Equation of Love Part 2

Yeah.

Go next.

And band.

Good morning.

Yay, that was pretty good.

Last week was great.

And I love what Justin said about what's coming up this next series because this week and last week are kind of the foundation for really identifying when God moves.

And how cool is that?

I gotta ask this because of uh Nathan and Justin and babies and all that.

How many of you here today are moms and you've had a baby?

Raise your hands, okay.

Now leave your hands up if you've had more than one.

Okay, why?

Why would you do that?

I mean, you you know what's happening, right?

You know the nine months and the day of horrendous pain.

Why would you do that twice?

And I'm thankful that you are.

I'm a middle child, I'm a second child, so I'm glad you did.

But the reason you did was not because of the process, but because of what happens.

And there is nothing in life more stunningly great than kids.

I love my kids.

And as a mom, the joy and the interaction and the fulfillment that you experience, it makes you forget what you went through.

And not that you've forgotten it completely, but it doesn't even compare to the amazingness of having a child.

And that same reality of life, I want to do a quick recap of last week because really what I want us to look at is if I want to get to the end of my life and go, I loved my life.

It was full, it was abundant, it was everything.

I had success and significance, and my life was awesome.

There are two components that have to be there for that to exist.

And it's not a financial, it's not a relational, it is a complete uh connection with these two elements that God created that we must experience in order to have that.

And last week we looked at one of those two experiences because the process can be arduous at times.

How many of you, and this is a little bit of a simple question, and most of us are gonna go, yeah, how many of you have ever been where you've driven to a vacation?

Driven to a vacation?

Okay, that's pretty much all of us.

Now you've got to realize if you're under the age of, let's say, 25, you've got to understand it wasn't always a great trip, okay?

I remember being in my early teens, and we had the precursor of a minivan that was called a station wagon.

All right?

Now it wasn't like pulled by horses, it was an actual car.

But there was the front seat, the back seat, and then the backback seat.

And there were no movies, there was no entertainment system, especially if you're in the backpack.

For eight hours, your entertainment was sitting there facing backwards, okay?

And your entertainment was when trucks drove by to just go.

And if they honked, it's like, yes, score.

Eight hours of that, that was your entertainment.

If you were in the back seat, not the back bat, your entertainment was rolling down the window and just that was it for eight hours.

That was joy, okay?

Now, reason we got through that is one, we didn't have a choice, but the other reason was it was where we're going.

And there was air conditioning, but if you were a child, you didn't get experience because it was only in the front seat.

If you're like, Dad, I'm really hot.

He would do this hand thing, like, no, it's coming, it's coming.

It's really not, it's not coming.

It's been four hours, and I'm stuck to my shirt, and okay, it just was misery.

But then we got to the beach, or we got to Disney, or we got wherever, and that is what made it worth it.

And and what we're gonna look at, what we looked at last week and this week, is the process that God's gonna take us through sometimes to get to that fulfillment and that significance and that piece where it makes the daily grind worth it is sometimes it's hard to see, but if we'll take a look at these two words, last week we looked at the first one, the word was, and let me just read the verse again in John chapter 1, verse 14, it says, the word, this truth, this truth became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

John 1:14

We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son who came from the Father, and here they are, full of grace and truth.

If we want to see God move, we have to have this foundation.

We have to have an experience with what God came full of because he knew we were gonna need grace and truth.

And if we haven't engaged God on the level of grace and truth, we don't have a foundation to fully comprehend who he is and how he moves and how to experience him moving in our lives.

And ultimately, how to get to the end of our lives going, my life was awesome.

It was it was abundant, it was full, it was significant, it was successful, and to be able to have that defined by the way the creator defines it, we have to really comprehend this foundation of grace and truth.

So last week we looked at grace and unmerited faith.

Now, I I gave kind of a way to experience it, and if you're here today, you missed last week one.

I would encourage you to listen to the podcast or get the CD.

But I gave kind of some homework.

He said, if I want to really engage God in the area of grace, I need to rest in grace.

And it's simply an acronym.

I said, read Romans 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Takes about five minutes to read an entire chapter and kind of let God speak.

I did that one day at a time, and I'm telling you, every time I engage God in that, he shows me a different level.

And I started to think, wow, I walked away from that going, wow.

