A Way of Life | We The Church | Pastor Caleb Thomas

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There's an amazing message in store just

for you. I hope you're encouraged.

>> We are in a series right now called We

the Church. Everybody say, "We the

church." We the church.

>> We the church.

>> When the constitution was written, uh

the constitution, it wasn't just a set

of rules that our nation was founded on,

right? It said we the people. It it

didn't just create some rules. It

created and shaped a way of life. The

constitution, it shaped a way of

thinking and a way for people for us to

engage one another or to to treat one

another. a way of life for us as

Americans. It formed thought. It formed

life. And in the same exact way,

scripture, the Bible, doesn't just tell

you and I what to believe. It invites us

into an entire different way of living.

I don't know about you, but the the more

I read my Bible, the more I realize God

has a completely different way of doing

life than what I do.

>> God has a different way of me treating

people than what I do. God has a

different idea. His definition of

patience is different than mine.

>> His definition of forgiveness is

different than mine.

>> But also his joy and his strength is

completely different than what I would

be able to grab myself. But the Bible,

it it shapes how you and I live. And as

you read the Bible, especially in the

Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,

and you you read the teachings of Jesus,

Jesus did not just say, "Believe the

right things about me."

Important. But he didn't just say that.

Here's what he told his disciples.

Follow me.

The thought process, yes, it's

important, but follow me. Let's put some

action behind what you say and what you

claim. It's not just a statement. Jesus

gave us a lifestyle invitation to follow

after him. Because here's the tension

that I think you and I live in.

I can claim Jesus, but I can still live

at a pace that he never wanted me to

live at. There's a potential for me to

claim Jesus, but I can live at a speed.

I can live in a way of doing things. I

could live in a lifestyle that was

completely different than how Jesus

lived his life. The Bible says this.

Luke chapter 6. If you got your Bible,

Luke 6 · chapter mention

get your Bible out. Luke 6 verse 46.

Luke 6:46

Here's what here's what the Bible says.

Jesus talking here. He says this. Why do

you call me Lord, Lord, and not do what

I tell you?

You can claim me. YOU CALL ME LORD,

LORD. But why aren't you doing what I

said to do? Why aren't you following me?

You're saying the right things? You

might have the right belief that I am

God, BUT MAN, THAT'S THE STARTING POINT,

BUT THAT'S NOT the end point. There's

some motion

that you're supposed to be having. Why

do you call me Lord, Lord, but you do

not do what I'm telling you to do? The

reality is this. I can believe in Jesus

and still structure my life in a way

that pulls me away from him.

>> That ever happened to you before?

>> I love Jesus,

but life was just lifing and and and it

wasn't necessarily the bad things. It it

was the right opportunity, the the

promotion that I had been praying for,

THE THE THE OPPORTUNITY THAT I WAS

REALLY HOPING that I would get. And I've

just noticed that in life, I've started

drifting away from Jesus. Not because

I'm mad at him, but life just has a way

of pulling me away if I'm not

intentional with Jesus. Because the

reality is you and I, we can't

experience the life of Jesus without

learning the lifestyle of Jesus.

>> That's why I love reading the Bible. I

don't want to just know what to think. I

want to see how he moved.

>> Got a three-year-old and a 2-year-old.

Son's about to be four. two weeks. He's

going to be four. It's crazy. Y'all are

getting old, not me. And and

with my son getting older, I I've heard

this phrase growing up, more gets caught

than gets taught. It's not just what you

say, but they're going to watch your

movements. They're going to watch how

you handle situations. They're going to

watch how you respond or how you don't

respond. They're going to watch how how

I respond to my wife. They're going to

watch how I respond to my parents.

They're going to watch how I respond to

authority and that's going to set their

baseline for what they're going to do.

More gets caught than gets taught. I'm

learning that with my kids. And it's the

same thing with you and me. You and I,

we catch on to a lot of things. We can

get taught some things, but we're able

to catch a lot of things. And when you

and I, we read our Bible, when we read

the story of Jesus, how he moved, how he

operated, how he was intentional in how

he treated people, how he lived his

lifestyle,

there's a lot that you and I will be

able to catch that is going to help you

and I live the life that Jesus wants you

and I to be able to live. There's

example in Luke chapter 10. Luke chapter

Luke 10 · chapter mention Luke 10 · chapter mention

10, um there's this story about Jesus

going to Mary and Martha's house, right?

