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You can't follow what you do not understand · Fostering Faith

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  Welcome back to Fostering Faith today. Welcome
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  back, family. I am Tracie. I'm going to be your
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  host today and we're going to be diving into
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  a topic that really got me thinking. Whenever
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  me and Derek were on our walk, we were listening
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  to a leadership podcast by John Maxwell and it
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  kind of tipped me off for this kind of podcast
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  because people will not follow what they do not
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  understand is what they said. And so he was talking
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  about in a business aspect, a relation aspect.
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  Now let's spin that. To what I was thinking about
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  and so what if the real reason people don't follow
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  Christ is because they don't actually get him
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  Like they don't understand how someone could
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  love them the way that he does or that his love
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  isn't earned or a checklist None of the good
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  deeds or bad news can change the love that he
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  has for you This sounds like complete craziness.
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  It sounds like complete heresy, right? But stick
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  with me So this is a little high theology and
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  a little low -key hilarious because who doesn't
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  get confused about grace or love? That's free.
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  And so let's unpack it. Okay, so let's do some
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  real talk. How many of you have ever heard the
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  phrase, God loves you, and felt completely confused?
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  Like maybe God's love is this vague magical thing
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  that happens if you don't mess up too badly.
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  Some folks treats God's love like a divine vending
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  machine. They put in prayers, good deeds, they
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  attend church, and bam, out comes salvation.
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  But what does scripture say? It says something
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  totally different. And so John 3 .16 says, for
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  God so loved the world that he gave his only
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  son. Not maybe, not if you're good enough, but
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  for the world. That's y 'all, that's everybody.
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  Yes, even the one with the questionable life
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  choices. The one who thinks that maybe couch
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  potatoing is a spiritual gift. The person that
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  did something last night that they were not supposed
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  to. The one that turned up in the club last night.
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  The one that may not be in the situation where
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  they need to be in. The issue? People don't get
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  this love because they've never seen it lived
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  out simply, clearly, or without strings attached.
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  And they misunderstand it because sometimes the
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  church acts like love. comes from terms and conditions.
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  And so, you know, whenever we do these podcasts,
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  you know, we try to make it lighthearted and
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  funny, too, because theology without humor is
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  can just be real dry, kind of like a salad without
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  any salad dressing. So if you can imagine God
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  was a vending machine, you drop in your prayers,
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  you drop in your good deeds and a few, I'm sorry,
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  coins and then press a button labeled love. but
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  instead love pops out a celery stick or a kale
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  chip and I'll give you a fun fact Gia loved kale
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  chips whenever she was little and we have so
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  many funny videos of her eating kale chips but
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  you're standing there like I I hit the love button
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  and I got a celery stick that's not exactly what
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  I'm going for and so sometimes we treat God's
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  love like it's something that we have to earn
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  and We have to order it just right. But God's
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  love, it's like someone paid for the whole snack
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  bar up front. And the best part is it's the freshest,
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  the most nourishing love that you could ever
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  need is ready to go. No coins required. And that's
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  the amazing part, the beautiful truth that we
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  want to get across. And so now for a quick theology
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  moment, the word love often used in the New Testament
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  is agape. That's a selfish, sacrificial, unconditional
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  love. Agape love doesn't look for what you can
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  get in return, it just gives. That's God's love
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  in a nutshell, and here's why it's so hard to
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  understand. It goes against our natural human
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  instincts. We love with conditions. We often
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  say, I'll love you if. But God's agape love says,
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  I will love you even when you don't. And I choose
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  you first. People miss this because their minds
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  struggle to grasp love that's not earned. Love
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  isn't given freely. It's countercultural, it's
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  counterintuitive, and frankly counter to how
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  most relationships work here on earth. And so
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  let's do a quick check -in. And so if you've
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  ever felt God's love was complicated or conditional,
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  you're not alone. But here's the good news. God
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  loves you exactly where you are. No need to fake
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  it or earn it. You're loved. Period. Let that
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  sink in. You are loved. No matter what you've
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  done. He already knew about it and He still chose
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  you for today. He still woke you up for today.
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  And for those saints out there, He loves those
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  that you don't like either. That you have questions
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  about and you're mad at them because they're
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  they say that they're this and they're doing
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  that and they're acting out and they're you know
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  Yes, they he loves them, too and so Whenever
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  we dive into John Maxwell's little nugget that
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  he gave me people will not follow what they do
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  not understand Here's why that it matters so
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  much for whenever we're talking about God imagine
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  trying to follow someone who mumbles instructions
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  in a language that you don't speak and keeping
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  points into different directions You're not gonna
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  be able to follow that and you know You're saying
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  like go left and he's pointing to the right and
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  like he's speaking in German And you only know
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  Spanish and so you're not gonna follow that you'd
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  be like never never mind. I'll just use my GPS
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  People won't follow unless it makes sense They
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  won't follow a leader unless the leader is clear
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  and many folks don't understand Jesus because
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  He's complicated And it's not that he's complicated.
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  They just think that he is. He's actually quite
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  simple when you get to the heart of it. But often
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  churches make following Jesus sound complicated
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  and loaded with rules. You got to do this. You
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  got to do this. But Jesus was really big on clarity.
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  Come to me, all who are weary in Matthew 11 28.
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  If people don't understand that Jesus loves radically
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  and unconditionally, they won't trust him enough
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  to follow. And Maxwell's principles are foundational
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  here. If people don't really get what you're
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  about, they'll bail. Applied to faith, if people
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  don't understand how Jesus loves and why he died,
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  they won't follow. So many people think that
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  faith equals rules instead of relationship. They
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  think of religious versus relationship. When
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  grace feels conditional and freedom is lost.