And the second was experience grace, R-E, experience, experience grace.

And what I asked us to do last week, and what I did was in that moment where I'm either frustrated or I fall short or I fail or whatnot, literally experience God's grace.

God, I don't deserve this, but will you just wash over me?

And I did that.

And that, along with reading, started to just really lay that foundation.

And the third one I said last week that I'm gonna pray that God allows some idiots to come into your life and let you show grace to them.

Little did I know he was gonna send legions of idiots into my week.

And it was humbling and frustrating to realize at a new level what grace really was.

Because this is what I discovered about myself.

I love to show grace to those that deserve it.

And what God hit me with is a reality of his grace is unmerited, it is unwarranted, it is giving lavishly to those who don't deserve it.

And I met several idiots this week that did not deserve it.

And I failed miserably because I'm like, no, I'm not showing it.

And it was so frustrating.

And as God and only God can do, the next day I was reading, I think it's in chapter 7 in Romans, where this phrase hit me between the eyes like a ton of bricks.

God lavished the reality that can I show my grace and my love that even while you were a sinner, even while you were an enemy of God, I lavished my grace and died for you.

That's what grace is.

And when I read Romans, I related in a whole new level after that day of frustration of just going, what a wretched man I am.

And that's the way I felt.

And it hit me like a ton.

And which made me want to go back and just experience God's grace even more, going, God, I am just failing at this, which led me to the final part of resting, and that is just thanking God that I have grace to rely on because I don't deserve it.

And Lord, just help me in this.

And that foundation begins to solidify.

As we get to that point, probably the biggest realization of my week was frustrating.

Because I realized a whole paradigm shift in the area of if I really want to have success, significance, meaning in life, I have to realize that it is not based on determined success is not determined by my performance, which is frustrating.

Because the first it has to be on just embracing God's grace.

And once I invite God in and rely on that, then my reliance on Him determines my progress, but success is already completely predetermined.

In other words, when I accept Christ, he lavishes, going, Hey, I want you to discover who I've made you to be.

I want you to discover the power that I have within you, the amazing result of righteousness.

And no matter how many times you fall short, I'm gonna keep lavishing grace on you.

But then there's another component that we're gonna look at today.

Because he said he came full of grace and truth.

They're equally important.

And he came knowing those were the essentials we needed to lay the foundation for that.

Truth is imperative along with grace.

God always shows grace first, but then he always follows it with truth.

Last week we looked at the woman caught in adultery, and they're ready to stone her and they're ready to kill her, and it says, this is what the law says, but God, Jesus in the flesh, reaches out to her in grace, and he says, Whoever has no sin, cast the first stone.

They drop their stones, they walk away.

And he lavishes grace upon her.

She did not deserve this grace, but he lavishes it.

And he said, Who condemns you?

And she said, No one.

And he says, Neither do I, but don't miss the second component.

This is the fullness of God, the foundation of everything to get to that point of success.

And he says, Go and sin no more.

He doesn't water down, he doesn't say, Oh, you know what?

It's your environment, it's okay, don't worry about it.

No, he lavishes grace and says, My grace is sufficient for you, but go and sin no more.

Because grace without truth is destruction.

It literally has to have a focus to say, hey, I'm gonna hit you with all the grace you need, but I'm not gonna compromise the truth.

The truth is you're killing yourself and your soul, and you're not becoming what I created you to be.

Go and sin no more.

That is the key.

I was watching, somebody sent me a link this week to a kind of an interview with this two different spiritual guys, one was a Christian, one I one was religious.

He said, Well, I'm, you know, I'm a I'm a priest.

Now it wasn't a Catholic priest, but he had on the garb and the little collar and and looked spiritual, and it's like apparently that's all you got to do these days.

And his comment, he was justifying and rationalizing a sin.

And he's like, Well, this one really isn't sin.

And and the guy goes, it absolutely is sin.

And he goes, Well, that's your opinion.

And he goes, No, it's not my opinion.

The Bible says clearly, and he stated it and says, This is sin.

And he goes, Well, Christianity and the teachings of Christ are always evolving to meet the current circumstances.

And the other guy went, No, they're not, they are absolutely not.

For God and this truth is the absolute and it will not change.