Two two of his friends. And and here's

what happens. He he goes there. He he's

with his disciples. He he goes there to

Mary and Martha's house and he's hanging

out with them. And uh Mary and Martha or

Mary is sitting there alongside of

Jesus. She's hanging out with him. She's

talking with him. They're talking about

how the Cowboys are going to win next

year's Super Bowl. Like they're they're

they're

They're dreaming.

>> They're going through. They're doing all

the things. And And then Martha,

Martha, she over there whipping it up in

the kitchen. She's over here. Somebody

grabs a tissue. She makes sure she goes

and she refills the tissue. She's going

to make sure that the candles lit in the

bathroom.

>> Thank God for candles lit in bathrooms.

They're going She's She's working it.

She's serving to her fullest capacity.

The Bible says that Martha, she's

serving Jesus,

but then she starts to feel a little uh

and she goes to Jesus and says, "JESUS,

I'M OVER HERE serving you. I'm over here

cooking things and cleaning things and

doing this and DOING THAT." AND MY

SISTER JUST SITTING ON THE COUCH. Sounds

like my wife.

My wife's saying, "Boy, I'm over here

doing the laundry. I'm over here doing

this and you just sitting on the couch.

Baby, I'm praying.

Interrupt my time with Jesus."

That's a lie. Don't strike me. That's a

lie.

Martha so aggravated

keeping score. Trying to say, "Jesus,

I'm over here doing all this. Why are

you spending all your time with her? See

me. What? Look at me. Look at all the

things that I'M DOING, GETTING TIRED and

exhausted about what's happening. And

Jesus, he does NOT TELL MARY TO GET UP

AND TO GO SERVE. HE DOESN'T TELL MARY

GET UP AND GO HELP OUT YOUR SISTER. He

doesn't TELL MARY, GET UP AND GO do the

things that your sister needs to get

done later. He does not say that. Here's

what the Bible actually says in Luke

10:es 41-42. The Bible says this, "But

the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha,

you are anxious and troubled about many

things, but one thing is necessary. Mary

has chosen the good portion which will

not be taken away from her."

Jesus tells Martha, "Bro, relax. We out.

Calm down."

getting so anxious and you're getting so

WORKED UP. YOUR HEART WAS IN THE WRONG

PLACE. YOU'RE DOING IT FROM THE RIGHT

PLACE OF WANTING TO SERVE ME, BUT YOUR

DESIRE TO do

is taking away the opportunity that you

have to sit alongside of me. Martha

thought the reward was going to be

serving and doing and running and

jumping. When Mary said, "Jesus is in my

house.

There's going to be more dirty laundry

tomorrow. I can go do it then. I She

wanted to sit at the feet of Jesus. And

Jesus said, "Mary, what Mary said to do

is what needs to happen. Martha, YOU'RE

DISTRACTED.

DISTRACTED EVEN BY THE GOOD things that

you don't even remember the reason why

you're doing them." That Martha, yes,

you're serving, but the whole point

you're serving was to be in relationship

with me. Was because I was at your

house. So, how about you stop worrying

about all that stuff and build your

relationship with me?

>> I don't know about you, but there's been

times in my life where I've got so busy

doing things for God that I stopped

relating with God. I got so busy making

sure I marked off I'm reading this and

I'm praying and I'm doing this and I'm

doing this and I was doing it so much

more out of a chore than even a

discipline. I was treating reading my

Bible as the end and not reading my

Bible as a means to an end. My Bible is

my way of getting closer to Jesus, but

Jesus is what I need. Praying is my way

of communicating with my father, but

it's who I'm praying to that is even

more important than the words that it is

that I'm saying. Coming to church is

great and I love being here, but I don't

want to get so stale in coming to church

that it's only just a part of my

routine. No, I want it to be every week

that it's like hooking a jumper cable up

to my heart. I get a recharge. I get a

rebirth. Why? Because I'm connected to

Jesus. Not to a routine, not to a task,

but to Jesus.