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  So what's the takeaway? Why must we make Jesus
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  understandable, not dumbed down, but accessible,
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  and unpack the radical grace -filled love and
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  invite the relationship and not a religious checkmark?
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  How many times have you explained the gospel
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  to someone and that person says, how many good
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  works do I have to do to get into heaven? Friends,
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  if heaven had a scoreboard, I'd ask for a spectator
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  pass, but Jesus doesn't do that. He flips the
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  script. No scoreboard. No trying to keep the
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  rules. No points required. There's no currency
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  that you can give him that would buy his love.
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  And here's the wild thing. The love that Jesus
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  showed by giving up paradise to come down and
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  die for us. Can you wrap your head around that?
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  That isn't casual love. It's radical, sacrificial,
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  and mind -blowing. Someone who is so crazy about
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  you that they walked into death so they could
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  give you a second chance Many don't follow Jesus
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  because the love seems unbelievable Why would
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  someone love me that much doesn't he know what
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  I did? I said this I did that I even just last
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  night I had to sneak out of someone's room all
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  the things and he there's nothing that you can
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  hide from he does he already knows And that's
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  the heart of today's talk. God's love is so great.
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  He gave his only son so we could be made right.
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  Sacrifice proves love isn't what you have to
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  do. And if we remember the prodigal son, he ran,
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  the father ran and wrapped him in love and threw
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  a party, not because he earned it, because we
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  know that he didn't. He went out and spent all
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  the money and walled out and did all the things.
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  But because he returned home, Jesus' loves is
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  unearned, relentless, and joyful. That love changes
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  everything. You're not climbing a ladder of good
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  enough. Jesus reaches down and lifts you up.
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  Think if you had to go buy love in a store, you'd
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  be in the clearance aisle waiting for a sale
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  because it's so expensive. But Jesus' love is
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  always on stock. There's no price tag. There's
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  no expiration date. But if we want others to
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  follow Jesus, we must help them understand this
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  love love that costs everything is worth following
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  and so you guys know that I love meat and and
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  so what and so we're at a barbecue and Jesus
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  is out there at the grill. He's flipping the
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  burgers He's loving on everybody the choir kids
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  the doubters the skeptics and even the party
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  crashers And someone asked, why love those people?
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  They don't even smell that great. Jesus laughs
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  because I'm them. I get them. I'm crazy about
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  them. God's love is relational and not transactional.
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  That's about who you are to him, not what you
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  do. So trying to explain that to someone who
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  thinks that love is a legal contract? I love
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  you, but if? No! God says, I love you. Period.
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  Make love understandable by showing it in everyday
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  ways. Love without strings. Be patient without
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  doubts. And humor helps. When people laugh, they
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  relax. It's easier to hear the good news then.
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  Someone once said loving like Jesus is being
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  a salad at a barbecue. Maybe it's not everyone's
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  favorite, but it's refreshing if you try it.
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  And so that said, be the lemonade in someone's
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  life. Just love them for who they are and that
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  refreshing. Like I don't have to earn this like
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  you're gonna be my friend no matter what like
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  all this stuff and it really is a Refreshing
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  and then and that way they can literally see
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  it And so what does that mean for us today so
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  we've unpacked it people don't follow what they
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  don't understand Jesus is radical love and how
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  to make love clear So what does it mean now?
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  And so we have a mission to show Jesus, not just
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  in talk. If people don't understand his love,
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  preaching won't help. They need love modeled
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  in their real life. This means patient with awkward
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  questions, grace when people mess up, listening
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  more than preaching, and loving unconditionally.
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  It's hard sometimes, but Maxwell says clarity
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  and examples keeps followers. You're messengers
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  of the greatest love ever. The love flowing freely,
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  not based on performance. And so the challenge
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  this week is I find someone who might not understand
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  God's love fully. Don't preach, show love. Simple,
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  real, and joyful. Love that's clear. and opens
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  hearts. Followers grow. Jesus' love transforms
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  lives. And remember, love is never wasted. Every
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  act of kindness, each moment choosing love over
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  judgment matters. Keeping love, understanding
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  and sharing Jesus' heart, the love that cost
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  everything but given freely is huge. So how about
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  we make Jesus's love visible to people and that
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  way they understand because we love to see things
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  We love to be something tangible to hold on to
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  and so they can see What Jesus's love is and
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  if we are overflow Because we are we are loved
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  by him. We need to love others And so, I would
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  love to pray for you this week. Thank you guys
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  so much for listening. If this message impacted
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  you, if you know someone that doesn't know Christ
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  or just isn't following Christ, send this to
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  them. You know, leave us a comment, help our
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  podcast grow, and we would love to pray for you.
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  Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for today.
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  Thank you so much for yesterday. Thank you for
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  these followers. Thank you that you have allowed
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  them to be. loved by you. Thank you that we don't
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  have to earn your love. Thank you that we have
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  screwed up plenty of times, but yet you still
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  love us. Thank you as we go out this week and
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  allow us to be the light. Allow us to love those
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  difficult people. Allow us to love the people
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  that you've placed in front of us like you love
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  them. No strings attached. Thank you for everything
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  that you do. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. So we
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  hope that this message helped you. Thanks for
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  hanging out with me today. If this blessed you
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  or you think, subscribe, share it. Join for next
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  time. We can't wait to see you guys next week.
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  We love you. Have a great week.