For God, Jesus said, I'm the same today and yesterday and forever.

It doesn't change, it is the absolute.

And as they went back and forth, I realized what we long for to be able to get our bearings to find the path to success, significance, and life abundant.

We have to have that absolute.

And I'll give it to you this way, uh, in a in an illustration sense.

Everybody, I've done this once before, but it it bears repeating.

And if you were here, great.

If not, then it's really gonna be memorable.

Everybody take one finger.

Everybody, one finger right now, real quick.

Okay, not that finger.

Okay, that one, all right.

Must have had some traffic coming over here.

That's great.

Um I want you to close your eyes.

Keep your finger, but close your eyes.

Now, with your eyes closed, I'm gonna count to three, and I want you to point north.

One, two, three, point north.

Everybody point north.

Now keep pointing, but open your eyes and look around.

Somebody is wrong, okay?

That's who are these people?

Seriously?

That's no, it's the North Star.

I live north.

I live north.

I live on the space shuttle.

That's where I live.

It's north.

And now, here's my question to you and I.

If one of the police officers directing traffic just ran in and said, hey, there's been an accident, a chemical spill, there's a cloud blowing, the wind's blowing, everybody has to leave now, and we have to go north.

Who are you following?

I'm gonna make this simple.

I'm not following any of you people, okay?

Especially these.

So just run away, run away.

Just it's not gonna work.

But I'm gonna tell you what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna actually take my cell phone because on my app I have an app called Compass.

And I'm gonna gyrate it and I'm gonna get it to true north.

And I'm gonna find that and I'm gonna follow that.

Because true north does not change.

You can understand it, you don't have to understand it.

Maybe you look at true north and go, I believe it.

It's a compass, I believe it.

Or maybe you're like, well, I'm not sure how it works.

Maybe the little compasses don't work, so you have to go and you have to study the magnetism of the earth.

That there is pole to pole, there is a magnetism that is always true.

Even as the plates of the earth shift, true north never does.

And it will never change.

As long as God decides this is the way I made the earth, it's good, it's always true north.

You may need to see, well, I want to I want to do it myself.

So you magnetize a needle and you realize through that the magnetism of deceleration, which is awesome.

Or maybe you're like, well, I want to see the whole thing and all that, and you learn even more about it and the azimuths of a compass, which is great.

I just need to know what's true north.

And here's the deal: the truth does not change.

Our understanding of the truth may change.

Our opinion of the truth can be whatever, but it does not change the truth.

This is true north.

It is the same today, yesterday, and forever.

I can trust this above all.

Because the creator of the universe put that and said, if you want to know all the parts of life, this is how you do it.

And it is not pills that we swallow.

It's not grace and truth, and we swallow them, that's it.

It is what comes out of a relationship with the creator himself.

When I submit and say, God, I know I'm not perfect.

I know I sin and I don't know what's sin and what's not.

Well, you show me.

I'm gonna come to you.

You have already said, you're gonna pour your grace upon me.

You're gonna forgive me of everything if I just accept you.

And then you, through your spirit, are gonna show me through your word, through your spirit, what is truth.

That's what I need to know.

And once we get to that absolute part, it is a core even within our society.

Um, I have not seen this movie.

I'm not I'm not uh endorsing it, but I read an article about the doctor who the movie Concussion is based on.

And if you don't know the story, I'm gonna just give you a little bit of background.

You can go see it if you want.

Basically, the NFL guys were having brain damage and this weird piece, and anyway, he studied it.

Never watched football, just studied these guys, and he discovered the common thread.

He discovered what was causing it and even how to move towards preventing it, and he was so excited, and he takes these results to the NFL and goes, Here they are.

And he got a response he didn't expect.

They tried to discredit him and they tried to just start to sling mud at him, and they he couldn't understand.

He's like, I found the truth of what's happening.

And somewhere in the movie, one of the guys told me about it.

I come to him and they say, Whose side are you on?

And this doctor literally turns to him and he said, Truth doesn't have a side, it's just truth.

And I was like, Wow! And I'm sitting on a plane going, Man, that is it.

But see, what God longs to do is to come to us in our situation, and he is truth, he is the ultimate truth.

And Jesus said to them and answered, I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father by me.

In other words, he goes, I am truth.