>> Before you and I think, oh, that's just

a Mary and Martha thing.

Think the same exact thing of you and I

being distracted happens to us as well.

>> I love my life. I love my wife. I love

my kids. I love the opportunities that I

get to do. But I'm learning something

about me. Can I be vulnerable for a

second? Learning something about me.

I don't drift away from God because I

stop believing in him. I start drifting

away from God because life gets really

loud and really fast and I get

distracted away from him.

I'm not mad at God, but there's just the

speed of the meetings and everything's

important and everything is urgent and

everything needs to be done yesterday

and and and and we're I'm so on the

schedule and so on the calendar and so

planning for what's going to happen in

the future that I'm not honoring the

gift of today, which is why it's called

the present.

JUST RUN PAST THE opportunities that are

in front of me. I don't I don't get away

from God be because always because of

rebellion although I have it in me just

like you do in you.

>> Uhhuh.

>> I drift sometimes just because of the

responsibility

or because of her rebellion but

[laughter]

it's because of me mommy. It's because

of me.

I'm just GIF just because of my

rebellion. A lot of times it's because

of the the increased responsibility that

I have. I'm not mad at him. I just have

so much being demanded of me. And isn't

it funny how reading my Bible or praying

or being at church is one of the first

things that starts to go when life gets

crazy and busy?

>> Like I can't move anything else, but

those

I am the church and so I can do it at

home.

>> I I can pray while I'm driving. God God

He He knows my heart and I can and he

does, but that doesn't mean I abuse it.

>> There's times where I need to be focused

in on him. But Corey Tinboom, she she

she had a quote that says this, "If the

enemy cannot get you to sin,

he's going to get you busy."

>> Too much work around the house to come

to church. I only have two days of my

weekends. I need to make sure I get

things in. travel ball schedule starts

getting crazy. If he can't get me to

sin, sees your devotion, sees your

heart, sees your love, he's going to

work on getting you busy because he

doesn't need you to disbelieve in God.

He just needs you to get distracted from

God,

>> lose your focus, lose your mentality of

him. And by when I lose my focus of him,

I start drifting away. I don't stop

praying because I don't care. I stopped

I have stopped praying because

everything else has felt urgent. The

danger is not that I stop loving Jesus.

The danger is that I stop paying

attention to him. And this is why it's

so important that we don't just claim

Jesus, but we live a lifestyle of Jesus.

Because I don't know if you've noticed,

but never in the Bible did it say that

Jesus was in a hurry.

>> It never says that Jesus ran anywhere.

To the contrary, the woman with the

issue of blood was able to catch up to

Jesus in a crowd of people and was able

to touch the hem of his garment and feel

that he has been healed. He was in such

a state of control and ease that he was

aware that somebody touched him and

said, "Stop. Power has left from me. Who

touched me?" You can't do that if you're

in a hurry.

>> CAN'T DO THAT. HOW ABOUT TREATING people

nicely or kindly or with the love of

Jesus when you're in a hurry? How how

have you been when you're in a hurry at

Walmart?

>> Confession.

Boy, I'll go to McDonald's

and I'll be SITTING IN THE DRIVE-THRU

LINE and my son says, "Daddy, this is

taking a long time." I know, buddy. THEY

OUGHT TO JUST BE ABLE TO PUT IN THE

MICROWAVE FOR 30 SECONDS AND POP IT BACK

OUT. LIKE, THIS OUGHT TO BE QUICK. I'LL

GET so impatient. And I I hate to say

it, but there's times where I even take

it out on the person uh that's that I'm

paying at the cash register or the

person giving my food. And I don't say

the wrong things. I just give a cold

shoulder.

Thanks. And just take it and grip it

quick. My immaturity. I need help living

the lifestyle of Jesus. None of US HAVE

THIS DOWNPACKED. I'VE CLAIMED JESUS, BUT

I STILL need work living his lifestyle

because you do things God's way. You get

God's results. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT EVEN

THE enemies know who Jesus is. Even the

demons, they know who he is. They know

his name, but they don't follow his

ways. We're known as a different group

of people as we continue to follow the

lifestyle of people. That's why the

Bible says the people will know you.

