help me see how to do this

marriage better, how to raise these

babies better. I need to understand how

to deal with these pressures and this

anxiety. I need those who have been

through that, been there, done that. I

need a family right now. Oh God, help us

to understand that the gifting that you

blessed us with inside the church of

Jesus Christ. And help us to understand

that salvation is not individual, but

it's communal. It's community. It's us.

It's we under your banner. And you said

if we would do that well, that you would

command a blessing on our life.

God, today help us. Help us when we come

to church to put our cart back.

Help us when we come to church to begin

to think bigger, to get a different

focus, to put the put the glasses on so

we can see fully what your plan is and

we can experience every promise you have

for our life. Help us to be your church.

Help us to be a church that's attractive

to the community. Help us to be a church

that witnesses just because of our

fellowship and our love and our care and

our diversity. the values that you've

given us. Help us to live up to those in

honor of you in representation of you to

a lost and dying world. Help us to to be

the church

in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. If you

receive that today, would you put your

hands together?

We really hope this message encouraged

you. For more encouraging messages, feel

free to check out our website,

freelifechapel.org.

I hope you have a fantastic day.