And when you accept me, you have that truth within you.

A beautiful Old Testament example, and I love that Justin mentioned that's going to be part of this next series because in Joshua 5, if you want to go and read it sometime, you can.

I'm gonna give you the overview.

Basically, they've come up to this huge wall, this this I we can't overcome this.

We don't know what to do.

God, what are we what are we supposed to do?

And they're they're they're feeling very insecure.

And this angel warrior, and it's not clear whether it was the incarnation of Jesus or whether it was one of the mighty ones, this warrior shows up on the path with a sword drawn.

And Joshua's pretty freaked out.

He's like, Okay, are you for us or for our adversaries?

And I love the response.

No.

Okay.

Maybe you didn't understand the question.

And I can just see this playing in his mind.

But the angel literally says, or Christ literally says, no.

He says, but as the commander of the armies of the Lord, I'm here.

Wow.

And he just drops.

And he says, What does the Lord have for his servant?

And what I want to share with this truth, this idea of God's absolute truth, is that God longs for us to come to him with whatever we have.

But be prepared because when we say, God, should I do this or this?

He's the overwhelming reality is going to be wrong.

You don't come to me with choices and say, This or this.

No, I'm here.

I am truth.

Bask in my presence.

Look at my truth.

Look at my word.

Listen to my heart.

Lay it before me and realize that I am truth and I can show you nothing other than truth in this.

And you may not understand it, but I will give you truth.

And I will give you truth for specifically what you're going through.

And what I'm discovering is when I get to that point where I'm like, okay, there is truth, and God is it, then Lord, change me.

I'm gonna get in your presence.

And what I see is that God changes my life, literally, the way I live.

He says it this way in John 8, 32.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Here's my issue.

I've spent too much of my life trying to determine what is free to me.

Well, if if I were really free, I could do this and this and this.

I'm free, then I want to go do this.

And what I found was when I define what is freedom, then I discovered this.

When I look to define freedom, I discover that it is an impostor.

What I think is an impostor that leads me to bondage.

And that stinks.

But when I submit to God and His righteousness, even if I don't understand it, I discover complete freedom and the power to embody it.

There's a big difference.

Where am I in this process?

I'm getting older.

I know I'm getting older because I'm starting to see life in cycles.

And I want to give you a very real, practical reality of truth today.

And where we are right now, if you turn on a TV, if you turn on the radio, if you read a paper, it is all about politics.

The left and the right and the politicians in Washington, and this is going to determine the rest of our lives.

No, it's not.

God is.

Period.

Because if we trust in Washington, if we trust in what men can conjure up, whether you're left or right, it will fail outside of the truth.

Period.

Are we really gonna trust a group of people that has evolved into that which they can't even balance their own budget?

And yet we're supposed to give them more.

This is the one that I believe several of these men and women are very good hearted.

They're like, hey, we see a problem, here's the issue, here's the issue, and here's the solution.

And we're gonna pass laws to make these the solution.

Here's why.

That I love Social Security.

What we're going to do is we realize that not everybody's smart enough to be able to provide for themselves.

So we're going to mandatory, we're going to take money from you.

We're going to invest it.

We're going to put it in.

And then when you get to that age, we're going to give it back to you.

And then that changed to, well, you know what?

We got some other programs, so we're going to take money from that.

And then we're going to give you some back to you later.

Maybe.

We hope.

Probably.

But you shouldn't complain because we're giving you money.

We're giving you money.

You're giving me me my money.

And you're not even giving me all of it back.

And really that's where you want to go with this?

Is that what I and I'm supposed to trust you in this?

And then it goes even further down where they get to the point where am I really supposed to trust them?

These are the people who said, yeah, I'm going to pass a law to do that.

And here's the deal.

We're going to give you some of your money back, but you know what?

We are exempt to it because we're the brilliant ones.

We're the ones who thought this up.

We can't balance a budget, but guess what?

We're going to give ourselves a pension.

We're going to work for four years and then give ourselves a six-figure retirement for every year after that.

But you just be thankful for what we're giving you.

Really?

Really?

That's where I'm supposed to trust?

No.

I'm going to trust a God that tells me, regardless of your political circumstance, Roman, Greek, American, communist, regardless of that, here's what I'm going to say.