They'll judge you by your fruit,

>> by what you produce from following after

me. This lifestyle of Jesus is so

important. But there's a word picture

there. There there there's an analogy

that I want to use that really helped to

me to grasp this a little bit. This idea

of a trellis. A trellis is is a

structure that holds up a plant.

A a trellis, it does not make the plant

grow. It is it's the metal bars that

that are coming up. It does not make the

plant grow. It does not produce any

fruit,

but it does give the plant something to

grow on. I'll tell you, especially uh in

vineyards and orchards, they they'll

have these trelluses out. And the

importance is if you have a plant that

is more like a vine, if it doesn't have

a trellis, it's going to stay on the

ground. If it stays on the ground, not

all of the vines are going to get sun.

Some of them might get stepped on. Uh

the fruit it won't last long. It can't

get to the full capacity because it

doesn't have any capacity to grow cuz

it's already on the ground. But when you

elevate it, you protect it. It gives it

the right nutrients. It it keeps it safe

and it gives it a strength that when the

fruit grow, the branches won't break.

>> There's a strength that happens from the

structure. The structure itself does not

produce the fruit, but the structure

helps to handle and maintain the fruit.

Spiritually, a trellis is how you and I

begin to arrange our life. Christian

word might say are spiritual

disciplines.

How I discipline my life in order to

focus in on God where I'm not just

drifting my ways. If I feel like

praying, I will. If I feel like reading

my Bible, I will. If I feel like sitting

in a moment of silence with worship

music on just to hear what God says to

me, not me asking him for something, but

hearing what he's asking of me, I'll do

that when I feel like it or only when

it's corporate. No, the spiritual

discipline is what I do in my own

private time. It it's my rhythms, it's

my habits, and it's my schedule. And if

I don't build a structure around what

matters most, everything else will begin

to crowd it out.

>> Right. Right.

>> It's why you and I, we make time for

what we want to do.

>> Might say like, "Hey, let me know when

you find time to go to lunch."

>> When you find that tree, please let me

know. I'm going to buy some stocking. I

I YOU DON'T FIND TIME. YOU AND I, we

made time for what's important to us in

life. For what we see is valuable, for

what we see is engaging. I need to

structure my life. The lifestyle of

Jesus was one that was structured time

for God. It's not an option. It's on a

counter. There's a time. There's a date.

There's an appointment. I will not miss

this appointment. I can't be late for

this appointment. And it's not religion,

>> right?

>> But it's him knowing this is the thing

that sustains me. So, if I lose out on

this, I won't be able to handle that. If

I don't have the structure in my

relationship with Jesus, then I won't be

able to handle the fruit that comes from

Jesus. The fruit without the structure

could kill me.

>> So good.

>> If God,

Pastor Scott and Pastor Cindy, they they

said this about me. They say it about

kids that a lot.

They said, "It was not good for Caleb to

know how much they loved me. It wasn't

good for me to know how much my parents

loved me.

Because if I knew how much they loved

me, there's a chance that it I I could

break. I could take advantage of it. I I

might not steward it well.

There's been times where I've prayed and

I've asked prayers to God. God blessed

me with this. And the reality is he

loved me so much that he did not give it

to me because had he gave it to me, it

would have been the thing that broke me.

It could have been the thing that ended

my relationship with him. It could be

the thing that would have ended my

marriage. AND I DIDN'T KNOW. I don't

know. [applause]

But that's why WHEN WE SING SONGS, THEY

SAY THAT HIS TIMING IS PERFECT. HE HAS a

a divine start and a divine stop. A

divine yes and a divine no. But having

this structure, this trellis in our life

helps me helps me in my discipline to

say, "God, whatever it is that you're

wanting to do in my life, I'm doing the

best that I can to structure my life to

keep you the focus of my life." There's

been times I want the fruit of Jesus,

but my life is not set up to really

support that type of growth. Jesus used

me. Are you sure,

>> Jesus? I'm a vessel. Are you really?