You want to know the truth about finances?

I got over 2,000 truths in here about that.

You can trust these.

These don't change.

You can trust me because I'm in charge.

And he's bigger than that.

I want to get to the decisions where I'm making decisions based on what God has for me.

Not only the freedom, because he says this, when you know the truth, the truth will set you free.

When you submit to me, you can experience true freedom.

Not only the way I live, but the way I decide.

I can look at this book and it says, you know what?

The Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.

It penetrates even the divide, soul and spirit, joint and marrow.

It judges my very thoughts and attitudes of my heart.

And if I trust this truth and I submit to a time where I just sit with God and say, God, I don't even know if what I'm reading relates to what I'm going through, but I know that you can teach me through it.

You can guide me to it.

And if I'll just sit quietly and I'll talk to friends and I come on a Sunday, God will start revealing Himself to me through His Word, through His Spirit.

And in every situation.

I'll put it this way, if any of you, this is one of my favorite verses in all the Bible in James chapter 1.

James 1 · chapter mention

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, and don't miss this, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

We were talking out in the hall after the first service.

Lady says, I just I love that about God that I can make poor decisions and I can go off on my own, but the second I turn around, God is right there.

Overwhelming me with grace, I find no fault.

And I'm gonna give you generously exactly what you need.

All you gotta do is trust me.

That's what I want to be in.

If I could put it in a real-world uh reality, I'll never forget this.

Uh Heather and I, my wife, were sitting at a table at dinner.

She'd gone to the bathroom, and there was a couple at the next table, and I couldn't help but overhear them.

They were talking pretty loud.

And I'll never forget what the the female I I could tell by the conversation they would have been married probably less than three years.

And the and the wife said, I just I just want you to want what I want.

Wow.

I just wanted to go, dude, it's a trap.

Don't.

But I didn't because then he goes, Well, um, well, I mean, what do you want?

And she goes, see, you don't understand.

He goes, No, I mean, you asked me if you want me to want what you want.

How can I know what you want if you don't tell me what you want?

She goes, never mind.

Well, if I were to take up counseling, and I I don't, but I found one of the greatest authors of our time is a Dr.

Seuss, is one of the greatest.

And I believe if I were to take up counseling, I would I would let Dr.

Seuss's older brother, Dr.

Bruce, write some brilliant, and I literally sat down and I thought, what would Dr.

Bruce say?

Or if Dr.

Seuss was a marriage counselor, and here's what I came up with: a poem entitled, I want you to want what I want.

How can I want what she wants?

I am but a man.

This strange creature called woman, how can I understand?

Women are short, women are tall.

I need wisdom about them from maybe those who seem to know all.

I'll go buy a book and I'll read Socrates.

Surely of women he will know how to please.

Or maybe ask a monk on a mountain in the middle of Tibet.

I'll ask him for the secrets, then I will be set.

I will read and I'll ask those who seem to know all, but their knowledge of women was smaller than small.

Finally, I prayed for help.

Lord, I am a husband a dunce.

Will you help me, O Lord, with this woman just once?

I read some of his truth and turned off the light.

I give up.

I'll just call it a night.

Then when my head hit the pillow as I slid into bed, a thought from nowhere shot into my head.

Like what she likes.

I began to see.

I know what she likes.

She likes coffee.

Two globs of cream and two lumps of sugar.

When I bring her this, she knows that I love her.

Like what she likes and need what she needs.

Now I realize that these are the seeds.

I need God's help and truth to understand what will bring bliss to a woman and man.

Yes.

And as fun as that is, that is really the way God works.

We take a truth, take a look at his truth and say, God, I want you to decide.

I want you to show me how to live to decide, and even he'll change how we speak.

And we can see this grace and love put together in Ephesians 4, 15.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ.

He says there in Ephesians, he says, don't be distracted by various thoughts and teachings.

Speak the truth in love, grace and truth together.

I learned this in college.

It's very true that a lot of times, now for those of you who have been married maybe less than five years, take this from experience.

I've learned that if if we're having a disagreement, I need to say as little as possible.

I find that about 98% of anything I say, I regret.

So I decided I'm going to live by a different mode.

I'm going to not say and listen, and even the trouble I get in there is far less than if I speak.

And I learned this at a very younger age.

I was in college, and I'll never forget I struggled in school.

And I literally, I prayed, God help me.

What do I need to do?

And and thoughts, and you know, can you pay better attention up front?

So I sit up front and and I thought, I was sharing this with my friends.

It happened after class one day in a class.

I was making like a C borderline B, and I was trying really hard, but I wasn't doing great.

But I was sitting up front, and after a class, I'm walking out, and two people from my class said, Hey dude, um we got a test coming up.

Can we talk to you a minute?

I'm like, sure.

And I'm thinking they're gonna share with me some insights.

They're like, hey, will you help us study for this?

I said, why?

They're like, because we want to make we want to make an A.

I'm like, no, no, no, why didn't I not?

Not why do you want to study?

Why do you want me to help you?

They're like, because like you're brilliant.

What?

I said, I'm really not.

I got like a C or a B, and I told my buddies about that, and they're like, dude, you are living Proverbs 17 28.

And I'm like, really?

They're like, oh yeah.

And I'm like, that's it made me feel good until I read it.

And Proverbs 17, 28 says, even a fool, if he keeps silent, will appear wise.

Yes.

If he keeps his mouth closed, he will be considered discerning.

And I'm like, Lord, I want you to change every part of me.

Change how I live, change how I think and decide, change how I speak.

And here's my challenge.

This is the foundation.

I want to encourage you twofold.

One, if you weren't here last week, rest in grace for a week.

Read Romans 5, 6, 7, and 8.

Experience grace, show grace, and you'll want to thank God for it.

But the second challenge I have for you and I, and I want to get very personal for just a second, I want you to think right now.

What are you worried about right now?

Right now, when we walk out these doors this week, what are you worried about?

Or maybe even what are you excited about coming up?

And take the time and sit before God and say, God, I want to read your truth because I want to experience this to the full.

If I'm excited about it, I want it to make lasting effect.

If I'm worried about it, I know that you say, Don't be anxious for anything but through prayer and petition.

God, I'm I'm anxious.

Will you show me your truth and begin to look and read?

And I promise God will show up.

I want to ask you another question.

What is the hardest decision you're making right now?

The hardest decision this week.

Take the truth, sit before God, say, God, I don't know what to do.

Are you for me or against me?

And I want to hear you say, No, but you're here with me now.

God, I just want you here with me now.

And God, in your presence, when I sit quietly and look at your truth and sit there, you begin to show me who and what to do.

And then finally, I would say this: what's the toughest conversation you have on an ongoing basis?

Or maybe the toughest conversation you need to have, and ask God, God, will you show me what I need to do in this situation, how I can approach it, what I can do in this.

And he will.

For God will show up in his grace and his truth, and that will lay a foundation for him to move so that we will experience him personally and become the abundant life.

I love my life that he intends for us.

They're gonna come and sing and pray, and I want you to just start thinking about those questions.

What am I worried about?

What decision do I have?

Where am I speaking?

And God, I'm gonna simply open your truth.

Will you guide me?

Because I don't even know what to do with this.

I want to leave you with this mental picture a friend of mine shared.

He said he was in a church and an older woman, he said she was very old, and she's walking out, and she asked, they somehow they interacted.

And she said, Let me see your Bible.

And he says, I'm so sorry, I gotta get a new one.

And I've never forgotten this.

She goes, No, no, no, don't get a new one.

He says, Well, mine's falling apart.

And this sweet old saint, she said, You know what I've noticed in all my years?

People who have a Bible that's falling apart usually have a life that isn't.

Wow.

That's where the truth comes in.

Let it permeate.

Let's pray.

God, thank you that you come to us full and first with your grace, and that your unchangeable truth will guide us in every step that we let you.

Lord, if there's somebody that doesn't know you personally, help them to realize you are longing to lavish them with your grace and love.

And all we have to do is say, Amen.

Lord, please come in.

Forgive me the way you promised.

Overwhelm me with your grace and let me experience truth.

God, I want a life that matters.

And Lord, if I lay this foundation, I'm going to start seeing you move.

And it is only through Jesus that we have that, the one and only, and the power of your spirit that raised him from the grave that lives in our hearts when we ask you in that we can pray.

Amen.

Have a blessed week.