>> Be careful what we pray. He might

believe us.

>> And if I don't have the structure set up

to say no to certain things, yes to

other things, a discipline in my life,

then that could be a thing that breaks

me. Here's another word picture that I

love. Jesus said this in Matthew 11 29.

I want you to read this first part with

me here. Here's what it says. Take my

yoke upon you and learn from me for I am

gentle and lowly in heart and you will

find rest for your souls. The context of

this verse is Jesus saying this. Come to

me all of you who are labored and heavy

laden and I will give you rest. You know

what heavy heavy laden one one way that

the rabbis will describe that as? If

you're exhausted from religion,

if you're just tired of going through

the motion, if you're tired from the

legalistic way of do this and don't do

this and and all of this to where you

need this relationship to revive you, to

refresh you, to show you that you're not

doing this out of your own power. You're

doing this because of the grace and the

mercy that I have given you. That you're

not good enough to do this on your own.

The only reason why you could even think

about this is because of what I have

done for you.

>> So idea of the yolk though, it's

interesting. I don't know how many of

you use a yolk. Not an egg yolk, but a

yolk. And here's what they would do in

biblical days. They they would take some

oxen and they would yolk them together

for them to be able to do some farm

work. Now, when when they would yolk

together, here's an interesting caveat.

A lot of times, this is how they would

also train a young ox.

They would get a mature ox,

one that knows the pace, knows the

direction, knows how to carry the

workload, has been proven to be able to

handle it. They'll yoke him to a younger

ox.

Not for the YOUNGER ONE TO TAKE CHARGE,

but for that older one, the mature one

to say, "Hey buddy, here's the pace.

You're going to wear yourself out in the

first hour. We got eight hours of work

today. I need you to calm down a little

bit, buddy. Hey, here here's the

direction. I know it looks easier to go

that way, but you don't know the hole

that's in the ground there that will

completely put you out. Just follow

after me. This older ox, they're often

the ones that are carrying the majority

of the weight because they're the front

driver that is going in. What if Jesus

is saying here, "Hey, yoke up to me, you

immature ox. You got all these IDEAS AND

YOU GOT ALL THIS VIGOR AND YOU GOT ALL

THESE THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO DO, but I

need you to do it. Know my pace. Learn

my direction. Let me be the one that

leads it. Let me be the one that tells

you where to go. Let me be the one that

is carrying the majority of the way. Cuz

this weight, it would kill you. It would

stop you. You wouldn't be able to handle

it. But when you yoke up with me, my

yoke is easy and my burden is light.

You're not going to be carrying as MUCH

CUZ I'M RIGHT there with you. YOU'RE NOT

DOING IT BY YOURSELF. YOU'RE DOING IT

ALONGSIDE of me.

>> WHAT JESUS DID NOT say here was try

harder.

>> Right.

>> Self-help.

>> Yeah.

>> Motivation,

discipline over motivation.

He cuz if it's something that you and I

could do, we would have done it already

for ourselves.

>> What he is saying is walk with me. Don't

do life alone.

So this trellis

is how I set up my life. The structure,

this yoke is who I'm walking with. The

the the trellis, IT KEEPS MY LIFE FROM

COLLAPSING. And the yoke reminds me that

I'm not carrying it all by myself. The

see because here's the here's the thing.

Structure without Jesus, the

relationship with Jesus is legalism.

It's religion.

But Jesus without structure can become

exhausting.

>> Yeah.

>> Because now I have a yo-yo relationship.

I have a roller coaster relationship

where I have high highs and then I have

low lows. I have high I'm in church and

then I'm out of church. I feel like

praying and then I don't feel like

praying. I'm I'm high and then I'm low.

I'm high and then I'm low. And we get

exhausted saying this Jesus thing, it

must not work cuz I'm just too tired

from it.

Oh, it does work when we have the

lifestyle of Jesus. When we do things

God's way, we're able to get God's

results.

But the hurry, the busy, the

distractions that we have in life, they

begin to mess with both our structure of

living our life in a way that builds our

life towards him as well as our

relationship with him. Hurry, busy. It

gets in the way of the both of those

because when I'm rushed, I stop

protecting the structure.

>> Yeah.

>> I wake up late. So, what do I not do? Do

I not eat breakfast? Do I not brush my

teeth? Or do I not read my Bible?

>> It's been a long day at work. I'm ready

to get to bed because I have a long day

tomorrow. So, do I shower and wash my

hair or do I read my Bible? And we make

either or statements when it comes to

this, forgetting the value of what this

is. When it comes to prayer, we treat

prayer,

excuse me, I have treated prayer, I'm

not project this on you. I have treated

prayer as such a defensive mood from a

Christian.

>> Yeah.

>> That I pray after something has happened

to me.

>> Yeah. And so my prayer is me catching

God just help me keep everything

together.

>> WHEN THAT'S THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF HOW

JESUS SAW IT. JESUS BAPTIZED GOT

AFFIRMED BY GOD. THIS IS MY SON IN WHOM

I'M WELL PLEASED. The Bible says

immediately the spirit led him into the

wilderness fashioned for 40 days and 40

nights. I have preached that then the

enemy came and whenever he tempted him.

Oh, he's smart. He knew when to tempt

him cuz God or Jesus was hungry. He was

thirsty. He was weak. He wasn't at a

good time. That was the best time for

the enemy to tempt him. And that is

wrong.

Because fasting only gets you closer to

God, not further. Fasting is only going

to get you stronger. It's only going to

help you see your identity even more.

It's only going to help you bow up your

chest a little bit more. So when the

enemy CAME

TO TALK TO GOD OR TO JESUS TO TEMPT him

those three times and Jesus said it is

written actually it is written quoting

the book of Deuteronomy three different

times he wasn't doing it passively he

wasn't doing it on the ropes saying oh

would you just please stop it wasn't

deflective he was on the offense he was

completely leaning in never stronger

before because of his time of fasting

and praying praying with God. He

structured time to get away. And if

Jesus needs a structured life and Jesus

has a lifestyle that has these times put

in where he got up early in the morning

and went away from his disciples so that

he could pray,

>> right?

>> That he he sent people away so that he

could go. He didn't do he didn't have

this life lifestyle and then go pray and

then go do things. BUT IT WAS OUT OF HIS

PRAYER. IT WAS OUT OF HIS CONNECTION

with God that then fruit became to come

out. This isn't what we do in order to

catch the things that happen to us in

life. That doesn't match the scripture

that says you're more than a conqueror.

>> That'll contradict. But when I realize

what God's word is inside of my life,

when I realize what happens for me, to

me, in my mind, in my family, whenever I

prioritize my time for God, when I don't

just treat him like another person, I

treat him like the person. when I don't

just treat him like a savior. I also

treat him as Lord where he was more than

just a one-time prayer of fire

insurance, but he's also the one now who

shows me the way to live

>> this thing of life. When I yoke my life

to him, I'm able to live to the best of

my ability. this lifestyle of Jesus

which truly is life in life more

abundant what Jesus said he wanted Jesus

he wasn't lazy he was purposeful

and for you and I let's be purposeful

with our lifestyle this year when it

comes to how we prioritize Jesus

everybody stand up to your feet stand up

to your feet I want to close here start

closing here's

the encouragement that I want to give

you today.

I really want you to hear this.

Jesus is not asking you to overhaul your

whole entire life. He's not asking you

TO BYPASS ALL THESE GEARS, DROP IT in

the low, and just take off running.

That's not what he's asking of you.

Rather, I would say this. He's inviting

you to slow down.

He He He's inviting you to prioritize

him more. Restructure things a little

bit.

>> He He He's inviting you to walk a little

bit closer to him. The Bible says,

"Taste and see that the Lord is good."

>> I have to be close enough to taste it.

Caleb, are you close enough to see that

my pace is the best pace for life? Are

you close enough to see that the peace

that I can give you won't just impact

you, but it's going to show up by the

patience that you have for your kids and

by the way that you do not talk to your

wife and the way that you do treat

strangers? Yes. But also the way that

you do treat the people closest to you

cuz usually we have more patience for

strangers than we do people that we

know.

>> Jesus says, "I don't I don't want to

help you just look good. If that

happens, great. I want you to be good

from the inside out.

>> Yeah.

>> That when you get close to me, people

might not recognize the change, but I

do, homie. And I see how your heart is

changing. [music] I see how you're

starting to focus in on me. You haven't

always been reading your You haven't

always felt the conviction of, man, I

haven't prayed in a little bit. I see

that and I'm proud of you. Let's lean

in. G Give give me some time. Let's

pray, God. And 30 SECONDS. AFTER 30

SECONDS, I REALLY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING

ELSE. That's fine. 30 seconds. Give me

what you got cuz I'm going to challenge

you. And as you get to know me, you're

going to see more and more things that

you can thank me for. Your awareness of

me is going to increase in your life.

You're going to start see it starts with

the verse of the day, but then you're

going to start seeing, I need a little

bit more of this cuz I read that verse

today and shut your mouth. I actually

told somebody about that verse AND THAT

ACTUALLY APPLIED TO MY LIFE. WELL, what

happens when I start reading a little

bit more than just the verse? Because

every single one of us, say that with

me, every single one of us has another

step

>> that we can take.

>> So good.

>> This is why we're doing the 21 days of

advance.

It's not [music] something just to get

busy. That's right.

>> It's not something just to redo your

schedule to say for marketing that we

did something. Forget all that. This is

for you. This is for me

>> right [music]

>> to de restructure.

Slow down. THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK

ABOUT. THINK ABOUT WHAT you put into

your EARS AND LET AFFECT your soul

>> and walk a little bit closer to Jesus.

Truly believing

that I'm able to live a free life

through Jesus because of what he did for

me. But the more I follow after Jesus,

the more I'm going to be able to have a

lifestyle of Jesus. And that's what

we're talking about today. This year,

we're not just claiming Jesus. We're

going to walk out and live out a

lifestyle of Jesus. Because here's what

the Bible says in First John 2:6.

1 John 2:6

Those who say they live in God should

live their lives as Jesus did.

You're not going to be perfect, so go

ahead and throw away the scorecard.

If the goal is for you to live with only

the structure and you forget about the

grace and the mercy that comes from the

relationship with Jesus, you're going to

quit before the 3 weeks is up.

>> So, please don't do that to yourself.

Nobody on earth other than Jesus while

he was here can ever take on that load

or handle that smoke. None of us can do

that. But it doesn't mean that we don't

shoot for the bar that Jesus had there.

>> Father God, we love you so much. Beyond

grateful

that you give us an opportunity to build

up a structured lifestyle that goes

after you, but that you don't just tell

us what to do, but God, you gave us

Jesus,

fully fully God, but fully man. And in

his humanity, seeing what he did, how he

structured in prayer, how he structured

in reading your word, how he structured

in time of silence and solitude to not

just tell you things through his prayer,

but hear from you as well. How he

treated people, how he set up his time

and his schedule in order to not run

past things, run past people, but he

lived a purposeful life, not a hurried

life. God, would you help us please live

the lifestyle of Jesus? that as we read

your word this year, God, that we're

able to see some different insights as

to how did Jesus live his life, then

maybe that's how we need to live ours.

Help us be able to apply this word to

our lives. That it's not just a theory

that we can speak about. It's not just

something that I know how to quote, but

God, help me, help us live out this

word. And as we do that, we know we're

going to do it imperfectly. We know

we're going to drop the ball. We know

we're not going to live up to Jesus's

expectations.

But Jesus, you gave us this grace and

mercy. And so God, I pray that as we

continue in this year, that we do so

with the tip of the spear being the

grace, mercy, and forgiveness that Jesus

gave us as he died on the cross. And

then continuing to build up our

structure to honor you to the best of

our abilities to so that we know that

you're not just a part of our life, you

are the primary focus of our life. It's

in Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[music]

>> I told you the message would encourage

you. For more encouraging messages, feel

free to visit our website,

freelifechapel.org. [music] Until then,

I hope you have an amazing day.